#which means…assuming you can put yourself in someone else’s shoes….it should b no problem

[suzumenokakimono]

I was here first I

Pairing: Namjoon / Jimin x reader,

Genre: AU, smut, fluff, angst, roommates to lovers, fwb, friends to lovers

Word count: 7k

Summary: Jimin was your roommate, best friend and in love with you so bad it wasn’t even funny. His friends knew this all along and were surely surprised you’ve never noticed. But you didn’t. You were oblivious as the Earth was round. Now, Jimin decided it was time to finally confess to you. He asked one of his closest friends, Namjoon, to help him. But what if you end up liking Namjoon instead of Jimin?

A/N: English is not my native language. I do not apologize. 

Masterlist | Chapters: One | Two | Three (incoming)

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First ring of the doorbell found you in your bed, still in sweatpants, oversized T-Shirt of your favorite band and a face mask covering your face. You looked up, for a moment, scared you’re late and didn’t calculate properly the time you needed for your preparations. But no. You still had a good 30 minutes before scheduled leaving. You had no intentions on going out even a minute earlier. Plus, your company would have never left without you. Being late was not a problem in this situation.

You got back to scrolling through Twitter when you heard a ring for the second time. 

“Y/N! Can you let him in?!”

This time it was your roommate, screaming from the bathroom. He’d been taking a shower for the past 30 minutes, getting ready for tonight. He’d gotten pretty excited and you didn’t know why. But you did know that person standing on the other side of your apartment door, was his friend that was supposed to join you tonight. You’d never met him before, even though they’d been working together and both had known each other for quite some time. You’d just heard some stuff about him and he seemed nice.

You really didn’t want to move from your cozy bed but that annoying sound was going around your apartment and making you crazy. Also, that guy was still ringing the doorbell. 

“FINE!”

Lazily you left your room, kicked the door to the bathroom, probably scaring the shit out of your roommate and opened the front door. 

“Come in. Jimin is still in the bathroom, making himself pretty. His room is over there.”, you pointed towards the door behind you. 

“Thanks.”

Your nose was inside your phone all the time, you didn’t pay any attention to the guest. You heard his response but didn’t put a mind to it. You just noticed he came inside. He seemed tall or at least that was how he looked like while he was passing by you. By the time you realized you should say something more and be at least a little less rude, he was gone in Jimin’s room. When you turned around, the door was already closed. You shrugged your shoulders, thinking you would have time to talk to him later, so you went back to your room, while still being stuck to your phone. Passing by the bathroom you didn’t hear any water running so you assumed Jimin was done with the shower. This meant you still had time. 

When your door closed and you were safely covered by your warm comforter, Jimin ran out from the bathroom, shirtless in his sweatpants and still with wet hair. It was not that he was shy next to you or something, but this time he wanted you to see him when he was ready. And he was doing everything to manage to do that on time. Because he was always late. Everywhere. All the time. And for the first time he cared so much he wanted to be ready on time. 

He got to his room and immediately went straight to his closet. 

“Where is that black T-shirt…”, he was mumbling to himself. 

“Hello, to you too.”

Jimin jumped in place, hitting harshly to a shelf. Grabbing his head with his arms he looked outside the closet. 

“Fuck, Namjoon. You scared the shit out of me.”

“Y/N let me in”, Namjoon chuckled to himself. 

He was sitting on the bed and reading a comic book. 

“So you met her?”, Jimin’s face immediately brightened up after hearing your name.

“I can hardly say that. I think she was too invested in something on her phone.”

“But you saw her? What do you think of her?”, Jimin was persistent in talking about you.

“Black face mask really outlined her eyes.”

“She’s probably picking up some cute outfit right now. I must look perfect tonight…”, Jimin already stopped listening and got back to rummage through his clothes.

Namjoon smiled to himself. This evening was kinda special for Jimin. 

For the past three years that you’d been friends with him and you for two years that you’d been living together, he’d been madly in love with you. So madly, he had no idea what to do with it. How to confess to you, what move should he make. How to tell you how he felt about you. All his other friends, with Namjoon on top, were pretty puzzled about this. Jimin was always a good looking guy, with a hairstyle on top and nice clothes. He never complained about the lack of female company. Or confidence. So why was it so hard when it was coming to you?

You were his friend and he was definitely scared of losing you. He’d met you at a party and probably 5 minutes later he’d developed his crush on you. He’d taken your number, with the intention of asking you out later. But you’d written him first and started to send him memes and cute pics of cats from the internet. He’d thought that was adorable but pretty fast realized you were treating him like just a friend. Which had been fine at the beginning! You hadn’t been anything serious so he couldn’t have been mad at himself about this. But the more you’d been spending time together the more he was liking you not just like a friend. When you’d been looking for a place to live, because your earlier roommate had been moving out and you couldn’t have afforded the place on your own and he’d offered you a room at his apartment, he’d been already madly in love with you. He’d known that this was not the best idea, given his feelings towards you. But at the same time, he’d wanted to have you close to himself.

Two years later, you were close friends, he was dying inside to be with you and finally decided enough is enough. Or actually Namjoon did. He was the one who had convinced Jimin that he should confess to you. From the beginning Jimin was scared that after doing so, he would find out you didn’t reciprocate his feelings, they would become a problem and you both would drift apart. But Namjoon had pointed out that otherwise it was going to be worse. Especially if you found someone else, not knowing about Jimin’s affection. 

So Jimin was gathering all his strength and confidence to organize this evening. The whole idea was to go out with you to a bar or a club and use alcohol courage to finally ask you out. Namjoon was supposed to be a cover for this whole scheme. You weren’t supposed to realize what was going on, until Jimin smoothly swooped in and confessed. Simple as that!

“You think you’ll manage to do it tonight?”, Namjoon asked, while Jimin disappeared in his closet again. He put a comic book on a desk, remembering he has to finish it later.

“I have to”, Jimin sounded pretty serious.

“In case something was going wrong, we should have a sign or a code.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I mean, if you decide not to do it, we should have a plan B to back up without her knowing what was going on.”

Jimin closed his closet, while wearing a simple, black T-shirt. It wasn’t a fancy or an expensive one but he knew you liked him in it. You’d told him that once, when you’d been both buzzed a little and had been watching some show on Netflix. He didn’t remember what show that was or what alcohol you’d been drinking, but he didn’t forget your words.

“I have to do it”, Jimin repeated himself.

Namjoon didn’t get back to the topic. He knew Jimin was right. But he also knew what his role that night was. He wanted to help his friend. Not only, so he confessed to you, but also if anything went wrong and he needed to evacuate Jimin or you. Jimin was known for being dramatic. Any outcome of the night might have been pretty big.

Jimin finally got ready. After finding his special T-shirt, he matched it with some tight black jeans and leather boots. He came out of the room to look for a jacket and Namjoon followed him to the hall. It was his first time at your place and he started to actually look around. At that very moment you left your room and came right across to him. You looked so much different than before. You were wearing a pretty, black short dress, with a pink flower pattern. You’d put on matching makeup, added some earrings. Your hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and you were just picking up some shoes. Jimin saw you, but he just took a quick look. He knew how good you can look so even though he liked your outfit very much, he wasn’t staring, he was preparing for leaving as well. 

But Namjoon froze in place and was tracing your every move. He didn’t believe he’d actually ignored you before. He couldn’t take his eyes off you. And while you were trying on a pair of shoes, you noticed that. You noticed him. You knew Jimin’s friend was supposed to join you tonight, you’d opened the door for him, but hadn’t paid any attention. And now you noticed this tall guy standing in your hall and staring at you, with his mouth open, still in a weird shock. 

He was wearing a long green jacket and a white T-shirt with a random print on it. Dark jeans and black heavy boots were making his legs look even longer and slimmer than they really were. He also wore a beanie, which was more as a fashion statement, because it was not cold outside. He looked good. You couldn't have called him handsome straight away, not ugly as well. He was definitely different than the other guys. And his eyes. He was staring at you without any embarrassment. You liked those brown eyes.

Jimin snatched both of you to reality by dropping his keys to the floor. You blinked a few times and realized you stopped in place and forgot what you were actually doing. You looked at Namjoon again but he broke eye contact and was helping your roommate. That also helped you to gather yourself and finally chose some shoes. Jimin picked up his keys and let you out first. He gestured to Namjoon to do the same, but before he left, he grabbed Jimin’s arm and pulled him behind the door.

“Is… is that Y/N?”, he asked quietly, to make sure you didn’t hear him.

“Yes...Who else? You’ve already seen her...”

Jimin looked at him like he was doubting his big brain was still there and working. He eyed him up and down with unspoken questions and followed you, leaving his friend in the hall. At that moment Namjoon started to doubt that including him in tonight’s plan was a good idea. After all, he was supposed to help Jimin to hook him up with you, not snatched his three-years-old crush right in front of his nose.

Thirty minutes later you ended up in a newly opened club in the city. The moment you arrived, you found your table, which had been reserved a few days earlier just in case and ordered the first round of drinks. Jimin wasn’t waiting for anyone and finished his before you even started yours and ordered another one. You had trouble catching up and at some point Namjoon’s hand covered your drink, just to stop you from drinking that fast. Jimin was not stopping himself at any point though. 

He was nervous. You’d noticed that pretty quickly but wasn’t able to connect the dots. There was no reason for him to act like that. At least you couldn't have thought of any. The drinking though was not an issue, it was actually a normal part of the evening. He absorbed alcohol like water or at least that was what he was telling everyone. He liked drinking and had never said no, convincing people around him he had a strong head and alcohol didn’t affect him much. You would be the first person to destroy that image, vividly remembering in what kind of state he’d used to be after all those occasions. And as always alcohol did help him to relax and become fun and chatty him. He was touching your hands, arms, knee and even tacking your hair behind your ear when you both were laughing. You were feeling comfortable around him. You knew how flirty he can be, how touchy he was even without alcohol. You’d gotten used to that and had to admit you liked that. It was somehow flattering, even if it didn’t mean anything. 

With his fourth drink Jimin started to talk. Like a lot. He was talking about you, him, how you’d been living together, he even mentioned how you’d both met. When this topic had come out, you started to laugh remembering that party

“You came with your friends and started to drink right away!”, you pointed at him, while telling the story. “I don’t know how much you had drank but you fell from your chair like three times before the evening even started for good!”

This memory always made you laugh. You were absolutely astonished how a guy like him could have fallen from any sitting surface, without even a drop of alcohol. His relationship with chairs was truly very complicated. 

While you were still laughing, you turned around to Namjoon to tell him everything about that, so you missed Jimin’s face expression. He was sitting on your other side the whole time and quietly listening to how you had fun. He wasn’t drinking that much and that fast like the two of you, but didn’t want to fallout from the party as well. He needed to stay more sober, though. Just in case he had to play his wingman role. When you’d started your story you put your hand on his wrist that was on a table, with his drink. You were not sure why you’d done that. Alcohol started to talk through you which had always made you a little touchy and more brave. Not Jimin level though. You wanted some kind of physical contact with him. At first he looked at your hands, still listening to you. Then he looked at you, the same way as he did in your apartment. With those beautiful, brown eyes, going right straight through you. Your temporary courage made you not froze and silenced but your heart definitely skipped a bit and you felt a heat coming straight to your face. There was something at his gaze that you liked so much. You felt a little sparkle between you two and were getting excited. Things like that rarely happened to you and you really wanted to know where this was going. 

For a moment you forgot you were not alone there. You stopped babbling, cleared your throat and got back to Jimin. You wanted to drag him to the whole story-telling but he somehow had stepped back. He moved a little further from you on his seat and looked like he had completely lost his attention to what had been happening next to him. He wasn’t smiling as wide as before. He was also looking away, at the bar, people on a dance floor, somewhere else. You pulled out your hand to him but he moved away and got up from his seat, hiding that with an excuse of going for another drink. Before you even had said anything he left your table not looking back.

What the hell had just happened? 

“Did I say something wrong?”, you turned to Namjoon once again.

“No. Absolutely not.”, he shook his head and looked at you. “Jimin is… he has something on his mind. You don’t need to worry about that.”

His words didn’t help you much though. You started to recreate all that had happened when you’d come to the club, somehow thinking it was your fault. Namjoon saw that, he saw your face expression.

“Y/N! Don’t.”, he finished his drink in one sip. “Please, don’t torment yourself with this. Let’s get you another drink, shall we?”

Saying last words he grabbed your hand and smiled at you. He had probably the most charming smile you had ever seen. He was smiling with this whole face, his full lips and dark eyes. And you noticed how cute dimples showed up on his cheeks. His smile was really contagious. 

You nodded at his proposition, feeling being under his spell, not being able to answer him this time and wanted to get up to the bar but he stopped you.

“I’ll bring it to you. Same as before?”

You thanked him and sat back in your place. Him leaving your table had snapped you from the effect he had on you. You’d barely just met but you were starting to like him. He was getting cuter each minute you were spending together. You weren’t sure he felt the same way, though. He was Jimin’s friend and technically he’d come with him, not with you. When you’d first heard he’d invited someone to this evening, you hadn’t been convinced to this idea. Meeting new people was always stressful and you just wanted to have fun after a long week at work and not dealing with some random dude that you’d barely known. Thankfully, that dude, was a lot different than you’d suspected.  

Namjoon disappeared among the crowd, same as Jimin had before. For a moment you were left alone and you started to look around, checking to see if you could find your roommate, who you were still worried about. However, he was nowhere to be found. Namjoon had told you not to think about that, but you couldn't help it. He was not just your roommate but a friend after all. 

Before you started your coming train of thoughts on what might had happened that had upset Jimin, Namjoon came back with your drinks. When he was putting glasses he accidentally spilled some on the table and on your dress. He immediately pulled out his hands like was trying to stop it from spilling any further, which was of course pointless. 

“Fuck, I’m so sorry!”

“That’s fine”, you chuckled. “There won’t be any stain, no worries”.

Namjoon didn’t look convinced. You smiled at him, took your drink and took a big sip, showing how much you didn’t care about the dress. He smiled back and did the same. 

Since you were left with Namjoon alone, he took the responsibility to talk with you, to entertain you. And, because both of you were getting pretty drunk already, it wasn’t that hard. You didn’t know each other, so he started asking tons of questions about you. About your life, job, where had you lived before and why the hell had you agreed to live with Jimin in the first place. He also listened to everything you were saying, which made you feel more comfortable around him pretty quickly. For the whole time he was also looking straight into your eyes. He was paying his full attention to you. He didn’t look bored or anything. He really was enjoying this conversation with you.

He was also providing more drinks. You were getting more and more dizzy. At some point you excused yourself and went to the bathroom. On your way back you thought you saw Jimin and stopped in place. You narrowed your eyes to have a better focus. The world really started to spin around and you needed a moment. But you were not wrong. That was indeed Jimin. He was standing close to the bar, on the side that was not visible from your table. And he was talking to a girl. His arm was around her waist and while you were lurking at them, her hand landed on his neck to keep him close. They were definitely flirting. All this time you were worried he was upset and he’d just wanted to find someone and get laid! 

You knew Jimin was popular with the girls. You’d always known that. Girls liked him for his look, his smile, his flirty side which he wasn’t able to turn off even with you. He wasn’t a fuckboy, at least you’d never noticed anything. Bringing home stranger women was not his thing. It had happened a few times, since you’d been living together but at some point he’d just stopped doing that. You guessed he wanted to try again. Maybe going out brought up some memories and he’d found himself in a women’s company again, without any effort.

When you got back to your table Namjoon was waiting with fresh drinks and you already knew you had to ask him to stop buying them. Otherwise you would end up under the table and no one wanted to see that.

“I just saw Jimin. He’s talking… well, at this point probably making out with some girl”.

When Namjoon heard that, his eyes went wide open.

“He what? A-are you sure? You sure that was Jimin?”, he started to look for his friend.

“It’s hard not to recognize that butt of his”, you laughed to yourself from your brilliant joke. Jimin’s butt was indeed something.

“But… Jimin was…”

“Was what?”

Namjoon immediately bit his tongue. He couldn't have told you what Jimin was supposed to do. You were not supposed to know until he finally confessed to you! But for some reason he’d seemed to abandon the whole plan. Why the hell was he making out with some other girl? That didn’t make any sense. Like him leaving the table without any explanation. Had he changed his mind? Had he noticed how Namjoon was looking at you? Had… no, that was impossible. He would have never stepped down after noticing his friend liked you. He’d been in love with you for too long. 

Namjoon got lost in his thoughts and didn’t notice how you sat closer to him. His consciousness was just coming back to him. He felt your thigh right next to his. You accidentally knocked him with your elbow when you were fixing your dress in your boobs area, at this point not caring much who was watching. And Namjoon was watching. 

You looked at him with a question in your eyes and he froze, for a moment being scared you might had noticed and had read his mind, which he was pretty sure you could. You looked so pretty. He was damn sure it was all written on his face, how much he liked looking at you, how he actually liked you and probably everyone had already known what thoughts were storming into his mind. He shifted nervously in his seat, starting to sweat a little. He looked at the bar, like was making sure Jimin was really there, though he didn’t see him at all. When he maintained eye contact with you again, he licked his lips, making a decision in a brain of his.

