Tumgik
#if he gets blindsided by something he likes then it's over. that collected & (over-) analyzing brain of his is Out The Window.
melverie · 2 months
Text
With every day closer to the one year anniversary of Nightbringer, it becomes increasingly hilarious that the only two that got banned from naming days for NB's calendar are Mammon and Satan
96 notes · View notes
tightsreport73 · 2 years
Text
Study Fb Adverts With Jon Loomer
He is a guest blogger for Econsultancy, for whom he also writes greatest follow guides, often contributes to industry events and co-hosts #ecomchat, a weekly Twitter chat for e-commerce knowledge sharing. For e-commerce recommendation and assist, join with James on LinkedIn and Twitter. You can create a hashtag at no cost, or simply dovetail with an existing hashtag if what you’re doing/saying is relevant to that audience. Messaging and discuss options are additional made obtainable for basic members of the net site, serving to guide ideas and opinions. In 2014, over 80% of business executives recognized social media as an integral a part of their business. Business retailers have seen 133% will increase in their revenues from social media marketing. The COVID-19 Pandemic has blindsided many companies and with superb purpose. Amidst the chaos and uncertainty, only the nimble and flexible have the best hope for survival. Thankfully, Facebook’s instruments cater to the marketer who desires to type an genuine relationship with their audience. With Facebook’s impressive collection of analytics instruments, you'll have the ability to perceive your target audience earlier than you publish. You can stretch the boundaries of your creativity with Facebook’s growing number of multimedia content options. Sem, Ppc, And Google Advertisements Although SEO won't hit your pockets as hard as paid search may, there may be still a significant period of time and resources required to get it right. web optimization is a long-game approach that takes time to craft content material and implement it across your website, and it usually takes months to see outcomes. Have you ever searched for something and seen the article was from 2013? Although the content may be getting on in age, the search engine nonetheless thinks it’s a useful useful resource for you, years after its intended reception. All that to say, the trouble of creating optimized content and getting SEO proper can pay off over an extended period of time. Pay-per-click ads can provide virtually near-immediate results for advertisers. That’s what makes search engine advertising such an extremely highly effective method to grow your small business. While natural seo can typically take weeks, if not months, to fully mature, pay-per-click advertising can literally be arrange in less than 24 hours. There are programmatic strategies for enhancing search engine rankings, and there are ongoing link-building and keyword-related initiatives concerned with search engine optimization as nicely. https://www.keywordseo.com.tw/netmarketing/ can design a search engine optimization campaign that takes benefit of all of these methods to drive more traffic to your website. web optimization is the apply of continually optimizing an internet site in order to rank within the natural, non-paid search engine outcomes pages . SEM is when you tap into both web optimization and PPC to be able to get site visitors from search engines like google. As you can see, each paid search and SEO can play an important role in your business’s overall advertising strategy. How To Create An Seo Technique For 2022 search engine optimization is much extra complex than this – as it's speculated there are over 200 ranking components the search engines use to discover out rating for any keyword. While the algorithms that decide ranking are held beneath lock and key, experienced entrepreneurs have carried out tests and analyzed data to learn what works and what does not. We are big believers in pillar content's ability to spice up SEO efforts. The listing beneath is an example of a content monthly content plan that takes the above steps into account. Page pace is how quickly the content in your website masses when someone visits a particular page on your website. Google started taking web page velocity under consideration for SERP rankings in 2018, making it a critical area of focus when you enact your technique. During this step you’ll start optimizing your pages for particular key phrases. But it’s a mistake to not double-check any links you add to an email. Broken hyperlinks won't solely detract from your design and frustrate your customers, but a damaged link can even give the impression that your model is unreliable. The better visibility your pages have in search outcomes, the extra likely you are to garner attention and entice potential and present customers to your small business. In fact, search has been so efficient for us that I haven’t needed to rely on paid promoting in any respect as we’ve scaled our enterprise. Free resources allow you to build trust and authority, but most significantly, they permit you to capture your visitors’ e mail addresses and build an e-mail list. This helps you generate more touchpoints by nurturing these leads via email. And even though it might sound old school, e-mail advertising is still one of the best device you ought to use to convert leads, generating up to $42 for every dollar you spend. Facebook Advertisements Concentrating On Audiences You Should Create Now Whilst You Still Can The United States would be the default location, but you should change this based mostly on the place your goal market resides. To determine your Facebook audience, take a step backward and consider the buyer personas of your advertising strategy at large. The best way to create a Facebook 360 video is to make use of a 360-degree digicam corresponding to an ALLie or RICOH THETA. The THETA, for instance, has two lens that collectively seize the 360-degree look. If you wish to measure your social media engagement, you merely want to gather all of the likes, comments, and shares your posts are generating. Having all of the Facebook analytics tools mentioned above in thoughts, it’s necessary for entrepreneurs to know the behavior behind every of those activities. Socialinsider is a kind of Facebook analytics tools that offers you a complete picture of your social media efforts. It’s so awesome that Facebook offers such a comprehensive analytics device for free! Note that the traffic from Facebook within the demo account was terrible, so in this instance I’m utilizing the report from my own web site onlineguitarlessons.co.uk. As you possibly can see, 60% of income for this web site is going on on the identical day as the first interaction. Therefore, optimising your conversion marketing campaign on Facebook for a 1-day click is perfectly OK. The Facebook Audience Insights tool is pleasantly user-friendly and comparatively intuitive to navigate. This Facebook stat speaks to Facebook’s broad audience attain, together with its worldwide ad-buying power for consumers exterior of the US. Heck, Facebook’s advert revenue noticed a 56% improve throughout 2021 alone (reaching a complete of $28.6 billion). Facebook utilization has held regular since about 2019, though it has seen a 6-minute fall over the previous five years whole. You can use it to analysis both constructive and negative features of your viewers. Knowledge Collection For E-mail Segmentation Sendinblue is an all-in-one gross sales and advertising platform with options similar to Email Marketing, SMS Marketing, Chat, CRM, Marketing Automation, Landing Pages, Shared Inbox, and extra. Use Sendinblue’s powerful segmentation tools at no cost with limitless contact storage. Once a contact converts your goal is to keep