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talenlee · 1 year

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2023, The 10th Year Of Press.Exe

New Post has been published on PRESS.exe: 2023, The 10th Year Of Press.Exe

Hey, it’s January! That’s an odd-numbered month, which means there’s not going to be a theme here. It’s also the start of the year and there’s going to be a bunch of stuff getting cleared out from 2022 so it’s not going to have a proper theme but it’ll definitely have something… themey.

What’s coming? Well:

February is a month of Smooches!

April is a month of Self Indulgence!

June is a month of Pride!

August is a month of Tricks!

October is a month of Dread!

December is a month of ‘Ween!

Then, each month, look forward to

A How To Be article talking about a character in 4th edition D&D

A worldbuilding article talking about building my setting of Cobrin’Seil, or building settings in general

At most one article on 3.5 D&D, one on 4e D&D

Each month I’ll show you at least one article on Magic: The Gathering, where I’ll show you this month’s daily custom cards, and well, we have a big special project for that, which we’ll talk more about soon.

An article talking about an OC, usually from City of Heroes, but hey, wide open world.

One piece of graphic design for a t-shirt, mask, or sticker

A story pile article each monday, with at least one anime a month (loose target)

A game pile article every friday, with at least one video a fortnight (harder target)

Each month I’m going to present at the end of the month, a summary of the game dev I’ve been doing that month, which is also going to be built out of articles posted on other social media spaces.

Ah.

Yes.

Other social media spaces.

You know, like Twitter, where I used to do this all the time.

I’m writing this back in December, of course. I don’t know what’s going on with Twitter. But I think it’s probably bad, and I think I’m enjoying not having to be on a space that predominantly is known for everyone on it screaming about how bad it is. So what I’m going to try and do going forward is do things like dev threads over on my Mastodon, which lets me do long-form threading with graphics, and search my own history. That’s what I really liked about what twitter gave me. I’ll also be presenting things on Cohost and Patreon to see what the audiences there want to say.

Basically, what you’ll find where:

Drafted article ideas where you can comment and give me direct suggestions where I’ll be able to meaningfully engage? Cohost.

Threads for showing ongoing progress on projects where I’m primarily taking notes on my own work? Mastodon.

Places for answering polls and questions about the game development I’m doing where you get to provide meaningful input into things I’m doing? Patreon.

Just the video articles? Youtube!

Each of these platforms is going to do a different job, and that’s important. I need to stop treating you as if you’re going to different sources for content firehoses. What I want you to do is come to my blog to look at the best of my material, and look at those other platforms as places you can go if you want more. This blog hosts articles. Those places are for social interaction, in different ways.

Particularly, this plays into the new way I’m approaching Brainstorm posts. Instead of having each month open with a post explaining that month’s game project, which can feel a bit like an open space, my intention is to present a link to the month’s brainstorming thread on Mastodon. Mastodon serves a purpose that the blog doesn’t necessarily, where it allows for lots of small additions, maintained in reverse chronological order, threaded on one another. At the start of each month, there’s going to be now, a post summarising that thread. This also stops cutting off a bit of extra time, where scheduling meant sometimes a month was more like three weeks of working on something rather than 31 days.

Below the fold, though, there’s some reflection on the history of this blog, why we have ten years of Press, and how I feel about realising this is now one of the longest ongoing projects I’ve ever had.

Goodness me

This blog started out as a byproduct of a change I wanted to make in my life when I was 29, turning 30. I realised that I’d spent my twenties trying things and starting a dozen projects but finishing nothing, which meant that all the ideas I had and all the concepts I was sure of had resulted in a lot of incomplete things. I’d had it in my head that I’d write a book or become a videogame maker or something like that. I felt, in the back of my mind, that I was always working on a thing, and any day now I’d make the thing.

I hadn’t.

I mean, there were things I made! I made things like a D&D setting and outlines of ideas, and D&D prestige classes and feats and magical items, I had been working on these small things but I’d never internalised that ‘small things’ and ‘big things’ were still just things. I mean I had a whole D&D setting, which one of my friends had printed out and put in a book, but that wasn’t a thing for people to read. It was a thing for me to be happy I had (which is noble enough on its own).

This blog is a thing that charts to my life, and now it charts to this particular period of my life. The year I turned 30, I made a plan. I would write one thing a week, a short story being the aim, and at the end of the year I would have 52 things that were made ‘together’ and that would count as a book. It had no option but to count as a book. Fox made this blog, which I think was her idea and it was a good one. Give me a place I had to put things, after a period where we once shared a blog on another site.

I wrote that first book. I’ve told this story before – about midway through the year I realised just how much I wanted a plan, how I wanted structure. I was using the blog in a very random way, and there’s probably a bunch of stuff back there that’s a big bad or meanspirited in ways I’d probably not be wild about now. I think I should keep things up, generally speaking, to make sure I’m accountable for things I said and so that if I did something that deserves an apology, I can actually do that. But I did write that book, The Sixth Age Of Sand.

It’s not great. I mean I like some of the ideas in it a lot, I like the way that it built bits of a world. I kind of like the idea of how a modern setting becomes a magical setting, with the idea of it being like buildups and thresholds and I liked the idea that the previous civilisation that we never knew about on earth was entirely made up of crabs.

In the November of that year, of my first year of university, while studying for my first exams, I wrote my first book for Nanowrimo – I wrote Immortal Engine, which was much smaller, tighter, and built out of a burning desire to finish a story that I could make with a structure. I like that book, not because it’s amazing writing or because it’s very good, but because it was my first book, and that book required a world that then became the setting for my next book, One Stone.

One Stone is a book that even now I’m proud of.

When I started this blog, I started making this blog because I imagined I would become a videogame journalist who wrote books on the side. Those were two things I liked, a lot, conceptually. Still kinda do. But what happened along the way was being believed in by teachers, and guided by friends and enabled by an audience. To shift from I think games doing this are bad to the next level of well why don’t I do things differently to suddenly… there are games. We made games. We made games, because again, Fox has been instrumental to this.

It’s been a weird few years. I became a game maker. I grappled with the challenges of self-identity. I started a youtube channel, because I was intrigued by the different ways you could use video to explain ideas. I acquired a stalker at one point. I got a dog! I progressed through multiple types of conceptual rage and started writing about my material conditions. I became an anarchist, which I’m still cautious about saying because I’m afraid the boss of anarchism will find me and yell at me for saying it and I know that’s dumb.

There’s a sort of soppy inclusivity that internet content creation wants to induce you to, the ‘we’ did it, you did it with me, you, the reader, you helped, and you totally did! I really like to imagine that someone is reading what I have to say, and that alone is enough to make sure I do it. I remember someone letting me know they laughed at something I said about Touhou predating Dark Souls and…

I smile.

I throw a lot of words out there and they wouldn’t be here if not for Fox. I press post because I imagine my audience, I visualise people who are interested in the kinds of things I want to talk about in the way I want to talk about them and bless, some of you are out there and have found it.

This blog does give me stressful nights sometimes, when I feel I haven’t done enough, written enough, worked enough for the Patreon dollars I receive, and the inherent anxiety of knowing the Queue Hungers. but I still love this feeling, this moment, when I’m able to bring my focus to bear, and let words spill.

Thank you for showing up, and thank you for telling me what you think about what I do.

Hey, wanna know why the blog is called press.exe?

I’ll tell you at some point this year.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

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emutempo · 3 years

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Zero to Hero (domestic SuperCorp one-shot)

Summary: Lena gets off work early and thinks she’s going to surprise Kara on date night…

Posted to my Ao3 here.

Notes: I'm kinda new to SuperCorp and this little one-shot popped into my head and refused to leave until I wrote it out. I've never written SuperCorp before so hopefully it’s not too ridiculous and you liked it. If you did, let me know! And if you didn't, I guess you're welcome to let me know that too? More notes at my Ao3 link.

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Lena sighed louder than she meant to. She was stuck in a conference room with her team of lawyers presenting her with a tedious update on the contractural affairs for her latest acquisition.

She’d been through so many of these over the years, each just as dull as the next. But, Lena valued every person working for her and she hated to seem like was bored or not giving them her full attention. Lena loved running L Corp and she was not the kind of CEO to sit by and take a paycheck without putting in the work. But she thrived in the lab, looking through a microscope and in the boardroom making deals. Not so much with power points crammed with legalese in tiny fonts. But, it was hard to focus and her mind wandered again...

Tonight was date night with Kara. Dinner at 7 and a movie on the couch after. For tonight, Kara had insisted on cooking her mom’s lasagne recipe, one of the few carbs Lena let herself eat without restriction. At least, I’ll work off the calories later tonight with Kara.

Lena fought the corners of her mouth to keep them neutral. She didn’t want to have to come up with some excuse for why she was grinning like a cheshire cat about multi-million dollar deal structuring. Although, she was looking forward to the acquisition of the new company’s tech… Shit, focus Lena.

Luckily, when Lena brought her eyes back to the power point, she realized no one had noticed her day dream. And when she was sure all eyes were on the power point, she glanced stealthily at her watch — 4:57PM. Oh thank God. She had a video conference call at 5PM. Although she was itching to get home to Kara, she was glad for the excuse to get out of this meeting even if it was just for another meeting. Lena waited for the right moment to interrupt…

“My apologies gentlemen but I have a meeting in a few minutes in my office. Could we pick up with the horizontal integration plan on Monday? I am really grateful for all the hard work you’ve been putting in on this deal and I’m personally very excited for this acquisition.”

The lawyers nodded and thanked her for her time. Lena shook their hands as she left the conference room and walked briskly back to her office. Only one more meeting and then I’m home with Kara.

Lena pulled out her tablet and opened an email with some tech mock-ups. She turned the corner, heading to her office and approached Jess’s desk, where Jess is just getting off the phone.

“Did we set the call up for video and screen share, Jess? I know it’s last minute but I want to share those mock-ups we just got from R&D with Mr. Garcia.”

Jess turns to her computer and pulls up her calendar, “Actually Ms. Luthor, Mr. Garcia had to reschedule. His assistant just called. He had a family emergency. His father had a heart attack.”

Lena stops in her tracks, stricken for a moment. “Oh no. What hospital is he at?”

Jess shakes her head. “I’m not sure but I can find out?”

Lena nods. “Yes, please if you can. And when you do, please send him some flowers. I’ll send you a note to include.” Lena took a step to her office but turned back to Jess, “And if you can find an update on his condition, let me know. I’ll have our doctors look at his charts and see if we can offer any help.”

Jess nodded and turned back to her computer, picking up the phone and dialing as Lena heads back into her office.

Lena’s brow creased, worried for the man and his family. She had only met with Mr. Garcia a few times but she was struck by his humility and clear love for his family. When he explained the motivation behind his prototypes meant to help his daughter with mobility issues, Lena teared up. Listening to him describe watching her laugh and smile as she played with other kids, never minding her body’s limitations… it had hit Lena hard.

Lena turned to her desk and typed out a quick note to Mr. Garcia and sent it off to Jess before logging out. Whatever she could do to help Mr. Garcia, she would.

With her things collected, Lena headed out of her office and said good night to Jess. She rode the elevator down to the garage and climbed into the car waiting for her. With the lull of the car rolling down the street back to her place, Lena slipped back into her memories and thought about why she had teared up in front of Mr. Garcia.

But she didn’t have to think about it much at all. She knew why: Kara. Lena finally understood what it felt like to have something as precious as having Kara in her life. Before she met Kara, she'd been a vault of emotion, never showing a drop of it to anyone. But since Kara... well. She had trouble holding back, even in front of potential future colleagues. Damn you, Kara. Even now, sometimes she still couldn’t believe she and Kara were together. Like… together-together.

When they’d first admitted their feelings for each other and took their first steps in their relationship, Lena would often become overwhelmed with anxiety. Consumed by the fear it wasn’t real. That she’d just imagined Kara confessing her feelings for Lena, Kara kissing her so sweetly the first time, Kara staying the night for the first time…

The fear would take over so intensely that Lena would stand in front of her or Kara’s apartment door, terrified to knock. Terrified Kara wouldn’t be there… or worse.

The first couple of times, Kara had rushed to the door to find Lena having a panic attack, struggling to catch her breath and paralyzed with fear. So, Kara had started listening for Lena’s heartbeat when she was on her way home and made sure she was at the door, waiting for Lena every time. It had taken a few months and quite a few therapy sessions with Kara to overcome the anxiety but eventually the panic attacks stopped.

But, even though the attacks stopped, Kara didn’t stop showing up at the door when Lena would come home — even after Lena assured Kara that she didn’t have to do that anymore. It had become one of their ‘things’ and for Lena’s part, her heart sang every time Kara met her at the door. It was the part of her day she looked forward to most.

The sound of the partition lowering in the car took Lena out of her reverie.

“We’ve arrived, Ms. Luthor.”

