#more like sponsored rather than commissioned

[littlestpersimmon]

Guy with cataracts and scarred from an explosion has a fail toymaking shop in front of a rundown temple and he has a crush on a disfigured lowly priestess whom he suspects is a stealth trans guy because she always picks the boy option when they play board games (he’s right btw)

He's from Kalantiaw, but his mom is diaspora, and I thought her to be half "Japanese" (coded) - still trying to figure out how japanese ethnicities come to play.

She was a sailor turned pirate. She didn't know the language spoken in Kalantiaw (more akin to Khmer), and she spoke a different language (more austronesian), and she named him Kahilingan, which means "wish". But in Kalantiaw, where she settled, his name means "curse" or "bad omen" 💀 it doesn't help that her life ended with the beginning of his. So.

Kahi spends much of his life chasing the image of his mom and trying to.... live up to her- because sailing is the most esteemed occupation in their world. Only very very very very very few people have managed to work on "dragonships".

Basically, their world is physically broken (like living on an asteroid belt) and they sail to and fro each sundering / country on specialized stone ships called "dragonships" / "bakunawa"- and the ships themselves are semi-alive? They're like.. Stone ships laminated with the spirits of devas and dragons and other great beings who have all died because of (redacted).

Anyway, his mom, Maaya, was a renowned sailor- she tamed a dragonship that was imbued with an infamously wild dragon called Duksa- Dragonships are Sponsored, but those who sponsor the ships are almost never in command, and they also easily lose ownership to their hired captains- because the ships themselves are sentient, and they never obey anyone who they deem are incapable of commanding them. Only Maaya could control Duksa hehe. So she became known throughout all their world as this wild woman who loved fast boats and only accepted voyage commissions "if they are very fun". Anyways blah blah blah she fell in love w Kahi's other parent (who is nonbinary) and she got pregnet with him. And they eventually settled in Kalantiaw, in it's countryside near the subterranean capital (Kamharik).

Kahi always annoyed his other parent abt his mom because he too wanted to meet Duksa, but his parent kept warning him not to go near the ship because after Maaya died, it went even more mad with grief. Kahi more of an engineer than a captain like his mom, but his goal was simply to acquaintance with Duksa rather than actually captain her. But Duksa did not accept anyone, not even anyone who was part of Maaya's original crew.. Kahi went to an apprenticeship on shipbuilding-

he became somewhat popular for being clever with his hands, and all around Kalantiaw, everyone thought of him as reliable and very creative when it came to problem solving. So he went from normal ships to fixing dragonships.. ..

The Greatest dragonships are ones that are imbued with the spirits of actual ancient dragons and qilin, bc some are imbued with "lesser" dragons or false dragons, and some are with non-dragon albeit great spirits- like minor gods, wind spirits, phoenix,naga, etc etc..

Duksa was a true and great dragon, and Kahi knew that she was suffering from severe neglect, so all he wanted was to patch her up-

Everyone, every single one of Kahi's peers discouraged him, bc it is known that anyone who even approaches her is immediately kilIed by her; but Kahi, he is different. When he approaches Duksa, she was a shadow of herself, a ghost ship- She senses Maaya, and she even thought that Kahi was her at first- so she lets Kahi patch her big crabclaw sails, fixed her boilers and really tried to replicate how she used to look when Maaya lived.. and Duksa didn't know it wasn't her, because her eyes were covered in barnacles.. The "eyes" of a dragonship is its lodestar, and Kahi was purposefully saving it for last because he is frightened of what Duksa could do to him;;

But before that, Duksa spoke to him, joked like "ah beauty, what happened to you?! Your voice sounds like you swallowed a frog.. are you ill? Why did you abandon me?" Fhjsjs

"Why are your hands so gentle now? I want you to be rough!! Stop this at once! I am not old!"

But when Kahi started scraping finally at the lodestar, and he opened Duksa's eyes to the world once more, she cried in great anger because who tf was this intruder! And why did he carry Maaya's spirit with him !!!

Her entire deck creaked so hard the floorboards broke again, and she swayed her whole body so Kahi nearly fell from the lodestar;; he tried to reason with her, and it sort of mirrors how his mom tamed Duksa. She barrelled in head on and confidently, but Kahi was meek and gentle.

Eitherway.. an angry dragonship is like highly radioactive, its like being in a storm in a contained environment, and she started puffing steam- it's like microdosing being in fukushima; And she called Kahi a fool, he'll never measure up to Maaya, he will never be her- aaaah, but she didn't kiIl him. Maybe because she knew he was Maaya's boy. She warned him never to return, and tossed him into the open shallows. So, he was absolutely brokenhearted. He was 19.

~intense lonely lovestory between him and a closeted trans guy raised by mean transphobic priestesses in a cult the antithesis of a loving and wise lesbian death goddess occurs.~

There she is.. her name is Viharana Magayarin

Names-

Maaya's name is spelled a certain way in kanji, I want it to mean "True"

Duksa's name is Tagalog, it means "grief"

Kahilingan's name is tagalog- and it means "wish". Inspired from.. in tagalog, "curse" is a contronym of sorts- "curse" and "promise" is the same word ("sumpa")

Kahi's trans boyfriend's name is Tala, and it means "star" 😌

#dalayangan

[popponn]

coincidences and flickers.

i - a painting.

notes: fem!burnout artist!reader x pro-player!isagi yoichi ; pro player / post canon au ; self depreciating thoughts towards one's own work ; fluff, with slight angst (burnout) with a happy ending (a slight hurt/comfort) ; unreliable narrator. a.n. at the end.

summary: isagi yoichi is a passionate soccer rising star with pleasant mannerisms and you were trying to not look at that painting of yours. it happened as simply as it was by chance.

series masterlist. ; next.

In hindsight, that painting truly was awful.

You stared indifferently towards it from the other side of the room. Beyond the passing bodies dressed in elegant night dresses and suits, that painting hung across you. You leaned your back against the wall behind you, your brows furrowing into a harsher glare as you observed the fruit of your labors—a commission from a rich client, a congratulatory piece for some soccer players they sponsored.

The party was bustling with chit-chat and pleasantries, yet you couldn’t bring yourself to join them. It felt like despite the invitation given to you, you truly felt like you didn’t belong here to celebrate with them that night. You once again let your eyes bore into your work once again.

The way the colors were used felt all wrong, too bright in some and too gray in others. The silhouette of the point of interest is too strong it gives ‘tackiness’ as an impression rather than the eye-catching effect it was supposed to have. The composition is too simple and thus makes the whole painting fall flat. The theme is not expressed clearly enough—even you as the painter would never have enough courage to say you stayed within it.

It’s a mess that made you look at it and feel nothing afterwards.

That painting of yours was a failure.

Finding no more strength or will to watch that ruined piece, you glanced down towards the untouched glass of champagne in your hand. The overwhelming sourness in your mouth only emphasized how you really were not in the mood for a party or a celebration tonight. You should have rejected that client’s invitation.

Though it was hard for you to remember every details given by your client at that moment, you could recall the theme given by them clearly. They were a part of a big business, saying they wished to give an appreciation for U-23 members who came from project Blue Lock, a soccer program sensation back in your high school years. And for that, you were requested to made a piece with “Celebration of Ego” as the theme.

Quiet frankly and obviously, you messed up.

Compared to the other seven paintings said client commissioned, each from a different artist, yours—a depiction of a lone figure outlined by a jumble of colors—stood out simply by how terrible it is. You felt like throwing up at that thought. As your eyes flew from each corner of the wall, looking at each painting with furrowing eyebrows, an unpleasant feeling crawled up and forced your attention back to your champagne. You really did not understand if this luckiness or unluckiness for you to stand in a place where you could observe each of them with clarity.

You sighed and chuckled under your breath, closing your eyes. “Ah, well, at least it’s finished.”

It was a job, after all, you noted. Just like it had been for quite some months already, it was simply a work to do. Nothing more.

Finally finding a way to settle down the gnawing heaviness inside of you, you lifted your head once again and scanned through the room. At the very least, you perhaps could find a distraction.

The party truly was lively in a very sophisticated way. The huge ballroom was dressed in various decorations and the guests’ clothing all stood out excellently under the gentle golden lighting. It was quite glamorous in a way that made you wonder what this party was for in the first place. You knew it had something to do with soccer, however beyond that you could barely think of anything.

However, before you could observe more to answer such a question, a heavy sigh was suddenly heard a few steps away from you.

You glanced to your right almost immediately. There, you found a figure of a man in a black suit, a shade of blue similar to his eyes decorating his dark hair. From the back of your mind, a voice of a newscast supplied you with a name—

Isagi Yoichi, the current rising star of Japan’s soccer.

Idly, your eyes fell on him. Of course, someone like him would be here in an event to celebrate something related to soccer. He could perhaps be one of whom the painting was for—if your memory of him being in Blue Lock back then was to be believed. Though you truly felt sorry if he really was one. Remembering how the TV sang praises for him, it only made the value of your work even lower.

With such thought in mind, you smiled spitefully. However, as you were about to turn away, Isagi Yoichi turned towards you.

Both of you blinked blankly at each other the moment your gaze met.

Awkwardly, the two of you stared at one another in silence, contrasting the ongoing bustling party around you. You slowly felt your face forming a smile you reserved for clients, Isagi Yoichi mimicked you the moment after. A smile more awkward and less empty compared to your practiced one plastered itself on his face as he greeted you, “Uh, good evening.”

He sounded ragged as if he just managed to escape a group of people who tried to pull and push him everywhere—which wouldn’t be surprising, considering how his reputation even reached someone like you who barely watched any soccer match in your life. In an act of sympathy for fellow party victims, you eased your smile into a friendlier one, “Good evening to you too.”

Realizing the shift in your expression, a stiff line in Isagi Yoichi’s expression and shoulders loosened. You nearly laughed at how transparent and young he seemed to you all of a sudden. True to your impression, Isagi certainly couldn’t hide how he felt obligated to have a conversation with you. “Uh,” he tried to begin.

You felt bad, really. But you faced enough situations to realize that even if you meant well by leaving him alone there and then, it would only make it even more awkward and stiff should the two of you meet again someday, no matter how small the chance was. As a compromise, you decided to just attempt a meaningless talk, “Enjoying the party?”

“Eh, uh,” Isagi Yoichi replied. However, while it seemed like words were still stuck in his throat, seeing your demeanor clearly eased him out even more. As he leaned against the wall, he answered, “Yeah—yes, I think.”

“No need to be so formal,” you said upon his correction. “I’m just a no-name wallflower in this party and I think we are around the same age too—”

Isagi Yoichi's eyes widened. So, quickly, you added, “—if the articles about you are correct, that is, Isagi Yoichi-san.”

Then, as if he just remembered the fact that he was famous, Isagi Yoichi responded, “Oh.”

“Did the party run you ragged?” you asked, taking a small step to get closer to him, just enough to speak to him in a lower voice while still keeping a considerable distance enough for four people between the two of you. “Even though I think I could guess your real answer.”

Dumbfounded, he stared at you for a second, before letting out a nervous cackle, more tired and sheepish than before. He rubbed a hand against the back of his neck, saying, “Is it that obvious?”

You gave him an answer in the form of a pitying grimace, which made him let out another long sigh. A hunch told you that someone would nag him for being too easy to read. Tough life of a public figure indeed. In an attempt to comfort him ever so slightly, “I would never know how you fared out there minutes ago. Perhaps it’s just now that it became obvious, Isagi Yoichi-san.”

“I really hope so,” he groaned lightly, before turning to you once again, remembering to ask something. “Ah, I’m sorry, and you are…?”

As he asked for your name, you soon realized that your attempts to be friendly were quite meaningless already. “Excuse me,” you said before introducing your full name to him, bowing slightly towards him, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Isagi Yoichi-san.”

“Pleasure to meet you too,” he greeted back with a bow similar to yours, putting his hands behind his back as he leaned back to the wall. “And, please, just Isagi is okay.”

“Isagi, then,” you agreed, before returning back to your previous position. “I’m sorry for interrupting your rest time though. If you mind, I wouldn’t mind too—”

“No, no. No need for that, really. I mean you were here before me. If anything it’s me who is interrupting you,” Isagi interrupted you swiftly. “…should I—?”

“Do take it easy,” you cut him off this time. “You interrupt nothing. Though I do wonder why one of the party’s main guests strayed himself here.”

“Well. About that…” he seemed to be about to continue, before choosinh to answer with an exhausted glance back directed at the rest of the crowd. “...I get a bit tired...?”

Sympathizing with him yet again, you offered a weak nod, “I understand that socializing during this kind of party could be tiring sometimes, especially when everyone seems to chase after you.”

