#and have been trying to tailor my responses accordingly for the most part
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“What could I do but bow acceptance? It was Mr. Hawkin’s interest; not mine, and I had to think of him, not myself; and besides, while Count Dracula was speaking, there was that in his eyes and in his bearing which made me remember that I was a prisoner, and that if I wished it I could have no choice. The Count saw his victory in my bow, and his mastery in the trouble of my face, for he began at once to use them, but in his own smooth, resistless way”
I'm having a bit of trouble understanding what he means by "he began at once to use them, but in his own smooth, resistless way." As in, using his victory and mastery upon Jonathan?
Also oof, Jonathan is so aware that from Dracula's body language alone, he is the captor, and that any choices he's giving Jonathan are smoke and mirrors..m
Yes. So, basically, Dracula can see from Jonathan's reaction that he has won this interaction. Jonathan has read the room (it says DANGER DANGER DANGER) and isn't going to break this delicate balance where neither of them admit to this being a hostage situation. He's playing along, because he correctly reads that refusal will mean a worse situation for him. At least if they're still playing pretend that this is a friendly interaction, Dracula won't be outright locking Jonathan in a dungeon or physically hurting him or whatever else (vampire stuff, not that Jonathan knows that for sure here). So Jonathan bows acceptance. He 'willingly agrees' to stay another month, and tacitly accepts the lie that Dracula has been an excellent host/employer who deserves his utmost efforts in whatever way he wishes, because it's his job to answer those wishes. After all, he can't disappoint Mr. Hawkins (yet another form of power Dracula holds over Jonathan, even outside all supernatural/physical power - he could potentially hurt his career and maybe even that of his boss).
So yeah. Dracula sees Jonathan agree to all this. And he knows he's won. Perhaps Jonathan's silent bow even indicates to him how bitter a pill it is for Jonathan to swallow, that he doesn't even want to say it aloud. So Dracula, loving to make things worse, immediately starts to use his victory to ask for more. Specifically, by being "smooth, resistless", he's putting on a super charming front. His suavest voice, his most charming smile. He's acting super nice while he makes Jonathan actively lie about his safety and condition. He implements his mastery of the situation to force Jonathan to go along with him in a way that not only will serve Dracula by removing potential suspicion from others, but is also designed to make Jonathan feel complicit. (He also gave Jonathan three envelopes, but Jonathan only wrote two letters. This may suggest to Dracula that his guest has few people who would miss him, or at least who he feels any need to explain his absence to. Additional info.)
Not to spoil any specifics, but... this is a pattern. Both the "being extra charming in the worst moments" and the "making people feel complicit" stuff.
(If you want, I also wrote a meta last year comparing some of Dracula's wordplay in this scene with a later scene on September 18th, but it's obviously got spoilers. )
#dracula daily#count dracula#jonathan harker#anonymous#replies#btw i tend to assume this is someone's first read if i don't see spoilers in the ask (whether specific or seeming familiarity with#the characters beyond just what we've seen thus far)#and have been trying to tailor my responses accordingly for the most part
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Listen Tilda has so much possibility to be like that in an AU
”Dr. Sobeck, it's a pleasure to meet you.” Elisabet automatically extends her hands but Travis’ laugh is what makes her look up. Right into possibly the most beautiful face she’s ever seen.
“It’s wonderful to meet you.” She responds hoping her gasp isn’t noticeable. Gaia, she knows the woman, recognises her glasses of all things, one of the technologies Gaia and her entire team had been working on. She was head of one of the biggest assistive and medical technological companies; she had developed a line of intensely detailed and responsive prosthetics and was working towards making them function on solar energy or wind which is what propelled her into the mainstream; and right into Elisabet’s path.
------
Patrick Brochard-Klein is standing in the middle of her hotel room. He’s smiling at her and Elisabet has enough decency not to glare at him.
“I’m sorry for the rude awakening.” He passes her coffee, tailor made as usual.
“Apology accepted.” She sips and watches as he pulls a holoscreen over, looking nervous.
“You know the um, lightkeeper project.”
“Of course, have there been developments?”
“In a way..”
“Patrick, please..” Elisabet doesn’t want to hear him stutter through preparing her for the first large animal trial.
“Gaia volunteered to be a surrogate.”
“What does that have to do with me? My wife can make her own choices.”
“I am aware; I wanted to offer you; the option…The embryo’s can’t be of the host or they’ll be reabsorbed.”
“Oh; it’s that sort of development.”
“It would be above board, but you would need to remain anonymous.”
“You know how hard that is, I doubt Travis could even keep that level up; at least not without hurting himself; I can’t ask that of him..”
“Just name him a godparent; we all know the Alpha’s will be; you know someone who could help?” Elisabet grimaces.
“I do.”
“Lis, be careful.” Patrick’s hand is a comfort on her shoulder.
“Of course, nothing about you get’s out.”
“I more meant being around your bitch of an ex.”
“Oh.” Her laugh is warm, the coffee is half done and she lets Patrick explain everything about the procedure; all the risks and the rewards. Elisabet feels a spike of nerves, already getting ahead of herself; how is she going to tell her mom.
-------
”Oh I’m sorry to hear about the child..” Tilda’s face looks genuinely hurt for a second and Gaia is taken aback.
“Sorry?”
“You’re here because you want my help keeping the failure hidden?”
“No, the success.” Gaia can see the sneer Tilda wants to make, instead it twists into confusion.
“Oh, congratulations then.”
“Yes, thank you. Now..” Elisabet rustles some papers, always the one to get right into the business at hand.
“We’re here, because we need your help; I need your help; you know what would happen if this got out. If they both were exposed..” Tilda softens slightly at Elisabet’s plea.
-------
“Both?”
“Twins, we got lucky, seemed cruel to pick..” Elisabet smiles faintly; Tilda knows she’s always wanted a sister. What a shame her daughter will feel the same. They manage to draft a simple contract in under an hour; it will be fully settled in the next meeting. Tilda knows there’s always a next meeting
“Now the matter of my fee..”
“Of course, Travis said, well he doesn’t hold a high opinion of you. Said you were one step away from becoming an immortal soulsucking planet killer. So we brought accordingly.” Elisabet tries to tease and Tilda appreciates the lie.
“Please tell him I return his sentiment.”
“Of course, now I know normally you hold a high price, we’ve brought cash so..”
“Oh no I couldn’t accept..”
---------
“Tilda, we’re going to pay you. Name it.” Gaia snaps a little annoyed at the thought Tilda will ply Lis into a date or try to steal her away for keeping the secret. She wants the meeting over and done with, and Gaia realises her impatience will be her undoing.
“If I’m going to be part of the biggest cover up for a successful cloning, between two of the worlds best, I want a stake in it.”
“Of course; we can take your samples and..” Elisabet’s mind is already firing, figuring out where and when they could meet, so it wouldn’t be suspicious. Tilda smiles, that’s what she loves about Elisabet.
“One of them.”
“What?”
“One of the twins, you pick.”
“Why on earth would you..” Gaia jerks back, standing from the table and shuffling back towards the door. Tilda’s hand on her shoulder feels like claws.
“I want you both to know I’m serious about this; what says that more than taking half of the responsibility.”
“You can’t..”
“Should have listened to Travis, did he make some comment about how he could keep the media down, keep everything hidden and quiet?” Tilda laughs, pleased she’d gotten his argument so spot on; she hated Travis Tate, but he was the same as her; just never had himself as a priority like she did.
“Do you want updates?” Tilda resettles her focus on Lis who looks pale.
“You don’t have to. Just general health.”
“What happens if we… if they, or one doesn’t…” Elisabet tries to talk around her growing fear.
“Then all I was doing was keeping your wife’s delicate health and risky pregnancy out of public spaces.” Tilda is shocked and Gaia relishes her face as Elisabet hugs her.
“Thank you Tilda, thank you.” Tilda smiles, sighing a little as Elisabet and Gaia leave her office. She glances up at the door as it closes, and smirks.
--------
“Good morning. You’ll never guess what I just heard.” Tilda purrs into the phone, smirking when a groggy voice answers.
“What on earth is worth waking me up at 8 am Meer.”
“Clones Hades, clones is worth it.”
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#tilda van der meer#tilda van der meer x elisabet#elisabet sobeck x gaia#elisabet x gaia#gaia#horizon zero dawn#horizon forbidden west#horizon imagine#horizon#horizon gaia#gaia horizon#modern au#human gaia#human gaia au#stattic#this is probably gonna be a whole thing but for now have this#i want attention/valadation#modern horizon au
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The Masked Ghost - Jackson Wang AU
HELLO FOLKS, HERE COMES YOUR ADORABLE AUTHOR AFTER HARSH WINTERS OF WAITING!!! Ahem, well, I took my time, but this is one of the stories I really am proud of. It originally started as inspiration from the ‘100 ways’ MV and song but you know me; I love myself a good read. I hope you all enjoy it as much I enjoyed writing it~ I hope the details are historically accurate, I tried documenting myself first so it would make the experience more real.
Synopsis: The heavy burden of the crown will soon become Prince Jackson’s responsibility. He wants to be a good ruler to his people and correct the mistakes of his ancestors. He seeks the help of a famous rebel among his people to guide him through the process. The urban legend is, however, an old friend of the Prince.
15.6k words, Emperor AU, somewhat soulmate au too, Historical inspiration, crime, explicit violence, love
“My dear son, there will be a time when the feeling of love won’t be a fleeting breeze, but a fulfilling storm and it shall last as long as your heart keeps on beating. “
“How will I know it, Mama?”
“Oh, Jackson, you will feel it battling so violently in your chest, it’s an unmistakable feeling. You will just know.”
Prince Jackson opened his eyes abruptly, the light of dawn bathing the room through the beautifully embroidered drapes of his royal chamber. He let out a low groan of displeasure and stood up to adjust to the low lighting. A lazy hand was brought up to rub at his eyes. He woke up a little earlier than usual, he figured. His servants weren’t swarmed around him to make sure he was offered everything he needed from the moment he opened his eyes.
He crawled out of bed and tightened the bead of his robe as he walked to the side door of his chamber so he could breathe in the fresh air of the morning. The garden was stretching vastly outside his porch and he took a couple of barefooted steps outside, the grass tickling his feet. His days of being a crown prince were rapidly coming to an end, along with the freedom he previously enjoyed. His father was ready to retire and let him inherit all the heavy responsibilities of the throne. Jackson let out a sigh and looked up at the sky. The bold rays of the sun engulfed the garden and he sheltered his face with the back of his hand.
“Your majesty! What are you doing outside? You aren’t even dressed!”
Jackson closed his eyes momentarily, his moment of peace quickly falling to pieces. He turned his body to the source of the voice, greeting the old gardener with a warm smile. He was the only one actively serving Jackson at his age; he had always felt like a grandfather to him.
“Did the servants cause you displeasure?”
“Not at all,” Jackson replied with a chuckle. “I woke up a tad earlier and I figured I’d enjoy the calm—“
The frail door of his chamber was opened once again, the loud sound indicating the rush and panic of the servants who failed to find him in his bed.
“While it lasted, your majesty?” the old man laughed, patting Jackson’s arm lightly.
The young girls bowed their heads stiffly and waited as the lead servant and tailor approached Jackson with a look of disapproval on their features. “Your majesty, you should not walk so hastily around, especially without your shoes! What if you hurt yourself, your majesty?”
Jackson nodded imperceptibly and dipped his head towards the old man before walking ahead of his two most worried servants. “What could possibly happen to me? Step on a rock?”
He heard the young girls giggle at his remark and were immediately scolded by the senior servant. “You should take this more seriously, your majesty! You will be emperor soon! What will everyone make of you if you show yourself so carelessly?”
Jackson extended his arms to allow his tailor to dress him into his appropriate clothes. His room became crowded in an instant with people who were either making his bed or arranging his table with the necessary tools for the morning routine. He turned his back to the young girls during the time of his fitting, trying to ease some of their embarrassment.
“Your majesty, are you sure you do not want anyone to come and shave you?”
Jackson shook his head, bringing his hands to his waist to tie the golden sash over the black chest piece. His fingers lingered over the small embroidered details which formed an elegant pattern on top of the charcoal silk. He was among the few men at the palace who opted for trousers which often rose eyebrows for the lack of elegance. His outfit was completed by the gauntlets adorning his forearms. The tailor took a good look at his prince. “I have never seen anyone who suits black and gold more than your majesty does. Although your palette is rather poor in terms of colors.”
Jackson laughed and buttoned his collar. “Thank you for your sincerity. My father would have had you beheaded for this.”
The man bowed his head in terror, so Jackson placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Maybe you should follow his example, your majesty!” The head servant folded her arms over her chest. She was one of the few seniors in the palace who disagreed with the friendlier approach Jackson had with all of the servants. He was known for being kind and humble, someone who tried treating everyone with respect, no matter their job or title. Everyone adored him for being such a sympathetic royal and there were many who competed for being assigned to him. Although those part of the older generation questioned his extended kindness. They did not see it fit for a future king. Especially since it attracted greedy females around him.
“How can I abuse my power? These people are my servants, not my slaves.” Jackson sat down at the table and took the blade in between his fingers to get rid of his facial hair.
“Prince, forgive my ignorant outburst.” She bowed to Jackson. “I wouldn’t want people to take advantage of your otherwise bright nature—“
“Are they, though?”
Jackson smirked at the voice of his best friend and closest advisor, Guiren, who leaned against the doorframe. The girls formed a line to bow to him and steal some glances.
“I wouldn’t recommend mistaking his majesty’s kindness for weakness.”
“Ah Guiren, weren’t we supposed to meet for breakfast?” Jackson wiped his face clean with a white piece of cloth, sewed with the same sophisticated design. “You came here to shadow my popularity among the servants?”
The girls blushed at Jackson’s words and were ushered outside by the lead servant. “We’ll leave you to master Guiren, your majesty. The breakfast is ready to be served in the main backyard, as you requested.”
“Then that would be all, thank you. I would like us to be alone at this time.”
The seniors bowed to Jackson before retreating out of his chamber. Guiren approached his best friend with a smug expression imprinted on his features. “As much as I want to, I cannot top you, Jackson. The queue of females desiring to climb in your bed is long enough to circle the empire twice. It beats me how you simply refuse to summon any to your chamber.”
Jackson waved his hand dismissively. “That is of no concern to me now. You showing up so eagerly means you took care of what I asked.”
“I have some interesting things to share with you, indeed. The soldiers are full of gossip.”
The two of them walked to where the breakfast was served, avoiding the topic on their way there. One of the first lessons Jackson’s father taught him was that walls have ears and people’s trust is as fray as a cherry blossom flower in late spring. And he knew himself how many people were executed because of betrayal or plotting against the empire over trivial interests such as riches.
Guiren was the right hand of the military general and was regarded highly in their ranks. He had been too young to participate in the last big war but was otherwise trusted with many little revolts scattered across the empire and had an immeasurable amount of talent in swordsmanship. And Jackson’s mentor in the art.
“Before I tell you about it though, why do you seek their help? What are you afraid is going to happen?”
Jackson took the chopsticks in between his fingers. “One of the many advantages of the royals is that they are rarely revealed to the wider public and that gave me the possibility to go among our people. I’ve heard some worrying words that a new war is boiling.”
Guiren followed his example. “That was before the public ceremony last month. You were introduced as our new king, though.”
Thanks to his endeavors among the people of the empire and his occasional help with the field works, Jackson was enthusiastically received as their new monarch. He knew how important it was for people to put their trust in their king and how necessary it was for them to believe the king can serve them accordingly. It was a steady path toward peace. However, he did not help people just for the sake of it. He really enjoyed putting a smile on their faces and easing their hardships in however manner he could. He was deeply saddened to see how much misery the upper class poured upon them. And the people loved him in return.
“So who keeps you informed?”
“The old gardener, remember him? His granddaughter runs a bathhouse.”
Guiren chuckled. “Well, figures you would put your looks to good use. That’s smart, though. A bathhouse is a commonplace for fresh information.”
Jackson agreed and put his bowl of rice down. “Your turn.”
“Well, what do you want me to begin with?”
“Isn’t it obvious? The beginning.”
Guiren scratched at his nape and clicked his tongue. “Okay. But make sure you chew the food before I tell you.”
“Ah come on, just say it.”
“The Masked Ghost is supposed to be a woman.”
Jackson choked on his food. Guiren quirked his eyebrow at him, handing him his cup of tea.
“Told you.”
“That’s impossible.” Jackson shook his head and took a sip from his tea. “Thirty officials killed over the past month, countless other thieves and criminals mysteriously dead and you tell me she’s a woman?”
“She’s certainly been building her reputation in the empire, but believe me when I say she is worshipped by common folk because she brings them the justice us royals fail to. My sources cannot be wrong about this.”
Jackson took his chin in between his thumb and index. “My father showed me some of the bodies. Those were clean cuts of the jugular.”
Guiren nodded. “I suppose his majesty only told you the bright part of the story. Some of the officials she killed were applying the tax law too harshly on farmers and often overworked them for an extra coin. But the others that she killed were known for their abusive behavior towards women and their violent outbursts that led to innocent girls being murdered in the process. One of your cousins was her target for a short while. It looked like he was innocent so he was spared.”
Jackson winced. He knew the King tried his best to reduce the abuse rate in the country because history taught him it comes with drastic consequences, but he could only do so little about his officials. There was no written law that women were not meant to be toys of the thirsty wolves.
“There’s more. They say the Masked Ghost entered a fight with 10 of our trained palace guards because she was caught beating a thief to literal death. Word has it she was so skilled with a sword that they couldn’t even scrape her. She’s been regarded as a highly wanted murderer ever since.”
Jackson tilted his head toward a group of birds playing around the pond in the yard.
“That being said,” Guiren continued after having finished his plate. “I won’t let you meet The Ghost.”
“No.”
“Jackson, are you insane? She’s shown no remorse toward any of her victims. Do you think she’ll spare you because you’re set to become King? She was so close to killing your cousin, a royal by blood.”
Jackson looked back at Guiren with a determined look in his eyes. “I need the ghost to teach me how to wield a sword and how to fight.”
“I do plenty of that.”
“You don’t. Because they don’t allow you to. What am I supposed to do if an actual war comes, Guiren? Sit pretty on my throne and watch you sacrifice yourselves for me?”
Guiren let out a scoff. “That is our duty, your majesty.”
Jackson shook his head and looked away. “I cannot put my life in the hand of my subjects. Even if I trust you with my life Guiren, I refuse to be helpless. And honestly, now that I’ve heard the whole story, I kind of understand her reasons.”
Guiren blinked in surprise. “Killing high government officials because she doesn’t like the law?”
“The Ghost might take the law in her hands. But it is just, however wrong. She does what we cannot.”
Guiren acknowledged Jackson’s words, despite the fact that he hated how much truth resided in them. He was a dedicated follower of the written law even if he did not completely agree with it because it was the right thing to do. And Jackson knew, too. Rules are meant to keep a society in order and are meant to be obeyed, no matter the personal beliefs. That was what a monarch did. What Jackson soon had to do.
“Listen, Jackson.” Guiren sighed. “I know you will be a great ruler especially because you are not a tyrant. But don’t succumb to your own heart. It will bring much disorder. And you alone cannot turn around habits that all of us inherited for ages. It’s how your father and his predecessors kept this empire flourishing. By abiding to the customs and to the law.”
“I am aware of that.” Jackson said, defeated.
“But that doesn’t make you change your mind, now does it?”
The two of them laughed and Guiren gave his friend a tiny bit of paper. “I need a skilled person in the field. I need to keep track of everything so I can reduce the violence and the blood, no matter how little.”
After his evening duties finished, a whole lesson taught by his father and his advisors about politics and economics, Jackson was sent back to his chamber for the night. He waited for the servants to exit his room and whistled in a distinctive tone to let an awaiting Guren know he would be thus unsupervised. He was given common clothes and a cape to mask his silhouette from the curios eyes and then swiftly sneaked out of the palace thanks to his friend’s authority and his secret routes.
