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obviouslygenuinely · 3 years

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Free Resources For Writers & Creators

This is a quick post of free resources that may help fandom creators (or creators in general). I’m sure many of these have been shared before. However, it doesn’t hurt to spread the word. A few quick points:

As a professional writer, I think this post will cater mostly towards writers.

I’m also a freelance photographer, so digital photography/editing/art sources are included, too.

I chose not to use any affiliate links in my post. I don’t want to profit from this, and I’m not sure that’s allowed on Tumblr anyways.

If I’ve listed a resource I haven’t used myself, I’ve made sure to state it.

Masterlists and/or huge resource compilations are marked with asterisks.

Alright, here we go! I hope you all find this post helpful. Happy writing/creating!

Research

All of these are free resources for research. I use most of them for my writing jobs because they are extremely credible. These are great for making accurate references in your fics/creations.

1. ***Research Resources For Writers***

Writer’s Write has an enormous database of research resources for writers. They are divided into 20+ categories such as:

careers

historical research

crimes and forensics

religion

Each category contains 10+ resources like websites, articles, tips, databases, and so much more. It’s the most comprehensive and organized free research tool I use.

2. PubMed

My go-to source for citing medical studies. You’ll find 30 million citations related to numerous physical and mental health issues.

3. BioMed Central

I don’t use this website as often, but I keep it in my bookmarks. It’s similar to PubMed - great for discovering current and former medical research.

4. Drugs.com

If you need to name a medication and/or refer to medication side effects, Drugs.com is a straightforward resource. It’s easy to navigate and understand.

It also has a tool that lists potential medication interactions. This is really useful for accurate descriptions of med combinations.

5. Merck Manuals Consumer Version

Merck Manuals started out in 1899 as a medical reference guide for professionals. This consumer version is really comprehensive and updated regularly. It includes definitions, studies, and more.

6. FindLaw

If you’re writing about legal topics, FindLaw is useful for learning about laws/procedures in reader-friendly language. Categories include:

accidents/injuries

criminal law

family law (divorce, custody, etc.)

Keep in mind that laws vary based on location! You’ll often find additional links to state-related laws within articles. I do recommend double-checking state/location-based legal resources for accuracy.

7. APA Dictionary of Psychology

This psychology dictionary is provided by the American Psychological Association. It covers 90+ areas of psychology and 25,000+ terms/definitions.

You’ll also find links to additional psychology databases, resources, and so on. The website is updated frequently to provide updated information.

8. U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics

If you’re writing about a character’s job/career in the United States, this is a great source for accuracy. For any job sector, you’ll find details about

education requirements

positions in the sector

average salary for positions

what the positions entail

I imagine there are alternatives for other countries, too!

9. Investopedia Financial Term Dictionary

My area of expertise is personal finance; all of my writing published under my name is in this niche. I still refer to Investopedia’s dictionary for help. It’s excellent for understanding/explaining financial terms in a way that your reader can understand.

10. MedTerms Medical Dictionary

This is the medical version of Investopedia’s dictionary. I use this source less frequently, but I find that it’s accurate and helpful. There are many similar references online if you search for “medical glossaries” or “medical dictionaries”.

11. Domain Authority Checker

I’m not sure if this one is too helpful for fic writers, but it’s one of my most used tools. Domain authority “a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank on search engine result pages (SERPs)”.

The Wikipedia page for domain authority (DA) explains it clearly and simply. To sum it up, websites with good DA scores are considered reliable and accurate. If I cite sources in my work. I always link to sources with good DA scores.

Writing/Editing

This section is the most thorough one. All of these are completely free tools for writing and editing any type of content. I currently use or have used all of these at some point in my career.

1. ***List Of Free And Open-Source Software Packages***

This Wikipedia page applies to multiple categories in my post. It’s a masterpost of free and open-source software for anything and everything. Software is divided up into categories and sub-categories. Some relevant examples include:

media

networking/Internet

image editing

file management

There are hundreds of free software links on the page, so you’ll need to do a bit of browsing. Start with the categories above to find software geared towards writers/creators.

2. OpenOffice

This is a free alternative to Microsoft Office. I’ve used it for nine years and love it. OpenOffice software includes free applications for:

text documents

spreadsheets

presentations

drawing

templates

There are many more tools with OpenOffice that I haven’t used. If you write offline, I cannot recommend it enough. Tutorials are readily available online, and the software is pretty user-friendly.

3. Evernote

I briefly used Evernote and found that it’s very user-friendly and helpful. Most of my colleagues use Evernote and recommend it for taking notes/staying organized.

(I’m personally not a fan of note-taking software or apps. My method is messy text documents with bullet point lists.)

4. Google Drive

This might seem like an obvious one, but Google Drive/Docs is my writing haven. It has the tools included with Microsoft Office and OpenOffice and then some. It’s great for collaborative writing/sharing documents, too.

5. Grammarly

I use the Premium (paid) version of Grammarly, but I also used the free version for years. It’s helpful for detecting simple spelling, style, and grammatical errors.

There are numerous ways to use it - desktop, copy/paste documents, and so on. I’m not a huge fan of how well it works with Google Docs, but they’re improving it/it’s moved out of beta mode.

If you’re interested in the paid version - which I highly recommend - wait to buy until a holiday pops up. They offer a major discount on the software for almost every holiday/special occasion.

6. Plagiarism Detector

This website is handy for scanning for plagiarism. You can scan your own work to ensure uniqueness, too. My clients are big fans of this tool.

(I no longer use this resource; I use a paid tool called Copyscape Premium. The low cost has a big return on investment for me.)

7. TitleCase

The name says it all. It’s free and simple! I’ll be honest - I’m terrible with proper title case. You’d think after a decade of writing I’d nail it. However, I use this tool pretty often.

8. Hemingway Editor

Hemingway Editor is an online and desktop editor. It’s excellent for scanning your writing to check for:

readability (a grade-level score is listed)

adverb usage

passive voice usage

complex phrase usage

estimated reading time

This tool is color-coded to make editing easy. For example, adverbs are highlighted in blue. I don’t use this as often as I used to, but it was essential for my early writing career.

9. Polish My Writing

This tool is very straightforward. You paste your writing into the text box. Spelling errors, grammar suggestions, and style suggestions are highlighted in red, blue, and green.

It’s great for double-checking your work alongside Grammarly or Hemingway. When using free editors, I recommend using at least two for higher accuracy.

10. OneLook Reverse Dictionary And Thesaurus

I’m going to use the definition directly from the website:

“This tool lets you describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept. Your description can be anything at all: a single word, a few words, or even a whole sentence. Type in your description and hit Enter (or select a word that shows up in the autocomplete preview) to see the related words.”

To put it simply, you can use the reverse dictionary/thesaurus to find those words/thoughts that are on the tip of your tongue. Use the tool to:

find a word based on the word’s definition (i.e. search for “inability to feel pain”)

find synonyms and related concepts

generate a list of category-specific words (i.e. search for “cat breeds”)

answer basic questions (i.e. search for “what is the capital of France?”)

The results can be hit or miss, but I usually find the information I’m looking for. It’s a solid resource any writer regardless of genre.

11. Word Frequency Counter + Phrase Frequency Counter

I cannot emphasize how much I love these tools. Repetition is the bane of a writer’s existence; it’s simply inevitable at times.

These two tools count the number of times you use a single word or phrase in a text document. Just copy/paste your document, hit submit, and you’re all set!

For the phrase frequency counter, you can scan for two-word to ten-word phrases.

12. Thesaurus.com

This is another tool that might seem painfully obvious. Combined with the word frequency counter, it’s such an essential resource for me.

It’s especially useful if you’re writing about the same topic multiple times (i.e. love, getting drunk, sex, etc.). I always use this combo of tools to ensure uniqueness.

13. Lists Of Colors

Are you stumped when trying to come up with unique shades of blue? Is describing your character’s hair or skin color difficult? This Wikipedia page has you covered. It contains:

lists of colors (alphabetically)

lists of colors by shade

lists of Crayola crayon colors

lists of color palettes

I typically use this resource for product descriptions, but I also used it for creative writing many times. It’s a lifesaver for all things color-related.

Free Photos/Images

Tons of creators need free photos/images for numerous reasons. All of these sources provide 100% free photos, illustrations, etc. that have a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. This means there’s no copyright whatsoever on them.

You can edit the images however you’d like, too. All of the images in my post are from the first source listed below. I made them black and white and added text.

(A lot of these sites have donate buttons for contributors. Donating a dollar here and there goes a long way!)

1. Unsplash

Unsplash is my personal favorite for high-resolution photos. It’s easy to navigate and has over 2,000,000 free images. Downloading an image is a one-click process, and you don’t need to create an account.

2. Pixabay

Pixabay is my go-to site for illustrations and vector graphics (they have photos, too). There are 1.9 million free images to choose from. You don’t need an account to download images, but I recommend creating one. It’s free and with an account:

you don’t have to complete a CAPTCHA every time you download an image

you can access higher-quality/larger/etc. versions of images

I often use graphics from Pixabay to create overlays and masks for mixed media art pieces.

3. PxHere

I’ve never used PxHere, but one of my writing clients recommends it. It seems very similar to Pixabay, and the interface is user-friendly.

4. Pexels

In my limited experience, Pexels seems to focus on “artsy” stock images/content. I found great high-quality images the few times I’ve used it.

5. Burst by Shopify

I haven’t used Burst, but it’s another free image site that a writing client recommended to me. It seems a little limited compared to the other sites, but it never hurts to add it to your toolbox!

Digital Art/Photo Editing/Etc.

This section seems brief, but the tools listed are pretty comprehensive and diverse. They are geared towards many creative needs/projects like:

Creating manips of people/etc.

Adding text to images.

Creating collages.

Digital illustration.

Advanced photo editing.

There’s something for everyone. In my experience, finding your favorites among these will take some trial and error.

1. Pixlr X and Pixlr E (app available)

Pixlr X and Pixlr E are both versatile free editing tools. Pixlr X is ideal for less experienced creators. Pixlr E is comparable to Adobe PhotoShop.

I’ve used both software formats for personal and professional art projects.

The Pixlr app is handy for making collages, adding filters/overlays, adding text, and so on. I’ve used it for creating fanfiction collages and similar projects. It’s super easy to use.

2. Remove Background by Pixlr

This is one of the easiest/fastest tools I’ve found for removing backgrounds from images. It’s perfect for creators who make manips using photos of people.

It takes literal seconds to use. The tool automatically removes the background. If you spot any mistakes, you can refine the results with brush/erase tools. Then you download the cutout and you’re all set!

Unfortunately, this feature isn’t available on the Pixlr app. There are a lot of smartphone apps for removing photo backgrounds.

3. GIMP

If you need a full-fledged Photoshop alternative, GIMP is excellent software. It’s not an online tool like most I’ve suggested; you’ll need to download it to your computer.

There’s quite a learning curve for it, unless you’re familiar with Photoshop already. Fortunately, the free video/text GIMP tutorials online are endless. I no longer use/need GIMP, but it’s a personal favorite of mine.

4. Paint.NET

Admittedly, I haven’t used Paint.NET, but my art/photography colleagues commonly mention it. It’s comparable to Photoshop and GIMP. It’s a web-based tool, and a quick Google search returns several tutorials for it.

5. Photopea

This is more or less a Photoshop clone, but it’s free and web-based. If you watch Photoshop tutorials, you can usually follow the same steps in PhotoPea.

I’ve only used it a few times; I have Photoshop so I don’t need it. Still, it’s very impressive - especially for a free tool.

6. PicsArt (app available)

PicsArt is a photo editing website and app; the app is much easier to use in my opinion. It’s a “fun” editing tool for photo manips, collages, and fan art in general. A lot of users post their art in the app, and I’ve noticed tons of cool fandom edits.

Some of the features are Premium (AKA cost money), but I don’t think they’re worth the extra cost. PicsArt also has a digital drawing app. I haven’t personally used it but it may be worth checking out!

7. Adobe Photoshop Express (app available)

(I’ll preface this by saying I have an Adobe subscription, so I have access to the “locked” features. I’ve used the free versions, but my memory of it is a bit hazy.)

Photoshop Express is a free web-based tool and smartphone app. The app is very user-friendly and can be used for detailed editing, adding filters, adding text, and so on.

I’m less familiar with the browser version; I only use it for the cutout tool when I’m feeling lazy. It seems to be a good fit for quick edits - filters, cropping, and so on.

8. Make PNG Transparent by Online PNG Tools

This tool is awesome for removing solid colored backgrounds. I use it to create graphics for mixed media art pieces. Here’s how it works:

upload an image

type the color your want to remove (name or hex code)

type the percentage of similar color tones you want to match (for example, 25% will remove your chosen color plus similar warm/cool tones)

the removed color is replaced with transparent pixels

If you want to make a JPG transparent, start with the website’s JPG to PNG Converter. There are a ton of useful free tools offered, but I haven’t tried out most of the others.

Wrap Up

That’s all I’ve got for now! If I think of additional free tools, I’ll add them to this post. Feel free to reblog with your own recommendations or message me if you’d like me to add anything.

I hope my fellow creatives find these too

#writer resources #writing #writblr #fanfiction #fanfic #creative writing #writing reference #writing resources #writer reference #obviouslygenuinely #creators #artists on tumblr #fandom #fan art

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optimismrpt · 3 years

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HOW RIGBY RUNS A ROLEPLAY : A VERY SPECIFIC GUIDE ( OF SORTS )

BONUS CONTENT: ACCEPTANCE DAY

I think it’s essentially to start with this disclaimer: This is merely how I run a rp and I’m not saying by any means it is how a rp should be run. I have found success through these methods all in combination and I can’t promise that they work all the time.

IMPORTANT ! if you use this guide as a basis for your rp please credit back to me somewhere on your front page, rules, or plot! this is a very specific type of rp (small limited run plot heavy skeleton rp) that i have worked very hard to develop over the past five years. i want you to learn from my successes and failures, and please give credit where it is due!

It is a lot of work! Like A LOT! And if you don’t have time to admin with full commitment this is not the right type of rp to attempt.

With that in mind, let’s go!

FULL GUIDE IN THE SOURCE LINK!

BEFORE THE ACTUAL DAY

First of all, getting apps is fun and it’s easy to get wrapped up in the excitement and want to move things forward as soon as possible. However, I recommend you don’t rush! Do not move up your acceptance date or the date that you close the inbox! This isn’t fair to the people who were planning on finishing up their apps before the original deadline who now have to crunch to meet the new deadline or may not be able to make the new deadline at all because of irl responsibilities. It’s always good to give lots of warning for the inbox closing and stick to it!

I also recommend that you do not lower the threshold of people needed to open. Sometimes it can be disheartening to set an app threshold at ten and then only get six apps, even if the days grind on with no new apps, stick it out and keep promoting! Opening with less than eight characters (and for apples I’d say 15 characters) is going to make activity lackluster. It’s better to delay opening for the sake of having a grand first day than to jump the gun and end up making the rp fizzle before it can even start.

About 52 hours before acceptances are set to take place I like to write out a to-do list and put it in my drafts. It usually involves ‘write acceptance posts, update skeletons, update main, post acceptances, post follows, post opening note’. Just having everything you need to do between then and opening written out in order is so helpful. And being able to check things off the list creates both a feeling of relief and excitement. So make a plan, determine how soon everything needs to be done, and work through it meticulously. In the rush of opening day it can be easy to forget important things like updating the triggers page.

If I have time I try to write everything hours in advance. When it comes to things like opening announcements and plot drops I try to write those at least 24 hours of their release time. And this is why I like, for competitive rps, to close the inbox and then give myself at least two hours to deliberate. But I’d even encourage giving yourself 6 hours between the inbox closing and posting acceptances. I know that’s a while to make people wait but apps can get pretty long and reading them all (and probably rereading a few of them multiple times) can be a lengthy process!

I always try not to read the apps at all before the deliberation time. I find that if I read an app when it comes in that gives the first person an advantage because they have more time for me to adapt to their vision and start to assimilate it and get attached. And that’s not fair to the people who may have stumbled upon the rp later. So I just read the app far enough to get the info for the app count.

Just as a general rule I like to post important dates and times in at least two different timezones. For example ‘Acceptances are at 6am GMT / 1pm EST / 10pm PST ’. That way you can show that you are keeping other timezones in mind. And plus it’s nice to just to the conversion work so your applicants don’t have to.

DELIBERATION TIME

Start by reading the apps which don’t have competition. These ones are easiest because it’s not a matter of determining whether they are the best of the bunch, it’s just deciding whether or not they are are passable. So I always read those first and then write their acceptance post immediately after I make my decision so that at least I’ll have that to post at the set acceptance date. That way, even if I haven’t made a decision on all the apps I’ll have something to post to show that I am reading apps and trying to stick to schedule!

When your are dealing with competitive apps there are a few things I look for in an application:

The most important is that the applicant seems willing to talk to you. This could be asks, ims, or even a little note in the app! Writers who want to make it clear what their intentions/desires/goals are ooc are going to be the easiest to work with! Plus it gives you an idea of how flexible they are! Those who dig their heels in when you offer up alternative suggestions are probably not good to work with. You want to find someone who has direction, intention, and ideas but don’t treat your ideas (or anyone else’s) as lesser than their own.

Call for humor! I’ve found that I have trouble with people who take themselves and their characters too seriously. This means that they often won’t be up for plotting since they don’t want their character to be anything less than graceful. Humor is a really good sign that a writer is fun, creative, and understands their character.

I also get wary of people who overhype the rp. Making edits/adding memes in the talk tag is all very nice, but when it looks like an rpt is promoting my rp just to give themselves an advantage over other applicants I tend to count that against them. I don’t like the idea of an rpt trying to use their signal boosting and popularity in the rpc as leverage over me.

One of the biggest red flags is someone not sticking to the skeleton! If someone blatantly disregards one or more aspects of the skeleton that is an instant strike against them. I don’t like it when people have ocs that they adapt to fit a skeleton because most of the time that means that they don’t really care about the skeleton and your ideas. However, if they contact me about changes to the skeleton in advance and ask if some edits are alright then that’s actually a really good sign! I want people to play a character that they are happy about and I’m willing to change up any skeleton. I just need to know the applicant is willing to work with me instead of against me.

