#epic simple solutions that should have been obvious from the beginning

[my-whumpy-little-heart]

And Emphasis On Scent

Crackcember: Day 3 (Alt Prompt: Effervescent) 

This chapter is far longer than I meant it to be, and I’ve got a feeling the next one will be too. Cheers to crackwhump owning all of my braincells!

Content warnings: manhandling, noncon (nonsexual) touch, light head injury

———————————— 

Previous

“Cool, okay,” Hilbert sighed to himself, “I’ll get out soon enough. Right.”

He eyed the duffel bag with disdain. There was no use in trying to pack anything when he wasn’t planning on going anywhere but back home. This would be a much better opportunity to escape, as long as he could get off the duct tape holding his ankles together.

Hilbert sat back, trying to find the end of the tape with numbed fingers to peel it off. Dennis apparently had no regard for his circulation, considering the lost dexterity in his fingers and now the light tingling on his feet, and he was more than ready to be free of his bonds. 

It didn’t take him long to realize this may be a more difficult task than he anticipated, though. The layers of tape around his ankles were thick and wide, twisting above and below them over and over. With the edges tucked away and the whole thing being far too thick to tear through, packing the duffel bag with whatever he could find was looking like a better and better option.

Hilbert let out a sigh as he gave in and grabbed it, glancing inside to check that the can of beans was indeed the only item inside. Other than that… he glanced beside him at the abandoned ping pong paddles sitting near a ball that must have fallen off the shelf after them, figured it couldn’t hurt--figuratively, at least--and threw them in his bag. 

A neon blur caught the corner of his eye when he looked over and sitting next to him, right where it had been abandoned only a day or two prior, was the little worm toy from Dennis. Eggbert, he’d named it. Hilbert berated himself as he stowed it in the bag, debating what purpose it could possibly serve, but it was better something than nothing. Maybe showing some appreciation for the toy would appease his captor. 

He slumped back against the pillar, squinting to see the rest of the room, but it didn’t help much at all. Perhaps there was something on the pool table that he couldn’t see from his vantage point, but it wasn’t worth the effort of attempting to stand with his bound legs and teetering on over to check. There was definitely something he’d forgotten, but Dennis chose that moment to come thundering back down the stairs and it was too late. 

He zipped the duffel bag, threw it over Hilbert’s shoulder, bound his hands in the same fashion again, picked him up bridal style--much to his displeasure--and they were off. Dennis was being uncharacteristically quiet for once as he carried Hilbert up the stairs and out the door, setting him down on the floor once they were back on level ground so he could see the hulking vehicle before them. 

“There she is!” Dennis clapped him on the back, right over the sensitive welts. Hilbert hissed in pain, waddling awkwardly to face him and protect his injuries as best as possible.

A firm hand on his chin wrenched his head back forward, pointing at what must have been the RV. Hilbert nodded absently, unable to make out more than the general shape of the vehicle without his glasses. Dennis seemed to notice and sighed dramatically, whipping Hilbert’s head back over to him so he could slide the rectangular frames back on his face, none too gently, and turned him to look right back where he had before.

The RV was… well, it was certainly a vehicle. There wasn’t much nice to say beyond that. What must have once been bright red paint was chipped and faded, a dirty maroon stripped down to brown the lower it went. The front of the thing was dented all over and the windshield looked to be permanently encrusted with dirt and grime. 

Hilbert really wasn’t looking forward to seeing the interior. 

“Pretty neat, huh? She’s ready to roll and take us wherever I please,” Dennis nodded, seemingly quite proud of himself considering all he did was shell out some cash.

“I don’t suppose that includes my apartment?” 

“Course not!” He grinned, grabbing Hilbert’s elbow and dragging him forward. The largely empty bag fell against his shin with every movement. “You’re never gonna want your apartment back once you see what this baby has in store.”

“Worth a try,” he muttered, fighting the losing battle to stay on his feet. At least Dennis had the slightest bit of foresight and brought a ramp to drag him gracelessly up into the RV. 

The first thing he saw when they entered was a sitting area furnished with torn cushions right across from a shoddy kitchenette. Hilbert grimaced at some dark stains around the sink that looked suspiciously like mold. Dim yellow lighting cast a sickly glow over the whole space. 

“Stop gawking, this isn’t even the best part!” Dennis pulled him past the main area back to a hallway with a door on either side and a room in the back. “I think that’s an ironing board or something,” he said, waving to the door on the left. 

“Or something? Do you even know what all you bought?” Hilbert asked and Dennis stopped dead in his tracks, righting his captive before he fell to the floor.

“Fine, let’s see,” he said, shoving Hilbert in front of the door and opening it without warning. The ironing board inside swung out and down before he could comprehend what was happening, hitting him square in the forehead. “And there’s your answer,” Dennis nodded, pulling Hilbert along without a second glance. He grimaced, massaging the sore spot on his head as well as he could with his hands bound and wondering whose bright idea it was to make the ironing board block off the hallway.

The next room he stumbled into had a luxurious queen sized bed with a flowery comforter: the only part of the miserable vehicle that seemed presentable so far. 

“This is the bedroom!” Dennis practically glowed with excitement. “Mmm… effervescent~!” 

Hilbert would have questioned whether Dennis even knew what that word meant, but he realized he wasn’t particularly sure himself. If anything was right there, though, it was the ‘scent’ part. The whole room had a metallic sort of stench, like a coin, that made him wrinkle his nose. A real effervescent cent scent.

What was more concerning, though, was the fact that this seemed to be the only bedroom, which meant...

“I’m not sharing a fucking bed with you,” Hilbert spat out.

“What?” Dennis fixed him with an incredulous look, barking out a laugh. “No duh. You’re not allowed anywhere near my bed. We’ve got a shared restroom over there,” he said, pointing to a separate room at the end of the hallway, “but your room is right over here.”

He led them back to the door across from the ironing board and pulled it open in a grand, sweeping motion. Hilbert wasn’t sure what he was expecting but he shouldn’t have been surprised to see a small, musty broom closet in front of him. 

“But,” Dennis took the duffel bag from him and threw it into the small space, shut the door, and put the ironing board back up as they stepped past, “since I’m nice, you won’t have to stay in there too often as long as you’re cooperative. Right now, you and I are gonna spend some quality time together.”

Next

#whump #crackwhump #crackcember #effervescent #manhandling #noncon touching #head injury #not anything bad though. tame hours around here #hooray for roadtrip hours! #Dennis Mennis #Hilbert Griffith #Eggbert Griffith #eggbert is back! he's ready for this epic roadtrip #the only one not hyped enough here is hilbert #sadboi time #yo okay i just had an epiphany for the next chapter turn up lads i figured out how to fix the issue i'm having #epic simple solutions that should have been obvious from the beginning #okay anyhowww #shoutout to the super cool post scheduling feature around here #y'all are seeing this post right now at four p m eastern time #but i don't even have my phone out because i'm at a bowling match and am not allowed to have my phone #it's a technology miracle #kinda disappointed because i lowkey stole the title joke from the chapter but listen effervescent made it hard to get something decent #okay that's enough tags i gotta get stuff done while i still can

[the-writing-mill]

Fantasy au arranged marriage, pairing of choice involving Obi-Wan?

Is this... is this about the arranged marriage fantasy AU I abandoned for homework on the discord yesterday? Is that what’s going on here, anon? Are you on the discord server or does everyone just have this sort of thing on the brain recently?

In either case though I shan’t rehash that but do something else lol

Obi-Wan is born as the third royal prince in a mountainous, vaguely European country. The world is about at renaissance level technology, with a few bonuses due to the presence of magic (and magical creatures)

His majesty, King Qui-Gon Jinn, is a moral, stubborn ruler who is thought of fondly by the commoners but who is also quite unthinking at times, a bit neglectful and letting the nannies and governesses raise his children

His royal highness, crown prince Freemor is studious and quiet, and frequently works in the gardens. People are tentatively approving of him as crown prince, since he should be able to handle managing the kingdom’s graneries and other food resources well, but are worried about what will happen during foreign affairs, especially if they go to war.

His royal highness, second prince Xanatos, is... certainly aggressive and ambitious like is needed for foreign affairs, but there are too many rumors of underhandedness and selfishness for him to drum up support, especially by the public

Obi-Wan Kenobi, the third prince, grows up feeling the need to rise to his title. His brothers are already well-versed in their studies and have their own strengths physically. Further, Obi-Wan was told by a nanny when he was young that a true prince has a duty to help their citizens as much as they can and he’s never let that go

Obi-Wan, like all members of the royal family, also has the ability to use magic. And so he is sent off for a few years of his childhood to the academy run the druids/[insert magic pseudo-priest group here]. There he makes good friends with Quinlan Vos, a count’s son whose family is well known as sword mages

When Obi-Wan learns the basics of magic enough from the academy, he’s sent back to the royal family, where he proceeds to take a bre- proceeds to start studying even harder. (Obi-Wan has no chill)

Obi-Wan doesn’t take a break from studying combat, magic, politics, diplomacy, etc. (and becoming a pretty good dragon rider) until basically a few years later when Quinlan graduates from the academy’s full program and shows up to get Obi-Wan drunk. Obi-Wan’s servants quickly pull every favor they have in the palace to get Quinlan hired as Obi-Wan’s aide

Obi-Wan convinces Quinlan that he needs more experience in the real world, and that he needs to prove himself capable by his own abilities, not just the royal name. Quinlan agrees to help Obi get the experience so long as Quinlan comes along

Thus they begin their careers as errant knights

They gain a reputation for bad luck/chaos, and so eventually are only hired/requested when everyone’s sure some mission will go to hell anyways, in which case they’re very good at getting out of things in the best case scenario

During this time they also meet a certain disguised person from a certain royal family in a tavern and Obi-Wan of course flirts and tries to drink the man under the table

After a few years of this, with a few scattered months of being recalled home to the palace or sent to help protect a border from his father, Obi-Wan is called back to the palace again

It’s now that Obi-Wan finds out he has been promised to a neighboring kingdom’s crown prince to diffuse tensions, as there were two neighboring kingdoms seeming to be preparing to make a move. Obi-Wan getting married off to one prevents that kingdom from being able to attack and gets their support to help make the third kingdom back off

Obi-Wan is back for less than a week before he’s being sent off to his new life, which isn’t actually enough time to come to terms with his life getting completely uprooted and him apparently no longer being allowed to serve his kingdom how he planned to/was tying most of his identity to

Obi-Wan arrives at his new home the day before the wedding, and does not see his husband until part way through the wedding ceremony where they both take off their ceremonial veil/headpieces that covered their faces, revealing the man from the tavern

Crown prince Cody does not insist on having sex, although the are required to share a bed, and thus begins Obi-Wan’s somewhat awkward attempts to adjust to his new life

Obi-Wan attempts to be a perfect husband/married in royal, polite, keeping quiet, not causing trouble

He thinks that things are going well, and that he’ll be able to have a perfectly proper, tolerable life until he overhears his husband and a few of his brothers complaining about how distant and cold Obi-Wan apparently is, and how it seems like Obi-Wan’s birth kingdom didn’t really want the marriage

Obi-Wan runs away to the stable where his dragon is being kept, and stays with her for a while, cuddling up against he warm belly

He stays like that until he hears someone enter the stables and reflexively hides. Cody comes over to Obi-Wan’s dragon and takes care of her for a bit, checking her over and petting her and giving her a snack. Obi-Wan’s dragon clearly likes Cody (yes the dragon is Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, why do you ask?) and given the kind way Cody treats her, Obi-Wan can’t really blame her

Obi-Wan, after a night or two to settle himself down, decides to make a concerted effort to actually being a good husband by his new family’s standards

He invites Cody to tea, which is awkward until Obi-Wan switches the subject from personal matters to the latest political/governance problem. He shows up at the training arena more, until he runs into a few of the other princes and gets to spar with them a few times. He shows off a few magic tricks to the curious youngest prince Boba, when the boy finds him in the library

The princes seem to respond in kind, inviting Obi-Wan to things and being very friendly and affectionate, especially physically, which Obi-Wan’s not used to

The day Obi-Wan sasses something at Fives that leaves the man sputtering is Cody’s “oh no” moment, not that Obi-Wan realizes that the funny look Cody’s giving him is his husband trying to refrain from kissing him

Cody starts actually trying to court Obi-Wan after that, not that Obi-Wan does more but obliviously accept the attention, not even suspecting that Cody’s feeling more than a slight increase in respect and friendship for a few months

And then Obi-Wan gets word that King Qui-Gon Jinn has died

Obi-Wan is able to convince his new family to let him go back for the funeral with a well-guarded but small (and therefore fast) retinue, which includes Rex and Wolffe (? Probably? Another brother who is very competent and is not Cody, because crown prince)

The funeral is somber and formal and very much unlike Qui-Gon Jinn, and Freemor’s coronation is smooth and as simple as a royal coronation can be. Obi-Wan gives Freemor a thoughtful coronation gift and leaves. Rex and Wolffe have also come to understand what made Obi-Wan who he is much better and are very much planning on telling Cody and their brothers

A few months go by in which Obi-Wan finds himself falling for Cody more and more, and feeling guilty because he’s decided that Cody is only looking at him as a good friend now. Cody meanwhile is a bit frustrated by his new and improved seduction strategy both clearly working and not being enough to get Obi-Wan to make a move

Before Cody can act on a decision to just kiss Obi-Wan himself, Obi-Wan gets word that Freemor has died in an “accident”

This time, the kingdom is getting ready for harvest, so they can’t afford to let Obi-Wan go back. Obi-Wan sends a letter of condolences and sends an equally appropriate but far less thoughtful gift to Xanatos for his coronation

A year and a half later, after getting the kingdom through two winters very successfully, Obi-Wan finally confesses to Cody that he’s fallen in love with Cody, even though they had agreed to be political partners at the beginning. Cody (who had backed off on the seduction after Freemor’s death) responds enthusiastically

As they’re settling into their new relationship and dealing with much teasing, Quinlan Vos breaks into the palace (much to the chagrin of prince Fox, captain of the royal guard) and informs Obi-Wan that Xanatos has quickly proved to be a tyrant who can’t handle/care about running the country well enough to keep people from starving, putting most of the budget towards himself and the army

Obi-Wan… can’t exactly depose Xanatos. Even though he was third in line, he gave up those rights when he married the crown prince of another country. And the more distant relatives, while not as cruel as Xanatos, are in no way good candidates for the throne

The obvious solution, the Fetts decide, is to invade the country and take it over. Obi-Wan can’t really find a good argument since all the planning involves trying to keep civilians out of the line of fire

Usually, taking over a mountain region is very difficult, especially if you’re from a coastal trading kingdom. But they have Obi-Wan there to give them all the information they need

They spend the winter planning and begin to prepare, get everything ready after winter, and march in mid-spring

By the end of the summer, most of Xanatos’s army is defeated, or defected once they realized their royal prince/Ben the errant knight is trying to save the country with his new people

There’s some cool epic battle where Obi-Wan breaks the siege at the capital where Xanatos is holed up by flying him and Cody and a few others on dragons straight into the throne room/castle

Obi-Wan fights Xanatos as two sword mages, but Cody gets in the killing blow, despite being injured/knocked out earlier in the fight

Xanatos is given the proper funeral for a disgraced noble, and the people in the capital throw a party (technically it’s a belated coronation celebration for their new King Jango Fett)

Cody and Obi slip away from the festivities to watch from afar, and start talking about plans on how to actually rule the new territory and help it out after all the damage Xanatos did to it

The conversation ends with Obi-Wan expressing that he’s looking forward to going home (which is the first time Obi-Wan’s called the Fetts’ kingdom home) and Cody takes a moment to get over his shock before kissing Obi-Wan as the fireworks start going off overhead

Have I ever told y’all that I write really long outlines, btw?

(Also, side note: King Jango has a somewhat strained relationship with most of his sons. He raised them with very high expectations and little praise, and would not give them any responsibilities he didn’t think they were ready for. This led to, among other things, an almost co-dependent kind of closeness between the brothers. Jango, however, is more of a jerk than a bastard in this AU, so when his younger brother Alpha came back from abroad he was able to beat some sense into Jango, literally and figuratively. Boba is significantly younger than the rest of them and is being raised much more properly, but Jango is still in the process of mending his relationships with his other sons)

#ask meme thing #arranged fantasy AU #Codywan #I'll write a quick bit of prose after lunch #Anonymous #look at least this outline was only like three and a half pages

[detectivesplotslies]

Too many memories, two many occupants

Description: The game is over, and someone has to answer for how it played out. Tsumugi's the obvious answer, as perfectly so as her cosplay. Features VR AU and postgame spoilers. Word Count:  3591 Read on AO3 here

Chapter 1: Beyond Notice

During the trial it had been a lot easier. Having an opposition, having a role, having a part to stick to. There was the audience, there were the fans. There were her brilliant cosplays! There was the vote. She had known what she’d press. She knew where it would get her.

Waving her last, she knew what it really meant. But something within her still grew quiet. Something mourned. The triumphant grin of despair wouldn’t surface, no matter how hard she tried. Her contestants. Her classmates. Her victims. Her cast. They had sentenced her… themselves… to this.

Even though she knew better, she felt numb. Her feet were heavy, rooted to the spot. The others were out of sight. Her executioner flew around above, raining his destruction down on them while she retreated inwards, her vision narrowing. Waving, as her cosplay fell away, as the school crumbled, she should feel the heat of the explosions, but none of that reached her.

She saw the rock. She made no move. Part of her was ready. Part of her was resigned.

It went dark.

Even though Tsumugi knew better she was almost relieved.

Until it was time to wake up.

---

Coming to feels hazy, disorienting. Her limbs jerk awkwardly, as if starting awake from a nightmare, eyes still seeing darkness but hands brushing against cords, glass and consoles. A pair of hands brush her cheek as they remove her headset, and she flinches involuntarily. One of her own hands goes to her face, tugging at its electrical tethers, still taped to her in various nerve points.

She’s not wearing her glasses. Panic washes over her just as the blinding light of the room that refuses to adjust for her does, and her other hand frantically reaches around the pod for where they must have fallen. She’d never leave her glasses. Without her glasses she’s not… she’s…

The light becomes less intense as she blinks, and she can make out the blurry silhouettes of three people in front of her, standing at attention, waiting patiently. One holds a hand outstretched with something silver clasped in it.

Shakily she takes it, unfolding the arms and sliding them carefully onto her face. The unfocused world comes back into sharp clarity. She half recognizes the faces of those who are in front of her. The silence remains. Is she supposed to say something? Eventually the one who returned her glasses clears her throat, and gestures to the others. They begin to remove the wires quickly and efficiently. Tsumugi crosses her arms and rubs at them idly as the rest are secured, feeling like this should be a more private process. As the last wire is removed the one who’s clearly in charge clears her throat again and nods to her.

“The Board would like to see you.”

Slowly, Tsumugi pushes herself out of the seat, wobbling on her feet as she does so, gripping the side of the chair shaped pod, carefully avoiding the lit LCD consoles lining the edges. The trio before her make no moves to help, nor does she request it. The legs beneath her quiver a few times, threatening to fold before her knees lock with some promise of support. Her hand gripping the side betrays the truth though, trembling with effort.

“Alright, take me to them.”

---

They aren’t happy.

There’s some general gratitude that an ending was guaranteed through her actions, but thanks for it are brisk and short lived. There are bigger problems now.

Lost footage was bad enough, but a protest live on air? Sure, there were tons of supportive fans out there with a continued commitment to the brand, but the vocal few were making themselves heard. Sponsors were pulling their funding. Team DanganRonpa needed to make a statement. They refused to take fault, they had the consent waivers, despite the impassioned display on screen. They needed a scapegoat to take the fall, and who better than the face of the disaster? It was for the good of their franchise, and their only chance to hang onto enough profit to keep the company running.

They are firing her.

The show must go on, but they would make a good faith decision to change their methods for the next season. With a brand new production team.They were advancing their technologies still and R&D was indispensable right now, so the focus went towards the writing talent. It was her failure, anyways, they posited. The simulation hadn’t flickered once, even when the jig was up.

Tsumugi is silent and numb as she is told this. Turmoil brews as a debate begins around her about when to release the announcement.

How dare they do this to me? I worked so hard for them! Without me this season would have never got off the ground! Who else had the brilliant idea to move into a space epic? To introduce new worlds for the future of the story? Who risked their life to bring down every last obstacle? Who gave up their classmates? Was chased down for this mad show and they care more about sponsors? How dare they place the blame on a highschooler, when I-

Wait, no, she’s not…

She runs her fingers over her temples gingerly, swaying slightly on her feet. The discussion in front of her ebbs, attention back on her, and some expressions exchanged before they agree to resume once she’s more aware. Perhaps they were too prompt in calling her here, but they had assumed she wouldn’t need long to adjust, since she knew the truth.

They didn’t realize knowing the truth was the crux of her dilemma.

---

Deleting memories when a consciousness was plugged directly into a simulation was very simple. The centers of the brain known to store them were easily targeted without physical intervention, leaving common sense and learned skills. Untethered knowledge, learned without recalling how. The amnesia effect here was valuable. Recalling this knowledge caused a disconnect, and when memories were implanted the brain would do something extraordinary. It would map a route from the presented memory to the knowledge, all on it’s own. Connecting the neural dots and repairing the damage as though it were never there, without guidance or supervision. The human mind was a brilliantly sophisticated device.

