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inawickedlittletown · 5 years

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Walking The Wire (106/?)

Summary: Tony Stark always knew about Peter Parker. He didn’t know that Peter was going to get superpowers and become Spider-Man, but he always knew about Peter because Peter was his son.

This will span from pre-Iron Man up through the rest of the MCU (eventually including Infinity War) and will be for the most part canon compliant except where I’ve taken some liberties and interpreted canon a certain way.

Pairings: Pepper/Tony, Tony/Steve (endgame), Tony/Mary (past)

A/N: If you want me to tag you when I post new chapters let me know. This fic is also on AO3

I used Collider’s MCU timeline to stay canon and the title of this fic is an Imagine Dragons song that is just so fitting for Peter and Tony

@findmeinthestarss

Masterpost

Chapter One Hundred Five

It turned out that having Michelle know he was Spider-Man and acknowledging that she did was a good thing. Michelle was just all that much better about covering for Peter. Just the other day when they’d gone on a small class trip and Peter had spotted a mugging happening, it was Michelle that had distracted everyone long enough for Peter to get away unnoticed and then again when he rejoined them.

The only thing about Michelle was that unlike Ned, she actually seemed concerned about what Peter got up to. She worried. It was weird especially when she pretended that she didn’t in person and then sent him long rambling texts about how he wasn’t being careful and how close he came to getting injured or hurting others.

It was all on par with how much coverage Spider-Man had started to get from the media which Peter didn’t particularly like. At first it had seemed cool to be mentioned on the news all the time and to have articles about Spider-Man popping up everywhere. His favorite were the YouTube videos since those were usually fun to watch mostly because they weren’t all made by anyone truly professional. But after a while, even those got old. It got annoying. Tony definitely disliked it.

“I just don’t like how interested everyone seems to be in finding out your identity,” his dad said while they were tinkering in the workshop. “It’s none of their business.”

Peter liked listening to him rant. It was kind of hilarious especially when one considered Tony’s own media presence basically his entirely life.

“And it’s not like we’ve announced that you’re an Avenger or anything but some reason they just seem to associate you with us.”

That’s when Steve spoke up. “That’s because they see you out and about with him all the time as Iron Man and Iron Man is an Avenger.”

“That isn’t the point,” Tony said.

“And also, Peter’s the only hero that’s popped up that has a hidden identity. Gives everyone a mystery to want to solve.”

Tony muttered some more and Peter tried not to laugh. He could tell that Steve was amused too.

Since all that stuff with The Vulture, Tony still did tend to show up when Peter needed help. He was better about letting Peter be involved in things especially when they didn’t involve alien tech. They had stopped some weird guy with what seemed to be some sort of power -- Tony said he was probably an inhuman -- just the other day from destroying a big portion of Greenwich Village. The guy hadn’t been doing it on purpose it turned out it. It was just that his powers were so unstable. Peter had been glad to have Tony there because he didn’t a single person could have handled everything that instance entailed. Even Vision had made an appearance for that. In the end they had subdued the guy and Tony had handed him over to a the new Shield.

“But also, it’s not just the identity thing,” Tony kept on, “it’s that there’s varying degrees of coverage. He’s good for the city. He’s a vigilante. He’s an Avenger. He’s not. It’s ridiculous. At least no one seems to have put together that I built your suit. Or at least no one’s written an article about it yet. And can you imagine if anyone found out I had a son? Because then they would definitely start questioning whether you were the one under the mask and then my parenting would come into question.”

It was no surprise to Peter that Ned loved it. He had a whole collection on articles written about him and he would send Peter the more outrageous ones and Peter would pass those on to Steve because Steve loved reading them too. May seemed to agree with Tony on the whole matter. But then, May also tended to try and get Peter to quit being Spider-Man altogether whenever she saw him and it wasn’t something that was ever likely to stop. She liked to bring up questions about school and girlfriends and college and how Spider-Man wouldn’t be an ideal addition to any of those as her way of asking him to stop.

As he stepped out of Midtown one afternoon, Peter was surprised when he spotted Tony complete with a baseball cap, sunglasses, a grin, and a thermal cup that probably contained coffee, leaning against a sleek black car that at least proved to be his least flashy. Still, no matter how hard he was trying, he looked out of place and people were noticing him.

Michelle who had walked out with him spotted Tony with no problem and when Peter glanced at her he could practically see her thinking. Her left eyebrow rose and she stared him down.

“Is Tony Stark actually picking you up right now?”

Peter shook his head. “Nope. It’s all in your imagination. You’re hallucinating.”

Michelle laughed -- cackled more like and Peter grinned back at her as she nudged him and rolled her eyes. Ned appeared then, busy with his backpack as he walked, and only managing to not run into anyone because anyone in his path dodged him.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Your boy here is being picked up by Tony Stark. Fancy that. I bet Flash will be jealous.”

“Which is why I’m going to go before anyone else notices,” Peter said and rushed away. When he looked back Michelle waved and Ned grinned at him and gave him thumbs up.

“Hey,” Peter said when he was close enough.

“Hi, kiddo,” his dad said, “I was in the area so I figured I’d come by and get you. I was also sort of craving this apple crostini this one restaurant has so we’re going to have to make a stop for that. Up for it?”

Peter rolled his eyes but nodded. “Sure.”

They got into the car and when Peter looked out the window he realized that a few people were watching them. Someone must have caught onto Tony being there. Not that it really mattered since everyone knew that Peter had a Stark Internship. Of course, no intern could have ever expected for Tony Stark himself to show up to pick them up from school. He was definitely going to hear about it.

The restaurant Tony took them to was a hole in the wall that no one would have ever noticed and yet it was busy. A well known secret. Nevertheless, they were seated at a discrete table towards the back without much wait which told Peter that Tony had called ahead.

“Why are we really here?” Peter asked.

“I told you -- apple crostini. Also, remind me to order one to go because Steve would kill us if we don’t bring him one back. We used to come here sometimes back in the day.”

“Oh,” Peter said.

His dad never really talked about how he and Steve had come to be and Peter didn’t really have any questions or want to know details, but he loved when Tony slipped in something that hinted at a past memory. It made him realize how normal it all was in some ways. Sometimes, it was still shocking to think about Iron Man and Captain America in a romantic relationship or to consider that they were getting married until he thought about them as Tony and Steve -- his dad and his dad’s fiance.

“Truth is, I wanted to catch up with you,” Tony said. “Things have been a bit crazy lately. Haven’t really spent much time with you on our own. Steve or someone else is usually around.”

Peter hadn’t -- no, he’d noticed, it was just that he hadn’t minded. He’d never expected to have Tony to himself all the time and had felt lucky when he did even if then it had been broken up to a few hours here and there and now he was living in the tower and had access to Tony all the time and it didn’t really matter that there were other people around.

“We can start with, who was the girl?”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Who, Michelle? I’ve told you about her. She’s the one that figured out I’m Spider-Man all on her own.”

“MJ. You said someone named MJ did.”

“Michelle Jones. She likes to be called MJ. Anyway, that was her.”

Tony nodded. The waitress approached then and Tony ordered the apple crostinis and remembered to order the one to go as well without Peter needing to remind him.

“So she’s super smart and observant,” Tony said.

“Yup. Definitely knew it was you waiting for me. Actually, I think a few people figured it out.”

Tony shrugged with a grin. “And they can all wonder about what your internship entails once more.”

Tony started asking about how things were going in school next and Peter filled him in even though he was sure he’d mentioned some of it to him in passing over the last few weeks.

The apple crostini turned out to be amazing. He was in the middle of telling Tony about what they’d started working on in physics when it arrived and after one bite of the crunchy and flaky crust with the warm apple filling and the ice cream and Peter was in heaven.

“I told you so,” Tony said.

“This is the best thing ever,” Peter said.

It was nice to have some time on his own with Tony. Tony told him all about how the board members were driving him and Pepper crazy because they didn’t like that Tony’s concern wasn’t all about profit when it came to the prosthetic division even when it came to custom projects.

“It’s like they don’t understand how good the PR is although that obviously isn’t why we’re doing it.”

“But it’s your company,” Peter said.

“Pepper and I own more than half of the shares of the company, sure, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to deal with the board of directors. It’s the side of business that I don’t particularly like. Pepper is awesome at it. It’s all stuff you’ll have to learn about if you want to take over the company one day--”

“Um, what?” Peter said and almost choked on a piece of apple.

Tony chuckled. “Won’t be for a while and it’s up to you if you want it. It’s not an obligation, you know. You could find your own Pepper Potts and have someone else run it if you prefer. I rather you do what you want than what you think I want you to do so--”

Peter had sort of forgotten about how Tony had broken the news to him what felt like ages ago even though it hadn’t even been a full year yet. He’d forgotten how Tony told him that he would inherit everything as if that had been the right way to let him know that Tony was his father. Since then, Peter hadn’t really thought about it or the reality of what it actually meant which meant that it was overwhelming information to take in.

“I -- that’s--”

“What, did you forget that I’m Tony Stark? You’re my heir, kid, to this whole crazy company and whatever else I’ve accumulated.”

“But what if -- what if you and Steve have kids?” Peter asked.

It wasn’t something he’d considered before that moment, but wasn’t that what people did after they got married? They went and had kids. Peter was aware that Tony and Steve were both men but there were ways around that -- surrogacy or adoption or other weirder things. It was possible. Peter didn’t know if -- well, he didn’t know if he’d be thrilled about it if they did have kids. He felt weird even just thinking about it.

“Not really something we’ve discussed,” Tony said and he seemed to notice that Peter seemed uncomfortable. “And even if we did decide to have kids it wouldn’t be for a long while, Pete.”

“Oh,” Peter said. But they could still have some even if Peter was fully grown when they did--

Tony grabbed his hand. Tony’s hand was warm and familiar and Peter allowed himself to calm down. “Peter, you’re my kid. I -- I love you, kid. Not something that will ever change. I’ll always be here for you no matter what. Even if Steve and I adopt a hundred kids. You’re still always going to be my son and you’re the most important person in my life.”

Peter hadn’t expected Tony to say that. Those three words. Tony had said them before, he was sure, but Peter couldn’t actually remember. He certainly hadn’t expected them in the moment.

“I don’t think even Steve will want to adopt that many kids,” Peter said.

“If he even wants to,” Tony said with a shrug. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t be opposed to another kid -- it’s just I’d be fine with just you.”

“Oh,” Peter said. “But you didn’t get to raise me. Not really. Don’t you want that -- the whole baby thing?” Peter didn’t really understand why people were so keen on babies. He knew they were cute but they also cried and made messes and couldn’t really do anything and he actually -- he couldn’t see Tony or even Steve dealing with a baby well.

“That doesn’t matter. Clearly, it doesn’t. You’re still my kid, Peter, and as has been established you clearly need me a lot too no matter what your age is.”

Peter nodded. “I kind of do,” Peter said and then because he couldn’t say anything else, “I, um, I love you too, dad.”

He thought that Tony’s eyes got a bit misty at that and Peter realized that he’d never actually said it out loud before. But it was true. It had been true for a while. Peter loved Tony. He loved his dad and everything that he was and did for Peter. He was one of the best people he knew and Peter would forever be glad that he knew who his father was and that it was someone as amazing as Tony Stark.

Chapter One Hundred Seven

#peter and tony #peter and tony fic #mcuwriting #mcu fic #iron dad #iron dad and spider son #stony #stony fic #marvel

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cow5secondchance · 3 years

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Episode 2 - Why Did People Flip - Xavier

Format: Sequester

Eliminated: Wyatt (9-3-1-1-1) || Daisy (Battle Match)

BLAKE

so! week 2 and my plan honestly is to just really still focus on my social relationships. so far, i feel very confident in my ability to connect with people on a 1 to 1 level, and at least hopefully skate through these first few weeks. consistently my problem in the game is missing out on a key group or alliance that is running more than I know. without being too chaotic and paranoid, i would really really like to try to sit here and just scope out the relationships. as for my groups! i really want to work with jennet. she's like iconic? her art is so cute and i do feel like i made a genuine connection with her early on, and i think pointing out we're some of the only award winners in the cast could bring us closer together ! plus 4th place legends... beyond jennet, i have a group with isaac and nicole, and honestly, im feeling suprisingly good about both. i think these first 6 people i mention are the ones im going to focus on most, and focus on really forming game connection wheras the rest im just socially going to really force myself into their LIVES and hope they like me! Daisy and Jarod... loves them and swifties who ive played with in the past both in a way that i feel we were unfinished. jarod got taken out in the doubles round just as we kinda connected on a game level, and then daisy and i were working together in bb netflix before it got canceled. this is really the group i want to strategize with and im really putting myself on a limb being loyal to them because i know they have options, but its a risk im willing to take because if i can be the number 1, their connections can just offer more safety and information for myself. and the final people who i kinda want to work with is captain and wiliam xavier s up there, we just havent spoken tons dont really have much of an opinion on the others? if i had to nominate right now it might be mario just because we havent spoken yet.

XAVIER

It's annoying to be nominated, especially by Jennet. Literally two minutes before we were talking and I was explaining how this round is played. And then Jennet nominates me. I feel betrayed. Getting my G4ce together (Greenhouse 4) so we can vote as a team. And well, well, well, I just found out that the Sequester 4 are also voting together. It is weird that they are all nominated during the Sequester round. They are targeting either Wyatt or Kaleigh. Knowing they are a team, I want one of them out, if I can swing it quietly.

NICOLE

HI I’m back and already went through a ton! Last round a misunderstanding / Lanie throwing me under the bus just because I said I hadn’t spoken to Nyx and Captain really set me up in a weird spot so I had to get rid of Lanie and then she said we all suck (imagine being almost 30 and telling someone who is your students age that they suck! I get it really is terrible to be blindsided but it was her fault, she played too fast! Like yell at me for not communicating properly or whatever she believed I did at that point but don’t take it out on everyone especially like the youngest player in the game!) Anyway, this round is sequester so we are all back together! I finally get to play with Daisy! I love her so much so I’m super glad we got to play, I’m very glad I get to reunite with Lindsay, I’m glad William isn’t mad at me for the whole Lanie situation and now I’m safe for the first vote! It is a very good feeling but I also feel like I should be learning from Lanie’s mistake and playing not fast so I’m trying to take a step back from talking in the house chat. I’m just so excited to see everyone but I will try to contain myself so I don’t annoy anyone. Check back in later in the round!!!

BLAKE

I forget the questions omg but I had a call with Jarod where he kinda threw out wyatts name as an option to go, and honestly I’m completely fine with that because even though they seem super sweet, I feel like I’m juggling enough balls and I don’t need to add them into my mix, whereas I feel a lot better about every other nominee other than Kaleigh, who I don’t think anybody would do this early My strategy is to just campaign for myself to stay to everybody and avoid throwing out names. I’m hoping that comes from Jarod or one of the safe people because they literally have the safety to get away with it

XAVIER

I like video confessionals. The only alliance of 4 should be Greenhouse

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CAPTAIN

hello dr.. so i'm glad i got saved by jarod :pleading_face: he rlly said i'm gonna make captain safe no matter what happens. and thats exactly what he did :100: for ppl who are vulnerable, i want autumn, jarod and xavier to be safe the most like idc i just want 3 of them to be safe. xavier might be in a bit of trouble tho since the totem pole ppl are voting together for sure hmmm so i need to try to talk to them to sway them from voting xavier. for the plans to avoid battle match? idk i just want them to feel safe around me no matter what. so that if i end up voting them, they're not gonna be bitter at me that much. and i lowkey saved myself with wyatt since wyatt said they wanted to work with me so prays.

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also, i secured an alliance with jarod, autumn and jennet. and a greenhouse alliance with mario, nyx and xavier. the latter hasn't been in the talk like with every greenhouse yet but xavier brought it up to me and i think that it should be great. so fingers crossed!

WILLIAM

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO, going into Round 2 im having a really big struggle..... im seeing THAT I DONT DISLIKE A SINGLE PERSON ON THIS CAST, USUALLY THERE IS AT LEAST ONE BUT NOPE Also we are moving into a Sequester sorta semi safety chain with half vulnerable and half safe cast and lucky me I think Lanie either hated me the most or the least from our Survivor team and decided to give me the Karma twist which gave me safety for the round but made me have to pick the first unsafe out of the whole cast. I think my strategy was to pick someone who didn't talk to me yet (so i had a reason) as well as someone who was sorta loved by most if not all and wasn't a target for it, because I'm thinking if I just fade into the background this round no one would have a need or want to pick me for the Battlematch, i think its safe to assume whoever goes home will pick the person who made them unsafe plus like one other person, so i just have to avoid being that other 1/13 people. As for the vote i have no clue at all, I think maybe Isaac cause i haven't said much to him at all, or maybe Jarod cause i know he is hella busy and prob wont pick me to go into battle..... just not Wyatt or Blake or Kaleigh rn. So like yeah, just gonna pray, not talk around too too much, let people come to me so it doesnt seem like im pushing anyones name and hopefully vote someone i dont love out. yeah so much fun xoxo William F

NYX

So, this round is pretty confusing and difficult to navigate cause not only do we have to vote someone out we have to vote someone out and hope they don't drag us into the battleback. I'm very happy to be safe for the vote since at least then i'll have a chance to battleback in a comp. So, for this vote I can't vote Autumn since she gave me safety, I can't vote Jarod since he took one for the team, I can't vote Xavier cause of the gh alliance, I can't vote Blake due to our bonding on tau ceti, so my only real options for this vote are Isaac, Wyatt, and Kaleigh. If I had my way i'd just pile the votes on wyatt and get them out now but it's not that easy because i haven't talked as much and they could see that as incentive to drag me in. Of course all the people I just mentioned I don't wanna vote for I wanna save because that means they'll be willing to work with me to some capacity. To avoid the battle match is the hardest part cause people can be very impulsive with their decisions and heat of the moment always catches people off guard. My best bet is just not to make too many promises and to just tell the truth and hopefully that'll be enough to gain their respect.

CAPTAIN

besties.. i don't know what i'm doing. its between wyatt and kaleigh methinks but wyatt keeps dropping my name everywhere and i don't really like it. idk if they get eliminated, if they would put me in the battle or not. but like if they're this messy, i'm voting them for sure. also sobs kaleigh is so cute.

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prays for me DR! sign: captain.

