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monstersandmaw · 4 years

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Embers - male dragon shifter x reader (light nsfw) - Part Nine

Things are starting to get traction now... :) Hope you enjoy this one, and again, I'm sorry these chapters are shorter than maybe my usual stories are, but that's the format I'm going for for this long-running series, so I'm sticking with it! This one is 1228 words, so not too miserly!

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight

The ‘murder mystery dinner’ was still a couple of weeks away, and you still had no idea what to wear to it, but you’d figure that out later. Hanging out with Mikaeïl and getting to know him took up a lot of your spare time. On one of your earlier dates, he took you to the Old Trollbridge museum and art gallery, a place in which - ironically, given your career as an artist - you’d never set foot. Often you met for a quick coffee in town - the number of espressos that that boy - rather, wyvern - could knock back in a single sitting was concerning at best, but he seemed none the worse for it.

Watching him open up over time was a treat that you hadn’t perhaps expected in this budding relationship. You’d - quite wrongly - assumed that someone who was over two hundred years old would have had all their shit figured out by now, but perfection, it seemed, was not obtained in a mere two centuries of existence. He was vulnerable and funny, shy and even a bit goofy at times, and it was easy to see why most of his students must have absolutely adored him. He was the quintessential inspiring academic: often lost with his head in the clouds, unaware of how the world really worked in many ways, extremely knowledgeable about his chosen field, and surprisingly interested in what you did.

The topic of his late partner didn't come up again, though you were definitely curious, but you did enjoy a number of dinners together, some out in town, and others at his house. On one such evening, he cooked the most gorgeous pasta dish, herby and aromatic but not too fiery because, apparently, he couldn’t handle spice.

“Excuse me?” you gaped when he’d dropped that bombshell. “But… you’re a dragon, right?”

“Wyvern,” he’d corrected, waving a wooden spoon at you as if it were a lecturer’s pointer. “Please,” he’d added over the top of his circular spectacles with mock seriousness. “There’s an entire two limbs worth of difference between the two of us and that, my dear, is a lot of difference.”

“Oh?” you’d said, half snorting and half giggling. “I… see?”

“No you don’t,” he retorted playfully, shaking his head. Turning on his ‘patronising teacher voice’ while the pasta sauce bubbled away like a witch’s brew in the pot beside him, he turned to face you with one hand on his sharp, narrow hip. “A wyvern,” he said in a very slow voice, “Is bipedal. Related to the dragon, and with a tail which often ends in a diamond- or arrow-shaped tip or barb. Some have poisonous scales and spines, while others do not. Our sea-dwelling cousins, imaginatively known as the sea-wyverns, frequently have fishtails in place of our barbed tail.”

You burst out laughing and his own face cracked into a wide grin.

“I’m glad you find me amusing,” he said in his usual voice. “But seriously, a tolerance for capsaicin has nothing to do with the ability - or lack thereof - to breathe fire.”

“I love you,” you blurted before you could stop yourself, and he went very still.

A slow, surprised smile dawned on his handsome, porcelain face and he laughed quietly. “Come here and say that again,” he said, opening one arm and inviting you to hug him.

“It’s not too soon?” you said as you stepped over to him, flushed and hot and a bit clammy with nerves now.

He shook his head, his red hair tied back in a scruffy bun. “If that’s what you feel, then it’s not too soon to acknowledge it. And… I have grown very fond of you too. I believe I might also be in a position to say that I love you too.”

“You’re such a prude,” you grinned, poking him in the ribs. “Only a professor - and a dragon, sorry, wyvern - would be so ‘verbose’ about it…”

Mikaeïl’s lips twitched but he suddenly seemed insecure, so you rolled your eyes and snaked an arm around his slim waist. You had yet to see what his body looked like underneath, but from the way he barely moved as you tried to tug him close to you, you figured he must be incredibly fit and lean.

“I’m sorry,” he said, turning his attention to the pot of sauce and stirring it without dislodging you from your place at his hips. “I must be a great bore to you at times.”

“If you were, do you think I’d stick around?” you countered and he made a side to side motion of his head.

“Perhaps not,” he admitted.

You reached up on tip toes and planted a kiss against his smooth cheek. You wondered fleetingly if he was like an elf and couldn't grow a beard, or if he was just fastidious about shaving immaculately every morning. You’d not been near enough to his bathroom yet to spot a razor. His cheeks flushed, as they always did when you showed him affection - verbal or physical - and he tucked you tighter against his side, planting a fond kiss atop your head.

That night, it turned out, was not a night for finding out about what lay beneath his shirt, or whether he kept a razor in his bathroom, but it wasn’t long before you were invited back to the mansion, and this time, he asked if you’d like to bring an overnight bag.

“We’re getting serious then,” you had grinned over the phone that morning, doodling idly with your stylus and trying to tweak a font that wasn’t working on a business logo commission.

“So it would seem,” he chuckled. “But if you’d rather not, then -”

“Mikaeïl,” you said flatly but gently, “I’ve been ready for this for a while now. I’m honestly glad you’re ready too.”

“I am,” he said, sounding a little dazed about it.

On your first visit to the house it had seemed strange to be there without your enthusiastic niece, Celia, as a chaperone, or under the guise of work, but he welcomed you inside again and this time, he kissed you on the threshold the moment you were indoors.

As before, when things got heated for him, he began to growl softly, but here in the safe privacy of his home, he pushed you up against the wood of the front door and kissed you breathless to a soundtrack of his rumbling growls. His strong hands pinned your wrists beside your head and you felt your knees go weak as he held you there and kissed you senseless.

Finally, however, he did pull back, breathing hard, his eyes glowing like embers. “You’re gorgeous,” he said before closing his teeth over your lip and sucking until it tingled.

“Mikaeïl,” you gasped, tilting your head back to allow him better access to your neck as he kissed along your jaw and down to your racing pulse. “This is new…”

“I’m ready; I want you,” he whispered. “Is that wrong? Is it too fast?”

Your answer was simple. You’d had chaste date upon chaste date, with barely a peck on the cheek, and he’d driven you wild with it. “Then why are we still standing in the hallway?”

“You’re too distracting,” he laughed, pulling back. “Are you sure this is alright?”

With a fond smile, you nodded. “More than.”

—

Part Ten

I really hope you folks enjoyed this one! Don’t forget to let me know if you did enjoy it by leaving a like and/or reblogging it!

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#dragon #dragon x reader #dragon shifter x reader #exophilia #dragon boyfriend #male dragon shifter #male dragon #embers #long running series #weekly chapters

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aboutcaseyaffleck · 3 years

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Actor Casey Affleck Reflects On The Past And 'The World To Come'

The last time I saw Casey Affleck was after an 8:30 a.m. Sundance Film Festival screening of “Manchester by the Sea,” which left my colleagues and I so emotionally drained we were pretty much useless for the rest of the day. Affleck finds this very funny. “Oh man, that’s awesome,” he laughs. “That was a tough screening. At Sundance I’m usually just going to sleep at 8 a.m.” We’re talking on the phone a few days after the festival’s virtual premiere of his latest movie, “The World to Come,” which made its Sundance debut last month under very different circumstances. “It’s so strange doing these things sitting in front of your computer,” he sighs.

Directed by Mona Fastvold, “The World to Come” is a powerful period piece about a forbidden love affair between pioneer women played by Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby, set in upstate New York during the early months of 1856. Affleck produced the picture, in which he plays a supporting role as Waterston’s uncomprehending husband, and he did his best to soldier through a crowded Zoom Q&A after the Sundance screening, with results pleasant enough, but nonetheless missing that in-person festival magic. “I used to love going to film festivals and talking to journalists and seeing all the movies and talking to other filmmakers,” he laments. “Sitting here alone in a little office in my house is such a drag. But it was nice to know that the movie was getting seen, at least.”

While big brother Ben plays Batman in studio pictures, Casey has exhibited a restless independent streak ever since he was a student at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. (Our ninth-grade classes competed against each other in the Mass. High School Drama Guild Competition. His won, perhaps unsurprisingly.) A longtime friend of the Brattle Theatre and former creative advisor for the Independent Film Festival Boston, the younger Affleck has always seemed more at home in indies. Not a lot of actors would follow an Oscar-winning role in “Manchester by the Sea” with a microbudget art film like “A Ghost Story.” But then his internalized, minimalist acting style is often at odds with the concerns of contemporary blockbusters. There’s a weird dissonance watching something like Disney’s hokey Chatham sea adventure “The Finest Hours,” with Affleck going full Montgomery Clift while surrounded by CGI silliness.

“The World to Come” is the most ambitious project yet from Affleck’s Sea Change Media, which partnered with Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon’s legendary NYC indie institution Killer Films for the arduous production that began with a conversation between Affleck and novelist Ron Hansen nearly a decade ago. “When I did ‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’ I got to know Ron Hansen, just because I loved the book so much. Ron has a very unique talent for writing 19th century language. He’s just from another era. I asked him if he had something he wanted to work on together, and I thought he would send me one of his things. Instead, he sent me this story by Jim Shepard. It was beautiful. I said, why don’t you and Jim write the script? And they took about six years, but it came together beautifully. Good things come to those who wait, I guess.”

The film eventually shot in Romania with a break built into the schedule to accommodate the changing seasons that are so crucial to the movie’s rugged, outdoor textures. “We were way out in Transylvania, out in the mountains,” Affleck explains. “We were just in some valley and they built a couple of farmhouses. I like being far away in a new place. It makes you feel outside of your life. And I love working in weather. There are so many aspects of moviemaking that are artificial, but when there’s extreme weather, it’s real. I did this Disney movie about a boat rescue, and it was, like, December in friggin’ Quincy and they were just soaking us with water every single take. There’s not a lot that you have to quote-unquote act. You’re just standing there, teeth-chattering, shivering, just being.” This reminds me of the scene in “Manchester” when he and Lucas Hedges have an argument walking in the blistering cold and can’t remember where they parked. “I forgot about that one,” he laughs.