Every cast member had been selected with some semblance of knowledge or aptitude for their assigned talent, even if it was utterly average. The knowledge was filled out for each, with painstaking researchers drafting long memories of ancient tomes, infidelity cases, star charts, blueprints, masked faces, island maps and coastal vistas. They filled in as much as possible, but even if they missed something, the mind was resilient, and would work out the holes on its own.

It wasn’t the same for her however.

There was a perk to being the ringleader for the whole affair. The person in charge had to know some of the infrastructure that was keeping them there, some of the motivations. Lest the show fall apart, or even worse be boring. So the game master went into the simulation without memory deletion.

That wasn’t to say that there weren’t memories implanted. That would be too simple. They had to provide some true evidence of their talent to back up the enhancement of their skills and knowledge. Without a sturdy foundation built on confidence any additions would crumble and refuse to attach. Having worked in the costume department for a few seasons before her promotion, her suggestion of cosplayer had been approved almost instantly. Soon the research team was looking up Cosplay Masquerade winners from years past and the details of every prized piece of workmanship, photography and character acting they could find, and drafting it into a light for her as well. Tsumugi had been excited, and had even helped pick her absolute favourites to be remembered as costumes she made.

Ideally, this booster pack of memories for her talent would supplement her own enough to use to her fullest if the time came in game. Her script outline didn’t even call for her reveal, but having been behind the scenes a few seasons, she knew a lot more was up to chance than Team Danganronpa liked to let the media know. She wanted a strong backup at her disposal, should the need arise.

However, when the game began, something hadn’t been quite right. Backstory memories were implanted as planned, but the talents were yet to be placed. Already in the simulation, she couldn’t ask The Board if this was deliberate. It could be a marketing scheme to boost audition rates for the next round. But already her concern grew.

The human mind is a fascinating thing.

The others spoke of being grabbed and taken here. The dots were already connecting, firing on all cylinders, looking for solutions to lost memories that didn’t need answering. It wasn’t as though they erased everything of course, it was impossible to work with a blank slate, so the bits remaining were playing havoc with their reactions. She alone had none missing, and merely nodded along. With the arrival of the talent light, she had an inward sigh of relief. Soon it wouldn’t matter, this would overwrite any unintended connections left by this stunt.

They received the memories.

Tsumugi had never expected them to feel so real. Every costume she had lovingly picked out, from footage and articles, she could feel in her hands, as though she touched the fabric and threaded the seams. Every pose she had seen a cosplayer photographed in, she was viewing outwardly, seeing the cameramen she never even imagined existing prior, while holding her position with careful grace. Every character, be they dramatic, loud, shy, soft or brash, came to her in vivid detail. Their tales, their backstories, their struggles, their gestures and voices.

And it clashed against her memories of Danganronpa.

All these characters, all these series, they were not the ones she grew up on. They were new and relevant, often references classics, selected for memorability, for the audience. And yet now they were intimately hers. They crowded for attention, buzzing and vying for a place as her favourite.

Her true favourites, the reason for her years of work and devotion, were shoved to the very back, not forgotten, but duller. Flatter. The Ultimate Cosplayer was vibrant! Though plain outwardly her skills were undeniable! She wasn’t some drop-out made-seamstress made-scenario writer. Why would she ever want to be?

Therefore, it couldn’t be that surprising how lost in thought she was at her introductions, she spent far too long trying to remember the lines she had written to poke a reference to the show. There were a lot more than 52 killing games to think back on now. She regretted not stocking the A/V Room with more of these shows...

----

With an escort, she goes to her office to clear it out. Memorabilia lines the desk and walls, from seasons past. She looks them over passively as she is handed a box, and begins to take each thing down one by one. Every character, name, and mascot was familiar. Security waits at the door, and she wonders why. What could she possibly do here to harm them anymore than she supposedly already had? She had not been allowed online yet to confirm anything told to her, but she had resolved that when they spoke to her again she’d make it a condition before her termination. They couldn’t plainly believe she’d take their word on it when they put her… no that wasn’t right…

They didn’t put her anywhere, she put herself somewhere.

She shakes her head slowly a moment, the numbness in her hands having returned. Before she can react the snowglobe in her grasp slips out of her clumsy unfeeling fingers and shatters on the floor. Water and glitter splash the floor as tiny Monokumas skitter outwards past her feet across the room, freed from their little round prison. Security whirls around to face her at the sharp sound she doesn’t hear. She stands there staring at the base of the glass bauble, dumbfounded.

She vaguely recollects that that had been special. A collector’s item, given to her by someone perhaps? Limited edition? But she felt nothing staring down at the wet shards remaining, her arm hanging limp at her side. Whatever it was before, it was trash now.

Tsumugi is ushered out with her box half packed, with no mention of if she could come back for the rest. Part of her wants to scream to get the rest and cling to it all! It took so long to amass! Without it, what is there to prove her efforts? A larger part of her was happy for it to be out of sight.

She unceremoniously leaves the box in the corner of her recovery room. Not one of her own things is taken out to put anywhere. She likes the room bare and plain. Like her. Just like the girl she thinks she is.

---

Unlike before the game, when the research team and writers had meetings, strategy plans and long discussions, the classroom where Tsumugi stood with the Game Master interface was lonely and cold. There were no intricacies to any of the selections, they were mere branching paths. Sure, she recalled some of the writing details for each from before the season launch, especially the ones she had chosen as her outlined route, but how simply the screen stated them to her was troubling.

The talent had been supposed to be this simple too, but it had depth she hadn’t expected. The selection hovered over the Ultimate Hunt and the mass funeral choices, the ones her writing team had OK’d. She wondered what depth she’d feel seeing fake people mourn her. Would they seem fake?

She pressed the button and waited for the light to pop out of the locker, adjusting her glasses idly and looking out the dark wire barred windows. She thought about her ‘classmates’, who had nothing in their heads remaining to help them deny these. It really was a perfect system. For them.

There was a thud in the locker. Tsumugi returned to her task, like so many all nights she’d pulled before, both real and fictional. She walked over to retrieve it, carefully tucking it into the interior pocket on her coat. Once it was placed that was their plot, no rewrites, no erasing anything. Living the story was a lot more nerve wracking than writing it.

---

Tsumugi knows her way around the building without help, but that doesn’t stop security from falling into step and walking with her whenever she leaves her room. She supposes it’s not to help her, anyways, so it’s not an issue. There’s no regimented schedule for her during recovery, though doctors have visited her room a few times and there was one impromptu check-up with an actual CT scan.

She tells them all she feels fine. Everything is fine. She’s readjusting just fine, thank you for asking. No, no abnormalities. No numbness. No confusion. She does admit to being very tired. That one is a safe answer, it usually makes them leave faster so she can rest. They aren’t very good doctors, she thinks. She wonders if they are just as poorly attentive to the other patients’ issues and lies.

Without a schedule, Tsumugi avoids the cafeteria at what she guesses would be the busier times, but even doing so she has caught glimpses of her cast.

A girl sitting with an untouched meal laid out before her. Her hands clasped in front of her in her lap, eyes hidden behind loose grey hair.

A tall silent boy gazing out one of the few windows into the courtyard. He traces his no longer ringed fingers along the surface.

A coughing bout in the hallway followed by the rush of feet and a familiar loud voice shouting them off.

Echoes of their more vibrant selves, haunting the halls.

She walks into the cafeteria and stops. There are voices but she’s already through the door before she realizes it, eyes darting to the table to the right of the door. Sitting there in what sounded like a disagreement were Shuichi and Maki, with Himiko sitting idly beside the latter cheek resting on the heel of her hand while gazing at the door. The other two don’t notice her but the small redhead locks eyes with her instantly. Her posture stiffens as her eyes widen. The two girls stare at each other for a moment, the conversation a buzz in the background as the air thickens. Shuichi, who’s back is to the door must have noticed because he stops mid-sentence and glances over his shoulder. He freezes.

It’s Maki who stands, nudging Himiko behind her, taking on that intimidating stance. She’s glaring daggers across the room at her, and Tsumugi backs up involuntarily, right into the security guard who was following her into the room. Clumsily, she stumbles forwards to step out of his way and adjusts her glasses, the other three’s eyes still locked on her. Not wanting to leave, but unsure of what to do with herself, Tsumugi steps forwards to the adjacent table and quietly takes a seat.

The eyes on her and the silence are wrong. She’s not someone who gets stared at, at least not when she’s not trying to… this isn’t what she should… what should she…

A placid smile spreads on her face and she nods her head to them. “Good morning, Harukawa-san, Yumeno-san, Saihara-kun.” Her eyes squint almost closed in the forced smile, her cheeks pushing upwards under her glasses that help mask the dark bags. Practiced. Placating. A face both of her make. Painful.

“What do you want?”

Himiko isn’t who anyone expects to talk clearly, Shuichi turning to look at her. Maki squares her shoulders, trying to seem bigger. But the smallest of them narrows her eyes and waits.

“Nothing in particular, really,” Tsumugi drawls, folding her hands in her lap. Out of sight as they clench and fidget.

“Oh sure, your goons won’t give us a moment alone, but you don’t want anything. Like we’d believe that,” Maki says before Himiko can continue, venom in every word. Himiko’s mouth hangs open in the interruption, closing again with a pout.

“My goons,” Tsumugi repeats, noting the pointed look at the security detail that followed her in. “Fortunately, they should have provided you all with your contracts by now, and you can see your rights there. Please do use them to your benefit.”

“Oh right. The contracts we don’t even remember signing,” Himiko mutters.

“That is outlined in them as well.”

“This lack of contact with the outside was not, though,” Shuichi cuts in. The sureness there is from someone who clearly read the contract over more than once. Someone looking for loopholes. The memories he received must still be working overtime. She wonders if he’s as glad to have them as he was when he was when the process was explained? Probably not.

“That’s not my area, I’m afraid the simulation and preparations were my purview, Saihara-kun. Feel free to exert your rights in your contract, though. The company has to uphold it.” The strained smile slides into a more natural one as she continues to speak. It’s easier when it’s not about her.

Shuichi raises a brow. Perhaps he had expected resistance? “So they’re breaking their agreement then, holding us here?” he continues, as if to clarify.

“If that’s what the contract promises, then I suppose that’s the case,” Tsumugi answers. They should feel fortunate they got the opportunity to sign those at all, she thinks. Her hands clench tighter. They are fortunate they don’t remember.

“Like we trust you to keep promises,” Maki spat.

“You don’t have to,” she tuts, “Just use the contract, it’s your tool.”

Maki moves so quickly that thankfully Tsumugi doesn’t have the time to flinch. Himiko grabs her by the crook of the elbow before she’s rounded the table towards her.

“Stop it, let’s just talk somewhere else.”

Himiko stands, and moments later Shuichi follows suit. Maki’s expression doesn’t show any agreement, but she leaves with them nonetheless, glaring back over her shoulder on the way out. The security officers never stray from their posts. As soon as she’s sure they’re gone, Tsumugi lets out a held breath. A few moments pass, and she finally goes to get her meal.

She hopes that they really heard her. Their contracts are so much more flexible than her own. They hadn’t bequeath their identities, their citizenships, they weren’t intellectual property of the company no matter how some of the creative team liked to spin it.Their participation was a limited matter, and she was sure her classmates could argue their way through with that fine print at their disposal. She knew that much. She’d seen them face harder things than legal jargon together of course!

...Her classmates? No. Her cast. Her co-stars. A grimace grows on her face as she returns to sit. They never once had a class together, and the game could hardly be called one… not now. Not with her. Together they could bond in their ignorance. Her contract wasn’t flexible. Her consent was different than theirs. She wasn’t new, or at least not all new.

And she couldn’t leave until they decided the best way for them to kick her out. She takes a bite of her food thoughtfully.

If they can kick me out.

#ndrv3 spoilers #ndrv3 #tsumugi shirogane #shirogane tsumugi #team danganronpa #fic #my writing #danganronpa v3 #vr au #postgame #shuichi saihara #maki harukawa #himiko yumeno #my mugi #dissociation #memory #Some of you may remember the preview I posted for this one

[emeraldwaves]

Title:  Tee Time Pairing:  KuroTsuki Rating: G Word Count:  3,572 Read on Ao3 Summary: When Kuroo and Tsukishima fight about trivial things, there is only one way to solve their problems.

For @its-love-u-asshole because she’s the best and deserves all the fluffy Kurotsuki!!! Thanks to @liziscribbles for betaing this!

The tension was palpable, angry sparks zapping through the air.

"I'm telling you," Kuroo insisted.

"You can tell me all your want, doesn't mean I'll listen," Tsukishima was quick to retort.

Kuroo wished he could remember exactly how they had gotten to this place. It was rare for Kuroo to find himself fighting with his boyfriend.

He couldn't pinpoint when it got so intense, but it most likely started when Tsukishima pulled out The Good Dinosaur and declared it to be the best Pixar movie.

"The... Good Dinosaur..." Kuroo sputtered. Did anyone else even remember that film existed? "Babe... I think your bias is showing..."

Look, it was on brand for Tsukishima, Kuroo could agree with that for sure. But...

"No, it has nothing to do with my... appreciation for dinosaurs."

Kuroo raised an eyebrow, clearly finding that difficult to believe. Tsukishima simply clicked his tongue. "Okay, that is a small part of it... " He rolled his eyes. "Okay then, what is the best Pixar movie in your opinion? I swear if you tell me Cars, we're getting a divorce."

"Pfft! No, not that! It's Toy Story. The trilogy is amazing and wraps up nicely!" Kuroo nodded sagely. It was the obvious right answer, even with the uncertainty of Toy Story 4 looming on the horizon. "Plus, there's a dinosaur in it, so that can satisfy your dino needs."

Tsukishima's face fell. "Eh, Toy Story? It's okay, I guess."

"Okay?! Just okay?!"

Kuroo decided that response was far worse than anyone saying Cars was their favorite Pixar movie.

And so now, here they were, arguing.

"Babe," Kuroo urged. "It's okay to be wrong."

"Are you giving yourself a pep talk?" Tsukishima snorted, folding his arms over his chest.

Kuroo sighed, tilting his head back and forth. "Well... it seems we've come to an impasse."

"Mmm..." Tsukishima nodded, turning towards the window to check the weather. It was a nice enough day for it...

Yes, it was rare that Kuroo found himself fighting with his boyfriend, but when they did fight, there was only one good way to solve their problems...

"Two for a round of mini-golf please," Kuroo smirked, slamming his money on the kiosk desk and looking up at Terushima Yuuji.

The idiot had been working at the mini-golf course for the past few months, but not because he wanted or needed a job. Currently, he was being punished for diving into the mini-golf pond when he missed a hole-in-one on the final hole. It had been funny at the time, but Terushima certainly wasn't laughing now. Not when he was forced to dress in the stuffy Putt-Putt Castle green polo shirt, and deal with dumbasses like Kuroo and Tsukishima.

However, he still regretted not finishing first in that epic game. He would beat Futakuchi one of these days. He swore on the ugly green polo shirt, or so he declared passionately to Kuroo when he was drunk one night.

Currently however Terushima was trapped in the kiosk, staring at the two guys in front of him. He raised his eyebrow. "So, what did you two dorkwads fight about this time?"

Terushima was more than familiar with how Kuroo and Tsukishima worked. They would fight about something fairly inconsequential (because when did they ever fight about something real), and then they would show up to play a round of mini-golf to determine who was correct in the fight.

It wasn't a very sound solution and usually resulted in one them being disgruntled for the rest of the night, until they started making out and all would eventually be forgotten. The road to the make out session was long, yes, but hey, they had fun along the way.

"This beautiful idiot seems to think The Good Dinosaur is the best Pixar movie of all time." Kuroo snorted, gesturing to his less than happy boyfriend.

Terushima folded his arms. "Wait... what movie is that? I don't think I even saw it."

"'Course you didn't," Tsukishima clicked his tongue. He sighed heavily, as if explaining this movie to Terushima was the biggest burden the blond ever faced. "It's the movie about the dinosaur-"

"I mean, I assumed! Is he good too?" Terushima smirked, leaning over the counter of the kiosk.

"You know what-"

"Okay, okay, I'll try and check it out! What did Kuroo say his favorite was?"

"Toy Story. The correct answer," Kuroo insisted.

"Okay, so, you're both wrong. Up is obviously the best Pixar movie-"

Kuroo rolled his eyes. "Wrong."

"Basic," Tsukishima clicked his tongue.

Of course, Terushima would like Up. In fact, he probably cried like a baby in Futakuchi's arms at the beginning of the movie, and Terushima probably quoted Dug's 'I have just met you and I love you' line to Futakuchi on a regular basis.

"Hey, at least I didn't say Cars," Terushima muttered.

"Fair enough," Tsukishima nodded. It was good they could all agree about one thing at least. What self-respecting person over the age of ten would actually say Cars is their favorite Pixar movie?

"Can you just give us the clubs man?" Kuroo asked, leaning against the kiosk.

"I mean, you are holding up the line," Terushima said, glancing to the empty spots behind Kuroo and Tsukishima. He reached behind him and pulled out the tallest golf clubs they had (which were still pretty short). "Here you go. What color balls you want?"

"Heh," Kuroo smirked but Tsukishima nudged him.

"Orange," he said.

"Red for me!" Kuroo reached forward to grab the red ball off the counter and they started on the path.

"Good luck!" Terushima called out. "I hope you have fun watching The Good Dinosaur later!"

"Hey! I have the power of god and Toy Story on my side! To infinity and beyond!" Kuroo called out, zooming towards the first hole. He didn't need to look at his boyfriend to know his face was probably bright red.

Putt-Putt Castle was what one would expect from a mini-golf course. It was medieval themed, so of course, one hole had a castle, one had a windmill, there were scattered decorations of knights, horses, and princesses, and one hole even had what was now a deformed wizard after someone threw their golf club right through the dude's head. Kuroo was happy he missed witnessing that.

There was a large pond in the middle and the course looped around it. It led up to a tall waterfall and there was one hole that hooked around the water and led them back down to the beginning of the course.

They both knew the course by heart.

In fact, they shared their first kiss up by the waterfall. There was a small lookout point on at the top hole. It overlooked the small pond and water fountain. During one of their spats, Kuroo took Tsukishima over there and kissed him. He couldn't really remember why they were arguing at the time (that was usually how these mini-golf challenges went) but he did remember how beautiful Tsukishima pale skin looked in the moonlight that night, the glowing lights on the waterfall reflecting off his skin.

Even now, with his angry, furrowed brow, Tsukishima looked beautiful. Unfair.

"Should we flip to see who goes first?" Kuroo asked and Tsukishima nodded, pulling a coin from his pocket.

"I call tails," he said, and flipped it up, letting the coin land on the ground. Heads.

"Oh, ho, ho look who's off to a good start!" Kuroo smirked, leaning forward on his golf club.

"You say that every time and then you end up losing," Tsukishima scoffed.

"Listen, sometimes, I can't stand looking at your beautiful face pouting all the time, so I let you win." He wiggled his butt and placed his red ball on the green, getting ready to aim.

"Sure. I'm sure that's what it is," the blond snorted, looking at him in disbelief.

The first hole was simple. Probably to help little kids think they could handle this course no problem. It wasn't exactly challenging, but there were a few evil holes.

"You ready for this expert putt?" Kuroo asked.

"Please, go ahead," Tsukishima said, pressing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"There's a way to putt perfectly, Kei," he smirked, tapping the putter against the ground.

"Enlighten me," he muttered, voice falling flat.

"First, you gotta really line everything up." Kuroo held the putter up and aimed the handle directly towards the hole. "Then you gotta imagine the curve of the ball from where you hit it. It's all geometry babe."

"Right," Tsukishima snorted.

"Here goes," he said. He drew back the putter and tapped it forward, so the ball curved slightly to the right. The landed towards the back of the hole, pressed against one of the bricks. Of course, he missed the hole completely, but Kuroo shrugged his shoulders back. "Tada."

"What is 'tada'?" Tsukishima asked, raising his eyebrow.

"This is exactly what I planned!" Kuroo said, walking down the course to stand by the ball.

"It is? You planned to have it close to the wall?" he asked, a playful lilt in his voice.

"Uh huh! This spot is optimal for putting!"

"Yes, next to the wall," Tsukishima nodded, his eyebrow quirked. He leaned down, placing down the orange ball on the green. Tsukishima glanced at the hole and gently moved the putter back, tapping the ball down the course. It rolled mostly straight, though it curved, ending just a few inches away from the hole.

"Nice try," Kuroo smirked, shooting finger guns at him.

Tsukishima walked up to his ball and stared flatly at Kuroo while he gently tapped it in. "At least I'm not next to the wall."

In the end, Kuroo got a three while Tsukishima walked away with a two.

The first few holes were mostly simple, and Kuroo and Tsukishima stayed close in score. On hole two, Kuroo scored a two and Tsukishima scored a three, but later on they both scored two and then Tsukishima pulled ahead when Kuroo accidentally hit his ball into a tiny sand trap.

Though Kuroo noticed Tsukishima did seem quieter than normal. Even when they fought, mini-golf always cheered them up. However, Tsukishima didn't even seem to care about Kuroo's competitive quips.

