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mayalaen · 1 year ago

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my server vs netflix

Long post for a few mutuals who asked about this 🏴‍☠️

Netflix (according to the geeks on server forums -- so this could be off a bit) has individual servers that hold about 100TB of data each, and Netflix claims they have around 18,000 servers worldwide.

Netflix has about 3000 movies and 1800 TV shows available in the United States at any given time. It varies in other countries, but is similar.

This is my server below (pen for size comparison and purple sticky note covering the super bright blue light that bores into my brain)

It's got 5 drive bays, and right now I have 60TB of storage space in it (meaning it's just a little smaller than one of Netflix's servers), and only 37TB of which is currently used. I can easily expand with add-on bays once I fill up the 60TB.

I currently have 4470 movies and 862 TV series, all with closed captioning that I've curated and about 100 of the TV shows have bonus scenes and specials included.

My server cost me about $2700: $1200 for the 5-bay box and the rest was spent on hard drives over the course of 2 years -- 5 inside the server and 6 backup drives. I bought good drives when they were on sale.

I spent another $300 on a range extender for my house so mom and dad could watch in their bedrooms without interruption.

My home internet costs $50 a month and I'm able to serve friends and family in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It's not always accessible (sorry Australia and your shitty internet), but it's up most of the time.

I never take movies/TV shows off of my server, and all the TV shows have their original DVD soundtracks, so nobody has to worry I'm going to remove their faves or ruin soundtracks.

I take requests from anyone, adding it when I find it with no judgement on content.

I don't charge anyone for using my server, and yet I'm paying less than I used to for internet and streaming services.

My payments for internet and streaming for my business and two family houses (Charlie's house and my house) used to be $900 A MONTH ($450 of it was the business internet because ISPs gouge businesses even though the internet usage at the shop is less than home).

Just before I quit Cox Internet, they were about to raise the cost and my new total would've been $1000 per month.

My monthly payments are now $220 for internet service and streaming services. So within just a few months, the server paid for itself.

I still have YouTube TV, Netflix x2 (one for each house), Hulu, and Discovery+.

I'm not saying the average person can set this up, but I want to make it clear that streaming services aren't the mysterious, unknowable magic that people think they are.

They're just servers (hard drives) with data on them and a good internet connection.

Anyone can set up a home server. You don't need a $1200 box like mine. Even an old computer/laptop or single hard drive will work.

A brand new 2TB good-quality hard drive that could hold about 1000 movies or 60-80 TV series would only cost $60 plus another $29 for a basic enclosure/case. (I bought mine from NewEgg for backups)

I use Plex as my media server program. It has a free version and a paid version. I bought the lifetime pass on sale for $90. It goes on sale 2-3 times a year. There are other programs out there too, including Kodi, which has a Netflix skin so it looks like you're using Netflix.

Plex and other programs like it already have a huge library of metadata, so I didn't have to create my own cover art or fill in any other information other than title & year for movies or title + season + episode number for TV shows.

Careful naming of files and sorting in properly-named folders is all you need to have this:

It took me about 3 months to download and organize most of the movies and TV shows in between working and taking care of my home/family. Now I update the server once a week and it takes about 2 hours a week to download/update new TV shows and movies.

I wasn't able to torrent when I had Cox Internet, but the new $50/month ISP doesn't give a shit. Even so, I use a VPN, which is $9 a month just in case they ever decide to get touchy about torrenting.

The server does regular maintenance on itself, and I have backups of everything.

I realize not everyone has the tech skills to set something like this up, but even if one tech person in the family or circle of friends has the ability, they could serve around 60 people.

The most I've had streaming at one time was 10 separate people watching different things, and my server handled it with no problem.

Others on the server forum claim they've maxed out around 25 people simultaneously watching, but 60 people is the number suggested because not everybody will watch at the same time.

Streaming, as it currently works, does NOT support anyone related to the creation of TV shows and movies.

Hopefully this will change, but even if it does, that doesn't change the fact that I can easily support creators myself by buying their DVDs, merch, going to cons, and donating to them or their projects directly.

Right now, pirating movies and TV shows doesn't hurt creators because streaming services and big studios are the main villains, and if all you did was donate $5 to your favorite TV show/movie, you'd be giving them more than if you streamed their content as many times as you wanted each month on a big streaming service.

I have movies and TV shows on my server that aren't even available from content creators anymore due to greedy CEOs and execs who dump their content for tax breaks.

If more people switched to using their own servers, MAYBE it would scare the greedy assholes into paying content creators what they deserve, but in the meantime it's a great way to enjoy content that was created to be shared and to support the creators.

EDIT: I need to add that streaming a TV show/movie as much as possible in the first few weeks of the release date DOES help the show get renewed and the movie execs are more likely to buy future movies, so please stream as much as possible then to help content creators. After that time is up and the streaming service moves on, then it's totally fine to pirate.

#servers #real life #technology #streaming #about me #long post

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nyaagolor · 1 year ago

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Hello, this is a really cool blog you mods are running. I wanted to ask this question; do you have any headcanons involving the dog people of Paldea. Arven is 900% a dog person and already got a few headcanons revolving his Mabosstiff, but if possible, could you provide a couple headcanons involving the other dog people and their dog pokemon (which include Nemona - Lycanroc , Ryme - Houndstone, Tyme - Lycanrocs, Clavell -Houndoom, Giacomo - Mabosstiff, Mela - Arcanine & Houndoom, Ortega - Dachsbun, Eri - Lucario, etc.) Sorry for the long post and thanks if you answer!

Under the cut bc it got long

Slight disclaimer I didn't include Eri and Lucario bc that's a jackal-man idk how to mentally handle a Lucario acting like a dog. That's a person. Featherless biped

Nemona: - She caught Lycanroc as part of her new team. Lycanroc hits hard and fast and mostly acts as her hazard setter or revenge killer. Bitches love stealth rocks - Off the field, they often exercise together! Lycanroc LOVES to run. Nemona has a chronic illness and can't jog, but she does bike or ride a Cyclizar while Lycanroc runs alongside her. They love to race around Mesagoza together - They have the same personality

Ryme: - She is the biggest dog person in Paldea, she loved her puppy so much she rapped it back to life. No one is doing it like her really and truly. When she raps about love? She's talking about the dog - She hosts an adoption fair in Montenevera every year. It's a musical festival centered around getting strays adopted and it's had RESOUNDING success so far - Ryme's semi supernatural powers are actually related to her Houndstone-- she spent so much time along it and all the other soul draining ghost types that she built a resistance to their effects. Now she can (and does) play with entire packs of ghost puppies! And sneak them too many treats

Tyme: - All her pokemon are named after numerical prefixes (kilo, giga, nano, etc). Her Midnight and Midday Lycanroc are named Deca and Deci respectively - She spoils her puppies rotten just like her sister, always sneaking them table scraps and letting them run around in the schoolyard while she's teaching classes - Deca and Deci are bargaining chips to get kids to come to extra help. Who doesn't want to snuggle with two cute dogs while you go over math problems?

Clavell: - When he was a teenager, he used to work for the Pokemon Daycare. (I saw a whole hc where he was a delinquent and got sent to the daycare as part of detention and honestly? Canon in my heart). He found his Houndoom there as a Houndour-- it had been abandoned and adopting it taught Clavell a lot about nurturing others. It's what inspired him to eventually be a school director! - Clavell and his Houndoom are always locked in a constant battle, since Clavell likes to garden and Houndoom likes to dig. For the record, Houndoom is winning - Clavell no longer has his pompadour, seeing as Houndoom took matters into his own paws and lit the wig on fire

Giacomo: - He taught his Mabosstiff, Beethoven, to DJ. He's not good at it by virtue of being a dog but the gimmick is very funny - Beethoven has a tendency to nod its head back and forth, so during concerts, Giacomo will get him little earplugs, a hat, and some shades so he can jam with the crowd. Plus he likes the vibes of the raves - He's the vaccuum cleaner for all the crumbs or snacks Giacomo happens to leave lying about. It's a win-win

Mela: - All her puppies are from the academy itself. She just happens to bond well with those pokemon and uses them on her team despite them not technically belonging to her - The Pokemon world has an ultimate frisbee esque game that involves running with your partner pokemon-- Mela and the dogs are the academy champs. They're unbeatable - Don't tell anyone, but Mela really likes styling their fur

Ortega: - That dog is a purebred (purebread?) and definitely cost like 10k. This dog is worth more than most people's kidneys - Daschbun is a total brat and has very specific diet requests. He can, will, and does pick the carrots out of his food mix and spit them out. God forbid Ortega tries to give him dry food? Oh there is hell to pay - Both Ortega and Daschbun are drama queens. Daschbun is a lapdog and knows it and will sit there haughtily. They're having too much fun

#pokemon sv #nemona #ryme #tyme #clavell #giacomo #mela #ortega #headcanons #ask #mod vex

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resharc · 7 months ago

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a recap on jam

It's been a few weeks since I finished the Acerola Jam 0 (check out the jam if you haven't, there's a lot of cool games!) and I've had a bit of time to decompress and think about my experience. I also was literally unable to do this until this week so hahaaaaa.

If you haven't already, please check out my game jam game, Gunmatic Aberration. Some of what I'm gonna go over will make more sense if you've played it.

but maybe you like having no clue what I'm talking about, in which case, read on

A Summary

This was a good experience and has given me a good bit to think on for the other game. Which is both good and bad: part of the reason why progress has seemingly stopped is because of this. I've been working on stuff behind the scenes and polishing up bits (and rethinking others) to show off later.

I'm happy I was able to release a project that people could, you know, play. From start to finish, with very few bugs that soft-locked or broke the game. People found it fun too, which was a plus.

However, there's a few things that were problems and I'm unhappy with:

The game is confusing to play without any guidance; there wasn't obvious enough signposting or tutorials, which meant I had to tell people how to play (this is not a good sign).

The balance isn't great: some rooms are too hard. Others are too easy. Some powerups just suck, others are too good.

The boss doesn't take advantage of the core gimmick.

The presentation is lacking.

The last one is the thing that stings the most.

The Problem Of Visibility

In the three weeks the game has been around in the jam, my game was viewed 52 times, downloaded 19 times and rated 4 times. I posted it a few times and passed it around my friends. Around 6 of those downloads were from my friends. These are, by all means, not bad numbers. Someone on the Acerola discord found that the mean number of ratings is around 4 - so I'm perfectly average.

Part of this is just due to there being over 900 entries. Part of it is luck. A lot of it is because the game fundamentally doesn't catch your eye. My visual competency is, well

The biggest problem, I feel, boils down to marketing. Let's list a few problems with Gunmatic.

The game looks like a flash game made in 2008. This isn't bad but there's a stigma against those games.

The thumbnail does an awful job at describing the game and getting people to click.

The screenshots are confusing without context and frankly, suck.

The title sucks.

Part of this is just my own general competency. I am not a good artist by any means. This is something I struggle with constantly - I can, at best, make nice-ish looking animations and use some basic tricks to make it look a bit smoother. You can see this in a lot of my other clips. I also suck at names (honestly, my other game has some awful names...).

Focusing on GA, I could've done a few things better here. The easiest ones here are, add a gif to the screenshots and make a better thumbnail. I've done a quick mockup below of what that could look like (note i spent like 5 minutes on this). I could've used the gif in this very post on my screenshots screen too.

Getting People To Play

The second hurdle was actually getting people to play the game. It's one thing to get people to click, but how do you get people to actually play it?

I had a click-to-download ratio of about 3:1. That's, all things considered, not that bad! However, getting people to actually download your game, in a game jam with 958 entries, is difficult. Why play this flash game you need to download when you can play MEGA CHESS, which looks like a Real Game that you can play in your browser?

It probably would've been smarter if I'd just exported this to HTML5 and embedded it into the browser. This would've reduced the hurdle to play significantly: a lot of the most popular games in the game jam were, expectedly, browser games. And games Acerola had boosted (hint hint haha jk unless..........?).

Playtesting

This relates to my other issue: a lack of playtesting. by people who weren't me, i mean.

