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solynaceawrites · 4 years

Text

The ABCs of Demonology [1]: Aftercare

Fandom: Devil May Cry Characters: Dante, fem!Reader Tags: NSFW Alphabet, Drabble Collection, Smut, Fluff, Established Relationship, Aftercare Chapters: 1/26 Summary: A series of drabbles based on the-coldest-goodbye's NSFW Alphabet template. Each drabble has a different theme, but all of them star Dante Sparda.

Hello, and welcome to The ABCs of Demonology, a drabble collection I’ve been toying around with for a while. I wanted to do some fun, short things for Dante while I work on my longer fics, and thought there was no better way than this! I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I have writing them!

»»————-　⚜　————-««

Dante has lived a rough life. It’s one of the things you noticed long before he ever told you, a suspicion founded in the walls a mile thick he kept between himself and the people around him, even the ones he’d known for a long time. Sure, he might open up a bit every now and then, when Patty came to visit or Nero was talking about his latest job and you’d catch that barely there curl to his lips born from genuine affection and pride, but, for the most part, he rarely showed anything other than a devil-may-care nonchalance coupled with a biting wit. Hell, you hadn’t known he’d been interested in getting into your pants until he’d had you pinned to the top of his desk.

And you were usually pretty good about catching those sorts of signs.

But those jagged edges were just as apparent in your lovemaking and the moments after as they were in the rest of his life, at least in the beginning. The foreplay was quick, the sex brutal, and his version of aftercare was tossing you a towel and telling you where the aspirin was before heading out to a job or for food. It made you ache, and not in a good way, your chest tightening and an uncomfortable, prickling heat spreading through your veins: embarrassment and a dash of humiliation at how little you must have meant to him to get nothing more than the absolute minimum of courtesy.

It had come to a head one night. You, tired of feeling not enough—you might have had your share of one-night stands and flings, but you made damn sure that they felt cared for and loved when you left—and him, telling you to leave if you didn’t like it. You called his bluff, and there was a two-month period of time where you saw neither hide nor hair of the Legendary Devil Hunter. Patty had dropped by your apartment a few times to tell you that he was hurting, more waspish than usual and drowning in cheap beer and pizza grease, and you’d told her that he’d made his bed and he could lie in it. So imagine your surprise when you’d gotten a text one night when you were spoon deep in a pint of ice cream with a cheesy black-and-white film on the television warning you Dante was on his way over.

The only reason you’d let him in was the giant bag of take-out he held up as an offering. It was all food from your favorite place, an Italian joint with the best alfredo you’d ever had in your life, and he’d pulled out the containers of pasta and bread and soup and cheesecake and set them all out nice and pretty on your chipped dining room table. You’d had a bottle of wine that worked well enough, and even two candles, and the two of you had eaten in a silence that felt heavy with anticipation, broken only by requests for a napkin or the salt. He’d waited until you were done to talk, and you’d listened as he apologized, a fumbling, earnest plea for forgiveness, a promise to do better. No excuses, not that he was prone to giving them, and the conversation that followed was genuine. An airing of grievances, so to speak, and he’d listened as you told him how you’d been feeling, how you didn’t want him to be anyone else, just a clear idea of what you meant to him.

After that, Dante had taken steps to improve. It was slow, at times, human fragility strange to him, but he tried, and that’s all that mattered to you. And he surprised you, too, with how much he already knew about you and your needs, something that led him to admit how much he watched you whenever you were around.

“Hey,” he murmurs. You rouse yourself from your dozing ruminations on the past to find him settling next to the tub, a bottle of water in one hand that he sets on the floor as he kneels. “How ya feeling?”

You take the aspirin he offers gratefully, swallowing them dry. “Worn out,” you answer, and he chuckles and dips a hand into the bath to stroke over your thigh. “This is nice, though.”

He perks up, a pleased shine to his eyes that brings a boyish charm to his features. It’s one of the reasons you love him, you think, the eagerness to earn your approval that had come the longer the two of you were together, the more the walls crumbled between you. “Yeah? Good. You plannin’ to soak for a while?”

“If I do, I’ll fall asleep.”

Dante chuckles. “Probably shouldn’t. C’mon, let’s get you into bed.”

You offer no resistance when he lifts you from the tub to set you on your feet in front of him, and he remains on his knees as he carefully dries you off, planting a kiss to the red marks at your wrists. The towel he uses is warm, probably fresh from the dryer, and you’re yawning and swaying by the time he’s done. In fact, you’re pretty boneless when he scoops you up again, cradling you to his chest, which you nuzzle as he carries you into the bedroom and deposits you gently on the sheets, which are clean and soft. From the corner of your eye, you spy the ones that had been on the bed near the closet, but you’re distracted from the reprimand bubbling to your lips when Dante settles next to you and pulls the blanket around you both, an arm holding you snugly to his side. His lips whisper over your hair as you settle, using his shoulder as a pillow and draping a leg over his thighs, and you can’t even find the energy to complain when he shifts to grab the remote.

“Casablanca?” he asks, and you nod, already half-asleep. “Hell yeah.”

Dante’s had a rough life. But his love is genuine and warm, and the care he shows you now speaks volumes to how important you are to him.

#dmc #devil may cry #dante sparda #dante/reader #dante x reader #dmc fanfic #dmc fanfiction #writing #drabble #myfic #abcs of demonology

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recurring-polynya · 3 years

Note

hello ms. polynya! if you are still taking drabble requests and are in the mood for it, I would love to see more of the mall AU (yes, THAT mall AU lmao). bonus points for more omnidirectional horny teenage pining, because that first mall AU drabble nearly made me cry laughing and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. p.s. re: that fanfic author meme—my favorite story of yours is hold on, hold on! closely followed by call me back when the war is over :)

(cont’d)

mall au anon again, realizing I forgot to send like half of what I wanted to request because I got too excited (durr hurr): would love the ensemble cast/lieutenant goon squad because I really enjoy how you riff off of these characters, and/or renji and izuru being dumb friends and also wrangling their Big Crushes. no pressure to fill this though, thanks for being wonderful and generous 💖

I saved this one ‘til last so I would have something to look forward to. I love the Mall Goths AU, it is my greatest pleasure in life to write a bunch of undead shonen badasses as dorky teens trying to ask their crushes to prom.

Thank you to @alopexplasma, who came up with the name of Renji's car. I compulsively write Renji driving a Camaro in every AU I can conceivably shoehorn it into, and somehow, the incredibly obvious name never occurred to me. I am a moron.

Read on ao3 or ff.net

(if you haven’t read the original, read Ch 7 first, either site will do)

💘 💌 💘

Renji folded his hands on his knees and leaned forward, regarding Izuru very, very seriously. “Look, as you know, I don’t have any money, or... connections, or… well, anything, really, but you know that if you got cancer or were in a car wreck or something, any organs that I have two of, like kidneys or lungs? One of them would be yours, man. Bone marrow? I have so much bone marrow, and you can have as much of it as you want.”

“You know,” Momo pointed out, setting two paper cups down on the table, “if you marry Rukia someday, you will be absolutely rolling in it. I brought you coffee.”

“I assume she would want a pre-nup,” Renji replied very philosophically. “Which I respect.”

Izuru rolled his eyes and picked up his coffee. Just before taking a sip, he remembered. “Is this just the sludge that collects at the bottom of the airpot again?”

“Could be,” Momo tried to sound innocent.

“Oh, boy, my favorite!” Renji announced. “It’s so good, you just have to put, like, six creamers in. You want some creamers, Izuru?”

“I’ll pass,” Izuru said, pushing the coffee away. “Why can’t we do this in the game store, again?”

“Because Rukia hangs out at the game store!”

Instead, they were in the Barnes and Noble, where Momo worked in the cafe. Nothing personal to Momo, but Izuru hated the Barnes and Noble. It felt so bland and corporate, and smelled like new carpet, and he always felt like he should buy something if he was going to hang out there (not that he ever did). Besides, the couch was comfier at the game store.

“Just do this for him,” Momo implored, while Renji dug through the creamers, trying to find six that matched.

“It’s not that I don’t want to do it,” Izuru explained. “It’s that I think it’s a bad idea. You have been friends with Rukia since, what, fifth grade?”

“Third grade.”

“Third grade. Right. You sit next to her in class. You eat lunch with her. You talk to her all the time. Just say, ‘hey, Rukia, I really like you, will you go to prom with me?’ There’s no way she can look into your dumb puppy eyes and say no. Tell him, Momo.”

“Izuru’s certainly right about the puppy eyes.”

Renji sighed. “You don’t know Rukia like I do. Her family doesn’t do affection at all, and talking about feelings really scares her. If I ask her point blank like that, she’ll get defensive, and she won’t speak to me for a month, and she won’t go to prom at all, and then I’ll have to third-wheel Ikkaku and Yumichika.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Izuru pointed out. “You could…” he waved a hand vaguely. “You could take Momo.”

Momo shook her head. “Nanao and the Kotetsu sisters and I agreed to go together as gal pals,” she explained. “You could be a gal pal with us, I suppose, but only if you’re willing to coordinate outfits. You do look good in aqua.”

“Thanks,” Renji replied glumly. “Hey, I thought Rangiku was in your group, too?”

“Oh, she got a date.”

Izuru sniffed, pretending to be disinterested. If Shuuhei had finally gotten up the courage to ask Rangiku, then good for him.

“That upperclassman with the silver hair, Gin, asked her. He seems a little creepy to me, but she really likes him, and he’s friends with Aizen-sempai, so he must be a decent guy.”

Kira’s hands tightened on his knees. “She’s not going with Shuuhei?”

Renji gave him a look.

“Shuuhei says prom is lame and he’s not going,” Momo shrugged.

“I see,” Izuru frowned. “I mean, he’s not wrong.”

“He is wrong!” Renji protested. “Prom rocks. You wear fancy outfits and buy flowers for the person you like and there’s some insane theme, like Arabian Nights or Haunted Halloween Castle. You slow dance to ‘Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing’ by Aerosmith, and when it’s over you go get pancakes. What part of that isn’t awesome?”

“This year’s theme is ‘Lifetimes Past,’” Momo dryly informed him.

“Exactly. In any case, I have dreamed of taking Rukia to prom for years, are you going to help me write her a love letter or not?”

Izuru groaned. “I don’t know why Rukia gets such crummy grades, because she’s actually very smart. She is definitely going to be able to tell that you didn’t write this.”

“I know that! You think I don’t know how smart she is? Look, I just want you to write it all nice in Kira-speak, and then I’ll translate it into dumbass. Just help me get my thoughts together. You know I don’t word good, but I really think that writing it out and giving her a chance to process it on her own is the best way to go about this.”

Momo turned sad eyes on Izuru, not that his resolve wasn’t already crumbling. Abarai was a goon and a bonehead, but his devotion to his long-time best friend was tooth-rottingly sweet. Izuru would feel like a villain in a Christmas special if he said no.

“Fine. Fine. But I want you to help me get the Festiva running again and I get to approve whatever it is you’re planning on wearing to prom. It better have sleeves, for one thing.”

“Deal!” Renji replied, his face splitting into a huge grin.

Izuru turned to a clean page in his writing notebook and licked the tip of his pen. “Dear Rukia,” he narrated.

“No! Don’t put her name!”

“Don’t put her name?”

“No names. I have seen a lot of teen movies, and notes like these always end up in the wrong hands. Rukia would die if something like that happened. Or if her brother found it, he would straight up murder me and then I wouldn’t get to go to prom.”