Then came hole number seven, the three-hole hole. It was famous for being cursed, since the three holes which ultimately led to the final hole were unpredictable. For awhile, everyone believed if one were to hit it down the left hole, it would guarantee an automatic hole-in-one. However, that theory was quickly debunked a few games later when hitting it to the left actually got the ball the furthest away from the final hole.

Kuroo was convinced it changed on a daily basis, but it was probably more about the angle and velocity at which he hit his ball. Why ruin magic with math?

"I wonder which one is special today..." Kuroo tapped his chin.

"Who knows," Tsukishima shrugged. "But you're going first, so test one out for me."

"What!?" Kuroo blinked. "Maybe I won't tell you where the ball lands," he snorted.

"I'll go look myself then."

Kuroo twisted his lips, frowning at his boyfriend. If Tsukishima won this, it meant he would have to sit and actually watch The Good Dinosaur again. Of course, getting to see Tsukishima looking all cute and happy while they watched the movie would probably make it worth it, but Kuroo's pride was also on the line.

He placed the ball down and decided to aim towards the right. With Kuroo's horrid luck, the ball bounced against a tiny pebble he must not have seen and awkwardly swerved towards the middle hole. It went down the tube and eventually spit back out on the other side.

Kuroo dashed towards the other side side of the green, watching as his ball rolled out of the middle hole and down towards the main hole. Kuroo's eyes widened as the ball stopped right before the hole, just an inch away. "Dammit!" he yelled and suddenly Tsukishima was peering over his shoulder.

"Seems the middle is good today."

"Oi!" Kuroo snorted. "If you knock my ball away... we will get that divorce."

"Sure," Tsukishima shrugged at the very empty threat.

Gently he tapped his ball forward, watching as it rolled down the middle slot. He walked casually forward, watching as it pressed against Kuroo's ball.

"Aw babe," Kuroo said, leaning towards Tsukishima. "Our balls are kissing-"

Tsukishima immediately pushed Kuroo's face out of the way as he tapped his ball in, not touching Kuroo's.

"Well," Kuroo frowned, hitting his own in immediately afterwards. "At least you didn't ruin my shot."

Tsukishima scoffed. "Of course not. I'm playing fair," he smirked, "and winning." He grabbed the score card from Kuroo to enter their numbers.

"For now," Kuroo smirked, climbing up the stairs towards the next hole.

They began to climb the stairs to head up to the tall waterfall hole. Hole number thirteen. Though Kuroo honestly considered it to be a lucky hole, since he usually got to steal a kiss or two up there, especially if the place wasn't busy.

At the top, Kuroo immediately bounded over to the lookout point. "C'mon Kei! C'mere!" he smiled and held his hand out to him.

Tsukishima frowned. "I'm winning. I want to keep winning. Stop trying to distract me."

"Eh!?" Kuroo pouted. Normally Tsukishima would always let Kuroo kiss him here, but today he didn't seem to be in the mood.

Maybe he was more upset than Kuroo realized.

"It's your turn," Tsukishima said, and Kuroo blinked, nodding as he stepped over to the course. He placed his ball down and smirked as he tapped it, letting it roll down the long hill. If anyone got a hole-in-one on this course, they won 5 bucks and a free game of mini-golf. It was rare that it ever happened, though once Kuroo's uncle had won. He gave it to Kuroo instead.

He turned towards Tsukishima, a playful glint in his eye. He wanted him to have fun, even if this had all come about because of a silly fight.

Dashing down the hill, he ran down the green instead of taking the stairs. As a kid, he always did this, but as an adult, well... he still usually did. He laughed when he got the to bottom, looking at how both of their balls seemed to be far from the hole.

"Neither of us were close. I really could've used that free game!" Kuroo said, he said, snapping his fingers.

"I think you can afford mini-golf," Tsukishima said, walking down the steps.

Something didn't feel right, and Kuroo was determined to get to the bottom of it. "Hey... Kei... are you okay? You seem... I dunno... actually mad?"

"Hm..." Tsukishima muttered, tapping his putter against the ground. "I'm not mad."

"Yeah, right," Kuroo snorted. He slowly stepped forward, taking Tsukishima's hands in his own. "Look, I think I know you well enough by now to know something isn't right. I mean even when we have these silly fights, we both have fun doing this. This is the best part of our 'arguments!'"

A small smiled appeared on Tsukishima's face. "Yeah... it is the best part. Especially when you're losing like this."

"Hey! Shut up! Don't change the subject! Are you really upset that I teased you about The Good Dinosaur?"

Tsukishima immediately looked down, shrugged his shoulder, and retreated into himself, like when he was dealing with something too painful to admit. He'd gotten much better at speaking his mind, but sometimes...

"Kei..." Kuroo whispered, cupping his cheeks. He turned the blond's face to meet his, staring into his golden eyes. "I love you... and no matter what you say, I'm not going to actually judge you or anything. I'm never serious about teasing you when it comes to things that are important to you."

"The more I thought about you hating it the more... frustrated I got," he admitted finally.

"First off, I don't hate it, and second off, why? You never care when I don't like something. I mean we have these... joke arguments but..."

"I know but..." he trailed off. Tsukishima's cheeks flushed, his face bright red. He bit down on his lip and sighed. "In... The Good Dinosaur... the two main characters, Arlo and Spot don't have to talk to connect. They find comfort in each other, despite being... so different. And that's how... I feel about you. You make me feel comfortable... you remind me of... family."

Kuroo immediately pressed his lips against Tsukishima's; he couldn't help it. Of course Tsukishima would feel upset about Kuroo not realizing how this movie could relate to Tsukishima's own feelings! It was personal; it held more depth than other movies they had fought about.

Kuroo brushed his thumbs over Tsukishima's pale cheeks, and held him so close, not caring they were practically making out on the mini-golf course.

"Also..." Tsukishima breathed. "I really do like dinosaurs."

Kuroo chuckled softly, pressing his forehead to Tsukishima's. "I know you do, Kei."

Kuroo didn't want to pull back, but they did have a mini-golf game to finish. "How about no matter who wins, we go home and watch The Good Dinosaur?"

Tsukishima smirked. "Maybe we could watch Toy Story after it."

"I sure as hell wouldn't mind that! But first, I gotta kick your ass," he smirked.

"In your dreams," Tsukishima said, moving away from him to tap the ball in one more time.

Things began to feel normal as they made their way through the back nine. Kuroo was happy to see Tsukishima cheering up, back to his competitively playful self. Of course the final, eighteenth hole, loomed on the horizon.

The spinning arms of the windmill slowly rotated. It was next to impossible to get a hole-in-one on the final hole, since the spinning arms usually hit the ball back, blocking it from getting it in on the first try.

Kuroo and Tsukishima were tied now, and Kuroo supposed ending things on a tie would make sense, since they already agreed to watch both movies.

"Alright, time to meet my end," Kuroo muttered, letting the ball drop on the course. It bounced once and he stopped it with his foot. His technique of holding the putter up and aiming carefully had now been replaced by a much faster technique of whacking the ball and hoping it went somewhere.

He slammed his putter against the red ball, watching as it hit the windmill, rolling immediately back to him. "Dammit!" he cursed and behind him he heard Tsukishima snicker. "Don't laugh! You're gonna have to do this in a minute!"

"Mhm..." Tsukishima snorted again.

Kuroo hit at the ball a few more times before he finally slipped by one of the arms, hearing the red ball clatter as it returned to the main kiosk. "Hah! Only took 4 tries! Good luck," he smirked.

Tsukishima slowly leaned down to place his ball at the edge of the green. (Kuroo would've been lying if he said he didn't check out Tsukishima's ass every time). He adjusted his stance and watched as the windmill moved around and around, very intent on watching the rotation.

Finally he nodded his head and swung, his ball passing by and down into the slot. A hole-in-one! "I beat you," he smirked, leaning on his club.

Kuroo's eyes were wide. "Absolute... mad lad!" he breathed, cheering as he ran over to Tsukishima. He wrapped his arms around him and kissed his cheek. "I can't even be mad because you just defeated the 18th hole windmill and holy shit, I... am so proud!" he said, pretending to wipe a tear away.

Tsukishima clicked his tongue, a smile pulling across his lips. "C'mon... let's get out of here," he chuckled, tugging his overly-excited boyfriend back to where Terushima looked bored out of his mind in the kiosk.

"So... who won?" he asked.

"Kei!" Kuroo said, slinging his arm around Tsukishima's neck. "But... we decided to watch both movies anyway." He kissed Tsukishima's cheek.

"And you're both disgusting again," Terushima snorted, taking the golf clubs back from them. "I'm supposed to tell you it's half-off if you play a second round, but I have a feeling you're just gonna go home."

"Yeah," Tsukishima said, a small smile on his lips. "I think we're good. See you."

"You're just saying that cause you won!" Kuroo snorted, waving goodbye to Terushima as they walked back towards the parking. Really he was happy to go home. Mini-golf was always fun, but spending quality time snuggled up to Tsukishima on their couch was his favorite thing.

"You didn't actually think you were going to win?" Tsukishima asked.

Kuroo could only shrug. "I dunno, maybe this was gonna be my time to shine."

"I'll let you believe that," Tsukishima said.

"Aren't I lucky?" Kuroo chuckled, nuzzling his cheek.

"You're embarrassing, that's for sure," Tsukishima snorted, pushing his face away. "But... I guess that's what happens when you're family..." he muttered, lacing their hands together, holding them behind his back.

"I love you, Kei. And I'm ready to watch dinosaur movies all night."

Tsukishima's eyes widened. "Does this mean we can watch The Land Before Time too?"

"Hell yes!" Kuroo smirked.

Honestly, if it meant something to Tsukishima and made him smile, Kuroo would've watched any movie he wanted.

#kuroo tetsurou #Tsukishima kei #haikyuu!! #kurotsuki #kurotsukki #hq fanfcition #HQ!! #fluff #RIDICULOUS FICS #this is a meme #but it's for adriana #cause she's perfect #also terushima is there

[rottenappleheart]

I’ve played other tabletop games before, but 5e won my heart right away with its beautiful straightforwardness* and focus on the adventure over the process. Which makes me look back at the other crappy systems I’ve put up with over the years and go “… but why.” More on that later**.

Some of this is specifically due to my 5e DM being an absolute gem. I’m learning a lot by watching how she handles the player/character dynamics and the dice rolls, the narrative and the scenes. I want to take a minute to talk about some of my favorite things I’ve seen her do – not specific stories or scenes, but how she put the game together.

Gave the PCs clear reasons to get involved in the adventure from the very start. The ship on which all the PCs had all taken passage, for whatever reasons of our own devising, was attacked by pirates. Surprise! We didn’t have to debate over “Would my character volunteer to go look for the missing children in the goblin mines? Would they want to be paid for it? Are they too much of a coward and will be dragged kicking and screaming into their heroic destiny?” The self-defense angle was beautifully simple.

Turned this into a reason for all the PCs to bond with each other. By the end of the first session, we knew one thing about each other: These were the other people who got tough when the going did. These were the people who had my back. We don’t know much about each other, but we got the most important detail out of the way: we could instinctively work together.

Made the first session very engaging and memorable. Unavoidable encounter with pirates, complete with hostage-taking, net-throwing, rope-swinging, swash-buckling, and comically successful persuasion rolls. None of this “in the first session you found the dungeon, disarmed two traps, and fought a goblin, but you still haven’t found the Plot parts” nonsense. Even if we never played another session, that first exciting, self-contained adventure was brilliant and memorable.

Encouraged the players to do the cool thing they had in mind, but weren’t sure if it would work or was a good idea. She is always encouraging us to describe what we do and how cool it is, rather than just rolling the dice for attack & damage. It goes a long way toward making even a starting-level encounter feel amazing and epic. “Okay, I got a 12… with a plus five… does a 17 hit?” “Yeah, you hit him alright. How are you doing it?” “Oh, I uh… hmm… You know what? I do a fancy spin, kind of dodging out of the way of his last attack, and as I come back around I slash at him with the sword using the momentum of my spin.” “Neat. Roll for damage! [rolling] You lop his head clean off. It bounces across the deck in a gross but impressive fashion. The other pirates recoil in horror.”***

Checked in regularly to know what each of the PCs were doing and how they reacted to situations, even if it wasn’t actively contributing to an encounter. It really helps to visualize a scene and make plans to have a regular check-in like this. It also is helping me, as a player, indirectly get to know the other PCs without specifically role-playing a scene together. It makes the session feel more like a story, and—while I can’t speak for the other players—it makes me feel more confident about making character choices, because I know the DM is paying attention to each of the PCs as personalities and not just collections of statistics. (This is a particular relief, and helped me realize how much it bothered me that a different DM just started ignoring my character unless I spoke up. No, I wasn’t confident and full of ideas at the beginning, but his reaction only made me feel less sure, rather than more daring.)

Gave us fun NPCs to interact and bond with from the very start. We left the first session with four NPCs attached to our team, including two former pirates (remember the comically successful persuasion rolls?) I’m looking forward to rejoining them at the end of our current exploration/dungeon crawl. Our DM is doing a great job using them to model roleplaying for some of the new players, and to reassure us that being silly or dramatic is perfectly okay. The old bard who is accompanying us on the current adventure may or may not continue to be our plus-one in the future, but while he’s here, he makes a great “hint from the DM” excuse about puzzles and solutions—and continues to motivate us toward the intended goal. I’m a little afraid he’s going to die, too, which is good! (Not that he dies, but that I would care.)

Overall, she has been exemplifying the kind of DM I want to be (and helping me see where I’ve misstepped in previous one-shots.) She’s doing such a great job embracing the “yes and/yes but” principle, and I do feel as though she is playing with her players, not against them. 

Not that she didn’t derive obvious and unwholesome glee over the flying electric eels. 

And that, too, was memorable and horrible and I loved it.

* Relatively speaking. There’s still math to do. Just… less than other systems.

** No promises, y’all should know by now I have a short attention span.

*** This exact situation was made up for the sake of this post, but I think something similar did happen. One of our players definitely did Legolas-and-the-oliphaunt her way through a battle and it was fantastic.

#d&d #i'm not posting this just to flatter you btw i have been thinking about all of these things a lot #wavelette #long post #archipelago campaign

[foodoliplife]

How exactly to compose A essay that is informative Guide with Examples and subjects

How exactly to compose A essay that is informative Guide with Examples and subjects

The student wouldn’t normally make their written piece impressive without being tangled up in scholastic essay composing for decades. Do you consider that composing an essay that is informative plagiarism checker simple? It offers certain home elevators a subject-related subject without having any tries to persuade your reader when you look at the author’s truth, nonetheless it offers some challenges. Record of feasible informative essay subjects is endless. This article shares the top-quality essay topic ideas on the basis of the most readily useful educational documents submitted by the students global.

Is it possible to over come the process? An expert essay that is online solution produced by the skilled essay authors from different fields of study will assist you to over come issues with your grades.

Informative Essay: Meaning by Essay Writing Guru

An essay that is informative a variety of educational assignment, fond of twelfth grade and university students. It must test the direction they can concentrate and offer information about a particular subject (international warming, hate crime, discrimination, fast-food, obesity, etc.). When compared with other popular types of educational essays (persuasive/argumentative), the student should not make an effort to persuade the reader of their truth within an essay that is informative. This is the most readily useful educational device regarding the high school/college instructor. It really is utilized to gauge different requirements:

familiarity with topic

Pair of abilities

Knowing of platforms

English proficiency

The greatest reward is the greatest feasible grade and enhanced great point average (GPA).

Simple tips to Write an Informative Essay?

The fundamental element of scientific/academic essay writing is a study, which is the systematic, smooth research of main & secondary sources to provide the reality for a problem that is specified. Contemporary pupils have unique chance to utilze the internet. It will require less time, nerves, and efforts than high school/college/university libraries accustomed a few decades ago. The approach is similar.

How to deal with Analysis Process

While learning the sources that are available it’s important to spot the date of publishing (old sources that were published more than 5 years back), whether or not the authority accredited the origin, and just how appropriate the exhibited information is. It is far better to exclude sources providing an impression regarding the matter ( for instance, reviews or critical articles). It is far better to find the sources that are primary. They consist of:

Books & e-Books

Academic journals

Scientific mags

Certified reports

Print magazines

Accredited internet sites

Documentaries & movies

Research papers

Make sure to get & make use of facts alone. To offer a matching proof in the context of one’s informative essay, insert either a primary or indirect estimate by using quote markings and narrowed reference in the parentheticals. Take note of records showcasing the primary guidelines. inform. Save your valuable time on supplying facts & detailed explanations in place of wanting to persuade visitors your place to the problem that is researched proper while the opponents are incorrect.

Expert advice from Our Academic Business

Write Informative Essay Outline

Once you decided on the subject, it’s time to sit back and spend a few hours or even more with respect to the assignment’s amount from the essay outline that is informative.

What’s an informative essay outline? Insurance firms an obvious course of action, you can easily avoid issues with an informative essay writing. A student will be lost between the lines of his text without having an outline in front of his eyes like a traveler lost in the forest without his compass. The guidelines try not to constantly inform to get ready an outline. If say to place a dining table of articles, mcdougal should nevertheless carry an outline out to remember it every time he begins falling from the subject. The aim is to offer descriptions that are meaningful. It will probably teach the browsing audience on the offered topic. To comprehend just how to compose an informative essay, you should introduce data without having sort of bias.

Take a look at each phase of expert academic essay composing (a plan).

Write A essay that is informative Introduction

Introduce the subject by having a shocking, engaging hook sentences at first to grab the reader’s attention. It might be an idea that is great place a literary estimate or highly successful people saying within the opening sentence. Take to starting aided by the statistics/fact. Another good choice is including a simile or metaphor.

Focus on a effective thesis statement ( range from the primary informative essay’s idea), check whether or not the other countries in the arguments relate genuinely to it. End your initial paragraph by saying the predictions money for hard times, rhetorical question, url to passage, or whatever else audience move to the next area being intrigued. Various change words & expressions assist to build links between paragraphs. Listed here is a good example of informative essay introduction:

“It is 7 have always been for a day that is hot June, and I also have previously showered and taken my dinner. We understand that all of those other pupils are experiencing ambitions spending their summer days that are best the way in which a typical pupil should when it is sunny outside. I actually do maybe not envy them. Aided by the massive passion, we hurry to my part-time work being an editor’s associate in the neighborhood art mag to get brand new exciting writing experience!”

Compose A informative essay human anatomy Paragraphs

Try not to come up with over three body paragraphs & 3 primary arguments to protect. Each claim within the ongoing work should really be supported. Obtain a significant, strong evidence retrieved during the procedure for in-depth research.

Simple Tips To Compose A essay that is informative Summary

It is crucial all of your essay that is informative an epic note just in case the writer desires the reading market to consider their brilliant tips and carry on researching the issue. a conclusion must have a restated/rewritten thesis statement within one phrase. Put in a significant summary based on 3 details talked about in your body. It is a good concept to complete the informative essay because of the exclamation, forecasts for future years, revolutionary some ideas, rhetorical concern, or estimate of a person that is famous. It’s all about leaving the impression that is last! Remember about one more web page during the end – Bibliography!

Simple tips to structure & Reference in Academic Essay Writing

Combine record of great informative essay topics above with your helpful suggestions & tricks a understanding compose an informative essay every teacher will like!

It is time to state words that are several formatting. Every essay that is informative could have this aspect on the list of rest, so usually do not rush to flake out. Any structure is constructed of 2 parts that are main. Those are direct/indirect in-text citations placed within the body text & range of sources, which seems at the conclusion for the essay that is informative in summary component. Its often called recommendations (in APA style), Bibliography or Functions Cited web page (in MLA).