The night was in full bloom, the darkness thick even with the torches lit around the capital to provide some light. There weren’t many people walking the streets and it made it even easier for him to move around. Jackson checked the writing on the bit of paper and was still perplexed by how vague it was. Guiren did not give him an exact location in the clue so he strolled around the back alleys, trying to find something for guidance. His feet stopped abruptly and dug into the dirt when the unexpected cold of a blade made contact with the skin of his neck.
“If it isn’t Prince Wang taking a night walk on my turf. Or should I say King Wang?”
Jackson felt a cold shiver traverse his spine. The voice belonged to a woman indeed, but the harshness of it told him there would be but a wrong word to his end.
“What are you doing here all alone?”
Jackson gulped and felt the tip of the blade tracing a vein in his neck. He knew you would have killed him long ago if you felt like it. “I wish to speak with you.”
He heard you chuckle and, in spite of the rather crucial situation he found himself in, thought it was a beautiful sound. “Oh? I knew I was famous in the palace, but I did not expect a royal coming down here with a speech prepared for me. Speak quickly before I change my mind.”
Jackson couldn’t afford to hesitate. He went there to convince The Ghost to be his partner. “I want you to teach me how to wield a sword.”
If he hadn’t had a blade dangling at his throat, he would have allowed himself to be entranced by your beautiful laugh. You stepped lightly from behind him, your blade now lowered to your hand and you started playing with it as you kept on laughing.
“You know, the lady who sells rice cakes mentioned you are an entertainer but I didn’t expect you to amuse me this much!”
Jackson took a good look at you as you placed yourself before him. Your face was covered entirely by the impressive porcelain mask so as not to leave any clue of your facial traits and the dragon pattern painted on it was majestically executed. You certainly were taller than he expected you to be, matching him evenly, and your body was covered in a thoroughly crafted crimson leather armor, with black and brown assortments. The only thing he could only catch a glimpse of in the endearing moonlight was your ebony hair, braided in a style he did not recognize. It must have been one of the foreign treats he had read in the papers brought to the palace by the naval officers.
“I did not intend to humor you. My reputation precedes me, yet now I am but serious.”
You turned your back to him. “Go home, Prince. This is not a place for you flimsy royals.”
“I beg of you. I want to be a King worthy of his people, capable of shielding them from danger. And as I am now, I am incompetent.”
You stopped in your tracks and tilted your head towards him. You were taken by surprise; never in your life have you heard of any royal who walked among the commoners, let alone beg one of the nation criminals to teach him how to better himself. You heard rumors about him and spied on his activities when he was out in the empire but it was never enough to convince you he was any different from his predecessors. He came out of the same cocoon after all.
“This empire has never had a King worthy of his people, your majesty.” Jackson could hear how acid his title was in your mouth. “You royals are born with a silver spoon in your mouth and you think the world belongs to you. What do you know about what these people are going through to keep your filthy egos in place and your stomachs full? Just so they could live to see the morning sky another day. Pathetic.”
Jackson could not see your face but he could feel your anger boiling inside of you. You were more than justified to spit at him and mock him; he was well aware all you said was the truth. Almost everything.
“Don’t you fight for what you believe in to make a change?”
You knitted your eyebrows. Your silence was an indicator to continue. “I want to help these people make a change. I want to at least try. And there is no use in telling you the masters and politicians at our court do not teach us how to forge a change. But I am not stupid to overlook it.”
“Your father failed in doing so. What makes you different?”
“My father did not try to understand your people.”
You turned completely to him and took your first look at him. Women all over the country fawned over his good looks and in all honesty, you were a woman too. All of the royals were refined, still, and you did not allow yourself to be enraptured by it. The stern look in his eyes made you question his intentions. You fought for a leader who would lead his people for the people, not for himself. Even if the King was not a bad ruler, he failed to serve his people. You actually wondered if his son was any different.
You took your sword out from the scabbard and threw it at him. Much to your surprise, he caught it by the hilt. Jackson looked at the exquisite sword and wondered if it was slightly lighter than the ones at the palace.
“If you manage to touch me with that sword, I’ll consider.”
You sensed the hesitation. “I am a woman but I could kill you easily if I felt like, your majesty. I thought you treated me as an equal.”
Jackson nodded. You were right, he came to you for help because you were the skilled one. No matter how many crimes you had under your belt, he felt the strong sense of righteousness oozing from you. He was convinced it was not easy for you.
He dashed over to you in a leap, swinging his sword in mid-air. You deflected the sword with your knife, taking a step back to steady yourself. You certainly did not expect such a well-placed swing. Jackson seized the momentum to bring his other foot to the front and glide the sword through the air. You countered it with the back of your knife, his eyes making direct contact with yours.
“It would seem like they did teach you something, your majesty.”
Jackson took a cross-step to the back, the sound of metal scraping on metal echoing in the night air. “I shall take that as a compliment.”
You smirked at his words and anticipated his next move. Jackson twirled the sword in his hand as he walked toward you, taking a full swing from above. You lowered your body to the ground in a lunge and then quickly jolted up to disarm him. Jackson barely dodged to the side. You pushed forward and he leaned backward, using the support of his hands to do a backflip. He rested on the ground for a second.
“You are so intense, Ghost.”
“Too bad you are never going to see that for yourself, Prince.”
Jackson’s eyes widened in shock at your remark and that cost him his loss. He was left wide open and you threw your knife accurately, inches to the side of his head, to force him to lose balance then rushed forward, pushing him to the ground. Your knee was placed on the fuller as you straddled him, one of your hands grabbing jokingly at his throat. “It is my victory, your majesty.”
You leaned over him to grab your knife from the ground and then sprung up. Jackson was at a loss for words. It was not that he did not expect you to beat him, he certainly lost his chance because of your rather vulgar words, followed by your indecent position atop of him. He draped an arm over his eyes and laughed under his breath. “It is.”
You sheathed your sword and watched him as he stood back up. He parted his lips to say something but reconsidered it, bowing his head to you instead. “I lost fairly but is there something I could do to change your mind about this?”
You walked over to him, raising his chin up with the back of your knife before twirling it in your hand to offer it to him. Jackson was not a stranger to weapons and close combat and his agility and quick reflexes with a sword certainly served for a pleasant surprise. You decided to play along.
“I feel generous tonight.”
Jackson took the knife from your hand and stole another glance at your eyes before you turned to walk away. It was a scorching shade of amber.
“So, how did it go last night?”
Guiren countered Jackson’s punch and went in for a high kick. Jackson put his arms together to absorb the impact.
“She is really skilled. She might have laughed at me at first though.”
Guiren chuckled. “What did you say? Teach me your ways?”
Jackson jumped back and wiped the sweat traversing his forehead. “Something like that. She threw me her sword and said that if I hit her once, she’d teach me.”
“Oh?” Guiren smirked and unbuttoned the collar of his uniform. “What then?”
“I lost, of course. But she gave me this knife as a gift so I figure I might see her again.”
Guiren examined the knife and let out a whistle. “This is a perfect hunting knife with a wide blade. I wonder where she gets these from.”
“Her sword was lighter than the ones we use here, too. I think she might have ties to the European weapon merchants.”
“So what you are telling me is that she put you to shame with a mere knife that she also offered you and deliberately agreed to teach you swordsmanship? Did you take her to bed?”
Jackson thought back to the part of the story he omitted to tell Guiren. Under no circumstance should he find out he might have fantasized a little. “Uhm, no, colonel, cease this nonsense at once. “
“I hate it when you bring out the aristocracy on me, your majesty.” Guiren laughed and resumed his fighting stance. “But in all seriousness, you should be careful. You might be playing right into her hand.”
Jackson nodded and put up his guard, bracing himself for another brawling with Guiren. He knew The Ghost was most likely entertaining herself and must have had other plans for him. Seeing you in action motivated him even more; he had to win your trust somehow and make you regain your faith in the crown. It was the best-case scenario for the both of you and for the empire. He could use your intel and your skills and, in exchange, you would benefit from a fair ruling. Even more so as Guiren hinted at military tensions between the empire and other states. He had to make a bold move before his coronation.
“Lady Y/n, how do you read this word?” one of the little children seated by your side pointed at the book, his curious eyes eliciting a bright smile from your lips.
“This?” You wrapped your free arm around him, pulling him on your lap. The other children protested collectively and crawled all over you. “This is justice, little one.”
“Justice?” another girl perked up at you. “What does it mean?”
You took a deep breath and tried to mask the heavy feelings you were carrying in your chest. You couldn’t show those children what disappointment was before their lives had even started.
“Hmm, well, justice means treating people fairly around you. It also means I am equal to you and you are equal to me.”
“So like how Prince Jackson treats us?”
You opened your arms and the children rushed into your embrace. You wanted to trust the Prince more than anyone but it was never an easy task. Monarchs had failed your country countlessly and it was hard to believe it would all come to an abrupt end.
“Okay children, leave our Lady Y/n be. Time is up.”
You giggled at their whines and gave each a hug as they went their way. You stood up and straightened the material of your skirt, fitting the sash after. “You were mean, Uncle! You know no one reads to the children.”
“I cannot wait to see the day when your own little dwarfs will cling to your side.” Your uncle offered you some freshly baked sweets which you took gratefully. “Do you truly dislike every man in the country?”
You giggled. “There will be a long and impossible road to my marriage, Uncle. No one deserves to carry the heavy burdens of The Ghost.”
“Speaking of which,” he began as he started walking among the cheerful people in the streets “I started investigating the Small Treasurer. It shan’t be long before we uncover his treacheries. But I understand there is another reason you sent word to the guild?”
You nodded your head. “Prince Wang came looking for me last night. I was surprised to find him wandering so close to our secondary post.”
“So what did he want?”
“This is the unthinkable part, Uncle. He wanted me to mentor him in swordsmanship.”
Your uncle took his chin in between his fingers. “It must have been that young Colonel, Guren. His web weaves vast into the empire. We have had trouble in the past accessing bits of information because of his own informants.”
You brought your hands to your hair to tie it loosely at the base of your neck. It was an unusually sunny day for the season. “He is a cunning one but I understand he would rather die than betray his Prince.”
“That is correct. What will you do, then? You know the Guild has been supporting the Prince from the shadows. It seems he will be a mighty ruler.”
“Certainly he is talented.” You nodded your head and your attention was captivated by a group of young boys waving to your direction. You smiled at them and returned the gesture. Your popularity among the other folk was a suitable cover for the day and it also served for cheap gossip. “I have decided to keep in touch with him for the time being.”
“Good. Perhaps you might take advantage of his loose tongue. Have you thought about going to the banquet? We can secure an invitation for you and for all one knows, you could have fun.”
Your hand caressed a piece of yellow silk resting on the table of one of the street vendors. You asked politely for it and paid the merchant in coin. As much as you loved your perfectly fitting armor, you adored sewing your own dresses, or offering them to the girls who were unable to afford them.
“Uncle, you know my opinion about these unnecessary feasts. It is a complete waste of coin. But I shall go if I see fit.”
Many times did you wonder about the infamous feasts of the palace. You had never gone to one before but had often heard impressive tales of the spectacle and of the people attending from all over the world; it was a true cultural asset. Although you wished some of the coin spent would go to improve the life of the citizens, you couldn’t help but desire to go to one.
“I would not mind if a foreign Prince asked for my niece’s hand in marriage, too.”
You laughed and livened up at his words. “Who would do such a thing, Uncle?”
“You ought to not underestimate yourself!” He scolded you with a bright glint in his eyes. “You are beautiful and smart and young. Should they marry you, they will be blessed!”
“Ah, I do not know how to obey a man. They would not stand me.”
The rest of the day was spent helping around the animal farm, alas without your full focus. Your mind kept darting back and forth to your previous encounter with the Prince. The serious look in his eyes when he spoke about dedicating his crown to the people deeply bothered you. After your parents had died at the hands of cowardly officials who only knew the art of squeezing coin out of people’s pockets, you had spent your adolescence years training and absorbing knowledge so you’d be able to fight their mistreatment. You wouldn’t allow yourself to believe in any of their descendants. Yet Prince Jackson managed to ignite a spark in your beliefs.
You were meditating when he made his appearance in the same back alley you had clashed the night before. You heard his light steps as he approached, not daring to interrupt you.
“You came, your majesty.” You opened your eyes and jumped up. You noticed a sword resting at his side and the eagerness on his face.
“Could you not mock me any further? If you dislike my title, then do not use it at all.” He whined as he pushed back the hood from his face. You folded your arms over your chest and chuckled.
“Should I not address you at all?”
“My name is Jackson.”
“I thought you beheaded people for not using your royal titles.”
It was his turn to laugh. “I don’t think I could ever behead you no matter how hard I tried.”
You also noticed he dropped his aristocratic pattern of speech and that he relaxed his stance in your presence. You couldn’t understand how he was so trusting in a stranger. In a murderer.
“Well, Jackson, shall we begin?”
A thing you appreciated about him from the get-go was his diligence. He was a quick study, undoubtedly blessed with both natural talent and perseverance. He was following your every move, executing it gracefully and it was easy to guess he would, someday, surpass your abilities if you kept on mentoring him. He was one of the few royals by blood who had the genes of a warrior. So you saw no problem in pushing his physical limits from the start.
Jackson had good stamina. He understood you’d push his buttons in a somewhat sadistic manner but he was determined to keep up with you and prove his worth. He was fascinated by your even breath throughout the training and his respect for you grew. Not only did you have endurance but your moves were swift and elegant, not making any unnecessary motions. You looked like a feather, waltzing with the wind.
Jackson knew his own sword swings were becoming sloppier with each heavier breath taken. You had to step by his side, trailing your hand over his arm to correct his posture. You felt his muscles easing under your touch. “You always have to keep your sword pointed to your enemy. This way, he won’t be able to sway your defense so easily.”
Jackson nodded and straightened his arm. He was convinced your breath would have fanned over his neck had the mask not covered your face. He was getting distracted.
“We shall stop for the night. I don’t want your body to be sore in the morning without any logical explanation to your servants.”
Your fingers slid down his forearm slowly, igniting an unknown flare in his veins. He was definitely getting distracted.
“Thank you.” He muttered quietly, clearing his throat. “Say, uhm,…Ghost.”
“I won’t tell you my name.” you stated, sheathing your sword.
“I didn’t mean to ask that, although I am slightly disappointed.” He laughed and you found yourself staring a little longer at the way his eyes curved into crescents. “Could you maybe teach me about other things as well?”
“Oh? Such as?”
He walked over to you, his hands resting on his hips as he managed to even his breathing. “I want to learn about the outer world. You look like you could teach me about its wonders.”
You didn’t know if it was his ruffled hair glowing in the moonlight or the way his defined chest rose every time his lungs filled with air but there was something about him that softened The Ghost. Before you could put your guard up, you agreed.
“I am unaware of how good of a teacher I am.”
Jackson smiled brightly; it made you look away. “I am sure you are a great one.”
“You should go back to the palace.” You said dismissively, trying to shake off the disturbance. Jackson sighed and took his cloak from the ground, glancing at you with the corner of his eye. He wished to stay a little while longer. He threw the black fabric over his shoulders; you were gone before he had his chance to say goodbye.
The next morning came too fast. Jackson opened his eyes and a rough groan evaded his chest at how heavy his body felt. He somehow managed to drape his arm over his eyes, putting in an inhumane amount of effort to ignore the pain in his muscles.
“Your majesty, are you not feeling well?” The head servant inquired, evident worry sketched all over her face. Jackson wanted to curse.
“Prepare a hot bath for me. I feel like I could die.”
The girls exchanged concerned looks among them before rushing out to express the Prince’s wish.
“There is an ominous flu in the air, your majesty. It might make your body weaker.” The head servant rushed to his side, helping him prompt himself up. “It is curious how you contacted it. Was it cold in your chamber last night, your majesty?”
A certain vicious female put me through Hell. “It was fine. I guess the season is to blame.”
“Should I send for your advisors to reschedule your day?”
Jackson pushed himself out of bed, adopting a funny stance as he stood. “No, I should be fine after the bath. I have a lot to do today and I cannot possibly afford to cancel it.”
One thing he managed to do best during that day was to attract the curious looks of servants and high officials alike as he was unable to walk properly. The young girls started chatting amongst themselves and it embarrassed the Prince to his core. Guiren was certainly aggravating the situation by involving himself with them and adding fuel to the fire. He made a mental note to punch Guiren as soon as he could. Even his brain felt atrophied. He couldn’t sit in the usual lotus position during his final lessons and some of the teachers had trouble containing their amusement at his struggles.
It lasted a couple of days until his body gradually got used to the effort. The first time you saw him walking with a cane to support his numb limbs, you nearly died of laughter. Jackson had never been that ashamed in his life. However, he got to enjoy the serene song of your laughter. He stole glances at the way your eyes would crinkle whenever you’d smile too wide and he had thought it unable to be jealous of a mask until then. He could not see your face but he was convinced you were beautiful.
After you had your fair share of laughter, you showed him a couple of exercises that would ease the tension in his muscles, guiding him closely throughout the process. He joked it was only fair to give him a massage and it took him a couple of moments to peel himself off the ground after a not so gentle push you gave him.
However, his inability to perform taxing battle stances meant you’d have more time to uncover tales about the world. It wasn’t a particular chronological order in which you told your tales; it was rather up to Jackson himself to decide what he was curious about. That night, you began unraveling the wonders of Greek Mythology because he only got vague answers from the adults at the court. It was a long and mighty history, so you took your time to travel through it, emphasizing some facts here and there, exaggerating others.
You had a mysterious way with words. Jackson found himself hypnotized by the way you’d express the universal history so carefully, yet so vividly he could extend his hand and brush his fingers over the events. Even as you resumed your battle training, you’d keep on telling which made it easier for him to grow accustomed to the art as he tried to put himself in the shoes of all the huge figures that came before him. And he could not get enough of your unique voice and the way it would liven up every otherwise dull word.
The nights started passing alarmingly faster and the expectation of seeing you again growing ardently. He was attracted to you like a moth to the flame, dangerously and all at once. Every minute that he spent in your company melted in the spiral of time so curiously that it felt like an eternity and a fleeting second all at once. What was more, he was convinced in his heart that the Ghost was only a sturdy façade of your true self. You weren’t what people made you to be: violent, barbaric, always lusting for blood. But you were so carefully hidden in the shell of the Ghost that it was almost impossible to tear yourself out of it.
Ironically, Jackson became eager to finish his duties at the palace successfully and speedily so he could gain some extra time to rest. Traversing back and forth between his royal assignments and the night rendezvous he had with you was demanding. The ministers and other highly ranked officials were extremely pleased with his hard work and started looking forward to having another dedicated King. Jackson couldn’t fathom what his father was thinking. For the time being, he kept his needed distance, doing his best not to give out any reason for doubt.
Three days before the royal banquet, you decided to bring Jackson a gift for his dedication. It seemed unlikely you would grow accustomed to your nightly meetings but you started looking forward to them. You wouldn’t admit it to yourself, but you underestimated him dearly. He was not a transparent person as you made him be; he truly was dedicated and trusting in the good nature of people. He had a subtle sense of humor and a fine eye for details that topped all of your expectations of him. He still was a Prince and the future King of the empire but he couldn’t be more human in your eyes. Before you knew it, you started respecting him. The small something he ignited in your chest was burning zealously and it was more and more difficult to tear your mind off him. You thought you found a friend in him.
That night, he was the first one to arrive. The sound of air slashed by the metal of his sword guided you to him and you smiled to him, even if would never see it.
“I see you were eager to start your training, your majesty.”
At first, using his title was meant to bring disrespect to him but it gradually developed into one of the ways you’d tease him.
“Hello to you too, Ghost.” Jackson chuckled and turned to you. “This was meant to wake me up. I had a full day and I guessed I would fall asleep waiting for you.”
“I think I am on time?” you approached him and unveiled the present. Jackson’s eyes widened at the new type of sword he was shown. With a significantly thin but sharp blade and a guard over the handle, it was an impeccable type of weapon he had never seen before.
