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augustinewrites · 8 months ago

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"i love hearing your voice first thing in the morning."

you roll your eyes, resting your phone between your cheek and shoulder. nevermind it's mid afternoon. "aventurine, listen—"

as expected, he does no such thing. "don't care why you're calling. just that you're calling."

you can practically hear that smug, handsome grin on his face. "about your assignment in penacony—"

"oh yeah, sorry i had to take a rain check on our date. i ran into a few bumps along the way."

"what date?"

"the one i'll be dropping by in ten minutes to finally take you on." you hear chatter in the background now. he must have just entered the building.

you quickly check your reflection in your office window. "with an explanation for your expense report i hope."

"so you do get my messages! did you see the picture i attached?"

you did see the shirtless hotel selfie he'd attached to the report. you'd done him a favour and removed it (and saved it) before sending it off to your colleagues. "you gave that trailblazer hundreds of thousands of credits for unapproved 'bribery costs,' as you've called them."

"yep," he confirms, popping the 'p.' there's a few beats of silence as he pulls the phone away from his ear. your phone vibrates with a notification.

e-transfer: AVENTURINE sent you credits!

500,000 credits, to be specific.

"seriously?" you ask, shaking your head.

"don't worry, it's not ipc funds," he assures you. "i won it fair and square. use it buy yourself something to wear on our date. something gold."

"i'll be using it to pay rent for the next few months," you inform him, opening your banking app to deposit the credits. "but maybe i'll blow a little on something fun first."

"oof. speaking of blowing—"

your office door is suddenly thrown open, aventurine strolling inside with his arms wide open.

you stand, rounding your desk. aventurine kicks the door closed, then leans in for a hug, only to be stopped by a printed copy of his expense report pressed into his chest. "we need to talk about this."

"nah."

"nah?"

he takes the report, ignoring your protests as he throws it over his shoulder. "hey—"

he quickly closes the distance between you, cupping the back of your neck to pull you into a kiss.

and you— well, you kissed him back, letting him crowd you up against the wall. annoying as he was, you couldn't help but want him a little too.

when he slides a hand under the hem of your pants, you grab his wrist, pulling back to look at him. bright eyes watch you curiously.

"oh no. you first, hot stuff."

"hot stuff, huh?" he grins, already pulling his shirt over his head. you try not to stare at his spectacularly toned torso for too long and inflate his ego anymore. "i like it."

he moves back in for another kiss but you lean back, gaze flicking to his pants.

he quickly undoes them, pushing them down to his ankles and leaving him in just his boxers.

only then did you let him kiss you. again and again and again.

"okay, that's enough," you tease, leaving him with one last kiss to the corner of his mouth. you're breathless, flustered, face warm in the aftermath of your office makeout.

"hey, hold on—" he's quick to groan, shuffling after you with his pants still around his ankles. "where could you possibly be going right now?!"

you turn to face him once you've pulled the door open, holding up your phone. "i'm going to buy something gold to wear for our date."

#he has to hide in your office for a while bcs he's bricked up LOL #aventurine x reader #hsr x reader #aventurine x you #aventurine smut

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techgropse1 · 2 years ago

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Want to know Cost to Build Dating App ? We are as a leading on-demand app development company mention all the factors that effect the cost.

#cost to build dating app #dating app development company #on demand app developers

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goddessinnerglow · 10 days ago

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Become Your Best Version Before 2025 - Day 13

Financial Planning and Budgeting

Hello Goddesses! I know that talking about money, can feel scary or boring, but after working on our stress management tools yesterday, it's perfect timing to address something that's often a huge source of stress for many of us: finances.

First things first: if thinking about money makes you want to hide under your blanket, you're not alone. But taking control of your finances isn't about becoming a math genius or never buying another coffee again. It's about making friends with your money so it can help you live your best life.

Let's break this down into bite-sized pieces that won't give you a headache:

Start Where You Are

Remember when you first learned to ride a bike? You didn't start by doing tricks, you started with training wheels. Money management is the same way! First step: just look at your current situation. Open those banking apps you've been avoiding. Take a deep breath and look at your statements. Knowledge is power, even if it's a bit scary at first.

The Money Map Exercise

Grab a piece of paper (or open your notes app) and let's do something simple:

Write down all your income sources

List your regular monthly expenses (yes, including those sneaky subscriptions!)

Don't forget those irregular expenses like annual fees or seasonal costs

Look at what's left (or what's missing)

Congratulations! You've just created your first basic budget outline.

The 50/30/20 Guideline

Here's a popular way to think about your money:

50% for needs (rent, groceries, utilities)

30% for wants (fun stuff, shopping, entertainment)

20% for future you (savings, debt payment, investments)

These numbers might not work for everyone, especially depending on where you live. The important thing is to have some kind of plan that works for YOU.

Smart Money Habits You Can Start Today

The 24-Hour Rule: For non-essential purchases over a certain amount (you decide the number!), wait 24 hours before buying. You'd be surprised how many "must-haves" become "maybe nots" overnight!

Bill Calendar: Set up a simple calendar with all your bill due dates. Future you will be so grateful!

Automate Your Savings: Even if it's just $5 a week, set up automatic transfers to a savings account. It's like hiding money from yourself!

Track Your Spending: For just one week, write down every single purchase. No judging, just observing. You might find some surprising patterns!

The Emergency Fund Challenge

Let's start building that safety net! Even $500 in savings can make a huge difference in an emergency. Start with a goal of saving just $25 this week. Too much? Start with $10. Too little? Make it $50. The amount isn't as important as getting started.

Money Goals That Make Sense

Instead of vague goals like "save more," try specific ones like:

Save enough for three months of basic expenses by December 2025

Pay off one credit card by summer

Create a "fun fund" for that hobby you've been wanting to try

Your financial journey is exactly that, YOURS. You don't need to compare yourself to anyone else. The person on Instagram showing off their investment portfolio might still be paying off massive debt. Focus on your own path!

Your mission for today:

Look at your bank statement (I know, scary, but you can do it!)

Pick ONE money habit from this post to try this week

Set ONE specific financial goal for 2025

See you tomorrow for Day 14! Remember, every financial decision you make today is a gift to your future self.

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hungermakesmonsters · 1 year ago

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Catch Me If You Can

Chapter Two

Plot summary : When your friend interviews for a position at Anvil, you have a chance encounter with Billy Russo. He takes you for coffee and, by the time you’re done , Billy decides he’s anything but done with you.

Pairing : Billy Russo x Reader

Story Rating : R

Chapter Rating : this one is pretty PG

Warnings : [This is a fic for 18+ only, minors DNI] Nothing in this chapter is warning worthy, there’s a little tiny bit of sex talk but that’s it. Please check the warnings on each chapter if you choose to follow this story.

Word Count : ~2.8k

A/N : this chapter happens in the days after chapter one. Thank you so much to everyone who read and liked the last chapter, it really means the world to me!

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

You didn’t have the nerve to tell Tammy that you’d rejected Billy’s advances and that she’d probably not get the job because of you. You let her hold onto the idea that you’d been doing something good for her, instead of something stupid for you. The whole thing reminded you of why you’d become friends with her in the first place; when Tammy was being nice to you, when she wasn’t making petulant demands, she could be great to be around.

But, she kept asking when your date with Billy was and by the third day of waiting to hear about the job, you were taking extra deliveries just to avoid the apartment. You knew you’d have to tell her sooner rather than later, but you really were hoping it would be later, at least after you’d figured out a way to explain to her that you’d cost her a job because you’d told Billy Russo no.

And when she came into the den screeching and clutching her phone? You thought she finally knew the truth and were ready to give her the apology that you’d spent the last few days trying to practise.