Izuru blinked at him. “Fine. No names.” He tapped his pen against the page. “ ‘We have been friends for a long time, and I feel that the time has come for me to make a clean breast of it. You are the most important person in my life. I am utterly besotten--”

“Er, hey, um, Izuru.” The tips of Renji’s ears were very pink. “Not to say that this isn’t, um, true, but I was thinking more along the lines of ‘Do you want to go to prom? JUST AS FRIENDS’ Maybe that part could be all in caps? or underlined? We could put in some little boxes that she could just check off ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and hand it back to me?”

Izuru raised one eyebrow. “But you don’t want to go ‘just as friends.’”

“Well, that’s true, yes, but this is Rukia we’re talking about, so you kinda have to ease her into things.”

Izuru regarded Renji with lidded eyes. “You can’t even ask her to prom as friends? You’re such a coward.”

“I’m not a coward,” Renji returned, but his voice was very small.

“You’re sixteen and I do not like to throw the word ‘love’ around, but it’s very obvious that you love Rukia, and I refuse to help you ask her to the prom as friends. You don’t have to admit everything, but you have to admit something. It’s go big or go home.”

“Okay,” Renji grumbled.

“I think he’s right,” Momo said, patting Renji’s hand. “She must wonder how you feel about her from time to time. If you insist on framing it ‘as friends’, she may actually view that as a rejection of the possibility of anything romantic ever happening between the two of you.”

Renji wrinkled his nose, but didn’t say anything.

“Ahem,” Izuru cleared his throat. “Let’s put in some compliments. What are some things you like about Rukia?”

“Things he liked about Rukia” was one of Renji’s very favorite subjects, and he perked up right away. “She’s cool,” he announced. “She’s cool as hell. Write that down.”

“I think you’re cool as hell,” Izuru wrote down reluctantly. This is not your love letter, he reminded himself. No one is even going to know you had anything to do with this.

“Your hair smells really good and you’re the most creative person I know,” Renji dictated. “You have incredibly sexy biceps.”

“Renji.”

“What? She does!”

“Fine, fine. That’s probably enough compliments, we need to keep this to one page. Um, what do you regard as your primary ‘ship symbolism?”

“My what now?”

“You know. When you think about Rukia and yourself, what metaphor springs to mind? Sun and moon? Sea and sky? King and lionheart?”

Renji looked utterly perplexed.

“Momo, help me out. How do you see you and Aizen-sempai?” “Doctor and Companion,” Momo answered immediately.

Izuru made a face. “Right.”

Renji’s face was screwed up in hard thought. Izuru could practically smell circuitry frying. “Rukia is like… a star?” he finally hazarded.

“A star is good!” Momo encouraged.

“And you are…?” Izuru prompted. “The moon? The sky? A different star?”

“A Camaro?” Renji guessed. “I’m loud and I have a powerful engine.”

“How are you even in AP Literature?” Izuru groaned.

“Well, what’s your dominant simile or whatever with Shuuhei?” Renji demanded.

“Poet and warrior,” Izuru snapped back testily.

“Which one of you is the warrior?” Momo asked, wrinkling her nose. “I mean, you both work on the school newspaper.”

“Shuuhei takes tae kwon do!” Izuru insisted.

“Well, why don’t you just write in whatever you’re gonna say for the poet-warrior thing, since you’ve obviously already put a lotta thought into it,” Renji suggested. “I’ll polish up my star/sportscar metaphor and drop it in when I copy it over.”

Izuru did not like leaving the keystone of a love confession in the hands of a man who thought manual transmissions were romantic, but he had to go on shift down at the food court in half an hour. He had to keep this moving. “Fine,” he bit off. “‘You are my muse. Your strength of body and spirit inspire poetry in me. My soul sings when I am with you. If only I had your bravery, this admission would be much easier. Instead, I am sending you this shy missive to ask, from the depths of my tender heart: Will you go to the prom with me?’ Done.”

“Oh, that was so romantic,” Momo sighed. “Izuru, you should write a romance novel.”

“Never,” Izuru replied.

Renji was making a Renji face.

“You hate it.”

“It was just… pretty flowery.”

“Rewrite it however you want. ‘My soul revs at 5000 rpm for you, right before I drop my rusty bumper in your brother’s driveway again.’”

“Don’t trash talk Zabimaro!”

“I would never trash talk Zabimaro, I was trash talking the metaphorical Camaro that is your love for Rukia.” Izuru ripped the page out of his notebook and handed it over. “Here you go. I gotta go to work. Beef n’ Cheddars don’t assemble themselves.”

Renji studied the page for a moment. “Thanks, Izuru. You won’t regret this.”

“I already regret it. Good luck. I still think you should just talk to her.”

“Well, I think you should ask Shuuhei!” Renji barked out suddenly. “I know you want to! You can go to Denny’s with us afterward!”

Izuru flashed him a pitying look. “Thank you for your concern, but I happen to share the opinion that prom is lame and I have no plans to attend.”

💘 💌 💘

When Izuru walked into the gaming store the next day, Ikkaku and Iba were sitting at the front table, assembling decks of Magic cards.

“The girls took over the back,” Ikkaku grumbled bitterly as he contemplated a Thicket Basilisk.

“Is Renji here?” Izuru asked. “He said he was coming today.”

“Haven’t seen him,” Iba grunted. “Your friend Hinamori is, though.”

Izuru had been trying to maintain his usual heavy veneer of Not Caring About Abarai’s Wretched Love Life, but secretly, he was dying to know how the note had gone over. Renji had said he was going to give it to Rukia after school, and then ghost off to soccer practice so she had time to think it over. Izuru thought this was the dumbest idea he had ever heard, apart from every other plan Renji had ever had.

There certainly was a lot of giggling coming from the back of the store. Rangiku was holding court on the couch, Momo and Rukia on either side of her. On the coffee table, half a dozen magazines featuring girls in sparkly dresses were scattered among the usual copies of Dragon and Wizard.

“I can’t decide if I want to go for a one-shoulder gown, or something completely strapless,” Rangiku was sighing. “Rukia, you have good shoulders, what are you thinking?”

Rukia mumbled something about lacking the necessary structural support for a sleeveless gown.

“You’d be surprised! It just needs to fit tightly enough!”

“You should come shopping with us on Saturday, Rukia!” Momo offered brightly. “You really don’t know what’s going to look good until you try it on.”

“Oh…” Rukia stammered. “My brother said he would buy me a dress. He said it’s important that I reflect well on the family.”

“Fortunately, your brother has killer taste,” Rangiku shrugged. “I would let him buy me all the dresses he wanted to.” She smiled her bright, friendly smile. “You could still come shopping, though, get some ideas of what you like! We could take some pictures to show him. I’m sure he takes input.”

Izuru had met Rukia’s brother. The man most certainly did not take input.

“Plus, it’ll just be fun to have you along!” Momo encouraged. “You have a great sense of style, I’d love to have your opinions!”

The portents looked auspicious, but Izuru needed positive confirmation. “Are you planning to go to the prom, Rukia?” he asked, flinging himself down in the ancient, creaky recliner. “I would have thought you were too cool for that.”

Two pink spots appeared on Rukia’s cheeks. “Yeah, I’m going, I guess.”

“You are not going to believe this, Izuru!” Rangiku gasped breathlessly. “But our Renji asked her to go with him!”

“Surely not!” Izuru scoffed, a pleasant feeling of satisfaction filling his chest.

“It’s just as friends!” Rukia protested. “And of course I don’t care about prom, but it means a lot to him, so…” she made a frustrated shrug.

Just.

As.

Friends.

Izuru shot a glare of horrified disbelief at Momo, who shrugged helplessly.

As if on cue, Renji’s mop of bright red hair poked around the edge of the Warhammer display. The couch backed to the front of the store, so Izuru could see him, but the girls couldn’t. Renji pointed emphatically at Rukia, and then stuck out his tongue victoriously, making a “hang loose” sign with his hand.

“I need to talk to you!” Izuru announced loudly, jumping up, grabbing Renji by front of his shirt, and hauling him into the aisle with all the ceramic dragon figurines. “You moron!” he hissed.

“I just did what you said!” Renji defended, holding up his hands.

“No, you didn’t! Did you even give her the note?”

“I did not. I thought about it, and I decided you were right. I talked to her with my actual voice. I told her I really wanted to go to prom with her, and she made a real cute face and then she said yes. Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without your help.”

Izuru squeezed his eyes shut. “But you’re going as friends.”

“Yeah, well, we are friends, and I’m okay with that. You know, it was the right move, anyway. The reason I was late is because her brother cornered me after work and lectured me for half an hour.”

“Byakuya went into the Foot Locker?” Izuru frowned, trying to picture it.

“Of course not. He would never go into a Foot Locker. He waited outside.”

Izuru admittedly hadn’t taken Rukia’s intense, overprotective brother into account, back when they were writing the note, even though he remembered Renji bringing it up. “Well, I’m glad you’re still alive.”

“Yeah, me too. I offered to wax his car, just immediately. That knocked him off his game a little.” Renji made a thoughtful face. “He, uh… was appreciative, actually. I guess Rukia’s been wanting to go to prom and pretending she doesn’t, and he thought I picked up on it and asked her because I’m a good friend.”

Izuru stared at Renji blankly. “What?”

Renji shook his head. “I can’t explain it. Kuchiki brains are weird. Anyway, he said I don’t have to wax his car, but he wants me to come over to dinner so he can pre-screen my table manners and I have to meet their scary grandfather.” Renji scratched his head. “I wonder if the old man has a car I could wax.”

Izuru let out a big sigh. “Well, I’m glad it worked out. Sort of. Even if you wasted a very good love letter that I worked very hard on.”

“You spent ten minutes on it, tops, and it did not go to waste.”

Izuru frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t you feel like… like it helps to talk that stuff out? To put your feelings into words and write them down and look at them? I mean, I know it helped me, I was just thinking that maybe…”

“Give it up, Abarai,” Izuru mumbled. Whenever anything remotely good happened to Renji, he got really optimistic that all his friends could repeat his successes. When Izuru was in the right mood, it struck him as sort of sweet, but right now, it was just irritating.

Renji stuffed his hands in his pockets and huffed. “Look. Talking to Rukia was… it was easier than I thought. T’be honest, I pretty much expected her to turn me down cold.” He gave a wistful little smile. “We’ll just see how it goes, y’know? Might even be able to work up the nerve to ask her for a slow dance.”

Izuru shook his head. “You’re hopeless, Abarai.”

“Yeah, well, takes one to know one.”

“We are not the same,” Izuru informed him pointedly. “I am a dreamer who pines for that which is out of his reach. You’re just a dumbass who can’t grab at the thing an inch in front of him.”

Renji gave one of his big, open shrugs. “Say what you want about me, but I have grabbed. It’s hard to judge distance when you’re too close to it. I’m just saying that I don’t think your dreamy moon poet is as far off as you think.”

“Why do you always listen to me exactly enough to misunderstand everything I say?” Izuru griped.

“I am a dumbass, you had me there.” He stood up straighter. “But Rukia is not a dumbass and I would like to go say hello to her before she thinks we’re making out back here in the sparkly dragon grotto like Ikkaku and Yumichika.”

“I heard that!” Ikkaku’s voice echoed through the store.

“Matsumoto is trying to convince her to get a strapless dress,” Izuru explained.

