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anthonybialy · 1 year ago

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A Healthy Respect for Returning Buffalo Bills Defenders

Buffalo’s most notable defenders look to be playing this season, which reflects how valuable health is. Careers that last a blink are even shorter on account of anatomical afflictions. Notable players who didn’t get to compete every game last year can get back to making everyone better while being pretty good on their own, as well.

We have to wait until the fifth game to see the best defensive draft pick, namely a healthy Von Miller. I wish the gap weren't long enough that it seems like he's new again. A 2011 first-rounder will ideally finally be available to substitute in by October. Getting back to his usual self would mean overflowing charm on top of neutralized top opposing options.

Looking at the bright side of the PUP list is like feeling glad about the flu so one can liberate DVR space. It’s not like we schedule absences so there’ll be a sudden upgrade upon their conclusion. But we can only hope under challenging circumstances that pass rushers are able to persevere until they can experience a sudden improvement upon his return.

He’s already served as a surreal addition. A player known beyond football signified Buffalo’s celebrity football status with his choice of third team. Miller’s so notable that it’s easy to forget how astounding his play is. Knowing he won’t be ready for the opener is the wrong way to remove stress.

Miller is fantastic at spreading misery. A specialist who was brought in to preserve leads is renowned for smiling as much as Bills fans were at the prospect of him seeking quarterbacks on obvious passing downs. His eight sacks in 11 games showed he also remains proficient at shoving aside offensive linemen. Indirectly working with his own quarterback helps them combine to top adversaries. Miller and Josh Allen play together in their way.

Tre White’s soft opening hopefully straightened out some concerns. This season will feature welcoming him really back. Sure, he returned to the field last November. But he was more in the lineup technically. Buffalo’s best cornerback in awhile appeared to be struggling with either corporal or mental limitations. Testing a treated joint provokes trepidation that can best be alleviated with repetition.

White has thankfully had another offseason to convalesce, and not just his knee. Moving past trauma is a necessity for everyone and particularly individuals associated with a franchise known for proving fate has it in for some more than others. Trying to prevent all-world receivers from gaining a couple extra inches is easier once accustomed to a personal repair.

Having both members of a safety duo improves everything else, too. Jordan Poyer wasn’t a solo act without Micah Hyde, but it’s not the same any more than Phillip’s replacement shared the same energy with Terrance. Better protection takes the form of both starters being available.

Aches that are unable to be assuaged with ibuprofen are present even if they don’t show up on the injury report. The psychological effects of hurting are particularly acute for workers in an industry based on physicality. Cornerbacks can’t get up from a desk and stretch.

Difficulty coping is part of being human. Dealing with woe easily isn’t our way. The fact we still do it constitutes countless daily triumphs. Damar Hamlin is the most extreme amazing example.

Everyone’s dealing with personal issues on account of living on this stupid heartless world. Concerns about how to move past what sucks apply to any job. Going out and performing despite it all is the only choice for those who exist without consent. Customers don’t want to hear a Burger King cashier detail woe about relationship drama and late buses that happened before the shift: they just want chicken fries. It takes professionalism to not gripe about preferring to lounge on a couch. Simultaneously knowing how difficult it is should motivate all our interactions.

Defending against wide receivers who are as big as they are fast is tricky, according to anyone who’s ever watched football. The procedure is tricky enough on two knees. The inherent advantage the NFL extends to anyone on the side tasked with moving the ball makes it tough for secondary members no matter how many of their knees presently function to the utmost.

Nobody’s robust forever. That was supposed to be reassuring. In particular, athletic organizations must fret about injuries to the same recovering spots, different areas, or other players. Worrying about what ghastly outcome lurks just out of frame is part of life in general and football in particular, I regret to notice. Awareness and acceptance of how everything could change in an unpleasant way in a moment remains the best option.

The league doesn’t allow postponement until everyone’s ligaments are at their strongest. Clubs can’t use failing to have access to their services as an excuse. It’s not like withstanding pain is unique. They can commiserate over blues music. The next football team to go through a season without losing the services of important contributors will be the first. Short of zero games lost, sides must improvise with whoever’s available for a dose of jazz.

Seeing giants back to their versions of normal would be great news personally for people we’ve come to admire for more than their play. Thank the sport that introduced us to them. Big personalities are naturally found in professional locker rooms, as those blessed with remarkable talents who display the drive to utilize them see life in a big way.

Recuperating from suffering works like a sort-of draft. The defense improves just by possessing their full complement of talent. A chance to heal is the one time to be thankful for a seemingly ceaseless offseason. Worrying if those overcoming inflictions will enjoy the benefits of rehabilitation is one of a million downsides.

Fearing some of our favorite greats will become injury-prone is something we can’t confirm right now. If it offers comfort, we could also soon learn who’s able to play like nothing happened.

#Buffalo Bills #Von Miller #football #NFL #Micah Hyde #Tre'Davious White

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holycow99 · 3 years ago

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Info on Ishida Sui so far

A Japanese fan was kind enough to list few things about Ishida sensei that they remember in his latest stream’s comment section.

Basic Info about Ishida Sui:

- Around 80% of what he says in the stream are jokes & lies.

- He has a sharp tongue especially when he streams games.

- He doesn’t hesitate to use foul language towards listeners.

- Sometimes he talks about vulgar stuffs.

- Sometimes he says dangerous remarks that can get him banned.

Reasons he doesn’t show his face:

- He’s popular with women, so he doesn’t wanna get stalked.

- He wants to become a drug lord in the future.

Other info:

- He’s gonna make a gravure debut on Young Jump if Hikakin came to watch his livestreams.

- He goes straight to Ms. Towada whenever he gets ideas.

- He’s received a Purikura from a Gal before.

- He passed English Proficiency Test Level 2 when he was in 2nd grade of middle school.

- The technical college he went to had a deviation value of 67. (t/n: It seems like in Japan, they use deviation value to determine school ranking. From what I read, 67 meant that the college had pretty smart students.)

- He has 4 siblings; an older sister, him, younger brother, younger sister. He’s close with Ms. Towada, who is his older sister.

- He’s lived in Taiwan before.

- He once crammed his studies overnight. He couldn’t get into the university department he wanted because he was playing PS the day prior to the exam.

- Recently, Kojima Ruriko (a sportscaster & gravure idol) followed him on twitter. He’s not sure whether he should follow her back or not.

- He went to a footbath place in Oita a day before his maths test and got 6 marks for the test. (He stopped going to the place because there’s insects.)

- He once met Hirohiko Araki sensei and Araki sensei praised his pajama with a curry-stained sleeve. (Matsubara sensei stepped on Araki sensei’s foot.)

- He got into history thanks to Mr. Kunimitsu.

- Mr. Kunimitsu is a communication monster who can easily make friends with old ladies he doesn’t know.

- He likes to create characters based on a friend he’d cut ties with in games and bullies him.

- He forced Mr. Kunimitsu to write the op song for TG root A.

- He still has a lingering affection towards Lady D.

- He wants to get rid of his refrigerator since he doesn’t use 90% of it.

- He got a warning from a guard when he took a photo at Ishida Sui Exhibition.

- He uses Obagi lotion.

- He’s frustrated that he lost his insta followers to a fake one.

- The amount of views for Animal Rap videos are lower than he expected.

- When he’s in charge of writing Fumi’s route, he showed his work to Ms. Towada and she called him sentimental. That’s when he realised that he’s a girl at heart.

- He’s right-handed.

- His mother’s curry has a grainy texture to it.

- He once got dragged to a club as a dancer when he was 17.

- He did breakdance & hip-hop dance.

- He quit badminton club after he’d mastered smash when he was a student.

- He did the same in volleyball club.

- He’s 176.5 cm tall and has around 17% BFP.

- He wants to top Young Jump’s survey with a vulgar manga.

- His hair was blue until recently.

- He prefers women with short hair.

- When he was into movies, he thought Kurosawa Akira (Japanese filmmaker) was amazing.

- He gets mad when people call him an old man.

- He said he’s an ikemen when he’s asked about that.

t/n: Thanks to the person who listed this! I edited the mistranslations. =)

#ishida sui #ishida sui info #tokyo ghoul #jack jeanne #chojin x #choujin x

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yostresswritinggirl · 4 years ago

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It is time. This took a while but I figured I should give you guys the closure you've wanted, even tho uh it's not really a closure lmaooo. Here's the first part for the new readers!

Xiao's Personal "Chef" Travel Edition

Xiao with a Reader who is not only his Personal Chef but assistant, adventuring together

General/Preparation

A visionless chef with an adeptus by their side, going in a routeless journey together to savor the world that had once been pulled away from their grasps.

It must be the cause of the recent ressurection and defeat of the Lord of Vortex, immobilizing him once more for thousands of years. And in the window time, there would be less worries for the Qixing and Liyue Adepti to worry about. Think of it as a day-off for the Adepti, and a vacation for you.

While you carry with you no traces of elemental blessings and an enthusiasm for swordplay, the blessed Sigil of Permission given to you by your adeptus (whom claimed it was created by Rex Lapis himself before his untimely death) grants you a special connection with Xiao.

Sadly a vacation from Liyue does not mean a break from the constant voices of demons within Xiao's mind. And you've prepared him the medicine necessary to soothe his mind even if temporary, three bottles to be exact, all of which can last him several months.

He looks at you with confusion and silent question, of which you waved away because you had prepared this batch in your room in the Inn to make sure he doesn't run out of stock.

He doesn't tell you this but lately the voices had been not intrusive while he gets distracted by your presence. Like a soothing balm, to numb the effects of the pain. It's still there but not as annoying.

Your adventure or journey usually lingers around Liyue for the first parts of it, looking around the nation to enjoy the sceneries without thinking about errands or protecting the villages from impending doom.

Xiao already uh announced his indefinite leave to the other adepti beforehand, but well, when you wanted to visit their domains, which you countered was PERFECTLY safe (almighty Sigil of Permission has lots of perks) it was a very awkward time for him upon meeting them again. It was inevitable because of the energy the sensed from Xiao and your Sigil.

"Hello again, Guardian Yaksha, were you not on leave?" "Y-Yeah... we're just... passing through"

Field trip with the Adepti!!!! Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper brought you around their domains as if to test you, like Ganyu's trials, while also flexing their achievements and who has the best domain. Humans are rare, but you are a mortal who carries the last blessed Sigil and you're tamed in the ways of the adepti because of your exposure to Xiao.

Cloud Retainer not only teaches you the glory of gliding, but she also has cute and embarrassing stories of Xiao from way back! Xiao is in the background trying not to scream or rage at the ensemble in front of him-

"He really likes collecting Qingxin flowers, always bringing one whenever he comes back from his exterminations. He even offers one to Morax everytime." "Yes, yes, such flowers grow common before, right?" "Wha- (Y/N), what do you think you're writing down in that book?!"

"The devoted that carries the last essence of Morax's powers. We've heard much about you from your adeptus, it is relieving to finally put a face to your name. Tell us, child, what is it that you seek in our domain?"

They pretty much just outted that Xiao talks about you to the others, and he- he's just so done. He's either going to hide, leave the area or pull you out of the conversation before someone *coughCloudRetainercough* starts embarrassing him in front of you.

Once you've gotten the supplies you wanted to collect from Liyue's wild lands, like flowers or ores, your little party will start going further away from the familiar nation.

Comfort on the Streets

Being the chef in the party, a lot of the time, resource collection stops you short from travelling despite the many prepped ingredients you had carried with you. There's a lot of things laying around and you just couldn't let such opportunities go. Your adoptive mother Verr had taught you to indulge in your curiousities, as a mother, as a traveler, and as a cook.

Xiao takes the brute force, the frontline of being the tank and general fighter of your band. He indulges himself with unhinged strength so long as he was sure that you were perfectly safe from his own barrage of offense. You think in the back of your mind that he's enjoying the exterminations but in his mind he indulges himself with your cheers and praises after fending off some pesky slimes that strayed too close to your temporary camp.

Xiao does not need rest and barely breaks a sweat but you're quite fragile of a human being, you still need rest and consumables, things that you had the luxury of despite working in the Inn. Here you were alone to carry your own weight and care for yourself. You look up from the boiling pot that was settled over the bright campfire to see Xiao's figure coming into view, a freshly killed boar in hand as some kind of offering for your sacred stomach.

You guess now the caring isn't one-sided.

When taking things into careful detail that requires precision and undivided attention, it seems the voices of the demons and revelled gods in the depths of his mind disappears, more so under the presence of you.

So it was the perfect opportunity now that no other errands hold you back, to teach Xiao how to make the infamous Almond Tofu.

When you teach him survival he takes into consideration everything despite the bored/blank face he dons.

Oh but he still prefers your way of cooking, he can never get the same soft texture of the jelly that you easily make.

Xiao doesn't really need to eat but he's glad to be your taste-tester for the new dishes you cook from the random, probably edible, ingredients you find here and then.

The stew continued to boil with bubbles popping despite the fire under it extinguished for a while now. It was an unnamed soup you concocted from the various seafood you've gotten from the ocean paired with the meat the adeptus hunted.

It was delicious. Despite being a palette he was not used to, it was something he can stomach. And despite the different meat mixed in, the flavours didn't clash like he thought it would but instead blended the tastes quite well. Xiao hums as he sips the soup politely, tilting the bowl as he gulps down.

"It is manageable, despite your first try, I can see this being sold in one of the restaurants in Liyue Harbour-" he turns to you as he proceeds to hold out his bowl for seconds when he stopped in his tracks, eyes slightly widening a crack at the sight of tears free falling off your chin.

The spoon on your hand was slack, eyes distant yet dilated as you silently cried. When you felt the glove of his hand cup your cheek, tilting your head to make you face him, your expression cracked to that of grief melded with forced laughter. "It's... it's just like what mum used to make." You sob, and his hand wavered from its touch.

Travelling reopened old wounds. For you and for him.

Xiao doesn't NEED sleep nor does he WANT it, despite the many times you had caught him dozing off in the middle of the day during your work at the Inn. Such occasions usually meant that there was an event that needed his aid the night prior.