Lena slung her purse over her should and thanked her driver before leaving the car and shutting the door. Suddenly, she remembered again... she was coming home early and hadn’t bothered to text Kara a headsup. It’ll be a surprise then… Well, not exactly. Kara would have heard her coming. Lena smiled to herself as she pictured the look on Kara’s face when she heard Lena approaching. She didn’t care if she surprised Kara or not but, just in case, she would try to calm her heart and not give herself away…

Lena walked across her lobby at a brisk pace, nodding to her doorman before entering the elevator and pressing the PH button for her penthouse. As the elevator rose, taking her closer and closer to home and to Kara, Lena took deep breaths and focused on calming her heartbeat, failing a bit when the elevator dinged and stopped at her floor.

Quietly, Lena took out her keys and unlocked her door slowly. To her surprise, Kara wasn’t on the other side, waiting for her. Before Lena can set down her bag and keys, she hears music carrying from the kitchen…. Is that gospel music?

Lena closes the door quietly, and strains to hear the music as it fades out. There’s a beat of silence and just as Lena things the music's off and opens her mouth to call out to Kara, she hears the vibrant notes of another song start up…. Oh. Oh my God.

Lena can’t stop the fat grin that’s quickly growing across her face. She sets down her bag and keys. Then tip-toes down the foyer as we hear Kara’s voice start to sing over the track.

“Bless my soul! Herc was on a roll. Person of the week in ever Greek opinion poll.”

Lena slowly leaned around the corner to find… Kara wearing an apron, spatula in hand as she sings and acts out the lyrics. Lena watched in awe as Kara mimed brushing dirt off her shoulder as she sang...

“ What a pro, Herc could stop a show.”

Swinging the spatula, Lena watches Kara karate kick into the air, as she sings with some gravel in her voice…

“Point him at a monster and you're talking SRO.”

And Lena bit her hand to stifle a giggle. A grin of admiration and total love in her eyes.

“He was a no one. A zero, zero.”

Kara made a zero with the index finger and thumb on her non-spatula hand and pumped her hand in the air to each ‘zero.’ Then she made her hand into a ‘megaphone’…

“Now he's a honcho, He's a hero! Here was a kid with his act down pat.”

“From zero to hero in no time flat. Zero to hero just like that.”

Kara snaps her fingers and grabs a glass dish. She bends over, giving Lena a very nice view as she opens the oven door and places the dish on the rack, singing all the while.

“When he smiled, The girls went wild with, Oohs and aahs.”

Lena can’t help herself. She oohs and aahs silently along with the lyrics, never taking her eyes off Kara. So this is why Kara didn’t hear her.

Lena recognized this song from one of their many Disney nights even though she wasn’t totally sure which movie it was from. Hercules, was it? But Lena didn’t have much time to think on that as her favorite part was coming up and she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop herself.

Ever since the first time Lena had sung along to Part of Your World with Kara on one of their other Disney movie nights, she promised herself if she could ever elicit that kind of look from Kara again — one of pure awe and adoration — she would. Lena watched Kara close the oven as she sang…

“And they slapped his face, On ev'ry vase… On—”

Loud enough to be sure Kara heard her, Lena sang out…

“On ev’ry vahse”

Kara whipped around and squealed in surprise, almost knocking over a large Peppermill next to the stove top. A flash of her stealy eyed look crossed her eyes for the briefest moment before they landed on Lena. Then, a flash of embarrassment at getting caught singing and dancing so intensely.

(From appearance fees and royalties, Our Herc had cash to burn.)

But Lena knew Kara wasn’t actually embarrassed. This wasn’t the first or even hundredth time Lena had watched Kara sing her favorite Disney songs… in the car, in the bathtub and the shower, at the gym with Lena, on walks in the park, lying in bed, waking up together, falling asleep together.

And Lena loved every second of it. Especially when Kara would carry Lena on trips into the sky to dance under a meteor shower or just lay in the clouds together under the stars. More often than not, Kara would sing to her. Sometimes it was When You Wish Upon a Star. Or Somewhere Out There. But Kara’s favorite to sing to Lena was I See the Light. Lena still hadn’t seen that film yet but there was something hopeful about it and the way Kara looked at her that made all of her anxieties melt away. Made her believe that she and Kara’s love for each other was as eternal as the stars.

But Lena didn’t have long to linger on the thought before Kara’s embarrassment was quickly replaced by a big, golden smile and a blur whooshing across the living room. Before Lena realized it, Kara had captured Lena in a hug and peppered her face with kisses. They stared happily at each other for a half second before Kara pulled back with a twinkle in her eye. Lena giggles because she knows what’s coming.

( Now nouveau riche and famous )

Kara throws her head back and snaps her fingers as she sings…

“He could tell you, What’s a Grecian urn!”

Lena giggles and playfully swats at Kara’s butt, pushing her back toward the kitchen, following a couple steps behind. Kara turns so she’s walking backward to the kitchen, still singing and dancing but now with Lena as her audience.

Lena’s grin grows as Kara smiles through her singing. Miming the lyrics, Kara puts her hand up to her forehead like she’s searching for something…

“ Say amen, Ah there he goes again, Sweet and undefeated.”

Kara flashes 10 fingers at Lena…

“And an awesome 10 for 10!”

Kara bit her lip, trying (but not really) to hide the smirk on her face as she brought her arms up and flexed…

“Folks lined up, Just to watch him flex…”

Lena bit her lip, HARD, and shook her head. Kara knew what she was doing and stopped trying to hide her smug look as she bounced her shoulders and puffed her chest to…

“And this perfect package, Packed a pair of pretty pecs. Ow.”

Lena couldn’t help it anymore. She shook her head and locked eyes with Kara while she slid her blazer off in that sexy way she knew Kara liked. Now it was Lena’s turn to look smug.

“Hercie, he comes, he sees--”

Kara froze as the song continued in the background. She caught Lena’s eye and tilted her head slightly. Lena could tell she was listening for her heartbeat. Not that Kara needed to. She didn’t need her super hearing to pick up on what Lena wanted.

Kara’s eyes shot up to Lena’s once she heard the pace of Lena’s heart pick up. And at that, Lena turned and walked straight toward her bedroom. Lena didn’t need to have super hearing either to hear Kara scrambling to turn on the oven timer or to hear the ripping sound of Kara tearing the apron off.

(He showed the moxie brains, and spunk

From zero to hero a major hunk

Zero to hero and who'da thunk)

Lena barely made it into the bedroom before a whoosh of sound rushed in behind her, slamming the bedroom door shut. Lena grabbed Kara and pulled her in close.

"How long do we have on the lasagne?"

Kara leaned in, hovering her lips over Lena's, "forty-five minutes."

"Great. More than enough time to work up an appetite before dinner."

(Who put the glad in gladiator?

Hercules!

Whose daring deeds are great theater?

Hercules

Isn't he bold?

No one braver

Is he sweet

Our fav'rite flavor

Hercules, Hercules ...

Bless my soul

Herc was on a roll

Undefeated

Riding high

And the nicest guy

Not conceited

He was a nothin'

A zero, zero

Now he's a honcho

He's a hero

He hit the heights at breakneck speed

From zero to hero

Herc is a hero

Now he's a hero

Yes indeed!)

#supercorp #karaxlena #kara x lena #disney #hercules #ao3 #supergirl #fluff #domestic fluff

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chessdaze · 3 years

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Since I outed myself with an ask to phoenix about an event I’ll go ahead and post something about my schedule for three wishes here. I won’t put this under read more just for visibility, so sorry ahead of time for clogging your dashes.

As a note ahead of time THESE ARE ALL SUBJECT TO CHANGE, I DO NOT GIVE ANY DATES CAUSE I’M NOT PUTTING MYSELF ON A DEADLINE. I’m doing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully, others as well but please don’t rush me. I’m sharing this just to be open about my plans and what I’m working on, and perhaps for the motivations / reminders it’ll give me - not to give anyone a reason to come at me. Okay? Okay.

Not counting small comics or misc posts of art and info or fics:

First order of business is for me to finish drawing all of Silas’ outfits and Design the Enchantress. I have Silas almost completely done sketch wise, so I’ll work on the sketches of the Enchantress next and then line/color and post those. I might also do some side character designs as I have a few that might show up here and there (but they’ll just be like the ghosts in canon, occasionally there and then you don’t see them for fucking ever). I WOULD do outfit design sheets for EVERY character BUT....that would be a lot of work. I might end up just making polls like ‘who would you like to see outfit references for’ and then work on them at my own pace. That way you guys get what you want first and I still have fun designing everyone’s outfits regardless.

Second order of business is my event I mentioned in the ask to phoenix, BATTLE OF THE BANDS! I accidentally went full game dev on the documentation (because if I’m not gonna use all that documentation homework I did for that game art degree NOW then when am I going to??), but I’m actually pretty far along planning wise since I’ve been working on it when I needed break from art things. Right now I have about half of the main story of the event outlined. My order of doing things is Summary of Story > Outline of items / mini games > Figure out what characters were going to be in the event > Main story outline > Card Story outlines > Finalized story and Card Stories > Art Assets. So it might take awhile before I post any art for it. But if people show interest in me posting some of the in progress things feel free to send me an ask every now and then and I can update you! Because of the ask and permission given, Evonie from @phoenix-manga ‘s Diamond Crown Academy will make an appearance in the event, as well as Three Wishes OCs made by @tsukikoayanosuke (Bridgette) and @missnekonyan (Donelle) as the clubs their characters are involved with the event overall. I’m really excited I got permission from all of them to be able to reference their characters! They won’t be big rolls but I’m happy to give all of these creators spotlight by adding in their characters.

Third thing, Regular Card Stories and Art for Cards! I am already making documentation to have these noted down, Will probably do them one dorm at a time but I do have a few ideas already. I will say that my R-SSR order of the cards is a bit different from canon. R’s are School Uniforms and PE outfits (will be slightly different depending on which PE course is taken by the student, since there’s three at three wishes), SRs are Dorm Outfits and Fundraising outfits - as Dorm outfits are different per person i didn’t think they were special enough for SSRs but still worth some highlight, and Fundraising / Volunteering is a mandatory class at Three Wishes so that gets another SR spot. Then lastly their SSRs are their Ceremony outfits. These are also different per character but they will all have a matching color scheme so that’s why i wanted these to be the SSRs. I also already have like four future events planned and which characters will be getting cards / what rank the cards will be for those characters! None of these events have any kind of outline yet, only general concepts and characters possibly involved, so the characters may change but I have them written down so I don’t forget and I can add to the event outlines as I find inspiration.

Maybe the fourth thing is actually designing the dang school. I SUCK at environment art, I’m not going to lie. It’s why alot of my comics up until this point has had minimal or no backgrounds at all. But one of the reasons why I’m drawing comics is to maybe get better at backgrounds cause I’m already sick of them not having one so progress I guess. But this is why this is kind of last on my list, as I definitely need the practice. If there’s a dorm or location I have listed that you would like to see art for or just described in better detail, Feel free to send me an ask!

And the thing I’m kind of working on while all of that is going on is of course, the Main Story Outline! I have all the chapter names picked and I have at least the Prologue - Second chapter bullet pointed as a first draft - I already know some places I wanna go back and change things but for now I’m just trying to get the general ideas for each chapter down. As of now there are eight chapters in total - including the prologue and the finale, so six major story chapters over all. I’m still not sure how I want to tell this story in all honestly. Part of me REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to make these full blown comics in all honesty. I’ve been wanting to draw actual comics since I was a kid and I’m closer now than I ever have been to being able to do so. But I also know how much of a time sync that is and know that I haven’t quite grasped all the shading tools in CSP to really give it the effect I want to have - which is one of the reasons I’m working on the mini comic pages here and there so I can slowly improve - but I can’t promise anything. If nothing else, I’m semi confident in my writing skills so I will maybe end up writing it out.

As a treat TM, I’ll list the chapter titles I have down below. THESE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE, but I am pretty happy with them right now - they’ll only likely change if I end up changing my entire idea for the chapter or changing the order of chapters. Anyone care to give me some theories on what you think each chapter is about? :thinking:

Prologue: the start of an actor's life Chapter one, Nightingale: by the stroke of midnight Chapter two,wondrous: a queen among thieves Chapter three, diamanttobar: the wishing well Chapter four, guardian: a dragons curse Chapter five, lapinhole: tipping the golden scale Chapter six, servireu: the guest has arrived Finale: when the last petal falls

If you read this far, thank you so much and I hope you look forward to more three wishes content! <3

Also I ask that this post isn’t reblogged, not gonna come at you if you do but it’s just a to do list really lol idk why anyone would want to reblog it.

#three wishes institute #twst fanschool #twisted wonderland fanschool #twst #twisted wonderland #schedule of project #kind of #just really a long winded to do list lmao

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imagining-in-the-margins · 3 years

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1. I’ll be writing The Birds & The Bees next! I had a poll for it a while ago. I’ve actually started writing it already. I have the dialogue for like, 10 parts already complete.

