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marina41trench · 25 days

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Inumaru Touma - Drama Collection (Spring) RabbiChat

Touma: Izumi, good morning!

Great work on yesterday’s drama shooting!

Touma: There’s something I’m curious about so I messaged you

Did you manage to finish your math homework…? Iori: Good morning, Inumaru-san.

I managed to finish on time so I’ll submit it later today.

Touma: Oooooh!!

I’m glad!!!! ✨✨

I was curious if you’re holding up well because it was a lot and we have filming as well.

Iori: I apologize for bringing my homework to the set.

I must’ve worried you.

Touma: Don’t worry about it!

The staff were worried about you too!

Touma: Or rather, when I think about it now… Was I in your way when I kept looking because I was curious about your homework 😭?!

Sorry!

Iori: Not really. Rather it was a good opportunity for me to revise and review.

Iori: Thank you for the okara[1] cookie you’ve given me before we left.

Touma: I’m happy for those words 😭

You mentioned doing your homework when you get home, so I thought it’s better if I give you a snack to eat at night

Touma: When I went to the convenience store during break time, I was thinking of a food you could eat with one hand that’s like you, so I picked it! 👍

Iori: Am I like an okara?

Touma: No, sorry. I didn’t mean you’re like it, but it’s like… an okara and you are neat and clean?

Pretty? Something like that?!

Will this convey properly?!?!

Iori: I-I do not understand, but… Thank you for thinking about me.

It conveyed that you’re a very kind person as the rumor says.

Touma: Rumor?

Iori: Isumi-san compliments you and says “Touma looks after people so much it’s annoying.”

Touma:

Touma: That doesn’t sound like a compliment, though?! Lolol

Iori: No, it’s Isumi-san’s love language. He was smiling when he said it, so he’s very happy.

Touma: I hope it is…

Does Haru talk about us a lot? 😳

Iori: Or rather, very much.

Iori: “When we went for a yakiniku, he asked me if I was eating properly as he kept putting meat on my plate. And he always looks at my plate. So annoying.”

Touma: A-and his expression at that time is…

Iori: He was smiling from ear to ear.

Touma: He was smiling from ear to ear 😆

Touma: I see~~!

He was mad at me and said, “You don’t have to because I don’t eat it! You should eat properly too!” but he was really happy! I’ll give him more meat next time!

Touma: The seven of you are living together, but have you all dined out?

Iori: Yes, sometimes.

But most of the time we’re accompanied by our Manager or the agency’s staff.

Touma: Whoa, I’m jealous! That sounds fun!!

And you’re with your Manager!

Iori: We’re going to stand out since we’re a large group. So there’s preparations being considered.

Touma: Oh yeah, since there’s 7 of you there’s bound to have problems!

What did you all eat? 🤩

Iori: A lot of meat, as expected. And there’s a delicious okonomiyaki restaurant in our neighborhood. We go there to eat as well.

Touma: That’s sooooo nice!! Having 7 people eat okonomiyaki and being lively sounds fun!! 🤩✨

I should invite Utsugi-san next time

Iori: And just like you, Nii-san also asks us, “Are you all eating properly?”

Touma: Mitsuki-san does that too~! Now I’m getting really curious!

Iori: When he says that, he intentionally gives us neatly cooked meat.

There are no words to say about his consideration.

Has someone done that to you?

Touma: Aaaaaahhhhhhh

Haru was mad at that too…

Touma: So that means it’s him showing his

Touma: Love…

Iori: Well

Iori: It is.

Touma: Yeah! I’m glad to start a good discussion in the morning!! Thanks Izumi 😭😭

Iori: It’s nothing… Perhaps I’ve talked too much

Touma: I’m happy that our bonds deepened just like in the drama 👍

Iori: My role was admiring you, and I enrolled in the same school as you.

Touma: Yup! And soon we’ll have a confrontation against Nikaidou-san in the climax!

I’m gonna do my best so I can show you the cool me 🔥

Iori: Not to me, but to my role as your junior.

Touma: Well, yeah. I got happy when you complimented me while I was practicing skateboard techniques lol

Iori: Your reflexes were always great, but I was amazed how you learned a trick in such a short time…

Iori: It's good learning material.

Touma: Eh, I’m so happy…

Touma: I’m as happy as being told “I don’t care what anyone says, I’m proud to say he’s the world’s coolest senior!”

Iori: Like I said, that’s my role’s dialogue as well!

Inumaru-san, are you the type to be startled when you meet an actor who played a villain?

Touma: Eh, how can you tell?! I’m not sure if I’m just bad at it, but I just go, “Ah!” suddenly 😂 lolol

Iori: We also have a member who is easily influenced.

Touma: I’m glad that Izumi’s a good guy…

Iori: I think I understand the reason why Isumi-san opened his heart to ZOOL.

Touma: Really?! Isn’t he showing his pitiable side too much?!

Touma: Are you going to bring your homework in the next set?

Iori: I don’t think it’s possible now that we’re going to spend more time filming.

Touma: Then I’m going to bring you snacks to accompany you again!

That way I show my status as your senior! 🔥

Iori: Something else besides an okara that’s like me?

Touma: Maybe konpeitou[2] or macarons?!

I’ll think about it 💪

Iori: Thank you very much. I’ll look forward to our next filming.

Touma:

TL Notes:

[1] - okara - also called sou pulp or tofu dreg, is an edible pulp separated from soymilk during the tofu production.

[2] - konpeitou - is a small sugar candy that has a spherical shape with bumpy textures.

#idolish7 #i7 #rabbichat #rabbitchat #inumaru touma #inumaru toma #toma inumaru #touma inumaru #english translation #translation

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relevant-url-incoming · 2 months

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No True Kids

Ok three out of five consular companions now! Zenith is actually really easy for me to write, I feel like - made more fun by the fact that he is of course the least likely to trust Caibos of anyone in this entire storyline. glossing over the initial introduction for now, since these bits are more about them finding out/reacting to his age, but someday... someday i'll explore that mess, too.

Zenith didn’t think much of the Jedi at first. Not in the insulting way, either. He was just another Jedi. Republic did it all the time: swoop in, save one day, leave the rest to fall apart when they left. They never made truly good on their promises.

He didn’t like that the Jedi wanted Imperials alive, either. Too soft. Made Zenith wonder where this Jedi’s loyalties lay, if he was honest: the man was a Sith in species if not temperament. Zenith had heard of things like this. Jedi going dark, and more rarely Sith deciding they felt sorry about all the things they’d done. Zenith didn’t think much of it, and that was in the insulting way. An apologetic Sith couldn’t bring people back to life, or undo the years of slavery Balmorrans had endured. He suspected this Jedi-Sith was that kind. It was in the way he was so strict about not killing a wounded captive. Nobody took a stance like that unless they had something they were afraid of. And the way he’d talked to that kid Sith! The boy may have been Balmorran, but he should have known better than to collaborate with Lachris. The Jedi’s mercy was only creating more problems for Zenith’s people.

Before the Jedi went out to meet with the corporate collaborators – took everything Zenith had not to scoff at that one – Zenith pulled him aside.

“Gotta ask,” he said. “You’re obviously a Jedi, but – you’re a Sith pureblood.”

“Believe me,” the Jedi said. “My blood is anything but pure.”

Zenith couldn’t tell if he was upset or not. Could be a good sign – Jedi behaviour – or it could be bad. Zenith didn’t like people he couldn’t quite read. He decided to press.

“How long have you been a Jedi?”

The Jedi’s red eyes flashed with anger.

“What a ridiculous and insulting question!” exclaimed the Jedi’s friend. Zenith hadn’t gotten the human’s name. Hadn’t cared. Of course, if he was sticking around for all the firefights Zenith ought to pay attention, even if he did look pretty useless. He’d made it in and out of Okara. Seemed pretty gung-ho about protecting the Jedi, too.