“This is called a sabre and is of Spanish origins. Only knights and the cavalry use these in Europe. Gentlemen and nobles in France, Italy, and Spain are taught how to fight with these swords from a frail age.”
“It… it is beautiful. Where did you get this?”
“I wouldn’t be the Ghost if I didn’t have connections. Only a handful have been brought on the continent and I am one of the owners. Or I will have been. It’s yours if you want it.”
Jackson darted a hopeful look at you. He was moved. “You cannot be serious.”
“Those hefty swords that soldiers use might work for you, but they do not bring out your true potential. The sabre is not meant for brute force but rather for swift approaches and agile attacks. You’re quick on your feet and you mostly defend your body from attacks through dodges. It should work for you.”
“But if only a couple… I cannot take it from you.”
You shook your head and extended your gloved hand to place on his shoulder. “It’s my good luck present for you, your majesty. I can teach you how to make use of it.”
Jackson was very conflicted at the time. You had kept a steady distance from him, merely acting as a teacher to him, and he thought it foolish to bring his hopes of getting to know you up. He started nurturing the selfish desire that you’d soon take off your mask and show yourself to him so he could make sense of the disturbing feelings whirled in his chest. And he considered doing it himself if he ran out of patience. You giving him such a masterpiece to guard had an irreversible effect on him that he’d make sense of at a later and unexpected time.
“But not tonight.”
Jackson’s forehead wrinkled. “Why.”
“That… is not your concern, unfortunately. I cannot stay. Should you wish to learn how to maneuver it, I will be waiting tomorrow night.”
The night engulfed you in its darkness and an oppressing feeling of disappointment nested in Jackson’s stomach as you disappeared.
“You’re late, Y/n.”
You clicked your tongue and took out your mask, throwing it on the guild table. All of the other seven members of the council were gathered around, waiting collectively for you.
“Where were you?” the oldest and founding member questioned as you checked your braided hair. “Where’s the sabre?”
Out of the many arts they taught you, developing a persuasive nature, and the ability to lie without any smallest twitch in the muscles of your face were the ones you mastered best.
“I took a detour to bring it home, hence my late appearance.”
The co-founder grabbed at the bridge of his nose. “You knew we were discussing important matters tonight. May it not repeat again.”
“Sir.” You nodded and shifted your weight from one leg to the other. “The plans are in order I presume?”
“Complications have appeared.” Your uncle spoke sternly, handing you a set of papers. “This is the incriminatory proof that the treasurer has been abusing his power to fill his pockets. However, his authority wasn’t the only thing he managed to abuse.”
You skimmed through the papers, getting a general idea of the issue. It was pretty clear what you had to do. “Continue?”
“This man has been shielding assassins in his house.” Your master chimed in. “He has plotted the public death of both the King and Prince Wang on the night of the banquet.”
Your eyes widened and you looked up hurriedly at him. The founder continued.
“It’s the perfect cover. Various royals from all over the continent are bringing their daughters to win over Prince Wang’s heart and those who will not be chosen will be set up as murderers driven by revenge. It is not so unusual for assassins to sneak into such large public events.”
You clenched your fist, folding the papers in your hand in the process. “How did we not see this?”
“That snake has skilled confidants. It was very hard to obtain this bit of information because his guards are swarming around him all day long and his associates are, partly, royals who wished to overthrow the Prince but couldn’t due to their extended lineage.”
“This cannot happen.” You stated bluntly, raising the curiosity of all who were present. “Prince Wang is our only chance at correcting this empire. If he dies, there won’t be any shortcuts.”
You were taken aback by the words coming so effortlessly out of your mouth. You never cared for royals and had always despised them from the core of your existence. Why were you so protective over Jackson then?
“It will not happen.” The founder spoke through the silence, his eyes examining you thoroughly. “You are going to the banquet and so is your master. You are to prevent this from happening and extract the Treasurer silently from the event. Without any major events.”
Your uncle tilted his head to look at you. He was getting suspicious of your involvement with the Prince.
“What can you tell us about the Prince, Lady Y/n?” the cofounder challenged you and you had to bite into the plush of your cheek to hold back a rude remark.
“What about him?”
“We know you’ve been faithfully seeing him every night for the past 20 days. You have been mentoring him in swordsmanship and close combat. Why?”
A dark smirk crept on your lips. The low light of the candle lit in the middle of the wooden table brought a ghastly picture on your face. “Did you not want a competent King? I am making sure of that.”
“You’re playing with fire, little Lady. Are you sure he hasn’t charmed his way into your skirt?”
“Enough!” the founder rose his voice before you got the chance to curse at the other man for his irresponsible accusations. Although it assuredly made you ponder over the fact that you were bothered by the whole meaning of the banquet. “Does the royal family suspect anything?”
“No.” You turned abruptly to the founder. “They are concerned over outer military conflicts and eventual riots of the peasantry but they are not aware of the fact their lives are threatened.”
“And it shall stay like this,” your master concluded. “We cannot execute our mission without full discretion. I trust Y/n enough to dismiss your words, co-founder. We will carry our duty.”
The meeting ended with a final revision of the plan and the older men retreated to their respective homes. You were prepared to follow their examples and wanted to put the mask over your face again when your uncle grabbed you by the wrist. “You gave him the saber, didn’t you?”
Your gaze was fixated to the grand door of the hall, your back turned to him. You didn’t answer.
“Y/n, my darling, do you have feelings for the Prince?”
“No.” you answered too fast for your own liking. “And I didn’t reveal my identity to him either, Uncle. I don’t trust him.”
Except you did trust him. And it was the first lie you weren’t convinced to say. Your uncle let go of your hand and you put back your mask.
“Out of all men, why does it have to be the Prince, Y/n? You can never have him.”
You pushed the door open and gulped down a burdensome sentiment. “I know.”
The way back to the palace had never felt so lonely. Jackson managed to sneak back in successfully but he couldn’t shake off the disappointment eating at him. Just when he thought he was so close to laying the last brick, you crushed all his efforts yet again. Did he truly mean nothing to you? What was he lacking that he could not improve? What was missing from him so important that you kept yourself hidden so far away from his grasp?
Jackson hid the sabre neatly in the small space he dug into the floor, among his many other treasured possessions. Frustration was getting the best of him. Even the trivial task of undressing himself proved to be difficult as his fingers trembled with silent anger. The door to his chamber opened unexpectedly made him lash out his resentments.
“Who gave you permission to enter my room—“
Jackson froze at the sight of his father coming in. He rushed to bow to him, keeping his eyes focused on the colored carpets.
“So you are back, my son.”
He was ruined. The beating he would receive was one thing but explaining his situation with The Masked Ghost was a whole other matter. He had to come up with something. He remembered you telling him that panic was never a good solution to problems and that he should always analyze his situation before acting.
“Father, I was not expecting you at this hour.”
“You would have known I came by earlier had you been in your chamber.”
Jackson straightened his body and watched his father hide his hands in the large sleeves of his night attire. His face did not dictate anger.
“I know you have been sneaking out for a while, Jackson. You know we have moved up the ceremony of ascension the day after the banquet and you still waste your nights irresponsibly in town. I thought we have cleared it already.”
“My apologies, father. “ Jackson dipped his head in a bow, his hands brought together. No words would be able to save the situation.
“Is it a woman, my son? Why do you not bring her to court so she could properly become your consort?”
Jackson looked away, failing to provide an answer. It was not an easy question his father asked but it appeared he did not know why he was sneaking out; that settled most of his concerns.
“No mind, you would have, had she desired so.” He nodded his head softly. “But it has to end, boy.”
The King walked closer to Jackson and placed his hands on Jackson’s shoulders. “You will pick a woman fit to be your consort in just a few days and you will not have the need to satisfy your desires in secrecy. Kings do not lower themselves like that, Jackson.”
“Yes, father.” He pursed his lips. Jackson knew he pushed his luck doing what he was. “What did you wish to see me about?”
“Ah, I almost forgot.” The King pulled back and snaked his hand into his robe to pull out a beautifully carved wooden box. Jackson opened it and saw a handmade brooch, adorned with precious stones in an elegant foreign design. It was a piece of dazzling jewelry.
“You should gift it to your future woman.”
Jackson forced a smile. He disliked the whole masquerade that tradition was and the very thought of it made him sick in the stomach.
“I don’t want you going out anymore, understood? I shall grant you tomorrow night to say whatever you wish to say and that is it. I have high expectations of you. Do not make me change my mind about you, not after you’ve worked so hard.”
Jackson bowed to the King as he walked out of his chamber and let out a heavy sigh. He threw the little box on the bed and plopped down in the comfort of the blankets. He fell asleep thinking how much you’d love the brooch.
“You’re dead silent today, your majesty.” Guiren pointed out as he munched on his breakfast. “I figured you would teach me more of those impressive techniques the Ghost showed you! Those are dandy.”
Jackson threw his chopsticks on the table, the mention of you making him lose his appetite. “Father found out I was sneaking out.”
Guiren quirked a brow. “I apologize. How bad is it?”
“Not extensively bad. He does not know I have been seeing the Ghost but he made it very clear to stop.”
“Of course you should. You will soon choose a wife, of course, you should focus your attention on her. Women are so picky and need a lot of pampering, especially daughters of rich royals—“
“This is wrong, Guiren.” Jackson sighed exasperatedly. “All of this is so wrong. I just…I can’t.”
Guiren clicked his tongue. “Is it wrong because it is not the woman you want?”
Jackson placed his hand over his eyes, rubbing at his temples. He didn’t know what to think anymore, what was the truth and what was not. He disagreed with it from the beginning but the idea grew more and more gruesome by the second. Jackson figured what Guiren was implying but he was so confused himself that he could not provide a valid answer.
“Tell me, Jackson. What is it so special about The Masked Ghost? She is just a criminal.”
“It’s not about her, Guiren. And she is not just a criminal. This woman is more intelligent than all of the teachers in the palace combined. “
And a very good listener, too. “She is bad news, Jackson. Little does it matter that she is skilled or intelligent or whatnot. She is a criminal at the end of the day. And people don’t change. Give up on her before it comes back haunting you. That is one thing I am unable to save you from.”
Jackson’s steps were weighty as he walked to your meeting place. An abundance of feelings was pressing relentlessly over his shoulders, an unknown territory he did not have the knowledge to explore. Guren’s words were reverberating in his ears. He had to let you remain a ghost in spite of the caustic cravings in his chest.
He hoped to have a leisure last conversation with you so he could work on letting you go with peace of mind. When he saw you did not have your sword either he smiled to himself sadly. You read each other’s minds.
“I was worried you might scold me.” Jackson began in a melancholic tone. “But I won’t have to worry about that.”
Your body remained motionless at his words. “Follow me.”
Jackson let you take the lead and followed you to a nearby open plain that uncovered the beauty of the night sky. The dark horizon was embellished with glowing stars, the moon ruling over the world all mighty. You seated yourself on the grass and pat the spot beside you so Jackson would do the same.
“You never cease to amaze me.” Jackson commented, the vibrant light of the moon mirrored in his eyes.
You looked at him and found him ethereal, a work of art of all the known and unknown deities of the world. He was truly a handsome creature.
“Neither do you” you replied, although more to yourself.
Jackson chuckled lightly, his eyes focused on the nocturnal view. “I cannot see you anymore.”
You hugged your knees to your chest, relieved the sentence came out of his mouth and not yours. It felt a little less painful if he said so, although it didn’t ease the storm in your stomach. It was fine like that. You did not want him to hate you. He had to forget you and to forget, he couldn’t nurture hate for you because it would be engraved upon his heart. You knew that whatever one wished to forget, must not be preceded by hate. The memory you wanted him to have of you had to be a cherished one, not one of an obscene criminal.
“I understand.” You replied after a short while, a chilly breeze carrying your unsaid confession to the horizon. “How does it feel to know you’ll have the finest women on the continent battling for a place in your heart?”
“I…I don’t want any of it.” Jackson leaned on his back, extending his arm to the infinity of the stars. “It is wrong to make a draft and pick a woman as simply as you’d pick your attire for the day. Then drag them to bed to convince them they are acknowledged by the royal lineage. I want…”
Jackson’s voice trailed off and he let his arm fall to the ground. “…to love someone.”
Another endearing breeze masked a gasp that escaped your lips and you tilted your head to look at him. His face was painted with an old sadness of a soul that traversed the galaxy in search of a missing love and returned to the Earth to find it.
You clutched your chest in a desperate attempt to dissipate the suffocating air in your ribcage. You couldn’t stay. The longer you stayed by his side, the more you’d get pulled toward his existence and it was painful as flesh on shattered glass. You rose hastily to your feet, walking a couple of steps away from him.
Jackson waited a few moments in the grass, resisting the urge to stand up and follow after you. He tilted his head to the side and noticed your silhouette defying the peace of the landscape. He had to sit up to make sure he saw it right; your hair was let down, unbraided, the waves in your strands resembling the unsettling waves of the sea. Your mask was in your hand. He was incapable to catch a glimpse of your face as your back was turned to him and your hair was guarding your identity faithfully. It was the most distinctive shade of ebony his eyes had ever witnessed.
“I pray that you find the love you deserve someday, your majesty.”
Jackson reached out to you but was powerless to stop you as you melted into the night, your voice a distant echo.
“I did not anticipate so many people coming to the palace.”
Your eyes struggled to comprehend the multitude of things happening all at once. As soon as the guards allowed you to pass through, you were met by a sea of people swarming all over the place, competing against one another through the diversity of their outfits and appearance. The plaited decorations dangling from the rafters were coming alive in the beams of light shed by the lanterns. The small origami figures resembled flowers blooming from the twigs and the bold aroma of traditional food invited you to lose yourself in the unparalleled tableau.
You felt your master’s hand on top of your head and blushed as you snapped back to reality. “I know it is beautiful. I wish from the bottom of my heart you could enjoy it as you saw fit.”
You nodded and straightened your hand-made dress. You made good use of the bright yellow silk you bought from the street merchant the other day, making a dress befitting your silhouette. Your uncle praised you on the sewn floral details on the lapel and the elegant choice of bringing a white embroidery over the color. You had a small knife hidden in the golden sash tied in a ribbon around your waist. You also let your hair fall charmingly over your shoulders, trembling with each little step you took. The hair accessory holding part of your locks behind your ear was a daring gift from your Uncle. The single emerald on it complimented your attire perfectly.
“I know, Master. But we’re here to do our jobs. We should split up to cover more ground. The palace is indeed humongous.”
“You remember the blueprints?”
“I know where to bring them.”
A large amount of people was both an advantage and a disadvantage. You could blend easily in the crowd and hide your tracks but there were many guards supervising the area. And you had to concentrate your attention in many places at once. It was the hardest when you stepped inside the grand hall of the palace thanks to the forged papers from the guild. It was supposed to be a restricted area for the royals only but the air was suffocating with so many humans gathered in one place.
According to tradition, the Prince was allowed to roam free among the public, to greet them and receive their prayers before midnight. He also enjoyed the liberty of immersing himself in the traditional dances, alas was only in the restricted space to ensure his involvement with royal women. You decided it nearly impossible for the Prince to spot you amidst such mass of people so you took the liberty to examine the situation for any suspicious figures you were instructed about. The thrones in the far end of the room were empty which offered an extension of time.
It was, however, easier said than done. You recognized some of the lords but most of them remained unidentified to you and you weren’t exactly aware of what you were looking for either. You sneaked to the side of the room, trying to get a better angle.
“I do not recognize you, my Lady.”
You turned your body toward the source of the voice and met Colonel Guiren, his eyes studying you curiously. You smiled in response, thinking of ways to subtly extract bits of information about the people present. “Ah, Master, I beg your pardon, I am but another face in the crowd.”
The smirk shaping on Guiren’s face suggested you successfully captured him with your words. “I might be mistaken but there is no one around resembling your pulchritude.”
You couldn’t help but let out a giggle. He wasn’t as talented in speech as the Prince but he was a charmer himself. “You are exaggerating, Master. I cannot help but feel lacking in comparison to some of the women here such as—“
You turned your attention to the crowd, hoping to draw a quick response from the Colonel when the words froze and pulverize on your lips. You saw Prince Jackson distinctively staring at you through the many females gathered around him.
“Oh, Jackson, you will feel it battling so violently in your chest, it’s an unmistakable feeling. You will just know.”
It was a beautiful war raging inside of him. The moment he laid eyes on the beautiful creature on the other side of the room, he knew it was you. The surreal shade of ebony of your hair confirmed his suspicions. And the way you carried yourself, the way your eyes crinkled ever so familiarly as you spoke were the same outstanding lines he repeatedly saw nights in a row. But your sublime features and lines in your face and skin were breathtaking. What was he doing before he met you? What did his heart do, with all the love?
Jackson’s eyes locked with your amber ones for a fading second before your sudden rush to leave meddled with his intentions of rushing over to you. He remembered his mother’s words faithfully and the hammering heart in his chest urged him to follow after you. He wouldn’t let you go again. He now made sense of the hesitation that chained him three nights prior; he was meant to meet you in your entirety and not in the dim space between mask and shadows.
Jackson chased after you, his eyes never peeling off your silhouette, pushing people out of his way. You must have realized he figured out your identity with just a glance and he wondered if you regretted your decision of showing yourself to him if you ran so fast to avid him. He barely made it in time to catch you by the wrist and held on tighter as you tried to rip yourself from his grasp. All eyes were fixated on the two of you as the tune of another melody started and Jackson pulled you into himself, forcing you to dance with him to hide you from the crowd.
“It’s you.” He barely managed to whisper, your hands in his setting fire to his fingertips. You swayed your body to the tune, forcing yourself to remain composed. Little did he know your body was reacting just as violently as his, thunder and rain cracking your insides little by little.
“You are destroying my cover, Prince.” You leaned over to him to whisper in his ear then backed away, making a pirouette. Jackson extended his arm and placed his hand on your exposed forearm, causing a fire to erupt in your veins.
“How are you here?”
His eyes were smoldering as he memorized even the tiniest characteristic of your face. You suddenly felt so small under his gaze and could only hope your cheeks weren’t turning red. His touch on your arm was magnetic.
“Do not mistake my intentions, your majesty.” You hissed, stripping yourself of him. You dug your teeth into your tongue, biting down a whine from the painful lack of contact. “I am not here for you.”
“Don’t lie to me.” Jackson grabbed you by the waist and pulled you to him once again, his eyes never leaving yours. “How are you here?”
You looked to the side for a second and noticed the suspicious movements of two men chatting with your target not far from where you stood. You leaned up and brushed your cheek over his, your lips speaking sharply in his ear. “Your life is in danger, Jackson. You need to leave and you need to do it now.”
“What?” He meant to look at you but you cupped his cheek to keep him in place. Those unknown men left their positions while you spoke.
“Don’t move. I lost sight of them.”
You brought your other hand to your sash, fingers resting on the knife. You felt Jackson’s body stiffen. “What is going on? You are scaring me—“
You pushed Jackson away and placed yourself in the way of a throwing knife that penetrated your shoulder, a dangerous miss from the collarbone. The aim was not as steady as the culprit wished it would be but you didn’t hesitate with yours and made a clear throw which stabbed him in the throat. You clicked your tongue. He was dressed in an expensive robe; you knew it would not be plausible he tried to take the Prince’s life.
The panicked crowd started screaming and running around to get away from the horrific incident as rapidly as possible. Two other masked assassins appeared on the scene, facing you from either side. You removed the knife from your shoulder and tore your overcoat to grant yourself some extended movement. A timid stream of blood started flowing out.
“You need to get away from here.” You ordered Jackson.
“No. I am staying here to fight—“
Guiren grabbed Jackson by the arm and dragged him away despite his fervent protests. “The Ghost is right, your majesty. We need to get you to safety.”
You dipped your head to Guiren and offered Jackson a sliver of a smile in hopes of easing his worried stance. You turned your full attention to your opponents who had already drawn their swords and made a quick analysis of the situation. It was highly unlikely you would come off victorious.