“Really? I’m in favor of that,” Renji grinned, his eyebrows raising. “She’s got the shoulders for it.”

“Go,” Izuru sighed, slapping his friend on the back.

As Izuru turned to follow Renji to the back sitting area, he saw Shuuhei hovering in the store’s main aisle. He was wearing a Tool t-shirt over a ratty grey henley with the elbows blown out. His hair looked like he put a bunch of gel in it and then immediately gone to a gymnastics class. There was a ‘69’ sharpied on his cheek. As usually, Izuru couldn’t believe how cool the guy was.

“Uh, hey, Izuru,” Shuuhei said, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

“Hey,” Izuru replied, trying to sound nonchalant. “Wondered if you were in today.”

Usually, Shuuhei would reply with some joke about his loud co-worker, Mashiro, but instead, his fingers curled and uncurled around a piece of paper he was holding.

Hmm, Izuru thought absently. Shuuhei must use the same kind of notebook that I do.

Shuuhei’s eyes darted to the side, and then back to Izuru. “Hey, um, someone slipped a note in my locker today, but they didn’t sign it. I don’t, uh, want to be forward or anything, but I think… this might be your handwriting?”

The floor dropped away from Izuru’s feet. He was had been transported to the Elemental Plane of Mortification. His corporeal body had ceased to exist.

Suddenly, behind Shuuhei’s back, Renji and Momo appeared in the doorway to the back room, flashing huge grins and four enthusiastic thumbs up.

Izuru was going to kill them.

#wacky au requests #my writing #i loved this one??#a 90's high school au is a thing that can be so personal #i never went to prom and it has ruined my brain by making me obsessed with prom stories #mr p never went to prom either and he has not spent a single second thinking about it since #i said this was the last one but there might be one more

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diveronarpg · 4 years

Photo

Congratulations, RACH! You’ve been accepted for the role of JULIET with an approved FC change to Ashika Pratt. Admin Rosey: I'm doing a happy dance right now because we finally have a Juliet back in our midst - our lovely, shining principessa has returned back to us again! Rach, your application was so enjoyable to read. It has the soft, melodic cadence of Juliana throughout the interview and laid a great foundation for her growth and development. There was an ease to it that I absolutely adored and I cannot wait to see how she will come to life on the dash! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Rach

Age | 20

Preferred Pronouns | She/Her

Activity Level | 8.5 ; These quarantimes are doing wonders for my activity levels.

Timezone | PST

How did you find the rp? | See below!

Current/Past RP Accounts | Ahhh, so I actually played Delilah FOREVER ago @delilahbello and applied for Halcyon a while back! I know I’ve been in and out of rping for a while, but I literally have so much love for Diverona & it has such a special place in my heart I thought I might try my hand at another character. But if you wanted a more recent account I have @zubeidakhan!

IN CHARACTER

Character | Juliet; Juliana Arina Capulet (Could I request a FC change to Ashika Pratt and an age up to 26? )

Juliana - “youthful.”

Arina - “peace”

Capulet- “determined, or head-strong”

What drew you to this character? |

I think there’s something to be said about characters that stand the test of time. The very concept of Juliet Capulet has transcended centuries, but I find there’s something particularly alluring about this modern iteration of her. In Juliana. I see this aforementioned transcendence. I see a girl who’s on the cusp of something big-- and I cannot help but be consumed by a desire to sink my teeth into her complexities and uncover every nook and cranny she has to offer. Juliana is, after all, a girl who’s been forced to grow comfortable with toeing the line between certainty and the great unknown. Yet, beyond that line, I see something much sturdier. I am drawn to Juliet in that I see her as less of a dainty flower and more of a spider’s web (though it is fascinating how morning dew collects on both). It seems to be a recurring tragedy that girls who like flowers and pretty things are often mistaken for being merely that. But with Julianaa, I’m attracted to her haunting, persistent strength, a beauty that is equal parts aching, stubbornness, and gilded thorns.

I am drawn to the weaving of Juliana’s web-- her paradoxes, if you will. Humans are, after all, paradoxical creatures. She has loved just as much as she has lost (and she resents with equal rigor). She has the world in her hands, but remains uncontent, her heart bursting at the seams. Pride, compassion, loyalty, obsession-- they all coexist within Juliana manifesting in the form of her ambitions, motivations, and sense of self. Juliana is no stranger to blood and yet hate feels so foreign to her. Her sweetness does not precede her dedication nor her obedience. Juliana feels the weight of the world upon her shoulders, but charges forward unflinchingly.

And above all, while perhaps cliche, it is love that draws me to Juliana. There is something Machiavellian about Juliana. Not the ‘ends justify the means’ Machiavelli that has been ingrained into our cultural misunderstanding of the man and his philosophies, but rather the Machiavelli who wrote and acknowledged the power of Cupid’s bow. The Machiavelli who loved his wife in a time where love before marriage was a relatively modern idea. The Machiavelli who understood the reach of a beloved leader. Needless to say, there are so many aspects of Juliana’s character that I adore, I would be delighted to play her if given the chance!

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

One.

I imagine Juliana’s mother passed away when Juliana was quite young. Young enough for memories to futilely slip away, old enough to mourn and remember her loss. I see Juliana craving for good memories of her mother, just as she aches for the approval of mother’s ghost, a ghost which evades her like wisps of wind slipping through her dainty fingers the moment she's managed a secure grip. I see her as wishing she had more of her mother to replay within her mind like film-- the fire in her smile, the warmth of her embrace, her laughter like melody on a warm, summer day-- but alas, I think Juliana’s found herself trapped with something far more icy-- the frigid image of gaunt woman helplessly falling away from this world and into the next.

Because of this, I imagine Juliana still hasn’t come to terms with the fact that she will never know her mother in her prime. It remains the one hollow in her heart, so with all that said, I would love to explore how she attempts to fill that part of herself through her relationships with the other meaningful people in her life. With her father, I think that she finds blood loyalty. I love the notion of delving into Juliana being both a daughter in the singular (Cosimo’s daughter) and the daughter of the collective (Verona’s daughter). Then again, perhaps it speaks volumes that she sees her father as Verona itself. With this, I want to explore what does blood loyalty mean to Juliana? This is blood loyalty, that very thing that constantly inspires the darkest parts of hers-- frustration, fury, and desperation. Perhaps it ought to be said that even desperation requires ‘lighter’ traits like hope and fealty, but is there a breaking point for Juliana? Does love bolster or shatter her loyalty? Either way, I think that the answers to these questions will guide Juliana’s actions moving forward and would provide an interesting challenge to her character.

Two.

As for the other major figures in her life, Vivianne is arguably her most obvious maternal figure, which is why I think it would be interesting to explore how she seeks a mother’s wisdom and experience from someone who isn’t her blood. I am fascinated by what drove her initial resistance to Vivianne-- was it merely a child’s mourning or perhaps was it foreshadowing that her loyalty is more complicated and pliable than what meets the eye. While I could envision Juliana being played either way (most likely a combination both ways), Juliana’s relationship with Vivianne is a fascinating fixture of her character that I would love to delve deeper into. I think there is much to be learned for Vivianne in the ways of both womanhood and business (though I suspect they are far from separate entities). Vivianne has been a fierce advocate for Juliana, something she’s immensely grateful for, but I would like to see Juliana learn how to advocate for herself. How does the Capulet heiress give weight to her words-- is it the fulfillment of promises? Or better yet, is it the threat of something dangerous to come?

As for Rafaella, Tiberius, and Priam (and possibly even Roman) I cannot help but root for Juliana in her quest to find understanding in this lonesome world. Here is Juliana Capulet, surrounded by people but still so incredibly alone. Such a sweet, vivacious girl ought not to be as lonely as she is. I think that there is a part of Juliana has equated love and understanding. But where love can be evasive and consuming, temporary understanding is achievable. For Juliana it is found in small, kind deeds and shared life experience, but I would love to explore this on a larger scale. How do these tangible aspects of generally abstract concepts apply to Juliana’s unestablished relationships? I think there are many themes to explore there-- generational similarities, shared loss, forgiveness, ect. How do each of these external factors affect her internal sense of duty and loyalty?

Three.

Finally, I would like to see Juliana confronted by her privilege. Juliana is a girl born heiress to an empire, free from any want, and while her life has been far from ideal, I would like to see Juliana in a position where her fortune and name loses its relevance. While I suspect that in such a situation. Juliana would be moved to cling on to her faith in love even more, I do wonder if Juliana would take such an opportunity to relieve herself of the burdensome weight of being an heiress, even if only momentarily. Alternatively, on the topic of love and burdens, I do wonder, how Juliana would grapple with the choice between love and loyalty. Just as she has equalized love and understanding, one of Juliana's biggest blindspots is that she has mistaken love and loyalty to be synonymous, when in fact they are arguably quite contradictory. While she sees herself as loyal to love, I would love to explore Juliana’s mindset as she’s forced to reckon with the two as opposing forces. It’s niave of Juliana to believe her loyalty is enough and I think there’s a part of her that knows that, which would make such a choice all the more enthralling to unpack.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Yes, I mean after all, Romeo & Juliet did end in a very specific way...

IN DEPTH

Please choose between the interview or the para sample (or both, if you like!)

What is your favorite place in Verona? |

It’s begun to lightly drizzle in the garden. It’s a hazy summer afternoon, sticky and humid, but Juliana finds herself hard-pressed to move from the bench. Eyes closed, head tilted upwards, she finds she understands the thunderclouds, the raindrops, and the floods that rise to her knees. She’s become numb to the water’s presence, for it’s a cleansing experience to be drenched by the clouds in the sky. They do not know it yet, but she is one of them, a cloud—one moment an innocuous softness, the next a violent hurricane.

Opening her eyes, Juliana is shocked to find she is not alone, but rather in the company of an older stranger who eyes her with burgeoning curiosity. While mostly bare-faced, she still retains her aura of glamour, perhaps aided by the presence of her designer coat and untouched umbrella. Still, for Juliana it is strange to be regarded with such unfamiliarity. In her experience, perfect strangers were so terribly rare in Verona. She seemed to know everyone, or rather, everyone seemed to know her.

The stranger finally approaches her, taking a seat beside Juliana as the rain continues to pick up pace, drenching the garden and all its inhabitants in a light mist.

“Do you have a favorite place around these parts?” the old man asks, his voice deep and raspy, but not entirely unkind. His words are laced with a thick Italian accent, though she suspects he is not a native Veronian like herself. She had always had an ear for accents, an eye for details. His small talk was quaint and unusual, but who was she to deny herself some company and an exchange of words on this drizzly day.

She ponders his question monetarily, mentally tracing through the city in her mind, akin to skimming an elegant finger over a spinning globe. To choose a favorite place in Verona, Juliana thinks, is to choose a favorite child, in that even if one were to say they didn’t have one, they’d certainly be lying. This was not to say it was a particularly simple choice for her, as she liked to think all of Verona was her home. Her soul was old, her heart young, her mind fashioned from little snippets of the city’s vibrant history, forging a strikingly beautiful tapestry of a true Veronian girl.

“Why, here, of course,” Juliana says, smiling a glossy-lipped smile that could stop lightning in its tracks. “The museum and club are both lovely, but I must admit I’m quite partial to the Twelfth Night’s gardens. When I was younger my father would always hand me a coin to toss into that little fountain by the pond and make a wish. It must be the luckiest, if not the wealthiest, fountain in all of Verona.”

