#i say best marketing is still word of mouth. i know someone who's bought multiple copies for their friends

[sanctus-ingenium]

Is it possible you’ll publish The Black Horse to a printing company to make access to getting the book easier? Or is that not something in the works.

I did consider self-publishing on amazon but I'm leery of that company and the terms & conditions you have to agree to. It might happen at some point but I'm not pushed. However I know it's probably the best way to reach An Audience who aren't just ppl who happen to follow my blog here.

I do plan to get a physical print copy for myself and I know that the companies that offer this service often need bulk orders so I might have that as a limited option for sale at some point to make up the order. I just need to do up the spine & back cover and review my options.

As for traditional publishing, what can I say but Unlikely

[hobiwonder]

Bloom | 01

Genre: Hybrid!Namkook. fluorescence by @jincherie​ AU 

Pairing: foxhybrid!Namjoon x Reader x bunnyhybrid!Jungkook ;(

Warnings: language. mention of hybrid trafficing/being sold into sex trafficing, fluff holy shit, angst, Smut (future), very cuddly and shy jungkook, stuttery shy BOYS. I really just wrote this for me.

Words: 5k+

Summary: In a world where humanity is increasingly motivated by how much cash can be made off of... well anything, you’re a human and hybrid rights lawyer. You will do anything to save the ones that never had a choice  right from the date of their conception. Even if that means, adopting two hybrids that you absolutely did not mean to. 

a/n: hello hello im back from the dead iuhbIUHBUYBGUY okay so, yes this isnt baby baby but i am a bit behind on that so i really hope posting this instead can satiate my sluts for a few more days until i have that done. I have a lot of this written so I will post this on a semi-regular schedule. rest of the schedule i posted will stay the same. it’s just baby baby that’s kicking my BUTT!!!! Lastly, I started writing this before Goo Hara passed away. Opening this document made me a little sad and also happy when i remember Hara and her love for eco-friendly fashion. I guess, this is kind of a tribute to her? anyhow, I hope you guys like it. please please please, validate me. :>)

"Y/n they're going to be sold to this man who works for a black market. What do I do? Oh god. I-I didn't know our company was into that business."

Your best friend is nearing the point of tears and you can understand her frustration. "Listen, Hara, take a deep breath and tell me when exactly this is happening."

A deep breath is taken as you'd suggested, before you hear Hara's voice again through the phone. "Okay... Okay. I was just told by Minseok that there is an auction for the remaining two from the past failed batches. Apparently two others have been adopted and the rest have been pawned off somewhere. I'm not sure. From our division of the company, these two are the ones that have not gone for further testing to be open to the regular public. A-And so now there is a super secret auction happening tonight. It's not open to the regular public as you already know but staff members are able to attend. What do I do y/n? I can't afford them. I have my own to deal with. These poor boys will go to some horrible owner who will use them f-for god knows what."

Now Hara was crying. Openly and brokenly for the possible fate of these 'failed' hybrids that her company had produced. This was a sticky situation and even you, a Human and hybrid rights lawyer, had limited ideas as to what could be done on such a short notice. But you were not about to give up.

"Hara, don't. They will not be bought by some hybrid trafficker okay? I won't let it happen. I will... I will at least try. It's my job, remember?"

Your optimism is convincing enough. And you wholeheartedly believed that something would give. These big corporations had their toes in everywhere and you didn’t yet know if they had already had a designated buyer on the black market they pawned their hybrids off to. Where there was money to be made - no company had morals rigid enough to stop themselves from the temptation. You already lived in an age where human trafficking was no longer a cause for activism or big debates. Not when more species - man made or not - had been created to take advantage of.

“Okay yeah. You’re a badass lawyer, you must have something up your sleeve right?” Her voice is shaky but you confirm with an enthusiastic nod she can’t see.

“Of course! I’ll kick their asses. Surely this can’t be legal? No blackmarket is. Let me have a look at what can be done. I’m assuming you can bring a plus one tonight?”

“Yeah I-I was given a ticket. You’ll be coming with me right?”

“That’s why I asked, silly.” Her relieved chuckle brings a smile to your own lips.

“I’ll see you there. Don���t give up hope until I do, alright?”

“Okay... You’re right.”

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Fuck this. Fuck my life.” The curses escaped your mouth left and right as you looked over the dozens and dozens of papers splayed out on your oak desk.

Even your comfortable office chair couldn’t stop the knot building up between your shoulder blades. This was bad. Really bad. Corporate law allowed unfit materials to be sold to third parties. What these third parties did with those materials - the company of origin was no longer liable for. In short: These hybrids were going to be bought by someone sketchy with a crystal clear profile and no paper trail unless someone bid higher and bought them.

None of these bastards were rookies. They had solid paperwork where necessary and it would be near impossible to prove their illegal activities when all of them took place on the dark web. A place that opened up more threats and risks than solutions. No legislation covered hybrid rights that weren’t even registered yet. Whoever bought them would have to register them and then the hybrids would be able to receive the minimum protection they had a right to.But you can bet your father’s company that whoever bought them will never register them. Essentially these hybrids will be wiped out from the system.

Fingertips tapping against the wood, each passing minute was precious time lost. it was already 5pm. You had to leave for the dreaded auction in less than an hour and hour and yet here you sat in your chair. Hands itching to do something other than pick up the phone and tell Hara that you were at a loss. What could you do? Who would take them? You didn’t know anyone that was ready to add not one but two hybrids to their household. And ones that were not fully approved to be released. You couldn’t just lie and pawn them off to just anyone. Then you would not be any better than the company trying to get rid of them.

Sighing, you pack up the papers and documents you had initially thought would help. They were of no use anymore. All you could do was go and offer support to Hara. Or Maybe you were going because you still had hope that there would be someone who would save those hybrids. Hope was a dangerous thing for a woman like you but you had it. This was no time to wallow. So you smooth your skirt, touch up your makeup and put on your heels that had men double take.

Maybe you could scare and/or seduce these people in changing their mind?

You laugh at your absurdity, glancing in the mirror one last time before you leave with stacks of files in your hands. You could at least stall them.

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Y/n! Thank god you’re here.” I’m not so sure about that. Though you opt for a gentle smile and meet her embrace enthusiastically.

You can hear the sniffles coming from Hara who has her head buried in your shoulder. “Hey, no crying okay? No matter what happens.” The comment has her pulling back just as quickly.

“What do you mean? You have a plan for tonight r-right? Y/n..”

How could you do this? Lie to her? This was not fair on her. On anyone really. It wasn’t your fault and neither hers for whatever would happen tonight. She needed to know what to expect. As much as your heart clenched and ached to say the words you were about to; it was important to mentally prepare for the worst.

“Hara... I couldn’t find anything.” Your frown is apologetic. Trying to convey how really truly sorry you were but it doesn’t stop the tears from brewing up in her eyes.

“Oh.. I thought- thought they had a chance y/n.” You reach out for her hand, wanting to alleviate her hurt as soon as possible.

“I will at least try to see who will buy them okay? Don’t worry. We can keep an eye out on who gets them. They will be alive at least, right?” Your attempt at finding a silver lining doesn’t make her look any more reassured than you felt.

Glancing at your watch, you motion towards the building. “Come on. Let’s go before they try and kick us out.”

Hara nods, numbly leading the way towards an auditorium where several people had already taken their seats. You’re not sure how many people you were expecting, but it definitely wasn’t... this. There were at best 10 people here. All ten seemingly looked like they knew each other. This could only mean one thing. That this sale was to some degree, arranged. As in, multiple buyers were from the same company posing as separate customers to maximise their chances of acquiring the hybrids.

“Hara, have you seen any of these people before?” Your whisper has her craning her neck to have a good look at all of the men sitting in the front few rows.

“No, I don’t think so.” Her furrowed brows turn to you instead, “Do you recognise any of them?”

Shaking your head, you follow her down the stairs to sit in the row behind the last pair of buyers who were sitting.

“Whoever they are... they don’t look like they are all strangers.” Hara is gripping on to your arm when she hears you, visibly nervous once again. “I’m just speculating, okay?”

Your attempt to ease her, once again, is not enough. But you don’t try again since you don’t even believe your own words. The auctioneer however, stops you from thinking further about the impending events of the night. The man stands in a lab coat, glancing at his watch before he brings his mouth closer to the mic on the dice.

“Let’s begin gentleman... and ladies.” He seems to be surprised to see you and Hara sitting at the back. And before he begins further, he motions someone. Another man approaches the auctioneer and listens carefully as the other whispers. A few seconds later, his eyes fall back to where you sat with your best friend.

Hara’s grasp on your arm tightens once again when the man heads to your general direction. On instinct, your back straightens, posture more solid than before so as to not give anyone the wrong impression that they can mess with you unwarrantedly.

“Excuse me Miss.?”

“Yes?” Your curt reply surprises him but he recovers fast, glancing towards Hara before talking to you again.

“Are you a guest of Ms. Hara?”

“Obviously.” Your unwavering gaze visibly unnerves him. It was obvious to anyone there but you had an idea this was some sort of test.

“May I see your ticket please?” His bogus smile annoys you more than it should. Nonetheless, Hara is fishing out the ticket from her purse and showing the man. He inspects it longer than he should and finally walks back to the auctioneer to let him know you had the right to be here.

“Who would do that if they weren’t running a hoax?” You ask Hara before you can stop yourself.

“Alright. Apologies for the delay. We will now begin. As you are all aware, we are auctioning two of our very elite hybrids from a rare batch. They have not progressed to the next stage of screenings and tests due to some technical difficulties. Thus, we are here to give them a chance at a new home rather than a painful end.” He looks in the audience for effect. Euthanasia is what he meant.

“These hybrids are fully functional however lack a few abilities they were initially designed for. Due to these technical issues deeming them failed to proceed, they are available for purchase at a much lower cost than what they are sold for on the market.” The auctioneer looks so smug the urge to smack his across the face is almost irresistible.

“Right, bring them out Wonho.” Everyone is watching carefully, waiting for the ‘failed’ hybrids and you don’t know what you were expecting.

Not what you see though. Definitely not. Because the two - tall - hybrids entering the stage are not what you expect. Peach and silver tones greet your eyes as well as incredibly sculpted faces.  The peach haired hybrid seems to cling to the silver haired one. The man leading the two hybrids seems to be frustrated with their slow pace, giving the peach haired hybrid a little shove and there is only so much you can do to not yell at the top of your lungs for him to get his hands off of them.

The man sighs, letting the two hybrids to just stand in the middle when the peach haired one does not stand apart from the other hybrid. While the shorter of the two hybrids - and much, much shyer - looks around anxiously at the people in the auditorium, the silver haired one has his features set in stone. His eyes don’t look alarmed, they don’t seem scared. He just looks numb. He stares ahead at the people sitting in front of him while the peach haired boy visibly shakes, breathing fast and eyes flitting across every surface. He takes a step back, hiding part of his body behind his silver haired companion for comfort.

“There you have them. The peach haired specimen is a Oryctolagus cuniculus or - a bunny in more simplistic terms. The silver haired specimen is an arctic fox, Vulpes lagopus. Both hybrids are off a rare species and very sought after on the market. Due to technical issues, once again, unfortunately, we are only able to sell them in a pair. They are useless on their own.”

The candid way the auctioneer speaks of them has your blood boiling. But what gets you more is the laughter that sounds in the auditorium. Did these assholes think they were funny? The hybrids - entirely human or not - were present in the room with them. Did they not have any ounce of respect for them? Hara was not faring any better. Watching with a frown as chatter continued among the buyers. The bunny looked even more disturbed, looking around at every man in the front few rows - before his eyes landed on you.

The gasp that leaves you is abrupt. His pained expression holds your gaze, eyes wide and chest heaving. The bunny jumps when the auctioneer speaks again.

“We will now start the bid at $1000. $1200 anyone?” Several hands go up before the auctioneer raises the price to $1400.

Bald, greasy men exchanging glances and crude remarks as they talk amongst themselves. Your heart is thumping, your blood thinning. With each passing second, your throat seems to be closing up. There was nothing you could do to save them, was there? The further the price went up, the more panicked and distraught the bunny looked, gripping his fox companion harder, hiding behind him even more. The silver haired fox looked much like what you had stopped Hara from looking only this morning. Hopeless. His mouth was set in a thin line - just taking in the scenario in front of him. It was obvious he saw his fate before his very eyes and instead of futilely hoping that someone would save them - he stares his aggressors in the eyes.

“Brilliant! We’re at $3000 for the gentleman in the first row. Anyone for $3500?” The said man looked positively smug, sitting with his legs spread lewdly. Most likely sure that no one would contest that price.

Definitely not you.

“$4000.” Your voice yelling above everyone else is even foreign to your own ears. An outer body experience as you watch yourself look the auctioneer straight in his eyes, daring anyone in the room to go higher up on the price. But most of all, you watch the silver haired hybrid’s gaze waver for the first time - looking at you in such surprise like it was the first time he was noticing you.

“Ah... Anyone for $4500?” Only one other hand goes up. The man that had been the prospective buyer before. His face is ballooning with the amount of blood that’s rushing to it.

“Y/n? What are you doin?!” Hara’s frantic whispering flies over your head as you call out once more.

“$6000. Final offer.” You look at the other men in the seats beneath you, challenging them to dispute your offer.

The atmosphere is tense, thick with the tension brewing inside the auditorium and yet you don’t shy away from the angry glares being shot your way. A minute passes. No more offers.

“Sold to Miss?”

“Y/n.”

“-Miss Y/n. Thank you all for participating.” The loud chatter is instantaneous as the auctioneer motions the other lab rat to, assumably, gather the hybrids and their things.

“Y/N! Oh my god.” Hara has all but engulfed you in a tight hug once more. Shaking you slightly out of your own shock. This was not what you had planned but it was done.

She finally pulls back, checking you over like you were ill. “A-Are you sure about this? Oh god, okay we need to head up to the podium.”

Just like she doesn’t wait for your answer, you had not waited for your own either. You hadn’t even asked yourself the question before you had so blindly bid on the two hybrids. You’d been waiting for someone to save them. Someone to come barging in and take them away from these cruel people. Never in a millenia had you thought that someone might be you.

“Here you are Miss. You can deposit a check right now or eftpos the payment. Up to you.”

Benumbed, you take out your phone to open the phone banking application. When you’ve made sure there are sufficient funds transferred from your savings account, you wave your card in front of the auctioneer wordlessly. From the corner of your eyes, you can feel the two hybrids watching you. You wished they had at least let them wait in some sort of waiting room and not witness the jarring experience of several people bidding over them.