constructing their belief. Do some analysis to grasp your audience completely, then segregate them into narrow segments. I know this sounds like a tedious train but if you are capable of do this, you’ll have extremely focused content material that may communicate to the particular issues of each particular audience group. That might sound like a foul thing however it additionally makes it easier to chop through the noise and reach the right folks. And due to that, you’ll be extra prone to improve engagement and achieve your end-goal. This is the whole a hundred and eighty on how we normally craft content as bloggers. For example, you would possibly send a reminder e mail to those who haven’t left a evaluate, whilst you may ship a thanks message with a discount coupon to those that have. Create a blog Drive traffic and engage visitors with an easy-to-build weblog. Now DevriX is a leading technical WordPress growth company with WordPress SaaS and enormous multisite community expertise and skilled contributors in its team. DevriX was based as a WordPress growth company in 2010 by Mario Peshev as the following step of his freelancing profession. To help you choose the best combination of design, content material, and options, use A/B testing. Effortless, coming to customers without them having to do anything however signing up. It also integrates with Mailchimpso you probably can export your outcomes. 數位行銷 ’s nice – you can still get entry to nuanced data about your prospects by creating a survey or quiz. Some entrepreneurs are minimalists who wouldn’t dare to ask for more than an e-mail address to join their mailing list. The more data you may get about your audience in the sign-up process, the more choices you’ll have for demographic segmentation. 7 Greatest Methods To Find Keywords On Your Seo Strategy And as a outcome of long-tail key phrases are typically more particular, it's normally simpler to tell what people who seek for those keywords are actually looking for. Someone trying to find the top term "running a blog," on the opposite hand, could probably be searching it for an entire host of reasons unrelated to your corporation. If you are struggling to consider more key phrases people may be searching about a particular matter, check out the related search phrases that appear whenever you plug in a keyword into Google. When you sort in your phrase and scroll to the underside of Google's results, you may notice some recommendations for searches associated to your unique enter. These key phrases can spark concepts for different key phrases you may need to take into accounts. To confirm what a consumer's intent is in a keyword, it is a good idea to simply enter this keyword into a search engine your self, and see what types of results come up. Low competitors – Didn’t we simply say low competition is great if you’re looking to rank well? Other than that, low competition means the area of interest isn’t saturated with alternate options. Low, Medium and High are merely indicators of keyword competitiveness. Low means the keyword is easy to rank on Google and High means the precise reverse. Remember, it is Google’s primary aim to supply the best person experience to the searcher, which includes exhibiting them the most applicable outcomes in phrases of intent and relevancy. The user’s intent is the searcher’s objective – the aim you are trying to meet along with your content and products. Then we now have modified broad match sort, the bridge between broad match kind and the other two match types i.e. precise and phrase match varieties. Remember you pay Google AdWords each time a user clicks on your ad. Thanks to the generous nature of the broad match kind, it presents you a great way of generating many clicks. There are three (to four-ish) keyword match sorts namely broad match, phrase match and exact match. In the past, you could rank well in search engines like google and yahoo due to an enormous variety of backlinks. All was good until the bad guys started gaming the Google system with corrupt hyperlink building practices. As you can see, some extremely competitive sites are rating for the keyword “coffee maker reviews.” As a model new weblog owner, you will have a hard time getting within the first web page for this particular keyword. Getting Essentially The Most Out Of Promoting And Promotion Such objects might include small accessories on the checkout counter, travel-sized merchandise, or sensible everyday issues. I would predict that a suggestion for 40% off would do significantly better than a proposal of $10 off, despite the fact that the precise worth of the 2 offers is equal. It’ll also allow you to measure the results of your campaigns, so you'll be able to work out how to improve going forward. It also adds to the noise in an already-crowded marketplace where promotions and reductions are generally used. It can increase income, build customer loyalty, and improve short-term money flow. The sales promotion examples we’ve reviewed gave us practical tips on the method to market offers. In this sales promotion instance, YakGrills makes use of a loyalty program to level out how to get the most effective value. The key to creating this marketing campaign profitable is to choose products which are incessantly bought together. Furthermore, you have to use website popups to nudge users on the appropriate instances. However, an important facet of this form of sales promotion is how you construct your cross-sell efforts. With cross-sell campaigns, you could improve the typical order worth of customers who're in the determination stage of your gross sales funnel. A Whole Information To Instagram Advertising So, when serious about how to market your corporation on Instagram, concentrate on creating content that’s worthy of a share, not only a fast like. When you switch to a Business Account, you do gain entry to some limited analytics, corresponding to follower progress, impressions, attain, and engagement. Access these by clicking on the View Insights choice under your uploaded pictures and movies. Keeping up along with your Instagram may be a lot of work, especially should you're managing multiple social networks at a time. As I mentioned at the beginning of this information, so as so that you just can find success on Instagram you have to be ready to publish content and have interaction often. If this sounds intimidating, don't fret; I've found the perfect answer for each — user-generated content. It also means making use of the number of formats social media provides, including pictures, videos, tales, stay streams, on-line shops, and extra. Here are a couple of social media advertising tips to kick off your social media campaigns. At LOCALiQ, we imagine digital marketing doesn’t should be advanced and massive objectives aren’t only for big companies. LOCALiQ supplies the platform, know-how, and providers you have to reach your greatest goals. Scheduling your Instagram posts ahead of time can even offer you a better ‘big picture’ perspective of your Instagram feed and social media technique as an entire. There are six key kinds of hashtags that are crucial for ecommerce companies to incorporate into their marketing strategy. These can now be added to your profile description by coming into # after which the desired phrase, simply as you'd on a submit. Focusing on your branded hashtag is a good choice for many businesses and might help you're employed with the Instagram algorithm. Of course, Instagram Shopping makes the trail to buy that a lot sooner. For instance, the clothing e-commerce big, Revolve, has added numerous Reels in their Highlights bar. These categories feature content about occasions like New York Fashion Week, as properly as Highlights for various collaborations and campaigns they have run.