It’s a response that feels breezy and challengeless, but lacks a certain levity that would make it wholly true. It is, of course, only partially true as Juliana had in fact, tossed many coins into the pond over her lifetime. As for the notion of luck, it was fair to say she had been met with mixed results and limited success, but given that her earlier wishes had begun in vain (first begging for her mother’s health and later, for her father to step away from Capulet business) she never found it in herself to fault the fountain entirely. Most recently, she’s begun her newest ritual, tossing in a coin for luck right before particularly dangerous missions, that is until Rafaella had caught her one afternoon, shattering her already precarious spell of belief.

“You do know they just collect the coins at the end of every week,” she recalls Rafaella telling her.

“And what do they do with them?” Juliana remembers asking with genuine curiosity.

Rafaella shrugs, “They donate it to the youth program-- they try and get unprivileged kids engaged with the art and history.”

Needless to say, she’s continued to wishlessly drop coins in the fountain ever since.

What does your typical day look like?

She turns her attention from the fountain back towards the stranger who sits beside her, ears engaged with her every word.

“And you spend most of your days here? In the rain, signora?” he asks gently, with a small chuckle.

“Is this your way of asking what my typical day looks like, signore?”

“As I grow further from my youth…I cannot help but wonder what it is like to be young in these times,” he responds, with a knowing twinkle in his eye. Ah, so that is what this is, a recaputurement of his youth. While her instincts urge her to avoid such potentially revealing conversation, she cannot suppress her overcoming sympathy for the man. There’s a loneliness in his eyes that she recognizes, the very one she faces each time she peers at her own reflection.

“If you must know, I do not spend all my time in the rain,” she clarifies, humoring his original query, “I spend most of my days working for my father...it keeps me busy enough.”

“And your father? What does he do?”

“He’s a--” Juliana pauses, as if to search for the right descriptor of her father’s work, that won’t immediately reveal her own identity, “--a businessman, of sorts.”

She supposes if blood and bone were merely a form of currency, then businessman was certainly an apt descriptor. After all, it took a certain business-sense to run any sort of empire. While she may have inherited her father’s astuteness, she hasn't been rid her of all mercy, for she kills with a precision only a kind girl could have, pulls blood with an accuracy only one who understands pain could know. It takes a delicate touch to snap a neck, elegant restraint to pull life from body, a silken touch to strangle. She takes no joy from causing harm, but she is meticulous in her work, her fingers so soft, so stained with red, it sometimes hurts to say she’s done it all in the name of love.

What has been your biggest mistake thus far?

“Business…” the old man mulls, “It's a difficult way to make it in this world...so little room for error.”

“Indeed, mistakes can be lethal,” Juliana nods in agreement. If only he knew that the agreeable girl before him spoke of lethality in the actual sense, as opposed to the metaphorical one.

“And you, signora? What has been your biggest mistake thus far?”

Juliana looks at the man with surprise. What odd questions from a stranger. Still, she’s captured by the conversation, a chance to talk so deeply with a man she’s never known, who seems entirely content with listening. She doesn’t know too many listeners in her own life.

She is, however, unsure of how to respond. For one, did not like to dwell on her mistakes and misgivings. It was unbecoming of someone in her position to fail and furthermore, to brood on such failures.

Nonetheless, her mind flits to one of her earliest missions where her merciful ways had gotten the better of her. She had hesitated a second too long and she quickly learned her lesson when the coolness of the marble floor pressed painfully against her knees, gun digging painfully into her head. She does not weep, for crying would be too easy. Instead, she refuses to let herself drown. Vivianne gives her second life and her father gives her a second chance.

“I think my biggest mistake does not matter, signor,” Juliana replied, “what matters most is that I will never make it again.”

What has been the most difficult task asked of you?

“You are a very wise one, signora,” the man comments and Juliana surprised at the way her heart swells with pride in response to the compliment. He was a mere stranger and yet she already placed value in his approval. Old habits, she supposed.

“And your father-- he is good to you?” the man asks, “Doesn’t expect too much of you?”

“He is good to me,” Juliana affirms, “Though I fear I am never entirely sure of what he expects of me.”

“In that case, what is the most difficult task that has been asked of you?” he inquires further.

Juliana knows the answer to his question, though she’s not sure if she prepared to reveal it to herself, much less a stranger. Truly, the most difficult thing that’s been asked of her had been to watch her mother fade away so brutally, so slowly. It was, after all, her first acquaintance with injustice. Her failure to do anything to save her mother was painful and lingering, but her salty tears could only last for so long. If only for a moment, she had thought of herself a killer then, unaware of the true brutality that festered within her sweet, blue veins.

Her father had responded to the grief by throwing himself into his work, and she too would follow for reasons entirely different, and yet, entirely the same.

“To live with loss,” Juliana says with a certain finality, as if to clarify she had no desire to elaborate.

“Indeed, it is the most difficult task of all. It’s quite strange how one is never explicitly asked to live with loss, and yet here we remain.”

“Here we remain.” Juliana repeats and as if on queue, the clouds begin to part.

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?

“Signora, forgive me for prying, but I must ask-- living here, in this city-- what are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?” the man asks, a striking turn from his previous question.

And there it was. If all roads led to Rome, then every conversation led to the feud. What could she possibly say in response? My name is Juliana Capulet. This war is in my blood.

He seems to sense her change in demeanor.

“I’m sorry, my dear. I did not mean to startle you with talk of blood and wars, I simply imagined a Veronian girl such as yourself familiar with the tales of this land,” the man explains apologetically, deep frown lines of worry, forming upon his thick brow.

“Worry not, signor, you do not startle me. I startle far less easily than perhaps it appears. I’m simply afraid I must be on my way now.”

“Of course, my dear. I cherish your time more than you know. May I at least catch your name, signora?”

She slides off the bench gracefully before turning to face the man one final time.

“Juliet. They call me Juliet.”

Extras:

Mock Blog

#accepted #accepted: juliet

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ayellowbirds · 6 years

Text

the Hunt

this had been planned as a submission to a fiction anthology, but i missed the deadline. So, here you go!

There were four constants Yadin Zakar’s life.

The first was that she was short, which made it a lot harder for her to squeeze through the crowds at the Monsmart. People tended to overlook and push past her, especially when holiday shopping promotions made the megastore even more cramped than usual.

Squeezing into a gap between aisles felt like coming up for air in churning water, and Yadin found herself standing before a rack of printer redemption cards for proprietary houseware files. You could download just about anything for home printing long as you had compatible materials—which took up most of the Monsmart’s stock, ranging from polymer spools to ingredient pods—but there was still a market for copy-protected designs.

Thankful for the breathing room, she reached into her basket, and pressed her thumbnail through the cover of a protein pod before lifting it to her mouth to suck out the granules inside.

“At least put some water in it,” a disgusted voice sounded at her side.

Yadin looked up. An orc with tusks curling back far enough to nearly pierce their own ears was looking at her. A Monsmart name tag read “ZISEL, xe/xir, HOW CAN I MAKE YOUR DAY BRIGHTER?”, and a pallet of unopened merchandise hovered at xir side.

“No time,” she replied while chewing. The pods weren’t designed for direct consumption, although that didn’t mean it was bad for you. The second constant in Yadin’s life was her appetite; existence was hungry work.

“Am I near kids’ imports?” she asked, but the words came out more like, “my naked imp shorts” amidst the crunchy mouthful, but you didn’t work the floor at Monsmart if you couldn’t make sense of customer requests. “Zisel” pointed across the wall of customers Yadin had broken through.

“Over there.”

Yadin groaned.

“I’m restocking it now, actually,” Zisel added, pushing the pallet forward and switching on its warning lights. The traffic of customers was interrupted, and Yadin’s groan rose to a giddy squeal as she followed right behind the employee, ignoring the glares of the other shoppers.

Imports were the other big part of Monsmart; people paid well for professionally-made goods from off-planet. Earthling crap could always find a buyer on Mars.

That was why Yadin was there. The third constant in her life was a need for funds, and Odjobz had matched her with a buyer seeking Earth merchandise to resell for a profit. Monsmart was a mess, but between the “discounts” and their bribes to importers, it was all but guaranteed that anything you found in the boutiques up in Gale was previously snagged off of a Monsmart shelf.

Still squealing, Yadin began scanning the shelves. Her contact in Customs had clued her in that a shipment of Re:Models was due in today, and the buyer had good credit for the venerable brand of convertible plastic robot toys. Sure, most people just printed theirs at home. But a serious collector would pay serious money for an official, MISB Matbro product.

And so, her squealing turned back to groans.

The shelf space for Re:Model was empty. Oh sure, there was a price tag for the brand-new Paleoforce assortment, the latest take on the fan-favorite squad of heroic robots that turned into dinosaurs. Klaxon, the easily-spooked parasaurolophibot. Khaos, the maniacal Yi qi. The leader, Drumfire.

Yadin’s buyer had related the premise to her: Drumfire was an ancient general who had retired to a deathless sleep in the guise of an animatronic museum Carnotaurus, only to awaken when the battles of the rebel Promechs against the totalitarian Securitechs spilled over into the Paleoforce’s resting place.

“This line tributes the sparking ‘lava’ gimmick of the originals,” the buyer explained, “incorporating pyromantic sensors that generate different glamors depending on the configuration of the figure and its proximity to other toys in the sub-line, or glyphs hidden in the latest episodes of ‘Re:Model: More than Mettle’.”

Yadin knew all of that. She’d worn a Drumfire costume for her first Halloween, and had strong feelings about whether Khaos was supposed to have a gold chest, or a green one.

The sound of packaging popping open stirred her from her forlorn musing over what she believed to have been lost to her, gaze still locked on the empty shelf.

“Scuse me, I think this goes there,” Zisel said, sliding six boxes of Re:Models into place on the shelf, before continuing on to xir next task. With that, Yadin found the shine of Khaos’s emerald chest gleaming right before her eyes.

She could swear she heard the Re:Model theme music playing as her hands reached towards the shiny new (well, six months on the market and late to arrive planetside) Paleoforce figures. The commission she’d collect on this would be enough that she could even afford to keep one herself, on top of affording food and a place to sleep for a few nights.

All she needed to do was take the whole assortment and walk out of the store; the prepaid chip in her pocket would ping the store’s sensors and the buyer’s account would be automatically debited for pre-approved purchases. Her arm reached around the boxes, ready to sweep them into her basket.

“Fucking sweet, Khaos,” someone said from what sounded like it came from a full meter over her head.

A tall human wearing the most denim possible for a conventional primate body reached over Yadin’s curly brown hair and snagged the first box, revealing a row of other figures in the line. Drumfire’s carnotaur-jaw shoulders seemed to grin maliciously at her.

Shortpacked. The most dreaded word in toy collecting. Khaos was released in smaller numbers than the more popular members of the trio, only one to a box. Yadin stared up at the living mass of jeans, the box dangling over her head.

“The Battle Theme of Paleoforce” played in her mind.

Two hours, thirty-nine security force personnel, and the burning remains of one Monsmart later, Yadin set the last three surviving packages from the assortment down in front of her buyer. Two in one hand, and Khaos in her left.

“This was all you could get?” they tsked.

“Market’s tight,” Yadin replied, ignoring the sound of sirens in the distance. She was pretty sure she’d destroyed the surveillance footage in the midst of all that. Things like this were the fourth constant in her life, after all. She was used to dealing with them.