2. Like I said, it’s liberating. Also, you goofy gube, I did answer your ask! And it has 97 notes because my friend zhuzhubii added a bunch of soft post-prison Spencer to it!

You can check it out here. I tag all of the posts with you in it with 🍪 anon!

Also, that’s great. I’m glad you got pampered for a bit. I love salt scrubs :)

3. I’m glad to hear it! It’ll be out tomorrow! I’m not sure when I’ll post H2M, since I’m waiting to hear back from one of my beta readers still, but I’ll weasel it into the posting schedule somewhere.

4. Ah, yeah. Dark Side is that weird situation where there actually is aftercare, but some people don’t consider it aftercare, ehhhh. Grey (Gray?) territory. I tried to make the compassion and love come through pretty intensely in the second half of the second piece, but it does cut off relatively abruptly. I hope the fluff recs helped!

It is by far my second darkest piece (Protege wins that award) so you shouldn’t feel bad or embarrassed by being upset by it. It happens and it’s totally normal! The next part of H2M is also non-sexual and includes Spencer just being a sweetheart to someone in Sub Drop, so you have that to look forward to, too, if you’re reading that series!

#🍪 anon #answer #answered

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justauthoring · 5 years

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Left All Alone (2/?)

Prompt: Could you please do a Justin Foley imagine where his sister got kicked out after he left so she’s been staying with Bryce because she doesn’t know about the tapes and he’s always been there for her and Justin and in the school fight scene, Bryce makes a comment about her which causes Justin to lose it? X

A/N: And the winner of the poll is Scott Reed!! Thank you to all who participated and I hope you even the series :) At this point, i’m not sure how long it’ll be because I don’t really know where i’m gonna take it lol. But, I can’t see more than like ten parts.

Please don’t plagiarize my work!

Word Count: 2,037

In hindsight, you were glad you left.

Maybe running from your feelings hadn’t been the best choice. Maybe, just confronting them would’ve been easier. But seeing Justin, after all this time, just there, standing there like he hasn’t been missing for months... it left you with a sick feeling. One you weren’t ready to face.

And, if you had stayed, you knew now you would’ve been caught between crossfires. Why your brother hated Bryce so much, you’ll never understand. The two had once been brothers, closer than possibly even you and Justin. It was why you came to Bryce in the first place, because your brother had trusted him so much. Even if, towards the end, things had seemed odd between the two, you thought it would always be that way.

But given the rumors floating around the hall, talk of some big fight right here in the middle of the school, Bryce and Justin being the ones to start it; you figured that was no longer the case.

Bryce had told you not to listen to the gossip that seemed to spread around the school like a plague. That it was all just lies and you were better off just sticking close to him, and ignoring what anybody else had to say. But this was near damn impossible to ignore, and for once, nobody seemed afraid to whisper it around you. It was opposite of what usually happened when you walked down the halls and everyone, other than Bryce’s own friends, ignored you. Practically shunned you.

Even now you still didn’t understand why.

If you’d been there for that fight, you would’ve had to choose between your brother and Bryce. And in this moment, you weren’t sure who you’d choose.

“Hey, Y/N.”

Turning, brows furrowing, you blink at the sight of Bryce rushing towards you, a familiar looking man following behind him. Then, it clicked; his lawyer. Something must be happening with the trial.

Once Bryce reaches you, he leans in closer, not necessarily trying to keep the conversation from the ears of his lawyer but to give the both of you just a little bit of privacy. You let him do so, only half-consciously noticing the way his hand falls on your wrist, glancing around the both of you once before letting his eyes meet yours own once more. “I won’t be able to drive you home, Monty will.”

You ignore his words, eyes falling on his lawyer; “is something happening with the trial?”

“Yeah,” Bryce nods nonchalantly, “but it’s fine. I’ll see you when I--”

Then, you cut him off, voice small. “Maybe I could come with you?”

There’s a moment of pause, Bryce just blinking at you. You knew it was a stupid question to ask, given that Bryce had never let you come to one of the trail meetings before. It was worth the shot, though, you figured. Though, given the expression that crosses his features, you already know the answer before he even says it. “Y/N, I think it’s best you just go home.”

You decide to fight it, even just a little. “Why?” You question, brows furrowing. “I mean, I still don’t even know what the trials are about. Not a lot anyway. Noticing the shift in his expression, you add, quickly; “and i’d like to be there to support you.”

“Justin’ll be there.”

You pause, confused; “has he been before?”

Bryce grimaces then, “yeah. When he first came back.”

You then take a step back, pulling your hand from his as your lips part; “he’s been back for a while? ...And you never told me?”

Bryce briefly glances at his lawyer, “you weren’t ready.”

Scoffing, you cross your arms over your chest. “I--”

“Bryce,” his lawyer calls, interrupting the both of you. One glance at him and you can tell he’s irritated by having to wait. “We should really get going. The trial starts in just a half hour.”

Glancing back at you, Bryce frowns; “wait for Monty, okay? He’ll drive you home.”

You give him a short nod, not bothering to put anymore effort in your response. Then, with one last glance your way, Bryce walks off, leaving you there in the hallway. You hesitate, staying rooted in your spot, mind wandering. How could it not? Not only was your brother back from being missing for like six months, it turns out he’s been back for longer then you’d thought and you’d had no idea. Not to mention, there’s something suspicious about Bryce’s case that’s been bothering you for a while.

But you won’t push it because you don’t want to be homeless. And, besides, you don’t want to anger Bryce. Ever.

The sound of a door opening pulls you from your thoughts. You blink, raising your chin only to see Clay Jensen, Tony Padilla and... Justin Foley exit the classroom just a little to your right. The same class Bryce had left a little while ago. Detention’s class.

They, more specifically Justin, notice you right away.

There’s a moment of still silence, no one moves, but Clay seems eager to rush off; in the direction Bryce had gone actually. Yet, he seems to know enough not to rush Justin as your brother simply just stares back at you, lips parted, eyes wide, uncertainty in his gaze. Your jaw clenches instinctively, trying to keep yourself composed, not to let him see how actually hurt you were by what he’d done. Besides, he probably could guess it all on his own anyways.

Then, with one brief glance back at Clay and Tony, Justin takes a step towards you. “Y/N--”

You step back from him, shaking your head. “Don’t.” Is all you can manage, voice pitching in distress as you bow your head, not willing to let yourself meet his gaze. You just had so much pent up anger and rage inside of you, towards Justin and you weren’t sure what you’d do if he didn’t walk away now.

Who was he to stand there, looking all victimized, without some sort of explanation? An explanation as to why he left you, there.

“Y/N,” Justin calls again, voice more pleading. He holds his hands out before him, reaching for you. “Y/N, just listen to me--”

“I don’t want to hear it.” You swallow thickly, gathering all the courage you have to raise your chin and meet your brother’s gaze head-on, unwavering. You square your shoulders, clenching your jaw. “I just don’t.”

“I-I can explain,” Justin rushes, desperate for you to understand. “I’ll ex-explain everything, from the beginning. But... But, you have to get out of that house.”

It’s then you pause, stunned. “Excuse me?”

“You can’t be in there. You can’t... I mean, Bryce? It’s not safe for you there, Y/N--”

“Just, just shut up!” You interrupt, voice harsh. Narrowing your eyes, you shake your head at Justin. “I don’t want to hear it,” you say simply, shoulders falling with disbelief. “I don’t want to hear anything. Especially not from the brother who abandoned me.” Never letting your eyes leave his own, you let out a breath of relief when you hear the door open again and Monty and a few other of Bryce’s friends step out. “Now, if you excuse me, i’ll be going now.”

You glare at Justin one final time before shoving past him, not bothering to glance at either Clay or Tony on the way and instead head straight for Monty. Along the way, you catch brief sight of Scott Reed, another one of Bryce’s friends, leaving the detention room.

Briefly your eyes meet, you offer a small smile. He returns the same to you.

Monty’s attention turns to you as you fall next to him, “hey.”

“Hey,” Monty nods simply, eyes wandering on Justin for a moment before turning to you, “ready to go?”

Clenching your jaw, you nod.

Swallowing thickly, you raise your head as Bryce steps into your room. Or really, it was the guest bedroom that Bryce and his mother had been nice enough to let you occupy for the last few months. Anything you really had, had been from Bryce.

“How was the trial?”

“Good,” Bryce nods, shrugging nonchalantly as he takes a sip of the drink already poured in his hand. “Chloe was testifying against me.”

“About?”

Taking a seat next to you on your bed, arms brushing against one anothers momentarily, Bryce shrugs off your question; “doesn’t matter.” He says simply, turning to meet your gaze. You can tell by his hazy gaze and heavy-lidded stare, he’s already a little drunk. Tipsy for sure.

You feel your heart sink; that can only mean one thing.

You set down your homework in front of you, leaning on your left arm, the one closest to Bryce and sigh. “It must though,” you say softly, keeping your gaze downwards, hesitant, unsure. “I mean, she is your girlfriend after all. Testifying against you, that must hurt.” Testifying against him for what, you didn’t know. You wish you did.

Bryce moves to take another sip of his drink; “in the end she stayed loyal to me, that’s all that matters.”

Your shoulders fall at another failed attempt at trying to figure out just a little bit more about this case. Briefly, your eyes fall to your cellphone laid on your night-table. Your cellphone that had a tab open of those tapes Hannah Baker had left behind that had been posted online. Your cellphone that had been tempting you for days now.

You were just scared of what you’d find out and what Bryce would do if he found out you had.

“Hey,” Bryce mumbles, voice low. You feel the tip of his fingers fall under your chin, guiding your gaze towards his own as he leans forward. For a moment, your eyes flicker to his lips before returning to his eyes, swallowing thickly. “You okay?”

“Just a long day,” you whisper, already knowing he knew what you meant by that without having to explain it. It was pretty obvious.

Bryce, however, smirks slightly at your words, leaning towards you as his hand now moves lower. He sets his hand on your bare thigh, only a pair of pajama shorts on, rubbing softly at the skin as his lips become only inches apart from your own. He reeks of whiskey, but your hands are frozen by your side, un-moving. “I think I might know how to cheer you up.”

His lips are on yours in the next second, without warning. You freeze, but only briefly as this isn’t something you’re exactly unaccustomed to. By now, it was only like routine.

Chloe testified against me today.

Freezing, you set your hand against Bryce’s chest, pushing him back. “But, Chloe...”

“It’s fine,” Bryce brushes off, moving his hand to your waist and tugging you forward. It’s quite harsh, you stumbling over yourself before Bryce sets either of his hands on your hips and helps guide you where he wants you. Before you know it, you find yourself straddling his lap, hands held out before yourself unsure as Bryce presses kiss against the length of your neck. Between kisses he manages to mumble; “it’s never been a problem before,” and then, he pulls back, grinning up at you. “Besides, you owe me remember?”

I didn’t know where else to go...

You can stay for as long as you need, Y/N.

We’ll find someway for you to repay the favor.

You didn’t want to be homeless.

With a simple nod, you let Bryce pull your shirt over your head, leaving you in just your shorts and a sports bra. You don’t fight him as he leans forward, gripping your hips hard, sucking aggressively against your neck, a small moan leaving your lips as he does so.

And even though you don’t fight him, even though your body responds to him, you feel disgusting. Shameful.

Those tapes... the trial... Bryce’s secrecy...

But you don’t want to be homeless.

Just as Bryce moves to take off your bra, the sound of distant voices interrupts the silence. It’s enough to catch Bryce’s attention, as well as yours, given that it doesn’t just sound like someone passing by. The voices don’t fade, if anything, they grow closer, and both of your heads snap towards the window.

Suddenly, Bryce is pushing you off of him, rushing towards the window.

“Who is it?” You question, moving to pull on your shirt again.

Bryce doesn’t answer, instead, he waits a moment, just peeking through his blinds before turning without a word and walking out of the room. Your eyes follow his figure, greatly confused, before fixing your shirt, pushing yourself up to your feet and moving towards the window.

Your eyes widen when you see what Bryce had.

“Justin?”

Part 3?

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longformbatjokesfic · 4 years

Text

longformbatjokesfic Title

Hello! LFBF here, the writer of this fair story!

Now it’s time for me to admit my faults. What you’re reading here is a rough draft of the story, and sometimes I screw up a scene. I’m a bit worried I’ve done so. So I’m going ask anyone whose looking to vote on a preferred scene. I have about 24 hours from posting until it becomes relevant, so I’ll leave the poll open until August 14, 8:30 pm eastern standard time.

A few days ago I wrote this:

[SCENE VERSION A]

__________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

Lex slammed the door and Bruce released Joker and put his hands in his pockets.

“Well, that was a good 15 minutes. What now?”

Joker was quiet. He was- thinking.

