#it can be tricky to set prices that feel fair both to yourself and the customer. tbh i'm still not 100% sure about mine | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sellmyhomefastsavannahga · 1 year

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Selling a House Without a Realtor In Savannah

Selling a house without the help of an agent can be intimidating but it doesn't have to stay that way. Savannah Cash Home Buyers is here to make your life easier by providing fast cash offers when you are ready. With their experience and expertise, they understand the nuances of selling in Savannah and get rid of all the hassle so you can move on with what's important--getting out from under your current home as quickly and painlessly as possible. Whether one needs money now or just wants a fair offer, their team at Savannah Cash Home Buyers helps make the process simple for everyone involved!

Table of Contents

Understanding the Pros and Cons of Self-Selling Property in Savannah

Essential Steps to Sell Your House Without a Realtor in Savannah

Navigating Legalities of Selling a Property Without a Realtor in Savannah

Effective Marketing Strategies for Selling a Savannah Home Without a Realtor

Finalizing the Sale: Closing a Property Deal in Savannah Without a Realtor

Understanding the Pros and Cons of Self-Selling Property in Savannah

You may be considering selling a property in Savannah without seeking the help of a Realtor. This can bring both liberating and daunting feelings as there are many unique advantages associated with self-selling, but it also has its drawbacks. It is important to take time to understand all aspects before embarking on this endeavor so you can make an informed decision about which route is best for your needs. At Savannah Cash Home Buyers, we provide customers with an easy way to sell their home quickly and for cash �� minus any hassle or stress related to taking on the task alone!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1V3BSDRAmA

Benefits of Selling a House on Your Own in Savannah

You might find it daunting and intimidating to sell your home on your own in Savannah, but with proper planning and research you can have an efficient, cost-effective sale that gives you more control over the entire process. You'll save thousands of dollars in commission fees without having a realtor involved as well as keep all profits from the sale without paying out commissions or buying expensive advertising packages. Moreover, selling by yourself also provides flexibility when setting asking prices—you are able to set them at whatever price point is suitable for both buyers and sellers alike! It’s important however that if you decide to take this route you do extensive homework before beginning so nothing surprises you during negotiations whether it involves market trends or repair costs/desired updates. Allowing yourself enough time prior ensures success while avoiding any potential hiccups along the way!

Risks Involved in Independent Home Selling in Savannah

You may be considering selling your home in Savannah without the use of an agent. While this could potentially save you money on realtor commissions, there are hidden costs that must be considered such as appraisals and paperwork. Furthermore, navigating pricing expectations during negotiations is tricky when you lack experience or access to market expertise—which agents can provide—and neglecting those aspects could end up costing thousands more than originally anticipated. To conclude: independent house sales are possible here but it's important to proceed cautiously due to your unfamiliarity with local regulations and conditions.

Essential Steps to Sell Your House Without a Realtor in Savannah

You can sell your house without the help of a realtor in Savannah, but it may be overwhelming and confusing. To ensure a successful sale that will get you top dollar fast, careful planning is necessary. Researching the area's housing market to accurately price your property, preparing any desirable interior or exterior repairs before listing for sale so potential buyers feel comfortable viewing your home, using professional photography services to draw more attention from interested purchasers online - all these steps are key! Finally, contact cash home buyer companies like Savannah Cash Home Buyers who specialize in buying houses quickly from motivated sellers regardless of condition or location within city limits – an amazing option if speed is important to you! Utilize these four tips while selling on your own and there’s sure to be good offers coming in no time!

Preparing Your Savannah Home for Sale: Staging and Repairs

You are selling a house without a realtor in Savannah and it can be both daunting and overwhelming. It is important to maximize your home sale potential so that you sell quickly while also providing maximum profit. Preparing your Savannah home for sale through staging and repairs are two starting points to increase interest in your property on the market. Staging ensures furniture placement, décor accents, artwork arrangement, lighting fixtures etc., maintain appeal for prospective buyers which will ultimately result in higher offers from them or faster sales of your house. Repairs should address any issues raised by inspections such as small improvements with framing/doors/windows around the interior or exterior of the building among other items listed on an inspection report that may detract potential buyer's attention away from purchasing if not addressed adequately beforehand Working with a professional team like Savannah Cash Home Buyers gives you peace of mind knowing you have hired experts who specialize in getting homes sold quickly when preparing their property for listing at its optimal value point.

Setting the Right Price for Your Property in Savannah

You may find it a difficult task to correctly price your property in Savannah without the help of a realtor. However, if you choose not to enlist one then gaining knowledge about what is realistic and practical for market value is essential. That's why reaching out to experienced cash home buyers like Savannah Cash Home Buyers could make an immense difference when aiming at selling your house promptly and accurately. The professionals at Savannah Cash Home Buyers have numerous years of experience within Georgia properties, thus they know precisely which factors should be taken into account when establishing reasonable but profitable prices on houses that will assist in guaranteeing both seller fulfillment as well customers getting great offers too! With their insight, counsel, and proficiency; homeowners can easily set realistic expectations with regards to pricing while also putting themselves in good positions to discover potential purchasers who search such reasonably priced homes!

Navigating Legalities of Selling a Property Without a Realtor in Savannah

You may find it tricky to sell a house without a realtor in Savannah, but if done correctly you can save valuable time and money. At Savannah Cash Home Buyers, they understand the legalities involved with selling property and are dedicated to ensuring that their clients are fully informed throughout the process. They provide all of the necessary advice for navigating through each step of this often intimidating process – from understanding any potential zoning regulations that may affect your sale to helping ensure one receives fair market compensation for their home or investment property. By leveraging decades of experience and knowledge about local trends within the greater Savannah metro area, their team is committed to guiding clients through every turn while delivering exceptional results on your timeline.

Understanding Savannah's Real Estate Laws and Regulations

When you are selling a house without the help of a realtor in Savannah, Georgia it is important to understand all applicable state laws and regulations related to property and home sales. At Savannah Cash Home Buyers, they are knowledgeable about local statutes that pertain to homeownership transactions within their area. It's essential for potential sellers of residential properties in this region to comprehend topics such as deed filing requirements, ownership transfer procedures, occupancy rights before closing the deal with a buyer or another investor - including those regarding taxes owed on capital gains. They make sure that you have an understanding of each aspect when considering selling your home maximizing profits while minimizing stress along the way!

Essential Paperwork for Selling a House in Savannah

You may find selling a house in Savannah without the help of an agent daunting, but you can be successful if you understand and adhere to all essential paperwork. This involves signing disclosure forms that outline any problems with the property such as termite damage or water leaks, as well as acquiring a Certificate of Title from your lender showing that one's loan is clear before attempting to sell. You will also need copies of both sides' identification for finalization along with other documents required by law like income tax statements, pay stubs, credit reports and more. Do not forget about getting necessary permits including zoning regulations to make sure everything has been completed correctly according to local government officials. Fulfilling these vital legal papers should guarantee smooth sailing when it comes time for closing day!

Effective Marketing Strategies for Selling a Savannah Home Without a Realtor

You can sell your Savannah home without the help of a realtor if you have effective marketing strategies. Crafting an appealing message and using creative tactics are necessary for successfully reaching potential buyers in this competitive market. Utilizing social media channels, such as Facebook or Instagram to spread your sales pitch by creating picturesque posts that highlight the home's best features will get attention from people near and far. Investing into search engine optimization (SEO) elements, like strategic keywords on certain landing pages, can also assist in drawing more people towards your property listing when searching online. Additionally, leveraging word-of-mouth promotion through family members or close friends could lead to many interested parties even if they do not know about your listing directly! Selling efficiently in Savannah without having outside assistance takes dedication and insight; however these key strategies should allow you to offload swiftly like nobody else!

Online Advertising Tactics for Savannah Home Sellers

You may find it complex to complete the sale and post-agreement procedures after selling a house without a realtor in Savannah. It is of utmost importance to make sure that all necessary taxes are paid up front, documents filled out correctly and filed away, escrow funds have been distributed if needed - amongst other things. To simplify this process for those looking at Selling their House Without Realtor In Savannah, having an experienced lawyer on hand who comprehends local rules and regulations can offer invaluable support in making certain everything goes well from beginning to end.

Open House and Networking: Traditional Marketing Methods

You may be considering selling a house independently in Savannah without going through conventional channels, and open house and networking are two traditional marketing methods that could prove invaluable. Hosting an open house gives potential buyers the chance to walk through your home, visualizing themselves living there and becoming part of the community. Networking also provides incredibly useful information about local markets, helping you get an idea of what kind of offers might be available for your property and any unique features that could increase its value or saleability. Taking advantage of these tried-and-true strategies ensures maximum return on investment when navigating this process solo!

Finalizing the Sale: Closing a Property Deal in Savannah Without a Realtor

You may feel daunted by the prospect of selling a house without the help of a realtor, but it doesn't have to be. Making sure all legal documents are in order and understanding the process are essential for ensuring your property sale goes smoothly. Savannah Cash Home Buyers can make this even easier with expert guidance throughout every step involved in closing on a home deal— minus any commissions or fees! Our signature cash-offs provide fast closings while making certain that everyone is taken care of during each phase from paper signing to getting full payment quickly. Customer satisfaction is our number one priority here at Savannah Cash Home Buyers; so if you're looking for an easy way to finalize your next sale, look no further than us!

Negotiating Offers for Your Savannah Property

You may find negotiating offers for your Savannah property to be a difficult process. Knowing how to get the most out of potential buyers is key when selling a house without an agent in Savannah, and that means understanding how to negotiate an offer effectively. Savanah Cash Home Buyers understand this challenge which is why they provide their Sellers with practical advice tailored towards obtaining the best value from any given offer on any given property. With experience across multiple markets, they know what it takes to close good deals and help you gain maximum profits from every sale.

Completing the Sale: Post-Agreement Procedures in Savannah

#realtor #real estate agent #cash home buyer #savannah georgia

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thetravelerwrites · 5 years

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Cetzu (Part 3)

Rating: Teen Relationship: Male Changeling/Human Woman Additional Tags: Exophilia, Lizardfolk, Changeling, Interspecies Romance, Monster Boyfriend Content Warnings: Assault, Bandits, Injury, Field Surgery, Blood, Poisoning Words: 5201

Part 3 of 5 generously commissioned by @ivymemnoch! After exchanging letters for a few months, Cetzu and the reader make another trip to Coleville, selling the reader's father's furniture and spending time with the children of the orphanage. On the way home, however, the two are attacked by highwaymen that leaves Cetzu injured, and the reader learns an important secret about him. Please reblog and leave feedback!

The Traveler's Masterlist

The first letter came a mere three days after you returned home.

How are you?

Planting is still going on, though the family finished most of it while I was away. Mother was happy that so many people liked my carvings, and Father was proud of what I did with the money. They’ve given me time off of planting to carve more things for the next time you call upon me.

My niece, nephews, and younger siblings were delighted to hear about the festival and are dying to go to one. Convincing my parents and theirs might be tricky, but do you think we might be able to bring them next year? Or maybe we can start one Willowridge and take them to that. What do you think?

Your friend, Cetzu

Next year? Was he planning to stick with this job that long? The thought made your heart flutter in your chest.

You wrote back:

Cetzu,

That would be a lot of fun! I don’t have much experience with kids, but I imagine they would have a wonderful time, as long as it doesn’t interfere with business.

I still have the ornament that you put in my hair the night of the festival. I’m sorry I forgot to give back, but I’ve enclosed it in the letter. I’m hoping it makes it to you without breaking in the post. I’ve wrapped it in velveteen, but there’s no telling how gentle letter carriers might be.

What new things are you carving? Dad’s doing his old staples. I keep telling him he should try new things, but he’s set in his ways. Perhaps you could teach him some new things, if you’d like to visit. I’m not a great cook, but at least I can roast a chicken without burning it.

I eagerly await your reply.

The next letter came within five days, and the hair fork was inside it, unbroken.

Keep it. To repay you for the performance. I greatly enjoyed your dancing and look forward to seeing it again. The ornament looks best on you anyway.

I would love to visit. That is, if you were serious about the offer. If you’d really like me to come by, send me a response and I’ll visit on the first Thursday after the next full moon.

You sent a reply telling him to come, and waited.

The Thursday of his visit, you woke up before dawn in a nervous titter and bustled around the house, cleaning whatever there was to clean, which was mostly sawdust and wood shavings. Your dad woke up a few hours later, looking around the house with a quirked eyebrow.

“Who’s coming?” He asked as you handed him his bowl of oatmeal.

“I told, you Daddy, Cetzu’s coming,” You replied, making him sit so he didn’t try to eat standing and spill all over the ground you had just polished.

He squinted in confusion. “The bodyguard?”

“Yeah,” You said.

“But I haven’t finished the work yet,” He said, taking a bite of his breakfast. “I’ve only completed two tables and a sitting room set.”

“I know,” You said, busy dusting the shelves. “He’s just visiting.”

“Huh,” Your father said, and you turned to look at him. He had a funny, suspicious look on his face.

“What?” You asked him innocently.

“Why are you cleaning for your hired guard like the queen is visiting?” He asked slowly.

You scoffed. “Is it a crime to want the place to look nice for company?”

He snickered. “Does that lizard fellow have a thing against shirts?”

“Dad,” You said sternly. “Please don’t be inappropriate while he’s here.”

“I’m not being inappropriate, I’m just contemplating my only daughter traveling alone with a meaty, muscly man who doesn’t believe in shirts,” He teased.

“Dad, I’m serious, he’s really shy. Do not embarrass him while he’s here or he might quit!”

“Oh, we wouldn’t want that, now, would we, dear?” Your father said, giggling into his coffee. “You might have to hire someone who wears more clothing. What a terrible fate that would be.”

“Be off with you!” You said through gritted teeth, flicking a dish towel at him. He escaped to his workshop with his breakfast, chuckling. Your father’s glee at your discomfort did nothing to quell your nerves.

Finally, around midday, Cetzu stepped out of the forest and onto the pathway leading to the house. You had been watching at the window like a creep when you saw him, and you rushed to the door to let him in as soon as you saw him, but you stopped just short of opening it.

Don’t seem so eager, you told yourself. You waited for him to knock before opening the door.

“Hello again!” He said brightly. “I’ve brought something.” He lifted a bag and gave it to you. “I figure if you’ll be cooking, it’s only proper to provide the food. Fair trade.”

You looked in and saw two pheasants, freshly killed, likely hunted by Cetzu on his way to your house.

“You didn’t have to do this!” You said, though you were pleased. You hadn’t had pheasant in a long while.

“It’s to thank you for inviting me. Believe it or not, I’ve never been invited to someone else’s house before. At least, someone who wasn’t family.”

“Well, I’m happy to have you,” You said, stepping back. “Come in, come in!”

He stepped inside cautiously and looked around your modest home. “It’s cozy.”

“You can say small, it’s alright,” You said with a laugh.

“No, really, I mean cozy,” He said. “It feels warm here.”

“Well, thank you,” You replied. “Dad’s in his workshop. Maybe you guys could shop-talk a little while I prepare the birds to cook.”

“Sure,” He said, and he followed you out to the shop.

Your father was working on upholstering an armchair when the two of you walked in.

“Hey, there,” He said, hammering in a finishing nail. “Good to see you again, young man.”

“You as well, sir,” Cetzu said, offering his hand.

Your dad stood and took it. “So you’re a woodcarver too, eh son?”