“Well, better than nothing,” the buyer agreed, reaching for all three packages. Yadin drew Khaos back towards her, only handing over the other two. “What’s the problem?”

“No problem. Like I said, I’ll take part of the commission as credit for this one.”

“That ain’t happening,” the buyer laughed, waving the two other Re:Model boxes in their hands. An evil-looking Andrewsarchus cyborg stared out from each box. “I’m not gonna make a profit on Chillerbyte, she’s not even a dinosaur.”

“Not my problem if you can’t move Securitechs.”

“Yeah, no. Khaos is where the money is,” the buyer insisted, reaching again. “I’m gonna need that. Even if she is the wrong color, maybe I can—.”

The rest of their words were inaudible.

Yadin only heard “The Battle Theme of Paleoforce (Reprise)”.

#long posts #my writing #yadin zakhar

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beauty-and-the-behemoth · 7 years

Text

A Special Mix (Ignis x Fem Reader)

Sorry for the delay! This one actually had me stumped for a bit (and I came up with it, wth) but I finally finished! Another addition in the “Weekly Prompt” series I currently participate in. “Ignis has lost something but finds it somewhere unexpected”. I actually had a few giggles in the midst of writing lmao I hope you all enjoy!

“Say Ignis, what’s for dinner?”

The question had stumped the tactician for weeks now. Ignis had continuously flipped through his little black book of recipes with the intent of making something new.

Nothing.

Nothing was coming to mind. His mind was an empty canvas just waiting for fresh paint; for a masterpiece but that brush was never picked up, and the canvas was starting to collect dust. His companions hadn’t really noticed since upon their requests for food, he would make a dish he had since prepared in the past. As long as it was food, they were satisfied; but alas, he was not. His spark had disappeared…

“I don’t understand” Ignis sat cross-legged in the armchair nestled in the corner of their hotel room in Altissia. The gang had made it a habit to come to visit the beautiful city when possible. This usually ended up with the other boys roaming around while Ignis went over work related things or visited the many food stalls and shops. Generally he could find all the items he needed along with new things but lately his search was less than helpful towards his current predicament.

Ignis tried to enlist the help of the Internet. Of course he much preferred the fine print of a book but he was teetering on desperation at this point. After scouring many webpages, endless blogs and forums, he came up short.

“This is unbelievable. I can’t seem to formulate simple concoctions from even the most basic of ingredients…” He trailed off in thought, running his long fingers through his hair as he slouched back into his chair. Ignis needed something to jar his brain and kick-start the fire in his mind. He loved cooking to the point he needed to do it more often than not to keep himself remotely satisfied. Not having done so with new ideas was beginning to affect him mentally and with something so trivial to the outside world weighing heavy on his shoulders, for the Prince’s tactician and “lifeline” this was unacceptable.

After letting another long hour pass and the ticking sound of the grandfather clock seemingly louder than usual, Ignis decided to abandon the confines of the hotel room and hit the streets of Altissia for a bit to ease his mind. Maybe he was thinking a little too hard on the matter…

The roads of Atissia were always a real treat. The city stayed busy with residents and tourists alike; venturing to and from the many shops, stalls and restaurants. It always left Ignis a bit warm on the inside. Naturally, he had his few favorite locations to visit, however, one in particular always caught his eye.

“[Bakey Name]” Ignis smiled as he stared at the small storefront. The sign above the front window display was in a traditional cursive calligraphy. An old cowbell cheered when the arched mahogany door, seemingly aged with time, opened out into a medium sized area. The walls were painted a soft cream color, accented with a rich mahogany crown molding to match the front door. A dark cherrywood floor flowed throughout the room only covered in a small area by a circular rug of the sitting space. ‘Heaven’ Ignis thought.

Standing at the doorway, the aroma of freshly baked bread and a hot pot of coffee wafted its way underneath his nose; his toes starting to curl with delight.

“Mr. Scientia! It’s great to see you again” A petite older woman with all white hair stood behind the counter giving Ignis a warm hearted smile as he made his way over.

“Mrs. Eleanor, all the same to you. Naturally I couldn’t come to the city without stopping in. I don’t believe my taste buds would allow such a travesty”

“And I’d be offended if you didn’t! We have some new cookies ready for the world to try and I believe you’re just the man to test them for us, mhm” She grinned stepping to the side to open and pull out a nice size cookie from inside the counter display.

“One fresh Oatmeal Raisin and Apricot cookie, just for you sir!” Ignis happily took the morsel in his hand, taking a generous bite. With a smile he nodded to the women.

“This cookie is Ignis approved, madam” The women clapped feeling absolutely elated with the praise before she tilted her head.

“Oh, y/n! I didn’t see ya there. Ready to pick up your order?” The women’s attention had moved behind Ignis. You stepped from behind him and smiled brightly to Mrs. Eleanor; a tote bag in one hand and a floral notebook held against your chest.

“My apologies” Ignis moved to let you step forward, however, his gaze never fell from your form. As you spoke to the women, he involuntarily looked you over, admiring your (h/l) (h/c) hair, the way your large round frames sat on your nose and soft (s/c) skin against your sundress. What really caught his eye, well ear, was the sound of your velvety voice as you gushed fluently of new vegetables and spices you recently picked from your garden. The words rolled off your tongue as if it was a second language. Emitting dialect that only a true cook would understand the meaning of. Ignis wanted to know more.

“Well I hope all continues to go well Mrs. y/n. Come back soon and I’ll have more for ya!”

“I’ll be back soon, for sure. Thanks again!” You waved to the women, making your way towards the door and outside; the sound of the bell knocking Ignis out of his mild trace before saying goodbye to Mrs. Eleanor and making haste after you, cookie still in hand.

“Hmm, a little bit of this dashed on top of the beef should bring out the flavor” Your mind was lost in thought as you walked inattentively down the narrow street towards your apartment. Writing down recipe ideas in your little notebook had become a habit. No matter where you were, if something sprang to mind, it was imprinted onto paper. Your interest in cooking stemmed from a young age as your family used to own a restaurant back in your hometown. Just being in the kitchen brought you endless amounts of joy.

The streets of Altissa remained busy even with late afternoon looming it’s way closer. Ignis weaved his way through the sea of people trying his best to catch the sight of you. His eyes finally fell on your (favorite pattern/color) dress as you wandered through the crowd, head down appearing to be looking at something. With a break in the crowd, Ignis finally caught up to you, tapping you on the shoulder.

“Oh!” Your books and bag flew from your hands landing at both your feet.

“Goodness, I didn’t mean to startle you Mrs. I’m terribly sorry” Ignis quickly began to pick up your things as you started to gather your composure.

“It’s alright. I suppose it’s my fault for being so unobservant while walking. Anything could have happened. Thanks so much.” You smiled as Ignis placed your items in your hands, his eyes dropping to the open notebook. Quickly flipping it closed, you held it close to your chest, a light shade of pink dusting your cheeks.

“Uhm, you’re the fellow from the bakery? Mrs. Eleanor seems to fancy you a lot” You gestured toward the cookie still being held tightly in Ignis’s grip. His gaze shifted back to yours.

“You think so? I tend to stop by more often than not during my time in the city. I guess you could say I am a bit smitten with the pastries” He gave a light chuckle before running his hand through his hair awkwardly.

“I agree. The little shop has a special charm that just draws you in. It’s very hard to stay away, Mr…?”

“Heavens, I’m sorry. Scientia. Ignis Scientia. “ He gave you a soft smile before placing his hand on his chest and bowing slightly. The word ‘Regal’ popped into your head, as you looked him over. This man gave off an aura that oddly enough made you want to stick around him a little longer. Most men had made it painfully obvious of their intentions but you found it hard to read Mr. Scientia. What did he want?

“Y/n Y/l/n” You returned his smile as he repeated your name, commenting on how beautiful it was. Ignis’s eye’s shifted to your notebook still being held tightly against your chest noting that you had placed little culinary themed stickers over it’s front.

“Ahem, if I may be so bold. I couldn’t help noticing how well you spoke of the meal you intend to prepare in the future and also the notebook you hold, I say, are you a chef of sorts?” The mentioning of your hobby actually caused you to blush with excitement. No one had ever taken notice in your knowledge of the subject.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t go as far to say I’m a chef, but I do love to cook. In fact I’d say it has been a passion of mine for a very long time.” Ignis listened as you spoke of your love for cooking. The excitement in your eyes and the pure enthusiasm behind your words was enticing. The two of you had started walking down the road exchanging bits of culinary information between small talk and silly jokes. You were surprised to see the man beside you had also carried a notebook filled with different recipes; his far more detailed of dishes from across Eos. Neither of you had ever met someone whom shared the same love for the culinary arts as well as other subjects so in the long run, this was a nice change of pace. He had given you some advice on the dish you planned to prepare, opening your eyes to new flavor combinations that hadn’t before crossed your mind.

Ignis had made it a priority to come back and visit Altissia over the next few months, not only for the scenery, but also for the presence of someone special. The two of you had undoubtedly become closer than expected.

“Iggy, taste” You held up a fork full of steamed veggies sautéed in a special pepper sauce made with your own ingredients from the garden allotment you tended to on the roof of your apartment. The night when you two met, you spoke of the garden which interested Iggy to the fullest extent ‘You must show me one day’ he asked, to which you agreed. Ignis had told you of his work with the Prince which lead to him indulging in cooking at a young age. ‘That’s incredible’ you had commented. He later promised to show you the huge palace kitchen much to your delight.

“Absolutely delicious” The strategists green eyes sparkled behind his glasses as he stared back into your e/c ones. The small bit of praise warmed your cheeks as you quickly turned back to the stove. Ignis studied you closely knowing you were currently in your element, which made him delighted. The funk he had been in for the last few months still felt like a ton of bricks on his back leaving him quite sour most days but he refused to let that ruin his time with you. The idea of confiding in you for advice crossed his mind occasionally however he felt it to just be a burden. ‘I don’t believe it’s necessary. I should be able to whip up recipes on my own’ The stubborn mental response continuously played in his head even if he knew he was nearly at his wits end with trying.

Ignis had come to stand behind you, his hands resting gently on your hips, bent slightly to rest his chin on your shoulder as you stirred the contents on your stovetop. In the time you two spent together, Ignis became someone very special to you. You constantly made an effort to learn more about him and fully understand what made him tick, however, there was something you were very curious about.

“Ignis…?” he nestled his nose against the crook of your neck, basking in your perfume before responding with a muffled ‘yes?’ After switching off the stove, you turned your head to him slightly before asking in a hushed tone.

“What makes you so fond of cooking and looking after your friends? What really drives Mr. Scientia?”

The questions kind of threw Ignis off causing him to raise his head with an arched brow. He searched your gaze for a moment before looking off into space. ‘What drove him?’. The thought never once crossed his mind. What exactly was this force behind his will to continue on the path he was given?

“Love…” His accent hung thick to the word as it escaped his lips before he had a chance to think, however, there was more confidence in it than anything he has ever said. Love was the reason he stuck by Noct. The reason he put up with his friends shenanigans every day. The reason he continuously put his life on the line. The reason he enjoyed cooking as it always rewarded him with the gift of a smile from the person who indulged. And the reason he currently stood by your side. Those endless reasons…

“Y/n…that’s it…” he whispered. Griping your hips a bit tighter, he turned you to face him, the feeling of relief washing over his body. You stared back at him, a questioning look on your face as a smile slowly started to form on his. Ignis had found it. His reason. His fire. Within seconds of the realization, endless ideas began to form in his brain, one after the other fueled in their entirety by his passion for cooking, his reason for smiles. That kick in the butt came from his love of his friends and now you. ‘This is all thanks to you’ he thought excitedly. You had opened a special Pandora’s box in his mind that really made him think. He wanted to continue this path of spreading happiness though the stomach; as silly as it sounded. It was what he wanted to do, needed to do!