LINDSAY

bro no one wants to throw out a name because of the battle drag twist so it's three hours to tribal and i dont know who the fuck to vote my gut is telling me jarod but i am absolutely not letting jarod drag that shit back to me definitely not autumn i dont know like. i'm working the tightest with william, daisy and wyatt weirdly enough and none of us have heard anything so i just. ?????

MARIO

I AM SAFE!!! I AM NOT SECOND BOOT AGAIN

AUTUMN

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IT WONT LET ME PUT AUDIO FILES IN!!! But when Monty puts them all together later this season I hope yall enjoy haha

XAVIER

Ok this vote is messy. It started out with Jarod and the Sequester group wanting to vote Kaleigh. They got people on board, and it looked good. Until Wyatt made that alliance chat. And of course the vote shifted to Isaac. But the Sequester group won't vote Isaac. Mario voted Autumn. Captain voted Wyatt. I am voting Kaleigh because I haven't spoken to her much. But I want the vote to go Isaac's way - it breaks up Sequester, and he won't think it was me, so safe from the battle. So it may be 5 on Kaleigh, unless the other people in that Alliance chat are not being honest as well. Ha ha. As long as it's not me, right?!

LINDSAY

wyatt made a voting block?? and didn't include me?? the person with no connection to isaac who they kept safe and would have probably voted with them???? wh ok i guess my vote is on wyatt tonight tf

NYX

So, this round is a clusterfuck of scrambling cause no one wants to get pulled into the battleback and potentially lose there. I just don't wanna go home even earlier than last time because my game has just been so much better and to lose it this way would be fucking devastating. i just want to win so badly so im just hoping i can maneuver this right

LINDSAY

"you know that this is anonymous right" DAISY HELP NO I DIDNT FUCK OK I DONT KNOW WHAT IM DOING WHAT IS HAPPENING WHERE AM I

XAVIER

WHAT JUST HAPPENED. I know Captain voted for Wyatt. Maybe Captain is more influential than I thought? Why did people flip? Because of the alliance chat? It was too much? And why wasn't I included in the flip vote? Agh. Time to make my own rules here.

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I am still shookt

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DAISY

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#cowsecondchance #episodes

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bluebirdzykaysies · 3 years

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5.14 - day before momma leaves

Goddamnit I hate to admit it but I’m already thinking and crying like a baby in my head once my mom leaves me to go back home to sf. the feeling is mutual like melissa said cause she’ll probably be just as a wreck and all this time I’ve been spending with her, I’m cherishing even more. I’ve never felt like this and Victoria said the same thing; expecting that while I transition. But everyone needs to experience this. I DO, especially. I need the time away for a bit to miss them and I already miss those interactions with my brothers too of just lounging in the living room watching NBA games all night, or youtube videos like its judyslife or ustheduo.

Our lives have changed already and itll be so hard as I am bawling my eyes out, sitting in my newly mounted dining table my mom and I put together, facing outwards my window with the Chicago sun, beaming through at a whopping 54 degrees.

This is my life now, I will be on my own and making decisions on my own. Ive told a few folks that I’m sad yet annoyed my moms time here was a bit much. But I know it was perfect for what it is. We’ve been tired each and everytime, her actions speak volumes and our conversations arent as deep as I want, but I know this quality time was one that will impact my life forever. Even though I hate to admit it or will say this to her face. i love my mom. so much, she means so much to me and my brothers. The amount of things she does unselfishly aka drive my freaking car with just her and hector for 5 days cross country. do what she did to make me help settle, there is no one like her. and I will forever appreciate her and love her.

She is opinionated and still felt like I couldnt decide for myself but this will be also a time where I speak up and use my voice. Saying NO.

ugh the tears keep falling down but some highlights from this past week were:

- Silly vlog videos that I actually may put together when I get the time

- 5/6; arrived - went to container store to buy my elfa shelving for my closet. Super nice lady that worked there Hector spoke to. Went to world market to check out their furniture and standing mirrors. TJ Maxx/HomeGoods and picked up some bathroom essentials, shower curtain, mats and beddings, Facetimed Yan/Ronz/Brent+Rick at night (10pm CST)

Mom stayed with Hector at Courtyard Marriot til Saturday 5/8. So I wanted to stay at the apartment for the first time alone and enjoy the moment and soak it all in. Parking at my garage alone, randomly waking up to the SUNRISE at 545am and just being in awe of my new city... I could just cry

Didn’t get my wifi set up yet so the struggle was real a bit. The air mattress we got from costco has been tough to sleep on but eventually Ill get my mattress. Just have been torn with my furniture not being here since everything was rushed and happened so quickly. Learnings from the move thus far:

-Write a damn list, I DID NOT. Aka thats why a bunch of junk and unnecessary things were with my mom and hector in the car. All couldve been bought here. I ocouldve taken more clothes and shoes

-Alot of my clothes aka my favorite jean jacket and pink/mauve henley was left at home. My running shoes - I decided not to prioritize idk fucking why *rolls eyes* and alot of my other valuables. Brendan is nice enough to ship it. Its not worth to buy a RT flight and go there and take it all back with me... no. :( I would though tbh if I was in LA. lol make couple trips but I’m far enough that its like.... whewww is it worth but one day I will come back and visit. For now, its slated for Oct

5/7 Friday; I had it off started the day late at 12pm and booked my mom, hector and myself tickets to the skydeck. my mom was HILARIOUS, she was scared at first and thought it would be a huge platform to see under but once she saw its just a small piece of glass over 105 floors, it wasnt THAT bad. Her and hector are hilarious together and annoying a little LOL. but I guess they’re cute

Went to Wrigley Field while there was a game and that was an experience. Fans at the top of their houses, Security all over the block, streets closed, fans everywhere. Its such a historical building in the middle of a freaking neighborhood so it made itself unique vs att/oracle park being so secluded down in mission bay.

RPM Steak for dinner in River North. Valet’d the car and Hector treated us to a Missouri Steak? it was bomb though but I wanted Medium and he wanted medium rare... cream of spinach, mac and cheese, asparagus and for dessert topped with a Baked Alaskan. Whatever that is. (It was good) and my first time trying it.. me and mom. Our waitor was a nice lady in her 30s, gave me tori kelly vibes. Then another worker stopped by our table who looked filipino for sure (Rox’s ex Dennis look a like) but I already for got his name. He told us how he lived in West Town too and would eat at this bomb restaurant called “Uncle Mikes” maybe the ‘superstar’ of chicago :) hectors jokes were a bit much saying climbing up the coconut tree and asking if he can make halo halo in the back for dessert. No sir....

5/8 Saturday; Plan was to visit Macys downtown to check out furniture at around 930am. But they werent open til 11am. We checked out the Bean at Millenium Park and my mom got to see all the tulips and flowers. We waited in line for a while at Stans Donuts since Wildberry was just too WILD and packed, so we walked a block down and had ourselves some coffee and donuts for the day. After we headed to Macys and were greeted by a tall man name Hilary. he’s THEEE BEST. he knew we didnt have to buy anything from him at macys but he’s such a sales guy and has been in this business for so long that he kept tlaking about Quality of furniture and making yourself feel comfy and at home. Being in a small apt, or living out alone for the first time, separating each section once winter hits so you’re not bored out of your mind in the small place. He was so friendly and nice, I took his business card. Went to Ashley’s on the way to the airport and got gas. Feel in love with the small dinette table they had but the one I’m sitting on now I feel like is just perfect. Soletren couch will forever be out of stock and I will never let this go :( honestly dont know how itll fit in my door but i guess i will settle for something reasonable and decent in size

IVE BEEN SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY. . . . . . . I cant even. I got paid today so todays check will be sponsoring all of my credit card funds. Gna just pay it off in full so I dont have to deal with it. But going forward a budget will be set. and luckily some of the things I bought work can reimburse so I’ll do expenses sunday perhaps.

Saturday evening after dropping off hector, we did errands in the suburbs and went to a walmart. a bit ghetto lookin but its fine. Decided to go to costco after but had an incidentn with this white man who bumped my car and didnt apologize. I was going to say something but we’re so far out in the suburbs Idk what the hell he wouldve done to me. And if they’re racist out there. took the long way home and it was prob not through the safest neighbor hoods but my mom didnt have to know since traffic on the freeway was just ALOT. omg and the roads are just so bumpy, my poor car. Becca said she has a guy at a shop her family always goes to so hopefuully I wont need him but just nice to know the option is there.

Went to the costco up by roscoe village and bought food and more essentials like medicine i have a whole pharmacy. again throughout all this, my mom is the MVP. I wouldve been like, Ill go get it when I need it vs mom stocking up beforehand. We ended up setting my living room with a japanese style seating using my elfa shelving as the table and a towel over it. Leftovers from RPM for dinner and ribs/salad from costco. (I keep eating, and we’re not walking alot so....... I’m def gaining wait and will need to lose this asap)

I’ll be back more to cover this past week; mothers day, ikea, seafood city, hanging with becca, azul mariscos, drunk at ross and dollar tree, pants falling (mom) unbuttoned pants cuz we’re so ‘stuffffffed’ hanging with the boys via facetime cause I do miss them :( I need to havea schedule with them.

kk toodles. time to go back to work. no more crying (maybe) then an architecture tour with my mom <3 and dinner at a steakhouse at MJ’s on Michigan Ave BYeeeee

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cow3survivor · 3 years

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Ep. 6: “So Many Ways This Could Backfire” - Jennet

JENNET

so the plan worked out great except jabari said that “now jake will know the truth” in front of daisy and the other tribemates🥺 i was hoping that i could pin this on lindsay so that once we merged i could lie about it and have lindsay be out next before the merge... this is truly sickening idk what to do

(a little later)

feeling really bad... is it my fault that jake forced me into a f3 with jabari who ive barely spoken with??? idk i feel like not only did i betray her but i betrayed a black woman and that makes me sick to my stomach.... hoping that i made the right choice and this propels me further in the game🥺 i honestly hated having to do that but maybe if ethan and sam have tribal connections left, when we merge, maybe we will be able to stick together and he’ll also help connect me

JESSICA

I GOT THE IDOL! It is good for 4 rounds and I still have my vote. And just in time as we are swapping into 3 tribes of 5 like I thought..... wow my psychic abilities! Jabari got voted out at tribal and I'm sad. I didn't know her but I think she was new to orgs and I really wanted to play with her! Plus she volunteered to do the tiebreaker for her tribe so I thought they'd keep her due to that. Time for a swap lets kick this game into gear!

JENNET

hoping jake isnt on the same tribe as daisy or lindsay

(a little later)

also hoping im on a tribe of winners so i never make it to tribal bc i DEFINITELY was/am the weakest link☠️

MIKEY

so. I FUCKING HATE THIS NEW TRIBE. THEY PICKING OFF ALL THE GOOD ORIGINAL CALUMMA MEMBERS AND MY GIRL JABARI LITERALLY JUST LEFT??? FUCK YOU JENNET. I KNOW THIS IS BECAUSE OF YOU! But anyways, its me and jake vs all OG (insert other tribes name) and i think I'm going next lool fuck ME. this is very sad indeed and idk im upset but ima try my mf hardest

JAKE

https://youtu.be/OzrGekDCG8I xoxo gossip girl

JENNET

jones and ethan on my tribe?? *blushes sm*

(a little later)

nervous about this tribe... ive pulled off three blindsides that ive helped orchestrate so if like if someone really wanted to look deeper into it.... they would be able to make a target out of me bc of it. definitely worried

(after cooking a fish)

this is basically an allstar team. everybody on here is a heavy hitter and that makes me worried bc if i wasnt the weakest link before, i definitely am now. wishing we had gotten rid of lindsay instead of jabari bc we just made another team stronger but it is what it is i guess

JONES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbTUvzatQrw

JESSICA

Today's song is "Ribs" by Lorde because I have played it on repeat all morning. Also I forget if I said for my last confessional but that song was "Sober", also by Lorde. Basically I love Lorde and my life is better because of it. This swap worked out super well for me! I really said in my host chat "Could I please be put on a tribe with Shane and Daisy?" and the hosts simply said "Okay". I have my final 3 back together and we also have Lindsay and Lovelis. Lindsay seems really cool so far and Lovelis and I have a good thing going so I feel very confident on this tribe. I really hope we do not lose because honestly? I don't want to vote out Lindsay at all. I like that she is active and she seems like someone who really is putting in effort whereas Lovelis, as much as I like him, just really hasn't been here. I would rather play this game with people who are more active so to me it's like.... Lindsay is absolutely not the obvious vote if we lose. Not even a bit! I'd love to do with her what I did with Mikey and make a separate f2 so that when we merge, she's someone who will keep the target off of me. I didn't tell my alliance about the idol because honestly I just don't anticipate using it at all. It expires so soon and I really only took it so that no one else would end up having it. Also.... I don't know, I didn't tell them right away because I was a bit busy at the moment we swapped and now it feels suspicious if I do tell them? Also who knows, maybe they would not find my story believable and think I have an idol up to final 5 which I just don't want! I'd rather throw the idol into the sea so it causes no problems. This immunity challenge is an interesting one. If I knew what was in the boxes, I would probably bet more, but I bet some of those boxes have bad things or nothing in them and I simply do not want that. If I had to guess, one has the other half to that idol, one probably has an idol clue, another maybe has extra idol searches.... maybe another has an idol nullifier? Or a vote peek? Really none of these are things that I need. They're all cool but I'd rather be immune thanks! As far as how I feel in the game, I really do want the Maples to be f3. I'd rather be at the end with my alliance and lose than flip and be there without them. Ummmm what other thoughts do I have.................... I think that might be it. My mind is empty but I'm still moving forward.

LINDSAY

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L5Nzch65XLD_njxnIxLKwqUs5vqXcYot/view?usp=drivesdk

JESSICA

Also if we lose this immunity....... I'll be mad because I bet 0 on everything and I am STAYING that way!

JENNET

feeling increasingly bad for voting out jabari /:: idk it doesnt sit right with me in the grand scheme of things. obviously its a game but the fact that i genuinely upset somebody to that extent is so sick. idec that we’re going to tribal, i want to be voted out

ETHAN

3 tribals in a row... I don't for a freaking second believe that Jones and Nicol "made a mistake" with their bidding. This feels like throwing, and if it is, it means that: 1. they feel comfortable enough with Jennet to have a majority 2. they feel comfortable enough with Pete to have a majority 3. it doesn't matter anyway, they now have 2 boxes and potentially an idol or two they could use Either way, this is a freaking sucky situation, and Pete is being super sketchy. People keep making bad play after bad play so honestly, it is hard for me because I keep assuming that they will be doing all of these things to throw the wool over my eyes when they actually aren't doing anything.

JENNET

im annoyed im frustrated and im angry... why were so many points used?

(a little later)

here i am... again... in the middle guys vs girls.... um this sucks bc like me ethan pete didnt use alot of points and nicole and jones did so thats like sucky bc initially i wanted pete gone but like now theres no reason for it to be him

(after soaking in the sun)

nicole says that pippa told her to wait to see whats in the box, so that could mean tribal or that could wait next round. or what if its a comeback power? i literally have no idea what to do

(after making a pillow out of leaves)

okay so the plan is, we get to tribal. me ethan and pete vote for nicole. jones and nicole vote for pete. nicole uses immunity on herself, pete goes home. there are so many ways this could backfire and honestly if it sends me home than im okay with that. i just hate going to tribal so many times in a row

MADISON

I AM FREE FROM MY BROOKESIA PRISON. Current tribe dynamic on Furcifer: me/Sammy have been on the same tribe this whole time, me/Sammy/Jake were just on swap Brookesia, and i know Sam from OG Brookesia so the only person i'm just now meeting is Mikey and that stresses me out so much less than if we had merged or something. My gut is telling me that the idol is long gone and searching might just get me annoyed before it gets me an idol. On the upside, i still have time to find one if it's it out there because i highly doubt I'll be in trouble anytime soon the way my tribe keeps winning everything. ALSO: i only said that i thought Calumma would lose because Shane was on that tribe and i just felt like he would go big or go home but that's an issue to address when our paths cross again. If our tribe ends up going to tribal sometime soon, i would hope it would be the obvious choice to vote Mikey seeing as how i know him the least but idk maybe thats wishful thinking i dont want it to come to that.

SAMMY

Mikey has my heart on this tribe....YUP I really just wanna keep all the fun ppl...im missing daisy:// umm I did not bid on a single thing and I kind of regret it but also??? At least I am safe from tribal...but damn I really should have bid huh? Anyways not much is going on...ready to start playing a more individual game tho hehe

SHANE

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-WUq5wfYK3Xb1Y-KNZptfyagwvSff4cd

NICOLE

I cannot believe I risked being voted out only to NOT BE ABLE TO PLAY NEXT IMMUNITY!!!!!!! what a round, I'm so sad. But I hope I stay.