“Yes, sir,” Cetzu replied.

“Well, show me what you can do,” He said. “My daughter’s always saying my pieces could be flashier. She says your work is beautiful. Maybe you could show me a thing or two.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t presume such a thing, sir,” Cetzu insisted.

“Even still, let’s see you at work,” Your father said, showing Cetzu an unfinished end table and his tools. “You’re free to use what you like, just don’t break anything, you bruiser.”

Cetzu chuckled. “I won’t, sir.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then, while I get lunch started,” You said, enjoying the sight of your dad and Cetzu working together.

As you walked past, your father whispered, “Should I lend him a shirt, or do you think it would even fit him?”

“Behave!” You hissed, and exited the workshop.

After cleaning the pheasants and rubbing them down with butter and herbs, you put them on a roasting spit and laid it over a slow-rolling fire. As they cooked, you’d check on your father and Cetzu periodically, sitting to watch them work. By the time the pheasants had cooked through, Cetzu had taught your father how to carve a basic rose design in the wood, and had finished sanding and varnishing the end table in record time. It was the first time your father’s furniture had any sort of embellishment on it. It was a simple flourish, but pretty and eye catching. You already knew it would sell for twice what you normally charged.

Lunch was a festive affair, and the three of you laughed over food and wine and told silly tales of your families. Cetzu was careful not to ask questions about your mother, and you and your father were careful not to ask about Cetzu’s birth family. There was a mutual understanding that certain topics were off-limits, and those limits were respected.

After lunch, your father went to take his afternoon nap, leaving you and Cetzu alone.

“I need to go into town to pick up some lumber from the woodcarver,” You told him. “Would you come with me?”

“Of course,” Cetzu said. “I’ll get Jackdaw hitched up for you.”

“Thanks,” You said. He smiled in a way that made your stomach flutter before stepping outside.

The ride to town was quiet, but it was a comfortable silence. You didn’t feel the need to speak if you had nothing to say, and you felt he was a similar type of person. He helped you load the wood from the woodcutter without being asked and was happy to wait as you negotiated prices for both the wood and for some items he’d ordered from your dad. The return trip was made up of casual conversation.

All too soon, you were home again, and the sun was low in the sky. Cetzu sighed sadly.

“I should start heading home,” He said.

“This late?” You asked. “It’s a full day to get to your house from here.”

“Going by roads, yes. The forest is much quicker. I’ll be home before the moon rises if I’m quick, especially if I take the river. I’m a good swimmer.”

“Oh,” You replied. “Well, then, I’ll see you again before too long. And there’s always the letters.”

“Yes,” He said. “I’ll write soon.” He took your hand and kissed it again, and before you could speak, he turned and dashed into the woods.

Two months and a dozen letters later, your father had made enough merchandise for you to go out to sell again, so you sent a missive to Cetzu to let him know you were ready for another trip. He appeared at your home within a day carrying his trunk strapped to his back. You were overjoyed to see him, but you did your best to hide it.

“Are we going back to Coleville?” He asked.

“Yes,” You replied as you handed him your travel bag to load into the wagon. “Do you have more things to sell?”

“No, nothing to sell this time,” He said. “I made toys for the children.”

You had to hide your face with your hair for a moment. Why is he trying to make my heart explode?! You thought to yourself.

On the way to Coleville, he told you that a friend of the family was pregnant again, a blacksmith that lived in a sanctuary village for people who’d run away from enslavement and forced marriages. She was technically still married to the orc who kidnapped her, but was living happily with her father and the orc who rescued her. The story Cetzu told of her abduction, escape, and time spent under the protection of his family was equal parts terrifying and heartwarming. You began to understand a little better not only what kind of family Cetzu belonged to, but how Cetzu had grown into the man he was.

You arrived the next day in Coleville late in the afternoon, too late to set up your stall, so Cetzu eagerly asked if he could deliver the toys to the children.

They were out in the yard again as the two of you approached, Cetzu’s trunk up on his shoulder. There were nine children running around, two more than last time, but you noticed many of them had new clothes on. They waved when they saw you and Cetzu, running up to the fence to greet you both.

“You’re back!” One of the girls said. “Can we play chase again?”

“If you’d like to,” Cetzu said. “But I have presents. Would you like those first?”

There was a chorus of excited voices as the matron of the orphanage came out to see was the ruckus was.

“What is all this-- Sir!” She said in delighted surprise. “Welcome back! You’ll be please to know I’ve put your donation to good use.”

“I can see,” Cetzu said, smiling. “May I ask your name? I regret I did not do so when last we spoke.”

“I am Mother Anne,” the matron replied. “And may I ask yours?”

“Uh…” Cetzu faltered for a moment, much to your confusion.

“It’s Cetzu!” One of the children said. “I heard the lady say it.” He pointed at you.

“That’s right,” You replied with a grin.

“What brings you back?” Mother Anne asked.

“I’ve come with gifts for the children. Toys I made,” Cetzu said.

“How wonderful!” She said. “Come inside, children. Go to the classroom and sit in the circle politely.”

You began to follow them in, but Cetzu stayed where he was, kicking the ground.

“Why are you waiting?” You asked him.

“I have to be invited inside,” He said in a low whisper.

“Well, come on in, then,” You replied in confusion, waving toward the door.

“That won’t work,” He said, avoiding your eye. “You don’t live here.”

Before you could ask more questions, one of the children ran back to the door. “Come on, Cetzu! Come in!”

With a sigh of relief, Cetzu stepped into the building, leaving you trailing behind him, feeling baffled. Despite how much the two of you had corresponded over the last couple of months, you realized there was still much you didn’t know about him.

The classroom, you realize, was more of a multipurpose room. The desks were lined against the wall as they were not in use currently, though your expert eye could tell they needed some repair and polishing, and the floor of the room was empty and clean. There was a box in the back with old and poorly crafted toys, many broken and seemed to be communal. The children didn’t seem to have toys that belonged to them. You got the feeling there wasn’t much at all that belonged to them.

“Alright, children,” Mother Anne said, clapping her hands. “Sit in a line and I will call you up to choose a toy.”

The children did as they were told, sitting cross-legged side by side in jittery anticipation. Cetzu set his trunk down heavily and knelt next to it. You leaned against the wall, watching with a smile.

“Toby,” Mother Anne said. A human boy of perhaps seven came up and looked into the trunk. He chose a wolf carved of hickory. The next was a lizardfolk girl, who chose an alligator made of walnut. Each child came up and chose a toy, except for the last one. You couldn’t determine the child’s gender, and they were pale in all respects; skin, hair, eyes. They refused to come up when their name was called.

“Beryn,” Mother Anne said in a strained voice. “Don’t be rude. Come and get your toy.”

“I can’t,” Beryn said, shaking their head. “There are rules. I would owe him something.”

“It’s a gift,” You said, confused. “You don’t own anything for gifts.”

“There are no such things as true gifts,” Beryn replied resolutely. “Everything comes with a price.”

Cetzu walked forward and crouched down in front of Beryn, looking them over carefully.

“You’re fae, aren’t you?”

To your surprise, Beryn nodded. Ah. Now you understood. The fae took gifts and debts very seriously.

Cetzu went back and pulled out a cleverly carved doll in the shape of an elf. “How’s this?” Cetzu said, coming to squat in front of the child again. “Tell me a secret, and we’ll call it even. If you tell me a secret, then I’ll owe you something in return, and you’ll have earned the doll.” He turned his head and bent it down. “Whisper it in my ear.”

Beryn gave him a suspicious frown, but leaned forward and whispered into his ear.

“Oh, that is a good one,” Cetzu said with a smile. “Well, then, I think you’re due this. My debt is repaid.”

Beryn gave a tentative smile as they took the doll from Cetzu’s hands, clutching it to their chest.

Each child had a brand new toy, and Cetzu took the extras out of the trunk and placed them in the toybox at the back of the room.

“Can we play chase now?” One of the children asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Mother Anne said, to the groans off all the children. “It’s time for supper. Put your new toys on your beds and go wash.”

“I’ll be here for the next few days,” Cetzu reassured them. “So I’m sure I’ll have the chance to come by and play.”

The kids perked up at that, and they did as they were told without complaint. A couple even hugged Cetzu as they left, Beryn included.

“You’re so good with kids,” You said as he walked you back to the wagon, which was parked near the inn like last time.

“Many siblings,” He said. “I’m older than a lot of them, so I helped my parents with them. Then there’s also my niece, nephews, and friends’ children, who visit often. I’ve got a lot of experience.”

“Does it bother you that you have so many?” You asked.

“No, no, not at all,” He replied with a smile. “I love having a big family.”

“I think I would have liked a sibling,” You told him contemplatively. “It was just me and my parents for a long time. Now it’s just me and Dad. I love Dad, but it can be boring when he’s in his workshop all day.”

“Don’t you have friends in the town you live near?” He asked.

“No, not really,” You replied. “People think I’m the weird girl who lives in the woods. I wouldn’t be surprised if people think I dance naked with fairies at midnight and make potions out of animals or some nonsense.”

He snorted. “Still, seems…”

“Lonely.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I have a friend now,” You said, smiling up at him.

He smiled back down at you. “You do.”

Like last time, he had brought food with him, so he didn’t need to buy any, and like last time, he insisted on sleeping in the wagon instead in a room of the inn.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” He said. “It’s what you hired me for.”

You eyed him suspiciously, just as Beryn did. You wondered if this was another of the off-limits topics.

The next few days went off without a hitch. The new rose design your dad had learned, while it may have been a little monotonous after a while, made it look to the untrained eye as a limited edition set, so they were quite popular, and you were sold out by the end of the second day.

Cetzu made it a point to spend time with the children of the orphanage as much as he could, playing with them and giving them rides on his shoulders. It was obvious they were starved for attention; Mother Anne clearly cared for them, but she was in her elder years and there was only so much she could do alone.

You left at dawn the next day with a heavy purse and an empty wagon, happy with your outing. Cetzu was also in good spirits, happy to be returning home. As much as he liked this job, he did get a bit homesick after the first day.

Around midday, Cetzu jumped into the back of the wagon to retrieve some food and water for lunch, and while was back there out of sight, a human man emerged from the forest and waved you down.

“Hullo, there!” He called. “Could use some help, if you wouldn’t mind, darlin’.”

You bristled immediately from being called “darlin’” by a stranger, but you slowed Jackdaw to a stop. “What sort of help?”

“My horse broke a leg and has fallen,” The man said. “I could use a ride to Shoreside.”

“I’m afraid I’m not going that way, sir,” You told him, wondering where the horse was. “The farthest I could bring you is Willowridge.”

The man tsked. “That’s not going to work. Do you have any money?”

“I’m sorry?” You asked, taken aback.

“Your money,” He said, his voice changing. A bow appeared in his hands, and he pulled an arrow from a hidden quiver behind his back. “Give me your money.”

Just as you felt panic rise up in your chest, Cetzu stepped back through the flap, food in hand, and asked, “Why have we stopped?”

You pointed wordlessly, and he saw the man and his weapon pointed up and aimed at you.

“Lads, need help!” The man called, and three other human men wandered out of the forest, all armed, though the only one with a bow and arrows was the man taking point. The rest were armed with daggers and short swords.

For the first time since you met him, Cetzu’s face became something nightmarish. He dropped the food down on the driver’s box and straightened to his full, immense height, a low, guttural snarl issuing from his throat, his teeth bared. The claws on his hands appeared to grow longer and curve further. Cetzu took a deep breath and roared, long and loud, his teeth and claws on full display. His muscles rippled and he crouched into an attack stance.

It was a display of raw power you had never seen before and it made Jackdaw step nervously and your heart skip a beat in reflexive terror.

It seems you weren’t the only one, though. One of the men dropped his knife and took off into the woods, clearly not up to the task of fighting a seven foot wall of muscles and sharp edges. The other three faltered back a step, but stayed put.

Cetzu grabbed you and pushed you roughly into the back of the wagon. Perhaps startled by the sudden movement, the man with the bow let fly an arrow, catching Cetzu in the shoulder. Cetzu roared again and leapt off of the wagon, barreling down on the men. Another of the three broke off and dashed into the woods. Cetzu ripped the arrow from his shoulder and flung it away, slashing his claws at the man with the short sword, sending a spray of blood through the air. The man gurgled and fell to the ground, unmoving.

Cetzu turned on the bowman, taking the bow and snapping it in his hand. Cetzu’s fist curled around the man’s neck and he held him a food off the ground, snarling in his face. In your terror, you flung yourself out of the wagon and grabbed Cetzu by his other arm.

“Let him go, Cetzu!” You yelled. “He’s just a dirty thief!”

“He would have killed you!” Cetzu growled.

“He’s not worth killing,” You reasoned. “Let him go.”

With reluctance, Cetzu released him, and the bowman lay still on the ground, unconscious, but he was still breathing.

Cetzu wheezed and stumbled backward, the rush of adrenaline wearing off and he was aware of the wound on his shoulder. To your shock, he fell at your feet, the wound sizzling as if the arrow had been on fire. You leaned him up against the wagon and he groaned in pain.

“The arrowhead,” Cetzu said through gritted teeth. “It snapped off. It’s still in my shoulder. Please get it out! It’s burning me!”

His scales functioned similarly to light armor and slowed the momentum of the arrow, so it wasn’t as deep as if it had been through soft flesh, but the wound was small and the arrowhead was not visible to your eye.

“How?!” You asked desperately.

“There’s a flint knife in my trunk. Get it, please! Hurry!”

You left Cetzu’s side and jumped up into the wagon, riffling through his mostly empty trunk until you found a small scabbard. You pulled out the knife and hopped down next to Cetzu, who was writhing and hissing in pain.

“Please, get it out,” He gasped.

“Oh, gods,” You breathed. “Just… just hold still. I have no idea what I’m doing…”

“Just try, please. I feel like I’m dying,” He said through a wince.

“Alright… be still…” You said, readying the knife over the wound where the arrowhead was embedded. “Gods help me…”

You felt with your finger first to see if you could find it, but you couldn’t feel it, so you sliced the wound open wider to get more fingers in. He cried out in pain and did his best not to move or tense up, which would make the process harder.

You noticed that the scales around the wound were greying and flaking off, as if dying. There was some kind of pus leaking from the wound, as well. How could it be infected so quickly?! Less than a minute had passed since he’d been shot.

“I killed a man,” Cetzu whispered, tears of pain, shock, and remorse coursing down his cheek. “I… I didn’t mean to… but I killed him…” He looked over at the man laying still on the ground, eyes open but unseeing, his blood painting the dirt of the road.

“Stay with me, Cetzu, look at me. It’s going to be alright,” You told him with zero confidence.

It was messy work, and ten minutes in, up to your wrists in his blue blood, you finally managed to extract the arrowhead. It seemed to be disintegrating, turning green and crumbling in your hand. You dropped it hurriedly, but removing it did nothing to relieve Cetzu’s distress.

“You have to rinse it out. It’s poisoning me.”

“The arrow was poisoned?” You asked in alarm.

“No,” He wheezed. “It’s iron. There are particles left. You have to clean it out.”

“Alright,” You snatched your waterskin from the floor of the driver’s box and squirted the water in, hoping you were cleaning it out properly. “What now?” You asked him.

He was breathing heavily, but manage to stand. “Get me home. My mother and one of my sisters are healers. They can help. Just get me home. I need to go home.”