“It’s all right, Tharan,” said the Jedi. Interesting, since he’d been upset by Zenith, too. “I’ve been with the Jedi for eleven years, Zenith.”

“Before that?” Zenith asked, folding his arms. If this Jedi was going to crack and reveal a Sith underneath, Zenith was going to find out now among allies. Not when he was meant to be saving Balmorra.

“You don’t have to indulge this – cretin and his insinuations –“ Tharan said hotly. The Jedi ignored his sputtering. A strangely savage smile lit his face as he leaned in closer to Zenith.

“Before that,” he said in an undertone. “I was five years old.”

The smile faded as the Jedi stepped back. Now his face was cold.

“I will leave for my next mission straight away,” he announced to the room at large. Then he was out the door.

Tharan followed behind, hissing something at the Jedi. Zenith caught bits: things like “what were you thinking,” and “of all the times to be forthcoming!”

Must have been true, then. Zenith set a hand on his blaster for comfort and thought. He was a kid. He was a Sith. He was a Jedi. Lot of contradictions there, but taken together he could see how maybe he was just a Jedi who genuinely believed what he spouted. Maybe he was someone Zenith could trust to get the job done, even if he wasn’t really here for Balmorra. Nobody was ever here for Balmorra.

And he could hand it to the kid. He was decisive. Didn’t wring his hands over his choices, even if he wasn’t willing to get those hands dirty. Zenith suggested a plan, the Jedi said he’d make it happen. Hard to say if the confidence was earned yet, but he hadn’t gone wrong so far.

They didn’t get to talk again, not about anything but the mission, until the Balmorran Arms Factory. Zenith almost didn’t care to talk then. Not with Lachris’ death so close.

He wanted to get a few things clear, though.

“You’re really a kid?” he asked.

The Jedi’s jaw tightened. Almost a pout, really. He threw several Imperial guards against the outer wall of the factory with a wave of his hand and gestured for Zenith to follow him inside.

“I am sixteen, yes,” he said tightly. “I am no child.”

Sounded like the kind of thing a child would say, all right. Still, Zenith knew how this one went. No true kids in war. No time for childhood. He’d had more than a few teenagers in his ranks. Seen more than a few of them die, too. They didn't usually look like he did, though.

“All Sith grow up as fast as you?”

“If you have a problem with my leadership, perhaps a better place and time to discuss it would have been in a safehouse before now,” the Jedi said.

“I’m not saying I don’t trust you,” Zenith said. He didn’t, not quite. But it was the Jedi thing, not the Sith thing. “I think you’re a little too nice for your own good. It’s not an accusation. Just trying to understand.”

“It is a long story,” the Jedi said grudgingly. He stopped Zenith with a raised hand, peering ahead like he saw something. The hallway turned. There was nothing to see.

Then the Jedi turned on his lightsabre, slicing around the corner, and Zenith heard a droid’s warbling death cry. Zenith sprang around the corner after him, taking down two more of the guard droid patrol.

“Guess we haven’t got much time,” Zenith said grudgingly. “But if you give me a hint…”

“I overtaxed myself in the Force,” said the Jedi. “I had always wanted people to treat me as an adult. Now I experience nothing but.”

Zenith hummed consideringly. He didn’t think he owed the Jedi an apology or anything. He also didn’t think he needed to keep pushing. He’d continue to take the Jedi at his word, until he gave Zenith a reason to do otherwise.

#swtor #my ocs #my writing #caibos: he should be at the club #zenith #jedi consular #zeel legacy

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sarandipitywrites · 6 months

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NaNo update 11/26

today was a Good Writing Day holy shit. added a few songs to my playlists, too, so i'm satisfied :D

here's the latest bad decision from Lienzo excerpt from The Art of Empty Space:

"Phi? Lienzo?" A ripple passed over the reed curtain in a swishing rattle. "We're here; come in." Lienzo pretended not to notice his maza's murderous pout as Okara passed through the doorway. "Thanks for coming so quickly." "Don't worry about it, Red." Lacking anywhere to sit, it leaned on the kitchen worktop. A crisp white mask covered its nose and mouth. "I've already told Phi, but from the symptoms Kustjia's described, they're suffering from a strain of flu—" "As I told you." "—which isn't terribly severe—" "You see? You kids—" "—but given Phi's current prescription, it could still do more lasting damage than we might anticipate." Phi rolled their eyes and picked up a new clay tablet and their abacus. "Wait, what do you mean? What's wrong with their medication?" It'd taken years to get that dialed in — years. If there was something wrong with it now— "Nothing; it's working as intended. The issue is that it's intended to suppress Phi's immune system." Because it was overactive. Because it attacked their own body if allowed to do as it wished. "So you think they should, what, just stop taking their medication?" Stop taking it and be wracked with pain, lose what little mobility and freedom they had, become a prisoner in their own body— "Just long enough to have a round of antibiotic. Taking it while immunocompromised could have unintended side effects, but anti-inflammatories should do the job well enough until they're able to get back on their normal regimen. A week, at most." "So... we should do it." He knew it, even if it pushed the bile up to scorch his throat. Better a short time in pain than a lifetime of consequences. "Right? We should do it." Phi huffed. Their beads clacked cacophonously in the small space. "Fine. Yes. If it'll get you and Katjia to leave me be, I'll do it." "Alright. So we'll need the antibiotics and the anti-inflammatories..." Which cost money. That was why Phi had been holding off on treatment. That was why they were balancing [blacksmith]'s ledgers. They needed money. "Lienzo. If you need—" "I don't want to pay you back later, Okara." But he'd left all his money — all five coppers of it — at home when he'd left. He had no money. And if he had no money and Phi had no money and everything that he hadn't already pawned was something he couldn't afford to sell, that Phi couldn't afford to sell— His left hand drifted up to his mouth. A heavy weight slid from his wrist halfway down his forearm. His breath caught in his throat. "What about this?" The clouds inside the crystals swirled; even in the low light, the bangle shone brighter than any silver. "It has to be worth enough. Don't you tell me it isn't."

AES taglist (ask to be added or removed!): @notwritinganyflufftoday

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #nanowrimo 2023 #nanowrimo #nano check in #my writing #the art of empty space

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alexeiadrae · 1 year

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Blaster Interview with Hajime Kanzaka vol 10, translated

Japanese original here. Alas, some headcanons about pregnancy in the Slayersverse are busted, but I will accept it graciously. Especially since I love HK going all nerdy about blood types.

Tamiki: Lina seems to be able to cook (probably because of her sister's training), but what about Amelia and Naga, who are from royalty? I don't think they have been taught. What are their specialties?

KANZAKA: Ah, I certainly haven't thought about Amelia's cooking! I think she has a discerning palate. She may be able to cook simple dishes like grilling meat, but I don't think she can cook elaborate dishes.

Tamiki: What about Naga?

KANZAKA: Naga has been traveling alone for a long time (......), and I believe she was involved in a cooking competition with Lina when she went undercover as a housekeeper in one of the episodes, so I think she can cook. However, I don't think she can compete with Lina in terms of cooking skills.

Tamiki: "In the animated version, Amelia is obliterating dishes at the same speed as Lina and the others (except Zelgadis), but is she a big eater like her sister? How much can she 'get in'? It's a mystery."

KANZAKA: Amelia, huh? ...... My image of her was that she was a single serving, or at least normal. Well, the TV anime is a bit deformed in that respect.

Tamiki: Last time we talked about the general setting of birthdays, but do you have an image of the character's blood type?

KANZAKA: "I'm thinking that Lina might be type O, because Mr. KANZAKA and Ms. Megumi Hayashibara are type O."

I don't have an image of blood type ....... I don't know much about blood type fortune-telling.

Tamiki: Do people in the Slayers world have blood types?

KANZAKA: Well, I think people in that world have blood types. However, the ABO classification is only one of dozens of blood type classifications, and in some countries or ethnic groups, more than 90% of the population is type A.

