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#Coining event entry
lovelylotusmogai · 2 years
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Pinklemonadecoric
A gender connected to the vibes of Pink Lemonade.
For @cinnamogai ’s Spring Has Sprung Coining Event
ask before adding to any wikis please!
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bellxcollar · 2 years
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we're so hecking valid uwu (via)
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💎 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺! Wishing Well Token
Wondrous item, very rare ___ A “wishing well token” is a coin that has sat at the bottom of a well for a prolonged period of time. For every ten consecutive years that a mundane coin sits in a well, there is a 1 percent chance that at the end of that time, it transforms into a “wishing well token”. While holding the token, you can use an action to make a wish; you must then immediately throw the coin into a well. When you do, the well erupts in an instantaneous column of brilliant light, and your wish comes true (as if by the “wish” spell). This version of the spell is less potent: any number listed in the spell is reduced by half, and it can’t undo a recent event or otherwise adjust the flow of time. Further, this version of the spell can’t be used to achieve something beyond the scope of the supplied options. For example, a “wishing well token” can allow up to ten creatures to regain all their hit points, create an object up to 12,500 gp in value, or duplicate any spell of 4th level or lower. The well in which the token was thrown then magically produces pure, potable water. It always remains full, regardless of drought or overuse. This benefit lasts for 10 years. Once the coin has been used to make a wish, it becomes a mundane coin without any magical properties again. ___ ✨ Patrons get huge perks! Access this and hundreds of other item cards, art files, and compendium entries when you support The Griffon's Saddlebag on Patreon for less than $10 a month!
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romana-after-dark · 2 months
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Dead Dove December 2023 Masterlist
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Hello everyone!
So sorry it took forever to get this out, but it took me 5ever to read through these fics bc I was expresso depresso and working a lot LMFAOOOOOOO
Anyway, THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH FOR EVERYONE ENTRIES!!! I adore you so so so so much. I am SO HAPPY with how this worked out and the amount of response! I hope to hold another event this March with @for-a-longlongtime at @triplefrontier-anniversary for the TF anniversary over at my main account @romanarose, and an event in June for pride, so if those interest you, follow my main page or this one, or @romana-updates
NOTE: I was unorganized so if I forgot someone's fic, IT WAS NOT ON PURPOSE. I know right now there discourse right now the Pedro fandom specifically, about different people not liking others or small writers or big writers ETC, but I want you to know no one was left out on purpose!
Note 2: If I put your fic here but forgot to reblog LET ME KNOW! I want to make sure everyone gets a chance to shine.
Without further ado, the fics and art!
ALL OF THESE ARE DARK SO SOME DEGREE FROM CNC, DUB CON, TO VIOLENT NON CON! HEAD WARNINGS!
The Last of Us
The Burglary by @aurorawritestoescape and @milla-frenchy: Two men break into your house and take more than just your valuables.
Fight Club by @anama-cara : Post outbreak set in the Boston QZ. You decide to go against Joel in an underground QZ fight club for some extra coin. Joel doesn't take kindly to the competition and decides to punish you in his own special way.
Deja Vu by @milla-frenchy : After a bad experience with a former boyfriend, you meet Joel who makes you trust him fully in the bedroom
Silent Night by @kewwrites : Despite the way he always acted around you, you find it hard to say no to Sarah when she invites you home to her dad's house for the holidays. Surely nothing would happen while she's with you.
Training Day by @koshkamartell : Set in AU, no outbreak. You get more than you bargained for after trying to make Joel jealous.
Code Broken by @auteurdelabre : You only wanted to pull a silly prank on your neighbor, Joel. Who could have seen it ending up like this?
The Art of Breaking by @corazondebeskar-reads : Your meeting is happenstance, but everything that follows? Well, that’s all Joel. He just knows you’re going to be his perfect little toy. He just has to show you how.
Cry Harder by @romana-after-dark : While keeping you captive, Joel's sex drive is insatiable, and the sex seemed to be never ending. You tried to warm him you needed to use the bathroom... he didn't listen.
Nightmare Before Christmas by @katiexpunk : As an escort, you’ve found yourself in some pretty fucked up situations before. Years of experience have taught you to navigate such situations with a combination of tact and assertiveness. Most of the time the men who exude an air of sleaze shrivel back into the corner, embarrassed and limp dicked.  Most of the time.  Tonight is not one of those times.
Locket by @toxicanonymity : Dark!Reader dugs her friends hot dad Joel
Run, Rabbit by @justagalwhowrites : It was just over a year after the world ended that you were captured by Joel and Tommy Miller. They're harsh, they're cold and they're killers. But, as a nurse, you're a valuable person to have around and they're not the worst thing wandering the wasteland that was the United States. And there might be more to these men than meets the eye.
Godless by @javier-penas-wifexx420 : You work at a brothel that operates above a saloon in your town. Joel is the leader of a group of outlaws that come periodically to collect payment and wreak havoc. One visit, you catch Joel’s eye and he decides he has to have you.
Across the Spiderverse
After Dark by @runa-falls : He wants you. and he knows you need him.
Triple Frontier
Deep Seeded Issues by @djarinmuse: Summary: At an N.A (narcotics anonymous) meeting you recall a dark and embarrassing memory, not knowing the connection in the room.
My Blood Would Teach Me How to Love by @winniethewife : Santi finds you self harming, blood kink ensues.
Room's on Fire by @romana-after-dark : Cult AU, Pope, Frankie, Will and Ben are cult leaders and need a virgin to breed who will birth the savior: the Madonna. Initially honored to find redemption, the Madonna has to learn how to navigate all four men and a circle of other people at the house.
Goodnight, Princess by @melodygatesauthor : Your dad's best friend accidentally discovers that you're a sex worker. He tries to let it go, but it eats away at him until things go way too far.
The Card Counter
Bad Bet by @boredzillenial and art by @lunar-ghoulie4art : William beats you in a poker tournament, but you just can’t accept defeat, not yet…
Getting Whats Mine by @winniethewife
Lightening Face
Puppy by @darkuselesssomebody : In which the reader is a manipulative bitch - and basil snaps because of it
Mojave
Cruel Intentions by @hon3yboy : You're on a soul seeking journey, just another young, pretty, thing. All alone and stranded in the desert, ripe for the picking and ol' Jack has his eyes set on you.
Moon Kight
Death to Dignity by @juneknight : An intruder (Marc) breaks in to your apartment.
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I cannot thank you enough for your support and interaction for htis series!!!!! I had SUCH a good time reading all these, you are all so talented!!!
I hope to do more events soon as it's really helped me make some friends and get to know people here!!!!
Please remember to reblog these authors, and if you're tagged here, be sure to check out more! Lots of great content here!
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theabstruseone · 1 year
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'TIL a papyrus scroll indicates that, during the building of the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses III, the workers were upset about their treatment and, rather than discussing it with them, management served them a large meal.
'The workers didn't think that was enough so occupied the Valley of the Kings refusing entry to anyone until they were given a raise and "cosmetics" (research shows it was a form of sunscreen).
'So not only does workers organizing a strike and forming a picket line for better wages and workplace safety conditions date back TO THE FRIGGIN' BRONZE AGE, but also management has been trying to placate discontented workers with a pizza party.'
And then that went viral on Twitter and I got hammered with people trying to "Well ackshually" about my three-tweet-long thread on a thing I'd learned just that morning I turned into a joke about corporate pizza parties. So I decided to research and here's the entire story.
TL;DR: I was pretty much right except it'd be closer to say "donuts/cupcakes in the breakroom" rather than "pizza party".