“Lie down in the back and we’ll be off,” You told him, helping him up into the wagon. He obeyed dutifully and you snapped Jackdaw to a run.

It was hours before you pulled up in the yard of Cetzu’s home. The urgency of Jackdaw’s movement drew several of his family members out of the house and onto the porch to see what the hurry was about.

“What happened?” Ryel asked.

“He was shot with an iron arrow,” You told her, showing her where Cetzu lay, unconscious and breathing hard.

“How long ago?” She asked.

“Hours,” You replied. “Midday.”

“Lymera!” She called back to the house. “Boys! Help me with your brother! He’s injured!”

The small army that was his family charged out of the house, gingerly lifting their brother and taking him inside to be treated. Lymera, the faun, was shrugging on a healer’s apron and began barking orders to the others.

“Are you hurt, dear?” Ryel asked.

“No, no, I’m fine,” You said.

“Then why are you crying?” She asked, wiping your cheeks.

You couldn’t answer. You weren’t even aware you had been crying.

“I’m fine,” You repeated. “Worry about Cetzu. I’ll be fine.”

Since there was nothing to do but worry, you decided to unhitch Jackdaw and give him a good wash and brushing down. He was sweating heavily and panting from the long dash to the farmhouse. Horses don’t run forever; you could only run him for twenty minutes at a time before making yourself slow him for a rest, otherwise he’d have run himself to death.

After Jackdaw was taken care off, you went to your wagon and cleaned up the blood and residue from the iron poisoning. The process was slowed by having to clean up the tears that fell. They wouldn’t seem to stop.

“Are you in there?” You heard from the back. You turned and saw Declan furry, quizzical face looking into the wagon.

“Oh,” You said, sniffling and wiping your face. “Yes, sir. How’s Cetzu?”

“He’s resting. Thankfully, the poison hadn’t gotten far into his system and his mother and sister have him well in hand.” He offered one of his leathery arms and helped you down. “Don’t fret, little love. He’ll be alright. He woke up long enough to ask about you.”

“Me?” You asked in surprise. “Why?”

“He worries for you,” Declan said, walking you into the house. “You are his dearest friend.”

You snickered, despite the atmosphere of worry. “I’m his only friend.”

“Even so,” Declan replied. “He talks about you often.”

“What does he say?”

“Oh, that wouldn’t be proper, would it? Those are his secrets to keep,” Declan said in good humor. His puppy-like smile faded. “I assume you’ve deduced what he is by now, though he has the appearance of a man of lizardfolk lineage.”

You sobered even more. “Yes. He’s fae, or at least part fae.”

Declan nodded. “It’s a fact about himself he keeps secret from people. Only the family knows about it. Not even close friends are aware of his heritage, by his own wishes. He was a changeling child, naturally born to the fae, traded for a human babe, and tossed aside by the human parents. Twice abandoned.”

“Gods. No wonder he has such strong feelings about family,” You replied.

“Yes,” Declan agreed. “He fights against his heritage as much as he can. The fae are morally grey creatures by nature, delighting in tricking and misleading mortal folk. The tradition of the changeling is one of those tricks. Cetzu has always hated that his people valued a prank more than their own child. At the same time, he’s terrified that they may come back for him and try to return him to the Otherworld, now that he’s part of a family and happy. The stress eats at him.”

“Poor thing,” You said, clutching a hand to your heart.

“Indeed,” Declan said. “He was the second child we took in, you know, after Soraya, and one of the few we raised from a babe. He was but a few weeks old when we received him. A friend of the family found him crying out on the edge of his territory and brought him to us. We also thought he was a lizardfolk baby until we noticed odd things happening. Fresh milk spoiling, sturdy things breaking, that sort of thing. He couldn’t control it when he was little, but he does his best to suppress his magic as a grown man. In fact, he took up carving as a way to offset the damage. He’s a strong believer in balance. All fae are, in their way.”

“Names, debts, secrets,” You mused. “Where one is welcomed and where one is not.”

“Just so,” Declan agreed and sighed.

The two of you had stopped in front of a guest room where Cetzu had been laid out on a cot, covered by a blanket. He was resting, as Declan said, but you couldn’t help thinking that he must be cold.

“One good thing about his fae blood is that he heals quickly,” Declan reassured you. “Stay with us for a few days. He’ll want you to be here when he wakes.”

With a pit in your stomach and a cold worry in your mind, you nodded.

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience!To help me continue creating, please consider buying me a Kofi, becoming a Patron, or donating directly to my PayPal!

Thanks for reading!

My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

#Exophilia #Reader Insert #male monster/female reader #Fae #Changeling #Lizarkfolk #Reptilian

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fridge-reviews · 5 years

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Nier: Automata

Developer: Square Enix Publisher: Square Enix Rrp: £39.99 (Steam, Square Enix Store and Humblebundle) Released: March 17th 2017 Available on: Steam, Square Enix Store and Humblebundle Played Using: An Xbox 360 control pad Approximate game length: 30 ish hours You know I tried to come up with a preamble for this review, but I kept coming up blank because to be absolutely honest nothing I can write will be both relevant and not a spoiler in some way, and believe me this is a game that you really should go in blind and experience for yourself. The problem with trying to define this game is that it flicks from one genre to another quite often. One thing I can definitely say is that the game is 'usually' a third person open world RPG. You definitely gain Xp through completing quests and killing enemies does grant Xp as well as money. However sometimes the game is a twin stick shooter, or a top down shooter or a side scrolling platformer... or a number of other things. This is actually very much how this games predecessor played as well, which was Nier that I played on the Xbox 360 (sadly it was never released for PC or I would play it on here). It should also be mentioned that you don't need to have played any of the other games in the series to understand this one. If you did though you'll be treated to some nice call backs, quite a few of which I never expected.

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You play as an android and its your job to destroy the Machine Lifeforms that were sent to conquer the Earth by aliens. This is done by hacking, slashing, shooting and err... hacking (of the computer variety). That all sounds pretty straight forward right? Sure it does. Now lets not waste time asking pesky questions about morality. Seeing that Platinum are involved it's of no surprise that the combat is an absolute joy to not only perform but also behold. Each movement is smooth and even a button masher like myself was able to pick up a few combos here and there. It was a little tricky to get used to controlling and firing the pods while also dodging incoming attacks as well as performing moves myself. But the game eases you into it very well and by the time you reach a major climax of the game you'll be dodging, firing and slicing like a seasoned player.

Even though your combat capability is pretty incredible even at a base level you can always increase those damage values and refine or even add to those already impressive abilities. This is done through 'chips', as you play through the game you'll find and purchase chips that can be installed into you on the fly. No, seriously if you really want to you can switch out mid-battle. Something to take note of though is that even though these chips are listed as skills quite a few of them affect the HUD. For example you have to purchase and then activate the Xp bar to actually see what Xp you're earning. You can also deactivate and sell chips, so if you want to play a game with no mini map or objective markers you can and you'll even make a little money too. This level of customisation is great that anyone who loves to micromanage their stats will love since you can try and optimise the perfect build for your android with their chips. However if you don't have the time or inclination to do that you can also just select automatic and the game will give you what it deems is the best set up with what you have.

Of course, we can talk about adding skills without mentioning weapons. There are quite a few of those to pick from in the game and depending on what combination of weapon you choose you'll have different moves. Weapons can also be upgraded adding extra damage as well as effects, some increase the chance of stunning and enemy others add damage in the form of a charged attack. Now its almost a certainty that at some point in the game you will die. In the even of that your body is left behind which, if you die again (or take too long) before retrieving it, will disappear. However if you do get manage to find your body you have a choice to make you can retrieve it which will give you back and re-equip all the chips you had or alternatively you can choose to repair it which takes a bit longer but will give you back all your chips but also gives you a temporary ally.

In order to get the full story of Nier: Automata you have to play through the the game multiple times using the same save file, with each new playthrough things will change. And with their being twenty six different endings you will definitely need to play a fair few times to get the full scope of it all. Though it must be said that most of those twenty six endings are intentionally silly and are not considered 'canon'. As was mentioned earlier this game features an open world, but as open worlds go this one is quite compact cramming a lot of detail and feeling to the world in a small handcrafted space. Due to Nier: Automata being an open world game it's expected that there are side quests for you to complete and in this regard Nier: Automata is no slouch, there are missions scattered all over the place (none of which involve a radio tower). However since this is a game that wants you to play through it multiple times some missions don't appear on the first or even second go. Some of the missions however continue from one playthrough to the next with the quest giver acting as if nothing at all had changed.

I do have a lot of praise to heap on this game. Honestly I only really have one thing that annoyed me. For some reason every time I booted up the game or there was a major transition within the game the mouse cursor would appear in the centre of the screen. Sure moving it to the side was no issue but I don't see why I should have to do that when many of this contemporaries manage to not have that issue. The music is fantastic being simultaneously unobtrusive and catchy (though I have no idea what the actual lyrics are). But what I really love is the way the songs transition not from one song to another but from one version of the song to another depending on what is going on. If I have a flaw at all it's that some of the music is a bit too calming for me and I'd find myself nodding off to it.

I highly recommend turning on the network features (which I believe is set to off as a default). On the surface this feature works similarly to the ability to collect your body except now you can collect other peoples. If you retrieve a body you'll gain some short term benefits and a little money, alternatively you could repair the body for a temporary ally. This feature does more than that but.... well that would be telling. Get it. This game is really, really, really, really good well worth the asking price. I've had a blast just slaughtering enemies with the slick combat but I've also been touched by some of its more poignant and heartfelt scenes. If you like RPG's do not pass this one by. If this appeals to you perhaps try; Nier Grandia 2 Final Fantasy 15

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unquietwordssettledthoughts · 6 years

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Naruto Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Senju Hashirama/Senju Tobirama Summary:

Tobirama gets some well-deserved attention from his brother.

Click the link or continue below to read.

With the years he’d spent breathing down his brother’s neck, Tobirama had assumed taking the hat officially would’ve made little difference. He already knew how to fill out the forms (he’d made most of them himself, after all), he’d been dealing with crotchety elders since long before the village had formed, attending council meetings had been part of his duties ever since he himself had demanded they have a council, and dealing with foreign dignitaries on his brother’s behalf had fallen onto his shoulders for as long as he could remember. Logic had told him the title change would make little difference since he’d all but been the hokage in the last few months of his brother’s reign of sorts.

He’d never liked being wrong. Particularly so when the outcome affected him so personally. He put the latest scroll from the unending pile back down on his desk, taking a moment to scrub at his sore eyes. The sun had begun to set, making this the fourth day in a row he’d stayed over in his office. His candle supply was running low. Making a mental note to pick up more the next day, and hoping he’d actually remember to this time, he set one up on his desk and lit it so as to not damage his eyesight any further.

There had hardly been a moment to breathe during his normal work hours. Clan heads and heirs alike coming in to complain about one another, their respective elders hot on their heels. More and more patrols were running into issues near the Yu no Kuni border, and their esteemed daimyō seemed set in his mind about ignoring his problems until they went away. His hands were tied until the idiot finally saw reason, but that made no difference to his own council or the families of the injured shinobi, accusing him of twiddling his thumbs while his subordinates took the blade for him.

How Hashirama could’ve taken the weight of the world on his shoulders and still looked so at peace spoke well of his soul. He sighed heavily at the thought, forcing himself to reread the sentence he’d managed not to understand a word of due to his wandering thoughts. The great sage above knew his brother was a fool, but certainly an admirable one for all he took upon him with nary a waver to that stupid grin always plastered to his face.

At least with him bearing the title, his brother could rest. The illness that had forced him to step down had all but disappeared in the last month, and it didn’t take a genius to notice how much good handing off the title had been for him. Dealing with the issues of an entire village was simply a small price to pay for his brother’s continued health and happiness, no matter that they blamed him for even the smallest of wrongdoings outside of his control.

A knock on the door brought him out of his dour musing, though his visitor didn’t wait for an invitation. Hashirama popped his head in with a little wave, as if he had a sixth sense for whenever his little brother needed ‘cheering up,’ as he put it.

“I brought dinner - thought you might be hungry. Fish sound good?” His brother held out a cloth bag in gesture, just the sight of which had Tobirama’s quite empty stomach growling. He waved him in, making sure to stack the forms in proper order as he made room enough for the both of them at his desk.

Part of him felt guilty, knowing how clearly his brother worried over him. Hashirama had taken to dropping in periodically just to make sure he’d slept, and had even done so when his own health had taken a turn for the worse. But he knew better than to let that guilt show; it was in his brother’s nature to put others before himself, and pointing that out would only lead to an argument that neither of them ever really won.

“Have you figured out who to appoint as the new academy director?” The question had Tobirama’s hand pausing in mid-air, not having managed a single bite before being reminded once again of his failures. It hadn’t crossed his mind even once to look over that particular stack of forms, despite the academic year approaching quite soon. He cursed his lacking memory, dropping his chopsticks and scrambling to find where he’d placed the damned things.

“Oh, Tobi, I didn’t mean to- I’m sure it can wait!”

“This was supposed to be done two week ago!” How he could’ve let it slip his mind for so long was a mystery, but it certainly only proved all those who whispered behind his back right. He was lacking as of late. Not even the simplest tasks seemed within his capabilities, why had he thought running a whole village was a good idea?

“Tobi.”

He ignored his brother for the moment, sifting through a few folders until he found what he hoped was the right one. When it most decidedly wasn’t, he tossed it to the side as well, eyes scanning the mess that was his desk trying to find any hint of the blasted things. Though it was possible they had been filed away. He shot up at the thought, moving to look through the filing cabinets he’d had installed the day after his inauguration.

His search was stopped by two hands on his shoulder, pushing him back into his chair and holding him there. Bits of long brown hair tickling at his cheeks as he leaned back in his chair, tilting his head to stare up at his brother.

“Otouto, it’ll be alright.” Hashirama’s smile was both warm and far more understanding than Tobirama thought he deserved at the moment, but the quiet nature of it had his breath catching in his throat. The shodaime was known for beaming at family and strangers alike, boisterous laughter and forgiveness abound, sheer power at his fingertips, his every mood worn out on his sleeves.

Precious few knew his quiet side. The soft smile he saved for those closest to him, the one that touched his eyes more than anything else. It never failed to make his heart beat a traitorous rhythm, knowing he was privy to such a sight, knowing most often it was gifted to him.

One of those warm hands touched his cheek, causing him to fight the urge to lean into it, hoping his brother couldn’t tell how that simple gesture made his heart ache.

“You’re too hard on yourself, Tobi. It can wait until tomorrow.”

He huffed at the thought, if only to give himself more time to think of what to say, the closeness stealing the words from his tongue as it always did. Closing his eyes helped a little, though only just, the lack of sight making the scent of his brother’s body-wash more noticeable than before.

“I shouldn’t have waited so long to begin with.”

“You’ve had other things on your mind. One little thing slipping through the cracks won’t burn the village down.”

“It’s not just one little thing.” It was hard not to slump down then, glancing over at the sea of work still left unfinished on his desk. “We’re at the cusp of a full-blown territorial dispute with Yu no Kuni, and not a single one of my missives to the daimyō has made him see reason. Though, if the council were to be believed, I haven’t even attempted to contact him yet.” He leaned back again, staring imploringly up at his brother, the only person he knew who could help him. “How am I meant to lead when not even my own council believes in me?”

