#I will be used The Letterbox tag if I post any thing like this again

[ominous-feychild]

✦ OC DEEP DIVE ✦

Thanks for the tag, @the-letterbox-archives! This looks really fun!

Otherwise it would get added to my ever-building "answer this tag eventually" list... 😭

I'm going to answer these for: Sun and Shadow: Freya and Crow The Arcane Rifts: Gene and Tazin Rising From the Ashes: Sammy and Kieva

Warning: long post!

What uncommon/common fear do they have?

After the start of Sun and Shadow? A fear of the ocean, easily.

However, she's also afraid of being vulnerable, being lost, feeling alone, and not being able to trust her own senses.

Abandonment and failure.

It'd be easier listing the fears he doesn't have...

He's afraid of: the forest, being lost, not being able to trust his own senses, being deceived, anything anywhere near the uncanny valley, being/feeling trapped, saying the wrong thing (aka social anxiety literally always), authority figures, angry people, not angry people, people--

Okay, I'll stop now. I think you get it.

Is and has almost always been haunted by the fear of being abandoned. It's his greatest fear, and he constantly pushes people away or abandons them first, before they can do it to him.

Besides that, he's afraid of responsibility and ghosts (which are provably real in-universe... and he's met plenty).

Fear of losing control. Is a major control freak social manipulator who panics (internally) the moment he feels like he's lost control of a situation. Is also terrified of being/feeling trapped and being "physically constricted" (read: shackles, handcuffs, and the sort).

Terrified of feeling trapped--both physically and situationally. Particularly hates small spaces and constricting clothing. Afraid of abandonment, failure, and disappointing the people he cares about.

Instead of angsting about his fears (besides the claustro- and cleithrophobia), he uses them as a motivation to do better.

Do they have any pet peeves?

Rich people. I'm only slightly kidding. She hates fake people and nobility/the wealthy elite have always been fake in her experience. She also hates small talk, people not taking her seriously, asking her about her family, and people calling her by her full name, "Freya", instead of Frey. ... whoops.

A curse they've brought upon themself--people not taking them seriously when they want people to, haha. It's a backfiring from their acting silly to get people to underestimate them.

Similarly, people getting distracted in conversations. Their job would be SO much easier if people didn't deviate from subjects Crow wanted them on. (Though, the distractedness also makes it easier for them to happen onto subjects Crow wants to investigate, so...)

People assuming he's dumb, or asking him how he figured things out when they're super obvious? Like, c'mon. Also he's sensitive to a lot of sounds and gets annoyed by repetitive noises.

People asking him questions, hilariously enough. (Makes for a horrible and yet perfect combination with Gene...)

Similarly, hates people asking about his background, family, and nationality. Also hates repetitive noises!

Discrimination, people obsessing about/over his magic, the "elite" class in general, the shallowness of society, and people assuming things about him. He grew up on the streets and faced a lot of discrimination focused on his apparent poverty and age--though it's especially worse because he looks even younger than he is. Despite his distaste for it, he's learned to use it to his advantage.

People.

I was only slightly kidding--he's incredibly asocial, hates people trying to bother him, and mostly minds to himself. However, has a particular distaste for people asking prying questions--and especially those about his biological family.

Also, fake people, fake compliments, and people interrupting him in the middle of him doing other things (aka, literally always)--and, fuck, I've made HIM autistic, too???

(Not saying those things make him autistic. However, seeing him in my mind, as a fellow autistic... I've done it again.)

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom?

Books, tea, and various kinds of writing utensils.

Newspapers, hidden knives, and even-better hidden art collages from newspaper and magazine cutouts!

An endless amount of books, writing utensils, Mislav and papers. Blank, filled with drawings, filled with writing--papers of all kinds!

Anything and everything fun and/or "different" for him to set on fire. Also, knives/daggers, his Svarog masks, and each of Gene's old Volos masks--up until the last version, which is still in Gene's possession.

You're assuming he has a bedroom? /hj

More seriously, haha--although he grew up on the streets, he does have a few possessions that he's kept with him at all times. One is a damaged and rusty photo locket. The other is an expensive-looking dagger and sheath given to him by someone in his past. He's never sold either, regardless of the struggles he's gone through.

After getting a bedroom upon joining the knight's college, it's perpetually full of endless potted plants, books about medical subjects (primarily composed of photos or doodles he's added to help him understand the contents), and the aforementioned dagger... though it's hidden very well.

Several sketchbooks, some filled out and others blank or half-filled out; a VERY well-hidden collection of notes from his adoptive dad, Caron, addressed to him when Kieva was younger and he's kept for all these years; and tons of hidden weapons.

Don't worry!--he got that habit from his dad, Caron. As the saying goes--a man who sleeps with a knife under his pillow is a fool every night but one. (Except there's way more than just a knife under his pillow.)

What do they notice first in a person?

How they're dressed, almost tied with how they hold themselves.

How the person holds themself. Then, their face. They are very good at memorizing faces.

Spoilers! 😁 In other words... their magical energy. But that's not very helpful here, is it? Haha, so beyond that, I'd say how they're dressed.

Their skin tone. (Because he expects white people to be immediately / especially racist toward him. Glavnran ain't a great place for a Jhandan kid to grow up.)

Their emotional state. He's always prepared to maneuver around a difficult social situation, and needs to be ready to manipulate someone into reacting more positively to him if necessary.

Simultaneously notices their face and posture. He's good at memorizing faces--partially because of how much he draws them--and uses their posture to gauge a lot of things, as taught to by his dad. You can use someone's posture to help figure out: confidence level, if they're experienced in a fight, their social class (nobility often exaggerates certain behaviors), and many other things.

(He also goes out of his way to look at their hands. One's hands can tell of their profession.)

On a scale of 1 to 10, how high is their pain tolerance? (I'm doing this assuming 5 is "average")

Emotional? 7. Physical? 3.

Physically? 9. Emotionally? 9.

Depends how you define "pain tolerance"--if it's "doesn't notice it" or "is able to ignore it".

If it's "doesn't notice": Physically, 5. Emotionally, 8. (But later books see "emotionally" drop wayyyy down to 3)

"Is able to ignore": Physically, 10. Emotionally? 9.

Physically? 6. Emotionally? 2.

Depends on a lot of factors. He's able to magically shut off his ability to feel physical pain, for one (though he only realizes/learns to do so on command to later in the series)! Otherwise, he's similar to Gene in having a variable "feels it" vs "is able to ignore it anyways" level of "tolerance".

If it's "doesn't notice": Physically, 6. Emotionally, 7.

If it's "is able to ignore it/doesn't show any signs of feeling it": Physically, 8. Emotionally, 9 or 10 depending on the emotion and situation.

Another case of "can ignore what he can feel".

Threshold until he feels it? Physically, 7. Emotionally? 8.

Threshold until he can't ignore it anymore? Physically, 10 (aka, only the worst pains imaginable). Emotionally? 10. (Aka mental breakdown territory.)

(Kieva is very bad at noticing his own emotions until he gets overwhelmed by them. His stress builds to very high levels before he actually notices them and can account for them. He's alexithymic and has to use therapeutic methods to figure out what he's feeling before he gets overwhelmed and snaps.)

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure? (I'm also including freeze and fawn)

Fight!!! She's an incredibly angry person (that thinks she doesn't have anger issues, lmao), and goes on the aggressive very easily. However, it's usually verbal. She doesn't have any experience in actual fights.

Technically freeze, technically flight, but actually fight. They'll either turn into or hide in their own shadow with their magic to orient themselves to the situation before acting if surprised with combat. Their "freezing/flight" is only a defensive measure to gather more information before proceeding.

However, they're also a fantastic actor and tend to be playing a persona. While their reflex is defensive/fight, they can and will fake having a different "reflex" under pressure.

It depends on when/where in the books and in his life, haha.

Early books? Freeze or fawn depending on the situation. If it's something dangerous or more than one person, freeze. If it's a single person, fawn.

In the middle of the series? Fawn 7 times out of 10. Fight the other three.

Late in the series? Fight.

FIGHTTTTTTTTTTT!!! (both verbally and physically, though he tends to more adapt a threatening posture or imply he's ready to get violent rather than immediately getting violent. Not that he hates violence, though--he just doesn't like getting hurt.)

Before the beginning of Rising From the Ashes, his reactions are tied between flight and fawn, depending on the situation. He's used to running away from his problems to the point that Caron--the head of the knight's college--silently notices it and pegs him as a flight risk. However, he also very commonly fawns over people who would otherwise be his enemies.

As the story progresses, Sammy's reaction shifts to tied between fight and fawn. He'll still pretend to be on his enemies' side, but is a lot more prepared to fight instead of run away.

Defensive fight/freeze. He'll jump into action to defend himself and/or others, but he's not the aggressive type except for when he's angry (and oh, boy, when he's angry...)

While he's usually defensive, he'll switch to hyper-offense (minus potentially protecting others in danger) when he's decided on a course of action. He will single-mindedly work toward his goal, his own well-being be damned.

Do they come from a big family/are they a family person?

I mean, technically the closest thing she had to a family was a magical zombie version of her dad...

More seriously, though--technically a small family. It was just her and her dad for her growing up. He was next to never around, though.

Tiny family. It was just them, their dad, and {SPOILER}. Their dad was next to never around because of his work and not wanting to tie Crow into it. Looks like it happened anyway, ey? 😏😉

He doesn't remember his family besides the fact that "Abi" existed and was probably his brother. During his short time in the orphanage, there was a lot of them. Then it was just him and Tazin (who he saw like a brother). Then it was the khonitva. Then it was the yuertel. The closest thing he can really remember adjacent to "family" is Tazin.

He wishes he had positive experiences with "family". Instead, he had none and a toxic friend.

Oh, buddy, would he hate this question. He comes from a small family, but was kicked out (and then later refused to return when they were willing to take him back). Because of this, he grew up either living with gangs (the khonitva/yuertel) or with it just being him and Gene. He thinks he hates "family", but it's only because he desperately wishes his was better.

This answer is a spoiler, haha! However, he is not a family person.

The only family he can remember is his adoptive one: his adoptive dad, Caron, and brother, Varik. He cares more about them than he cares about himself. Conveniently, the feeling is mutual between the three of them. (It wouldn't even be a question. They'd all sacrifice themselves for each other in less than a heartbeat. Something tells me this family is just a lil fucked-up/self-sacrificing.)

What animal represents them best?

Gryphon!!! Either that, or a feral kitten, haha.

I know this might be hard to believe... but Crow is best represented by a crow. Otherwise, a falcon, haha.

Deer. Easily.

Salamander! For probably obvious reasons if you have the context, haha. A simple explanation for those without the context? He's a fire mage. (But there's a lot more to it than just that, so.)

A possum!!! No debate about it, haha, and I'm sure I don't have to explain why.

A bull and/or buffalo. For their individual associations with bravery, fierceness, stubbornness, sacrifice, and survival. Also, because they all have horns!

What is a smell that they dislike?

City stink. If you know, you know.

Blood. Except, they also love the smell. They're mixed up about how they should feel about that.

Mustiness. Also the smell of various things burning. Midway through the story, the smell of cigarette smoke.

Sweat and herbs. It's even worse that burning herbs just makes the smells stronger.

Blood and chemicals.

Any strong smell. Especially hates the smell of chemicals and smoke.

Have they broken any bones?

When she was very young, yes. She doesn't remember it, though. Except for in her nightmares.

Depends on if you mean theirs or other people's!

Yes! A lot, actually.

Yes, a few times.

Yes, while practicing parkour. Conveniently, he has healing magic. Besides that? No.

His own, or other peoples'?

Yes.

His own, or other peoples'? x3

Yes. x6 (Whoops. Traumatic action-fantasy am I right?)

How would a stranger likely describe them?

"Yeah, that woman with the messy red hair and anger issues?--HOW DO YOU KNOW ANOTHER ONE!?--okay, no, she was looked like she wanted to be anywhere else?--Seriously?--okay, fine, she was wearing a ring on a necklace?--YEAH, that one!"

"Remember that guy wearing that long cloak as though it hid their giant wings and tail?"

"You know that creepy guy who's always staring? Like, barely talks, just watches everyone all the time? He's got a cane and just acts weird in general?"

"That angry Jhandan kid?" (or, alternatively:) "That Jhandan guy, either looks ready to pick a fight at a moment's notice or does his absolute best to piss everyone else off with while 'joking' around? Yeah, the overly-touchy guy--that one."

It would depend on who/what/when/where/why/how he met the person, considering how much he's almost always playing up one act or another! Here's one possible way of over a thousand:

"I think he was a Cirranian kid? About ye tall, really timid--OH! His eyes were two different colors, one blue and the other dark brown! He had curly hair and had a dirty, oversized jacket on?"

"Yeah, Kieran Caron's son? No--that's the other one, I think. Kieva's the one who's super pale, like he's never even been outside, and looks dead inside half the time?--what do you mean Varik's like that, too??? Okay, fine, silvery hair and eyes? YEAH! That guy!"

Are they a night owl or an early bird?

Early bird, haha. She loves the smell of the morning dew and just never preferred the night. Not even as an angsty teen!

Night owl (almost literally). They dislike the day, haha.

Night owl who's often forced to wake up early, haha. He's a sad, sleepy birdie who has to function on way too little sleep half the time.

Night owl, but his sleep schedule ends up even worse as an adult. It goes from "night owl" into "whenever I damn want/am not doing something else".

Really depends, his sleep schedule's all over the place. Most often, he's an early bird. He likes being awake when others aren't regardless.

You have to sleep in order to be a night owl or early bird, and Kieva doesn't sleep.

Okay, that was only kinda a joke--he has a hard time sleeping due to nightmares that he can't really remember. Usually, he just naps whenever he's able to. Otherwise, technically an early bird. He always wakes up early to stay on top of classes and his personal projects.

What is a flavour they hate and a flavour they love?

Loves spicy food! Hates most vegetables (like a child), but eats them anyway--like an adult!

Uhhhhh... so they're lowkey a vampire half the time so... both cases? Blood! 😁

Gene hates, hates, HATES sweet food and it's absolutely hilarious! He has the absolute opposite of a sweet tooth! On the other hand, he loves meat and most kinds of savory foods. Meat was rare for him growing up, and he really appreciates being able to eat it whenever he wants as an adult.

Both loves and hates Jhandan (Fantasy!Indian) food. His Jhandan parent would cook it when he was young, and uh--yeah. Mixed feelings about that whole mess. Same thing applies to spicy food--the only "spicy" food he had was cooked by the same parent, and while he loves spicy food, it reminds him of them.

For things he just straight-up dislikes, Tazin also isn't a fan of sweet food in general, haha. There's a few he does like, but they're few and far between.

Love: food. Hate: nothing. Literally can't afford to be picky.

Later on, when he is able to be picky, he strongly dislikes spicy food and likes "spiced" (aka spices, not spicy) and savory foods. Anything super flavorful!... except for fish. Hates fish. (Yes, white fish have plainer flavors. He hates those, too.)

Loves basically anything his dad cooks, but prefers salty and umami tastes. Hates bitter stuff, but is basically obsessed with coffee (like the rest of his family tbf).

Do they have any hobbies?

Yes! She loves reading and has a hobby of translating books from a foreign-to-that-world language into her own! She does so utilizing books in the library and has lowkey become a language scholar, haha. (She'll just never admit it.)

They secretly like drawing and creating collages out of things cut out of newspapers and magazines. They have not admitted this fact to a single person in their life, and won't for a long time.

Two! Reading non-fiction books (aka just learning in general, haha) and drawing! He loves drawing, though does it a lot less than reading. Drawing hasn't really helped him (besides with the maps he used to draw for the yuertel), while his obsessive need to always be learning has.

Not really? He likes reading stories, primarily folklore, stories about the gods, and fiction, but he doesn't allow himself to do it often because he's embarrassed to like them. Similarly, he likes to sing, but next to never does so because he's insecure about it.

