#and notice the typos i missed in the process but skip that for now | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bluedalahorse · 4 months

Text

So is now the time to post the opening of my unfinished YR abortion road trip fic?

Maybe. Maybe today is the day! This isn’t on AO3 because I haven’t finished it, but @heliza24 really wants me to finish it and would be glad that I posted even this part to fandom.

There’s more written than just this excerpt, so I could always post more if people are curious.

No title yet, because this is untitled.

Summary: Shortly after season 2, Felice wanders off campus to process a high-profile arrest and other recent shakeups at Hillerska. She doesn’t expect to meet Sara Eriksson, who is in the process of running away.

—

Felice’s Phone

Group chat: MANOR HOUSE GIRLZ (Fredrika, Maddie, Stella)

Maddie: yooooo Felice

Maddie: tell us you missed Swedish class for something epic

Stella: we took notes for you

Stella: mine are better than Fredrika’s

Fredrika: LIES mine are better than Stella’s

Maddie: you’re not in your room

Maddie: girl are you even at school?

Fredrika: just tell us where you are and we won’t snitch

Stella: Felice?

Stella: please check in

Stella: and maybe flirt with one of the local boys so he buys you booze

Fredrika: and then share?

Maddie: don’t listen to them

Maddie: only flirt with someone hot

Stella: yeah he’s got to be at least as hot as Fredrika

Stella: lol j/k ahahaha what

Fredrika: heeeyyyyyyy Feliiiiiice where are youuuuu

Fredrika: we’re a little worried, just let us know

Fredrika: tho at least you didn’t get sick and disappear into the bathroom like SOMEONE we could mention

Stella: but we’re not mentioning her

Stella: bc we don’t mention traitors

—

Felice sits at the edge of a convenience store parking lot in Bjärstad, counting all the scars in her nail polish. It’s supposed to be a fresh coat. Stella brushed the ballet slipper pink onto Felice’s nails on Tuesday, and right now it’s only—Thursday afternoon? Felice is drunk on leftover vodka she stashed in her closet behind her Prada handbag, but not so drunk she’s forgotten that it’s Thursday. A Thursday full of literal dark clouds, at that.

Tuesday was sunny, and it was also the day that police arrived at Hillerska and escorted that guy away. That one, the ex. Wednesday, Felice’s ex-best friend, her real ex in any kind of emotional attachment sense, came back to school for half a day, but couldn’t make it past lunch. Now people are spreading rumors about Sara Eriksson puking in the bathroom. So maybe it’s been a weird enough forty-eight hours that Felice hasn’t noticed herself scarring up her nail polish.

And maybe, now that today is Thursday, Felice needed to skip classes and get drunk and go for a walk off campus, and buy a bag of chips from a nothing convenience store in this nowhere town. There are things getting drunk won’t solve. But it’s not like being sober is going to solve things for Felice right now, either.

Felice’s phone vibrates against her thigh. She pulls it out of the pocket of her sweatpants and notes the texts from Fredrika and Stella and Maddie in her (recently purged) group chat. They’re asking her where she is, and is she coming to dinner. Please check in, fuck. How performatively worried. Felice unlocks her phone and almost fumbles her way through a typo-soaked message before deciding she’ll do this psychically. I am walking back to Hillerska now, she thinks in the general direction of school, slow and deliberate. She leaves the rest up to Maddie’s alleged witch powers and pulls herself to her feet.

Felice’s ankles ache the way they do when she’s walked on her Jimmy Choo heels for too long. She’s not wearing heels, though, only slides. Her legs wobble. Her thoughts swirl in slow, doomed circles, like dirty water circling a drain, as thunder rumbles overhead and a cool breeze rustles nearby trees. The rain is imminent, and Felice contemplates how much worse it will be when she shows back up on campus not only drunk, but drunk and completely soaked through, her carefully styled curls a wreck.

(Stella, Fredrika, and Maddie could get away with a stunt like that. A teacher might ignore their obvious alcohol breath and just tell them to put on dry pajamas and go to bed. But for Felice, they notice everything. Because Felice sticks out to begin with.)

Felice is caught in a vision of the headmistress, hissing the word inebriated on a phone call to parents, when a van pulls into the parking lot. She’s not as up on cars as the Forest Ridge boys, but this van definitely belongs to a Bjärstad local. She braces herself for an awful catcall as the window rolls down halfway, certain she’s about to get leered at by some guy in a permanently affixed football beanie.

Instead, it’s a girl. No football beanie, only football confidence. Felice recognizes the girl from Simon’s instagram—she’s come up a few times. Felice hasn’t been counting, but she’s noticed.

“You’re in choir with Simon,” says the girl. “Felice, right? I’m Rosh. Need a ride back to school?”

“I can walk. I think,” Felice says. And then, so she can own her story, she adds, “I might be a little drunk?”

Felice adjusts her posture, straightening her spine and setting her hand on her hip as she makes eye contact with Rosh. Immediately a sense of embarrassment twinges in her chest at her pose. What the—was she modeling? She’s not making a case for relative sobriety, whatever she’s doing.

Rosh turns to consult with someone next to her, then turns back to Felice.

“Come on,” she says. “Get in the car. Back seat.”

“Um. Thanks.”

The back door of the van slides open. Felice doesn’t have time to question who Rosh has next to her in the passenger seat. She receives an answer soon enough anyway. The back of Sara Eriksson’s head is so familiar—defeated brown waves that haven’t seen a wash day in too long. Sara’s shoulders are hunched over; her neck is bent. She does not turn around.

Two weeks ago, if Felice saw Sara looking like that, she would have pulled Sara close and rubbed her back until they talked through what was wrong.

(Part of her still wants to. But she doesn’t like the idea of Sara mentally comparing her hugs to someone else’s, and she’s allowed to be petty about that.)

“You don’t have to talk to me,” Sara says, tapping away on her phone. She sounds exhausted. “I’m busy anyway.”

“If you hydrate, we won’t ask about the drinking,” says Rosh to Felice. “There’s sports drink behind the passenger seat. Take one.”

Right. Sports drink. Because Rosh does sports, Felice has noticed. It sounds like an order more than an offer. Felice ducks down and liberates one of the bottles from its six-pack. The liquid inside is neon-bright and tastes of soft metal and fake citrus. Rain splatters on the van’s windows—the first sparse and irregular drops, followed by the entire pounding ensemble of water. For the next few minutes, Felice focuses on the horizon, where blurred trees meet the mirror-gray sky, and sips her post-football-run drink. Sara takes care of the directions to her old dorm, uttering an occasional “right” or “left” or “go straight here” to Rosh. Felice can’t tell why she’s doing it. Why she didn’t just insist on leaving Felice behind.

Then, the conversation shifts. Or at least, the conversation that Felice isn’t a part of shifts.

“Rosh?” Sara whispers. “I can’t find anywhere cheap enough for us to stay.”

“Even on the apps?” Rosh replies. “Look, I told you, I have some money—”

“I can’t take your money.”

“It’s money I owe Simon anyway.”

“That’s even worse. He already hates me. You should hate me more.”

Sara breathes in, then out, audibly. She does it a few more times. Felice’s own lungs strain in sympathy.

“We have to find a place for the weekend,” says Sara. “Or we can’t do it.”

“What are you talking about?” Felice finally asks. She presses a hand to her thigh to keep her leg from jiggling. Since she was seven years old and started her first etiquette classes, she’s always been able to sit still. Always.

“We’re going on a weekend trip,” Rosh answers, too brightly. “To Stockholm—”

“—to an island,” Sara says at the same time.

“Stockholm has lots of islands,” Rosh improvises. “Sara just needs to be away for a weekend. That’s all.”

“It doesn’t sound like you’re going on a normal trip,” says Felice, hearing the suspicion in her voice, and how it sounds like her father.

“We told Mamma we were traveling,” says Sara. “My period’s late. I don’t––I don’t think it’s coming. I know it isn’t coming, because—”

“Don’t tell me that.”

“—I did a pregnancy test.”

Felice digs her chipped nails into her knee. She knew how Sara’s sentence was going to end. Not the way she knows people’s names or the answers on a test she studied for, but the way she knows to pull her hand away when she touches a hot stove. Swift and unthinking. She even gasps the same way she does when she’s burned. Not out of surprise but out of pain.

“Fuck, Sara,” says Rosh. “You don’t have to tell her. She could tell the media.”

“Sorry,” says Sara. “It just came out. I’m scared, okay?” At last she turns around and looks toward Felice, her fingers curled around the back of the passenger seat. Her face is red and purple-tinged in all the places that indicate crying and sleepless nights. “Look, you can’t tell anyone. Rosh and I are going to deal with it. We already got the pills. I can’t deal with it at home because of Simon and Mamma. I don’t know what they’d say.”

“We wanted to use my apartment,” Rosh adds. “We thought my mother was going to visit one of my aunties this weekend. But auntie came to visit us instead at the last minute.”

“Please don’t tell anyone at school, Felice.” Sara turns away again. “Or Simon. Don’t tell him either.”

“People are already talking about how you threw up in the bathroom,” says Felice. “And if you’re absent from school again, they’re going to wonder.”

“Please don’t tell,” Sara repeats, voice muffled as she pushes her face into her coat sleeves.

As much as the infusion of electrolytes, courtesy of Rosh, has helped Felice to steady her head, she’s still too drunk for this. Or maybe, again, she isn’t drunk enough. She tries to imagine her math class tomorrow, working trigonometry problems with an empty chair beside her and actually knowing why the chair is empty. She can’t. Felice can’t even imagine faking sick and staying home from class, because then Stella and Fredrika would come visit her with buns and coffee, and then they’d want to gossip.

At first, being able to gossip felt good. But ever since the arrest—since the security from the palace arriving to keep out news cameras—gossip is more like gangrene eating at an already wounded limb. Felice needs amputation, or at least closure. Until then, she’s just going to keep asking herself questions about what part of the catastrophe she made happen. Why didn’t she ask Sara who she had a crush on, like best friends always do? Why hadn’t she been more concerned that Sara was gone all the time and came back late to their room? Why hadn’t she told Sara how bad things got with him last term, to warn her?

Felice doesn’t want to keep asking herself the questions, because this isn’t her fault. Maybe Sara isn’t the only one who needs an emergency abortion. Maybe Felice needs to abort Sara from her life, so she can move on.

But if she’s going to do this, she has to make it her choice.

“My family has a vacation cabin,” Felice says. “We can go there to do what you need to do. But after that, we will never speak to one another ever again. Alright?”

Sara’s shrunk down in her seat so much that Felice can’t see her anymore, but Felice is pretty sure from the rustling of her coat sleeves that she’s nodding.

Five minutes later, Felice is on the phone with her mother, feeding her excuses and exaggerations until she gets the approval to leave school for the weekend. At the same time, Rosh turns the van around and drives away from Hillerska.

#young royals #my fic snippets #sara eriksson #felice ehrencrona #rosh young royals #cw pregnancy #cw abortion

15 notes · View notes

outrbanxs · 4 years

Text

uncovered - jj maybank

summary: ”where jj see’s you uncovered for the first time”

warning: mentions of body insecurities, unworthiness, slight smut ;) (and typos more than likely)

notes: okay so this is my first every writing piece! Not too sure how I went but I did get a bit carried away (oops). I just wanted to say that all the mentions of feeling a certain way about appearance were all based off of personal experience. I’m sorry if I portrayed it in the wrong way, as I know that body confidence and insecurities is something which everyone experiences differently. If you ever need somebody to talk to, please, please, please feel free to dm me at anytime <3

wc: 2573

is this my first fic? sure. but i still made a taglist, so click the link if you wanna join :)

gif by: anakin-skywalker

You always wondered how you got so lucky with him. Between the rest of the pogues, you were clearly different in your appearance. Your friends had the classic Outer Banks body. Thin, tan, looks absolutely stunning in a bikini. You weren’t like that. The rest of your friend always tried their hardest to make you feel included and loved; they knew that you didn’t like how you look and that you compared yourself to them - it was hard for you not to.

But out of all the pogues, JJ was the one who adored you the most. He was the most aware of the way you were feeling and did everything in his power to make you feel as beautiful as possible. There were times when he could see how you were feeling before you even did. Like the times when you all went swimming in the marsh, but you were hesitant, with a towel wrapped around your body. He gave you a kiss on your head, gently unwrapped the towel from your body and then jumped into the water, with your hand in his. He was constantly giving you small kisses all of your face and hugging you in ways which you knew made you feel safe.

The thing was, that this always happened while you were swimming, while you had a bathing suit on. When you first started developing feelings for JJ, you tried to suppress them, for many reasons. But the reason you were most afraid was JJ having to see you naked. The thought of you being naked in front of someone else made you want to crawl out of your own skin.

But when JJ and you shared a kiss one night at the chateau, you couldn’t believe that he felt the same way. You thought that maybe he was just really drunk and had mistaken you for a random touron, but this wasn’t the case. You made sure that nothing went further than kissing that night, scared of what may have happened if you did. But when you two went back inside, you found a bedroom, and JJ sat down, patting his lap with his arms open, intending for you to climb on top. You froze in your spot. You knew that you couldn’t do it, sit on him and crush him. He could see the worry in your eyes. His heart broke at the sight of you being insecure. In his eyes, you were the most beautiful person in the entirety of obx.

“y/n, come here” he spoke, gently.

Your eyes moved to his eyes, where he looked at you with nothing but care and love. You moved to sit down next to him on the bed, with your eyes facing down to your hands in your lap. He moved one of his hands to intertwine with yours, squeezing it. Neither of you spoke, you could tell what he was saying by his touch. His thumb moved back and forth on your hand, which made you feel more serene. You let out a sigh and rested your head on his shoulder. He moved closer to you than he already was and you could feel the worry leave you. Being so close to him made you feel more safe and secure than you had felt in your whole life.

“You have nothing to be afraid of, you know that, right?” He said softly, resting his head on top of yours.

You paused for a few moments.

“I know, sometimes I just feel…” you trailed off.

“I know. I can tell. I hate that you feel the way you do.”

“I’m here though,” he continued. “I know that it takes time to break down the image that you have of yourself. I know that it’s not easy just to disregard the way that you feel. It might take some time, but I want you one day to look at yourself and see you the way that I see you.”

That night, JJ asked you to be his girlfriend. But what you didn’t know was that that night, JJ made a promise to himself. He wanted to do absolutely everything in his power to make you feel like a goddess. It broke him to know that you don’t like the way that you look, and he wanted to change that.

From that night onwards, JJ was forever trying to make you feel loved. He would compliment the way that you looked, no matter what you were wearing. He would say sweet nothings to you, which made you feel wanted and cared for. There was nothing that JJ could have done more to make you feel beautiful, and you did, for the first time in a very long time.

But you knew that you wanted to take things further with JJ. You knew that him going this long without sex was probably agonised for him, considering he was always getting with anyone with a heartbeat. But you admired the fact that he was waiting for you.

You two had spoken a few times about sex. He told you at the start of your relationship that he wanted you to be completely open and honest with him, no matter what it was about. He wanted to be 100% sure that you were okay with it before agreeing. He didn’t want you to feel like you were only doing it for him because he wanted to. But you were ready. Did the thought of it scare you? Yes. But you knew that there was no one else in the world you would want your first time to be with.

So one night, when your family was on the mainland for the night, you invited JJ over. You made sure that everything was perfect. There was no mess anywhere, the bedsheets were freshly washed and most importantly, you were wearing lingerie which made you feel beautiful. You had learnt that in order to believe anyone else when they called you beautiful, you had to feel that way. And wearing this did make you feel beautiful. You knew that you were ready.

When he arrived, you wasted no time getting to the bedroom. It was odd to you that you were this eager to do this, but something in you had sparked. JJ was surprised by your sudden eagerness but nonetheless carried on.

You sat down on your bed, with JJ next to you. You took a deep breath before continuing.

“I know that you have been patient with me, waiting until I was comfortable enough with myself to do this. But I’m ready now.”

“y/n…” he trailed out. “If you’re only saying this because you think I’m just eager for sex, you’re wrong. I promise that I’m fine with waiting for you. I know that this process may take a long time, but I’m okay with it. I promise you I’m fine. Please don’t-“. You cut him off.

“JJ, I promise; I’m ready.”

He studied your eyes intensely, with his eyebrows furrowed and a slight smirk on his face. I made you crack a smile, which made him laugh too.

“What?” You asked.

“I’m looking to see if you’re lying”

“JJ! I promise I’m not” you spoke over the top of your chuckle.

“Believe me, I’m ready” you spoke more softly, looking into his eyes with reassurance.

“Well, what are we waiting for then?” He spoke jokingly, suddenly hovering over you without breaking contact with your eyes. You had this sudden feeling of lust inside of you, something which you had never really felt before. But whatever it was, you liked it.

He lent down and began to give you gentle kisses all over your face, agonisingly missing your lips. He then trailed down to your neck, kissing everywhere, trying to find your sweet spot. You let out a slight moan when he kissed just below your ear, near your jaw. He let out a slight chuckle at your reaction, proud of himself. He continued to kiss over your sweet spot until a nice red mark was formed. You knew that it was going to be very visible the next day, but you didn’t care.

JJ trailed his kisses back up onto your face, still missing your lips. You were growing impatient with the lack of contact where you craved it so much. You let a groan pass your lip, and JJ knew exactly what you were asking for. He decided to give in, kissing you square on the lips. You both skipped the part of gentle kissing which you two normally did, and skipped straight to the part where JJ’s tongue was inside your mouth. You two had never kissed this deeply before, this intensely and with this much emotion. You were starting to understand why JJ would hook up with anyone he could - this was addicting.

After a few more minutes of intensely making out, JJ trailed his lips down to your chest. Your shirt was still on, scared to take it off. You were excited, however, to see JJ’s reaction to what you were wearing underneath.

“JJ, you can take it off” you breathed out, anticipating what was coming next.

He looked back up at you and locked eyes. You knew that in that very moment, he had nothing but love and care for you.

“Are you sure about this? We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to” he asked carefully, both of you guys still panting from the kisses before.

You nodded assuringly. “I’m ready.”

He nodded briefly, trailing his hands down to the bottom of your shirt. You sat up slightly so that he could take it off more easily. He ripped it off in one motion, but as soon as you felt the cold air hit your bare stomach, you felt sickening. You suddenly lost all feeling of lust and crave, that was now replaced with anxiousness and doubt. JJ didn’t notice straight away though, his eyes were fixated on the lacy red bra that was underneath your shirt. His eyes widened, definitely not expecting to see what he saw. He looked back up and you, but your eyes were shut tight, now brimming with tears.

JJ’s attitude changed the moment he saw the way which you were feeling. He felt his heart literally break into two.

“Hey, hey, hey,” he repeated, making his way back up to the same level as your face.

“y/n, it’s okay, we don’t have to do this.”

“No.” You said abruptly, with your eyes still closed.

“I want to do this, trust me I do,” you said, with your breathing still all over the place. “I wanted to and I thought I was going to be okay. I worked myself up to do this, and I wore this bra and everything to make me feel beautiful and I genuinely thought I was going to be able to do this. But as soon as I felt the air hit my chest, I-I..” You trailed off. You were trying not to make yourself cry; you were trying to hold back the tears, knowing that if you let yourself cry, you weren’t going to be able to continue. And God, did you want to continue.

“I know this is scary,” he said, holding both of your hands and rubbing his thumb along them, the same way he did the first time the two of you had this conversation. “I know this is going to be challenging for you to do. I understand that it’s going to hard to let down some of the walls which you have built up, but know that I still think that your body is perfect just the way that it is. It makes you, you. The same y/n who I adore, the same y/n who I want to make feel as loved as possible.”

You knew that at that moment, there was nothing that was going to stop you from feeling connected to JJ. As much as it scared you, you did believe that JJ saw you differently to how you saw yourself. And you know that it is going to take some time to overcome the way that you currently feel, but you also know that you want nothing else than to be close to JJ.

“Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry” you apologised quietly. You opened your eyes, only to find a pair of blue eyes already looking at you.

“Don’t apologise,” he said softly.

“You’re right, I want to do this. I just need to get over the initial fear. I didn’t think it would actually be this hard,” you commented, with a breathy chuckle.

“Everything takes time.”

You continued to look at each other's eyes for a few more moments. You still couldn’t believe that a man as gorgeous as JJ would be your own.

When you knew that the moment was right, you nodded at JJ, giving him permission to continue. He looked back at you, weary about if you were being honest. You smiled back at him truthfully, knowing that he would do his absolute best to make you feel the most loved.

He moved away from the level of your face, turned around and threw his legs over the top of yours, straddling you again in the same position that you were before.

“Know, let’s talk about this,” he said eagerly, looking back down at the bra that made him speechless before, making you laugh. You knew that you were head over heels for this man.

He continued to kiss every inch of your stomach. He especially took his time over your stretch marks. They weren’t the ‘cute’ white ones which every person seems to get. Yours were purple, large and evident everywhere on your lower half. Although you had never mentioned this, JJ knew that you were especially insecure about them.

After more kissing, he focused his attention back towards your bra. His hand grabbed onto one of your boobs, the other he had his mouth over, kissing it. It was at that moment where the lust returned and the moment was heated again.

For the rest of the night, JJ did everything in his power to make you feel and beautiful as you could. He caressed you so passionately, full of love. He took extra time making you feel secure with yourself when he moved to the lower half of your body. When he took your shorts off, he laid kisses all over your thighs. Even throughout the most intimate of moments, ones where JJ would usually be going all out, he made sure to keep himself in line, never stopping from caressing you and kissing you.

After you both had reached your climax, JJ walked over to your bathroom, grabbed a towel and dampened it with warm water and came back to bed to make sure that you were clean. He laid gentle kisses over every part of your body that he cleaned, commenting something unique about each part of your body, something positive. Afterwards, you two cuddled up with each other, content in each other's arms. You started to believe JJ and the things which he said about you. You started to think that maybe one day, it would be possible for you to love yourself the way that JJ loves you. And that was all that JJ could ever ask for.

107 notes · View notes

guessimjoiningthespidermanfandom · 3 years

Text

Hell and Back Pt. 2

Peter Parker x bisexual!reader

Peter Parker x fem!reader

Peter Parker x black!reader

Peter Parker x villain!reader

Warnings: Language, hospital mentions, mentions of drug abuse, allusions to suicide, allusion to self harm, self deprecating thoughts, a gun, mentions of knives, mentions of the dead, anxiety, signs of abuse, abusive and toxic relationships, and fainting.

Word Count: 6.1k

Songs: Pleaser-Wallows, 505-Artic Monkeys, Sweater Weather- The Neighborhood, Daddy Issues- The Neighborhood, Paper Planes- M.I.A, We come running- Youngblood Hawke, Young dumb and broke- Khalid, Do I wanna know- Artic Monkeys, Break the Rules- Charli XCX

“I smiled, I know as much as we get into petty arguments or try to annoy each other on purpose but I’d go to hell and back for those girls. And that’s exactly what I was going to do.”

A/N: There might be some typos and grammatical errors sorry for those, I you want to be added to the Taglist just message me about or comment it. I’ll have a google form for it soon.

Series Masterlist Previous Part Next Part

When I saw my little sisters, that all went away. Sure I still called them a lot but nothing could compare to actually seeing them in person. Sapphire launched herself into my arms and I stumbled back a bit.

“I missed you too,” I said.

I hugged Aaliyah too. When I entered the apartment I heard voices. My dad’s and some feminine voice.

I walked in to find some woman who couldn't be older than 25 in my kitchen. Talking and laughing with my dad. I didn’t want to assume anything or start a scene so I just went into my room to catch up with my sisters.

We were talking about some kid who gave me a DMT pen once and I was tripping balls which I probably shouldn’t be talking about, but I want them to feel comfortable enough to come to me. Makes it easier to keep them safe.

Our dad opened the door and hung in the doorway.

“Hey… Y/N do you mind coming here for a sec?”

“Yeah sure…”

I stepped out of the room.

“Is something wrong?” It wasn’t often that he initiated a conversation that would end positively.

“No,no, not at all, I just want you to meet someone,”

When I entered the kitchen the same woman from before was still there. My dad walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“This is my girlfriend, Camilla”

I knew it . I knew it! I was trying not to be hostile toward her every problem I had was towards my dad so I smiled and waved to her.

“Camilla this is Y/N,” he pointed to me.

“Well I’ll let y’all get acquainted,” He said before leaving the room.

I sat on the kitchen island and waited for her to say something first.

“Look, I would just like to put it out there that I’m not trying to replace your mom in anyway.”

“Thanks I appreciate it,”

“Also, are you okay now?” She asked in a low voice.

“Huh?” I questioned.

“Your dad said you ran away,” Of course he did “and I saw the news with your school at the Washington Monument.” So I guess she knew more about me then expected. Not surprised she was the one to ask me and not my so called dad.

“Thanks for your concern but I’m fine, and sorry to cut this conversation short but I’m drained.”

“Oh, okay, have a nice night,”

“You, too,”

I didn’t have time to think about anything. I just made it back to my room and face planted onto my bed. My whole being was sore including my brain. I didn’t have the energy to change my clothes, to shower, to think about my dad being a pathological liar or anything else that happened today.

I was awoken by my dad. I didn't know how long I slept but the sun was out. I can’t remember the last time I was able to sleep while the sun was up.

“Hey we’re going out, for family bonding and I want you there with us,”

Family.

We ain’t ever been a family before why start now. Is what I really wanted to say but I sucked it up because again I hadn’t seen my sisters in a while.

The movie was really boring. If we’re being honest.

I pulled Aaliyah and Sapphire aside as my dad and Camilla were deep in conversation.

“You know how I was staying at Wade’s house right?”

They both nodded.

“What did dad tell you about this,”

Sapphire just shrugged and Aaliyah was the one to post.

“I dunno he didn’t say much like usual he just kinda said you just left,”

I felt my jaw tightening as I processed her words, my fist clenching by my side.

“Oh, oh okay,” I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth a couple times “Well I just want you to know I’d never leave y’all without a very good reason, and I never won’t come back,”

By the time we got back to the house it was around twelve since we watched another movie and went to a restaurant. Then got ice cream. This is the most money my dad could’ve possibly spent on me in a long time. I mean he didn’t because I didn’t get anything and bought my own ticket. I didn’t want him to be able to use the fact he bought me stuff against me. I’d gotten tired of the “after I’ll I’ve done for you,” excuse.

I couldn’t sleep. No matter what I tried I couldn’t sleep. I tried NyQuil, melatonin, and even tea. The tea really did more harm than good.

This was an extremely stupid thing to do so don’t follow my lead but I was bored.

I grabbed a lot of useless shit from the floor of my room and made my way to the roof. I poured hand sanitizer on it and set it on fire. Putting aside the fact that it was really weird the fire was oddly beautiful. I sat there watching it for a minute before stomping it out.

I was going to text my friend Carmen but I realized she was supposed to be asleep and I didn’t want to get her in trouble.

I ended up scrolling through Zillow for a while then that turned into me applying for like four jobs. In which turned into me making spamming multiple friends saying we needed to hang out.

While I was on Zillow there was a relatively cheap apartment in Queens. Which was close to my school. It kept drawing me in for some reason. I bookmarked the tab.

Before I knew it the sun was up. I figured if I couldn’t sleep I would go on a walk to the park.

When I got back to the complex everyone was still asleep except my dad who walked outside like he was waiting on me. He grabbed my arm, squeezing it tightly.

He basically told me I looked like a prostitute. I was running so my sports bra and leggings were actually pretty appropriate. He said that I was probably going out to fuck people and that’s where I always was. I opened my mouth to defend myself.

“Actually I was just going to the-“ I was cut off by a sharp sting on my cheek.

He fucking slapped me. Hard at that. He then grabbed my arm even tighter than before dragging me into the house.

I don’t know what hurt worse my face or that fact that I wouldn’t be able to blame him being drunk on all the times he’d hit me before. He was just an ass.

By the time I made it back to my room it felt like my body was burning itself from the inside out. My face was red and so was my arm from my elbow to almost my wrist. To try to cool myself down I took a cold shower and took some Tylenol.

I still couldn’t sleep but tonight it was because it was so hot. I really needed a fan in my room. It was already 6 so I just decided to get a head start at the school. Not without taking pictures of my bruises before covering them with green concealer and foundation. I wore a hoodie for good measure.

I felt dizzy and decided it was probably best not to skate at the moment and I’m 90% sure I fell asleep on the subway. Apparently we had an art project due which I had no idea existed in the first place so I wasn’t going to that class today. Even though I did truly love Ms. Kramer. I was just gonna skip and go to Bri’s class. Which just happened to be chemistry.

I wasn’t surprised Mr. Cobwell asked no question when I walked in. I ate lunch in his class a couple times, he was chill. He continued on talking about Quantum Theory.

I made Flash move from his seat next to Bri which he immediately did. I guess he was scared of me now.

“Hey,” I said, placing my non bruised side of my face on the desk.

“Hey,” She whispered back. “What class are you supposed to be in?”

“Art,”

“Why are you there? You love art,”

“I’m not feeling it today,”

“Alright,” she nodded.

“Lemme use your AirPods,”

She reached into her bag handing them over going back to taking notes. That didn’t last long.

“What ya watching?” She asked.

“Bad Girls Club,” I smiled knowing she liked this show.

“What season?”

“7,” I whispered because now I felt too weak to waste my energy on speaking. I placed the phone on my lap and she took the other AirPod and before I knew I class was over with Tasha throwing trash everywhere.

I figured I was feeling sick because my blood sugar was low or something so I drank some Apple juice at lunch and called it a day.

Now time for Physics. I hate physics. Why would science ever require so much math?

It was so hot. Like on the face of the sun, hot but I couldn’t take my hoodie off because I felt like I’d sweat my foundation off.

“Are you okay?” Peter asked me “You look pale,” I swear if he doesn’t learn to mind his business.

“I’m fine,” I told him, not sure if I was trying to convince him or myself, I gestured to his notebook. “Do your work,”

“Alright fine,” he said reluctantly, glancing at me once before getting back to writing whatever we were supposed to be doing down.

I pulled my hoodie back over my head and sat up in my seat about to try to do my work again. But it was so hot and I was so dizzy that I couldn’t focus.

The world began to swirl and I knew the switch in my brain was going to flip off. I just didn’t have time or enough energy to tell anyone.

When I woke up I was in a bed in the nurse's office and the first thing I noticed was I didn’t have my hoodie. Shit. I used to make fun of people for passing out because how does your own body clock out on you? Until it started happening to me like last year.

I went into the bathroom and sure enough the giant bruise on my cheek and arm were kinda visible.

Again shit.

I patted my forehead with a cold paper towel because the nurse’s bathroom actually had paper towels unlike all the others, before the nurse came back.

“Hello, Are you feeling okay?”

I nodded. She smiled down at me before giving me water and checking my temperature.

“You have a fever,” she said after looking down at the thermometer “We called dad to come and pick you up but we got no answer. Is there anyone else that can come and take you?”

I shook my head, not trusting my voice.

I drank some more of the water before speaking up.

“I have a friend who’s at this school she could maybe drop me off?”

“I’m not sure if that’s allowed,” she said.

“You know what? Go back to class, get your friend and come right back.”

I pushed off the bed and headed out of the nurses office surprised to find Peter sitting on the bench outside it.

“Are you okay?” He asked me again

“Yes I’m okay” I nodded. Apparently I wasn’t as okay as I thought because I almost tripped over my leg trying to move. But Peter immediately reached his hand out to stabilize me. And I don’t know why that made me as angry as it was but I said “I don’t need you to help,” harsher than I need to.

“Sorry,” I said calmly almost immediately after.

“It’s okay,” He said scratching the back of his neck.

“If you don’t mind me asking where’d these bruises come from,”

“I fell,” was all I said. He looked skeptical but that was all he was going to get, I didn’t need CPS all up in my business. That’s also payback for him lying to me about “cat scratches”.

“Can you do me a favor?” I asked.

“Yeah, anything,” he said.

“Can you go get Briana from Mr. Dell’s class for me?”

“Yeah I’ll be right back,” he said before sprinting down the hallway. I giggled at his giddiness. It was still extremely hot everywhere my body was tingling.

Bri ran towards me

“Oh my god are you okay,”

“I’m fine, I just need you to talk to the nurse with me real quick,”

She apparently didn’t have her car with her today so she was a no go.

“I’m sorry girl,” she said, pulling me into a hug.

“It’s okay, go back to class now,” I said.

“Alright feel better,”

I walked back out of the office to find none other than Peter still waiting there.

“So what happened?” He asked.

“Looks like I’m walking home,” I smiled sarcastically. “Yay,”

“I can walk you home,”

“No, thank you”

“I insist,” I laughed again

“I still think that word is funny,” I said.

“Okay, now let me walk you home,”

We were walking in no general direction. No one but MJ and Bri know my address and I’d like to keep it that way.

“Wait, you need food,” He claimed.

We ended up at this place called Delmar’s Deli. I’d passed it a couple times while walking home and during my less legal “hobby”. I really wasn’t hungry at all. I took all of like two bites from my sandwich claiming I’d take it to go before throwing it away. It wasn’t bad, it was quite good, actually I just wasn’t hungry.

“My aunt is a nurse at an emergency room, she can check you out,” I hate anything that's anything like a hospital at all brings terrible memories, but I didn’t want him to know where I lived so I agreed. I’d ditch him then.

It took us a while to get there but by the time we did I had to stop and catch my breath. He offered to walk me home and got me food. What a Spiderman thing to do. I’d say I had much solid proof to go on by now.

“Peter!” The gorgeous brunette woman came over to the waiting room “What are you doing here don’t you have school?”

“Yeah but my friend-“ When her eyes ghosted over to my face she cut herself off. “Oh my God are you okay,” she referred to my bruises “What happened to you?”

“Did Flash do this to her?” She asked Peter and I had to stifle a laugh at that. I wish he would try to lay a finger on me.

“No, she just told me she fell, we’re here cause she fainted and I don’t know if the school nurse is very capable of actually helping,”

Is this a new thing Peter just decides to randomly worry about me for no good reason and forces me into taking care of myself. Because I hate it.

“Oh, ok,” She nodded her head. “Grab one of those questionnaires over there,” She pointed to the sign in table. “Are your parents going to come too?” She asked and I shook my head.

She and Peter moved over to the side and started talking about something I had no interest in. I grabbed the questionnaire and sat on the edge of the closest seat.

1. What’s your age?

That’s easy 15.

2. Specify your race

African American of course.

3. Select your highest level of education

Some high school

4. What’s your marital status?

Single never married. Unless you count that un-ordained wedding I once had.

5. Specify your employment status

A student.

6. Have you ever been treated in an emergency room (specify age)?

Yes, as a child.

7. Have you ever been rushed to the hospital? If yes, do you remember why?

Okay wow. Yes.

I sat on the cold bathroom floor, vision blurry from tears forming in my eyes.

“Y/N, you okay in there?” I heard my brother ask after lightly rapping his fingers on the door.

“Yeah, I’m okay!”

No I wasn’t. I wasn’t okay at all. In fact I was the farthest thing from okay. I glanced down at my thighs, you could see cuts from the night before and scars peeking out from underneath my shorts. I was sobbing at this point.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure if it was for myself or to everyone I knew I’d hurt by this. I already had the headache. I was just waiting for the rest of the pills to kick in.

I was holding onto the sink for support when the left side of my body started to feel tingly. The whole situation felt hazy. I was shaking hard before I fell, taking almost everything on the sink with me.

My head hit the bathmat and I could feel my heart slowing and hear my breath become shallow. I heard the doorknob jingle and that was the last thing before a feeling of true bliss and peace took over my body.

I could hear screams and sirens and I knew I was in an ambulance. Slowly I awoke with wires all over my body and an IV in my wrist. My limbs were dead weight, I couldn’t move.

A single tear fell from my eye alerting me off my surroundings. I quickly came back to myself. I made up the excuse of a family emergency and left.

I ended up halfway across the city. Then in Brooklyn visiting a friend.

I knocked on the window of Aaron’s apartment. I could see Miles sitting on the couch.

“How’ve things been over here?” I asked once I was settled on the couch as well.

“Uh, pretty tame, and you?”

“There was that whole elevator stunt and I almost fucking died which was fun.”

“Forgot you never take anything seriously,” He rolled his eyes.

I laughed in response “Well one of us has got to be fun for us since it’s clearly not you,”

“In celebration of me not dying I’m making sundaes,”

“Alright,” He said leaning back on the couch.

“Hey uh, When’s Aaron coming back?” I asked, getting the whipped cream out of the fridge.

“I’m not sure,”

This is actually like really fucking dangerous. Like it could kill me. It’s just I was already in pain and had a headache. I also wasn’t thinking. I’d already made the sundaes. I turned around so Miles couldn’t see what I was doing before I- Okay I’m not going to do this. Get it together God you’re acting like an addict. The amount of people who’ve died from inhalants were insane. There it is again death.

“Drawn anything new lately?” I asked, wanting to get my mind off of the topic of death that seemed to be plaguing my brain lately.

“Some small sketches,”

I got the text that’d I been waiting for. I’d been talking to Aaron for the past few days. I’m not sure how Miles would feel about that. So I haven’t said anything.

But I got the text.

Staten Island Ferry 3pm

I immediately popped up from the couch.

“I have to go like right now, it’s an emergency,”

I sprinted towards the door almost running into the punching bag in front of me.

“Y/N-“

It’d been a week and things were looking up. I had a great day yesterday without the use of any drug. But nothing good ever lasts too long. I didn’t have to worry about that now. What I needed to worry about, was getting Peter to stop falling on his ass.

I tried not to laugh at him and failed.

“It’s not funny,” he said, pulling me down with him as I reached out to pull him up. Soon he was laughing too.

I felt a vibration in my pocket and saw that Aaron texted me.

hey the results from the search came in.

what???? don’t play with me I’m on my way right now.

“Uh hey I gotta go sorry,”

“No it’s fine I probably should get home too,” He pushed off the ground reaching down for me.

“Do you wanna do this again tomorrow?” He asked a hopeful glint in his eye once we were both on our feet.

“Yeah sounds nice,” I smiled.

“Okay,” He nodded.

“Okay,” I echoed heading off.

Ned was being fucking stupid.

“NO!” I slammed my hands down on the table “You don’t stab anyone especially if you plan on using bleach to clean up the blood. At least use vinegar and lemon,”

“Okay, jeez,” he said reeling back, “How would you do it then?”

Before I could say anything MJ spoke up

“You could just use a needle full of air in between their toes, Their heart would fail”

“Orrr,” I said spinning around on top of the table towards Ned. “You could overdose them on potassium and by the time the police get there the potassium in their blood is back at a normal level,”

“Yeah that works too,” MJ stated going back to whatever she was drawing.

“You guys scare me,” Ned muttered making me smile.

“Where’s Peter?” I asked and Ned pointed across the room.

There he was sitting by Liz. It was cute I knew about his little crush on her. I’m sure the whole school did. Glad it’s working out for him. However that did not stop the pain in my stomach.

I got up from the table because suddenly I did not want to be at school anymore.

“Where are you going?” MJ looked up at me.

I shrugged. In all honesty I had no I idea where I was going. Somehow I always end up at Wade’s house when I don’t know where I want to go. He wasn’t home but I had a key. I can’t remember if he gave it to me or I stole if we're being honest.

Clearly I hadn’t passed by a mirror in a while because damn. I look terrible.

My eyes were red and circled with a dark hue from lack of sleep. I still had a yellowing bruise on my cheek. I was pale. I looked to be on the verge of death.

I looked frail, like at any second I’d just fall apart.

It was so unfair. My bones dragged down my body. The pieces of my soul that were mined out and removed from my mind. There’s a hole leaving me forever longing and I cannot fill nor feel. Hiraeth, a beautiful word for a ugly feeling. longing for a home that I never truly had, a home in which I’d never return. I would like to drift to where my spirit lies. It’s in the eyes of you and me and everyone in between. Drifting on a small boat in the sea. Viridian. Yes! That's the place I would like to be, that's where my soul lies yes you see.

I kept punching his punching bag over and over again. Until I was on my back on the floor begging my lungs to allow air into them with Time (Is) by Solange playing on loop. Something put it into my head that I had to kill Vulture. I’d never directly killed anyone but that was gonna change. Having people killed or knowing someone was going to kill someone and not doing anything about isn’t killing anyone in my book, but I’m sure it would be in Spidey’s

That’s literally Liz’s dad though…

Okay maybe I’d just get him locked up. Great now I gotta be a snitch. That’s new. I showered not even caring about my hair now my curls were sticking to my face. I was freezing now though. I didn’t know whether to be glad that my body wasn’t on fire anymore or be upset that I was covered in goosebumps.

Wade’s laptop was sitting right there on his bed. I was only taking a shower but, I think I should be allowed to watch Netflix and he wouldn’t mind, I was already on his account anways.

After like 3 episodes into this random show there was a folder that was calling to me for some reason.

It’d be okay to take a sneak peek. I thought to myself.

I clicked on it and it was locked. I guessed the password in like three tries. He’s really gotta up his password game. It opened to multiple folders, one with my mom's name. Okay I had to click this then.

I opened it which opened to more folders one titled ‘In Case of My Death’.

Okay, okay cool my mother has had a video of what to do all if she died all along. This would’ve come in handy five years ago.

There were three videos with the names of myself and my sisters. I clicked on mine then paused it.

Then unpaused it again.

I couldn’t do it. Okay, yes I could. I played it again. As soon as I heard the beginning of the word “hi”. I shut the computer off. I couldn’t do this. Couldn't do it because I was weak, I couldn’t handle myself. I was stupid and weak and a fucking disappointment. Guess my dad had been right all these years. I knew there was always some truth to the words he spoke only a matter of time until I started acknowledging it.

I don’t remember coming home to the apartment. And I definitely don’t remember writing all over the walls of my dad’s room. But I had a marker in my hands and it looked like a toddler had gone to town.

Holy Shit

He was actually going to murder me, in cold fucking blood. I trashed, the living room area, his room, and then mine. I was not coming home tonight. Looks like I’d need to find a new home now. At this point that sounded like a pretty solid plan.

I text my sisters a quick text ‘stay at grandma’s house tonight dad is going to pissed like Super Sayian mode’ before grabbing my go-bag which was: a bag of the essentials, like hygiene a couple shirts, shorts, hoodies, pants, and of course the flash drive can't forget the flash drive.

The flash drive that’s driving me crazy. I’d yet to open it though. I knew I was crazy because I did all this while fucking sobbing.

I wandered around for hours. Making my way to Brooklyn, Manhattan, Harlem, AND actual New York City.

Somehow I still ended up at Olivia’s door at the end of the day. I honestly believe we were soulmates. Most people don’t know you get many soulmates in a lifetime. I think Olivia and I would be the karmic kind. A karmic relationship is meant to help you grow, but it is never meant to last—it's often playing out a bad experience from a past life. I’m guessing I hadn’t grown yet because here I was.

She opened the door after a second. I’m surprised she did because I used our special knock so I knew she knew it was me.

“I can’t fucking do this anymore,” I screamed in her face.

“You're the one going off and being secretive and shit, like you’re scared I’m gonna hurt you or something,” she yelled walking up the stairs.

I followed after her,

“Maybe you would hurt me. I don’t know you are insane,” I said, tears brimming my eyes.

“Just because you have fucking daddy issues, doesn’t mean you have to carrying them into every part of your life,”

“I have daddy issues?” I screamed soon turning into me choking on a laugh making an unhinged noise “Oh, I have fucking daddy issues, now? Oh, okay,” I nodded.

“Your parents didn’t even fucking want you,” I pointed at her. “At least my mom stuck around before she died,”

“You’re an asshole, you know that?”

“Yeah well right back at you,”

“You’re fucking psychotic! Literally you’re so much like your dad and you don’t even know it, You’re trying to please him and he doesn’t give two shits about you, Wake up Y/N! Wake up.”

“I’m hard on you because I love you so much,” She claimed, but her love was suffocating.

“Oh yeah? I asked “Well i don’t know how much more of this ’love’ I can take,”

“Fine then,” She screamed.

“Fine,” I said before she slammed the door in my face leaving me standing out in the cold crying.

That wasn’t even the worse we’d said to each other. It was the first but not the last time we’d break up either. I do believe we loved each other though in our own twisted way. Well at least I know I loved her.

“Hey,” She said softly as she could sense I was due to break at any second. My cheeks were probably tear stained.

“Hey,” I whispered back.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“No,” I shook my head. One thing I liked about her is I didn’t have to fake it around her, because masking my real emotions was so draining. At least I didn’t have to do it with everyone.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“No,”

“Okay,” she said softly “My parents aren’t home, so you don’t have to worry about them,” not surprised.

I nodded before she grabbed my hand bringing me inside.

“I missed you,” she said stroking my hair as I laid on her bed, my head in her lap.

“I missed you too,” I wasn’t lying my head drifted to her from time to time. It wasn’t that I wanted to get back together I just missed her presence.

She smiled sadly at me running her finger over the bags on my eyes.

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” She quotes.

“Yeah well, ’m not queen or princess and definitely don’t have a crown, so we don’t gotta worry ‘bout me,” I said.

“You’re a princess to me,” I gave a genuine yet tired smile at that.

“You can go to sleep, it’s okay,” She said.

That was the first time I was actually able to fall asleep and without medicine or having to go on a walk or do anything really.

I woke up in the bed alone only to find Olivia sitting at her kitchen island eating spaghetti.

She smiled when she saw me coming into view.

“Sleep well?” She asked.

“Yeah surprisingly,” How long had I been asleep for I wondered.

“It’s 10 pm,” She said, still being able to read me.

I made my way over to her and sat across her.

“So what’s really going on with you miss Y/N?” She questioned.

I shrugged “I don’t know, nothing,”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself? Cause I’m not buying,”

I explained to her how my dad was being weird and how I wanted to move out now. How I had pretty much vandalized the house. How I found the video of my mom. Just everything. Well maybe not everything I didn’t tell her about Vulture because I feel like she’d try to do something and I didn’t want her to get hurt.

“Oh wow, damn... holy shit. Are you gonna watch your moms video?” She asked. Huh I hadn’t thought about that.

“I mean of course I will, yeah,” I nodded “Probably, I don’t know I’m scared,”

“Wouldn’t you rather just push the fear back and watch then wonder the rest of your life what it says.”

I sighed. Can't argue with that logic.

“I’m assuming you came here because you need a place to stay?” She said.

“Yes, I need a place to stay just for a while but I don’t want it to seem like I’m just using you I can find somewhere else,”

“Now it’s fine stay as long as you need but my dad gets back at the end of the month and we both know he doesn’t like you,” She chuckled at the last sentence and I laughed too.

I was on the ferry heading towards Staten Island now. I knew the sale was for these weird alien shits but that's pretty much all I knew. I figured I’d sort of “out bid” the buyers then get rid of everything. By outbid I mean straight up steal. Some guy in a white pickup truck is officially my target. Thorn was still on hiatus. Meaning no knives unless you count the pocket knife I always had on me, no suit. I did have a trejo though, you know just in case. I couldn’t help my mind from drifting to Pop Smoke’s “I got it on me”. I let out a small laugh.

I was hiding behind some car waiting for a crack in the plan to slip in.

That was until Spiderman showed up. It’s like he had a sixth sense to ruin all of my plans.

Shit

Well abort mission. Just as I started walking around to get to the side of the boat. The van I was next to had Vulture literally coming out of it. I knew it’d looked familiar.

I made it up to the top deck looking down on everything unfolding. So a quick rundown, the FBI was here, meaning Tony Stark or someone with government clearance probably did something because I highly doubt that Spiderman, the Spiderman that I’ve seen hit a window like a bird while swinging, had any government clearance.

See now I was looking to find a good time to make my escape. That was until that purple alien shit started spewing stuff beams of light through the ship. And fuck, I look away for one second and the new Shocker guy was gone. I turned around and saw he was running in another direction. I chased after him the rubber of my sneakers squeaking on the deck.

I jumped down onto Shocker’s back sending us both to the floor before he pushed me off. I was definitely going to be sore tomorrow and I’m pretty sure I heard something pull in my leg.

He jumped off onto the Vulture and I knew I couldn’t do anything anymore. Not like I was just going to shoot them down in public. I saw the light shooting down the middle of the ferry. I was gonna make a run for it but the loud squeal noise was so loud I fell over. Soon I was slung back into what I think was a bench not entirely sure I just knew it hurt like a bitch.

I’m pretty sure I feel unconscious for like 30 seconds.

But that was enough because the boat had already split in half and I couldn’t get to the deck or a lifeboat. However Spider-Man was frantically trying to get it together.

I was trying to be hopeful because everything was looking up, as the parts of the ship got closer together but I think we all know the saying ‘what goes up must come down’

Over the ringing in my head I could assume that things were fixed because people were cheering. One thing that comes from cheering is movement and if I learned anything from the elevator it’s that moving in a very unstable metal death box is not a good idea.

The ship was falling apart again until it wasn’t. It was pushed back together by I could only assume would be our government clearance guy Tony Stark. I looked out the window and yep there he was.

As soon as I got on solid ground I called my sisters.

“Hiii!” I exclaimed. “Where are you, are you okay?”

“Yes we’re fine, and where at grandma’s house like you told us to go to where else would we be,” I could almost hear the eye roll in Liyah’s voice.

“Okay little Miss attitude stay there until I can feel everything out with dad,”

“Alright,”

“Okay I love you guys,” I said, getting a small “love you too” from Sapphire.

“I know,” was the response I got from Liyah. I almost gasped the audacity of this child.

“Say it back,”

“Say it back,” She mocked, evoking laughter from both sides of the call.

“Okay love you too byeeee,” She said hanging up.

I smiled, I know as much as we get into petty arguments or try to annoy each other on purpose but I’d go to hell and back for those girls. And that’s exactly what I was going to do.

Taglist:

@tomdiddlyumptious

#peter parker #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker x reader #reader x peter parker #Peter Parker x Vigilante!Reader #peter parker x fem!reader #peter parker x y/n #peter parker x black!reader #peter parker x villian!reader #poc reader x peter parker #peter parker x bisexual!reader #peter parker x bi!reader #peter parker x thorn #thorns prick #spiderman x villian #mcu series #mcu x reader #peter parker x you #spiderman x thorn

18 notes · View notes

dalanmendonca · 3 years

Text

#30DayChallenge Complete!

This post is better read on this Twitter thread.

Preserving the outline here for posterity.

Just finished my #30DayChallenge. Wrote every for morning for 30 minutes and published right away for 30 days straight.

Sharing my pain, process, and learnings from doing this successfully for the first time.

I've been blogging for 12 years now, but my problem has always consistency. I'd say I'm a decent writer. Some of my blog posts get "wows", and the words of encouragement from a friend and strangers. "You should write more" they would say. "Yes" I would reply, but nothing would come after.

Writing has been on my annual goals list since 2014, but I never managed to turn it into habit. There would be fits and start and eventually things would taper off. Life would get it in the way.

My perspective changed when I read "Atomic Habits" last year and encountered the parable of the Photography class

This deeply resonated and also left me like a complete idiot. I was exactly the person focused on quality - reading blogs, books, spewing intellectual jargon but rarely producing output. I had a solid focus on ritual, pages and pages of blog post ideas but extraordinarily little in terms of actual posts written.

I tried to implement it last year too but failed again. Pandemic, first wave lockdowns and challenges at work meant the habit petered out again.

So when the second wave hit, I decided I could divert some time away from my doom-scrolling and attempt this again.

Happy to report that 30 posts, 16K words, 24 hours of writing. The deed is done and the challenge is complete.

Process

Fix a time: I wrote first thing in the morning. I am working full-time and things pop-up. Murphy's' Law! So, getting this out first thing in the morning is a great trick to keep it going. The serenity of the morning works wonders too. But I think you can dedicate time post-work too.

Think small: My goal was "Just write for 30 minutes and publish".

Allow errors: I cared little about typos, links to background context, formatting or anything else. This was not my magnum opus, my goal was just writing consistently and forming a new habit.

Minimize activation energy: I prepared a list of topics when I was starting the challenge. This meant I didn't open my editor and think "Uuhhhhh what do I write about today"?. The topics were ideas I knew about or had mentally munched at least a few times. The ingredients were on the table, I just had to show up and cook.

Choose simple tools: I also wrote straight in Tumblr's editor from where I could hit the publish button and be done. Didn't bother with my typical process of a fancy distraction free markdown editor with immaculate controls, and then pasting that into Tumblr and reformatting and ...

Setup accountability: I would publish and ping a few folks the link right away. This way someone would notice if I missed a day. It triggered conversations and felt intimate. Felt like tweeting would add pressure, so stuck to this.

Learnings

The first thing I (re)discovered was, I loved writing! Writing is such a therapeutic activity. Getting absorbed in the task, hitting a state of flow and putting things on a page was pure fun and joy. I budgeted 30 minutes but wrote for an average of 45. I cannot believe a bad habit formation process kept me from this accessible and enjoyable hobby for decades now.

Quality of posts - I was surprised that many of my posts were pareto good. They were achieving what I would've spent 3-5 hours writing about. Parkinsons Law at work?

Another thing was discovering two kinds of posts - experience and analysis. Writing about my experiences was very well suited to the 30-minute morning dash of flowing emotion. But writing about a more serious topic needed some outline to be in place first. I absolutely cannot (and should not) churn out a "Zomato IPO: Thoughts" in 30 minutes; but I can definitely tackle one part of it.

And that's that!

I plan to continue this habit. Hope you find this useful and inspiring and can skip a decade of failing!

If you want to tag along. Subscribe to my newsletter https://tinyletter.com/dalanmendonca

Posting schedule: Whenever I have something worth sending out. No pressure for me, less inbox clutter for you.

My blog is here https://blog.dalanmendonca.com/ but it is pure unfiltered mixture of occasional brilliance and consistent crap. Follow if you dare.

Cheers!

#30daychallenge

1 note · View note

fanyiyimdzs · 4 years

Text

I think I'm going to go back and standardize how I translate certain terms, because a few of them I've been a bit inconsistent on. I'm also going to revisit some decisions I made at the spur of the moment (because that's how I started this in the first place 😅). So things might get revised a little--bear with me through the early installment weirdness. (You'll notice that I revise stuff after it gets posted sometimes anyway, usually for typos, but yesterday I revised like the first third of chapter 2 because I decided I hated a lot of the prose.) This is actually my first time doing a fan translation, so it's been a bit of a learning process.

I'm going to think out loud for a moment (also so I have a record to look back on for standardization purposes, and because this is actually my least favorite part of translation, and, imo--despite the amount of attention these particular types of translation issues get in fandom--the least important, but I have to fix it up sooner or later). Some of these aren't changes, I'm just going to list them to have them all in one place.

If you don't want to read all this but are interested in voicing your opinion, you can skip to the end for the list of things I particularly want to hear feedback on.

Clan related

氏 -> clan - I know a lot of people are used to “sect” but many many rounds of character flashcards have drilled it into me that this means “clan” or “family” 😅

家族 -> house, eg. House Lan - I had been translating this as “family” but now that I think about it carefully, “house” sounds better and avoids confusion with the ordinary word “family.” Plus the fewer syllables set translations have, the better, in my opinion. Makes it easier to write prettier sentences. One is not more or less accurate than the other (and in fact, House probably has connotations closer to 家族). Thoughts?

宗主 -> Clan Master - I had been using “Lord” because of its simplicity, but I'm not in love with it and it does sound too European. I like the symmetry with “young master” and it sounds nicer to me than “Clan Leader.” Don't like the number of syllables, but I guess you win some, you lose some. Thoughts on this too?

公子/前辈/子弟+后辈 -> young master/senior/junior - these are good translations, will stay. Although I'll probably change 前辈 when used as a title. It would sound strange for Lan Sizhui to refer to WWX as Senior Wei all the time (it'll probably be “Master Wei” instead).

师姐/师弟/etc. (shijie, shidi, etc.) - honestly, not sure about this one. When used as an address, I'll probably change it with the person's name unless the dialogue is specifically stressing the family-like relationship. When used as a regular word in a sentence I'll probably go with sister/brother unless the fact that they're not blood relatives is relevant, in which case I'll add “clan” in front. This seems like it'll work better as context dependent than a set translation.

老祖 -> grandmaster - tempted to go with “Old Master” instead kind of on analogy with the painters and because 老 literally means “old,” but it would probably sound strange to have WWX constantly referred to as “old” lol. 夷陵老祖 will be either the Grandmaster of Yiling or Yiling Grandmaster depending on which better fits the tone/rhythm of the sentence.

Magicky supernatural stuff

阴虎符 -> Yin Tiger Talisman - I thought about a billion different translations for 阴, but honestly, none of them work. English speakers are familiar with the word 阴 through “yin-yang” anyway (it's the dark component). So 阴 is Yin. I also hate “Stygian” with a passion lol -- how many people even know what that means, like 0.1% of the population? Might as well just keep it Yin if no one is going to understand anyway. (For a similar reason, stop translating 风水 as “geomancy,” Netflix--way more people have heard of fengshui than geomancy!)

To be honest, I'm not thrilled with the “tiger” part, and am tempted to keep it untranslated. Yinhu Talisman or Yin Hu Talisman sounds better to me. What do you guys think? Is “tiger” important?

I picked “talisman” because I thought it ultimately was the most accurate and clearest translation. It is a talisman. Not thrilled about the number of syllables, but I'll go with accuracy this time.

符篆 -> seal or paper seal (if it's a paper seal) - don't have much to say about this one

祟 -> spirit - can someone confirm or deny for me whether 邪祟 is a generic term for all types of spookies in MDZS? It's a bit unclear for me from the text

妖/魔/鬼/怪 -> fae/demon/ghost/monster - guess I'll just stick with the usual translations. Tweaking fairy to fae to make it less benign-sounding. also I need to go back and change a few occurrences of “demon” to “ghost” 😅

妖魔鬼怪 -> evil spirits? - struggling with the single phrase generic term. Anyone who is a super expert on the minute details, does 妖魔鬼怪 = 邪祟?

厉鬼 -> vicious ghost

走尸 -> walking corpse

凶尸 -> fierce corpse

刀 -> sabre

Sword names will probably stay untranslated, although I'm tempted to render Suibian as “Whatever” or “Anything” to make the joke work.

Miscellaneous

断袖 -> gay or other appropriate synonym that will be understood without explanation - I love the story of Emperor Ai too, but I want this translation to be idiomatic and not require explanations to understand beyond what is absolutely necessary.

乱葬岗 -> Burial Mounds - I like this translation a lot

I probably missed some stuff, and sorry for the rambliness but anyway this is your chance to register an opinion before I go back and edit these changes in. Answer any or all:

1. 家族 - House or family? Or do people really love 氏 = sect and 家族 = clan that much?

2. 宗主 - Clan Master, yes or no? Or other suggestions?

3. Ideas for 师姐 (“shijie”), etc.? Otherwise, I think I'll keep this one on a case-by-case basis

4. 老祖 - anyone have any better ideas than “grandmaster”? Otherwise I think that's what I'll stick with.

5. Yin Tiger Talisman, Yinhu Talisman, or Yin Hu Talisman? From an aesthetic standpoint, the middle one is my favorite, but the others are slightly more transparent as far as meaning.

6. Does 邪祟 = 妖魔鬼怪? Someone link me to a detailed taxonomy of the undead please

7. Does Suibian stay Suibian, or get turned into something that will make the joke about its name work in English? If the latter, should the other sword names be translated too so Suibian isn't literally the only with an English name?

13 notes · View notes

munchiezxx · 4 years

Text

i just finished reading the rerelease of disney after dark and as promised, here’s the few changes i noticed from the original! just to sum up, i don’t think that the first rerelease is worth buying, it’s almost exactly the same. but if you’re nitpicky like me, click under the cut!

- for the most part, the only things that were changed were old attractions. the mention of toontown was changed to new fantasyland, MGM studios was changed to hollywood studios, and the sorcerer’s hat was changed to the chinese theater.

- everything in the plot stayed the same. i know a lot of people were worried because he said he would be changing characters and scenes, but i think the majority of that is in book 3. but it’s a little disappointing in some ways, since the end of book 1/beginning of book 2 transition is a little rough because it was planned to be a standalone book. but i read it side-by-side and i think it’s exactly the same. there’s also a couple plot holes i was hoping to see filled while they had the opportunity, but no :/

- finn has a phone now, congrats to him. mentions of emails/IMs are switched to messages. there’s even a mention of snapchat, but i’m pretty sure whoever rewrote these doesn’t understand how it works because charlene says something like “willa might not even see my post” as an excuse for not being able to reach her. but it’s not a big deal. the only exception to this is...

- VMK. this is like 60% of what i was buying the new one for because i was curious. in place of VMK, philby “built a virtual room” for them to meet in that’s “based off of an old disney video game”, and the scenes in VMK are pretty much the exact same. they even point out that the virtual room is a little dumb and that they could just video chat and make the process a lot faster, but i guess they didn’t wanna rewrite all those scenes so they go with it anyways.

AND YET

i was honestly a little stunned to see this. they spent all this time and money republishing the books and they left this in. that’s not even the worst offender imo, though:

they even rewrote philby’s explanation to take out VMK, and then left in charlene’s line. which would be very confusing for a first-time reader. no offense, but who edited these?? at this point, i’m wondering if they had someone else edit the first two because i think ridley basically rewrote book 3 from the ground up.

they also left in the part where dillard joins the room which doesn’t make much sense, and also one reference to “finn’s guest room” when they’d changed mentions of finn’s room in VMK to “philby’s virtual world,” but the last one’s a little more forgivable. anyways, i’m just kind of annoyed that they republished the whole thing just to have so many errors.

- they left in the reference to zoom, a show that ended in 2005, which isn’t a big deal, i just thought it was interesting.

- they also didn’t change maybeck’s branding as “the computer freak” which always bothered me a little, since that title goes to philby for the rest of the books. especially considering he apparently built an entire virtual meeting room for them. oh well

that’s basically all i noticed. if there’s anything else you want me to check for, let me know! i may have missed a few things because i only got the other book out to check for changes when something stood out to me.

after reading this one, i was gonna skip the second rewrite, but the world kinda sucks right now so i decided i deserved it and i bought it, whoops. there’s also more i’m curious about in the second book since VMK is an even bigger plot point. and i HAVE to know if they changed the maleficant typo. stay tuned, i guess? (and i’ll DEFINITELY be buying the third one as well)

#kingdom keepers #was not expecting to be doing this at age 18 but here we are

13 notes · View notes

ratedbangtann · 4 years

Photo

𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 | 𝙃𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙤𝙠 𝙭 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌, 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞...

Pairing: Hoseok/Reader Word count: 2.4k Warnings: teasing, public teasing and sexual contact, punishment, daddy kink, sub/dom, choking, spanking, leashes, oral sex, rough sex

a/n: hi so um this is unedited and probs littered with typos. it’s just a short one but i kinda love it??

Hobi was good at these kinds of dates. Sweet, romantic, relaxing dates. Today you were at the park, sitting by the small river amongst the trees on a blanket with a large basket of food, all of which he had prepared himself. He was the absolute cutest, and you knew you were lucky to have him.

But he had another side to him...

A darker side you loved to bring out. And unfortunately for the both of you, you were feeling particularly bratty.He passed you some of the fruit salad he'd made for the both of you, smiling at you sweetly. He was so cute.

You picked up one of the forks he had packed, and tucked into the little Tupperware tub of fruit, slowly placing each bite into your mouth and dragging the fork back through your lips slowly. He noticed, but said nothing, shaking his head of whatever nasty little thoughts were popping into it. That was step one.

Step two, was to act sweet and innocent. That drove him crazy. So, you kept popping the fruit into your mouth, sucking on the fork, ignoring the staring boy next to you as you looked around at the scenery like nothing out of the ordinary.

Step three, was to move closer to him. Once you finished your little fruit salad, you shimmied over to the picnic basket, rummaging around in it for a can of soda he'd packed. And then you sat beside him, your thigh touching his, cuddling into him and resting your head on his shoulder.

He laid down, both of you looking up at the clouds and just enjoying each other's company. Step four; repeat step two. You were growing tired of all the cute though, wanting to wind him up as much as possible. The hand that was resting on his chest as you cuddled wondered a little lower, resting on his abdomen. You felt him breathe in deeply, shifting in discomfort. You were winning.

You kissed his cheek, lingering just a moment too long, when he turned to you.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Repeat step two.

"Just kissing your cheek..." and you did it again, this time slightly closer to his lips. "You missed," he said before planting his lips on yours. Right then, you knew you had him wrapped around your little finger. You kissed him back slowly, savouring the fruity taste on his lips.

As the two of you sweetly kissed like an adorable, ordinarily cute couple in the park, your mind raced with thoughts of messing with Hoseok. You so badly wanted to drive him insane. You've always wanted to try something with him in public, and what's more public than the local park, filled with dog walkers, runners, pedestrians...

However with it being later in the evening, the sun just starting to set, the amount of people passing through the park was startle to fizzle out. Time to play.

The hand you had draped over his abs shifted up to his neck, pulling him gently to you to deepen your kiss. You felt the muscles tense in his neck. It took so little to wind him up. His free hand lifted to grip onto your wrist, not trying to move it away as you first thought, but to hold your hand there steady. You rolled over, swinging one of your legs over his waist and sitting yourself up to straddle him, your hand still on his neck, keeping your lips connected.

He sat up in front of you, his other hand gripping onto your waist. You could feel each of his fingers pressing into your skin beneath your summer dress. Your tongue grazed his bottom lip, the moment taking a turn from cute to far more suggestive. Under your dress, you could feel a bulge in his trousers pressing against the inside of your thigh.

Your core ached for some kind of contact, but not yet. Not here. This was about winding up Hobi. The hand on his neck slid up into his hair, gripping a fist full of it at the roots. You took his bottom lip between your teeth, pulling on it a little. He knew exactly what you were doing, but he didn't want you to stop. If it were up to him he'd have you right there on the picnic blanket.

You wanted to test him further, so you slid your hands between your clothed core and his impressive bulge and started to stroke your hand along the fabric of his jeans.

He groaned against your lips and grinned, his eyes shutting and head lulling back, leaving his neck exposed for you to attack with little open mouthed kisses and bites. He giggled underneath you, feeling like a naughty little boy, doing something like this in public. He didn't care about people seeing though. He just wanted you to unzip his jeans, for your skin to touch his... But you wouldn't give him that kind of satisfaction. Not yet. Instead, you thought you'd grind your hips against him, the thin material of your underwear starting to dampen from the anticipation and the contact with his denim covered bulge.

Suddenly Hobi's head snapped back up, realisation hitting him.

"Shit, Y/N, we can't. Not here..." he looked around nervously at the passersby who had yet to notice what was happening. You stopped grinding and smirked at him.

"Then let's go home." Hobi stared at you, his eyes turning dark.

"You are in so much trouble when we get home, princess..."

You had never seen Hoseok move so quickly. He took little care throwing everything back into the basket he had brought it in, bundling up the blanket to shove that in too. He grabbed your hand aggressively and pulled you towards where he had parked his car.

The whole ride home you played on his current predicament. You rested your hand on his knee, dragging your fingers higher up his thigh as he drove, until he bat your hand away so he could concentrate on the road. You huffed in annoyance, but knew there were other ways to make him crazy. For example, you could run your hand up your own thigh, perhaps slip it between your legs, run small circles over your clothed heat, let out a little moan as you did...

Hoseok's grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white. He wanted nothing more than to slam the breaks on, bend you over the back seat and punish you for being so cruel to him, but he held on. He let you touch yourself next to him, and grit his teeth every time you moaned aloud. You could see him reacting out of the corner of your eye; his adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed hard, his eyes squinting at the road ahead just trying to remain composed. He wasn't doing so well.

You slipped one of your fingers inside, a deep, throaty growl leaving your mouth. It felt so good, and god it turned you on so much to know what you were doing to him.

"You were in trouble before, Princess. You're only making this worse for yourself," he warned.

"But... Hobi," you breathed out, "it feels s-so good." His foot slammed on the accelerator, racing home and skipping a few traffic lights in the process. He was damn lucky he wasn't pulled over by any cops. But you made it home without totalling the car, and Hobi had picked you up, put you over his shoulder, and carried you inside. He set you down in the living room, standing in front of him as he sat on the couch.

You knew this scenario all too well. You were most definitely in trouble.

"Princess, you were very naughty in the park today," Hobi cooed. "Do you have something to say?" You stayed quiet. He hated hen you did that. "Silent treatment, huh? So be it."

He grabbed your wrists roughly and pulled you towards him, bending you over his knee in the process. He lifted your dress to reveal your panties, soaked at your core thanks to all the teasing and the solo fun you had in the car. He stroked your cheeks, caressing them, before a sudden smack rang through the living room. Your cheek felt like it was burning where he had spanked you, no doubt a nicely defined red hand print had been left on your butt. But that wasn't enough for Hoseok today, and it wasn't enough for you either.

He forced you to the floor, on your knees in front of him.

"The belt, princess." You gulped, knowing all too well what was about to happen. Your hands raised up, slowly shaking with nerves and excitement as you undid his belt, sliding it out of the loops on his jeans and handing it to him. He beckoned you to come back to him, to bend over his lap once again.

You lifted your own skirt this time, and he pulled down your panties so your beautifully peachy butt was exposed.

"Why are you being punished, princess?"

"Because I teased you in public daddy." You answered. This wasn't your first punishment. You knew how this worked.

"And?" he pressed on, wanting you to tell him exactly what you did.

"And I touched myself without your permission, daddy."

"That's right, princess. Now count with me." With that, you felt a sharp smack across your cheeks, his leather . belt colliding with your skin at such a force, the sensation sent waves of pain and pleasure through your entire body.

"One," you said aloud.

Another smack, in the same place.

"Two."

And another.

"Three."

Not done yet.

"Four."

Another spank.

"Five."

You couldn't tell if each spank was worse than the previous, or if the pain was just getting unbearable.

"Six."

Perhaps both?

"Seven."

Your core dripped between your legs. His control was turning you on so much.

"Eight."

You were sure that there would be some bad bruising there tomorrow.

"Nine."

Tears spilled over your eyes involuntarily, the stinging sensation just enveloping your senses.

"Ten."

One final spank, harder than the others. You whimpered on Hoseok's lap, your legs shaking weakly as you recovered. Hobi stroked your hair, cooing and calming you down. You were sobbing, your voice shaking and quivering as you gripped onto the couch cushion.

But he wasn't done with you yet. You'd been a very, very bad girl...

He picked you up, placing you on all fours on the couch and looping his belt around your neck, leaving the buckle undone so he could pull it tighter when he needed to. Then he stood in front of you, waiting for you to take his silent commands. You unzipped his jeans and pulled them down along with his boxers, his huge length springing free. You inched forward, using your mouth to please the tip of his cock. He got impatient, and starting to slowly force himself into your mouth. You could hardly protest; he was holding you still by the belt tied around your neck.

You heard him groan as he started to buck his hips, using your throat to fuck himself. You'd built him up to this. You had made him this crazy. And though he was using you like his own little toy, you loved every single second of it.

"Fuck," he groaned, fucking your throat faster. Suddenly his aggression took over. He pulled out of your mouth, leaving you spluttering and coughing. He disappeared from in front of you, letting go of the belt around your neck. Before you could look around for him, you felt him push into you from behind, once again pulling on the belt making your head pull back and the leather pull taught across your throat.

Daddy had finally grown tired of games, and just wanted to fuck you.

He pounded into you from behind, showing absolutely no mercy at all. You had brought this on yourself, after all. He pulled on your make-shift leash, choking you, bringing you closer to him. His hips clapped against the skin of your already sore ass, skin slapping on skin. He'd never fucked you like this before, never made you feel like this before. The pain he had caused you only heightened the experience, and before long you were moaning for him, screaming his name...

"Fuck, hobi..." you called out. He pulled on the leash tighter, angry that you hadn't called him what he wanted.

"That's... not my... name," he grunted out, slapping your ass with his free hand over the already burning hot skin.

"Ah! Daddy, oh god, daddy... I'm sorry. F-fuck," you cried out, your high building and building in the pit of your stomach. You knew you needed permission though. Now way would he let you cum without permission. "Please..." you begged, unable to finish your words as the breaths left your system.

"Please what, princess? What do you want?" he bent forward, his lips so close to your ear as he pulled on your leash and thrust into you.

"Please may I come?" He didn't answer at first, simply grunting and groaning in your ear.

"Cum for me, princess. Cum on my cock."

He didn't have to tell you twice.

A few more sharp thrusts and your legs were shaking, completely giving way underneath him. Your body hit the couch roughly, your limbs shaking in pure ecstasy. He rode out your high, his thrusts slowing down to a pace that was manageable in your euphoric state. But he's not done.

He grabs your sides, pulling out of you and flipping you over onto your back to face him. He pumps himself, desperate to cum. His face scrunches up, all his features contorting as he moans and grunts so loud, releasing his mess all over your abdomen and the summer dress he had pushed up to your breasts. He falls slightly, holding himself up above you with one hand as he recovers from his undoing. He was out of breath, unsurprisingly after the extreme workout he'd just given you both.

He looks at you, and grins. You're a mess. Make up down your face from sweat and tears, cum all over your body and dress, your hair matted and dishevelled. He's proud of his work.

"Now you know what happens when you tease me, princess. On your own head be it." He chuckled to himself, standing up and making his way upstairs to the bathroom, leaving you a compete mess on the living room couch.

You knew from that moment that you would push your limits as often as you could, if only Hobi would punish you like that every time.

#jung hoseok #hoseok #hobi #jhope #bts #bangtan sonyeondan #bangtan #bts au #smut au

27 notes · View notes

butchprincecharming · 4 years

Text

Day 1 Breakfast 8:10-8:30

Feelings before: Not extremely hungry physically but definitely feeling the fact I haven’t ate yet ( I wake up late on weekends but usually have to wake up at 4 and have breakfast like 4:45). Emotionally feeling pretty okay, been working toward this moment so have some anticipation going

Ultimately Ate: 2 oranges, 1 Almond Butter, Apple Butter, Banana Wrap

Feelings After; I feel okay. I feel satisfied, but not sure if I’m quite satiated? But it’s like right now it doesn’t feel worth looking for another orange or some other fruit. The oranges were /fantastic/ by the way. I got kind of worried when I noticed they were seedless, but nothing i can find online says this is due to significant processing, mainly that they’re slightly lower in Fiber or something, and I can’t find anything specific on forks over knives about it.

I also noticed the apple butter wasn’t “unsweetened” entirely. I did check the labels when I was shopping, but I wasn’t clear on my shopping list on some points (this shopping list was very long, several drafts in, And took me hours, so my final draft was unfortunately missing some things typo-esque like that). I still found an apple butter that didn’t have added fructose corn syrup, no oils, and it’s stats fat and sodium wise were okay. Since the wrap called for raisins and I skipped those, I’m hoping it evens out.

The wrap itself wasn’t /too/ bland, but it was far from the rich one I could have made with similar highly processed and sweetened ingredients. I know my tastes will adjust, but the oranges were far more flavorful.

Of course, since I’m gonna be at home today and most of tomorrow, my satiation at any given meal isn’t going to need that much tweaking, as the only thing between me and eating is preparing a meal or snack, and I can always grab a piece of fruit if the things I’m preparing aren’t ready like today, since it’s my day I’m going to batch cook. When I go back to work, I’m really going to have to figure out what I need to eat for breakfast, snack, and lunch to last me till I get home (I know snacks aren’t entirely recommended but lunch is seven hours after I eat breakfast, so i feel like it’s fair to need something to hold me off a bit.) it’s probably going to require some heavy attention to what I’m actually saying in these Food Diary entries.

#FoodDiary #Day 1 #vegan #veganism #whole food plant based #wholefoodplantbased #plant based #plantbased #wfpb #forks over knives #forksoverknives #fok

3 notes · View notes

artificialqueens · 6 years

Text

Extra Credit: Part 7 (Shalaska) – Rosie

A/N: TWO Extra Credit updates in ONE month?? It’s more likely than you think.

I need to give the biggest thank you to Lyd @pianowired for being my beta for this chapter! I really needed a second pair of eyes and she picked up a million typos and flagged my clunky af sentences so I can’t thank her enough!

Summary: University Professor Sharon Needles hooks up with a slamming hot blonde at a bar who may or may not be one of her students.

Chapter Summary: It’s the fall semester break! Juicy things happen! This chapter is 7.8k words! Come talk to me at my sideblog @aqrosie! Enjoy!

Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six

“So I just stir it like this?” Alaska asked, looking to Sharon for guidance as she mixed their pasta through the boiling water. She was taking her job of making sure the pasta didn’t stick together very seriously.

“Yeah, that’s perfect,” Sharon confirmed, kissing Alaska’s hair before she moved to open the pantry door.

Alaska smiled, a little bit in love with the scene around her. Maybe a little was a huge understatement. They were half way through their fall break together, an entire week of just the two of them. While the thought of a seven-day date in theory should have freaked Alaska out, she had never felt so safe around someone until she met Sharon, or more at home than in her apartment.

The only down side was the week was running away from her at lightning speed.

Between sleeping together and actually literally sleeping together, they had spent the last few days cuddled up on the couch, showing each their favourite movies while Cerrone purred under their comforting pets. Then there were all the Polaroids.

As Alaska had packed her bag for the break, she had thrown her little baby pink instant camera in at the last minute on a whim. But one night when she wanted to take a selfie with Sharon to capture the moment, her professor had coiled away in fear.

“No,” Sharon said boldly. “Nothing electronic. No proof. No footprint. We can’t afford for this to get out.”

Alaska had agreed immediately, ignoring her heart crushing slightly at the shitty reality of having to be responsible. But hilariously, the situation was salvaged when Sharon scoffed and said “I mean if we had a Polaroid camera or something not digital we could try but—“

She stopped talking when Alaska really did pull out a Polaroid camera, looking like a smug Mary Poppins as she did so.

“Bullshit!” Sharon exclaimed in astonishment, completely missing the youthful resurrection of the retro gadget in recent years due to her age.

They had spent the rest of the night taking cute photos together, first a nice smiley one, then one of Sharon kissing Alaska’s cheek, then a candid laughing one which has become Alaska’s favourite. In it Sharon’s throwing her head back and Alaska’s face is tilting out of the frame as she cackled. Then they took photos of each other, a couple silly ones and a couple caught off guard, which look amusingly ‘indie’ and ‘poetic’. That became one of their favourite nights together so far. Sharon loved every part of it; how they bonded, how the sound of the film being processed brought her way back in the best possible way, how they could let loose, how they now had little mementos of themselves to physically hold onto. Alaska loved it too, but mainly because of Sharon. Seeing her face light up at the whole process was heartwarming, and she loved every minute of it.

Eventually they had run out of film, and while it was on the shopping list to buy more, the bunch of polaroids they had were now dotted around the apartment. Sharon had one on her bedside table and another placed in the frame of her vanity mirror. There were a series of three on the fridge, and when Alaska went into the office to grab a pen, she noticed a candid one of herself on Sharon’s desk too, propped up against the stand of her sleek desktop Mac.

Alaska had her own collection going, but she knew when she got back to the dorm she wouldn’t be able to proudly decorate her room with them. She kept her collection in a clean sock, a hair tie keeping them bundled together. She tucked them away in her bag, out of sight, as if they were more precious than money. Well, not like; they were more precious.

But she kept her favourite shot of them, the laughing one, inside her phone case. She had to pry it apart to get it out to look at it, but every time she did she couldn’t help but smile, as if the happiness felt in that moment was contagious.

“Do you know how to test if pasta is done?” Sharon asked, throwing a tea towel over her shoulder and wrapping a hand around the younger girl’s waist as she supervised Alaska’s oh-so-difficult stirring.

Alaska bit her lip as she smiled, managing to look even more adorable as she shook her head, her high ponytail swinging and her white apron-clad body wiggling slightly as she moved. There was a tiny smear of flour on her cheek from when they made the pasta earlier, and the hand that wasn’t stirring the ladle had a thin layer of dough caked on her fingers, making her stick them out daintily in the air.

A feeling had thudded in Sharon’s heart all afternoon as they made the pasta together from scratch, laughing as Sharon taught Alaska a thing or twenty about cooking. The feeling almost vibrated between the chambers of her heart, bouncing around and growing stronger the more time she spent with Alaska. She knew what it meant, and the feeling wanted to jump up through her throat. But instead she swallowed it back, something telling her the moment wasn’t completely right.

“Don’t you like… squeeze it?” Alaska attempted before laughing at her lack of expertise.

“Mmh, kind of,” Sharon laughed, nudging Alaska’s hand up to bring the ladle full of pasta out of the water before quickly grabbing a strand. “Or you could do this.”

Sharon swiftly threw the wet string of spaghetti against the glass splashback, Alaska watching in shock as it stuck.

“Oh my god!” Alaska exclaimed, bouncing on her toes. “Can I try?”

“Of course,” Sharon encouraged, taking the ladle from her hand. “Grab a strand, maybe that one hanging there, come on, quickly—“

“I’m trying!” Alaska squealed, her laughter getting in the way of her fingertips grasping at the hot, wet spaghetti. Once she finally pulled a strand loose, she lumped it at the glass surface adjacent to the stove and cackled when it limply fell down.

“Aw, me too, girl,” Alaska drawled, picking up the strand before chucking it into the sink.

“One more try,” Sharon prompted, dunking the spaghetti into the water before bringing it to the surface.

“No…” Alaska whined, “I can’t do it. You make it look so easy.”

“Oh my god Alaska yes you can, throw a damn noodle before we overdo them,” Sharon ordered in mock seriousness, which only served to dissolve Alaska into more giggles.

She shakily pulled another strand from the heap and threw it at the wall, her eyes widening as the noodle stuck proudly to the glass surface before she shrieked.

“Oh my god, I did it!” Alaska lit up, clapping for herself as Sharon cheered.

Sharon’s heart skipped a beat as she watched Alaska, all smiley and overwhelmed with excitement at her little noodle sticking to the wall.

I’m so in love with you, Sharon thought.

“Now take it off the stove,” Sharon said after a moment, the feeling in her heart inflating by the second.

She was so ridiculously in love with Alaska, and the sensation of the realisation almost brought tears to her eyes.

Alaska didn’t notice the slight shake in her girlfriend’s voice as she concentrated on draining the pasta, the almost blinding steam giving Sharon a moment to rapidly blink away the moisture in her eyes.

“Aw, I’m so proud!” Alaska said as they plated up two beautiful bowls of pasta, complete with delicious red sauce and topped with fresh basil.

“You should be,” Sharon said honestly, refilling their glasses of wine.

Alaska wrapped her arms around Sharon’s waist before looking up at her.

“Thank you so much for teaching me how to make something,” Alaska drawled, her voice dripping with affection. “I love it so much.”

Three words rested on Sharon’s tongue, but as she opened her mouth, they halted, running into each other before collapsing into a heap behind her teeth.

Instead she kissed Alaska, bringing their lips together and communicating what her vocal chords couldn’t yet manage.

Alaska kissed her back, her eyelids fluttering shut as she melted into their embrace, unaware of the unspoken confession rolling off Sharon’s tongue and onto hers.

“I have a date,” Dorothy said.

“With a man?” Blanche asked inquisitively.

“No,” Dorothy replied, ready to deliver another signature zinger.

“With a Venus flytrap,” Alaska said in sync with her favourite character. Even half asleep she could recite every line from her most beloved show.

She giggled softly from her reclined position on Sharon’s couch, her body practically one with the soft cushions as she approached her fourth episode in a row.

It was Friday afternoon, and Sharon had become inundated with emails from colleagues ahead of a Saturday morning faculty meeting to regroup for the remainder of the semester. Alaska craned her neck slightly to see Sharon in the office, stretching her arms above her head before returning to rapidly type away on her keyboard.

Alaska had gone in before, planting another cup of coffee down beside her and another kiss atop her head. Sharon had hugged her and apologised yet again for having to do work during their break together. But Alaska didn’t mind at all. Just being able to chill somewhere peaceful, away from her parents, the campus and any university responsibilities, was a holiday in itself.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes, and Sharon was perched on the coffee table beside her, gently nudging her awake.

“Come on baby,” she said while smiling softly, “have a nap in the bedroom. I know from experience you’re gonna get a sore neck from this couch. Trust me.”

Alaska cleared her throat as the laugh track sounded from the TV, realising she had nodded off. She stubbornly didn’t want to sleep, and was too lazy to leave her sprawled position, but curling up in their sheets did sound awfully inviting. She let Sharon help haul her up from the couch before the older woman wrapped an arm around her waist and turned The Golden Girls off.

Climbing into bed, Alaska snuggled under the covers as Sharon drew the curtains, darkening the room around them. Alaska couldn’t help but sigh as she was enveloped in the delicious embrace of their bedding, the subtle scent of Sharon infused into the sheets swirling around her. Sharon kissed her on the forehead, the both of them enjoying the rare, comforting act of her tucking the other girl in.

“Nap with me,” Alaska said quietly as Sharon pulled away.

“I have a bit left, I’m almost done…” Sharon considered, before a yawn swallowed the rest of her sentence.

“Come on, you deserve a break.”

Sharon wasn’t one to argue. She gingerly climbed over Alaska, spooning her on top of the sheets as Alaska curled up underneath them.

“Five minutes,” Sharon told herself, letting her eyelids flutter shut as she hugged Alaska, her arm draping over her waist as her left thigh rested between Alaska’s legs.

The quietest moan escaped Sharon’s lips. It was like being lowered into a hot bath; her muscles relaxed and the tension around her shoulders evaporated. Their breathing synchronised effortlessly, Sharon’s lungs expanding as Alaska exhaled.

A small smile tugged at Alaska’s mouth. Why didn’t they mutually nap more often? In a weird way, Sharon’s gentle waves of breath against her neck and their bodies pressed together felt just as intimate as sex, but in a different way.

In what felt like as close to experiencing an epiphany as Alaska thought she would ever get, something came over her. With her eyes closed, her mind hurtled through time and she found herself envisioning moments like this more often.

Alaska had fantasised about a future with Sharon. This thought process wasn’t new. But instead of picturing how they would decorate their apartment together or frolicking around on the beach in the sun, hand in hand and in public, Alaska was suddenly picturing introducing Sharon to her parents, family roasts on a Sunday, and Christmases together. She was picturing a proper house, a yard, another cat, a dog, a baby. And while it all seemed so far away, what was once a terrifying concept of commitment was now not just something she wanted, but something that felt right.

Oh my god, Alaska realised, I’m so in love with you.

And just like that, her futuristic montage ended. With her body still, she opened her eyes, noticing that they were a little misty. Now out of her thoughts and back in Sharon’s arms, she noticed the deep, even breathing from the other woman, and how heavy her limbs felt pressed against her.

Alaska bit her lip to hold back her smile.

Sharon had fallen asleep, and the precious moment warmed her soul. She suddenly remembered how in Grade 7 she went over to a friend’s house and held their new little kitten in her lap, which promptly fell asleep under her gentle pets.

Alaska closed her eyes as sleep tapped at her eyelids and begged to be welcomed in. Before she allowed herself to slip into unconsciousness, one thought hung in her mind.

I love you, Sharon Needles.

“… and then I bought this Marc Jacobs bronzer,” Courtney rattled off, opening the sleek white compact and extending it towards Alaska, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed opposite her dorm roommate and best friend. “Here, smell it, it smells like coconut!”

Alaska leaned in and took a whiff, smelling a mix of makeup, coconut, and luxury.

“Ugh, stunning,” Alaska commented, thoroughly enjoying Courtney’s fall break makeup haul and living vicariously through her as she pulled out goodies from the black and white Sephora bag, where the price tag was well into the hundreds.

“I think that’s it?” Courtney questioned, frowning at the spread of palettes, highlighters, and lipsticks on her bed. “Oh and that Anastasia gloss I showed you on Snap! But it’s already in my purse.”

“You did well, Court,” Alaska smiled, standing up to finally begin unpacking. Their room was a mess, with the floor covered in clothes and their beds covered in everything else – including makeup, snacks, books, and even a kettle Courtney had brought from home.

“I still can’t believe you did zero shopping on the break,” Courtney shook her head, “I thought your splurge was going to rival mine!”

Alaska laughed and shrugged her shoulders vaguely, knowing her at times aloof personality would excuse her lack of details.

“Oh, you know,” Alaska rambled, hanging one creased T-shirt onto a hanger and laying back down after her hard work, “I just hung out with the fam, baked a lot with mom, cuddled little Poundcake.”

“Aw,” Courtney said, swatching a gold eyeshadow on the back of her hand. “Yeah I saw those cookies on Snap.”

“Oh yeah!” Alaska forgot she sent Courtney pre-planned photos to cover her tracks.

God I’m good, she thought smugly, picking up her phone to open Instagram.

“I just don’t get how you say you were home, when you were actually here in Pittsburgh.”

Alaska froze.

From her peripheral vision she saw Courtney lift her head to look at her best friend.

“What?” Alaska croaked, the word barely making it out through her tight throat.

She could just feel how scared her face looked. Her cheeks turned hot and the dorm bedroom began to spin slightly.

How did Courtney know?

“I saw on Snap Map,” Courtney revealed, reading her mind.

Alaska closed her eyes. She was so fucking stupid. It never crossed her mind to turn off her location on the app. It didn’t matter how savvy she thought she was, or how many photos she staged. She had fucked up her entire plan.

“So… where actually were you?” Courtney asked quietly. She swatched another shade on her hand.

For a fleeting moment Alaska considered lying to one of her closest friends. Saying it was a glitch, accuse her of being crazy, but she couldn’t. They both knew it wasn’t a glitch. And there was something in Courtney’s voice, the hushed vulnerability, that made Alaska realise there was more to this than she first realised.

“I just—!“ Courtney said abruptly, taking Alaska’s silence as a moment to open up, before regretting it but continuing away, desperate to get her bottled up thoughts out. She kept looking down at her hand. “I just, I don’t know what’s going on with you lately. Well I think I do, but I don’t. But I know that you haven’t been as close with me, like ever since the semester started you’ve been weird and distant and I feel terrible for saying that because what if you’re going through shit I don’t know about? But then I think, you’ve always told me if you’re going through shit, so why am I so in the dark? And—“

“Courtney,” Alaska stood to interrupt her frantic friend, watching as she wound herself up and rapidly blended the gold shadow into her hand.

Courtney finally paused and took in a deep breath.

With wide eyes she looked up at Alaska standing above her, the both of them a little taken aback at her outpour. And suddenly the two of them couldn’t stop laughing. Alaska literally doubled over, grabbing her knees for support as she cackled, while Courtney couldn’t help but roll onto her side as she shrieked, before moving when she realised she was on top of her expensive makeup.

While some tension still lingered in the room, the majority of it evaporated when Alaska sat down next to Courtney and wrapped her arms around her.

“I’m sorry,” Alaska started.

“No, I’m sorry,” Courtney had to apologise. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“No,” Alaska shook her head. She needed to come clean. She had been so wrapped up in herself and Sharon that she had forgotten other people, their emotions, actions and relationships with her, still existed. “You’re right. I’ve been shady as fuck recently.”

“Why?” Courtney asked, and Alaska wanted to rest her head on her shoulder when she heard the concern in her voice. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh yeah,” Alaska assured her. “Things are great, it’s just…” Alaska didn’t even know where to begin.

“Are you… in a relationship?” Courtney asked outright, taking Alaska off guard.

“Is it that obvious?” Alaska drawled. She was going to be in so much shit with Sharon, but she was trying to not think about it.

“Well, you’ve had a surge of hickies on your neck in recent weeks so it wasn’t too far-fetched of a guess. But aww!” Courtney squealed, wrapping her arms around Alaska. “That’s wonderful! With who? What’s their name? From uni? Do I know them? Oh my god, tell me it’s not Derrick—“

“It’s not Derrick,” Alaska said immediately, making them both laugh.

“Then who is it?” Courtney asked.

Alaska squeezed her lips together, as if she was trying to stop herself from throwing up. Maybe she was.

“I don’t want to say yet…” Alaska eventually said. “I don’t know! We’re just like, not official yet, you know? It’s still really early days… and I don’t want to make a big deal in case things don’t actually end up working out with her.”

“Oh, her!” Courtney sighed, her smile beaming and her eyes soft.

Alaska couldn’t help but smile, and when she did, she couldn’t stop. They laughed again, and Courtney literally shook Alaska’s shoulders.

“Look at you!” Courtney gushed. “You’re glowing! She’s in love!”

Alaska covered her face with her hands before pulling away and shrieking with joy. It felt so liberating to have Courtney know, and to share in what she was feeling. She was in love, and she couldn’t bring herself to deny it.

“So is that who you stayed with during the break?”

“Yeah,” Alaska said, wondering how much she could reveal without revealing it all.

“Wow, I mean that’s great your parents let you stay with her, even though it’s only early days.”

Alaska murmured in agreement.

“Oh my god, they don’t know,” Courtney concluded, reading Alaska like a book.

“No, they don’t, and you can’t tell them—“

“Like I would tell them!” Courtney exclaimed. “I’m not a mole.“

“Fuck awf, ya dog arsed mole,” they both said in unison, quoting an iconic Courtney line she slurred while drunk at a handsy frat boy during one of their campus parties back in first year.

“Aw, I feel like the old you is back,” Courtney thought, going back to her makeup as Alaska stood up and picked another shirt up from the floor. “Not that I don’t enjoy loved-up Alaska, but loved up Alaska is a sneaky snake.”

“I’m sorry for not being honest with you, I didn’t realise how shit it looked on my end.”

“No, it’s okay! I can see why you’d want to keep it quiet at the start,” Courtney agreed. “I felt bad for bringing it up, but when I saw snaps from you at home but it said you were still here, I just had to mention it. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“No, don’t feel bad, I would have done the same,” Alaska said. In fact, Alaska would have mentioned it much earlier if she suspected one of her friends was attempting to pull a fast one and conceal a hidden romance.

“So we’re good?” Courtney asked.

“We’re great,” Alaska smiled, walking the short distance from her closet to hug Courtney.

“Right, I need to wash my hair,” Courtney announced, grabbing her towel and toiletries bag. “Gotta look stunning for 8am tomorrow.“

“Ugh,” Alaska whined, not ready for Monday. “I forgot tomorrow was an 8am start.”

“Yep,” Courtney said, double-checking their timetables sticky taped on the back of their door on her way out. “Bright and early tomorrow at 8am, Strategic Marketing with Professor Sharon Needles.”

Alaska forced herself not to laugh and instead turned to face her wardrobe as Courtney left the room, only to return seconds later.

“Forgot my damn shower sandals,” she added, rummaging around her wardrobe. “Oh, and there’s no rush, but I’d love to meet your mystery woman! Bring her out to drinks when it’s right! I’m sure she’ll fit right in with the gang!”

“Aw,” Alaska nodded, holding back a laugh at the thought of Sharon clinking drink with her friends at the uni bar while Courtney took an oh so original Boomerang. “Thanks, Court.”

Courtney left again, and it was only when the door finally shut and she didn’t immediately return for another forgotten item did Alaska let herself collapse on her bed. She had so much to tell Sharon, but just like the revision quiz was she meant to be studying for, that problem could wait for tomorrow.

“Honey, I’m home!” Sharon announced as she closed her apartment door behind her upon spotting Alaska pottering around in the open plan kitchen.

“Sweetie!” Alaska replied, both of them laughing at the stereotypical sitcom trope.

“How’s my baby?” Sharon asked softly after pecking Alaska on the lips.

“Good,” Alaska smiled, busying herself by wiping down a mug that was already dry.

She swallowed dryly, attempting to calm her nerves as Sharon kicked off her heels and made herself comfortable, knowing her bombshell was only going to cause tension.

“Fuck, that 8am was a killer, but we had a pretty decent turn out. And people actually laughed at my jokes!” Sharon exclaimed, rinsing her coffee Keep Cup in the sink. “What a win!”

“I always laugh at your jokes,” Alaska smiled, wrapping her arms around her waist from behind. “They’re funny.”

“Aw, I know you do, I see you sitting there in the front row smiling down at your laptop,” Sharon cooed. “Also I’m really craving pumpkin risotto tonight so I hope you are too.”

“Sounds delish,” Alaska drawled, distracted. She was trying to find the perfect moment to tell Sharon, but she knew she just had to get the words out.

“I’m gonna get started on it now so we can have an early dinner and you can get back to the dorm in good time,” Sharon planned, pulling out pots and pans.

“Sounds good,” Alaska replied, opening the fridge and helping bring out ingredients, deciding then and there to break the news when Sharon was warm, well-fed and happy on wine.

Almost an hour later, the moment arrived. They were cuddled on the couch, their dirty dinner dishes forgotten in the sink and their wine glasses running low on the coffee table. Sharon’s lips were against her neck as her hand massaged Alaska, under her skirt but over her underwear.

It was slow and sensual, relaxing and comforting, everything they both normally loved, especially as a way to unwind after a Monday.

But Alaska couldn’t relax.

What she didn’t know, however, was that Sharon could sense it too.

“What’s on your mind, love?” Sharon asked gently, pulling back as she moved her hand to rest on Alaska’s waist.

“What?” Alaska said in surprise. “Nothing."

“Okay,” Sharon said uncertainly. “You sure? You’re just… a little tense.”

It was almost comical the way they watched Alaska’s body suddenly sag as she forced herself to relax.

“We can stop,” Sharon said, wide eyed as she moved her hands from Alaska. “Like if you’re not comfortable I totally understand and we can stop—“

“No, Sharon, baby, that’s not it, I promise” Alaska reassured her, her heart warming at Sharon being so considerate. “It’s not you.”

Sharon nodded, sensing Alaska was genuine.

“Then what?”

It was now or never.

“In… a series of events…” Alaska started, not knowing how to phrase it. “Courtney found out.”

Alaska knew this was going to be hard, but she wasn’t prepared.

“What!?”

Sharon sat frozen, before she ripped her hands from Alaska and stood up quickly, pacing the room before Alaska could get a second word in.

“How does she know? What the fuck. Who told her? Did you tell her? Who else knows? Oh my fucking god—“

“Sharon I didn’t tell her!” Alaska had to interrupt, quickly standing up to match Sharon’s height, and to shake her shoulders if need be. “I would never tell her!”

“But she knows about us!?” Sharon exclaimed, whipping around to face Alaska. Her blue eyes were already brimming with moisture, and the sharp spike in emotion wasn’t something Alaska expected.

“No! Only that I’m seeing someone!” Alaska exclaimed back, moving to touch Sharon, who only shrugged her embrace away. Alaska fiddled with her hands instead, noticing how Sharon’s were shaking in response.

“Fuck me,” Sharon sighed, her shoulders slumping in relief as the situation became clearer, “you really should have fucking led with that information.”

Alaska nodded, knowing she had screwed up the delivery. She was just so nervous and overwhelmed that she had momentarily forgotten a key detail.

They stood in silence, Alaska waiting for Sharon to ask the questions, which she did.

“Does she have any idea at all that it’s me?” Sharon asked, her hands on her hips as she stood in her office clothes, looking like she was in the middle of a high stress meeting.

“No, not at all,” Alaska answered. “She told me she hoped it wasn’t Derrick.”

Sharon made a face.

“Does anyone else know you’re in a relationship?”

“No,” Alaska answered. “But Courtney might talk… but she’s very loyal! …But was also very excited.”

“I don’t want your little friends to try and bust this case wide open,” Sharon ran her hands through her hair, pulling at her roots before dropping them completely and smacking her pencil skirt in the process.

“I can make Courtney promise not to tell,” Alaska attempted, not even taking offense to the ‘little friends’ jab. Alaska knew how immature they probably came across to Sharon, and she wasn’t about to start another argument.

“Yeah well fuckin’… college girl promises might not be kept.”

There was more silence, and Alaska bit her lip, looking at a still Sharon who stared at the ground, practically hearing the gears turning in her head.

“How did she find out, anyway?” Sharon questioned.

Fuck, Alaska thought.

“I… um, there’s this feature… on Snapchat, where they use your GPS location… and everyone is on this big map,” Alaska explained, looking at the floor instead of matching Sharon’s erratic gaze. “And… over the break I was sending Courtney photos of my mom’s baking and my little cat, saying I was back home.”

Alaska ignored her the shake in her voice. She was so fucking scared to tell Sharon.

“But… I forgot to turn my location off, so Courtney saw I was still here in Pittsburg—"

She heard Sharon inhale sharply.

“… And she asked me why I lied, and then guessed I was seeing someone… so now she knows.”

Alaska didn’t lift her head to see the look on Sharon’s face. She couldn’t. But before she could even respond, Sharon left. Alaska watched as her feet walked away, down the hallway, before she heard the sound of their bedroom door close.

She found a small comfort in the fact that Sharon didn’t slam it shut.

Standing there, Alaska cried, letting the tears she had held back all night finally fall. She waited, straining to hear any sound come from Sharon’s room, or to see her re-emerge. But there was nothing.

She knew she had fucked up, she knew this was her fault. But it felt like her heart was being crushed. This was their first ever fight, or conflict, at least. She wished for nothing more than to be back on the couch with Sharon, their bodies intertwined as they kissed.

Alaska paced around, not knowing what to do with herself now that she had calmed down. It was only just past 7pm, and she had told her dorm supervisor she would be back right before their 9pm cut off after ‘visiting her grandma, who happens to live in the area’.

She wrung her hands, not wanting to knock on Sharon’s door just yet. To distract herself, she did the dishes, the hot water softening her skin and soothing her senses. But as she stacked dishes, she smelt the faint scent of smoke. Suddenly on edge, Alaska looked around, inspecting the oven, toaster and microwave and wondering if anything was burning. But they were all empty.

She walked into the living room, sniffing the air and trying to hunt down the source. It was coming from outside, so she immediately suspected a forest fire, or perhaps someone getting too keen with their chimney.

Opening the sliding glass door, she stepped onto the dark balcony before jumping back.

“Oh, sorry!” Alaska exclaimed upon seeing Sharon leaning against the railing, a lit cigarette perched between her fingertips as her silvery blonde hair blew gently in the night breeze.

Sharon jumped too, the interruption ripping her from her deep train of thought. She almost knocked her orange Halloween-themed glass ashtray off the railing in the process, but thankfully grabbed it just in time.

“Oh my god, you spooked me,” Sharon whispered, clutching her chest and taking a drag.

“I thought you were unspookable,” Alaska said, standing in the doorway.

She noticed Sharon had entered the balcony from her bedroom’s glass door, which explained the silence.

“I’ll go,” Alaska said. But she didn’t go. Instead, they stood there, the traffic from the ground filling the silence.

Alaska spoke again. “I didn’t know you smoked.”

“It’s a filthy habit, it’s gross, I’m really trying to quit,” Sharon explained quickly, hovering her hand around the ashtray as if to show she was about to stub it out.

“I’ll stop in a sec,” she instead said coyly, taking one last, long drag. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to get the smoke in. I know how gross it smells.”

Alaska was surprised at how apologetic Sharon was, and even more surprised at how she assumed Alaska was so against smoking. Which, on second thought, she was. But there was something so seductive about the way the embers from the lit end flickered in Sharon’s blue eyes, and how the smoke trailed up from her parted red lips.

“Oh, no,” Alaska stammered, physically shaking her head out of her trance. “I actually kind of like the smell of cigarettes.”

Sharon cocked her head to the side, smiling before stubbing it out.

“It’s like, comforting,” Alaska said bashfully, stepping out and joining Sharon now that the tension was gone.

Sharon felt a pang in her heart when she realised Alaska’s eyes were red-rimmed, and that her reaction had caused her pain.

She wrapped her arms around the younger girl to hold her, squeezing her as she felt Alaska squeeze back.

“I’m so sorry,” Sharon apologised, her words muffled as she spoke into Alaska’s hair.

“No, I’m sorry,” Alaska said, tilting her head up and looking at Sharon. “It was my mistake, I fucked up.”

“But I blew up.”

“Only because I screwed up again and didn’t tell you Courtney doesn’t know it’s you.”

They stood together, their arms wrapped around each other until they finally broke apart. Alaska lowered herself down on the two-person outdoor loveseat just behind them, and Sharon joined her.

“I just freaked the fuck out,” Sharon sighed.

“But like, rightly so,” Alaska replied, lacing her fingers with Sharon’s.

“It’s just,” Sharon started, “I know it’s only Courtney, but the more people who know, the more chance there is of this getting out, and if this gets out, everything will be ruined and I might not get to see you anymore and I know we’re both adults but we both knew the consequences of this and someone else knowing just makes this all so real and—“

“Sharon,” Alaska tried to interrupt.

“No, let me finish,” Sharon said, her heart pounding as the words poured out of her. “It’s all just hitting me now how real this all is and I’ve always cared about you and loved you but I need to tell you now that I’m so fucking in love with you, you have no idea, and the thought of losing you is my biggest fear. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I’ll be damned if I don’t get to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Alaska was silent, watching as Sharon finally took a deep breath. Realising her outpouring of emotions was over, Alaska’s face broke into a smile, which practically lit up the night sky.

“You love me?” Alaska whispered.

“So much,” Sharon whispered back, their lips centimetres apart.

“I love you too,” Alaska announced. “I’ve loved you for what feels like forever, and I know that sounds cheesy as fuck but lately I haven’t been able to imagine my life with anyone else. I wish we could go out and have brunch and take photos of it like Ivy and Jinkx, or go to museums and take photos of each other looking at art like Shea and Sasha, but I care so much more about you and us and our relationship, that having it get out isn’t what I want either. I just want you. I love you, Sharon, so much."

Sharon’s heart melted, and it was only when she blinked and her vision warped did she realise she had tears in her eyes.

Their lips met, passion exploding from their hearts and communicating so much more than what words could. Alaska’s fingers tangled in Sharon’s hair as Sharon’s tongue lapped against hers, a smokey aftertaste underpinning their embrace. They stayed like that on the balcony until they couldn’t anymore, Sharon’s arm wrapped around Alaska as they shared kisses and looked up at the stars, their hearts so full of love that they felt like they could ascend into the galaxy above them and shine together. While Courtney knowing of a relationship changed things, it only made their actions more secretive, their time together more precious, and their feelings for each other more raw and powerful. Sharon looked to the stars, knowing as long as no one else knew, things were going to be okay.

“So, when am I meeting your girlfriend?” Willam asked offhandedly, unassumedly picking up the soy sauce bottle as she eyed her colleague and closest friend

The avocado sushi grasped between Sharon’s wooden chopsticks fell to her plate as she stared wide eyed at Willam across the small table, her whole body frozen as the sushi train continued to politely glide around them.

“How do you know?” Sharon breathed.

“Oh my god,” Willam exclaimed, lowering her voice as she smiled with glee. “It was just a hunch. But you didn’t deny it. Holy shit."

Fuck fuck fuck, Sharon thought.

Like a ridiculous unbalanced seesaw, Willam’s expression became more excited as Sharon’s dawned in horror.

“You’re a fool, Needles, a damn fool,” Willam laughed. “Walked right into that one.”

Sharon ran an anxious hand through her hair, suddenly forgetting about her luch and looking at the other diners around them, on alert for any one of them to turn around and suddenly start publically shaming her for shagging a student.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Willam said softly, not expecting Sharon’s withdrawn, uncharacteristic reaction.

There was always a little chemistry between them that kept things exciting, but Willam and Sharon were close friends first. Best friends, even. They shared so many of the same interests, and both being lesbians was the final bond in their valuable, female friendship. It wasn’t unusual for them to discuss their relationships, ask for advice, or delve into the details of a recent hook-up. But Willam had noticed a change over the past few months. There were no more one-night stand reviews during their Monday lunchtime catch-ups (at least, not on Sharon’s behalf. Willam was still pulling her weight.)

Except, there was someone. Willam just knew. She didn’t miss the goofy smile from Sharon when her phone would light up during a faculty meeting, and how it wouldn’t leave her face until long after she’d locked her home screen. She didn’t miss the way Sharon claimed the love bite on her neck was a curling iron burn, when her hair that day was actually dead straight. She didn’t miss the way Sharon laughed louder and hugged Willam a little bit longer.

She seemed loved-up. She seemed happy.

And by the way she was currently acting, Willam was right.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to divulge into all the details,” Willam backtracked. She sensed Sharon’s hostility, but it only made her more curious.

“No, it’s okay,” Sharon lied, recalling the story Alaska had fed Courtney the night before. “We’re just… not official. I don’t know. I don’t know what we are at the moment, so I don’t really want to talk about it and like, jinx it…”

“Right,” Willam replied, eyeing the avocado and salmon combination coming travelling towards her. She wasn’t buying Sharon’s vague babbling. “Tell me her name.”

“No!” Sharon exclaimed, as if Willam had just had the audacity to ask Sharon for her dad’s phone number.

Sharon’s cheeks grew hot. She always talked about all things dating with Willam, and she knew she wasn’t coming across well. She was just so taken off-guard. But as Willam hailed a waitress to alert her the approaching wasabi bowl was empty, Sharon realised this was exactly how Alaska felt when Courtney had sprung it on her – and Sharon had made her feel worse. She made a mental note to spend extra time between her thighs tonight to make up for it.

“Why not?” Willam protested. “At least show me a photo. Is she cute? She better be.”

“No, I mean— no to showing you a photo,” Sharon explained. “And yes, she’s cute. She’s beautiful.”

“What does she do?” Willam asked, dunking her sushi into her little bowl of soy sauce as Sharon picked up her previously forgotten chopsticks.

“She’s… a hairdresser,” Sharon improvised, suddenly recalling the alibi Alaska had given her the moment they first met. The flashback to that incredible first night sent a flush of warmth through Sharon, and she couldn’t help but smile at the table at the thought of it.

“Aw,” Willam said through a mouthful of rice. “Look at you, she’s in love.”

Sharon burst out laughing. Willam had worn her down, and talking about Alaska, finally indulging and talking about her greatest pleasure of all, the woman who had captured her heart and was always on her mind, made her giddy.

“Look, you’ll hear all about her when things are more serious and a little more… set in stone,” Sharon promised. “l… really like her. So I really don’t want to fuck things up.”

Willam smiled at her friend as she heard the authenticity in her voice.

“I’m so happy for you Shaz,” Willam said, the both of them not used to sentimental moments like this, “you deserve this.”

S: So

S: Willam knows

A: WHAT!?!?

S: About the relationship, not you personally

A: Thank fuck

A: Oh lol, I see what you did there

A: I’m gonna go to my room and smoke now

S: HEY

A: :))))

S: Happened exactly like you with C, she guessed, said she could tell

A: we’re such fools

S: loved-up fools

The sun beat down on Alaska’s back, warming her skin and drying the salt from the sea into her pores before she heard a voice.

“Be careful not to burn,” Sharon warned, lowering her designer sunglasses to check up on Alaska sunbaking next to her, just out of reach of their umbrella’s circle of shade, which Sharon had made herself comfortable under.

Alaska rolled her neck to the side, smiling at the lengths Sharon went to protect her milky white complexion and prevent early aging. Her blonde hair flowed down from the chic, wide brimmed straw hat she wore, while the dark sunglasses framed her face. An expensive long sleeves white shirt covered her arms, while a plunging black one piece hugged her figure. Her gorgeously long legs were exposed, though the umbrella protected them, as did the layers of sunscreen she had applied earlier. A novel rested in her lap, and a beer was wedged into the sand next to her.

In comparison, Alaska was laying in the sun, her high-cut olive green bikini showing off her curvy bottom, while her back was completely exposed, her bikini top left unhooked under her chest in a bid to get the perfect tan. Her once-wet hair was half drying as she laid, and grains of sand were peppered along her cheekbones.

After Sharon herself had been sprung, she still felt guilty for getting mad at Alaska for a simple mistake. But even though they couldn’t go public, Alaska admitting she wished they could do normal things like go out for brunch or to museums or the movies had played on Sharon’s mind ever since. With some Googling and a price tag that barely made a dent in Sharon’s bank account, she had found them a swish holiday Airbnb that backed onto their own little private beach.

The location was just over an hour away from campus, and the time of the year meant not many people were planning beach getaways. While cooler weather was on the horizon, they had lucked out, with the weekend away they booked being bathed in sunlight and humidity one last time before fall properly set in.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go swimming?” Alaska asked, rolling onto her side and giggling as Sharon lowered her sunglasses again to admire Alaska’s exposed chest.

“I’m sure,” Sharon said succinctly. “I stepped on some random crustacean when I was 15 and split my foot open and have been scared of the water ever since. But you looked very cute frolicking around before.”

“I’ve always wondered about that scar on your foot,” Alaska mused.

“Case closed,” Sharon said, taking a swing of her beer.

Alaska got up, walking over to Sharon and ducking underneath their short umbrella. She sat down on her lap, not caring that her wet hair dropped water onto the other woman, or that her damp body was against her pristine shirt. Sharon discarded her book, choosing to instead wrap her arms around Alaska as their lips met. She sighed as her skin felt the heat radiating off Alaska.

“You’re so warm,” Sharon murmured, kissing her girlfriend, “like my personal little sun.”

Alaska giggled, and being this close meant Sharon noticed the odd little freckle here and there on her face, and how her nose scrunched up when she laughed.

“Okay, I’m the sun,” Alaska said, playing with Sharon’s hair, “and you’re my moon.”

“That’s very cute,” Sharon replied, moving to kiss Alaska’s neck and licking her lips as she tasted salt.

“Please come and swim with me? I promise there are no crustaceans, and the moon actually controls the sea, so you can just shoo them away if they get too close."

“Oh my god,” Sharon grinned, allowing Alaska to haul her up from her beach chair. Their heads almost knocked into the umbrella, but after Sharon shrugged her sun shirt off and Alaska piled her salty hair onto her head and secured it into a messy bun, they walked towards the water together.

Sharon’s alabaster skin glowed in the sunlight, and it was endearing to see her be so cautious as they stepped into the calm water. Once their bodies climatised, they walked in a little deeper, Alaska always a step in front and holding her hand, and Sharon following her sandy little bottom until they became waist deep.

“Are you still scared?” Alaska asked, wrapping her hands around Sharon’s neck and feeling herself pulse as her bare chest pressed against Sharon’s.

Without Alaska initially meaning it and through a weird, telepathic way, they both realised her words carried a meaning beyond just the sea. There would be a million consequences if their relationship got out. Those closest to them would get hurt, and judgment would come from every angle.

But ever since their mutual declaration of love, that ending to their relationship didn’t feel like an ending anymore, but just something that could happen. They would still carry on, hand in hand, together.

“No,” Sharon said, hugging Alaska closer. “As long as I have you, I’m not scared.”c

#extra credit #rosie #shalaska #cisgirl au #au #angst #fluff #sharon needles #alaska thunderfuck #rpdr fanfiction #college au #lesbian au #student/teacher

78 notes · View notes

lovelywaifu · 7 years

Text

Here’s the RP log I promised (part 2)!

As a warning: right now it is minimally edited. There are so many typos and shit I want to die but it was all done on the fly in a window that did not have any kind of spell check feature. Just uuuuuh… use your context clues. Yeah.

Part one is HERE! (which includes some important preface notes)

So for whatever reason, I totally lost a big chunk of logs that would have taken like 3 parts on their own anyway. Basically, Asayl’s dumb body is just absolutely fucked at this point. She was bad to begin with but after a week of torture, she’s at her limit. Pheno, the ever-useful necromancer husband that he is, had offered to put her in a new body before while he tried to ‘fix’ her original and she finally takes him up on this offer. She has a bit of an internal ethical debate about it but ultimately picks a body similar to hers - just a bit taller athletic. At this point, only Nero knows what had happened to her but does not know the situation leading up to it. Pheno only knows her condition got too bad for her to handle. There is a moderate fast forward, since the process of slapping her soul in a new body would have taken some time and she would have been out for a few days while Pheno monitored her to make sure she wasn’t going to explode or something idk.

Asayl- After spending a week or so cooped up her house, recovering from the stress of working this new body and the awkwardness of having to reintroduce herself to the residents of the town (though something like this wasn't unheard of, being a heavily magical-influenced town and all), Asayl was finally relaxed and well enough to treat herself to something. Of course, there was more to life then just her and she knew this. She owed a few people an explanation as to what had happened to her during her week of absence. Prior to this day, she would have refused to speak of it, citing pain, tiredness and recovery - in that order. Now it was time to clue her savior in on the double life she had been leading. She knew Nero was going to disapprove, especially when she hears the money Asayl had used to buy her house and sponsor her as a resident of the town was mostly dirty money from her work as Kumiho. Asayl had invited Nero to lunch at one of her favorite places in the whole nexus - the tea house. She made it a appoint to arrive a bit early, order herself duck broth as usual and steady her nerves a bit. This afternoon was going to be stressful, she knew. She slouched over her bowl, the waves of hair that fell into her field of vision surprised her a little; she still wasn't entirely used to being in this new vessel. Pheno had warned her it was going to be weird for a while but the adjustment was especially slow for poor Asa. A heavy sigh was let through her nose as she tensely awaited the arrival of her friend - who would hopefully recognize her from what few glimpses she had gotten of her new body.

Nero Aljon stepped through the entrance a little hesitantly, leaning down a little to miss hitting the top of the doorway with her noggin, her ears pricking forward shortly after as she searched for her friend... Or at least, her new one. It was still hard for her to truly believe such a thing could happen, and yet, she also felt relieved, knowing how long Asayl had been in pain. Thankfully, it didn't take much searching, though at least one double take, and she sat down across from her with a nervous smile. "Sorry I'm late," she said, her voice a great deal deeper than her human form. It was clear by her posture that she was still a bit nervous about being so open about herself. "I see you're doing well?" she asked casually in an attempt to strike up the conversation. Asa didn't usually go out and meet up with anyone. Then again, the old Asa didn't go out of doors as often as she should, thanks to her ailments. So far as she saw, anyway. La Volpe: It was only by complete coincidence that Volpe happened upon the same place as the two, meeting up with a resident of the town to discuss certain matters. With that usual air of casual confidence he stepped in, brown eyes taking the scene in before him, scanning for any possible dangers or threats. As his eyes laid upon the two at the far end, he'd pause, eyebrows furrowing. But whatever had come to mind was waved off as he went to sit down at a corner table, out of sight but able to keep an eye on everything. He wasn't particularly fond of going to new places to meet and talk, but his hands were tied for this; he had to go by her demands. Fingers drummed impatiently on the wooden table, idly reading the menu or anything else with text. He wasn't going to order anything - he wasn't here to eat. To others he wouldn't of seemed out of place, just a stranger wandering the streets. Asayl gave a feeble smile smile as Nero walked in, just a little surprised to see her in her massive anthro form. She waved to the seat across and was happy to finally be in good company. "Ah, no worries. I didn't wait long," she replied to her first question, trying so very hard to sound casual. But that was hard to do when you forget what your voice sounds like. Despite having the smoky smooth voice, it was pretty obvious that the sounds surprised her. "Yes. I feel amazing now. I think I almost forgot what not being in pain felt like." She would go on to ramble a bit more about how good she felt, not noticing that an enemy had wandered in. Being at home, her guard was never up. But as conversation continued, the drumming sound he made caught her ear. Annoying, but she didn't look in that direction yet, still caught up in chitchat.

Nero Aljon was pleased at her reaction, relaxing a little as they began talking. "I'm glad to hear of it. It was a strange way to solve the problem, but it certainly worked out for the better." She chuckled once. "I guess magic and I speak different languages." The lycan shrugged a little, sniffing around with a dreamy expression, feeling rather hungry now that all these scents of lavender and food were getting to her. "I love this little tea place. It smells so..." she paused rather abruptly, her expression changing suddenly. She froze, her ear pivoting first before she let her eyes wander, her heart skipping a beat as she caught sight of him. Nero quickly returned her gaze to Asayl, trying her best to act casual, lifting her cup to her mouth as she spoke. "He's here... The guy that tied you up. Don't look just yet, but he's sitting only a few tables away..." The lycan was rather thankful that both of them were rather unrecognizable, though something in his scent seemed a bit ... off.

Asayl shot her friend a confused look. Instead of doing the stupid, obvious thing and looking over, she stole a few quick glances at here Nero's eyes had been. Her heart dropped. The man who had nearly killed was here in her home, her sanctuary! In her head, all she could think was NO! NO! NO! NO! She took a few sips of her soup, gathering her thoughts. A thought occurred to her as she did. Maybe this was a good thing. She hadn't tried to track him down at all and now here he was, practically sitting in her lap. She lowered her voice to speak to Nero, making gestures as if she was telling her a juicy bit of gossip. "I know you're going to hate me for this, but I NEED you to play along. Please! He has my mask and I need to get it back. I'll explain everything later!" With that she, she sat back and let out a loud laugh. She spewed a bit more chatter before looking in Volpe's direction. Yes, it was him for sure. She did a little double take then pretended to whisper something to Nero, doing little to hide the sly little point in his direction and a wide, coy grin.

Nero Aljon was caught off guard by her tactic, left blinking and confused for a moment before regaining her senses or else blow their cover. Such behavior reminded her of the old days on the run, before she had even met Asayl. The only difference was that her disguises had been switched. Nero laughed, more at how Asa was behaving than in response to her imaginary joke. She was sly, the lycan had to give her that much, if not a little insane. Still, she couldn't help but feel cautious with their situation. It was true that he hadn't yet recognized them, but she couldn't help but feel wary. Nero played along well enough, giving him a little wink when she felt that he was looking in their direction. La Volpe hadn't really been paying particular attention to anyone in the building, just letting his vision shift among the patrons. That was until he spotted a bit of movement up at the top end and fingers pointed towards him as the stranger leaned into her wolven friend and spoke something. He didn't pick up what she said and he wasn't very good at lip reading, so the act annoyed him quite a bit. He kept a watched as he frowned somewhat, keeping his eye on the ladies as he seemed to attract their attention. "Mi scusi." He called over, offering an almost patient smile, "Is there a problem, signorina? Have I happened to have caught your interest, or is there something wrong? Do I have something on my face or perhaps I have left my trousers undone?" The latter sentence was spoken with a more playful, tongue-in-cheek tone; it obviously wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

Asayl kept to her flirty, playful gimmick, thankful Nero had caught on quick and played her part. Still, they were both unprepared to deal with him in a way that would get Asayl what she wanted out of him. For now, she just wanted to find out a few choice pieces of information out of him and maybe make 'friends' with him to keep him in close contact. Asayl was beyond grateful that she had sent Pheno home or else there would be some major kinks in this plan. "Oh no, no problem, strange. Though it does look like there's a little something on you face. Looks like you might of left some handsome all over it." She turned to Nero in a fit of strangely convincing giggles. Nero Aljon had to keep her cool. Hearing that arrogant, foreign voice just rubbed her the wrong way after their last encounter. She clenched her jaw, though still did her best to play along. Besides, he was more interested in Asayl. Continuing with the plan, she laughed along, quite loudly at her friend's last ironic response before recovering, pulling a hand to her muzzle as if in apology. She couldn't believe they were doing this. What did Asa have in mind once she promptly seduced him to their table? Did she plan on taking him out back and interrogating him there, or was she truly trying to get on his good side? Nero had no idea, but she only hoped that the feline knew what she was doing. The lycan decided to put a word in. "Oh don't bother him. Surely he has a lady he's waiting for..."

La Volpe was mildly surprised at the response. He hadn't expected the people of this seemingly quiet town to be quite as forward as she. "Oh? I must have forgotten to take it off before I left." He grinned, "It gets me into all sorts of trouble." And he bit at her bait, raising from his seat to take one next to Asayl instead of Nero; she was doing the most talking and recent events had caused slight wariness around canines. "Alas, there is no lady waiting for me." He smiled again, "Haven't met a woman that could tame me." Volpe gave a laugh, watching the two, but his eyes kept glancing to Nero. There was something about her...something so vaguely familiar. The way she spoke, he had heard it before or something very close to it, but he couldn't pinpoint it. He didn't let it distract him, however, no man like him wouldn't pass up the opportunity to chat to forward thinking ladies. Asayl pouted. "Looking like that, maybe you're right." She let out an exaggerated sigh before finally turning her gaze back to Volpe, who she was surprised to find coming to sit with them. Now Nero would have to watch herself for sure. But Asayl trusted that she knew that. Asayl had the (good?) fortune of a fool proof disguise, after all. She put on her best flustered act, seeming both delighted and nervous that Volpe had chosen to sit next to her. "Eh, you must be a feisty one then. You should underestimate us Nexus girls. We're used to dealing with wild animals, right Odessa?" She tacked on a sensual drag to the word 'animal'. She also added a fake name for Nero, just so she would know that she wasn't forgetting the act. Nero Aljon didn't particularly mind him sitting next to Asa. It was rather predictable to say the least, since she was pulling out all the stops for him. If Pheno were here, she was sure that he would be furious with her... Either that or summon all his skeletal slaves to challenge him in a duel, she wasn't entirely sure. She chuckled at the thought, almost missing her cue name. Nero nodded in reply, leaning forward a little to seem interested. It was then that she really had a good whiff of him, and the results sent chills up and down her spine. She became rigid despite herself. "Well well," the lycan said with a serious interest, hoping to warn Asa without having her panic. "Careful what you say about animals, because it would seem we're in the company of a handsome Werewolf." Her eyes glanced to her friend, a hint for her to keep her cool, though Nero couldn't help but be worried for her safety. "Tell me stranger, what brings you to our happy little area of the woods?"

La Volpe's eyes came up to stare right into Nero's as she spoke, eyebrows twinging just the slightest. He wasn't surprised that the wolf could smell him, but to say it blatantly out loud in a conversation with seemingly no reference gave him reason to hold some suspicion. He'd wipe away his faltered look and smiled smoothly. "Oh, good guess. Not that I wouldn't think you ladies were afraid of a big, bad wolf." Volpe straightened himself, arms casually folded against his frame. "Nothing particularly interesting. I'm here on a matter of business in fact. Someone that lives in the town wants to discuss something with me." He judged by the lupine's words it meant that they lived here. "I take it you two live in the area? It is a very nice place. Quiet, nice scenery. What more could you ask for?" Asayl was taken off guard completely, eyebrows almost hitting her hairline - though Volpe seemed to have been surprised also. Out of worry of giving something away, Asayl took the initiative of answering his, perhaps rhetorical, question. "How could I be afraid of wolf, no matter how big our bad? I mean, just look at who I have to spend all day with." She motioned to Nero. Nero was pretty big and bad in this form, after all. But he was here to meet someone? Not HER right? There's no way he could have followed her or tracked her here... right? Worry was starting to pull at her mind. "Not a whole lot, really," she chirped, sounded excited that he liked it here. "It's perfect here! And it is pretty scenic, don'tcha think?" The emphasis of the word come with a batting of eyelashes, a seductive glance and a teeny tiny scoot in his direction. Ugh, this was embarrassing to do in front of Nero! Nero Aljon was disappointed in herself for letting it slip that they were locals, but if they played their cards right, it wouldn't matter. They had different identities as far as he was concerned, though she was getting the feeling that he was becoming suspicious. She decided to lay low for a while in the conversation, before she made any more careless mistakes, averting her gaze just in case. At least he didn't seem to be after them, though she was curious as to whom he was meeting with and for what purpose. Asking was strictly out of the question now, or else he would really wonder. No, it was best to let Asa do the talking. Nero had to admit that she was good at acting, even better than herself when she was in well practice. The lycan took a drink to calm her nerves, only nodding once Asa had spoken about her, grinning a little to show a bit of fang in good humor.

La Volpe gave the wolf another glance; an almost inspecting stare like he was expecting something obvious just to pop out. He'd ignore the itching feeling in the back of his brain, for now. "I suppose. You are quite fierce looking, signorina. Mi dispiace if I offend." Volpe gave a slight bow of the head in the wolf's direction. He was, however, quite curious to the other femme's behaviour. Not that he hadn't seen anyone act like this before around him, it was usually solitary women without friends that acted in such a way. Perhaps he had really caught her attention, was the only reasonable assumption he could make and he had no reason to suspect her of any ulterior motives. "Yes, very scenic indeed. I bet you ladies have had many a romantic moment upon the piers and and natural beauties that surround the town." Asayl waved off his comment about Nero, trying very hard to be the dominant personality out of the two kind-of-sort-of imaginary friends. She could tell Nero was trying to give her the limelight and if it meant snipping some info out of Volpe, she was all for it - all embarrassment aside. She was going to owe her friend so much after this. "Maybe when I was a foolish teenager," she said in a somewhat sarcastic tone, "My tastes are a bit different now that I'm older. I'm older than I look, you know! I don't play games with little boys anymore. I like my men like I like my wine, aged to perfection." She was really laying the flattery on heavy now, hoping the cheesy compliment would be just silly enough to sound real. She took a quick glance at Nero, trying to somehow mentally communicate that she wanted to try and get him alone somewhere. Not to attack him, of course, but to coax some things out of him in a much more gentle fashion.

Nero Aljon waved a hand in reply to him, brushing him off. "I get that a lot, it's fine." There was certainly more than a hint of truth in that. She had countless memories of people's terrified expressions beneath the moonlight. The lycan simply repressed them, taking another moment to enjoy her tea. Despite this, she made sure to keep an eye on his movements, to see if he truly suspected anything. So far he seemed calm, perhaps a little nervous, though nothing that suggested that he was particularly alert. The looks he gave her were starting to really trouble her, however... Did he know? It was possible that her eyes were giving away her cover, though she couldn't be sure. The lycan caught Asa's look, though she didn't necessarily know what it meant, still wondering how long they were to stay there. Was she going to coax him someplace or follow him after he left? Nero looked to the clock on the wall, giving a puzzled expression.

La Volpe hadn't considered Nero's eyes; he hadn't caught enough of her face during the initial time they met to memorize her strange eyes. So they were safe in that aspect. Volpe's own eyes wondered to the clock, rolling his shoulders. "It appears so. I'm not sure how long she wants me to wait. She must have other matters to attend to." Was that a slight hint he dropped or just a minor coincidence? It was hard to tell with that little smirk on his face. "I might just go for a wander if she decides not to show face. I'm sure she is probably busy dealing with other business at the moment." Volpe caught an almost surprised laugh at the feline's sort-of compliment. "Oh?" He chuckled now, "That's hardly a surprise. Like a good wine, perfection comes with maturity." Asayl nearly had a heart attack when 'she' was inserted into his words. She kept telling herself there was just NO way! She was always careful when making her way back home, even in the midst of the worst body aches imaginable. She quickly made herself step back in line. "She?" She gave him a sly look. "I thought you said you didn't have lady friend! What, are you trying to play a game from angles?" She couldn't help but laugh, a real laugh this time. The whole thing was starting to get funny to her. Maybe because she was fooling him so completely that it made her giddy. "Well, if she does stand you up, I'm always willing to show a handsome stranger around. I know all the good places around here." Nero Aljon was getting really tired of this back and forth playful banter. It was becoming difficult for her to really pretend to be interested in him besides for what information she could get out of him. She could only imagine how Asa must've been feeling, having to dish out all those sappy remarks. More credit points for her. "It's true, Caroline makes an excellent tour guide. She even showed me around when I first moved in." Nero smirked at her, telling a little bit of truth there. "It wouldn't be a problem if you wanted to get an inside look at the place, if you know what I mean." The lycan laughed, sticking her tongue out a little in jest toward her friend, as if it were some silly inside joke. La Volpe gave a playful frown at Asayl. "She is a friend that is a lady, but not quite in the same context as you think. Like I said earlier, I am here on business. I work as an art merchant and she is interested in buying some of my wares." He wasn't about to tell them the real reason he was there, of course. Listening to the two he didn't really pick up what Nero had meant by her statement; perhaps it was just a joke the two shared. "I see. Then perhaps Caroline and Odessa would not mind giving this handsome stranger a tour, then? I am not at all bothered by the lack of business. I'm sure we can catch up later." Spending time with interesting ladies seemed far more exciting that dealing with business; who could say no to such an offer? "I've only managed to see the port. I'm sure there is more to see in the town." Asayl pawed the air at Nero, giving her a kind of playful look before turning her full attention to Volpe. He was actualy going to agree to wander off with them? Excellent! But now how could she tell Nero that she needed to talk with him alone, but that she had permission to trail them, just in case she accidentally let something slip and things went south? There was really no amount of round about talk to say that without raising suspicions. Hmm. Maybe Nero would catch on on her own. OR, maybe she could use Nero's strength to her advantage. As huge as Nero was this way, it would be easy for her to overpower Volpe... Argh, the decisions! For now, Asayl would hold back on using him as a punching bag. She knew someone who might be able to help her do it in a much more 'her' way. But that would require a second day with him. Time to play this right, once and for all. She stood. "Well then, how about the deluxe tour for Mister..." She waited to see what fake name he would give to them. Nero Aljon truly smiled for the first time since she had fist started this charade, glad that their back and forth conversation was nearly at an end. Or, so she hoped. She still didn't quite know what Asayl had in mind to do with him. The lycan would have to play it by ear. She would be there to make sure he didn't try anything funny with her, especially with the addition of his new blood in the mix. If Asa intended on being alone with him, she would have to be a bit more clear. Even then, the lycan wouldn't stand to be too far away. Her ears pricked forward with interest as they seemed to be ready to leave, standing from the table shortly after Asa asked for his name. She looked down at him, wondering what he would say in reply to her silver tongue.

La Volpe would stand to his full height, in the process taking one of Asayl's hands and planting a light, polite kiss on the back. "Angelo, signorina. A pleasure to meet you." The same name he had given the women in the city. He would offer another nod in Nero's direction; kissing the back of her hand seemed like a bad idea. Not that he was afraid of her, but he couldn't help but feel somewhat intimidated. "Shall we then?" He gestured towards the door with a sweeping motion, eager to get out and explore, especially with such interesting ladies and him none the wiser.

Asayl, fueled by her success in convincing Volpe to leave with them. Now she just had to clue Nero in on the whole she needed him along thing. Asa took the lead of the three of them, walk along the path until they reached the main road. She looked this way than that as if trying to pick where to take Volpe first. In reality, she was checking on where the townsfolk where. It was a busy afternoon and everyone was everywhere. That's just how the town was. She turned on her toes with bright smile and a twinkle in her eye. "Well, Angelo, what kinds of sights interest you? Do you like cozy shops or boat rides or maaaaybe, something a little more secluded like a walk in the jungle?"

Nero Aljon followed Asa's lead, standing on the other side of 'Angelo' so there were no distractions between him and the feline's conversation. It was also more of a strategy to be there if he made any sudden moves, though she didn't let that slide. She hoped that it gave the impression that she was there for the company of her companion more than anything. As they stopped and she heard the blatantly obvious request to be alone, she almost refused, knowing full well what he was capable of. Yet, after a few moments of thought, it was likely that he would become suspicious if they moved to a secluded spot two against one. Besides, she was the third wheel in this 'relationship.' Nero smirked, playing along. "Oh alright, Caroline. I get the hint. You show him the more intimate spots." She held her hand up as she whispered loudly to Volpe, "She's a sly one, isn't she? Take care of her while I'm gone." The lycan glanced to Asa before taking her leave, though she would never be too far away.. La Volpe found the theatrical relationship between Asayl and Nero quite amusing. The two were obviously close friends. He was somewhat surprised at Nero's leave, though not entirely upset. He preferred the more forward girls. "Don't worry, I promise I won't get her hurt." He chuckled, waiting for Nero to leave before replying to Asayl. "Well then, amore mio, why don't you choose somewhere nice to go? After all, you know this place better than I. Surely you know of a place to begin this tour of yours."

Asayl took a deep breath as Nero left. They would share a glance that, to them, was an understanding of the plan was but would look more like an equivalent of a fistbump for good luck to Volpe. Once Nero was out of the way, she put on her thinking face. "Hmm, well the tea house is my favorite starting point but it would be pretty silly to go back in. So how about we take a little stroll down to the pier? The water here is beautiful, don't you think? It's one of the reason I stay here. I love it so much." While she spoke, she casually slinked over to his side and wrapped herself around his arm before urging him to walk with her where she led him. . Nero Aljon kept a long distance between herself and the other two, not even daring to come very close to peek at them for fear of being seen. She felt certain that he would be used to people following him in secret by now. Even if she shifted to her wolf form, the lycan felt that he would become suspicious. It was better to lay low and wait for some sort of signal. Nero could still hear them from her vantage point, but as far as seeing what was going on? Not so much. Again she hoped that Asayl knew what she was doing...

La Volpe would let Asayl take the lead, following where ever she guided him. Something pestered him, though. The feeling of being watched. He took a glance over his shoulder, searching out Asayl's lycan friend in case she had decided to tag along in secret. But he couldn't find her, nor anyone else acting suspicious. Strange...He decided not to let it bother him too much, but he was on his guard. "Yes, it is. Where I come from the city is full of waterways and canals. Not very nice in the poorer districts, but in the upper districts in can be quite beautiful. There is nothing like taking a gondola through the city on a warm summer's day." Asayl- It wasn't surprising that she caught him looking over his shoulder. Instead of pretending she didn't see, she decided if she addressed it it would look less suspicious. "Don't worry, 'Dessa isn't some kind of creepy voyeur. She'll leave us alone. You've got me allll to yourself." She fed him a seductive look as they came up to the edge of the of that tier of the town. She pointed out into the hazy distance, where the shapes of sails from a large ship could be seen lazily sitting in the port on another island. "Ooh, a ship! That mean someone's probably has all kinds of sweets and exotic fruit to the market!" She released his arm and trotted down the stairs to the lower level of town, only pausing halfway to turn back and say, "C'mon, or you might lose to a man with chocolate!" Nero Aljon was glad that she decided to lie low, because as she suspected, he was on the lookout for her. Typical. At least she played it safe, so hopefully he would leave off. Still, the lycan couldn't help but snicker a little at Asa's last comment. Was she trying to get him to buy her things? Man, she wasn't holding back at all. Nero snuck around the area, trying not to look terribly suspicious to the rest of the people that were around, only trying to keep within a certain distance without being seen. It was hard. Being as tall as she was, she was sure to get a few glances, though thankfully no one seemed to pay her much mind. It was going more smoothly than she planned. La Volpe was surprised that Asayl commented on him peering over his shoulder, and retorted with a smirk of his own. "I wasn't worried about your friend, signorina." He'd saunter after the feline, a pace fast enough to keep up without having to trail after her. "I doubt it." He laughed, "Cioccolato lasts for just a moment, and I am here to stay." Figuratively, of course. Volpe was going to be at ParaHa for a couple of days - a week at the most - before their chance slipped. As he followed Asayl down the stairs he listened to the sounds of the town, watching the people go about their business; keeping an eye out. He had no reason to suspect, but in his line of business it was always wise to keep a constant watch, a constant guard where ever he went.

Asayl- "Oh, you say that but the power of chocolate over me is like the moon and the sea." A hand gently patted her cheek in girlish anticipation before she replaced herself on his arm and steered him toward the busy market. She stopped them for a moment to eye the different stalls. Luckily, none of the vendors knew who she was yet and would not be calling her by her real name. She probably looked as much of a stranger to them as Volpe did. Passing her favorite of the stall, the flower merchant, a rare, seasonal blossom caught her attention. For a moment, her very real love of all things flowers took over. "Moon flowers," she exclaimed, jerking them to halt. "You don't see these here very often." She admired the soft white flowers, but then remember that there was a act to keep up with. She reprimanded herself in her head for falling out of character for a moment.

Nero Aljon rolled her eyes at their conversation, suppressing a groan. This was just too much. What was she doing? A tour was one thing, but to examine all of the booths in the market? She rubbed her forehead as she waited for something to happen, keeping an ear on them both, hoping that Asa would pick up the pace, or at least think about showing him the next part of their tour. This was starting to feel like a drawn-out romantic getaway. The lycan was beginning to wonder if this was what she wanted. Should she leave? It probably wasn't the best of ideas... Hmm. La Volpe would watch the femme as she glided off ahead, only to doubletake at a stall not too far away. "Luna fiorire, mm? I never suspected that you were the kind to enjoy flowers. You don't seem like the delicate kind." He mused; he certainly wouldn't but it past Asayl to stand her ground in a fight, she seemed like a right firecracker. Making his way up to her he would wrap an arm across her waist, "Come, then, on with the tour. Unless the chocolate and flowers have put you on another planet."

Asayl- "I'm delicate!" A defensive pout finding its way on to her lips. "Just because I can't always act it doesn't mean I'm not soft and gentle when it really counts." Oh, he was getting comfortable with her. She liked this. Well, liked that she was able to keep him close, not quite in the romantic sense. "Right, the tour! Like the sea and moon, I told you." She shrugged apologetically. "We're close to the pier. It's only a short walk from here. Maybe we can take the ferry that goes to the other island from there. The west island is a wonderful place. I promise you'll never find a more beautiful place anywhere you go." Nero Aljon grimaced at the thought of sneaking onto a ferry. How was this going to work? He was sure to notice a lycan getting on board, no matter what she decided to hide behind. Besides, she was sure to get more stares hiding behind passengers on the ferry compared to the barrels in the market. Now was as good a time as any to see if her wolf form was a better option. It was still risky, but there was a better chance of success. Again she hid, this time to change her skin before returning to the game. She then thought it best to further disguise herself, sniffing around to the baker's booth for some flour, promptly sticking her paws and face into the powder before making a quick roll and getaway before the baker gave him a swift kick as he tended to do. Now she at least looked like some sort of black and white dog. She hoped so anyway, putting on that simple happy look that dogs usually had on their faces for good measure, following them off and on toward the ferry.

La Volpe laughed some. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm sure you can be." He was amused at her reaction, "Nessun problema, my dear. Take me where ever you want. After all, you know this place best." Getting away from the mainland seemed like an idea; away from the general crowd of people, away from any potential stalkers (Unbeknownst of their lupine companion) and just to get away from the bustle. Having grown up in the crowds of the city he had always appreciated the quieter towns and places. And what was better than a walk out of town with a lovely lady such as Asayl? The ferry ride didn't bother him much, he was used to sea travel due to working close with pirates and had already earned his sea legs. The breeze, however, was always refreshing. Like a salty slap to the face to shake those cobwebs from your mind.

Asayl- Going to the west island wasn't something most people from town did on a frequent basis, so the ferry was pretty empty. Empty enough for Asa have noticed Nero slip on in her wolf form. She had to bit her tongue to keep herself from laughing at the flour she had applied to make her little spotted. She looked doggy enough without it, so Asayl found it amusing. At least in the lush jungles of the other island, it would be much easier for Nero to hide and keep an eye on things. There were other critters living on the island, so she would blend right in. While the boat meandered along, Asayl kept Volpe engaged in conversation. She didn't want him to focus on anything but her. "So, how long to you plan on staying staying here? A one day fling is fun, but two or three days would be even more fun, afterall." She had seemingly no shame in calling what they were doing a "fling", as if to her hint intentions to him.

Nero Aljon made a quick dash ahead of them, boarding the ferry before them, her tail waving as happily as any dog, slowing only to sniff at one of the garbage pales that were sitting there. She played the part well, pretending to be the captain's companion, taking her place in the front of the ferry to lift her nose to the air. Once this was done, she curled up out of the way and pretended to snooze, though she kept her attention on the couple. So far, nothing interesting, but then this was probably a good sign. Volpe probably hadn't a clue and the thought made her quite pleased.

La Volpe wasn't surprised that the ferry was quite empty, most people were probably dealing with the market place and everyday life. His attention was taken fully from the sea once Asayl started speaking, overly curious at what she meant. "Oh? This is a fling, is it?" He'd gaze at her, into her eyes, as if trying to figure her out. "I'll be here for a week at the most. I try not to live so fast-paced." He would of only needed a day, maybe two to speak business and leave; but what would be the point in that? This place was a wonder, quite different to the many places he had been before. Why not take some time to see the sights? He hadn't anything overly important to do at the moment, so there was no reason not to.

Asayl- A week was more than enough time to do things how she really wanted. All she had to do was keep Volpe's interest and get some help from another member of Esoteric. Her mind was flooded with ideas of cruel revenge. Putting her head back into her game, she rolled her shoulders with a giggle. "Think about it. A dark, handsome stranger wandering off into new, lush, secluded locales with a beautiful girl he just met for some quiet time. What part of that doesn't scream 'fling' to you? Of course, if you live your love life at a lazy pace, that's fine too. But maybe I can coax you into some fast-paced fun. I'm not a lazy live-r." She only looked out over the water as she spoke, but a devious grin coiled around her mouth.

Nero Aljon stayed put where she was. Volpe didn't even seem to look in her direction, and Asa was getting some decent information out of him now that they were relatively alone. A week was a decent amount of time, after all. What she intended to do with that time was uncertain. What card did Asayl have up her sleeve? She could only wait and see.

La Volpe rolled his shoulders, peering back out into the water as she did. "Oh, Madonna! And here I thought you were the innocent sort." He jested with a chuckle. "Oh, I assure that my love life certainly isn't 'lazy'. Just because I live at my own pace doesn't mean I only work at slow and stop. I can work at many different levels. " Volpe wore his own playful grin, intrigued at Asayl's plans once they got off the ferry.

Asayl- "I don't have time to be innocent," she cooed. "Life is too short." There was something about that statement that rang different from the rest of her words. Maybe because there was finally some truth on her words. The island was quickly approaching, making her heart race. When they had first met, she had opted not to go this route with him -doubt it would have even worked even- but now here she was, ready to seduce him to get her mask back. At least this time, she had one hell of an upper hand. The ferry's bell rang with three short chimes to signal to its passengers that it was about to dock. "Ready to go for a nice little stroll?"

Nero Aljon scoffed quietly at Volpe's statement, the sound probably more like a cough to the others if they heard it, but otherwise she kept quiet until they reached the docks. The ringing of the bells alerted her to their arrival, and she sprang up as alert as ever, making her way to the end of the ferry where they had come aboard. Once they were close enough, she shifted her weight nervously until the ferry came to a stop, jumping onto the docks and quickly making her way to a place out of sight.

La Volpe quirked a brow, noting the change but didn't comment. He couldn't sense her anxiety, nor did he have a clue what she had planned for him. He would only find out in time. Turning to Asayl, he smiled. "Sure, amore mio. Take me to this paradise of yours." Volpe wondered what sort of tropical get-away was hidden on this little island, what sort of secrets were tucked away. Asayl Stepped off the boat and onto the little plank pier where the boat had docked. It was clear that this island was much less inhabited. The pier connected to nothing more than a dirt pth leading into the tall grass and towering trees. She waited for him to get back in step with her where plank met earth, extanded her hand in a such a way that he could hold it he so wanted or to ask for permission to hang on his arm again. "Welcome to the most beautiful place in the world. Let's go find the waterfall. You can't live life without seeing the pond it flows into it. It's like a little piece of heaven." Nero Aljon could see them safely from her vantage point in the foliage without fear of being seen herself. The shadows and patterns cast down from the afternoon sun made in almost impossible to spot her immediately unless one were to really be searching for her. She crouched down and followed them as quietly as she could, as if she were stalking her prey, all of her playful acting left at the docks. Nero kept her distance, stopping when necessary and laying down whenever it was convenient for her, though she was always on the alert for trouble, or some sort of sign from Asayl to strike.

La Volpe followed suite, cocking his arm as he caught up with Asayl to allow her to hang on. The place was certainly beautiful, she hadn't been wrong about that. His eyes wandered to the canopies overhead, listening to the chirps of the strange birds, the insects that buzzed in the undergrowth, flashes of eyes from wary animals as they darted by. Totally unlike the cities he was used to, but similar to other exotic places he had ventured through. He would remain quiet during their journey, content just to listen to the sounds of the wilderness around him. Quite strange for someone like him, some would think, but he was allowed his untold appreciation for nature.

Asayl found it a little odd that had had grown quiet during their little stroll. But when she looked up to discover a content look on his face, she didn't bother to disturb him. She simply clung to his arm, steering him to and fro along the path. When she led him onto one of the lesser traveled paths, and the only one she knew of that would take them to the pond she spoke of, she unwound herself from him and let her hand slide down his arm until it caught his hand. For some reason holding his hand that way to lead him felt entirely too intimate, and that made her hate it. But she put up with the pangs of disgust. When she heard the soft roar of the little waterfall, her ears perked up and her feet moved a little faster. "It should be right arooooound," she turned a corner of the patch around a big boulder to reveal the waterfall and pond she had spoken of, "here." La Volpe remained at his steady pace as her hand wove into his, urging him onward. Brown eyes widened at the sight of the waterfall she had spoken of; it truly was a sight to behold. "Madonna." He said breathlessly, peering up the gorge. "I don't think I've ever seen a waterfall quite as big as this." Letting go of her hand he sauntered up to the water's edge, dipping a finger in to test the water. A little colder than expected. "It's amazing what beautiful things nature has hidden away." Volpe spoke in a gentle tone that Asayl would have never heard before, almost like another side to him, "She's such a shy signorina. Beauty should never be hidden." Asayl was certainly a bit surprised by his reaction. If for nothing else, because they had something in common that didn't involve dirty work, killing and hiding their faces. With his attention away from her, she took a moment to look around for Nero. She couldn't see her, but she knew she was likely to be nearby. She could feel it. Assured that someone was watching out for her, she went ahead with her plan. "I agree. That's why I showed it to you." She walked over beside him and took a seat on the pebbly shore, knees drawn up to her chin. "Sit with me?" La Volpe's focus had been taken completely for a brief moment, not even noticing Asayl searching for her lycan friend. At her request, however, he'd sit down by her side, leaning back heavily on one palm while fiddling with a smooth pebble in the other, before throwing it into the water and watching it skim across the surface until it sank in. "Mmm. Well, I'll have to agree with you, signorina. This is a little piece of heaven." He chuckled, turning to give her a flash of a smile. Beautiful women always seem drawn to beautiful places."

Asayl was vaguely impressed that he could make the stone skip over the water, having tried many times herself and failing every last time, much to her childish dismay. She took his smile as permission to move closer to him. She shimmied herself over until their hips met. She thought about inviting herself to lean on him, but held off. If Nero really was watching them, she was going to have to remember to apologize ten times over for what she would see - and beg her not to tell Pheno about her little adventure in acting. She grinned back flirtatiously at Volpe adding, "Oh why thank you. You don't look at out of place yourself, you know."

La Volpe did not seem to react as Asayl slipped closer, already comfortable with the femme's presence. "I bet. Like Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden." He mused, tone playful. Keeping his eyes locked onto her's as she grinned, he'd let his free hand curve around the side of her face, combing its way through her hair and resting lightly at the base of her neck. From there, he moved in. Deliberately slowly he'd press his lips against hers, hand slipping around to the back of her neck as he did so. If she did not pull away he'd continue in his passionately slow embrace, other hand moving up to rest at her side; perhaps a reference to a previous topic of conversation. Asayl's usual first reaction to being touched in such a way as Volpe was a swift punch to the face. And it took all her willpower not to test the punching strength of this new body. Instead, she nuzzled her cheek every so slight against his hand has it passed over it, making a soft purring sound that could nothing short of an invitation for further actions. And further actions came. Though every inch of her mind was screaming at her not to do it, she let it happen anyway. Where she should have been knocking him out cold, she was repaying the action with enthusiasm. Now she was set on letting him do the leading. But she was still battling herself as to how far she was willing to let things go.

Nero Aljon couldn't believe that Asa was doing this... Not only was it hard to watch, but it was making her skin crawl and her fur bristle all at the same time. What was going on? The lycan was starting to wonder what her plan was, or even if she had one to begin with. She wasn't even sure if she could just sit here and watch while her best friend exploited herself. For what, a stupid mask? Nero growled softly, glaring daggers at them both from her position in the shadows. Even if she was a friend, this! This was stretching her limits to the extreme. She was beginning to debate on intervening or to leave Asayl to herself for the rest of the evening entirely. La Volpe could not sense the other's internal battle, nor the desire to cause him bodily harm; all he could see was the mutuality between the actions and he saw no reason not to continue. After a moment he gently pushed his body weight against her, to lower her onto the pebbled shore. A little uncomfortable, and a hand slipped to the small of her back in an effort to not ruin 'the mood'. The other remained at her neck, brushing against her collarbone in a delicate, slow action that would tingle the skin beneath the fur.

Asayl- Oh god, I'm really in trouble now, was all she could think as Volpe guided her body. The battle of her morals versus her desire to coax the assassin into a trap exploded in her head. If she was going to stop him, it would going to have to be right then and there - and completely nonchalant with a severe lack of flying fists. But if she let him continue, surely he would be enticed into a second rendezvous with her, giving her an opportunity for revenge. While all this raced through her head, she did nothing to resist his advance, even going as far as to welcome or encourage them with little sounds of delight. Even if her mind was at war, her body had already made its decision: she was going to continue the game regardless of where it took her. It was an unfortunate flaw she suffered from. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pausing to whisper, "just like heaven, hm" into his ear.

OBVIOUS FADE TO BLACK because they did the deed. We were losing it OOC because we’re nerds.

Asayl: [Is Volpe actually going to go there or stop himself? Because if he is, maybe it would be best to just fast forward and spare Nero the details XD] Nero Aljon: Oh, no. If they're going to do it, then Nero's leaving. >:CCC] La Volpe: [ He would go the whole nine yards unless Asayl told him to stop. ] Nero Aljon: She ain't got no time for dis.] Nero Aljon: LOL SEEE] La Volpe: [ He's a man! What do you expect. x3 ] Asayl: [Oh god XD Nero would be like OH GOD MY EYES and run off] La Volpe could definitely imagine it. ]

La Volpe had always been confident in his skill to pleasure a woman, and he was pretty confident that Asayl had been given a pleasurable experience; unless his dear Caroline was a brilliant actor. Despite being a killer, arrogant and possibly rude he made a passionate lover. The act, however, was over and he found himself with nothing to say - he didn't feel the need for any pillow talk at the moment, and if he had been born a feline he would have been purring happily to himself. Instead to retorted back to skimming stones, allowing Asayl whatever time she needed to recover from their fling.

Asayl stayed laying where she was, still in a bit if shock of what just happened. Sleeping with man she was sure was out to kill her, an enemy of her guild and someone whom she thought she was going to hate. But here she was, laying in the middle of one of her favorite places in the whole Nexus, recovering from passionate sex -though something she could never call love-making for obvious reasons- with her mortal enemy. She didn't mind him and his stone tossing as she rested. Maybe it was for the better. If he would have tried to converse with her, she might of cried purely out of shame of acting unfaithfully to Pheno - who had just saved her from a life of pain. With a few deep breaths, she sat up and forced a smile in his direction. "You certainly know your way around a woman, don't you?"

La Volpe turned to face her when she spoke, offering a calm smile. "I do. A gift that some men are most unfortunate not to possess." Once again he remained unaware of her emotional turmoil, fooled completely by the guise she had given him. If her Caroline persona portrayed the parts of Asayl that Volpe had not seen, then perhaps if things had turned out differently, the two might of even been friends. After skimming his last stone he returned to her side, lowering himself to one knee and offering her hand. "Are you all right, amore mio? I hope I wasn't too rough." He'd allow a chuckle before continuing, "I suppose he had better return, lest we miss the last ferry and are stranded until morning." Some time had passed since they had first arrived, and the evening cacophony of insects had already begun, the first chill of the night beginning to settle in.

Asayl- "No, I'm alright." She took his hand slowly climbed to her feet, wobbling for a moment as gravity reminded her legs that it existed, no matter how tingly her toes were. "We can say that just rough enough." A smirk crawled over her maw. She took a moment to straighten herself out, thanking the heavens for the invention of dresses. But at the mention of the ferry, she looked confused. Her gaze turned upward, seeing how little sunlight was left. "Oh crap, we need to hurry!" Before he could do or say thing to interrupt her, she took him by the hand and made a mad dash for the little pier at the edge of the jungle. They would get there just in time to be the last to board. Once safely on the boat, the winded feline would laugh a true, genuine laugh over how they almost spent a night in the jungle because they were too busy doing "adult" things. La Volpe hadn't any time to say anything before the feline whisked him off down the jungle trail to the pier, only glad that they were able to escape a night of uncomfortable sleeping. He too began to laugh, an uncontrollable urge brought on by Asayl's infectious laughter. Leaning over the railing, he smiled into the water. "What an eventful day. I'm sure you have lots to tell Odessa." The words held more bearing that he was even aware of, turning to gaze towards her. "What are your plans for tomorrow, signorina? If I remember correctly, there was something about planning a 'two or three day fling'." Asayl's laughing eventually subsided to giggles before she could rein them in and stop drawing the gaze of the other passengers. At first, the look she gave him was vague confused but then the light bulb went off. "Oh, you have no idea," she said with a note of sly mixed in. "Though I'm sure the details would only bore her." She joined him a the rail, leaning against his side though facing in the opposite direction from him. It was getting harder for her to ignore the little inklings of feeling that she might not hate him as much as she originally thought she did, but she quickly pushed the thought away. "After today, I think another day with you might be... nice. How about you join me tomorrow night for for a drink or two at the teahouse? The serve the better alcohol after the sun goes down." She looked back up at him, hopeful that he would accept her invitation.

We stopped there but Volpe accepted and agreed to meet her the next night. Asa flips her shit and starts preparing her trap for him. I’ll post the actual trap played out in the next one!

3 notes · View notes

cho-sekiei · 7 years

Note

Ooh! Curious about G, L, O, and/or P (GLOP?) for the fic writing ask!

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

I tend to reread and edit quite a lot as I do. Like if I start working on a piece again, I tend to reread what I wrote the day before and edit that first. But usually when I finish a story or a chapter, I tend to at least sleep on it and then reread / revise it one last time, then send it to my lovely editor. I’m lucky because @billionhighways is a fantastic editor. 💕 So typos and the like get corrected at that point and more deeper comments are added that we might discuss back and forth about story flow or choice of words and all that. Then depending on how I feel I might stop there or leave it for a few days and read it / edit it again.

Certainly if it’s a long multi chapter story, I like to go back and read it to make sure the tone and feel of the story is coherent. But most of the time, by that point it only comes down to details.

With Classified because we are further in the story, I usually get to read each chapter probably up to ten times before it get published because I might have a slight perfectionism problem.

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)

O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or the characters?

I’m going to answer those at the same time, because the answers kind of intertwine.

In brief, most often than not I write out of order, certainly for long pieces. I suppose more of a gardener, but really I’m more the digging in the desert type of Stephen King (will get back to that).

And I usually begin with one living scene, but I’m very much a character-driven writer. I want to portray complex, flawed, interesting people, and the setting - whatever it is - is used as a way to challenge and emphasise that aspect of the narrative.

Now, if you want a bit more detail here we go (for those of you who have been following this blog a long time, part of this is taken from old answers to similar questions that are buried so deep in the abyss of tumblr it’s easier to just bring them up again). I’m putting it under the cut because it’ll probably get a bit long.

So do I plan things out when I write? In short, no. But I daydream a lot about stories.

There’s a Stephen King’s quote that goes like this:

“I have never felt like I was creating anything. For me, writing is like walking through a desert and all at once, poking up through the hardpan, I see the top of a chimney. I know there’s a house under there, and I’m pretty sure that I can dig it up if I want. That’s how I feel. It’s like the stories are already there.”

That’s probably the closest description of what writing is like for me.

Most of the time, things start with an interaction between characters, a whole scene or fragments of one. It’s not a story yet, but it’s there and it demands to be written. That’s the top of the chimney from King’s analogy. So I sit down and I write that because it’s the part I can see with clarity. And then either it flows from there because through writing it, I discover what happens after (or in some cases what has happened before) or it doesn’t.

For a long time, I felt that if it didn’t, I had to push through it, try to plan, keep writing, painstakingly, through sheer force of will because if I did inspiration would come back at some point, right? Wrong. For me, at least, it doesn’t work that way. Similarly, I also thought that if that scene I could visualise so well was in the middle of a story I had a vague outline of, I needed to write my way to it from the start because one had to write a story linearly.

So what really helps me write and enjoy the writing process more, is giving up on linearity. I write the top of the chimney. But then, if it’s stuck and the sand surrounding it is not shifting, then I look around to that ruined section of wall a way away I notice earlier. And I go there instead. By that I mean, if it doesn’t feel right to continue writing that one scene because I don’t ‘know’ what happens next yet, I’ll stop and go to the other parts of the story I’m clear about (they’ve usually become clear as I wrote that first scene). Is there any that’s ready to be written? There usually is, but they might be at a very different point of the storyline.Having an idea of what’s the story is like and knowing it are not the same thing. That feeling of ‘knowing’ part of a story is very difficult to describe. To write it properly, in a way that’s satisfying, having an idea is not enough. For me, at least, I need to reach the point where it’s living, where I know it intimately.So yes, I will write scenes as they come without worrying about them being far apart in the timeline or about missing plot elements in the middle. Most of the time, it’s actually writing those far apart scenes that is going to make the in-between events clearer, what you write teaches you about what you haven’t written yet.

It is scary in a way if you’re not used to write like that because at first, it feels like the story is going to lose coherence and unity, that the plot is going to be disjointed and all over the place. But it’s a false problem. As a writer, the story is much clearer and complex in your head than what you’ll ever put on paper. The story is yours and as you link parts together, it just naturally falls into place with minimal editing.

I found working this way very freeing, because I get to write the bits I want to write when I want to write them. Even if I know nothing else about the rest of the events, if there’s a dialogue in my head or a situation that keeps on tugging at me, then I’ll go write that, no matter where else I was before. It’s rewarding and motivating. It’s spontaneous creation. Much more enjoyable than having to force yourself to power through. And usually the story ends up being better for it as well. Waiting until the right ideas come and morph into an intimate knowledge of the story means that nothing is a transition anymore, everything ends up flowing in place the way it should. There’s no more filler, just writing done at the right time.

The important bit here, I guess, is really the core of the quote above. I never feel like I am imagining or inventing the story, or that I have to ‘artificially’ find ways to make the plot work or more interesting. It’s like the story is there. It’s waiting half-hidden in shadows, and I just have to discover what it is by gently coaxing it to the paper one word at a time. It’s quite difficult to explain, but it’s how it feels. It’s not my story, it’s just coming into this plane of existence through the words. Yet, it’s already suspended there in the aether waiting for me to learn how to see it.

Now, Classified is a bit different and it has be written mostly linearly (although we’ve skipped sections at times and then went back to them or rewrote them), but with it being a collaboration @billionhighways and I keep responding to each other and it’s a very organic process in its own right.

#replies #writing #my writing #writing as a craft #chipepers

1 note · View note

topicprinter · 5 years

Link

Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview.Today's interview is with Ronell Firouz of Pilly Labs, a brand that sells all-natural wellness supplements.Some stats:Product: All-natural wellness supplements.Revenue/mo: $5,500Started: January 2019Location: Los AngelesFounders: 1Employees: 1Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?Hey everyone! My name is Ronell and I’m the founder of Pilly. We’re a health and wellness company focused on making all natural, herbal based supplements for a modern demographic. That means products with kick ass packaging, top quality all-natural ingredients, and formulations geared towards conditions you actually care about.As of now, we currently have two products in the market; Stress Savior and Over Hang. Stress Savior (as you can probably guess) helps moderate the effects of stress and anxiety on people’s bodies - not just mask them like other products on the market today. Which, let’s be honest... is something that nearly everyone could use today, me included :). Overhang, our second product, helps relieve symptoms of hangovers (you know, the nausea, headaches, sick to your stomach feeling the morning after partying)? And call me crazy, but I have a pipeline of close to 8 other supplements I’m hoping to launch within the next year.In terms of startups, we’re probably as new as they come. Although it took nearly 9 months to get to this point, we finally launched about a month and a half ago and are generating right around $5K in revenue per month. But I think the craziest part of this story is that I did all of this while holding down an 80 hour a week job…imageWhat's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?I’ve heard it a million times… “you’re starting a business that sells WHAT?! There’s literally no way you’ll follow through with that.” Well, in order to understand why I got that reaction so often, I’ll have to give you all some context.For the past three years, I worked as an investment banker at my company’s Consumer division. That means I had the privilege of advising on everything from IPO’s, mergers, acquisitions, and growth equity raises for some of the coolest consumer companies around in a lot of unique verticals - cosmetics, nutraceuticals, apparel, footwear, you name it.A HUGE drawback though are the hours, which can be anywhere from 70-100 hours a week on a bad week. As you can tell, it doesn’t leave too much room for anything else, let alone starting a business! In any case, for the last year or so I couldn't help but feel like something was missing. After all, I was helping all these founders realize their entrepreneurial dream, why couldn’t I focus on realizing mine?About a year into my time at the investment bank, we signed a client that sold liquid herbal tinctures. For those of you who don’t know what that is, here’s a quick link. As any good banker would do, I decided to try their product to get a better sense of how they worked, and ended up picking a Kava based extract. It was supposed to help relieve stress, and hey, I had plenty of that so I figured I had nothing to lose. So I popped a few drops on my tongue, waited two minutes and...HOLY CRAP. My entire mouth and face went completely numb. Not only that, but I could FEEL a calmness comes over my entire body - I was hooked.Still, there was something I couldn’t shake about the product itself. It obviously worked great, but there were so many issues with the experience of using it that I couldn’t bring myself to use it regularly. The labels and logo looked dated, the delivery system (via a dropper) wasn’t convenient at all, and the marketing was all off - I couldn’t find a single person in their ads that was my age. It felt like the product just wasn’t made for someone like me.We ended up selling the company and everyone was happy, but I still couldn’t shake what I had felt before. How could a company with such an amazing product still makes me not want to use it? It was then that the little lightbulb in my head went off. Was it just this company that made me feel this way, or was there truly no company out there that had it all - modern appealing packaging, all-natural herbal ingredients, and marketing geared towards a more modern demographic? Turning to my good pal Google, I went to work. While a few companies popped up that satisfied some of my criteria, I still felt like none really hit the nail on the head.After that, I was sold. I figured I had nothing to lose, and more importantly, I realized I had a real chance to make a difference and allow people to unleash their highest performing selves. Who in their right mind would say no to that? So with little more than enthusiasm and an idea, I got to work making a brand that would really stand out from the crowd. Before I did though, I wrote down the things I want my brand to have and do so that I wouldn’t lose sight of my goal:The company had to look and feel professional, with marketing, a website, and branding that were all top notchThe product label had to be unique yet appeal to everyone, and eliminate that “medicinal” and “prescription pill” look of current supplementsThe ingredients had to be 100% natural, healthy, and effective without hiding behind “proprietary blends”, weak dosages, or fillers. In two words - ZERO COMPROMISEMy products had to solve REAL issues people cared aboutI had to have fun, and love the entire processimageTake us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product....aaaand then I was stuck. I literally had no idea where to start. To make matters worse, I was getting absolutely crushed with work at my job and was really considering shelving the idea permanently. But then I got real with myself. I realized that if I never pursued this opportunity, I would regret it for the rest of my life. I would continue to see other people living out their dreams while I worked insane hours making their dreams a reality. Hell. No.The next few months were an absolute blur. I would come home late at night, hit the gym, and immediately start working on Pilly right afterwards. I filed my LLC paperwork through Legal Zoom, skipped lunches to open a bank account for my business and get on calls with graphic designers, found label printing companies, and would spend my nights researching ingredients to use in my first few products.After maybe 15 label iterations (you can see one of my earliest iterations and my current one below), multiple formulation changes, and tons of sleepless nights, I finally had some real momentum.imageProbably my biggest break was finding a fantastic manufacturer two hours away from my house who had a low MOQ (minimum order quantity), great feedback on my ingredients and dosages, and fair pricing. Having had multiple manufacturers ghost me or not even take me seriously, I felt pretty lucky that I was able to find them. And so, about 3-4 months into my venture, I was no longer stuck, I was back in business.After placing my order and waiting for two months, I was able to get my first batch of inventory. Given all the research and back and forth I had with my manufacturer, I was ecstatic that things went off without a hitch. The bottles and labels were exactly how I wanted them, and best of all, the products WORKED. After doing a quick victory lap, I called up a few friends and family that I had told about my business and asked them to try the products too. Luckily, their results were just as good as mine. At that point, I felt comfortable enough to bring my products to market. It was time to sell.Describe the process of launching the business.As my manufacturer told me, “Great, you made the product. Now you’re only 10% of the way there.” The other 90%? Marketing. In truth, he was right. It’s one thing to actually create a product, it’s something entirely different to try and reach people that would use it in a creative and cost efficient way. And now that I had my inventory, I had to set out to create a presence that was uniquely mine on the internet.Making an online presence for Pilly was probably the area where I made the most mistakes. I tried to go the cheap route with a less than stellar website designer, hired someone to manage my social media accounts that really didn’t understand my brand, and didn’t really take the time to learn how to market my product. Sure, I could blame the long hours at work or my lack of understanding of marketing, but at the end of the day I knew I’d have to own my mistakes. After all, that’s really what entrepreneurship is - learning as you go, iterating a million times over, and finding ways to master practices you’ve never even done before.After my initial setbacks, I was able to find an absolutely incredible website coder on 99 Designs to build my site, do some quick photoshoots with the help of my friends and family, get a pretty solid social media following, and ultimately launch. And let me tell you, flipping the website live was one of the most gratifying experiences of my life.imageI think everyone can see what I’m saying… Left hand side is the original website with its cartoon font and typos. Right hand side is our current website. The difference is unreal, and customers notice!After 9 months of hard work bootstrapping and financing the entire business myself, I finally had a real business up and running. In retrospect, I think one of the biggest lessons learned on that day is not to doubt myself. Nearly every day since I decided to start the business, I heard a little voice in my head telling me how crazy I was for pursuing this. But after I finally flipped my website live, that voice completely disappeared.As for the launch itself, I used everything at my disposal to try and drive traffic to my site. I posted on social media, told all my friends and family about it, and reached out to tons of influencers, writers, and pretty much anybody that I thought would enjoy my products. The result was pretty great, with sales starting at a slow trickle and then picking up consistently. To be honest, it gets tough at times to balance my current job and invest in Pilly’s growth, but the satisfaction of knowing that my products are helping real people is all the motivation I need to keep going.Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?Since launch, we’ve seen a majority of our traffic (~70%) come from Google PPC ads. I think the beauty of google is that every search is intent driven, meaning that people are actively looking for a service or product when they google certain keywords.So when people search for anxiety supplements, you know they WANT to buy our product. When people search for ways to relieve hangover symptoms, they’re actively looking for products that can help with that problem. It’s also helped to link my Google Ads account to Google Analytics, which is a super powerful tool that allows you to see all kinds of metrics about your web traffic.I can’t give away all my secrets, but I will say that the two most impactful component of ads are your keywords and your ad copy. For keywords, Google allows you to bid on each click (thus ‘CPC’ or Cost per Click) that you drive towards your website. If you have super high quality keywords, you get more clicks. If you have low relevance keywords, which would be like me serving my adswhen someone searches for “chocolate cake”, you’re basically throwing your money away. For ad copy, we’ve seen HUGE swings in the profitability of our ads by changing a few words or phrases. For example, using the phrase “Hate your Hangover?” instead of “Hangover Pill” is way more engaging. For anyone working with Google Ads, learn to iterate and think like your customer. What can you write to immediately engage someone with your brand?imageSample dashboard from Google Ads. This literally just scratches the surface in terms of the analytics you can get...Approximately 20% of our customer traffic has come from Instagram, which is truly an amazing platform to interact with fans of our brand.https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxm0wmmB8ioDuring lunches of breaks at work, I’m constantly on Instagram answering DM’s from people interested in Pilly. I’ve also been toying with facebook and Instagram ads as well, which I’ve heard have roughly a 40% lower CPA than Google Ads, so that’ll be something that I’ll look into more over the coming months.I’ve also heard that email marketing is the holy grail of customer retention because it’s free, easy, and targeted towards people that clearly want your product. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to really invest into some stellar email campaigns, but I’m hoping to do that very soon.How are you doing today and what does the future look like?Today, things are going exactly as I’d hoped. Sales are ticking upwards, the feedback I get from people using my product is awesome, and I absolutely love watching the business grow.Although the business is profitable, I think there’s always room for improvement. Our gross margins are right around 80% for each bottle we sell but we’re not netting as much as we can be because we haven’t optimized some of our ads (our CPA is higher than I’d like). Since marketing is our biggest expense now, lowering CPC and CPA is one of my highest priorities in the coming months.imageIn the medium to long term I have 3 main goals. The first is to find a top notch 3PL that I can use for product fulfillment. Given that I’m fulfilling every order myself now, taking that off my plate would give me an insane amount of time back. My second goal is to launch a few more products by the end of the year, including supplements for memory/focus, restful sleep, and energy. My third and probably most ambitious goal is to scale up my business to the point where I can work on it full time. Running this business has truly been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, and if I can get it to the point where I change it from side hustle to full time job, I’d be the happiest guy on earth.Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpfulor advantageous?As I’ve built this business, there’s been a lot of times when I’ve made mistakes, made the wrong choice, or just flat out messed up. But the important thing was that I learned from those times and made myself better because of them. If I had to distill down those lessons into a few points, it would probably be these 6:Create ValueMake. Good. Products. At the end of the day, business is insanely simple. People have problems, and they’re willing to pay to have those problems solved. Does your product or service fix those problems? Does your product or service create enough value where someone would pay for it? If the answer is yes, then you’ve got a good business. It’s as simple as that.Wow Your CustomersThere are trillions of products out there just like yours, so what makes yours so special? In order to stand out from the crowd, you have to go above and beyond to make them feel special, and make them feel like your product truly is the best.With Pilly for example, every package we ship is custom branded, comes with a custom thank you card, and is wrapped in some super cool branded wrapping paper. It elevates the experience from normal to outstanding, and customers notice. So when you’re making your product ask yourself how you can wow and excite your customers.Don’t be cheapThis one hits close to home, but sometimes it pays to not cut corners. I thought I was doing the right thing by getting a cheaper web designer for example, but all it ended up doing was costing me time and tons of money. When it comes to the core expenses of your business (ingredients, packaging, websites, etc.) go for quality. Always.PerseveranceYou will hear “No” a million times. People will laugh. People will reject you. People will say your business idea is bad. But instead of proving them right, use that negativity as fuel to prove them wrong. Find it in yourself to persevere even when it seems like nobody is in your corner. I guarantee it’ll make success that much sweeter.Google is your friendThis is a no brainer, but literally anything you could ever want to know or do can be found on the internet. If you’re unsure how to do something, look it up and figure it out. Become a student of the game. Entrepreneurship isn’t easy, but there’s also no reason to say you didn’t know how to do something when you can easily look it up and learn how to do it in a day.Embrace the Fing hustle*Nothing worthwhile in this life is easy. If you want something, you go get it, and you don’t let anyone or anything stand in your way. Period. When I first didn’t have a place to store all my inventory, I made my apartment my storage space. When I didn’t know how to run ads, I taught myself. When I didn’t know how to apply for a tax license, I researched it. Hustle, grind, be resourceful, and persevere, and things will come.What platform/tools do you use for your business?Shopify for e-commerce. It’s truly a game changer for entrepreneursGoAffPro for affiliate marketing. It integrates right into shopifyKlayvio for email marketing99 Designs for most freelance design workInstagram and Facebook for MarketingGoogle Ads and Facebook Ads for PPC advertisementsPhotographer - Nicole Albrecht(she’s amazing)What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?My favorite book by far has been The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ Demarco. Anyone who hasn’t read it absolutely should. His perspective and analogies are top notch and really make you see things from a different perspective.As for podcasts, I think everyone should listen to The MFCEO Project by Andy Frisella. He’s a no bullshit, incredibly successful entrepreneur who tells it like it is. He’s probably one of the most motivational people I know with some of the most practical, actionable advice out there. On my commutes to and from work, it’s my go-to podcast for sure.Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?If I had to leave anyone with one piece of advice, it’s to fail fast, fail often, and fail forward. Starting a business is tough, especially if you’re going at it alone in a field you have no expertise in. Understand that you will make mistakes (and you’ll probably make a lot of them) but don’t allow them to defeat you. Learn from them, see them as opportunities for growth, and use it as fuel to propel your brand to the next level.Another piece of advice is to go out there and just do. At some point in history, there’s going to be someone that does that thing you really, really want to do. So why can’t it be you? Life isn’t meant to be lived on the sidelines, it’s meant to be enjoyed and lived to the fullest extent. So if you have an idea or a business you want to start, just start. The rest of it will fall into place and your life will be so much richer because of it.Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?As of now we’re not looking to hire for any full time positions, but we’re always looking for more help in the following areas. If any readers have expertise in these areas we’d love to chat!Graphic DesignLabel Design & 3D mockupsCopywritingInstagram Influencer Outreach / Contact - We have an awesome affiliate program with 15% commissions. If anyone knows people in the field that would love to rep our products, let’s get in touch!Where can we go to learn more?Website: GetPilly.comInstagram: @PillyLabsEmail: [email protected] you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!Liked this text interview? Check out the full interview with photos, tools, books, and other data.For more interviews, check out r/starter_story - I post new stories there daily.Interested in sharing your own story? Send me a PM

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

0 notes

iota-news · 6 years

Link

(Steps to assist you find your balance following a snapshot)

This may be the latest incarnation of articles I wrote around the period of the October 2017 snapshot. I have been helping a lot of people find their balance once again that I determined that my period will be better spent writing the procedure down for people to check out as a step-by-step guide that I possibly could refer them to.

First of most, don’t panic, your iotas are likely perfectly safe.

Second, regardless of who or what, *never* provide your seed to anyone. Specifically not if they say they’re an IOTA developer who’ll help you recover balance. This type of person usually scammers and will make an effort to steal your iotas.

We will show the actions you can take to recover your balance. I’ll also try to show you why this happened. I would recommend you take time to study and understand the how and just why. Understanding what you committed to is the best thing that you can do to help keep your investment safe.

Steps to get your balance

First, be sure you improve to version 2.5.7 of the desktop computer wallet. It is possible to safely skip older versions in the event that you didn’t install those before. These old versions won’t work. You can find edition 2.5.7 of the desktop computer wallet for Home windows, Mac, and Linux here (don’t get baffled by the name of the web page, this is the most recent wallet): https://github.com/iotaledger/wallet/releases

Next, do not get tempted to utilize the reclaim tool. This device will not assist you to regain your balance. It really is only helpful using extremely specific cases. I’ll explain these cases by the end of this list. Simply continue with step three 3 first to find balance again. If you did begin the reclaim tool unnecessarily right now there’s no problem. It is possible to still use your older seed and utilize the next ways to find balance.

After installing the brand new wallet you require to create your wallet correctly. What you ought to do is head to Tools->Edit Node Construction.

Make sure a bunch node is selected. In the event that you see ‘Select Your own Host’ in the Host industry, use the drop right down to select one. Generally anybody will do. However, remember that a bunch may be temporarily offline, therefore if after choosing one the wallet shows No Connection you might want to choose another Host. To locate a node that is dependable use the list you discover at: https://iota.dance/nodes The types at the very top are usually the very best ones to select.

Make sure Min Weight Magnitude is defined to 14. Higher values ought to be no issue but will just result in the Proof Work to take a lot longer unnecessarily.

Finally, you visit a industry that says Curl Execution. The default is WebGL, that is a setting which allows the wallet to utilize your graphics card to accomplish the Proof Work, thereby possibly accelerating the process. However, some individuals will find they get an Invalid Deal Hash when they utilize this setting. The options for which are to either choose CCURL instead, or even to follow the instructions within this link to make certain the wallet uses the right graphics card: https://steemit.com/iota/@tector/iota-light-wallet-2-5-1-dealing-with-invalid-transaction-hash

Notice that it may be essential to close up and restart the wallet right after changing any of those configurations. I would do this just to make sure that the adjustments are activated.

Now you may use your seed to log in to the wallet, so that you can start finding balance again. Make absolutely certain that you are utilizing the right seed. Any typo in the seed can lead to a different wallet, and looking for your balance within won’t work, obviously. There exists a helpful checksum field close to the field where one can enter your seed. The wallet will let you know if your seed is as well short or too long. And when you have entered exactly 81 characters it’ll demonstrate a 3 character checksum which should always be the exact same for every edition of the wallet. It’ll allow you to rapidly see if you produced a typo, since any typo can lead to a different checksum. If you’re not sure in the event that you used the appropriate seed there are instructions more down to help you create sure.

After logging in to the wallet you go through the Receive area. It will show you a fresh receive address. Now click PUT ON Tangle. It will display ‘Attaching to Tangle’ for some time. Simply wait for that to perform. If it takes too much time you could try another, quicker node as outlined in step 4. As soon as it says ‘Deal with Attached’ you might see your total stability get updated with the total amount of that address. Or even, then click ‘Tackle Attached’. It will now state ‘Generate New Deal with’. Click that once again. That will cause another tackle to be generated and it’ll display ‘Attaching to Tangle’ once again. Maintain repeating this loop and soon you have recovered balance completely. You can click on the History section to observe how several and which addresses you possess generated so far. Addresses could be in pending condition but that will not matter for finding balance. These attachment transactions need not confirm at all. They’re zero value transactions, so that they will not impact balance anyway. You will have to generate all addresses you purchased before for the entire balance showing up again. If you have an concept of just how many you utilized before which will be helpful. Most people will be able to discover some or all their balance within the initial 20–30 addresses. But I understand of people who had a need to do 150+ re-attachments since they had been very energetic making use of their wallet. If your stability started to arrive but never completely displays, and does not change any longer after re-attaching don’t bother continuing. The funds are often clustered by the end of the deal with list. Any funds nevertheless missing have probably been used into custody (this only applies to wallets that have not really been up-to-date since before mid October 2017). See below for information on how exactly to verify that.

If you didn’t manage to find balance using these steps, It is advisable to take the time to go through the explanations below. You should be able to realize why it still will not show and what that can be done about it. In the event that you did find balance? Congratulations! But I nevertheless suggest you keep yourself well-informed by reading through the below explanations which means you know what you are usually invested in. I understand it’s a drag to possess to go through this type of long record, but we’re nevertheless in beta software phase with the wallet and IOTA all together. Focusing on how it works is add up to protecting yourself from shedding your funds.

How does an IOTA wallet function?

Contrary from what a lot of people believe your IOTA wallet really does *not* contain your iotas. Rather, your iotas are properly stored in one or even more addresses in the Tangle. You can view your wallet as a browser that understands how to retrieve the total amount of an address. To achieve that it contacts a so-known as node, and asks it to get the balance of that tackle in the distributed ledger database that the Tangle happens to be. In order to retrieve your complete balance, the wallet will most likely need to retrieve the balances of several addresses that participate in your wallet and add all of them up. The outcome is displayed as your present balance.

Now here’s a significant thing: the wallet will not know at first just how many and which addresses exactly to retrieve to build up your balance. The just starting point it has may be the 81-personality seed you provided once you logged in to the wallet. This seed may be the key that allows the wallet to constantly re-generate the addresses utilized by your wallet deterministically. Deterministically implies that given the exact same seed it’ll always be in a position to generate the same sequence of addresses one at a time. To find out your total accumulated stability the wallet will inquire the node for every address balance in succession before node indicates that an deal with cannot be found since it is not within a deal in the Tangle. This means that to the wallet that it have not generated/used that tackle before, so that it can safely cease accumulating address balances. This simple truth is important to remember, since it will shortly describe why balance is currently zero.

The wallet will create new addresses as needed within two important ways. First, & most noticeable, when you want to get iotas in your wallet you will have to generate a new receive deal with and connect that to the Tangle. Addresses aren’t supposed to be re-used as the signing process used to invest funds from an address utilizes one-time signatures. Due to the one-time character of the signing procedure, the private important for that tackle gets partially uncovered by every spend from exactly the same deal with, starting it to a brute push attack. And since anyone who has the private crucial to an tackle can spend the funds for the reason that deal with it’s not so wise to open yourself around this attack. That’s exactly why the wallet tries to guard itself against such episodes by automatically moving the rest of the funds after investing to a new address within the wallet. It will offer you a ‘private essential reuse’ error whenever you make an effort to spend to or from an tackle that currently was spent from.

So the next manner in which the wallet will generate brand new addresses is by moving the rest of a spent deal with to a new address. Once you instruct it to deliver some iotas to some other address, what it’ll do is feel the identified addresses in your wallet one at a time, starting from the initial, by producing the addresses in sequence from the seed. The wallet accumulates the quantity of iotas it finds on the way on addresses with a non-zero balance, until it provides accumulated sufficient iotas to cover the total amount you wish to send. The contents of the non-zero addresses it offers accumulated in this manner will be sent as an individual transfer to the receiving tackle and -if there exists a remainder- the remainder will undoubtedly be sent as another transfer to a recently generated deal with in your wallet. This can cause the latter tackle to be mounted on the Tangle, so that it lives there at this point, and the wallet can see it as used currently whenever it scans for the stability as outlined above. All addresses utilized because the input for the deal find yourself having a zero stability, so they are not apt to be re-used any a lot more, unless you make the error of not developing a new receive deal with but re-using a earlier one.

It is essential for the snapshot healing process that you have a concept of just how many addresses were used before you ‘dropped’ your balance (prior to the snapshot happened, find below). For many people that will be around a couple of dozen addresses. But for individuals who used the wallet frequently before the snapshot happened that may easily rise in the hundreds. Personally, i have helped somebody retrieve his stability who had 150+ addresses used in his wallet.

Exactly why is my balance zero?

To know very well what happened you should know what goes on once the IOTA foundation generates a fresh snapshot of the IOTA ledger database. That is done once in a while for maintenance reasons. The final snapshot was made on January 28th, 2018. One reason behind taking a snapshot will be that the Tangle is continually expanding, and therefore taking on more and more storage. To greatly help nodes in keeping the quantity of memory they want for storing the database restricted, the Tangle will be pruned by detatching the history of transactions. Understand that after every transaction you wind up with no longer utilized addresses with a zero stability. The dealings that caused these only use up space and are no more necessary for proper functioning of the nodes. You can find even more ways that could cause zero balance transactions that occurs, like whenever a wallet generates and attaches a fresh address to the Tangle. Additionally, there are transactions which are used as text messages between systems , nor contain any balance.

So following a snapshot is taken the outcome is a simple set of all addresses which contain a non-zero stability and their respective balances, and also a checklist of all addresses which have been spent from during the past, and no background of how those balances happened is preserved upon the regular nodes. Incidentally, this history does obtain preserved on therefore called perma-nodes, like ioatsear.ch and thetangle.org, which keeps track of the complete history all the method back to the first deal ever. But also for most use situations this history isn’t necessary. It’s just the non-zero end balances which are important, since they are usually the only ones which can be spent.

Take note that the snapshot process is in a way that any transactions which were not confirmed yet as the snapshot was becoming taken will be canceled and it’ll be as though the funds never remaining the wallet of the sender. In order that means some transactions may need to be performed again when you have restored your wallet. A down payment from your own wallet to Bitfinex that has been canceled will have by no means still left your wallet. A withdrawal from Bitfinex to your wallet that has been canceled will have certainly not left the Bitfinex wallet. Simply send those transactions once again when that happened. They ought to pose no problem. But ensure that you confirm them rapidly by reattaching/marketing them until they’re confirmed.

Today, remember the way the wallet will find out its balance? It will request a node to retrieve the balances of every treat it generates in succession from the seed, you start with the first one, that is used in a deal, until it discovers a non-used address, which signifies that the wallet didn’t generate that address before. Nevertheless, since the snapshot has taken out all historical transactions the initial address it checks will never be found to be utilized by way of a transaction in the Tangle, so the wallet stops scanning for balances instantly, because it thinks it have not generated that address however, ultimately producing a zero accumulated balance.

Therefore that’s the reason why you see a zero stability. The wallet simply halted scanning for addresses with balances too early, because it does not understand that the snapshot process provides removed the transaction history. Which means that the treatment for finding balance is simple. Start re-producing and attaching your used receive addresses one at a time. This will cause zero-balance dealings using that address to get in touch to the Tangle. This means the wallet now can easily see the address is used in the Tangle and have the node for the corresponding stability. In particular, you must do this as much times as you’d used addresses previously, in order to all be within the Tangle once again. To be sure, this is often a tedious procedure and it could have been great if the wallet designers got included a command which allows you to inform it to generate another X addresses until it discovers one with a stability. But that’s not the case right now, so there is no used in complaining right right now. I am certain this feature will arrive in a next incarnation of the wallet.

Why may be the wallet still unable to find my balance?

The Sep 22nd and Oct 24th Snapshot processes did two additional maintenance duties that may bring about you still not having the ability to successfully retrieve your right balance. First, since the execution of the signing perform has transformed from CURL to KERL, in August there is a have to transition balances to the usage of the new KERL execution. Many people already did this changeover within their upgrading their wallet from a mature version to version 2.4.0. Because it turned out there are individuals who were able to lose their seed and in addition many people who didn’t transition yet, the IOTA basis has taken the precaution to eliminate those old-design CURL addresses from the Tangle and contains taken custody of these. So if your prior wallet was from before edition 2.4.0 you might fall into that class. You will need to utilize the reclaim device as explained further right down to reclaim those funds.

Second, since it was found that a large number of people had spent multiple periods from the same tackle, thereby exposing their money to getting stolen, the IOTA foundation made a decision to take similar custody of these addresses so they are no more vulnerable. That means in the event that you accidentally spent from exactly the same address a lot more than once during the past, and this address was nevertheless holding a stability, you will need to utilize the reclaim device as explained further right down to reclaim those funds.

Within both cases a number of of one’s address balances may be ‘missing’ even with the wallet has re-created the missing deal with in the Tangle. The total amount of such addresses was shifted to the IOTA base custody address. You can examine for those addresses if you feel which may be what has occurred in their mind here: https://gist.githubusercontent.com/cyclux/2bb05d873c4ec6115cad1d100263d489/raw/612a49e46091586957448f6606ea981ab18022e7/snapshot_validation_20171023.txt

Allow for the web page to load before searching through it, since it is really a huge list.

You simply copy an address you would like to learn about to the clipboard, and make use of control-F and paste to find on that page. Be sure you only utilize the first 81 character types of the address, because the 9 character checksum isn’t present in this listing. I just paste the tackle and delete the final 9 characters.

If your address shows a group of KEY_REUSE or Crucial_REUSE_OCT in this list you then have executed several spend from that deal with and the balance is currently within custody of the IOTA basis and soon you reclaim it.

If your address shows a group of CURL_UNUSED then your address had not been transitioned to the brand new KERL implementation yet and the total amount is also within custody of the IOTA base and soon you reclaim it.

If your address shows a group of NONE or AVAILABLE in that case your address was okay and really should still be within the Tangle if you don’t moved the money at a later time.

For additional information, observe this announcement from the building blocks: https://forum.iota.org/t/snapshot-public-validation-22-09-2017/4256

How do I make certain I am utilizing the correct seed?

If you don’t remember the 3-character checksum or even in virtually any other way are uncertain if you work with the correct seed, listed below are ways to learn:

If you understand roughly just how many addresses you used to possess within your wallet, just go right ahead and re-generate at minimum that amount of brand new receive addresses (detailed measures below). Along the way, generally towards the end, you need to see balance increasing. If balance becomes non-zero that is clearly a clue you are definitely is likely to wallet with the right seed. If you cannot appear to get the entire stability you might either need to generate a lot more addresses, or a few of your money were used into custody by the IOTA basis for the reason why described above. If so you will need to check the addresses that you think should include a non-zero balance contrary to the snapshot checklist. And if you discover them there, you will need to reclaim them utilizing the reclaim tool.

Making double sure you are utilizing the correct wallet could be easily done utilizing the iotasear.ch or even thetangle.org Tangle browsers to check on the annals of an address. This implies you can copy the initial address and see if previously money were there. Assuming the initial address was the first someone to receive funds, needless to say. If it did contain money during the past the amount is most likely recognizable as your very first IOTA withdrawal ever. In any case, when any funds is there in the iotasear.ch or even thetangle.org history you may be sure you purchased this seed before.

Finally,

How perform I take advantage of the reclaim tool?

If you’re absolutely sure that the IOTA base took custody of a few of your funds right after checking the aforementioned, you will need to utilize the reclaim device to reclaim your funds. Remember that the reclaim process is really a two-step process currently.

NOTE: to make certain that you don’t create any typos when getting into your old and brand new seeds with this particular tool i extremely suggest you duplicate/paste them from the proven working copy. It will be silly to lastly reclaim your money to a seed which has a typo and then the reclaimed money would become irretrievable.

UPDATE: The reclaim tool in stage 2 will ask once more for the brand new seed, so if you don’t make exactly the same typo twice this appears not really to become a problem. In situation multiple reclaims were devote, the one confirmed in the cheapest milestone would be the one processed.

For additional information on how to utilize the reclaim tool notice this hyperlink for phase 1: https://blog.iota.org/gui-v2-5-2-latest-release-with-iota-reclaim-tool-32d364d6241a And this link for stage 2: https://blog.iota.org/gui-wallet-phase-two-of-the-reclaim-process-f5913109cf46

I hope this is helpful to you

Enjoy IOTA, let’s ensure it is a success!

This Post was originally published on Medium by Eric Hop.

The post Help! My IOTA stability is zero! appeared first on IOTA News.

via IOTA News

#IFTTT #IOTA News

0 notes

lucyariablog · 7 years

Text

How to Produce 300 High-Quality Articles a Year: An 8-Step Process

I don’t keep a running score, but between posts for my personal and company site plus my columns on business media sites like Inc., Entrepreneur, and Forbes, I create around 300 articles a year.

Managing this effectively isn’t easy. If I simply wrote what I wanted, when I wanted, I’m pretty certain I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in right now. Strategy plays a huge part in what I do. And research shows it’s the same for enterprises – if you don’t have a strategy, your content marketing efforts won’t be as effective as they could be.

If you don’t have a strategy, your #contentmarketing efforts won’t be as effective, says @sujanpatel. Click To Tweet

With my strategy, I need to ensure that I:

Create the right content for the audience or publication in question

Distribute my time fairly between publications and projects

Promote content properly

Listen to and take board feedback

Meet goals and adjust them accordingly

I couldn’t do any of this – at least, not nearly as well – without an editorial calendar. This is how I manage it.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Editorial Calendar Tips, Tools, and Templates

Create an editorial-only calendar

If you use Google Calendar to manage meetings, don’t try to cram your content schedule into it. Instead, create a calendar that you use solely for managing content production. This could be a purpose-built calendar, like CoSchedule. Tools like Trello work well for this too.

If you use @Google Calendar to manage meetings, don’t try to cram your #content schedule into it. @sujanpatel Click To Tweet

Don’t use Excel or for that matter the aforementioned Google Calendar. They’re fine at low volumes, but difficult to scale, and if you’re trying to use them to collaborate with your team, things can quickly get messy.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: 11 Resources to Curate, Clip, Collect, and Collaborate Content

Manage all types of editorial in one calendar

To help keep things as organized as possible, I use my editorial calendar exclusively for that purpose – content planning and management.

To keep things organized, use an editorial calendar for #content planning & management, says @sujanpatel. Click To Tweet

I’m super-strict about this. I’m also super-strict about ensuring that all types of editorial work are managed with the same calendar. This content includes:

Blog posts for my own sites

Guest posts

Social media posts

Outreach projects

If a task relates to the planning, creation, or promotion of content, it goes into the editorial calendar. No exceptions.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:

15+ Essential Content Marketing Tools and Templates for Strategy, Planning, and Measurement

Create, Distribute, and Share: 15 Essential Content Marketing Templates

Manage the editorial process from the calendar

There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work both before and after the content’s created and published. To ensure that each step gets the proper attention, I don’t skip steps. Managing everything in my editorial calendar is key.

The stages I go through with each and every piece of content I produce are:

1. Ideation

To streamline the process to come up with an idea, I dedicate a section of my editorial calendar to collating and recording ideas.

My team and I come up with ideas in a lot of ways. We’ll brainstorm, sure, but often our best ideas materialize when we least expect it. This is why it’s important to record all ideas in one location.

This process also makes it really easy for us to collaborate and build on ideas. We can:

Highlight ideas we do or don’t like

Take note of upcoming or current events that tie into ideas (and will give them more legs for promotion)

Add more detail, information, or useful resources to an idea

Do this process correctly, and ideation is really easy – just pick from the pool of ideas that have a positive response internally.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:

Out of Ideas? 13+ Tools to Spark Content Creation

Get Control of Your Content Marketing Ideas So You Can Take Action

2. Outline

I research my chosen idea and create an outline that details what I expect to include.

Not all writers create outlines, but I believe they make writing the content easier, and in most cases, better quality, and they help me figure out whether the idea has legs.

Not all writers create outlines, but I believe they make writing easier & better quality, says @sujanpatel. Click To Tweet

Sometimes when writing an outline I get an overwhelming feeling that something just isn’t right. If that happens, I generally go with my instincts, scrap the brief, and start again.

That might feel counterproductive, but there’s little point in working on a piece of content that deep down you know won’t work.

3. Pre-promotion

Just because I believe in an idea does not necessarily mean anyone else will. That’s why pre-promotion – a means of validating an idea – is important.

Pre-promotion has a lot in common with post-promotion. Though instead of asking a prospect to take a look at, share, or feature your content, you’re asking if they would be interested in looking at it when it’s finished. You may say:

“Hey, I’m working on a piece of content about XYZ that I thought might be of interest to your audience. Does it sound like something you’d be interested in taking a look at once it’s finished?”

If you get a bunch of negative replies or no replies at all, it might be wise to resign the idea to the garbage. If you can’t pre-promote it, it’s unlikely you’ll have more luck post-publication.

Just bear in mind how many people you’ve contacted – not receiving replies doesn’t necessarily mean they thought your content idea wasn’t a good one. It’s possible they didn’t read your email or couldn’t be bothered to reply. One or more positive replies, however, is a sign the idea is worth an article.

At this stage, I often approach industry influencers and ask them to provide a comment or quote for the article. Anyone who is quoted is likely to promote the finished piece.

4. Content creation

It’s time to create the content. This is how I do it.

I sit down, remove all distractions, and write. I don’t really stop to fix mistakes. I keep going until the article’s “completed.”

Of course, it’s not really complete at this stage – what I have is a rough draft. That means I go back and edit, chopping out bits, rewriting sections, and adjusting order as necessary.

I then step away – usually for a day or two. This time away gives me a fresh perspective, and helps me spot mistakes and ways to improve the article that I wouldn’t have noticed without a break.

5. Review

Taking a break from my own work is one way to spot errors and to make improvements, but it is no substitute for a fresh pair of eyes.

In fact, it’s scientifically proven that we struggle to spot our own typos. As Nick Stockton writes in Wired:

When we’re proofreading our own work, we know the meaning we want to convey. Because we expect that meaning to be there, it’s easier for us to miss when parts (or all) of it are absent. The reason we don’t see our own typos is because what we see on the screen is competing with the version that exists in our heads.

Before publishing a piece of content, I always pass it to someone else to read through it first.

6. Design

This stage isn’t needed for every piece of content. Ongoing blogs like this one, for example, already have been designed. However, when I write e-books or playbooks, the completed written text always gets sent to the design team to turn into something more visually appealing and, I hope, shareable.

7. Publication

This step entails putting the content on the site. I don’t necessarily publish my content right away. Depending on what topics have been published recently or are coming up, the content might be scheduled to go live at a later date. Your editorial calendar is an essential tool for identifying the best time to publish.

8. Promotion

The last step in my content creation process is arguably the most important. That’s because the quality of the content is essentially irrelevant if I don’t bother to tell people about it.

The quality of #content is essentially irrelevant if I don’t bother to tell people about it, says @sujanpatel. Click To Tweet

The lengths to which I go to promote a piece of content vary according to the type of content and what I hope it will achieve. For example, I put a lot more time into promoting a playbook than a standard blog post, and more time again to promote an e-book.

This step generally entails:

Emailing my list

Posting about it on LinkedIn and scheduling a handful of tweets

Notifying anyone mentioned in the article (whether they contributed personally or their work was quoted)

Sharing with anybody who said in the pre-promotion stage that they would like to see the finished article

Sometimes, I also do one or more of the following:

Send some cold emails to people I believe the article might resonate with

Repost the article to LinkedIn Pulse and/or Medium

Launch a paid social media ad campaign

Write a guest post that ties in with the piece of content I’m promoting

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: 8 Nonobvious Tips to Promote Your Content

One more thing

What you will probably notice in the eight stages is that there’s a lot of collaboration happening throughout the production of my content. That is why I give anyone involved in the production or promotion of my content access to the editorial calendar.

Anyone involved in production or promotion of my #content gets access to the editorial calendar. @sujanpatel Click To Tweet

I’m a big believer in open communication and collaboration. It doesn’t matter to me if someone isn’t directly involved in a project – I see no reason to hide what we’re doing.

What if someone who has a great idea for a project only found out after seeing the calendar? Or what if someone falls ill and somebody else must temporarily take over?

That’s why anyone who works with me in the production or promotion of my content is given full access to the calendar, as well as the ability to contribute by leaving comments.

In fact, the only power I don’t extend to those who are part of my editorial calendar is the ability to delete items.

How do you manage your editorial calendar? Are you doing anything I’m not doing? Let me know in the comments.

Please note: All tools included in our blog posts are suggested by authors, not the CMI editorial team. No one post can provide all relevant tools in the space. Feel free to include additional tools in the comments (from your company or ones that you have used).

Content Marketing Institute publishes 365-plus posts on its blog, dozens of articles six times a year in CCO magazine, and many more research, e-book, and other content projects in a year. Subscribe to the free daily or weekly newsletter so you don’t miss a thing.

Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

The post How to Produce 300 High-Quality Articles a Year: An 8-Step Process appeared first on Content Marketing Institute.

from http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2017/01/high-quality-articles-process/

0 notes