#whether it's 200 works or 200k words

[bekkachaos]

I just think it's fucking wild how novels, like published books, average between 70,000 and 120,000 words and there are fanfic authors out there posting regular 80k+ works for free, for the love of the thing (or in spite of the thing)

#fanfiction #seriously people are so talented and incredible #and this shit right here is why fanfic writers are so amazing #just know if i'm reading your fic i am impressed #whether it's 200 works or 200k words #my a03 word count is over 1 mil #i could have written 10+ books #but noooo #i gotta write about my damn blorbos #anyway fanfic writers i love you is all i'm saying

[starlitheaven]

gods & monsters: four

series masterlist | pairing: satoru gojo x fem!reader

previous | next

series summary. you’ve been a high-end escort for ten months and are already one of the best. you follow the strict rules of your agency and have had fun ruining a few men within those limits. Gojo Satoru is your newest and highest paying client, but he’s fickle and unpredictable. all you want is to do your job, survive, indulge in luxuries, and maybe plan some revenge.

summary. You’re unexpectedly out of commission from work at a time where you’re in need of money and a distraction for an upcoming anniversary. Grief that you keep hidden begins to slowly build as you try to make the best of your time off. word count: 7k

tags. descriptions of violence towards reader, alcohol consumption, misogyny, mentioned murder, brief mention of past SA, smoking, drug usage, yakuza mentions, Naoya 

notes. This fic is just vibes but feedback, rbs, and likes are always appreciated! * 200k won is around $200, 300 million yen is around $2 million, and 2k yen is about $20! * Kabukicho is Tokyo’s Red Light District and Nishinari is a slum in Osaka.

song rec. fake happy / paramore

The first thing that you did upon receiving Gojo’s additional money was to make an international call to Shiu. He’s been in South Korea for some time, but you had no idea what he was going to do upon returning to Tokyo. When your call finally picked up, he was quick to tell you that he was considering taking a job with a syndicate in Harajuku, and that you should give him his deposit ASAP if you wanted his services.

“I’m not giving you special treatment just for being Toji’s girl.” is all he said before hanging up and dropping his location.

What you had on Shiu’s location was what he sent you. You had a feeling he didn’t believe that you’d actually fly to South Korea to ensure his services, yet there you were booking the next flight to Seoul. Once there, he told you where he’d be. He was in Yeongdeungpo and “going to have dinner in a pojangmacha”, which made no sense to you.

Perhaps it was stupid of you to impulsivley fly to a foreign country alone without any knowledge of the culture or language, but you were desperate. Your date and tip from Gojo gave you enough money to hire Shiu and you weren’t going to lose that possibility. Your desperation led you there.

Once you arrived in the country and managed to check into a hotel to leave your things, you found yourself in front of Shiu after several months.

Not only was he surprised at you sitting in front of him suddenly, but his eyebrows raised at your appearance. It would’ve been hilarious if the cigarette that was dangling from his lip fell to the ground, but it remained on him.

A pojangmacha was apparently a tent restaurant, and this one was tucked in a hidden back alley street. Every plastic table was filled and the buzz of chatter was welcoming compared to the cold and rainy silence you had been experiencing on the way. It was packed and a cozy escape from the weather, with the patrons all relaxed and either drinking or smoking cigarettes as they ate.

“L/N—you’re—”

“I got mugged.”

Your explanation and deadpan expression didn’t abate his surprise, it made it grow if anything. So, you explained to him why you had a cut lip, bloody knuckles, and a bruised left eye that was halfway shut. As well as drenched from walking in the rain.

When the man had approached you in the empty alley, he looked around as if lost. The language barrier should’ve been your first priority in the country, but you didn’t think to even consider it. So, you were now sure that the man spoke bullshit with the intention of finding out whether you spoke Korean or not. Like an idiot, you noticed his gestures and falsely assumed he was looking for directions.

He took you by surprise when he lunged and began to grab at you. Your mind went into overdrive, going to the worst possible scenario, adrenaline pumping through you at the mere thought of being assaulted again. He had the advantage of striking first, so you didn’t have a chance to take out your knife. Even so, you fought him pretty well for a few minutes until he finally gained momentum and threw you against the alley wall. When you finally blinked out the dots in your eyesight and bit through the pain up your spine, you saw the man holding your wallet and throwing out your ID.

If all he wanted was to rob you, you wouldn’t continue fighting him as long as he went away. All you had in there to meet Shiu was around 200,000 won and your ID, everything else was in a safe at the hotel. With your money and vintage LV wallet in hand, the man gazed down at you and took a step forward. By then you were able to take out your knife which was enough for him to skip whatever else he planned and ran off. Your phone was off to the side and thankfully still worked. So, all was well honestly. The wallet meant nothing to you, it was a gift from your client, Takeo, and you knew not to carry too much cash.

You dressed in plain clothes, a blank hoodie and dark pants, to not draw attention to the fact you’re clearly unfamiliar. It was only after the incident that you realized that your mistake was how you were walking while continuously looking up and down at your phone on the Maps app. The rain was just a bonus, really.

You told Shiu all this, minus the part where you thought you’d get sexually assaulted again.

He paused in taking the last swig of his drink when you asked to bum a cigarette off him, considering he had seen you pluck them out of Toji’s mouth to throw out more than once, but he said nothing and gave it to you. Smoking your cigarette made your lips hurt and face feel like it was throbbing. Shiu called over to the woman and spoke while making a drinking motion. All you understood was budae-jjigae and soju. Once served, he poured you a drink that you readily shot back.

You hadn’t expected Shiu to buy you drinks and dinner. He said he knew you weren’t like Toji and weren’t fishing for a free meal, which made you laugh (Shiu didn’t find that part about Toji to be as cute as you did). The budae-jjigae was an unexpected comfort while catching up with Toji’s old middleman in the rain.

By the time you finished your meal, it was time to bring up your whole reason for rushing to Seoul; Shiu’s deposit money. It was ready to be taken out in cash back in Tokyo, but you just needed him to accept you as a client.

Shiu flicked his cigarette away and blew the last of his smoke near your face. “I had a feeling you’d get the money, actually. You were the responsible one,” he muttered, taking out his phone. “So I’ve already got something for you.” he stated, taking another shot of soju that you poured for him.

Tadashi Okazaki was the middleman for that last hit. About nineteen years old now. Criminal record was limited to two counts of driving without a license and one of those times resulted in a little girl's death. He was freshly out of juvie just a few months before Toji accepted the hit.

In terms of the shady underground, he wasn’t very impressive. If anything, it was completely odd that someone like him would have the resources or be involved in what was a risky hit. Which is one of the things that felt off to you (and Shiu) about the whole thing afterward.

Especially considering that once Toji’s death was relayed back to Kusakabe (a man who owed Toji a favor), Shiu, and then you, the middleman was nowhere to be found. Shiu guessed that Tadashi ran off with the money that was meant to physically prove to Toji that the hit was legit. Tadashi did so impulsively and most likely wouldn’t dare to attempt to leave the country, which works in Shiu’s favor. Tracking someone in hiding for almost a year with the intention of getting information wouldn’t come cheap considering what goes into it. Shiu made sure that you knew this, that the costs go farther than the deposit you’re paying for.

“I can pay for it,” you sighed, wincing at the pain in your body and face. In the moment, you had felt no pain when you fought that man, but it all came crashing once your adrenaline from fighting faded. “I just want to know who called that hit. I know you do too.”

“Sure, but I wasn’t willing to put my own time and effort into it.”

“Weren’t you friends?”

“No. We just worked together, that’s all.” he said around another cigarette.

That wasn’t something you could believe. You knew Shiu checked up on Toji for some time after his wife died, to make sure the new grief stricken father had kept his young son alive. He was the reason that Megumi loved korean food, kimchi especially. Toji apparently blended whatever food he was given to Megumi alongside bottled milk. That was a little more than just “working together” to you.

You didn’t choose Shiu Kong for this job just because of his previous connections to Toji. As he’s said, he wouldn’t have done so on his own. He was mainly a middleman to all sorts of people and groups, none of them law abiding citizens. A neutral player. You also knew that he used to be a detective in Busan, so you were more interested in his skills and potential resources. He rarely accepted jobs as an investigator, but when he did it’d be for a larger sum than the commission he took as a middleman.

He didn’t understand why you were so intent on this, you knew that. You honestly didn’t either, but chasing to the idea of getting closure was all you had now. The life you imagined yourself having a year ago was gone.

“You’re still working at the—“

“Yeah, I am.”

Shiu stayed quiet for a few seconds, just gazing at you. He scratched at his forehead with his knuckle. “And you’re sure you want to prioritize this? Over 300 million isn't petty change to owe.”

You were aware of how much money you owed with every call and client you took on.

The next night, you landed back in Tokyo somewhat full from the complementary food. Being robbed of 20,000 yen left you with no choice but to eat as little convenience store food as you could before boarding. Thankfully, the convenience stores were well, convenient, and cheap snacks were enough to keep you going.

When you had booked the flight to South Korea, you did so with the intention of bringing back souvenirs. Especially for Megumi. You hadn’t brought much money with you, and the 200,000 won was meant to be the money for your food so. You put up with the nausea from eating only a few snacks to make sure you kept your promise.

Megumi’s cute grumpy face and company would’ve uplifted you, and you hated when you couldn’t see him too often. Too bad you’d have to wait until your injuries healed to give the souvenirs to Ren and the kids. Ren was a responsible straight edge woman, she’d probably skip a heartbeat if she knew what you did.

As you waited for the train to take you back to Shibuya, your phone buzzed. Your work phone.

                           Gojo $atoru 凸(￣ヘ￣)

Sayuri!!! (￣▽￣)ノ

Click this! Promise it’s not a joke.