This is probably one of the hardest problems I've faced - both here and in my actual game. Unless you have friends who are into game development, it's hard to get someone to sit down, play your game, and give you their thoughts on what works and what doesn't. It's a fairly significant ask of someone! They have to play it for a bit, understand how it works, suffer through any problems, and then formulate their thoughts.

I developed Gunmatic Aberration over 2 weeks while working full time. I had a lot of dead time to fill in those two weeks - I should have been bugging my friends for their opinions and telling me what sucked and what didn't.

I didn't do that often.

This, above everything else, is what hurt the game the most. The game is fun, but it's incredibly unpolished and has more potential than anything else. The randomness of the game hurts it (it's a roguelite, after all): you can effectively just Die if you get a difficult room without the right powerups. It's difficult to figure out how to play without explicit instruction. These are all problems born from the developer being the only person to play it.

This is slightly just anecdotal, but I believe the top games in the Game Jam are both made by exceptionally talented people who also had some people giving them feedback. Maybe some more than others - but there was a conversation that I didn't have until the last few days.

i guess thats it?

So! That's what I did for about half a month in March. Then I went on a holiday and have been ruminating on this since.

You might be asking, "wait a fucking minute, you haven't posted anything since... November! What the hell! What have you been doing for the 4 months prior!"

That's cause, uh

woah check this out

#devlog #gamejam recap #thank god nobody reads these

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botwstoriesandsuch · 4 years ago

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OK SHUT UP SHUSH SHUT THE FUCK UP IT’S 1AM BUT SHUSH LISTEN! HEY, LISTEN!

I AM GIVING YOU THE TOOLS TO FIND THE EXACT DISTANCE OF ANYTHING ANYWHERE IN HYRULE, CUSTOM MAKE YOUR FIC JOURNEYS TO THE METER, FIND THE AREA OF ANY TOWN OR LANDMARK, OR JUST FIND OUT HOW BIG (or small) HYRULE KINDGOM TRULY IS ONCE AND FOR ALL SO GO AHEAD AND SAVE THIS POST TO YOUR DRAFTS CAUSE YOU MIGHT WANNA SEE IT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Ok so this all starts with THIS

FEAST YOUR EYES LADIES, LADS, AND GENTLEFOLK ON THE ONLY PIECE OF INFORMATION IN ALL OF HYRULE CONCERNING DISTANCE AND TIME.

[Image ID: A screenshot from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, depicting a picture of Ash Swamp hanging in Impa’s house. The dialogue box from Impa reads, “Does it look familiar? From this village, you should be able to get there in a half day’s time.” End ID]

Impa states that it would take you half a day, about 12 hours, to travel from Kakariko Village to the depicted 13th memory, which is at Ash Swamp by Fort Hateno.

Now here is where I took this information. I took it to

objmap.zeldamods.org

A fantastic online Botw map resource with tons of features like finding specific objects, and highlighting areas, and placing pins, and the basics of showing the locations of everything like shrines and korok seeds and all that.

BUT the thing that we care about today is this ability, here:

DRAW!

With those widgets on the right, I can specifically mark lines and shapes and the website will give me the distance of it in meters!

“But Kip, if the map already gives you the distance of anything you want then isn’t this entire post pointless?” Ashshshshshhshh no, shut the fuck up, shush shut, no, stop, silence, I am high on caffeine and I haven’t slept for two days. No.

As great as the map is, the exact ratio isn’t the best. Like, it tells me that the length of Hyrule is only 10km, or 6.2 miles.

I wager that realistically, Hyrule would be a bit bigger than that. And THAT, is where I come in. Or, more specifically, Impa.

Impa states that it takes 12 hours to travel from Kakariko to Fort Hateno. (I am saying Fort Hateno and not Ash Swamp because I am going of the nearest prominent landmark location near the 13th memory, and I highly doubt that Impa knew the exactly square foot patch of dirt that Link needed to stand on to activate his memory)

According to Google, it takes around 10 to 12 minutes to walk a kilometer. (I am assuming Impa was referring to walking and not riding, because I feel like she would have said, “You should be able to get there in half a day’s ride” or something of the sort. So, walking it is)

So:

12 hours divided by 12 minutes

(Which is 720 minutes / 12 minutes)

gives us

The distance between Fort Hateno and Kakariko village is 60 kilometers.

Badabing badaboom, great job! We did it. BUT NOW this is where our handy dandy online object map comes in.

[Image ID: A screenshot of the Breath of the Wild map showing the area of Kakariko Village and the plains in front of Fort Hateno. A blue line highlghts the path from the village to a marker on Fort Hateno. The line reads “1.89km.” End ID]

[Image ID: A screenshot of the Breath of the Wild map showing the area of Kakariko Village and the plains in front of Fort Hateno. The blue line from the previous image is still there, however, there is now a more prominent yellow line. The yellow line runs from Kakariko village, but ends at a marker point at the location of the 13th memory at Ash Swamp. The yellow line reads “1.55km.” End ID]

So while this map doesn’t give me distances that are exactly to my liking, it DOES give me a measuring means that will stay consistent. SO! As you can see, the map says Kakariko to Fort Hateno is 1.89km. (And just to be safe, I also did the distance exactly to the point of the 13th memory as shown in Impa’s picture, which came out to 1.55km. But! It’s doesn’t matter anyhow, because) We’re going to round this to 2km for the sake of my sanity because surprise surprise! I actually suck at, and hate, math.

So the map says Kakariko to Fort Hateno is 2 kilometers, but we know that in real life, the distance is actually 60 kilometers. So, if you want to use this object map effectively, you have to make a means of converting the “false” measurements, (which I will be refering to as “zelda” (kilo)meters, or zm/zkm) from the actual ones.

So THIS is what I fucking did oh my god help me it took me way too long even though it was really simple in hindsight I was just stupid and spent two hours trying to get the ratio equations right when really all I had to do was divide, it was a whole thing, anyhow, read away.

[Image ID: A screenshot of MATH oh my god it’s fucking math...BUT it’s kinda color coded so that’s nice. The top left of the page depicts text. In red text reads “zkm (Zelda km) = per the measurement on the objmap.zeldamods.org” and below that, in black text, reads, “Kakariko to Fort Hateno = 1.89 zkm ~ 2zkm,” which is underlines in yellow. Another line of black text reads, “Impa says it takes half a day’s time to travel from Kakariko to the 13th memory location AKA 12 hours.” Another line of black text reads, “It takes about 10-12min to walk a kilometer,” which is underlines in green.

Handwritten in blue ink is the equation,

“12 hours = 720 min

720/12 = 60″

The 12 is highlighted in green, and the 60 is underlined. In green text, below it, reads, “It takes 12 hours to walk 60 kilometers.” In black text under this, it reads “So Kakariko to Fort Hateno is 60 kilometers.” Another line of black text under this reads, “So based on that, we can find the actual values of a zkm (Zelda kilometer).”

Handwritten in yellow ink is the equation,

“2zkm = 60km

1km = 30km” [typo, I meant 1zkm = 30km]

The 60km is in blue, and the equation 1zkm = 30km is circled.

To the right of everything, in bigger, yellow text, reads “So: 1zkm = 30km 1zm = 30 meters

The map of Hyrule measures roughly 10zkm (length) by 8zkm (height) [typo, I meant width] giving it an area of 80 square zkm.

Therefore, the “true” size of Hyrule Kingdom os 2400 square kilometers.” End ID]

SO ARMED WITH THIS NEW KNOWLEDGE, you can now use this map to measure whatever you want, and by converting 1zm to 30 meters, you can get accurate result as to what that distance is.

Chart the roads, measure the rivers, the map even gives area tools for polygons, squares, and circles! This entire post was born out of a desire to see how long the characters in my fic should rest for when travel between different stables.

Now before anyone asks, yes! 2400 square kilometers is fairly small. That’s around 930 square miles. I believe even Wales is more than three times bigger than that. BUT! Considering Hyrule is a medieval kingdom that’s actually pretty sizable considering the average size of a Kingdom was 100 to 900 square kilometers.

And juuuust to double check, I ran the size though a Medievil Demographics generator, and 2400 (under the conditions of Fertile Land with 64% of the land being arable since I figured roughly 46% for lakes, the ocean, plus unusable land was more than enough to cover the Hebra, Death Mountain, and the Gerudo Desert. Which honestly is even MORE generous considering there are races that occupy these areas, but I digress) This still gives Hyrule Kingdom a good population of 108,000 people! Before the Calamity when all of its villages were up and occupied, of course. So the area is definitely more than enough, and can still give Link a more realistic amount of time to travel between areas (when you add eating and rest of course. Don’t make my guy walk for 10 hours straight from the Great Plateau to Hebra D: plz)

TL;DR: Hyrule is 2400 square kilometers; use the map, plus the conversion 1 zelda meter to 30 meters to measure anything you want; I am tired

Quick Edit: Please note that this conversion is for the purposes of people out there who need more realistic means of measuring distances for larger scale travel and such, like for writing fic journeys, or dnd campaigns. This conversion isn’t the best for smaller scale measure like buildings and such (EX: I’ve checked with buildings in Castle Town and the Coliseum, and they come out much too big, just a symptom of game design ratios not being perfect since it’s hard to balance consistent measurements and the immersion and plan a creator has for their game world!) So if you are measuring those smaller entities using the linked map, just stick with the given zelda meters! (EX: The Coliseum radius in zelda meters matches up nicely with the real world Roman Colosseum, beating it out by a few dozen meters!)

Also if you are a true believer in the interpretation of Impa’s dialogue as “half the amount of daylight hours,” see the reblogs!

#botw theory #cause it's technically a theory i guess #botw reference #botw #breath of the wild #legend of zelda botw #loz botw #if my math is wrong just shoot me on the spot ok #loz #legend of zelda #hyrule

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minniepetals · 4 years ago

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boop

❥⋆｡˚ anon said: [Boop] + demon au

˚₊· ━━ WORD PROMPT

[ boop ] for a muse to boop another’s nose

genre: demon!au

pairing: bts x reader

word count: 900

˚₊· ━━ MASTERPOST

"Hey, wake up."

You hear a commanding voice calling unto you as you begin to wake up from your little nap. You're not sure how long time has passed but at the moment, it doesn't matter because when you open your eyes, all you know is that you're happy to see Hoseok right in front of you. His expression looks a little grim like the usual but the crease in his brows seem to look a little deeper.

"What did we tell you about falling asleep on a chair? You have a bed for a reason, you know." Despite how harsh his voice sounds, the soft greeting of a kiss to your forehead tells you he doesn't mean much of it.

"Your meeting was going on for so long so I fell asleep," you say with a slight pout as Jungkook comes up from your other side and goes to carry you into his arms. You wrap your arms around his neck, smiling at the sweet scent of his as you nuzzle into the crook of his neck.

"We've told you plenty of times to do something better than just waiting around like a lost little puppy," he tells you while carrying you out the room and into the hallway with Hoseok following along.

"But there was nothing else to do," you insist. "I've read all the books here and have stared at the same walls every single day."

"So you're saying the little one gets bored when we're not around to entertain her, huh?"

"Not that I'm trying to get in the way of your royal demon duties," you quickly say with your head popping up from under Jungkook's chin. He looks down at you with a slightly raised brow, meeting the twinkle and love in your eyes that never seems to ever cease away from his sight. "I can wait as long as I need to in order to have your attention again."

They both sigh at your sweet words, things they still haven't gotten used to yet despite the time spent with you.

"What a good little puppy you are." The little frown of disappointment that you make upon Hoseok's words do not go unnoticed by the two of them. "It's not a bad thing," Hoseok says bluntly. "I'm saying that we appreciate you for your lack of selfishness."

You look towards him with eyes that shines again. "You do?"

It's a wonder how your moods can change so easily.

"Mhm." With a hum, he gives you a light nod before playfully booping you right on the nose despite the lack of expression he has on his face.

In an instant, your heart blooms with warmth and you can feel the butterflies flying all over your tummy.

