#((((((( I admit I was tempted to do a team listing but I don't think I have enough time. )))))))

[sandboxscenes]

You've been challenged! (Pokemon AU)

A/N: This is an experimental piece that I wanted to try out because I was inspired by this Pokemon Battle featuring Delphox. This is a different take on a Genshin Impact Pokemon AU. This was done in conjunction with @xianyoon for their Extreme Bias Game. Special thanks to @floraldresvi for assisting me with the ideas for Thoma's section.

Characters: Lyney, Thoma

Genre: Mostly fluff, with hints of angst

Summary:

Pokemon and Genshin collide in this Pokemon style AU that answers the question: What would happen if the characters you encountered in Genshin Impact challenged you?

If you were challenged by them, what would be their in-game tagline when they challenged you to a battle? What would their title be on the game screen? And most importantly, what would be their character summaries?

In short, it positions the different Genshin Impact characters as in-game coded sprites.

Word Count: Lyney (277 words), Thoma (328 words)

You have been challenged by the House of Hearth's Second in Command, Lyney!

Tagline: "Let's give them a show to remember!"

Brief Summary:

Tricks, Illusions, and Magic galore! Whenever anyone takes a seat at Lyney's shows in the Court of Fontaine, they will be in for a magical time. Charming, charismatic, and talented are all words that describe the renowned magician. Lyney and his aforementioned magic shows are famous across the Fontanian landscape. But few know the man behind the spectacle.

Growing up, Lyney owes much of his present success to his upbringing in orphanage known as: The House of Hearth. His sister, Lynette, and his (adopted) brother, Freminet, also grew up there as well. While not much is known about The House of Hearth, it is full of unexpected surprises.

To Lyney, family means to the world to him. He will do anything to protect it. Second only to the "Father" of the House of Hearth, he is the one that will eventually be "Father's successor." Despite his young appearance, there is a reason that he is the second in command. Anyone who ends up underestimating him, regrets it.

For the Magician Lyney, he always wants to keep people on their toes. His Pokemon are the same way. Some of Lyney's trusted Pokemon partners include the show stopping, Delphox and Meowscarada. They also have some tricks up their sleeves as well.

Special Notes:

Lyney's interest in magic has spread to his Pokemon too. His Delphox is a bit of a magician as well - blink and things will disappear. On the other hand, his Meowscarada is ready for anything. It's able to adapt on the fly, like any good magician does.

-------

You have been challenged by the mysterious foreign fixer, Thoma!

Tagline: "Let me protect you. It's what I want to do."

Basic Summary:

Inazuma is a land of tradition.

However, Thoma himself has a very non-traditional skill set.

As someone with skills in cooking and cleaning, he enjoys using his skills to assist people whenever he can. His earnest kindness, his willingness to help, and loyalty have made him well liked among the Inazuman Citizens, despite their wariness towards foreigners.

As a foreigner, Thoma cares deeply about others. He knows what it's like to have people be wary of you due to things out of his control. As someone with a deep sense of duty and loyalty, he is not someone who forgets his debts or reneges on them.

Thoma's actions have earned him the nickname of fixer, as he is well-versed in the art of fixing problems. For someone like Thoma, resolving things peacefully is always preferable. Whether it's a small fight between children over toys to a fight between foreign and local merchants, Thoma would prefer if both sides could compromise.

But if things things escalate, don't be fooled.

When push comes to shove, Thoma's willing to do what it takes to protect himself and his family from harm. Once you have wormed your way into the heart of the foreign fixer, he will protect you until his dying breath.

For the mysterious Fixer, he is well-informed of any happenings going on in Inazuma. He has to be, due to the nature of his job.

With such a dangerous job, he needs partners he can rely on.

One of his trusted Pokemon partners is Talonflame. Talonflame soars above the skies of Inazuma, its keen eyes alerting Thoma to any potential issues that may arise within Inazuma. And for those conflicts that can't be fixed peacefully and require a 'forceful' touch, Thoma's other partner Blaziken, is there to help - both its master, its family, and the people of Inazuma.

[destinygoldenstar]

☀️There Can Only Be ONE Best Boy☀️ - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 1 Episode 4 “Slip N Slide”

I decided, for both to give my followers less of spoilers and for some flare, I would cheaply draw over some screenshots.

For the Purple Team's reward, they got a waterproof tent. But they neglected the fireproof tent as a result, and the producers weren't careful with last challenge.

Nick would be, understandably, terrified of the place, and Alec would be like "Wow, this is an improvement" but look at it so stoically.

So, welcome back to Arson Camp!

Let us continue with the chaos!

Fiore's chilling by the fires, probably writing some AO3 fanfics.

What fandom would Fiore be in? I'm curious.

I feel like this six year old would be into something violent like Mortal Kombat.

"A girl like you should not be awake at this hour."

*looks over at my clock*

Lilly you don't have to call me out like that.

"I don't even listen to my own mom and she thinks she can control me?!"

If you weren't six, I would say slay and tell them what's for...

But you're six. So...

"If you were feeling safe, I've got bad news for you."

Welp, Lilly's gone. I called it.

OH GOD NO!!!

WHY?!?!??!?! HOW DOES THIS BENEFIT YOU!??!??!?!?!

I feel like this was my fault because I made the fire joke.

Fiore was like, "You know, I had this weird feeling that some viewer named AnalyzGolden was watching us and she told me to burn shit. And now I suddenly have the urge to do it."

Goddammit me.

What next? The characters in that heading get eliminated today?

The subtitle again. I CAN'T with these parenthesis XD

(I have subtitles on because sometimes I mishear stuff when I watch stuff the first time)

"I'm not going to be part of this argument."

*holds back a laugh* Alec's actually so based for that.

Y'all want less DRAMA in TOTAL DRAMA?

Simple answer.

You just walk away from it.

"I think I know who did it." *Among Us Music*

*chokes on breath*

NO. NO.

DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT?!?!

*rewinds*

NO THEY ACTUALLY DID THAT. OMG.

THEY MADE THE JOKE FOR ME.

I was making several Among Us jokes last episode.

I feel like I've become some overlord and they somehow hear me and do what I tell them.

"For some reason Golden is telling me I'm very SUS... huh, wonder what that means."

Fiore if you can hear me. I didn't say you had slay pass. I never said that.

The only one I gave slay pass was Grett.

You have to earn yours.

"Lill?! What in queen's name did you do?!" *sound effect*

Okay. Now it's getting a bit crazy.

"I don't think Lill would do this to us."

THANK YOU. THANK YOU ASHLEY.

"It's about psychology in different kinds of people."

"It says here that people who enter reality competitions and get tempted by money have the tendency to become more ruthless and emotionally manipulative to their advantage, derailing their personalities. If you'd like some examples from the many seasons of Total Drama, I'd be happy to give you an analogy."

"What makes you think I wouldn't want to read it?"

You're six.

"Well... fair point."

Okay. I guess that's not a point.

"It's a drawing. My son drew it for me."

Alec has a family?

I mean he did look older, I admit, but I didn't think anyone here had kids.

So is Alec in this game to help his family with funds? We got another one.

'List of Motives:'

'Fiore: Abandoned'

'Ashley: Save Farm'

'Jake: Help Grandma'

'Tom: Sus'

'Nick: Prove Himself'

'Alec: Family'

'Everyone else: ???'

"I'm just as confused as you."

I have NO IDEA what happened AT ALL. It totally wasn't me who flipped. I was sure Drew was the impostor!

"Then what if Drew voted for himself?"

He said 'Fuck this shit I'm out'.

"He knew things I didn't want anyone to know."

"I just can't tell anyone about my hobbies, okay?!"

"As long as Grett doesn't tell either of them I should be fine."

Hey Grett. Maybe you should tell Jake something. Just a thought.

...

WAIT I SAID THAT AS A JOKE, HOLD ON-

"For some reason I have the urge to tell Jake something. Huh, wonder who this Golden Voice is."

"I voted for Gabby because the boys told me to."

Was it Dan that suggested Gabby??

*looks back*

Actually no it wasn't. I was gonna call hypocrisy, but that'd be me complaining about something that's not there. Okay.

Alright I won't bully him. This time.

"Nobody can be trusted here."

"Nobody can be trusted here-anyway, Tom, who never shows his face, can I trust that you'll vote with me?"

"I'm disappointed that Dan voted for me."

Oh, you're actually affected by that. Wow.

Okay, here you go Gabby. You can have slay pass. ⚔️

Use it for whatever you want to eliminate with. If you want to use it on Dan, go ahead. I don't care if he goes tbh.

I just realized most of my favs are on the same team XD

Oooh, swimming episode!

Tom is STILL in his suit XD

"Hey uh, Tom, the sun can't reach you if you're underwater. I don't think you need to be wearing that. You don't want to get your normal clothes wet, right?"

"Eh I never found use for a swimsuit anyway! Besides! The sun will dry them up quickly!"

"Doesn't that go against what you told us earlier?!"

"My relationship with the sun does not concern you! No it's not toxic what are you talking about?!"

But he's not wearing the hoodie anymore! That's an improvement!