At your comment, Isagi flinched slightly, as if you just brought forth a terrible recollection. However, he didn’t offer any further protest. With another heavy sigh, he slouched against the wall, “Yeah…”

“If it helps, no one really looks at this plain corner of the room,” you said, gesturing towards your calmer surroundings. “Everyone here is either too drunk, too tired, or too out of place. The second best place for you to take a breather.”

“Second?”

“After ‘going home’, of course. This place doesn't seem to have any garden or balcony after all.”

“Right.” Isagi gave you a low chuckle. Then, his gaze trained itself on you shakily, “…and you are here for the same reason?”

Recognizing his attempt to keep the conversation going, you hummed. “Not much. I’m too out of place, I think. I’m not exactly someone who is very involved with soccer and sport or anything at this party,” you offered as you remembered why you were here in the first place. “Or most of them, at least.”

“Ah… I see…?” Isagi responded. You could feel his curiosity. However perhaps out of courtesy, he refrained from asking more.

“Well, a nobody like me aside—I suppose I should congratulate you for something, shouldn’t I, Isagi? Though I have to admit I really am not updated with what this party is for,” you swiftly tried to change the topic.

Isagi looked at you in confusion, before finally catching what you meant, he replied with a chuckle, “Ah! It’s nothing really, there isn’t much going on yet, so congratulating me for now is a bit…”

“Is that so?” you raised your eyebrows at that for a moment. Offering him a teasing smile, you continued, “Oh, well, then let me congratulate you for every past achievement then, Mr. Ace Striker. Even a commoner with no knowledge of soccer has heard of you.”

Isagi grew bashful at that nickname, all while looking as if he was preening and proud of such title. Still fully looking at him, you tried not to seem too amused by his reaction. He laughed as he looked away, facing the view in front of him instead, “Ha ha—thanks.”

“My pleasure. But, really, I would have thought something was going on with all these,” you gestured towards the ballroom, “you know.”

At the mention of the lavish decorations around him, Isagi's eyes looked around him. “Yeah, it’s kind of… something, isn’t it? I mean…”

Isagi’s words drew to murmur as his eyes landed towards what laid somewhere in front of him, his attention seemed to be taken away by something. Out of curiosity, you followed his line of sight.

Only to have your own art at the end of it.

“Huh…” Isagi uttered under his breath, barely whispering. Quickly, his eyes moved to the other paintings, giving each seven of them a look of astonishment.

You struggled to hold back a frown from forming in your face. But, in the end, dissatisfaction still seeped through your words despite your act of indifference, “The paintings?”

Isagi blinked out of surprise at your tone. Promptly, he apologized with a wave of hand, “Ah—my bad! I lose focus—”

“It’s okay.” Despite your best effort to smile politely, you didn’t know what sort of face you were making, Lucikly, Isagi was still entranced by the paintings he just took notice of.

“…are they all in the same theme? The party organizer really put so much into the decor, huh…” he whispered, more to himself than to you.

You hummed mindlessly. Debating whether to stop the conversation or to continue it. Taking Isagi’s politeness since the start of this interaction into account, you settled to do the latter. “Did you just realize their presence now?”

Isagi nodded slightly. “Yeah, I didn’t really have the opportunity to look at them just now… they are pretty cool.”

“…well, those artists have to fulfill a minimum standard in some ways to get paid, so of course they do, I suppose,” you supplied, trying to keep your tone as neutral as possible. “Commissions do work like that after all.”

“You seem to be an expert in this kind of thing,” Isagi noted at the confidence in your comment.

“You could say that,” you said. Unconsciously, your eyes wandered towards your painting, once again staring at it with a gaze that was flat, full of distaste, and detached.

Isagi took notice of your stare and observed that painting once more. “What’s with that painting?” he inquired, wondering what sort of opinion you had of it to stare at it in particular.

“It is messy, clutered, and suffocating, in my opinion, technique and all-around wise,” you elaborated, all while swallowing a tired scoff. If people said what someone made reflects what was inside them in some ways, you wondered what that meant to you.

“…is that so?” Isagi asked back, sounding unsure. “I think it is nice though. All of them are nice.”

Your hands clenched themselves discreetly at that. The more distasteful, arrogant part of you sneered at Isagi’s comment—on how superficial it probably is. While the more pitiful one felt like it let out a laugh of someone who was undeserving to be part of such genuine, harmless praise.

You truly hoped that your expression did not twist into something unpleasant as this conversation went on. You truly did not wish to make this topic a conversation any longer than this.

“Art is subjective after all, in one way or another. I could understand why you say that.” You decided to end the subject there and diverged the conversation back to Isagi. “Do you like art, Isagi?” you questioned him.

“Kind of? I like it, I mean, but I never really get into it that much too,” Isagi said. After taking a moment to try to remember something, he added, “I think the last time I got a chance to do anything with it was during high school?”

What was the chance—for the only person you talked with tonight to be not only one of the party's main attractions but also someone who has at least a bit of interest in art?

“I could imagine that, with how focused you must be in soccer,” you mused. Somewhere from the back of your mind, you could imagine what he tried to imply. To have a passion so close to your heart and get the chance to have it as a big part of your life—it would be hard to put your interest in anything else afterward. Thinking of it, a curiosity sparked itself in you. “If you don’t mind me asking, since when have you been playing soccer, Ace Striker?”

“You will really keep calling me that, huh?” a lopsided smile placed itself on Isagi’s face.

“You look happy with it. So why not?” you told him lightly, before quickly adding with a polite tone. “Ah, but if I’m too nosy—”

“Nah, really, take it easy. It’s nothing like that,” Isagi shrugged off, visibly more relaxed. “I played soccer since I was around four, actually.”

“That’s early,” you said, not shocked at all by his answer.

“I guess? I know some people who started even earlier though.” He ended with a short laugh. Isagi then looked up, as if he was in thought, remembering many things that only he fully understood. “But it really has been a long time since then, huh?”

Watching your companion’s profile closely, you recognized the determined strength he wore. It was easy to read and feel despite the fact you were not privy to his tale. If anything, the fact that his passion for it could be felt by a stranger like you only served as a testament to how deep it is.

“…you must have loved it so much, huh, soccer?” you asked him quietly. A mix of envy and wonder etching itself within your heart.

Isagi’s grin grew wider, slowly turning into something more confident, filled with a sense of nostalgia and pride in them. In every word he spoke, there was no shred of doubt in them. “I do.”

Hearing such answer spoken so honestly and firmly, you found yourself watching him silently.

In Isagi’s eyes shined deep passion and tenacity. It was as strong as it was youthful in a sense. It was raw and strong that it felt like it was larger than the man himself in many ways. It was captivating. Yet, at the same time, it made a heavy emptiness panged somewhere within the cavity of your chest.

Were you like that, somewhere at some long ago, towards your craft? Where you put every single part of your heart and mind into it. Where you were proud of what you do and do it again and again and again and still somehow have fun with it.

It was supposed to feel like that, wasn’t it?

It was supposed to be burning, easy, and light, wasn’t it? It wasn’t supposed to be heavy and choking as how it was for you since who knows when. It really was something else to watch it in someone else—it was wonderfully enviable yet astonishing at the same time.

Feeling such ugly emotions crawling up, you pushed it down towards the deepest pit of your stomach. You tried to offer an understanding, soft smile towards Isagi, “I see. Good for you, Isagi.”

“Yeah,” Isagi replied to you with eyes still staring far ahead. Then, he returned his focus towards you again, a grin plastered on his profile, “Thanks!”

Seeing something as bright and genuine as that, you didn’t bother to try to stop yourself from replying Isagi with one as well, albeit more reserved and dimmer than his.

Feeling the conversation ending, you took a chance to check your phone. The numbers displayed 23.41 the moment your screen lit up. Perhaps it was an appropriate time for you to exit, even if Isagi Yoichi’s presence wasn’t a bad thing in itself. Straightening up your posture, you failed to realize Isagi who was opening his mouth to resume your conversation once again.

“What about—” Isagi stopped, interrupted by a ringtone and a vibration from his phone. Taking it out, Isagi’s face soon fell ever so slightly, “—ah. Seems like I have to go back soon…”

Seeing that both his and your time were up, you politely nod at him. “What a timing, me too. It appears that we both have to cut this talk short. It was a nice talk, Isagi,” you excused yourself, pushing yourself off and emptying your champagne in one go. With an empty glass in hand, you waved him a good bye. “I wish you a better time at the party. See you.”

“Ah—yes, see you,” Isagi replied, catching himself before hurriedly adding a left behind afterthought. “Good talk.”

“Oh, also—” as you had taken steps away from him, you stopped, turning towards him, smiling for one last time as you decided to give him a little hint about yourself, to make it equal, “—I hope you enjoy all of the eight commissioned paintings. ‘Celebration of Ego’ is a theme tailored for Blue Lock, after all.”

With that one last message to him, you walked away, mingling with the crowd without waiting for his reply. Blankly, Isagi Yoichi could only stare wordlessly at your form as it slowly went out of his sight. His eyes then wandered once again towards the painting the two of you had talked about in particular.

“…how…is she…?” Yoichi muttered under his breath, stunned for a few seconds. It took a few blinks and once again, he stared at the painting the two of you had been talking about. A part of him felt a growing hunch from his gut.

That painting was indeed suffocating in a way, as you had commented before. However, undeniably, it was beautifully eye-catching. And while Yoichi admittedly is no expert in art, he would still call it good. He likes how the swirl of colors and gray outlined a figure who stood triumphantly in the center of the painting. The moment someone knew of the theme, it wasn’t hard to grasp its meaning. It also felt like there was more meaning to it that common people in art like him couldn’t grasp.

All in all, despite how critical your comments had been towards that painting’s execution and techniques, Yoichi still could boldly say that it is a sincere, heartfelt painting.

Still and alone, Isagi Yoichi stood in that corner. Mulling over a wandering curiosity left by your encounter. Then, his phone rang once again and Yoichi soon walked away from the corner he had just shared with you. As he walked away, he spared one last glance towards the colorful painting.

Maybe, he would check if it truly was yours later.

series masterlist. ; next.

a.n.: while outlining all the five chapters, i had fun. i hope you, the one who read this, also had fun reading it too, even for a moment. and for everyone who says they want to read this, thank you and i hope it was enjoyable at the very least. writing this with also isagi's pov in mind is an interesting experience tho, it's like doing it twice but only typing down one. unreliable narator is a fun thing to play with. also could you see where my effort goes? one of them is taking that one canon fact isagi likes art and p.e. then going to town with it. lastly, if i open taglist does anyone want in...?

#bllk #bllk imagines #blue lock #bllk x reader #bluelock x reader #blue lock fluff #blue lock x reader #bllk fluff #blue lock scenarios #isagi yoichi #blue lock imagines #bllk isagi #blue lock isagi #isagi x reader #isagi yoichi x reader #isagi fluff #im excited and scared for this for some reason #this thing got a 7k outline written out in two days

[tenderlyrenjun]

relational responding (preview)

summary: renjun fulfills his filial duties by going on an arranged date at a charity gala. 

includes ... gala au/rich kid au, post-college au, blow job, vanilla sex, more eventually .. renjun and the reader have crushes on each other but don’t want to admit it because that means that their matchmaker moms were right. 

approx. wc: 1.5k 

fic release date: idk, i’m applying to phd programmes so this is a low priority right now

anon open for three days; happy lunar 

Renjun chuckles, to substitute breathing.

Only momentarily.

Until he finds the will to tug at the knot in his skinny black tie, peeling away his clammy, wet neck across the scratchy, velvet couch open to the room but hidden behind a militia of hotel floors, not unlike his automatic responses to fight all the aunties, downstairs, interested in his weight, career, or, worst of all, his love life.

Although, if he were being wholly truthful, his love life, tonight, has crossed more milestones in the last two hours than his post-grad art career. And SeMA recently commissioned him for a lobby center piece! So, theoretically, he should be flaunting that success, that achievement, the following prosperity, you on his arm, amongst the gossiping cousins, rather than chasing your lips, with his pelvis, the faster you pull away.

Renjun chuckles again, in the same breathless tune, chest deflating between the couch cushions again. He loosens his tie quickly, completely, yanking it all the way down, the fabric slipping off his neck in a staccato pattern asynchronous against your gags, not a single transitory beat of silence sleeving the room. Your hand mirrors his tie, sinking down his length, anchoring his naked thighs in place while your upper body detaches. And he sighs, whines, just the once, elongated into higher octaves. Something akin to lightheadedness surrounds his head, coaxing him to look down at you, between his legs, a pillow supporting your knees underneath that pretty red gown. Your lips – your plump lips, juxtapose his heavy ones; your teeth biting upward, holding your bottom lip a little less than halfway down.