The events took place sometime around 1157 BCE (specifically the 29th year of Ramses III’s reign) in the village of Deir el-Medina, a worker village for the people who worked on the built the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
BTW, the site itself is fascinating as it was first excavated in 1922 and ended up being one of the most thoroughly documented accounts of community life in the ancient world and proved the builders of the Pyramids were middle-class skilled artisans and craftspeople, not slaves.
You also have to know that this era of history is around the start of what’s known as the Bronze Age Collapse. Some sort of environmental catastrophe happened that caused widespread crop failures across the ancient world.
Now what precisely happened is strongly debated, but generally several groups from elsewhere in Europe and Africa known as the “Sea People” attacked the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean, which caused most of those cultures to collapse.
Also, commerce was a bit different as they were (oversimplified explanation) on the bread standard. Salaries were measured in values of beer and bread as the recipes for those were standardized and made up the basics of the diet.
So while common laborers would be paid in literal beer and bread, more highly-valued workers would be paid in an equivalent of a larger allotment of beer and bread. So they’d get paid “100 loaves a day” worth of oil or metal or coin representing the value.
Now, for our tale. This comes from the contemporary account of the scribe Amennakhte. If anyone wants to read along, a photo of the scroll along with a translation is available to read for free at https://libcom.org/article/records-strike-egypt-under-ramses-iii-c1157bce
On Year 29, Second Month of Winter, Day 10, a group of workers walked past the guards and sat at the Temple of Menkheperre stating it had been 18 days since they’d last been paid, staying the night in the tomb saying “We have matters of Pharaoh”.
The following day, a scribe brought the workers 55 “s'b-cakes”. So yes, a “pizza party”. I can’t find any reference to what this is precisely other than “fine bread” that was worth more than a large loaf of standard bread.
Seriously, I wasted an hour of my life trying to figure out what “s'b-cakes” are exactly so if anyone knows please tell me.
Anyway, it didn’t work and there was “quarrelling” at the temple of Ramses II. The translations says “chief of police” which doesn’t seem quite right but I’ll go with it, but anyway he said he’d fetch the mayor of Thebes.
The mayor claimed they didn’t have enough to pay. The workers responded by saying “The prospect of hunger and thirst has driven us to this. There is no clothing, there is no ointment*, there is no fish, there are no vegetables.”
They then said to go tell it to the Pharoah directly. On Day 12 (the day following the “quarrelling”), they were given their ration they were due during the previous month (basically, they got their back pay). It was 21 days late.
Side note: I got some pushback by an “Egyptologist” for calling the “ointment” a type of sunscreen and…yes, it was. Some translations mark this as “cosmetics” but it was a medicinal balm used to prevent and treat sunburn. What the hell else would you call it?
So Day 13 (the fourth day of the strikes) and Mentmose, the “chief of police”, apparently took a side. He told the workers to lock down the work site and continue their protests, and that he’d lead them to the temple to continue the sit in.
His words (recorded by Amennakhte): “I’ll tell you my opinion. Go up, gather your tools, close your doors, fetch your families, and I’ll lead you to the temple of Seti I and let you settle down there.”
At this point, the tax master Ptahemheb came out to talk to them making a list of all the things they demanded. On Day 15 (sixth day of the strike), they tried another “pizza party” with half a sack of barley and a jar of beer for each worker.
Amennakhte doesn’t say what their response was exactly, but does say that the workers brought torches so they could continue the protest in the dark. So I take it the response wasn’t good.
Day 17 (eighth day of the strike), the head of the temple came out and asked what demands to bring to the Pharoah for them. And they gave a detailed list of what precise wages they wanted for each of the workers.
On that day, they were given what they asked for in rations for the second month of winter. They may have also been paid early as they should have been paid on the 21st or 28th day depending on the source.
So we’re now in the third month of winter (no exact date written) and they’re still striking. Worker Mose said basically “As Amun as my witness if you drag me away I will come back and start robbing the tombs.” I couldn’t fit the whole thing in one tweet.
Reshpetref, the proctor, said “We will not come back, you can tell your superiors that. For sure, it is not because of hunger that we strike, but we have a serious charge to make. Something bad has been done in this place of the Pharoah”.
We’re on the fourth month of winter now, Day 28 (so over three months of striking now) before the Vizier shows up. This is the government official that handles day-to-day business and is second only to the Pharoah.
He says he just got promoted so isn’t authorized to give them their wages (at least partially true, he’d just been promoted five days prior) and even if he could, there was nothing in the granaries to pay them with.
The granaries may have been empty because of the other issues going on with the Bronze Age Collapse or it may have just been the rampant corruption speculated of the government of the era, or he may have been lying.
On the first month of summer Day 2, the crew got two sacks of grain as their ration (they’d demanded 5 ½ sacks each). The foreman Khonsu told them accept it, then go down to the market and tell the Vizier’s children about it.
Amennakhte (who again, is writing this scroll) stopped them and said NOT to go to the market since they’d been paid and if they did, he’d have to have them arrested. He doesn’t mention they were only paid a third of what they were owed.
First month of summer, Day 13, passes the guard post saying “We are hungry” and continued their sit in. They shouted at the mayor of Thebes as he passed, who then got them 50 sacks of grain to tide them over until Pharoah paid them.
That’s the end of this particular scroll, but there’s evidence that strikes continued throughout the reign of Ramses III as there are records of more workers being hired to transport food and supplies to the workers.
The scroll also leaves out some of what happened in between dates. For example, it wasn’t one single long strike, but a series of them. After they were paid their wages the first time, the workers went back to work.
However, they were told that was their pay for the third month of winter and not the second so they wouldn’t be getting paid again, sparking the second strike that lasted into summer.
There’s also a big deal in Egyptian culture at the time called “Ma’at” or basically “The Order of Things”. Nobody had any idea what to do with the striking workers because workers weren’t supposed to strike. They were supposed to work.
Sure, they were treated well and the village of Deir el-Medina lived at what could be called middle-class standards for the time period, but they weren’t supposed to rebel against their betters in this way. It was unthinkable.
There was also a big festival coming up to celebrate the 30th year of the reign of Ramses III and a lot of the government officials were focused on that, more concerned with maintaining order than actually managing the country.
I should also note I paint Amennakhte as on the side of the government rather than the workers when the opposite was likely the case. The strike wasn’t recorded in the official government records as Egypt tended to cover up their losses.
That said, we do have some records like those of Amennakhte showing that, once the workers realized they had the power to organize, they used it all the way through the New Kingdom.
The last entry on the scroll doesn’t directly involve the strike, but is related. On the first month of summer, Day 16, one of the workmen provided evidence that government officials were stealing from the tombs.
One of them, Weserhat, was one of the ministers who shorted the workers payment previously. The other, Pentaweret, may be the son of Ramses III at the center of the “Harem Conspiracy”, an assassination plot that took place between 1 to 3 years later.
In summary, the workers were unpaid due to corruption and management enriching themselves, they went on strike, management threw them a pizza party, that didn’t work, and they eventually got their demands.
Though I guess if you want to be completely accurate, it was more “donuts/cupcakes in the breakroom”…
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futabairl · 10 months
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⁀⁀⁀ ANGELHEALIC 〰 ✩
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⋆ ✧ 。˚ ANGELHEALIC : : a gender related to being a healed angel , an angel who was healed , angels & being healed , angels who can heal etc . This gender may ( but doesn't have to ) feel relived , pure , helpful , full of love and hope .
୨୧ ⇢ day 2 :: entry for @lovesse 's coining event .