“They believe in you.” At his flat, disbelieving look, Hashirama sighed, his thumb absently tracing circles on his brother’s cheek. “Fear is a tricky thing, and shows up differently in everyone. They’re worried and don’t know how to handle it. Pointing fingers and pushing the responsibility of it all off on you makes it easier for them.”

“Great. That makes everything better.” He crossed his arms with another huff, unable to resist leaning ever so slightly into the hand still caressing his face.

“It’s not a comforting thought, I know. Bearing the blame for something out of your control can be...” Hashirama pursed his lips, unable to find the right word and giving up in the end, dipping down to kiss the top of his brother’s head. His hair slipped further off his shoulders as he did so, falling around Tobirama as if shutting him off from the outside world, candlelight flickering across his brother’s sun-kissed face, shinning in umber eyes and making him swallow hard.

“You’re doing well, otouto. It’s not fair to expect yourself to be perfect.”

Tobirama tried not to fidget at the endearment, though it was made doubly hard to remain still at how genuine the praise sounded coming from his brother. The fact that the praise went right to where it most certainly shouldn’t should have made him feel much guiltier than it did, but he found it difficult to feel anything beyond the warm hand on his face, the long hair spilling over his neck, the warmth spreading in his chest from just looking into his brother’s kind eyes.

He didn’t deserve him. The world didn’t deserve a man like Hashirama, so willing to accept those around him, flaws and all. So willing to point out another’s worthh and not a word of it ingenuine.

When his brother dipped closer once more, he felt his eyes flutter closed, lips ghosting across his forehead as the hand on his shoulder moved across his chest.

“You’ve been doing so well lately. You know that?” It was impossible to hide the slight hitch in his breath, though if Hashirama noticed he didn’t say. Only ran his hand up his neck, tilting his head further back to kiss the tip of his nose. “I’ve always been proud of you, otouto.”

“Do you...” Tobirama had to force his eyes open, finding it hard to think straight with their breath so close to mingling, wanting nothing more than to tangle a hand in his hair and drag him that final inch closer to devour him. “Do you have any idea of what you do to me?”

Something dark shadowed Hashirama’s eyes that send a shiver down Tobirama’s spine. He didn’t dare put a name to it, already toeing the line of inappropriate like they’d done so many times before, dancing around each other even though they both knew what the other wanted.

They had both gotten bolder since Hashirama’s marriage had been annulled, no ill will between him and the Uzumaki princess but no love either. With Mito happily married to their cousin now the fear of destroying a political alliance no longer hung over them.

It had been half a year since then. At first, his brother’s illness, declining as it was, that had stayed Tobirama’s hand. Now, with nothing but breath between them, a candle-lit glow to those soft brown locks, lips so close to his own, he wasn’t sure why he’d waited at all.

“Stand up for a moment?”

Tobirama had to blink a few times before the request made sense, lost as he was in deep brown eyes. When he managed to move it was truly only for a moment, Hashirama slipping into his chair and pulling him into his lap, arms wrapped securely around him to hold him to his chest.

Whatever reaction he had been expecting, it hadn’t been this. An arm around his waist keeping him close, fingers working their way through his hair. Whispered praises interrupted only long enough to press kisses on his forehead, along his nose, over his cheek. It seemed his brother knew everything he’d done in the past few weeks, determined to mention every little thing, from successful meetings to completed projects to drafted laws to remembering breakfast the morning before. At the last one Tobirama couldn’t help but raised his head in question, trying his best to ignore how pleased he was at the attention.

“Remembering to eat is hardly something to be congratulated, Anija.”

Hashirama leaned down, brushing their noses together as he spoke. “I know how busy you’ve been, and how easy it is to forget to care for yourself.”

“You end up feeding me more often than not.” It was a bit sad when he thought on it, how often he relied on his brother. To the public he might seem the more responsible of the two, and in many ways he was. But it was Hashirama who would drag him out of his lab to rest, Hashirama who often had to remind him of the small things he needed to keep going.

“I don’t mind.” Guilt must have shown on his face, and he hid it then in the crook of his brother’s neck, winding his arms around it as he did so. “I know you can care for yourself, otouto, but I truly like caring for you.”

Peppered kisses across his cheek had him looking back at his brother, eyes fluttering closed when one was pressed at the corner of his mouth, heart skipping. He felt a hand run down his hip, running up between his thighs and kneading at the muscle there.

“Tobira?” Opening his eyes took effort, but he was encouraged on by those lips brushing at the edge of his own, words murmured in the almost non-existent space between them. “Is it alright if Anija takes care of you?”

His nodding was a touch frantic, one hand gripping the small hairs at the back of his brother’s neck. “Kiss me.”

Hashirama wasted no time in doing so. What must have been years of unsettled desire between them lead to that point, yet Tobirama felt no need to rush the moment, content to melt into his brother’s lap, to savor the feel of their lips melding together. When the hand teasing so dangerously close finally moved to rub circles over his still-clothed cock he gasped, his brother taking the invitation to dip in and taste the moan on the tip of his tongue.

The touch was just enough to keep him grounded as his brother pulled back once more, kissing every inch of him that he could reach. Every caress was tender, as if he was something precious, as if he wanted to prove the depth of his love with every gesture, every brush of lips, every word that dripped from his tongue like he felt no shame in adoring the man gasping lightly in his arms. And when his hand finally found the ties to his pants, finally running a palm up the underside of his shaft, even that felt tender, as if it was more an act of love than lust.

“You’re doing so well for me, otouto.”

Tobirama bit his lip to stay quiet, the awe in his brother’s voice as he watched his own hand stroke his cock making it near impossible to do so. But not even biting his lip could keep the whimpers at bay when his brother continued, encouragements and praise alike bringing heat to his cheeks and setting a fire in his veins.

It should have embarrassed him how quickly he got worked up then, how soon he was all but writhing in his brother’s lap, panting. Instead, with his mind hazed, being so close to tipping over the edge and Hashirama’s voice in his ear, reminding him he had done so well, asking him to come for his big brother, all Tobirama could do was try desperately to do just that.

When he finally shook apart, there was no stopping the moan that tore out of his throat, his hands tangling further into Hashirama’s hair as he tugged harsh, not sure if he was trying to hold his brother close or hold himself together. By the time his heart calmed enough for him to hear passed it once more, he only flushed further, burying his face against the broad chest next to him, placing a hand over his brother’s mouth to shut him up.

“Anija?” With the hand still over his mouth, all he could do was hum in response. Tobirama rolled his eyes, looking towards his desk just to not be looking at him anymore. “Would you, ahh. Could you talk to me like that while I blow you?”

“What?”

He huffed, settling down further to glare up at his brother. “You just jerked me off in my office, and now you’re going to get embarrassed?”

Hashirama’s sheepish grin was far too cute to be fair, though Tobirama was hardly going to let him know that. His brother glanced off to the side, squirming a little beneath him.

“Maybe later? You probably shouldn’t do that on an empty stomach...”

“Mmmm.” He’d all but forgotten about their food, but his brother was probably right. After a quick kiss, he grabbed their late-dinner off his desk, intent on finishing up as fast as possible. He might have been willing to be patient the first go around, but now he had several scenarios forming that he was all too eager to get started playing out once they got home.

#hashitobi #hashirama #tobirama #fanfiction #mywriting #mostly fluff

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trulymightypotato · 6 years

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On the Comparative Value of Labor

A few people have told me recently that I should pick up x or y thing and make money with it on the side: knitting, cross-stitching, so on and so forth. “You can sell little embroidered key chains for five bucks some weekend and make some pocket change!” they say, completely unaware that that’s nowhere near the right amount of money to even break even with the cost of material and time that I put into it.

Especially considering that I’m slower at these tasks than most people.

This is, largely, because knitting and cross-stitch are tasks with extremely fine motor control--tasks I struggle with on a daily basis due to both the strain it puts on my joints and my general lack of fine motor control in the first place.

I’m familiar with the basics of both trades. I’ve knitted (though the most complicated thing I’ve ever managed is a scarf, because uneven yarn tension doesn’t matter so much there) and I’ve done a wide variety of embroidery (my current project is a set of throw pillows for a cousin’s wedding gift--a project, that despite the low surface area of the pillows that’s being covered, has taken me six months and I’m still not done).

One of my roommates can pick up crochet and make a scarf in a matter of days.

And yet the scarf that I spent four weeks knitting non-stop to get done in time for Christmas and the scarf my roommate made in a week would be valued the same--if not hers as a higher worth, because she’s able to control the yarn and make for a smoother finished project.

Despite the fact that a keychain-sized cross-stitch item would cost me materials and about four hours of time, it would be valued at five dollars.

My work, at a detail that causes me pain, is valued at $1.25 an hour.

You might be able to see the problem here.

This applies to more than the physical crafts.

It applies to "The market price is crap and also based on people who work faster than you do because they’re not in pain.”

I do digital art. I do it when I have the time and a subject in mind, which means it happens less often than I’d like. I’ve done commissions before, too, and contracted work.

The thing is, even though my commissions are “too expensive,” they’re honestly not costly enough. Not only is someone paying for a digital product, but they’re also paying for my time, for the experience I have in digital work, my style, and the physical effort it takes for me to actually complete a piece with intensive feedback. A total of three (3) people have ever commissioned me, and while I’m glad one of them has repeatedly come back for more, it’s disheartening to see the vast majority of people aren’t interested in paying a still-too-low wage.

As for that contract work I did--legally speaking, I’m not allowed to divulge details, but know that because “it’s a lot of work you’ll get paid plenty by the time it’s all over” I did intensive pieces and got paid under half of what I should have been. By the time I found out how much work there really was, and the changes the other party demanded months after getting a final piece sent to them, I was locked into a contract that didn’t give me any hope for improvement. (Also, they wouldn’t pay me for months at a time and got upset when I refused to hand over the final products until I got paid.)

By the time everything was said and done, I was getting paid about $3 an hour.

Somehow, because some people can draw faster than I can for the same product, that means I get paid less than a fair wage.

It’s one of the reasons commissions haven’t been open in a while. I can’t handle that again--both the mental strain and the physical damage caused by both working a regular job and drawing for another 4-6 hours a day to get stuff done.

It applies to “Other people have more time to do things than you do, and yet you’re held to the same standard.”

I record videos and put them on YouTube for fun. There was a period of time, about two years ago, when I was able to put out a video nearly every day. It was expected of me, so why wouldn’t I? And then, very suddenly, videos stopped for several months. Why?

Well, because I was taking 15 credits of college classes and working.

I would get all my homework done on my commute on public transport to and from college and in the breaks between classes. On particularly rough days I’d do a few more hours of it when I got home.

Then I’d have an irregularly-scheduled job where I’d work two 8 hour shifts back to back (either on sequential days or, on a few notable occasions, on the same day--you read that right, 16 hour days) and then a single 4 hour shift and then I wouldn’t be allowed to work more because then they’d have to start paying me benefits.

Because of this, money was so tight that some months I could barely pay rent, much less afford to eat.

I’d have chores I needed to do, ranging from the basic “clean room” and “dishes” and “laundry” (a task that takes several hours, assuming all the washers and dryers at the laundromat are working properly) to the more technically complicated “grocery shopping” (since I didn’t and still don’t have a car and had to rely on public transportation) and “scheduled appointments”.

I didn’t have time to put out videos, and yet I still felt I had to. My mental health was suffering to the point where my physical health was suffering (something I’m still dealing with the ramifications of to this day), and the only thing I could cut was videos.

So I did.

I stumbled through my last semesters of college (and I graduated with a GPA lower than I’d wanted but above a 3.0 so really that was nice) and got a new job--one that works me regular hours, even if those hours start at 4:30 in the morning.

And for several months into 2018, that was all I could do.

Sure, I managed to get out a few videos in that time, but I wasn’t really happy with them, and judging by the analytics on my channel, neither was anyone else.

It applies to “There’s a lot of invisible work that goes into this.”

I know I write fanfic for free. I’m planning on keeping it that way. It’s a good way for me to clear my mind and get creative, without the pressure of having a “final product” to show off at the end. I mean, I will have a final product, hypothetically, but I’m not really expected to show it to anyone in a professional context.

But then there are those comments--comments at the ends of chapters and in articles written by “professionals” and “experts.” The ones that say “Anyone can write. You’re just making things up for the fun of it, of course it’s not difficult” and “It’s been so long, when’s the next chapter going to be out?”

Except that it’s not so easy as that.

Yes, absolutely, I do it for fun. I do it for fun all the time. I do it for the satisfaction, and for the enjoyment of writing.

But the final product you see? Is not just something I tipped out onto the page.

In Royal Flush, for example, each and every chapter is started with a specific purpose in mind. A thing, a very specific thing, needs to happen. Maybe someone needs to learn information, or an aspect of 1920s culture needs to be showcased to better explain someone’s motives and actions.

All of this requires research. Research into clothing customs, and into social greetings and actions out in public and the customary ways to do such and such. Research into the vehicles of the time. Research into the medicine of the time (which is a particularly tricky one). Research into politics and public opinions and real-life historical figures.

The average chapter of Royal Flush takes me a week to a month to write.

This is a call to remember that just because a job looks easy, it’s probably not. If you think you can do it better, feel free. If you’re going to be That Person, then I don’t want to work for or with you. If you approach me on social media, I will block you.

Remember: for the vast majority of the “easy work for easy money” I perform, the work begins as soon as negotiations open--not as soon as I actually sit down and start working on the art, or the chapter, or the cross-stitch.

By engaging in someone’s work, you are agreeing to THEIR terms, to THEIR labor, to pay THEM a fair wage for the time and work THEY put into it--not your neighbor, not yourself, not a robot in a factory.

You are hiring a person. Rates may vary.

#value of labor #work is work #that's what it is #even if you don't think it counts as work #i promise #it's work #long post

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silveragecentric · 6 years

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The Etiquette of Negotiation

Whether you spend your weekends comic shop hopping or your Summers perusing the floor at fan conventions, the search for a bargain is a constant for collectors everywhere. It is part of the hunt, really. It's one thing to finally find that key issue that has evaded you for months, but to find it in the wild and feel like you got a deal? That just adds a little kick to the sweet taste of victory.

In the ideal situation, of course, the sticker price is below what you want to pay, You fill the pesky gap in your collection and the seller gets his full asking price. Everybody wins. In the more common circumstance, however, the retail price is at least a little bit over what your gut tells you that you should pay. So, the question becomes, should I haggle, or walk away?

It has become fairly commonplace to see people pull out their phones right there on the spot and compare prices to what they sell for online. In the convention setting, this is especially tempting because You're surrounded by fellow fans, other potential buyers who are likewise chomping at the bit for a good deal. This practice is not exclusive to the swelter of the Summer Con circuit, You'll see it at mom and pop comic shops and even flea markets. Resist the temptation to do this in front of the seller. They may be used to it, but it is rude. If you don't know the current market value of an item (what it consistently sells for in-store and online at the moment) walk away from the booth, or discreetly compare prices out of the view of the shopkeeper. Some may see this as unnecessary, but it is considerate.

If the sticker price is within a few dollars (for example, within ten percent) of what you've seen elsewhere, the seller is trying to be competitive. Remember that most of the time, a seller's asking price is based on a percentage of what they paid for said item and what they need to make back to simply stay in business. If we're taling about a dollar or two, ask yourself if it's worth the extra money to have it now? Instant gratification is occasionally worth that little bit extra.