What had that been? A lot of sensation at once certainly. A sudden shock to the system followed by something that seemed to relax his muscles and make him want to sit still and absorb the warmth. He wasn’t used to wanting to be still. He’d had situations where he physically couldn’t move due to body cast, or a strait jacket. He’d had situations where he hadn’t wanted to move because of overexposure to sensation or pain, and he had times when he felt dead to all sensation in the world and unmotivated to do anything. But it's not as if he enjoyed the concept of huddling in a fetal position scratching at his temples or laying a warehouse face down for hours on end, he’d just preferred it to the alternative at the time.

He’d never enjoyed being still.

He didn’t understand it. It’s not as if he hadn’t made physical contact with the man before. He’d kneed him. Pushed his head down into a tub of water, been punched by him several times. This had been different.

What was that? How did it happen? Why did it happen? When could it happen again?

Bruce was getting concerned. It’s not as if he was looking forward to whatever else the clown had planned for today, but Joker’s silence was more disquieting.

“Joker?”

“Actually, I have some things to be doing if you’ll excuse me.”

“You what?”

“Yes, terribly busy. Have to be going. Don’t worry. It’ll be more exciting next time. But I have some very distinct ideas to prepare and less than three days to prepare them.”

Joker tightened his scarf and appeared to fly out the door.

“Ta ta. Will be back”

_____________________________________________________________

But what I’m tempted to replace it with is this:

[SCENE VERSION B]

Joker was sure Bruce was saying something to him, but he was a bit busy trying to burrow into the other man’s chest to pay attention.

This was nice. This could continue for a long time and he would be quite happy to let it happen.

A loud slam sounded and shook Joker out of his stupor. Lex Luthor had left the room. To be honest Joker had forgotten he was there. But then Bruce was pulling his arms away, which was a horrible, NOT OK action that needed to be fixed. He tried to grab out to pull them back in and promptly lost his balance and fell off the desk.

Bruce stepped back and Joker had his head and shoulder simultaneously hit the floor with a distinct thump his legs were still held up by the nearby desk, putting him in an ungainly L shape on the floor.

Bruce looked at the door that Lex had just left through. His hands were in his pockets.

“Well that was a good 15 minutes. What now?”

The first words that came to Joker’s head were “COME DOWN HERE AND HOLD ME AGAIN” But his mouth sort of fell uselessly open before shutting again.

What was he asking for? Affection? That wasn’t something he wanted, that was something people wanted, he wasn’t people. No. Absolutely not. Affection didn’t last for him. It stamped other people with feelings while it left soft shallow marks on him that quickly undid themselves.

Besides he didn’t ask for things. He threatened or bargained or took. This was all out of sorts.

He’d had plans for today. He was going to take Bruce down to the projects, show him all those people he couldn’t save, whose lives were miserable despite his best efforts, maybe destroy some property on the way, see how angry it could get him. But now that plan didn’t seem as shiny. His desires were fighting each other.

Joker stood up and brushed himself off.

“Actually, I have some things to be doing if you’ll excuse me.”

“You what?”

“Yes, terribly busy. Have to be going. Don’t worry. It’ll be more exciting next time.”

Joker tightened his scarf and appeared to fly out the door.

“Ta ta. Will be back”

_____________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

If scene B gets the most votes, I’ll edit my previous post to match scene B and leave this post up as an interesting deleted scene.

If scene A gets the most votes I’ll leave my previous post alone, and still leave this post up as an interesting deleted scene.

Whichever is chosen will affect the tone and content of future chapters.

Leave A or B in the comments below.

#Lovers and Madmen #Fanfic #Writing process

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weuschoiceheart · 4 years

Text

*Takes a deep breath* Ok, I have pulled myself out of hell but I’m still sad about K and is currently still in emo hours and want to burn Mnet.

Anyways, school is starting in 2 days (it’s Saturday over here) so I want to just give you guys a heads up on my schedule for posting.

I originally planned to release the first chapter of “Three Lives, Two Worlds” yesterday, but I wasn’t in the right mindset so I took a break from writing for a bit. I’m back to writing and the chapter is already over 1k words, and with the way I’m planning it out, I think it will be around 4k or more by the time I finish. I’m planning to post it by the end of next week, depending on how much work I get from my teachers, but fingers crossed that it’ll be finished and edited then.

The whole series will be divided into 3 parts, with about 10 chapters per part (check out the masterlist for more info, I made a few updates). So already, it’s going to be pretty long. I’ll try my best to update whenever I can, so please be patient with me.

As for blurbs, I’m only going to post 2 per week now. My inspiration is starting to dwindle (as it always does when I’m in a bad mood), so I’m thinking of starting on the drabbles for my “Husband / Father series” and “Hogwarts Series.” These will be longer than standard blurbs and will be written for all groups. Right now, I don’t have much motivation for blurbs, so I’m probably going to alternate posting blurbs and drabbles for now. For example, 1 blurb and 1 drabble per week. I might do a poll to decide which group members you guys want me to write for first for the series.

Timestamps will be posted as usual, on idols’ birthdays. Seungmin’s is coming up, so I’m working on one for him.

I’m also going to get out my very first song-based imagine around the beginning of October! I already recorded a cover for it, so I just need to finish writing. I’m really excited for it, I hope you guys also look forward to it as well!

I’ll be updating my Schedules + WIPs when I figure out specific timeframes for posting, and if you want to be tagged in my future works, fill out the Taglist Form.

#schedule #schedule + wips #three lives two worlds #blurbs #timestamps #song based imagines #school schedule #posting schedule

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acedesigns · 5 years

Text

Precious [Good Omens: Aziraphale X Reader]

Word Count: 4225

Warnings: Alcohol mention, sexual harassment mention, minimal editing, politics, death mention

A/N: Woot, this is my 100th fanfic post for Good Omens. This was heavily inspired by my time running for political office.

Politics had always made him a bit squeamish. He has seen time and time again the death that it can cause. If two leaders didn’t get along, then citizens would be killed. It was no wonder politics was basically a nest squirming with demons. That was why, despite his dislike for it, Aziraphale found himself wandering around a political event, keeping an eye on demons that weren’t in his arrangement.

Everyone was gathering in the auditorium. They each had a voter card with their precinct number, voting district, and name. The political party they were in didn’t matter, they were all in the same party, after all. And while he didn’t necessarily agree with everything this party did, they were certainly better than the conservatives.

The session was already fully underway. Now, the party was trying to make sure every position had someone running. A list was projected onto the screen for what positions were still vacant and its basic description. There was a section for city council. He looked around at the crowd, wondering if anyone would volunteer when the time came. One by one, the leader of the group went down the list. Then, almost immediately after she said city council, a voice shouted, “I’ll do it!”

He looked over and saw you stand up in the auditorium. You held your head high and shoulder back as you made your way down the steps and towards the stage. He was shocked to see such a young individual volunteer to run for office.

When you made it to the stage, you exchanged words with the leader, giving her your name. She then spoke into the microphone and handed it off to you for an improvisational speech.

“Hello, my name is [Y/N], and I am running for city council,” you spoke with such confidence that it appeared you were already a well-seasoned politician. “I am honored to have this privilege in connecting with you today. It is my goal to also make sure that we connect our amazing city to the ample amount of options available to us. We can connect our power grid to clean, renewable resources. No longer will we have to rely on dirty, Earth-killing factories. We can connect all of our citizens to high-speed networks. Our citizens will be able to call for help, work on school projects, and search for jobs with this network. We can connect our most vulnerable communities to the resources they need to survive. As a queer individual, I know the struggles we go through in feeling accepted.”

You paused as the audience erupted in cheers at you mentioning you being queer. Aziraphale found himself smiling at the warm reception you were receiving. He began clapping along with the rest of the crowd. Once it quieted down, you continued, “But I cannot do this alone. Together, we must connect with our community, gather support, and get out to the polls later this year! My name is [Y/N] and I am running for city council.”

You bowed slightly and waved as the crowd grew louder. It was the loudest they’ve been thus far. Aziraphale watched as you made your way off stage and sat back in the chair you originally came from. He tried to sense if there was any demonic intervention going on, given with the near-perfect speech you gave, but there was nothing. Throughout the rest of the event, he kept an eye on you just to be sure.

He stood up once everyone was dismissed and made his way over to you. He was curious as to what would drive you to run for office, especially at the age where individuals weren’t too keen on politics.

You were speaking with some other individuals. Given your more reserved body posture, he could tell you didn’t know the people. They shook your hand and took a selfie with you before thanking you and leaving. You sighed slightly and wiped your brow with the back of your hand. It was only then, he noticed you looked a sickly pale.

“Are you alright?” he asked as he approached you.

You looked at him and nodded but stumbled while standing so slightly. “I-I uh, I am going to the hospital after I’m done here.”

“Goodness!” Aziraphale eyes widened in alarm. “Do you need someone to take you there?”

You held a hand up to your mouth and turned away from him. For a moment, he thought you were going to be sick. For a moment, you thought you were going to be, too. Then, you turned back to him, after having seemingly swallowed down the vomit before nodding your head sheepishly. “Yes, probably.”

“Just one moment! Let me call my friend and he can take us,” Aziraphale hesitated before he miracled a cellphone in his pocket and dialed Crowley’s friend. He spoke quickly in the phone before he hung up. “He’ll be here soon. Do you want to sit down?”

You nodded and staggered over to a nearby seat. “Thanks,” you grumbled and sat up straight when you noticed other people looking. “Sorry, I should be more professional.”

“Professional?” Aziraphale chuckled as he made sure you were comfortable. “If you’re going to the hospital, I’d say I’m amazed you’re still concerned over what others are thinking. May I ask what’s wrong?”

“Food poisoning,” you grunted and wiped your brow once more, the nausea was making you feel hot. “I’ve had it for a couple of weeks, now.”

“And you came here?” Aziraphale was stunned at how you held yourself on stage while being so sick.

“I had to,” you mumbled.

“And why’s that?”

You looked up at him and sighed. “This city is so broken. None of the other politicians are doing anything about it. They’re all just being bought. I was so angry when I figured I’d fix it myself if no one else would.”

“That’s very admirable and brave.”

You chuckled lightly. “Brave is just another word for stupid.”

“Hopeful, but not stupid,” he said when he felt his phone vibrate. “He’s here. Let’s get you to the doctor, shall we?”

“Are you sure your people haven’t tempted them with anything, Crowley?” Aziraphale asked while he was getting ready to attend one of your political events.

“Positive,” Crowley hummed while lounging on Aziraphale’s couch. “The only ones that would have would have been Hastur or Ligur, and they haven’t been here for a while. ‘Course, that’s not to say that they won’t try something.”

“Yes, then I shall keep an eye on them!” Aziraphale straightened his bow-tie and glanced in the mirror.

Crowley smirked as the angel was fretting over his appearance. “To make sure they don’t get tempted or for your own personal reasons?”

“Personal reasons?” Aziraphale turned to the demon with a stunned expression. “What sort of personal reasons would I have?”

“I’d say you fancy them,” Crowley said smugly. “I’d say you have a crush on them!”

Aziraphale cheeks were tinted red. “I do not have a crush on them!” He turned back towards the mirror and fixed his hair before applying some cologne. “I simply enjoy their company, is all.” Crowley snorted. “And that is all! Now, if you’ll excuse me. I must get going.”

Crowley followed Aziraphale out of the bookshop. As Aziraphale was locking up, Crowley started to walk away and yelled, “Enjoy your date!”

You were at the event, and you were already dreading being there. You glanced around nervously while trying to keep a polite smile on your face. Someone that had been harassing you was going to be there. You honestly hoped he wouldn’t show up, but you knew he would.

“[Y/N], my dear! How are you?” You jumped and turned before relaxing at who it was.

“I’m doing well, Aziraphale. How are you?” you asked with a smile that was no longer forced.

“Tip-top!” Aziraphale grinned. “Are you ready for tonight? You always ace your speeches!”

You laughed lightly. “I wouldn’t say that, but thank you.”

“There they are!” a voice called from behind you. You stiffened and swallowed down some fear. Aziraphale frowned at the sudden change in your mood. “[Y/N]! It’s me!”

You slowly turned and the corners of your mouth twitched as you tried to force yourself to smile. “Hello, Richard.”

“It’s so nice to see you,” he said while looking you up and down. He stepped forward and opened his arms out wide.

Aziraphale stepped forward. “I’m afraid [Y/N] has actually injured themselves, so hugging is painful for them right now.”

You glanced at Aziraphale before smoothly nodding and following along with his lie. “Yes, I pulled a muscle. Sorry.”

Richard frowned while trying to decide if he wanted to force you to hug him anyway. “Alright. Why don’t we get a drink before this thing starts? There’s some beer.”

“No thank you,” you said with a tone that said you were trying to be polite, but he could die for all you cared. You turned away from the man that was making you skin crawl and towards Aziraphale. “How is your bookshop doing?”

"I only read comic books,” the man said and tried to force himself between you and Aziraphale.

Aziraphale gave him an incredulous look before looking back at you. “Doing quite well! I procured the most fascinating book a few days ago. I’ll have to show you the next time you stop by!”

“We should go together, [Y/N],” the man butted in once more. “It’ll be a date.”

Aziraphale glanced down to your left hand that was clenching into a fist. Your knuckles were turning white. Your nostrils flared as you tried to take in some deep breaths to calm yourself. With a tight smile, you looked at Richard. “I’m too busy.”

Richard shrugged, “Find some time, then.”

“Excuse me, sir,” Aziraphale finally had it. “But I’m afraid that they declined already and are simply too polite to straight up tell you to beat it. However, with them running for political office, they cannot afford to be what could be considered rude. Though, with your behavior, I would hardly consider it rude if they did tell you to bugger off.”

Richard turned towards you with a scowl. “Are you going to let him talk to me like that, [Y/N]?”

“No, he’s right,” you snapped and glared over at Richard. “Take the hint.”

Richard’s scowl darkened. “Why won’t you go out with me? It’s just one date. We’ll just go to the bar.”

“Why? So you can try to get me drunk and take advantage of me? No. I said no. Accept it. I don’t owe you anything. You’re not even in my voting district.” You grabbed Aziraphale by the arm and dragged him away from a stewing Richard. “I’m sorry about that, Aziraphale.”

"Don’t be,” Aziraphale puffed and straightened his jacket. “If we weren’t at a political event, I would have said some stronger things! Perhaps even cursed!”

Laughter bubbled out of you and tears welled up in your eyes at the idea of the cheery man actually cursing someone out. You leaned against Aziraphale to keep yourself propped upright. Aziraphale chuckled with a soft smile. Then, he paused. His cheeks warmed. In his mind, he did actually curse. Crowley was right.

The bell to the bookshop rang. Aziraphale glanced up from a book he was reading and automatically felt his heart quicken. He watched as you softly closed the door behind you and turned towards him. You gave him a small smile.

“Mind if I hang out here for a bit?” you asked. “I need a break.”

“Of course not!” Aziraphale closed his book and put it back where he found it. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Please.”

Aziraphale nodded and motioned for you to follow him. He put the kettle on and prepared the tea just the way you liked it. “What is it that you need a break from, [Y/N]?”

You sat down on the couch and rolled your head back so you were staring at the ceiling. “My opponent attacked me on social media. She said I was too childish because I still live with my parents. I can’t afford to move out and my dad has that heart issue, so I don’t know how much longer he’ll be around for.”

Aziraphale frowned and nodded. “That’s completely understandable. And one living with one’s parents does not say anything about their maturity level.”

“Yeah,” you hummed. With a sigh, you continued, “I was ready for her to attack me. I have more campaign contributions than her and am garnering more support than her. But there was just…like…This little voice in my head tempting me to attack her back and say these awful things. I had to just take a break and clear my head, you know?”

Aziraphale froze. He glanced over at you with a thoughtful look. Then, the phone started ringing. “Excuse me,” Aziraphale apologized and picked up the receiver already having an idea of who was calling. “Hello?”

“Aziraphale, it’s me,” Crowley’s voice sounded on the other line.

“Crowley.”

“They’ve targeted them,” Crowley warned. “Hastur tried to tempt them earlier. It didn’t work, but he might try again.”

“Yes, I’m already well aware of that,” Aziraphale mumbled and turned to face you while you started to play with a loose string on your cardigan. “Is there a way to stop it from happening?”

“You know as much as me, angel. Just try to balance it out with miracles.”

“Right. Thank you, Crowley.” He hung up the phone just in time for the kettle to start whistling. He quickly made his way over towards it and began to pour the hot water out into two mugs.

“How’s Crowley?”

“Hmm? Oh, fine, fine. He was just telling me about something that happened to him. Nothing, really.” He made his way over with a mug of tea. “Here you are, my dear.” He sat down next to you, opting to not sit in his chair as usual. “You know, I was thinking. Perhaps you could put a positive spin on how your opponent attacked you. Maybe say why it’s a good thing you’re a young candidate. It’s not a bad thing. You have fresh ideas that no one has ever had! You understand how the future the world is heading in better than anyone.”

You took a sip of the tea, it somehow being the perfect temperature after just boiling. For a moment or two, you simply pondered over what Aziraphale had said. Then, you dug out your phone and started typing away. “That’s a good idea. Thank you.”

Aziraphale smiled with a certain gleam in his eyes before taking a drink of his own beverage.

There was a death in your family and you were absolutely torn up about it. You had spent the entire night crying. When you woke up that morning, you told yourself you weren’t allowed to cry. You had a political event to attend. If your opponent caught wind that you were a wreck, she’d only attack you for it.

With a slow exhale, you got out of your car and walked towards the building you’d be giving the same old speech in. Aziraphale was already there. He looked at you with a sad smile.

“How are you doing?” he asked and greeted you with a warm hug.

“I want to cry,” you croaked and clung onto him. He was the only thing keeping you grounded at that moment.

“It’s alright to cry, my dear.”

“Not when there are people here,” you reminded yourself more than him and pulled away. “I can’t cry right now.”

He watched you and nodded. “If that’s what you want.”

“It’s what I have to do.”

“Alright. How about after this we go back to my shop so you can decompress?”

You looked down at your feet and nodded. “I’d like that.”

Aziraphale watched as you interacted with people. He stayed close in case you needed him for comfort or to get you out of a conversation. Though, you didn’t. You remained strong. Sure, your responses might have been shorter, but you managed to smile politely.

Finally, the even was over. You made your way towards Aziraphale. He offered his arm out towards you which you gladly took. He led both of you towards the bookshop. It was a silent walk; you didn’t really have that much to say. Aziraphale allowed you the time to get more acquainted with his thoughts. Though, the moment you made it in the bookshop and he locked the door, you collapsed onto the ground.

Aziraphale hurried towards you and wrapped you up in his arms. Tears poured out. You bawled and clung onto him for dear life. “I want her back,” you wailed. “I want her back!”

“I know, I know,” Aziraphale hushed and rocked you back and forth.

"I just want to wake up. This can’t be real.”

You ended up crying yourself to sleep in his arms.

There was about one month of the election season left. Since the first couple of months of the campaign, you had gone from being extremely sick from food poisoning, being sexually harassed by random guys (that was still going on), losing a loved one, being sick just about every week to sitting in Aziraphale’s bookshop. You sat with your feet tucked underneath you on the couch. A hot mug of tea was in your hands. There was also a blanket around your shoulders that Aziraphale had placed there. Aziraphale was busy helping a customer.

Though, there was something nagging at you. You couldn’t help but think that so many of the people you had become acquainted with, perhaps even friends with, were just using you. It was eating away at you. You felt that after the election they’d all just leave you. With a sigh, you put your mug down on a coaster on the end table and stood from the couch.

Aziraphale had just finished convincing a customer to leave without a book. He pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance at almost losing something so valuable to him. Then, he felt a sudden weight hit his side. He glanced down and smiled slightly seeing you had just headbutted him.

“What was that for?” he asked and still watched you as your head didn’t move away from him. You grumbled to yourself. “Sorry?”

You pushed yourself off of him and looked up at him with a slightly guilty and embarrassed look. “I show affection through headbutts.”

Aziraphale chuckled with a light blush. “So I am worthy of your affection?”

“Yeah,” you admitted. “It’s a very high honor, you know?”

“It certainly is.”

“I…” you started and paused as you tried to gather your words. “I’ve been having some thoughts.”

“Oh?” Aziraphale’s eyebrows bunched together in concern. “What kind of thoughts?”

“Are you going to not want to talk to me after the election?” you asked quietly and bit your lip. You refused to make eye contact with him.

Aziraphale’s eyes widened. He held his mouth open in shock. “No, of course not! Did I do something to make you think I would?”

You shook your head. “No. I just…I can’t help thinking that people won’t want anything to do with me when this is all over.”

Aziraphale frowned. It sounded like the work of a demon. With a deep breath, Aziraphale took your hand. “I promise I won’t do that, [Y/N]. You are far too precious to me.”

Your eyes darted up to meet his. A blush slowly formed on your face. You felt your heart skip a beat. A warmth started to spread from your chest through the rest of your body. It was a warmth that made you feel giddy, excited, but also calm. Your thoughts slowly started to wonder if it was love that you were feeling.

“Thank you, Aziraphale,” you murmured softly. “Can I hug you?”

Aziraphale nodded with a light chuckle. A blush of his own started to form as he held you to him tightly. He lightly inhaled your scent, allowing him this one moment to be selfish.

You were holding a mental health seminar. There was a crisis happening in the world where people tended to stigmatize mental illnesses. It wasn’t right and it was costing lives. And although you knew you wouldn’t win this election, you thought that you could perhaps make a difference. So you invited mental health professionals to the seminar to discuss what mental illness is, what contributes to it, and how to treat it.

“I’m so proud of you, my dear,” Aziraphale greeted you with a hug after the seminar had ended.

“Thank you,” you whispered and shyly looked to the side.

“Really, you are making a tremendous difference,” he spoke so sure of himself. “I am so, so very proud of you.” He took a hold of both of your hands and swung it back and forth with a soft smile on his face.

You just barely kept yourself from crying at the overwhelming emotions that filled your heart. Instead, you laughed as his arms swung faster. The warmth was back. You were definitely in love with him.

About a week after the seminar, Aziraphale had called you. He sounded scared. Immediately, you dropped what you were doing and rushed to his bookshop. When you opened the door, you heard him sniffling in the backroom. You ran towards him. He was sitting in a chair, with his face in his hands.

"Aziraphale, what’s wrong? What’s going on?” you asked and knelt down in front of him.

Aziraphale sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked at you with a heartbroken frown. His eyes were red and puffy. His breathing stuttered every so often as he tried to collect himself.

“I have to be honest with you,” Aziraphale spoke quietly. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t know how, but now I realize I’ve been far too selfish.”

“Tell me what?” You were starting to panic. Was he sick? Was he dying?

“I understand if you don’t believe me. But I have proof if you need it. The truth is,” he paused and another sob escaped him. “I don’t want to lose you,” he gasped out and rubbed his eyes again before breaking down.

“Lose me? You’re not going to lose me,” you comforted and wrapped your arms around him. “I promise you won’t lose me.”

Aziraphale buried his face in the crook of your neck. He stayed there in your arms until he calmed down. He pulled away and took a deep breath. White wings shot out from his back and folded in. “I’m an angel,” he said suddenly.

You blinked and looked at him in shock. He looked absolutely terrified and broken. You reached your hand up towards his face. He flinched and clenched his eyes shut. Slowly, you cupped his cheek and rubbed away his tears with your thumb.

"You’re not going to lose me,” you promised.

Aziraphale opened his eyes and looked at you with wonder. “I’m not?”

"Of course not,” you hummed with a smile. “You are far too precious to me.”

It was the night of the election. You had reluctantly gone to a watch party. You knew you weren’t going to win, but your supporters wanted you to show up. Still, you had set up an escape. You had plans with Aziraphale that you would leave the party for.

After thanking everyone for their support, you quickly dashed out of the bar. You got in your car and drove through London to get to where you were meeting him. He said he wanted you to meet him at St James’ Park. When you parked, you made your way towards the gazebo. Though, you paused when you got there.

There was a trail of candles and flower petals leading off the path. You slowly followed it with your heart hammering. A blush had already started to form on your face and burned hotter than the candles. When you got to the end, you looked up and saw Aziraphale standing there with a nervous look. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. On the ground next to him, was a picnic basket. You walked up to him with your eyebrows raised.

“What’s this all about?” you asked quietly.

Aziraphale adjusted his bowtie. “Well, I wanted to celebrate all of your hard work and how much you have accomplished this year.” He took a deep breath. “I also wanted to tell you just how important you are to me.”

You sniffled and wiped away a tear that had started to fall. “Oh?” You were finally right in front of him.

He took one of your hand and lovingly rubbed his thumb in circles. “I am amazed by how strong, intelligent, and caring you are. Getting to know you has been one of the best things I have ever experienced. And…And I realized that I have fallen in love with you. I love you.”

You laughed and threw your arms around his neck. He immediately wrapped both of his arms around your waist and held you in an embrace. “I love you,” you hiccupped through your tears of joy.

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thecousinsdangereux · 5 years

Note

bumbleby with this as a prompt: tatsuyamashiro(.)co(.)vu/post/183085155981/the-lock-jammed-on-the-front-door-of-my-shitty Yang is the drunk neighbour Blake is the one locked out

Campaigning is hell.

Blake had long ago accepted it as a necessary evil of enacting any sort of long-term change, but after too many days like this one, full of canvassing and idiots and bigots and disappointing poll numbers, she had perfected a three step process for coping. It involved a lengthy bath, a large glass of wine, and the longest stretch of sleep anyone on the planet has experienced through conventional means.

It probably went without saying that a jammed lock on the front door of her outrageously antiquated apartment building did not fit into that process. At all.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

She wiggles the handle, gently at first, but with increasing desperation, gripping it with two hands and letting out a stupidly loud grunt, when nothing happens.

“It’s broken.”

She doesn’t immediately recognize the voice, but when she turns, she does recognize the woman, and it’s a clear sign of Blake’s single-minded focus (bath, wine, sleep) that she hadn’t noticed her sitting on the corner of the stoop earlier.

Because honestly? Normally, Blake has a hard time not looking at her new neighbor (at her bright eyes and wide smile and wildly curling hair, at her often-bare arms and curving jaw and defined legs). She’s never had more than a few conversations with the woman and her roommate (Ruby, Blake vaguely recalls), but it’s not like it’s ever taken her much time to realize someone was her type to a level that was almost insulting.

“Yeah, I — I got that.”

The woman — Yang — grins, lazy and lopsided, and twists sideways on the steps, stretching a leg out in front of her and leaning back. Blake jerks her eyes away, desperate to find a focus point other than the lift of Yang’s tank top, and finds her eyes drawn to the large glass placed just to the side of the woman. It could be soda, but the garnishes on top makes Blake think otherwise.

“I probably should’ve said something earlier, but every time we see you in the hall, you’re like, super put together or whatever. So it was kinda funny to see you go all Incredible Hulk on the door like that.” This is followed by what Blake can only assume is Yang’s Hulk impression — it involves a lot of flexing and growling and is cuter than it has any right being.

Blake blinks. “Are you drunk?”

“Tipsy,” Yang corrects, leaning further back, propping herself up on her elbow. “And you’re cute.”

The unexpectedness of it makes her laugh, short and loud, and Yang grins again, pleased with herself. For a second, Blake imagines herself returning the compliment, but Yang speaks again before she can.

“I’m Yang,” she says.

“Blake.”

“I know. I remember.” She lets her head roll back, as though it’ll help her get a better look at Blake, still several steps above her. “Blake the activist. We’ve seen your posters and stickers and stuff. That’s cute too. Or — ” Yang’s lips twist. “Wait, that makes me sound like a condescending jackass. Um, that’s cool, I mean. Like, that you’re actually doing something about the stuff that pisses you off.”

“Yeah, well, sometimes it’s a lot like this door.” She turns back to it, wiggles the key around a little more.

“Broken as fuck?” Yang asks.

“Frustrating,” Blake corrects, feeling the corner of her lips quirk upwards in amusement. “But that too.”

“Well, that makes it even more badass, right? ‘Cause it sucks sometimes. Or a lot of the time. But you’re doing it anyways.”

The words have more impact than they should, maybe, coming from a girl she hardly knows, who’s drunk and sitting outside their busted apartment building, but Blake figures after the day she’s had, she deserves the surge of pleasure they bring.

“Um. Thanks, Yang.”

“I know what’s up,” she returns with a sage nod. “Full of wisdom, or something.”

Turning once more to look down the steps, Blake laughs. “Uh huh. So what’s all that wisdom telling you about this door? Any hints?”

Yang considers this, brow pinching, for a long moment.

“You should kick it.”

“Kick it.”

“Yeah. Try — try kicking it. Really hard.”

Blake stares at her. Yang, unblinking, stares back.

Well. It’s not like worse ideas didn’t exist.

Leaning forward onto one foot, Blake brings her knee in, twisting, and snaps it back, flat of her foot connecting with the door with a loud thud.

No effect. (Outside of a slight stinging sensation in her foot.) Of course.

She looks at Yang and shrugs, but Yang just continues to stare, perhaps a bit more wide-eyed than before.

“Oh, uh. That was — more torque. Than I expected. You’ve got a surprising — uh — torque to size ratio.”

Another surprised laugh. And, weirdly, a blush. “What?”

“Just, I mean, if I was that door, I would’ve opened like, out of respect for a kick like that.” Her smile returns. If Blake didn’t know better, she might call it a little lovestruck. “Damn, Blake, we should go to the gym together sometime. Or go anywhere. Sometime. ‘Cause this is fun, being stuck out here together, watching you kick down a door like some kind of SWAT Team Lady or whatever.”

“I — I didn’t kick it down,” Blake returns, unsure how else she can possibly respond.

Yang waves her hand, unconcerned. “Eh. Almost. But if that didn’t do it, nothing will.” She pats the stoop next to her. “Come on. I’ll share my rum and coke.”

“That’s… a very big rum and coke.”

“Which is why I can share.”

Blake pauses, but only for a moment. Yang slides her leg back around, sitting up and making room for Blake to sit down right next to her, which she does, closer than she means to. Or maybe that’s Yang, scooting towards her before she fully lowers herself down on the step.

Whatever the cause, the result is the same, and Blake can’t say she minds, not when Yang smiles at her, crooked and cute, and offers her drink. Taking a sip, Blake realizes it’s mostly rum, which checks out.

“So this is the plan? Sit and drink and wait for someone else to figure out the lock?”

“I mean.” Yang shrugs. “That’s what I was doing before you got here. And I was rewarded pretty well, I gotta say.”

“Yang,” Blake begins, amused. “The door’s still shut.”

“Well, yeah, but now I’ve got you for company. I’ll take that over getting back into the apartment any day.” She nudges Blake, shoulders brushing together, and takes her glass back, fingers sliding against either with the sort same effect.

(A jolt. It’s stupid, but Blake thinks she might feel a jolt.)

“I guess I can think of worse ways to spend a night.”

—

Ruby finds them a while later. By that time, Blake not only knows that Ruby is Yang’s sister, but also that her favorite color is red and she’s a mechanical engineering student and Yang loves her more than Blake’s ever seen anyone love anyone else ever, maybe. She also knows that Yang is hot and sweet and someone that Blake is definitely going to go somewhere with, sometime.

“Yang! I’m so sorry! Someone let Nora have a lighter and she started setting drinks on fire and then the fire alarm went off and Weiss got up on the bad chair to try to wave the smoke away and it tipped over and I had to catch her and we didn’t realize you were — ”

Ruby stops, hanging off the door she’d somehow finagled open, and stares down at them.

“ — Finally talking to the neighbor you’ve had a crush on since we moved in here,” Ruby finishes. “Okay! The door isn’t stuck any more so you can come up whenever you’re ready!”

She vanishes behind the door, only to reappear a second later.

“Nice to see you again, Blake!”

Blake waits, making sure she’s actually gone this time, before turning to Yang.

“A crush, huh?”

Yang doesn’t blush, and she doesn’t hesitate.

“Huge crush. Embarrassingly huge. Even my friends know.” That same grin returns, this time with a touch of earnestness, and Yang offers her hand. “Wanna meet them? And get dinner this Friday night?”

Blake takes it and stands, pulling Yang with her and wearing an earnest sort of smile of her own.

“Yes. And yes.”

—

Over the years, Blake had perfected a three step process for alleviating stress: a lengthy bath, a large glass of wine, and the longest stretch of sleep anyone on the planet has experienced through conventional means.

But after an hour outside with Yang, she thinks maybe she can narrow those three steps down to one.

(She looks forward to putting the theory to test.)

#Anonymous #this prompt was cute as helllll bless you anon #bumbleby #rwby #writing #prompt madness!

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teawithkpop · 5 years

Text

🔮 October Update 🎃

tldr; I’ll be on a semi-hiatus until the end of the month + I am working on a spoopy story for you guys 🖤 + I might make a twitter?? more info below the cut

topic number one] semi-hiatus

ahh, autumn. that lovely time of year when my birthday falls (wink wonk), and spoopy events start to manifest...

every year around this time, certain events take place. certain... holidays.

that’s right, you guessed it.

the HIGH HOLIDAYS are in FULL SWING

which means I will be on and offline like a frickin yoyo until they are over~ I am very grateful for your patience with me as I rest and pray and chow down on that GOOD FOOD thank you uwu much love 💖💖💖

xox ~ RaRa

FAQ

Q: what are the high holidays?

A: the high holidays are celebrated by Jewish people all over the world, every year, and they consist of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. even though these two events are considered the “high holidays”, most people also include the days of Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah when using the phrase.

Q: lmao what the heck are those gibberish words

A: those are the names of the holidays lmaooooo

Rosh Hashana - the Jewish new year Yom Kippur - the Jewish day of atonement, to cleanse our spirits for the upcoming year Sukkot - the week-long harvest festival, very happy, lots of food Shmini Atzeret - the day following Sukkot, sort of like an after party for the soul Simchat Torah - the celebration of finishing reading the Torah, and starting it all over again to make a continuous loop

Q: okay so that’s like... five days. why do you need a hiatus?

A: oh you sweet young fool. you innocent spring chicken. clearly you have never experienced the high holidays in all their glory. you see, because of the time difference, if you live outside of Israel, then each holiday is celebrated for TWO days instead of one. (much the same way that you celebrate kpop birthdays if you live outside of Korea: once when it’s their birthday their time, and again when it’s their birthday your time... wait that’s how everyone celebrates kpop birthdays right;;?)

Q: okay but that’s only like... ten days... what’s the biggie?

A: this. this is the biggie. each holiday is only like two or three days apart from each other. it’s madness. completely bonkers.

Q: oh... is it like that every year?

A: YES. YES IT IS LIKE THAT EVERY YEAR on and off back and forth and dammit it always throws my internal clock completely out of whack TTuTT like can you imagine if, for example, halloween, thanksgiving, christmas and new years were all within thirty days of each other??? chaos. society as we know it would crumble under the pressure. but not the high holidays. oh no. the high holidays go HARD man 😤

Q: alright, so you’ll be busy this month... why are you explaining so much? why did you make a whole FAQ? you don’t really need to give a reason.

A: *sighs* man, I dunno. I’ve had some shitty people in my life that made me feel like sharing things about myself would only push other people away and alienate me from potential friends. I’ve always given the glossed over version of my life to anyone who asks, and I always told myself it was to avoid awkward questions or funny stares. But I don’t want to do that anymore. So, in the spirit of the new year, I’m being completely candid. I won’t be online this month because I’m celebrating the high holidays with my family. My devices will be shut off. I’ll be cooking food and reading and praying and taking blissful 5+ hour naps and ya’ll should be jelly B)

Oh! And in the spirit of the new year, as is tradition, if I have done anything to upset or hurt you - yes, YOU reading this - in any way in the past year, whether it be intentionally or unintentionally, I sincerely apologize, and I hope we can start fresh! I will work harder to be a better RaRa this year and to share more care and kindness with every person I encounter 😌🍎🍯

topic number two] spoopy story

that being said, even though I’ll be on and offline, I will be writing in between holidays and 8 hour shifts;;; I have come up with some ideas for some new stories, and the lovely Spex [@bang-to-the-tan] has been dumping gasoline on the garbage fire of my writing brain... 😈 go give her a hug from me please <3

one of these ideas is... a bit scary, and kinda sexy... and has some domestic fluff as well as demon/ghost!BTS members.. and at least a threesome, maybe more... 🤔 we shall see~ it’s all in the early stages, but! since it’s a oneshot, hopefully?? I’ll have it ready for that time of the month?? 👀 hopefully like don’t quote me on it but also look forward to it!! ^^ I’ll post some more updates about it once the draft is a bit more complete

topic number three] twitter??

I want to make a twitter to interact with you guys more!! sometimes I still feel lonely on here even though I have all you wonderful people who read my stories :((

also this is a secondary blog, which is great for some reasons, but also terrible for others,,, I can’t reply to replies as teawithkpop, I can’t follow blogs as teawithkpop, I can’t send in asks as teawithkpop... the limitations can get a bit frustrating sometimes,,

so I thought hey!! why don’t I make a twitter in junction with this blog? you guys can vote on polls and I can reply to your replies and whatnot~ we can make our own hashtags and freak out over kpop content and I think it’ll be a grand old time all around 😊💓

please let me know if you’d be interested in chillin on twitter with me! <3

I think that’s about it for updates! have a lovely october babes and please enjoy the spoop of it all >U< 🎃🔮👻

#writing updates #updates in general really #rara is talking far too much #About Rara #i'll be happy to answer any questions or concerns~ love y'all <3

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nanigma · 5 years

Text

Leon Fanbook Translation: Special Interview

Link to the Takumi Fanbook

Introduction

Profile

Famous Lines

Relationships

Leon&Kamui + Words of Love

Daily Routine + Cooking Showdown

Fashion Check

Dream Change

Only two more updates to go. It’s hard to believe that I am almost finished with this. And it didn’t take me half as long as I feared to translate this. Probably because of a distinct lack of Odin speech..

