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Sales Automation: Streamlining Processes for Efficient Lead Generation
Article by Jonathan Bomser | CEO | AccountSend.com
In today's lightning-paced business ecosystem, the beacon of Sales Automation shines brighter than ever as a transformative force propelling lead generation into a realm of unprecedented efficiency and success. This voyage takes us through seven pivotal strategies that harness the true potential of Sales Automation, ensuring that you harness its power to revolutionize your lead generation journey.
DOWNLOAD THE SALES AUTOMATION INFOGRAPHIC HERE
Implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System
Imagine a command center at your fingertips that orchestrates your lead interactions with finesse. This is where the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System, the linchpin of Sales Automation, comes into play. This technological marvel enables you to seamlessly centralize customer data, track interactions, and automate tasks with precision. Picture the possibilities as your sales team focuses on nurturing connections that drive conversions.
Utilize Marketing Automation Tools
Bid farewell to labor-intensive marketing efforts as Sales Automation brings forth the magic of marketing automation tools. These remarkable instruments streamline repetitive marketing tasks, from orchestrating email campaigns to nurturing leads and scheduling social media content. By crafting strategic workflows and triggers, you hold the power to deliver tailor-made messages that resonate with your prospects. The outcome? Engagement and conversion rates that soar to new heights.
Qualify Leads with Lead Scoring
In the labyrinth of potential leads, imagine having a compass that guides you to the most promising ones. Enter lead scoring, a beacon of clarity amidst the complexity. Through meticulous criteria encompassing demographic data, engagement metrics, and behavioral patterns, lead scoring empowers your sales team to prioritize leads ripe for conversion. This orchestration of efficiency elevates your conversion rates while maximizing your team's efforts.
Streamline Sales Processes with Workflow Automation
Embrace the liberation from manual, time-consuming sales processes through the elegance of workflow automation. Bid adieu to the mundane tasks of follow-ups, appointment scheduling, and proposal generation. Workflow automation transforms these into seamless symphonies, gifting your sales team precious time. This temporal freedom translates into a focus on nurturing relationships, cultivating an environment primed for deal closure.
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Integrate Sales and Marketing Efforts
The synergy of sales and marketing isn't a mere concept; it's a dynamic strategy made tangible by Sales Automation. Witness the convergence of these vital forces as silos dissolve, and a harmonious collaboration emerges. Valuable insights flow seamlessly, lead progress is tracked cohesively, and communication flourishes throughout the sales cycle. The result? A seamless alliance that fuels conversions and magnifies results.
Implement Chatbots and AI-powered Assistants
In an era where responsiveness defines success, envision AI-powered chatbots as your digital allies. These innovative assistants redefine customer support and engagement by handling routine inquiries, offering instant responses, and even assisting in lead qualification. The outcome? Your team is unburdened, channeling their expertise into intricate tasks that propel your business forward.
Continuously Analyze and Optimize
Success isn't a static destination; it's an evolving journey. Data analysis becomes your compass in the realm of Sales Automation. Regularly delve into the wealth of insights harvested by your automation tools. Decode lead behavior, unravel conversion rates, and unveil sales performance intricacies. Armed with these insights, fine-tune your lead generation strategies, refine processes, and unearth optimization opportunities.
In essence, Sales Automation stands as the cornerstone of lead generation efficiency. Through adopting a CRM system, harnessing marketing automation tools, embracing lead scoring, automating sales workflows, aligning sales and marketing endeavors, integrating AI-powered support, and ceaselessly optimizing strategies, you can reshape your lead generation narrative. Embrace Sales Automation as the lifeblood of your sales strategy, and witness your lead generation expedition thrive with newfound efficiency and efficacy. The time has come to seize Sales Automation and redefine your lead generation journey.
#Sales Automation#Lead Generation#CRM#Business Owners Database#Verified B2B Emails#B2B Contact Database#CEO Email Addresses#Sales Leads Database#B2B Email List#B2B Leads Database#Verified Business Leads#B2B Leads List#businessgrowth#leadgeneration#b2b#accountsend#youtube#entrepreneurship#b2bleadgeneration#b2bsales#businesstips#sales#Youtube
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Scaling Up: Strategies for Business Development in Rapidly Growing Companies by Account Send
Via Flickr:
Unlock the secrets to navigating the exhilarating realm of rapid business growth with our comprehensive guide. "Read the full article here! From embracing cutting-edge technology to cultivating strategic partnerships , this article delves into seven powerful strategies that will illuminate your path to success. Discover how automation and big data insights can streamline your operations while fostering customer relationships that transcend transactions. Venture into new markets with confidence, armed with market research insights, and witness the transformation of your brand as you evolve alongside your business. Regularly revisiting and adapting your strategy ensures your agility in a dynamic market landscape. With the potency of verified B2B emails and sales leads , these strategies become your compass, guiding you toward achieving new heights in your growth journey. To learn more about how we can help you Prospect, Connect, and Convert by accessing our database of USA decision makers with accurate B2B contact info of email, phone, job title, location, company size, and more, visit AccountSend.com. Visit our Socials to get more data tips and tricks to grow your business: Blogger Facebook Flickr Imgur Instagram Issuu LinkedIn LivePositively Medium pPinterest Quora Reddit SlideShare Threads TikTok Tumblr Twitter Vimeo WIkiData wikiHow Youtube
#Business Owners Database#Verified B2B Emails#B2B Contact Database#CEO Email Addresses#Sales Leads Database#B2B Email List#B2B Leads Database#Verified Business Leads#B2B Leads List#flickr
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A vibrant scene of bamboo furniture being loaded onto cargo ships at a bustling port, symbolizing the global expansion efforts of exporters into emerging economies. Workers maneuver forklifts amidst stacks of crates, showcasing the dynamism and potential of the bamboo furniture export industry.
#bamboo furniture#exporters#emerging economies#global trade#sustainability#market expansion#business growth#global trade plaza#verified leads#market frontiers
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#We at Digipfy help you solve your biggest challenges in the marketplace by providing a solution to verify the authenticity of products.#With Digipfy#you can easily sure about your supplier’s authenticity.#What Is The Verified Business?#Verification is a certificate that confirms that a person or business is legitimate.#So Join us Now By Clicking Link Given In Bio.#businessdeals#business#businessinindia#startups#listyourbusiness#leads#entrepreneur#india#motivation#myownbusiness#startup#marketing#dailysuccess#seo#success#digitalmarketing#inspiration#successfulbusinessowners#entrepreneurship#sales#lifestyle#businessowner#entrepreneurs#socialmedia
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a brief exploration of the amatyakarakas 🍸
🍸note: any information regarding amatyakaraka placements should be treated lightly, as a good portion of these celebrities do not have verified birth information. i calculated all of the following celebrities with unverified birth times assuming they were born at noon their time!
🍸the amatyakaraka does not share the immense physical focus of the atmakaraka, but serves as the knight (amatyakaraka) to the king (atmakaraka), as it controls much of the labor/work of the chess of life. it is a karaka designed to aid you in picking a field or hobby that can allow you to fully express the passions of your graha. It is the helpful hand that guides you to who you truly are, in this post i focus on the overarching lessons of this placement.
brihaspati amatyakaraka
🌾 aesthetic: the liberation of the femme fatale
🌾 key components: shares similar characteristics to the femme fatale archetype of brihaspati atmakarakas, but inwardly is garnished with the liberated qualities of brihaspati. this is a placement of timing, expansion, and immense growth in the lens of one's work ethic. this is ultimately why these natives are known for their adventurous (and sometime controversial yet successful) business ventures, e.g. kendall jenner's "818" brand and lana del rey's controversies throughout her musical journey, which are centered around intrinsic learning via the external public eye.
shani amatyakaraka
🪐 aesthetic: the theater of love
🪐 key components: it shares the sensual hollywood starlet aesthetic of shani atmakarakas but this karaka's lesson lies in what they pour themselves into. they excel at possessing the drive and willpower to succeed in their respective fields, but are not without controversy in their private lives. this is emphasized by megan thee stallion's wrongful sh*oting, selena gomez's ex, nicki minaj's infamous husband, julia fox's former partner kanye west, etc.. their incessant focus on their future and work, often leaves much instability in their personal lives outside of their everyday routines.
surya amatyakaraka
🌞 aesthetic: the intersection of promiscuity and materialism
🌞 key components: this placement is similar to the materialism noted in surya atmakaraka natives, but is further heightened by this karaka's penchant for promiscuity. this placement's immensely influential nature and general desire to lead/test others can manifest as a form of sex*al temptation of those around them. from professions of acting to involvement in adult industries to modeling, there is a great need to shine their rays onto those around them. the dichotomy agni (the sun) being of purification and knowledge and soma (the moon) being water and nourishment come into play here. the sun wishes to purify and empower those around them through lessons of spiritual teachings. the general focus of the mouth in the photos of surya amatyakarakas is reflective of the mouth being the vessel of soma/the consumer of water. to achieve the purification of agni, you must first be watered spiritually.
kuja amatyakaraka
☄️ aesthetic: the mysticism confidence
☄️ key components: drawing upon the lessons of kuja atmakarakas, a certain confidence is emphasized within this placement. this confidence lies in taking immense risks and undergoing challenging situations for the betterment of your career, talents, and desires. this is evidenced by amber heard's career-challenging court case and jennifer lawrence's recounts and statements about w*instein. this placement is not without its controversy, but it is a placement of willingness to endure immense controversy for personal gain often without the lesson-emphasis of brihaspati amatyakarakas which results in much healing being needed later on.
buddha amatyakaraka
🌑 aesthetic: the ubiquity of feminism
🌑 key components: learning from the misunderstood lalita, this placement emphasizes a certain call to seeking maturation of the self through a higher power and intellectualism. this placement is symbolic of the overt dichotomy of girlhood-womanhood, these natives personify this experience through their accounts of the male gaze, longings for more expansion within themselves, and consuming all the external rays of others for the purpose of bettering and finding themselves (as buddha does to surya).
shukra amatyakaraka
🍓 aesthetic: the languish of luxury
🍓 key components: this placement indicates a certain affinity yet boredom of the luxurious properties of shukra. it causes many celebrities who grow into financial success to possess a coupled, sometimes delayed, distaste of the spotlight/fame. think of selena quintanilla who grew popular with ease compared to her latina musician counterparts but continued to maintain a relatability to the public (similar to cardi b who is still considered "surprisingly relatable" despite being immensely wealthy compared to the general public).
chandra amatyakaraka
🌙 aesthetic: the insatiable pitfalls of revolution
🌙 key components: these women often serve as role models to individuals through their presence in the media, but often serve as a lesson to the pitfalls that come with being "revolutionary". recall alexis ren who revolutionized mid-2010's social media and fashion yet struggled privately with her eating d*sorder. additionally, kaley cuoco was popularized for her role in "the big bang theory" yet too struggled with her eating habits. this is why some vedic astrologers theorize chandra to be associated with eating d*sorders, as yes soma seeks to nourish, but this nourishment (coupled with the drive/talent/profession denoted in the amatyakaraka) results in a potential for restricting soma (nourishment) to feel in control of one's surroundings--that is one's profession or environment.
🍸all of these placements were found using astrotheme/.com and/or astro-charts/.com. it is important to note that some chandra (moon) placements may be off by up to 6 degrees and lagnas (ascendants/rising signs) as well, due to the fact that many websites do not have 100% accurate birth times for the given celebrities.
🍸i am additionally offering readings again for a limited amount of time! if you are interested in a reading, please privately message me. thank you all for all of your patience! please expect the color analysis post soon since it won the pole <3
xoxo,
angel 💋
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Terrible news from australia: crazed incel joel cauchi, motivated by extreme misogyny, launched a stabbing attack in the bondi westfield shopping mall that resulted in the deaths of six people—five of them women—dozens injured, and left a baby girl motherless. The only man killed was a security officer, Pakistani immigrant Faraz Tahir, who bravely and tragically risked his life trying to stop Cauchi.
Unfortunately, due to the insane media climate these days, propagandists seized on the attack to try and push an agenda, lead by notorious tankie fascists simeon boikov and maram susli; they spread falsehoods claiming that a jewish man named ben cohen (one of the most common Jewish names btw) was responsible for the attack, motivated by an apparent hatred for gentiles
Of course, seeing as how much reach antisemitic pro-kremlin accounts have online and off, it didn’t take long for Australian news outlets to pick up the rumour and spread it without verifying. The Benjamin Cohen whose pictures were found and circulated to serve the rumours called the news to retract the accusation and apologise, which they did, but the damage was done, and the torrent of harassment Ben and his family received prompted him to hire a solicitor to sue boikov and susli.
With the possibility of facing actual consequences, boikov and susli (better known by their online handles That Aussie Cossack and SyrianGirl, respectively), have backtracked and claimed they are actually the ones being defamed. It bears noting that boikov’s ass has been parked in the Russian consulate for a while now trying to claim asylum due to the Australian government trying to arrest him for assault, and susli opened a crowdfund for her legal woes 🤡
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Period headcanons
Friendly reminder that English is not my first language. You can check my Masterlists both in English and Polish here. Consider supporting me on Ko-fi. You can also check out my commissions if you're interested.
Other headcanons from this series can be found here.
Ruggie Bucchi
• Ruggie wouldn't be surprised by the period in the first place. If there are guys for whom this is a taboo topic, he wouldn't be one of them. He saw so many things on the streets as a child that neither pain nor blood scares him. He would also have no problem talking about it loudly. It's just a normal thing.
• He would definitely be a master of home remedies during your period. His years of odd jobs and all kinds of life knowledge would be invaluable in this matter. He would brew you homemade teas to help with the pain. All herbs are collected and dried by hand by him.
• While he is invaluable when it comes to home-made medicines, when you feel like snacking, he can be a miser. Cookies, chocolates, chips at Sam's? He's always short of money. But don't worry, if you really want some, he will somehow get money from Leona. Will you know about it? Not necessarily...
• Ruggie tolerates mood swings very well. Not only did he undergo training while working for Leona but he also got used to the fact that a woman is right, even when she isn't. In Savanaclaw, they lead in most relationships and thus he will tolerate any moodiness you may have.
Ortho Shroud
•A prefect in need? Ortho noticed it first! Before he downloaded the exact module, he thought you were seriously ill. He was very concerned about your health. Only when he downloaded the appropriate data did he understand what was going on.
• You can be sure that his information will be verified and supported by scientific evidence. He and Idia have access to data that an ordinary mortal will probably never even see. Therefore, expect a slightly medical approach to the topic.