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kiruliom · 7 months
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coin fight 2023!
what is coin fight?
have you ever heard of art fight? it's like that, but for liom/mogai!
there is 2 teams (sun and moon for this year), and you 'attack' a member of the opposite team by coining things you think they'd like :D
this is made completely for fun, and has no rewards besides some "I was in the winning team" graphics (userboxes, blinkies, etc.)
the event will start on 9/20 and will last a week, with an exception being if it's still active after 1 week.
instructions:
make an entry here!
make a section on your pinned post (or an easily accessible rentry page) with your team and what you associate with your identity (make it as vague or specific as you need, doesnt need to be gender exclusive)
reblog the associated team post (sun) (moon) so people who check the reblogs of that post looking for people to attack can find you!
find a person to attack and coin things you think they will like! tag the person you're attacking and me (kiruliom), and tag #2023coinfight. also it would be really nice if you could tell us the approximation of your points (eg. it's a 5th link on a friendly fire revenge chain? please tell us its 7 points. ( 5 base, 2 points deducted for friendly fire, 5th link means 4th revenge, so +4)) this makes my job a lot easier.
rules:
if you fail to follow the instructions above you will be reached out to, or if you need help just tell me!
please check if you fit the DNI of the person you'd like to attack, or if THEY fit YOUR DNI. to avoid awkward situations.
all flags and terms made will have a 5 point base value. for every new 'link' on a revenge chain it will have 1 more point added to it. non-gender terms get 2 more points added to them, to encourage non-gender coinings
the terms coined dont need to be unique, just need to have unique flags. you can make an alternative bigender flag for example and it'd count as valid for points. however you cant submit flags made outside of the event time, this is more of a trust thing though as I cant tell for sure whether the flag was made before the event or not lol
there is a 3 attack per day rule, to avoid spamming. any more attacks submitted for the day will be rendered null, meaning no more points will be added for that day, this includes revenges. attacks are counted by amount of terms and not the amount of posts.
coining non-disordered paraphilia, MUD, oculoid or transid terms will render those attacks null, which means you wont earn points for them. transpecies is the exception to this as it's an alterhuman term and not a transid term.
friendly fire (attacking someone of the same team), is allowed. however 2 points will be deducted. this is to encourage a "team rivalry" more.
you can only attack 1 user at a time.
please dont take advantage of my awful memory and math skills and cheat, this is supposed to be for fun and you need to do your part for that, yeah?
re-elaborating the point system so it's in one place:
base term (say, a gender made for someone of the opposite team) = 5 pts
friendly fire (attacking someone of the same team) = -2 pts off total
revenge (attacking someone back)= +1 point per link on chain, starting from 2nd link/'first revenge'
non-gender terms = +2 points
sorry it's so messy, this is the first time Ive hosted an event that needs heavy moderation like this. I hope to figure this out via suggestions and trial-and-error.
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jiiamp · 8 months
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• Malifutic •
[ Malifutic ]
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• A gender that is full of malice, however it only acts upon that malice by doing things to those who deserve it, all in a futile attempt to be a better being / person / etc.
Mali [ce] + fut [ile] + ic
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Made by me (as far as I know)
For day one of @puriette’s 800 follower coining event, the prompt being “malice” [Also as an entry to the giveaway]
Please credit if you repost, it is greatly appreciated ^w^
ID in alt text
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lovesse · 8 months
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She Sent This Down From Above , Wishing For It To Reach The Masses . . .
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♡ ꒱ * ₊ ・ㅤ◟ BEAUHUNGRIC 𓂃 ଓ ⋮ a gender where you're constantly hungry for beauty , you want to be beautiful in any sense no matter what
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for @puriette's 800 followers coining event && an entry into sealie's giveaway :3c
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asunflowerana · 1 year
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𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆
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what if: the players were part of a fairytale? (disney au)
with: reo, bachira, chigiri and rin.
n: my entry for @sugardaddyreo collab event "A Dream Is A Wish Your Makes" , thank you for this sweet collab darling, I had a lot of fun imagining bllk guys as Disney characters hehe 💕hope you all enjoy it!
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ⅰ. 𝐂𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚, starring reo mikage.
“Well, there’s one thing: they can’t order me to stop dreaming.”
As the King's firstborn, Prince Reo must fulfill his several obligations to the kingdom, including his long-pending marriage. He is tired of so many greedsome proposals and empty-willed madams; he just wishes for a truthful and kind one to love, and to be loved equally in return. The prince finally finds what he's been longing for, someone who isn't seeking the coins inside his pockets, or the power attached to his title: only his heart. And he doesn't give care if the woman in question has no name or land. She has become his dream. And who would be the fool to prevent the prince from getting what he dreams for?
"You are the one I want." earnestly he professes, the words he wished he could say before you vanished through that starry night; leaving only a glass slipper for his memories to rely on. now that you're at his arm's reach, though, he won't let you leave in hurry again. ever again. "You're my wish that came true: the wish from my heart. Please, don't take it away from me because of void rumors or expectations." Holding your smooth hands to his gloved ones, he nears himself into your warmth, pressing your foreheads together while keeping his soft, but intense gaze on your eyes. " Just let me love you, utterly, tenderly. As I know you'll do to me
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ⅱ. 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝, starring bachira meguru.
“I know not who you are, or how I came to find you, but may I just say … hi. How ya doin’? The name’s Meguru Bachira. How’s your day goin’, huh?”
Being an outlaw has its perks. Not that running away from guards and other crooks is anything fun, but the feeling of being free to go and do as he pleases it's too exciting. And lonely as well. Believe him, Bachira was all fine by himself, but the moment he ventured inside that tall tower and found you there — caught by you, to be more precise —, something changed inside him. He never had so much fun with someone as he has with you, the feisty, clueless, and dreamy girl who wanted to see the lanterns up close. The gold of your tiara doesn't fill his eyes with glint anymore; it is you, and only you who's now capable of doing it so easily.
"You're beautiful." He cannot help but profess, watching your features turning brighter with the lanterns around you. The most perfect sight in this whole world, he wanted to keep it engraved in his memory; keep you engraved in his heart as if this wasn't natural by now. Brushing a strand behind your ear, he stares at you in adoration, gently taking his time to trace every inch of your face. And in silence, you both enjoy the dream that came true.
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ⅲ. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐝, starring hyoma chigiri.
"Where would we walk? Where would we run? If we could stay all day in the sun? Just you and me. And I could be, part of your world."
That's what he longed for. Ever since he was little, Chigiri yearns to know more of the surface. To feel the sand kissing his skin, to gaze at the blue day sky, to feel the warmth of the sun guiding his steps as he runs down the beach towards the unknown; to have legs. He just wanted to be part of this world, and maybe, just maybe, he could also stay by your side. The feeling of you fills his mind ever since he saved your life from that storm. And to know that you also wish for him, oh, how much he wants to just kiss his girl. And he's ready to do anything for that.
"Wait for me." He pleads lowly, watching as you wander around with your friends through the beach, unaware of the mermaid that admires you from afar, hidden in a heap of stones. His legs will soon be granted for him, as the sea witch promised in exchange for his voice. A careless decision, it might have been; but whatever happens, his dream will come true. He'll do whatever it takes for that. "I'm coming to you, my love."
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ⅵ. 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧, starring itoshi rin.
"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty."
Never, in his five years as a captain in the Chinese army, has Rin had to face such a bewildering challenge: having a girl among his men. He doesn't understand how he didn't notice it before, nor did his cadets, but being right or wrong, that defiant young woman is without a doubt the most talented and bravest warrior he has ever seen. And besides conquering the country's victory over the Huns, she won something else, something quite unbelievable to their teammates: the captain's once-cold heart. The one who once told her she didn't belong there, now bows in respect and fascination for China's savior, and princess.
"You have all of my gratitude." His tone is filled with acknowledgment and also a bit apologetic, for his past mistakes that he wishes nothing more but to fix them. He looks at you with pride in his eyes: pride for getting to know such an admirable woman. Pride of having the honor of fighting alongside her. Extending his hand for you to take, he coyly adds. " And my fondness, if you wish to have it."