#food #recipe #How exactly to compose A essay that is informative Guide with Examples and subjects

[topicprinter]

This post encourages you not to be afraid to implement ideas. Don't leave them to gather dust until better times. Swipe to see a lot of photos from the pitch, from a trip to the Dominican Republic and the metamorphosis of the robot. Perhaps our story motivates you to put your ideas (that have been nurtured for a long time) into action.In golf there is a driving range, a training field for practicing long and medium strokes. During a day it may catch up to 20,000 balls. These balls need to be collected somehow. Usually, they are gathered with the special equipment attached to the car. It causes personnel costs, maintenance of equipment, damage both to balls and to the field. In the summer of 2018, my friend Michael Wykrent, a golf coach in Germany, talked about this issue of the administrators of golf clubs. So I found a solution in the form of a robot. I made the first prototype from plywood and wrote an article about it on the Internet to receive a broad response. Now, we have a team of 4 people, professionals featuring experience in international companies.Basically, the message of this post is that you don't need to be perfect, you just need to act.If I had kept my idea, protected it, and cherished it, it wouldn't have worked. I made the first model (very far from ideal) and told the world about it. It helped to find like-minded people with whom I hope we will remain good friends. Below is a photo of our team building! Next let's talk about the body, mechanics, control board and software. I would like to show what was in the beginning and how it looks now. The progress is especially noticeable due to the low base effect.The first version of the body was terrible and shouted that we need a man to solve this problem. Together with the team we remade it and now it looks like this. First model Current version with painting and glass fiber reinforcement. The progress is visible to the naked eye, and it's all the result of networking.Any old thing helped to test the idea, even noname engines from Aliexpress and printed gears. Of course, for further development it all had to be replaced, even the engine change and printing сhevron gears didn't work. This option isn't the final drive, now we're waiting for the timing belt and pulleys to facilitate the design. Board First there was the word, then the breadboard. What does the interweaving of wires look like? That's right, a cat's cradle. This is what the first compact breadboard looked like. Then the user SkyserR took over. He designed and assembled the module connection Board for the raspberry pi version.If you would like to help, please DM me in FB. Software Initially, all software was self-written. Python scripts and Arduino sketches. But when we become tired, we switched to Ardupilot and ROS. We have MVP and now we are developing hardware and software altogether. We use opensource solutions and write our own software. We have contractors in Russia and China who supply us with components.​The transformation from a hobby experiment to a productWe took part in pitch sessions, talked about our project. We received contacts of 3 investment funds and two independent investors. Such events are permanent. I highly recommend them, they allow you to find investors, prepare your presentation, find weaknesses in the project. It was a meeting with one of the funds from the event that allowed to get the first offer. Just a good option is to appeal to the investor, who has in the portfolio of a similar project or invests in this field. Funds in the US, in which we prepare applications. If you have experience in the presentation of the project in the US and you want to help us with this, message me in the social networks.​Trip to Dominican Republic in February 2019"Esto es un robot que collecta las bolas de golf" — I said, because I don't know what's Spanish for "No, it's not electric sheep". I think for the gentleman from the sun and our sister country of Haiti it would sound about the same. User tersuren invited us to the Dominican Republic. So we were able to test our robot in the winter and don't wait until May to work out the algorithms for building a GPS trajectory. At the same time, the tests were held in one of the best golf clubs in the world. We made a video of the robot working in a golf club, which helped a lot in communicating with investors and demonstrating the robot's capabilities. Flying with a robot is a whole story. I had to somehow carry spare parts and personal belongings as well as the robot itself(1100*800*300). In general, I put the laptop and the battery in a backpack. Personal belongings, gifts from Russia, spare engines, wheels, wires, etc. were placed directly in the robot, in the compartment for balls. You should have seen the surprised faces of the airport and customs officers. The robot was taken in the scanner back and forth several times. And we ended up with a question: What's that? Considering a huge sign of HERROBOT on board, the answer seemed obvious. After all, it is clear! And we have some epic fails. We hurried to order the board in resonance, so one of the contacts was mixed up. It was rewired by a thread. Because of the humidity, the driver on the wiring worked just on special occasions. Any testing of algorithms in low-level problems wasn't possible. "A gramme is better than a damn I, suffering from heat, and Shadow_ru, braving the cold with a 7 hour difference due to time zones, introduced urgent changes to the Ardupilot to make it work in the new environment. ESC, to replace the burned, had to drive from the online store the day before departure from Russia. But it wasn't meant to be. Existing controllers understand PWM and beaglebone hard given only the frequency for the servo. In the end had to make a bridge from the Arduino.​Promo-video after the trip Video with 3D rendering before the trip.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fS3xkKofGo​Now there is only one competitor in the world and it costs $15,000. In the world there are 34.000 golf clubs, each spending at least 1.500$/masses to collect the balls. This market costs over $600M /year. Our program is at least the sale and subsequent maintenance of 1000 robots. Even when sold at a price 40% below a competitor's, it gives a revenue of around $8M. We have a preliminary arrangement with golf clubs interested in testing the robot on their field in Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and the Dominican Republic. And it's all thanks to Habr. Do you know why it is good to fulfill dreams and implement your ideas? Tranquility. Just close your eyes and enjoy the moment. No Eckhard Tolle will tell you about the power of the moment, if you are thinking the same thought ad it doesn't leave you alone.You add details to your project, but don't start acting. You forget about it for a while, and then a trigger again causes images of the idea for the dream project. That's exactly the reason to start acting. Don't wait for the perfect moment, the perfect moment is now!​Do we even need such a robot?In Russia, golf is not so common, but we have turned to industry experts to find out their opinion. They all agree that this robot is necessary. We turned to the leaders of the robotics market in Russia to find out their opinion on service robots for solving routine tasks. This is undoubtedly a trend. We will refine and promote our robot, because it's urgent. To speed up we need your help and support! Plans We have another pitch planned for the beginning of March. Why, if we already have an offer? I don't know yet, we do it like Siddhartha, the way finds us. In March, we need to finalize all the algorithms for full operation and start tests on Golf courses in Russia in April. In June, we're planning the participation in the exhibition, publication in European golf papers and magazines.Over the summer of 2019, we have to make 25 robots and start tests in Russia, Germany and the Dominican Republic. In autumn, we're planning to start selling as a service. And in 2020, we're to enter the US market. In 2020, we're intended to release the model of the lawn mower working on the same algorithm of construction of a trajectory for the solution of all problems on a driving range. Here are some simple milestones, thank you for your support.​Thank you so much for your time!www.Herr-Robot.com

#/r/startups #reddit

[ciathyzareposts]

Rome: Pathway to Power – Final Rating

Written by TBD with Reiko

In a rare case for The Adventure Gamer, this game was actually played by two of us. Reiko introduced us to the game and started it, making the first gameplay post, and then I took over when Reiko was unable to complete it. As Reiko was fairly early in the game, I started it anew, quickly playing through the first chapter in order to catch up.

And as I played the game, it grew on me… grew on me like a malignant tumour. I started off finding it acceptably average, but it quickly became tedious as each chapter devolved into a game of trial-and-error, and sometimes the worst form of trial-and-error, where the randomisation had me continually try the same thing over and over until luck fell my way.

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a definition of Rome: Pathway to Power – Albert Einstein

Puzzles and Solvability

This isn’t really a game with puzzles at all. I wouldn’t even classify it as an adventure game – it’s more of a cross-genre strategy/adventure game with more strategy than adventure.

But you could say each level is a puzzle of sorts. Each level has a goal, which can be considered the puzzle, and how we go about achieving that goal constitutes the solution. Let’s examine chapter 2…

Goal: Stop myself being made a scapegoat of the Emperor’s murder. Solution: Make enough money to bribe my way into the palace in order to warn the Emperor.

Interestingly, the solution to every Chapter apart from the two RTS Chapters starts with, “Make enough money to…” apart from Chapter 6 where the solution is “Have bought the dagger in Chapter 1”

Now, if I get technical, another potential solution to Chapter 6 would be, “Have ended Chapter 4 with at least 100 sesterces to spare” but seeing as it’s so hard to make money due to the strict time limit and the best way to make money involves having bought the dagger in Chapter 1 anyway, I’m sticking to first-chapter- dagger-purchase as the only realistic solution.

There are two ways to survive Chapter 1. After delivering the message you’re given in the opening cutscene, taking your reward of 3 sesterces and seeing Vesuvius erupt, you can use your 3 sesterces to…

Buy a boat ticket to Rome and safety

Buy a dagger

Now, this wasn’t given as a choice in the game. It was obvious to both me and Reiko that option 1 is the ‘correct’ option. But the only walkthrough I found online gives option 2 as the only option, not even entertaining option 1 as a viable strategy.

How does option 2 work out? Simple, after buying the dagger, threaten citizens until you have enough money for a boat ticket, then continue committing extortion so you also have enough extra cash to buy some loaded dice to cheat at gambling later, and if you have time and money also pay a priest to make a sacrifice in order to give you better luck later in the game.

If starting the first chapter like this is the only viable way to finish the game, perhaps the game should have told me I’m playing a murderous bastard from the get-go

So while it’s not technically a 1st Chapter dead-end, it’s only not a 1st Chapter dead-end in the way that pushing someone off the roof of the Daily Planet is not murder because Superman might fly past and save him. I’m charging this game with conspiracy to commit 1st Chapter dead-end. Case closed.

So barely any puzzles to start with and topping it off with a crippling dead-end..

Rating – 1

Interface and Inventory

Now, the interface in Rome is mostly functional. It’s not exactly intuitive at first but once you get used to it it’s okay.

This is the inventory screen. I currently own two humans.

There are some annoyances though. It took me a while to work out how to buy a slave (Press DO, then PAY) and even longer to work out how to enter my slave in the games (I have to USE them from my inventory.)

The map was actually quite good. It gave a whole map of the city and shows all the people as brown dots, that move, allowing you to see where people are going.

Everyone goes back to their daily business after congratulating me on my successful campaign in Egypt.

The inventory is close to useless. It’s where I keep my slaves, but they could easily have worked with the DO command instead. Other than slaves, the inventory contains a toga and a message for a few seconds each, an assassin if I’ve hired one and possibly a dagger if you happened to buy it in Herculaneum (grrrr!)

Items pillaged from the British villages are immediately turned into cash, and money is used with the DO – PAY command. So there’s nothing to be done with inventory management in this game.

Something else worth mentioning in this section is the horrific pathfinding. It’s only an occasional inconvenience in the city sections but in the Real Time Strategy chapters it really makes the army hard to manage. It’s probably the main reason I didn’t restart the game from the beginning in order to get the dagger and more cash early – I just couldn’t bear the thought of quelling the British rebellion again.

So, a nice map; functional menu on the left but everything else below par…

Rating – 3

Story and Setting

The story started off fine – I was a slave trusted to deliver a message who then managed to escape the eruption of a volcano and start a new life in Rome, ingratiating myself with the Emperor due to an act of patriotic heroism.

By the time it became obvious that Hector would accept nothing less than being the Emperor of Rome, the story became a bit unbelievable and Hector a much less sympathetic protagonist.

To top it all off is the timing. This didn’t become obvious to me until the final cutscene, as I thought the game must have taken place over a number of years and just skipped over the time Hector did a job he was assigned to. As it was, apart from being an unqualified General, Hector never got to do any of the jobs he was assigned to. He was a Senator for a day before becoming Consul, and he spent that day campaigning for office. He was Consul for a day before becoming Emperor and he spent that day plotting and organising the deaths of the two people who ranked above him. To make it somewhat realistic the game just needed to have some text each chapter saying something about the years in the job becoming mundane. Even the crew of Darth Vader’s Star Destroyer get more time on the job before being promoted over their incompetent superiors.

The epic story of the Slave who became a General… the General who became a Senator… the Senator who became a Consul… the Consul who became a … General, again?… the General/Consul who retired in shame because he didn’t pick up a dagger all the way back in Herculaneum.

As I mentioned in the Environment and Atmosphere section, the city of Rome worked well as a setting, but the rest of the locations were weak.

So, a solid Rome setting, less solid other locations and somewhat silly story…

Rating – another 3

Sound and Graphics

There wasn’t much sound – the game was mostly silent. There are a few sounds – sword clanks during the games or strategy chapters, a bit of music during the start of chapter cutscenes, the herald’s trumpet, but mostly there was no sound at all. The Amiga version has a few more environmental sounds based on the longplay I used to watch the ending.

Though the graphics weren’t great it’s hard to judge them too harshly as there are a lot more moving people in this game than most others. The graphics were serviceable – trees looked like trees, aqueducts looked like aqueducts, etc. The mostly still scenes between chapters looked a lot better but were just stills with perhaps a few moving parts with text.

The cardboard cutout looking pictures (like these ones of a God) could surely have been replaced with an increased viewable area instead, making people I want to talk to leave the screen less swiftly.

So, minimal unexceptional sound and average to disappointing graphics…

Rating – 4 (I was very close to a 3 here due partly to the lack of graphical variety, but ended up leaving it at 4 – the game is okay at drawing grey stone, at least)

Environment and Atmosphere

Now it’s time for me to say my second nice thing about the game. It did an excellent job of making Rome seem like a real bustling city where the people went about their daily business and I was merely another citizen.

On reflection, there’s probably less than 30 people in the city but it feels like a lot more. Making a city feel realistic in a game without being ridiculously overwhelming with realism is very hard, and this game made Rome feel real despite being much smaller than any real city would ever be. Round of applause, Rome AD92. Round of applause!

But because I can’t say too much nice about this game without tensing up, I’ll say something bad about it too. The strategy sections and cartoonishness detracts from the atmosphere. The strategy maps are too… ah… gamey, for want of a better word. They don’t have the scaled down realistic design of the city of Rome and just seem like randomised standard strategy maps.

And as for cartoonishness, the final chapter in particular is the opposite of atmospheric. The Emperor, who was perhaps not portrayed as a genius earlier, became batshit insane in the final chapter (which is only days after the previous chapter, remember.) In all of fiction there has never been and never will be a change from competent leader to murderous insanity as abrupt and unbelievable as this one.

Emperor Gluteus at the end of Chapter 4

Two days later…

Emperor Gluteus at the start of Chapter 6

So, approximately equal parts good and bad here.

Rating – 5

Dialogue and Acting

There were no dialogue options – when Hector clicked ENQUIRE on people he’d ask them a chapter specific question, such as “What is this I hear about the Emperor going mad?” or “I am standing for election to Consul. Can I rely on your vote?” Other characters’ responses are largely hints for achieving the current chapter’s objective.

HINT: Give me money and I’ll vote for you.

HINT: Kill the Emperor and take his job.

HINT: Give me money and I’ll vote for you… okay, that one was less hint and more spoiler!

There is no voice acting at all in this game.

Rating – 3 again. I’m feeling a lot of 3s in this rating.

Final Rating

=1+3+3+4+5+3 /.6, which equals… 32

I want to take a point off because I feel the whole is truly less than the sum of its parts in this case when viewed as an adventure game. Though I don’t think the RTS sections would fare any better in a strategy gaming blog either. So I’ll end up with a 31.

Charles’ guess of XXXII was the closest, so he gets the prize of X CAPs.

Reiko’s conclusion:

TBD has done a great job slogging through this game and examining exactly what makes it so poor. I can’t thank him enough for taking over for me, and I fully agree with his assessment. I want to comment a bit about the content before we leave you all with CAPs.

I gave up on the game partly because I was having a lot of trouble with making progress in chapter 2, and I didn’t have time at that point in the year to keep poking at it. But another reason was because of how despicable the main character is. It starts with petty theft (and extortion, if you take that route) in chapter one, but by chapter two you’re already up to buying and using slaves. By the end, you claw your way to the top using murder and assassins.

I simply don’t have any desire to play a game that forces you to do things like that. Given the title (and not too much else, as I didn’t want to be too spoiled before playing it), I thought it would be more of a historical scenario, but, as we’ve both discussed in various posts, it’s not realistic in the least. And it doesn’t give you any choices for how to accomplish what you need to do. Well, no palatable choices, anyway.

So now we can all be glad this one’s done and we can move on to something else.

CAP Distribution

50 CAPs to Reiko

50 CAPs – for starting (and concluding) the playthrough of Rome

50 CAPs to TBD

50 CAPs – For continuing the playthrough of Rome

20 CAPs to Laukku

Assistance Granted Award – 10 CAPs – for giving assistance when it was requested

Cheating Award – 5 CAPs – for showing me cheats for the Amiga version of the game that could’ve helped me win the game if I could get the Amiga version working properly

Uncommon Award – 5 CAPs – for letting me know that the rarity of the dagger is a bit of a trope in video games – which didn’t make me feel any better about it at all

15 CAPs to Michael

5 CAPs – For starting the score guessing in Roman numerals

5 CAPs – for noticing that the Us were all replaced with Vs in the game

5 CAPs – for first suggesting that the game could be renamed Grand Theft Toga – and being more correct than he thought

12 CAPS to Ilmari

Gone Babel Fishing Award –5 CAPs – for translating and working out where one of the game’s plays came from

Now You Tell Me Award – 7 CAPs – for giving coded hints that a dagger can only be bought in Chapter 1, but not quite knowing how important that dagger would end up being.

10 CAPs to Charles

Psychic Prediction Award – 10 CAPs – for being the closest guesser to the score of Rome

8 CAPs to MisterKerr

A Voting Dozen Award – 5 CAPs – for pointing out that Rome has a very small amount of voting citizens, making me realise that the game had done a good job in making the city’s atmosphere

Cheaters Never Prosper Award – 3 CAPs – for attempting to help me cheat but with cheats that ultimately didn’t work

5 CAPs to ShaddamIVth

Catholic School Teacher Award – 5 CAPs – for correcting Michael’s Latin

5 CAPs to Kirinn

Punished from Up High Award – 5 CAPs – for letting us know that prayers were made to enact vengeance on real life Toga thieves like Hector. 

5 CAPs to Anonymous 

When Somebody Asks If You’re A God… Award – 5 CAPs – for angering the Celtic War God by pointing out that his name shouldn’t be the same name as the land he was in

5 CAPs to limbeck

Tea Time Award – 5 CAPs – for letting us know why the Celts were sitting down in the middle of a foreign invasion.

5 CAPs to Deano

Crikey Award – 5 CAPs – for telling us that Australians stole more than just loaves of bread from their parent country.

5 CAPs to Kus of the Valley

Crikey Award – 5 CAPs – for doubling down on pointing out that TBD doesn’t know where words come from

5 CAPs to Viila

Total BS Award – 5 CAPs – for being the only person to get the joke about British Standards.

5 CAPs to Biscuit

Looper Award – 5 CAPs – for noticing some time loop movie references thrown in to emphasise how repetitive the game was getting

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/rome-pathway-to-power-final-rating/

#retro games #dos games #retro #crpg #adventure #amiga #oldcomputers #8bit #16bit #blog #repost

[filipeteimuraz]

34 Content Marketing Tips Every Marketer Needs To Know

Creating a content marketing strategy isn’t as easy as it may seem. You can’t just throw hundreds of articles up on the web and expect them magically to rank well on Google.

Yes, understanding that you should be leveraging content marketing is the right first step, but before you launch your campaign, there is a lot that you ought to know.

No matter how awesome your content is, if you’re not marketing it, sharing it, and promoting the heck out of it, nobody will read it.

With this straightforward guide, you’ll learn 34 content marketing tips that every marketer should know.

Let’s get started.

1. Define the objective of your content

The first and most important thing you can do before your pen ever touches paper or your fingers touch the keys is to define the objective of your content.

As the old quote goes,

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

If you do not have a definite goal for your content, not only will you likely write an incoherent piece, but you will also likely have difficulty marketing it in the proper channels.

As I detail in my Advanced Guide to Content Marketing, there are several goals you need to define before you start churning out content.

Decide how you will use this content to grow your business. (Is it to generate leads, improve sales, boost your marketing, or create a community? There is no wrong answer—it’s up to you.)

Decide on a specific goal for the content once you have determined how it will be used.

Develop the core message that will be congruent through all your content.

Identify your competition and analyze them.

A content marketing Excel sheet like the ones pictured below can be a huge help.

You can find samples and templates for these spreadsheets online.

Here’s one from the Content Marketing Institute. (Careful. That link will download the spreadsheet automatically.)

Hubspot offers a few as well. I recommend you check these out before you spend hours creating and formatting your own.

A good calendar will include not just dates but the topic, the content, and the keyword focus of the article.

The level of detail is up to you. Some campaigns are pretty simple and maybe only need a date and a title. Other campaigns can be advanced and may include details such as keyword focus, persona target, author, geotargeting, product focus, seasonal push, etc.

Keep things as simple as possible, and you’re more likely to succeed.

Know your audience: Who is this for?

If you don’t know for whom you’re writing, you’re going to end up writing pointless content. Failure to know your audience is a failure to execute a successful content marketing campaign.

When the failure happens

This failure can take place either prior to launch or during the early stages of a content marketing plan.

Why failure happens

Content is for an audience, not just for your brand. The only way you’re going to survive is if people are actually reading and interacting with the content.

If you don’t have a target audience, then you won’t know what to write, how to write, or how to address the vague and disembodied entity of a “non-audience.”

Solution

Create a user persona. Don’t try to wrap your mind around an audience consisting of thousands of people. That doesn’t work. Instead, just think about the one person that is your customer.

Here’s an example persona that I sketched out:

She has a name, an age, and a location. She has likes and dislikes. (Jen has a nephew named Jackson, who is three years old. She bought him a Despicable Me toy off Amazon for his last birthday.) We have detail, understanding, and the power to write directly to Jen.

Now, we’re going to write content with Jen in mind. Jen is going to type in search queries that direct her to our content. Jen is going to love our content.

What’s more, she’s going to convert — she and about 291,658 other people in your target audience.

Know your message: What are you saying?

Content, by its very definition, says something. What is your content saying? Do you even know?

When the failure happens

This takes place early on in a content marketing campaign. When the hey-let’s-do-content-marketing bug strikes randomly, it causes people to rush into the project without even knowing what their message is.

Why failure happens

Content is meaningless unless it has a message. The message is the one thing that your content all boils down to. You should be able to sum it up in a phrase or a sentence.

If you don’t have a message, you’re going to be producing meaningless words on a screen. Sooner or later, you’ll lose motivation for content because it has no driving force.

Solution

The solution is both simple and relatively easy. You have to understand the purpose of your entire business. Content marketing should serve that purpose by communicating a specific message.

Here’s the three-step process for developing your message:

Get a hold of your mission statement. If you don’t have one, make one. Example from Crazy Egg: to provide affordable, effective heat-mapping technology that helps people improve on-page conversion.