I’d never say so on the phone, but I consider Affleck’s performance as Lee Chandler in “Manchester by the Sea” among the finest I’ve seen in my 22 years of reviewing films, worthy of discussion alongside Brando’s Terry Malloy in “On the Waterfront” in its aching, inchoate longing. Lee holds his grief somewhere very private and dear, as if to begin to forgive himself would be an act of betrayal. The movie nails a gruff, emotional constipation popular among men of a certain stripe, especially in New England. (My mother offered my favorite review of the film: “Why don’t they just talk to each other? Jesus, this is like watching you and your father.”) Words don’t come easily to most of Affleck’s movie characters, but he chafes at the description of them as inarticulate. “It’s funny, I find the characters in ‘Manchester’ to be sometimes very articulate,” he argues. “There’s misunderstandings, but they end up communicating what’s inside.”

“The World to Come” is rife with such mixed signals and miscommunications, about which co-star Katherine Waterston raved during the Zoom Q&A after the Sundance screening. “It was so much fun to play the scenes with Casey,” she said. “A lot of these scenes are written as dances, where somebody tries to reach out and engage and they’re misunderstood. Inarticulacy is a very interesting thing to see in film. The failed attempts. Failed communications. It’s actually fun to play those things. You don’t know what the other person’s going to throw at you. It keeps it really alive on set. Mona and I felt if we had the money we could have kept shooting this thing for months, because the scenes were so much fun to explore.”

Affleck agrees. “When Katherine’s character writes in her journal or she starts talking to Vanessa, they have this beautiful, expressive way of speaking to each other,” he enthuses, whereas his character “says what he’s gotta say in as few words as possible. He’s very brusque and curt, which I enjoyed. The way that he talks is the communication equivalent when he gives her a birthday gift of sardines and a tin of raisins.”

Indeed, her increasingly florid diary entries — originally intended as a ledger to keep track of the farm’s monthly expenses — become the heartbeat of the film, providing an emotional release otherwise suppressed by the rigid formality of the era and the ugly drudgery of day-to-day farm life. “The World to Come” is ultimately a movie about the need to share our stories, and how through telling them we make sense of ourselves. As producer Koffler explains in the press notes, “Part of the film’s vision is to dramatize a very basic human impulse: to create, to connect, to say ‘I was here, and I mattered.’”

This has become a recurring theme in Affleck’s recent work. In 2019, he wrote, directed and starred in “Light of My Life,” a little-seen but strikingly tense post-apocalyptic road movie about a father and daughter hiding out in the wilderness after a pandemic has wiped out most of the women in the world. The film begins with Affleck telling the little girl a bedtime story that runs almost 13 minutes and sneakily sets up the movie’s major themes. Then in last month’s well-acted but regrettably soggy “Our Friend,” he starred as real-life journalist Matthew Teague, whose soul-baring Esquire story about his wife’s struggle with cancer became a national phenomenon.

“Matt Teague wrote that article and then wanted it made into a movie as his way of processing everything that had happened,” the actor elaborates. “You transform pain into other things as you go through life. That was all him working through it. I like stories about storytellers and I like stories within stories. Obviously, I wrote and directed a movie that starts with a 12-minute bedtime story. I love that. I know that other people don’t love it as much as I do, so I have to be careful about it.”

That kind of love led to last summer’s “Stories From Tomorrow,” a project initiated during lockdown by Affleck and his schoolteacher mom Christine, encouraging children to send in poems and short stories to be read on social media by celebrities like Matt Damon and Jon Hamm, as well as his “The World to Come” co-stars Waterston and Kirby. “That was something I started out at the very beginning of the quarantine as a small project to encourage kids to write creatively, because I know it can be a great way of processing anxiety and working through feelings that you aren’t really talking about or aren’t aware that you’re having. It wasn’t something I thought would go on forever; once the kids are back in school that ought to be where they should be doing all that kind of work. But while they were sitting at home, I thought it would be a good way to get their attention off the awful news and into something more imaginative. And I also got a chance to read all these super-cool stories! Really creative stuff that kids sent from all around the world.”

Finally, as a Boston publication it would be dereliction of duty not to mention the hysterical Dunkin Donuts commercial parody from when Affleck hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2016, so dead-on in its depiction of a local 'regulah customah' that on one of my critics’ poll ballots that year I tried to nominate the sketch for Best Documentary. Alas, the performer shoots down a pet theory I’ve been hanging onto ever since, that the dirtbag Boston guy in the Bruins hat is secretly a grown-up version of Affleck’s scene stealing, bug-swallowing Morgan from “Good Will Hunting.”

“I hadn’t thought about that, dude. That’s really funny. It never crossed my mind." He pauses before confiding, "I wasn’t that great on SNL… I just wasn’t all that funny on the skits, because it’s live and you’re reading the cue cards and it was my first time. But when we went to make that little pre-recorded short film of the Dunkin’ Donuts ad, I really felt like that was my wheelhouse there. I could’ve played that character in a movie. I could have gone to work and played him every single day, and I would have had a blast. That was really fun to do. I would love to do another one of those. That would be funny to see that character again.”

I bet that guy’s got some stories.

“The World To Come” is now in theaters and will be available via video on demand Tuesday, March 2.

[source]

#casey affleck #the world to come #quote #photo #movies

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izupie · 6 years

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100 Relatable Writer Things

(Courtesy of the creative writers from the Kacchako Discord server. We suffer together fam.)

doesn't write for 84 years

starts a billion things, no time to finish or update

daydreaming about writing

thinks about writing in shower, has no writing utensils

about to fall asleep, sudden motivation and inspiration

stuck at dayjob, pure, unadulterated motivation and inspiration

arrives home too tired to write

sits down at computer to write, spends two hours on the internet doing everything except writing

listening to music and it slows your writing to a snail's pace.

accidentally write the lyrics instad of dialogue

ignore typos

your Internet sucks and you can't connect to Google docs for a day.

trying to write angst only to slowly turn it into fluff

you remember you have pets and wanna cuddle them over writing

you have a carefully written plan, that all of your characters are ignoring and start going in directions you are unprepared for

your characters do what they want, fuck u

you realize you wrote a plot point too early and then mash the delete button.

you bingewatch a sitcom and plan all of these everyday aus and don't write any of them and demolish ice cream in the dark instead

you stare at your screen after doing nothing for an hour and the whole time you are internally screaming.

you open your story document and suddenly realise the bookshelf in your room needs alphabetising

you look back at the manga for reference but end up just rereading the manga

you fantasize about your characters and blush because they're so attractive

you realise you've been making weird expressions at your screen while you've been typing

the people around you have also noticed.

people wonder if you are okay in public settings writing angst

you brainstorm amazing ideas for your fic as you sleep but when you wake up you don't remember shit

having idea bouncing buddies to help with your au and end up creating a separate au

getting aus mixed

finding somewhere to write smut where nobody will accidentally look over your shoulder

you write smut in public but you're so tired that you don't care who sees anymore

doing dumb shit like "bakugou looked at bakugou" and publishing it

you finish writing a chapter and look over your outline only to learn you skipped doing a scene.

try to quickly edit things, end up combing through chapter again

lots of picture refs for characters

forgetting your time scale while writing. how much time has passed? idk man

writing a one shot that becomes a 20k multichap

hitting 4k a chapter and crying it's not enough

hitting 19k a chapter and thinking, "maybe I can do more."

wondering if word count its too short/long

just crying. in general.

intending to write an epic slow burn and dropping it two chapters in for another idea

having a fully written arc expecting 10 chapts but with editing it becomes 7 chapts somehow

wanting to write a slow burn but getting so excited to get to the big part you just say fuck it

having so much of an au build up that you are excited for that it unintentionally becomes slowburn

intending to write a serious fic but you don't want to put the characters in any more pain than they canonically are so you turn them all into major goofballs

OR character didn't get enough pain canonically and it was supposed to be funny story

writing angst and pain because you're a masochist

love watching readers cry

taking pleasure in watching them cry

blasting meme music in your ears as your readers scream at you about breaking their hearts

hoping for fanart

teasing spoilers bc you want validation

running from rabid readers

sometimes you write for an hour and have done 500 words. Other times you blink and 3k words are suddenly there.

having a decent steady schedule or becoming spastic update qween, there is no in between. Bonus points if you do separate fics like this

watching a movie, inserting characters for yet another au

taking polls what to update next

never listening to the polls you create

making a schedule and sticking to it. Your fans think your organized but it's more like controlled chaos.

motivated to do something but what?

literally buying a journal with goals and a tentative update schedule so you can keep your ass in check

not using said journal bc lazy

having monthly updates but writing more than half of it in the last week.

