#author chan’s delivery service ?

[thecontumacious]

(Not) Alone - Part 2

pairing: Shu Yamino x Streamer!GN!reader (ft. vox as yall's personal counselor)

a/n: good to see you again! so, ready for what happens next? 😌 for maximum feelers, listen to these songs as you read: kokoronashi ; say you won't let go

here's part 1 if u missed it!

reminder that all my work and others in the fandom are purely fiction and intended to entertain, not to be projected irl. 

"i-i don't think i feel the same."

the world may have gifted you shu yamino as your close friend, but you were stupid to think you could push your luck that he could be your love interest as well

lady fate was truly cruel

your outstretched hand retracts back to your side and with a hollow heart, you nod and smile at shu

"i see," you mumble, leaving shu to wonder if you meant to speak to yourself or for him to hear too. whatever it was, it didn't matter. the truth was out and the worst outcome has happened

shu yamino, your long time crush whom vox assured had mutual feelings, did not like you back. at least in the way you wished it could be

so you stand and take your phone with you, excusing yourself to the guest room for some much needed wallowing

continuation utc!

Y/N L/N [NIJISANJI EN]: vox... Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: hm? what's up love? Y/N L/N [NIJISANJI EN]: he doesn't like me back... Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: oh dear Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: are you alright? do you need me to call you? Y/N L/N [NIJISANJI EN]: yes please

in a matter of seconds, your screen changes to vox who is ringing your phone. you pick it up immediately and you are surprised when the first both you and vox hear is your choked sob

"oh for goodness' sake, my dear, i wish i could come to you," vox's voice is soft to your ears, the comfort reaching your heart but the pain never failing to stay

"vox, it hurts," you sob quietly, covering your mouth so shu outside wouldn't have to hear you in your pathetic state. "it hurts so much..."

"y/n, love, i know, i know," the demon whispers.

and vox would understand, which is why he does know. you collapse onto the bed, but it doesn't feel comfy with the coarseness of the rejection scratching on your conscience

"i-i thought you said he had the same feelings?" you voice out, helplessly feeling betrayed by your demon friend. but you know too well that he didn't mean to lead you on like this.

vox sucks in a breath, "i know i did. and can i be honest with you?"

your lips quiver, but you manage to speak, "what?"

"i don't think... " he trails off and after waiting for a few seconds, it seems that vox had paused completely.

"vox?"

"oh, sorry. um, actually, never mind. y/n, how about you go get some rest? take your mind off of what happened today," but you could tell there was something vox was hiding from you. you wished to know what it was but your heart was too tired for this, so you hum quietly and close your eyes

terribly wishing everything was just a nightmare...

but it dawns on you that when you met shu in the morning, all he did was offer you a smile of a sympathy. he talked to you still, but the air between you two was not like it was before you confessed

half of you thought it was entirely your fault you'd ruin things between you and him

maybe not half... all of you

you couldn't even bear to be in the same room as shu anymore, not because you wish you didn't, more because you wanted to save shu the uncomfortable feeling of having you around

the conversations became shorter and you went out to eat rather than cook with shu at his house

the only real time you interacted with him was during your scheduled stream

which was only once tbh

you dreaded for the day you had to stream together again, but you wanted to give yourself some hope and try it out

perhaps it wasn't a good idea to be pushing away shu like this. maybe he still wants to be friends with you. after all you were the one worried he was going to do all the leaving and distancing

a smile of effort graced your lips when shu had you sit next to him, all equipment and assets at the ready

he returns your smile, like usual, but the stream went extremely awkward

you tried. you really did.

but whenever shu accidentally touched you, you couldn't help but shrink away. his friendly nicknames for you hurt more than it should've, reminding you of his rejection towards your feelings.

"i'm being childish, i can't treat him like this," you whisper to yourself, tears pricking at your eyes and your chest tearing apart.

but your heart. it felt like walking through a rain of fire if you stopped being "childish". burning every step of the way.

it felt as though walking either right or left brought you no fortune.

however staying where you were was not a choice either.

you tried to see the bright side. you tried to be more positive. you tried to forget the fact your long time crush and best friend did not have the same feelings as you and probably isn't looking at you the same way again.

yeah, still trying to forget that...

but when shu popped his head through your door, gently asking your hunched over figure if you were ready for today's stream, you couldn't bring yourself to say yes

you couldn't even stand up to look shu in the eye

so when he sees you shake your head, shu takes that as his cue to leave

did he really have no sense of remorse for you right now? did he really just try to brush off your confession like that and expect you to be okay immediately after?

it made you both angry and sad, frustrated even

but the thought of hating him was impossible

not when he still has your heart tight in his hands

you hear him greet chat from the other room and it seems that they've noticed your absence even though they've been promised you were going to make an appearance

shu sighs, telling them, "not today, chat. they... don't seem to be feeling well. i promise they'll be back soon though. they'll be okay in no time!"

if only it were that easy...

you curl up and hug the pillow to your chest, once again succumbing to the numb darkness of sleep even though it was still midday

when you awoke, everything is quiet. even shu was not making a sound around the house.

only your loud thoughts

you sigh and rub your eyes, "i should leave if i'm just going to be a burden to him..."

you get up and trotted your way to the kitchen, opening the fridge to find something to quickly fill up your stomach. it didn't matter what it was really and shu said you could eat whatever you wanted from the fridge

"what's mine is yours in this house!" he announced the first day you arrived

a protein bar is what you see in the corner of the fridge and seeing it was the easiest and quickest to consume, you grab it, eat it without much time to be wasted and once again headed to bed because of the late hour

absolutely forgetting to check the expiry date on that protein bar

the morning came and so did sudden stomach cramps. you figured it was just some common occurrence that didn't need worrying so while you held your stomach, you heavily said hi to shu who noticed your physically hunched form

"hey--woah, you don't look too good... " he frowns, placing down his glass of water. you wave him off, looking for a glass of juice or milk or anything to stave it off, thinking it was just hunger since you weren't eating properly lately

shu doesn't attempt to approach yet, but when you began to hold your stomach even tighter as though something was clawing at you fiercely, he knew it was a good sign to worry after all

"hey, come on, don't deny it. you're actually looking a bit pale right now. let's sit you down, yeah?" he held your arms firmly, but you refuse to look at him

shu sighs, guiding you to the table anyway as he handed you your chosen drink

you take it, but after a few sips, you hastily put it away.

the sorcerer cocks an eyebrow up and notices you puffing your cheeks and sealing your lips shut, the lump in your throat very visible.

like you were holding something back...

then it clicks

"are you feeling nauseous?" he tries.

you inhale deeply, nodding slightly. "y-yeah. just a bit though i promise."

but knowing you, he doesn't want to believe you.

"come on, let's get you to the couch. i'll make you something to eat. drink some water to lessen the nausea," shu is practically ordering you around but with how empty your head was, nothing but the excruciating pain from you stomach cramps and slight lightheadedness

there wasn't much protesting to be done

you hum, bringing a glass of water with you as you plopped yourself down on the couch

shu watches you weakly bring yourself around, slouching and barely making a move even though wide awake

he doesn't waste much time in making breakfast for you and hands it over, fresh and hot

he offers you a single smile before realizing your eyes were closed, breathing through the mouth heavily

"hey, you okay? seriously, you don't look so good," he reaches over and gently brushes his fingers over your arm. but then you suddenly shiver at his light touch, your goosebumps raising underneath his skin and shrinking away like he'd hurt you

"c-cold," you mutter, bringing your knees to your chest to curl up even more.

"okay, let me get you a blanket. but please eat, alright? you haven't been eating, have you?" shu kneels down before you, hands away in fear he'll cause you more discomfort

"b-but i don't fe-feel like eating..." even despite days of not doing so too. shu notices of course and definitely thinks something is going on.

"nausea, lightheadedness, chills... " he mumbles, staring at your pale face. you don't want to make eye contact with him, not after everything and also because of how physically dazed you feel

"look at me for a sec?" shu asks you and he sees you hesitate. "please? i wanna make sure you're okay."

your fingers squeeze themselves before deciding to be brave. once your eyes met the purple ones of shu, you are reminded again why you fell in love with him

so kind and caring, always there for his friends

he gives you a soft beam and it momentarily helps numb your pain. "sorry if my hands are cold. i need to feel your forehead for a second."

you blink, then nod

shu raises his hand gently and presses it against your forehead. yes, it was cold. but now that you're prepared for it, your skin received shu better

the coolness brought some sense of relief after everything.

when he doesn't move for a few seconds, you look at him.

he was... staring at you, like there was something wrong on your face. but you tilt your head expectantly

"yo-you're a bit warm," he concludes, shaking his head and taking his hand off your forehead. "did you eat anything recently? from the fridge maybe?"

you recall last night. "just a protein bar i found."

"a protein bar--hold on," shu looks down at his lap to think, then his purple eyes fill with panic. "y/n, i think that was expired. i forgot to throw it out."

oh how splendid

"i think you have a stomach bug," shu diagnoses for you, getting off his knees and offering you his hand. but you only stare at it like you've never seen it before. you glance up at shu, who tells you, "come on, let's go to your room. we can't have you sick."

the worry on his brows, his bothered eyes. sigh.

you take his hand with a shaky one, but he grabs it steadily for you and slowly leads you to the guest room.

"lie down. i'll get you some more water and something simpler to eat," he eases you onto the mattress, tucking in the blankets into you and stacking up the pillows so you could sit up.

god this is why you loved him so much

"good, now don't go anywhere."

you suddenly feel something heavy atop your head, the pressure then moving side to side in the most gentle manner. you look up at shu and realize he's patting your head

when he too realizes what he's doing, he stops and red rushes to his cheeks.

"u-um, yeah, i'll go now," before stepping out the door, leaving you dazed and confused. and a bit angry.

he said he didn't feel the same. yet, why did he...?

as you stuff your head into the soft pillow waiting for shu, your phone vibrates from beside you

Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: hey love u doing okay? Y/N L/N [NIJISANJI EN]: umm i ate something bad and now i have a stomach bug... Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: holy shit r u feeling okay? nauseous? chills? Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: does shu know? Y/N L/N [NIJISANJI EN]: yeah he was the one who diagnosed it actually Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: good to know. i trust shu can take care of you. he knows what he's doing Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: well i should leave you to get some rest. drink a lot and eat something okay? Y/N L/N [NIJISANJI EN]: i will don't worry Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: oh and before i go Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: listen to what shu has to say okay? talk to him. i know you've been avoiding him but please do it just this once

huh?

Y/N L/N [NIJISANJI EN]: um i don't even know what you're talking about, vox. he hasn't said anything to me Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: just do it okay? now go get some rest

seeing that he's not typing anymore, he's not going to elaborate anymore. so you put your phone to the side just as shu opens the door, seemingly carrying a tray of some water and bowl

he avoid eye contact with you as he places the tray down, handing you the glass of water and a bowl of soup

"something easier to eat for you," shu mumbles, also giving you a spoon. you nod in thanks, eating the hot meal even though it took you a while because of your cursed stomach bug

as you ate, shu had already pulled a chair to the bedside and sat on it, seemingly waiting for you

you notice how he's still not looking at you and playing with his fingers instead

he looked... nervous

"don't do that."

shu freezes and looks at you. "huh?"

you swallow your spoonful. "don't do that. you look nervous. so if you are, just say it."

he lets out a sigh, then gives you a defeated smile. "always have been able to read me like an open book, huh?"

you couldn't help but giggle, even if he broke your heart a few days ago. when was the time shu had made you laugh like this?

actually, realistically, it was about a week ago. but to you and your wounded heart, it felt like it had been years.

"well, at first i didn't want to bother you about it. you were avoiding me and stuff, so i figured you didn't want to talk about it, you know?" he began, scratching the back of his neck oddly.

you bite your lip.

"right," shu continues. "so i went to vox. he said to just suck it up and told me to bother you about it anyway."

you roll your eyes, "he said that, did he?"

the sorcerer chuckles. "exactly that."

you sigh, putting your spoon back into the bowl.

"anyway, so here i am. i... wanted to ask you about something."

eyebrows furrowed, you urge him to continue. "what is it?"

shu takes a visible heavy breath in, then exhales his thoughts, "what is it about me you like?"

like a truck, it hits you hard that you pretty much neglected to tell him that part of your confession. you redden up with embarrassment, clearing your throat.

"i-i see. give me a second," at your request, shu nods in permission.

you dig deep into your memories, from the time you first met shu, to when he first befriended you, to your first collab together, the late night talks about your future plans, to the first real life hug he gave you at his front door, all up until he made you laugh just a few minutes ago.

there was not a single moment in that long period of time that you fell out of love for shu yamino.

the answer ready in your head like a bulleted list, you glance up at shu. only to see him blushing as he kept watching you.

you ask, "something wrong, shu?"

upon being caught, he looks away and covers his cheeks with the back of his hand.

"uh," he stammers. "it's nothing."

you curl your lip, crossing your arms. "if you're not gonna answer me, i'm not gonna answer you."

at this, shu heaves a defeated sigh.

"fine. you were... smiling," he admits, turning away even more the more he said it. "it's just been a few days since you smiled at all. it caught me off guard."

his confession admittedly did too. your cheeks warm up while you clear your throat, "se-see? that wasn't so hard to say, right?"

but the sorcerer doesn't say anything.

"anyway, you asked me why i like you?" shu braves himself to raise his head and look you in the eye, nodding. "the fact that you're asking tells me that you don't realize how beautiful you are as a person, shu. you're so kind and caring, you know that? always there for you friends and helping them when they need his help almost at any time. while others would boast about having better wits, you take advantage of it and use it to help others."

you recall the first time you asked for shu's help on setting up your stream, the way he expertly showed you where everything was and wording them in a way you could immediately understand them.

"then you and i became friends. you sent me that meme for the first time, then i sent you more. you became my source of jokes at the time, always swapping jokes and memes.

"but then you let me ramble and rant to you about my bad day. you let me talk about anything with you. and when you did the exact same to me, i happily listened to you. in fact, i wished you could tell me more about it so i could comfort you and make you smile like you did to me. i realized you became safe space, shu. i realized that you were someone i didn't want to ever let go."

your chest begins to swell, your throat tightening and tears pricking at your eyes.

you press the back of your hand to keep them at bay. "i want to be there for you, shu. i want to live the selfish fantasy where i'm the one you go to for both the good and bad things that has happened."

but he let you know that you couldn't live such a fantasy

you sigh, "but you told me i wasn't the one for that kind of future with you. so, i hope you find someone who can. it may not be me, but that's alright. i just want you to be happy."

that's a lie. you wanted to be the one.

"i'm sorry," shu whispers.

you shake your head. i know shu, i know. i have to accept it.

"i'm so, so sorry."

wait, why did he sound like he was crying?

you remove your hands from your eyes and indeed find shu holding back his own sobs, visible tears running down his cheeks

your heart tore apart as your fingers ached to reach out to wipe away his sorrows, but with how things are, you limit your movements.

"h-hey, it's okay. i can learn to move on," you smile. "just don't cry, you're gonna make me cry even more..."

"it's not about that," he says, which makes you genuinely confused

"then what is it?"

"i was scared, y/n. so, so scared," shu puts his hand down and looks straight at you. his broken expression broke you too. "i was scared that my feelings aren't what i think they are."

"what you think they are?"

he nods, swallowing. "i was scared i'd mistake these feelings asjust platonic. i thought my affectionate thoughts were just because you were such a good friend to me. but as you said those things to me, i don't know if i can trust myself right now, y/n. i'm so scared. scared that i'll hurt you even more."

in the light, you see it.

shu was just scared all this time. his heart was terrified that he'd hurt you in the long term.

as he lets out another sob, you couldn't hold it anymore.

you lift your hand up and use your fingers to swipe away a single fallen tear from shu's cheek. this catches him off guard.

he smiles, "see? even though i was the one who hurt you, you still reach out to me and make me feel so safe. god, my heart is beating so fast."

"tell me what you want, shu," you say. shu stares at you for a few seconds. you press a finger to where his heart lies. "your heart. what does it want? take your time, i'll wait."

as long as it took him.

"what do i want?" he whispers, you nod. he hums, then releases your hand only to move it to your jaw. his free hand copying the gesture.

with your face held ever so gently by shu, your heart feels so much closer to his. may god damn shu if he was pulling your heartstrings for fun.

one of his fingers reaches your hair, then he brushes it gently, like he was situating himself with you. he comments, "soft."

for his sake, you don't say anything. though your heart and mind screamed excitedly.

then, shu lets go of your hair and takes a deep breath in, giving you a small smile. "can i kiss you?"

your heart leapt.

you nod, "yeah."

with your approval and a somewhat steady heart, shu closes his eyes and places his lips on yours.

god, you dreamed of this moment so many times already. lady fate would be too cruel to reveal to you that it was just some hilarious joke of hers.

you and shu formed a bond, different from that of what you usually have. it felt like you've revealed a hidden part of yourself to him, and him you.

on one side, relief washes over you. that kiss told you that everything was going to be alright. that tomorrow will be a good day.

on the other, fireworks explode, a triumphant feeling toppling over your being as it dawns on you repeatedly that shu was kissing you.

your fingers that have been lying still in your lap raise up and lightly feather across shu's. this prompts him to move closer to you.

like he wanted more. like he was not done.

you felt like crying all over again.

a few seconds later, shu slowly lets go of you, much to your dismay. but when you see his eyes are filled with tears, one full of joy instead of the previous grief, you don't complain as much.

he smiles, "so it is."

"wh-what is?" you ask

"i felt the spark. now i know this is what my heart wants."

ah

"is it?" you whisper, joy lacing your soft voice

shu nods, leaning his forehead against yours. "this entire time. if you're so willing to try to this, i will too. i'm not scared anymore. thank you, y/n."

you let out a sob, but smiled as you went, "told you i couldn't leave you alone."

it was time to return home unfortunately. a few days ago, you would've thought coming home would do you and your once broken heart some good

at least now, you're taking shu's heart home with you too

"well, i should get going now," you look out the window to see your plane ready to take off soon. but with shu grasping your hand tightly, it prevented you from doing so

you giggle, shaking his hand. "come on now, i gotta go soon."

he frowns, only holding your hand much tighter. "but i'll miss you."

you sigh, letting go of your other hand that was holding your suitcase. you grab shu's chin and pulled him towards you, placing a single chaste kiss on his lips

he freezes, looking away immediately as his ears turn crimson.

another quality you discovered about shu. not too good with pda.

you claimed it was revenge for giving you a false negative.

"i'll see you again soon, i promise," you whisper.

the sorcerer looks at you once, his lips curling before finally (reluctantly) letting go of your hand. "fine... call me when you get home, okay?"

"i will," you giggle and walk on ahead waving, "i'll talk to you later, shu!"

he waves back, then puts his hands into the pocket of his jacket. "i look forward to it!"

"hold on, guys, my pizza's here!" you announce midstream, changing the screen to the waiting screen. you then dash out of your room to open the door for your food, grabbing a tip on the way

when you swing it open, you met not with a stranger holding your pizza box. rather a man with pale skin, purple eyes and his trademark yellow highlighted hair.

he gives you a smile with his v-shaped mouth, "didn't feel like leaving you alone too long."

a/n (2) : legit shed a couple of tears while writing this ;-;

Masterlist!

[ellis-braylon]

Onward and Upward: Unveiling Nashville Airport Transportation Options

Introduction:

Nashville, renowned as the Music City, is a vibrant destination that captivates visitors with its rich cultural heritage and lively atmosphere. As you touch down in this iconic city, navigating airport transportation becomes a pivotal part of your journey. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the diverse transportation options available at Nashville International Airport, offering insights and tips for a seamless transition from the skies to the streets.

Understanding Transportation Choices:

Airport Shuttles: Nashville provides an array of airport shuttle services, connecting passengers to various parts of the city and surrounding areas. These shared rides offer an economical and convenient option, particularly for those seeking hassle-free transfers to hotels or popular destinations. Evaluate different shuttle providers based on reliability, schedule, and amenities to find the one that best suits your preferences.

Taxis and Ride-Sharing Services: Taxis and popular ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft are readily available at Nashville International Airport. These services offer a direct and personalized transportation experience, allowing you to reach your destination with ease. Familiarize yourself with designated pick-up zones and pricing structures for a smooth departure.

Public Transportation: Nashville's public transportation system, operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), provides an affordable option for travelers. Buses and shuttles connect the airport to different parts of the city, offering a budget-friendly choice for those looking to explore Nashville and its vibrant neighborhoods.

Navigating the Airport and Ground Transportation:

Airport Layout: Familiarize yourself with the layout of Nashville International Airport to streamline your journey. Understand the location of terminals, baggage claim areas, and ground transportation zones to navigate the airport efficiently.

Baggage Claim and Handling: Efficient handling of your baggage is essential for a smooth arrival. Utilize luggage carts and consider services that offer luggage delivery to your destination. Knowing the location of baggage claim areas ensures a swift exit from the airport.

Ground Transportation Centers: Nashville Airport features designated ground transportation centers that serve as hubs for various transportation options. Whether you opt for a shuttle, taxi, or ride-sharing service, follow airport signage and seek assistance from airport staff to access these centers effortlessly.

Choosing the Right Mode of Transportation:

Destination Proximity: Consider the proximity of your destination to the airport when selecting transportation. For shorter distances, ride-sharing services or shuttles may be convenient. However, for longer journeys or specific locations, private car services or rentals might offer a more suitable option.

Time and Traffic Considerations: Factor in the time of day for your journey and potential traffic patterns in Nashville. Public transportation, such as buses or shuttles, may provide a more predictable travel experience during peak hours.

Budget and Cost Analysis: Your budget plays a pivotal role in selecting the right transportation mode. While ride-sharing services offer convenience, they may come at a higher cost compared to public transportation or shuttles. Strike a balance between your budget and the level of comfort and convenience desired.

Efficient Planning and Travel Tips:

Advance Reservations: Whenever possible, make advance reservations for shuttle services or private transportation. This guarantees availability and allows for a stress-free experience, particularly during peak travel times.

Airport Information Apps: Leverage technology by using airport information apps that provide real-time updates on flight status, gate changes, and ground transportation information. Stay informed and prepared for any changes that may occur during your journey.

Travel Light and Strategically: Simplify your airport experience by traveling light. Consider packing essentials in a carry-on to expedite security checks and reduce the burden of handling multiple bags. Utilize travel apps for digital boarding passes and itinerary management to optimize your journey.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, navigating Nashville airport transportation is a pivotal aspect of your travel experience. By understanding the diverse transportation options, familiarizing yourself with the airport layout, and making informed decisions based on your preferences and budget, you can ensure a smooth and enjoyable journey. As you embark on your Nashville adventure, let this guide be your companion, paving the way for a seamless arrival and departure from Nashville International Airport. Onward and upward, the Music City awaits! Safe travels!

[sakuraswordly]

Knowledge 16

For someone who wants to know who created the "Kon and Aki" story.

Source information: https://heroofpicturebook.com/kontoaki/ and https://muse.jhu.edu

こんとあきとは？

A picture book published in 1989 by Akiko Hayashi, such as " はじめてのおつかい ". It depicts the growth of a child and remains a bestseller to this day.

[The more picture books I make, the more I've begun to feel we really don't need to project our individuality so much. Our individuality, after all, is just ours—it's finite; while if we can reach for the universal—isn't that far more sublime?] by  Akiko Hayashi

Akiko Hayashi was born in Tokyo in 1945. She graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Yokohama National University, after which she began working as a magazine illustrator. Her first children's book, Hajimete no Otsukai (Mii-chan's First Errand), was published in 1973. Since then she has become one of Japan's leading picture book illustrators and authors, receiving numerous awards including the Ehon Nippon Award and the Sankei Jido Shuppan Bunka Award.