Do not be afraid to deny applications. I used to never do this because I felt it was too mean and judgmental but now I realize I reserve the right as an admin to deny any app or character that I don’t vibe with. Go with your gut, and if the application is making you uncomfortable or nervous in any way, do not accept them. Sometimes it’s better to have one role go unwritten than to have someone who isn’t good for the group. Because both ic and ooc dynamics contribute to the effectiveness and survival of the group, you need to be excited to work with everyone and their characters.

One of the ways that I protect myself from muns who may not be right for the rp is by putting a password in the rules. Often the apps that make me uncomfortable are the ones that disregard or contradict the skeleton or plot. It’s clear that the mun either wasn’t paying attention, reading the pages carefully, or just chose to ignore what they read. It’s often That the apps that I don’t vibe with end up being the ones that don’t read the rules and therefor don’t put the password. So not only is it a good indicator to me that the mun might not be very considerate but it’s also a great default reason to deny an app without having to tell the mun directly that you didn’t like other aspects of their app. Most often I allow them to reapply if they’d like to but their acceptance won’t be immediate, so that there’s a chance someone else might apply for the same role with an application than doesn’t skeeve me out.

ONCE YOU’VE MADE THE DECISION

Write out your acceptance notes. I try to write a full paragraph for everyone when I am accepting for a skeleton rp. If there’s more than 20 characters being accepted then obviously don’t, since that’s way too much to ask of you. But if it’s a small group I always endorse writing a little welcome the chosen mun saying what ti was about their appt hat you gravitated towards. It’s kind of a way to also provide feedback to those who were denied as to what their app might have been missing. Plus, it’s just a good way to get the right vibes going for the ooc portion of the rp. Muns need to feel appreciated! After all they put in the work to get there!

I also like to offer feedback to those who were denied but with a disclaimer that most apps are chosen based on how they mesh with the other apps, since that’s something no one can anticipate. Usually the quality of the writing isn’t as big of a factor as how the character plays into dynamics with the others and whether or not their desired plots and connections with your vision and everyone else’s. Most of the time people won’t take you up on it, but be kind and thoughtful to those who do. However, if they are aggressive towards you in any way because they are upset about being denied block them immediately. Just trust me on that one.

Keep everyone updated as to your progress! Just telling everyone where you are at (in the process of reading apps, writing the acceptance notes, or taking a break) is a good way to put everyone’s minds at ease. It’s especially important to let people know if you are logging off for a while on acceptance day. That way people aren’t stuck refreshing the page and dreading that you might be ignoring them. On acceptance day I like to make a post every time I come online or go offline. It may seem like oversharing but it’s honestly so helpful to both you and the applicants.

POST-ACCEPTANCES

Once you are about to start posting acceptance notes, turn off anon. I know that anon can be very useful for those shy and curious folks that don’t want to im you directly, but this is another case where you’re just gonna have to trust me. For your mental health turn off anon and keep it off for at least 48 hours. I usually keep it off permanently unless there are more roles that need to be filled in a second round of acceptances. There aren’t really any questions that should need to be asked anonymously once you have a full roster of muns and this is a good way to get people used to asking you questions via discord, im, or dm. To prevent nasties from bullying you and to open the line of communication between you and your members, turn off anon!

And finally, once you have posted acceptances, close your laptop or turn off your monitor and don’t come back to it for at least an hour. I like to give myself two hours to go on a walk, eat some food, and just do non-rp things for a while. Acceptances are stressful and it’s important not to get swept up in it and feel overwhelmed. Taking a step back and remembering you exist outside of rp and outside of being an admin is so important. It’s hard to resist temptation, but if you have anon off really the only thing that’ll come into your inbox are follow messages and those can wait for two hours (or more)! But like I said above, keep everyone updated that you are going to log off for a bit and you’ll be back. Just so no one assumes the worst.

Just remember to be kind to your applicants and to yourself! It’s a stressful time for everyone!

#rpc #rpt #rph #how rigby runs a roleplay !#advice !#guide

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mattjabbar · 4 years

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Writing or doing nothing.

After finishing my second book called "Tokyo at Night" which consisted of mostly big and highly detailed watercolor paintings, I decided that I needed a break from this kind of work. I felt a similar sort of weariness as I did while painting animation backgrounds for months without a break. I was itching to get back to the thing that made me consider going to Japan in the first place - storytelling through comics, illustrations, or animation. Therefore, I immediately spent three months doing another book of detailed illustrations (this time, ink drawings of Hokkaido).

It was harder for me than I expected to focus on a storytelling project because it would require me to do work that did not bear any fruit right away. I was used to making art that was almost instantly finished and shareable. Here, I would have to write, sketch, and think (!) for days, months maybe with no instant gratification. I had to think about some tricks to keep me on track.

As making a story would require writing (even if it's just a script or bunch of memos for myself), I had a look at some tips from my favorite literary creators. That's when I stumbled upon a rule that Neil Gaiman applies when he writes: "write or do nothing." According to him, it's alright to do nothing instead of working because one soon gets bored and goes back to typing. It may be a good solution for someone who writes longhand sitting alone in a forest gazebo, but I was trying to type using my laptop or my iPad, which can offer distractions aplenty! As much as I would love to write with a fountain pen in a neat notebook, I'm not a linear thinker (I mix, swap and move things a lot) so I would have to type the text to edit it anyway.

What's more, as English is not my native tongue (but I would like to write in English for its accessibility) I always have to look up words and their uses, which leads to more internet and social media distractions.

Thus, I started looking for ways to write without distractions, but in a way that would be fun too.

Software.

As I already have a Mac laptop and an iPad, I invested in an app that would allow me for comfortable editing and managing my all-over-the-place, non-linear writing projects. I ended up with Scrivener, which does all I need (and more), can also be used by Kana (our accounts are family-linked), and does not require a subscription.

I like how this app allows me to split, reorder and join files effortlessly, that I can add notes and memos in the text, and that it works perfectly with the novel-like style of writing dialogues that I like to use. No problems here.

Casio

For writing without distractions, I started by looking at these stand-alone devices that allow for writing without using a computer or a tablet. In theory, this should allow for a more focused, offline work environment, but they also look so cool! First, though, I decided to try if I can use something unconventional for this purpose - ideally something that no one needs anymore - a type of digital upcycling.

I heard Neil Gaiman (again) talking in one of his interviews that he typed parts of one of his books on an ancient portable Atari palmtop (something like this probably), so I started wondering if I cannot do something similar. Looking through listings on the popular Japanese second-hand website, I found this beauty for just 24$. A Casio Cassiopeia A-51 made in 1997 (I was eleven at that time)!

This small computer has a lot of upsides - it runs a pocket version of Word (enough for just writing simple text), uses standard AA batteries (no worries about old rechargeable batteries going kaput in 15 minutes) and accepts CF memory cards (which allow me to copy data to and from my main laptop).

I cleaned it up, tightened some screws on a loose hinge, replaced the backup battery (it prevents memory loss when changing the primary batteries), added some cool stickers, and the thing looks almost brand new. I'm excited to use if for some shorter posts and articles - the keyboard is as awkward to type on as it looks, but I love the old school feel and the form factor, so I will keep using it for sure!

Pomera

Next on my list of possible solutions was a Pomera - this is a simple, stand-alone writing device made by a Japanese company. I wanted one of these for some time now, but the price was a bit steep. Just recently, though, the DM30 model I wanted was discontinued, and I was suddenly able to buy one for about a quarter of the original price.

This device is geared best towards writing in Japanese, but it can be used in English too. It has an e-ink display, which is great in terms of visibility and allows for long battery life too (about 24 hours of use on two AA batteries). As with the Casio, I can store my texts on a memory card, but this device also has 8GB of built-in storage. For the footprint it has - the keyboard is great. After folding it out, it's stable, and I can write almost as comfortably as on my MacBook. No distractions and no superficial functionality. I can display an outline of the document I'm working on, insert timestamps, search, replace text, and that's it.

After writing a few short texts with the Pomera, I can say that I like it. Especially the hardware part - the keyboard and the screen are great! The software, on the other hand, is somewhat limited in functionality and has its quirks. No font options, no markdown support, no text format encoding choice - just some small things that would make the device more pleasurable in everyday use, not deal-breakers, though.

One thing is certain - if it comes to the "write or do nothing" rule, Pomera wins. It's really boring! You cannot do anything on it except write, so of course, you end up writing.

Reference.

Lastly, to enhance my English language skills, I have to use a dictionary. And doing it on my smartphone defeats the whole thing, so I decided to look for an electronic dictionary. I had a used Casio dictionary when I came to Japan, but this time I searched for one with Oxford English-English dictionary and thesaurus. It's fast and offers more comprehensive and noise-free content than looking up things online.

Future

My current solution is not perfect, but I'm enjoying this process, and the result is that I'm writing. What's more, because I started to think about writing (with thinking and researching) as a part of my work, it recently became easier for me to spend a day or two without having drawn anything but still feeling like I had accomplished something. As for the tools - I would LOVE to try and use a Psion 5mx, but sadly these were not popular in Japan, and it's hard to justify buying one from abroad.

#blog #writing #writing tools #distraction-free #casio #pomera

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cy-fi-theansweris42 · 4 years

Text

Auto Berserk Rambling Pt.1

Alright what I’m rambling about today is the Transformers G1 episode Auto Berserk, aka the episode that introduced me to Red Alert and got me absolutely hooked on his character! This rambling will include me talking about little details, my thoughts on the episode and what happens during it, and, as always, pictures!!! Fair warning, this is a very long post so I’m putting a Read More line on it so you guys don’t have to scroll through this all (also a 2 parter because it’s too long for a single post, lol). Now let’s begin!

First off…Soundwave. My dude. My cassetticon-carrying man.The Decepticon logo on the front gives away your disguise.

Like I have no idea how this fooled anyone but go off, I guess.

Dude looks so shook after going to grab a tape recorder that wasn’t even his and it turned into a giant robot in front of his eyes, like this is what you get for trying to claim some random tape recorder as your own, no mixtapes for you.

Moving on.

Red Alert that is one serious light show you’ve got going on. Now we know those are sensors for him (he mentions it in Blaster Blues before getting shot at by the Decepticons I’m pretty sure) and I remember reading somewhere that he has enhanced sensors (I know for sure in MTMTE he has enhanced hearing, I don’t entirely know about his other senses though), and I like the idea that the little sensory horns he’s got spark when either an alarm is being tripped or he’s detecting danger of some kind, or when he’s dealing with sensory overload. Here it would be the first for sure since Soundwave’s just hanging out.

Alright, oh boy, we’re about to get into part of what causes the main conflict of the episode.

Inferno leaving Red Alert when he was supposed to be his backup.

Now, I’ve got mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, Inferno saves Optimus and gets Rumble out of the Negavator, which helps them win the fight. He also didn’t want to stay in the bunker, he wanted to go out and fight, but Red had him stay. On the other hand, he literally left Red alone in there, to guard a bunker and the controls for the Negavator by himself, and him leaving Red is what leads to Red thinking Inferno betrayed him once his logic chips aren’t working anymore, which lead to the idea that the other Autobots were out to get him. Inferno couldn’t have known that would happen though, so we can’t really blame him for that part. Personally I think Inferno should have stayed, but it’s a complicated situation.

They argue about it for a bit but eventually Inferno just leaves. Maybe he should have yelled out that he was leaving as he was leaving, or did something so Red knew for sure that he was leaving, but instead Red was just left confused as to where Inferno was after getting injured by the missile, which sucks.

Press F to pay respects.

Ok theory time: So Red’s sensors are sparking like mad here, probably since he was just caught in an explosion it’s a combination of malfunctioning and being in a dangerous situation. They’re sparking like mad and he was just caught in a literal explosion, which no doubt caused damage, so I think it’s a combination of his sensory horns sparking too much and the damage from the explosion that fried his logic chips. Plus there’s the red effect underneath his eyes that starts up just after the screenshot above.

(I’m sorry if you can’t see it too well, it’s the episode quality but I swear it’s there.) I think that might have been a visual representation that at that point, his logic chips were toast, so it wasn’t the initial blast that took them offline, it was something afterwards, so the idea of it being a combination of the blast and his sensory horns sparking too much could work.

And then everything goes downhill from there.

Ok there is just….so much I have to say about this bit. First off, it’s when Red’s delusions start. He feels like Inferno betrayed him, ok, that’s valid considering Inferno just left, but then he says “why can’t anyone see it, Inferno wants my job!” which…doesn’t make a lot of sense, but his logic chips are toast at this point, there’s going to be leaps in logic and delusions don’t make sense a lot of the time (I could be wrong, my own knowledge of delusions is limited to what I’ve learned on my own over the years). Then when Optimus says that “it’s too dangerous to remain here”, Red’s convinced that “Optimus wants me out of the way too, it’s a plot!”, so now instead of just thinking Inferno’s out to get him, so does Optimus, and there’s an entire plot to get rid of him, which we know isn’t true, but it’s what Red believes.

This is when things start to get worse for Red.

Now let’s talk about why the heckity-heck Optimus doesn’t push for Red to see Hoist or any other medical bot we’ve seen on the show (Hoist is the only one in the episode though). Like Red was just caught in a literal explosion, Optimus saw Red Alert’s sensory horns spark just because he was getting worked up (cue my headcanon that when Red has panic attacks his can cause his sensory horns to spark), and heard Red say “it’s just an electro-glitch that comes and goes, comes and goes”, the last part of which was said in the exact same tone and cadence as the first time he said that! Like there’s multiple signs that something could be wrong, and at the very least since he was caught in an explosion, Red should be getting checked over.

But no. Instead things get worse. I’m just saying, if Red had gotten checked over, maybe they could have discovered that his logic chips were damaged before they nearly exploded.

Ok. Moving on.

:( This is also the only time where we see that his sensory horns sparking can actually cause him pain, like it might be a combination of them sparking on how his logic chips are damaged, but I think that sometimes when he’s overwhelmed or convinced there’s danger, they can spark to the point of causing him pain. Either way, it’s still a :( moment.

Ok. Here’s another bit that bugs me.

Optimus: Red Alert, analyze that noise. Red Alert: Noise? What noise? All clear.

Like. COME ON YOU GUYS, YOU JUST SAW THE ROCKS HIT THE GROUND IN FRONT OF YOU AND IT’S WHY YOU STOPPED, YOU HEARD THE NOISE, WHY AREN’T YOU QUESTIONING WHY RED’S JUST LIKE “Noise? There was a noise? Idk what you’re talking about, I didn’t hear anything.” WHEN RED ALERT POSSIBLY HAS THE BEST HEARING OUT OF ALL OF YOU. COME ON, WHY AREN’T YOU QUESTIONING THIS????? (Also, for context if you haven’t seen the episode, while Red’s saying his bit, there’s more of those sparks and we hear electrical noises, so I think it’s implied that the damage made it so he either didn’t hear the noise or just made him forget about it immediately.)

F to Optimus and Ironhide, RIP in pieces my dudes.

Anyways, Decepticons attack, there’s confusion, and Red gets hit, which damages him even further, and he’s basically stuck halfway transformed with smoke coming from him for part of the battle and then I guess stunned during the rest since we just see him sitting on the ground at one point.

This is just the Red Alert Suffers Episode, huh.

The battle itself is hilarious though, like you’ve got Decepticons saying nonsense (Smokescreen lands some shots at them so they’re saying stuff like “hey, my circuits electric blew just out” “too mine, I’m blind flying” “away move, before collide we—” (….I have that memorized. Why do I have that memorized?), Smokescreen living up to his name, and Megatron realizing that “I’ve got morons on my team!” (we’re in season 2 of the show my dude, it’s about time you realized that. Also I remember the episode where you got drunk with the rest of them and proceeded to pass the heck out, you ain’t special. Edit: Ok that’s literally in the next episode, lol, I guess Megatron realized “hey, we’re all morons here, yolo”)

And now…oh man do I have a lot to say about this bit. I’m going to include dialogue too.

Optimus (talking about the Decepticon attack): Red Alert, why didn’t you warn us? Red, backing away: You want to get rid of me, just like the others do. Optimus: Hmmm, you’re more damaged than I thought. Red, still backing away: There’s nothing wrong with me. Optimus: Red Alert needs a complete overhaul. [Hoist and Inferno begin to approach Red, Red’s still backing away and now his horns are sparking] Hoist: Your logic and reason circuits are fried. Inferno: You need immediate repairs! Red: Don’t give me any of that, you just want to disassemble me for spare parts! [backs up into the wall] Never! I won’t let you! [runs at them, knocking Hoist and Inferno to the ground, and runs off] Inferno: Wait! Hoist: We’re your friends! Optimus: Quickly, we must rescue him before he makes his condition worse! [Autobots chase after Red, calling after him]

So it’s just like…man, they just…really didn’t handle this situation well. The entire time, throughout this entire exchange, Red is scared. He’s backing away from the others the entire time, trying to put some distance between them because he doesn’t feel safe. When Inferno and Hoist start approaching him, his horns start sparking because he’s detecting danger and that danger is Hoist and Inferno. He’s absolutely terrified that they’re going to hurt him, to get rid of him, to “disassemble him for spare parts”, and what do they do? They keep approaching, talk about how “he needs to be fixed”, and don’t listen to him or see how scared he is at all.