WHAT THE FUCK DO I TITLE IT

what's editing

can someone edit my stuff pls

writing the title of the chapter and then nothing else that day.

write, no edits, only write. Cry

69...

setting a day to respond to comments. forget

stare at comments with awe and fear

wordvomit, keyboard smash

comments are life

kudos are resurrected life

holy shit a bookmark???????

holy shit someone recced me

wanting to share but don't want to be annoying

wanna collab?

surfing tumblr for writing refs bc your english sucks

i love dialogue~

i hate dialogue

does this sOUND NATURAL THO

is this too descriptive or not enough?

how do i describe this place i've never been to

have i used [blank word] too much?

more pic refs

said is too plain, but they're not doing anything but sitting and talking

does this smell description sound too fanficcy?

having a color bible

is this ooc?

how would you describe a <____> hitting the <___> floor?

how do i describe violence accurately

how many followers/readers will i lose to this

what does <___> pain feel like?

compare yourself to other popular writers

what are you writing has several word docs open

googling stuff that makes you sound like a murderer for rESEARCH

staring at your phone praying someone reviews it soon

how do i write texts or IMs

having that one follower who always comments

BONUS: Is it truly finished or am I just sick of writing it

#writer problems #relatable writing stuff #writing mood #writing #writers #writing shitpopst #writing memes #writing problems #fanfiction #fanfiction problems #fanfiction moods #writer stuff #omg I nearly accidentally refreshed the page while I did this #BONUS BONUS: remember to save your writing folks

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thelreads · 6 years

Note

It’s funny to realize that this was originally pubilsed in a weekly magazine. Little things like that out of nowhere poll interrupting the story remind us of how this was originally meant to be consumed. It’s like how Jules Verne always has such short chapters that always end on a cliffhanger; because the reader got a chapter at a time and had to be hooked along to read the next one in a week or sometimes month. The medium influences the story more than people realize.

It is rather funny. You see, I can just finish a chapter and immediately jump into the next one to see whats going to happen, but that’s because all of the arc-related chapter already have been published and put together.

I can only imagine how it must feel to have to await weeks until the next chapter, not knowing how your favorite characters will fare against the dangers that they face…

And to think that this feeling is a rather common one, dating all the way back to the time that the “weekly/monthly novel chapter” style of story exists.

#MHAC53 #inbetween

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theguardiansseries · 6 years

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From the Beginning Chapter 6

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Summary: Danny Fenton was a simple, sixteen-year-old teenager who loved fast food, video games, and getting a B on surprise pop quizzes. He’s also the half-ghost teenage hero Danny Phantom who defends Amity Park from ghost attacks on a daily basis. Somehow, the ghost attacks make a lot more sense than crushes, friendships, and falling in love with someone he is definitely not supposed to be falling in love with. It was a lot easier to separate Phantom and Fenton before, but now it’s getting harder the more he learns about himself. Just who was he? The dorky son of scientists who loved the stars or the hero that protected the town. He’s starting to feel like he won’t like the answer. (Iambic Prose) (Prequel to Guardians and Partial Show Rewrite)

<<First Chapter>> <<Last Chapter>> <<Next Chapter>>

Chapter Six

“Here I was starting to think that you had forgotten where I was.” Ghostwriter stood there looking like a carbon copy of a disappointed Jazz with crossed arms, a small frown, and drawn in eyebrows. It would have been hilarious if Danny hadn’t felt a small amount of guilt at how Ghostwriter seemed to have been actually waiting to see Danny again.

“Nice job on dodging the word lived.” Danny really couldn’t handle serious right now, though, and he was pretty sure his hands were still shaking. “So, uh, hey, you know that whole ‘my door is always open and you’re free to visit’ thing you were talking about? Is that still open?”

“Unlike many of my fellows, I’m not in the habit of saying one thing and doing another.” So that was a yes, then? Danny was about to ask for clarification before he watched Ghostwriter’s posture melt, the ghost stepping aside as the door opened more widely. “Of course you’re welcome back. I had just assumed it would be a touch earlier.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m- Look, man, I’m sorry about that. Things were pretty busy the last week or two of my life.” January was already reaching its end and Danny had somehow managed to fuck his life up even more than it had been before. At least he was excelling in one area of his life.

“Well, I believe at this point you’ve learned that I rather like hearing stories. I’d be willing to listen if you wish to share.” God, he was so pretentious. Danny kind of hated that he was already smiling as he followed Ghostwriter deeper into the library.

“Yeah, that might actually kind of help. I mean, not unless you’re planning to psychoanalyze me or something.” There was a quiet sound that could have been a laugh, but when Danny darted forward to see Ghostwriter’s face, all he saw was a creepily calm expression.

“I certainly have no plans to, if that reassures you. Come on. I have a reading area set up just behind the history shelves.”

“Because history puts people to sleep?” Danny felt victorious as he didn’t hear Ghostwriter say anything back. “Knew it- Oh, whoa, hey, those actually look like nice couches. The last ones were like, ugly.”

“They were certainly aged,” Ghostwriter sighed, settling down on one of the couches that looked like it could either be black or purple. Danny stopped caring about the color when he felt how soft they were, holy shit. “My brother helped me to locate some new ones. I’m not sure I like the positioning of them quite yet, but they are no doubt comfortable to work on.”

“You talk like a college professor and it’s weird. You know that, right?” Danny squirmed and wiggled around until he was tucked up in his own corner, legs dissolving into one another to form a tail that curled around itself. Danny tried not to think too hard about how he hadn’t really consciously decided to do that. “At least it’s cleaner in here. No more dust?”

“Not on this level of the library, at least,” Ghostwriter hummed, attention on his laptop even as he talked to Danny. “I believe you were about to tell me a riveting tale about all your troubles and woes of the last few weeks?”

“Nerd.” It was a bit better that Ghostwriter wasn’t looking at him, though. It somehow made it easier for Danny to tell him… everything. Technus, Valerie, the whole ordeal in space, and his powers - he told him everything he could. By the end of it he wasn’t sure if he felt better or not, but his hands weren’t shaking anymore, at least.

“I mean, it’s so stupid, you know!” Danny slumped further down on the couch, arms crossed as he glared at the ceiling. “The first girl I like never even notices me, the second girl I thought I liked turned out to just be a really good friend, and now this one is giving me up for ghost hunting.” The irony was so strong it hurt. “I have such bad luck with girls, man.”

This time Ghostwriter definitely laughed - well, it wasn’t a laugh so much as it was a snort. It was kind of funny. “Perhaps you ought to think about pursuing one who isn’t a girl, then.”

“What?” What was that supposed to mean? “What do you- Oh. Oh. Well, uh, you see, um, maybe- Oh, jeez.” That was something he had never really thought about, really? That was very not an expected topic of conversation.

Danny was saved by anymore of his stuttering speech as Ghostwriter laughed a full and loud laugh, hand clutching at his chest as he slightly bent over. Danny was pretty sure it was the first time he hadn’t seen the guy perfectly composed. “Oh, mon petit, you’re absolutely precious.”

“I- What? No? Shut up!” He wasn’t some cute, blushing girl, or whatever, and he didn’t like guys like… that. “Just- Shut up.” Ghostwriter only laughed even more, Danny tucking and curling back into his corner of the couch. There was more he wanted to tell about what had happened, and this was probably going to be the only time he’d be able to do it. Maybe he’d get lucky and Ghostwriter wouldn’t hear him over his own laughter.

“I’m afraid of how dangerous I am.” The air fell silent and still, Danny swallowing as he looked down to hide his face. A part of it was also where he didn’t want to see Ghostwriter’s pity. “I mean… You’ve seen my powers back when we fought.”

“I… was certainly surprised by some of what I saw. A lot of your powers are unique even by ghostly standards. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that sound attack you used.”

“The- Oh, yeah, the Ghostly Wail.” At the scrunched-up look that was a touch too close to judgment, Danny frowned. “Hey, I didn’t name it.” Technically, Dan named it. “Look, I just- These powers are getting more dangerous- I’m getting more dangerous. I can really hurt people. I mean I can really… really hurt people.” He’d learned that one the hard way.

“Yes. You are dangerous.” Gaze snapping up, Danny felt like his heart was in his throat as he looked at Ghostwriter’s serious expression. “You could easily kill someone with the power you have now.”

“I…” Fuck. He could, though, couldn’t he? If Valerie hadn’t been wearing that powerful suit of hers, then he could have… “What if I-”

“You never will.” The tone was absolutely certain and completely unwavering. “Oh, mon petit, you could never kill anyone.”

“You’re wrong.” Danny had seen his future, or at least, he had seen one of them. Clockwork had been careful in what Danny had seen, but he knew when he had fought Dan. He had killed people in that time. Dan may have been fused with Plasmius, as well, but his name had been Dan. It had always been Danny in control and he had turned them into a monster.

“I’m not.” Ghostwriter’s tone hadn’t wavered once. “You’re aware of how much power you have. You know you’re dangerous, and that’s why you’ll never kill anyone. Ignoring the fact that you care far too much for one so young, you gained incredible power and immediately used it protect people. You’re rather like Andrea in that regard.”

“I- What?” Soundless Clock Andrea? Why would he be Soundless Clock Andrea? “I mean, I guess I sorta can be, sometimes?”

“She never wished harm upon anyone. Until the very last, she would work to give people the chance that others never gave her. I saw the words that made up your past, Danny. I know some of what you’ve gone through, and I know that just like her, you will always fight to give people a chance they don’t deserve. You rather seem the type who fondly believes in second chances.”

Danny felt the itch and burn behind his eyes that embarrassed him more than anything Ghostwriter said. Quickly clearing his throat, Danny looked away, mumbling a quiet, “Thanks.”

“Of course. Now, I believe you mentioned something about being in space? You told me you wanted to be an astronaut, didn’t you?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, I did- I do. Sort of. Um, yeah.” Danny knew the other was giving him a distraction, but he was grateful for it anyways. “So, I already told you how I wanted to go and explore space and everything thanks to Star Gazers.”