• You will be scanned frequently unless you specifically do not want it. But let's be honest, these won't be just ordinary scans. You will get full information about what hurts you, where exactly and what is the best way to deal with it, so it sounds like a good deal.
• Ortho believes you should get plenty of rest. A warm water bottle, a blanket and off to bed! He will ask Grim to stay with you and not make a fuss, which surprisingly the cat will do (you don't know that there is a promise about can of tuna behind it).
• He will get you some medicines from the school nurse if you don't feel up to going to get them. Same with snacks and pads or tampons. Where does the money come from? He belongs to the Styx, one word and Crowley will generously create a new fund for your needs, which you won't find out about until long after the fact.
• You will receive a personalized cycle tracking app. Idia was allegedly bored. In reality, however, his hair was red the entire time he was creating it and he explained to his brother that he was only doing it at his request.
Jade Leech
• Menstruation is not a foreign concept to him. The point is more that Jade, like his brother, knows it from theory. Everything looks different under water and he never had to face this problem with his mother, for example. But there's no need to worry. Years in business have accustomed him to learning new things quickly.
• If you like specific foods, whether before or during your period, Jade's has you covered. Mostro Lounge has a wide range of products and if you want something specific, he will simply cook it for you. It's best if it contains mushrooms but if you don't want them, it's fine...
• As with Ortho, there is no problem with money. He is a good businessman. What was the point of doing any business with Azul if he didn't make money?
He knows your dorm doesn't have enough money. He often jokes with a serious face that you will work it off later but in the end it never happens. In the worst case scenario, he will ask for a kiss on the cheek in exchange for help.
• You can be sure that at the first opportunity he will do some off-campus mega business related to hygiene products. There aren't many people interested in the NRC but outside? He can take over the world and give you free samples. He will ask you for advice and opinions. Guaranteed that at the end of the process you will come up with a new formula or scents. You are happy and he is rich. Two in one.
• He is not open enough to talk about period in front of others, like Ruggie. He won't shy away from it but he just has a little bit more tact and won't talk about it until the conversation clearly stirs that way.
#ruggie bucci x reader#ortho shroud#jade leech x reader#twisted wonderland x reader#headcanons#period#black chariot#idia shroud#dire crowley
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Bella’s Streamer Girlfriend
paring ✦ Bella Ramsey x fem!reader
summary ✦ Bella is exhausted from their constant travel for work. As her partner who just so happens to be a famous streamer you suggest they move in with you. What happens when Bella accidentally goes live showing you streaming? this is a request
word count ✦ 2,202
authors note ✦ hope y’all enjoy appreciate everyone one of you ilyyyyyy
masterlist
Feedback & Reblogs are helpful and extremely appreciated ♡
“Why don’t you just move in with me?” You suggest, a thought you’ve had for several months now just now finally making it out into existence. Bella had been fretting over how tiring all the travel has become.
“What?” Bella asks.
“Well we’ve been dating for two years and you’re always here anyways so..” Your voice trails off thinking you’ve said too much.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah I mean there’s not much room but we’ll figure it out. We can move my stream set up into the guest bedroom.” Bella doesn’t respond fast enough causing you to panic. Before you can ramble some more or even worse take it back she responds.
“Yes.” Bella says nodding her head.
“Yes? Like yes you want move in with me?”
“Yes.” She grins softly realizing what she’s just agreed to. Bella closes the distance between you two throwing her arms around your waist. Hugging you, slightly elevating you from the ground emitting laughter from you.
“How wicked? I get to live in LA with my beatuiful streamer girlfriend?”
—
Bella was the first to make a move two years ago. After finding out they got the role of Ellie in The Last of Us tv adaptation they poorly attempted to play the game. After failing the first part several times they opened YouTube. Your video of you playing the original game long ago is the first one.
Their attraction to you is immediate. Binging your videos lead to a follow on instagram. No idea who Bella Ramsey was but you followed back anyways seeing they were verified. Finding them attractive and your beliefs aligning with theirs so proudly displayed on their profile. Bella is silent with their crush on you until one fateful day.
An interview after Bella’s announced to play Ellie:
“Fans are so excited to see this iconic game come to life on television. Did you know anything about the game before your audition?”
“I knew of it. Like I had heard about it before but I never played it myself.” Bella responds to the interviewer.
“Have you played it yet?”
“No. I tried to but I’m not really a gamer. I played the first twenty minutes before giving up and watching gameplay.”
“Gameplay?”
“Yeah uh this girl on YouTube. Her name is Y/N. Shout out to her cause I watched her play the game. She’s a twitch streamer. She was so good at the game and she’s really…” Bella’s stops talking mid sentence as they realize they’ve said too much.
—
It’s an late night as you live stream. Just chatting with viewers before you hop into the lobby when your feed gets flooded with comments about Bella talking about you.
“Bella Ramsey? Sounds familiar. What did they say?” Your busy scrolling through chat and racking your brain trying to connect the dots.
“It’s Ellie Williams in the tv adaptation.” You say out loud reading a chat. One of your mods sends you the link so you can react to it live on your stream.
“Should I watch it? Everyone’s saying yes. Okay I will react to it.” The link opens up to a YouTube video of a zoom meeting type interview. As the video plays you recognize the short haired brunette as the random famous person that followed you on instagram months ago.
“There’s no way. I didn’t know they were playing Ellie.” You smile watching your screen not paying much attention to chat. It gets to the point where Bella mentions watching gameplay instead of actually playing the game.
“Yeah uh this girl on YouTube. Her name is Y/N.” Bella says in the video.
“That’s me!” You shout, pausing the video. Pressing play when you’re done freaking out.
“Yeah uh this girl on YouTube. Her name is Y/N. Shout out to her cause I watched her play the game. She’s a twitch streamer. She was so good at the game and she’s really…” Bella doesn’t finish their sentence, eyes go wide and their the one to quickly change the subject.
“And really what? What am I Bella?” You pause reading chat. People letting you know all the things you are.
“User2643556 says I’m beautiful, sexy, and amazing. Am I Bella?” You tease, your tone innocent yet flirty.
“Oh what about this Justin says I’m a stupid wanna be gamer. Plus a few other bad words I won’t be reading.” You laugh, watching as your mod kicks them.
“But seriously Bella! And what? What am I? I must know.”
The next day you wake and first thing you do is check your phone, a daily morning ritual. The first notification is from an instagram dm from a verified account, you have to rub the sleep out of your eyes just too make sure your reading it correctly.
Bella: I was gonna say cute but beautiful sexy and amazing works too xx
After your done freaking out you respond with a thank you and a winking emoji. To your surprise Bella continues to message you, you two communicate for a week over instagram dm before Bella gives you their number. The conversation usually flirty filled with getting to know each other. Empty promises to meet in the near future.
—
A handful of die hard The Last of Us fans who all had fairly large followings were invited to the premiere. You being one of them, which came to you as a surprise because you had played the game but there were far more bigger fans out there. You were excited for the opportunity nonetheless. A large part of you more excited at the chance to see Bella.
“We’re so glad you could make it.” The shows social media manager, Victoria who had initially invited you says.
“Thanks for inviting me.”
“Don’t thank me, thank Bella they were adamant on you being here.”
“Oh okay, will do.” You smile, ignoring the fact that if it wasn’t for Bella you wouldn’t be here. Anxiety growing at the thought that Bella wanted you here. How at any moment you’d finally meet her.
After the viewing of the the pilot you are sat with the rest of the influencers invited in the panel room. Cheers notify you that the stars of the show arrived, Bella and Pedro. Your watching Bella as people converse with them. They’re not paying much attention eyes are wondering around the room hopefully looking for you, you think. Smiling ear to ear as they make eye contact with you. Bella had wanted to greet you on the spot but they weren’t aloud to veer from the schedule.
The cast make their way to the stage. Craig and Neil are the first to speak. Thanking everyone for coming and supporting the whole project. Then the cast are asked questions. Too enamored with Bella you don’t touch your food, too nervous to eat. They often sneak a look towards you smiling when they catch your attention.
To your disappointment you don’t get a chance to see Bella. She’s rushed to her table where she eats with the main cast. Then when it’s over she’s guided to somewhere behind the scenes your not aloud. You wait longer than you should have before deciding to book an Uber to take you home.
Your stood outside the building waiting for your Uber, sulking in your own sadness. The night not going how you imagined at all.
“Uber for Y/N?” Your driver speaks breaking your thoughts.
“Yeah sorry.” You walk towards the car ready to just go home and crawl into bed. Before you can open the door your phone vibrates, it’s Bella.
“Where are you?” Bella says as soon as you pick up.
“I’m getting in a Uber right now.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s over. I’m going home.” You hear heavy footsteps, looking back you see Bella running towards you phone up to her ear.
“Then I’m coming with you.” Bella says into the phone only a few feet away from you.
“Are you inviting yourself over?” You laugh.
“Oh fuck I didn’t mean to come off like that I just didn’t want to-“ Bella hangs up on you, now talking to you instead.
“Can’t believe you’d hang up on me.” You cut them off, laughing at the fact that the two of you were conversing over phone while stood so close.
“I feel like a real dick head. I tried so hard to get away from tonight’s responsibilities but they wouldn’t let me. You have no idea how badly I wanted to get away from it all and be with you tonight. I want to make it up to you.” Your cute moment gets interrupted by the Uber driver telling you he’s going to leave if you don’t get in already. When you go to open the door Bella assumes the worst.
“You coming?” You ask, returning the smile to Bella’s face as she climbs in with you. The drive to your place is filled with apologies and sneaking glances at each other. Bella doesn’t leave your apartment till the next morning, up till 4 am just talking. Feelings grow and laughter is shared. Bella is the one to kiss you before they leave making plans to meet again.
—
Bella moving in has been great. It’s only been a week but waking up and going to sleep next to the person you love every night is better than you could of possibly imagined.
You stream five days a week, leaving the weekend for yourself and Bella now. Originally your set up is in your bedroom, using your bed as your backdrop. Moving into the guest bedroom has been great. Creating a whole new look for your stream and having a lot more space. The other half of the room filled with Bella’s miscellaneous boxes.
Bella has yet to get used to your work schedule. Normally when they visited you’d take a break from streaming or do it while they were off working. Now that you live together, you had to work. So often Bella would interrupt unknowingly. Apologizing quietly as they walked back out of the room. Your chat taking quick notice of your smile and lovingly stare as you told Bella it’s okay, wondering who it could possibly be.
—
“Can you hear me?” Bella asks turning on her instagram live.
“Uhh yes it is I see your comments now.” Bella gets comfortable, reading comments out loud. Shouting out people as they asked.
“Ok the whole reason for this live. I just wanted to give some life updates. First I uhh moved to California.” She admits reading chat for a moment before responding.
bellaramzeee13: I thought you hated la
ramseyfantlou: NO Bella’s gonna change ):
thelastofbella: the uk will misss you
“I promise I’m not going to change. Some things just happened and I decide it’s best for me to live out here. Ya know? Closer to opportunities and other things… anyway thought I’d come on here and unpack with everyone.” Bella stands up from where they’re sat thinking your out for the day with your friends. Heading into your steaming room, switching the camera to the back camera ready to show the giant pile of boxes.
“This is where all my stuff is,” Bella is going on not realizing your sat in your desk live as well.
“What’re you doing?” You ask startling her so her phone lands on your just long enough for people to realize it’s you. Bella’s quick to stuff her phone in her pocket live still going.
“I’m sorry I thought you were with your friends already.” Bella’s panic has your worried.
“It’s okay that’s not till later. I’ll be right back guys.” You say to your chat switching to your I’ll be right back screen. You follow Bella out of the room into the living room.
“I was on instagram live.”
“Did you show me?” You ask.
“I dunno.” Bella pulls their phone out it now on the front facing camera, you laugh seeing your reflection on insgram live.
“Bella it’s too late your still live.” Your laughing harder than before. Bella’s worried faced fills the live and your laughter in the background.
bellsram01: YOUR DATING HER???!!
sarabeez: NO WAY
elliewilliams22627: wait why do I kinda ship it
justbellaaaaa: bella I think I actually want your girlfriend more
“Should I get off?” Bella asks you.
“If you don’t want to. It’s okay.” Bella sets their phone down using some clutter on the kitchen counter to created a diy tripod.
“Guess it’s out,” Bella laughs. You move into frame, leaning closer to read more comments. Laughing at all the funny ones, reading them out loud. Answering a few questions about your relationship.
“Well I got to go attend to my steam I was so rudely interrupted.” You sigh dramatically.
“If y’all want more of me I’m on twitch right now.” You smile for the camera.
“Are you trying to steal my viewers?” Bella looks at you shocked.
“Absolutely yes babe.” You tease, before planting a small kiss on their cheek before leaving bella alone in the kitchen. Bella reads more chat as everyone freaks the fuck out.
“I guess you all know the real reason why I moved to the states.”
#bella ramsey x reader#bella ramsey x you#bella ramsey edit#bella ramsey fluff#bella ramsey oneshot#bella ramsey#bella ramsey tlou#bella ramsey imagine
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Amazed at the narratives coming out of the dont worry darlings shitstorm. Either Olivia Wilde is a cougar/predator who completely destroyed her marriage and preyed on poor, innocent Harry Styles; or Olivia Wilde is only getting beaten on because misogyny, because she dared to do what men do all the time. Florence Pugh is devil incarnate for not being professional and doing the press tour. Olivia Wilde is somehow a feminist who is now seeing her downfall.
Consider: Harry and Olivia are both adults with presumable intact cognitive functions, have been in the industry long enough to be fully aware of how decent professionals behave, and yet chose to initiate and continue a sexual relationship on set that made their co-stars uncomfortable. Both of them are equally culpable for creating this environment; at all times, both of them could have stopped to think about what they were doing. Harry Styles is not an innocent victim; nor is Olivia Wilde a predator.
Consider: Men having the licence to do dodgy for ages isn’t the argument that you think it is. Some things are dodgy irrespective of who does them. Olivia Wilde isn’t a feminist just because she did what men do. In a professional work environment, any two people being involved in a romantic/sexual relationship does not exist in a vacuum, it is situated in a larger context where unimaginable amounts of money, time and effort are going into creating a product with only a 50% chance to succeed. Instead of engaging in whataboutism, perhaps the conversation needs to be on what acceptable standards of behaviour on a set actually are. How much can you put on “creative synergy” and “creative licence” and get away with? Where should one draw the line?
Consider: Professional behaviour should never violate someone’s boundaries. The derogatory way in which Ms. Wilde spoke about Florence Pugh in that infamous video was extremely unkind and unprofessional. Florence is right to draw her boundaries and go about her business politely. Drawing boundaries isn’t “unprofessional” or “rude”. She’s not obligated to be nice to someone who was rude about them.