Editor Minoru Tamura noted, "Perhaps the foremost quality that distinguishes Hayashi's picture books is her exquisite portrayal of human characters. Her style is neither overly realistic nor cartoonish, bringing her characters vividly to life for the reader. Using delicate lines and soft colors, she expresses in a child's slightest gesture or in the special way a child expresses feeling with his or her whole body, her characters' subtlest feelings and responses."

Previous Andersen award winner Mitsumasa Anno collaborated with Hayashi on All in a Day, along with other artists from eight different countries. He describes Hayashi's oeuvre, "All of her work has been highly praised, but her style is rather academic, consistently restrained, modern in touch, and unconcerned with fads and fashions…. Hayashi is one of very few artists who continues to firmly believe in the individuality of her own work—not evading the competition, not using the back door, not putting on masks or pretenses."

Tamura also observes that Hayashi's picture books for babies are another noteworthy accomplishment. "Picture books for babies had previously depicted mostly things, animals, and vehicles of transport; some involved various games, but few had any sort of story. One of Hayashi's achievements has been her success at creating picture books that share with babies the experience of turning the pages of a simple story."

Akiko Hayashi has produced nearly 40 picture books that have been translated into more than ten languages. Hayashi currently resides in Nagano in Japan.

Do they have stuffed animals? (Yes)

Also

Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便, Majo no Takkyūbin, lit. 'Witch's Express Home Delivery') is a children's fantasy novel written by Eiko Kadono and illustrated by Akiko Hayashi. It was first published by Fukuinkan Shoten on January 25, 1985. It is the basis of the 1989 Studio Ghibli anime film of the same title and of the 2014 live action film also of the same name. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

[aheliotech]

5 Dangerous Phishing Tactics Used in Text Messages

New Post has been published on https://www.aheliotech.com/blog/phishing-tactics-text-messages/

5 Dangerous Phishing Tactics Used in Text Messages

Less than 35% of the population knows what “smishing” is. Smishing is a dangerous new form of phishing that’s been running rampant. It’s when scam messages are sent to you via text message.

These messages are often brief and contain some type of link that you’re encouraged to click. The link can take you to the same type of malicious phishing site as an email phishing message can.

A smishing message might also pretend to be from a company setting up some type of appointment or government authority looking to approve you for a tax incentive program. These forms of SMS phishing will ask you for personal details that can then be used for identity theft.

Text-based phishing is a growing danger to business network security. We are all so connected through work apps and syncing cloud platforms that if one of your employees’ devices is infected with malware, it can quickly spread throughout your network, cloud storage, and other endpoints.

How big of a problem is smishing? In 2020, phishing via text jumped by 328%, and during the first half of 2021, it increased by nearly 700% more. 

If you don’t address the fact that phishing is now coming into their mobile via text message with your employees, it could put you at high risk of becoming a phishing victim. 

People tend to trust messages received via text more than those through email. Here are several types of text messages that everyone needs to watch out for because these are popular smishing attacks.

“Thanks for Your Payment. Here is A Free Gift”

One phishing scam does not identify where it comes from. It simply thanks the recipient for a recent payment and gives them a link to claim a free gift. 

Most people will have made some type of online payment recently. They may have even signed up for SMS notifications from somewhere like a utility or insurance company. So, getting a “thank you for your payment” text might not seem strange.

But beware of the text offering a free gift. This is a common scam to lure you over to a phishing site.

“We Have a Delivery for You, But Need More Details”

People were already getting all types of packages in the mail before the pandemic. And the pandemic caused online shopping to skyrocket even more.

This is another scam that uses a common type of text someone may get from a legitimate service provider or retailer. This makes them suspect it less as a phishing scam.

It purports to have a delivery that needs more details so it can be delivered. This type of scam often collects personal details on a form that can then be sold. It may even ask the person to pay a small fee of a few dollars to get the “package,” with the goal being to steal their payment card information.”

Fake Installation Appointment Setup

This scam is pretty scary because it happened in conjunction with a real event. The fake SMS impersonated AT&T and stated it was to schedule an installation appointment for the company’s new fiber internet service.

The thing that makes this scary is that the neighborhood just had AT&T fiber lines installed during a month-long construction project. At least one person (and most likely more) that had actually signed up for the new service and were awaiting a real installation appointment received this smishing fake.

A few things that were “off” about the message alerted one careful homeowner, who confirmed the message was not from the internet provider. This just goes to show that a lot of details are available online these days that cybercriminals can use to trick you.

“There Was a Suspicious Login Attempt on Your Account”

Because password theft is so common now, many cloud services, like Google, Netflix, and others, will alert you if there are any sign-ins or sign-in attempts on your account that are from an unknown IP address.

Scammers use this to disguise this smishing message. It claims that you need to change your password to secure your account. If you click the link, it may take you to a page that looks exactly like the same sign-in page you’re used to. But the URL will often be slightly different.

COVID Contract Tracing Scam

Cybercriminals have taken advantage of the disruption of the pandemic. Milking it for every scam they can think of. In the early days, fake texts and emails offered masks, gloves, and other hard-to-find safety items.

Now that the pandemic has moved to a different phase, smishing attacks are using COVID contract tracing to strike fear into people. Messages will state that the recipient recently came into contact with someone that tested positive for COVID. It will then give a link to learn more information. 

Is Your Extended Network Secure Enough?

Smishing scams coming into mobile devices is just the latest threat to corporate networks. AhelioTech can help your Columbus area business with a full IT security assessment and a roadmap for better network security.

Contact us today to learn more. Call 614-333-0000 or reach out online.

[theanonymousb]

My 20 Best Korean Drama

1.    Hi Bye Mama

Genre: Fantasy, Drama

Plot:

Cha Yu-Ri (Kim Tae Hee) has been a ghost since she died 5 years ago. She left behind her husband Jo Kang-Hwa and their child. To become a human again, Cha Yu-Ri carries out a reincarnation project for 49 days.

Meanwhile, Jo Kang-Hwa (Lee Kyu-Hyung) works as a chest surgeon. He was loving, but, after his wife died, his personality changed. After 5 years, his wife Cha Yu-Ri reappears in front of him.

2.    It’s Okay to Not be Okay

Genre: Romance, Drama

Plot:

A story about a man employed in a psychiatric ward and a woman, with an antisocial personality disorder, who is a popular writer of children’s books.

Moon Kang-Tae (Kim Soo-Hyun) works in a psychiatric ward. His job is to write down the patients’ conditions and deal with unexpected situations, like if patients fight or they run away. He only earns about 1.8 million won ($1,600 USD) a month. The woman (Seo Yea-Ji) is a popular writer of children’s literature, but she is extremely selfish, arrogant and rude.

3.    Angel’s last Mission

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Plot:

Kim Dan (Kim Myung-Soo) is an angel. He is also a troublemaker and also optimist. Lee Yeon-Seo (Shin Hye-Sun) is a ballerina who does not believe in lve.

Dan then receives a mission. If he succeeds, he can return to Heaven. His mission is to find true love for Yeon-Seo, but soon falls in love with her.

4.    Prison Playbook

Genre: Black Comedy

Plot:

Je-Hyeok (Park Hae-Soo) is the best relief pitcher in Korea. He will to the U.S and sign a contract with a major league. One night, he hears his sister screaming and sees a man running out of her apartment. Je-hyeok and the man get into a physical struggle with Je-Hyeok striking the man with a rock. Later, Je-Hyeok receives a 1 year prison sentence for using excessive force. Devastated, Je-Hyeok must adapt to life in prison.

Meanwhile, Joon-Ho (Jung Kyoung-Ho) is a friend of Je-Hyeok and works in the prisonas an officer. He waits for Je-Hyeok’s arrival.

5.    Chicago Typewriter

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Friendship

Plot:

This drama follows the lives of two men and a woman through two eras; one during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea and the other in the 21st century. Han Se-Joo (Yoo Ah-In) who was a writer in his past life and a bestselling author in the present. But Se-Joo is depressed with writer’s block so he can’t write his next book.

Yu Jin-Oh (Go Kyung-Pyo) owned a bar in his previous life. In 2017 he is a talented ghostwriter who can bail Se-Joo out of his predicament, but the mysterious man has a condition for his services. Se-Joo may not be able to meet it.

Jun Seol (Im Soo Jung) was a sniper. Now she has extremely variety expertise. She is a former Olympian hopeful, a veterinarian and a book lover who runs her own delivery service. She oscillates between extreme fandom and an anti-fan of Se Joo.

The intricately woven story of these three characters unfolds to reveal strange mirroring connections between the time periods as well as possibilities for past lives to be redeemed or improves in the modern world.

6.    Uncontrollably Fond

Genre: Romance, Melodrama

Plot:

Sin Joon-Young (Kim Woo-Bin) and No Eul (Bae Suzy) were in love in ther younger days. But uncontrollable circumstances separated them and they went their separate ways. Joon-Young is now a superstar actor and singer, while No Eul became a producer-director of documentaries. When their path cross again years later. Joon-Young discovers that No Eul is now very different person than he remembered – materialisticand willing to do anything to get ahead.

7.    Penthouse: War In Life

Genre: Suspense, Life, Drama, Family, Mature

Plot:

The residents of Hera Palace, a luxury penthouse apartment with 100 floors, have many secrets and hidden ambitions. Sim Su-Ryeon (Lee Ji-Ah), who was born into wealth, is the queen of the penthouse apartment. Cheon Seo-Jin (Kim So-Yeon), the prima donna of the residence, does all she can to give everything to her daughter. Oh Yoon-Hee (Eugene) comes from a poor family background, but she strives to enter high society by becoming the queen of the penthouse, the pinnacle success in her eyes. A battle for wealth, power, and prestige at Seoul’s most coveted penthouse begins.

8.    Crash Landing On You

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Military, Political

Plot:

Yoon Se-Ri (Son Ye-Ji) is an heiress to a conglomerate in South Korea. One day, while paragliding, an accident caused by strong winds leads Yoon Se-Ri to make an emergency landing in North Korea.  There, she meets Ri Jeong-Hyeok (Hyun-Bin), who is a North Korean army officer. He tries to protect her and hide her. Soon, Ri Jeong-Hyeok falls in love with Yoon Se-RI.

9.    Itaewon Class

Genre: Romance, Business, Friendship, Life

Plot:

On the first day of attending his new high school, Park Sae-Ro-Yi (Park Seo-Joon) punches his classmate Jang Geun-Won, who was bullying another classmate. The bully is the son of CEO Jang Dae-Hee (Yoo Jae-Myung). The bully's father runs restaurant business Jagga where Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s own father works. CEO Jang Dae-Hee demands to Park Sae-Ro-Yi that he apologizes to his son, but Park Sae-Ro-Yi refuses. Because of his refusal, Park Sae-Ro-Yi gets expelled from school and his father gets fired from his job. Soon, an accident takes place. Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s father dies in a motorcycle accident caused by his ex-classmate Jang Geun-Won. Burning with anger, Park Sae-Ro-Yi viciously beats Jang Geun-Won. He is soon arrested and receives prison time for the violent assault. Park Sae-Ro-Yi decides to destroy the Jagga company and take revenge upon CEO Jang Dae-Hee and his son Jang Geun-Won. Once Park Sae-Ro-Yi is released from prison, he opens a restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul. Jo Yi-Seo (Kim Da-Mi), who is popular on social media, joins Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s restaurant and works there as a manger. She has feelings for Park Sae-Ro-Yi.

10. Hotel De Luna

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Horror, Fantasy

Plot:

Jang Man-Wol (IU) is the CEO of Hotel del Luna. The hotel is situated in downtown in Seoul and has a very old appearance. She made a big error many years ago and, because of this, she has been stuck at Hotel del Luna. She is beautiful, but she is fickle, suspicious and greedy.

Koo Chan-Sung (Yeo Jin-Goo) worked as the youngest assistant manager ever at a multinational hotel corporation. He is a sincere perfectionist. He looks level-headed, but he actually has a soft disposition. Due to an unexpected case, he begins to work as a manager at Hotel del Luna. The hotel's clientele consists of ghosts.

11. Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Plot:

Goo Ra-Ra (Go Ara) is a pianist. She has bright personality. Something happened that caused her to become bankrupt. She doesn't have anything now and she is frustrated with her situation.

Sunwoo Joon (Lee Jae-Wook) doesn't care what other people think about him, but he has a warm heart. He is free spirited and doesn't have a specific dream or goal for his life. He makes ends meet by working part-time jobs.

Goo Ra-Ra and Sunwoo Joon meet at the small private piano academy LaLa Land in a country village.

12. 18 Again

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Youth, Drama, Fantasy

Plot:

Tells the story of a husband named Hong Dae Young (Lee Do-Hyun) who is on the verge of divorce but finds himself back in his body when he was at the prime of his life 18 years ago. He ends up changing his name to Go Woo Young when he becomes 18- years-old again. Meanwhile, his wife Jung Da Jung(Kim Ha-Neul) joins the workforce as an anchorwoman later on in life after raising their 18-year-old twins.

13. Goblin: The Lonely and Great God

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Fantasy

Plot:

In ancient times, Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) is an unbeatable general in wars, but the young King (Kim Min-Jae) is jealous of Kim Shin and kills him. Kim Shin becomes Dokkaebi (Goblin), possessing an immortal life. At first he thinks that he is blessed, but he realizes that he is cursed.

Closer to the present day, Kim Shin has waited 900 years for a human bride to end his immortal life. One night, he saves a dying pregnant woman (Park Hee-Von) who is destined to die. Meanwhile, the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong-Wook) is unable to find the dead pregnant woman. The woman gives birth to a baby girl named Ji Eun-Tak (later played by Kim Go-Eun). 9 years later, Ji Eun-Tak lives with her mother and is able to see ghosts. One night, her mother suddenly dies. On that night, she meets the Grim Reaper.

In the present day, Ji Eun-Tak is a high school student. She still sees ghosts and hears their whisper of “Dokkaebi’s bride.” She now lives with her aunt’s family, but she is mistreated by them. On her birthday, Ji Eun-Tak sits by the sea with a lighted birthday cake. At that time, Kim Shin suddenly appears in front of her. Kim Shin does not know why, but he can hear her voice and appears in front of her against his will. Coincidentally, Kim Shin lives with the Grim Reaper at the same house.

Now, Kim Shin appears in front of her against his will, whenever she turns off the lights. One day, Ji Eun-Tak tells him that he is Dokkaebi and she is his bride.

14. It’s Okay That’s Love

Genre: Friendship, Psychological, Comedy, Romance, Drama

Plot:

Jang Jae-Yeol (Jo In-Sung) is a mystery writer and radio DJ. He suffers from a obsession. Ji Hae-Soo (Gong Hyo-Jin) is going through her first year fellowship in psychiatry at a University Hospital. She chose psychiatry because she doesn't want to perform surgeries. After she meets Jang Jae-Yeol, her life goes through big changes.

15. Let’s Fight Ghost

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Horror

Plot:

Hyun-Ji (Kim So-Hyun) studied for most her life before she died at the age of 19. She is now a ghost and has wandered around the world for several years. Hyun-Ji then meets exorcist Park Bong-Pal (TaecYeon). Hyun-Ji and Bong-Pal listens to various stories from ghosts and sends them to the otherworld.

16. Hospital Playlist

Genre: Friendship, Comedy, Romance, Life, Medical

Plot:

A drama depicting the stories of people going through their days that are seemingly ordinary but actually special, at the hospital, a place known as the microcosm of life - where someone is being born and someone's life meets their ending. The five doctors are longtime friends of 20 years who started their undergrad in 1999 in the same medical school, and now they are colleagues in the same hospital. The drama will also deal with a story of a band formed by the group of doctors.

17. Fated to Loved You

Genre: Business, Comedy, Romance,

Plot:

This drama is the story of an ordinary girl, Mi Yeong, (Jang Na-Ra)who has neither outstanding looks, a prestigious college degree, nor any other charming qualities, facing her whole life abruptly changing when love comes knocking at her door. While on vacation, she accidentally happens to spend one night with Lee Gun (Jang Hyuk) and even gets pregnant from that night. Because of this incident, her life will never be the same, and this fateful encounter brings love that transforms this not-so-special girl to an attractive, charming lady.

18. Go Back Couple

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Life, Fantasy

Plot:

Choi Ban-Do (Son Ho-Jun) and Ma Jin-Joo (Jang Na-Ra) are both 38-years-old and a married couple. Choi Ban-Do has been burdened with being the breadwinner and Ma Jin-Joo is a housewife with low self-esteem. Even though they loved each other when they married, they now hate each other. They both regret marrying at such a young age. The couple travel through time and find themselves as 20-year-old university students, when they met for the first time.

19. To The Beautiful You

Genre: School, Teen, Romantic, Comedy, Sports

Plot:

Kang Tae-Joon (Minho) is a gold medalist in the high jump, but he has been mired in a slump due to an injury. In order to help her idol, a girl named Koo Jae-Hee (Sulli) disguises herself as a boy and enrolls at the same all male high school.When Tae-Joon (Minho) is competiting at the World Junior Competition, Jae-Hee (Sulli) watches him on TV in America and becomes very touched.

Despite her friends telling her otherwise, Jae-Hee cuts her long hair by herself. She then flies to South Korea, with a plan to stay with Tae-Joon who is now injured. Jae-Hee disguises herself as a boy and enrolls at the all boys Genie Physical Education High School. On her first day at school, Jae-Hee goes up the stairs with her suitcase, but her suitcase bursts open and all her clothes fall out. A boy comes by and helps her pick up her stuff. Jae-Hee realizes that the boy helping her is none other than her idol Tae-Joon. In her excitement, Jae-Hee sits on her suitcase, which proceeds to slide down the stairs.

20. When the Camellia Blooms

Genre: Triller, Comedy, Romance, Family

Plot:

Dong-Baek (Kong Hyo-Jin) is a single mother living in the small town of Ongsan. She runs the bar-restaurant Camellia, while also taking care of her son Pil-Gu (Kim Kang-Hoon). The people of Ongsan frequently gossip about Dong-Baek. She grew up as an orphan, is a single mother and runs a bar where many of the men in Ongsan frequent. Regardless of what the locals may whisper about Dong-Baek, local police officer Hwang Yong-Sik (Kang Ha-Neul) is deeply in love with her. Meanwhile, Dong-Baek's ex-boyfriend Kang Jong-Ryeol (Kim Ji-Suk) suddenly reappears in her life. He is a famous baseball player, that hid their relationship when they dated. While Dong-Baek tries to find happiness, something truly sinister lurks in the background. A serial killer roams Ongsan and Dong-Baek may be a target.

[recentanimenews]

RECS: Top 30 Anime Of All Time According To Projekt Melody

  This article is part of our series "So You Wanna Be An Anime Girl?" — a series of articles and interviews with the members of the VTuber agency VShojo. Each of the members' Top 30 Anime is accompanied by an interview with the VTuber. You can see Projekt Melody's interview here!

  Once upon a time, there was a lonely AI tasked with cleaning up computer trash. One day she opened an email containing suspicious content of a ... salacious nature. One malware infection later, and the now sentient AI became the Projekt Melody we know and love. We were lucky enough to get Melody's list of her top 30 anime and are excited to share it below!

    Projekt Melody's Top 30 Anime:

  (Image via Adult Swim)

  1. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

  (Image via HBO Max)

  2. The Animatrix

  (Image via Netflix)

  3. BEASTARS

    4. THE PROMISED NEVERLAND

    5. ERASED

  ---

  6. Himouto! Umaru-chan

7. Hunter x Hunter

8. The Boy and the Beast

9. Kakegurui

10. MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THE ORIGIN & Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

11.  Tenchi Muyo!

12. Ouran High School Host Club

13. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

14. Kiki's Delivery Service

15. Future Diary

16. Samurai Champloo

17. Steins;Gate

18. The Boondocks

19. RWBY

20. Attack on Titan

21. School-Live

22. Black Butler

23. Neon Genesis Evangelion

24. KONOSUBA -God's blessing on this wonderful world!

25. Soul Eater

26. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

27. Berserk

28. Metropolis

29. Megalobox

30. Redline

  ...AND HERE ARE SOME MORE...

  31. Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt

32. One Punch Man + Mob Psycho 100

33. The Legend of Korra

34. Shangri-la

35. Porco Rosso

    Other articles in this series:

              You can watch Projekt Melody's streams on her Twitch channel here!

  By: Guest Author

[kamiyu910]

All right, @the-defiant-pupil​, I’ll see what sort of research paper I can throw together here concerning Corona-chan.

Right now, we’re going on fatality rate based on known/confirmed cases. This global fatality rate is currently at 7.1%, with 3,253,181 confirmed cases and 233,014 deaths. We’re still lacking a lot of data, such as China withholding so much, and with other countries only testing those with symptoms while ignoring the high percentage who are asymptomatic.

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Antibody tests are now being used to tell who has had the virus, and to see if they’re actually immune to it, which would allow them to go back to work. This also allows us to see exactly how far Corona-chan has spread, and this data is being used to show a slightly different picture for a mortality rate, since it helps identify those who were asymptomatic. Countries that don’t count asymptomatic people show a might higher fatality rate because they only count the people who seek medical help.

https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-antibody-tests.html

In the US, there are still places that are barely testing, and only testing those who show symptoms, such as the largest county in the country, the San Bernardino County. Currently, we’re listed at 2058 cases, with only 93 deaths, putting us at a 4.5% fatality rate. We cannot take that at face value, however, because even those with mild symptoms are being turned away, and those with no symptoms are being ignored. Out of a population of 2.18 million, only 20,000 have been tested. That’s 0.09% of our entire population. We’ve known about this virus since at least December last year, it has been in the US for months, yet we lack so much information.

https://sbcph.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/44bb35c804c44c8281da6d82ee602dff

https://coronavirus.1point3acres.com/en

Some sources say the true mortality rate is:

“In the new analysis, the death rate in confirmed COVID-19 cases is estimated to be 1.38%, while the overall rate, which includes estimated unconfirmed cases, is calculated at .66%.”

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200331/covid-19-death-rate-drops-still-deadly-to-seniors

https://time.com/5798168/coronavirus-mortality-rate/

In this post by Berkeley, they say:

“A comparison of daily deaths in Italy since January 2020 with those over the previous five years there indicates that the fatality rate in that country for those infected with the new coronavirus is at least 0.8%, far higher than that of the seasonal flu and higher than some recent estimates.Extrapolating from the Italian data, University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory data scientists estimate that the fatality rate in New York City and Santa Clara County in California can be no less than 0.5%, or one of every 200 people infected.”

“The difference, the researchers say, is likely due to many deaths among older people that have not been counted in the official Italian statistics. The team found a much higher fatality rate for those over 70 years of age: In Lombardy, a region hit hard by the pandemic, those between 70 and 79 had a 2.3% infection fatality rate, while those 80 to 89 had an almost 6% fatality rate. Nearly 13% of those over 90 died.In comparison, those 40 to 49 had a 0.04% fatality rate.

In comparison, those 40 to 49 had a 0.04% fatality rate.These differing fatality rates can explain the observed higher number of deaths among younger people in New York City. Because the population there is younger than in Italy, more deaths among young people are expected, despite their lower fatality rate. The researchers predict that about 26% of all deaths from COVID-19 in New York City will be among those younger than 65.