I feel like we're gonna get a Tom face reveal at some point, right?

Oooh.

I didn't think there would be a cabin.

And a phone to call home? PLEASE tell me they take advantage of this and we learn more about these characters homelives!

"You're not yelling and talking nonsense... I like it."

Grett. You're so awful. I love you.

I have such BAD TASTES for favorites, don't I?

(Idk who the fan favorites/hated characters are)

That's not an english subtitle.

...I'm not gonna say anything further than that, cause I'm scared that the joke in my head is very offensive.

"What did you expect? Nobody likes you and everyone thinks you're crazy."

I... I mean technically she's right. Doesn't make it right to rub salt in the wound though.

I still love you Gabby. Don't worry.

"Have you lied to me too?"

"Of course."

Oh WOW.

I did NOT expect her to just be blunt and honest like that.

Why is a VILLAIN character so honest about what they do? That's such a unique character trait. I love how they're using it.

"For what it's worth, I believe you."

"You have no reason to lie. I've known you for a few days and you always put this alliance first."

THANK YOU ASHLEY FOR BEING THE SMART ONE ON THIS TEAM.

Fiore struggling to paddle, omg

"My hands are killing me. You think you can row for me if I pay you?"

Nick...

Nick, I'm waiting patiently for your character development. You better deliver cause you've annoyed me this episode and last episode. Jake's gonna take crown for best boy if you're not careful.

Also, she's a KID and can't even hold one paddle right.

"I'm already tired of always eating fish."

Yeah, that has to get tedious after awhile, especially if you guys are THAT hungry and have no choice.

I hate seafood. I wouldn't survive.

"What are you craving?"

"Chinese takeout. I always order that at home."

My sibling actually loves Chinese as well... I'm a Mexican person, though.

"There's a restaurant I live near that'll knock your socks off. We should go when this is over."

TOM. Are you... ASKING HIM OUT?!

"Hey, your eyes... they're pretty. I never noticed since you've always got that hood on."

AWWW AND THE RETURNED FLIRT?!

THE BLUSH, OMG

...yeah I kinda hope you kiss now.

This is how you make relationships Total Drama. You meet. You get along. And you be cute.

And I am waiting for this to go horribly wrong cause in shows like this, nobody gets a happy ending.

Except Mike & Zoey I guess.

"Maybe them fighting is good news."

"If we found popcorn it would be a fun movie to watch. I'm just saying."

"Honestly, a million dollars would make my life so much better."

"What would you spend the money on?"

"I want to study fashion design. Just don't have the time or money. Back home, I have to juggle two jobs that barely keep me afloat."

That has to be THE most relatable Young Adult experience ever.

I hate that I have a privilege from my parents to go to a college I don't even like.

Add that to the list...

'Ellie: College Finance'

"*Ellie clicks the check*

*Spawns an ad on USAA*

OH NO! THEY LIED!!!

Ellie's real fear is her finances XD"

I PREDICTED THIS LAST EPISODE AND I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE IT

"Dear lord up above, why must you forsaken me on a canoe with this wretched child?!"

THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!!

Stop hating Dan, me. He didn't do anything.

And two seconds later I laugh at his expense 😂

"It's not the first time I've done this."

"Back in my day we had to canoe rapids just to get to school!"

"Back in grade school-"

Oh my god and she took my joke.

"The objective of the game is to knock your opponent into the lake."

*shoves Dan in the lake*

"Hey you guys talk about this Golden voice lately, I think she's bullying me. Why you bullying me?"

Do something and don't be sexist.

"First showdown will be Tom vs Alec"

If Tom loses this I'm in firm disbelief.

He has ninja skills.

Why is Jake the only one cheering and supporting his teammate?

This boy is precious. Look at him. He's PRECIOUS.

"Next showdown: Grett vs Ellie"

Sorry Ellie. I do like you, I swear.

THAT WAS A ONE SHOT. GEEZ.

"Golden told me to SLAY. So I slayed!" 💅

"Next up: Gabby vs Lill"

Gabby for the win?

Oh she's GOING THERE

"You forgot: Golden gave ME slay pass too!!"

Aw, she lost.

I guess that makes sense though cause it would be too easy.

"Hey that's not fair! She used Gabby's duel stick!"

"Eh it looked painful though so I'll allow it."

Chris McLean taught you well.

"Next showdown: Dan vs Ashley"

Kick his ass, Ashley.

GREAT. XD

OMG are you kidding me?! XD

"We too are aware of Golden's presence! So we decided to entertain her with pinning the best boys against each other!"

"Sorry Golden, but here in Disventure Camp, THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE BEST BOY."

OH GOD HE'S PISSED

NUT SHOT

I REPEAT. WE HAVE A NUT SHOT.

"Jake scores! The Teal Team win Immunity and reward!"

Welp, guess that's that. The show has decided.

Unless Nick stays, which is pretty likely, so.

FOR NOW, Jake has my crown as best boy. We stan a guy who has no shame in denying another guy the right to have kids.

"See that's my own personal true personality reveal Golden! I'm an asshole too, just like Grett! Don't you love me?!"

Yes. Yes I do.

"Listen Nick, can we talk?"

Yes. Please talk. Please work things out.

"I think I've heard enough this morning to decide who I'm voting for."

"You don't have to behave like that, Nick!"

Why is Ashley the most reasonable character on this team?!

TELL HIM OFF.

"At least give Lill a chance!"

"I've already made my decision. Cheers."

Now I have even less regrets siding with Jake over you.

"I think we should vote together and take control of the team."

And here's where Alec and Ellie become swing votes.

Ellie's just the outlier here. "Um... I didn't ask to be a part of the villains team, why am I put on it? I didn't do anything wrong!"

I didn't put you there, Ellie. That was not me this time.

"I feel like I can be myself around them."

Ellie meanwhile, "WHERE'S THE EXIT?! SAVE MEEEEEE"

"Lill, it genuinely frightens me that you handle kids."

Just shut up.

"If I had a kid, I wouldn't let em anywhere near you."

"And I never will because SOMEONE busted my balls today!"

Ashley, once again, being the most reasonable one here.

'LILL'

Yeah, yeah, we know.

'FIORE'

'FIORE'

'NICK'

O_O

OH. GOD.

'NICK'

I-

I-

I FEEL LIKE THIS WAS MY FAULT.

I SHOULD NOT HAVE PUT HIM IN THE HEADING.

I CAUSED THIS.

"Because you're one of the worst in the challenges. Also, I can't stand you."

Wow. It really was that petty.

Tom, what ninja shit are you doing this time?

Pfft. He's a bad spy.

"Uh, I am standing right here and can see you!"

Alright, that was Episode 4...

Damn. I shouldn't have put Nick in the heading. I cursed him and caused his elimination.

I thought they were setting up a lot of character development for him cause I felt like he had an interesting story with his parents and wanting to prove himself...

But no. He did absolutely none of that and continued to be a spoiled lazy entitled snob up till his elimination.

And like... sure? If you need early boots?

Why couldn't it be Dan? Smh

This episode took what I said last episode and said "UH UH. You can only have one best boy as your choice. That's the rule." And forced them to fight for that position.

But if we had to choose between the two, I can't argue with Jake.

Idk who the favorites/hated characters are, and I feel like I have bad taste. One's an actual bitch and very open about it. But you know what? Gabby and Jake are sweethearts who deserve to be stanned.

Gabby is fun. She's full of personality. People are outcasting her for no reason and it's sad. I want Gabby to use her slay pass and revolt. Girl has done nothing wrong in her entire life.

And Jake? Come on. He's precious. He's a sweetheart. Look at him. And he takes no shit apparently. Man has done nothing wrong in his entire life.

I feel like Lilly's going next just cause she knows too much. But if that leaves Ashley alone to be the saving grace of the team till the merge I can't argue. I like her quite a bit.

I also like that Ellie and Alec are doing stuff now. Oh how the tables have turned.

They both have motives that are quite empathetic. It's so nice.

Why you working with the demon child though?

"I didn't ask to be put in hell with her Golden! I just wanted to make fashion! LET ME OUT!!!"

#SaveEllie

If you guys want me to continue these reactions, be sure to let me know.

[thornilee013]

WIP Wednesday March 20th 2024

HELLO! Welcome to WIP Wednesday, a weekly event that helps myself and other authors by forcing us to make progress on our WIPs (Works in Progress).

How it works: I post the TITLES of (up to 5) documents that I have here, along with three sentences that I've written within the last week to prove that I have indeed been working on things. Then you (yes, you!) can send in an ask to my inbox and specify one of the projects that I listed here. In return, I will write a minimum of three new sentences for that project.

Feel free to send in multiple requests! I still need to catch up on last week's due to some low mental health days that impacted my ability to write, but hopefully I'll catch up quickly and be able to start on this week's soon. <3

1. Baby Jean 2. TLC 3. 101 Ways not to Say I Do 4. Needle AU (CW: frequent depictions of stalking behavior, occasional mentions of sh) 5. Pride Zine (aka: force me to work on my projects, and I'll roll for a dealer's choice that'll also include my other projects that aren't listed)

Progress from this week: Latest from TLC; "But you're a Trojan, Jean" -Kevin

Despite Kevin's enthusiasm, Jean couldn't help but frown. "It'd be on the opposite side of the country, Kevin. I didn't know you wanted to get rid of me that badly," he said with a scoff.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Tell me why, then," Jean said, knitting his fingers together and resting his combined hands on the table.