You clicked it and were met with a video of a stupid prank song. There were others around so you held in your groan, embarrassed that you fell for something so stupid in public. Cheeks heated in mortification, you pointedly ignored the people around you, side eyeing you. The last time you were sent a stupid prank video was in highschool! Gojo was still a client, so you responded accordingly. No matter how cute you found it.

                                                                                    YOU: (・_・ヾ?

There wasn’t much else you could say besides that, actually. Three dots appeared, so you waited.

 hahahaha bet you looked stupid clicking that ♡( ◡‿◡)

anyway, I had ijichi make this playlist for you. Isn’t your lord and savior satoru so generous?

This time, the link sent you to Spotify. To a playlist named “why i’m the best” under a generated username. It was all New Music! You felt a pang of sympathy for Ijichi at having to go along with Gojo’s ridiculous demands. Gojo himself couldn’t be bothered to do it, and dumped it onto his driver. The whole thing was unexpected though, and you weren’t sure how to feel about it. Even if he wasn’t currently paying you, best to fake your infatuation.

YOU: Tell Ijichi that I apologize and that I’m  very grateful to him.

Thanks for thinking of me, Gojo❤️I’ll listen to it and we’ll see if you deserve to be my lord, kay?

You listened to the playlist on the train ride home and reported back to Gojo that you loved it. Fluffing him up came easy to you. Once again, you were surprised that he still bothered with you considering how your last night ended, but thankful. Now more than ever did you need his business.    

Days later, you eagerly agreed to help Yuki fix something that was wrong with her motorcycle. Since your appearance was the main aspect of your job, you were out of commission until the bruising and cuts went away. Makeup and sunnies worked with getting around the city for errands, but not if you’re being looked at up close. Thankfully, Mei was the one who dealt with cancelling any dates you had scheduled. One less thing to worry about.

As much as the unexpected time off from work was stressing you out, you decided to make the best of it. Even if it meant commuting for almost an hour on the train to help out Yuki. This brief setback came at the worst time not just for financial reasons, but because the anniversary was coming around. Already. A year has passed. You were desperate to distract yourself from the knowledge that you’ve lived an entire year without your love.

It’s been almost a year since you’ve felt like who you used to be.

The main reason Yuki always asked you to accompany her was because the man who owned the motorcycle shop in Ueno still gave you the discounts he gave Toji (she also didn’t grow up with money, so she’d never say goodbye to potential discounts). Her and Utahime were vaguely aware of the anniversary based on when you began working for Mei Mei, so you knew that had something to do with it.

You appreciated that she gave you a reason to leave the house, otherwise you’d be left alone with your thoughts and nothing to do. Yoga, reading, movies, or running haven’t helped the way it has been. Things were going fine with Yuki until you got back from Ueno and you took off your sunnies.

“Whoa, what happened Y/N?! You okay?”

“I got mugged in South Korea.” you groaned from your spot on the ground. You were sitting against the backstreet wall by Yuki’s apartment, watching as she worked on her bike. Being a dutiful assistant and handing her anything she needed, such as tools or another beer as you sipped on yours.

You said nothing else, so Yuki didn’t ask any more past that. As long as you reassured her you were okay past getting robbed, she let it go. Maybe you’d tell her with Utahime if it came up again, just to get it out of the way.

They knew that you had lost your boyfriend, as they mentored you while you were absolutely destroyed and stricken with grief, but they knew nothing about his identity. You owed those two so much for guiding you in the unnerving occupation that is being a sex worker, so you’d tell them everything someday.

You personally enjoyed hearing your loved ones talk about their passions, so you listened quietly and ate your homemade onigiri as Yuki talked you through what she was doing. The knowledge you had on motorcycles was brief and you didn’t really understand much of it, but it was enough to have conversations with your friend about it. Anything you knew, you had learned from Toji by doing the exact same thing you were currently doing with her.

Sitting in some alley back in Kabukicho and reading interior design magazines while Toji worked on his bike. Looking at your boyfriend’s big arms flex in his black tank while he worked with tools was a treat of its own. Sometimes Megumi would be with you two, and his little arms would flail around whenever his father would pick him up and place him on the seat. Poor baby was always scared he’d fall off, and Toji only made it worse by pretending he’d lose grip on Megumi.

Toji absolutely loved motorcycles and cars; how they’re made, how they run, how to take them apart, and how to put them back together. He had told you it began when he picked up selling parts on the black market, and he said it so offhand at the beginning of your relationship like he did with everything else. Thankfully Yuki was aware of your subdued mood and how you kept getting lost in your thoughts, so you two did what you loved doing: talking shit about your clients.

Speaking of, while she was telling you about her date with a man who tried educating her on her own job, you received a text.

                               Gojo $atoru 凸(￣ヘ￣)

        [image]

        Guess where? :3

It was a selfie of Gojo giving you a peace sign while wearing Minnie Mouse ears and Mickey shaped sunglasses, with the two faces of what looked like young girls beside him blurred out. One was blonde and the other a brunette, each making cute symbols.

You’d been texting Gojo since that first message when you got back to Japan. He talked about anything and everything (mainly himself), and you played along like you cared. He’d been annoyed that he was going to miss his trip to Disneyland due to his board of directors pushing back a meeting, but looks like he made it.

YOU: You made it! ヽ(>∀<☆)ノ

Are you having a single mom moment, Minnie? Is there a Mickey somewhere?

Yuki immediately recognized your work text tone, and she knew you weren’t taking calls. You did the most for your clients, but this was something else entirely when you weren’t able to work.

“Who's that?” she asked with a raised brow, taking a sip of her beer.

“Uh, Gojo Satoru.”

You didn’t expect your friend to almost choke on her drink. Yuki coughed for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter. She hunched over with a hand on her stomach. “Y/N, you sure you two didn’t fuck? Bet his dick is big, huh? Aimi said it was,” she said in between laughs, trying to catch her breath. “Don’t let Utahime hear you’re texting her literal worst nightmare on your off time!”

Ding! You two both glanced down at your work phone.

“Oh my f—is that him?” Yuki huffed, holding back more laughter. She looked crazy waving her wrench around like that.

While it’s true it’s unlike you to text with clients when you’re not able to take calls, this was different!

Single mom? Think you mean milf, babe

He’s in a looong line getting us sea salt icecream, just cause the girls want to take a pic hehheh

 Wait

Call me a milf  (￢‿￢)

“I told you we didn’t have sex!” you groaned, covering your heated face. “I’m securing money here, okay? I didn’t hear you orUtahime complain when his money paid for Hokkaido.”

“Touché.”    

You’ve been trying to speed up your healing process from 3 weeks to 2 with various remedies. It wasn’t necessarily that you were itching to get back to work, more like itching to make money. Being out of work for 2 weeks came at the worst time considering you had just hired Shiu, so you went back to your roots: living off convenience store food.

Sukuna texted you when he returned from Hong Kong, but was immediately sent to Kyoto to deal with “work”. Once he was back, it was Uraume who arranged the meeting. You were picked up by an unexpected car considering Sukuna’s status: a black Toyota sedan.

Uraume looked as clean cut as the first time you met them, save for their bloody knuckles holding onto the steering wheel. As you buckled in, you noticed a cracked and bloody phone in the console. Sukuna’s assistant gave no explanation and began to drive, so you decided to mind your business. Like Sukuna, it seemed Uraume listened to metal and punk. Ding!

                             Gojo $atoru 凸(￣ヘ￣)

The movie sucked.

they just used that hot actor for promos

he didn’t show up until the very end!

but cute girl with a shotgun saved the movie. Don’t recommend (；￣Д￣)

You chuckled at his text.

YOU: Thanks for saving me ¥2000 ❤

Only reason i was planning to watch was for that guy

I can’t look at that actress the same after that lame sex movie

Gojo responded as you were still typing the rest.

no. you HAVE to see it so we can make fun of it!!!

Hold on

Cha-chiiiiing. Gojo sent you ¥2000 with a note that said: terrible movie on me ❤. Cute.

“Where does Sukuna live?” you asked, one you noticed you were going farther than you thought. Texting Gojo was distracting you, not that Uraume seemed to mind as they were nodding along to the fast drums.

“Denenchofu.”

Ota? Sukuna definitely moved up from the 1R he lived in with his brothers back home. You had maybe a handful of clients who owned homes in Tokyo, especially in such an affluent neighborhood.

“Does his uh—Kenjaku live with him?”

“No, Ryomen lives outside of Tokyo. It’s only Sukuna and Yuuji. He doesn’t care for displays of wealth. It’s about privacy,” they murmured, pulling out a cigarette from their jacket with one hand. They struggled to take out their lighter while driving so you reached out to light it with yours. “Thanks. We’ve got politicians on our payroll who live in the area, so they look the other way if they happen to see anything.”

You nodded in understanding and said nothing more the rest of the ride there. Denenchofu was as affluent as you’ve heard, with several two or three story houses spaced out in ways that were uncommon for most of Tokyo. The streets were quiet with few people walking, and most houses were hidden by gates. As you pulled up to Sukuna’s house, your eyebrows raised at a parked Rolls Royce.

When the door opened, you were met with Sukuna’s broad chest in your face. His button up was halfway undone, revealing colorful inked skin. You lowered your glasses slightly, allowing your eyes to rake over each intricate design you could make out, making you realize the whole yakuza heir thing was actually real. This was Sukuna now, and he wore it well.

“Is this your first time seeing a man’s skin or what?” he sneered, pulling on his cigar before blowing smoke in your face. You coughed at the strong scent invading your senses and causing your eyes to sting, which only made Sukuna laugh.