Now, if you don’t get why Red’s so scared, don’t get why he’s running from his friends and should “just realize he’s not thinking straight” or something like that, let me put it this way: Say you’re playing a video game, you’ve got allies, you’ve got bad guys, and you’ve made a lot of progress in this game and trust your allies to help you out. But then! Surprise plot twist! Your allies are actually planning on betraying you, so now you have to escape before they catch you! You’d feel betrayed, right? While playing this level you’d feel scared, or at least nervous, whenever any of them started to get close to catching you, right? You’d want to get away as quickly as possible, right? Well that’s kinda what it’s like for Red right now. Only it’s not a game, for him it’s real, and that makes it absolutely terrifying. (It’s not a perfect metaphor or whatever but it’s the best I’ve got, hopefully you get the point). Anyways, just the way they handled this situation wasn’t very good. They didn’t listen to Red at all, they continuously mentioned how “he needed to be fixed”, continued to approach him, and when he ran off they chased after him, still yelling about “how he needs help”. There’s multiple things they did wrong here, and all of it led to Red running off. Also, I just want to note that Red was trying to keep his distance from them the entire time, and the only reason why he ran at Hoist and Inferno before running off was because he had literally backed into a wall and they still kept approaching. At that point he felt trapped and that’s when he felt he had to run. Now, I’m not entirely sure if the situation could have been de-escalated enough that Red wouldn’t have run off, but I can make suggestions for what they could have done better. 1) Gave Red his space. Literally he was backing away the entire time so he wanted space, and potentially this could have stopped him from running off since if they did this then maybe he wouldn’t have backed into the wall and felt cornered. 2) Had some of the other Autobots drive back to the bunker, or just somewhere else. Red Alert was seriously outnumbered and he thought they were all against him, if I was outnumbered about 7-to-1, I’d be scared too, especially with one of those bots being Optimus-freaking-Prime. Honestly having like, just Hoist, or just one single bot (not Optimus or Inferno though, they were the first few he thought were against him so that might not have worked well) try to talk calmly to Red might have made a huge difference. 3) Stop talking about fixing him. While they were right about him needing help, all that was doing was making him more and more upset, so they needed to stop talking about that and listen to what he was saying more. There’s honestly probably more stuff but I can’t think of it.

Oh my god that was a ramble and a half MOVING ON.

I feel like this could be a meme format. I don’t know what kind, but it has meme vibes. Feel free to meme, lol, just make it memeingful.

Ok we’re about halfway through so I’m cutting it off here and putting the rest in another post, it should be up shortly!

#Transformers #Red Alert #Red Alert Rambling #Transformers G1 #Optimus Prime #Inferno #Hoist #Transformers Red Alert #Transformers Inferno #Transformers Optimus Prime #Transformers Hoist #Auto Berserk #Transformers Auto Berserk

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dearyams · 4 years

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wanted to send you a prompt i was gonna do but i am too lazy prompt: mike and will have been dating but havent said i love you, mike is going on some trip for a week where cell phones dont work (obv future fic) and so Byeler is having a phone convo before mike arrives at his destination and they wont be able to talk to each other a week and will says tells mike he loves him but before mike can respond the phone disconnects as Mike arrives at the destinationn

[ crossposted on AO3 ]

“Finished packing yet?”

Mike turns from his suitcase and the clothes piles spread about the floor in his room and grins when he spots Will leaning on the doorframe a few feet away. He’s got two iced coffee cups in hand, indicative of finishing his part-time hours at the local coffee shop a few blocks north from the Byers residence. Mike wonders if Will biked his way over or took a lift with his brother to come visit before the Wheelers make their way on an impromptu trip to upstate New York at a cabin his dad had recently inherited.

The kneeling boy waves his hands at the disorderly state surrounding him and shrugs. “I’m trying and failing at packing the right clothes for this venture, I’ll say that.”

Will chuckles and walks fully into the room. He passes along Mike’s coffee, shoving around haphazardly folded pants to find a seat on the floor beside the other boy. Mike watches him grab a sweater and toss it aside. “It’s summer so you don’t need to pack heavy. Just grab some t-shirts and jeans; that should do. Shorts too if you’d like.”

“Sure,” sighs Mike before sipping from his cup. “I don’t want to make the visit miserable if I’m wearing the wrong clothes. Wrong for the weather and wrong for looking tolerable in the photos I know Mom is gonna force on me.”

Will laughs, a gentle breeze in the summer’s heat. “You’ll look good in whatever you put on.”

“As my boyfriend, you’re kind of obligated to say that.”

“Not really.” the brunette leans in to kiss Mike’s cheek. “I’ll let you know when you look bad if only for the sake of my own eyes.”

“And when you won’t be next to me, how will you judge my outfits properly?”

Will checks his watch and hums. “When’s your departure? If you have time, you can try out some of the outfits and I’ll let you know what works.”

Mike grins as he reaches over Will’s lap and snags a band t-shirt. “Sneaky aren’t you; tryna get me undressed.”

“I’ll cover my eyes.” Will places his unoccupied hand over his eyes but spreads his fingers between his middle and ring fingers to peek through the opening. Mike scoffs, tossing a stray pair of shorts at his face which makes the brunette laugh heartily. Mike already misses Will, the knowledge that they’ll be separated for a week squeezing his heart dry with romantic despair. He wishes Will could come with but the trip was pretty unplanned and though Mike's “job” as a blog writer and editor doesn’t require a remote location, Will’s job doesn’t allow the same ease when taking off work.

(Though Mike thinks he’ll probably still be working offline on an article if his mom doesn’t steal his laptop for “family bonding in the forest” time.)

Mike’s sudden fashion show lasts for about an hour and while Will does offer good input, most of that hour is spent playing around and Mike sneaking in as many kisses as they can get away with whenever Mike peels off a shirt and struggles to get his head through the tight collar of another. Afterwards, Will helps finish packing and when completed, they lounge about on Mike’s bed as Will discusses the customers he met earlier in the day.

Though he knows packing just mere hours before departure isn’t a habit he should develop, especially when the plans for his career require frequent traveling, he spent the night before editing a movie review scheduled for posting during the drive. Mike doesn’t regret his momentary time mismanagement if it means he spends more time with Will before the trip. The article can wait—he’s posting it early anyway—but time spent with his boyfriend is always coveted.

When Mike’s mom knocks on the door, Will pulls away from Mike’s chest where he rested his head as they page through Mike’s hard copy of The Golden Compass which he wanted to review in line with the show’s release. Shaking his head and straightening his hair as best as possible, Mike struts to his door and opens it with raised eyebrows. His mom looks up from checking her phone and offers Mike a tight smile before looking past him to wave at Will.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you two,” she starts warmly, “but Mike, we have to get going soon. The traffic through the city is getting dense thanks to an accident on the 70.”

“Got it,” replies Mike as he turns back to Will, who walks to his side with both their empty cups in hand. “I’ll see you in a few days, Byers.”

“‘Course.” Will grins and leans up to press a gentle kiss to Mike’s cheek. “Call me when you’re getting close to your destination.”

“Sure, worrywart,” he teases but turns his face to kiss Will’s lips one last time before he has to depart. He watches Will nod bashfully at his mom and give her a short goodbye before making his way downstairs. Mike doesn’t look away until he hears the front door closing and then he casts his gaze on his mom. “Are Dad, Nancy, and Holly waiting outside?”

“Yes,” she nods toward the front of the house. “We’ll all just waiting on you now.”

It doesn’t take long for Mike to join his family at the car, and as his dad pulls out the driveway, Mike turns in the direction of the Byers and smiles when he sees Will on his bike a little ways down the road watching. He sticks his hand out the window, his wave only growing more frantic when Will waves back. Holly giggles and Nancy makes a side comment about love sick teenagers as if she wasn’t one herself during her escapades with Steve, Jonathan, and now Robin. The first hour and a half fills with Holly saying “moo” every time they pass a cow on the way to the interstate and Mike feels like smashing his head against his window when they pass a farm and Holly moos until she nearly passes out. Pulling out his phone, Mike shoots Will a selfie of himself despondently looking out the window and groans when his cell service takes its sweet time sending the message along. Mike gets a reply a reply twenty minutes later: Will laughing at his misery with a short additional, “you’ll be there before you know it,” and a bunch of kiss emojis.

The next hour passes with Mike flipping through his ever growing Will gallery, a digital photo album filled with selfies and candid shots of Will, both solo and with Mike. He’s not one for being in photos himself but Will manages to drag him into a few selfies here and there. He doesn’t mind snapping a selfie either by himself or together—cheeks squished as they both attempt to fit in the frame as Mike holds the phone up and out—because Will always asks him to send the photo along and then makes it his lock screen until the next time he convinces Mike it’s photo time.

After settling on a candid shot Mike snapped when he and Will visited Lovers’ Lake and the sun framed Will like a bright halo of fire, Mike settles on playing a mobile game for about another two hours before staring out the window until the trees blend together and his eyes find themselves sliding shut. He wakes up a few times here and there when the family stops at gas stations and picks up snacks—he definitely remembers his mom arguing with his dad about stopping at a hotel which they ultimately don’t do—but he wakes up for the final time to his phone buzzing in his lap, startling him out of a dream he quickly forgets upon waking. Caller ID tags the number as Will and he immediately answers as he scrambles for his headphones in his pocket.

“Hey,” he begins, shoving the headphone plug into the slot at the bottom of the device, “Is everything okay back home?”

“Everything’s great,” Will’s voice crackles on the line and Mike peaks outside in the darkness to notice the forest surrounding him. They must be close to the cabin destination already. He didn’t think he had slept for that long. “Just checking in since it’s about time you’ve arrived if your dad didn’t take a rest.”

Mike laughs. “You’re cute, you know, checking up on me like this.” He hears Nancy snorting and reaches over Holly to pinch her bare arm. She glares at him and covers Holly’s eyes to flip him off. “Nancy says hello by the way.”

“Hello back to her.” Mike can hear Will’s grin and his heart clenches in sorrow at the current distance between them. “Are you doing okay there?”

“Yeah, peachy.” Mike yawns and covers his mouth. “Is it too cheesy to say I already miss you?”

“Maybe, but I miss you, too, so you don’t have to be embarrassed about it.”

A sleepy smile curls itself on Mike’s lips. “One week, Byers; one week and then I’m back.”

“Yeah, but don’t spend your time counting down the days, alright? I’ll do that for us both; you just have a great time at the cabin.”

Mike would kiss him if he could. “I’ll try my best but you know how my brain works.”

“Are you telling me it actually does work?”

“I’m breaking up with you.” Will laughs heartily. “Why are you laughing; I’m serious this time.”

“Sure, Wheeler.” Mike frowns as the last bit of his name gets caught in static. “Hey, I know this is probably something that should wait until you’re back but this separation made me realize I should tell you either way.”

“This sounds pretty important.”

“Yeah. I, uh, you probably already know this though but,” and Will takes a deep breath and releases it, though Mike hears it in short, split crackles. “Mike, I love you.”

The clarity in those four words stuns Mike into speechlessness and his mouth dries as his heart thumps speedily in his chest. Will is right, Mike already knows Will loves him, but this is the first time Will has ever said the fact out loud. I love you echoes in Mike’s head at the reverb levels of a rock guitarist. It takes far too long for his brain to come back online, but by the time it does, the car speeds past a brush of trees and the call suddenly drops. Mike looks down at his phone screen as the loud call dropped tone passes through his headphones. His home screen—a playfully disgruntled selfie as Will kisses his cheek—stares him back in the face as Will’s voice continues to bounce about in his head.

Mike, I love you.

Mike quickly calls back but his phone spits back the message that he has no service. “Nancy,” he hisses even though the entire car heard his part of his conversation with Will anyway, “do you have any service on your phone? I need to call Will back and my phone is being homophobic.”

Nancy raises her eyebrows but checks phone and shakes her head. “Looks like you’re straight out of luck.”

“Ha; you’re quite the comedian, aren’t you.” Mike reaches forward to tap his mom’s arm. “Mom, can I borrow your phone to finish a call?”

“Sorry, sweetie, I’ve lost service, too. I don’t think any of us can use internet on our phones.”

“Does the cabin at least have wifi?”

“Nope,” snorts Mike’s dad as he drives the car down a dirt road further into the forest. “You kids these days need to learn what life is like without cell phones anyway.”

Mike rolls his eyes and mumbles under his breath, “Okay, boomer.”

“What was that, young man?”

“Okay, bummer.” Nancy bites on her bottom lip and Mike sends her a grin before settling in his seat.

Their mom reaches a hand back to rest on Mike’s knee. “It’s only 7 days, Michael. I’m sure both you and Will can last that long without contact.”

He told me he loves me, Mom, he wants to explain but Will’s words are too fresh and far too private to blurt out in front of the whole family. He crosses his arms silently and turns to stare out the window, hoping that Will can wait out these next few days and hoping he doesn’t think Mike hung up on him after such an important conversation. I love you, too, he thinks to himself, smiling as he presses his hand against the chilly window and imagines Will on the other side as if the car window is the window in Will’s room and Will’s inside watching Mike with that ever so lovestruck grin filled with appreciation that Mike came over despite the cold night to comfort Will from the nightmares that occasionally plague him to this day.

I love you, Will, he repeats inwardly, wait for me.

#byler #byeler #mike wheeler #will byers #fluff #drabble #request finished #sidenote: i call the book 'the golden compass' because that's the title in the states!#on ao3

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ironwoman359 · 5 years

Text

Edit: imma just keep reblogging this everytime I feel like it’s needed. Please consider reading and then reblogging.

You don’t have to be particularly interested in my sides (called traits cuz alliteration) to get something out of this, I think. Thanks 💜

(Taylor’s Traits)

Ellie (Sentiment): Guys, I think we should do something.

Claire (Preservation): Uhh.....bad idea, Ellie.

Dael (Logic): Wait, what are you talking about.

Ellie: Look at everyone! They’re upset! They’re fighting, some of them! We should do something!

Claire: Yeah, great idea, weigh in on an issue that we haven’t seen actually unfold in and of itself, without all the facts or a clear idea of when this started.

Ellie: But Claire–

Claire: Not to mention, why should people listen to us? There are thousands of people in this fandom, why would they listen to what we have to say?

Dael: Well, statistically speaking, they have in the past.

Ellie: Yeah, we have a voice here! We should use it to do good somehow!

Claire: Ok, maybe, but we STILL don’t know exactly how this all started happening, we’ve been offline most of the day and we came back on to this!

Dael: What exactly is happening?

Ellie: Character discourse in the fanders.

Dael: Oh sh*t.

Claire: Yeah, that’s what I said.

Dael: Well, if we don’t have all the facts, wouldn’t it be prudent to go back through the tag and try to discover how this began?

Claire: That’s a great idea, if you want to make Ellie cry. They’re saying bad stuff about Patton.

Dael: ....they’re what?

Claire: Some people don’t like how he was acting in the newest video. Several are just calmly discussing and theorizing, of course, but you know how the internet can get.

Dael: Oh my– this is why cancel culture is such a problem, I swear–

Ellie: So yeah, we have to do something!

Claire: I still think it’s better to stay OUT of it!

Dael: I mean...there’s so many arguments that can and should be made....I don’t even know where to begin.

Leah (Insecurity): Plus if you make them, either A: nobody will read them, or B: people will hate that you made them and be mad that you tried to tell them how to feel.

Ellie: Hi, Leah.

Dael: When did I say I was going to tell them how to feel? One of the arguments I was going to make was that everyone’s feelings about something like this are going to be different, based on their own biases and experiences, and that it’s important to acknowledge those feelings when approaching another side in debate. People are not inherently “right” or “wrong” for how they interpret Patton’s actions in a video.

Leah: Yeah, but people might get upset that we’re trying to weigh in. You know what some people think of “bigger blogs,” what if they think we’re trying to overstep our boundaries?

Claire: This is why we should just do nothing, hide away until it all blows over...or never come out of hiding at all, that’s good too...

Ellie: Okay, Leah, come over here by me, you can’t get that close to Claire, you know what happens.

Leah: whatever

Dael: I...look. There’s so much to unpack here, I don’t even know where to start...

Ariyana (Creativity): Uhhhh, how about with the fact that, while the accusations some have laid at Patton’s feet have some merit, literally ALL of Thomas’s sides have had times where their actions were less than perfect, and that while they all wish what is best for Thomas, they are each often misguided or mistaken in what the best is, and NONE of them can be said to be 100% innocent?

Dael: Ari! When did you...you know what, you have a point. From Roman’s poor past treatment of Virgil and bravado to Virgil’s own misguided attempts at being listened to with fear tactics, to Logan’s refusal to compromise or listen to other ideas and Patton’s repression of negative emotions, none of the sides can claim to be as innocent as we would often like them to believe.

Ellie: Well...that’s part of the problem too though. Remember the last few videos? A lot of people weren’t happy with Logan...and a lot of shade was thrown his way.

Dael: Ah, I remember hearing that something similar happened to Roman between the first and second part of Virgil’s redemption arc. Not to mention Deceit’s first appearance. So what’s the problem then? Besides, of course, that this is happening at all.

Claire: Some people have asked for #patton negativity to be tagged, and some people (I think?) are upset that because it’s Patton, people are protesting the discourse and asking for tags when it was Logan under fire, nothing like that happened?

Dael: ....is there any validity to that claim?

Claire: I dunno man, I try to steer us away from discourse usually. I don’t know what it was like last time! And I don’t even know that much of what it’s like now! But people are getting hate anons again and it just...

Ellie: It’s a bad time.

Dael: Oh. Well...isn’t this better then?

Claire: What do you mean?

Dael: If we as a fandom made mistakes with how we handled discourse in the past, then asking for #patton negativity, or indeed, any #side negativity, to be tagged is less about favoring Patton over other sides or saying that you’re allowed to post negative opinions about the other sides and not Patton, and MORE about us growing as a fandom. We’re doing better now than we were in the past. There’s a difference between hypocrisy and growth.

Ellie: Oh....well, what about what they’re actually saying about Patton?

Dael: I feel as though we as a fandom have already covered this subject, with the discourse surrounding Deceit? You can have whatever opinions you like about the character. You can interpret his actions in the new video as justified, as manipulative, as morally correct or incorrect. Any of those interpretations are fine, valid, and most are possible within canon. But when discussing/portraying those interpretations, it is best to tag appropriately so that people looking for that content can find it and people looking to avoid that content can do so. We also had the conversation about how you do not get to dictate what other people find upsetting. Indeed, the reason we haven’t looked into more details on this is because intentionally looking for negative comments about Patton would upset you, is that correct, Ellie?

Ellie: Yes, it is. I don’t like the idea of Patton being bad.

Ariyana: Well, this is the thing. Patton being wrong or making a mistake is not the same as him being bad. Just like Deceit having some good points is not the same as him being good. Each character, each person, has the capability for good and bad. And if you ask me, this dichotomy is both what Deceit was trying to get Character!Thomas to understand and what Actual!Thomas is planning on discussing next in the series, that morality is rarely so black and white. THIS is why, as you said, Dael, cancel culture is such a problem. We must allow people to grow, and we must allow them to make mistakes, and then be forgiven.

Dael: Exactly, thank you Ariyana. I couldn’t put it better myself.