Kevin leaned back and turned his head to the side. His new tattoo of a chess piece was creative, Jean could admit that. But no amount of additional ink or time would ever erase the 2 that Jean knew rested underneath. It would be like walking among graves and admiring the flowers, but refusing to acknowledge the bones below. Eventually, Kevin sighed and acknowledged Jean once more with his piercing gaze. "Because then maybe you'd be able to feel free from all of it," he finally said. "You'd be able to get away from here."

"It's tempting, I'll give you that," Jean said slowly. "But then I'd just be running away. I'd have to start all over again, and Kevin, I don't think I have the energy to do that. Not again."

"So what's you're solution then, Jean?" Kevin said, exasperatedly shaking his hands between them. Jean couldn't help but notice the brace that covered most of Kevin's wrist and palm.

"What if I stayed here?"

"Tell me you're fucking joking."

Jean rolled his eyes.

"No, really Jean. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you're joking," Kevin said and leaned over the table—over him. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime. You could play on one of the best teams in collegiate Exy. You'd be scouted by the most prestigious professional teams. You'd be able to make Court."

"That's never been my goal, Kevin," Jean snapped. He tried to stand, but the attempt to do so was cut short by a bolt of pain that kept him seated instead. "I don't want any of that."

"Well tough luck, Jean!" Kevin said. He never quite yelled—only spoke more sternly. "You've got a financial chain around your throat now, and you're going to need opportunities like this if you're going to survive."

I never wanted that either, Jean thought, but swallowed the words and merely looked away.

[hedgiwithapen]

The AU where Team Leverage is attempting to con Victoria Kord during the same few days that the Scarab is stolen.

Hardison adjusted the dress uniform he'd spent half the night sewing patches and arranging medals on. Authenticity was important, even if no one ever looked closely enough to see if one of the medals was a startrek badge. It wasn't--he wasn't going to risk a whole con, days of prep, on one of The Shadiest companies in Florida--for a geek joke. But he was tempted, sometimes, and never more than when he was posing as some stiff military monster at a party, talking atrocities with the Mark. Victoria Kord was certainly high on the list of 'People I feel Dirty Just Breathing The Same Air As' which was only not an official list because Eliot had pointed out that keeping such a list might bite them all in the ass.  Hardison had no intention of admitting he was right, but still. 

The food, catered by Eliot, was delicious, which counted for something. He glanced discreetly at his watch, pleased that the man he was impersonating was the type to wear real watches, and nodded to one of many hidden cameras. Originally, the plan had been to crash the party and find the paperwork about the illegal land seizures, find a way to get people back the homes they were being wrongfully evicted from. Snooping had revealed a bigger threat, and bigger target.  Parker would start her run for the secure project's room, plug in his code, and wipe all the OMAC data from Kord's system, ruining Victoria's credibility for her investors and tanking the company in three... two...

"Uh, guys? We have a problem. Like, capital p Problem," Breanna's voice hissed through the coms. 

"What?" he asked, then feigned a smile at Kord, "is that  fantastic--" he pretended to cut himself off. "My apologies, I was distracted by these canapes.  I tell you, we do not get food this flavorful in DC. You know how to make your investors feel welcome."

Over his chatter, Bre continued "Someone else just hacked the system. Majorly. I can't get it back. Hmm. I think I...might have seen this before..."

"We've got another problem," Eliot said from where he stood in chef whites, slicing meat at a table. "One of Kord's goons just walked in. Hardison, Parker, you need to bail. Now."

"Why? I'm almost--" 

"School of the Americas. That's Carapax. We'll find another way to shut them down, you need to move, now."

"And what are you going to do?" Breanna asked.

"Hey!" Parker said to someone in the hall with her. "You're messing up my heist!"

"Your heist? This is ou--my heist," said a young voice on the other end. 

"Parker, who's with you?" Eliot hissed, moving urgently now. Carapax was blocking the line of escape for Hardison, and that would not do at all.

"Uhhhhh blue buggy dude?"

Hardison's eyes bulged. "Excuse me," he said to Victoria, then muttering 

"Like... Blue Beetle?"

"I am Khaji Da," a new voice spliced into the com system, over the sound of Breanna's "Oh, no you did not just hack my coms." 

"Yes, I did."

"It's an expression," the same young man's voice said. "Um. Look. Why don't you steal whatever it is you're stealing, I'll get what I came for and we go before we all get killed?"

The overlapping chatter was going to give Eliot a headache.

"Oh, HEY," Breanna said again. "I do know you. Hey, can your hacker hear us? Tell him it's GarlicBre52. From the forums. Uh, Eliot, red truck, oh shit, and you're about to have company. the bad kind."

 Eliot rolled his eyes, and located the truck. Carapax seemed to have noticed it too. 

"Bre, Hardison, get ready to pick up Parker and go. I'll warn your nerd friend." Eliot rolled his shoulders, ready for a fight.  

Several stories up, a pulse of blue light shattered a row of windows, drawing all attention up. Eliot hoped the distraction would be enough to steal a superhero… and his back up.

[sasha-whos-askin-racket]

Just tell us what every Torchwoods member favourite bar is!

And where Jack and Ianto love to go on dates multiple times.

And where Tosh would love to go with Owen for a Date!

(Disclaimer that I was not of legal drinking age when Torchwood was airing and therefore don't have a particularly good knowledge of the early 2000s Cardiff scene, so will be partially substituting it with what I think they'd like today as well.)

Ianto is a Fuel fan. Half of that man's pay-check goes on the digital jukebox, and he will pay extra to fast-track all of his songs and make everyone else listen to the most obscure and off-the-wall rock and metal bullshit. I feel like he'd also appreciate a good live music venue, and I'm thinking The Moon more than something like Brewhouse. The Owain only does live music on Fridays, but I think you'd find him there on the occasional Thursday doing the quiz.

Now listen, I love Gwen. I do, okay? I love her, and I hate to admit it, but you'd find her in a Popworld. You would absolutely find her on the dancefloor in Popworld. Do I think she'd buy too much of the shitty merch? I do. I absolutely do. She's got about 12 Popworld branded ducks scattered around her flat. The music has permanently damaged her hearing. She's having a great time.

He's not a Torchwood team member as such but Andy would love Roxy Lanes. He'd absolutely fucking love Roxy Lanes. Give this man a cocktail and stick him in the batting cages. Let him play shuffleboard, watch him accidentally launch a bowling ball into the wrong lane. Actually I think he'd love any of the clubs where you can play games, be it something physical like Roxy Lanes and Golf Fang, or the arcade machines in NQ64. I'm also very tempted to say that he'd like Ballie Ballerson, but I think that's just wishful thinking. This man has seen The Horrors, let him in the ball pit.

Owen I think would like Ten Mill Lane. Maybe like is the wrong word actually but I do think that's probably where you'd find him. Probably not on the dancefloor though. I don't know why I've picked Ten Mill because it's not wholly in character for him, but I can just feel it in my soul. I have just realised I've been primarily listing nightclubs and not bars, but it's fine. We're fine. I think him and Tosh would go on a date to The Alchemist. I think they'd both enjoy it, because they're both pretty nerdy in that way. (For those unfamiliar, The Alchemist is a cocktail bar and restaurant where some the drinks are science-themed. They've got drinks that change colour and they do things with like, dry ice and fire and they serve them in test-tubes and distilling flasks and it's very expensive but very cool.)

I kind of don't have Tosh pinned as a nightclub person, I'm gonna be super honest with you. So again I think something like The Alchemist or The Botanist. There's a Wetherspoons in Mermaid Quay which I think would get a lot of use from all of them tbh. She'd probably also like NQ64 to be fair. I want to say one of them would like Heidi's because that's our go-to on nights out but also I can't decide which of them would like Heidi's so I guess I'm gonna give that to Tosh. But she'd definitely join Ianto in The Owain on quiz night.

I 1000% do not have Jack pinned as a nightclub guy, I do think he'd probably pick a local that's not actually local to him, somewhere like the Andrew Buchan or the Albany. I know most Spoons are kinda technically independents but I don't have him down as a Spoons guy, he'd be like a proper old man and only go to actual locals. I think he'd take Ianto on dates to The Owain, it does good food and the drink aren't too bad price-wise. They'd do the quiz, they'd probably half pay attention to the sports and Ianto would complain about the quality of the coffee machine but still order a latte with his dinner.