“I do remember, yes.” Ghostwriter seemed like he was smug, but Danny wasn’t willing to put effort into figuring that one out. He was still just trying not to cry. “At least there was one good thing from that fight.”

“Sort of. I didn’t exactly get time to stick around, but it was… Oh, man. I wish you could have seen it. Like, we think we know what it’ll be like because of movies and everything, right? But I was suddenly up there and it- I was weightless, but it’s completely different compared to Ghost Zone physics.

“Ghostwriter, it was incredible. I was suddenly floating in space. Movies and books and star gazing can’t even come close to preparing you for that. Like, you don’t really think about it, but there are entire worlds out there! Earth is so big and so huge and so diverse and we’re just one planet.”

He felt almost stupid getting carried away like this, but Ghostwriter was smiling and had his complete focus on him, now. “Just- I could see the stars, Ghostwriter.” There had been whole worlds out there, just… waiting. “I could see the stars and I knew some of them were planets. There were planets that were so far away, but they were close enough that one day we might actually live on them.”

A few glimpses. He had only managed to catch a few glimpses, but for those moments the entire fight had faded away. He had forgotten about Technus and Valerie and the satellite. He had even forgotten he was Phantom. He had just been that kid who loved the stars and wanted to know what was out there.

“I saw the sun. It- I could see Earth below me and oh, man, it was just… You never realize how big it is and how small you are, but it was so incredible. I saw the Earth and behind it I saw the sun rising up and it was just…” Danny didn’t have the words to describe that image of the sun rising over the Earth as it had been doing for longer than they could comprehend.

“Beautiful.” The word was soft and quiet and as fragile as everything inside him felt, but Danny nodded and managed to give Ghostwriter a smile.

“Yeah. It was beautiful.” The word felt almost inadequate when he said it, but it was still… perfect. “It was all perfect and I’m never going to be able to see it again.”

“What do you mean?” Ghostwriter frowned, sitting up a little more, now. “You hardly seem like the type to give up on your dreams.”

“Ghostwriter, I’m…” Danny gestured down at himself. His tail was still curled up around him and his skin was glowing. “With everything that’s happened, I’ll never be able to go up on a sanctioned flight. Even if I got my grades up, which, yeah, fat chance of that, the physicals would show that I’m not normal.”

Maybe he could have gotten his grades up, but there was no faking lab results with NASA. “They’ll never send a ghost up into space, but…” Danny bit his lip, trying to hold the words in. He had already unloaded so much baggage onto Ghostwriter. He didn’t need anymore.

“But?” Ghostwriter had a small little smile, tilting his head and looking like he honestly cared about what Danny was going to say.

“But the Ghost Zone is kind of like my space.” The words were out of him before he could stop them, and after that he knew there was no stopping it. “I mean- We’re in another world right now. This is a new world.” The Ghost Zone had been so goddamn terrifying at first, but whenever he remembered that this was a place humans had never explored, how could he not be amazed? It was a new world he was allowed to explore.

“I mean, it doesn’t really hit sometimes, does it?” This was a place where ghosts lived. That was- It was so cool. “This world is so completely different from our own. It’s- Isn’t that just amazing? This is a world that you guys probably don’t even know that well, yet.”

Just the fact that there were ghosts who could control time was amazing in of itself, but along with everything else in the Ghost Zone? This was a world he could explore, and no one would be able to stop him or say he wasn’t fit for it. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m still trying to get control of my powers and everything, but one day I’d just… I’d love to see what else is in this world.”

“Oh, mon petit.” Ghostwriter’s voice was hushed, and Danny immediately felt his entire body flash with heat as his heart sped up again. God, he had been so- He had gotten so caught up and he had forgotten he was talking to a guy he barely even knew. “You really do love all of this, don’t you?”

“Sorry- Sorry. That was probably pretty boring listening to me ramble like that, huh?” Rubbing at the back of his neck and trying to not just run away like he really, really wanted to, Danny forced himself to meet Ghostwriter’s gaze and grin. “There’s not really anyone else I can talk about this with.”

“I’ve been known rather well for my ability to keep secrets,” Ghostwriter said quietly, a laugh in his words. Danny let himself really focus on him, noticing the smile. “Keeping yours won’t be too much trouble.”

“I…” God. Now Danny felt really guilty about destroying that first book, considering how amazing Ghostwriter was being. “What’s those words mean? The ones you keep saying?”

“You might have to narrow it down as there are quite a few words in the English language.” He took it all back. Ghostwriter was a jerk.

“Pretty sure the words weren’t English.” Danny watched as Ghostwriter frowned before he blinked and his face loosened up.

“Oh! Mon petit, you mean?” Ghostwriter gave an amused little smirk that was equal parts confusing and annoying. “It’s French.”

“You’re French?” Ghosts could be French? Well, actually, yeah, that kind of made sense, but it was hardly Danny’s fault that he kept running into American ghosts. Probably American ghosts? Actually, Technus had a pretty weird accent.

“I used to be.” Startling at the tone more than the words, Danny frowned as he noticed the look on Ghostwriter’s face. It… wasn’t a bad look, but Danny knew the expression secrets caused. “We should make an adventure out of it.”

“Wait, what?” Back up, hold on, Danny had been having a revelation, and suddenly Ghostwriter was talking about adventures? “I’m not Winnie the Pooh, here.”

“Oh, hush. I merely meant that we could make an adventure out of exploring the Ghost Zone. My brother, Randy, he likes to explore this world, and he knows of the more, hm, interesting parts of the Ghost Zone. His adventures tend to make for excellent novel inspiration and I’ve been on one or two of them myself. They’re a great chance to relax and experience something new and-”

“Yeah.” The word was more like a quiet breath than anything, but Ghostwriter still stopped and looked back at him. “The exploring thing? Yeah.” Danny knew he could maybe one day make friends with the ghosts, but he hadn’t expected to have a friend that was a ghost. It wasn’t all that bad. “That sounds great, Ghostwriter.”

“I’m glad.” With that, Ghostwriter was launching into describing whatever book he had been reading, Danny fighting off a laugh as he nodded and began to listen. His last few weeks may have been hell, but just sitting here in a place where he knew no one would find him? That… That was way better than talking to Jazz and having his thoughts and reactions picked at.

Damn. He really would have to thank Clockwork and suffer through an ‘I told you so’ look. Silently watching Ghostwriter flap his hands about and talk even faster, though, Danny decided that would be a fair price for a new friend.

#danny phantom #guardians series #from the beginning #ftb chapters #iambic prose

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confess-tourabu · 6 years

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This month’s poll was a bit different since the blog’s 1 year anniversary is today. It was aimed at finding out what you all think of the blog to see if there’s anything that I should improve on or keep the same. This month 33 people took part in the poll. As always the results are below the cut.

Not all questions in this month’s poll are below due to some being based on comments. A response to all the comments and suggestions is at the bottom of the post.

Would you like to see something done to celebrate the blog's anniversary?

Yes, it'd be fun! - 10 Yes, if you have time. - 21 No, just keep posting confessions. - 2

Is 3 confessions a day okay or would you like to see more?

3 is good - 25 5 would be better - 4

4 people commented in other that they’re fine with either or even if I only do 1 or 2 a day and for me to take care of myself. Thankyou for your really sweet comments!

Do you like the monthly polls?

Yes, I take part in them. - 22 Yes but I don't take part in them. - 1 I like them but I only sometimes take part in them. - 10 No, I don't like them at all. - 0

Do you like the Tourabu Fanblogs page?

Yes but it needs more blogs. - 9 Yes, it's fine as it is. - 11 I didn't know about it. - 10 No, it's pointless. - 2

Does it bother you when I reply to your replies on posts?

Yes, I don't like seeing my username on the blog. - 0 Yes, it's annoying. - 0 No, I like that you reply to us. - 19 No, it's fun talking to you. - 12

Thankyou to everyone who took part in the poll and to everyone who left comments and suggestions. They are all very much appreciated. I got some interesting suggestions for what to do for the blog’s anniversary. Some were funny too (I’m not sure I can write a 3 page essay but I like the idea haha.). Although a lot of you said you’d like to see something done for the anniversary but didn’t have any ideas for it either haha. That’s fine too!

I’m not very creative and since I haven’t run a blog this long before, that was why I asked for everyone’s suggestions. I like the suggestion to do something to show appreciation for Tourabu and meet other fans but I’m really not sure how to do this, sorry. The most popular suggestion was for compilations of the most popular confessions and my favorite confessions. Although my drawing skills really suck the suggestion to draw some confessions that I have is interesting. I don’t actually know where I put my drawing tablet though so I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to do this. For now, I will do the compilation posts and if I can find my tablet and have time I might try drawing some confessions if you guys don’t mind my bad art (I haven’t tried to draw anything in yearsssss).

As for improvements to the blog, thankyou for everyone who sent in comments about this too. They are also appreciated. I can see some people want to see less NSFW confessions or none at all, I will cover this in a separate post. Themed confessions was quite a popular suggestion too, I’m not entirely sure if it will work but I’ll give it a go next month for Halloween and if it goes well I might continue to do it for future events like that.

Please note, I didn’t comment on everyone’s suggestions above but I did read, enjoy and consider all of them!

To all you sweet Anons who are worried about me, I promise to do my best to look after myself, I think I did pretty well on that this year, much better than I did last year at least. I hope you’re all looking after yourselves too! ヾ(＾∇＾)

Thankyou again to everyone who took part in this month’s poll and left their suggestions or comments. You guys are all very sweet! (≧∇≦)/ Your comments and suggestions all made me very happy. It’s not just limited to this poll though, if you ever have any suggestions or just want to chat you can always send them to the confession box (marked as Not a Confession or NAC).