“I got the fucking job!” She squealed, jumping up onto the sofa beside you.

“You - what?” It took a moment to hear her over the screeching and - no, surely Billy hadn’t given her a job just as a way of getting to you. He was a businessman, he wouldn’t do something so dumb just to get you into bed.

After the initial excitement fizzled out, Tammy dropped onto the sofa to sit beside you. “I start on Monday! I can’t believe I’m finally going to get my parents off my back.”

“I thought you didn’t even want the job at Anvil? Before the interview you said it sounded boring.”

“That was until I saw the guys that work there, I mean, it’s literally a building full of hotties. And I can still do auditions in the evenings and on weekends. Besides, most people work crappy jobs before they get famous.” To your surprise she was being very mature about the whole thing, though you weren’t sure how she’d deal with actually working a nine-to-five job.

“Well, I’m happy for you.” You forced a smile because you were happy, even if you weren’t sure that it wasn’t all going to fall apart when Billy realised he was never going to convince you to go to dinner with him

“Okay but you’re going to have to promise me you won’t fuck this up for me.”

“How would I even -”

“I get it, Billy Russo is hot, but I know what you’re like with guys...”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” You knew exactly what she meant, and that was the worst part. Tammy had tried, and failed, in the past to set you up, to put you on dating apps, and play wingman for her during double dates, and every time it had ended badly.

“Just don’t go leading him on and then ghosting or whatever it is you normally do to guys. I don’t need you pissing off my new boss.”

“I’ll try really hard not to, Tammy.” If she noticed you were being sarcastic, she didn’t seem to care.

It wasn’t long before she disappeared off to celebrate with her friends, leaving you alone in the apartment, leaving you to try and figure out what was going on. As much as Tammy was - well, let’s just say she had certain skills that would be helpful in a secretarial position, you just couldn’t figure out why she’d been given the job.

Billy Russo wasn’t an idiot, that much you were certain of; he wouldn’t hire Tammy just because of you. In fact, he probably wasn’t even involved in the hiring process. You were overthinking it. And, ultimately, it didn’t even matter because you weren’t going to see him again.

You weren’t going anywhere near the Anvil building ever again.

But that didn’t stop you from opening your laptop and Googling his name.

It felt like an invasion of privacy, reading through articles about Anvil’s financial successes, about the heroic ex-Marine who’d built the company from nothing and now gave so much back to his fellow veterans. Your stomach knotted at every photo taken at some gala or corporate event where he had some stunning woman hanging off his arm (women who, upon reading the image captions were revealed to be leaders in their fields; lawyers, models, psychiatrists, and even a surgeon). Jealousy had you closing your laptop, and self-loathing had you making a promise to yourself to stay away from Billy Russo and Anvil.

But it wasn’t that simple. You kept thinking about his smile, the way his dark eyes had looked at you like he wanted nothing more than to take you apart piece by piece, and the way his laugh had felt like the rarest sound you could draw from him. Most of all, you kept thinking about the kiss, playing it over and over. Sometimes you even found yourself wishing that you’d just said yes - what was the worst that could have happened?

(No, no, you didn’t want to think about that.)

You couldn’t stop yourself from going back to the Google search, over and over again, just to look at him. There was just something about him, something that made you feel like a ridiculous teenager with a crush, but every time you looked at his eyes, it did something to you; it made you want something you knew you couldn’t have.

You needed to stay away from him.

But Tammy had other plans.

Her first day of work, the following Monday, she’d begged you to drop her off. Then, once you were there, she’d demanded that you help her carry her things to the door, using the reasoning that she had taken the job for you as well as her, so you could keep the apartment that you both loved so much.

All you wanted to do was get out of there as quickly as possible, so the moment Tammy was by the door you were pushing the box into her arms and stepping away, all the while telling her that you couldn’t pick her up later because of work. Tammy tried to complain, tried to talk over you, but you didn’t stop; you were going to get as far away from that building as quickly as possible. Ignoring her frustration, you shouted good luck over your shoulder and started back towards your car.

Only, there was a surprise waiting for you when you got there.

“I like your strategy; in and out before anyone can notice you.” Billy smirked, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the driver’s side door of your car.

“Well, clearly it didn’t work...” you answered awkwardly, stopping a few feet away from him, out of his reach.

“It’s hard to pull off when you’re dealing with a Recon Marine,” he laughed, still smirking that smirk that looked so good on him. “I hoped we’d run into each other again.”

“It’s hardly running into each other when you own the building and you know what my car looks like,” you shrugged and Billy’s smile waivered a little. Your stomach knotted at the sight, at the way his playful smile dimmed to something that seemed almost forced. He took a breath, unfolded his arms and stood away from your car.

“Look, I just wanted to talk - to apologise - I guess I was a little heavy-handed last time,” the words were enough of a distraction that he managed to take a couple of steps towards you. “I just - I’m not very good at...” he let out an awkward laugh and threw his arms out in a shrug, not finishing the thought.

“Asking women out?” You offered with an uncomfortable huff of laughter. “I don’t believe that.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Why not?” And, just like that, you were being pulled into another one of his little games.

You could have walked around him, could have told him that you needed to go, but you didn’t. The truth was, that you enjoyed it, you liked that playful side of him, even though it wasn’t fair of you to indulge him when you knew you’d still have the same answer for him at the end of all this.

“Because you’re - you.” And that was all the answer you could offer him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Billy laughed and your cheeks started to warm again.

“You don’t exactly strike me as the type of guy who struggles to get dates?” He remained silent, a questioning look on his face; he wanted you to say what you both knew you were thinking. “You know, the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing you’ve got going on...”

“And you think that makes it easier for me?” His smile was back, that playful glint in his eye that you just couldn’t seem to say no to.

“Doesn’t it?”

“Well, you said no, didn’t you?”

Shit. You’d walked yourself into a trap.

“Not because of you - or, I mean, not because of anything you did. I just don’t date.” You started to play with the cuff of your hoodie, not sure what else you were supposed to say to him.

“What if it wasn’t a date? What if it was just two people going for dinner?”

“I think it’s a bit late for just dinner, Billy.”

“‘cause I kissed you?” your gaze dropped, cheeks burning hotter. “I shouldn’t have, I should’ve waited, I just - I have poor impulse control when it comes to things I want.”

You didn’t say anything - what could you even say to any of that?

“What if it wasn’t dinner?”

“Billy...” you sighed.

“Is it really so bad that I want to spend some time with you? Get to know you a little?”

Was it? The terrifying thing was the fact that he almost had you convinced, almost had you relenting and agreeing with him.

“I’m not really worth knowing,” you shrugged, “I’m nothing special, Billy. I’m just a bike messenger who spends most of her time driving her roommate around.”

“I like talking to you, you make me laugh,” Billy shrugged. “And I think you are worth knowing, and I don’t give a shit if you’re a bike messenger or a brain surgeon, it doesn’t change anything.”

“Right, one of New York's most eligible bachelors taking a bike messenger out to dinner, I can just picture it,” an embarrassing snort of laughter escaped you, “probably couldn’t take me to any of the fancy places that you’re used to, so what does that leave? Pizza Hut or Five Guys?”

“‘I’ll take you for pizza if that’s what you want. We could go right now?”

“Billy, it’s eight-thirty in the morning, I’m pretty sure Pizza Hut isn’t open yet.” You laughed, despite the feeling that you’d been letting this play out for far too long now.

“I’m sure we could find a way to kill some time until it opens?”

“Oh really?” You shot him a look, eyebrows raised, very unimpressed with what you thought he was implying.