That said, the retailer may have factored in a cushion for negotiation and if money is a little tight, a couple bucks could be the difference between drive-thru and dining out on your way home. The best way to begin the back and forth of bargaining is to ask the vendor if there is any flexability with the price. Use that phrase, "any flexability there?" Why? The number one rule in haggling is never be the first person to throw out a number. What if the merchant suggests an amount below your target price? Score! Additionally, by asking the merchant if the price is "flexible", you're avoiding any unsightly buzz words. In fact, you haven't even mentioned the word "price", or "discount".

A seasoned retailer may toss the ball back to you, asking you to make an offer. What now? Everybody wants a bargain but at what point are you asking for a steal as opposed to a deal? If the price is double what you consider fair, it is probably best to walk away. Offering half price is insulting. In most situations, a good general rule is to ask for no more than twenty percent off the asking price. If you're good at Division without a pen and paper, just divide the price by five. There's your twenty percent.

If the original price isn't a nice round number, however, this could prove to be tricky, especially if the pressure is on. Logic and excitement don't seem to mix very well. In this case, it may be easier to break the number down in a few steps. A quick calculation for ten percent is to drop a zero from the end. For example, ten percent of $75.00 would be $7.50. Simply double this number (now 20%, or $15.00), subtract it from the price tag of $75.00 and you have a reasonable opening offer of $60.00.

This offer gives you somewhere to start, If the merchant scoffs at your suggestion, take your business elsewhere. The most important thing at this point in the process is for both parties to be fair-minded. If the salesperson is unreceptive to your offer and does not at least suggest a compromise, they are proving unreasonable.

Again, it is up to both involved to be considerate. Weigh any counteroffer you receive with care. If it is within a fair margin of what you offered, accept it with a smile. This will avoid any implication of appearing petty and help establish you as a serious buyer.

Of course, there are very few strict rules when it comes to negotiation, these guidelines are intended to ease what can be a daunting process while preserving the dignity of everyone involved. There is plenty of room to develop an approach of your own and as long as a mutual respect is shared, there can certainly be winners on both sides of the counter.

#collecting #negotiation #advice

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tumbleintonothing · 6 years

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If you were at the fight- You are 100% ok welcome to say you saw Mae there and if this gives you the chance to message me for rp, I welcome it. Some NSFW some spoilers. )

Music- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fngvQS_PmQ

It felt cold. Not like ice or snow cold, but as if the warmth from leather clad fingers was fading, my bow having fallen quite a while ago it seemed, my toxic hues drifting in slow motion around me, watching friend and foe alike fight. Cas was there, so was Sil, for… Some strange reason. Had they been the reason I was fighting a war I never asked to fight. Were they the reason I felt that arrow in my chest sink deeper, feel the liquid pool around the other two in my back.

As if it were not of his control, he’d feel a deep thud resound along the ground, the weight of his knees digging to earth. Eyes flickered upwards once more, around- A troll’s arm flying off to his right, forsaken spewing plague to his left- The young king and Jaina in the far off distance, a cry of war and hoard, seeing Sylvanas’s arrows fly true above head, even hearing her cry in her namesake. The world grew a bit more fuzzy- And if this were a movie you’d probably hear the narrator say something along the lines of ‘ You’re probably wondering how he got into this mess in the first place’, which, at this point he was wondering the same himself. Gravity took control of his form, and he’d hear the snap of arrows as he brushed across a wall to fall backwards, slumped there, feeling his body grow stiff. He’d lost track of Tao, and he only hoped the massive tiger that was his animal companion got out alive, away from the blight.

As he slumped there, his thoughts slowly turned about, recollecting the moments that led up to this particular point in time…

………………………………………………

“This is fucking suicide. You realize this. “ Mae’Thyn shook his head, watching his shorter, sharp tongued older brother a moment, arms now moved to cross over his chest, that cascade of ruddy tresses falling over his shoulders and back. He hadn’t expected -this- particular company to find him at the inn room he had taken home to that night in the city, but here he was, Castinus Shadowsong.

“ Brother. Every fight can be our last. Are you not hearing me? This isn’t a fight you can just turn your back on and expect it not to affect you, not to affect this world. We have to heed its call- Did you not even hear yourself a moment ago? She burned the -tree- down. -Their- tree.” Cas watched his brother with that mirrored green eyesight, his smooth leathers a vast contrast to the heavy mail that the hunter wore.

Mae’Thyn paced now, one hand moving to thread fingers through thick red tresses, boots making soft thuds against wooden floor. “ I know Cas. I know. I heard the rumors. I came here to try and find work- Find somewhere to back me before this shitstorm got worse… But I guess I don’t get that luxury do I? Why is it always go with this fucking war…” He’d let out the deepest of sighs now, turning back to face his brother once more. Unlike Cas, Mae’Thyn had taken off most his armor, bare chested with his leggings and boots still on when he got the knock on the door, so the vast amount of tattoos and scars that littered his form were bare to the candle light, jagged things weaving a horrendous and colored past.

Cas couldn’t help but chuckle then, giving Mae’Thyn a sideways glance, before his own right hand lifted to tap his cheek thoughtfully. “ I wish I had the answer to you for that one dear brother, but as it stands I hardly understand our father, let alone much of anything else. Truth of it I tried to stay as far from the fight that transpired when the demons attacked us, but even that found this city…” He’d shrug, and hand dropped away.

As the speak of the Legion, Mae’Thyn felt his features turn darker, his lips pulled into a thin line. Left hand had lifted then to touch the necklace he wore, bearing two slender wedding bands- Both having the nature to be feminine. A moment, the barest of touches before he’d release them and look back to his brother, that same hand now moving to rest at his hip. “ War always calls for a price brother. It will never stop calling for one. That is the nature of it all, hm?” This last retort was left with a very bitter taste into the mans mouth, his usually smooth baritone voice riddled with jagged edges. Cas could only shrug then, before tossing a missive towards Mae, with he caught with deft ease.

“This is the call that Saurfang gave to the whole of the Horde. You should look it over- There is a bit of gold in it if you join to save Lordaeron as well… Though I’m more or less going in the hopes I can get some action going, possibly ass afterwards.. Who knows.” Once more that dry tone that Cas offered had Mae lift his brow, looking the envelope over, before attention was once more pulled to his brothers features. “ Well… I guess we go tomorrow. Save the world?” Cas would only chuckle then, before shifting to the door to pull it open.

As he started to walk through he’d pause, and let eyes drift back over his shoulder to Mae. “ Oh. Sil will be there, too. Family reunion, yay.”

…………………………………………………………

Mae’Thyn always hated teleportation, felt it was far to tricky and always left his stomach queasy when he’d feel land underfoot once more - However this had been the way they had been told to take to get to Lordaeron, or more aptly known the Undercity. Once there he’d hear the call of the Queen, of Saurfang to collect yourselves and be aware of your surroundings, that the siege had already started. As always Mae’Thyn had called to the aid of his trusted companion Tao, a massive black tiger with eyes of jade to be the eyes in his back.

He never liked the Undercity. TO dusky, to moldy- The stench of decay and the ugly fel rot that bubbled around the city proper always something that set the hunter at unease with. The questionable motives that often were handled deep in the bowls of this place of death. As he’d shift a bit he’d take a careful look around, duly noting others that looked upon him as well.

For elves, particularly blood elves he was tall, much taller than his kin race, a sort of bastardized fact he often used to intimidate people simply to keep them from bothering him. As always he’d be wrapped in deep greens and golds with leather that accented in tans and deep rich browns, the leather itself soft and worn from years of rigors use, this evening his fingers wrapped in leather as well. Atop his head would sit that hood, its mail chinks softly chiming as head drifted to one side, then the other.

As others of the Horde gathered together, he could hear the whispers of some of the combat-ions. Some of them scolded the actions that Sylvanas had done, that they sided with the idea that there had been no honor in the actions, while others had gleefully been chomping at the bit to spill alliance blood, that the war between the demons and Azeroth wasn’t nearly enough for there taste. Either way, the hunter had no enjoyment on his face this day, rather stoic and stiff, he hadn’t really slept much the night before.

After his brother had left him, he had written a letter to the headmaster at his children's boarding school, informing him that if something were to happen to himself, that all of his estate and what he had stored away as a ‘rainy day fund’ would be used to keep the kiddos at the school until they themselves could choose their path in life. And as thoughts drifted to this moment, he’d let his mind's eye fall to the pair. Jae'Dren and Vari'Delsa. Jae was starting to form out a bit more, having his mother's snow white hair, but that strange mixture of one blue eye and one green. His sister had taken the red hair of Mae’Thyn, and aptly named after his wife Vari it suited her, she too taking the strange two toned gaze. Both had fair skin, and both were so intuitive now.

Mae’Thyn felt something inside his chest tighten, and he’d shake the thoughts out from his head, hearing as Sylvanas and all the commanders now started to rally the troops, call people to arms and draw them to the fight ahead. As he’s ready his bow he’d feel one hand touch his arm, another give him a punch at his shoulder. Head turned left, then right, the smirking face of his younger brother Siliron and his passive older brothers face Castinus greeting him.

“You ready there pretty boy? Ready to face death?” Sil taunted, giving Mae another smirk before his fists glowed a deep blue, and he’d push forward at the call of the army to force itself forward. Cast as always had vanished, his skill set much better seeded in the darkness- And rightly so. A sigh echoed across Mae’s lips, and he’d pull bow closer, moving on the outskirts of the collective mass, picking targets out with steady fingers, plucking magic enchanted arrows from his quiver and lining up shots as if it were childs play.

The sound of elves and humans like tore through the walls of the decaying city, as the Horde pushed it way through the massive circle, up and across the stone and tattered banners, the forsaken that lived here having already taking up arms to protect their home. As Mae rounded a corner he’d come face to face with three forsaken looming over the corpse of a felled druid in bear form- The three clawing out innards and flesh and chewing like ravenous wild animals. It took all the willpower within his stomach and throat to keep the bile that rose quickly to fall back down, and a snap turn had him face to face with one of their shadow steppers.

A quick arch of bow and the sound of metal on metal had him strike dagger wide, before thick big booted foot pushed forward, squarely kicking the night elf off balance- Bow back in hand before arrow was nocked and let to fly free, striking the elf in the throat. A gurgle of protest was all the elf could give before blood spilled from both wound and throat. He’d turn then, and follow the mass once more through the winding curving city- Till finally they were escorted to the courtyard.

Once here the collective group started to fight, and oh did they fight with a vigor that was almost murderous and insane. Mae himself had taken up a perch on a rock, letting arrows fly wherever he could manage- That was until Slyvanas took it upon herself to let loose the blight- And with only second to spare both hunter and pet had ducked backwards towards the city proper, the massive green goopy air thick and acidic. Mae at this point felt himself fall to the stairs of the city proper, still trying to pick off targets with arrows - That was until he realized that not only had she killed alliance… But Horde as well.

He’d feel his arrow falter, and then bow slowly dipped down, hearing the screams of his comrades as they fell to the blight, realization setting in as hunter let his toxic hues drift backwards to find Sylvanas, the moment she called to her dark magics to raise the very mass of graves she just dug.

W..Why would I fight this war for a leader that gives little care for my well being….

His thoughts would quickly be shattered as the sky parted in a massive wave, clouds being peeled away like wrapping paper, a massive ship soon to spill free from the parted clouds. Mae would watch in both awe and fear as the massive ship turned on the city wall proper, he’d see the chill of ice start to descend across the land, once again only having seconds to duck back behind a wall to keep from tasting its cold bite. At this point the man was severely doubting his need to be in this fight, but with little in the way to stop or leave he was there for good or worse.

War raged, walls were shattered, and once the fight spilled proper into the city, it was almost as if the very thing Sylvanas had been trying to protect and keep safe was simply lost- So it was in that moment that he had let his guard slip, a second was all it took before three arrows found themselves true in his form, and this was where he now settled, resting against a wall, tasting the tangy sweet of copper as it spilled over his lips, a soft cough splattering it. Moments passed, and he’d let eyes slowly drag across the spill of bodies around him, both alliance and horde, see others cry out and fall, a massive tangle of corpses.

A moment more and he’d feel the soft bump of something to his side, Tao having found him, the massive cat now settling against his side. A smile touched faintly at the corners of the hunters lips, and right hand weakly lifted to rest against the top of Tao’s head, before his eyes closed now, and he’d allow himself to sink into the depths of darkness, even as the world around him waged war and scream left restless sounds to fade from ears.

“My wolf…..” Eyes opened then, and he’d find himself standing in a bright white room, his form still wearing the blood splattered war torn armor, a sore sight for the room he was in, a sore thumb really. His eyes drifted slowly around him now, trying to find the source of the voice, a sensation of peace, of warmth overflowing within the confines of his heart.

The moment eyes settled on a bright edge in the room, and as he’d focus the edges shifted free, pulled long and created form, and there stood a beautiful willowy woman with snow white hair and eyes the color of the sky on a clear summer day. Dressed in robes of white that flowed freely around slender form, drifted around her and flowed as if there were a breeze, as if she were in water, however in this room of white there was no source.

Man then took a step forward, then another, before falling to his knees, and for the first time in a long, long time he’d feel tears fall from his eyes, though no sensation of this was felt, even as the liquid dropped to the floor. Woman smiled softly, mischievously in nature before she’d near float to him, each step placed delicately in her path to the hunter. Right hand lifted, and pale glowing fingers touched the man's cheek, brushed softly, near lovingly.

“ My Wolf…. You’re not ready for this time yet.” Hunter closed his eyes then, and head moved forward to rest forehead against her stomach, a sob wrecking his chest as he’d growl deeply. “ My Snowflake. My love. It wasn’t time for you to leave me…. I am… So lost without you.. I don’t know what to do…” He’d lift hands now, and like a drowning man he’d grasp to her slender form, cling to her as if he were a little boy and she were his mother - And in this moment, he might have very well been.

Soft echo of a chuckle found itself in his ears, and he’d feel her lips place a tender kiss to the top of his hooded head. “ Ah Mae’Thyn, you’ve been doing wonderful. I’m so proud of you… So proud of what you have accomplished. Just remember to live every day fully and to keep our children safe.” As he heard the last of her words fade off in his ears, that voice he craved like a drug, the solid form of his dead wife started to fade, his fingers now finding themselves starting to brush and dance with air. “ No… Please… Vexie… Please…. Snowflake… Don’t leave me.”

But his words were left to open air as her voice once more danced against the air, teasing his senses.

“ Wake up…. Hunter…. Wake up…”

Eyes of toxic green opened, and then he’d feel his breath drag hard into his lungs, feeling the touch of gentle fingers against his flesh. “ Ah! Hunter! You’re awake! Good. Just… Just take a moment.. You’re in Orgamar. You’ve been out for a day or so.. “ His half hued eyes shifted slowly to the voice, a gentle warmth around its edges as he’d see a younger elf smile to him, though her skin was a deep hue of purple. For a moment he’d almost jerk backwards from her touch, before growling in deep pain at the fire that tore over his back.

“O..Oh! No sir! Please don’t move. You are lucky to be alive! Someone saw your tiger trying to drag you to safety and picked you both up before the city fell to blight. You are very lucky indeed!” She’d smile then, and it clicked in the hunters head of the city Suramar.. Of a race trapped that is now free. Hunter slowly settled back into the bed as the slender woman now dotted gently over him. “ Speaking of, your tiger has not left your side, not one bit!” Mae would still stay silent, letting eyes shift across and down to the side of his bed, seeing Tao curled there, eyes of jade slipping upwards to greet the hunter.