In the world of Slayers, there is no such thing as blood type divination.

Tamiki: It was said that magic during pregnancy was OK as long as you can concentrate, but does it affect the mother or the fetus? If you use offensive magic stupidly will the development be hindered or will the child’s development of magic powers be affected?

KANZAKA: I think there is such a folk belief. However, I don’t think it’s possible to judge whether it’s the result of prenatal care, or the effect of using magic all the time during pregnancy, or whether it is the effect of the mother's personality, who uses offensive magic to the hilt even during pregnancy.

A discussion about a different series follows, Sheriff Stars, I’ll include it but not clean it up. Once again anyone who wants to is free to clean it up. And then the interview wraps up with some basic questions about what HK likes. And yes, the part of this interview that is online does end that abruptly with a question asked but not answered.

Tamiki: Let's go to the Sheriffstars' question!

　Meny likes tofu, but do you like soy milk, okara (bean curd), dried tofu, or tofu hamburger steak? 　

　Or do you have to have the soft and fluffy texture of tofu?

Kamisaka: Menyi is in love with the plump texture of to-fu, so I have a feeling that she actually doesn't like okara and koya-tofu.

Tamiki: There are people who like tofu but don't like okara. I am one of them.

Kamisaka: I also like tofu, and I can handle okara and koya-tofu, but I actually have a bit of a weakness for soy milk.

Tamiki: So, you are saying that Menyi genuinely likes "otofu"?

Kamisaka: Yes, that's right. I eat it with hot tofu or cold yakko.

Tamiki: And then, because they were out of soy sauce, she went to ask them to share it with her, carrying a bottle of soy sauce (laughs).

Kamisaka When Meny didn't come back, Letty called him and Sammy, who was on the other end of the line, said.

　Lettie would then call Sammy, who was on the other end of the line, and say, "Meny is eating at my house, so come and eat with Lettie.

Tamiki: I'm afraid I'm going to get in trouble for leaving people who don't know what I'm talking about behind!

Tamiki - "Divas also have wings on their backs, but how do they sleep?　Dragno was lying on his back, and Gioram was cowering."

KAMISAKA: I wonder if they sit down, after all. I guess they sit down, after all. Whatever it is, they should be in a position that does not put a burden on their wings.

Tamiki: "What kind of creatures do the ga-sha, which were used as vehicles in Draguno's country, eat and what kind of habitat do they originally live in?

　Is it an insect in the biological classification?"

KAMISAKA: Ga-Sha is essentially a Gundam botsu mobile suit that lives on helium-3. Its weapon is a hammer over the mountains.

　Any questions?

Tamiki .................. Well, the next question is~

KAMISAKA Why do you let it slide?

Tamiki: That's why Gundam wotas are so ...... 　

　Okay, okay, so what kind of creature is Ga-Sha?

KAMISAKA It is an omnivorous insect that is more of a carnivore, sometimes eating even small rodents.

　Originally, they were not that big, but Dragno modified them to make them into vehicles, and they ended up like that.

Tamiki: The image I had was that of a dung beetle, but I wonder if it is more like a centipede in terms of its habits.

KAMISAKA The image was ...... a bramble beetle ...... No, it was a fungus beetle. There was a fungus beetle. 　

　Well, it doesn't have legs that long.

Tamiki Is a giant crucian beetle ...... a shockillas?

　Whatever it is, I'd hate intensely to ride one like that......

Tamiki A fairly basic question follows. What are you most addicted to right now?"

KANZAKA: What I'm most into right now: ...... It's hard to say what I'm into the most, but I often have a lot of fun talking about Higurashi with my acquaintances, so if I had to say, I'd say "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni".

Tamiki: "Where would you like to visit now?"

KANZAKA: In Tottori Prefecture, there are places like Mizuki Shigeru Road in Sakaiminato City!

Tamiki: "What is your favorite yokai? (In terms of Japanese and Western yokai)"

KANZAKA Actually, I love backbeards~!

Tamiki: I don't have to ask why ......?

KANZAKA Because they are black with eyeballs. Perfutto!

Tamiki: Then why not Japanese Yokai?

#the slayers #Hajime Kanzaka #blaster interviews #slayers translated #amelia wil tesla seyruun #naga the serpent #lina inverse #blood types #pregnancy

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sunkenshipsanddreams · 5 years

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Icebreakers!

1: 🍉/ What kind of foods do you like?

2: ♈/When is your birthday?

3: 🏜/What kind of weather do you prefer?

4: 🎵/Favorite music?

5: 😡/What makes you blow your top?

6: 😳/Most embarrassing moment?

7: 😖/What's the most cringeworthy moment of your life?

8: 👺/Favorite Movie or Animation?

#asktheclans #glass birds #okara of titan #ask meme

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sciencenewsforstudents · 4 years

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Move over Fido. Dogs aren’t the only pets that can take a hint from humans. Cats can tell the difference between the sound of their names and other similar words, a new study finds. Good kitties.

Scientists have already studied how dogs respond to people’s behavior and speech. But researchers are just scratching the surface of human-cat interactions. Domestic cats (Felis catus) do appear to respond to the expressions on people’s faces. Cats can also distinguish between different human voices. But can cats recognize their own names?

I think many cat owners feel that cats know their names, or the word ‘food,’” says Atsuko Saito. But there was no scientific evidence to back up cat lovers’ hunches. Saito is a psychologist — someone who studies the mind — at Sophia University in Tokyo. She’s also a cat owner to a male mouser named “Okara,” which means soy fiber or tofu scraps in Japanese.

So Saito and her colleagues pounced on that research question. They asked the owners of 77 cats to say four nouns of similar length followed by the cat’s name. Cats gradually lost interest with each random noun. But when the owner said a cat’s name, the feline reacted strongly. They moved their ears, head or tail, shifted their hind paw position. And, of course, they meowed.

The results were similar when cats lived alone or with other cats. Even cats at a cat café — where customers can hang out with many cats — responded to their names. The name didn’t have to come from a beloved owner, either. When a non-owner said the name, cats still responded to their names more than to other nouns. The scientists published their findings April 4, 2019 in Scientific Reports.

One finding did give the team pause. Cats living at cat cafés almost always reacted to their names and those of other cats living there. Housecats did so much less often. Maybe that’s because cat cafés have so many cats in residence, the researchers speculate. Cats at these café’s don’t just bond with a single owner or a family. Lots of humans visit the cafés, so the cats hear their names from many unfamiliar and familiar voices. A cat living at a café may also frequently hear its name called at the same time as another cat’s. So it may be harder for cats to associate their own names with positive events (such as attention and treats) in these environments. For their next step, the researchers hope to figure out whether cats recognize the names of their feline housemates as well as their own names

These findings mean that cats join the ranks of animals that have shown some sort of response in experiments to the names people give them. Those animals include dogs, dolphins, apes and parrots. It’s hard to compare across species, though. Some dogs, for example, can tell the difference between hundreds of human words (not that it’s a contest or anything). But dog studies usually involve command and fetch tests. Cats might respond to their names, but not many cats can be bothered to fetch.

The study makes a strong case that cats are purr-fectly capable of recognizing their own names. Getting a treat or cuddles as a reward is part of how cats learn to recognize a name. However, owners may also use their cat’s name in a negative setting, like yelling at Fluffy to get off the stove. As a result, cats can probably learn to associate these familiar utterances with good and bad experiences, Saito notes. And that might not be great for cat-human relations. So only using a cat’s name in a positive context and using a different term in a negative context could help cats and humans communicate more clearly.

So cats may recognize their names. But will they come when called? Don’t get your hopes up.

#behavior #science #scied #sciblr #cats #names #pets

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leeus-writing · 3 years

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So excited that your asks are open! Could I please request a Vincent Valentine one-shot with the sharing a bed trope??? ❤❤

Hi Okara

I hope you like the requests i sent you to -dark laugh-

And I'm glad you gave me my favourite trope! Enjoy the Lovley stuff.