Ignis quickly picked you up and spun you around exclaiming loudly at the top of his lungs.

“That’s it!” You could practically feel the sudden excitement rolling off of him in waves as he held you. You clung to him tightly both surprised and confused but let him continue his moment (noting it was a weee bit out of character but incredibly adorable). Nonetheless, it made you smile.

“W-what is it darling?” He set you down and planted a deep passionate kiss onto your lips, causing you to squeak in surprise, before pulling away and adjusting his glasses.

“I’ve come up with a new recipeh!”

RIP your kitchen. It was about to be a longgg night.

#final fantasy xv #ffxv #Ignis Stupeo Scientia #cooking #ignis scentia #writing #Seriously he loves food man

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daniellethamasa · 4 years

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Hey all, Dani here.

I think I really need to try to come up with a list of bookish discussion topics. Honestly, about 85% of the time I put off writing my bi-weekly discussion posts until the last minute because I just don’t know what I want to write about. This is probably one of the areas of my blog where I’m the least organized, but I’ll get better. It’ll just take a little time. But if there’s any geek or book related topics you’d love to hear my opinions on, let me know in the comments.

Anyway, today I think I want to talk about the importance of trying books that aren’t in your usual reading comfort zone. Because trust me, it can be quite rewarding to pick up something different.

Like me, I read a whole lot of fantasy, in a variety of sub-genres, and then a little bit of contemporary romance and a little bit of science-fiction. As well as comics, graphic novels, and manga, but again, they tend to be fantasy themed.

I’m not a big fan of zombie related books/movies. It’s weird because I’m fine dealing with the vampiric undead or ghosts, but zombies are just gross. Maybe it’s the decaying flesh, maybe it’s the eating brains thing. But there have been a few times where I’ve given a zombie media a chance and have ended up loving it. For example the “Zombieland” movies, or the TV show “iZombie”–which I think is better than the comics but that’s a different discussion topic entirely [ooh, I should add that to my list]–, or the Something Strange and Deadly series by Susan Dennard, just to name a few.

Take these historical fiction books. Normally I wouldn’t pick up something that wasn’t historical fantasy or historical fantasy romance, but I decided to give Fatal Throne a chance because I have enjoyed watching the first season of “The Tudors,” though for some reason I have never continued to watch it. I own the complete series, so I need to finish it at some point. And it ended up being a cool collection of stories following each of the wives of Henry VIII. And okay, so the Outlander series has a tiny bit of magic of sorts in it because of the time-travel element, but that is fairly minor to the rest of the story. And yes, I also don’t read these books that quickly, despite enjoying them, but I’m finally getting ready to start the third book, and it wouldn’t have happened at all if I hadn’t decided to read something aside from my usual fantasy preference.

Or these alt-history science fantasy reads. The literary fiction world of Thursday Next is honestly fascinating to me and a bit on the odd side, which also makes it enjoyable. I realize that The Eyre Affair and the rest of the series won’t be the sort of books that will appeal to everyone, but as someone who loves literature to begin with, this was just fun and quirky and full of literary references, so I loved it. Likewise, The Philosopher’s Flight imagines a world of magic and science to do wonderful things like fly, and the ones who wield these skills the best are women, which greatly shifts the power dynamic of the world. I greatly loved reading it, and look forward to continuing the series, but I probably wouldn’t have tried it if I hadn’t decided to click request on NetGalley and see if I got approved. It ended up leading me to a book that I might have overlooked at a bookstore.

Then there’s these two books. One is a contemporary romance sure, but the main focus/character is the guy. Typically with these sorts of stories we are more focused on the female. I heard so many great things about this book, and it sounded interesting enough, so I gave it a try…and now I’m counting down the days until the sequel is released. Also, I feel like I have to mention the Expanse series, because it is a massive science-fiction series, that I think I picked up because of the Sword & Laser book club several years ago. It was more sci-fi than I had really read before, and the books are massive. And yes, it took me quite some time to read it, but I’m glad I did. It was sort of “Firefly”-esque on one hand and detective noir on the other, and it weirdly worked. I need to read it again now that I understand the world a bit better; I think I would like it even better the second time around. Then there’s Old Man’s War, and this book is honestly amazing, and I wouldn’t have picked it up if I hadn’t heard others talking about it…was it Wil Wheaton? Or some other of the awesome geek people I follow online? Anyway, on the recommendation of somebody I decided to give John Scalzi a try and I found an autographed mass market paperback of this in a small-town used book store…and I became obsessed with the book for a little while. The space exploration was cool, yes, but the set-up for the protagonists was cooler. And if I hadn’t taken the recommendations of other people, I might not have discovered this book that is now one of my favorites.

So I would like to keep trying to choose the occasional book from outside my normal reading comfort zone. For the most part it has worked out pretty well for me. I’m still not really a mystery/thriller/suspense fan. For those I still need it to have some sort of fantasy element or something…or be watching it. I love watching mysteries and horrors, but I don’t like reading them.

I’d like to give these a try sometime soon as well. I own The Library Book and will probably pick up the other two soon. But both of the first ones are a little bit non-fiction/historical and a little bit fictionalized, but the main thing is that they are about books, libraries, and librarians, and so the topic is one that interests me. With The Power, I’ve heard a lot about it, but it also seems a bit similar to The Philosopher’s Flight in that it flips the power dynamic of men and women, though I’m sure aside from that they are quite different stories.

What books outside your normal reading comfort zone have you tried? Has it led to you finding a new favorite? Let’s talk about new books to try in the comments, and I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

Discussion: Read Outside Your Comfort Zone Hey all, Dani here. I think I really need to try to come up with a list of bookish discussion topics.

#Books!#Discussion #Libraries #Literacy #Reading #Reading Challenge #Recommendations

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morguenjewel · 4 years

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The Texas Frightmare Weekend Official Group on Facebook isn’t just a place for attendees to talk about the convention, but a place where the Texas Frightmare family can be themselves.

I have been a lifelong horror fan, and that love of horror was inherited by my mom. We have always loved watching scary movies, and going all out for Halloween. Around my junior or senior year of high school, one of my mom’s coworkers told her about a local horror convention, Texas Frightmare Weekend. Texas Frightmare is an annual horror convention held in Dallas, Texas during the first weekend of May. Before learning of this convention, I didn’t really know much of anything about conventions, and what happens at them. When we found out about Texas Frightmare we started following their Facebook page to learn more about the event. Texas Frightmare, and other pop culture conventions, usually involve celebrity guests that sign autographs and have photo ops, as well as vendors that sell all sorts of merch aimed toward whatever type of pop culture the convention is for, so in this case, horror. In 2013, we decided to go to our first Texas Frightmare Weekend with a couple of our friends and soon found out that the convention sphere is much more than what it looks like it is online, it’s a world of its own.

We ended up having a blast at the convention. The atmosphere was very fun and inviting, unlike any other event or place we've been to before. None of us had ever been so close to so many other people who loved the horror genre as we did. After attending Texas Frightmare that year, we started following them more closely online and really threw ourselves into that world. People would share their photos from the convention, stories, questions, and their dream guests/requests for who they wish would attend the following year onto Texas Frightmare’s Facebook wall, and this continued to happen year-round, not just immediately prior to and after the convention. It was clear that Texas Frightmare attendees loved the company of each other, and making new friends, I even made one of my best friends through Texas Frightmare’s Facebook page! Really, the community considered each other more than friends, they’re a family.

Finally, in 2017, the showrunner of Texas Frightmare, Loyd Cryer, decided to create a Facebook group for the Texas Frightmare family to join and post in. The group made it much easier to communicate with the fellow attendees/family members that you didn’t. Instead of going to Texas Frightmare’s Facebook page and having conversations on their posts, or going to the visitor posts tab to see other people’s posts on the page, or make your own, all you had to do was go to the Texas Frightmare Weekend Official Group.

Like every group, online or not, this group had rules, both written and unspoken. There are six written rules of the Texas Frightmare Weekend Official Group that were written by the admins. One, “Please no guest requests here… in an effort to keep the page clear for important info that will help attendees navigate the event”. At first, they were allowed, but due to them consuming the group, this rule was made and all posts have to be reviewed and approved by an admin before they are actually posted. Two, “search the group before posting anything”, ie: questions, and concerns that may have already been answered in another post. Three, ‘No posts about ticket or hotel sales or transfers”. Four, “Be Kind and Courteous”. This rule goes beyond the written rules, and into the unspoken ones as well. The admins just want everyone to be respectful of each other, but as I’ve said before, the group takes it to the next level by treating everyone like family, even if you’ve never talked to them before. I find this to be that in mainstream society, horror lovers are largely viewed as “freaks” and “outcasts” and put down by others, so we want to make the community extra welcoming, and not add on to this by berating each other further. I believe that the group taking place on Facebook, which is a social platform that is very personal and lacks anonymity also contributes to the increase of kind behavior between the members. The fifth rule is “no promotions or spam/no for sale posts”. The sixth and final rule is “no posts or comments about other events”, you wouldn’t go into a Denny’s and spend your whole time there talking about IHOP, would you?

Historically, society views the horror genre as something mainly for the boys, so most people assume that there are more male horror fans than there are female ones. The site I write for, The Horror Syndicate’s Facebook statistics supports this, showing that our followers are 64% male, and 36% female. However, data from Movio in 2017 showed that 53% of horror fans are female, so clearly the numbers can vary. With the Texas Frightmare Official Facebook Group, if you scroll through the list of members, it appears that most of them are male, however, most of the people who are actually posting in the group are female. Other statistics on horror fans from Nielson’s 2015 data say that the average consumer of horror tends to be between the ages of 35 and 44. Through my participation in the Texas Frightmare Facebook group, it seems like the people within this group are also within this age range, but extends to people in their 20s, like myself, as well.

As far as the economic class of the members of the Texas Frightmare facebook group goes, there are pretty much people from every class, ranging from upper lower class to the upper class. Since the biggest common factor everyone in the group has is that they attend Texas Frightmare, this is the first thing I took into consideration when determining the class makeup of the members. The convention itself is fairly cheap to attend. Passes start as low as $20 depending on how early you buy them, and how many days of the convention you want to attend, so low-income families, like my own and friends I’ve gone with, can afford to attend. Even most of the merchandise sold by vendors are reasonably priced, but it starts to get pricey when you add up the autographs and photo ops from the guests that can cost hundreds of dollars each. While we typically go and only buy a few things from a couple of vendors, or save up over the year in order to afford a picture with one of our favorite horror actors, many people go to the convention and spend hundreds, or even thousands on VIP passes, hotel rooms, and collectibles. Some people even travel from other countries to attend Texas Frightmare.

I’ve been a member of the Texas Frightmare Official Facebook Group since the day it was made in October of 2017, but I seldom post or even browse it, simply because I just don’t use Facebook in general very often. The few times I have posted in it, prior to the past month, was either when the convention was around the corner or the day of the convention. A year or so ago I remember asking if anyone who was going to the convention would be coming from the exact city I live in, or passing through on their way, attempting to find someone to carpool with. The Texas Frightmare family was very responsive to that post, and I got many offers to help.