I like to say that, if Tazin grew up in our world, he would've absolutely been a huge fan of rock and tried starting a band in high school. (He would've put enough time into it that he'd even be good at the guitar. Except... he's not in our world.)

No, he never had the time, money, or mental energy for hobbies. The closest thing he has to one is "people-watching", but he did it more out of necessity than because he enjoyed it.

If he could have one, I think he'd most enjoy creating textiles and listening to music.

Yes! Drawing, easily. Prefers life-drawing and drawing people in general. Sometimes enjoys people-watching, but only if he can tolerate their personalities (or otherwise, if they aren't speaking). Even before he started attending the knight's college, he had a minor hobby of invading active classes to watch the lessons, teachers, and students. It made it much easier for him to pick up fighting when he officially started, and it's helped him have a heightened magical awareness.

Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprises?

Apprehension and shock. She wouldn't have told anyone her birthday and wouldn't have expected anyone to celebrate it on top of that. She'd be half-expecting things to go wrong and not know how to deal with it all, but would probably ultimately enjoy it.

Cry. They didn't expect anyone to know/care besides their dad. Their dad celebrates with them, but it's always been disappointing (not that they'd admit that though). They'd absolutely love it, though. Just... cry. A lot.

Panic. Hates surprises, hates social gatherings, hates having people expect things from him (ie: appreciate the party/their efforts), and hates that he'll be "the bad guy" for not appreciating the party.

Besides, he doesn't have a "real" birthday (he didn't know the day and was given a "fake" one to be celebrated during his time in the orphanage) and even though he and Tazin privately celebrated the day they met in its place, it was just that--privately. They would have a quiet celebration with food, a few gifts exchanged between them, and just acting normal otherwise.

Rage. Wouldn't have shared his birthday with anyone, not even Gene (though Gene would've figured it out anyway because of Reasons). Similarly, definitely not a fan of surprises. Likes receiving gifts, but otherwise? Fuck off (his words, not mine--).

(Assuming friends threw it for him--) Confusion and would break down crying. Hasn't really had a birthday party for a long time, doesn't know how to react to it, and certainly didn't tell anyone when his birthday was because he doesn't even know. (So, y'know, whoever threw the party would've had to make one up for him.) Wouldn't know how to take people celebrating his existence--or him in general--and would be overwhelmed by the positive attention directed toward him.

So, yeah. Would cry a LOT. And only might hide it.

Doesn't like surprises, wouldn't show it. Would just--

Considering his adoption and the way it initially happened--let's just say it wasn't traditional in any sort of way--his actual birthday is unknown. Instead the family celebrates the day of his official adoption. Regardless, those celebrations are obviously known of in advance. Kieva would not accept a party being thrust upon him, haha.

Do they like to wear jewelry?

She grew up always wearing a magical amulet her dad gave her that helped her with an unknown illness. When she loses it early into the book, she puts an otherwise-enchanted ring on a necklace to cope with the loss of the feeling of wearing something at her neck. Besides that, she's not a jewelry person, haha.

They don't like jewelry, but wear it. They have two earrings that absorb the magic of their curse--allowing them to appear human and removing its antimagic effects--and quite often wear various other kinds of jewelry while posing as one identity or another.

No, absolutely not. He'd hate the sensory input. He's just fine with no jewelry, having his hair tied back, and fidgeting with his cane--thank you very much.

As a kid, wouldn't have. As an adult, likes basic "jewelry" that's just metal rather than stuff with actual jewels.

Not at all. However, keeps a half-destroyed photo locket in his pocket at all times. But that's different, y'know?

Alternates between loving and hating jewelry. Sometimes enjoys wearing it for something to fidget with. Other times, hates the sensation and will take it off (potentially aggressively if he realized after already getting overwhelmed). Rarely wears it because of the "risk" associated with it.

Do they have neat or messy handwriting?

Neat! She's filled out a lot of paperwork in her time and has actually dabbled in sketching stuff, but isn't the greatest artist.

Halfway between! Very messy handwriting, but it's always legible.

Depends on how fast he's writing and if he intends on having anyone else read it. It's incredibly messy to the point of illegibility if he's writing quickly, and especially more so if it's just for himself. However, he's capable of writing very neatly if he's planning on having others read it--it just takes him a lot longer to write.

Messy, messy, messy! Doesn't write often, haha. But is capable of making it neater if he must.

(Also, would probably go out of his way to make his handwriting messier if someone forced him to write stuff down for them--)

Even worse than Tazin's. Messy af, everything is horribly misspelled. He's dyslexic and barely learned how to read even beyond that. Hates even attempting to read, much less write, so his time in the knight's college is the first time he really gets into it since he was really young.

Either incredibly neat or messy. Sometimes doesn't have the patience to bother making things legible, but needs to write stuff down--and so scribbles doctor handwriting style. Otherwise, goes out of his way to make his handwriting neater. It's an ego thing.

What are the two emotions they feel the most?

Frustration and exhaustion. She doesn't sleep well--though she doesn't remember her dreams anymore--and has anger issues.

Annoyance and amusement. They don't

Exhaustion and sadness. He doesn't get the greatest sleep--whether it's because of nightmares or a terrible sleep schedule--and he's constantly experiencing and/or witnessing things that are unfair. It's not like he's never happy, though--he just constantly carries that sense of tragedy.

Anger and amusement. He has SEVERE anger issues, but considers himself a jokester. Unfortunately, a lot of his "humor" is at the detriment of others, especially as he gets older.

Resignation and caution. Is constantly on-guard for people who could potentially pose a threat to him--regardless of how--and is used to people treating him poorly. His feeding into it by pretending to be young and clueless has always been a way to cope with it and run with its few advantages.

Who knows what he's running from? Me. Obviously I know. But-- But he's constantly prepared to run away from a situation where he's in danger... or people are close to figuring out things he doesn't want them to.

Stubbornness and indifference, with exhaustion being a close third. Mostly floats through life, following a strict schedule with the school's classes. Finds the strict schedule convenient, because it allows him to plan things ahead of time and then stop having to think as he follows through with what he decided. However, is still an incredibly stubborn person--he wants to make his dad proud by becoming a powerful mage, fighter, and knight. That, and he genuinely wants to make the world a better place! And maybe, one day, to find out where he's actually from.

Only problem is, he just wants to sleep half the time!

Do they have a favourite fabric? (This is assuming I know the fabrics...)

Does yarn count? Knitted stuff of all kinds and textures! She's made a lot of her own clothes. She's very self-sufficient.

Anything their feathers don't get caught on. So, mostly smoother textures.

Anything and everything soft. He loves soft things and stimming with them.

Slippery stuff. Aka, stuff that's harder for people to grip. Tazin explicitly wears skintight clothing and has Gene cut his hair down to his scalp so people can't easily grab him. Besides that, doesn't care.

Anything soft. Has a particular fondness for the texture of "was formerly rough due to being made from poor-quality materials, but has softened from age and use" stuff. Granted, that's also the texture of his hole-y jacket.

He's indifferent. As long as it's not itchy!

What kind of accent do they have?

Irish! She's from a fantasy country with lots of early Norse and Celtic influence.

Belgian! They were born and raised in Lynsmouth, which has a lot of misc influences from Western Europe, but it's primarily Netherlands and France!

Polish. Who knows where he was from before ending up in Glavnran (Fantasy!Slavic), but after spending most of his life there, his accent has changed and adjusted to sound much more Glavni than whatever it was before.

Kyrgyz. He's mixed, Glavni and Jhandan (Fantasy!Indian), and was raised primarily by his Jhandan parent before ending up on the streets. Fittingly, his accent is from a country between Russia and India, haha.

Spanish. Not Mexican, Spanish. Like from Spain. Who knows where his family is from, but he looks Cirranian (Fantasy!CentralAmerica) and has spent as much of his life as he can remember in Kihroin (the country RFtA takes place in).

Algerian. Like Sammy, he's grown up in Kihroin, which has North African inspiration! (Which is another reason I want to wait to publish anything on it, I want to do an insane amount of more research first, haha.)

(I literally pulled up a video with people speaking English with various accents just to answer this question. Somehow, my imagined languages for them aligned really well with the regions/accents they should have!? I say "somehow", as though I haven't actually done an immense amount of research on languages and listened to them in order to say my made-up words "correctly", haha...)

Me, before starting this: "this should be relatively easy!"

Me, getting to the accent question: "wait, actually, what would Crow sound like? And omg, Sammy? Considering their backgrounds--"

Me: *spends half an hour debating the accents of each of the characters*

Me, a day after starting this and coming back to see ^^^^ that: "goddamn, I thought this would be easy?"

PSA: doing this for one character is fine. Doing it for six--two of which you're not as certain with--is less fine!

Tagging (gently!): @honeybewrites @yourpenpaldee @paeliae-occasionally @mysticstarlightduck @illarian-rambling

@darkandstormydolls @the-golden-comet @ath3alin @wyked-ao3 @mk-writes-stuff

@huewrite + open tags!

Divider from @saradika!

[honeybewrites]

OC Questionnaire Tag

Thank you @the-golden-comet for the tag, @wyked-ao3 for the tag @the-letterbox-archives for the tag and @ominous-feychild for the tag!! And they you guys for being patient! I know a couple of you tagged me in this a while ago, so sorry for the wait!!

Once again, long post!

Fres

How many people have you killed?

Far more than you would expect, or maybe not if you know me. I can’t actually give you a number. I lost track a long time ago and if we’re counting indirect killings, like building collapses and fires, that number goes up really quickly. Thankfully I don’t do much killing nowadays, and the ones I do kill, well, let’s just say they deserve it.

Favorite type of drink?

Coffee. Hands down. Throw in some flavors and creamer and I can drink five of those puppies in a day easily. It’s a small problem admittedly l…

Do you smoke?

No. I have before, when I was in the Mors and a certain undercover assignment required it, but I don’t do it if my own free will. I don’t like the smell or the taste of it in the slightest.

Asset 703

Life stranded on an island or life as a prisoner?

Island. Easily. I would be completely alone. No Mors, no war. Just me and the ocean. It would be… peaceful. I used to dream about that. Moving to an unknown island in the middle of nowhere… obviously I grew out of that. Just a childish fantasy.

Would you wear a dress?

I have, on many occasions. Certain missions require it. I don’t particularly mind. Though I hate having to wear all the glamours to hide my scars.

What is your most traumatic memory?

I… don’t think that’s relevant information. I can’t risk that information getting into the wrong hands. I was scarred from it. Physically I mean. I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone…

Rage Airvix

What's your relationship with your family like?

It’s alright. I haven’t seen them in quite a few years and we don’t agree on a lot of things. Me and my older sister Cadi were always close. I haven’t been able to see her in person for three years now, but we still talk a couple times a month. I miss her.

Do you have any hobbies? If so, what ones?

I like reading! I have quite the collection on my estate. Lots of rare editions, signed copies. It’s pretty valuable. I also dabble in alchemy and I like anything that has to do with being outside like hiking or gardening.

Do you dream often? What about?

It kind of goes in waves I guess? I’ll have a longer stretch of dreams and nightmares for a couple months, and then it kind of goes away. Most of the time it’s memories or complete utter nonsense. Half the time I don’t even remember them. Except the nightmares. I generally remember those.

Fres

What was the worst day of your life?

As weird as it sounds, the day I left the Mors. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to be free but… I thought [redacted] was coming with me. In the end she chose the Mors and we went our separate ways. I wouldn’t hesitate to fight her now.

What's your worst nightmare?

The Mors capturing me. I know exactly what they would do and I wouldn’t be able to escape them a second time. It terrifies me to think about.

If a monster asked you your worst nightmare, what would you tell it and why?

Honestly, I’d probably lie. Who knows what its intentions are? But if I had to tell the truth, I wouldn’t even say anything; I would just show it all the damage the Mors have caused.

Leaving this one as an open tag!! Mostly because I’m on mobile and can’t easily see who I’ve tagged before lol

Your Questions:

Sun or moon?

Would you rather drown or be buried alive?

Pumpkin spice or apple cider?

[threeshadesoflime]

limer's slendermansion au masterpost!

mostly made for myself and anyone else who wants to read/is interested! most of my fanart is built around this too ha ha. containing headcanons/a complete overhaul/fanon depictions of my fave creepypastas + the slendermansion au, because i think my brain deserves to think about them

(now illustrated!!)

tws in the tags but there's nothing too serious i think

the slendermansion/slenderman;

- bastard man you will never be a father figure in my eyes

- there is no such thing as any other variant of slenderman (we are not in a Dr Seuss book we do not need the rhyming quartet of evil white men)

- doesn't speak, probably leaning more towards the operator rather than slenderman tbh

- except this guy has exceptional situational humour (it's me I'm the humour)

- not explicitly abusive but like if you don't obey him when he sends you out to do proxy shit he'd probably kill you

- which is a problem especially with a house contained with not only agents/berserkers but also sleepers

- which actually thinking about it isn't that big of a deal except for the like 2 guys where they have DID and one alter is an agent and the other isn't

- the house is kind of like the monster house from monster house albeit a little more lowkey in it having a consciousness (so perhaps a little more alike to the house in encanto, just less friendly)

- you don't age in the house, but it's a situation where you don't really notice that fact until you really think about how the dates never really change properly

- wounds don't heal properly either, but if someone is fatally injured within the house slenderman usually blinks them out of existence for a couple hours before they're found again, perfectly fine, but lost around the woods surrounding the mansion

- the only time you'll actually see him is if fatal injuries happen or if a proxy has fucked up on a mission or something and needs immediate backup (kind of like alex in MH)

- missions are always posted through the letterbox once a month in envelopes along with the four weekly newspapers (maybe a magazine if you're lucky)

- possibly also how the proxies source their wanted posters info, which is usually contained in the paper. they have disputes and contests on whose criminal description is the best (slenderman interferes with cameras so no photo evidence exists of any of these people outside of the mansion, only eye witness accounts)

- only a certain amount of people are used to go out every month, typically in groups of threes/fours - less if the people he's sending out are older (responsible of him, I know)

- mansion is situated in a black void. please don't ask me where this void is because I don't know but it's probably a different dimension from the earth most of them are sourced from

ben drowned;

- the benjamin lawman kind of ben

- seemingly an infinite supply of pondscum he's constantly picking off of himself

- whenever a new zelda game comes out he's always excited because it's a new link skin to use + so when botw came out it was like the equivalent of a wardrobe makeover

- one of the few that doesn't have to share a room with anyone given his physical body is like, semi real and mostly spends his nights in his game cartridge which is in an overheating Nintendo 64 in the tower attic, which is too small for a bed anyway - but ben personalises it as much as possible (it's a pig sty)

- speaking of his body, it's in a weird liminal state of real and not real, because he can make it disappear/reappear but everyone can touch him, he can touch others, etc. i explain this away via slender mansion dead person magic

- he doesn't typically eat, and even though he doesn't need to he likes making his body breathe (as much as it can since it's waterlogged most of the time)

- Ben's body is mostly in a state of flux dependent on his mood, eg: if he's content/happy he looks less drowned, if he's upset/angry he looks more corpse-like

- can spy on people through any electronic within like a 50 ft radius of his console without him actually having to enter the device, so to say

- this has caused many an argument

- along with him being able to phase in and out of reality he can also appear in any digital screen

- constantly electrostatic and will constantly touch people to give them electric shocks to piss them off

- probably one of the youngest there, about 12/13. maybe even eleven - around the age when preteen boys become semi unbearable 364 days of the year and have like one day of emotional realisation

jeff the killer;

- just want to clarify that this jeff has hair and eyelids in this au i feel like that's important

- but he doesn't blink much to put people off so really it's almost as if he doesn't have eyelids anyway

- will not stop picking at his mouth wound & that shit has NOT healed and will not stop oozing plasma/rbc

- ptsd from an ambiguous house fire that probably happened but Jeff won't talk about it (read: I haven't decided on the specifics yet)

- I've seen in some stories jeff and fire are tight but I've always interpreted it as more of an adversion to it

- honestly my reformed fanon version of him is pieced together from a bunch of rewrites I've seen

- mentally ill asshole (emphasis on asshole, he sucks ass)

- like come on sure a few kids bullied him but your first instinct shouldn't be to kill them . that's at least step 27 on a bad day

- tbf he had neglectful parents

- but like so did liu and he only started being homicidal after his brother disfigured him

- killed his parents but was unsuccessful with fully killing liu because, funnily enough, killing someone you gaf about is hard even for dickhead jeff

- shares a bedroom with nina and jane because the house (me) thought it would be funny

- quite disturbed when he realised nina was there to stay and probably tried to kill her at one point (again)

- someone take away the bad graphic tees he wears it's almost a crime against humanity

- he cuts all his t shirts up but like. stylishly

- or as stylishly you can get especially when paired with massive fucking demonias he will not stop wearing . he's had them since he was like 12 the only reason they fit is through sheer force of will (no one talk to him about his feet blisters)

- he's like. nineteen at a push but probably the kinda guy to lie and make himself seem younger for pity points

- "i killed my parents when i was fifteen, god can we not grow from our errors anymore? cancel culture nowadays. [...] when was my hunt? oh yesterday ha ha it was a bloodbath"

-smokes

nina the killer;

- wow! i wonder who she likes the most in this household!