[celestial-mari]

hi mar'i! is it okay if i ask you if you can rate every dickkory adaptations/incarnations throughout the years (NTT, Teen Titans Cartoon show, Teen Titans Go, DCAMU, Convergence, New Order, Kingdom Come, Injustice 2, Live Action) personally live action is my least favorite of all of them, and it has nothing to do with Anna or Brenton, it's the titans writers. They don't care about their relationship at all and i hate that they portrayed them as nothing but friends with benefits,it bothers me

Absolutely! I’d be happy to! I’ll go from least favorite to favorite 😃

#9 DCUTitans

I’m in complete agreement with you. My least favorite version of them is the live-action show. It has absolutely nothing to do with the actors bc I love them both, but the writing is just not there. My favorite thing about DickKory is how they communicate with each other. They talk about their problems and find solutions to them together. DCUTitans on the other hand has them barely speak to each other. I don’t necessarily mind that they started the relationship with a physical connection considering the comics did something similar (with a kiss instead), but then they just did absolutely nothing with it. Then again this show, in general, does nothing with its characters...Maybe it’ll get better, but I doubt it.

#8 Teen Titans Go

I get that this show is first and foremost a comedy, but I’m not really into the unrequited love thing. I find it hilarious since because of the batoffice, Kory is usually left pining over Dick in the comics but here it’s the other way around, but that doesn’t make it rank any higher on the list. It’s cute, mindless fun, but it’s not really DickKory

#7 Injustice 2 

Look, I’ll admit it, I’m an angst girl. I absolutely adore it when entertainment breaks me down to tears and sobs, but other than some voicelines and sad endings, DickKory barely exists here. Dick is dead the whole time and honestly this universe just saddens me for Kory. I’m only ranking it this high because whatever crumbs are there are accurate crumbs.

#6 Nightwing: The New Order

We are getting to the part of the list where I actually don’t have many complaints anymore. I enjoyed Nightwing New Order. Jake Grayson is a little underdeveloped, but it’s the only elseworld (other than Convergence) where DickKory actually end up together and happy in the end. I know liking this little book is a controversial opinion apparently, but I thought Dick had a great arc, and Kory was herself through and through. I guess my one complaint would be that I think Kory would have taken Jake with her, rather than leave without him, but it’s a dystopian elseworld so I don’t think it matters that much.

#5 Kingdom Come

I swear if Kory was alive in this universe this one could very well be my favorite. Kingdom Come is what DC should have become instead of all the N52 and Rebirth nonsense. Having characters progress and actually go through life-changing moments is important to and satisfying for readers. Mar’i Grayson is an incredible character who deserves to be in the main canon. She should be co-leading a Teen Titans team right now with Damian, Jon, Lian, and the other members of that generation of superheroes. Not to mention, that Kingdom Come also has my all-time favorite suit design for Koriand’r herself. If only Kory was still alive in this universe... 😢

#4 Teen Titans (2003)

As the first ship I ever had, Teen Titans’ RobStar will always have a special place in my heart. I love TTA! It’s a wonderful version of DickKory and of the Teen Titans, that captures the heart of the original comics while changing it just enough for a different, younger audience. This show even gave us some of the most iconic DickKory comic scenes.

#3 DCAMU

In this house, Apokolips War doesn’t exist. Instead, DickKory got married, had Mar’i and Jake, and lived a long, happy life of fighting crime, saving the world, and being domestic while doing it. Not only is this the best DickKory adaptation outside of comics, it’s also the best Kory adaptation outside of comics. 

#2 Convergence: New Teen Titans

It doesn’t get better than Convergence: New Teen Titans. Frankly, I’m tempted to rank it in first place. A universe where they actually get married, no strings attached? No major character death? The perfect Titans team (except for the exclusion of Raven)? Yeah this is the universe I want to read more of.

#1 New Teen Titans (1980)

And of course, I’m sure no one saw it coming, but my all-time favorite version of Dick Grayson and Koriand’r is and always will be the classic: New Teen Titans (1980). It’s perfect in almost every way. They communicate, they learn from each other, they grow to become better people. Had the wedding gone through like it was originally planned? I would not change a single thing about them. Sometimes, you just can’t recreate perfection.

[bookersebastien]

Hi!! For the asks how about 3, 33, 43, 55, 68, 76, 90 and 97. You don't have to answer all of these if it's a lot but I must admit I'm tempted to send you half the list cause I think a lot these questions are neat lol.

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

cotton candy, not a huge bubblegum fan

33. most used phrase in your phone?

anything with the word fuck

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

hoodie!

55. favorite fairy tale?

dont think i have one

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

ohhh my god, those bean boozled things, the vomit one?!?! that shit is VILE

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

fries hands down

90. luckiest mistake?

when i was a freshman in high school, i did like the softball preseaon training things they had going on, one or two of my friends were doing it so i joined for the hell of it. but when it came to tryouts, i got super nervous and didn’t end up going and i regretted it and felt like it was a mistake not to even try. however the next day, i was in class and the coach calls the class for me and asks if i still wanted to join the team bc my name was on the sign up sheet but i never showed. so i made the team without ever trying out, however it was lowkey his mistake bc i wasnt even that good lmao

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

four, but five if i include my own phone number

weird asks!

[ineedrelationshipadvice]

i’m completely and entirely head over heels for one of my super close friends, and i’ve received info she likes me back lately. i’m like SO scared of talking to her about them, i’m really scared of screwing things up, but i really want to be in a relationship with her. i’m COMPLETELY new to feelings, i’ve never been in love/dated anyone before, so could you give me advice and info on what to do and what to avoid doing? i have no idea how to go about telling her or asking her out.

I hate to be that guy that gives the ultra cliché advice, but "bE yOuRsElF!!!"

I know it's stupid, so let's explain. What I mean when I say you need to just be yourself is that there are no wrong ways to experience the feelings you're feeling. Some people barely feel anything, some people get completely swept away by their feelings. Everyone experiences feelings and romance differently, and if you're completely new to romance, then you're going to have to learn just like everyone else what that means for you, your brain, your body, and your emotions. Yes, your body too, and I don't mean you getting horny and shit. Love is a PHYSICAL experience. Love gives you literal rushes of chemicals to your brain at even the thought of the person you care about. Love physically reduces your stress, both mentally and physically. Love LITERALLY heals wounds faster, and helps you see the world in a more positive way. This is legit stuff.

But because all our experiences of love are individual, it means there's no right or wrongs to anything. How you feel? There are no right or wrongs. Mistakes? There are no right or wrong mistakes. Obstacles? What might be an obstacle to you might  not be an obstacle to me. It's all variable.

So what I'm instead going to do is give you some quick do's and don'ts for your relationship future. These may not apply to your current situation or your current emotions. But these tips are ALWAYS valuable, regardless of the situation, and can be applied toward this current one and all future ones.

DO

USE YOUR WORDS. Legitimately, just SPEAK. Say anything. If you don't express your feelings (good or bad), then your partner will never know. They can't read your mind, and you can't read theirs. The only way for you two to understand each other is to communicate. When you feel happy, let them know. When you feel sad, let them know. When you feel angry, let them know. Don't hide things; hiding your emotions can feel easy and smart, but it's a bad habit, and gets worse the more you do it. It can be really scary and horrifying to admit your feelings; it can feel like you're messing everything up permanently. But usually it'll be fine. So take a big breath and use your words. CONSENT IS HOT. I know everyone rambles about consent all the time. But consent is valuable, and it applies to more than just sex. This is related to using your words, but you should be free to ask people how they feel. Ask if they want things from you, and await their answer. Some people see this as stupid, and that you don't need to ask. And that's fair, some people have very simple boundaries. But outlining what is and is not acceptable behaviour between each other is important. Make sure you get in the habit of just checking in and seeing how other people feel. SET UP YOUR RELATIONSHIP. Okay, you ask this person out, and they say yes. WOO, congrats. Now what? The first thing people should do when starting a relationship is lay some ground rules. This is a huge issue, because most people don't do that. They just get into a relationship with the mentality of LOVE WILL FIND A WAY, but hell nah, love is messy. So making sure you build a nice structure for your relationship right at the beginning is important. For instance, you should express your issues and baggage upfront. "Listen, I struggle with anxiety. I might flip out every once in awhile. Here are some of the things that set off my anxiety: [insert list]." You should also express your intentions and desires that you wish to see in a relationship. One person may say, "I'm not in a rush to have sex, but sometime in the future, I'd really like to have sex, get married, and have kids," while another person might say, "I'm asexual, I hate children, and never want to get married." If you learn this right away, and that's a deal-breaker for any one of you, THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW before you both get more invested. Beyond that, just ask about feelings and stuff. How much should you two communicate? What are the best ways to communicate: are they an IRL person, or do they prefer phone calls more than texts, or video calls more than phone calls? Is there an amount of conversation they expect? Daily texts? Hourly texts? NEVER GO TO BED OR ELSE I HATE YOU texts? What about physical affection levels? Is there some affection they don't like? Every situation is different, and cementing the relationship also means figuring out all these little issues early on.

DON'TS YOU ARE OBLIGATED TO YOUR PARTNER, BUT ONLY TO A POINT. You need to have boundaries for yourself. It's nice to have that pure romanticist view of "we are both a part of each other." But let's be honest, that's not how the real world works. If you're in a monogamous relationship with your partner, it's important to be there to support them, care about them, and treat them with respect. But that has to end eventually. You are not your partner's therapist. You cannot financially take care of your partner. You are not responsible for their problems. While you may be willing to help your partner with these issues, and many more, you're not obligated to do more than your needs. You need to take care of yourself first. Your partner should not feel like a burden or a drain on your life situation; they should feel like someone you're inspired to help and support. Just remember, you can't take care of their life for you, and you shouldn't let them twist you around their finger too much. You need to have self-care too.