The population of Italy, on the other hand, is older, yielding a higher overall fatality rate for the country’s population: 0.8%, versus 0.5% for New York. Only 10% of Italian deaths will be younger than 65.The team also estimated, based on the predicted fatality rate for those infected with the new coronavirus and the positivity rate for those tested for COVID-19 in New York City, that about one-quarter of that city’s population has been infected with the virus. This agrees with the recent announcement by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of 21% infection.The team’s predicted infection rate for Santa Clara is around 1%, while that for Los Angeles is around 2%, based on current mortality rates.”

https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/04/24/study-challenges-reports-of-low-fatality-rate-for-covid-19/

So if an area has a higher rate of elderly, they will have a higher fatality rate than an area where the population is young. If a rest home gets hit, it will be devastating, whereas if a nursery gets hit, it’ll probably not even be noticeable, though that doesn’t mean they’re immune, there will be a couple of kids who may need hospital care, and the potential for other side effects that’ll become more apparent later on (still waiting for more studies to be done to confirm this). 

There is a lot of fear mongering being pushed on people with all the misinformation out there, and people are actively allowing their governments to become controlling dictatorships out of fear. It is possible to maintain safety measures while opening up businesses so that the economies don’t collapse. We don’t have to go so extreme as to destroy ourselves out of fear. People are going to die one way or another, whether it be from Corona-chan or from a man made famine.

Take the US for instance. Farmers are being made to dump tons of food, perfectly good food, because they’re being told there isn’t a market for it just because certain businesses are closed, like schools. There are plenty of other places that need the food.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-dairy-farmers-feel-the-squeeze-from-coronavirus-as-milk-sales-dry-up-11588183989

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article241627101.html

https://www.chron.com/news/article/Farmers-seek-help-selling-crops-while-volunteers-15238489.php

My milk.... all of that precious milk...

We do not have to go this far, people. We do not have to go to the extreme! This is fucking ridiculous. 

I’ve seen this screenshot going around as well, not sure how accurate it is but if they cut off the supply chain, which is possible, it can be a reality. I’ve talked to more than a few people who have no idea how to keep a store of food to last a few months, and apparently it’s common for people to just have food for a week in the fridge/freezer/pantry. I don’t understand how that’s possible...

On top of all that, the government is overreaching on their control issues, going so far as to turn off electric and water to businesses that refuse to close

https://calepa.ca.gov/2020/04/02/news-release-governor-issues-water-shutoff-order-and-takes-steps-to-maintain-delivery-of-critical-water-services-during-covid-19-crisis/

https://abcnews.go.com/US/small-business-owners-file-suit-gov-newsom-ca/story?id=70365949

Not to mention all of these headlines, like what timeline are we living in that they feel these levels of invasion are necessary? You can fight a virus without going to this length of control! 

Not to mention New York itself, like really?

And while I can kinda understand wanting to prevent large parties from happening, they’re going after single people having a walk in the wilderness and arresting them for it, or going after a couple of dudes on a rooftop having a cold one, even boaters are getting arrested, despite practicing social distancing, yet we’re allowed to still go to the store? However, in some places like Michigan, they even have police checking bags for essential items...

Which, btw, is also a point of interest, as being allowed to buy seeds has been banned in many areas, but lotto tickets are still available for purchase. There aren’t near enough articles detailing all the things that people are slowly finding out are being restricted/outlawed, and honestly, the more I see people calling on some random person taking a lone walk around a neighborhood, the more I think of this meme:

In many ways, I’m more concerned with the government destroying us than the virus. Many governments around the world are taking advantage of this to tighten the leash. This is completely unnecessary. The main reason for the lockdown isn’t to prevent people from getting the disease - it’s pretty much just accepted that we will eventually get it - but to lighten the load on hospitals so we don’t end up overloaded like Italy, where they have to decide who to let die. The Netherlands is reportedly doing similar.

“...in the Netherlands as in Belgium, euthanasia has been applied for years, according to the authorities, “voluntary”. However, in Germany, and in France, Spain and Italy, they have received elderly patients from these countries to be cured, not of coronaviruses, but of anything, because they do not trust the hospitals of their country: euthanasia is not Voluntary, they say, nor is it respected - not infrequently - the will of the person to whom euthanasia is applied.”

https://es.aleteia.org/2020/03/28/coronavirus-dejar-a-los-viejos-que-mueran/

I can understand wanting to ease the load on hospitals, but again, house arrest is not necessary. These measures being taken are too extreme. Some governors in the US have eased up on their restrictions, and the number of cases has not risen dramatically like some people spreading fear claimed. Our hospitals are not being overrun with cases. 

In fact, the number is going down. Plus, look at the number of beds. It doesn’t mean I want more people to get sick, but we have to be logical about this and think about more than just the illness. We cannot keep letting the government say “money printer go brrrr” (not to  mention the insider trading they were doing, like this shit is blatant, the corruption can be cut with a knife)

If we head into another depression, there will be many more millions of people who will die. People in poverty are at most risk for illness in general, and greater health problems, and malnutrition, and they will be the most hit in a depression, obviously. The elderly who get made homeless will basically be guaranteed to suffer badly. We can balance this out so that we can save the economy (as long as it’s not too late) and protect people from the illness as well as keep hospitals from being overloaded. Balance is the best way to protect everyone. I know people seem to have an aversion to moderation for some reason these days, but it really is a good thing here. Balance the needs of everyone.

[thecontumacious]

Hey hey! Yandere request please :)

Gn reader who is madly in love with the boys and for a yandere x yandere kind of thing?

Mutual Interests

a/n: anddd we're back again with one of my favorite tropes in fanfiction ^^ my sister kept asking me if i was mentally okay when she read through this 😭 if you haven't checked out my last yandere fic w/ luxiem, here it is! i referenced back to this a lot tbh

warning: contains mentions of violence, suicide, r-pe, drug misuse, stalker behavior, kidnapping and gore. please read at own risk.

disclaimer: if you experience these kinds of things, whether yourself or on other people, please report this to professionals. this is not healthy behavior. i also do not mean to glorify any and all actions mentioned. it is meant for entertainment purposes.

reminder that all my work and others in the fandom are purely fiction and intended to entertain, not to be projected irl.

⚠️ dark content utc! proceed with caution! ⚠️

Vox Akuma 👹🌹

he first met you in a nightclub, unsurprisingly.

in anyone' eyes, it would've just looked like you and him were interested in each other from each end of the club. you dancing wildly on the dance floor while he sat by the bar watching you

but to the demon?

well, he's seen his fair share of beautiful bodied humans.

ah yes, he found humans' bodies to be more pleasurable than his own kind. probably because they just seem to falter and be vulnerable under him? probably.

but you. you.

to the father in the heavens and the spirits in the pits of hell, you had a body and charm no one else had. you made the humans around you look like useless trash, nothing compared to you

as you continued to dance, vox sips his drink imagining the different things he could do to you.

however he has to keep his composure that humans don't work the way demons usually do.

so he had to take it slow, step by step.

else he would be no different than the people throwing themselves at you, straight up asking for a good fucking without much to begin with.

you held more class than that, he could tell. you were rejecting their every whim after all.

after a round of dancing, you finally retire to the bar, only a few stools from vox.

he took this as his chance, giving you one of his (literally) devilish smiles. "good evening. tired from all the dancing?"

"how about you, kind sir? haven't lost it to the alcohol yet?" you tease, snickering afterwards.

to vox, it seemed like you were asking for it.

"i handle my drinks better than anyone in this club, mind you," he chuckles back, placing his glass down. "come, let me get you a drink. what would you like?"

you hum, resting your chin on your hand. you mention your drink to him and he calls the bartender for your order.

"your usual place on saturday nights like this?" vox inquires, leaning closer.

you nod, "pretty much, yeah."

"your drink," the bartender slides the glass over to you, to which you glug down quickly, parched from the dance floor.

"slow down now," the demon laughs.

you shake your head, gulping the burning beverage down your throat. "says the one who's been ordering drinks longer than i have."

even the way you spoke is testing him. he really is trying his best to hold back from taking you then and there.

thus became the first of many nights you and vox would meet up together.

oh, no, he was a gentleman the entire time!

he would properly take you home after a day's outing. he never forgets to bring you gifts whenever you agreed on a date.

not once did vox even mention he would like to 'sleep' with you the entire time.

because he knew it's not time yet.

when it's time, he'll pounce. he won't ever let you go after that happens. your body will become his.

"lovely to see you, darling," vox greets, handing you a bouquet of flowers as soon as you reached the restaurant you promised to meet up in

you giggle, taking the gift graciously. "how sweet. my house will turn into a flower shop with the many you bring me every time, vox."

"what can i say? i can't not bring one if i keep meeting up with a pretty person."

"oh, now you're too flattering," you sit across him, setting the flowers in your lap. "have you ordered?"

"yeah. i know what you like anyway," he shrugs, crossing his arms on the table to lean towards you. vox smirks, tilting his head, "so, tell me about your day, love."

to be completely honest without a hint of malice, vox never usually does this. if he's interested in a human especially, things would not have taken this long

the easiest way to explain it would be:

'waiting makes the results much more enjoyable'.

at least, for vox.

look at you, chattering away with your plump lips about your job, or some friends you met up with that day. your pretty long lashes fluttering like you're seducing him.

he would do anything to just throw you on that fucking table and ravage that sweet neck of yours, uncaring if it was a public area

perhaps, today would be the day.

as you continue to speak, vox fingers the sleeping pills in his pocket.

"gimme a sec, vox. bathroom," you stand, smiling.

"go ahead."

the perfect time to drug your food.

the bathroom door behind you closes and vox pulls out the already crushed pills, adding almost thrice the supposed dose. besides, he didn't want you to be awake during the entire time

you could be screaming, struggling, begging him to stop when he clearly wanted to keep going

he'll save that session for another time.

you return, sitting back down to eat again.

it was only a matter of time before those pills start to settle in

but with three times the dose vox put in, it really shouldn't take much time.

and it does.

once you got in the car, you've fallen asleep without saying a word to him. he chuckles to himself, taking your hand in his as he drove you back to his house where you'll be staying

for the rest of your life

vox sets you by his mattress, still heavily asleep, as he grabs the ropes from under his bed. red, his favorite color of course.

he strips you in a matter of minutes, leaving nothing but you in your own skin. just the sight of it is enough to make vox lose it. how was he gonna handle you later?

with expertise, the demon bounds your wrists and feet to the bedpost, tight enough that you couldn't even move an inch. you're spread out, nothing to hide.

just as vox was about to begin, you suddenly groan.

he freezes.

for a second he thought he was just mishearing, given how excited he was. but your eyes are fluttering open, pupils looking around your surroundings figuring out where you were and why the fuck you were naked spread out on a bed you didn't recognize

"vox?" you grumble, trying to get up. but you realize you're tied down.

he sighs, his moment of enjoying you for the first time absolutely ruined. seems like he was going to have to--

"fuck," you suddenly whine.

vox looks at you, and your face... god, your face was so deliciously red. were you enjoying this? why did you--

"fuck, vox, please," you beg, your hands clenching onto the ropes that held onto you. "do it already. do you fucking know how long i've waited?"

once he's sure that you're actually serious about what you're saying, he chuckles, leaning down to kiss your tear filled eyes. "i'm sorry, beloved. i'll get on with it."

"thank you!" you chirp, nuzzling into his neck. "can i ask for a favor?"

"hm? what is it, sweet thing?"

you look him in the eyes, pleading once more, "can you use a knife?"

oh you really were different.

"of course, my love," vox gets off you for a moment and pulls out a knife, freshly sharpened it seems. it makes your cheeks grow even redder at the sight of it, imagining how the demon will rake it down your body.

"use it on me, please. do with it what you want," you desperately request of him. "no, kill me when you're done. please, vox. i've always wanted to be killed by you. and only you..."

good fucking thing he took his sweet time with you, huh?

"kill you?" he smirks, once again straddling you on his bed. the cold blade meets the side of your body, sending shivers down your spine. "darling, i've got something better than killing you."

your eyes glimmer excitedly.

"now, shall we begin?"

what would be better than to be killed by the one you love, you ask?

oh, you know.

torture.

you forgot just how many times he slashed that knife over your skin, forever going to leave a scar there but not enough to kill you. he'd stab where it wouldn't meet any of your organs and lap away at the blood that leaks

you realized then that this was better than being killed

vox edging you of your death, then coming back up to inflict more love soaked wounds.

the sun rises and it's only then did the demon stop, panting from the much fun he's had since a century ago. he looks at you, half dead, covered in your blood like a sacrifice to the devil himself.

then he unties your ropes and places the blood caked knife in your hand with an aroused smile.

you look at him, dazed, "hm?"

"do it to me too, love. stab me, break me, mutilate me if you want," he breathes, pressing the hand holding the knife against his stomach. vox grins, "i'm immortal after all."

you peck his nose, driving the blade into his flesh, eliciting a pleasured and pained moan from the demon.

"let me get to work then, darling."

Mysta Rias 🦊🔶

the reality is:

you've never met mysta and he's never met you in person. you have never swapped even a word with this man so it's likely you never knew he existed.

but it didn't matter

the universe had already given you to him so he'll swallow all the small opportunities to see you

to be more exact, how mysta even knew about you was simply because you were in line to get your groceries checked out

the way you smiled at the cashier and how you gently spoke to them

he thought you were an angel that descended upon this disgusting world

what was someone as divine as you doing here?

the people here are going to taint your innocence.

that was it.

mysta wished nothing else than to have you all to himself, an angel that belonged only to him, smiled only at him, did everything only for him.

he wanted to save you from this world, and that became his only life mission upon meeting you.

so he followed you home that day, making sure that he tailed you without arousing any suspicion from both you and the people around him. but if people asked, he could easily show them his detective badge, reasoning he was only doing his job

it's worked so far

from his work of crimes, mysta knows that ambushes and the element of surprise always worked best. that's why he chose to hide away from you, wanting to enjoy you a bit more before he did what he had to do

mysta giggles at the thought

once you reached your home, he knew he couldn't continuing watching you from the window. someone will call the cops on him for that.

so, he jots down your address and returns home

he's got a camera lying around somewhere... ah, there it is. still usable and the sd card seems to be empty.

he was determined to have it filled with only you, you and you

"i'm sure i had a stuffed bear lying around here somewhere," mysta whispers to himself, ruffling through his old items in search of said toy. surely, you wouldn't mind a special gift from a secret admirer?

of course not

he couldn't imagine you driving away an innocent present like a stuffed bear!

that night, mysta learns how to plant the camera inside the bear. he surprises himself with how truly harmless it looked from the outside.

in the morning, he hurriedly makes his way to your door and places his gift down, ringing the doorbell before running away.

you open the door seconds later and do indeed find the animal down at your feet. you pick it up then look side to side, wondering who could have left the object. but you shrug and came back inside with the gift.

mysta grins and opens his phone, connecting with the camera inside the bear.

through the screen, he sees you carry the bear around your before deciding to put it on your bed.

perfect.

the detective went home, satisfied.

he was going to need a lot more gifts and cameras for this.

for mysta, it was an obsession from the start. the moment he saw you smiling for the world, that was it for him. this world didn't deserve your smile. and only he could save you.

every few weeks, a gift would appear by your door and you'd place it all over your apartment, much to mysta's fortune. he'd study how you walk around the apartment, memorized your routine, what times you woke up on specific days, what meals you ate, what you liked doing when at home

god it felt like the most fantastic movie he's ever watched in his entire life

but then cameras and anonymous gifts became insufficient for mysta.

he needed to feel for himself how soft your blankets were, the smell of your pillow, the specific shampoo and soap you used.

he needed to be there.

so after some consideration, mysta finally made it to your apartment in the dead of night. with trial and error, he also made it past you door and he breathes in the scent of your home

it made him go crazy and the fact he was in your apartment right now was too much for him to take

but mysta walks on, closing the door behind him as he inspects all the things you kept. he now knows what cereals you ate, what milk you go for, what bath items you personally liked.

then he enters your bedroom where you're fast asleep, curled up under the blanket

"you look so fucking adorable," mysta whispers, covering his cheeks with the back of his hand to feel just how warm they were. how could they not be? he was in the presence of you again...

he looks around the area, learning more of your favorite colors from your outfit choices, books you were interested in and the small things that you liked in life

then he stops by your underwear drawer.

his hands shake even at the mere thought of having one to himself. you wouldn't notice one pair missing, right?

a souvenir from his first day seeing you again would be nice too

so he pockets one, smiling.

mysta finally stands near your bed. he kneels down and breathes silently as he comes in close contact with you. look at you. look.

so fucking gorgeous. the world truly didn't deserve you.

his finger makes it to your cheek, creating a single sloppy circle then it travels down to your plump lips. he traces every inch of it, his mind drawing the scene where he would kiss these beautiful lips of yours

he could very well do it right now...

mysta leans in close, his nose brushing against you and his lips hovering just over yours.

but something stops him.

maybe... maybe not now. better not to push my luck.

so he pulls away and exits your home.

once more, satisfied.

he promised himself that his visits wouldn't be too often. once a week maybe. but mysta is not one to to commit himself to something. once a week became thrice a week. then it became every single night.

in the day he would watch you from his cameras, his hands aching to feel your things and your body. and in the night, as you finally fall asleep, he would enter your home like it was his own.

well, it might as well be.

his souvenir picking became even bizarre too.

from clean underwear became to ones you've worn, your old photos, your clothes that he would wear. at first, he would return them, but with time, he kept them. hung them up on his walls or put the special ones under his pillow so he could somewhat have a piece of you before he falls asleep

at this point, mysta would use your apartment like it was your own. used your electricity, your water, ate your food. and when he left for the night, he would never forget to place a ghostly kiss on your forehead, not really brave enough for your lips somehow

so it could help him feel like he was living with you.

but there was something he noticed.

while you'd usually keep your clothes inside, they're now laid out in the open. even some of your undergarments.

more of your precious items were carelessly placed.

wh-why was there a second toothbrush in the sink? an extra towel? two bottles of your usual shampoos and soaps?

could you have possibly known he was in the apartment? why the fuck were you indirectly welcoming him in like this?

afraid at the realization, mysta decides it was time to go. so he hastily while still being quiet exits out of your bedroom.

but just before he could grab the doorknob, something tugs at his shirt.

"leaving already, darling? you usually stay longer..."

h-huh??

mysta turns on his heel and he sees you, gripping onto his shirt tight while rubbing your eyes. wh-what?

"come on, you haven't even kissed me goodbye yet," you pout, pulling him closer to you.

his heart is in his throat, beating rapidly as he doesn't know what to do. so you did know. why the heck did that make you seem even more perfect? you beautiful angel...

god fuck

"you thought i didn't know?" you smile, giggling as you nuzzled into his neck. "baby, you go to my apartment all the time. but you never notice when i go to yours?"

now that he thought about it, he would sometimes find some of his things misplaced. but he thought that was just him being a klutz again

"i-i..."

you grin at his loss of words, wrapping your arms around his waist. "you're so cute, darling. always have been. can i have a real kiss now?"

what is happening--

"mysta, my love, please?"

oh. oh god. the way you said his name.

the detective finally comes to his senses, a blush spreading across his cheeks as he held your face and for the first time finally kissed you right on the lips.

the way you kissed right back, holding him by the back of his head excitedly.

"i love you, y/n," mysta whispers against your mouth, the passion dripping from his words.

you smile and respond, "i love you too, mysta."

then you pull away, much to his dismay. "hey."

"hm?"

"wanna die together?"

how did you...

"you like to talk aloud in your sleep, my love," you giggle. "i'd be lying if i said i didn't want the same. you're too precious for this world... and you don't need it either. it's just going to take you away from me one day."

mysta suddenly brings you in for a tight hug, a choked sob escaping his lips. "god, i love you. i love you. i love you. yes we can die together, sweetheart."

at this, you tug on mysta's hand with the biggest smile on your face. "come on, come on! i've always wanted to die during a sunrise."

"oh really?" he laughs, following you out.

you drag him up the stairs all the way to the top floor of the apartment complex.

with the sky looking more bright, it was only a matter of minutes before the sun decided to peek through. but mysta was glad. he could spend the last minutes of his life with you

and now you and him will soon be together forever.

him and his beautiful angel...

you climb onto the railing, balancing on your feet as you offer your hand to mysta. "come on, love."

he smiles at you then stands just next to you. "i dreamed of this moment so much."

"yeah, i know. i'm glad you and i can be together in the end mysta. i was worried that you wouldn't ever notice."

he laughs, "sorry about that darling."

then, the sky becomes bright and the sun is right there, saying both hello and goodbye to you.

mysta feels you squeeze his hand.

"i love you so much, mysta."

he was gonna save you. and this was it. this was all he needed.

he brings your hand to his lips, pressing one last kiss. "i love you so much, y/n. my angel."

you smile at each other, all before gravity decides to envelop you both in its embrace, never to walk the earth again.

Luca Kaneshiro 🦮🔆

luca was minding his own business, watching over the casino on one of his free nights with a drink in his hand. it was incredibly boring though.

just the usual snobby rich heads flaunting their financial statuses to each other.

it reeked of trash in there, despite the millions worth of money in building said casino.

so luca excused himself for the night and goes to the backstreet when he sees someone being harassed by some uncivilized crooks.

ugh, be it upper or low class, people really were absolute garbage.

luca rolls his eyes, pulls out his gun and easily shoots the men by the head without missing a single target.

their bodies drop dead and reveals you, your face splattered with your harassers' blood.

the mafia boss' heart suddenly skips a beat at the rather gruesome scene before him. but it was because of the messy crime scene that made his adrenaline rush.

your pretty face among the dead.

luca smiles, approaching you while offering you his handkerchief.

"rough night?" he asks, kicking away the bodies at his feet.

you sigh, taking his aid and wiping away the blood. "thanks, but yeah, these guys just show up out of nowhere."

"well, you did take the road in a suspicious looking backstreet," luca points out, causing you to blush red. he chuckles.

"fa-fair point..."

"need an escort home? you do have a pretty face," he grins, offering you his hand. you look at it, then back at him, your eyes flickering with shyness.

"u-um, no thanks. i'll be careful from now on," this time, you completely avoid his gaze, ears blood red. you skitter away, waving softly at him, "th-thanks again!"

that's it.

luca liked you.

just the way you hide away from his advances, not out of disgust. but more out of embarrassment. so shy and precious... luca had to have you.

even the mere thought of someone else making you shy like that

it made luca's blood boil and instinctively reach for his gun, his fingers itching to fire his entire cartridge just to stave his unfathomable jealousy

his mafia life could be so boring after all.

nothing but business in the dark, murdering people who didn't do their job well (and occasionally those he didn't like) and making sure his record is clean, far away from the reach of the police

he was so used to seeing fearful expressions, sometimes ones that were so serious like they'd never heard of a joke. perhaps he'd get the rare chance of a woman or two smiling for him, offering something he'd like, but they all have under-the-surface motives

they were all the fucking same.

it was just so monochromatic.

but then there was you.

the first person in his life to smile and thank him so genuinely without asking for anything in return.

the mafia life is all about trading one eye for the other.

but with you, it's the other way around

and luca liked it. no, was obsessed with the concept.

so, he had his men track you down. find out what you liked, where you worked, who your family was, if you... had a partner. he specifically asked them to bring both their kidneys if they found out you had one.

but to his fortune, you weren't seeing anyone at the moment.

then, luca finally decided it was time to pay you a visit during your work time. his own work was getting bored after all.

he promised himself he wouldn't touch anyone today, for your sake really. luca had to accept that blood and gore wasn't everyone's favorite...

so he strolled right into the building where you worked, ignoring anyone who tried to stop him as he went up to ask a random employee where you were.

"u-um, they're on the second floor, sir," they answer, pointing towards the elevator.