1 note · View note
cherrywoes · 3 years
Text
002 | CONTROL
002.
Strong language, some sexual references.
Tumblr media
YOU DIDN'T SEE USHIJIMA for over a month after that particular incident. Between your various promotions in Brazil, Paris, and Venice by Akaashi's requests, you had no time for homebound work much less returning to Tokyo for a brief siesta with the man who was plaguing your dreams. He was a menace even when he wasn't there with you—not that you were necessarily complaining. Just the thought of him got you off faster than anything else you could have produced in the heat of the moment, and it surprised you every time the aftershocks wore off and you were trying to catch your breath.
If it were anyone else, you would have been ashamed every time thoughts of that photoshoot kept you awake until three in the morning or blindsided you in the middle of company meetings while Akaashi was briefing you on how you should do your runway turns and pauses for the crowd to show off the ridiculous slits in the gowns he'd designed for a summer collection.
Ushijima Wakatoshi was a different breed of man entirely, you'd give him that much.
Gnawing on the cap of your pen, you tapped your fingers on the corner of your desk and eyed the reference photos Akaashi had sent you so you would know how you would be appearing on the runway. A lot of them were primarily focused on shoulders, knees, calves, and hips, with an unusual emphasis on the curvature of your neck. You scribbled down a note to start your neck exercises to make sure the skin was taut and smooth before the show and, as an afterthought, sadly crossed out sugar from your diet plan.
Sometimes you hated your dietitian's planners. Your meals were planned out from morning to noon, with small snacks in between usually of protein shakes and fruit with a limited amount. While you sometimes cheated and drank soda or ate oatmeal with enough sugar to sink a battleship, you usually stuck to your diet even if it was something you didn't like—you eyed the plate of asparagus, spinach, and salmon sitting on your desk that you'd poked around at but had yet to eat. You'd most likely skip the meal entirely and replace it with something else later.
Before you could close your laptop for the night and squirm out of the designer shirt and pants you wore, the gaping slash from neck to navel leaving you chilly, a facetime call popped up on your screen, reading 'Annoying Ass Cat' or, simply, Kuroo.
You answered without a second thought. You hadn't had time to see either him or Kenma like you had wanted besides intercepting their bills and paying them yourself, even though the gamer was cautiously making his way back into the scene much to his fans delight. You would pop in the chats whenever you had the time, the time zone difference manageable for you. While it was 2PM in Tokyo, it was 6AM in Venice, right as you were waking up and eating breakfast, so you'd watch and interact with Kenma while you got ready for the day. Kuroo was there sometimes or was at work depending on the day, but you were happy to see your boys were okay even if it was through a gaming stream.
"[Name]!" Kuroo exclaimed as the screen came up, revealing your bare face and the backdrop of nighttime over Venice in the window behind you. He was sitting somewhere in the kitchen and you could see Kenma poke his head from around a corner when he shouted your name. "How's Venice? No, how was Paris? Your Instagram was full of pictures there especially."
You laughed and set your pen down on a notepad. "It's really beautiful here, I promise. I prefer Venice over Paris though, there's a tranquility here that Paris just doesn't have. But I only have one more show before Akaashi's letting me fly home for a while."
"That's good, me and Kenma miss you," he said with a wide grin. You watched the shorter male nod in agreement behind him and add,"I miss playing COD with you and ignoring Kuroo."
"Hey!" said male gasped, offended.
"I miss you guys too." You smiled and leaned back in your chair, picking the pen back up and twirling it between your fingers. "Kenma, have you gotten rid of your… uh… worm problem?"
He scowled at you briefly when you snorted at your little joke. "Yes, I have. The doctors said I should be perfectly healthy by next week."
"Finally," Kuroo guffawed. "I'm tired of thinking they're gone and then have them come right back and you get sick again."
Kenma just shrugged. You laughed lightly and opened your mouth to comment on the new clothes Kuroo was wearing since they were from Akaashi's collection when your phone pinged with a message.
"Who's that?" Kuroo asked when you reached over to pick up your phone, flipping the screen face up to scan the contact name. He watched your eyes slowly widen and a dark blush creep up your face, darker than he'd ever seen it in normal lighting, and a strangled squeak force its way past your lips. "[Name]?"