Your guardian yaksha usually stays up to keep watch and when you wake up, you would find him spaced out or in the brink of passing out, desperately holding himself together

But there are other times when he feels more restless and not content with just standing guard to make sure you are protected—

Those moments are when you are held in his arms, him resting against a tree and you resting against his lean chest, travel blanket laid over the both of you. When the terrain allows it, the sleeping bag would be under your bottom and legs for extra comfort.

When you can't rest, he whips out his flute to play you a soft tune hoping to lull you to sleep. If he sinks into the comfort of the mood, he'll continue playing much softer to prevent waking you up so early

But the guardian yaksha can buckle at the temptation of comfort, a humanistic desire fuelled by the assurance that in his arms you are absolutely safe-

And you two lay under the stars in peaceful slumber. Good night~

Combat-side of Travelling

Kicking the bottom shaft of the jade spear, Xiao swiftly catches it with his other hand, a small smile aimed for himself at the expert action before he raises his eyes back at you where you lay splayed on the floor. Drenched in your own sweat and desperately breathing. A long, wooden stick discarded by your side.

You pried your eyes open when the rays of the sun suddenly stopped invading through your thin eyelids, the shadow of the Yaksha looming over your form with a rare triumphant smirk. "Yeah, yeah, I know what you're gonna say-"

"I told you so."

"Oh hush you!"

His soft laugh was melodic and it made you break a smile despite the exhaustion.

We've already established beforehand that Xiao is your main dps here and you're just support/utility. But you've expressed your desire to AT LEAST pick up some weight, asking the man to help you hone your weapon proficiency, even if you knew he'd decli-

He accepts. Oh. But it's not about swords sadly, it's for polearms. Since it's the weapon he uses, it's the only thing he can teach you.

Will be CONSIDERABLY gentle in training you compared to his massacres, and will be ever so patient so long as progress is made. Surprisingly, Xiao is actually a really good teacher, and you'd find his points to be precise and on the spot.

He'll be there on the side as you try to fight off a hydro slime for the first time, with the aid of your cheap spear you both from the nearest town over. If you get cornered, he'll be there to instantly swoop in. Fortunately you managed, and he gave an approving nod.

Despite his acceptance to teach he's not gonna let you fight actual threats because he doesn't wish to risk your safety. And you're still gonna be a hundred feet away as he does his job

If he ever managed to hurt you himself, it's... it's not gonna be good, not good at all for the both of you... luckily that hasn't happened! Uh, yet lol

Just admire him from afar, he looks pretty anyways, although the black particles that seem to surround him before the end of the fight

But he'll always come back to you, with a slight limp you always notice despite his attempts to hide, and you'll be there to heal him up

Like a knight to his princess? Or healer, more so

And the process rinses and repeats at your generally peaceful trip

"Oh, oh, I see it! Uuup there!"

His honey amber eyes follow where your fingers point, high and up against the cliff until he sees the glimpse of the swaying violetgrass. No orders needed to tell him what the objective is, but as you place your hand on his elbow when he was about to leap, you had different plans.

"Woohoo!" Please be careful, he shouts in his head as you rode the tides of his Anemo currents, gliding over to where the violetgrass awaits for your plucking hands. When the glider retracts as you grip the cliff face, you broke the stem of the flora. A eureka in your voice as you held it up like a treasure before pushing yourself off the cliffside.

The wind on your back was not harsh, carefully constructed and maneuvered as you seemingly float down into the arms of the awaiting Yaksha, as per routine of your retrieval, "Thank you!"

"Is it in good condition?" It didn't bother you that he has yet to put you down, nodding with a grin as you gently waved the perfectly grown violetgrass in your hand. Satisfied, he turns around to go back to your route when

golden, brown and white silhouettes entered your peripherals among the turn.

"Eh?"

"Ah?"

"Traveler, Paimon and Zhongli?"

"Well, it is the most intriguing that we meet again this far out and in such a circumstance, Xiao and (Y/N)."

Party gained 2 ½ members!

I noticed upon writing that after you started travelling with Xiao, the formality in your tone of speaking started to dissipate. Easing into the comforts of your relationship with him, Xiao is relieved.

@kookieyachi @moaa @dandelion-dreams @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel @witchsungie

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #xiao x reader #genshin impact xiao #exile.goblet #exile.flower #sojourner specials #reeeee part twoooo #oh gawd this may not be good as i wanted it to be aww

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justasimptm · 4 years ago

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The Bride C8

“Y/N!” My mother hollars, the door behind me barely shut before her voice rings out through the castle, announcing her presence just before I see her head crest the railing. “Come to the study,” She beckons, turning and vanishing from sight. A heavy weight creeps into my stomach, anxiety pitching up monumentally. Knowing better than to hesitate, I’m quick to hurry up the stairs, being careful not to catch my feet on the hem of my dress as I go. When I get to the office, she’s standing by the window, gazing out at the gardens where the maids take their breaks. She doesn’t turn to acknowledge me, even as I close the heavy oak door. I go to speak, but she ends up breaking the silence. “What did Mother Miranda want with you?”

Her voice is cool, strong, hiding any real traces of emotions, as if she knows and is expecting me to lie, but still she keeps her eyes fixed on something outside. I fiddle anxiously with the ties on my shawl as I reply, trying desperately to keep my voice stable and light.

“She requested me to accompany Lord Heisenberg in escorting the newest group of townsfolk to the church. She wanted to know if I had a connection with any of them.” I explain, pausing to see what she will say, or do in reaction to that information. She hums deeply as if she’s thinking, motioning me over to her side with a sharp wave of her hand. As soon as I fall in line next to her, her head snaps towards mine, so suddenly I jump. She stares so firmly that I’m essentially pinned by the force of it.

“And?” She jabs, leaving me floundering for what more I could tell her. That’s all she wanted, right? I can’t think of anything else she said. I must gape a moment longer than she would like because she whirls back to the window, slamming a hand on the glass. “If that was truly everything, why is that disgusting man still at my home?” She hisses, nails scraping on the window sharply making me wince. I peek around her form, surprised to see him pacing along the gates, very obviously looking up at the house, scanning it. “Go out there, this instant and tell him I want him gone. Keep in mind, daughter, I will be watching you. Both of you.”

The ice in her voice sets itself deep in my gut. I’ve heard her speak like that, to my father before he died, to the butler she fired. These interactions have put me on the other side of the firing range, and every gun is fixed directly at me. One wrong move, and boom. She will explode. I square my shoulders, nodding at her wordlessly and sweeping back out the room, forcing the tremors starting in my hands to go still as I make my way to the door leading outside. I all but storm up to the gate, tugging one of my knives out from the slip of my dress. I grip the handle tight, willing it to give me strength to pass her test as I come to a halt in front of the harbinger of my looming doom. One of his hands reaches up to grip at the bars separating us, I hear them starting to screech in protest as he begins warping them so I quickly slash upwards, letting the tip of my blade slip along his knuckles. Not hard enough to cause damage but enough to make him let go with a surprised yelp.

“You need to leave, right now. My mother is not happy you are here and you are putting me in a bad position.” I hiss, pointing my knife in his direction, drenching my words in urgency, hoping he’ll understand and finally listen. His lips dip down into a frown as he stares up at the many windows adorning my home, as if he’s trying to pinpoint exactly which one she’s watching from.

“Listen, Mother Miranda told me to make sure you were safe-” He starts but I cut him off loudly, knowing my mother will be able to hear.

“I do not need your pitiful protection, Lord Heisenberg. Trust me when I say this, the day I need protection from a man is the day I would sooner die.” I pray the air was still enough to carry my ringing voice. The look on his face stings me, part of me regretting it. I point my knife at him once more, lowering my voice ever so slightly. “Please. I need you to go.” I allow hints of my fear to trickle into my tone, enough to hint at what’s happening and enough to hopefully highlight the urgency of his departure, before slipping the knife back into its sheath and stepping back from the gate. “You’re only welcome here when directly invited. Until then, make yourself scarce. Or there will be consequences.”

He huffs slightly, nodding at me and tipping his hat down to cover his eyes. He doesn’t say anything back, choosing instead to step away from the gate and pace backwards a few feet. A flame of relief roars through me as he turns and starts back down the hill, whistling some stupid tune as he goes, seemingly unaffected by my threats. Without pausing I, myself, turn around and quickly rush back inside. I make it a few paces through the doorway when I hear my sisters giggling from down the hall. Out of the corner of my eye I can see them staring at me, waiting to see if I’ll fully look at them. When they realize I don’t plan to, Bela calls out to me. I huff impatiently when I stop, tapping the toe of my shoe as I wait for them to approach me.

“Looks like you have an admirer,” Cassandra laughs, twirling a lock of her brown hair through her fingers.

“It’s pathetic really,” Bela continues, crossing her arms and sizing me up, as if she’s trying to figure out why he’s paying me any attention. Daniela starts circling me, flipping up the back of my shawl and tugs slightly on my long hair. I stifle the yelp that started up my throat at the sudden sharp pricks.

“Who helped you finish getting ready this morning, big sister?” She drawls, pausing in front of me with a dangerous smirk on her face. “If I remember correctly, your corset hadn’t been fully fastened and you were struggling to get that pretty little pin to stay in place. I wonder who helped you fix it.” I bite the inside of my cheeks, praying that she’ll stop her insinuations before our mother hears. “You were gone an awfully long time, you know. Mother was worried. I had to assure her you were alright. Fairly the walk shouldn’t have taken that much time, even with the pack of humans, but I’m sure you had other things on your mind.”

Every fiber of my being wants to scream, wants to pull her tongue out of her fucking throat, but I don’t. I can’t. I have to stand there, I have to let her talk, let them talk as much as they want, because although I hate to admit it, they have the power in this situation. If even a whisper of this was heard by my mother she would be furious. Especially at the way Daniela insinuates it. She has always had a talent for fictionalizing things, for making leaps that, to most, would seem foolish. But to us? To my mother, who hates the idea of us even being seen by men? Stories are good fuel for that fire, and Daniela is holding the match.

Clearly seeing the defeat weighing on my shoulders they draw back, laughing some more before swarming and going off to some unknown corner of the castle, likely to torment another servant. At this point I want nothing more than to slump down against the wall, but instead I tighten my shoulders, before gliding up the staircase back down the hall. I pause in front of the study, looking in and nodding at my mother before continuing down towards my bedroom. Once inside I quickly throw the lock over the door and standing stock still.

For a few moments I hardly breathe, half expecting one of them to barge down the hall and burst my door open. I barely get a glimpse of myself in the mirror of my vanity but it sends a harsh shock through my system sending my gears flying. Within moment’s I’m tearing the pin from my hair, ripping the corset off my body and nearly shredding my dress in the process. My daggers clatter to the floor noisily but even that doesn’t slow my motions. I storm over to my wardrobe, slamming the door open with such force the entire thing wobbles dangerously. I snatch all my dresses down from the hangers, dropping them into a pile on the floor. I drop down next to the pile, leaning over and yanking one of the daggers from its sheath and sitting back on my heels. With no plan whatsoever I tug one of the corsets into my lap, turning it inside out and use the tip of the knife to tear at the seam, ripping it open section by section and forcing the metal out from its bindings.

I have no idea how long I do this for, but by the time I finish I have a pile of scraps and a heap of fabric, my fingertips are red and faintly bloody, small pricks from when the knife caught my skin when I got careless. My breathing is heavy and my face is hot as I collapse backwards, leaning my weight against the wall. A small part of my brain worries mother will be upset when she sees what I did to my dresses, but another part rejoices at the rebellion. In the end it’s a relatively easy fix, we have many girls in the castle who are proficient in sewing and could easily repair any damages I caused. Odds are I’ll call one of them up before she sees, ask them to be discreet and find some other boning, probably make up a story about the metal causing too much discomfort.

Finally I find myself being able to breathe easier, less constricted, and I allow my eyes to close for a few moments, enjoying the stillness of my room, the calm chaos I caused surrounding me but drowning me in peace.

@foggyturtleknightangel @beingviolentlyhappy

#heisenberg x reader #karl heisenberg x reader #karl heisenberg #re8 karl heisenberg #lady dimitrescu #re8 #resident evil village

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chalabrun · 4 years ago

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naruto and sakura: heaven & earth (meta)

When it comes to Naruto and Sakura’s relationship, one of the most defining motifs is the ‘heaven and earth’ dynamic that becomes an evident bulwark throughout. However, in it, something I couldn’t help but notice was the fact that--while people assert Sakura as Heaven and Naruto as Earth--the roles these celestial bodies plays actually swapped by the time Part 2 rolled around.

Read on and I’ll try and show what I mean.

Naruto & Sakura in Part 1: Naruto as Earth & Sakura as Heaven

Ch. 64, where Iruka explains the symbolism behind the Heaven & Earth Scrolls and their relation to Naruto and Sakura, specifically.

Ch. 289, at the Tenchi Bridge (literally translated to the Heaven & Earth Bridge) where another appearance of this motif is made paramount.

While Sakura is known for her mind in Part 1--and equally as much in Part 2--and Naruto for his battle prowess, the entire reason she was added to Team 7 was so that her intelligence would balance out her more battle-oriented team mates.

First-rate chakra control and brainpower!! Braver than any man, charming as a maiden!!

As a ninja, she still doesn’t have any remarkable feats under her belt, but even Kakashi acknowledges her latent ability. Chakra control, genjutsu, her display of knowledge during the Chuunin exams: she’s shown shining potential in a fairly wide array of competences. Should she develop them, she might become a threat even to the great Sasuke! She’s also the one in Kakashi’s team who reins in the two hot-headed types that are Sasuke and Naruto, like an older sister looking after a mischievous little boy.

She easily clears the tree thanks to her chakra!

She breaks through even through super difficult paper tests with her own strength.

Even Kakashi acknowledges her ability with genjutsu. Will she become able to use first-class genjutsu sooner or later…?

First Databook, translation by Narutoversity.