I also typically post pictures of cosplay I wear to the convention. I do really enjoy scrolling through the group after the convention is over to see everybody’s pictures, and hauls from the weekend. One memory that sticks out is when someone had posted about losing an autograph they bought at the convention. Many people were commenting on the post, trying to help the person out, showing once again how tightly knit and loving the group is. I actually ended up helping the attendee be reunited with their autograph because my friend was working at that specific guest’s table, so I showed her the post and she had the autograph and was able to send it back to the person who lost it.

When it’s not convention season, the group is still very active, and the post in it consists of articles about horror movies, pictures of personal horror collections, but mostly, the group is full of horror-related memes. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the case because the poster may not feel comfortable sharing the memes on their timeline, knowing that their Facebook friends who aren’t into horror wouldn’t understand them, or even worse, would judge them negatively for it. When someone shares one of these funny memes to the group it’s usually just a reshare of it from another page, and the poster typically doesn’t insert their own caption on their share of it. These posts don’t warrant much discussion, but they do get tons of likes, love, laugh, and wow reacts. Other types of posts, such as personal pictures or stories, or ones that share articles do tend to get more comments, but less reacts and attention in general.

During the month of October, I figured that the amount of activity in the group might go up a little bit, due to the holiday season. I did see more posts from people showing off their Halloween costumes, and decorations. I kept my posts for the month on theme as well. In a prior Viral Content class, I learned that people interact with posts that make them feel strong emotions, like happiness from the funny memes, or if they feel like they’re getting something out of it. For instance, people are more likely to start a conversation if they are prompted to through a question or poll, so this is what I decided to do in one post, by asking what everyone’s Halloween costumes were going to be, and then saying what the ones I had planned were. In this post, I got a fairly decent response, with only two likes, but 12 comments from people sharing their costumes.

Posts with media typically get more attention than posts with just texts, since the image or video with the post catches the attention of people scrolling through Facebook more easily. So for the next post, I decided to post pictures of my costumes, as well as ask what everyone’s Halloween plans were in the text portion, in an attempt to get more people to react AND comment on the post. While my pictures did catch more people’s attention, making the post get 56 reactions, only six people commented on the post, leading me to believe that most people only looked at the pictures, and didn’t read the text.

From my posts in the group this month, I learned that the group is filled with tons of creative people. Most of the people that commented on my post asking about costumes were creating their own costumes. While part of me is not surprised by this, since there are a large number of attendees who go to the convention in cosplay, I am still shocked. Scrolling through the group, you will see the occasional post of someone’s horror art as well. When thinking about these facts, I wondered if the members of the group mainly use their creativity as a hobby, or if it’s incorporated into what they do for a living. If you look at the list of members of the group, you can conclude that a large portion of the group does the latter. It seemed like every other person in the group had their job listed as something that involves being creative. From artists, graphic designers, writers, filmmakers, and more. Many members have a career that doesn’t only involve creativity, but the horror genre as well.

Through my time spent analyzing the group, and the horror community as a whole, it’s clear that the members of the Texas Frightmare Official Group on Facebook, take their love of horror, and others who love horror as well, to the next level.

Sources Cited

“Frightful Fans: The Profile of Horror Movie Lovers.” What People Watch, Listen To and Buy, www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/frightful-fans-the-profile-of-horror-movie-lovers.html.

Palmer, Will. “CinemaCon 2017: Who Is Your Audience in 2017?” Box Office Pro, 29 Mar. 2017, pro.boxoffice.com/who-is-your-audience-in-2017/

“The Horror Syndicate Facebook Demographics.” Facebook, www.facebook.com/horrorsyndicate/insights/?section=navPeople

Picture

Sawan, Morgan. “My first Texas Frightmare”, May 5, 2013

Sawan, Morgan. “Screenshot of Texas Frightmare Haul”, Druin II, Roger. November 10, 2019

Sawan, Morgan. “Screenshot of Lost Autograph”,D. Armendariz, Isaac. November 10, 2019

Sawan, Morgan. “Screenshot of Asking for Ride”, November 10, 2019

Sawan, Morgan. “Screenshot of post 1”, November 10, 2019

Sawan, Morgan. “Screenshot of post 2”, November 10, 2019

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skinfreshbiogra · 5 years

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Using Rubik’s Cubes to show Math

“ I loathe math, ” my young people commonly mention. The alternative high school graduation in country Colorado exactly where I’ve been being employed by the last two-and-a-half years provides students age 14 to twenty, who arrive at us once they have not completed well in traditional environments considering that we have much more freedom to utilize creative tutorial methods to interact with their needs.

Thinking about that comment, I used to ask myself, “ How could the students’ attitudes for math modify if there was initially an opportunity to practical knowledge a different aspect of numbers, one that involved hands-on understanding, promoted teamwork, and led to a product to get proud of? ” I thought I should use Rubik’s Cubes to help facilitate attachement among this math-anxious and math-eager young people, based on my own, personal love belonging to the popular bigger picture. And after understanding students generating mosaics involving historical results, famous landmarks, and critters out of the de, I saw the way to promote vital thinking as well as algorithmic problem-solving.

MAKING CONNECTIONS TO NUMBERS I incorporated woman math discussions throughout the mosaic process. In the event the students began to experience being successful in curing a encounter from the cube to create a mosaic, they became more open to mathematical talks around the 3d puzzle.

A Section of an Bea Frank Rubik’s Cube Variety Template Rubik’s Cube© used by admission Rubik’s Type Ltd. www.rubiks.com Scholars build a mosaic one 25-cube section at the moment by organising each dice to match website. About different days to weeks, I would ask students issues like, “ What percent of the mosaic is finished? ” or “ If about three students are each in the position to solve a single face within a average charge of 2 minutes, precisely long outfit take to finish the variety? ”

I desired to provide learners with to be able to use approbation and reasons skills though still having a great. I don’t incorporate paper-and-pen worksheets because I wanted the crooks to practice intellectual math together with approximation— handy skills that will help them as they advancement through mathmatical.

There are several joints one can generate between the Rubik’s Cube in addition to math. The exact Rubik’s Dice can be used to conceptualize surface area plus volume, together with exhibit the net of your familiar, 3d solid.

The particular Rubik’s Dice can be plugged into fractions, ratios, and proportional reasoning. For example , on one facial area of a scrambled Rubik’s Dice, there may be a couple of red, an individual blue, couple of green, couple of yellow, and a second orange hardwood. The coach can request, “ What precisely fraction in the visible facial area do the reddish tiles symbolize? (Answer: 3/9 or 1/3).

For an elder group of trainees, a coach may bring in the concept of factorials to explain typically the 43, 252, 003, 274, 489, 856, 000 diverse combinations belonging to the Rubik’s Dice. No matter how your Rubik’s Cube is assemble, it can be sorted in 30 moves and also fewer— the truth that traditionally piques students’ curiosity.

The exact Pythagorean Theorem Explained Together with Rubik’s Cube Due to Dan Lorry der Vieren Working with Rubik’s De to explain the actual Pythagorean theorem And also arranging potager of eight, 16, plus 25 Rubik’s Cubes collectively so most of their corners variety a triangle, a educator can display the Pythagorean threorem, a2 + b2 = c2.

BUILDING RUBIK’S CUBE MOSAICS With a passion for the Rubik’s Cube, I looked at ways to bring in the problem to trainees and saw the organization Can be done the Rubik’s Cube. Often the group’s webpage has free templates just for mosaics involving icons just like Anne Flip, landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, including a variety of pets. (There’s furthermore guidance for classes that want to produce customized mosaics. ) Just one mosaic could possibly have as many as 800 cubes.

You can use The Rubik’s Cube is usually a lending catalogue for the cubes and a source of information that helps K– 12 teachers and childhood organizations educate students easy methods to solve the actual puzzle and interact them for STEAM training. Educators in the nation and Alberta can borrow up to 600 Rubik’s Cubes for six weeks at a time.

This was perfect for my favorite school due to the fact we offer five-week elective programs that take students’ motivations and straighten with teachers’ areas of skills. I proposed a course named “ Work and Problem-Solving with the Rubik’s Cube: Range, ” after which borrowed 210 cubes once the course has been approved.

College students in my group were serious about learning about the particular historical statistics while building the mosaics, so they looked at an symbol of their decision from the mosaics we built. A couple of wonderful figures enclosed Marilyn Monroe, Rosa Theme parks, and Nikola Tesla.

One time my individuals learned ways to arrange the particular Rubik’s Cube, most were able to do a person face inside two or three short minutes, and even throughout one minute for the great working day. They been effective alone or possibly with a other half to build you 25-cube segment at a write my essay for me time, and an entire 100-cube variety usually had taken 20 in order to 30 minutes to do with 5 or 6 students.

GETTING RUBIK’S DE INTO TYPICAL CONTENT TRAININGS There are free instructions and products for a variety of things, many manufactured by and for teachers, that handle math in addition to science expectations.

For example , some middle school biology wisdom plan works on the classification program to design “ critters” with all the concept of DNA codons. The particular lesson contains Common Core English and Next Generation Scientific research standards, enjoy MS-LS3-1: “ Develop as well as use a type to describe the key reason why structural becomes genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may change proteins and could result in risky, beneficial, and also neutral benefits to the composition and function within the organism. ”

The COME Rubik’s Model Student Computer is a K– 5, nine-lesson unit that explores ideas from anatomist and style, genetics, often the geometry for shapes as well as figures, the geometry involving solids, plus neuroscience.

Typically the Rubik’s Cube is an engaging way to experience many topics across subject matter areas. With a growth perspective and dedication to provide an interesting experience for everyone, educators will be able to motivate scholars and inspire them to seek out challenges and engage in ways to think that critically along with solve different problems.

Bài viết Using Rubik’s Cubes to show Math đã xuất hiện đầu tiên vào ngày Xịt lợi khuẩn Skin Fresh.

source https://skinfresh.com.vn/using-rubik-s-cubes-to-show-math-32/

#skinfresh

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andrewdburton · 5 years

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How to make money fast: Quick ways to earn money in 2019

Let’s face it. Most of us, at one point or another, have been faced with a financial emergency, or a plain, old-fashioned cash crunch. It’s definitely not a fun spot to be in. While there are steps we can take to avoid such situations (more on that later), that’s often the last thing on our minds when we need to come up with money — quick.

To assist, I’ve compiled the following list of money-making ideas. While some of the items included are more lucrative than others (you’ll never get rich taking surveys, for example), they all share a common theme: making money fast. Ready? Let’s dive in.

And before anyone mentions it, yes we're aware of the irony of publishing an article about making money fast at a website called Get Rich Slowly.

Sell Your Old Stuff

I’ll kick off the list with an obvious one: selling your old stuff. After all, is there a faster way to make money? If you walked a few steps to your basement right now, or stepped outside to the garage, I’m willing to bet that you’d find some junk lying around that someone else could use:

Old computers and video games.

Sports equipment your kids have grown out of.

That extra bike that’s never ridden.

Your old collectibles. (J.D. sold his comic books. You could sell your baseball cards.)

Once you’ve come to grips with parting with your junk, selling it is as easy as taking a few pictures, and posting an ad on Craigslist, or your local Facebook Buy and Sell. If you need some inspiration, here’s a list of 12 surprisingly valuable things that are lying around your house.