Renjun sees the millisecond it starts to fall, and he sits up immediately, leaning forward to catch your jaw before it falls, not that it would open widely, but this gives him an excuse to kiss you again, albeit less hasty, like time sponsors him, even though you both snuck into this hotel room, swindling the poor check-in staff out of a key combination. So, you both have to be quiet, else the other guests and the cleaning staff know that you stole a room for a short rendezvous (though, not that short … to preserve his ego). And as a courtesy, you abstained from the bed!

“Something wrong?” Renjun whispers, broken, his voice rasping after underuse, only grunts and praiseful whimpers having passed his lips recently. He asked you, when the both of you knocked into the room, about a half hour ago, whether this was your first escapade, and even though you denied it, he made sure that you were comfortable at each step, waiting for you to squeeze his hand or arm to stop; staying half a step ahead, further in the room; deepening his embraces only on the second kisses. And he hopes that he has been equally receptive, showing you that his pants tightened, lost their slack.

“No,” you answer his question, rasping, too, then coughing – just once –, rubbing your throat. “No,” you repeat. “Is … is something wrong on your end?” Renjun tilts his head to the side – the opposite side from earlier when his head kept lulling down the couch for some assistance, brain shutting down all unnecessary communication that would deviate from his release. It, kinda, forced him to compromise instant gratification just to look at how prettily you took his cock down your throat. And now, he blinks again, shaking his head a few times, newly grown hair fluttering, in layers, around his ears. “‘Cause,” you mumble, satiny lips vibrating around the tiniest gap, from where your tongue peeks just a little bit into his mouth, “you’re going really slow. I’m not fragile; I can take it; I… I like this.” You swallow, audibly, lips closing a hair away, ghost of a kiss barely reaching him. He flutters his eyes to yours, but you continue staring at his gaping mouth, until you speak: “Is this your first time?”

Renjun just smiles.

You’re cuter, right now, than when he first met you a few hours ago, outside the hotel ballroom. He had been waiting for his mom, who, at the end of it all, basically tricked him into attending this charity gala (well, the one downstairs). Initially, she was honest about the premise: wanting to show off her thriving son – likely the main reason, since all social events carry this implicit competition among mothers. But that proved to be a flattery compliance tactic, after she mentioned your name, to finally set him up on an arranged date. And it’s not like arranged dates, or marriages, are uncommon in his social life, in his social circle, she reasoned; plus, it’s not like he doesn't have the time. He just spent the last month between art commissions! (Though, really, Renjun was helping Jeno design some new law firm in Ansan before getting his current job; so, he has two at the moment – three, if she counts his volunteer work). Still, dating is his decision; he really doesn't need his mommy to act as a matchmaker.

And he told her that!

But, adhering to his filial duties, Renjun complied, especially since she cited the upcoming (now presently) Lunar New Year like a “real” reason to listen. Consequently, he was under the impression that she would be attending this charity gala with him, introducing him to friends’ daughters as they showed up. It – the gala – has been delayed since Christmas, with all the schedule mismanagement, not allowing people to battle it out over babaofan. Anyway, his mom told him to wait outside the Lotte ballroom hall wearing a tuxedo (not a suit!; he did that once, emphasis on the once) and ditched him. Renjun only found out that she would not be attending after you showed up in a dark red dress, top layer of fabric matching his midnight black tux over a red slip; your blended jewellery also matching. He sneezed three times, just below his cuff, when you called his name and tripped on tulle, stumbling onto his arm, an old picture of him in bright orange pyjamas on your phone at full brightness. You both confirmed your identities (kids of family friends) and that his mom would not, in fact, be attending – she sent you alone, complimentary against his attire, to trap him in a social situation.

Evil.

But effective.

And Renjun does not know where things changed.

It might have something to do with his pride not wanting to admit that he needed this, that he likes this, likes you. But, one minute, the two of you manifested your own centers of gravity, essentially repelling the other as if joining the same sides of a magnet, starting with small talk basics – complaining about your matchmaker moms, relating over the existential trauma of graduation, talking about your favorite SeMA exhibits, which ultimately led him into a tangent about his work, even though it is, technically, confidential. Then the next second, he had his tongue down your throat, nimble index finger pushing into the hotel keypad (the one into this current room), baited breath silently asking you for consent as his hands clasped outside your erogenous zones – one on your upper back, thumb digging right below your bra wire; the other slacking above your hip, pinking finger imprinting your lacy underwear both into your hip and dress.

Renjun remembers your whimpered ‘yes’s escalating in volume, as your head threw back, exposing your neck deeply. Your leg kicked up, above his waist, forcing his hand forward to catch you. He slid his fingers down your spine, down your ass, giving you a long squeeze, then continuing down the rest of your leg, all while he sucked and lucked and blew into your neck. As a result, you both lost balance, falling against the wall, grabbing onto each other just to stay upright. The accident returned him to your lips, following the last sexy thought you had about AI ruining art; his tongue slithering around, pouring attraction into your mouth, changing how he becomes acquainted with you.

So, Renjun parts your lips again, using the tip of his cock, pushing in broken movements, each one the length of his sharp inhales, until your cheeks fall past his thumbs, laying on his inner thighs. He returns to that comfortable position on the couch, head lulling to the left, face scratching further into the cushion. And Renjun grimaces, nose scrunching, eyes half-closed, an almost pained ah escaping after you gag. His eyes blink rapidly, closing longer and longer the more they flutter.

You shift on your knees, simultaneously grabbing your own hair in an impromptu ponytail then brushing it, completely, to one side, diving a bit further down his cock – which he did not know was even possible(!), given his second grunt, abs crunching, imploring him to lean forward, body practically begging him to fuck you. He tries not to listen, to let you do your own thing, breath bated again, something discernible by his own brain on the very, very tip of his tongue.

“Ah,” Renjun tries, hoping that just starting a syllable will bring the rest of the sentence. It doesn’t. And your slurps, choking in the silence, replace his sentiment anyways.

“Hmm?” you hum, eyes widening under your false lashes, the highlight coated just above your subtle bags also aiding his impending orgasm.

Renjun tightens his grip again, invisible fingernails hooking behind your jaw, bringing you down again. You brace yourself on his bare inner thighs; his pants discarded somewhere near the bed, from when he thought that you two would defile the neat duvet (probably not the best idea, you both agreed, since this rendezvous is meant to be a secret, especially from the original inhabitants). Renjun slips again, this time to sit up, hand instinctively closing around your collarbone, eliciting your choked gasp. He readjusts, jostling you temporarily. Your nails dig into his thighs, and he pauses, chest beating by the millisecond. So, you pinch him again, simultaneously feeding the part of his dick that fell out back into your mouth tongue swiping the underside, eyes downcast, focused. But he grabs your jaw and tilts your chin up. Fuck, he groans.

And in that, he finds the right word: “Pretty.” Simple and effective, judging by the new dimple in your smile line. You whine, complementarily, and Renjun thrusts all way into your mouth, hips lifting off the couch, standing up again. “You like that?” he asks, rhetorically, but you still nod, bobbing, circling, around his length. “You – you wanna know – Fuck – if you’re doing a good job? Is that it?”

Renjun pads his feet stronger into the ground, holding your face steady, gauging your reflex with just one thrust. When you remain impassive – for the most part, because you do gag again, audibly –, he repeats the movement. Except, harder, his new clutch in your hair securing uneven bundles, curtaining the longest strands over your back. And somewhere amidst the micro-actions, his tie falls to the floor (though, it is not as if he had much control to catch it). Renjun thrusts again, and again, and again, punctuating each of his breaths, one after yours. He hears all your sharp inhales, the only ground sound as blood rushes to his ears, muting everything else. Renjun feels his toes curl, his shins shake his knees; and he cradles under your chin again, gaining a better look of your face. It makes you look more obedient, almost makes him cum without the warning he is about to give, his cock throbbing so thickly, so visibly on your tongue, a quarter of it elongated outside your lips.

“Can – can I cum,” he stutters, words seeping into the retraction on his hips, “Inside your mouth?”

You pull away entirely, and he thinks he went too far, but you just inhale, before diving all the way down again, gargling around his base, your tongue poking out slightly, touching his heavy balls. He groans, eyes rolling backward. You bob up and down, swirling your neck counterclockwise, one hand compensating every time an inch leaves your mouth. Suddenly he returns to his shirt, unbuttoning the top few buttons, clammy feeling spreading down his chest, paralleling the saliva building in your throat he keeps touching and the tears pooling the corners of your eyes. Once his cock stops pulsing, just getting thicker, you dive all the way down for the last time, waiting there a second, then pull off, massaging the entire length up to the head of his cock, which rests on your tongue, in your open mouth, like a hose.

The first burst of cum shoots directly upward, at the roof of your mouth, ricocheting down your throat, then the next, a bigger glob, bubbles down his cock. Your tongue conclaves own, like a cup, catching every drop, hooking under his cock, involuntarily titillating the underside, almost goading everything out of him, even though you just have to ask and he will spill, literally. On the last drop, you stick your entire tongue out again, overhead in his cum, licking the last vein away, then sit up, independently, swallowing his cum audibly, almost making a ‘yum’ sound that nearly breaks his refractory period in half.

Renjun pulls a nearby towel on the couch, taking a seat first, again, then pulls you into his lap, draping your skirts over the both of you. It reminds him that your panties were also discarded, sometime around the entrance into this room, tucked nearly into his trouser pocket – a tiny thong, if he remembers clearly. Well, it might as well have been a thong, since he kept fingering the waistband, tugging it upward, slipping his hands over your bare ass. He does it again, spreading your legs wide enough for his thighs to fit on the narrow seat, the short towel. Your knees dip next to his ass, and the hem of your skirt – the crinoline grazing his feet as he pads his heels into the carpet. Renjun sinks into the cushion, your hands falling with him, holding on the top, wrists laying on his shoulders. He snakes a hand between your bodies, trailing up the curve of your side, and brushes your hair, tucking the strands that dropped over your face behind your ears.

“Hi,” you whisper, once your face becomes clearer.

“Hi,” he smiles back, returning his hand to your thighs, simply resting it there.

#renjun x reader #renjun smut #nct dream smut #nct smut #nct dream fluff #renjun fluff #nct renjun x reader

[gnostichymns]

Greetings, travelers! As Autumn settles across Teyvat, its nations are in search of plenty of helping hands for the season's festivities! We've gone ahead and gathered the most important of the tasks here, so take a look and see for yourself!

[ Any commission labeled for a specific nation requires one affiliated muse to complete. ]

[MONDSTADT]: An old tradition in the city of winds has become quite the fun festivity for newer generations. It was once said that during these spooky months of the year, dead relatives would come to visit their families as an act of love and respect, but ghosts happen to be a little clumsy. As such, the people of Mondstadt would hide their knives, and prepare little cakes for their loved ones to eat before lighting a large bonfire outside of town to guide them back to the world of the dead. While ghosts are clearly not real, the tradition of taking the silverware out of the house, preparing a large feast, and lighting a bonfire as part of an Autumn festival still remains. Of course, there’s a lot of work to do, so hustle and help the citizens of Mondstadt out!

[LIYUE]: Qingce Village once had a tradition that during the waning months of fall, the spirits of the deceased would rise from the earth. To appease these spirits, part of this month's harvest was to be given, along with flowers and other gifts to guide these lost souls back to their resting place. Despite allegedly being nothing more than a folktale, there have been increasing reports of crops and other foliage disappearing, as well as strange dirt patterns appearing on the ground. Whether it's a couple of brave weasels, or the myth is true, head to Qingce Village and put these superstitions to rest.

[INAZUMA]: “I just want to play with the humans, but they keep throwing beans at me!”  (A little image of a rather sad looking Red Oni, sitting next to a Blue Oni is depicted).  A tale as old as the nations of Teyvat, a thrilling and heartwarming story of love and sacrifice, The Red Oni and The Blue Oni will be presented during the Mikawa Flower Festival in Inazuma., hosted on Narukami Island. Come see this endearing folktale given life on the main stage, and experience the shocking twists, turns, and bumps along the way. With an average rating of 4.5 stars among InazumaToday and sponsored by the Yae Publishing House, it's a must see for anyone in the area.  (We are also looking for stagehands, actors, and assistants with any background in creative fields or with an artistic mind. Please stop by the Yae Publishing House if interested. )

[SUMERU]: During the previous reign of the Great Sages, many festivities and celebrations were banned in the pursuit of complete control and knowledge. As such, it’s about time we revive and create some new special events to be held. One bright student at the Akademiya read about ancient parties held where people would disguise themselves as monsters to ward off lingering evil energies. While dressing up as a Hilichurl or a slime may not be the hip thing amongst the newer generation, the point still stands that you are hereby invited to the first ever Sumeru Akademiya Costume Party Extravaganza!!! Held in the Rtawahist main hall. Snacks will be provided. :)

[FONTAINE]: Bartholomew, a member of the Fontaine Fishing Association has noticed some invasive fish. Spiny, ugly lil things that are incredibly venomous have been absolutely destroying the ecosystem of Fontaine’s aquatic life. While the Fishing Association has been diligent in reeling in as many as they can, they seem to be spreading like wildfire. They must be stopped. Harpoons will be provided to any set of hands willing to use it for justice and honor! And for shooting these slimy cretins out of the sea.