Thankyou everyone!

#Poll Results #Anniversary

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crownoyami · 5 years

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Chapter 7 - Archangel

Title: Archangel

Pairing: Gabriel/Sam Rating: E Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Warnings/Tags: Drinking, Frottage, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Killing, Hitman Gabriel, Feet, Switching, Bottom Gabriel, Bottom Sam, Top Gabriel (Supernatural), Top Sam Winchester, Rimming, Oral Sex, Public Display of Affection, Rough Sex, Marking, Violence, Minor Character Death, Mentions of Rape, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting

Summary: Secrets had a way of being discovered. For hitman Gabriel, his biggest secret may just cost him the only person he ever loved.

AO3 Link To Story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16273952/chapters/38720678

Author’s Note: The dates have been posted for the Reverse J2 Big Bang! Since I have three and am posting a full story once a week starting the 17th I plan on finishing up this one before then. For this month the only posts will be this story, 3 Reverse J2 stories and my Gabriel Monthly Challenge (which I still have to write). I’ve been keeping on track with NaNoWriMo (have you?) so I should be able to find some time next month to either A) Write a new Story B) Do 12 drabbles or C) Finish a WIP (There is a poll on my Twitter which is closing soon if you wanna cast your vote).

**This has been edited by Gamermom

Chapter 7

As Gabriel continued to drive toward the location sent to his phone from Charlie he couldn’t help but sigh. Turning off his com, he looked at the long stretch of road in front of him. It would be another three hours before he arrived at the location and met up with Balthazar. Absently Gabriel thought it was funny how he had avoided inviting the other man to the BBQ and now here he was meeting with him.

The BBQ that ruined his relationship. Brushing the thought aside, Gabriel continued to drive, using every bit of his training to block out the thoughts circling in his head. It didn’t work. All he could think about was Sam, and how the taller man hadn’t been able to even look at him as he left. Sure, Sam had watched but he was closed off, shielding himself from Gabriel, and sadly that was all Gabriel needed to see to know how this was going to end. Giving Sam the house was the right move, it had taken most of his savings to have it built and the security installed, but Sam deserved it.

He could always save up again, in another ten years or so he would have to retire; while he wouldn’t be able to afford the house he was giving away again he would be able to make a home eventually. Although it was only for a brief time, Sam had made Gabriel feel like he could have a home, that he was home when with the other man. Giving him the house was Gabriel’s way of saying thank you, of trying to repair at least some of the damage he caused by sticking around.

Eventually, Sam’s memory of him would fade and he could create a new life from his old one. Gabriel’s heart hurt at the thought of Sam moving on, the taller man was probably going to try and forget that Gabriel even existed once this was over, and Gabriel would try to do the same. Only, assassin knew he would never be able to forget the one man who made him feel human again, the one who -despite it being a horrible idea- Gabriel had fallen helplessly in love with, in a few short months.

Sighing, Gabriel let his mind wander while maintaining most of his focus on the road. It would be a long drive, he could afford a few moments of dreaming about a future that was lost to him now.

*~*~*~*

Finding Balthazar was easy. While they were supposed to remain invisible, Balthazar preferred to do so in plain sight. Gabriel had wasted no time in parking his car and walking into the small restaurant where Balthazar was seated next to the window. It was a dangerous move since they knew someone was targeting them, but also gave some level of protection considering the bystanders around. Slipping into the seat across from his friend, Gabriel tapped his com on discreetly, so Charlie could listen in.

“Good afternoon, boy you sure can make good time I wasn’t expecting you for another half hour at the earliest.” Spoke Balthazar his blue eyes never leaving the paper in front of him. Gabriel meanwhile couldn’t help but notice the slight bags under Balthazar’s eyes and the way his shoulders were tense against the worn upholstery of the booth they were sitting in.

“I figured I needed to see you sooner rather than later. No reason to delay the drive.” While he was speaking casually, Gabriel could tell something was off about Balthazar. The older man was one who was never tense, not even while working. On the rare cases where they had been paired up, Gabriel had seen the man crawl his way out of impossible situations, even once having been captured by a mob and still, he never looked at tense as he did now.

Balthazar thanked the waitress who made her way over and refilled his coffee before asking Gabriel if he wanted anything. Politely declining, Gabriel turned to his friend once the waitress was gone and wondered what he was missing.

“They got to Hannah,” Balthazar said softly, his tone remaining neutral though there was a slight tremor in his hand when he lifted the cup to his lips. Startled, Gabriel sat back, wishing he had taken the waitress up on her offer even just so he would have something to do with his hands.

Hannah had been with Balthazar at the very beginning of his career. Though the two didn’t often see each other, there was a bond between a field agent and handler, one that went down to their very foundation. To have Hannah killed, someone who should have been safe for her line of work, would have cut Balthazar far deeper than Gabriel could imagine.

“I don’t know who it did, there wasn’t much left… but it was professional. She had just given me the location for our little get together before it happened, I couldn’t hear anything; of course, she turned off her com as soon as the intel was passed. The only reason I knew was because I tend to send half hour updates and after the first one went unanswered I made my way to her place.”

Balthazar paused for a second and took another sip of his coffee. “I don’t know if they knew we’re no longer in the dark or not but they’re moving fast and are cleaning house. I thought it was only us in danger, if they’re going after our handlers it must be something larger than either of us, mate. You sure we shouldn’t just pack up and head across the pond?”

It was unlike Balthazar to want to run, though Gabriel could understand with Hannah’s death why he would want to. If a field agent went missing it was nothing, they were essentially ghosts as it were. Handlers were different, they had families and friendships outside of work. While they had to keep odd hours, it was easily explained and in general, they could live a normal life. You always knew in the back of your head that a field agent could be killed at any moment, it was not the same when it came to their handlers. Gabriel didn’t know what he would do if he lost Charlie.

“You and I both know that stopped being an option when the list was released. If we work quickly we might be able to stop this before it goes any farther. I have an address where we believe Kali and Crowley are being held, if these people are smart they haven’t killed them yet. Are you in?”

Gabriel waited for Balthazar to answer, his friend was hurting and while Gabriel wanted nothing more than to comfort the other man it wouldn’t be accepted. Instead, he watched as Balthazar nodded his head and set a few bills down to cover the cost of his coffee and tip the waitress who hadn’t come to bother them or usher them out. Standing, Gabriel made his way outside the building, unsurprised when Balthazar followed behind him into his car.

They had work to do.

*~*~*~*~

Getting inside the building had been the easy part. While it was well guarded, the warehouse wasn’t impenetrable. It had taken stealth and skill; however, Gabriel was inside the building with Balthazar covering the exit. Even finding the two captives hadn’t been overly hard, while Charlie couldn’t get a blueprint of the warehouse it was designed the same as some Gabriel had seen before and five minutes into the mission he found their holding cell. It was nothing more than a damaged room, the walls damp and leaving a chill in the air Gabriel could feel through his layers let alone how the two captives must have felt in the rags they were wearing.

Kali was the worse off, though Crowley was hanging slightly by his arms which were shackled to the ceiling. Unlike Kali, he still had most of his clothing on. It didn’t take but a moment for Gabriel to realize what had happened to his former lover. Kali’s dress was in tatters; the red fabric covering a bit of her stomach, shoulders, and back. The bottom was torn above her crotch and there was nothing covering her breasts. From the dirt and blood, Gabriel could see along her thighs, hips and back, along with other stains painting her skin Gabriel had little doubt as to how they thought they would break her.

Pulling off his coat, Gabriel risked having his weapons exposed while he made his way to the woman who was laying on the filthy floor. There were chains around her wrists, so she couldn’t leave, but unlike Crowley who had no length of chain to work with, she was free to move, most likely so it would be easier for her captors to access her. Once he was close, Kali jerked, moaning slightly in pain before she opened her eyes. The second she saw who was coming for her, Kali relaxed.

“I thought you would never get here, what took you so long?” she asked with a small smile on her face through her broken and bloody lips. Gabriel crouched down and wrapped his jacket around her before pulling out his lock pick and starting to work on her chains. When the cuffs were snapped open she jerked her arms until the shackles were no longer touching her skin, easily pulling the jacket on to cover herself. It didn’t cover her completely, but it did just manage to lay a couple inches below her ass.

“I had a visitor at my house, took me a while to calm everyone down and get things organized. Bal is covering the exit for us; do you think you can stand?” Instead of answering, Kali glared at Gabriel before rising to her bare feet. It was causing her obvious pain by the way she was grinding her teeth, but Gabriel didn’t have time to coddle her, they needed to move. Crowley had woken up during the exchange and was waiting impatiently as Gabriel made his way over and released him as well.

Once both prisoners were free from the chains, Gabriel waited for the all-clear from Balthazar. He was to cause a distraction at the side of the building so Gabriel could usher the two out. The second Gabriel heard the explosion, he moved. With one arm around Kali and the other on his gun, Gabriel guided the two toward where he had planned to escape. Crowley kept up behind him, limping but not saying a word while they silently made their way.

“It’s just around the corner, then we should have some cover once we’re outside.” Looking down the hallway they would need to exit, Gabriel silently cursed when he saw three men standing there. He knew one of them, someone he had seen from time to time in passing. Closing his eyes, Gabriel looked to the two he was responsible for, while both Crowley and Kali could hold their own on normal terms this wasn’t normal. They needed him, even if he gave them a gun there was no way either was in prime condition to fight should things go wrong.