“Hey, I meant go get a coffee or something, get your mind out of the gutter.” He grinned and you couldn’t help but laugh again.

“I’d just be wasting your time.”

“I don’t think I’d consider any time spent with you a waste,” he retorted without even missing a beat.

“You don’t even know me.”

“I don’t, but I want to.”

“Why?” Why was he being so persistent? What did he think he was going to get from you?

“Why does anyone get to know anyone?”

“I don’t know.” And you really didn’t, that was the saddest part of all. “I’m not your type.”

“And what do you think my type is?” He asked, barely managing to hold back a laugh.

“Doctors, lawyers, psychiatrists - women who make at least six figures a year?” You realised far too late what you’d given away. “Women whose wardrobes cost more than I’ll make in my lifetime?”

“Did you Google me?” Billy asked, not even trying to hold back the smirk.

“N-no, I just - it came up when I was researching the job for Tammy.”

You fell silent and, for a few moments, so did Billy, long enough for it to make things feel all the more awkward when he finally spoke again.

“I’m not a bad guy, y’know.”

You looked at him, confused, not sure what he meant. Your fingers kept picking at the stitching on your cuff, and Billy seemed to notice.

“I’m making you uncomfortable.” He was, but you hated that he knew it. It wasn’t so much him that was the issue, it was you, it was all the messed up things in your past that made you the way you were.

“I don’t think you’re a bad guy, Billy." You said, not wanting to address whether or not he was making you uncomfortable because it was less him and more the general situation.

"Then let me prove it to you." You didn’t respond. “Just give me one night.”

“And, what? I’m supposed to fall madly in love with you?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“Not that. I don’t - love isn’t a thing I’m capable of, it’s not something I’m interested in.” He explained, like it was such a simple and ordinary thing.

“Then why waste a night together if you don’t even want it to go anywhere?”

“There are plenty of other places it could go. I could show you the best night of your life and, at the end of it, if you wanted to walk away from me, you could.” Billy shrugged.

“So you just want sex? There are easier ways to get laid, Billy.” You told him with an awkward sort of laugh.

“I don’t want easy, I want you.” Normally you’d laugh at a line like that, but the way he was looking at you, the way he looked like he was barely holding back from showing you just what he meant right there in the parking lot kept you silent. “Tell me you haven't thought about it, that you’re not thinking about it right now; how it’d feel to spend the night with me inside you.”

You bit your lip, giving away far more than you wanted to.

Yes, you’d thought about it - how could you not?

“Billy...” you sounded almost breathless and that really didn’t help the point you were trying to make.

“I can make you feel things you’ve never felt before.” The way he said it made you want it, made you want things that you knew you shouldn’t.

“So, you’d fuck me then leave me?”

“Not if you didn’t want that.” He took the slightest step forwards and you couldn’t bring yourself to recoil.

“But you said -”

“I said I wasn’t interested in love, that doesn’t mean that it has to be a one and done thing, if you don’t want it to be.” Billy offered like this was some business deal and you were negotiating the terms. You could see why Anvil was so successful with him in charge.

“Fuck buddies then? Until - what? - you get bored of me?” You didn’t even know why you were encouraging him, why you were playing his game and letting the conversation drag on.

“Or you get bored of me,” Billy shrugged. “Admit it, you’re thinking about it. You’re thinking about what it’d be like to fuck me.”

“Maybe I am, but that doesn’t change anything. I don’t date and I don’t think sleeping with you would do either of us any good.”

He waited a moment before dropping; “was the last guy really that bad?”

And, just like that, everything seemed to change.

“What?” It was obvious though, wasn’t it? You should have been surprised that he hadn’t put it together sooner; you didn’t date because your ex had been a real piece of shit to you. A moment later, you shook your head. “It’s not - I don’t like to talk about it...”

You steeled yourself for what came next; the endless questions, trying to figure out what had happened to you and just how bad it was, how he could fix you. Only, it never came. He didn’t push, didn’t try to convince you that he was better than whoever might have hurt you. Instead, he seemed resigned, like he knew he couldn’t do any of that.

“I’m sorry,” he offered softly, “I’ll leave you alone.”

And, just like that Billy seemed to give up, his smile almost completely gone, replaced by a look that you didn’t want to think about. It wasn’t quite pity, but instead an uncomfortable compassion, an almost understanding. Someone had hurt him too, you realised. You frowned, frozen in place as he closed the distance between you and gently pressed his lips to your cheek.

“You know where to find me if you ever change your mind.”

As he pulled away from you, your breath caught in your chest, but you didn’t dare watch as he walked away from you. It was too dangerous, you knew you’d say something, knew you’d call him back.

CHAPTER THREE

END NOTE : so the first two chapters were mostly set up, from next chapter onwards things will actually start to go somewhere. From this point on, things will get smutty and dark. The next three chapters are mostly done and I'll probably start scheduling chapters to post on the weekends going forwards.

Thanks for reading, I hope you have a wonderful day!

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #the punisher #billy russo fanfic #billy russo x female reader #ben barnes #cmiyc ff

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phoenix-eclipses · 4 months ago

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Casting Love 0.13 -- Kenma's Awesome Roommate

Your trip to the cafe had been short. Makki and Mattsun had asked for you to come talk to them, joking you had been showing clear favoritism for the only member of your group who hadn't gone to Seijoh, but you only rolled your eyes and came to say hi to the two of them.

Even if you hadn't been planning to meet with Kenma, Makki had a class in twenty minutes so you all chatted while ordering your treats and waiting to receive them. It didn't take long before Makki separated from you two and Mattsun took it upon himself to walk with you to Kenma's building.

"Dang, I thought we'd be going to the one dorm building near here, not this place!"

"I thought the same thing when he said he was close to the cafe! Maybe his parents are rich, or something."

"Maybe you should try and date him, get that money." he nudged against you teasingly.

"Why bother when I got Tooru and Haji?" you laughed back.

"Fair point. Oikawa would spoil you to all hell." you both entered the lobby. "Do you want me to come up to you to the room... if I'm even allowed to?"

You stayed silent for a moment, remembering the system Kenma had explained to you. However, a part of you felt like it was a bit sketchy and would prefer to keep people knowing about it. As close as you were with Mattsun, he did frequently accidentally let secrets out.

"Nah, I don't think they would. Last time I was here he talked to them so they'd know I was with him. Doubt they'd let you in without him down here, thank you though."

"No problem, just don't drop the bag or your drinks." Mattsun waved to you before walking out of the lobby, probably to return to his own dorm. You let out a sigh before heading to the lady that sat at the desk.

"Excuse me?"

Despite you speaking, she didn't bother to even look up at you, she just let out a small hum to show she had heard you.

"I'm here to visit Kozume Kenma. He's on the 7th floor." as you spoke, you began to wonder if Kenma had even be telling the truth. In a building like this, surely they'd have higher security. But before you could even think to call Kenma to prove you were here for him, she scribbled something down and placed a card on the desk in front of you.

"That'll get you into the elevator." she still didn't even look at you, returning to her work. You took the card, still skeptical this could be some sort of joke, and walked to the elevator, swiping it just as Kenma did. Immediately, the light above the elevator went off, showing that it was coming down to the lobby.

It didn't take long for you to get up to the seventh floor and arrive to Kenma's door. You knocked on the door despite having the card and Kenma opened it for you.

"Hey," he greeted, stepping away from the door and letting you close and lock it behind yourself.

"Hi! Here's your drink and apple pie," you place both onto the counter in the kitchen. He lets out a hum, grabbing out his laptop and placing it beside them. "So, looking at this list, I think we should figure out where we can easily buy the majority of these from, to try and avoid paying for shipping from several places and to get them all near the same time."