Ariyana: Well good, then that means we can wrap this up and hit the hay. I’m tired! Let’s go, Leah. No, don’t you mutter under your breath, it’s going to be fine. Posting this is a good idea, trust me.

Ellie: Thanks, Dael.

Dael: Glad to be of assistance. Are you two going to be alright now?

Claire: I think so, yeah. Talking about it always helps. I just hope the fanders are gonna be okay...

Dael: Well, if you recall other times the, ah, FamILY has encountered hardship in the past, they have always overcome it together. And I have seen no evidence to suggest that we should stop believing in them now.

Claire: Yeah...you’re right, Dael. Thanks. G’night!

Dael: Goodnight Claire, goodnight Ellie.

Ellie: Night guys! Love you!

And I love you too, all you fanders out there. Hang tight. We’ll get through this the way we always do. As a famILY. <3

#sanders sides #ts sides #fanders #thomas sanders #patton discourse #deceit discourse #taylor talks #taylor's traits #long post

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autisticteru · 7 years

Text

A Kick in the Teeth is Good for Some - CHAPTER 6

Summary: All Ritsu wants is to move on and be happy with his life. But something keeps growing inside him. From his stomach to his chest to his throat and out his eyes and mouth, until it fully surrounds him making it impossible to ignore. He can cut it down, but it will just grow back. He needs to destroy it, to pull it up from the roots. And he thinks he finally knows how. But there’s only one person who can help with that. Unfortunately, that person is Teruki Hanazawa.

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Chapter 6: Bonds

The next drill consisted of what Ritsu could only describe as a psychic equivalent of weightlifting. He was able to lift smaller objects, and was even able to lift Teru when he wasn’t resisting, although that required a significant amount of effort. But his level of skill was nowhere near Teru’s.

“You were actually able to lift an entire fleet of cars by yourself?”

“I had some help from the kids from the Awakening Lab, but I really was doing most of the work. Takeuchi also helped me later. I was also running a high fever at the time so I wasn’t in the best of shape.”

“You were running a high fever?”

“Yes, I just said that.”

“So were you also sick when we were fighting Shimazaki?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of a shame. Maybe if I was in better shape I would have been able to kick his ass harder.”

Ristu was speechless. Teru was just talking about this as if it were no big deal. Was that some attempt at being humble? Because it was pissing Ritsu off.

Teru walked over to the backpack he left lying on the ground and pulled out a notepad and a pen.

“What’s that for?” asked Ritsu.

“Progress tracking.” Teru flipped open the notepad and started writing something down. “I was going to do this initially with the barrier training, but I fucked that up.”

“I told you, I was just about to tell you to stop.”

“Well then I’m sure you’ll do better tomorrow when I actually track your progress on that. But for now let’s focus on your telekinesis.”

Teru’s writing eventually came to a stop, and he opened his mouth to speak once more.

“So here’s the deal,” started Teru. “You can lift objects as big as people, and you can blast away objects even bigger. But you can’t lift anything much heavier than a fridge, you can barely move me when I’m resisting, and you can’t lift yourself.”

“I probably could have just told you that.”

“No. It’s better I see you attempt. I can at least make an estimate of how much potential you have that way.”

“So what do you think?”

“I think in order to beat Suzuki-kun, you need to at least be able to lift the equivalent of a cement truck.”

“A what?”

“I’m not finished yet. Your telekinesis also needs to be able to have some sort of effect on me. You need to be able to hurt me with telekinesis. You also need to be able to lift yourself, as well as learn some techniques that travel outside the basics. And you need to be creative with how you use your basics.”

“How long is this going to take?”

“I’m still not finished. You also should try and have something in your arsenal to surprise your opponent. For example; I can attack and defend simultaneously. That’s a rare skill that most espers wouldn’t expect. You need to have a skill like that to throw your opponent off guard.”

“Are you finished now?”

“Yes.”

“So how long do you think this is going to take?”

“It’ll take as long as it takes, Ritsu-kun.”

Ritsu had to wonder why he expected anything other than a vague answer. Teru noticed Ritsu rolling his eyes, and spoke again.

“Ritsu-kun, if there’s one thing I’ve learned since I met your brother, it’s that people are full of surprises. I want you to surprise me.”

It was a lot to take in, to say the least. Teru’s list of requirements was heavier than expected. And Teru seemed to have high expectations. But Ritsu was used to it. They were no higher than the expectations Ritsu put on himself. Not even close.

The rest of the training consisted on various drills designed to improve strength. Teru would throw rubble at Ritsu’s barrier to see how well Ritsu could adjust his power levels appropriately on reflex. Teru would gather up large pieces of rubble and rock to make boulders for Ritsu to attempt to break. Everything was going smoothly, which was surprising considering their rocky start. Perhaps it was because there was no need for conflict between the two espers. It was simple. Teru would tell Ritsu what to do and Ritsu would do it. The exercises were productive and Ritsu had no reason to complain. This was what he asked for.

“You’ve been doing well so far!” said Teru as he bent down to sit next to him. For the first time, Ritsu considered responding with a “thank you,” but a mouthful of tofu kept him silent. Both boys were sitting with their legs dangling off a broken ledge, but only Ritsu was eating.

“Although,” Teru started again as Ritsu gulped down what was left in his mouth. “If you were hungry you really should have said something.”

“I thought you’d know when a reasonable time to eat was.”

“Sorry, I forgot to keep track of time.”

Ritsu continued eating in silence for a few more minutes until he noticed that Teru hadn’t even moved to reach for the backpack of food.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Oh, no don’t worry. I’m not hungry.”

“You’re not hungry?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“It’s been four hours.”

“Has it now?”

“Yes! You were the one who said that first!”

“Ah, sorry. I guess I’m a bit forgetful today.”

Ritsu stared at Teru in silence, stunned. Ritsu knew Teru was strange, but this was weird even for him. After staring a bit, Ritsu noticed something else that was off. Teru wasn’t moving. He was staring straight ahead, eyes perfectly still and unblinking. There was no sound or movement coming from him to give off the impression that he was breathing. In fact, there was no heat coming off of Teru at all. Teru suddenly started moving again when he appeared to notice Ritsu’s stares.

“Is something the matter?” asked Teru.

“Ah! It’s nothing!” Ritsu tried his best not to look suspicious, but he was sweating from nervousness.

“Are you sure? Is there something on my face?”

“Uh…” Ritsu genuinely could not figure out how to answer that question. There was nothing on his face. No pores. No wrinkles. Nothing.

“I’m just wondering what we’re going to do next!” Ritsu hoped that was a good enough response.

“Ah, are you that excited? Then we’ll start the final spar right away!”

Teru slid off the ledge and let himself fall down to the clearing at the bottom of the crater where most of their training had taken place.

“Aren’t you coming?” Teru yelled up.

“Oh, right!” Ritsu nervously hopped down to Teru’s level and tried his best not to focus on his body that was approaching uncanny valley territory.

“The rules are simple. Whoever can stun their opponent for ten seconds wins. Got it?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Don’t be nervous, Ritsu-kun. I don’t expect you to win the first time. Just try your best!”

On any normal occasion Ritsu would have been annoyed by a comment like that. Teru twisted his knees into his signature stance and counted to three before darting straight towards Ritsu. Ritsu put up his barrier and blocked Teru’s first attack, which appeared to be an energy bomb. Teru hopped back as the explosion went off and Ritsu decided to lower his barrier to make his own attack. Until he heard someone speaking right behind him.

“I’m disappointed in you, Ritsu-kun.” The voice was so close Ritsu could feel it breathing down his neck. But before he could turn around and react to it he felt something wrap tightly around his body.

“What-?!” Ritsu felt himself being swept off his feet. His arms were now fully secured to his sides, completely restraining him. Looking down, he saw that the thing tying him up was what appeared to be a rope of yellow psychic energy. Following it down he could see Teru connected to it a few feet below him next to… another Teru?

“Three seconds,” said one of the Terus. Ritsu was so dizzy he couldn’t really tell which one it was..

“How-”

“It took me three seconds to beat you. And I only needed to lift a finger. But that’s not why I’m disappointed in you.”

Ritsu struggled against the bind to get a better view of his now duplicated opponent. There certainly were two Terus standing on the ground, both with stern looks on their faces. One of them was holding his finger up where the energy connected to. Ritsu had a good idea of what was going on.

“You cloned yourself?”

The second Teru suddenly vanished into thin air, answering Ritsu’s question.

“Ritsu-kun, do you know how long you’ve been training with that clone?”

Ritsu stopped struggling and froze, stunned. Suddenly everything made perfect sense.

“Since lunch, right?” answered Ritsu.

“Wrong. You’ve been training with that clone since we started telekinesis training.”

“Eh?!” Ritsu couldn’t believe his ears. Teru had to be joking.

“So you didn’t even notice that anything was wrong until lunch.”

“Wait a second! You can’t be serious!”

“I was even trying to make it easy for you, you know. I made sure my footsteps were loud so you could hear me walk in the other direction, and then silently sent the clone right next to you. Did you not notice that?”

“Ah!” Ritsu remembered, “I did! But I-”

“But nothing. You did nothing. You said nothing. You know for someone who outright told me that you don’t trust me, you sure do trust me a lot.”

“But why did you-”

“Ritsu-kun, why didn’t you say anything during lunch?”

“I don’t know! What was I supposed to even say? ‘Hey Teru-san, I noticed you don’t have a heartbeat. What’s up with that?’”

“Would have been better than nothing.”

“Oh, just shut up and let me down! You win, okay?”

“Are you telling me that you want me to free you?”

“Yes!”

“Did you also want to have lunch an hour ago?”

“Huh?”

“Listen up, Ritsu-kun. This is a lesson. I can let you go, but I can’t free you. You need to do that yourself.”

Teru brought Ritsu back down to the ground and released him.

“Alright,” said Teru in a much more upbeat voice. “You failed your first test, but that’s ok. Failure is the best teacher. I’ve learned that from experience.”

“You mean when my brother kicked your ass?”

“Anyway,” said Teru, ignoring Ritsu’s comment. “Do some stretches and we’ll run back to the bus stop. Same time tomorrow. Weekends off. Got it?”

“Got it.”

It was going to be a long break.

“Ah, welcome back Ritsu!”

Had it been a few months ago, Ritsu would have been happy to see his brother relaxing on the couch. He would have returned his warm smile and offered to play video games with him. But that was back before all this.

It was growing up his throat now. What was it? Ritsu was too tired to even contemplate it.

“Hey, Nii-san.”

“You look exhausted. You were out with Suzuki-kun all day though, so I don’t blame you.”

“Um, yeah. I, uh, learned a lot from him.”

“I’m sure you’ll get better! You can do anything you put your mind to!”

“Yep. Thanks.”

Ritsu hurried up to his room and shut the door quickly behind him and crashed on top of his bed. Everything hurt. And yet, there was something nice about the pain. Maybe it was because physical pain was always easier for Ritsu to handle. He was no stranger to it at this point.

A knock on the door violently pulled Ritsu out of his thoughts as he flinched at the sound of it.

“C-come in!” He sputtered out. And in came a concerned-looking Mob with wide eyes and a gentle air.

“Ritsu, are you okay?”

“Ah, I’m fine! Don’t worry about me, Nii-san.” Ritsu gave the best smile he could muster, hoping his brother would believe him. But Mob’s expression did not change.

“You’ve just been acting strange…” Mob’s quiet voice trailed off, as though he were thinking of what to say next. But when he finally spoke, the words that came out of his mouth were the worst possible words Ritsu could have ever expected.

“Am I bothering you?”

Ritsu clenched the sheets of his bed as his chest turned bright red. Ritsu could feel it. That feeling. It grew out past Ritsu’s throat and wrapped itself firmly around his tounge. It begged for attention and dug its roots deep below his stomach and through his intestines. Ritsu’s body was running out of room to hold something this violent.

“No! Not at all!” said Ritsu with the most forced smile imaginable. “You’ve done nothing wrong! I’m just tired from hanging out with Te-uh, Suzuki, is all! I’m fine though!”

Mob stood silent for a bit, but then smiled.

“Okay Ritsu. I trust you. But just remember you can always trust me too! If you ever need to talk I’m here.”

And with that, he left, closing the door behind him. And Ritsu was left shaken, gagged by his own emotions manifesting his every orifice. Everything hurt, inside and out. His body was sore. His body was full of thorns. Ritsu did not breathe when Mob left. He did not move.

Ritsu skipped dinner that night.

Teru walked up the steps to his apartment. It had been a long day and he was actually getting pretty hungry. But as he turned the corner at the top of the steps he saw an unexpected, yet familiar face walking down the hall. She was a tall, middle-aged woman with dark hair. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Teru, and he was greeted with a wave and a warm smile.

Her name was Midori, and she was the landlady. She was also Teru’s aunt. Teru was immediately filled with dread.

“There you are, Teru-chan!”

“Ah, hello Aunt Midori. What are you doing here? Did someone skip out on paying rent?”

“Oh, it’s nothing like that! I was just trying to check up on you, but you were out. I see you’re wearing a tracksuit! Were you exercising?”

“Uh, yeah. Something like that. Ah-!” Midori grabbed onto Teru’s arm and started squeezing it.

“Wow! Your muscles have grown so big, Teru-chan!”

“H-hey!” Teru pulled her hands off of him.

“Oh, sorry! I should have asked first. But really, don’t you think you’re making it a bit unfair for the rest of your classmates? They must be so jealous of you for having magic powers and huge muscles!”

“They aren’t magic powers, Aunt Midori. We’ve been over this.”

“Eh, I don’t know. Being able to lift things with your mind seems pretty magical to me. So how have you been?”

What a loaded question.

“Uh, alright I guess.”

“What about your girlfriend?”

Teru was clenching his fists so hard he could feel the pain of his nails digging into his palm.

“She’s been busy lately so I haven’t seen her much. But we’re still dating!”

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

“I’m glad to hear it! You should bring her over soon so I can see her!”

Teru reached his hand up to his chest to unzip his tracksuit. His shirt was damp. His forehead was going red. The air around him felt like it was on fire. He had to change the subject.

“So why were you checking up on me?”

“Oh yeah, that! Well your parents have been worried about you. You haven’t been answering phone lately. I tell them that you’re fine, but they’d really like to see you!”

Teru put on the calmest most casual smile he could muster.

“Oh, I’ll give them a call soon!”

“You know, you are on break. Why don’t you go and visit them?”

“Well, I actually have plans with a friend so I can’t exactly leave.”

“Oh? What kind of plans?”

“Oh, you know. Personal plans.”

“Well if you have time, you should really consider it!”

“Yeah, I will. Don’t worry.”

Midori’s smile quickly faded and she began looking at Teru with concerned eyes.

“Teruki…” she said, “It’s been three months.”

Teru’s heart began to race as his head went light.

“E-eh?”

“You haven’t answered their calls in three months. They’re worried about you, Teruki. I’m worried about you.”

“Ah w-well,” stuttered Teru as he clasped his hands together, trying to avoid eye contact. “I’ve just been forgetful lately! That’s all!”

“She was crying you know.”

Teru went pale. His chest was on fire.

“Your mother,” started Midori, “She would give you the stars if she could. She loves you so much. But these are very important years of your life, and she’s missing them. Please, Teruki. I hate seeing my little sister like this.”

Teru’s forehead went numb. Everything under his tracksuit was burning.

“I…” Teru had to say something. Anything. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’m sorry too. If you ever need anyone to talk to, you know where to find me!”

Midori waved goodbye and walked down the stairs. And for a minute, Teru forgot how to breathe. He forgot how to move.

Teru lost his appetite.

#shark writes #a kick in the teeth is good for some #riteru #mp100 fic #alright time to edit the other posts and then try to go offline for a bit

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mmazzeroo · 5 years

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Chapter 15 - NED IV - That’s A Big Campfire

@helloimnotawesome - Chapter 15 updated. I’m SO sorry for the long wait. Thought I forgot about you, didn’t you ;) Well....finally there’s a new update for you as well as a new mood board :) Enjoy, my friend! <3

EDIT: Posted this earlier with the mood board but it got flagged!!! Stupid Dumblr, so while waiting the staff to realise their mistake here’s a repost and you’ll have to go AO3 to see the mood board. Sorry about that sweetie <3

NED IV - That’s A Big Campfire

"In a heartbeat, Dr. Stark!"

"Thank you so much, Sam," the boy is still so formal, "and Sam?"

"Yes, Dr. Stark?"

"Call me Ned, please." He smiled to himself.

"Ah right, yes, of course Dr. Stark...Sorry! Ned..." He could practically hear Sam blushing over the phone.

"Good! Now, once again thank you for helping with this, Sam."

"My pleasure, Dr. S..Ned."

Again, he chuckled at Sam's overly politeness. "Won't take more of your time. See you in a couple of weeks," not waiting for Sam's answer he hung up the phone. Crossing the big field of grass behind Dragonstone castle, he walked over to his wife and Rhaella currently busy cooing over his grandchildren who were rolling around on a blanket placed on the grass in the shadow of a beautiful old tree.

"Just spoke to Sam - it's all set."

"Wonderful, honey! He's going to be so surprised!" His wife was beaming up at him.

"Hopefully only in a positive way. I don't exactly have a good track-record when it comes to surprising my eldest son." He sighed as he looked around searching for the man in question.

"Oh stop it!" Rhaella grabbed his arm and pulled him down to sit between her and Catelyn. "He'll be so excited I bet he'll go speechless. You didn't see his sad puppy face when he was on the phone with Robb that day and had to tell him no. He looked like he thought he'd be ruining his brother's big day because of it. We didn't see him again until nightfall."

"He was always an emotional boy, Ned. Considering what he's lived through it's remarkable he's still able to be this empathetic." Catelyn gently stroked him down his cheek and kissed him. "Jon has a good heart. Been put back together with countless stitches yes, but at it's core still true and pure. He'll be over the moon when he sees what you and Robb has arranged."

He couldn't help smile at his wife's wise words. My sweet gentle sons. Trying to catch up on the time they lost together. "You're of course right - both of you." He quickly smiled at both women sitting on either side of him. "Instead of worrying I'll look forward to seeing some joy on my son's face." Joy! Wouldn't that be a sight!