Uraume walked up beside you, bowing to Sukuna. You whipped towards them when you heard the familiar sounds of a press check, before putting their gun away. A gun you did not see whatsoever on the ride there. “It’s done,” they grinned. “Too easy. You would’ve hated it.”

Sukuna laughed, familiar and throaty. “Where is he?”

“The trunk, sir.” Uraume replied, handing him the cracked phone.

Your eyes widened as you turned back to the black car, shuddering at the realization you had just been in the same car as a dead man. The plain car made sense to you now. The nonchalance between Sukuna and his assistant spoke on how little they thought about this person's death. It made you feel gross and itching to shower. Uraume smirked at your grimace. You ignored Sukuna’s mocking laugh as you cautiously entered his home.

The interior is what you’d expect from Sukuna. A mixture of traditional with monochromatic colors. His genkan wasn’t even a genkan, more like a small room with a wall with hidden shoe space. As you went up the stairs and past what looked like a gym, Sukuna led you to a large living room. It seemed like all the doorways were accommodated to his impressive height and build.

The living room was spacious and had floor to ceiling windows, giving you a clear look at an outdoor deck. You sat on the white L couch and set your phone down on the coffee table, feeling your stomach grumble. There was a bottle of wine and two glasses, one already full, as well as three boxes of pizza. Sukuna told you to help yourself while he turned on the phone and smoked his cigar. You took your sunnies out and were just about to relieve your hunger when Sukuna stopped you.

“You lose a fight or something? Can’t fight with those nails, I bet.”

You glanced down at your manicured nails. They needed to be done before you went back to work. “Screw you, I can fight just fine,” you grumbled. “I got mugged like an idiot.”

“Where?”

“Seoul.”

Sukuna looked up from the phone at this, large thumb still hovering over the cracked screen. You wondered who the dead man was and why his phone was important. Then again, better to not get too into this aspect of his life. “The hell were you doing there?”

“Business? I guess. Before I get to that, tell me what’s up with you being the heir to what—a syndicate?”

Sukuna didn’t answer you. It looked like he was ignoring you, choosing to blow rings of smoke and focus on that instead. “Fine. I need you to keep your mouth shut about this, so I’ll tell you. Got it?” he warned.

“Yeah, yeah,” you rolled your eyes, pouring wine for yourself. He had the good stuff, and you currently couldn’t even afford any more cheap beer.

“Listen, you little bitch,” Sukuna seethed, eyes narrowed in irritation. “Don’t think—”

“I am listening, you’re just saying a whole lot of nothing.” you cut him off, beaming at this unamused face.

Scarlet eyes glared at you, and your heart unexpectedly twisted at the nostalgia. The man in front of you may have vanished from your life suddenly, but he was still a major part of memories you held close to your heart. He was your first kiss, he taught you how to fight properly, he encouraged you to stand up for yourself, and he briefly opened his home to you when you had nowhere to go. You had missed Itadori Sukuna.

“Of course I’ve got you,” you reassured with a fond smile. Then, teasingly, “What’s hiding knives to a whole fake identity?”

You startled at Sukuna’s large palm tapping your cheek a little too roughly. Your highschool sweetheart.

“As long as you know your place, princess.”

You had met Sukuna when you were fifteen and he was seventeen. He was two years older than you, but you both ran in the same circle and saw each other often in and out of school. After your parents ran off when you had started middle school, your older cousin took you in. She was still young, so you had more freedom as she was either working or with her own friends.

Sukuna was in a similar situation after his parents and grandfather died, except it was his older brother Choso who took care of them and worked multiple physically exhausting jobs. Your highschool years were spent staying out late, going to shows, sneaking into bars, trying to get adults to buy you and your friends alcohol, getting into fights (because of Sukuna), and some petty theft. Sukuna was there with you through it all, along with your mutual friends and group of people you hung out with. He was much worse, doing whatever he wanted regardless of how others felt about it.

He had given you knives or drugs to hide in your school bag more than once if there were rumors the boy's things would be inspected. If he got into fights with a guy, and his girlfriend was there, the girl always lunged at you in some weird ‘by association’ type of way. Doing stupid shit was fun, especially when petty delinquency was looked over in Nishinari by cops. It was all amongst yourselves, and any loud and rowdy shows you attended were held in abandoned industrial buildings, far from the older homeless people. Theft was limited to big corporate stores on trips to Tokyo and away from Nishinari. Your fake IDs never hurt anyone.

Like you, Sukuna’s family was often running low on money and barely making it by. It didn’t surprise you when your boyfriend started taking up unconventional side jobs, such as selling drugs to rich kids in Tokyo and doing petty tasks for a local syndicate. You knew Choso had problems with the implications and risks, as you had heard them fighting about it once while you carried Yuuji out of the apartment. In the end, Sukuna’s older brother let it go as long as he was smart about it. And he was, for the most part. Yet you knew that towards the end he was beginning to do more than dealing.

Then, during your senior year, Choso was killed suddenly. He’d been stabbed repeatedly, one of a handful of casualties near one of his jobs. It was clearly a yakuza related incident, and wasn’t too looked into. You had barely seen Sukuna the days following it, and when you did he was absolutely livid and broken. The most you saw of him was when he finally came home and kicked you out after you took care of Yuuji. Like you, he had assumed that Choso was targeted because of Sukuna’s affiliation with the local syndicate. He was overcome with guilt over the very thing his brother warned him about. He wouldn’t have cared if his actions came back to hurt him, but Choso was innocent. He was a young adult trying to provide for his younger brothers, his entire world.

Once Sukuna found out who was involved, he immediately left Nishinari with Yuuji and without a word to you. He was out for blood, and didn’t let you even speak; he simply told you over the phone before hanging up abruptly and never answered it again. There wouldn’t have been a point in trying to stop Sukuna anyway, when the only person he listened to was dead. It wasn’t until almost two years later that he called you to apologize and you two left it at that, going about your separate ways.

Turns out, Sukuna’s fake backstory was partially true. As head of their syndicate, Kenjaku was expected to produce an heir, and his wife did have trouble conceiving a child. At the time, it was earlier than Kenjaku had even wanted an heir, and he wasn’t keen on having someone next in line so soon. As was common in their lifestyle, he had affairs, and Choso was the product of his night spent with Kaori, just before she met Jin Itadori. Kaori begged him to let her keep her baby, and insisted that she’d never ask anything of him or speak of the child’s father. She was powerless and Kenjaku made sure that she knew that trying to speak out wouldn’t be dealt with through the law. Kaori never did, but Choso’s father kept tabs on him throughout the years.

Choso was still Kenjaku’s first born son, no matter what. So when word of his death finally came back to him, he set out to find out who did it. It led him to Sukuna, who was slowly and single-handedly getting his way to the culprit. Once the two came into contact, Kenjaku gave Sukuna his resources to end it. While the syndicate responsible was a newer one and nothing compared to Kenjaku’s organization, they still gave Sukuna some trouble.

With Kenjaku’s foot soldiers, Sukuna stormed their base and massacred the entire group. It had been an absolute bloodbath done with any weapon imaginable except firearms. You remember hearing about the violent incident on the news, and never once thought Sukuna had caused it. At that point in time, Kenjaku was ready to have an heir and offered it to Sukuna. After all he had done and the time spent, Sukuna was hungry for more power and securing a better life for Yuuji. The fabricated backstory that Sukuna had told you at the soiree was easily paid for. He readily accepted his new role, as long as Yuuji was mostly kept from it and had the chance to live a somewhat normal life.

The wine and pizza was long gone by the time he finished, and Sukuna groaned that he never wants to speak so much again. Uraume came back with perfectly rolled blunts for each of you to end the night with.

Towards the two week mark, you decided to go back to work even if there was still some bruising on your eye. It was completely hidden by makeup at that point, and only visible under close scrutiny. So you only took Takeo’s call for a night at a bar/restaurant on the rooftop of a five star hotel in Kyoto. Like always, you had sex upon meeting and got ready in the bathroom before going out into the suite to change in front of him. His obsession with watching you change into clothes he picked out for you would always be weird.

Takeo was initially upset with you for having accepted your last date with Gojo. Throughout the past year, as Takeo became a loyal and consistent client, he greedily thought that his familiarity and extra gifts meant he was entitled to you keeping an entire day open for him. You’ve kept Saturday’s, one of the busiest days for everyone at the agency, open just for the possibility of Takeo calling for you. He wanted the exclusivity and faithfulness of an arrangement, of being your sugar daddy, without the actual commitment. The financial and contractual commitment on his part.

As much as you hated putting off such a busy day for him, you didn’t mind after a while. More like, you simply dealt with it. Keeping a consistent client was better than taking on a new one. Yet, you became restless the closer you had gotten to reaching your goal for Shiu’s deposit. It’s what led you to accept Gojo’s call for your date at that after party.

Maybe that’s why the insufferable heir paid almost 100,000 an hour and tipped. To ensure that his escorts prioritize him over others. His looks and sense of humor were just a bonus. Not only was it a power move against his escorts, but to other clients. And it worked, as Takeo was bitterly grumbling shit about Gojo and attempting to warn you. You used his insecurity to your advantage, playing up how Gojo’s power and influence had scared you into accepting his call. You were the stupid, naive, pretty little sex worker afraid of the scary rich heir. Takeo bought it like the savior fucker he was.

By the time you had finished having sex, your makeup had come off enough for the bruising to not just be seen as a trick of the dim lights. Your client was quick to drill you on whether that reckless and arrogant brat had been the one to hurt you, which made you force a smile down.

“I—I got mugged in a scary neighborhood,” you sniffled, covering your eyes with shaky hands. “I felt so bad because he took the wallet that y-you—” you hiccuped. “That you bought just for me. It was so scary, I’m sorry!”