DON'T FORGET YOUR FRIENDS AND YOURSELF. Seriously, your friendships matter. That's your support network. And it can be really tempting to invest entirely in your relationship. I'm sure you've seen other people who just vanish off the face of the planet when they get into a relationship. While it happens all the time, do your best to regulate your own friendships beyond your relationship. Make time for your friends, keep talking and hanging out with them. Related, but also don't give up your hobbies for your relationship. Those make you who you are! You deserve some alone time, and you are also allowed to keep working on your hobbies and friendships and interests and career ventures on your own time. Sometimes that means you need to pull back a little from your relationship, and that's good! That's healthy! Don't forget to take that time.

DON'T MAKE BIG DECISIONS WITHOUT THINKING IT THROUGH. Good life advice in general, but the line that I usually use on this blog is, "You cannot unring that bell." If you're going to make a decision that affects many people, you better have a good reason for doing it. This especially applies to break-ups. If you feel like something is going wrong in the relationship, whether your feelings get hurt, or your partner isn't giving you the attention you deserve, or some other problem, TALK TO THEM ABOUT IT. Don't make actions unilaterally; you're a team for a reason. The reason you should always be patient and take actions slowly and with proper thought put into them is if you make the wrong choice on the spur of a moment decision, you might not be able to fix that problem later; it might be permanently broken. Be careful and act slowly and with purpose; don't act on rash instincts. 

DON'T BE A DICK. Seriously though, it needs to be said because people are so often frequently huge douche-nozzles to each other. Don't cheat on your partner - if you must, break up with them first. Don't lie to your partner; that's just fucked up, and you know better. Don’t reject or ignore someone’s consent: that’s literally rape. Don't be disrespectful to your partner; we're all adults here, and if not, we need to start acting like it. Don't disregard your partners feelings; sometimes we can't handle our partner, and that's okay, but you need to say that.

____________

This is not an all-encompassing guide. Again, every situation is different, and nobody could make a perfect guide that makes everything clear for everyone. But what you can do is take good, smart, actionable steps to making your relationship more healthy and happy. That's all that can really be hoped for.

[siryouarebeingmocked]

>Gamergate

See, this is ironic, because the popular understanding of Gamergate, the one you probably believe, OP, is incorrect.

The FDA revised its rules about disclosure because it turned out the gaming press was up to shady stuff, and the FBI investigated and found GG innocent. Did I mention that Kotaku admitted Zoe Quinn got coverage from a friend without disclosure?

The popular misunderstanding of GG as a bunch of cishet white basement-dwelling misogynists organizing on 4chan to harass women sounds a lot more like your stereotypical CT to me. Especially when you realize that less than a dozen women were supposedly harassed, despite all the fuss about GG.

If anything, GG obsessively documented and backed up its allegations and evidence. This wasn't people with a pushpins and red string. GG was demonstrably right on several major things from the start.

>The MRA/incel/MGTOW movements

These are all three very different things. Last time I checked, you didn't need to be a conspiracy theorist to say "men have gender issues and they need to be addressed". Heck, even some feminists do it.

Or are you one of those folks who thinks MRAs blame feminists for all of men's issues?

>Holocaust denial

>the Illuminati

Those theories have literally been around since before either of us were born. In fact, the Bavarian Illuminati that inspired the theories is older than America. By a month or two.

I also like how several of those items are blatantly just ways to denigrate anyone who questions The Narrative. You didn't include, say, Epstein suicide theories, or the Las Vegas shooting theories.

I disagree with both, but they're a lot more mainstream and important CTs than QAnon. Which appears to be mostly a boogieman. In fact, I've never seen a single supporter in the wild, going by Wikipedia's definition.

(EDIT: Also bigger than QAnon is the idea that a certain President got elected because he sent coded dog-whistles to his white-supremacist base, even though all evidence indicates 88ers have less power and influence and numbers than folks who attend Comic-Con and it would make less then no sense to pander to them.

Heck, the concept of "dog-whistles" in general is conceptually indistinguishable from "secret Illuminati hand signals".)

Almost as if you only believe that list is bad because some other left-winger told you so.

>A person doesn’t tell you that they believe in anti-vaxx information - they tell you that they ARE an anti-vaxxer. Likewise, people will tell you that they ARE a flat-earther, a birther, or a Gamergater. By design, these beliefs are not meant to be something you have a casual relationship with, like your opinion of pizza toppings or how much you trust local weather forecasts - they are meant to form a core part of your identity.

Lol, no. GGers treated the label as a joke.

Similarly, many people are labelled anti-vaxxers without actually taking the title themselves, even if they say things like "I support the vaccine itself, but I don't think it should be mandated".

And I know from experience that Holocaust deniers love to style themselves as "Holocaust revisionists", or people with "concerns" or "questions", as CTers often do.

I know it's tempting to pretend The Other Team are just a bunch of moustache-twirling villains, but many of them actually have some self-awareness and basic pattern recognition.

They know when a label has a bad rap.

brazenautomaton>or “all men hate women and since the dawn of human civilization have conspired to harm and imperil women and women have been utterly powerless to affect society or their behavior the entire time”

Somehow, even men risking life and limb to protect and support women is misogynist.

Why Smart People Believe Stupid Things

If you’ve been paying attention for the last couple of years, you might have noticed that the world has a bit of a misinformation problem. 

The problem isn’t just with the recent election conspiracies, either. The last couple of years has brought us the rise (and occasionally fall) of misinformation-based movements like:

Sandy Hook conspiracies

Gamergate

Pizzagate

The MRA/incel/MGTOW movements

anti-vaxxers

flat-earthers

the birther movement

the Illuminati 

climate change denial

Spygate

Holocaust denial 

COVID-19 denial 

5G panic 

QAnon 

But why do people believe this stuff?

It would be easy - too easy - to say that people fall for this stuff because they’re stupid. We all want to believe that smart people like us are immune from being taken in by deranged conspiracies. But it’s just not that simple. People from all walks of life are going down these rabbit holes - people with degrees and professional careers and rich lives have fallen for these theories, leaving their loved ones baffled. Decades-long relationships have splintered this year, as the number of people flocking to these conspiracies out of nowhere reaches a fever pitch. 

So why do smart people start believing some incredibly stupid things? It’s because:

Our brains are built to identify patterns. 

Our brains fucking love puzzles and patterns. This is a well-known phenomenon called apophenia, and at one point, it was probably helpful for our survival - the prehistoric human who noticed patterns in things like animal migration, plant life cycles and the movement of the stars was probably a lot more likely to survive than the human who couldn’t figure out how to use natural clues to navigate or find food. 

The problem, though, is that we can’t really turn this off. Even when we’re presented with completely random data, we’ll see patterns. We see patterns in everything, even when there’s no pattern there. This is why people see Jesus in a burnt piece of toast or get superstitious about hockey playoffs or insist on always playing at a certain slot machine - our brains look for patterns in the constant barrage of random information in our daily lives, and insist that those patterns are really there, even when they’re completely imagined. 

A lot of conspiracy theories have their roots in people making connections between things that aren’t really connected. The belief that “vaccines cause autism” was bolstered by the fact that the first recognizable symptoms of autism happen to appear at roughly the same time that children receive one of their rounds of childhood immunizations - the two things are completely unconnected, but our brains have a hard time letting go of the pattern they see there. Likewise, many people were quick to latch on to the fact that early maps of COVID infections were extremely similar to maps of 5G coverage -  the fact that there’s a reasonable explanation for this (major cities are more likely to have both high COVID cases AND 5G networks) doesn’t change the fact that our brains just really, really want to see a connection there. 

Our brains love proportionality. 

Specifically, our brains like effects to be directly proportional to their causes - in other words, we like it when big events have big causes, and small causes only lead to small events. It’s uncomfortable for us when the reverse is true. And so anytime we feel like a “big” event (celebrity death, global pandemic, your precious child is diagnosed with autism) has a small or unsatisfying cause (car accident, pandemics just sort of happen every few decades, people just get autism sometimes), we sometimes feel the need to start looking around for the bigger, more sinister, “true” cause of that event. 

Consider, for instance, the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II. In 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot four times by a Turkish member of a known Italian paramilitary secret society who’d recently escaped from prison - on the surface, it seems like the sort of thing conspiracy theorists salivate over, seeing how it was an actual multinational conspiracy. But they never had much interest in the assassination attempt. Why? Because the Pope didn’t die. He recovered from his injuries and went right back to Pope-ing. The event didn’t have a serious outcome, and so people are content with the idea that one extremist carried it out. The death of Princess Diana, however, has been fertile ground for conspiracy theories; even though a woman dying in a car accident is less weird than a man being shot four times by a paid political assassin, her death has attracted more conspiracy theories because it had a bigger outcome. A princess dying in a car accident doesn’t feel big enough. It’s unsatisfying. We want such a monumentous moment in history to have a bigger, more interesting cause. 