“Excellent! The transaction has been approved and a receipt will be emailed to you if you can fill out this form here.” Glancing at the hybrids standing a few feet away from you, clutching a duffle bag each, you try and put down your details as fast as you can.

They had already looked like they wanted to be as farther away from this place as possible and the feeling was mutual. Hara was beside you the whole time, waiting for any cue from you to provide some sort of support or whatever you needed her to do. And if your tongue worked - you would thank her as you filled out the space on the form asking you of your email address. It was sickening how easy it was for you to just... buy them! Would they not do a security or police check on you? Make sure that these hybrids are going to at least a safe home?

You were aware of the long process of hybrids that were ordered from the company. The company had a thorough process of making sure their clients were reputable and trust-worthy. That they wouldn’t do bodily harm to the hybrids but that was a facade so these companies wouldn’t have to spend money in compensation if a client had abused their hybrid in any way and had not been satisfied with what they had ordered. It was a guise. These people didn’t give two shits if the hybrids were not of expectation and couldn’t make them money.

“Am I done here?” Your tone was curt and the auctioneer could sense it.

The fact that you’d fished out more than enough cash for some ‘failed’ hybrids - he was interested in you as a potential future client. You were aware that hybrids of their breed went for $5000 - maximum. The previous greasy bald man had been close to closing a deal for $3000 until you had butted in. So obviously, they were going to kiss your ass.

“Yes Ma’am. That’s all we needed. The hybrids are good to go. Their bags have their guidebooks with them. Thank you for shopping with us.” his bright smile makes you want to hit him with your designer bag.

But even this leather was too good to be wasted on these assholes. “Y/N? Please look a little more friendly. You’ll scare the bunny away.” Hara is speed walking besides you, trying to convince you to soften your stance when you stop right before the bench they had been sitting on.

“Follow me, boys.” You’re not rude. You don’t sound mean either. But you don’t particularly sound like you wanted them. And as much as that was the truth to some degree, you didn’t not want them.

The silver haired hybrid hesitates - watching you with wide, curious eyes. Not the harsh way his eyes had scanned the room before but not exactly friendly and enthusiastic like the bunny. The bunny that was currently tugging on the silver fox’s sleeve wordlessly. His doe eyes silently ask his friend to follow you. But when his feet stay rooted to the same spot, you can’t help but sigh.

“Is there a problem?” A moment’s silence. Then finally the silver haired boy shakes his head, grasping the bunny’s hand and follows you out of the building.

Hara is gripping your hand, relieved tears in her eyes and you can’t keep looking. Because you couldn’t promise her that you would take good care of them. “Thank you Y/n. You didn’t have to do that but... but you did. You’re a good person and these boys are lucky to have you.”

Her eyes are earnest. You know she means every word and she can sense your inner turmoil at your own ability to take care of them. The boys can’t hear you both talking since they are standing near your car, obediently waiting for you. Taking a look at them huddled in the back seat, you turn back to Hara.

“Thanks Har. I will try my best. They deserve a shot at a normal and secure life. I won’t let you down.”

“And you,” she cups your face, making you look back at her. “You deserve love too. I have seen the bunny hybrid in the lab. He will heal all your wounds too. Please be happy and patient with them, okay?”

You nod, a smile that doesn’t quite reach your eyes but genuine nonetheless. “I’ll see you later. Love you.”

You just wave her goodbye, standing until her car pulls away. Looking back at the two boys waiting patiently in the car - you take a moment to gather yourself.

“Fuck... fuck. Fuck!” You don’t scream out loud. not really. But anyone walking by would be able to see you were stalling something. That something is going to your car and then going home.

Taking a deep breath, you decide to bite the bullet and face the reality. Getting in the driver’s seat, you look back at the two hybrids watching you from your rearview mirror. Giving them a small smile, you notice the bunny hybrid’s shoulders relax a little.

“Let’s go home.” Your voice is light and airy. Hoping to put them at ease. They were yours now.

You were their saviour.

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Home sweet home.” Letting them pass you, entering the condo, you let them take in their surroundings.

The bunny is still latched on to the taller hybrid’s flannel, hiding behind him when the fox hybrid comes to stand beside a couch. Both of them look at you - as if waiting for you to allow them to sit. The silver haired fox is holding on to the bunny’s hand, watching you with a dour look.

“Go on.” You head motions towards the comfortable three seater couch. “Have a seat. No need to be shy.”

Of course, you want to palm yourself after your remark. Of course they were shy. Well, the bunny mostly. The fox looked to be very suspicious and not exactly friendly. Though you could understand his apprehension. He was about to be sold to some very nefarious people. He seemed to be a bit older than the bunny and had a look of ambiance that only came with experiencing harsh times. Your heart felt for him.

The bunny doesn’t wait too long, sitting on the couch - well plopping is more like it - whereas the fox takes his time, battling with himself if he should or not. When you keep watching him, waiting for him to sit, he thankfully gives in and sits besides his friend.

Once you can tell that they are comfortable - as comfortable as they can be, you ask your first question. “So, what are your names?”

You smile at them gently, letting them know you are their friend. At least hoping that they can conclude that from the fact that you told them about their new home on the car ride over.

The bunny’s eyes are wide, face heating up as if you asked him a rather scandalous question and not just his name. Your heart skips a beat when the lovely blush blossoms across his face that’s hiding in the fox’s shoulder.

“Well? Can you tell me, bun? What’s your name?” Your question being directed to the bunny only makes the blush more visible. You could see his face reddening further in embarrassment and the colour being rather more visible on his neck too.

The smile doesn’t diminish from your face. Not even after seeing the way the fox is almost glaring at you but you were positive that the bunny wasn’t hiding because he was afraid of you.

“J-Jungkook. ‘m J-Jungk-kook” The answer proves to be too much for him to mumble, lips catching his plumper bottom lip as he peeks at you through one eye that isn’t hidden in the fox’s shoulder.

“Jungkook. That’s a lovely name, bun.” Your smile widens when you see the corners of his mouth stirring up a little at your compliment.

Your heart was so full. Never did you think you would feel these dizzying emotions at a pretty boy merely muttering his name. His name. If this was your reaction at finding out one of their names, you were not going to survive getting to know them before you went full mother-hen mode on anyone that tried to harm them.

“What about you, hm?” Your smile is a lingering effect of just looking at Jungkook’s adorable blushing face and you don’t let it falter even if the fox hybrid is visibly more aloof.

‘Be patient with them y/n.’ You remind yourself of Hara’s words over and over.

“Namjoon.” The smile halts briefly at the deep timbre of his tone. You had not been expecting him to sound like molten chocolate and sweeter than honey. You realise you wanted to hear him more. Hear him speak about mundane topics over and over because that’s how good he sounded to you.

“Namjoon.” the name rolls off your tongue smoothly, just like his voice. You’re still watching his face, waiting for any sort of reaction even if it’s not as endearing as Jungkook’s. Just something. But his face remains passive. A slight twitch of his lips but that’s it. The pessimistic part of your brain convinces you that it could have been a frown and not a smile that he’s fought away.

But you needed to remain positive.

“T-That’s… a very nice name too.” He doesn’t look convinced at your reply though. Namjoon continues to watch you and now you’re the one blushing from the heat of his stare.

Jungkook is watching Namjoon just as cautiously as you. Like he expected him to be like that. Austere and unwilling to be forthcoming with information about himself. Telling yourself that he’ll adjust with time, you opt for a smile that’s sent Jungkook’s way - making the bunny hide behind Namjoon again. Almost like when a child is cautious and shys away from a stranger they meet. That’s what it was.  A childlike innocence to Jungkook which awoke every instinct in you to protect him. Maybe that’s why his eyes had convinced you that you needed to take them home with you.

“Okay boys. I’ll show you to your rooms.” Furrowing your brows at the way Jungkook clutches Namjoon harder with panicked eyes, you turn around to look at them again.

“You don’t need to stay in separate rooms if you don’t want to, okay?” Namjoon regards you with a look before nodding - eyes cast down once again.

“Good. You both are very quiet but that’s okay - I can talk enough for the three of us.” The wink that you send Jungkook’s way only has him sputtering with embarrassment as the lovely rose tints his full round cheeks.

“But you do have to tell me when you are not okay with something, alright? I can’t read your pretty little heads.” As you say the last few words, your hand reaches out to shuffle the bunny’s peach hair.

What you don’t expect, is him flinching away so violently that even you are startled, taking a step back. Jungkook is hiding behind Namjoon completely now, shaking and you want to reach out. Say sorry and take it all back.

“I’m… I’m so sorry. I didn’t-”

“Hey, kook, it’s alright. It’s okay.” Namjoon’s voice reverberates through the quiet hallway, soothing the bunny’s shaking frame, whispering gentle assurances and you’re about to choke up.

What happened to him? Who did this to him. For him to be this scared. Watching Namjoon hug the shaking bunny tightly, sniffling away in his chest, only makes you feel more guilty at your brash treatment. Were you coming on too strong? God you were so out of your depth.

“I didn’t mean to scare you Jungkook. Honey..” You’re trying your best to reach out to him but the way Namjoon stands between you and him like a wall - it’s obvious he was waiting for something like this to happen. He was cautious of you and now his beliefs have been reinforced to not trust you or whatever nonsense he’s thinking.

You couldn’t blame him though. You really couldn’t.

“Please be careful, miss. He’s not a toy.” Namjoon’s voice trembles. Just the way - you now notice - his bottom lip does. He’s holding back tears and you really don’t know what to do. Except try your best to take their pain away.

“I’m.. I’m really sorry Namjoon. I didn’t mean to upset him.” You open the door to the room quickly, making sure there are blankets and pillows on the bed before coming out to tell them.

“Take him inside Namjoon. I’ll… I’ll leave you two alone, for now. Let me know if you need anything?” Namjoon merely nods, not being able to look you in the eyes but the bite of his lip tells you he’s trying to hold it together.

Jungkook’s hiccups catch your attention and you pull yourself out of your self-pity session. Only wanting to make sure that both of the hybrids are comfortable and just not feeling the way they are right now. Gesturing your head forward again, you nod at Namjoon when he looks at you one last time before heading into the room. The bunny holds onto Namjoon tightly, letting him walk into the room and when they are fully in - you close the door behind them. Giving them their privacy and also because you had a feeling they needed to be by themselves to really understand their current situation. That you were their new owner and this was their home.

A permanent home.

[twomoonstwosuns]

friends.

back to you [series masterlist]

previous part · next part

pairing: professor!poe dameron x reader

warnings: mentions of alcohol, swearing, sweet fluff for the entire thing, age gap (reader over 18)

word count: 4.0k

a/n: feeling kinda meh about this chapter, i apologize if it’s not my best. enjoy the fluff, because we’re about to dive into some drama.

*updated masterlist with info about the number of remaining chapters! (but give me like 10 minutes so I can find the post and link things)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Is the Wi-Fi working for you?”

Poe looked up from his computer when you didn’t answer. Your head was propped up against your hand as you stared at the screen. “Y/N?”

You hummed, tearing your eyes away from the screen. “Sorry, what?”

He gave you a humorous smile. “Are you connected to the Wi-Fi?”

You glanced down at the bars at the top of your screen. “Um…oh, I guess not.”

Poe got up from the table to reset the router. You leaned back in your chair, head hanging over the back so your hair cascaded down the back of it, and groaned quietly. It was a late Sunday afternoon and you were sitting at Poe’s kitchen table doing homework. He had his computer open too, though you weren’t entirely sure what he was doing. A comfortable silence accompanied by soft music fell over you, interrupted only by the clacking of the keyboard. Beebs was off being Beebs. He had been bouncing between you and Poe, demanding attention until you finally caved. After a game of fetch with the purple dragon you bought for him that allowed you to procrastinate for all of two minutes, Beebs trotted off towards Poe’s bedroom to chew on his new favorite toy. Then you were stuck working again. You were quickly losing the will to concentrate, your head throbbing with exhaustion.

“What’s eatin’ you?” You lifted your head to see Poe back in his spot, arms crossed over his chest and an observant look on his face.

“This business marketing paper. The boring part of marketing,” you said, shutting your computer and pushing it away from you. “I need a break. What’re you working on?”

Poe just sighed heavily. You walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and peering at his laptop. There were multiple documents and webpages up.

“What’s eating you?”

Poe looked stressed. He grabbed your hand, bringing you around to perch on his lap. Your arm rested around his neck as his went around your waist to secure you in place.

“I’m…looking at Snoke’s dissertations, his research, the department head job…anything to give me an advantage.”

“Any word on when the interview is?”

“Not yet, but I got the names of some of the people interviewing for the position.”

“Anyone I know?”

“Armitage Hux?”

You narrowed your eyes as you thought. The name sounded familiar so you figured he was someone who taught at the university, but you didn’t know him personally. “I think I’ve heard the name before. If he’s a professor here, I haven’t had him.”

“Consider yourself lucky. He’s a pretentious jackass who thinks he’s above everyone else. Takes after Snoke.”

“Tell me how you really feel about him,” Poe snickered and gave your waist a squeeze. “Well, you’re the complete opposite of him, so I’d say that’s an advantage already. If there’s anything I can do to help you, let me know.”

Poe rubbed his eyes with his free hand. Resting your head against his, you ran your hand through his hair, lightly massaging his scalp.

“Sweetheart, you’re going to make me fall asleep,” he said, leaning into your touch. You smiled at the pet name, a warm feeling settling in your chest.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No.”

Poe rested his head on your shoulder, his nose nuzzling your collarbone. You continued running your fingers through his hair, a content groan coming from him as he completely relaxed. Moments like these were few and far between and greatly cherished, when you could just relax in each other’s embrace. There was no sneaking around, no pretending like you weren’t a couple in a room full of people. You could just be together.

Beebs suddenly barked loudly from Poe’s bedroom, startling the both of you out of your peaceful state. You looked towards the noise. “What’s gotten into him?”

Poe reluctantly unwound his arms from your waist, looking towards the room as Beebs’ barks turned to huffs.

“Maybe he found a mouse,” Poe said, smirking when you glared at him.

“That’s not funny!” You yelled after him.

A loud knock on the door startled you again. You could hear Poe talking to Beebs, which meant he hadn’t heard the door. You tiptoed over to the door to peak through the peephole when you heard a loud, booming voice.

“Poe Dameron, I know you’re alive in there!”

Yanking the door open, you immediately recognized the man and woman on the other side, but their faces showed confusion as they looked at you.