Write down your core message. This is the benefit for your customer. Crazy Egg’s core message: you can boost your website’s profit within 30 days.

Write down your secondary messages. What are the various things that are related to your core message? Crazy Egg’s secondary messages: web design, conversion optimization, blogging for business, conversion, copywriting, scrambled eggs, analytics.

There are a lot of possibilities for content. In the subtext of every blog post, webinar, and YouTube video is this message: We can boost your website’s profits in 30 days.

Not only is the targeted traffic going to rush in, but you’re also going to be delivering a message that hits your customer where it counts.

2. Focus on the headlines

Which would you be more likely to click on?

“How to Totally Shred Pounds of Fat and Uncover Your Dream Body in Only ONE Month!”

Or

“Burn Fat with This Program!”

The answer is obvious.

No matter whether you are creating videos, articles, or podcasts, the headline is one of the most important aspects of successfully getting your content in front of your target audience.

Make your headlines juicy and enticing, and your conversion rates will skyrocket. Bottom line: your business will grow.

Make your headlines boring and generic, and the most you’ll get is maybe hundreds of views (if that).

You’ve seen the juicy and tantalizing headlines all over the web. Even something as mundane as a pipeline can seem exciting when pitched the right way.

You don’t need to be sensational to craft a great headline. Instead, you need to be hyper-focused on what your readers want and make a promise that earns their click.

In fact, you use a simple formula to make the process easier. Try this one, from Buffer.

3. Don’t B.S. your readers

In your quest to create epic content, you have to realize that your reputation online is everything. It takes hard work to maintain your reputation, and it can be destroyed in a matter of minutes. Lost reputation can take years to rebuild.

EVERYTHING you publish should be well-researched and fact-checked (or have a decent train of logical thought if the concept you are trying to explain is more philosophical in nature).

If you start creating clickbait content that makes promises you cannot deliver on, your reputation will be tarnished and will be nearly impossible to recover.

However, even if you are putting out less content than the others in your industry, your content will still outperform your competitors’ if it is grounded in hard data. Telling the truth through your content, even when it’s ugly, will earn you a sterling reputation and the trust of your customers.

4. Make your content super actionable

Have you ever noticed that I strive to offer advice you can take action on immediately?

There is a reason why.

When people read articles, especially informative articles, they don’t want theory or conjecture. They want concrete steps they can act on right away—actionable steps.

I’ve learned what my audience wants, and I try as hard as I can to deliver it.

Whether you include an “Action Step” at the end of each of your articles or simply write in a style that carries actionable information throughout an article, it’s up to you. But you have to make sure whatever you put out there, people can act on it and act fast.

The model I use for making my content actionable looks like this:

Create value and fix pain: The headline I created for my article promises a solution to your pain and an offer of value. Heck, it’s free for you to read this article, and you get plenty of great advice, right?

Build relationship: I’ve pulled you in. Now, I want to build a relationship with you. If you’ve been a reader for a while, or simply know about my success, you may already have a relationship with me. If not, you can check out my ugly mug on the sidebar or even email me.

Earn trust: In my article, I’m proving the fact that you deserve my trust. How? By providing solid researched and experience-based information.

Take action: You, the reader, can totally take action on this. In fact, based on these four bullets, you can develop your own plan of attack for an actionable content strategy.

5. Create engaging and original content

The Internet is full of crap, and if you want to succeed, you have to be the shiny diamond in the rough. One of my favorite examples of content that stands out is Craig Clemens’ article on “How to 10x Your Income Over the Next Four Years”.

Where most articles begin with something bland and generic about how you should wake up earlier, skip the Starbucks latte, and invest your pennies in some mutual fund, Craig comes out with a bang, offering the highly controversial, engaging, and original thought: the first step should be to cut out porn.

This is engaging. Why? Because most people have a visceral response to something like porn.

The content is also original because Craig is willing to say something that not many people can say.

Originality is engaging, so don’t be afraid to stick your neck out there. It’s worth it.

6. Produce consistent content

It’s amazing how many people go “rah-rah, content marketing” but then don’t even have a plan for creating it! The quickest way to kill a content marketing campaign is to have zero content. Or to start to produce content and then stop. I’ve seen this happen way too many times.

When the failure happens

Failure strikes some time after the launch of content marketing. The excitement that initially fueled content marketing gives way to the weariness of producing it. It could be a couple weeks. It could be a few months.

Why failure happens

Content marketing demands consistency. You can’t just throw a bunch of content on the web and expect it to generate traffic for the long haul.

Search engines prefer to rank sites that show signs of life. You’ll reap maximum SEO benefit if you produce fresh content consistently.

When search engines rank results, they tend to prefer pages that have historic authority and fresh content. You can get an idea of how this works by looking at the SERP screenshot below. Notice that the second position result was published just a few weeks ago. The next result down is from two years ago. The fourth result is from several weeks ago. The fifth result is from a couple of months ago.

All of that fresh content is stacking the SERPs with a lot of value. If I wasn’t producing content on a regular basis, I would be losing serious traffic potential.

Once you turn off the faucet of content, you turn off a major SEO channel.

Solution

There are a number of reasons why content marketing drops off after a while, but I’ve discovered three main reasons. Here are those reasons and their respective solutions:

You run out of ideas: go back to your company message (see the point above). Flesh out your mission statement, core message, and secondary messages. When you do, you should have a list of potential blog topics. Those are your ideas.

You don’t have a plan: though an “editorial calendar” may not be your thing, you do need some sort of a plan for producing content. Who’s going to produce what? When will it be published? It helps to create a schedule for this.

It takes too much time: if necessary, hire help. There is an army of freelance writers and content creators who will be more than happy to help you develop content. You can find them through Craigslist ads, Textbroker, or ODesk.

7. Always include videos and pictures

A picture is worth a thousand words.

So, what is a 3,000-word article with 6 photos worth to someone?

While I will leave the math to you, it is important to realize humans are visual creatures and we process images much faster than text. If you want to increase the amount of user response and the number of social media shares, adding images and videos can be one of the best ways to do this.

I try to include as many relevant images as possible in my articles.

It’s hard work finding those pictures and adding them into WordPress, but I’m willing to do it. Why? Because if this 2,000+ word article had zero images, you probably wouldn’t read it.

8. Get an awesome quote from an industry leader

We all know the power of social proof. This power is doubled when you can get it from an industry leader.

If you have created some epic content and already have built a solid platform to share it on (though this can work even if you are a total beginner), reaching out to an industry leader for their thoughts on your work is a great way to improve your content marketing through social proof and get your name associated with A+ players.

The process for reaching out to them is pretty straightforward as well.

Send them an email or message, and boom. Instant credibility.

9. Turn your content into a video or podcast to broaden its scope

Some people prefer to learn through watching or listening, and some through reading. If you limit your content to the written word, you are massively short-selling yourself and your audience. You are cutting out a whole portion of your audience who might love your work but might not prefer its format.

The same is true if you are a YouTuber, reading this guide. Get on Fiverr, and pay someone to transcribe notes from your informational videos so that people with different learning styles can also have access to that information.

10. Think like a searcher

Which piece of content do you think generates more traffic:

My advanced guide to content marketing that I spent well over $30,000 to produce and was read by 361,494 people when I launched it… or a blog post that I wrote about motivational business quotes that I created in less than two hours?

The one on content marketing, right?

Well, if you look at the screenshot below, you’ll see that the motivational business quotes article got read by 926 people over a period of 24 hours.

And if you look at this image of statistics on the content marketing guide, you’ll see that only 500 people read it on that day.

Sure, if you combine all of the traffic all 3 of my advanced guides get each day, it ranges between 2,000 and 3,000 visitors, but I spent well over $100,000 for all 3 of those guides… while that post on business quotes only took me two hours to write.

Do you know why? It’s because the business quotes blog post is more tailored around search engines than the content marketing guide.

Just think about it… are you more likely to search for “content marketing” or “business quotes”?

As you can see from the Google trends screenshot, more people are interested in business quotes than they are in content marketing.

When writing, don’t just think about people, but think about searches too. From keywords to queries someone might type into a Google search box, try to write content and titles that appeal to both people and search engines.

If you want to maximize your search traffic by pleasing both people and search engines with your content, check out this case study on Problogger. It breaks down how one company increased their organic traffic by 203.5% in 3 months.

11. Monetize your content

Content is not an end in itself. It serves a purpose: sales. If your content isn’t driving sales, it may look good, but it’s not doing good.

When the failure happens

A company can produce content for a long time without connecting it to its core message and end goal. Content can and should drive conversions.

Why failure happens

The fail point is obvious. If your business isn’t getting conversions from your content, then your content is useless. The entire purpose of content marketing is to drive more sales to your business.

Solution

Don’t be scared of calls to action. This is the only way to get sales.

Look at what I’m doing with my site. I’m producing awesome content because I really do care about you and the success of your online business. But I also have my own business to care for and grow.

So, I use a number of calls to a variety of actions. They’re not annoying, odious, intrusive, obnoxious, or troubling. And they get me results.

First off, every visitor is going to see my first call to action, which is a tool on my homepage.

Then, from my blog main page, he or she is going to see some more calls to action.

When you scroll down, you’ll see two more:

Click on any blog article, and I still have calls to action.

They are on my persistent header, on the sidebar, and at the end of articles. They are in strategic and optimized spots.

I’m connecting my content to conversions. The solution to conversionless content marketing is simply to use calls to action, to run A/B tests on your calls to action, and to invite users to do the next logical thing…to buy your product.

12. A deal isn’t a deal, unless people think it is

Blog readers don’t like to spend money… there is no way to monetize them, right?

Sure, making a few thousand dollars here or there isn’t too hard, but no one makes millions of dollars from content, right?

In most cases you are right. Most people don’t make much money from their readers. It’s not because your readers aren’t interested in buying your products or services; instead, you just don’t know how to sell to them.

Two people who are really good at converting blog readers into customers are Ryan Deiss and Vishen Lakhiani. They do it so well that they even talk about how they are able to create income streams of over $15,000,000 a year without raising a dollar in venture capital.

One of the most interesting tactics I learned from Ryan is that a great way to convince people to buy a product or service from you is to offer a discount, but not by using the tactic in the image below:

The reason the image above doesn’t make you feel like you are getting a discount is because when you first see this product, you are seeing it for $127. It doesn’t matter that the product was originally priced at $297 because you never experienced the product selling for $297.

If you first drive people to a page that shows that the product is selling for $297 with no discounts, you may make a few sales. If you offer a discount a week later and sell the same product for $127 for a very short period of time, you should make a lot of sales because people originally saw the item for $297.

My buddy recently tried this with his real estate website, and he was able to increase his monthly revenue by 316%. This is also the same reason Groupon works because you know you are getting a good deal when you buy from the site.

Discounts and deals are a great way to monetize your reader base, just make sure they know they really are getting a deal. Putting a few slashes through a price isn’t enough. Your readers need to know that this is a deal of a lifetime and they need to jump on it now.

13. Don’t always go for the sale

Ever feel like a sleazy used car salesman when creating content?

It’s not a good path to be on.

In fact, this is perhaps the number one way to turn off would-be readers and lose the readers you’ve currently got.

No one wants to be bombarded with “Buy Now!” messages when they’re trying to kick back and read some content.

It’s distracting and detracts from the overall user experience.

Here’s the thing about content marketing.

It’s one of the more long-term inbound strategies.

It doesn’t typically involve going for an instant sale.

Content marketing is about building relationships, creating rapport with your audience, and establishing trust over time.

The mentality is that if you take the time to create awesome content that’s genuinely useful, you’ll be primed to make a larger volume of sales down the road.

Therefore, it’s important to have the right mindset when approaching your content.

Here are a few techniques that I recommend:

Avoid using interstitials on your website. Google actually started penalizing certain sites that use them.

Place your focus on educating rather than selling. Believe me. If you educate your audience and solve a problem for them, the sales will follow.

Don’t plug your business or include a CTA until the end of your content.

Work on building rapport and establishing trust before asking your audience to buy anything.

14. Appeal to your audience’s emotions

As hard as we try to be logical and rational, we’re all emotional beings to some extent.

There’s just no getting around it.

If you can form an emotional connection with your audience, I can guarantee that your content will have a significant impact.

There’s a particular quote I love from an article titled “The Feelings Economy.”

It goes like this:

In an oversupplied economy, customer feelings drive purchase decisions and profitability.

I think this really nails it. The brands that tend to thrive are the ones that are able to elicit the right emotions and hit the sweet spot.

How exactly do you appeal to your audience’s emotions?

Well, you start by understanding which specific emotions on average generate the biggest response:

According to research from OkDork and Buzzsumo, your best bet is to create content that evokes:

Awe

Laughter

Amusement

Joy

More specifically, I recommend using images and stories in your content to trigger these types of emotional responses.

That’s because they’re great at targeting the limbic system, which controls basic emotions.

15. Incorporate images of faces

You might have noticed that I use a lot of images of people’s faces in my content.

Case in point:

I also place an image of my own mug on my website:

Why?

Because, as it turns out, there is power in facial expressions. It’s basically the universal language.

Allow me to explain.

Say you’re trying to interact with someone from a foreign country who speaks an entirely different language. Communicating with words is likely to be pointless.

What they’re saying sounds like gibberish to you and vice versa.

But you can always understand facial cues.

In fact, that’s how babies largely understand the world. Before they develop language, they primarily rely upon their parents’ facial expressions and tone of voice to extract meaning.

The point I’m trying to make here is that the human brain has an innate ability to process facial cues, which makes images of people’s faces ideal for conveying emotion.

Images can also help you establish trust.

Notice how Tim Ferriss’s photo gives off the vibe that he knows his stuff and that signing up for his course should prove helpful:

You can do yourself a big favor by weaving images of people into your content. Doing so can make your audience feel a certain emotion as well as perform a specific action.

16. Use colors to elicit emotion

What’s another way to get your audience to feel a particular way?

Using the right colors.

Each color has a certain meaning, so using the color that matches the emotion you’re looking to target can be highly advantageous.

Here are some examples of the meanings of color in the western world:

The key is to identify the particular emotion, feeling, vibe you’re going for and incorporate the relevant color(s) in your content.

I don’t have enough time to adequately explain this topic to do it justice here. But I’ve covered it in depth before, and you can learn all about it via this resource.

17. Focus on relieving pain points

Conventional marketing wisdom says that showcasing the benefits of a product/service and ways it will improve your customer’s life is the best way to go.

By explaining the positives, you can target the intrinsic pleasure-seeking part of the human brain.

But in my opinion, this isn’t the best approach to take.

In one of my posts on Inc.com, I mention the fact that “neuromarketing experts say that the brain’s pain avoidance response is almost three times stronger than the brain’s pleasure seeking response.”

I also point out that neuromarketing expert Christophe Morin states that

…humans are pain-avoiding machines.

The bottom line here is that you’re usually better off explaining how you can relieve a pain point than discussing the pleasures of using a product/service.

In other words, focusing on how you can eliminate a negative should have a bigger impact.

18. Capitalize on the law of reciprocity

Have you ever had someone do something really nice for you, even when they didn’t have to, without asking for anything in return?

How did you feel toward them afterward?

The odds are good that you felt a sense of gratitude and probably wanted to consciously (or subconsciously) return the favor in some way.

This is the law of reciprocity at work.

At its core, the law of reciprocity explains why we feel indebted to someone when they do something for us.

This could be something as big as saving one’s life or as small as giving away a copy of an e-book.

Much research has actually been performed on this topic.

In fact, a study back in 2002 explored how patrons tipped in restaurants. The researchers examined how people tipped under three types of scenarios:

Scenario 1 – Patrons received a small piece of candy with their check

Scenario 2 – They received a larger quantity of candy

Scenario 3 – They received no candy at all

The researchers found that “the gift of candy increased the average tip from 15 percent to just under 18 percent.”

Although this wasn’t a dramatic increase, it definitely proves the law of reciprocity and that people feel indebted when you do something nice for them when you don’t have to.

By offering your visitors something like a free trial, a free e-book, a free online course, etc., you can expect more conversions in the long run.

19. Use scarcity as leverage

We humans have some interesting tendencies and preferences.

If there’s less of something, our desire for it increases. If there’s more of something, our desire for it diminishes.

This phenomenon is known as the scarcity effect.

A now-classic psychological study from 1975 conducted by Worchel, Lee and Adewole examined the effect of scarcity on people.

It was a very simple study involving cookies, but it was very telling nonetheless.

The researchers “put 10 cookies in one jar and two of the same cookies in another jar. The cookies from the two-cookie jar received higher ratings—even though the cookies were exactly the same!”

What does this mean from a marketing standpoint?

It means that you’re far more likely to maximize your impact by leveraging scarcity. For instance, you might say that there’s a limited time offer on a product/service, or you may have a sale that only lasts 24 hours, etc.

That, right there, can increase a person’s urge to buy significantly.

20. Don’t Fatigue your audience

The amount of content on the Internet is mind-boggling.

According to Marketing Profs, roughly two million blog posts are written every single day.

If you really want to get a sense of how much content is being created, check out Every Second on the Internet. It’ll really put this phenomenon into perspective.

Here’s the thing.

Everyone is trying to outdo one another to claim their piece of the pie and get traffic.

What’s the result?

Many content marketers are grinding out content.

They have the mindset that if they slap up enough content, the leads will come.

They end up flooding their blogs with mediocre content and their social media followers’ feeds with sub-par updates.

This all results in one thing. Content fatigue.

They fatigue their audiences as well as themselves in the process.

Don’t get me wrong. Fresh content is great.

Of course, you want to post new content consistently.

But I know I feel overwhelmed when someone I follow is constantly blasting me with new content just for the sake of having new content.

I don’t have the time to consume it all.

What I suggest is to chill out with the frequency of your content creation.

Don’t worry so much about constantly populating your blog and social media with new content.

Instead, focus on creating fewer but higher quality pieces.

Try to find the sweet spot between updating your content regularly and giving your audience time to catch their breath.

The sweet spot will differ depending on the nature of your brand and the platform you’re using. Finding it requires a certain level of experimentation on your end.

I also suggest checking out this post from Buffer for advice on this topic. It will give you a better idea of how much you should be posting and how much is too much.

21. Don’t be too content-centric

I love this graphic that illustrates the difference between being content-centric and audience-centric:

The difference between the two is to whom your content caters: yourself or your audience.

Here’s an example.

Let’s say your brand is passionate about obscure industry trends, so you frequently write about these topics.

That’s all well and good, but if those topics don’t resonate with your audience, you’re unlikely to gain any real traction.

It’s a fairly widespread issue, considering that creating more engaging content is a top priority for 73% of content creators.

Over time, being too content-centric will minimize the impact of your campaign.

It hinders engagement, lowers readership, and gradually drives your audience away.

Make sure you’re on the audience-centric side of the spectrum— not the content-centric.

How do you accomplish this?

Two words: qualitative research.

If you’re unfamiliar with this term, let’s start with a definition:

Qualitative research is designed to reveal a target audience’s range of behavior and the perceptions that drive it with reference to specific topics or issues. It uses in-depth studies of small groups of people to guide and support the construction of hypotheses.

Rather than merely observing what’s happening, qualitative research seeks to understand why it’s happening.

This type of research enables you to put yourself in your audience’s shoes and be highly informed when creating your content.

I’m not going to launch into a long-winded discussion of every facet of qualitative research, but let me offer a few key strategies:

Ask your blog readers what topics they would like you to cover.

Use analytics to identify content trends. See which posts are getting more traffic and engagement.

See which keywords your visitors are searching before landing on your blog.

Pay close attention to readers’ comments. Look for direct feedback. Note the number of comments on a post—it’s usually indicative of interest level.

Check your social media analytics. See what types of content are getting the biggest response.

I also recommend checking out this specific posts on this topic: Go Beyond Analytics to Give Customers the Content They Crave from The Content Marketing Institute.

22. Don’t be pretentious

Does your content consist of a steady stream of douchey buzzwords and complicated industry jargon only a handful of individuals will actually understand?

If so, this is guaranteed to turn off your audience.

Don’t get me wrong.

You want to come across as being intelligent, knowledgeable, and generally knowing your stuff.

But I feel there’s a fine line between being smart and being pretentious.

It can be an issue especially for certain industries such as medical, legal, and finance, where complex subjects are routinely discussed.

If you’re not careful, you can easily launch into some needlessly complicated rant and lose the majority of your audience.

It makes you appear insincere, alienates your audience, and makes it much more difficult to get your point across.

To be totally honest, I have been guilty of it myself at certain times.

However, it’s something I seriously strive to avoid these days.

What’s the solution?

First, try to stick with a natural, conversational tone when it comes to your content.

I try to approach it as if I’m sitting down with someone face-to-face and having a conversation.

That seems to work for me.

Also, don’t try to jam-pack your content with big words just for the sake of using big words.

Always look for the most direct way to say something without using needless buzzwords and industry jargon.

I also recommend asking yourself the following questions when proofreading your content:

Will my average reader understand what I’m saying?

Am I writing in my own—unique—voice?

Can I simplify what I’ve written?

Did I use any overly annoying buzzwords

23. Longer is not always better

I used to be a big believer in the longer the better approach to post writing. Heck, I used to even blog on how your meaty content can help you capture search traffic.