These theories prey on pre-existing fear and anger. 

Are you a terrified new parent who wants the best for their child and feels anxious about having them injected with a substance you don’t totally understand? Congrats, you’re a prime target for the anti-vaccine movement. Are you a young white male who doesn’t like seeing more and more games aimed at women and minorities, and is worried that “your” gaming culture is being stolen from you? You might have been very interested in something called Gamergate. Are you a right-wing white person who worries that “your” country and way of life is being stolen by immigrants, non-Christians and coastal liberals? You’re going to love the “all left-wingers are Satantic pedo baby-eaters” messaging of QAnon. 

Misinformation and conspiracy theories are often aimed strategically at the anxieties and fears that people are already experiencing. No one likes being told that their fears are insane or irrational; it’s not hard to see why people gravitate towards communities that say “yes, you were right all along, and everyone who told you that you were nuts to be worried about this is just a dumb sheep. We believe you, and we have evidence that you were right along, right here.” Fear is a powerful motivator, and you can make people believe and do some pretty extreme things if you just keep telling them “yes, that thing you’re afraid of is true, but also it’s way worse than you could have ever imagined.”

Real information is often complicated, hard to understand, and inherently unsatisfying. 

The information that comes from the scientific community is often very frustrating for a layperson; we want science to have hard-and-fast answers, but it doesn’t. The closest you get to a straight answer is often “it depends” or “we don’t know, but we think X might be likely”. Understanding the results of a scientific study with any confidence requires knowing about sampling practices, error types, effect sizes, confidence intervals and publishing biases. Even asking a simple question like “is X bad for my child” will usually get you a complicated, uncertain answer - in most cases, it really just depends. Not understanding complex topics makes people afraid - it makes it hard to trust that they’re being given the right information, and that they’re making the right choices. 

Conspiracy theories and misinformation, on the other hand, are often simple, and they are certain. Vaccines bad. Natural things good. 5G bad. Organic food good. The reason girls won’t date you isn’t a complex combination of your social skills, hygiene, appearance, projected values, personal circumstances, degree of extroversion, luck and life phase - girls won’t date you because feminism is bad, and if we got rid of feminism you’d have a girlfriend. The reason Donald Trump was an unpopular president wasn’t a complex combination of his public bigotry, lack of decorum, lack of qualifications, open incompetence, nepotism, corruption, loss of soft power, refusal to uphold the basic responsibilities of his position or his constant lying - they hated him because he was fighting a secret sex cult and they’re all in it. 

Instead of making you feel stupid because you’re overwhelmed with complex information, expert opinions and uncertain advice, conspiracy theories make you feel smart - smarter, in fact, than everyone who doesn’t believe in them. And that’s a powerful thing for people living in a credential-heavy world. 

Many conspiracy theories are unfalsifiable. 

It is very difficult to prove a negative. If I tell you, for instance, that there’s no such thing as a purple swan, it would be very difficult for me to actually prove that to you - I could spend the rest of my life photographing swans and looking for swans and talking to people who know a lot about swans, and yet the slim possibility would still exist that there was a purple swan out there somewhere that I just hadn’t found yet. That’s why, in most circumstances, the burden of proof lies with the person making the extraordinary claim - if you tell me that purple swans exist, we should continue to assume that they don’t until you actually produce a purple swan. 

Conspiracy theories, however, are built so that it’s nearly impossible to “prove” them wrong. Is there any proof that the world’s top-ranking politicians and celebrities are all in a giant child sex trafficking cult? No. But can you prove that they aren’t in a child sex-trafficking cult? No, not really. Even if I, again, spent the rest of my life investigating celebrities and following celebrities and talking to people who know celebrities, I still couldn’t definitely prove that this cult doesn’t exist - there’s always a chance that the specific celebrities I’ve investigated just aren’t in the cult (but other ones are!) or that they’re hiding evidence of the cult even better than we think. Lack of evidence for a conspiracy theory is always treated as more evidence for the theory - we can’t find anything because this goes even higher up than we think! They’re even more sophisticated at hiding this than we thought! People deeply entrenched in these theories don’t even realize that they are stuck in a circular loop where everything seems to prove their theory right - they just see a mountain of “evidence” for their side. 

Our brains are very attached to information that we “learned” by ourselves.

Learning accurate information is not a particularly interactive or exciting experience. An expert or reliable source just presents the information to you in its entirety, you read or watch the information, and that’s the end of it. You can look for more information or look for clarification of something, but it’s a one-way street - the information is just laid out for you, you take what you need, end of story. 

Conspiracy theories, on the other hand, almost never show their hand all at once. They drop little breadcrumbs of information that slowly lead you where they want you to go. This is why conspiracy theorists are forever telling you to “do your research” - they know that if they tell you everything at once, you won’t believe them. Instead, they want you to indoctrinate yourself slowly over time, by taking the little hints they give you and running off to find or invent evidence that matches that clue. If I tell you that celebrities often wear symbols that identify them as part of a cult and that you should “do your research” about it, you can absolutely find evidence that substantiates my claim - there are literally millions of photos of celebrities out there, and anyone who looks hard enough is guaranteed to find common shapes, poses and themes that might just mean something (they don’t - eyes and triangles are incredibly common design elements, and if I took enough pictures of you, I could also “prove” that you also clearly display symbols that signal you’re in the cult). 

The fact that you “found” the evidence on your own, however, makes it more meaningful to you. We trust ourselves, and we trust that the patterns we uncover by ourselves are true. It doesn’t feel like you’re being fed misinformation - it feels like you’ve discovered an important truth that “they” didn’t want you to find, and you’ll hang onto that for dear life. 

Older people have not learned to be media-literate in a digital world. 

Fifty years ago, not just anyone could access popular media. All of this stuff had a huge barrier to entry - if you wanted to be on TV or be in the papers or have a radio show, you had to be a professional affiliated with a major media brand. Consumers didn’t have easy access to niche communities or alternative information - your sources of information were basically your local paper, the nightly news, and your morning radio show, and they all more or less agreed on the same set of facts. For decades, if it looked official and it appeared in print, you could probably trust that it was true. 

Of course, we live in a very different world today - today, any asshole can accumulate an audience of millions, even if they have no credentials and nothing they say is actually true (like “The Food Babe”, a blogger with no credentials in medicine, nutrition, health sciences, biology or chemistry who peddles health misinformation to the 3 million people who visit her blog every month). It’s very tough for older people (and some younger people) to get their heads around the fact that it’s very easy to create an “official-looking” news source, and that they can’t necessarily trust everything they find on the internet. When you combine that with a tendency toward “clickbait headlines” that often misrepresent the information in the article, you have a generation struggling to determine who they can trust in a media landscape that doesn’t at all resemble the media landscape they once knew. 

These beliefs become a part of someone’s identity. 

A person doesn’t tell you that they believe in anti-vaxx information - they tell you that they ARE an anti-vaxxer. Likewise, people will tell you that they ARE a flat-earther, a birther, or a Gamergater. By design, these beliefs are not meant to be something you have a casual relationship with, like your opinion of pizza toppings or how much you trust local weather forecasts - they are meant to form a core part of your identity. 

And once something becomes a core part of your identity, trying to make you stop believing it becomes almost impossible. Once we’ve formed an initial impression of something, facts just don’t change our minds. If you identify as an antivaxxer and I present evidence that disproves your beliefs, in your mind, I’m not correcting inaccurate information - I am launching a very personal attack against a core part of who you are. In fact, the more evidence I present, the more you will burrow down into your antivaxx beliefs, more confident than ever that you are right. Admitting that you are wrong about something that is important to you is painful, and your brain would prefer to simply deflect conflicting information rather than subject you to that pain.

We can see this at work with something called the confirmation bias. Simply put, once we believe something, our brains hold on to all evidence that that belief is true, and ignore evidence that it’s false. If I show you 100 articles that disprove your pet theory and 3 articles that confirm it, you’ll cling to those 3 articles and forget about the rest. Even if I show you nothing but articles that disprove your theory, you’ll likely go through them and pick out any ambiguous or conflicting information as evidence for “your side”, even if the conclusion of the article shows that you are wrong - our brains simply care about feeling right more than they care about what is actually true.  

There is a strong community aspect to these theories. 

There is no one quite as supportive or as understanding as a conspiracy theorist - provided, of course, that you believe in the same conspiracy theories that they do. People who start looking into these conspiracy theories are told that they aren’t crazy, and that their fears are totally valid. They’re told that the people in their lives who doubted them were just brainwashed sheep, but that they’ve finally found a community of people who get where they’re coming from. Whenever they report back to the group with the “evidence” they’ve found or the new elaborations on the conspiracy theory that they’ve been thinking of (“what if it’s even worse than we thought??”), they are given praise for their valuable contributions. These conspiracy groups often become important parts of people’s social networks - they can spend hours every day talking with like-minded people from these communities and sharing their ideas. 