“Stay here a second, would you?” asked Gabriel while screwing the silencer on his gun. “There are three guards, Uriel is one of them.” Glancing at Crowley who growled slightly in response, Gabriel saw the answer to his unasked question in the other’s eyes. Stepping around the corner Gabriel didn’t hesitate to line up his shot and pull the trigger. The silencer didn’t block all the sound, but it was enough not to alert anyone else in the area.

Three shots each, two in the chest and one in the head. Gabriel barely registered the sight of blood staining the floor and walls. While Uriel had tried to react, Gabriel had made certain his fellow agent was dead before moving on to the others. Waving his hand behind him, Gabriel covered Kali and Crowley while stepping over the bodies of people he had once known and opening the door that led to their freedom.

P.S. If you want to keep up to date on my writing add me to Facebook, Tumbler, Twitter or Instagram as CrowNoYami ;-) Also, if you want to see what I’m reading (I always review so you know what you’re getting into) I’m on Goodreads as well, the same name as always.

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cassh24sg · 3 years

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Americans’ Biggest Financial Regrets of the Decade

The old adage often sounds true – in hindsight it is 2020. Everyone makes mistakes, and many of those mistakes involve money. Many financial decisions may seem like a good idea right now, but a few weeks, months, or even years later you realize that they weren’t the best choice.

Small Business Spotlight 2021: Take a look at our Small Business Stories and the nominated companies in your area

A 2019 poll by Policygenius reveals Americans’ biggest financial regrets of the decade. If you’ve ever made a major purchase that you regret or decided to spend money when you should have saved – admit it – you are not alone.

The good news is that financial mishaps can be corrected. If you are ready to make meaningful changes, you can break out of an uncomfortable financial situation. This can come with hard sacrifices and / or overtime, but it will be worth it in the end.

Here’s a look at key financial regrets, along with advice to help make the problem a thing of the past.

Last updated: June 29, 2021

Tallinn, Estonia – September 24, 2014: Visa and Mastercard credit cards with the leather wallet in the background.

1. Credit card debt

Credit card debt can creep in easily. Whether you have to wipe away the plastic to pay for an unscheduled expense or let yourself be tempted by something funny – e.g.

A quarter (25.1%) of people age 35 and older say they have credit card debt as their biggest regret of the decade. 21.5% of 18 to 34 year olds who share this opinion are slightly lower.

Find Out: 31 Stupid Things That Keep You From Getting Rich

Overhead view of stressed woman trying to find money to pay off credit card debt.

How to Address Credit Card Debt

When you have credit card debt, you are in good company. Consumer credit card debt hit a record high of $ 829 billion in 2019, according to Experian. In addition, retail credit card debt was a record $ 90 billion.

Now is the time to stop being burdened with credit card debt. When you’re ready to take action, add up all of your balances so you know where you stand. Then decide whether you want to take the avalanche approach – pay the cards with the highest interest first – or the snowball approach – pay the lowest balance first.

The story goes on

Take a look at your spending to find ways to tighten your budget so that you have extra cash to pay off credit card debt. You might even consider using cash only for a while to keep your balance low.

Read more: 36 things that are worth the money

Graduation Mortar Board Cap on One Hundred Dollar Bills Concept for the cost of a college and university education.

2. Debt on student loan

For millions of Americans, taking out student loans is a necessary evil. Essentially, if you want to make top dollar in the workforce, you have to spend money to graduate. Some students can avoid or at least contain this with scholarships and family financial support. Others, however, have the burden on their shoulders for years after graduation.

Overall, 22.7% of 18- to 34-year-olds very much regret their student loan debts. Interestingly, only 12.1% of people aged 35 and over feel the same way.

Find out: Biden wants to close Schufa – what would that mean for you?

Young businessman sitting at the table in office and using smartphone.

How to Get Rid of Your Student Loan Debt

For students who have borrowed money, the average student loan debt is $ 30,000, according to US News.

Start paying off your debt by doing an inventory of the different loan types to see which are the most expensive. You might also consider consolidating certain loans, making bi-weekly payments to lower interest rates, and signing up for automatic payments – which can lower your interest rate by 0.25%.

Also, if you can swing it, try paying a little more each month. For example, Sallie Mae notes that with a current loan balance of $ 10,000, at 8% interest and a 10 year repayment period, an additional $ 20 per month will save you $ 983.15 and your loan in eight years and a month.

Get Help Save: 14 Totally Free, Easy-to-Use Budget Templates

Jar with coins

3. Not saving enough for retirement

When you first start your career, retirement can seem so far away that it is easy to put off planning for it. However, failure to save for your golden years can lead to regrets.

For example, 18.2% of people age 35 and over name retirement delaying as their biggest financial mishap. Of the 18 to 34 year olds, 11.7% share this opinion. The lower response from the latter could suggest that more people have started saving for retirement, but it’s also likely they aren’t as concerned just yet because retirement is so far away.

See: Pensioners confess what they would have liked to have done with their money

couple saves money

This will save you more for retirement

Fidelity recommends saving at least 15% of your pre-tax income each year for retirement. This includes any contributions you get from your employer, which can make a world of difference. For example, if your employer pays up to 6% of your contributions, you would only have to save 9% of your input tax income each year.

If this number seems overwhelming, start slowly. Review your expenses to look for expenses that can be cut. For example, start making your morning coffee at home every day and put the money you save in your retirement account. A few small changes can make a big difference.

Bad Credit: 30 Things You Can Do That Can Mess With Your Credit

Young couple buying a new house.

4. Buy a house

Owning a home is a symbol of the American dream, but it’s not always a happy ending. Many homeowners move in and quickly find that mortgages, taxes, maintenance, and other expenses add up quickly – sometimes too quickly.

As a result, 8.1% of 18- to 34-year-olds regret the excessively high spending on home ownership the most this decade. A little less 7.2% of 35 year olds and older are of the opinion that their current living situation is too expensive for their budget.

Tax season: the 6 most important tax deductions you need to claim

Real estate agent talking to young couple about buying a new house

This is how you solve your housing problem

When you first bought your home, you thought the monthly expenses associated with it were reasonable. However, things have changed. Whether you’ve lost your job, taken a cut in your salary, or just found that owning a home is way more expensive than planned, you know you’re overwhelmed.

There are a number of steps you can take to resolve this issue. You can refinance your mortgage, take on a tenant, or get some extra income. However, you could also decide it is time to throw in the towel and sell the house.

The latter option could pay off as it is currently a seller’s market. According to Realtor.com, the average home price was up nearly 15% year over year in September 2020.

senior woman putting coin in piggy bank.

5. Lack of emergency savings

Among many other lessons, the economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis have underscored the importance of a solid emergency savings fund. Unfortunately, millions of Americans who have lost their jobs or been forced to cut wages did not have this financial cushion to fall back on.

Although this survey was conducted before the pandemic, people in both age groups understood the importance of having that cash on hand. Almost a fifth (19.3%) of people aged 35 and over said their biggest financial regret was the lack of emergency savings, followed by 17.3% of 18 to 34 year olds.

Find out: that’s how much emergency cash you need stowed away

Shot of an elderly couple proudly posing with their savings glass.

How to fix your lack of emergency savings

Life is unpredictable so you never know when you will need money fast. An unplanned doctor visit, home repair, or job loss can easily cause major financial setbacks. Experts therefore recommend investing expenses of at least three to six months in an emergency fund.

If you do not currently have an emergency fund or if you lack the necessary funds, don’t panic. Start working now to put money aside for a rainy day. Do this by cutting unnecessary expenses – ordering less take-out – pursuing money-saving opportunities – cutting out grocery sales and coupons – and taking on a side job to make extra cash.

More from GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Americans’ Biggest Financial Regrets of the Decade

source https://www.cassh24sg.com/2021/06/29/americans-biggest-financial-regrets-of-the-decade/

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freelancershubseo-blog · 3 years

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Social Media Marketing Secrets for a Fast Growing Business Promotion

Is your Business in Social Media? If yes, that is awesome. However, if not, you are missing an inexpensive and effective marketing tool. When around 70% of the internet users wander in Social Media, there is no way you wanted to miss them. Get this digital communication platform to boost your business.

Social Media Marketing is essential for Business

Either a Big Corporation or a Small Startup, Social Media is extremely valuable. Moreover, connecting with customer in social media has a direct impact on sales. Therefore, to thrive in any business, you have to implement the techniques of Social Media Marketing.

Why is Social Media for a Business so important?

Well, it communicates directly with the customers. We all know that Communication is the Magic Wand of the current business world. It can do more wonders than the Sorcerers in the Harry Potter books can.

When a customer connects with the brands in Social Media, it creates a unique relationship. Recent studies on social media sales found that around 58% of customers are more likely to buy a brand if they follow that brand on social media. Engaging customer in social media is challenging. However, it is more puzzling to maintain engagement. An efficient social media business manager will be handy in this situation.

Big corporations have dedicated social media sections. They can assess the social media business impact and react to it. However, social media for small business is crucial, as they do not have the luxury of a dedicated section. In contrast, the marketing team is in charge of everything. Therefore, they have to be the jack of all trade. In this situation, any incident of sub-standard customer experience in Social Media will spread like wildfire. Despite some significant advantages, this is the most significant social media business risk.

How can you make people spend on your products or services through Social Media?

Communication is the key here again. If you can maintain an engaging relationship, 71% of the buyer is more likely to purchase again. The alliance includes but not limited to responses, review, and rewards. Around 48% purchase is prompt by Responses, whereas 46% depends on Promotional Offers. Moreover, being funny on the Social Media impact on 36% of the customers. How interesting is that?