WARNING. THERE HAVE RECENTLY BEEN SIGHTINGS OF RUIN GUARDS WITH STRANGELY PAINTED MARKINGS NEAR LARGE TRADE ROUTES. IF ENCOUNTERED, FLEE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY.  While most ruin guards either wander aimlessly, or are deactivated until within a certain vicinity, several ruin guards have been found to be quite peculiar as of late. They’ve been collecting whopper flower nectar, slime condensate, and terrorizing local trade routes. These ruin guards all appear to have strange markings as well. We are only looking for reconnaissance, do not try to approach the ruin guard mechs as they are incredibly dangerous. 

Allan, a local ranger and trader, is having some issues with his transport balloon. It appears to have been intentionally sabotaged. Pieces of rope have been burnt, holes have been pierced, and wooden boards are just missing all together. Whether done by a band of lost hilichurls or a tactful saboteur, this is malicious to say the least! Please help Allan repair his balloon and if possible, find the source of what caused this heinous crime.

#gh commission board

[cavalierious-whim]

Of Thrones and Fantasies

Part of 'my rock, my shield'.

Morax cuts a meeting short because he's hot and bothered.

Read here on AO3. You can also, follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky.

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And you can follow my Patreon here as well!

--

Morax finds that he cannot stop staring. 

He should pay attention. Alhaitham’s mouth moves, his voice drones on, and it won’t be long before he says something borderline rude, forcing Morax’s attention back to him. He can split it—his attention. Usually. He’s fairly practiced at letting half of his brain ruminate on his work while the rest of it wanders, but Morax finds himself in the strange predicament of being entirely unable to sort out his brain as effectively as he normally does. 

It’s Tartaglia’s fault. His mate—oh, what a darling thought. It’s Morax’s fault too, he supposes. His inevitable heat inches closer and closer, and Morax finds himself itchy, agitated, and hot underneath the collar. 

“And if you were to lend us—”

Morax’s gaze shifts to Tartaglia who stands there stiff-backed and bored. He yawns, hiding it politely behind a gloved palm—but even in his boredom, his attention remains sharp. His eyes dart around the room, watching their visitors. So protective. Morax smiles, his chin resting against his knuckles as his gaze drops to leer somewhere… less appropriate. What a good boy, he thinks, remembering Alhaitham’s quip about Tartaglia being his little guard dog. Not entirely untrue. Certainly amusing. 

“Your Eminence?”

Right. Right. Morax is supposed to be working. When he looks back at Alhaitham, he sighs at his frown. “Grand Sage—”

“With all due respect, Your Eminence—”

“There is no need to call me that.”

Alhaitham’s mouth twitches ever so slightly. “Your Highness,” he amends. Better. Less… formal. Morax is tired of being reminded that he’s an Emperor; the robes and throne are more than enough to hammer the idea home. “If you could find yourself less distracted, we can sort out the details of our truce.”

Oh. Morax’s expression tightens. “How bold,” he says then, giving Alhaitham a smirk. Tartaglia shifts beside him, mildly uncomfortable. When he meets Morax’s gaze, his eyes are narrowed and suspicious. Morax shoots him a lopsided grin in return. “I wasn’t distracted, I was merely—”

“Watching your little guard dog. Yes, I saw.” Tartaglia shifts his weight and Alhaitham’s gaze settles on him. “Down, boy. I mean no harm.”

If it would not start a war, Morax would be meaner, but he’s already picked a fight with the Tsaritsa, and he rather likes Lesser Lord Kusanali, so he stays the smart retort that sits on the tip of his tongue. “A truce,” he says instead, still resting his chin against his knuckles. “You come here and demand my help, and call it a truce?”

“Yes, well, it’s the rot of your lands creeping into Sumeru, is it not? Karma seems to know no bounds. Our forest is withering away.” 

Morax hums. “I’ve been unable to stop it here, as well, you know. What makes you think I’d be of any use?”

“I know you can’t stop it, but your adepti are known to stay it for the time being. Lend us a few.”

It is not a terrible idea. Morax has a few spare yaksha here and there, and a handful might enjoy the change of scenery. Still, he can’t let Alhaitham think that he’s won. 

“I’ll consider it,” says Morax. “Retire for the night and we’ll reconvene tomorrow.”

“Your Highness—”

“I’m tired. You’re tired. We’re all tired.” Then Morax gives him a sordid smile, one that pulls at the corners of his eyes. “Not to mention I have a guard dog to tend to.”

Tartaglia will be so annoyed. Morax looks and he’s already dragging a hand down his face, cheeks pink with embarrassment. 

“If that is all, you make take your leave.” Morax’s gaze slides around the room. “All of you, in fact. Save Tartaglia. We’ll be fine on our own.”

Alhaitham bows politely and turns on his heel to leave, followed by the rest of Morax’s servants set about the room. Xiao doesn’t leave, stiff in his spot as he casts a narrowed, disapproving glance at Morax. Morax laughs softly at the sight. “Xiao, that includes you.”

“My lord—”

“This room is safe enough and Tartaglia is here. Leave us, please.”

Xiao’s expression melts into a glare directed in Tartaglia’s direction. “I—ugh.” And then he’s gone, winking away, tendrils of his power lingering behind in a haze.

“I think you annoyed him,” says Tartaglia. He relaxes, leaning against the throne now that they are alone. “Then again, my general existence seems to annoy him—hey.”

Morax tugs Tartaglia close roughly, enough so that Tartaglia nearly trips over his boots. “Better,” he murmurs when Tartaglia stands before him. When sitting down on his throne, Tartaglia’s groin is level with his face. “Do you know how distracting you are?” asks Morax, leaning forward to rest his cheek against Tartaglia’s thigh, rubbing against it much like a cat would.

“Are you—shit, what’s the word you used—scenting me?”

Morax had explained it to him, finally. His heat, the nesting tendencies, those old, annoying instincts that have begun to rear their ugly head in the presence of a willing, virile mate. Scenting was one of the more embarrassing ones, as innocent as it is. 

“There are few left that would even realize,” purrs Morax. 

“Xiao is one of them,” sighs Tartaglia. He isn’t annoyed. A little amused, but never annoyed. His hand drops against Morax’s head and he pets his hair sweetly. “He doesn’t need to smell it.”

“He smells it every day, I assure you.”

“Ah. That’s why he’s always giving me the stink eye.”

Morax laughs and nips at the thick material of Tartaglia’s trousers. “The Grand Sage was right, of course. I’m incredibly distracted. You always smell divine, and I find myself wanting, needing.”

Even just a touch, he thinks. That would be enough to satisfy the tightness in his gut—just his mate nearby, and that sharp scent of ocean salt and Abyssal Taint. 

“I get it. I—” Tartaglia cuts himself off abruptly. Morax looks up at him through long lashes, hands sliding up the length of his thighs. “Morax,” he warns.

Morax ignores him, knowing that it isn’t a true protest. Tartaglia’s restraint is paper-thin and he’s quick to give into his whims. Morax hums softly, palming over the front of Tartaglia’s trousers, seeking out the object of his desire. He still looks at Tartaglia, smirking gently at how easily he responds, his legs widening their stance slightly. 

“Zhongli,” he hisses when Morax squeezes his half-hard cock through his trousers. “We’re—”

“Alone,” cuts in Morax. He leans forward and nuzzles Tartaglia’s length through his clothing with his nose. “I cannot wait until later. You know this. I know this. I’ve already told you that I’m needy beyond reason, and it’s because—” He doesn’t say it. He doesn’t need to. Tartaglia’s pupils are blown wide at the thought, and his throat bobs as he swallows.

Morax stands and tilts close, one hand curling around Tartaglia’s neck, and the other still cupping his now fully-hard erection. “If I had the choice, I would squirrel you away. Trust me, Ajax, there is nothing more that I want. But, alas, we have work, and until my heat properly comes, we’ll have to make due.”

Tartaglia’s mouth drops open to ask what he means, only to grunt as Morax pulls at him to swap their positions. The hand around Tartaglia’s neck pushes against his shoulders, guiding him down. “Wait, Zhongli—”

“Sit.”

Tartaglia sits and Morax takes a moment to admire the way he settles so naturally into his throne. Like he belongs there. His mate, worthy of a dragon, worthy of being not just a consort, but an emperor himself. 

Morax settles across his lap and leans close. “So good for me,” he says, playing with the collar of Tartaglia’s uniform. “You should see what you look like, spread out over my throne.”

“Zhongli, I’m not getting undressed.”

“No, you aren’t.” Morax tilts, rolling their hips together. “Like this,” he sighs, curling his arms around Tartaglia’s neck.

Tartaglia’s hands find Morax’s waist, squeezing at it through the thick silk of his formal robes. But instead of stopping him, Tartaglia guides him instead, and slotting Morax against him just so. “What if someone comes in?”

“If it’s Katya she’ll only tease us. If it’s anyone else, I’ll remind them that I am their Lord and Ruler.”

Tartaglia clicks his tongue and gives him a teasing smirk. “Wicked thing, using your station like that.”

“Using.” The word falls from Morax’s tongue, tinged with annoyance. “You make it sound so sordid, so…” He huffs, chuckling, then tilts his face closer to nip at Tartaglia’s neck. “You are my mate and I’ll do as I wish with you, when and where I want.”

Which they do, often and frequently. There are corners of the palace corridors that are painted with memories of their flustered shenanigans. Tartaglia will turn red in the face as they pass by them but Morax just feels affection flood his chest. This, however, is one place they’ve never indulged—the throne room. 

“Darling. I can feel you,” he teases, whispering into Tartaglia’s ear. Another roll of his hips, another grind of their hard lengths together. Morax’s cock twitches, leaking at the tip, and wetting the insides of his robes. The silk is soft as it slides across his cock, and he moans softly against Tartaglia’s jaw. 

There is a franticness to how they move against each other. Tartaglia curses, his fingers tightening around Morax’s hip. He meets his movements, head falling back against the glittering stone of Morax’s Geo-encased throne.  “Quickly, Zhongli,” he mutters, pulling Morax’s face to his until their breaths mingle. “We’ve gotta make this quick.”

Morax kisses him, smiling against his mouth, his laughter getting swallowed up. “Just a taste. Mhmm. And then later—”

“Yeah, later.” Tartaglia leans his forehead against Morax’s, eyes slipping closed. 

Morax could eat him up. He could claw him open, crawl right in, and make a home. And Tartaglia would let him; Tartaglia would welcome him with open arms, murmuring sweet nothings, and praises, and basking in the warmth of their shared heat. 

“Fuck,” hisses Tartaglia then, pulling Morax against him roughly. “I’m—hah.” His hips rise. His erection must ache, and Morax’s cock twitches as it slides along his. They frot like that, groaning at the stiff friction against their clothing. 

Morax could pull open his trousers and get a proper hand around Tartaglia’s cock, but there’s something fun about doing it just like this, like teenagers, like horny young things who are too desperate to go about this properly. Later, he’d said. Later he’ll let Tartaglia pull him apart carefully, but for now, this is what they do, rolling together like the tide against the shore.

Tartaglia groans, his eyelids fluttering. A crease mars his forehead—Morax knows that look. “If you’re close, darling, there isn’t a need to hold on.”

“That’s—Zhongli.”

Morax laughs, a deep sound against Tartaglia’s ear. He kisses the shell of it, his tongue snaking out to flick the forked tip against the edge. Tartaglia whimpers against his throat. He grinds against Morax with unsteady, stuttered movements, and then stills with a grunt. 

Perfection. Morax nips at his ear, coming as well, soiling the inside of his robes with his spend. He peels back and kisses Tartaglia’s sweaty brow.

It sinks in, then, just what they’ve done, how Tartaglia sits on his throne with the Emperor splayed across his lap. He groans, this time in embarrassment, not heady lust, and he hides his face against Morax’s nape. “I’m going to have to change,” he mutters. 

“There are worse things.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“Like leaving your mate bereft and wanting.”

Tartaglia snorts against his shoulder and then tilts his face to kiss the silk collar there. “Bereft,” he repeats. “You’ve been using that word a lot lately.”

“How can I not? Ajax, my instincts run wild and they will only get worse.”

Until he’s satiated, full and fat of Tartaglia’s come, the illusion of being bred is finally fulfilled. Morax blames his lizard brain. Those old nesting tendencies. How much he loves his darling knight and the sweet way he takes care of him. Even now, Tartaglia watches him with pinked cheeks and affectionate eyes. 

“You were staring at my dick,” says Tartaglia with a wolfish grin. “Everyone noticed.”

“And everyone should. You are mine.” Morax cradles Tartaglia’s face between his hands and kisses the tip of his nose. Then his mouth, short and sweet, before pulling away and standing. He sighs at his soiled clothing—but then Tartaglia waves his hand, his Vision glows, and suddenly, the inside of Morax’s robes are… considerably drier than before.

He gives Tartaglia a curious look. “It’s—well, it isn’t gone. I just… removed the water. The rest of it is still…” Tartaglia cringes, rubbing at his neck. “You’ll still want to change. Eventually. If you want. But knowing you—Oh.”

Morax is kissing him again, swallowing Tartaglia’s words. This kiss is lingering and needy, his tongue sweeping through Tartaglia’s mouth as if he’s missed his taste for months. When they part, Tartaglia is breathing heavily. “So good to me,” purrs Morax. “How thoughtful.”

“You’re still covered in—”

“How long until someone comes to look for us, do you think?” asks Morax instead.

Tartaglia blinks. “Um. Well. Depends on who’s looking, but Xiao already knows we’re up to no good, so…”

“So I can keep kissing you, then? I can keep indulging in this fantasy of you sitting on my throne—”

“What fantasy?”

Morax’s mouth curls into a serpentine grin. Oh, this boy. There are so many deranged thoughts that Morax has had concerning the throne room, so many things they’ve yet to work through and experience. “I’ll spare you the details,” he says. “For now at least.” 

He settles across Tartaglia’s lap again, this time side-saddle and in a far more appropriate fashion. He butts their noses together, nuzzling the soft skin of Tartaglia’s face. “It is a stupid indulgence,” he admits. “Nothing more.”

Tartaglia gives him a lopsided grin and dives in once more for that requested kiss. 

#Cavalierious Fanfic #genshin impact #genshin impact fanfiction #genshin fanfic #genshin #childe/zhongli #tartaglia/zhongli #tartali #my rock my shield #genshin smut

[waterlinkedgirl]

Hey everyone! Water here! 💙💛 It might be a bit of an unusual post, but there's been a few folks who have asked if I have a ko-fi or the likes, or have otherwise said they would have liked to have supported me monetarily one way or another. While this is obviously my hobby rather than my job, and my subtitles will forever remain free, I don't think there's anyone who wouldn't accept a gesture of gratitude in the form of a penny or a dime if offered so, especially for something they put time and work in. (And some money but that doesn't count since I'd have bought the myus in question anyway, haha).

So I have! opened a ko-fi! ✨

Its main purpose, though, will be giving those who wish to give generic monetary tips/thank-yous a way to do so 🥺. I won't be taking outright commissions for for example shonichis, as detailed in the blog post on that page, because of my turnaround time (more than months) and, well, the tightrope that these kinds of things naturally walk on. However, what I can do is set up a Queue!

I have a set schedule of Main Myus, that won't be influenced by anything other than current events and my own whims. However, I also have a bunch of Side Projects of various sizes (shonichis, other performances of multi-day streams, non-toumyu works like Toukabu, Kiden, or Tenimyu, etc.) that I could bump up based on interest!

So what I can do is the following: I'll make a Tumblr post with my current projected Queue of Main Myus and Side Projects. If you wish to tip/sponsor me, and in it you mention looking forward to a certain Main Myu or Side Project/would've otherwise have liked commissioning me for it, I'll put an exclamation mark ! next to the title! Based on those exclamation marks ! , in other words, based on interest, I'll move the Side Projects up or down in their respective queues, or add them to the list of projects I plan to soon ('soon') be working on.

It'll be a slower system than direct commissions, since Main Myus will still take precedence and those also take months to do properly. It will be more akin to weighted suggestions, and with the amount of Side Projects I have I might have to put some projects on hold at times, so please don't tip with a "looking forward to" if you wouldn't have tipped otherwise!

And, I hope this speaks for itself, but my askbox on Tumblr here will keep on being my main means of communication, and will obviously stay open for those who prefer to give thanks with words rather than with coins! I, very simply put, enjoy it when people tell me my subs have helped them enjoy a work 🥺

#please don't feel pressured to tip! #I hope it's clear I don't tl for monetary rewards but primarily because I enjoy seeing messages that people enjoyed themselves thanks to my #subtitles!

[female-malice]

Minnesota Takes Action on Missing and Murdered Black Women

In an effort to address the issue in Minnesota, state legislators and advocates created the Missing and Murdered African American Women Task Force – the first of its kind in the country. The task force, which started in 2021, wrapped up in December 2022 and issued its final report that same month.

A lack of data makes it difficult to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the murders of Black women and girls. FBI data shows that in more than 50% of Black women’s murders nationally, the victim’s relationship to their killer remains unknown. At the same time, what data is available suggests Black women are often killed by someone familiar.

In 2020, among cases where the relationship of the victim to the offender was reported, about 59% of Black women and girls were killed by a known acquaintance and over 30% were killed by a family member, according to FBI data.

“Women are killed by partners or for other factors related to intimacy, in private and not during the commission of other felony crimes, unlike men who are more likely to be killed in public,” says Shatema Threadcraft, a professor of gender, sexuality studies and political science at Vanderbilt University.

Black families face an unjust justice system and the “subjective process” of Amber Alerts, the nationwide alert system that broadcasts information on missing persons, says Minnesota state Rep. Ruth Richardson, a task force member and the sponsor of the legislation that launched it. She and others say Black girls are often considered runaways, meaning law enforcement won't issue an Amber Alert for them.

Rosa Page, a registered nurse who heads the Black Femicide Prevention Coalition – an online advocacy group formerly known as Black Femicide U.S. – has spent the last five years painstakingly recording and boosting thousands of cases of missing and murdered Black women and girls across multiple social media platforms.

“There are no flyers, there is no information many times – even (for) the missing women and girls on my page,” says Page, who believes the official numbers of missing and murdered Black women and girls are likely undercounts.

The alarming numbers of cases and lack of attention were not lost on Richardson, who sought to address the issue following her election to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018. “The first time I introduced the bill (in 2019), it didn't move at all,” she says.

Then a year later, Minnesota became the epicenter for racial justice protests following George Floyd’s murder, an event which she says served as a “catalyst” for a movement for Black women’s justice. In the eyes of the Minnesota government, Richardson says, racism had finally been reframed as a “public health crisis,” allowing for the establishment of the state’s Select Committee on Racial Justice in 2020 and later the passage of the legislation that gave birth to the task force.

Task force members, including survivors and experts – from law enforcement members to housing and child welfare specialists – spent over a year unraveling the racism, sexism and disproportionate victimization encountered by Black women.

In many such community-oriented initiatives in Minnesota, there’s often a “disconnect between the government and the community,” and a sense that communities are being spoken for rather than with, says Artika Roller, a task force member and executive director of the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault. To combat this, the task force emphasized community participation and comments from those touched by violence.

But getting cooperation from affected women and families was no easy task, as some feared blowback from their own community and potentially powerful people. Just 15 people came forward to testify about their experience in front of the task force.

“They’re afraid of losing their employment,” says Lakeisha Lee, who co-chaired the task force and leads a variety of women's and sex trafficking advocacy groups, including the Brittany Clardy Foundation, in remembrance of her sister who was murdered in 2013. “They're afraid because of where they live … that the people in power – their dominance – will affect them and their families directly.”

The task force’s final recommendations are varied – from anti-racist training for health care workers and other professionals to direct funding for vulnerable Black women and girls. Housing was a particular focus, as housing insecurity can force women facing violent domestic situations to stay and others onto the streets.

[monstersandmaw]

Do you ever plan on opening commsions again? Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm a mobile users so trying to find info is difficult 😅

I never mind people asking questions and Tumblr's search function is absolute garbage, so don't worry.

The short answer is 'no, not really'. I'd love to be able to, but I get completely overwhelmed by the immense pressure that comes with commissions so easily that I just don't think I can handle that yet. I'm still (believe it or not) recovering from my post-Patreon burnout!).

I did do a trial thing where you could sponsor a story from a small shortlist and I would then write that, and people seemed to think it was a good idea to 'crowdsource' commissions without so much pressure, so I might pick that up again if there's interest. I'm open to suggestions for that, but it's more like 'hey I want to write these stories, and if you want me to write one of them you can donate to make it happen', rather than a specific commission where you'd have complete control over the contents etc, if that makes sense? I've still got the dremora lad to do for that though.

#commissions #anon ask #sponsor a story

[petervintonjr]

"That is, after all, how it works. We don't come here with hatred in our hearts. We have to be taught to feel that way. We have to want to be that way, to please the people who teach us to want to be like them. Strange, to think that people might learn to hate as a way of getting some approval, some acceptance, some love. I thought about all that."

Double biography today. And even a cursory glance at this weekend's headlines will make fairly obvious why I chose to talk about these two people.

Born in 1941 Chicago, Emmett Till was 14 years old when, on August 24, 1955, he was kidnapped and tortured to death by a white mob in Money, Mississippi for the never-proven "crime" of flirting with a white woman. His mutilated body was retrieved from the Tallahatchie River three days later. His mother, Mamie Till-Bradley, made the agonizing decision for her son's bloated, mutilated body to be displayed in an open casket funeral at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, in Chicago. Thousands of people lined up to view the body and more than 50,000 mourners attended the funeral service. The resultant media coverage threw a spotlight on extrajudicial lynchings in the U.S., and forced a greater public discourse on segregation, racial violence, and systemic inequality.

In September of that year Till's accused murderers were ultimately acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury after only 67 minutes' deliberation. Four months later the accused murderers openly admitted to the crime to journalist William Bradford Huie, in an article that would then appear in the Jan. 24, 1956 edition of Look magazine. This article's publication was in many respects a clarion call to justice for many grassroots and local activists, kickstarting the Modern Civil Rights Movement.

Mamie Till-Bradley continued to advocate for social and racial justice for the rest of her life, never passing up an opportunity to educate about the circumstances of her son's murder right on up until her death in 2003. While Till's story remains a part of the American public consciousness (even directly informing the underlying plot of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird), the details tend to become lost to time --glossed over, sanitized. Of late this has been notably mitigated, with 2022's airing of the miniseries Women of the Movement on ABC, featuring Adrienne Warren as Mamie Till-Bradley. In March of 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, and this past October the feature film Till premiered in theaters, directed by Chinonye Chukwu and starring Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till-Bradley. One attendee at the notorious 1955 trial was future State Sen. David Jordan (D-Greenwood), who successfully sponsored the commissioning of a bronze statue of Emmett Till, unveiled in October of 2022 at Rail Spike Park.

(Read "What Emmett Till's Mother Taught Me About Grief and Justice" by Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin.)

Bottom line here: Emmett Till's story has pointedly NOT vanished into invisibility and obscurity, unlike a great many other lynchings and massacres. But the larger issue is more primal: Emmett Till should still be alive, today --he should be comfortably just into his eighties, possibly enjoying the company of grandchildren. And to pull that very same thread, Amadou Diallo should still be alive; Trayvon Martin should still be alive; Breonna Taylor should still be alive --they should all be into their late-twenties, possibly settling into a career, perhaps starting families of their own.

Tyre Nichols should still be alive.

Incidentally, these biographies all now have a permanent home, rather than subject themselves to arbitrary throttling-down at the murky whims of various social media. Safer and more sensible that way, especially since so many states (mine included, unfortunately) have redoubled their efforts to ensure that this subject matter stays out of school curricula. New to this series? Go here to start the lessons: http://www.petervintonjr.com/blm/start.html

Black History Month kicking off in a few more days, my friends. More biographies and accompanying art, still to come. I feel as though I keep repeating this, but: we've a lot still to learn. So go study.

#emmett till #mamie till-bradley #blm #blacklivesmatter #teachtruth #dothework

[axolotlclown]

Would you happen to have some studies to back up the "more than one coffee means you're addicted" thing, please? Pretty sure I've seen that disproven as a lens to understand addiction through at all

~ 🪴

Hey! So sorry I never saw this anon. It never appeared in my notifs and I'm really bad about checking my askbox.

You have asked a question that falls in line with a field I am very passionate about! I found some interesting articles in my school library. I'm going to go ahead and write this response, but I'm still waiting on access to a few journals. I'll have to convert those ones to PDFs as they are likely behind paywalls.

Anyway, here's my long post where I intend to rant about a lot of different barely related topics. Caffeine addiction is one of those really controversial but historically significant subjects in psychology!

So let me start off with how to read and break down a journal. It's one of those things where if you don't go to college and specifically major in a research related field, no one ever teaches you how to do it. That sucks.

So when you're looking at a journal, the first thing you want to do is background check the author. What school did they go to? What degrees do they have? (For research, they should have a Ph.D. no matter what.) What is their current place of employment?

Often companies, or other private businesses, will commission someone to do some research and fudge the results to make that company look better. We saw this recently in regards to gender affirming care. The United States House of Representatives had proposed legislation to restrict gender affirming care for transgender youth. The Republican sponsor of the bill had presented a single piece of research that he claimed was significant. The research found that transition regret rates were somewhere in the 30% range. (I don't remember exactly and I know that I could quickly look it up, but I just spent the past two hours reading addiction research. I'll find it tomorrow.) Upon looking into the author and the sponsors of this research, psychologists found that the journal the congressman presented was commissioned by a conversation therapy center in Florida. The research held obvious bias, poor peer review, and inconclusive results. The bill didn't pass. I'm not sure they even voted on it, actually.

Anyway, this is why we need to be critical of the research we read. Chocolate, wine, caffeine, gender dysphoria, and autism are notorious subjects that require more scrutiny before reading.

So, caffeine addiction. This is a subject that more than one field is interested in. Before you read an article, you need to be sure what question you are asking. Psychologists are concerned with a more scientific or factual approach. In this context, a psychologist would be researching the concrete effects of caffeine on mood, sleep, and other psychological disorders. Sociologists are more concerned with the overall social consequences of caffeine addiction. They would be asking how mood and sleep affected family, work, and personal welfare. For your question, we're going to look into the psychological aspect. Also, I'm studying psychology, not sociology, so I would feel like an idiot answering those types of questions.

This distinction matters. When I opened my school's EBSCOHost database, I simply typed in "caffeine addiction" to start. I was bombarded with sociological articles and journals about the affects of caffeine addiction on productivity at work and on mood. Strange overlap with psychology. Two problems: some of the top articles had researchers with ties to coffee companies, and all "caffeine addicts" were self-reported. For the latter, this meant that there was no standard for how much caffeine was consumed. Rather than being a concrete article about caffeine consumption, it was more of a survey of public opinion. You want to avoid those unless you specifically want to know about the public opinion. Even psychologists run surveys all the time (they're cheap and easy), but people often lie on surveys, even if they're anonymous.

So I typed in more specific key words and came up with these articles. I'll talk about some without leaving a link, but that's because I had to request the PDFs for sharing. I'll come back to this post and link them. (Let me know if the ones I do link are broken.)

Okay, so I'm going to start off with a journal that interested me, personally. This study actually observed the effects of caffeine on psychiatric patients. This is an important reminder that different drugs influence different brains. Someone with ADHD experiences caffeine differently for a neurotypical person. Caffeine is a stimulant, and ADHD medications are stimulants. Cool. What about other disorders?

Here's the Sparknotes of the study, "Caffeine intoxication was more prevalent in psychiatric patients than in healthy subjects. The amount of caffeine intake was shown to be associated positively with the severity of pathology and inversely with sleep quality."

The study goes more into depth about the different psychological disorders that different patients had. There were 401 patients participating in this study (150 healthy individuals). Overall, continuous caffeine intake showed a decline in sleep quality and a general increase in severity of other mental illnesses.

So what causes that? What is caffeine? Here's an article that looks into studies about caffeine consumption and performance, as well as what the causes of an addiction could be and what constitutes an addiction. This is one I recommend giving a read, as it helps to illuminate a common problem with researching intoxicants.

Here's the big take away: "Although caffeine is widely perceived to have beneficial psychostimulant effects, appropriately controlled studies show that its apparent beneficial effects on performance and mood are almost wholly attributed to reversal of the withdrawal effects that occur after fairly short periods of abstinence (e.g. overnight)."

In habitual coffee users, the increase of mood and performance after consumption of caffeine is caused by the removal of withdrawal symptoms. Grouchy mood and lack of coordination are symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. Where one may perceive positive reinforcement for initial consumption, for habitual consumers, withdrawal symptoms become a negative reinforcement.

So, for people that drink coffee everyday, it's less about getting the positive effects of caffeine, but rather avoiding the negative effects of withdrawal. This can be classified as an addiction. There is now a reliance on this substance.

Something this article also points out is that caffeine is not just found in coffee. It's found in chocolate and most medications these days as well. Therefore, complete stone cold abstinence from caffeine can be next to impossible, making control groups difficult to find. This leads to the varying research and controversy between psychologists.

Okay, but coffee can't be as bad as alcohol or anything right? Caffeine is practically harmless! Let's take a look into an article discussing the health impacts of caffeine. (I'll provide the full text to this one tomorrow.)

In Dr. Saimaiti's article titled, "Dietary Sources, Health Benefits, and Risks of Caffeine," she explores the benefits of occasional consumption of caffeine and weighs them against habitual overconsumption of caffeine.

While occasional consumption can actually improve mood and cognitive ability, these benefits are lost with daily consumption.

Few people drink their coffee black. For those that put creamer, milk (especially oat), or straight sugar or syrups in their coffees daily, they may be overconsuming sugar. This is especially hard on an empty stomach. This is part of the reason you "crash" later in the day. The sugar raises your blood sugar. For most healthy people, this may not be the biggest deal in the world. For others, it could be a key factor in developing diabetes later in life. In general, don't drink coffee on an empty stomach. Have it with a meal. It's also easier on your liver.

Speaking of liver, what does your body do with the caffeine after you drink it? Caffeine follows the same principle as alcohol. Occasional consumption of red wine can help thin your blood and lower your hemoglobin (something that women may be more concerned about as they get older). However, daily consumption of wine can cause stress on the liver and potentially lead to dementia later in life (I say potentially because there has been a correlation, but no solid research as to why. While correlation does not always mean causation, it's important to acknowledge them in the meantime.)

Caffeine behaves in the same way. Continuous consumption of caffeine can put some real stress on your liver over time.

Caffeine is dangerous for those with cardiovascular problems. While this seems like a "duh!" point, many people don't know that they may be prone to cardiovascular issues until an event happens. This sounds like fear mongering, but it's something to take into account.

The article discusses pregnant women as well, but I would hope that's intuitive? Maybe not? If you're pregnant you should avoid intoxication in all forms.

I'll drop this quote from the conclusion of the article for now (I felt weird quoting text that you can't access yet, so I'll come back with more quotes when I can give you the PDF): "the long-term or over-consumption of caffeine can lead to addiction, insomnia, migraine, and other side effects."

The point is, caffeine consumption can be more dangerous to some than others in general, but excessive consumption with lack of knowledge can lead to long-term damage to one's health.

Okay, that study talks about a relatively small niche. Let's get broad. Let's talk about sleep and cognitive performance. (Another study I'll have the PDF for tomorrow.)

In Dr. Gottselig's article titled, "Random Number Generation During Sleep Deprivation: Effects of Caffeine on Response Maintenance and Stereotypy," she looks at the effects caffeine has on cognitive performance during sleep deprivation.

The conclusions of this research makes a very important point: "caffeine preserves simple aspects of cognitive performance during sleep deprivation, whereas caffeine may not prevent detrimental effects of sleep deprivation on some complex cognitive functions."

This article particularly found that while small cognitive functions such as motor ability improved with caffeine, complex cognitive functions such as problem solving and memory declined.

While a college student could read this and understand that pulling an all nighter and drinking 10 Red Bulls probably won't help them pass their test, there's something much more to be said about these findings.

One sleep deprived night won't kill you, and certainly drinking a cup of coffee to get you through the day won't either. But caffeine cannot prevent the damage that regular sleep deprivation does. Sleep deprivation leads to memory loss, worsening symptoms of depression/anxiety/ADHD, increased chances of developing dementia early (this one is real), and a decline in overall cognitive ability.

Rough. But it is a trap. If you have insomnia, caffeine may feel like your only choice to be somewhat functioning throughout the day. Caffeine promotes symptoms of insomnia. It's a vicious cycle if you can't afford proper treatment, and one, that I hope, that will be addressed with time.

So if you have the ability, it's better to prioritize a good night's sleep. I'll come back to this.

For now, why is caffeine addiction so controversial then? Well, it may not be for long. While there was a push to add "caffeine" to the list of diagnosable addiction in the DSM since the 1980's, the inconsistent and inconclusive research has led to a standstill. As we say with Dr. Jame's article, it is difficult to get a control group for caffeine. However, as research for alcohol and marijuana progresses, our knowledge of how to properly study intoxicants does as well.

The long-term health side effects of caffeine are still being studied as well. While this aspect isn't unique to caffeine at all (marijuana, for example, is just now getting approved for research, where before it was illegal), it's still worth acknowledging what we do know, for now at least.

So, coming back to the DSM. There's a new one coming out pretty soon. It's the talk of the town among psychologists right now. Everyone is arguing about what should be in the DSM-6. It'll be crazy when it does come out. Autism, OCD, Gender Dysphoria, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Facial Dysmorphia are just a few examples of disorders that will likely be completely recategorized.

(Unrelated, but Autism Spectrum Disorder is a big one because a lot of psychologists are arguing that it shouldn't be classified as a disorder at all. The reason being is that Autism is so common, that psychologists are theorizing that the majority of the population falls on the spectrum somewhere. Either way, the diagnosis is about to completely change because of this fact.) (Well, all of them are big ones. I could make a whole separate post about it.)

Anyway, the push to make caffeine diagnosable is becoming a promising endeavor as research continues to come out.

One psychiatrist pushing for this is Ronald Griffiths. In his opinion piece, Griffiths recalls his patients experiencing caffeine withdrawal symptoms that led to a decline in the quality of life. One of his patients was diagnosed with breast cancer and needed to stop drinking coffee immediately. This patient struggled with severe withdrawal symptoms that were difficult to manage while on cancer treatment.

Griffiths explains how difficult it was to treat this patient because it wasn't something he could easily diagnose with the DSM-5, something insurance companies use to decide whether they're going to pay for care or not. Add on the bills for cancer treatment, and you rapidly have a distressing situation on your hands.

Joseph DeRupo, spokesman for the National Coffee Association in the U.S. as quoted in this article states, "What we have here is really the opinion of one scientist who is a lone voice against the accepted view of the scientific community."

Lone voice? In barely an hour I was able to find 5 credible articles, all backed by credible researchers, supporting the understanding that American society consumes too much caffeine. You can take a General Psych class in college and the textbook would spend half a chapter going over caffeine addiction and the controversial research around it. Coffee companies piss me off. And most companies use slave labor to harvest their beans and lobby to prevent legislation to prevent it. Guillotine.

Griffiths also claims that "[e]ven people who consume as little as 100 milligrams of caffeine a day—the equivalent of one small cup of coffee—can become physically dependent."

So this ask is pretty old, but I'm guessing it was in response to me saying that you should only drink one cup of a random beverage a day and the rest be water. This keeps you hydrated and helps cut out where the majority of your sugar intake is. I called it the "desert beverage" and that "coffee counts."

It really does. In the morning, one feels tired, foggy, and grouchy. "Don't talk to me until I've had my morning coffee." They would make their coffee out of habit, barely minding the taste of it—drinking to medicate the headache they've already caused.

Life is worth celebrating, and if we can find little things in our day to celebrate, we should! When coffee becomes a habit, it's just a habit. That's sad.

I worked as a barista for a while at a coffee shop that hired people with intellectual disabilities. That experience is what made me switch my major to psychology in the first place. But I saw the joys coffee could bring, and the damage it can do, too. I had a coworker who would come in and throw a tantrum if we didn't immediately stop what we were doing and make him a coffee—and again in two hours before the end of his shift. It's upsetting.

I do remember the joys, too. Our manager would show us a new niche coffee drink from a random country. We would make cubanos like they would in Haiti and talk about the different names they had in different countries around the world. It ruled.

I don't drink coffee every day anymore. But it's always a wonderful thing when I do. You don't need to have an "excuse" to drink a cup of coffee—you don't need to celebrate anything at all. Coffee, tea, wine, soda, and juice should be celebrated as they are. Drinking them out of habit destroys joy. Intentional habits create stable foundations in life. Unintentional habits create monotony and boredom.

Anyway, the sleep thing I said I'd come back to. So if you're having trouble sleeping, here's the hot tip: avoid screens 30 minutes before going to bed. That sounds easy, but how many of us scroll our phones, watch TV, or play a video game right before bed? It's not worth it.

Instead, do something away from your phone that you enjoy. I like to read, but you can draw, journal, listen to some music, practice an instrument, or write something. Doesn't matter, just don't use your phone or laptop. Set a 30 minute timer for time.

If you're still struggling to sleep, you may find meditation useful. Meditation uses techniques that make your brain send beta waves which relaxes you and is the first step to falling asleep. But! If you try to learn some meditation, you'll have to commit to practicing it every night for it to be useful. It's a skill that requires practice.

Anyway, I could make a whole separate post about evening/morning/afternoon routines as that is another one of my passions, but yeah.

TLDR; An occasional cup of coffee is actually great and wonderful, but you really shouldn't drink it every day, especially more than once a day.

PS. I love Red Bull cream sodas more than the God that created them, I swear, but I only drink maybe one or two energy drinks a year. Energy drinks will dissolve your liver faster than hydrochloric acid can. An alcoholic drinking 5 packs of beers a day will look at your liver and be impressed. Also the Panera lemonade should be illegal. That shit is CRAZY. That bitch had more caffeine than a Bang energy drink. It literally killed a man. Wild.

#anon im gonna be so incredibly transparent #before you read this #i spent four and a half hours researching and putting this together #and i still gotta add more sources tomorrow after my school send the pdfs to me #so i didnt proof read it #im tired #i hope it makes enough sense #also sorry if it sounds like i mansplained in the beginning and end #i dont know who you are or what your background is #so i tried to cover my corners as much as i could #anyway #i got a little buddhist philosophy at the end there to #as a treat for me #i hope it doesnt sound preachy #i need a nap bro #sorry for taking so long to get to your ask #i never saw it until now #BUT #i hope it worked as a good starting point if you wanted to look into more #let me know if the links are fucked and ill try to fix them #asks of dante #thoughts of dante #ill tag your little emoji bc i figured that was purposeful #🪴

[whileiamdying]

‘Beyond the Wall’ Review: A Grueling Guided Tour of an Iranian Police-State Nightmare

A suicidal blind man and an epileptic fugitive mother become physically and psychologically trapped in Vahid Jalilvand's bruisingly assaultive polemic against Iranian state oppression.

By Jessica Kiang Sep 8, 2022 11:31am PT

Nobody emerges unscathed — least of all the audience — from Vahid Jalilvand‘s highly effective, deeply unpleasant “Beyond the Wall,” a morbidly violent allegory for the effects of state-sponsored trauma on the individual that places contemporary Iranian society somewhere on the map between the sixth and seventh circles of hell. A strange combination of intricate, almost sci-fi-inflected psychological thriller, splenetic social-breakdown broadside and two-hander (torture) chamber drama, it is an exercise in bravura filmmaking applied to a story so relentlessly grim you might wish it were a little less well-made, giving you an excuse to look away. In his 2017 film “No Date No Signature” (which won Best Director and Best Actor in Venice’s Horizons sidebar), Jalilvand pictured a stratified society teetering on the edge of legality and morality; here, however, it has toppled entirely into the abyss. The only way is down, and the filmmaker is bringing you with it.

These uncompromising intentions are signalled by an opening salvo that would surely be any other film’s brutalizing emotional nadir, as we’re introduced to Ali (“No Date, No Signature” star Navid Mohammadzadeh) in the commission of an attempted suicide. No mere “cry for help,” it is not just the act itself but the manner he has chosen that is shocking: In the dripping damp of a dingy bathroom, Ali wraps a soaking T-shirt around his head, ties a plastic bag over that and shoves his battered hands down behind the shower pipe, effectively cuffing his own arms behind him while he screams and suffocates. The scene is such a trial to witness, it’s possible to miss the brief, disorienting, semi-subliminal inserts where it appears the violence is being done to him by someone else — or to think you have imagined them. 

It is only an insistent pounding on his front door that brings Ali back from the brink. Breaking the pipe and tearing off his plastic shroud, he shuffles, gasping, dripping, broken, to answer it. The men at the door inform him that a woman wanted for a heinous crime has fled custody and was last spotted on the fire escape of his forbiddingly enormous apartment building. They suspect him — for some reason more than all the other residents — of harboring her. Ali shoos the men away, but we know that the woman, Leila (Diana Habibi), has indeed infiltrated his home and is cowering beneath a countertop, hands clasped over her bleeding, chapped lips to stifle her sobs. Ali has not seen her, because he does not see anything much. His failing eyesight is not just a temporary symptom of his recent near-death encounter, but a condition brought on from an earlier trauma, and it is degenerating faster than it should, as Ali refuses to use the treatments prescribed by sympathetic doctor Nariman (Amir Aghaee) on his frequent house calls. 

It takes a painfully long time — and rather too many sequences of Ali feeling his way down his apartment’s yeasty, peeling walls, lighting cigarettes with palsied hands and peering at a mysterious letter he’s received — but eventually, as must happen, Ali discovers Leila. She is, and remains, terrified throughout but in Ali she has lucked upon the one man in this whole building (perhaps even the one man in all of Iran) who wants, obscurely, to help her. It might be because, given his initial state, he has little to lose. But perhaps it is something else, something like a shot at redemption for the unknown sins of a past that more frequently forces itself into the present as Ali and Leila’s predicament worsens.

It takes a painfully long time — and rather too many sequences of Ali feeling his way down his apartment’s yeasty, peeling walls, lighting cigarettes with palsied hands and peering at a mysterious letter he’s received — but eventually, as must happen, Ali discovers Leila. She is, and remains, terrified throughout but in Ali she has lucked upon the one man in this whole building (perhaps even the one man in all of Iran) who wants, obscurely, to help her. It might be because, given his initial state, he has little to lose. But perhaps it is something else, something like a shot at redemption for the unknown sins of a past that more frequently forces itself into the present as Ali and Leila’s predicament worsens.

The tricksiness of the finale, however, does somewhat undercut the seriousness of the film’s more intriguing ideas about how a prison made of concrete can never so comprehensively constrain us as the prisons of the body and the mind. Ali’s failing eyesight, his nerve-damaged hands, his stooped posture and proliferating scars, as well as Leila’s epilepsy and her son’s muteness, can be read as a fleshy physiological allegory for state violence and oppression, as damage to the body social manifesting in damage to actual bodies. But the metaphor only really works up to the point when Jalilvand’s overly complicated plotting comes round on itself. In any case, after more than two hours of seizures, crashes, riots, shootouts, beatings, and endlessly relived trauma, some of the finer points of the movie’s philosophy may escape you, just as you, too, are longing for escape.  

#Iranian Cinema #Vahid Jalilvand #Beyond the Wall #Variety #No Date No Signature #Navid Mohammadzadeh #Diana Habibi #Amir Aghaee

[hostgleidy]

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The following are some common methods that bloggers monetize their blogs:

Billboard Promotion

Joining display ad networks like Google AdSense is one of the simplest ways for bloggers to get revenue. This entails adding code to your website so that it will display advertisements and populate text. Advertisers pay to have their adverts displayed on websites related to their products; publishers receive a portion of the ad network's earnings.

The primary benefit of display advertisements is that they require no more work to run automatically after the code is added. More site visitors translate into more ad views because earnings scale with traffic. Earnings can also be increased by carefully experimenting with ad placement to increase click-through rates. Remember that click fraud is strictly prohibited by Google AdSense and other networks, so concentrate on organic optimization rather than trying to manipulate the system.

Network Marketing

Bloggers can promote products from other firms and earn commissions by using affiliate links. You get paid a percentage each time a visitor to your website clicks on one of your affiliate links and completes a particular task, like signing up or making a purchase.

It is possible to include affiliate links straight into written product reviews. Additionally, you can contextually insert affiliate links into sidebars and blog content. When used properly, affiliate links reward the blogger and offer readers helpful suggestions. One of the biggest affiliate networks in which bloggers take part is Amazon Associates.

Advertised Content

It's customary to accept paid sponsorships from companies in return for reviewing products and creating sponsored content. Writing personalized content that incorporates a brand's messaging is how bloggers make money. It's critical to uphold journalistic integrity while making sponsored content readily visible.

A single sponsored post can bring in thousands of dollars for seasoned bloggers. Ensure that you adhere to the FTC's disclosure rules, which demand unambiguous calls out of sponsored marketing. Putting too many sponsorships on a site might also make it seem less credible. Find a stable equilibrium that suits your specialty.

4.Advising and Freelance Work

After becoming well-known, a lot of bloggers use their knowledge to make money as independent writers, social media managers, internet marketers, and other roles. Bloggers can find one-time gigs through websites such as Blogger Hangouts. Some develop a small number of loyal clients that they provide continuous consultations to. Income from freelancing might be inconsistent but substantial.

5.Online courses and e-books

Making ebooks and online courses to sell builds on your experience as a blogger to increase revenue. For instance, a blogger might distill the best guidance from their writing into a condensed course. Additionally, e-books gather your knowledge into a marketable resource. Use affiliate marketing and email lists to advertise new products.

Crowdinvesting

Similar to public broadcasting, platforms like Patreon enable dedicated followers to support writers with recurring monthly contributions and subscriptions. Direct connections are forged on Patreon between active audiences and creators. Providing contributors with access, insider information, and other benefits helps promote continued support.

Goods

Superfans can show their support in public by purchasing branded merchandise, such as t-shirts bearing the logo of their favorite blog. Custom tees and other creative products strengthen relationships with readers, even though they are less profitable than other revenue streams. Merch provides solutions for current traffic to aggressively convert.

Bloggers typically utilize a mix of these to make money. However, the majority of revenue is often generated in the early phases through affiliate marketing and advertising. More opportunities for monetization arise when an audience grows over time.

What is the potential income from blogging? How Bloggers Get Paid to Write on Their Blogs How Bloggers Get Paid to Write on Their Blogs The following are some salient details regarding blogging's potential for income:

Income varies greatly among bloggers; some are quite successful and earn over $1 million annually. Your business model, traffic, monetization techniques, and niche all play a major role. A blog with 100,000 monthly visitors might, as a very rough estimate, make between $2,000 and $5,000 per month. However, there is a wide range: some people with that traffic make less than $1,000, while others make significantly more. Typical blog revenue streams include sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, display adverts, selling your own goods and services, consulting and freelancing, etc. The more revenue sources you can generate, the better. Building a following and earning money requires patience and consistency; most bloggers don't make much money in their first year of writing, and it might take up to two or three years to establish a successful business. But if you persevere, your income can increase from there. In addition to overall traffic, other elements that affect your blog's monetization potential include the size of your email list, social media followers, SEO rankings, and audience loyalty. The traffic's quality is quite important.

If you are the owner of your audience and platform, your income potential increases. Utilizing external platforms such as Medium or Substack results in increased revenue splitting. The secret is to be patient and strategic; you should have a plan in place to monetize your niche audience, deliver genuine value, and diversify your revenue streams. Blogging can be a full-time source of income, but it requires time and work to establish.

How Bloggers Get Paid to Write on Their Blogs

For those looking to quickly monetize a blog, here are some of the quickest ways to earn money from blogging:

The truth about blogging is that it takes a lot of time and work to develop a profitable following.Still, there are a few quicker solutions that novice bloggers can concentrate on to build their website.

Use Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Earning money with ads is made quick and easy with services like Google AdSense.

Potential for immediate income before significantly increasing organic traffic

An explanation of how to add advertisements to a blog for the first time

Encourage Affiliate Products

locating pertinent affiliate networks simple method for making quick commissions

Over time, compile listings of relevant affiliate products. You can naturally incorporate affiliate links into your content by posting reviews.

[teachersupdates]

Task Force's Term Expires, Funding Shortage Hampers Education Review

Task Force's Term Expires, Funding Shortage Hampers Education Review By last week, the task force led by Prof. Raphael Munavu was making frantic efforts to have its term extended by at least one month while also seeking additional funding from the National Treasury. The task force's term expired on March 31 before it could compile the final report for submission to President William Ruto, leaving its mandate and work in limbo unless the Head of State extended it. According to sources who spoke to People Daily, the task force had also run out of money to fund its operations, which were in their final stages. While confirming the end of his team's term yesterday, Munavu eased concerns that the task force's operations would cease. Munavu stated that they had already informed the authorities about the expiration of their term and expressed hope that appropriate measures were being taken to address the situation. Munavu declined to comment on the cash shortage. According to sources who spoke to the People Daily, the task force has halted all activities. At the same time, it awaits approval from the Executive Office of the President and the National Treasury. The task force ran out of money as its time expired as it was refining the final report for presentation to the President. The team had divided into subcommittees, with each subcommittee focusing on a specific topic to synthesize the public's opinions. The team was then scheduled to have a retreat this week to consolidate all of the recommendations made by the taskforce into a single presentation document. "As we speak now, the work of PWPER has temporarily stopped as we wait for an extension and more money from the National Treasury," a source told PD. The task force examined all laws governing the basic education subsector and recommended their reevaluation to address redundancies, ambiguities, and deficiencies in linkages. In its preliminary recommendations presented to the President around the same time last year, the school task force proposed that Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) be housed in primary schools rather than secondary schools, which was the previous position. The Teachers Service Commission ((TSC) should be split into a separate body to serve as the teacher employer and a professional body to serve as the teachers' regulator, it was also recommended. The Ministry of Education was also given the authority to assume responsibility for national schools' supervision, quality assurance, and standards. On university education, the committee had recommended that students in public universities pay fees of Sh52,000 per semester, up from Sh16,000 at the moment. Among the measures planned to revamp higher education institutions are: - The elimination of unattractive courses. - The closure of satellite campuses. - The possibility of mergers. - The rationalization of staff to reduce costs. Reducing the number of government-sponsored students will also likely force families to dig deeper to send their children to college. Placement in universities for the more than 173,000 qualified students in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination has been delayed while the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) awaits clear instructions on funding and declared programs. The task force also suggested that the government bail out the cash-strapped public universities, which have accumulated debts of over Sh56 billion. The enormous debts universities owe to statutory bodies include deductions for PAYE, Pension, NHIF, and NSSF, among others.  The panel recommended that the President continue to be the appointing authority for vice-chancellors of public universities, but with input from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and the university's Senate.  Additionally, it urges the government to increase the number of students enrolled in teacher preparation programs. Currently, 14.7%, or 3,922 students, are enrolled in 34 institutions with a total student population of 26,650. It was also suggested that the government establish institutes for Technical and Vocational Training nationwide to increase the available space for such programs. According to the report, each county should have a National Polytechnic, each constituency should have a Technical Vocational College, and each ward should have a Vocational Training Centre. Task Force's Term Expires, Funding Shortage Hampers Education Review Read the full article

[cravomarketingus]

Know About PPC Marketing and Its Benefits

Services of ppc company san diego can be incredibly beneficial on your website. Even if a visitor is not interested in buying, they may find value in your affiliate program’s PPC search engines. The same people keep leaving your site without coming back.

Assumed one of the effective ways to earn cash, PPC is a representation of online marketing where the marketers and san diego web design agency incur costs every time their advertisements are clicked. It is the practice of buying clicks from search engines rather than working to earn them as visitors to a website. Instead of actively pursuing site visitors, this strategy focuses on attracting them. International ppc agency can submit bids to have their ads appear in the sponsored links at the top of a search results page when a user types in a keyword related to their products or services.

When pay-per-click advertising is performing as intended, the cost per visit is minimal because the return on investment is high. San diego ppc management gives its advertisers instant traffic with minimal effort.

Clients can get access to cost-effective PPC solutions from a Professional ppc services san diego. With correct linguistic study, stock evaluation and insight about just what pay per click is promoting; it can assist you enhance your ROI via Ppc advertising with a lower CPC.

In the modern business world, ppc san diego advertising is a sure bet. In order to maximize your visibility on search engines and acquire a top score with minimal expense, working with a competent pay per click advertising firm is highly recommended. Experts in the field may provide you with ppc management san diego and insight into your industry, unique selling proposition, and competition to help you develop an effective PPC campaign.

Following that, it is much less difficult to devise a plan that will produce the desired outcomes. Pay-per-click advertising is not limited to the lead generation needs of large businesses. You can even check the progress through quality score.

Several advantages of pay-per-click advertising for a company website are listed below.

Affordable ppc services isn’t simply an origin of easy making profit; it’s also able to assist you to advertise your own webpage. Most programs allow you to immediately put your commissions toward advertising with them, with no restrictions on how much you can earn. This is a useful strategy for switching your raw site visitors for more likely buyers, who are choosier in their web browsing.

Services of ppc company san diego can be incredibly beneficial on your website. Even if a visitor is not interested in buying, they may find value in your affiliate program’s PPC search engines. The same people keep leaving your site without coming back.

Most search engines utilize unique solutions, and they can supply your affiliate network with a white label. It enables, with only some code lines, to incorporate the cooperatively hosted search engine hosted online on your site.

Targeting the right people with your search engine ad is essential. Be particular to your goods, or a lot of users simply visit the web sites by clicking on PPC advertisements.

Experts predict that social networking services like Twitter and Facebook will continue to grow in popularity in the coming years. PPC agency san diego naturally want to reach the people who frequent these sites with their ads..

[scottmortenson]

Should You Be Worried About Rising Debt-To-Income Ratios for Mortgages?

by Scott Mortenson March 29, 2018

What Are Debt-To-Income Ratios?

Debt-to-Income (DTI) ratios have long been used in the lending industry to determine a borrower’s ability to repay. A 40% DTI means that if a borrower makes $10,000 per month, their mortgage payments, car payments, and other debts combined will equal $4,000 per month. Thus, the borrower has $6,000 per month in spending money. While this may sound like a comfortable monthly cushion, the figures change drastically with less income. A borrower making $2,500 per month with a 40% DTI is left with only $1,500 each month.

Even worse, the DTI is calculated with gross income, rather than net. In reality, a borrower in this situation would be left with ~$1,000 per month to cover utilities, cell phone, car insurance, gas, food, and personal expenses. Suddenly, it becomes clear that maintaining comfortable ratios is an essential component of the market’s health.

Increased DTI’s Per Fannie Mae

After bumping up the maximum DTI from 45% to 50% last year, Government Sponsored Entities have seen a large uptick in DTIs over 40% with a significant number pushing 50%. As of March 17, 2018, Fannie Mae updated its Desktop Underwriter software to help the origination of high debt-to-income mortgages, in response to the rising demand.

According to Fannie Mae, the percentage of single-family purchases with a DTI over 45% was only 5% in 2016 and climbed to 10% in 2017. In the 4th quarter of 2017, that figure reached a whopping 20%.

As QuestSoft Sees It

At QuestSoft, we are seeing evidence of this inflation of the back-end ratio. In an analysis of 100 recent loans that have PMI, QuestSoft Verifications found that 41% of them had DTIs over 45%, and an incredible 11% had DTIs over 49%. This highlights a massive number of borrowers who are strapped for cash & “house heavy.”

Pushback by The Mortgage Insurers

During the financial crisis, mortgage insurers and lenders were often at odds over the insurance claims resulting from defaulted loans. According to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, by 2010 the nation’s largest PMI companies “had rejected about 25% of the claims brought to them.” The banks fought back against this, arguing that the insurers should be paying a much higher number of claims.

Mortgage Insurance

In the end, although some insurers didn’t survive, the remaining insurers and lenders adopted new rules to provide predictable default rates and dependable coverage. These new rules set strict guidelines as to what would and would not be paid out. A few of the nations leading Mortgage Insurance companies have agreed to insure mortgages with a 45-50% DTI as long as the loan meets strict criteria, such as the borrower needing a 700+ FICO score.

Looking Forward

DTIs are undoubtedly on the rise, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the long run. It is important to note that although DTIs are rising, loans now have more verifications & hoops to jump through than ever before, which can help cushion a few of the fears regarding an extra 5% DTI ratio. The clear guidelines by the Mortgage Insurance companies are also likely to discourage frivolous lending, as no one wants to see their balance sheets in the red.

Even if the increased DTIs do not lead to a higher level of default, they do create more cash strapped borrowers who spend less money in the other aspects of their lives, which can have significant effects on the economy.

QuestSoft Verifications can perform fully documented verifications that meet investor and regulatory guidelines. Give us a call today to learn more!

#blog

[interestingfactsquotes]

How much money can you make with Free Instagram Followers?

Free Instagram followers sound like an appealing way to boost your online presence, but how much money can you actually make with them? This article will provide an in-depth examination of the potential monetary benefits of free Instagram followers. First, it's important to understand that free followers are often not real people, but rather fake accounts created by bots. These followers do not engage with your content and therefore do not provide any tangible value to your account. In fact, you can acquire free and cheap Instagram followers from the wholesale SMM Panel. Followers and Engagement Rate: Having followers and a high engagement rate on Instagram is crucial for monetization opportunities. Engagement rate refers to the percentage of your followers that actively engage with your content, such as liking, commenting, or sharing your posts. A high engagement rate signals to brands that your audience is interested and invested in your content, making you a more attractive partner for sponsored content or affiliate marketing. The number of followers you have also plays a role in monetization opportunities. Brands are often looking to partner with influencers who have a large, engaged following within their target demographic. The larger your following, the more likely you are to be approached by brands and receive high-paying sponsored content offers. However, it's important to note that having a large following of fake or inactive accounts won't do much to increase your earning potential. Brands want to see a high level of engagement on your posts, so it's important to focus on building a real, engaged following, rather than just boosting your follower count with fake accounts. Having followers and a high engagement rate on Instagram can increase your earning potential through monetization opportunities such as sponsored content and affiliate marketing. However, the quality and engagement of your following is more important than the quantity of followers you have. Your Niche: The niche you choose to focus on can impact your earning potential on Instagram. Niche refers to the specific topic or theme that you focus on in your content. For example, your niche could be fashion, travel, food, or fitness, among others. Having a specific niche allows you to build a targeted, engaged following within a particular area of interest. Brands are more likely to approach influencers who have a niche-specific following that aligns with their target audience. For example, a fashion brand is more likely to approach a fashion influencer with a large, engaged following than a general lifestyle influencer with a large but less targeted following. It's important to choose a niche that you are passionate about and have a genuine interest in. Not only will this make creating content easier and more enjoyable, but it will also make it easier to build a targeted, engaged following within that niche. The niche you choose can impact your earning potential on Instagram by making you a more attractive partner for brands in that particular area of interest. Choosing a niche that you are passionate about and have a genuine interest in will help you build a targeted, engaged following, increasing your chances of monetization opportunities. Earn with Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing is a monetization strategy where an influencer promotes a product and receives a commission for any sales made through a unique affiliate link. This method of earning on Instagram requires a large, engaged following, as the more people who purchase the product through the influencer's link, the more money they will make. To participate in affiliate marketing, influencers typically sign up for an affiliate program through a company or network, such as Amazon Affiliates or Commission Junction. From there, they receive a unique affiliate link to promote the products they want to feature. It's important to only promote products that align with your niche and that you truly believe in. Your followers trust you and look to you for product recommendations, so promoting products that you don't believe in or that don't align with your niche can harm your reputation and decrease your earning potential. To make money with affiliate marketing on Instagram, it's important to have a large, engaged following who trust your recommendations and are likely to make a purchase through your affiliate link. You can promote affiliate products through sponsored posts, product mentions in your captions, or by including affiliate links in your Instagram bio. Affiliate marketing can be a lucrative monetization strategy for influencers with a large, engaged following. By promoting products that align with your niche and that you truly believe in, you can earn money while also providing valuable recommendations to your followers. Create your Own Product: Creating your own product is another way to monetize your Instagram following. This can include physical products, such as clothing or accessories, or digital products, such as e-books or online courses. When creating your own product, it's important to consider your niche and what your followers are interested in. For example, if you have a large following in the fitness niche, you could create a fitness guide or workout plan. To sell your own product on Instagram, you'll need to build a sales funnel that includes landing pages, email marketing, and other marketing tactics. You'll also need to invest in product creation and marketing, as well as handle customer service and fulfillment. Having a large, engaged following is key to success with this monetization strategy. The larger your following, the more potential customers you have, and the more likely you are to see a return on your investment. Creating your own product is a viable monetization strategy for influencers with a large, engaged following. By considering your niche and providing a product that your followers are interested in, you can increase your earning potential and build a sustainable business. However, this strategy requires a significant investment of time, resources, and effort to be successful. Sponsored Content:  However, the appeal of having a large following on Instagram lies in the potential for monetization. Brands often partner with influencers to promote their products, and a large following can increase the chances of being approached by brands for sponsored content. The amount of money you can make from sponsored content on Instagram depends on several factors, including your niche, the number of followers you have, and the type of content you create. On average, influencers with 100,000 followers can expect to make anywhere from $500 to $5,000 per sponsored post. For influencers with a million followers or more, this number can increase significantly, with some earning tens of thousands of dollars per post. Sales Product or Services  Another way to monetize your Instagram account is through the sale of products or services. For example, if you are a photographer, you can use Instagram to promote your services and attract new clients. Similarly, if you have a product-based business, you can use Instagram to showcase your products and drive sales through your account. Conclusion:  In conclusion, while free Instagram followers may seem like an attractive way to increase your online presence, they are unlikely to provide any real monetary benefits. The potential for monetization on Instagram lies in the quality and engagement of your following, not just the quantity. To make money on Instagram, focus on creating high-quality content and building a real, engaged following. By doing so, you'll increase your chances of being approached by brands for sponsored content and other monetization opportunities. Read the full article