You worried at your bottom lip, glancing at the name 'Ushijima' sitting innocently in your notifications and then back to Kuroo and Kenma, who were both silently waiting for your answer to who it was. You could tell them, of course, and you would feel guilty for it—because Ushijima was your best kept fantasy, as much as you'd deny it, and the incident at the beach wasn't something you wanted to share with either of them. They were your best friends, but you had to draw the line in the sand somewhere…
And you were drawing it at Ushijima Wakatoshi.
"Akaashi has a dress he wants me to model," you choked out, ignoring Ushijima's text and opening up Akaashi's contact to pull up the risque dress he'd sent you when you landed in Venice. It didn't bother you but you needed an excuse for the flush on your face; Kuroo wouldn't know the difference. It was a bright orange number, more akin to two banners of silk wrapped around your throat and taped to cover your breasts and angle between your legs, held together by a heavy jeweled belt. You held your phone up to the laptop camera and heard Kenma let out a surprised grunt. "I know. It's not his usual work, but he wanted something for summer and… well. That's summer."
Kuroo seemed appeased by your answer, at least. "I think you could pull it off. I'll have to watch the show when it airs."
You felt relief too soon. If there was anything you didn't want either of them to do it was watch this particular show, filled with more skin and silk and nudity than you'd ever show them in polite company, your current shirt aside. It was almost like showing yourself to two overtly awkward boyfriends and expecting them to ignore you, which they wouldn't, and try not to evoke certain reactions, which they would. But you couldn't exactly tell them that, now could you?
"Way to inspire anxiety," you said, instead, fingers hovering over Ushijima's unread text. You sorely wanted to read it, but you couldn't in front of them. It felt too secret, too intimate, even though you hadn't exchanged another word with the man besides the text he'd sent you as you had left the shoot that day. "If I trip and fall it's your fault."
Kuroo grinned rakishly. "I'd bet on it."
You spent a few more moments talking to them before excusing yourself for bed. It was midnight where you were and you were getting drowsy, but the thought of Ushijima's text was enough to get you going. You would probably crash later, but your curiosity was killing you.
With a few air kisses to them both, you ended the call and stared at your phone lying on your desk, as if such a simple piece of technology didn't have the capability of turning your emotions upside down.
"Here goes nothing," you mumbled and opened the text, holding your breath and your hand over your mouth.
'Congratulations.'
Underneath he'd attached an image, and it took you a few minutes to realize what you were looking at. The main piece, which he was referring to, was a glossy magazine cover with you plastered on the front in Akaashi's lingerie line, where you'd been seated on a throne, given a scepter, and a crown that was tastefully askew on your head. You had the same photo printed and framed in Akaashi's office, one of his favorites, and your first front cover for this magazine. The magazine was laying in his lap, legs spread in what looked like an expensive leather chair, and you just barely made out the toe of his shoes and the pinstripes in his pants. You did see Nox's ear in the top corner, making you giggle just a bit.
You felt just a little pathetic at analyzing every facet of the innocent photo, but you assured yourself that you were just curious and you could learn a lot from how someone took photos.
'Thank you,' you typed back, then pulled your lip between your teeth. What else to add? 'I didn't think you'd see that, haha.'
Too nervous to watch him potentially reply, you tossed your phone on your hotel bed and pulled on your pajamas, ignoring the ping of his text back while you pulled your t-shirt over your head. When you were comfortable and felt somewhat more calm, you burrowed underneath the heavy hotel sheets and opened the text.
'Why wouldn't I?' He'd written. 'You're very eye catching, [Name]. Although that isn't what I texted you for.'
Anxiety hit you like a truck.
'Then what did you need?'
You gnawed on your nail, careful not to leave marks on the filed tips, and watched as three little periods popped up as he typed his reply. He took his time, that was for certain, and you were expecting a paragraph by the time he'd finished, but to your surprise—your heart fluttered and dropped down to your belly when you read it—it was just one simple word.
'You.'
You never regretted falling asleep more in your life. Somehow you'd gotten too comfortable and your eyes had slipped closed against your will. You'd slept until your alarm woke you and you'd sworn it was just a dream, except you nearly spit out your black coffee when you went back to the texts that morning. You felt bad about not replying, but soon it left your mind in a flurry of silks, chiffon, and lace and the chaos that was Akaashi's fashion show.
The next time you thought about those texts, it was on your flight home to Tokyo. You'd had a few glasses of champagne to celebrate not tripping on the runway, much to Kuroo's disappointment, and had typed a reply without a thought to the consequences of replying over a week later.
'Why me?' It was simple but you'd lost the nerve to type anything more. You'd have to have more to drink to type up anything more than that. Surprisingly, he was awake so early in the morning: a glance at the clock revealed it was 2 A.M. What was he doing awake so late?
'Why not you?' Was his reply, as if that explained anything.
Frustrated, you downed the rest of your champagne and requested for something stronger from the flight attendant. She blinked at you in surprise, but went to retrieve a bottle of whiskey like you'd asked while you typed up another alcohol fueled reply.
'You don't even know me,' you typed, nails clacking against the screen,'and other than nearly cumming on your leg in front of fifteen photographers, I don't know you either.'
With a huff, you slammed your phone down right as the flight attendant returned with a bottle of high grade whiskey. You drank straight from the bottle instead of using a glass, praising the perks of flying first class, and watched as Ushijima's response lit up your phone.
'I know more about you than you think, [Name].'
Eyebrows furrowing, you sat back in your seat and stared at the screen, dumbfounded and a little buzzed.
'What the hell does that mean?'