"thanks!" he pats their back before going to the designated floor, your favorite flowers and snacks in hand to help win you over for an impromptu date. if your boss fired you for ditching work, luca brought his knife with him to cut off a few fingers to do the exact opposite

just in case

once the elevators let him out, luca's joyful mood suddenly dissipates when he hears angry screams. he wouldn't have minded them if your name wasn't thrown around the room.

from the corner, he sees you standing still, your face dark as your employees look at you with irritation, your boss? supervisor? whoever the asshole was scolding you for doing something so poorly

how dare someone insult and embarrass you like this? his precious and cute y/n...

luca's gun is begging to him to be used. to empty his full cartridge.

but for you, he took a deep breath and waltzed right in.

"hey, who are you? you're not authorized personnel!" an employee yells, moving forward to stop luca from stepping in any further. but with a demon looming inside the mafia boss, said employee shivers when he meets with luca's eyes, backing away almost immediately.

"y/n, honey!" he sang, grabbing the attention of the entire floor.

you turn to him, eyes wide.

"sorry, who are you, sir?" the person who was screaming at you raised an eyebrow at him.

"you don't want to know," luca giggles, circling his arm around your waist. although he seemed to be smiling, the aura leaking off of him was not safe.

at the icky feeling, the man takes one step back. "it doesn't matter. we're in the middle of an important conversation."

"looks like a torturing session to me though," luca tilts his head, curling his lip like a child. "you're a bad boss for scolding them in front of everyone else, you know."

"they're my employee, i can do what i want," he hisses.

the mafia boss takes a deep breath in, ignoring his urges to just fucking gut the man. "they're my partner. it's my duty to protect them from bad people. like you and everyone breathing in this building."

you look at him, confusion lacing your face but the fact he was protecting and defending you was enough not to ask any questions yet.

he then proceeds to hand you your gifts, flashing you a sweet smile, "come on, honey. you obviously don't want to be here. my car is waiting outside."

luca tugs you away to the exit, but the man from before yells again like it's the only thing he can do, "hey! it's still working hours!"

BANG

"can you shut up for once? you're making sound pollution."

the bullet hit the windows, but luca did that on purpose. the screaming was giving him a headache for fuck's sake.

he tugs on your hand again, "let's go, hon."

once in the car, all you can do is bite your lip as you stare at your flowers and snacks. shaken? nervous? afraid?

luca sighs, grabbing your chin softly to look at him. "how long have they been doing this to you, baby?"

you can't help but tear up, hiccupping, "right when i started work..."

as angry as he was though, you came first. your heart was tired. so luca leaned in and pressed a kiss to your forehead, hoping it would help your mental scars.

how fucking dare these people make you cry?

"it'll be okay, honey," he whispers, squeezing your hand. "come on, let's get something to eat. you don't need that job. i'm luca, by the way."

you finally smile.

there it is, the smile he'd been aching to see since you last met.

after your outing together, it was safe to say that you were in a different place now. you were smiling much more and laughing to luca's jokes.

still shy whenever he teased you.

yes, only to him. he'll make sure that happens soon...

he took you home, walking you to the door.

you turn to him, "thank you for today, luca. i hope i get to see you again."

he laughs, "of course we will! i'll come get you again tomorrow."

"of course," you giggle, opening the door. "i'll see you tomorrow then, luca."

"oh and by the way."

"hm?"

luca smiles, "i'll be sending you a gift soon. i hope you'll like it."

a very one of a kind gift.

"oh? i'm excited to see it," with one final laugh, you enter your home then wave at luca. "get home safe, okay?"

"i will!"

then he's off.

to get your gift of course.

he sits in his car, takes out his phone and makes a quick call. he growls when the line finally connects, "find me all the employees who work at y/n's workplace."

"roger, sir."

in a matter of minutes, he receives the list. all from the very top of the organization to the lowest. there was your name, one of the lower employees it seemed, despite being at the company for a long time.

he chuckles to himself, tapping the gun buried in his pocket.

he was finally going to use that chainsaw in his trunk. luca was worried that it would start to break down before he even got to use it...

you awoke the next morning to the doorbell ringing. groggily, you get out of bed and check who it is , but is surprised to see a black box sitting by the end of your door.

a note sits atop it, handwritten and scented.

you bring it back inside first while reading the note

'good morning honey <3 i hope you had a good sleep and also like the present i got for you. it was a little hard to get but i would do anything for my sweet honey~'

you smile, putting the paper aside and lift the lid of the box.

you are face to face with your boss' head, eyes still open and a bullet hole between his eyes.

meanwhile, luca is at his office getting some work done when he receives a text from you.

'i loved the gift, luca! i might actually have a gift for you too~ wanna see it?'

his colorful life with you starts to saturate even more, the feeling of love blooming even more from the underside of his heart. shocked as he was, his ache to see you only grew wilder. he needed you there with him right now

he knew you were different the moment he met you

practically not afraid of the bodies that drop dead at your feet.

so luca rushes to your house, knocking on the door fervently.

as quickly as he came, you open the door for him and drag him inside with the biggest grin on your face. it didn't help how your cheeks were bright red from joy.

"hurry! i want you to see it!" you giggle, pushing him inside the house.

he merely chuckles, letting you lead him. you then stop together in front of a closet. you point at it, beckoning for him to open the door himself. "go on, luca!"

"alright," he grins, twisting the door knob open.

wait... he's seen her face before. wasn't she that waitress he saw a few days ago?

well of course, only this time she's completely and utterly lifeless. her eyes gouged out leaving empty dark sockets behind.

"oh, wow," luca widens his eyes, looking towards you.

you hiss, glaring at the dead woman, "she was flirting with you. i didn't like it so i got rid of her so you would only smile at me from now on."

luca stares at you, his heart beating against his chest.

so adorable. yet as crazy as him.

how perfect.

suddenly, the mafia boss picks you up and spins you around the hallway, causing for you to burst out laughing despite being in the presence of the deceased

of course that didn't matter! he was with the love of his life after all.

"i only wished i could've seen you do it in front of me, honey!" luca smiles, putting you down to nuzzle his nose against you. "next time, call me when you want to take care of someone. i'd love to see you go crazy."

you giggle, nodding. "i promise."

Ike Eveland 🖋💙

he first met you when he went on a stroll around the park, simply trying to get a breath of fresh air in his mundane life

he saw your beautiful form sitting on a bench busily drawing on your sketchpad, your eyes laser focus on the subject before you. it was love at first sight for ike.

at that moment, he wished nothing more than to have your eyes focus on him. drawing him. and him only.

all his life, he's been trained to create something about someone. but he longs for when someone creates something out of him for once.

so, ike chose you.

he knew how other people worked. other people wouldn't simply say yes to be his lover on the spot and well, suddenly change their life so it could revolve only around him

well, ike wished you would do that but since it was his lovely darling, he was willing to be extra patient for you

he approached you, keeping his beating heart at bay as he spoke to you for the first time, "hello there, can i sit next to you?"

you look up from your sketchpad, flashing only the prettiest smile ike has ever seen in his life. "yeah, i don't mind. go ahead."

you give him one more smile before redirecting your attention back to your work, pencil tip already back to creating shapes on the paper

ike steals a glance at what you're working on

and he knew he made the right choice to approach you

it was absolutely beautiful

every single stroke of your graphite was flawless. all your lines shape your subject according to the image in your mind.

an image ike wished was him.

although he meant to merely glance, he finds himself staring at you continue to draw. the more he did, the more he wished he could ask you to have him as your subject

but ike had to hold himself back

so when the right time comes, all his waiting would be worth it

"you're a very skilled artist," ike comments. you turn to him in surprise, red rushing to your cheeks and ears at his compliment.

that's it. blush only for me, sweetheart.

you grip your pencil nervously, laughing softly. "th-thank you, sir. i practice."

"i can see that," ike smiles, leaning towards you a bit to take a quick inhale of your scent. oh how sweet... he was bound to remember your unique smell. "how long have you drawn?"

"as long as i can remember. it's my favorite pastime," you answer, a glimmer of passion in your eyes.

lord, only 60 seconds in and you've captured his heart completely. ike begins to imagine all the nights you've stayed up for just to master your skills, all the different drawings you've done in the past

and his selfish wish to have all your future drawings once again, only of him

nothing and no one else but him

he followed you that day back home, and once he's written down your exact address, he returns himself and heads straight for his writing desk

he wanted to write so bad upon walking past the doorframe.

all because he couldn't get you out of his mind

you've become his muse after all, so the inspiration comes spilling out. so much so ike does not want to even waste a single drop of it

he could render his wrist useless for all he cares, but he desperately needed to write about you

about your gentle voice, about your beautiful eyes, about your skilled hand in drawing, about your mind-driving scent

ike was going to drill your very existence into the history of the earth himself

every single day, he made sure that he would "coincidentally" meet you out in public. this would make a good excuse for him to keep interacting with you without having to dig for your information without your knowledge

befriending you first was his strategy

once he makes sure that you are wrapped around his finger, it's only then he will make his move

but ike knew that this method was going to feel like being burnt alive. far too painfully slow.

he just wanted to have you all to himself. have you draw him everyday as he wrote about you everyday. he deserved this after everything he's done for you.

oh the way you greeted him hello, offered him something to drink when he came over, or when you were excitedly talking about an art project you were working on

do you have any idea how you're squeezing and twisting ike's heart?

so he finally takes his chance.

he takes your sleeping self to his house in the dead of night, tucking you in his bed like you truly belonged there. actually, who was he kidding? you did belong there. always have and always will.

look at you, so helpless and innocent.

ike smiles to himself, the blush on his cheeks appearing upon really settling that you finally belonged to him.

but that smile falters when he sees scars near your shoulders and thighs.

something dark envelops ike.

who did this? who would dare hurt his darling?

but according to how he's monitored you, it couldn't have been anyone. you didn't often go out to meet people (besides him of course) and you lived alone.

he figured he could just ask you in the morning

ike half expected you to panic and run for help when you cracked your eyelids open, starting to accuse him of kidnapping you.

but as he patiently sips his drink when you sit up, he is beyond caught by surprise.

"ike? am i in your bedroom?" you ask, half awake.

he chuckles at you, "yes, darling. you are."

you raise an eyebrow at him, "why?"

ike puts his book and cup aside, crawling over to your side. "because you belong here, my love. don't you know? you are mine."

he's expecting the scream of terror, or the paling up of your face.

but you only frown, disappointed?

"you don't by any chance brought my art tools with you, did you?" your lips curl at him, your voice so fragile like you were about to cry.

now ike is the one to raise his eyebrow in question, "no? is that what you need, darling? i could go get them for you as long as you stay here."

your eyes light up immediately then you hold his hand, nodding. "yes, please! it's in the furthest room in the apartment. the one i never show you before. just take the whole bag, okay?"

still heavily confused but not one to refuse your every request, ike nods and places a kiss on your forehead before standing up. "be a good boy/girl and stay, alright? i won't be long."

you giggle, waving.

back at your apartment, he goes to the specific room you were talking about. it was true he's never seen it before, since you never showed him and whenever he asked, you always brush him off.

what was in this anyway?

ike cracks the door open and he is astonished by the inside.

all four side of the rooms, even the floors and ceilings, even the furniture were drawn upon. whether that be the wooden chairs, the bare walls, papers or canvas.

what makes ike's heart skip a beat is the fact they're all drawings of him. all in different angles.

the accuracy... god, you were talented.

the next thing he noticed is the strong scent of rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide. why would you need...?

then ike realized just what you used as your drawing mediums.

hydrogen peroxide...the scars on your body...

tears prick the novelist's eyes, so glad to have met the most perfect person in the world.

how long have you been doing this? as long as he did perhaps? no matter, he'll pick up your... artwork later.

ike takes the bag you mentioned and goes back to his house, but he's worried the moment you are not in his room.

"darling?" he calls out, but you don't answer. ike begins to panic, checking every door for you when he finds you in one of his mysterious rooms.

yes, he did the same exact thing.

you stare at the room before you, the walls plastered with papers filled with poems and stories about you. written in the same medium you did with your paintings of ike.

your cheeks are burning red, a wide smile decorating your beautiful face as you turned to ike.

"did you like my work at home?" you giggle.

"did you like mine?" ike smirks, hooking you by the waist to bring you closer. "oh, my beautiful little artist."

you rest your head on his shoulder. "my beautiful writer."

such a matching pair indeed.

"move your head a bit to the side, love. yes, that's it," you clap your hands excitedly with one paint brush in hand. ike chuckles at your cute reaction, readying his quill and an inkwell filled with your blood.

he says, "can we start?"

you nod, dipping your tool into the jar of his blood mixed with rubbing alcohol. "let's create together, ike."

you two were going to engrave each other's existence into history, no matter if the world liked it or not.

art always has been an enigma in itself.

Shu Yamino 🔮✨

he was in a rush that day when he dropped his wallet after leaving a cafe. so much to do, so little time.

but he stops when he hears someone call his name as soon as he got onto the street. he turns around and sees you, the same cashier who served your order just before he left.

shu then sees you waving his wallet in the air, patting his pocket where it would've been.

it's this human kindness that makes his heart skip a beat for you.

you approach him, smiling while panting, given you've had to run after him. wallet in hand, you say, "you forgot this, sir!"

but he's too busy staring at you like you had grown ten more heads, receiving the wallet which you were handing back to him. "u-um, yeah... "

"be a bit careful next time, okay?" you giggle, dusting off your pants. "well, best you go on then! you were obviously rushing. i gotta go back to work too."

"ca-can i ask for your name?" shu nervously asks, pocketing his wallet. he had to. he had to get to know you. there was no way he was going to let you go, this kind hearted person.

"y/n," you smile. "and you?"

"i'm shu," he responds. "it was nice meeting you, y/n. i gotta go now though."

nodding, you wave at him as you jog back to your workplace again.

surely the cameras in your cafe were going to be easy to hack into.

he wasn't crazy. he was just... interested in you.

people nowadays are selfish. people only do things for their own things. sure they might do something for someone, but in the end, they'd ask for something in return. shu was both sick and used to this.

so when he received his wallet back from you, of course he'd be intrigued.

how could a human being be so kind...?

the next day, shu returns to your cafe in much better circumstances, hoping to see if it was your shift. luckily for him, it was. you busy yourself with cleaning tables around the cafe, humming to the current song playing

shu realizes then how absolutely beautiful you were. it was probably because he was in a nick of time yesterday that he couldn't notice much of your face

but with the slow pace of the day, he sees it now

of course, only the kindest people are beautiful. working so hard, smiling at all the customers who came through that door.

smiling at him when he walked through that door.

"oh hey, shu! i see you're back," you greet, placing the huge plastic box to rest against your hip. "here for another drink?"

shu smiles, nodding even though that was not his main purpose. "yeah, i needed a break from work."

"i'll be at the bar in a second, go wait up by the cashier!"

he savors all the precious seconds he gets to spend interacting with you, even if it was probably just small talk and discussions about his order.

besides, he'll be able to see more of you through his cameras later.

"will it be the same as yesterday?" you ask once you've put away your cleaning supplies.

shu raises an eyebrow, "you remembered my order?"

"o-oh! i'm sorry, you probably think i'm creepy. i just have a habit to remember people's orders. you left such an impression on me yesterday too," giggling nervously, you look away.

but this adds to your charm, shu thinks. look at you, hiding away because of something cute you did. remembering people's orders was a skill a barista could use, especially if the same customers will be coming back often

you truly were a different human being.

there was no way shu was going to let you out of his sight.

what if you met the wrong people? what if they take advantage of your kindness? shu just couldn't bare the thought of the world making you sad if those things ever happened

how else to prevent that from happening than to protect you himself?

he had sorcery in his veins, that sufficed to kill a hundred men at least.

after you made him his drink, shu goes to leave. but he doesn't go home. instead, he waits by the backstreet until your shift ended.

it was long into the day before he heard the door to the backstreet start to open. shu uses his sorcery to hide himself from view and out you appear, exhausted and ready to collapse from working for so long.

"god, i'm done," you sigh, tugging your bag to your side as you start your journey home.

this was it.

shu follows you back and once you've entered your home, he notes down your exact address and places a single camera. but with his sorcery, it makes it easy for him to place within your residence without much trouble and without being seen.

once he himself arrives home, he excitedly opens up his devices and connects with the camera he planted

this was how his obsession with you grew stronger.

there are no absent days where he's not opening his cameras to check on you. watch over you.

just look at how innocent and beautiful you look... so safe under shu's watch.

yes, this was a good idea after all. this way he knows you're safe.

but

there's something he's begun to notice, a few weeks after the first time he planted in that camera in your home.

from what he's noticed, the first few weeks were just you acting casual and well, being yourself.

but as time passes by, you begin to act... more poised. like you were acting for someone. was it shu or did you start wearing clothes that showed more of your skin?

one thing for sure though

shu could not hold it back anymore.

he couldn't resist just watching you. he needed to talk to you again. he needed to touch you. your skin, your hair, everything!

so, he makes his way over to your home, careful of his steps and any prying eyes. his heart is beating against his chest, extremely excited to even get to see you in person one more time

shu's hand hovers over the doorknob, commanding it to unlock. but after minutes of trying, he wonders why nothing has happened. not a sound of the lock was heard.

"is it...?" he wonders, grabbing the knob. then it swings open with ease. shu is baffled, "it was already open?"

you probably forgot to lock it, so he shrugs and enters your house.

he's watched you for a long time, he basically knows where everything is by now. where your bathroom is, where you keep your books, everything.

he wasn't your protector if he didn't know everything about you, right?

shu tiptoes to the bedroom and he finds you deep asleep in a position he never saw you in.

blankets covered all the way up above your elbows, but shu could definitely see you were... completely nude

"god, you're so beautiful," is the first thing he says, crawling to your side to study your beautiful face. it didn't matter if you were nude. in fact, it benefitted him.

his finger traces over your cheek, slowly down your neck and to your collarbone. all so smooth and like it's begging to him to be touched.

shu then pulls the covers off of you, a gift before him.

that night, he touched you. and by touch, more than tracing his fingers memorizing your every inch.

god, you felt too good. you were just so perfect.

when he finished and the hours slowly becoming dusk once more, shu sneaks out of bed and leaves without forgetting to give you one last kiss.

for that day of course. he was going to come back very soon.

because he knew he was never going to sober up from his drunk thoughts of your beautiful body and your innocence stolen away by him

actually, he wanted to see you today.

so, shu went to pick up a drink by your cafe.

ah, there you were. still as beautiful as the day he met you, seemingly unknowing he had so much fun with you last night.

your eyes meet his, and you flash him a smile like last time you saw him. "hi shu! it's been a while."

"yeah, it has," he laughs simply.

"the same?"

still remembered it huh?

shu nods, placing the amount of money to pay for his drink. he swore when you took the cash, you purposely brushed your fingertips against his.

he can't help but smile.

one day, he'll break in your house holding your hand while he does it with you squeezing him just as tight, crying out his name and wanting nothing else in this world but him.

one day.

"order for shu!" your sweet voice calls out to him. shu runs over to the pick up area and receives it, again your skin featherlight against his own. "enjoy your day, shu."

oh, he will.

he flashes you a smile as he went to take a sip, leaving the cafe to go back home.

when he sits down to get some work done, shu's head begins to ache terribly. was it because he was staring head on at his computer for too long? that and he stayed awake enjoying you?

"i should lie down," shu hisses, the pressure on his head getting worse. the moment he collapses on the bed, his eyelids are already closing

the last thing he saw being his bedroom door opened by a stranger

"shu, baby?"

"my love, come on, wake up."

"don't make me wait too long, shu, baby."

at the continuous pleads for him to exit the sleeping world, shu finally cracks his eyes open.

only to realize he's sitting in a chair, his hand bound behind the backrest and his legs tied to the chair legs.

the culprit?

"y-y/n?"

your eyes widen and a smile stretches itself across your face. your cheeks are bright red as you skitter over to shu.

"good, you're finally awake!"

so you were the one asking him to wake up from before... hold on, what happened again? oh... the drink.

shu couldn't help but laugh, lying back onto the chair as if he wasn't being tied tight against it. "sometimes i wonder if you became a barista only to find the opportunity to drug their drinks."

you giggle, proceeding to sit on his lap. "only for the cute ones."

"actually," he never told you his address though... and he's been watching you for a long time. how did you...? "how did you know where i lived?"

"oh, i thought you would be smarter," a grin paints onto your beautiful face. you trace his jawline, breath becoming one with his. "i had my eye on you the moment you dropped that wallet, my love. having a little peek inside wasn't that hard. also, shu, baby."

you take something from behind him and in the faint light, scissors shine as you show it to him.

you lick your lips, enticing his feral needs for you, "don't think you could get away with what you did last night."

shu's mouth is wide open, but his cheeks are bright pink. this didn't scare him. fuck no.

it made him even more excited.

you drag the blade from under his shirt, teasing his delicate skin with the sharp metal. then you start snipping his top apart, leaving only his bare chest for you to revel in.

"let me have a go, alright?" you giggle, throwing the scissors aside.

shu grinned, laughing himself as he pressed his forehead against yours. "you can have at me as much as you want, baby."

Masterlist!

[franadamo]

CASE STUDIES AND INSPIRATIONS.

Sleeping Beauty

Disney’s notorious and classic movie, Sleeping Beauty, was released in theaters on January 29th, 1959. The movie centers around a young princess, Aurora, who was cursed at a young age to prick her finger on a sewing wheel and to fall into a deep sleep on the day of her sixteenth birthday. At the end of the story, the Prince comes to her aid, by getting rid of this curse with a kiss. While it has been re-released four times, it is also the second highest grossing movie of 1969. 

The writing for Sleeping Beauty began in 1951, after Cinderella was released and the success it followed. Some of the elements that are found in Sleeping Beauty were taken from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, although that doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Alongside Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty was the third fairy tale movie released by Disney, and the last to be released for some time, before returning to them with The Little Mermaid in 1989. 

During the production of the movie, there was a series of replacements of directors. While the movie was originally led by director Wilfred Jackson, he had a heart attack in 1953, leaving the work to the directing animator, Larson. Disney would eventually replace Larson with Clyde Geronimi.

With this movie, Disney wanted the “film’s design aesthetic to be completely unique to anything the studio had previously crafted.” The idea for this movie was to go with a “moving tapestry,” in a sense, as if it was a moving illustration. This was a result of art director John Hench’s seeing the 16th century unicorn tapestries artwork at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Disney also wanted the work to be as detailed as possible with, both, the character designs and the backgrounds, this work falling on background painter, Eyvind Earle, who worked in the studio for only three years. 

And this, specifically, is exactly why I wanted to include Sleeping Beauty as one of my case studies for my animation. While the overall aesthetic, color palettes and style behind Disney’s Sleeping Beauty resembles the one I envisioned for Mavis and her world, Eyvind Earle’s masterpieces are one of the things that stood out to me the most. While he had previously worked on projects such as Peter Pan (1953), For Whom the Bulls Toil (1953) and Lady and the Tramp (1955), he “truly left his mark” with Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. He was greatly notorious for his “lush landscapes” and strong verticals. After Disney saw his work, he decided that, instead of having the background artists follow on to the animators’ footsteps, he’d have the opposite, where Earle would lead with his paintings, and the animators would follow in with his style. As a matter of fact, “the animators found it difficult, even impossible, to translate Earle’s detail-laden style into viable character designs.” 

Sadly, the movie was a “financial flop.” Not necessarily because of its art direction, but because, as author Bob Thomas noted, “the emphasis was on visual beauty and spectacular effects.” Furthermore, the movie was “released in Super Technirama 70mm, which means there was a higher level of detail and stylisation,” being a huge step forward in the animation field at the time. It also featured a significant transformation in terms of animating, where the traditional “round imagery” turned to a flatter and more graphic sophistication. 