Being naked and still under him post coital really sold the whole “vulnerable and scared” act you were going for. Also the fact that you were able to force tears into your eyes by the time Takeo removed your hands from your face to cup your cheeks.

fake it till you make it!

It worked out in your favor, all things considered. Not only did Takeo stop throwing jabs at you for taking another call over his, but he wanted to spoil you. Meaning that he decided to have your dinner brought to the room as well as a bottle of champagne. Sitting on his lap as you two ate dinner, sipping on champagne in your silk bathrobes wasn’t too bad. While you still had to freshen up your face for him in the bathroom, you didn’t have to make yourself impossibly flawless with several products.

Despite being an affluent lawyer, Takeo didn’t insist that you report the crime or your stolen wallet. He’d rather baby you and spoil you with more gifts in order to “keep you quiet”. You’d predicted it and even counted that he’d ask for details, considering that you’d have to lie if he pressed for information. You were his dirty little secret, one of the handful of escorts that he keeps on rotation behind his wife’s back. His favorite, but still meant to be kept hidden from the people in his life.

Your clients notoriously shame the very services they’re paying you for, and it’s only fair that you use that prejudice in your favor. Gojo’s texts have stopped, but he asked to see you soon. There’s that.

Two days later, you’re sitting in front of Naoya Zenin at a five star restaurant in Ginza. He’s currently ignoring you while he types away at his phone, and behind him you can see the waitress eyeing your table. Naoya had dismissed her with a flick of the wrist, not bothering to look her in the eye. Being with this guy reminded you of when you first began working as an escort. Taking any calls that came your way, no matter how terrible.

Naoya was one of the agency’s most difficult clients, and he didn’t make up for it with higher pay like Gojo did.

It begins with your attire. The Zenin sent you the clothes he wanted you to wear on your date, and allowed you to keep it. The gesture may sound sweet on paper, but Naoya straight up tells all the girls they probably don’t own any modest designer clothing. Also he finds returning or borrowing clothes tacky, which means you’ll be able to sell the clothes you’re currently wearing. Yet for a guy who insists on women being modest, he’s notorious for skipping out on STI screens and pays the girls under the table to fuck. He doesn’t hide the fact that he gets off on asserting power over sex workers who need money.

You may not be one of the girls who he pays under the table to please him, but you do so in other ways, as gross as it is. You’ve learned that if he presents you with his arm when you exit the car, you’re meant to take it and quietly walk by his side. If he doesn’t, it’s cue for you to walk precisely behind him. A few steps behind, not side by side.

Don’t speak unless spoken to. Always look at him when he’s speaking to you and when you’re speaking to him. Don’t talk to “the help”. You’d think that someone who can’t go a night without snorting coke would be more relaxed. Yet, you do all of this flawlessly. He appreciates the way you sit, the small bites and sips you take (no matter how hungry you are), and how attentive you are.

All you have to do is be what he thinks is a respectable woman. As disgusting as it was. Listen while he talks about himself, mainly talking shit about his family. This dinner is for him to take the edge off (by going to the bathroom 4 times to snort coke) before an event he doesn’t want to attend. His younger cousin Mai was just signed into a global modeling agency, and had to attend an art auction for appearances. The Zenin didn’t allow the women of the family to take up dates like the men did, so Naoya had to accompany her.  

“At least that bitch is doing something with herself,” Naoya snorted, arm in arm with you as you two walked out of the restaurant. He ignored every staff member who bowed to him. “Her looks are all she’s good for, so she’s smart for once in using it. Just like you.”

You said nothing, because you knew he wasn’t looking for a response. You simply continued walking, looking up at him while he looked ahead.

“What’s not smart is how you’re picking and choosing where to have morals,” he laughed. Like Gojo, he found it stupid how you refused to have sex with clients who haven’t screened. Naoya was more aggressive about it, but maybe he was voicing the thoughts Gojo probably had. “Those stupid rules are for us, not you. Girls like you should be thankful a man even wants to be seen with you.”

You wrenched your arm from his, trying to control your temper. His car hadn’t been brought back by the valet, but you were ready to walk back to the agency.

“You—”

“What’s this?”

Shit colored eyes came into your eyesight as Naoya crowded you. He was leaning down into your face with a hand grabbing onto your elbow to keep you close. His curious tone made no sense until you realized that away from the restaurant’s dim lights, and under the bright city lights, he could see the traces of your injuries.

You winced when his thumb suddenly pressed into the last remnants of your bruised eye. Just under the corner, a small red-yellow mark. You flinched in surprise, not pain, but Naoya breathed out in awe as if you had.

“Pretty,” he muttered. “You look good like this.”

You threw up your fancy dinner in the agency bathroom, regretting taking the call and hating that you did so out of desperation. It all came down to your rash decision in going somewhere where you were easy prey. Yet, you couldn’t regret getting Shiu to bring you a step closer in figuring out what happened to Toji.

You just wanted change so you could go home and cry yourself to sleep.  The ache that had been building the past few weeks was about to burst, you felt it in the tears that were already running down your face as you showered and changed. The tightness in your chest as you took the train home. The anniversary was tomorrow.

#I’m getting so familiar with Tokyo that I may as well plan a trip I can’t take shsjsj #gojo x y/n #gojo x reader #gojo x you #gojou x reader #gojou x you #gojou x y/n #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru x y/n #gojo satoru x you #jjk x you #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #satoru x reader #satoru x you

[lilolilyr]

Tagged by @ongreenergrasses, thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Way over 300! Tho it feels like it's been at 300sth so long by now, it'll be weird to look at once it hits 400 :D

Btw, funny how this tag meme asks for so much stuff that can be looked up by just... looking at my Ao3... without asking for any commentary by me? Lol

Anyhow, rest under the readmore bc this is 20 questions and Long!

Personal post - do not reblog

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

995596 - just a few more ficlets or 1 longer fic, and I've got a Million! Hey, maybe I should try to write one with... 4404? (I'd need to ask a calculator xD) words exactly... not rly a hardship with how many drabble exercises (exact wordcounts, 100 is the most used, I also do 200, 500, longest was 10000 exactly lol) I've already done... we'll see!

Over 400k for this year alone, and over half of that is my actual writing (not translations etc), I'm so proud! Last year I only barely hit 200k and that included a lot of translating work

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?  

Again, one could look this up in my works filtered - sorted by kudos? But all three of my incubus!jaskier witcher series are in it, part 2 of the series is highest with 1091 kudos, then a Venom halloween oneshot, and 'Belonging', a fluffy snake-crowley piece from my ineffable spouses series (yes, sth with under 1k words - 666 to be exact - is in the top 5... my poor longfics lol)

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

...I try to? But atm I have 202 unanswered (and I always click 'mark read' on replies so these are all comments on my own fic) even tho I told myself I'd not let it get past 200, and now I'm doing a tag meme instead of replying to anything so ummmm

Edit: 203 unread now

But I do love love love all the comments I get! And while atm it's still semi-manageable, if it ever gets to the point where I really can't manage to reply to everyone cause it's too much, i'd rly take that as a compliment lol :D I'd still try to reply to the longer and/or more thought through comments tho :)

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

*thinks* I have an MCD fic? But not only is that very much a case of ~posting a draft version that's barely in complete sentences insgead of taking the time to turn it into a real longfic~, I also just killed off the mlm couple I only semi care about and left the wlw couple with a happy/hopeful (rly don't remember) ending, so... hm idk whether that counts for angsty ending

Apart from that... I dunno, I just prefer my babies to be happy and fluffy? *.* i remember a mirror milippa in the mirrorverse one where in the end Michael is worried about lying to Philippa about her identity... there are some angsty TOG and Gomens ones but I think they end happy-ish (my memory is. Bad. but looking through my 'angst' tag I just saw a lot of h/c and 'angst with a happy ending')

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

They're all happy???!?

7. Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Ahahahahahhahahaahaha

Check this out

I need you to know that all the works in that collection take part in the same universe (or rather, multiverse), and are alltogether just scratching the surface of my gigantic headcanon multiverse that I've been building in my mind since I was like 10

Actual crossovers other than that I don't remember writing

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yeh but I only remember clicking 'delete comment', as it should be

Recently I've just gotten a bunch of 'you Need to continue this' and 'omg why isn't there more' or 'this shouldn't end' type comments, not hate, probably not meant maliciously, but So Annoying (maybe espesh bc I don't want to just hit delete on these, but I also don't want to pretend it's fine, but I also don't have the energy for a fight, and trying to explain why that behaviour is entitled and annoying and that I write what I want to write and nice comments should praise what I actually have written, and hoping that they understand and don't get mad is... hard.)

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Check out my rated E and rated M in my works

Mostly femslash lately, but I did also write other smut in the past

Most is a bit dominant/submissive play, but I do also like good fluffy smut with feelings! Best in combo, really :D

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not in the sense of pretending someone else wrote it (that i know of), but posted to other sites without my permission - writing 'don't repost to other sites' etc did Not help, they even copied those tags lol, so I just let it be, choosing my battles wisely etcetc, I'd prefer for my fic not to be cross-posted by others bc then I can't edit or otherwise influence the fic anymore and don't see everyone's reactions to it, but as long as it's not someone pretending they wrote it, I only semi care, not enough to fight it tbh

PSA: I Only post fics to Ao3 (and WIPs/prompt fills to tumblr&discord at times), if you see them somewhere else that's Not Me and you'd do me a favour by checking them out on ao3 and kudosing&commenting there instead :)

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yup, one to Russian a while back, a floreleine (Gunpowder Milkshake) one to Korean just today actually, and I translated a bunch to German myself

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I made a TOG fic together with @cinnamonplums, well mostly I wrote and she made the art :D

Trying to remember whether I ever actually co-wrote anything... don't think so?

13. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Don't make me choose!!!