“You are not Poe,” the man said with a joking tone to his voice. You laughed.

“No, but I know you,” you pointed between the two visitors. “You’re Finn, and you’re Rey.” You recognized them from the pictures Poe had around his apartment and on his office desk.

“Is Poe here?” Rey asked kindly, and you snapped out of your thoughts.

“Oh my god, yeah, I’m sorry.” You stood aside, letting them in. “Poe!”

Poe came out of his room with Beebs hot on his heels and you saw his face light up when he saw Finn.

“Buddy!” He engulfed Finn in a giant hug, patting him on the back. It had been far too long since they’d seen each other, and the reunion of two best friends made you smile. “What’re you doing here?!”

“I’m on leave for two weeks, had to come say hi. And I managed to steal Peanut from Florida for a few days.”

Poe found Rey from over Finn’s shoulder and grabbed her in a bear hug, lifting her from the ground. They both leaned down to say hi to Beebs, the happy dog hungry for their affection, as he laid on the ground with his belly open for scratches.

“Guys,” Poe beckoned you over to him. “This is Y/N. Y/N, this is—“

“Finn and Rey, I know,” you smiled, shaking both of his friends’ hands. “It’s so great to meet you, I’ve heard so many good things about the both of you.”

“Oh god, now I have to know what he said.” Finn joked. “Are you sticking around a bit longer?”

You grabbed the phone out of your pocket and grimaced at the time. “Another time, I actually have to head out.”

Beebs grabbed Finn and Rey’s attention once again, showing off a toy in hopes they’d play with him.

“You know you can stay, right?” Poe questioned quietly as you packed up your belongings.

“I know, but Karé’s expecting me home to help her study and if I’m not there soon, she will kill me,” you explained, really wishing you hadn’t made the promise to your friend so you could stay. “Besides, it’s not everyday you get a surprise visit from your best friends. You haven’t seen them in months; you need to catch up with them. I’ll see you later.”

Poe smiled appreciatively and pressed a lingering kiss to your lips. You whispered a goodbye to him before politely waving to Finn and Rey.

“So that’s your girl, huh?” Rey asked as the front door clicked shut, elbowing Poe in the ribs and wiggling her eyebrows. Poe looked from the door to his friends and back, a small smile on his face.

“Yeah, that’s her.”

》 》 》

The nerves were back in your belly.

Finn and Rey still wanted to get to know you, so they suggested drinks. This felt as big as meeting the parents. Finn and Rey were important and if they didn’t like you…you didn’t want to think about it.

You drove over to Poe’s apartment and he intercepted you before you could head inside, instead getting into his waiting car. Your phone rang and you pressed a finger to your lips as Poe opened his mouth to say hi.

“Hi, mom.”

“You will never guess who’s back in town.”

“I know Ben is, but who else?”

“Ben told you, good! Well his father’s back, too. They want to know if we want to have dinner with them and his mother, and they want you and Tallie to come too. Are you available Wednesday night?”

“You’re going to make me drive an hour home just for that?”

“Please, honey? They really want to see you. If it’ll get you here, I’ll pay for your gas.”

You threw your head back against the seat of the car, groaning inaudibly in discontent.

“If it’ll make you happy, fine. But you’re paying me back for gas.”

“Thank you, honey. I’ll let them know and I’ll text you when we settle on a time and place.”

“Sounds good, unfortunately I gotta go, I’m actually a little busy right now.”

Bidding your mother goodbye, you hung up and tossed your phone into your bag. Poe raised his eyebrows. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, apparently I get to drive all the way home to go out to dinner with some family friends who just got back to town,” you said, still confused as to why it was so imperative that you attend. “So…we’re not going inside?”

“Finn found a place an hour away. He figured we might like that since we’re always at my apartment.”

“Wow,” you said softly, awed at the sweetness of the gesture of someone who was still practically a stranger. “That’s so nice of him.”

“He likes you.”

“He doesn’t know me.”

“I’ve told him enough.”

“Oh yeah? What have you told him about me?”

“All the good stuff. Like how you snore.”

“I do not!” You swatted his arm. Poe grabbed your hand, intertwining your fingers with his and kissing your knuckles. He didn’t let go for the entire hour-long drive.

When you got to the bar, Poe grabbed your hand outside of the car and kissed you in the parking lot. Because there was no one around who could tell on you.  

Finn and Rey had already arrived, commandeering a booth in the corner that wasn’t hiding from the action in the bar but a little out of the way to ensure some privacy. You sat down nervously as Finn joined Poe at the bar to get drinks.

“Can I just clarify something before Poe comes back?” You blurted as soon as Rey opened her mouth to speak. She nodded. “I’m not using Poe to get a good grade or whatever.”

“Relax,” Rey laughed. You blushed, muttering an apology and wondering where Poe was with drinks. “We never thought you were. Poe’s told us enough where we never even considered it.”

You felt your shoulders relax. “Ok, now I have to know what he said.”

Rey eyed the guys coming back to the table and gave you a look that said you’d talk about it later. You took a long swig of your beer, bursting into giggles with Rey at the reason why. Poe shook his head.

“Do I want to know?” He asked as he put his arm around the back of the booth and you shook your head as you patted his knee.

“Nope. Our secret.” You clinked your bottle against Rey’s and Poe felt excitement in his veins that you and Rey were already getting along.

“All right Y/N, there’s a few things Poe didn’t tell us about you,” Finn said. “What’s your major?”

“Marketing, which will let me do pretty much anything.”

“Do you know what you��re doing after school?”

“Not even in the slightest. I probably should start setting up job interviews though.”

“Family?”

“Mom, older sister, brother-in-law.”

“Is this twenty questions? Because if it is, it’s totally one-sided.” Poe interrupted.

“We’re doing a crash course on Y/N. Pun intended.” Finn said, making Poe roll his eyes.

“Ok fine, but let me sneak in a question or two.” You said. “Family?”

Poe’s eyes flickered between his two friends as he tensed beside you. You froze, realizing you might’ve struck a nerve but not knowing how. Your nerves were back in full force, a warm uncomfortable feeling settling in your chest.

“We were foster kids,” Finn said. “I never knew my birth parents.”

“And my parents died when I was five.” Rey added. They sounded so nonchalant about it, like they’ve said it a million times. A sorrowful look crossed your face.

“Don’t be sorry.” Rey shook her head, placing her hand on yours. “We got lucky with loving families and it made us who we are.”

“And we’re awesome, so…”

You admired their perspective. You weren’t very familiar with the foster system, knowing only what you know through word-of-mouth and poor TV portrayal, but you knew enough to know that kids sometimes ended up in bad situations when they all deserved good situations. And you were grateful that Finn and Rey ended up with good families.

“My dad walked out on my family six months ago to be with his mistress and we didn’t hear from him for two weeks,” you admitted, breaking the tense silence. Poe squeezed your hand. “Since we’re swapping family stories.”

Finn and Rey were silent before bursting out laughing, which caused you to laugh, and then Poe laughed. Uncomfortable family situations you had no control over whatsoever wouldn’t ruin a good time.

You learned that Rey was incredibly gifted and the youngest engineer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, working between engine maintenance on planes and shuttles to computer data processing. She had two rescue cats named Ochi and Deo and hated the humidity of Florida but loved the ocean and the lush green of the Everglades.

Finn was a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force based in California, quickly rising through the ranks with his skill and natural leadership abilities. He had just been assigned to the base in California and he was still getting used to all the sun. He and Poe met in high school first and made a plan to join the Air Force together until Poe’s father got sick. The band had been Finn’s idea, having spent three weeks holding auditions until he found his bandmates.

“Your friends are cooler than mine,” you said quietly to Poe before turning back to Finn and Rey. “So NASA engineer and Air Force pilot/sergeant. Definitely cooler than a famous musician.”

“Poe told you about that?” Finn asked. “Did he tell you about Skywalker Records?”

“Only that they were interested in you.”

“Well, we actually sat down with the founder Luke and Poe was so nervous that he tripped over his own feet and broke one of his Grammy’s.”

You wanted to feel bad for your boyfriend, but instead you busted out laughing. Poe groaned in embarrassment and you leaned into him, patting his stomach. You and Poe were probably a little touchy feely given that you with his friends, but if they had a problem with it they didn’t seem to care. You never got to act like a couple in public and you were taking full advantage of it.

“So, are you excited to graduate?” Rey asked. You nodded, but deep in the back of your mind you didn’t want to think about graduating, entering the real world and leaving the comfort of a daily school routine. And, ultimately, the possibility of leaving Poe.

“It’s been a long ride and sometimes I think I’ll forget everything I learned,” you vented. “And sometimes I feel like all college has done for me is teach me how to function on very little sleep and how to get really good at Mario Kart, like those skills are going to take me far.”

“Depending on what you end up doing, working on no sleep can help you.” Rey answered. Poe shot her a look.

“Don’t encourage it, it’s not healthy.”

“But it’s true.”

“You any good?” Finn interrupted, looking directly at you.

“At not sleeping? Very.”

“No, at Mario Kart.”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Finn huffed and you furrowed your brow. “Why?”

“Nothing,” Finn said, giving you a challenging look. “I just so happen to be the King of Mario Kart.”

You arched your eyebrow. Poe and Rey were looking at the both of you humorously.

“How good?”

And that’s how you found yourself back in Poe’s apartment, moving the coffee table out of the way while Poe hooked up the gaming system.

“How do you want to do this? No matter how good you think you are, your thumb is going to cramp after a couple of races. We’re going to need a break.”

“You don’t think you’re playing alone, do you?” Poe asked, looking between you and Finn. “You’re my girlfriend and all, Y/N, but I’m going to kick your ass.”

A smirk grew on your face. “Is that a challenge?”

“If you want it to be.” Poe stalked towards you, leaning down to your ear. “Just remember that I always win.”

Undoubtedly a little turned on, you had never been more determined to beat someone for. And Poe knew it.

“Fine. Finn and Poe against me and Y/N,” Rey said. “I hope you’re both prepared to get your ass kicked by a couple of girls.”

“Yeah, we’ll see,” Finn said, handing over a controller. Poe came back into the living room with a piece of paper and a pen.

“We’ll keep track of the points from each set of races. Whoever tallies the most at the end wins.”

As you picked your characters, Mario and Luigi respectively, Rey pulled you aside. “I think they’re strategizing,” she whispered, looking at Finn and Poe, who were huddled up together. Beebs just lay in the middle of the floor with his tail wagging, just wanting to be included.

“What is there to strategize on? You just race,” you said.

“I have an idea. Go for the speeder.” Rey said. “Finn will most likely go with something flashy that has better acceleration but the speeder is easier to control, which will give you the advantage when you get to the harder courses.”

You pointed at her with a smirk. “Good thinking.”

It was back and forth, round after round. You’d win a couple. Finn would win a couple. Then Rey, then Poe. Both teams took to over-the-top celebrations. The guys danced, you and Rey chest bumped. Celebratory shots after each round made their way into the game.

You were having the time of your life.

Entering the final race, the score was incredibly close, the guys leading you by six points. You needed to finish at least fifth in order to beat them. It was you and Finn, battling it out over who’d be crowned the best at Mario Kart. You had just gained the lead when you felt Poe’s hands on your hips. You tried to shake them off, but he wouldn’t budge. You ignored him, but he suddenly wrapped one arm around your waist and started pulling backwards away from the TV.

“Oh hell no! Poe!” you laughed, fighting against the pull, but it was useless. “Rey!”

You grabbed your partner’s attention and tossed her the remote as Poe pulled you back by the couch. You cheered victoriously when Rey got back on course and managed to pull back just behind Finn. You stopped fighting against Poe and rested your arms on top of his, hip-checking him as he buried his face in your neck and wrapped his other arm around you.

“You are such a cheater!” You were giggling uncontrollably as Poe placed kisses wherever he could. He kissed up your neck to your cheek.

“I’m sorry you didn’t think of it,” Poe said against your cheek, with humor in his voice. His lips moved all over your cheek. You turned your face and caught his lips, which he kissed multiple times as you laughed. The joyful crinkles by your eyes matched his.

Finn and Rey glanced at each other with knowing smirks. Their best friend was completely smitten.

Poe rested his chin on your shoulder as you both watched your partners finish the race. He subconsciously tightened his grip around you as Finn and Rey became neck and neck, you cheering as Rey crossed the finish line. She didn’t finish first, but she did beat Finn. Poe released you as you went to high-five Rey, picking up the pad of paper and writing down the scores. You waited anxiously as they tallied up the results.

“We win!”

You and Rey protested, grabbing the paper to double check the math. They had indeed won, and you knew Poe wasn’t going to let you live it down.

“A worthy competitor,” you stuck your hand out to Finn, who shook it. Poe stuck out his hand and you shook your head. “Not happening.”

He gently grabbed your wrist and pulled you into him. “That’s not very friendly.”

“You and me: rematch.”

“It’s a date.”

He pecked your lips and grabbed the bottles of alcohol to put away. “It’s late, do you guys just want to crash here? I’ve got the guest room and the couch.”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.” Rey said, looking at Finn who nodded. “Go take Beebs out, we know where your extra blankets and pillows are.”

While Poe took Beebs out, you helped Finn and Rey get the couch set up, turned off lights, and shut things down for the night. You met them in the middle of the living room, not quite ready to say good night.

“You know, I really admire how strong you’ve kept your friendship after all these years while being thousands of miles apart,” you commented. “I’m terrified of what’s going to happen with my friends here and my friends from high school.”

“Sometimes you just find people in your life who are worth the effort. Rey and Poe are that for me. And you seem to be that way for Poe.”

“So, does that mean I’ve got your approval?”

Finn and Rey glanced at each other before looking back at you. You gave them a knowing look in return.

“Damn, she’s observant,” Finn whispered loudly.

“Not that we should have any say over who Poe chooses to date,” Rey stated. “But yes.”

You gave them a small smile, whispering your thanks that was interrupted with a loud yawn from Finn.

“Sorry, it’s exhausting kicking ass,” Finn said. Both you and Rey rolled your eyes.

“I’ll get better by beating Poe and the next time you come up, we’ll play.”

“Deal.”

It was your turn to yawn, the sleepy ambiance of the apartment practically pushing you towards bed.

“Go to bed, we’ll talk in the morning.” Rey said, hugging you. You were surprised by the action, but hugged her back nonetheless. Finn tapped you on the shoulder as you pulled away from Rey.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do with friends in the next room over.” Finn warned, pulling you into a hug. You chuckled.