Consider: a woman making films isn’t inherently a feminist act. Olivia Wilde isn’t a feminist by the virtue of being a woman in the workplace. We need to ask ourselves tough questions; feminism isn’t a flag you wave around. It is movement, it is a war, it is fighting in a war that won’t end in your lifetime. Instead of sucking Olivia Wilde’s toes; ask yourselves tough questions. How many women did she hire as crew on her set? Did she give equal pay to these women? How much did Harry Styles make compared to Florence Pugh? (Reportedly, Pugh made less than Styles despite being lead, but i can’t find verified sources for this) What about on-set energy? Did she foster an environment that wasn’t only professional but also kind, and gave women the space to express discomfort? Of the women she hired in her film, how many were POC? How many were neurodivergent? What kind of men did she work with during the making of this film?
Glass ceilings don’t get shattered because one white woman who is conventionally beautiful was able to make films. Glass ceilings get shattered when women uplift women, at the cost of labels like “feminist bitch” and “biased” and “d*ke” - when women sacrifice the social capital they would get from men by turning their back on women, and choosing women at each turn (like men have chosen men but that is neither here nor there); by being aggressively, militantly pro women, pro LGBT as well as anti class, anti caste, anti racism etc.
* trans women are women
#dont worry darlings#dwd#olivia wilde#florence pugh#harry styles#shea lebouf#a rant#feminism#film#chris pine#gemma chan#venice film festival
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Maximizing Conversion Rates: Turning Leads into Loyal Clients
Article by Jonathan Bomser | CEO | AccountSend.com
In the realm of B2B sales, the journey from leads to loyal clients is a captivating narrative that blends strategy, empathy, and innovation. Within this guide, we uncover seven indispensable strategies that hold the key to skyrocketing your conversion rates. Join us as we traverse the path from lead generation to nurturing steadfast client relationships, all while delving into the invaluable insights gleaned from AccountSend.
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Peering into the Soul of Your Leads
At the heart of conversion success lies a profound understanding of your leads. It's a journey that transcends data, inviting you to explore the depths of their business aspirations, challenges, and dreams. Guiding you through this exploration is the meticulously crafted B2B contact database. This treasure trove of insights empowers you to paint a vivid portrait of your leads, allowing you to craft personalized sales strategies that resonate deeply with their unique needs.
Crafting Connections Through Personalization
Your leads aren't just entries in a sales log; they are stories yearning to be heard. Personalization is your brush, your tool to craft connections that linger. By immersing yourself in their narratives, addressing their pain points, and acknowledging their aspirations, you pave the way for genuine connections. These personalized interactions transcend transactional exchanges, laying the foundation for enduring relationships built on trust and mutual understanding.
Navigating the Terrain with Account-Based Marketing
In the sea of possibilities, precision becomes your guiding light. Enter account-based marketing (ABM), your compass in this vast expanse. ABM directs your focus towards the accounts with the greatest potential. It's the art of resource allocation, shortening sales cycles, and elevating conversion rates. With ABM, your efforts become laser-focused, nurturing connections that promise lasting value.
Value as a Prelude to the Sale
Value doesn't wait for a deal to be struck; it's a prelude that sets the stage. Share insights, offer guidance, and provide resources aligned with your lead's goals. This pre-sale value isn't just a gesture; it's a declaration of intent. By offering a taste of the value that awaits, you create a fertile ground for a productive sales journey.
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Symphony of Follow-Up Strategy
A 'no' today is a 'not yet' in disguise. Enter the art of follow-up, your symphony of persistence. A well-designed follow-up strategy transforms initial rejection into eventual acceptance. A systematic approach ensures consistent touchpoints with your leads, maintaining your presence in their minds and eventually shifting hesitation into enthusiastic embrace.
Cultivating a Pristine Contact Canvas
In the digital era, a clean contact database is your foundation for success. Regular updates, purging outdated information, and ensuring accuracy are the pillars of a quality database. A pristine contact list enhances your outreach, elevating conversion rates by guaranteeing that your efforts hit the bullseye every time.
The Science of Measurement and Refinement
No journey towards excellence is complete without measuring the terrain. Continuously gauge your conversion rates and dissect the contributing factors. This analytical exploration becomes your guide to refining your lead generation and sales strategies. Let data illuminate your path, leading to informed decisions and perpetual enhancement.
Harmonizing Conversion Mastery
Elevating conversion rates is a symphony of strategic understanding, personalization, and value delivery. These seven strategies are the notes that compose this symphony, the keys to transforming leads into devoted clients. As you integrate these strategies into your sales narrative, witness the metamorphosis of your business into a realm where loyal clients fuel perpetual growth.
#B2B Contact Database#Lead Generation#B2B Sales#Business Owners Database#Verified B2B Emails#CEO Email Addresses#Sales Lea#businessgrowth#leadgeneration#accountsend#b2b#b2bleadgeneration#b2bsales#entrepreneurship#businesstips#sales#Youtube
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I wont give up writing for anything, even if that means I have to leave the Akademiya.
Creative Differences (Yandere!Tighnari/Reader)
A/n: compadre I lowkey got scared reading this message cause I was procrastinating on reviewing college algebra by writing a fic. It was kinda ominous haha! (≧▽≦). Anyways, I'm not sure if this is a writing prompt or who it's about, but here's a short (prolly ooc) yan!Tighnari fic. Enjoy!
gn!reader
CW: yandere!Tighnari, toxic relationship
—---
You're breaking up with your boyfriend of two years this afternoon.
Yes, you dated him despite knowing his flaws. You went out with him, knowing that he can be a killjoy and a bit condescending. And yes, you admit, that at first, you thought it was cute how Tighnari acts more abrasive around you when he is easily cordial around others. That you thought you were special since he doesn't act this falsely repulsed towards anyone else. That his facade will progressively melt soon as your relationship progresses.
Spoilers: it didn't. Somehow, instead of controlling his sharp tongue, you made it uncontrollably worse.
You were considerate and thought it was just stress. Being an underappreciated forest watcher would bound him to a few troubles on its own and the Akademiya's insistence on bringing him back is another factor. He had no need for the Sages' favors while they remained deaf when receiving his declinations. You chucked his behavior as a result of stress, and since he "trusts you more than anyone". Tighnari feels freer when he's with you compared to his associates. He openly expressed his frustrations because he's aware that you won't leave him, much like family.
But he smiles so much softer when he’s with Collei…
You know it's bad, really. To get jealous of his poor student as a final straw. It doesn't look good for your case, but one night you accidentally eavesdropped on their conversation and noticed how Tighnari's ears seem to straighten up whenever Collei calls him "master."
He never has time for you. He's always so busy, it's like he was avoiding you on purpose.
But you're mature and didn't act on those unpleasant emotions. You think of Collei as a little sister, and you can't imagine something bad happening to her. So, to lighten your mood, you jokingly called Tighnari "master" like the forest rangers.
And not so jokingly did he grab your wrist iron tight and tell you that if you say that again, he'd have you locked up in a cage like a filthy boar.
The remainder of the evening featured Tighnari avoiding eye contact. He never offers you an apology and acts as though he hadn't uttered anything horrible that left you feeling groggy the next day.
But being on the receiving end of his anger hurts. Especially when you know you've done nothing to deserve it, at least, it's nothing to you.
He vehemently opposed your enthusiasm for penning romantic light novels for grounds the fox refused to divulge. Instead of being proud that your novel "The Knight Tames the Villainess" beat Zhenyu's notorious "Legend of Sword"' for a week, Tighnari rained on your parade by insulting your readers and the characters of the book.
The fox said that the love interest behaves like Cyno and that he's not a hero worthy of wasting anyone's time. That if you're going to write a male love interest, he should've been more snappier and honest with the female lead's flaws instead of being stoic.
"He's done nothing to help her improve." He rolled his eyes. "The black kitsune antagonist had more chemistry with the female lead than him. That white-haired bodyguard is a joke of a protagonist. Your readers have no taste."
You didn't question why he was affected and offended by this. Tighnari was certain that if you did read between the lines, you would've rooted out the cause of the problem immediately.
He picked your characters apart while he engaged in a Socratic-like method of patronizing you.
None of his complaints, aside from his assertion that your novel lacked "logical structure," were verifiably true. Although the male character is silent and unfunny, he has done everything in his power to help his loved one become happier in all areas of her life. In addition, it is absurd that he believes the traumatizing antagonist was a greater role model than the boy who fell in love with the female lead.
You were surprised. From the years you've spent together, not once did he talk about your hobbies with you– and you wished he never did.
"Stop wasting time and focus on your thesis. How else are you going to pass the board if you're too busy behaving like a big lummox? I'm saying this because I care about you, (Y/n). If you need extra cash just say so. You don't have to write for those people, they're all just–"
Tighnari didn't stop there. You loathe recalling the rest of what he said.
You wouldn't mind his words if he attacked your skills in writing, but to call your readers illiterate and dimwitted spinsters with no taste in men was enough to unseal everything you had bottled up for the past 2 years.
The entire argument was a blur. There were screamings and loud thuds, but what stood out most from your memories was the bold declaration you uttered by the end of it all.
"I won't give up writing for anything," you spat. "Even if it means I have to leave the Akademiya– if it means I have to leave you."
Normally, debates with him are futile, but at least there was one major key takeaway from this exchange.
You had an epiphany. There was never a need on your end to be with Tighnari. That your writing was more than an escape– it was a clear cry for help and a reflection of your needs and desires. And you were hoping for someone to depend on and a chance to break free from the "villain" in your life.
It had been days since that fight, and you calmed down. With the way things are going, this conversation should be a breeze on your end.
"(Y/n), you wanted to see me?"
Speak of the devil.
You put your cup of coffee down.
"Yes, please close the door. This is pretty important."
He locked the door.
Tighnari looked indifferent– as usual– and flopped his tail down the nearest chair. His ears were twitching slightly as he fixed his hair, puffing it to add more volume.
You nodded, fishing a paper out of your pocket. Tighnari raised an eyebrow.
Since he was so keen on reminding you that you are awful at holding academic presentations without a little "cheat card", you decided that you'll bring one this time too. Albeit, it only had the words "FUCK YOU" written eloquently, it's enough to make you remember the many woeful sorrows you want to communicate. You don't care that it's petty. Even though you’ll be civil about the break-up, a little card wouldn’t hurt. At least when the afternoon's finished you can joke about it at parties.
Tighnari would laugh at your face after you say your piece. He's a natural-born sophist– some might call his wisdom false for it, but his persuasion is influential. Hence, you fully expect him to gaslight you midway. The fennec fox would remark that your performance was funnier than any material the general Mahamatra came up with. But you don't care.
There's an exciting world out there once this is settled. You can't wait to be single and get nervous around anyone you find remotely attractive.
"So? Get on with it, (Y/n)." He tapped his fingers on the table. You almost forgot he doesn't like it when people get too distracted. "I still have to plan the next cleansing ritual."
"Course you do." You let out a snarky retort without realizing it. "But please bear with it, this shouldn't take long."
He hummed curtly.
You cleared your throat again, trembling anxiety making its way up your fingers.
"Tighnari, let's have a clean break up."
"Sure."
"Oh." You nervously smiled. "Thank you, I apprec–"
Tighnari hurriedly sprang from his chair and slammed both hands down. His eyes widened as your thoughts took a moment to sink in. He laughed without mirth.
"... Wait, come again?"
He squeezed his nose and closed his eyes while taking a breath. The slight grin on Tighnari's face proved your assumption was accurate. He was laughing at you.
"What are you trying to play here?"
Of course, it'd be too easy if he just agreed with you.
"Whatever it is that you're trying, quit it. If you want to go on dates then sure. We could visit Liyue Harbor this Saturday–"
"No. I'm being serious here." You breathed shakily in a mediocre attempt to steel your nerves. "I want to break up, Tighnari."
He paused, his stone-cold gaze unbreaking.
"Why?"
"Because we're both unhappy."
His ears twitched and drooped down slightly. "We are?... You're unhappy?"
"Yes." You said it almost like a question, so you repeated it to make things clear. "Yes, I am. And so are you."
Tighnari slowly shook his head.
"No, no I don't. I love being with you, (Y/n)."
You sucked air between your teeth. Your heart started to pound loudly as your hand clenched a handful of your shirt tightly. It's unfair. He can't say that after every verbal abuse he subjected you to hear.
"Tighn–"
"I know what this is about. You're having an affair with Cyno, right?" He snarled.
Huh?
This time, it was your turn to be stunned and simultaneously enraged. You glared daggers at him while your closed hand hit the table.
"Excuse me?!"
You both went silent. The fox heard your heavy breathing and knows you're too baffled to speak.
"I can't believe this." Tighnari sneered, but his voice was raspy and strained from disbelief. His tearfully frustrated eyes contorted as he forced words out of his mouth. He raised his hands abruptly before languidly motioning his thoughts in the air.
"I can't believe you didn't even realize you're in love with him. I-I was willing to turn a blind eye if you were fucking him behind my back. That’s how much I love you. I thought turning a blind eye would stop you from stirring up this– this rebellion– You're a fox's mate– my mate!"
He shook, mad.
"And I can't and won't find another. Damn it (Y/n)– you know this!"
"What made you think I'm having an affair with Cyno?!" You balled your fists, and your knuckles paled.
One more absurd comment and you'd be convinced that he's under the influence of hallucinogens. It wouldn't be a huge stretch. What kind of boyfriend would let someone else bed their lover? An incompetent one maybe– if it were a healthy polygamous relationship and everyone consented then you wouldn't bat an eye, but it isn't.
You're not some debauched "doll" shared against their will.
"I've never cheated on you!" You screamed.
"From the way I see it, your patrols with him should be considered an emotional affair." Tighnari deadpanned. "Playing with his hood, pulling his arm, laughing at his unfunny jokes– you're practically a whore for him."
Holy shit.
"You're insane."
That was the only response you could say.
So painfully, you wanted to nitpick the flaws from his argument. How satisfied you would've been if you pointed out that's how humor is subjective and that's how platonic relationships work. Even though you wanted to make him feel tiny with your stream of unwarranted reprimands, you don't want to be like him.
Let his delusions simmer and stir– you have nothing to do with him anymore.
"You know what, we both don't need this talk. We're done, Tighnari."
You walked past him and reached for the doorknob.
It rattled, however, it did not open.
You tried again, frantically in an attempt to loosen the locks. This was the worst moment for a door to jam. You slouched forward and pulled harder. There's no way he won't use this moment as a way to drop more inane comments. You heard a chair being dragged out behind you.
"It's no use. I locked it."