"That's the spirit!" Rhaella gave him a big smile and light-heartedly nudged his shoulder with her own. "Now, not that I didn't know already, but I must say Robb has made a fabulous choice for his future wife." She nodded her head slightly to the riders further down the field.

Margaery and Sansa where on each their horse accompanying little Rhaenys on her pony between them. Rhaenys was in awe of both. Earlier in the day they had been sitting in the grass braiding each other's hair, adding flowers to the braids and even making garlands that they'd been wearing like crowns. He had to admit he found it adorable how the two took the time for Rhaenys and indulged her. Arya, on the other hand had rolled her eyes, pretending to gag and walked away. Oh how he loved his two girls. So different yet so similar. Just don't tell them that! They had the same fierce spirit, though when it came to expressing said spirit they'd chosen different ends of the spectre. Arya was, for the most part, hit first ask later. Sansa, on the other hand, would take the hits yet refuse to give in. My wild wolf and quiet wolf. Interestingly, he'd noticed a change in both over the past 5-6 months that Jon had been here at Dragonstone and everyone had made sure to make frequent visits whenever schedules allowed. The only one flying in a few times a week was Viserys for his therapy sessions with Jon. Arya was gradually beginning to show signs of something he could've sworn was a foreign concept to her - patience. Who would've ever thought! And Sansa, oh Sansa! She was slowly coming out of her shell, walking and talking with a little more confidence every day, and she was biting back. When Catelyn had told him that Sansa had suggested wearing a sleeveless dress as a bridesmaid, if Margaery agreed, his eyes had overflowed with tears. His shy, broken girl wanting to proudly put her scars on display like that to the world made his heart melt with pride and fatherly love. If I ever get my hands on Joffrey or Ramsey I'll smother them with my own bare hands!! Margaery, of course, had happily and eagerly agreed, knowing what a huge step this was for Sansa.

He couldn't help wonder what it was that caused all these changes. Has Jon returning helped fill a void we each had in our hearts? Is our individual healing contributing to us heal as a family? Have we all found our 'missing piece' in our lives and souls? Or are my girls just growing and maturing at their own natural pace? No, it was all connected to Jon one way or another. By his attempts to reconnect with his siblings and family for his own healing he was helping them with theirs as well. He knew Jon didn't necessarily do this knowingly. After all, the young man was simply trying to regain what he thought he'd lost. However, when he saw anyone in need of help - in anything - he immediately jumped in to provide any assistance he could. He'd always done that even as a little boy. Jon didn't want to see anyone in pain or suffering for any reason. Once again he was taken aback by his son's willingness to help others even if it meant at the expense of his own health. He had done so for years as a member of the Night's Watch, and it became even more ironic when taking into account Jon's blood type. O negative, also known as the universal giver because all other blood types could receive it without trouble - Jon however if given any blood type other than his own would die. It was as if the Gods had forged him to endure heartbreak, pain and suffering for the sake of others, to shield others, to help and save others. What was it Jon had said a few months ago? 'The same hammer that breaks glass forges steel'. That's it! Jon is teaching Sansa that she's steel while all this time she thought of herself as glass! Except he's hitting her with buckets of love. Ha! Jon you brilliant man! He made a mental note to go properly thank the gods when he returned to Winterfell before the wedding. Gods, the wedding! For a minute there he'd completely forgotten everything about it.

He was happy for Robb and Margaery, but at the same time he couldn't understand his little boy had grown up so fast. Oh Ned, you sentimental old fool. Every parent thinks that. He shook his head slightly. In just a few weeks his son and heir to the title of Lord of Winterfell would be marrying the granddaughter of President Olenna Tyrell. It was quite a match and the media and the public loved it! The media! Damnit! Another thing we need to try to prepare Jon for.

Just after New Year's the Starks and Targaryens had sent out a joint press release informing the public of the miraculous return of Jonathan Dayne, heir to Starfall and the son of Eddard Stark and late Ashara Dayne. The families asked to kindly give Jon and his family time and space to recover from the shock, and any press inquiries could be directed to Mr. Tyrion Lannister. Shortly after the President had made a public statement that the Starks were collaborating closely with the authorities, and that further investigations into the events of the years since Captain Dayne's kidnapping and the people involved were already under way, and how she was hoping to hear about more families being united despite all the time passed. The public had responded overwhelmingly positive and sympathy messages online and offline had poured in. Especially messages from Dorne and the city of Starfall was filled with excitement of how they'd welcome him back home with open arms. Luckily, Jon and the cinnabons, thank you for that nickname Arya, had managed to remain sheltered on Dragonstone for the past almost 6 months. Now though it was time for him to step out into the limelight and take his 'rightful' place in the media as the Lord of Starfall. Viserys had assured him that Jon was ready for the circus and that he'd be alright surrounded by family. At least he'll have Dany by his side as well.

"Speaking of future spouses," his wife interrupted his busy mind, "your daughter has made a wise choice herself, if I may say so."

"Indeed! She's had a few trial and errors, but I have a good feeling about this new man in her life." In a mirthful tone Rhaella continued, "I have on good authority that he's from a reputable family, and he's even a war hero!"

"Oh my! What a catch!" Catelyn played along with Rhaella's joking tone and comically pretended to be fanning herself. "But is he handsome? No fun in bagging a man if he's looking like an oaf!"

"Believe me my friend when I tell you he's the prettiest in all the lands!"

He couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. Giggling like school girls!! Gods!

Catelyn wrapped her arm around his waist. "Oh c'mon, Ned, have a laugh!"

"Not as long as you call any son of mine 'pretty'!" He said feigning offence.

"But it's the truth, dear Neddy!" Really don't like it when she calls me that. "Next month at Margaery and Robb's wedding there'll be swooning left and right over all of your sons, but in particularly your eldest. Oh Cat, can you imagine how dashing he'll look in his uniform?! I might even swoon!"

All three of them laughed out loud at that image. Rhaella herself so much she had her head leaned back and holding on to him to keep from toppling over.

They all sat quiet for a bit trying to catch their breath again.

"On a serious note though, I do have a good feeling about those two. They are clearly good for each other, and in due time I expect it to naturally end in vows as well." Rhaella stretched her arms and tickled little Adei and Amador on their little chubby baby stomachs and the air was instantly filled with delighted baby giggles. "They are both mature enough to understand that this is something that needs to be done slowly. It warms my old heart to see them take their time to get to know each other and enjoy each other and not rush in like headless chickens." She turned her head a gave him and Catelyn a warm smile.

"They grow up so fast don't they?" His wife was looking at the babies with a wistful look in her eyes. "Oh by the way before I forget, Margaery and I have managed to colour coordinate Dany's maid-of-honour dress to the colours on Jon's uniform. Wasn't easy as the blue and red doesn't exactly go with the colour scheme of the wedding, but we made it work." She flashed a satisfied smile before adding, "with a little help from Sansa as well."

"And what did my daughter say to the changes?" Rhaella had an amused look on her face as if fighting to hold back a laugh.

"She doesn't know. We didn't want her to keep secrets from Jon. Not telling how the bride and her maids will be dressed is one thing, but in this case the reason why would be a big secret."

"Thank you!" He leaned in and give his wife a tender kiss on her temple. She clearly understands how sensitive Jon is about secrets. Gods I love her!

"When she questioned it, Sansa told her that all the Starks were colour matched with the bride as a way of symbolically welcoming her to the pack. Dany of course still looked a bit sceptical." She chuckled at the memory. "So Margaery simply told her it was a bride's prerogative to change her mind."

"Of course!" Rhaelle chimed in clearly amused at the story.

"So that means she'll be as surprised when she sees him as he will seeing her?" He was a little puzzled.

She chuckled. "Yes. She's just expecting him to show up in the traditional morning suit."

"Oh, we better be ready to catch two pairs of young lovers when they see each other that day then!" Once again Rhaella and his wife were giggling like school girls. Once again he caught himself rolling his eyes at them.

Catelyn cheerfully slapped him on his arm. "Don't tell me you weren't thinking the same thing, Ned." Actually I wasn't. "Jon won't even notice the bride walking right behind Dany, nor will Robb notice anyone in front of Margaery!" Again he was surrounded by contagious laughing and he willingly joined in. Gods, she's right!

"I take it Arya enjoyed joining the boys for her first tailor-made suit?"

"Immensely! Although she did find the whole 'having to stand still'-part very tedious." Both women joined in his laughter.

"Well my dear, she is our wild wolf after all." There was so much love in Catelyn's eyes and voice when she said it that he had to kiss her.

Pulling back he looked in his wife's beautiful blue eyes and said, "that she is."

Rhaella cleared her throat as she with an innocent voice said, "want me to leave?"

"Oh stop it, Ella! You're just jealous." Catelyn teased back

"I am actually but that wasn't my point." Laughingly Rhaella wrapped little sleeping Adei in a blanket and stood up.

Catelyn wrapped up Amador, still looking curiously around. As she stood up she placed the little boy in his arms and she packed up the big blanket they'd been sitting on.

"Should I be concerned though," he caught the two women's curious look now, "that our little wild wolf will throw a fit because she won't fit with her new favourite brother now?"

Catelyn and Rhaella shared a look he couldn't quite decipher though there was a hit of worry there.

"Well...," his wife looped her arm with his, "what colour tie and waistcoat will she be wearing?"

"All groomsmen have grey waistcoats and colour of tie is set to match the bridesmaid. Being Arya she of course chose a gold coloured tie, and though her and Bran have switched places I don't think you'll get her to change the colour of her tie. Sorry ladies."

"Oh no, gold should fit well with the golden pieces on Jon's uniform so we should be in the clear. Thank the gods!" His wife huffed out a sigh of relief and Rhaella was just chuckling next to them.

As they were crossing over to where the boys had made camp Catelyn suddenly stopped by his side, pointed and laughed. "How much wood did you tell them to use, Ned? That's big a campfire!"

#helloimnotawesome #heartstrings #jonerys modern au #jonerys fanfic

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criminarchy · 7 years

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I think I’m gonna post my fic here. I’ll probably post it to AO3 once I’ve had it read and edited.

1800+ words.

The day started out with Whirl waking up and seeing that Brainstorm had swiped all the cushions and cloth from the berth for himself. It wasn't entirely strange, Brainstorm preferred to recharge in cushy comfort while Whirl could do without, but he usually left him some of the blanket or a pillow or something. But this time Brainstorm had hijacked everything, clumsily tangled around him and some within his hold. One cushion, in particular, was held close to Brainstorm's built-out chassis for dear life while he shifted and fidgeted and groaned very lightly into the fabric. Cute. But whatever. "Psh. Could'a clung to me instead and maybe you would've had to take my bedding." Whirl grumbled, maybe a little more fondly than intended, before he got up and moving. One morning trip to Swerve's and back to check in and bring him a cube to drink, and Brainstorm was still where Whirl had left him. Brainstorm had managed to move himself to the center of the berth, keeping the pillows and blankets close to him still and curled up tight enough to where Whirl could sit at the edge of their rather large berth and still have plenty of room to move in. His optics were shut offline, but the increased fidgeting and resettling, how he was positioned and where the bedding was placed accordingly, showed that he was a little more awake than earlier. His distress would have usually caught Whirl's attention, maybe even his concern if this hadn't become somewhat common for Brainstorm to be uncomfortable as of late. "You're guaranteed to be uncomfortable. A lot." That's what ol' doc Ratch said at the beginning of Storm's carrying term. Of course, he was right, soon after came the weird internal shifts to set everything in place, and a while after came the increased chassis mass and thicker plating to make room for the protoform. On Whirl's part, he rather enjoyed the transition from helping Brainstorm with his stupid picky tanks to mutually poking fun at how the jet had "gotten almost too stocky to fit through the doorway." But hey. When it comes to these things, better safe than sorry. Reaching down, he gently tapped the rim of his claw against the teal mech's forehelm. "You, ah.... feelin' all right there, Stormy?" Brainstorm seemed to relax just a bit at the contact, leaning into the touch with a low hum. Whirl assumed that meant he didn't have to worry too much. Maybe. "Trouble gettin' comfy?" The jet onlined his optics, dim and just a bit foggy, definitely unfocused. A small nod. A voice filled with static. "Y...eah. I guess tha's..it." "Need anything?" Whirl asked. A small crackle of a vocalizer quickly resetting. "Thnk'm...m'okay..." "...Alright." It wasn't totally convincing, but then again, Brainstorm was hard to get a read on. Two weeks ago he swore he'd never move again his plating hurt so bad and one week ago he ran a double-shift fun-run that he wasn't supposed to have in the first place. Whirl didn't feel any pain resonating in his EM field, just a lot of discomfort and anxiety and restlessness and.... ...and Whirl took another look at how Brainstorm was arranging himself and the berth... Leaving the cube within reach, Whirl comm'd out to his favorite mech ever for a...second opinion. Maybe a little more. ~~~~~~~ "You want to know if he's what?" "Shh shhhhh. Keep it down you big purple pout..." Whirl shoved Cyclonus back out of the doorway, glancing back into his hab to see if Brainstorm had heard them. When he was sure he hadn't, Whirl leaned in close, voice low and raspy and maybe a bit embarrassed, if the copter could even feel shame anymore at this point. "I want to know if Storm's nesting." Cyclonus looked up at Whirl, brow raised. "Can't you tell?" "I...look. I don't really know for sure." "Hm?" "And I don't know how to properly handle this if he is nesting. Properly. And judging by how Storm's been struggling all day, I don't think he knows how it really goes, either." "Hmmm." "So are ya gonna come in and help me? I didn't exactly invite your ugly mug here to judge." "What's not to judge?" Cyclonus asked, almost with a chuckle. "A flyer who doesn't know how to nest." "Well, it hasn't exactly been common practice for a long time, let alone something you learn about living in barracks." Whirl hissed. "And since ya seem so proud to be older than the rivet itself-" "And what about Brainstorm?" Cyclonus interrupted before Whirl could get into a rant. "If he's not nesting, it's fine. If he is, just let the coding run it's course. Once it's active it'll help him know what to do." "He's been struggling since I woke up this morning. Maybe something in the coding doesn't line up, right? Don't take this the wrong way but Storm's a forced flyer..." "How observant." "Hey now-" "Oh shut up, you jagged, haphazard scrap pile." The purple mech sighed. "That last part wasn't an insult." And with that Whirl allowed Cyclonus in, the shorter mech humming deep when he caught sight of Brainstorm laying in the middle of his messy circle of pillows and blankets. "So far, it looks like you're right. How far along the cycle is he?" "Close to the end." "Are you nervous?" "A good kind of nervous." Whirl nodded. "Excited." Cyclonus corrected. "Yeah." "Let me see.." Cyclonus approached the berth. Whirl could feel Cyclonus' EM field expand a little bit, just enough to reach out to Brainstorm's, to let him know he was there in a comforting way before seating himself on the edge of the berth. Whirl was always mockingly endeared, if not completely unnerved, by how gentle Cyc could be when that horned grump actually cared. Brainstorm grunted and rolled over to look, the older mech noticing the glazed look in his optics. "Something's definitely trying to run in his processor..." But Brainstorm didn't protest when Cyclonus tapped a claw against his chest plates. "May I? Just to check?" Brainstorm, despite his agitation, was silent as his plating shifted, moving to open and show his spark chamber. Inside, Brainstorm's spark hummed a low tune, pulsating in a steady rhythm. The other, smaller, spark was nowhere to be seen. "What the hell?" Asked Whirl, who had decided to peak over, optic nearly flashing out in shock when he couldn't see the second budding spark that was supposed to be there. "Where's the other one?" "It's dropped to the protoform," Cyclonus explained, tapping on teal plating again to signal for it to close. Brainstorm shut his chest and curled back up in a low and defeated grumble. "Nice hunch." Was all that Cyclonus said as he got up, walking right past Whirl to leave the hab. "So he is-?" "Yes." "So where do ya think you're going? You gonna help me?" "I am." Cyclonus stopped and turned to Whirl. "And you're going to help me help you, starting by following me to gather a few things." ~~~~~~~ Getting Brainstorm out of berth was hard. Getting him to another room was even harder. Brainstorm was really adamant about not leaving the berth, whining in protest whenever Whirl had tried to move him, and it was almost pathetic and heartbreaking enough to make Whirl feel more than just a little bit guilty and sorry. Eventually, he sucked it up and just picked the jet up, making sure to wrap him in fabric first to at least try the ease the pain of being displaced like this. From that point on, most difficulties stemmed from the fact that, apparently, the protoform needed a lot of plating to protect it, and that made Brainstorm dense. Nothing Whirl couldn't handle, but by the time he got them all the way to Brainstorm's hab, the ex-Wrecker had started to feel the strain. "I hope this is worth it." Whirl punched in the code to open the door and sure enough, Cyclonus was waiting for them inside the dimly-lit room when he walked them in. "Psst. Hey. Stormy." Whirl whispered to the mech in his arms. "Take a look." Brainstorm peeked out from where he had his face buried in Whirl's neck, optics widening at what he saw. It was huge, taking up almost a quarter of his hab, a nest made from what had to have been every pillow and blanket from every hab down the hall, assembled to where a wall of colored cushion and cloth closed off the corner of the hab from the rest of the world. A soft glow emanated from within, illuminating the ceiling above it but not a single solid ray of light crept through the wall of fabric. Brainstorm nearly stumbled as he tried to climb down off of Whirl to get to it, but the copter stopped him, holding him close. "No need, babe. I got ya." Cyclonus lifting a blanket to let them in, Whirl carried Storm over into the fort. Looking abound, Brainstorm could see that the next was lit with string lights that looked a lot like the ones in Swerve's bar, the floor covered with large cushions that resembled the seat cushions from Visages, and in the corner was a pile of blankets, which was where Whirl decided to set him down. He snuggled in, feeling a lot better now. A lot more safe, warm, secure, private. Ready. Whirl laid himself right next to Storm, feeling a little proud of himself as the scientist moved very close to rest his helm on the bigger mech's cockpit, looking more content and relaxed now than he had all day. Who could blame him? This was nice. Even Whirl felt right in here. And so did Cyclonus as well, judging by how he offlined his optics, then took in a deep vent and slowly let it out. "...S'nice." Brainstorm hummed. "Exactly what you were needing?" Whirl asked, feeling a servo move to snake around his waist. "Mhm." It was almost absurd how quickly Brainstorm had fallen into recharge, finally getting some decent rest for what was soon to come, and for a while, all three of them simply rested there in silence, enjoying the comfort of the nest in it's fullest. It was a good while before Cyclonus online his optics again, grunting a little as he moved to let himself out and leave the odd couple be. "Now that he's nested, it should be a few days, maybe as early as tomorrow until the emergence cycle begins." "Thanks," Whirl muttered, almost in recharge himself. "Good luck." "Who needs luck,” Whirl laughed. “When I got help like you?” And wow, maybe he was already dreaming, but Whirl swore he saw the rigid old grouch smile as he left.