Of course, the flipside of this is that anyone who starts to doubt or move away from the conspiracy immediately loses that community and social support. People who have broken away from antivaxx and QAnon often say that the hardest part of leaving was losing the community and friendships they’d built - not necessarily giving up on the theory itself. Many people are rejected by their real-life friends and family once they start to get entrenched in conspiracy theories; the friendships they build online in the course of researching these theories often become the only social supports they have left, and losing those supports means having no one to turn to at all. This is by design - the threat of losing your community has kept people trapped in abusive religious sects and cults for as long as those things have existed. 

[punkscowardschampions]

Rio & Nancy

Rio: If you wanna head home 'fore nan and granddad are ready, you can always have a lift back with us Nancy: Thanks Nancy: I'm in no rush though Rio: Having a good time then? Nancy: Sure Nancy: It's not a classroom, I'll take it Rio: Yeah, I bet you're buzzing Nancy: You mean you can't tell? Well, that's devastating Nancy: I reckoned on it being so obvious, like Rio: I mean, your poker face ain't all that, babe, if you wanna be real about it Nancy: More of a resting bitch, I know Nancy: The good news must not have sunk in yet Rio: Give it a few Nancy: Yeah Rio: Anyway, can't do anything about it now Rio: May as well enjoy your summer Nancy: Like I said, I already am Nancy: Aside from the prospect of going home Rio: 👍 Rio: How bad can it be Rio: he's taken one for the team Nancy: No, he's made sure exams mean more than they did before Nancy: and made me the focus since he's a less than safe convo topic Rio: Well, your family's inability to communicate is longstanding and not my fault so I'm not gonna take the blame for it, nor is my baby Rio: Sorry, like Nancy: I didn't ask Nancy: It's not my fault that his fall from grace makes me their poster child for success now either, I definitely never asked for that Rio: If you're going to feel so sorry for yourself, don't be surprised when people feel it for you in return Rio: Oddly enough our decision to have a child wasn't exactly about you Nancy: I'm only surprised the pity party isn't full already Nancy: My brother tends to take up a lot of space Rio: Please Rio: We've got no reason to be sorry, either definition Rio: we're happy, if you lot wanna be miserable then the party is all yours Nancy: Does he know that? Does he feel it? 'Cause he sounded like he wanted me to be sorry for him many times over when we last spoke Rio: Like I said, you're all crap at communicating Rio: but thanks Nancy: Yeah, and he's one of the worst Nancy: If I feel sorry for anything, it's for you, for that much, like Rio: Fuck off Rio: I don't need your pity Nancy: Don't tell me to fuck off Rio: Why not? You've seen fit to talk to me how you please Nancy: 'Cause you're judging my communication skills like its your job, for one thing Nancy: And for another, I haven't said anything like that to you, ever Rio: You said in as few words as possible that you don't think Buster really wants our baby, implying that I don't know him and we don't talk, whilst you were at it Rio: but no Rio: the f bomb in response, so much worse, Jesus Nancy: No I haven't Nancy: All I've said to him is that his timing is ridiculous and when was the last time we even spoke, me and you? Before exams probably so Rio: What does it matter to you, or your parents for that matter Rio: He's still going to Uni, he's still doing everything they want Nancy: I don't care what they want Nancy: I care about him and how hard it's gonna be Nancy: I won't be here to help either of you, not even in the same country, so excuse me for being worried Rio: When ain't life? Rio: You can't let that stop you from doing what you want Nancy: You don't need to make it harder on yourself, Jesus Rio: Well that ain't how it's going to be, or how we see it Nancy: It's easy for him to see it that way when he never admits that he needs help or that anything could possibly be a struggle in the slightest Nancy: He's just perfect and everything will be, end of story Rio: I help him Rio: and I know that, I knew that before this even started Nancy: I know you do and you know I love you, yeah? I'm not saying this to be a bitch to you Rio: I know Rio: but I don't get why you can't translate your worry into supporting him, that is literally all he needs from you Rio: instead of the constant barage of questions Nancy: because I'm scared for him and he scares me Nancy: how little he thinks about anything Nancy: He just wants and he gets and I'm the only one who cares if it'll work out or not Nancy: you know that's what he's always been like Rio: It's going to work out Rio: even if you wanna talk worst case scenarios, we have to get divorced, yeah Rio: he'll still have the kid, I'm not that bitch Nancy: I hope it does Nancy: Genuinely Nancy: You know that Rio: I think I do Rio: but you don't always show it Rio: I know it's a lot Rio: but it's hard for him when none of you seem happy for him or even say it's alright, like Rio: why do you think he can't admit he needs help, when has he got it? Nancy: Do you? 'Cause when you got together I had to re-evaluate everything I thought I knew about him and you Nancy: He says he's loved you since he was a kid, I was there, I have almost the same memories Nancy: But I don't Nancy: at all Rio: Why does it matter? We were all kids Nancy: 'Cause all this time he was so unhappy and I didn't know, okay Nancy: I didn't do anything Rio: None of us did Rio: He didn't want you to know, anyone Rio: you can't take blame for it like you wilfully ignored cries for help but he's trying now Rio: he needs you now, okay Nancy: I'm trying too Nancy: I just Nancy: I don't know him, if I ever did Nancy: How am I meant to know what to do? Rio: You did Rio: You were close then, just because you didn't know this one thing doesn't mean you weren't Rio: You wouldn't tell him about every crush you had, especially if you felt shame about being gay or there was another reason you knew he could judge you for it, you know? Rio: Just, try and be nice to each other, simple and as stupid as it sounds Rio: that's all you gotta do in this world though Nancy: You can say wanting to fuck my teacher, that's pretty shameful, babe Nancy: Lord, did you really have to do the one thing that scares me most to test me Nancy: Babies are terrifying Rio: Well you know, I assume you weren't child thirsting after your reception teacher like 👌👌👌 nice cardigan miss Rio: Nah Rio: they're just people Rio: I guess that's kinda the problem though Nancy: Hey, she was cute! And very attentive Nancy: Well, not to be dramatic and turn this into a therapy session but the last time I was properly excited for a baby to be born, he died Nancy: And now we don't talk about him Rio: That isn't going to happen again Rio: and you could talk to Buster about him Rio: he's thinking about him too Nancy: Does he talk about him to you? Rio: Yeah, a little Rio: we're going to give the baby his name as a middle Nancy: Really? Rio: I should say we don't know it's a boy yet, we just think it is Rio: but I won't say 'if not, the next one' and freak you out further, like Nancy: Go ahead, I'm just out here openly crying at the beach Rio: I'm sorry Rio: you can use my ugly dress as a hankie if you wanna Nancy: It's not that bad Rio: It's years old 'cos everything I own now would leave no need to announce this Rio: tempting but probably not Nancy: You should have come to me, my wardrobe runneth over Nancy: Literally, I need to have such a huge clear out before uni starts Rio: You planning to reinvent yourself as a minimalist? 😏 Rio: local charity shops gonna be a goldmine, like Nancy: Reinvent myself, yeah, as that, no Nancy: I get it, not tempting to come over when I'm being a bitch Nancy: I'm sorry you have to suffer that dress as a result, babe Rio: Well you know, or we could say I was giving you space and time Rio: politer Rio: I'm not even sure it was ever mine Rio: maybe it was yours, the ultimately bitchery to get it out of my system Nancy: Not to be that bitch or lesbian stereotype, okay, but what's under it? Can you not just remove it now the secret's out? Nancy: Be you again Rio: 😂 Rio: Still got it, babe Rio: I guess I can now Rio: It's weird Nancy: Do it for my brother if not me Nancy: You think I need to sort my face, look at his right now Rio: Poor boy Rio: at least I didn't straighten my hair, then he'd really be devastated Nancy: 😂 Nancy: I wish you had, I'd have taken so many pics to post and tag him in Rio: 😏 Pure evil, like Nancy: Genetically, sorry Nancy: Not saying you should watch The Omen again or anything but Rio: 😲 How rude Rio: but if I remember correctly that fucker was adopted so it would've been more cutting to come at me with Rosemary's Baby, like Rio: slacking Nancy: Oops, horror movies not really my forte Rio: You should reconsider Rio: yeah the bitch always dies, but she's usually half-naked beforehand, like Nancy: Are you gonna put your arm around me when it gets scary though? I think not Rio: You know I would you just ain't vibing 💔 Nancy: Lies! I just told you to strip Rio: True enough Rio: There's hope yet then Nancy: I'm sorry for being a bitch this whole time Nancy: I've missed you, it feels like exams lasted years Rio: I know, it was stressful and I weren't even taking them so God knows how you lot survived Rio: How do you feel about them, genuinely? Nancy: I know you love him, but how much of a prick was he during his, like 1-10? To make me feel better Nancy: I feel bad but like, I always do about that stuff so Nancy: It doesn't mean anything Rio: Oh, 11, for sure 😏 Rio: no, it was hard though, he was stressed as fuck Rio: you'll have done what you needed to do, I know Nancy: At least you could play the pregnancy card, like DO NOT STRESS ME, BOY Nancy: I basically had to shut myself away to get the same effect Rio: I feel it, Junior looks like this is his first time seeing sunlight in years, he hasn't taken his sunglasses off Rio: know they're prescription but come on Rio: as for the pregnancy card, great for getting out of arguments you've probably caused being a crazy bitch, like Nancy: I don't think he remembers who any of us are 😂 Nancy: It's not too late to have some actual fun today, is it? Nancy: You need it too, Buster said you've been pretty sick Nancy: He's dramatic, but still Rio: Of course not Rio: Someone suggested going to the pub to celebrate but as I'm the one with the baby I can make sure they choose somewhere nice with a decent cocktail list and beer garden, not a grotty old man pub, like Rio: Just morning sickness but it was pretty shitty and lonely when he was at School and so was Indie Rio: but fingers crossed I'm over that now so Nancy: We have to do something about that dress first Nancy: Come with me before we go anywhere else Nancy: I will save you Rio: 🙌 Rio: If you take me near a maternity section, we will brawl Nancy: God no Nancy: I'd burst into flames Rio: 😂 Rio: You remembered suncream today though, yeah? Nancy: Yes, mum Nancy: Maternity clothes are actually disgusting and I'm not letting it happen to you Nancy: Or my niece or nephew, how embarrassing to look back on Rio: It's just not necessary either Rio: do you know how big most clothes go these days like Nancy: Thank you! Like be more creative than that Nancy: If you wear a smock I'm disowning you Nancy: I don't care if you're having twins in a heatwave Rio: You'll be glad to know it ain't, unless one of them was hiding real stealth, but I'd be much bigger, pretty sure Nancy: Yeah, you'd need more than that dress to hide behind, right? Mum was such a ridiculous size with us, the pics are actually like something out of a scary movie Nancy: Say what you like about her, and do, but she always looked good Rio: Honestly, poor bitch Rio: Feel her small girl pain in a way you can never Rio: feeling like a human ball some days and it is just the one Nancy: Why do you think I'm not taking you to a maternity section, they'd think I was the one with a baby on board Nancy: No offense but kill me Rio: Oh bitch no Rio: like, is daddy excited or terrified, Nance? Rio: straight girl bants Nancy: I nearly threw up in my mouth Nancy: Not morning sickness, sorry lads Rio: You keep down your breakfast if you getting in my car, thank you very much Nancy: Such a mum 😏