Atm Milippa is OTP bc I'm busy writing them for @discoveryfemslashfortnight (this is not a post to reblog for the fortnight), but I'm also still rly into Floreleine, Bering&Wells and Andromaquynh and Andronilynh, and I read a lot of Mirandy lately

All-time favs I'm not rly active in atm but will always be dear to me are the ineffable spouses, clintcoulson, heistwives, gosh so many more I'll stop here tho xD

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

A Heistwives Kinda Job immediately comes to mind

I also rly want to finish at least one cohesive original-ish storyline for the lverse that I already linked for the crossover question above, but I just have so much backstory (it's been over 10 years!!!) and it's... hard...

And everything else that's still WIP and untouched for more than a few months will probably have the same fate lol

Also have a few that haven't even seen the light of day at all, most recent a Mirandy ~what if Andy had been pregnant when Miranda hired her and how would it change the entire storyline~ bit - I wrote it in bulletpoints in one go as quickly as I could, I know I had the finished product in my mind, I don't remember anything now and don't feel like going through the bulletpoints painstakenly filling in the blanks

15. What are your writing strengths?

Writing one-shots quickly in one go

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Forgetting everything about a fic if I leave it in a draft for a second too long

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

There are many ways to go about it, and I think they all work (depending on the fic and the length and relevance of the dialogue)

I tend to leave single sentences as is, and for longer and important sequences use cursive and 'they said in xylanguage'.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

The Hobbit apparently? I remember thinking that fic was so long lol, it's 3k

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

Kat/Ana from Reef Break, they have Such Shippable Chemistry, and it would totally fit Kat's player personality to bang both siblings (she's canonically friends with benefits with Ana's half-brother)... but the ship has one (1!) fic on Ao3 *cries*

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

TOG Andromaquynh longfic In Your Stead has had the title since last year and probably for a while to come! I loved the story idea so much I really worked with several drafts and only! worked on that fic until it was finished so I wouldn't get distracted & forget about it, and the result was wonderful.

Tagging, if you want to do it, @sarah-fiers @purlturtle @cookie-sheet-toboggan @ussjellyfish @onaperduamedee @startrekgeorgiouery @rosalie-starfall @lonely-night @banashee @xvnot15 and everyone else who sees this

Questions to copy:

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?  4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? 5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? 6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? 7. Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written? 8. Have you ever received hate on a fic? 9. Do you write smut? If so what kind? 10. Have you ever had a fic stolen? 11. Have you ever had a fic translated? 12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? 13. What’s your all time favorite ship? 14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? 15. What are your writing strengths? 16. What are your writing weaknesses? 17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? 18. What was the first fandom you wrote for? 19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? 20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

#tagging meme #tagged #mine #ongreenergrasses #ao3 tag #ao3 link #lilolilyrae #sept'21 #personal #Personal 2021 #28.09.21

[sevensided]

how did you get into writing fic? i'd love to start but idk even where to begin! I loved adats so I was wondering do you have any advice?

Oh my goodness! I am so flattered you’ve asked me this. Yes, I can absolutely help. I’ll throw a bunch of rambling under the cut.

I started writing fic probably when I was... sixteen years old? A lot of my early works were oneshots. I couldn’t figure out how to do anything plot heavy for the life of me, so I just stuck to AUs or whatever I felt like. I wasn’t in any particular fandom -- I really wrote whatever I had ideas for. I remember I tried once to do a plot-heavy story and I received a review absolutely ripping it to shreds. Like, it was so cruel I cried lol. I ended up deleting the fic. Years later, I get what they were trying to say (basically, more substance, less style), but at the time it cut to the quick. Really, it was only when I was in my twenties that I started writing work that was longer and/or better.

The fandom that helped me actually write plot heavy work was a historical-based fandom. As I’m a historian, it was perfect. I got to use my research skills and knowledge to create works that, above all, aimed to feel authentic. I mainly read historical fiction, so I was familiar with how that genre worked. Miraculously, people loved my work. I think I wrote about ~200k in the period of a year? These were several short stories (20-40k) and a few oneshot filler fics. While I was part of this fandom I also helped organise a Big Bang which was a lot of hard work but was extremely rewarding. Along with that, I interacted mainly with other fic writers, so I spent a lot of time chatting to people about ideas and encouraging other writers, and it just created a lovely medley where no concept was impossible or any line of dialogue too difficult. We supported each other and it was truly like a little commune. I gradually stepped away from the fandom mainly because it was just a part of my life at a very specific time, and almost as soon as that time was over, my love for that story/ship faded, but I firmly believe I figured out a lot of how/what I do now purely through that experience.

Regarding ADATS

With ADATS, it stemmed entirely from wanting to “explain” three months in canon (at the end of season three). I was interested in the idea of season four setting up Will/Mike in canon, and I wanted to test the source material to see if I could draw from what already existed to create something authentic. I began with that simple idea: what happened from July to October in 1985? Then I thought about the major themes I wanted to hit -- family, friendship, coming of age, sexuality -- and I nested them around the bigger concept: how do I get Mike from being ostensibly straight to realising he is gay? That meant thinking of two steps: Mike discovering his attraction to guys; Mike discovering his attraction to Will. Those two concepts were separate “arcs” that needed addressing in different ways. Balance was key to weaving them together and making the reader feel like they knew what was coming (and that they felt smart for putting the pieces together) without just rushing through and going “now kiss!” That’s partly why ADATS needs a sequel, lol: because it’s not finished!

Writing process

The first thing I do when I start to get an idea is I write it down. Sounds obvious. But when you have a killer line of dialogue come to you in the shower and you think “I’ll remember that” -- reader, you will not remember it. You gotta get it down ASAP! I do that the whole way through, as generally I’ll be thinking of scenes I’m stuck on and then it’ll just come to me and I’ll quickly jot it down.

The next thing -- or what I do in the meantime -- is start structuring. I plan. I try to plan a lot. Sometimes it’s okay to write “and something happens here to get them here”, because you’ll figure it out later, but for the most part I’ve discovered that planning is like gold and you can’t get enough of it. I break my work up into generally 3-4 parts/sections, and I treat each section like a mini story. So each part needs a conflict and resolution, and it needs to flow into the next section. You need to have a feeling of things evolving and maturing. Once I’ve planned those little bits, I start thinking about the bigger plot arc and how I can drop in hints along the way. I’m probably not a subtle or skilled enough writer to yet pull off that sort of gasping twist you get in really excellent books, but I’m trying to get there. It’s hard, is what I’m trying to say, but that’s okay, because we’re all learning.

Then I generally do aesthetic stuff. Sounds stupid, probably. But nothing helps me get more into a mood than doing a Pinterest board or -- most of all -- making a Spotify mix. I start thinking about the vibe and the general atmosphere, and then I almost exclusively listen to that mix when I’m working. Sort of like muscle memory? Just to get the creative juices associated with that particular selection of songs.

Another thing I’ll do along with plot structure is character structure. This is a biggie. I mean, a story is nothing without characters. So I’ll just jot down a bunch of bullet points of characters and particular aspects that I want to highlight or remember. I hate continuity errors in fiction. Like, if someone says they work on Maple Street but later in the fic they’re working on Pine Street. I hate that. So I keep note of specific things that my main character might notice at repeated points in the story (colours, places, smells, names, sounds -- so they’re all consistent even as the narrative evolves). That’s another thing -- your characters’ motivations. Not everyone is going to be a huge player, but they all do serve a purpose. The most important character is obviously your main character. I personally think it’s important to let your M.C. be an arse at times. They’re going to be mean, they’re going to misinterpret things or fly off the handle... just let ‘em. Let them be wretched humans, and then bring them back and make them realise what they’ve done. Let them learn! I love consequences in fiction, lol.

At the same time, I’ll probably start writing. We’ve already written down some snippets of neat dialogue or descriptions, but now we should start the actual process. For me, I used to start at the beginning. Usually this was the most fleshed out anyway: I’ll have a clear idea of the beginning and the end, but nothing in the middle. These days, if I have a scene in mind that I can’t forget, I’ll just write it. It will possibly get scrapped or rewritten, but that’s okay, because at least you’ve got it down and now you can devote your brain power to something useful (like figuring out what the middle is supposed to be). I’ll have half a dozen of totally out of context scenes just littered in my Word document that I’ll add to as I go along. Eventually, though, you’re going to start writing properly, and that’s when you write your opening scene.

Opening scenes: super important. Every time I write a scene I think: what is the point of this? What do I want the reader to learn or takeaway? Sometimes you do have filler scenes, but they also serve a different purpose (perhaps to establish a group dynamic or to explore/describe a character’s surroundings). Mainly, though, every scene should push something forward in some way, whether it’s character development or a plot point. So, with an opening scene, I always think you have to establish: where you are; who you are; what they are doing; where they’ve come from (in a philosophical and practical sense); and where they’re going (ditto). That doesn’t have to happen in the first paragraph -- that would be silly. But if you sprinkle that information in over time it’ll gradually build up a picture of your character and that way the reader can get an idea of who they are. You basically need to give a snapshot of what your story is about. This also goes back to the character creator stuff: where they are at the start should be different to where they end up. How that happens is, of course, because of plot, and because you’ve structured everything to the nth degree, we’ve got a very clear progression of that character’s growth (/s easier said than done lol).

General advice

Write down everything: every idea, a bit of dialogue, a description, whatever. Write it down. Doesn’t have to be neat. Just has to be on paper. You can’t remember everything, so if you’re spending time trying to hold those things in your head, it’s taking up space for new ideas to come along.