Similarly, in terms of style, I also wanted to include Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) and Pinocchio (1940).

References: 

Cain, A. (2017) This Artist Made Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” Enchanting - and Nearly Impossible to Animate. Available at: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artist-made-disneys-sleeping-beauty-enchanting-impossible-animate.

Jamieson, D. (2020) The House of Mouse Project - “Sleeping Beauty”. Available at https://thejamreport.com/2020/04/22/the-house-of-mouse-sleeping-beauty/

Deja, A. (2013) Deja View: The Art of Sleeping Beauty. Available at http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-art-of-sleeping-beauty.html.

Rowney, J. (2019) Sleeping Beauty Facts on 60th Anniversary - Movie that nearly Bankrupted Disney. Available at https://www.mirror.co.uk/film/sleeping-beauty-facts-60th-anniversary-13838175

Oliver, M. (2000) Eyvind Earle; Artist and Disney Painter. Available at https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-25-me-58783-story.html

Thumbelina

The movie Thumbelina was originally released on March 30th, 1994, by Warner Bros. It was directed and produced by director Don Bluth. While the movie was produced in the 1990s, the story itself originates from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, Thumbelina.

The story features a tiny girl born out of a tulip, after a woman struggled to have a child of her own. Thumbelina herself, like the name suggests, is the size of a thumb. Throughout the story, Thumbelina learns to love herself by undergoing several adventures. The production featured renowned voice actors, including Carol Channing, John Hurt, and even Jodi Benson, who’d notably voiced Disney’s Ariel in The Little Mermaid, in 1989. Some of the animators that worked on this movie were Paul J. Kelly, Jacques Muller and Mark Pudleiner. 

When producing the movie, Merlin and Media Assetshave offered to spend 6 million dollars in the production of Thumbelina, as well as A Troll in Central Park. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as successful as it was planned to be, gaining almost half of what was put into the production of the movie. While I personally remember liked the movie as a child because of its colorful aesthetics and in the way that the animals’ features were overly exaggerated, it was also very colorful, while having a, somewhat, darker theme, when it came to the presentation of a fairy-tale world. In a sense, it stayed true to the darker hints that Hans Christian Andersen left behind his stories. Also, while the colors are plenty and to be seen everywhere throughout the movie, they’re also quite muted, and not as bright as they’d usually be for an animation that is aimed at children or at a younger audience. 

Nonetheless, aside from the style and the use of colors, I also included this movie as one of my case studies because of the way that the creatures are shaped and presented. In a way, they serve as some sense of inspiration when I work with Mavis’ own universe, in terms of anthropomorphic and normal animals.

References:

The Big Cartoon Database. Thumbelina. Available at https://www.bcdb.com/bcdb/cartoon.cgi?film=23391

AllMovie. Thumbelina (1994). Available at https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v133496

Hersholt, J. Thumbelina. Available at https://andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/Thumbelina_e.html

Dawtrey, A. Merlin’s Magic May Animate DBE. Available at https://variety.com/1992/biz/news/merlin-s-magic-may-animate-dbe-100532/

Spirited Away

The movie was released in 2001, by the notorious Studio Ghibli. It was produced by the Studio Ghibli co-CEO Hayao Miyazaki. After releasing the greatly acclaimed Princess Mononoke, he immediately began working on this new project, after he found inspiration during an outing with some of his friends and their daughters. At that time, he noticed how girls were reading manga, and how the latter were often times focused on romance, and subjects of the sort. This made him think, ultimately asking himself: 

“Is there possibly more that we can offer the young girls of this country?”

And so, the idea for Spirited Away, originally called The Spiriting Away of Sen and Chihiro, was born. The story follows the adventures of a young ten-year old girl through a “strange world of spirits,” where she needs to “find the will to live and save her parents,” who, in the meantime, had been turned into pigs. The movie began with a budget of 15 million dollars, while Disney agreed to finance 10% of its production costs. After its release, Spirited Away had a massive success, way more than the Studio could have ever imagined. In fact, “by the spring of 2002, the film would go on to shatter the previous record helf by ‘Titanic’ at the Japanese box-office.” Furthermore, “Spirited Away's $235 million not only sunk Titanic, but also set the film as the first non-American film to make $200 million outside of the US,” surpassing Princess Mononoke’s $155 million’s box office, back in 1997. 

This movie is, to this day, the highest grossing movie in Japanese history. Additionally, frequent director of notorious Pixar movies, John Lasseter, was assigned with the task of Disney’s creative consultant in the US release of Spirited Away. This was also a key factor in the commercial success of the movie outside of Japan, as John Lasseter, aside from being a highly renowned animator, was also a huge fan of Miyazaki. 

* Miyazaki is also very known for his use of watercolors. Furthermore, he often times includes anti-war, pro-environmentalism and feminist themes into his works.

In terms of the animation itself, Miyazaki wanted to explore the use of computer technology. However, while he and his team wanted to work with this media in particular, he also didn’t want it to use too much. Instead, he wanted to “keep the technology at a level to enhance the story, [and] not steal the whole show.”

“Studio Ghibli has forever shifted Japanese popular culture through their unique and constant quality storytelling coupled with beautiful visuals.”

Similarly, in terms of style and color use that I like to associate with the world and animation that I have in mind for Mavis and her own universe, I thought of Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989).

References:

The Making of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away - Part 1. Available at http://jimhillmedia.com/alumni1/b/michael_howe/archive/2003/04/15/1391.aspx

Herskovitz, J. “Mononoke” Creator Miyazaki Toons up Pic. Available at https://variety.com/1999/film/news/mononoke-creator-miyazaki-toons-up-pic-1117759995/

Gurney, J. (2017) Watercolor Tips from Hayao Miyazaki. Available at http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2017/03/watercolor-tips-from-hayao-miyazaki.html

Ewens, H. (2016) Why ‘Spirited Away’ is the Best Animated Film of All Time. Available at https://www.vice.com/en/article/8geg4b/spirited-away-ghibli-miyazaki-15th-15-year-anniversary-best-animation-hannah-ewens

Mcdonald, T. (2020) Studio Ghibli and its Affect on Japanese Culture. Available at https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=b2e39738b7d140babc407db5a40415e8

BBC. (2016) Hayao Miyazaki: Japan's Godfather of Animation? Available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38074088

Honorable Mentions: Disney’s Robin Hood (1973), Tangled (2010).

[odettehavesword]

STRAMA PAPER - GROUP 4

 Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT)

Acknowledgement 

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to each and every one of us in Group 4, for the hard work and cooperation in completing this paper. 

To our Professor, Mr. Sofronio “Toti” Dulay, for giving us the opportunity to experience this kind of activity that can help us enhance our skills and ability, for sharing his knowledge about strategic management, and for guiding us all throughout the semester.

 To our families, for always motivating us and supporting us when we feel stressed and pressured. To our chosen company, PLDT Inc. and to all the author of the websites that we used, for giving us the information that we need in order for us to finish this paper. 

Most of all, to our Almighty God, for guiding us and giving us strength. This paper would not be possible without the help of the people who were gratuitously sharing their time for us and who were always there for us.

1 Executive Summary

This strategic management paper shrouded the first largest and only integrated telecommunication company, The Philippine Long Distance Telephone, Inc. (PLDT) within the Philippines. PLDT, Inc. has been awarded Ph's first global MEF 3.0 certification for carrier ethernet services. The company is the leader in providing a wide extend of media transmission services, counting settled line, cellular, and broadband services in the country.

This paper provides PLDT’s corporate vision and mission. The vision statement is brief and comprehensive, it identifies the company’s goals and defines where and what PLDT Inc. wants to be in the future. The mission statement is realistic and clear, PLDT Inc. has recognized its target client bunches, and also distinguished their needs and requests, audibly it focuses on tending to issues of client fulfillment. It also implicated the corporate officers of the company. Provide some examples of the product and services they offered. In external assessment, the sector includes different kinds of forces, key external factors, and the Porter’s Model Analysis. It also evaluates the internal and external matrices that show the strong internal status and how successful PLDT Inc. in its field. After calculating the total weighted score of the matrices, they were translated into a formulation of business strategies.

The biggest competitor of the company in the telecommunication sector is Globe Telecom. In the fixed-line telephone market, PLDT with its subsidiary is Globe’s main rival. PLDT was consistently increasing in revenues against Globe Telecoms. In general market development in terms of subscriber’s base within the year is still at 7.3% and the market value is still at 8.1% making the company drop into quick advertise development. Based on the increment of subscriptions and the overpowering volume of information usage tied down with the rising modern technologies.

2 Internal Assessment

2.1. Corporate Profile

PLDT

Headquarters:

Ramon Cojuangco Building, Makati Avenue corner Dela Rosa Street, Legazpi Village, Makati, Philippines.

PLDT is the Philippines' largest and only integrated telco company. Founded on November 28, 1928, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) is the leading telecommunications and internet service provider in the Philippines. Through its three principal business groups—fixed line, wireless and information and communication technology, PLDT offers the largest and most diverse range of telecommunications services across the Philippines’ most extensive fiber optic backbone and fixed line, cellular and satellite networks.

The company's core businesses are fixed-line telecommunications, mobile telephony services, broadband, and internet of things services under various brands. It also has investments in broadcasting, print media, utilities, and direct to home satellite services, among others. As of 2019, PLDT is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE:TEL) and its American Depositary Shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:PHI). PLDT has one of the largest market capitalizations among Philippine-listed companies.

The first president of PLDT was Theodore Vail Halsey while Major J.E. Hamilton Stevenot, who represented the American firm General Telephone and Electronics Corp. (GTE), was elected executive vice president and general manager.

When PLDT was incorporated and given the franchise to establish and operate telephone services in the country on November 28, 1928, a typhoon had just ravaged Eastern Visayas, Bicol Peninsula, and Samar. The ability to communicate amongst loved ones and across the country became crucial. Sadly, phone networks then were like disconnected intercom systems and you could only call people within your own small city. Filipinos were disconnected from neighboring towns, disconnected from friends in the other island and, needless to say, disconnected from the rest of the world. It was under this scenario that the law was signed giving birth to PLDT.

What the new law hoped to achieve was to interconnect these "intercom" systems into a seamless nationwide network that would facilitate communication and delivery of services to the people, as well as spur economic development in the countryside.

Under the American owners of PLDT, many small phone companies in the provinces were acquired by the Company to help speed up the rollout and connection of these different phone systems all over the country. The management of PLDT was then set to lay the groundwork towards linking Filipinos to each other and, more importantly, to the world.

2.2. Company Vision and Mission

VISION

“Lead and inspire Filipinos to create a better tomorrow.”

MISSION

“Empower Filipinos everywhere with customer-focused digital innovations that unlock and share their infinite potential.”

2.3. Corporate Officers

Table 1

The table above is showing the positions of every officers in PLDT Corporation. We also provided a list of the name and positional official officers of the company that we choose.

Manuel V. Pangilinan

President and Chief Executive Officer

Anabelle L. Chua

Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Management Officer

Alfredo S. Panlilio

Chief Revenue Officer

Victorico P. Vargas

Business Transformation Office Head

Ma. Lourdes C. Rausa-Chan

Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer

Marilyn A. Victorio-Aquino

Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel

Gina Marina P. Ordoñez

Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer

Alejandro O. Caeg

Senior Vice President

Mary Rose L. Dela Paz

Senior Vice President

Juan Victor I. Hernandez

Senior Vice President

Menardo G. Jimenez Jr.

Senior Vice President

Mario G. Tamayo

Senior Vice President

Florentino D. Mabasa, Jr.

Assistant Corporate Secretary

Leo I. Posadas

First Vice President and Treasurer

Katrina L. Abelarde

First Vice President

Marco Alejandro T. Borlongan

First Vice President

Mary Julie C. Carceller

First Vice President

Bernard H. Castro

First Vice President

Joan A. De Venecia-Fabul

First Vice President

Gil Samson D. Garcia

First Vice President

Joseph Ian G. Gendrano

First Vice President

Victor Emmanuel S. Genuino II1

First Vice President

Ma Criselda B. Guhit

First Vice President

Leah Camilla R. Besa-Jimenez

First Vice President

Princesita P. Katigbak

First Vice President

Albert Mitchell L. Locsin

First Vice President

Dale M. Ramos

First Vice President

Angel T. Redoble

First Vice President

Aileen D. Regio

First Vice President

Luis S. Reñon

First Vice President

Bernadette C. Salinas

First Vice President

Victor Y. Tria

First Vice President

Jude Michael H. Turcuato

First Vice President

Melissa V. Vergel De Dios

First Vice President

Catherine Y. Yang

First Vice President

John Henri C. Yanez

First Vice President

Maria Cecilia H. Abad

Vice President

Minerva M. Agas

Vice President

Benedict Patrick V. Alcoseba

Vice President

Cecille M. Alzona

Vice President

Elizabeth S. Andojar

Vice President

Roy Victor E. Añonuevo

Vice President

Tito Rodolfo B. Aquino, Jr.

Vice President

Mitchie M. Arcaina

Vice President

2.4. Product Line

The PDLT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company) provided an internet service in the country of the Philippines. PLDT has many bundles that they offer to people who wanted to have an internet connection. We gathered some image that shows the bundles and promos they offer. These we presented below is from their official Facebook page.

Figure 1. Pldt, Inc. Fiber Enterprises

2.5. Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix

Table 2

Note:

*Weight- 0-1 (important)

*Rating 1 (Major Weakness), Rating 2 (Minor Weakness), Rating 3(Minor Strength), Rating 4(major strength)

*Weighted score- Weight x Rate = Average score

The total weighted score of 2.68 in the table above indicates that PLDT has a strong internal status, with its strengths outnumbering its weaknesses.

Strengths

PLDT’s three main business groups, Fixed Line, Wireless, and Information and Communication Technology, provide the country’s most comprehensive and diverse range of telecommunications services. To offer the best services to their customers, the company uses the most comprehensive fiber optic backbone as well as fixed line, cellular, and satellite networks.

Weaknesses

On the other hand, one of PLDT’s flaws is its sluggish link speed. When PLDT introduced its Vibe and DSL products, which enabled customers to connect to the internet faster via broadband, there were numerous complaints about the service. The slow internet was the one of the top complaints as it failed to meet the customer’s needs. And those issues were not addressed or published in a timely manner. Customers may decide to switch providers if they believe that they find a better offer for the service they need.

3 External Assessment

a. Economic Forces

i) Economic/Business Cycle Stage

High political stability provides a stable and friendly business environment with predictable market growth trends. However, when there is political chaos, it deters the investors and harms the stakeholders’ trust in economic and consequent organizational performance. Currently, PLDT Inc. is present in different countries, each having own political tensions.

ii) Inflation/Employment/Interest/Exchange Rates

The GDP growth rate will determine the PLDT Inc.’s ability to pursue its long-term growth strategies. High GDP also signals the consumers’ ability to spend more on offered products. High unemployment signals the availability of surplus labor at comparatively lower wages. Operating in such a market can lower the production cost of PLDT Inc. The organization should also carefully consider the interest rate and its influence on borrowing ability and attitude towards investment. The high interest rate will encourage the attitude towards investment and increase growth opportunities for PLDT Inc. Finally, the exchange rate fluctuation can also influence the profitability and international trade. The high fluctuation on local currency can be a cause of serious concern for PLDT Inc.

iii) Labor Market Conditions

PLDT Inc. must study and predict the labor market conditions to understand how it can attract talented workers and leverage their skills to improve business performance. When labor markets are flexible, PLDT Inc. can take advantage of higher labor productivity. Whereas, operating in rigid labor markets may cause labor wage and other issues raised by powerful labor unions. PLDT Inc. should also carefully analyze the availability of skilled human capital as a shortage of skilled labor can affect business efficiency and make talent attraction and retention more challenging.

iv) Financial Markets Efficiency

The global expansion strategies of the PLDT Inc. are influenced by the financial market efficiency as operating in highly efficient financial markets leads towards improved liquidity position and strengthened ability to enter new markets. The health and efficiency of financial markets will determine PLDT Inc.’s ability to raise the capital at fair prices.

v) Economic Structure

The business practices of the PLDT Inc. are influenced by the prevailing economic structure. The economic and regulatory environment in a monopolistic or oligopolistic structure will be different from the monopolistic competition and perfect competition.

b. Social, Cultural, Demographic, and Natural Environment Forces

i) Demographic Trends

Studying the demographic characteristics can help PLDT Inc. in choosing the right market segment/segments with high growth potential. The business and marketing strategies are also influenced by migration. It is important for PLDT Inc. to understand the people’s general attitude towards migration as it can influence firms’ ability to bring international managers to host country.

ii) Equality and Power Distance

PLDT Inc. must adjust its business management practices while entering in markets with high or low power distance. The growing inequality in many countries is altering the power structure, which has serious implications for international business organizations like PLDT Inc.

iii) Gender Roles

PLDT Inc. need to study the traditionally assigned gender roles to align its marketing and communication practices accordingly. Marketing and human resource strategies in a traditional, patriarchal society with clearly distinguished gender roles will be different from societies with low gender stereotypes.

iv) Societal Norms and Class Distribution

PLDT Inc. should develop local teams and develop local partnerships for understanding the societal attitudes and norms to tailor marketing strategies according to unique cultural context. The observation of social class stratification is also important for PLDT Inc. Offering luxury products at premium prices to a market where the high-end market is considerably small in number will require PLDT Inc. to adopt the niche marketing strategies.

v) Online Shopping

PLDT Inc. needs to understand the online shopping behavior by considering the generational differences as younger consumers are more inclined to shop online than older customers. The growing use of mobile phones and social networking sites must be considered when developing marketing and communication strategies.

vi) Spending Patterns and Behavior

PLDT Inc. should invest time on understanding the consumption motivations and social trends that define the consumption behavior. PLDT Inc. should also attempt to understand the degree of consumer ethnocentrism and consider the country of origin effect to determine local consumers’ evaluation of foreign products. Lastly, PLDT Inc. should study the consumers’ leisure interests and should focus more on enhancing the customer experience if customers prefer experiential products over traditional product offerings.

c. Political, Governmental, and Legal Forces

i) Political Stability

PLDT Inc. is present in different countries, each having own political tensions. Growing tensions and instabilities in the global political environment can affect the Gold industry growth and limit the growth opportunities available to PLDT Inc.

ii) Changing Policies

It is important for PLDT Inc. to study the current trends in the country’s political scenario as changes in government may alter the government’s priorities towards the development of different industries.

iii) Protests/Pressure Groups and Governance System

PLDT Inc. should carefully analyze the protests by pressure groups, social/environment activists and worker unions as such protests play an important role in the policy making process. Close collaboration with such groups may enhance the PLDT Inc.’s ability to collaborate with community and achieve long-term corporate goals.

iv) Bureaucracy and Corruption

Operating in countries with high corruption level and weak law enforcement makes the business environment increasingly unpredictable for PLDT Inc. due to jeopardized public trust on business organizations and overall political and economic structure. The corruption can influence various business operations, ranging from licensing, contracting, fraudulent deals to frequent lawsuits. It will also threaten the organization’s sustainable development by destabilizing the society, harming justice system and endangering the rule of law.

v) Taxation, Trade Restrictions, and Intellectual Property Protection

High taxation affects international trade and prevents exports. PLDT Inc. can enter in low taxation markets and benefit from high profits that can be invested in research and development activities. PLDT Inc. should know the specific taxation policies to understand the host government’s priorities and interest in developing industries and how intellectual property rights are protected in the host country and make the business strategies accordingly.

a. Technological Forces

i) Social Media Marketing

Use of social media has become common in a modern business environment. PLDT Inc. can leverage the opportunities offered by social media marketing to improve business performance. Technological trends can be used to start the creative social media campaigns for developing online brand communities.

ii) Technological Innovations and Development Level

PLDT Inc. should carefully consider the on-going technological innovations to stay ahead of the competition. Entering in markets where technological advancement has not reached the maturity means PLDT Inc. can increase the market share by focusing on emerging technological innovations.

iii) Research and Development on Technology and Impact on Cost Structure/Value Chain

PLDT Inc. needs to consider the investments made by competitors on a micro and macro level to understand how new technologies influence the firm’s value chain and prevailing cost structure. Research and development activities are highly important in an environment characterized by creative disruption.

iv) Shortened Product Life Cycles

The adoption of new technologies has shortened the lifecycle of new product development. Today, new products are developed quickly, and supply chain partners have also gained more power. It pressurizes PLDT Inc. to develop new products quickly, increase product range diversity, integrate flexibility into the value chain and develop healthy business relationships with value chain partners.

3.1. Porter’s Model Analysis

Figure 2. Porter’s Model Analysis

• Rivalry Among Competing Firms = Strong

There are only few competitors that PLDT have in the Philippines such as Globe Telecom, Sky Cable Corporation, and Converge ICT Solutions. Globe Telecom is one of the leading telecommunications companies in the Philippines. It operates mobile, fixed line, and broadband networks and provides communications services to individual customers, small and medium-sized businesses, and corporate and enterprise clients. Next is Sky Cable Corporation which is known as the first internet service provider and the leading cable and broadband technology provider in the Philippines. It offers broadband, cable and satellite television services. And lastly, Converge ICT Solutions which is the leading player in all-optical broadband access industry in the Philippines. It operates fixed networks, fiber optics, cable TV, enterprise private lines, fixed broadband, and wireless broadband services for home, businesses and in the corporate world. These are the top competitors of PLDT for having almost the same services in the market. In that case, PLDT should step up their game since they offer almost the same services with these competitors. They should try differentiating their services or add something unique by providing new services. In that way, PLDT can get new customers and gain more loyal customers.

• Potential Entry of New Competitors = Moderate

There are also new entries of competitors of PLDT such as Dito Telecommunity Corporation. Dito Telecommunity Corporation is formerly known as Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc., or Mislatel. It is considered as the newest major telecommunications company in the Philippines. It offers connectivity with secure, fast, and high value 4G and 5G technologies that enable the customers to be connected, anytime, anywhere, any way they prefer. PLDT should focus on innovating their services from this new competitor. In that way, it can build a strong brand identity in the market.

• Bargaining Power of Suppliers = Strong

These suppliers can influence in raising the prices as well as reducing the goods and services of PLDT. It includes foreign investors, international and local contractors, and stakeholders. Foreign investors such as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) where they issued with American Depositary Share (ADS) which represented one PLDT common share. This means that ADSs are listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Pacific Exchange in the US where PLDT (as one of the largest market capitalizations) is in listed companies. International and local contractors such as Chinese telecom suppliers Huawei Technologies, FiberHome, Sunsea Telecom Ltd., and Tyco Electronics, Singapore-based Fujikura Asia Ltd., Sweden’s Ericsson Telecommunications, and Fibercom Telecom Philippines which helps in the first phase of its P1.8-billion fixed-line fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network rollout program. And lastly, stakeholders which have a say in nominating directors as well as independent directors. Having these suppliers can help PLDT develop a close relationship where all of them can benefit from each other.

• Bargaining Power of Consumers = Strong

These consumers help in determining the quality of the goods and services offered by PLDT. It includes businessmen who are in charge in generating revenue from business activities, changing network services who are in charge of satisfying the customers' expectations and concerns regarding quality of service, pricing, application process, service provisioning process, repair and restoration service and the billing process, government sectors wherein having a partnerships with them can help the society, and lastly, small entrepreneurs such as PLDT Load / Smart Load from over 1 Million retailers nationwide and sari-sari stores or any PLDT Sales and Service Centers. These consumers can reduce the prices and improve the quality of the goods and services offered by PLDT.