Set your Social Media goals first

Using social media without goals will be like driving a boat without a compass. In both cases, you will lose the destination. If you do not set up your target first, using social media for business promotion will be a daunting task. Every business has some specific goal to achieve. However, if you can answer the following questions, you can get a clear idea about your expectations from Social Media.

What do you want to achieve through Social Media for your Business?

Whom do you want to target?

On which Social Media platform, your target audience hangs out most.

What content do you want to deliver to your audience through Social Media?

The Funnel will aid to choose

The Buyers Journey from Awareness to Advocacy shapes like a funnel. The whole process aims to aware the customer about the brand, make him/her Consider about the purchase, enforces the Decision to purchase, and finally Adopt the customer with the Brand.

Your Social Media goals should be chosen based on your Business’s position in the funnel. The further you go down in the funnel, the more communicative and engaging you to have to be. Responsive and robust communication will ensure more conversion across the funnel.

However, you have to be watchful about Social Media publishes. Around 46% of the social media followers unfollow a Brand when they found the posts are ‘Too Promotional.’ Therefore, you have to maintain a delicate balance between Publicity and Personalization.

Not all Social Media is equally effective in every step of the Funnel. Around 30% of the well-informed audience unfollows a specific business when they found too many Tweets. Thus, choosing the right Media is also vital, and you will get some professional tips on selecting the perfect Social media later in this article.

Your Peers will provide the guidelines

We learn from others. It could be an instructor, friend, or colleague. In the same way, we can learn about Social Marketing Goals from our business peers. What other peoples from the same business are doing will provide vital clues.

If you are struggling with the use of social media for business use, other people are going through the same. You need to figure out their way of getting out of that issue. Additionally, you can always improvise with your techniques and observations.

The three most common problem business owner’s deals about social media marketing are

Brand Awareness Enhancement

Enrich Community Engagement

Increase Organic Web Traffic

Are you dealing with any or all of the issues? If yes, you have to keep an eye on the market to understand how people are coping with those.

Specific Industry has Particular Goals

A teacher and a real estate, both have individual goals. However, they are not the same. A teacher will aim for maximum passing with good grades. However, a real estate agent will keep an eye on the number of deals closed and obviously commission. Every industry anticipates profits, however, in different ways.

Your industry will devise your goals. Therefore, you need to know your market, customers, current marketing strategy, and competitors. Unless you know where your opponents are, how can you expect to reach there?

Choose the best Social Media Platform for your Business

The Digital World has no shortages of Social Media platforms. However, not all of them are as effective as

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

However, not all of them are equally effective for all business. Besides, some of them can provide counter-productive results. Therefore, let us review the suitability of each of the media on different business scenarios.

Facebook

Despite the recent data breach and other issues, Facebook is still the most popular Social Media platform. It has a casual and friendly environment. People come here for a relaxing time with online friends. Therefore, your approach to using Facebook for Business promotion needs light but a well-planned marketing strategy.

You can share photos, videos, and essential updates. Moreover, if you have a business account, it provides access to the analytical and advertising tools of Facebook. The business pages on Facebook need an interactive layout. This is the first thing your customer will see, and we all know the importance of a first visual impression.

A business Facebook page will have all the details about the organization. The information includes but not limited to, contact details, hours of operations, services and products, and business type. A well-organized page will attract more traffic to your business.

Do not expect a whole lot of organic traffic through Facebook Ads. You need a cost-effective ad strategy for a Facebook page that will ensure your online presence with minimum expenses.

Twitter

Twitter is ideal for short updates. Therefore, if your business has not many visual components, it is not the right choice for you. In contrast, if you have blogs and other visual updates, Twitter will work as a magic for you. This platform has all the capacities to post short updates, video, images, links, and even polls.

One of the best things about Twitter is its interactive nature. It can work as a direct communication platform with followers of cum customers. One-to-one communication with customers on Twitter is one of the best examples of social media for business promotion. Despite the lack of visual components, fast food chain Wendy’s used this platform exceptionally well. The secret is they remodeled their contents for Twitter.

You can extract the maximum benefits of Twitter if you have some exciting contents. When your followers retweet, it will go viral. Moreover, the hashtag will boost the posts. Nevertheless, try to avoid excessive twitting. Around 30% of the followers will unfollow if they found you twitting too much.

It is a ‘visual-oriented’ platform. Therefore, it is evident that you need a lot of visual content for an active presence on Pinterest. Businesses like Fashion, Beauty, Exercise, Food, and Photography are the most popular categories in this platform. Other businesses have some great opportunities too; however, not the same as the previous ones.

This is one of the newest but fastest growing platforms. Followers here can pin their favorite contents in the digital bulletin board. For specific interest, followers can create individual boards for pinning. Thus, if you are a food enthusiast, all your food pins will be organized under the food board. How easy is that?

Few Social Media studies show Female are the majority of Pinterest followers. Thus, you need a specially designed, content marketing strategy for Pinterest.

This is not a typical Social Media platform. Instead, LinkedIn is more appropriate for professional networking. Despite its formal nature, 260 million people use it monthly. Can you imagine how much impact it can make on your business?

Profiles in LinkedIn are more like resumes. Therefore, if you are a professional talent, it will be the best place to display your skills. Additionally, an organization page can advertise their products and services along with job postings. As it is the platform of professionals, the contents are more technical and industry-specific.

This professional platform has numerous industry-specific groups. People share, ask, or answers industry-specific queries in these groups.

If you have a more technical business that required specific skills, LinkedIn will be one of your best choices.

YouTube

This is the most popular video sharing platform. Here people upload, share, like, or subscribe to a video or video channel. Most of the YouTube videos are recreational; however; businesses use this platform to upload instructional and informative videos.

Businesses are not always directly related to YouTube unless you tailor creative content linked to your business. There is a culture of YouTuber. These video publishers will promote your products or services if they like it. In this way, both the video publisher and your products are getting vast attention from the followers.

You can use this platform directly with delicately prepared, creative content, or if your products have big fan followers. Either way, you will get the benefits of visual engagement.

Social Media Marketing Tips

Look for new opportunities in Social Media

Social Media is like an undiscovered gold mine. You will not realize its potential unless you start to dig. People visit and hang out here with a diverse approach. You have to figure out the right keyword to connect with your target audience.

Identify and learn about the social audience

‘Know thy audience’ should be the next line after ‘Know thyself.’ You may have an idea about your audience; however; using a social media tool will provide a clear picture.

Do not only build a relationship but be engaged

More than half of the visitors that reach out for a Brand are seeking answers. They may have specific questions in mind or try to figure out their queries.

Therefore, you need to communicate with them in an engaging way to provide the answers.

Maintain a Social Media Content calendar

Random and unrelated post has counter-productive effects. Therefore, you need to make an advance plan on when and what content to post in social media.

Search for the best hashtag

Hashtags can enormously increase the reach. However, you have to pick the appropriate hashtag that relates your business. If you have a retail shop, using Holiday related hashtags would boost your posts.

Go for brilliant visuals

If you want to attract the audience at first glance, post an eye-catching visual. While creating the visuals, make sure you use the colors that effect on the human mind.

Make Creative and Informative videos

None of us has time to watch long videos. Most of the time, people watch videos while on the commute or during a short break. Therefore, you have to catch the attention within the first few seconds.

Business promotion using social media is the most effective ways to reach your audience. It builds and engaging communications with the people who follow your business. Thus, if you want to bring your services and products to people, maintain a well-devised Social Media marketing strategy.

Originally posted in: https://freelancers-hub.com/never-ever-ignore-these-social-media-secrets-for-a-fast-and-regular-business-promotion/

#social media marketing #SMM

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hyperlamb · 6 years

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Music x Comic Adventures

Hi! I'm a musician and illustrator called HYPERLAMB. I make compositions spanning genres like synth pop, afro beat, samba, kawaii and electronica. My beats are always full and fun and my melodies are always singable and adventurous. I've been working as a musician, songwriter arranger, and band leader for most of my life, but it has always fit into the heartfelt gaps outside of an unrelated day job. That has not stopped me from releasing one or two brand new compositions per month! :D My vision on Patreon is to further an ongoing project wherein I will create both monthly music and a monthly comic series. Every new composition will have a comic that is tied to it in theme. Essentially, I will be creating an adventurous soundscape and a visual short story slice. Both the comic and the music will blend into one ongoing experience, slowly building the tone and details of a world. Instead of writing one gigantic space opera, I will be world building with one heartfelt, scary, funny, or charming story at a time. I won’t be doing this alone. I want to do it with you. From the very first reward level my fellow adventurers are welcomed warmly into the process through discussion and voting in polls. In other words: This is going to be a LOT of Fun! :D Hoping to create with you soon! XO HYPERLAMB PS > I have never been opposed to hard work. I lOVE hard work. I love being productive and prolific. For me, Patreon is not about escaping hard work, but it is about facilitating a situation that let's me constantly work hard on the wonderful musical and visual art that I have inside me. With family life and a day job there is not much time left for HYPERLAMB. I would love to make lots and lots of time for art that brings joy, anticipation, warmth and excitement to the whole world.

#musician #original music #comic artist #creator #illustrator #patreon #art #passion #synthpop #kawaii #kawaii music #kawaii pop #world music #afrobeat #HYPERLAMB #exciting #creative

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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Mystery Box of Misery Volume 1: Boy Meets Misery

They're the Part 2 of 3 you receive when both bookends are out of print. They’re the discs marked down to $1 during clearance and holiday sales. They're fodder for Ani-Gamers’ new Mystery Box of Misery column, which will appear monthly with three short, context-free reviews of as many blind-box items. Want to join in on the fun? Ani-Gamers Patreon supporters vote via poll to determine who reviews which title. Join us!