“Poe’s gonna gloat all night, so don’t worry. It’s not happening.”

You caught Poe’s eye as he came in the door and seeing you hugging his friend. You expected him to give you a look for talking about him while he was gone, but instead you saw him carefully watching you with a smile on his face as he took off his coat. After just a couple of hours, you were getting along with two of the most important people in his life.

He couldn’t help but be happy.

tag list [open] - @ah-callie @darksideofclarke @gloomygoregirl @leilei-draws @imaginecrushes @i-ievu @brianamaree @yeeintensifies @spider-starry @krazykatkay456 @fanfiction-trashpile @afootnoteinyourhappiness @easterncryptid @my-child-gaara @myrandom-fandomlife @onebatch--twobatch @the-cry-of-youth @p3nny4urth0ught5 @porgiez @umchrisevans @galaxy-of-stories @seeking-a-great--perhaps 

[euphoria-svt]

London Date

requested by anon: can you do a cute little request where Connor and the reader are out in the city taking pictures and he has a cute way of asking her to be his girlfriend?

I have no idea if this is a cute way of someone asking to be his girlfriend (bcs homegirl cannot relate) but I tried with this one haha x

I’m still taking request because I have another 2 weeks till uni starts and I’ve been bored outta my mind :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

word count: 1.5k -ish

You open your eyes tiredly to the sound of your phone vibrating from the nightstand by your side of the bed. Lazily reaching for it, you caught a glance of the time and Connor’s name flashed on your screen as you answered the call.

 You huffed in annoyance then muttered sleepily “Brashier, you better be dying because you know how much I hate to be disturbed in the morning, especially on off-days”

 Connor chuckled lowly on the other end at your grumpiness. He knew you weren’t a morning person, hell everyone on the team knows that “Well good morning to you too, sleeping beauty. Meet me downstairs in 30 minutes?”

 “Why the fuck?” You whined as you rolled over, avoiding the sunlight peeking through the curtains “I’d rather be sleeping until noon thank you very much”                              

 “We’re going to explore London today!”

“No, I’m not” You deadpanned “You can go ask Brian or Shawn or whoever the hell wants to. I’m not going anywhere”

 “Come on, y/n!” He insisted and you knew him well enough to know that he was pouting on the other end “It’s our only off-day and I haven’t seen much around London. Can you pretty please get out of bed and come follow me? Please?”

 When Connor didn’t hear a respond, he could only imagine that you were likely dozing off to sleep again “y/n!” He called loudly to make sure you could hear him.

 “Okay fine, I’ll come, I’ll come!” You exclaimed, rubbing your eyes tiredly “Give me an hour because I want to wash my hair then I’ll meet you downstairs”

 “You’re the best, y/n!” Connor exclaimed “Text me when you’re ready, okay?”

 You rolled out of bed a few minutes later and went over to your suitcase to pick out an outfit to wear for the day before heading towards the bathroom to take a shower. Forty minutes later, you were freshened up (still sort of sleepy but nothing a cup of coffee couldn’t fix) and had minimal makeup on for your little tourist day.

 You grabbed your handbag from the coffee table, sending a quick text to Connor saying you were heading downstairs and slipped on your favourite pair of Adidas sneaker because you knew there was a lot of walking involved.

 “Good morning!” Connor chirped as you walked up to him in the lobby.

 With a raised eyebrow, you asked “Why are you so chirpy this morning? We went to sleep at 4am yesterday”

 He shrugged his shoulder as you two stepped out of the hotel. It was still chilly in London but at least it doesn’t feel like you’re going to freeze your butt off “I’m just excited to walk around and stuff. I’ve never been to London before this”

 You pulled out your phone and begin to look for the nearest attraction you two could visit “Do you want to go see the Big Ben first? We could take the tube to go there, get the whole tourist experience”

 Connor nodded without hesitation “Yeah, that sounds like fun!”

 After a few hours later and finally getting caffeine in your system, you and Connor were really enjoying being around one another as you visited the Big Ben, London Bridge, Buckingham Palace and the London Tower.

 Connor had his camera out for most of the time, like he usually does. He was busy taking pictures of the different buildings and statues they passed by, getting good shots of them from different angles. But when he knew you weren’t paying attention to him; he sneakily took candid photos of you.

 Connor liked you. A lot. Everyone knew that and even worst, Brian and Shawn wouldn’t stop teasing him about it. What Connor didn’t know is that your feelings for him were mutual and those two idiots you claimed to be your best friends were doing the same to you; obviously as an attempt to push you two to confess to one another.

 There was also another reason why he asked you to come along with him today. When you were in Germany, you lot went to the local market where he saw you eyeing a pretty necklace in a vintage store however you didn’t buy it. So, while you and Liv were queuing up for doughnuts, Connor sneaked off to the previous store and bought it for you, in hoping to give it to you when he finally has the guts to confess his feelings.

 That box has been sitting in the pocket of his duffle bag for about a month now because he kept feeling the moment wasn’t right… Until now.

 “Did you get a lot of good shots today?” You asked as you two walked by the river bank.

 “Yeah” Connor answered as he lowered his camera after taking a picture of the river; letting the camera dangle from his neck “I’m going to go through it tonight if I have the time because I have to work on editing the concert videos starting tomorrow”

 “Has Andrew talked to you about what they’re looking for though?” You wondered “Like are they going to make it to an hour-long film, like what One Direction and Justin Bieber did?”

 “I think it’s something like that” He nodded “I don’t know the full details quite yet but I’ve already got a fair number of videos from the European tour and basically got to compile them up and choose the best”

 “I don’t know how you do it, Con” You told him, shaking your head a little “It’s just a shit ton of work for one person to do and you seem to be unbothered by staying up all the time editing and running around the arenas after Shawn”

 “It’s hella tiring, for sure” Connor stated “But I’m doing what I love, you know? When you do what you love, it doesn’t feel like a chore to you” He shrugged.

 You smiled, “That’s a nice motto to live by”

 “Hello there!” A middle-aged woman greeted you as you two were passing by her flower cart. She flashed you and Connor a smile, holding out a single white rose in her hand “Would you want to buy a rose for your girlfriend? It’s only £1”

 You were about to correct her, but Connor beat you to it “Yeah, why not” He smiled in return as he fished his hand into his pocket looking for loose change. He placed the coin in her hand and took the rose from her.

 “Thank you!” She beamed.

 “For you” Connor held the rose out for you, a shy smile appearing on his face.

 You blushed in return, accepting the rose as you two continued walking down the pathway “Connor?” You asked.

 “Yeah?”

 “You didn’t correct her”

 “Hm?” Connor hummed in return as he stopped in his track so he was facing you. He raised an eyebrow, “Correct who?”

 “The flower lady” You muttered “She asked if you wanted to buy a rose for your girlfriend and you didn’t correct her”

 “Oh”

 “Well….” He began, trying to find the right words to say without messing up “Would that be okay?” He asked innocently “If you were my girlfriend?”

 You were taken aback by his question. Brian and Shawn told you multiple times that Connor had feelings for you too but hearing it from those dorks versus hearing it from Connor’s mouth himself were very different.

 You almost couldn’t believe this was actually happening.

 “Your girlfriend?” You repeated shyly “Really?”

 “Really” Connor confirmed as he looked into your eyes “I really like you, y/n… You have no idea”

 You smirked, thinking of what Shawn and Brian have been saying “I might have an idea actually….”

 “What are you-,” He paused before letting out a heavy sigh, rolling his eyes “Those fucking idiots”

 “They can’t keep their mouth shut” You shake your head “Which is why I know they’ve probably told you how I feel about you too”

 Conor looked down and reached for your hand, intertwining your fingers together then lifted his face to look at you “So, this is a yes then?” He asked hesitantly.

 You flashed him a smile, tip-toeing to press a kiss to his cheek “Yes, you goof”

 “Good” He sighs happily as he slipped his hand into the pocket of his jean jacket and revealed a little purple box “Because I was going to give it to you after you said yes”

 You looked at him curiously as you lifted the box open. You gasp when you saw the exact necklace you were eyeing from Germany sitting in the box, staring back at you.

 “When did you get this?” You ask in a surprised tone.

 “I saw you eyeing this beauty at the vintage store a while back” He grinned, taking the necklace out of the box and held it up “May I?”

 You nodded as you turned, feeling the cold chain against your neck. You faced him again and said “Con, it’s so beautiful… But you really shouldn’t have”

 “I know” Connor answered, shrugging “But I wanted to get it for you”

 “You’re the sweetest” You cooed, pulling him in a hug “Thank you, Con. I love it”

 “Anytime, babe” He muttered against your neck “I can call you babe, right?”

 “If you want me to melt right away… Then yeah, call me ‘babe’ anytime you want, babe”

[hwangdol]

h.mh: i’m (not) fine.

part of the We Can’t Be Friends Series

pairing: college!hwang minhyun x fem!reader

note: see, i’m not dead! school has just been a bitch and i haven’t really had any motivation to write but! i finally got hit by lightning and i saw the holy god hwang minhyun. anyways i’m making this into a little series for minhyun because i feel like the story i want is the best express this way. i’m a heavy curser so this also contains a shit ton of curse words. and since this is set as a college!au, there’s gonna be some more mature themes compared to my other fics and the format is a little different.   

read the preview to get a little insight (don’t necessarily need to but it would be recommended)!!!

“i’m fine,” you stressed. 

your phone was pressed to your check with your shoulder as you placed some of the carrots you selected into a plastic bag, throwing it into your shopping cart once you finished. 

“i’m not sure i believe that,” your long-time bestfriend, kim jaehwan, said from the other side. 

you rolled your eyes at his comment. it’s been about two months since minhyun’s sudden break-up and you were doing just fine. well, at least that’s what you told everyone. 

switching the phone to the other ear, you lazily pushed the shopping cart forwards. it was currently two in the morning and here you were, dressed in nothing but an oversized shirt and a pair of shorts on a friday night, grocery shopping. 

“you’ve barely been out since the two of you broke up!” jaehwan pointed out. 

“i’m grocery shopping right now!” you argued back, turning your cart down the juices and drink aisle. jaehwan had a habit of stealing your precious ice yea. “i’m buying vegetables and all of that adult shit.” 

“dude, we both know that you’re only grocery shopping because your mom has been nagging you for weeks and you need to have physical proof that you’re a fully-functioning adult, which i might have to add, you’re not.” 

“shut up,” you muttered, eyes scanning for your favorite drink. “whose fault is it that i have completely bare cabinets and fridge? you practically inhale all of my food.” 

“it’s payment for keeping your depressing ass company when i can do better things with my time.” 

“excuse you, i am not depressing, i’m merely sweating from my eyes every night,” you replied back. picking up a pack of your sweetened ice tea, you placed it into the shopping cart. “did you want anything? might as well buy your fat ass something while i’m here.” 

“booze.” was jaehwan’s replied. “get the good shit, not the one that tastes like donkey piss.” 

“fine, you fucking alcoholic,” you sighed. sadly the alcohol aisle was in another area despite it also being a beverage, which meant that you had to walk even further. 

“anyways, how do you feel about going back into the scene again?” 

“no,” you quickly replied. “i’m not doing that shit again” 

“i’m not talking about being in a serious relationship.” 

“what do you mean then?” 

“i think it’s time for y/n to return to the hoe life,” jaehwan said. “i’ve been missing my thotty bestie.” 

“you really think it’s a good time for me to get blackout drunk every staturday night again?” 

“hey, you were the one that said you’re doing fine,” jaehwan countered with your own words. “i think we need to transition out of the i’m-so-sad-i-miss-him phase and into lets-get-fucking-hammered.”  

“we?” 

“you act like you’ve been going through a breakup alone. this has been a team effort, it's like i’ve been dumped too,” he replied as if if made sense. and according to jaehwan logic, it did. 

a small smile picked up the corners of your lips, typical jaehwan.

he was a friend that's been with you through everything little up and down since middle school. despite his blunt words, jaehwan was the first person that you called after the breakup and watch as you went through three pints of strawberry cheesecake ice cream and ten thousand boxes of tissues. not to mention, he even offered to beat your ex-boyfriend up in multiple violent ways. 

jaehwan was the best bestfriend you could possibly ask for. 

turning the cart into the alcohol aisle, you asked, “what type of booze do you want? the sweet type or the sophisticated one?” 

“the one we can pregame with for the party tomorrow” your friend stated. 

you opened your mouth to argue, but the words got trapped in your throat once your eyes laid upon a familiar figure debating between two bottles of wine. 

“i’m taking your sudden silence as a yes to the party-” 

he didn’t seem to notice you yet as he was heavily invested in making a decision between two bottles of wine, so you quickly turned around and stopped in another aisle.

“holy shit,” you breathed out. 

“why? did something happen?” 

“he’s fucking here right now,” you spilled out. 

“who?” 

“you know who!” you whispered aggressively in fear that he could hear you. “i just saw hwang minhyun in the alcohol aisle!” 

“oh.” he said. “that’s not good.” 

“fuck your alcohol jaehwan, i’m going home,” you said, not wanting to return to the aisle next to you in fear of facing the last person you wanted to see right now. 

“wait! hold on,” jaehwan argued. “we need the booze so stop being a pussy and listen to me. if he’s buying alcohol at two in the morning, it doesn’t really show that he’s in the best of shape right now so just go for it.” 

“jaehwan, did you forget that i’m also going to buy alcohol at two in the morning?” you pointed out. “doesn’t exactly say i’m-doing-perfectly-fine-without-you to me either” 

“at least you have a shopping cart full of vegetables to back you up,” jaehwan try to reason. “and the other adult shit you bought.” 

“i have a total of two vegetables in my cart, jaehwan.” you said. “not a fucking farmers’ market.” 