Smut is undercut

The Warmth of you

“VINCENT!” You shouted into the snowstorm, shivering despite your layers.

A shadow of a tall man seemed to turn, stopping in the storm. The wind howled and the snow was hitting you like bullets. The storm was positively a blizzard by now. You hunched over and continued walking, eyes half-closed. Vincent didn’t move, he pulled his cloak up and around your shoulders.

Inside your mind you started to think, agreeing to accompany Vincent on his way up to the crater was not a good idea. After all A: what on earth were you two expected to find and B: it was just freezing. You looked up at the shadow-like man as he pulled you in closer.

“The Inn is not too far from here,” He said, “Can you hang on?”

You nod stubbornly and followed him closely, shivering.

You were relieved to see a sign stating, Icicle Inn. You looked up stiffly seeing it and sigh. Vincent picked you up and carries you the rest of the way. He sat you down gently on a chair near the fire before walking over to the reception desk.

“We need rooms, for the night,” He says trying to hide his own effect of the cold.

“More like a few days, this storm is set in for the week,” The man behind the desk laughed, “Not so good for business, no skiing.”

Vincent stared blankly back at him and tapped a finger on the desk, his golden gauntlet making indents in the wood. The man coughed and stopped laughing.

“So… Rooms. Well, we only have one left, a lot of travellers who were meant to be going home are now stuck. It err has a double bed,” The receptionist smiled “Tell ya what, due to the inconvenience I’ll charge ya half price!”

Vincent groaned and chucked some gill on the counter taking the key. He turned back to you, relieved to see you’d pinked up a little bit. You noticed he didn’t look happy.

“Vince is everything alright, they have rooms, right?” You stood up hand to your chest.

“They have A room,” He said showing you the key.

You blushed heavily.

| |

The room was nice, a little on the small side and the bed had been pushed up against the wall. You sat in the far most corner with your nightclothes on. Your other clothing was hanging up on the radiator in the bathroom. Vincent had left to grab you both some food. You rubbed your hands over your face. This... this situation wasn’t ideal. You had developed feelings for the man as you had travelled together. Now this situation was just going to make things worse.

He returned sometime later with bowls of chips. You had moved to the bed and hunkered down.

“We missed dinner, but I persuaded… the man to give us some food. He heated up these chips for us,” Vincent handed you a bowl.

“You growled at him didn’t you,” You said taking it and shoving one in your mouth.

The sudden salty taste of potato goodness made you suddenly realise how hungry you truly were.

“No cheese?” You asked with a hint of a smile.

Vincent just chuckled and finished off his own chip meal before standing up and stretching. He started to undress, which caused you to squeak a little and look away blushing. He stopped and looked at you, the silence causing you to look round.

“Vince?” You asked seeing him just stood buttons undone with a small boyish smirk on his face.

For a time, you could imagine what he looked like as a Turk all those years ago. He raised an eyebrow a little.

“Sorry you caught me off guard. I didn’t think you’d just undress in front of me,” you said blushing.

“I see…” the tone indicated slight disappointment.

You swallowed putting your bowl to one side “No… it’s not that I think your not good looking it's just. I thought you’d want privacy,” you mutter to yourself looking away embarrassed.

Vincent continued to undress, down to his boxers. He slipped into the bed beside you, he lay still looking up at the ceiling, the hand that was usually covered by the gauntlet was scarred. You glanced at it before slipping under the covers. He looked over to you and indicated if you wanted the light off. You nodded and looked back up at the ceiling.

You eventually looked over to Vincent, “I, didn’t mean I thought you were ugly. I… I actually think you are really good looking.”

Vincent looks over to you. His red eyes glinting slightly in his eyes.

“That’s why, I squeaked. I… I find you very attractive,” you muttered.

“Oh?” he rolled onto his side and gently brushed your hair away, “and if I said you were attractive?”

You laughed a little then stopped when he said no more.

“You do?”

“I don’t normally travel with another person, but when you asked how could I have said no? You’re amazing Y/N, fun to be around, and…”

He leaned in and kissed you, one hand pressed to your face. Your eyes widened in surprise at the kiss before leaning in. Your hands pressing against his chest. The skin scarred and bumped but warm to the touch.

“You’re… warm,” You say surprised.

“Let me guess, because Cloud said he found me in a coffin you expected me to be the living dead?”

“I… I’m sorry” you muttered looking away embarrassed by your foolish thoughts.

Vincent laughed a little and rolled you onto your back. “I am the undead… I was once and now I’m alive… fully alive.”

You looked at his face then down his body to his cock, though covered by boxers you could see it was erect. Vincent slowly lay down on you pulling up your nightshirt. You shiver a little from the cold but that was soon gone as Vincent kissed at your neck before moving down your body. Your cheeks burnt with the fire of arousal. Vincent’s eyes locked onto yours as he slowly peels off your underwear.

His finger rested above your sensitive folds as he leaned back up and whispered into your ear “I can show you how alive I really am…”

Your eyes widened and just the thought was sending your mind reeling. All you could do was moan as he gently ran his fingers down your pussy. Vincent grinned and kissed your neck as he slipped fingers within you and slowly pumped them in and out. His thumb rubbing near your clit as he did so.

Your body responded to the attention without your control. Not that you minded you’d let go of control for now. Vincent laced his other hand into yours pinning it to the bed, listening to your reactions, learning about your body… what made you tick.

He soon had you panting, your body clenching his fingers are you were coming close. Vincent slipped his boxers free and help you open before slipping inside. He angled your hips up and began to trust slowly at first before picking up the pace. Savouring each and every sound you made.

“Vince… I… Oh Gods!” You cried as you finished.

Your hands reaching behind you and clutching your pillow. Your body clutched Vincent’s as he thrust through your orgasm each movement sending another wave of pleasure. Vincent couldn’t hold off much longer, he pressed his forehead to yours and grunted as he came. His body shuddered as his slipped from yours pulling you over so your head could rest on his chest.

You both lay dazed for a short time. You smiled in the darkness enjoying his sex scent and looked up to kiss him

“Lets never, not share a room alright?” You whisper into the dark.

Vincent smiled back, a rare thing, as he poked your nose “Alright… though we are trapped here for another few nights.”

“I don’t think I’ll mind too much,” You reply kissing him.

| |

Ao3 | KO-FI

Tag list: @ladyalexandros @cosmicdarlingx @iceborngirl

#vincent valentine #ff7 vincent x reader #vincent valentine x reader #ff7 #ff7 remake #FFVII #Leeu Writes

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nicoleebot · 3 years

Text

How to Escape Competition Through Authenticity

I remember when I just started Okara Brands. The competition was seemingly intense and others would go to unimaginable extents to rise above. It was a tussle and I spent sleepless nights contemplating how to stay afloat in the game. This bothered me a lot, I kept on wondering if this is what business is all about and if I will be able to survive with these kinds of practices. It really got me asking myself if life was all about competition and if it ever ends.

I must say I had much of a zero-sum game mentality (one man’s win is another man’s loss) about success in business. One day, while discussing with my mentor, I asked him what his thoughts were about this. I was mesmerized by his response, he quoted Naval; “escape competition through authenticity”. He made me understand that competition as seen commonly in our setting is dumb. He explained that oftentimes the market is large and unexplored and that competition makes competitors to only focus on fighting over a tiny market segment.

He made me understand that instead of competing with others, I should set a high standard for my company and products and compete against them. That I should focus on creating amazing value for customers, do a lot R&D, and push innovation way up. I realized that most of us in Cameroon easily reach a ceiling point with the product or service we are offering and spend more time fighting each other when there is still a lot to be done to attract new customers and to explore new markets and other market segments. He also shared with me PayPal co-founder, Peter Thiel’s talk with Standford MBA students titled “competition is for losers“. An awesome and in-depth exploration of this idea.