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reblogs and comments are deeply appreciated. 💕
© asunflowerana 2023 — all rights reserved.
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ficnation · 8 months
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Chapter 1: A Delightful Encounter
Series: “The Heart Wants What It Wants” 
Word count: 1,0k+
Pairing: Angel Reyes x Female! Baker! Reader
Warnings: none
A/n: I had so much fun writing this! All chapters will be around 1k or 2k words. This is also my first entry to @the-slumberparty Bingo Card event (prompt: writer’s choice - first meeting)! Events Masterlist
Let me know your thoughts and please reblog.
Main Masterlist 
Mayans MC Masterlist
NEXT CHAPTER
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Angel enters the new bakery, his boots making a slight thud as he crosses the wooden floor. His eyes take in the cozy atmosphere and the pale green hue of the walls while the mouth-watering scents of baking bread and pastries tickle his nostrils. The interior is inviting, and the various tables and chairs in the central area provide a comfortable spot to sit and enjoy one's treats. He can’t help but feel slightly out of place. He sticks out like a sore thumb in his leather kutte and body decorated by tattoos.
He takes a moment to appreciate the homey vibe of his surroundings before heading toward the counter. He gazes at the array of baked goods, hypnotized by the view of colorful muffins, cakes, fresh golden buns, and loaves of bread. 
The person working behind the counter greets him in a friendly tone adorned by a pinch of shyness. The man in the leather kutte, his face obscured by the chunky dark sunglasses, merely nods in reply and gives a small wave. He feels the employe observing him as he tries to decide what to purchase.
Felipe sent him over early in the morning to get some freshly baked bread for breakfast. It was barely eight, and he’d give everything to be back in his bed, snoring away. His eyes were closing up on the ride here, but the smells of the bakery woke him up in seconds. 
Angel quickly peruses the selection of baked goods, his hand striding over the glass display case but not touching its surface. His gaze lands on a shiny, golden-brown loaf of bread, and his eyes light up. 
He looks back at the person behind the counter and nods once more, pointing toward the product before his brain finally registers the vision before him. He freezes in his spot, brown orbs glued to your delicate silhouette as you lean down to reach inside the display. 
You’re breathtakingly beautiful, standing there with a friendly smile, your eyes shining and dark eyelashes fluttering with every blink. Your hair is braided and thrown over your shoulder, the soft tresses swaying delicately against it with every movement. It’s as if every part of you is a work of art meant to be admired and appreciated. And as you continue to smile at Angel, he can’t help but be enthralled by your grace. You don’t even seem to be bothered by the early hour—there’s absolutely no trace of dark circles under your eyes. 
You take out the loaf of bread, wrapping it quickly in a dark green wax cloth. The man keeps staring as you nudge it toward him and state the price. He takes out his wallet and fumbles with it for a minute before he finally manages to find the 10$ bill and hands it to you. 
You take his ten dollars, put it in the register, and then place his change on the counter. His heart does a backflip as you part your lips to speak up. They seem so soft and plump. “Here you go, sir. Your change,” you say, pointing towards the stack of bills and coins.
“Nah, it’s fine. Keep it as a tip,” he replies, waving you off as he slides the change back to you, only taking the wrapped-up bread from the wooden surface.
You look surprised but insist, “Sir, you gave me too much. It’s too much just for a loaf of bread.” He can tell you have a good heart.
Angel thinks for a moment, then grins wildly, no ounce of hesitation left. “Not just for the bread. It’s for your great service.”
You’re flustered, your cheeks getting warmer with every passing moment—with every playful quirk of his lips. The man isn’t giving in as he flashes you another charming smile. You’re speechless. There was no point in resisting even though you didn’t think you did much that could be considered “great service”. You just smiled and served him his purchase; you do it all the time.
The corner of your peach-colored lips quirks up shyly as you finally nod your head in thanks. You take out one fluffy blueberry muffin from the display and place it on the counter in front of him. “Consider it a token of my appreciation then.” 
A beat of silence falls between the two of you as you stare at each other, enjoying the light tension that sends sparks down your body. The man is almost beaming with pride at his own charm, while you’re wondering what lies beneath those dark shades. The fact that you can’t see his eyes is infuriating—eyes are the window to the soul, after all. Just when you manage to regain your composure, he speaks up again.
“Tell you what,” Angel says, his voice low and confident. “I’d love to stop by again, just to see your smile.”
You give him exactly what he wants as you smile brightly at his words, feeling your cheeks flush with heat even more—you didn’t even think it was possible. “Of course, you’re welcome here any time,” you reply.
The man nods happily. “Great,” he says, a grin stretching across his face. “I’ll be sure to stop by often. I’m a sucker for delicious pastries and beautiful smiles.”
You’re taken aback by his words but appreciate the kindness. A warm, happy feeling bubbles within you—a feeling you haven’t felt in a long time. You are surprised that a man like him—the complete opposite of what you were usually looking for in a romantic partner—can make you feel weak in the knees by such a brief interaction.
“And I’d be thrilled to have you stop by again,” you stammer out, finding yourself lost in the pull of his presence. There’s a sparkle of excitement in your voice that only fuels his smugness. 
The man chuckles, unable to hide his delight, as he turns around and starts walking toward the exit. When he reaches for the door handle, you quickly lean over the counter and call out to him. He turns around, surprise painted on his face, and you’re just as taken aback as he is at your sudden holler. 
“What’s your name?” you ask, tapping your fingers on the wooden surface in anticipation. It’s new to you, breaking the barriers of your shyness for someone you just met, but it feels so right.
The stranger lifts up his sunglasses to his forehead for a second, looking you up and down. You’re instantly mesmerized by the rich brown color of his eyes. You feel them luring you in—hypnotizing you. You’re surprised you're even able to catch the words that leave his mouth. 
“Angel,” he replies, setting the sunglasses back on his nose. You already find yourself missing his gaze on your person. “Take care of yourself, dulce.”
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Taglist: @danzer8705
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soulessjourney · 4 months
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Ashes of Panem Master List
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What if Katniss had never killed Coin, and they had decided to proceed with holding a Hunger Games for the children of the Capitol? What if Coriolanus was born years after the events that unfolded following Katniss's takedown of the Capitol?
Just after Criolanus' great grand father was killed and Panem was declared "free" from his rule, Coin assumed the presidency and instituted a new decree: every year, children of the Capitol elite would be selected to compete in The Capitol Games. This served as a stark reminder to the capital's citizens that, like those in the districts, their own children were not exempt from danger. Capital children were taken to an academy where they would undergo rigorous combat training in preparation for the games.
Coriolanus Snow and Y/N Ashcroft had trained together since their entry into the academy. However, when their names were drawn, they found themselves pitted against each other and twenty other children in these games. As Y/N became a symbol of rebellion akin to her great grandmother, who vanished shortly after Panem's liberation, the looming threats of war and the approaching games forced Coriolanus and Y/N to forge an alliance. Amidst these challenges, they had to learn to trust and support one another in order to break free from Coin's oppressive regime.
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Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 (Coming soon) Part 6 Part 7
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archiveikemen · 3 months
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'Dark If' Story Event: Announcement
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Event Run Date:
27.11.2023 (16:00) — 10.12.2023 (22:59)
Routes Available:
Alfons Sylvatica, William Rex, Jude Jazza
Event Info
Bonus Story
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Accumulate 95,000 or more Love Points to obtain Harrison's story!
Entry Rewards
☆ Multi Gacha Ticket x1
☆ Lipstick (Love Points +500) — only for players who join the event within 24 hours of it starting.
Fever Time
Fever time will start immediately after the event starts.
The amount of love points and coins obtained from doing escorts will be doubled during fever time.