- (amongst other things) bpd, jeff is her favourite person and it's a pretty miserable fucking time for the first like, year she's living there he is so horrible

- on a bad day her preferred state of being is being at least within a six foot radius of him at all times (maybe he might learn empathy being around her, who knows)

- he went on a little killing spree post-woods family murder and killed Nina's parents, & disfigured her w the glasgow smile but before he killed her slenderman intervened (not to save nina but to make sure jeff himself didn't like die from his own injuries)

- she was his only survivor and saw it as a.. "wow... he saved me from my abusive household, i need to get to him"

- this didn't go down well with her case worker

- neither did her running away (which really wasn't a good idea with massive facial wounds but she did NOT want the hospital to heal them)

- (insert probably incorrect medical jargon) she now has a face which healed with big gaps, sometimes keeps the flaps stapled together for easier eating/speaking purposes but they won't heal back together now

- she takes out the staples when on missions though because she thinks it looks cooler

- her and toby probably go through those face staples like wildfire together

- she only killed one guy before being led (by the operator) to the mansion to try and get jeff's attention (unbeknownst to her jeff does not read or watch the news so had no idea of this copycat kill - she was quite distraught by this)

- one of the few that suffers quite badly with self harm

- her parents were awful and when her little brother died (when he was about four and nina was nine) from their neglect they blamed it on nina

- not necessarily unkind to everyone else but she also especially warmed up to ben because from her fuzzy memory she can see a vague resemblance between ben and her little brother

- scene queen +curly hair she flat irons like once a month on special occasions

- she's the one that does everybody's piercings and sticknpokes

- should she? not at all she didn't even google an online tutorial, just guesswork

- probably about. 15 ish? maybe 16. I don't like her canon age of 11 because the thought of an eleven year old going "i love jeff the killer i hope we jeff the kill together" is lame

- jeff is incredibly put off by her whole schtick and was not impressed upon finding out she was there for the long haul (wouldn't it be funny if this happens thrice)

eyeless jack;

- I've heard so many goddamn variations of his story so I'm just gonna riff and make my own

- 16 y/o kid, average in every which way, gets involved with the wrong people who basically feed him on drugs which make him have bad hallucinations, trips to the point where jack gets very fucking frightened while high and it ends up with the aforementioned wrong people unintentionally killing him

- everyone panics and dumps his body which rots for a while (eyes rotted out first)

- guess who picks it up! (unspecified) cult

- they use him for a ritual which goes awry

- jack's corpse proceeds to be possessed by a demonic force which revives him but he's... different now #emo

- kills cultists as his brain, as decomposed at it was, carried on the fight/flight instinct he initially died with

-but whoops! doesn't remember his life at all (as demon nor human) and almost ends up starving to death before like jeff or someone finds him and drags him back to the mansion

- seeing as jack is a (semi) demonic entity slenderman does not appreciate him in the house but the actual house itself does not gaf and provides him a bedsit anyway

- finds out his name when going through the paper with others and they see his missing poster printed on the front page of 2 of the papers (he's since been demoted to a back page story)

- his brain is a weird combination of demonic and human matter (but he's still just one person, just a hybrid now - leaning more human)

-the tar comes from something to do with the specific ritual and it stains like shit

- which was unfortunate to jeff and his previously perfectly white hoodie

- finds out he eats kidneys after being force-fed by jeff and toby the left over meats the house provided for them that no-one else wanted to eat

- so basically take a human corpse with no eyes with tar for blood and stuff in a demonic entity and give both the host and entity amnesia

- atp he's older than 16 but he doesn't know how long his body was dead for + how long he was in the real world so really he just kinda guesses he's probably 18-19 now

- got his mask as a kinda shitty paper mache project from sally at one unspecified holiday (birthday or Christmas probably) and got it cast in a layer of resin to keep it lasting longer

tim wright/brian thomas;

- like maybe twice a month tim is let out to go shopping for everyone, if not for his mental health if nothing else (considering the house realistically could stock it's own shelves) like walking a dog

- never let out together because they will just run away (even if masky ends up dragging them both back it's still a hassle)

- everyone else is much more okay with this living arrangement than tim

- albeit the only reason brian isn't as uncomfortable with the situation is because he died, and has a lingering sense that this is his purpose now (that's the proxy in him, he doesn't actually believe that)

- they push their single beds together to create the most uncomfortable double bed on planet earth

- has a period where they kinda hated each other at first before realising getting over it and making out up

- it's okay now they love each other (i may have skipped a few chapters)

- (said chapters being arguably more than a little traumatic for both of them but it's. fine)

- tim arrived first, brian took a while as the operator takes longer to resuscitate corpses than he does to just guide a living person into his influence

- brian still looks a little fucked up though (one pupil larger than the other, bruising on his back from his blood pooling, + other related non-issue injuries now that he's been reanimated)

- masky is an alter of tim's , in which masky is the operator's agent and tim is not

- turns out the seizures weren't JUST the operators doing. is he allowed his anticonvulsants or antipsychotics though? well, the house doesn't provide them and if he manages to steal some from outside & he's too conspicuous about it they mysteriously disappear so there's a lot of untreated mental and physical illness going on here

- neither masky or tim know if there are any other alters because masky has never cared and Tim's only just finding out that masky isn't the operator's doing (albeit the operator is a front trigger)

- while unmedicated, tim comes to realise there's so much shit that makes him and masky a little cofront-y/switchy when before he just thought it was normal dissociation

- in my head brian is kind of a sleeper agent but remembers what he does when he is acting as the operators proxy, probably similarly to how alex was (oh how the turn tables) but he can snap back out of wanting to kill people where alex didn't/couldn't

- he is the meme "there are two wolves inside of you"

- tim is constantly stressing about everyone going out dressed like they're ready for a night out partying (especially jane and nina, they do not dress practically)

- brian and masky dgaf they're just here hoping to not keel over and die (again)

- probably about 24-27, part of me prefers them being on the younger side for comedies sake

- like the operator finally kidnaps a few adults to take care of these misfit teenagers and the adults have barely entered their 20's themselves

-peak comedy

"ticci" toby;

- hates being called ticci toby or any variant that isn't just his name

- this is of course exploited by his peers (cough jeff) to piss him off

- it really doesn't help that when he's agitated his tics get worse

- because of this he tends to lock himself in his bedroom to get away from jeff being a jackass

- the first proxy slender brought to the mansion

- which was a shit idea because who the hell decided that a kid with schizophrenia and multiple dead family members to hallucinate was a good option to leave by himself with a ghost (sally)

- especially with the issue that nobody in this household is medicated properly

- he has mild asthma that he keeps thinking he grew out of years ago (spoiler, he didn't)

- probably close with nina and liu but otherwise near the beginning he's very reserved

- because he can't feel pain + his bones are pretty weak the amount of times he'll come back home, take off his clothes to bathe or something and only then realise he's completely fucking mangled one of his joints (his left ankle is typically the victim)

- ergo he walks with a limp because the bones sit too awkwardly to really walk very well but running is less of an issue especially when adrenaline is pumping

- ...unless his knees play up and he kind of just crumples under his own weight . he always curses when he finds that he literally cannot get away with no bedrest

- the muzzle was NOT his idea and he is not impressed at being made to wear it like surely there are other options to him biting at his fingers

- eventually jeff becomes less antagonistic (sometimes) and they become closer

- they became pretty close after having to resuscitate jack together

- probably have debates on whose version of blade is better

- probably pretends to have a tic and launches his axe at jeff, who in turn literally never believes when toby's actually having a tic attack

- has this almost gotten them both shot out on the field several times? yeah

- refuses to believe he has cannibalistic tendencies as he eats from someone's liver, "just to try it"

- dressed like it's always the thick of winter

- keeping his canon age of 17 because it fits well with the late teenager aged up situation i got going on

jane the killer;

- holy shit it happened twice

- i kinda dig the original story of jane just hating jeff so much she goes around killing people (specifically men in my mind #misandristqueen) pretending she's killing jeff

- in my head though it wasn't jeff who attacked her, but a copycat instead (not nina, just some other male serial killer)

- hates her face now and the mask is specifically a fitted prosthetic

- by the time she was getting over her hatred slenderman brought her into the woods and got her to the mansion

- she was not happy and neither was jeff

- incredibly hostile the first day before jeff finally stopped antagonizing her because she would have just killed him

- finding out that it wasn't actually jeff who disfigured her caused some conflict but in the end she still settled on hatred

- real

- hardcore goth 40% of the time the other 60% she literally looks unrecognisable

- eventually stops wearing her prosthetic in a casual setting but still uses it while hunting

- probably 19-20 ish, but she acts so much older

characters I've put less thought into:

alex&jay as skully

since the operator took so long to start bringing their bodies back from the dead, when he uses either of them as a proxy there's not yet human life within them, currently 100% operator. As time moves on, this decreases, and they may join the ruckus of the mansion one day. For now, glances of the familiar mask unsettle both Tim and Brian.

sally

corpses when brought back to life still will forever look pretty fucked up ( as mentioned with brian having injuries from his fall + prolonged time being dead)so the reason sally is covered in blood is due to this fact. She was one of the first (after toby) for slender to house and literally no one can find out why tf he's housing a stressed seven year old ghost-corpse - because really she acts more like a ghost, and typically avoids the more masculine newcomers until she can get a good feel if they're okay from everyone else. doesn't necessarily avoid all men, especially if said man is pretty typically feminine (long hair, no facial hair, etc). has taken a liking to hanging around jeff who is probably the quickest person he stopped being fucking horrible too, because she's literally seven and he is a villain not a monster ok

homicidal liu

probably one of the most violent/reactive towards fellow proxies because of his brother (LOL) but if you're chill, he's chill, which is probably why he gets along best with toby who also mostly kept to himself at the beginning. doesn't have DID because i don't think it fits his character (given his main trauma was in his teens) but did probably cause serious fluctuations in mood, being able to go from 0 to 100 quickly. had a grand entrance to the mansion where he tried to kill jeff upon first seeing him (reasonable reaction)

to conclude, i made this all for me but also for anyone who has interest in my au! any and all creepypasta/marble hornets drawings are probably part of this au (whether the art takes before the characters were part of the slendermansion or not ha ha)

[loveinthebones]

Dear J,

Dear J,

You have been on my mind a lot this past week... I don’t know if it is the unrelenting heat, the fact that I spied a Hikaru no Go manga as I walked in the bookstore, or if it is our emails that still sit in my inbox... It is most likely because it is your birthday and I can’t help but think of the picture of you that is years old and buried somewhere in my room, lost but not forgotten.

I have a lot of things I wish I said and a lot of things that time and distance has brought to me but first... Happy birthday. My memory has always been horrible, but you would be in your thirties by now... if I am remembering correctly. 

I don’t even know why I am writing this. It has been seven years since we lost communication.

That’s putting it lightly, isn’t it?

It has been seven years (if you want to get technical eight) since we fought and you asked me to make a choice and I refused. A choice that was rooted in much more than that...

I read through some of our old logs. Of course, I did, because again- my memory is unreliable- fuzzy, dulled, and faded at even the best of times. I mix things up and I get things wrong, or I can’t quite recall your tone and the exact words are lost. 

In the end... you told me it wasn’t about my relationship. It was about how combative, passive aggressive, and insecure I had become and how my relationship was exasperating that. 

I denied it then- that I was making the wrong choices, that I was okay, that I was confident I made the right decision but... I was nineteen. I was still in that house, in a world that forced me to perform: a quick-witted girl who was to be independent, who didn’t suffer from depression... prim, proper, and grown... but I wasn’t.

I was hiding many things. Some that I didn’t even realize until much, much later... Stuff about myself that I didn’t want to confront and that I shrouded in under a guise of religion because I was scared that if I showed that I didn’t believe...

I would be left behind by those who had taken me in, by the people I knew, by the community I lived in.

That doesn’t excuse the hurt I caused. 

I didn’t realize until I got a bit older that our age difference was too stark for the period of time that we were friends. I realize now that it was a mental strain on you when you were growing into your own person as well... starting your life as an adult and with all the exhausting, heavy responsibilities that came with that title.

I remember cradling the phone at one of my group homes to talk to you.

I remember being honest about my crush on you and how you said the gap was too significant, but we continued to be friends and you were there for a large portion of my life that was topsy turvy and constantly changing. 

I’m sure it was a drain- I was immature, I was defensive, I was stubborn. You were probably also keeping a distance and I’m sure that I wasn’t making that easy because I was a teenager and I craved familiarity, affection, and attention.

I did trust you more than I trusted a lot of people during that time and I loved you- I loved you because you were my best friend and someone I could turn to when I wanted to talk. 

I wanted to talk with you. I enjoyed talking with you.

We chatted about things- both important and inconsequential, but I was angry, frightened, and confused during that period. 

I was unlearning some things I had learned from my earlier trauma and adapting new techniques to deal with the expectations and image I was expected to hold.

I look at her (not them- not yet) and I can’t help but sigh. 

She was struggling to walk the path that was being laid out and to develop on her own person in an environment that pushed her away from the unruly forest on either side. She would look at the trees with longing but kept on walking.

Always walking.

She wanted to believe that she was doing the right thing- say the right thing- choosing the right thing and so she broke- I broke the initial request you had of me: There would be no contact, unless I left my boyfriend.

(I didn’t want to choose so I didn’t, I refused, and that boy? That man? He still sits beside me. I won’t say it was easy, or that we haven’t shattered each other’s hearts at certain points but we have grown and learned together. It was something I had been uncertain of when I made the call, but I don’t have lingering regrets about that.)

I messaged you and needless to say: it didn’t go well. The request became permanent and... here I am, seven years later, writing this letter that you will never receive.

You know... I still hold a lot of hurt from that time. I have a lot of guilt but I am not typing these words to poke at those wounds, to mourn a bridge that I burned, and a friend who left.

I am here to say that... even after all these years: I hope that you have found your happiness. I hope that you found your Kana... that you found the answers to the questions you had been struggling with when we parted... that you were able to find, or make your own, path to whatever it is that your heart desired.

I wonder if you are still teaching sometimes. 

I wonder if you ever got that comic written, or drawn, or printed. 

I wonder if you ever had that talk with your dad about what you actually wanted versus what he expected.

I wonder, I wonder, I wonder but I was not a good person to have in your life and as much as that hurt- as much as it hurt to not have you there anymore, or to hear that... I wanted to say I’m proud of you for making that choice.

You don’t owe me anything.

You don’t owe me an explanation. 

You don’t owe me reconsideration. 