First Databook, outlining Naruto’s particular strength and chakra that make him strong. (Source)

As we can see here, Naruto being Earth and Sakura as Heaven absolutely makes sense. It’s in this part where we see several feats demonstrating these facts, from Naruto tapping into Kurama’s chakra to make him a deadly foe in battle (like against Neji), to Sakura being able to answer the written test of the Chuunin Exams without cheating, a feat genin weren’t supposed to be able to do. And that’s just one of many between the pair of them, but as we come to see, it doesn’t quite last.

Sakura as Earth: Run in the fields, and seek advantages; if her weakness is stamina, train hard

Third Databook, Sakura’s entry. (Source)

As it becomes pretty plainly established by Part 2, Sakura becomes extremely proficient for her chakra-enhanced strength and taijutsu, two of Tsunade’s specialties that passed on to her.

Ch. 265, when Sakura destroys Hiruko in a single blow, Sasori’s ultimate defense.

As shown here, Sakura improves her stamina through the three years of training, fulfilling Iruka’s explanation of Earth perfectly.

But, that’s not all. She also ‘runs in the field, seeking advantages’, too.

Ch. 272, where Sakura & Chiyo fight Sasori.

Here, where Sakura ‘seeks advantages’ by reading Sasori perfectly.

Third databook, detailing Sakura’s evasive abilities. (Source)

And this fits ‘running in the fields’ pretty perfectly, doesn’t it?

For this reason, it could be stated that Sakura definitely took Iruka’s explanation of ‘Earth’ to heart, becoming it of Team 7. But that’s not the only reason she exemplifies Earth.

Sakura as Earth: Konohanasakuya-hime symbolism

One of the most widely speculated ideas is that Sakura’s conception was inspired by Konohanasakuya-hime, the Shinto goddess of cherry blossoms and volcanoes, the symbol of delicate earthly life.

According to this theory by raypazza, Sakura is meant to be the Konohanasakuyahime of Naruto.

An annotation by raypazza that juxtaposes Konohanasakuyahime as between the sun and moon.

Ch. 689, where Kaguya’s sealing occurs between Naruto (the sun with Hagoromo’s Yang Power) and Sasuke (the moon, with Hagoromo’s Yin Power) and Sakura from above, symbolizing Konohanasakuyahime.

Third Databook, illustrating Sakura’s personality traits. (Source)

As shown above, Sakura displays a temper that suits her extremes--including contrasts between more feminine traits (sensitivity, shyness, affection) to more bombastic, volcanic ones (boldness, short temper, combativeness).

Even Konohanasakuyahime is known for her short temper.

pgs. 71-73 of Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 by William George Aston (Source)

Here, Konohanasakuya-hime (known as Ka-ashi-tsu-hime here) loses her temper just as volcanically as the volcanoes she’s the patron goddess of due to the parentage of her sons by Ninigi being called into doubt? Her response? She gives birth to them in a hut she sets on fire. Pretty fitting for Sakura, no?

Naruto as Heaven: Gain knowledge, and prepare yourself for missions

Third databook, detailing Naruto’s improvement over the past 3 years (Source)

Though this is pretty cut and dry, but this indeed shows that Naruto indeed gained knowledge enough to prepare himself for missions, especially since--not long after their reunion--the first thing he does after reuniting in Part 2 is conduct another bell test against Kakashi with Sakura, demonstrating his growth.

Naruto as Heaven: Gaining wisdom & Heaven itself

Heaven, as defined by Thesaurus.org:

the abode of God, the angels, and the spirits of the righteous after death; the place or state of existence of the blessed after the mortal life.

Something that occurs frequently in Naruto are moments where Naruto meets several significant (often deceased) people in what could be described as a limbo realm, something that suits the literal definition of heaven. While said limbo realm tends to be in his subconscious, the fact that Naruto meets them at all suits the definition best.

Ch. 439, where Naruto ‘meets’ his father, Minato Namikaze, for the first time.

Ch. 498, where Naruto ‘meets’ his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, for the first time in that same subconscious realm.

Ch. 670, when Hagoromo grants Naruto and Sasuke his power in a limbo realm.

While Naruto might not display it in a traditional sense of the word, Naruto’s ability with his affectionately named ‘Talk no Jutsu’ is what is deemed his foremost trait in the second part of the manga, which, as we recall, is Naruto gaining wisdom. Not just intelligence, but empathy to apply his experiences and pain to relate to others, which he does constantly.

Third Databook, expanding on Naruto’s “Talk no Jutsu” ability and how it’s defined as a power on its own. (Source)

This answer by Sebastian on Quora soundly defines Naruto’s Talk no Jutsu and its ability to change people.

Closing Thoughts

In summary, everything I’ve listed here is why I believe Naruto and Sakura’s placement as Heaven and Earth changes by part two, exemplifying Sakura’s ability with taijutsu, her strength, desire to protect Naruto and Sasuke through her own power, and connection to Konohanasakuya-hime as an indicator that these roles have shifted, that she’s become the Earth between she and Naruto. Naruto, meanwhile, with his empathy and ability to touch the hearts of others satisfies the definition of Heaven in that he’s gained the wisdom he lacked in the Chuunin Exams.

Regardless, while I can’t shift people’s opinion if you prefer Sakura as Heaven and Naruto as Earth, I hope this might be something to think about, at the very least!

#sakura haruno #haruno sakura #uzumaki naruto #naruto uzumaki #narusaku #sakunaru #my meta #adding the NS tags since it feels like heaven & earth was originally an NS thing .3.

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bytheangell · 4 years ago

Text

Had to Go Too Far to Know How Far to Go

( @shadowhunterbingo Square: Enemies to Lovers) (Read on AO3)

Jace is seething, sitting across from Maryse in her office as the Head of the Institute. Jace isn’t sure if he’s relieved it’s Maryse and not Robert - sometimes he thinks he can play Robert a little better than he can Maryse, but he isn’t sure it matters this time around. He knows he’s in actual trouble when he’s called into the office instead of just reprimanded wherever she happens to find him around the Institute.

And he’s definitely in trouble. Apparently, someone saw him sneaking out after curfew and turned him in. He barely made it two blocks away from the Institute before he felt a tap on his shoulder and was instructed to return back immediately, then escorted directly here.

Jace isn’t sure who told on him - he knows he mentioned the party he was trying to go to around a few of the other Shadowhunters during training that morning, mostly to brag about the pretty Seelie girl who invited him. Any one of them could’ve gotten jealous and decided to be petty about it.

So instead of drinking Seelie wine and forgetting about his responsibilities for a night, he’s getting a lecture on representing not only the New York Institute and the Nephilim stationed here, but the Lightwood name. Jace grits his teeth and manages to “Yes, Ma’am” and “sorry, Ma’am” his way through the lecture.

No matter how many times he asks, she refuses to tell him who turned him in.

The next morning at training he eyes the others with a steely gaze. “I’m not sure which one of you ratted me out,” he says. “But if I find out-” Jace pauses there, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “Scratch that, when I find out, I’ll make sure you never have a single fun night in your entire life. Don’t pull that shit again.”

Jace eyes them all one-by-one, catching Alec’s eye-roll before noticing the confused expressions of a few others who don’t seem to know what he’s even talking about, let alone be the ones responsible for it. Either they’re surprisingly good at playing dumb, or none of them went to Maryse.

But if it wasn’t any of them, who else could it be?

---

The next time Jace gets in trouble for trying to sneak out of the Sanctuary to avoid getting caught, this time to test out using the morning star flail that Robert keeps insisting Jace can’t take in the field, he gets assigned weapon and combat gear cleaning duty for the next two weeks.

To his surprise, Andrew Underhill is waiting outside the training room as he leaves Maryse’s office. He tries to look like he’s just passing by but Jace is positive he was listening in.

“Who knew wanting to practice a new weapon would be frowned upon,” Jace comments, covering his frustration with the whole situation with his usual bravado, forcing a smirk on his face. “Guess cleaning all the weapons is one way to familiarize myself with them better.”

“Pretty sure it’s less the wanting to practice and more the going on patrol alone with a weapon you’re not proficient in,” Andrew doesn’t look amused. “Seems like a good way to get yourself killed.”

Jace rolls his eyes. “I would’ve been fine.”

“Sure you would’ve,” Andrew agrees easily enough, though Jace notes with a moment of annoyance that he doesn’t sound genuine. Does he think Jace is that incompetent, too? “Sorry about the cleaning detail,” Andrew adds, which shifts the subject slightly.

“Don’t be,” Jace shrugs. “Isn’t like it’s your fault.”

A strange look crosses Andrew’s face at that, a flicker of hesitation as if he might say something, then changes his mind. Jace almost comments on it but Andrew speaks again, his words quick and dismissive.

“Yeah, no, of course not. Just trying to be sympathetic.” That’s what Andrew says, though Jace can’t help but notice he still looks guilty, but maybe that’s just for the eavesdropping.

Jace arches an eyebrow. “Right,” he says slowly, not sure why Andrew’s being so weird all of a sudden. “Anyway, guess I should go get some rest if I’m going to be up at the crack of dawn wiping down weapons.” Jace turns and leaves Andrew still lingering outside of Maryse’s office, not thinking twice about it.

The following morning Jace shows up to the weapons room prepared for several hours of solitary cleaning. He definitely doesn’t expect Andrew to show up about half an hour in with an offer to help.

“Want a hand?” Andrew asks, eyeing the still very large pile of unpolished weapons.

“...why would you want to do that?” Jace asks suspiciously. This is a punishment after all, and he sure as hell wouldn’t be here if he didn’t have to be. No one in their right mind would willingly subject themselves to this.

Andrew shrugs. “Couldn’t sleep. Sometimes the repetitiveness of these sorts of tasks helps clear my head. Plus, I figured you could use the company. If you’d rather be alone, though, I could go…”

Jace considers the offer. It’s way too quiet in here - Jace always preferred to be around people, to have conversation and distractions so he isn’t left alone with his thoughts for too long. If nothing else, Jace would definitely appreciate the company even if Andrew just hangs out and doesn’t do any actual cleaning.

“Alright, have at it,” Jace finally agrees.

The two of them spend the next two hours talking and joking as they polish the weapons, and Jace realizes that this is probably the first significant amount of time he’s spent alone with Andrew. They get along surprisingly well, and Jace would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit how much he appreciates the way Andrew seems to look at him with an almost reverent admiration, despite being older than Jace. He can’t help it - when you spend the better part of your life trying to impress others, it’s the best feeling in the world when it pays off.

Andrew shows up to help Jace a few more times that week, until Jace begins to expect him rather than wonder if he’ll show. Outside of a few misguided attempts to rein in Jace’s reckless side, which Jace chalks up to pretty standard interactions for a friendship with him, the two of them only grow closer. Andrew is smart, the properly clever sort of smart that Jace loves, but he’s also kind. Much more kind than many raised in the life of Nephilim are. And it’s that kindness, that warmth, that Jace is drawn to the most.

When Jace’s punishment ends he feels a pang of unexpected loss at the idea of not seeing Andrew every day. He goes out on a limb and asks if Andrew would want to have a standing offer to meet up for breakfast in the mornings in the cafeteria, so they still have time outside of training and patrols to just hang out.

There’s a little flutter in Jace’s stomach when Andrew eagerly agrees with a huge smile, and Jace realizes with sudden certainty that somewhere over the past two weeks his feelings for Andrew may have shifted to something more than just a desire for friendship.

He ignores that for now, content with breakfast, daily talks, and getting to know Andrew a little better.

---

“Why don’t you wash up and meet me down in the cafeteria? I’ll see if I can get us some breakfast food cooked up,” Andrew offers. He sounds… hesitant. Maybe even a little scared. Jace doesn’t blame him - Jace knows he must look about two seconds away from self-destructing because he feels like he is.

Jace messed up. He knows he messed up, and he’s going to do something to fix it. He has to.

“No, I just want to sleep,” Jace says, his tone uncharacteristically cold toward Andrew who has recently become the only person to see the best sides of him nearly constantly. He can’t help it when the very sight of Andrew brings a small smile to his face no matter how bad of a mood he’s in… or at least, it usually does. “See you tomorrow.”

They just got back from a failed mission, one that Jace was in charge of. Jace kept most of his control during the debriefing, and now the rest of the team heads off to shower and rest.

Not Jace.

Jace waits until Andrew is out of sight before he slips away unnoticed to the weapons room. Grabbing two extra daggers and a seraph blade, he heads back to where his team lost track of the demons they were after before. He’s only back on the trail for a few minutes before Alec finds him, saying that Hodge sent him to track Jace and bring him back. The look of pure regret on Alec’s face says everything Jace needs to know about how in trouble he is.

“Sorry,” Alec says for the tenth time on their way back to the Institute. “I could always say I didn’t find you,” he offers, sounding unconvinced that would be any better.

Jace shakes his head. “No, then they’ll just punish you, too,” he sighs. “How did he even know I was gone?! I swear no one saw me leave.”

Alec shrugs. “I dunno.” They continue to walk in silence until Alec drops Jace off in the training room where Hodge is waiting, arms crossed over his chest.

Jace thinks that the worst news he’ll hear that night is the clearly stated warning that if he ever tries to go on an unsanctioned mission alone again he’ll be pulled from active duty entirely.

Instead, it’s the revelation of who told Hodge what he was doing that fills Jace’s veins with ice and makes him feel like he’s about to throw up.

“If Underhill hadn’t seen the cameras and warned us as fast as he did…”

Jace doesn’t hear anything after that, the words a buzzing noise in his brain. Underhill. Andrew. The fact that Andrew is the one who betrayed him makes this a million times worse. He trusted him. He liked him. He still does, which makes this hurt so much more. If it’d be anyone else…

Jace wastes no time going directly to Andrew’s room after Hodge releases him.

“What the fuck, Andrew?!” Jace demands before the door is even fully open.

Andrew looks as sick to his stomach as Jace felt only minutes prior.

“I’m sorry,” Andrew manages. “But you-”

“You’re not my goddamn keeper. You nearly got me pulled from active duty!” Jace seethes.