Survey Junkie

Taking online surveys isn’t going to make you rich, but that’s not your goal here. You need to make money fast, and survey sites like Survey Junkie will help you do just that. In fact, you can start earning within a few minutes of signing up, and get paid as soon as you accumulate $10 in rewards.

Survey Junkie will pay you for each survey you complete, in the form of Paypal credits or gift cards to your favorite retail stores. The more surveys you take, the more you’ll make. The best part is that you can take surveys while doing other things, like watching TV, or listening to music, making it an easy way to earn some quick cash.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is similar to Survey Junkie, but they take things a step further, by giving you more ways to earn cash and rewards. In addition to completing surveys, Swagbucks will pay you to browse the internet, play games, and shop online. They’ll even send you a daily survey, and a daily poll, as a way to earn rewards faster.

With Swagbucks, you won’t have to wait before redeeming your rewards. While you’ll need $25 worth of Swagbucks to move cash to your Paypal account, you can redeem points for gift cards worth as little as $1. In fact, when I checked out the Swagbucks rewards page, I noticed $3 Amazon gift cards advertised.

Acorns

Remember your goal – to make money fast. When you sign up for Acorns using my exclusive link, you’ll receive a $5 credit to kick off your account. Now, I wouldn’t suggest that you go to all that trouble for $5, but with Acorns, you’re getting so much more. Acorns is an investment app that makes saving money easy. You can open an account on your mobile phone in a couple of minutes, collect your $5, and be on your way to building that emergency fund, or saving for your next special purchase.

Open Your Acorns Account and Earn $5

To help you get there, Acorns uses an innovative feature, called round up savings. Acorns syncs to your debit or credit card and then rounds up the “spare change” whenever you spend. For example, let’s say you buy a pack of gum for $1.25. Acorns will round to the nearest dollar, and set aside .75 into your Acorns investment account. Because the amounts are so small, you’ll hardly notice the money leaving your account, but you’ll be surprised how quickly the savings adds up.

Acorns works so well, in fact, that it’s my top choice for investment app for 2019.

Drive with Uber

If you have a clean driving record, a reliable vehicle, and enjoy being around people, driving for a rideshare service like Uber is a great way to make some extra money, and fast. One perk to this job is the flexibility it offers. You decide when, and how much you want to work.

Once you’ve signed up with Uber, most drivers report that it only takes about 3-5 days to be approved.

Here's more about the pros and cons of becoming a rideshare driver.

Deliver Food with UberEats

If driving for Uber sounds enticing, but you’d rather not spend your time making small talk with strangers, you could decide to deliver food with UberEats. You use the app to select deliveries that are in your area. The best part is that you decide when you want to work, and how much. Keep in mind, you will make more money during peak periods.

Rent Out Your Ride on Turo

Take advantage of your car’s downtime by renting it out to someone who needs a ride. Turo is a peer-to-peer car-sharing app that makes it easy to rent out your car. Once you’re set up through Turo, list your car on the app, wait for a request, and be ready to accept or decline. Keep in mind, your car will need to meet Turo’s vehicle requirements, and the nicer it is, the more money you can charge.

Rent Out a Room With Airbnb

If you have a spare bedroom in your home, you can rent it out to a short term guest, on Airbnb. Some people will even rent out their entire home, if they have another place where they can stay.

Not only is this a great way to make money quick, but if it’s something you enjoy, you could turn it into a regular income stream. A great perk with Airbnb is having the flexibility to decide when your space will be available, and how much you’ll charge.

Employee Referral Programs

Any recruiter will tell you, it’s tough for companies to find good people these days. As a result, many organizations will pay their own employees a bonus for successfully referring new talent.

Depending on the role, and the demand for the position, you could be eligible to receive hundreds, even thousands of dollars by bringing in a new employee. Not only is this a quick way to make money, but it requires almost no effort on your part. You’re simply connecting to parties.

Babysitting or At-Home Daycare

In today’s society, most families are dual income, with both parents working outside the home. Because of this, there is a constant demand for reliable childcare. If you’re a natural caregiver, and enjoy being around kids, you can make good money by offering to provide childcare within your local community. Whether it’s babysitting or an at-home daycare, it won’t take long to find your first client. Use your friends and family to get the word out, or notify your Facebook community, and you’ll be making money in no time.

Teach English with VIP Kid

If you enjoy teaching, consider putting your English skills to good use by becoming an online tutor. Websites like VIP Kid source clients for you, and the pay is pretty good too. It’s not uncommon to make $20-30/hour teaching online.

Tutoring is something that can be done in person as well. In fact, during the school year, there’s no shortage of students in your community in need of help with their studies. Check with your local high school, or get the word out on your community Facebook page.

J.D.'s note: For eighteen months, I met with a Spanish tutor three times each week. Aly had moved to the U.S. from Peru, and she found that tutoring was a fantastic way for her to make money.

Rent Out Your RV With Outdoorsy

If you own an RV, Outdoorsy will match you with people who are looking to rent a trailer or motorhome, for their next summer adventure. At rates as high as $150/day, or more, this is a great way to make money fast. Head to Outdoorsy, and find out how you can get your RV making money for you.

Collect Rewards With Drop App

Money doesn’t always have to arrive in the form of cash. Drop allows you to earn points when you shop at your favorite retailers, then redeem your rewards for gift cards at places like Starbucks, or Amazon. Drop works by syncing to your debit and/or credit card, and keeping track of your purchases. You don’t need to worry about clipping coupons, or scan receipts to receive discounts, Drop does all the work for you.

Download the free app to start earning with Drop!

Earn $50 per Year With the Nielsen Ratings App

For decades, Nielsen has been tracking TV ratings. But did you know that they will pay you to download their app to your computer or smartphone? Doing so allows them to compile data by tracking your internet usage. No need to worry however, your anonymity is guaranteed, and according to Neilson, the app won’t slow your device’s performance in the least.

Sounds pretty great, doesn’t it? There is a BIG caveat, however. You must be selected by Nielsen. That’s because Nielsen families are chosen using a scientific process. That said, it’s good to know about this easy money-making opportunity, in case you are ever approached by Nielsen.

Take Advantage of Bank Signup Bonuses

This is a great way to make some quick money. Banks everywhere are in a constant battle for new customers. The financial services industry is highly competitive, and companies know that if they can secure your day to day banking business, they’ll have a shot at your mortgage and your investments as well.

While these promotions come and go, it’s not uncommon to be offered a few hundred dollars when you open a new checking account with a bank, providing that you meet the qualifying criteria. This usually includes hooking up your automatic payroll deposit and completing a couple of online bill payments, that kind of thing.

Earn Credit Card Rewards

I’m a big fan of credit card rewards, but I’ll be the first to admit that using credit cards as a way of making money can be dangerous, and definitely isn’t for everyone. If you’re not paying off your credit card balance in full each month, or if using a credit card creates a temptation to overspend, then having a rewards credit card will cost you more money than you will ever make.

That said, a cashback, or travel rewards credit card can be a great way to make extra money. Many premium cards come with a welcome bonus, such as a couple hundred dollars cashback upfront, or enough travel points to get you a free flight somewhere. Have an upcoming trip planned? This could be a great way to subsidize the cost. Head here for more information on the best credit card rewards.

Make Money as a Freelance Writer

If you have interest, or experience in a specific area and love to write, there’s a good chance you can make money online as a freelance writer. What I love about this side hustle, is that it’s something you can do on your own schedule from the comfort of your living room. Not only that, but you can make good money. The website Problogger has an active job board, where you can browse, and apply for, freelance writing gigs across a wide range of niches.

Note: Many former Get Rich Slowly staff writers have gone on to become professional freelance writers with lucrative careers.

Advertise Your Freelance Services on Fiverr

In addition to writing, there are no shortage of services you can offer as a freelancer. Graphic design, bookkeeping, social media management – these are all services that small businesses will pay you to provide. One of the best ways to find clients and start making money is by joining a freelance marketplace like Upwork, or Fiverr.

Teach Music Lessons

Who said that a musician needs to live like a starving artist? If you are skilled on any number of musical instruments, you can make good money teaching private lessons. Ask your local music store if you can post an ad on their bulletin board, or advertise through Craigslist or Facebook. Early September is a great time of year to get started, as students are back to school and looking to start up music lessons after the summer break.

Earn Cash Back With Rakuten (Formerly Ebates)

Rakuten, formerly known as Ebates, makes it easy to earn cashback when you shop online at top retailers, such as Amazon, Kohl’s, and Microsoft. Sign up with Rakuten, and gain access to hundreds of partner retail stores via links directly on their site. Rakuten will keep track of your cash rebates, which can be as high as 40%, when you factor in limited time offers. The best part? Receive an automatic $10 bonus when you sign up for Rakuten, and earn an additional $25 when you refer friends or family.

Deliver Food With DoorDash

DoorDash is one of a number of app-powered food delivery services that have popped up in recent years. If you need to make money quick, becoming a delivery driver for Doordash may be the perfect solution. In fact, the signup box on their website reads, “Get Your First Check This Week”.

Ask for a Raise

Perhaps the fastest way to make extra money is by leveraging the job you already have. Unfortunately, many people don’t think about this, and instead feel like they need to take on something extra. I’ll finish with a few ways to increase your 9-5 income.

You’ve probably heard it said, “If you don’t ask, the answer will always be, no”. To most companies, a valuable employee is worth their weight in gold. Part of this is due to how much time and money it takes to hire and train someone new. Chances are, your employer is willing to pay you more, but you need to ask. If you’re able to effectively communicate your value to your boss, you may be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

Since the early says of Get Rich Slowly, we've advocated learning how to negotiate your salary. It's one of the best ways to boost your income — now and in the future.

Apply for a Promotion

When was the last time you considered applying for a promotion? Not only is a new job a great way to make more money, challenging yourself to step out of your comfort zone will further develop your skills, and help you grow as a person. If you’re having trouble getting promoted at your current company, you may decide to go to take your skills somewhere else. Here’s an article that gives 10 reasons successful people change jobs more often.

Take Advantage of Any Unused Benefits.

If you’re not taking advantage of all of the benefits your employer is offering, you may be leaving cold hard cash on the table. Far too many employees don’t take the time to understand what’s available, and as they say, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. Read through your employee benefits package, or speak to an HR representative if you have questions. There’s money to be made, from health spending balances and 401K matches, to affordable insurance coverage and employee discounts.

Ask to Work Overtime

Not every job offers this opportunity, but if yours does, consider volunteering to work overtime, if you’re needing to make more money fast. Overtime work saves you from having to start something extra in your spare time, such as a second job, or a time-consuming side hustle. Remember, the goal is to make money fast. Either way, always strive for a healthy balance between time at work, and time away. The last thing you want is to feel burned out.

Final Thoughts on Making Money Fast

At the outset of this article, I mentioned that there are ways to avoid finding yourself with a shortfall of cash. While we can never be prepared for absolutely every emergency (nor should we try to be), we can make life a little easier with some advanced planning.

My best advice is to build an emergency fund. This can be as little as $500, or enough to cover several months worth of expenses, it’s up to you. Having an emergency fund will not only reduce your stress level, but it will also decrease your odds of having to use a credit card to cover a financial emergency, and that is a good thing.

In the meantime, my hope is that you feel more confident about making money fast, should the need arise.

The post How to make money fast: Quick ways to earn money in 2019 appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

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