DAISY

from f15 https://youtu.be/-_meWPNctO0

PETE

it’s literally... dude.. why can’t i just float to a merge whyyYYYYYYYYyyYyYyyyYyYy does it AAAALWAYS have to be so COMPLICATED like this is it this is the time im mufuckin ouutttiiieeeeeee that challenge was clearly thrown so like ✌🏼 it was fuuuun i hope y’all liked me enough to bring me back for whatever the next chameleon returnees thingy is uwu

(after being attacked by bees)

i know i’m paranoid and every tribal i feel sick to my stomach but nobody has talked to me today, except ethan about how fucked we are, it’s half an hour before tribal and no one really seems like they want to work with me. i still haven’t heard a name

TRIBAL COUNCIL

youtube

PETE EXIT INTERVIEW

youtube

#cowsurvivor #confessionals

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marvelbuilt · 6 years

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you guys are going to think im a hoe but im gonna list the potential boys in my life. also just like so you dont think im really slutty?? i have never gone the entire way with any of these dates.

andrew - my ex lmao. okay so this is like lowkey never gonna happen but we still see each other and talk and like we have a kitten together so like it’s having a kid lite so we still see each other and the boy he left me for in january after 2 years, broke up with him in a month and we hug and they’re lingering hugs? but again like prolly never gonna happen bc he’s a DISASTER and hooks up with everyone.

dylan - okay lowkey this kid would have probably been my first choice? we started talking and kind of stopped for some reason and then i saw him on grindr when i was home bc he lives closer to my hometown than my school but anyways we’re both like relationship oriented and like our first date went so well?? like he had told me prior to coming that he wasn’t ready for a relationship and i was like okay well i mean im probably not either bc it was kind of like a month or two after andrew but he BOUGHT ME FLOWERS??? and i cooked him dinner and we like cuddled and made out and stuff and it was so nice. he’s part of that school that did 13 reasons why not and he like goes to suicide prevention conferences and he’s going to be going to a different university than me but it’s like technically better than mine and he’s so smart?? and our second date was good as well and idk? i like him so much and we snapchat everyday. but he stopped calling me cutie? and i still call him that and sometimes he calls me “b” but iDEK like i think he’s probably talking to other boys or something and he always avoids when i ask if we can hangout again but hes always working now so idk.

andrew - okay this is another andrew and he lives in the town next to mine and he works at the capital of my state and he like studied political science and our politics are very similar and we are just similar in general. his parents are trump supporters so that’s yikes. also he’s not out to his family at all WONDER WHY and he’s very?? like he plays soccer ALL THE TIME. anyways aside from that, our personalities are very similar and we hung out like 4 times in a row and idk? he’s kinda cheap ngl, but i can’t blame him too much bc we are young still. but anyways all the dates went well and it seemed like we were really into each other. then i had finals so i was like yo i cant hang out until theyre over. and then the week after, i got sick so i didnt want to hang out and then like he was playing soccer all the time? and then he got sick? and now like? ugh he’s the worst texter and i texted him and asked him i did something wrong or anything and he was like no of course not im just busy and soccer and then he did say anything else? like jfc i dont want to do all the chasing so i just havent texted him in like a week or 2 and so i dont even know? like everything was fine but he’s such a boy when it comes to texting i fucking cant

patrick - okay this kid omfg probably never going to happen but i just want to talk about it. so this kid is in my program at school and so we started talking bc grindr and we matched on tinder and he’s cute and really smart. so anyways, the weird thing was that i literally never met the kid and he’s in the same residential college as me and like we’re in the same grade? so ODD right? well anyways i tried to schedule a date about 800 fucking times and he cancelled so many times omfg. like constantly cancelling. and he was really sweet to me and stuff over messaging. so school FINALLY ends and im like okay maybe NOW we can have a date. he cancelled a couple more times and FINALLY he’s like okay sure. so he picked me up from work, which was lowkey nice, but then we went to starbucks and he like?? spent most of the date not understanding why anyone would major in my major and how international relations and arabic are the most important majors and how he’s going to get such a good job and like he doesn’t understand why some things need to be equal and he’s like “ive never voted republican but” and im just like jfc i cant handle you insulting my major. but outside of my major, he was nice enough i guess? he’s hot so there’s that but he then just dropped me off and now he’s in jordan until like august and he’s like “yeah i’ll hit you up when i get back so we can hang out again” LIKE LMAO DONT FUCKING LIE. and he like didn’t respond to my message about adding him on social media after the date so lol this kid is like whatever

skyler - okay skyler was the date i had last night and i just met him last night? and omfg i dont think ive ever met someone more different from me that was still gay? okay so this kid is my age, but he goes to the community college, so i hadn’t met him until just recently. so he’s like? nice af. he’s half-mexican, half-white (this comes into play later) and from a small town. but omfg, we got lots to discuss. so he openly considers himself conservative. said that “if i could choose to be straight, i would be”, said quote “i dont believe in pride parades and i dont fuck with blm” AND IM STRAIGHT CRINGEING and like? i presented my arguments in a civil manner im so proud of myself for not popping off but like he listened and everything but i dont think i changed his mind at all because lol the hardest thing to do ever. anyways, super sweet to me, and very relationship oriented. he gave me a hickey last night whoops luckily it’s on my collarbone so people wont see it. but anyways im really worried that he’s moving too fast at this point? and he like is SO different like he called himself “a manly gay” and im just like fuck off honestly bc that’s so not me and THATS OKAY TO NOT BE A MANLY GAY. and he said he agreed. some of my friends think that maybe i can “educate him” or change his mind. but idk guys this might just be a little too different and im really worried that he mightve voted trump or something and im sorry but i let shit like that ruin relationships bc politics?? it’s my world and i just cant handle people who dont study what i study telling me im wrong about stuff i study? and like if you’re a half-mexican gay man idk how you can be conservative but go off sis be a tree for deforestation. but anyways NOW HE’S TEXTING ME ABOUT A SECOND DATE AND ASKED IF I WOULD GO TO A CLUB? WHICH IS SO NOT MY SCENE. ugh he’s super sweet to me personally but i just think we might just be too different.

SO BASICALLY BOYS ARE JUST SO FUCKED AND I AM JUST LIKE WHAT DO I DO HONESTLY LIKE THE BOYS I LIKE? DONT LIKE ME OR ARE FLAKY AF OR THEY’RE SO DIFFERENT COMPARED TO ME AND I JUST DONT KNOW HOW DIFFERENT I CAN HANDLE PLEASE HELP ME

also i know someones gonna be like “YOU AINT NEED NO MAN” you’re right karen i dont but dating is lowkey fun but now im just conflicted about all of these things i could scream. like i am just getting back out there and seeing where things go and i really dont see what’s wrong with that

#☼ // ᵒᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵃᵛᵉᶰᵍᶦᶰᵍ (ooc)#lowkey save me #LOWKEY DONT JUDGE ME #i needed to get this off my chest

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survivorforestofhorrors · 4 years

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Episode 4: what's the harm in a lil flirting - Liam

Me @ this swap when I’m in such a GREAT position on this Cat tribe. Literally for one, my name was never out considering everyone asked me for what names I’ve heard. Then two, I literally have two alliances which none of them have the same people. And they weren’t groups I made, people came to me wanting me in them lmao. The first one is me, Daulton, Livingston, and Keaton. Then the second one is me, Jesse, and Maynor. I also have a pretty good relationship with Dan and me and Josh have gotten along well so far. If Zach wasn’t exiled, I definitely could have been close with him too. It’s whatever, at least I have people who have trust in me moving into this swap which is all I need. And I got some peeps on this other tribe who I worked with at the first tribal so this could be good.

So, just when the cat lovers were really starting to feel like a family, we end up getting swapped. Apparently the people that did the best in each puzzle category last round became team captains, and Dan chose me thank GOD. I trust Dan a lot, and I’m glad he sees me as an asset to his game and wants me on his tribe. I also have Livingston from OG Macneil, so that’s good because him and I had the alliance with Grace and Keaton. Hopefully they are good over their tribes, and we make it back together again. The new tribe, the Morgan Tribe, is the tribe I care the least about just based on who’s on it. I obviously want Keaton to make it through, and I like Jessie a lot, but the other 4 are a little less important to my game. The new Samhain tribe is honestly iconic too, and I want Macneil and Samhain to win immunity. Which speaking of immunity, it’s a fucking creative challenge which I do not excel in at all. I just hope the other people on this tribe are good at creative challenges or we’re screwed.

a tribe swap!!!! spicy. I really was not expecting that one, so good on you hosts for shaking things up. So my strategy for the swap was to pick everyone I was close with originally lmao. very complex strategy, I know. I will accept player of the season now. But seriously, I wanted to pick people that I felt would want to work with me and that would not target me specifically if there were to be someone to flip.

I picked Liam because I feel like we connected pretty well on the original 21 person shit show. I had said to him that I wanted to work with him and Nik had told me he was someone to really have on my side. I then picked Livingston because I'm really trying this story arc redemption moment with him from trinity. I also... genuinely like him. I feel like we vibe really well and are upfront with one another about game stuff. I hope he doesn't let the past cloud anything going forward, but for now he's definitely my #1. I then picked Zac because I really got along with him early on as well. A great byproduct of this is that he told me he's super close with Austin, which means thats either information I can exploit, or use to my advantage. If we go to tribal, I could easily target them as a pair, OR join forces with them against someone else. We love accidental connections coming through. Then I picked Daulton because I feel like if I hadn't, he would have been mad. I know what y'all are thinking, why not pick your alliance member Keaton? Well, here's the thing, I don't want to be stuck with the same people all game and really feel like I need to branch out. I also feel like Keaton will understand this better than Livingston, hence picking Livingston over Keaton. Anyway, back to Daulton. Daulton cracks me the fuck up with his blunt delivery. I just have really enjoyed working with him and would love to work with him and livingston moving forward. And that brings us to Austin, who I didn't necessarily pick, but who I was fine with getting. We had some good convos pre swap and I am looking forward to seeing where his heads at in this game.

As far as the challenge is concerned, I think a lot of direction is gonna come from Livingston, which is fine by me. I really am not a creative soul, so I feel like I will be channeling my energy into Livingston's creative process and let him take the wheel. I think we have a good shot of being untouched into the next phase of the game but we'll see. Also, I feel like I basically found the key to all the advantages in the game tonight in my idol search, so trust and believe i'm about to fuck this game up ladies!

I had high hopes from our first new tribes and the way I play is short, simple, and sweet. Tim made a 5 person alliance of people i liked, and i thought that it was good. Liam is extremely solid, brandan is good not great, and Nik is typically okay on a short term basis. But i had my reserves on Nik, and of course Nik saw the opportunity to break me and Tim up, even though we arent this duo who will flip flop, fuck people up, we are old school people, we find our people we roll with them, we get to the end. We're loyal, but we aren't stupid.

The minute I saw Tim was getting a lot of the votes and that it got too quiet, i knew the fix was in. Liam has been our informant and I went out of my comfort zone right into the mainchat ala Nik style. I called them out, and I had the immunity idol. The GTO play (Game theory optimum) would be to let Tim go and play the game by myself and break that perception and have an idol. But I AM LOYAL. I do not let my ride or dies sink in the game. I have never voted tim out of a game nor will i ever let him go home if i have anything to say about it.

We manuevered the vote dynamics, made sure the votes were on him, and we made Nik get to steppin. Moving forward it would have been very tough but now a swap is among us.

So we just swapped, and Tim was tribe captain. Exactly what we needed. Nik was 100% right, all i need is one swap and just a few rounds to mobilize my army and build a coalition. Give me time, and i will break people. Not in a bad way. I need people who will be dedicated, and will never waver, never flip. My militia is called the L&J team. Me, Tim, Liam, thats 3, 3/18 = 1/6. Now we recruit Zach, and we pull in grace. 5/18. 27% of the cast. I begin to like these odds once the numbers dwindle and we keep our people in the game.

I may seem like this menace, but I am extremely calculated and people who give me their word I will return the favor. Me and Tim are loyal people. But if you are halfway with me, or are against me we will fucking murder you in cold blood.

Josh V is the next to go, Brandan worst case if we lose again. We aren't going anywhere anytime soon, we found our people, now we show the game what we can do.

You ever have those moments where you're hyped, but also not hyped at the same time? Well this is one of those times. I got a fucking idol!!!! but I also earned our tribe a disadvantage in the challenge in the process. So that basically means to me that you probably get a disadvantage any time you get an advantage. or are in the process of getting an advantage. So that means Tim probably got pretty close to getting something, or got something. I'm not sure if that means Zach got an advantage (exile) or if that was his disadvantage? Idk, I'm fucking nervous now, we're gonna have to pull out all the stops for the challenge.

My worry about the challenge is that we don't really have a story line, we just have the slasher concept. I mean, realistically, I would love to have my idol for myself later in the game, but I would also rather get rid of it if we lose this comp because of my disadvantage... I'm very nervous now, and I think I fucked my game up with this whole idol search business. I hate everything lmao. Well played hosts, well played.

youtube

I feel so fucking guilty. I know there’s probably a bunch of people in here laughing at me and saying I’m an idiot, but I literally didn’t mean to get a fucking disadvantage. I’m really considering just leaving zac or Livingston my idol and getting voted out. I’m so fucking mad at myself.

So I’m feeling more into the game today now that I’ve slept on it. My plan is to fucking stay by any means necessary. I spoke with Livingston just now and told him about my idol. Obviously I know that could come back and bite me in the ass, but frankly I’m playing the idol tonight if I’m in danger or not so fuck y’all. But anyway, I do trust Livingston more than anyone else here. We have a good rapport and I know he’s a loyal guy. So lettuce pray that everything works out and I can idol out a big threat hehehe

Tribal in two hours. It’s me or zac. I’m voting zac and I’m playing my idol so square up with your idol boo

Well Well Well... I'm not having a good day! I heard it's Zac going... I REFUSE! He will not be going on my watch! Zac is an ICON who I love and adore! I was LITERALLY crying at the thought of voting him out so imma fight for him! I REALLY don't wanna lose anyone on this tribe but especially Zac!

In more positive news Daulton and I are the first Showmance of the season! I've always thought Daulton was cute so what's the harm in a lil flirting ☺️

Meep merp beep. Ive been soo not into the game that i need to focus again. I want to do well in this game but ill end up just letting myself down as always.

Soo im haply our trailer won immunity. Im safe. 😊

Oh, poor Liam. :( He really doesn’t want Zac to be the vote tonight, but I think it’s pretty set in stone at this point unless and Idol is played. I don’t want to sound cocky though because I realize anything can happen, but I feel like Livingston, Austin, and I in addition to Dan are all on board to vote Zac. Liam feels like it’ll be a 3-3 vote which I’m not sure how that will play out unless Austin flips. I really don’t want to go to rocks this early in the game, but I told Dan I wouldn’t write his name, so if Livingston wants to flip, that’s on him, but I just don’t think I can do it. I just hope it is 4-2.

So we won immunity for once with the videos! Really don’t appreciate the hating on my editing skills/lack of appearance in the video @judges. It was editing or being filmed and I choose editing haha. Anyway, I’m feeling pretty comfortable with this group. Really hoping we don’t lose again. Splitting into 3 tribes really helps give us a chance. I like everyone on my tribe but they’re also super super quiet and we only talk during challenges which is a bit awkward...

#Forest of Horrors #Survivor #Episode 4

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a-baleful-howl · 7 years

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This is Not a Love Story: part 2

Check out or refresh with Part 1 here.

To tell a good love story on screen, scenes, dialogue, camera angles and shots are important. Usually you have lots of quiet "get to know you" moments. Or single shots showing one of the love interests reactions. You need to give obvious and believable reasons for them to be falling in love. Television caters to the lowest common denominator for exposition. Usually its the big plot twists and mastermind moments that are subtle little easter egg hints.

When you compare the scenes between Jon and Sansa in S6, to the Jon and Dany scenes in S7, there is a big contrast. And the audience picked up on it, and thats why we now have a lot of Jonsa shippers after S6. People speak in body language, and movie language helps audiences to pick up on that. If you surprise your audience with a romance that wasn't well built up, you're audience will be colder to the idea and it will not feel believable. Or, the love story will not be the main focus, instead perhaps the conflict and the repercussions of it will be. It would not be a love story.

I am not sold on really anything right now. Ive said it before and I'll say it again. Im not sold on undercover!Jon. I'm not sold on horny!Jon. I'm not sold on Jon being in or out of love right now, either. It could go so many ways. But, after months of doing research on how to write romance for my own books and stories, I know when I see a well written romance vs a bad one. And I sure hope this badly written romance isnt the victim of a rushed season or cocky writers.

I definitely got the feeling from S6 that Kit was given direction that he was slowly falling in love with his "sister" and super conflicted about it. I know Kit can do it. I know he can - so why are we not seeing it here? He could be fighting against the idea of a relationship because he has bigger things to worry about (See: Night King) but what would he be falling in love with?? Right now, the only conceivable answer would be "her looks" - which is just....infuriating. Enraging. Just... jaw droppingly maddening.

Looks can be a starting point - yes. But once Jon sees more and more of who Dany really is, theres just no way he would fall in love. They have totally separate goals. Old, pre-crow Jon would have looked at Dany and just laughed.

So have the scenes theyve shared so far shown us how they would possibly fall in love? Let's see.

Directly after the power-struggle cave scene, we have Jon and Dany exit the cave onto the beach where Dany gets some bad news.

She flips out. Jon and Davos stand awkwardly by while mommy Dany and daddy Tyrion fight at the dinner table. When Dany turns around to bite Tyrions head off, Jon steps several steps back. She is frightening everyone else on that beach. This is a display of Dany's temperamental behavior. She is angry and turning against someone who was supposed to be her most trusted advisor. Her loyalty and diplomacy is hanging by a thread. She is not as calm and level headed as everyone would want you to believe. She will turn against anyone, at anytime.

She accuses Tyrion of being too attached to his family. Who else thinks family is super important? Jon, of course. He sees Dany basically say "fuck family" and threaten Tyrion, her hand, for putting family over her. Apparently, the only one allowed to be sentimental towards family is her?

She is worked up in such a rage over starting to lose her war that she immediately goes into the "dark place". Fire and blood. Tyrion tries to calm her down but she bites his head off more.

Emilia says in the BTS, "Every time that things go wrong, more Targaryen comes out. More fire comes out."

She's being rude to Tyrion, embarrassing him in front of others, disrespecting his advice. We have seen this in the past - Dany DOES NOT like being told what to do. More often than not she completely disregards her advisors advice, does what she wants to anyway, and it comes back to bite her in the end. Every season highlights a direct piece of advice she ignores and how it fails horribly. Why hasnt she learned her lesson by now? Because she never admits when she fucks up and learn from her mistakes.

Then she turns her attention to Jon when Tyrion doesn't tell her what she wants to hear.

Dany has shown Jon little, if any, respect since he arrived. Being cold, distant, imprisoning him, not calling him by his appointed title, only offering to help if she gets something in return, etc. So why does she ask him for his advice? Its surprising and makes little sense. And Jon does not want to get in the middle of this. This isn't his war, thats not why he came, and he just saw how she treats her advisors. But she's insistent. She wants advice from someone different.

Back to the dragons. He uses them to take a stab in the dark about how/why she has so many followers. He makes that great speech that boils down to "don't be more of the same. Be different." He's also taking a little bit of his own story here. He came back from the dead, did something impossible, and is trying to be a different ruler for his Kingdom than what they've seen before.

What's odd is that Jon visually calms her. She doesnt bite his head off for saying pretty much the same thing as Tyrion. She's a little more receptive to his advice. She already likes him more than Tyrion. Her eyes soften, she doesnt yell.