As much as I think I want those things, in these times I look back... You made the best choice for you and as your former friend... I am happy. I hope that the decision brought you peace and I will continue respecting it but... I also need to let go of this heavy weight in my chest. 

I was in the wrong, I made mistakes... but I was also young. 

I am not the same anymore. That is the truth- honestly. Your friend is dead and gone but... I am also not the same person from seven years ago.

I will always hold affection for you. I will always care but I spoke some words that I shouldn’t have... I shouldn’t have professed that level of love because I couldn’t offer it. So, I will say this:

I hurt you. I am almost certain I hurt you continuously and it was a struggle. 

It was exhausting, painful, and something that you couldn’t handle... and that’s okay. 

You deserved better than that.

I am sorry that I put you through that, but I hope you continue to be strong and walk away from people and circumstances that hurt you and while you will never get this and I don’t expect anything of you... I need to forgive myself for this.

For me... not for anything, or anyone else. I have carried this long enough and I will never forget it but I need to leave the pain behind so I can grow as well.

I hope you understand.

Thank you for the support you gave me. 

Thank you for the advice you offered. 

Thank you for the time you gave me.

Thank you for doing what you could and thank you for walking away when you couldn’t, or didn’t want to continue.

Thank you for being you... I hope that this birthday is full of fun, that you are surrounded by family and friends, and that you are smiling.

Sayonara, J. 

I wish you well.

Sincerely.

-From your former friend

[ijustwant2write]

A Little Secret-Alfie Solomons x Reader (Part 3/?)

(GIF credit to @fockingshelby​)

Masterlist

Part 1 / Part 2

Tags: @haphazardhufflepuff​ @mollybegger-blog​ @broitsriah​ @maryan028​ @peakascum​ @captivatedbycillianmurphy​ @jenepleurepasbaby​ @amirahiddleston​ @bloodorangemoonlight​ @mzcrazy2​ @br0ck-eddie​

Summary: After Alfie’s outburst, he has been avoiding Izzy, not wanting to face up to his disappointment. However, Izzy thinks the exact opposite, but of course, she doesn’t do anything to amend the situation. She too keeps out of his way, thinking she’ll only make him more angry, until they both receive a letter.

Characters: Alfie Solomons x OC!Reader, Ollie x OC!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, mention of death, arguing, shouting, crying, trauma, low self esteem issues

                                   *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Izzy heard something be pushed through the letterbox as she buttered her toast, wiping her buttery hand on a tea towel before going to retrieve it. She hardly got post, all of the time it would be bills, but today was different. It was in a crisp, white envelope with fancy handwriting, it even had a seal on the back. She inspected the wax, trying to figure out who it was from. Izzy had no friends, no family, which meant that this made her heart race in fear rather than anticipation. It opened without ripping and she took out the neatly folded letter. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she read it.

Dear Isabelle,

You are cordially invited to the opening of ‘The Blue Note’.

We have recently taken ownership before refurbishing, giving the club a completely new look and fresh feel. The evening will commence at 7.00PM where music and beverages will be provided. 

Please RSVP to the return address labelled on the envelope. We await for your reply with anticipation.

Kind regards,

Thomas Shelby

Shelby Company Limited

Izzy had no clue who Thomas Shelby was, or why he had invited her to a club opening. If her name hadn’t been addressed at the top, she would think it was just a businessman’s idea to bring in customers. This couldn’t be a coincidence, not after everything that was happening that week. She read it again as she finished her toast, noticing that it was almost time for her to go once she finished eating.

The morning at work went by as usual, time moving swiftly as Izzy completed her tasks alongside everybody else. It had been three days since the incident of her being locked up, and Alfie had avoided her like the plague. Although Izzy had wanted to speak with him, explain that she wasn’t upset with his actions, she knew she would never have the confidence to do so. Like always, she let life pass her by and decide her fate, rather than take control of it herself.

“Izzy,” Ollie got her attention, shoving a pile of letters into her hands,“need you to take these to Alfie, now.”

“I can’t!” Izzy protested, hating that Ollie was already walking away.“He doesn’t want to speak to me.”

“Then don’t speak, just drop off the letters.”

Ollie disappeared around the corner, causing Izzy to tense up, clutching onto the letters. Taking a deep breath, she turned around to look at Alfie’s office door, seeming more daunting than usual. Wanting to get it over with, she picked up the pace, finding herself in front of the door quicker than she expected. Knocking swiftly, Izzy could feel her heart rate increase as she was called in.

Of course Alfie knew it was her by the sound of the knock. He still wanted to keep away from Izzy, not wanting to risk upsetting her more than he already had. When she had cried out his name and ran after him after he punched that fucker, he had hated how that chipped away at him. She was his weakness, and no one else could see that. Noticing how she kept her head down, quickly placing the letters on his desk before turning around.

“Izzy.” he grumbled. 

She froze, glancing over her shoulder.

“I don’t have enough fucking time to sort through this. Do you mind reading them for me?”

She fully turned around, nodding before taking a seat. The first two letters weren’t of any importance to Alfie, he dismissed them after the starting sentence. But the next letter Izzy picked up was familiar to her, and Alfie noticed this.

“You like the look of that one?” he asked in a monotone voice.

“It’s just...” she mumbled.“I’m sure this is the same as the one I received this morning.”

That perked Alfie up.“What?”

She began opening it, recognising the wax seal.“Yeah, it is. It’s an invitation.”

Alfie held out his hand to take it, holding his glasses with his other hand as he read it. He looked confused at first, until he saw the signed name at the bottom, fury filling his body at the thought of Thomas Shelby knowing everything about Izzy.

“You’re not going.” he stated, carelessly throwing the paper on the desk.

“You know I’m not a big fan of clubs anyway.”

“You don’t reply to him, you don’t open anymore letters from him, and you go no where near that club!”

“Mr Solomons, I wasn’t going to-”

“He shouldn’t know about you.”

“Who? Who is Thomas Shelby?”

“He’s the business associate that visited, when that man got shot.”

“How does he know where I live?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you...do you think he wants to hurt me?”

Alfie said nothing, abruptly standing from his chair and storming to his office door. Leaning out of it, he yelled out Ollie’s name, harshly slamming the door again which caused Izzy to flinch. She shouldn’t have mentioned the letter, she was in trouble now, it wasn’t like she was going to go to the club anyway. 

Ollie knocked before entering, sensing the tension in the room as he glanced between his boss and friend. Alfie shoved the letter into Ollie’s hands, his eyes widening as he read it. What was Thomas Shelby’s plan here? He knew Alfie’s temper was short, and he knew that Izzy meant a lot more to than man than he wanted to let on. This wasn’t good, Izzy shouldn’t even be near this place, she never should have been in the first place. Alfie whispered in Ollie’s ear, it was so quiet to ensure that Izzy wouldn’t catch one word of it. 

“Mr Solomons?” Izzy piped up as Ollie left. She tried to make eye contact, but he left swiftly.

“You’re going home now, collecting as many of your things as possible, and letting the lads take you somewhere to stay.” he demanded.

“I’m sorry?”

“Ollie and a few lads are going to drive you home. If you need extra cases, I can get ya’ some-”

“Why am I packing my belongings?”

“Cause you’re staying in an old place of mine, somewhere where no one will find you.”

“W-why? Mr Solomons, what’s going on?”

“I’ll explain once you’re safe.”

“Please Mr Solomons,” Izzy stood, catching his attention and stopping him from pacing,“I need to understand what’s happening. You can’t just cart me about and kick me out of my home!”

She was scared, it was evident all over her face. Alfie didn’t want to tell her. He wanted to hide her away from it all until it was all over, keep her safe until he had shot all those bastards dead. 

Ollie popped his head through the door.“Cars ready Alfie.”

“Please Alfie.” Izzy hardly used his first name.

“Go.”

Izzy’s mind was screaming at her to defend herself, keep begging for an answer. Something dangerous was going on here, and she was near, if not in, the centre of it all. Why couldn’t she just be like any other normal person? They would at least have the decency to raise their voice. But she was weak. She always had been, it would never change. Quickly turning away from Alfie, she hunched up as she brushed past Ollie. There wasn’t anything she could do to go against him.

Staying silent in the car, Izzy had her hands clasped together, squished between two burly men Alfie had entrusted her safety in. Ollie was driving with another man in the passenger seat. No one was in the mood for conversation, not that Izzy would ever be able to hold one with any of them; Ollie was the only one she had ever spoken to for more than two minutes. 

“Be quick as you can Izzy, we need to get you to the safe house.” Ollie advised as they entered her home, two men staying beside the car as the other two checked around the back of her house.“You need me to grab anything for you down here?”

“Um...” it was incredibly hard to think of all your possessions off the top of your head.“No, thank you, Ollie. I...I think everything I need is upstairs.”

Izzy had emptied all of her drawers and wardrobe into the cases she had, though she didn’t own that many clothes anyway. There weren’t any valuable items laying about, though there was one thing she had to save. Kneeling on the floor, Izzy reached underneath her bed, feeling around for the chipped floorboard. Once found, she silently lifted it, reaching inside for the last letters her mother wrote her, as well as the necklace she’d had since she moved there...it had been gifted by a certain someone. 

“Where are we going Ollie? Where’s this safe house? I don’t mind walking to work, I just want to know how far away it is.” Izzy asked as she struggled to carry her cases downstairs.

He quickly took them off her, though hid how heavy they were.“Um, Alfie will explain once we’re there.”

“Mr Solomons will be there?”

“Please Izzy, just do what he’s told you so neither of us get in trouble.”

He didn’t mean to snap, but Izzy knew by now not to question everything. Sometimes her staying silent was the best option. Ollie handed over her cases to the men to load into the car, waiting for her to lock up. She took out her keys, looking up at the tiny, terraced house she had lived in for so many years. It seemed dramatic, but being away from the only place she felt comfort, the only place she could control the look of, it made her uneasy, especially because she didn’t know how long she would be away from it.

The car ride indicated that this safe house was certainly further away than Izzy would have liked. Ollie was secretly glad that the other men were here, it stopped her from asking questions. He didn’t actually know the full story, he didn’t know why Alfie was taking such big precautions; and he was being made to drive through the slums into the countryside, the city slowly being left behind. Firstly the houses started to get bigger and further away from each other, they went from blocks of flats, terraced, before becoming semi-detached. The streets started to look cleaner, as did the people walking them. Instead of homeless men and prostitutes lining the streets, women out for afternoon strolls with their babies in prams chatted away to each other, and old couples enjoyed their retirement together. Izzy held back a smile as she peeked out of the window, having only imagined places like this when she read her books.

Unfortunately, the awkwardness remained in the car for another twenty minutes, all of them secretly relieved when they pulled up at another house. It wasn’t a place that homed people full of riches, though they certainly weren’t poor. Driving down a back alley, they parked outside a small, semi-detached house. The other house beside it had a boarded up door and windows, with overgrown ivy all over it.

“This belongs to Mr Solomons?” Izzy asked as they all exited the car.

“Apparently so. I was as shocked as you are.” Ollie said before instructing the others to take her cases inside.

As they stepped inside, they saw that it was minimally decorated, though that didn’t surprise them. There were a few cobwebs about the place, as well a dust that had settled on top of surfaces. But with a quick clean up, it could look homely. It hadn’t been lived in for a while, the floorboards creaked from the new weight (that was something Izzy was both thankful and upset about, she could hear if anyone was in the house, but then again, that would mean someone was in the house). 

“Izzy?” Ollie called to her as she explored the kitchen. Her head showed up in the doorway.“They’ve put your things upstairs.”

“Thank you.” she meekly said, going back into the kitchen until she saw Ollie leaving.“You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, the men will stay though, to guard you.”

She scurried down the hallway to him, standing in the doorway as he continued walking.“What am I meant to do?”

“Settle in. Alfie will be here soon, maybe you could clean up the house?” he was joking, but that didn’t resonate with Izzy.

“Do you know what’s going on? With any of this?”

He sighed, approaching her so the others wouldn’t hear.“I’m sorry Izzy, I don’t know anything. If I did, I promise I would tell you. Alfie has instructed me to bring you here, and said he’ll be coming to see you today.”

“Oh...right.”

“Izzy, you’ll be absolutely safe here, we’re prepared for anything...I didn’t mean...not that anything will happen. I’m going to go before I say anything else.”

After Ollie left, she locked the door with the keys left for her, wishing there were more locks. She was in a small state of shock. Her life was being controlled, all because of something that she had no idea about. The only thing she could do now was as Ollie said, settle in. She was disturbed by the dust everywhere, heading into the kitchen to find a duster and other cleaning supplies. Her own belongings could wait. Covering her mouth with a handkerchief, Izzy still coughed and sneezed, her eyes watering. The house was modest for what rooms it held. It had a front room, a kitchen, a bathroom, two bedrooms and a small garden. It was more than what Izzy had ever had, and it was properly furnished. But you knew no one had been living here.

“Izzy?” Alfie’s voice made her jump. She had just finished dusting in the bedroom her cases were.“Izzy, where are you?”

Removing the handkerchief from her mouth, she brushed off the dust that had fallen onto her dress as she made her way down the stairs. Alfie was stood at the bottom, watching her. In that moment, he couldn’t help but think...no, he shouldn’t be thinking things like that, they would never come true.

“What you think then?” Alfie sniffed.

“It’s a lovely house, Mr Solomons.”

“Won it in a bet didn’t I? Didn’t know it would come in handy one day. Tea?”

She followed him into the kitchen, starting to boil the water as he sat down at the table big enough for four people. He glanced around the place, trying to distract himself from how Izzy looked like the perfect housewife in that moment. No one spoke as the tea brewed. Izzy wanted to ask questions, but she knew she had to be grateful for whatever Mr Solomons was protecting her from. And Alfie didn’t want to say anything stupid, he thought she was still angry with him. Once the tea was ready, Izzy focused on keeping a steady hand as poured it into two cups. The tension was building more and more by the second, she didn’t want to make matters worse by pouring boiling water onto your boss’ crotch.

“You’re probably confused.” Alfie said, taking a sip of the drink.

Izzy sat beside him, leaving her cup.“Yes, I am.”

“I’m just being over cautious Iz, can’t risk anything.” 

“About what?”

He rubbed his eyes with one hand, sighing loudly.“That letter you received, it’s from Thomas Shelby.Do you know who he is?”

Izzy shook her head.

“I hoped you wouldn’t. But I’ve got to tell you in order for all of this to make sense. He’s the leader of this gang, right, this gang from Birmingham. They call themselves the Peaky Blinders, due to the razors they sew into their caps. It’s, it’s barbaric if you ask me.”

“And, this gang, they want to hurt me?”

“Nah, nah, not that I know of. But he’s becoming a powerful man. He’s proven that by finding out who you are and where you live.”

“You don’t think they had anything to do with the man who harassed me in the street?”

“Nah, but he’s up to something.”

“So...so what do we do now?”

“You’re going to stay here, until that’s figured out.”

“But how am I supposed to get to work? I mean, it’s no problem for me to walk, I just know it’s further away-”

“You’re not going to walk to work, because you’re not going to work Izzy.”

“But, how am I supposed to earn money? What am I going to do here?”

“I’ll still pay you. Think of it as holiday pay. A holiday where you can’t leave the house.”

“What?”

“No one knows you round here Izzy, but you can’t let anyone see you here. That’s why it’s good that the house is tucked away with no neighbours.”

“But I could be stuck here for ages.”

“You’ll be fine.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you, you like being alone.”

Izzy raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, you keep to yourself, you don’t have any friends, what’s wrong with staying in here?”

“Because I’m trapped!”

Alfie hadn’t expected her to protest.“You’re not fucking trapped! You’re safe!”

“Safe from what? You won’t tell me!”

“What’s got into you? You’re never like this.”

“Because...because maybe I’m scared! You’re not telling me anything Mr Solomons-”

Alfie stood from his chair, coming off more demeaning as he towered over her.“Why do you always call me that? We’ve known each other since we were children! You never say my name!”