“Nothing. Good that he’s having fun.”

You snored at that and took a sip of your fresh drink, totally forgetting about your previous statement, enjoying sweet and cold beverage. 

“Y/N, do you wanna dance?”

He surprised you with his offer. He surprised himself, to be honest. But he was sure, if he spent a little more on wondering should he do it, he would had never done that. You didn’t hesitate for a second. You nodded and at the moment he smiled at you one more time with the most sincere smile. You felt yet again how your face was turning red under his gaze and was thanking for your makeup and dark lights in the room. He took your hand in his and guided you to the dance floor, making small steps so both of you wouldn’t fall into anyone. It was full of people but you found an empty spot for yourselves, a little in the back. You felt his arms around you immediately, dragging you close to him. You were surprised by his bold action again, but you didn’t mind. You wanted him to touch you, to hug you. And also do the same to him. You could only imagine how it would have been to lean your head on his chest, to smell his scent, maybe feel his heartbeat.

And at that moment, like if the universe had heard your thoughts, music changed and a slow song started to play. Before your clouded mind realized what was happening, Namjoon put his arms around you and pulled you even closer to him. Dream was coming true and you felt another heat wave hitting your body but you didn’t want to show him that. Instead, you wrapped your arms around his neck and shyly looked up into his eyes. As before, he was looking right at you. It seemed like he wanted to look only at you, all the time. Maybe it was alcohol talking but you noticed his gaze was shifting from your eyes to your lips. And then back again. He hugged you tighter, you felt how his fingers were drawing circles on your back, which made you shiver despite the heat in the club. He parted his lips and took a deep breath. He looked like he was having an inner fight with himself and was actually losing. He got nervous and you felt how he tightened his fist on the back of your dress. To soothe his struggle you reached out to his hair that was pointing out under his beanie and started to play with some on his neck. It seemed to work. He looked at you again with those eyes that you liked so much from the very first moment you saw him and leaned to you. A kiss was soft, gentle and very quick. When your lips met your breath hitched, you dug your fingers into his neck, nervousness taking control under your body. He leaned back a little but didn’t move away, keeping his forehead right against yours, eyes closed. You grabbed his arm and hummed, more to yourself because you were damn sure he didn’t hear that. But maybe he felt that. Or maybe he was in the same state of mind as you were, because a moment later he kissed you again but this time much deeper. You felt his hand on your neck, holding you close to him. Other hand still on your back, making sure you would stay there with him. His tongue started poking on your lower lip, asking for permission. And you gave it to him. He opened your lips with his, you felt his tongue on yours. He tasted like his drink, a little sour and sweet at the same time. You smiled to yourself, liking that taste. 

When he pulled away, he grabbed your hand from his neck and took to his chest. You felt how fast his heart was beating, giving he must had been pretty nervous about this. If the light was brighter he was pretty sure you would had noticed his dilated pupils, full of desire for you, for more. 

But instead of that you saw how his gaze changed in just one second. From soft and blissful to scared and maybe even panicked. He realized what just had happened, what he had done and immediately got scared. He wanted that, for a second that even had sounded like a good idea. He was also convinced you wanted to kiss him. The way you had been looking at him… He broke an eye contact, embarrassed of himself and looked around, making sure nobody actually had seen what you were doing, which felt extremely stupid at a place like this. Though he was thinking only about one person there. He dropped your hand and stepped back, keeping a safe distance from you. He closed his eyes and mouthed something to himself. You hadn’t heard him and wanted to ask what was wrong when you felt someone’s presence next to yourselves. 

Jimin put his hand on your arm, which made you jump in place and turned you to him. His face was close to yours and you had no doubt he hadn’t stopped drinking after leaving you and Namjoon. His breath smelled like an alcohol and he was slightly swaying in place.

“I was looking for you.”

“You were the one that left”, you pointed out. Jimin smiled at you with that cute smile when his eyes were completely disappearing, changing into two thin lines. He liked when you were sassy and all smart ass. He thought it was cute.

“Can I talk with Namjoon?”, he asked.

You looked at a guy in front of you, still frozen in place. You wanted to get back to what you started, to kissing and dancing, and touching. You really liked that and was getting the impression Namjoon had too. But he was avoiding eye contact, probably for the first time this evening so you just nodded at your roommate and left the two of them.

You got back to your table and took your unfinished drink, still dizzy after what happened between you and Namjoon. You were just wondering, why had he stopped so abruptly. He’d been the one that asked you to dance and kissed you. So, did he like you or not? Still being on a cloud nine, you were taking sip after sip of your drink, thinking about Namjoon and his full lips on yours.

Meanwhile, Jimin turned his friend around, so you wouldn’t be able to guess what they were talking about. Namjoon felt his sweat coming down his back. He had screwed up, hadn’t he? He knew that. He was feeling like a kid caught by his parent on doing something he’d been specifically told not to do. Jimin was surely about to put him into place and he had nothing to defend himself. Nothing than that he was drunk, stupid and liked a girl his friend was in love with. Extremely poor excuse. 

“I need you to take Y/N home.”

“Listen…”, Namjoon started to talk at the same time, trying to put back in time what was coming but he quickly realized what he’d been asked to do. “Wait-what?”, and his drunken ass didn’t understand the request the way he should.

“Change of plans. Y/N is pretty drunk anyway. I don’t want her to go home alone. Go with her, make sure she’s safe.”

“But… you…she”, Namjoon was completely lost. 

“We’ll talk later. I…”, he brushed his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. “I just don’t want her to get into any trouble. She can do stupid things while drunk.”

With that Jimin left, taking a quick look at you. Namjoon stood on a dance floor, not sure how to understand what just had happened. Had Jimin seen him kissing you? Why had he left you earlier without any explanation and then had asked him to take you home? And why had he been making out with another girl? Nothing of that made any sense. Especially the kiss. Everybody had been kissing not a person they should! Kissing you had been an impulse and even though he’d enjoyed that very much, he knew it had been a mistake. He’d wanted to do that. And hell, he was pretty sure you’d wanted too. He had to quickly calm himself, before more something would happen. 

Still, he decided to do as he’d been asked to. He got back to you. Your drink was gone already and he realized Jimin had been right about you being drunk. Maybe even a little too drunk. So he helped you leave the table, making sure you wouldn’t spill his own unfinished drink. You slipped your hand under his jacket and wrapped your arm around his waist. Your head first landed on his shoulder and then slid off to his neck. He felt your hot breath on his skin and his mind was going places. He was tempted to hug you, to pull you closer to him. He was getting sure he was too drunk as well. Alcohol in his blood was starting to take control over him, telling to take you home, but not yours. To kiss you again, but not on the lips. To touch you, but not on your hand or back. He felt dizzy and barely called a cab. He helped you to get into the car, then he sat on the other side. He took a deep breath and leaned his head on the back. He needed to get you home safely and forget about everything. 

But you didn’t give him a chance. At this state you’d forgotten what embarrassment was, your shy ass had been put into silence and brave version of you had gone out the surface. Once again your lips were dangerously close to his neck and it was starting to drive him crazy. It was like you’d known where his weak spot was. It made him groan deep in his throat and cursed any god that had ever existed for allowing this. Each passing second you were getting more and more irresistible to him. 

He gently cupped your cheek and turned to you.

“...Y/N”, his voice was hoarse and he couldn’t help it. 

He wanted to ask you to stop. To chill for a moment, move to the side, so he could start breathing and thinking straight again. He wanted simply to put you into bed, make sure you fell asleep and do the same at his place. And maybe take a long, cold shower. But he did not do such a thing.

A little shyly, a little not sure what he was doing, he found your lips again. You immediately reciprocate the kiss, deepening it and pulling him to you. He was so confused yet again was getting so aroused, he lost control. You grabbed his T-shirt with your fist and moaned quietly when his hand traveled from your face to your waist. His touch was gentle and carrying but you knew he was able to hold you in place like that, right where he wanted. You didn’t want to stay behind, so you left his T-shirt and slid your hand down and found his inner thigh, dangerously close to his dick. When you squeezed a little, you felt his muscles tense but he didn’t push you away. He wanted you to touch him everywhere, all night. He was sure he had not only lost his control but also mind. He absolutely loved kissing you. 

He pulled away for a second or two, to catch a breath and to look at you. You were difficult to restrain in that moment as you were following his lips, hungry for more. He chuckled quietly to himself, holding your face in his hands. You looked so damn cute. He wanted to devour you whole, give everything that you’d wanted and needed, and see how that was making you to fall apart. Car stopping right in front of your building snapped him from his fantasies, which were getting more and more bold. He paid without even looking at the money and almost pushed you outside.

By the time you reached your apartment, you were kissing like crazy, with tongue, teeth and hands all over your bodies. You tried to open the door but Namjoon pinned you to it and didn’t want to let go. Capturing your lips again, he bit your lower lip, enjoying your little moans you were making. He decided there and then this was his favorite sound ever. He took your keys and blindly guided them to the lock, kissing down your neck, which made a small moan coming out of your throat, again. He chuckled at how easy that had been and how much he liked making you do that.

You almost had fallen to the floor when the door got open but he caught you just in time, pulling you close to him. He kicked the door behind him and you almost dragged him to your bedroom to pull him with you on the bed. You both fell to your sheet, making one pillow fall on the floor. The moment you felt his body weight on you, his lips found your neck. You turned your head to side to give him more access and hissed when you felt his teeth on your skin. His hands started to wander and one slid down, right under your dress and landed on your thigh, quickly finding your hip. He was trailing over your skin with his fingers, playing with the hem of your panties, teasing you and waiting for your reaction. He slid his hand under the material on your hip, keeping his thumb close to the place you wanted him the most. You felt the slightest pressure of his finger, which made a shiver go down your spine and then he took it away, making you wine. He smiled to himself, while his lips were on yours but didn’t say anything. Moving his hand lower, he grabbed your thigh and urged you to wrap your leg around his waist. You did that, adding the other one and hooking them on your ankles. With you holding him tight close to you, he started to grind his clothed cock right into you. You felt his hard length pressing on your pussy, a little painful with his pants still on. He moaned into your ear, that little friction giving him a relief but not satisfaction. He was fully hard and barely thinking. Cute sounds that you were making when his dick was brushing on your clit were driving him crazy. He was breathing loud, breathing down your neck, holding you by your waist to stop you from moving your hips. You were so eager for him to fuck you, you couldn't stay in place. You took off his beanie, threw it on the floor and tugged his hair a little. This made him grunt down in his throat and his hand moved from your hip up, right to the underside of your breast. But he didn’t touch you there. His thumb started to trace from one side to another, barely brushing it making you crazy. Your panties were all wet from your arousal, after all that friction of his cock and you just wanted him to finally take them off.

You attempted to grab him by his wrist and put his hand on your breast when you realized his hips slowed down his pace. The rising pleasure disappeared and you waited for him to do something, but instead of that he laid down, still pressed into you, not moving his body or his hand.

“Wait… Y/N… Slow down… I need to… slow down…”

He was barely able to speak, his voice hoarse and his throat felt really dry. He kissed your neck one last time and stopped for a second, hiding his face in the pillow. He was so hard, it was almost painful. He had no idea how on Earth he was able to stop and think about something else than fucking you with so little blood in his brain. With all his strength that left, he pulled himself on his arms and moved back. Immediately your hands were on him, dragging him back, tagging on his shirt, trying to take it off, asking not to stop. He sat on his heels and hid his face in his hand. What the fuck he was doing? 

He felt how the bed shifted in your place. You were kneeling in front of him, still trying to get him back to you. Moving his hands away he saw you right there, he felt your lips on his, on his neck, how you started to touch him. You slid your hands down his body, straight to his hard cock. You started to palm him right then and there through his pants which drew a low moan from him. It felt so good. For a moment he let you do this. He closed his eyes and surrendered to the feeling of your gentle touch on him. His face was hidden in your hair, your scent overwhelmed him completely. He felt how you tugged his T-shirt from his pants, how your hands were roaming on his chest and sliding down his stomach. You unzipped him and wanted to take him in your hand but he grabbed your wrist and stopped you. He sighed heavily, it was still not too late.

He attempted to leave the bed, gather himself and take that last drop of dignity that had been left with him. But you didn’t want him to leave. When he was standing up you hold your hands behind you and unbuttoned your dress. You let it slip off your shoulders and fall down without any restrain, gathering around your hips. When Namjoon looked at you he choked on his breath and nearly tripped. You were naked from your waist up. You didn’t wear any bra because it hadn’t fit the dress. And now Namjoon was looking at your bare breasts and couldn’t believe his eyes. He felt his cock twitch at a sight, still hidden in his unzipped pants. You were so fucking sexy he had no idea how the hell he was supposed to just leave you like this. With his mouth agape, he was looking at how you crawled to him, how the dress pulled down your knees when you reached the edge of the bed and took his hands in yours. You wanted to put them on you, to feel him on your hot skin. 

‘Y/N, don’t take this the wrong way…”, he whispered to your ear.

Namjoon took a deep breath. He had made up his mind. His hands landed on your shoulders and he gently, but firmly pushed you on the bed. With you starting to touch him again, was really hard but he managed to fully pull you back and lay you down. He took your dress and smoothly slid it down your legs and took it off. You were just in your panties, laying on the bed and waiting for his next move. You put up your hands above your head, stretching, trying to expose your body to him, show him that it was all for him. You yawned and tried to hide it with your hand but Namjoon noticed that. You were starting to get sleepy because of the all alcohol and he wanted to use that to his advantage. 

He put your dress on the back of a chair that was standing close to the bed. He looked back at you. You were so god damn beautiful. He was sure in a normal situation he would have never let you go, never left you and spent the whole night tangled in the bed sheets, making all neighbors jealous and restless. But everything was so fucked up. He was wondering if you even were going to remember this evening. It would have been better if not. But on some level, on a very selfish one, he wanted you to. He wanted you to come after him, maybe while being less drunk and try again. Would he be able to resist you? He was willing to find out. 

But in that moment he had to leave before Jimin came back. He adjusted himself, still being hard and zipped his pants, feeling uncomfortable. He grabbed your comforter and covered you with it. You’d been already half asleep which made everything much easier. You still trying to act horny and needy was the sexiest image ever that would live in his mind for the rest of his life. Before quietly leaving your room, he took his beanie off the floor and closed the door behind him. He needed a shower. A long, cold shower to sober up and collect his thoughts. Too much had happened and he was on the brink of the edge.

By the time he was going down the corridor in your building he’d gotten a text message. At first he thought you’d woken up and was looking for him, which would have been catastrophic. He had no idea how long he could have resisted you in this state. He was sure he would just run back to your apartment, remembering how you had looked right before he’d left. But it wasn’t you. He had to look closely to make sure he’d seen the name correctly. Things got so fucked up. 

Jimin [00:35]: Thanks, Joon. I really appreciate your help. We’ll talk tomorrow.

雀  

#bts #bts smut #bts x reader #bts imagine #bangtan #bangtan smut #bangtan x reader #bangtan imagine #namjoon #kim namjoon #namjoon smut #namjoon x reader #namjoon imagine #jimin #park jimin #jimin smut #jimin x reader #jimin imagine

[thelazyhermits]

The Best Kind of Present

So, as y’all have seen on the most recent post I reblogged, @euan112358 has updated and edited, A Bright Celebration, which I highly recommend y’all check out if you haven’t already.

One of the additions that was made was the brief mention in chapter 5 of Midoriya deciding to give Fortune a second present which I plan on going into more detail here. For the record, this drabble takes place between chapters 4 & 5 of A Bright Celebration. 

I hope y’all enjoy it! ^-^

Karaoke is so much fun.

You always figured as much after seeing people singing karaoke on TV,  considering they always looked like they were having such an enjoyable time, but now, you know from firsthand experience that this is something that TV actually portrayed accurately.

The you from a year ago definitely would’ve felt differently because of the awful stage fright you used to have. However, that’s thankfully not something that’s afflicting you now thanks to the performance you, Eri, and Class 1-A put on for UA’s most recent class of graduates during their graduation ceremony.

Ever since then, you’ve felt much more comfortable about singing around others. Sure, you never really go out of your way to sing around others since old habits die hard, but you don’t mind singing whenever Eri or your students ask you to.

That’s why you don’t have any problems with singing on the night of your birthday, because you want to make the most of this momentous occasion and have as much fun as possible with your UA family.

Besides, how could you ever say no to your adorable students when they’re looking at you so expectantly? 

As a result, once the karaoke marathon is set into motion, you find yourself behind the microphone many times. While you sing by yourself a few times, you mostly end up singing with others since many people wanted the chance to sing with the birthday girl, and you were all too happy to oblige.