"Easiest would probably be Amazon then."

You nod your head, pulling out your own laptop and opening up the notes you guys had made and the Amazon website. Kenma didn't bother opening his, simply sliding his chair closer to yours as you began looking for all of your items.

You two spent nearly an hour picking out the items. In some cases, you both decided it'd be better to create items out of clay instead of buying something else due to the price or for lack of items that appeared as you both wanted them. By the time you guys had everything there, you went to the cart and forced yourself not to show your severe problem with the cost it had totalled to.

"Okay, how do you want me to send you my half?"

You sat for a moment, thinking about the best way. You didn't have any apps that were frequently used for monetary sharing for obvious reasons, though you did know Oikawa's information for most, but that would no doubt raise some questions for Kenma. You instead double checked the kind of phone Kenma had before speaking. "Send it over with Apple Pay?"

He shrugged before opening your guys' conversation and sending over his half. Thankfully due to previous insistence from Oikawa, you had his card saved just in case so you saved it to that card before using it for the items you guys had.

"Hm." you stared at your laptop.

"Hm?" Kenma prompted you to talk.

"Do you mind if we have these go here? We've had some issues with packages being stolen at my dorm."

"Sure." he shrugged, reaching over to enter his mail information before you guys finished checking out.

"Well then! I should probably get going."

Kenma gave you a small nod, standing up to throw away your guys' garbage as you collected your things. Just before you sat up, the front door opened to reveal Kuroo.

"Kenma! I've returned!"

"Okay," was all Kenma said as he came back to you. You let out a small laugh at his simple response.

"Hi Kuroo," you greeted as he walked into the kitchen with you two. The man let out a small, clearly faked, gasp at you being there.

"Hello again! Did I disturb you guys on project stuff?"

"No, you're fine. We actually just finished up!"

"Great timing then. Did you want to stay for dinner, Y/N?" Kuroo offered. It was then you noticed he had some grocery bags.

"Oh," you glanced to Kenma who wasn't even looking at you. He had gone to his phone. "No thanks, but thank you for the offer, I should probably return before my roommate gets worried."

"Are you sure? I promise I can actually cook!"

You let out a laugh, "I'm sure you can cook just fine Kuroo, I'll come back some other time for dinner."

"I'll hold you to that!" there was some silence as you swung your bag over your shoulder. "Say, Y/N, could I have your number?"

"Huh?"

"Don't go trying to date my project partner," it was the first time since Kuroo had walked in Kenma looked up from his phone. The accused man held up his hands with a smile.

"Not, promise. I just thought it'd be nice since you guys'll be working together for this semester. In case something happens and you can't tell them, so I can!"

"Makes sense," you shrugged, pulling out your phone to him. "Enter your number, I'll send you a text when I get home."

Kuroo happily did so, taking a quick selfie on your phone which made you laugh and Kenma roll his eyes, before your phone returned to your pocket.

"Now then, I should get going. Bye! I'll see you in class Kenma, and whenever I see you next Kuroo!"

Kuroo excitedly waved at you, nudging against Kenma to make him look up and wave to you. You laughed before walking out, closing the door behind you.

0.12 -- Masterlist -- 0.14

Notes

My current desperation to write the Oikawa SMAU is infecting everything, so if there's like way too much Oikawa love going on in these, SHUSH, he's like- kind of a platonic lover in here

I love Kenma, but man is dry asf and no one can change my mind. Like he WILL be talking more/being less dry in the future but especially when they're not even considered friends we getting the dry treatment guys

Also Ima be honest I don't really know how the like apple pay through messages works so don't overthink it, I just had to make it work

These were supposed to be out yesterday but I got like a massive migraine that wouldn't go away so I didn't feel like arranging everything so I didn't <3

I'm going to be home alone Wednesday-Friday which either means Ima get so much done or nothing done, so I guess we shall see then

These notes are totally not me procrastinating more on cleaning my room (totally)

Taglist

@staygoldsquatchling02 @walllflowerrrsss @oyasumeii @rinnylvr

@bi-bi-papillon @ris-krispie @madiexuberant @giocriedpower

@lunavixia @singleandlonely @yuminako @from-mae @3lectraheart

@kodzusora @skycasin0 @scinclaitnoir @itsdragonius @d3ly-p4v

@anqelkoz @kodzubaby @mirtaspace

Fill out this form to be added!

(bolded if I can't tag you so double check your settings <3)

#animatedglittergraphics-n-more #Haikyuu #Haikyuu!!#Hq #Haikyuu smau #Hq smau #Kozume kenma #Hq kenma #Haikyuu kenma #Kenma x reader #Kozume kenma x reader #Haikyuu x reader #X reader #Smau #Gn reader

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itssmean · 9 months ago

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𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 (𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒂) 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓

track 18 ; does the plan goes well? (750 words)

SYNOPSIS new upcoming app called ‘love alarm�� will be launched ! but it need to be tested before the official launching date, so what ifs the well known enemies— lee chanyoung and park y/n are the one that gonna be the app beta users? does the love between them gonna ring?

“Hanni asked us to go to her practice room later. She said she wants to show us something. Do you actually have any plans later on?” Yuna beamed while interlinking her arms with Y/N’s.

Both of them wander around the campus to unwind themselves after the 3-hours lectures which obviously no one actually pays attention to— well, it’s also almost the time for Yuna to take action according to their plan! All of them are also betting on what kind of scenario will happen after the victims (Anton and Y/N) meet each other in the clubroom—which almost costs 60 bucks each. (definitely not sunoo’s idea!)

Without Y/N knowing, Yuna leads her to the campus community club building without making it obvious. On the other hand, Y/N hummed for a while before answering, “Well Taesan asked me to meet him for a bit after this. I think I can go there later on after meeting him.”

Yuna pouted at the answer and swayed her arms, “You can go to meet him after we go to Hanni first. Can you ask him to meet you later then? Please,,” Y/N contemplated for a while but then just nodded. “I will text him later then. Well, I don’t think I am ready to meet him after I kinda figured out that he likes me.”

“Hmm, are you afraid that he will confess to you? Well you can just straight up say you like someone else.” suggests Yuna and the other girl seems disgruntled. “I am also afraid of getting rejected. How can I reject someone? What if he also has the same disease as me?”

Yuna hummed and suddenly she frowned while clutching into her stomach. “Wait Y/N, nature is calling me. Wait for me a bit will you? I need to go! IT’S FUCKING EMERGENCY.” Without further explanation, Yuna went into the bathroom to do her.. deeds!

Y/N stared for a while at the wall where Yuna was leaning at that moment before THE nature called her— and she’d shrugged while unlocking her phone to send a message to Taesan to acknowledge him about her delayed arrival. Suddenly, her phone rang which made her frowned— who’s here?

“Oh, Y/N what are you doing there?”

“Taesan..? I’m just about to text you that I will be late.” She looked up to the tall boy who’s smiling while running towards her. “Oh, then how about I’ll settle down right now?” He suggests. Nah, this is the thing she’s scared of the most. She contemplated for a while before responding to the boy. Shortly after that, her phone suddenly rang again.

“Y/N…?”

Then there’s Seunghan and the boy that she also did not expect the most to be there— Lee Chanyoung. The latter boy looked confused as ever while looking through his phone which also rang— the same as her. The girl who figured out that the boy’s phone rang because of her cursed internally at the sight of her sister’s boyfriend wiggling his eyebrows watching both of them.