But then Upworthy came out. It showed us that not only can you get millions of visitors a month to your site with fewer than 100 words per blog post but that you can also rank for competitive keywords like “tattoos” with that strategy.

You don’t necessarily need text-heavy blog posts, especially if you are writing for the consumer-based market. Sure, if you are writing for businesses, you should consider writing longer posts as it will help build trust, garner more backlinks, and improve your rankings.

Focus on the quality of your content. Having high quality videos, podcasts, and images is a simple way to gain more social and search traffic. Just look at Upworthy’s growth. It’s grown faster than any other blog without writing thousand-word posts.

24. B2C and B2B content marketing strategies are not all the same

Content marketing isn’t the same for a consumer blog as it is for a business blog. Consumers prefer shorter content and content with more visuals, emotions, and trendy information.

Businesses, on the other hand, want How-to type of articles – dry informative pieces that are also actionable. They want to be able to read an article, apply its advice to their businesses, and see some sort of change.

There are many differences between B2C and B2B content marketing. Follow this checklist to see you what you need to do if you are a B2C or B2B blog.

Just don’t use B2B strategies on consumer blogs as you’ll probably bore your readers to death.

25. Build internal links

Internal linking is about SEO. Each piece of content you create should be integrated with the rest of your site. This happens through internal linking.

When the failure happens

Some content marketing plans have no internal linking strategy. It’s possible that they have a legitimate content plan in place, but they don’t understand the power and potential of internal linking.

Why failure happens

When neglected, internal linking produces a website whose SEO is not as strong as it could be.

Solution

Although it’s considered one of the most complex topics in SEO, internal linking is not hard to do. Internal link building simply involves creating links from one page of your website to another. The deeper within your navigation these links spread, the better. For every piece of content you create, add a link or two to some other content that you’ve created that is relevant for your readers.

26. Get more backlinks

If you know me at all, you know that I love organic search engine traffic.

It’s very consistent and typically grows over time if you’re doing content marketing right.

You can see what I mean in the 100k case study.

As you might know, search engine rankings and traffic are tied to backlinks, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

The more high quality backlinks you have pointing to your content, the more traffic you will get.

I’ve written about how to get these backlinks and how to optimize your content for search engines many times in the past:

The Advanced Guide to Link Building

The Advanced Guide to SEO

The Beginner’s Guide to Technical SEO

In this post, however, I want to focus on determining whether something is wrong with your content marketing.

If all is well, your organic search traffic should increase fairly steadily. Otherwise, we have a problem.

Symptom: Organic search traffic has plateaued or is slowly declining.

Step #1 – Check the numbers: Just as doctors turn to machines to provide them with data about their patients’ health, marketers have analytics to turn to.

Start by going to Google Analytics.

Using the left sidebar, navigate to “Acquisition > All Traffic > Channels,” and then select the “Organic Search” grouping.

The important part is to look over a long enough time period.

I’ve often had a span of 1-3 months during which traffic remained relatively constant, but if you have a plateau for longer than that, there’s probably an issue (with the exception of a highly seasonal niche):

Here’s an example that shows that there is something wrong:

There was a really nice increase of search traffic over a few months, but since then, it has either stayed the same or declined.

That indicates that there is something really wrong with this site’s content marketing.

Step #2 – Find the cure: This is a bit tougher but doable with a little bit of effort.

I’m going to assume that you know how to detect a Google penalty and that you’ve already done some basic technical SEO (like having a decent page speed).

Aside from those potential issues, the most common problem by far is not getting enough backlinks to new content.

Let me clarify – high quality backlinks. A link on a forum isn’t going to do much for your search rankings (although it won’t hurt either).

To confirm this, you need to use a link database tool. Ahrefs and Majestic are the best options.

First, input your domain into either tool:

Once the page loads, you’ll see a graph of the growth of all the links to your site.

Hopefully, it will look something like this:

As long as your backlink count (and total referring domains) are both steadily increasing, you’re doing something right, and search traffic will almost always go up.

But what if you see a downward trend or a plateau?

That tells you that your site as a whole isn’t attracting any new backlinks.

Uh oh.

That needs fixing.

It’s a clear sign that your content promotion isn’t up to par.

You should be spending at least as much time promoting your content as you do creating it. If your blog is relatively new, you should spend even more time.

Aim to get at least 20 high quality links from your promotion efforts. This takes a lot of time and persistence. You might have to send out 500+ emails per article. Do it.

You won’t see the results immediately, but after a few months, your search traffic will increase and keep rising if you keep up the work.

27. Email the sources you quote in your articles

If you are writing articles that require you to cite lots of sources, you have yet another great way to improve your content marketing and links!

Contact the most cited sources with the article, letting them know how important their work was to you, and ask if they would be willing to share it along their various channels of influence.

Say please, ask nicely, and you’re likely to get a positive response.

Again, this can be a great way to boost your credibility and get your content out there!

28. Reach out to people you see sharing similar content

If you ever see people who are constantly sharing content related to your niche and who are your Facebook friends, reach out to them and ask for a friendly share.

More often than not, if your content is good, people will be more than happy to do this, and it will likely win you a regular “share buddy” you can go to whenever you create some pretty exceptional content (which, if you remember points 3-5, should be pretty much always).

Besides, a lot of social media people and content creators are always looking for high-value stuff to share. You’re doing them a favor by letting them know about your content!

29. Make your content useful

Think about the basic principles of content marketing.

Your content needs to have value in order to accomplish anything. If your audience isn’t finding your content useful, they’re not going to continue to read it.

This is something you want to catch as quickly as possible, or it can become tremendously hard to reverse.

Here’s what happens with most somewhat loyal readers:

they generally like your content, maybe even love it

but then they read a post that isn’t very useful. That post alone won’t deter them from coming back.

if they come across more posts that aren’t useful within a short time period, they will not come back.

Take a second to understand that sequence.

It’s easy to produce a less than stellar post and let it slip by because your numbers won’t take a hit. In the short term, most of your readers will still be loyal to you.

But if you let 2, 3, or 4 posts that aren’t very valuable slip by, you’ll start seeing your readership decline exponentially.

It happens all the time to even popular sites. They lose a large percentage of longtime loyal readers in just a few months because they start to cut corners.

You can’t afford to do this…ever.

Diagnosing ‘weak’ content: In order to evaluate how your audience perceives your content, you need a few different metrics to get a full picture.

There are a few different symptoms that you’ll need to keep an eye out for.

Symptom #1: Your email open rate goes down…down…and down

I suggest keeping a close eye on your email subscribers at all times. These are typically your most loyal readers, which means they provide reliable, accurate information.

Here, you need to examine your email open rate. All major email marketing service providers offer some sort of report in your account that should show you your overall email open rates over time.

Something like this:

If it’s staying steady or even going up, great. You’re doing something right.

But if it’s steadily going down, that’s a sign that people are losing interest in your content. If it’s only a slight downward trend, you may be doing okay, but you’ll want to keep an eye on it.

The reason why this is a good metric to look at is because these loyal readers will open most of your emails if they expect there is valuable content in them (why wouldn’t they if your content will improve their lives?)

If your numbers are dropping, it means that more and more of your readers aren’t expecting to find useful content in your emails.

Symptom #2: The number of “actionable comments” goes down dramatically

Truth be told, I don’t really worry about the sheer number of comments I get on posts.

Sometimes I get 20 comments; other times I get 300. A lot of that depends on whether what I am writing about is interesting to all or only certain parts of my audience.

What I do care about is how many actionable comments I get.

For me, an “actionable comment” is a comment that demonstrates that the reader not only liked the content but actually took action to apply it.

Makes sense, doesn’t it? If you want to see whether your readers find your content useful, see if they actually use it.

Cranking up the value and winning back your readers: The reason behind either (or both) of these symptoms is usually the same.

Some time in the recent past you started publishing content that wasn’t up to the standard you set before.

It’s really easy to do, and there are many things that can cause it:

distractions in your personal life

falling into a content creation “grind”—feeling burnt out

getting overwhelmed by other parts of your work or business

First of all, know that it’s okay. Everyone (including myself) has dips in the quality of their content once in awhile.

But the best marketers spot it really quickly and fix it.

The solution is actually quite simple: start putting more effort into creating more valuable content.

If you can’t do that for some reason, it might be time to at least temporarily hire a writer or editor to help you.

If you’re just feeling a bit lost with your content creation, it may be time to learn some new ways to add value to your content. Here are a few posts I’ve written that will help you inject some new life into your work:

How To Create Better Content For Your Customers

Transform Your Blog Posts: 6 Open-Ended Questions That’ll Help You Create Better Content

12 Content Writing Secrets of Professional Writers

No More Tricks: 5 Ways to Create Content That Google Wants to Rank

30. Don’t do everything on your own

There is no sustainable way to do everything by yourself once your business reaches a certain size.

If you do try to, three things can happen:

you get burnt out

you can’t keep up, and your business suffers large setbacks

you have to limit your growth

All these cases are obviously bad. And if your current content marketing system relies on you doing everything, it’s broken.

It is not set up for long term success, no matter how passionate, persistent, and intelligent you are.

If this sounds like you, and you feel that one of those three scenarios is happening (or has already happened), you need to take a step back.

Know when it’s better to get help: You wear a lot of different hats as a content marketer.

Content marketing requires a lot of different skills:

research

design

copywriting

editing

promotion

PR

link building

And more…

Unless you’re an extremely rare exception, you’re not amazing at all those things.

Like most marketers, you’re probably good to great at a few of them and mediocre at the rest.

By all means, you can improve those weaknesses, or you can get help.

When I tell business owners and marketers to spend more on freelancers (or additional employees), they always resist, saying something along the lines of:

I can’t afford to do that.

They’re right and wrong at the same time.

With their current content marketing system, they can’t afford it. Their growth and results can’t justify increased spending.

But what they don’t realize is that by doing everything themselves, they are costing themselves a huge amount of money.

Hiring good freelancers almost always makes you more money than it costs for a few main reasons:

they’re better than you – instead of struggling with one of your weak skills, like design, you can hire a professional graphic designer who spends all their time improving that one skill.

it frees up your time – with help, you have more time to spend on the parts of content marketing you excel at. For example, I love creating content, so I do that. Getting help with other things allows me to write several posts a week, and you can’t do that if you’re doing everything else too.

it minimizes catastrophes – if you get sick and you’re doing everything on your own, everything shuts down, which is extremely costly. When you have help, others can fill in to keep everything running smoothly.

I really hope that makes sense.

When you hire intelligently, you make even more money, AND you’ll get to do the work you enjoy the most.

How do you hire intelligently? I’ll be honest, hiring the right people isn’t easy. If you hire people who aren’t professional, they might leave you hanging unexpectedly, which can mess up your content strategy.

My first big advice is to know exactly what you want.

Hire for a very specific position (e.g., copywriter, funnel expert, designer, etc.), and make your requirements very clear.

As an example, take a look at 3 job postings I posted on Quick Sprout in 2015:

You’ll notice that the main thing I look for, besides knowledge, is passion.

I like working with people who love their work and spend a large part of their lives doing it. These are the most likely people to act like professionals and always deliver on their promises.

As long as you return the favor by paying promptly and treating them like professionals, they will make your life a lot easier.

One more thing that you absolutely must do when making hiring decisions is to talk to the person you are considering to hire (phone, Skype, or whatever you prefer).

Get a sense of their expectations so you can determine if they’re a good fit for what you can offer.

Sometimes, you’ll get a gut feeling telling you that you should hire a particular person; other times your gut will tell you to pass. More often than not, that gut feeling is right, so trust your instincts.

Finally, don’t hire all at once.

Once those marketers and business owners see how hiring could actually help them, they often hire too many people too fast.

When you’re planning on working with someone long-term, rushing is the biggest mistake you can make.

Start with one position.

Even if you find a great person to hire, chances are you’ll still do a few things wrong. When you start with just one position, it gives you a chance to learn from your mistakes and then apply those lessons to the next person.

Slowly transition to the business structure you want instead of trying to make it happen overnight.

31. Improve your conversion funnel

One of the biggest reasons why business owners think that content marketing isn’t very effective is that they don’t know how to turn it into sales.

They do a good job when it comes to creating high quality content, but then they expect that their readers would spontaneously start buying their products.

Or they don’t want to upset their audience by selling something to them.

If you relate to either of these types of people, you need to understand that the whole point of content marketing, like most other types of marketing, is to increase profits (sales).

Without any return from content marketing, how are you supposed to justify the investment in more content? You can’t.

Additionally, why would you feel bad about selling a product that will genuinely help your customers?

If you’ve been having success with your content, you understand your reader very well. No one else is in as good a position to create a useful product for them as you are.

So if you don’t have a product to sell, get one.

The more interesting problem to diagnose is when you have poor sales of an actual product despite getting a good amount of traffic.

Possible diagnosis #1 – Your conversion funnel needs work: All products have conversion funnels; some just aren’t very well defined.

A conversion funnel simply describes the path that a customer takes to become an actual customer from being a first time visitor:

Yes, there are many different paths in each step, but you should be able to define the main channels they pass through.

For example, “visitor > email subscriber > sales pages > customer.”

Once you have your funnel defined, you can use analytics to see where they are dropping off in this funnel.

You can create a sales funnel in Google Analytics or use some more advanced sales analytics software like Kissmetrics.

If you’re not sure how to build an effective conversion funnel, I have an in-depth guide that will show you how to.

Possible diagnosis #2 – You don’t have product-market fit: Now, if you actually have a good funnel but you can’t figure out why barely anyone is buying your products, you likely have a poor product-market fit.

Your product-market fit is basically a measure of how well your product meets the needs of your audience.

If no one is buying, it means one of two things:

your product sucks

you’re targeting it to the wrong audience

Be honest with yourself about your product: is it really good enough to sell? I rarely see this problem with content marketers, however, since they tend to give as much value as possible.

The more common problem is creating the wrong product for your audience.

For example, if you had a blog catered to SEO beginners, would it make sense to try to sell an advanced technical SEO crawler to them?

No, it wouldn’t. Instead, a basic rank tracking tool or email outreach tool would be much more useful for them at the moment.

It’s not that your product isn’t good—it’s that your audience doesn’t have a need for it.

Instead, you should have been writing content that attracts experienced SEOs rather than beginners. Then, you’d be selling the right product to the right audience.

To fix this problem, you either need to create a different product or pivot your content marketing strategy to target the right audience for your product.

32. Collect emails

Do you know what the most engaging traffic source is for Quick Sprout? It’s not search or even social media it is actually email traffic. Over the years, I’ve been collecting email addresses through pop-ups and sidebar opt-in boxes.

As you can see, emails account for 13.91% of my overall traffic (it’s listed under campaigns). But what’s really interesting is that those people account for 41% of the overall blog comments. Also, they are 3.9 times more likely to share the content via the social web versus people who came to the site from another traffic source.

The beautiful thing is that it’s not just Quick Sprout who is experiencing this. We are also seeing similar numbers with my other two blogs: KISSmetrics and Crazy Egg.

So, how do you go about collecting more email addresses?

Through WordPress plugins like Popup Domination and Modal Dialog, you can create a pop-up that plugs into your current email solution provider. In addition to that, you can also collect emails by placing offers within your sidebar and below your blog posts, similarly to how I do it on Quick Sprout.

If you don’t have much time, focus your energy on the pop-up as it tends to drive three times the opt-ins compared to a sidebar or below-the-post offer.

If you aren’t sure how to set up a pop-up, read this article.

Here’s some interesting data that might help you create an effective pop-up:

Courses convert better than ebooks – most bloggers typically give away ebooks, but from extensive A/B testing we’ve found that 7-day courses or 30-day courses convert 6% better than ebooks. The main difference between a course and an ebook is that a course is structured more like classroom learning. In a course, you give people bit-sized information that they can easily understand over a period of time.

Don’t forget to add a dollar value – although the information you are giving away is free, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth anything. When I added the text “$300 value” to my sidebar opt-in, my opt-in rate increased by 22%.

Be aggressive – there are different settings with your pop-up. From delaying when it shows up to only showing it to people who’ve viewed multiple pages to not showing it on mobile devices, you can get very specific on who sees it and who doesn’t. I’ve found that showing the pop-up to everyone upon their first visit generates 23.5% more opt-ins versus delaying the pop-up by ten seconds.

Color matters – my developer tested out 33 colors (blue, green, red, black, white, pink, grey, purple, yellow, orange, brown, as well as two shades of each color) for the call-to-action button on my pop-up as well as the pop-up on three other blogs. We found that red, green, orange and yellow tend to be the highest converting cal- to-action colors. The colors black, brown and purple where the lowest converting call-to-action colors. Make sure you test these colors on your blog to see which ones work for you.

Don’t ask for too much information – on web-based pop-ups. I typically ask people to enter their name and email. When I performed an A/B test, in which the B test only asked for email only, my conversion rate increased by 17%. What was interesting is that when I did the same A/B test just for mobile traffic, my mobile opt-in rate increased by 39.3%.

Placement is everything – plugins like Popup Domination have multiple design options. Sometimes the email opt-in forms are on the right side of the message, while other times they may be right underneath the offer message. When I tested this on Quick Sprout, I found that having the opt-in below the offer message resulted in an 11% increase in conversion.

Once you have the emails, make sure you notify your readers every time you publish a blog post. This is how I drive 13.91% of my traffic to Quick Sprout each month.

33. Convert readers into fans

Do you know who does a great job of converting readers into fans? WetPaint. Based on an algorithm they created, if they feel that you are an engaged reader, the will display a small box over the content, asking you to like them on Facebook or Twitter to read the rest of the content.

If you don’t want to, you can just click “no thanks” and continue reading their blog. But that one approach has enabled them to get thousands of Facebook fans. Just look at their WetPaint Facebook channel: they have over 380,000 fans.

Can you guess what kind of results this is producing for bloggers? I did a quick test on Quick Sprout over the weekend, and I was able to convert 2.9% of my visitors into fans. That percentage may go down over time because I have a good amount of repeat visitors, but I could counteract the decrease of that percentage by A/B testing the copy. Plus, my version wasn’t as good as WetPaint’s, and I had a few bugs on Internet Explorer and Firefox, so I had to remove it.

I know those numbers don’t seem huge, but if you are getting 100,000 unique visitors a month, you will be growing your fan page at a pace of 2,900 fans a month. After 12 months, you should have roughly 34,800 fans to direct to your blog or any other website whenever you want.

My test run was so successful that I will be rolling out a bug free version of that on Quick Sprout over the next month or so. 

Encourage your readers to not only share your content across the social web, but also to follow you. Whether you do what WetPaint does or ask your readers directly to follow you on Facebook within your blog sidebar, there are many ways you can grow your social channel. Just pick one or two social channels and encourage your readers to engage with you on it.

In the long run, this will help your content spread more through the social web, which not only will increase your traffic, but search engine rankings as well.

34. Create content worth marketing

Sure, this point may seem redundant, but it is worth repeating.

If your content sucks, why are you even trying to market it? What you are creating needs to offer value to the world, and even if it isn’t 100% original, it should offer insights and present the information in a way that the audience isn’t used to seeing.

You need to create great content before you can be great at marketing it.

Conclusion

Content marketing can be overwhelming.

There are so many different channels to market your content on that you may feel you can’t even choose which one(s) to pursue.

But relax, content marketing shouldn’t be this scary.

What’s most important is to create good content and do what you can to share it. Once you have mastered the basics, you can worry about the hard stuff.

By putting these tips to practice, you can make your content marketing more potent and get more bang for your buck.

Want more ways to improve your content marketing and get more traffic?

I’ve compiled a list of 10 more articles you should read that will not only teach you how to improve your content marketing but will also show you how to generate more traffic and sales.

Here it is:

#1: How to double your traffic through infographics

Although everyone is using infographics these days, they are still powerful at producing results.

At KISSmetrics, we were able to drive over 2 million visitors to our site and generate 41,000 backlinks by creating 47 infographics. That’s not bad, considering we spent $28,200 to produce the graphics.

If you want to learn the exact strategy we used to create these infographics, all you have to do is follow the steps in this article. It will teach you what you need to do to generate 60,000 visitors a year from an infographic:

How to Determine the Elements of a Good Infographic

How to Come up with Infographic Topics that Actually Work

How to Create a Useful and Shareable Infographic

How to Get the Infographic Designed

How to Distribute Your Infographic

How to Test Different Types of Infographics

#2: The advanced guide to content marketing

Content marketing is more than just writing and promoting content. There is a whole process you need to follow if you want to be successful at it.

I’ve created a 30,000-word guide that covers the A to Z of content marketing. It will teach you the following elements of the content marketing process:

How to build a strong foundation

How to generate content ideas

How to plan your content creation strategy

How to write content like a pro

12 content writing secrets that you ought to be using

Content creation templates

How to overcome content roadblocks

How to optimize your content for search

How to promote your content for traffic and sales

How to monetize your content

#3: The complete guide to consumer psychology

Not knowing how your consumers think is a major obstacle to your success in content marketing. If you don’t know what makes your readers tick, you won’t be able to cater to them with your content creation and promotion efforts.

To help you understand how your customers think, I’ve created a 25,000-word guide on consumer psychology.