"Then open this fucking door."
"Why should I?"
You shivered, not noticing Tighnari right behind you. His lips hovered above your ear.
The reputable forest watcher trusted by travelers and citizens alike pressed a doused handkerchief against your nose.
Panic overrode your rationality when you realized what you were inhaling, and stupidly you gasped. It smelled faintly made out of dendro energy and plants created by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. You and Haypasia, whose major research concentrated on the Irminsul, are more than familiar with its aroma.
It's the incense.
Normally, it's taken for the sake of connecting with the Irminsul, but his motivations make you dread why it's being utilized. Continuous exposure increases the susceptibility of researchers to its effects, and in this context, Tighnari is exploiting that for...
You jumped and clawed his arm, but your vision wavered like it would in the desert. His arm encircled your waist, and he was, unfortunately, stronger than you. The card you were holding fell. Tighnari's ears perked up as he sensed your strength waning.
He caught you right on time. Consciousness evaded you, and you weakly leaned on his chest.
Tighnari smiled.
He smiled so much softer than when he talked to Collei– and everyone else in Teyvat.
"Why should I open the door, when I have you right where I want you?"
#yandere tighnari#yandere#yandere genshin x reader#yandere genshin#yandere genshin impact#yandere x reader#yandere fanfiction#genshin impact x reader#tighnari#yandere oneshot#ansy-writes
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Waking Lions 11
Find the series masterlist
Ace continues to get into trouble. Flirting happens.
Warnings: Swearing, flirting, mention of injury, Price needs his own warning label, little bit of kidnapping.
Word count: 1.5k
Landing in Finland didn’t actually help the raging anxiety much. You let Laswell and Captain know to stand down, no further issues, and you’d update them soon.
And then you booked a hotel room and took a very long, very hot shower.
Your phone was ringing by the time you got out, and you grumbled to yourself. Captain. “Yes?”
“What’s your status?”
“Secure,” you said after a moment, frowning just a little. That was a new tone from him.
“And your delay?”
“A non-issue. Just a little miscommunication is all.”
Captain was silent for a few moments. “Send me coordinates for the drop point.” And then he hung up.
You stared at your phone. Was he… upset? With you? For what? You hadn’t done anything wrong.
But you did send him coordinates and a time. Tomorrow. Because there was no way you were going anywhere else tonight.
Some gentle prodding at your side showed you were still healing well. You’d probably have a scar from this, but better a scar than to be dead.
But you managed to sleep, at least. Which was honestly a relief.
You made it to the drop point early. As always. You settled on a bench, pretending to read a book and people-watch.
Even though you were expecting him, you still startled a little when a body dropped down next to you.
“Status?” Captain asked, voice low, a thread of concern in his voice.
“I’m fine,” you assured him, only a little snippy. “Here.” You held out the USB to him.
But he didn’t take it right away, frowning at you, gaze sweeping over you in a clear visual check. “What happened?”
You blinked at him. “Does it matter? I’m here, I’m fine, I’ve got stuff for you.”
He took the USB but his fingers closed over your hand, trapping the drive between you. “What happened?”
You stared at him, eyes wide. Your heart was beating far too fast for the situation. “Nothing really happened,” you said weakly, confused. “Captain… what are you worried about?” A sudden thought had your heart clenching in pain. “Thought you gave up on the accusations?”
“That’s not what this is about.” His frown deepened and he shifted closer to you, the line of his jaw tense. “You went silent for hours and rerouted your flight without explanation.”
You floundered, just a little. Because that? That was not an accusation. That was something worse. Concern. “I–Captain, I’m fine. Nothing happened. It was just…” You trailed off. You could lie, could come up with something convincing. Something that he wouldn’t be able to verify. Because your clients were none of his concern.
Except that this client might also be a lead into the ultranationalist group, and that seemed like the kind of information Captain might need to know. If you really wanted to try this whole playing nice thing.
So you breathed out slowly, bringing your free hand up to rub your eyes. You were tired. Moreso than you should be, really. You blamed the situation.
“It was a potential new client,” you answered, not looking at him, fingers still pressed into your eyes until stars burst against the dark of your eyelids. “Knew me from Sergio, but didn’t have my contact information. Either didn’t ask Sergio or didn’t want him to know. I’ll find out which.” Another slow breath in. “Normally I would not be telling you this, because my business is not yours, but. He paid me with a check that rerouted to a shell company, one of the ones that I noted.” You shrugged a little, finally lowering your hand, though you still refused to look at him. “I was going to get more solid information first, but you rather forced my hand.”
Captain was silent for several moments, keeping your hand captured. Then he sighed. “Ace.”
You glanced at him almost without meaning to, gauging his reaction. But his expression was carefully neutral.
“I’d prefer if you keep me in the loop on this one. Even if you don’t have solid intel.” He held your gaze easily, blue holding steady but no less intense.
“Understood.” You managed to crack a smile. “I’ll take it under advisement.”
He scoffed softly but finally released your hand, keeping the USB. “Password?”
“Reliant.” You smirked a little, still not quite normal but getting there.
He grunted once in acknowledgement. “Get some food, you look bloody awful.”
The laugh felt punched out of you, almost painful. “Flatterer,” you said without any malice. “You offering?”
He was silent and still next to you for just long enough that your heart tripped into high gear. Then he chuckled. “Maybe next time, Ace.”
It was a surprisingly gentle let down, and you left it at that. You stood first and turned away.
Only to stop when a hand wrapped around your wrist.
“Thank you.”
You turned slowly to look at Captain, the two words far too sincere to ignore. You honestly had no idea what to do, just staring at him for a moment, before you nodded once.
You were quick to leave as soon as he released you, heart pounding, head reeling.
This… had not been the plan. This had not even been anywhere near the plan.
But he wasn’t wrong. You needed food. And sleep. You could figure out the rest after that.
Good food was easy to find in Finland, and your hotel was comfortable. You took the rest of the day to get your head on straight and rest up. And also to put out a few emails to some contacts, because you wanted White to give you more information. You doubted he’d be a good source, but maybe you could put a few things together. Maybe it would help.
Or maybe you’d finally get in too deep and end up where you always suspected you would - an unmarked grave in the middle of nowhere.
Grimacing at the macabre turn of your own thoughts, you shook yourself and turned on the news for background noise.
Captain was becoming a distraction. And that was a problem. One you wouldn’t abide. You had too much going on to have him distracting you.
How to get Laswell to agree, though, was another problem entirely. One that you decided to sleep on.
Honestly, you meant to talk to Laswell. You did. But you got sidetracked with getting contact information to three of your contacts, and their information to White. Then you had a call from Valeria where you had to dance around an invitation. Then there was the call from a contact of yours who had gotten himself into trouble and asked you for help back out of it… You got busy.
You were going to deal with him. Eventually.
Just… Not right now.
The first text check in was easy to brush off. He’d just asked for status. You just said “busy”.
That got you two more days of denial and research. Tracking down shell corporations and tracing payments took time.
The second check in was harder to ignore.
Need an ETA.
You grimaced down at your phone, then at your laptop. You had information you could give him, sure, but not as much as you wanted. You had nothing new on White, no new major movements. In your eyes, it wasn’t worth the time to arrange a drop for this.
Few more days. Chasing down some leads.
That was… close enough. And gave you enough time to do more digging, put some pressure on some people.
At least, that was the plan.
That plan very much went to shit when you went out to get some food. You’d gotten half a dozen steps outside your hotel when two men fell in step with you, one on each side.
“Stay quiet and no one gets hurt,” one of them murmured, low and threatening. You could just see the flash of a pistol under his jacket, pointed at you.
“May I ask where we’re going?” But you made sure to keep your voice quiet and pleasant. You really didn’t want to get shot again. Laswell would never let you live it down.
“You can ask.” There was no humor in his voice, but he didn’t make any threatening moves, either. “This way.” He turned down a street, and you followed. He walked a few more blocks to a black van and pulled open the back door. You went in without prompting, shoulders tense.
This was very much not good.
The other one pulled a bag over your head, and you sat still and compliant. You had absolutely no desire to get thrown around over this. You needed your head clear to get out of whatever mess this was.
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Shostakovich and Aziraphale
I was thinking (and talking to @balance-of-probability endlessly) about the choice to have Shostakovich's fifth symphony feature so heavily in S2 ep 1, and how it struck me as a little odd as there are a bunch of composers Aziraphale loves mentioned in the book and Shostakovich isn't amongst them.
Backstory: In 1934, Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtensk premiered to huge popular acclaim, which was very briskly walked back in 1936 after the Stalinist newspaper Pravda published an article denouncing it.
Actually more than denouncing it, condemning it. It wasn’t credited but was authored by a guy called David Zaslavsky who was almost definitely scribing for Stalin himself. Lady Macbeth was banned in the USSR until 1961.
Anyway by 1936 Shostakovich had written his fourth symphony, which he withdrew from public performance until 1961 because it was more of the same thing that had made the Soviet leadership cancel Lady Macbeth – it was unconventional, anti-patriotic, and indicated that Shostakovich was a “bourgeois formalist”.
So he shelved it and started working on Symphony No. 5 which is, on the surface at least, Soviet as fuck. And that’s what we hear Aziraphale listening to in S2E1.
(Sidebar this story is told in Julian Barnes’ The Noise of Time which is either a literary wank soup or a masterpiece depending on how cranky you are when you first read it)
So basically what Dmitri Shostakovich did in those years between the fourth and fifth symphonies was something that might be familiar to S2E6 enjoyers/agonisers: he decided to toe the party line.
Kind of.
Listening to the finale of the fifth symphony (and if you want to listen along it’s the recording of Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic, it’ll be called something like Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47; iv. Allegro non troppo) without the context of the rest of the symphony or in fact Shostakovich’s life is like ah yes that’s a bit of a Soviet battle anthem let’s march into Leningrad or whatever.
But it is, as critics have increasingly understood in the years since Shostakovich demurely described it as “a Soviet artist's no-nonsense response to fair criticism”, dripping with irony. This man reviled the Stalinist line on art and life – he takes the Soviet anthem and turns it into a sort of fucked up evil clown march. The whole thing gives me this vibe:
(gif from @goodomensedit)
There’s a lot of stuff about that time in Shostakovich’s life that is extremely hard to verify. There’s a “memoir” which is for sure at least partially fabricated called Testimony in which there’s an alleged quote from our man saying that final movement is a parody, that “it's as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying, "Your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing", and you rise, shaky, and go marching off, muttering, "Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing"."
Whether or not Shostakovich said that (some of his friends who outlived him support that reading, including Rostropovich who conducted a bunch of his work) you can definitely hear it in the piece and you can definitely see how it gives us a clue into the decision Aziraphale makes at the end of the season.
What Shostakovich had to decide back in the 1930s was whether he would a) flee to somewhere like the US, where many other artists targeted by Stalin went; b) stay and become a public nuisance, leading almost definitely to an off-the-books execution; or c) become a party-approved Soviet Artist and hope for change. Even nudge it along in a subtle way. Even get on the inside and work to bring it down. We don’t know how true that was for old mate Dmitri and we don’t yet know exactly what Aziraphale has planned. But yeah:
tl;dr: Shostakovich 🤝 Aziraphale
Staying inside a rancid and destructive
militarised culture in the hope that it can change
#aziraphale#go2#good omens#good omens spoilers#ineffable husbands#azicrow#source: I am a radio producer who makes classical music documentaries and also a gay nerd
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Sugar and Cinnamon
Loki x female reader (AU)/ 18+
Chapter 11
Chapter 10
Warnings: contains fluff, smut, angst, unprotected sex, alcohol and cigarette consumption, soft!dom/sub vibes, toxic relationship, morally grey stuff, blackmailing, abusive and insulting behaviour
Note: I hadn't much time to write lately and I don't know when it's going to change... my job is killing me these days. This chapter took 10 days to get written and it became a very long chapter (~11k words), so get some snacks and something to drink. I hope you enjoy.
You looked at him, swallowed, took a deep breath and then you began to tell him how it all started…
…nearly six months ago:
“Can we talk?” You asked Ralph after entering his office.
“Don't you see that I don't have any time to talk to you right now,” he answered harshly and stressed while reading the contract documents concerning the new advertising contract his marketing agency was ready to sign. The big deal that would catapult him and his company to the top of the marketing agencies in North America. He ran his fingers nervously through his dark brown hair, keeping his brown eyes fixed on the documents. “ We can talk later!”
“No, we need to talk now,” you told him strictly.
It had been a long day at work today like every day lately and you two had barely time to talk. And you two not talking properly to each other had been for months now. You and Ralph and the team around you were stuck deeply in negotiations with a production company for luxury wristwatches and thanks to your superb knowledge of marketing strategies and your excellent conversation tactics you finally got the deal for the new marketing campaign and the assignment from the wristwatch manufacturer. No, Ralph got the deal, the agency was his company, not yours. You were just his account manager in a leading position and his girlfriend for five years.
What you had to tell him was urgent and you had to tell him now. You didn't want to postpone this important conversation for the umpteenth time just because he always pretended to not have time for you. But you were his girlfriend and fiancée-to-be on hold and he had to have time for you, for heaven's sake. He didn't even raise his head to look at you when you approached his curved glass desk.
“I leave!”
“Yeah, good. Go home and get some rest. I don't know when I'll be back home. Might be late. Take a bath, shave and get pretty for me. I don't want to see you in a worn-out t-shirt and that ugly butterfly-patterned pyjama bottoms when I come home. Wear something nice … wear the red negligee, you know I like it. We can ‘celebrate’ my deal then.” He still didn't look at you and you grinned annoyed, shaking your head lightly.
“That's not what I meant, Ralph.”
“Then explain.”
“I leave. I leave the company… and you!” You thought it would be harder to tell him that but I wasn't. It felt more of a relief. Your relationship with him was in a crisis for months at this point and when you got aware of it you recognised that you didn't love him anymore. The love you once had felt for him had already faded away some time ago. So you decided to leave him, with all the consequences. You didn't want to hold on to a relationship that didn't make sense anymore even if that meant you had to find a new job. But you didn't worry about that. You were good at what you were doing and finding a new job in the marketing business wouldn't be a problem for you. Also, you wanted to pick up your studies again so you would be perfectly qualified to run your own business one day.
“Yeah, okay… wait, you what?” Ralph finally looked at you, frowning and astonished.
“I leave the agency and you. Look, I'll stay until the contract is signed. It takes approximately four weeks for our lawyers to verify the conditions before the signing so I'll stay until then. That's enough time for you to look for a new assistant and account manager. And if you're being honest our relationship is at a dead end and I know you can feel it too. I'm sorry if my announcement takes you a bit off guard but we hardly spend time with each other for months now. You're barely at home. I have a feeling that you keep avoiding me. And when you are at home you never really want to talk to me, we just have quick sex and maybe we have dinner together and…Ralph, I don't want to beat around the bush but… I don't love you anymore. The feeling isn't there anymore. It's gone, possibly on both sides. You became so loveless with time. But okay, it happens, that's life and there's nothing wrong with that. We both have changed and we both should move on. A relationship without love… it simply doesn't make sense and I like things to make sense. Let us look at this fantastic deal as our final big success on the long haul and then we both can start new things. Everyone for themselves. I think that's just fair,” you explained in a strict but friendly tone.
Ralph was a good-looking man, tall with broad shoulders, short dark hair, and hazelnut brown eyes, charming and good with words. That was why you fell for him five years ago. Now you knew that wasn't enough, there was so much more a healthy relationship needed and he couldn't give it to you or he didn't want to give it to you. And now after five years, you knew him well enough to be sure that he wasn't the right man for you so you decided to end it without causing further complications.
“What a silly girl you are, darling,” and he stood up from his leather executive chair, grinning at you dismissively. “Who do you think you are, hm?”
“I'm a strong woman who knows what she wants and what she doesn't want. And I don't want to be together with you anymore because you don't see me. You don't even have much time for me anymore just when you want to have sex and need to get some steam off. And that's not enough, Ralph. I want more and I deserve more. Please, accept my decision and that I don't have any feelings for you anymore and that there's nothing left that would be enough for a relationship or a marriage. I'm also sure it's more than difficult to continue working together after ending our relationship. Please, don't make it more awkward than necessary.” A scornful laugh escaped his throat.
“You're so ridiculous and such a stupid girl. I'll tell you what you want… this!” and he made a presenting gesture with his arms to underline his statement. “You want this job, you want me, the money and the luxury life it allows us. The penthouse, the luxury cars, designer clothes, the exclusive holidays in the world's best hotels. Do you really want to give all that up, darling? Do you really want to tell me you never appreciated all that?” You didn't like the contemptuous tone in his voice as if he were looking down on you.
“I never said that. I do appreciate our privileged life and all the amenities we have and I always worked hard for it so that we can have this kind of lifestyle. But it has nothing to do with love, it's just material and I want more than that and there's no love anymore between us, and you know it as well as I do.”
“We, darling, we worked hard for it. It's my agency, and in the end, it's my money but in my generosity, I always shared with you,” he insisted.
You swallowed down the words you wanted to throw at him because you knew who in this agency was doing the real work. It was you and Ralph's other highly qualified employees. He only harvested the fruits of your hard work and celebrated successes as his merits. He never cared about the fact that success is rather a team result than an individual achievement. A fact that bothered you more and more and added to the fact that you were losing the love you once had felt for him.
“And I know you want me. You can't live without me, can you? I'm the only one who knows what you need and what's good for you, hm? Because I can feel it whenever we have sex,” he tried to convince you, rounding his desk and walking towards you.
There must be something wrong with his feelings because it seemed he never had recognised how often you had faked your orgasms. He always did it his way. Hard, fast, and always dominant and he hated soft lovemaking. At some point, you began faking your climax to get finished soon with the bedroom activities which became more and more unsatisfying for you because Ralph just satisfied his own needs. And when you did it you better do it without questioning his masculinity. After some time you became very good at it. You better because otherwise he would've been in a foul mood for days and everyone around him including you would've felt the consequences. He stood close to you and with his sweaty palm, he cupped your cheek and ran his thumb firmly over your lips as if he wanted to wipe away the things you just said from your mouth like spilt food. Once his touches made you feel good but these days were truly gone and you didn't want him to touch you ever again.
“We had such a wonderful time together and always had good sex, didn't we?” He asked you smugly. He already needed to get his ego pampered again. A shiver ran down your spine and it wasn't because of lust.
“You always had good sex, not me,” you stated dryly.
“Ts ts ts…Darling, it's not my fault, it's you who's a little frigid sometimes but when you're in the right mood you can be such a horny slut and you know how much I like that,” he snickered. He wasn't completely wrong, you indeed liked some kinky stuff.
“I'm not frigid, you never listened to me when I asked you for some… sexy stuff to try or what I wanted to do in bed. Don't blame it on me alone, okay!” You said angrily.
“Darling, did your mother teach you to lie, hm?” His hand still cupped your cheek and you tried to escape from his touch.
“Don't put my mother into this,” you spat and pushed his hand away. “Our sex was never that good, not for me at least. You often left me high and dry and you didn't even care about that or ask or listen to me when I wanted to talk with you about it and what I needed to be satisfied too. You never cared. You never truly cared about me, did you? Gosh, I was so blind. Did you even love me, Ralph?” The thought struck you like a blow. How could you haven't seen this much earlier? How money could change someone so much and how much could someone be so blinded by love?
“Love, love… who needs love or romance? Money and success, that's what counts. Love is overrated, love is for kids and dogs,” he lamented, bored by what you were talking about.
“So you never loved me,” you stated disappointedly.
“Oh, I do, darling. At the beginning of our relationship, I definitely did. You were hot and eye candy and arm candy as well. You were pretty much of a head-turner, and you still are and I enjoy others looking at my beautiful girlfriend, especially our customers and business partners. It led to many successful deals that you're that pretty and smart. C’mon, doll, we both know that feelings can change and become different in a relationship and yes, maybe you're not my dream girl and I'm not your dream boy anymore, but that's why we don't have to split up right now, darling. We're such a successful team. C’mon it's just a phase, you're overworked and stressed out. Take a few days off. Drive to our house in the Hamptons and then everything will be fine again, okay? We'll fix our disagreements later when you're back,” he tried to appease you. “Don't be a drama queen! You don't want to leave me, I know it.” Ralph told you arrogantly and went back to his executive chair to sit down and pay attention to the contract documents again.
“You really don't get it, do you? It's not a phase, Ralph. It's a fact and I will leave,” you replied firmly. Ralph stayed silent, obviously getting pissed off more with every second your conversation continued. A look of scorn filled his eyes before he spoke again, his eyes fixed on yours.
“I think you're forgetting one tiny little detail,” He told you sneakily.
“What little detail? What do you mean?” you asked puzzled and frowning.
“Well, don't you remember our…little secret?” He winked at you and smirked. You suddenly remembered what he meant. You felt nauseous and a lump building in your throat made it heavy for you to breathe.
“What are you implying?” A further wave of nausea washed over you. He would never do that, would he?
“What about publishing it, darling?” He grinned devilishly. “For everyone to see.”
“No! No Ralph you can't do that! Ralph, please! No!” You begged him quietly and desperately. You panicked and swallowed thickly.
“It's all up to you, darling!” He stood up from his chair again and walked over to where you still stood, shoving his hands into the pockets of his dress trousers. He leaned toward you, rage and injured vanity in his eyes. And there was something else in his eyes. Fear?
“No one, absolutely no one leaves Ralph Belmont. So how dare you? No one screws things up with me! Not even you! Do you understand me, darling?” His voice sounded threatening and his face was so dangerously close to yours that you could feel his breath fanning over your face, his nose nudging almost against yours.
“I give you two options,” and he turned away from you and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Option one: You stay with me and in my agency, everything we just talked about will be forgotten and our little secret stays our secret. Option two…,” he turned around to face you “...you can leave the agency and me but you'll pay for it. A redemption sum so to say. In exchange, I won't publish our secret. Your decision, darling.” He smiled arrogantly.
“I can't and I won't stay with you, Ralph. Sooner or later you'll have to accept that,” you answered. Did he just try to blackmail you?
“It's option two then. Okay, if that's what you want, no problem. 250000 dollars and you're free. You have six months to transfer the money to my bank account with the note ‘Loan Repayment’. I think that's enough time for you to get the money together. Your working contract is dissolved with immediate effect, also you no longer have access to our bank account. Any questions, darling? I just want to make sure that things make sense for you.” The self-satisfied smile that curved his mouth disgusted you.
“What kind of cruel game are you playing here, Ralph? Are you doing this just because it hurts your pride when I leave you? You don't love me, you never really did. You just confirmed it. Let me go. You've got enough competent employees in the agency and there are more than enough women in this city who are waiting for a man like you and who'll throw themselves on you as soon as you're free. Do you think I never noticed that? So many women want a good-looking, filthy-rich man like you to fulfil their every wet and material dream. Now they can have you, I'm not interested anymore. You're not that man anymore I fell in love with. The more money we made the more you changed, and not for the best. You're not the same anymore, I guess the money did go to your head and you still crave for more.”
“What are you implying, hm? That I cheated on you, darling? Why should I, I have you to warm my bed. You should appreciate that,” he said, self-satisfied. “What about you?" He knew that you weren't that kind of girl. You'd never do that.
“Wow, where do I send flowers? Screw you, Ralph. You're such an asshole,” you answered sarcastically and repulsed.
“Ts, ts, ts, this is getting annoying. Be very careful, darling you're skating on thin ice. We both know that you're a little slut, hm?” He said sweetly, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “250000 bucks in six months! Save the date!” He said harshly and quite emphatically.
“Where shall I take the money from? I don't have that much and you know that!” your desperation grew. Why did he treat you like that?
“Not my problem. You decided to leave me. Now you know the consequences it has.” He sat down again, leaned back against the leather chair's backrest and crossed his arms behind his head, his eyes fixed on your shocked face.
“What's this game you're playing? Are you really blackmailing me? And what do you mean by ‘redemption sum’? For what? I always worked for my money. I worked my ass off for it and only for your profit! You never paid your employees properly or gave them any praise for their good work and I agreed to get paid better pocket money, especially in the beginning when we were building up our existence here. I did it for the company, for you and us. I even dropped my studies in London for you so that we could both move here, to New York and start a life because you didn't want to go without me and didn't want to wait a few months more until I finished my degree too. I did it for us because I always thought there was an ‘us’. We were in a relationship, I thought you loved me and I thought it would be forever.”
“Aww, look at you, so desperate now. Darling, not my problem. It was your decision to leave me and don't complain now, you'll have enough time now to study again and finish your exams,” he stated with utter sarcasm. “I invested a lot of money in you, haven't I? You had enough pocket money to spend on expensive, meaningless things and you also spent the money from our bank account. It seems you don't appreciate it enough and the things I did for you. I could've bought so many other nice things with all that money if I hadn't have spent it on you and your fancy clothes, cars, and other stuff. You want to leave me? Then you have to pay for it. Everything in life has its price, darling. And never forget about the dirty little secrets in my safe. One wrong step, one wrong action and I'll publish them all over the city and beyond. I'll ruin you, darling, if I have to. You'll never be able to work in our industry again when I'm done with you and you don't even have to try to hire for a job with our competitors. I'll find out and let them know what kind of woman you are. No one will employ you, I'll make sure of that. Never forget that, darling,” he grinned at you, smugly and viciously.
“You're such a disappointment in every hindsight. I'm glad to get rid of you. Pick up your stuff from your office and the penthouse. I expect you to be gone when I get back home. And don't forget to turn off the lights when you go and leave the keys with the receptionist. And now get out of my office. I've work to do,” and he busied himself with the contract documents again.
"You're such a devilish prick, Ralph Belmont. I can't believe how much I loved you once and that I did everything for you. You were never worth it. Unfortunately, it took me too long to see it. You're less than the dirt under my stilettos which I only ever wore for you because I wanted to look pretty for the man I loved. And it was you who wanted all those meaningless and material things, you dolled me up with all these clothes and shoes… you don't even know what my favourite colour is,” you answered, your voice trembling with disgust and disappointment. Disappointment about him and even more about yourself for not looking through him much earlier.
“Watch your mouth, darling. If I were a slut like you I'd be very careful about provoking me. You don't have any chance against me. Don't forget, you have six months! And now get out of my eyes!”
“Screw you, you bastard,” you spat with quivering lips, turned around and left his office.
***
Loki didn't know what to say after you had finished telling him what had happened to you the day you decided to leave your boyfriend. Tears welled up in his eyes when he saw how deeply hurt you were and how desperate. He kept holding your hands and tried to comfort you as best as he could.
“After that, I cleared my office, drove to our penthouse, packed my bags and left. I slept for some days in my best friend’s house until I found this apartment to rent. An apartment I can't afford much longer.” Tears began to run down your cheeks.
“So you became an escort lady to earn money for a living because you can't work in your business anymore,” Loki said and wiped your tears away.
“Yes, I contemplated a lot about what job I could do outside the marketing business and shortly after I stumbled over Rhea's escort agency. I found out that working as an escort was the fastest way to earn a lot of money in a short time… and it's still not fast enough or enough money at all. I changed my looks for the evenings when I was escorting gentlemen to functions and named myself Candy. Ralph's former arm candy, perfect in wearing high heels and fancy clothes and already a slut according to Ralph's opinion about me, had found her new job as an escort lady. Unfortunately, I was rapidly forced into getting a call girl because not only has my rent increased, the rent I pay for my mother's nursery home has increased as well.”
“Your mother lives in a nursery home? What happened to her, sweets?” Loki wanted to know, seemingly full of concern and compassion. “It's the woman in the pictures, right?”
“Yes, it's her, my beloved mum. She had a stroke some time ago and has been in a wheelchair since then. She needs professional help and care and so I looked for the best nursery home for her. My father died years ago and I'm an only child, I'm all she has. Ralph always thought I'd spent my money for whatever unnecessary things but I didn't. I paid for my mother's health care and I also spared a part of my money and now this saved money saves my life. But it's getting less and it has never been that much to buy my freedom from Ralph.
It wasn't easy for me to tell Rhea that circumstances are forcing me to work as a callgirl now too. The sheer thought of sleeping with strangers for money scared me. I don't know if you believe me but there was only ever you who I could imagine having sex with. I could never have done it with anyone else. And I still regret faking my orgasm when we fucked for the first time. It wasn't because I wanted to fool you, it was because I didn't want to feel that good. You felt so good, Loki and you were so tender and caring and I wasn't used to being treated like that and being treated so lovingly, especially not from a stranger. I was afraid of catching feelings for you and I couldn't allow it. It would've broken my rules to never develop feelings for a client or to ever fall in love again. But I failed, I began to feel more for you than I should and I broke my rules but I don't regret it,” you smiled at him but you couldn't stop your tears from falling. Loki looked lovingly at you and squeezed your hands to reassure you that he believed you and that he was there for you no matter what.
“What did he mean by the ‘dirty little secret’ in his safe? With what is he blackmailing you, sweets?” Loki asked his voice calm and soothingly. You hesitated to tell him. You were so ashamed of what you had agreed to do with and for Ralph and you were afraid that Loki wouldn't want you anymore when he finally got to know the truth. He felt your insecurity and anxiety to tell him everything and it broke his heart how much your hands were trembling in his. He just wished you would finally open up to him completely so he could finally help you in the way you needed him to help you. You just feared he would never talk to you again or find you disgusting.
“He's blackmailing me with…,” you felt like you had to puke and you took a deep breath before you continued. “He's blackmailing me with nude pics and… a sex tape.” Your tear-filled eyes looked into Loki's, trying to find out what he was thinking about you, now that he knew what whorish things you had done. But Loki said nothing so you continued telling him the details while tears kept running down your cheeks.
“He took the pictures of me and filmed us during sex some time ago when we were madly in love… or that was what I thought we were. On my part, I definitely was in love with him. I was so naive… but I trusted him and so I agreed to it. I was so dumb, I should never have allowed him to take these pictures or make this private porn.”
“You're not dumb, sweets. You were in love and what is love when you can't trust your partner? Unfortunately, he didn't love you enough but you couldn't know that,” he tried to comfort you despite knowing there was no real consolation right now. “So he filmed you. What about him in this tape?”
“Yes, he did, you can see how I get fucked by him in several ways but… his face is never visible and I'm not sure anymore if he did it on purpose back then for whatever reason or really just for himself or ourselves. He got me on the dangle and I'm at his mercy.” A desperate sob escaped your throat and your gaze wandered through your small apartment. “I don't know what to do, Loki. I don't have that money and time is slipping through my hands. In a few days, it's payday and if I don't pay he'll publish it.”
The panic in your gut grew immediately. Loki felt bad for you. He had no problems with any form of sex or kinks but he couldn't handle that this asshole took advantage of you, your abilities and your body in every way possible all over those years and now turned your trust and the love you once had for Ralph against you. You loosened your hands from Loki's, shifted on the sofa and sat back against the sofa's backrest. You pulled your knees close to your chest, wrapped your arms around them and stared into the void. You didn't want to be afraid, you wanted to be happy and free again. You wanted to live without so much fear.
Loki felt the rage in his gut rising and getting stronger. The sight of you curled up on the couch and your knees drawn to your chest, your face pale and your eyes teary, didn't help to get rid of this feeling. You, his precious girl, didn't deserve to be treated like this.
“Maybe I should sell one of my kidneys or rob a bank to be able to pay him,” you said, laughing and irony scurrying over your face.
There was it again, your never dying, beautiful laughter, your untamed will to feel alive and be happy no matter how big the pain is. Loki adored you for this and he couldn't help but join you in your laughter and sarcasm for a moment.
“I got everything you told me so far, sweets but what did he mean with ‘redemption sum’? I still don't get this part,” Loki questioned curiously and frowned.
“He wants to make me pay back for everything he ever invested in me, I guess. Everything belongs to him, Loki. The money, the cars, the penthouse, the house in the Hamptons, he bought my designer clothes and evening gowns and dolled me up to his liking to parade me around. He paid for everything we did together like luxury holidays for example. He always said it's our common wealth and we both should enjoy it. I helped him to get this rich and I also helped him to reach all the goals he wanted to reach. But everything happened in his name for his company. I think, at some point, I wasn't my own person anymore. I did most of the work together with his other employees, and the more money he earned the less I mattered to him… and my love for him slowly faded away. He didn't even recognise that. Tells a lot about his character, I guess. That he now behaves how he behaves is most likely because I crushed his pride by leaving him and that he's blackmailing me is possibly the only way for him to hold power over me and to keep me in his company. I'm sure he knows very well how much he owes me. It's a cruel game he's playing with me and it doesn't make any sense to me. Most of all I despise my own stupidity in not refusing that damn photoshoot…and allowing him to film us having sex was the biggest mistake I've ever made. I don't understand why I agreed to make a private porn video. I'm so disgusted by myself.”
The embarrassment made your eyes welling up with tears again and you angrily wiped them away with your palms. You couldn't turn back the time or the decisions you made and there was just one way now: grin and bear it and get everything sorted out. Self-pitying wasn't helpful at this point.
“I never wanted all this mass of luxury, you know. Of course, I like nice things and going shopping for fancy stuff. But I don't crave it, I don't need all those fancy clothes and shoes or jewellery, holidays in expensive hotels and their overpriced presidential suites, or fancy six-course menus. He wanted all of this and put me in those clothes and pretty places. A small cosy cottage at a beach, a glass of wine on the porch, casual food at a beach bar, swimming in the ocean and my bare feet in the sand, dancing in the moonlight and having sex on the beach… that was what I wanted to do but he never listened to me or fulfilled these little dreams of mine. He always wanted it his way and I agreed because I loved him and was afraid to lose him. All I ever wanted was to live and to love someone and I wanna be loved by a man whose feelings for me are sincere and genuine. I wanna feel safe…and I want to give all of those feelings to someone who deserves all of this as much as I do. A normal, healthy life and a normal, healthy relationship. To always say yes to everything and to sacrifice myself and my wishes for someone else's success wasn't healthy, always playing the supportive role instead of the main role…that was far away from having an equal and healthy relationship. When there's one thing I've learned then it's that I have to love myself too and that I have a right to get my dreams fulfilled as well and that was the reason why I finally broke up with Ralph and the break-up brought me in this fucked up situation. I still don't know what is hurting me more. The fact that Ralph is blackmailing me or that he never truly loved me. I was just a means to an end. Maybe I should laugh about him. He's a weakling, a douchebag, unable to put something on his own, humanly a total loser and in general a loser in life too. He never cared about me or was overly interested in my life or cared about my mum. He only ever cared about money. I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with him, Loki, I thought it would be forever until I found out how he really is, how evil and devilish. He's a failure, a failure in a pinstripe suit. And now he wants to punish me for leaving him and spending ‘his’ money. He wants to ruin me and make me believe that I was the one who took advantage of him and lived at his expense.”
“But you worked for it, sweets. You worked harder for it than him. He has no right to demand and reclaim anything from you.”
“Yeah, you're right but there's nothing I can do about that. And it still feels like there's more about it, that I only know half of the truth about him. I'm sure there's more about it that he demands so much money from me.”
“Why didn't you report him, sweets?”
“He has connections everywhere, Loki. From the Police department to the best lawyers, he knows a lot of people with a lot of influence and he has all the money to pay them all well and buy himself free from criminal offenses. I wouldn't have a hint of a chance.”
“Why did you stay with him that long?”
“I don't know. Maybe because I didn't want to give up on my hopes that we could still have a future together. Maybe because we were too used to each other and clinging too much to old habits. Maybe it was the refusal to accept that our love had died at some point in time. Maybe I was afraid of being alone. I don't know. The only thing I know is that I didn't stay with him because of the money and the privileged lifestyle. The things I wanted weren't material. What I always missed over the years was the love and the adoration for each other. The richer he got the more heartless he became. The lack of love and care was the worst. And it took me too long to see it.” You began quietly sobbing and crying, every dam inside of you broke.
“Now you know my truth and I hope you understand now why I wanted to keep you out of this and left you that night. I told you that the real me has nothing to do with the pretty, carefree and sexy Sugar, my alter ego, the fake personality you fell in love with. I never intended to hurt you, Loki. I know I did and I'm so sorry for that. I totally understand if you want to go now because you deserve a better woman than me whose life is fucked up and whose sex life might be published all over the country in a few days.”
“You should know that I won't leave you alone, no matter what happens. Do you still not believe me that I'm in love with you? I don't care about what you did and why, you had no other choice and who am I to judge you? You still wanted me to stay despite what I did in the past. And you definitely didn't do anything wrong. I'll stay, I won't go.” Loki could deal with a lot of things. Hate, rejection, wrath, rudeness but not with you, his precious girl, sitting on your sofa blaming everything that had happened on you and crying a river because of that damn prick Ralph.
“Come here, sweets,” and he pulled you into his lap cradling you tight. He rubbed your back gently and you leaned against him, your head resting in the crook of his neck.
“I always knew that there's a wonderful, lovable and sweet person behind the mask named Sugar. I saw so many hints of it whenever we met and I'm glad that I have found this amazing woman. Have you any idea how strong you are? I promise you we'll figure out how to bring him down and we'll figure it out together.”
“Can you please hold me for a while? I need to be held by you, Loki,” and you began to cry again.
“Of course, as long as you want me to, sweets,” Loki kissed you softly on the forehead, rocked you slowly back and forth and just held you tightly until you felt better and had no more tears inside of you to shed.
“Please, sweets take my money and pay him and then…” he began to talk again.
“No, Loki, I won't do that,” you interrupted him quietly.
“Y/n please don't let us have this discussion again…” He begged you nicely.
“No, please don't get me wrong, Loki. It's not that I wouldn't take your money to pay him, which is extremely nice and generous of you. No, it's because I think he won't stop blackmailing me if I give him the money he demands from me. I'm pretty sure he won't stop blackmailing me because if he gets the money from me he might think I'm capable of paying more and that I can do it again and again. Believe me, he is that type of guy. He never gets enough, he's insatiable. I need to find another way. I'm afraid I need to talk to him again. Maybe… maybe I should… offer him to… to sleep with me one more time, maybe then he lets me go.” The thought made you shiver in disgust.
“This will never happen! He will never ever touch you again, y/n!” Loki said firmly and sternly. He carefully grabbed you by your shoulders and looked deeply into your teary eyes. “You're under my protection and I will never allow or accept this! Please, don't do this to me,” he told you desperately.
“I'm sorry, Loki, I'm so sorry, I won't do it, I promise but I really don't know what else to do…,” and you hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around your middle and pulled you closer to him.
“I'll find a way to stop him. I promise with all of my heart and soul, I'll stop him,” he cooed and buried his face in your hair. You were his, only his and he would protect you at all costs, always.
Out of nowhere your stomach growled and it made you both chuckle.
“It seems my queen is hungry and needs to get fed,” Loki answered and smiled at you.
“Your queen?” you asked him surprised and you were definitely hungry. No matter how big your problems were, you would never refuse to eat.
“Oh, right I forgot where you come from, I'm sorry Loki,” you continued genuinely and kissed his mouth tenderly.
“Yes, you're my queen, sweet thing and I can't have you starving. I have a suggestion. I'm doing groceries for some food and I cook something for us and you can clean up your apartment a bit. Then we eat and after lunch, you can finish your today's work and we spend the rest of the evening together… and the night if you want. What do you think, sweets? Would you like that?” Loki grinned from ear to ear, very proud of his irresistible proposal.
“You can cook?” you asked astonished. This man was just full of surprises and really cared about your well-being. And of course, you wanted him to stay.
“Yes, I can. I had a lot of time here to learn it,” Loki confirmed.
“Wow, you're really talented. You're amazing and I'm truly blessed with a man like you. Yeah, that's a really good plan. Thank you, Loki,” and you kissed him again. You could do this all day long and stay wrapped around him 24/7.
A knock at your entrance door interrupted your making out and you let go of each other's lips.
“Do you expect someone?" Loki asked and looked quizzically at you.
“No, I don't expect anyone,” and you got off of his lap. You took a sweatpants on and headed for the door to open it.
“Hello y/n, I'm very sorry for disturbing you but…”
“Walker!” and you hugged that rock of a man with genuine thankfulness. Your stormy embrace took him off guard and he shyly reciprocated your hug.
“You're not mad at me?” He asked you insecurely. You let go of him and looked at him.
“How could I be mad at you? You helped my man to find me and brought him back to me. And I'm so grateful for it, Walker. Thank you, thank you for your help, you risked a lot for us,” you told him and gave him an amicable kiss on his cheek. Walker was taken aback by it, he never expected this adorable behaviour of yours and he slightly blushed but he always knew what a wonderful person you were so he wasn't really surprised. You were lovely and that's why he always cared that much about you.
“Will you tell Rhea?” He wanted to know.
“No, Walker, I won't tell her. If she should find it out by herself I won't lie to her, she always has been good to me and so have you. I would explain to her why you did it and I would fight for you. You won't lose your job, I promise,” you reassured him. Loki appeared behind you and wrapped one arm around your waist, placed his hand on your stomach, kissed your cheek and looked at Walker, smiling.
“Thank you, y/n, I appreciate it. You have a heart of gold. Is everything okay so far?” Walker looked smilingly at both of you and Loki pulled you closer to his body, his chin leaning at your temple.
“Yes!” You both answered simultaneously and smiled brightly at Walker and he told you he was glad to hear that. He could see how happy you two were despite knowing that you were still in some kind of danger he didn't know anything about.
“Could you do me a favour, Walker?” Loki asked him.
“Of course, Sir.”
“Could you please drive me to a grocery store, I'd like to buy some foodstuff, this beautiful lady here in my arms is starving and I can't have that. I just get fully dressed and then we can drive off.”
“No problem, Sir, I wait by the car for you,”
“Thanks, Walker. Give me five minutes,” Loki said. Walker nodded once and smiled at you, turned on his heels and left. He could go with a good conscience and to see you so lucky in all your misery and together with the man you visibly loved was worth it to risk his job.
Loki got dressed and kissed you goodbye.
“You come back to me, right?”
“Of course, I will come back to you, sweets.” He held your head in his big hands, his thumb pads gently rubbing over the soft skin of your cheeks, and kissed the tip of your nose.
“Will you open the door for me when I'm back from doing the groceries, my precious girl?” He asked you softly. You took his hands gently from your face and walked over to your dresser to take something out of a small wooden bowl.
“You can let yourself in, handsome. Can't wait to have you back,” you said quietly, kissed him shortly but passionately and gave him your keychain with the key to your apartment. Loki smiled at you, astonished that you gave him your keys without hesitating.
“I'll be back soon, sweets,” he answered, gave you a further quick, loving kiss and left.
When Loki came back you had put things in order in your apartment, your table wasn't a complete disaster anymore and it would be much easier for you to get back to work later. He immediately began to prepare the ingredients he needed for cooking a tasty meal for you. You two decided to eat at the kitchen counter and you prepared two places with cutlery and napkins. Loki forbid you to do more than this. He wanted you to take some rest and he also wanted to spoil you with his cooking skills and his care. You couldn't do anything about it, so you obeyed and just watched him stirring in a pot and frying fish in a pan. It smelled delicious and Loki cooking in your small kitchen was a sight to behold. A literal demi-god, devastatingly beautiful and sexy in his tightfitting t-shirt, was cooking in your kitchen, and he did it for you.
You were on the edge of crying again. His ways to show you his love and affection were adorable and you were still convinced that you didn't deserve it. You rounded the kitchen counter and hugged him from behind, shoving your hands under his t-shirt and letting your fingertips trail over his defined abs in lazy circles up to his pecs to caress his chest hair. You couldn't resist touching him. You needed to reassure yourself that he was real and that you weren't daydreaming.
“Don't you dare distract me, sweet thing,” he groaned jokingly.
“I'm hungry,” you whined and pressed a firm kiss between his clothed shoulder blades.
“I know, sweets and it seems you want the dessert before the main course,” he teased you and turned around to face and hug you. Your hands were still under his shirt and caressed now the firm muscles of his back.
“The best comes last,” you teased him back and bit lightly into your lower lip. You felt the muscles of his thighs and his crotch tightly pressed against your lower parts and you let your hands trailing down to his butt, squeezing it and pressing him even closer to you.
“I think you have to be patient, sweet thing. Before you'll get your special dessert I have a sweet little surprise for you,” he said to increase your anticipation. It was just now that he realized that you had touched his bare skin again without his permission. Why did it feel that good, dangerously good? Your warm hands on his body lit a fire in him again and he wanted it to burn forever. Your hands on him were dangerous but one of the best feelings he ever felt.
“Can't wait for it,” you mumbled, tilted your head, and latched your lips onto his. You would never get enough of this man's soft lips and his delicious taste. If only you knew what it was that made his kisses that tasty.
“We can eat now, sweets. Take a seat, I will serve you the food,” and he let go of your mouth and body and prepared two dishes with the freshly cooked food.
“Et voilà, freshly fried salmon on a bed of spicy spinach leaves and some rice as a side dish with a light herbal sauce. Enjoy your meal, my love,” and Loki placed your dish with an elegant movement in front of you. Did he just call you ‘my love’? Never before had a man called you like this and you never felt so loved by a man. And it felt so normal like you two were in a serious relationship but maybe it went way too fast and way too easy.
“Thank you so much, Loki. It looks gorgeous,” and you dipped your fork into the fish and the spinach and shoved it into your mouth. The wonderful taste of it on your tongue made you moan almost indecently and your reaction made Loki smile. He loved how sensually you enjoyed food.
“It's delicious, I love it. It's the best dish I've eaten in two weeks.”
“I'm happy you like it, sweets,” Loki responded and he also started eating. You didn't talk much during your lunch, you just enjoyed each other's company. Loki's little surprise for you was a chocolate mousse with fresh strawberries and he couldn't resist feeding you this sweet treat, well knowing that you would never deny a good dessert.
In the afternoon you continued writing your thesis and Loki sat on your sofa, reading one of the books he had taken from your bookshelf. He didn't disturb you, he was just there and his sheer presence filled you with calmness and security. It was balm to your soul in all the stress and anxiety you were suffering these days. In the evening you watched a movie together but you didn't follow the plot because you soon ended up heavily making out and Loki carried you to your bedroom, his lips never leaving yours. You two hurriedly took your clothes off and continued kissing and touching each other's bare skin. You did it slowly and gently and you weren't in a hurry anymore as soon as you were cuddling under the sheets. All the touches made Loki's cock twitch and you felt the wetness between your thighs becoming more with every passionate kiss he gave you.
“Mark me, Loki. I want everyone to know that I belong to someone, that I belong to you,” you whispered to his ear and continued kissing him and playing with his curls.
“Are you sure, sweets? I don't want to bruise your perfect skin. You're too precious to me,” he answered softly and brushed your hair tenderly out of your face.
“Yes, I want it, I want you to mark me as yours,” you asked him.
He gave you a soft, passionate kiss first before his lips travelled further down to your throat and the most sensitive spot under your ear. He placed a tender kiss right to your pulse point before he sucked and nibbled that erotic zone of yours until he saw a violet mark appearing on your skin. He licked gently over the bruise and blew some air over it to soothe the sweet pain he had caused. All the moans you made and the way you were writhing underneath him while he was kissing you had already made him harden and you felt him rolling his hips against your thigh. Then he was on top of you, pressing his engorged cock against your thigh and moistening it with pre-cum. Your hard nipples rubbed against his chest with his every movement and it made him moan and tremble because it felt so good on his skin. Your hands were roaming all over his body and caressing him. He never wanted to miss this feeling ever again. He felt you shifting beneath him and opening your legs for him. He rolled his hips against yours and with his shaft he rubbed over your inner labia and your clit. Your soft moans and your tight grip on his back and his nape caused goosebumps on his heated skin. The tip of his cock teased your entrance and when he was about to slide in you tenderly stopped him.
“Don't you want to blindfold me? If you want you can tie up my wrists too,” you trusted him enough to allow him to do it and to surrender to him.
“No, I want you to touch me. Touch me here,” and he gently took your hand and placed it to his sternum where his heart was beating hurriedly. “Make me feel I'm breathing, I'm living, make me feel worthy of your touch, worthy of your love. I want you to look at me and I want to look into your eyes when you cum, sweets.” In his eyes, you saw he was serious and he truly wanted it.
“So whenever you blindfolded me, you did it not just for the kink. You wanted to hide from me. I didn't imagine the blue shimmer under your skin, right? It has something to do with you being a Jotun,” you concluded, tenderly running a thumb over his cheek.
“You didn't imagine it, I'm sorry that I told you otherwise. I was scared and I didn't want to scare you off. When I have strong feelings for the woman I mate with, I may lose control and can't keep up the appearance you're used to. And being touched by your hands just adds to the sensation. And also my skin feels different then. These are the reasons why I didn't want you to touch me.” Loki was afraid you would demand him to stop and get off of you immediately but you didn't.
“You don't scare me off, you never could,” you whispered and pulled him down to kiss him ardently. “Go on, Loki, I need you,” you pleaded him sweetly.
“Sure?”
“Absolutely sure,” and he slid himself inside you until he was completely seated inside of you.
His strokes were deep and slow and he made the sweetest love to you. He was so tender and careful, with utter gentleness he caressed and kissed every part of your body he was able to reach in this position.
“I love you so much, I don't want to live without you anymore. Please, never run away again, sweets,” he asked you between his lingering kisses.
“You're my everything, Loki. I missed you so bad, I'm so glad to have you back, that you haven't given up on me. I will never run away from you again,” you murmured and you scratched lightly with your fingernails over the soft skin of his muscled back. You gave featherlight kisses to his cheeks and his forehead. His skin was glistening with a thin layer of sweat and your touches made him shiver. His strokes got sloppier and his moans more intense. You felt how close he was but he still held back. He could tell you wouldn't cum yet, together with him. He looked at you with asking eyes, unsure if he should go on or take care of your pleasure first. You sensed his hesitation but you gave him a reassuring glance to continue.
“I'm okay, don't worry. It feels good, don't stop. Come for me, Loki. Come undone for me, my precious boy, I have you,” you whispered against his lips and his speed increased. He groaned silently, his hips drawing back and pushed forward again, his throbbing cock thrusting deep into your pulsating cunt. You weren't on the brink of climaxing yet but it didn't matter. You enjoyed the intimacy and how close he was to you, how soft his skin felt under your fingertips, and how passionately he gave himself to you. There wasn't any pressure for you to orgasm and whoever told you to make love in missionary pose is boring was a liar. Nothing felt better or more intimate and intense. You definitely enjoyed it.
“Let go, my love, fill me with your cum, make me happy, let me feel you” and you trailed your fingers gently up from his lower back to his shoulders and his biceps. When you felt his whole body tighten and his moans getting more desperate, you spread your legs wider and grabbed his ass cheeks and squeezed them firmly. You knew he was about to cum. “That's it, you're allowed to cum Loki, give it all to me. Don't hide, you can show me who you are,” you murmured, kissing and caressing his throat and his face with your lips and tightening your grip on his butt.
“Oh fuck…,” and with your name on his lips he came, violently and delightfully moaning, feeling your cunt clenching around his sensitive tip and when you felt him releasing his warm seed into you you came too, silently, calmly, intensely, bathing in the sweet feeling of being loved and craved. You kissed each other passionately, intensifying the orgasmic bliss. You locked your legs around his waist because you knew how much he liked that and also you were not yet willing to let him go. You loved this feeling of his still throbbing cock inside of you. His kiss burned torturously sweet on your lips and you could barely stand the feeling of the weight of his body on top of yours and you really had underestimated how much you needed this, how much you needed him.
Loki broke the kiss and rested his forehead against yours, trying to catch his breath. You both didn't say anything, you just looked at each other and enjoyed this feeling of satisfied lust and love. You caressed Loki's scalp and scratched his nape tenderly, watching the hint of the blue colour under his skin and the red shimmer in his eyes slowly fading away. Loki gently caressed your cheeks and kissed the tip of your nose tenderly.
“Are you alright, sweet thing?” he murmured, softly pressing a further tender kiss to the tip of your nose. Instead of an answer he felt your legs clenching more firmly around his hips and your deep purr of contentment made him feel safe and wanted.
“I really didn't scare you? I…I couldn't show it to you completely yet, I'm still too used to hiding it. I think I need some time to understand that you would accept me nonetheless,” Loki mumbled shyly.
“Take all the time you need. You decide when it feels right for you and then you can show me your ethereal beauty,” Loki kissed you tenderly and thankfully and couldn't believe that you were so understanding in every respect.
“I wished we had met under different circumstances,” you whispered while you gave him several pecks on his lips, some sadness in your voice.
“Honestly, I'm pretty sure we did,” Loki said, convinced and moved his body from yours to lay on his side. You rolled to your side too so you could face him and propped up on one elbow, your head resting on your palm.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember the day when we first met at Vivian's Velvet? Rain was pouring down that day. I had just called Rhea, made an appointment with an escort lady, which was you, and was on my way home when a hooded woman bumped into me.”
“This is nothing unusual in Manhattan.”
“It's not, you're right. I couldn't see her face but I remember the shoes she was wearing…dark-green trainers like yours. It's my favourite colour and that's why the trainers caught my eye,” Loki continued and you frowned and looked quizzically at him.
“You mean, we could've had a meet-cute, flirting, dating and all that lovely kitschy stuff others have when meeting accidentally somewhere? Because… I remember I was in a hurry to Rhea's agency and I bumped into someone with an umbrella… it was…”
“... me, the man with the umbrella. And I'm sure I saw you a second time, in the hallway of the hotel after our first night, when I lost my scarf. I went back to the hotel suite to look for it and a woman walked past me. I greeted her but she didn't answer. She was busy looking for something in her bag and I couldn't see her face, it was hidden behind her hair. And she was wearing dark-green trainers, the same again as yours.” You swallowed thickly, you clearly remembered that night.
“Yeah, I remember. I was looking for my biscuits in my bag because I was a bit hungry and… I didn't answer because I had my earplugs in and was listening to music, I didn't even recognise walking past someone.
“And there was a third time. In Central Park, one sunny afternoon I was sitting on a bench and reading a book. When I randomly looked up, two women passed by, I just saw them from behind, one of them talking nonstop to the other woman… and this woman…”
“...wore the same dark-green trainers like mine?” You completed his sentence. “I'm sure it was me and my friend Gabby, we met one afternoon in Central Park and on our way home she talked a lot,” you laughed and you couldn't believe how many chances there had been to meet Loki in the streets and he couldn't believe it either.
“Besides I don't know what I would have done, it's amazing how many times we ran into each other, how close we had been to each other without knowing it,” you realized.
“But it wasn't meant to be for us. Our way is a different one, more complicated but we'll go this way together. I'm sure everything should exactly happen the way it happened. At least it doesn't matter. We're together now and that's the only thing important to me. Come here, sweets,” and Loki pulled you into his arms and hugged you tightly.
“You're right, and I'm just happy to have you here. Thank you for being here and holding me.” You enjoyed his proximity for a moment before you continued to speak.
“Loki, I'm not sure if I'm ready for a new relationship yet. It terrifies me. I might need some time to get over my bad experience and I hope you understand that it's not easy for me to love someone again.”
“Your scars need time to heal, sweets and I'll give you all the time you need. I also know it's not easy to love me. I'm an otherworldly creature with a dubious past and how could I expect an angel like you to love a sinner like me that easily.”
“You stop saying that right away, okay? That's not the reason. You're wonderful! A loveable, attentive and sensual man, you're everything a woman can dream of… everything I'm dreaming of. It's me, Loki. My life is so fucked up, and you deserve better, a better woman than me…I really wish we would've met under different circumstances… the girl in the rain…”
“...bumping into the man with the umbrella…Now you stop saying that right away, sweets. You're gorgeous, and you are the one for me and I say it again, I'll give you all the time you need,” and he tightened his grip on you, kissing you softly.
“Loki, I would've slept with you without taking money from you because I never really wanted you to pay for me. I just want to be yours and yours only,” you whispered tiredly and snuggled up closer to him.
“And I would've paid any price for you just to be with you and to make sure that no other man touches and hurts what is mine,” he answered quietly with his wonderful velvety voice.
To the sound of his heartbeat, you fell asleep on his chest, protected by his strong arms which were still firmly wrapped around you as if he were afraid you could be gone when he woke up in the morning.
“I'll do this one thing for you and make sure that this son of a bitch will never hurt you again,” Loki whispered into the darkness of your bedroom and placed a tender kiss on your forehead. But you didn't hear him because you were already sleeping and with you closely snuggled up to him he closed his eyes and fell asleep too.
The next morning when you woke up the place in your bed next to you was cold and empty. For a moment you thought he was gone and you suddenly understand how he must've felt when he woke up that morning without you. It was a horrible feeling. But then you heard some noises from the main room of your apartment. You got off the bed and walked over to where the sounds came from. There was Loki, nearly fully dressed already and about to leave.
“What are you doing?” you asked him surprised.
“Hey, good morning, my sweet thing. You're awake. I didn't want to wake you up. I just need to do something before we have breakfast. I'll be back soon, my love. Take your time and enjoy a hot shower until I'm back. I won't take long, I promise,” he explained to you. Something seemed a bit off but you couldn't explain what it was.
“See you later, my sweet girl and I'll prepare a wonderful breakfast for you when I'm back,” and he kissed you passionately goodbye. There was something very erotic about him being fully dressed and you still being naked. You found it irresistibly indecent and arousing.
“Sounds very promising, handsome. I'll be waiting for you to come back soon,” you told him softly.
You smiled brightly after he had closed the door and you took a mug from the cupboard to make you a coffee. You couldn't wait to have him back soon though he had just left but you already missed him. You thought about yesterday and last night, about how Loki had been there for you and listened to you and about your adoration and blooming love for Loki when it suddenly hit you like a rock.