#crimfic #whirlstorm #whirl #brainstorm #cyclonus #mechpreg #nesting #headcanons #hear ye

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deitiesofduat · 7 years

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DEITIES Update 3/7/16 -- Semi-Hiatus (on Project tumblr)

Hello everyone~ Time for an important update regarding my activity on the blog. Full details are under the cut, but TL;DR: the DEITIES Project blog will be having a semi-hiatus during the spring season -- which will roughly start in mid-March and may last thru at least the end of May. In that time, the Askbox will remain open, but other updates and tumblr content will become more sporadic and less structured.

During said hiatus, I'll continue working on DEITIES planning, research, and drafting offline, as well as addressing IRL things that require my attention. Additional updates on the DEITIES twitter and instagram will continue as normal. Thank you all for understanding and for your support/interest thus far, and for bearing with me for the next few months.

Alright here's a more thorough explanation, but yeah, wanted to give a heads up that the DEITIES Project blog will be going thru… idk if "hiatus" is quite the right word but a dry spell? Dry season?? The short of it is, I have gathered a lot of things on my plate for the next few months that require my attention -- including several inconveniences that I honestly do not want deal with, but that I need to address anyway because That's Life™

Anyway, I really didn’t want any personal stuff to interfere with my activity on the blog, but I've debated this for a while and realized that this may be unavoidable. I decided that a partial hiatus for the blog is preferable to the less ideal options of (1) taking a full hiatus from posting any progress with the project online, or (2) overwhelming myself to the point of experiencing serious burn out (y'know, before the comic even starts lmao;;; ). It's a call I'm choosing to make now for the sake of my project and for my own well being.

What this will mean for the blog is that future updates will be more sporadic than usual, and that there will be less structure for askbox themes, planned artwork, and other regular content. There's a good chance that there may be some weeks where I won't have anything to update on the blog -- something that might be more stark for those of you who've followed the blog during it's busier periods. Having said this, the askbox will remain open for any general questions and prompts, and I'll will do my best to answer them on the blog in a timely manner, but my overall responsiveness may be decreased during this break.

(( As a temporary note: I'm announcing this semi-hiatus right now but as I mentioned above the cut, it'll probably kick in around Mid march. I still have a few things I want to share on the blog that may include a few last/belated drawings for the relationships theme, and maybe a few more mixes as well to finish sharing this month o)7 Also I think?? there is a way to adjust timestamps to trick tumblr to pin a post to the top of a blog, so I'm gonna give it a try with this announcement to see if it works >>+ Okay no u can’t give it a future timestamp but you can change a past one into a current one, so I’ll try it again later ))

In the meantime, while content on the blog will decrease, I'll be adjusting my focus to offline and "behind the scenes" progress. This will include designating more time to continue drafting the main story and prelude comic; catching up on some AE textbooks and resources; and making minor edits and navigation improvements to the blog and other media. Because all of this is done privately and/or offline, this activity may not be obviously reflected on the blog, and some items will be more ambitious than others. I'll just have to hold myself accountable for that progress, and hopefully I'll have an update worth sharing by the time blog activity resumes.

Ideally, this "dry season" for the blog will not extend any later than the end of May / early June; I'll have completed some key obligations by then, and i'm also eager to try a second round of notes and artwork for Worldbuilding June, among other things I have in mind. But this is subject to change, and I'll have to play it by ear and let you all know as the date approaches.

For anyone interested in keeping up with DEITIES or with reviewing more existing content, there are a few options you're free to check out. The DEITIES Archive is a good way to review older content, and the side bar and Navigation page lists additional pages and tags for different content and artwork over the past year. DEITIES twitter and instagram will also continue with occasional updates during this break, and IG will be where I post any new pencil sketches. (Additionally, I may decide to reblog some past ask replies from last year that may be of interest, but it'll also be sporadic / not nearly as often as new ask responses). And if you're willing to help support DEITIES project via ko-fi donations, or by sharing content with others who might be interested in the project, I'd greatly appreciate it!

LASTLY!! I just want to re-emphasize my appreciation and thanks for everyone who's been interested in DEITIES project, and for following/supporting this project thus far, so I just ask for you all to bear with me and this break for the next few months. I just need to ease up activity in some areas and refocus my progress on others, both project-related and otherwise. So again, thank you everyone!

#DEITIES updates #Semi-hiatus #// Believe me I'm not thrilled to announce any sort of hiatus but reality has a way of mucking up plans #// And I know how frustrating it can to see things like projects got on breaks but better to have it announced than unannounced right??#// There's 0.0001% chance of DEITIES Project actually fading or stopping tho; I'm stubbornly determined to get this story told/shared #// And I'm just stubborn in general and lowkey wanna spite Life rn haha #// SO YEAH thanks for dealing with this for a bit u guys I appreciate it!!#// If all goes well I'll have more quality art to either share or work on by the end of this break!#// also cries thanks for the support and comments everyone ;;;

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angelagiles18 · 5 years

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Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 250

youtube

Click on the video above to watch Episode 250 of the Semantic Mastery Hump Day Hangouts.

Full timestamps with topics and times can be found at the link above.

The latest upcoming free SEO Q&A Hump Day Hangout can be found at http://semanticmastery.com/humpday.

Announcement

Adam: Probably now. All right, well, assuming that we’re actually live because it says we’re live. Welcome to Hump Day hangouts today is the 21st of August 2019. And we have got the full crew here. We’ve got Hernan on video which you know rarely happens normally he’s robbing banks and so he has to work just guys do not show his video, but today we’ve been blessed. He’s not robbing banks. So thank you, Hernan, for being here with us.

Hernan: Dude, I always come here in Hump Day Hang out! You know why? I came on video today because they want to show this. What do you got there? This is a powerful coin. They’re rare. They’re extremely rare. Just a handful of people have it, specifically this one. And so as you can see, it says POFU. So it’s a POFU coin and we got one. I got one, a POFU Live 2018 and they’re rumors that they might be a new set of these POFU Live 2019. So I’m just going because of the coin you know it’s just a gift just to cut the check so so anyways yeah I’m really excited about that we have some good stuff coming up so if you want to hang out with the Semantic Mastery crew learn a shit ton of new stuff to grow your business make awesome connections and then have a good time and then maybe have a coin like this one but not this one like another one just come to POFU Live 2019 is going to be pretty cool.

Adam: I have to agree with Hernan. I couldn’t have said it better yeah you’ll get a coin and it will be there is I can confirm a coin this year and it will be unique so definitely show up like Hernan’s doing it if it’s just for the coin that’s cool but hopefully, you’re there for everything else. Um Let’s go down the line real quick. Bradley, you’re next on my screen How are you doing?

Bradley: I’m hoping that I don’t get knocked offline again fucking storm

Adam: so let me know it takes a day off you don’t have to make up whether the stuff you can just say it right?

Bradley: Yeah, I think I missed one Hump Day hang out or two to one was scheduled off and the other one I missed. You guys covered it for me in what? 250 episodes now? Yeah, about that. That’s crazy, man. So, no, I’m not lying. There’s really a storm out there.

Adam: Deal. Well, we got everyone here. Let’s keep moving on Chris Are you there? Yeah, of course. Hey, how you doing?

Chris: Doing good.

Adam: Cool. All right just gonna keep moving Marco you there?

Marco: I’m incognito.

Adam: Marco we got something coming up next week, right?

Marco: Yeah, but it doesn’t work.

Adam: Yeah. So we should have actually I might go and edit the webinar, which is what we’re hinting at or I was to be you know, you’ll learn how to find out what’s not working.

Hernan: Let’s grab the logo, let’s scratch it, you know, like scratch it like that. That doesn’t work like doesn’t work.

Bradley: As I said, even if it did work, Google could shut it down at any time that you know how many times we’ve heard that over the last four years.

Adam: Well, assuming it doesn’t work and people, but people still want to show up. What’s it? What are we going to be talking about Marco?

Marco: Oh, well, hello, ranking Google using Google.

It’s the whole basis for the whole principle. The whole theory when it first started was that it would be much easier.

And I don’t know four years later, will show Wednesday because we just had an awesome case study posted in the Semantic Mastery mastermind we finally went after something e-commerce right. So well, this is local, this is local. This is local, we took on. I mean, I showed what Lowes, Walmart, Amazon, you name it all. All the big boys. We took them on and getting results and you can’t get any better than I did. As they always say the proof is in the pudding. Right? Show me. Don’t tell me Well, I’m going to show you the dress that people can talk. But I’m going to show you and so that’s next Wednesday.

Adam: One hour before Hump Day Hangouts. So make sure you tune in early on next week on Wednesday, to hear Marco will talk shit and to see what’s not working. Definitely highly encourage you, everyone be there. Just like Marco said with the live case study ongoing. We’ll be talking about that a whole lot more. And if you’re not, or if you’re watching right now and you’re not on the Semantic Mastery email list, head over to the website or if you’re watching on the page, sign up, you’ll get an email invitation to the webinar we’re talking about as well as some other great stuff. So real quick, before we jump into the questions I wanted to say to if you’re watching for the first time, thanks for joining us, you can always come here. This will be where the newest latest greatest upcoming Hump Day hangouts will be. And that’s at semanticmastery.com/hdquestions. All right, and then the next step after that is to grab the battle plan. You can find it on the sidebar somewhere where you’re looking at it or if you’re watching the replay on YouTube, you can find the link down below. That’s the best place to get started. You can

Looking for repeatable results. And if you’re looking to take things up another notch or two you’re starting or you’re wanting to grow your digital marketing agency you want to join an experienced community you want to access faster access to real-world info, then the mastermind is probably the place for you to find out more about that at mastermind.semanticmastery.com and wherever you are in that area of those groups. MGYB.co is where you can get your done for you services. get hooked up with your syndication networks, you’re always driving stacks, press releases, link building embeds and a ton more coming. To be honest, if you haven’t been over there in a while. Go check it out at MGYB.co. Rob and team have been busy adding some services making some updates so go and check it out. And last but not least, if you’re watching this on YouTube, hit subscribe button. Stay up to date with these as well as other videos that we upload from time to time. And help us out share the channel share the videos you like and give us a holler leave some comments. Let us know what you like and what you’d like more up

Bradley: Don’t we have some new? Am I allowed to talk about the new packages coming out in MGYB?

Adam: Thank you kit. Well yeah we could say it’s potentially because if it doesn’t happen we don’t want people to be depending on him but we’re working on them will say and hopefully they come out so yeah I want to talk about that, Bradley.

Bradley: Well we’ve got some new packages coming out soon very soon with that will make it a lot easier for you guys to place orders because it’s kind of like bundle pet services depending on competition levels like different you know, we’ve kind of a Rob is put that into the link building packages and embed packages now which is great because it makes it easier instead of you guys trying to have to figure out what’s best or have to contact support to figure out which configurations are best depending on your competition levels and stuff that’s going to be suggested right within the sales or the order page excuse me, so it just be on the lookout for that we’ve got three new services new packaged services bundles essentially coming with in the next week or so.

Adam: Outstanding! Guys, that’s all we got right now. Anybody got anything you want to toss him before we hop into questions? All right, well, the last thing I will say to like Hernan was talking about with POFU Live, if you haven’t grabbed your tickets can be in Denver, October 11 to 13th. Just go to POFULive.com. Grab it there. And I encourage you to grab a VIP ticket. It’s a great way to get an extra day of the event we spend a day right before we start with everybody and we go out to an event, have some drinks out some food. And it’s nice to get to know everyone beforehand and then roll into the event you already know everyone, it’s a little bit easier. And just a lot of fun here at

Bradley: Plus one. When some of us drink we tend to get a little bit loose with information. So

Adam: I don’t know where my face and Bradley’s is for everyone else. But like yeah, that’s all right. I guess it’s just one at a time. So yeah, talk to Bradley get all the secrets you’ve ever wanted.

Bradley: All right. If we can jump into it. We got a lot of good questions already. So let’s do it. Grab the screen. Then you guys confirm that you see my screen? Yeah, we can see it. Okay. I don’t know if I can. Does it lock on me when I’m sharing the screen? Do you know? Does anybody know?

Hernan: It does actually Yeah, it does.

Bradley: Okay, good. Alright, cool. So let’s get into these.

What’s The Best Way To Do A Proper NAP Citations For A Service Area Business Having Multiple Zip Codes?

Let’s see, the first one looks like it’s going to be this one says what’s the best way to make a right NAP on citations for a service area business considering that this kind of business can have multiple zip codes since he or the business provides service for an entire city? Well, the citations you’re supposed to use whatever the physical location of the businesses, that’s the address, the name, address, phone number, that’s what a citation is, right? And a P stands for name, address, phone number. So you list in your citations, the actual physical location of the business regardless of the service area. Doesn’t matter what your service area, it doesn’t matter. If you just Service, eight zip codes, you’re going to put the zip code of where the business is physically located. And it’s absolutely critical that you have consistency across everywhere that your nav is published. Its data consistency. And it’s really, really important with citations. So I know what the Google GMB site if it’s a service area business or GMB profile page, whatever you typically want to hide or not show not display the actual physical location. So it basically just hides the street address, but it will still show the city and you know, where the business is located. But force most citation directories or even non business directories, but places where you’re going to publish the name, address and phone number a mention of the business which is still considered a citation, you’re going to want to make sure that you have as much of the data you know like a lot of business directories are going to require you to have the full street address anyways regardless of whether you hide it or not in GMB.

So what’s important is that you make sure that you’re consistent wherever it’s published. In some cases, we’ve talked about, you know, being able to not show the street address in other places that it’s published. For example, if you’re going to publish a press release, you could choose not to list the full street address and just do the business name, city state zip, instead of the street address, city state zip. But again, most business directories if you’re specifically talking about traditional citations, if you’re going to be publishing business directory listings, they’re going to most of them are going to require a full street address. Good question.

Marco: Just to reiterate, a citation is any mention of any of the three points right in the business which is the name, address, and phone number to any of those three, can be a citation. It has nothing to do with other zip codes or service or anything else other than the zip code where the business resides. Because that’s what the citation is referring to where the business is the name of the business and the phone number. That’s a citation.

Should You Use A VPN Or A Proxy To Prevent Footprint Issues When Using Multiple Google Accounts In One IP Address?

Sweet. Okay, um, here’s another good one says, hey guys, I have about five or six Google accounts that I access from the same computer. Some are more personal, but there are two that I would like to do more SEO on for business. Should I be thinking about a VPN or proxy to prevent any sort of footprint from one IP address? No. That’s one thing you can do. But we that’s not even really the most important thing anymore. The most important thing is for each one of those profiles, Google profiles, accounts essentially, to start accruing and building its own history. And one of the ways you can do that is use something like BrowSEO or Ghost browser.

I think we have actually linked either one of those https://www.semanticmastery.com/browseo or the other one is just Ghost Browser https://www.semanticmastery.com/ghostbrowser. I know, those are what we’ve called or I’ve called browser keeper apps. I don’t know if that’s the proper name, but it’s what I’ve always called them. And what that essentially does is allows whenever you log whenever you go into an account, it basically keeps the session logged in. Right? So it’s an app that keeps your session logged into that browser for that particular account or profile. And what happens then is you start to accrue a history. And what’s odd about using like a VPN or proxy, which is what we used to do years ago, was we would have to switch accounts like every time we would switch accounts, we would do a browser, clear cache and cookies essentially. And then we would maybe run see cleaner, for example, which would do a deep clean of cookies and clean like zombie cookies and things like that. But and then we would log in, but that’s really odd now, because how many people are logged into a Google account and then log out from a single device and then log in to a different account? It’s very rare. And so that actually throws up red flags. Your best bet is to use a browser app, I think goes browsers probably the most popular right now that I’m aware of. And just set up a profile for each one of your, you know, Google accounts, essentially. And then each one of those will maintain its browsing session for no matter what it is that you do unless you, you know, purposefully clean it. Does anybody want to comment on that?

How Do You Create Cost-Effective Images For GMB Postings?

Good. Okay. Moving on. Fitz is up next. He says Good day, gents. Thanks for offering this form to help us. My question is how do you guys create images for posting to GMBs? If you’re posting for two times per day? That’s a lot of images. How can that be done cost-effectively and efficiently? What would that cost approximately? Thanks. Um, well, it you know, I don’t know what it costs depend. It depends on how you know how you’re handling it. My VA is my blogging VA is we don’t have any accounts that we post four to five times two per day, four to five times per week. Yeah, sometimes seven some cases 10 times a week, which would be twice per day Monday through Friday, but my VA is typically using a combination of customer or business provided photos, right. So for most of my clients, I have a shared Google Photos album that they or staff members of their business deposit photos into, that my VA has access to. or we use so it’s a combination of customer provided photos or you know, you know, client-provided photos, stock photos, which we don’t particularly like to use, but sometimes we still use them anyways. And also grabbing images from YouTube. We’ve talked about that many times. So find YouTube videos that have you know, relevant scenes or images for whatever business it is that you’re promoting. And use make sure that your select high resolution of the video player and just pause the video take a screenshot of a YouTube video and like an image from the YouTube video. That tends to work well because you can get topically relevant images that are unique because they’re not, you know, those are going to be unique. Very, it’s very unlikely that any of those have ever been used anywhere else on the web. And it for geographically or you know, geo relevancy, you can take screenshot images of like, known, you know, landmarks and stuff around the business from maybe Google Street View or maps and stuff like that. Just got to be careful that you don’t have the Google watermarks in them. Because that could be you could get in trouble for Google for that. Anybody else wants to comment on that?

Marco: I showed in local GMB pro training how to get unlimited local images. Yep. And how to get rid of how to avoid the watermark that that’s all it’s all in the training.