Taesan, who's also there watching both Y/N and Chanyoung look at each other without saying anything, makes him connect the dots— he smiles bitterly at the sight. “Well Y/N, I think—“

“Uhm, Taesan! Before you say anything, I want to say that— my heart rang towards someone. Which I think you can kinda figure out since we are the beta users of the app? I really adore you as a good friend and I hope you will find your match later on. The red strings of fate exist, you know? See you tomorrow in the class then.” she cuts him off with her heaving heart watching Taesan just fake smiling and nodded. “I kinda figured it out. See you tomorrow Y/N.”

She sighed after seeing Taesan walked away pretended nothing happened there. Anton who’s just processed what actually happened blushing at the thought that Y/N actually likes him. the love alarm rang? she said her heart rang towards someone? is it actually me? oh my—

Without them knowing, Yuna who’s just finished her business gagged after seeing the drama that just happened— how many chapters that she missed? On the other hand, Seunghan squealed internally when Y/N came towards him and Anton. Anton’s eyes widened as the girl kept motioning forwards to him until both of them are eye to eye.

“Now let’s be a man, shall you Lee Chanyoung? Do you have anything to say after everything that just happened?”

track 17 / track 18 / track 19

an | most likely this series will be finished by next week (hope so..?)

taglist is open!

@kyusqult @babigriin @brachioswrld @dinosluver @rksbae @ilovejungwonandhaechan @bunni @kcharlyy @planethyuka @leehanascent @dodot04lover

#kpop social media au #anton fluff #anton x reader #riize fluff #riize imagines #riize scenarios #riize social media au #riize x reader #anton scenarios #riize smau #riize socmed au #riize fanfic #riize x you #riize texts #anton smau #anton social media au #anton imagines #anton texts

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disventure-rewrite-takes · 6 months ago

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In celebration of the most annoying dsvc plot line finally being resolved, here’s my takes as a random new anon on how they could’ve possibly been rewritten. Note not all of the rewrites have to apply it’s more of just spitballing ideas

1. If you want to go down the Tom ghosts Jake for 2 years arc, I think it could’ve been interesting to see it be something that progresses. Like Jake mentions how Tom contacted him and they talked but over time he just stopped replying less and less. Then it turns into a thing where Tom is still scared of being hurt. Whereas before it was a part of the adrenaline/excitement of “oh hey we met on this reality show” or something along the lines of that. Maybe Tom rewatched the show and just hated how he acted during it and how something that he was so traumatized over ended up being broadcasted sorta thing

2. For Jake to still be hung over Tom after 2 years is a bit much to me. I think it could’ve been interesting to see him talk about trying out dating apps at one point after everything with Tom imploded. Then for it to just be a complete failure each time. Then his feelings for Tom are more so on the side of reminiscing on something that was once good

3. Have them start off as trying to be friends again since it has been so long. Don’t immediately jump into something where it’s clear that romance is the intention of one of them. Like have it be a thing where it’s like an awkward seeing an old friend and the two are just trying to get back into the groove of things but it’s awkward. Then you see in confessionals mini things like Jake being like “it’s nice to talk to him again. I never really realized how much I missed it.” Whereas for Tom it could be something like “Oh god. I can’t let myself fall for him again. This is too much.”

4. If miscommunication is a mandatory plot point for whatever reason, handle it well. Tom doesn’t lie about a boyfriend and avoid it at all costs. Have the thing that Jake is misunderstanding not be a minimal interaction between Tom and Aiden. Like, if Aiden is needed let’s not have Jake accuse a taken guy of cheating on the second episode where both Tom and Aiden just met. Regarding possible fixes; have Tom and Jake have completely different views on what they are, which cause some layer of miscommunication. Or even in general without any major fixes don’t have the miscommunication plot line last multiple episodes all starting off in the beginning half of the episodes. There’s a way to build it up without said plot line being shoved down somebody’s throat

5. Give reasons to love TomJake. All of their interactions this season is linked to some sort of negative and it’s comes off as being desperate and holding onto the past. They could’ve still had Tom and Jake have cute awkward moments with Tom still being scared. Not everything had to be romance rooted or plain avoidance. It could be the small things. Tom giving Jake something extra he hunted. Jake being worried for Tom and vice versa if one were to be close to being eliminated. Or simply sometimes just crashing into each other at night whilst on a nightly stroll and having an awkward yet needed conversation, where it can be obvious that Tom is holding something back

6. Rather than having conversation after conversation of way to show build up, have it be something that is subtle. Whether it be through actions or expressions or even a throwaway line somebody says and one of them just reacts to it. That’s a way to have the dsvc episode not be TomJake heavy in the beginning. Then once it hits the boiling point Tom or Jake (most likely Jake because it’s Jake) just breaks. He breaks down and just starts breaking down whether it be to Ashley or Tom. Even if it’s something as small as “I’ve tried so hard for this to work, and nothing I do ever seems to be enough.”

7. A mini side note but have Jake be more grounded as a character. Basically actually make him more likable. See him try so much harder with Tom to just talk, and show that he has changed, and when Tom just tells him to stop he does. You can even have him outperform and show a reason for him to be voted out beyond being annoying. In challenges I mainly remember him for something TomJake related and I think it’d be interesting if he was some sort of threat. You can make him more likable by having him build a bond with other characters. Let’s not have him be stuck to hating Ally, hating Aiden, and loving Ashley. You can literally give him so much more character interactions wise.

8. In conclusion, don’t have the plot line appear in every single episode especially in the beginning where the challenge just ends up shoved to the side.

- Claude

1. yes!!! i think it was so unrealistic how tom said nothing to him at all when they ended on such a positive, hopeful note in S1. its also why i think toms words at his elimination were just an empty promise. its literally the same thing he said two years prior - why should jake trust him? so yeah deffo make them talk more at first.

2. yes again, omg i hated how two years later everyone was still hung up on things. jake still pining for tom, ashley still salty about fiore (ma’am you’re 24 arguing with someone a third of your age), jake mad at ellie, omfggg grow a pair. ITS BEEN TWO YEARS. still being a bit mad is reasonable but get over it. GROWN ASS ADULTS

3. YES!!!

4. YES??!!?!!!?!!

5. YESSS!!!! this ties into another take on here, that ONC just focuses on negative interactions - and that doesn’t make the ship compelling to me!! give me something to work with!! in S1, you had the boat interaction when jake said tom’s eyes are pretty. you had the maze challenge when jake and tom had a heartfelt talk and THAT CHORD THAT STRUNG when they touched hands!!! MY HEART!!!! the aftermath of jake’s phone call! their instant connection with each other!! THE KISS!!! THE ZOMBIE CHALLENGE!!!!!!! i just wish we got cute moments like those in DCAS too so i would actually root for them <//3

6. SUBTLE BUILD-UP MY FAV it’s almost like subtlety makes a story more compelling rather than vomiting exposition.. (cough cough ONC, hazbin hotel, yansim etc.)

7. characters with multiple layers my beloved.. i think jake could’ve easily been one of my favs if he wasn’t so one-dimensional. he’s just a tom-obsessed crybaby, rather than a complex, traumatized individual. and it’s so bad that they gave us a glimpse of his complexity in S1 then threw it aside for cheap drama. i miss S1 <//3

#disventure camp #tom disventure camp #jake disventure camp #tomjake #plot rewrite #character rewrite #relationship rewrite #claude anon

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inqilabi · 1 year ago

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when you go on a whole bunch of first dates with different people from dating apps, it's very easy to see who you have immediate chemistry and banter with. And it's kind of a very weird way to be imo because in the wild, before dating apps - you build chemistry and banter over time. Gone are the days you would change your path to class in school or uni to run into your crush a couple of times before you eventually talk. Now it's so performative, transactional. Your date is a number and so are you. It's the cost of commodification of relationships. And anyone using the app knows this. But your behaviour cannot be curtailed. In a way, you very much see in live action how technology shapes social behaviour (as marx woulda said).