Andrew pales. “I’m sorry,” he repeats.

“Yeah, you keep saying that,” Jace points out, nothing but heat in his eyes and venom in his tone. He’s pissed. He doesn’t want to be pissed at Andrew, but he is, and he needs to get this out.

Andrew, to Jace’s surprise, grows defensive. “Maybe if you stopped trying to show off on your own all the time I wouldn’t have to keep turning you in just to--”

Jace’s jaw drops open and Andrew’s words cut off abruptly with the realization of what he just admitted.

“Keep turning me in?” Jace repeats, shaking his head. “It was you before, too, wasn’t it? By the Angel, Andrew, I thought we were friends! I thought-” but now it’s Jace’s turn to cut his words off abruptly because now is not the time for that, no matter how hurt he feels right now. “You know what, never mind. It doesn’t matter, because we clearly aren’t. I don’t want you to speak to me again, Underhill.”

Jace doesn’t stay for a response, allowing the abrupt shift from calling him Andrew to spitting out Underhill like it’s poison to do all the talking for him.

---

Things continue on in this way for a while - it seems like every time Jace goes off to make a potentially reckless decision Andrew is right there to drag him back. At first, Jace thought he was being too obvious, but no matter how many precautions he takes, Andrew always finds out, and Jace suffers for it. He knows the punishments are meant to be a deterrent but he mostly ignores them - in fact, they have the opposite effect. If everyone is going to assume he’s always out to cause trouble, then he might as well actually be out to cause trouble and have some fun in the process, live up to the reputation and all, right?

The times he manages to elude punishment only fuel more attempts, more risks to see how far he can push whatever fates are working against him here. When he gets away with it he’s rewarded with lavish nights out and thrilling solo missions far beyond anything he’d get cleared for through official channels, as well as any other number of adventures. More importantly, every time he manages to sneak out under Andrew’s seemingly constant watch (because of course Andrew works security at the Institute) it feels like a bigger victory, a louder ‘fuck you!’ to the person who, for reasons Jace still doesn’t understand because he refuses to speak with him, seems determined to ruin his life.

The only time they talk is on missions, and even then Jace shuts down any attempt at conversation outside of tactics and relevant information on whatever they’re tracking or fighting or protecting. He can tell that it hurts Andrew, but he pretends not to care just as intently as he pretends it doesn’t hurt him just as much. Jace reminds himself that Andrew is the one who betrayed him and his trust, after all.

They go on like this for quite some time. For half a year, in fact. Six straight months of Jace glaring daggers at Andrew every time he gets pulled in for breaking some rule or another. Six months of ignoring Andrew every time he practically begs Jace to just stop doing things that’ll get him in trouble in the first place.

Six months until Jace’s curiosity gets the better of him, finally overriding his anger enough for him to spin around after starting to walk away from Andrew in the middle of yet another attempted-conversation-turned-fight.

“I have to know,” Jace says. “What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?”

“I don’t hate you!” Andrew says. “I never hated you! Which you’d know if you ever just listened to me.”

“The thing is, I find that really hard to believe because I can’t imagine spending every waking moment trying to ruin the life of someone I liked.” Jace huffs. “Was it something I said? Were you jealous that the Lightwoods let me head missions-”

“Stop it,” Andrew pleads. “Stop being an ass just to push people away. I’m not your enemy, Jace!” Andrew snaps. “I’m trying to keep you alive, since you have no inclination of doing that on your own. I’m…” Underhill’s words stall out in his frustration as if he’s suddenly wondering if he should be saying anything at all. “I’m looking out for you, you self-sacrificing asshole,” he finishes, then seems to forcibly shut his mouth to not say anything more.

The words sound like they should be insults, but there isn’t anger behind them. Or, at least, there isn’t just anger - Jace can hear the concern behind them, too.

“I can look out for myself,” Jace points out, still defensive but much less angry.

“Sure you can,” Andrew says. “But you don’t. And I couldn’t convince you to, so…”

So Andrew wasn’t trying to ruin Jace’s life, he’s trying to protect it. And if Jace believes him, then he’s been doing it since before they were friends, and while they were friends, and even after, while Jace treated him like absolute shit for it.

“Why?” Jace asks. He’s pretty sure he knows, but he needs to hear Andrew say it. He needs to know and not just assume.

Andrew looks momentarily mortified by the question. “I can’t believe you’re going to make me say it…” Andrew mumbles.

“You wanted me to listen,” Jace reminds him. “Here’s your chance. I’m listening.”

Andrew seems to have lost the drive he had at the start of the conversation when the words were spilling out of him. Now it looks as if he has to force himself to say what comes next, but he does.

“Because I care about you, Jace. Because I like you. A lot. And the idea of something happening to you…” Andrew trails off, looking down at his feet for a moment before lifting his head to meet Jace’s eyes again. “I couldn’t stand it, not if there was something I could do to try and keep you safe. And maybe it wasn’t my place. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I just… even if you hated me for it, I couldn’t just stand back and wait for the night you went off to do something reckless and didn’t make it back.”

A heavy silence falls between them, Andrew done speaking his truth and Jace taking a moment to process it all.

“It wasn’t your place,” Jace agrees. “But as far as reasonings go, not wanting me to get hurt isn’t the sort of thing I can hate you for, is it?”

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Andrew says, looking anxious again.

Jace sighs. “Listen, before all of this,” Jace says, making a vague hand motion between the two of them to symbolize the past six months and everything that went wrong. “Before I ruined everything, I thought there might be something between us. And I get it, if I fucked things up too much to go back now, I understand, but-”

A second later Jace’s words are cut short by the press of Andrew’s lips to his in a kiss he returns eagerly once he recovers from the momentary surprise of it. It only breaks when Jace absolutely needs to take a breath, and honestly, Jace might’ve just gone right back in for more if Andrew didn’t take a small step back.

“You didn’t ruin everything,” Andrew says, unable to keep the small smile from his face now. “I meant what I said. I care about you. I like you. Present tense, here and now, even after everything. I’m not saying we should just pretend the last few months never happened, but… I don’t think it isn’t anything we can’t come back from. Do you?”

“Listen, I know we need to talk about this, and we will, but right now I really just want to kiss you again,” Jace confesses.

Andrew laughs. “We do need to talk. We should also maybe take the night to think things through before we jump into anything we’ll regret, verbally or physically.”

“I hate it when you’re rational,” Jace mutters. “But you’re right.”

“Maybe we can meet tomorrow? Over breakfast?” Andrew suggests.

The idea of having Andrew back, as a friend or something more, feels too good to be true. But here it is - here Andrew is - beaming like the goddamn sun.

“Breakfast sounds perfect,” Jace agrees, his smile genuine and hopeful for the first time in months.

#HeronHill #jace herondale #andrew underhill #shadowhunters #jace x underhill #hmdiscord #ShadowhunterBingo #this is a belated birthday gift for the lovely FacialTeeth who made me aware of this ship idea #and I am never going to let it go now #long post #elle writes a few deadbeat lines #elle talks too much

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snow-wind-and-all-we-will-find · 4 years ago

Text

Hi! My names arthur and im working on improving my word and building my story, which currently has no name haha! I have a myriad of characters who ill try to list out and give brief descriptions of, aether is technically my main character and some of the characters who are up for question are dead in canon. But you can still ask them stuff, itll just be set before death.

When asking characters questions, rememeber to include the name, their age if theres diffrent ages, i dont mind repeated questions, but if you see the question try not to ask it again lol. If you cant find it with a quick scroll just ask it, although i dont know if this blog will even get that big.

Aether

He comes in three evolutions lol, technically, theres four but idk if i would count 7 year old aether.

Ages: 13 yo - colder, hasnt gotten used to emotions, there are two to this as well, pre-rev and then post-rev 13 yo aether, remember to specify lol.

16 yo- a bit more out there, still kinda disconnected and figuring things out, a bit more defensive

22 yo- lax, hes sorta figured shit out, hes not going to go grazy, hes just gonna be chill lol.

!The gaggle Ghosts!

Yurei

Her personality is very, ehhh, becuase i havnt done work with her, and i havnt completly figured out who she is fully yet, shes 18 yo when aether is 22 yo

18 yo- pretty oblivious, somehow still a bit cynical, very nice and sometimes motherly

Kakoku

Few thousand- mean, likes to bully yurei as he huants her, lowkey a simp for yurei but he wont admit that. Kinda cynical and likes to bring others down, generally a bully

Tamashi

19- emotionless, has to be a really strong emotion to make her emote, tends to stray away from other people, likes to be alone, blunt

Gunnar

A few thousand- sweet, warm and welcoming, tries to be very fatherly and a trusted figure, is very busy most of the tiime unfortunatly though.

!The greek gang!

Argus agapov

16- unstable, pretty baby, protective over friends and family

Mythos agapov

23- whore. He also loves his family, lowkey, hes a trad wife

Perceus

15/16- timid, intrested in posiosn and acids, generally quiet, likes to eat leaves, scaredy cat

Diogenes

14- germ of phobe, kind of a brat, more just a bitch, will yell at you if he sees your hands were dirty from gardening or something while you’re walking to the sink, other than that hes fine, picky eater

Herodotus

15- disorginized, trys his best, likes to write stuff down, helps plato with his writing and grammar in general, gullible, likes record data, has a nice typewriter with tha good clicky clack

Plato

8- sweet baby boi, loves his older brother (socrates), idolizes him even, not a good idea though. He writes down everything socrates does, sometimes he imitates his brother as well.

Socrates

17- dumb of ass, also just dumb, held back a grade, feral child, bites alot of people, soft aestechic but hed stab as a warning

Heracles

30- also dumb of ass, loves cars in that ‘mah babeh’ kinda way. Hates motorcycles, he thinks they’re ugly. Chaotic but he utilizes it to be the weird and cool uncle/cousin thing

Zeus

46- too tired for this shit, is a dad, went out to get milk, jk jk, dissapeared for a hot few years, probably got captured by some gang dunno, it happens. Very serious, would make the dumbest jokes with his brothers with a straight face

Hades

50- lowkey the neglected middle child, soft goth lookin ass, loves his kid, tries his best to raise his kid, sometimes gets help from esme

Poseidon

57- proud stay at home dad, buff but does the typically wifely duties, makes sure his children get enough love, nutrience and care

Lillith

54- very active, the money maker, kinda soft, both her and her husband poseidon are so just in love with their kids, dote on them constantly, very extroverted, always makes time for her kids

Esme

51- tired of zeus’ shit, does her best to make sure no one dies, still treats mythos as her ‘little baby boy, tired mom vibes.

!the Eden gang!

Eden is a fictional country that i slapped onto the globe. It is where aether is from, technically aether is apart of the eden gang as well. Everyone here, if they have an age option, the first age option is the age they are when aether is 13, and the second will be when aether is 16 unless stated otherwise

General kyelli

49- fatherly, thinks of most of the gang as his children, calls everyone ‘son’, as a general rule. If you ask for another nickname, he will do his best. Has a bad knee, and is kinda of bad at existing physically

52+- fatherly still, loves almonds, always has a bag of almonds, dont test him. Enjoys travel, might adopt people he meets along the way, still has pains but now he sees doctors, wants to stay active

Indigo

13- sweet, optimistic, always looks on the brightside and tries to see the good in others. Little heater, understands that sometimes fighting is the only option

Akrano

16- lively, very loose and relax, can get serious when needed though, always making jokes and trying to lighten up the mood

19- a bit more, mellow. Still quite lively and childish, but with two signifigant-others you have to settle down sometimes

Ekrano

16- lively, more stern than akrano and kinda worried, but ultimatly also very loose and bright

Lilliana

16- serious, seemingly colder towards everyone, gets along great with psycho-lops, makes him new eye-patches to pass time, actually just very monotone and blank most of the time, although she does care

19- she doesnt change much, she got a bit more expressive, likes babysitting howl

Psycho-lops

16 1/2- always looks determined, actually kinda scared of conflict, likes to help out with healing though, very proficient in it as well, sounds intimidating while talking about how cute puppies and kittens are

19/20- still the same, is considering studying medicine and medical practices to become a doctor.

Bark

17- bright, incredibly lively, loves to joke around and tease and sometimes bully the others, targets aether primarily, hangs out with his brother most of the time, he can fight for himself but he likes the backup, especcially since he is kinda glass-jawed, being that hes a twig

Bite

17- quiet, intense eyes, always sounds vaugly confused when he speaks, deep voice lol, likes to train, doesnt understand barks need to tease others, likes to read to the children

20- quiet, intense eyes still, more so nervous sounding, slightly paranoid, cluastrophobic and cant stand dusty places, usually in his house or at the docks, doesnt really go anywhere else

Hanelle

17- loud, headstrong, adamant about her opinions, gets along well with bark, she tries alot to be intimidating, not a twig, but not very big, pretty friendly and sociable

!the band of pirates!

Aklea

A few hundreds of years- kinda bored seeming, loves blood, technically cannibal, but not really since he isnt human, to an extent. Despite being fine on the ocean, he gets very car sick very easily. Actually quite nice, very easily triggerd into violence, especcially by something that could be used as a good murder weapon, blood makes him jittery and more lively

Nerone

21- calm, too calm, deals with akleas bullshit wonerfully, he just stands there, blank smile on his face as aklea beats the shit outta someone, unintrested in most anything, likes to draw, but hes a much better pastry chef.

!the shakespears!

Midem(pink boi)

33- lively, loves to work with kids, very creative, likes to make things, mainly art, mainly carvings. Often make little minitures of scenes from midens writing, loves his twin, does anything it takes to fund midens intrests. Very loving to those hes close to

Miden

33- calmer by alot lmao, pretty introverted but he can hold a long conversation without becoming too drained, enjoys writing and making stories, also makes plays for fun, runs off little sleep cuase he stays up so late to write, and gets up early to write.

!gods!