Story Clear Rewards
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☆ All premium EARLY CLEAR bonus: Dress
☆ EARLY CLEAR bonus: Eyes
☆ All premium clear bonus: Avatar Room Deco
☆ Love points ≥ 85,000 bonus: Hair
Ranking Rewards
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rwuffles · 25 days
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⠀⠀⠀❛⠀info。⏖⠀✉️
pt: info. end pt.
⠀this is @rwuffles's 135+ follower event — themed around aquatic life! each day's prompt is quite simply a type of aquatic creature you can either: base your entry off of simply that or a specific one that fits that description! the event will run from march 8th to march 12th — entries should be tagged #rwuffles135! feel free 2 send in asks with any questions 🫶
⠀⠀⠀❛⠀rules。⏖⠀✉️
pt: rules. end pt.
⠀1﹒anyone may join the event — just don't coin anything that falls under stances i'm against.
⠀2﹒@ me in your entries
⠀3﹒you may make anything for the event! edits , layouts , coining , npt's , etc.
⠀4﹒posting terms late is fine , but not early!
⠀⠀⠀❛⠀prompts。⏖⠀✉️
pt: prompts. end pt.
⠀day 1﹒( 3 / 8 )﹒tropical sea creatures
⠀day 2﹒( 3 / 9 )﹒carnivorous sea creatures
⠀day 3﹒( 3 / 10 )﹒commonly owned sea creatures
⠀day 4﹒( 3 / 11 )﹒fresh water sea creatures
⠀day 5﹒( 3 / 12 )﹒mammalian sea creatures
⠀⠀⠀❛⠀tags。⏖⠀✉️
pt: tags. end pt.
⠀ask to be removed — @jiraidanshii @dressupidol @rabidbatboy @lukalai @local-yurei @yourdarlingness @failboy @smilingnap @dwivinely @aquariium-ediits @vampitsm @kagamine-twinz
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pockyteau · 1 year
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FIREWORKS THAT NEVER END
✩ a chishiya x reader where the memories of summer festivals never truly fade
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You met Chishiya at one of the summer festivals held in your neighbourhood, when the two of you were about nine or ten. 
The festival was alight with spun sugar and sheet cakes, a ferris wheel spinning slowly overhead as soft music danced on the wind. The air was dark yet summery; it was full of a condensed kind of warmth that came from a fairground full of people and laughter, with candy apples and crepes being shared among friends. Festivalgoers pattered happily past, their snatches of conversation drifting up into the afternoon sky.
You had gazed upon the scene with obvious envy, the singular candy apple in your hand seeming to highlight your solitude; you had only just moved into the area, and hadn't had the chance to make any new friends yet. Besides, most of the kids at the festival were accompanied by their families. Yours would never deign to come. 
A small sigh escaped your lips. It was better to be here than home, you supposed, where the atmosphere was lively and bright. Your eyes did one more sweep of the fairground, searching for a place to perhaps sit and inconspicuously enjoy your candy apple. 
It was then that you'd caught sight of Chishiya, sitting on the ledge of the stone wall that surrounded the fairground. 
You were surprised to see him there, considering there was no way his father would have made an appearance at such a local event. Later on you would learn that Chishiya never spoke much about himself or his family, but even then you could tell something was off. Everyone knew who his father was, even you  - Chishiya Shuntaro's father ranked among the highest medical professionals in the country. He had appeared many times on TV, his persona cold and clinical. He never seemed to act like he had a son, and this left little to the imagination about Chishiya's home life. 
And sure enough, Chishiya was alone, chewing absentmindedly on some strawberry confection. His expression was so placid it astonished you - it looked as if he had been taught to show nothing on his face at all. His mask cracked, only slightly, when his eyes glimmered as he bit into a strawberry. 
You glanced around the festival once more and then back at the candy apple you held, scuffing your heels against the ground distractedly. Could this be your chance to make a new friend? You frowned. But what would you even say to him? You had wanted someone to share festival snacks with, yet the infamous son of Japan's prized medic wasn't exactly who you'd been looking for. Besides, he looked busy enough with his strawberry crepe. 
Perhaps you could go catch goldfish instead. 
Ah! At this you recalled the orange goldfish booth, and its cardboard sign painted with bright letters that spelled out Free Entry for Groups of Two or More. You chew the inside of your cheek. You had a 100 yen coin, sufficient entry for one, but you hope that the tantalizing offer of free things would entice Chishiya to join you. 
It felt as if the summer breeze was spurring you on, your small footsteps light on the ground until you stood before the blonde. His gaze flickered to you curiously but he said nothing, peering at you over his crepe. It seemed that Chishiya's eyes were a little more expressive than the rest of his face, inquisitive and flecked with light. He has pretty eyes, you remember thinking. 
"Do you want to come catch goldfish with me?" you asked with a smile. 
Chishiya simply stared at you for a moment before raising his brows in question, and you realised that you had entirely skipped the hi-my-name-is part of the interaction. Did that count as a grave social error? "Ah," in attempt to amend your mistake you waved in the direction of the goldfish stall, indicating the bright orange sign. "Groups of two or more get free entry," you explained. 
Chishiya pressed his lips into a line after mouthing an ah of understanding, a slight frown creasing his forehead. He then took an agonisingly slow bite of his crepe, eyeing you as he munched the mouthful of strawberry confectionary. "Okay," he finally said, swallowing, "but why me?" 
"Oh," you weren't prepared for this question. You shrugged, causing the fabric of your yukata to rustle around your shoulders. You didn't want to admit to him that you didn't have any friends yet because you still had some dignity left to lose, and so you fished around for a different answer. "Because...?"
You couldn't think of anything.
Chishiya's lips twitched in amusement, in a way that made you think he was rather enjoying watching you fumble for a response. Well, you weren't much further from rock bottom at that point, so you decided to change tactics. "Because I'll buy you a candy apple if you come with me?" you offered, hoping to sweeten the deal. 
At this Chishiya huffed a laugh, leaning forward slightly from where he was seated on the ledge. "Are you bribing me?" he asked, but his eyes were glinting. You took this as a positive sign, and grinned. 
"I am bribing you. Will you come?"
The blonde hummed, before his eyes flickered to the apple in your hand skeptically. "Didn't you want me to come with you to get free stuff? Spending money on me would defeat the purpose of my coming at all." 
"Ah," you paused, mulling it over, "right. I mean, I don't have to buy you an apple."
Chishiya snorted again and hopped off the ledge. "Whatever. Get me another crepe and you'll have a deal." -
You watched in a rather dejected fashion as Chishiya scooped what seemed like endless goldfish into a water-filled bowl with his paper net. In hindsight, maybe you should've bribed someone else to come with you. The fish flickered around the pool like flashes of gold thread, unable to escape Chishiya's net. 
"You're so good at this," you sighed. Your bowl contained but one little fish, the only one you were able to catch before you paper net disintegrated. 
The blonde shrugged. An easy thing for him to do, as his bowl was brimming with fish. He scooped one more fish into his bowl as if to punctuate his nonchalance before withdrawing his net. "It's not that difficult." 
You sadly held out your singular fish to him, and his lips twitched as if to conceal a laugh. 
"Look, it's so lonely," you said mournfully. Your fish swam in a feeble little circle, backing up your claim. 
Chishiya glanced down at your bowl with a strange sort of expression, something halfway between a laugh and a grimace, before transferring his gaze to his own. The comparison was clearly abysmal. He sighed, before holding up his bowl of fish out to you; you caught how the sleeves of his yukata were completely dry, while the tips of yours were slightly damp from attempting to catch goldfish. "You can have one of mine, if you want," he offered. 
You smiled, somewhat surprised. "Really? But you caught them all."
"I don't need this many fish," Chishiya said, his tone amused. "To be honest, I don't see why you would either."  