But as we see later, she didn't really take the advice to heart. Yes, she didnt storm Kings Landing with her dragons and kill thousands of innocent people - but she does go off immediately to kills soldiers, burns loot and frightens people into bowing to her. Thats not what Jon said to do, either.

So we see Dany softening to Jon. He made it about her dragons - and *whew boy* is that a way to get to her heart. He praised her to be this savior she wants to be. So, this is another hint that Dany is coming to like him and respect him. But where are the signs for Jon feeling the same?

He is frightened of her when she has her tantrum. He only answers when she insists. He wants no part of this. He sees her basically say "fuck family", turn on her most trusted advisor, flirt with a dark place and do what she wants anyway. Not attractive qualities for Jon. They are still opposites. She is still preoccupied with her quest for power.

She flies off, and then we see Jon and Davos walking around on Dragonstone, probably relaxed because Her Grace is gone for the moment.

Davos makes a comment about how Jon has been staring at her "good heart."

1. What have we seen yet, that would make Jon think she has a "good heart"? Shes been cold, uncooperative, prone to anger and entitled.

2. When have we ever seen Jon look at her boobs? In the cave, he keeps his eye line at her face/eyes. On the beach they were too busy backing away from her yelling to even look at her chest. In the throne room, any attraction he might have felt when first seeing her was eclipsed by her personality and attitude.

3. This is weird exposition to try and force the audience into thinking Jon is attracted to her. You should not have to spell out a romantic attraction. Looks and camera angles and dialogue should do it for you. We're watching film, not listening to a radio show.

Maybe this was a way of the writers spelling out why Jon is avoiding an attraction? "Theres no time for that". He is single-minded with the fight against the Night King. He's not open to the idea of romance.

Then, Jon reenforces this idea that he doesn't trust Dany at all. He is hesitant to believe she respects her subordinates because that is the opposite of everything he's seen so far. He's a King and she has imprisoned him against his will.

But Missandei's response gives him a little bit of insight into why people love and follow Dany. He had not seen it himself before Missandei spelled it out for him. He's been imprisoned, he's seen her be cold when he asked if she believed him, and he's seen her turn against Tyrion. He doesnt necessarily believe it, but he listens to Missandei.

This is why his speech on the beach made no sense to me. Why have him give that speech before he talks to Missandei or another one of her followers? Where did he get that speech from? Its almost an identical speech to Missandeis. And if he believed that, and came to that conclusion before talking to Missandei, then why is he doubtful of Dany's "good heart" in letting Missandei leave or Dany giving hope to her followers?

It would have made more sense to have him talk to a follower first, before his speech on the beach about Dany making "impossible things happen." Unless he came to that conclusion on his own - but then why ask Missandei? Why look so reluctant to open up to her? It makes no sense.

Immediately following is the Theon scene. Honestly, the more I rewatch this scene, the more I realized I love it more than the LF crypt scene. Oh god, the nuances. Jon's quivering rage voice. His dead eyes, which are more expressive than we get to see lately. Holy crap I love this scene.

But this, I guess, is also important to show Jon what kind of rag-tag gang Dany has as her allies now. Theon was such a little shit - growing up and when he betrayed Robb. It speaks to the type of person Dany is that she has this guy on her side.

Kit says in BTS "I think he's willing to forgive anyone if they are willing to help fight against the Night King."

But Jon explicitly says he is only sparing Theons life because of what he did for Sansa. Theon helped her escape. He sacrificed himself to save her - to take her away from that awful place. I'm sure Sansa and Jon have had many conversations since her escape about what Theon did. And not only did Theon tell Sansa that he didnt kill Bran and Rickon - that he murdered two innocent farmer boys, instead - but they got the proof in Rickon on the battlefield and Sam seeing Bran beyond the wall.

But Theon still did horrible things. He's still a slimey person in Jon's eyes. And here he is, on Dragonstone, fighting for Dany. What does that say to the company she keeps? That shes allied with morally questionable people? Or that she's a forgiving person, with a weakness for "cripples, bastards and broken things"? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Theon asks where she is, and Jon does not look happy or okay with the answer.

So far, we're in episode 4 of 7 and there is no reason for Jon to be attracted to Dany. He has seen bad sides of her. He has given her a few chances to show any good side, and she doesn't.

Dany is intrigued by him. He's kind and different. She asks for his opinion. His advice seems to calm her. He's played to her good side. So we can see her starting to soften.

But Jon is not really intrigued by her. He wanted to go home. He's been held against his will. She is stuck on this quest for power. She is hot-headed, selfish, and short sighted. He has seen very little redeeming qualities to warm up to her. He just wants his dragonglass and to GTFO. So far, she has only agreed to help IF he bends the knee. She wont help simply to save people. She wont help because of her "good heart". She wants his power and his kingdom in return. Not what he was hoping.

So then we have Dany coming back to Dragonstone after scaring people into bending the knee. The Tarlys dont, so she burns them to a crisp. She aint playing around.

Jon is just standing out on a cliff, in his cloak, probably brooding some more? Waiting for her? Welcoming party? Why is he out there?

And then we have a moment between him and her dragon. This is a moment ONLY between him and her dragon. Dany is just a spectator here.

He is frightened of the dragon, but YOLOs and faces his fear. He is literally facing his fear. Testing his own courage. Proving his own strength to himself. This moment has nothing to do with Dany, but everything to do with him.

He is awestruck. Dragons were a thing of legend. And now he is connecting with one. His adrenaline must be off the charts. Its a magical moment.

Now Dany is very attached to her dragons. She believes she is the only one with a connection to them. Most people would scream or run away. Her dragons have reacted violently to those who have ever threatened her or wished her harm in the past. They are one with her. And here is Drogon, a dragon which is aggressive and unpredictable, acting so gentle and different towards Jon. And shes just an outsider to this moment.

Another check mark that would make Jon attractive to her. Her dragons didn't scare him. Her dragon liked him. And Jon seems to like the dragon. Thats different. Thats new. Thats on the same level as her. He's surprised her yet again.

Now, Jon looks up at her as if "this is yours? This magnificent beast is yours?" But as soon as she comes down, he's all business again.

His moment with her dragon warmed her up to him a little. She wants to talk about her babies with someone else who probably has the same unhealthy admiration for them like she does. But he's not quite on the same page. Now, what word was Jon thinking instead of "beautiful"? Frightening? Terrifying? This sets off another one of Dany's "fire and blood" looks which scares Jon back into submission. She's a firecracker just waiting for a match. Dont want to get on her bad side. She's mama dragon - and hes seen that quite a lot.

Now, here is The Look(TM). Arguably the only time Jon seems to really look at her without thinking. In the scripts, the stage direction is "He watches her watching her dragons and wishes that he could keep looking at her and forget about the world events weighing on his shoulders." And dear god, was the impact lost.

In contrast, look at how Jon gets lost staring at Sansa in S6.

honestly, this scene is just ripe with Jon looks.

Focus shifts, single shots, close ups, and lingering on him lost in thought with no context. If you want to point out a look or reaction - THIS is how you do it. There are focus shifts, to highlight Jon's face. To bring attention to it. You can't miss it.

Him watching Dany in 7.05 is actually so subtle you might miss it. Its not the focus. We arent supposed to be honed in on his reaction. If it was oh-so-important, there would have been a single close-up, or a camera shift for us to see that he was distracted watching Dany.

Also, this is related to her dragons. Her relationship with those dragons is important to Jon. Jon only seems to show thought and softness when her dragons are involved. And it is over before you know it.

Back to business. He brings up what she left to do. And it's not good.

He's conflicted. She did the opposite of what he hoped she would do. He can understand why, but it's disappointing. Not a turn on. Not an attractive quality. Not something that is winning him over. Another chance she had to show him she was good, and she chose not to.

She has dragons. And shes not afraid to use them.

Then we move on to the talk and walk. He is still acting reserved. Shes in charge of the "get to know you" talk again. Shes standing closer. She's warmed up. She's talking much more like an equal and not like a cold ice-queen.

And she grabs his arm. But there’s no close up. ;)

Then she tries to get more acquainted by asking a more intimate question, in a more intimate way. Why is she so stuck on this knife in the heart line? And why is he still so insistent on not telling the truth? He still doesn't trust her. He is still on the fence about her. He lies to her face. And she just wont let it go.

This is not level playing ground. This is not "getting to know each other". Dany is trying but Jon is resisting her getting to know him any better. Why?

It looks like its about to get uncomfortable - that he is upset by lying and she might press the issue. But thankfully Jon is saved by Jorah. Dany looks so happy she might cry. Jon is confused by her sudden change in attitude. Who is this guy shes much more agreeable towards? Thats not the Dany hes seen in his time there.

Then she introduces him. Jon knows who he is.

Now, some say Jon looks "jealous". Um - why? Why would he be jealous? He trying to avoid a connection between them, as evidenced by his lie right before. He's simply clicking the pieces in his head - figuring out her relationships.

He sees her embrace and welcome this man who he was raised to think as a traitor, a bad man. Someone who his father had sentenced to death for doing unspeakable things. A coward who ran from his sentence. And here Jorah is, acting noble and completely loyal to this girl who has been cold to him and her other advisors the entire time he's been there. He sees more of her misfit rag-team, first Theon and now Jorah, and how she treats those who are loyal to her.

He's only clicking the pieces and starting to figure her out. His "good heart" line would have fit better after this scene, too. It made no sense where it was before.

This is the first time we see any hint that Jon might be able to warm up to her. The way she cares for her dragons. The company she keeps. How warm she really was to Jorah. But thats overshadowed by her action towards her enemies. Her look when he almost dare speak ill of her children. The fact that he still wants to keep his own secrets from her, whatever his reasons may be.

Its now episode 5 of 7 - and just now his side starts to come into play in this "supposed epic love story", and it's shaky at best. He is still wary of her.

Jon is staying very mysterious. Honestly, ever since he showed up in Dragonstone we are not shown much of his POV. We see a lot of Dany's POV - her talking with her people a lot. Her talking in her war room with Tyrion. We don't see a lot of Jon talking with his people, or talking about his wants and plans. He is staying a big mystery. Davos and him talk a little about how "theres no time for that." Jon and Theon have a Sansa moment. Gendry and Jon have a bonding moment. But do we ever see him talk about his plan for bringing Dany to his side? We really only see his actions through Dany's eyes or someone else's.

These non-focused looks are very mysterious. Why does he get lost staring at Dany? Why does he keep lying about dying? Theres no exposition. Which is really odd, because Dany has quite a bit of it.

This romance is shaky, forced, rushed and confusing at best. I mean, it helps explain the backlash and the disappointed fans. How viewers are confused by this outcome. Why everyone is desperate to think there is something else going on besides "true love".

I think everyone can agree that this relationship is doomed in one way or another. But the big question right now is - does Jon actually love/have feelings for her? What evidence is there for that? What has been shown on screen to support a mutual romance? Not much, so far.

I'll do the rest later. Tumblrs mobile update might ruin my current work (it only lets me tag one hashtag at a time because I have to use the mobile browser- blah) - but I'll get onto it! These take a lot more work than I'd expected, and coding from a smart phone is a bitch. Part 3 and (maybe?) Part 4 coming soon.

xoxo

edit: and it keeps fucking up on me. T.T I hate formatting on Tumblr so much...

#meta #jonsa #anti-jonerys #episode analysis #spec #jon x sansa #hints in the middle #original #me

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b00bstone · 7 years

Note

All the even numbers!

thats a lot. and 72 was repeated twice but i had to renumber them since i copied and pasted adn forgot it was repeated. but anyway.

2. Are you outgoing or shy?

mostly shy i think but i can be outgoing if im comfortable.

4 Are you easy to get along with?

not really. i can be quite moody. and i unfortunately have a short temper (which im trying to work on) and im depressed adn suicidal so i think the answer is no.

6 What kind of people are you attracted to?

smart funny ones.

8Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?

my friend the nerd because i was talking to them and my friend rabbit earlier.

10Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?

probs my therapist since we talked just earlier today.

12What are your 5 favorite songs right now?

1.awkward by hailey knox

2 beautiful girl by sara barielles

3. plot twist by sigrid

4 waving through a window from dear evan hansen

and 5. dissapear also from dear evan hansen.

14Do you believe in luck and miracles?

yeah but my luck is shitty and miracles happen to other people. so basically yes but not for me lmao

16Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

yeah. if she were down. but like shes really straight. so i doubt she would be.

18Do you still talk to your first crush?

occasionally. hes a dick now tho. fraternity guy. and voted for trump.

20Do you like your neighbors?

well the ones i know are pretty cool.

22Where would you like to travel?

narnia. one of those planets they discovered that are super far away but similar to earth. but like on this planet? probs travel around europe.

24Favorite part of your daily routine?

going to bed.

26What do you do when you wake up?

lie there and try to go back to sleep.

28Who are you most comfortable around?

probs my friend rabbit.

30Do you ever want to get married?

one day yeah. but only if i find the right person u know.

32Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?

oohhhh ummm hmmm. chris pratt. aubrey plaza and john boyega. i feel like aubrey would bring a sarcastic element which would help with the pressure and nervousness and john and chris. well u can just see in their eyes that theyre really gentle people that will treat u right.

34do you play sports? What sports?

hahaha no. ive always wanted to dance and/or be on a swimteam. but my lungs hate me

36Have you ever liked someone and never told them?

i think ive only told like 1 or 2 people that ive liked that i liked them. and ive liked a lot of people so yes. i have hidden that i liked someone before. many many times.

38Describe your dream girl/guy?

theyre taller than me. i dunno why but ive always liked wavy/curly hair. not blonde. or brunette. so that leaves unnatural hair color or black or red. good bone structure. theyre really smart. like they know lots of stuff academically but theyre also just generally smart u know. and they know lots of lil random facts about random things. really nice. but not in like a sugar nice way but more like sun beams when it feels like theyre warming u from the inside kinda nice. kind eyes. color doesnt really matter since i keep changing my mind. strong. but not necessarily muscular. i want them to be able to pick me up and twirl me around but not like theyve got a sixpack or anything. sixpacks are kinda weird looking tbh. wed have to have most of the same values. not too talkative but not like ALWAYS quiet. theyd prefer staying in most weekend and watchng shows but dont mind the occassional night out. theyd like the beach. because what kind of crazy person doesnt like the beach (people that dont beach right thats who). theyd also like biking and hiking and swimming. very much an animal person. not lazy. good listener. intuitive. would understand that some days i just cant fucking stand physical touch. and others i crave it in a way ive never craved anything before. and other days its kinda meh whatever. people that take interest in what im interested in because im interested in it. and whose interests are cool. because i love to take interest in things my friends are interested in but sometimes its so boring. nothing particular comes to mind. but im sure its happened. someone who doesnt check up on me when im crying. because tbh i hate it when people do that. unless its through texting or a phone call. but like people in person asking “are u ok?” while im sobbing my eyes out? fuck no go away. someone who understands that im really fucking bad with words. and sometimes me trying to say something will take a while and it may not make sense. theyd be patient. they wouldnt mock me. or be manipulative. and i think this list is long enough.

40What do you want to do after high school?

travel the world and end up famous, but not like papparazzi following me famous. famous like i appear on snl every once in a while and drop bangers or rad filsm or whatever i do and thats all. what will i probs end up doing? crying a lot and going to community college. and applying to as many colleges as i have the energy to.

42If your being extremely quiet what does it mean?

it might mean im busy. or just listening. or really pissed off. or upset. or just have nothing to say.

44Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?

space.

46What are you paranoid about?

everything

48Have you ever been drunk?

not yet. but sometimes i want to be

50What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore?

blue i think?

52 One thing you wish you could change about yourself?

everything. but like one specific thing? id like to get rid of my depression, fears, and this brain fog that haunts me

.54 Favourite store?

trader joes or target

56Favourite color?

yellow

58 Last thing you ate?

well rn im eating plain potato chips and mayo (please dont judge me. i know its disgusting)

60Ever won a competition? For what?

i used to do mma i won like one or two of those. i also run a riding competition once.

62Been arrested? For what?

not yet. but im sure one day i will be.

64tell us the story of your first kiss?

we were in her parents bathroom and were 7. thats all i remember. havent kissed anyone since. which isnt for lack of wanting to.

68Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends?

i dont really have any tumblr friends that arent my real friends yet? so like i cant answer that.

70 Twitter or Tumblr?

well i spend all my time here and not on twitter so lets go with tumblr. altho i do have a twitter im never on

72Names of your best friends?

adi, heather, rabecca, joaquin, celestine.

74What colour are your towels?

blue, red and white. and theres some hawaiin print ones and a yellow one.

76How many pillows do you sleep with?

3...

78How many stuffed animals do you think you have?

like 40? dont judge. i kept asking as a kid and my parents kept giving them to me for christmas and my birthday. they should have stopped.

80What colour is your underwear?

rn its grey. but its not the only color i have

82Favourite ice cream flavor?

fuck. ummmmm coffee?

84What colour pants?

rn theyre black. but on the front of the thighs they have zebra striping.

86Favourite movie?

thats not an easy question to answer. im gonna say bringing up baby just because.

90Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?

both? i mean i prefer mean girls a lil more bu 21 jumpstreet isnt bad either

92 Favourite character from Finding Nemo?

dory. we are both scatterbrained.

94Last person you talked to today?

adi. but like in person? rabbit and the nerd.

96Name a person you love?

celestine. (not romantically)

98In a fight with someone?

not as far as i know. but i always kinda feel like im in a fight with monkey.

100How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?

like 4? i know i know i dont have very many.

102Favourite actress?

aubrey plaza.

104Do you tan a lot?

nope. i try at least once every summer. but my skin either stays as pale as snow or i burn really bad then my skin shift to a slightly more offwhite shade of snow.

106. How are you feeling?

blergh. potato chips and mayo are really gross. and im tired and sick of people telling me shit.

108Do you regret anything from your past?

i regret everything ive ever done.

110Do you miss anyone from your past?

well there is this one guy i used to talk to but i miss the attention and not him so that doesnt count. i kinda miss a friend of mine named shannon from elementary school sunday school

112Ever broken someone’s heart?

i dont think so.

114What should you be doing?

school. but ive given up on that. so.

.116 Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?

oh yeah. ive liked 2 peoplethat much. altho i barely knew the first person and it was more me projecting my ideals of the prefect person onto them.

118Who was the last person you cried in front of?

probs my therapist.