Seeing that, Jungkook makes a face that shows disgust. "That's enough to get to you?" He opens the door to the master bedroom where the rest of them are with one single kick of his foot and you hear Taehyung calling for your attention.

Giving you over to the older male, you let out a soft giggle as you fall into Taehyung's arms. "Someone's in a good mood," the demon notes as you climb his lap to greet him with a butterfly kiss while he holds your hips. "What is it?"

"I'm just happy to finally spend time with you all again."

"It's literally almost past your bedtime," Yoongi points out yet the bright grin on your face does not fall away.

"That's more than enough for me," you say as Seokjin takes you by the waist and pull you up and over to him.

"What's satisfying about that?" He asks while he carries you over to the large bed. You lay comfortably on the sheets as Jimin comes over by your other side.

"Well for one," you say when Jimin holds you in his arms and you're quick to snuggle up against him, "any time spent with you all is better than none at all. Plus you don't even need sleep so technically you're spending a whole seven to eight hours with me despite me not being conscious during it all."

Seokjin lets out a soft sigh as he shakes his head lightly. "How can you be satisfied with only a small dose of attention?"

"I love you," you state the obvious, "and being able to receive that love in return and allowed to remain by your sides is already a lot to ask for."

"No," Namjoon shakes his head. "It isn't enough to give you just that. You deserve much more than you think you do."

"But I'm okay with everything I have now."

"Not us."

"Hm?" You look up at Jimin who already has his eyes on you and you can feel your heart beating loud against your chest at the soft gaze he gives you alone. His hand drifts up to your hair, letting his fingers draw them back to see your face a little clearer before it follows down the bridge of your nose and leaves one little boop. "Sleep, little one," he commands in a gentle voice as he pulls you in towards his chest so that you can hear the beating of his heart. "When you awake again, we shall give you all the attention you deserve."

And then he plants a soft kiss to your head as if to seal that promise.

#wbm game #bts drabble #bts polyamory #bts poly #bts poly au #bts demon #bts demon au #bts x reader #bts ot7 x reader

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bookersebastien · 4 years ago

Note

since I love your headcanons/meta (if you're up to it) can I have your thoughts on the guard + fashion

andy

Andy probably has a pretty complicated relationship with fashion, like i think she does with most things in the modern world given the fact that it’s only a tiny spec of her lifetime

She’s spent her life watching thousands upon thousands of fashion trends come and go and was alive during the creation of many fabrics themselves

She’s been a warrior her entire life, we may not know the manner of her first death (or at least not from the movies) but we know she’s spent most of her life as an immortal fighting, both before and after she met quynh

Fashion for her was always at the very least comfortable and flexible, something she could travel and fight in without a moment’s notice

But to some extent how she looks, her image is a very important aspect of her, especially in the earlier part of her life

She was a famed fighter for so long, earning her name “fighter of man”, there were probably stories told of her and quynh, warrior women who no one can defeat, her clothing at that time at least semi reflected that, she wanted to be seen as “unbreakable” as she says in the movie

She had probably minimal armor, after all she doesn’t need it technically and would only prefer it to have less healing time if she took on less damage, but her clothing showed exactly who she was, every bit the warrior

As practical as she is, who she appears to be is still probably very much still tied to her identity, she may not be known anymore and doesn’t even want to be for the sake of their safety but her clothes are not just strictly practical, rather than be the warrior of myth she has now become a warrior of the modern age, a warrior of the shadows

Her clothes still reflect her younger self, the famed warrior, just scaled back and modernized. She wears calf-high boots, arm braces and fitted clothing in all black she cuts quite and imposing figure and that’s what i think she wants. She doesn’t necessarily use it to intimidate others, as her younger self may have done, this time her clothing is now to make her still feel powerful, a reflection of who she is now: skilled and deadly, ready at a moments notice to protect those she loves

While jeans and a tank top is a perfectly normal outfit, with the boots and braces you’d do a double take, wondering who she was, but it’s meant to blend in just enough but if you look closely enough at how tight the boots are laced and her posture, tank top carefully tucked in you’d start to wonder

I think she does actually like fashion, she’s seen so much of it and she probably sees things that remind her of something she saw hundreds of years ago, like seeing trends pop up again and it fills her with nostalgia. It reminds her of when she was in love with humanity, loved seeing what people created and invented and when she truly believed in their cause

But things definitely changed after quynh was thrown in the ocean, just had a less of desire and the clothes probably reminded her of quynh, what’d she’d wear and what she’d get for andy to wear and as modern times came around she stuck to stuff that was more practical, still a little fashionable, but stuff that could be worn doing anything from sleeping to fighting

I think her clothing in the movie, mostly black, reflects who she is as this time: a powerful and strong warrior who’s also afraid, she’s afraid that she spent her life fighting for something that doesn’t matter but also (pre-nile) afraid of what she’s going to do now that she said the world could burn - what does a 6,000+ immortal warrior do then?

booker

Booker is not unfashionable, and while his relatively apathetic and cynical nature might make you think fashion isn’t something he would care about, i think he does

He isn’t like joe who would go the extra step to make an outfit more aesthetically pleasing, but also he isn’t as super practical as nicky (he keeps his gun in his pants for fuck’s sake)

Booker is tired and wants to feel normal, to feel his humanity that he feels is slipping away from him even though it’s already been 200 years - he’s still adjusting and that’s because he never wanted this and still doesn’t completely accept this is his life now (hence at least a partial reason for his betrayal)

But i don’t booker is one to make too much of a fuss about what he’s wearing, he wants simple clothing that won’t make him look out of place, especially since he was the one who met with copley for that previous mission maybe he is the one who scouts missions as their seemingly resident computer person

So he goes for what a lot of people do: classic pieces of clothing in selection of relatively neutral colors that all work together. In their life it’s important to have clothes at the ready, both in their bags and at their safehouses and i’d bet at least most of his stuff would work together with no issues

Aside from the tac outfit of course, he mainly wears an assortment of jeans, boots, button downs and leather jackets in mostly blacks and grays with a couple faded blues and greens - any of these can be thrown on without an issue, it looks like a complete outfit and nothing about how he’s dressed is any way going to attrract attention

Plus this man doesn’t care enough about himself to make him look good rather than just being fine with what he has, he wants to die and doesn’t allow himself to feel the love he has from his family, dressing up to him isn’t going to add anything or make anything better

So in the sequel i’d love to see him deal with his pain and his betrayal head on and who knows maybe joe will buy him some zipper pants too and maybe booker will actually like them

nicky

Nicky is the other more practical one other than andy, but he lacks her attempt at keeping at appearances/empowerment

The majority of movies he’s wearing plain t-shirts and regular jeans with dad jackets, the only slightly impractical fashion choice being his hoodie from the tac outfit, which it does cover him up completely and allows him to cover his face more if needed but also it’s hot (i also like that post comparing the hoodie to the crusader’s chainmail helmet)

But nicky in essence is practical, he’s the protector of the group, always watching and always on the edges, he doesn’t care much i think for what he wears as long as it allows him to do his job

Yes of course he participated in fashions over the years, and will wear things joe picks out for him and occasionally what he picks out for himself, but that stuff is not for when there is a mission, not when people need help

But i think he usually gravitates towards simple like andy, something to run and fight in but he lacks andy’s past of fame, reverence, and notoriety (at least in the way she had it - he did fight in the crusades after all) so his clothing isn’t to do anything for him but to act as clothing, it holds no mental power over him, he has no image to project - he’s done so much that he wants to help people and protect his family and that’s it

I don’t think growing up in genoa before the crusades lent itself to that many fashion opportunities and while we aren’t sure of his exact status, i don’t think any of the guard were particularly wealthy (except possibly yusuf as the son of merchants) and being a priest at the time i’m sure didn’t make him wealthy in his adulthood either

And while he’s lived 900+ years, the way you grew up doesn’t just leave you, he was at least catholic, and i still think he holds his faith close, just in a different way now

Plus look at his tac outfit, the most comfortable looking (it is a hoodie after all) and he has half a dozen guns strapped to himself along with sword, he wants the ability to carry his things comfortably without impeding him in any way, he wants to be totally and completely prepared and is very much the typical dad in this sense, everything must be on hand so he can protect those he loves

Also you know this man owns cargo pants much to joe’s dismay

joe

we all know joe is the fashionable male among the guard, i mean the backwards baseball cap and the zipper pants? yeah

in his tac outfit, the hat really adds nothing to it besides aesthetic, it’s not shielding his eyes from the sun because he’s wearing sunglasses and it doesn’t aid him in any way during a fight unless he had decided to pull a booker and do “whatever works” and just like hit someone with it - it’s a purely aesthetic choice

but joe was the child of merchants and lived in an area with a rich history of colorful and beautiful fashion, the region was known for the lightweight fabrics and light silks that during the crusades, many were brought back to europe and astounded the europeans

i think that has stayed with joe, that complete appreciation and awe at the craft of making clothing and using clothing to show yourself and personality

joe is also a man of the arts, there was so much poetry and arts in the maghreb region, and while that existed in italy as well, nicky was a priest and probably wasn’t exposed to it much outside a religious context

joe is also an artist himself, he has such a grand appreciation for aesthetics and while clothing purely for aesthetics isn’t practical for the life they live unless they are on a break, he manages to infuse his clothing with his personality nonetheless

the backwards hat was fun, unnecessary but it also didn’t get in the way of his fighting. he probably just enjoyed the look (and i know we all did too) and the leather jacket with the hoodie and zippered pants at the end scene was just such an effortless cool look that was still practical but had a lot more personality and an attempted look™ than say nicky and his dad jacket

nile

most of what nile is wearing in the movie isn’t her choice of clothing, not that i don’t think she’d absolutely pick out that green bomber jacket but in the movie she wasn’t the one who picked it, it was packed for her

but the outfit she wears in the end is just like her, trendy and young and refreshing given that the rest of the guard sticks to their own styles they’ve been in the whole movie

but nile is the one who is most likely to branch out, she’s only in her late 20s and by her last scene in the movie it’s only been maybe a week or so since she became immortal, she hasn’t evolved a ‘be ready to fight’ kind of fashion and doesn’t have the hundreds of years of experience telling her to buy things that she can fight in as well as sleep in - now she was in the marines so to some extent but not with her own personal clothing choices

despite her chaotic introduction to being immortal, it won’t set in for a while that their lives are running from one danger to the next, taking breaks when they can, especially with andy’s renewed commitment to the job she and the others set out to accomplish, her clothing style will probably change as she settles into this new life

but we can see in her last scene, she is wearing comfortable clothing, a fitted shirt with a stylish yet somewhat more loose fitting jacket and looser pants (they look like joggers and i can’t completely remember if they are or not)

so while her clothes are comfortable, they are more fashionable than any of the others, and while this probably has lots to do with her age i think it’s very important to her current state of mind

she’s had the most insane weeks of her life, found out she’s not going to die for a very long time, found out there are others like her, and had to say goodbye to her family without seeing them again because she’s decided to stick with her new life

and this is a massive change for her, after being in the military for quite a few years, assuming she joined when she around 18-20 which i think she did enlist then especially given the fact that her dad passed when she was younger

life in the military is very controlled, so her having this sudden new gift but also this vast wide open future is probably terrifying to her, so much has changed so quickly, she hasn’t had the time to properly sort through how she’s feeling and truly realizing what this life means

her clothes are a reflection of one thing in her life she can currently control because she can’t control what’s going to happen in the world and where copley will find them a job or where they will be at any one time but she has control over herself so she dresses herself how she wants, how she’d dress if she was home

it’s some semblance of normality, some piece of herself that hasn’t changed and that she wants to express

quynh

while we don’t see quynh much besides in flashbacks and then in the final scene i think fashion is going to be something important to her

she spent 500 years drowning, unable to do anything, unable to save herself

nile said she was feeling insane and angry, quynh spent 500 years without an ounce of control over what was happening to her and regaining her life is something she is not going to take for granted

she’s going to live her life to the fullest, which includes wearing whatever she likes and wearing the colors she loves and the clothing that makes her feel beautiful and badass and powerful - a little like andy and a little like nile

it’s a huge part of her life she’s regained, clothing is something the whole world sees and part of how we perceive people and in a world that she doesn’t know at all she’ll want to craft herself an image because clothing is still one thing she can understand - the styles are all different but i have no doubts it’s something she took to quite quickly, having something she can control completely

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certain-death-awaits · 4 years ago

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So just how old is Bracken, anyways?