This saved me a lot of headaches. It was a big relief for me. I realized that Okara Brands’ real competition is with its future self. The real competition is meeting high-quality standards that rise above the expectations of our customers. It doesn’t mean we stopped observing the market or stopped checking on what others are doing. We simply didn’t formulate our strategy based on our competitors’ moves. This became a new philosophy for us and it became part of our company culture. Since then, I have invested more energy in discovering myself and spend more time polishing my unique and specific skills. This piece of advice has yielding great results and I’m very grateful to my mentor. Mentors are very important, find someone or people you can have serious conversations with, about the things that matter.

The sky is indeed very wide for all birds to fly freely. Set high standards and aim to focus on doing what’s best for your clients. Meeting and going above their needs should be your primary goal. If this post resonates with you, drop a comment below. What do you think about competition in Cameroon?

#entrepreneur #entrepreneurship

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okarawrites · 3 years

Text

Can anyone recommend any good tutorials/give me some tips for drawing light colour hair in grey and white (lead pencils)

#okara asks #help #drawing #art #beginner

0 notes

love-and-monsters · 4 years

Text

Okara the Mermaid

F mermaid X GN reader, 3075 words.

This takes place in the same wold as Arunio’s story, so there’s a little more elaboration on human and merfolk relations. Mostly it’s just fluff, though.

The room looked like a combination between an aquarium and a board room, which made for a very strange space.

In the middle of the room was a table surrounded by comfortable chairs. A projector sat on the table, pointing toward a blank wall. There was a small house plant sitting in the corner. Given that there were no windows in the room, the plant looked rather droopy and sad.

Well, there were no windows that lead to the outside, at least. One wall of the room was covered in thick sheets of glass. Behind the wall was a hallway of water. An intercom was attached to the wall, allowing communication between parties on either side of the glass.

Technically, you weren’t authorized to communicate with the ambassadors. You were an intern, which meant assistant duties rather than anything interesting. But you were allowed to be in the room when the ambassadors came, which was more than you’d originally expected.

You sat down a little way back from the table, fiddling with the stack of papers you were holding. Typically, you were responsible for handling the copious amounts of notes from previous meetings and taking new ones. If someone wanted information, you needed to go back through the notes, pick out everything that was useful, and present it in a formal report.

It wasn’t a fun job, but you were working with the merfolk and if you did this job well, you could someday get a higher position. You were willing to put up with some shit if it meant getting your dream job.

Two merfolk swam down the tunnel. That caught your attention. One of them was familiar, the mermaid that usually showed up for meetings. She had a long, rust-colored tail with short, sharp fins. Her hair was cut into the traditionally short style of ambassadors and she wore a woven band around her upper arm.

The mermaid that was next to her was unfamiliar. She was smaller and had a darker red tail, though the fins were a similar scalpel shape. Her hair was cut differently as well. Instead of the short, ambassador cut, one half of her head was nearly bald and the other half had nearly shoulder-length hair. She, too, wore an armband, but this one was a simple braid rather than the complicated weaving of the one on the ambassador.

Your boss, a woman in her mid-fifties, moved to click on the intercom. “Marcessa. You have a companion.”

How the ambassador managed to understand the sound through the water, you didn’t know, but she nodded. “My apprentice, Okara,” she said with a small gesture to the other mermaid. “She is preparing to take on the position of ambassador, so she will be attending meetings from with me for now on.”

Your boss nodded. “I see. Well, I look forward to working with her. So, as we discussed in the last meeting, we have proposed new fishing laws in large stretches of the ocean.”

The meetings started in earnest and you struggled to keep up with the conversation, taking down notes and looking up any relevant information. You felt somewhat more harried than usual because of the apprentice, Okara. She kept looking at you. Not with interest or disdain. Just… looking. Her gaze followed you around the room.

When the meeting ended, you were left alone in the board room to finish organizing some of the notes and to straighten everything up for the next meeting. Usually, the ambassador would linger for a few minutes longer, often watching you for a few minutes and appearing to think before she swam back off. This time, she spoke to her apprentice for a few seconds, or at least you assumed they were talking- you couldn’t hear them through the glass. Then she swam off down the tunnel, leaving Okara alone.

You paused in your cleaning and looked at the mermaid. She stared back at you, swimming close to the glass. Her gaze was steady and unrelenting. She didn’t even blink.

Slowly, you approached the glass. Okara stared at you, following your movements on the other side. When you reached the intercom, you pressed the button. “Can I do something for you?”

Okara tilted her head at you, eyes wide. “Perhaps,” she said. “You are my age, are you not?”

You peered through the glass, assessing her. Merfolk aged at roughly the same rate as humans, and she did look like she was in her early twenties, as you were. “I think so?” you said. “But what does that have to do with-”

Okara pressed her face close to the glass, hands flush against it. “What is the human world like?”

Her voice was filled with a sudden intense ferocity. You blinked at her, startled. “It’s- what?”

She pushed herself closer to the glass, eyes widening. Her voice became hushed, somehow, despite it being entirely in your head. “I have been fascinated by the human world for a long time,” she said. “It’s so different from the merfolk world. I have always wanted to see what it’s like. But…” She hesitated. “It’s not always safe for merfolk to go onto land. I became an ambassador because I thought I would have a greater chance of going on land. But Marcessa says that I won’t be able to go on the land for years.”

“Okay,” you said tentatively. “What do you need me for, then?”

=Okara smiled. Her teeth were very sharp, you realized. “You’re young, like me. You’re not going to be all stuck in your ways like them.” She tilted her head in the direction Marcessa had gone in. “You can help me.”

“Help you do what?” you said, though you already had an inclination about what she was going to ask.

Her smile got even wider. “Take me onto land. Show me around. Let me see the world.”

You glanced over your shoulder, making sure that no one was in the room before you responded. “I could lose my job,” you whispered. “If I got found out…”

“I would lose my job too,” Okara said. “But you wouldn’t be found out. And! You could ask me whatever you want about my world. I can give you a lot of information that might be useful. It could help you.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “Please! I can set everything up! I just want to see what the land is really like!”

You hesitated, but her pleading eyes and voice were pulling on your heartstrings. You sighed. “Okay. Okay. I’ll see when the best time is to go on land.”

As much as you were uncomfortable with the idea, it was hard to regret your decision when she grinned and spun around in the water.

It was another week before you were able to stay behind after another meeting and get in contact with Okara. She swam close to the glass, pressing up against it like she thought if she was close enough, she could phase through it. “Did you find a way to get me on land?” she asked.

“Kind of,” you said. You put your phone screen up close to the glass and tapped at the map you’d pulled up. “We’re here. If you follow the shoreline down a ways, there’s a little alcove with a big rocky outcropping. People don’t go there very often, so if we meet early in the morning, we should be safe. I can bring you some clothes and you can transform there.”

Okara peered at the screen, examining the map. “Yes, I know the location. I should be able to convince Marcessa to let me out of her sight for a day.”

“Great. We’ll meet in two days, then.” You slid your phone back into your pocket, glancing over your shoulder. “Is there anything in particular you want to do while we’re on land?”

Okara looked momentarily embarrassed. “I don’t know that much about the land. Marcessa won’t tell me what the land is like even though I know she’d been.” She tapped her chin with a long nail. “Mostly, I want to know what humans are like.”

“Sure,” you said. “I think I can do that.”

]Two days later, you packed a bag with clothes and headed down to the shore. The alcove wasn’t obviously visible from most angles; it looked more like a cliff that collapsed into a pile of rocks as it reached the edge of the sea. But once you got closer, you could see that the rocks obscured a small cavern filled with seawater. As you approached, Okara emerged from the water.

It was the first time you’d ever seen her without the glass in the way and you were struck with a sudden urge to touch her. Automatically, you reached your hand out. Her hand broke the surface of the water, reaching for you in the same moment.