A small nod was all he could muster, letting eyes slip back to the woman once more as she then stood there, hands folded over lap, smiling at him. “ You should rest ow hunter. The worst is over- For now. You are healing wonderfully. You were very lucky.”

For the first time in this interaction the hunter allowed voice to softly retort, gruff and webbed in fractured pain.

“Yea. Lucky.”

@handofcards as an honorable tag )

#Rp #Its kindah long #BfA #Fight for Undercity #Mae'thyn #Writing

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sofprotech · 3 years

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Essential Things To Look for in a Web Design Agency

Web designing is an art, and everyone cannot excel in it unless one gets the core idea of designing a website. A website designing may become a tricky process if both client and the web designers are unclear about the website's objectives. It is very important that the client lists their requirements to the designers.Web designers need to streamline client's needs and plan website design in a strategic way. It takes a pretty long time to create a good website. Extensive research is carried out before a web design is planned. Hence, it is important that you make few things clear before approaching a web designer. You can work on the below-mentioned recommendations:Clear your objective:Often clients are unsure about their objectives. To make it crystal clear, ask a few questions to yourself. Why do you feel the need for a website? What if you do not create any website for your business? Once you can answer this, you will be able to visualize your objective clearly.Set your budget:It is vital & essential that you set your budget. There are a lot of web designing companies that quote their price according to the standard of web design they provide. If you draw a line of your expenditure for web designing, you will be on the safer side.Set your target audience:A design of a website entirely depends on the type of audience you want to attract. A web designer will always ask you to mention the type of your targeted audience before designing the website. This provides a fair idea of the website design model to be created.List down your competitors:It is not just important for you but also for your web designers. When you provide this data, they compare those competitor sites and work to create a better platform for your customers.Though there is a long checklist of web design, above are just a few initial recommendations for web design procedures. Take your time to carry out research before you step ahead for web page designing. The sooner these aspects are clear, the better result you get. Remember, a well-designed website creates a path to a successful business. Consequently, it is compelling that you do your homework to obtain reputable and industry-standard services for ideal web design.Brampton Web Design is the best full-service Web Design Sofprotech agency. We offer businesses experienced, accessible, and expert digital solutions to help them grow profitably. Our services help many small businesses to industry leaders increase their marketing ROI. Call our experts at 9795275856 for a consultation.

#web

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echannelhub · 4 years

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Useful Tips for Selling on eBay

Selling online is indeed a lucrative and exciting journey to venture on. When you think of becoming an ecommerce seller, the question of where to start from accompanies the thought of where you should start selling. Fortunately, the option of using multichannel listings tools and multichannel selling software allows you to display your products on multiple platforms. From there, you can make use of helpful tools such as an inventory management software, dropshipping automation, order management tools, and so on, in order to make the task of ecommerce selling easier.

Of the numerous digital platforms you can choose to sell on, eBay is definitely one of the most reputed and popular ones. Not only does eBay has 1.3 billion listings, it also has 182 million active buyers. Therefore, having your products displayed on eBay automatically increases the chances of sales and conversions.

It’s often easy to get a little intimidated at the thought of being an ecommerce seller on a platform as big as eBay. However, if you’re aware of a few tips and tricks of the trade, the process does become easier. Looking forward to becoming a seller on eBay? Read on to know the small things you need to remember when selling on eBay.

Tips for eBay Sellers

Known to provide free listings for up to 50 items, eBay also gives an affordable package for larger sellers. Regardless of whether you’re just starting out on eBay or have been around for quite a while, these tips are sure to help you in being a seller on this remunerative platform:

1. Create SEO Friendly Item Descriptions

The way you craft your item descriptions makes a lot of impact on how well it’s going to sell. The same goes for your item descriptions on eBay, and the one way to make them more attractive is by making them SEO-friendly.

Search engine optimization for your eBay item descriptions isn’t just about looking up the relevant and important keywords associated with the products; it’s also about pairing them with the other related keywords that your customers might possibly look up. For example, if you’re selling a pair of shoes, you should not just talk about its color, material, and other detailed features, but also add the general tags such as the category of shoes it belongs to, etc.

2. Take High Quality Product Photos

A good photo speaks a thousand words, and this motto applies for your product photos on eBay as well. If a product photo looks presentable, the customers will automatically be drawn to it. You don’t need to have a high-end camera to take quality photos for your products; all you need is a smartphone and a few pointers that will make your photos stand out.

When clicking these product photos, it’s important to remember to take them against a neutral background, because that way the product will be displayed clearly. Also, be sure to give your customers an authentic view of the items in questions, which is why you should clearly photograph any flaws the item or items might have.

Don’t ever use stock photos for your listings. It’s easy to identify the difference between a real photo and a stock one, and going for the latter gives a bad impression about your brand. Remember to click photos of the items from multiple angles, and also clearly indicate the size of the product.

3. List Products Every Day and Not Together

Experts suggest that it’s better to list your products day-by-day instead of listing them all together. Putting up a listing every day works better than putting up multiple listings in one day, owing to how the eBay algorithm works.

If you update your inventory on a regular basis, you will have new visitors regularly, and also keep unlisted inventory at bay. You can make use of eBay’s quick listing tool to make the process of item listing quicker and easier.

4. Be Aware of Your Competitors

Being in ecommerce comes with a whole bunch of competition, which is why it’s extremely necessary to be aware of your fellow competitors in order to stay ahead in the game. If the customers find a better option elsewhere, they won’t hesitate in buying the required products from a similar online store.

For instance, if they see your competitors offering the same kind of products at a lower price, they’re bound to go for that. Fortunately, eBay has got you covered with regards to keeping an eye on your competitors. Their feature of the Seller Hub Growth Tab allows you to have insights in three different categories, namely Restock Advice, Sourcing Guidance, and Listing Improvements.

5. Find Things to Sell

The question of what to sell is for new sellers to figure out, which is why landing on the correct option is imperative. With so many items listed on eBay, it could seem intimidating to pinpoint the specific products, but it really isn’t that complicated.

The interesting thing is that the items that seem like they wouldn’t be too popular on eBay are exactly the ones that sell a lot. Some examples of those items include school supplies, empty printer cartridges, broken watches and jewelry, craft supplies, empty perfume bottles, lids from pans and pots, pantyhose, and also unopened razors, cosmetics, and batteries.

It’s better to begin by selling items that cost less than $50. This way, the pressure will be off you as a new seller. Working with inexpensive items in the beginning allows you to learn and sort out things such as shipping, solving customer queries, navigating seller dashboards, and so on. Also, make sure to choose products that are easy to ship, and avoid items that will break easily.

6. Stay Away from Selling Problematic Products

When you just start out on eBay, there will be many out there who will be waiting to pounce on you with scams. One of the best ways of saving yourself from this scenario is by avoiding high-risk items. Some of these products are electronics, designer handbags, event tickets, autographed items that don’t have a COA, and counterfeited products like expensive sunglasses, designer jeans, Ugg boots, Nike shoes, and so on.

If you do wish to sell any of these items, it’s best to first establish yourself as an authentic and reputed seller. In case you are ever caught selling a fake item, you will be suspended immediately. Therefore, never think of treading on that shady path.

7. Pick the Best Listing Type

The listing type you choose has quite a lot of impact on your seller status. Whether you go for fixed price or auction, they both have their set of pros and cons. The auctions of today aren’t like what they used to be, therefore, it’s best to keep the price low in the beginning, even if it means you get just one bid. Fixed price listings, on the other hand, could take longer to sell, but you might end up making more money if you get the right buyer.

8. Enhance Your Feedback Score

Based on your trading experience, every seller on eBay gets a feedback score. This number indicates a combination of selling as well as buying histories. When you have a lot of feedback, it helps you establish yourself as a trusted and authentic seller. Having a low feedback score affects your sales massively.

If you have fewer feedbacks on eBay since you’re new to it, what you can do is buy a few inexpensive products, so that you can receive feedback from the respective sellers. Remember to buy things that you will actually use and like. Once you receive the item, leave a feedback for the seller, and request the seller to leave a feedback for you in return. Having 20 feedbacks is a good starting point if you want to be a seller on eBay.

9. Have a Healthy Return Policy

The return policy could be a tricky subject to wrap your head around, but eBay offers that to all its buyers, so that they feel safe and confident while purchasing a product. Therefore, as a seller, all you need to do is stay ahead of your competition and make sure that your product is authentic, so that your customers won’t even feel the need to return it. In fact, offering a fair return policy only increases the trust they have in you.

If you have a return policy that’s 30 days or longer, you also get rewarded by eBay. This takes place by eBay giving your store a boost in the search results. Therefore, this aids in providing some much-needed search engine optimization as well.

Summing Up

Choosing an online platform to sell on is not too difficult these days. However, it’s important that you choose the right one, and there really is no better name than eBay. With its wide range of listings and giant customer base, you’re in good hands as a seller. Therefore, be it new sellers or veteran ones, these tips are sure to help anyone who is looking to make a profit by selling on eBay.

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trustedpalsblog · 4 years

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Is cheap pet insurance worth it?

As vet costs continue to rise, more humans are grabbing health insurance plans for their pets, as well as the rest of the family. So if things go wrong, they can easily be put right.

But before you dive straight in and pick the cheapest pet medical insurance you can find – did you know that some of the cut-rate plans out there won’t cover anything when your pet gets sick?

Let’s dig a little deeper into the cheap plans and sniff out the bits you should be thinking about when picking your pet’s coverage.

You’ll find pet insurance plans out there that are really cheap. But there’s a good reason for that.

Cheap pet insurance: weighing up the real costs

You’ll find plans out there that are really cheap. But there’s normally a good reason for that. They might help you save on your monthly payments, but they only cover injuries – and not a single illness. Yep, you read that right.

These are called ‘accident-only’ plans.

Now, accidents do happen. Sometimes, we’ll spot a squirrel or a mouse and we just can’t help getting ourselves into a tight spot during the chase.

But, let’s face it – almost every pet will be ill at some point in their life. With an accident-only policy, you’ll foot the full cost of treatment when your cat or dog is sick. So, if they pick up a parasite or – worse – develop cancer, your insurance won’t pay a dime towards the cost of their treatment.

What else do I need to think about?

The fine print. To keep things cheap, some plans cut corners. Here’s what you need to look out for.

They don’t cover treatments in the long-term

Some cheap pet health insurance plans won’t cover ongoing care for a newly diagnosed condition into a new plan year. If your pet develops a chronic condition (meaning one which sticks around for life), you might find yourself facing a real problem.

Let’s say your pet’s diagnosed with diabetes this year. A cheap pet insurance plan provider might stop covering the cost of their insulin after your plan renews next year.

And when you start looking into alternatives, you’ll find that at that point, no one will cover your pet for their diabetes – because they already have it. So the cost of all their medication lands on you to take care of, and you alone.

Limits can be tricky to figure out

Almost every immediate pet insurance plan puts a limit (or ‘cap’) on how much they’ll pay out for your pet’s treatments. But what varies is how they calculate it. Your insurer might set a limit on how much you can claim for each plan year. Or in total across your pet’s lifetime. Or for each claim. Or a combination of all three!

A limit of $10,000 on how much an insurer will pay out during your pet’s lifetime is very different to having an annual cap of $10,000, which resets when your plan renews. Cheap pet insurance providers sometimes set low lifetime limits, so a plan can be a false economy – and it doesn’t do your pet any favors.

And if there’s a high annual limit, but a low lifetime limit, the annual limit might not seem so generous for long. Make sure you check in on all the details and think about how things will end up working together.

We don’t want to make you do that kind of math yourself, while you’re just trying to do the right thing for your pets. So we only set annual limits, to keep things simple.

When plans aren’t based on real fees

Some cheap pet insurance companies set fixed amounts they’ll pay to cover specific veterinary procedures and treatments. They often label these, or talk about them, as ‘usual and customary’ fees – so keep an eye out for that.

By setting fixed fees for each type of treatment, dealing with claims becomes really efficient. Which is cost-effective for the provider, and they then pass on some of those savings to their customers.

That might sound good at first, but the big problem with this type of plan is that the fixed fees might be less than what your vet actually charges. Especially if you live in a state with higher vet fees, like New York or California.

If your plan doesn’t pay you back based on the full cost of your pet’s care, you’ll end up being responsible for covering the difference. Which might be much more than you bargained for.

Picking your pet’s insurance plan

We know that with everything we’ve just talked about on your mind, picking a plan can start to feel a little overwhelming. So here are some bits and pieces to keep in mind.

Plans are cheaper when your pet is younger

It’s possible to get more out of your pet insurance by signing up early, while your pet’s still a kitten or puppy. For example, pick out a plan that starts the moment they move into your home. (Or put it into place as soon as you adopt them, if they’re a slightly older animal.)

Pet insurance doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, so treatment for an illness that develops before the plan’s set up won’t be covered by anyone later down the line.

Don’t wait until you spot something going wrong to get your pet’s plan. It’s a big risk to take – especially when their premiums are so much cheaper while they’re young.

Check in with your vet before picking your plan

Getting quotes and setting up your best friend’s pet insurance online is super quick, but it might be worth popping into the clinic first for a quick chat.

Your vet can tell you what your pet’s health risks might be, based on their breed, and let you know how much various treatments might cost. Their advice could help you pick out the right coverage and high enough limits to help your pet stay healthy in the long run.

Look into prescription drug coverage

Whether it’s for something simple or serious, many pets will need a prescription at some point in their life. And some will need medication for most of their life. So you’ll probably want to pick out a plan that covers the cost of prescription drugs.

Because out of your own pocket, even $25 a month for your pet’s allergy pills can really add up over the years.

We don’t think it’s fair to vanish after only paying for a vet’s consultation fee, so all our plans come with this type of cover.

Think about more comprehensive cover

Both dogs and cats are living longer than ever (good for us!) but this doesn’t mean we’ve invincible. Sadly. So a plan which covers accidents and sicknesses, including coverage for cancer and chronic diseases can be really valuable.

We believe in flexibility, and not leaving anyone out. So, we offer protection against nearly every problem with your pet's health. Then we let you pick and choose your deductible, limit and co-pay, to help you set up monthly payments that work for you.

Affordable plans or cheap pet insurance?

The cheapest pet insurance option isn’t necessarily the best when it comes to pet insurance.

You have to pick what works for you and your pet.

And we don’t want to trim things down to compete on price, when we know the upshot is that some pets will get left without the coverage they really need. It’s not fair on them, and it’s not fair on you. Likewise, we don’t offer accident-only policies – they’re cheap pet insurance plans, but it shows, because they don’t give pets everything they might need.

So we’ve created one affordable best pet insurance plan that you can tweak to help get every cat and dog in your menagerie the right care they’re not feeling their best.

If that sounds good to you – ready to get a quote?

Source by: https://www.trustedpals.com/guides/cheap-pet-insurance.html

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saastrac · 4 years

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Loomly Review 2020: 15 Days Free Trial, Features, Pricing, Benefits.

Loomly is a powerful cloud-based social media management tool that offers end-to-end social media management solutions. It facilitates content curation, workflow management, interaction with audiences, calculation of metrics and several other social media activities from a single dashboard.

So, it acts as a central dashboard that allows you to manage both your social media posts and social media ads. This social media solution is best suited for small businesses, social media influencers, and digital marketers. Let us now delve into some of Loomly’s features and how this social media calendar can take your business to the next level.