120Have you ever been out of your province/state?

yeah. i was just in virginia last week. i live in california so id say thats definitely out of state.

122Are you listening to music right now?

nope.

124Do you like Chinese food?

americanized or traditional? americanized: yessss that shit i shte bomb. traditional? i dont know ive never had it.

126Are you afraid of the dark?

yes. very. i need a light source or i start to panic.

.128 Is cheating ever okay?

like on a partner or on a test or something? on a partner? no way. u should never do that. like thatll really fuck them up and make them mistrustful for the rest of their life. on a test? if its necessary sure go for it. i dont care. im not ur teacher.

130Do you believe in love at first sight?

yeah. but its not something thatll ever happen to me lmao.

132. Are you currently bored?

im always bored.

134 Would you change your name?

last name? yes 100% absolutely. first name? maybe.

136Do you like subway?

like the sandwich shop? fuck no! the first time i ate it i threw up. the second time was ok. and thei third time i got serious stomach cramps afterwards. it was these awful sharp shooting pains all through my stomach.

138Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?

probs my therapist.

140Can you count to one million?

theoretically? yes. but will i? no

142Do you sleep with your doors open or closed?

closed! my closet freaks me out but the office across from my bedroom freaks me out more. and also like i dont want cats walking on my face. or to wake up at 7 am and find that my dog has taken up the very middle of the bed.

144Curly or Straight hair?

rn? mostly straight. but when it gets longer it kinda curls a lil.

146Summer or Winter?

yes. i like both. dont make me choose.

148 Favourite month?

july. thats when im born so it has to be my fav.

150Dark, milk or white chocolate?

milk

152Was today a good day?

no.

154What’s your favourite quote?

in the beginning the universe was created a lot of people regard t as a bad move. and i messed that quote up. but yeah.

156Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?

the terms braided and woven refer to the structure of the elastic.

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jess-oh · 5 years

Text

Reflection

hey journal,

i got some things to get off my chest.

ummmm. theres a lot on my mind i guess.

it feels kind of weird having a roommate after not having one for so long but it makes me happy to know someone else is home when i do. it’s easy to talk to her or just choose to go straight to my room after a long day. i am happy to have claire here.

amanda decided to stay in st louis for another week and a part of me is hurt that she didnt think to tell me. ive just been trying to give her space after she didnt respond to me last time. i just assumed she was busy and i really do want her to be able to rest back at home and just be with her family. i think i would want to do the same in california so ive been doing my best to just keep some distance between myself and her. i do miss her though.

i was really happy i was able to be there for her with the whole ICP thing but when wookie casually mentioned how she went to an ICP event recently for the BTJ tour, i felt a little betrayed. did she lie to me? i thought she hadnt spoken or interacted with any of them in almost a year. why would she keep that from me?

ive also slowly been slowly getting involved with ICP again just by hanging out with Wookie again on Wednesdays and getting to meet new people. a part of me feels like im betraying Lakeview for doing so but i dont want to let them go.

ive also been doing my best to keep some distance between myself and johnathan&jason. i think i was too clingy and desperate in the past. tho, surprisingly, johnathan recently reached out to me and asked to go climbing together. i agreed and we’re set to hangout on friday which i am excited about. but we dont usually have much to talk about so....we’ll see how it goes i guess! ive been trying to think of things to ask him bc i noticed that he wont share more information than whats absolutely necessary. maybe i can ask him more about how israel is and maybe challenges that arose? we’ll see!?

i really hope the best for him and amanda. tbh, i think i was both of them at one point in my life. too serious and couldnt take a joke. too insecure and just wanted to please everyone. now im here. depressed and just struggling how to move on from here.

while talking to elizabeth and skylar recently, i was wondering if maybe the reason it’s so hard for me to talk to people at church is bc the people at school are usually a lot more willing to share than those at church? so it feels like im trying a lot harder to carry the conversation bc people expect to be served when they first come to lakeview.

BUT, i gotta humble myself! bc i was really no better when i first came. and theres nothing to be gained by being “better” anyway.

i really miss old MAST and the meetings we had. i didnt think i would miss everything and everyone so much. it makes me feel sad how much everything is changing. tho i am slowly starting to learn how to let go. esp since jason, johnathan, and amanda have been gone for a while. and ive been pretty distant with pjosh lately too. i just want to allow him to rest during this summer and have fun and relax. he deserves it after such a stressful year. and i do really want to help and support him and make his job easier as much as i can.

im done receiving. i want to help now.

i am excited to be able to hangout with johnathan one on one for once tho. i wonder why he wanted to hangout. maybe bc he knows his time is limited and wants to spend make the most of his time still in chicago with the people he cares about? who knows.

maybe pjosh tipped him off since i asked to meet up with pjosh this week and he couldnt. i do still definitely want to tell pjosh that im thinking of moving to SF. and the more i research, the more right it feels. it pretty much just feels like im planning for my future at this point. but another part of me really doesnt want to leave chicago. i would probably cry a lot on my last day with everyone here. i dont want to say goodbye. i love so many people here so much. i dont want to leave. and at the end of the day, it is my choice but a part of me feels like i have to let go and move on from this part of my life. as much as it sucks and as much as i dont want to, it feels like something i just need to do. sigh.

maybe i’ll ask johnathan what people in NorCal usually do and try to incorporate that into my SF schedule.

i wonder if he’ll ask if i was upset or avoided him before. bc he was more active in talking with me, idk if he picked up on it. i think im okay with telling him i was just upset with them both not bc of anything they had necessarily done but just bc seeing them two just told me that they were moving on and i felt like i was being left behind. which, i talked it through with amanda and felt exponentially better after our conversation. i didnt realize they had talked about the spaces they had cultivated and wanting to keep it the same even tho they were entering into a relationship together. and i could see that and i do appreciate that. but, a part of me will always kinda feel like a third wheel with them. i know they probably wont be super coupley or lovey dovey around me but i will still very clearly know that theyre in a relationship together. that they’re each other’s go to person now. it isnt me anymore for amanda and i never was that person for johnathan. but things change and i’ll always know we wont ever be that close again or anymore. it kinda hurts but im learning to just accept, let go, and move on.

for a long time, my greatest fear was dealing with the fact that no matter how hard i try or how much work i put in, my best will never be good enough. but, after feeling hopeless over my inability to change the hearts of NU students and giving it to God and just trusting in Him in the process instead, it did give me a pretty great sense of relief.

my coping mechanism is to isolate myself. to take a step back and run away and just try and deal with the problem on my own. the reason i became so clingy and latched onto the seniors this past year was because i was so shocked when they actually responded positively and wanted to help me. i didnt know how to properly react to that because it felt so foreign. and i guess i just became too much. even now, i always think about self harming myself or just not telling people how i feel for long periods of time and them finding out by some accident and me feeling so much shame and crying out, “i am so sorry! you were never supposed to find out! you were never supposed to know about this!” sigh.

i guess i have pretty self destructive behavior, haha.

it’s just easier to deal with by myself w/o the variables of other people. not having to worry if im talking too much or being too selfish or this or that. if im the only one trying to solve it, i only have to worry about myself making out on the other side alive.

maybe thats why i want to kill myself so often haha.

i am really stressed out about this whole andrew and sofia thing and i really dont know what to do. a part of me wants to share the gospel with andrew and hopefully rely on God to help him overcome his addiction but if i myself do not currently have a stable faith, what right do i have to share this with him when i know i’ll be questioned and persecuted for it.

but i really dont know what the right course of action is to take now. i think i would’ve been better equipped to answer in the past but now my life just feels like it’s in disarray and i dont know what to do anymore.

i think leaving chicago for a while will be good for me tho. just being able to get away and relax from everyone. i think it’ll help me get a more clear mind. hopefully. hopefully i wont just be stressed over my grandpa and this whole breakup thing the whole time. ugh. i really dont mean to be selfish but i do wish i could just go home and rest and not have to worry about anything! really! sigh.

but anyway, God, i give this to you. im also really hoping that somehow at sa-rang, i can come back to you and be reminded of you are in my life. i feel like i’ve grown so far away from you and it’s become so much more about living in fear and not sharing too much in fear of scaring people away but craving intimacy. i hope i can find that back home at sa-rang, even with all my fears and insecurities regarding that place.

thank you.

i feel nervous but im doing my best to just trust in you and through this process.

#reflection

0 notes

daynamartinez22 · 5 years

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Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 225

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Click on the video above to watch Episode 225 of the Semantic Mastery Hump Day Hangouts.

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

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

Announcement

Adam: We are live very quickly today. Hey everybody! Welcome to Hump Day Hangouts. This is Episode 225, two hundred and a quarter. Today is the 27th of February 2019. We have got some great announcements for you. But before we get into that, we’re gonna go down and say hi to everybody. Starting on the left, Chris, how are you doing, man?

Chris: Doing good. Exciting day today, especially with all the good stuff going on in Semantic Mastery.

Adam: Definitely, definitely. Hernan, how about yourself, how are you doing?

Hernan: I’m doing great. I’m super excited for today, super excited for Funnel Hacking live last week, it was awesome. We have a lot of good stuff coming up for you guys, so stay tuned. We have a lot of good stuff coming up for you guys today, actually. So it’s gonna be awesome.

Adam: Oh, I just have this T-shirt on, how random. All right. Well, anyways, moving right along. Marco, how are you doing?

Marco: I’m good, man. What’s up?

Adam: Nothing, just chillin’. I was hoping for a weather report. It’s kind of overcast and nasty here. How about you?

Marco: It’s over-sunny and sunny here.

Adam: Bradley, how are you doing? What have you got, snow, hurricanes? What’s going on?

Bradley: I don’t know. I haven’t been outside since about 6 o'clock this morning because I’ve been working all day. But it looks sunny, with the temperature. Anyways, hi!

Adam: Well, I see you’ve got your nightshirt on too.

Bradley: Yeah. We got the memo, apparently. Mine is fading now because I wear mine more than you, apparently.

Adam: Yeah, yeah. I might have just gotten one for the conference I was at. So shout out to Dan, if you’re watching, good to see you, man. We bumped into Dan and his wife at Funnel Hacking Live. It’s always good to see people. We met a few more people who knew us from Hump Day Hangout. It was really cool to see, Hernan, I think you met up with a few people, [inaudible 00:01:52] my mind while I’m talking I can’t remember anybody’s name.

Hernan: Yeah, for sure. Adam reached out to me and he was a big fan of Semantic Mastery. He had a digital marketing agency and he was listening to Hump Day Hangouts pretty much every week. So yeah, it’s good to see, “Hey, you’re from Semantic Mastery. I know you guys,” and that’s pretty cool. That is pretty cool.

Adam: Awesome. Well, I’d like to say this every time, if you’re new to Semantic Mastery, first of all, thank you very much for watching Hump Day Hangouts. This place gets your questions answered, you can just put them on the page. If you’re watching the replay, just go to semanticmastery.com/hdquestions and ask your question there. Then you can always come back, we timestamp the video so you can watch later whether you got client calls, you’re working, whatever it is.

Then the next thing we always tell you is, because people ask us, where should I start with Semantic Mastery? Well, you should start with the Battle Plan. Today, the Battle Plan 3.0, bigger, better badder, expanded, has landed and we have got all sorts of good stuff in there. We’re going to talk about that a little bit more, but I’ll be putting the link on the page. I highly suggest you grab that. We got some kick-ass bonuses. I’m not gonna read it to you. I want you to go check out the sales page. Personally, I like it because I made it, but secondly, we got just a like laundry list of some cool stuff we put together for you guys. So please go and check that out.

If you’ve already done that and you’re looking to take things up a few notches, if you’re wanting to grow or you want to start your own local digital marketing agency, then we would love to have you join the Mastermind and you can find out more about that at mastermind.semanticmastery.com.

Bradley: By the way, I wanna welcome Robert Nelson. He just joined today. Robert, I reached out to you via email to schedule your onboarding call with me. Welcome to the Mastermind. I hope to chat with you next week sometime.

Adam: Outstanding! Looking over things real quick, I wanted to tell you too, I’ve skipped this while I was excited about talking to the new people, but if you’re checking out the replay or you watch these on YouTube and you’re checking this out sometime in the future, click the subscribe button, stay up to date with all the Hump Day Hangouts, all the video clips we put out, all the training, all the good stuff. It’s great way and free way to stay up to date.

Let’s get into it. I need to pay some stuff on the page. Hernan, or you guys, can you tell them a little bit more about what’s going on with the Battle Plan?

Hernan: Yeah, for sure. The Battle Plan was born because, I think it was like two years ago and we have been putting out like, Bradley specifically, he’s a content machine, and we have been putting out a bunch of content, a lot of content pretty much every week, between Hump Day Hangouts, between the Mastermind sessions and whatnot, the groups and whatnot. So a lot of people are reaching out and saying, “Hey guys, you guys are awesome, but we need, or we feel we need something that we could actually grab and take a look at and say, all right, so I am at this stage, I have a new website, what step one, what would Semantic Mastery recommend? What would Bradley Benner do?”

Basically, we kind of developed that step-by-step framework so that we knew a lot of people that were coming that they would have like new websites and, bam, we developed a framework for them, each websites we develop a framework for them, YouTube videos, we developed a framework, local websites, we developed a framework. We have been adding up, taking out, subtracting, adding and updating to the latest and greatest stuff that we have been finding throughout these past few years.

Now, this edition, the 3.0, the SEO Confidential, we have added everything that goes into Google My Business, which is something that we didn’t have on previous versions. Now it’s there. So if you’re optimizing Google My Businesses for clients doing lead-gen and whatnot, this is the type of stuff that you wanna get. We have also added a bunch of additional bonuses.

Not only that, when you’re getting the Battle Plan, which is again of kind of a feel manual, you go through it, you know exactly what you do, where to order, what to do, in what quantity, in what power and whatnot, you also get access to a webinar that we recorded that is basically the Battle Plan in a webinar format. So I think that when getting the Battle Plan you’re sending yourself up for success with your local digital marketing agency. Even if you’re doing info products, if you’re doing affiliate, it also works as well just because of the fact of how specific it is.

If you want a million different things, that’s not your thing, that’s not what you wanna get. But if you want to simplify way of applying the Semantic Mastery knowledge over the past five years, then that is the guy that you want to get pretty much.

Marco: Can I just add that simply does not mean bad. We boiled it down. It’s a step-by-step instruction so that anybody could come in and follow what we do, how we apply our own training. Because Bradley does training, I do training, Hernan does his stuff, and we have to have a way for people to know, okay, so if I were to approach this, how would I tackle this step-by-step? So that’s what was done in the Battle Plan.

Just because it’s simplified doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work, that it’s bad. We’re hardly charging anything for it, anyway. But it’s just a way for you to go and take a look, okay, so these are the things that I need to do. If I follow this formula, does this guarantee me success? Oh, fuck no. Nothing guarantees anything. The thing that we can tell you is that this is what we do and the things that we apply to get our success online. These are the things that we have done.

If you apply it and if you follow everything in sequence, I mean, nothing’s guaranteed and in this world, especially not when you’re dealing with the 800-pound gorilla in the room, but this guy, there’s some absolute fantastic tactics in there that will help you overcome that 800-pound gorilla. I mean, you can go and do the Google tickle. When all is said and done and you’re still having trouble, you can go in and you can still hammer Google and make the needle move. It’s just how much work are you willing to put in towards your success? Because nothing in this world is free. I’m Christian, and so if you don’t work, you don’t eat. It’s very plain. So guys if you don’t put in the work, how can you expect to be successful on the web?

No magic pills. No magic formulas. Anybody telling you that you can make $100,000 overnight is blowing smoke up your ass. Stop listening. Put in the work.

Bradley: Yeah. He mentioned G tickle, that sounds a lot dirtier than it really is. Just check out the Battle Plan, you’ll see what we mean.

Adam: Yeah. I want to say real quick, I wanted to do something fun for you guys. If anyone is watching right now and hasn’t picked up the Battle Plan yet, one, you should do it, and two, we’ll give you a little push in the right direction here. Go to battleplan.semanticmastery.com. Buy it, grab it during Hump Day Hangouts and comment on the page and we’ll randomly select one person who does that, we’ll buy one of these nice fancy T-shirts for you and ship it to you for free.

Marco: Can we give someone a Battle Plan for the best question? I know we didn’t plan this ahead, but why don’t we do that?

Adam: Yeah.

Marco: Or if they bought it, we can refund it.

Adam: Yeah. We’ll do a free one, just because I don’t wanna screw up our stats. I’m not gonna lie. I’m looking at the numbers. But yeah, best question, Marco, we’ll pick someone, and then if you go and buy the Battle Plan during comment, leave a comment on the page, and we’ll randomly select. We’ll hop online, we’ll get one of these nice shirts, printed out for you and send it to you.

Bradley: Cool. Can we get into it?

Adam: Let’s do it.

Bradley: All right. I’m gonna tease the Mastermind just briefly because we’ve been working on building out GMB assets and all that. By the way, guys, if you’re in any other groups, you’ll probably are aware that there’s a lot of shit going on right now with GMB because Google’s trying to crack down on spam to Maps listings, which we all knew was gonna happen. I’ve been preaching that for months. That’s part of the reason why I’ve been pushing for months on building a scalable process for building these out. I kept hammering all of our Mastermind members especially with guys be building, building, building right now, well, monetize them later, right now build them, because I knew it was gonna be a loophole that was gonna get shut down or at least made more difficult. It looks like that’s what’s going on right now.

So there’s a lot of stuff going on, a lot of changes, Google’s cracking the whip, they’re tightening the noose, so to speak. So I recommend staying out of the GMBs, unless you have to go in them, work on off-page stuff. That’s really what my team is doing. My team has been completely prohibited from going in any new accounts or anything that’s been set up recently. So I’m having them just go back through and fine-tune our off-page strategies until we figure out what’s going on.

Also, a lot of times, guys, it’s just a matter of letting the dust settle, like letting everything calm down and cool off before going back in. We have some ideas, we’re not gonna share them here yet, but we do have some ideas as to what not to do in order to prevent suspensions and that kind of stuff.

But just know that you have options and opportunities to work on existing assets that may need additional pushes, like I’ve got a bunch of those. So we’re kind of working on the off-page stuff at the moment. Then once we nail down what we’ve determined is the proper procedure for going forward, obviously, we’re going to share that in our paid groups or the members that have bought specific products and things like that.