This is both for general purposes and to be used as a note for my next post on Bracken. Before we start, I’d like to go through a couple of psychological definitions, so that we’re all on the same page for the discussion. Please do not hesitate to correct me- I’m no student of psychology, I just have free time and access to university-level notes videos. Sources will be cited below.

Chronological Age- the number of actual years a person has lived.

Biological/Developmental Age- a description of an individual’s development based on biomarkers (recordable molecular or cellular events). These are again roughly the same in all people, (though variable by sex and of course individual hormones) notably puberty, growth hormone decline with aging, myelination of the brain, and bone mass growth.

Achievement Age- a measure of achievement expressed in terms of the chronologic age of a normal child showing the same degree of attainment. This is around the same for most people- most 5 year olds can start school, most 16 year olds are mature enough to learn to drive, and most 60 years old are ready to retire.

Psychological/Mental Age- a subjective description of one's experience using non-physical features. It has been defined as the age level of mental ability of a person as gauged by standard intelligence tests. This is us trying to say how old a person is without markers. We have used the earth's revolutions (years) and biomarkers before, this is about something more ephemeral: experience, logic, and emotions.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get into the Fablehaven content. First, let’s set out to determining Bracken’s chronological age. We know that he remembers the war in which the dragons were rounded up and imprisoned, and he and Agad agree that this occurred 3.000 years ago. We also know that he was a fully mature adult* at the time the demons were sealed away, because he had reached his third horn. It’s not clear whether this happened before or after the dragon war, so that information is irrelevant. But we know that Bracken had already given up his third horn when he was jailed by the Sphinx, and he had been in jail for “centuries”, so it had been at least ~900 years since he’s been fully mature*, plus the “centuries” he spent wandering, trying to fit into human society. What we have is at least 3.000 years.

We can move onto biological/developmental age. Luckily, this one has much less guesswork. I can also elaborate on what I mean when I say that Bracken is fully mature. Bracken is consistently described as a “young man”, and Seth guesses that he’s around eighteen. Kendra thinks he could be in high school, and thinks of him physically as being “a couple of years her senior”. When I asked Brandon Mull about his age, he answered “He is an eternal being, so our mortal measuring sticks don’t work on him. If he became mortal, he would be around 17 or 18″, which explains well enough. Now for why I say that Bracken is fully mature. This is how Bracken describes the situation with horns and aging.

"Don't unicorns have three horns?" Seth asked. "Right," Bracken replied, appraising Seth as if impressed by his knowledge. "Sort of like humans with baby teeth. We have one horn as a child, then shed it for a larger horn in adolescence, and in turn shed that for our permanent adult horn. "

Brandon Mull explains to me that while this is true, horn ages do not match to years. I ask about achievement age, “And when would the first and second horns be lost (and the next grow in) in human years?”, to which he responds “I’m not sure unicorns growing up can translate perfectly into human years. I think they age outside of time somewhat, and it has to do with how they learn and develop emotionally and spiritually more than a mortal timeline”. I prod for a bit of clarification, and he says “The unicorns do physically mature- so first horn is like tween, second is like teen, and third is adult- but the number of our human years it takes for them to mature can vary. They mature physically slower if they are also not maturing emotionally and spiritually.” This would put Bracken at solidly biologically and adult, as well as fully grown emotionally and spiritually.

That has already definitively told us that Bracken is spiritually and emotionally an adult. But let us delve just a bit more in Bracken’s psychological/mental age, using what’s actually canon. Bracken speaks of years of change after he forswore his horn, centuries spent changing his already adult nature and becoming more social and human. Bracken also has considerable authority over the Astrids. On two separate occasions, they take orders from him. It’s he who reprimands them when they are released from their strigine forms. Bracken leads the army against the demon horde at Zzyzx. It implies he’s done this many times before. He is not only a fully mentally mature adult, but an experienced adult. He does maintain that all this has done little to sap his youthfulness. Real, the takeaway is that because he has reached his third horn and has been at that point for a long time, he is and has been an adult mentally speaking.

Works Cited

Defining Age with Different Perspectives: Definitions & Examples. (2014, January 14). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/defining-age-with-different-perspectives-definitions-examples.html.

Mull, Brandon, and Brandon Dorman. Dragonwatch. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2018.

For Miller-Keane Encyclopedia:psychological age. (n.d.) Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. (2003). Retrieved May 24 2020 from https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/psychological+age

Mull, Brandon, and Brandon Dorman. Keys to the Demon Prison. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2011.

#fablehaven #dragonwatch #fablehaven bracken #dragonwatch bracken #fhdw bracken #bracken the hornless unicorn #tw bracken #original #meta

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smediumsmeatbae · 4 years ago

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Warm You

PAIRING: Curtis Everett X Reader WORDS: ~900 SUMMARY: You’re freezing and seeking comfort. Will Curtis help you out WARNINGS: Light swearing, dystopian themes, angst (sort of). Hey man it’s about Snowpiercer lol.Soft!Curtis A/N: This is my second submission for the #shamelesshoesforchris challenge by the two amazing blogs: @navybrat817 and @stargazingfangirl18! I used two prompts in this bad boy: 1. Huddling for warmth and “Please don’t go.” This is my first fic for Curtis and first fic really dealing with a lot of angst. (Y’all know how much I like my fluff!) But I genuinely enjoyed writing this and I definitely want to delve into Curtis’s world a bit more later. Reblogs/Comments/Likes so appreciated and adored. You do not have my permission to repost this without giving me credit / outside tumblr.

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You could see your breath come out in shallow puffs of smoke as you pulled your legs closer to your chest. You were trying, and failing to will yourself warmer. It wasn't that you weren't used to the cold. After all, you had spent over half your life on the Snowpiercer. But that night, huddled on your bed, the temperature seemed to be much worse.

You pulled your thin coat around your waist as you clung your arms around your legs, hoping that would help you out. Your teeth chattered together like a toy monkey clashing its symbols together. Muscles in your arms and legs ached from the constant shivering. Nothing was working and you let out a frustrated groan, leaning your head on the back of your bunk. You had all of your clothes on (the few you had to begin with), and an extra blanket you had managed to trade another person for three days worth of food rations. Still you froze.

You heard Edgar huff above you and you heard him shuffle around. You let out an involuntary whimper. That's when Edgar swung his face down to you, anger evident on his face.

"Will you shut it? We're all cold, we're gonna continue t'be cold. An' no amount'a bitchin' an' moanin' is gonna change that." He whispered in an exhausted tone and pulled his head back away.

You wanted to yell at him, be aggressive back but you held back your words. Ass that he was, you knew he was also right. Plus, you didn't want to be the start of a fight in the boxcar. Tensions were already extremely high as there were rumors and whispers of a revolution starting again.

You laid down and clutched yourself in, if that was possible. Still visibly shaking, you looked over to the bunk opposite of you and saw Curtis. He looked just as miserable, albeit freezing more quietly than you were able. You wondered... An idea formed in your head and you quickly got up from your bunk and walked the couple of steps over to his. Sliding the curtain back a bit, you started to dip down to get next to him when he stopped you.

"What're you doin'." He sounded half asleep but you knew he hadn't been fully. Years on the train with general noises and predators kept everyone from sleeping soundly, learning to keep their senses alert. "I'm freezing and you are too. We should huddle together." "What? Go back to sleep."

Curtis and you were not exactly friends. You tolerated each other, in so much that you were forced to be, given the cramped space. You found him arrogant and brooding and he found you to be a pain in the ass. You challenged each other on decisions. Otherwise, you two mostly stayed out of each others way. You knew you could never truly hate him though. Back when you first got on the train, when you were too terrified and too vulnerable, Curtis had come to your aid fighting off some attackers. After that, Curtis would always be endeared to you. He was a man with complicated edges, but in rare moments, you saw the person he might have been 17 years ago, before the never ending cold, before the train.

"Can't sleep." You pouted. "Too cold."

A grunt came from inside the bunk. You didn't know if that was approval or not but you didn't give him a chance to stop you. Sliding in, Curtis looked like he was trying to mould himself into the wall to avoid touching you. You snorted a bit at him as you went to lay down.

"The point in sharing warmth is to be close to each other."

Curtis eased himself off of the wall and more towards you, but his body still felt stiff against you. You both laid there for a second, clearly noticing the awkward situation you two were in. There was no way you'd be able to sleep with that much tension. 'This was a stupid idea' you thought to yourself. You pulled forward and moved towards getting out.

"Look sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I'm just gonna--" "Shit… Wait I… please don't go." He said so softly you almost missed it.

Curtis placed a hand on your shoulder and you felt surprised at the vulnerability in his voice. You turned around and those crystal blue eyes were looking at you with an almost tenderness that kind of broke your heart. Slipping back in, you snuggled against him, his arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you towards him. The warmth of his body radiated through and you instantly felt yourself beginning to thaw. You sighed in contentment. It was the first that you could remember in a long time when you weren't freezing, terrified, or angry.

You could feel his lips in your hair and it sent shivers down your body. A yawn escaped you, finally feeling comfortable enough to sleep. You didn't want to think about what this meant for you and Curtis, if anything. People like yourselves in the last train car didn't have the luxury of thinking about the possibility of love. Love was dangerous. Love meant they could take something from you, hold it against you, and have you break into so many pieces.

For then, for that night, you would just simply revel in the warmth that another body was able to provide.

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TAGS:

@angrythingstarlight

@cheeseburgersstuff

#shamelesshoesforchris #curtis everett #curtis everett fanfiction #curtis everett fandom #curtis everett x reader #curtis everett x you #curtis everett x fem!reader #curtis everett x female reader #snowpiercer #snowpiercer fanfiction #chris evans #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fandom #soft!curtis

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saharamae21 · 4 years ago

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Assumptions - Drew Starkey Imagines

Author: sguymon21

Summary: I love all your writing, I read all of it but my favourites are the ones you write about the cast. So on that note, if you're taking requests and feeling inspired from this can you write for Drew where you are friends and he takes you home to a family event but didn't mention you were only friends (for the time being), everyone assumes you're dating, treats you like a couple, it becomes awkward when you tell everyone they're wrong but it's what they need to admit their feelings for one another? REQUESTED

Sorry if this bad :( I kinda like it though!

Word Count: 900+

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You knew that it was never Drew’s intention to make you uncomfortable, but as you stood in the middle of the backyard, you were incredibly uncomfortable. Drew was your best friend in the entire world and when he asked you to come home with him, you were thrilled. You had always wanted to see where the goofball grew up and spent the next couple of talking about the trip nonstop. However, when you guys got there you realized that he had “forgotten” to mention the huge family gathering he was supposed to attend.

Now, you stood in the middle of the yard, drink in hand, as Drew was running around and catching up with relatives. You had gone with him at first, but you excused yourself after having to explain that you weren’t dating for the third time. You watched as he ran his hand through his hair and sighed. It wasn’t like you haven’t thought about Drew like that because you had, but that was years ago. Since then you have both grown and changed.

“We were so happy you could join us, y/n!” his mom said. You turned around to greet her. You’ve met Jodi on multiple occasions and she absolutely loved you. She always told you that she hoped Drew would marry a girl like you and hint that you two should date. That just wasn’t in your future though. Drew was an anomaly that you could never touch, something always held you back and now it was too late.

“I’m glad to be here, mama Starkey,” you told her with a smile. She told you about how all the relatives thought you were so cute and how amazing of a couple you guys were. Your eyes rolled as she said that and it made her laugh.

“Well, you guys would be,” she said. “Plus our family already loves you.”