Structure, plan, structure, plan. Sometimes it’s boring and I hate it. Other times, when I’ve not written in a few days and I open the Word doc and think wtf is this supposed to be, I am very grateful for Past Me for leaving such detailed notes. Seriously, it helps so much. Oneshots don’t really need planning, in my experience. You just get those out there. But multi-chaptered stories really do, even ones that “just” focus on a relationship.

Whatever you want to write, commit to it. Space goblins invade Hawkins? Do it. Eleven and Max find themselves in a cult akin to Midsommar (2019) and must escape? Yes. Just... whatever you want to do, remember that you’re writing it for you. Write what most interests you, what makes you when you reread it go AHHHHH I LOVE THIS!! Because that makes it a thousand times easier to actually get on with the writing when you enjoy what you’re doing.

Write a lot. Every day, if you can, or at least at designated times. Occasionally I have a very specific headspace/vibe I have to be in, but sometimes it just hits me and I’ll say to my partner “I need to write now” and just disappear, lol. The more you write the more you write. It’s so, so, so true. Cannot emphasise this enough. When I wrote that ~200k in twelve months? It was because I literally wrote every. day. Or near enough. Remember that some days you’ll write 200 words, and other days you’ll write 20k (this happened to me with ADATS -- part of the reason I finished it so quickly was because I had sprints of writing 10k+ at a time that only happened because I was in the rhythm of it). Write, write, write. Who cares if it’s crap! No one will see it until you are ready. In the meantime, just write!

Probably last of all (although I could go on and on) is connect with other writers. If you’re struggling to start, sometimes just talking about it can help a huge amount. I hope it goes without saying that you can message me whenever you want, anon or not, and I will talk to you. We can talk about ideas or I can beta stuff, whatever you want! Find like-minded people and talk to them about what you want to do. Another thing this helps is in advertising your work when you do publish. I see a lot of first time fic writers get super down because they publish their magnum opus on AO3 but no one comments. Honestly, it’s because no one knows you’ve published! You don’t have to be tooting your own horn every which way, but just actively talking about your work and even collaborating with other content creators with get you hyped and other people too (and the input and encouragement other fandom members give is just... out of this world. Anon messages helped me finish ADATS when I was really worried I wouldn’t [that’s the truth]. Seriously, support is everything). When you have people excited about your work, you get excited. It’s really as simple as that.

I could go on but this is already horrendously long. I hope even a bit of this helps! If you want to chat or have any more questions, just hit me up any time.

#writing tips #writing help #writing advice #answered #i really hope this helps/answers your question! #i can do something more structured if you want #otherwise here are just my initial thoughts #Anonymous

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

Happy FFWF!!! Did you write more, less, or about what you expected to in 2021, and what are your writing plans for next year? Do you think your output will be similar? What are you most excited to write about? Wishing you the happiest New Year!!!

happy ffwf!! i wrote way, way more than i expected in 2021, and that's bc i worked an office job over the summer where nothing happened and therefore i spent the entire time writing, lmfao. you can literally look at my ao3 and see my posting spike over the summer and completely drop off the map during the fall semester 😂

my writing plans for next year are honestly just to keep writing. i always worry about losing motivation when classes get really draining, so until i graduate, my motto will probably be "keep at it!!" and not much more, whether i write another 200k words or just 200. my 2022 output could be similar, depending on how much free time i have over the summer, but i honestly doubt it lmaooo i think i peaked this year adjksdjks

im not sure what im most excited to write about? i have equal levels of excitement for a lot of things lolol i'll tentatively say im most excited to write some ml solely bc i haven't written ml in YEARS, but don't hold me to that in case i end up not writing any 😂

#amy answers #ffwf #flameohotwife

[popolitiko]

Fact check: No, impeachment itself would not ban Trump from a 2024 run By Daniel Dale  January 11, 2021

https://www.cnn.com/profiles/daniel-dale

Tapper: Will Trump go on playing golf and spreading lies after this?

Washington (CNN)A viral tweet claims that impeaching President Donald Trump for a second time would mean he would lose the ability to run for president in 2024.  

That's not true. Nor are other claims in the tweet.The tweet was posted on Friday, two days after a Capitol insurrection by a mob of Trump supporters sparked a new impeachment push from House Democrats. As of early Monday, it had more than 181,000 retweets and 725,000 likes. It says the following: "For those wondering if it's worth impeaching him this time, it means he:

1) loses his 200k+ pension for the rest of his life

2) loses his 1 million dollar/year travel allowance

3) loses lifetime full secret service detail4) loses his ability to run in 202

4"Facts First: The tweet is inaccurate in multiple ways.

1) Trump would lose his post-presidency pension only if both the House voted to impeach him and then the Senate voted to remove him from office; impeachment itself, without removal, would not result in Trump being denied any benefits.

2) The law makes clear that presidents who have lifetime Secret Service protection never get a $1 million travel allowance.

3) It is unclear that Trump would lose lifetime Secret Service protection even if the Senate voted to remove him and prohibit him from running.

4) Even a Senate vote to remove Trump would not prohibit him from running in 2024; for the Senate to ban him from the presidency, it would have to hold an additional vote on this question.

The post-presidency pension

Trump would not lose his pension if the House impeached him for his role in inciting the insurrection-- just as he didn't lose his pension when the House impeached him in 2019 over his effort to use the US' relationship with Ukraine for his own political ends. Rather, under the Former Presidents Act , he would lose his pension only if the Senate voted to convict him and remove him from office. Lots of average citizens use the word "impeachment" to refer to impeachment and removal, so we're not bashing Costiloe for this common error, but the statement is incorrect.Presidents who have not been impeached and removed are entitled to a lifetime pension equivalent to the annual salary of a head of an executive department. For Trump, like predecessor President Barack Obama, that would indeed amount to more than $200,000 per year.

Running in 2024  

Neither a second House impeachment nor even a Senate vote to convict Trump and remove him from office would prevent him from running again, in 2024 or beyond.  Rather, after two-thirds of senators present voted to remove Trump, a simple majority of senators present would have to approve an additional vote to bar him from the presidency in the future.The Senate could not skip the conviction-and-removal vote that requires two-thirds of senators and go straight to the simple-majority vote for future disqualification, Ross Garber, an impeachment and political investigations lawyer who teaches at Tulane Law School, told CNN.  There is at least some uncertainty about the disqualification issue, since no president has ever been removed from office by the Senate and only judges have been disqualified from future office. The disqualification language in the Constitution is "disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States"; Garber noted that no court or Congress has ever settled the question of whether the presidency counts as an "Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States" from which the Senate is able to ban an impeached and convicted person. (Garber said he personally thinks the presidency does count.)

Secret Service protection

Would Trump lose Secret Service protection if he was removed from office? It is not clear -- to us or to two legal experts we consulted, law professors Stephen Vladeck and Josh Blackman.There are two relevant laws that use different language on who counts as a "former president."  One law, the Former Presidents Act we mentioned earlier, specifically says that a president who gets booted by the Senate does not count as a "former president" for the purpose of certain post-presidency perks.  

However, another law signed by Obama in 2013, the Former Presidents Protection Act, simply authorizes lifetime Secret Service protection for former presidents -- without defining "former president" in any particular way. It is not clear which definition the federal government or the courts would use when it came to deciding whether an impeached and removed Trump should get lifetime Secret Service protection. (The Secret Service did not respond to a request for comment.) In summary, the tweet was too definitive on a point that is very much up in the air. 

Travel expenses

Trump was not certain to get a $1 million travel allowance in the first place. In fact, the travel allowance -- technically, a security and travel allowance -- is only for former presidents who are not getting lifetime Secret Service protection. An official from the office of a former president confirmed to CNN that the former president they work for does not have access to a $1 million security and travel allowance. In other words: under normal circumstances -- if Trump finished out his term as scheduled and then accepted the lifetime Secret Service protection he would indisputably be entitled to in that case -- there would be no $1 million security and travel allowance for him.

The story of the tweet

When we called Costiloe to tell him that we were planning a fact check and that much of the tweet was inaccurate, he said good-naturedly: "Tear it a new one. Go for it, baby." He said he is "nobody," a man who lives with diabetes in Texas and did the tweet because he had seen the information pop up somewhere on his Facebook feed and "it made me feel good." He said he was never sure the content was correct and was amazed the tweet went so viral. He said he had only 200 Twitter followers at the time he posted it. "I don't want to mess up the world. I just wanted to make me feel good," he said. "It turns out it made a lot of people feel good."

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/11/politics/fact-check-tweet-trump-impeachment-run-2024-secret-service/index.html

The New Reality: Meet Daniel Dale, the Canadian journalist fact-checking Donald Trump There are hundreds of journalists covering U.S. President Donald Trump, but only one relentlessly fact-checks nearly everything Trump says, and he’s Canadian

https://www.cnn.com/profiles/daniel-dale

#Fact check #impeachment #Daniel Dale #Capitol Insurrection

[burnedbyshoto]

what would you say the steps are to a fan fic writer getting better? (ai; type of speech, words, POV, followers count, just story in general) when do you hit the follower mark? Like in YouTube, for example, at 1,000 followers is when people start to notice your content.

to be very honest i’m very confused on to what you’re asking specifically, but i’ll do my best to answer!!!

fanfic writers get better the more they write!!! that’s all it really is.

— type of speech... idk what that means (((is this like nouns and adverbs and stuff))) is day to improve stop using adverbs a lot, it’s something I use a lot so it’s hard LOL

— words... idk what that means either, imma guess you mean word count. that stuff doesn’t really matter in the end! i read 200 word stories better than my 200k ones. if you meant as in use of vocabulary, eh... it doesn’t really matter. I try getting my point across as directly as possibly and often do not use anything challenging as in words to keep from people misunderstanding my sentences. word count/vocabulary doesn’t really improve you as an author though

— POV is a very personal thing. i use second person with an occasional third person! second person is just easier for me during x reader fics because it can still be me without the weird internal dialogue i feel I get when attempting first pov, but that’s a personal choice :)

— followers really don’t mean shit lol. I have in the upper 6k followers and my most popular piece has just over 2k. that’s 30% of my following list. so yeah, followers dont mean a thing, it’s nice to have, but in the end they’re worthless.