Izzy shrunk into her seat, hands gripping the side of the chair in fear.“I-I...You’re my boss, I-”

“That makes no difference! Oh for fucks sake, Izzy, we’re practically the same age!”

Izzy ducked her head, too scared to look at him.“I’m sorry, Mr Sol-Al-Alfie!”

Alfie realised how he looked to her, but his stubbornness got in the way. Instead of apologising like she should have, and wanted to, he kept going, somehow thinking that scaring her more would make her want to stay.

“Just do as you’re told. It’s not like anyone is going to notice you’re gone. I’m doing this for you, some fucking gratitude would be nice.”

But as soon as he saw the tears in her eyes, he hated himself. How was he supposed to know how to talk to women? Let alone comfort them! Izzy meant a dear amount to him, which is why he hated himself right now. He knew this woman for most of his life, why couldn’t he read her? Not knowing what else to say, Alfie left the shocked woman behind, heading out and past the men he put in place. They pretended they hadn’t heard any of their shouting.

Izzy didn’t move for another few minutes, scared that something else might happen. Alfie slamming the door didn’t help, causing her to flinch, a small yelp escaping her mouth. Once she was certain he was gone, the tears fell freely and silently, not wanting to make any noise, with only one thought circling her mind.

Why am I so weak?

[sunlitneon]

The Ultimate End to Junk Mail

I am no longer my nearby place's best patron yet they continue to send me direct mail. I'm not inquisitive about double glazing,  Custom Made Jewellery splendor packages or my new regions pizza parlour. Yet I become with coupon offers for own family sized pizza offers and spray tan programs.

It doesn't count how an awful lot green manipulate you have got at the inside of your house, unsolicited mail will discover its way to you.

Don't worry, you may considerably lessen it.

(To highlight you can't a hundred% forestall direct mail and I'll give an explanation for why further down.)

Firstly, you are probable thinking why I am talking approximately direct mail right?

In a nutshell, forests are reduce down and worked right into a water pulp mixture that when manipulation, creates the lovely factor we name paper.

The paper is then shipped to companies who print on it after which ship it to you.

Did you already know that Junk mail produces extra greenhouse fuel emissions than nine million vehicles?

HOW TO STOP RECEIVING JUNK MAIL

We all understand the significance that bushes should maintain our ecosystems and international temperature. If we forestall the call for for direct mail, we will lessen further environmental effect.

It is so smooth to pick out up the undesirable mail and throw it straight into the recycling bin.

Yes, it'll be recycled however the company who despatched the mail would not recognise you probably did no longer need to obtain it. And if they may be never advised their ability customers do now not want to acquire their mail, they may hold to ship it and retain to purpose environmental destruction.

First, you want to pick out the 2 sorts of direct mail you could receive, named and non-named.

Named mail is what comes thru your door addressed to a person in your own home.

And non-named, yes, you guessed it, are the letters that are not addressed to all people.

They likely kingdom something along the traces of 'To the Owner', 'To the brand new proprietor of a exceptional brief net company.'

HOW TO STOP RECEIVING NAMED MAIL

*Opt out of advertising lists

If you sign on for whatever that asks for your own home deal with, make sure you're taking out a magnifying glass and search for any statistics that explains the advertising phrases.

Usually, with out you confirming so, agencies and companies will upload you to their marketing mailing lists unless you country in any other case.

If you don't opt-out for advertising and marketing records, to procure your self a massive heap of direct mail. Imagine it like the scene from Harry Potter... "NO POST ON SUNDAYS."

*Register without cost with MPS (UK simplest)

MPS will get rid of your call and deal with from the UK enterprise lists of income promotions, marketing and direct advertising.

Take notice, it is able to absorb to 4 months till you note a discount in any undesirable named mail.

*Contact your nearby electoral roll register office

Ask you nearby register workplace to take away you from the open check in.

The open sign up includes your complete name and deal with and can be purchased by using a member of the public, businesses and advertising administrators.

*Swap all of your paper billing to online

A simple piece of recommendation, however you will be surprised at how often that is neglected.

*Contact the sender at once

Contact the sender through e-mail or cellphone and inform them you want to now not obtain any mail from them with on the spot effect.

*Return the junk mail without delay to the sender

Cross out your cope with and write 'junk mail, please return to sender' on the envelope.

You don't ought to pay any postage for the return, but the sender might get hold of a return price.

The return fee makes it much more likely that motion will be taken to dispose of you from their advertising and marketing listing.

HOW TO STOP RECEIVING NON-NAMED MAIL

Have you ever puzzled how direct mail not addressed to anyone in your home falls through your letterbox?

E.G Domino's commercials and your local window glazing enterprise?

*Notify Royal Mail

Thanks to Royal mail, they have got the job of delivering leaflets to every residence.

You can opt out via sending them an e-mail that informs them you no longer want to get hold of advertising mail.

They will send you a letter which you need to sign and ship again to them.

Take word, it could take in to 6 weeks before you noticed a discount within the marketing non-named mail and the opt-out carrier simplest lasts for 2 years.

*Make a signal or a poster

Get innovative and make a poster that states you do not need to receive junk mail.

Stick it in your letterbox, make sure it's especially close to the doorway of the letter container. (Not everyone will notice the sign inside the backside nook of a window.)

*State precisely what mail you do not want to acquire.

Not all people will think their commercials for their newly opened beauty salon is taken into consideration junk mail to your household.

Remember- Try to make your own poster earlier than you print one.

*Contact the sender directly

Contact the sender by way of electronic mail or phone, inform them you wish to no longer receive any mail from them with on the spot effect.

*Return the unsolicited mail immediately to the sender

Cross out your address and write 'direct mail, please return to sender' at the envelope.

You do not should pay any postage for the go back, however the sender would acquire a go back fee.

The go back charge makes it much more likely that motion may be taken to do away with you from their advertising and marketing listing.

BUT, I'M STILL GETTING JUNK MAIL?

Okay, so let's consider you're nevertheless getting junk mail.

Unfortunately, humans (especially those who are spreading the phrase approximately their nearby commercial enterprise) will forget about your no direct mail poster.

Don't worry, there are approaches to reuse your unsolicited mail earlier than you positioned it on your recycling bin.

Here are some thoughts to get your brain juice going.

Note-paper - Use the returned of direct mail letters as word paper

Card layout - Reuse the designs to make Celebration playing cards and gift tags

Compost - Add brown envelopes and white non-glossy paper in your compost pile.

Remove - Any plastic home windows and tacky glue strips first

Recycle - Add the paper to your recycling bin

Stuff things with it - You could make draught excluders and pin cushions in case you package the paper tightly and overlay a thick cloth

Animal bedding - Hamsters and gerbils need bedding, save yourself a few pennies by means of shredding your junk mail

Paper mache - Get innovative and build structures along with your kids of for yourself

Paper baskets - You can fold and coil paper strips to make baskets or any length you fancy

Jewellery - Just as above, you may coil the paper into any form you need and put on it as an excellent looking piece of jewellery.

Seed pots - You can make a container and use that as an opportunity to plastic plant pots. Better yet, the self-made seed pot can be positioned immediately into the floor.

[lovebitesimagines]

Aligned- Chapter Four.

Hello my lovelies! Sorry it’s been such a long time since I last posted anything. I’ve recently began teacher training, and my schedule is pretty chock block. But don’t worry, I'll still be posting here as often as I can x

There will be another two chapters of Alinged left, before I finish this series. I’m so sad about it!

Masterlist

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Tags: @i-love-you-green @lilianaswhatever @unrulyhealy @buckyboobear @between---the-bars @darkwolfpeanutskeleton @starkgaryan @labyrinth-of-thoughts @beaushelby @stupiddarkside @covenforlilfangirl @porcelainjokersmadness @namelesslosers @a-dorky-book-keeper @thetrappednerd @ayeayecaptaingally @ladymelissastark

Wanna be on the tagged list? Just drop me a message!x

Warnings: Swearing.

You return to Small Heath. But are you alone?

It was scary how easily you had settled into a routine over the past few months. Ignoring Tommy was difficult at first, the butterflies continuing to take flight within your stomach every time you saw him. You had often found yourself lying awake during another sleepless night, apprehensive of what your future in Small Heath would hold. You had decided that it was for the best if you gave up your job role in The Garrison, and luckily Ada had helped you find a small flat on the outskirts of town. It wasn’t much, but it was your own.

           It wasn’t long until you found love, in the form of a dock-worker named Jacob. He was six feet tall, with ash blonde hair that often fell into his eyes. His eyes never held any hint of hatred, or anger. He had always been gentle towards you, affectionate even. He was everything Tommy never was. That was the difficulty.

           He wasn’t Tommy.

           You had been successful in your attempts in avoiding The Garrison, rejecting every offer for a drink until they became few and far between. You couldn’t bring yourself to risk bumping into the two people you had no desire to see, afraid of the hurt it would no doubt bring you. You had spent far too long trying to build yourself back up, to risk crumbling again. As a result, you had sadly fallen out with those that you had considered friends. You missed the jokes you and Arthur had often shared, and the long debates that took place between you and Ada. Despite all your best efforts in avoiding the building, you had now found yourself no longer able to do so.

A letter had fallen through your letterbox a few mornings ago, containing devastating news. Adas’ husband, Freddie Thorne, had sadly passed away. Your heart had stung as you read the letter, containing details about his upcoming funeral. You knew that you could not avoid this, your desire to be there for one of your closest friends during her time of hardship overwhelming. You felt guilty at having been pushing away Ada over the past few months, longing to see her again.

           You currently stood frozen outside The Garrison, your eyes nervously scanning the exterior of the building you were once familiar with. It hadn’t changed during the time you had been away. You could still recall every barrel placed outside, the familiar cracks in the discoloured brickwork. You hated the waves of anxiety that had suddenly started to crash through you, clenching your fists in an attempt to prevent your hands from shaking. Your saliva was thick in your mouth, your throat tightening with undeniable fear.

“You okay love?” Jacob whispered softly, his breath coming out of his mouth like small clouds. It was far too cold for you both to be stood outside for this length of time, you knew that, yet your legs seemed incapable of moving you any further.

“I’m alright” you responded, the lie slipping easily from between your lips. Although he was aware you used to be employed at The Garrison, you hadn’t told Jacob about your past. He didn’t know about you and Tommy. You never felt any desire to divulge too deeply into your personal history, and as a result you had woven together a set of lies to satisfy him.

           You felt Jacob tug slightly at your arm, beginning to lead you towards the entrance. You hated the way he touched you, the loving contact making you feel smothered. You wished you could shake off every embrace, every kiss he placed upon your lips. You knew that you should have felt lucky, being with Jacob. Several women in Small Heath would have jumped at the chance of being seen upon his arm, but he made your skin crawl.

He wasn’t Tommy.

           Jacob pushed open the doors, leading you inside. At first, the noise inside was almost deafening. A mixture of conversations all seemed to merge into one, thunderous racket before abruptly melting into an uncomfortable silence. Every single pair of eyes was directed upon you, some belonging to strangers, others belonging to those you once called friends. You swallowed hard, never meeting a pair of eyes for more than a split second. Your mind toyed with the idea of turning around and walking out. It would have been the easier option, and perhaps the most sensible.

           Then you saw Ada, stood in the corner of the bar, dressed in all black, and you knew you couldn’t leave. You could see the smudges of mascara faintly staining her cheeks, her skin pale and blotchy from crying. Her eyes turned to meet yours, widening slightly in shock, before she walked over to meet you. Ada flung her arms around you, enveloping you into a hug. The scent of her perfume wafted over you, closing your eyes as memories flooded back through you. Guilt gnawed at your stomach. You had been wrong in ignoring Ada too. You heard Jacob walk towards the bar, giving you and Ada some privacy. Noise erupted around you both, cocooning you in your own little reunion.

“I missed you” you whispered softly, before she pulled away and held you at arm’s length. Her light blue eyes scanned over your appearance, a small hint of worry creasing between her brows.

“I’ve missed you too. We’ve all missed you” she murmured softly, before she hooked her arm through yours, leading you towards The Shelbys’ private room. Your heart stopped for a brief moment, at the potential of seeing Tommy again. Your mouth began to dry with anxiety, your mind at a loss of what to say. You didn’t have enough time to fully comprehend the idea, before Ada had kicked the door open with a soft nudge.

           Your eyes frantically took in your surroundings, scanning over the people who were sat around the table. You hadn’t realised you had held your breath in nervous anticipation, before you felt air escape harshly from your lungs. You hated to admit the way your heart sunk, as you came to the realisation that he wasn’t there.

           Tommy wasn’t there.

“Well bloody hell!” Arthur roared, jumping up to greet you. A few bottles fell down upon the table in protest, as he knocked it slightly with his knees. You chuckled softly, feeling his arms squeeze around you tightly. “Almost forgot what you looked like girl!”

“It hasn’t been that long Arthur, stop exaggerating!” you chuckled softly, placing a gentle kiss upon his cheek, his stubbles softly tickling your chin, before you both pulled away.

           You hugged each of the Shelby family in turn, each one reminding you why you should never have left, before you lowered yourself into the chair beside Ada. The desired topic of conversation hung heavy in the air, making the room seem almost thick with anticipation. You knew what you wanted to ask, the question poised at the tip of your tongue.

“She’s gone” Pol answered your silent inquiry, her eyes boring into yours. You could sense the fire and anger thick within her voice. “And she certainly won’t be coming back”. You raised an eyebrow in confusion, the mood in the room noticeably shifting.

“She was a spy. For Campbell” John grunted from the corner of the room, abruptly breaking the tense silence that had settled between you all. The short amount of words John said, spoke volumes. You felt the colour flood from your cheeks, your heart silently breaking, fearing how Tommy would have taken it.

“How is he? Tommy?” you asked softly, inwardly cursing yourself at the way your voice broke with emotion. The flicker in Pols’ eyes verified that she had heard you, as she shifted slightly in her seat.

“He’s coping. Not the same without you though” she answered softly, lightly placing her hand upon yours. You smiled slightly, your eyes flickering down towards the table.

“(Y/N)?” a familiar whisper sounded out from behind you. Your heart collided with your ribcage as the voice floated up to your ears. You turned to face him, unable to stop the tears that began to sting at your eyes. You hated your bodies almost automatic response at the sight of him, your mind unable to forget the countless hours you two had spent together.

           Tommy stood in the doorway, almost dumbfounded at the sight of you. You knew you had eight eyes trained upon you both, watching your reunion unfold in front of them. You had so many words you had wanted to say to him, having spent countless nights lying awake planning on what to say if you were to ever lay eyes on him again. Yet now you had been given the chance too, they all seemed to disappear within your mouth. You began to stand up slowly, your eyes never leaving Tommy’s.

“I hope red wine is alright for you babe. Didn’t think whiskey was your thing” Jacob announced from behind Tommy, pushing past him slightly as he brought in your drinks. You blinked several times, breaking your eye contact with Tommy as you realised that your boyfriend was now entering the room. You smiled slightly, reaching out to grab the glass of wine from him, your heart sinking at the fact your moment with him had been interrupted.

“Guys. Meet Jacob. My boyfriend” you muttered the announced to the room, hating the way the words sounded as they fell out from between your lips. It wasn’t Jacob’s name you should be saying. It was the dark-haired man standing in front of you, that held your heart.

“Tommy Shelby” his voice sounded like poison, as he shook Jacobs’ spare hand. His glacier blue eyes burned holes into the man, devoid of all human emotion. His movements seemed robotic, as he began to place up the walls around him. You noticed his knuckles whiten, as they gripped Jacob’s hand tighter for a brief second, before pulling away. He turned around, announcing to the room before he left.

“Word of advice mate. She is a whiskey drinker”.