"Oh, I want to catch them all. You know Pokémon?" 
The corner of Chishiya's lips tugged up into a half-grin, boyish and a little softer than his stony expression from earlier, and a glimmer of enchantment settled over you for a moment. You wondered what it would be like if Chishiya smiled, for real. He didn't look as if he smiled a lot, somehow. 
You were further entranced when Chishiya attempted to decant a single fish from his fishbowl into your barren one, his dark lashes lowered and fluttering with concentration. It proved more difficult to successfully transfer the designated fish than expected - this time it was Chishiya's sleeves that suffered. Giggling, you cupped your hands around where the two bowls met to prevent further water spillage after he shot you a glare. 
After much struggle, the fish eventually ended up in your bowl.
"Yes!" The two of you shouted triumphantly when the fish finally landed successfully into your bowl, victorious laughter tumbling off the tips of your tongues. Chishiya was smiling then, for real, but his expression quickly dropped when a few of the festivalgoers shot the two of you curious glances. You blinked, surprised at his sudden change in demeanor, and turned in time to catch a glimpse of the passersby as they retreated into the distance. Their hands were raised to their lips, set to whisper. 
Like clockwork, Chishiya's face hardened and you managed to catch how his jaw set before he glanced away. In a rush, you remembered how well-known he must be within the neighbourhood.
"Hey," you nudged him softly, hoping to distract him. You lifted your fishbowl, in which the population had miraculously grown to two fish. "Why don't we name them? You name one, I'll name the other."  
"Hm? Oh." Chishiya exhaled, passing a hand over his face, but he didn't turn you away. After a moment of silence he leaned in closer to you to observe the fish, brow slightly creased into a frown. When another lengthy silence ensued, you assumed that Chishiya had not been blessed with the great ability to name things.
"Crepe," he said finally, and you were unable to suppress the burst of laughter that escaped your lips. 
"You want to name your fish Crepe?" You raised a hand to cover your mouth, shoulders still shaking gently with laughter. Crepe the Goldfish swam in an outraged circle. Chishiya arched a brow.
"Well, what's your fish called, then?" 
You thought for a moment. "...Fish." 
Chishiya snorted. "Fish?"
"It's accurate! Chishiya, don't laugh, that's disrespectful." 
"Don't poke me, your sleeves are wet. Fish is so much worse than crepe." 
"Shh! Fish can hear you!" -
All of a sudden, the night sky was exploding - but when you looked up, it was only raining coloured light.
Your breath hitched. "Chishiya! It's fireworks!" 
The pops of light filled your vision like falling stars. You tugged Chishiya by his sleeve to the crowded plain of the fairground, wanting to get closer to the magic. Chishiya grumbled, telling you to slow down or you'd drop your fish, but he stumbled along with you nevertheless.  
You had never seen fireworks before, but you had always wanted to; the more rural prefectures of Tokyo you had moved from tended not to hold these kinds of celebrations. So you watched the world glitter for the first time in your life, and it felt like the heavens were a little closer to you, just for a moment. 
"I've never seen fireworks before," you breathed, dazzled. You shifted the fishbowl in your hands - the ceramic was cool against your skin, bringing you back down to earth. You turned to Chishiya, lit up with excitement. "They're so pretty! Do you get to see them every year?" 
 A beat of silence followed your words, and at first you thought that your voice had gotten lost amidst the clamour of festivities. But then Chishiya slowly shook his head. 
"This is the first time I've come to one of these," he admitted. For a split second he was illuminated with light, specks of colour dancing across his face, before the fireworks blinked out. "So no." 
"Really?" You tilted your head to the side in surprise. Surely, Chishiya had been to at least one festival before? After all, he had lived here longer than you. "How come?" 
Chishiya shrugged, another gesture that was lost upon your vision in the darkness, save for the quiet rustling of fabric. "Most kids go with their parents," he said. "Mine would never come. I didn't see the point in going." 
"Oh," you said, so soft you didn't know whether or not he could hear it. Another beat of silence, only longer that time. You felt your chest squeeze. The urge to take his hand overcame you - something your mother used to do to comfort you. She never really did it anymore, but the fond memory still lingered in your mind. Chishiya smiled wryly.
"Don't feel sorry for me," he said mildly. "I hate it when people do."
"Oh," you said again. "Uh...I wasn't." 
This made Chishiya grin. "Good."
You couldn't help it - you grinned back. What you wanted to say was that you weren't pitying him, not at all. You too had come alone, left to your own devices as your parents took no notice of where you went. You doubt they even noticed you were gone now. But you couldn't find the words to tell him in a way that sounded comforting, less childlike, less pitiful. Your vocabulary just wasn't large enough yet. 
So you didn't say it at all. 
The last firework of the night whistled up into the air and burst, but Chishiya's eyes remained on you. The noise caused you to almost miss his voice, but you were able to catch the words take shape on the blonde's lips.
"Thank you," he murmured. Maybe it was all the noise going on around you, but you were sure that he was speaking a lot quieter than before. He gave you an idle smile. "I had fun today." 
The fireworks might have been over by then, but Chishiya's words had the lights beginning to sparkle in your chest instead. At that moment, you realised that you'd just made your first friend since you'd moved. Gone was the hesitance you had felt upon first speaking with Chishiya - warmed with the happy glow, you gave him your biggest smile. "Me too!"  -
It was the summer after your fourteenth birthday when Chishiya moved away. But just before he left, the two of you attended one last festival together. 
You remember the chirp of faraway cicadas accompanied by the scent of sugar upon the air as you bit the inside of your cheek, incredulous. Chishiya had just broken the news to you. "You're moving away? But why?" 
Chishiya shrugged. "My father thinks the schools here aren't good enough," he said. He sounded much too indifferent for such a crisis. "I'll still be in Tokyo. Just in a different ward." 
You frowned. "But still...it'll be weird not seeing you anymore." You felt the sting of tears behind your eyes, and desperately tried to suppress them. Chishiya had borne witness to your tears many times before, like when you'd scraped your knee at ten or scored miserably on a test at twelve, but you thought that now you were fourteen you were too old to shed tears. This wasn't something you could patch up with a bandaid or offers to help you study, anyway. "Who am I going to thrash at coconut shy now?"   
"I beat you at coconut shy every time we play, though." Chishiya leaned in closer, inspecting you. "Look, don't cry." 
"I'm not!" You scrubbed at your eyes fiercely, trying to erase the evidence of the tears collecting above your lower lashes. Chishiya raised a hand to muffle his laugh, a rare sound that you had always sought to hear from him since your first meeting. "Shun, don't laugh! This is a serious matter!" 
Chishiya grinned, lifting his hands as if to show surrender. "Okay, okay. Not laughing, see?" 
You hit his shoulder weakly, giving a watery laugh of your own. He only grinned wider at the action. "I hate you," you said mournfully, not meaning it for a second. All you really wanted to do was to give him a big hug, but in all the years you had been friends you had grown to be cautious of touching Chishiya. He seemed to dislike physical contact, visibly tensing whenever you opened your arms for a hug. "You have to buy me three candy apples to make up for this." 
"...I'll buy you two."
"Shuntaro!" 
"Fine! Three." -
You and Chishiya stood under the fireworks once more, for the last time. 
You had ended up giving in, the blonde purchasing only two candy apples - one for you and the other for himself. You found this rather odd, since you knew he much preferred strawberries and would have rather bought one of the crepes, but you said nothing about it. 
The two of you had munched on the treats in silence, and in doing so you had recalled the numerous times you had shared such a moment with Chishiya before. What would it be like to come to the summer festivals alone once he had moved away? By then it had become like a tradition between you. You couldn't imagine him not being there next to you, chewing on some fruit confection with appreciative murmurs.  