“just go for it. he’s not someone in your life anymore so it shouldn’t matter what he thinks,” jaehwan reminded you. “i have an essay due at like six so i’m gonna go bs it, but you really need to grow a pair and buy my booze. i’ll see you tomorrow night and you better pull out that one hoe-y dress of yours.” 

and the called ended with a small beep. 

fuck, you thought to yourself. you contemplated on whether or not you really wanted to face minhyun right now. 

maybe you were lying a tad bit when you told everyone that you were okay and that you were doing just peachy without him. maybe it was a small white lie that you told to reassure everyone around you and maybe yourself. maybe you were still in love with him. maybe. 

biting on your lip, you finally made the decision to just suck it up and do it. if anything, you could just drown yourself in alcohol tomorrow. a perfect back-up plan, kinda. 

when you looked back to the aisle, minhyun was still there, except there was another bottle replacing one of the others you saw in his hands earlier. minhyun had always been particular with his food from what you could recall. actually, from what you know. 

perhaps you could just shimmy your way past him (who was standing straight in the middle of the aisle) and perhaps he wouldn’t even notice it. so with some resolve, you charged (not really) forward to get past him to get to where the tequila was. 

except, minhyun was a very hypersensitive person that becomes ten times alert once someone enters his little personal bubble. it was something that you once that was endearing and unique, now, it was the bane of your existence. 

as you tried to pass by behind him quietly, his head whipped and made eye contact with you. 

you froze as minhyun’s eyes widened once he registered who you were. 

he opened his mouth to say something, but you muttered a quick excuse me before passing by him. you ignored his stares and the heavy silence as you beelined towards the tequila section. 

you quickly placed in two bottles (and maybe a third) and prepared to leave when you heard his small voice you missed so much. 

“how are you?” 

you bit the inside of your cheek, should you respond? 

you did anyways. 

“i’m fine.”

you pushed your cart away to quickly escape, wondering exactly who you were saying it too. minhyun? or yourself?

you were a fool to think that you were okay when you were the entire opposite.

[koala-soap]

Content In Your Presence

Chapter Three

Pairing  Foreign Reader X Japanese Shouto Todoroki

Summary  Moving to Japan seemed like the only option left open to you, to escape your rapidly increasing problems that latched themselves onto your life back in Australia. As if to cut it off, wipe everything off the table, and have some sort of a new start for yourself, despite the guilt that stuck to you like rust. Through getting lost at airports, loosing luggage and being surrounded by a foreign language, moving to Japan managed to weasel it’s way into being the best decision of your life, thanks to someone you met on the balcony next to you: a sweetheart called Shouto Todoroki.

A lovely story about a foreigner falling in love with a Japanese sweet heart, and all your adventures and mishaps together.

。。。。

With it now being your second official day in the county of Japan, it made you glad to have some sort of responsibility to busy yourself with; give yourself the feeling of being productive, rather than sitting in your small apartment slurping on roasting hot noodles from a cheap plastic cup bought from a petrol station. For the next three weeks, you were had a small and simple job, and that was to water that nice old lady’s plants every weekend during her absence.

Having no clue on how to tend to flowers or any type of plant didn’t stop you though, and having this quaint little responsibility beat ending up working long shifts in a dull super market or a little sweaty fast food place crammed with oil and fat fingers. This way, you got to help someone out and have cool breeze in your face.

But that’s enough of that, because as of now, you stood at the end of what seemed like a maze of numbers, welcome mats and corridors. Just earlier, you had set off on a mission following the bright blue line on your phone guiding you to the address, and now that the short elevator ride was over, it was time to find the correct numbered door.

Your phone now sat snug in the tight pockets of your jeans, as concentrated eyes swayed from either side of the hallway, in search of a two digit number that kept repeating in your mind.

After a minute of wandering past countless doors neighbored with mats and boots and even small plants by them, a door with the number ‘38’ etched into it’s golden plate popped up on your right. Like a switch being turned on, the rigorous eyes on your face lit up like that of a Christmas tree covered in shining tinsel; and just like was planned, a cold metal key was left lying lonely under the scratchy welcome mat for you to let yourself inside.

It slid smoothly into the lock, and the door had slowly opened up to a colorful apartment inside. Unlike your own, there were colors all around. The couches that first greeted you when you entered had multiple knitted blankets flopped over their sides, bright tins of various cooking ingredients lined up against the kitchen counter, and strings of rainbow beads draped down in front of the sliding door opening up to the giant city outside. There was also a smell of soothing incense singing around in the air.

“ Dude, my apartment sucks. ” You mused to yourself with a chuckle.

The air outside was crisp and refreshing, the large green watering can in your hands quickly filling with water sprouting from the hose on the wall.

The white cap that hugged your hair kept the sun’s warm rays out the way, and only when the can was half-way filled did you rotate the creaky tap and attempt to pick it up. Water sloshed around inside and rounded out the top onto your slippery hands, trickling like a gentle shower head over the tiny succulents shortly after. Your strained hands held the water source over each plant pot, with greedy soil who slurped every drop up into its dry dirt.

Once all were happy and watered, the dripping green can sat happily in its spot by the coiled hose, and your hands rested on your hips to admire the view in front of you. However, once your wet hand reached up and around the back door’s handle to pull it back, it made you skin grow cold despite the shining sun when it laughed in your face that it was indeed… locked.

“ Oh, come on, please, no.” It ignored your desperate plead and sat smugly closed in its place. Whimpering and with eyebrows screwed together in exhausted worry, you gently placed your head against the cold glass. “ Am I supposed to sleep out here? Like, c'mon…”

After tugging on it, thinking it may just be jammed, you realized it certainly was not. You stood staring at the furniture mocking you from inside also, rapidly going through your options. Fujiko was away for the entire weekend, hence why you were here in the first place, and climbing down was only a job for super heroes since you were on the fourth floor. You couldn’t call the apartment’s reception either, since it was abandoned for the weekend.

Once the panic settled in, you were left to sit on the balcony floor waiting for god to answer your prayers for the door to just magically open. The sight of the neighbor’s matching sliding door caught your eye, and you peeped through the thin black railing and thought about asking them for help.

Being the positive soul you were, you decided to give it a go. So long as they were home and weren’t an axe murderer, what could go wrong?

A small sigh filtered out your nose to prepare yourself with whatever was about to happen, but it really was the only thing that you could do in this situation; calling the fire department sounded a bit too dramatic to you, and Fujiko was over two hours away enjoying time with her kids and grandchildren.

Your wet hand gripped onto the thin railing and you looked over to the matching balcony just in front of you, pondering how to get their attention without being excessively loud.

Your body strained to stretch as far over the railing to swerve your eyes past the door blocking your view, one thong covered foot lifting slightly off the tiles. When a sudden noise busted through your concentration, it was a quick struggle to not fall over the side and onto the busy streets below.

Flinging your head around, you see a young male stepping out his sliding door with a concerned but unsure look on his sleepy face, a hand flicking rouge strands of bed hair from it. The stranger was still clearly in pajamas from the baggy shirt and shorts, but his lively eyes suggested he’d been awake for a while.

He eyed your strange situation. “ ねえ。。だ。。だいじょぶ です か？[ Hey.. Uh.. Are you okay ? ] ”

“ はい、 はい、だいじょぶ。[ Yeah, Yeah, I’m fine. ] ” Once you popped your cap off, ruffling the hair off your sweaty forehead was a relief. An uncontrollable fit of nervous laughter jumped from your lips, and out of nervous habit, scratched the tips of your sweaty ears. You really didn’t like speaking Japanese to native people, in fear of them judging you. A wave of English words gushed through your mind, and you realized your vocabulary wasn’t good enough to explain yourself.

“ しょくぶつ に 、あの。。[ I’m here to.. water.. plants and uh… ] ” Your eyebrows sank together, and your hands waved about in circles to think of words. His gentle eyes follow your finger to the glass door. “ たちおうじょう [ Stuck . ] ”

Despite his empathetic gaze, you giggled relentlessly with unimaginable embarrassment at yourself with a hand clamped over your mouth. He’s silent for a few moments, eyes internally arguing over a decision before saying with only an impressively small amount of an accent, “ Do you speak English ? ”

The sheer look of absolute shock slapped into you was honestly priceless, and for a measly second, the strained laughing ceased for a second from behind your hand. It was as if the cogs in your brain had come to a complete stop and malfunctioned right in front of his eyes, and shocked eyes stared at him for a while, though clearly impressed. Just like your own, a very faint chuckle of nervousness left him. The hand on your face quickly shot down, and your eyebrows arched up to make your smile naturally kind as can be. “ Yeah! Oh my god, that was so strange, your English is so good! ”

The stranger’s eyes scrunched to make way for his shy smile. The beginning of your excited outburst was a little too fast for him to understand, but he got the end. “ Thank you. Were you saying the door is… stuck? ” The small pause he took was for him to shift through various English words until he landed on the correct one.

Two delicate hands placed the white hat back on your hair, and you giggled again when thinking of your horrible attempt of communication earlier. “ The key’s inside and I locked myself out here… Rookie mistake, I know. ” You chuckled.

“ Ah.. ” He nodded knowingly while his brain whirred about inside to try remember what 'rookie’ meant, but found nothing. The rest made sense to the stranger, anyhow. “ Okay, uh… hm. ” He seemed stuck for what to do as well, just as you were.

Fiddling with the tip of your left ear, face scrunched in thought and you looked at the handle. “ Can we pick it ? Or is that just in the movies ? ”

He puffed out a breathy chuckle, and scratched his head. “ Maybe.. You have uh.. それ なんだった？[ What was it? ] ” Quiet Japanese mumbling made his eyebrows furrow, and then pop up when he got the word and made a motion with his fingers to show what he meant. “ A pin ? Bobby pin? ”

You shook your head with a face full of apologetic guilt. The young man lent back to peer into his house and said, “ Hang on. ” Before hopping inside and making a bunch of thudding sounds.

He reappeared with a small grey box resting in large hands, patches missing reflective metal from being scratched off with what seemed like age. It clanged with tools inside, and he crouched down to open it on the floor of the tiled balcony. Things clanged against each other, until a small and thin metal tool that slightly resembled tweezers lifted out in his hand. “ I’m pretty sure this open locks… I promise I’m not a part time burglar, though. ” He smiles, and grunts to stand back up.

“ I’ll take your word for it. ” You joke back, and he quickly reaches a hand past his door to grab a screwdriver from a cabinet. “ Are you a mechanic or something? You have so many tools. ”

He quietly chuckles for a second with the tools in his hand. “ No, I’m not that cool. I’m studying to be a doctor. I just have them for convi- convin- convinience ? ”

You reassured him of his English with a nod paired with kind eyes, and he smiled shyly. “ Now how should we do this ? ”

Agreeing to letting him hand over the tools for you to try was apparently a big mistake, because even after a while of him leaning over the railing to observe your confused fiddling and directing you, the lock still remained stuck in its place. The pieces of metal in your fiddly fingers wiggled around inside the key hole, and were lifted or twisted depending on what the kind stranger told you to do. It remained hopeless though, and you stood defeated with the lock laughing at you.

“ This is so freaking hard. ” You mumbled mostly to yourself, tongue stuck out to assist in balancing the tools in the intricate place you had them.

“ Would like me to help? It’s fine. ” He offered, and soon enough, Shouto found himself hanging off the edge of his balcony railing, one hand in yours for balance as his leg reached out for the neighboring railing with his butt sat uncomfortably on his. The gap was only about half a meter wide, but the rock hard concrete and racing cars beckoned his body to fall.

The second foot with a large sandle weakly hanging from it leaped from the metal underneath it, and with a few stumbles, the tall man had succesfully made it to the other balcony with all four limbs. You let his hand go, and winced when you caught a glimpse of the busy streets below.

“ You okay ? ” A voice couldn’t sound more worried than yours, but the stranger simply kicked his dad sandles off and sighed out all the suspense that grew inside him.

A confident nod made your nerves ease themselves. “ Yeah, yeah, don’t worry. ” He panted heavily and switched from the gap he just leaped across to the shaken young lady in front of him again. “ Easy peasy lemon squeazy. ”

You snorted, and soon both got back to opening the stubborn door.

“ 愚かなロック。。[ C'mon, you stupid lock.. ] ” It was after five minutes that both of you realized he wasn’t much better than you. He did manage to get something in the lock to click, so whatever that was was hopeful. The man currently stood hunched over, hair flopped anywhere it desired, hands delicately twisting the tools with the tip of his tongue poking out. The screwdriver was angled ever so perfectly, and the other tool was twisted to the left carefully. Both you and him jumped at the sound of a rather loud click coming from inside the door, and he decided to risk it and put his hand around the handle.

He pulled on it, and it slid along the hinges to reveal the prize inside. Shouto sighed with exhaustion and grinned with triumph; you were jumping around excitedly.

A tsunami of relief crashed down onto you, so much so you could melt and cry. This generous stranger had just wasted forty minutes and jumped a balcony for you, and now you wouldn’t have to sleep out there for two days. “ Yes! Oh god, you did it! Thank you so much! ”

He nodded, just as triumphed as you. “ No problem, my morning was rather boring to begin with. ” He breathlessly chuckled. “ Now I can say I jumped a balcony. ”

“ You sure can, my god. ” You laughed as well, “ I’m [______] by the way. ”

You both shared a chuckle over the fact you were just doing this now, after the chaos had happened. The stranger pocketed the tools with grey, oily fingers and said with a heavy accent and smile, “ I’m Todoroki Shouto. ”

[giftfromthesleepprincess]

Chapter 7-Gift From the Princess Who Brought Sleep; Scene 2

Gift from the Princess Who Brought Sleep, pages 269-278

Of the land of Elphegort, one fourth of it was taken up by forest. The largest of these forests was the “Millenium Tree Forest” to the southwest. As the name implied, there had once been an enormous tree there that was called the Millennium Tree. The people worshipped it as a god, and it was known as a pilgrimage site for the disciples of the Held sect of the Levin faith.

But a terrible event occurred eighty years ago.

The Millennium Tree that had been the forest’s symbol suddenly withered and died.

When the nearby residents realized this, there was a great uproar; however, at the same time they had discovered a new large tree growing right beside it. The people then decided make that great tree a new target of their faith as the reincarnation of the Millennium Tree.

Sister Clarith, the founder of the Sisters of Clarith, had published this sermon in her last years:

“We all must honor the Millennium Tree. All people must protect this sacred tree, not just the followers of Held. For to us she is a most respected god, our most precious friend, and our most cherished love.”

It wasn’t something set in law. But it had become taboo to thoughtlessly touch the new Millennium Tree or damage it. Particularly as Held followers were terrified of losing their subject of worship again, they came to very rigidly safeguard the forest. A new church was founded by the forest’s entrance, and people who tried to enter were strictly inspected and restricted. That was certainly effective in protecting the Millennium Tree, but it also amounted to an annoyance for residents of the nearby village and a large portion of travelers.

The Sisters of Clarith started issuing a travel pass. You could enter the forest even without being inspected by the church at the entrance as long as you had it, but you needed to undergo a different examination in order to receive that pass, which was also extremely bothersome.

Elluka and Gumillia had travel passes (they had been given to them special by Sister Clarith herself during her life), but they’d long since expired. Thanks to that they’d kept their distance from the Millennium Tree lately.

