#((Thanks for liking the starter call! Feel free to keep this short or expand on it! Whatever you want <3)) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

celticcrossanon · 3 years ago

Note

I’m so sorry for the rant. I just needed to clear my head and got compelled to do it in your inbox. 🙇🏾‍♀️

Not a question just some thoughts. Sorry I’m spamming you so much. I just read your latest reading about the wanna be“tour” and all I can do is SMH. I think to some extent we saw this coming but they are dialing it up and expanding. Conscious humans would’ve called it quits by now. The Remembrance Day pap walk, Going to elementary schools, “donations”, writing letters like they are world leaders, etc. On one hand I can’t see this becoming much of a “thing”. I don’t think MM and Jarry will go on doing this for long unless they can get some Hollywood to pay attention and acknowledge them. I think another reason with the more public European Royals work so well in their media is because their countries are relatively small, like California and Texas are on the large side in comparison, am I right? So much can happen on one side of the country that I only hear of thanks to friends back in California. I can’t see these two visiting any farm in Montana as “royals” if ever. They got a Clinton and Perhaps more big names and “engagement” is to come (oh god 🤦🏾‍♀️) I’m sure they and the sugars are just loving it but it all looks, sounds and feels so incrediblly STUPID & ABSOLUTELY VAPID AND INSULTING. etc etc. I cannot stand entitled people and the fact that these two cut off, trashed, and demand from their own families for a fleeting moment in the spotlight is unfathomable. That’s a testimony to how strong narcissistic delusions can be. It must be the best high I could ever ask for. 🖤Im new to “Royal Watching” if you can call what I do ‘that’, so I don’t really care about all the other indiscretions. I don’t trust the media and I think it’s just the BRF turn in the hot sun to catch hell. See Andrew, see the Clintons and all the others. Whatever drama is going on with Charles, see the rest of big business. I’m a narcissistic abuse survivor and I still study on the disorder. Now here I am watching these two who make my skin craw, this train needs to SPEED UP . I think I’m just looking for a bit of JUSTICE in the world right now. Between this administration, COVID, my job and all my other drama (I’m sure we all have some, if not BLESS YOU and pass it on 🥺) I’m flabbergasted and a little sick in my stomach at watching yet another set of people be able to walk through life seemingly so unbothered. It’s like the world is closing in and I’m suffocating. 🖤Like, your telling me that just because he was born a Prince and she married him and found a way to have children they get to get away with all of this?. The entitlement, the lies, the forced Wokery, using heavy and important subjects like mental health and racism for a PR boost all just to get a⭐️ on the Hollywood walk of Fame? For a couple of royals they sure know how to dump cold water on ya, they are the epitome of LIFE ISNT FAIR. And I’m sure that all depends on perspective, for example; their sugars who must be going diabetic RN. THEY think they have suffered as well. Look at the Cambridge’s who have not put a foot out of place yet have to deal with these tantrums from all over their family. All families have drama and I can see how the Harkles and the rest could be a payback of the Firm and family as a whole. The Queen covered so much and never really saw that Henry and Andrew and god knows who else were set straight. Look what having so much privilege can do. But is there a limit, anywhere?🖤

🖤Anyways, another thought I had was, this could be the end for any thought of reunion. This Narcissist has worked her magic and this clueless tone deaf fool has really gone and done it. I was driving and I thought of Prince William and the entire remaining Windsors & Mountbatten Windsor’s and the whole Aristocracy cutting the Harkles off entirely because the BRF called a wrap (or had to) and the UK became a Republic after Her Majesty. MM get the privlage in her narcissistic head that she’s the last ever to become a Duchess, Cathrine wouldn’t become the Princess of Wales and it all came down in part because of her and Henry’s actions. Yes Andrew and whoever else aren’t helping but these two made it exceptionally difficult. I think they would take pride in that especially publicly but only when they are praised for it. I think the Cambridge’s would have an easier time with moving on with their family, free to live as they please with no pressure to serve the public. Cathrine can be “lazy”, sleep in, & raise her kids and Wills is free to🖕 the paps who would surely still follow them. A La “where are they now”. The two that would have it the worse are the Harkles as they last bit of what they had to separate them from the rest of Hollywood is gone, no more Royal sheen but they don’t have much now. It would be stupid to use the titles after an abolished monarchy but they’d do it and expose themselves further.🖤 If you made it this far, one last thing. I got cut off while driving. That’s not unusual in this Miami traffic and usually i ignore it but with my mental state I couldn’t help but to compare. it was a packed road and I just really wanted to know where the heck the fire was. Why did this person need to rush so much on a busy road that no one else mattered even though we all have somewhere to go? That’s how I feel about the Harkles. What’s the point, where are they going? They went to New England for Christ sake to play faux royalty, in more trashy outfits might I add. 🤦🏾‍♀️

I guess I do have a question, DOES THE WORLD REALLY BELONG TO THOSE WHO JUST Get UP AND TAKE IT?

Thanks for humoring me and providing this space. ✌🏾

Note: My apologies for this very long post, everyone. I can't put a page break in and the writer needs to let it all out. I am sure a lot of you will be feeling somewhat similar to them.

Reply under the cut, so this is not any longer

Hi april14vc,

You are welcome to rant here.

It sounds like you have a lot going on at the moment and it is all becoming a bit much to handle, as there is no relief anywhere. Is there something fun and relaxing that you can do for you sometime today, just to have a break from it all? I feel like you need to tune out for a bit and do something that is just for you.

I am so sorry that you suffered from narcissistic abuse, and so glad that you survived this. I think the Harkle shenanigans must hurt you in a more personal way than those of us who have never suffered under a narcissist. It is very hard to watch the Harkles seemingly get away with all their entitled abuse without any form of justice coming for them.

I think the Harkles are suffering. They usually are unable to get any sort of attention from the media unless they pay for it, and even then they don't trend - it is a 'blink and you miss it' situation. Look at what happened with Meghan's 40 for 40 program - it was dead in the water before the day was over, and she spent a fortune on PR for that. Compare that to the natural (not paid for) hype that surrounds anything that the BRF does, especially the Cambridges or HMTQ. That hype and attention is what Meghan wants, and she is not getting it.

What the Harkles are getting, and what they hate, is mockery. Look at the response to their Times 100 cover. Look at the comments on this pseudo-royal tour. They are a walking joke, and no narcissist would like that. They tried to cull all negative press while they were members of the BRF, were unsuccessful in stemming all of it, and now have no clout at all to stop any negative media attention. The Harkles may live in a delusion of success, but to the vast majority of people they are no more than very risible z-list celebrities.

The Harkles also have serious money troubles. They may be ignoring them, but those debts will have to be paid, one way or another.

What we are seeing now is the slow slide of the Harkles into obscurity, and their desperate attempts to reverse the process, which never work. They are no more popular and wanted now than they were at the time of Megxit, and in fact their popularity has declined since those days. They may look like they are winning, but it is all an illusion, caused by the amounts of money they are prepared to pay to give the illusion of wealth and star-quality celebrity. The paid for events happen, and then nothing. The paid for PR happens, and then nothing. Their slide downwards continues, and nothing that they do is reversing it.

Yes, at the moment they are on a high and beaming put of every report on their activities. Wait a week and then see where they are. This is like the Oprah interview all over again.

My next reading is going to be on the consequences of this pseudo-royal tour for the Harkles, so maybe there will be some justice for you there.

Edited to add: As for taking down the monarchy, I can't see that happening. For starters, the British government would have to put the matter to the people for a vote, and even if they are insane enough to do that, I can't see the British public voting to remove a beloved Queen because of the antics of two people who are despised that that country. The logistics of replacing the monarchy are also staggering - you have to rework the entire government of not just Great Britain, but of all the commonwealth realms who have HMTQ as Head of State, and that is not an easy task or a light undertaking. In addition, those Commonwealth Realms can keep HM as their head of state even if she is ejected by the British people (which would never happen, but I am stretching the bounds of probability here). After HMTQ comes Charles, who will have a short reign simply because of his age and health, and then William will be king, and he is also loved by the British public. I just can not see all that thrown away for the Harkles, who are rightly hated by the British public.

30 notes · View notes

ohighwind · 3 years ago

Text

MUN INFO

Hi. I’m Samichi or Sami for short. I’m thirty-two years old and love anime, video games, manga, and art. I’ve been roleplaying for nearly sixteen years and love writing a lot. I love coming up with my own stories or expanding a canon universe through various headcanons and drabbles. I also like coming up with silly little OCs.

I work full-time as a custodian and will be slow to reply at times as my muses can be fickle, or I’m busy playing other games. I will not give out my Discord to anyone unless we have interacted and clicked well. I wish to thank you again for taking the time to read my rules. :D

THE RULES

HELLO! PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING POINTS. IT'S SHORT AND SWEET! I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FOLLOW! HERE IS A LIST OF A FEW RULES!

A PRIVATE AND SELECTIVE BLOG. MUTUALS ONLY. OC FRIENDLY. MUTLISHIP AND AU FRIENDLY.CROSSOVERS PICKY.

GREETER POSTS

I’M NOT GOING TO DO GREETER POSTS ANYMORE. THEY ARE TOO HARD TO KEEP UP. IF YOU WANT TO ROLEPLAY THEN HIT THE LIKE BUTTON ON MY STARTER CALL POSTS OR REPLY TO MY OPEN RPS. THIS, OF COURSE, IS FOR MUTUALS ONLY.

SENDING IN PASSWORDS

IF YOU HAVE IT STATED IN YOUR RULES FOR ME TO SEND YOU A PHRASE TO CONFIRM I’VE READ YOUR RULES, I DO NOT DO THAT. I THINK IT’S USELESS AND NERVE-RACKING TO HAVE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I’VE READ YOUR RULES BUT I’M NOT GOING TO SEND PHRASES.

SEND IN ALL THE MEMES!

PLEASE SEND IN MEMES AND PROMPTS! I LOVE THEM. IF YOU DO WANT TO TURN A MEME YOU SENT IN AS A THREAD. PLEASE MOVE IT TO A NEW POST BECAUSE REBLOGGING ASKS IS CLOGGY AND ONE OF MY PET PEEVES. I ALWAYS DO THIS FOR YOU. THANK YOU!

SMUT & OTHER NSFW

THERE WILL BE SMUTTING ON THIS BLOG BUT YOU HAVE TO BE OVER THE AGE OF 18. I WILL BE VERY PICKY ABOUT WHO I SMUT WITH THOUGH. DO NOT LIE ABOUT YOUR AGE. I WILL INSTA BLOCK YOU IF YOU DO.

NOTE: I WILL NOT RP SMUT WITH MUSES THAT ARE MINORS.(17 & UNDER) THIS IS A NO-GO FOR ME.

Other NSFW elements, such as dark themes will be present on the blog!

I WILL TAG ANY NSFW ACCORDINGLY

OTHER STUFF

I TEND TO BE SLOW AT TIMES. PLEASE RESPECT THAT. IF I HAVEN’T RESPONDED TO OUR THREAD FEEL FREE TO SHOOT ME A MESSAGE. JUST BE POLITE. IF YOU NEED ME TO TAG SOMETHING. PLEASE JUST ASK. IF YOU HAVE AN ISSUE. PLEASE MESSAGE ME SO WE CAN DISCUSS IT. PLEASE DON'T JUST BLOCK ME. TALKING IT OUT TO FIND A SOLUTION IS THE WAY TO GO.

I'M HERE TO HAVE FUN AND USE ROLEPLAYING AS A STRESS RELIEVER. ALL I ASK IS KEEP THE DRAMA TO A MINIMUM.

PSA: THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ME

(This applies mostly to people in the Final Fantasy Fandom)

If you follow me and then unfollow/soft block me right after then I will hard block you. I don’t have time for petty games from rumors spread about me from years ago from a toxic party. Either follow me or don’t, interact with me or don’t but don’t play games with me. I’m too tired for that bullshit. I will INSTANTLY BLOCK YOU. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care if you think I’m a bitch or a toxic person. I will shape my own roleplaying experience and if you have to be purged, then so be it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you to those who still stick with me.