Her skin wasn’t exactly human. It was cooler and smoother, and you could feel her long nails tapping at your wrist as she squeezed your hand.

The spell over the both of you broke at the same moment and you pulled your hands back. “I brought you some clothes,” you said, undoing the zipper of your bag and showing her. “Are you going to transform?”

She nodded and ducked under the surface of the water. You turned your back, leaving the clothes lying on the rocks next to her. For some reason, it felt more uncomfortable to look at her naked as a human than to look at her naked as a mermaid.

When the rustling and shifting of clothes behind you stopped, you looked around. You’d made a good guess at her clothing size, though you hadn’t gotten it exactly right. You’d erred on the side of too large over too small and, given her exceedingly slim frame, it did sort of hang like sackcloth. She had to roll up her pant legs so they didn’t drag on the ground.

You offered her a pair of flip flops. She crouched down to put them on and paused, staring at her toes. She wriggled them a few times, poking at them with obvious interest. “I thought they’d be different,” she said. “Marcessa told me that toes are like little fingers, but they don’t really feel like that.”

“They’re not that dexterous,” you agreed. “Do you need help putting them on?”

“I’ve seen humans wear shoes before,” she sniffed and slid them onto her feet. She took a few steps. They were awkward and a little fumbling, but she adapted to legs surprisingly quickly.

You tilted your head, indicating for her to follow, and you walked up the beach together. Okara paused every few seconds to look at something, examining the little bugs that scuttled out of the sand and glancing over a small bird that landed on a dune nearby. She wasn’t excitable, as you’d expected. Whenever she looked at something, you could almost see the gears turning in her head.

“Where are we going?” Okara asked as you left the sand and walked onto the tarmac parking lot.

“You said you wanted to see what humans were like,” you said, stopping next to your car. “So, we’re going to the mall.”

Okara looked blankly at you as you got into the car. You opened the passenger door and gestured to her. “Get in.”

It took her a moment to get inside, carefully sorting her new legs underneath her. Once she was in, you had to direct her to put on her seatbelt. “Do you know what this is?” you asked, noticing her curious glances at every part of the car.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “I’ve heard of these. But I’ve never seen one.”

“It’s a car,” you said. “Humans use them to get places faster.” You started the engine and Okara jumped at the sudden rumble. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Your car was not impressive. It wasn’t a junker, but it wasn’t a very good car either. It couldn’t go particularly fast. But from Okara’s expression, you might have just thrown her onto a roller coaster going straight down a hill. She clutched at the seat, eyes wide, lips pressed tightly together.

The destination was only a few miles away, thankfully, because Okara looked as though her heart would burst if she spent any more time at forty miles per hour. She stumbled when she got out of the car, pressing a hand to the exteriors to hold herself up. You hurried over to her. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” she said, panting. She looked up at you and grinned. Her teeth still seemed rather sharp. “I think I would like to try that again.” She let out a breath. “Once my heart stops racing. That was exciting.”

You laughed. “We weren’t even going that fast.”

Her eyes fixed on you and she seemed torn between leaving the car and staying and going as fast as you could go. Eventually, she made up her mind and stepped from the car to peer up at the building.

You’d brought her to the mall. It was one of the most human places you could think of in the city. Throngs of people pushed in and out, their chatter blending into a low murmur of sound.

Okara turned in a slow circle. “I thought it would be quieter up here,” she said. “They always say the song is gone when you go up on land. I thought that would make it quiet.”

You laughed a little. “I thought it would be quiet in the ocean.”

“Sure, there’s a lot of sound in the ocean,” Okara said, though she no longer looked interested in speaking about it. She took hold of your hand, making your heart give a startling leap. “Show me around.”

Okara’s eyes only got wider and wider as you walked around the mall. She was absolutely fascinated by the racks of clothing, examining them with a keen interest. Shoes and socks also absorbed her attention and you took a break so that she could try on a few pairs of sneakers.

It was a bookstore, however, that really grabbed her. “What are they?” she asked, flipping through the pages of a thick book.

“Books. They’ve got writing in them, like stories,” you said.

“You write your stories down?” she said. “But how do they flow?”

“How do they what?”

“Grow and change. If you write them down, they don’t change when you tell them,” she said.

“Yeah? That’s the point, isn’t it? What’s the point of telling a story if it changes every time you tell it? Everyone would have different versions of it.”

Okara looked like she wanted to say something, then she shook her head and went back to skimming the books. “What’s this one about?”

“Um. It’s a story about wizards,” you said. “You can’t read?”

She shook her head. “A bit. I can read some words. But not this many.”

“Maybe you’d prefer something like this, then,” you said, walking over to another shelf and offering her a graphic novel. “It’s still got words, but you might be able to figure out the storyline from the pictures.”

It didn’t take long for Okara to be absorbed in the book. You curled up together in the café section of the shop, leaning close so you could read the book together. After she asked you a few times to read out some of the wordier sections, you just started reading it out loud for her. She seemed fascinated, especially when you tried to put on different voices for the different characters.

Eventually, you ordered some food for the both of you and Okara was absolutely fascinated by the raspberry crowns. She ate about three of them before you cut her off. “You’re going to get sick,” you said.

She stared at you with enormous, glittering eyes. There was raspberry jam on her cheek. “But they’re so good,” she complained.

“I’ll get you some more,” you promised, “but later. When you’ve actually digested what you just ate.”

She pouted, but slouched back into her seat. You leaned over and swiped at her cheek with your thumb, removing the jam.

Okara stared at you. The gesture had been unexpectedly intimate and you found your face growing red. “Thanks,” she said after a second. Her voice was soft and it made something in your chest tighten. You smiled.

“You’re welcome. Uh. So. Anyway. Let’s get back to the book.” You pulled it closer to you and found Okara leaning in. Her hair brushed against your shoulder. Your heart pounded against your ribs.

Time slipped away as you sat together. Eventually, you noticed how much the light from the windows had dimmed. “It’s getting late,” you said, nudging Okara. She started and glanced at the window. “We should probably get you back to the ocean.”

She nodded, sitting up. “Marcessa is probably looking for me,” she said.

You gathered up the books and started to head back to the shelves, then hesitated. “You liked these books, right?”

“Yeah?”

“It’ll probably be good for you to learn how to read,” you said. “And these books might help. I’ll buy them for you.”

Okara’s eyes went wide. “Really? You don’t have to-”

“Sure. It’s no problem.” You took the books up to the counter and paid, Okara thanking you the entire time.

“You’ll have to keep them out of the water, but I can find a good place for you to leave them,” you said as you headed out to the car. Okara nodded eagerly.

The drive back to the beach was quiet. Okara stared out the window, as if trying to drink in the scenery with her eyes.

The beach was still quiet when you got back to the alcove. “Thanks for today,” Okara said as she stepped into the water. “It was really fun.”

“We should do it again some time,” you said. “Uh. If you’re still interested, that is.

Okara stepped back out of the water and cupped your cheek with her hand. Before you realized what was happening, she had leaned in and pressed a kiss to the corner of your mouth.

“Sure,” she said. “But next time I want you to visit me.”

She vanished under the surf. You sat on the beach for a while, staring out over the waves with a smile on your face.

#exophilia #mermaid #mermay #mermaid girlfriend #merfolk #mermaid lover #monster romance

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rika-kihira · 4 years

Link

In this interview from home, the MC prepared a Q&A Corner to ask Rika about what she does recenty in this situation and randomly picked some questions from fans.

T/n: some parts were omitted because we weren’t able to listen to the audio well, due to the poor quality of it. Like the part where she answered the question of 'songs that she listens to recently', one of the song title is 'Stand by You'. Or the question about love.