Gideon

9 billion- confused boomer, loves his ‘children’, hates to be hated, always tries to help in anyway he can, despite making them, always curious into what mortals are doing, loves the universe he created and does anything he can to protect it

Merik

7 million- sore loser, does get a little salty, ultimatly bounces back and becomes a very good sport, always will adopt tactics, whatever it takes to win within the rules, keeps most all of his trophies from random feats hes done

Ventus

5 billion - calm, straightforward, tends to disregard others and do things himself, likes to sit on cliffs and watch the ocean

Kyle

Hes been around since 776 bc- very loud, lively, bright, tries his best to educate people on proper form, workout regime i intesne, doesnt allow others to take it, makes custom workout regimes for free, owns a gym, dude bro but hes nice, baby

Horo-sha

Her age technicaly is not accurate, shes like, 2 billion? Since dima was made right after her death. But since her history still lives, ima count it

5 billion but older than ventus- bitter, violent, former god of justice, fucking dead haha, hates mortals, primarily humans

Dima

Also not super accurate, hed only be a few centuries of being an active god before being sealed, but since hes technically, concious and has cognitive function hes counted

3 billion- mean lol, likes blood and gets even more violent when it starts getting messy, ‘new’ god of justice, uh, pretty bad at it like the last one, but worse, will kill over slight misdeameanors, everythings a crime smh

!misc!

Ivan

24- softspoken, from imperial russia, died young, he no longer feels his face is his own, has a mask that he likes better, has the sickness, but since he was human it killed him, can control it post mortem, is strong enough to be seen, but weak enough he can go invisible and go through solid objects.

More ocs will be added when i remember them, or create new ones, characters i dont really have built at all are not included

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flipomatic · 4 years ago

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Internship Chapter 19: Day 16 - Edric

Author Note: Happy new year everyone!

First Chapter Previous Chapter

_______________________________________________________

Once again, the dispatcher assigned Edric and Frederick to train for the day. They seemed to spend just over half of their days training.

Normally Edric would’ve been annoyed, though that was often true no matter what they were assigned to do, but today he was actually hoping to train.

His revenge was ready. All he had to do was wait for the right moment to strike. The next time Frederick swung a wood sword his way, he was in for a fun surprise.

Luckily, Frederick was still very interested in his progress with the sword. Once they got started with training, that was the first thing he wanted to work on.

“Don’t forget your stance.” Frederick reminded him, pushing up his elbow that always seemed to be too low.

Once he was satisfied, he started to swing at Edric’s guard.

That was what Edric had been waiting for. Using his free left hand, he drew an illusion spell circle in the air. It was a small one, since this was a small spell. It was high power over a small space, but it was about to make a big impact.

Right as Frederick was half way through his swing, a small illusion appeared under his leading foot. It didn’t lift and didn’t try to throw him off balance. All it did was make a few inches of the ground smooth, frictionless.

This had the intended effect. Frederick’s foot slid across the ground, bringing him crashing to the floor. He didn’t make a sound at the impact, didn’t even drop his sword. This wasn’t as funny as Edric thought it would be. Edric still had his sword up, just in case.

Fredrick popped up to his feet immediately, looking down at the ground to try and find what tripped him. He turned his head to search, but couldn’t find anything. That was because the illusion was invisible; Edric had made sure of it.

“How did you do that?” Frederick gave up searching and looked at Edric. He didn’t sound as irritated as Edric thought he’d be, no, he was still calm as usual.

Edric was smirking beneath his mask. “Just some illusion magic.” He said simply.

Now Frederick put his sword down. “Show me.” That was a surprise.

Edric let his sword drop as well, placing it on the ground. He lifted his hand to draw the spell circle. “Like this.” He cast the spell, once again removing the friction below Frederick’s foot. Since he was standing still, this only made him stumble slightly.

“That’s incredible.” Frederick was again looking at the ground, where his foot had slid from. “How does it work?”

He seemed so excited, which was unusual for him, that Edric didn’t have the heart to deny him. “It makes a small no friction space on the ground. If you put it in exactly the right spot, you can stop someone dead in their tracks.” It was also useful for sending objects rolling at high velocity, but Edric didn’t feel the need to mention that now.

“Why not use a larger area?” Frederick asked, likely thinking about trying to use it on an escaping suspect. He always seemed to be thinking about work.

Edric shook his head. “The more space you try to fill, the harder the spell is to cast. The size of a foot is pretty easy, but anything bigger gets more difficult.”

“I see.” Frederick mused, lifting his hand into casting position. He cast the spell circle very slowly, looking down at his own feet. He likely was trying to cast it on himself, rather than Edric.

When the circle was finished, Frederick was able to slide one of his feet around with less friction, but it wasn’t completely effective.

“This will be very useful.” Fredrick said as he brought down the spell. “Great thinking!”

This prank had not gone as expected at all. That wasn’t a bad thing though. It was almost flattering, seeing how excited Frederick was about this spell.

Frederick was trying to cast the spell again, while looking down at his feet. His second attempt was similar to his first. He dropped the spell with a slight shake of his head.

“What else are you hiding?” Frederick asked as he turned back to Edric, with a tone that was somewhere between playful and accusatory.

If he wanted to see more illusions, Edric had no problem showing them off. “More than you know. This one’s for invisibility.” Edric drew the spell circle for the base of the invisibility spell he used the prior week. “You have to layer it for the best effect, but it’s ok with just one spell.” The spell activated, turning Frederick invisible. He still had a noticeable heat shimmer and could be spotted by anyone who squinted in his direction.

“I remember this spell.” Frederick commented, still invisible. “You used it Friday, to make the guard disappear.”

“A version of it.” Edric replied as he dissipated the spell, which made Frederick reappear. “Layers make it harder to spot.”

“Hmm.” Frederick moved as if to try and cast it, but didn’t get through drawing the spell circle. He gave it another attempt with the same result. “It might be too challenging for me.” He said glumly. Edric was sure that he was frowning beneath that mask.

Edric shrugged; illusion magic came easily to him. It was the other types that he found difficult. “Just keep working on it, I guess.”

“Perhaps.” Frederick dropped his hand, seeming to give up for the time being. “These spells are certainly unconventional.” He spoke slowly, as if considering his words carefully. “But I’m impressed.” This felt like a big admission.

“I can work on some new ones.” Edric smelled an opportunity. “For catching criminals. Though I guess I’ll have to give up those other spells.” He tried to sound both regretful and sincere, but seriously doubted how effective his attempt was.

“How about this.” Yup, Frederick wasn’t buying it. “You can create new illusion spells, but only if you put serious effort into learning that healing spell.” Oh right, the healing spell Edric had been avoiding.

It wasn’t a complete victory, but it was better than how things were before. “Deal.” Edric said, lifting a hand to shake on it. Frederick accepted the handshake without hesitation.

“Let’s work on that healing spell then.” Of course he wanted to do that.

Edric withheld a sigh. “Fine.”

Frederick cast a small plant spell, bringing up one of the roots they often used to practice healing. Edric cut a nick in it, used to this routine by now. He then cast the healing spell, which had a slightly improved effect.

Frederick commented that he was getting better, but not nearly fast enough. At this rate, he wouldn’t be even close to proficient with the spell by the end of his internship.

Edric was fine with that, but he had to keep working on the spell anyway. After all, he had never been able to find an illusion spell to replace it.

They practiced it for the next hour, with Edric making small amounts of progress. Near the end of the session, he was almost able to completely heal the root.

“That’s enough for now.” Frederick said after that final attempt. “Go work on your illusions, we’ll reconvene later.”

Finally, Edric could work on something he was good at instead of magic he literally couldn’t do. “Great.” He replied, not even sarcastically this time.

He then parted from Frederick, walking a decent distance away to work on his illusion spells.

There were all sorts of cool things he could do with them; he wasn’t sure where to start first.

Em had told him recently about some magic she was learning that used a shimmer screen to add color rather than mixing it in a base spell. That was an interesting idea. He wondered if it could be used to transpose images onto a wall, without them looking fake. It would be an easier spell than a high quality image, and also wouldn’t require layers if it worked.

So Edric started with that, testing a few different shimmer spells on one of the walls to see if he could make a convincing image with them. Unfortunately, that didn’t really work. They were too transparent to be believable, too hard to see. He could layer spells in, but that would defeat the purpose.

Next, he works on a cloning spell. Specifically, making a clone of himself. He already knew a spell to do this, but the clones it made were completely intangible. This meant that they looked good, but didn’t actually have a physical form. They were basically useless for any practical work.

Edric knew a spell for making physical ones too, with the downside that it took a lot larger spell circle and more energy to cast. It also required higher levels of focus to maintain, which could be bad in a high tension situation.

He got to work though, trying to find a balance between the two. The goal was illusion clones that could take a hit, while also not draining all of his magic.

He had barely noticed how much time had passed when Frederick called him to lunch.

Next Chapter

#the owl house #the owl house fanfiction #edric blight #gonna get his revenge #it's time #flip writes

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coreastories · 4 years ago

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Hi author! I don’t know about your world but here where I live my government has just signed a law that practically curtails all our freedom. With that, would you know what the migration policies are for KOC? I want to get out of here because not only is our government incompetent and corrupt, our president’s pretty horrible looking too. Corea sounds like a perfect to live + you have a gorgeous King and Queen. I hope you can help me out! Thanks!

Hi Ms Patitsee!

That’s a very good question, and one for which I have so much sympathy. It’s a monumental shame when a government fails its people in the very foundation of modern civilization: freedom.

I’ll share with you what I know of Corean immigration.

I have a working visa myself and I remain here at the graces of the Royal Public Affairs Office under His Majesty’s authority. I know not everyone can be as lucky-- and there can only be one international correspondent on the Corean royals-- so here are your options, darling.

A student visa

What you need:

Certificate of C1 or C2 Advanced Level Proficiency in the Corean Language

TOEFL Certificate, whether or not you come from an English-speaking country

Acceptance into any Corean institution of higher learning

Once you have the two language certificates, you can go to the website of Higher Learning in Corea for comprehensive assistance, from picking your university to submitting your requirements and scheduling your online admission tests and interviews.

Once you have been accepted at your school or university of choice, you will get assistance again, this time for your student visa.

If you’re married and your spouse didn’t apply as a student, s/he will get a spouse visa.

To help with your living expenses, both the student and spouse visas come with 20 to 40 hour/week working permits. 20 for student, 40 for spouse. During school breaks, your working permit automatically updates to 40 hours/week, if you decide to use it.

The spouse visa can be upgraded to a working visa upon settlement in Corea.

A working visa

What you need:

Certificate of Employment or Job Offer in any business, institution, organization in Corea

Approved Petition for Non-Immigrant Working Visa with the Ministry of Labor, placed by your current/prospective employer

Certificate of C1 or C2 Advanced Level Proficiency in the Corean Language

TOEFL Certificate, whether or not you come from an English-speaking country

Again, that’s it. Once you have the above, the Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship will review your documents (everything your employer would have required from you in the first place) and schedule your online interview.

If you pass the interview, they will issue your working visa within 2 weeks and even offer to book your flight and arrange your accommodations. I swoon.

What you need to know:

They take the Corean and English language proficiency seriously. And you get mad points for your visa candidacy to know both languages.

To be an acceptable candidate for the student or working visa, you need C1 or C2 level proficiency for both Corean and English.

Normally, B2 is accepted for studying abroad in most universities accepting foreign students, but Corea wants all of its citizens and residents to have a complete grasp of the language so you can enjoy the culture of Corea.

You’ll need C1 or C2 level to appreciate the literature and arts.

English, of course, is important in the professional environment.

Mandarin and Cantonese would also make you a strong candidate. They don’t require it, but if that’s in your CV, that’s points for you!

Many, many businesses in Corea are in the global and digital sphere. That means there are jobs to be had just translating everything into English and customer-facing jobs where you write or speak in English.

At the moment, Coreans are still too proud of their own language and culture to learn English themselves. Many of them do know English, but it’s still uncommon. You won’t easily find someone in the street who can converse in English.

So if you can articulate yourself in both Corean AND English, doors are open for you.

The student and/or working visa is/are your ticket/s to permanent residency.

A sad note for anyone with fantasies with their oppas-- marrying a Corean won’t make you a Corean citizen.

Only the student and working visas evolve into permanent residency, and then into citizenship.

This means you had to have steeped yourself in Corean culture to be considered a permanent resident.

If you hold a student visa, you can/should apply for a working visa after:

Graduation from a four-year undergraduate degree in an institution of higher learning in Corea

Achieving a post-graduate degree (1 year to 3 years) from any institution of higher learning in Corea

Once you hold a working visa, you can apply for lawful permanent residency after:

Continuous full-time employment of 3 years in any in business, institution, organization in Corea

As permanent resident, you have access to Corea’s unbeatable comprehensive healthcare service. You pay for nothing if you need anything for your health.

It’s your choice to apply for citizenship--and all its wonderful perks (like the powerful black and gold Corean passport)-- after you become a lawful permanent resident.

What industries you can get into:

Pretty much any of them. Unlike other countries with labor-focused immigration where you either cook, farm, wipe butts, or operate machinery, Corea currently welcomes working visa holders in ALL fields of work.

Of course, they do have that stringent language requirement. So the welcome is merited, because if you get past that language requirement and the interview, you ARE deserving of your Corean residency, because you would have proved you already know Corean culture well.

Good luck, darlings!

#CoreaNews #CoreaFiction #Corean immigration #the king eternal monarch #the king: eternal monarch

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cosmicoceanfic · 5 years ago

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Hello, I absolutely love the way you write Dirk! I think something about the friendship between him and Amanda and the chaotic shenanigans they get up to would be really interesting. Hope you and yours are alright during these strange times, be safe 💖💖💖 P.S. Your fic about fae dirk is one of my all time favourites and a reliable comfort read -Sparrow

“So here’s the thing,” Amanda says, testing her hot chocolate and making a scrunchy face when it turns out to be too hot.

Dirk leans forwards, intrigued. They have twice monthly coffee shop meetings, more if Amanda happens to be in town, and he is well versed enough in Amandaisms at this point to know that if she says so here’s the thing unprompted, there is something interesting coming down the pipe. “Yes?”