I’m going to get straight to the point before people who dislike me accuse me of stupid shit. I used to be part of this fandom a long time ago under the name FERREN and ARLUNA. I was part of the Final Fantasy fandom as a whole, making blogs for different series.

I now go by SAMICHI or SAMI (SAMMIE) because it’s close to my real name. I have no intentions of hiding who I was. That being said; I’m a different person from back then, that's up to you all if you want to still interact with me or not. I’m done dealing with people with petty intentions and like I said in my other post, I will HARD BLOCK YOU if you try to play games. I don’t care about false rumors or what you all think of me because of those rumors. That is up to you.

I’m here to roleplay, post screenshots and write metas and headcanons of my Warrior of Light. I’m not here to dwell in the past because a group of people back then wanted to slander me for the stupidest shit. I just wanted to get this off my chest because I had held it in for too long.

For those who stick by me regardless of my tarnished reputation

#rules

1 note · View note

ftauriellas · 5 years ago

Text

chicago’s very own auriella yates has been spotted on madison avenue driving a porsche 718 spyder , welcome ! your resemblance to jasmine tookes is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your twenty - fifth birthday bash . your chance of surviving new york is uncertain because you’re guileful , but being unadulterated might help you . i think being a virgo explains that . three things that would paint a better picture of you would be the lingering scent of her perfume on crisp white sheets , the soft touch of short satin dresses against her thighs , and the soft glistening of diamonds during golden hour .

hi again , kitty gorls ! it’s jin showing up on your dash for the last time with my sweet peach miss auriella yates . she’s a rendition of a hailey b . chara that i have , so she’s quite the mess , but as lovable as ever ! as you’ve probably figured , i didn’t have much muse for guiliana anymore so i decided it was best to let her go and bring someone else ( also , i’m really sorry about not fulfilling that starter call . please don’t hate me 🥺 ) . my muse is soaring for auriella so be prepared for me to slide into your dm’s for plotting up a storm ! that being said , here’s another long one !

basic information .

FULL NAME : auriella kaia yates .

NICKNAME(S) : auri , mostly .

BIRTHDATE + AGE : september 9th , 1997 + 22 .

ZODIAC : virgo .

HOMETOWN : chicago , il .

GENDER : cis female .

NATIONALITY : american .

ETHNICITY : african american , brazilian , west indian , barbadian , and european .

HEIGHT : 5′5″ .

LABEL(S) : the harlequin , the trust fund baby , the vainglorious , the coquette , and the sovereign .

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : biromantic .

SEXUAL ORIENTATION : bisexual .

LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN : english and learned basic french in high school .

OCCUPATION : socialite , makeup artist , and businesswoman .

POSITIVES : impulsive , alluring , unadulterated , facetious , and melodious .

NEGATIVES : complaintive , acquisitive , guileful , starry - eyed , and bellicose .

biography .

auriella yates is the sixth child of eight , born to simone and joshua yates in the windy city of chicago , illinois . she has three older brothers ( chance , charles , and clark ) , two older sisters ( adriana and amelia ) , and a younger brother and sister ( calvin and aurora ) . patrick and simone for some reason found joy in naming their sons with c names and their daughters with a names , but it works for them nonetheless . the family could afford such a grandiose lifestyle in chicago thanks to simone’s lifestyle and wellness brand called honey & lemon ( goop , who ? ) that has since expanded from a newsletter to e - commerce , pop - up shops , a magazine , and a podcast . patrick , on the other hands , is a famous vegetarian chef that has launched three cookbooks while also having his own cooking series on the food network along with a cookware partnership at target . together , they own a vegetarian restaurant in downtown chicago called lemongrass .

growing up , since auriella had so many siblings , she never had an uneventful day . their parents strongly believed in their children playing outside instead of being stuck in front of the television all day , so they often took advantage of their large backyard when they lived in the suburbs of chicago . they were the parents who let their rowdy bunch ruin their perfect grass because they wanted to play in the mud . their parents may have afforded them luxuries that others didn’t have and while their parents had been busy people , patrick and simone refused for their children to be raised by nannies . they were heavily involved with everything that their children did , ranging from their pre - school graduations to their high school proms .

auriella had always been a rather outgoing girl throughout high school , and she knew she was cute so she started an instagram page when she was about thirteen or so . originally , her pictures were just cringey dirty mirror pics and photos with her friends , but as she explored the app more and more , she discovered makeup and her love for it ! so , despite the terrible youtube - tutorial makeup that she tried to recreate , auriella never gave up on her ability to do better . as she moved through high school , her makeup skills got better and better , so once she graduated , auriella knew what she wanted to do in life !

she went on to attend make up first in chicago , and obtained certificates in basic makeup i + ii , media makeup , and media: runway , editorial , and fashion . once she was finished with her schooling , auriella went on to grow her brand and get her name out there . she used instagram a majority of the time , and thanks to that and word of mouth , she grew a significant following and went on to have a few celebrities under her belt . thanks to the help of her parents , auriella decided that she wanted to get into the makeup business entirely , and decided to stick her foot into makeup production .

the brand originally only focused on her favorite thing : eyeshadow palettes ! the palettes were originally rather small , consisting of four to six colors as they perfected the formula . she eventually began to receive rave reviews and decided that it was time to expand into everything else : mascaras , lip products , foundations , blushes , highlighters and everything else under the sun . from there , kaia beauty is now being sold in sephora , ulta , and on kaiabeauty.com ! she had the second largest foundation drop ( following fenty beauty because we stan miss rihanna in this house ) .

that being said , running her own business is one that auriella is still getting used to despite it being two years since the launch . she’s thankful for the expansion of her brand and she’s still working out of her townhouse because she hasn’t found the perfect space for a headquarters just yet ! it’s one of her biggest dreams at the moment and she wants to expand kaia beauty into skincare but the end of the year .

personality .

the label she mostly identifies with would definitely be the harlequin . she can be really loud and playful at times , and she can easily get called out for not taking things seriously .

at the same time , though , she can be pretty sexual in her speech . she has no problem with people looking at her differently for doing so . she really lets a lot of things roll off of her shoulders , but she’d be a liar if she said that some things didn’t get to her .

auriella can be really full of herself and simple compliments can typically leads to her going on and on about herself , so please feel free to shut her up at any given time ! much like anyone her age , she can be found prowling around on instagram or twitter and can never go shopping without taking at least three to seven mirror selfies .

headcanons .

she lives in a beautiful townhouse on west fourth street and she’s really proud to say it because she bought it with her own money ! she likes to be different so she really hates range rovers and instead drives an audi q5 ! sounds kinda dumb since she lives in nyc , but she likes it because it gives her freedom to go where she wants when she wants to .

she never leaves the house without a purse and never without a pair of earrings on ( she thinks she’s ugly without them ) . she’s obsessed with all things cartier and she loves to accessorize , but not to much . she keeps scrunchies in her purse at all times , so if you need one just ask !

when it comes to her style , i draw a lot of inspiration from instagram if i’m being honest . she wears a lot of denim shorts , oversized tees , cropped sweaters , bodysuits , chunky sneakers ... honestly , the whole nine yards . for some examples click x , x , x , x , x , and x .

she’s been vegetarian since she was a kid because that’s all her dad ever cooked ! sometimes the scent of meat makes her sick and sometimes she fakes it so people will leave her alone . she’s definitely the one who shows up to the function with her fake burgers , but you know she has a bottle of vodka along with it .

finds joy in doing the little things ? she’s not the greatest at art but really enjoys buying a canvas and trying her best to recreate or create something ! probably gets a lot of art ideas from tik tok ( those kids are seriously talented ) and really likes to do her makeup even when she has no place to go . she loves laying on her couch and doing nothing ( and sometimes she might be kinda naked when she does it ) .

secret .

okay so , auriella’s secret is that an ‘ anonymous ’ source leaked her nudes to the press , but her parents paid off publications from releasing them . that was mostly done because she was about 17 / 18 in those pictures but of course they’re not age on them so there’s that ! the source of course wasn’t that anonymous and it turned out to be an ex ( which is really gross so this won’t be a wanted connection ) , but she’s not ashamed of them by any means !

#wealthyhq:intro

13 notes · View notes

holyxvi · 5 years ago

Text

* ( HOW I RUN MY BLOG.

tagged by : I stole it from @bloodfcst tagging : IDK who to tag, free game.

WHO AM I : My name’s Denoriel, but you can call me Den or Denny ( or dumbass ). I’m 22, I go by either she/her or they/them, and I will Not Shut Up About Final Fantasy II and you will never get me to Shut Up About Final Fantasy II on this blog as long as I live. I have all the free-time in the world and half of it is usually procrastinating or doing more worldbuilding than necessary ---- which means you can also freely contact me when you’d like, I don’t bite....maybe. Kinda. Sorta. ( I really don’t though, I promise. )

SPEED :This is the absolute worst question to ask, because if you’re expecting me to be speedy and jumping up on any asks / starters / replies / ect. at the drop of a hat, you are unfortunately half wrong. I am as slow as they come, sometimes you’ll get a reply right away, maybe it’ll take a few days, maybe never at all because I actually forgot about it ( which if that’s the case, you should probably DM me about it ). I have a lot of issues that fiddle-fucks with my focus, so that’s why things tend to be slow around these parts too.

REPLIES : It depends on my muse and the certain level of interest I have for it, and since I don’t use the Draft function like any other sane roleplayer, I end up digging through my blog or notifications for threads I may owe. I tend to forget, a lot, and sometimes our threads may drop unexpectedly --- if you want to continue those, just DM me please, my brain is very sporadic and I can only keep track of so many things ( and it’s why I don’t take on many threads on here in the first place! I just do a ton of asks with a thread here and there ).

STARTERS : Let’s get one thing straight that I’m sure all of you are going to relate with: I am not good at starters, I will only write starters if there is a plot we’ve talked about involved, I hate “follower starters” where you get an instant starter the moment you follow someone, and usually my starters are pretty low grade.

Interacting with characters outside of II and Final Fantasy in general can be really hard for me sometimes, especially if I know the character. I am very self conscious about my portrayal and sometimes I may just watch you for a bit before approaching and trying to figure out what we could do together.

INBOX : I do not get much activity in my inbox, but you have no idea how happy it makes me when I get an ask related to any HCs I have or just asking about Mateus in general, because I have a head full of ideas and all I want to do is spill. Now granted sometimes the inbox becomes a home for meme prompts I eventually forget about but....hey I’m trying here.

SELECTIVITY : When I first started, I used to be open-to-all and not give a shit about who came my way, I just wanted to roleplay like any other person. Of course, it takes a few bad apples to spoil experiences and long story short it’s why I’m private and HIGHLY selective ( although I might just end up following you regardless ) now. Crossover, OC, or even FF muse, I can all be picky with them sometimes because I want to follow people that I can either a) jive with or b) watch on my dash and we greet each other like neighbors at times. I somehow keep saying it, but I am very self conscious about how I play Mateus, so if anything, I also look for people ( or try to ) that I believe will be nice to me....I guess...?

Basically I just sit in my little corner, I’m just the Mateus blog that Exists.

WISHLIST : Kinda Cracky DISSIDIA plots, Mateus discovering what stuff is, if the light in the refrigerator turns off. Prying open things like clocks or cell phones and scaring the ever-living hell out of the person next to him. Mateus trying new things and over-all being in a better headspace, even if for awhile. I don’t have a lot to put here, despite all the ideas I may have, because it’s hard to find someone who’ll partake in some ideas without wanting to turn it into a big romantic, overall fluffy thing and completely disregarding Mateus’ inner workings.

HONEST NOTE : Shout-out to the fellas that deal with all of my weird OOC posts firstly, like I know you didn’t come here for that but I try not making OOC after OOC post I promise, I just have a lot on my mind that I can’t find the strength within myself dumping somewhere on discord.

I’ve been working on Mateus for....three years, expanding not only his lore, but the world around him as well and I very much enjoy it, it’s all I spend my time doing really. I don’t understand how 100+ of you can deal with my constant rambling and the ideas I spout off like a rocket, but I appreciate you sticking around all the same. I really like playing Mateus, he’s my outlet, he makes me feel good and I’m glad I can share that.