#thoughts on being

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little-butterfly-writes · 6 months ago

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Commissions

Hello everyone! I know it has been a while, but I hope you are all well.

I’m happy to be here with everyone, but I have an ulterior motive (and I apologize for this being my comeback post). Recently, there was a fire in my sister’s neighborhood and it spread to her house.

Why is this important?

Due to the fire spreading, my sister’s house took a lot of damage. With damage comes (expensive!!) costs to repair the building and replace furniture. Fortunately, no one was in the house at the time of the fire and my sister is safe.

To help my sister out, I am opening commissions where all profits go to her. As long as the rules are followed, I will be writing something personal for you! Down below, my rules, what I refuse to write, fandoms I write for, what I will write, and costs.

Here is the link to our Cash App for all purchases or donations. - Pay $LittleButterflyWrites

Note: Anyone who has made a request before the date of me posting this (07/02/2024) will get their requests free of charge as originally intended before my unannounced hiatus.

This is available until July 30th, (07/30/2024), so please act fast since I'm not sure if I'll open them again! Read more if you're interested!

Rules *read and approved by my sister

I have the right to refuse any request. Respect my final decision and read what I will not write for before making a request.

Refunds will only be available 24 hours after you place the order. If you do not tell/ask for a refund within 24 hours of your transaction, I will write what you requested and you will NOT get your money back.

Before making a request, please consult with me about what you want for your writing. See below on how to request. This makes things easier in case I am unable to fulfill/accept a request, AND it prevents you, the buyer, from spending money before you get an answer.

If you want any changes to the details, let me know within 24 hours of talking to me.

If you request for a character letter, you will have to give PROOF OF PERMISSION by an adult if you are a minor. You will also have to be comfortable with giving me your address.

If I find that you request anything NSFW as a minor, you will be BLOCKED AND REPORTED. I will reject your request and you will get your money back.

What Do You Refuse To Write?

Dub/non-con

Incest

Hate towards another group of people (race, orientation, gender, etc.)

Beastiality/Zoophilia

Pedophilia

I will NOT write NSFW for certain characters. Said characters will be in a bracketed list after their name. (example: [Character] = no NSFW). The NSFW list of characters will always be BEFORE the NO NSFW character list.

Anything I am not comfortable writing. Again, I reserve the right to refuse any request. If you are unsure and need clarification, please message me with questions.

What Fandoms Do You Write For?

With this new post comes some new fandoms!

Mystic Messenger

- Yoosung Kim, Zen/Hyun Ryu, Jaehee Kang, Jumin Han, 707/Saeyoung Choi, Ray, Saeran Choi, V/Jihyun Kim, Rika Kim, Vanderwood

Mr. Love, Queen’s Choice

- Lucien Xu, Victor Li, Gavin Bai, Kiro Zhou, Shaw Bai

Stardew Valley

- Alex, Elliot, Harvey, Sam, Sebastian, Shane, Abigail, Emily, Hayley, Jodi, Leah, Maru, Penny, Caroline, Robin, Sandy, Willy, Wizard M. Rasmodius - [Clint, Demetrius, Evelyn, George, Gunther, Gus, Jas, Kent, Krobus, Leo, Lewis, Linus, Marnie, Pam, Pierre, Willy, Wizard M. Rasmodius, Vincent]

Monster Prom/Camp

- Vera Oberlin, Damien LaVey, Zoe, Polly Geist, Miranda Vanderbilt, Calculester Hewlett-Packard, Scott Howl, Liam de Lioncourt, Joy Johnson-Johjima, Dahlia Aquino, Aaravi Mishra

Ikemen Sengoku

- Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Akechi Mitsuhide, Date Masamune, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ishida Mitsunari, Uesugi Kenshin, Takeda Shingen, Sanada Yukimura, Sarutobi Sauske, Kennyo

The Walking Dead - Up to season 5 in the TV show OR first comic compendium. I can write apocalypse TWD or non-apocalypse lives, just tell me your preference.

- Rick Grimes, Lori Grimes, Shane Walsh, Glenn Rhee, Maggie Greene, Daryl Dixon, Tyresse, Sasha, Abraham Ford, Carol Peletier, Michonne, Negan, Tara Chambler, Rosita Espinosa, Gabriel Stokes - [Herschel Greene, Dale Horvath] - *I will write NSFW for Beth Greene or Carl Grimes BUT they will be AGED UP TO BE 18 or OLDER.

What Will You Write?

Comfort

Fluff

Angst

SFW

NSFW

Character x Character

OC x Character

Unnamed FemReader x Character

Unnamed MascReader x Character

Unnamed GenNeuReader x Character

CMC x Character

What Can I Get And For How Much?

*Before making a request, please consult with me about what you want so I can give you a set price before I start working. Some prices depend on the details like how many characters you want, so talk to me before paying!

Personalized Playlist - $2

I make you a playlist for your character x character, OC x character, or CMC x character. I will give you links via Spotify or YouTube using my taste in music along with your taste. Minimum of 20 songs.

Headcanons - $3-6 (Depends on the amount of characters. Maximum of 8 characters)

I write headcanons about the character, how they interact with other characters within their fandom, and how they interact with your OC/CMC.

Matchmaker - $3-9 (Depends on amount of characters

You choose between 1-3 characters from any fandom (can be different fandoms) and give a description of yourself to me (including MBTI, hobbies, likes/dislikes, and preferences). Can be SFW or NSFW.

Dabble (500+ words) - $4

A small piece with details you customize for a character. This can include interactions with other characters in their fandom, interactions with OC/CMC, or something about themself.

Character Letter (Only within the US and Canada) - $6 + any mailing fees

A letter from a character of your choice. Must show PROOF OF PERMISSION if you are a minor as we mail it to your address.

Fic (1000+ words) - $7

A piece with details you customize for a character. This can include interactions with other characters in their fandom, interactions with OC/CMC, or something about themself.

Oneshot (1500-2000+ words) - $10

A larger piece with details you customize for a character. This can include interactions with other characters in their fandom, interactions with OC/CMC, or something about themself.

How Do I Order A Commission? *Very important!

Look at the list of fandoms/characters I will write for.

Choose what you would like me to write for you. (Example: FemReader x Character, SFW, Dabble, with [insert details]).

Consult with me BEFORE PURCHASING to determine if I will accept the request and set the price.

Once all details are given and the request is approved, continue with purchase using the link to the Cash App linked above.

Here’s another link for purchases or donations in case you don’t want to scroll up! - Pay $LittleButterflyWrites

Reblogs are always helpful if you are uninterested or want to help :)

#little butterfly writes commissions #commissions open #commissions #any help is very much appreciated!

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appdevelopment00 · 1 year ago

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How to create a dating app like Tinder?

Are you wondering how to create an app like tinder and wish to increase your business profit, but high dating app development cost sways you away? Protonshub technologies is here to help you! With high industry experience and the right talent, you can understand how to build a dating app. Get the best-dedicated developer from the top-most dating app development company in the USA . Contact us today for a free consultation!

#how to create an app like Tinder #dating app development cost #dating app development company #how to build a dating app

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omarmack2 · 2 years ago

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Boost Your Instagram Engagement with Free Likes

Looking for some social media love? We've got you covered with Free Likes on Instagram! Connect with new people and gain more followers with our easy-to-use platform. Start swiping and start liking today. Who knows? You just might find your perfect match on our dating app, too. Sign up now and get ready to level up your social game.

In today's digital age, Instagram has emerged as one of the leading social media platforms for individuals and businesses alike. With millions of active users, it provides a valuable opportunity to connect, share, and promote content. One of the key metrics for success on Instagram is engagement, and likes play a crucial role in determining the popularity and reach of a post. If you're looking to increase your Instagram likes, you may have come across websites like Instaboost that offer free likes. In this article, we'll explore the concept of free likes on Instagram and discuss its potential benefits and considerations.

What are Free Likes on Instagram? Free likes on Instagram refer to the practice of obtaining likes on your posts without any cost. Websites like Instaboost provide users with the option to receive a certain number of likes on their Instagram content, usually by completing specific tasks or following certain guidelines. These platforms employ various methods to deliver the likes, which can include using real accounts, bots, or engagement groups.

Benefits of Free Likes:

Enhanced Visibility: When you receive a significant number of likes on your Instagram posts, it increases your chances of appearing on the Explore page. This can expose your content to a wider audience, resulting in more likes, followers, and potential business opportunities.

Social Proof: Likes act as a form of social proof, indicating that your content is interesting and valuable to others. When users come across posts with a high number of likes, they are more likely to engage with it themselves, further boosting your visibility and credibility.

Kickstarting Growth: Building a strong Instagram presence can be challenging, especially for new accounts or individuals who are just starting to leverage the platform. Free likes can serve as an initial boost, attracting genuine users to engage with your content and potentially follow your account. This kickstart can jumpstart your growth and lead to organic engagement in the long run.

Considerations and Limitations:

Quality of Likes: While free likes can provide a temporary boost, it's essential to consider the quality of likes you receive. Some platforms may use bots or low-quality accounts, which can result in engagement from inactive or uninterested users. It's important to maintain a balance between quantity and quality to ensure meaningful engagement.

Algorithm Implications: Instagram's algorithm is constantly evolving, and it prioritizes genuine engagement over artificial metrics. Excessive use of free likes or engagement pods may flag your account, resulting in reduced visibility or potential penalties. It's crucial to strike a balance between organic growth and utilizing free likes to maintain a healthy Instagram presence.

Lack of Targeted Engagement: Free likes are typically provided to your posts without any specific targeting options. This means the likes you receive might not necessarily come from your target audience or those genuinely interested in your content. To achieve long-term success on Instagram, it's crucial to focus on building a genuine and engaged community.

Conclusion: Free likes on Instagram can offer a temporary boost to your engagement and visibility on the platform. They can help jumpstart your growth, increase social proof, and attract potential followers. However, it's important to be mindful of the quality of likes received and to maintain a balance between organic growth and artificial engagement. Ultimately, building a strong Instagram presence requires genuine, targeted engagement and the delivery of valuable content that resonates with your audience.

#OmarMack2

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poppyknitt · 1 year ago

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hi gays, gals, and pals, are you tired of connection apps not being inclusive enough? want an app where you can connect with people either romantically or platonically, and base it on your needs and who you’re attracted to?

I’m working on a kickstarter for an app called Squishfinder, and it will hopefully help this niche. It will be strictly 18+, have groupchat features, and be a silly little place to just get along with people and have fun. It’ll be a bit more like a dating app than like discord atm, but I hope it can help people find things like QPR partners and friends who are interested in them AND their interests.

It will be incredibly inclusive to mogai folk and other such identities, allowing individuals up to 10 genders and customizable ones at that. It will also allow custom sexualities.

Currently my goal is $40k, as app development for apps like this is incredibly expensive and I plan on hiring a tech company to help me build it, but I hope to be able to do it for less and donate the rest to charity. However it’s likely to cost more than that, so please do consider backing the project! If i don’t reach the goal I probably will still try to make it myself, it will just take MUCH longer because of college and other things. Should I wind up unable to complete the project, I will do my best to refund all the backers asap.

Design notes for the image above under the cut!

The people are purple to represent ambiguity in gender, and the heart is pink to represent all love. The shines are there to make it pop, and the background is just a nice touch to make it feel more solid.

(Any tips to make it better will be greatly appreciated, but as for now it’s a wip logo)

#kickstarter #dating app #squishfinder #lgbtq #lgbtq dating app #mogai #mogai safe #lgbtqplus #lgbtq positivity

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fourseasonsfigs · 1 year ago

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Building Block Figs - Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake (Part One)

Figthusiast friends, it's time for a little something different! Today we have the first of a series of building block Word of Honor fig sets.

I first saw these sets earlier this year when I was browsing for figs on Xianyu, my favorite secondary market app. I stopped my scrolling in total surprise when I first saw a picture, and was like wait...are these actually Lego-type Word of Honor figs??? I zoomed in, and lo and behold, they sure were.

I absolutely loved Legos when I was a kid. My family didn't have enough money to be able to buy much in the way of expensive toys, but I did save up my babysitting money so I could buy a few of them myself. It took a long time at $1.50 an hour!

So, of course when I saw these, the nostalgia factor combined with my fandom fig obsession made these a must buy.

Today's fig is that the first set I found. It's called (via MTL) "Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake", which I must congratulate for being extremely descriptive and 100% accurate.

As soon as I saw this, I did an immediate search on Taobao and Weidian to see if I could just buy the set vs. pick it up off Xianyu. For two reasons. One, I can buy directly off Taobao (vs using a third party purchase agent for Xianyu), and two, I was hoping there was more in the series than this one figure. However, they were no longer being sold on either platform, so Xianyu it was.

I browsed around and was lucky enough to find a seller on Xianyu that did, in fact, have other sets in the series, and who was clearing them all out, brand new and unopened. She noted that she was still a fan, she just had never had the time to put these together and realized now with her workload she probably never would. I bought all three of her sets, including this one, for about $37 total, which is about half off the retail of 179 yuan per set they originally went for (about $25 each). I thought this was a great deal considering the actual costs of specialized Lego sets these days, even non-branded building block sets.

As far as I can tell, there are four big sets that are famous scenes from the show, and three small sets that are just our two favorite leads only. I was able to buy the three big scenes off that one person, and one of the set of figs-only, but I'm still missing some (too many!). I keep checking Xianyu. I was actually surprised to see the other day there was another set I didn't know existed - but sadly it ended up being sold out. I'll keep looking.

Anyway!

The Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake is a 1,236 piece set, measures 8.4 x 16.8 x 12.4 cm, and it's rated about 8 hours to complete. It's the fastest of the big sets (the remainder of which are rated 10, 10, and 11 hours respectively). In retrospect, should I have started with the smaller figs-only set (rated 2 hours)? Probably. But I was just so charmed by this set, and I only have one lake fig set to date, so this seemed like something very fun. Plus, as you will hear about later, I did not fully understand the specs until well after I was almost done assembling the very last set.

I had a surgical procedure that was scheduled this month (and is why I've been out of commission for a while), and I had specially saved up these sets as fun projects to make while I was recovering. I figured it would be nice to have something to look forward to.

So, post surgery, once I felt up to sitting up, I made myself a comfy little nest and settled in with my little boxes of treasures.

This is the pic from the seller - you would never know these were Word of Honor sets. They're just generic boxes from the manufacturer, with a small sticker on the top to indicate what set it is, along with a QR code.

I excitedly opened up the box, to find a bag o'bricks, a small black plastic piece and another sticker with QR code.

It turns out the little black plastic piece is a super handy little tool to quickly and easily break assembled bricks apart. Which is great if you accidentally assemble any steps incorrectly, as I would soon find out.

The QR code was for the directions, which were, in a quantum technological leap forward from my admittedly decades ago Lego experiences, online and fully 3-dimensional.

Pretty cute! I decided to go in order, and indeed start with the simple looking raft.

As a side note, I will tell you that I started this completely sure I was going to be able to assemble this set in an afternoon. I had somehow completely missed the MTL for the estimated assembly time until literally just now, as I was translating pics for this blog post. The set seemed fairly small in the picture, and while it has indeed been decades since I put together a Lego set, I'm (literally) an old hand at it. I felt extremely confident. Overconfident, you might say, given that my exact mental words to myself as I clicked on the raft image was, I'm gonna knock this thing out in no time.

Doesn't look like much, does it?

I figured that before I did anything else, I would sort by colors and shapes, so when I was ready to get started, I could move really fast. So I sorted. And sorted. And sorted some more. The bag doesn't look like a lot of bricks, but let me tell you, there were a LOT (1,236, which once again, I only realized until I was researching for this very blog post). Unlike Legos, these were all thin single-brick height, so there were no 4x4x4 type bricks, for example. It made it easier to sort, but as I was sorting (and sorting some more), I realized that it might take a lot of building to get significant height going.

Eventually, after about an hour, I got them all sorted, and felt very accomplished, if a bit tired. I took a little nap, and then settled back into my crafting nest, and then got ready to, and I quote myself once again, bang this sucker out.

The directions started with an image of the final product, which was helpful.

I will say the online direction interface was pretty amazing. I could zoom in, spin around, go upside down, view it any which way I wanted to by pinching and pulling at my phone's screen. It was fantastic, and certainly made it much easier. That little circle on the right side is the "next direction" button, and helpfully the number in the circle tells you how many steps you have left. There were 34 steps in this raft, and you can tell by the number here I'm not too far along.

Here's a little further as I gamely plug along. I got momentarily confused early on by the colors - there's a dark blue, a medium blue, and a light blue, and I had started assembling the raft with medium blue instead of dark blue. I got to figure out how useful that brick de-assembler was real fast, let me tell you. I also started screenshotting and translating the colors until I felt I had a good handle on what exact colors I should be picking.

You can see here how I can zoom in to figure out exactly where to place the bricks. You can't tell by the screenshot, but the bricks you are laying in each particular step blink, and are outlined in dark black like you see in the shot above. It's very handy.

I got into a groove pretty quick. For each step, I'd count and select the bricks shown in the little legend at the bottom, and put them in a little pile next to me. I did this to make sure I used up all the bricks each layer, as early on I was just following the directions and not realizing that some steps you had to put the brick underneath other ones, which would not be visible on the blinking screen unless I pinched and pulled the model to flip it around on the screen. If I got to the end of the step and still had bricks left, I knew one (or more) were hiding, and I could rotate the image around until I found where they should go. Yes, I did learn this the hard way, naturally.

After a good long time, I finally finished the raft! I will say, I was a bit puzzled that the raft is green and blue, as we well know the raft in the show is just bamboo.

Did I re-watch the scene just to make triple sure? I sure did!

So there's actually two rafts, this simple one here in the foreground, and then the bigger, sturdier raft there behind the boat. It's this first raft that this set is capturing, and more or less this moment, if not at such an acute angle.

I may actually rearrange the figures to be in this particular configuration later. Stay tuned!

It turns out that the raft is these colors because (now that I've put a lot of them together) the company doesn't appear to make many brick colors. The blues are unusual in the sense there are actually three different shades. The red bricks I have have only ever been one fire engine red color, and the brown bricks only one medium brown. So, rather than make the raft uniformly all brown, they made it colorful with the blue and green, perhaps to simulate the water. I admire the colorful nature of it, but I have to say, I'm contemplating re-doing the raft when I finish all the kits. Each kit has leftover bricks, and I seem to have a lot of brown bricks left over. I think I'm going to try remaking this with a brown raft base and black for the lines instead, with some blue and more of the transparent bricks to simulate water. Stay tuned for that, too!

So, by the time I finished the raft, I was beat. Super tired, and surprised it took as long as it did. BUT, I reasoned it only made sense since it was the very first piece I did, so naturally it would take longer than most. It was time to sleep.

The next day, I woke up bright and early, on a mission. On to Wen Kexing!

I started confident (confidence is never my problem, unfortunately, but it is sometimes A problem) that now that I had experience, I could in fact, bust this bad boy out.

I was merrily assembling away, and I happened to take a closer look at the directions - specifically, the little number in the bottom circle.

I don't know if you can see this number, but it is two of Gong Jun's favorite number 88. That's right, EIGHTY-EIGHT. I was like, what?!? How many was there in this figure? I've been going for a while (answer, as I scrolled back through the directions, is 111).

Remember how I said that these are all single-ply building bricks? Yep. Takes a bunch to turn them into a tall, yet humble philanthropist. Well, the only way out is through, right?

The directions kept having me assembling parts, and then having me set them aside for later. It looked nothing like a mild and gentle scholar, but I've found that, similar to life and perhaps also Ikea assembly instructions, sometimes you just have forge ahead and take it on faith that things are gonna work out.

Ah ha! Suddenly it IS starting to make a little sense. I recognize that costume!

(Sidebar to say, we all recognize this costume! And we know this gorgeous pale green outer robe is not, in fact, blue. I was slightly taken aback by this until I realized later the thing about the factory's lack of colors. The bright, intense grass green of the only green option (other than neon green, ahahaha) would have been even less suitable for our peacock's fine feathers, so actually this is a very good choice).

MAY I also note that number in the bottom right hand circle is 55. FIFTY-FIVE.

I'm gonna fast forward through the naps and the breaks, and just take one quick other picture break:

I just about cheered when I got to this point! I was like, oh there he is! You can also tell by the quality of light and the shadows that it was late at night at this point. On a different day.

Anyway, we arrive at the glorious conclusion:

Hooray! I was so happy and tickled at this point. I was just so charmed by him. His little rosy cheeks, his side wispies on his hair, the motion of him standing on one foot. The back of his hair is fantastic too, although you can't see it here yet.

On to our beloved A-Xu...

May I just say how DELIGHTED I am that this is indeed hobo-Xu? His little beard and goatee combo in brick form just made me giggle.

First thing, I checked to see how many steps our reclusive hobo had. 115, which I appreciated for Zhang Zhehan's birthday kadian, if nothing else.

You can tell by the colors and shadows that once again this is a different evening, here on step 77 and about to graduate to step 76:

Once again it looked pretty unrecognizable, except that now I had done one fig, I was starting to understand kind of where they were going.

Plus, Lao Wen got to watch this time. In the daytime, as you can tell by the nice bright light.

Annnd it's night time again. Ahahahaha, I love this fig! I really like how they did his bangs. You can see here too some of his glorious black hair streaming out behind him.

By the way, at this point the tips of my fingers were quite sore in a stingy kind of oversensitive way. Sadly, typing away at a keyboard all the time (also for decades!) at my desk job has in no way toughened up my fingers. I did not think snapping bricks into place and pushing down on them to squeeze them tightly together would tax them so much. Sitting here typing this, actually, my fingers are still sore (I am admittedly working my way though the last set, the 11 hour one).

It's yet another (different) evening, and at last, A-Xu is here! I was so happy to get to this point!

Annnnd I'm out of picture slots to do the full beauty 360 degree spin of these two. Sorry to make you wait (although you may be tired of such a massive post already!), but come back tomorrow for Part Two!

Material: Plastic building bricks

Fig Count: 500 (I'm gonna wait to count these until tomorrow)

Scene Count: 32 (same)

Rating: Lots of fun, actually. I'll give the in-depth low-down tomorrow!

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