— story... well, I say that all writers should try the big three categories within their time posting. fluff, angst, smut. I only used to write fluff and angst, and realized how shit I was at smut so I decided to work on it! it ended up going pretty well once I got out of my own head!!!!

as ive stated before, followers on here really don’t matter. most followers are unfortunately either not active, don’t see your posts, or are silent readers. when i first started every 100 followers I would get excited for! my first 10 followers made me cry!!! writing on tumblr isn’t like youtube where you need a large following to make it! sure you might get an instant response because you have a lot of followers, but at the end of the day people are going through tags and will find your post whether you have 10 followers or 10k followers

I hope this helped 😂😂😂 and good luck with your writing!

[thiamfresh]

I tried opening Airplanes from another computer and it didn't find it on AO3 and I almost panicked that you decided to remove it for some reason. Will you ever do that? Remove the fic from AO3? :(

Hey! I’m sorry it scared you but there’s no need to worry I won’t ever delete airplanes.

I have literally put my blood sweat and tears into this fic

The blood was when I accidentally cut myself with a pen cap when I was writing the old fashioned way because i couldn’t use my laptop but shh it counts

And okay maybe the sweat was because I think about it while cycling home and I’m fat and unhealthy

And maybe the tears are from when I cry after falling off my bike while thinking about it.

BUT BACK TO THE POINT! The point is whether you like it or hate it you can’t deny I’ve worked my ass off for this fic I’ve done almost 200 words, come up with oc’s, planned trips round Disney world, researched roads, learnt how to change a tire

I have spent many nights ripping into myself about how useless I am because I can’t figure out the right wording for a line.

I have literally wrote through mental breakdowns

I have my friends on this site that legit remind me to eat and sleep and will set me bedtimes and stuff because they know I won’t think of myself until the chapters done.

And so you know there is every chance I’m gonna come back to this fic in a months time and hate everything I wrote, there is every chance a bunch of you will Reread it in a couple of months and be like “why did I ever like this?”

But the thing that won’t change is how much work I have put and am still putting into this fic and I don’t plan on ever just getting rid of it. Maybe it’ll suck in a year but I’ll still be proud I wrote a 200k fic and completed it. I’ll still be able to use the comments when I’m having a bad day to feel infinitely better reminding myself that there are people who like my writing

Airplanes is my baby and I broke my goddamn back lifting that little shit up and yeah, maybe it’ll grow up to disappoint me, maybe I’ll still get people judging me for raising my baby the way I did but mate that is my child and I will never ever destroy it.

Maybe orphan it if I’m really embarrassed by it but then it’ll just have a nice tragic background when it’s hanging around on ao3 unable to remember where it came from. No author by its name.

It’s 3am and I’m not entirely sure about what I just wrote?? But I guess we’ll find out

The main gist my spooked friend is that 1) you’re fuxking amazing and I love you and thank you for reading my child I really appreciate itAnd 2) my baby will always be there for you to come to so don’t fret. Maybe it was my baby but now it has grown into a child and the child is a child of the thiam fandom

Someone shut me the fuck up and let me sleep oh my god

#bitch please #thiam airplanes #I genuinely laughed and said when I saw you asking if I'd delete it #like no please don't worry there is no chance I'll delete it #I've worked too hard to just get rid of it #and I'm really sorry if I do anything to make you think I'd delete it #and I really am sorry if you worried #can I rest now? #so much hard work will never be deleted #I'm pretty sure there's still my Jurassic park fanfic out there somewhere

[topicprinter]

I made a huge mistake because I was stupid and clueless about running a company.I started a company with a partner few months ago. The agreement was that I would do software development and my partner would invest a reasonable amount of money to get us up and running while also handling the business side of things and he would own 30% while I own 70%. This seemed reasonable so I agreed. I was excited about getting an office and employees. The partner applied for a personal loan. The first thing he did when it got approved was to buy himself an iPhone and an Apple watch. It's only after all the company's paperwork was done that I came to know that the "reasonable" amount that he was gonna invest was just $1000 and he's practically broke, so I'll just be working out of my house as I usually do.After this he started putting pressure on me to reach out to my existing clients who give me freelance gigs. I saw no point of reaching out to my own clients just so he can take a cut of it so I told him I asked them and there's currently no work available so we need to find our own clients for now and it's his responsibility to bring us leads. The first lead he brought was his own friend who wanted a website and he suggested we do it for free since he has contacts and he can give us a reference. I said there is no way I'm doing any free work for his friends and give the impression that our time is not valuable. The second lead for designing a business card with unlimited revisions for $10. That's just plain insulting. The third lead was a company that wanted a website for $200 and I did not take that up either.We went 2 months with just 3 shitty leads and it became obvious that he's just looking to cash in on my existing clients and micromanage me while contributing nothing. Out of desperation, I started looking for new clients myself and landed a huge corporate client. They wanted to fix their wordpress site with 10 pages and I said $10K with 50% advance and they agreed immediately. They didn't negotiate or even need a second to consider it. They just said yes immediately. I was super excited about landing my highest paying job.I started fixing their site and but the design was really crap and the site was full of bugs. Since they gave me complete authority to make decisions and paid me well, I made a new home page from scratch and the client was excited.I worked my ass off to do the best work I can but the partner still wasn't involved at all and just wanted to know when he can expect his payment. I regularly send him a preview of the work and he responds in a few seconds saying it looks great or a thumbs up emoji rather than giving me any constructive feedback. Server logs showed me that sometimes he didn't even bother to click on the link, which was a crushing disappointment that someone could be so uninterested in what we're doing.Meanwhile, the client started asking for an endless number of revisions and I started getting frustrated but I tried not to show it. I've heard stories on Reddit about clients who keep demanding too much and I thought I was stuck in a bad deal. A weeks days later their CEO called me saying they didn't get the new invoices for the ongoing work and asked if there will be any delays. He told me their accounts department wants to have a word with my company's accounts department. I thought to myself "Accounts department? It's just me at the company and nobody else. What invoices? Wait, you guys were gonna pay me more? No way! Seriously?". I told him, "I'll check and get back to you". I sent them the invoices that they believed was pending, and they paid immediately. Then they asked me if I can do a few more things like video editing and I said yes. I hired a video editor who did the job in a few hours for $300 and then I sent an invoice of $5000 to the client and they paid.Overall, I made $40K and got quality referrals of people in his network. Never in my life have I earned so much in a short period of time. I eventually met their CEO again at a wedding and he came up to me and said hello and introduced me to his friend and told him I'm the one who made their site and they both said everyone at their company is talking about my work.Since then I hired a business consultant who was very impressed with how I landed a deal of this size without much business experience. He wrote our business plan, customer acquisition strategy, account planning, set our financial targets and strategies to meet them and then got involved with me full time on new projects. He told me this client probably had a budget of $200K and I just gave them one hell of a bargain, which is probably the reason why they didn't negotiate with me. At this point I was in complete shock. I had no idea people pay so much for a website unless you're a big company. He said I was lucky that the client didn't have the time to do a background check on me or the company and just assumed I'm an established firm just based on the way I talked to them, and now that I've exceeded their expectations, any referrals from them will bring in more top tier clients.Meanwhile the original partner just texts me asking if I got any new leads. He told me he's disappointed with me because he spent a lot of money to paint his house and his car payments are due and I'm not performing to his expectations. I really wanted to dissolve the company and start a new one with my newly hired consultant. What the consultant told me he'd be happy to partner with me but it's too late at this point for me to quit this company and start a new one because the moment we got ourselves a huge client that's well known in the industry, I made our brand valuable, so whether I like or not, I'm stuck with a dead-weight of a partner until I buy out his shares. Is he right about this?

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

[topicprinter]