Loomly is a Content Curation Tool

Social media journey begins with content and unless you create social media posts that grab the reader’s attention, your campaigns may not prove to be as successful. Although initially, this may seem convenient, as time passes by, you start running out of ideas. During such times, you can count on Loomly, which acts as a powerful content curation tool.

By providing a glimpse into relevant trending topics, Loomly helps you with fresh ideas that are working well for your competitors. So, based on your niche, you get to pull out relevant ideas for your social media posts and ads.

If that would be all that Loomly did, then we’d call it an idea generator but that wouldn’t be fair. Loomly is indeed a content curation tool that also provides tips on optimizing your social media campaigns. So, as you create posts and ads, you get all the guidance that you need with regards to subject, label and more. Also, you can preview your social media post or ad, just to be sure of the end result.

Loomly’s social media calendar

No Loomly review can be complete without a mention of its highly functional social media calendar and its unique features. To get started with it, you must log on to Loomly’s Dashboard and click on ‘Add new Calendar’. After that, you would be directed to upload a logo, set the calendar name, industry and timezone.

This is where it gets tricky and here’s how you can get the most out of Loomly. While setting the timezone, remember that this is your publishing timezone. So, make it a point to add the timezone of your audiences. If you have a diverse set of audiences spread across various time zones, then you can set individual time zones for multiple calendars, it’s that simple.

As far as your Loomly account’s timezone is concerned, that could be the timezone of the one publishing the post. So, if it is you, then add yours or you could also add the timezone of your remote digital marketing manager. This feature helps keep track of all your social media accounts even if your audiences and you are located in different timezones. So, you could be in Bali and schedule posts for your audiences in Berlin, Germany, without worrying about timezones.

You can then choose to schedule posts through Loomly or Buffer, but since you are using Loomly, we recommend that you stick to it. Finally, connect your social media accounts to the calendar and start posting.

Also Read : TunnelBear Review 2020: Everything You Need To Know!

Managing Authors and Approvals

Loomly is a handy social media tool that lets you collaborate with a team of any size. Also, you can keep a tab on your social media accounts by limiting access. Loomly makes this possible by allowing you to grant calendar-wise access to your team members or your clients.

Every person that you provide access to is a ‘Collaborator’, whether it is a team member or a client. You can then share as many calendars with that collaborator, as you wish to. To invite a collaborator, open a particular calendar, click on ‘Collaborator’ on the top right-hand corner and choose ‘invite collaborator’ from the dropdown menu.

Alternately, you could invite collaborators from the ‘Collaborators’ section. Navigate there, choose a role for that collaborator, and grant access to specific calendars. You could assign roles such as Editor, Client, Collaborator, and Viewer. For WordPress users, this is a familiar feature that is used to manage posts and pages of a website.

However, Loomly goes a step further and allows you to create custom roles, so if you run a digital marketing firm and have a Partner, you can provide more access through this feature. Likewise, if you have a prospective client who wishes to take a look at your previous work, you can again grant limited access through necessary customization.

Managing Workflows

The most exciting thing about Loomly is that you can plan your workflow according to your business needs. So, depending on the type of business that you run, you can customize it. For example, if you are a small business that hires people to write social media posts, then you can add them as collaborators. Moreover, you can restrict their individual permissions, by allowing them to post content in the draft mode.

Likewise, if you are a Digital Marketer, you can collaborate with authors on one side and clients on the other. As Loomly allows you to share calendar-wise permissions, you can be sure of limited access to all your collaborators. Once you have done that, then the next step is to choose a workflow option depending on the size of your organization.

Larger teams can choose the ‘Original Workflow’ option, and teams with less than 5 members can choose the ‘Lite Workflow’ option. If you work all by yourself and are authorized to directly publish the social media posts and ads, then choose the ‘Zero Workflow’ option.

Finally, when your team is through with the assigned tasks, you can easily skim through minute details of every calendar. The list view allows you to see details such as subject, date, platforms, and more in rows and column format, similar to that of spreadsheets. This makes it a whole lot easier for you to keep track of your social media posts and ads.

Also Read : Brand24 Review 2020: The Best Social Media Monitoring Tool For You

Communicate effectively with your audiences

Loomly’s social media calendar is a complete social media solution, and we say this for a reason. Unlike other social media posters, this tool does not merely allow you to schedule your social media posts. Instead, you can also use it to communicate effectively with your audiences, which is important for any business to grow. So, you can track your reader’s reactions and respond to them accordingly. Also, if some of your readers are posting nasty comments, then you can easily delete or hide those comments.

To activate interactions through Loomly, simply navigate to a social media calendar and then select ‘Interactions’ on the navigation bar inside the social media calendar. That’s it! Now you can quickly interact with your audience and make them feel valued. Plus, you can do all of this for free because there’s no extra cost charged by Loomly for this extremely powerful feature.

Calculate Metrics

Whether you run an online business or a digital marketing firm — you need to keep track of how your social media posts are performing. Often, doing this requires you to make use of trackers, which can turn out to be quite complicated. So, Loomly eliminates the need for you to use trackers, at least for the social media platforms that it supports.

You can start tracking the performance of your posts by simply opening the calendar and choosing ‘Post Analytics’ in the toolbar. So, you can track all your Facebook comments, Tweets, likes on your Pins, Google+ comments and shares, Insta likes and comments, and also LinkedIn likes and comments through your social media calendar. This allows you to know which posts are doing well and which ones need more of your time and attention.

Pricing

Loomly offers 5 plans that you can choose from, which depends on the size and volume of your social media activities.

Plans offered by Loomly

Base Plan

Standard Plan

Advanced Plan

Premium Plan

Enterprise Plan

For small companies, the Base Plan by Loomly, which is priced at $25 per month should suffice.

This plan allows the subscriber to:

Connect a max of 10 social media accounts

Permits access to 2 users

Restricts Max Ad Budget to under $500

If you run a whole bunch of affiliate websites or are a professional Digital Marketer, then the Base Plan may not suffice. So, what you need is a more advanced plan such as the Standard Plan which is priced at $57 per month.

The Standard plan allows the subscriber to:

Connect up to 20 social media accounts

Permits access to 6 users

Ad Budget must be under $1000

Access to advanced analytics

Download content in PDF or CSV formats

The third plan is the Advanced Plan, which is priced at $119 per month and allows you to connect up to 35 social media accounts and permits up to 16 users.

In addition to that, you can:

Access all the features available under the Standard Plan

Set custom roles for Collaborators

Maximum Ad Budget limit is $2000

Slack Integration

However, you cannot custom brand the Exports or add your logo under the Base, Standard, and Advanced Plans. To do that, you need to choose the Premium or Enterprise plans to manage your social media accounts.

Loomly understands that you would want tools that allow you to establish yourself as a brand, especially if you are a mid-sized digital marketing or social media marketing firm. However, that is only available under the Premium Plan, which is priced at $249 per month or the Enterprise Plan.

Premium Plan includes:

Allows up to 26 users

Lets you connect up to 50 social media accounts

Limits Ad Budget to $5000

Includes all the features of the Advanced Plans

Allows custom branding

To get a quote for the Enterprise Plan, you would have to send in your exact requirements to Loomly’s Sales Team. This is a customizable plan for larger set-ups with a unique set of requirements.

Conclusion

In this Loomly review, we have highlighted some of the lesser-known features of this amazing social media calendar. However, we must admit that this tool is ideal for smaller businesses and Solopreneurs due to its pricing. Coming to digital marketers and social media marketers, it may turn out to be quite expensive.

That’s mainly due to the fact that most digital marketers need to manage at least 5 social media accounts per client. So, if a digital marketer has ten clients then his options would be limited to the Premium Plan or the Enterprise Plan, which are expensive. However, if you run a small business and have around 5 social media accounts that you wish to manage all by yourself, then Loomly is perfect for your needs.

Originally Published On: SaasTrac

About The Author SaasTrac is one of the trusted places where users can find reviews on different Saas Products, Software, and Platforms. Our major goal is to let users know the detailed and the most helpful information possible about every product — the good, the bad, and the ugly in the SaaS space.

#Loomly Review 2020 #Loomly Review #Loomly #powerful cloud-based social media management tool #social media management tool #Content Curation Tool #social media calendar

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hencethebravery · 7 years

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Title: “Alive,” (1/1)

Summary: Killian Jones kisses David Nolan for the first time in late spring. It is now summer, and he’s not quite sure how to pencil in the second.

Notes: Very romantic CC for my love, @phiralovesloki, who actively encourages all of this for some unknown reason. Please note, I’ve written a Killian Jones with mild PTSD and anxiety, so if you think you might find that triggering at all, read with caution. Could very well be part of a series involving CC and other seasons, but have not yet decided. Stay tuned. Also on Ao3. For all the other CC beans: @the-reason-to-sail-home @abbadons-little-witch @dassala @mahstatins @katie-dub

One day, I plan to love so loudly, my body abandons every demon harvesting me. — Arati Warrier, “Alive”

+ It’s a tricky thing. Once you’ve known the taste of someone’s lips and found it to be a far more momentous occasion than you had initially anticipated. Beforehand, one might think you’ll only know it the one time, and the odds of it happening again are unlikely, so… you do it, aye? Curious. How do you not do it again? That’s the question, isn’t it? Especially if it was a little bit unexpected, let’s say—it had failed to show up on the calendar for the month of June, and now the rest of your life is totally fucked to hell.

It’s not possible that anyone else’s lips could throw such a wrench into his schedule. Not even much of one, to be fair. Working freelance as he did, odd hours and odd jobs, one unexpected, life-altering kiss does not a fucked up schedule make. If anything, there was an added flair to his rather mundane existence that hadn’t been there earlier. Spike the coffee, eat an egg, walk the dog, kiss your mate, do the shopping—and what was that last thing?

You: “What was the what thing?”

Your Brother: “Kiss your who?”

Doesn’t matter. Point is, when you’re talking to your brother about sharing an all too brief kiss with the bloke you once rode the bus with, you try and keep it casual. After all, Liam Jones has no reason to know that you’ve circled June the 5th in an expensive black ink that’s bled through the page—all the way through to August, in fact, when there’s supposed to be a boat trip scheduled for the whole lot of you, and you have to ask yourself, “How do you not do it again?”

The answer to that question is that you bloody well don’t. You keep that tongue of yours firmly ensconced inside your own mouth unless you’re shouting down bar maids or showing up your know-it-all brother at trivia night. You manage to live your life for a whole two months without screwing anything up. Well done, you.

You manage to abide by the calendar you’ve kept since naval training—the calendar that, for all intents and purposes, saved your life once upon a time. Being the roughed up, dramatic younger brother had its perks, but in the end, rampant alcoholism, a suspicious rash, and a series of exceptionally burned bridges had taught him the benefits of following a careful schedule. It hasn’t managed to buff out all the sharp corners; rum tastes too sweet and his memory is a little too good, but no price is too high when you’re trying to avoid the odd skin allergy. Which is what it was.

Regardless, August arrives and it’s hotter than the East Coast has any right to be. He’s quite confident in his assertions that even Afghanistan wasn’t this hot, and considering the fact that Afghanistan was actually hell, he’s not sure what to make of the temper tantrum that the state of Maine seems to be currently throwing.

“Just last week you were complaining about how cold it was,” comes David’s muffled voice from below deck, “enjoy it.”

David Nolan is of an optimism so profound it’s certain not to be believed. The man has thought exceedingly well of almost everyone and everything in their lives since they were children, which, to Killian’s mind, can only end badly. He’s not written it down, but it has been inscribed within the gelatinous valleys of his brain somewhere, this unspoken responsibility—don’t let it ruin him. Having people like David Nolan in the world is a very important thing, and the only way to keep them around is to have people like Killian picking up the pessimistic slack.

“It’s my boat, mate,” Killian shouts down the hatch, “I’ll complain where I like.”

On the side of his monthly calendars there’s a designated “Notes” section, set aside for various odds and ends. He’s been known to put some poetry there on occasion, either verses he’s written or found, a phone number or two, an exceptional cocktail, what have you. For the month of August there’s a sailboat at the top (nothing too fancy), followed by wave, after wave, after wave, and then, down at the bottom, there’s a capsized sailboat. Hence, pessimism.

The heat is physically uncomfortable, to be sure, but it’s also demanding. For example, it demands that two men working on a boat out in the hot sun remove some of their clothing in order to avoid fainting or otherwise feeling ill in such unreasonable weather. This, however, requires him to confront the somewhat uncomfortable question of how he avoids doing the thing he had done only the once—with no intention of repeating said thing. His calendar said so.

David Nolan in a t-shirt is not unlike David Nolan wearing nothing at all. If anything, it might be worse. Without the shirt, it’s almost as if he’s existing in a moment of unreality, wherein there’s nothing especially remarkable about that chest over there other than the fact that it is one. He’s got one of those too—if anything, his is better, covered in a masculine dusting of hair as it is. David’s white t-shirt looks like it’s been run through the wash a couple hundred times. There are barely-there tears at the sleeves and around the collar. Today it is stained with sweat beneath his arms and lower back.

The heat is overwhelming, like the desert, only there’s a wetness in the air that makes it harder to breathe. For a moment, he misses the feeling of having a gun in his hand so he grabs a beer from the cooler and holds it against his neck, his pulse tapping against the glass like machine gun fire. Interrupt.

“You see those clouds?”

David’s voice is soft at his side, his own mouth wrapped around the lip of a bottle and he has to say that no, he hadn’t even noticed. The poorly drawn “ship” sailing on the pages of his calendar starts to sink in the wake of poor weather and his heart aches—keeps beating quickly in his chest and he knows a panic attack when he feels one. Inconvenient things, they seem to be.

“Killian,” David says, apparently for the second time, and he puts a hand on his shoulder. Definitely not in the calendar.

Killian doesn’t much feel like answering. Killian wants to write about the sky in his notebook. Not any sky, mind you. This sky, because it’s somewhat of a nightmare to behold. Even with the boat tied to the dock and the sight of safe, dry land in the distance, the sky at this moment is a wild thing. Moments ago, the air smelled like salt and bubbling yeast. The sun was a large, imposing spotlight on the deck of his ship, making the wood warm, their skin sweat.

In June the air smells like earth. Certain parts of the farm are freshly turned at this time of year, and no matter where you go, it emanates over the property. Through the fields, over the lake, between the trees. Over hill, over dale, point made. June is new. They are, the both of them, new. When Killian kisses David, it’s because he can no longer bear it.

“The wanting.” Answering the question, what was it he could no longer bear? Because he was starving in his little house by the sea full of dry, winter air that had given him nosebleeds. It was probably all that dirt in the air—all those trees in bloom. All that pollen in his hair, the perpetually dirty state of his hands.

The answer is a little bit dramatic, but David seems to take it in stride, either because he’s known Killian for most of his life, or maybe because he understands, either way, he smiles. When David smiles it’s a thing you don’t need to see, and sure, you should, of course you should, but Killian is exceedingly grateful that in this moment, he doesn’t need to open his eyes.

It’s his gut that’s empty, not his gaze. He is, quite frankly, sick of opening his eyes. All he needs to do is feel it, and he knows that his friend “wants” too—just as frantically, as hungrily, as poetically. He plays the follow-up question in his head on a tortuous loop the next few days. He even writes it down so he can stare at the shape of the letters and hate himself even more than he already does.