[mycupoffanfiction]

A Real Sweet Guy Part 3

A biker!Bucky x shy!Reader Series

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6

The reader lives on the same street as Bucky, the leader of a biker gang, which everyone in her building is afraid of, except for her. When Bucky makes a simple act of kidness to the reader, she realises she was right to not be afraid of him.

Warnings: None - just fluff and Gladys.

Word count: Approx 2700

Masterlist

Part 3 is here! I’m already working on part 4, I am so in love with writing this series! Let me know what you think and if you want to be on the tag list 💕

____________________________

Walking back from a trip to the store for a few ingredients, you pause when you see the newspaper on Bucky’s driveway. You know it’s Gladys’ doing. Rushing across the street, you scoop the paper up and take it indoors with you. When you get up to your apartment you drop your shopping bag and grab a marker, writing in all caps across the paper, STOP THROWING PAPERS AT BUCKY. You go into the hall and push it through Gladys’ letter box and let out a satisfied hum before going about your day.

 You were knee deep in cooking when a sharp rapping at your door pulled you from your thoughts. You set down your wooden spoon, wiping your floury hands on your apron and you move to the door, peering through the peephole. You groan out loud and pull open the door. You’re met with a newspaper to the face and you look across at Gladys, very unamused. “Don’t you have anything better to do than assault people with newspapers?” You scoff, kicking the paper out of the way and slamming the door shut before she could argue so you could continue baking.

 It was several hours later and you hopped off the rickety old bus with a large worn biscuit tin clutched in both hands. You walk around the corner until you see the obnoxiously sized sign for Roger’s Repair Shop. Walking up the driveway, you approach the garage, the front was completely open and Bucky looked up from his work when he heard your footsteps on the gravel and shot you a gorgeous smile. He was wearing a grey flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his usual roughed up jeans and boots. It’s at that moment that you realise Bucky has a tattoo on his right arm and you make a mental note to ask him about it later. You saw Steve look at you through the window of the office and turn away. “Bucky, your girlfriend is here!” Steve shouted and you see Bucky heave a sigh and hang his head low.

 Giggling, you approach with a big smile on your face. Bucky stands up and walks towards you, wiping grease from his hands with a rag he tucked in his back pocket. “Hey, doll.” Bucky greeted you, pulling you in for a one armed hug. “Hi Bucky.” You were brimming with excitement as you held your tin tightly to your chest. Steve stepped out of the office, you knew who he was, you’d just never met him before. “You must be (Y/n), I’m Steve.” He stepped forward, holding out a hand to shake. “It’s good to finally meet you Steve.” You beam up at him, shaking his hand gently. “I made you guys some cookies.” You smile, handing Bucky the box. “They’re mostly for you, but also everyone else.” You blush, looking down awkwardly. Both men chuckle and Bucky squeezes you around the middle again. “Thanks, doll, that’s real kind of you.” Bucky lets go and opens the tin, a look of bliss on his face when he breathes in the cookie smell. Steve steps away to finish up his work as you watch Bucky’s reaction to your cookies.

 “How was your day, sweetheart?” Bucky asks. “Sweetheart?” You hear Steve pipe up in the background as he’s working on something. You stifle a giggle and lock eyes with Bucky. “It was good, although Gladys smacked me in the face with a newspaper.” You rub the back of your neck while Bucky turns to put the tin down on a work bench. “She what?” Bucky frowns, turning to look at you. “Why’d she do that to you? You’re the sweetest person around.” Bucky crossed his arms over his chest, he was far more concerned about this than you thought he would be. “I kind of posted the newspaper she threw at you into her letterbox with a note to tell her to stop throwing them at you.” You looked down at your feet nervously. “You stick up for me more than you should, sweetheart. Still doesn’t warrant a newspaper in the face, though. That’s just rude. Even I don’t get one to the face, usually hits me in the chest.” Bucky grumbled. What does he mean far more than you should? You would stick up for him every day if you had to, even if that meant a torrent of newspaper abuse from Gladys. “That old lady attacks you too?” Steve inserts himself into the conversation. “Apparently so. She lives opposite (Y/n).” Bucky answers for you. “I can understand Bucky, but you?” Steve jabs at him, receiving a cold glare from Bucky. “Let’s not worry about that crazy old lady.” You wave your hand and watch as Bucky dips his hand into the tin of cookies, taking and bite and humming with content. “No, no, I’m going to tell Gladys off. I didn’t want to when she was throwing them at me because I didn’t want her to be more inclined to attack me, but if she does it to you again, I’ll use the intimidation card on her.” Bucky tried to sound as serious as possible with a mouthful of cookie. Steve tries to hold back his chuckle and hides his obvious amusement by shoving a cookie in his mouth. “And how do you plan on intimidating her?” You ask, smiling up at him. “I mean, it’s not like I have to try very hard, me just looking at her makes her look petrified.” Bucky scoffs. “I’m surprised she has the guts to throw her newspaper at you, Buck.” Steve pats him on the shoulder.

 You sit by Bucky as he works on a car engine and you observe the way he expertly handles everything. His metal hand seems to have excellent precision and you start to wonder if he takes advantage of that in his every day life. You watch, mesmerised as he gets up to move and the plates in his arm shift and whir. He flexes his hand and you enjoy the way all the metal joints move smoothly against each other. You look down at his right arm and try to catch a glimpse of the tattoo he has there but Bucky turns so you can’t see it. “(Y/n).” Bucky’s voice suddenly distracts you from your thoughts and your attention is brought back to him. Fuck, you did it again. You really need to stop zoning out and letting him catch you, especially when you zone out staring at Bucky. “You seem awfully distracted.” He smirks, looking down at his metal arm, twisting it slightly so the overhead light glints on the smooth metal. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t stare.” You mumble out, god why did you have to be so awkward? Bucky chuckles to himself as he wipes the grease off his hands again. “Don’t worry about it doll, I know you’re just curious.” He doesn’t seem to mind one bit that you’ve just blatantly stared at his arm and you feel the warmth in your chest when you realise how much he must really trust you to know you mean well and to voluntarily have his arm on show when you’re around. “Actually, I was curious about your tattoo.” You point to his right arm and Bucky looks at you with slight surprise. 

Pulling up his sleeve past his elbow, he approaches you so you can have a look. “I have more than just this sleeve, but that would require me to take off my shirt.” He chuckles. “It’s beautiful.” You comment, running your fingers over the beautiful artwork running up his arm. “You got any?” He asks, smiling cheekily, he knows the answer to that question though. “No, I’ve considered it though.” You giggle. “What would you get?” Bucky asks. “No idea, I feel like if I got one, it would be an impulsive decision on something that means a lot to me.” You look up at him. “Like a cup of coffee?” He jokes, nudging you and you both laugh. “I meant something more symbolic.” You giggle. “Coffee isn’t symbolic to you?” Bucky backs away and smirks and you shake your head affectionately.

“It’s time for a break,” He pauses, stretching out his back and moving his neck from side to side. “Coffee?” He asks, looking at you with hopeful eyes. It wasn’t like he had to ask twice. “Maybe I can have more of those delicious cookies of yours.” He winks at you before he grabs your hand in his metal one and pulls you off your seat.

 Entering the office, Steve sits with his feet up on the desk, munching on one of your cookies while he lazily writes on a notepad. Steve looks down as Bucky brings you over to the coffee machine and looks at the two of you holding hands. You notice his gaze and your cheeks suddenly heat up with a blush. “Not your girlfriend, huh?” Steve tries to contain his smile when Bucky turns to face him with a glare, immediately letting go of your hand. You look out of the window and see a girl with long brown, slightly ginger hair walking across the compound towards the garage and she locks eyes with you, shooting you a smile. You smile back and wonder who she is. From her clothing alone, she looks like she might be one of Bucky’s biker friends. She wore a red leather jacket with a simple black top, jeans and boots and was carrying a red helmet in her hand down at her side. “Huh, Wanda’s back.” Steve follows your line of sight and pushes away from the desk, dropping the notebook down and getting up.

 “Thanks for the coffee.” You smile up at Bucky as you take the mug from him. “You don’t have to thank me every time, sweetheart.” He speaks quietly. You beam up at him and he gives you his lopsided smile. You look out of the window again to see Steve practically throw himself at Wanda, picking her up and pulling her about in his excited embrace. “They a thing?” You ask, pointing out the window. “Nah, the punk denies it, but I know he’s sweet on Wanda.” Bucky laughs, grabbing his own coffee and you make your way out of the office.

 “So you’re (Y/n).” Wanda walks up to you, completely ignoring Steve as he trails along behind her. “I’m Wanda, it’s so nice to put a face to the name.” She says, a certain confidence about her makes you feel at ease and you shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you Wanda.” You smile, still a little shy. “Bucky spoke about you a lot the other morning.” She grinned. “Wanda!” Bucky overhears and frowns. “Don’t worry! It was only good things.” She winks at you, making you giggle in response. “Steve told me you bake.” She quickly changes the subject when she realises Bucky is absolutely not happy with her telling you he’d spoken about you. “Oh, yeah I just made some cookies for you guys, Steve keeps stealing them though.” You glance across at Steve who’s taken another one. Wanda bursts out laughing. “The man’s a bottomless pit, if there’s food, he’ll eat and eat until there’s no more.” She laughed, backing away from you to pluck a cookie from the tin. “Hey, doll, c’mere a sec.” Bucky interrupts, calling you over and you give Wanda an apologetic look.

 You join Bucky’s side, waiting for him to start talking but he pauses and watches Steve put his hand in the tin again. Bucky smacks the back of Steve’s hand. “They ain’t just for you punk.” He frowns. “Jerk.” Steve rolls his eyes, still snatching a cookie and backs away to join Wanda. “I was going to ask if you wanted to go with me to the next town over in a couple of days, they’re having an annual bike show and the guys are going, I just wanted to know if you wanted to come with?” He proposed. “I’ll even give you a ride there.” He adds and with that you enthusiastically nod. “See without even being a biker, you’re part of the crew now.” Bucky grins and pats you on the shoulder. “I don’t have a cool jacket like you guys though.” You smirk, pointing at the patches and badges that adorn his leather jacket that sits draped over the work bench. “You can wear mine if ya like doll, I think it’ll look real cute on you.” Bucky blushes at his own words and winks at you, making you giggle and look away shyly.

 It’s a bit later on and you’re perched on the back of Bucky’s bike, pulling up to your apartment complex. Hopping off the back, Bucky insists on walking you up to your door and you let him. He takes your hand in his metal one, since he noticed you seem to gravitate naturally for it, he no longer holds back with that hand anymore. As you approach the door to your flat, you fumble about with your keys and unlock the door, letting you both in. 

You try to hand the helmet you borrowed back to Bucky but he gently pushes it away. “Keep it, sweetheart, you need it more than I do.” He winks at you and you grin up at him. “Thank you for the ride home.” You smile, you were definitely getting used to the motorbike, perhaps even one day you might ask him to teach you how to ride one, but for now you were content with riding on the back of his. “Anytime, doll.” He smiles. “So the day after tomorrow, two o’clock sharp.” He pushes a finger into your shoulder as you nod. “I can’t wait.” You grin. “Good, you’ll meet the rest of the crew as well.” Bucky pats your shoulder. “Don’t worry, they’re all as sweet as Steve and Wanda, maybe a bit loud. If it gets too much, just squeeze my hand and I’ll help ya out.” Bucky gives you a reassuring smile. He was really starting to catch on to what made you anxious and nervous and you appreciated his attention to your behaviour. “Thank you, for everything Bucky.” You say quietly. “You know I’d do anything for you, sweetheart.” His lopsided smile graces his lips. “Wait, I just realised I don’t have your number, doll.” He pulls out his phone and you both exchange numbers. Bucky bends down to kiss your cheek and you somehow have a rush of confidence and reach forwards to kiss his cheek back before he moves away. Bucky pulls you into a tight embrace before backing away and exiting your apartment. “Bye doll.” Bucky says, waving to you through the gap in the door and you say goodbye before he closes the door completely and you’re left alone in silence.

 Your phone buzzes and you look down at it, grinning uncontrollably when you read the message.

Hey doll, can’t wait to see you next, love Bucky x

Love Bucky with a kiss? God you were about to keel over with excitement. Your fingers typed a reply and you sent it without even thinking.

Hey Bucky, I can’t wait to see you either, maybe you can show me more of your tattoos xx

And then you realise how that sounds and you facepalm, grumbling to yourself about how embarrassing you are.

I mean, not like that, I just meant, you know what I meant

Why were you just as awkward texting as you were real life?

I knew what you meant, doll, maybe I will show you more xx

You bit your lip and sighed, you couldn’t wait to see Bucky again, perhaps it was a little crazy quite how much you were falling for him so fast, but you couldn’t help it. Bucky was a big, muscular, handsome man with a tough guy exterior and a soft, huge heart of gold and you just couldn’t get enough of him, you just wanted to get to know him more and you hoped you two could bond some more on your trip out of town. 

____________________________

Tags:

@shygirl-00 @scuzmunkie @ thechaoticargonaut @allonszassbutt@smashley816 @paintballkid711 @omlbarnes @jbb-bucky0310 @just-another-fangirl777  @booktease21

[spectre-requisitions-exchange]

Sign-Ups Are Open!

SIGN-UPS ARE OPEN! Sign ups for the Spectre Requisitions exchange will be possible from January 14th to January 25th. You must fill out at least five unique requests and unique three offers (requests and offers do not necessarily have to be the same!). Anytime someone offers something, we will update the “Offers Present?” tab on the spreadsheet with a simple yes when it is offered. You may also choose ‘Any Pairings’ and ask or volunteer to write any of the pairings of the nominations list. NOW THAT SAID: SIGN UP! SIGN UP! SIGN-UP! CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP! You can go back and edit your Sign Up Form up until  25 Jan 2019 06:00PM EST. A BIG WARNING ABOUT USING ‘ANY PAIRINGS’: Any pairing means exactly that, that you are willing to get or create fanworks for any pairing. We cannot control what characters or prompts are in an “Any Pairings” request. Thus, it should not be used for a request like “Any Garrus Vakarian fic”.  “Any pairing” requests should only be requested for when you really want to see a certain trope or kink  (and don’t care which characters are used) and should only be offered if you want the sheer challenge of a pure mystery! The only thing we will allow you to limit it by is the category of relationship, eg Gen, F/F, M/M or F/M. Anything else put into the box will be ignored so chose this option CAREFULLY. If you would like to participate but do not have an AO3 account, please send us a message on tumblr and we will get you an invitation.

One Important Addition this year: Please add your DNW (Do Not Wants) to your sign-ups. We cannot enforce DNWs that are only in letters!

How Do I Sign Up? Instructions beneath the cut:

1) Go to the Sign Up Form at AO3. 2) Click the checkmark on “Mass Effect - All Media Types” for the fandom!

3) Start writing the name of your favorite character/pairing from the nominations. Don’t forget to check the spreadsheet if you need inspiration! 3) The box should start to autofill as you type; if it doesn’t, simply enter things as . Select your pairing of choice. You can have one or two pairings per request, and may have ten requests total. This gives you a total of 20 potential pairings to request at maximum, and the minimum is 5 requests and 3 offers. 