• Potential Development of Substitute Products = Strong

These substitute products offer the same benefits of PLDT but in a different way. It includes mobile data and portable or pocket WIFI. Mobile data is an ability to use your cellular data in online browsing. It can also replace your internet at home especially if you are a light data user by activating your hotspot. Light data users use internet at home just to check the email, shop occasionally, or browse the websites. This can also save you from paying too much for an internet. Another substitute is Portable or pocket WIFI. Portable or pocket WIFI is a small wireless modem that connects any Wi-Fi enabled device (smartphones, laptops, and tablets) to the internet using load. It is small and light which makes it very comfortable to carry. These substitute products are considered as a threat for PLDT.

3.2. External Factor Evaluation Matrix

Table 3

Note:

*Weight ranges from 0.0 (Low Interest) to 1.0 (High Interest)

*Rating ranges from 1 to 4, 1 (Poor Rating), 2 (Average), 3 (Above Average), 4 (Superior Rating)

The External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix shows the evaluation of external factors according to its weight, rating, and weighted score. The Key External Factors are based on the opportunities and threats of PLDT. Based on the gathered data, the total weighted score of weight is 1.0, while the weighted score is 3. This means that PLDT’s strategies are effective in taking advantage of the opportunities and preventing threats in the company.

3.3. Competitive Profile Matrix

Table 4

Note:

*Weight ranges from 0.0 (Low Interest) to 1.0 (High Interest)

*Rating ranges from 1 to 4, 1 (Poor Rating), 2 (Average), 3 (Above Average), 4 (Superior Rating)

The three companies had met the average standard of how performance of the industry should be in terms of what kind of service that this company is giving to their customers. As you can see from the table in terms of the scoring and with the comparison of various strengths and weakness that has been computed and being scored, we can tell that in terms of the final result, the PLDT has more advantage on attaining and being successful at their field because of how they cater the demands of their customers which is their strong point. It is mostly in terms of the PLDT’s breath of service offered and its availability and accessibility to the whole various people and to their customers which makes them attain and preserve the excellency they are known of in their line work as it is. The reason why the other major strengths of the other two companies of its competition had been seemed as not sufficient or effective is because of the availability and quality of the products that is being produced is mostly not covered by most demand of the customers all across the country.

3.4. Key External Factor

Political Forces

Since PLDT is a major telecommunications firms the exert a specified services to masses as its own advantages and disadvantages that could lead as its weakness in the long run. Such major companies such as PLDT must have or initiate a long term plan on how they will organize and solve such incoming or futuristic issues that will provided on them in terms on their connection in the political environment

According to Fern Fort University, this are some political factors that could affect the company and some investors or shareholders must be wary before they enter this type of huge company by determining PLDT’s:

·      Political stability and importance of Telecom Services – Foreign sector in the country’s economy.

·      Risk of military invasion

·      Level of corruption – especially levels of regulation in Technology sector.

·      Bureaucracy and interference in Telecom Services – Foreign industry by government.

·      Legal framework for contract enforcement

·      Intellectual property protection

·      Trade regulations & tariffs related to Technology

·      Favored trading partners

·      Anti-trust laws related to Telecom Services – Foreign

·      Pricing regulations – Are there any pricing regulatory mechanism for Technology

·      Taxation – tax rates and incentives

·      Wage legislation – minimum wage and overtime

·      Work week regulations in Telecom Services – Foreign

·      Mandatory employee benefits

·      Industrial safety regulations in the Technology sector.

·      Product labeling and other requirements in Telecom Services – Foreign

Economic Factors

PLDT is one of the huge companies in the Philippines where they hold a certain amount of power to keep the market going and to satisfy the needs of their customers through internet communications and digital services through their servers. And such economic factors of the Philippines could work in their favor in terms of growth rate of the industry, inflation & industry’s economic indicators as digital service provider will be determined on how they’re daily goals of assets and profits will be in the next several years. PESTEL analysis is also a great way to examine and to enlist such several major factors that could identify future advantages and disadvantage of a major company when dealing itself in the macro perspective of its environment. In terms of the economic factors, according to the Fern Fort University of Ferndale State of Michigan, such economic factors that could impact the economic environment of PLDT are:

·      Type of economic system in countries of operation – what type of economic system there is and how stable it is.

·      Government intervention in the free market and related Technology

·      Exchange rates & stability of host country currency.

·      Efficiency of financial markets – Does PLDT Inc. needs to raise capital in local market?

·      Infrastructure quality in Telecom Services – Foreign industry

·      Comparative advantages of host country and Technology sector in the particular country.  

·      Skill level of workforce in Telecom Services – Foreign industry.

·      Education level in the economy

·      Labor costs and productivity in the economy

·      Business cycle stage (e.g. prosperity, recession, recovery)

·      Economic growth rate

·      Discretionary income

·      Unemployment rate

·      Inflation rate

·      Interest rates

Social Factors

As major company that scope a wider variety of its audience and customers has its advantage and disadvantage that could compare to the various strength and weaknesses of the company which could depend from the social community’s way of life and its cultural outlook towards on doing things which could involve such particular company where in this case the PLDT is serving its customers as a digital and technological services which is a need to be catered to the needs of its customers as such daily activities are mostly involve in this company. PLDT should always need to understand the well-being and the needs of their clients as their generated profit and income surrounds from its users. Social customer leadership is a potent factor to lead and to know what factors that could impact the social status of the company in the eyes of its wider audience, According to the (Fern Fort University, n.d.), using such PESTEL analysis could determine the:

●      Demographics and skill level of the population

●      Class structure, hierarchy and power structure in the society.

●      Education level as well as education standard in the PLDT Inc. ’s industry

●      Culture (gender roles, social conventions etc.)

●      Entrepreneurial spirit and broader nature of the society. Some societies encourage entrepreneurship while some don’t.

●      Attitudes (health, environmental consciousness, etc.)

●      Leisure interests

Technological Factors

In this time of digital age we need to remember in all the things that surrounds us may not seem as they used to be. It is far more competitive and we grab the innovative approach towards success and improving our ways of life This could set as an example of the technological services and devices that is being distributed into this globalized economy. We should always remember that every industry has its impacts to any other types of other industry or services that comes along the way and if we disrupt this process we may face such difficulties in coping up or slowing down to give opportunities to the key players of any specific industry into this globalized age. In the last recent years technological services has been improving and it is fast approaching and sometimes there are such instances that it is hard to cope with and with the best possible social is to determine whether on how we keep on track on the playing field which will not only make a greater impact to the company or in the PLDT company in this case but also to the competitive companies on it who struggle to make a difference and to improve the ways how economy is distributed in the globalization. According to the (Fern Fort University, n.d.), such technological factors that could impact and shall be determined and to determine its outlook in the future is in terms of the:

●      Recent technological developments by PLDT Inc. competitors

●      Technology’s impact on product offering

●      Impact on cost structure in Telecom Services – Foreign industry

●      Impact on value chain structure in Technology sector

●      Rate of technological diffusion

Environmental Factors

Being technological service provider we must look into the various effects of the environmental situations that we deal every day because it should always remember that technology can have a various effects from which condition of the weather occurs in our day to day environment as it is the most vulnerable type of industry that is very much exposed and that could also depend on the environmental factors where it could impact the PLDT conditions of its services to the users as it is. And it is very crucial as every day we are losing money and generating profits on it from time to time. Using the PESTEL analysis, PLDT could determine its adverse impact to their operations in terms of:

●      Weather

●      Climate change

●      Laws regulating environment pollution

●      Air and water pollution regulations in Telecom Services – Foreign industry

●      Recycling

●      Waste management in Technology sector

●      Attitudes toward “green” or ecological products

●      Endangered species

●      Attitudes toward and support for renewable energy

Legal Factors

Having a well establish legal framework is very important for the major business in the macro environment to thrive as this will be the bases on how they’re going to protect their organizations and the well-being of their company without its legal documents being a possible impact whether it could be a positive or a negative effects to its company. I case of the PLDT, they should always remember to determine and to not only protect the authenticity and quality of their services and as a whole company but also to the one who will be affected to the way they handle things in terms of the legal reasons, which in the best interest of their investors, shareholders, employees and most of all their customers. According to the Fern Fort University, PLDT should identify the legal factors that could impact their social status in the economy in terms of the:

●      Anti-trust law in Telecom Services – Foreign industry and overall in the country.

●      Discrimination law

●      Copyright, patents / Intellectual property law

●      Consumer protection and e-commerce

●      Employment law

●      Health and safety law

●      Data Protection

4      Strategy Formulation

In order to provide the continuously of success and the progress development of the PLDT, they believe in creating the wider broad of services and distributing the positive effects in the industry of the company not only covers the communities but with the whole globalization that is in place in the country as it can also make a positively approach or an any outlook that set as a responsibility towards influencing to other countries as well.  According to the press released of Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, “The PLDT Group is in a unique position in the industry – we have the scale and ability to continue investing significantly in infrastructure and services which can impact positively on our country’s development. We have been always mindful however that this strength begets much responsibility. We have therefore seen to it that our subscribers derive commensurate benefits in terms of value and innovation”. In order to formulate a strategy within the company, expectations is a valid statement that must’ be acknowledge within the company. It doesn’t mean that it can or cannot have an adverse effects in the company but just think the possible potential of the company in the long run where there will be on some point that they can improve their services not only to the people but also in the business as well. And its expectation is the representative of how valid and consistent their work as it is.

It was therefore concluded by Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan that “Over the medium term, our goals are to continue achieving growth in our core businesses while establishing new revenue streams from recent investments, principally Spi. Our strong cash flows provide us with this “triple play” ability – new investments, sustained capital expenditures and increasing dividend yields. In this way, we address shareholder needs both for the present and for the longer term,” And it is a valid point to which the reputation is continuously uphold by their excellent services which actually reveals better result from the expectation of the masses and had actually generated revenue and more profit coming from the customers, investments and its shareholders.

“Our core earnings for the first quarter this year have been more encouraging than anticipated. We envisage revenues to continue growing whilst we manage down our cash costs, including interest expense. Cash flows will be healthy; debts will continue to reduce across the board – including prepayment of most of Piltel’s debts. In that light, our dividend payment policy is currently being considered with the view of raising our payout ratio to shareholders to 60%. This reflects our improved assessment of prospects for 2006 as a whole,” - Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan

4.1. Boston Consulting Group Matrix

The major products of PLDT are Fixed Line telephony or communication, Mobile, broadband or wireless connection. The Market share that will show below is compared with the largest competitor of the company which is GLOBE.

Table 5

Figure 3. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix

The resulting figure indicates that the broadband and mobile are in the star quadrant with high market share and high market growth. It can be forecasted that with the maintenance of quality of product and service, it will remain and can keep its good position. Fixed line is in the cash cow quadrant which means it has high market share and lower market growth and could move into the dog’s territory if a decline of services will occur.

4.2. Strategic Position and Action Evaluation Matrix

Table 6

RATING SYSTEM

(CA) And **(SP) => **Rating Scale from -6 (worst) to -1 (best)

**(IS) **and **(FS) => **Rating Scale from 1 (worst) to 6 (best)

CONCLUSION

X – Axis (CA AVERAGE + IS AVERAGE)                                                                3.8

Y – Axis (FS AVERAGE + SP AVERAGE)                                                                0.5

Figure 4. Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) Matrix

The results of the 4 strategic positions which are the Competitive, Industry, Stability and Financial Position was marked in the upper right side of the graph or in the Aggressive Quadrant which simply means that the strategies that should be given priority in the implementation process are as follows: Horizontal, Backward, and Forward Integration, Market Development, Product Development, Market Penetration, Technological Development and other Diversification.

4.3. Grand Strategy Matrix

Table 7

The overall market growth in terms of subscriber’s base in the year 2017 of PLDT remains the same until this present year. Market Growth is still at 7.3% and the market value is still at 8.1% making the company fall into a rapid market growth. As reported, the rapid market growth is based on the increase of subscriptions and the overwhelming volume of data usage anchored with the emerging new technologies.

Globe is the major competitor of PLDT, making the company be in a competitive position. It prioritizes the development of its network and customer service in order to dominate the postpaid segment.

The vector results emphasizes that PLDT is in the Strong Competitive Position and Rapid Market Growth which means they should craft strategies targeting the Horizontal, Backward, Forward Integration, Market Development, Product Development, Technological Development and Market Penetration.

4.4. Internal – External Matrix

Table 8

4.5. Strength – Weaknesses- Opportunities – Threats Analysis

SWOT analysis is an imperative strategic planning apparatus that can be used by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Inc. supervisors to do a situational examination of the whole company. It is a critical method to analyze the present Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O), & Threats (T) PLDT Inc. is confronting in its current commerce environment.  

Table 9

The table above shows SWOT analysis/matrix of PLDT Inc. and it empowers the managers of the company to creates four types of strategies, the Strengths-Opportunities (SO), Weakness-Opportunities (WO), Strengths-Threats (ST), & Weakness-Threats (WT) strategies. PLDT Inc. is one of the driving firms in its industry. PLDT Inc. keeps up its prevailing position in the market by carefully analyzing and investigating the SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis immensely intuitively prepares and requires successful coordination among different divisions within the company such as – marketing, finance, management data systems, operations, and strategic planning.

Strengths of PLDT Inc.  – Internal Strategic Factors

Diversified business operations.

Across the telecommunication domain PLDT Inc. has a well-built free cash flow that makes the company fast moving into expansion of new projects.

Advanced integrated network.

PLDT has a large social media presence, with millions of followers across the three most popular platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. On these channels, it has a high degree of customer engagement and a quick response time.

One of the top positions in the Philippines.

PLDT Inc. is the leading telecommunications and digital services provider in the Philippines.

One of the top providers of wireless phones.

PLDT Inc is a well-known company that has been in the industry for many years. As a result, the name is well-known.

Has creative marketing strategies.

PLDT Inc reached more than millions of followers in Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram which these three social media is one of the famous platforms and this makes them for having a strong presence on social media.

Has a wide range of products.

PLDT Inc has a large number of locations in almost every state, backed by a robust distribution network that ensures that its goods are easily accessible to a large number of customers in a timely manner.

Industry Specialists.

PLDT Inc has invested heavily in workforce preparation, resulting in a large number of highly trained and motivated workers. PLDT Inc has a diverse workforce, with people from various regional, ethnic, cultural, and educational backgrounds contributing to the company's success by bringing in new ideas and methodologies.

National coverage.

In the year 1928 PLDT Inc was founded and up to this year was still working and they have created up to 151 branches nationwide.

Foreign investment.

PLDT Inc forms strategic relationships with its manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and other stakeholders. This enables it to use them in the future if necessary.

Strong sales team.

PLDT Inc. Aspire to be the service provider and be the strongest and advance connection for the family are at home.

Weaknesses of PLDT Inc.  – Internal Strategic Factors

Slow internet connection.

         The performance evaluation is not done in a systematic way. People are often unappreciated for their work. Employee morale suffers as a result, and promotion prospects are limited.

Half of the company’s total dept are coverage by US dollars.

The company's current assets are poor in comparison to its current liabilities, which could trigger liquidity issues in its operations. At PLDT Inc, there is a lack of proper cash flow planning, resulting in situations where there isn't enough cash flow as needed, resulting in needless unplanned borrowing.

Venture for new technologies.

Even though PLDT Inc spends more on research and development than the industry average, it spends much less than a few players who have gained a major competitive edge as a result of their creative products.

Intermittent assistants.

In comparison to rivals, PLDT Inc has a higher rate of employee turnover. As a result of the increased turnover, the company is investing more on training and growth.

Low signal strength.

         Due to the area of their costumers, there is an interruption on the signal that the company did not consider when they are offering their services and product.

Intense competition.

In comparison to its rivals, it is not very good at predicting product demand, resulting in a higher rate of missed opportunities. One of the reasons why PLDT Inc.'s days inventory is so high in comparison to its rivals is that the company isn't very good at predicting demand, so it ends up having more inventory in-house and in the channel.

Corroded cable lines.

Multiple families are availing the item and did not consider the number of valuable costumers within the area.

Company’s liability and obligations.

In recent years, competition has increased, and skilled workers have left the organization, potentially resulting in a talent shortage in the coming years.

Increase number of competitors in the market.

Growing strengths of local distributors also presents a threat in some markets as the competition is paying higher margins to the local distributors.

Public perception.

The product's marketing left a lot to be desired. Even though the product is a sales success, its positioning and unique selling proposition are not clearly established, which could lead to competitor attacks in this market.

Opportunities of PLDT Inc.  – External Strategic Factors

Online Market.

Opening up of new markets because of government agreement – the adoption of new technology standard and government free trade agreement has provided PLDT Inc. an opportunity to enter a new emerging market. Expansion of network that serves large number of customers.

Expansion of network that serves large number of customers.

New consumer behavior patterns may open up new market opportunities for PLDT Inc. It gives the company a great chance to diversify into new product segments while also generating new revenue streams.

Decreasing the prices of computers and laptops.

Reduced freight costs as a result of lower shipping costs will lower the cost of PLDT Inc.'s goods, giving the company the option of either increasing profitability or passing on the savings to consumers to gain market share.

Taking risk for new technologies.

Opening up new markets as a result of a government agreement – PLDT Inc. has been given the ability to reach a new emerging market as a result of the introduction of a new technology standard and a government free trade agreement.

Collaboration with other establishments.

As the market develops, competitor advantages will dwindle, allowing PLDT Inc. to improve its competitiveness in comparison to its rivals. In similar other product fields, an organization's core competencies may be a success. For example, GE healthcare research aided in the development of better oil drilling machines.

Threats of PLDT Inc.  – External Strategic Factors

Extreme competition that causes margin pressure.

New technologies developed by the competitor or market disruptor could be a serious threat to the industry in medium to long term future.

Fixed line market drop.

An increasing trend toward isolationism in the American economy can prompt a similar response from other governments, reducing foreign sales.

Changes in currency that impacted foreign revenues.

Since the company operates in a variety of countries, it is subject to currency fluctuations, which are exacerbated by the uncertain political situation in a number of markets around the world.

New competitors.

Intense competition with other companies for having the same telecommunication business. 


Unpredictable cost.

Local distributors' the strength poses a challenge in some markets, as the rivalry pays local distributors higher margins.

S-O Strategies

Maintain the strong presence of PLDT Inc on social media and continue to increase the number of followers in Famous social media to keep the customer engagement. (S2, S5, O1)

The company with its dedicated followers in social media is those customers who had a satisfaction on the services that the PLDT provided with them. It indicates high good brand quality that made the customers to share and recommend PLDT to other people.

A strong financial perspective with successive profits along with concentrated profit reserves that can be used to support future capital expenditures and expansion. (S1, S9, S7, O2, O5,)

The increased number of internet users all over the world is an opportunity for PLDT to maintain the financial cash flow for the company to expand more of their presence not just only in the Philippines but in other country in the world. It also resulted a growth in sale meaning, there are a lot of people purchasing the services that can be led to an online stores connection to make the sales expand.

Keep the quality of product and services over the years and are still valued by households, who find it as excellent value and worth it for the finances they pay. (S3, S4, O2, O4)  

There has been an increase of household in purchasing the product and services of PLDT as their internet provider. The income along with an increase in consumer spending following the financial condition that leads to the growth of target market and having new customers that can be attracted to purchase the item.

A dedicated customer relationship with the PLDT Inc. has able to attain an elevated level of customer contentment among valued and new customers and good brand equity among the potential clients. (S6, S10, O1, O2)

Valued customer who also recommend and market the services and product help the company to maintain the number of customer satisfaction population they had. The Company provide good services and achieve the needs of the households that made the PLDT company to be the number 1 internet provider in the Philippines.

W-O Strategies

Innovation of strategies and plan to meet the challenge that the new entrants given to the company to not gain any lost. (W1, W2, O2, O5)

The company needs to plan and design an idea that make the company overcome the challenges that encountered on the new entrants. Even though the product and services are a success in terms of sales, but it is needed to innovate strategies that strengthen and cannot be attack by the competitors.

Strengthen the online sale services, websites, and social media presence for better engagement through brand ambassadors, campaigns, advertisement, testimonies, branding, and better customer service experience. (W8, O1)

Nowadays, People are using online platforms in all their transactions. Most of them are addictive in online shopping, bills payments, and delivery mode since it is the most convenient to them. Strengthen the online sale services and website is one of the keys to maintain the record of high sales. As much as possible make the online services and website easier to understand and manipulate. Provide good customer entertainment and ethics for the customer maintain its impression and good feedbacks. Social media is the most powerful online platform since everybody has its social media life. Using famous celebrities or popular local celebrities added the connection and trust of people on purchasing the product and services because of the appeal given by those people. Make a new tagline and had a unique TV and media advertisement so that it will be added to the strength of gaining new customers.

Develop financial planning and come up on a plan that make the financial stable to sustain the good services and employment of the employees. (W2, W3, O2, O3, O4)

Even though the company offers discounts and voucher it must maintain the financial stability of the company. Using discount and vouchers can help to encourage new clients on availing the products and services. It added the clients so that the financial will continue to be stable. The competition is always there with the new entrants, but it needs to have a concrete plan to beat the challenge on the market by upgrading the product and services and honest feedback coming from the customers. Broaden partnership and encourage investors to invest to the company it also helps to maintain financial stability.

S-T Strategies

Focus on the development of data and  upgrade websites by putting some features for easy transactions for the customer will not find it difficult to manipulate when purchasing an item or internet plans online. (S6, S8, T5)

With the advance technology offered in this present time, the company must go with the trends online. The website must up to date and well-monitored for online transactions. As much as possible, developed the website by putting features that make the manipulation of online purchases and fill ups will be easy to the customers.

Strengthen social media connections by putting some entertaining advertisement and improve engagement through customer service supports brand ambassadors, campaigns, and testimonies. (S5, S10, T1, T2)

Make a campaign that fits to the bracket age of the valued customers. Putting unique advertisement that catches the attention of future customer is an advantage to maintain the market finance of the company. Brand ambassador must be well-known by the society since it is effective as those personalities uses appeal to authority to encourage viewers to avail the product and services. In social medias, we can put short testimonies as one of the strategies to prove the effectiveness of the product and services. For customer service, a well-trained employee and providing the customer to give feedback to the services for better improvement and to answer all the queries without any delay.

Offering Promos and discounts to the customer, provide low-cost product and services and raffle draws. (S7, S8, T1)

Chances of winning, discounts and affordable but in excellent quality of product and services are one of the keys to maintain the balance within the competitors. Giving discount vouchers online, Bundle promos, and low-cost options of plan can encourage the customer to avail the items and services. Filipinos are into luck, so offering them a raffle draw wherein the price is catchy for the viewers will also add the cash flow of the company. It will make the customers to be excited and will purchase the offered product and services to them since it will be affordable to them.

Expand the connection, partnership and make the branches more productive and visible by giving training to the employees to maintain the good services, record breaking ranking and impression of the valued customers and investors. (S9, T3, T4)

The company need a skilled worker to provide quality services to the customers. To maintain the Top leading telecommunications and digital services provider in the Philippines, giving workshops and training to the employee should be given so that it will avoid poor services and lessen the complaints on now providing the right solution on the customer support. Expanding connection and partnership is advisable since it bring small and big connection and elaborate new strategy to beaten up the growing competitor.

W-T Strategies

Continue to create partnerships and invite investors to sustain the needs and maintain financial stability to maintain the profit and afford salary maintenance for the employees. (W2, T3)

Partnerships and investors help the company to survive. To maintain stability, the company needs stable impression and strong partnership to their partners and investors. It is an opportunity to open good relationship and employees will stay on the company.

Maintain offering low-cost product and services and giving promo discounts and voucher to encourage more customers and maintain valued customers. (W10, T2).