“How is it you smell like that?”

Because it is something… indescribable. He can wax poetic on the state of the air in June all he likes, he has words on words on words to describe it, but all of a sudden, the smell of this man is the scent of which he cannot seem to describe. And he answers, “Like what?” and Killian can only answer with his mouth against his, because it’s not about the words suddenly—it’s about the breath. It’s about David’s forehead against his, their lips barely touching, and he answers with a kiss because he’s a fucking idiot.

August doesn’t smell new. It smells tired. Or maybe he’s just tired. Either way, the bright, overbearing sun is lost behind a sky of heavy, dark clouds and the man at his shoulder smells like beer and sweat. Like the moth-eaten blankets he had kept below deck all winter. The trees are gone but he can still feel the bark against the skin of his back.

“We’ve got to tie the lot of this down,” he answers suddenly. He had wanted to avoid the inevitability of turning around to face him, the tree at his back—with that concerned look on his face. Killian smiles, but it’s not like David’s in June. You’d have to see it, or you wouldn’t even know it was there. “She’ll be fine tied to the dock, but I don’t want to lose any of this gear.”

He’d savor the refreshing feeling of the breeze if there were any time for it, but they seem to have run out of it, and thankfully for him, David seems to have adopted a similar sense of urgency. Moving around deck as he is, his hands wrapped deftly around thick rope, one knot after another. The thunder continues on in the distance, unperturbed, and there’s a flash of lightening that leaves an echo across a purple sky.

There’s another crack followed by a second flash, and the sky opens. Despite the maddening anxiety he has contended with all day, there is something undeniably satisfying about knowing he was right about the “shirt on being worse” thing. David pauses in his run about the deck to enjoy the torrent of rain that’s been unleashed on the two of them, a loud yell of relief passing his lips, and Killian wonders what they taste like in August. At sea, in a storm—like salt? Like rain? Like the beer they’d been drinking earlier. Like dirt, like himself, lingering on his tongue for months.

When David dashes across the deck, clothes clinging to his form, every muscle carved beneath wet fabric as if he were a statue, Killian is busy trying to forget about the sinking ship in his calendar. He’s trying to remember what it was his therapist had said about “being in the moment,” and suddenly David’s lips don’t taste like June. They taste like August, in the rain. Wet and messy and just as hungry as before.

“Aren’t you sick of it,” David not quite shouts against his lips, the rain and wind lashing against the deck, “that ‘wanting?’” He’s smiling again, that wide, sunshine-smile that he has worn everyday of his life and Killian can see it out of the corner of his eye. In between the heavy, wet drops hanging from his lashes and the hair falling against his forehead—of course he can see it.

“Yes!” Killian shouts over yet another thunder clap, both of their faces turned towards a manic sky. “Bloody exhausted!”

The sound of the storm is softer below deck, as if it were a record playing in another room. The ship tugs on her moors but she’s steady, tied against the dock as she is. The only other sound is that of the air heaving in and out of their lungs, heavy with anticipation and adrenaline.

“You smell good too,” David admits between each, tired breath, “I’m sorry I made you wait.”

“Sometimes the waiting is the best part,” Killian answers gently, and there’s something in his tone, a note of understanding that he’s impressed to find he actually believes. “I’m good at waiting.”

As David moves closer he peels the wet t-shirt off his back and chuckles, shaking his head. “No, you’re really not.” The shirt falls with a decisive, wet splat against the ground, but Killian is too distracted by the return of David’s forehead, his hand against his neck. His fingernails are short and blunt against his skin, the scratch of an almost, but he feels his skin prickle all the same. Standing still in wet clothes, the warmth of the sun a fleeting memory, he knows he should feel cold but there’s this heat inside of him—flickering and alive.

“If that’s the case,” he whispers, his own hands hovering at his sides, “what are you waiting for?”

The kiss is gentler this time, the shelter of the cabin urging slowness, carefulness. Here, they are beyond the reach of the whipping wind and stinging rain. The gaze of a seaside town, the towering pines. Their breath is softer, less like they’re running out of time, and there’s a drag between each pass of his lips. He feels as if he’s being savored and it’s not a thing that you deny yourself a second time.

“You should—” David’s voice is rough, like he hasn’t spoken in years and Killian’s pride does a little victory dance at the thought of its return, “You should change.”

Logically, Killian knows that David means “change clothes,” he knows this unequivocally. But he also has a tendency to err on the side of unnecessarily meaningful and he takes it to mean something else. Not in a negative way, he does not, by any means, feel that David wants him to be somebody else. This he also knows, unequivocally. What he also knows, what he has come to learn, is that his heart in its current state? It’s not sustainable. “You should change,” his heart speaks in David’s voice, “you need not want quite so much, when you can so easily have it.”

He shivers at the sensation of cool air hitting his bare flesh, but there’s hardly a moment to feel uncomfortable. There’s David’s hand against the soft skin of stomach, his fingers trailing through the fine hair beneath his belly button, and the warmth, it feels as if he’s slipping into a soaking tub. The rain continues it’s harsh pitter-pattering against the side of the boat as they move towards the small bed, clumsy step after clumsy step.

It smells like dust as they land, like the attic in the farmhouse, but the pile of blankets manages to catch them just fine. The cotton, washed one too many times, coming up to swallow their legs and shoulders, keeping them in a soft, dry place. He secures his own lips against David’s jaw, that sharp corner just beneath his ear and the moan that follows is more of a feeling than a sound—more of a sob than a gasp.

When he returns to his lips to catch yet another, quiet moan, it tastes even better than it had in June, then it had above deck moments earlier. Again, indescribable, and he feels a bit frustrated by the fact that words might fail him sometimes. After all, they do sit so well on his tongue, they feel manageable in a way that his thoughts don’t, that his heart doesn’t, and without them he worries that he’ll lose any sense of control he might have.

At some point the rain must stop, but it’s hard to notice, what with the hands and the lips and the feeling of his stomach as it moves against his own, in and out with every breath, sometimes quick and sometimes so slowly he’s worried that he’s holding it. At some point, in between the feeling of David’s lips against his rib cage and his hands at the button of his jeans, the sun very briefly returns before evening falls.

It’s his favorite time of day, those few moments before twilight. The rich, buttery light of the setting sun falls through the porthole over the bed, warming their entwined bodies atop the mussed blankets. The darkness behind Killian’s closed eyes turns a muted red color, and he can feel the warmth of the sun as it slowly sets against his skin, the fleeting light of day a gentle goodbye.

The water is calm against the boat, rocking them carefully back and forth, and his mind has never been quieter. The steady torture of a mind that refuses to settle, that must be shaken up and poured out over each and every month, everyday—that must be considered and thought over and applied and re-applied. Where no one means what they say, where he rarely means what he even says, but here, in this moment between sleeping and waking, it is blessedly silent.

He hears David mutter something against the back of his neck, and he knows, even without being able to see. He smiles.

#ouat ff #cc ff #cc fanfic #captain charming #cc: saved my life #@hencethewriter #this ended up being like #an exploration of my own #incredibly inconvenient anxiety #which whatever #but i'm emotional

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etharismail · 5 years

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It’s All Relative

How many times have you walked into a clothing store, picked up a pair of jeans in your “usual size” and headed straight to the cashier without even bothering to try it on because:

1) The line up for the fitting room was ridiculous.

2) You’ve shopped at this store so many times you can walk in there blindfolded and still pick up what you need.

3) Try it on? Ain’t no body got time for that, my size hasn’t changed since 2008.

Only to take it home, attempt to put it on, and realise that it won’t go past your thighs (no matter how many times you’ve jumped up and down).

Even worse, you actually manage to pull it all the way up, zip it up, and THEN realise that it was made for rectangular shaped creatures that have absolutely no waist.

For some reason, there seems to be some fierce rivalry between sizing and denim. Not only does each brand/designer have their own measurements and size charts, where a size small in one brand can be a medium in another, for example. But the actual fit, such as the hip-to-waist ratio, can also be very different. Even within the same brand, different styles can have very different fit and sizing measurements. In fact, two identical pairs of jeans in the same style and size can still fit differently because the of the 1/2” tolerance used in manufacturing.

(Seriously, they make denim like they are out to get you!)

In spite of all this, finding the perfect pair of jeans is not a complete lost cause. The trick is to forget the ‘I’m the same size in all stores’ lie you tell yourself, do some research, and take your time to find the right size and fit:

1) Try on different styles until you find the one you’re most comfortable with.

2) Try on that same style from different brands.

3) Try different sizes from that style.

Yes, that’s a lot of time and effort for a pair of jeans and it can get pretty frustrating, but when you’ve found that just-right pair, trust me, it will be soooo worth it.

How do I know? Because I tried it myself. I recently set out on a mission to find out what my jeans size is in different brands and to, hopefully, find a fit that suits me. Being on the curvy side, jeans tend to either fit at the hips, or the waist, but never both. Since I was pretty sure that I can’t be the only one with those proportions, I knew that there was a pair out there for me.

I started off at a well-established department store and picked up different sized skinny jeans from the following brands:

Levi’s

Topshop

Noisy May

Guess Jeans

I chose to try on skinny jeans in particular because they have become such a staple and can be so flattering when the right fit is found.

1) Levi’s

Style: 711

This was the first pair I tried on. I already had a general idea of what my size was in Levi’s so I picked that up first. The size was fine and the fit was as expected: fitting well in the legs and thighs but slightly loose around the waist. As a mid-rise, it was loose enough to know that it would bother me when sitting down (I hate being forced to wear belts with jeans and refuse to do it). This pair had some good stretch to it and was comfortable, but too long for my taste. I also didn’t find it particularly flattering.

Verdict: It’s a pass for me.

2) Levi’s

Style: 721

Next were the high-waisted 721’s. I tried on the same size as the 711’s and was pleasantly surprised when the waist fit better than the 711’s. Still slightly loose but definitely better. It had no stretch at all and was pretty stiff, which kind of gave a slight slimming/smoothing effect. In spite of that, I found the no stretch a bit too uncomfortable to be worth it. It was also way too long for my liking. Overall, this pair definitely has potential but it wouldn’t be my go-to choice in terms of comfort.

Verdict: Maybe.

3) Levi’s

Style: 311

Oh boy.

This mid-rise pair was labelled “Levi’s sculpt / soft”, so I expected it to have a good hold and to actually, well, sculpt. Unfortunately, this pair had just way too much stretch and was way too loose all over - very unflattering and definitely not sculpting material. In fact, it became even more relaxed in those few minutes that I tried them on for!

I went down a size to see if it would fit better but it didn’t fit at all. So It was either this loose fit or nothing. It was, however, very soft and light, so at least that part was true.

This pair also had a loose fit around the ankles and a bit too short for me, so would probably only look good rolled up.

Verdict: Nope.

Worth to note: I do have to give Levi’s credit for being pretty consistent with their sizing across the different styles (I wore the same size in all three styles).

4) Topshop

Style: Jamie - High Waist Ankle Grazer

I next tried on the high waist ankle grazer Jamie jeans from Topshop in the same size as the Levi’s and it fit like a glove! I couldn’t believe it! The size was spot on and the waist was perfect: no back gaps, no tummy pinching. The waistband and hemline hit me in all the right spots and it had a good, tight stretch that was flattering yet comfortable at the same time. I also really liked the ankle grazer length and could definitely see myself wearing this all the time.

Could it be that my search is over and I have found “the one”? Perhaps.

Even though this pair had everything I was looking for, I decided to be a little greedy and see if I can find another pair that could somehow, possibly, outdo this one. I mean, this was only the 4th pair I try on, after all.

If I wanted to be super picky, I could say it wasn’t particularly soft (especially after trying the 311’s) so I thought maybe I can find one that hits all the criteria, and then some.

Verdict: Could this be the one?!

5 & 6) Noisy May “Lexi” and Guess “Sexy Curve”

Both Noisy May and Guess had different sizing measurements than Levi’s and Topshop and I went up a size in both. Lexi was labelled as high-waist but it was not as high waisted as the Jamie. The waist was also a bit loose, and even though the jeans had a bit of a stretch, the pair wasn’t really flattering especially around the waist and hip area. Guess’s mid-rise “sexy curve” also felt the same, was on the longer side, and I felt that it made me look a bit heavier.

Verdict: Not for me.

Since I was done trying on what’s available at this department store, I visited another one to try on some higher-end jeans to see if the higher price point translates into better size and fit.

7) Adriano Goldschmied

I tried AG’s The Farrah Skinny in my usual size and it fit pretty similar to the Levi’s 721s. The only difference is that it was a bit more comfy and had a good stretch. Not sure if that’s worth the higher price point, though.

Verdict: Meh.

8 & 9) Citizen of Humanity & Fidelity

With all the hype around these two brands, I was particularly excited to try them on. To my utter disappointment, however, both the CoH and Fidelity had incredibly wide waists! I had to go up a size in both so that my legs could fit into them and the waists were huge (remember the aforementioned 1:1 box sizing?).

The sizing and fit were so off that it was enough for me to immediately dismiss them both.

Verdict: Never.

10) Madewell

I’ve been a fan of Madewell’s sustainability and fair trade policies for quite some time now, so I was curious to find out how their jeans would fit me. I tried their 10” High-Rise Skinny in my usual size and guess what? They were actually a good fit! The hip-to-waist ratio was great, the waistline hit the right spot, nice stretch, comfortable, and flattering. The length was ok - maybe an inch too long. The fabric also felt slightly softer than Topshop’s Jamie but still substantial (i.e. not too thin).

Verdict: Jamie, you’ve got competition!

Topshop vs. Madewell Sizing Comparison:

As a final sizing test, I tried several of the same size in both the Topshop and Madewell jeans. I wanted to see if there was a significant sizing difference due to the manufacturing 1/2” seam allowance. I am happy to report that there was not that much of a difference, especially with the Topshop jeans, which I assume is because of the stretchy material.

Conclusion:

After tallying up the points, my top 3 contenders were the Levi’s 721s, the Topshop Jamie, and the Madewell 10” High-Rise Skinny. They were all flattering, fit pretty well, and surprisingly had the same size number. They mainly differed in length and the amount of stretch in them.

Deciding on a winner was tricky. If I was looking for absolutely no stretch, then the 721s definitely win. I personally prefer some stretch in my jeans, as I feel they tend to hug the body better while still giving some room to breathe and eat in for a day. So that meant that the Topshop and Madewell pairs were a better option for me. I felt the Jamie was the most flattering of them all, and was a great length. Madewell’s pair was also of great quality and had a slightly higher rise than the Topshop ones - which I liked. The Madewells were also almost double the price of the Topshop pair.

Decision:

If I had to choose I would probably go with the Topshop Jamie for my every day wear, and the Madewell ones for when I want to splurge a little.

Final Thoughts:

Because of how differently brands size their clothes, size really is just a number. Not only that, but how they interpret a style, such as skinny jeans or mom jeans, can also make a big difference in fit. With all the pressures around us about being a certain size, my research makes me wonder if there really is such a thing called size? A brand’s size 0 is another’s size 4, a medium here is an x-small there. Trying to figure out your “size” with the purpose of always using that number sounds pretty pointless to me.

Instead of stressing over the numbers, I believe it’s more important to focus on feeling great in your own skin and finding the fit that suit you best. Take the time to try on different styles and don’t just blindly follow a trend. Forget size, because after it’s all said and done, it really is all relative.

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