Just kind of wanna give everybody a heads up that, no, don’t panic, guys, I’m sure you��ve got plenty of stuff that you can work on while the process is calming down. Eventually, it will, it always does, and we’ll find other ways. That’s just the nature of the game. It’s a cat-and-mouse game. That’s what SEO is, really, digital marketing.

With that said, also I have recently released all my processed docs and everything to the Mastermind members because I had spent about four months really developing these processes in training and virtual assistant team to build out my assets and so that I could scale this and do exactly what I’ve been preaching and that was to build, build, build. I think we built-, well, I’m not going to mention how many, but a lot. We built a lot of different assets. I think it was two weeks ago I released, or maybe a month ago now, or three weeks ago, something like that, all the process docs that I developed with my team as well as some of our live event attendees to the Mastermind, which was invaluable.

I got a lot of really good responses and comments from that because we didn’t charge anything extra for that, guys, as part of the Mastermind. We always say Mastermind has its privileges. Well, because I’ve got my team doing off-page stuff right now and recently there’s been some developments. For example, we did a webinar with Lisa Allen. You might want to get this link ready, Adam, anyways for the RankFeedr webinar, if anybody hasn’t seen it yet. Lisa has this tool that’s a co-citation RSS feed creator, or a super feed creator, as I like to call it. It’s called RankFeedr.

It’s great for creating co-citation and adding geographic relevance, especially for some of the processes that we developed for the GMB asset building or the Local Lease Pro model. It’s something that you can set and forget. It’s a bit time-consuming to create these super feeds. Also, there’s a way that you can embed them in specific pages.

There’s a question specifically from our new Mastermind member Robert that I’m gonna answer in just a few minutes, but there’s a process that I taught on how to create an embedded feed using feed burner in Syndication Academy update webinar, which was the last update webinar. I just held that a few weeks ago, maybe two weeks ago, three weeks ago now. So if anybody’s in Syndication Academy, excuse me, if you haven’t seen, that go to the training area and go look at the update section. It’s the only replays or archived so far for 2019. So it’s in a specific section there in the replays or updates, module, whatever you call it.

In there I talked about specifically how to do that. Well, you can combine the two methods. If you’ve got RankFeedr, then you can actually embed the feed. It’s really powerful. So I’ve got my team, I actually was working on producing the process doc for my team today so that I can get my VAs, because I’m just having to do off-page stuff at the moment. So they’re gonna go back through and go through all the assets that we’ve created and start embedding these feeds and in very specific locations. It’s a bit of a process but I’m just gonna give you guys a quick preview of what my process docs look like. The Mastermind members already know, many of you probably don’t.

That in itself, guys, I’ve put a lot of work into this stuff. I’ve developed my processes over the years and how to create process docs and how I train my team. It’s a literal step-by-step process that they cannot make mistakes. As long as they follow, I mean, they don’t even need the training video. There’s always a corresponding training video with all of my process docs. But they could just follow, if they can read, you can take a VA, virtual assistant that’s cold right off the street, like essentially has no internet marketing skills whatsoever. But as long as they know how to read and navigate on a computer, then they can complete any process that I want them to complete. That’s essentially how we train our teams.

So I’m just gonna grab the screen before we get into it anyways. I’m gonna show you guys this really quickly. Take a screenshot if you’re smart. But this is it. This is me explaining what it is to my team, and then I go through and I tell them what we’re gonna be doing. I just started on part one, the training video will go here, there’s a step-by-step process as part two will be next, and then part three is how to create the feed burner feed and embed it.

So again, I just wanted to do it real quick, kind of tease on that, guys, because Mastermind members, as soon as I get that process training completed, I’m gonna add that to the process docs that I shared with you, guys, in the Mastermind just a couple of weeks ago. Okay. So be on the lookout for that, you’ll be able to put it to use. All right.

Also, we’re gonna get into questions, but I did wanna mention this very quickly, Ben had a great question last week, he’s also a Mastermind member, about how to get over shiny object syndrome and how to focus and how not to get carried away or swept away by other products or methods that are attractive? As entrepreneurs, we often chase opportunity because we see opportunity everywhere and, as the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, right?

So a lot of times we get involved with or started on a project usually a new method of some sort that we’ve been suckered into from an attractive marketing message. We start off with what’s called uninformed optimism, and then as we dig into it a little bit we realize the amount of work or the learning curve involved and all that kind of stuff, that’s where we go into this next stage of what’s called the emotional cycle of change. It’s called informed pessimism.

Anyways, I’m not gonna go through all that because I put a video on here that I found to be very helpful. I review it often when I find myself in this emotional cycle of change. So I posted this in the comment section, guys. Just bookmark it. Go back and watch it if you are the type that suffered, most of you are probably entrepreneurs and that’s why you’re watching this webinar, you’ve probably suffered from shiny object syndrome at some point or you currently still are. I’m a recovering shiny object syndrome, that’s like a recovering alcoholics. Do you know what I mean? I was talking about how I’ve unsubscribed from all the marketing emails message or lists and things like that specifically because I really want to stay focused on doing what I know is going to progress my business. I think this video may help you, guys, so just check it out when you get a chance.

Does Ranking YouTube Videos And Selling Lead For Local Business In Google Still Work In 2019?

Okay. We’re gonna get right into questions. It looks like Renee Wagner posted his question twice and it looks like she posted it last week probably after the webinar, so I’m gonna start with her. She says, “Does ranking videos for local businesses and Google using YouTube and selling the leads to local businesses still work well in 2019?”

Yeah, it can. The thing about ranking local videos for leads is they don’t convert typically as well as having a Maps listing would. They can, don’t get me wrong, depending on the message and if it’s a compelling video and that kind of stuff. Also, ranking videos, you can still do it, but I also recommend that you learn how to use YouTube ads because YouTube ads, you can get really targeted traffic from the very specific areas. You can set your geographic targeting. There’s so many targeting options as far as audience targeting inside YouTube now or the Google ads platform for video that you can get really good results.

And as a byproduct of having a video that is targeted and getting targeted views from people that are within a specific geographic area, that are known to Google to be in the market or interested in that particular product or service, those are heavily weighted views. And as a byproduct of that, the video will often rank. Again, this has been a trick up my sleeve for years now, but it’s gotten better and better recently, and that’s using YouTube ads to actually rank the video.

So if you know video SEO, you still apply all of the SEO methods to the video as well as the channel, you can still do off-page SEO stuff, but the magic, the real magic is using YouTube ads to run local relevant traffic to it. Because it’s not just about the traffic either, you actually get engagement and clicks to your offer or clicks to the landing page or leads for local businesses. You’ll actually get real traffic and real leads from a properly set up YouTube ads campaign.

Correct me if I’m wrong, Adam, but isn’t that training available is an order bump for the Battle Plan?

Adam: I’m not gonna lie I was looking at a spreadsheet, I missed the first part of that.

Bradley: The YouTube ads training I did for local videos?

Adam: Yep. Yeah. You can get that if you buy the Battle Plan on check out. It’s the killer ads for local, order bump, yeah.

Bradley: I would recommend you look into that. It is still a strategy that works. For the longest time, for years now, guys, like five years now I’ve been ranking videos or doing video SEO, selling a wholesale video SEO services to a local video production company that creates videos for local businesses. They would always just create the videos and then sell them, the client, their customers, they would sell them the video and the customers would put them on their website, maybe posted into Facebook, put them on a YouTube channel, but they never were getting leads from them or ranking them in Google.

For about five years, now I’ve provided wholesale SEO services to that company. So the company handles the sales, then they upsell my service to the client or the customer and so they make money off of my SEO service every month. That way I don’t have to deal with the customers and all that kind of stuff, all I do is provide reporting. However, with just in the last six months or so, I’ve actually went back to them, after four and a half years or so of just providing wholesale SEO services, and I said, “Look, I’m not going to provide the SEO service anymore. I’m going to provide local ads. I’m going to set up ad campaigns for the videos.” Because I can guarantee traffic that way. I can’t guarantee traffic or leads or clicks or anything from ranking in Google. I can’t guarantee rankings either.

I mean, I’ve always done that. I’ve always said, “Look, if it doesn’t rank, then I don’t refund the money, but we could cancel service.” They can always cancel anytime. I don’t ever put them on contract. I’ve always been successful at ranking them anyways, but I can guarantee traffic, clicks to the website or the landing page, whatever the destination or target URL is with the call-to-action of the video. I can guarantee that with ads. I tell them, “Look, you can still tell your customers as a byproduct of a well-optimized video and a well-optimized ads campaign. It’s likely going to rank anyways.” So I still apply the SEO techniques to the videos, but I set up the ads campaign now.

What’s also cool about that is the reporting is so much better. So I provide the video production company with the reports that then they send off to their customers or their clients. The reporting is so much more detailed. It’s so much more accurate because I can show where exactly the clicks are coming from. If you go into ads and you look, and you go into the ad group and then you go into locations, you can pool locations reports. You can do it by zip code or by city or by county and things like that. So I can literally show where the views are coming from specifically.

So my targeting can be extremely tight. I can show that “Hey, this is only local people looking at the video. I can also show the audience targeting options. I can show the demographics.” I can show an incredible amount of detail as to where the traffic and clicks are coming from the ad campaign, which you couldn’t do with regular YouTube analytics or with just a rank report if that makes sense.

Again, 95% of the time the video is gonna rank because of a proper YouTube targeting campaign, because of the traffic and the engagement is [inaudible 00:23:41] both geographically and topically. [Inaudible 00:23:49]. It’s available, like I said, as part of the quarter buff to the Battle Plan. All right. That’s a great question though.

Marco: If I may, run a test just to see. Because this is interesting, we ran the test over a two, three week period. We ran embeds and link building tests to see what kind of action that would do. Interestingly enough, that still it, not only moves the needle, it has a great effect on videos. Once they start hitting the first page and they move towards the top, you can start seeing the people start coming through to the channel and subscribing and liking and sharing, and doing all of the things that a video needs in order for YouTube and Google to keep giving it love.

So there are two things that play here, right? If you hit the top spot, you’re going to get traffic if, and now here’s a caveat, the video has to be engaging enough for real people to take action to like it, to share it, or to give you that thumbs down in YouTube and in comments and everything else.

There are two ways to do this, both ways are still viable. Bradley’s method, the ads training, that’s hyper-targeted people that are likely to convert into leads. Now on the other method where you’re doing the embeds and the link building, what you’re going to get is you’re going to get a more general viewership and so you’re going to need more in order to get the leads that you could generate through the video ads course. But both methods are still alive and well in 2019.

Bradley: Yeah. To be clear, guys, that’s why I mentioned, I still apply all the SEO methods. For example, I always live stream a video to a channel that’s connected to a bunch of syndication networks. So that’s the first step. Once the live stream is over, it literally cascades through all of the syndication networks that are attached to that channel. It’s automatically getting embeds. My syndication networks are well-themed and aged because I’ve been doing this for so long. So it gets a lot of super good traditional SEO power, or juice, or whatever you want to call it from that, which are traditional signals that Marco’s talking about, like embeds.

Even if you don’t have well-aged syndication networks or whatever, you can just use an embed service and embed it. So all of those are traditional SEO signals and they still work, there’s no doubt about that. What I’m saying is combining those two methods, guys, that’s where the magic happens. So still do all the SEO stuff, optimize on page, which means optimize the video, optimize your channel, use playlists, guys, playlists, YouTube Silo Academy is how you silo. Guys, even if you only have one video on a playlist, create a playlist and put the video on it. Because a playlist is also part of video SEO, right?

Again, on-page stuff for the video, on-page stuff for your channel, use playlists, use embeds, use some backlinks. But if you’re not getting the traction that you want, and like I said, for me, it’s just standard operating procedure, I do all that first and I immediately go set up the YouTube ad for it and start driving real engagement, real traffic from Google to the video.

Google knows who that traffic is, what they’re interested in, where they came from and where they’re located. So it’s super-targeted traffic which is highly weighted trafficked by Google, and that’s the magic that really kind of helps all that SEO work. It just flourishes, right? It just works. Everything comes surfacing. It’s almost guaranteed. Again, I don’t guarantee rankings now. I tell them if it doesn’t rank, they don’t have to pay me and we’ll cancel it. But I do guarantee views and clicks. I can’t guarantee a certain number of clicks, but I can guarantee targeted views because I can buy those views directly from Google. You know what I mean? Again, use both methods, guys. I’m not saying do one or the other, use both. All right.

Factors Contributing To Low Conversion/Leads Despite Having Many Views in GMB Insights

Alex is up. He says, “Hey guys, I’m ranking in the 3-pack and I have a couple of five-star reviews. The GMB Insight shows around 450 views per month, but the calls are around five to eight per month. Is there a reason why it might be getting so few phone calls? Could you explain some common mistakes that lead to that? Thank you.”

Yeah, Alex. It could be many things. First of all, what is your message? Do you have a compelling call-to-action? What are your calls to action? What are the images? Where are you sending people, by the way? For example, if your call-to-action is to click the button in the post and go to a landing page, or wherever you’re sending them, where are you sending them? If you’re sending them to just the homepage of a website that’s not set up for lead conversions, then it could be that you’re losing them there.

It could be that if you’re just using the call buttons, then you could be losing traffic from desktop searches because people aren’t clicking the call button from desktop search and some people won’t go actually click through to the website or go do another search for it. I mean, there’s a number of things that could be it. I would say that, typically, if you’re getting a lot of exposure but you’re not getting a lot of calls or leads, then I would look at your calls to action, what your offer is, and where you’re directing the traffic to, if it’s a click-through as opposed to just a call conversion goal.

Also, in your posts, if you’re doing posts regularly, which you should be, use some images that are relevant to the industry. Because I know a lot of people that use stock images in their GMB post, guys, people are almost blind to that, they almost are numbed to a lot of stock images, so try to get original images from the client if possible, also just relevant images. I talked about how to do that from YouTube. You can also local images, which is more for SEO purposes. We talked about that at some of our training, can’t talk about that here.

Those are some of the things that I would recommend. Marco, what do you say?

Marco: I’d say that that’s just about right with 450 views, between two and 10 calls a month. You have to get, this is for talking about locally and from our experience with Mario who had more phone calls and other locals that I’ve been doing. It’s not until you get the thousands of views that you start seeing movement upwards of 20 calls. I mean, the ultimate it’s calls or people going to your website or asking for directions, all of that are our actions that could turn into leads depending on where they’re going. It just means that you have to go and figure out. I’m not gonna get too deep into our training, but you have to know when to deliver the message. Right? There’s ways to know which days, what time, what message.

Bradley: And how often.

Marco: Correct. I mean, in some niches, you might only need two or three posts a week. In others, you might need two or three posts a day. In others, you might need just a whole lot more. It’s just constant, right? Because there’s people constantly looking for it. So there’s a whole lot of things involved. Just a general overall opinion on what’s happening, I would say from 450 views, you’re just about right on the calls.

Bradley: Yeah. That’s increased the views per month and it’s a numbers game. If you’re getting what looks like 1 to 2% of whatever your views are, it looks like that’s what’s actually converting in the leads based upon that number that you’re showing there, right? Four hundred fifty views per month, five to eight calls, that’s about 1 to 2%. So if that’s the case, even if that were to hold true, that number, then if you increase your views, if you doubled that to where you’re getting 900 per month at that conversion rate, then you should essentially get 10 to 16 calls per month. Does that make sense?

Well, how do you get more views? More activity, better images, more compelling images, those kind of things, video, start using video in your GMB post, guys. If you haven’t done that yet, go test it because you’ll see that a video post, just like it does on Facebook, will get a hell of a lot more exposure, therefore, it will get a hell of a lot more views. Okay?

Marco: I would also say to look at the posts and see which of the posts are getting the most action and then try to figure out why. Explore why those are getting the action and the other ones aren’t, and tailor your posts to the ones that are getting the most action.

Bradley: Test different calls to action in different messages. It’s just like split testing ads, guys. If you’ve ever done any pay-per-click search marketing, you got to split test copy, you split test your landing pages, all that kind of stuff. Again, you can fine-tune for conversions, which is called conversion optimization, right? That’s something that you may also want to look into.

Can You Explain The Siloing Process Of GMB Auto Poster?

All right. Olena’s up. She says, “Bradley, on the Local Lease post training you talked about siloing post. You said silo post based on tags.” Yeah, that’s just because there’s an auto post, like our GMB post scheduler or GMB Briefcase, depending on the level that you’re at with your business, gives us the ability to schedule posts within the dashboard of it, which is great. It’s great for my team. It just makes things a lot easier. Then the post siloing can be accomplished through tags. It just daisy chains post together. It’s a very simple process. It’s not difficult at all.

Let me carry on with the question. She says, “Silo post based on post tag. Assign each post in the Auto poster, then select to silo posts in the Auto Poster, which means it takes the previous post URL, and adds that link from the previous post to the new post.” That’s correct. “Your GMB websites turns posts into inner pages.” That’s correct. “The first post you do manually and then in Auto Poster, the second post links to the first, the third to the second, and so on. Can you please explain a little bit further what you meant?”

No, you’re right on track. The difference is … Look, when my team goes through to set up to optimize do on-page stuff of a new asset, a new GMB location, then they typically will do, and this is just our standard operating procedure, they don’t add or connect that location to the post scheduler first. That’s something that gets done after the initial on-page work gets done, and part of the initial on-page process is just posting a post manually.

I also recommend posting manually to it anyways instead of automatically connecting a new location to an API and using an automated tool, which is what the post scheduler is, because it’s very similar, guys, to syndication. I know Olena, you’re in Syndication Academy or have been, I know that for sure. It’s the same as the best practices that I’ve been preaching for years about syndication networks, is that you don’t go out and build or purchase a brand new syndication network and then hook it up to IFTTT and start posting to it through an automated way or right off the bat.

Because if you do, it’s likely that some of your web 2 accounts within the network will get terminated. It’s happened time and time again, guys. That is specifically why I tell you if you’re gonna build them yourselves, which I don’t recommend, you’re better off buying them already built from MGYB. But my point is, whenever you build them or buy them, I’ve always recommended that you post manually to, at least to the blog accounts, which are Blogger, Tumblr, and WordPress, post manually to them and allow that post to sit with for about seven days or so, I call that seasoning the network, before hooking IFTTT up and starting to automate post to it.