You smiled at the gesture and continued through the evening. That night was filled with good food and even better times. You loved his family so much and wondered if you had really missed out on having the best in-laws. You had one beer too many and were feeling a bit tired, so Drew showed you up to his childhood room. It was exactly the way you imagined it. You plopped down on the bed and he slid in next to you. You cuddled into his arms and closed your eyes. Cuddling was nothing new to the two of you. Neither was sleeping side by side. You loved how he would hold you protectively against him while he slept.

“Y/n?” he asked. You fluttered your eyes open to look at him. He was staring down at you like he always had, but something about the way he did it today made your heart flutter. He gently tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. “I’m sorry for today. I just worried you wouldn’t come with me if I told you. I didn’t know they were going to be like that.”

“It’s fine,” I said with a smile. I cuddled back into his chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was faster than usual though. “Are you okay?”

“Have you ever thought about… you know? Us?” he asked. You contemplated lying to him, but what good would that do? You nodded and avoided looking at his face. He tightened his arms around you and played with your hair. You never would’ve given this a second thought two days ago, but now this small action felt so intimate. “What made you stop?”

“Drew,” you said, sitting up. You couldn’t look at him right now. “I’ve known you for years. Of course I’ve thought about us, but you’re my best friend. You never showed any interest and eventually those feelings just went away.”

“They just… went away?” he asked. You could sense hurt in his voice, yet you couldn’t face him.

“What do you want me to tell you? That I’ve been in love with you since I met you and that I got too scared of ruining what we had, so I never acted. The feelings didn’t go away, but I stopped acknowledging them because I didn’t want to mess everything up!” you sighed and buried your face into your hands.

“That’s exactly what I wanted you to tell me…” he mumbled. You turned to look at him, but before you could react, his lips met yours. You closed your eyes and melted into the feeling you had thought about all those years ago. His lips were soft and everything you had ever imagined. When he pulled away, the two of you just stared at each other. “Are we trying this?”

His words broke the silence. A small smile crept onto your face as you cuddled into him again. Both your backs fell against the sheets and you gave him a quick peck.

“Well, your whole family already thinks we're a couple, so we might as well…” You giggled, trying to play it cool. He chuckled and flicked your forehead, just like he always did.

“So you’ve been in love with me since the day you met me, huh?” he snickered. You smack his chest as he laughed. “Hey! It was the same for me…”

“Really?” you asked, a yawn leaving your mouth as you closed your eyes.

“Yeah. I’ve always been in love with you,” he muttered, kissing your forehead. You could feel the sleep taking over, but not before you could mumble one last thing.

“I love you too.”

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Tag List : @justcallmesams @jellyfishbeansontoast @prejudic3 @queenieloveswriting @jjtheangel @infinitydols @simpingforrudypankowonly @waywardbarbie @outerbankslut @outerbongs @ilovejjmaybank @beth-winchester21 @jiaraendgame @sunwardsss @talksoprettyjjx @bb-tings @teenwaywardasgardian @netflix-imagines @canibeoneofthepogues @raekenliar @jadayyyw @jjpogueprincess @casper17 @waywardbabie

#drew obx #drew starkey #drew #outer banks fanfiction #outer banks imagine #outer banks #obx netflix #obx

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jay-wells-writes · 4 years ago

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Take a ride? (Harry Wells x Reader) (Revised)

Okay so I had my Harry Anon ask to write a story about a biker Harry. Well this is what I came up with. So my Dear Harry Anon, I hope you and everyone else enjoy this story.

Working at the coffee shop you get to know the regulars that come in throughout the day. And 90 percent of the time you had some of those regulars that liked to flirt. Half of them were older business men and as long as they didn’t take the flirting too far you and the others flirted back. Sometimes though there were some that only flirted with certain bartistias and naturally the other’s like to give that worker hell. Up until a few weeks ago you had been safe from the co-worker banter but that changed when you waited on one Harrison Wells. By default you were a natural flirt, but usually you only started after they flirted with you. The thing with Harrison was he never flirted with anyone, he came in and got his coffee and then left. Half the time he was on his phone and he didn’t leave a tip. Some of the others considered him a bit of a jerk and truthfully didn’t want to wait on him. You had been the same but then one day when you were repeating his order back to him you slipped up and said “Your soul is already too dark, you sure you really need this extra strong black?” Realizing you had said that out loud you shot your eyes up and saw that Harrison was actually smiling. Handing over some cash he took his coffee from you and spoke before turning around.

“Soul can always get darker. Keep the change.”

Since then he has always spoken to you and in the last week you both started to flirt. Which then led your coworkers to give you crap, some kept pushing you to ask him out or say that he was hinting at it himself. But the thing was Harrison wasn’t your type, yes he was down right hot, but he was too skinny. You like your guys a bit thicker or even with some type of muscle and Harrison was neither.

Of course that didn’t stop you from being bummed when 1 came around and you hadn’t seen Harrison come in. It was 20 minutes till the end of your shift when you heard one of your coworkers calling your name.

“Hey y/n, Mister Dark Soul just pulled up and is heading in.”

Shaking your head at the name your coworkers had now dubbed him, you made your way to the counter and just about tripped over nothing. Because instead of his normal suits Harrison was wearing a shirt and jeans. And much to your surprise the shirt was thin-bared and covered in grease, but the thing that really shocked you was the defined muscles you saw on his arms.

“That can’t be Mister suit and ties.”

Smiling at your comment Harrison looked down and shook his head.

“Controverse to belief, people that own their own company do own clothes other than suits.”

“Wait, your pj’s don’t look like suits?”

“Who says I wear pj's?”

Laughing at your fish out of the water impression Harrison reached behind himself to pull out his wallet.

“If I haven’t killed you, can I get my normal please. And I am not in my ever present suit today because I have been at home building my new bike.”

Shaking your head you pointed to his clothes.

"I didn't know a 10 speed can get you that dirty."

"Oh I wasn't putting together a 10 speed, I was putting together a 90's Triumph 900 Thunderbird."

Stopping in mid step you turned and looked at Harrison in disbelief.

"You spent all day putting a motorcycle together?"

"Yep."

"Why not get one already put together?"

"Where’s the fun in that? Plus I think I am a bit more qualified to put together a bike."

"You may be smart, but that's not the same as going to school to build them."

"Let's face it, only half go to school to build bikes. The other's just come off the streets and are taught to run a line in a factory. I think that makes me more qualified than them. Besides, I drove it here and nothing happened."

"Stop. You just put together this bike today and you are already riding it!"

Taking a drink of his coffee, Harrison paused for a second before nodding his head and answering.

"Yeah." Shaking your head, no words came out so you began to turn when Harrison's next words stopped you. "Take a ride with me."

"What?"

"You are doubting my abilities to put together a motorcycle. So take a ride with me. Let me prove that I am just as capable of building one."

In less than a minute you had multiple thoughts run through your head. And none of them had to do with taking a ride on a just built bike but more on who you would be riding with. You had told yourself multiple times that Harrison wasn't your type, but standing there staring at him you realized that you were telling lies to yourself and everyone else. He was your type and you were scared that the flirting between the both of you meant nothing. And now you were offered a ride. Looking at Harrison you could see the twinkle in his eyes as he waited for your answer.

"Tell you what, if the bike doesn't fall apart on us I will also throw in dinner."

You knew it wasn't a smart idea but you were seeing a different side of Harrison, an almost kid side, and you didn't want to be the reason for it to change.

"Okay, let's do this. Give me 10 and I will be done. Met you outside?"

"Sounds good to me."

Giving you a wink Harrison brought the coffee to his lips and took a drink as he turned around.

For the next 10 minutes all you could do was have a mini panic attack as you dodged questions and comments from your coworkers. When you walked out the front door it wasn't hard to spot Harrison kneeling beside his bike. You had to admit that the bike was very nice looking. Of course it was all black, but as you got closer you could see the seat was a very dark burgundy color and that the paint had flecks of the same burgundy in it.

Harrison must have seen you walking towards him from the corner of his eye because he was standing and turning to look at you with a smile on his face.

"Ready?"

"As ready as I ever will be."

Laughing, Harrison threw his leg over the bike and tilted his head back.

"Climb on."

Having never ridden a bike before you had no idea what you were doing. So you figured the best thing was to copy what Harrison had done. Resting a hand on his shoulder you raised your leg and brought it over the other side. Sitting down you realized that your feet barely touched the ground and you had no idea where to place them.

"Okay Harrison, what do I do next?"

"Call me Harry and what do you mean?"

"I have never been on a bike, so I have no idea what I am doing here."

Turning slightly Harry pointed to the ground.

"See those rods sticking out? Put your feet on those and keep them there. You also want to keep your leg from the muffler, that gets hot and can burn you. Hold on to my waist and just try to relax."

Once Harry saw you placing your feet where he told you to, he turned back around and started the bike. After Harry took his seat you placed your hands lightly on his hips and watched as he watched oncoming traffic. Once he was good to go you could hear him say "Here we go." Before the engine of the bike kicked in and you were taking off. Naturally you couldn't help but cling tighter to his shirt as he weaved in and out of traffic. For the most part you were enjoying the ride but you didn't like how the bike seemed to tilt slightly when Harry took corners. When he stopped at lights you had to fight the urge to keep your feet where he told you to. To your surprise Harry was able to rest one foot down and hold the bike and both of you up while he waited for the light to change. Eventually he was driving out of town and that's when you really felt relaxed.

At first you were concerned when Harry picked up speed but it wasn't long before you felt your anxiety fly away in the wind. Yes the wind was a bit harsh on your face, but it almost felt like you were gliding.

Just as you were starting to feel stiff from the ride Harry pulled up to a house. Stopping next to the entrance Harry turned off the bike. Placing the kickstand down he slid from the bike and held his hand for you to take. Bringing your leg over you were surprised when they almost gave out on you. Pulling you into his arms Harry chuckled.

"Yeah, forgot to warn you. Riding for as long as we did can make your legs weak. So did my building technique meet your standards?"

Pushing away slightly you couldn’t help but feel that Harry was a lot more solid then you had imagined. And you couldn’t help but comment.

"Jesus Harry, what are you hiding under those suits?" Hearing Harry laughing loudly you couldn’t help but feel your face turn red. And you quickly changed the topic. "So where are we?"

"My place."

"Your place?"

"Yeah I told you I owed you dinner if we survived and I figured since I am covered in grease I figured I would just bring you here and cook for you. Is that okay?"

Feeling all your anxiety dropping on you once again you couldn’t help but just nod your head.

"Lot of surprises are coming from you Mr. Wells."

You couldn’t be sure but you thought you saw Harry’s face turn slightly red at the mention of Mr. Wells. But before you could actually look, Harry was turning around and leading you into the house. You always imagined that people who owned their own companies had large houses, but it turned out that wasn't true about Harry. His house was a small two story place. Walking into the kitchen you sat at the counter while he looked for food. After getting out what he needed he pointed at himself.

"I am going to go and change. I will be back in a hot minute. Wine is in the chiller next to the dishwasher and glasses are in that cabinet."

Turning to look where he was pointing you could hear Harry running up the stairs. By the time he had come back down you had selected a red wine and had the glasses poured. Hearing a sigh you turned as Harry came walking into the kitchen pulling his shirt down. Naturally this gave you a clear shot of his stomach and the well defined muscle he had. Even though he acted like nothing happened you knew that he had done that on purpose. So you decided to play back in hopes that you weren’t reading this all wrong.

“That was not cool Mr. Wells.”

You pouted just as Harry was taking a drink of his wine. After clearing his throat as he choked on it. You could see that saying Mr. Wells did in fact affect Harry, even though he tried to act like it didn’t.

“What wasn’t cool?”

Lowering your voice just slightly you lifted your wine glass to your lips. After taking a small sip you brought your lower lip between your teeth and bit lightly on it before answering.

“Showing me what you wear to bed.”

Setting his wine glass down you watched as Harry rubbed his neck and stepped closer to you. Once he was standing in front of you he placed one of his hands on your thigh. While he laid the other one on your cheek so that he could run his thumb over your lower lip.

“So it isn’t just me?”

Placing your hands over his you smiled as you looked him in the eyes.