Here’s what you’ll learn by reading it:

The mind of today’s customers

The power of emotions

The psychology of online consumption

How colors affect decisions

Small psychological tactics that deliver big results

The psychology of pricing

How to avoid friction

#4: How to create viral content

I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago that broke down the steps I took to increase my blog traffic by 206%.

Through data and examples, I showed you the process I use to find and create content that will get shared.

So, if you want to grow your blog traffic, read the second section within that article. It discusses data points such as:

Social shares versus content length

How to generate ideas that will get shared

Quick tools you can use to help you generate ideas

How Upworthy exploded in its growth

Headline templates you can use

The number of social buttons you should place on your blog

#5: Skyscraper technique

Brian Dean wrote a great article on how he increased his search traffic by 110% in 14 days by using one simple technique… the skyscraper strategy.

In essence, it teaches you:

How to find link-worthy content

How to make it even better

How to find people to link to it

A good example of this is his article on Google’s 200 ranking factors. In the article, Brian describes in depth each element Google looks at when determining how to rank a website.

Because Brian was able to create the most extensive list, when he did his outreach to build links, it was a slam-dunk. Bloggers were more than happy to link to him because the content was that good.

#6: What analyzing 100 million articles taught us

The beautiful part about online marketing is it gives you access to a ton of data. With the data, you can quickly figure out what works for others and how to replicate it for your own business.

Buzzsumo’s team published an article detailing the findings from their analysis of 100 million articles.

For example, they learned that:

Having at least one image per post doubles the number of social shares a post gets.

Having Facebook thumbnails for articles increases Facebook shares by roughly 3x.

Having a Twitter thumbnail doubles Twitter shares.

The emotion to appeal to is “awe.”

Infographics and list posts are the two most commonly shared types of articles.

And it doesn’t stop there… Read the article to learn all of their findings.

#7: The differences between B2B and B2C content marketing

Writing content for businesses is different from writing content for consumers. I’ve created a 37-point checklist that breaks down the differences. It also teaches what you need to do in order to appeal to both audiences.

Some of the key points to keep in mind when writing for consumers are:

Don’t forget the emotional crack – consumers have a shorter attention span than business readers do. That’s why you need consumer content to be edgier and shorter.

Be trendy – if you want your content to gain a lot of traffic, look at trends. Trendier content does better than evergreen content in the consumer world.

Timing is everything – you should try to break stories. Use Google Trends and Twitter to stay on top of the latest conversations.

On the flip side, when writing for businesses:

Always use data – stats and accuracy are important in the business world. Use data to back everything up.

Give them more – offering ebooks and PDFs at the end of each post is a great way to build a loyal audience and collect emails.

Use stats within your headlines – headlines that contain data usually get shared more often.

To get a complete list of differences between B2B and B2C content marketing, read the full article.

#8: Emotions that make marketing campaigns go viral

The Harvard Business Review wrote a great article on how emotions can make campaigns go viral. Marketing is expensive. If you can make your content go viral, you’ll get more ROI from it.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this article:

How to create a viral coefficient greater than 1.

How to tie your brand to an emotional message.

How to tie your content to the public good.

If you take one thing away from the article, let it be how to create a viral coefficient greater than 1. Without that, your content won’t be going viral.

#9: How to measure your content’s performance

Everything in marketing needs to be profitable. If it isn’t, you can only do it for so long. You don’t have to have a direct profit, but as long as you know there is indirect ROI, you’re fine.

The Content Marketing Institute broke down 6 ways you can measure the performance of your content marketing. They aren’t just looking at direct ROI. They also show you how to measure indirect ROI.

These measurement techniques will teach you how to:

Track brand awareness

Find out what content pieces are driving the most referral traffic

Use social shares to gauge how much people like your content

Assess post performance on LinkedIn

Assess post performance on Twitter

By using analytics and data, you’ll be able to create content that people want to read and share versus content that doesn’t drive sales.

#10: How to get your fans to create and share content

Creating content is time-consuming and expensive. But what if I told you that you can get your fans to not only create content for you but also to promote it.

I’ve created an infographic that breaks down how to do that. Here are the four techniques I go over:

Trust – without your fans’ trust, you won’t get user-generated content.

Reach – how user-generated content can help you get more reach.

SEO – the more content you have, the more search traffic you’ll receive.

Labor savings – how getting fans to create content will save you money.

  http://www.quicksprout.com/content-marketing-tips/ Read more here - http://review-and-bonuss.blogspot.com/2019/04/34-content-marketing-tips-every.html

[magzier-blog]

MapleStory 2: New HD Progression System Is Devouring The Game Inside Out?

Preface

Producer Blog Week 6 has been released and most of the MapleStory2 players are actually disappointed by the direction Nexon seems to be heading with how progression functions in the game. Perhaps this new patch is to slow down progression on purpose, or it’s because current content is not even mentioned there. Sadly to speak, the absence of Nexon’s sight of the overall picture and inexpediency over the trade-off between MapleStory 2 progression and its actual worth is exposed. It is shocking that with the player behavioral statistics that Nexon is able to pull regarding player activity in MapleStory 2 dungeons is not analyzed further than a number. Player behavior in how content is used and completed is a result of how the game is built. Ideally, the goal should be the most optimal method to intrigue players to join in more variations of dungeons without feeling burned out or repetitive, and sadly based on a full analysis and assessment over this new MapleStory 2 progression system that Nexon just released, it actually is worse than the old system. Why? Let’s break it down with a topic by topic analysis starting with the current system, and the “goal” Nexon has established the Hard Dungeon content to cater to regarding future content.

Current HD Progression System Assessment

It is common knowledge even without statistics that Lab Halls(abbreviation of Labyrinthine Halls, the same below) and FD(abbreviation of the Fire Dragon, the same below) are probably the two most “run-need” dungeons during most times. This fact is proven by and used as “the reasoning and issue” in many producer blogs. So how did this issue really even start?

This issue actually traces back to the Founders Closed Beta. The foundation of the progression system has been extremely vacillant and last minute choices have created countless PR and balancing issues, which has to lead to the state of the game.

In Founders Closed Beta, players that made to level 50 had privileges to shift to questing dungeons that only provided 2 different choices of weapons – Murpagoth and Rune. Generally speaking, it was pretty clear which one would give a better damage boost without too much experimentation needed(yes, Murpagoth Warrior Blade it is). This resulted in CBT(abbreviation of Closed Beta Test, the same below) players running FD weapons most of the time. This resulted in the initial influx of players already being trapped by the infinite “FD” runs they need to do progress.

When it reached to the point that the game to be officially released, the new dungeons did not turn the situation around as the initial influx of players were already rooted in one type of dungeon. No doubt to say there were some people that switched to MSL, but that was the minority of players. What did this cause exactly? Players needed to run as many FD as it required to get more weapons to progress and upgrade. There was no benefit of running any other dungeon except for the accessories and the tradable epics. However questing any of these dungeons would have potentially hindered progression towards the Chaos Raids, as your weapon would miss out on potential fodder.

When the new players joined in, FD was by far the most talked-about, done choice. So new players invested in FD weapons naturally. As a result, this caused a snowball/domino effect that all the newer players that started to play the game get involved with. This is what I personally reckon, and based on how this current system works, am really positive about what resulted in this “Players only doing FD”: There seems to be a huge barrier among the players, NA team, and the developers that already formed as a result of the lack of communications between the GMs and the developers of the game.

Why is the new system not so intriguing at all?

So Producer Blog 6 came out, let’s quickly highlight what’s in there.

-Adjusting the difficulty level for each dungeon and, as such, will be changing the Gear Score requirements.

-Weakening the bosses for The Fire Dragon and Labyrinthine Halls Hard Adventure Dungeons, giving them 10% less health and 25% lower attack.

-Now players must choose dungeon based on which part of their gear they want to progress.

– Adjusting the difficulty level for each dungeon and, as such, will be changing the Gear Score requirements.

Weakening FD dragon HP by 5mil does not cause the dungeon to become any faster like . . . Lol sure it might be “faster” but still going to be 15mins+ for no geared people that will still probably die instantly to laser beams and burn.

– Now players must choose dungeon based on which part of their gear they want to progress.

Here’s where the real problem begins:

According to the current system, you get a weapon and an armor every time you wipe out a dungeon. Now you only get one or the other once you’re in the new progression system. In simple terms, this is holding back overall gear progression. Now the good rolls you may have gotten on your armor no longer exist as you don’t get armor from farming the weapon, which gives an obvious better benefit compared to farming armor that is the first thing you will change once you complete the first two chaos raids. Doesn’t make sense? Exactly. Neither of the chaos raids gives a prominent DPS boost needed to potentially clear cPAP, and cDev honestly does not help you clear cMOC any faster. Your weapon will. Making for the same influx of players now shifts to the 2 weapon box dungeons. Perhaps if the weapon boxes they provide ONLY give by your class, you may be able to progress faster, but it only aggravates the symptoms of the disease that is the 2 dungeon weapon grind that already exists in our current system. This system does not benefit new players but makes it harder for new players to get sheltered by other players, as players that need their weapons to +15 will only go into those 2 weapon dungeons. Players hoping to get sheltered do not get an opportunity to go into any of the other dungeons as they don’t have the weapon needed to clear it as smoothly. This is literally the problem of the current system, with a knife cut into it, followed by a “new system bandage.” It comes out to be worse for new players, and old players just switch to the two dungeons. What an actual joke.

The clear solution and easy fix that would have literally promoted dungeon diversity were to make all HD weapons usable as fodder for enhancement while the current drop system retains the same as it was before. This way those who didn’t want to challenge themselves could continue to farm FD or Halls, and those who actually want to mix it up are now not punished for not doing their respective weapon dungeons. Not to mention the difficult dungeons come with better dungeon specific epics, so those who want to challenge themselves for better potential rewards will no longer be punished.

NEXON you should be making progression easier for newer players to reach the endgame, not harder just to promote “dungeon diversity” because your current system is flawed. Stop trying to add this bracketed progression system, and see the bigger picture for once.

MMOAH is currently holding a Thanksgiving-themed promotional event that provides a big coupon code – “THANKS”, which will be widely applicable for every product and every order on its website. Now, place an order of MapleStory 2 Mesos on MMOAH, and use this code “THANKS”, you will get 7% off in the checkout. What’s more, We now provide a within-20-minutes delivery for MS2 Mesos Order. and “Mesos Or Refunds” policy that assures you with an upgraded comprehensive service over your purchase experience on MMOAH site. Need tons of cheap MapleStory 2 Mesos? MMOAH is always the perfect choice overall.

#armor #closed beta test #dungeon #the fire dragon #HD progression system #labyrinthine halls #maplestory 2 #player behavior #producer blog #roll #weapons

[tish408fortnitegaming-blog]

The 5-Minute Have power over pro Fortnite cheat

Subsequent the the latest Fortnite three.five.0 update, numerous gamers are beginning to notice the "Custom Matchmaking Important" solution on the sport's major menu, that's tied into hosting and joining a Fortnite private match. Epic Online games hasn't been incredibly obvious in detailing just what the Fortnite Personalized Matchmaking Essential is useful for, leading to a great deal of confusion. Here's what you have to know about Fortnite private match guidance and those curious Custom made Matchmaking Keys.

Fortnite Private Match: Custom Matchmaking Important

Stepping into a Fortnite non-public match involves the usage of a Personalized Matchmaking Vital. When A non-public match is hosted, a sequence of digits is used to grant use of a selected group. Such as, if Epic Video games was web hosting A non-public match with livestreamer Ninja, they may use "NinjaFansOnly" given that the Customized Matchmaking Critical. The match would then be made non-public for people With all the Personalized Matchmaking Essential, and no-one else.

Utilizing a Fortnite Custom Matchmaking Key is a good way for players with huge followings to quickly arrange a round. There is not any messing all over with Buddy and activity invitations, or anything at all like that. It really is just a simple code that should be shared and after that the foyer will start off filling up.

Fortnite Non-public Match: Can Everyone Set Up a Private Match?

Sadly, for anyone of us "ordinary" players who just choose to host a Fortnite personal match with mates, Epic Game titles has not nevertheless opened up the power for players to create Tailor made Matchmaking Keys. There are already instances the place the developer has offered a Personalized Matchmaking Vital to your YouTube/Twitch streamer, which ends up in a great little bit of marketing, but frequent players haven't nonetheless had that luxurious.

It is possible that Epic Video games is tests out Fortnite non-public match support over a smaller sized scale just before rolling it out to your masses. Here's hoping we'll all manage to create customized matchmaking keys before long!

Fortnite Battle Royale's 7 days eight worries activity players with dancing on three distinct dance flooring.

Each week a brand new list of seven Battle Move worries are launched by Epic Games. Fans need to accomplish any 4 of such worries to be rewarded with 4,000 XP.

The difficulties are separated into tough and normal tiers of problems.

The challenging trouble Fortnite worries net gamers ten Fight Stars, while the normal responsibilities Helpful resources reward admirers with five Fight Stars.

Among the list of frequent tier difficulties duties players with dancing on three distinctive dance flooring.

The endeavor is made trickier by the fact that dance floors have only just been included to your map.

A person dance flooring are available in Flush Factory during the D9 part of the map.

Another upper body is found in the haunted household south-west of Enjoyable Park. This is certainly in the best Element of B4 of your map.

The third dance ground site required to complete the challenge is from the trailer park east of Retail Row, that may be observed on I5/6 within the map.

Other week eight difficulties involve eliminating gamers with rifles, browsing chests in Snobby Shores and working hurt with explosive weapons.

Possibly amazingly, none of the 7 days 8 challenges entail the brand new quick fort merchandise. Possibly next week.

[gamehackercheats-blog]

Clash Royale hack pc tool

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Are There Clash Royale Hacks

Overall Clash Royale is a game that is simple and fun to play. It has enough elements to make it interesting and which are easy and quick to learn and master. Clash Royale is that kind of addictive game in which you will end up checking your phone every hour. You will want to collect your rewards and do a fight or two, even if you have never been a huge fan of such games.

Clash Royale Hack With Lucky Patcher

The very first thing that you need to know about this free gem generator tool is that it provides you instant solution for your gaming needs. All that you need to do is visit the official website of hack tool developers and post your request over there. Ensure that you are visiting right and secure terminal. Now follow these steps:

Clash Royale Hack With Cheat Engine

There is also a ladder system where you lose or earn points accordingly to your performance. The game is however not only about attacking as to win you also have to defend your buildings. During the battle, you have to decide whether you want to attack or defend your buildings with the help of your troops. Before we move on, I've forgotten to mention that you can learn more about the game by checking out the Wikipedia page. Now it is pretty obvious that if you want to climb that ladder you'll have to either use the Clash Royale hack, put money in the game or spend a lot of time grinding for gems.

In the beginning of the article, I've sent german and deutsch players to a translated generator. What I've forgotten to mention is that there's also a french Clash Royale hack. So if you prefer french rather than english then you should check that one out.

I've put the links to the Clash Royale cheats below, made by the team that also worked on the Clash of Clans generator. I'm starting out the article with these because many of you requested them. As I said above, if you don't know what this game is, then you can read the review and then come back for the gems whenever you want. This tool runs on all of the mobile platforms, ranging from Android and iOS all the way to Windows. It can also be used from any available browser.

You will be glad to know that this online hack tool also accompanies user friendly cheats so that beginners can also beat in game challenges with ease. If you are at learning stage of Royale then you will definitely need some expert tricks to move ahead safely. These clash royale cheats can help you to step ahead carefully into each level and will make your journey full of fun and adventure. It will also help you to generate more in game resources and your powers will be naturally boosted. It becomes much easier to ensure right deployment of characters and troops using cheats and your clan can stay safe from enemy attacks. It is right time to go online and use your cloud based hack tool for fast access to cheats and free gems.

This clash royale cheats and hack tool not only provides easy access to in game currencies rather at the same time it also offers great cheats from professionals. Most of you might have joined clash royale game recently and will not be much familiar with the tricks that work on it. But it doesn't mean that you will stay behind powerful players. It is time to access cheats from professionals and apply them to your gaming platform, soon you will be able to prove yourself as best clash royale player.

8. Buy always the first 3 or 4 common cards (pay up to 6 or 7 gold) and at least the first rare card displayed in the store every day (40 golds). For each common letter gifts get 5 gold and 1 experience point and for each rare 50 golds and 10 experience. Do the math, really worth buying at the store if only to "resell" donating the clan!

Clash Royale Hack Without Human Verification

Given Supercell's involvement with clans, the game received this feature right from the start. It's a basic new measurement for rivalry and cooperation. You can talk, give cards, demand cards (once every eight hours), and brawl with other clan members to train.

It is a real-time strategy game in which you go into battle with a deck of cards. Each of these cards has an elixir cost, and to play them you need to have the required elixir. The elixir recharges over time at the rate of about one unit per second. This rate doubles in the last minute of the battle. Other than that it can only be increased by playing a particular card. There are some different types of cards which include melee units, ranged units, spells, defensive structures, etc. and each card has a rarity:

Clash Royale Hack With Download

The clan component is feeble at this stage, however, as it doesn't open new territories to fight. Clans kept on developing in Clash of Clans, managing to be an enormous part of the game. I 'd anticipate they will advance here as well, ought so the diversification be prominent enough.

Clash Royale Hack With Game Guardian

To fight the battle a player can use only eight cards. The cards can represent troops like the prince, musketeers, the giant or a spell like freeze, arrows and rockets and also buildings like a goblin hut or tesla. Each card has its own advantages and disadvantages. The elixir of each card varies. As more cards are accumulated with each win, cards of the same kind can be joined to get a card of higher standing or gold.

7. When searching clan, try to find one with many members (over 45) and with the greatest possible number of weekly donations. This will give you more opportunities to donate cards and letters that your requests are met quickly. Look at the composition of the clan before joining to avoid ending up in a clan with many inactive members.

Treasure chests are a must to progress to the next level. These chests contain Cards, Gold and rarely gems. You can earn a chest when you win a combat or can also buy from the in-game shop; but in-game shopping is expensive, wouldn't you rather just win? A player holds on to only four chests at a time, so it means you let go of them as fast as you earn them.

Another interesting feature that the game has is the "TV Royale". This is where the best battles in the game are being displayed for everyone to watch them. You can either do it for fun or to learn new strategies and such. Now, probably every Clash Royale player wants to have his name and epic battle exposed over there. That can only be achieved by either spending some vast amounts of money or using the Clash Royale hack. The tool can guarantee you a spot there, considering you have the necessary skills.

Clash Royale Hack To Get Unlimited Gems

Step 3: Once you have entered your details and amount then simply press the generate button available on screen. It will immediately begin its processing and your requested currency will be delivered to your account within few minutes.

In this game, players have to try to destroy the three towers that include the opponent's king's tower while protecting their own. During the battle, players win crowns which can win them crown chests; more chests mean more cards, more troops, and more spells and defences. With each level, a different set of cards with more powers and skills get unearthed. As you progress via multiple arenas to reach the top experiencing many a heart thumping and nail biting finish, you can form your own clan with whom you can share cards and have friendly duels too. This game can be downloaded freely from iTunes or Google Play store for other mobiles.

Most of you want to ask this question, right? So let me provide you the authentic answer. This online gem generator tool is 100% safe and you can use it freely on your android as well as iOS device. The professional hack tool developers have created this tool with impressive language coding and Supercell can never track your resource location. All your gems appear real in your game and you will never face any ban for using online gem generator tool. This hack tool is also updated time to time as per the changes made by Supercell professionals so that it can stay perfectly tuned with your gaming environment and every CR lover can take benefits from its impressive features.

Clash Royale Hack Without Human Verification

Clash Royale is an addictive game with the perfect blend of combat, cards, spells, the good and the bad, superb graphics and perceptive controls. In this metagame every card has its place and its importance defined. There is a perfect balance of cards where every deck is different and unique from the others maintaining the challenge and the interest all the time. A few drawbacks to be noted are that a defender has undue advantage because the player can see the attacker's card before making his own move. Another bone of contention is their monetization which has come under severe criticism. Barring these two issues Clash Royale is a complete package that enthrals and thrills all the way testing your wits right till the very end.

This is the battleground where players fight against each other. Each opponent has three towers of these the middle one is called the king tower. The aim of the entire game is to capture or destroy the opponent's towers while defending one's own. For every tower downed the player earns a crown and if the central tower is demolished you win three crowns straight away. There are nine different types of arenas which will open depending on the number of trophies a player has and which in turn is dependent on the player's progress. Training Arena and Goblin Stadium do not require any trophies while the Legendary Arena requires the maximum trophies.

Clash Royale Hack Reddit

1. Everything can be obtained from the chests (including free and Cofre de Coronas) is based on your current level Arena. Which means that you can not get any card that has not been unlocked yet. For this reason, you have to try to reach as many trophies as possible, because the reward is always better in the upper sands.

2. If you are a player free-to-play, focus only level up in the cards you want to use. Check out the cards that carry the top players in your clan so you know what you may find useful when you get to higher levels. The cards need gold to level up will come a point where you need more than 1,000 gold for each update ... Gold is the main barrier in this game. Try to save gems until you can buy the pack of 10,000 golds for 500 gems, it is the best way to spend your gems.