Because if you automate right off the bat, then a lot of the times one of those or a couple of those blog accounts will get terminated. Tumblr has been real like trigger-happy in the past, and it goes in waves, guys. WordPress too, WordPress will often get terminated if you try to automate posting to it too quickly. So that’s my process for GMBs as well. We don’t like to automate things right off the bat. I like to have my team go in and do all this stuff manually and then within a week or so, or a few days time, they’ll go back and connect through the API, which is through essentially that’s done within the post scheduler dashboard, and then they’ll start to automate the posts.

So just so you’re aware, if you’re posting manually first, which is what I recommend, then you’re not going to have a tag in that post. So when you start the posting, scheduling posts out using the post scheduler or the briefcase, depending on what level you’re at, then that first post that you create will be the first post in the silo. You can manually go link from within that first scheduled post to the post that you created. That’s why in the spreadsheet, the GMB assets sheet, which you guys have the template for that have joined Local Lease Pro, there’s a column for the first GMB post URL.

Again, my team, when they go to schedule the first post within the briefcase, we use the briefcase because we got a lot of locations, then they can just go copy and manually add that first post URL to that first scheduled post, and then that one will have the tag in it, and from that point forward they can daisy chain them together.

All right. Again, you’re right on track, Olena. I think you just needed a little bit of clarification.

Issues With Changing Appointment URL With Amazon S3 @id Page in GMB

All right. Ted’s up next. Ted says, “Hey guys, a heads up. My tree service GMB that’s been around and generating leads since LLP launched was suspended this weekend when I updated my appointment URL with the Amazon S3 @id page. Also, I was using the same Ghost Browser session since day one. I just wanted to get everyone heads up.” Yeah. That is one of the things that I would recommend. Well, first of all, like I said, I’ve told my team to stay out of them all together right now while we let things settle and there’s a lot of testing going on through various people and other groups as well. So once we have a better understanding of what it is that is triggering that, which can be a number of things, we’ve got to try to identify each one of them.

Again, I would recommend just staying out of them, but one of the things that I would recommend not doing, for those of you that still want to test with your own assets at the moment, is do not add the @id ID page to the appointment URL. If you want, you can link to it via anchor text link within the GMB website text, so it would be a contextual link. But I would recommend not pushing anything into the appointment URL at the moment, that section, other than an actual appointment app. Okay. That’s just one of the things that I think is potentially causing problems. So I would recommend not adding that URL right now to the appointment section URL, only adding a valid appointment URL or scheduling app there at the moment. Okay.

Again, you can still link to it, guys. You can link to it from your GMB post. You can link to it from an anchor text link within your GMB website content. Okay? I’m sorry for you, Ted, but that’s the nature of the game. The good thing is at least you’ve got quite some longevity out of that anyways. You said it had been producing leads for you and all that. You know can do it again, right?

Marco: Yeah. I told my VAs not to change anything, to just keep doing what they were doing it and not to start anything new, by the way.

Bradley: Right.

Marco: We just kept going because I don’t like changing, I don’t like sending Google mixed signals. Interestingly enough, I had one suspended, and I hadn’t had one suspended yet I was wondering what all the ruckus was about, and I finally had one suspended. Then when we started talking about it, when I went back and talked to the VA, she uploaded a video which we had never done on that one account. So veering from what we’re doing, just by a video was enough to get the account suspended.

Bradley: That’s crazy.

Marco: Yeah. It’s really interesting what’s going on. If you do anything different than what you’ve been doing, you’re setting yourself up to be hit. They’re just sniping anyone, left and right. I mean, third on the match and you’re done.

Bradley: Yeah. By the way, that’s something else. We had our live event and that was really where I started developing the scaling processes so that we could build, build, build. That was the goal for … We had our live event in October and so we had a 12-week period or a 90-day sprint where were our goal was to hit 50 assets built and optimize. So that ended about three weeks ago and so the next 12 weeks was gonna be all about monetizing assets.

It just worked out for us that we had built all these and now because of what’s going on, the timing is, it just happened that it’s a good time for us to stay out of building new ones at the moment, work on off-page stuff to get the ones that we built that aren’t performing well yet. We can work on all the off-page stuff now to get those to start performing better, ranking better, producing better.

I am developing the processes right now currently for, well, obviously, as I shared with you guys just moments ago, I’m still developing some of the off-page strategies and processes for my team, but at the same time I’m developing the monetization so that outreach prospecting and sales process for monetizing these assets, and that’s my next 12-week goal, which like I said we’re in about week three now of developing those processes out, which will be shared in the Mastermind. I’m gonna give everybody exactly what I’ve been doing and show real road examples of how the stuff that I’m doing, what works, what doesn’t work, all of that, like I always do in the Mastermind.

So that’s something that we just got started on this week. Now the POFU Live event attendees, I have a weekly accountability meeting with them and we did that on Monday. If anybody’s here on the Hump Day Hangouts that was there on Monday or watched the replay, you can comment, if you don’t mind, on the page and let people know how that strategy is going.

Because it’s a very powerful strategy, using video email. We’ve got a training protocol video call lead-gen system that I’m going to be updating with all of this prospecting training and processes that I’m developing right now for outreach in prospecting in sales essentially monetizing our assets specific to GMB stuff. I’m going to be adding all of that training and updating it in the video lead-gen system. That’s going to be something that we will launch probably at the end of this 12-week sprint, which is about nine weeks from now.

Again, guys, there’s a lot of stuff going on. If you’ve got stuff that’s already built but not monetized yet, now’s a good time to work on pushing them to get them to produce better and also working on developing your prospecting strategy to get them monetized. Let the dust settle on building new assets at the moment and within a few weeks, guys, will have some new methods.

What Are Some Of Your Ranking Strategies in Pinterest?

Anyways, the next question, from Dean. Marco, it’s gonna be directed at you because I don’t have any idea about anything on Pinterest. I’ll read it for you. “Question for Hump Day Hangout 225. Have any of you guys tried ranking in Pinterest? Their PPC system seems expensive compared to Google but they are a good fit for my home and garden client. Thing is with nearly 2,000 pins of furniture products and with hashtag optimized descriptions, only a few seem to pop up in Pinterest search. Old pins that have been saved a few times or more, that hints to me that pin saved by people may be the biggest ranking factor in Pinterest. Can you shed some light? If that’s the case, I wonder if some spam accounts can save pins and manipulate it somewhat?”

Marco: All right. I’m sorry I’ve spent about two years in Pinterest figuring out the algorithm and a whole bunch of different things that what makes it go and I’m not willing to give that up for free.

Bradley: Okay, fair enough. We’re gonna move on. Sorry, Dean. I’d help you if I could, but I don’t know a dick about Pinterest. I’ve never really done anything with Pinterest so I can’t help you anyways.

What Are The Reasons Why Verified GMBs Do Not Show Up In Google My Maps?

Jay Turner says, “Some of my service area business client’s verified GMBs do not show up in Google My Maps when searching for them in order to add their pin to a Google My Map. Why is that? Does adding KML file …? Again, it’s probably because it’s a GMB service area business. I don’t know that for sure because I don’t do a whole lot of My Map stuff. Is that something we can comment on? I know that’s kind of RYS stuff.

Marco: It is. If you hide the address you cannot expect to find it.

Bradley: Right.

Marco: Because all you’re going to pull up is a service area. So there’s no way to do that.

Bradley: Yeah. You could use the city center for that area. I mean, that’s something that you could do. But I don’t do a whole lot of My Map stuff still. I just never really did. I know we have RYS Academy training that talks about that stuff, Jay. So if you’re in there, that might be a good question for the RYS Facebook group. Okay.

Will. Let’s see. This is similar to the one that Olena asked, but I’ll read it real fast and we’ll move on. He says, “When using the GMB auto poster and writing a month’s worth of post, are you saying that we should manually post the first post in the sequence of these 30 posts then use the GMB auto poster software so that we can link to the first post and the subsequent posts in the Auto poster?”

Well, no. Again, it’s not about always linking to that first post, guys. Again, you post manually because it’s a way to kind of season the asset without automating stuff right off the bat. Okay? That’s it. That’s all. It’s just part of the optimization process for my team. It’s not about always linking to that one post, guys. The siloing is more about theming. It’s just like a website silo, guys. I think too many of you guys are trying to over complicate stuff, and I’m not picking on you, Will.

But if you understand website silo architecture, for YouTube silo architecture, which you can accomplish with playlists, it’s the exact same with GMB post silos. Again, it’s the same principle, guys. It’s no difference whatsoever. As long as you understand website silos and how to build those correctly and theme your silos correctly, you just repeat that same process in either YouTube or GMB. It’s the same process, right? Again, it shouldn’t be over complicated, guys.

If you don’t understand website silo architecture, go search our YouTube channel. I’ve got several videos on there that I’ve talked about. They’re several years old, but the strategy has not changed a bit. Right? It’s one of those things that are timeless, that will continue to work. You can also go search Bruce Clay. Just go search on Google Bruce Clay website silos and it’ll be the first link at the very top of Google search results and click on it. It’s an old article. I think it’s from 2009 or ‘10. Read it, it’s still valid and relevant today. Okay.

Next, Robert Nelson. He’s our new Mastermind member. Welcome, Robert. He says, “Hey guys, excited! Just signed up for the Mastermind around an hour ago. Looking forward to getting to know you guys better over the next few months.” Yeah. I hope you schedule a call with me through my calendar link I sent to you, Robert, via email. So I hope to talk to you next week.

Is It Okay To Use RSS Authority Sniper On PBNs?

He says, “My question is, I’m wondering if you think it’s a good idea to use RSS authorities.” Oh, yeah. This is a great question, by the way, guys. This is a really good question. I’m gonna answer it. “I’m wondering if you think it’s a good idea to use RSS authority sniper on PBNs if it’s also been used to create feeds for the money site.” Okay. First of all, you’re using RankFeedr to create the feeds. RSS authority sniper just finds feeds, okay? So you’re using RankFeedr to create the feeds.

“Which my PBNs are linking to.” He says, “I’m a bit worried about a footprint if the domain they use for RankFeedr feeds has links to my money sites as well as my PBNs. Do you think that’s an issue?” All right. What I would recommend is that you would create separate feeds to embed in your money sites. Okay. If you’re using PBNs, and I don’t know if you’re populating content, in other words, are you feeding content to your PBNs through RankFeedr, which I don’t recommend because that would look like crap, but you can embed the feed.

Again, I just talked about that in Syndication Academy on how to do that, guys, and the Mastermind, you guys all have access to that anyways, which means, Robert, you’ll have access to that too. Again, that was the most recent Syndication Academy update webinar. I talked about how to embed a feed. Okay. So using the RankFeedr feed to embed is super, it’s great, it’s fantastic.

So what I would recommend is that you can use RankFeedr feeds on your PBN as an embedded feed which will create co-citation, but do not include your money site links either static or RSS feeds as part the RankFeedr feed that’s on the money site-, or excuse me, the PBNs. Just use that to add local and topical relevancy to the actual PBN. Then you can still use traditional links within the content to link back to your money sites because the RankFeedr feeds that are embedded aren’t going to be having any of your content sources in the feed itself, which would be kind of a footprint, because now you’d have an embedded feed that has links to your content sources like your money content sources as well as contextual links from your traditional PBN links back to the same destination. Yeah, that would be in a footprint I would worry about.

Plus, I would also have, if you’re going to be using RankFeedr to create co-citation feeds for your money site, those would be separate feeds. In other words, I’d have one RankFeeder feed that I would use is an embed on the PBN to just add geographic and topical relevancy to that PBN, then I would have separate RankFeedr feed where you would include your money side RSS feed, your GMB RSS feed if you’re doing it for local, you could also have your static items and all that so that you can create local and geographic co-citation relevance to your money site. Bt that would be separate and apart from what you’re using on your money site-, or excuse me, your PBN. Does that make sense?

Just keep that in mind, guys. Remember, with the top level subscription package, it’s like $47 a month, guys. It’s ridiculous. You can get up to 1,100 feeds. I would create two separate feeds in that case if you’re doing that, just like I said. Robert, we can talk about that in a little bit more on our call, if you want to go and do it a little bit deeper. Okay.

Also, you can post, by the way, Robert, the Mastermind Facebook group, we go real deep into discussions about anything that you want. So if you want to post that in there, we can comment on a little bit further, also on the mastermind webinar as we dig into that stuff, so you see over the shoulder training type stuff. Marco and I get real deep into that stuff all the time. We get into the weeds. Awesome. Glad to have you.

Greg, thanks for being here, man, as always.

Is There Some Type Of Google My Business Updates Going On?

Frankie says, “Hey guys, it’s my first time back,” what’s up, Frankie?, “since you moved off Google Plus. I would like to know if there is some type of Google My Business GMB updates going?” Yes, a lot. “There was a lot of talk about this in other groups. Is it all BS or GMB the same still?” No. They’re cracking down, which guys we’ve been talking about, we knew it was gonna happen, it was just a matter of time. It doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the world. It just means that shit settles down, we’ll figure out the next method and we’ll produce training around it when it’s available, all right, once we figure it out. But glad to have you back, Frankie. Okay.

Jordan says, “Welcome back to WordPress sites, all GMBers.” Well, no, I wouldn’t say that yet. Maybe. We’ll see.

Marco: No. There’s still other ways that you can verify GMBs. All they’re trying to do is kill one loophole, but there’s quite a few others. The old stuff that we’ve always been preaching is still working. So no, I’m not planning on going back to WordPress sites anytime soon. If anything, I’ll just go back to G sites. Well, I never left G sites, right? Drive stacks and G sites.

Bradley: Yeah. Quit This House says, “Do we still get the bonus semantic webinar if we buy feed burner stuff today?” Yeah. Well, essentially, all I was gonna do was share some of my methods on how I’m using it and some of the results that I’ve gotten. Yeah, sure. I’m glad you mentioned that, by the way, because I almost forgot about it. So if you bought RankFeedr guys through us and you can prove it, then just reach out, what I’ll do is …

By the way, Adam, if you’re still, on can you do me a favor and make a note of this? Maybe in two weeks or three weeks something like that I’ll hold a kind of an update webinar for RankFeedr, and Mastermind will obviously be included, and maybe I’ll probably include Syndication Academy members too, because it’s precisely the method that I’ve shared in Syndication Academy, which is how to embed those feeds and create the feeds, and what I’m doing, and where I’m embedding them. I’ll even give you guys the process for, well, that’s only Mastermind members will get the process doc, guys. It has to be that way.

But I can share with you what I’m doing and the results that I’m getting specifically with those RankFeedr feeds and how to get really good results for local stuff. Okay. So, yeah, I will do just an update webinar and it’d probably be a short webinar. Again, the Mastermind, they’re going to get the process docs for this stuff too so that they can have their team do it as opposed to doing it on your own or developing the docs on your own.

But, yeah, that’s a good idea. I appreciate you reminding me about that. Absolutely, just reach out to us at support. We’ll create a small list on for people that we’ve known. Or just come join a Mastermind, you’ll get it anyways. Also, as I said, it might be part of the Syndication Academy update webinar is what I’ll do. It’s likely gonna be that too and we’ll just include the RankFeedr buyers into that also. Okay. It’s a good question though.

What URL Do I Use From The GMB Briefcase Auto Poster To Setup The RSS Authority Sniper?

Michael says, “Question about RSS authority sniper. What URL do I use from GMB briefcase auto poster to set up the sniper? Everyone I’ve tried got an error. Thanks.” I don’t know why that’s the case, Michael. Have you posted? You have to have GMB post or the RSS feed won’t register. It’s just like a WordPress site. If you try to add an RSS feed to IFTTT that contains no items, it won’t accept it. It will give you an error every time. So have you posted? If so, then what I …

By the way, inside the auto poster, guys, there’s an update RSS file button. You go to settings RSS feeds and that lists all of your locations that are connected to the auto poster or the briefcase, depending on where you’re at, and then it says, there’s a blue button off to the right column and it says copy URL or whatever. Well, that’s your RSS feed. If you’re having issues, just click that update RSS file button, it’s at the top of that column, it’s a yellow button, click that.

It’ll take a few seconds to reload. Once it read loads, all of your feeds will be updated and just check it then. Go check it in a Firefox browser. You’re gonna have to add, it’s called the RSSPreview Firefox add-on. RSSPreview is one word. Go open Firefox, go to Google and search RSSPreview Firefox add-on. It’ll be the first link at the time top of the search results. Click that, add it to your Firefox, enable it. That way you can start viewing HTML versions of an RSS feed in Firefox again. They disabled that a few months ago for whatever reason. The native RSS feed reader in Firefox is you have to create add the add-on now. Okay. But then just go check it.

If you have any other issues, contact support Shreepad, which is little support bubble is in the bottom right corner inside the briefcase or the post scheduler, he’s really, really good at replying to support requests, guys. If you have any issues, contact him. But I promise you, if you’ve got posts in there and you click the update RSS file button, it should work fine. Okay.

Should We Use SEO Ultimate Plugin Instead Of Yoast For The Battleplan Strategy?

John says, “Hey guys. I purchased the Battle Plan. Awesome. In the plan, it suggests using SEO ultimate plugin, but in the webinar Yoast seems to be the favorite.” Are we still linking to one of the older versions of the webinar, at that point maybe?

Hernan: Yep. Maybe we’re gonna be clipping and updating that really shortly. We have redirects over there.

Bradley: Okay. Yeah. SEO ultimate is way better, guys. It doesn’t have a bunch of loaded code. Jeffrey Smith knows his guys, I’m telling you. It is hands-down the best SEO plugin and get the SEO ultimate plus. It’s inexpensive and gives you a ton of additional functionality. The version 2 of SEO ultimate plus is coming out very soon. It’s been in beta for the last couple months but it’s going to be awesome.

Marco: Yeah. Just a short comment, Yoast is foot fungus get SEO ultimate. Please do yourself a favor.

What Are Some Top On Page And Off Page GMB Tips?

Bradley: Greg Derebret says, “Top on-page GMB tip.” I would say just complete the profile and post regularly. That’s the best on-page tip I can give you. Just completely complete the profile with well-optimized everything. Not stick spammy, just well optimized, well written stuff, and post regularly. Best off-page? That’s to be determined. Right now probably some of the stuff that we teach on Local Lease Pro and some of the stuff that I’m talking about with RankFeedr and that kind of stuff, Greg. Again, we’ll talk about that in one of the closed groups.