Bradley: There you go. So as far as what does that cost approximately? You know, again, my VA is just do everything on a pay. Most I’ve got one VA that I pay hourly, but the other for blogging, but my other VA is they discharged on a pay per post basis. So it’s just you know, wrapped right into the service. It’s up to them to generate the images. In the case of stock images, I fund an account or my clients one and account depending on what the agreement is with my clients, like, you know, so some clients have funded account my VA has access to that other clients, I actually, it’s just wrapped into the monthly retainer, so I actually fund it, but it’s not very expensive, you know, depends on how what kind of arrangement you have with your VA. Right? It’s very cost-effective guys. Content marketing is one of my primary sources of revenue for my agency because I pay a VA a set amount and I mark it up usually at least 100% if not 150%. So you know, I’m making money off of basically just providing them with the tools and the knowledge of how to do it. And it’s great because it’s just money, its revenue on autopilot, so

Okay, if it says having a good day, send a quick donation to Marco’s charity having not so good a day client or Something driving you nuts. Get back at them and send a small donation. Okay, that’s cool fits. I think Marco would appreciate it.

Marco: Yeah, thanks a lot for I really appreciate it. We’re always needing money, though. Yeah.

Can You Turn Off An RYS Drive Stack From MGYB Store That Is Targeted To A Client’s Web Property?

Gordon’s up, he says, Hey guys, thank you very much again for the great help you provide on hump days. If you order an RYS Drive stack from the MGYB Store and have it targeted to a client’s web property? For example, the GMB listing, can you turn it off? And for a later date if the client stops paying you? And if so, is that something that average consultant can easily do? And if so, how much would MGYB be charged to do it? Yeah, it’s actually really simple to do. Because if you’re, you’re the ones going to be managing it for them anyway. And all you have to do is either go in and delete the drive stack entirely. Do you have access to the Google account, right? The driving because we you know, when you buy a drive stack from us, we’re going to create a new Google account, then build everything in there and then we’ll share it with you and you can take ownership of it or do whatever you want to do. But the Google account that we create, when we create the drive stack that that’s going to be the original owner of the drive stack anyway, so all you gotta do is log in there and just delete it as the owner, right? If you want or just turn it set it to private again to where nobody has access, only you are the owner has to access. However, we do know that.

Marco might be able to comment on this, if you turn something not to the public, but to anybody can view that has the link, you can still pass the juice through that even though it’s not publicly available on the web. But Marco if you turn it to private to where only people that have them or if you set it to private to where only specific permissions can be given to you know, very specific people. Does that stop passing juice or will it still pass juice?

Marco: I haven’t tested that. I can’t ask for that. But I just said it’s a private sense. You’re going to be doing a whole lot of work through that. And then you go in and you just turn it to whatever else you want another client, something personal, you just have to edit it right in that in that niche in that category, whatever it is that you’re targeting. So don’t just set it to private while you go in and you edit the content. What I would recommend is eliminate the Gsite altogether and then build a new one with the old dr site that’s been edited.

Bradley: There you go. And that’s something that we may be able to do in the future. I know Marco has been working on that, being able to go in and edit drive stacks and add stuff to them after they’ve been the initial ones been built. But that’s not available yet. You guys will know about it when it is. Alright.

Are Video Embeds On GMB Posts Useful When Ranking GMB Listings?

Next question. He says By the way, you mentioned previously that we can create a GMB post with a video embedded in it and then use that URL post to run an MGYB embed job but will that provide any significant ranking power to the GMB orr just the post itself? Thanks again. I’ve not done any of that Marco might maybe Marco you can comment on that I’ve not done an embed gig for an MGYB video post. or excuse me for excuse me a GMB video post. I have no idea if that would do anything or not. Marco, can you comment? Hello. You’re muted.

Marco: Yeah, sorry about that. So you do an embed run? Well, that provide Yeah, it’s an iframe. It’s an iframe of the post that has an inner page on the GMB. So of course, it’s going to pass power to everything.

Bradley: Okay, yeah, I mean, again, I haven’t tested any of that. That’s why I couldn’t comment on that. I know the embed gigs that we’ve got running in MGYB right now are working crazy good. In fact, that’s what the case study that Daddea have posted on our mastermind today was about specifically about a combination of our services but the embeds being a big component of that. And, and it’s working really well it’s working well for GMB map embeds. It works well for video embeds it’s just it’s you can do you know you can iframe pretty much anything so there’s a lot of things that we can use the embed service for right now that are super powerful. So

Hernan: yeah, I wanted to add something real quick so that we don’t forget I don’t forget before I forget, as you say that if you like what you’re hearing if you like all of these back and forth between Marco and Bradley and the people within the mastermind, you should really consider joining the mastermind. There’s a lot of high-level technical SEO people in their there are also a lot of business owners right now that are crushing it with all of this stuff that we cannot share publicly. So I would recommend that if you love what these guys are saying Come join us because you can have a lot more of that’s

Bradley: gold star for Hernan again. It’s a good Good, good plug for us, buddy. Thank you.

Does Ordering A Single Tier 1 Network In MGYB Requires Modification To An Existing Syndication Network You Own?

Alright, so the next one is I already have some syndication setup using IFTTT and my blogs, RSS feed to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. If I order a single-tier syndication network, will that require modification to my existing syndication? Or would Semantic Mastery just create a new network from scratch? Thanks. Yeah, typically, we’re going to just create a new one from scratch, which it’s okay. We’re not because remember, we’re not going to create a Facebook page for you. We don’t do that. For a Facebook profile, we just don’t do that. Twitter. Yeah, we can create we would create a Twitter account typically an A new Tumblr account, and it’s okay to have more than one Tumblr or Twitter. I don’t I’m not so much of a Twitter user. It’s part of the networks but I don’t know maybe somebody else can comment on if it’s okay to have multiple Twitter accounts for the same brand. But you can have more than one Tumblr blog or more than one WordPress blog in a syndication network for brand

The goal is not to create a whole bunch of them because that’s very spammy. But it’s okay to have, you know, an additional one or two, it’s not going to hurt us, you know, especially blog properties, it’s really not going to hurt you just don’t want to. What I recommend not doing is creating multiple syndication networks full-on networks, for one particular brand were the only content that’s ever published to them, is the content that’s republished, repost it syndicated from a blog, the money site blog, and that’s because that leaves a footprint, which is clearly used from an IP, you know, search manipulation. But as far as, you know, if you just have a couple of syndication points like Facebook, which we’re not going to touch anyways, Twitter and Tumblr. I don’t think that would be an issue. Can anybody comment on the Twitter part of it?

Hernan: I don’t think so. Either, unless you’re pushing really, really hard on getting those index, but it’s really hard to index a tweet, right? So I don’t think it will be it will be that big of a deal. We have experience sending people through t.co, which is Twitter, you know shortener through goo.gl. And all that sorts of shenanigans, which we had. And you know, it did move the needle. So I don’t think it would be any issues doing that. I wouldn’t, I would still keep it like natural as possible. Yeah. Well, usually you don’t have usually like any company out there. If you think about it, any company or business unless they’re opening Twitter accounts or Twitter profiles for different branches, they don’t have like a lot of Twitter profiles, they have like just one main Twitter profile, and then they seem to get out of that. So I would follow that route.

Bradley: Yeah. And also keep in mind, if it’s a Twitter account, if you’ve already got a Twitter account that you know, you actually really engage with the company and the brand does or whatever that actually engages with, you know, has followers and that kind of stuff and it’s being really used. Then if you have another one that’s created as part of the network, when you buy it from us, it’s not a big deal because it’ll basically be standing

Anyways, until it gets, you know, a lot of engagement. And if you’re not actively using it other than just posting tweets to it, it’s probably not going to affect anything. But that said, just contact support and say you’ve already got your own Twitter account. Again, Tumblr, I wouldn’t care about having a second Tumblr, but Twitter, if you want to just contact support and say, Look, I’ve already got my own Twitter account, please omit that from this network, we can certainly do that. It’s not I mean, then you don’t even get to worry about it. You just got one Twitter account you’re already connected to. So it wouldn’t be an issue. Right? It’s a good question. Oh, there’s also I have a lot of your services appear to benefit sites, excuse me.

What Semantic Mastery Services That Are Beneficial To Location Independent Affiliate Sites?

Also, a lot of your services appear to benefit sites focused on local SEO, what Semantic Mastery service would or would not benefit affiliate sites that are location independent things. Everything that we have will benefit any sort of site we you know, we’ve talked about a lot of our stuff in framed it as a local SEO type or local You know, it produces results for local because a lot audience does local lead gen or local client consulting. So, you know, that’s why you hear a lot of that. However, there sound SEO principles that will benefit pretty much any sort of project. And as Marco always says, which I know, Marco, I’d like for you to chime in on this. Your local is relative. So all of the stuff that we do are really entity validators. Right. So, for example, a syndication network that helps to solidify the brand, right? We something else, kind of a newer term that we’re kicking around as an entity loop, right? Because that’s part of what we do with our @ID pages and all these other things that we create these loops that helped us solidify the entity and it basically puts all these different assets out there on the web, that reinforce what the entity is to Google. And so syndication networks, drive stacks, @ID pages, all of those things are part of that. So Marco, what can you say about that?

Marco: Well, I’ve talked about. There’s quite a bit, right we’ve all talked about this local is absolutely relatives how you look at it. If you box yourself in and you only see relative as your neighborhood, then you’re never going to rank for your city because you stuck in your neighborhood. If you only see the city, then you’re not seeing the county and if you only see in the county, and so on, and so on and so on. What matters now is the entity, the overall entity, and how you’re relating the entity to the niche. If the niche is global, and you focus on local, then that’s where you’re going to get stuck because you have a global entity but you’re at a local level, and vice versa. So it’s it’s really how you focus on it and how you relate your entity to the niche that matters whether the niches local, whether the niches nationwide, just whatever. That’s how you need to look at it and again, next Wednesday during the RYS anniversary webinar. We are going to show an ecom store, where do we I can’t say the name of the ecommerce store. But it’s getting just fantastic results. And, you know, ecommerce is not local, or at least this one. It’s not targeting anything local. It’s really global and focused on the US, of course. But it just goes to show that if you do it the right way, and the way that it’s taught, right, because the training is there in a specific manner because that’s how it works. So as long as you follow the training, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to replicate results. It’s when you start veering from the training and like cutting corners, or not doing everything that we tell you to do, that the results just won’t flow. You cannot expect it to work. The way that it works for us. If you cutting corners, if you know everything that we tell you you should do.

Bradley: That’s a good point because last, not last week, because we didn’t have a mastermind webinar last week, but the week before that was part of, you know, we covered that I covered that a bit in-depth because you can’t do one part of everything that we teach kind of builds upon each other. They work for hand in hand, the sum of the parts are large, the whole is the sum of the whole is larger than this, the whole is larger than the sum of its parts. Does that make sense? I think I said that right. This time, it took me a minute to think through that. But the whole is looking bigger than the sum of its parts. In other words, if you put all of the components together, that we teach in the way that we teach it, then you will get a significant effect from it. But if you just do, one, one of them, or two of them were bits and pieces of them. It’s not like let’s say there were four components, right? If you only did one component, you’re not going to get 25% of the results. Right. It’s lesser than that. Like, in other words, if all four components are put together and done right, then you should get 100% results right well

Whatever the hundred percent is, I’m just saying, if you just do one of those four components, then it’s not going to give you 25% of the results. It’s less than that as my point, you have to do the things that we you know, the way that we get results is what we teach. I know there are other ways is more than what there’s a there’s more one way more than one way to skin a cat right? So there are other methods out there that will work as well I get all that but you know, we teach what works for us and it works really well and we haven’t Knock Knock on wood we haven’t had to deal with any penalty issues or anything in years. So and you can feel very blessed for that reason. But if you just doing parts of it, it’s you’re not going to get the full results. So as Marco said, you want to follow the if you’re going to be using our stuff, use it the way that we suggest using it including building all of the components out and putting them together with the correct way. Okay, don’t cut corners or you won’t get results and then you’ll say oh, well their stuff doesn’t work. Now every time we have to analyze somebody that claims that stuff doesn’t work. It’s because they cut corners essentially or they didn’t complete all of the stuff. So

Marco: we just had someone who ordered a drive stack without the G site say that it’s been over 21 days cleared the Google that why am I not seeing results? I thought someone said that I would be getting results.

We never said that if you read is the thing when we deliver the drive stack and the decision or anything that has to do with our is you get it done for you User’s Guide. I wrote it so I thought what the fuck is in it? I I tell people specifically, this is what you need to do sometimes. all that’s required as a drive stack, this is how I say it. And then at other times, you might be able to do more. That’s why we came up with the battle plan. The battle plan is very specific syndication network, drive stack and then into the drive stack you might need press releases you might need embeds, you might need you might need link builds. You might need to push videos, you might need another embed, run another link building right

On this ecommerce store, I went to 300,000 links before it got a nice push. So it’s sometimes it’s not just a one, but about link building push. That’ll do it guys, it depends on the competition. If you’re going up against Amazon, and you get 2500 links to your drive stack. Are you seriously telling me that you’re expecting results against Amazon? with that? It’s a joke. I mean, you have to look at your competition, get your competition, understand how much work it is that you need to do to take on your competition. And is it going to be worth the money going after that competition Are you better off going after something else? But if you’re in it to win it, then you have to go balls to the wall, you have to go out you have to just hit it and hit it and hit it again until you get the desired results but you cannot just get one thing. say okay, this is good enough nominate What was it? I’m going to rank for Toronto DUI attorneys I lawyer DUI attorney. No, no.

Bradley: We got to tell that story real quick. We had a member come and join our mastermind This is three or four years ago now. And he was in our mastermind for I don’t know, maybe two months, he built a syndication network that was only partially complete. And did like, three posts to his blog for targeting DUI attorney Toronto or on it was in Canada, either Toronto or Ontario or something like that DUI lawyer DUI attorney. And he basically said your stuff doesn’t work. Because I’m not ranking on page one for DUI attorney Toronto or whatever it was. And I said, Well, let me take a look at what you got. It was a partially completed syndication network with three blog posts. And that was it was like I was like, Yeah, you’re I’ve done work. So it was funny. He didn’t stay with us.

What Type Of Report Should You Present To The Client After Building A Syndication Network?

Anyways, long as Let’s move on. The next one is after building a syndication network for the client. I like this question. By the way, after building a syndication network for a client, what’s the best type of reporting you could do for them to make sure that they know it was worth it? Well, in the past years ago, up until really last year, I would have said, you know, rank reports are one of the ways that you could you could show a client that it’s working because as long as your remember, syndication network alone isn’t going to do much it does help to solidify the entity, there’s no doubt and I’ve proven that recently, even with the most recent business that I launched. But the trick with a syndication network and always has been is to post publish consistently and regularly to it. And especially if it’s connected to a money site. It’s the same thing for YouTube. Because what happens is it will theme the network over time. In other words, it starts to build up more authority and relevancy, topical, relevancy, and location, relevancy if it’s for local stuff.

As more content accrues across the network, right?

So and they become aged and more trusted and all of that. So the idea with the syndication network is to, and this is what I always recommend guys, and I’ve said this since day one when it comes to client work, content marketing is no, it’s not an option. It’s part of my SEO, monthly services, right, that they’re paying them monthly. And part of that is content marketing, which includes blog posts.

You know, if it’s a lead gen property that I own, I might not blog all the time, or I might not have vas blog all the time. Because once I get results, and I get it to rank, and typically I, you know, can pull back in some cases, I can pull back to where it reduces my expenses for lead generation properties. But for clients, I always tell them, Look, if we pulled back, there’s a possibility that you could slip in, you know, in results, you could stop getting as good results, and then there’s always a catch-up period. So there’s going to be a delay but between when you start to stop getting good as good results and the time that we can get them back for you. So I just recommend never taking your foot off the gas. So that’s what I always recommend to clients and so it’s an ongoing thing.

As far as how do you report to them like I rankings are no longer my primary reporting method, I still include rank reports. I’m not gonna lie to my clients, guys. But I made it clear to them well over a year ago now, that it’s because of the way that the algorithm is now with mobile index first and proximity and all of that, that the rank reporters are very, they’re inaccurate, they may provide an indication as to the health, the ranking health of something but they are there they are really rather inaccurate. Because it really depends on where somebody is, what kind of device they’re searching from their search history, all of that kind of stuff influences search rankings now, for each individual user. So what we focus on and I know my partners will agree, is that we focus more on providing traffic kind of statistics that so analytics GMB Insights, Google Search Console. For Search Console, you could show that there are years the site is being given as getting more impressions, which means that the site is being recognized by Google for more keyword search queries and given impressions. You could for Analytics, you can show traffic increasing for GMB insights, more maps activity, you know, impressions clicks, click for driving directions as storefront phone calls, those kinds of things. So, my primary reporting methods to my clients now are analytics GMB Insights and Search Console. And if I’m doing AdWords stuff, obviously, you know, Google Ads stuff, I can show them ads, traffic statistics, and in rank, reports are always thrown in there, but they’re kind of a secondary thing. They’re not you know, I’ve made it real clear that they’re no longer the primary reporting method.

Marco: Alright, so specifically, around or regarding the syndication network. The conversation needs to be around branding. And ongoing brand recognition. That’s how you’re reporting well. The initial conversation with the client, that’s what needs to take place, you’re going to tell the client that you’re going to have the brand throughout the web, you go you and that you’re going to be working on ongoing brand recognition, which just means that you go and add, because we have a ton of an update videos, you add new profiles, according to the updates that Bradley does on an ongoing basis. It’s very simple you keep if you keep the conversation that way, and that you’ll be working on the brand and that you’ll be working on brand recognition, then you can bring in content syndication of as part of it, because the only way that you could that you could get the brand that you can get a branded correctly and you can get the brand recognized is by posting on a regular basis into these different social media web two point O properties that you’re going to create. That’s how I would frame the conversation with the client. So that

There’s nothing else that you have to account for it no ranking or anything else. Now, as Bradley said, the second part of this would also be that you’re paying for me getting paid for results. That’s at least how I do it. And I know Bradley does it the same way my partners do, you get paid because you produce results. And so as long as as long as you can show that you’re producing results, which is all of the things Bradley said and also phone calls, you make sure that you have a way to get into those phone call your clients phone calls to see and to be able to show the client that you have affected the number of calls that have come into the business on a monthly basis and it’s because of your work and what you’ve done. That’s how I would frame the recording.