Now can 2020 be the year where I don’t have any issues with muns disregarding his sexuality or just trying to get down his pants in general? I’d like that thank you.

#[ ᴛʀɪᴠɪᴀʟ ᴍᴏʀᴛᴀʟ ɢᴀᴍᴇꜱ. ] memes #(( Oh scoog I am sleep deprived like woah momma this ain't funny #I remember claiming I was going to work on things but here we are ; I'm a filthy liar ))

2 notes · View notes

rushitheworld · 6 years ago

Text

Chocolate Revolution (part 2)

Fandom: Gintama Characters: Mutsu/Kijima Matako Rating: General Audiences Warnings: n/a Notes: you know i had to do it to ‘em

Summary: Matako does something for Valentine’s Day for the first time in her life and Mutsu begins to understand this Earth’s tradition.

Part 1 | Read on AO3

Ever since the end of the war, Matako found days to be tedious and way too long. Back in the day, during the time the Kiheitai spent on Earth she would mostly be occupied by watching Shinsuke-sama’s back and keeping the rest of the crew in check. On empty days, especially those spent traveling through space, she would kill time following Takechi-senpai around as he came up with and overlooked the Kiheitai’s strategies, or relax listening to Bansai-senpai’s music. But now she had almost nothing to do. There was no big ship to command, no men to guide. Just the four of them in a small house on the outskirts of Edo, having moved on from trying to destroy and burn it to the ground, to trying to help create a better future where past mistakes wouldn’t be repeated.

While helping manage the reconstruction required a lot of work and meetings with so and so, it somehow left Matako with more free time than she was accustomed to, especially once the other members of the Kiheitai started having their own affairs to tend without her, and she was running out of things to do. It hadn’t been until recently that she’d began to explore new interests, after Shiroyasha’s little brat had somehow managed to drag her and Imai Nobume around the city, telling them about all her friends in Edo and the adventures she’d had with the Yorozuya. Since then she had taken a liking to walking around the city and looking at all the different stores. And in a way she also considered the brat and Nobume as her friends, which had also opened the door to her getting to know others outside the Kiheitai.

It was while walking through the shopping district that a sign caught her attention. On it, the store announced its upcoming promotions for Valentine’s Day customized sweets. Maybe it was because just earlier she had been informed about the next meeting, but what crossed her mind after seeing the heart-shaped boxes with assortments of different kinds of chocolate was the face of the Kaientai’s vice-captain — or at least that’s what she told herself. Sure, that was not the first time Mutsu had appeared in her thoughts that day, but it was not the only thing she had been thinking about, and this was just a coincidence. There was no correlation between this and Valentine’s Day, she didn’t even care about the festivity.

From what she could remember, Valentine’s Day wasn’t a thing back when she was a child. It didn’t even exist in the country before the Amanto first invaded, and it took many years for it to really catch on with the locals. By the time it became a popular celebration, Matako was already part of the Kiheitai, too invested in them to pay attention to silly foreign traditions. Maybe if she had been into it, her younger self would’ve made chocolates for Shinsuke-sama at some point, but that never happened, and those feelings seemed so far away now. She no longer saw him under that light, these days her heart sped up at the sight of… She stopped that train of thought before it moved any further, but then she noticed, she had already bought a confectionery book.

Well, nowadays it was common to give friendship chocolates as well, right? Not everyone giving things for Valentine’s Day had romantic interests in mind. A small treat for the rest of the Kiheitai would be understandable. Maybe she could also give something to Nobume and to the little brat, as a thank you for having been so surprisingly welcoming to her.

After finding a recipe that seemed appealing and buying all the utensils and way more ingredients than she probably needed (just in case things went wrong and she had to start all over again), she chose a free day where everyone else would be out of the house and focused entirely on her task.

On Valentine’s Day, the Kiheitai woke up to three small bags waiting for them on the kitchen counter — each with a handful of square-shaped bonbons. While their responses varied, Matako knew that her gesture had been well received.

Nobume’s reaction was harder to read, her stoic demeanor masquerading her surprise almost entirely. Matako suspected that, just like her, the younger woman had never celebrated this day before. On the contrary, Kagura had been loud and teased her as a response. Matako didn’t say it out loud, but the brat’s brightness was almost contagious.

After them, Matako still had a set of sweets to give, the one she had worked on the hardest. But the person they were intended for was now somewhere among the stars, which meant that for now Matako was left to wait. It had been while trying to follow the instructions on how to temper the chocolate that she finally came to terms with her feelings. Out of all the people she was giving a present to, these confectioneries were for the person she spoke with and knew the least. And yet, she had used the heart-shaped specifically for her.

Matako could barely remember the time she had first seen Mutsu. There were other more pressing issues going on at the time, and she didn’t bother giving Sakamoto’s crew a second glance. It wasn’t until the war ended and things settled down that she really became aware of the Kaientai’s vice-captain.

Her first clear impression of her was how she contrasted against Sakamoto. Matako knew that the latter, just like Shiroyasha and Katsura, despite being a very capable fighter had a tendency of acting like a fool. Meanwhile, Mutsu usually appeared calm and collected, and Matako almost felt sorry at how she seemed to be babysitting her captain everywhere they went. She was probably capable of running the Kaientai herself, but the more Matako observed her, the more obvious it became she genuinely cared for Sakamoto, and more than once she was left wondering how the two had ended up working together.

Mutsu was slightly shorter than her, and yet she never failed to notice her presence whenever she was around. She had a big appetite, and from what it looked like, she was a very strong fighter both in hand-to-hand combat and with the use of guns — Matako later learnt she was part of the Yato clan. Other than Sakamoto, she seemed to have a soft spot for Kagura, and her crew all seemed to think highly of her. Matako knew that getting respect and admiration to that level was not an easy task, which told her Mutsu was also very skilled as a leader. At the same time, while Mutsu wasn’t usually a conversation starter, she had no problem engaging with others, and even when she stayed silent, there was something about her that caught Matako’s attention again and again.

While dealing with Sakamoto, Mutu’s expression was usually a neutral or slightly annoyed one, getting more serious when the situation required it. However, she also smiled often — it wasn’t a big toothy grin, but the way her lips curved up and her eyes softened when she did never failed to make Matako lose her breath for a second. Looking at her had become a constantly dumbfounding experience. Sometimes it made her feel like she had taken a sip from a cup of tea on a snowy day, its warmth inviting her to dooze of and enjoy the distinct feeling of being home. Sometimes, it made the temperature of her skin go up, while her heart felt as if it had been replaced by a fireworks show that was setting off and expanding through her whole body. And then there were times when it was a mixture of both. The one thing that was constant every single time she looked at Mutsu was how she suddenly became painfully aware of each and every beat her heart did, and how the distance between them never seemed short enough.

Maybe it was the holiday spirit of the season hitting her by surprise, but despite all her attempts at hiding and ignoring her feelings, Matako could no longer deny them. She didn’t know Mutsu enough yet to be able to say she was in love, but the way her heart and her body reacted whenever she was around was surely not platonic in nature. She would have to get closer to Mutsu to truly find out how deep her feelings ran and how far they could take her, and for that she would have to take action.

Four passed since Valentine’s Day before Matako finally saw Mutsu again, and she had spent most of that time gathering courage and thinking of the best way to deliver her present.

She waited until almost everyone was gone before calling the other woman out, ready to launch her attack. But once Mutsu turned around and focused her brown eyes on her, everything went out of the window and the words she had carefully planned faded before she could say them out loud. Having to focus more on keeping her heart still than on what was coming out of her mouth, she could only manage to comment on the tardiness of her gesture and her inexperience with it. Starting to panic, she soon excused herself and hurried behind her team’s steps with her tail between her legs.

For the rest of the day, Matako found it hard to concentrate, her mind going back to that short interaction over and over. She had been so focused on trying to manage herself that she didn’t even pay attention to Mutsu’s reaction, leaving her with absolutely no idea of how her present had been received.

Matako spent the weeks that followed the meeting checking the calendar every morning and every night, counting down the days until March 11th, when they would reunite again. Every time Shinsuke-sama or Takechi-senpai called her name, she got hopeful that they would tell her the meeting had been pushed forward.

At the same time, part of her didn’t want the day to ever come. She kept wondering if her move had been misinterpreted, if not completely rejected. Either way, she was almost certain she would not be getting the positive response she desperately wanted.

Once the date finally arrived, she could feel her heart pushing hard against her ribcage.

The Kaientai were the last to arrive, something for which Sakamoto excused in between his loud laughs. Mutsu was focused on keeping her captain in check and didn’t seem to take notice of Matako, both to her relief and her despair.

The hour that followed felt like the longest in her life so far. Matako was barely paying any attention to the other people present, with her eyes fixated on the clock as she stood against the wall behind Shinsuke-sama and Takechi-senpai —her role was closer to being their bodyguard than to an active member of the small committee.

“Relax, you have nothing to worry,” Bansai-senpai whispered to her from his spot next to her. Matako almost wondered if she was being too obvious, but knowing him, it was more likely that he had just listened to her and figured out her mood. What she was unsure of is how much could he tell about what troubled her. Did he interpret her getting more impatient with each minute as just a bad mood and was trying to calm her down, or was he fully aware of the dilemma that had been eating at her for a while now? And if he did know, was he telling her not to worry because he already had an idea of what kind of response she would get, if any? There was also a chance he had seen her give Mutsu the box of chocolates and connected the dots.

Having considered all of these options, she was about to ask the man to elaborate when her focus was turned back to the meeting. Those sitting at the table were done for the day, and as usual, it was the Joui’s antics that transformed the mood from a serious strategy meeting into a casual encounter. This time, Sakamoto included his vice-captain and the new shogun into his drinking plans.

Matako watched the scene unfold, pleading in silence for Mutsu to look at her, even if just for a second. She needed to know if she meant anything to her at all or if it was better to move on before she got any more attached. At this point, Matako was almost certain that her feelings weren’t mutual, but maybe, if she could just see Mutsu smile at her, it would be a sign that she could still have a chance.

However, Mutsu seemed more focused on keeping her captain’s idiocy in check, and paid no attention to the pair of eyes that were fixated on her every move. With each tick of the clock Matako could feel her hope fade away, the indifference hurting her more than any direct rejection would. As everyone else exited the room, Matako found herself wishing she could fade into the wall behind her. The last one to leave was Bansai-senpai, once again telling her not to worry. But Matako didn’t hear him, as the growing pit in her stomach took all of her focus. If anyone were to walk in, they would probably find the sight of her looking at the floor in defeat to be quite pathetic.

Despite feeling almost depleted of energy, she couldn’t stay there swimming in her misery forever. On one hand, this was very far from being the worst thing that had happened to her, but on the other, she hadn’t been this hopeful or looked forward to something good happening in such a long time that it felt from another life, yet this had ended even before it even began. But maybe it was better for things to end this way, before she got her hopes higher. And as impossible as it seemed at that very moment, she had to keep moving forward. If she had learned anything during the past few months, was that the future was uncertain, and she would find the happiness her heart longed for, and if not, she would build it herself one brick at a time. Her past self from a year ago would have never imagined where her life was at now, just like her current self didn’t know where she would be standing a year from now.

Back on the streets of Edo, she stretched her arms up and looked to the sky. It was a beautiful day, and it would be a waste if she spent the rest of it sulking alone. The air was chilly as winter had yet to end, but she could already feel the first signs of spring. She could hear the birds sing, and the cherry blossoms would be blooming soon. There were many things to say about the fleeting beauty of it all, but Matako wasn’t much of a poet. Walking without any hurry, she focused on feeling the rays of sunlight kissing her skin each step she took. Edo was changing so fast, she had to make the most of the views it had to offer before they were gone.

Something caught Matako’s attention, making her stop dead on her tracks — she could see Mutsu standing under the shadow of a naked tree trunk, from what it looked like, waiting for her. As soon as she saw her, the shorter woman began walking towards her, not caring about the sun hitting her directly. Matako could feel her heartbeat getting faster the closer Mutsu got. Growing impatient and forgetting about her negative feelings from just moments ago, she also started moving forward. They both stopped once they were face to face and there was less than a meter separating them — though in Matako’s eyes it was still an unbearably long distance.

She opened her mouth, still trying to think of what to say, but Mutsu was the first to speak.

“I was waiting for you,” she said and extended her arms in front of her, offering Matako a gift box. Looking at it in surprise, she noticed it was almost the same as the one she had used the month before; the same size and shape, but in a different color. “I know it’s a little early,” Mutsu said, mirroring the words Matako had used the last time they had talked, “but I wanted to give you this as soon as possible.”

Matako accepted the box by taking it while giving a small bow. She could feel Mutsu’s eyes on her as she carefully untied the ribbon and opened the box. The contents were also similar to what she had made, but the bonbons had been made using white chocolate instead of dark. Matako wondered if all the care put into almost recreating her own gift were due to Mutsu taking the description of White Day very literally, of if it meant their feelings for each other were mutual. Mutsu gestured for her to try one of the bonbons so she did. The sweetness of the shell matched perfectly with the tartness of the strawberry filling, and Matako was delighted by the taste. She looked up and bit her lip to hide the gasp that tried to escape her when her eyes met with Mutsu’s.

“Last month you left before I could say thank you,” the shorter woman began speaking again. Matako blushed and uttered an apology, but Mutsu rejected it. “I’m glad you did, it gave me the time to really think about what you were trying to say. I got your message, and I hope you also accept my response.”

“And your response is…?” Matako asked. Despite everything, she couldn’t help to feel nervous and think of different ways things could go that weren’t the one she was hoping for. As she waited for an answer, the world around her seemed to stand still in anticipation.

Mutsu’s reply was to place her hands on the sides of Matako’s face and pull her down a little. Matako closed her eyes by reflex, jumping up a little when she felt Mutsu’s lips on hers. The touch caused an electric shock to travel around her body. Tired of wasting time, Matako put her free hand on the back of Mutsu’s head and pushed her even closer, deepening the kiss.

Matako had no idea how much time had passed by the time they parted, as the world around them seemed to had stayed still while they kissed. The warm rays of sun were still hitting her skin, the same birds were singing their songs, and the cherry blossoms were still covered in buds ready to bloom. But now she saw it with different eyes. Just like spring was about to begin, she could feel something growing inside of her.

Mutsu offered her hand, and Matako’s face lit up with a smile and a blush. She took the other woman’s hand and intertwined their fingers, and the two began exploring the streets of Edo together. She wanted these moments to last an eternity, but before she noticed, the sky was getting dyed red as the sun started to set down. Mutsu took her to a looking point from where they could see the city change colors, but for Matako the most beautiful view yet was that of the light making Mutsu’s eyes sparkle as she smiled back at her.

Every time she saw them, she couldn’t hold herself back and had to kiss her again. More than chocolate, Mutsu’s lips were a treat Matako was getting addicted to.

#mutsu #kijima matako #mutsumata #gintama #gintama fanfiction #did i give the gays everything they want

4 notes · View notes

justorklifestyle · 3 years ago

Text

SBS Spotlight: Inner Calling LLC

Our business relies on small business: that is why we came up with the small business spotlight where we select one small business a month to feature on our website and all of our social media platforms. We like to find small businesses that have been looking for unique ways to stay afloat, businesses powered by passion and not profits. The businesses where the owners are truly invested in what they have and only want to see their dreams prosper. We want to support the real small businesses of America. To be featured as part of our Small Business Spotlight, please reach out to us either by calling or texting 862-803-0225, by emailing us at [email protected], or by visiting us on our website at www.justork.com. Our own unique way of giving back to the community we serve; the spotlight is a free post to our website blog and social media channels, with additional paid marketing features available as well for extra promotion.

Justork Lifestyle is back with the Small Business Spotlight. This Saturday we are featuring a self-inspired self-starter. We have the owner of Inner Calling, LLC based out of NJ. Who she is:

"Amanda Nafash is an intuitive career coach who counsels people of all ages and helps them both interview for and discover their inner calling. She believes in finding opportunities to pursue what you love while also bringing out the best in yourself."

You can find my bio and mission statement at our website, www.innercallingllc.com

1. Hometown / state / country origins:

My hometown is Ringwood, NJ. We have some of the best hiking spots in the world if you ask me ;)

2. Where are you located now?

I am still local! But I am looking to spend a lot of this next year traveling and working from the road.

3. Enneagram number:

I never did an enneagram test, but I do see myself changing over the years as I grow and learn to love certain aspects of myself, so even if I did a test last year, I would probably see different results today.

4. Zodiac sign:

Leo Sun, Sagittarius Moon, Capricorn Rising

5. Wake up / start your day routine:

I start my day with a cup of coffee (despite trying to kick this caffeine addiction.)

6. First job ever:

My first job was babysitting; I got CPR certified at 12 and started watching my cousin and sister and all of their friends.

7. Your best quality / skill:

My best skill is my ability to talk to people- conversation is how I built my business, grew my network, and established a reputation as a professional and student. I thank my Italian family for that!

8. Worst habit:

My worst habit is the high expectations I have for myself- though they have led me to achieve great things at young ages, they have also been the cause of a lot of stress and negative self- talk. This next phase of my life is dedicated to being more present and being proud of what I have already accomplished.

9. Introvert or extrovert?

An extrovert who values alone time

10. Business motto - influential motto? Mine is fall down 7, get up 8:

Sooo many favorite mottos, but something I love to remind my clients is "work smarter, not harder"

11. 3 things you love about being self employed:

TIME FREEDOM!! , getting to choose whose opinions get to impact the final business decisions, infusing my own values into every part of my business so I can truly see my mission in every day's work.

12. Favorite holiday:

Small Business Saturday!

13. Favorite small business you admire:

It's very hard to pick one small business, as I tend to surround myself with small business owners and young entrepreneurs,

14. Favorite Instagram to follow:

My sister runs a page called @_runningonplants_ where she talks about mental health, physical fitness, and posts pictures of all the delicious food she makes. She inspires me every day, and her posts always put a smile on my face!

15. Favorite vacation / place to unwind and let off steam:

I love the beach- everything melts away when I am swimming in the ocean or reading a book on the sand.

16. Next place you wish to travel:

I am hoping to go to Colorado and Louisiana in the next coming year!

17. 2021 personal goals:

My personal goals for the rest of 2021 are to absolutely live it up for my 24th birthday, and expose myself to more art, both man made and in nature.

18. 2021 business goals:

My business goals for the rest of 2021 are to host a vending fair and provide an outlet for other small businesses to succeed, to expand my listening network on my podcast, and to incorporate more networking events into my business.

19. Best business related purchase:

The best business related purchase I have made was my rebrand and website, which I had done by an up and coming entrepreneur! Her instagram is @everythingbybreckel I highly recommend her for all of your web design needs!

20. Ideal client:

My ideal client is someone who is open minded. When someone is willing to talk about their loftiest dreams and trust that I will be not only supportive, but also an asset to them achieving their goals, that's when the magic happens.

21. Your biggest business related failure:

I've come to realize that success is subjective. My old mindset is crumbling and a new one is taking its place, which I feel is much healthier. When things don't go as planned, I consider it a really important life and business lesson, and I analyze what I learned and how I can adjust from it. Failure is currently being phased out of my vocabulary.

22. A mistake that taught you the most / that you learned from:

A mistake I learned from was assuming that I could tell anyone and everyone about my intentions and plans for my business. I've learned after a year of business that it is sometimes best to keep your plans in a more private circle until they are completed or a little more concrete. Unfortunately not everyone has your best interest in mind. I never was one who understood the "move in silence" mentality, but this year I have definitely seen the positive aspects of it firsthand.

23. How / why you chose to work for yourself:

I chose to work for myself as I was finishing grad school in the height of Covid lockdown. While there were delays with the state in getting applications approved for the LSW exam, I decided to start my own business. Once I started, I couldn't look back. I don't think I'll ever return to a cog-in-the-wheel position.

24. Your entrepreneurial summary / journey to how you got here:

My whole adolescent life I was doing a bunch of odd jobs, so I made connections everywhere I went, and I ended up being the connection for so many of my loved ones to network or get jobs in different places. I love to be a listening ear and a mentor to those around me. I was a social work student from my second semester at community college, and every semester I changed my idea on what I wanted to do in the field. Right before graduating with my Bachelor's degree I was required to do some career readiness through our Career Center on campus, and thus began my love of career coaching and college counseling. I talk a lot about this journey in the first episode of The Inner Calling Podcast.

25. Your biggest win:

My biggest win is hard to pinpoint. I think the greatest feeling was on my one year anniversary with Inner Calling when I reflected on how many of my goals I achieved, and remembering that when I started the business I told myself, "I'll do it for one year. Next year if it doesn't seem like it's working out, or if I don't love it, I'll pack up shop and chalk it up to experience." Now I hit the ground running with plans for year 2. It's going to grow so much more, and so am I. I can't imagine giving up on Inner Calling now.

26. Advice for new business owners:

New business owners, take those opportunities for help people are offering you! Barter your products and services! Making connections is how you stay alive and successful. We are not in this alone. "It takes a village. . ."

27. Favorite recipe:

My favorite recipe is for snicker-doodles, I learned how to make them in my high school foods class and they are my favorite thing to make in the winter. They make the whole house smell like butter and cinnamon.

28. Mac or PC?

Mac

@innercallingllc on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inner-calling-llc

website: www.innercallingllc.com

*****

******

*******

********

*********

**********

***********

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***********

**********

*********

********

*******

******

*****

Justork Lifestyle

Please click on the link at the bottom of the page and fill out our short form so that our lenders will reach out to you for available financing options.

Justork lifestyle is a business consultant and financial advisor. We help small businesses from start to finish; from the funding stage all the way to product launch. One of our consultants is with you, every step of the way, to answer all of your questions and drive your business to success. For more information, please visit our website or reach out to us via email at [email protected]. We offer a variety of services, including but not limited to:

Financial:

Business loans

Real estate loans

Buy & flip / fix & flip loans

Short term and long term Mortgages

Cannabis business loans

Startup loans

Franchise loans

Cash advance

Business line of credit

Services:

Custom uniform and apparel

Screen printing, embroidery, DTG direct to garment, heat transfer vinyls

Social media marketing

Branding and logo design

Custom websites

Google ad campaigns

Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns

Fulfillment and warehousing for apparel/product

Business planning and strategy

Financial consulting

Marketing

PPC campaigns

SEO & back links

Blog publications

Google ranking

https://www.justork.com/business-loan-application

0 notes

electricea-a · 7 years ago

Text

How I run my blog.

Speed: It really depends. For a lot of my replies, I have them drafted or queued well in advance. Managing two blogs, I’ve tried to develop a habit of alternating between them on days - so for example, yesterday was my ‘other blog’ day and today is my ‘Ryuji blog’ day. Sometimes if I have enough energy or don’t have much going on at either blog then I can sort of bounce back and forth between them.

Replies: While I do have a queue to keep replies pouring out, I still do try to make it a point to directly reply to at least three to five things, just to show that I’m still active and I still care about my blogs. Admittedly, I have more muse for certain threads than others, that’s something that really can’t be helped. Some days I’ll just really be into a certain thread and want to churn out replies to it while other days I might not really feel like replying to anything or might just want to do mess around or send/reply to ask memes.

Starters: I’m trying to get better at writing starters - I’m trying to move past ‘one-liners’. While I still think they can be nice little icebreakers, I’m trying to expand my starters a bit more. My goal for a starter is usually around three or five short paragraphs. I’ve been meaning to post a starter call on Ryuji once my college class finally wraps up and I have more free time. I also try to match my partner’s length usually - but there’s no pressure to try and match mine.

Inbox: My inbox is always open - whether it’s in regards to people sending memes, people who just want to chat or questions/comments from other muns/anons. Obviously anything I deem as hateful or just plain rude will be deleted but for the most part, I try to clear out everything in my inbox. There are some memes I might procrastinate over if I’m not sure how to respond to them or I can’t remember which meme they came from. In that case, I usually just ask the mun.

Selectivity: I say semi-selective but really I’ll follow back almost any RP blog regardless of if I know the fandom or not. I don’t care if you’re a fellow Persona 5 blog, a blog from a previous Persona game, perhaps not even from the Persona fandom entirely or an original character (fandomless or not). I’ve always liked crossovers and not limiting myself to just my own fandom. If I am following you, I want to roleplay with you. I might not reach out to you right away because of shyness or trying to think of a good meme to send you but if I follow you, I want to roleplay with you. Let me just reiterate that.

Wishlist: I have a lot of things I would love to do on Ryuji. I probably should make a wishlist tag for this blog. I know I have one for my other blog.

Honest Note: I know I don’t really talk much about myself - I don’t mean to come off as unapproachable or mysterious. I guess, I just want you to know that it doesn’t come from a place of malice or deliberately ignoring you, it’s just me - I’ve always been a sort of introverted and private person and I struggle with articulating how I feel and getting close to others. I guess what I want to say is, even if I may not say it or express it in so many words, I genuinely do appreciate and enjoy hearing from you all. Seeing your messages and asks and just hanging out with you guys brightens my day so, thank you.

Tagged by: @strikeoutslugger (Thank you!)

Tagging: Steal it!

#( ooc; take five! )

3 notes · View notes

megacircuit9universe · 4 years ago

Text

Cage Match

FRI SEP 18 2020

I really did want to keep my posting to just once a week or less. Every time I do one, I risk oversleeping and being late for work the next day.

And today, when I woke up and checked my phone, to see that Trump had announced he was going ahead with the TikTok ban, ordering it to be out of the app stores by Sunday... I figured that could wait until next week to talk about.

Users who already have the app installed on their devices will still be able to use it, and a full crackdown (the execution of which is legally murky) isn’t slated to begin until mid November, after the election... and thus might not happen at all, or... might only be a few months long, should Biden win.

But then, just around sunset, I received a notification on my phone that Ruth Bader Ginsberg had died.

We all knew she was 87, and had been in and out of the hospital battling cancer over the past few years... so this shouldn’t have been too big a shock, but... we all prayed to Jesus, Mary, and God that she would make it to 2021 at least.

Trump has already gotten two conservative justices into the Supreme Court... the first thanks to McConnell refusing to hold any hearings for Obama’s last nominee, Garland, in March of 2016, because a general election was happening in just eight short months... and the second, after Justice Kennedy retired unexpectedly, under shady circumstances.*

Even if it’s not true that Kennedy was pressured to retire by Trump, who had dirt on his son... you cannot say that blocking Garland was fair, unless you agree that it’s also fair now, to hold off on any hearings to replace RBG until after the current general election, which is only six weeks away.

But that didn’t stop Mitch McConnell from coming out only ONE HOUR after the death of RBG today, and saying the Senate will definitely hold confirmation hearings for her replacement as soon as possible.

In the second hour after her death, her body still warm, not yet stiff, Republican trolls went out on Twitter and all other social media, like hounds, released to justify the immediate confirmaton of whoever Trump nominates to replace her, calling to bypass hearings altogether... because look what a circus the Democrats made of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, right?

Democrats had to immediately strike back, rolling clip after clip of McConnell, and Graham, from 2016... still in their PRESENT TERMS expounding upon the public’s sacred right to have a say in any Supreme Court nomination, so close to a Presidential election. My oh me... how could anybody disagree?

These are not clips of young Graham and young McConnell from 1996, arguing for impeachment... against their gray haired selves from 2019 saying impeachment is wrong... this was four years ago Graham and McConnell arguing against themselves from earlier in the self-same six-year term they were last elected to... for which both are up today, for reelection.

But the hypocrisy of the impeachment example only serves to magnify the hypocrisy of the moment for both of them. And in the present political climate... with Trump just having been exposed on Tape admitting to a caronavirus cover up, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives... voters are keenly taking note.

Both of these guys, two of Trumps top sycophants in the Senate, have enjoyed decades of easy congressional races in safely red states against weak, token opponents who stood no chance of beating them.

But in 2020, that’s not been exactly the case. Both these assholes have had to spend some real money, and sweat a little, as, for the first time in their careers, polls have been showing their opponents within striking distance of unseating them. And that was before today.

I hinted in the last entry that Trumps exposure by Woodward justified his impeachment. Why? He was impeached for holding back despirately needed weapons to an ally, unless he got some falsely manufactured dirt for his reelection in exchange, and he did not care how many Ukranian lives were lost as a result.

But, GOP senators failed to remove him and, when Caronavirus came along a few months later, Trump witheld PPE and ventilators from American governors, and left all American citizens hanging out to dry, even on the basic informational level about the threat... again, for the sake of reelection.

They should have removed him, but they couldn’t, because they’d already removed their testacles and handed them up to him in a slavish offering of cult loyalty... and now, here they are... trying to fuck us over again, in the eleveth hour, to replace a Supreme Court Justice who... even as I write... is days away from having a proper wake... much less a burial.

But this is not just because of slave-ball oaths to an authoritarian spank daddy... the GOP has been salivating about overturning Roe V Wade since long before Trump joined their ranks, and now... like Golem, from LOTR, hissing and salivating over the One Ring... they see it within their grasp!

PRECIOUS!!!

This is why, an hour after her eyes went cold, the 2020 election turned into a no-holds-barred political cage match to the death, tonight.

Dust clouds are billowing... people are breaking kitchen sinks over one anothers heads... spitting out teeth after getting punched... then jumping up to go at it some more.

The big questions here are:

1) What happens to the nation if they do replace Ginsberg immediately?

2) How will this affect the voter turnout on November 3rd?

3) How will the shift in the balance of the Supreme Court affect the outcome of the election, should Trump sue to challenge the results when he loses?

4) How are we all not going to die?

The big answer is... it all depends on how big a win Biden gets on election night. If biden loses... or it’s too close to call... or only wins by a slim margin in one state... or only wins by a slim margin in two states... we are all royally fucked up the ass.

If that’s the case, then, even if Ginsberg’s replacement wasn’t already rammed through, he will be, and then the election results will go straight to the new Supreme Court, who will rule in favor of Trump, and then he’ll effectively be King.

Because... with the Supreme Court behind him, and with his second term a go, he’ll invalidate the House and Senate election results in the months before the new House and Senate can come in... and once he’s stacked congress in his favor, he’ll be invincible.

On the other hand...

If Biden wins a decisive victory on November 3rd... over 270 in the Electoral College, with all the states that gave him those electoral votes, having done so by large margins that can’t rationally be contested...

Then even if Trump has replaced Ginsberg, the Supreme Court will refuse to hear any challenges to the election results, and the Military will recognize Biden as President Elect. The House will continue to resist, having potentially grown stronger, and the lame duck Senate... possibly housing a lot of lame duck Republican Senators, will stand down... taking solace that they packed one extra conservative Justice into the court before their ride was over.

And then, when the new Congress comes in, with Democratic majorities in both houses (because this would be the case if enough Democratic voters turned out to give Biden a decisive victory on election night) they’d expand the number of Supreme Court Justices from 9 to 11... or 13... to mitigate the nighmare scenario where Roe V Wade gets overturned, etc.

So...

Which outcome is more likely? A solid win for Biden on election night? Or a contestable win / outright loss for Biden?

Presuming that voter suppression, and foreign tampering are turned up to 11, in favor of Trump... can Democrats so overwhelm the polls that Biden still gets that decisive victory?

Well... in some other year, probably not.

But in 2020, probably yes.

Why?

Well, for starters, all the anti-abortion voters already always vote in every election. You can’t scare up any more of them to get to the polls, because they’re already, always at 100% attendance... primaries, generals, federal, state, gubenertorial, mayoral, dog-catchorial.

So, the long awaited (from their perspective) death of evil RGB, will not change that base line.

On the other hand, the long dreaded death of RGB, will bring out legions more young women, between 18 and 35, who do not want Roe V Wade overturned.

The banning of TikTok... which Trump also committed to today... will bring out legions of voters, 18 to 35, who are feeling very keenly the threat to their free speech and expression that this move represents.

And this is on top of all the voters, young and old, who normally don’t vote, who were already champing at the bit to defeat Trump and his junta for a thousand other contemporary reasons, from Covid19, to protest crackdowns, to calling all fallen soldiers suckers and losers, and on.

Very few extra right wing votes will be cast on election night, in comparisson, by crackdown supporters, or people who want to see more denigration of war heros.

In short, the cage match atmosphere that the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg has now created for this election... Doesn’t do much to help an anti-abortion turnout that’s already maxed out. But it does motivate pro-choice turnout like crazy, especially among young women who are facing a life of oppression if they don’t get out there.

And that same dynamic goes for all younger voters, and all armchair liberals of older generations... for related reasons.

And these people are overwhelmingly white, and middle to upper class... meaning that voter suppression techniques, and foreign tampering won’t affect them. They are a sleeping army, immune to such tactics.

Voter suppression targets minority people of color and the poor. Foreign social engineering techniques target the poorly educated, and mentally ill.

That worked in 2016, when the electorate was snoozing... didn’t want any part of the drama... when Millenials were apathetic, and Gen Z was too young.

The world has changed in four years. A lot!

So, it’s time for bed again, but I do see a clear pathway for dramatic change on November 3rd... and the TikTok ban, and the death of RBG only intensify the potential for a sound smack down of Trumpism, and hyper-conservatism.

*Justice Kennedy’s son Justin, who became the head of real estate capital markets at Deutsche Bank, worked closely with Trump in the years before his presidency, swinging him billion dollar loans at a time when no other bank would loan to Trump.

Such dealings were almost certainly criminal to some degree, and so it is speculated that Justice Kennedy resigned to avoid a scandal.

Calls were made for the Judiciary Committee to investigate, before the Senate held any hearings to nominate Kavanaugh as his replacement, but they were steamrolled.

0 notes

abrushwithdeath · 1 year ago

Text

@marlenexalraune liked this post for a short starter!

"Um... ya wanna run that question by me again?"

#marlenexalraune #((Thank you for liking the starter call! Feel free to keep this short or to expand on it! Whatever you'd like!))#((Also- please forgive Roguey. She was trying to listen but sometimes she gets distracted xD))

1 note · View note

berthastover · 6 years ago

Text

30+ Best Email Campaigns and Why We Loved Them

Thousands of marketers around the globe share the same mission – they want to send the best email marketing campaigns.

While there are many ways to measure your email campaign’s success, what your subscribers think of your messages and how they make them feel is crucial.

That’s why, in this article, we chose to not focus on raw numbers. We publish these in our email marketing report, regularly.

Instead, we decided to look at the visual aspects of marketing emails sent by brands and companies from various industries.

To find inspiring marketing email examples, we decided to dig into our own email inboxes and reach out to other fellow online marketers.

If you’re one of them, big thanks for the contribution and sharing your thoughts – it meant a world to us!

What you’re about to see, other than the best email campaigns, is that there certainly is some truth behind the saying, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

But before you start exploring the examples we’ve gathered for you, here’s an article, that’ll help you start sending email campaigns like these in no time: Email marketing best practices for 2019

30+ best email campaigns

Below, we’ve included 30+ email campaign examples along with additional information on:

who sent them,

what the email campaign is about,

and why they’re so good.

Feel free to save this article for later as we’ll be expanding this list to include some newer examples of marketing emails that stole our hearts.

1. The New York Times

What:

Weekly recipe recommendation from their NYT Cooking subscription.

Why:

I read this email without fail, every week. And I rarely make any of the recipes featured in the roundups. Why? The photographs are beautiful, and the long-form copy expertly written by Sam Sifton, the Food Editor at The New York Times, is informative, conversational, and personal. He shares anecdotes from his life, news as it may relate to one of the recipes featured, and cooking advice – every week.

I love the idea of how two supposed “dead and dying mediums” – newspapers and emails – are coming together to deliver something totally modern, shareable, and sustainable.

Abby Hehemann, Product Marketing Manager at GetResponse

2. Patagonia

What:

This is the first email you receive after signing up to their emailing list.

Why:

An email onboarding sequence should set expectations. This email does that really well. For starters, you have the information about free shipping at the top, which is more or less an indication of how much money Patagonia would like you to be spending in the shop.

The email headline is inviting. They then tell readers what kind of content they send, although they don’t mention frequency. Just as importantly, you have the refund policy at the bottom. It’s setting expectations for customers, which is crucial for an ecommerce store.

The only thing I’d change in the copy is the ‘our mission’ section. Most people support the idea of saving the planet, so this statement without context means nothing to the reader. It’s a missed opportunity. The intro email is a perfect time to talk about what makes the company different. Just a sentence or two with a link to the site, maybe even a button underneath, would have done the trick.

Nico Prins, Founder at Launch Space

3. MVMT

What:

This is an email campaign asking the MVMT customers to submit their video content and celebrate the brand’s anniversary together.

Why:

I’m a big fan of MVMT and this is just another wonderful email campaign example from many that they send.

The message starts off well, with an intriguing subject line: “That one time we went viral…”

They got my attention right away and made me click. I wanted to know why they went viral, and I really hoped it wasn’t just a clever way of showing that their prices dropped.

I wasn’t disappointed.

What I saw was a newsletter that contained an animated video that showed numerous exciting pictures and a short message explaining how they’ve asked their fans to celebrate their brand’s anniversary together.

The animated GIF along with the message led to an exciting movie showing how the brand’s followers live their lives on their own terms.

The film combining their customers’ footage, stunning pictures, and exciting music gave me goosebumps!

At the time of writing this, this video has over 22,000 views, 1,000 likes, and almost 500 comments on YouTube – talk about engagement, huh?

In fact, it’s that kind of user generated content that made me buy one of their watches a couple of years back.

4. Charm Offensive

What:

It’s a welcome email received after signing up to win a free lifetime premium subscription to the copywriting course.

Why:

Just give it a read! When was the last time that you received an email with an evil laugh in the subject line? It’s original, it’s witty and you remember it because you’ve never had an email like this before. I’ve entered a competition where I need to compete against others, and the copy encourages me to do that, rather than shy away from it. It jokingly reminds me of what’s up for grabs if I win. Then, there’s a gentle reminder to join the Facebook group and get even more involved that I already am.

Phil Forbes, Marketer at Packhelp

5. Statwing (acquired by Qualtrics)

What:

Cold email to sell a partnership.

Why:

I receive loads of cold emails, and I delete most of them immediately. But I actually replied to this one, because it contains everything a great cold email should have:

External proof: Y Combinator funded and other trusted companies who are partners already

Clear benefit, including a number: “users tell us they analyze survey data ~5x faster…”

Personalization beyond my first name: he actually looked at Survey Anyplace’s reporting capabilities and even links to them in the email

Clear ask for the next step (phone call)

The tone and format of the email is very casual, just like it was sent by someone I already know.

Stefan Debois, Founder & CEO at Survey Anyplace

7. Casper

What:

This is an email campaign example sent on the Daylight Saving Time.

Why:

One thing I value in email campaigns is their creativity.

Blowout sales or flash campaigns don’t impress anymore. They’re too common. And usually sent by the same brands, over and over again.

This campaign, however, was different. It was meant for Daylight Savings Time, a day nobody ever celebrates. In fact, all you usually do is sleep in.

And that’s exactly what the brand suggests, that you sleep in, but on a mattress you can buy from them, of course.

The overall email design, subject line (“That extra hour, though.”), animated GIF, short copy, and a clear CTA – everything fits perfectly.

The only thing I’d change is the discount value. If you follow Casper’s emails, you’ll see that their discounts are always 10%.

I get the strategy, but you become blind to these kinds of discounts, if you keep seeing them.

7. American Express

What:

Email promoting live chat to get help with your Amex account.

Subject line: Got a question? Get an answer through Chat

Why:

The campaign is a win-win.

While many banks seem to try and deflect customers from contacting them, Amex is doing the exact opposite. Actively promoting and reminding their members about live chat. Inviting customers to ask them questions. It makes you feel good to be a member.

In one email they have been helpful and given a gentle reminder as to the benefit of Amex membership.

Brands that don’t have a continuous stream of new products and offers can find it hard to have something interesting to say. Amex found a good way to solve this.

The design gets down quickly to what it’s all about with the headline and a clear benefit of live chat – “Get a quick answer”.

The sample chat window gives context visually, so you get the message even with a skim read.

The final part of the win-win is that live chat is probably better for Amex too. The cost of support by live chat is likely lower than the cost of phone support.

A campaign beneficial for both the brand and the customer.

Tim Watson, Zettasphere

8. Mixmax

What:

User onboarding emails with tips in the form of GIFs.

Why:

I was a new user of Mixmax and didn’t know all their functionalities.

Every three days they sent me tips how to use their software better.

This way, I didn’t get overwhelmed by their software and I adopted the product very easily. The emails also expanded my knowledge on how to write great emails.

Now, I use the same tactic at Userpilot.

Aazar Ali Shad, Head of Growth at Userpilot.com

9. Smart Blogger

What:

This was a teaser email sent to lure subscribers into reading a case study, which served as top-of-the-funnel content to a paid course.

Why:

Here’s why this email is compelling.

Firstly, it leverages the power of social proof in the subject line and opening line.

Who wouldn’t want to check out a post that got over 1 million visitors?

Secondly, it uses the hard-to-resist emotional trigger of ‘free’.

Finally, it goes straight to the point, something people appreciate in a crazy-busy world.

Qhubekani Nyathi, Long-form Content Strategist at Wholesome Commerce

11. Mejuri

What:

This is a B2C flash sale email for Black Friday last year, giving newsletter subscribers exclusive, early access to their once-a-year sale.

Why:

First off, we all know how crowded our inbox gets around Black Friday.

Mejuri chose to keep their email simple and to the point, which I think we can all appreciate.

The email also stresses the exclusivity of this invite. The words “only sale all year” in the subject line, plus “private” and “secret” are powerful motivators – backed up by the fact that this invite is only going to newsletter subscribers.

The limited time frame (only until midnight today) and the idea of scarcity (Mejuri is notorious for running out of popular pieces) drive home the need to act now.

I’d been following their social media channels and newsletter for a few weeks. This was the trigger I needed to finally buy from them.

Bronwyn Kienapple, Content Marketer at Venngage

12. Product Hunt

What:

A daily digest of featured products from Product Hunt.

Subject line: This is stomach-turningly good. Yikes.

Why:

The subject line totally hooked me. Anytime I see “Yikes” in my inbox, I open. And the content didn’t disappoint once I opened. The conversational tone and description of the featured product made for an enjoyable read.

Their description of the product and inclusion of (creeped out) comments from the post then convinced me to click out to the listing on their site, and then finally to the actual product itself. It was a perfect combination of a well-chosen featured product, enticing subject line, and easy-to-read copy.

Abby Hehemann, Product Marketing Manager at GetResponse

13. Proof

What:

This is a follow-up email sent to registrants for a Webinar that didn’t show up for the live event. Our Webinar covered the 5 growth strategies that we learned during our time in Y Combinator in 2018.

Why:

This email works well for us because it’s being sent to an audience that has already opted in to a webinar. We know they are high-intent to watch this content — as they’ve already taken time out of their day to submit their information into a lead form.

At the same time, we know how busy day to day work can be for marketers and entrepreneurs. Rather than excluding them from getting the Webinar’s content because they didn’t show up live — we record our live presentation and follow up with an email offering them a second chance to view.

In the email body, we provide several links to our content and we reiterate the topic of the training multiple times. We also make it a point to leverage the names of bigger tech companies (Airbnb, Dropbox, Gusto) to add credibility to our presentation.

Finally, we generate the FOMO by saying “trust me, you don’t want to miss this” as our final signoff.

Ben Johnson, Content Strategist, Proof

13. Growth Hackers

What:

Email campaign referring to real time events – the Oscars.

Why:

This is an interesting example.

And it’s not only because it’s using an animated GIF. It’s about what that GIF and the copy surrounding it tell us.

This email campaign talks about the Oscars, which may not be so unusual during the week when the 91st Academy Awards is taking place.

The interesting thing is the angle Growth Hackers took in this email. They’re not talking about the movies or music that were recognized. Instead, they’re talking about the true “winner” of the Academy Awards night – diversity.

As you can read in their article, which also provides an explanation to their GIF, the 91st Academy Awards broke the record of Female and African-American Awardees.

With this in mind, they decided to dedicate that email to diversity, too – and prepared a selection of only the best content that celebrates this important topic.

For someone who cares about these values and has actually not followed the Oscar night, this email was very inspiring and educational.

Something you don’t often see in your inbox.

14. Rothy’s

What:

This is a promotional email sent to people who have opted into Rothy’s marketing but have yet to purchase.

Why:

There are at least three reasons this email stands out.

First, it’s not just animated with a video at the top, the body of the GIF taps into people’s default responses to SMS or direct messages: namely, we can’t resist the temptation to read them.

Second, it uses real names, authentic conversational elements, and even images (e.g., the cat) that look and feel as though you’re eavesdropping (or, eavesreading) someone else’s texts.

Third, it subtly leverages one of the most powerful persuasive tools: social proof.

I know all this is true because I didn’t get this email.

Instead, my lovely wife forwarded it to me and immediately texted me afterward: “I just fwd you an email from Rothy’s. I’ve never seen one like this before.”

She’s a just-turned-30, urban, socially conscious kind of lady who loves cats. Talk about nailing your target demographic. (And yes, later that day she and I ordered her first pair.)

Aaron Orendorff, Founder and Content Strategist, iconiContent

15. Capterra

What:

A regular newsletter but aimed at warming up “sleepy” followers.

Why:

First of all, its catchy subject line: personalized and intriguing. I couldn’t help opening it to find out WHY I’m the best. What have I done to become the best, given that I’m not an active user of Capterra?

Second, the structure: short, clear, following the “one mail – one CTA” rule and focusing on the value I’d get. It didn’t take me long to understand it wasn’t spam and what it was all about.

And third and the most interesting part is the motive they’ve used to send this offer: National Compliment Day. As a rule, marketers ignore such itsy-bitsy holidays, concentrating on big five (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Valentine’s, and Easter); but appealing to such tiny but cute calendar days could bring benefits. Content ideas for newsletters, as a minimum.

Lesley Vos, Content Strategist at Bid4Papers

If you like this idea, be sure to check out our Holiday Calendar Infographic and see more tiny calendar days that can inspire great campaigns :).

16. UpLead

What:

Cold email to interview influencers.

Why:

Personalization: The email is highly personalized

Relevant: It mentions a recent interview they did on a podcast

Gives Value: It gives value by mentioning the audience size (20,000)

Strokes ego: It strokes their ego a bit (“successful leaders like yourself”)

Quick: Interview is a simple Google Docs interview, with no need to schedule time on calendar

One Simple CTA: Every email should have one easy to reply to ending CTA (Success! – He replied with “Sounds cool – I’m in!)

Will Cannon, Founder & CEO at UpLead

17. Zest

What:

Confirmation Email sent after you’ve submitted content to Zest.

Why:

Fun and engaging: The email is different and completely set the tone of the brand

Relevant: It mentions the recently published article

Quick: The email is straight to the point and spot-on. Yet, it confirms that my suggestion has been considered, and I love that.

One Simple CTA: Although I’m waiting for them to come back, it suggests me to add more and empower the community

Baptiste Debever, Co-Founder & Head of Growth at Feedier

18. Hello Bar

What:

The email offers some free tips on how to collect more emails to grow your email list of subscribers.

Why:

The email was very powerful, because it hits a nerve with the challenges we’re faced with when trying growing an email subscribers list. It offers actionable tips to implement right away. By giving a small insight and not giving away the farm, and by using a strong call to action, they made me curious to reserve a spot for the training to learn more tips.

Paul Granger, Content Marketer at Website Promoter

19. Simyo

What:

Triggered email from a former phone company (Spanish company) after requesting to migrate a telephone number to a new one.

Why:

When you decide to change your phone service, you expect:

1) getting bombarded with offers, promises and gifts;

2) red-tape hell.

The very catchy subject line (adapted from a popular song, probably only relevant to my generation) + the friendly and informal tone of voice ease those fears.

The reassuring content, thanking me for their business and stating that they won’t harass / try to overcharge me made me wonder whether I took the right call (and whether it will be so easy to shift again next time).

Angel Lorente Paramo, Former Global Head of Emarketing at Qatar Airways

20. Cards Against Humanity

What:

Cards Against Humanity Black Friday campaign

Why:

This is an “oldie but goodie” email campaign example.

Being a fan of Cards Against Humanity I expect nothing less than exceptionally sarcastic, cynical, or at least unusual communication.

What’s more unusual than an ecommerce brand saying that they’re shutting down their online store for Black Friday?

They even ask you to donate money for absolutely no good reason (through a CTA button that’s totally against the email design best practices).

The follow up to this campaign was fun, too. It turned out that they received a total of $71,145 for absolutely nothing. And they even listed what kind of fun things they decided to spend that money on.

You can read more about this campaign on their website.

Ever since, I eagerly wait for their Black Friday emails and I’m never disappointed.

21. Native

What: Post-purchase customer review email

Why:

I received this product satisfaction email a few days after ordering a pair of boots from Native Shoes.

Although this type of emails should be an industry standard, few ecommerce sites actually do it, and even fewer do it this in a good way.

This email checks all the most important details:

Highly visible company logo

Customer’s name personalization

The name and image of the product that was purchased

Ability to write the review directly in the email itself. This is much easier than to navigate over to the site.

Detailed review options: stars, text area and sizing fit. Note that the 5-star option is pre-selected.

Large call-to-action button at the end

A touch of humor to make things more lighthearted

From my point of view, this is a great way to collect reviews for ecommerce stores. Maybe the only thing that’s missing in this email, is an incentive. Customers would be much more likely to write up reviews if they were offered a discount on their next purchase or something similar.

Radu Vrabie, Full-Stack Digital Marketer

22. Revolut

What

Black Friday email campaign promo offer

Why:

Every element of this email campaign says it’s something exclusive:

The dark theme of the email with very contrasting white fonts.

The rose gold card rotating in the GIF.

The eye-catching pink call to action button.

And finally, the copy, which says they normally don’t jump on the Black Friday bandwagon, but over 9,000 requests from their users isn’t something Revolut can ignore.

The email is super simple and very clear – the main benefits are emphasized in a bulleted list, and then the monetary value is restated just above the CTA button.

It’s completely different to their regular newsletters and automated emails.

As their customer, I knew straight away that this offer is special and worth checking out.

Marcin Struzik, Video Manager at GetResponse

23. Booking

What:

Converting users who searched for accommodation in a specific city and didn’t book.

Why:

This email marketing campaign is a good example for any company operating online.

I’ve received this email because I’ve given consent for receiving marketing content and because, one day, I was casually checking out places to stay in Berlin on Booking.com.

I was browsing with no clear intent of buying, but after being reminded of traveling, the thought of it doesn’t go away.

Other than that, this email campaign is a good example of personalization: I could see my name on the banner, and they didn’t spoil it with Dear [Name], which sometimes looks bad when lots of other companies do it.

Besides, the dates I was interested in were already filled in, which also shortens the possible purchase process.

Although some people might find it creepy – Booking is explicitly mentioning they’re tracking users’ activities online.

Margo Burkivska, B2B Marketing Specialist at GetResponse

24. MeUndies

What:

Promotional email introducing a new line of products.

Why:

This email’s so playful.

Underwear is something that people usually hide and don’t want to talk about.

To promote it, you can either be shy about it – hey, I don’t want to disturb you, but in case you’re looking for panties… that’s what we do – or be loud and proud about the products you’re offering.

MeUndies does the latter. With this beautifully animated email, they’re showing how colorful and playful their products are.

This email says – whether you decide to go on a sushi date with a friend, or fly solo, you can have fun with their products.

I love it.

25. Care/of

What:

Email campaign introducing a new product

Why:

This is a great example of a simple yet informative email promo.

I appreciate the combination of beautiful design and great copy.

After the short introduction, you learn a bit of basic information about the mushroom trio that helps boost the immune system.

Next segment tells you where it’s grown and why it matters.

Then there’s the last segment inviting subscribers to take the quiz to help them with choosing the right product for their needs.

And there’s just one clear call to action – I love these kind of emails.

Irek Klimczak, Content Marketing Expert at GetResponse

26. American Giant

What:

Email campaign inviting subscribers to the retail store

Why:

This email informs about the New York pop-up. It’s a great idea to use email marketing to invite subscribers to your brick-and-mortar location.

Let potential customers know that you’re around and that they can come by and try on your products.

Make the most of both the online and offline experience.

That’s the way to do it.

Irek Klimczak, Content Marketing Expert at GetResponse

27. Trello

What:

Email explaining the ways you can use Trello

Subject line: A free personal habit tracker for you

Why:

I love Trello’s emails because they’re so useful, and provide real-life examples of using the solution.

After receiving this email I ended up creating two new Trello boards, so I guess the email reached its goal.

What’s so good about it?

A clear CTA to a detailed blog post with useful product screenshots and use cases.

Brand-consistent and fun graphics that match the look of the product.

Fun copywriting in line with the brand.

Addresses user persona – Trello is used mainly for project management, and procrastination is a common challenge faced when handling projects.

Marta Kusinska, Email Marketing Manager at GetResponse

28. Aaron Krall

What:

Email announcing a special offer: convert email contacts into customers

Subject line: If you’re under $10 MRR…

Why:

This is a surprising email that landed in my inbox, and I think it’s worth noting.

With a great intro, including some personal details of the sender, this email gives you an impression of coming from a friend.

So the main aim is building trust, also by using some numbers and social proof in the body of an email.

After all, you’re to trust Aaron with your money and need to believe that he’s a suitable person to help your Saas business grow.

And get curious enough to ask about his special offer.

Marta Kusinska, Email Marketing Manager at GetResponse

29. Carnival Cruise Line

What:

Promotional email campaign

Why:

The email by Carnival Cruise Line is a sheer delight for the subscribers, with its creative presentation. They have followed all the email marketing best practices and created a visually impressive design that is sure to kindle wanderlust in the subscriber’s mind.

The subject line: Deposits are taking a dive. (See what they find down there!) along with the preheader text: Get reduced deposits starting from $50 per person for sailings through December 2020 are interesting enough to capture the attention of the subscribers and make them open the email.

The header image and text are crafted in such a way that the recipients are compelled to scroll through the entire email.

Finally, when they reach the bottom of the email, the sea floor with beautiful fishes usher them in. (Animation couldn’t have been used better.)

The email ends with a clear CTA “Search All Cruises”.

All in all, it sets a great example of how travel industry emails should be. Inspired already?

Kevin George, Head of Marketing at Email Monks

30. Phrasee

What: Email sharing the latest content from Phrasee blog and other places on the Internet .

Subject line: Is it hot in this inbox, or is it just you?

Why:

I always look forward to Phrasee’s content emails. I love their tone of voice and love how – as a B2B tech company with a really serious product used by huge brands – they stand out from other brands in the space just by the way the speak to their audience. Because, hey, marketers just wanna have fun, too! Couple that with gifs and a very specific type of humor – and it’s a perfect Thursday read.

They’re also great at what a lot of emails keep missing – which is creating meaningful preheaders that go together with the subject lines. I always feel like the subject line + preheader duo is so underrated (and too many companies don’t ever go beyond “Read this email online” in their preheader), while it can be a great open rate booster.

Plus, I find it awkwardly satisfying to find a pickup line in my inbox sent by a brand I actually like!

Karolina Kurcwald, Chief Wordsmith at GetResponse

31. Litmus

What:

Email invite to a conference.

Why:

This one is a no brainer.

What’s the best way to get people to get excited about your email design conference?

Show them an amazing email invite that’s using coding tricks you haven’t experienced before.

And that’s exactly what Litmus does with their email invitations.

One time, they added animated videos in the message background. The next year they’ve added a live Twitter feed showing peoples’ reactions to their campaign.

This email is among the best ones I’ve ever seen being deployed on a larger scale.

Feeling inspired?

If you’ve scrolled down this far, that means you saw over 30 great marketing email examples.

You’ve probably noticed some interesting:

maSome of them had great copy, others were all about the design, and then there were those that were just entertaining.

In other words, there’s no one way to make a great email marketing campaign.

It pays off to follow the best practices, but without talking to your audience and checking your analytics reports, you won’t know for sure if a campaign was successful.

So, what’s the next step you’ll take?

My recommendation is that you start designing your email campaigns, A/B test them, and keep optimizing them to achieve the best possible results.

And if you didn’t know that yet, GetResponse can help you with all of that.

Email Marketing Best Practices for 2019

30+ Automated Emails You Should Be Sending Today

The post 30+ Best Email Campaigns and Why We Loved Them appeared first on GetResponse Blog - Online Marketing Tips.

0 notes

vivianrhopper85 · 7 years ago

Text

Most Unusual Restaurants in Toronto: O’Noir

Situated in the heart of downtown at Church Street and Charles St. (just south of Bloor Street), O'Noir has been keeping people in the dark for the past 8 years in Toronto and a decade at it's Montreal location. Not in any malevolent way, of course, it's just that patrons sit in the establishment eating their meal in the pitch black darkness of their dining room.

O'Noir wall

The Blinde Kuh (Blind Cow) in Zurich started the trend of dining in the dark many years back courtesy of blind pastor Jorge Spielmann. This became a catalyst for a whole new dining experience, and similar restaurants opened up around the world, O' Noir among them. There are also locations in Montreal and Vancouver. The Toronto location's first owner was Moe Alameddine, while a chemical engineer turned entrepreneur by the name of Dr. J.R. Feng acquired ownership in 2011. Feng recalls:

I was looking for a unique business opportunity that provided fast productivity and O'Noir fit very well.

It has since partnered with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and other community organizations to give the visually impaired mainstream employment skills. In any given week, 1000 to 1500 guests come through the door.

Decor

O'Noir is located in the basement of the Town Inn Suites hotel. Descending a bank of a couple of dozen stairs, one enters the restaurant through large wooden doors that pass through a foyer and a long hallway to the back where there is a large bar/waiting area for patrons to order their food and drinks prior to entering the 85 seat dining room.

Since the dining room is in complete darkness, ordering there would be quite impossible. In the foyer, soft lighting accentuates the wood surfaces of the bar and the tables and chairs, while a large bookcase holds a plethora of old volumes. The bar curves around two walls and large tiles on the floor add to the ambiance. A large display on the wall shows the braille alphabet, while on the opposite wall, the phrase "It's better in the dark" is displayed prominently.

Wine selection

Atmosphere

After placing my order for my food and a Coke (since I was driving), I was led into the pitch darkness by my server, Tracey, who like all the servers at O'Noir, is visually impaired. She is also quite personable, helpful and quick with a joke, lightening the mood considerably. Upon reaching my table, and being guided where to sit, I realized that I had forgotten to my chagrin, my watch glowed in the dark! I quickly took it off and put it in my pocket before anyone was the wiser.

Soon after, I got my Coke and sipped on it whilst familiarizing myself with the items on the table that Tracey had pointed out verbally in detail upon helping me to my seat. Plate with knife and fork in front of me, a glass of water to my right, also my Coke next to that. I even managed not to knock over the water or the Coke which I'll admit I was nervous about doing all through the meal. Tracey brought along a warm crispy roll, which was excellent. I even got some of the butter in packets already on the table opened up and actually on the roll (the rest ended up on my hand and the nearest available napkin). Being in total darkness is a bit disorienting at first, but it really does enhance your other senses, as cliched as that may sound. From the gentle hubbub of other patrons' conversations to the smell of the food and its taste, all seem to be magnified even after being in the dark for only a short time.

Menu range

O'Noir offers up a package deal for their food menu options, also known as prix fixe. For a three course meal (starter, main course, and dessert) it costs $39.95, while a two-course meal (starter and main course or main course and dessert) will set you back $32.95.

Something to study while you wait

Appetizer

I ordered the surprise appetizer, which came with a choice of meat, fish or vegetable. I chose the meat, and it was quite tasty. I'm guessing it was sliced pork atop some seasoned risotto. Feng emphasizes that the surprise dishes are quite popular with customers looking to add even more mystery and adventure to their dining in the dark experience.

Main Course

The main course I chose was the Filet mignon, with green beans and mashed potatoes. This is the most popular main course choice according to Dr. Feng. Thankfully any meat course you order, they pre-cut the meat for you so my steak was already sliced into manageable pieces, forgoing the questionable feasibility of trying to use a sharp knife in the dark. The steak was quite good, cooked to my specifications (medium) by Chef Ashrafi and his team, and the potatoes and green beans were also tasty and well done, in my palette's humble opinion. The only annoying thing was trying to spear some meat, potato or vegetable and occasionally coming up to my mouth with an empty fork. A small price to pay however for such an unusual and interesting dining experience.

In addition to the filet mignon, they also have Pesto Chicken breast with potatoes and vegetables, Cajun fish with white rice and vegetables, shrimp risotto with mushroom and garlic, Penne pasta with light tomato sauce or cream sauce and vegetables, Vegetable stir fry with rice and on this day, a Surprise main course labelled as vegetarian.

Desserts

I initially ordered the Chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream but was told they were out of ice cream and the fruit sorbet. While a little disappointing, I was still able to satiate the chocoholic in me by having the dark chocolate mousse with cocoa powder which was quite exceptional and did much to take away the disappointment of them not having any ice cream to go along with my first choice. They also offer up a surprise dessert option, in addition to the fruit sorbet, the chocolate cake with ice cream and the chocolate mousse.

The food looks tasty

Drinks options

O'Noir has a fairly good drinks list, featuring wine, beer, cocktails and harder liquors.

White wines from Italy, Australia, Ontario, and France will run you $6.50 to $7.50 a glass, or $30 to $57 a bottle. Reds from Argentina, Australia, Ontario, Italy, France, and California will set you back $7 to $7.50 or $33 to $58 a bottle. Their sole sparkling wine from France costs $57.

Beers, spirits, cocktails, digestives, and liqueurs run the gamut from $5 to $12 per glass. The wines and cocktails offer a surprise option as well. Their non-alcoholic options include soda pop (coke, diet coke, sprite, ginger ale, club soda, tonic water and iced tea), bottled water (Evian and Perrier), and juice (orange, apple, cranberry, pineapple, and Clamato), and cost from $3 to $3.75. I ordered from the latter, a Coca-Cola for $3, as I was driving. There are no free refills with the pops, water, and juices, so my drinks (2 Cokes) came to a grand total of $6.

Service

The service is very good, from the helpful hostess who confirms the reservation and provides us with menus, to the server Tracey, who does a great job from leading us into the complete darkness of the dining area, to bringing us food and drinks, and answering any and all questions I had over the course of the meal.

From O'Noir website

Feeling afterward

From the food, I felt satiated and not overly full and bloated which is always a good sign. Getting up to leave, I am once again helped along by Tracey back out into the waiting area, which is a bit of a rude shock to my eyes after having been in the dark for the past ninety plus minutes. However, after they adjust, I thank Tracey and the hostess and depart the premises. Overall, it was a good experience; an interesting and unusual way to enjoy a meal in the heart of downtown Toronto. Although there are no plans to expand to other cities at the moment, Feng asserts that they would do so if an opportunity presents itself. Until then;

We intend to make O'Noir a long lasting identity in a special way in Toronto.

Seatings for dinner are at 5:45 pm and at 9 pm, and reservations are recommended. O'Noir also offers their premises for group functions like birthday parties, business meetings, wedding receptions, etc. You can reserve by emailing or calling them. If you're looking for a gift idea, gift cards (in $50 denominations) are available by visiting the restaurant directly or by calling them with your credit card information.

You can get in touch with them at [email protected], 416-922-NOIR (6647), or at www.onoirtoronto.com.

MR00KV

from News And Tip About Real Estate https://jamiesarner.com/toronto-restaurant-reviews/o-noir/

0 notes

berthastover · 6 years ago

Text

6 Things a Quality Email Marketing Campaign Can Do for You

Just like old-fashioned letters, emails are a channel for conversational, interactive, and personalized communications. Businesses have been using it as a customer relationship building tool for years, with a successful email marketing campaign yielding an ROI of up to $38 for every $1 spent.

In fact, a whopping 66% of customers make a purchase as a result of a clicked-through email.

But, there are so many other benefits that emails can bring.

Here’s everything that a quality email marketing campaign can do for your business:

Improved branding.

Better targeting.

Personalized approach.

Improved engagement.

Provide additional metrics.

Great testing opportunities.

1. Improved branding

Email is a valuable brand building tool.

Together with your website and social media presence, email creates a set of specific associations recognized by your leads and customers. It adds value to your brand message and the products or services you offer. They speak of all three pillars of a brand – purpose, identity, and trust.

Brand-wise, a quality email marketing campaign can:

Provide businesses with a direct communication channel to their customers.

Establish a reliable reference point between brands and consumers.

Open and maintain a dialogue with all segments of your target audience.

Build strong and long-lasting relationships with regular customers.

Foster customer loyalty and weave a network of dedicated followers.

Since a brand is defined as a “unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors”, the email service must work hand in hand with other touch points to achieve a uniform level of consistency and coherence.

As a part of the experience marketing, email strengthens the overall brand image.

Over time, this image becomes associated with credibility, quality and customer satisfaction.

Here’s how to use email to build brand awareness:

Personality & voice

To be successful, an email marketing campaign has to reflect the same personality and tone of voice used for other points of contact with the customer. Whatever tone of voice you choose – be it professional and serious or friendly and informal – your brand personality must always evoke trust.

Pro tip: Be as colloquial as you can without damaging your professional image.

Consistent templates

Let the best logo identify your visual scheme (the combination of colors, shapes, and text that embodies your brand message), and use it to build an email template of consistent style and design. Also, pay attention to positioning and make sure to emphasize your logo, brand name, and CTA.

Pro tip: If you need something fresh, check out custom logo design contests.

Focus on relationships

Instead of constant sales pitches (this strategy will only qualify your emails as spam), focus on building relationships with your subscribers. Use this opportunity to learn more about your customers, and to give them a chance to learn more about you. Show your genuine care and empathy.

Pro tip: Show your appreciation by sending a welcome email to every new subscriber.

2. Better targeting

Successful email marketing requires a reliable set of automation tools.

Don’t try to avoid them, since they boast powerful capabilities for audience segmentation. Email and targeting are inseparably intertwined – a subscription list typically includes every person from a brand’s CRM database, providing a direct link for nurturing relationships with existing customers.

But that’s not all.

Email-based customer relationships let you generate a lot of knowledge about modern-day consumers in general. From previous interactions, you can learn a lot about their needs and pain points, preferred solutions and common behavior, and use that data when targeting new customers.

Use email automation tools to answers these questions:

At what point do customers decide to make a purchase, and what is the decisive factor?

What kind of message or offer do they respond to the best?

What is their preferred purchase platform, a website or social media?

That way, email can serve as a potent tool for testing marketing and conversion techniques, pinpointing current behavior, and predicting future trends. Segment your subscribers according to their needs and habits, and you’ll have a solid overview of how your leads think and what they expect.

3. Personalized approach

Being defined as a consumerist climate that values journey more than a destination, the experience economy heavily relies on email marketing to personalize B2C interactions. In this context, email can help your brand develop a 360-degree customer view and custom-tailor individual brand experiences.

Also, personalized email messages improve click-through rates by an average of 14%.

Translated to sales, this guarantees up to 10% more conversions.

Experience economy or not, consumers want to be treated as individuals with highly specific needs and problems. They don’t want to waste their time on products and services they don’t need. Also, they expect the experience to be customized across all touch points. Naturally, this includes email as well.

Here’s how to develop a personalized approach with email:

Ask the right questions

Use welcome emails to ask new subscribers what they expect of your future relationship. Are they just browsing for solutions, or are they looking for a quick buy option? What platforms and payment systems do they prefer? Are they interested in receiving your emails, and what do they want to read?

Pro tip: Create a short quiz and ask them basic questions about what they like.

Segment your subscribers

When you ask them the right questions, new subscribers can help you create different customer personas and establish a unique approach for each audience segment. You’ll know what every group wants to see (announcements, special offers, or buyers’ guides), and when they want to receive them.

Pro tip: Use email marketing automation tools for super-segmentation.

4. Improved engagement

In the long run, email marketing campaigns can help you nurture relationships, retarget old customers, and inspire loyalty. But they can also accelerate the conversion process, and serve as an immediate touch point that tips potential customers over the edge of a sales funnel and directly to the CRM base.

This is achieved with automated behavioral trigger emails and convincing CTAs.

Behavior-triggered emails elicit a real-time action by providing a direct link to your offer. There’s a newly launched product that’s yet to be presented to your audience? Simply send an announcement, create a compelling call-to-action, and offer a pre-sale discount to a certain number of fastest buyers.

Email can be used for improved customer engagement in a couple of other ways:

Announcements and newsletters raise brand awareness and keep customers in the loop.

Special offers and loyalty prices create a sense of urgency that drives smooth conversions.

Helpful articles and relevant buyers’ guides intensify subscribers’ interest in your offer.

5. Provided additional metrics

I’ve already hinted that email automation tools can help brands learn more about existing customers and modern-day consumers, but their built-in analytics can do so much more for marketing and conversion strategies. For starters, they can tell you how to plan further growth and development.

These are the email metrics that every brand should track:

Click-through rate

The percentage of subscribers who clicked on a link attached to an email is traditionally used in A/B testing, as it provides insight into how engaging a campaign is. This is especially important when you’re sending behavior-triggered messages with the intention of inspiring a direct response or conversion.

Conversion rate

While click-through rates pertain to any action elicited with email, conversion rates give a clear overview of how many sales an email marketing campaign has managed to make. Since conversions are the end-goal of every marketing strategy, this metric is crucial for determining the overall success.

List growth rate

Your email list will naturally shrink and expand over time, therefore measure the growth rate to establish whether or not you’re moving in the right direction. Email sharing rate can also help you with this, and all with a clear purpose – to let you know how your campaign contributes to lead acquisition.

Email marketing ROI

Finally, track your overall email marketing ROI rate to find out whether or not this technique pays off in the context of your general sales strategy. How many leads do you generate via email marketing, and how does this number translate to potential revenue? To track these leads, set up an SLA system.

See the new Email Marketing Benchmarks report for loads of useful data.

6. Great testing opportunities

Email marketing can promote virtually everything, but it can also help you test your strategies before you put them in place. Thanks to the metrics above, you can see exactly where you stand with your blog promotion, product launch, or service improvement, not to mention your relationships.

Whenever there’s a fresh idea that must be vetted, create a new email template and send it to your brand’s most loyal customers for feedback. Not only does this ensure a direct response, but it can also save you from wasting your time, money, and energy on something that won’t improve your ROI.

Time and time again, email marketing has proved itself as the best customer conversion technique.

Its impact on modern-day businesses is invaluable, primarily thanks to its relationship-building potential and audience targeting capabilities. When you add to that a personalized approach, improved engagement, and insightful metrics, you get a well-oiled automated growth hack machine.

Do you have some more insights on what a good email marketing campaign did for your business? Feel free to share it in the comment section below!

How Social Media Monitoring Can Generate Leads

How to Plan & Execute a Social Media Takeover

The post 6 Things a Quality Email Marketing Campaign Can Do for You appeared first on GetResponse Blog - Online Marketing Tips.

0 notes