“So here’s the thing.” Amanda stirs her hot chocolate with a straw. She says stir sticks are too weak and therefore too inferior as a stirrer, so she prefers straws. “There’s no known photos of the Mothman.”

He considers this. “Are you sure? I’m almost certain I’ve seen photos on the World Wide Web.” Dirk is not especially proficient at the Internet, having generally considered it a frivolity for people with the money to be able to access it on their phones and own laptops, which he did not for quite some time. Todd and Farah are determined to teach him because they say that it is “now necessary to function in human society, Dirk” and “you gotta know how to redirect people to our website, Dirk, this isn’t the Stone Age”. He’s gotten much better, but he insists on continuing to call it the World Wide Web, not because it’s so deeply ingrained in him, but because pretending that it is deeply annoys Todd, and Dirk finds it delightful. It’s sort of cute, how easily irritated it makes him. He’s thinking about referring to social media platforms as “the Bookface” or “the Tweeters” next.

Amanda shakes her head. “Nope. I already checked it out. You’re just thinking of Bigfoot photos, there’s a lot of Bigfoot photos.”

“Hm.” Dirk thinks it over. “You know, all things considered, I’d think there’d be more photos of Mothman, certainly he’s no Bigfoot or Loch Ness Monster, but he’s popular enough in his own right to have people looking for photos of him.”

Amanda slaps her hand on the table. Several older couples nearby glare at her and audibly tsk. He even hears a man mumble about young couples these days, and Dirk briefly thinks about heading over to dispel the notions of his and Amanda’s perceived heterosexuality, but ultimately passes, too curious about where Amanda’s train of thought is headed. “That’s what I thought. So then I started to wonder: why aren’t there photos of Mothman? What could keep Mothman out of the limelight? And then it hit me.” She points at him. “Light.”

It hits Dirk like a headache and he gasps also loudly enough to get tsked at. “Of course.”

“Right?”

“Right?” Dirk starts talking with his hands, waving them around. “Of course, because if moths are attracted to light-“

“And if Mothman’s whole thing is general mothiness-“

“Then he’s going to spend all his time around bright sources of light-“

“Then it’s gonna be really hard to get a good photo of him because it’s so hard to get good photos of bright sources of light.”

Dirk claps once. “Outstanding work, Amanda.”

“But wait, there’s more.”

Dirk leans in even further than he was leaning before. “There’s more?”

“There’s more.” Amanda leans in as well. “What do moths like, other than sunlight?”

“Collapsing bridges, evidently. Which is a bit rude of him, I always thought, what did bridges ever do to you?”

“Not Mothman, moths.”

“Oh. Frightening me when they unexpectedly fly in my face?”

“Nope. Clothes.”

“Continue.”

Amanda grins. “So Mothman’s gonna have a lot of nice clothes lying around, right, for his diet.”

“Of course. Only the best for Mothman.”

“So Mothman’s got some fancy shit, and I’ve got closet needs, as I’m sure you do.”

“I mean, you don’t have a closet, you ride around in a van with smelly energy vampires who’ve never heard of changing a shirt.” Dirk does nod, though. “But point taken.”

“So I’m thinking that you and I rattle around, search for Mothman in places with really bright lights, and try and get him to give us some of his extremely dope clothes.”

“I’m in,” Dirk answers immediately.

Amanda grins, clearly delighted. “I thought you might be.”

“Must’ve gone well, then,” Todd says, glancing up when Dirk walks into the office two weeks later.

“What must’ve gone well?” Dirk asks innocently.

Todd straightens from where he’s bent over his desk. “First of all, dude, you can’t just leave a note on your desk that says top secret adventure with Amanda back soon put it on my tab.”

Dirk sniffs. “I don’t see why not.”

“Second of all, you don’t have a tab, that’s not how this works.”

“It could be, if people weren’t cowards.”

“Third of all, Amanda kept texting me about your great Mothman adventure.”

“This seems to be a very long and unnecessary list, Todd.”

He ignores that, which Dirk thinks is a little rude. “And finally, that jacket looks like it’s pretty good quality, and completely out of your price range.”

He smugly lays his light blue leather jacket over the back of his chair. He’s usually not one for lighter colors, but for a good jacket, he is willing to make an exception “Very much so.” He shows Todd his wrists. “I got new cufflinks, too, look.”

Todd looks confused. “Mothman has cufflinks? He can’t eat those.”

“Oh, no, I bought them myself on the road.” Dirk tilts his wrists back and forth so the silver hockey sticks catch the light. “Aren’t they nice? Very fashionable.” Amanda and Todd have done their level best to get him into hockey, which they love on account of people with sticks fighting other people with sticks, and Dirk has to admit, he’s actually pretty fond of it. Amanda has been trying to persuade him to get into roller derby, but there’s an awful lot of shoving there, and Dirk really fails to understand the appeal of a sport that’s mostly shoving.

Todd looks amused. “Glad you had fun.”

“Come on. Why don’t you show me how to update the Graham Crackers for the office?”

“It’s Instagram, and also I hate you.”

This fic was actually originally going to be about Bigfoot for a hot second, but then I remembered Hannah and I have a discussion about Bigfoot in one of our unpublished works, so I decided to pivot to Mothman, and I’m pleased I did, cause I hit on the plot pretty quick. These are Dirk’s cufflinks, and this is Dirk’s jacket.

Thank you so much for your prompt and your kind words! I’m doing my best to stay safe and healthy during these very odd times, and hope you’re alright just the same.

prompts call and fandoms here! come keep me busy and sane during strange times.

#dirk gently #amanda brotzman #dirk gently's holistic detective agency #dghda #dirk gently fic #todd brotzman #mothman #ocean's fic #ocean speaks #ocean answers asks #Anonymous

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helenstudies · 5 years ago

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I got bored while studying so I'm gonna make a little introduction! (Should've done this a long time ago but oh well, better late than never.)

For future references, this is written on March 14th 2020.

I'm 20 years old. I'm a third-year distance university student who enjoys reading books, learning languages, writing stuff, watching tv shows. To sum it up, I'm a nerd who barely gets out of the house.

Now, to my language learning journey. I study languages pretty seriously. And I don't really judge myself on speaking because most days I barely speak ten words in my native tongue. So I judge myself by language test results. I get depressed if I'm not busy so I just prepare for test after test and challenge after challenge. When I'm preparing for a test, I study about 10 to 24 hours per week. If not, I just watch tv or read books all day long.

I'm a native Burmese speaker and I also speak English. I wasn't raised bilingual but my mom and my brother started speaking English at home when I was about 10. I work as a freelance translator (English to Burmese)

I learn Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. (Cue eyerolls) My definition of fluent is C2 in CEFR level or "can easily read hundreds of books and understand 99% of it." Needless to say, I'm not fluent in any of those three.

First of all, Korean. I passed TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) level 5 in 2019 with 229 marks. (Have never taken TOPIK prior to that) Before that, I studied in a language program in Korea for nine months + six months prior in my country. That's about two years of study. I'm aiming for TOPIK 6 in 2020 and trying to read as many books as I can in Korean.

I passed HSK (Chinese language test) 4 with 289 marks in 2019. (Passed HSK 3 in 2016 and 4 in 2017 before). I learned Chinese for three months when I was 13. But I had no lessons or any practice for three years so I had to start from the scratch at age 16 again. So now I'm self-studying for HSK 5 four hours a day and 6 days a week. HSK doesn't really have passing marks for level 5 and 6. (It was 180 for all levels but then for some reason they removed that from the test.) So if I don't pass an exam with no passing marks, that's gonna be so goddamn funny.

And finally, Japanese! The language I'm least familiar with. I had to start learning from scratch thrice before I finally passed JLPT (Japanese language proficiency test) N4. I finished JLPT n5 and then studied for JLPT n4 in a month. I passed NAT 4Q (equivalent to JLPT n4) with 144 marks out of 180. (December 2019) After my HSK 5, I'm gonna study for N3 and see how it goes.

I also dabble in other languages (like French) but I know how much effort I need to learn a language so I'm gonna hold on until I have at least one more fluent language under my belt.

Why do I study these languages? First of all, because Chinese language is the coolest shit ever and I love calligraphy even though I suck at it. And these three languages are similar so I can learn about another language from one language. (I have tiny epiphanies all the time because of it. For example, I was watching Kingdom yesterday and when they said 백성 I was like oh wait, 백성 is the same thing as 百性 ! They're the same word in both languages!) I also like to read books and I know how many things can get lost in translation so I'd like to read/listen everything in original language. I'd also like to be a writer/translator plus language intructor so learning languages are just very beneficial for me. But most importantly, it's cool as fuck.

This has been my language studying journey so far! Thank you for reading all this. I'm willing to talk about anything related to language learning so don't be afraid to send me a message or an ask.

#studyblr #langblr #korean langblr #chinese langblr #japanese langblr #korean language #chinese language #japanese language #language learning #language study #language learning progress #hsk #jlpt #nat #topik #back to studying!#burmese #english

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omgjasminesimone · 5 years ago

Text

Running Part 3

Colt x MC (Ellie)

Previous Part: Part 2

Next Part: Epilogue

Author’s Note: Last part! Thank you to all who read, liked, commented, and reblogged this story. Parts of this chapter are NSFW

Summary: After eighteen months of searching, Colt has finally found Ellie.

Rating: NSFW

Word Count: 4000

“You can let go of me now.” Ellie informs Colt after several minutes have passed in a tense silence. He’s given her no indication that he plans to release her anytime soon.

Colt arches a brow. “Can I? I’m not so sure about that. You have this bad habit of running away from me.” His eyes narrow, piercing her with his fierce glare. “I don’t like it.”

Ellie lowers her gaze shamefully. “I promise I won’t run.” She swears.

Colt pauses for a few seconds, seemingly thinking it over. “I guess I’ll trust you, even though that’s more than you ever gave me.” He says bitterly, loosening his hold and allowing Ellie to step away.

Ellie wraps her arms around herself, having trouble looking at him. She wasn’t expecting to have to do this today. She wasn’t really expecting to do this ever. She assumed he would stop looking for her eventually, and she and her son could quietly settle down somewhere. “What are you doing here?” Ellie asks softly.

His ire flares as he looks at her sharply, that familiar fire in his eyes. “What am I doing here?” He repeats incredulously.

Maybe she should rephrase that. He’s obviously here because she’s here, because their baby is here. “I meant, how did you find me?” She clarifies.

Colt scoffs, crossing his arms across his chest to temper his urge to grip her wrist roughly. He’s unconvinced she’s not going to try to make a run for it. “With a lot of difficulty.” He answers shortly.

“Colt, I told you not to look for me.” Ellie admonishes softly, finally meeting his gaze.

“And I told you I’d keep you safe, that I’d take care of you, both of you. I guess neither of us knows how to listen.” Colt retorts.

Ellie sighs, not knowing what to say to him to make any of this better.

“I want to see them.” Colt demands.

“Hmm?” Ellie asks, unsure who ‘them’ is.

“My child. I want to see my child.” Colt clarifies in an exasperated tone, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black jeans.

Oh, of course that’s who he meant. She feels another pang of guilt when she realizes Colt doesn’t even know the gender of their baby. She had debated sending him a picture of the infant after she gave birth, but her Dad talked her out of it. Ellie knows Colt won’t take no for an answer, he is the father after all, so she nods. “Of course, I’ll take you to your son.”

There’s a pause, a soft intake of breath from Colt. “A boy?” He finally chokes out, voice thick with emotion.

Ellie nods, offering him a sad smile as her eyes tear up. She retreats back to her basket because turning away from him prevents her from full on bawling in front of him, thinking about all the moments with their son he has already missed. Colt follows behind her, keeping her within reach. He’s still worried she’ll run. Ellie gathers her produce and turns towards the house, sliding open the glass backdoor. She takes off her shoes at the door and Colt follows suit. She leaves her basket on the kitchen table, and Colt continues to follow her up the carpeted stairs, turning into a room painted candy apple green.

Tears well in his eyes as Colt enters the nursery, laying eyes on his son for the first time. He’s in a dark blue onesie, dark brown eyes open and alert as he babbles, trying to get his clothed foot into his mouth. He doesn’t have much hair yet, but the few tufts on his head are dark black like his own hair. The baby is his spitting image, but he’s got Ellie’s fuller lips.

Colt has never held a baby before, and he hesitates as he grips the crib bars. He wants to hold him more than anything, but he’s afraid. He feels like he could unintentionally hurt this small fragile thing, so easily that it terrifies him. Maybe Ellie was right to keep him away.

Ellie notices his hesitation, so she reaches into the crib for their son. “Hold him just like this, support his head.” Ellie instructs, laying the wiggling bundle into his arms.

Colt stiffens, afraid the baby will start crying, or he’ll drop him, or maybe he should be providing more support to his head…

The baby smiles up at him, just two teeth in his gummy mouth. Colt can’t help but smile back, and a few stubborn tears roll down his cheek.

“What’s his name?” Colt questions softly, eyes fixed on his son as he softly sways back and forth.

“Colt.” Ellie answers, watching the moving reunion and feeling guilty for keeping the two apart for so long. “I was going to name him Asher, Asher Joseph Wheeler, but he came out looking just like you.” Ellie pauses before adding, “Also, I was pretty drugged. And I really missed you. So I named him Colt Teppei Kaneko.” Ellie explains.

Colt swallows back the emotion that brings up in him. A namesake, for him, and for his father. He clears his throat, trying not to cry. “Your dad must have loved that.” Colt says sarcastically, hoping she won’t notice how his voice is wavering.

Ellie chuckles, fidgeting as Colt’s watery gaze leaves the baby and fixes on her. “He had gone down to the cafeteria. If he was in the room, he definitely would have tried to stop me. He loved the name Asher.” After a few moments, Ellie adds. “He was really pissed when he found out.”

Colt nods, now having confirmed that Detective Wheeler got to witness his son’s birth while Ellie denied him that opportunity. Another thing to add to his list of reasons why he and Detective Wheeler are never going to be remotely friendly. And what kind of pretentious name was Asher? Clearly something that asshole would like. “Having two Colts around is going to be confusing. How am I supposed to know who you’re talking to, or calling for?” He questions.

Ellie tries to ignore the implications of that statement. Does he really think there’s a future for them as one big happy family? “Well, when I speak to him, it’s like this.” Ellie rubs a finger down the baby’s soft cheek. “Colt, Coltie.” She calls sweetly, and the baby gurgles happily. Ellie turns her gaze up to the older Colt Kaneko. “When I’m calling out for you, it usually sounds more like this. Colt!” She calls out impatiently, as if she’s annoyed with him about something.

Colt laughs, for the first time in a long time. “That’s not the only way you say my name. That’s not the way I love. The breathy little moans of my name as I make you cum. Aahh…Colt…don’t stop.” He imitates, head falling back with eyes closed and mouth open in an imitation of her orgasm face.

Ellie blushes. “Don’t say dirty stuff like that while you’re holding my son.”

“Our son.” Colt quickly corrects. “And sex is a natural thing. It’s how this little guy got here.”

Now that sex has been implicitly mentioned, Ellie is suddenly aware of the heat building between her legs. She hasn’t been with anyone since she left Colt, and the chemistry between them is as strong as ever. She wants him, needs him, even though she knows she shouldn’t.

Ellie looks him over as he coos at the baby, bouncing him gently. His hair has grown a little longer in the time they’ve been apart. It’s slicked back now instead of gelled up. He also has a beard now, trimmed short and tidy around his chin. It makes him look older, like a man instead of a boy.

Her eyes leave his face to look over his body. She misses the leather jacket, but he’d be melting in the New Mexico summer heat if he was wearing it. His tight white shirt, sleeves rolled up, shows off the impressive physique beneath. She can see the outline of his abs and his pecs. Her eyes go lower, to his groin, knowing what lies beneath those jeans. Knowing exactly what he can do with that appendage when he swivels his hips just so.

Her dirty thoughts are interrupted when their son starts to cry, at a medium volume. She’s started to become proficient in the language of Colt Jr.’s cries, and this one means he’s hungry. She holds her arms out to Colt, and he reluctantly hands over the baby. Ellie takes a seat in the rocking chair in the corner of the nursery, tugging down her sundress to expose her left breast. She raises the baby to her nipple, and he immediately latches on and starts to suckle.

“He’ll be at it for a while.” Ellie informs Colt, making herself comfortable in the chair.

Colt stands before her, watching as she feeds their son. The intensity of his stare makes her a little uncomfortable. She took off before her body changed. Her breasts are a lot larger now, engorged with milk. Her areolas are huge and dark from the hormonal changes. She’s a little worried he’ll be turned off by the sight of them.

She shakes her head, chastising herself for even caring what he thinks about her breasts. This is what they’re supposed to do, their biological purpose, nourishing her child.

But her fears are unwarranted, because Colt simply looks intrigued as he watches. “Do you have any bottled milk?” He asks.

Ellie thinks on it, and remembers she pumped yesterday when the baby was sleeping and she felt particularly engorged. She nods. “Yeah, downstairs. Do you want to try to feed him? I can go heat it up.” Ellie offers, standing and handing him the baby. She pulls her dress back up and turns towards the door, but Colt stops her with a hand on his shoulder.

“I want to learn how to do it.” He reveals.

Ellie swallows, unable to ignore the fact that he clearly intends to stick around, to raise their child together. Can she deny him that, after seeing how his namesake has already warmed to his father? The baby is usually fussy around the select few other people he interacts with, even his Grandpa Wheeler. But he’s clearly comfortable in his father’s arms.

Ellie pushes all the problems with allowing Colt back into their lives to the back of her mind, nodding and letting him follow her back down the stairs. She shows him where the milk is, teaches him how to heat it up and test the warmth against his wrist. Colt takes a seat at the kitchen table, bringing the bottle to Colt Jr.’s lips. The baby suckles happily, and when he’s done Ellie shows Colt how to burp him. The baby spits up on him, but Colt doesn’t seem at all upset. He simply grabs a paper towel and cleans the spit up from their son’s lips, not even bothering to try to clean his own shirt.

Ellie shows Colt the mat where she lays the baby for tummy time, and the teething toy Colt Jr. likes the most. Colt Jr. doesn’t seem interested in the toy today, so Colt reads a story to him instead, doing different voices for all the characters as they baby cuddles into his side.

The stench in the air notifies Ellie it’s time to change the baby’s diaper. Colt takes the lead, but she has to show him how to properly secure the taps after he does it too loose. Afterwards, Colt makes himself comfortable in the rocking chair, gently rocking the freshly changed baby to sleep.

As Colt Jr.’s eyes flutter shut, Colt slowly gets up and gently transfers the baby from his arms to the crib.

“You’re really good with him.” Ellie observes softly.

Colt’s fists clench on the crib. “Are you surprised?” He asks testily, his back to her.

Ellie steps up to him, cupping his cheeks and forcing him to look at her. “No, that’s not what I meant. I always knew you would be a good father Colt. I just didn’t think I could be a good mother while knowingly putting my child in a dangerous situation.”

“Our child.” He corrects, again. “I never would have put our child in a dangerous situation, he would have been safe. I still can’t believe you left me. You said you’d always choose me….it’s been almost two fucking years Ellie.”

Ellie swallows. “I can’t choose you over him.” She admits softly.

“I’m not asking you to.” Colt insists. He removes her hands from his face, walking away from her and staring out the window. There’s not much to look at. This house is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by arid desert.

Ellie hesitantly approaches, hugging him from behind and trying to ignore the way he stiffens at her touch. “I missed you.” Ellie reveals, getting on her tip toes to place a kiss to the back of his neck.

“You could have come home at any time.” Colt bites back, but he makes no move to remove himself from her arms.

Ellie sighs. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I’m sorry I hurt you, but I still think I made the right decision. It was hard for me too.”

Colt laughs humorlessly. “You’re absolutely infuriating, you know that?”

Ellie’s hand slips under his shirt, fingers lightly tracing over his abs. His muscles clench under her touch. “I know a way we could work out some of the tension.” She whispers suggestively into his ear.

Colt turns quickly, capturing her lips roughly and demanding his tongue’s entrance into her mouth. She happily obliges as he lifts her, and she wraps her legs around his lean waist. He presses her into the wall, removing one hand from her leg to grasp at her breast through the thin sundress. He squeezes roughly and she moans.

“I’m still mad at you.” He reveals between greedy kisses, leaving marks all down her neck.

“I know.” Ellie responds, nails raking down his back.

“And we need to talk.” Colt adds, free hand squeezing her plumper post baby bottom.

She rolls her hips against him, delighting in the groan that elicits from his kiss swollen lips. “We can do that later.”

“Where’s your bedroom?” He questions.

“Down the hall, to your left.”

Colt carries her to their destination before rather unceremoniously tossing her onto the mattress. He remains standing at the foot of the bed, regarding her somewhat coldly despite the desire evident in his deep brown eyes. “Take off the dress.” He demands, and Ellie is quick to follow his instructions. She tosses the dress in the general direction of her dirty laundry bin. She doesn’t bother with a bra most days, since she rarely leaves the house anyway and it’s more convenient for breastfeeding, so she’s left in nothing but her cotton panties.

Colt looks over her nude form appreciatively. Her post pregnancy body is curvier. She has rounder hips and fuller breasts now. Ellie feels self-conscious about the few stretch marks that mar her stomach, and instinctively moves to cover them. Colt shakes his head and she freezes, allowing her arms to fall back to her sides.

Colt slowly disrobes until he’s left in just his briefs. He crawls onto the bed and sprawls out beside her, looking at her with an eyebrow raised. Normally he would take the lead, but it seems like he wants her to initiate what she wants.

Ellie straddles his hips, hands tangling into his hair and kissing him until she has to pull away for air. She peppers kisses down his body, rising onto her knees and crawling down the bed as she goes. She kisses the trail of hair just below his belly button, looking up at him through her lashes.

He smirks at her, so she palms his hard length through his briefs, squeezing not so softly until he lets out an involuntary hiss. She reaches for the waistband of that last barrier, and he raises his hips so she can pull them off.

Her hand wraps around him, thumb brushing over the tip. Colt’s eyes close as she takes him into her mouth. Ellie braces her hands on his thighs, slowly taking him in as deep as she can without gagging. Ellie moves her head up and down, sucking and coating him in saliva before sitting up, replacing her mouth with her hand. Her strokes gradually increase in speed, and Colt writhes in pleasure. “Fuck Ellie.” He exclaims when she bends back down, licking slowly from the base to the tip of his cock. She swivels her tongue around the head before taking him back into her warm mouth.

Colt abruptly pulls her off, tugging her on top of him so they’re face to face. He kisses her forcefully, biting her bottom lip fairly hard before he pulls away, flipping them over so he’s on top in one fluid motion.

He quickly tugs her panties off, tossing them over his shoulder. He kisses her inner thigh, and then the other inner thigh gently. His hot breath ghosts over her center, and she tangles her fingers into his hair, lightly pushing him down to her wanting sex.

He abruptly pulls his mouth away, rolling onto his side. His movement forces her left leg open, and he gently inserts a finger inside of her. “You’re so wet.” He observes, coating the tip of his finger in her juices before pushing two fingers all the way in.

Ellie’s hips arch off the bed as he adds a third finger, hooking them and pumping several times before retracting them. Ellie moans as he rubs his thumb over her clit. He leans over to place a kiss near her belly button, and she waits in anticipation for him to put his mouth where she wants it most.

Instead of kissing his way down, he kisses his way back up to her mouth, his calloused fingers continuing to push in and out of her, faster and faster. “I’m close.” She informs him, eyes closing as the pleasure builds. Her eyes shoot open in surprise when he slowly pulls his fingers from her, inserting them into his mouth and slowly licking them clean as he stares into her lust blown eyes.

Ellie realizes he’s punishing her, refusing to let her cum, refusing to eat her out since he knows how good he is at it, how much she wants it. He must really be angry with her.

Ellie sits up, pushing him onto his back and straddling his waist. If he won’t give her what she wants, then she’ll have to take it. She guides him to her entrance, slowly lowering herself down onto him. Ellie is overwhelmed by the feeling of fullness, of completeness. She slowly swivels her hips, watching as Colt licks his suddenly dry lips. She increases her pace, bouncing up and down while bracing against his chest. Colt can’t hold out for long, giving in to what they both want. He thrusts in time with the rhythm she’s set, hands wandering from her hips to her ass so he can speed up their pace.

“I almost forgot how good you feel.” Ellie mumbles breathlessly, pleasure and tension building as she feels herself getting close to her orgasm.

Colt growls, slamming into her roughly so she cries out his name. “You’re never going to forget again after I’m done with you.” He promises.

“Ahh…Colt!” She calls out as she climaxes, milk leaking from her full breasts onto his stomach as her walls clench around him. He continues to thrust as she rides out her orgasm, falling against his chest. He grunts as he reaches his peak as well, spilling inside of her in several long spurts.

She rolls off him, kissing him gently as she slowly comes down from her sex induced fog. Colt wipes a finger over a drop of milk on his stomach, bringing it to his lips tentatively. “Hmm…it’s sweet.” He informs her once he’s had a taste. “Does that always happen?” He asks.

Ellie glares at him, offended he would even ask. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t been with anyone since I left you.”

Colt nods, relief flooding through him having that confirmed. “Me either.” He offers, wanting her to know she’s the only one he wants. “Can I….” He stops, suddenly shy.

Ellie thinks she knows what he’s getting at, and she nods, rolling onto her back to give him easier access.

Colt tentatively takes her right nipple into his mouth, the one his son wasn’t recently feeding on, Ellie notes, swirling his tongue and sucking until her milk starts to flow. He caresses her other breast, squeezing and kneading the tender flesh. After a few seconds, he releases her nipple, rolling on top of her and capturing her lips. She can taste her milk on his lips as he enters her again. It does taste sweet.

…

After round three in the shower, Ellie is halfway to sleep when she hears Colt’s phone ping, a text message.

He removes his arm from around her and reaches for his jeans on the floor. He takes his phone from the pocket and glances at the screen, nodding curtly. “We still need to talk.” He declares as he types out a response.

Ellie sits up, keeping the blanket over her chest to protect her modesty. “Okay.” She responds, resting her head on her knees and looking at him warily.

“Here.” He hands her his phone. She sees the alert was a picture from Ximena. It’s Kaneko Autobody Shop, engulfed in flames. Colt has simply texted back ‘Good.’

Ellie’s eyebrows furrow, giving him a confused look. “I burnt down the shop. So we can start over.” Colt explains.

“But it’s been in your family for generations. And you worked so hard to reopen it. You said it was your legacy.” Ellie responds, baffled by his sudden 180 degree turn.

Colt gestures toward the nursery with a tilt of his head. “He’s my legacy. That was just a building. Now we can collect on my fire insurance policy and start over. I was thinking Charlotte, North Carolina. My mom is out there. And it’s 2,500 miles from your dad.”

“I don’t understand.” Ellie reiterates, handing him back his phone.

Colt tosses it onto the nightstand, turning in the bed to face her. “I wanted you to feel secure. I can’t go back, there’s nothing to go back to. I set things right with anyone mad enough to come looking for me across the country, they’re all paid off. I’m in this with you Ellie, 100 percent. I’ve saved some money, I know of some investment opportunities in North Carolina. I’m done with crime Ellie.” He patiently explains.

“But you love the crew. You love the lifestyle.” Ellie insists.

“I love you more. I love my son more. I could have had it all if you would have just let me, I know I could have kept you guys safe. But since you won’t let me have both, it’s not a hard decision. I choose you. I’ll always choose you.” Colt swears, taking her hand in his.

Ellie smiles, tears welling up in her eyes again. “I love you too.” She admits, pulling him into a passionate kiss. “You know, insurance fraud is also a crime.” She informs him when she pulls away.