He never answered you after that. You pounded back the rest of the bottle in less than an hour and curled up on the couch near the back, knowing fully well that you'd wake up nursing the worst hangover known to man. You never did handle alcohol well, or at all. But you couldn't bring yourself to care.
Ushijima Wakatoshi was an infuriatingly handsome enigma wrapped up in a quiet, stern package with a dash of mischief that seemed rare and unseen. You wanted to unwrap this mystery and with every interaction he just seemed to add more layers, more mystery to himself, so much so that you couldn't help but wonder who he really was, or what he wanted with you.
By the time you got back to Tokyo, it was six in the morning. The airport was unusually empty and besides the paparazzi catching you and snapping a few photos of your "airport outfit"—a loose Gucci Oxford button up (which was Akaashi's and somehow made it into your bag, probably after he'd given it to you when you spilled tea all over yourself last week) half tucked and draped over a pair of leggings with tasteful ladders cut into the thighs and knees—and shouted several questions at you even though your hangover made you want to beat the hell out of your skull.
"[Name], you look awful." Ayano greeted you at the exit, wearing designer everything from head to toe and looking exceptionally glamorous for it. You could faintly smell men's cologne on her and automatically assumed she had been on a date—or was just finishing up a hookup, judging by how she'd tried to fix her makeup and failed. "Don't you have breakfast plans with that famous dietitian?"
"Who?" You squinted into the dawn sunlight and fumbled for a pair of sunglasses in your purse, slapping them on your face with a grimace. "You mean Iwaizumi Hajime? One, he's a sports dietitian, and two, I'm only doing it to track down where the hell Oikawa went so I can wring his pretty little neck."
"That sounds like an unexplored kink," Ayano teased. She snickered when you slapped her lightheartedly; she seemed much better off being able to go home earlier than you had. "I'm joking. I don't know where exactly in Argentina he went. I'm sure if anyone knows it's Iwaizumi."
You hummed in agreement. "Which is why I need you to figure out his schedule so I can jump in on his breakfast or lunch."
She sighed. "I knew there was something you weren't telling me."
"But you love me," you grinned, blowing her a kiss and hopping in the passenger seat with renewed gusto despite your pounding headache.
Ayano stepped into the driver's seat a moment later with an even more exaggerated sigh. "Unfortunately."
Thirty minutes and a few well placed bribes later, you had a printout of Iwaizumi's schedule from Monday to Sunday, with even fine details written in the margins. You flicked the paper out and pushed your sunglasses up, holding it up against the sunlight so you could read and block it at the same time.
"Breakfast at Onigiri Miya," you read slowly, eyebrows raising. "Orders the plain Onigiri and soy sauce with water to drink; later has a twenty milligram protein shake and salmon patties for a snack. Who wrote this, a superfan disguised as a pseudo secretary?"
Ayano groaned and turned the music down at your observation. "Are you going to go or not?  Because we're here."
Your gaze darted forward to look around. "Where?"
She gestured to the small building she'd parked outside. "Onigiri Miya."
It was a cozy little shop, you'd give that. Ayano had allowed you to change before dropping you off, so now you wore a pair of Louboutins, a stylish pair of washed jeans, and the same button up but tucked in tight underneath a plain Chanel belt. A few of the morning customers eyed you as you walked in, but to your surprise no one was at the counter.
You spotted Iwaizumi Hajime out of the corner of your eye while you waited, completely oblivious to your presence and enjoying his Onigiri and soy sauce. The schedule had been right after all. You pursed your lips and turned your head back to face the menu, except there was now a man standing in front of you—and judging by the way he was looking at you, he recognized you, his eyes slightly wide.
"I—Uh—How can I help you?" He blustered, running a hand through his yellow hair. His nametag read 'Miya Atsumu' and underneath, scrawled in permanent marker, was an angry 'Part-Timer'. "Would you like to know the specials for today?"
"No thank you. I'll take the plain Onigiri, please, and water." You smiled and took pleasure in the way he blushed all the way to the roots of his hair. He was a handsome man, you had to say, if a little awkward.
"Sure thing!" Atsumu put in your order and you paid with your card. When he went to the back, he said,"Switch!"
You tapped your fingernails against the counter and observed the scratches in the cheap tile. When you looked up again, a bored grin on your face, you felt your stomach shrivel up and try to escape to the floor at the familiar face before you.
"Terushima Yuuji," you said sourly, grin fading to a harsh line. "What a surprise."
"[Name]?" He had the balls to look surprised to see you standing there—and really, he should be. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of you since you'd ended things with him when he cheated on you several months ago. "Wow. You look… good."
"Of course I do." You scowled and held out your hand. "My change?"
"Oh. Uh… Here. Three sixty." He dropped it into your waiting palm. "What are you doing here?"
"What? Am I not allowed to be here?" You questioned, your voice acidic. Your plan to ambush Iwaizumi was put on the back burner so you could rip Terushima a new one. Seeing his face after all this time made you want to beat him to a bloody pulp. "Whatever. Give me my Onigiri and I'll leave."
"But—"
"Goodbye." You twirled on your heel and headed for the door to sit outside where you weren't in the same room as him.
What you weren't expecting was the warmth of soup being tossed at the back of your head, or the feeling of hands clawing into your hair.
Six years of Taijutsu training kicked in and before you knew it, you had a girl sprawled out on the floor, her nose streaming vermillion rivers and her lip swelling up to concerning proportions. Your knuckles burned with the force and before you could nudge her body away, Yuuji leaped forward to check on the girl with panicked eyes.