Tenchi in Tokyo (Episodes 1–4)

The last time I watched any Tenchi Muyo, I was probably about 12 years old and tuning into Toonami, where multiple versions of the harem franchise aired in English. I don’t think I understood the appeal at the time. ”One guy living with a bunch of anime girls? Who would want that?!” I dreaded watching this DVD nearly as much as our podcast editor, Patrick, relished the fact that I had to watch it.

Thus it brings me no pleasure to report that I enjoyed watching these four episodes. I expected offensive amounts of fanservice, but what I got was a surprisingly funny action-comedy about a bunch of goofy, obnoxious girls and the incredibly dull boy they like for some reason. That’s the trick to a decent harem anime; the girls are the stars of the show, so they’d better have as much personality as the writers can pack into each scene. In the spirit of the column, I didn’t do any research on this so who knows how this plays into Tenchi lore. I just enjoyed watching a few extremely silly comedy vignettes.

Since you’re all going to ask for the best girl: I vaguely remember thinking Washu was cool, and this watch confirms my suspicions. She’s the only one of the main girls who isn’t constantly fawning over Tenchi. Also she’s a mad scientist and mischievous shithead, so thumbs up from me.

Appleseed (2004)

This is one I’ve actually seen before! Thanks to the Mystery Box of Misery, however, I can now replace my basic Appleseed DVD with a nice steelbook … though I’m still not exactly the biggest fan of this movie.

The 2004 Appleseed movie (not to be confused with the 1988 OVA) was patient zero for Shinji Aramaki’s slate of all-CG productions, which now include the likes of Captain Harlock, Ultraman, and Ghost in the Shell. Like most of his modern work, the movie is a mixed bag both in terms of animation and storytelling. Time has not been kind to the 3-D animation, which was impressive in 2004 but now looks like a floaty video game cutscene. I’ve always found its mix of toon shaders and reflective surfaces interesting. By contrast, modern CG anime often goes all-in on toon shaders. Unfortunately Appleseed’s half-anime/half-realistic style only gels in a handful of scenes. The story is overburdened with exposition, talking-head dialogue, and Oshii-esque philosophizing, but some of the more intimate character scenes work nicely. That’s because they’re the few times when Aramaki puts down his fancy new CG toys and shoots a scene conservatively.

Despite all that, the action scenes are fun and well-paced, and most importantly: Deunan Knute and her cyborg boyfriend Briareos make a cute couple. I actually had a good time with this one too.

The Melody of Oblivion Episodes 17–20

Maybe you’ve heard of this show? Perhaps you’ve heard of one particular scene?

In a bit of good luck for me and bad luck for whoever tried to ruin my day by voting for this show, I missed the infamous cowgirl milking scene by two episodes. That didn’t spare me, however, the experience of watching four episodes of The Melody of Oblivion.

I cannot tell you what this show is about. There are a bunch of kids who shoot arrows and ride motorcycles that are also horses that are also robots that are also boys. The villains are part of the Monster Union (presumably not the good kind of union) and have names like Sir Child Dragon and Millionaire Beaver. I have to assume these things make some amount of sense when you’re not airdropped into the last half of the story.

The only thing I remotely appreciate is a strained romantic subplot between the main boy and girl characters. Any goodwill from that is, of course, blown away by the show’s creepy fanservice. When boys shoot arrows, we get a montage of revving engines on horse-robot-bikes. When girls do it, the rebound bumps into their boobs and makes them cry out in a faux-orgasm. Truly, this is the kind of show this column was made for.

That’s it for the inaugural entry in the Mystery Box of Misery. Tune in next month for more. And patrons, keep an eye on your inbox for the next round of voting, when Ani-Gamers Podcast editor Patrick Sutton will subject himself to your DVD choices!

Boy Meets Misery originally appeared on Ani-Gamers on November 14, 2020 at 12:02 AM.

By: Evan Minto

#Anime #News #Ani-Gamers

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instacaptain · 4 years

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Instagram Growth Strategies: 11 Proven Techniques to Grow Your Instagram Followers Quickly

Instagram has over 1 billion monthly active users, and it’s declared as a well-loved social media outlet (for comparison, the population of the US is over 325 million…!). Having a more substantial Instagram following can mean more sales for your business, more views on your blog, and a stronger community for your brand. But how in the world do some people have thousands of Instagram followers? (Psst, this incredible tool helped me bring my Instagram to the next level.) Today, I’ve got 11 actionable tips to help you grow your Instagram followers.

Liking pictures of your niche

There was an online conference where Susan Petersen (CEO of Freshly Picked) talked about how she grew her Instagram to have almost 400,000 followers. (Right now she has over 800,000!) She said that in the early days, she would spend hours liking other people’s photos each night. Her suggestion? Go through and like 5-10 photos on someone’s account. It would also help to leave a genuine comment and give them a follow. It helps to get your name out there and allows other users to discover you. I’d also suggest doing this primarily to users in your niche. How do you find users in your niche? Check hashtags, or view the followers of your favorite Instagrammers. Overall, be authentic and not spammy — ain’t nobody got time for spam.

Create a unique theme for your photos

Cool, so if you followed #1, people will naturally start to notice your username and may check out your account. Give them something to fall in love with! I’ve found that it helps to create a theme for your Instagram. Write down a few words that you want people to associate with your account. For mine, I hope people glean that it’s bright, artistic, and full of love. Which words would you use for your account? Once you’ve settled on a theme, try your hardest to stick to it! There are a lot of tools like Canva, Stensil, and Snappa available that can help you in creating a theme quickly.

Socialize more

Responding to the comments you receive and leaving comments of your own on others’ work helps in making a good relationship with the followers. Rather than something stale like, “cute dress,” try to leave genuine comments and questions that encourage them to post more photos. This way you can show your presence to your followers as well attract new too. In case if you don’t get enough time to comment on other peoples post, you can try our tool Insta Captain. It offers a fully customized auto commenting feature that can comment and respond on your behalf.

The process is pretty simple; you need to make an account and follow the steps given below carefully. The auto comment feature of Insta Captain allows you to target audiences of your niche. You can filter them by the number of followers. Select the accounts with minimum followers and maximum followings. Let suppose if you’re looking for profiles with 10K followers and less than 100 followings. These kind of accounts are great with engaging audiences.After that, you need to select gender. If your audiences are gender-specific, you can choose one; otherwise, you can select both too. (Also, you can skip private profiles with no profiles pictures or business profiles using a filter)Now you need to click on the “comment” button, and that’s it.

Create a hashtag and encourage others to use it, too.

It is a great way to build community and gain new content for your account. First of all, create a unique hashtag (make sure it’s not already being used!) and ask others to use it. It works best if the hashtag has a specific purpose. For example, A Beautiful Mess encourages followers to use #ABMLifeIsColorful on all of their colorful, happy photos. Once people start using your hashtag (and YOU use it, too!), then you can repost images from your followers (giving them proper credit, of course!). Not only does this build community by showing your followers that you appreciate their photos, but it also gives you content for your account.

Try running some contests

If you have something you’d like to give away, try running a game. Some ideas? Have users repost a specific image and tag you in the caption. Ask them to follow you. Or invite them to use your hashtag on their pictures. You could even try a loop giveaway if you want to collaborate with other Instagrammers.

Use Instagram Stories

Believe it or not, Instagram Stories are rapidly growing in popularity, to over 400 million daily users. Many users even report they love watching Stories more than the endless “scroll” of their feed. Get creative with your Stories. Take your followers behind the scenes and show them the most exciting parts of your day. Ask questions. Use polls, quirky GIFs, and music. Play with filters and Boomerangs. It is a fantastic way to start getting comfortable on video and connect with your followers in an even more profound way.

Encourage your followers to take action.

As simple as it may sound, people are more likely to do something if you ask them to do it. Are you sharing a quote? Ask them to “like” your photo if they agree with it! Sharing something funny or relatable? Ask your followers to tag a friend! Ask open-ended questions! If you put the idea out there, it will encourage your followers to act accordingly.

Always add the location of your photos

Posting a photo of that cool restaurant or city you recently visited? Geotag it! That way, other people who used the same geotag can see your picture and potentially follow you since you now have so much in common (like that french toast you both had last weekend). In case you’re confused, geotagging your photos means you tag it with a location.

Figuring out your audience’s preference

Do a little research, yo. Go back through your photos and see which ones got the most likes and comments — and of course, the least. What clicks with your audience and why? How can you incorporate more photos like that into your feed?

Connecting your Instagram Account with other platforms

If you have a blog, Twitter, or Facebook, then you might assume your people are already following you on every platform. Hint: they probably aren’t! Share a quick tweet or Facebook post, encouraging them to follow you on Instagram…it will reel in more followers than you think. This will help your followers on other networks discover your Instagram account — and proceed to follow you there, too!

Go for collaborations

Think outside the box! Ask another Instagrammer in your niche if you can “take over their account” for the day as a guest contributor. Instagram Story takeovers are a blast and can dramatically grow your following fast. Or start an Instagram challenge with daily prompts. Ultimately, think of fun, creative ways to collaborate with other users. Even you can use our tool Insta Captain’s auto DM features to send texts directly to the influencers working on same niches. You can filter peoples with hashtags, places, and interests.

The process is pretty simple. Just type the hashtags of your niche. After that, set the status to active and save it. Now you’ve to click on the “Messages” button and here you need to type the message you want to share with the users. That’s it. Now whenever someone uses those hashtags, your message will be sent to their Instagram account directly. Read the full article

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