Meanwhile I’ve finally gotten another part-time job, so that’s helped me feel better about my situation and I can focus on this project more than I did before. It’ll be a while before my first payment, so it would still be really nice if you could help me out a little until then. Here’s a link to my Ko-fi account. Thank you to the generous people who have helped me so far!

- All the photos on this post were taken by the lovely @zaziki7

My comments are in italics

I’ll be using Japanese names

Pages 36-37

Special Interview/ Leon

An interview sprung on the younger prince of Nohr! Listen to what this one young man keeps inside his heart!

Anna: Good day to you, fans of Leon!! I am Anna, the traveling merchant! Today we've successfully gotten a hold of a Prince Leon from right after the conclusion of the „Invisible Kingdom“ Arc, and will now confront him with some rapid fire questions!! (In English) Don't miss it!!

Topic 1 – About being Nohrian Royalty

Anna: Prince Leon, thank you for your time. It must be tough being recognized by everyone every single day. You do have a lot of fans after all.

Leon: A member of the Nohrian royal family must never embarass themselves, be firm of mind, and always remember to present themselves with grace. However, I sometimes end up wearing my clothes inside out for some reason. I really should be more careful... By the way, have we met somewhere before... ?

Topic 2 – About Kamui

Anna: So, what do you think of Kamui precisely? Also, if Kamui were below you in age, would you rather have them as a younger brother or sister?

Leon: They do have their talents, but I guess no matter how old they get, they are so unreliable it always makes me want to help them out. It seems I just can't leave them on their own. As for if Kamui were younger than me, I'd prefer to have them as a younger sister. A younger brother would likely mean more competition, you see.

Topic 3 – About his siblings

Anna: I see... So you would prefer another little sister. Well, how do you feel about your older brother and sister?

Leon: In many ways, Marx is the strongest man in Nohr. It shows in how he embodies the ideal of the Nohrian crown prince, his skill with the sword... how as an older brother, he shows a special kindness only to his siblings. However, there are ways in which he can be just too stubborn. Although we are currently amicable with each other, his unbending nature has caused us to quarrel in the past, to the point he even hit me once.

This refers to the Drama CDs

Anna: Ehh! Prince Marx might have just made himself the enemy of 50 million Leon fans around the whole world.

Leon: As you may know, in the whole kingdom of Nohr, Camilla's beauty and the depth of her affection is unmatched. The way she coldly dispatches of her enemies is also more than befitting of Nohrian royalty. Although it seems she doesn't pay much attention, she has actually been focusing on me quite a bit... Her offer to share a bath has been troubling for me though.

Leon, your siscon tendencies are showing.

Anna: Mhm mhm... //Taking a bath with Camilla... Now that's some good material.// So how about your younger sister, Elise?

Leon: I'll just say this here, but I feel like she's a great help in a lot different ways. This isn't just me, all of us siblings have come to truly rely on her. I just wish she would stop tackling me with all her strength whenever we met. *laughs* I also want her to stop drumming her fists against my back so relentlessly. It actually hurts a lot...

Topic 4 – About parent-child relations

Anna: You won't like this question, but what about your father, King Garon, and also... your mother?

Leon: My father used to be a kind man. I still remember him keeping me company during study time or letting me ride on his shoulders. Having him pat my head with his huge hand is something I used to love. He may have become an entirely different person since that incident in the past, but I would still like to meet and be able to talk to the father from my childhood just one more time.

Tagging @agoddamn here because we’ve recently discussed the extent of Leon’s memorys of the real Garon. Still a bit vague, but it seems he already had an education/training (the kanji could mean both) going before Garon died, though with his mom being so ambitious he may have started quite young still.

Leon: As far as my mother is concerned, I don't have any special memories. That woman only ever thought of me as a tool that would bind her to the king, so I couldn't bring myself to love her either. … Is that enough?

Anna: Th- Thank you. A- Anyway, your son also seems to be rather... how to put this? Quirky... //Oh jeez! I brough up another topic he hates!!//

Leon: This is about Foleo, I see. At first I also mistook his intentions, but it turns out he is simply sticking to his own personal aesthetic. Just knowing about his convictions, I can honestly say I'm fine with it. Someday though he'll have to make a decision regarding the calling passed down through his blood, what it means to be Nohrian royalty at it’s core. … When the time comes, I hope his courage will help him make the right choice.

Not sure I like how “mistook his intentions” is phrased... What other intentions could Foleo have had that wouldn’t have been okay in Leon’s eyes?

Topic 5- About himself

Anna: What do you think about being called cold-blooded? If you could give your own estimation of yourself, what would it be?

Leon: Although I'm not about to point out specific things I like about myself, I can say that I do have confidence in myself. Otherwise I wouldn't be fit to be royalty. That means even when I am sometimes insecure, I at least have to seem confident. My flaws are in those areas I don't have sufficent knowledge of. It's not that I ever neglect my studies, but I am fully aware it's still not entirely good enough.

Topic 6 – About taste in women

Anna: I am pretty sure I am asking this in the name of all your female fans, but could you share what you like in a girl? Let's give an example! You like, say, the open-minded type, or...

Leon: Well, I have never experienced a mother's love. But when it comes to choosing a partner, it's wrong to say I only long for someone to give me the love my mother never did, so I want to name a another criteria. Let's see, I'd say I like strength, but I mean that as being intelligent. Not just someone who is well-studied, but one who doesn't let their guard down around an enemy, who is able to accurately assess any given situation. That's the kind of intelligence I like.

SPECIAL GUEST TAKUMI

Takumi: Huh, it's strange seeing you two together.

Anna: Ah, it's the Prince who loves the Southern Islands! … Er, rather the Prince of Hoshido, Lord Takumi!

Leon: Prince Takumi? I thought you were staying in the southern islands right now.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is the first time (or one of the few times) Leon has used the ending zo (ぞ) to a sentence in Japanese. Usually his style of speech is already pretty casual and „boyish“ in the anime-sense (it doesn't work exactly like that in real life), with him ending many sentences in „da“ (だ). It's makes it sound a bit harder.. ぞ can be seen as a step up in that, really „decisive“ sounding. It's something you would only use with friends or people of lower social standing, but we can guess which one he means here.~

Takumi: …? What are you two on about?

Leon: Speaking of, thank you for sending me that miso supply the other day. I am grateful for it.

Anna: Lord Leon actually ended up cooking the soup for himself. Suprisingly though...

Leon: That's right. I understand what I like best after all. This time I decided to try putting some tomatoes in it.

Takumi: T- Tomatoes!? You put tomatoes in miso soup!? Please stop joking. This is why you are Nohr's tomato prince...

Leon: Who are you calling tomato prince!? I think it's terrible how you Hoshidans always cling to your old traditions.

Anna: Uh.. Haha. Looks like I got between them~!

-----------------------------

Again, sorry for the small images in places. I have tried finding a fix for it, but no luck. At least it’s not most pictures again like last time. Anyway, hope you enjoyed.

The next update will include all the poll results, and as you could see with the Takumi translation... that’s huge. I overestimated how long it would take me this time, but I can safely say the next one will be a long one. Hope you look forward to it.

#nanigma translates #fire emblem fates #fe14 #leon #leo #fire emblem leon #fire emblem leo #fanbook

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freshlyjuicedbeetles · 6 years

Text

Kandomere x Reader - Notice Me

lucacangettathisass replied to your post “Got any requests?”

Could I please request a kandomere x human reader one shot where the reader is completely oblivious to kandomere's feelings even though he flirts with them a lot, subtly and unsubtly, and it is Hell Someone Free Him From This Torture Montehugh Stop Laughing

This is a continuation of all my other Kandomere ‘fics where the character is a jeweler. I use ‘I’ and first-person perspective because I think it flows better as a self-insert. This story is also known as ‘We Learn the Author Doesn’t Know How to Flirt’

My flagship store had been open and thriving for several months before Kandomere graced us with his presence. It was a Monday, April 21st and sunny out. Funny how your memory works when something important happens. I could hear my ovaries popping in my ears when he walked in, a leather jewelry box in his hand. All my male attracted staff stopped to catch a glimpse. We’d had plenty of attractive people come in before, being in the heart of Elftown and the best jeweler in the city (Seriously, there was a poll), but his aura enhanced it. He was mysterious and powerful.

I had a feeling about him, that he was important; that he is in general and would be to me. Love at first sight, maybe? The instant he stepped in, his moonlight eyes were on me. Was the feeling mutual?

“Hi!” I greeted him, “Is there anything I can help you with?” I was thanking every deity listening that I didn’t stumble on my words.

Kandomere walked up the counter, “Yes, I would like this to be restored.” He opened the jewelry box and a silver gorget laid inside on a bed of velvet lining. It was scratched and beaten to hell.

I leaned over the cool glass counter to examine it and carefully removed it.

“May I ask what happened?”

“Let’s just say, an occupational hazard. Will you be able to save it?” Kandomere asked, a bit of worry in his voice.

I examined it further, “It’s definitely in bad shape. Scratched, warped. Did someone run over it with a car?”

Kandomere said nothing, but his look said, ‘It’s a long story.’

“These scratches are deep around the engraving, I’d have to completely redo the bottom text, but yes, it’s salvageable. I’d say it’ll take a week, week and a half and probably around $150 ish.” I grabbed some forms from under the counter. “If you’ll fill these out, I’ll get right to work on it. Pretty simple stuff, your contact info, mostly.”

Kandomere nodded as he filled out the forms.

“Just so I know what I’m working on, I need to know how old it is and if it’s magical or not. The last time someone on my staff or I didn’t ask before we started work on restoring a piece, Brandi ended up breathing fire for a week and it was a complete disaster.”

“That’s how I met my fiancé, the firefighter,” Brandi chimed in from the back.

“That’s awesome and all, but how about you get around to updating those forms she’s talking about before, I don’t know, someone summons Bigfoot for a commitment ceremony just because they looked at a toe ring wrong.” Matt jeered at Brandi.

Kandomere gave a light chuckle, “I can assure you, it’s rather plain for elven ware. No curses or embedded magic. It was my father’s, I’d say it’s at least fifty, sixty years old.”

I nodded as he spoke. I wrote up his ticket, gave it to him and replaced the gorget back in the jewelry box.

“I greatly appreciate you taking this on, I can’t see how it’ll be an easy project.” He said as he shook my hand.

His hands were the perfect combination of softness and strength, the hands of someone who was not afraid to work but also took care of himself.

I smiled, becoming infatuated with this man, “It’s not a problem at all. I look forward to the challenge.”

As soon as he was gone, the story erupted into woof whistles and giggles.

“Oh. My. God. He was gorgeous!” Violet squealed, kicking her feet in her chair.

“He could cast an elven spell on me any day.” Matt whistled.

“He’s single! I didn’t see a ring! Did you see a ring? Because I didn’t see a ring!” Avery exclaimed.

“Chill out guys, we’ve had legit celebrities come in here and no one freaked out this bad,” I said, trying to calm everyone down.

“None were as hot as him.” Matt countered, plainly.

“Okay, okay, whatever. Just get back to work. We’re a place of business, not a middle school cafeteria.” I sighed but still found humor in the situation.

I started work on the gorget that day. I used my phone to translate the text. ‘Elves above all. Above all elves.’

That left a bad taste in my mouth. He was one of those elves. Why was he so nice to me? Did he even know what it said? Was he playing a trick on me, hoping I’d screw it up so he could leave a bad review proclaiming the humans were indeed idiots?

While it made me uncomfortable, it gave me the incentive to do my absolute best. I blew up the image to capture every dip and swirl of the ancient language. The text would have to be the last part I worked on, but curiosity got the better of me. I had to at least reshape it first.

It wasn’t long until Kandomere was back, three days to be exact.

“Oh, hello!” I said, “Did you want an update on your gorget?”

“No,” Kandomere said, “I was interested in a custom piece. A brooch, to be specific.”

I loved custom pieces. They allowed me to be creative and to surprise my clients. I looked forward to a lot of those projects each day, but as long I was working with jewelry, making it or repairing it, I was happy.

I smiled, “Follow me back and we’ll get something sketched out for you.”

“Did you have any design ideas or references?” I asked as we sat down in my office, my pencil and paper ready to sketch.

Kandomere looked momentarily thrown off, as though he was completely surprised I asked such a question. Later, I would learn that this trip to my store was just to see me and he hadn’t prepared that far in advance.

“Filigree.”

I’d also learn that he only blurted out the first word that came to his mind. He was lucky it was appropriate.

I started sketching the whimsical pattern. “I’d recommend a single gemstone in the center, probably an amethyst or sapphire. Your coloring leans into the darker jewel tones as for complementary colors.”

Why did I say that? Elves had known their complimentary color pallet since they knew what colors were.

I passed him the rough sketch, “What do you think?”

Kandomere looked it over, “Perfect. I’d be honored to wear it.”