You braced yourself for your attackers, managing to swiftly dodge the first swing of a sword. You twirled your body from between them and leaned to the side to parry the other sword with your knife. You kicked the attacker’s hand and threw him off balance. The sword flew out of his hand and you knelt down to grab it, scarcely escaping a deadly blow that still cut deeply into your thigh. You sloppily threw your knife to one of them and he caught it in his hand because of thick layered armor.
The rowdy noise of the guards coming made the assassins give up on your fight and run away. You didn’t have enough time to follow their example and were surrounded by the soldiers. The sword made a sharp sound as it bounced off the ground, your hands raised to either side of your head to signal your surrender. One of the guards stepped on the fresh wound in your thigh and a horrid screech evaded from the depth of your chest. You were prompted up forcefully, your master watching the scene helplessly. You signaled him silently to walk away as they dragged you to their prison.
The dungeon was hauntingly silent as Jackson dashed through the murky hallways to where Guiren told him you were brought. The Colonel was following close behind him to supervise his actions and put a halt to any premature decisions. Hope flickered in his heart at the silence, wishing they hadn’t started torturing you. Jackson was stupefied to see your standing body tied in rusty chains by either wrist, your skin colored purple from the hits you took and various fresh cuts dug into your flesh.
At a closer look, the Treasurer had a dagger in his hand, your blood dripping relentlessly from its blade. The King and another two soldiers were watching intently and the Treasurer forced the dagger into your collarbone, eliciting a mere groan from you. Your lack of displayed discomfort irritated him.
“This is for my brother, you bitch!” He took a full swing at your stomach and you spat the pool of blood in your mouth on his clothes in response. Guiren had to hold Jackson with both hands to restrain him.
The King rose his hand in the air to stop his Treasurer from sticking the blade into your throat. The King stepped closer to you and one of the soldiers grabbed you by the hair to force you to look at him. The pain was rapidly getting unbearable and you felt lightheaded. It took every ounce of effort to keep yourself awake.
“Are you The Masked Ghost, child?”
You remained silent at his question and the same soldier kicked you in the small of your back. You let go of the chains you had been holding on and felt your body leaning forward. “Answer the King!”
You lifted your eyes and caught Jackson’s frame staring at you with his mouth slightly agape and his fists clenched. The look of despair on his face would be etched in your senses for as long as you had left to live. You wanted him to rush out of there.
“I will show you what it means to threaten the royal council and its King.”
The Treasurer took off his overcoat and moved quickly to remove his sash and overskirt. The next thing that would follow would be him raping you and you hoped from the bottom of your heart Jackson would walk away before it was too late.
“Is this the kind of King you want to be, your majesty?” you groaned in a weak tone, your eyes fixated on Jackson’s numb frame. The King turned to his son with interest imprinted on his features.
But you were right. Jackson was set to become King of the Empire in a matter of hours and having his prisoners abused without a proper trial was only a fraction of the laws everyone was so casually stepping upon. Seeing you so stubbornly refusing to satisfy their desires of hearing you beg and cry for your life after they butchered your body so carelessly broke Jackson’s heart. But more than anything, it showed him how much of a coward he was.
“Stop.” Jackson stepped forward, much to the disapproval of the Treasurer.
“Prince? Allow me to teach this whore a lesson—“
“I think I told you to stop. Did I stutter?”
You had never thought Jackson capable of owning such a caustic glint in his eyes. You noticed his breathing was uneven as if he was struggling to contain himself. “Walk away from the prisoner at once. She thought she saved my life; should I not be the one to offer my gratitude?”
The Treasurer bowed his head and stepped back, dressing himself. The King noticed the change of behavior and pondered over its meaning. Earlier that day, he had received a set of papers anonymously, incriminating the Treasurer and his family for high treason. It didn’t seem too credible back then.
“Guards, take the Treasurer to a cell in the upper level. Make sure he gets comfortable.”
The guards did not hesitate to take the man away in a torrent of questions and pleadings.
“The girl shall be executed tomorrow as an offering to the new King.”
Jackson turned to his father abruptly. “Father—“
The King stopped by Jackson’s side, his eyes facing forward. “This decision belongs to me. It is up to you however you choose to carry it or not. If this girl here is the Ghost and you had been seeing her, this is a difficult decision you have to make. But she stays in the cell and that is not debatable. Guiren, please make sure the Prince does not make any hasty decisions.”
Guiren bowed to the King and then came closer to see you. “Nice to finally meet you, Ghost.”
“Don’t make me spit in your face too.” You moaned, taking a harsh hold of the chains. You assumed you had a couple of broken ribs and most likely damaged kidneys from the kick in your back. “Leave me be.”
Jackson couldn’t bear to look at you. He fantasized about holding the love of his life in his protective arms, worshipping her body with every tender touch ghosting over her skin, not chained up like a wild animal, carved open barbarically. You were so divinely beautiful but so devilishly destroyed by the primitive hands of men. Someone like you was meant to be glorified. And those eyes, those amber eyes that gnawed at Jackson’s existence.
“Let us go, Colonel.” Jackson spoke absentmindedly and you watched his back as he walked away. You could finally let out the sobs and the tears welling up in your eyes.
The next morning you were brought to the inside yard of the palace where the ceremony of ascension would take place. You were forced back into your senses after a bucket of icy water was thrown on your numb body; it washed some of the dirt on your figure but you were sure you looked beyond pitiful. You were dragged in front of the officials who took your time to spit on you and address you pieces of their minds. You were thrown to the middle of the area, on your knees, and were tied mercilessly like the lowest scum on Earth. You laughed to yourself. You had never foreseen such a pathetic ending for the Ghost. And you knew no one was foolish enough to come for you. The security was too tight.
The ceremony was beautiful. A zealous round of applause welcomed Prince Jackson as he stepped among his followers. You lifted your head to look at him. He was dressed in a carefully crafted traditional attire, befitting of a King. The details embroidered on the silk were unlike any you had ever seen, complementing the colors in an imposing image. Jackson’s face was implacable and his every gesture was calm and accentuated. You smiled and looked up to the sky. It was painted a serene blue.
You felt your conscience slowly drifting away. Everything surrounding you became a vibrant buzzing. You didn’t know when the religious part of the ceremony passed, or when Jackson made his oath as King, but you didn’t need to. Getting to know Jackson over the past month would seem a trivial matter, yet you felt as if you had known him forever ago. You regretted having so little time to spend with him. You wondered how he saw you beyond your shell, how he saw you talking with your body and with your words. You wondered if he could read all of the truth in your nature. You wondered if you were the only one knowing that your soul and his soul have met many years ago and have been old friends.
A tear traversed your cheek. It was the first time you envied the Gods for their immortality. But wasn’t that the crimson beauty of a human life? Would you ask to be anything else? Would you rather suffer losing everything you loved best in the world day after day rather than having it slip from your fingers once and then never again?
You felt powerful arms lifting you from the ground. It must have been time for your sentence.
You rose your head from the ground and saw Jackson walking over to you in a slow, agonizing manner. The crown on his head suited him well. You were shoved to the side, near what you figured would be your execution spot. Jackson stopped a couple of steps away from you and you made eye contact with him. You couldn’t read him.
“This woman shall not be executed today, not ever. No one dares lay a finger on her without my permission.”
One of the Ministers questioned King Jackson’s words. “Your Majesty, she killed a high official last night! She deserves to die.”
“Do you defy my words?” Jackson didn’t even bother glancing in his direction.
“Your Majesty, we have reports she might be The Masked Ghost, cold-blooded murderer of the royals and high clerks—“
Jackson made a dismissive gesture with his hand and the courageous minster was brought forth. “Behead him.”
“Your Majesty—“
You couldn’t believe your ears. It was clear you weren’t in your right mind and you must have died in the dungeon, your body probably rotting in a canal. You dug your nails into the palm of your hand to identify if your sensorial perception was still functioning. You were convinced of it when the former Minister’s head rolled on the concrete at your feet. Jackson didn’t even flinch.
“And while we are discussing the matter, there is no available proof that this woman is the Ghost.”
The Treasurer stepped out of line. “Your Majesty, she killed my brother! You cannot let her live.”
“Bring the Treasurer over here too. His punishment will be death by a hundred cuts.”
The crowd started murmuring among themselves. Jackson took out a piece of paper from his robe and showed it to the public. It was the report your guild sent to the previous King, signed and approved while he was in active duty. “You are hereby charged with high treason for abuse of power and threatening the life of the King.”
The Treasurer was taken away under the terrified eyes of the crowd. You looked over to the previous King and you could swear you detected pride on his features.
“Let this be a lesson for anyone who dares to cross me. Starting with this moment, every high ranked official and clerk will be under my strict supervision and any form of breaking the law, no matter how mild and no matter the position in the country will be punished by death.”
Jackson extended his hand to run his thumb over your bruised cheek. “Excepting her. She is my woman.”
Silence fell over the yard before it burst in a storm of cheers. ‘Long live the King’ resounded deep into the Empire. You heard Jackson giving instructions to his servants to bring you to his room and summon all the talented healers of the Empire to check on your condition. He gave you one last soft look before he left to salute the people of the empire outside of the palace court.
You were untied and you would have fallen to the ground if a pair of gentle arms hadn’t caught you. You opened your eyes to see Guiren supporting your weight before lifting you in his arms to carry you inside the palace.
“Guiren…”
“Don’t worry. You will be okay…” he paused and pursed his lips in a cheeky smirk “Your Majesty.”
“What just happened?” you let out a low groan, every cut in your body burning. “Shouldn’t you follow him?”
“See, I do not know what happened because this is a side of Jackson I had never seen before, but one I greatly look forward to.”
You noticed Guiren did not talk hollowly, addressing Jackson as a royal, but rather with a never-ending amount of respect as a confidant, a friend and as King. “He explicitly ordered me to stay by your side and make sure you are offered whatever you need. He would have made sure of that himself but you know, duty cannot wait.”
Guiren put you down on a stool outside what you gathered to be the bath. He talked indistinctively with an old servant, instructing her on how to clean your wounds and what kind of ointment to use as a first-aid measure. He then knelt down to your level.
“I will be outside should there be anything you dislike or want. Don’t hesitate to call me, your majesty.”
“Stop calling me that.” You nodded your head at him and allowed yourself to be carried by the young women inside the bath. Guiren laughed. “I wouldn’t if I knew your name.”
You had never been so pampered in your entire life. There were at least a dozen women constantly crowding around you, taking turns to provide any comfort necessary. Five young servants attended to your body, along with the head servant, who helped clean you thoroughly, after which she followed Guiren’s instructions devotedly. None of them said any words to you and you stayed in a mortifying silence. You took some initiatives to do things yourself but every time you did, you were met by an oppressive stare from the head servant.
The young girls dried your body with soft linen and the senior made a gesture for the tailors to come in with a large selection of fine dresses. Your ears were red from embarrassment but as you saw no window for escape, you chose a simple burgundy one, in case your wounds might open up again. After that, you were carried to King Jackson’s royal chamber and tucked in his bed successfully. You let out a long moan at the softness of the bed and you witnessed the servants panic collectively.
“It is fine.” You assured them and turned to the head servant. “Would it be possible to leave me rest for the time being? I am very tired.”
She looked at you and sighed. “If that is your wish, your majesty. I shall call the healers at a later time, then.”
You would have protested at the tittle everyone nonchalantly addressed you by. You hated being treated as a superior human being, just as you heard the title so carelessly abused in the past by the upper class. However, your eyelids were heavy and you couldn’t explore the subjects any further as you fell into a deep slumber.
You had no idea how much time passed while you slept. You wrinkled your forehead and opened your eyes, an unknown source of warmth enveloping your hand. You tilted your head on the pillow and found Jackson sitting on the edge of the bed, both his hands holding your small one. He was not dressed in his distinctive royal attire anymore but in a casual black and golden outfit.
“How much did I sleep?”
“It’s almost midnight.”
You sighed and tried sitting up. Jackson rushed to help you and put all the existing pillows to your back to support your body. Your damaged shoulder was still stinging in pain.
“I understand the healers have yet to examine you.” Jackson spoke softly, worried by the unpleasant expression on your face. “Should I summon them?”
You were taught by your guild how to determine the condition of your body after a fight and you normally would not need any help in doing so. The torture you underwent left you with a big question mark in your mind, however. You nodded your head and Jackson called for the healers. Most of your own predictions were accurate. You had three broken ribs and a fractured collarbone, but your kidneys did not show any sign of failure for the time being and your wounds were skillfully mended to before they infected. All of them commented on the excellent build of your body and estimated a speedy recovery.
One of the healers handed Jackson a list of herbs and ointments you would have to use, along with a proper diet to ensure the building of anatomic tissue. You thanked all of them kindly as they went their way then turned to Jackson who visibly relaxed.
“Thank God.” He sighed. “Should I call for a meal? Are you hungry?”
“I don’t think I can eat.” You shook your head and looked at him. “Why did you spare my life? You should have let me die.”
There was a grim feeling that engulfed Jackson’s entire body at your words. He looked at you with the softest eyes you had ever seen and sighed deeply. “Stop saying such hurtful things.”
“It’s the truth. I am The Ghost—“
“I love you.”
You were perplexed by his words. The heart in your chest reacted instantly, hammering so uncontrollably fierce. “I knew ever since our first encounter that I’ve loved you, dear hell, even before that I am sure. I just knew. You captivated me with every little thing that you would do. I would have traded my life to know the real you that you refused so adamantly to show me. It was especially hard that night on the plain. I chose to respect your wish that you just might not want me the way I desired you.”
Tears were threatening to fall from Jackson’s eyes. “You appeared at the banquet and I swear I could have never mistaken you. And you were just…just perfect. I wanted you to be my Queen. It had to be you and no one else. It occurred to me I had been waiting for you my entire life and now I know why. The entire Universe conspired to help me find you.”
You started crying before you knew it. You were sobbing quietly, the droplets falling from your eyes with comfortable ease. Jackson was smiling through his own tears as well, taking your face in his hands to wipe away your sadness. “I knew you were lying to me. These beautiful amber eyes sold you out.”
Jackson wrapped his arms around you protectively, ever so gentle as to not hurt you. You buried your head in the crook of his neck and cried peacefully. Every tear shed felt like medicine; you were so content with not having to hide anymore that you could not stop until you had no more tears left to cry.
“I am so sorry, Jackson. I am sorry. I love you too, so much.”
Jackson caressed your hair, curling his fingers through its softness. He pulled back to kiss the crown of your head. “I fell in love with a woman whose name I do not know. And I greatly wish to call you by your name.”
You nodded softly and leaned into his chest. The sound of his heart beating was so calm. “Y/n. Y/n, L/n. Also professionally known as The Masked Ghost.”
“Y/n…” he repeated quietly and all of a sudden your heart calmed down to Jackson’s own rhythm. Him calling your name felt immensely right, a harmonious sound that no other living creature could reproduce. You realized what was missing from you; it was the same person you kept on denying, the only one who was worthy of calling you by your name. It came as a revelation that you and Jackson have been destined to find each other, destined to do great things together.
“Say, Jackson.” He pulled back, placing you down gently back on the pillows. “Why is everyone calling me ‘your majesty’?”
“Oh, that.” Jackson chuckled and got out of bed to put out some of the candles. “I think that because I endearingly called you ‘my woman’…things happened.”
You blinked a couple of times to accommodate yourself to the lack of light. “I might need some time to adjust to that.”
Jackson climbed in beside you pulling the covers over you. You felt him hesitate. “What do you mean by that?”
“Am I not your woman?”
You couldn’t see him but you knew he breathed in a smile. “Does that mean you will stay?”
Jackson helped you lower your body to the mattress and shifted on his side to face you. He was fighting a difficult battle with his urge to pull you to him and kiss every part of your body but he settled to just listening to your voice. For your own sake.
“I wish to continue my activity as the Ghost. Even if you reform the aristocratic class, there will still be criminals and thieves on the loose. People cannot conquer them on their own.”
Jackson agreed. “I figured you would say this. There is no one in the Empire besides me and Guiren who know you are the Ghost. I told a very convincing story to the Council.”
“So you do not want me to cease my activity?”
“How could I forbid you a part of who you are?”
Your hand found his and gave it a small squeeze. Jackson brought your hand to his lips to place a kiss to the back of it. “I need the Ghost to lead the Empire. I need her knowledge and her skills and the faith she gives people. I originally wanted to convince the Ghost to be my partner, until she decided it willingly. And I know better than to anger you.”
You giggled. “I promise I will teach you everything I know. I think I still have a duty to pay with the sabre.”
“Oh, talking about gifts, I almost forgot.”
You watched Jackson curiously as he draped his arm to the table by the bed, pulling its drawer. He took out a small wooden box. “Open it.”
You took the box in your hands and opened it to reveal a refined brooch. You recognized the design; you wanted to buy it personally from the foreign merchant but it had been promised to the royal family. You smiled widely. “Thank you, Jackson. I actually wanted to have it for myself and I was so disappointed to hear it was a lost cause.”
“My father gave it to me saying I should give it to the woman I picked at the banquet. I think that woman picked me, instead.”
Jackson smiled at the sight of the pink hue on your cheeks. He put the box back into the drawer and nested himself beside you, not letting go of your hand. “Tell me another story.”
You hummed and relaxed your body. His hand in yours was anchoring you to reality. A heavenly reality. You would have to learn to adapt to the royal life but it was a sacrifice you were willing to make for those you swore to protect when you put on the mask. You would have to settle your affairs with the guild and show them the new path you were forging, reassure them and the folk The Masked Ghost was still a servant of the people. But you had a good partner walking by your side every step of the way.
“Allow me to tell your majesty the tale of The Masked Ghost.”
#got7#got7 imagines#got7 imagine#got7 jackson#got7 jackson wang#jackson wang x reader#jackson wang au#kpop au#idol au#emperor au#also happy birthday our dear king#consider this a present for his majesty
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Fanfiction Year in Review
thanks to @glowstar826 for the tag! I am honored to hear that my looking up to you was your proudest moment of the year, and I’m glad to say this is still very much the case. here’s my response:
Fics completed in the order of which they were completed:
There are just a few of these since most of what I write is novel-length, but here are the little things I did!
He Wished a Lot of Things - AO3 | Wattpad
The Memory Cabinet of an Alchemist - AO3 | Wattpad
Fics updated this year in the order of which they were published:
Philophobe - AO3 | Wattpad
Arrested Development: An Unnecessary Continuation - AO3 | Wattpad
Delocaponum - AO3 | Wattpad
Number of words written:
roughly 200,000. terrifying.
Most popular fic:
On Wattpad: Not Gay! (please don’t read this. I mean I’m not going to stop you but when I plead like this I am solemnly warning you)
On AO3: He Wished a Lot of Things
Personal favorite:
Delocaponum, with He Wished a Lot of Things as an honorable mention.
Favorite scene:
in Delocaponum, I love writing the banter between the characters. one of my favorite parts so far was in chapter IV: A Warm Unwelcome when Severus is trying to get Remus out of his office after making fun of his monthly “predicament” by giving him a tampon, and Remus keeps ignoring his warnings as he verbally lists a multitude of crimes that he sarcastically is asking Snape not to commit while he’s away. It eventually ends in Severus calling him a slut and finally getting the door to shut.
A close second to this is from chapter VII: Charming Consultations when Snape goes to see Flitwick, who is overenthusiastic about his presence. Severus reminds him not to treat it like the coming of Jesus Christ, but Filius ignores him and congratulates him on being hired (although not specifying that this was the reason for congratulations), and Snape asks, “For what? The coming of Christ?”.
Something that challenged me:
My addition to Arrested Development challenged me a lot because I had to adopt the humor and writing style they achieved in the show, which is incredibly difficult to embody, especially in book form. I grew so much and am still growing thanks to my decision to write this.
Delocaponum also is a challenge as a whole. The chapters are longer than I’ve ever written before, the plot is slower, the writing style is richer, and it’s supposed to be canon-compliant, which has led to a lot of study on the plot points of Snape and Lupin’s lives in the eighties, along with researching the dates of full moons and planning accordingly. This work also plays a lot with grief, growth and healing, which can be difficult to harness all at once, but it’s going well and I’m constantly adapting to be able to write it as well as I can.