“It isn’t just you.”

“Good.”

Almost instantly Harry was covering your mouth with his and just as quick he was running his tongue over your lips asking for entrance. Harry had just threaded his fingers into your hair when you heard a door opening and closing. You had split apart when a female voice called out.

“DAD.”

#the flash #harry wells x reader #harry wells

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af1899 · 3 years ago

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FEH - "The outside world...! So vast!" (+10 WIP Sophia mini-showcase and appreciation)

So, with the [Feh Pass] subscription, I've been auto battling as much as I could while doing whatever else and gather [Hero Feathers] to get all the [HM] I had yet to get, and it was absolutely worth it, although I've already spent like 300 out of my 900+ something [Stamina Bottles] in the [Forging Bonds] lmao, I have around 660 now.

But with the obtained [Hero Feathers] I merged up Tailtiu to +6 and...

Poggers

I'm happy to have finished merging Sophia at long last which makes of her my eleventh fully merged project soon after New Year Eir, her build is pretty much done but I'd be delighted to give her more premium stuff she can use in the future and make more builds, as well as giving her the remaining [Dragonflowers (I)] but I'm so close to fully boost Sonya and then I have to boost OG and Legendary Julia because of the post-[CYL 2021] update. 🥴

But her current build does wonders already, true, she's not impervious to nearly everything as it is, but I can give her some team support and the like, she's still great on her own.

Now, onto appreciation talk which includes describing her a little and explaining why I like her. I did this in one of my previous posts but it's time to review the info we have about her and expand on it. As always, feel free to read on (long read ahead)...

About Sophia

She's a half-dragon, half-human girl with the power of foresight, she's a priestess residing in Arcadia, a village that houses manaketes that survived one of the most vicious wars from past lore (The Scouring) located in the southwestern desertic region (Nabata) in Elibe, the continent on which the sixth and seventh Fire Emblem games take place in, she's a playable [Shaman] in the former and makes a minor appearance as a NPC near the end of the latter. Her class makes of her one of the two playable dark magic users in Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals (the other is the guy you're most likely to get while pulling on red stones in FEH, a.k.a. Raigh), and she gains access to basic staves after promoting to [Druid].

In her support convo with Niime, it's revealed that Sophia's father was human, meaning that her mother was a dragon, but neither's identity is ever known to the player. But despite this, she never transforms into a dragon, most likely because she never had her own stone to contain those powers. Being half-dragon also allows her to live much longer, but not as purebred manaketes/dragons.

She's fully self-aware of her heritage and doesn't let that bother her, she accepts both halves of herself which make of her a whole person.

She's somewhat important around the half of the game's duration as she helps a gravely injured Cecilia to at least tend to her wounds while waiting for Roy's army to rescue them as they were both thrown into a prison under Bern's control (the kingdom invading the other countries during the events of the game).

Sophia displays a shy and gentle personality, showing clear astonishmnet yet in a calm way when witnessing what the outside world is like and what it has to offer (beyond the village she's been living for around a century), this is most evidenced in her support dialogues with Igrene. She even feels similarly when wearing a new set of clothes, such as those of Embla in the World of Zenith, anytime after she joins the Order of Heroes.

«As long as I am with you... I can go anywhere...even a new country...»

― Sophia

She also mentions she was raised to avoid outsiders, and in the same aforementioned support convo, it's mentioned why.

«I understand what he's saying... The Dragons' powers could easily destroy entire countries. If the outsiders found out, they would surely fight over it. I've seen many conflicts like that in my life...»

― Igrene

And it's understandable why she feels that way after being raised by the elder of the village to do as told for decades. But in the end, she wants to work towards a world of peace where both dragons and humans live together without a war ever spreading out, and befriend other people, she's appreciative of other's kindness.

So... why do I like her?

Because she's purple-haired and most of her design has purple and I love purple soooooo much, that's all you need to know. :)

...Kidding kidding, that's not actually it, but it's in part true that I find her aesthetic pleasing, partially due to my passion for this color:

(Official artwork from FE6)

Her design is rather simple but so charming, clearly evidencing her shyness (see the way she holds her book and her facial expression), and feeling clean without going overboard on details.

Also, I find long, purple hair a rather rare yet dazzling sight, I always look at it in her artwork and remins me why I love her design.

True, her neck in Zaza's take on Sophia in Fire Emblem Heroes bothered me a little, mostly because her neck is a little long as seen above, but not as slim as long as Zaza has drawn her (it's still a decent artwork and the artist has made some really nice pieces later, look at Emmeryn), the style also felt a little off to me. But her Resplendent upgrade made Sophia look more cute and still being the one we know, doning a brand new attire.

(❶ Original by Zaza. | ❷ Resplendent by Miwabe Sakura)

But for me, it's pointless to be pretty if there's not a likeable personality behind the character in question, and Sophia has been proven to be really interesting, often a mysterious but shy girl, she's capable of kindness and finding comfort with outsiders like Kiran or Roy, when I see her, I always feel that she's so nice, never feeling bitterness towards any of her allies, just being shy due to how she's grown, but with a desire for friendship and peace pushing her forward, even slowly but surely, she's so lovely. 🥰

What's more, some of her quotes show she has a protective side, determined to stand up to help her allies but specially those she's close with, this eventually includes Kiran themselves.

Her voice in Fire Emblem Heroes is also really soothing, Wendee Lee has made such a delightful work giving new life to Sophia through her voice acting, there sure are differences between her work back in 2017 (Sophia is a launch unit, meaning she's been around ever since the game was live) and the work on the Resplendent in 2020, yet both are pretty consistent and equally pleasant to hear. But if I have to vouch for one or another, I give a point to the Resplendent voice acting, her voice can be heard with a little more depth and calmness to it than the original, which feels more natural.

And she's a dark magic practitioner but that doesn't make her evil at all, she's really pure actually. But I actually find dark magic most appealing out of any kind of weapon I have ever seen, the whole concept is cool, being always creepy and nefarious in nature, often portrayed in hues of black and dark purple.

And like, c'mon, this thing is amazing:

I wish that [Apocalypse] was her PRF weapon in Fire Emblem Heroes but neither Raigh nor Bramimond who's its OG owner got it and just got random PRFs instead.

Anyway, in short, I adore Sophia and it always makes me happy to turn a seemingly weak unit into a tough to crack cookie, love for favorites sure can take them far.

"And... as a unit?"

I've been trying her mainly against the foes she has advantage with, but I've been also trying her against red/blue units and sometimes she does a nice job holding them at bay, she has low speed even after all this investment but with buffing it's somewhat usable.

Yet I prefer to focus on her strengths, not weaknesses, and she stands as a fairly good magic tank, with the few extras she enjoys as a launch unit and full demote plus Resplendent skin since around the first weeks of the [Feh Pass].

I actually tried her here some time after posting this because I didn't notice the [Limited Hero Battle] for today requires you use FE6 units, so I went with my faves in the game and it was rather easy. 🙂 But it still took a little thinking.

"Who's the next +10 you have in mind?"

Hmm... actually gonna (at least try to) work on Lilina, another one of my Elibian favorites. I also have her Resplendent upgrade and could revamp her kit. 🤔

But she's currently +3 so her turn might take longer or someone's else may come before, Idk.

And then, hopefully someone I like out of the next potential Resplendent Heroes...!

#feh #fe heroes #fire emblem heroes #fire emblem #fire emblem sword of seals #fire emblem the binding blade #fe sophia #af1899-updates

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unfortunate-arrow · 4 years ago

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Day 6: F - Folklore.- Cara and Rowan

[Link to the challenge here.]

[Write about your otp+ in a fairy or folk tale style. Or: the otp+ shares their favorite folk tales and urban legends.]

~January 1998~

The wind howls, making the windows of the small cottage that Cara and Rowan are currently staying in rattle. The electricity’s out and they’ve got candles lit around them and a fire in the fireplace. They’re curled on the small loveseat with a blanket and soft folk music playing from a radio.

“What kind of fairy tales did you like as a child?” Rowan asks, suddenly.

Cara sighs and bites her lip. “My grandmother rewrote many old Irish tales. The selkies were always neat. The idea that you could doom a being by taking their coat or the idea that you could put a coat on and turn into a seal was always fascinating.”

“That’s a little dark, love.”

“Yeah, well. It’s still wild that banshees actually exist. Grandma wrote about them. What did you like?”

“I adored the Tales of Beedle the Bard.”

“We never really read them. Granddad and Grandma didn’t know them and neither did Dad.”

“We could read them. I think I have the one that Mum used to read to me and Ash in my bag.”

The two fell quiet again, hearing the howling wind mix with loud claps of thunder. Cara sighs and rests her head against Rowan’s. One of Rowan’s hands comes up to play with the short strands of Cara’s hair. She had cut it off in an impulsive move when Conor’s disappearance had first reached them. Rowan had known better than to try and stop her girlfriend.

“You must still miss them, huh?” Rowan asks.

“Yeah. Conor’s disappearance has made it creep up again. Plus Ryan’s started mumbling about Grandma’s engagement ring,” Cara answers.

“Maybe he’s started to think about proposing to Penny.”

“Oh god! Well, Sara and Barnaby are already married.”

“Bill’s also married.”

“Yeah. I guess we’re just getting old.”

“Yep. So, what other Irish tales did you find fascinating?”

“That’s an abrupt change, Ro.”

“I know, but I’d like to keep things light tonight. There’s so much doom and gloom, already. I mean we are currently in a safe house.”

“I guess that makes sense. Let me think about it for a few moments.”

They both fall quiet again, listening to the wind howl and the fire crackle. Rowan’s other hand moves to play with the edges of the blanket. She lets Cara rest her head against her shoulder, while Rowan continues playing with her girlfriend’s short hair.

“Ryan named his toad, Lir, after the myth of the children of Lir,” Cara says, breaking the silence a few moments later.

“What’s that about?” Rowan asks.

“Lir was a king who had four children and then his wife died. So, he married his wife’s sister. She turned the children into swans because she was jealous of the attention that the king gave to them. She made them live for 900 years as swans. The king was angry as she hadn’t taken their voices, so they told their father what she’d done to them. The 900 years were broken up, so they had to spend 300 years on three different lakes. Once they’d spent 900 years as swans, they were found by the ringing bells of Christianity, an old man, and another king. They turned back into children and began to age rapidly. They were baptized and so, they were preserved as the children of Lir.”

“Wow. That’s an interesting story. Why the hell did Ryan name his toad Lir then?”

“I don’t know. He’s weird.”

[The information about the myth of the children of Lir was found here.]

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #cara o'donnell #rowan khanna #cara x rowan #carowan #rowan x mc #rowan khanna x mc #30 day otp challenge #female!rowan khanna #my writing

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recentanimenews · 4 years ago

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FEATURE: How Much Has Kazuya Spent On Dates So Far?

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and for college student Kinoshita Kazuya, those desperate measures included stumbling onto a rental dating service app and booking a "date" with a rental girlfriend after being dumped by his lady love and left heartbroken. One thing eventually leads to another and Kazuya constantly finds himself lying to his friends and family about having a sweetheart, but when in actuality, Chizuru Mizuhara is just a rental girlfriend. Not only has Kazuya's lie become chaotic and way out of control, but it's also become an EXPENSIVE lie to keep up with. Chizuru has to maintain her job's reputation and professionalism, and although she's doing Kazuya a solid, those dates aren't free. Let's check out just how much Kazuya is burning a hole in his pocket.

In Episode 1 "Rent-a-Girlfriend," Kazuya is so heartbroken from being dumped, he decides to book a date with a rental girlfriend. According to the app, the base fee per hour is 5,000 yen, roughly $48, but we don't get much more information about any other fees at that point. On their first date, Kazuya and Chizuru go to a cafe and aquarium, and it's at the cafe Chizuru requests payment and we see Kazuya hand Chizuru four 10,000 yen bills which roughly equals $383. The date goes on and seems to be going well until Kazuya reads Chizuru's reviews and realizes his date wasn't so special.