Marco: I would say top on-page silo, silo, Gregg. You’re with Gregg. I mean, that’s hands down, I mean, now with Jeffrey, hands down. The top off-page? Press releases, stack them.

Bradley: Yeah. Although the press releases in and of themselves are not as effective as they used to be, even six months ago, unless you’re varying distribution networks consistently or you stack, you publish press releases consistently and regularly-

Marco: That’s why I mentioned stack the press releases.

Bradley: Yeah. I had super good results with the Local PR program method with just as little as two press releases. I was able to rank in 3-pack a year and a half ago or two years ago whenever we launched that training. Now I’m finding to get the same kind of a result I have to publish six or eight press releases to get the same kind of a result, unless I’m varying the distribution networks and stacking to where I’m using three or four different distribution networks where still a lot of them share the same type of footprint, in other words, they share a lot of the same distribution sites.

But if you get some more link diversity from other distribution networks, because they distribute to different sites, in other words, and get picked up by other sites. If you do that, if you have access to a lot of different press release distributions, then that’s that can help. Or you have to stack consistently and regularly if you’re using the same sort of network and make sure that you’re …

Again, I’m not giving away too much here, but as I talked about in the Mastermind last week, I think it was Muhammad’s question about that, there’s not a set formula for how to stack, guys. You just need to constantly be varying what you’re linking to for to different tier one types of properties. It’s something that you need to do and it just seems like it’s taking more press releases to accomplish same thing. And that’s to be expected, guys. Anytime something works really well in SEO, it’s only a matter of time before it starts to become less effective. Right?

So don’t say the press releases aren’t effective. I’m not saying that at all it’s just the strategy has evolved a bit. Right?

Marco: Just to add just a quick thought, Greg. You have access to Dedia. Reach out to him because if you link build to your press releases he knows exactly what to do.

Bradley: Yeah.

Marco: That’ll set it on fire. Now I’m giving away too much. Drop some traffic in there, Greg

Where Can We Get Backlinks For Videos?

Bradley: Yeah. Marco, the next question, when does link building gonna be available in MGYB?

Marco: It’s being added as we speak.

Bradley: Okay. So there you go. Because, Greg, you can contact Dedia directly or you can wait, it should be available any minute because it thought was gonna be available last week. So that answers the next question, we he says, “Where can we get backlinks for videos?” Guys, our best link builder, he’s been working with me for six years now I guess and he’s awesome. We’re gonna have that service available in MGYB and it should be like at any moment. Okay? So check back often.

Is It Safe To Autopost To Lead Gen GMB Nowadays?

Guys, I got to run in a minute so I’ll try to get through the next one very quickly. Grant. What’s up, Grant? He was one of the POFU Live attendees. He’s been working very closely with the group. It’s awesome to have you here. He says, “Is auto posting to lead-gen GMB safe currently? Yeah, it is. As far as I know. I haven’t had any issues with that whatsoever. I have not had a single property terminated or suspended from that. Now I can’t swear that that’s the case for everybody. I’m just telling you I have not had any issues whatsoever it’s making on-page changes that’s been causing problems. It’s depending on what kind of change it is too, because I’ve actually been manually going in and changing on a lot of different stuff.

Like I mentioned earlier, guys, one thing I would not recommend doing is trying to add anything to the appointment URL section other than an actual bonafide genuine appointment app right now. That’s one thing that I see is triggering suspensions. Okay. I don’t know that for sure, but that’s a hunch of mine. I’ve heard that happen now from several different people. We lost six or seven assets just last week. But it’s the first six or seven out of like more than 10 times that we’ve built.

Again, I think a lot of it has to do with that one particular process. So my team’s not touching anything at the moment. I’m in their testing with different things right now. Something else is, and this is kind of using a manager account, I’ve talked about not doing that in the past, but I think using a manager account actually helps right now. So what I’ve been doing is I’ve been going in and adding a manager account to an asset and making some slight changes and then removing the manager. Still I’ve not had anything suspended like right before my eyes anyways, if that makes sense.

Google Starts To Ask For GMB Location Validation With Tax Invoice Or Business License

Gregg says, “Google is starting to ask for GMB location validation with tax.” Yeah, that’s one of the things I had predicted I thought would happen. Gregg, I’ve said that before that that was my speculation on what was going to happen, is that they were gonna start requiring either corporate doc’s or proof of mail being facts or photos taken with company letterhead or like bank statements, all of that stuff that I’ve had to do in the past to have verified GMBs moved to different locations. That’s what I assumed and I had speculated would probably happen.

The plan you outlined in your POFU group to monetize your GMB locations is brilliant and simpler, easier, and is the best method I’ve seen from all your optimization methods I’ve seen over the years that will be high converting. That’s awesome, Gregg. Yeah. I’m gonna be doing a lot of training over that next few weeks on that.

Last call to win the free Semantic Mastery T-shirt. Okay. “Bradley, is there a new press release program coming down the road soon?” Yes, there is. I can’t really announce that just yet, but I’ve been testing something that’s really kind of disruptive. I wouldn’t say that lightly, but it’s really, really cool technology that one of our very own Mastermind members has been developing it. He’s one of the code developers behind it. I’ve been on several calls with him and it’s actually very disruptive what they’re doing. Something that no other service out there has that I think would be a great addition to what we’re already doing. Again, that’s something that we’ll be announcing here in the coming weeks.

All right. Guys, pick the best question and all that so we can wrap it up.

Marco: Alex. One of the very first questions was excellent.

Bradley: Where was that? Right there?

Marco: Yeah.

Bradley: Yep, Alex. Okay. So Alex is the winner for what, either the Battle Plan or what? T-shirt?

Hernan: Battle Plan.

Marco: Yeah. We said Battle Plan I think.

Bradley: Okay. Well, somebody else is getting a T-shirt, aren’t they?

Adam: Yeah. We did a random number generator and saw who bought and who posted back. Ted, you are the winner so just send into support from your normal email. I think we’ve actually had some back and forth between me and you, so just shoot an email into support. We’ll get to that large shirt and next time I’m in Sacramento I’m gonna find you for a beer, man.

Bradley: Don’t lie. The reason why he won is because of the beer emoji. Guys, I hope you all were paying attention. The next time you want to win something just put a beer emoji in there.

Adam: Yeah. Be within an hour’s drive of me and offer a free beer. No. We used a random number generator. It worked out, man. So we’ll get you your shirt just send them to support that’s semanticmastery.com.

Bradley: Awesome. I hope everybody got a lot out of this. No Mastermind webinar tomorrow, but we got one next week on what I’m working on, which I’ll be sharing with you guys, with the POFU members, and I have started developing this week, which is the outreach program using video email specific to the GMB asset stuff. We’re going to be going through that. So guys pay attention. Oh, and I’ll share the RankFeedr process doc with you guys in the Mastermind too. So see you all next week. Thanks guys for hanging out.

Hernan: See you, guys.

Marco: Bye everybody.

Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 225 published first on your-t1-blog-url

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howardkuester22 · 5 years

Text

Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 225

youtube

Click on the video above to watch Episode 225 of the Semantic Mastery Hump Day Hangouts.

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

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

Announcement

Chris: Doing good. Exciting day today, especially with all the good stuff going on in Semantic Mastery.

Adam: Definitely, definitely. Hernan, how about yourself, how are you doing?

Adam: Oh, I just have this T-shirt on, how random. All right. Well, anyways, moving right along. Marco, how are you doing?

Marco: I’m good, man. What’s up?

Adam: Nothing, just chillin’. I was hoping for a weather report. It’s kind of overcast and nasty here. How about you?

Marco: It’s over-sunny and sunny here.

Adam: Bradley, how are you doing? What have you got, snow, hurricanes? What’s going on?

Bradley: I don’t know. I haven’t been outside since about 6 o'clock this morning because I’ve been working all day. But it looks sunny, with the temperature. Anyways, hi!

Adam: Well, I see you’ve got your nightshirt on too.

Bradley: Yeah. We got the memo, apparently. Mine is fading now because I wear mine more than you, apparently.

Let’s get into it. I need to pay some stuff on the page. Hernan, or you guys, can you tell them a little bit more about what’s going on with the Battle Plan?

No magic pills. No magic formulas. Anybody telling you that you can make $100,000 overnight is blowing smoke up your ass. Stop listening. Put in the work.

Bradley: Yeah. He mentioned G tickle, that sounds a lot dirtier than it really is. Just check out the Battle Plan, you’ll see what we mean.

Marco: Can we give someone a Battle Plan for the best question? I know we didn’t plan this ahead, but why don’t we do that?

Adam: Yeah.

Marco: Or if they bought it, we can refund it.

Bradley: Cool. Can we get into it?

Adam: Let’s do it.

Just kind of wanna give everybody a heads up that, no, don’t panic, guys, I’m sure you’ve got plenty of stuff that you can work on while the process is calming down. Eventually, it will, it always does, and we’ll find other ways. That’s just the nature of the game. It’s a cat-and-mouse game. That’s what SEO is, really, digital marketing.

Does Ranking YouTube Videos And Selling Lead For Local Business In Google Still Work In 2019?

Correct me if I’m wrong, Adam, but isn’t that training available is an order bump for the Battle Plan?

Adam: I’m not gonna lie I was looking at a spreadsheet, I missed the first part of that.

Bradley: The YouTube ads training I did for local videos?

Adam: Yep. Yeah. You can get that if you buy the Battle Plan on check out. It’s the killer ads for local, order bump, yeah.

Factors Contributing To Low Conversion/Leads Despite Having Many Views in GMB Insights

Those are some of the things that I would recommend. Marco, what do you say?

Bradley: And how often.

Can You Explain The Siloing Process Of GMB Auto Poster?

All right. Again, you’re right on track, Olena. I think you just needed a little bit of clarification.

Issues With Changing Appointment URL With Amazon S3 @id Page in GMB

Marco: Yeah. I told my VAs not to change anything, to just keep doing what they were doing it and not to start anything new, by the way.

Bradley: Right.

Bradley: That’s crazy.

What Are Some Of Your Ranking Strategies in Pinterest?

What Are The Reasons Why Verified GMBs Do Not Show Up In Google My Maps?

Marco: It is. If you hide the address you cannot expect to find it.

Bradley: Right.

Marco: Because all you’re going to pull up is a service area. So there’s no way to do that.

Is It Okay To Use RSS Authority Sniper On PBNs?

Greg, thanks for being here, man, as always.

Is There Some Type Of Google My Business Updates Going On?

Jordan says, “Welcome back to WordPress sites, all GMBers.” Well, no, I wouldn’t say that yet. Maybe. We’ll see.

What URL Do I Use From The GMB Briefcase Auto Poster To Setup The RSS Authority Sniper?

Should We Use SEO Ultimate Plugin Instead Of Yoast For The Battleplan Strategy?

Hernan: Yep. Maybe we’re gonna be clipping and updating that really shortly. We have redirects over there.

Marco: Yeah. Just a short comment, Yoast is foot fungus get SEO ultimate. Please do yourself a favor.

What Are Some Top On Page And Off Page GMB Tips?

Marco: I would say top on-page silo, silo, Gregg. You’re with Gregg. I mean, that’s hands down, I mean, now with Jeffrey, hands down. The top off-page? Press releases, stack them.

Marco: That’s why I mentioned stack the press releases.

So don’t say the press releases aren’t effective. I’m not saying that at all it’s just the strategy has evolved a bit. Right?

Marco: Just to add just a quick thought, Greg. You have access to Dedia. Reach out to him because if you link build to your press releases he knows exactly what to do.

Bradley: Yeah.

Marco: That’ll set it on fire. Now I’m giving away too much. Drop some traffic in there, Greg

Where Can We Get Backlinks For Videos?

Bradley: Yeah. Marco, the next question, when does link building gonna be available in MGYB?

Marco: It’s being added as we speak.

Is It Safe To Autopost To Lead Gen GMB Nowadays?

Google Starts To Ask For GMB Location Validation With Tax Invoice Or Business License

All right. Guys, pick the best question and all that so we can wrap it up.

Marco: Alex. One of the very first questions was excellent.

Bradley: Where was that? Right there?

Marco: Yeah.

Bradley: Yep, Alex. Okay. So Alex is the winner for what, either the Battle Plan or what? T-shirt?

Hernan: Battle Plan.

Marco: Yeah. We said Battle Plan I think.

Bradley: Okay. Well, somebody else is getting a T-shirt, aren’t they?

Bradley: Don’t lie. The reason why he won is because of the beer emoji. Guys, I hope you all were paying attention. The next time you want to win something just put a beer emoji in there.

Hernan: See you, guys.

Marco: Bye everybody.

Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 225 published first on your-t1-blog-url

0 notes

pledje · 5 years

Text

Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 225

youtube

Click on the video above to watch Episode 225 of the Semantic Mastery Hump Day Hangouts.

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

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

Announcement

Chris: Doing good. Exciting day today, especially with all the good stuff going on in Semantic Mastery.

Adam: Definitely, definitely. Hernan, how about yourself, how are you doing?

Adam: Oh, I just have this T-shirt on, how random. All right. Well, anyways, moving right along. Marco, how are you doing?

Marco: I’m good, man. What’s up?

Adam: Nothing, just chillin’. I was hoping for a weather report. It’s kind of overcast and nasty here. How about you?

Marco: It’s over-sunny and sunny here.

Adam: Bradley, how are you doing? What have you got, snow, hurricanes? What’s going on?

Bradley: I don’t know. I haven’t been outside since about 6 o'clock this morning because I’ve been working all day. But it looks sunny, with the temperature. Anyways, hi!

Adam: Well, I see you’ve got your nightshirt on too.

Bradley: Yeah. We got the memo, apparently. Mine is fading now because I wear mine more than you, apparently.

Let’s get into it. I need to pay some stuff on the page. Hernan, or you guys, can you tell them a little bit more about what’s going on with the Battle Plan?

No magic pills. No magic formulas. Anybody telling you that you can make $100,000 overnight is blowing smoke up your ass. Stop listening. Put in the work.

Bradley: Yeah. He mentioned G tickle, that sounds a lot dirtier than it really is. Just check out the Battle Plan, you’ll see what we mean.

Marco: Can we give someone a Battle Plan for the best question? I know we didn’t plan this ahead, but why don’t we do that?

Adam: Yeah.

Marco: Or if they bought it, we can refund it.

Bradley: Cool. Can we get into it?

Adam: Let’s do it.

Does Ranking YouTube Videos And Selling Lead For Local Business In Google Still Work In 2019?

Correct me if I’m wrong, Adam, but isn’t that training available is an order bump for the Battle Plan?

Adam: I’m not gonna lie I was looking at a spreadsheet, I missed the first part of that.

Bradley: The YouTube ads training I did for local videos?

Adam: Yep. Yeah. You can get that if you buy the Battle Plan on check out. It’s the killer ads for local, order bump, yeah.

Factors Contributing To Low Conversion/Leads Despite Having Many Views in GMB Insights

Those are some of the things that I would recommend. Marco, what do you say?

Bradley: And how often.

Can You Explain The Siloing Process Of GMB Auto Poster?

All right. Again, you’re right on track, Olena. I think you just needed a little bit of clarification.

Issues With Changing Appointment URL With Amazon S3 @id Page in GMB

Marco: Yeah. I told my VAs not to change anything, to just keep doing what they were doing it and not to start anything new, by the way.

Bradley: Right.

Bradley: That’s crazy.

What Are Some Of Your Ranking Strategies in Pinterest?

What Are The Reasons Why Verified GMBs Do Not Show Up In Google My Maps?

Marco: It is. If you hide the address you cannot expect to find it.

Bradley: Right.

Marco: Because all you’re going to pull up is a service area. So there’s no way to do that.

Is It Okay To Use RSS Authority Sniper On PBNs?

Greg, thanks for being here, man, as always.

Is There Some Type Of Google My Business Updates Going On?

Jordan says, “Welcome back to WordPress sites, all GMBers.” Well, no, I wouldn’t say that yet. Maybe. We’ll see.

What URL Do I Use From The GMB Briefcase Auto Poster To Setup The RSS Authority Sniper?

Should We Use SEO Ultimate Plugin Instead Of Yoast For The Battleplan Strategy?

Hernan: Yep. Maybe we’re gonna be clipping and updating that really shortly. We have redirects over there.

Marco: Yeah. Just a short comment, Yoast is foot fungus get SEO ultimate. Please do yourself a favor.

What Are Some Top On Page And Off Page GMB Tips?

Marco: I would say top on-page silo, silo, Gregg. You’re with Gregg. I mean, that’s hands down, I mean, now with Jeffrey, hands down. The top off-page? Press releases, stack them.

Marco: That’s why I mentioned stack the press releases.

So don’t say the press releases aren’t effective. I’m not saying that at all it’s just the strategy has evolved a bit. Right?

Marco: Just to add just a quick thought, Greg. You have access to Dedia. Reach out to him because if you link build to your press releases he knows exactly what to do.

Bradley: Yeah.

Marco: That’ll set it on fire. Now I’m giving away too much. Drop some traffic in there, Greg

Where Can We Get Backlinks For Videos?

Bradley: Yeah. Marco, the next question, when does link building gonna be available in MGYB?

Marco: It’s being added as we speak.

Is It Safe To Autopost To Lead Gen GMB Nowadays?

Google Starts To Ask For GMB Location Validation With Tax Invoice Or Business License

All right. Guys, pick the best question and all that so we can wrap it up.

Marco: Alex. One of the very first questions was excellent.

Bradley: Where was that? Right there?

Marco: Yeah.

Bradley: Yep, Alex. Okay. So Alex is the winner for what, either the Battle Plan or what? T-shirt?

Hernan: Battle Plan.

Marco: Yeah. We said Battle Plan I think.

Bradley: Okay. Well, somebody else is getting a T-shirt, aren’t they?

Bradley: Don’t lie. The reason why he won is because of the beer emoji. Guys, I hope you all were paying attention. The next time you want to win something just put a beer emoji in there.

Hernan: See you, guys.

Marco: Bye everybody.

Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 225 published first on your-t1-blog-url

0 notes