This is what it looks like with one relationship filled in:

Note that the box is still active and allows you to fill more in. If you are planning on requesting only the minimum, please only fill one in per box; Ao3 cannot count like

And here’s what it looks like with two tags filled in:

Now, the box is gone, and you’re maxed out for this request set. Note that when you’re doing multiple pairings, you’ll have to put your prompts/likes/DNWs for the two pairings in the same box. Don’t hesitate to reach out again if you’ve got more questions! 4) Decide whether you would like to potentially receive fanart or fanfic, or both. Check the applicable box(es). 5) Give your author some idea of what you want to see in the description box. Good things to list: general likes, rating restrictions, prompt ideas, squicks/triggers/do-not-wants, or anything else you’d like the writer to know. Make sure you list things you definitively do not want. Authors and artists are absolutely forbidden to ignore squicks and triggers. Otherwise, the only guideline of your prompt authors/artists is unequivocally beholden to is the requested pairing, though they are encouraged to take your preferences into consideration. 6) Repeat between 5-10 times, as you like! 8) You may write a letter that goes more in-depth and post it to your Tumblr, DreamWidth, public google doc, or another platform, and then fill in the URL in the letterbox. 9) Fill out your offers. You must fill out at least three unique pairings you would be okay with writing and can choose one or two pairings to fill in per request. If you have any comments for the moderators, please put them

A BIG WARNING ABOUT USING ‘ANY PAIRINGS’: You may choose to offer ANY, but this means you could be matched to ANYONE who has signed up for the archive. Exchange participants beware of this, do NOT pick Any Pairings if you are not up for a challenge! The only thing we will allow you to limit it by is a category of relationship, eg Gen, F/F, M/M or M/F. Anything else cannot be controlled so chose this CAREFULLY. 10) Click submit! And welcome to the Mass Effect Rare Pair Exchange!

[dipulb3]

Epson Home Cinema 880 projector review: Bright and cheap, but that's about it

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/epson-home-cinema-880-projector-review-bright-and-cheap-but-thats-about-it/

Epson Home Cinema 880 projector review: Bright and cheap, but that's about it

The Epson 880 is a tale of two specs and a price. On one hand, it’s the brightest projector I’ve measured recently, dethroning the previous champ after less than a month. On the other hand it also has the worst contrast ratio I’ve ever measured, worse than even cheap portable projectors that are much dimmer. On the third hand (third hand? Whatever, go with me here), it’s only $600. So it’s inexpensive, but you sacrifice a lot compared to projectors that cost just a little bit more. 

Like

Stupendously bright

Prodigiously bright

Bright

Don’t Like

Weak overall image quality

Terrible contrast

Details look soft

No zoom

Few projectors can better compete with ambient light than the 880. It will still lose to the sun or some lamps, but it will be more watchable than most projectors in less-than-completely-dark conditions. It can create a massive and bright image. It’s small and highly portable, while being significantly brighter than a true portable projector — one that runs on batteries. It even has excellent color.

Unfortunately the image is quite washed out, it looks softer than its 1080p resolution suggests and with no zoom or lens shift, it’s far harder to position in a room. While the $600 price tag is tempting, my advice is to save up for something like the BenQ HT2050A.

Lumens, lumens, lumens

Native resolution: 1,920×1,080 pixels

HDR-compatible: No

4K-compatible: No

3D-compatible: No

Lumens spec: 3,300

Zoom: None

Lens shift: No

Lamp life (Normal mode): 6,000 hours

1080p resolution for $600 is pretty impressive. It wasn’t too long ago $1,000 was the full HD threshold. As you’d expect for a budget projector, it’s not HDR, 3D, nor 4K compatible. That’s fine at this price.

One way Epson saved money to get you resolution and brightness is by removing a zoom control from the lens. The lack of zoom makes it harder to position the 880 in your room. The projector has one place it can sit/hang to fill a specific-sized screen and that’s it. If you don’t have a fixed screen, like you’re just shining it on a wall, then this isn’t an issue.

Let’s talk about those lumens. This thing is a beast. I measured a remarkable 232 nits in its most accurate modes. This converts to roughly 2,085 lumens. That blows away our previous light output champ, also an Epson, by 20%. It’s always a fair assumption with TVs and projectors that prices will go down while brightness and resolution will go up. Even so, that’s a big, impressive leap. In eye-bleed Dynamic mode you can get 359 nits out of this thing! That’s over 3,000 lumens and brighter even than the LG laser projector that costs $3,000. It wasn’t long ago that TVs struggled to produce 3,000 lumens. 

Remarkably, the 880 runs on a regular lamp and not some mixture of phosphorus and napalm. It’s rated for 6,000 hours in Normal brightness mode, which I’ll be surprised if you use often. The dimmer-but-still-bright ECO mode gets around twice that.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Budget-level connections

HDMI inputs: 1

PC input: No

USB port: 2

Audio input and output: 3.5mm stereo output

Digital audio output: No

Internet: No

12v trigger: No

RS-232 remote port: No

MHL: No

Remote: Not backlit

Inputs are sparse, which is again fine at this price. One HDMI gets the job done along with 2 USBs. There’s a 3.5mm audio output, or you can use the meager built-in speaker.

The small remote has tiny buttons, but thankfully you only really need to use it for setup and to turn the projector on and off.

In the Normal lamp mode the 880 is pretty loud, which is typical for small, bright projectors. This might be more of an issue than usual depending how big your screen is, since without a zoom you might be forced to place it closer to your seats than you’d like.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Picture quality comparisons

The 2250 isn’t a direct competitor at twice the price of the 880, however it does show what’s possible if you want to go with an LCD projector. The BenQ HT2050A is still one of our favorite projectors. When new it was around $1,000, but now it’s often around $750. While that’s technically 25% more than the 880, as you’ll see I feel this is a reasonable amount to spend for the increase in performance. I connected all three via a Monoprice 1×4 distribution amplifier and viewed all on a 102-inch 1.0-gain screen.

There’s no escaping the 880’s poor contrast ratio. While viewing a movie with letterbox bars, in this case Thor: Ragnarok, the bars go from black on the BenQ, to fairly black on the 2250, to flat out gray on the 880. The image looks very washed out and flat. I measured an average contrast ratio of 221:1, the lowest I think I’ve ever measured. The 2250, for comparison, is 1,026:1 and the BenQ is twice that. Interestingly, in person the 880 doesn’t look that much brighter than the 2250 despite measuring 20% higher light output. Both Epsons are so bright the 880 doesn’t draw the eye as much as you’d think. In turn both are definitely brighter than the 2050A, but that projector isn’t exactly dim.

A bit more surprising is how soft the 880’s image looks. All three projectors are 1080p. The DLP-based BenQ looks sharpest, as is that technology’s biggest strength. You’d think the 2250 and 880 would look fairly close, since they’re both the same resolution and are LCD-based, but not so much. My guess is that a combination of a cheaper lens and low contrast are making fine detail less apparent.

The 880’s color is good, I’ll give it that. Spot on greens, reds and blues. In this regard it actually measures better than many projectors that cost far more. This isn’t as noticeable as you’d hope, however, given the contrast. It doesn’t hurt to have good color, of course, especially when bright DLP projectors usually have fairly mediocre color.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The 2250 shows that LCD can look good, though perhaps it’s just expensive to do so. $1,000 is a lot of money for a 1080p projector these days. Which brings us back, as we often go, to the HT2050A. It’s not perfect by any stretch, but it does most things right, looks great and just costs about $150 more than the Epson. Yes, that’s 25%, but this is one of the rare cases that I recommend spending a bit more since you’ll get a much better image.

I didn’t have the Optoma HD146X or HD28HDR on hand, both of which are closer in price to the 880. Going over my notes and measurements, the 146X had a contrast ratio of 568:1 and the 28HDR a 716:1. Neither are great numbers, but both would have more apparent depth and look less washed out than the 880. Both were dimmer and had worse color, but I think most people would prefer the better contrast ratio and sharper image of those projectors compared to the 880. That said, in all three cases spending a little more gets you a much better picture.

Sing me home, Bruce

You’ve got to hand it to Epson for making something so impressively bright for so little money. It wasn’t long ago that this kind of brightness was unheard of in projectors and 1080p was unheard of at this price. But I spent a lot of my time with the 880 trying to figure out who this projector is for. What’s the niche? And to be honest, I couldn’t quite figure it out. Sure it’s bright, but a lot of projectors are bright. It’s small, but a lot of projectors are small. Gaming maybe? But the input lag is an issue there.

What I finally settled on is that the 880 is a muscle car. If all you want is a flashy 0-60 time for not a lot of money, this is definitely your 1970 Dodge Charger. But beyond blinding lights, it falters. I adore the price and I rarely, rarely, rarely recommend spending more on gear than you need to, but in this case the picture quality available for just a bit more money is worth the extra outlay.

Geek Box

Test Result Score Black luminance (0%) 0.946 Poor Peak white luminance (100%) 231.5 Good Derived lumens 2085 Good Avg. grayscale error (10-100%) 2.401 Good Dark gray error (20%) 2.688 Good Bright gray error (70%) 2.225 Good Avg. color error 3.737 Average Red error 2.019 Good Green error 6.949 Average Blue error 5.381 Average Cyan error 3.365 Average Magenta error 3.239 Average Yellow error 1.469 Good Avg. saturations error 2.58 Good Avg. color checker error 2.2 Good Input lag (Game mode) 51.5 Average

Measurement Notes

The Cinema picture mode and 3 color temperature setting proved to be the most accurate. The darkest images, well, as dark as you can get with this projector, were noticeably blue. A full-black image was more like a full-navy image. Bright images lacked blue slightly, though this wasn’t as noticeable to the naked eye.

Colors were impressively accurate. Red was very slightly orange, but otherwise the other primaries and secondaries were pretty much spot on their Rec 709 targets.

In this mode, the 880 produced 231.5 nits and an average contrast ratio of 221:1. A new record, albeit an inglorious one. The Dynamic mode, which lacks any semblance of accuracy, did manage to produce a remarkable 359 nits.

[littlebluespoon]

Home Safe

so theres a little dubious consent in this but like a teeny tiny bit. And its a happy ending! Y’all know how are they are in these parts, especially in Misu fics

 The text he had sent was vague. Just at place and time, really you shouldn’t have expected anymore from Minoru. You had really messed up this time and he had every right to be furious. You had broken his one rule, no one else. When out with Suzuki-Gun, celebrating Misu’s win over Yano, you had gotten quite drunk and in your state you had mistaken Desperado for Minoru. It wasn’t an excuse, Misu hated showing affection in public so you shouldn’t have kissed him anyway. You realised pretty quickly what had happened because Zack screamed it in your face after he had pulled you off Despy.

But things didn’t end there. To shut Zack up you kissed him too and then you ran. Ashamed, humiliated and filled with guilt you ran from them. No doubt that they would tell Misu what happened you sent him a message,

 Im sorry misu. i didn’t mean it but it happened. don’t worry, ill move out.

goodbye x

 It had been two weeks since the incident and the only time you had been in your shared flat was when he was out of the country. He was only gone for a couple of days so you worked quickly to pack up all your stuff, leaving no trace that you ever lived there. You pushed your key through the letterbox once you had finished, hearing it fall against his hardwood floor was enough to have you crying. You remembered the lie you told yourself in an effort to move on,

“We were two different people. This is what’s best.”

In reality it was like you and Minoru were cut from the same stone. You knew when he needed to be ruthless and demanding and could easily stand by his side, silently supporting him in those times. But you also knew when he needed to relax, needed someone to take care of him or let him take care of you. Sometimes you knew his needs better than your own but that was okay because he knew yours better than his. You needed each other.

You were early, the anxiety you felt at seeing him again driving you. It had been a month since that night in the club. He’d posted pictures on Instagram but you couldn’t bring yourself to look, too afraid to see that he might have moved on. The small café was warm, it made you shiver as you entered and left the cold behind. You glanced around, hoping that you were here first but to no avail. You would need to have been blind to miss them. All three men sat in the single booth sat against the back wall. You felt sick, caught in his gaze. Unable to move until he crooked a finger, calling you towards them. Like predators they followed your every move as you attempted to stall, first taking steps in the direction of the counter. It was the shake of his head that stopped you, a gesture of his hand meant you took closer look at the table and you saw the fourth mug. You could no longer stall. Taking small steps, you shuffled across the room, trying to ignore your head screaming for you to run.

“Nice to see you y/n.” Zack spoke with a smirk that he tried to hide in the rim of his mug, “It’s been a while, how have you been?” Taking the only seat at in the booth, you pulled the mug to your chest and attempted to warm up and stop the shivering that you suspected was more nerves than cold.

“It’s been quiet, no one knocking on the door at all times.” You observed them as they nodded at each other. They were playing a game with you.

“I suppose we did take liberties, four in the morning was perhaps not the best time to start training.” As Desperado spoke he placed his hand on your knee, gently tapping away.

With no idea what their plans were you kept quiet, only moving to cross your legs and dislodge his hand. They chatted away around you, talking of upcoming shows and remembering their exploits from the past month. Slowly sipping at your drink you studied Misu. In your eyes he looked better than he had done a month ago, there was more life in his eyes.

“Do you think we’d be able to do it? I mean Omega can’t beat Okada.” You turned back to the conversation as they began discussing how to take on CHAOS, but not before giving Misu a final glance.

You were nearly done with your drink by the time Misu spoke to you,

“Why run?” It was not the question you were expecting. It brought back all those feelings of shame and it took you what felt like forever to answer.

“Because I failed you. I wasn’t good enough.” You couldn’t look at him now but you could feel his eyes on you, judging you.

“You’ve always been good enough, but you need to prove your worth darling. Prove your loyalty. Tonight you will go with Zack and Desperado. Tomorrow, perhaps, you will come with me.” He left a tip on the table and walked out without any further words to anyone. He didn’t even look at you.

“So, will you come?” Startled out of your thoughts you saw that Zack and Desperado were already leaving the table.

“What is this?” You slowly stood, looking at Desperado as he leered at you,

“Punishment.”

It’s what you deserve. You need to do this. It’s for him. These were the thoughts floating around your head as you endured your punishment. You had gone with them back to their hotel because the one thing you wanted more than anything in the world was Minoru back in your life. Really, you should have known that it would not be easy. But you just kept thinking of Minoru as Zack brought the crop down again and again and again on your bare skin.

“You bleed so pretty babe.” You could feel his tongue slide across the cuts.

“Zack, don’t torture her too much, Boss did say we could have some fun as well.” Despy pulled you up by the hair, bringing you close to him, “What do you say, you take her mouth and I’ll get her ass.”

It felt good, Desperado’s cock was thicker than Misu’s and filled you to the point of stretching. And Zack’s long dick in your mouth kept you gagging the entire time. They made it pleasurable for you with Zack playing with your nipples and teasing them so that they were just on the right side of painful. Desperado kept your pussy filled too with three of his fingers,

“Looks like Boss should have come. Your little pussy’s just as greedy as your mouth. Wanting us all, you little slut.” They fucked you through your first and second orgasms.

“This is still a punishment babe, did you think it wasn’t going to hurt?” Grabbing your hair Zack pulled you off his cock long enough to spit in your face, “I don’t know why Boss is even considering taking you back. Once a slut, forever a slut.”

For hours they had tortured you with a mix of pain and pleasure. Your head was so muddled that you hadn’t even noticed the time. It was a new day. Zack and Desperado had been gentle with you once they were done. They had carefully cleaned your cuts and ran you a bath before leaving the room. Relaxing in the warm bubbles your thoughts began to clear. Minoru expected loyalty from you, he always had. Yet he had given you to his soldiers. He had handed you off like a broken toy. With your mind racing you sat up, intent on leaving, on running away again.

“What’s the rush?” You really needed to stop getting lost in your thoughts. “Minoru, I was-“

He cut you off as he walked closer,

“Running? Not this time darling. Now relax.” You watched him sit on the edge of the tub and roll up his sleeves. “You always thought too much, take a breath and listen. Yes, I expect loyalty and how else would I ensure it. I can assure you that they were not rough on my orders. Zack and Despy are rather particular in their sexual interests.” Minoru methodically washed your hair, massaging your scalp with the shampoo, “And now you’ve had a taste of them, I’m rather confident that you prefer our bedroom activities. Sit up.” He was silent as he rinsed out your hair and it gave you time to think.

“Misu I-” You had barely managed to say his name before you broke out into sobs. Grabbing his arm, almost like you thought he would turn to dust before your eyes, you pulled yourself out of the tub and into his embrace,

“I know, shh. It’s okay.” It felt like being home. In his arms was where you were always meant to be. He was your safe place. “Let’s get you dry and then we can discuss you moving back in, huh?” Taking the damp cloth he offered, you cleaned your face before letting out a giggle,

“Your shirt. I’m sorry. But, moving back into the flat? Really?” Looking at him, your face was full of hope, after everything he would let you come home.