A part of writing I’m proud of:
(Delocaponum, chapter VII: Charming Consultations)
“He spent all of last night lying insomnolent, urging himself to just go to sleep, beseeching his own instincts to let him alone and leave him to fall into his own dreams. But he couldn't do it. Thoughts kept running around him, hissing against his ears in the fashion of the unforgiving snake like which he himself is described. Hypotheses. Dubiety. Complete uncertainty. And all this, inopportunely, orbiting tight round the memory of Remus Lupin standing out in the rain, and the sensation of his hand laying itself gently on his unsheltered shoulder.
He's decided that he shouldn't be letting this affect him in such a way. Absolutely so.
He's decided that he shouldn't remember Remus going out of his way to make him tea the way Albus said he liked it, or the pleas to offer him assisting services in compensation for some very free Wolfsbane. He won't pay any notice to how he likes Bruce Springsteen and house plants and accents his entire home with greens and reds. He won't think any longer about his soft handwriting on half of the bottles in his classroom, or how all of his suits and vests are tailored in colors that match each possible shade a leaf revolves through, green and dark mustard and deep mahogany and many, many browns.”
A comment that touched me:
All of them touched me. Really.
Something that inspired my writing:
The Picture of Dorian Gray, J. Edgar, my secret Pinterest boards, Gregory Alan Isakov, the different hues and shades of brown, George Orwell — specifically 1984, nature and seasons, Sweeney Todd, The Hobbit, Knives Out, Braiding Sweetgrass, Hello from the Magic Tavern, Ozark, Steven Wilson, a collection of old vinyl records my grandfather gave me a few months ago, David Bowie, The Phantom of the Opera, the dynamic between myself and this girl that I’m either in love with romantically or platonically (I legitimately cannot tell as I’m ace and the lines are blurred as hell), The Mysterious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, unisex first names, The Imitation Game, Latin roots, mythology, and lots and lots of Shakespeare.
My proudest moment:
calculating all my works together and finding out that I’ve written close to 350,000 words in the last two years. i also feel incredibly rewarded when i finish a long writing project. the longer i’ve worked on it, the better i feel when it ends.
My writing goals this year:
Finish as much as I can with the busy time I have. I hope to finish Philophobe at least, and ADAUC next. Delocaponum I’m hoping to get out as quickly as I can, although this may take the rest of the year or longer.
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I’m pretty new to the writing community of tumblr so I don’t know any people off the top of my head that write and haven’t been tagged already. if you see this and would like to participate, please have a go! indirectly, i’m tagging whoever is reading that wants to join in.
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In a non despair au, Shuichi ending up in a case leads himself into being kidnapped and tortured in a cruel way (in all forms, psychological, physical, mental and emotional), if he survives he’s left with permanent physical scars (lost few fingers or a leg) and broken beyond repair. Or worse case scenario where he does die, but left alone to die in a cold isolated. Kaito would be beyond shocked and furious. Kaede would do everything to comfort him and Maki would protect him.
Man, you really like tormenting Shuichi, don’t you? (I imagine this is probably the same anon as last time.)
Kaito would be beyond shocked and furious, but a lot of that fury would come from him desperately trying to cover up the unbearable pain he’s feeling that something this awful happened to one of his sidekicks - that he let it happen, even if, again, there was no reasonable way he could have ever prevented it. I can even see him being so overwhelmed with rage that he ends up kinda sorta turning a blind eye to Maki wanting to murder the people responsible for it (and then, if she does go through with that, thoroughly repressing his guilt over the knowledge that he should have stopped her and chose not to).
But, more importantly, if Shuichi survived (and let’s assume he does, because I talked quite a bit about Kaito’s reaction to Shuichi being killed in the previous ask), Kaito would do everything he could to support him.
I don’t want to imagine anything other than Kaito being one of the ones to rescue Shuichi from that hell in the first place, because Kaito would want that so badly - as soon as he realised what was happening to Shuichi, he would drop everything and unthinkingly take any risk necessary to get his sidekick out of there. So imagine the broken, exhausted Shuichi realising that it’s over and just collapsing into Kaito’s arms, sobbing in desperate relief and clinging to him like he never wants to let go, because Kaito is strong and reassuring and makes him finally feel safe now that he’s here. And no matter how bad things got, Shuichi would have always kept some vague, faint glimmer of hope that Kaito was going to come for him one day and save him from this, because that’s what Kaito does, isn’t it? Shuichi’s idolisation of him, which is usually pretty subtle and low-key especially in a non-despair AU, would be brought out more than ever by something like this. Kaito really is his hero.
Kaito, for his part, would also be an absolute mess of emotions, seeing the state Shuichi’s in, blaming himself for not having come sooner and having even let this happen to his sidekick in the first place. But he would fight harder than ever to suppress all of that from the surface so that he can give one of his big bright smiles and tell Shuichi that everything’s going to be all right now, like that’s just an obvious fact, because he knows Shuichi would need that from him more than ever right now. With Shuichi this broken, it might actually be the case, for once, that it genuinely is better for Kaito to appear to be completely invincible, and that it’d be harder for Shuichi to feel safe and begin to recover if he could see that Kaito was also hurt and lost and suffering because of this on some level. Which, oops, way to enable Kaito’s horribly unhealthy outlook on this kind of thing and make him never properly face or deal with the trauma that this has given him.
While rescuing Shuichi and telling him everything’s going to be okay and giving him the biggest longest most reassuring hug in the world, Kaito would also make sure to tell Shuichi how proud he is of him for simply managing to make it through this at all. He’d know that that’s the best way to help Shuichi find some semblance of his own strength again and believe that he’s not just a weak helpless victim but a survivor and so he’ll be able to overcome this in time. What matters in terms of who he is isn’t how much this hurt him, but just how he deals with it going forward. (A concept that Kaito would not understand if applied to himself, of course.)
I imagine Kaito would deliberately employ a more gentle kind of encouragement than he normally does as he supports Shuichi through the aftermath, at least at first. Shuichi would be fragile enough that he might not respond well to Kaito’s usual more forceful approach right now, and Kaito would realise this and tailor his support accordingly. He’s so good at that.
Shuichi’s dependent nature would be in full force after this, so he’d end up really really emotionally clinging to… well, to all of his friends, really, but especially to Kaito, since Kaito’s always openly presented himself as someone who’s there for Shuichi to rely on. Kaito would be 1000% okay with this (somewhat more than is healthy) and would straight-up put his astronaut career on hold for as long as necessary to help Shuichi get back on his feet, even if that was indefinitely. He’d never dream of abandoning his sidekick when Shuichi needs him by his side more than ever. He’d only get back to being an astronaut once he was absolutely sure Shuichi would be able to manage without him again. What if Shuichi had some kind of relapse of his PTSD over this and desperately needed Kaito while Kaito was stuck up in space and unable to be there for him? No. Unacceptable. Shuichi is even more important to him than space is.
Kaede and Maki would be there for Shuichi too, of course. Maki in particular might be better than you’d expect at supporting Shuichi through the aftermath, in ways that Kaito wouldn’t be able to. Remember, she was tortured during her assassin training, so she’d have a much better idea than anyone else of how he might be feeling based on her own personal experience and could offer coping methods that she’s found worked for her. Shuichi would probably really appreciate the chance to talk to someone who truly understands what he’s been through, and Maki would be happy that she could at least use her past suffering to be able to help in a way that only she can.
I also think you’re underestimating Shuichi’s strength to think he’d be broken beyond repair. He’s “weak” in the sense that things can hurt and scare him fairly easily, more so than for someone like Kaito, but we also see in canon that he has an incredible resilience and ability to keep going despite that, at least after he starts drawing on all the strength his friends give him. He’d be getting so much support from everyone to help him move on from this - and unlike a certain someone, Shuichi would be more than happy to rely on that support for as long as he needed to and would never try and push away people’s help. So, yes, the torture would severely break his spirit while it was happening, and he’d take a long time to recover from it in the aftermath and would always be scarred by it in some way. But I really do believe that, with the help of his many amazing supportive friends that he’s lucky enough to have, he’d eventually be able to regain something at least pretty close to his former levels of strength and stability. Shuichi always wants to get stronger than he is and to overcome his obstacles, so this would be no exception. It wouldn’t be easy, but he’d get there.
[Alternatively: how about if the roles were reversed?]
(Just as a note, we all have different tolerances for these kinds of things, and the thought of losing limbs in particular makes me somewhat uncomfortable to think about, hence why I glossed over that part. I’m fine with torture in and of itself - in fact, the psychological aspect of it is something I find particularly interesting to explore in fiction - but I prefer the specific physical methods to be kept fairly PG or at most PG-13. I don’t mind getting asks about darker themes like this, but do try and keep them below that PG-13 borderline for my sake, and I reserve the right to not answer anything that happens to wig me out too much.)
#danganronpa v3#danganronpa v3 spoilers#shuichi saihara#kaito momota#maki harukawa#friends#my buttons#v3 aus#i sure took this as an excuse to talk about how wonderfully adorably supportive kaito is and i have no regrets#torture#mutilation#ptsd#man these are some content tags#lemme know if i need any others#Anonymous
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Brushes and Systems
A bit of destiel fluff. Enjoy!
Dean Winchester was not the most patient of men. Normally he would have claimed that looking after his niece was one of the few exceptions to that rule, but today, he had a headache, he had spent the last night grading papers, he’d had another fight with the dean over their budget, and all he wanted was to just lean back and relax for one second.
“Sally, come here – I told you to –“
“But Uncle Dean” she whined.
He sighed and kneeled down so that he could talk to the five-year-old at eye level. “Look, I know the playground is fun, but we said we would go get some ice cream, right?”
The allure of ice cream proved too much for her and she nodded.
He stood up. “There we go.”
She took his hand, so he figured they were alright.
And then a voice spoke up. “So that is how you get them to accept the rules of the system, is it? Bribery?”
He turned his head to see a – well, an admittedly pretty hot guy; only that he wasn’t wearing shoes, his shirt had seen better days and was splattered with paint all over, and Dean didn’t think he even knew what a comb was. “Since when is getting ice cream turning them into a part of the system?” he asked, perhaps more hotly than he intended – he couldn’t help it; no matter what “system” this guy believed in, Dean already knew what it entailed – some form of government control, most likely, the opinion that people should just do what they wanted at all times, and no sense of order whatsoever. He hadn’t worked his way up from his humble beginnings to be told that he was only a “part of the system”, as some of his students, who had tried such arguments on him in the past, well knew.
“Yes, well, but she wanted to keep playing – isn’t that right sweetie?” the man asked and Sally, to Dena’s relief, huffed and stood up straight. It failed to make her seem taller, but she was apparently satisfied as she replied firmly, “I am not your sweetie. Uncle Dean calls me buttercup now and then, and mommy and daddy have their own nicknames, but I am not your sweetie!”
“Ah, you see, the system got to her already” Dean told the guy. “She has already accepted the nicknames bestowed on her. There’s no hope for her, now.” And he swept his niece up in his arms and away from very hot but sadly a bit cuckoo guys.
Dean didn’t think he’d see the man again. Which in some ways was a shame – he could have used some eye candy in his life – but on the other, well…
Still. He spent a week pointedly not thinking about him and then decided to go to the park during his lunch hour – to enjoy the sun there.
In fact, he would later remember that it had been the first day that week that he hadn’t thought about the guy, which at that time he would have called a good omen; but as he ate his sandwich and then leaned his head back to enjoy this beautiful day in the first week of May, he really didn’t think of anything at all.
That changed when he slowly became aware of something that sounded like a brush gliding across a canvas.
He opened his eyes to find the guy who had declared his niece to be a part of “they system” having actually put up a canvas close to him and now…
“Are you painting me?” he demanded. He was rather sure that people had to ask one’s permission before doing that.
“I am not doing any harm! The bench is a rather pretty subject, you see –“
The bench. He was actually going to use the damn bench as an excuse? Dean huffed. “Yes, well, I don’t see why you would want to paint a part of the system, so if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my responsibilities – you know, the thing you probably don’t care for.”
And he would have stormed off if the man hadn’t run after him, holding onto his canvas and all. “Wait!”
Dean really had no reason to stay. He had no reason to listen to the guy. He certainly had no reason whatsoever to stop walking.
Which was probably as good an explanation as any to why he did.
“I’m sorry” the man said, surprising him, “But I had just had a fight with my twin brother about how I should get a job and stop that artsy nonsense and I had probably smoked a little too much weed” – alright Dean could have gone without knowing someone had been high around his niece, but still – “And you are very beautiful.”
Alright that was not something that many people had told Dean. He knew that he looked good of course, and few pf those who had tried to get into his pants had ever been slow to point it out – hell, he had met his best friend when he’d told him he was “smoking hot” and “by the way, I do like to have a bit of fun in my car now and then” – but beautiful? He blushed. “Thanks?”
“I – I admire beauty, you know” the guy continued and Dean realized with startling clarity that he probably rarely, if ever, discussed such things with other people. “I just want others to see the world like I do, if only for a few moments.”
Man, that was both one of the most touching and one of the saddest things Dean had ever heard. “Wanna get coffee?” he heard himself say.
The man stared, then beamed.
Castiel – who soon became Cas – turned out to be a pretty nice guy underneath it all, once they got to talk. In the third coffee shop they had tried to enter, since the first two had firm policies about serving men who didn’t wear shoes.
“Anthropology? That’s not what I would have thought –“
“What did you think I teach? Economy? Law? For some reason, auto shop is also high on the list.”
“Really?”
Dean shrugged. “People – once they get to guessing… you know how it is.”
Cas tilted his head to the side and thought about it. “Not really. They never really guess when it comes to me; they just assume and treat me accordingly.”
“Yeah, well…” Dean bit his lip. He could have pointed out that perhaps Cas should try and tame his hair or get some clean clothes or at least shoes if he didn’t want people to assume, but didn’t.
“I am happy I was wrong about you, though” he said softly and Dean swallowed.
“About anthropology?”
Cas gently retouched his hand. “About… the other thing.”
Their eyes met.
And just like that, Dean knew he was a goner.
He registered with relief that Cas didn’t really smoke weed on a regular basis – only when he felt very upset, and they soon decided that it was far better if he called Dean when this was the case. Mostly because after he smoked, his colour scheme got all out of whack, and no one wanted to see a picture of Cthulhu as Cas imagined him in purple and neon green.
He was also a pretty good boyfriend – comforting Dean after a hard day, showing him his paintings, happily playing with Sally while making conversation with Sam and Eileen once Dean had decided it was high time he introduced him to his family, even if his brother and sister-in-law had stared at his bare feet for a bit.
Yes, Dean Winchester was in love. Who cared if his boyfriend regularly ran around in what could at best be called rags? They were happy.
It wasn’t that Dean was ashamed of his boyfriend. It wasn’t. It was just that – well he didn’t want his boss and BFF to think he’d just brought someone he’d found on the streets to their fundraise. So he only thought it prudent to warn Crowley as to what to expect.
“A painter? If I had known you for for the artistic types, darling…”
“I am sure the world is a lot poorer for being deprived of your attempt at stick figures” he said lightly.
Crowley raised an eyebrow. “Well, I don’t see any problem with that – he does know how to use a knife and fork, does he?”
Dean grinned. “I make no promises.”
“Well” Crowley drawled, “At least it will be entertaining.”
It was, if not for the reasons Crowley or Dean would have thought.
When he arrived at Cas’ place and his boyfriend opened the door, he couldn’t help but stare. “Dude – is that a suit?”
Cas had indeed donned a suit. It was perhaps not the best-fitting one, his hair was as wild as ever and tying his tie had probed too much of a challenge, but still – this was Cas looking more respectable, for lack of a better word, than Dean had ever seen him.
He shuffled his feet – he was even wearing black shoes – and looked anywhere but at Dean. “I thought – you know how I feel about – but this is your place of work – I wouldn’t want to reflect poorly on you.”
“Oh trust me, you don’t” he said, his voice thick with emotion as he pulled him into a kiss. “Tell you what, though” he grinned, “Before your first exhibition, I am taking you to the tailor’s to get a proper suit.”
He did so six months later.
Two months afterwards, Cas showed him a picture of a ring he’d painted.
Dean’s answer came quickly.
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Temperance: How willing are they to let other peoples ideas work? How does my muse handle moderation? Is their an aspect of their life that they live in excess of?
Tarot Card Based Asks 〘𝓧〙 | Not Accepting | @dastardlydalliances
How willing are they to let other peoples’ ideas work?
In trivial matters, Atem could not possibly care less. In fact, Atem tends to let other people take the lead in everyday social situations such as ‘where to go’ or ‘what to do.’
In serious matters, Atem could use to care less. These trigger his inner control-freak.
Atem is a self-sacrificial sentry by complex and a fierce protector of those he loves by nature. As such, he often disregards the devout loyalty his companions reciprocate towards him or how it might feel for them to stand back and watch him shoulder all their woes and blows for them. What’s more, Atem deliberately ignores his limits and is prone to biting off more than he can chew and overexerting himself while playing hero.
Atem has a persona that was tailor-made for handling serious matters. He will apply his quick thinking and enact his plans much faster than someone could possibly interject with one of their own. However, Atem heeds the suggestions of others and is fairly compliant in incorporating them into his own actions when they are indeed pitched to him.
Under dire circumstances, Atem is not opposed to his allies coming up with their own ideas to solve a problem (likely besting an enemy). However, it will take Atem jumping several mental hurdles before he will be open and on board with allowing said friend to actually approach the problem and attempt it themselves (again, likely an enemy).
He’s a stubborn man, and struggles to accept help from those he would die to protect. As he was once a king, he tends to measure his self worth in his ability to handle other people’s problems for them quickly and efficiently. It’s challenging for him to answer their pleas and allow them to step forth into the threshold of danger with him, for him.
… For a reason. Everything about Atem’s cautious, controlling nature is for a reason.
He has learned that combined strength is more powerful than individual; but still, it’s difficult to accept that needing help does not indicate he is too weak to protect them but rather that together they are strong enough to protect one another and face anything.
This is especially true as he would sustain any number of injuries just to ensure an ally would get by without a scratch. His mentality is simple: it’s me, or them; and at any given moment, Atem would rather it be him than them. This complex is a difficult one to reason with, but should a comrade break through and make him see it wounds them just as badly to watch him hurt as it would to have been hurt themselves, that they’d rather navigate and overcome hardships together, with enough persistence, Atem may yield.
He is hard of allowing others to contribute, but once he’s committed to teamwork, Atem will work in diligent tandem with his allies. He is adaptive & can be the driving force to bring their plans to fruition with his brilliant resourcefulness & cunning craftiness. One might even say Atem’s true strength is realized when he does allow others to step in.
And no matter how unacceptable Atem might treat it, another person jumping ahead to handle a problem for him or assist him is something that lifts him up, not brings him down.
How does my muse handle moderation?
In terms of self-imposed moderation, very well. Atem is quite masterful in the noble art of self-control, and rare does restraint evade him. If Atem is in a stable mindset, he can handle keeping his cool with ease. When the safety of his loved ones are jeopardized, he can control his vengeful urges and keep himself composed by internalizing his turmoil. He knows fear, panic, and anxiety will only hinder his wits and worsen the situation. He centers his mind on his objective, keeping his goal in mind’s view, in order to preform well under pressure. Self-imposed moderation is but a means to an ends with Atem.
In terms of moderation by exterior forces, also very well. Atem is well acquainted with treading a thin line. While he may internalize anger or upset at the moderation, he is accustomed to a life of boundaries and can handle them accordingly.
Alas, on the off-chance that he is confronted with catastrophic failures that he truly plays a part in or guiltily feels that he does, his composure will slip, and moderation will evade him. Perhaps this is his rawest, truest, most vulnerable face; when he lashes out freely, damns self restraint, and does as he pleases. This true face is not one easily brought out.
Is there an aspect of their life they live in excess of?