Using an animal path that Egmont had told them about, they were able to successfully enter the forest without going by way of the main entrance. Elluka knew many other methods and back roads for getting in, but it seemed this path was the closest.

Eventually they came out into a clearing. Nearby the enormous tree that was growing in the heart of it was a visitor who’d gotten there first.

Puerick Rogzé. Unlike Elluka and Gumillia, he had come here using an official travel pass.

“Oh, I was waiting for you.  Miss Hanne—I was investigating a little until you got here.”

“Make yourself at home, Doctor…So then, what’s your opinion?”

“I can’t be certain without inspecting it more thoroughly with my tools at home, but…It does seem that this tree’s sap has extremely strong poison-counteracting properties.”

“Then you can make an antidote that will have an effect on the sixth ‘gift’ poison?”

“I can’t say. I still don’t know all the details on the sixth ‘gift’ in the first place. I wasn’t able to detect anything like it in the corpses at Toragay. –Only, I did find some peculiar antibody-like components in the blood of the survivors, so I’ve been looking into it with that as a foothold. If all goes well, I might be able to develop an antidote without having to go to the trouble of taking tree sap from the Millennium Tree.”

“Let’s hope so. The people in the Held sect aren’t likely to keep quiet if we end up continually damaging the Millennium Tree for the antidote.”

It wasn’t just Freezis Fairytales that were being sold in the black market held in Toragay. That white energy tonic that Egmont had purchased was another one of its products.

What it used as a primary ingredient was sap taken from the bark of the Millenium Tree. Strictly speaking, damaging the tree wasn’t against the law. It was just something the Held sect forbid on their own.

Despite that, naturally you couldn’t publicly sell Millennium Tree sap. If someone was discovered doing so they would incur the animosity of all the Held devotees in Elphegort.

“It’s fortunate that Egmont heard the ingredients from the seller,” Elluka murmured while touching the Millennium Tree’s trunk.

It seemed that Egmont was little more than a customer, unaware that Pere Noel was running the black market. He may have been a target for being cracked down on by the World Police despite that, but Elluka had no inclination to hand him over to them when he was the hero who saved Toragay. She wasn’t a reporter anymore, and Gumillia was no longer an officer.

“So, I will head back home for now. I plan to analyze this sap as soon as possible. …What do you two intend to do?”

“We—will stay here for a while. This forest is my girl here’s home,” Elluka replied, putting her hand on Gumillia’s head.

“Oh, I see. …Well then, take it easy.”

“Take care, Doctor. Try not to get caught by the people at the church.”

Elluka pointed to the bottle with the tree sap that Puerick was carrying.

“Oh yes, I know. I won’t let them confiscate my precious research subject without resistance,” Puerick said, walking towards the entrance to the forest.

“…What blockheads, ‘Pere Noel’,” Gumillia muttered as she watched Puerick leave. “To think, that the poison they made, would be cured by the medicine they made.”

“—Or maybe that was their aim all along.”

“…? What do you mean, Elluka?”

“They set loose a mysterious pathogen. The people are in a panic. But after a short time, a medicine that cures the disease is discovered. –But the only one who knows how to make it…”

“…Is ‘Pere Noel’.”

“Yes. They would have a monopoly on the cure. Think of the killing they’d have made if they’d managed to pull it off.”

“So then, the energy tonic Egmont bought, was the prototype, you mean?”

“Perhaps so. Maybe that was something that Shadow or Kaspar as ‘Second, Dealer’ had Margarita make in advance.”

Now that all three were dead, the truth was lost to them.

“Anyway…” Elluka once more put a hand on the great tree’s trunk. “Long time no see—Michaela.”

She spoke up to the Millennium Tree. When she did, a change began to occur.

The multiple layers of the bark on the trunk shifted, and finally created a small gap. It looked like a human mouth.

“…Honestly, what was with that geezer! Mercilessly scratching at a person’s---ah, no wait. A spirit’s—not that either. A god’s body! It’s inexcusable!”

The voice could be heard coming from the gap in the trunk.

Elluka and Gumillia were the only ones who could hear it. It was the voice of the Millennium Tree—or rather, the inheritor of the great land god Held, Michaela.

Michaela was a former spirit, and had also been once reborn into a human by Elluka. She had been felled with an assassin’s dagger a hundred years ago, and lost her life. After that, she had been chosen as a successor by the Millennium Tree—the land god Held—after he’d carried out his life span, and then finally been reborn as the new Millennium Tree.

“It can’t be helped, Michaela. It’s to save, people’s lives,” Gumillia said, trying to pacify her best friend as a fellow former spirit.

“Oh ho. I guess, yeah, people’s lives huh? Even though you got so ticked off at me when I extended Shaw’s life. But using Millennium Tree sap to save people is alright, huh? Wow,” Michaela griped with a sulking tone.

Shaw Freezis had once been tormented by a fear of dying of old age. He had begged Elluka to tell him how to become immortal, but she had refused him.

Though, Elluka’s immortality was an incidental side-effect of the “Sin”, and so it wasn’t something she could cause in the first place.

And there, as a last entreaty to god, Shaw had prayed to the Millennium Tree—in other words, Michaela—for immortality.

When Michaela had been human, she had worked under Shaw’s father, Keel Freezis, and so knew Shaw when he was little.

She sympathized with Shaw. She had listened to Shaw’s wish, and using her powers as god tried to make Shaw perpetually youthful.

But as an inexperienced god Michaela wasn’t able to do such a thing, and so couldn’t make him ageless as per Shaw’s wish. Even so, Shaw had gained a much longer lifespan than the average person.

Later on, once Elluka found out what she’d done, she’d been enraged at Michaela.

This was because gods weren’t supposed to interfere in human society unless absolutely necessary—a rule that Held had obstinately upheld, and Michaela as his successor had completely broken.

That was one of the reasons why Elluka had stopped visiting the forest much.

Gods were forbidden from intervention with humans—and in that case, what did that mean for using her tree sap?

“Well…how about we just put that in the purview of human intelligence, hm?” was all Elluka could reply. “Counteracting a poison created using the power of a ‘demon’ with the power of a ‘god’—I don’t see a problem in that.”

“Hah… Still as big a burden as ever, those ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’.” A gentle breeze issued from Michaela’s mouth. “You stiiiill haven’t gotten all of them? Good grief, you’ve gotta step it up, Elluka.”

“Tch…You got real cheeky the moment you became a god. My incompetent former apprentice.”

Elluka prodded Michaela’s trunk with all her strength.

But Michaela calmly replied, “That doesn’t huuurt.”

“I would think not.”

“So then, what actually happened? From beginning to end.”

“…The ‘Red Cat Sorceress’. I told you about her before, yes?”

“Yeah, she’s the one who was manipulating the girl who killed me and her mother.”

“There’s that, yes. That sorceress has been active again recently. If she’s following her usual pattern then she’ll have several ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’.”

“She’s quite spectacular, unlike you, Ellukaaa. This ‘Red Cat Sorceress’ I mean.”

“Oh shut up…So, we were tracking down someone who seemed to be her…but unfortunately it was a fake. In the end we couldn’t find any vessels either.”

“A fake, huh? So then you’re saying you were completely deceived.”

Deceived…hm.

Elluka had taken on a different name and fooled the whole world herself, yet she had still been deceived by someone else.

“We…everyone…was deceived.”

That was what Marx had said at his moment of death.

--Who in the world had he been deceived by?

--Who did he mean when he said “we”?

“You’ve been completely fooled anyway.”

Shadow had said that.

That was what she’d replied when Elluka mentioned that Margarita had contracted with a demon.

“I haven’t made any contracts. I’m me. From the moment I was born, I’ve always been myself.”

Those were Margarita’s words.

Elluka had thought she was trying to obfuscate matters. Or maybe someone else had gotten her to contract without her intent. There had in the past been some contractors of that pattern.

But—supposing that wasn’t the case.

.

Marx’s words.

Shadow’s words.

Margarita’s words.

A human who didn’t sleep.

A doll they couldn’t find.

Kaspar’s face which had so resembled someone else’s.

Margarita Blankenheim’s face.

The Phantom Thief Platonic’s face.

Eve Zvesda’s face.

And—the doll’s face.

.

Various things suddenly raced through Elluka’s mind.

When they melted, swirling together into one--

Elluka finally arrived at a single answer.

Impossible...The Sleep Princess...The true meaning of that...Her real identity--

“—-Elluka. Hey,

Elluka!

” Michaela was calling Elluka’s name.

There was a bit of anxiety in her tone.

“I can sense someone. Someone’s come here—It’s…that’s…”

Michaela was astonished. And Gumillia’s eyes opened wide.

But Elluka wasn’t surprised.

She’d said that, hadn’t she? “I’ll go to the forest”.

And that had been this Millennium Tree Forest.

.

“—-It seems we have met again, hm, Miss Elluka?”

Standing there was the woman who had died, Margarita Blankenheim.

<<prev------directory------next>>

[imagine-loki]

Magic Mistake

TITLE: Magic Mistake CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 1 AUTHOR: staria ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine being a witch (on Earth) and accidentally summoning Loki. He gets angry and confused, but ends up actually liking your company and teaches you more magic.  RATING: T NOTES/WARNINGS: My first fan fic ever, please be gentle :)

————————–

    I finally had all the materials for the spell. It had taken me awhile to get the courage to get them all but  they were all  in front of me, now all I had to do was arrange and work the spell. I had been thinking about this spell for months now, slowly building it and creating it but the truth was that it scared me.

   It was scary to think that if it worked, I would finally have someone to like and someone that would like me back.

   I felt so pathetic when I really thought  about what I was about to do. Crazy Danielle, so lonely, so desperate that she needed a spell just to attract at least one friend. The only reason I had decided to do the spell was because it was the only spell I could find after months of research that did not involve forcing someone to be my friend. I wasn’t interested in having a zombie friend. The spell would only make me seem more interesting to others, or at least that what I got from the translations I could find.

   Ok, maybe I was a little bit desperate.

   This spell was going to suck up all of my energy and I was already pretty tired from a long day of work at the office. Taking care of myself before the spell was important, so I took a quick hot shower that I followed with making myself some bacon and two eggs with some cheese on the side for dinner.

   Right after I went to my room to get dressed. I picked a chunky dark burgundy sweater and black leggings, I decided against wearing shoes and finished getting ready by braiding my wavy shoulder length purple hair. I always like to wear something pretty to get me in the mood to cast a spell.

   Silently I stood in front of the mirror feeling nervous. I’ve done spell work hundreds of times before, this should be piece of cake! Right?

   Maybe I had spent so much time by myself that once I finally had an opportunity to connect with another human being I was freaking out. Me and my best friend lost contact a few years ago before social media became big, I’d looked her up but could never find her. I’ve been by myself ever since. No close family or friends.

   This is why I needed to do this.

   I couldn’t continue being an apathetic antisocial weirdo all my life. At least I could be a weirdo with someone else.

   Eventually I got all the materials from  the the small desk in my bedroom and placed them inside the salt circle I’d formed on the floor. The desk serves as my shrine and  I’ve been working on it for a few years now: athame, incense, bowl with Himalayan salt, candles, and statuettes of various goddesses I worshipped.

   The spell called for a green and pink candle which I placed in front of me as I lit them. It called for a necklace to charge with energy. I decided to use one I’ve had for a while with a silver star. Next I got out paper, a quill, and an ink pot that contained red ink. I  cleared my mind before focusing positive energy towards the  necklace.

   Once I said a few quick words thanking the universe for all of her blessings, I began chanting. I grabbed the athame and pricked my index finger.  I let the blood drip into the ink pot. I grabbed the quill and while still chanting I began writing down what I wanted in a friend.

   The list was long but in no way did I expect my new friend to fulfill the whole thing, I just wrote all the good qualities I could think of.

   Still chanting, I could feel the energy building up around me as I repeated the spell over and over again while concentrating all of my energy on the necklace. My heart was beating faster and faster.

   I could feel myself losing control of my body as I repeated the spell one more time and then…

   Nothing.

   Nothing happened at all. The candles went out and I was left alone in the dark feeling sad and tired. I looked at the necklace and it just looked like an ordinary necklace. I’d used a lot of energy for a spell that I wasn’t even sure worked. Usually I would feel it click inside of me. Like a thumbs up from the universe letting me know that the magic I’d just used had been received and I would see the fruits of my hard work soon.

   Feeling frustrated and tired,  I  took off my clothes and went to bed still wearing all of my make up. I felt so embarrassed about the whole thing. Not only was it a desperate and needy spell but to add to the humiliation, it didn’t even work.

   Tomorrow was another work day, so I might as well go to bed so I can wake up early. I am well aware that I sound like an old lady, but I live an old lady’s life. Multiple cats included and everything.

***********

   That Saturday I woke up early and decided to go to the farmers market to get some veggies. After looking at my closet for half an hour I ended up wearing a short black dress with a white peter pan collar, a thick grey cardigan that was too big on me, black tights, and my favorite grey booties. On the way out I saw the star necklace I used on the spell a few nights ago and put it on.

   There weren’t that many choices at the market that day since it was already fall. I walked around and looked at the booths a few times, bought a few herbs to dry, but not much caught my attention. It was a slow day and I didn’t want to  stay long.  For some reason I was fidgety the whole time. I felt like someone was watching me all morning but every time I looked around it was obvious no one was paying attention to me.

   Finally I found a booth that was selling blackberries so I approached to take a better look at them.

   “We just got them yesterday morning. The last of the season!” said the nice lady behind the counter. I decided to buy some, so I reached out to grab them but someone else got them before I did.

   I quickly turned my head, mad at whoever took my blackberries. I already had a few select words in mind for the rude dude that obviously saw that I was going to get them and grabbed them anyway. I opened my mouth to talk but that’s when I realized that it was Loki, the evil guy that destroyed half of New York City. I closed my mouth as soon as I realized it was him but he noticed how angry I was.

   “Oh, I apologize, are these yours? I didn’t mean to take them from you” he said with a wolfish smile while handing me the blackberries “By the way, that’s a lovely necklace you are wearing, little witch.”

   I was so freaked out by the whole thing that I could barely talk. All I could do was shake my head and quickly walk away from the whole thing. How disrespectful! Calling me little witch and taking the blackberries that were obviously mine!

   On the way to my car I realized I needed to control my anger, I could have gotten killed by the villainous god of Asgard. The fear I felt when I looked into his deep green eyes was something that I knew would haunt me for years to come.

   I nervously looked back expecting him to be gone but he was just standing there, staring at me as I walked faster and faster away.