[facebookgamehacksandcheats-blog]

Hack Clash Royale dengan game killer

Clash Royale hack emulator

Clash Royale Hack no human verification or survey or download

Are There Clash Royale Hacks

Overall Clash Royale is a game that is simple and fun to play. It has enough elements to make it interesting and which are easy and quick to learn and master. Clash Royale is that kind of addictive game in which you will end up checking your phone every hour. You will want to collect your rewards and do a fight or two, even if you have never been a huge fan of such games.

Clash Royale Hack With Lucky Patcher

The very first thing that you need to know about this free gem generator tool is that it provides you instant solution for your gaming needs. All that you need to do is visit the official website of hack tool developers and post your request over there. Ensure that you are visiting right and secure terminal. Now follow these steps:

Clash Royale Hack With Cheat Engine

There is also a ladder system where you lose or earn points accordingly to your performance. The game is however not only about attacking as to win you also have to defend your buildings. During the battle, you have to decide whether you want to attack or defend your buildings with the help of your troops. Before we move on, I've forgotten to mention that you can learn more about the game by checking out the Wikipedia page. Now it is pretty obvious that if you want to climb that ladder you'll have to either use the Clash Royale hack, put money in the game or spend a lot of time grinding for gems.

In the beginning of the article, I've sent german and deutsch players to a translated generator. What I've forgotten to mention is that there's also a french Clash Royale hack. So if you prefer french rather than english then you should check that one out.

I've put the links to the Clash Royale cheats below, made by the team that also worked on the Clash of Clans generator. I'm starting out the article with these because many of you requested them. As I said above, if you don't know what this game is, then you can read the review and then come back for the gems whenever you want. This tool runs on all of the mobile platforms, ranging from Android and iOS all the way to Windows. It can also be used from any available browser.

You will be glad to know that this online hack tool also accompanies user friendly cheats so that beginners can also beat in game challenges with ease. If you are at learning stage of Royale then you will definitely need some expert tricks to move ahead safely. These clash royale cheats can help you to step ahead carefully into each level and will make your journey full of fun and adventure. It will also help you to generate more in game resources and your powers will be naturally boosted. It becomes much easier to ensure right deployment of characters and troops using cheats and your clan can stay safe from enemy attacks. It is right time to go online and use your cloud based hack tool for fast access to cheats and free gems.

This clash royale cheats and hack tool not only provides easy access to in game currencies rather at the same time it also offers great cheats from professionals. Most of you might have joined clash royale game recently and will not be much familiar with the tricks that work on it. But it doesn't mean that you will stay behind powerful players. It is time to access cheats from professionals and apply them to your gaming platform, soon you will be able to prove yourself as best clash royale player.

8. Buy always the first 3 or 4 common cards (pay up to 6 or 7 gold) and at least the first rare card displayed in the store every day (40 golds). For each common letter gifts get 5 gold and 1 experience point and for each rare 50 golds and 10 experience. Do the math, really worth buying at the store if only to "resell" donating the clan!

Clash Royale Hack Without Human Verification

Given Supercell's involvement with clans, the game received this feature right from the start. It's a basic new measurement for rivalry and cooperation. You can talk, give cards, demand cards (once every eight hours), and brawl with other clan members to train.

It is a real-time strategy game in which you go into battle with a deck of cards. Each of these cards has an elixir cost, and to play them you need to have the required elixir. The elixir recharges over time at the rate of about one unit per second. This rate doubles in the last minute of the battle. Other than that it can only be increased by playing a particular card. There are some different types of cards which include melee units, ranged units, spells, defensive structures, etc. and each card has a rarity:

Clash Royale Hack With Download

The clan component is feeble at this stage, however, as it doesn't open new territories to fight. Clans kept on developing in Clash of Clans, managing to be an enormous part of the game. I 'd anticipate they will advance here as well, ought so the diversification be prominent enough.

Clash Royale Hack With Game Guardian

To fight the battle a player can use only eight cards. The cards can represent troops like the prince, musketeers, the giant or a spell like freeze, arrows and rockets and also buildings like a goblin hut or tesla. Each card has its own advantages and disadvantages. The elixir of each card varies. As more cards are accumulated with each win, cards of the same kind can be joined to get a card of higher standing or gold.

7. When searching clan, try to find one with many members (over 45) and with the greatest possible number of weekly donations. This will give you more opportunities to donate cards and letters that your requests are met quickly. Look at the composition of the clan before joining to avoid ending up in a clan with many inactive members.

Treasure chests are a must to progress to the next level. These chests contain Cards, Gold and rarely gems. You can earn a chest when you win a combat or can also buy from the in-game shop; but in-game shopping is expensive, wouldn't you rather just win? A player holds on to only four chests at a time, so it means you let go of them as fast as you earn them.

Another interesting feature that the game has is the "TV Royale". This is where the best battles in the game are being displayed for everyone to watch them. You can either do it for fun or to learn new strategies and such. Now, probably every Clash Royale player wants to have his name and epic battle exposed over there. That can only be achieved by either spending some vast amounts of money or using the Clash Royale hack. The tool can guarantee you a spot there, considering you have the necessary skills.

Clash Royale Hack To Get Unlimited Gems

Step 3: Once you have entered your details and amount then simply press the generate button available on screen. It will immediately begin its processing and your requested currency will be delivered to your account within few minutes.

In this game, players have to try to destroy the three towers that include the opponent's king's tower while protecting their own. During the battle, players win crowns which can win them crown chests; more chests mean more cards, more troops, and more spells and defences. With each level, a different set of cards with more powers and skills get unearthed. As you progress via multiple arenas to reach the top experiencing many a heart thumping and nail biting finish, you can form your own clan with whom you can share cards and have friendly duels too. This game can be downloaded freely from iTunes or Google Play store for other mobiles.

Most of you want to ask this question, right? So let me provide you the authentic answer. This online gem generator tool is 100% safe and you can use it freely on your android as well as iOS device. The professional hack tool developers have created this tool with impressive language coding and Supercell can never track your resource location. All your gems appear real in your game and you will never face any ban for using online gem generator tool. This hack tool is also updated time to time as per the changes made by Supercell professionals so that it can stay perfectly tuned with your gaming environment and every CR lover can take benefits from its impressive features.

Clash Royale Hack Without Human Verification

Clash Royale is an addictive game with the perfect blend of combat, cards, spells, the good and the bad, superb graphics and perceptive controls. In this metagame every card has its place and its importance defined. There is a perfect balance of cards where every deck is different and unique from the others maintaining the challenge and the interest all the time. A few drawbacks to be noted are that a defender has undue advantage because the player can see the attacker's card before making his own move. Another bone of contention is their monetization which has come under severe criticism. Barring these two issues Clash Royale is a complete package that enthrals and thrills all the way testing your wits right till the very end.

This is the battleground where players fight against each other. Each opponent has three towers of these the middle one is called the king tower. The aim of the entire game is to capture or destroy the opponent's towers while defending one's own. For every tower downed the player earns a crown and if the central tower is demolished you win three crowns straight away. There are nine different types of arenas which will open depending on the number of trophies a player has and which in turn is dependent on the player's progress. Training Arena and Goblin Stadium do not require any trophies while the Legendary Arena requires the maximum trophies.

Clash Royale Hack Reddit

1. Everything can be obtained from the chests (including free and Cofre de Coronas) is based on your current level Arena. Which means that you can not get any card that has not been unlocked yet. For this reason, you have to try to reach as many trophies as possible, because the reward is always better in the upper sands.

2. If you are a player free-to-play, focus only level up in the cards you want to use. Check out the cards that carry the top players in your clan so you know what you may find useful when you get to higher levels. The cards need gold to level up will come a point where you need more than 1,000 gold for each update ... Gold is the main barrier in this game. Try to save gems until you can buy the pack of 10,000 golds for 500 gems, it is the best way to spend your gems.

[erwinpendley80-blog]

Types About Truck Games Relating To The Kids

Overview Online Role Playing Games, or sometimes refereed to as Computer Role Playing Games, are a wide range of games that requires the player to build a hero or a character based on his preferences and fancy. These are types of games where one interacts with other players in the virtual world (usually in groups). As the game advances, the player's character should be able to acquire experience as he or she will be needing this in order to succeed with other rounds or quests. The character must be able to become more powerful and should be able to obtain new and advanced abilities. Electronic role playing games is a broad genre under the video games category. These were the early beginnings of inline role playing games. These games were originally from Dungeons and Dragons, a traditional role playing game which had been the basis for advance online role playing games nowadays. The game mechanics and the settings of the games were formatted from this game. Interactions in online role playing games are done in the virtual world using the internet. These may be done individually (single player games) or with a group of friends or team mates (multiplayer games). Computer role playing games offer almost identical features with online role playing games. Avatar Online role playing games revolves on making or building your own character. These characters are also called avatars. More often, players find it fun and put effort in choosing their avatars. There are different abilities that your avatar can excel on. However, the abilities and powers of the characters depend on the progression of the game. The characters represent the skills and abilities of the player himself. It shows how he or she decide or control the game outcomes. A status screen displays the attributes of the player and his character. It uses numerical values instead of meters, bars, and other simple abstract graphical representation that the usual video games utilize. Fantasy Setting A fictional and high fantasy setting is another feature of online role playing games (and other RPGs in general). These settings come from science fiction or space opera themes. However, some online RPGs also utilize historical settings and backgrounds. Exceptions to these trends are online role playing games such as Bloodlines ("gothic punk), Arcanum (steam punk), Darklands (a combination of medieval German legend and history), Fallout (post-apocalyptic), and Mount and Blade (Medieval Europe with no magic or fantasy). Quests Team members or a group of characters (usually called a party) join forces to complete their missions (usually called "quest"). However, a single player may also do this by himself with the help of other players. These quests are usually fantasy fiction inspired. But classical mythology and science fictions are also used as basis for the missions. These missions comprise different adventures along the way. Some challenges are defeating the evil boss, rescuing a princess, or clearing a dungeon of monsters. Some games require the character to talk to a Non Player Character (NPC) to know and receive his or her mission or quest. Fetch quest, locational puzzles (such as opening locked doors by means of a hidden lever or a key), or engaging in dialogues are some of the requirements to proceed to the next level or challenge. Majority of the online role playing games are playedas a linear narrative. Meaning, one plays the game in a predetermined sequence. They just have to comply with the requirements for the next level to complete the entire mission.

When worn out with these, one could well also readily available to truck games for ladies who should to have in effect a different experience plus love step. So always keep on understanding Funny Free games. Epic: At that place are alternative types pointing to cars to positively choose away from in this approach instance and you eat to cross from distinct level which will another with regard to order so that you can receive exceptional scores. Practice provides numerous solutions for we to build up your experience. Extreme Automobile - Make use of the arrow keys around your keyboard's keypad, shoppers actually stop your car or suv. It all is addictive in because you is likely to play as significant as you like to and presently there is no evening limit.

There is definitely also all the Big Trucks Adventures. Since those games charge so abundant money, may possibly not it usually nice in the case there has been a chance you was able to legally gamble other splendid games without need of needing for pay to make them? Furthermore there is exclusive array amongst different sorts of game titles I've have found on Storing Games. Most people little motor games routinely become a stuff to do with boredom immediately following playing by some time. Therefore research for the and look at a variety of of web site which deliver you the main facility to play these people games within the internet or uniform download them. This presents the team members the freedom to get the brands they are almost always most easy with. This guidance is explanation why more professional prefer vans over prefer virtual autobus and work truck getting behind the wheel games repeatedly. The 18 wheeler truck games online are right to induce ones sensibilities that dates across the roads related to the municipality. Go send and look through the extensive now on behalf of driving games so families can see the wonderful selection. One should certainly have in the market to go by means a complete of within the in order to mad it. There can be also any important Trucks Adventures. They traditionally have exclusive plots with one should certainly go because of them to find currently the one which often will dispute the competition most. Onto so masses of occasions the house has been lately found which often the alternative to another problem may be always found at the place amongst the wrong doing itself. One goes to appreciate their have acquired personal determination and guts as anyway. One related the physical exercises that one can take in is truly playing automobile games. How the 2- by-6 inch timber have to make sure you be planted on upper of as well as , it have now to happen to be perpendicular regarding this founding, every peace of mind have to stay flat, side simply by side, up to the point the all-inclusive domain could be covered. The most reliable thing the motor games typically is that one one of them offers you a collection of offers therefore simultaneously one definitely is different or more challenging than your first. So the aim for of some sort of game will be to stays hooked together with carry via till your last oxygen. Truck or van mania can an easy means related to virtual playing golf for young. You will find numerous cooking games for kids on the Internet today but are they even near for the real thing? Does it genuinely issue if it really is however enjoyable on your child? Kids like to emulate adults' everyday chores including mowing the lawn, driving a car and you've to bet cooking is 1 of them too! Apparently we don't actually get pleasure from doing them but they are out of the standard experiences for kids who can be "checking" them out for that first time. And of program parents don't typically permit their kid to try and do the real thing for obvious good reasons but somewhat use replacements like toys to simulate these pursuits for him or her. Area your child in front of the PC and watch him or her transit into a little chef! There is actually a wide variety of cooking games available on the Internet which does not cost a thing to play. The games with all the minimum hassle are directly played on your browser. Interaction will come in style of by using the mouse, keyboard or a mix of equally. As some games can get instead large in size, broadband is surely suggested for rapid loadings. One cooking game that caught my attention is about producing breakfast- one of the most crucial meal of the day. In the game, the child must beat the eggs by dragging the egg beater with all the mouse within a round motion. She or he then continues to produce an omelet out of it on the frying pan. It is a person good example of what a kid could understand- "Now I know how mummy can make omelet!" An additional form of cooking game price talking about integrates the fundamentals of working a cafe. Players have to cook and serve the dishes to their customers on time and also meet up with a predetermined quota for the day. Playing cooking games prepares a child choose on the real thing when she or he gets older. He or she could even help you out from the kitchen. Some children find it amusing to cook a meal for on their own and in the end will be far more enthusiastic to finish up their food. Physiologically, it is really the feeling of contentment that they can be in search of. This method is terrific for parents that have kids which are very distinct with their food or have inadequate appetite.

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Clash Royale hack android

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Are There Clash Royale Hacks

Overall Clash Royale is a game that is simple and fun to play. It has enough elements to make it interesting and which are easy and quick to learn and master. Clash Royale is that kind of addictive game in which you will end up checking your phone every hour. You will want to collect your rewards and do a fight or two, even if you have never been a huge fan of such games.

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The very first thing that you need to know about this free gem generator tool is that it provides you instant solution for your gaming needs. All that you need to do is visit the official website of hack tool developers and post your request over there. Ensure that you are visiting right and secure terminal. Now follow these steps:

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There is also a ladder system where you lose or earn points accordingly to your performance. The game is however not only about attacking as to win you also have to defend your buildings. During the battle, you have to decide whether you want to attack or defend your buildings with the help of your troops. Before we move on, I've forgotten to mention that you can learn more about the game by checking out the Wikipedia page. Now it is pretty obvious that if you want to climb that ladder you'll have to either use the Clash Royale hack, put money in the game or spend a lot of time grinding for gems.

In the beginning of the article, I've sent german and deutsch players to a translated generator. What I've forgotten to mention is that there's also a french Clash Royale hack. So if you prefer french rather than english then you should check that one out.

I've put the links to the Clash Royale cheats below, made by the team that also worked on the Clash of Clans generator. I'm starting out the article with these because many of you requested them. As I said above, if you don't know what this game is, then you can read the review and then come back for the gems whenever you want. This tool runs on all of the mobile platforms, ranging from Android and iOS all the way to Windows. It can also be used from any available browser.

You will be glad to know that this online hack tool also accompanies user friendly cheats so that beginners can also beat in game challenges with ease. If you are at learning stage of Royale then you will definitely need some expert tricks to move ahead safely. These clash royale cheats can help you to step ahead carefully into each level and will make your journey full of fun and adventure. It will also help you to generate more in game resources and your powers will be naturally boosted. It becomes much easier to ensure right deployment of characters and troops using cheats and your clan can stay safe from enemy attacks. It is right time to go online and use your cloud based hack tool for fast access to cheats and free gems.

This clash royale cheats and hack tool not only provides easy access to in game currencies rather at the same time it also offers great cheats from professionals. Most of you might have joined clash royale game recently and will not be much familiar with the tricks that work on it. But it doesn't mean that you will stay behind powerful players. It is time to access cheats from professionals and apply them to your gaming platform, soon you will be able to prove yourself as best clash royale player.

8. Buy always the first 3 or 4 common cards (pay up to 6 or 7 gold) and at least the first rare card displayed in the store every day (40 golds). For each common letter gifts get 5 gold and 1 experience point and for each rare 50 golds and 10 experience. Do the math, really worth buying at the store if only to "resell" donating the clan!

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Given Supercell's involvement with clans, the game received this feature right from the start. It's a basic new measurement for rivalry and cooperation. You can talk, give cards, demand cards (once every eight hours), and brawl with other clan members to train.

It is a real-time strategy game in which you go into battle with a deck of cards. Each of these cards has an elixir cost, and to play them you need to have the required elixir. The elixir recharges over time at the rate of about one unit per second. This rate doubles in the last minute of the battle. Other than that it can only be increased by playing a particular card. There are some different types of cards which include melee units, ranged units, spells, defensive structures, etc. and each card has a rarity:

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The clan component is feeble at this stage, however, as it doesn't open new territories to fight. Clans kept on developing in Clash of Clans, managing to be an enormous part of the game. I 'd anticipate they will advance here as well, ought so the diversification be prominent enough.

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To fight the battle a player can use only eight cards. The cards can represent troops like the prince, musketeers, the giant or a spell like freeze, arrows and rockets and also buildings like a goblin hut or tesla. Each card has its own advantages and disadvantages. The elixir of each card varies. As more cards are accumulated with each win, cards of the same kind can be joined to get a card of higher standing or gold.

7. When searching clan, try to find one with many members (over 45) and with the greatest possible number of weekly donations. This will give you more opportunities to donate cards and letters that your requests are met quickly. Look at the composition of the clan before joining to avoid ending up in a clan with many inactive members.

Treasure chests are a must to progress to the next level. These chests contain Cards, Gold and rarely gems. You can earn a chest when you win a combat or can also buy from the in-game shop; but in-game shopping is expensive, wouldn't you rather just win? A player holds on to only four chests at a time, so it means you let go of them as fast as you earn them.

Another interesting feature that the game has is the "TV Royale". This is where the best battles in the game are being displayed for everyone to watch them. You can either do it for fun or to learn new strategies and such. Now, probably every Clash Royale player wants to have his name and epic battle exposed over there. That can only be achieved by either spending some vast amounts of money or using the Clash Royale hack. The tool can guarantee you a spot there, considering you have the necessary skills.

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Step 3: Once you have entered your details and amount then simply press the generate button available on screen. It will immediately begin its processing and your requested currency will be delivered to your account within few minutes.

In this game, players have to try to destroy the three towers that include the opponent's king's tower while protecting their own. During the battle, players win crowns which can win them crown chests; more chests mean more cards, more troops, and more spells and defences. With each level, a different set of cards with more powers and skills get unearthed. As you progress via multiple arenas to reach the top experiencing many a heart thumping and nail biting finish, you can form your own clan with whom you can share cards and have friendly duels too. This game can be downloaded freely from iTunes or Google Play store for other mobiles.

Most of you want to ask this question, right? So let me provide you the authentic answer. This online gem generator tool is 100% safe and you can use it freely on your android as well as iOS device. The professional hack tool developers have created this tool with impressive language coding and Supercell can never track your resource location. All your gems appear real in your game and you will never face any ban for using online gem generator tool. This hack tool is also updated time to time as per the changes made by Supercell professionals so that it can stay perfectly tuned with your gaming environment and every CR lover can take benefits from its impressive features.

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Clash Royale is an addictive game with the perfect blend of combat, cards, spells, the good and the bad, superb graphics and perceptive controls. In this metagame every card has its place and its importance defined. There is a perfect balance of cards where every deck is different and unique from the others maintaining the challenge and the interest all the time. A few drawbacks to be noted are that a defender has undue advantage because the player can see the attacker's card before making his own move. Another bone of contention is their monetization which has come under severe criticism. Barring these two issues Clash Royale is a complete package that enthrals and thrills all the way testing your wits right till the very end.

This is the battleground where players fight against each other. Each opponent has three towers of these the middle one is called the king tower. The aim of the entire game is to capture or destroy the opponent's towers while defending one's own. For every tower downed the player earns a crown and if the central tower is demolished you win three crowns straight away. There are nine different types of arenas which will open depending on the number of trophies a player has and which in turn is dependent on the player's progress. Training Arena and Goblin Stadium do not require any trophies while the Legendary Arena requires the maximum trophies.

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1. Everything can be obtained from the chests (including free and Cofre de Coronas) is based on your current level Arena. Which means that you can not get any card that has not been unlocked yet. For this reason, you have to try to reach as many trophies as possible, because the reward is always better in the upper sands.

2. If you are a player free-to-play, focus only level up in the cards you want to use. Check out the cards that carry the top players in your clan so you know what you may find useful when you get to higher levels. The cards need gold to level up will come a point where you need more than 1,000 gold for each update ... Gold is the main barrier in this game. Try to save gems until you can buy the pack of 10,000 golds for 500 gems, it is the best way to spend your gems.