Restricting himself to staying in his “place” and tending to his “responsibilities,” real or imagined. Atem takes duty very seriously. His own feelings are so foreign to him, that in every decision Atem makes, he focuses on what he can achieve for the greater good rather than for the good of himself. He lives and dies for the greater good. Raised to be a ruler, he was taught to prioritize the majority. Many times, Atem fails to view himself as an individual with his own respect worthy thoughts and feelings; but rather as a mere instrument for solving problems that’s worth is only determined by its ability to do so.
He needs to learn to do what he feels is right, and not what is right for the world.
He also allow his failures, his fears, and his past to affect him long into the future; and perhaps trying to fill boots too big for him, that were never truly meant to be his.
He needs to learn to stop being the King of Egypt, his father’s son, and start being Atem.
#▼tumblr's formatting fucking hates me I s2g#▼thanks so much for the ask! i cried! like a lot.#dastardlydalliances#{ Asks & Answers }
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ON RESPOKE
by Réginald-Jérôme de Mans
A reaction to the response of a friend. That friend, the prolific #menswear blogger Dirnelli, frequently models his secondhand bespoke suits. What he calls “respoke” is suits made by a custom tailor for someone else, altered to fit a new wearer.
As Dirnelli points out, today the process of getting something made has been unnecessarily romanticized, largely because it has become so rare and rarefied. Customization has been nearly unattainably priced as well as difficult to even find, even if recently a number of cheaper custom clothiers have cropped up.
It generally isn’t those that Dirnelli has in mind.
Instead, it’s the sort of custom clothing that clothing writers prefer to dress up with the term “bespoke”: luxury custom clothing made by a quality tailor, with all of the careful detail work and invisible painstaking construction that implies. In other words, even while denying the romanticism of the process, he subscribes to the romantic idea that a suit with someone else’s name inside the coat pocket would tell a tale, that a tailor would have labored in the grand tradition of the art to create an enduring work that lived up to that stranger’s hopes and expectations, and through the use of generous inlays and tucks of cloth, even up to the hopes and expectations of that stranger’s heirs.
It’s a secondhand romance, and as such a way to get into that tale on the cheap, my friend suggests, since today quality tailoring can be very dear indeed. Secondhand bespoke clothing – like any other personal indulgence that consumerist shills term an “investment” – can be purchased on the secondary market for a tiny fraction of its initial price.
Despite my comparatively limited wardrobe (I’ve hardly ever gotten rid of a suit or sportcoat, and have kept everything I’ve had personally made for me), I do want to volunteer my own perspective. I, too, have used good tailors to have things made for me, and have had recourse to use competent tailors to alter vintage clothes to fit me. Importantly, Dirnelli’s respoke approach presumes certain important things: finding a secondhand custom suit that fits you tolerably well before alteration and has enough inlays and other allowances of cloth and other components to be expanded or otherwise, and an extremely good alterations tailor.
Finding a quality used suit that fits relatively well isn’t particularly easy. You need to rule out anything that might have been fashionable when it was made but that would look like costume today. One cutter recently told a hapless writer that today the only people ordering his extremely expensive custom clothing were “crooks, cranks and cripples,” which should remind us that custom clothing is made for a specific person’s features… and irregularities. A good custom tailor will have shaped the chest, back and shoulders of a suit, pitched its sleeves and balanced the fronts and backs all based on a particular person’s body. Finding a custom suit whose particular irregularities tolerate your own is, again, almost as romantic an idea as finding a soulmate whose irregularities complement your own. Things like sleeves that are too long or too short, or a jacket that is too long, often require very difficult, very difficult alterations, without any guarantee they’d be carried out properly.
For all secondhand custom is going to require some alteration, and the romance of respoke is that that suit is still in some way a partially uncarved block of marble – a presumption that there are enough resources and materials left in the suit by a good tailor to lengthen, widen, recut or otherwise adjust. Good custom suits traditionally have extra cloth even in the trouser cuffs, presumably so that your heirs of different height can have the legs let out – after all, our leg length is unlikely to change unless we’ve spent time in zero gravity or on the rack. For the same reason, many good custom suits traditionally only have two (out of four) working buttons at the jacket cuff: working buttonholes mean that it’s difficult to alter sleeve length (since working buttonholes can’t easily be invisibly stitched up), so having two remaining sham buttonholes provides a little leeway for moving the sleeve length.
More improbably, Dirnelli assumes the availability of a genius alterations tailor. From everything I’ve seen of his fit pics, he has one, and that fellow’s work is worth its weight in gold – and probably charged accordingly. My first Paris alterations tailor, although also a trained custom tailor, turned out to be an awful huckster I wouldn’t recommend to hem pants, despite coming to me with the highest praise of one of the prime movers of the early Internet fora. And indeed, anyone who can undertake the significant work needed to alter shoulder padding, close up or open vents, re-set the collar, or any of the other sensitive operations Dirnelli’s had carried out needs to be a highly trained tailor, generally not the person behind the counter at the local dry cleaner, even if most of those do have some sort of stylized suit baste in their windows (do they buy those things out of prop catalogs?). Changes to one aspect of a suit can affect the rest of it in visible ways, from the pitch of the sleeves to the front or side balance (that is, whether the fronts and backs or the left and right sides of a suit jacket hang in alignment and at the same distance from the ground). As such, it’s a complicated form of surgery to make someone else’s custom clothing fit, even if their basic measurements or proportions seem similar.
Given the complicated work needed to make someone else’s suit fit, it’s important to bear in mind that that alterations tailor, like a bespoke tailor, had to start somewhere in fitting his customer. Dirnelli points out that a first fitting with a new custom tailor is usually far from perfect. It must also be the case for an alterations tailor. The stakes may be somewhat lower, perhaps by an order of magnitude. Competent custom tailoring, made anywhere, is very expensive. Competent alterations are cheap only in comparison. In my experience, a really good alterations tailor can work wonders, provided that the starting point – the piece of vintage clothing as is – more or less already fits to begin with. But that really good alterations tailor is incredibly hard to find. Good custom tailors may have one on staff, but they generally only work on their own clothing, unless you’re an existing customer. Really good independents seem to literally be one in a million. And I limit this discussion to tailored clothing – I wouldn’t suggest anyone try to have someone else’s custom shoes altered to fit unless you’re willing to have a custom shoemaker rebuild them on your own last at a shocking price.
As Dirnelli himself has recognized, the pursuit of bespoke, even dead people’s bespoke, is an expensive habit. Competent alterations are reasonable only in comparison to what it would take to have a custom tailor actually make the garment for you. However, that pursuit of secondhand bespoke for bespoke’s sake (having a suit that fits) is only part of what makes bespoke clothing interesting for many of us. The other part of it is being able to have something made in the cloth, style and colors that we want. I like, and thus have ordered in most of my suits, two-button jackets with double vents, moderately slanted pockets, and trousers with no cuffs, with side adjusters instead of belt loops. While none of these are particularly rare or baroque details, it’s not likely that someone’s cast-off clothing is going to have those. To say nothing of the fabric I want or any other details (linings, etc.) that I might specify in my more inspired or foolhardy moments. Even if they’re usually greys and blues in simple English wools. Or, if it comes down to it, the cut one prefers – I tend to like, even if it is self-delusion, the softer draped cut of a couple of British tailors… it is not usual to find those and dangerous to push an alterations tailor to try to change an existing suit’s cut dramatically. The more he or she has to change, the closer it comes to having a suit recut or remade out of an existing one, at resultant expense and revelation of any limits in the skill of the alterations tailor.
Nonetheless, I’ve dabbled in having custom items altered, recently – thanks to Dirnelli’s introduction to a consignor, a custom Francesco Smalto suit made for Francis Veber, who directed one of my favorite movies. It featured all the exquisitely difficult and flamboyant details of the best French tailoring, from unnecessary hand-picked seams down the length of the trousers to lapels with very affected notches and a raised milanaise buttonhole. I knew I couldn’t confide it to any old alterations tailor, taking it instead back to the firm where Smalto himself used to cut before striking out on his own (as they’re making something for me, they accepted this on the side). They did a wonderful job, but I can’t deny that making this respoke a reality required all the romance Dirnelli appeared to deny – the luck of finding something that initially made its potential felt, the opportunity to use an alterations tailor who carried out his work with care and love, and the investment of resources and time.
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When it comes to content marketing, there’s no substitute for hard work and expertise, but at the same time, there’s also no point in doing work that’s unnecessary! That’s why we’ve put together these 5 shortcuts to help supercharge your content marketing. There are a number of tools and processes that we as content marketers can use to improve our efficiency and ultimately, our results. Some will simply improve efficiency, while others will open up opportunities to explore that you may never have considered. We want these to be easily digestible, so please contact SiteVisibility if you’d like to know more about any aspect of this post. So, without further ado, let’s dive into how you can improve your content marketing… HARO: Help a Reporter Out We’re big fans of HARO here at SiteVisibility as it’s a simple and free way to find journalists and writers who need your expertise with an upcoming story that they are writing. By using the service, we’ve managed to secure press and blog coverage by responding to journalists requests in both our own marketing efforts and in our client campaigns. Once you sign up, you can select which industries you’re interested in and then you’ll receive daily alerts of journalists that are looking for help with a story that fits your criteria. If you find a request that fits perfectly for you or your clients, all you need to do is respond through the service and if your contribution gets used, you/your client will receive full credit within the story and usually a link too. With world-renowned and well-respected media outlets like Time & The New York Times using the platform, it provides a great opportunity to gain links from high-authority sites that are relevant to you, whilst also helping you to become an authority in your field. For us, using HARO is a no brainer. To help you get started, I’ll let you in on a few of our little secrets for how to help you get your response seen over others: I often include a little bit about me, my experience which qualifies me to answer their query, the company, and links to my Twitter/LinkedIn/website etc. This can help the journalist to filter out any responses that may not be relevant. For the subject line to the email, I tend to put “HARO Response: [query] – [name] from [company]”. Ensure that what you’re contributing is as useful for the author and their audience as possible and don’t just try to promote your company or product. Do whatever you can to make it easy for the journalist and you’ll be much more likely to be featured. Write your contribution so they can just copy and paste it straight from your email if necessary and link to (don’t attach) any images you feel may be helpful. Finally, the deadlines are often short on these so they tend to require a response within at least 24 hours, the quicker you can respond the more likely it is that they’ll use your response. Alternatively, if you’re looking for inspiration or expert input for content of your own, you can use HARO to have your query included on the email alerts that go out. It’s a fantastic way to improve the authority of your content… and it also incentivises anybody you’ve featured to share it once it’s published. Win win. What we like about HARO in a nutshell Access to a wide range of content and PR opportunities, fast Minimal ongoing work required Multiple industries, markets and languages Daily email alerts for opportunities Provides sources to quote in your own content It’s mostly free So, what are you waiting for? Subscribe to HARO here. SEMrush Content Audit Tool SEMrush is one of the best SEO and Marketing platforms out there and frankly, we could write a whole blog series about the sheer amount of functionality it has, but we have clients that need work delivering too! For this post, I’m looking specifically at the SEMrush Content Audit Tool. Content auditing is one of the most important aspects of content marketing and if you’re like us, in the past you’ve had to use various crawling and reporting tools to get the data you need and then use a combination of VLOOKUPs, formulas, tables and charts to collate the data into a usable excel file. With the need for SEO data like page tags, response codes, canonicals etc., combined with metrics from Google Analytics and Google Search Console, further combined with social sharing data, it can take hours just to get this all in one place, and that’s before you even start doing the actual work. Running the content audit tool allows you to crawl your site (up to 20,000 pages), or just individual folders, to identify poorly performing pages and areas for improvement across your site. Once your pages have been analysed, the tool gives you a handy dashboard to work from and categorises your content into four areas: Content that you should Rewrite or Remove Content that Needs to be Updated Any Poor Content on your site Any content that can be Reviewed Quickly This makes it really easy to start analysing the content on your site and to create tasks for your team to start rewriting & updating, plus you can start giving the content a good old prune. When used as part of the wider Content and SEO Toolkits with tools such as Topic Research, Competitive Analysis, Rank Tracking and the Content Analyzer, you can gain a vast amount of insight and assistance with your content marketing, and your overall digital marketing, all in one place. More importantly, it also allows you to keep track of the changes you’re making and to see if they’re having the desired effect on your content performance. The amount of time we’ve saved by streamlining the process is significant, and it allows us to do stuff like this… We’re not on the SEMrush payroll I promise, we just like to share tools that we really think will help fellow marketers. If you’d like more information about content audits then this content audit guide from SEMrush is very useful and if you think your site would benefit from a content audit, or you need help with your content marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to contact us. What we like about the SEMrush Content Audit tool in a nutshell Huge levels of functionality and customisation Very efficient – can streamline your content marketing workflow Seamless with other tools Handy dashboard so you can get started right away Everything you need is in one place Good product support Hubspot Blog Ideas Generator Hubspot are one of the big players when it comes to marketing and SEO platforms, but what we like most about their Blog Ideas Generator is that apart from putting in your contact details, it’s free. You simply put in a couple of nouns related to the subject you want to write about and it generates 250 potential blog titles that you can use to get the cogs in your head turning. It’s important to note that it’s not perfect and you will get some gibberish, but we’ve found that we can take these titles and then do some further topic and/or keyword research to come up with content we think will be useful for our audience. It’s not an end in itself, but it can be a very useful jumping off point, and it may even open avenues that you hadn’t considered. Hubspot also has the additional benefit of saving you a considerable amount of time and resource that would otherwise be used getting your marketing or content marketing team into a room to brainstorm content ideas. Top Tip: Use this tool alongside something like SEMrush’s Content Analyzer to see what competitors have been doing. See what ranks well for search queries related to your topic, and analyse them to see if there are any aspects of content/layout/design that Google seems to be deeming as important. CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer tool can help you fine tune the headline too for maximum effect. What we like about the Hubspot Blog Ideas Generator in a nutshell It’s quick and free It can save your marketing team time It serves as a great starting point for a brainstorming session It can open your eyes to content or topic areas you hadn’t considered before Moz Keyword Explorer SERP Analysis & Features The SERP Features functionality within the Moz Keyword Explorer is a fantastic way of determining at a glance what sort of SERP features Google is showing for a given query. At a dashboard level, it also combines your tracked keywords into groups and gives you a top-level breakdown of the features that are most common in that group. For example, if you have a keyword group for queries related to SEO Agency you would see the following: In this example, we can see that the most common SERP features for these queries are Reviews, Related Questions, Local Packs and Featured Snippets. Therefore, we already know that Google sees these as important, and that these should be featured on the page, and in the case of related questions or snippets, we format our content as best as we can to appear here. If you’d like to dig deeper, Moz also allows you to review the SERPS on a keyword by keyword basis. Of course, you could do this manually too, but when combined with the additional metrics that you can see below, you can quickly and easily understand what sort of content Google values for a given query, and act accordingly. From the screenshot above, we can see that for this term there are plenty of different opportunities for a business to rank, away from the organic results. If we were to use SiteVisibility in this example, the obvious areas are in the 3x Local Packs, the Featured Snippet or Related Questions, or potentially the knowledge panel. Knowing this allows us to tailor our content for this term accordingly… and we were able to see this in less than a minute. This post is an excellent summary of all the different Google SERP Features in 2019 if you’d like to know more. As part of an overall keyword strategy, the Moz Keyword Explorer is an excellent tool to streamline your processes and save a lot of time on analysis. What we like in a nutshell Quick and simple to use Useful for both top level and granular research Makes content research and planning much more efficient We hope you’ve found these tools and shortcuts helpful, we’d love to hear if you have any of your own you’d be willing to share. Comment below or speak to us on our social channels. If you’d like to find out more about out Content Marketing services, then don’t hesitate to get in contact with us we can discuss how we can improve your site. You can do so by calling us on 01273 733433 or via the contact form below: Contact Us Name* First Last Email* Message*CommentsThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. jQuery(document).bind('gform_post_render', function(event, formId, currentPage){if(formId == 13) {} } );jQuery(document).bind('gform_post_conditional_logic', function(event, formId, fields, isInit){} ); jQuery(document).ready(function(){jQuery(document).trigger('gform_post_render', [13, 1]) } );
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Non implementation of Minimum Wage: Labour Leader Accuses Policy Makers of Misinforming Buhari
Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal is the Secretary General of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), in this interview with TAIWO OGUNMOLA-OMILANI, he shed light on why new minimum wage is being delayed, insisting that President Muhammadu Buhari was not told the correct position on the issue.
What the delay in the implementation of the new minimum wage?
Basically, there are procedures to follow; the minimum wage was signed into law on the 18th of April, 2019 and the next stage is for the Federal Government to negotiate with the Joint National Public Service negotiating council on the consequential adjustment arising from the new minimum wage because prior to the new figure of N30,000, the minimum wage in the federal public service was N18,900 and that is level one step one.
Assuming you want to give level one step one N30,000, it means you have to adjust other grade levels because level two will be earning less than level one if you leave the others and from level one to six are still below N30,000. So, you have to adjust and when you adjust; you can leave the others; it would create a kind of distortion in the salary structure and that is why we quickly alerted them before they make a mistake of unilaterally issuing circular.
It has to be agreed upon how much they want to add to it.
There was rigmarole in the final analysis, they agreed to set up a committee to negotiate the consequential adjustment and nothing can happen in the states for now because they are waiting for the template at the federal level.
So, whatever you agree upon is going to form the basis upon which they will drive their own consequential adjustment process.
We informed them accordingly and we are waiting and that is why you did not hear any noise from the labour unions in the states. We started the negotiation and it was like they meant well. Some of us saw the booby trap and the labour raised those issues at the initial stage and the committee now set up a technical committee to work out the details, but the main committee should be able to guide the technical committee on what to do in terms of drawing good terms of reference, most especially the quantum of money that the government feels it can accommodate and they are trying to look at what was provided for in the budget. You cannot get an answer and start to work on the question, it is never done anywhere.
They told us to go and work and before God and man, we were told the terms of reference was to go and work out the difference scenario based on economic realities and in looking at this, you are looking at employers, you are also looking at the employees in terms of what they have faced in the last 8 or 9 years since the last salary was not touched at all. So we started work, and we are saying since minimum wage moved from N12,000 to N18,000 and to N30,000 and that is 66.6 per cent and when we apply that percentage across board, there will be no distortion.
The salary deference between one grade level and another will be maintained and they cried that the wage bill would be too much. We met at our own level and decided to draw it down and we have agreed with the consequential adjustment giving to level one to six and from level 7- 14, we said, give them 40 per cent increase instead of 66% and level 15 to 17, give them 30 per cent; they worked it out and complained that the percentage proposed was out of this world. In the final analysis, we said that the minimum we could go, which the workers had given. Having agreed on what you have given to level one to six, we said level 7 to 14 give them 30 per cent and level 15 to 17, give them 25 per cent and the scenario they worked out was not favourable and we told them it couldn't fly.
They are trying to tailor that one against what they provided for in the budget, a figure that was unilaterally arrived at, in which labour was not consulted and they are trying to erode us into accepting it and we said no. what we now did as the technical committee was to take the figure as government position and our own as our own position, caption the two and let us go to the plenary and iron it out.
They saia no and they are now saying the terms of reference would work in tandem with what is in the budget and we didn’t say that but what frightened me most was that by the time the head of service came, there was a stalemate and she was the one that set up the technical committee and they said we should give them some time and by the we came back; the head of service said what they were holding on was what she said.
This is very frightening and I became sad, and I felt that if this is the way we want to run this country there is no hope of a better future. We said somebody recorded what we talked about and we told them to play what the person recorded but they could not.
The response was that we were saying that the head of service was lying and we told them not to blackmail us. We told them this was our decision and that if they wanted any unilateral decision they should go ahead but that the workers would be properly informed and properly guided and it would be recorded that some people came and short changed workers.
This would form part of the history of this country and at this stage the head of service said we had become too difficult and she started to insult us. It is like take it or leave it approach negotiation and it is very sad. Take it or leave, it they are coming up with 1.3million employees for public service and we are saying public service was not up to one million and we asked where they got the addition from.
They said that was what they had been using for the budget and asked if we were saying that Mr. President was telling lie and we said that they should let us test it with a particular structure and that we were very much conversant with what constituted the public service salary structure and I am sure the employees are not up to 800,000. They wanted to keep wages as low as possible so that they would have enough to share and that is the way I am looking at it. We are telling Nigerians what is happening and let us take our decisions and as for workers, we have called the heads of the unions that sent us message and we are meeting in Abuja on the 16th of July, 2019 to brief them.
Will you say what you just explained is what is delaying the implementation of the new minimum wage?
Yes. We are waiting for the template and structure. All the structures will be affected by what we are doing. So, somebody who has not collected any dime as salary increment since you increased fuel price to N145.00 you don' t want to increase his salary. They are doing all the devaluation here and there and you set up a committee on palliative and we made recommendations, yet no dime was paid. This one they are even trying to put on top is not enough to cushion the effect of the increase in fuel price. It appears they are not telling Mr. President the correct position.
It was observed that price of goods and services have been increased without the implementation of the new minimum wage. Will you advocate for price control?
As an Economist, I will say price control is not the solution. My position is if you are deregulating other sectors, you can’t be regulating wages. If they cannot be able to manage monetary and fiscal policies very well; are we going to be the scape goats? It seems workers are the scape goats now. We have been left to bear the full brunt of mismanagement that is going on.
The currency of the country is the life of this country and that is where your pride lies and to maintain it and make it robust; there will be need to regularly refresh the external reserve so that you don’t eat everything. I pity the person at the head because he means well and I am not mincing word about him, but the people around him are the major problem and he can’t do it alone.
It is what they tell him he would do and these people are just packing many things to take care of their retirement and that is the scenario that is playing out and the President cannot read their minds because when you come up with a proposal that looks so beautiful on paper whereas you have laden it with something else, the result will not be palatable.
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Importance of Space Planning in Home Renovation + Interior Design with Orly Baliti
Originally posted on Importance of Space Planning in Home Renovation + Interior Design with Orly Baliti
Superior Renovations - Auckland’s Trusted Kitchen & Bathroom Renovation Experts
Renovating your own house is something that most people would look forward to and why shouldn’t they? The thought of changing your kitchen, bathroom or entire house to give it a complete makeover would get anyone excited.
One of the most important aspect of renovations however is the design process. This article will focus on the design process of a renovation. It will give you some vital interior design ideas that are important for a successful renovation.
The design phase is where all the excitement lies. This phase however can also be a complicated process. it is often difficult to put your ideas and vision into paper. To add to this complication, different members of your family would have different ideas on what they want from your home renovation. There is often a lot of back and forth with your family members which can make it all seem very frustrating. So what should you do?
Meet Orly from Place2Be
As a designer, my highest purpose is to create for my clients a tailor-made design that contains the ideal floor plan, colour scheme, material combination and concept, while considering their goals, style and budget and make sure they are happy with the outcome.
I believe (and it is also scientifically approved) that the environment around us affects our mood, productivity, and energy levels. With my efficient design process, I can help you to create a space where you would feel comfortable, organised and at peace.
Orly Baliti – Interior Designer
Website: https://ift.tt/2YTWOvf | Email: [email protected]
Orly specialises in space planning and concept/color consultation which is exactly the kind of person who renovators need in order to get the best outcome from a renovation.
We decided to have a sit down with Orly Baliti who has been an interior designer for over 11 years to discuss various factors that come into play when clients are planning a renovation. She has worked with architects, engineers and builders designing and managing various projects in the commercial and residential sectors.
Here is what we discussed with Orly:
Importance of Planning for renovations and the design phase
How the correct design can add value to your renovation
5 crucial steps in space planning to complement your renovation as told by Orly
Designer Home renovation projects by Superior Renovations in Auckland
Importance of space planning in your design process
When asked what the most important step for success was, Orly had no hesitations saying that it was planning. It was something which resonated with us as that is exactly what we tell our clients when they renovate with us. Your planning should include the following:
Budget planning
Your top priorities for renovating
What outcome you want from your renovation
Research
Timeframes
And the often forgotten one which is space planning.
What is space planning?
If you are wondering what exactly space planning is? Orly explains that space planning is an important aspect of the interior design process. Space planning is an in-depth analysis of how physical space is used in structures. It considers the purpose of spaces and who will use them. Space planning is a process that takes several steps, and its an important component that helps to ensure efficient use of floor space without wasting it. This also shows how you would move within the space. The plan is finally completed by putting details like textures, colours and even furniture in their places to show the overall look and feel of the place.
What can go wrong if space planning is not done well?
Orly explains that there are several things that can go wrong if you do not plan your space properly. If you do not plan your space well then it could lead to several problems once your renovation is completed. Space planning is a part of interior design that goes hand in had with renovations.
You might want a L shaped kitchen with a huge island but did you account for the dining table next to it? Perhaps that L shaped kitchen with an island has left no space for a decent sized dining table. Now you can only buy a 4 seater dining table when in fact you have a 6 person household. Having the right type of kitchen design especially in an open planned kitchen is important. For more kitchen and bathroom design ideas look at our kitchen gallery and bathroom gallery of renovated kitchens/bathrooms in Auckland.
Orly has shortlisted Top 5 things that she has seen with poor space planning.
Bad planning that leads to a space where you cannot fit your furniture
Non functional kitchen layout which leaves little working space
Non functional power points and lighting positions.
Lack of storage
Awkward material and colour combinations
Storage and Disposable solutions for our client’s kitchen renovation in Papatoetoe
How interior designers are an integral part of a renovation process
An interior designer can really take your renovation to the next level if you make her an integral part of your renovation process.
Orly explains that a lot of her clients renovate to add value to their property, whether it’s for them to enjoy it, rent it or sell in future. We found this to be very true for our clients as well because most of them looked at renovations of a way to add some sort of value to their home. In our experience renovations that add the most value to any home were:
Kitchen renovations
Bathroom renovations
Painting their home
Adding a deck
Naturally, you are looking to increase your return on investment and, the last thing you want is to be disappointed by the outcome. You also need to consider that during the renovation, there are lots of decisions to be made and lots of options available.
For example; choosing the right style, colours and materials, planing the lighting, create a better layout to maximise the space, add storage, etc. Confirming these details at the beginning of the renovation is essential to ensure there are no delays when it comes to finishing your home. Orly mentions that she often helps clients choose the materials for their renovation (like kitchen cabinets, tiles and wall paint) to help them realise their overall vision of their renovation.
Full house renovation completed in West Harbour, Auckland
5 Simple steps of space planning as told by Orly
So now that you know that space planning is important for a successful renovation you must be wondering where you should start. Orly says that the most important thing is not to get overwhelmed. Interior designers are there for a reason. It is their responsibility to narrow down the choices for you and make your design process as seamless as possible. She has outlined her 5 Step process to successfully plan a space for her clients.
Step 1: Explore the space and understand your purpose for renovation
Your first step should be have a walk around your space and ask yourself what the use of the space would be? What is the purpose for this renovation and what do you want to achieve? Is there anything you can do without? what would you like to change? Do you have a particular vision or is it a mix of things?
Once you get the answers to these questions, you will be able to prioritise the work that needs to be done, focus on the most critical issues and update your budget accordingly.
Step 2: Defining Zones and Natural Pathways
Take your time to do proper space planning and confirm it meets your needs and lifestyle. Try to define zones depending on their primary use.
If you are after a modern open floor plan where the kitchen, dining room and living room are all connected, it’s necessary to define each area. One way of doing it is adding an island to mark the heart of the kitchen. Just don’t forget to double-check if you have enough space to sit conveniently around it and that it doesn’t block your natural pathways.
You can also use furniture like the back of a sofa or a stylish bookshelf to create boundaries. Alternately you can even set a unique flooring feature to define a space like the living room. Once the spaces and your requirements are clear, you can sketch out the area. It would be useful to do it in scale, so you will be able to visualise how it all works together and achieve a functional layout. This will make shopping for furniture in the future easier.
Step 3: Choosing Colours and Textures
After you finished planning your space, it is time to choose colours and materials. It would be easier to start with tones and textures of design elements such as flooring, tiles, cabinetry, benchtop and splashback. It would be good to consult an interior designer for this process. You can select the wall paint colour last to finish up the look and create a complementing background
Step 4: Create a Mood Board
Collect samples from showroom and suppliers. Gather these materials and finishes to create a mood board. Explore, take your time to compare, see how they all work together. Remember that colours affects our mood and the atmosphere in the room. So don’t try to save time here as this process can definitely save you from making unnecessary mistakes in the future.
Step 5: Lay the actual space in your room with Samples
Once you’ve chosen your favourite colour tones, buy small pots of the paint to make a larger model that you can place around the room. Play around with lightings as things can look very different under different lighting. Also get some samples of textures to put around the room to see how they would look in different spaces.
Full house renovation completed in Epsom, Auckland
So do you need an interior designer for your renovation?
Your renovation company will have a designer on board to design the basic layout. However, if the process of pre-planning and designing your aesthetics sounds challenging to you then you should consult an interior designer. Consider working with an experienced interior designer alongside the builder at the very beginning of the project.
This can save a lot of frustration in the future. An interior designer will help you focus on functionality. The interior designer will also help create best layout and room flow for your needs. This will include furniture placement, kitchen and bathroom design, lighting design and colour consulting.
There’s no need to stress and overwhelmed about the colour, materials and choices in finishes. A skilled Interior designer will recommend and present a cohesive plan of how all the different elements work together. An interior designer and builder working together could yield a remarkable and highly functional space.
Designer home renovation projects by Superior Renovations
1. Urban Luxury home Renovation in Parnell
Our client had a centrally located quaint townhouse in Parnell. While the location was great, it lacked modern conveniences in the kitchen and living space. It was tiny, not functional and aesthetically unappealing. This home was fully renovated with concrete designer floors, changing the location of the kitchen to maximise functionality, adding a luxury modern feel to the bathrooms, building a false wall to install a fire place. See full case study here.
Full Town house renovation in Parnell by Superior Renovations
2. Cottage Style Kitchen Renovation
This was a special kitchen as it was about incorporating natural elements into the kitchen to reflect our client’s country surroundings. The kitchen was dated and was transformed into a chic country style kitchen complete with treated real wood as bench-tops, butler’s sink, floating shelves and cabinets that were wrapped in Dezignatek Thermoform with a ‘Ronda’ pattern to give them cabinets a vintage look see more
Full kitchen renovation in Mangere Bridge, Auckland
3. Entertainer’s dream Kitchen and Lounge Renovation
Guru and Neeta from Massey had a closed off kitchen which did not let them enjoy an open plan living. They wanted to renovate to introduce a feel of luxury but also make it an open space which could double as an entertaining space. We opened up the space for them and also extended the kitchen counter towards the lounge to act like a bar. The black and white see more
Kitchen, Lounge and Dining room renovation in Massey
4. Spanish Style Kitchen and Bathroom Renovation
Mary Stuart’s renovation was as much as a credit to her as it was to our designers and renovators. She had a clear vision tearing of converting an old closed off kitchen into an open and spacious Spanish style rustic kitchen. Her inspiration came from the arched hallways when she first bought her home. She was not afraid of bold colours and wanted to convert her bathroom and kitchen into a rustic villa reminiscent of Spain right her in Auckland see more
Bathroom, Kitchen and Laundry renovation in Stanmore Bay
Further Resources for your house interior design
Ideas for Bathroom renovations in our bathroom renovation gallery of bathrooms we have renovated in Auckland
Ideas for Kitchen renovations in our kitchen renovation gallery for kitchens we have renovated in Auckland
Featured projects and Client stories to see specifications on some of the projects.
Real client stories from Auckland
What does an interior designer do?
An interior designer is there to help simplify the process of building or renovating, they do this by working within a client’s brief and budget to create and implement schemes to fit the client’s taste and lifestyle whilst working with the renovation company simultaneously.
When should I hire one?
The earlier into your project the better, If your project is large enough to require plans and drawings by an architect or architectural designer, it can be very useful to have an interior designer look these over, to optimise space planning and interior layout.
Who is Orly Baliti?
Orly is an experienced interior designer, Orly specialises in space planning and concept/color consultation which is exactly the kind of person who renovators need in order to get the best outcome from a renovation.
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The China Tariffs: You Can Always Lose a Little More
The air is getting hotter
There’s a rumbling in the skies
I’ve been wading through the high muddy water
With the heat rising in my eyes
Everyday your memory grows dimmer
It doesn’t haunt me like it did before
I’ve been walking through the middle of nowhere
Trying to get to Heaven before they close the door
When I was in Missouri
They would not let me be
I had to leave there in a hurry
I only saw what they let me see
You broke a heart that loved you
Now you can seal up the book and not write anymore
I’ve been walking that lonesome valley
Trying to get to Heaven before they close the door.
When you think that you’ve lost everything you find out you can always lose a little more.
The above is from Nobel Prize Winner Bob Dylan’s song, Trying to Get to Heaven, and I apologize for quoting so much from it, but it is just so spot-on regarding the US-China cold war.
In early October, in one of our Quick Question Friday posts, we wrote about how all companies that sell Made in China products to the United States need to recognize there will be no quick end to the US-China trade dispute and to start preparing accordingly. This post led to more than the usual volume of hate mail, most of this coming from second-tier “China consultants” who prefer to blame this blog for putting their China gravy train at risk, rather than the downslide in China-US relations doing that.The below is the key portion from that Quick Question post:
My favorite emails though are the ones that essentially ask how far we see this movement out of China going and how we see the US-China trade war ending.
My answers to both of these questions have so far remained pretty much the same and they are as follows:
I see a lot of foreign companies leaving China now and I see that exodus as continuing. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that on at least one level, nearly all of our clients would — at least in theory — like to cease having their products made in China. Part of this is due to the hassles and the hard times they have gone through in China and part of this is due to the grass always being greener on the other side. But to a large extent, these (hurt) feelings are mostly irrelevant. What’s relevant is whether these companies can do their manufacturing in a country other than China and whether their company would be better off doing so. I think that in large part the answer to the second question will more often be yes than no but the answer to the first and more important part will more often be no than yes. Put simply, most of the companies currently having their products made in China have no choice. No country right now comes close to matching China for its combination of manufacturing sophistication and low cost and until this changes, the overwhelming bulk of companies having their products made in China will continue to do so.
I do not see an end to the US-China trade war and that is why I call it the new normal. I think that the US will not back down unless and until China truly opens up its economy and I do not see that happening. Instead I see the tariffs sticking and maybe even increasing. President Trump has said that trade wars are easy to win and it would seem he truly believes this. He believes he can only win this trade war with China because China will either back down or Western (especially US companies) will move their manufacturing out of China due to its increased costs. But see How to Lower your Product Costs, Part 1: This is China, for how China is lowering costs and for how you as a product buyer can take advantage of this. JP Morgan today forecasts that tariffs on all US-China trade and I see essentially the pretty much the same thing. See JPMorgan is now forecasting tariffs on all trade between China and the US — and it could cause havoc for Chinese stocks.
If you are going to up and leave China for another country, you will need the very same protections in whatever country you go as you need for China, but specifically tailored for whichever country to which you are going. This may include the following:
An NNN Agreements before you reveal your product specifications or design or customers or any other trade secret.
A Mold/Tooling Ownership Agreement if you will be bringing your molds or tooling from China to the new country or if you will be paying (either directly or indirectly) for new molds or tooling in the new country.
Product Development Agreements if you will be working with your new manufacturer to modify an existing product or create a new one.
Manufacturing Agreements with whomever new who will be making your product. Go here, here, here, and here for what that entails
You will need to register your trademark to protect your brand name and your company name and your logo in whatever new country you will be going. This will likely be the most important thing you do.
A design patent or a utility patent
A copyright. Usually not needed, but when it is needed, it’s very important.
This blog post merely reflected the position we had taken considerably earlier on our China Law Facebook Page. Pretty much since day one of the tariffs, we have viewed so-called trade war between China and the United States as being about a lot more than trade. If it were really a trade war, it would be about money and it would have ended by now. It is instead — at minimum — a fight about how the United States sees China operating unfairly on the world economic stage by severely restricting (rigging?) its domestic market against foreign companies in large part to purloin foreign intellectual property. China has vehemently denied doing this and accused the United States of being against free trade.
How you or I view the truth or falsity of these various claims is to a large extent irrelevant. What is relevant though is how the United States and China view these various claims and the dispute between them and we see it as our job on here not to pull any punches. Towards that end we think it important that we highlight how the United States Trade Representative (USTR) sees US-China trade as of yesterday, when it came out with its Update Concerning China’s Acts, Policies and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation.
According to this Report, China has made clear — both in public statements and in government-to-government communications –-that it will not change its policies in response to the initial Section 301 action. Indeed, China has largely denied there are any problems with its policies involving technology transfer and intellectual property. The report goes on to note how China’s State Council issued a 71-page “White Paper” in September 2018 that dismissed the Section 301 investigation’s findings and denounced U.S. actions as “trade bullyism” and how China has attempted to harm the U.S. economy by increasing duties on U.S. exports to China.
In other words, “deny deny deny.”
According to the USTR, these actions reveal that the initial tariffs are “no longer appropriate to obtain the elimination of China’s unfair trade acts, policies, and practices. In addition, the burden or restriction on United States commerce of these acts, policies, and practices continues to increase, including following the one-year investigation period. Accordingly, under direction of the President, USTR imposed additional tariffs on approximately $200 billion of imports from China on September 24, 2018.”
I see this “no longer appropriate” phrase as meaning that the U.S views it must do more than just impose tariffs on Chinese goods entering the United States. Like it or not, we see the United States engaging in some or all of the following against China:
Increasingly block Chinese investment into the United States.
Seek to have China removed from the WTO.
Seek to block high end technology from going to China.
Seek to isolate China as much as possible. We see a situation where the Untied States will be presenting the world with a “you are either with us or against us” situation similar to the US-Russia cold war.
In light of the above, we think it wishful thinking to believe the upcoming G20 meeting between President Xi and President Trump will do anything to ease US-China tensions and if we had to predict, we see that meeting only exacerbating the situation, much as the recent APEC meeting did. There can be no resolution on matters that are 100% denied by one side.
We take no pleasure from the above as China has been a massive part of our law firm’s Asia legal practice over the last two decades — we started this China Law Blog in 2006! But at the same time, as international lawyers we too need to remain nimble and we now focus as much on the rest of Asia and on Europe as on China. What are you doing to prepare for the above? See Would the Last Company Manufacturing in China Please Turn Off the Lights. Where will you be going? Thailand? Vietnam? The Philipines?
The China Tariffs: You Can Always Lose a Little More syndicated from https://immigrationattorneyto.wordpress.com/
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4 most important healthcare trends in 2018
To say that it has been a tumultuous year for the healthcare industry is an understatement. Federal policy changes and recent transactions involving large insurers, health systems and retailers will affect providers, payers and patients alike.
While there are many new and emerging trends we need to pay close attention to in 2018, here are what I think are the four most significant issues that will command our attention in the year ahead.
1. Inconsistent healthcare policy will continue to dominate the headlines
The federal debacle with so-called healthcare reform this year has been a case study in confusion, inefficiency and lack of focus. Every week seemed to bring a new twist in the direction of healthcare policy, especially in regards to the ACA, with almost no consistency to the legislative thought process. In many ways, the whole focus of ACA repeal and replace efforts was misguided — you can't take something apart without some ideas for a replacement. The federal government's lack of direction on healthcare policy has created chaos among all industry players.
Given the healthcare provisions in the proposed tax bill and potential future action with the ACA, there are serious implications for states across the country. The confusion surrounding Medicaid and other joint federal-state partnerships has discombobulated state budgets, and it is patients who will ultimately face the harshest consequences if states are forced to slash funding for healthcare.
For the foreseeable future, we're going to continue to see inconsistency in government policies and funding. This is especially dangerous for hospitals in underserved communities that rely almost exclusively on Medicaid and Medicare funding. Unless they are supported in some way, many of these providers will sink deeper into debt.
2. In order to keep pace with newly formed organizations and partnerships, hospitals and health systems need to innovate
The CVS-Aetna deal did not come as a surprise to industry leaders who have been keeping their ears to the ground and have paid attention to recent trends. But nevertheless, this merger is a major shake-up that cannot be ignored. Google, Amazon and IBM Watson are all looking to stake out a piece of the healthcare field, and deals such as Optum's purchase of DaVita Medical Group underscore the ever-evolving nature of the ways people access and pay for care and services. Providers should not view this movement as a threat that must be stopped. Instead, we should spur innovation on our end. We can't sit still. That's why, in Northwell Health's case, we have been forging new partnerships and pursuing ventures that will enable the organization to compete more effectively in this rapidly changing environment.
It will be especially intriguing to see what market segments CVS and Aetna pursue after the merger is finalized. Undoubtedly, they will offer prescriptions, preventive care and other primary services to supplement CVS' "Minute Clinics," but it remains to be seen what other health services will be provided as part of this new collaboration. Regardless of what new competitors enter the healthcare market, the seriously ill, elderly patients with chronic conditions and those who have suffered traumatic injuries will still be relying on hospitals to take care of them. It's highly unlikely that any of the new players will be providing inpatient care. As we all know, the bulk of healthcare funding is spent on long-term care for people at the end of life. The Amazons and Googles of the world are not targeting that population.
Recognizing that traditional healthcare providers do need to adapt to this era of consumerism, among my strategies are to continue expanding our ambulatory network, facilitating innovative partnerships, enhancing efforts in prevention, maximizing our use of artificial or augmented intelligence, and improving our already robust telemedicine program.
In the end, I believe competition is good. Market disruptions give all of us headaches, but they are ultimately beneficial because they force us to do better and be more efficient, productive and creative
3. Unless we continue to improve the customer experience, customers will go elsewhere for care
The more competitive the market becomes, the more work we as providers must do to continually improve the patient experience and develop customer loyalty. This can partly be done through improving communication and curating a more retail-focused experience.
This is unbelievably important, as patients now have more access and choice for their healthcare than ever before. This is not limited to the in-person experience, but also how hospitals and health systems communicate with patients to help them get information and make appointments. Online and mobile platforms are already important for engaging customers, and they will only grow more essential in 2018.
Online engagement is not only for younger patients. It's a medium that has become increasingly more effective than print or broadcast advertising for reaching older patients. Equally important is creating an experience that connects families with providers. We deliver more than 40,000 babies every year in our health system. Those are 40,000 families with whom we could be creating life-long bonds. Pursuing initiatives to maintain a connection with mothers and families is essential.
Over the past five or six years, we've seen major changes in the way innovative organizations in all industries treat their customers. For far too long in our industry, there was a pervasive attitude of, "We're hospitals, or we're physicians, people will always come because we’re here in the community," but those days are over. Consumers don't want to be told when to come or what to do – they want to access care and services on their terms, not ours. We are in the consumer service business, and our patients are educated and knowledgeable. They value easy access, a pleasant experience and quality care, so it's our job to adapt quickly to meet their needs and expectations.
4. Strategies about "healthcare" must now encompass behavioral and mental health
As social stigmas surrounding mental health begin to break down and more people feel comfortable confronting behavioral health issues, it is the responsibility of providers to design their systems in a way that addresses the needs of these individuals. This is especially important at a time when opioid abuse has become one of this nation's most-challenging public health crises.
The problem goes beyond drug and alcohol abuse. For instance, studies have shown that younger generations' increased use of technology, particularly mobile devices, can lead to increased rates of anxiety, depression or loneliness. We as providers must consider these trends and tailor services accordingly, as more and more patients turn to us seeking care for issues that are destroying lives and breaking up families. All of us need to do a better job developing and training staff to meet this demand, especially when it comes to screening those who are trying to hide their addictions to opioids. It entails not only psychiatrists but nurses, social workers, case managers and other clinicians.
Regardless of the issues we face in this ever-evolving industry, we as providers must not resist change. We must continually adapt — those that don't will get left behind.
Technical Dr. Inc.'s insight:
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Modern-day "Bromances": Navigating friendships, old and new
Part 1: Old Friends
There’s a reason why the term “Bromance” popped up in the past few years. While it’s a humorous word, friendships with other men are seriously significant throughout our lives. True friends know us well, support us through life’s ups and downs, and often shape who we are today.
But sometimes, as our lives progress, we can find ourselves growing apart from certain friends made in previous chapters. Maybe it’s the college buddies you lived with for years bonding over beers and game days, or the high school bandmates you jammed with on school nights, or the childhood friends you chased in the streets of your hometown.
Our priorities, responsibilities, hopes, dreams and desires evolve with each stage of life. And ultimately, we ourselves evolve, too.
Let’s say you recently started a family or dedicated more time to your career, while your friends have fewer responsibilities and more free time. Or, perhaps you’re actively dating while most of your friends are in settled relationships. Regardless, as your life evolves, your friends’ lives may not develop at the same pace, along the same route, or vice versa. And that’s OK! It’s quite common for friendships to ebb and flow.
However, I see cases where men stay in friendships out of loyalty, loneliness, or many other reasons, even when the friendship is no longer reciprocal - or worse, it’s detrimental.
I’m not saying that all friendships bear an expiration date and you must throw yours in the trash as soon as you have fewer things in common. Instead, I’m referring to those friendships that consistently take energy away from your life, rather than add to it.
Many of the patients that I see in my therapy practice for men are high achievers; they’re loyal, giving, and spread themselves thin, often at their own expense. Like any relationship, friendships are an investment of time and energy, but the investment should be intangibly rewarding for both parties. Here are some questions to consider:
Does spending time with him (or them) seem like a chore?
Are conversations more like transactional exchanges of life updates?
Are your hangouts always on his terms (when he’s free, what he wants to do)
Are you supportive of each other’s priorities (relationships, careers) even if they differ from yours, or does your friend resent you, criticize your choices, or even try to sabotage them?
Do you feel pressured to partake in activities that are detrimental (excessive drinking/drug use) to your lifestyle?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you don’t need to write off your friend(s). It does mean you should consider making some changes so you can be good friends to each other while prioritizing your own well being.
Here are some suggestions to consider:
Set boundaries. If the main differences are schedules or activities, try vocalizing what YOU want. You don’t have to always hang out when it works best for the other person or do what he wants to do. Let me give you a couple example conversations:
“I know I’ve been spending more time on Saturdays with my wife and kids and I haven’t been able to come to any games with you, but I really want to catch up and hear how things are going. What days are you free this week for happy hour?”
Or: “I have a very busy quarter, and that means cutting back on drinking on weeknights. Instead of meeting at the bar, how about we try that new pizza place?”
A good friend will understand and be happy to see you. And if they don’t reciprocate, it may be time to let that friendship go.
Categorize your friendships. Sometimes it’s not about cutting out friends; it’s about recognizing what makes each friendship great and tailoring your friendship accordingly.
Do you have college buddies that are still in party mode? Know when you have the time and mental capacity to see them. Hint: It may not be every weekend, but make an extra effort to see them for big life celebrations.
Do you have a hometown friend who has been in your life for years, but you no longer see eye-to-eye or have much in common? If you want to keep that relationship, invite him out to an activity you both still enjoy (like a pickup basketball game) where you can his company but not get into a lengthy discussion (about politics, etc.).
Lastly, reflect on which friends are truly supportive and make sure you spend your energy cultivating those relationships.
Put yourself on the market for new friends. If you’re finding yourself holding on to fizzling friendships, consider making new friends that are in similar life stages or enjoy similar activities. We’ll talk more about this in the next post.
Navigating friendships is no easy task, and each relationship is unique. If you’d like to speak about your specific situation, feel free to reach out for a session.
source https://www.drtimlewis.com/blog/modern-day-bromances
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The Attorney’s Role in Commercial Transactions
As a transactional lawyer, I’ve seen the attorney’s role in commercial transactions has changed dramatically over the past several years. It is not always possible to wait for the client to request the preparation or review of documents. In many instances, the attorney must now assist the client in finding or creating business opportunities.
Sophisticated clients demand top performance from their attorneys. This goes beyond qualifications and experience. Transactions today are usually much more fragile, and the attorney must have the sense and perception to hold them together and then successfully close them.
At a time when client loyalty to attorneys is low, there is also a great deal of pressure on the legal profession to contain legal fees. Also, with the usual transaction being more complex and short fused, specialization and automation are essential.
While a successful result is paramount, an attorney must maintain a high ethical and professional level. The attorney must be a stabilizing influence and should avoid and try to stop senseless bickering between attorneys. The effective attorney need not use the so-called junkyard dog tactics and instead can be a team player. Additionally, the attorney must keep the client informed so that the client, rather than the attorney, can make the business decisions.
The Lawyer’s Scope of Responsibility
The business community is looking more frequently to attorneys to locate sources of funds. This requires a knowledge of the capital markets and those who are active in it. This may be accomplished through a direct introduction to the source or to one who has access, such as a mortgage broker or investment banker.
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The structure of transactions is now much more complex and usually involves more than one source of funds. For example, current underwriting criteria of lenders requires substantial equity in a project. If an investor does not have the necessary cash or is not willing to part with it, then another level of funding must be added. This may be an investor, a partner or an equity lender.
It may be necessary to structure a business organization for a party or to tailor a transaction to satisfy a particular need. In addition, tax issues are common and a transaction may involve complicated governmental regulation. This would be the case in the sale of a security which, if not exempt, requires a registration.
The documentation for a transaction cannot be the main focus. It must also be simple and concise, yet complete and fair. So that the business terms are clearly understood, it may still be wise to start with a letter of intent which can also serve as an executive summary of the transaction. The requirement of a legal opinion is becoming more common and is not limited to institutional transactions.
Business relationships and agreements are difficult to establish and a challenge to keep intact. For this reason, an attorney must manage or assist in the management of the transaction until it is closed. This involves regular and clear communication and trouble shooting where required. An attorney with an inflated ego or a contentious personality does not have a place in the transactions of today.
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Transaction Attorney’s Fees
In too many instances, the cost of the legal work is more important to the client than any other aspect of the engagement of the attorney. If clients require a flat fee or other controls on the costs, the scope of work and amount of time to be expended by the attorney must be clearly defined. Although a percentage fee may also have a place in a transaction, it may be more suitable as a finder’s fee or creating an opportunity rather than for performance of legal services. The fee determination is often based more on value than time. Also, part or all of the fees may be contingent upon achieving a successful result. An attorney may not always be able to accommodate this request because of ethical or financial reasons.
There are rare occasions where a one-line billing statement at the end of a project is appropriate. Usually, the billing statements should contain sufficient detail so that the client can understand the work that was performed and the costs that were advanced. The statements should be sent on a regular basis, usually monthly.
Hopefully, the competition between attorneys and others providing similar services will not put them into a bidding war for the work. As the old adage goes, “you get what you pay for,” and quality may be sacrificed. Also, it would be a mistake to put too much emphasis on an hourly rate, since excessive hours from an inexperienced attorney will nullify the benefit of a low hourly rate.
Written Fee Agreement
The scope of the work and legal fees must be discussed at the outset. The fee arrangement must be confirmed in a fee letter or agreement. The client should understand that the attorney is in the business of selling legal and related services, and the attorney should know that the client is entitled to expect and receive competent and timely legal services for a fair fee.
In engaging an attorney, the client should ask about the attorney’s experience, reputation, prior successes and availability. Also, the existence of adequate errors and omissions insurance coverage should be discussed. The client should be fair in its dealings with the attorney but should not tolerate any deficiencies in the work or conduct of the attorney.
An attorney should be retained early in the transaction and kept involved in the important stages. This will ensure that all of the deal points have been negotiated and are included in the final documentation. A good relationship between the attorney and the client is based upon mutual respect. A cooperative effort will go a long way in achieving a successful result.
Free Initial Consultation with a Commercial Lawyer
When you need a transactional commercial attorney, call Ascent Law for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.
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from Michael Anderson http://www.ascentlawfirm.com/the-attorneys-role-in-commercial-transactions/
from Top Rated Utah Lawyer https://topratedlawyer.wordpress.com/2018/03/28/the-attorneys-role-in-commercial-transactions/
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One Month Already?
First, a massive thank you to those who reached out after my post about getting sick. The waves of love were a reminder that I am not at all alone on these adventures. Here are some of my many wanderings of the last week.
All things Ophthalmology
The doctor that I have been rotating with this week has one message - “No hay que adviniar. Todo tiene un logico” (There are no guessing games. Everything has a logic.) With this in mind, this week has been all about appreciating the why of every medical decision, both in terms of anatomy and physiology as well as in terms of the individual circumstances of presenting patients. I won’t lie...I didn’t think much of the eye when I arrived but I have learned so much more than I would have imagined and grown to appreciate its complexity.
Since this week took on such a “science-heavy” tone (I was literally studying the eye and related diseases before bed and on the bus), I think my focus on the patient was considerably deferred. I did not realize that this was the case until a patient with diagnosed glaucoma started sobbing (in the middle of a consultation) at the prospect of losing her vision. The moment left me paralyzed because it was a harsh reminder that eyes belong to people and people have lives. As a person whose main focus at the moment is the patient, it is easy to say that doctors should treat people not diseases. This was the first time that I realized, in a deeply personal way, that doing so is so much harder than it seems (although not impossible).
Post eye-surgery bathroom mirror selfie. Note: I will never look at an eyeball the same way again. Despite its seemingly insignificant appearance, it is incredibly complex and delicate and tbh, fascinating in ways that I did not expect.
“If you could change anything about the medical institution, what would you change and why?”
I have asked this question to everyone who has given me the time of day, from patients to doctors to nurses. Here are some of the most common responses:
- Doctors should have less patients so that they could focus more on the needs of individual patients (patient)
- Wait times need to be reduced (various patients)
- Length of work days so that one does not get burnt out so quickly (nurse)
- How patients are treated by hospital personnel (patient)
- Better technology, software, and equipment (various doctors and patients)
- Less bureaucracy, especially when it affects patients (doctor)
- More slots for appointments because I have to take on “extras” when a patient needs to be seen in 48 hours but there are no available appointments for three months (doctor)
- More beds for more patients (medical student)
In a lot of ways, these answers are obvious and applicable to healthcare issues in the United States. Issues of capacity and efficiency are really intriguing because increasing capacity and efficiency is simultaneously a problem and a solution.
There are two obvious ways to increase capacity: more doctors and hospital space or more patients per doctor with increased pressure on the efficiency of consultations. Increasing the medical labor force is expensive and takes time while increasing patient loads reduces the personalization of medicine. This therefore becomes a question of priorities: Is it more important to treat as many patients as possible or to make each consultation as holistic as possible. In an ideal world, both goals would be simultaneously achieved but in real life, there are many circumstances that prevent this from being possible.
This brings me to my next, and perhaps most important question: can we reimagine medicine (completely and totally from the bottom up) so that both things are possible? What does an innovative solution look like? I don’t have an answer but this is the kind of question that keeps me up at night and fuels my explorations. Of course we can work within the system to make meaningful changes but what does work beyond the system look like? Is there a possibility for a total transformation of the system? In my humble opinion, the biggest revolutions happen when people dare to challenge normalized institutions and ways of doing things.
Anyways, enough babbling... this is just food for thought.
My Watson Question
I met a new doctor a few days ago who asked me about what brought me to Ecuador. After I explained my Watson question to him, he asked me what I had learned so far about marginalization and healthcare access in Quito. This was an important moment because it was the first time that someone asked me specifically about the progress I’ve made on my Watson question. As I was gathering my thoughts and explaining my findings, I realized that a lot of the things I was bringing up were things that I was already conscious of (at least partially) before coming to Ecuador. While I now have tidbits of stories, emotions, and observations that I did not have before, my interaction with this doctor helped me realize that my approach to my questions may have to be modified. What do I mean? At the moment, I spend my days in the hospital rotating with different doctors in a variety of departments. I get to observe consultations, procedures, meetings, talk to patients, and everything in between. It has been a very involved experience and a great one to say the least! There is no doubt in my mind that I have learned loads. What is missing? I think the answer is some more exploration into the literature that already exists on the topics I care about (specifically tailored to Ecuador) so that I may be able to observe the same things with a broadened, more in depth understanding of the underlying systems that produce the circumstances I am witness to. Perhaps this should have already been obvious to me and it is silly to bring it up almost a month into my experience. However, in some ways I think it is also advantageous to have gone into the hospital with no pre-dispositions, obtain an on-the-ground perspective, and then fill in the blanks with some research.
With all of this in consideration, I have already begun my dive into the research and am looking to get in contact with public health experts in the city. The major challenge - reading academic papers in spanish...something I have never had to do before. However, this is a compelling challenge because it will allow me to expand my Spanish vocabulary even more.
Touristy Things: Trip to Quilotoa
Everyone has told me that I must visit this place before I leave Ecuador because it is spectacular. They were absolutely right. Walking into the crater of an active volcano? Check!
Embracing the beauty of nature with open arms and a big heart. #grateful.
First time riding a mule and I was literally glowing like a small child with inexplicable joy. Unfortunately, my guide doesn’t look too happy...
Pictures don’t do the rolling hills justice. It is a sight I hope everyone has a chance to experience at some point.
This lil’ thing is only 3 days old!! <3
“Adulting” in a Foreign Country:
Money: I have an extensive expenses spreadsheet that gets updated daily and am pretty intentional about the choices I make when it comes to spending money. However, I have an unreasonably large (and slightly unhealthy) fear of being without money that haunts me day and night. I think that at least part of that fear comes from my upbringing. One of my newer philosophies: experiences last forever, material things do not. Spend accordingly.
Health: I have been eating a lot healthier (I think) then when I left the states in part because it is so much cheaper to buy fresh fruit and veggetables than processed foods (the way it should always be). I cook most of my meals and exercise daily through dance.
Decision-Making: some of you may not agree but I try to remind myself daily that this is my time to be a little selfish, to indulge in the things that most excite me and extract as much knowledge and wisdom from the experiences that come from that indulgence.
Identity Exploration: Joined an LGBT group in the city. Everyone is super nice and it is loads of fun :)
Work-Play Balance: As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am the kind of person that always feels like I am not doing enough (sometimes to my disadvantage). That said, while I am also always looking for ways to fill my time with meaningful activities, I am also embracing my tourist status and creating time to get to know different parts of the city and country.
Safety: This is an unusual sub-category but traveling alone as a woman warrants that this be a big consideration in all of my “adulting.” I am generally very aware of my surroundings and super careful about who I choose to trust. One thing that my heightened awareness for my personal safety has taught me is that living in fear is one of the worst things ever. I feel deeply for those who fear for their safety daily. Fearing that someone will snatch your cell phone is one thing but fearing for your life every day, that is a heartbreaking tragedy.
Moving Forward:
Guatemala: The details are all set. I’ve got a partner organization, a cute apartment, and a lot to look forward to learning. Sadly, I will not be able to dance while I am here but perhaps I can find something similarly rewarding to fill my evenings with.
Argentina: Originally, I was planning on going to Cambodia but I have since changed my itinerary because I wanted to spend a little more time in Latin America, a region I care deeply about. If I am honest, there is a part of me that thinks I am taking an easier road by staying in Latin America. At the same time however, the opportunities that are available to me in Argentina, both because of the abundance of organizations/connections as well as my knowledge of the language, will allow me to learn so, so much more. This feels like the right decision and one that I am very excited about.
Flight has been booked and apartment reserved. TBH, I can’t wait for Argentina!
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And finally, throwback to my last few days in the states, when purchasing a lab coat felt like the biggest accomplishment ever. Now, about a month into my Watson, I can look back at the moment when this picture was taken and appreciate that the universe has blessed me a million times over. Little did I know then the many joys that awaited me.
Quote for the week:
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things” - Henry Miller
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