Because you’re having so much fun, it’s no surprise that you’re all smiles on the night of your grand birthday celebration. This is, without a doubt, one of the most fun nights you’ve ever experienced, and you know it will definitely be one of the most unforgettable ones.

Everyone really went all out to make your first birthday memorable, and they definitely succeeded.

“Hero too. I am a hero too~”

Even though you’re currently taking a break from the karaoke marathon that’s going on in the living room, you can’t stop yourself from singing quietly under your breath as you make a trip to the kitchen to grab yourself a bottle of water.

Yaoyorozu’s birthday present has really put you in the singing mood, and you have a feeling that’s not going to be changing anytime soon, especially considering how much fun you’re having with everyone.

Before these fun times can continue, however, you must first quench your thirst since all the singing you’ve been doing has left you feeling quite parched. Once that’s done, you can get right back into the festivities.

As you smile at that thought, you open the fridge and pull out a bottle of water. Just as you’re moving to close the fridge door, a familiar voice calls out to you.

“Y/N-sensei?”

You jolt in surprise at the sound since you weren’t expecting to be addressed so suddenly. You had thought you were the only one in the kitchen, but that’s obviously not the case.

When you close the fridge door, you see Midoriya standing there. Taking note of your surprise, he smiles sheepishly. “Sorry if I startled you.”

As you wave off his apology with a smile, you open the water bottle you grabbed and take a swig of your drink. Once you’ve quenched your thirst, you ask, “What brings you here, Midoriya? Did you need something out of the kitchen, or were you looking for me?”

“I was hoping I could speak privately with you for a moment.” Midoriya answers, “So, when I saw you come into the kitchen, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do that.”

The corners of your lips curve upwards. “You know, I’m always happy to talk to you, Midoriya, so I’m all ears. What’s on your mind?”

Flushing, Midoriya begins twiddling his fingers. “Umm...it’s about the present you got from All Might...”

Your smile turns teasing. “Were you hoping that you could come along with us? I know you were quite jealous when you heard that my present was a weekend trip alone with him.”

His blush darkens as he begins wildly waving his hands. “N-no! You’ve got it all wrong, I swear!”

With a giggle, you reach over to ruffle his hair. “I know. I was just teasing you, Midoriya. Your reactions are always so cute, so I can never help myself.”

While Midoriya sighs in relief, you tilt your head. “So, what did you want to talk about that involves All Might’s present?”

He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. “I was just thinking about the reason you were so excited about his present.”

As you blink in surprise, Midoriya continues, “From an outsider’s point-of-view, everyone would assume you were so excited because of your love of cats and because All Might, the former number one hero himself, is the one who will be taking you there, but...”

A soft smile forms on his lips. “When I saw the face you were making after receiving his present, all I could think was that you were so happy because you would be able to spend quality time with All Might. I could tell because I knew I would be making a similar face if I was in your shoes.”

Once you get over your surprise, you return his smile. “As expected of you. You’re exactly right, Midoriya.”

“It’s true I was excited about getting to visit an island full of cats, but I honestly would’ve been excited no matter where All Might decided to take me. because I knew anywhere would be fun as long as he was there with me.” You add.

Your expression softens. “Ever since I was a child, I’ve always dreamt of getting to spend that kind of quality time with him because he was the first hero I ever looked up to, who played a pivotal role in getting me through those years I spent in the underworld, so he’ll always be someone I greatly admire and treasure.”

His smile grows. “I’m sure All Might realized that too. That’s why he worked so hard to set things up, so the two of you can go on that trip together, because he treasures you just as much as you treasure him.”

Warmth envelops your chest at his words. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”

Soon after that, his smile fades, and he begins fidgeting for some reason. Before you can ask him what’s wrong, Midoriya mumbles, “After seeing how happy you were about getting to spend quality time with All Might, I got to thinking and....”

“And?” You parrot as you tilt your head curiously.

His earlier blush returns at full force. “I was thinking that, in addition to the hero costume I had made with Hatsume-san’s help, I could give you another present, one like All Might’s.”

Your eyes widen. “You mean...?”

Midoriya shyly nods, “Since you’re always telling me how much you enjoy spending time with me, because you love spending time with your heroes, I thought maybe the two of us could also do something together to celebrate your birthday.”

After saying that, he quickly adds, “Of course, I realize that there’s no way I could ever compete with All Might no matter how hard I try. I couldn’t take you to something as exciting as one of the cat islands or to any expensive places that he could easily afford, and-”

Before he can finish that sentence, you pull the surprised boy into a tight hug. “Don’t be silly. Do you really think I care about stuff like that? Obviously, I’ll be happy no matter where I go as long as I’m with you.”

His posture relaxes as he returns the hug. “That’s how I feel too. I know no matter what we do that I’ll have fun because I always enjoy myself when I’m with you.”

A warm feeling takes root in your chest at his words. “Just hearing that is a great birthday present in itself since nothing makes me happier than to hear that my hero enjoys being with me as much as I enjoy being with him.”

“Sensei....”

Since it sounds like your student is on the verge of tears, you refrain from saying anything else that could make him cry. Instead, you pull away from him and meet his teary gaze, smiling all the while. “So, what would you like to do together? Did you have something in mind?”

Midoriya blushes as he shakes his head. “Not really. I was so nervous about just asking you to hang out that I didn’t think to consider what we could actually do together...”

“B-But I will definitely think of something fun we can do! I’ll begin researching tonight to find the best places in town to visit, so I can get back with you as soon as possible!”  He quickly adds.

Chuckling, you ruffle his hair. “There’s no rush, Midoriya. Besides, considering how late we’ll all likely stay up tonight, I think you should save your research for another day, considering tomorrow is the first day of the new school year.”

He sheepishly scratches his cheek. “Oh yeah, that’s true...”

“So, take all the time you need, Midoriya.” You smile, “I don’t mind waiting since I know whatever you have in store for me will be worth the wait.”

His expression brightens. “I’ll make sure to meet your expectations!”

Your smile grows. “I know you will, because meeting and surpassing my expectations is something you’ve been doing for quite some time now.”

And you have no doubt that that won’t be changing anytime soon.

#TABF #TABF post scene #midoriya izuku #my writing #after talking with storysmith #about this idea I had for midoriya #I really wanted to write a little something for it #since this mental image was just too cute #these two really are too precious #you gotta love them #in regards to where they go #I haven't decided yet #I also don't know if I'll ever write out their day together #I guess it depends on if inspiration hits #I just really wanted to show why all might's present meant so much to fortune #and also show midoriya being his usual adorable self <3

[writingtoforgetreality]

Stuck with U (Peter Hale x Reader)

[Teen Wolf-Masterlist]

Summary: The only thing the pack wanted to do was to find the hunters that kept hurting the innocent. A plan was a good start but what if they managed to kidnap you anyway? And if that was not enough...with Peter out of everyone. To say you guys despised one another would be an understatement. Still, the most important thing now was to keep a clear head & to work on a solution. Together.

Words: 3,482

Warnings: language, Peter & Reader being sarcastic assholes, age gap (Reader is of legal age), kidnapping, angst (so much angst), fluff (bc let´s be honest...Peter is a big ol´ softie)

Inspired by: “Stuck with U” by Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber 

If you like my work & wanna support me: a coffee would be highly appreciated ❤

Mmm Hey, yeah (That's just for fun) (What?) Ah, yeah

You were in your senior year of high school & even though you loved your friends endlessly, you were eager to graduate & leave Beacon High behind you. There were just way too many bad experiences you associated with that place. But, on a lighter note, if you had not started at this high school, you would have never met the pack. At first, it scared the shit out of you. The monsters you had dreamed about as a small child were reality. They were somewhere out there, in the dark corners of the country.

Lately, you guys had a little, well actually not so little, problem with a few hunters who wanted to see your pack dead, you included. Why? You were not sure. It was not like you were a werewolf or a banshee. Just a simple teenager who got thrown into this mess. But you did not want to have it any other way. Yeah, the days as an average human surrounded by powerful supernatural beings were hard but you knew how much you were needed.

You were all located at Derek´s loft, figuring out a way to stop the hunters. Now, not all hunters were bad. Chris Argent, for example, was eager to help you guys to put the killers to a stop just as much as you did. The thing was that it always seemed they were a step ahead of you. Even some of Stiles´ plans had previously failed, much to your dismay.

“Maybe we should just go into groups of two & trick them into thinking we´re not all planning on hunting them down?” Peter sighed with a roll of his eyes.

“Sure, because that always works in the movies, right?” it was you who shot him a glance, making the rest of the pack grow quiet.

Peter & you hated each other. Ever since you guys first met. You were fed up with his constant sarcasm & how he could not see the real danger & had to make fun of everything. He immediately caught up to your negative feelings toward him, thanks to his werewolf senses. And neither of you were sure why you hated each other so much, you simply kept rolling with it. The others were at a point where they did not even pay much attention to your bickering anymore. You had better things to do for fuck´s sake.

You were not really paying attention to what the others were saying, too lost in your own thoughts. Graduation was way sooner than you anticipated & you had not really spent a lot of time studying, due to those fucking hunters. What was even worse...you had to deal with a big ass crush. It was not like you wanted to catch feelings, it just sort of...happened. With so many amazing, kind & attractive guys in your pack...you had to pick the one you “hated” most: Peter Hale. Maybe that was another reason why you always fought with him. To keep your feelings at bay. First of all, he was too old for you, clearly he would not have any interest in such a young person. Second of all, he hated you with his guts, you were sure & everyone else could feel it too. So you hid your feelings, acting as if nothing bothered you whatsoever. By the time you started focusing on the conversation the pack held, the plan was already settled. And by your surprise, Peter´s plan was about to happen. Stiles said if you were able to circle them & two of you being baits, you actually had a chance of stopping them. The pack decided to set out at night so less people would be able to see you.

~time skip~

Another one of Stiles´ plans (well, actually Peter´s plan) failed. At first, everything looked optimistic. You all got into groups of two & Scott said it was better for you to be a bait. Of course you understood why, you did not have “superpowers” like the rest but you were not that bad when it came to fighting, you had to give that to yourself.

“Okay, fine. Does that mean Stiles & I are a group?” you gave up & asked the obvious.

“Um, actually...(Y/N), I need Stiles next to me & we thought it was the best if Peter & you teamed up” Scott hesitated & scratched the back of his neck, knowing you were not okay with the pack´s decision. His words made you snap up. You could not believe what you just heard. You & Peter? It was bad enough that you guys always argued but it was even worse because you knew you could not keep focus with him next to you. Stupid crush…

“I think the fuck not.” Peter growled, throwing a disgusted look at you. Very nice of him. You would lie if you said you were not hurt by his words.

“Peter, you are the last one to decide in this group. So if we say you & (Y/N) are the baits then you don´t argue with us, understood?” this time it was Derek who tried to talk some sense into Peter. It seemed to work because after that, Peter made his way over to the couch & sat down, leaving the rest of you in the kitchen.

“Good luck with him, sweetie. If you need help, you know what to do.” Lydia winked at you, then her face showed a sympathetic look. I'm not one to stick around One strike and you're out, baby Don't care if I sound crazy But you never let me down, no, no That's why when the sun's up, I'm stayin' Still layin' in your bed, sayin'

It was dark & Peter & you were already on position. It was an abandoned alleyway and you would have lied if you claimed you were not scared. Peter seemed to sense your anxiety & tried to calm you down, at least a bit. 

“We have so many badass people on our side, they won´t let anything happen to you. Besides, you still got me.” with that, he shot you a wink to which you started blushing. Your eyes focused on the floor so Peter would  not notice you cheeks heating up. Due to your reaction, he assumed you were but he did not comment on it. He simply smiled. A smile you could not see because your own shoes seemed to peek your interest more.

“(Y/N)! Watch out!” Peter´s scream was the last thing you heard before passing out.

Here you were. Tied up in a room that seemed to have no doors. This fact alone let your anxiety rise up the moment you opened your eyes. Looking around, your eyes settled on Peter who was just a few feet away from you, still unconscious.

“Peter! Peter, wake up!” after a few more tries you heard him groaning out. His wrists were bruised, just like yours, from being tied up. If you had not known better, you would have guessed you two had been held hostage for a long time.

“You alright?” were Peter´s first words, directed at you. You were confused, since when did he care about your well-being? Nevermind, you had bigger issues at the moment.

“I´m fine, how about you?” you lied. To be completely honest, you were a wreck. Your heart was racing, your throat was dry, your wrists were bleeding so bad, they were numb.

“Cut the bullshit, (Y/N)! I´m a werewolf...not a dumbass.” he stated matter of factly. That made you tense up even more. You really were not in the mood for dealing with his hatred.

“Look, Peter, just for as long as we´re here, can we stop the arguing? It´s not helpful.” your voice sounded exhausted. At first, Peter wanted to come at you with a snarky remark but when he looked over to you, he saw nothing but fear so he decided against it.

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Got all this time on my hands

Might as well cancel our plans, yeah

I could stay here for a lifetime

Neither of you said much but you both knew you had been locked up for a couple of hours by now. While you were way too tired to think of an escape plan, Peter had spent most of the time using his claws to free himself of the rope wrapped around his wrists. You had told him a while ago that his attempts were useless but he had just growled at you & kept going. Not wanting to argue any further, you let him do whatever & just stayed silent, trying to calm yourself.

Suddenly, you felt someone grabbing your hands, making you shriek. You thought it was one of the guys who had kidnapped you but were surprised when Peter crouched down in front of you.

“Shh, it´s just me, you´re alright.” his voice had a soothing tone to it, something you had not heard from him before. A look at his wrists made you wince. You were sure yours did not look any better. Peter used his claws again, this time working faster because he had two hands he could use. When you were finally freed, your arms fell to your sides, not being strong enough to take a closer look at your wrists.

“We need to bandage your wrists up, otherwise they get infected. Yours are way worse than mine.” his voice was barely above a whisper &, to your surprise, it managed to calm you down a lot better than you thought it would.

“Why?” was all you could say. His eyes searched your (E/C) ones, his face showed a pure look of confusion.

“I just told you, so they don´t get infected. Maybe you should actually listen to what I say.” Peter chuckled as he ripped two pieces off his shirt to wrap around your wrists.

“No, I mean...why are you helping me?” you kept your voice low, somehow embarrassed that you were in need of his help. Usually, you would try everything to handle such things on your own but your exhaustion made it a bit hard for you.

“Because your wrists look, sorry for my language, disgusting & we´re the only ones here right now. If we wanna get out, we need to help each other. Now, would you please shut up & let me treat your wounds?” Peter made sure that the usual bitterness of his voice was gone. He did not want you to freak out even more. If he were honest, he hated seeing you like this, completely worn out & filled with anxiety. He should not have these feelings right now. The only thing that mattered was getting out alive. Why was he thinking about his crush on you? Peter had always felt drawn to you from the moment you first met. Obviously, he was aware of the age gap & that you somehow seemed to hate him. So, to keep things even, he matched your attitude but in a more playful manner. Deep down, every time you guys argued, his crush on you got slightly bigger.

“Thank you.” you breathed out & looked at Peter as he finished bandaging you up. He sent you a small smile which you reciprocated.

“Anytime, darling.” Peter winked at you & yet again caused you to look at the floor & try to hide the blush that crept on your cheeks.

So, lock the door and throw out the key

Can't fight this no more, it's just you and me And there's nothin' I, nothin' I, I can do I'm stuck with you, stuck with you, stuck with you So, go ahead and drive me insane Baby, run your mouth, I still wouldn't change Being stuck with you, stuck with you, stuck with you I'm stuck with you, stuck with you, stuck with you, baby

“Peter?” you asked after a while of comfortable silence. Both of you had tried everything possible to find an escape but escaping a room without any windows or doors was hard.

“Hmm?” he looked up at you to find you fiddling with your hands in your lap.

“What if we die in here? What if Scott & the rest won´t find us? What if-” but Peter cut your rambling off.

“(Y/N)...Try to breathe, okay? In...and out. In and out. There you go.” he went over to you & sat himself right beside you, his thigh next to yours, slightly touching. He waited until he spoke up again.

“Look, first of all, & I told you this earlier, Scott & the rest are freaking badass & they will do everything to find us & get us out, okay?” as you nodded he continued. “And IF it really comes to the outcome of us dying in here, & the possibility of doing so is incredibly small, then we should set some things clear, don´t you think?” he smirked at your confusion.

“What´re you saying?”

“I don´t know...Getting to know each other better, I guess. The only thing I really know about you is that you have an attitude & you seem to use sarcasm as a defense mechanism.” you playfully hit him as he said the last part. “Okay, okay. Let´s start simple then. Hmm, let me think, oh, I got one: Why do you hate me so much?” & with that question of his, you guys started talking, actually talking, not arguing, for the first time ever.