   When I finally got to my car I realized I was still holding the blackberries.  I forgot to pay for them and now it was too late to go back.

   On the way home I was still out of sorts, so I got myself donuts and coffee because I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet plus some food might do me good to calm my nerves. It’s not everyday that I could say I had an encounter with Loki.

   Once I got home I ate two donuts with my coffee while watching TV, but it quickly became obvious that I woke up too early and sleep won me over. It seems that the orange blossom water I added to my coffee was kicking in, my body didn’t even care that I was halfway through a Doctor Who episode.

   I don’t know for how long I slept, but it was a deep slumber filled with weird dreams about someone watching me. His green eyes just stared at me and talked in a language I couldn’t understand. In the dream I felt small and vulnerable, unable to escape his gaze.

   I woke up all sweaty and confused, it took me a few minutes to realize that it was already night time. After around fifteen minutes of trying to wake up I went to the bathroom and took a shower. I brushed my teeth and put on my pajamas before feeding my cats, Gouda and Cheddar. This morning had been enough excitement for me, I was ready to watch movies all night.

   I was in the kitchen getting myself a giant bowl of milk and cereal when I received a text message. It was Jenna from work: I feel like going out tonight. Wanna come? :)

   That was weird. We get along and gossip a little bit at work but we never interact outside of the office. Maybe the spell worked after all!

   I really didn’t feel like going out, but if the spell was working I didn’t want to spoil things. I quickly texted back and she sent me the address of where to meet up.

   I was so excited that I didn’t even know what to wear. I browsed through my closet but couldn’t make up my mind. In the end I went with dark blue skinny jeans and a dark purple sweater with white hearts all over it since purple matches with my olive skin. I put on once more my grey booties and grabbed my star necklace as I was walking out the door. I felt like nothing could go wrong tonight!

[douglassmiith]

I Refuse to Participate in the Recession!

July 3, 2020 6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

I started BNI in 1985. Since then, I’ve navigated my company through three recessions, and we have now entered our fourth  since the mid-’80s. Along the way, I’ve learned that mindset has a lot to do with how one navigates a tough economy successfully. 

This first became clear to me when I was at a large networking event during the recession of the early ’90s. As I walked around the room, I discovered that almost everyone was completely fixated on how horrible things were. It was incredibly depressing. I found myself meandering until I saw someone standing in a corner observing all the distraught business people in attendance.

I walked up to him, introduced myself and asked him what he did.  He told me he was in real estate. I prepared myself for the onslaught of horror stories, but instead, he said that things were going really well for him.    

Naturally, I was surprised and replied, “You said you were in real estate, right?”

“Yes,” he said.

I asked, “The real estate market has dropped significantly here, hasn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said with a slight grin.

“And you’re having a good year?”

“I’m actually having my best year ever!”

“Your best year!” I said in amazement. After thinking for a moment, I asked him, “Is this your first year in real estate?”

“No,” he replied with a laugh. “I’ve been in real estate for almost 10 years.”

I asked him how he could be doing so well, given the condition of the economy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a big button that read: “I Absolutely Refuse to Participate in the Recession!”

“That’s it? You have a button that says, ‘I absolutely refuse to participate in the recession,’ so business is booming?” I exclaimed.

“Well, it’s not just the button; it’s the attitude that goes along with it,” he told me. “You see,” he went on to explain, “during difficult times, there are almost always opportunities that exist, and if you want to succeed, you have to focus on those opportunities.”

“OK,” I said. “School me a little on this. What kind of opportunities can there really be right now when the real estate market has taken a nose dive?” 

“Two big ones,” he replied. “First, there are real estate investors who buy properties to rent and lease. I’m going to them and encouraging, ‘Don’t be one of those people who come to me a few years from now and say that you should have bought that property when I showed it to you. Let me show you a duplex that you can get at a steal on today’.” He paused to take a sip of his water, and then continued, “In addition, there are still first-time home buyers in a down economy. I’m going to them right now and explaining that they couldn’t afford a house a year ago, but they can today. Now is the time to buy while the market is low.” 

Related: For Savvy Entrepreneurs, an Economic Downturn Creates Opportunity

He went on to add that he was selling more real estate than ever while almost everyone in that room was obsessed with the economy and the drop in prices. And yet, he was making a killing.

He wrapped up by telling me the button represented the attitude and the action that one must pursue when times are tough. He said he was at ease with the recession because many of the people in the room would be transitioning to another business while he became focused and they simply froze in fear.

His is not an isolated story. I’ve seen this happen during all four of the recessions I’ve experienced. Years later, I met someone who left his employment, cashed out his retirement money and decided to become an entrepreneur. He started his very own moving and storage business. He literally began with one truck, a storage facility and an office. He opened his doors and was excited to start his journey. This was in early 2008. Just as he joined the ranks of entrepreneurship, the Great Recession came crashing down on him.

He was devasted. All his hopes, dreams and cash were about to evaporate, but he had a similar attitude to my real estate friend, doubling down his efforts and immersing himself in networking groups to build his word of mouth. At the same time, he integrated self-storage programs into his business to help people who consolidated homes during this time period. This was one of the few growth areas during the recession. 

The bottom line was that he also refused to participate in the recession.  While other people were frozen in fear, he was focused on solutions.  He came out of that recession larger and stronger than he was when he and his company went into it.  You can find him today with many trucks and multiple locations around the country.

Entrepreneurs have been hit with a double whammy. First, COVID-19, and now, a recession. What I know to be true is that if you focus on the problem, you will be an expert on the problem. However, if you focus on solutions, you can become an expert on the solutions that will get you through both struggles.

Related: What Will Franchising Look Like After the Recession?

A powerful mindset begins with the belief that you can find solutions to the current situation. Belief is that little voice inside you whispering to you the things that “can be” while everyone around you is screaming about the things that “can’t be.” The right mindset, along with a plan of action, will lead you successfully through these turbulent times.

I for one, am going out today to make more buttons that say: “I Refuse to Participate in the Recession.” I invite you to do the same.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

Via http://www.scpie.org/i-refuse-to-participate-in-the-recession/

source https://scpie.weebly.com/blog/i-refuse-to-participate-in-the-recession

[laurelkrugerr]

I Refuse to Participate in the Recession!

July 3, 2020 6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

I started BNI in 1985. Since then, I’ve navigated my company through three recessions, and we have now entered our fourth  since the mid-’80s. Along the way, I’ve learned that mindset has a lot to do with how one navigates a tough economy successfully. 

This first became clear to me when I was at a large networking event during the recession of the early ’90s. As I walked around the room, I discovered that almost everyone was completely fixated on how horrible things were. It was incredibly depressing. I found myself meandering until I saw someone standing in a corner observing all the distraught business people in attendance.

I walked up to him, introduced myself and asked him what he did.  He told me he was in real estate. I prepared myself for the onslaught of horror stories, but instead, he said that things were going really well for him.    

Naturally, I was surprised and replied, “You said you were in real estate, right?”

“Yes,” he said.

I asked, “The real estate market has dropped significantly here, hasn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said with a slight grin.

“And you’re having a good year?”

“I’m actually having my best year ever!”

“Your best year!” I said in amazement. After thinking for a moment, I asked him, “Is this your first year in real estate?”

“No,” he replied with a laugh. “I’ve been in real estate for almost 10 years.”

I asked him how he could be doing so well, given the condition of the economy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a big button that read: “I Absolutely Refuse to Participate in the Recession!”

“That’s it? You have a button that says, ‘I absolutely refuse to participate in the recession,’ so business is booming?” I exclaimed.

“Well, it’s not just the button; it’s the attitude that goes along with it,” he told me. “You see,” he went on to explain, “during difficult times, there are almost always opportunities that exist, and if you want to succeed, you have to focus on those opportunities.”

“OK,” I said. “School me a little on this. What kind of opportunities can there really be right now when the real estate market has taken a nose dive?” 

“Two big ones,” he replied. “First, there are real estate investors who buy properties to rent and lease. I’m going to them and encouraging, ‘Don’t be one of those people who come to me a few years from now and say that you should have bought that property when I showed it to you. Let me show you a duplex that you can get at a steal on today’.” He paused to take a sip of his water, and then continued, “In addition, there are still first-time home buyers in a down economy. I’m going to them right now and explaining that they couldn��t afford a house a year ago, but they can today. Now is the time to buy while the market is low.” 

Related: For Savvy Entrepreneurs, an Economic Downturn Creates Opportunity

He went on to add that he was selling more real estate than ever while almost everyone in that room was obsessed with the economy and the drop in prices. And yet, he was making a killing.

He wrapped up by telling me the button represented the attitude and the action that one must pursue when times are tough. He said he was at ease with the recession because many of the people in the room would be transitioning to another business while he became focused and they simply froze in fear.

His is not an isolated story. I’ve seen this happen during all four of the recessions I’ve experienced. Years later, I met someone who left his employment, cashed out his retirement money and decided to become an entrepreneur. He started his very own moving and storage business. He literally began with one truck, a storage facility and an office. He opened his doors and was excited to start his journey. This was in early 2008. Just as he joined the ranks of entrepreneurship, the Great Recession came crashing down on him.

He was devasted. All his hopes, dreams and cash were about to evaporate, but he had a similar attitude to my real estate friend, doubling down his efforts and immersing himself in networking groups to build his word of mouth. At the same time, he integrated self-storage programs into his business to help people who consolidated homes during this time period. This was one of the few growth areas during the recession. 

The bottom line was that he also refused to participate in the recession.  While other people were frozen in fear, he was focused on solutions.  He came out of that recession larger and stronger than he was when he and his company went into it.  You can find him today with many trucks and multiple locations around the country.

Entrepreneurs have been hit with a double whammy. First, COVID-19, and now, a recession. What I know to be true is that if you focus on the problem, you will be an expert on the problem. However, if you focus on solutions, you can become an expert on the solutions that will get you through both struggles.

Related: What Will Franchising Look Like After the Recession?

A powerful mindset begins with the belief that you can find solutions to the current situation. Belief is that little voice inside you whispering to you the things that “can be” while everyone around you is screaming about the things that “can’t be.” The right mindset, along with a plan of action, will lead you successfully through these turbulent times.

I for one, am going out today to make more buttons that say: “I Refuse to Participate in the Recession.” I invite you to do the same.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/i-refuse-to-participate-in-the-recession/ source https://scpie1.blogspot.com/2020/07/i-refuse-to-participate-in-recession.html

[riichardwilson]

I Refuse to Participate in the Recession!

July 3, 2020 6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

I started BNI in 1985. Since then, I’ve navigated my company through three recessions, and we have now entered our fourth  since the mid-’80s. Along the way, I’ve learned that mindset has a lot to do with how one navigates a tough economy successfully. 

This first became clear to me when I was at a large networking event during the recession of the early ’90s. As I walked around the room, I discovered that almost everyone was completely fixated on how horrible things were. It was incredibly depressing. I found myself meandering until I saw someone standing in a corner observing all the distraught business people in attendance.

I walked up to him, introduced myself and asked him what he did.  He told me he was in real estate. I prepared myself for the onslaught of horror stories, but instead, he said that things were going really well for him.    

Naturally, I was surprised and replied, “You said you were in real estate, right?”

“Yes,” he said.

I asked, “The real estate market has dropped significantly here, hasn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said with a slight grin.

“And you’re having a good year?”

“I’m actually having my best year ever!”

“Your best year!” I said in amazement. After thinking for a moment, I asked him, “Is this your first year in real estate?”

“No,” he replied with a laugh. “I’ve been in real estate for almost 10 years.”

I asked him how he could be doing so well, given the condition of the economy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a big button that read: “I Absolutely Refuse to Participate in the Recession!”

“That’s it? You have a button that says, ‘I absolutely refuse to participate in the recession,’ so business is booming?” I exclaimed.

“Well, it’s not just the button; it’s the attitude that goes along with it,” he told me. “You see,” he went on to explain, “during difficult times, there are almost always opportunities that exist, and if you want to succeed, you have to focus on those opportunities.”

“OK,” I said. “School me a little on this. What kind of opportunities can there really be right now when the real estate market has taken a nose dive?” 

“Two big ones,” he replied. “First, there are real estate investors who buy properties to rent and lease. I’m going to them and encouraging, ‘Don’t be one of those people who come to me a few years from now and say that you should have bought that property when I showed it to you. Let me show you a duplex that you can get at a steal on today’.” He paused to take a sip of his water, and then continued, “In addition, there are still first-time home buyers in a down economy. I’m going to them right now and explaining that they couldn’t afford a house a year ago, but they can today. Now is the time to buy while the market is low.” 

Related: For Savvy Entrepreneurs, an Economic Downturn Creates Opportunity

He went on to add that he was selling more real estate than ever while almost everyone in that room was obsessed with the economy and the drop in prices. And yet, he was making a killing.

He wrapped up by telling me the button represented the attitude and the action that one must pursue when times are tough. He said he was at ease with the recession because many of the people in the room would be transitioning to another business while he became focused and they simply froze in fear.

His is not an isolated story. I’ve seen this happen during all four of the recessions I’ve experienced. Years later, I met someone who left his employment, cashed out his retirement money and decided to become an entrepreneur. He started his very own moving and storage business. He literally began with one truck, a storage facility and an office. He opened his doors and was excited to start his journey. This was in early 2008. Just as he joined the ranks of entrepreneurship, the Great Recession came crashing down on him.

He was devasted. All his hopes, dreams and cash were about to evaporate, but he had a similar attitude to my real estate friend, doubling down his efforts and immersing himself in networking groups to build his word of mouth. At the same time, he integrated self-storage programs into his business to help people who consolidated homes during this time period. This was one of the few growth areas during the recession. 

The bottom line was that he also refused to participate in the recession.  While other people were frozen in fear, he was focused on solutions.  He came out of that recession larger and stronger than he was when he and his company went into it.  You can find him today with many trucks and multiple locations around the country.

Entrepreneurs have been hit with a double whammy. First, COVID-19, and now, a recession. What I know to be true is that if you focus on the problem, you will be an expert on the problem. However, if you focus on solutions, you can become an expert on the solutions that will get you through both struggles.

Related: What Will Franchising Look Like After the Recession?

A powerful mindset begins with the belief that you can find solutions to the current situation. Belief is that little voice inside you whispering to you the things that “can be” while everyone around you is screaming about the things that “can’t be.” The right mindset, along with a plan of action, will lead you successfully through these turbulent times.