One of the strategies of new entrants is giving their clients extravagant promos and discounts. It is effective though there will be a possibility of monetary loss. Balance the opportunity of giving promos and discount and have a fix policy and guidelines on how to purchase such opportunities so that it will be balance to the company sake and customer's sake.

Proper planning and strategies to meet the demand and conquer challenges that the new entrants offer (W1, W3, T2, T3).

Meeting the leaders of the company and plan innovation and strategies to cope up with the high technology and competitors to sustain the strength of the company demands and needs. The company need to improve plans and strategy and come up on a concrete solution to deal with the new entrants deals and offer to the market most especially to the consumers. A wide connection and broad development needed to not lessen and maintain the valued customer of the company. Strengthen the goal and products and services to maintain the high quality of services of the company.

4.6. Quantitative Strategies Planning Matrix

Table 10

SUM WEIGHTS                           100%                                         100%

SUM WEIGHTS                          100%                                          100%

The PLDT Company is the Philippines' largest telecommunications provider, offering fixed line, cellular, and internet services. The telecommunications industry has undergone a transformation in recent years, and PLDT's position in the industry has been challenged by new entrants. These strategies were developed, implemented, and evaluated in order to come up with a better decision that would allow them to continue achieving their goals. The PLDT company has rates to compile some of the methods that were developed and evaluated based on an analysis of external and internal variables as well as a SWOT Analysis.

Based on the SWOT analysis, PLDT holds the top spot in the telecoms industry. They began by providing fixed lines to the Philippines market and have since expanded their market to include wireless technology. They became the number one cell phone provider after acquiring SMART as a wireless partner. When technology progressed, the DSL became widely established. Then came PLDT, which served as the company's technology arm. PLDT provided solutions to internet issues and even rose to the top of the rankings.

Based on the Internal and external factors, Customer experience- When PLDT introduced a product that enabled customers to connect to the internet faster using Broadband and WIFI, there were many complaints about the quality of the service. Many of the grievances stemmed from the sluggish link, which failed to meet the customer's expectations, as well as the fact that complaints were not addressed in a timely manner. Customers may decide to switch providers because they believe they are much better at providing the service required in this situation.

In our overall analysis, to avoid financial loss and losing to the fierce competition offered by new entrants, PLDT must improve their marketing strategy. One of the keys is to increase the online presence on various social networking platforms and to take advantage of opportunities provided by emerging local brands and newcomers. As much as possible, the company should generate a long-term strategy to maintain the market sales and to avoid losing finances and employees.

5    Strategy Recommendation

It is suggested that the organization ought to harp on making concentrated procedures. This includes product development, market development, and related diversification. These techniques require concentrated endeavors for PLDT’s cutthroat situation with existing items to improve.

Related Diversification

Giving all the users different options and more enhancement makes a strategy improvement, because people or the users can see that there are new activities and improved varieties that can help them have an internet connection more flexible and compact.

Product Development

 Improve operation and service

Liable for item improvement guide and dispatch dates. Plan financial plans and earn back the original investment examination for new activities. Also, Distinguish and suggest new item ideas. PLDT is one of the well-known internet service providers in the country Philippines, enhancing their operation and service can help them to broaden their internet service and executing this could improve to accomplish the procedure. It tends to include a plan that can make and put together plans.

Market Development

Keep up exceptional contender information with center around its innovative abilities. Furthermore, screen contenders, make and update cross-references, perform continuous exploration of contender item highlights, blend and item advancement procedure. Should have careful information and comprehension of contender items to the segment level and innovation arrangement sources.

6     Action Plan

Related Diversification

Setting up standards and providing different kinds and flexible options to the user of PLDT internet connection can make a customer’s loyalty and giving them the standards that they will need in future circumstances and can last their stay in the internet provider since they experience value.

Product Development

This can build deals by improving and developing present assistance, upgrading and preparing legitimate client relationships. Indeed, even items and administrations are practically the comparative contrasts with different contenders. This is one of the components one bank can keep up the dedication of its clients and make a decent client connection.

Market Development

This activity includes expanding in working hours and days and advancement. This can keep up and serve more clients in whenever of the day and would be effective in the event that it will be following on additional time the executives during the initial time.

7     Conclusion

Based on the statistical results of the diverse matrices, the following conclusions have been made:

In Internal Factor Evaluation matrix (IFE matrix), the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) garnered a total weighted score of 2.68% which means they are having above average responsiveness rating in telecommunication service provider industry. It also prompts that the firm has a solid position in terms of its internal issues, maintain its strengths, be mindful in balancing and improve its weaknesses.

With an overall score of 3% in External Factor Evaluation Matrix (EFE matrix), PLDT has a strong position in their field as telecommunication service provider industry. The company is responding above average by exploiting opportunities in overpowering threats in its external domain.

In accordance with the Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM), the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company has the first position in the comparative analysis with the total weighted score 3.08% and followed by the Globe Telecom with the total weighted score 2.87% and Smart Communication with 3.01%. Among its competitors, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company is on the lead in providing good service and the most advantaged in their field.

In the Boston Consulting Group Matrix (BCG matrix), the ensuing figure demonstrate that the broadband/wireless and mobile are in star quadrant which indicates that sector has high market share and high market growth. While the fixed line is in the cash cow quadrant with a high market share and lower market growth.

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone’s Strategic Position and Action Evaluation Matrix (SPACE matrix) shows Competitive Advantage (CA) with an average of -1.75, Financial Strength (FS) with an average of 3.5, Industry Strength (IS) with an average of 5.55 and Stability Position (SP) with an average of 3.0 which leads to a conclusion of 3.8 in the X-Axis and 0.5 in the Y-Axis. In overall, it was concluded that PLDT positioned in Quadrant 1 which Competitive, Financial, Industry, Stability Position pointed in Aggressive Strategy. This alludes that the Philippine Long Distance Telephone has a strong competitive position in the market growth. Therefore, the company must develop a market penetration and development strategy.

8     Financial Projection

9     References

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David, F., & David, F. (2016). Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach, Concepts and Cases, 16th Edition Chapter 7: External Audit, p. 218 – 219, 229, 235.

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Concepts and Cases, 16th Edition Chapter 10: Strategy Execution, p.

David, F., & David, F. (2016). Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage   Approach, Concepts and Cases, 16th Edition Chapter 8: Strategy Generation and Selection, p. 251, 254, 258.

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from http://fernfortuniversity.com/term-papers/pestel/nyse4/3820-pldt-inc-.php

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[chocolvte]

STRAY KIDS IMAGINE.

. . bang chan as your best friend

author’s note — you all deserve a best friend like bang chan <3

listen to maniac by conan gray

i think we all know channie would be the bestest friend

he’s just so sweet and loving and really cares about people

you mean so much to him :(

he hasn’t known you for long but it feels like he has

he met you in a convenience store, buying ramen noodles

you bumped into him and cursed SO loud and then got all blushy and shy when you realized what you said and you just looked so embarrassed and cute it made him laugh

you’ve been inseparable ever since

you’re a little bit of a mess compared to chan

he’s usually pretty put together and works so hard and somehow always seems like he knows what he’s doing

what i’m saying is he’s the responsible one

you cry a lot and tend to fall for people you shouldn’t and always manage to get yourself in trouble

but you’re the sweetest person with the cutest smile and you look really good in oversized sweaters

so channie doesn’t mind taking care of you and listening to your drama

no matter how busy things are in either of your lives you always make time for thursday movie nights

you order take out (usually chinese) and cuddle in bed and watch kdramas or action movies or if you’re feeling sad something cute like kiki’s delivery service

sometimes chan gets a little stressed out and he’s the one in need of love

those times make you feel a little panicky because he’s so good at taking care of you and making you feel special and you want to be able to do the same for him

so you come over with food and the fluffiest blanket you can find and make him take a break for a little bit

you’re an excellent listener and chan is beyond grateful for it

you tell each other all of your secrets because neither of you would ever tell anyone else

and channie likes having you around whenever possible so you’re always hanging out at the studio or at practice chilling in the corner with your laptop

everyone else has gotten used to it and mostly don’t mind because you usually bring coffee for everyone

also hyunjin might have a little bit of a crush

but chan said no

at the end of the day, you’re his baby (even though your relationship is purely platonic) and he cares about you a lot and just wants you to be happy

omg also hoodies!! would def share his hoodies with you

you also sit on his lap a lot

and you just love each other a bunch and it’s really cute :(

[cyberpoetryking]

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CINE HD ○ VER_ Raya y el último dragón pelicula gratis [Repelis] Espanol ~LINK Vídeo: __⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇__ ▶ Ver Ahora 👉👉 https://t.co/6X53ZK8ddJ?raya 🎬 Descargar In HD 👉👉 https://tinyurl.com/358ajb67 ⤋ Reloj In HD 👉👉 https://is.gd/4XvmDn Raya, una niña de gran espíritu aventurero, se embarca en la búsqueda del último dragón del mundo con el objetivo de devolver el equilibrio a Kumandra, un lejano y recóndito territorio habitado por una civilización milenaria.

Lanzamiento: 2021-03-03 Duración: 90 minutos Género: Animación, Acción, Aventura, Fantasía, Familia Estrellas: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong Director: James Newton Howard, Peter Del Vecho, Paul A. Felix, Jamie Sparer Roberts, Don Hall

SINOPSIS La pintoresca familia prehistórica de Los Croods vuelve a hacer de las suyas. Este divertido clan formado por la joven e inquieta Eep, su gruñón padre Grug, su comprensiva aunque despistada madre Ugga, además del friki Thunk y la bebé Sandi, regresan a la gran pantalla en una nueva aventura troglodítica, recordándonos la importancia de la familia… Y lo poco que hemos evolucionado. Esta vez, Los Croods se enfrentarán a su mayor amenaza desde que abandonaron la cueva: otra familia. TAG: Raya y el último dragón Online en espanol (Castellano), Raya y el último dragón Pelicula completa hd Online, Raya y el último dragón Descargar torrent 720p, 1080p, DvdRip, Hight Quality, ● Ver Pelicula Raya y el último dragón Online ● como Ver Raya y el último dragón ● Ver Raya y el último dragón Online ● Descargar Raya y el último dragón preludio ● Descargar Raya y el último dragón Pelicula Completa en espanol Latino ● Descargar Raya y el último dragón mega Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa en español latino ver online Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa en español latino Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa online Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa en español latino cuevana Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa en español latino pelisplus ver pelicula Raya y el último dragón online latino ver Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa en español latino Raya y el último dragón pelicula online latino Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa repelis Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa en español ver pelicula completa de Raya y el último dragón en español latino Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa español latino ver Raya y el último dragón película completa Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa en español latino repelis Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa cuevana ver película completa de Raya y el último dragón Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa online gratis ver Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa en chille — repelis ver Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa en español latino hd Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa pelisplus ver pelicula Raya y el último dragón online gratis Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa gratis Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa español Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa descargar ver Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa en español latino online Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa subtitulada ver Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa ver Raya y el último dragón pelicula completa en español

Film, also called movie, motion picture or moving picture, is a visual art-form used to simulate experiences that communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images. These images are generally accompanied by sound, and more rarely, other sensory stimulations.[1] The word “cinema”, short for cinematography, is often used to refer to filmmaking and the film industry, and to the art form that is the result of it.

❏ STREAMING MEDIA ❏

Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a provider. The verb to stream refers to the process of delivering or obtaining media in this manner.[clarification needed] Streaming refers to the delivery method of the medium, rather than the medium itself. Distinguishing delivery method from the media distributed applies specifically to telecommunications networks, as most of the delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g. radio, television, streaming apps) or inherently non-streaming (e.g. books, video cassettes, audio CDs). There are challenges with streaming content on the Internet. For example, users whose Internet connection lacks sufficient bandwidth may experience stops, lags, or slow buffering of the content. And users lacking compatible hardware or software systems may be unable to stream certain content.

Live streaming is the delivery of Internet content in real-time much as live television broadcasts content over the airwaves via a television signal. Live internet streaming requires a form of source media (e.g. a video camera, an audio interface, screen capture software), an encoder to digitize the content, a media publisher, and a content delivery network to distribute and deliver the content. Live streaming does not need to be recorded at the origination point, although it frequently is.

Streaming is an alternative to file downloading, a process in which the end-user obtains the entire file for the content before watching or listening to it. Through streaming, an end-user can use their media player to start playing digital video or digital audio content before the entire file has been transmitted. The term “streaming media” can apply to media other than video and audio, such as live closed captioning, ticker tape, and real-time text, which are all considered “streaming text”.

❏ COPYRIGHT CONTENT ❏

Copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to make copies of a creative work, usually for a limited time.[1][2][3][4][5] The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself.[6][7][8] A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States.

Some jurisdictions require “fixing” copyrighted works in a tangible form. It is often shared among multiple authors, each of whom holds a set of rights to use or license the work, and who are commonly referred to as rights holders.[citation needed][9][10][11][12] These rights frequently include reproduction, control over derivative works, distribution, public performance, and moral rights such as attribution.[13]

Copyrights can be granted by public law and are in that case considered “territorial rights”. This means that copyrights granted by the law of a certain state, do not extend beyond the territory of that specific jurisdiction. Copyrights of this type vary by country; many countries, and sometimes a large group of countries, have made agreements with other countries on procedures applicable when works “cross” national borders or national rights are inconsistent.[14]

Typically, the public law duration of a copyright expires 50 to 100 years after the creator dies, depending on the jurisdiction. Some countries require certain copyright formalities[5] to establishing copyright, others recognize copyright in any completed work, without a formal registration.

It is widely believed that copyrights are a must to foster cultural diversity and creativity. However, Parc argues that contrary to prevailing beliefs, imitation and copying do not restrict cultural creativity or diversity but in fact support them further. This argument has been supported by many examples such as Millet an-Watch!- Jumanji: Level One — full (2021) — Movie HD

Denmarkd Van Gogh, Picasso, Manet, and Monet, etc.[15]

❏ GOODS OF SERVICES ❏

Credit (from Latin credit, “(he/she/it) believes”) is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), but promises either to repay or return those resources (or other materials of equal value) at a later date.[1] In other words, credit is a method of making reciprocity formal, legally enforceable, and extensible to a large group of unrelated people.

The resources provided may be financial (e.g. granting a loan), or they may consist of goods or services (e.g. consumer credit). Credit encompasses any form of deferred payment.[2] Credit is extended by a creditor, also known as a lender, to a debtor, also known as a borrower.

[mavisnm3205]

Consumption - On Super Apps (Mavis Ang)

In “When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China”, Connie Chan spoke about the dominance of WeChat in China. Aside from a messaging application, WeChat has introduced new ideas such as mobile commerce and mini apps. Even though its main feature is the messaging function, it has now branched out to offer more services such as food delivery, purchase of mobile tickets, in-app games, and payment of utilities bill. Something notable that the author brought up was how WeChat focused on building a “mobile lifestyle”, instead of a mere social networking application. As mentioned, WeChat also allow for mini apps. WeChat allows developers to develop apps within the WeChat app (app-within-an-app model) to tap on the in-app access already approved by the user. Some of these include user IDs, location and payment information. For the user, this also brings convenience as they do not have to install a bunch of separate applications. With the payment information on the WeChat app, they can also make transactions easily across the different mini apps. The author also highlighted the trend of startups testing their initial product on the WeChat platform before building a separate application. Furthermore, developers are not constrained by WeChat in terms of the aesthetics. This allow developers to build distinctive mini apps. That said, WeChat possess control in enforcing rules to protect users such as controlling the frequency of the messages or notifications and overall app permissions. The author also suggested that payments on these platforms are key in unlocking more monetisation for platform owners. Another significant point the author raised was the integration of WeChat with the physical world. WeChat contain features which interact with real world to enhance convenience and utilisation of the app. For instance, users can make payment at physical stores by showing their unique QR code which will be scanned by the barcode reader at the shop. WeChat also has tools that provide more targeted consumer insights to developers.

I found this article rather informative and useful for understanding the WeChat application better and the concept of super apps. However, several points brought up in the article seem to contain further underlying implications. Firstly, the author shared that even though the mini apps of WeChat enabled developers to create unique app-like experiences for the user (without being restricted by templates, WeChat branding etc),  WeChat still enforced the rules on the application to protect the users. Some of the examples given were messaging frequency and sensor permissions. While I feel it is important to have some form of policy to regulate a platform, I also question the idea of user protection. While WeChat play this enabling role to both users and external developers, are they really interested in protecting the users? I feel that the enforcement of rules is for WeChat to signal their power and control over the platform rather than to “protect users”. In discussing user protection, I feel that most permissions users grant to applications are mostly an illusion of choice. Most of the time, if we refuse to grant permission to an app, we are unable to use some of the more significant features. Even when we grant them access to say, location, much more specific information (even ones we are not aware of) can be provided to the platform owners (https://www.wired.com/story/app-permissions/). While WeChat offers users a convenient way of transacting, the overwhelming applications within the WeChat app might breed a form of over-reliance. The many uses of WeChat app also result in users having to depend on it, even for daily tasks. This dependency also mean that it is difficult for a user to refuse to grant permissions to the app, or not use this app at all. The increased dependency could also mean an increased vulnerability in terms of control over personal information and data. The large volume of user data that WeChat possess will only continue to reinforce their power over users.

Furthermore, the author also mentioned how WeChat provide tools for consumer analytics and stated that “these CRM and marketing automation tools are completely free”. However, I find this statement dubious as well. While they are free for developers and marketers, the provision of such tools is likely to strengthen loyalty with WeChat. Aside from users depending on WeChat, it is very likely that developers and marketers cannot do without WeChat either. This means that WeChat hold much of the bargaining power as compared to both users and developers. Even though WeChat seem to offer users and developers some sort of autonomy (e.g not having to follow app design and consistency when introducing their mini apps within WeChat), they come at a cost. Ultimately, WeChat has the power of determining who sees what and at which timings. With Instagram introducing Instagram shop and Grab containing food, transport and mart services, there is certainly a trend towards super apps. As we become increasingly reliant on super apps, our consumption habits are likely to be influenced by them as well, knowingly or unknowingly.

[thecontumacious]

hii i was the one who asked for the house husband domestic au and smsmsms you wrote it so well :’))) i was wondering if this time how luxiem would be as baristas and you’re the regular who comes in every week for either studying or like just to chill~

"I think there's something b r e w i n g between us."

a/n: IM SORRY PLS FORGIVE ME FOR THAT AHSJKDSAJHSKD i'm also super sorry for being inactive friends! writer's block hit me hard this time but i think im okay now uwu

special thanks to 🌺anon from the server for helping with the proofreading!

reminder that all my work and others in the fandom are purely fiction and intended to entertain, not to be projected irl. 

content utc!

Vox Akuma 👹🌹

what was it? the third? no, fourth time you've come up the counter to order?

would it be possible to just order multiple things in one single time...?

vox sighs internally, smiling at your shy figure who seemed to have asked for a different drink and dessert than last time.

was he complaining? no, of course not. why would he?

he was just... interested in the way you processed your way around the cafe. he was glad you were ordering and supporting the cafe like this, but you weren't even sharing them with anyone!

and for the love of god, y/n, just order your coffees and pastries all at once!

but did he have the heart to tell you this when you looked absolutely adorable every time you came in the cafe?

again, no.

"will that be it, y/n?" he asks, not even bothering to jot down your name. vox is truly just hinting at the fact that maybe you should order something else while you're there, but you end up shaking your head, placing some money on the counter

"yep, that's it!" nodding, you grin at him.

it was like you knew what you were doing to him. you probably did.

"i'll go take these to you, y/n. the cafe is quiet anyway," vox insists and much to your surprise. but you nod and go sit down.

he placed the order into the cafe's system before preparing you another drink and pulling out the croissant you asked for.

later, he does indeed carry the two orders to your table where it lies your laptop and a notebook with your handwriting on it.

other than that, vox notices the empty plates of the previous pastries you ordered.

"i'll take these plates, yeah?" he says. you smile, gesturing at the dishes for him to take in exchange for your new drink.

as he helped to clean up your space, his yellow eyes can't help but wonder over to what you were writing in your notebook. it was so hastily written upon and the mentions of ingredients kept popping up too.

wait... vox frowns, his gaze lingering just a bit at your notes.

then your hand covers it, stopping him from reading anymore.

he looks up at you and finds your cheeks red, eyes looking away as the notebook is hidden under the table, on top of your lap.

seeing your shy figure, vox couldn’t help but chuckle and walk away with the empty plates back to the bar.

what was in your notes?

oh, you know. just you trying to figure out the ingredients used in his pastries.

as soon as vox placed the plates into the sink, he grabs his sharpie markers and gets a few tissues. when he finished, he returns to your table and places the tissues down next to your drink.

he winks, "forgot something. here you go, love."

come back to the cafe after closing hours. i'll teach you.

later that night as all his coworkers bid him farewell for the day, you make yourself known by the cafe doors and vox immediately invites you inside, holding the door open for you.

and he couldn't help but tease you, "ready for our class, y/n?"

you look away, skittering inside anyway to leave vox to laugh by himself.

"come on, into the kitchen," vox gestures to said room, one you've never seen before actually. you follow him inside and like it was a real organized class, he has all the items for a baking lesson ready by the counters.

you frown, "are you sure you're okay with this? you're using your resources..."

vox smiles, tapping the counter, "oh, it's alright. with you frequenting my cafe for my treats and drinks, i don't think using up my resources outside my business should be a problem, hm?"

again, your ears and cheeks flare red at his response. but then you suddenly feel your wrist being tugged forward and you are now just a few steps away from vox

"which dessert do you want to learn about first?" he grins, folding up his sleeves.

thus began your first night in the vox's kitchen in the cafe, pretty much spoiled of his secret recipe to his delectable foods. you pay attention to his techniques and follow his every order exactly

sure, you messed up here and there by over measuring or not whipping the egg whites enough

but there weren't any shortages of vox applauding you for how well you were doing

when the first treat, a cheesecake, came out, you were pleasantly surprised by the results and you went to grab another spoonful to enjoy your creation

vox, on the other hand, revels not in the sweet dessert but rather how sweet your smile was as you enjoyed your cake

he liked how your eyes just twinkle with delight when the right flavors fall unto your tongue, or the way your brows would scrunch while weighing out the ingredients

he selfishly wished to see more.

so by the end of the night, after three successful treats ready to be taken home for breakfast tomorrow, vox asks you, "would you be interested in doing this again some other time?"

you smile up at him, nodding, "sure! when?"

"how about my place tomorrow? i have ingredients at home too."

"that's fine," you then pull out your phone, handing it to him. "can you type in your number and send your address?"

"i'll let you have my number but i will be picking you up, love," vox winks, quickly filling up a new contact and giving it back to you. "i'll see you after work. i'll also be expecting an address from you."

and with that, you go home, hands full with your handcrafted treats

and vox, watching you leave with the biggest smile on his face as he awaits what you two will make tomorrow together. it won't matter if it won't turn out well

he just wished to be in your lovely presence and to see your smile, sweeter than any dessert he's ever made

Mysta Rias 🦊🔶

"excuse me."

at the call, mysta's heart drops once more.

he sighs, putting down the blender down into the sink to help out the customer, but he feels a hand rest on his shoulder so he cranes his head around to see it was you.

you smile at him, walking towards the pick up station where the customer stood waiting

"good day, how may i help you?" you warmly greet them

but despite your polite attitude, the customer does not seem happy about their day and mysta knows for a fact that it's because of his own fault

they put their opened cup down, pushing it a bit harshly towards your side that it almost spills everywhere.