"Babe?" He shook her, only receiving a groan in reply. "Answer me!"
Oh, this day just couldn't have gotten any worse could it? And it was all Oikawa's fault.
Tumblr media
003.
MASTERLIST.
TAGLIST: @momowhoo | +++
Feedback is appreciated! 💕
35 notes · View notes
askhubertvonvestra · 3 years
Note
💅/❣️, bonus if hubert's rival is his crush
[Good question! I do love the rivals-to-lovers energy, what can I say? Haha. I elected to answer all three. Because I am a menace.
Rival
If it’s strict rivalry, Hubert’s response is to watch carefully for an opening to get under their skin because he really can just be Like That sometimes. He’s not easily made into a rival, generally speaking, but he will not go halfway if he’s reached rivalry status. 
He puts that sharp intellect to good use as quick wit, ready with one-liners and devastating criticisms all too easily. As sort of an extension of his ability to see the worst in things, he can turn even accomplishments by a rival into shortcomings or lackluster achievements. In terms of his reaction just seeing his rival, it probably starts with scowling at them and gradually turns to a calculating smirk. When he can’t come up with suitable taunting, he will be civil, and important matters will take priority over mocking them.
Crush
Because he’s Hubert, it’s very possible that his crush will get a similar expression, actually. His expression changes from his RBF to something neutral or even displeased (because Feelings, ew), then to something more collected. This is partly why it’s so hard to tell when he’s catching feelings, since he generally assumes he shouldn’t have those emotions or doesn’t deserve the object of his interest/should devote his focus to the task at hand. 
Any teasing will be more playful in nature, not as mean-spirited, and praise will be given sparingly when it’s easy to dismiss as “it’s only an observation”, etc. He’ll definitely be more polite rather than just civil, and he’s much more like to go to bat for his crush if he feels compelled to do it and no one else does. His priority with a crush is not letting them know, all in all. (There are some exceptions to this, though. If he’s got a crush on someone he already feels at ease with, that makes it a lot easier to get swept up in the feeling inevitably and confess before he gets caught up in his head and in his own way.)
Rival-Crush
My favorite, best for last~
It’s very interesting when he goes from rival to crush, because a begrudging respect can definitely evolve from general distaste, depending on the rival. Hubert can be very set in his ways and certain that there is only one path to achieve something, and if that’s ever proven wrong by a rival, it has the effect of making him see them in a different light. A more flattering one, all in all. This is his slippery slope, as respect can turn to appreciation and then fondness. The taunting may stay just as harsh, and they’re probably giving him as good as they get, but it’s more good-natured after he starts crushing on them anyway.
The feelings sneak up on him, though! He’s usually pretty self-aware with his perception of others, but having romantic feelings is a very different story. With how he thinks of himself as an instrument of vengeance and a protector for the most part, thinking of himself with a crush can blindside him.
Most likely, those feelings will build up piece by piece until he has a sudden epiphany. It could be as harmless as praise freely given or an idle smile in their direction or as monumental as a close call in battle making him realize how much value his rival has to him. Either way, he really does feel compelled to circle it and analyze it and come to the best possible conclusion before acting. Unless he sees an opportunity slipping away, like another person getting their romantic interest, he won’t act hastily. Or even promptly.]
11 notes · View notes
let-me-write · 4 years
Text
The Truth Untold
Find chapters 1 2 3 here
Chapter 4:  Blindsided
Drusilla Blackthorn looked forward to finally be a part of a mission but that came second only to meeting her brother again. What awaits her at the New York Institute?
The black car rolled determinedly through the Manhattan traffic, making lethargic progress, in an endless sea of cabs.
Though it has been two years since Dru had joined the academy, she has been to the New York Institute only once before. She was excited about the mission obviously but not as much as for seeing her brother again.
She and her brother Ty had gotten closer since the unfortunate events at Idris. She would be meeting him after a long time; what with their breaks never aligning.
Beside her, Thais was immersed in her book, occasionally glancing up to notice their progress on road.
Louis, on the wheel, was trying his best not to hit the cab in front of him, despite its erratic manoeuvres. He must be regretting this new American experience, Dru thought.
Of course, this miserable journey of theirs could have been avoided, if they had come through a portal. Well, hard luck for them, since portals were being regulated and they stayed within the state, unlike the centurions.
It was fifteen more minutes before they reached the gothic cathedral, which was the New York Institute. She had loved it on her first visit. Now, she observed it admiringly, captivated by the building's mystic charm.
Thais joined her behind the car, to collect all their belongings. Louis offered to carry their weapons trunk. They didn't refuse as he could get pushy, in an awkwardly polite way. It's best to let him carry on his "gentlemanly duties".
Dru followed her friend through the entrance. Thais whistled, amazed, now that they were closer.
"This place seems right up our alley, doesn't it Dru bear ?"
Dru scoffed at the new nickname. She could count on Thais to be ridiculous, irrespective of the place.
She replied to the other girl, "Oh, we're definitely watching that slasher film here. There's no other perfect setting". Dru was glad at the moment that she had a friend, who appreciated her morbid interests.
As soon as they pushed the door open to the institute, they were greeted with the sight of four shadowhunters - all in gear and immersed in a serious discussion.
Isabelle noticed them first and greeted them with a smile. She placed her hand on Simon's arm to stop him from speaking further.
Of course, the adults didn't want to traumatize them, she thought sourly.