About Worlds cancellation: since it was a dangerous situation the cancellation couldn't be helped

Rika’s schedule in this situation: 7 wake up, 7.30 Breakfast, 8.00 Reading fan letters, 9.00 Training, 10.00 Study, 12.00 Lunch, 13.00 Ballet, dance, training, 16.00 Free time, 17.00 Making dinner, dinner, 19.00 Free time 20.00 Running, 20.30 Study, 21.30 Game with family, 22.30 Bathing etc 24.00 sleep

About her daily schedule of reading fan letters: In the morning rereading the letters fan wrote gives her power

About contact with other skaters during the pandemic: Sometimes Satoko would contact her

About food she cooks at home: Omelet rice and making desserts with healthy okara (soya pulp) powder

About playing games with her family: She plays Mario Bros and Mario Cart. With 4 members of her family

About her fave costume: From her 2018-2019 season ex, Faded. By wearing costumes rather than daily training clothes she gets more excited and could turn her 'switch'/enter her zone

Rika was asked to give a message at the end of the show: She hopes for the best for everyone and to keep being positive

#rika kihira #interview #translation #translations #Interviews

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sarandipitywrites · 7 months

Note

Happy Blorbo Blursday!

Your characters are in a cafe/bakery for snacks. What is each one of them buying? 🥐🥞🥪☕

--@oh-no-another-idea

hi Cass!

Lienzo's getting the specialty latte, in the largest size they will give him.

The beast acts like he's going to try something new this time, but ultimately gets pain au chocolat again.

Phi's having an iced brioche cinnamon roll as large as their head and, no, they will not share.

Gerania orders something fae's never tried before, but also gets faer favorite lemon cake. Just in case.

If Aisha's been there before, ze'll slowly work through the menu with the intent to try everything. If it's zir first time there, however, ze orders a croissant.

Murtagh orders a doppio and sips it slowly, while reminding Lienzo that real coffee doesn't have pumpkin spice whatever in it.

Okara orders the same thing as Murtagh, only to knock it back like a shot while refusing to break eye contact.

thank you for the ask!

#writeblr #saran answers #ask game #blorbo blursday #the art of empty space #oh-no-another-idea

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pandoraimperatrix · 5 years

Text

976w | DickKory | Titans (2018)| Slice of life/Fluff/Pregnancy fic

“Dick?!”

Kory jumped awake startled, her knitting needles falling on the floor making a couple of metallic clicks.

She turned her face to where she listened his moan followed by a soft thump when he landed after entering through the window.

“Sorry, babe, didn’t want to wake you. But what are you still doing out of the bed?”

She floated from the chair until she was standing and walked towards him.

“What is wrong?” Asked her searching him all over with concerned eyes.

“Nothing is wrong” and then the winced, Kory lifted one eyebrow. “I hurt my back.”

“Hurt your back? How? Is it something serious?”

He smiled, ever since she found out she was with child she became even more protective of him and the children than before.

“Nah,” he took the hand she had stretched toward him and kissed it. “Just pulled a muscle, I’ll be fine tomorrow, just need an ibuprofen, and maybe my dear wife can rub some menthol on my sexy back.”

She playfully rolled her eyes, the corners of her mouth twitching.

“You need to take better care of yourself. I hate that you are doing this alone.”

Dick sighed.

“We’ve talked about that, the kids can come when they’re done with their finals, and you, Koriand’r, are busy making our baby.” He took his free hand to her belly, felling the warmth of her skin.

“Tamaranean women don’t take time off their obligations when they are with child.” Still she absently covered his hand with hers, her ever present rings scratching his skin gently.

“Come on, Kory, not gain, we’ve talked about that, you promised you wouldn’t be putting yourself on harm’s way until the baby comes.”

“Right, right, no need to do the voice.”

“What voice?” He frowned before noticing the mischief on her eyes realizing she was about to make fun of him and feeling his body relax against his will.

“The whiny voice you do when you are pissed, Jason can reproduce it perfectly, it’s uncanny.”

“How come you can stop me from being mad at you by making fun at me? Forget starbolts, that’s your real superpower.”

She gave him that smile that made him go all heart-eyes, Rachel words.

“Hit the showers, Grayson, you stink.”

The hand holding hers when to her waist and pulled her close.

“Don’t I get a hug first for coming home alive and not making of you a pregnant widow?” He said in her ear, smiling as he felt the goosebumps spread through her skin.

“Get out!” She pushed him in the direction of the ensuite.

He let go of her laughing, then he stepped on something soft and bent down to grab it.

“Here, you let your knitting fall.” He stretched the fabric to analyse her word, the corners of his mouth twitching, amused buy the fact that they finally discovered something in which his wife was bad at. “Hey, how many arms a tamaranian/earthen baby is supposed to have?”

“Give this to me,” she snatched the purple bundle of knots from his fingers and pressed it to her chest. “Alfred showed me how to do it wrong.”

“Yeah, because Alfred does things wrong.”

“You know, I think I’ll sleep tonight with that maternity pillow Donna sent me.”

“Noooo, please Kory, I’ll be good.”

“Yeah? Start by not smelling like Gar’s shoes.”

He made a face, worried.

“I’m that bad?”

“Worse.”

“You are such a liar, Kory, but I’ll go, maybe the hot water will help.”

“Do you want me to go sexy?” He started pulling the invisible front zipper from his suit slowly.

She shook her head smiling.

“I’ve never seen someone in pain be such a dork.”

He blew her a final kiss and disappeared through the door.

When Dick came back, warm and dump from the shower Kory was sitting on the bed, the disastrous knitting not in sight.

“Lay on the bed, belly down.”

“Kory… You don’t need to.”

“I want to. And sleeping next to you when you are uncomfortable makes me uncomfortable, you keep tossing and turning.”

He sighed.

“Alright.”

He did what she asked, wincing at the movements that made his back hurt even more.

Soon after he was as comfortable as he as able to, crushing one pillow under his chin, he felt her familiar weight on his butt.

“Kory, won’t you hurt yourself?” he asked unable to relax even though the feel of her warm hands on his aching back feel like heaven.

“No, she still small, I can bend enough to do this.” She slid her hands up and down first, more a caress than a massage, then she started kneading the more tense parts on his shoulders, unknotting his muscles and forcing him to relax more and more.

“Where did you learn this?” His asked, his voice hoarse, and when she pressed a particular sensitive spot he was unable to suppress the moan.

“Okara.”

“Wasn’t that the place where you learnt to fight?”

“I wasn’t all I learnt there. I was like your finishing schools here on earth. We learnt a lot of things, battle was just one of them.”

“Finishing school. I keep forgetting you are royal.”

“It’s not who I am anymore. Shhh. It won’t work if you don’t shut up and relax.”

“Right.”

She worked on him for what felt like forever in paradise, Dick started feeling his body become lighter and his eyelid heavier, and soon he was asleep.

Kory finished by kissing the back of his neck and then floated from him to her side of the bed. He had his head turned toward her, his lips slighted parted. She caressed his face, pulling the moist threads of longish hair from his closed eyes. Then she turned off the lamp light and tried to find a comfortable position to fall asleep herself.

Plotless and slice of live as it was, I hope it made you a little happier.

#dickkory #robstar #dick grayson #koriand'r #kory anders #richard grayson #nightwing #starfire

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mericurialthoughts · 4 years

Text

#LocustAttack!

Corona virus, economic recession, cyclone and now... a locust attack. One problem doesn't get over and yet another one crops up.

So, what are locusts? Why are they attacking us? What are the reasons behind this? Some people in our country believe that Pakistan is responsible for thisPakistan has sent these terrorist locusts to India and these locusts are basically a conspiracy of Pakistan….hahaha

No, I am not joking. Hear it out.

"India asks the weak and cowardly Pakistan has Pakistan been resorting to the locust conspiracy after the terrorist conspiracy? So Pakistan is now turning locusts into terrorists and sending them to India. Has Pakistan been relying on locusts now instead of the army in order to attack India? Not only me, the whole of India raises this question" says Arnab Goswami!