“Really. Let’s go home.”

Tag List! Just ask to be added!

@irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @vipervenomisgoodforyou @devittsbalor @wrestlingismyfavourite @laziestgirlintheworld @narwhalneglect @blondekel77 @oreillyskyle @theworldiscolorful @allywallly @imagineyourwrestlers @villainsqueendom @alenathi @ohcristimhookedonhavocimsodunne @kakakatey @phyreblue @princesstoniii @keltic-goddess

[unforth]

I was tagged by @leonzhng​ (which definitely gave me a happy tingle of “omg senpai noticed me”) to do a few memes!

Playlist Tag Game

rules: we’re snooping in your playlist. put your entire music library on shuffle and list the first ten songs (including music only stuff like OSTs as well as songs) and then choose 10 victims.

Total number of tracks: 464

(My playlist rn is on Pandora...which means it leans Western music...back when I was still using my own music there was way more Japanese stuff on it, but most of that isn’t on Pandora, sigh...I’ve only been able to find a couple anime OSTs and a single album by L’arc en Ciel...)

Owl City - The Tip of the Iceberg

Fall Out Boy - Uma Thurman

They Might Be Giants - Letterbox

The 1975 - Chocolate

They Might Be Giants - The Edison Museum

Eminem - Lose Yourself

Kesha - Raising Hell

Rise Against - Swing Life Away

Moana - Dwayne Johnson - You’re Welcome

Motion City Soundtrack - Stand Too Close

This is...so not representative...there are literally zero tracks by either of my favorite bands...wut...oh well, what can you do?

Get to Know Me

Why did you choose your URL? I’ve been unforth everywhere since 1994 so it was kinda a no brainer? When I was first signing up for AOL back in the dial up dark ages, I wanted a Star Trek related username but everything I tried was taken. My mom suggested unforth...it was the name of the male dwarf fighter she played in D&D in the 70s...and now, almost 30 years later, here I still am...

Any side-blogs? If you have them, name them and why you have them.

@mdzsartreblogs​, @tgcfartreblogs​ and @svsssartreblogs​ - art source blogs that I run

@destielficarchive​ - a Tumblr home for my archive of deleted and hard-to-find Destiel fanfiction (and a lot of easy to find stuff...never know when someone will delete and something online now will be hard to find tomorrow...)...15k stories and counting!

@ao3spnkinkmeme​ - theoretically I crosspost kink meme posts there, but the kink meme goes so slow and I have so little time that I’ve hardly been modding except to make sure new stuff gets de-anoned, sorry...

@memesforwriters​ - I see a meme aimed at writers, I reblog it there, that’s it really.

@mcukinkbingo-archive​ - what it says on the tin, the original blog for mcukinkbingo from when I was the head mod, now it’s no longer used, and even the main one is on hiatus (I’m no longer a mod, but I advise sometimes)

@unforth-ninawaters​ - that was my username during the purge. I deleted that account, but I grabbed the username since it’s still inked places and I didn’t want anyone to yoink it or pretend to be me, that’d be awkward.

(and that’s it, though I do have access to two other Tumblrs that have their own accounts - @destielharlequinchallenge​, which I co-mod, and @duckprintspress​, which is my business.)

How long have you been on Tumblr? I initially signed up as unforth in December, 2012. That account became unforth-ninawaters, and then was deleted about a month after the purge. I’ve been basically active continually since then, though I did take a year hiatus after the purge.

Do you have a queue tag? I used to use a queue on the unforth-ninawaters and my queue tag was q hoo hoo. Now I don’t bother with a queue...eh, whatevs.

Why did you start your blog in the first place? I started dating @ramblingandpie​ in November 2012, and she used Tumblr as one of her main things, and she kept showing me stuff, and it just seemed easier to make my own account. Then we kept dating. Then we got married. Then we had kids. And now here we are.

Why did you choose your icon/pfp? I’m a simple person with simple tastes; I just wanted Jeremy Renner to look fascinated by everything I say.

Why did you choose your header? I...literally can’t remember what my header is...ah, I don’t have one, lmfao. Well, that answers that question I guess. (the more sensitive I’ve gotten to copyright and repost concerns, the less I’ve done things like that, I don’t want to steal anyone’s work, and asking would require, ya know, talking to people.)

What’s your post with the most notes? Uh...according to the top posts, it’s this one where I babble about how much I love fandom - it has 510. I kinda thought my last promo for the Destiel favs survey had more than that? But I rarely get lots of notes. Most I ever had was 2k on an unforth-ninawaters post, and that was a call out, so. Awkward. And led to a lot of anon hate.

How many people do you follow? 93, though at least four of those are actually side blogs of other people I follow.

Have you ever made a shitpost? Hell yeah. Has anyone CARED about the shitpost? Not so much.

How often do you use Tumblr? Hahahahahaaa is that joke?

Did you have a fight/argument with a blog once? Who won? I’ve been involved in...at least three...drama storms that I can remember? Probably that 2k post call out was the biggest, and while really no one wins when that kinda shit goes down, I think I got the better of it, and I stand by the things I said then, so...yeah. The others, no one wins or loses, everyone suffers, no one is happy, then it blows over and we all move on with our lives. Honestly I’d just as soon it never happen again.

How do you feel about “you need to reblog this post”? Instantly guarantees I will not reblog it.

Do you like tag games? Yes, though I use them as distractions from other things I should be doing. (case in point: right now)

Do you like ask games? Yes, though it can feel crappy when I get no asks, even from people I sent asks to.

Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous? @leonzhng​, @winchester-reload​, @ltleflrt​, @mojoflower​, @c-kaeru​, @diminuel​, @armitageshux​ (okay we’re not exactly mutuals, but you follow me and I follow your side blog, that counts right? Actually screw it why DON’T I follow your main? I’ll just...do that...now I’m following 94 people, lol...).

Do you have a crush on a mutual? pfft my ace ass doesn’t get crushes on anyone, but I’m literally married to one of my mutuals, so that counts I guess?

Phone Photo Meme Game:

Uh, I’m on desktop rn, but lemme see...I don’t generally have many reaction type things on my phone, but I do have a lot of screen caps from the danmei stuff I’ve been watching...

I’d say this is me basically all the time, lmao...

Tagging, um... @candicewright​ @xiejie-liubo​, @ryugarika​, @ramblingandpie​, @casbakespie​, @combeferret​, @slytherkins​, @tryslora​, anyone else who feels like playing!

[barbarastudy-blog]

Mail Boss 7506 Review

The 7506 locking security Mailbox by means of Mail Boss is USPS Approved for private use and assures from mail theft and vandalism. Its Resourceful approach acknowledges mail teams and minimal bundles, however dissuade angling. Manufactured of considerable Look at energized metal, Mail Supervisor incorporates a guarded enemy of pry hook locking component to stop utilized passage, and also a substantial-security twelve-plate wafer lock with 3 lasers Lower keys. In no way pressure above your mail currently being stolen once again, Along with the Mail Manager secure lockable put up box.

With all the commonness of mail burglary, a locking letter drop is an advanced want. In almost any case, not all locking letterboxes are protected. Truth be instructed, most can be angled by hand or pried open having a screwdriver just like a flash. Not the Mail Supervisor.

Mail Manager will safe towards mail cheats and publish box vandals. Its creative program acknowledges small bundles Go to this site nonetheless dissuades angling and incorporates a selective safeguarded bolting framework to anticipate prying and used passage. The enterprise-grade 12-circle wafer lock highlights laser Slash keys for Extraordinary safety.

Mail Manager stands powering the nature of this letter drop by having an ensured Lifetime Warranty in opposition to Maker's Defects. Never worry over your mail being stolen again with the Mail Supervisor safe lockable letterbox.

USPS Approved total-administration private locking protection letter drop avoids mail-wholesale fraud; Stainless steel pivots for usefulness

Top quality: 14-and sixteen-Check out electrifies welded metal progress guards towards vandalism

Stability: Modern bewilder entryway acknowledges minor bundles, bundles, and a situation of checks and In addition stops angling

The mailbox mounts correctly over a 4x4 post. A part of the box are four lag bolts which you utilize to install the mailbox to the 4x4 employing pre-drilled holes in the floor on the box, then the floor protect goes in excess of all the things to help keep dampness and debris from the mail.

The outgoing mail clip is JUST massive plenty of to support a netflix DVD. Incoming isn't any challenge.

In the event the mail lands in the 7506, it has a tendency to land in the front in the box. You can find an abundance of Room to the back again for mail the pileup if you do not go for your mailbox for a couple of days. The greater space about the 7106 seems like it could have a few much more days worth. I doubt if it could get larger packages any better than the 7506 because the mail slot where by the postman puts in the mail is both equally small and the same dimensions for each models. To net it out: Go for that 7106 at an increased price tag in the event you be expecting to not pick up your mail for as long as weekly.

Of course, if you use a molly anchor during the stone aligned which has a pre-drilled gap in the base on the Mail Manager. Then, just tighten down the bolt which expands the molly to carry the Mail Manager in position (Recommend 2 or maybe more, naturally, to safe it).

I questioned my spouse who mounted ours. He states the bottom is recessed, the back again is flat. You might bolt it to your wall through the back again that way drilling them to the concrete and in the box. So Certainly, you probably could

[jaclynbross1]

Save Money & Insulate! | What We've Done & Our Future Plans

I'm so glad to see the back of Winter and welcome spring - owning an old home certainly brings about its challenges during the winter period and keeping it warm and toasty is often easier said than done. Older homes weren't exactly designed with modern day insulating regulations, in fact - they weren't really designed to be insulated at all! Over the last year we've made a few steps to make our house a warmer cosier place - so I thought I would share ways we've insulated so far, and what we also plan to do in the future too.

So our home is a Victorian Terrace. It hasn't been renovated since the 50s, so it's incredibly outdated in many ways, including its insulation. One of the main reasons insulating our home is extra important to us, is because we don't have central heating. The house came with a 60s back boiler, which we've since removed - but sadly we don't have the funds to fit a whole new system. We do however have the funds to add  or upgrade insulation, most of which can be done DIY-style without too much hassle and it's much more affordable too! It's not going to heat our home, but it's certainly going to help retain heat and make it a much warmer place to live.

In the Roof

When the word "insulation" is mentioned, roof insulation is probably the first thing to come to mind. It's probably THE most talked about insulation and for a very obvious reason - an un-insulated roof is one of the biggest sources of heat loss. You may already have an insulated roof and think the job had already been done for you - but actually many older homes roof insulation is now insufficient for current building regs. Over the years insulation has been fitted in varying thicknesses, and yours (like ours!) could be as little as just 50mm thick. Modern day regs recommend 270mm thickness(!) so obviously there's some serious room for upgrading here. Our kitchen is a very very old single-storey extension with a roof above the ceiling. We already had insulation installed, but it was a mere 100mm thick. So obviously we had to change that! Insulation is so affordable and so easy to install, even for a non-DIYer. If you do have old insufficient insulation, like us, there's no need to remove it - you can just lay a "top-up" roll over the top - which is exactly what we did! It's so easy to fit, you simply roll it all out, making sure not to bury any electrical cables (and keeping it away from the underside of spotlights!) cut it so size if needs-be, and pad it into the gaps between joists. And that's it! If something costs virtually nothing and it's going to save you money - why the hell wouldn't you? PS - we got our insulation for FREE, which you can read about in this post!

On-top of Walls

I've done a whole post on this before, so if you've read that one - you'll already know about this! ;) Unlike modern houses with insulation in-between the walls, older homes have nothing at all. This means external walls are another source of heat loss (especially if they're single skin like some of ours!). Whilst older homes often don't have a cavity, so can't be filled with wall insulation that way, there's still a way to insulate those walls! Insulating plasterboard! It's basically a plasterboard with a rigid foam type insulation on the underside. It means you can insulate your walls internally, quickly and easily. We've used this in both the kitchen and conservatory. It can fitted just like any other plasterboard, either screwed to the wall with battons or fitted using 'dot and dab' as we have done. We've only used this on single-skin walls as it is quite pricey to buy, but these are the areas that really need it the most and we definitely feel its worth doing! You can read more about how we fitted it here.

Underneath floorboards

Many older homes have wooden floorboards on the ground floor, and whilst these make a lovely flooring feature, they also create a void of coldness beneath them. Ground floor joists also require air vents to ensure they don't rot away, so this isn't just a heat loss problem, but also a potential draught problem. Underfloor insulation will prevent heat escaping downwards and we have big plans for the next year to get ours done. We actually have an unheated basement underneath our ground floor floorboards, but the idea is pretty much the same. We intend on using a rigid foam type of insulation for this (very similar to the plasterboard insulation above!), as they can be cut to size and squeezed in-between joists, but you could also use a wool insulation instead - you'd just need to add some kind of mesh/string system to stop it from falling to the ground. It is worth noting however, that there does need to be some space for air to flow under floorboards, so you certainly don't want to "over-fill" with insulation. As well as insulation, we also insulate the actual gaps in-between floorboards too. I've mentioned this product before and we've used it in both our old house and this house and can't rave about it enough! It's called Draught-ex and it's basically a rubber seal that squeezes into the gaps between floorboards and prevents draughts. It's invisible once in place and it truly makes the world of difference. You can also use it underneath any skirting board gaps too and I think it even smartens the floorboards up and makes everything neat and tidy. No more crummy gaps and you certainly can't lose any earings through them anymore either! We used this stuff in pretty much all rooms with exposed floorboards!

Windows

If you have single glazed windows - well man do I feel for you!!! (Been there, freezed to death, got the frozen t-shirt). Upgrading windows to double (or even triple!) glazed windows is going to make ALL the difference. But if like us, your budget doesn't allow that, I recommend using Window Film during winter months. They essentially create the same kind of vacuum in a double-glazed window and help prevent heat loss. We used them every single winter in our last home - whilst they look tacky and horrendous (not going to lie!), we noticed a big difference - both with heat loss and condensation. Double glazing is obviously more insulated, but they're not always working as well as they should be. For example if you have double glazed windows that have condensation in between the panes of glass, this is also bridging the insulation they're meant to provide. People often live with condensed windows because they can't afford to replace the whole window fitting - but actually the glass itself can be replaced for a fraction of the cost without replacing the whole unit. Cloudy2Clear can replace failed glazing in windows without the hefty price-tag or upheaval - and they can also update all your old double glazing for new insulated versions which as well, which are actually 3 times more efficient than standard double glazing. Again, this can all be installed without replacing the whole window unit as well. It's a great way to improve the insulation of your home without crazy expenses or at the cost of damaging a finished interior/decor of your home! Here's a little snap of some of our very dated condensed attic windows that need some attention soon..

Draught-Proofing Doors

I love a good wooden front door, it's character is something a uPVC door just can't achieve. BUT, uPVC doors are infinitely more insulating with proper seals that keep draughts out. Sadly old wooden doors aren't exactly known for their draught excluding purposes, but there are ways you can fix that. By replacing old draught-seals, installing a brush bar along the bottom of the door and even things like updating letterboxes for draught-proof versions and installing a keyhole cover can really help too. You'd be surprised at how much of a difference having a properly insulated non-draughty front door can make! We've recently updated the look of our front door recently and have all this next on the to-do list before winter arrives! As you can see, the door will certainly benefit from some new hardware anyway ;)

So these are just some of the things we've done so far and some our insulating plans for the next year or two as well... I'm sure we'll have even more to add over time though! ;)

Do you have any tips/ideas to add for us? We'd love to know ways in which you've insulated your old home! *Collaborative Post

from Tips For Basements http://www.kezzabeth.co.uk/2017/03/save-money-insulate-what-weve-done-our.html