Kazuya decides to book a second date out of spite. While Kazuya pays Chizuru upfront like the previous date, we don't really see just how much Kazuya is paying this time around, but seeing as both dates are essentially the same, taking place at the same cafe and aquarium, I'd reasonably think Kazuya spent about the same amount of money, $383 for his second date as well.

In Episode 2 "Ex-Girlfriend and Girlfriend," Kazuya's grandmother wants him and Chizuru to visit her at the hospital weekly. Because Kazuya isn't ready to reveal the secret just yet, he and Chizuru come to an agreement that Kazuya can rent Chizuru for one hour every week. As they get ready to go on their first scheduled "date," Chizuru hits Kazuya with a 12,000 yen bill plus taxes, which just about equals $115. The receipt also offers some insight into how the service fees are broken down. For this date, in particular, Kazuya is paying the base fee which is the hourly fee of 5,000 yen (about $48). Kazuya is also charged a 2,000 yen (about $19) transportation fee, and a 5,000 yen (about $48) choice fee, also known as a nomination or selection fee. The choice fee is charged when clients want to select a specific "girlfriend" to go out with.

This next date was going well and just about wrapping up when Kazuya and Chizuru run into Kazuya's friends Kibe and Kuribayashi. In a panic, Kazuya introduces Chizuru as his girlfriend, and in order to keep his secret under wraps, Chizuru continues on with the date business as usual. This little panic move came at a cost though, and Kazuya ended up paying 17,000 yen, or roughly $163 in extension fees. Yikes!

By Episode 4 "Friend and Girlfriend," keeping up this fake girlfriend charade was really starting to take a toll on Kazuya, both mentally and financially, but what better way to take his mind off of the whole situation than going to the beach with his friends? The day was going great until Kazuya runs into Chizuru — who was disguising herself as her college persona, Ichinose — and after a close run-in with Mami almost discovering Chizuru's alter ego, Kazuya now finds himself at the beach with his "girlfriend." This date was completely unscheduled, but as I previously said, desperate times call for desperate measures, and 25,000 yen or roughly $240 later as calculated by Kazuya, he was able to keep his secret safe.

By Episode 6, "Girlfriend and Girlfriend," Kazuya has already attempted to try and set the record straight and "break up" with Chizuru so they could both move on. But of course, the situation was never that easy, and Kazuya and Chizuru make an arrangement where they can keep pretend dating so long as Kazuya adheres to some rules ... which include payment.

After reintroducing their relationship to Kazuya's friends, Kazuya receives a bill for 17,900 yen or just about $172 plus taxes. This bill was broken down as 5,000 yen (about $48) for 2 hours, a 5,000 yen (about $48) choice fee, a 2,000 yen (about $19) transportation fee, and a 900 yen (about $9) food and beverage charge. The 900 yen food and beverage charge is something to make note of since in addition to all the standard service fees, the client also pays for everything while on the date ... everything! Those additional expenditures aren't included in the service price and so, depending on the date, that can add up really quickly.

It's not long after Kazuya and Chizuru re-establish their "relationship" that they already find themselves scheduling their next date. After Kazuya and Chizuru run into Kazuya's friend Kuribayashi, they find themselves preparing their sports gear as Kuribayashi sets up a double date with them and his girlfriend, Ruka to go bouldering. The cost of this date is not exactly clear. The date itself seemed fairly average with no crazy transportation fees or extended hours, so I don't think it was one of the more expensive bills Kazuya picked up, but again, it's difficult to confirm just how much this date set him back.

It may be the New Year by Episode 9 "Lies and Girlfriend," but there's nothing new when it comes to Kazuya and Chizuru's "relationship." This episode starts off with Kazuya and Chizuru on a casual cafe date, and like the double date with Kuri and Ruka, the price of this date is not clearly stated. Because this is a cafe date, I was able to compare this date with the previously established 17,900 yen or $172 cafe date. Seeing as Chizuru was drinking coffee, it felt reasonable to include the 900 yen (about $9) food and beverage fee in the total. Later on, Kazuya's family sets up a trip to visit a shrine and eat dinner for the New Year. In order to keep up with the image, Chizuru agrees to accompany Kazuya on the trip. Again, like the bouldering date and the previously mentioned cafe outing, the official cost of this trip isn't really known. However, Kazuya does mention this trip would be about half of a day. I can only assume the price would be much higher seeing as the date extends multiple hours and there could be some extra charges for food and shrine souvenirs.

The money's starting to add up and with Kazuya only having so much cash to start with, he needed to find a job if he wanted to keep this scam going. In Episode 10 "Friend's Girlfriend," Kazuya receives his first paycheck. Based on the manga, Kazuya was left with 40,000 yen (about $383) after paying all the bills. So how does Kazuya choose to spend the rest of that sweet, sweet paper? Well, scheduling a "date" with Chizuru is definitely on the table, but after seeing how badly his friend Kuribayashi is feeling after being ousted by Ruka revealing he rented her, Kazuya decides to share his own secret with Kuri by setting him up on a date with Chizuru. Considering Kazuya was wondering what to spend the rest of his paycheck on, and the fact Kazuya set up the date at an amusement park, which requires ticket costs among other things, it makes sense the whole 40,000 yen which equals just about $383 would be spent. So how much money has Kazuya spent to keep up this rouse exactly? Based on what the anime shows us, I could plausibly conclude Kazuya spent a little more than $2,000 on all these dates. But this total really only sums up the standard service fees from the dates we see, not really any of the extra expenses that come while on the date. When you take into account all of the taxes, all the extra costs spent on whatever activities the date called for, and the fact Chizuru has been playing the role of Kazuya's girlfriend for about a year as we found out in Episode 12 "Confession and Girlfriend," the actual amount must be SO much more!

How much money do you think Kazuya has spent so far? Let us know in the comments!

Pro hero Veronica Valencia is an anime-loving hot sauce enthusiast! You can follow more of her work as a host, writer, and producer on Twitter and Instagram.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Veronica Valencia

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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aka-efirg · 4 years ago

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tainted marks

several days after chuuya got out of edgar's book, dazai breaks into his apartment

trigger: implied/referenced self-harm

ao3

Various objects were floating inside the apartment, a faint red glowing around them. With each whimper, the objects seemed to be more and more crushed, until some of them were totally squashed. And with each abrupt movement, the objects were moved around. But when the sound of a window opening could be heard, all the objects stilled briefly before everything – going from the spoon floating in the apartment to the chair in the bar 900 meters further away – trembled.

The tremor stopped only when Chuuya opened his eyes, waking up from what he was dreaming about. Though, he didn’t get the time to think about it because of the presence he could feel inside his apartment. Despite his mind still befuddled by sleep, he knew who it was. Since there was only one person crazy – or suicidal – enough to break into a Mafia executive’s apartment. So he blinked several times to hopefully get rid of the sleepiness. Dealing with Dazai while tired was just a disaster bound to happen.

He sighed and stood up, slightly wincing in discomfort. And grumbled internally because he was pretty sure Dazai now knew he was awake. Well then, best to go to confront the demon. He didn’t bother to make himself more presentable and just headed toward the living room. And as expected, Dazai was there, standing in the middle of the room and looking around at all the objects which were now lying on the floor. He turned his head when he sensed he wasn’t alone anymore.

Chuuya was about to gently ask him what he was doing here when he spotted several dark stains on the other’s clothes. And considering who he was facing, it wasn’t hard to deduce what they were. So instead of yelling, he switched the lights on, taking pleasure in the barely noticeable but still present wince appearing on Dazai’s face. The light provided him the confirmation the stains were indeed blood. He scowled when he took the other’s general appearance before sighing. He really didn’t have the energy to deal with his ex-partner.

“What the fuck happened to you?” He couldn’t help but say aloud. Before Dazai could answer – which would have probably angered him –, he added. “Come on asshole.” And without waiting for the other to talk, he turned around, back to his room. He felt relief when he heard the brown following him. Which made him frown. Since when Dazai was obedient like that?

Once in the room, he looked back at Dazai who was still silent. A little too silent for it to be comfortable. A silent Dazai rarely suggested something good. And fuck, wasn’t he too tired and out of it to deal with that.

“Now, sit the fuck down and strip!”

He pointed at his bed before heading toward his closet to take out a box and going back to the bed. Fortunately, Dazai was already seated, his clothes removed. And now, Chuuya could clearly see the stains of blood, contrasting with the white bandages. Without saying anything, he climbed on the bed and placed himself behind the detective.

Carefully, he started undoing the bandages and winced at the too familiar gestures. When all the bandages were undone, with Dazai having say no word yet, he barely looked at all the faded marks on the back, preferring to focus on the newest addition.

The wound was still fresh and looked inflamed. Probably because the stupid asshole didn’t take care of it correctly. And also. “When was the last time you changed your bandages ? They’re dirty as fuck. You know what, don’t answer, I don’t care.” Which he knew Dazai knew it was a lie. He wouldn’t be changing them if he truly didn’t care. But luckily the brown didn’t call him out.

He took out a gauze from the box and soaked it with disinfectant before applying it on the wound, followed by medicated cream. Then he got off the bed and knelt down before Dazai. The wound there was in the same state as the one on his back. He repeated his actions.

Once this was taken care of, he focused on the arms. These wounds were so familiar he wanted to scream. The red lines were taunting him. Dancing with white faint lines. Without uttering a word, he stood up and went to the bathroom, dampening a cloth, and came back to the bedroom. He washed the blood, allowing him to access the extent of the damage. The cuts thankfully weren’t too deep and would heal quickly. He then started cleaning them as well.

Silence was beginning to be unnerved and Dazai hadn’t spoken yet. Not a word. Not a sound. Nothing. He had just obediently followed Chuuya’s orders. Almost like a dog. And if Chuuya was in the mood, he would have laughed at the irony. But right now, his mind was too far away and he was working on autopilot. Clean. Access. Disinfect. Bandage. Again for the other arm. And once finished, put new bandages. Wrap it tightly – but not too much – around the stomach. Then the chest. The shoulders. The chest again. And the neck.

He was now back on the bed, behind Dazai. And while he was tidying the stuff back into the box, he felt two lanky arms closing around him before being pressed against a familiar chest. He must have been more out than he thought because his first instinct wasn’t punching, but snuggling. When he realized what he was doing, he froze. Which didn’t seem to deter his ex-partner since he just tightened his grip. And fucking nuzzled his nose against his neck, just below his choker. Soon he felt legs resting around his hips, trapping him fully into Dazai’s grasp.

For several minutes, none of them moved. For a moment Chuuya almost forgot who they were now and was practically back when they were teenagers and they would spend the night, snuggled against each other. Or after a particularly difficult mission. Moments like those hadn’t been very commun but Chuuya would lie if he said he didn’t miss them.

He jolted from his thoughts when he felt a light kiss on his neck. And another on his jaw. Looked like Dazai was coming back from where he’d lost himself. Butterfly kisses kept appearing on his skin and he was finding it more and more difficult to breathe. But at the same time, he couldn’t move away. After the days passed in the book, without nothing to anchor him, he needed this contact. Dazai had always been able to ground him, just as much as he had been able to ground Dazai when the latter was spiraling down.

The more kisses there were, the more difficult he found it to breathe but the more human he started feeling again. And wasn’t this the most beautiful irony. No Longer Human washing over him, again and again, was what allowed him to reconnect with his human side. He vaguely wondered if Dazai was aware of it. He probably was. But then again, for all the genius he was, sometimes Dazai was unable to see what was right in front of him.

When it was starting to feel too much, he tried to extricate himself but Dazai tightened his members around him with enough strength it started hurting. Light kisses became more teethy. It was as if Dazai was trying to consume him. He was completely trapped. Bruising grasp. Biting kisses. And part of him was refusing to do anything to get away. He closed his eyes, an attempt to block what was happening. He could feel tears building behind his lids due to the excess of sensations, of emotions… of everything.

“Neh Chuuya, what were you dreaming about?”