Colt rolls his eyes. “Okay smart ass, after I collect the insurance money then I’m done with crime. For good.”

Ellie laughs, kissing him again. “Are we really doing this? You can forgive me? We can start fresh?”

“I can forgive you, but I won’t forget. You have to talk to me from now on, give me the fucking ultimatum if something is a deal breaker for you. Don’t pull some shit like this ever again, you hear me?” Colt demands, that fire in his eyes again.

Ellie nods. “I hear you, and I’m sorry. I love you Colt..”

“I love you too.”

They probably would have gotten lost in each other a fourth time, but Colt Jr.’s cries come through the baby monitor. Ellie automatically starts to get up, but Colt gently pushes her back down into bed.

“It’s my turn, for like the next year.” He informs her, heading out to the nursery.

…

Author’s Note: The End! But I feel like I have a pretty flushed out epilogue for this one, so that’s probably coming at some point. Thank you for reading!

@brightpinkpeppercorn @choicesarehard @lovehugsandcandy @desiree-0816 @regina-and-happiness @iplaydrake @hazah @sibella-plays-choices @maxwellsquidsuit @eileendannie @liamzigmichael4ever @lady-dianelewis @client-327 @cora-nova @umiumichan @angrypainterfarmopera @badchoicesposts @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction @sparklinglilac @pixel-thirsty @mrskaneko

#ride or die #colt x mc #colt kaneko #ns*w #choices fanfiction

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xuexichinese · 5 years ago

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So you want to take the HSK...

It can be a bit of a hassle signing up and taking the HSK, especially if you do so in China. It feels a lot like signing up for the SAT or ACT, for those of you out there: little guidance and communication until the week of, so make sure you don’t forget!

Now, I’ll be frank: in my year in China, I didn’t study as much Chinese as I’d originally hoped to. Life happens. So instead of testing for HSK 4 just before I left, I signed up for HSK 3. I signed up about 85% sure I would pass. But truth be told, I’d sort of lost some perspective; I didn’t really know what level I was at. Having lived in Beijing a year, I could communicate easily enough and had a pretty good knack for deciphering context clues, but without regular classes and review sessions, what I knew and what I didn’t know was sort of a mess in my head.

For me, the HSK was a marker, proof that my year in China had helped me grow with the language. And it has helped me decide going forward where I’m weak.

In any case, that’s enough about me. Let’s get more into the test itself.

The HSK, in Chinese 汉语水平考试, or (more literally) the Mandarin Level Test, measures reading, writing, and listening level in Mandarin Chinese. The test is broken down pretty simply: one part listening, one part reading, and one (small) part writing. Each part is scored out of 100, the scores are added together, and as long as your total score is above 180, you technically pass the level test. When they release scores, they do give you the final number out of 300, so you can judge how close you are to the next level. Likewise, they break it down by ability, so you can see where you are weakest. You don’t, however, get to know where you made mistakes.

The test doesn’t care at all about pinyin, but it assumes you know it. The only transcribing is in Chinese characters, all in the final writing portion. For practice tests, check out hsk.academy, which was also an awesome source in general for vocabulary review and for determining what level you’re probably best suited to.

The HSK 3 is considered the equivalent of B1 on the CEFR scale -- that is, it’s solidly intermediate. According to the official HSK test site, “Test takers who are able to pass the HSK (Level III) can communicate in Chinese at a basic level in their daily, academic and professional lives. They can manage most communication in Chinese when travelling in China” (Chinese Testing International, 2009-2018).

Speaking from experience, it can be a bit daunting trying to determine what level you are. It does cost money (~300 RMB, $40-50 USD), to take the test, which of course isn’t refundable, so it’s best to sign up for a level you know you will pass. If you’re the type where having money on the line will drive you to study, then by all means, aim high.

To sign up for the HSK, use this site: http://www.chinesetest.cn/index.do. On this page, select ‘HSK: Chinese Proficiency Test’ on the left hand side of the screen. Once in the HSK hub, you can sign up, research the test and its various levels, as well as find test centers in your country and dates of the test.

That’s all I can think to share now! If anyone has any questions, feel free to shoot me a message.

Sources:

Chinese Testing International. (2018). 汉语考试服务网. Retrieved from http://www.chinesetest.cn/index.do.

HSK Academy. (2020). HSK Academy. Retrieved from https://hsk.academy/.

#hsk #hsk3 #chinese #mandarin #test

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rcrisdraws · 6 years ago

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This took a long long long time... so here’s the excerpt that goes with it!

Gone were the days when he could play with his brothers.

Summer evenings used to be for play, as heat dissipated and people were given a reason to ease their activities. Even if summers were cool in Sanchi – Uorachia’s popular name; even if Shun and Shinobu studied together, while Isamu, being much older, was still relegated to solitary learning, and even if their father was as stern as always, summer evenings were for play.

Trying to step on Isamu’s toes, in a literal sense, was an activity that wasn’t relegated to just summer – Shinobu seemed especially keen on it, and would actually keep a score of hits and misses, trying his absolute best to catch his older brother off guard. And while that was often not the case, the boy was getting better at strategizing and making his intents not known.

And after their lessons were over Shun approached him eagerly:

“Castle! Castle! Let’s play castle!!”

The purpose of that particular game was to tear down a castle or fortress made out of a few rocks and it’s ‘inhabitants’. It began as a game of ‘bringing down nii-san’s pile of rocks’, then Isamu proposed they both have fortresses. And Shun and Shinobu had their own small castle, near the stables, but it was rather disorganized and most of the time, left unattended. It was too easy to bring down – and Isamu didn’t want that; the boys worked hard and their brother used actual harmful knowledge that’s been drilled into him since age 11. So over time Isamu became the sole owner of a fortress, and more and more the game resembled warfare. The thought of that became hard to bear, the thought of having to teach his brothers strategies to more efficiently take down enemies in a silent, least invasive ambush, made his heart clench, then drum when he had to actually enact it.

The gameplay consistent of his brothers, armed with small bows with padded arrows, trying to knock over the stones of Isamu’s castle, which over the years, truly became something similar to a small fort. The game could take hours – once all the important bits of the wall were down Shun and Shinobu had to hunt Isamu down.

“You’d like that Shinobu?”

The boy approached his brothers, looked at his nii-san with questioning eyes-

Then tried to step on Isamu’s foot. He jumped out of the way, but in his attempt to not trip Shun, his toes were, in fact, touched. Shinobu smiled pleased.

“You are getting truly good at this.” Isamu said.

A mocking bow and a delighted wide smile, complete with bright eyes – Isamu couldn’t contain his own glee.

“Yeah, let’s play!” Shinobu said.

“Yes!” Shun jumped up, and away, towards the armory. “I made some new arrows! They’re a bit heavier, but travel faster. I think?”

“Show me!” Isamu encouraged him, following Shun, who took out from a hidden corner a bag filled with about a dozen small arrows with a thick shaft and a tip made of blunted lead wrapped in layers of cloth.

He handed them to Isamu; nii-san weighed them. They were indeed heavy, and rather sturdy too.

“Can I test them out?”

“Sure!” Shun replied, picking up the small bows.

The abandoned fortress near the sables became target practice. The arrows whistled from the bow, rocks fell easily.

“Nice shot! Can I try too?” Shinobu asked, and his brother handed him the bow.

Shinobu inhaled, drew the string and the arrow fell heavy, budging a stone from its place, but without actually knocking it away. He huffed.

“I’ll do better next time.”

“You sure will.” Isamu encouraged with a smile. “Shall we?”

“Lead the way!” Shinobu cheered.

Isamu ran to his fortress, armed with nothing but more bricks to rebuild his damaged walls, while his brothers had 6 arrows each. Both of them were unique, and the older they got the more their personalities emerged as distinct-

And it wasn’t long before Shinobu shot from behind a thicker tree from the orchard. It landed, but only shifted the stone around, however while ducking, Isamu’s clothes knocked it over.

“Shit-”

The next arrow went for his head: that was Shun’s; the boy was more meticulous, with an interest in tactics and calculus. The fear of getting his head shot was then replaced with the anxiety of witnessing his brother grow too proficient- But too much thought ended with Isamu once again knocking over his own fortress.

As such nii-san stood up and took a step away, laid on his abdomen, hands trying to repair the damage done: Isamu’s grown too big for this fortress and his brothers noticed and took advantage of it.

Now, with Isamu not in sight, the boys tried their best to take the walls down. 4 and 6 years, respectively, meant a great difference in what young bodies could do: their attacks lacked force, but their minds seemed much keener than Isamu’s own – or at least that’s how he felt. Some extra perceptive abilities and suddenly Isamu was some sort of god-

The wall to his right fell almost completely.

Isamu stood back up to try and rebuild it, but Shinobu ran towards the wall on his left and with arrows in both his hands poked the stones down.

He was compromised; Isamu jumped up and ran across the orchard as fast as he could.

He didn’t pause to notice that he was running towards the forest. Isamu stopped and Shinobu did so as well:

“You’re no fun letting us win.” Shun lamented, catching up.

“We’re not allowed in the forest...” Isamu didn’t want his brothers punished for his obsession with those trees – he’s been there too many times, scolded just as many for his foolishness.

“But we’re not there yet.” Shinobu added.

Isamu turned: “Come, let’s get some sweets, you’ve taken the fortress down in record time.”

“Nii-san... You don’t fit in the castle anymore...” Shinobu said as if the truth was obvious to anyone except for Isamu himself, and Shun laughed copiously.

“Hey, you’ve improved too!”

“You don’t have to make up kind words.” Shinobu replied, devoid of warmth.

And Isamu’s mouth was sealed shut; blood ran cold, and then it boiled. There was no praise for them outside of their eldest brother’s...

So, sweets were most definitely in order.

He patted Shinobu’s back with a smile, nudging him forward:

“If you want to chase me, catch me at Oba-san’s shop!” Isamu grinned, starting at a sprint.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” Shun protested, while he was being left behind by his other older brother as well.

Oba-san lived in an old estate that used to belong to the root Fujiwara family, until they moved to a larger, northerner estate, that was much rather a castle in its own right. That house passed down to the Satou, wealthy as well. The woman didn’t like to talk about herself and she might have not been part of the clan at all – but she made some damn good sweets and people stopped caring about heritage. In fact, she has even opened a small shop, people placing orders for sweets for anniversaries, traditional celebrations and, best of all, new year’s. The perks of being a Katou, living so close to Oba-san, was the ability to beg for the ‘ugly’ sweets before new year then stuffing their faces with mochi before the actual celebration. Surprisingly, they were never caught – Oba-san and the maids stuck up for them.

And they ran all the way there, the three of them out of breath by the end. Oba-san noticed them already and was rummaging in the back of the store for something. Shinobu and Shun rushed to the counter to peer over it. Isamu tried not to look impolite so he kept his distance - he wasn’t well liked by the town, and even the clan had little appreciation for the Katou. Isamu was deemed dangerous to be around; mothers warned their children about him and men preferred to keep their distance. Inside the clan’s area people kept quiet; some boys spat at him. Only a few months ago a Satou kid, someone’s cousin, started hurling slurs at Isamu – he beat the boy half to death. His father was furious, whipping his son until the scars would forever mark Isamu’s back. He couldn’t sleep for a whole week-

Isamu was jolted from his memories by the clatter of small porcelain plates with none other than kuzu-manju on it: round, about the size of Shun’s palm, almost translucent, with bean paste in the middle, and all wrapped in a shiso leaf. The brothers cheered ecstatic – it was a rare treat, usually all they got were some dango:

“My nephew became 14 – almost a man already!” Oba-san said. “I made these for him and had some left-overs. Kept them cool just for you, boys.”

Shun downed the first dumpling with lightning speed; Isamu was worried he’d choke, but then he went for the second.

“Isamu, have one too, dear.” Oba-san insisted, and the teenager took a step forward and took the sweet – it had to go in one quick mouthful or he feared it’ll slobber over himself.

Isamu couldn’t contain his smile while chewing it: cool, sweet, watery, with the added freshness of the leaf. The woman smiled, pleased.

Somehow, he always went back to that smile, as if it alone represented all the kindness in the world. But it’s been a year since and gone were those days, because Isamu had to become a man in truth. He’ll be 19 in winter, his genpuku celebration, denoting the formal take-over of the role of a Shinobi, has been postponed again and again – due to Isamu’s misbehavior. But he wanted it so, or he feared he’ll lose even that small smile from Oba-san as she indulged a too-old-to-be boy a sweet.

His father warned that Matsudaira Noburu’s tutelage would be his final lesson. And Matsudaira Noburu was a man just like his father: a cruel, petty man with enough wit to hide it behind pretty words and promises. Noburu just wasn’t bound by blood to Isamu, and his disgust had to be veiled with etiquette. Although, as Katou found out in the four months under the Matsudaira’s tutelage, Noburu was quite pleased with his performance even if his attitude was ‘rather insolent for a noble Fujiwara’ – as he put it.

Isamu desperately wished not to become just another harsh patriarch, a scheming murderer that sought pride and glory in the death of others. But the deeper into his past he looked Isamu feared he saw less and less differences between himself and the men he despised. Last year, at 17, he beat that Satou, and he’s been merciless since, having enacted at least a dozen assassinations alongside Noburu’s cousin, Matsudaira Yuuta. Many of those weren’t even warriors; maybe they didn’t even deserve to die. But it didn’t start there. At 14 he was taken outside Uorachia on a military campaign; returned two year later – they wanted him a man then; it didn’t happen, Isamu had his brothers to bring play back. But even before that, since he was 11: Isamu’s been punished with war and death. They taught him to kill since he was 11.

They wanted him ruthless, to become the feared warrior his ‘eyes’ prophesied.

And Isamu thought these past months finally managed to break what little was left to enjoy, memories of war brought back, skills to be used as learned. Now his father could be proud.

#the shadow men #Illustration #artists on tumblr #edo japan #romania #samurai #vintage #original art

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