I for one, am going out today to make more buttons that say: “I Refuse to Participate in the Recession.” I invite you to do the same.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/i-refuse-to-participate-in-the-recession/ source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/622678653108731904

[scpie]

I Refuse to Participate in the Recession!

July 3, 2020 6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

I started BNI in 1985. Since then, I’ve navigated my company through three recessions, and we have now entered our fourth  since the mid-’80s. Along the way, I’ve learned that mindset has a lot to do with how one navigates a tough economy successfully. 

This first became clear to me when I was at a large networking event during the recession of the early ’90s. As I walked around the room, I discovered that almost everyone was completely fixated on how horrible things were. It was incredibly depressing. I found myself meandering until I saw someone standing in a corner observing all the distraught business people in attendance.

I walked up to him, introduced myself and asked him what he did.  He told me he was in real estate. I prepared myself for the onslaught of horror stories, but instead, he said that things were going really well for him.    

Naturally, I was surprised and replied, “You said you were in real estate, right?”

“Yes,” he said.

I asked, “The real estate market has dropped significantly here, hasn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said with a slight grin.

“And you’re having a good year?”

“I’m actually having my best year ever!”

“Your best year!” I said in amazement. After thinking for a moment, I asked him, “Is this your first year in real estate?”

“No,” he replied with a laugh. “I’ve been in real estate for almost 10 years.”

I asked him how he could be doing so well, given the condition of the economy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a big button that read: “I Absolutely Refuse to Participate in the Recession!”

“That’s it? You have a button that says, ‘I absolutely refuse to participate in the recession,’ so business is booming?” I exclaimed.

“Well, it’s not just the button; it’s the attitude that goes along with it,” he told me. “You see,” he went on to explain, “during difficult times, there are almost always opportunities that exist, and if you want to succeed, you have to focus on those opportunities.”

“OK,” I said. “School me a little on this. What kind of opportunities can there really be right now when the real estate market has taken a nose dive?” 

“Two big ones,” he replied. “First, there are real estate investors who buy properties to rent and lease. I’m going to them and encouraging, ‘Don’t be one of those people who come to me a few years from now and say that you should have bought that property when I showed it to you. Let me show you a duplex that you can get at a steal on today’.” He paused to take a sip of his water, and then continued, “In addition, there are still first-time home buyers in a down economy. I’m going to them right now and explaining that they couldn’t afford a house a year ago, but they can today. Now is the time to buy while the market is low.” 

Related: For Savvy Entrepreneurs, an Economic Downturn Creates Opportunity

He went on to add that he was selling more real estate than ever while almost everyone in that room was obsessed with the economy and the drop in prices. And yet, he was making a killing.

He wrapped up by telling me the button represented the attitude and the action that one must pursue when times are tough. He said he was at ease with the recession because many of the people in the room would be transitioning to another business while he became focused and they simply froze in fear.

His is not an isolated story. I’ve seen this happen during all four of the recessions I’ve experienced. Years later, I met someone who left his employment, cashed out his retirement money and decided to become an entrepreneur. He started his very own moving and storage business. He literally began with one truck, a storage facility and an office. He opened his doors and was excited to start his journey. This was in early 2008. Just as he joined the ranks of entrepreneurship, the Great Recession came crashing down on him.

He was devasted. All his hopes, dreams and cash were about to evaporate, but he had a similar attitude to my real estate friend, doubling down his efforts and immersing himself in networking groups to build his word of mouth. At the same time, he integrated self-storage programs into his business to help people who consolidated homes during this time period. This was one of the few growth areas during the recession. 

The bottom line was that he also refused to participate in the recession.  While other people were frozen in fear, he was focused on solutions.  He came out of that recession larger and stronger than he was when he and his company went into it.  You can find him today with many trucks and multiple locations around the country.

Entrepreneurs have been hit with a double whammy. First, COVID-19, and now, a recession. What I know to be true is that if you focus on the problem, you will be an expert on the problem. However, if you focus on solutions, you can become an expert on the solutions that will get you through both struggles.

Related: What Will Franchising Look Like After the Recession?

A powerful mindset begins with the belief that you can find solutions to the current situation. Belief is that little voice inside you whispering to you the things that “can be” while everyone around you is screaming about the things that “can’t be.” The right mindset, along with a plan of action, will lead you successfully through these turbulent times.

I for one, am going out today to make more buttons that say: “I Refuse to Participate in the Recession.” I invite you to do the same.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/i-refuse-to-participate-in-the-recession/

[vipulshethe43-blog]

9 Sales and Marketing Tips for Startups

Marketing done right can be an incredible boon for your business’s net income. Done wrong, however, it can feel like throwing money into a raging bonfire. Because small business owners have to be whatever their small business needs -- all the time -- it can be difficult to master all the nuances that go into sales or marketing. If you’re not a natural salesperson, it can be even more difficult. Fear not, the following nine marketing tips for startups can help you make more sales, market better and waste less money.

Related: The 5 Stages Startups Must Go Through to Make That First $1 Million

1. Sell the benefit, not a comparison. How you market yourself is all about highlighting what makes you different. There are three major ways to do that.

Cost (you know how to price a product better than the competition) Quality (you’re better) A combination thereof (you offer the better value) But how you sell yourself is different than how you market yourself. You can tell someone that you provide a product or service that is cheaper or more effective than that of another business, but that doesn’t say how much better you are going to make the customer’s life.

Selling is about the benefit. A comparison may highlight the features you offer, but you are always selling benefit.

2. Listen to your customer. Sam Walton, WalMart's famed mass retail titan, started his empire in rural America. This was despite the prevailing business logic saying a mass retailer anywhere but in a city with a concentrated population would fail. The logic was, if you wanted to move mass quantities of goods, you needed mass quantities of people.

But Walton knew his customers because he would frequently listen to them firsthand. He was aware that people who lived in rural and suburban areas often bought in larger quantities because they had larger families or needed more goods to keep their own small businesses stocked and running. Walton listened to his customers, and the result is the largest, most powerful brick and mortar retailer in the world. The customer may at times defy logic, but they are always right. Listen to them.

3. Market your product before it’s ready. Some businesses wait until their product is perfect before they do any marketing or awareness campaigning. That can be a costly mistake. Many businesses expect to sell their product as soon as it’s ready. But if no one knows about it, then demand will start at zero until you undergo a marketing campaign to build brand awareness for potential customers.

It’s better to do preemptive awareness campaigning, even if it’s minimal, to let potential customers know your product is coming. You can sell the benefit before the product has arrived. This way, when the product is ready, so are customers!

4. Think outside the box. The marketing landscape has dramatically changed since I started my first business more than 30 years ago. Back then, there were no search engines or social media platforms. There was no internet as we know it. Now, startups can utilize a bevy of free, online marketing techniques that are both creative and effective. For example, you can use online video marketing, social media, blog influencers, crowdsourcing, competitions, content marketing, thought leadership and more.

Related: 5 Social Media Studies That Will Boost Your Marketing Skills

5. Test fast. Fail fast. Marketing that you can’t measure is failed marketing. Sure, you may spend money to do some advertisement, and you may even see an uptick in sales around the same time you ran the ads. But how can you be sure what you spent on ads correlates with sales? Maybe it was something else altogether. Maybe there is a natural, seasonal uptick for what you sell that will go away in a month.

If you’re going to commit time and money to a marketing campaign, make sure you can measure the results. Set up ways to track conversions that stem from each marketing campaign. Also, run multiple types of marketing campaigns in distinct, small batches. This will allow you to compare marketing channels and see which perform best. Toss out the ones that don’t work and keep those that do.

6.  Advertise from multiple angles. As mentioned above, it’s good to test multiple marketing channels and ideas to see what works best. Often, it’s not any one thing but a combination of all of the above. When your customer hears you on the radio, sees you in a search engine result, and then finds you mentioned in a blog they like (content marketing), they start to accept your brand as a solid, dependable, known entity. They may not have the need for your product or service immediately, but when they do, it will be your name that comes to mind instead of a competitor’s.

7.  It’s always time for PR. When you do traditional advertising, it’s your marketing material selling your product. When you do PR, or have a member of the press or a media house that covers your industry talk about you, it’s brand building and endorsement.

Some people call it landing-page flair or credibility building, but, if your company is featured in Mashable or The Wall Street Journal, you’d be silly not to put that paper’s name on the front of your company's website. Even if your company was only mentioned by way of a quote from your CEO, you are still “as mentioned in The Wall Street Journal.” When customers see that publication’s name next to your company’s name, it builds credibility.

Even little PR wins, like local news or blogs, add up. And, unlike most traditional marketing, PR endures far beyond the dates of the advertising campaign. Good PR can do a lot for your credibility and brand awareness.

8. Give customers a place to talk to/about you. Good or bad, you want to know what your customers are saying. If you don’t provide your customers with a place to complain or praise you, it makes it look like their thoughts and opinions don’t matter. Remember, even if a customer comes to you and is furious, that’s a great opportunity for you to publicly show how willing you are to right a wrong, or make a customer feel valued -- which is PR gold.

Related: 6 Tools to Turbocharge Your Content Marketing in 2017

By providing a place on your site for this kind of exchange to happen, you can address the issue and control a portion of that narrative. The alternative is that your customer goes to a third-party site and complains where you can’t address the issue nor tailor an edited response.

9. We look forward to seeing you again. Reward loyalty or interest. I tell my employees at Patriot Software, my online accounting and payroll company, that our customers are our sales department. Word-of-mouth testimonials and customers who are brand advocates are better than any sales team you could put together. So, I continuously reward customers with competitive pricing, incredible customer support and automatic updates to enhance the software.

[kojakgraphics-blog]

9 Sales and Marketing Tips for Startups

Marketing done right can be an incredible boon for your business’s net income. Done wrong, however, it can feel like throwing money into a raging bonfire. Because small business owners have to be whatever their small business needs -- all the time -- it can be difficult to master all the nuances that go into sales or marketing. If you’re not a natural salesperson, it can be even more difficult. Fear not, the following nine marketing tips for startups can help you make more sales, market better and waste less money.

1. Sell the benefit, not a comparison.

How you market yourself is all about highlighting what makes you different. There are three major ways to do that.

Cost (you know how to price a product better than the competition)

Quality (you’re better)

A combination thereof (you offer the better value)

But how you sell yourself is different than how you market yourself. You can tell someone that you provide a product or service that is cheaper or more effective than that of another business, but that doesn’t say how much better you are going to make the customer’s life.

Selling is about the benefit. A comparison may highlight the features you offer, but you are always selling benefit

2. Listen to your customer.

Sam Walton, WalMart's famed mass retail titan, started his empire in rural America. This was despite the prevailing business logic saying a mass retailer anywhere but in a city with a concentrated population would fail. The logic was, if you wanted to move mass quantities of goods, you needed mass quantities of people.

But Walton knew his customers because he would frequently listen to them firsthand. He was aware that people who lived in rural and suburban areas often bought in larger quantities because they had larger families or needed more goods to keep their own small businesses stocked and running. Walton listened to his customers, and the result is the largest, most powerful brick and mortar retailer in the world. The customer may at times defy logic, but they are always right. Listen to them.

3. Market your product before it’s ready.

Some businesses wait until their product is perfect before they do any marketing or awareness campaigning. That can be a costly mistake. Many businesses expect to sell their product as soon as it’s ready. But if no one knows about it, then demand will start at zero until you undergo a marketing campaign to build brand awareness for potential customers.

It’s better to do preemptive awareness campaigning, even if it’s minimal, to let potential customers know your product is coming. You can sell the benefit before the product has arrived. This way, when the product is ready, so are customers!

4. Think outside the box.

The marketing landscape has dramatically changed since I started my first business more than 30 years ago. Back then, there were no search engines or social media platforms. There was no internet as we know it. Now, startups can utilize a bevy of free, online marketing techniques that are both creative and effective. For example, you can use online video marketing, social media, blog influencers, crowdsourcing, competitions, content marketing, thought leadership and more.

5. Test fast. Fail fast.

Marketing that you can’t measure is failed marketing. Sure, you may spend money to do some advertisement, and you may even see an uptick in sales around the same time you ran the ads. But how can you be sure what you spent on ads correlates with sales? Maybe it was something else altogether. Maybe there is a natural, seasonal uptick for what you sell that will go away in a month.

If you’re going to commit time and money to a marketing campaign, make sure you can measure the results. Set up ways to track conversions that stem from each marketing campaign. Also, run multiple types of marketing campaigns in distinct, small batches. This will allow you to compare marketing channels and see which perform best. Toss out the ones that don’t work and keep those that do.

6.  Advertise from multiple angles.

As mentioned above, it’s good to test multiple marketing channels and ideas to see what works best. Often, it’s not any one thing but a combination of all of the above. When your customer hears you on the radio, sees you in a search engine result, and then finds you mentioned in a blog they like (content marketing), they start to accept your brand as a solid, dependable, known entity. They may not have the need for your product or service immediately, but when they do, it will be your name that comes to mind instead of a competitor’s.

7.  It’s always time for PR.

When you do traditional advertising, it’s your marketing material selling your product. When you do PR, or have a member of the press or a media house that covers your industry talk about you, it’s brand building and endorsement.

Some people call it landing-page flair or credibility building, but, if your company is featured in Mashable or The Wall Street Journal, you’d be silly not to put that paper’s name on the front of your company's website. Even if your company was only mentioned by way of a quote from your CEO, you are still “as mentioned in The Wall Street Journal.” When customers see that publication’s name next to your company’s name, it builds credibility. Even little PR wins, like local news or blogs, add up. And, unlike most traditional marketing, PR endures far beyond the dates of the advertising campaign. Good PR can do a lot for your credibility and brand awareness.

8. Give customers a place to talk to/about you.

Good or bad, you want to know what your customers are saying. If you don’t provide your customers with a place to complain or praise you, it makes it look like their thoughts and opinions don’t matter. Remember, even if a customer comes to you and is furious, that’s a great opportunity for you to publicly show how willing you are to right a wrong, or make a customer feel valued -- which is PR gold.

By providing a place on your site for this kind of exchange to happen, you can address the issue and control a portion of that narrative. The alternative is that your customer goes to a third-party site and complains where you can’t address the issue nor tailor an edited response.

9. We look forward to seeing you again.

Reward loyalty or interest. I tell my employees at Patriot Software, my online accounting and payroll company, that our customers are our sales department. Word-of-mouth testimonials and customers who are brand advocates are better than any sales team you could put together. So, I continuously reward customers with competitive pricing, incredible customer support and automatic updates to enhance the software.