Dazai’s voice was soft and barely audible, even with his mouth so close to his ear. Chuuya opened his eyes and tried to turn his head to look at the brown but his position made it impossible for him to do so. The kisses had stopped and he could feel Dazai’s breathing brushing against his sensitive skin. He was so focused on that he nearly forgot the question. Dazai’s first words since coming and it was no taunt or anything similar.

“Nothing.”

“Chibi shouldn’t lie, it would be no good for his height. And you obviously dreamed about something. You created a quake for one kilometer around. And if it was because you were angry, there would have been more damage. Plus there are lots of broken and crushed things in your living room – and probably in the other rooms –. I know things like that happen when you’re dreaming.”

“Stop talking.”

One kiss just above the choker. “I thought Chibi wanted me to talk.” Teeth on his lob and Chuuya just went limp in Dazai’s arms.

“Why are you here?” He asked tiredly. As much he had needed and wanted the contact, he wasn’t ready for dealing with his ex-partner. He didn’t even have the force to be properly angry.

“I asked first.”

“What are you ? A child?” He felt more than he saw Dazai opening his mouth. “One word about my height and say goodbye to your nose.” Faint laugh tickled against his skin, sending shivers across his body. “And I’ve answered.”

“Not really no.”

And the situation was so familiar it was uncomfortable. But at the same time, it was so familiar it was comfortable.

“You remember what my first memory is?” He had to wait several seconds before feeling a weak nod. “Nothing. No existence. No sensation. No emotion. Barely aware. It’s what I was dreaming about. Being nothing more than a concept, existing without existing. Do you know how terrifying it is to be reminded of something like that?”

“I can imagine.” And if that didn’t make it worse.

“So why did you do this to me?” He felt Dazai tense, his grip tighter around him. Probably hurting his arms by doing so. “You know I need my ability. You know how much my own power takes a toll on me. How I need my ability so I can bear it. And yet, your plan involved sending me in a world where there are no abilities.” It was getting harder and harder to breathe. And he couldn’t figure out if it was because of his own growing anxiety and the arms around him squeezing him more and more. Yet he couldn’t stop talking. “The two first days had been fine. But the more time I spent without my ability to anchor me, the more everything became numb. At a point I was so desperate to escape that I started just killing. I mean, it was fifty-fifty chance of the character being a killer. Which, you guessed, did not help at all. If I had passed one day more inside this fucking book, I would have been back to square one. Only existing to kill and destroy. Even now, I have to fight the fucking instinct to destroy everything around me.”

“Chuuya…”

“When I came out of the book, I was so close to do it. And I’m not sure it would have been deliberately. It was just… so overwhelming. Barely hanging on my humanity one moment, and the next, having all this power ready to strike if I let it. Is it something you can imagine?”

No answer. Typical. Trust Dazai to not say a word when it was the most inconvenient. “You know what? Forget about it. It’s not like you care anyway.” The only reaction he got was a sharp inhale. Once again, he went to extirpate himself but like the other times, something stopped him. This time it was a hand pressed against his stomach. Under his shirt. Anger engulfed him for one second before remembering one detail.

“Why are you wearing bandages?”

Fuck . That was probably the one thing he didn’t want Dazai to know about. But, of course, with everything that was happening, he had forgotten. Truly he hadn’t even thought it would have been an issue. Yet this was Dazai he was talking about. So naturally it did become an issue. He snapped. “None of your business.”

“Are you trying to copy me?”

“Why the fuck would I do that? Who in their right mind would want to look like a freaking mummy?”

“Yet Chuuya has bandages around his stomach – and probably his chest too –. So if not for the aesthetic, why?”

“Like I said, none of your business.”

The hand pressed harder. “You’re not hurt.”

“Just leave it alone, asshole!” He started thrashing around, attempting to get out. But his efforts seemed vain as the ex-mafioso only curled around him even more. He didn’t understand. Physically he was stronger than the brown.Who was also hurt. And Chuuya could hear the faint whimpers of pain each time his elbows connected with the other’s ribs. Yet Dazai managed to hold on. Even when he almost headbutted him in his nose. Twice.

Several minutes passed until Dazai seemed to get bored. His hand, previously put around the redhead’s torso, moved toward his neck before encircling it without hesitation and applying enough pressure for it to be quite uncomfortable but not enough to hurt. And just like that the anger that had taken over Chuuya for the last minutes disappeared. His arms went limp, resting on the other’s legs, and he slumped into Dazai’s chest, his head slightly backward exposing his throat.

Without removing his hand, Dazai brought the smaller’s head on his shoulder, his other hand still secured around the bandaged stomach. He waited a moment for Chuuya to calm down. Once he was sure he wouldn’t attack him, he released his grip on the neck and couldn’t resist hooking two fingers under the choker and pulling a little. His action earned him a light groan.

Chuckling he removed his fingers to instead grab the hem of the other’s pyjama top. He started to remove it, taking his time to let the redhead stop him if he wanted. Then he discarded the cloth next to him. Now he could plainly see the smaller’s back wrapped in white bandages. Seeing how Chuuya was tensed, he put his hands on his shoulders and started rubbing his thumbs. He could feel him stiffening a little more before the muscles began relaxing. He kept going until the redhead was almost pliant under his hands.

Slowly he reached the knot securing the bandages and loosened it. He halted his movements and started undoing the white stripes when he got no complaint. The gestures were methodical, without hesitation. Almost reassuring. As soon as he caught sight of bits of skin, he frowned. Maybe it was the lack of light or the tiredness but the skin looked darker than it should have been.

He barely managed to prevent making any noise in surprise and could only gape at the view in front of him. Bruise-like marks were marring his back and probably his chest as well. He could see lines tracing patterns on the fair skin. Familiar patterns. Maybe a little too much. He brought his hand closer and started tracing the motives with his forefinger, causing goosebumps spreading from the top to the bottom of the back.

When the astonishment wore down, he finally realized the marks had not disappeared the moment his skin had entered in contact with Chuuya’s skin when the latter had treated him. He wondered if Chuuya had noticed it but decided to keep it quiet for now. Even though he was sure practically it was the case. No matter what he could say, he knew the redhead wasn’t stupid. And Chuuya was probably the more accustomed to his ability.

“They’re fading.” The mumble brought him back to reality.

“What?”

“The marks. They were more vivid when I came out the book. They should disappear in two or three days. When I first noticed them, I didn't know what they were. I mean, I've never seen myself when I'm using Corruption. Then I remembered how you described it to me. So I promptly panicked. Until I realized I could think rationally. Which led to another kind of freak out. It must have taken a whole day before I managed to calm myself enough to… Well, at the end of the day, I had twenty-ish missed calls and as many as messages. The day after, I bandaged myself and went to work. Fortunately the marks didn’t spread on my arms and my face. So it was easy to hide. I don’t know if anyone suspect a thing. Maybe the boss and Ane-san, considering how they were staring at my chest. Probably how you’re currently doing so.”

And staring Dazai was. But how Chuuya could blame him for it. The only times Dazai had seen such marks were during the use of Corruption when he couldn’t really observe them with attention. Never did he imagine he could trace them with his fingertips. He spent several minutes just brushing the marred skin, as if hypnotized. Meanwhile, Chuuya wasn’t moving. That was not how he thought he would spend the night.

“They’re still there.” Chuuya turned his head slightly to shoot a look that Dazai could only interpret as insulting and annoyed. “They didn’t disappear when you touched me earlier.” When the look he received got even more unimpressed, he added. “It means it doesn’t come from your ability.”

The redhead huffed. “Yeah, I figured as much. I didn’t feel anything unordinary when I treated you. Which doesn’t reassure me at all.” And Dazai could only agree. It seemed it was making the mafioso rather anxious.

“Did something happen? In the book I mean.” It was only his reflexes that saved him from the punch thrown at his face. He grabbed the extended wrist before maneuver both of them into a lying position. Chuuya was now on his back, Dazai straddling him and his wrist still held. He glared at the brown while trying to free his hand. When he moved his second hand, it ended like the other. Now he was completely trapped under Dazai and his ability was still nullified.

“Oi shitty Dazai, let me go!”

“Sorry, I don’t really want to be punched tonight.”

“You do? So stop talking rubbish and get out of my apartment!”

“I’m serious Chibi.”

“So am I.” He struggled and tried hitting the brown with his feet but it made no different, the detective only budging a little before securing his legs on the top of the smaller ones. “Shitty mackerel, get the fuck off me! What do you even want, ha? You were bored so you decided to cut yourself and come bothering me? Playing with me? Do you have fun? Do you find it funny how you seem to always have the upperhand?”

The hands around his wrists were starting to hurt which he chose to ignore. His emotions were all around and he didn’t know if what he was feeling was anger or sadness or worry. Since the book, he hadn’t totally reconnect with his emotions yet. And Dazai had always had the habit to make a mess of his emotions. But now it was worst. He felt like crying and yelling at the same time. He wanted to punch his ex-partner as much as he wanted to hug him and never let him go.

“Is it what you think?” Hearing the tone with which it was said, Chuuya stilled and locked his eyes into Dazai’s ones and felt like the latter had punched him in the stomach. Empty eyes were bored into his and he felt like he was going to be wholly swallowed. All the anger dissipated, leaving him drained from the emotional roller coaster he was experiencing.

He could hear his heart beating loudly, the only sound in the room. The switch had been so abrupt he didn’t know what to think about it. He opened his mouth to say something but the words were replaced by a screech when teeth broke the skin of his shoulder. Blood was running down his shoulder to end on his bed. He felt a little annoyance at that but was too dumbstruck to react. But then Dazai started licking and sucking the bite, almost like an apology.

Before he could properly let Dazai know what he thought about that, the latter collapsed on the top of him, his face in the crook of his neck. He let out a deep sigh. Clearly yelling would be no use.

“You’re awfully clingy today?” The other only hummed in response. “O-kay. Could you please let go of my hands? It’s starting to get uncomfortable.” He glanced the hand holding his wrist. “For you as well. You’re hurt. Don’t worsen your wounds, idiot.”

Probably to annoy him, Dazai tightened his grip for a while before he eventually let go. Chuuya rubbed absent-mindedly his wrists above his head. Dazai was stronger than he appeared. As for the brown, he had brought his hands down and was now playing with his hair, occasionally scratching his scalp. And fuck if it wasn’t smoothing. Adding the grounding weight on his chest. And the reassuring sensation of nothingness.

He was almost lured towards sleep when he remembered the exact situation he was in. But it seemed neither of them wanting to make a move. And he prefered dealing with Dazai like this rather than his emotionless self. But unfortunately they couldn’t stay like that indefinitely. He brought one of his hands to the head nestled against him and slapped it more kindly than he wanted.

“Okay asshole, time to move!” When the other didn’t move and kept playing with his hair, he frowned. “Mackerel, get off me. We can’t stay like th–”

“Why not? I’m pretty comfortable here.” He interrupted the redhead while snuggling further into his neck, as if to prove a point.

“We’re both bare-chested. We’re gonna be cold and fall sick.”

“Chibi doesn’t get sick.”

“Maybe but you on the other hand can.”

“I have my bandages on. So not bare-chested.”

His nostrils flared in annoyance. “And you think it’s going to prevent you from getting cold.”

“It probably won’t. But Chuuya’s warm. So no problem.” He started rubbing his head, knowing perfectly the gesture could easily bring to sleep. “Now relax. You’re warm, I’m comfortable and I haven’t slept for two days.”

“Ha?! Don’t you dare to fall asleep! Especially on me!”

The hand left his hair and he was rather mortified when he felt disappointment at the action. He tucked his head to the side, as if to hide his embarrassment. His nose met brown hair and he felt his cheeks burning when he heard the faint chuckle. He then felt the blanket he had pushed aside earlier being put on them. Once it was in place, Dazai brought back his hand where it was. Dazai also slightly shifted to the side so he wasn’t completely on the smaller anymore. Chuuya, seeing protesting would lead nowhere, put his hand on the other back and started tracing motives and playing with the bandages, being careful not to undo them. And for the first time since the book, the lack of his ability didn’t seem like a burden.

#bungou stray dogs #nakahara chuuya #dazai osamu #soukoku #soft soukoku #my writing

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