‘You're a fallen angel, someone has broken your wings and if I ever find this cruel prick who hurt you so much, I'll kill him’
‘Don't make any promises you'll never keep, Luke’
‘I'll find a way to stop him. I promise with all of my heart and soul, I'll stop him ‘
“Oh my god Loki, no… no nono no… Don't do this…no…” you panicked and nearly dropped your coffee mug. You suddenly knew what it was he needed to do before breakfast. He surely was on his way to pay a visit to Ralph. He was willing to risk his freedom for you, willing to help you, no matter what it might mean to him or the consequences it could have for him. Never before have you got showered and dressed that quickly. Hopefully, it wasn't too late to keep him from falling into calamity.
Last night before he fell asleep with you nestled in his arms, sleeping peacefully, he knew what he had to do. He remembered who he was and what he was capable of. He was a prince, a king, a fighter and still the god of mischief and trickery.
He was willing to write a new story for you and hopefully, he would be a part of it too in one way or another. He was on his way to fight for your honour and freeing you from Ralph and nothing could stop him from doing it.
🌹🥂🥃🌃🌹🥂🥃🌃❤️🌹🥂🥃🌃🌹🥂🥃🌃
@faesimps @gruftiela @lokisprettygirl @anukulee @fandxmslxt69 @foxherder @depressedpolishgirl @buttercupcookies-blog @chantsdemarins @fictive-sl0th @justjoanne242 @km-ffluv @stupidthoughtsinwriting @lovingchoices @wheredafandomat @lokixryss @huntress-artemiss @smolvenger
#loki#loki x female reader#loki x reader#loki x you#loki x reader fluff#loki laufeyson#loki x reader fic#loki x reader angst#loki x reader smut#loki x fem!reader smut#jotun loki x female reader#loki x female reader smut#loki x female reader angst#loki x female reader fluff#loki x fem!reader#loki x female reader au#Spotify
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Since you like talking about relationships, I've got one I've been rotating in my head but can't really figure out: Kal'tsit and Muelsyse. They're both extremely long lived and, judging from Mumu's song, it's a major source of pain for her. But their personalities, at least on the face, are so totally different. I imagine they'd take quite a while to figure each other's shit out, since neither seems inclined to speak clearly or trust anyone more than necessary, leading to a dynamic that evolves quite a bit, and for a long time, perhaps to the confusion of less observant peers.
With both being practically the urban fantasy equivalent of long lived archmages with aching hearts, as well as experts on their particular fields, there's quite a few parallels one could make between them and their interactions would be very fascinating indeed!
However, I think you touched upon something that I think is both important and a bit different from how you put it: A main difference between Kal'tsit and Muelsyse is, in fact, that Kal'tsit does allow herself to trust in others, while Muelsyse keeps her cards close to her chest, even among those who she supposedly trusts.
Kal'tsit isn't naive, but she does in fact allow herself to trust others... A whole lot, in fact. She believed and trusted Theresa, and still tries to carry out her goals, she trusts in Amiya, not just because Theresa chose her, but because she really believes she's got what it takes. She trusts Rhodes Island Operators so much that, even though she's a powerhouse herself, she doesn't handle everything that Rhodes Island has going on and even has some Operators she implicitly trusts enough to let them handle some seriously dangerous stuff either under her or by being her extension in other endeavors she can't be there for personally, such as Margaret Nearl and Elysium. Reluctantly, she trusts in Doctor's abilities and temperament, in part out of necessity, in part because love it or hate it, Theresa did trust Doctor quite a lot, and so she'll trust in Theresa's trust.
Muelsyse, on the other hand? Her 'trust' is hugely utilitarian. Her choice of joining up with Rhine Lab was born out of necessity, as she judged that Kirsten and company would be her very best bet to achieve her own goals, but that backstabbing environment doesn't particularly allow one to make good friends or trust anyone too easily. In fact, during Mansfield Break, Muelsyse quite literally couldn't compute why Silence would be helping Anthony (Mountain) without ulterior motives: The fact that Silence would do it first and foremost out of the goodness of her heart was unbelievable to Muelsyse, because it goes against everything she's learned, especially in Rhine Lab. In a way, one could argue this is where she started changing a little, and it brought to mind how Saria was legitimately trying to be there for Ifrit because Saria legitimately holds affection for her, which Muelsyse thought was a load of barnacles before, at least without any sort of further objective or ulterior motive. Hell, Muelsyse's character song is a perfect fit for her: Chipper and energetic, yet, the lyrics are very sad and lonely.
I think a dynamic between Kal'tsit and Muelsyse would fundamentally be very... Curt, initially. All business from Kal'tsit's end, because Muelsyse has yet to earn her trust, all plastic smiles and idle hands from Muelsyse, because unless Kal'tsit can verifiably be of use to her beyond being a bigwig at RI, she doesn't need to know her.
But Kal'tsit grows on you, you know? Doctor's not the only one with those people skills... Perhaps they are at another level altogether, given they can handle even the freakiest freaks and weirdos and wrangle friendship out of them, but to say Kal'tsit isn't formidable in the arena of trust is but a lie. She'd get in, I'm sure. Muelsyse would see someone akin to her in ways other Terrans simply could never achieve, and while they are very different in terms of demeanor... Well, so are Kal'tsit and Closure, and Kal'tsit and Warfarin, two good friends of hers. Kal'tsit can definitely deal with Muelsyse's antics, and I think Muelsyse would enjoy seeing someone so similar to her in so many ways that can also allow herself to trust others. Maybe Kal'tsit could be important in just that: Muelsyse allowing herself to trust more.
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Out of Style
-> Suna Rintaro x Fem!Reader
Chapter 2: Digitial Duet
Summary: The following night, Suna can't help but find himself lured by your online persona.
Content Warnings: celebrity au, rockstar!suna rintaro, actress!reader, online interactions, band dynamics, fluff, sexual undertones, mention of smoking, character study, sensual imagery, eventual smut
Word Count: 1.7k words
Author's Note: I'm ngl lead singer!atsumu does things to me.... also, bonus points for you if you guess what osamu, aran and kita's roles are in the band
Series Masterlist | Read on AO3
Suna’s public account is filled with carefully curated images sent by his publicist, or sometimes it is simply just posted by a poor intern whose only job is analyzing and curating his online presence. He tried maintaining a sense of autonomy at first. After all, he only becomes a star after being on social media for quite a while. He quite liked it, the unseriousness of it all but too many sites have risen and fallen since then, and he’s realized he might be too old or too busy to get used to the new features.
So… Suna’s not one to spend a lot of time on social media, barring the one private Instagram account his sister, Reiko, set up for him. It’s private, it has the only photo ever posted on the account — a selfie of him and his sister from the same day she set the account up. She’s smiling at the camera, perfectly posed while he’s right behind her, his face is twisted, caught off guard. You could say he was objectively ugly in the photo.
Hmm? He stares down at the picture. Seems like he never really deleted it. He switches to his public account.
His eyes move to scan his phone screen for a brief second before he finds it. He’s still not used to how different everything is from the last time he used this app, and it’s only been two weeks. How can you change so much in so little time? And why would you even?
His finger taps to reach the search option, his fingers moving to type in your name. Immediately, he gets a list of results — a verified account on top with a profile picture of you. He looks at the rest of the accounts below yours, a list of fan accounts of you.
He clicks on your account.
When the screen finally opens, Suna is accosted by your familiar face, scattered across the range of tiny boxes.
He clicks on the first picture that catches his immediate eye, it’s a picture of you sitting outside an establishment. Your shoes are scattered beside you as you smile sweetly at the screen. He smiles.
Your profile actually looks like photos you are posting yourself, but well, so does his, he thinks. Frowning, he scrolls, and he scrolls. He feels like an intruder as his scrolling continues, but he can’t seem to stop for some reason. The photos are like a collection of your life — it’s full of photos of you, your friends, co-stars, your sister, and your cat. Sometimes, the occasional movie promotion, a fashion event, or something like that.
And then he stumbles upon it, it’s a photo of you wrapped in a blazer, as the rain pours in the foreground. And you — you’re twisting your head ever so slightly to address the camera directly with your eyes, and you manage to hold his eyes to yours for quite a well somehow. He can’t help but think if your lips are purposefully quirked with a ghost of a smile. He lingers far longer than he’d care to admit but eventually, he scrolls again, as one does.
Only to wash away his opinion of you, he says. Only to get accustomed and to get rid of this new feeling, he says.
He then stops at another picture, a promotional picture, but it’s not for your movie. It’s for this band. Scarlet Riot.
He remembers this band, during a meeting where his manager was very upset with the band for Scarlet Riot’s new single surpassing his band, Black Velvet’s single on the rankings. He remembers dozing off during the meeting and being forcefully woken up again, and again, and again until the manager had enough and sent him back home. He happily accepted.
He doesn’t know anything about Scarlet Riot, apart from the fact that they are apparently cut from the same cloth as his band but yes, he notices how there isn’t much visible. Not your face, not the guy’s face but he seems to be holding you and your very lightly covered body — just you in your bra, and your underwear to be candid.
The said faceless guy is clothed entirely with one hand grasping the small of your back, and the other one holding your leg up as you seem to lift it in tandem.
He immediately clicks off the post, switching to his official account as he searches for your profile.
His hands hover for a second over the send button before he clicks on it.
To be fair, he isn’t technically lying in his texts because he is now rewatching your movie to drown out the anticipation of your response, but at the moment he only had enough heed to hit send on the message then, and he didn’t know how long that would last.
He eyes his abandoned phone on the teak table in front of him, as he watches your movie. It currently has a conversation between two guys in the movie, and honestly, he couldn’t care less about them.
He couldn’t help it. He looked up the video, and he admits he can find himself agreeing with the rest of the 14 million people who seem to find the appeal. He pauses the video, and it pauses at a picture-worthy shot if he could say so himself — your eyes are heavy-lidded resulting in a sultry expression, akin to a languid panther moving through the tall grass, that makes something primal rake right beneath the confines of his body.
H clicks off from the video, turning off his phone as he unpauses your movie continuing to chomp on the rest of his pasta.
—
The next day, Suna found himself on auto-pilot making his way through the band's rehearsal studio. The place was cramped and confining — just as he secretly liked. It’s always overfilled with a diversified jumble of instruments, amps, and other recording equipment.
He adjusts his guitar strap as he began the process of plugging his instrument in. He’s early today, so it affords him the opportunity to observe as his bandmates and studio staff trickle in, one by one, as he sips on his coffee. He’s not usually a fan of hot beverages, preferring cooler, or lukewarm drinks but today, he needs the searing warmth to keep him from biting off his bandmates’ heads.
Atsumu, the drummer, finally saunters in with his signature impish grin that sent a surge of irritation coursing through Suna's veins. It’s just lack of sleep talking, he reassures himself as Atsumu takes a seat near him seating himself behind the drum set.
"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Atsumu quipped, his voice cutting through the studio's ambient hum Suna grew comfortable in.
Suna's retort was swift, a deadpan stare, as he took another sip. "Don't call me that.”
“Well, you look the part.” Atsumu remained undeterred, as he reclined against the seat, a smirk etched upon his features.
Suna doesn’t respond, his attention returning to the coffee cup, as he took another sip.
“Where's everyone else?” Suna set aside the guitar, carefully placing his chair as he weaved through to discard the now-empty cup into the bin.
"Aran’s out for a smoke. Osamu’s stuck in traffic, surprise surprise. Kita’s at a shoot. He should be late today," Atsumu replied.
Suna's response was a barely discernible hum as he sat back in his chair. He occupied himself with tuning his guitar, his fingers moving with practiced familiarity, attuned to the nuances of each string.
They continued to wait in silence, Atsumu’s soft humming withheld. Not that Suna particularly took issue with it, in fact, it was a bit soothing to exist in his space, until Atsumu spoke again that is.
"So, you seemed to have an interesting night.” Atsumu's tone was teasing, his words laden with an underlying implication that Suna found distinctly annoying.
A warning glint flickered through Suna's eyes, his response lax but firm. "No idea what you’re talking about."
Atsumu leaned back against his seat, a smile playing on his lips. "Oh, come on now. We all saw you last night. Never knew you could physically bring yourself to smile."
Suna's eyes narrowed. “We were just talking.”
Atsumu barely hummed in response, but Suna’s annoyance seemed to seep back under his skin – he didn't want to engage in this conversation, especially not with Atsumu, who generally had a talented knack for pushing his buttons early in the morning.
Atsumu waggled his eyebrows as they raise up. "So, what kind of talkin' were ya doin', hmm?"
Suna shot a sharp look at Atsumu, his fingers pausing his task on the guitar. "None of your business."
“Okay,” Atsumu responds and Suna’s relieved. For all his many complaints about Atsumu, he truly does know how to read people, and as much as he seemed to like pushing boundaries, he never truly seemed to cross them.
“Just be careful,” Atsumu speaks up, Atsumu's tone was tinged with a rare sincerity. Suna finds it a bit too jarring like he’s an alternate reality.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just — Relationships with other people like us never truly work out, ya know.”
“I know,” Suna responds, as his eyes flit down to his guitar. Suna's fingers slipped on the strings, creating a dissonant sound.
Atsumu sighs as his voice comes out in a subdued murmur, “I should know better than anyone,” before Osamu's voice carries from outside to inside the studio, disrupting the momentary exchange.
Osamu walks through pushing the entry door as he stomps over to where they are.
“Get off my seat, ya imp,” he says, tossing his back to the side before he proceeds to push Atsumu off the chair, and almost like he was slapped out of it — Atsumu’s back to his usual self as his hands rise up to pull Osamu’s hair.
At the backdrop of the familiar dance between Osamu and Atsumu, Suna pulls out of his phone and the muted buzz against his thigh.
Ping! His eyes flit up to the top of his phone. It’s you. He clicks on the notification.
yn_ln : sorry i passed out but wow, flattery and a movie review?
yn_ln : i'm honored
Suna smirks as he taps on the screen. His fingers seem to type out a reply before he's even fully aware of it.
#haikyuu#haikyuu!!#suna rintarou#haikyuu imagines#haikyuu x reader#suna x reader#suna fluff#haikyuu scenario#atsumu miya#atsumu#osamu#suna rintaro#suna rintaro imagine#suna rintaro x y/n#suna rintaro fic#suna rintaro x you#suna rintarō#suna rintaro haikyuu#suna rintaro scenarios#suna rintaro x yn#suna rintaro fluff#suna rintaro x reader#suna headcanons#suna x y/n#hq suna#suna rintaro x reader angst#haikyu smut#haikyu x reader#haikyuu smut#haikyuu x y/n
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