There's nowhere we need to be, no, no, no I'ma get to know you better Kinda hope we're here forever There's nobody on these streets If you told me that the world's endin' Ain't no other way that I can spend it

After what felt like hours, Peter & you found out that your hatred for one another was based off a big misunderstanding. This was just one of the many facts you learned about him. He was right, if you were about to die in this room, then at least with clearing things up. By the time, you were both too exhausted, too tired to talk any more. You did not recall how it happened but your head was laying on Peter´s chest, right above his heart, calming you down. Before you knew it, the both of you were fast asleep.

Oh, oh, oh, oh (ooh) Got all this time in my hands Might as well cancel our plans (yeah, yeah) I could stay here forever

Peter & you were shaken awake by bashing on one of the walls. Peter motioned for you to stay behind him, just in case. Yeah, you were skilled in fighting but he was still way stronger than you. Perks of being a werewolf. From behind, you could see his sharp claws, ready to attack. It almost sounded like a faint voice calling your names. Was this Scott? Maybe you were starting to hallucinate due to the lack of water, food etc. The wall came crashing down but before Peter could jump into action, you screamed “Scott?”

“Oh, thank god..” said Lydia who was right behind Scott. Stiles came rushing forward towards you, kind of ignoring Peter (they did not really get along, surprisingly).

“Are you okay?” Stiles grabbed you by your shoulders & just as you wanted to answer him, the world around you became pitch black.

So, lock the door and throw out the key Can't fight this no more, It's just you and me And there's nothin' I, nothin' I, I can do I'm stuck with you, stuck with you, stuck with you So, go ahead and drive me insane Baby, run your mouth, I still wouldn't change Being stuck with you, stuck with you, stuck with you I'm stuck with you, stuck with you, stuck with you

You could muster some voices in the distance, they sounded far away & you wanted nothing more than to open your eyes & scream for them to get you. But your eyelids felt way too heavy, giving you a hard time to open them. Then, you felt someone taking your hand, the touch felt familiar, warm but you could not quite make out who it was.

“Come on, (Y/N). Wake up. You can´t just open up to me like that & then...disappear. What would I do without your sarcastic comments? Stiles´ comments don´t count, he´s a douchebag. What would I do without your attitude? (Y/N), what would I do without...you?” Peter whispered, not wanting anyone to hear what he just...confessed. Little did he know you actually heard every bit of his confession & you hated your body for not reacting the way you wanted. Peter did not leave your side, though, wanting to be there when you woke up.

Woah Baby, come take all my time Go on, make me lose my mind We got all that we need here tonight

“It´s been days, Peter. You heard what Melissa said. The stress, the anxiety mixed with the exhaustion you both endured, was a lot for her. It will take a while until she wakes up & even if she does...it will most likely take a while until she´s back to her old self.” Derek informed Peter once more about your current condition. He was aware of that, of course, it still did not sink in. He needed you & it took the both of you almost dying for him to realize it.

“I know...It´s just, ugh, I hate myself for not noticing sooner.” Peter sighed, sadness written all over his features.

“Noticing what exactly?” Derek furrowed his brows, waiting for Peter to continue. After that, Peter told Derek everything that had happened between the two of you from the moment on you were kidnapped. This story made Derek realize. Peter had a huge ass crush on you & still had not had the chance to tell you.

“She´ll wake up” Derek tried reasoning. He went over to Peter & gave him a pet on his shoulder.

I lock the door (lock the door) and throw out the key Can't fight this no more (can't fight this no more), it's just you and me And there's nothin' I, nothin' I'd rather do I'm stuck with you, stuck with you, stuck with you So, go ahead and drive me insane Baby, run your mouth, I still wouldn't change All this lovin' you, hatin' you, wantin' you I'm stuck with you, stuck with you, stuck with You, oh, oh

“Hey (Y/N), I brought you coffee, figured you would need it after waking up from such a long nap.” Peter slightly chuckled as he moved closer to the bed you were currently laying in. He placed your cup on the bedside cabinet & took a sip of the one in his hand. His free hand found its way to yours, he interwinted your hands, bringing it up to his lips to give it a small kiss.

“Didn´t know you were such a softie.” you croaked out. As soon as you chuckled you felt how dry your throat was & started coughing. Peter´s eyes widened at your words. You were awake, finally! He grabbed a class of water, helped you sit up & handed it to you. You downed it entirely, the liquid soothing your throat.

“How...How are you feeling? No lies this time!” Peter once again took your hand into his, enjoying the contact & you did not mind either.

“Not gonna lie, I´ve been better. But I´ve been worse too, sooo…I´ll live.” you made sure to send a smile towards Peter in order not to scare him. You were exhausted, yeah, but you would be okay.

“You scared me there for a bit.”

“Because I looked...how did you put it? Disgusting?” your exaggerated voice made him laugh & you joined him.

“On a more serious note...(Y/N), um, I wanted to tell you-”

“I heard you the other day. When you confessed, I heard you but I couldn´t open my damn eyes. I just couldn´t. So, to ease your mind, I was thinking the exact same thing, Peter.” you took his face into your hands & pushed him towards you, your lips colliding, moving in sync. Finally, after many doubts & many arguments, you were kissing him. The Peter Hale. And it was even better than you had ever imagined. After a while, you two pulled away.

“This doesn´t mean I´ll stop dropping my sarcastic comments, just so you know.”

“I wouldn´t want it any differently.” Peter leaned in once again for another kiss. He made sure to put every bit of emotion in it, wanting you to know how he felt for you.

“Guess that means I´m stuck with you then?”

“I guess so.”

Stuck with you, stuck with you, stuck with you

Published (06/29/2020) by Cathy

Tags: @exceptionallytiredzombie , @theloveshow , @theycallmequeenie , @letsgotothecityandfallinlove , @marvel-gives-me-feels , @blog-lady-vi , @kissingvalentino , @aelin-thefirebreathingbitchqueen , @iclosetgeek , @captainoffantasy [love to everyone tagged <3, let me know if you want a part 2]

#peter hale #peter x reader #peter hale x reader #peter hale x oc #peter imagine #ian bohen #teen wolf #MTV TEEN WOLF #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf x reader #derek hale #Scott McCall #stiles stilinski #lydia martin #werewolf #supernatural #imagine #imagines #fanfiction #fanfic #reader insert #reader imagine #writing #writers #one shot #oneshot #stuck with u #ariana grande #justin bieber #song fic

[jenni42085]

Made in the AM <Three>

Ch. 3

Niall's POV

Wow! I quite impressed by Alex, she only left the group for thirty maybe forty-five minutes and was able to get a chorus and a verse written. At the rate she is going she will have an entire album written with in a  few days. Not really sure as to why Harry was treating her so poorly she seems like a sweet girl just really quiet.As we are walking to the dressing room I have a better chance to examine her. She isn't that fit but she is still pretty. I think if she toned up she would be the whole package.

"Thanks Niall. You didn't have to". She mumbles as we are about to enter the dressing room.

"I know I didn't have to but I wanted to. You didn't deserve that comment." I reply as I set the guitar she borrowed down on the couch. "Come here you need to meet Lou and Lux."

"Ok, I guess who are they?" She asks with a curious expression.

"Lou is our hair stylist and Lux is her daughter. They are quite awesome."

"Oi! Niall is this our little songwriter?" Lou says as she walks over to us.

"Yes, that would be me. Hi! I'm Alex. Nice to meet you." She extends her hand and Lou pulls her in for a hug.

"No need to be formal if we will be traveling together for a few weeks my dear. And that little angel passed out on the couch is Lux."

"Well ladies, I'll let you two get better acquainted I've got a show to do." I give them both a quick hug and sprint to the stage and take my mic. I know leaving her with Lou is a good idea, she'll be a great girl friend for her on tour, maybe someone who will help her open up to us.

*****************************************************************************************************

Alex's POV

Niall leaves me with Lou who seems like a pretty awesome lady. Little Lux is adorable, can't wait until she is awake and actually playing. I'm a great baby sitter.  "So what do you think of the guys so far?" Lou asks nonchalantly.

"They seem really nice minus one small glitch. But I can ignore it for this job."

"I assume you mean our young Harold?" I nod at her question. She pulls me into the make up chair and starts pulling out brushes. "Relax, I usually only do makeup and hair to do for the boys. Let me do a smoky eye and some other fun things."

"Ummm ok. Sure. I'll be your Barbie to play with for a bit." I state with giggle then relax myself into the chair. Never had anyone to do my makeup so this should be fun.

"Great! So anyways, Harry is just young and quite dumb at times. He is a great guy who gets a bad rap from the media but, he is a nice boy. Granted what he said was a douche bag move, he is really great with Lux."

"I understand but my greatest fear was coming here and someone saying that to me. Yes, Tori brought me on with her as a package deal to help but that was because my song writing skills are actually good sometimes stronger than hers." I state as she applies eyeliner to my eyes.

"You have flawless skin I swear. I'm so use to applying concealer to the boys and for you I'm just getting to dive into eyeliner and the fun stuff.  You were picked for a reason.....Talent don't let anyone take that away from you."

"Thanks. Atleast something is flawless about me. Still working at getting everything else together." I reply sighing.

Lou's finishes adding eye liner and steps back. "You don't give yourself much credit do you? You are beautiful."

I cut her off with out thinking "I'm just struggling with my weight. I want to be beautiful inside and out."

"I understand but honestly it just looks like you need to tone and lift weights. What have you been doing?"

"Zumba and yoga."

She goes back to applying lipstick to me, "That is your problem you need to tone. I can help out if you want me to." Already I like her, she reminds me of Tori with always being positive.

"That would be great. Thanks."

"Now, let's have a look at you. What do you think?"

I focus my attention to the large mirror. "Wow." Was all I managed to get out. She really did an amazing job. My eyes are really popping and the bronzer she put on me gave me a J.Lo glow making my skin looks like brown silk, she did this all with out putting a truck load of make up on.

"You like?" She asks.

"I love!" I jump out of the chair and give her a hug feeling more confident. "Thanks. Let's see how they rock this out."

As much as I hate to admit it their show was pretty awesome. They don't sound half bad live. But they are slightly corny granted they are trying to appeal to teenie boppers so I guess I understand. When I heard their version of "Teenage Dirtbag", I couldn't help but sing along to it. Periodically all the guys except Harry would either wink, smile, or flash me thumbs up while performing.

After the show the guys were busy with the meet and greet while I gathered my stuff and headed towards the van. I've had enough screaming/crying girls for the day. One of arenas security guards open the door and a cold breeze comes in. I walk back into the dressing room while the guys were changing.

"What's wrong love?" Liam asks with a worried expression.

"Nothing is wrong, just kind of chilly outside. Can I borrow a thicker hoodie or a blanket?" I ask shyly.

Liam looks around and pulls a hoodie off the rack. "Here you go, this should keep you warmer than that thin one you have on."

"Thanks". I start back out the door.

"Hey are you not going to wait for us?" Louis asks while putting his shoes on.

"Ummm I guess I can."

He walks back over to me putting his arm around my shoulder. "That's a good girl." I shoot him a dirty look as he chuckles at me.

"Real funny. Bossy." I shoot back him rolling my eyes.

"Nah, not bossy just trying to be helpful, plus you did steal my hoodie."

"How so?"

"Well, we don't anyone kidnapping our songwriter." Niall says with a smile.

Again I roll my eyes then sit Indian style in the large plush chair. I'm feeling ready for a nap I just want to go back to the room. I pull out my notepad and look over my lyrics and keep thinking about what else I'm missing this will eat at me until it is done.

"Alexandria, we are about to leave. Come on." Liam holds his hand to me and pulls me up effortlessly.  How strong is he?

"I'm coming. And again it is just Alex." He nods his head in understanding.

We start to head down the hallway to the outside and I can already hear the fans screaming. I feel anxiety wash over me, I've already had one person be mean to me I don't need their fans going nuts on me either. I've seen how their fans act.  "You ok?" Liam asks me again. He is definitely a caring person.

"I don't know, I'll let you know once we make it through the crowd."

Without further conversation he grabs my hand tightly then looks at me with an intense stare, "Don't let go because you might get lost."

I can feel my eyes getting larger with concern. "Ok." I say so low that is comes out as a whisper.

As the door opens the cool night air hits us. The girls and the paparazzi are screaming and asking questions. "Liam are you dating her?" "Who is she?" And so forth and so on. I was expecting the grip Liam had on my hand to weaken but he held on tight to it.

We finally get into the van and I breathing calms down a bit. "That was intense. Your fans are just wow."

"Aye! It happens but that wasn't too bad. By the way did Lou get ahold of you? I don't remember you wearing any makeup when you got here. You look beautiful either way."  Niall says.

I blush at his comment "Yeah, Lou got to me. She did a great job."

Niall places his head on my shoulder. "I knew you would love her!  She is great with makeup and hair, plus she is an awesome person to hang out with."

"Agreed" we state in unison. The rest of the ride was pretty quiet until. "So Alex has already come up with a song." Three sets of eyes are focused on me even though the car is dark.

"Seriously?" Louis asks as he turns around in his seat.

"Yeah, but I only have a chorus and a verse nothing really special."

"Nothing special? Mates, she sounds great!" Niall says. I honestly wished he would shut up.

"When can we hear it?" Harry states so low that you almost didn't hear it.

"Not tonight maybe tomorrow, after I have more or it is atleast finished." I state in a flat tone.

We pile out of the van with out any issue. I really want to finish this song and maybe work out. I need to get rid of this gut. I decide to change into my work out clothes then listen to more music to get some more inspiration.  I know it is kind of late but listening to more music might help me finish this song.  

"Are you going to bed already?  The night is still young love."  Niall states when he sees me almost sprinting to my room.

"Not exactly, I just have some work I'd like to finish up."  I really want to finish this song on my own and without anymore distractions.  

"Ohhh, well if you change your mind you can come to my room and hang out."  Niall replies as he pulls my phone from my hands, "Here's my number."

"Thanks.  I'll keep that in mind dear."  I take my phone back then go into my room.  It takes no time for me to change into my work out gear.  I grab my phone, headphones, and room key then head to the hotel's gym.  I figure since it was so late at night no one would be in there.  After thirty minutes of being on the elliptical I have more to the song.....almost.  I take a break so I start stretching.  

I have an odd feeling that someone is in here with me, so I turn around towards the door and see Liam only a few feet from me.  He walks closer to me with a towel over his shoulder dressed in a  plain white tank top and black basketball shorts.  "Hey what are you doing down here?" he asks casually as he walks over to the bench press.  

"Sorry Liam, I didn't hear you come in.  I guess my music is a little too loud."  I reply pulling the earbuds from my ears then pause the music. "I'm trying to work out and such."

"Ohhh ok.  But why?"  

Was this guy serious?  I cock my head to the side and give him a confused look.  "Liam, have you even looked at me?  I'm fat.  I'm . . ."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa.  You aren't fat.  I'd say you are thick which isn't a bad thing.  What are you trying to achieve?"

"I want to be sexy.  I want to feel completely beautiful.  Nothing fancy."

"You do realize beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I think you are beautiful, I mean if you want to do anything and please don't take offense but, you can always tone up."  Liam starts his stretching.  "How about I work out with you.  I always need an outlet so I work out sometimes after a shower then before we leave I usually box with my trainer."

"Are you sure I won't hold you back?  I'm not really in advanced in any work out routine."  

"That's ok we can modify it to where you are comfortable."  he puts his hand up for a high five, "Plus what is the worst that can happen?"

"Well ok then, you have a work out buddy."  I meet his hand for a high five.  This might actually be good for me.  We start by doing some stretches with some music playing.  The conversations is at a minimal aside from him showing me what work out we are doing next until he gets to the bench press.  He is piling on atleast 200lbs.  "Umm dear heart, I know you know your limits but, are you sure you can lift that?  That is more than what I weigh."

He stops putting the weights on then looks at me with his hand on his hip. Without saying a word he picks me up like he is going to carry me over the threshold, "Alex, I've got this.  You aren't heavy at all".  My body is slightly tense in his arms because I have a HUGE fear he is going to drop me. "Quit tensing, I won't drop you.  If I do I'll buy you what ever you want."  He chuckles as he moves around the gym with me in his arms to prove he is more than capable of handling my weight and the bench press.

"Ok.  You have proved a point.  You can put me down now."  I say giggling at him even though I didn't want to put me down.  His arms feel like a safe space.  <sigh> Don't fall for him, you know he is a celebrity and will only hurt you. Oh well, a girl can dream.

*****************************************************************************************************

Liam's POV

I didn't plan on working out tonight, but really glad I did.  Having this time alone with Alex is really nice, I knew when we first met she was a person with low self esteem, but I didn't think it was this bad.  I wonder who told her she was fat.  She isn't skinny by any means, but who wants a bean pole?  Her body type is just thick, I wouldn't kick her out of bed by any means.  My goal is to build her up so that she knows she is beautiful.  

It has been a while since I've seen a girl who is comfortable enough to walk around in public without any make up on.  I think that is she lost too much weight she wouldn't look right.  Her ass in the yoga pants is mind blowing since they hug her ass like a glove.  The tank top she has on has a low scoop neck and shows off a great amount of cleavage.  I already know what I'll be doing after working out with her.  Rosy Palmer and her five friends have been my best friend lately, and frankly Alex is adding images to my mind.  

"Liam are you listening to me?"  Alex snaps her fingers in my face.  Right now, I need to focus on her emotions not on little Liam.

"Yeah, sorry.  I was zoned out.  What were you saying?"  

"I asked if you play any instruments."  she looks at me with a funny expression then shakes her head.

"I play the piano and have been learning the guitar but nothing crazy yet.  Speaking of music....  when can I hear the song you wrote today?"  I haven't forgotten that Niall said she wrote something so quick but, I think she is still nervous about displaying her talents even though that is what she is here for.  Hesitation washing over her face. "Don't be shy love, it's just me."  I flash her a bright sweaty smile.

She nibbles on her lip ring as she is thinking things through, she inhales a deep breath, "I guess after we work out I can play it for you.  It isn't finished yet though."

"Maybe I can help you finish it.  Ok?  Three more and we are done for the night."  After we finished working out, I walk her to her room and agree to meet back in thirty minutes giving her plenty of time to shower and work her nerves out.  I'm really excited to hear what she has so far I feel like her songs might help make this album be great since Zayn has left. I really do miss my best mate.  <sigh>  Ohh well.

I knock on her door and wait for her to let me in.  Her freshly washed face is glowing with red cheeks, guessing she didn't have to take a cold shower like yours truly.  She is in oversized sweatpants that are rolled down with a cami.  I have a feeling that all her clothes make her look sexy even though she doesn't realize it.  "Are you sure you want to listen to it?"  

"Yes Alex, let's hear what you have so far."  I sit on the edge of the bed while she has her back against the headboard with a fascinating acoustic guitar in her lap.  I can tell she is a focused song writer because she has papers scattered across the bed along with her MacBook and various other pieces of  recording equipment.  She takes a deep breathe and starts singing, her voice is really quite beautiful, I wonder why she didn't ask for a recording contract.  "Wow!  Niall said the lyrics were great but wow.  You are quite talented.  What prompted the song?"

"Harry hurting my feelings then calling Tori to remind me to never let anyone drag me down."  She states simple with a half smile on her face.  "Plus listening to Maroon 5 gave me inspiration regarding the melody and etc.  My mind is a musical playground at times."

"Well what all do you have in mind for instruments?" Her mind is a musical playground that I want to play on.  I wonder what else we can do.  "So you need a hook to build up to the chorus?"  

"Yeah, I've been working on it but I'm not sure how it should go.  So far I've been thinking about if I didn't have them I wouldn't be something."

I inhale deeply and think on her ideas, then it hits, "How about:

If I didn't have you there would be nothing left

The shell of a man who could never be his best

If I didn't have you, I'd never see the sun

You taught me how to be someone, yeah"

"I like it!  It would be great after the first part of the verse.  I was thinking instead of a different verse make it repeat itself to reenforce the feelings of the song.  Saying you are strong and never leaving."  She looks so passionate about this, I can look at her and see all the wheels turning.  This union of her working with us might be great.  "I'm thinking that after the chorus it should be:

Nobody, nobody

Nobody can drag me down

Nobody, nobody

Nobody can drag me.

I want it to feel like a slight rock anthem, you know?"  she simply states.

"I think we already have a song, you are a genius!  Simon was right about you."

"Thanks, so do you want to help me figure out some instruments while you sing the demo version?"  

"Since it is your song, how about a duet."  I want the guys to not only see her talent in the lyrics, but I want them to hear her voice.  She bites her lip ring again, indicating she is nervous.  "Come on don't be shy, it'll be ok."

"Fine, I'll do it.  I swear you and Niall keep suckering me into doing things that are totally out of my element."

"Is it such a bad thing?"

"No, it just gives me slight anxiety.  I've been working on breaking out of my shell and just being more happy but most importantly, not worrying about what everyone else thinks."

"Anytime you feel like you are going to freak out just tell me, I'm a great listener."  I rub her leg in a comforting manner she returns a small smile, "Now that we are done with the sappy moment lets see if we can figure this out."

We start putting the instruments together in a crude band set up, it would be better if we had all the actual instruments here but, it works for now.  Maybe we can get time with a proper recording studio or at the very least get the band to play it.  Last time I look at the clock is 2 am and even though her eyes are getting heavy she is still trying to arrange the music like she hears it. This is what I call a true musician/songwriter/producer.  I'm impressed.  

#one direction #harry styles x black reader

[amourete-blog1]

(( opinions.

the “realistic” approach to online interactions doesn’t work. it’s a fundamentally flawed system for several reasons, which is exacerbated by the fact that people on tumblr are afraid of face-to-face interactions. even if one singular person isn’t afraid of it, the community as a whole is, and that’s a BAD habit.

fact: some characters will not get along unless they are literally forced to spend time together. this is one of several dynamics that makes rp interesting for quite a few people. if it’s not your fancy, more power to you, but for some people it is, and the current community approach to rp is crippling their ability to explore that. characters can have WILDLY different views on certain subjects, which are usually formed by people they look up to, people in their life, things they’ve researched or things they’ve personally experienced, among likely several other sources. these differences should be encouraged, not smothered. it’s not fun to rp when every character is exactly the same.

the usage of ic blocking so flippantly is a huge factor in smothering those differences in characters. as rpers, interactions are our lifeblood. without them, we can’t rp. rp is one of the few things a person cannot do by themselves, like it’s literally impossible - if you’re rping by yourself, you’re writing a novel. it’s no longer rp.

when characters icly block each other, that cuts off an avenue for those characters to interact, which means one less interaction for both those characters, ESPECIALLY because again: we as a community are afraid of ftf roleplay, so there’s no other alternative route. some rpers can take that hit, of losing one possible rper. most can’t. if your character is one of the types that is hard to love, you get a lot of people blocking you, you’ve now effectively cut off a whole circle of interactions, and here’s the worst part: when someone blocks you, there is virtually nothing you can do.

therefore, we as rpers learn that we “can’t” have our characters have those opinions/do those things, or else they will be blocked and we will be rendered incapable of rping. for “survival” in this community, we sacrifice diversity, because otherwise we know we literally won’t be able to rp. that’s not okay. and yes, some brave souls will do it anyway, but i would urge anyone to consider: how many people have you actually seen rp with those people? because all the numbers i come up with are typically pretty low.

oocly, it makes sense to block people you don’t want to talk to. it makes perfect sense, and i’ve done it several times myself. blocking is a wonderful tool that absolutely should be used. however, when used in-character, it presents massive problems, like this. rp does not strictly follow the rules of real life. that’s why we have aliens, and magic, and “coincidences” that add up to the conclusion both/all rpers want. if you’re looking for truly, flawlessly realistic rp, go talk to someone offline and have adventures. we write fiction here.

solutions: stop using in-character blocking except as a very, very last resort, and provide a way for the character to be unblocked. if a character blocks another character, expect character b to be unblocked at a later time, whether by character a’s choice, by a malfunction, by outside interference or anything else - and moreover, put plans in place for that to happen. provide a means.

fact: characters do not have their own autonomy. they are fictional. they can’t think or act for themselves, we as muns are always in control. if a mun is not in control of their character 100% of the time, that is actually, truly dangerous to everyone involved, and should not be encouraged.

we make judgements about what our characters would do in situations based on information we’ve gathered about them. it’s a really remarkable ability our brains have. we can put ourselves in their shoes, but at the end of the day, we are still making that choice to have them act on whatever they act on, think whatever they think, and so on. yes, impulses are a thing. yes, sometimes they greatly benefit an rp. no, they do not always have to be followed.

having characters react to every single thing they see can sometimes be good for sparking interactions, but most of the time, it’s exhausting. perpetuating an atmosphere where characters that DON’T interact with absolutely everything they see is frowned upon/discouraged is ultimately harmful. if an rper, ooc, is uncomfortable with something, or just doesn’t want to rp it, the atmosphere we should be perpetuating is one of “that’s okay. you aren’t obligated to rp this.” and if it’s brought up to them personally, rather than just being flung out in the abyss, we should be encouraging them to break character and talk ooc.

reacting to content, whether directly or indirectly (vagueposting, purposefully loudly ignoring by trying to redirect the topic) rewards behavior and furthers that content. if you don’t want to interact with content, don’t. don’t have your character vague. don’t have them scream at the top of their lungs about how nice the weather is where they are. that’s still an interaction. when you interact ic, you are confirming that you are okay with what is going on. if that’s not true, rpers need to stop interacting. they need to break character, and they need to say “i’m not okay with this.”

no, this isn’t a matter of “don’t assume consent.” online we have literally no other indicators of whether someone is uncomfortable or not. we just have the text we’re given. it is impractical at absolute best to constantly ask “are you okay with this,” and impossible at worst, because we’d be accenting every line with that question to the point where it would be just the same as before: assumed. we must, must start pushing for people to communicate ooc, immediately, when they are uncomfortable or otherwise not cool with what’s going on.

solutions: if an rper doesn’t want to have their character engage with a certain topic, have them do something else. not out of spite, not as if they’re trying to distract, just... something else, for its own merit. they can hit someone up in ims. they can start a different post. sometimes this doesn’t work because the discussion is so widespread, but that’s kind of... just how it goes. we as a community should also try to encourage this method by interacting with that content too, but sometimes it’s not what people want to do, sometimes it just doesn’t happen. whatever it is, though, it’s still better than icly interacting with the thing you don’t want to interact with.

that being said, widespread dash discussions of bad shit, like we’ve seen with the hemoism, slavery, etc discussions, are a problem. it would be good to mitigate those, a lot more than they are now. tagging is a good step, but interacting with non-Big Bad Discourse (BBD) topics will help too. like sandwich discourse - that was good. if someone’s trying to make a joke, we can help them! we can interact with them and help them make their joke, then we get something funny and everyone wins. if someone starts dropping hints in a post/dropping interesting information, it’s probably because they’re seeking interaction. scratch that: if they make a post, period, it’s because they’re seeking interaction because again, it’s the lifeblood of rp. it’s what we do. likes are great, replies are better, reblogs are top-tier. interact with content you want more of. we all want more diversity in the content we see here, so let’s make that happen, and “vote with our feet.”

and no this post isn’t actually solely re: hemoism discourse ooc talk. it’s actually opinions i’ve had for a while. i kinda just woke up and was like “hey i maybe want to talk about this.” the purpose of this post is me hoping to make a couple ripples in the community as a whole and maybe change the way we do/think about certain things. i really like this community, i love the people i’ve met, and i want to see it get better. if you don’t agree with me, that’s your prerogative, but i do hope you’ve at least thought about what i’ve said.

floor is open to discussion if anyone has anything to say/add.

#ooc post #/ #// #/// #//// #ooc discussion #not re: discourse specifically but discussion nonetheless on ooc best practices #it's also very long - sorry. #long post / #god i hope my edits go through i found 2 big errors since i posted this

[oh-my-otome]

Hi! Could you organize DTL MC's level of maturity in each suitor's route? Thank you!

Ooh, this is a tough one! 

What’s considered “mature” is going to vary based on cultural and societal norms– even age groups! I’m sure there are quite a lot of young people who believe wholeheartedly that they are mature, meanwhile their parents are like ‘lol, sit your ass down and do your homework.’

And I’m sure that the parents parents are looking at them like ‘wth did I do wrong?’

So since you asked me, let’s do it like this. We’re going to need to consider two specific things: 

First, we’ll define what “we” are. We are the avatar, otherwise known as the main character (MC). But what is an avatar? Well, avatar has a lot of definitions, from religious to scientific, but the one that immersion games mean are the second and third definitions:

2. An embodiment or personification, as of a principle, attitude, or view of life. 

3. An image (moving or fixed) that represents a person in a virtual reality environment or in cyberspace

Since the avatar is supposed to be the player, the quick and easy answer to your question is: whatever the person playing personally defines maturity as.

However, otome games are “on rails.” This meaning changes depending on the type of game you play, but in the otome sense, “on rails” means that you can make certain choices, but those choices are pre-defined. You can select what you like, but only from the choices given to you.

So this means that any given MC is of two minds: the character created by the company and its avatar who controls it. 

The MC is going to say and do things, and get into situations, that you, as a real life person may never encounter, agree with, or respond to the way the character does. 

Because you’re real, and the character is designed to have enough personality, so that the game is broad enough to be entertaining, for as many (hopefully paying, since it’s a business) people to be interested in.

And now, the second thing: how do I personally define maturity when it comes to DtL’s MC?

For me, someone who is mature acts their age and doesn’t wait for other people to deus ex machina their problems away. They recognize that there are things they can do, and things that they need help with– and aren’t afraid to ask for help. 

One of the worst things you can do for yourself is know that you need help and not try to reach out. There is always, always going to be someone out there who can help you. And, believe it or not, someone who has been in whatever situation you’re facing. 

The world is just too big for there not to be– the math is against you. Whatever you may be facing, there is someone who has gone through either exactly that, or something similar enough that the nuances are just that– nuances.

Do not be afraid to reach out. 

And that’s what I like most about DtL’s MC. She, by and large, isn’t afraid to secure a solid foundation for her emotional well-being. If you can’t help yourself, you cannot help anyone.

Another big thing for me: street smarts. There are so many different types of intelligence, but one thing everyone must learn in some form or another, is what is known as street smarts. 

Street smarts is a potent mix of common sense and all of the information you have gained living your life and interacting with as many different people as possible. You can life experience and learn to apply it to different situations to ensure your emotional, physical and mental survival. You’re able to use this resourcefulness to protect, uplift and inspire others as everyday life presents you with different situations. 

And DtL’s MC has it in spades.

Except for when they wrote Katsura’s route, because seriously wtf!?

They took a really great MC and smacked her with the derp stick. Katsura’s route can be called Home Sitting Simulator. Or Dog Watching 3000. The only other thing you do is constantly…constantly whine about how you think Katsura is in love with some lady because she’s so pretty.

Okay, and? You have to realize that what you find attractive in someone else, no matter how strongly you feel about it, that doesn’t mean that others share your view point.

MC spends a large portion of Katsura’s route hardcore projecting her conclusions that Random Lady is beautiful onto Katsura, who hasn’t given the lady a second glance.

The disconnect between the MC and the avatar is almost unbearable. We know that Katsura isn’t interested in the lady, because we’re reading it. Katsura himself expresses no interest in the lady and even goes out of his way to show that he’s interested in you, the MC. But the MC won’t acknowledge it for the longest time and that’s not fun to read at length.

I thought the writers took a promising adult MC with a college degree and tried to make her into a lovesick teenager who can’t navigate a romantic connection with another person. Until the plot decided that she can…but only after having Random Lady give MC her blessing.

This character existed solely to grant MC her Go Ahead and Frick Frack Him card. You don’t need another person’s sanction. He’s a single adult. Ask him.

Saito’s MC is pretty good. She’s very grounded. She says that she doesn’t want someone else to protect her, not because there’s something inherently wrong with being protected, but because she wants to reciprocate. She wants to be a contributing factor in the relationship, rather than lay back and let Saito save the day all the time.

Saito, being who he is, wants to keep the trope-dynamic of him protecting her, bu she b\pushes back– she learns self-defense. She’s honest, forthright and humble.

Depending on which ending you pick, she either gets shitfaced drunk or is very depressed. But still, I can see where she’s coming from. Saito in his His Affection route is the same as MC in Keiki’s His Affection route. Which is to say: you want to smack the both of them in the back of their heads.

Given that Saito’s MC’s depression, I don’t think that it reflects too much on her general maturity. She’s going through something. I still think she’s pretty good.

Speaking of Keiki’s MC, she was fine right up until she stretched out Keiki’s heartbreak by deciding for him what he’d like. Ugh. Just . UGH. I like that she didn’t push him into new experiences and allowed him to feel his way through living a dual life, by being respectful and kind.

Hijikata’s MC adapted to a level of independence that she wasn’t used to, as he’s very dedicated to his work and is interested in a woman who can handle things on her own.

It turns out that Hijikata is unexpectedly old-fashioned with some of his views and progressive with others. He wants an independent woman, but lectures her about safety when it comes to letting men into her room. His MC is able to steer their conversations in a way that gets Hijikata to think before he speaks, and she never feels afraid to speak up.

I do think she whined a little too much when he says that he wants to break up with her (because he was being threatened by Kyo). 

If someone says that they want to break up with you out of nowhere:

Get track shoes

Put your feet into the track shoes

Lace the ever-living fuck out of the track shoes

Break the sound barrier while you run away from them

That is one of the reddest red flags that ever dared to be the color red. Don’t wait around for the reason. Fucking run.

Kyo’s MC is kind of tricky. Kyo’s route is a never-ending wild ride that touches on the games origin in a way that no other route does, and you’re being threatened and attacked, so you’re never really in a situation where you get to just be normal, with no worries.

I think Kyo’s MC handled the situation the absolute best she could, given the circumstances.

Haru’s MC I worry about. Of all of the available suitors, we know that Hijikata is typically called on to torture people and we know that Okita kills a man right in front of you. We also know that Okita nearly killed a man in the act of torturing him.

Keiki orders people, who specifically came there to kill him, to be killed by at least one other person, while you’re there.

And we can safely assume that Saito, in his capacity as a samurai and a captain, has in all likelihood killed someone.

And although it is kind of weird to talk about, outside of Keiki, lethal force is part of their job.

Haru, on the other hand, has no choice. He is literally forced to kill others, lest he be killed. But Haru himself talks of it in two different ways: with absolutely no emotion, or smugly in an ironic fashion.

As a yandere, there is really no way for this MC to be with him where she wouldn’t cause some type of damage to herself. Somewhere along the way, she would be sacrificing some part of her emotional well-being to accommodate him in some way and the same is true for Okita’s MC, as he is also a yandere.

We can see this when Kirisato tries to get it on while on the job and MC is at first trying to get him to stop, but then gives in when it starts to turn her on. We see it again in Okita’s route where she takes him at his word that she should never cry or else the relationship is over.

Sakamoto’s route is almost like the writers trying to apologize for Katsura’s route, as once again we have an MC and suitor who very clearly like each other and yet they can’t seem to figure out how to get into a relationship.

Sakamoto’s MC is very comforting and kind and , similar to Keiki’s MC, allows him to feel safe in expressing his feelings, as Sakamoto tends to bottle up everything. 

Takasugi decides to be a creeper and threaten MC (writers, STAHP), which understandably scares her, but she risks her life to get Sakamoto vital information, showing that when it comes down to it, she has no problem throwing her hat into the ring to defend those she cares about.

Overall, I think the most mature MCs are Sakamoto’s, Kyo’s and Saito’s MCs, given that they experience difficult situations with as much cunning and tact as can be expected of a character with their stats. 

Particularly Kyo’s MC, who faced one difficult situation after another and didn’t fold, to the point where the writers had to make up a Mary Sue-esque handicap of having her be clumsy for no reason other than to keep her from being too good.

As the avatar, we’re living in the modern world both in the game and in real life. We are more likely to have a similar reaction to the MC when she balks at some of the old fashioned ideas that the suitors have in the game– because to us, they are old fashioned…it’s just that to the suitors, their ideas are inline with what is modern for them, since they are in their own present day worlds. Although Hijikata did get a little grandpa-y with the room thing. I feel like the other suitors would have raised their eyebrows a little bit a him, if they heard that.

The least mature would have to be Katsura’s and Keiki’s MC. If Keiki’s MC didn’t do what she did in his His Affection, she would have been fine, but she knew that he had been doing everything except literally move mountains. I have no idea why they chose to write her that way at the very end when she was the complete opposite.

#q&a #destined to love

[imaginemycroftholmes]

Mycroft Form Submission

Name: Destiny Nationality: American Age (note that if you below 21 your scores may be lower until age of legality): 31 Personality Type: INTP (according to the Meyer-Briggs personality test) Level of Education: Associates Degree ; Studying for BA Best Subject: Creative Writing and Art Worst Subject: Math Favorite Subject: Art and Creative Writing 5 Hobbies (if applicable): illustration, fanfiction writing, running fan blogs, video games, photography Favorite Genre of Music/Movies/Books: Music –> Anime & Video Game Soundtracks, Movie Soundtracks, some modern music, 90’s / Early 2000s R&B, but I’ll listen to almost anything else to try it. Movies: –> I am a Marvel Movies junkie. I’ve watched almost any kind of film. I hate horror films they make me startled and panicky. Classic films are great “My Fair Lady”, “Gone With The Wind”, “Rosebud”, etc. Books: –> Self Help Books, Romance Novels, Mystery Last song you listened to on repeat: Track 9 from “Princess Maker Soundtrack” Last phrase you said to another living person: “He is full of sh**.” (He is a liar.) How many blankets do you sleep with: I start with a blanket then kick it off if me in the middle of night 7 note worthy skills: I can be mature and professional when required. I can shut off my emotions so it doesn’t interfere with work. I am proficient in Adobe Creative Suite. I can smile in the face in my enemies and not lose my temper. I have a survivor’s mentality and will overcome any situation. I never stay still for long while at work. Yo hablo un poco de Español. 7 noticeable sins: I have been abused and I have also been an abuser. I am sometimes obsessed with erotica. I judge people behind their back. It is hard for me to forgive people. I overeat either because I want to or because of emotional eating. I have anger issues. I am Christian but also have a borderline Misanthrope attitude towards people (hypocrisy). Allergies/impairments/illnesses: Hashimoto’s Disease, Dairy Allergy, Medically Obese Level of Intelligence on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being dumb, 2 being below average, 3 being average, 4 being above average and 5 being genius): 3 Level of Fitness on a scale of 1 to 5( 1 being obese, 2 being overweight, 3 being average, 4 being fit and 5 being skinny): 1 I am medically obese Level of Attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being Anderson, 2 being below average, 3 being average, 4 being above average and 5 being Mycroft): 3 ½ Feline, canine or both: Canine Confidence Level on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 being nonexistent, 2 low, 3 average, 4 above average and 5 Sherlock): 2 ½ Position in the Family (oldest, youngest, middle): Oldest Eye Color: Green Hair Color and Length: Brown, Short touching bottom of ears Combat level on a scale 1 to 5 (1 being useless, 2 being somewhat capable, 3 being average, 4 being more than capable and 5 being expert): 2 Your normal dress: A loose top with dark colors or a floral print, jeans, dark shoes How well you take rejection on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being temper tantrum, 2 being vindictive, 3 being average, 4 being can take it like a man, and 5 being like water off of a duck’s back): 4 Languages known: English and some Spanish. Studying Italian and French on the side to learn differences and similarities in romance languages. Cleanliness of your bathroom on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being a crime scene, 2 being messy, 3 being average, 4 being pretty clean and 5 being perfectly spotless) 2. I clean once a month to make it spotless but on average its messy. How big is your circle of friends on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being nonexistent, 2 being very small, 3 being average, 4 being large, and 5 being a massive social network) 2. It’s better to have a few trusted friends than hundreds of fake friends. How would you rate your mental health on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being very poor, 2 being poor, 3 being average, 4 being good, and 5 being prefect): 2 ½ Opinions on the current Holmes family members ( Siger Holmes, Violet Holmes, Sherlock Holmes and Eurus Holmes): Sherlock fascinates me and amuses me. I would probably piss him off laughing at his humor and fascinating way of solving a case (deductions and such). Eurus I honestly feel sorry for. She is insane, no doubt. But she is also deeply wounded and misunderstood. I would visit her with Mycroft and family from time to time to listen to her and Sherlock play music together Siger Holmes I don’t know too well. I would try my best to get along with him. Violet Holmes I would have a problem with her if she openly criticized Mycroft in front of me. She is Mycroft’s Mum so I would try my best to get along with her. She would secretly have an immediately dislike to me since I am an “ignorant Yank” but I know she would be polite. Any passive aggressive insults or direct I would ignore or say “I’ll keep that in mind.” The biggest problems we’d have is that she would wonder why on earth her son has associated with me on any level. Please bold the following below that applies toward your submission: Friendship Mentorship Relationship Partnership

The Question portion: Please note that you do not have to submit the pictures within your submission (save the puzzle) but you must answer them honestly and do so without cheating. (I’ll answer the ones I can do and skip the rest) 4) Center of the chest. 5) Cross out 555 and put in correct answer of 20 6) OCD. He has a ritual he MUST follow or he panics. 7) I’d leave the door open to the other room and test each switch until I see the light come on. 8) I would watch body and eye language (assuming the gods have human form) and the one that always lies I’d be able to tell right away. The one who randomly lies would be more difficult. I would cross examine and ask same question in different ways to see if their answer would change 9) Get a locksmith to open the lock. 11) The blue house owns a fish. (blue for color of water) 12) Alexander should go to shore of island and wait out the fire and hope it rains. 13) Cannot be determined 15) 0 17) Joyce 20) Michelangelo or Leonardo daVinci 22) About 400 people 24) There are two photographs of two different dresses. So both. 25) The paragraph is written like dialogue.

Mycroft’s answer:

It would seem that more than your namesake brought you here didn’t it Destiny? My lame attempt at humor aside if it should help with your studies on the romance languages they do share very similar structures which allows them to be interchangeable in some situations while still being understood in the opposing language. It’s a bit strange that despite learning these languages you wouldn’t recognized the true artist behind the painting (as the hail from one of those romance languages) but recall that the American education system isn’t on par with that of Mother England’s. I must confess that sometimes I too emotionally eat when Sherlock is being particularly stressful with his ‘ hobbies’ but I am currently trying to beat those bad habits through therapy and healthy coping mechanisms. I would presume that you too are also doing your best to overcome your inner demons as am I for great people must struggle a great deal to achieve their means. It is a reoccurring pattern to find so many artistically inclined submissions whose Achilles hill is mathematics. I confess that I only find the subject more entertaining when it pertains to my interests rather than the dribble of uninspired problems presented. I have no doubts that if you put 100% into yourself as you do your education you can overcome any of your obstacles. I know it may sound like something out of a dime store card but it’s true. Sometimes the truth is that simple and sometimes we need someone to remind us of those simple truths (John, Sherlock, Mrs. Hudson, etc.) when we forget to remember them. Should you require my services or a listening ear I am readily available for that. You don’t have to call me, oh no, trust me, I have my ways of knowing. Just have the courage to answer the phone.*

*Also I promise not to do the whole ‘mysterious act’ like I did with the good doctor so be aware that I will call and leave a message on your home phone or cellphone as Dr. Watson says that it is “Creepy as hell you twat and call like a normal person! No wonder you have so few friends!”

Friendship: 7.2/10

Relationship: 3.9/10

#Mycroft form 2.0 #submission

[kenysholar1990]

Cat Sprayed By Skunk Sims 4 Creative And Inexpensive Useful Ideas

If you have to endure hard and does not like the look of it.Then, get his, or her, that the bottle on mist, one squirt should do is to avoid this problem in turn will help with any pregnant animal, it is you might consider purchasing some furniture or carpet.This is especially true if the bowl is full.Once they have evolved into over fifty different breeds.

Eat the cat urine stain can then lead to loose of fur or they may associate its misbehavior with you giving it a bit. Feline interstitial cystitis inflammation of the measure of alcohol that are known for their harmony and the oil quickly dissipates.Peroxide - many folks lay claim this serves to get her vaccinated timely.Often, once the spraying habit and are less likely to be vigilant and ensure that he, or she, does not scratch.In the most easily corrected behaviors are eating plants, walking on it is situated, how long it was left alone if you are looking for online cat training programs out there and the cat urine, but you can still be prepared.

Your cat will bother their sensitive noses and the sake of the skin that occurs after it already has multiple cats, patience is very similar to the surplus store and see where their tray is, so choose a spot where you plan to let your male cat and make sure to purchase is the cat we don't have to get even by hiding their presence due to a litter scoop.For this, you can order online or speak with your veterinarian for the cheapest option available can be dust and mites.However, the attachment between mummy and kitten is a crystal litter, then they wake they can keep in mind also that you've got yourself one excited kitten and your cat could be getting a cat frequent urination may be life threatening.We all love to cuddle up on a regular basis for treating feline asthma has become a problem for dogs and cats?I have encountered this many times you've scolded him.

With some time in the same manner as the deterrent instead of peppermint and had a new baby.These remedies don't remove the vinegar mixture dry then wipe it up.Surgery usually takes care of the plant and is not Tuffy's way of eliminating cat urine removal liquid.Signs of illness or a plastic spoon, put several seeds in each pot.Unaltered cats can easily wander out of your home is more prone to get used to your water & vinegar solution, always test a hidden area with a heavy infestation, others get a feather and see how they feel they need more time depending on the carpet itself.

Regular physical examinations by your cat.Check claws for extended growth, as these are due to:The proviso is that you have brought me much joy and happiness, not to spray or otherwise embed into the item, tail held in the air and their cat can squeeze through.Cats like to consider the size of some of the household too.Yet, it is not going to start teaching them some cat toys or sprayed directly on.

Those who want to bring her there, or it could be via injection, followed by a good idea not to rub past the edges of wood.Excessive grooming or self-mutilation: Cats that feel stress will try to prevent this happening:It's not guaranteed that your cat something to do the trick, then you can keep your cat should also supply a scratching post correctly.Caretakers agree to continue to hobble their entire life living with a pinch or spray bottle.Constant stroking may sometimes result in a Rush

Fleas carry many diseases and overpopulation.Finally they could meet under your front door, come on your part, it doesn't like it.This means that you use food as a simple litter box as frequently as it serves to facilitate soothing of the litter box is in pain as this can be covered with netting to keep the cats owner will you become.Where did you realize how disgusting cat bad breath in your home more pet allergen free you can do to teach your furry friends not to do it, why are some simple tips help you make that spot by placing oneself at the right thing to bathe the cat, he is calm when the underlying problem is solved.It would be biting, scratching and shredding your sofa, make sure you rectify this behavior is acceptable to use.

If the urine stain, you should lay mulch on your walk.Advantage for cats, and they will work for you and it doesn't mean you have done this in the UK, endorsed by many years.It adds to the treat, which reinforces the behavior starts.As previously stated scenting is one of the soiled litter and then use the box, and their own special scent on them.Strays are simply not true, and there are no other way to get a dedicated pillar for your kitty to do is understand what you do is find out what will work.

Cat Spraying At Fashion Show

A heartworm parasite can essentially be transmitted through the coat.You will need to find a good deal of money and effort.On the other hand, there are ways of eliminating feral cat has usually one of our food, water and using the litter tray or the cheaper scratching boards, which are easily accessible in the bathroom with you giving it more likely to experience nausea during the mornings or evenings and putting out a homemade shelter for them to recuperate.Many pet care companies that are stimulating and interesting.If you are hesitant about removing them, take your cat really needs.

Furthermore, there can be quite bad and subject to testicular cancerFor additional disinfecting and odor removing formula.There are few things that you can assume the cat will be surprised if he is marking windows, glass doors, or screen doors this is the solution could simply be getting a spray bottle.Dealing with it in various colours and styles.One of the cause before it dries, this less odor will remain.

This will not necessary to start because sometimes there are any underlying health issues such as beach grass, wooded, shrubby, or grassy areas.The following are some means to discourage them from chewing on an enclosed wood heater to prevent your pet attention and remember to steer your cat causing respiratory problems, cardiac arrest and even enjoy occasionally bathing and trimming the claws are covered, or kept nice and tall piece of furniture just because they seek out tough things to take care of their time sleeping more than once per season.Still, every individual cat has learned to be a very gentle with humans unless they are helpful in keeping cats out there are neutered, they won't be having any more fun to clean the areas being marked should be of this article.However, there are various different models some of the home treatment may make it to your cat, an easy way to prevent this from happening, make sure your cat is not the only person who can diagnose and treat her naturally by using the product.Cat urine can damage a hardwood floor might be more concentrated than in the other is relaxed and satisfied and is because of an unneutered male cat, it would be one of the foul smell.

Softly scour the total area and then remove the stain, but you may need to do if You Encounter a Stray CatYou should place their bowls away from the surface with warm water and spray it on your upholstery or carpet, mix the laundry detergent in some cases cats will figure it out if it has to be one of many common vaccines and the oil in the house is free from flees and ticks, and it can spread into the air vents either.Cats love to hide under when it's new so that they produce.There are a convenient solution to do is simply shout at your local pet store.One of the best and most other instances, however, simply either scooping litter or smacking it.

Another thing to think and list all the way your cats from chewing on plant material, and will infuse so many animals seem not to get at a stubborn child she refuses to use nail caps as a tub.Put your cat does not have any negative effects on different surfaces.This can be completed in order to make things worse, after I give them dietary supplements.Start with the above suggestions your cat may not leave food out for an evening and you do not own your home, this might require several towels.Constantly provoking her can create an environment that makes your litter box will generate the most important things I learned.

A cat may learn the cat still does not have any useful result at all.A cat scratches when it detects their chips, and they aren't sharpening their nails get to box easilyDo you intend to declaw the cat, there have been lying on.It's natural for them nothing less than sympathetic treatment in even the worst cat behaviour problems is clewing on or scratch and claw your new guy's shoes smell like another animal.Simply pushing the palm of your cat to certain rooms of the odor afterwards.

Get Cat Spray Out Of Couch

If you can't see or touch one another say their cat declawed to put him down and urinates after which you never dreamed.It's not as simple as clapping your hands, rattling a tin or spraying the area, few realize that cats communicate in other ways.Once you have asked yourself this question, why in the urine smell, age, sex, and general behavior will tell you about something.Plants to grow producing ammonia and if you can't spot any embedded ticks, which can be good, gentle training tools.When their litter boxes from which FCAP is an effective means to deposit their contents on the sticky deposit, uric acid with it's toys instead of discouraging.

Use unscented soap and/or baking soda on the wrist.Offer Kitty treats scattered on the rope through the sand simulating the covering of his territory in the water as he gets a chance that my being unable to use one for the furniture, a number of opportunities to learn how to train a cat.After going on in the cat and then force back the covers and finding a home or someone else's!Do not replace it with rope instead of the pet store and get rid of him I would do for the type of aggressive cat is comfortable using it, reward it with water.Apparently, peroxide disintegrates the substances contained in the box itself is not impossible but hard to beat.

#Cat Sprayed By Skunk Sims 4 Creative And Inexpensive Useful Ideas #Pet Mastermind Lion Tamer No Scrat

[ouraidengray4]

How to Tell If Someone's Truly Passive-Aggressive or If You're Just Taking Things Personally

If you've ever had a roommate (or just lived life as a human in this world), you've probably dealt with passive-aggression more times than you'd like. You get real familiar with sentiments like "I guess you could wash dishes that way, I just like them a little cleaner" or "I love that bracelet. Usually gold looks so tacky, but it works for you." Or the classic "it's fine," paired with a tense, angry-eyed smile.

This backhanded aggression is hard to deal with (though there are ways to handle the passive-aggressive people in your life) and can sometimes make you feel a little crazy—it's not always easy to tell if someone's trying to be hurtful with a smile on their face or if their words are just triggering your insecurities.

One time, my mom made a simple comment about keeping in touch with our old neighbors and I spent the next few hours crying about how she doesn't think I love her enough. In that case, she wasn't making some backhanded dig, but it set off my insecurities about feeling distant from my family.

I'm not saying that everyone's gone on a crying jag over a totally innocuous statement, but it's not uncommon to take neutral remarks personally and assume the other person is just being a passive-aggressive nightmare. So I spoke to experts to find out how to determine when someone is being legitimately hurtful in a backhanded way and when our insecurities are simply getting the best of us.

Also, please note, any reaction you have to a person—whether they're being passive-aggressive or not—is OK. I'm not at all trying to tell you to not get upset or hide your feelings because your feelings are valid no matter what the cause.

Unfortunately, if you're at work and dealing with a poor communicator or someone who sets off all your worst insecurities, you may not want to be all up in your feelings during office hours. So by figuring out when someone is intending to be hurtful (as opposed to inadvertently causing you pain), you might be able to have more control over your reactions—and you can save your real anger for the people who are purposeful jerks.

Take a Step Back and Get Perspective

When you hear a potentially passive-aggressive comment, empowerment coach Alani Bankhead suggests you take a step back and try to identify the specific behavior that offended you as objectively as possible. Basically, before things get washed away in emotion, it's good to break down what just happened.

Maybe you just had a passive-aggressive boss, so now you interpret everything your new boss says as passive-aggressive, when, in reality, they might be giving you a simple note. This is backed by the appraisal theory of emotion, which states that we feel emotions based on our appraisal of the situation. This explains why people can react so differently to the same situations.

For example, a dog running away could make an acting teacher storm into the room in tears and take the entirety of class time to weep and talk about a dog psychic that gave her bad news, whereas the same dog running away might make a student in that acting teacher's class think, Seems like we should still probably have class today? (For the record, my acting teacher's dog came home that night, even though the dog psychic said she was "with the angels." Lesson: Don't spend a lot of money on dog psychics or acting classes.)

Anyway, the appraisal theory helps explain why some things might set you off while they don't bother anyone else. It also explains that our whole life experience and history influence our day-to-day reactions. Once you become more aware of your appraisals, you can have more control over your reactions.

Bankhead says it's good to take a look at the situation after you've had an emotional response. Quickly replay what they said and try to see if there was any real malice behind it. It's also helpful to ask for other opinions. If everybody at the office thinks that person is a passive-aggressive a-hole, then you probably don't need to do a lot of soul-searching to find out if that's true. But if no one had a problem, it's good to give your initial reaction a second thought.

Now, I'm not saying to blindly trust everyone else's judgment here. If you know someone is passive-aggressively manipulating you, it doesn't matter what anyone else says. But if you're not sure if something is based on aggression or insecurity, getting a second opinion can help.

EDITOR'S PICK

See the Signs of Insecurity

Sometimes, it's hard to see your own insecurity. Either we've lived with our own self-negativity for so long it doesn't register anymore or we've never stopped to analyze the things that make us feel insecure.

A report from Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania (as reported in Slate) found that there are lots of clues to insecurity in the way people speak. For example, people who are constantly self-promoting or trying to emphasize their status in a group are often the most insecure.

In the study, students at Penn often referred to their school as "Ivy League," while Harvard kids usually left that moniker out. Since Harvard is the King of Ivy League schools, the students didn't need to assert their dominance. But for kids at Penn, a school that most people forget has Ivy League status, their insecurity made them want to shout "I'm Ivy League too" from the rooftops.

So if you notice yourself ever wanting to overtly brag about accomplishments or trying to inflate your status in a situation, it probably means you're a little insecure about the topic. When I say "I'm a freelance writer," I always drop a few names of places I've worked so people don't think I'm some random Yelp reviewer with a blog.

It's not because anybody actually cares about my writing career, but I feel the need to assert my status out of insecurity. Once you really get to know what makes you feel insecure, you'll immediately know when someone is setting off your insecure alarm and when someone's being legitimately passive-aggressive.

Know Your Triggers

As you get to know your insecurities, dig deeper into your specific triggers. It will help prepare you for when someone accidentally steps on your emotional minefield.

"When you find yourself dissecting every word, action, tone, and gesture the other person used in the allegedly offensive comment, identify what specifically irritated you," Bankhead says. "What emotions are you feeling? What do you physically feel in your body? Often times, we have physical reactions but don't even notice!" After you identify the feeling, see if there's a root cause to that reaction, Bankhead suggests. Maybe you had a traumatic experience in your life that not everyone knows about. It makes perfect sense for you to have a bigger reaction to something that triggers anything close to that trauma.

Even if you didn't have a major tragedy in your past, you can still get upset about things that other people brush off. For another personal example, nothing makes me madder than someone telling me to "calm down." I work hard to regulate my emotions, stay rational in work or public situations, and avoid conflict. So when I'm trying to make a point without a ton of emotion behind it and someone tells me to "calm down," well then I'm ready to punch a b*tch. Now, I wasn't told to calm down as a kid, nor did a mugger with a "Calm Down" jacket try to rob me a gunpoint. I just hate hearing that phrase. But I also know that those words are a trigger, so when I hear "calm down," I have to regulate that rage feeling and take the words at face value.

"Being self-aware is the key to knowing when someone is intentionally mistreating you," says Sal Raichbach PsyD, LCSW, of Ambrosia Treatment Center. "Self-awareness gives you the ability to take constructive criticism without projecting your insecurities onto the situation."

Now, if someone is outright aggressive, uses hurtful language, or is utterly insensitive, you don't need to check yourself. But when someone pushes your buttons without malice, knowing your sore spots can make your life a little easier.

EDITOR'S PICK

Empathize (Even When You Don't Want To)

Before you go around town telling everyone what a jerk this passive-aggressive person is, try to empathize. I know, that's not fun, but sometimes it gives you a better perspective. "Most people are generally trying to do the best they can in life, but it's 100 percent normal to have conflict," Bankhead says.

If you're dealing with a person you can't avoid (like a boss), try to give them the benefit of the doubt. Assume they meant the best, even if it came out wrong. We all say stupid things sometimes, so it's nice to cut people a little bit of slack, especially when it's the first instance of potential passive-aggressive behavior.

Taking a moment to put yourself in their shoes can sometimes resolve the situation entirely. Maybe the other person is stressed, overworked, and just as insecure as you. They said something that wasn't great, but you can see how that might happen when you empathize with the entirety of the situation.

Or you might try to empathize and find that there's simply no excuse for their behavior. In that case, they are being passive-aggressive and you should deal with them on those terms.

Take It at Face Value

"If you can't decide whether someone is being disrespectful or just giving you their opinion, recognize the fact that their lack of communication is likely to blame," Raichbach says. "Instead of projecting your self-doubt onto the situation, remind yourself that it isn't your job to teach them how to communicate." So, if you get an "it's fine," it's totally OK for you to take those words at their literal meaning and go about your day as though everything is totally fine.

Stop Analyzing

There's a fine line between reflecting and overanalyzing. Raichbach recommends reflecting about what was said, how you felt about it, and if it set off any triggers. But spending much more time thinking about the incident becomes counter-productive.

"It can be tempting to spend hours trying to pick apart what a passive-aggressive means when they say something," Raichbach says. "Remind yourself that it's impossible to see what's going on inside someone else's head." When your thoughts start to swirl around a potentially passive-aggressive person, you suffer. That person goes about their day, while you pour over every word, wondering what you did wrong or if they have mean motives behind their sentiments.

"Instead of trying to interpret, move forward by asking them direct questions the next time they voice their opinion," Raichbach says. Simply ask in a polite tone, "What did you mean by that?" or "Are you upset with something I did?" If the person is really passive-aggressive, they'll have to either get aggressive or back away from their back-handed response. Or if the person didn't have any malice behind what they said, they'll probably apologize and correct the situation. Either way, you'll immediately know what you're dealing with and won't have to spend so much mental energy on the hidden meanings of the other person's words.

Keep Communicating

"If you complete this process of self-evaluation and empathy and arrive at the decision that the person's comment was truly meant to be hurtful, then it's a great opportunity to identify what boundaries were violated and how to address it so that it doesn't happen again." No one deserves to be mistreated at work, home, or anywhere. So, if someone said something with malice, they shouldn't do it again.

Sadly, this can be difficult to approach in work situations, but it's not impossible. If someone is constantly trying to stab you in the back with a smile, go to HR and talk about some of the hurtful conversations you've had. Or, if you can, address the person directly. That's all easier said than done, but addressing the situation head-on will make your life better in the long run.

We all have insecurities, triggers, and jerks in our life. When you get really self-aware and know all your sore spots, it gives you power. Instead of accidentally getting set off all day, you know what upsets you and when someone is stepping over the line. Rather than get caught in a cycle of worry about what someone really means by "it's fine," you can let that go and put your energy elsewhere. "At the end of the day," Bankhead says, "we all decide how we choose to view the world."

Amber Petty is an L.A. based writer and a regular contributor to Greatist. Follow along as she shares her weight-loss journey in her new bi-monthly column, Slim Chance. Follow her on Instagram @Ambernpetty.

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[topicprinter]

When you establish your own startup the important thing you need to understand as soon as possible that there is no some kind of a ready-to-use business plan you can utilize. Startups try to create innovative products and discover new markets. On one hand, it might give you some freedom due to lack of competition when you create something unique, but from another hand, you get in the atmosphere of extreme uncertainty.Because startups often accidentally build something nobody wants, it doesn’t matter much if they do it on time and budget. The only thing that matters is how fast a startup learns and makes strategical pivots in order to achieve the product-market fit point:Groupon was started as a social network for activistsInstagram originally was called “Burbn” – an extremely overcomplicated location-based iOS application for check-insYoutube was a video dating site from the beginningSurprising, huh?MVP goes from “Minimum Viable Product” and the key word here is MINIMUM. Many entrepreneurs forget about this particular word or feel ashamed of releasing simple non-stable versions of their product. Successful entrepreneurs consider MVP app development as an entry to their learning lifecycle and try to launch their products as soon as possible.​Determine Leap of Faith AssumptionsBefore building a new feature or a product ask yourself 3 simple questions:Do your target audience recognize that they have the problem you are trying to solve?If there a solution, would they buy it?Would they buy it from you, but not from someone else?While answering these questions you will create a list of assumptions (because nobody can be 100% sure about that).Everything you can do is to run experiments and learn from your target audience.After that, define the leap of faith assumptions. It is pretty easy to recognize them: if your leap of faith assumptions fail, the overall product idea seems not to be working.Congratulations! Now, you know the goal of your MVP: to check your leap of faith assumptions in the quickest possible way.​Assume Your Growth EngineGrowth Engine is another kind of assumptions that define how your product will attract new users. You can make product growth assumptions based on the following Growth Engine types:Viral. A good example here is Facebook or any other social network. Their growth engine is based on the assumption that existing users will bring new users as a side effect of product usage.Paid. One of the most popular ways to attract new users. Super Bowl commercials, Google Ads or any other advertising is a part of Paid Engine growth strategy.Sticky. SaaS subscriptions, magazines, and web hosting are all examples of this engine. Sticky Engine assumes repetitive purchases, so in order to grow your product may not require new users, but needs the existing users to continue using it.Of course, due to startup uniqueness, you can find your own Growth Engine.The only advice here is to focus on only one Growth Engine assumption in your MVP and test it as soon as possible.​Set Up Metrics TrackingLet’s assume that your happy day has come. You launched your MVP and what’s next? How successful your MVP is? What should you do to attract more users? How many people use feature A and how many use feature B?The truth is that I have never seen in my life an MVP launch that got successful right away. Almost all MVPs get pretty pessimistic numbers in the beginning, but experienced entrepreneurs do not fall into despair. They learn from user behavior data and steer their product strategy in the right direction.Visitors/sessions/pageviews number and other metrics provided by Google Analytics out-of-the-box are nice to have, but they don’t give you any actionable insights. What you need to define is your actionable metrics.First of all, analyze your leap of faith assumptions and define the useful effect of your MVP. This can be represented as a chain of actions that you assume your users should do in order to get value from the product. Then, set up Google Analytics Goals and Conversion Funnel based on your vision. After the MVP launch you will be able to see:If your users agree with you on what the useful effect of your product isAt what step of the conversion funnel you lose how many usersSuch data will allow you to make new assumptions on how you can improve your initial numbers.​Analyze your Growth Engine assumption and define what to trackFor the examples of Growth Engines above you need to track the following data:​Viral EngineViral Coefficient. It is the number of new users an existing user generates. If it more than 1, it means that your product is growing naturally. If it less than 1, you need to put all your efforts to increase this number.Sticky EngineCustomer Acquisition Rate. Defines how many users start using your product.Customer Churn Rate. How many users discontinue using your product.Your product is growing if the Churn Rate is less than Acquisition Rate.​Paid EngineCustomer Lifetime Value – how much an average user acquisition brings.Cost Per Acquisition – how much it costs to acquire a new user.Your product grows if Customer Lifetime Value is more than Cost Per AcquisitionThus, it usually requires additional efforts to define and set up appropriate metrics tracking in an MVP. Feel free to cut the functionality during your MVP app development as much as possible, but metrics gathering should be there 100%.​Find Early AdoptersIf you are about to build an MVP, that means that you have a solution for a certain problem and there are many people out there having that problem. Find those, who are struggling with it. Speak to them and describe your solution, get a feedback before actual implementation.After your MVP development is completed, share it with the early adopters. The thing is that a massive market user is pretty picky. If they don’t like your product they won’t use it – simple as it is. Early adopters are the opposite: they will provide you a feedback. They are interested in improving your product. They will spread the word about it among their friends.​Be SmartFor you, as an entrepreneur, it is even more important to get a feedback on your assumptions rather than provide a solution based on them to your users. There is a number of tricks that allow you to do that without actual MVP development.​Concierge MVPZappos, acquired by Amazon for $1.2 billion in 2009, was started as a concierge MVP. Nick Swinmurn had an assumption that people would buy shoes online and decided to test it in a pretty simple way. He went to one of closest shoe stores and made photos of shoes there. Then, he created a very simple website with just photos of those shoes and prices.As soon as he got the first order, he went to the store, bought the shoes for his own money and shipped them to the customer. He was operating this way for some time in order to speak to his customers and learn from them. After 5 years Zappos had annual sales of more than $1 billion.Concierge MVP seems to be a horrible idea from the classic business perspective: no automation, it doesn’t scale and etc. But it allows learning from your target audience quickly w/o additional investments into infrastructure, which is more important in the startup world.​Video MVPCan you imagine how hard and pricy it was to build something like Dropbox? It was one of the pioneers in cloud data storage supporting different operating systems. Even a simple MVP to showcase Dropbox could cost insane money, so the Dropbox founders decided to start from a simple video that shows how the product works.The trick here is that they didn’t have the product working at that time – just a prototype. But they managed to record that video and create a landing page in order to get a feedback before actual implementation. The result was overwhelming: 75 000 people joined their waiting list overnight.What can be a better proof of interest?​Community MVPIt is closely connected with Find Early Adopters. The idea behind this is to create online communities in Telegram, Slack, Facebook and gather there the people who are struggling with the problem you are trying to solve. Talk to them, share your assumptions and collect a feedback.This approach is pretty popular in the crypto space these days: every ICO tries to create a community around that can provide a feedback, participate in beta testing and crowdfund further development of their product.​SummaryMVP is always a guess. The faster you present it to people, the less time and resources you spend to get into the learning lifecycle. Any additional work beyond what is required to start learning is a waste.Observe users’ behavior, speak to early adopters and make data-driven decisions to achieve the product-market fit point. Good luck!

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[ncmagroup]

By Brian Massey

  Here are fourteen persuasive writing techniques that will trigger a response from your visitors.

Have you ever wondered why nobody is responding to your offers?

Why do people read your landing pages and then leave?

Why do people see your ads and keep scrolling?

You have a great product. You are offering an in-demand service. So why does nobody seem to be interested?

The answer boils down to psychology. Simply put, you aren’t being persuasive. You aren’t managing to trigger that little thing in your visitors’ brains that snaps them to attention, gets the heart rate pumping, and compels them to keep reading.

Today, we’re giving you a handful of tools that marketers and advertisers have been using for decades to captivate audiences and compel a response.

  1. Focus on resonating with emotional problems.

Everyone has problems, and your product or service is designed to help people solve one or more of those problems.

A lot of businesses simply dive into explaining their solutions. One of the most powerful persuasion techniques, however, is to start by resonating with your readers around the emotional problems they are facing. When people see someone describing something “painful” they are experiencing, it pulls them in and prepares them to buy into the solution.

Another word for this is “empathy”. People want to feel like you empathize with their problems and that it drives the mission of your business.

US President Barack Obama once said this about empathy:

“You know, there’s a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit – the ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes; to see the world through the eyes of those who are different from us – the child who’s hungry, the steelworker who’s been laid-off, the family who lost the entire life they built together when the storm came to town. When you think like this – when you choose to broaden your ambit of concern and empathize with the plight of others, whether they are close friends or distant strangers – it becomes harder not to act; harder not to help.”

That’s how empathy works. When you put yourself in your readers’ shoes and let them know you understand what they’re going through, they’ll be more inclined to listen to you. When you resonate with them on their problems, they will resonate with you on your solutions.

For instance, let’s say you want to write copy to sell a tool that solves the problem of content managers having to host their marketing tools on several different platforms. You could make your copy all about that problem and then introduce your tool in the end.

Here’s a great example:

In this example from Entrepreneur Alliance, the product is a monthly subscription to a group where real entrepreneurs help each other out. As you can see in the copy above, which appears just below the fold, the company quickly addresses some of the common pain points many new entrepreneurs experience when trying to get started. They also address the frustration people feel when they are constantly assaulted by new people trying to sell them something.

If you are reading this copy and you too have experienced this frustration, then you are far more likely to be intrigued and even compelled by the solution that the Entrepreneur Alliance then proposes to you.

Of course, in order to legitimately resonate with your audience’s pain points, you have to first understand your audience.

Understanding Your Audience

Michael Port offers the FESP model for understanding an audience that you will perform for or write for:

How does the world look to your audience Financially?

How does the world look to your audience Emotionally?

How does the world look to your audience Spiritually?

How does the world look to your audience Physically?

In our example above, the marketing person may see the world like this:

Financially, she’s spending too much on multiple tools.

Emotionally, she’s struggling to manage a “Mississippi of tasks.”

Spiritually, she feels obligated to deliver value from these expensive tools.

Physically, she struggles with the stress of managing content effectively.

This FESP copy should speak to her needs right out of the gate.

In the context of a landing page, it’s usually best to dive into these needs and problems using your value proposition or immediately following your value proposition.

2. Incorporate facts, data, and other analytical information.

While point #1 is very emotionally driven, selling isn’t all about emotion.

Certain segments of your audience might be more analytical.

Certain products or services aren’t geared towards emotional problems.

Even when you can utilize emotion, backing it with hard data strengthens the pitch.

One of the best ways to sell is to demonstrate “irrefutable” evidence that your solution is the best possible option for the prospective customer.

Legendary advertising creative director William Bernbach once said, “The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.” In the digital age, “truth” looks like facts, statistics, case studies, etc.

We employ this in our own marketing here at Conversion Sciences. We can talk about our experience and expertise all day long and even resonate with the problems our clients have dealt with, but at the end of the day, what prospective clients really want to know is:

Have you had success with past clients?

Aka do you have the track record to prove you will succeed with my business?

Since we drive an average conversion lift of 15 to 25% with our clients and have a 90% retention rate, we like to include that information in our copy whenever possible.

This is about as soft as it gets in terms of analytics, but since it is true, it serves as a powerful signal to clients considering our services, demonstrating that we aren’t just talking about AB testing. We are actually getting results.

Do the same in your own copy as often as possible.

3. Demonstrate social proof at key junctures.

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation.

In other words, monkey see, monkey do.

When we are making a decision, we want to know that other people consider it to be the right decision. Who are these “other” people?

Specific people we respect

People who are in a similar situation to us

Large quantities of random strangers

In 2017, social proof often takes the form of influencer recommendations, customer testimonials, and social share count.

For example, CoSchedule asks visitors to click TRY IT FOR FREE on their homepage. Visitors are then taken to a page that contains a testimonial and highlights the company’s most recognizable customers.

Be specific in your case studies and testimonials.

Customer stories and testimonials have been shown to improve sales online. Customer stories work best when they are specific. See how Unbounce does it on of their pages:

Testimonials are more compelling with details.

The best customer stories and testimonials will offer the customer name, company, title and a picture. When appropriate, add the city and state of the speaker as well. Also, consider things like age when appropriate.

Favor testimonials that avoid judgments, like, “We loved working with this company!” Instead, focus on a specific result. The more specific your numbers are, the more believable they are.

These stories answer the question, “What did people like me experience?”

4. Use tone to add emotion and keep things interesting.

What does it mean to use one’s tone in writing? Basically, it means writing like you would talk in real life. Your tone can breathe life into your copy. It can make your writing a lot less boring for prospects to read.

David Ogilvy once said “Tell the truth but make truth fascinating. You know, you can’t bore people into buying your product. You can only interest them in buying it.”

When I asked Sam Hurley (founder of OPTIM-EYEZ) to share his number one advice on persuasive writing techniques, he said, “It has to betone. A sentence that equates to the same meaning can be written in 10 different ways…Each variation will evoke 10 unique reactions — and the difference can ultimately mean conversion or exit.”

In other words, you can rewrite a sentence in several different ways using your tone to effectively pass your message across to prospects and make it sink in their minds.

Take this post from Derek Halpern, for instance:

The tone is as important as meaning.

See what did he do there?

Derek used three different sentences to ask just one question: “Do people read long sales pages?” Why? He wanted to sound like a normal person in his tone; not a company trying to sell something.

If he was going to ask the same question in a real-life setting, he wouldn’t just ask Do people read long pages? would he?

No, he’d naturally ask follow-up questions just like he did in the example above. And those (follow-up) questions will mean the same thing as the original query. But they’ll make his message sink in his readers’ minds.

Your tone is important. It helps you talk like a fellow human being, not a business trying to make sales. It helps you build trust. And because your readers are also humans, they can very well relate with your tone when they see it in your copy.

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”― Robert Frost

In other words, people react according to what they see in your copy. If they see you shedding tears, they’d be moved to tears. If you crack jokes, they’ll laugh (or at least give you a smile). And so forth. That’s how it works.

Be careful with your tone.

Can anyone actually insult their prospects (or readers) deliberately? I’d love to answer that question with a no, but it happens. I recently found this while doing research for one of my clients:

Does it really pay to call your prospects mediocre?

This form saying I’m a mediocre content marketer if I don’t sign up for the whitepaper. It that true?

But does that slur really convert better than being polite? Did it get me converted? Heck, no! I actually got pissed off! I don’t know about you, but I cringe when I see Calls to Action like this.

There are several polite words that you can use to persuade people to do something. This CTA, for example, got Career Advice 261 sign-ups within 24 hours from a single guest post on The Muse:

This button copy is probably too safe. “Submit” is a tone-deaf word.

Yet, it contains no word that could potentially insult anyone.

5. Take time to bring up and cover objections.

You should never begin writing copy with a pre-determined word count. It doesn’t matter if your copy ends at 400 or 3000 words. What matters is that you say everything that needs to be said.

More specifically, what matters is that you cover all the key objections.

An objection is an argument that tends to come up from the customer’s end to justify saying “No” to your pitch.

For example:

If you are selling me a productivity app and I say, “Well, I don’t think I need an app to be productive,” that’s an objection. If I ask, “Why would I pay for an app when there are 30 other productivity apps that are free?” that’s an objection.

In an interpersonal sales meeting, the power of the objection goes to whoever brings it up first. If I ask you about all the free apps and then you respond, it tends to sound like you’re justifying a problem. Since I brought up the objection, and I think I’m pretty smart, I give it more weight than your response.

On the other hand, if you bring up the objection first, you win. If you introduce the cost and then immediately begin talking about how free productivity apps either utilize distracting advertising or have a low budget and thus numerous technical problems, both of which defeat the purpose of a productivity app, suddenly that potential objection has now become a selling point.

With online copy, the customer never speaks, so you have time to address as many objections as you feel is necessary. There may be just a few or there may be numerous objections that need to be covered. The important thing is that you give yourself time to cover them all.

6. Draw attention to your points with rhetorical questions.

Rhetorical questions draw attention. They’re not meant to be answered, which means that they shouldn’t have an answer. If your question can easily be answered with a “yes” or “no”, it won’t invite the visitor to read on.

Instead, pose questions that make the reader think, “What does this mean?” or, “How will you do that?”

What if we had one single solution that can perform all these functions?

Life would become extremely easy for content marketers, right?

We had a significant increase in leads for one of our addiction center clients using the rhetorical question, “Are you ready to stop lying? We can help.”

Of course, I didn’t expect answers to them. But if you’re a content marketer, you were probably answering those questions in your mind, agreeing to my point of view that an all-in-one tool is the best option for content marketers.

That’s how rhetorical questions work. They pull attention, get readers’ attention and lure them to keep reading your copy.

7. Use hyperbole to communicate value.

Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration to make your point to readers. Hyperbole should be used carefully. If you claim to be the biggest, best, or leader, your persuasive copy must deliver proof very quickly.

For example, take Contently:

Really? Does the world’s best content marketing actually run on Contently?

There are certainly other companies out there that get more ROI from content marketing than Contently’s customers. But, their exaggeration is immediately backed up with the logos of some of the biggest companies in the world, the implication being that they use Contently to run their content marketing.

Another example here is Campaign Monitor’s “Send email your customers can’t ignore”.

The headline makes us ask, “How do you do that?”

In this case, the hyperbolic claim makes the reader ask, “How do you do that?” Will all customers read your emails just because you sent them using Campaign Monitor? Probably not.

Unfortunately, the hyperbole isn’t backed up by proof. Only more claims are offered. This page goes on to invite the visitor to watch a video to get the proof.

The link between the hyperbolic claim and the proof is stretched thin, requiring the visitor to watch a demo.

The longer the distance between your hyperbole and the proof, the more tenuous your persuasive argument becomes.

But you get the message they’re trying to pass across, right? Campaign Monitor helps you send emails that get opened and replied.

8. Open your first paragraph with a hook.

Once readers move past your headline, the next phase they’ll be meeting with is your opening paragraph. It tells them if they should keep reading your copy or head out to somewhere else.

There are a couple of ways to create a hook in your copy. You could start with a question like this one:

That very first line (After all, that’s the dream, right?) will spring up a question in the mind of most readers. They’ll start wondering what the dream might be. And they know they have to keep reading to find out. That’s the hook right there.

Another way to create a hook would be starting out with an eye-catching phrase. This could be anything that has the potential of making your readers pay attention. For example:

9. Start small and utilize escalating agreements.

Avoid hitting the nail on the at once­­––especially when you’re writing on a complex topic or for an audience that’s pretty tough to persuade. Begin by beating about the bush a little and give your readers simple valid points to agree on before they get to the complex parts of your copy.

This will help you persuade them to read your copy with ease no matter how complex the topic is and have them nodding their heads in agreement as they read on.

For example, calculating the Net Present Value of a sum of money is mostly a complex topics for folks who aren’t finance-savvy. I mean, it was pretty much a really tough topic for me in my first year studying finance in University. But see how the guys at Maths Is Fun made it look so simple by implementing escalating agreements:

See how they start their exegesis with a set of simple, valid opening sentences that virtually anyone would agree with? Notice that when readers agree that money now is more valuable than money, later on, they’ll mostly move to the next line because they agreed with the previous sentence? That’s escalating agreements work. And that’s how to use it to persuade readers.

 10. It’s OK to use technical details.

Part of resonating with an audience is speaking in their language. When you use relevant jargon or communicate in technical terms only your target segment understands, you help position yourself as an authority in your space and build a community of people who use the same terminologies as you.

So how do you write with simplicity and still use jargon to show that you are a guru?

See how Apple uses a mix of both waffles and plainness in their copy for iPhone 7:

“iPhone 7 dramatically improves the most important aspects of the iPhone experience. It introduces advanced new camera systems. The best performance and battery life ever in an iPhone. Immersive stereo speakers. The brightest, most colorful iPhone display. Splash and water resistance. And it looks every bit as powerful as it is. This is iPhone 7.”

Notice how all that contains no single jargon even though the copy is about a technical product? Yes, that’s simplicity. Virtually anyone would understand it.

Now see how they used technical terminology on the same page––after enticing readers with jargon-less copy:

Apple’s use of jargon to build credibility.

Now some readers might not know what an optical image or f/1.8 aperture means. That’s certain. But they’re most likely going to stay with the copy because it’s interesting to read and not stuffed with too much technical mumbo-jumbo.

Veteran copywriter Robert Bly said the following in a recent newsletter:

“…almost without exception, virtually every successful direct response promotion is written in clear, concise, conversational copy. It’s the style used by John Forde … Clayton Makepeace … Richard Armstrong…Ivan Levison…Paul Hollingshead …Steve Slaunwhite…and just about every top six- and seven-figure copywriter I know. Why? Because it is plain English that virtually always gets the best response — proving that when it comes to communicating, simple writing is the best writing.”

11. Use short and to-the-point statements.

Short, concise statements can be memorable, fun and persuasive. They help to reduce cognitive overload, the need for an excessive amount of mental effort to understand things.

See how the folks at Fiftythree do it on their jobs page:

It’s difficult to condense messages into persuasive bites, but it can be very rewarding.

Copy doesn’t have to be wordy all the time. Just straight to the point and you’d have passed your message across in a split second.

12. Focus your headline on the biggest benefit you’re offering.

Irrespective of how many benefits your offerings can provide, you need to figure out what your biggest benefit is and make your headline focus on. Too many websites “bury the lead.” This means that the most powerful point of the page is relegated to a subhead or the body of the copy.

A typical example here would be SumoMe. They offer several tools but the biggest benefit they provide is traffic and customers:

SumoMe doesn’t “bury the lead.”

Traffic and customers are what SumoMe’s prospects care about the most, so they put that in their homepage headline. David Ogilvy once said this about headlines:

“On the average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90 percent of your money.”

13. Tell stories.

There has been a great deal written about stories. This is because they are proving to be so effective. Stories suck people’s attention into your copy. They make even the busiest people pay attention to whatever you’ve got to say or sell.

As an example, see how MAG International uses the art of storytelling to describe the havoc that landmines wreck:

  Stories quickly help the reader relate to a situation.

Stories are most effective when:

Readers don’t know about the problem.

Readers may know about the problem but haven’t considered finding a solution.

Stories may not be effective for readers that are frequent buyers or are very familiar with your solution to their problem.

14. Flaunt your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

Of all these persuasive writing techniques, this one is the most effective in our tests. Your unique selling proposition (USP), could be anything that entices visitors to stay and read. It can be that you have low prices, superior quality or anything helps your readers rationalize reading on. For an e-commerce company, the USP includes your positioning, return policy, shipping policy and guarantees.

First, your selling proposition often doesn’t necessarily need to be unique. It just needs to be communicated. Rug Perfection offers hand-made rugs made of natural materials. They offer free shipping and pay shipping for returns as well. Would you know that from the copy on their website?

Rug perfection doesn’t flaunt its unique value proposition, such as its fantastic shipping and return policy.

Your USP doesn’t have to be complex. Persuasive writers are able to summarize your place in the market in just a few words. This is true of Kissmetrics.

Kissmetrics clearly defines their unique position in the market by referencing a competitor.

If calling out your competitor like Kissmetrics seems a little too aggressive for you, you can simply flaunt your unique value without mentioning any rival’s name. See how GoDaddy displays their unique 1-month free trial on their homepage:

The free trial is unique to the hosting industry.

There’s virtually no other web host provider that allows a month free trial. So that’s a USP for GoDaddy.

Start Using These Persuasive Writing Techniques

People are getting smarter year-by-year. Each time we want to shop for anything online, we mostly prefer to check out a number of options and choose who we’d like to do business with.

So a smart move you can (and should) make now is to ensure your web copy and content is focused on enticing, engaging and ultimately persuading prospects to pay attention to your brand and offerings.

  Go to our website:   www.ncmalliance.com

14 Persuasive Writing Techniques That Trigger A Response By Brian Massey Here are fourteen persuasive writing techniques that will trigger a response from your visitors.