The fireworks exploded all around you, scattering the world with light. Purples and pinks and blues painted the night sky. It's so beautiful, is what you remember thinking - it was like a spell has been cast on you and suddenly you were nine again, a fishbowl in your hands and your eyes wide with wonder. Chishiya was beside you, and the world was right. 
You just couldn't picture it being any different.
"Shun," you whispered. "It feels like the world is ending."
He turned to you, the inquisition in his brown eyes flashing with the glimmer overhead. His surprise faded quickly and a slight smile spread over his face, his eyes crinkling slightly with amusement. Your favourite smile on earth.  
"Don't be silly," he said, "you'll be fine when I'm gone." 
"But I'm going to miss you." You said sadly. Chishiya didn't give an answer, but laughed quietly in a way that said, you'll forget about me soon enough. The thought of such a thing happening brought an ache to your heart. 
For a long time, the two of you stood in silence. Your eyes fluttered closed for a beat, then two. You focused on the feel of the night air cooling against your skin, the sounds of the firework display. If the world as you knew it was ending, then you wanted to commit this moment to memory. 
Tentative fingertips brushed against the back of your hand. Your eyes blinked open. Chishiya's touch was ginger and ever so light, like a softly-spoken word, and you allowed him to take your hand without question. Your fingers intertwined and the warmth of his palm pressed against your own. 
That's when you understood that Chishiya would miss you too. 
You snuck a glimpse at the blonde out of the corner of your eye; if there had been light, you would've seen that the tips of his ears were dusted with pink. You looked away, mumbling into the darkness. 
"You have to write to me every day, okay?" 
"I think my hands would fall off if I did." 
"That's what you deserve, you traitor. Alright, how about once a week?" 
Chishiya paused. You could hear the grin in his voice when he spoke. "I'll see what I can do." 
-
"I swear I had 500 yen in here somewhere," you grumble. 
You sift through the numerous coats in your closet, checking all the pockets twice over. You vaguely recall, over the winter, having slipped a coin or two of change into your pocket. You give up and begin searching the floor of the closet; maybe you're lying to yourself and the 500 yen really doesn't exist, but it's summer and you want to buy ice cream. And money found in coat pockets means you're not eating into your savings, right?   
"Huh," you push aside heavy fabric to find a cardboard box, tucked into the corner of your closet. You pull it out with a frown - you don't remember having put this box in there. When your fingers touch the lid, you find it is covered in a thin film of dust. The objects in it must be ages old. 
But when you lift the box into the sunlight and slip off the lid, the memories come flooding back.
A stack of letters sits in the centre, tied up neatly with a blue ribbon. Oh, you think. You pull on the bow carefully and it easily comes undone, the ribbon fluttering down to the cardboard. The envelopes in the stack are thin and slightly creased, presumably from all the times you had read and reread them all those years ago. Of course. How could I forget?
You slip the top letter off the stack, turning it over to read the address. The characters are scrawling and written in thin graphite pencil, in that barely readable way you had always teased him for writing in.
It's been a while since Chishiya's written.
You slowly peel the envelope's flap open and slide the folded piece of Campus paper out of it, turning it over in your fingers. After that summer, when Chishiya left, you had kept up regular correspondence for about a year.
Chishiya had kept his promise, for the most part. 
Back then, you wrote to him about everything - school, how Ms Yamagata the homeroom teacher left to teach in Sendai, how you missed him since Mozuki Tadashi moved into his empty seat. Though much less of a smartass, Tadashi was just not the same. Chishiya replied, with news of how his new school was, how his neighbours held too many barbecues, and to stop flooding his house with letters or he'd drown in the paper. You'd snorted upon reading that. Yet even so, his letters meant the world to you - they meant that he still kept you in mind, as you did him. But as you came to know, the world always ended one moment at a time. 
This theory came into practice as time wore on, his responses growing fewer and further in between, his letters growing shorter each time. You began to dread the letter that would be his last. And once the snow began to melt from the trees, they eventually stopped coming. 
You never knew why - you reasoned at first that maybe he was busy, and would write back to you when he could. You understood Chishiya's priorities better than most, and so you left it alone. But when months passed without word, you thought that maybe his letters had gotten lost in the mail, or postal services had been delayed; you'd even visited the post office yourself to ask if anything had come for you. But after many more months of waiting and a few more letters inquiring after him, you never got another envelope. You had been devastated. Despite the distance between you two, you were convinced that you would stay in touch. 
You remember the last letter he'd replied to, where you had detailed the summer festival that year. You made sure to note that the crepe stall had been taken over by the former owner's daughter, who had given you a free crepe - you were pretty sure that was the only news he might be interested to hear. 
In the last letter you received from him, he told you that they didn't hold summer festivals where he'd moved. It was a brief letter, like how all his most recent ones had become. You could tell that the graphite pencil he was writing in had worn down by how his words darkened towards the end of the letter. 
That was when you were fifteen.
You wrote to him again, your final letter, when you were eighteen. Three years later. Your father had passed away of a chronic illness, and your mother shortly after from grief. They had always been more of a two-person unit, despite their child. You wrote that Chishiya was welcome to come to the funeral, if he was ever in the area; even though your family had remained detached from you, they recognised the blonde from the many times he had visited your place to get away from his own family. Of course, at that point you didn't expect him to reply, nor for him to come. And just like all the other letters, it went unanswered.
You startle slightly when a small pop sounds outside, muffled by the glass of your window, followed by multiple bursts of the same sound.
A sigh escapes your lips, brought back from your reverie. You let the letter flutter to your lap as you stretch your arms out behind your head. When the pops outside grow louder with every passing second, you quickly pack up the box again and put it back into your closet, wanting to check out the source of the sound. The moment of reminiscence is over. The noise sounds like fireworks, you believe, but that's strange - the festivals don't start for another week. 
Speaking of which, you hadn't gone to a summer festival in a while, either. When was the last time you had gone? You can't seem to remember, exactly; Chishiya had always been at the back of your mind whenever the intention tugged at you. Hm, you clamber to your feet, maybe I should go again this year. 
A few steps forward brings you to the window and you stare out of the glass panes, brows furrowing with confusion. Sure enough, the sounds are fireworks - what seems like millions of them, bright and dazzling against the clear blue sky. Your eyes flicker, the simple and familiar thought flitting across your mind. They're so pretty. You're hit with a sudden wave of nostalgia, taken back to a time when summer didn't feel so melancholic. 
Maybe, you amend your earlier decision, maybe I could go visit now. 
You'd just go to see the fairground, maybe buy a few candy apples if the stalls are still there. It would be nice, to see it again after all these years. 
You grab a light coat before leaving, since you spot a gentle breeze lifting the leaves on the pavement outside. Upon shoving your hand into its pocket, you touch something metallic. You blink, pulling out the object.
Ah. There's your 500 yen. -
It's strangely quiet when you step foot on the fairground, save for the quiet whisper of trees and the fireworks still going on overhead. 
The wind is soft and warm against your back as your gaze roams the grounds. The silence that has settled over the fairground becomes no mystery when you realise that you are the only person there. Are the grounds closed? But you're sure that it would be open at this time in the afternoon, when pink has not yet begun to melt into the sky, when it would usually be bustling with people. 
You take a few steps forward, glancing around. The food stalls are all empty, the hand-painted banners fluttering gently in the breeze. Come to think of it, you hadn't seen anyone on your way to the fairground, either. You had just assumed it was a quiet day; empty streets weren't that uncommon in the warmer weather, where your neighbours would stay inside to keep cool in air conditioning, but an entire fairground is another story.