Hey guys,Today, I want to share some awesome examples of people using cold emails to unlock opportunities that skyrocketed their businesses. Let's face it. Cold emailing is tough; your prospect probably gets tons of emails every day trying to sell them some service or product so how do you stand out?We did research to dig up some powerful cold emails that actually work.In this post, we broke down four highly successful cold email campaigns to find out exactly what they did right and how you can follow their lead. We will look at:A campaign that grew a company’s revenue to $30k/month within one year.A cold email formula that secured $10k in recurring monthly revenue.A campaign that allowed a consulting firm to quickly sign a new $15k client.How one company used cold email to land meetings with LinkedIn, Twitter, and more.Read the original post hereOr follow along!In a world where just getting your email opened is a mission in and of itself, connecting with and converting prospects via cold emailing can seem impossible. Truth be told, it is pretty darn difficult to drum up new leads, even with a properly vetted list and carefully crafted copy.But cold emailing doesn’t have to feel like a shot in the dark.There are a number of cold emailing techniques that are proven to increase the response rate, warm up leads, and open up the high-value sales opportunities you’re after.Note that we chose these examples because they resulted in substantial financial and business success. We’ll explore why the emails were so effective and how they connected with cold leads so you can score similar results for your own business.Case Study #1: LeadFuzeFirst, let’s look at how LeadFuze used cold email to boost their revenue to $30k/month within a year. LeadFuze is a lead generation product that helps businesses find and contact new leads automatically, so it’s no surprise that the company’s founder, Justin McGill, knows a thing or two about prospecting.As you might expect, Justin began by building a list of contacts using his own product. He specifically targeted CEOs and owners of marketing companies. When he sat down to write a high-quality cold email that would resonate with people in these positions, he followed a simple formula that includes a question, value proposition, and closing call-to-action (known as QVC).Screenshot of emailA breakdown of QVC in cold emailing1. Start with a questionBoth the subject line and the opening sentence are phrased as questions about the recipient’s business. This serves two purposes: grabbing the recipient’s attention and maintaining a focus on the prospect’s needs.Of course, the first sentence plays a major role in the success of any email campaign (cold or otherwise). This is especially true when you consider that part of this line will be visible in a recipient’s inbox and on their phone screens when they receive an email notification.With 55% of emails being read on mobile devices, your subject line and opening sentence need to be short, snappy, and intriguing if you want to get through to cold leads.Plus, asking a question or two can significantly bump up response rates. Emails that contain one to three questions are 50% more likely to receive a response than messages without any questions.2. State your value propSo, you’re sending cold emails to spread the word about your amazing product or service. Great! But why should your recipients care?Assuming you’ve put together a targeted list of leads, you truly believe the reader can benefit from what you have to offer – so make your prospects believe it, too. Address the WIIFM factor that underlies so much of consumer behavior. This is a critical component of your sales message, since it’s where most of the actual selling takes place.LeadFuze frames their value prop in a way that highlights benefits to the recipient and nicely sums up their core offering. It’s simple, clear, and to-the-point.3. Include a direct call-to-actionA strong cold email convinces the recipient to do something. Whether you want prospects to meet with you ASAP or simply show interest by responding to your message, let them know what steps they should take. In this case, LeadFuze offered a demo of their platform to entice interested leads to reply.4. P.S. Bonus take away from LeadFuze’s cold emailJustin also included a postscript under his signature. He uses this to give leads an easy way to opt-out of future messages.Not only does this fulfill the role of an unsubscribe link more tactfully, but it also has a psychological effect on the reader. It’s a strange tactic, but it can get people to respond even if they’re not interested in becoming a customer. This allows you to accurately refine your list of contacts and spend your time pursuing promising sales opportunities.Case Study #2: SumoJerkyHere’s another fantastic example of how cold email can be used to grow recurring monthly revenue. SumoJerky is a beef jerky delivery business that bumped up its revenue to $10k/month using a cold email campaign that focused on sending the right message to the right people.Founder Ryan Luedecke’s first email to a potential customer was unsuccessful. But rather than why he was hesitant to sign up. Then, based on the feedback provided, he wrote a new cold email that addressed each objection specifically.Ryan sent out 5000 more emails with this problem-solving approach and successfully registered 200 offices for his service. That’s a 4% success rate and a healthy $10,000 per month in recurring revenue.Screenshot of emailSo, let’s break it down – what was it about this email that made it such an effective beef jerky sales pitch?1. Snappy subjectAccording to Convince&Convert, 33% of emails are opened based on subject line alone. It’s your first chance to make a good impression on cold leads and your only chance if it makes a bad one.SumoJerky’s successful cold email campaign started with the use of a concise, simple subject line. It gets right to the point, doesn’t sound salesy, and says just enough to get the recipient’s attention – all in casual lowercase text. Plus, inclusion of the word ‘your’ evokes a sense of responsibility in the reader.2. Personal credibilityRyan immediately establishes credibility by identifying himself as the CEO of his company. Since CEOs and decision-makers are his target demographic, this introduction also helps to build rapport with recipients.3. Proactive problem-solvingAnother way Ryan connects with leads is through empathy. He admits that office snacks can sometimes be seen as a distraction. This addresses a potential objection head-on and shows that he understands his target’s concerns. It also gives him a chance to state the benefits of his service in a way that directly addresses customer pain points.Look at your leads’ common challenges to find out if you can improve your messaging to tackle potential issues proactively.4. Social proofBy name-dropping and quoting existing customers, Ryan offers social proof that builds trust and further credibility. According to Unbounce, social proof can increase conversions to 68.7% when used correctly.Whether you include quotes from customer reviews or reveal how many satisfied customers you’re serving, social proof tells prospects that you offer real value – and until they become a customer, they’re missing out!5. Clear yet casual CTAFinally, Ryan closes with a clear call-to-action that doesn’t place any pressure on the reader. He maintains the friendly, casual tone of his message all the way through, while also stating exactly what he wants from his leads.According to WordStream, emails that contain a single call-to-action increase clicks 371% and boost sales by a whopping 1617%. So including a direct CTA like this in your own emails is vital if you want to start a business relationship with your leads.Case Study #3: MasswerksAs a small web consulting firm founded by entrepreneur Marco Massaro, Masswerks discovered that strategic cold emailing was a powerful tool for finding and connecting with qualified leads. They successfully signed a new client for a $15k contract through a small, focused cold email campaign.First, they turned to CrunchBase to find initial leads. Since they were focused on finding the right people to message, Masswerks narrowed down their search by only looking up specific types of businesses (tech and SaaS) with at least $200k in funding or $500k to $1M in revenue.Next, they identified the decision-makers (by looking up the CEO, co-founders, CTO, CMO, or Head of Product) before seeking out their contact information.Once they had a well-researched list, Masswerks sent out a short, polite cold email to 500 prospects. They received 67 replies for a response rate of 13.4% and then heavily qualified those leads to avoid wasting anyone’s time. To do this, Masswerks followed up individually to clarify factors like minimum budget requirements (especially if the prospect didn’t talk numbers in their original reply).In the end, only two prospects remained – which means Masswerk’s only had to invest their energy into fully pitching two potential clients. Of those two, one signed a $15k contract within one day.Screenshot of emailLet’s take a closer look at what they did right.1. Two-word subject lineMasswerks kept things short and sweet in their subject line: Work together. This is what leads saw in their inbox.That’s it. Simple, informal, not spammy in the slightest. By writing “Work together” as a statement rather than a question, Masswerks managed to place the concept of a partnership in recipients’ minds before they’d even opened the message.2. Prioritizing the reader above himselfLike LeadFuze’s QVC formula, Masswerks’ cold email opens with a question. It focuses on addressing the prospect’s needs before introducing the company or pitching any services.He doesn’t waste time describing what the business does without telling leads what he can do for them.3. Explaining the how of his benefitsIn one simple sentence, Masswerks states what benefits they can provide to the reader as well as how they would go about achieving it. Once again, it’s crucial to tell your audience what’s in it for them and to illustrate how your solution can benefit their business.4. Expressing enthusiasmThe friendly call-to-action comes across as genuine. The word “love” expresses the sender’s enthusiasm and the request to “email me back” doesn’t ask too much of the prospect. It’s open-ended and doesn’t ask for a specific response – merely an acknowledgment of interest.Case Study #4: Takipi (Now OverOps)Sometimes the best sales opportunities stem from networking with industry giants. After all, they’re the ones with the connections, scale, and budgets to skyrocket your brand and profits. Of course, getting the big guys to notice and, more importantly, take the time to reply to your email, is no easy feat.But it is possible.Back when OverOps was known as Takipi, the server debugging company managed to land meetings with big players like Twitter, LinkedIn, GitHub, and Klout – all through the power of cold email.Their success was not instant. The first round of emails they sent out received exactly zero responses. Rather than lowering their sights, Takipi’s team analyzed their mistakes to figure out what it would take to write more effective cold emails.By rethinking their approach and revamping their messaging, Takipi not began only getting positive responses but was able to secure a call or meeting with 30-40% of people they contacted.Screenshot of emailWhat improvements helped them get the attention of industry-leading companies?1. Personalized, actionable subject linesIris admits that her first batch of cold emails used vague subject lines like “new product” and “feedback for a startup company.” She quickly realized that these generic phrases did not allow her message to stand out in recipients’ inboxes. When she made her subject lines more specific (by adding “Scala” or “Java”) and personalized (including the company name), she experienced an instant boost in her response rate.No one gets excited to see spam in their inbox. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what cold email looks like without personalization. According to a report from Adestra, your recipients are 22.2% more likely to open an email with a personalized subject line.2. Treating prospects like peoplePersonalization shouldn’t stop at the subject line. Takipi found that mentioning the prospect’s projects in their emails also improved response rates.Commenting on the recipient’s expertise or noting that you enjoyed a recent talk they gave is more than just a form of flattery. It shows that you did your homework. This helps warm up leads because it means you’re reaching out to them specifically based on your knowledge of their work.3. Don’t beat around the bushAsking prospects for general advice might seem like a good way to soften the somewhat abrasive nature of cold email. However, being direct and straightforward yields more productive results.Iris found that she was more likely to land a meeting if she told prospects exactly what she wanted. Her most successful cold emails were structured, used direct language, and stated that she wanted to meet with the recipient so they could try Takipi’s software.The more clearly you articulate your request and illustrate how it relates to your prospect’s needs, the more likely they’ll consider meeting with you.4. Balancing brevity with contextNo one wants to read a wall of text in an email from someone they don’t know. However, it’s tough to make a good impression with a cold email that doesn’t contain any information about your company. The key is finding a balance between keeping it brief and providing context.According to data from Boomerang, the ideal email length is 50 to 125 words. Sales emails in this range get the most replies, with an average response rate of just over 50%.Takipi tackled this issue by attaching lightweight files, like a one-pager and a screenshot, to their cold emails. For bigger pieces of content like videos, Takipi embedded links. What they didn’t do was waste space asking recipients to open or review the attachments.Links and attachments allow you to keep the message clean and brief without leaving out important details. These strategies paid off for Takipi when cold emailing everyone from prospects and investors to bloggers and business advisors.Cold emailing success for YOUR businessNow that you’ve seen the kind of growth, revenue, and interest cold emailing can achieve, you’re probably eager to optimize messaging for your own leads. We’ve put together a package of 17 proven cold email templates to make your campaigns easier to execute.Read the original post here

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit