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solalunar-eclipse · 11 months

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Strings Neither Green Nor Red

Chapter title: Orange Cross-Stitch (Payton M. Addison)

AO3 Link

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Spamton belongs to Toby Fox, all other characters belong to @brightgoat on Tumblr and Twitter.

(I’m so sorry this is late!!! I totally forgot to upload it earlier... ^^;;)

Pay hummed lightly to himself, performing the weekly task of adding all of his department’s earnings to his specially dedicated spreadsheet. It was both deeply complex and extremely organized (as well as color-coded!), which was what he liked most about it, and why he normally looked forward to this job regardless of the actual values he was adding in.

He faltered on the next notes of his jingle when he reached two particular numbers, however.

Video and Click’s earnings had both risen dramatically this week. Normally, of course, that would be cause for celebration, maybe even a fun extra purchase or two, but right now it was more frightening than anything.

Pay felt uncomfortable with parts of life that didn’t fit with the data, and this was a massive disjoint that had been weighing on his mind for a while. Neither Video nor Click had any reason to be earning more than usual—even Vid’s sale to Queen a couple weeks ago couldn’t account for the steady rise in pay day after day.

He didn’t want to stress anyone out, however, so he’d been keeping quiet about this on all fronts. The thing was, though, the only other time they’d seen such a sharp rise in earnings was…

“Hey guys! Guess what!” Vid called, sounding delighted.

“What is it, Video?” Mags asked, walking into the main room.

Next to Vid, a small, white Addison stood nervously on the carpet. “Uh…h-hi?” they said, giving an awkward little wave.

Then, their salesperson training kicked in, and they strode forward, taking Mags’s hand and shaking it firmly—albeit just a little too long. “The name’s Spamton! Spamton G. Addison! Pronouns he/him, if you please, and it’s very nice to meet you!”

Mags smiled, finding this new Addi strange yet charming. “It’s nice to meet you too, Spamton. My name’s Magson, but you can call me Mags. I use he/him as well.”

“He’s a new assignment to our department!” Vid said eagerly, clearly excited.

“Really?” Mags asked, intrigued. “We do already have four Addisons, but a department of five is by no means unprecedented. And who am I to argue with Management…so, welcome, Spamton! I do believe we have a room that you could use somewhere in here.”

Spam’s eyes widened. “Really?!” After a moment, however, he remembered himself. “I—I mean, I appreciate it.”

“Ooooh, this is so cool!!” Vid cried. “I can’t wait to get to know you better! I bet we’re gonna be best friends!”

That was when it had begun. Video’s good mood, kick-started by Spamton’s arrival, had never faded. Soon enough, Click had focused his competitive sights on the white Addison (instead of all the rest of them), and everyone’s emotional well-being had gone up as a result.

Well, almost everyone’s.

B-but anyway, before Spam, the department had been a mess! Click had been trying to find a more aggressive competitor in Vid, but failed miserably, given that all Video wanted to do was have fun. Mags and Pay had both been stressed out just trying to keep the other two under control, leaving them with hardly any energy to focus on their own jobs. But Spamton had fixed everything.

Once Vid found an outlet for his energy and Click a target for his sarcasm, the other two were given room to grow and flourish in their own right, instead of being forced to act as buffers for the others. This had essentially doubled their income within half a year, meaning that Spamton had practically paid for his place in the department without ever selling a single thing.

…and Pay had never told him that. Not once.

Instead, when Spam had actually begun earning money, they’d all been jealous.

“Guys! GUYS!! I made another sale!” Spamton cried, bursting in through the door.

A thick tension fell over the room—one palpable to everyone except the Addison who was its target.

“Sweet! For real?” Vid asked, forcing their smile just a tiny bit. They were proud of Spam, they were! It was just that…they were also a teeny, tiny bit jealous.

They all were, truth be told. There was an established hierarchy of who earned what, and everyone had been perfectly content with their place in it. Pay’s money was the most consistent, Vid had the greatest average, and Click had the highest spikes.

So then when—how—why had Spamton suddenly become the highest and most consistent earner?

What did he do to deserve this bounty, windfall after windfall?

Why him?

None of the others congratulated him, aside from a mild nod of acknowledgement from Mags. Click’s scoff of “Again?” definitely didn’t count.

Slowly, Spamton’s face fell, and he left the room without another word.

Pay felt sick at the memory. They hadn’t known! None of them had known what would happen later!

At first, when they’d heard that he was bleeding money fast, they’d all felt…a little self-righteous. Hadn’t they told him not to push too far? But then, he just vanished. He never came back, asking to return home. Word spread that he was being disgraced, evicted, even.

Mags had gone to the Mansion to check on him, without telling anyone. He’d probably been worried for Spam—not that he’d ever said as much.

But then, when he came back…

“What did you just say?” Vid snarled, rising to his feet.

“…I’ve deleted Spamton’s information from the system.” Mags repeated, his head bowed. “We shouldn’t be connected to him any more. If he vanished, then we need to make sure none of the rest of us do.”

Click and Pay were silent.

…Vid? Not so much.

“‘We’?! There’s no ‘we’ here!” he barked. “You did this without asking any of us and then you try to act like it was a joint decision? As if!”

“Vid, I did that to keep us all safe!” Mags cried, his eyes hard.

“Oh yeah? Is Spam not one of ‘us’ any more? Who’s looking out for him, huh?!” Vid snapped back.

“He made his choice!” Mags yelled. “So I’ve made mine!”

“And you made mine too, without asking me first.” Vid spat. “I can’t believe this.”

“If you have such a problem with my choices, then maybe you should leave.” Mags growled.

“That’s the best idea you’ve had all day!” Vid cried, stalking out of the room.

Pay shivered on the couch, silent.

In the present, he winced, the pain still as fresh as the day it had happened. If only this all hadn’t ever taken place…

…but it had. There was nothing he could do.

He busied himself with composing a new, small song for a future ad concept he’d had in the back of his mind for a while. Normally, he wouldn’t indulge himself like this, but he knew he couldn’t do his best work with all of these memories flaring up.

As he worked, he overheard Video and Click chatting lightly outside, swapping stories in a way that they hadn’t in ages. Vid laughed—genuinely—which he’d been doing more and more these days. Pay listened in a little more closely. Despite that, something was…off about this conversation.

After a minute, he realized what it was. Click wasn’t being sarcastic. At all.

Everything he said was something he truly meant (even if it did sound a little stilted on occasion). His tone of voice alone was enough to give that away. It was so uncharacteristic of him, though! Click was never so careful with his words.

Suddenly, Pay heard his name mentioned in the conversation, and realized with a jolt that he’d stopped composing. Almost frantically, he began to toy with his soundboard once more, hoping to remain inconspicuous. Luckily for him, nobody came inside, and he soon found himself reabsorbed by his work.

Writing that little jingle did end up helping him a lot, and so it wasn’t until later that night that Pay’s thoughts kicked into overdrive once more. What was it that had caused Vid and Click’s earnings to rise so drastically all of a sudden? They couldn’t have been called by Spamton’s mysterious benefactor, could they? Video certainly hadn’t—he was normally terrible at keeping secrets, so Mags or Pay would definitely have found out by now if that was the case. But then what?

He lay still, his mind racing and working through endless possibilities until he finally fell into a restless sleep.

…

Pay jolted upright in the middle of the night, his mind reeling. Something important, something vital, had clicked into place in the back of his head while he rested, and now he just needed to figure out what it was.

The graphs of their income that he always loved to chart. Two parallel curves, climbing upwards. The brightness without even the slightest hint of pain in Video’s smile these days. Click’s almost-kindness towards everyone else, clearly a struggle—but one he was willing to work for.

Logic demanded that the most simple answer should necessarily be the first one considered, and yet Pay had somehow passed right over it.

“Spamton.” he whispered into the darkness, the name something he hadn’t dared to say in ages. “It has to be.”

It all lined up now. Video must have found him first, because his data had been rising for longer. They would have hit it off relatively quickly, since Vid had never let go of the idea that Spam was still out there somewhere, holding tightly to their end of the friendship. It would have been easy to rekindle something that had never truly died, especially if Spam had felt similarly to Video all this time.

How Click had managed to work things out, however, Pay couldn’t entirely understand. Of course, the pink Addison had been searching for Spamton for quite some time, and had made his views abundantly clear about who he believed was in the wrong from the moment Spam had disappeared. However, he couldn’t imagine Spamton forgiving so easily without some sort of catalyst prior to Click’s apology. Could Video have spoken up for Click? Would their shared concern for Spam have been enough to unite them?

Video would definitely have more information, but Pay doubted he’d be able to get at it. If he went straight for Video with his theories and questions, he was almost certain that the yellow Addi would just avoid him or deflect until he could escape. Even the mere idea that Pay was interested in Spamton only once it was confirmed he was alive was unlikely to go over well, considering Video’s usual emotional responses.

Pay needed backup if he was going to learn more, and there was only one person he could turn to in order to get that.

…

The next morning, Pay burst into Mags’s room while the blue Addison was barely starting his first cup of coffee, green strings of calculations visible behind his eyes.

“Whoa, what’s up with you today?” Mags said tiredly, blinking in confusion.

“I figured it out.” Pay breathed. “Why things are changing again—getting more normal.”

“Pay, listen, didn’t we agree not to question a good thing earlier?” Mags asked, frowning.

“I know, I know, but I really think you need to hear the reason behind it. I won’t bore you with the details behind it, I’ll answer any questions you have afterwards, just let me explain.”

“Alright, fine.” the blue Addison said skeptically.

Pay sighed, relieved at the thought of finally being able to tell someone about all the ideas churning inside his head.

“Okay, so, to make a long story very very short, Spamton’s alive and both Video and Click have seen him at least once.”

It was a good thing that Mags hadn’t picked one of his favorite mugs for his coffee today, as the one he had been holding shattered on the floor approximately three seconds later.

“What? How?” he gasped.

“Well, you see, it was just some basic logic once I was able to work backwards from the solution, although it did take me somewhat longer than I would’ve liked to—” Pay began, but Mags cut him off with a wave of his hand.

“No, not that—how did they know he was out there? How did they find him? Why didn’t they tell us?”

Pay shrugged. “For that, you’d probably have to ask them but I really don’t think that’s a good idea right now!” he yelped, lunging for Mags’s arm as the other Addison rushed towards the door.

“Why not?” Mags was shaking, his eyes wild. “Spamton’s alive, right? You’re sure?”

“Almost entirely certain.” Pay said.

“That’s enough for me. They’ve both been lying to us—I need to deal with this now!” Mags cried, pulling against Pay’s grip.

The orange Addison let go of his arm nervously.

“I’m going to call a meeting. This instant.” he insisted, rushing out the door with Pay trailing fearfully behind.

#deltarune #spamton g spamton #deltarune addisons #orange addison #spamton deltarune #i'm so sorry this is late!!!#i just totally forgot to post this earlier #*facepalms*#anyhow i hope you guys don't mind that this one is mostly just a one-person show #pay's never really been super close to spamton so his chapter is a little more distant from the action #thankfully this will change next time!!#since mags is Very Invested in all this

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0925priv · 2 years

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enchanted to meet you.

pairing: idol!mark lee x youtuber! fem reader

genre: strangers to lovers, fluff

word count: 684 words

prompt: in which choi yuna, a youtuber who goes by the channel name: luna loves you, catches mark lee’s attention.

a/n: an alternate reality in which idols dating is normalized in south korea.

chapter one. chapter two. chapter three.

[2:01 am] “time check, it’s two in the morning.”, i angled the camera in front of me. i hummed softy as my fingers danced along the strings of my guitar.

i twirled the pencil in my left hand then erased a few words and made adjustments to the lyrics. there, all set.

“ehem.” i cleared my throat. i flipped the pages on the notebook in front of me. “the words just came to me out of nowhere.”

“uhh let’s see…” i bit my lip in concentration as i strummed my guitar setting a soft melody.

[3:28 am] i stretched my arms and yawned. who knew editing the three-minute video would take me this long? i usually work fast, but i got pulled into the rabbit hole that is twitter. stupid bird app.

luna loves you posted a new video:

“sooo its 3 am and i wrote a new song ..? (underwater tears demo)”

@lunalovesyou tweeted:

NEW VID UP!!!! check out my new song: underwater tears <3 lmk what u think hehe >< http://youtube/watch.jcu17

[4:37 pm] “yah donghyuck! did you steal my earphones again?” i shouted at the boy five feet from me.

“no, of course i didn’t!” i shot him a dirty look. “ok fine i borrowed it! it’s in the drawer back in our room.”

i sighed heavily in exasperation. my legs feel like jelly. i’m too tired to go back to the dorms and find my earphones.

“here.” jaemin handed me something. “i have another pair back in the dorm, you can have this.” he smiled at me.

i thanked him and sat at the far left corner of the practice room. i opened the youtube app and searched for her name. she tweeted about a new song—underwater tears.

i clicked on the video. the background was familiar. she was in her room. fairy lights adorned the canopy of her bed. a few plushies were on the ground. multiple albums sat on her shelf.

“…i’ve been exhausted my whole life

it’s a never ending cycle

of trying to swim upwards

but my feet are anchored to the ground

chains of steel held me down

lungs full of salt water

i tried to fight the waves and swim upshore

but they wouldn’t let me

no they wouldn’t

so if you can see me

come save me

please reach for my hand and pull me back up…”

the screen turned black signaling the end of the video. “wow.” i exclaimed in shock. i’ve always known she had a lovely voice. but this? i’m lost for words.

“what’s that?” i jumped in surprise. i looked to my left and saw the familiar silverish white mop of hair. “don’t you mean who’s that?” renjun said.

“ahh…luna noona.” jisung nodded in acknowledgment.

“tsk tsk.” haechan clicked his tongue in disapproval. “why don’t you just approach her?”

“hyung you know he’d rather eat a spoonful of ketchup than talk to a pretty girl.” chenle laughed.

“i’m going to!” i said in defense.

“when?” jaemin asked.

“i said i’m going to!” a chorus of laughter echoed in the room.

i first saw her while i was going through videos of people covering my song, child. her small smile on the thumbnail caught my attention. she was hunched over her guitar. her dark hair was roughly tied into a ponytail, a few stray strands covering her face. but even then, i could tell that she was absolutely beautiful.

the next thing i new, i was watching all her videos and stalking both her twitter and instagram. my finger hovered the screen, accidentally clicking the follow button. good thing i was using my private account, or else the press would have a field day.

i found myself waiting every saturday for her new upload on youtube. during my free time, i would watch her instagram live as she narrates her day. her eyes would shine brightly as she talks about the most random stuff, like how her pet dog bit her in the butt when she was younger, so she bit it back.

as andrew garfield said, she was like a shot of espresso—and i’ve just become highly addicted to caffeine.

next chapter.

#mark lee #mark lee au #mark lee fic #idol au #nct #mark nct #nct scenarios #kpop fic #kpop au #nct dream

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teddy06writes · 3 years

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Fully Functioning Tricycle

Sapnap x reader x Karl

requested: no (;-; no one has requested anything, pls request things guys requests are open)

Trigger warnings: slight swearing,

“blep” talking

“blep” flashback

‘blep’ video or text

premise: since you’d been absorbed into Karl and Nicks relationship, you guys had kept it under wraps, until... you accidently said something on a stream with Quackity, when you start getting hate about it Karl and Nick decide to do something about it

(y/n/n)- your nick name

(y/s/n) your screen name

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

No one was quite too sure when it started, Karl would say once you moved in with them, and Sapnap argued that it started even before that, that you had just naturally been absorbed into their relationship.

Now ‘the frat house’ as the house you all rented had been dubbed by your friends on the Dream Smp, consisted of one relationship, and not just a group of pinning idiots.

You sighed, looking down at all the messages flooding your phone, it hadn’t even been a whole day since you let it slip, and still so many people knew, so many people were giving you hate online.

Everyone knew, except your boyfriends.

Somehow despite letting your involvement in there relationship out, and thousands of people were tweeting about it, they still hadn’t realized.

You had to hand it to them, for two pretty smart guys, Karl and Nick could be pretty oblivious.

“(y/n/n)?”

Karl’s call knocked you out of your thoughts and back to reality, so, you pushed away from your desk, “Yeah?”

He stuck his head in the door, “You almost done? Nicky’s about to finish his stream, and I would like cuddles.”

“uhhhh,” you glanced at your monitor, the assignment for one of your classes still open, “Soon, baby, I’m almost done.”

“M, kay.”

You pulled you chair back in as Karl wandered out, doing your best to refocus on the assignment, and not back onto the top notification, ‘I can’t believe (y/s/n) managed to convince themself they were good enough for Sapnap and Karl’

You sighed, you didn’t want to keep looking through them, but- what if someone said something worse?

It was a rabbit hole, every mention, every hashtag, every dm dragged you further in.

“Do you think (y/n)s being weird?” Karl asked quietly.

Nick looked up at him confused, “Weird how?”

“I don’t know, something just seems off, you know?”

Nick frowned as he looked back down at twitter, confused by what he was seeing, he held his phone out for Karl to see, “You think this has something to do with it?”

After a little while, and maybe a few tears, you managed to tear yourself away from your phone long enough to finish the work you had left, continuing to shove your phone away whenever a new notification came up.

You finished up the last of your assignment, quietly sending it off to your professor, and shutting down your computer, you shuffled off toward your unused bed, flopping down face first.

“(Y/n/n)!” Nick half sang, laying down next to you, “I was told to retrieve you for cuddles.”

You hummed in acknowledgement, shifting closer to him as he wrapped an arm around you.

“You alright love?”

“‘m tired.” You mumbled, tucking your face into the crook of his neck.

“Why don’t you come cuddle then? Karl’s lookin for a movie right now.”

Slowly you pulled yourself to stand with a sigh, “Alright.”

You shuffled out of the room, Nick only pausing to grab your phone, glaring down at a notification that read, ‘imagine thinking living in the same house is enough to warrant becoming a homewrecker.’

He quickly followed you into the other bedroom, smiling upon seeing how Karl’s face lit up upon seeing both his partners.

“(y/n/n)! Nicky!” He exclaimed, Holding up his arms, “Cuddles!”

You smiled at that, climbing into bed next to him, burying your head in his chest as Nick came to lay on your other side, wrapping an arm around both of you and pressing a light kiss to the back of your neck.

“(Y/n).”

It was the tone Nick used that got your worried, “Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you tell us what was going on with the fans on twitter, Darlin?” Karl asked softly.

Nick sighed, “I know we said we were keeping this on the down low, and it doesn’t really matter that it’s out there, but why didn’t you tell us?”

You bit your lip to stop it from quivering, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t’ve said anything. I didn’t mean to mess this up. We- We said we were going to announce it soon right?”

“Hey, hey,” Nick sat up a little, using the hand that wasn’t already holding Karl’s to rub small circles into your shoulder, “It’s alright love. It doesn’t matter that it’s out there, we just wanna know why you didn’t tell us about the toxic people?”

“It’s nothing.” You muttered.

“No it isn’t,” Karl said, “Darlin what happened?”

“The Frat house?”

You had been streaming with Quackity, running around on the smp.

“Yeah, that’s what we call it!” You laughed.

Quackity snorted, “The Frat House? Why?”

“Have you met Karl and Sapnap? They are literally frat boys that aren’t in a frat!”

“Nah, it’s still weird. Like, why? What the fuck?”

You chuckled, “Interestingly it did actually used to be a frat house.”

“WHAT THE FUCK?” He laughed.

“Yeah, that’s why there’s like four different bedrooms, plus a weird party basement.”

You both laughed, and went back to trying to mess with Fundy’s build without him noticing.

“What’s it like living with Sapnap? Is he actually that much of a Chad?”

“Oh yeah. It’s- it’s fucking chaotic here, obviously. I swear we do enough grocery shopping for like, three times the people than what live here, and every room except mine is a mess.”

“Oof, Imagine living with chadnap full time chat?” Quackity laughed.

A text to speech donation asked, “What’s it like being the third wheel too frat boys Karl and Quackity?”

In spite of yourself you snorted, “Someone asked what it’s like being the third wheel.”

He laughed, “Oh yes, the viewers want to know, give us the scoop!”

“Well.... I guess I’m not a third wheel in that sense, We’re pretty much a fully functioning tricycle now.” You clamped a hand over your mouth, realizing what you’d said.

Karl laughed once you finished explaining, and you slapped him lightly, “It’s not funny.”

“Yes it is!” He giggled.

“No!” You half wailed, “I fucked everything up!”

Nick barley held back a chuckle, “It is a little funny.”

You sighed, screwing your eyes shut and snuggling into them, “I didn’t wanna mess anythin up, but I did an’ now your making fun of me.”

Nick kissed the back of your neck again, “We aren’t making fun of you.”

“We just think it’s funny the way you said it,” Karl reassured, “What isn’t funny is the people harassing you.”

“Why didn’t you tell us it was going on?”

“It doesn’t matter,” You insisted, “It’ll all blow over eventually.”

Sapnap

@sapnapalt

GUYS PLEASE WATCH THIS VID IT”S IMPORTANT!!

The video:

*Karl and Nick are half sat up in bed looking at the camera*

Nick: ‘guys as much as we were thinking weren’t going to have to say this, it really needs to be said.’

Karl: ‘When we came forward with our relationship you guys were all super caring and considerate, there was actually very little hate going around, surprisingly, and what are a few random homophobes on the internet gonna do?’

Nick: ‘We really appreciate how kind you all were to us, so please’

*the camera shifts down to show you, asleep on Karl’s chest and wrapped in Nick’s hoodie*

Nick: ‘stop bothering our partner.’

Karl: ‘please, it- everything has gone to far since they first said it and it isn’t okay. Yeah, we were keeping this a secret but thats because we were planning on a funny reveal, Just because this came out sooner than we planned doesn’t mean you get to bother (y/n) about it! I want all the hate your sending to them to stop!’

Nick: ‘It’s honestly fucking disgusting, how far you guys are taking this! The fact that they can hardly pick up there phone without getting more of this bull shit is not okay!’

*karl smiles at him softly* : ‘we just want (y/n) to be happy and comfortable in this relationship and you guys aren’t exactly helping. Please Please please stop sending them hate and so yeah, it’s official, we really are a fully functioning tricycle.’

Nick: ‘so stop sending our partner hate!’

You didn’t actually see the video until later, having all but thrown your phone away once you woke up the next morning, but when you did you couldn’t help but quickly tackle Karl, who happened to also be in the kitchen, in a hug.

“Thank you.”

He smiled into your shoulder, hugging you back just as tightly, “It was mostly Nicks idea.”

As if on cue Nick hugged you both from the side, “We couldn’t just leave it be love.”

Still grinning madly, you kissed them both, “I love you guys. So, so much.”

#teddy06 writes #mcyt x reader #mcyt imagines #sapnap x reader #spanap imagines #karl jacobs x reader #karl jacobs imagines #karl jacobs x reader x sapnap #sapnap x reader x karl jacobs #karl x reader x sapnap #sapnap x reader x karl #karlnap x reader #polyam #polyships

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thewhizzyhead · 3 years

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GOOD MORNING, AFTERNOON AND EVENING BITCHES YUP YUP WE HAVE ANOTHER EPISODE OF "POLICE BRUTALITY FUCKING SUCKS" AND THIS TIME IT FEATURES THE PHILIPPINES. YUP ONCE AGAIN THE PHILIPPINES, AS ALWAYS, IS IN DEEP SHIT. Lemme explain.

So Police Officer Jonel Nuezca had an argument with 25-year old Frank Gregorio, a civillian, due to boga or fireworks and stuff. The argument escalated which led to the involvement of Frank's mother, 52-year old Sonya Gregorio, who tried to protect her son. Accompanying the policeman was his 12-year old daughter (and someone recording the whole thing). The daughter then shouted "MY FATHER IS A POLICEMAN" to which the mother said "I don't care" in the tune of 2NE1's I Don't Care. The policeman then said "Putangina gusto mo tapusin na kita ngayon ah? (Son of a bitch, you want me to finish you off now?)" aND THEN PROCEEDED TO SHOOT THE GREGORIOS: he first shot Sonya point-blank in the head, then shot Frank TWICE, then shot Sonya again who was already on the ground.

This all happened by 5 pm yesterday, December 20, in broad daylight.

His daughter didn't even flinch.

If it weren't for the recorded and posted video (the vid is very triggering i really recommend not watching it), we wouldn't know about this incident. Heck there are many incidents of police brutality in the Philippines especially in regards to protestors but most go under the radar because of lack of documentation or because the government and police department is just so freaking good at sweeping these cases under the rug. This is why I humbly ask you guys to spread the news like wildfire because THE VIOLENCE-PLAGUED SYSTEM OF THE GOVERNMENT AND OUR POLICE AND MILITARY FORCES NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. News in the Philippines doesn't reach international media often but now we really need it to because with every passing day, our dictator-of-a-president Rodrigo Duterte turns this country into a hellscape, normalizing death and violence to such a degree that almost every day you can find Philippine headlines about the deaths of Filipinos either by the hands of government incompetence or police brutality or both. If you guys want to learn more or if you guys want to help I suggest looking up the hashtags #StopTheKillingsPH and #PULISANGTERORISTA on twitter. Spreading the news would also be very much appreciated.

My country is currently not a safe place for one to live in and every day our people walk a tightrope in the efforts to somehow survive the COVID-19 pandemic and the brutality and incompetence of our government. We desperately need all the help that we can get.

#so ummmm yeah check out the hashtags #StopTheKillingsPH #PULISANGTERORISTA #we arent really a first world country so news about the happenings here arent really well known #which sucks because its a literal hellscape here #we need the help #philippines #philippines stuff #oustduterte #oustduterte2020 #tw// shooting #tw// death

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vixenpen · 3 years

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Can you please do another au where the reader is in bad girls club!! I just read your Bakugo one and omfg the serotonin legend I got from it was unreal!!! Could you do sero or denki? Love your writing btw❤️

Kaminari x Badgirl Club Reader

You started out as Kaminari’s favorite YouTube personality.

He loved your wild humor, comedy skits, and even your makeup tutorials and get ready with me vids

⚡️“Guys! Y/n just dropped a new video!”

💥 Who cares? Why the hell are you watching a makeup tutorial anyway? It’s not like you’re gonna need it

⚡️Ok, first of all: you never know when you’ll need a skill, second; y/n can make anything interesting. Even makeup.

Yes, Denki’s been bragging on you since before he even met you. So much so, that he eventually gets Mina and Sero on board to watch

When they fall in love with your fun personality and cool content too, Denki is SO smug:

Eventually everyone gets on board. Even Bakugo’s cranky ass gets a chuckle or two out of your videos

So when you drop the announcement that you’re going to be on the Bad Girl’s Club, your #1 fan is holding a one man parade on social media

He goes live on Twitter to gush and congratulate you. Claiming he’s going to be having live watch parties of the entire season just to see you

He’s so cute and excited that his live catches your attention. You tweet him; thanking him for his support and asking for his YouTube channel

Honey when Kaminari sees your re-tweet his mind is:

Honey, he passes out. But not before gushing on the retweet where he drops the link and screen shotting the moment

True to his word, Denki streams every episode and live reacts. Half Your audience has subscribed to him and his reaction vids are almost as popular as your appearance on BGC

⚡️Do y’all see how they’re hating on my baby? 😠Y/n deserves better! How can anyone have beef with y/n she’s perfect! 😩Just walk away y/n, that chick isn’t worth it! Alright guys, remember to vote for our favorite, y/n, so she can stay in the house!🤩

The man is a one man hype machine!

Even you think his bubbly personality is adorable. You find yourself watching his lives and laughing along with him

Eventually, you slide into his DMs

Denki passes away when he sees your name.

He’s convinced it’s a troll

He literally let the message sit for a week because somehow, he thought the username that took him directly to your verified page was fake🙄 (look we all know baby boy ain’t the brightest bulb in the box)

⚡️y/n....is this rly u?

You: I wondered when ur goofy ass was gonna reply 😏

Holy shit it was you!!!!

Denki’s fingers are trembling through the whole convo. He’s trying his hardest to be cool and not freak out, but it’s hard

You guys do start talking and flirting subtly every couple weeks and eventually he starts to relax. You’re really cool and sweet and just a normal person.

Then 2 weeks turns to every week and every week turns into every other day

Eventually, it begins to come across on camera that y/n is sneaking off to make phone calls often and smiling at her phone

The entire Internet starts speculating that you and Denki are a thing, but surprisingly,’the two chattyist people on the planet manage to keep it a secret for a while

That is until the girls take a trip to Japan for a special episode

You: Pikaboo 🥺🥺 I wanna see you

⚡️ I wanna see you too Boopie! 😍😍 can you sneak off set?

You: I’ll make it work

When you let him know that you’ve touch down in Japan, Denki is practically bursting at the seams. The whole squad is giving him weird looks, but he could care less.

He picks you up from the house in a blacked out sports car and the two of you start making out immediately. Got baby boy like:

Baby is just: 😩😍😩😍😩😍 the whole time. Lord have mercy this man loves him some you

He takes you to some cool, secluded spots in Tokyo and just gazes at how your face lights up at everything

You guys go to different food stands, shopping, karaoke, discreet little bars. You name it, he takes you, and he has the means to do it with his hero money

By the time Denki drops you back off, the sun is coming up, but at least you two managed to have some discreet fun with out getting caught

Or so y’all think

Then next morning fuzzy cellphone pics of the two of you club hopping, partying and making out are all over Twitter the top trending post and your collective fans are BUZZING honey!

Denki’s line is blowing up from the squad calling him, his follower count is climbing, live streams popping, the BGC audience has practically doubled, and poor y/n ain’t getting no peace in the house now that everyone knows she’s connected to a hot, rich, foreign hero

⚡️So much for keeping it a secret

You: 😂 we tried so hard!

Eventually, you two are forced to go public with your relationship, but the internet eats it UP!

Both your brands get a popularity boost

Y/n is invincible in the house, pretty much guaranteed to win and Denki has a new side career as a social media celeb

The two of you are perfect together. Bombing each other’s live streams to flirt, crack jokes and answer fan questions.

Your subscribers are WELL fed on content, and when you finally do win BGC, the first thing you do is fly out to Japan to celebrate with your man.

#my hero academia #bnha imagines #bnha scenarios #my hero fanfic #bnha #bnha headcanons #kaminari x y/n #mha headcanons #denki kaminari #denki headcanons #kaminari x black reader #kaminari x you #bad girls club #fun headcanons #i really enjoyed making this #kaminari headcanons #chargebolt

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saikikissuo · 3 years

Note

For the model Saimami and Oumota au, do it. Do it you coward. Feed me with headcanons and I will slurp them.

smirks and rubs hands together

for oumota, kokichi is actually a semi-popular streamer who plays genshin and minecraft a lot

he’s popular because he’s deceitful as fuck on minecraft and he’s insanely good at genshin

electro user kokichi..thoughts

but anyways kokichi used to never do facecam but soon enough he started to warm up to the idea and later, he began to do facecam when he was comfortable :)

kokichi lives alone, his fans are aware of this ( thanks to a q&a )

but every now and then his chat would hear some shuffling around in the background and doors shutting and they’d be like Wtf

kokichi is like yeah my apartment is actually haunted

everyone just kinda brushes it off

until One day.

kokichi is playing genshin or whatever and his facecam is placed to where the door of his bedroom is visible

they’re chilling honestly. just vibing

all of a sudden the bedroom door opens and in steps this TALL DARK AND HANDSOME MAN

chat loses their shit because WHOOO??!?:?$:)3?

he’s stepping in to ask kokichi where his hair gel is. because he stole it of course

kokichi kinda regrets it because then he’s gotta play this off with his chat

it wouldn’t be THAT bad if the mysterious tall dark and handsome man didn’t go “thanks, babe!” before walking out

kokichi is sick and tired.

when he turns back to look at the chat they’re all going bonkers

you could really only see his legs and his chest, but it was still a stark contrast to kokichi nonetheless

kokichi almost blushed on stream. almost

“yeah guys that was uh. that was the ghost”

“..why did he call me babe? the ghost and i have a very intimate relationship that’s why”

later on twitter he reveals that yes, the ghost is in fact his boyfriend

and that just made everything ten thousand times more chaotic

“KOKICHI’S BOYFRIEND IS KAITO?? THE MAGAZINE COVER MODEL????”

“yeah poggers isn’t it”

kaito makes appearances on his stream and it’s so cute because he sucks ass at genshin but finds every discovery on minecraft amazing

“KICHI LOOK THE DOG IS FOLLOWING ME AROUND”

[ while killing creepers around their house ] “yeah, they do that kaito”

and now....saimami....

saimami have a slightly different story

rantaro games sometimes but he’s also just kind of a lifestyle youtuber

his channel is very diverse

he does fashion reviews, travel vlogs, and gameplays!

his travel vlogs used to include just himself, but for a while he settled down in japan because he was Tired so it’s been gameplays and fashion vids from there on out

he met kokichi that way, actually

anyways, before he officially settled down in japan he would make travel vlogs on visiting the sights and all that good shit

but after a while..there would be a special guest who would always hide his face when the camera was on him

they called him rantaro’s goth bf and he would always blush and say that they “weren’t wrong that he might be a little goth, but we’ll see”

rantaro would often play video games with his friends and on streams, he would pause for a moment to look off to the side and speak super softly

everyone thought it was so cute..like they’d never heard rantaro do that before until then and it would appear in rantaro compilations on youtube HAHAH

that’s how people ended up thinking he had a partner though, because sometimes he would just look away from the stream to mumble goodnight or to say bye

later on, he finally made it public that he did in fact have a partner!!

they had recently moved in together and thought it was only appropriate to tell the Fans

he had a boyfriend who said he was a little nervous being on camera so he would just. stick his hand in front and wave sometimes

“his name is shuichi, but save all the cute nicknames for me. he won’t be joining us that much”

“give me all the cute nicknames and call rantaro ugly ones he deserves it cause he ate the yogurt i left in the fridge”

he’d say hi and start little banter with rantaro on occasion but that’s kinda all they got

until...One Day

on stream rantaro was going over some recent purchases, showing off some new clothes and bla bla

what’s new though was that he said he had a new model to help him show off the clothes

he called shuichi in and turned the camera to face him wearing one of the oversized jackets he got ( which looked absolutely precious on him mind you )

once again chat went BALLISTIC

because??? although he looked different they KNEW who that was

shuichi saihara, also known as one of the most-appearing models for top-quality suits and other formalwear for multiple brands

alongside kaito he was one of the more popular models you see on magazine covers

rantaro’s chat was going BONKERS

“WDYM SHUICHI IS RANTARO’S BOYFRIEND.....”

“pain.”

“are we surprised. rantaro is gorgeous”

“i have seen two pretty boyfriends”

so on and so forth.

shuichi noticed all of the comments and laughed a little bit

mainly because he felt a little nervous but rantaro just told him it was okay

“this basically means they like you”

“oh..well..i’m glad. :)”

chat explodes with little heart emojis and kissy faces

everyone is in love with shuichi saihara. everyone

not to mention that he and kaito often appeared together

plus rantaro and kokichi would stream together sometimes???

everyone gets psyched whenever they stream together and it is so cute

unlike oumota, rantaro doesn’t intentionally fuck up shuichi’s vibe when he’s teaching him how to play a game

like genshin, for example

funny thing is, i think shuichi would immediately have better luck and would be way better at rantaro at some games almost instantly

“okay shuichi so to get all of them at the same time y-“

[ all of them are dead by the time he finished the sentence ] “don’t worry i’ve got it”

rantaro..is strangely endeared by that

i like to think that people often tweet at kaito and r like “when are we getting a photoshoot with you and kokichi!!”

and kaito is like “kokichi will step on my toes mid shoot and i will cry. i’ve given specific instructions to not let that man anywhere near our photoshoot locations”

both couples have their own kinds of photoshoots anyways

oumota takes photos of their vacations, going out to meet up with rantaro and shuichi during the summer time

shuichi takes photos of he and rantaro together while they’re baking and the final results

shuichi is not good at baking. rantaro is.

either way..oumota and saimami in this au are friends and they are BEST friends. no further comment!

#danganronpa #ndrv3 #shuichi saihara #kaito momota #rantaro amami #kokichi ouma #saimami #oumota #danganronpa headcanons #asks #model / streamer au

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inevitably-johnlocked · 3 years

Text

The Video

Alrighty, so as promised, I listened-slash-watched-slash-backtracked the video over making and eating dinner, with a break in between to take a phone call from my sister, so I may have missed and misunderstood/misheard a few things and may need another rewatch to fix any presumptions I make in this mini (?)-review.

Two things I do need to correct from my last post:

One is that I actually was sent the video to pre-watch before it was posted; I found it in my emails two days later but because I was swamped with day job stuff (as in I was working until 11 PM both days, and I didn’t even sit down until 4 on Saturday), and my fandom email is NOT a primary address so it’s not hooked up to my main Mail server on my MacBook (limited space), I hadn’t checked my emails since Thursday afternoon. So yeah, technically I should’ve known it was out, so apologies: technically I knew it was coming out; my sorry arse just didn’t check my emails.

Second, is that meta I did send her did get referenced and used; some of it word for word (like the discussion about the difference between Johnlockers and TJLC) so meta was read, my bad on assuming it wasn’t before watching.

C’est ça on that front.

A few things that ruffled my feathers and maybe I misheard, but I’ll mention them as I remember it:

I did find it slightly bothersome that the assumption was that Johnlockers that we were a bunch of teenagers (we weren’t – most of the people I talked to were in their 20′s and 30′s and many were academics of varying sorts). SZ was younger than many of us in our little corner of the fandom, I think, and it was filled with amazing meta and university-level papers on queer history, ACD canon history, subtextual writing and literature. EDIT: I did skim back over to a bit of the beginning since I missed it over making dinner, and I guess a lot of the people who contacted SZ were teens at the time of the airdate, so again, my little bubble and all that and apologies for assuming. :P

This is a totally biased view and probably indicative of how deep down the rabbit hole I was: A bit annoyed at the implication in our belief that Mofftiss weren’t trying to deliberately imply the Gay Sherlock / BiJohn thing especially paying special attention to it during Q&As and meet and greets and interviews; That the cues weren’t there. Though she did point out the queerbaiting aspect of it. I don’t know. Maybe I misunderstood since I was stuffing my gob with pasta and wishing I had a cheesecake.

I think SZ should’ve worded her Twitter callout post a LOT better, because the cons were only mentioned for about 10 minutes, and in only in relation to the drama. She did praise the cons as a positive experience for people, so I’ll give her that.

The Twitter stuff pre-vid-posting still rubs me the wrong way.

Still feel that selling the shirts is tasteless. Mug is cute, though.

Things I did find interesting / good / stuff I didn’t know:

I know I’m a minority in this regard, especially since I am a fence sitter, but I feel... relieved? sorry I can’t think of the word... that SZ essentially did accuse Mofftiss of queerbaiting by the end of it – that it’s not just us who see it. I’ve always said without an S5, it IS queerbaiting, and given that S5 probably won’t happen anytime soon... well. Like I’ve said in the past, I hold out a glimmer of hope. Not holding my breath though.

The mentions of some of the fandom theories and speculations were done tastefully, light jesting but not mocking them.

The discussion section about AA / Mary... Yikes. I forgot it got THAT bad.... I guess because I was always in the “Mary’s a kickass villain” camp so I was blissfully ignorant about that stuff until a few years later.

The ace stuff, 100% true, and I’m glad it was brought up.

The term “Ragnalock” got a chuckle out of me, will admit that. First time I’ve heard of it.

I had no idea the ARG theory was anything more than thelostspecial website. Somehow I missed that whole thing about it being part of the series itself.

And, a lot of things, in hindsight: just an overall, “yeah. :|”

And some additional notes I can’t really classify one way or another:

Cringing at MYSELF because of some of the post-S4 theories that, looking back: oof. Apple Tree Yard specifically.

AND cringing at myself because I know I perpetuated a lot of the “IT WILL HAPPEN” in my corner of the fandom pre-S4 because I wanted people to be excited for a new season. For that I am very sorry to everyone who were hurt by my belief. S4 was a brick wall and I hit it hard, thought I do enjoy theorizing about how fake it was. It’s the only way to cope for me, LOL.

Ooof the drama stuff, a lot of it I didn’t know the entire deets about, only about the PPG being involved. I tried to stay out of it when I could and focused mainly on meta writing, my own healing processes, and making people feel welcome. It’s what a few bigger bloggers did for me when I joined by interacting with my posts and offering their kindness, and I wanted to return the favour. Inevitable it had to be covered, but yeah, dark times.

LOOOOOOOL the critique about TFP. Literally stuff that we’ve talked about in our “something’s fucky” tag.

And to address the elephant in the room: Yes, I DID give SZ meta, but it was the link to fandom meta that is essentially on the header of my blog on desktop, just as I do with anyone interested in the fandom.

Overall, it was a thought provoking vid, a bit of a nostalgia hit to be honest. I thought that it was a good video, interesting in that strange way where you relive strange moments of your past. I feel it was a fair analysis of the fandom, but please, please remember: I can’t speak for those directly involved in the events mentioned, because I WAS NOT THERE. Not my place to disregard their feelings if they have a different opinion than I.

That said, I think it’s worth a watch if only to see what the fandom WAS. But it’s informative and respectful, I think. Though, I think she could’ve left out the bit at the end just before the credits.

And finally: to anyone who are coming here from the vid: I have been here since S3, joined because of LSiT, and later I wrote villain Mary meta and TAB meta. These days, I primarily have focussed my attentions on curating content, offering my advice on stuff, introducing newbies to the series, and trying to spread positivity, all peppered in with the random theory from time to time, and trying to atone for my... “enthusiasm”?... in the past. I like promoting community and open discussion from all viewpoints, as long as it remains respectful. So yeah, I do have some meta you can check out, just let me know what you’re looking for, and I do lots of fic recs, so if you’re looking for something, hit me up.

Cheers, all. I’m going to bed.

#my thoughts #sarah z #johnlock videos #reviews

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templeofshame · 2 years

Note

Idk why I’m saying this to you, I just usually like your takes on this kind of stuff, so I’m going to ramble for a second.

I’ve been seeing a few people mentioning that this new video phil did for google, specifically the parts where he’s playfully snuggling up to his co host, made them really uncomfortable, and I… don’t see why. It’s a video. It’s a professional setting, it was all in good fun, so what’s the problem? Is it just because it’s not Dan? Would it be less uncomfortable to see phil snuggling up to Dan? Is it just general homophobia? I don’t get it. Not to mention that most of the people I’ve seen being uncomfortable with it are totally fine with Dan making horny jokes on Twitter. Why is it okay for Dan to go online and talk about wanting a daddy to beat him up or whatever, but phil even jokingly leaning on a man crosses some sort of line? Phannies are weird.

End ramble, thank you for your time

I don't know what you're seeing, but the only thing I've seen is the but-what-about-Dan discomfort (not that there can't be homophobia in the phandom, but I haven't seen any on this topic), in a way that I see very similarly when Dan makes jokes about looking for casual sex. I honestly barely noticed anything cuddly in the vid (I just noticed the head-on-shoulder bit) because the vid did not attract much of my attention, but the responses I've seen have been what I would predict. Obviously there's a lot of variation within a fandom of this size, but a lot of us are here at least partially because of the appeal of D&P's relationship and chemistry, and especially now that they've acknowledged that, seeing them joke-flirt/pretend to be single/etc. is likely to set off some not totally happy sensors in our brains. (Obviously there are some people who panic like D&P must have broken up every time something like this happens, but I honestly don’t see that in my corner and I’m very much not that.)

For me, it's a giant eyeroll. It just feels forced and awkward and I don't really get why they still do it (I know it's at least part about different audiences, but we're there for all of it and there's whiplash there). To me it seems extra weird how Dan doesn't get mentioned in these very performative Google-promotes-boring-stuff videos and in Phil's other content, he tends toward bringing Dan into things where he kinda isn't even that relevant and without explanation. (It's forced in both directions in this one, with the thing of Harold being overly complimentary about watching Phil's stuff all the time, but then he's unfamiliar with the word "yeet" and also with the fact that Phil doesn't upload very often in terms of Youtuber norms.)

Fwiw I am definitely team they're grownass men who can do what they want with their brands, and Dan's hookup jokes are more annoying because they're more played out, but I generally find any humor that leans on any level of pretending like they're not in a committed relationship just feels really fake and kinda reminds me of closeted times in a way I don't enjoy.

#tw negativity?#besides the discomfort of it feeling awkward and fake #i think the discomfort should probably come from a covid place #of like probably they're both vaccinated but do we need to get in the personal bubbles of people we don't really know #and know their level of exposure or caution

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shlbigbang · 3 years

Text

FAQ

Who are the mods?

The mods are symphorine (@symph0rine on tumblr and twitter, symphorine on AO3), shards (@shards-of-divinity on tumblr and AO3), kep (@huldraism on twitter, drifloon on AO3) and vesh (@dryadfangs on twitter, decidueye on AO3)

Is this only for the show?

No! We realise the name might be misleading, but this is for people who have seen the show, read the book, or both! You don’t even have to have seen/read it all, but in that case, beware of spoilers.

Is this only for certain pairings?

No! As long as what you want to write about is within the rules, you’re good! You don’t have to write a pairing, either. Gen fics, with or without background ships, are absolutely welcome!

What is the minimum wordcount for fics?

The minimum wordcount is 8k words. There is no wordcount cap; you can write as much as you want!

What kind of art can artists participate with?

Drawings (both digital and traditional), fanvid, and gifsets/manip set are all accepted! They will have different requirements.

What are the art requirements?

For drawings: at least one finished piece, according to what you'd consider fully finished in your style, and a second piece that can be less finished (i.e. maybe you don't add a background or shading) For fanvids: a video at least 30 seconds long. For manips/gifsets: at least one 8 gifs gifset, or two manips, or a mix (for example, 4 gifs gifset and 1 manip). Of course, if you feel particularly inspired by a fic, feel free to do more if you want!

If I am a writer and already have a beta, do they have to sign up as well and claim my fic, or can they stay “exterior” to the event?

They should sign up as well, and you should both contact us to let us know you’ll work together! Your fic then will be marked as already claimed by your beta during the claiming rounds. This is mostly so we can keep track of who’s involved, and have a way of contacting your beta for check-ins and in case of problems. This also means they will get an invite to our discord if they’d like to join it!

Will this bang be allowing NSFW or dead dove content?

We will be allowing NSFW (as long as it isn’t about the minor characters, i.e. Chengling and any kids), but not dead dove content that exceeds canon typical stuff.

For example, there are torture scenes in both the show and the book, so it’s okay to include equivalents in fics or art, but if you were planning on writing 8k of only detailed torture, then that wouldn’t be allowed. If in doubt during the event, you can always ask a mod if what you’re thinking of would be allowed or not!

Do writers get to choose what kind of content they do/do not want for their fic? (Like yes to drawings and no to vids, for example?)

No, writers will not get to choose what kind of art they will get. That’s in the interest of fairness, but also so no participating artist gets left out! Of course, as a writer, you can still discuss with your artist what they’re intending to make, but they will have the final say on that.

Can we participate as an artist and writer team that is predetermined?

No, sorry, artists and writers cannot form a predetermined team. It kind of would go against the idea of the event, the forming of the team and working with new people is most of its purpose. Of course it would be easy to “cheat”, but we are trusting participants to not do that!

Can I sign up as writer and artist?

Yes, you can! We will have a separate signup form for writers, artists, betas, and pinch hitters, so you’ll just have to submit both a writer and an artist form!

I want to write an AU, a friend who is very familiar with the AU setting is already helping me brainstorm and would be up to sign up to beta it but they haven’t watched SHL. Could I still have my fic up to be claimed by someone actually familiar with the characters?

Yes! Although this is a bit of an edge case, nothing is technically preventing you from having several betas; we simply want everybody to have at least one, which is why we are providing one through the event. In this particular case, we would still like your friend to sign up so they can give us ways to contact them, and for you both to then contact the mods to let them know. If they are unfamiliar with SHL, though, they should tell us, and will not participate in claims. You will also be quite low priority if we end up lacking betas (in which case one of the mods will probably pick up your story for beta reading).

Are there options to go forth with if I am not comfortable working with my beta?

Yes! If you aren’t comfortable working with your beta (or if as a beta you are not comfortable working with one of your writers), contact the mods and we will arrange for you to get a new beta (or if you are a beta, we will arrange for somebody else to take your place).

How fully made will the fics be when artists claim them?

You will claim fics based on summary and/or outline, as well as AO3-style tags that would apply. Tags will indicate pairings, main characters and tropes, so you will have a general idea of the focus of the fics! We might also indicate the writer’s rough estimation of their final wordcount, but you will not know how far along each writer is in writing their fic.

If I already have an idea for a fic and I would like to “claim” that idea, would that be possible? Or are you guys okay with accepting multiple entries of the same premise?

We are not regulating fic premises! You don’t need to claim your idea or make sure nobody else is doing anything similar before you write it. Technically, if everybody wanted to write a fluffy coffee shop AU, then everybody would be free to write that. The “claiming” part is only for artists and betas to say which fics they’ll work with.

If we are not comfortable working with minors, is there any way for us to know in the claiming process?

We do not have a particular system for this. A safe bet, if you’re claiming fics, would be to claim NSFW works, as we did establish that people should be 18+ if they want to depict NSFW. If you’re a writer, you can always message us and say that you do not want your fic to be claimed by a minor, and we will add that as a note during claimings.

As always, though, if after claims you find that you do not work well with the people who claimed your fic/whose fic you claimed, you can always message the mods to try to arrange something.

Do you have contacts for any sensitivity readers in addition to betas who may sign up? It’s my first Chinese fandom so i want to ensure i get someone(s) to look over it from a culture perspective.

Unfortunately, no, we don’t have any particular sensitivity readers contacts. You may try to find somebody to do that by yourself (in which case, good luck!). You can also look around for resources, I have seen a few threads and links pop up recently. Finally, you can also look for a beta who would be able to do sensitivity reading as well. It’s not guaranteed that someone who can do that will sign up as a beta for the event, but we can put it as a note during claims so betas can see it and claim accordingly!

Other than that, your best bet would be, I think, to ask on the BB Discord server if anyone can do sensitivity reading/knows someone who can.

Can ongoing works in AO3 be submitted?

No, ongoing works can't be submitted. We would like writers to submit something that hasn't been published yet; a wip, or even a complete fic, started before your signup time is fine, as long it hasn't been published elsewhere. Of course, a new fic is fine as well.

With everything going on currently, is the schedule going to remain the same for now?

It will stay the same for now, yes. However, since our next check in is next week, we will reevaluate the schedule after people have checked in, and might modify/extend it depending on people’s answers.

However, regardless of whether we make changes to the schedule or not, you can still ask for extensions or any other arrangement or help you need! That’s what we mods are here for.

#faq #just trying to set up links for mobile users dont mind me

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freegrain · 4 years

Text

Things We Can Do to Support Fiona and #BlackLivesMatter

Hey, so I decided to make a post on things we can do to deal with racism and support #BlackLivesMatter within the fandom 💜 A lot may be obvious but it's just a simple guide to things to help. Also be noted, I am not black but I am a person of colour. (ik it's a long post, I'm on mobile so I'll stick a keep reading in when I can, sorry!)

1. Check Yourself

The thing to remember that we are not infallible. We are human, we can mistakes and say things that are hurtful without meaning to. Acknowledge this. If someone calls you out, thank them and try not to make the same mistake in the future. Depending on your upbringing, your experiences, the people around you, you may support BLM wholeheartedly but pick up microaggressions, say words that you shouldn’t, think ‘jokes’ are funny when they’re not. But as long as you learn, it means you are trying.

2. Friends Shouldn’t Be Defensive

The second place we look is at the people we surround ourselves in in fandom. If you see someone doing something racist; be it through art, fanfiction, how they refer to people, shoot them a message explaining why you think what they're doing is wrong. Most people would unaware and would be glad to know. However, if they get defensive and insist they're not racist, perhaps stop and think about how important this person is to you. And if you find yourself getting defensive, please look again and try see it from their perspective!

3. YouTube

Ah, the big one. As AH's content is based off YouTube this is where we can do the most! Fiona has already mentioned that she knows videos with her in them get less views, get more dislikes, get more hate comments. So things we can do include:

1. Watching videos

See Fiona in a vid that you weren't going to watch? Maybe put it playing in the background, or put headphones in if it's distracting. Your view counts! All of ours do!

2. Reporting hate comments

Hate Speech is illegal on YouTube. If you see any comments, report them with either hate speech or harassment/bullying (although, I'm not sure how well YouTube handles this but it's better than nothing). I won't encourage you to engage with these commenters but if you do, be aware that people who openly hate are usually quite set in their opinions.

3. Overwhelm the hate with love

We know that AH doesn't read all the comments because how could they? However, if they were to read them, they'd see the top comments first. This is why it's important to comment nice things, like other positive comments and dislike negative ones. Also like the video! Trevor has said many times that with the new algorithm, likes impact how a video is recommended and viewed.

There is also roosterteeth.com. I personally don't use the site but I assume much is the same!

4. Social Media

Both our own and theirs! Let your voice be heard! Leave supportive comments on their Twitter and Instagram. Also, some AH members have been doing personal fund raisers so check them out if you see them.

Social media also includes the content we as fans create! Be it fanart, moodboards, fanfiction, show your support to Fiona and the others 💜 I've seen people talk of a Fiona Week (like a ship week but for celebrating what a wonderful person she is) but nothing has come of that as of yet. (If no one picks it up 👀 I'll see how busy I am). In general be supportive!

5. Fanmail

This one would have been easier if they were in their office and we all know how AH are with packages. But better late than never! If you can, send letters or gifts in to let Fiona know she's loved from the community. Also, from the AHWUs, they've mentioned that Fiona is usually the one to drop by the office to collect packages for everyone so if it's addressed to her, she'll probably get it.

6. Also!

Here's a link to a petition micooll made to let Fiona know how much the community loves her. You can sign or leave a comment, I just thought it was a cute idea!

And that's what I could think of 👉👈 of course, there are probably other ways so feel free to add on.

As always, sign petitions, donate, spread posrs, educate yourself. This was for internal fandom stuff but there's other things we can do to support #BlackLivesMatter

#achievement hunter #Rooster Teeth #black lives matter #fiona nova #long post

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side-effect-of-the-meds · 4 years

Note

PLEASE write about Andrew & Jean being chaotic and bitter bffs on the same team the power they would have the intimidation level the fashionable goth energy,,, w ow also I want Andrew to learn French so badly which we all know he would if Jean started insulting him in French

IT WON’T BE UP ANY TIME SOON but I’m writing a fic about Andrew visiting Renee’s for winter break in his final year of college in which he’s forced to spend the week sharing a space with Jean.

Over the course of said week, they form a tentative alliance that’s essentially that We’re Not So Different You And I bit by John Mulaney

Anyway, that’s like mid-way through Andrew’s fourth year. They don’t speak again until a little before Andrew’s graduation. The Foxes have just won the Championships they made it to finals last year and lost the last game :’( and so they’re having a party. Andrew needed some air so he stepped outside and, a little while later, he hears footsteps on the porch behind him. Jean sits down, leaving some space between the two of them so as not to crowd Andrew, and just sort of slides a piece of paper over. Andrew keeps up his cool guy facade for a while, assuming Jean will break first. He does.

“Would you just look at it?” Jean snarled. Andrew flicked him a cool look before, picking up the paper painstakingly slowly. He held it up to his own face, not bothering to actually read it. “Illiterate too, I see.” Andrew could barely keep the scowl off his face. He squinted at the stack of papers he picked up.

“Why?” he asked.

“Our goalkeep is, how you say? A piece of shit.”

“You’re giving him more credit than he deserves,” Andrew cut in, his lips curling in a sneer.

“I’m getting tired of being the last line of defense. It’s hard not having anyone to watch your back,” Jean said, shooting a meaningful look at Andrew. He elected to ignore it in favor of taking another drag of his cigarette. Jean muttered something that sounded like a curse before standing up and disappearing back into Abby’s house.

A month later, Jean stepped out of his apartment wondering which horrid little monsters the Cardinals had signed now. Turning towards the stairs, he found his answer waiting for him.

“There’s no point in both of us driving down there. You make breakfast and I’ll drive,” the gremlin said. It wasn’t an offer or even a demand. He said it as though he were stating a fact.

“The arrogance of Americans never fails to amaze me,” Jean shot back.

“You’ve got dual citizenship, Frenchie. I’m sorry to say it, but that makes you one of us.” With that, the little monster turned on his heel and headed down the stairs. Jean muttered a steady stream of curses as he followed Andrew out to the Maserati

Having Andrew on his team is literally the worst. All he ever does is laze around. Sometimes, he’ll just lay down in the middle of the goal and stare at the ceiling. Jean gets a lot of shit for it bc he’s the one that recommended him for the line. It’s the day of their first game and tensions are high at practice when Jean loses his temper. He picks up an exy ball and hurls it at Andrew. Without even looking up, Andrew catches it with one hand. He stands slowly and throws it back so fast that Jean doesn’t have time to react. The ball wedges itself into the grate of his helmet, the force of it knocking him off his feet. Everyone assumes that Andrew isn’t going to play that night or will just be his asshole self but, when Jean finds himself struggling to hold the line, Andrew gets sent out and he’s an absolute monster in the goal. Every shot that comes his way gets deflected all the way down the court. The last goal of the night is made in the final seven seconds when Andrew slams a shot all the way down the court into the opposing goal. It lights up red and the crowd loses their shit. Exhausted, Jean collapses on the floor.

“It’s hard not having anyone to have your back,” Andrew said as he passed by. By the time Jean found his voice, Andrew was already gone. Catching a ride home with one of the strikers, Jean felt a tightness in his chest. Andrew was an annoyingly lazy little bastard but Jean should have trusted him.

Jean doesn’t know how to apologize. Words are wasted on the likes of Andrew so he says nothing. He wakes early to make breakfast the next morning and says a silent prayer. Andrew is never late to anything but, when 6:30 rolls around and he isn’t there Jean’s heart plummets. He leaves the plate out on the counter while he eats. The ticking of the clock is deafeningly loud. At 6:47 there’s a knock at the door and Jean nearly faceplants in his hurry to answer it.

“Your food’s gone cold,” Jean blurted out. Andrew turned a glare on him but said nothing as he shouldered his way into the apartment. Dark circles rimmed his eyes. His shoulders sagged, weighed down by exhaustion. There was no way he’d gotten a wink of sleep last night.

“Moreau,” a voice said from the door. Jean whipped around to see Matt Boyd standing at the door. How he’d missed such a tall person standing in his doorway, Jean didn’t know. “Mind if I come in?” Jean stepped aside and Matt moved in.

“Are you hungry?” Jean asked, haltingly. Boyd was the starting backliner for the Virginia Cavaliers, a whole state over. What the hell was he doing here?

“I could eat,” Matt said brightly. He grabbed hold of a chair and dragged it over to where Andrew sat.

“Not out of my plate,” Andrew snapped when Matt made to steal his eggs. Jean made his way to the kitchen to fix a third plate. From the dining room he could hear Andrew’s voice and Boyd’s laughter. Handing the plate over to him, Jean took his seat at the far end of the table. For the next quarter of an hour, Boyd rambled on about something or the other. If you asked Jean what he’d talked about, he wouldn’t have been able to say. He was far too absorbed in watching Andrew.

The usual tension that pervaded his form had fallen away. Despite the obvious lack of sleep, Andrew seemed far more relaxed than usual. Every now and again, Jean saw his lips twitch up into the barest hint of a smile. From what he’d heard, Andrew had never had a good relationship with any of his teammates save Josten. But that made sense. Neil was his lover. What was it about Boyd that softened him so much?

As soon as breakfast was finished and the plates cleaned, Jean disappeared back into his room to grab his phone. By the time he’d returned, both Andrew and Boyd were gone from the dining room. Jean found the pair blocking the open door. He stopped short when he heard Boyd’s voice.

“I’ve missed you so much, Andy.” His words shook Jean to his core.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked quietly. Jean watched in stunned silence as Matt leaned down, mumbling yes a hair’s breadth away from Andrew’s lips. The second the word left his mouth, Andrew closed the distance between them. A soft moan slipped from Boyd’s lips and Jean watched in horror as he tangled his hands in Andrew’s hair. “Stop staring, Moreau,” Andrew said as he broke the kiss.

“I thought that you and Josten-”

“We are,” Andrew cut in dismissively. “Matt is too.”

“Oh,” was all Jean could think to say. Back at the Nest, there had been no exclusive relationships. While most relationships in the real world weren’t like that, Jean had heard there were still a few. Boyd said his goodbyes before heading down the hall to the back stairwell. Andrew started off in the other direction. Jean had to run after him once he’d locked the door. Neither of them spoke in the car. They never did but there was a weight to the silence now that Jean didn’t know what to do about. A thousand small talk topics flitted through his head but he knew Andrew wouldn’t appreciate any of it so he kept his mouth shut, contenting himself to stare out the window.

Jean is ready to run by the time that they pull up at the court but he doesn't. He needs to prove that he’s going to have Andrew’s back so he stays with him.

It’s kind of awkward for a while. Andrew doesn’t like having Jean towering over him from behind bc it makes him feel vulnerable so he’s always really tense.

The turning point in their relationship is when a striker from another team tries to start a twitter feud with Andrew. He gets asked about it in an interview and the interviewer pulls a Kathy Ferdinand and reveals that the striker is backstage. Jean is sitting with Andrew for the interview and when they try to start shit live on air, Jean snaps. He cuts the striker a new one, roasting them within an inch of their life and the interview is forced to end bc the striker throws a punch. Andrew steps in front of Jean, catching the punch with ease and judo flipping them.

Neither of them really acknowledge that it happened but, when Andrew comes to breakfast the following Monday, he brings a loaf of sweet bread that he baked over the weekend.

Things kind of settle after that. Sometimes Andrew leaves recipes for foods he wants and Jean starts filling their silences with something other than the news. He complains about Americans and moons over Jeremy and starts teaching Andrew French too.

Jean has his own tiktok and most of his vids are of himself cooking and have Andrew reacting at the end but there’s a few subsections tho. One of them is Andrew and Jean and their baking escapades. It’s always super messy. Another is their ‘date nights’. On the weekends, the two of them get a little extra dressed up and go out to sample new restaurants. They’re both massive foodies so they like to try new restaurants together. Andrew is a surprisingly picky eater and listening to him critic food is the most Jean has ever heard him speak. Platonic dates are actually incredibly nice n more ppl need to indulge in them.

The final subsection is fashion/makeup. Jean likes to do makeup bc… why not? Sometimes, he manages to convince Andrew to let him be his model and does some really interesting looks on Andrew. Those videos never see the light of day but it’s something they do and it’s very important to Andrew. There’s something very intimate about letting Jean touch his face for hours on end but it also kind of feels nice. Also he loves the way Neil and Matt fawn over him when he skypes them with his makeup done. The fashion videos, however, do go up. The two of them go to the mall p often and take turns styling each other. They do style challenges too where they’re both given the same horrible item (something like crocs or a really ugly sweater) and they have to make the other person look good in them.

They do little nice things for each other. When Neil has a game against Bluefield, Jean gets Andrew front row tickets for him and manages to convince Matt to come down too. Andrew learns how to make french pastries that he leaves on Jean’s counter pretty often bc it reminds him of home. He also gets Allison to help him pull some strings and arrange for Jean to spend Christmas break in France with Jeremy. Jean doesn’t cry but he does tear up a little bit.

Andrew is still a menace and you see that on his tiktok. He rigs ridiculous pranks like setting up a tripwire to dump glue and feather on him or wrapping all his stuff in plastic wrap.

#just a pipe dream #all for the game #the foxhole court #aftg #tfc #andrew minyard #all for the gay #andrew joseph minyard #neil josten #the foxes #matt boyd #mandreil #jean moreau #reveal to me your deepest desires

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razberryyum · 4 years

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More 2HA Live Action (Hao Yi Xing) Thoughts

(potential novel spoilers)

I’m still trying to resist the urge to repost leaked photos/videos since the paparazzi and fans taking them are actually disrupting production, so they're really not a a good thing to be encouraged, but damn, with each new image that gets leaked my resolve is being tested (and just in case it’s not obvious, the images above are from other shows the actors were in). The ones that kill me is of course when RanWan are shown side-by-side...the height difference is just too adorable!! I really wish Team HYX would release official stills or bts vids soon since that should discourage the hunger for these sneaked glimpses and I can FINALLY openly salivate over HYX without feeling guilty.

That being said, from what I've seen, RANWAN LOOKS SO DAMN GOOD. Luo Yunxi really is a dream-come-true Chu Wanning!! The more I see of him the more perfect he is. As expected, it's literally like Shizun coming to life!! He’s so beautiful, it’s unreal. Chen Feiyu is really handsome and physically-speaking he definitely is giving off strong Mo Ran/Taxian-jun vibes. I’m just waiting to see him in action to be completely sold. I'm at 70% now: I just need to hear him say "Shizun" and see how his Mo Ran looks at CWN to go to full 100%. If after all this they don’t have any chemistry, ngl, I’m gonna be pretty devastated. It’s like, how can two people who are so visually perfect for their roles NOT work out on screen? That would just be so beyond disappointing I don’t even want to think too much about that possibility lest I end up jinxing it.

The ladies look so awesome too. Chen Yao as Shimei looks beautiful and elegant, and Song Jiutong (actress Huang Yun Yun according to dramawiki) looks stunning. I’m still unsure about Xue Meng and probably will continue to feel that way until I see him in action. I can’t help it: the way I pictured Meng Meng is just really not what Zhou Qi is bringing to the table so I’m almost fascinated by that unexpected choice and I’m dying to see why they chose him. I look forward to apologizing to him for ever doubting his suitability.

I think we’ve seen the back of someone who could be Nangong Si...he just seems tall. That’s really the only impression I have of him right now. There’s strong indication that both little Mo Ran and Xia Sini has been casted (according to the two young actors’ weibos) but Team HYX oddly has still not made any official announcements on them yet. I’m just happy that baby Mo Ran and Xia Sini are a part of the show; these two little actors are going to have to shoulder some pretty dramatic scenes and since they’re already so adorable, if they are even remotely good actors, I have no doubt that they will be breaking our hearts into a million pieces.

I love all the ensembles everyone has been wearing, especially CWN and Mo Ran’s. They need to release a coffee table book with all the actors in their different outfits. I also hope that they will have Luo Yunxi and Chen Feiyu perform a duet as RanWan, a beautiful, heart-wrenching duet, in addition to individual character songs, much like The Untamed did. If Team HYX handles the show like Team CQL, then we 2HA fans can really finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Oh! Another leak that got my heart racing were the hints of Butterfly (Caidie) Town, since Butterfly Town means RanWan makeout session and WEDDING. Of course I’m not insane and think they’re gonna actually be able to keep the make-out scene in the show...there’s no way that would pass censorship unless there’s a HUGE policy change in China all of a sudden...but they definitely can keep the wedding part since it could be all played off as one big misunderstanding. LYX as CWN in red wedding robes? Holy crap, I might not survive that.

One last note, regarding the title “Hao Yi Xing”: I always thought it meant “Follow the White Robe” since the Chinese characters could be interpreted that way. I thought it was actually a really romantic title since I figured it was intended to represent Mo Ran’s obsession with Chu Wanning as he’s always following that person in white. But then a fellow fan offered an even better explanation of the Chinese title (@shizunwontons on Twitter):

The title seems even more beautiful now. How all that then translates to “Immortality”, which is the English title? Not really sure; but I just really appreciate the thought that Team HYX put into the Chinese title. I will take it as further indication that the show is indeed in good hands and continue to have faith.

#2HA #Hao Yi Xing #Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun #RanWan #Immortality live action #ErHA

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lickingyellowpaint · 3 years

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Alright, because at least one anon was curious, here are some thoughts based on, admittedly, a very brief foray into the world of sales. I'll speak only to what made my gut instinct do a confused puppy head-tilt, and obviously this is opinion, from someone on tumblr, and therefore not the end-all, be-all of advice on this...

Red Flags of Possible Scam Employers and/or Services

1) The first red flag was that the company threw me into the internal chats - chock full of pep and others' successes - before I was actually physically at work and able to understand their utility. Perhaps it’s easier from a tech perspective to fling new employees into every digital system at once. And sure, there was useful information and good insight into how the company uses those chats - lots of newbies asking questions and getting relevant good answers whilst on the floor, which IS nice - and if you're like me and unfamiliar with the tech or apps being used, it's great practice.

For the most part, though, two of the main chats were just hyping up their salespeople as they met their goals. I suspect they want you to see how much money everyone's making, how they're meeting their goals, and make you want to succeed similarly. There was already a little too much constant enthusiasm bouncing around the place for my goth ass, but hey, can't say the culture was negative! Still somewhat a nefarious psychological move, though, imho. The intent is likely to boast, dazzle, entice, overwhelm and make you envious enough to be competitive, as much as it is to inspire and inform. Just a guess.

2) The second red flag was similar in nature. In a lot of the e-meeting training sessions, there was a LOT of time spent on praising the success of those present in video meetings, a LOT of time spent on explaining the tier system of salespeople, the incentives, the commission system, cool trips you can earn... and I get that, to a degree, okay, you have a job, you wanna know how much money you can really make. Fine!

But if as much or more time is spent on those types of things than the actual training on what you need to learn to do the job... hm. Hm! I suspect more headgaming. (And no, this wasn't an MLM targeting suburban moms to employ and get all their friends onboard. This is a big company with good stock and trusted affiliates.) Anyway, this is about when my gut started to do that quiet hrrrr-uff dogs do when they wanna bark but aren't sure about it yet.

3) Language and words are key. Obviously, most people are sharp enough to know that phrases like "no out-of-pocket upfront cost" is a codeword for We Can't Legally Say It's Free But Want You To Feel Like It Is, and means there'll be payment involved at some point. It's one thing to know that, and quite another to parrot the phrase at an elderly potential customer, or one whose grasp of English isn't quite perfect. Could you, in good conscience, do that for a commission and feel good about it? Turns out I couldn't.

And that's not necessarily indicative of a scam company altogether - sales is sales, and sales language has probably been a little deceptive by nature for as long as it's been around. But could you do that for a paycheck, while being new to the job, thus not being entirely sure what it's gonna cost that little old lady or that immigrant family down the line? Could you? You may not really know for sure until you hear yourself say it, and your gut starts barking in earnest, because you don't know what their next step - that you just convinced them to take - will be.

4) I didn't know, so I tried to find out. While my followers here know I was pretty diligent with my required training stuff, you can see from points 1 and 2 that those materials weren't really meaty and informative enough for me. I tried to seek further clarification not just on my tasks, but the next steps - could someone explain them to me better, in a way that assured me I wasn't pitching a scam? Could someone send me videos or content relevant to the next step in the process, just so I understand it better for my own edification and peace of mind?

Well... maybe they tried to. I was sent a link to a video of one of the next-step-in-the-process sales guys at work... only to be denied access to that video, and though I requested access, nothing in the system ever granted it to me. A glitch? Perhaps. But when I mentioned wanting access, wanting a few more questions answered until I felt right with things, most of what I heard was:

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that."

"Don't overcomplicate things for yourself."

"That's a little above your role. Keep things simple, say you don't know, and it'll add value to the expertise of the next-step sales guy!"

"We tend to save that for more advanced training, since not all of our new people have your emotional intelligence, and might not have as good a brain-to-mouth filter, and say more to the customer than they need to."

Well... I wasn't asking in order to answer a customer's questions, I was asking to answer mine. I won't speak to what I don't know to be true, and I won't sell what I'm not sure is legit, no matter how much I'm paid to do so. And that gut-dog? Now it's a pack of dogs, and at least one of them is starting to howl.

5) It's howling kind of loudly, actually, and my (delightful, friendly, funny) managers aren't helping me quiet it down. So if they can't answer my questions to my satisfaction, I have to seek answers elsewhere.

Arguably, obviously, I should have done this from the start, but - that's when I sought out customer reviews.

And I don't mean clicking Google Reviews and just reading those.

I mean spending most of an afternoon on a deep dive into the following search terms:

"[Company Name] reviews" "[CN] scam" "[CN] Better Business Bureau reviews" "[CN] reddit" "[CN] class action/lawsuit" "[CN] Yelp/any other well-known review site you can think of”/Twitter tag/FB search

You get the idea.

Now, of course some bad actors (rival companies, annoyed ex-employees) can write bad reviews to make the company look bad. Equally, anyone who felt like it could write good reviews to make the company look good. (I wasn't about to search every good reviewer's name in our email database to see if any matched up. But a couple did include words or phrases that might be included in customer-facing marketing and mission statements and thus parroted naturally, but were definitely included in internal training vids. Just a very slight few, but they popped out at me.) Another thing to keep in mind when wanting to take all reviews into account equally is that when people are happy with a product, they don't always remember to leave reviews, so most reviews are written by the vaguely-to-deeply dissatisfied to begin with, and may not be an accurate representation of what's really going on.

Let's be fair here. As a thought experiment, look up the reviews for a company/service/product you truly love, and see if the bad ones reflect a concern you can understand, or one you'd brush off, or one that just doesn't reflect your experience at all. What works for one person/locale/reason for another, might not for someone else, and that’s understandable.

Also ponder:

Out of, let's say, 200 reviews, how many would need to be positive to get you to buy something, especially if it was something you wanted? Would a lot of negative ones make you second-guess the product or service?

How would you gauge the seriousness of the problems presented in the negative ones?

Would a company responding to the bad reviews with apologies and customer service numbers, on that same forum where all could read their empathy and solutions, be enough to convince you that the company had handled the issue by the time you're reading them?

Ponder, ponder, ponder...

aaaand, moving on.

Let's say that out of 200 reviews from a plethora of sources, 40-50 are five-star happy with the company.

Another, eh, 30 or so are two- or three-star, because something went wrong, wrong enough to leave an iffy or downright bad taste in the reviewers' mouths.

The last 110-120? One-star reviews. With at least 10-20 of those saying they'd have left zero stars if the review forum allowed it.

Some of those one-stars may be several years old. Some may have since had their issue truly resolved, and never bothered to update their review or add to it. Some have issues that boil down to, "Okay, the customer clearly didn't understand the terms", or, "That's a crazy problem but I can't relate to caring about it because [insert personal preference/reason] here."

But if a whole load of those one-star reviews tend to speak up about the same types of problems, serious ones, ones you'd find bothersome or downright tragic, ones that would cost you money in some way or another, ones that make you further doubt the integrity of the company altogether, and many of them are as recent as the last few months...

Do I need to finish that sentence?

Hold up, BRB, I have to let the gut-dogs out, they're going absolutely batshit crazy. Must be a full moon!

Or just a disorganized, neglectful, or possibly purposely deceitful company.

The old saying says there’s a sucker born every minute.

Would your conscience be cool with being paid to be one, or to prey on them?

Advice:

My advice is pretty basic: before joining, signing, buying important things, do your diligent research and trust. your. gut.

I hope the above list of experiences helps guide you in doing both.

#if you wanna play it super-safe just ignore salespeople and don't go into sales to begin with lol

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shemakesmusic-uk · 3 years

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HARD FEELINGS, the new collaborative project of Hot Chip's Joe Goddard and Amy Douglas, have signed to Domino and unveiled their debut outing 'Holding On Too Long' which is teamed with a Katie Paul-directed video. Douglas says of their debut single, "'Holding On Too Long' is the common denominator of the entire musical union of Amy and Joe. In this "opera of sad bangers" here is its key aria, its "Un Bel Di" from Madame Butterfly or the "Mad Scene" from Lucia Di Lammermour, the unforgettable moment of the story wherein our heroine stands up defiantly and has her moment to wail, scream and cry her pain and fury centre stage to the world." HARD FEELINGS was formed after Goddard reached out to Douglas on Twitter after hearing her work, and simply asking: "Amy, can we make a thing?" [via Line Of Best Fit]

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After recently announcing her debut album Flaw Flower is due June 25 via Illegal Data, London-based musician Harriet Zoe Pittard, aka Zoee, is sharing another slice of her multi-faceted art-pop sounds with her new single'Host'. Speaking about the track, Zoee said "‘Host’ describes the disconcertingly replicant-like nature of a once starry-eyed lover who becomes increasingly detached. The video is inspired by The Twilight Zone and was shot on location in a forest close to where I grew up in Berkshire."

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Nashville-based songwriter Madi Diaz releases 'Nervous,' a new single about recognizing unhealthy coping mechanisms. The song’s frank lyrics are bellied by infectious guitar and Diaz’s buoyant voice: “I know why I lie to myself // I’m not really looking to get healthy // I have so many perspectives I’m losing perspective I make me nervous.” The accompanying video was shot in Nashville and directed by Jordan Bellamy. It was inspired by and includes an homage to the final scene of Andrei Tarkovsky's film The Stalker, a film that has always resonated with Diaz through its otherworldly nature, as well as its thoughtful and often anxiety inducing pace. “You know when you hold a mirror up to a mirror and you get an infinite amount of reflections from every angle? That’s what ‘Nervous’ is about,” says Diaz. “It’s when you’re in a loop of looking at yourself from every vantage point until you’re caught up in your own tangled web of bullshit. It’s about catching yourself acting out your crazy and you’re finally self-aware enough to see it, but you’re still out of your body enough and curious enough to watch yourself do it.”

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Buzzy duo XVOTO have announced that their eagerly-awaited debut EP will be arriving on June 4 on One Two Many. Sharing new single ‘Friends’ alongside the news, Jazz Alonso explains that the track is rooted in “the people who have irreversibly changed you and then having to pretend you’re unphased by them when you’re in the same room. Meanwhile you’re trying to work out what your new boundaries are: can you talk about the past? Can you cry together? Can you show how much pain you’re in around them? ‘If you fish me, I’ll play dead’ means: if you make a move, I’ll pretend I’m dead inside and don’t want you back.” Accompanied by a new vid, Jazz adds, “For this video I always imagined an aquarium because of the fish lyrics and because I think looking at fish in a tank is a really nice symbol of looking back at a relationship: you’ll always have your take on it and feel you have control over that narrative cause it’s a memory, but the reality is that truth is fluid and moves. You’re not looking at an image, you’re looking at something that’s alive. Then the scenes of us getting tattooed on our backs are symbols for something beautiful that scars you - you might move on from something but it’ll still inform the way you move forward. In the video there’s some cheating, some reminiscing, some beauty and some pain.” [via DIY]

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Ashe has released new cut 'Me Without You' as the latest singe off her debut album Ashlyn. It comes teamed with a Jason Lester-directed video. Ashe says of the new single, "'Me Without You' is my follow up to 'Moral Of The Story'. It's saying you thought that I needed you to be who I am. There is my past relationship...I had multiple people... You know, assumed that I needed them in my life to feel confident or to be me and "Me Without You" is just this record that's like, ‘Ooh, I am so good on my own'." [via Line Of Best Fit]

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Mia Nicolai is a true internationalist. Born in Amsterdam to a Russian mother, she learned from a young age to move between languages and cultures, accepting them as equal. This all fuels her future-pop vision, a trans-genre approach laden with colour, one that picks from multiple sources. New single 'People Pleaser' is a surging, coherent, ultra-potent offering, a song that dwells on identity, and the processes by which it is defined. "This song is about the journey towards finding yourself," she explains. "It can be very difficult to be true to your inner values when all you do is please the people around you instead of your inner needs. I’ve always come across as a strong-minded person. But in reality, I’m capable of helping everyone BUT myself. At some point I felt so uncomfortable in my own skin that I couldn’t even breathe properly..." We're able to share the dazzling new video, directed by Isabelle Griffioen and produced by That’s What She Set. A surreal but completely engaging experience, it embodies everything Mia Nicolai sets out to do - put people on the back foot, and alert them to her presence. [via Clash]

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Singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams has shared her poignant new single 'Mess It Up' and its accompanying video via Interscope Records. Directed by Matty Peacock, the video for 'Mess It Up' finds Abrams attempting to bake a cake and repeatedly dropping the gorgeously frosted final product on the ground. That bittersweet back-and-forth between determination and disappointment is a perfect match for Abrams’s incisive lyrics, which simultaneously convey a deep longing for forgiveness and an unshakable sense of frustration. Produced by and co-written with her frequent collaborator Blake Slatkin, the track’s stark guitar work and driving rhythms slowly take on a powerful momentum, ultimately building to a sweetly triumphant climax. [via Vacancy]

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Vocalist and guitarist Maya Delilah shares the visuals for her new single 'Need A Word With Cupid'. The track unravels into a punchy number that gives you a hit of both dopamine and female empowerment. Written about realising your worth after a relationship breakup, Maya’s lyrics are little witty statements that we can all use to remind ourselves who the hell we are. “Last Tuesday morning I just realised you’re shit” – it’s the truth. The video sees her waiting in cupid’s reception ready to get her money back because, damn, this boy was not worth her energy. At. All. 'Need A Word With Cupid' is a brilliant narrative that’s not only relatable but also incredibly good. Brimming with smooth guitar tones and a catchy beat, this is a single that leaves you wanting so much more. A self-love anthem for the modern woman, 'Need A Word With Cupid' is an indie-pop bop. Maya says: “'Need A Word With Cupid' was written after my breakup when I felt a sudden hit of empowerment after the realisation that my ex was not worth another tear over. It’s an energetic and uplifting song with soul influences and of course a guitar solo to end.“ [via LOCK]

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With her debut EP Digital Meadow arriving on May 28, Dora Jar is sharing the video for her single ‘Multiply’. “I am my truest form when I am changing shape, morphing sounds, and shifting my point of view,” she says of the forthcoming EP. “This project is an exploration of my impulse to shape-shift. That’s my ambition.” [via DIY]

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Telenova's new-arriving single 'Tranquilize' makes it two-from-two for the band, deeper solidifying their rich blend of sounds while showing how it can move into further areas, taking on new energies - or emphasising other energies - as more songs come to light. 'Tranquillize', for example, has a heavier weighting on that live instrumentation, giving the song this more alt-pop-meets-R&B spin when combined with Angeline's brilliant-as-ever vocals. As she explains, the single was the first for Telenova, written on the day they began working with one another. "I was actually flicking through a thesaurus and the word ‘Tranquilize’ jumped out at me, it just rang so nicely on the tongue and was so inherently visceral," she says. "I was humming gibberish over the hypnotic Rhodes chords that Josh had laid down, and we heard what sounded like ‘Poseidon’s on the water’ - it was the first time in a writing session with Ed and Josh, and the first time I’d been in a writing session where a poetic, literary lyric idea like that wasn’t shunned and coined as ‘unrelatable’. It resonated. We followed the thread, playing into Siren mythology as a metaphor for falling in love - the power of attraction to transfix and tranquillize you." The single also arrives with an official video clip, directed by Angeline - solidifying her multi-talented craft. "I wanted to capture the world of the song in a Lynchian-inspired dreamscape - starry-eyed and a little unhinged - but like, David Lynch meets Gucci," she says. [via Pilerats]

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International superstar P!nk has more than two decades of experience topping the global pop charts, and she is here to continue her reign with the new single 'All I Know So Far'. 'All I Know So Far' was produced by pop mastermind Greg Kurstin and co-written with the songwriting duo Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. The single comes off of her upcoming album All I Know So Far: Setlist, due out on RCA Records on May 21. The accompanying video for 'All I Know So Far' tells Pink’s life story with help from Cher, Judith Light, and Carey Hart. The visuals, directed by longtime collaborator Dave Meyers, also features an appearance from her daughter Willow. The new album will feature live recordings from her 2019 'Beautiful Trauma World Tour' along with a recording of her highly-buzzed MTV Video Vanguard Award acceptance speech. P!nk’s daughter Willow will also make an appearance on the album with the song 'Cover Me in Sunshine', which the singer previously shared back in February. [via Consequence]

#videos of the week #hard feelings #zoee #madi diaz #xvoto #ashe #mia nicolai #gracie abrams #maya delilah #dora jar #telenova #p!nk

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