Meanwhile, Jace and Clary rushed towards them in a coordinated manner. Clary pulled her into a hug which she returned awkwardly.
Thais Pedroso, to her right, was comparing her biceps with Jace, who was equally indulgent.
This wasn't new for them both...well, Jace had been to the academy for guest lectures before, and Thais-for reasons unknown-had declared her intention to best him in muscle building, of all things.
Dru shook her head. She must give up analyzing her friend's actions, gradually.
Soon, Isabelle and Simon joined them. Simon inquired about Beatriz and Catarina, and sincerely empathized with their travails at the academy.
After a few minutes of these formalities, Dru and Thais were shown to their room. It was a huge room with two beds in opposite corners. The two girls settled in and wondered if Louis made it into the institute.
Louis Rayhorn was from the Brussels institute. He had an easygoing and helpful attitude which should have technically made him popular...but sadly, he was also nosy and emitted an uneasy aura.
He was an able shadowhunter but an okayish companion. They were one of the only ones, who didn't mind his company. Because, Louis, for all his eccentricities, was their well-intentioned friend.
Thais worried now, " What if he got into trouble or worse, lost?"
Dru frowned, " I don't think Clary and Jace would abandon him. They knew he was coming too."
The other girl continued as if Dru hadn't spoken, " Let's go explore the institute. Find the weapons room. Maybe we'll find him there"
Dru nodded. She was still in the process of figuring out her signature weapon. Maybe, a look at the extensive collections of the New York Institute would help.
They roamed two floors aimlessly before stumbling upon a metal door with seraph blades carved on it.
" Very subtle" observed Thais. She pulled the handle and let herself in. Dru followed.
At once she stepped in, she heard her friend exclaim " Oh there he is!! I'm glad you made it here intact!! "
Dru followed Thais' gaze to the back of the room.
In front of a huge wooden trunk stood two figures; Louis was facing them and beside him, she saw a blond head diving into the trunk.
Must be Jace, she thought, but then realized that there was something odd about his physique.
Louis interjected her thoughts with his " Oh hey girls!! I was about to ask Christopher here to show me to my room. If not for him, I would have been wandering cluelessly"
Dru was perplexed, Wait, Christopher!?
Just then, the blond boy pulled himself upright and turned towards them.
Dru gasped...her mind was reeling.
The boy in front of her was taller, muscular, and held himself in an unmistakable Shadowhunter gait.
But his eyes; they gave it away...he was Kit...Kit Herondale was standing before her, older but still the same.
Kit Herondale looked equally unnerved as her, his blue eyes widening in surprise. 'Dru ' he mouthed.
Dru wasn't going to let him continue. She stormed towards him.
" What are you doing here?" she asked not too politely.
Kit's face was imperceptible. He seemed to be mulling over this question. He sighed before answering " I am here to be a part of the mission, same as you Dru "
He tried to avoid her eyes while talking.
Of course, he's lying! she noted with frustration; He hasn't changed at all since then.
Suddenly a warm hand pressed against her left arm. She turned around to see Thais looking concerned.
Dru inhaled sharply. She didn't want to do this here. Not now...
She turned around abruptly and left the room, hurrying down the hallway.
She had wanted to ask Kit: Why did you leave without a farewell? Why did you lie to me about my sister?
But they got lost in the thoughts that bombarded her now...
What if Ty sees him? He's going to get hurt again...Oh, what should I do? What should I do?
In the past, she had wanted to punch Kit if she met him again...for hiding the truth from her...and later on, for abandoning her brother.
Her brother, Ty... he might be here already!!
What if he's shocked by Kit's presence?  He wouldn't know, just like her, and he won't handle such surprises well.
Maybe she could get to him before he stumbled upon Kit.
She was walking fast and unaware of where she was going until she reached the end of a hallway. There was a massive wooden door.
She was about to turn back when she heard tense whispers from behind the door.
Dru inched towards the door warily.
She heard a female voice " I am quite sure of my source"
Then, a male voice commented, " 'Something precious' huh?...the last time that was used, it turned out to be Ash Morgenstern"
It was Jace.
Clary's solemn voice added, " It won't be him again, obviously... Emma and Julian saw him stay in Thule."
Ash Morgenstern...
Dru remembered Jules and Emma talking about the Seelie Queen and Sebastian's son-after they had returned from Thule.
What does he have to do with anything now?
She was startled from her thoughts by fast-approaching footsteps.
She looked up dubiously.
Sigh...It was only Thais. Dru pulled her away from the door and into a dimly-lit corridor.
Thais looked at her with indignation. " I came looking for you, Dru!!", she said.
And continued, " By the way, are you alright? I guess you've met Christopher before...I was worried there...I've never seen you act this way"
Dru took a deep breath and looked at her friend's dark brown eyes, filled with concern.
She answered " Don't worry, I'm quite alright, Thais... Yes, I know him. And his name is Kit by the way"
"Okayy...what's really up with you and mini-Jace there?" asked her friend.
Dru wasn't ready to talk about this. She had to look for Ty anyway.
She asked instead, " Thais, do you know when the centurions would be arriving?"
Thais nodded, " Oh, I'm pretty sure they're here already. In fact, I saw a glimpse of a portal in the entrance, on my way"
By the time she could finish, they heard a loud bang from the front of the institute. They jumped in surprise and moments later, both of them were hurrying towards the foyer.
Dru exited the hallway first, only to find a huge commotion.
There was a pileup of scattered weapons, interspersed with people on the floor.
She saw Louis in the dead centre, with a couple of centurions lying beside him. He seemed to be unhurt.
None of them looked injured, only bewildered.
She suddenly realized, her brother must be in this chaos.
Before she could scan the room for him, she caught a glimpse of a flash of light and a hiss of pain.
She turned impulsively towards her left to find Ty in the corner, standing behind a pillar.
She noticed him holding someone towards the wall, away from a metal shelf that had fallen to the floor. The heavy shelf had made a substantial dent on the floor. It could have severely injured the person.
She walked towards him, only to find that Ty had pushed none other than Kit- away from the shelf's path.
Besides, Ty looked visibly anxious... Dru then noticed with dread that Kit Herondale had slumped down against the wall.
Tagging @tsccreatorsnet and @uzumakiswaathi - Thank you for beta-reading and being wonderful 💕
21 notes · View notes
reallystellacadente · 6 years
Text
I felt it. You know what I mean.
Fictober Day 28
[Rissa Quinn D’Arville is Malavai’s younger sister by 10 years. She has always idolized her big brother, even though in some ways she barely knew him -- she was a toddler when he was bundled off to prep school and he left for the military academy right after. But in other ways, she knew him maybe better than he knew himself. She has always been his biggest champion.]
Quinn’s head thrummed so hard he thought the beeping was just his brain’s way of warning him of an impending aneurysm. He’d spent the past four days camped out in Moff Lorman’s – correction, Minister Lorman’s – office, hoping to get a meeting. Hoping to convince him that The Empire’s Wrath wasn’t dead and to just give him a small military contingent to go searching for her. 
Finally, he’d come home to shower and sleep and regroup. Lorman and his staff, an unusually incompetent group, were not going to be convinced by the direct approach. Reminding them he was Darth Marr’s liaison was useless, now that it was confirmed that the Empire’s guiding hand was dead. 
It had only been two weeks. He knew Xhareen was alive. There was still time to track down all the escape pods. Three survivors had been identified as prisoners of war by the Republic just yesterday. 
More importantly, he could feel her. Their Force bond was stronger than ever, like she was reaching out to him. It was especially strong at night as he slept. 
He’d done the research and it was clear that a powerful Sith could form a Force bond with someone close to them regardless of whether the target was Force sensitive. He carried a special data spike with him citing all the old texts so that no one, especially not a cretin like Lorman, would think Quinn was suggesting a 40-year-old man had spontaneously developed Force powers. 
“Fucking Lorman,” he moaned as he sat upright, realizing that it wasn’t his head buzzing, but his holocomm. He slapped the on button and growled, “What?” 
“Mal, are you OK?” It was his younger sister, Rissa. “I was going to end the call and just come over. You had me so worried.” 
Rissa had not been doing well, either, although she was hiding it with great skill. Her husband, Callen, was killed fighting the unknown power that attacked Korriban – the one that turned out to be the Eternal Empire, somehow connected to Vitiate, and to Xhareen’s disappearance, and Darth Marr’s death. 
“Sorry, Rissa, are you OK? How’s my nephew?” 
“Little Malavai is fine. He never really even knew his father. He’s napping like nothing’s wrong.” 
But something was wrong. Everything was wrong. The Empire and the Republic had stopped fighting, each regrouping and licking their wounds after a merciless throttling by a clearly superior power. 
But his baby sister was taking her husband’s death well – too well, Malavai worried. She didn’t even cry when the word came, his mother had said. She stood stoically during the funeral. Kayda got her drunk and she finally let her grief loose, but they all accepted this was not an ongoing coping strategy. 
“And you? I asked about you,” he said. 
“I’m fine, Mal. I know Callen is gone. I’m more worried about you.”
“Don’t be. Xhareen isn’t dead and that’s not me being in denial.”
“I know. She told us when you two were separated about your bond. I believe you, that you can sense she’s still alive.” 
Something in the tone of her voice, the way she upturned her head – what did she know? Her preternatural calm in the wake of her husband’s death, leaving her a young widow with a small child … 
“How have you managed to be so collected, Rissa?” Kayda had informed him that, despite them being separated by Callen’s deployments, they were a strong, loving couple. He had been looking forward to an extended leave to get to know his son when the Eternal Throne blindsided the entire galaxy. His entire battlegroup had been eliminated on a routine patrol. 
“I felt it. You know what I mean,” she said, barely a whisper. “I knew he was gone before the call came from High Command.” 
Was she suggesting a Force bond? How could that be? “Rissa, are you saying …?” 
She nodded and sighed. “I’ve known for a while that I was slightly Force sensitive. It manifested too late to be of much use, though. And by then, the Empire had opened up Sith training to gifted aliens, so condemning Imperials with just a trace of Force power to certain death at the training academies was no longer a thing.” 
Was there a more direct Sith lineage than anyone in the family had known before? This was more than his starved body and brain could handle.
“And before you ask, brother, I believe it’s from Mother’s line but as you might be able to guess, I’m not probing any further.” 
No, she wouldn’t. Rissa always kept everyone else’s well-being at the forefront. 
“So, you can read minds then?” he asked, a smile creeping across his unshaven face. 
“I can read you like a book. The rest is just analyzing data.” 
“Can I come over instead? I need to be with family right now,” he asked, practically pleading. 
“Of course. We can talk about a better way to convince the powers that be that they should let you find your wife.” 
“I will be there shortly,” he said as they signed off. 
It was good to know he still had a family to lean on. He hoped it wouldn’t be for long, but for now, he wasn’t going to turn down their help.
11 notes · View notes