Hernan: Yeah, I totally second and third, what these guys were saying. The reason why is because if you if you’re providing a keyword report, you’re missing so much like you’re leaving so much out of the table because people do not search as the Google Keyword Planner tells you that they search, right? They have so many variations, but they are infinite variations of any keyword imaginable. Right? So having that in mind, the reality is those business owners, they don’t get they don’t care if they’re like ranking number one or number two, what they do care is how many new clients you’re generating. So the best report, in my opinion, would be a really simple one would be before hiring me or my firm, my agency, how much how many how much money or how much revenue how many sales you are doing? Now after hiring me 30 days 60 days down the road has done increase. If it does, then that means that we’re doing something right. So just like the bare-bones reports that will be added, you can add impressions, you can add the increase in traffic, I don’t know the longer length of sessions, you know, under website decrease, decrease the bounce rate and all that good stuff. But at the end of the day, what our business owners should be focusing upon is, is your help helping them or easier or your services, helping them move the needle and move their business forward. Right? a business owner that is like focusing on Oh, well with you, we decrease one spot, or we, you know, like, we lose like 10% of our rankings, that guy is putting their, their main focus and energy where there’s where it shouldn’t be, which is that’s your job, you know, that’s why they’re hiring you. So that’s my two cents.

Bradley: Okay, oh, I have an update. I had a client that had a GMB that was suspended from their new Pest Control industry. And I just went in and made a slight edit and it got suspended and it’s a legit business. It’s been legit for seven years. It wasn’t spammy. Nothing I did was spammy. We’ve never done anything spammy for that business. And it’s always

Just dominated in its local area, and then it got suspended. And it took, I tried to do a reconsideration request or reinstatement request. And I got denied and it took four weeks for them to reply back finally and say that Nope, it’s in violation of quality guidelines, which is total BS. So I replied back said, you know, please explain, you know, there’s nothing was, you know, anyways, I rebooted it, but of course, I never got a reply. So I talked to my client about two weeks ago and told him that you know, I was going to have to create a spam listing in the same area in order for us to generate a new one unless he want wanted to go through the processes the actual business owner, the bonafide business owner, because I did it through my manager account as a manager of the GMB but I had him do it. I asked him if he would do it under his owners’ account. And so he submitted a reinstatement request. And it took only about two, two weeks, maybe two and a half weeks and we just got notification yesterday that the listing has gone live again. And I’ve confirmed that it is back. So just so you guys know if anybody that has a GMB, you know, the newer ones I don’t know, but this was an aged one it’s been in existence for like seven years and it got suspended because of just a slight edit that I made to it, which was bullshit. It was just one of those algorithmic suspensions, I believe, and but they wouldn’t allow me they denied my request to reinstate as a manager. But as the business owner, he was able to get it reinstated and about half the time that it took them to even reply to me so just so you guys know, that’s something you may want to check out if you run into the same issue. Okay.

How Do You Create A New GMB Listing For A Business Expansion Without Changing The Existing GMB Page?

Okay, wills up and we’ve got lots more questions, guys. So I’m going to try to roll through these a little bit quicker will says Hey, guys, I have a client that has a current GMB listing and has recently expanded to a new location. He doesn’t want to change the current GMB listing and instead wants to know if there’s a way of creating a new GM dealer listing for the new location. The new location has its own phone number and business address. Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. If it’s especially if it’s got its own business address, that’s a genuine new location. So there’s no reason why you can’t set up another GMB listing for that. postcard verify it to to the new business address, all I would recommend is that you create a separate landing page on the same if you’re going to use the same website, just create a location-specific landing page and use that as the website URL and that new GMB listing for the new location. So it makes sense. But yes, as long as you got a unique address and a unique phone number, and like I said, I would recommend using a unique URL, not a new website, just it could be a location page and inner page of the same website. This location-specific so your brand.com/locationname, does that make sense? Or city or whatever like that they use that as the actual website URL. Then there’s no reason why you can’t create a new GMB for that I would absolutely do that. Okay.

Marco: Totally agree.

Should You Use The Blog In Shopify Or Should You Build A WordPress Blog On A Subdomain?

Bradley: Moving on. The next one is some very nice things that this gentleman says and he says question one actually, I am trying to rank a Shopify store for the syndication network. Oh, I’m trying to rank a Shopify store and for the syndication network, I have two options which I guess a) either host a WordPress blog on my subdomain and use it as the syndication source or b) just post blogs on Shopify as they have an RSS feed so I can use that as a source. So I’m confused about which way to go that provides more link juice and authority to my main ecommerce site. Also, if I have a normal woo commerce store, Then should I use a blog subdomain or not? Okay, I’m not an econ guy. I’m going to give you my opinion and maybe some of the other guys can chime in because I know really none of us do much any calm stuff, really. My opinion is if you can blog on a Shopify store that may be great, typically that you can get a little bit more authority from blogging from the actual money site itself. But I don’t know how much how, first of all, how those blogs posts are going to look, I don’t know how you know what it looks like when it’s syndicated. In other words, I don’t know how much control you have over the content that you know, like the like, is like a WYSIWYG editor. In other words, can you add elements to the content and you know, the blog posts, all that kind of stuff? I don’t know, because I’ve never done Shopify stuff.

With WordPress, you know, what you know, I know what you can get with WordPress, and you probably know as well. So if you use a subdomain on an ecommerce site as your blog as content center, distribution engine, essentially, you know that you have really a lot of control over the content and how it’s formatted and the elements and what it looks like and what it looks like syndicated and what happens if you mirror and we always talk about this, you know, network Empire kind of coined a term it’s called theme mirroring. So if you mirror and if you create a subdomain, a blog, a WordPress installation on a subdomain for your money site, then if you create a theme, mirrored structure, so in other words, a silo structure based upon the categories within your store, and you basically link your category URLs, do a 301 redirect from your category URLs over to your category pages on your money site. Then you do all of your blogging from your subdomain, you place your posts in the correct categories, which you know and do all of your internal linking to your store pages, then you can use the blog and still push 90% of all the juice back to this the money site. So you know, the the main site, the root domain, which would be your Shopify store, we’ve had I know I don’t really do any ecommerce stuff, but I have done content marketing for ecommerce clients in the past and we’ve always been able to get really good results doing that exact same method that I just covered. Does anybody else want to go on that?

Hernan: Yeah, I want to come in something. But now Yeah, I want to I wanted to say real quick that Shopify does come with a block solution and it will allow you to SEO optimize it. But the reality is that here with a WordPress subdomain, I would like to know what Adam has to say about this because I know that he’s been playing with Shopify a little bit as well. But with a Shopify store, like if you’re trying to rank on Google for your Shopify store, go the WordPress route, like WordPress is second to none when it comes to SEO capabilities. Yeah, like you can get away with the Shopify blog. But it’s not like unless you’re doing paid media, which 99% of Shopify owners, you know, do paid media by, by that I mean, sending traffic to an article via Facebook ads or Google ads or you know, sending like actually paid traffic to your store, which is like 99% of the Shopify stores out there. Other than that, then I would definitely suggest what Brad is just said because you can control that way. One of the, if not the best one of the best SEO optimized platforms in the world, which is WordPress, if you’re planning on blogging, right, number one and also number two, you can still leverage the ease of use that that Shopify has. So that would be my take on it.

Adam: Yeah, I’m basically going to pair it with what Hernan says and just agree I would probably go with if you have the choice, go with WordPress, especially if you’re more familiar with it and getting it set up. But other than that, as far as the actual benefit these days, I haven’t seen anything. Have you guys seen any actual studies recently about whether that Okay, yeah, we should dig that up? If anyone’s watching in the scene one recently let us know. Yeah, I’ve been working a lot with the emails and optimizing like actual landing pages but not so much the back end or you know using subdomains. So

Marco: Yeah, I don’t know one against the other, but the econ taste study it will be talking about next week is a.com TLD with it with a blog. It’s not a Shopify store anything it’s built on WordPress. Right. WooCommerce. Yeah, that’s what’s getting. It is WooCommerce. And that’s what’s getting syndicated. Right. It’s getting syndicated from the from the.com TLD. Right.

Hernan: Yeah. So Shopify, it’s really, really powerful. And it’s not like it’s simple. Because you don’t want to you don’t have to fuck around with hosting and whatnot, they will allow you to add subdomains to your domain. And then at the end of the day, like, you can still use Claudio, which is the solution that animates you know, he’s really good at that. So you can use Claudio to you know, to send emails, and then you will be basically getting the best of both worlds, which would be the SEO world and the ecommerce store. It’d be pretty cool.

Adam: So yeah. I’m taking the page off finance book to the like, if don’t spend so much time worrying about it, like if it’s going to take a couple of weeks, like or a month, you know to like get the subdomain or get the client or who if it’s yours, like, just start getting some content out there. And you can you know, switch the syndication point like start if you’ve got content, check out Shopify that way, if you are doing this for a client, maybe you know how the blog works when someone’s like, no, I refuse to do it this way. But in the meantime, yeah, would go the WordPress route.

What’s The Best Way To Link Review And Curate Content To The Money Site?

So question number two is for creating blog posts, both review and curated type posts. What would be the best way of linking to my money sites? Should the blog content be linked to category pages or direct product links, either-or, in some cases, both? It just it really just depends on what your content of the blog post is. So for example, my blog is about 10 best baby products. So what I linked to all 10 products individually or just the baby category page. In that case, I would probably link to the category page but you do want some internal link diversity. In other words, you want to keep your silos tight. So what I just mentioned about if you’re creating a blog on a subdomain, and like WordPress blog, essentially, you’re going to want to silo the site into categories just like you would have your products. So you know, your products go into specific categories, because it’s logical for them to go into the categories that they’re in. Well, you want to stack your content the exact same way. So again, you would, for the WordPress category URL, you can set up three one redirects from the category URLs to the category pages on your money site, your Shopify site, or ecommerce site. But then in the actual blog posts themselves, as I said, you want to have you want to any posts that you place in a product category, and likewise, a content category on the blog. You want to link to both the products within that category and the category page itself, not both at the same time all the time. What I’m saying is you do want to switch up your internal linking strategy somewhat to were sometimes only into the category page, sometimes you’re linking to a product or two within that same category. And it really just depends on what the content is about. But in that case, I wouldn’t link to all 10 baby products individually. I mean, you could, it wouldn’t hurt anything. Because as long as they’re all still in the same category, it’s still going to pass some juice. But what we teach in the mastermind, and I know I can’t get too deep into this at all his specific ways to do internal linking now, especially within silo structure, tight silo structures, that can get really, really good results. So again, I would recommend it. What you don’t do though, is cross-post from within one category to another with internal links, if it makes sense to do so from a reader or viewer standpoint, for strictly SEO purposes, you don’t want to cross-link from the within the same post to other categories or other products within other categories. If you’re going to for the users benefit, then nofollow those links as a nofollow tag or attribute to those links, okay.

Marco: Back to a nod or heads of the network Empire again, brilliancy still works like crazy. So if you work bottom-up so that your blog posts are pushing up that top-level category, just say you think I think about it this way you going, you’re going after the top of the pyramid, but what holds the top of that pyramid is all the work that you did on the bottom. So pushing from the bottom up, you pushing up that top-level category, your top market level keyword, and all of the work that you do to push that top-level category up is going to carry everything up along it as up as the top market level category begins to climb up in the SERPs. it’ll pull everything along so it’ll have the effect that he’s looking for, if he doesn’t, right, but where he can get the most value from this is if he joins the mastermind and comes to comes and listens to what we’ve been doing. As far as internal linking in concerned.

Bradley: Yeah, we’ve only got five minutes left. So I’m going to skip that last part of the question. It looks like Adam dropped a link for the art.

Adam: I just want to say real quick if anyone else is interested in this, we did a webinar. This was a couple of years ago now with Scott Scanlon and curation suite and he talked a lot he had some great info about content curation so on the content side, go check that out. Unfortunately, we can’t recommend the tool itself. Right now, I’ve been hearing some issues with people not being responded to but watch the webinar for the content information, how to generate content. There are some great ideas. Yeah.

Does Hiding An Adress On A GMB Listing Affect Citations?

Alright, so then this one says, Is there a way to use all the all of the products without giving away your full address for privacy reasons? And can we change address easily? Does that affect citations and everything else? I set up my Google business with full address but chose to hide it then did citations using just the part of Google address that does show like city-state zip? Yeah, I mean,

yes, and no. If it’s best to be able to use the full address, there’s no question. But if you for whatever reason you absolutely want to hide the street address, then what I would recommend is on every time that you create a citation that you don’t include the street address you as long as you keep them consistent, right and as long as the name is unique, you know if it’s if it’s a name that can be ambiguous aided with others. In other words, if there is another business with a similar name, that is in close proximity to you, and you try to just get away with city-state, zip, name, city, state, zip and phone number and then obviously URL, then that can cause and regulation, right, that can get muddy the waters a bit for both your business as well as your competitors business that has a similar name, and can cause both of you guys to have issues with ranking or getting results. So but as long as it’s unique, a unique name and you’ve got you know, like I said unique phone number unique web address, then then you can get away with that.

Although it’s still his best to give it more data than less data, so again, I would recommend that you know, if if, if at all possible, just use the address. Remember, most of the places that you’re going to be publishing the address aren’t really going to get it’s free for SEO purposes, right? So you’re not going to get a lot of eyeballs to it, which is going to reveal like for people to come knocking at your door pissed off or whatever like it’s not I mean, you shouldn’t really have to worry about that in my opinion. But you know, like I said, as long as you stay consistent and you don’t have a common type name that will and cause ambiguous ation with another type of business which would hurt both of you, not just you. Does that make sense? Then you can get away with that but more data is better than fewer data in that case. Okay.

All right. This is the last question guys unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to get to the rest of them.

Warning To PressCable’s PR Syndication Network Posting To PBN Junk Sites

He says You guys rock I want to add a few things to the conversation in case you can help someone Bradley mentioned a few times I press cable has a lot of PBN type junk sites in their PR syndication network. I’ve posted a few prs recently and they appear to have gotten worse. You know, unfortunately, some some some of the pbn disk or a press release distribution services are more worried about inflating their distribution numbers than they are about the quality of the distribution sites. And that’s unfortunate. I can’t comment on it anymore Just because I haven’t used them in quite some time. I’m happy with my providers. So you can now verify a Bing places maps listing based on your verified GMB listing. Bing Yahoo still covers about 30% of search if we believe the public statements are probably worth doing for all properties. No, I agree. I absolutely agree.

Verify Bing Places Based On Verified GMB Listing

You know, I’m even using Bing Ads and a couple of businesses that are my own business for one but also for a couple of other businesses because there is traffic and is not nearly as much as Google guys, but Bing Ads work and same thing I imagined with search but or excuse me, organic stuff and local stuff is being ads when you Run Bing Ads. They appear on Bing, Yahoo, and AOL Who the hell still uses AOL as a browser. But they do they appear there too. And I do get traffic from there and the clicks are cheaper than they are for Google PPC as well.

Hernan: Dude, specifically for your demographic for the stuff that you’re doing with the land stuff that is a slam dunk because it’s exactly the demographic that you want to target.

Bradley: So the older demographic, you me, hey, well, browsers. Yeah, I didn’t want to say it. But uh, yeah, yeah. That’s funny.

What Are The Benefits Of Using RYS Drive Stack?

Man, Marco. If you got 30 more seconds. Let’s cover this other one. Just because I think that’s a perfect ending question. What is the main reason people use an RYS drive stack is it only to help

Marco: No, you stop it right there, power, hour wherever you want it to go. Has nothing to do with it with a GMB. It has nothing to do with anything. You want it to be the GMB in be it. The what he called the GMB, the business site, your money site, a tier-one branded property wherever you want the power to go. That’s where you direct power. And that’s where it goes. That’s right. That’s why you use it. And the power that you’re going to push behind that is going to end up wherever you’ve connected it. That’s why. So just we’re going to talk about this next week. And it’s at five o'clock. So we do have to wrap it up, guys, but I’m just going to point this out really quick because this is the four-year-old case study from a poorly built syndication or drive stack that I built on my own the day that Marco revealed this strategy to me, and I always show this but the reason why is because it just goes to show you, I built a drive stack to push the power to the G site of a dry stack, right. And you can see that it’s four years later because this is the day that it was published. You can see it’s also one of the properties in that stack that all I did was took the same Drive files from the RYS stack and embedded them into a wordpress. com post for

From my you know Bradley better dot WordPress com and that you can see the day it was published it was Saturday, May 16, 2015. And I’m ranking number one for Virginia SEO, SEO Virginia, Virginia SEO agency like multiple variations of that keyword and have been for four years over four years now.

When all we did like the primary, the focal point of where we were pushing the where I was pushing the juice with this particular drive stack was the G site. And you can see that that’s what’s ranking. We’ve learned or you know, Marco probably already knew this but what we you can push the juice of an RSRYS Drive stacked anywhere you want it to go. If you want it to be a GMB map listing, it’ll be a GMA map, listen, you want it to push you a money site. It can be a money site, it can be a web to auto property, a tier-one branded entity, it can be anything the G site, obviously, it can be anywhere that you want to push. It just depends on where you want and that’s when you go to order a stack. It says specifically, what is your primary target URL, and that’s what you want to push it to

So yeah, but I don’t know if it works. It doesn’t work. Yeah, shoot, shoot come next week to see how it doesn’t work. Yeah. Yeah, I can’t work it can if it does work. And if it does work, Google can shut it down and anytime, right?

The world could end tomorrow. So let’s all go hide under the bed. Alright, well, thanks, everybody for being here. We do have a mastermind webinar tomorrow. So we’ll see you guys in the mastermind on that. Otherwise, we’ll see you guys next week. Thanks, everybody. All right.

Always pitch fest.

Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 250 published first on your-t1-blog-url https://ift.tt/1WMpNvB August 26, 2019 at 06:54PM Semantic Mastery https://ift.tt/2YeHIxM

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beyondvapepage · 5 years