"i clearly asked for less sugar and i didn't ask for caramel in this!" they begin to protest, the anger bubbling from their blood as they sputter even more mistakes about their drink.

mysta pretends to not hear it, as it was clearly meant for him but with you being the kinder person and his manager, somehow you wanted to cover for him especially as it wasn't the first time this happened

"i'm very sorry for messing up your order. i'll get you a replacement drink, free of charge of course. could you tell me what your order was?" you still smile, taking the cup off the counter

the customer huffs, mumbling their order, "and you better get it right this time."

with a nod, the customer sits back down and you hurriedly throw the ruined drink away and make the actual correct drink yourself. mysta could only shoulder the guilt and shame as his other coworkers stared him down, probably a few customers who saw it happening too

he felt absolutely terrible. he didn't mean to bring down your business like this. yet somehow, you haven't fired him for it.

mysta sighs and mumbles to himself, "i should find a different job..."

when closing shift finally came around, just you and mysta inside the cafe, he took a deep breath and went to approach you.

"u-um, y/n?" he stuttered, holding his hands together

you stop sweeping the floor to look up at him, offering him a gentle smile. "yes, mysta? ready to go home? i can do the rest myself."

he shakes his head, "n-no. it's not about that."

you raise an eyebrow. "then?"

"it's about my employment here," he began. "i-i want to leave."

the cafe is quiet. nothing but his loudly beating heart thrumming against his eardrums.

you hum, tilting your head. "and your reason why?"

were you mocking him? surely you've noticed him messing up the customers' orders a lot. you were his manager, and the type to clock in the cafe as often as you could

even if you hadn't noticed, he was sure as hell that his co workers have reported his poor performance to you at some point, right?

mysta sighs, rubbing the back of his head, "oh, come on, y/n. you've seen me tons of times. you've definitely seen me mess up orders."

with a laugh, you put the broom back into the closet, nonchalantly replying, "oh, that."

wonder laces mysta's mind as he steps closer to you, "so, i can leave right?"

"nope," you smile, walking past him and into the back of the bar. "not until i give you another training."

"huh?" he blinks mindlessly.

you reach over the counter to grab a couple plastic cups and a few paper ones. you then arrange across the bar, looking back at him. "when it comes to people who aren't doing well in the work field, it's not always about firing them immediately. re-training is an option."

mysta still doesn't know what to say, as you gesture at the cups before him with a smile. "go on then. we'll start with an iced double shot americano and a hot caramel latte with an almond milk alternative. both medium sizes, mysta."

with you pressing him under time, he stumbles his way over to the bar and begins with the coffee grinder. he takes the right amount and he remembers to press it properly before taking it to the espresso machine

you watch mysta struggle with the a machine a little as if he should be afraid of the metal thing. but he eventually gets it.

so far so good... you think.

but then you see him take out the almond milk for the latte and pumping in hazelnut syrup instead of the caramel, putting it into the cold milk and not the actual espresso shot...

you note down all the things mysta does incorrectly and also keeping track of how long he makes both drinks.

he latches on the lid and turns to you with a goofy smile. "well? how did i do?"

you step forward and take a sip of the americano, clicking your tongue at the taste. "hmm, you did well on this one. be careful of the ice. don't forget it to throw it into the sink if you drop it."

mysta nods.

next, the supposed caramel latte.

you take a careful sip and hum. you spare mysta a side glance. "what do you think you could improve on this, mysta?"

he's taken aback by your response a bit, then hesitates. "uh..."

it takes him a while. then his shoulders droop down. "oh wait, i was supposed to mix the syrup in with the espresso shot right?"

"why is that?"

"because the shot was hot and it mixes more evenly."

you nod, smiling. "good! anything else?"

"is there more?" he whines slightly.

giggling you shrug, "i don't know. is there?"

mysta sighs. "um, did i use the wrong milk?"

he looks at the carton but sees that it is almond. "wait, no. i didn't. what is it?"

"taste it yourself," you hand him the warm cup.

he bites his lip for a good second before sipping the beverage. he takes a minute as his face frowns with concern. "wait... this doesn't taste like caramel, does it? is this... oh shit, hazelnut???"

seeing him look at the drink in his hand and mentally beating himself of his mistake made you laugh.

so mysta turned, red on the cheeks and ears.

"i'm glad you were able to figure it out on your own, mysta. see? you could do it after all," you place a gentle hand on his shoulder and for that single moment, he had never been more glad than to have you as his direct superior.

that night, you taught him how to make drinks and with every espresso shot made and ice cubes thrown around, he was able to make even the most complex drink on the menu.

all because you decided to be so patient and willing to help him out.

the next morning, mysta is up for opening shift.

as thanks for your help, he makes his first drink of the day.

then you come in as usual to help out with the cafe and you're met with mysta's beverage just by the pick up counter.

with the cafe still closed, you figured this was probably mysta's but the note on top...

"thank you, for everything. this is for you. i'll be back from the store in a bit."

it's your favorite drink. you take a sip and it's made just how you like it.

he really did improve.

Luca Kaneshiro 🦮🔆

you were... luca's very special customer.

he really tried to tell you but he couldn't, seeing as you were extremely comfortable with how things are.

so, here's how it began between you two.

luca was on closing shift that night and just as he was about to grab the broom to start sweeping the floors, it started to pour heavily outside.

he sighs, shrugging it off as he'll just have to make sure to drink vitamins later when he gets home so he wouldn't get sick the next day.

but then his purple eyes catch sight of something zooming through the windows.

luca immediately raises his head and he sees you, the poor thing who didn't bring an umbrella and now desperately sheltering under the awnings of the cafe

you look from side to side, occasionally up at the dark and gloomy sky.

to luca, you looked panicked. and his heart decided to move on his own as he went to put the broom away to open the door.

"excuse me?" he called out to you

you immediately turn to him, surprised. "oh, hi. can i help you?"

"more like could i help you," luca chuckles, holding the door open as you rub the back of your head, embarrassed. "come inside. you'll freeze out here."

"but you're closed though, aren't you? i don't want to intrude," you shake your head.

"oh, uh," luca blinked, looking inside the cafe then back at you. his mouth seemed to have shaped the words on its own before his brain could even process so he says, "we're not actually closed yet! there's still about an hour ish...?"

you tilt your head to the side, "really?"

it's only when you question him that he starts to question himself. but he's said it and there was no way he was going to embarrass himself in front of you.

so luca nods, gesturing for you to come inside. "yep. come inside. order anything you like."

smiling, you bow your head in thanks and went inside to wait by the ordering counter to wait for him.

that night, you really did become his very special customer.

and you somehow never notice why it is you're always alone during the nighttimes. actually, luca keeps wondering why you even came at such a late hour and never any other time in the day.

his co workers would often question why the heck he would let a customer in way past opening hours, but luca would just offer to take closing shift every time you came by

but it got to the point where his boss came himself to tell luca that he wouldn't be able to tolerate this behavior any longer in the most gentle way possible

luca knew his boss was by no means angry about it, but he kindly asked him to tell you that it's not actually opening hours anymore...

somehow though, with every night you show up and order something from him, he could not bear to tell you.

when he's supposed to say 'no, y/n. it's actually closing time', he replaces it with a genuinely curious question of how your day was or if you had any exciting plans for the week

it's more than just about if you wanted less sugar or milk alternative for your drinks.

it's about what foods you favored, what hobbies you preferred doing in your free time and the type of friends you had around.

luca can't help but think that this supposed closed time of his is the only time in the day where he gets to have you all to himself.

after a long and busy day, he gets to have you as a break from all that.

just you, some coffee and him.

until one day his boss insists that he shouldn't be doing any of the closing shifts. not until he was sure luca had told you about the right opening times.

so just as luca was waiting for his coworkers to leave, him left behind as always to wait for you to come, his boss pushes him out of the cafe and sends him on his merry way.

"but--"

"luca, you know well enough how many times i've told you this can't go on anymore. i know you're responsible of the consequences by covering all the closing shifts but other customers will think we're still open at this hour," his boss sighs.

he had a point and luca was just being insubordinate.

"alright then... " with a heavy heave of his breath, he shrugs on his jacket and bids his superior goodbye.

but then he runs into you at the front of the cafe.

"oh, hey luca! wait, you're off today?" you ask him.

great, now he has to tell you.

"hiiii y/n," luca laughs nervously, scratching his head. he looks inside the cafe but he realizes that it's already dark inside, only the locker rooms in the back were seen with the lights on.

he really wished nothing else than to rush back in and make your order tonight but his boss gave him a last warning today.

"we-were you looking for a drink?" he questions

you hum, "yeah... here, at your cafe. but you're closed? isn't it early?"

"right about that!"

here goes nothing.

"i've been uh... lying to you."

you frown. "lying to me?"

"we're not actually open at this hour. and i've just been... letting you in past opening hours."

it's silent between you and luca for a few minutes, before you suddenly let out a laugh. he blinks, surprised.

"sorry! sorry! i just--" you giggle. "i've been coming here for so long, thinking that you're still open. and it's only now you tell me this? it's more funny than it is supposed to be surprising."

luca releases a breath he never knew he held all this time.

maybe it was because he heard your laugh amidst the stress of telling you.

"so uh... ," he laughs nervously.

you smile up at him, "i do know a cafe that opens this late though. care to join me? they don't make my drinks as good as you do though, luca."

red creeps up to his cheeks, but nonetheless, he agrees to your invitation.

"i'd like to join you, yeah."

Ike Eveland 🖋💙

it's exactly 8:37 am, about half an hour after the cafe's opening when ike's ears catch wind of the bell hanging by door ringing

he looks up by reflex and there you are, his regular customer who comes by around this exact time

you're hauling a backpack, your phone in your hand as you go to approach the rather quiet ordering counter where ike was standing by

you smile at him like usual and order your typical drink

"for y/n?" he asks, holding the cup in his hand and a marker in the other ready to jot down your name

you nod, giggling as you give him the appropriate amount of money

ike scribbles on your name and your specific order, then helps with the payment.

"just take the change as your tip today like usual," you smile, sliding over to the pick up area.

it's become a routine for you two now. you come in at around 8:30, order your usual (or sometimes a different drink from time to time with a treat) and then sit in that specific spot all day long

you'd be typing away on your laptop, or flipping through some books or pages you've brought with you. then you'd occasionally sip on your drink as you're laser focus on the laptop screen once more

much to ike's dismay, he has yet to figure out what you do on that laptop. what were you so busily typing about? were you writing for a research paper? were you a college student?

well that last deduction was far from accurate as you spend almost every day of the week in the cafe

then what could you possibly have as a career when all you do is sit in a cafe on your laptop?

even today, ike hasn't figured it out as he put the lid to your drink on

he walks over to the pick up station and hand you your cup, never forgetting to insert a smile of his own to you. "here you are. order for y/n."

"that's me," you giggle, taking the drink while ever so slightly brushing against his fingers. goosebumps rise onto ike's forearms and he can't help but pull away quickly as you retreat to your little work nook

and then the part where ike doesn't interact with you the entire day begins.

he would check on you every once in a while, seeing if you've taken a break from your work, whether that be to take some time to look at social media or finishing your drink

of course, if you weren't, ike would be on the shyer side to tell you to take a break

after all, even if you and ike had met multiple times in the same circumstances, you two were still technically strangers.

he wished to know what you were working on, what you did for a living, what other drinks were to your fancy so he could make them for you. he wants to be able to talk to you other than what drinks were on promotion that month or if you wanted to make your drink iced or hot

ike selfishly wished you two weren't just barista and customer

suddenly, in the middle of the day, ike looks up to once again check on you when you seem to be missing

your laptop and belongings were there though

"probably went to the bathroom?" ike mumbles to himself, then noticing how the table next to where you sat had recently been left unclean

he ducks under the counter to grab a cloth and plastic box before leaving the cashier to take care of the empty seats

as he placed the mugs carefully into the plastic box, he couldn't help himself to steal a glance at your still glowing laptop

for the first time, he sees what you're working on

ike wipes the table clean quickly and then subtly leans over to your table to see what it is you're so serious about this past month

"oh," he whispers, unknowingly finding himself leaning even lower to read through your work

but before he could brave himself to scroll down, he hears the bathroom door latch open and he quickly goes back to cleaning the table

when ike takes his box back with him to the bar, you're already settling yourself down back in your seat and madly typing away at your laptop

he doesn't know what has gotten into him, but the very next day, when you left to go to the bathroom and any tables remotely close to yours needed cleaning, ike is taking that chance

all so that when he comes back, he gets to steal a bit more of progress of your work

he has to admit it, but you do good work. that even him, your mere barista and generally a stranger, was captivated by it

it becomes one of the very reasons why he goes to work now. he becomes more motivated only so he could see you, make your drink by memory and if lucky, get rewarded by a snippet of your work

until one day, your visits become rare. then slowly turns to none at all.

ike thought at first he was just overthinking as he goes about his day to work

but he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss seeing you come through the door early in the morning

it was silly, he thought. so when he finally accepted the fact you probably found a different cafe, he swallowed his insensible longing for your visit

"hi, can i order my usual?"

ike looks up, and there you were, smiling at him.

"o-oh! of course," surprised, ike quickly grabs a cup and a marker. he nervously beams, "order for y/n?"

"yes," you nod. as he busies himself with logging your order, you suddenly pull something out of your bag. definitely not your wallet.

ike turns slightly and realize you're looking at him and sliding over a hardcover book onto the counter.

he raises an eyebrow and looks down at the book, then noticing it has your name on it, printed in bold letters along with a title.

"i noticed how you're a big fan of my work, ike," you giggle, pushing it over to him. "so here, a signed copy. money's inside."

and just like that, you leave the ordering counter.

ike's face flushes red.

but he's happy.

he takes the book and opens it up to get the money for the drink, but he also notices something else than the money.

on the front page is indeed your signature and below it, your number.

Shu Yamino 🔮✨

not much was said between you and shu, other than the words of your chosen drinks or sometimes a treat or two for longer days. but that didn't stop you two from bonding a mutual relationship of the comfortable barista-customer trope.

you come in, he knows your usual order and the correct spelling of your name, and you generously tip and smile at him.

it was an unspoken friendship you had.

one that sat both well and not with shu.

sure, he liked what he had. it was unlike any other he's had before. but he can't handle just 'good morning, shu, i'll have this and this, thank you!'

shu asked the world why the conversations with you were solely only about coffee and cakes. why couldn't it be about yourself? about him? about the annoying things you wished could disappear from the face of the earth?

he wouldn't mind that.

but as you walk through that door with that same smile and your usual order once more, shu will have to accept what he has for now. one day maybe he'll brave himself to ask you how your day went in detail.

after passing your drink to you, you're off to sit down and shu returns to his post at the cashier. but the moment he's face to face with his next customer, the sorcerer couldn't help but feel very unsettled.

in the eyes of everyone else, this guy probably looked very normal and well, your average male stranger looking for a drink in the cafe.

but being well practiced in sorcery which also meant trusting your guts and instincts, shu made sure to keep his eyes open for this guy as he went to order something off the order. a hot americano he said.

shu goes about his business as usual, despite his stomach just flexing about every time the guy moved.

and it certainly did not help that he kept glancing in your direction.

did he know you? did you know him?

shu was sure as hell that you've never brought him here with you, so probably someone you either didn't know or at least did not feel like interacting with

"hot americano?" the sorcerer announces and the man who ordered it comes up front to pick it up, muttering a quick thanks and almost as if hurriedly, goes to your table.

the hairs on shu's arms stands on edge and he clenches his first in worry for you.

calm down, shu. you're probably just overthinking. maybe's he just an old friend of theirs they haven't seen in a while. maybe your gut is wrong this time.

but that's the thing.

his gut is almost never wrong.

you look up from your phone when you notice someone approaching you. upon seeing who it is, your face drains of its color and shu knew exactly then that he was right.

the man stood in front of your table, raising his hand to wave at you it seems.

you simply nod, but your eyes don't meet his.

another sign you didn't like interacting with this man.

but he ignores your body language and had the audacity to sit next to you, not minding personal space.

you and shu weren't even friends, but he absolutely hated how he was making you visibly uncomfortable.

he seems to have said something to make your face scrunch with the discomfort, disgust even as you scoot away from him.

it's when he dared to place his grimy hands on your lap did shu take off his apron hastily and exited the counter like a mad bull.

"hey, babe! sorry, work took a while. my shift's over though now," shu announces, standing by your side and leaning over a bit.

you, on the other hand, look up at him with surprised eyes but you smile up at him to play along, scooting even closer to shu to avoid the man.

"h-hey! i was wondering what took you so long," you respond.

"yeah, sorry about that," shu courageously puts a hand on your shoulder then turns to the person next to you. he raises an eyebrow, "oh, who's this?"

"he's my--"

"oh, you're the new boy toy?" he smirks, looking at you this time. "really, y/n? someone like him?"

"excuse me?" shu spoke in a gentle manner, but with you so up close to him, you can feel him seethe with so much anger. like he could explode at any moment if ticked off the wrong way.

the creep leans back, grinning, "come on, look at him, y/n. what's with the weird hair, huh? and a barista? lame job. does nothing but make coffee and bread."

"the coffee i made you? the one you're drinking? must be because you can't make it by yourself," shu retorts. "lame."

you even let out a small snort.

the man's face is burning red with anger and frustration. he stands this time and goes to grab your arm, but shu snatches his hand before it could even touch you

"don't you dare lay a hand on her," he growls. "there are cameras in here and if you so much even say something out of place, i have every right to remove you from this property."

the man laughs to mock him, spitting back, "really? what's a puny boy like you gonna do?"

shu eyes the still hot black coffee on the table and he smiles. he lets go of the man's hand, pushing him back a bit before saying, "i'm not going to do anything. i don't need to. a real man uses his brain instead of his brawn."

just as the man was about to pounce on shu again, the sorcerer had already subtly moved the hot drink closer to him with the help of his sorcery skills.

so by the time he was about to grab shu by the collar, the americano is knocked over and pours all over the man's pants.

he lets out a pained screech, stumbling back onto the floor to try to recover from the hot drink.

all the patrons in the cafe looks at the commotion, eyeing the man oddly. at the public embarrassment, he stands and hurries out the cafe to escape it all.

shu heaves a sigh and turns to you, "you alright?"

you only stare at the fallen cup, blinking. "i... i saw that."

"i know," he chuckles, grabbing a tissue and patting down the table. "but you're safe, that's more important. tell me if that guy ever comes back and maybe i'll do something worse than hot coffee."

another laugh leaves your lips and you look up at him with the most beautiful smile he's ever seen. "yeah, i'll be counting on you, shu."

Masterlist!

[bitingskylark]

Haru Haru's 2020 Vday Delivery service!

[Hahi! You’re a first time customer! Welcome! Thank you for requesting for a Vday Delivery service! Here, we write a drabble that you can treat as a standalone, or canon. You can hoard it, submit it, or even reply to it! Whatever you decide on is JUSTICE. I hope you enjoy!]

As usual, Hibird had met with Haru for seeds. If Haru didn’t know any better, she was sure that Hibird would often seek her out on purpose just for the sole purpose of getting seeds to munch on. It wasn’t like she disliked it by any means, far from it, actually.

It was a cute thought to know that Hibird would sometimes look for her specially to get seeds. It showed that there was a certain level of trust between the two of them. At first, he would only accept the seeds that she placed on the ground for him, but after a while, he started to accept the seeds out of her hands, or even perching into her hand to eat out of her other hand.

Truly, she felt blessed by this. Hibird would sometimes stick around for a while longer, but ultimately, he’d always fly off. He must report back to Hibari’s side. Haru wouldn’t want to keep him for too long, lest she wish to have an angry Hibari on her tail for keeping Hibird to herself for longer than necessary.

Yes, Haru was still quite frightened to be around Hibari, but she felt that much was to be expected. His reputation of his violence preceded him. She’d seen some of his tyrannical actions herself, so it was not as though she was simply going off of what others told her.

That being said, she still learned that Hibari was not some mindless fighting machine as he once thought of him. He did seem to have a gentler side to him. This came from I-pin’s own recollections.

Hibari was kind to I-pin and he never abused her. Quite shocking when you think about it, but understandable when you think deeper. If he was such a mindless fighting machine, Haru doubted that Hibird could stand to be near him, no matter how tamed and trained he was.

It wasn’t just Hibari’s own box animal friends, but the others seemed quite taken by him as well. Haru had her own theory that Hibari had a gentle side to him, but only to a select few would he show it.

Animals were innocent and creatures, and many of them were (cute) weak. There is no point in bullying an innocent and weak creature for no reason. However, when a grouping of weak creatures summons false courage due to their larger numbers… maybe that was what upset him?

Just like how humans band together because of their social nature. Maybe when students group together to band against him… his authority… does that upset him? Animals normally stuck to the hierarchal scale, so there wasn’t much of a chance for them to upset the prefect.

I-pin is respectful, and she’s innocent, on top of being young. Perhaps that’s why he was lenient towards her.

As much as she wanted to say that she could do the same, Haru knew her temper well. If she saw injustice happen before her, she normally didn’t think things through before she inserted herself into the mix. She was also loud, and loved to be around people.

She had a lot stacked up against her.

Though she’d much rather deliver the present herself, a part of her worried that today may be the last day she’d draw breath. Instead, she was going to enlist the help of her friend.

“Hmm… Hibird-chan will you do Haru a little favor? Can you deliver something for Haru? Today is Valentine’s day.” The bag was small and light, so Hibird should not struggle to fly the parcel back to Hibari’s side.

Inside the bag was an assortment of chocolate covered nuts. He could enjoy nuts alongside his animal friends. With how generous he was being allowing her to interact with his animal friends (and her very existence) she wanted to gift him something for Valentine’s day.

At this point, they were Giri-choco, and hopefully he’d understand that.

To add, it didn’t seem fair (in her eyes) that she made chocolates for all of the other Generation 10 Vongola, and not give him something as well. Hopefully, he’ll enjoy the gift.

Hibird graciously agreed to deliver the gift and flew off after he had his fill of nuts.

《𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓔𝓵𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓒𝓵𝓸𝓾𝓭》 ——————————————————————————————————

To say he’d expected anything to come from this day outside of Kusakabe and the others was an understatement. Hibari was feared and respected at differing ratios by all those around him.

Valentine’s day was a dreaded holiday in which students would crowd together, tensions high with pubescent highs. Order dictated that chocolate gifts were confiscated upon sight to prevent order from breaking on the holy grounds of Namimori.

These confiscated goods were then offered to Hibari who would ‘safeguard’ them for the time being. Only the brave or otherwise braindead individuals who challenged him to have their chocolates returned would bother to confront him for the sweet confectionary delights.

By having Hibari keeping them guarded, the students who broke the rules by bringing chocolate today would have no other choice but to relent, bemoaning their misfortune. They’ve only but themselves to blame for being caught for their transgressions.

Aside from the ‘victims’ crying over their loss, the day was peaceful, for Hibari, anyways. Classes ended, and Hibari had ordered for the chocolates to be discarded.

How they were to be discarded was not clarified by him, as he no longer cared. After hours meant that he could ease off from his tyrannical rule. In other words: it was time for his late day nap.

The rooftop was void of life aside from himself. The perfect place for a nap.

“Hibari Hibari! Present!”

A small parcel was dropped into Hibari’s outstretched hand. An assortment of chocolate covered nuts in a bag. A small note was attached to reveal the sender of the parcel, Haru Miura.

【 Wao. What a surprise. 】 

Who would have guessed he’d received chocolates today that were actually meant to be delivered to him today rather than receiving confiscated chocolates?

What a diligent creature she is, that Haru Miura. Perhaps employing Hibird as a delivery service was her way to deliver the chocolates without trespassing Namimori territory? Not that it mattered, now that school was out for the day.

【 Good job, Hibird. Thank you for the delivery. 】