I beamed at the compliment, “Great! I can have it done sometime in the week after next for $250.”

He nodded in agreement.

“I’m sorry if this is personal, or makes things awkward, but I translated the text…” I had to say something, it had been needling me for days.

Kandomere knew exactly what I was getting at, “It is a harmful and outdated sentiment which I do not believe in, but the gorget was my father’s and I can’t bear to part with it. Maybe one day I’ll be able to lose it in a drawer somewhere, but that hasn’t happened yet.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. He must have met a lot to you.”

Kandomere nodded and changed the subject, “Nevertheless, I am eager to see your work.”

“And I thank you for your patronage! Your gorget will be done next Friday. It’s already looking sooo much better.” I said as we left my office. No paperwork today, we already had his info from last time.

“I have nothing to worry about when it’s in your skilled hands.” With one final look at me, he was out the door, into the bright sunlight.

It wasn’t until that night I wondered if he really was flirting with me. My skilled hands? Did he mean that double entendre? Was I reading too much into this? I sighed and turned on a podcast, burying my thoughts in refining gemstones.

As Friday rolled around, I was excited for him to see the gorget once it was completed. Every time I heard someone come in, I looked up, hoping it was him.

Around noon, it was finally him. “Kandomere! Hi, I have it right here!”

I kept the gorget in its box close to me. His moonlight eyes widened when he saw it. Momentarily, he seemed speechless.

“It is magnificent. The level of artistry is exceptional. It looks better than new.”

“I’m happy I could restore it for you.”

“I can’t thank you enough, honestly.”

“It’s my job, no need!”

Kandomere paid with his card and returned to work. Once he was gone, everyone flocked to me.

“He likes you.” Brandi grinned.

“He was totally flirting with you.” Avery giggled.

“Ask him out!” Violet implored.

“CALL HIM!” Matt urged.

“If you don’t, I will,” Fabian warned.

I scoffed, “You all are crazy. If that was flirting, then that mom of two from this morning was flirting also. And I’m not saying that because I don’t feel pretty or anything, I just genuinely don’t believe he was flirting. Also, isn’t incredibly unprofessional?”

No one had strong rebuttals and lost interest, returning to their work.

That night I curled up in bed and unlocked my phone. I had a few notifications from my business accounts. My store’s Instagram and Facebook had been liked from the same account. Kandomere had followed my accounts. Out of curiosity, I snooped on his profiles. His Instagram was blank, leading me to believe that he had just created to follow me. His Facebook was locked up pretty tight with privacy controls, but I did get a look at his selfie profile pic.

A schoolgirl crush bloomed in my heart. Maybe the handsome and mysterious elf did like me. I feel asleep with my phone clutched to my chest and smile on my face.

Kandomere returned a few days later to pick up his brooch. With him was someone who I could only guess was Hagrid’s American cousin.

I was just as excited for Kandomere to see his brooch. I felt I kept it simple while still retaining the signature elf whimsy. I was pretty proud of it.

“Hi! Are you excited to see your brooch?” I asked.

“I could never grow tired of the wonders you create,” Kandomere answered.

I awed internally. How sweet! Okay, that was probably a flirt.

I pulled out its box with my logo on the top and presented it to him.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face. “You have amazed me once again. How do you do it?”

It was a rhetorical question, but I still answered. “Hard work and some talent, mostly!”

“Is that what I think it is?” American Hagrid asked in disbelief.

Fabian was working on a leather wrist cuff that was signature to a famous musician. I loved the band myself and they were in town for a show. They were performing at a small and intimate venue instead of a large arena show. I wanted to get tickets, but they sold so quickly, all I could get was one seat. I didn’t want to go by myself, so I decided to be more vigilant about when the tickets would go on sale if they came back.

“Indeed, it is my friend,” Fabian replied, pride in his voice.

“I’m still amazed when people like him come in,” I said, “I’ve listened to him since I was a teenager.” The musician was so famous, no one had to say his name.

“He likes that band too.” American Hagrid said, nudging Kandomere.

“Whaddya know so does she,” Fabian goaded, nodding towards me.

“Would you like to accompany me to their show?” Kandomere asked, bit embarrassed by everyone’s comments, but still found humor in it.

“Yeah! If I can get tickets, that is.” I said, not thinking.

Kandomere and everyone I worked with looked at me expectantly.

“Jesus, this is painful,” his friend said, his face buried in his hand and gruff laugh.

“Oh, shit, you’re asking me on a date,” I said, nearly dropping a box of findings in shock. “Wait, are you really?”

Me? I was human. I didn’t have perfect, effortless looks or supernatural powers. I worked for everything I had. Elves just had things handed to them. Let’s be real, my brand was so popular largely because I was exploiting elves’ love of useless, shiny things. It was only a plus to them that I was actually good at what I did.

Kandomere grinned and nodded, “Yes, I am.”

I giggled and nodded, “Yes, I do!”

That was the first of many ‘yeses’ in our relationship.

#lucacangettathisass #kandomere #bright #bright fanfiction #kandomere x reader #kandomere fanfiction #kandomerefics

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gosmmmarketing-blog · 4 years

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The 5 Minute Rule for Instagram Growth (Instagram Strategy)

Okay. So I have this five minute rule that I've never shared, but it's been a big key in growing my Instagram account over the last year to over a hundred thousand followers. And also, more importantly, it's been a big key to helping me show up higher in the algorithm and build real relationships. So anytime I have downtime, like I do right now, I basically go into my phone and I do this five minute roll, and I do this every day whenever I have five minutes, and this is really the only thing I do actively on Instagram each day to make sure that I'm engaging, building my engagement, building my authority in the algorithm, so that I'm constantly growing my account. But I don't really spend more than this five minutes a day on the platform unless I'm doing a post.

So I'll show you what that is in just one second. So, the five minute rule, if you're excited to hear this, give this article a like and make sure that you hit that subscribe button. If you haven't subscribed yet, what are you waiting for? Subscribe and hit the bell to get notified every single time I post a new article on this channel and I'm going to kind of go through each of the categories that I do this five minute rule in so that you can fully understand the process. So first thing is that it's broken into sections. So the first section that I do, it's called existing audience. So basically, anyone who follows me that day or anyone who engages with my content that day, there's a couple of things that I do to further nurture the relationship.

If you haven't watched my article on owning the Instagram algorithm, make sure you check it out because you'll see in that article the three key factors to owning the algorithm and making sure that you show up in the newsfeed. So, if you check that out, you'll see that one of the key factors is relationships. So that's why this is so important to me.

And this is why I do this five minute roll every single day. So the first thing is, people who comment on my content on my feed or people who messaged me in my DMS or people who follow me, what I'll do is I'll send them a voice message. So I send some people voice messages and just introduce myself and say, "Hello," because sending rich content in DMs is really valuable to the algorithm to say, "Wow, you must actually have a real relationship with this person if you're taking the time to send a voice message." So it's going to actually help you show up in that person's feed more. The other thing that I do is I send article messages to say welcome or I ask questions, and a big thing that I'll do is ask, "Why are you here and what did you want to see from my account and what are you looking forward to learning from me?" And that can help me find great content topics for my Instagram feed.

The next thing I do is polls. I love asking questions on Instagram and using it for data and information on what my audience wants, both for my free content and my paid content. So I'll go on and I'll invite people to things or ask questions. So one of the big things that I use polls for it is, if I have a new opt in or I have a new webinar or masterclass, I'll go on and say, "Do you want to come to the masterclass tomorrow? Vote yes or no." And whoever votes yes, I then go through that list and I send a direct message to every person who voted yes with the link to sign up for the webinar.

And it's a great tool to get more butts in seats for your webinar and basically interacts directly with people, which people kind of get surprised by. The next thing I do is questions. I love the questions feature on Instagram stories. So I'll ask a question and I do this a lot when it comes to figuring out what kind of content you want to see on YouTube.

I'll say, "What do you want to see on my YouTube channel?" And people send me all these ideas, and a lot of the times those ideas then turn into my YouTube articles like today's. This actually was inspired from a comment and a question I got on Instagram. The next thing is, after I post a new photo, and this is still under my existing audience or the audience that's already there following me or just new to following me, whenever, I post a new photo on my feed, I will go in to the previous photo that I posted on my feed and I will like, so I will heart every single comment on that photo until Instagram cuts me off, but I will like every single comment on that previous photo to kind of ding and notify those followers on my account that I have a new piece of content that just went up and it'll grab their attention to come back to my account and find that new photo.

So that's just my existing audience category and that five minutes, that's one thing I do. You don't have to do all of it, but pick one of those things to do every day within that five minutes and you'd be surprised how many of those things you can get done to nurture those relationships. So the second thing is finding like-minded accounts. And this is so important because if you're trying to wait for everybody else to find you on social media, you're never going to get found. I often say, "Don't be the cool guy at the party. Be the friendly guy at the party because no one wants to talk to the cool guy at the party and they're intimidated by them." So you want to be the person who goes out of your way to talk to everybody. So what I will do is I will actually go onto my account and I will search keywords or tags within my niche and I will find new people to interact with.

The other cool bonus factor of this is that if I do this, I'm also finding all of these great pieces of content that I will then save and curate for my own feed or for my story to share later. So it's allowing me to gather content that I really love as well. So I'm interacting, I'm gathering content, and on those pieces of content that I really like, I will heart them and I will leave a valuable comment so that I can get on that person's radar. And I will also interact with people in the comments on that post to, again, expose myself to a whole new audience to help me grow my account faster. So the next thing is hashtags. And I have a whole list in my phone of the hashtags that are relevant to who I want to be attracting and the kind of audience that I know I want to be following me. So I go through that hashtag list every day in this five minute rule, and I basically go in and I search the hashtags on Instagram and I find people, like I said before, to go and interact with and I find content that I can save to use on my account or to share in my stories.

But, most importantly, I use those hashtags to find people that I haven't interacted with yet or that haven't heard of me yet, and I go in and I direct message them or I'll comment on their post or I'll respond to something that they put on their story just to get on their radar to say, "Hey, I'm here. We haven't met yet, but I'm super excited to introduce myself." And when I'm talking about hashtags, I use a tool called Flick, which I explained thoroughly in this article on how I post on Instagram. So we can show you a bit of that right now, but make sure you go watch that full article because that's how I find the right hashtags to be attracting with on Instagram and it's an amazing, amazing tool.

So we'll link to that below. Look at this hashtag tool here, you can see that you can type in anything. It's called flick.tech. It's about $10 a month, $11 a month U.S. and it's really, really good. Now, just like anything, this is going to take you a minute to create these hashtag groups, but it is so worth it because you'll see a huge increase in your engagement. So say I want to look up YouTube articles. And it'll even populate some of the things that come up. So let's say, YouTube articles. And the next thing is, once I build a relationship with people on Instagram and I introduce myself or we start talking back and forth, I won't make time to then follow up with them, a week, two weeks, a month later, and I will make sure that I'm consistently interacting.

So it's not this one time thing, but we actually open a dialogue and that's what happens when you voice message or article message new followers. They know it's a safe place for them to actually talk to you and you have no idea how many of those conversations that I've started with people have turned into paying customers and clients because they know that I'm a real person that they can actually interact with. So make sure that you continue to nurture the relationship and continue to interact with those people, especially if you have a new account.

Really value those new people who follow you because they are the people that are going to be with you in the long run if you value them in the beginning. Now, the next thing is making sure that you respond, like I said, to pretty much everything. When I was first starting to grow my account, everybody got a response and still to this day I have over a hundred thousand followers on Instagram and I still do my best to respond to every single DM that I get. Some of them end up in spam and I don't see them, but I try and respond to every single DM that I get, every question that I get. And I just block out time outside of this five minute rule, like once a week, to go through and answer all my DMs. So, like I said, I'm not on Instagram all day, every day. I have this five minute rule and everything I just mentioned goes into that five minute rule.

I interact with existing accounts that follow me, my existing audience that follows me. I interact with like minded accounts to grow my following. I search hashtags to grow my following and curate content. I build the relationships with people ongoing in the DMs and I make sure that I'm responding to everything in my Direct Messages. And if you have a smallish audience, there's no excuse, you should be responding to everything in your DMS because that's what's going to build relationships and help you show up higher in the algorithm on Instagram.

Now, if you've enjoyed this, let me know what your biggest takeaway was from this article and what you're going to start doing on Instagram. If you haven't followed me on Instagram yet, you can find me @sunnylenarduzzi. Head over there, follow me, shoot me over a DM, and you'll see, I'll respond. If you like this article, I've got a whole playlist dedicated to Instagram growth and getting real results on that platform.

Make sure you check that out here and make sure you check out my article on how to find the right hashtags and how I post on Instagram right here. If you like this, hit the like button below. Be sure to subscribe and share this with your friends or anyone who needs to see it. And I'll see you in the next article. Bye..

#instagram #social media marketing #socialmarketing #instagramtips

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