Somebody please ask Arnab Goswami how this conspiracy works….Is there a nano GPS chip fixed onto these locusts with which Imran Khan is controlling them through a remote? How does that work?

It makes me laugh to think that people like Arnab Goswami consider their audience to be utter fools That no matter what rubbish they utter, the viewers will take that to be true. That's just too much!

Reverting to the topic, we will find out the actual reasons behind the locust attacks today and what innovative solutions are being used worldwide to counter it from which we can learn something.

Come, let us see

First, let us learn something about locusts: Locust is an insect which is quite similar to grasshopper and cricket. Infact, all these three insects belong to the same family. Locusts are generally found in desert regions and the unique thing about this is that as compared to grasshoppers and crickets.

It exists in two phases- It has two forms which is not seen in grasshoppers and crickets normally. These forms are- When it is present alone.This is called the solitary phase: But when it is present in crowds, and the environmental conditions are congenial. For example, wet soil after recent rains with trees and plants in full bloom, then they transform their forms completely.

This is called the gregarious phase. This metamorphosis of form changes everything about them- their behaviour, habits, appearance. Everything is different in the solitary phase and the gregarious phase. In a similar manner, it evolves into another phase if environmental conditions are congenial.

So, we do not have a problem with the ones in their solitary phase. A problem arises when they exist in crowds and are in their gregarious phase. They are yellow and black in color. Their eating habits change in the gregarious phase. They can eat more food and more varieties of food. Their endurance increases and their movements become more rapid.Even their brain size becomes larger

What's interesting is that they can transform into the gregarious phase from the solitary phase anytime. At any point of time in their lives as long as environmental conditions for it are congenial. The apt environmental conditions are- recent rains, moist soil and lush vegetation around. The swarms of these locusts are created in their gregarious phase. And these swarms destroy everything in their way. Because, like I said, their eating habits change so much that they can eat almost everything. Leaves, shoots, flowers, fruits, seeds, stems, barks- they can eat it all. They can eat almost all types of crops or non crops- be it wheat, grass, fruit trees or date palms. This is why complete destruction follows wherever they go.

How large can one locust swarm be?

The swarm found in Kenya in 2020 was 40 km by 60 km in dimension. The swarm can be as large as a rectangle of 40 kms by 60 kms. And in a swarm, there can be more than 150 million locusts within one square kilometre. A swarm can eat as much as 2,500 people in one day. So you can imagine the extent of its scale and how much destruction it can cause. And this is why it is said that the locusts are a kind of species that have the most economic impact on the entire planet as compared to any other animal species.

You can see the regions in which this happens- Africa, Middle east, Pakistan and the western part of India. They are found in larger numbers here because of the large extent of the desert areas in this region. and these are the areas in which they cause the most destruction. The locust attack in India today is the worst in the past 27 years in India. 1993 was the last time conditions were so bad. But this is not a recent phenomena. These locust attacks have been happening for thousands of years throughout the human history. Even ancient Egyptians had drawn locusts on their tombs which tells us that there had been locusts attack even in that age. These tombs are dated around 2400 BC. This is the reason why they are mentioned in a lot of religious texts. For example, Bible and Quran mention locust plagues.

It is believed that the locust plague mentioned in Bible happened in reality in Egypt in around 1400 BC. So, this is a problem that has been festering for ages, but climate change is indirectly held responsible for the locusts attacks happening today.

The sequence of events of how it actually happened is very interesting:The Indian ocean is warming up more than usual due to the climate change;The rains become more extreme due to the enhanced heating of the ocean;Torrential rains hit East Africa around the time of December 2019;Infact, there were floods as well;East Africa includes- Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia;These countries were badly flooded during December 2019;You can see how many people were affected due to these floods;Due to floods and torrential rains, congenial environmental conditions are created for the locusts; As mentioned before; the soil becomes moist and there is abundant vegetation around due to rains; So this becomes a great opportunity for the locusts to breed and change into the gregarious phase. So the locusts began to breed in huge numbers there and a plague hit East Africa. So Around February 2020, there was a huge locust plague in Africa. After which, these swarms of locusts began to travel east. It travelled to Iran, then Pakistan and now by the time of May, this plague has begun its move towards India.

The winds of the cyclone that had hit Bengal moved in such a direction and in such a way that they. They were further pushing the swarm of the locusts towards India. They wouldn't have normally travelled this way but they further moved in this direction because of the cyclone winds and this is exerting a very negative influence on Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana.

So the question is what are the solutions to fight this locust plague?

The first and the most common solution adopted by most of the countries most frequently is simply spraying them with pesticides and insecticides either on the ground or in the air with the help of a helicopter and then they would die.The problem with this solution is that this has a lot of negative impacts. Spraying pesticides has a negative impact in general on the environment , the people and their food. It exerts a negative impact on other things as well. And pesticides need to be sprayed in huge quantities in order for it to show effect.

Another solution could be the use of eco friendly pesticides. But experts have observed that the eco friendly pesticides- the ones that do not harm the environment-do not kill them as effectively.They take some time to show effect. Hence they are not as effective.

The third is the use of loud noises. The locusts flee from any kind of noise.Djs, music on a loudspeaker or any kind of loud noise- make them scarper. This is a solution that our farmers have implemented. But the problem with this solution is obvious- It can be implemented on a very short scale. And if your drive away the locusts from one place then they are going to attack another..

But there's another unique and interesting solution which was tested out in Pakistan. This solution was tested out in a small scale in Pakistan's Okara district. Basically, the farmers were asked to trap these locusts and collect them and submit them in bags. They would be paid in return for this and then these locusts would be milled and used as chicken feed. That is, they would basically become food for chicken and help in feeding them because locusts are an extremely great source of protein. Now, this solution is extremely innovative.

Think about it- The farmers are also making profit in the form of money given to collect them and it is also generating profit when it is being used as a chicken feed. The credit of implementing this solution goes to Muhammad Khurshid. He is a civil servant in the Ministry of national food security and research in Pakistan and Johar Ali- a bio-technologist of Pakistan Agriculture Research Council. It was his idea. And he says that when he first broke this idea to the people, then everyone laughed. Nobody thought that this idea could seriously be implemented in real.

So what is the math behind this idea?

The math is that he believes that first of all, the farmers can trap them easily with and these locusts do not fly in the air at night time. So they can be trapped very easily at night. They say that when the farmers collect these locusts and deliver them in bags, then they are paid 20 Pakistani rupees per kg

In India, this would amount to be around Rs 9 per kilo. The farmers are being this amount when they collect them in bags and submit them and he also believes that the number of locusts a farmer can trap overnight.

He can earn 20,000 Pakistani rupees, (that is, around 9,000 Indian rupees) in exchange for that. He also claimed that these locusts are a source of profit for the animal feeding industry as well because when these locusts would be used as chicken feed, they have 70% proteins. As compared to soybeans which are presently used in chicken feed and have only 50% protein content. Such a high level of protein (becomes available) when Pakistan imports soybean from the other countries. So this is profitable for even Pakistan as a country. Since, it would not import then it could save up on its foreign exchange. Animal feeding industry can also save up as well by using locusts. So this idea was tested out in a small village of a district and it was extremely successful. Now talks are in progress for its implementation on a large scale. And I believe that the Indian farmers can learn a lot from this too.And please do not brand me an anti national for bringing forth Pakistan's idea. I'd like to point out even the RSS members are exhorting to take inspiration from this idea if its successful. So this is not a matter of being anti national.

They say that a successful idea should be taken inspiration from, no matter which country it comes from. I adhere to the same belief. That if an idea is so great, interesting, innovative and is successful, then we must try it out as well.

Content Credit: YouTuber Dhruv Rathee

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIJMVPpXnDo

#locust attack #solution #fightplague #dhruvrathee #india flights

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