Your heartbeat picks up ever so slightly as you begin to make your way through the empty fairground. You walk slowly and cautiously, as if someone might pop out of the shadows at any minute. You find the candy apple stall, as silent as the rest of the grounds. There are still fresh apples in the display case, as if they had been made just this morning. You peer into the stall again once more hesitantly before taking one - after a moment's thought you leave your 500 yen coin on the counter, in case someone came inquiring after the missing apple. 
Deciding to take advantage of the empty fairground you patter around the area aimlessly for a while, munching your apple. On your way you pass the stone ledge where you'd met Chishiya for the first time, the goldfish scooping stall, the plain where you had stood craning your neck to watch the fireworks. The plain is where you stop now - the fireworks are still going on above your head, so you thought you might as well watch them for a while. 
You've never seen fireworks in the daytime, but no matter how many times you've seen such lights before, they're always able to recapture the magic you'd first felt upon seeing them. You breathe out, reliving those summer memories of tasting sugar and the coolness of the wind on your tongue. You are brought back to what you'd said to Chishiya all those years ago. It feels like the world is ending, you'd whispered. Though it seems childish, the unusual emptiness of the fairground feels like your words might be coming true, somehow. 
"Perhaps the world really is ending now, hm?"
Somewhere behind you, someone voices your thoughts aloud. 
Your pulse picks up as soon as the sound graces your ears. The voice is soft and lilted with amusement, carried on the wind. It's slightly different from when you'd last heard it, lower and maybe even a bit more aloof, but his tone is unmistakable. Your heart suddenly aches; you dare not believe it. 
But then you turn around and Chishiya is there, right in front of you, a half-grin adorning his face like he'd never left. 
As you stand there frozen, eyes wide, it feels as if you are viewing the scene as a third person; like you're watching the final scene of a movie, where the only two characters are you and him, before the credits begin to roll. The silk screen wavers as you utter a quietly incredulous laugh. Chishiya smiles, his eyes crinkling in the way that you loved so much. His eyes look darker, his expression harder, but his smile had always been your favourite. 
You take a small, hesitant step forward.
Maybe the world is ending again, but it occurs to you that maybe it should be. With Chishiya, the world is always ending and beginning over and over, as rapid as green leaves on the summer breeze. Chishiya lets you tentatively wrap your arms around him into a hug, burying your face into the soft fabric of the white hoodie he is wearing. He was never one for physical contact but now he rubs small circles into your back, a chuckle in his voice as you tell him in a wavery tone how much you hate him. But of course, you don't; you could never bring yourself to. The unanswered letters of your youth drift away on the air current that tousles his blonde hair. 
The world is ending again, but you think that as long as Chishiya is with you this time, it'll be okay. 
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salora-rainriver · 3 months
Text
We're talking about Ads Again
Context for those followers of mine who weren't there: I made a post about tumblr ads being weird back in 2016 and it's literally still getting notes to this day. People responded GREAT to it. honestly, despite being like. ass old at this point and written by a literal high schooler, it's still pretty good! I thank my dad being in advertising helped significantly. I had an expert witness.
Tonight, I'm writing the sequel to that post. the sequel is this post.
let's just fucking dive into it or whatever.
why am I doing this?
okay for starters I made that post in goddamn 2016 and I refuse to believe my insights into the marketing world have not improved since then.
Also, the marketing world has CHANGED. Huge swaths of my old post are no longer relevant. What we saw with tumblr ads in 2016 was in some parts a passing fad, and in other parts the harbinger of a new wave of influencer marketing and corporate parasociality (I coined that term just now).
Honestly I've been thinking for a while that I should make an update post, but what with, yanno, adulthood, that's been kinda hard!
Well, I've missed a train, and it's Christmas, so I've finally found the time to do that.
What has Changed?
in my personal life... dad got fired! yeah it fucking sucks. the good news is he and his wife are working towards their retirement now, shifting away from the industry overall. Good news as far as life is concerned, but it does mean I no longer have as clean a connection to the Industry as I used to.
but more importantly, why he got fired. The fact is, dad's old! I know, shocker. More than just being old, though, his field (and my stepmom's field - they both did the same work) represents an older paradigm of advertisement. he did TV spots and posters, not ad reads for Raid Shadow Legends. He was great at his work, but we're in an era of data-driven, maximalist, google adsense, low-barrier-to-entry, super-fast and super-cheap digital advertisement.
Well, more specifically,
We're on the cusp of an extinction event poised to bring said era crashing to the ground.
Tumblr media
Pictured: the current vibes in the ad world
Siberia is on Fire and Everything is Dying
So given that my typical source on stuff like this is currently unemployed, I decided to hit good ol google (well, google and duckduckgo. fitting given what we're talking about) to see if I could get any insights into what the current state of advertising is.
and the short of it is that everyone says the end is nigh. check this out:
Digital is dead, and so is TV. God fucking damn. BY THE WAY, I loved these two articles. Chris Gadek, a man I only learned about today, is clearly an excellent writer and his professional insights are probably gonna be way better than my amateur synthesis of the half-dozen different articles I read today, including his.
blatant shilling for random article writers aside, let's get on to my half-baked synthesis, starting with:
What Set Siberia on Fire
In small part, it's the same issues facing most major companies and industries in our late capitalist world: Hubris.
As this New York Times article points out, we've got a low barrier of entry into a gargantuan industry that's increasingly pumping out slop to follow a strategy of 'more is more'. And we've all seen the bizarre mobile game ads and shady scams that have resulted from THAT.
On top of that, we've also got the fucking digital privacy issue shaking up the entire world as consumers increasingly don't like being spied on (imagine that), and the EU starts rolling out heavy restrictions on the data harvesting that was fueling a bunch of this advertisement bubble.
There's also the ad fraud. Oh, you didn't hear about that? Well, it's nothing much, just that lots of bots are clicking ads to falsify click metrics, artificially inflating the effectiveness of said ads. look, it even has a wikipedia article
oh and Facebook did it. Facebook did ad fraud. :)
and I'm not even getting into everything that works to shake up or demolish basically every advertisement channel out there - the decline of cable tv and print newspapers, the increasing use of ad blockers, the crisis of consumer trust, etc etc.
In short we are looking at a multitude of micro-crises all working together to make the environment unlivable for most current forms of advertisement.
in other words: an extinction event!
Who's Gonna Survive
And just like in a real extinction event, whether or not you survive depends on how good you can adapt to the brave new world you've found yourself in. Old school advertising needs to drastically rethink their everything if they're gonna stay afloat, and every field of the industry needs to recreate itself. As my new favorite writer Chris Gadek says,
"These crises show that there are no safe havens. You can’t substitute one advertising medium for another. Rather than pivot, the advertising industry must adapt and learn to effectively use the channels at their disposal (TV included), factoring in the seismic societal and technological changes that have occurred over the past decade and beyond."
and what is that going to look like? what's going to be the new face of advertising?
The field seems torn, at first... but also aligned, at least when it comes to the core principles:
privacy is a big issue. Seems like a lot of advertisers are seeing an end to wanton consumer surveillance, and looking into less invasive ways to gather important and meaningful data
companies that rely on selling ad space and propping up their engagement metrics are going to be relied on less, probably, because the metrics themselves are being seen as less reliable (for good freaking reason)
regaining consumer trust is going to be a massive priority in the future.
overall, we're probably going to look at a massive downturn in ads, as people turn to a quality-over-quantity strategy in an attempt to stop flooding the attention marketplace.
that's the gist I'm getting from reading oh so many different articles of varying quality from so many different sources.
So, yanno, there may be some hope out there. If smart people start leading this industry (lol), we may get to actually enjoy ads.
Yeah. Enjoy ads.
Unironically.
I know, it's crazy.
PS: if you start seeing affiliate links on mainstream TV ads, thank our lord of excellent business analysis Chris Gadek for calling it early. God, that's such a crazy left-field idea and I really want it to actually happen.
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