[agl03]

Do you think Radcliffe is going to be found out in tuesdays ep? And to what extent? Like will the team find out entirely? Fitz only and then he either get nabbed by robomay or goes to confront Radcliffe by himself? Even if I don't agree with all your theories I love reading them, thank you for taking the time to answer questions, creating all your wonderful metas, and also talking us all down and keeping us calm, your amazing!!!

Hi Anon!

Thank you!  I’m glad you enjoy reading them and I”m totally cool if you don’t agree with all the theories.  I fully admit I have been wrong before and will again.  

And I’ll have you know I have a major ah ha moment when working on this ask.  I have been having a hard time getting a read as to when Radcliffe will be revealed and to what extent.  Radcliffe is moving to a long game, he’s very calculating and smart.  

May races to find the truth about what happened to her, while Aida’s next move could mean the death of them all. 

From the synopsis for 11 it looks like AIDA makes a significant move, maybe as May gets harder and harder to handle she does something that endangers everyone.  Since the synopsis was dropped before the Radcliffe reveal we can’t be sure if the move isn’t his doing either.  This could be anything from having Robo May attack or forming an alliance with some less than savory people (cue the Watchdogs).  Let them get their hands dirty to flush Coulson and the Darkhold out.  However, an alliance with a group like the Watchdogs (who have hidden connections to our mystery Big Bad) would put everyone in danger.  

Agents Sam and Billy Koenig (Patton Oswalt) are hunted down to get at the Darkhold book, and only Coulson and the team can save them before the clock ticks out

We know the Watchdogs ‘hunt down’ Inhumans.   

For Sam and Billy to be in danger, Coulson will have had to reveal somehow that they have the Darkhold (be it he told someone or he realizes the information was leaked).  In addition to that Radcliffe or the Watchdogs would have to get this information too.   Finally Coulson has to know the baddies have the info and are acting on it as the team is mobilizing to protect them.  Coulson realizes this  at the end of 11 or right at the beginning of 12.

Radcliffe is really on thin ice, all it will take is someone seeing AIDA 2.0, finding out about Robo May, May escapes or gets a message out, or Fitz finding the reprogramming of 1.0.     Every single one of those point the finger right at Radcliffe and  Radcliffe can’t be like “I have no idea how there is another AIDA out there hunting down an Agent that no one should know about and the Book of Doom no one should know about.”

Radcliffe said he was now playing a long game, so him getting revealed within 3 episodes isn’t a long game to me.  He is going to be calculating about it as he can’t sent AIDA or himself to do his dirty work.  

Okay so go with me here people, late night caffeine induced theory coming up….

Coulson says there is a leak in the promo for 11.  Someone likely warned Nadeer of Coulson’s plans.  And the only people that know of it are Talbot, Mace, Jemma, Daisy, Robo May, and thanks to Robo May Radcliffe.  

Radcliffe goes to Nadeer and/or the Watchdogs to get them to do his dirty work for him.  Possibly tempting them with the book itself, the ability to take down Shield, or promising to help them in their war against the Inhumans.  

Another option if the leak isn’t Radcliffe it came from somewhere else and with it came the lore of the Darkhold.  That temptation of power and they want it for themselves.  

No matter how they find out the Watchdogs and the Superior go after Koenig’s and the Darkhold.  If we look at the Guest Star list we have The Watchdog from the Lake back.  The Superior, and “Russians” who I am assuming are the Superiors men.  

Robo May could be helping the hunters and hindering Shield without even knowing it because I feel at some point Radcliffe will get close enough to make the adjustments he needs too.

12 will become one never ending shell game where we don’t know who is where and with what until the very end.  

I can’t say right now if anyone succeeds in getting the Darkhold, but we will get the Press Release for 13 tomorrow so I can expand on this theory then.  

But I never answered your question about Radcliffe.  And right now I really don’t know.  The earliest I can see it happening is in 11 but with my theory above he could manage to stay under the radar until 14 (Which is titled “The Man Behind the Shield”, we speculated it could refer to Radcliffe as he was the man behind AIDA and AIDA was ‘the Shield”).  14 gives a good time for Fitz to work on AIDA”s head and figure out what went wrong, Robo May and Coulson to get nice and close for maximum feels when that blows up.  This also gives Radcliffe time to try to worm his way back into Shields good graces.  Or even have himself ‘attacked’ my vengeful Watchdogs (he did use their friends as guinea pigs) and he is brought into the Playground for his own protection kind of thing.  

Orchestrating such a move is a win win for Radcliffe.  Since either Shield succeeds, has the book and he can make another run at it before they hide it again.  Or the Watchdogs get it and he can get it from them.  

We do have a few windows for a Fitznapping still   But if there is a big, longer term one it will come after 14/15 by the Big Baddie.  Especially if my theory as to where they are going with AIDA/LMD arc is correct.  

But this is Fitz and he is in some sort of mortal peril every other episode.  He also has the added danger of being the one that can stop or find out Radcliffe.  Some things I have floating…

He could simply be at the wrong place at the wrong time and used as a human shield.  

The Watchdogs use him to “get at” Radcliffe

Once Fitz uncovers what Radcliffe did with 1.0 I wouldn’t put it past a hurt/betrayed Fitz to confront Radcliffe himself.  Radcliffe could take him prisoner or use him as a hostage to get away.

This could be complicated if Radcliffe is out if Fitz goes to confront him and finds 2.0.

Robo May saw the metal under her skin, Fitz would be one of the best people on the team for her to go too for help.  

Radcliffe is watching with Robo May.  Through her

He could see Robo May revealing her self to Fitz for help and make a move.

He could see Fitz trying to figure out what happened to 1.0 and decide to pay a visit to the Playground himself to try to stop him. 

I do need to see how Robo May plays out next week, because that is a bit of an x factor.   As soon as she is found out its over and I just think its too soon for that to happen.  

Well that was likely a lot more than you asked for but boy that was fun!   

[yunyingaixu]

the color of beauty

Girls living in slums spend more money on their hair than anyone else, \"said Winston Sculley, who put a lot of red rollers on the client\'s African hair --

American hair salon in N ElmontY.

\"Somehow, they got the money for the color on top of the color, and the money for the weaving on top of the weaving.

\"A foreign company admits that there is gold in this sentence.

Over the past 12 months, L\'Oreal of France. A.

Dive into the city market in the United States and buy soft gloss Products and Carson Products separately. estimated $0. 37 billion, pick up 20% pieces from broken, few

The market known as \"National hair care.

Price: cheap 1. 4 times sales.

Terry Gardner, president of the new soft gloss/Carson division, explained why her family ended up selling to the French: \"L\'Oreal has a Ninja mentality --

Very focused, very strategic, no waste of energy.

\"The cleaver move of the French.

Family for decadesrun African-

American businesses have designed products like \"tightness\", an almost toxic syrup that makes hair straight, in the process,

Neglected but vibrant $1. 2 billion U. S.

\"National hair care\" market. African-

Americans now account for 30% of the total population of the United States. S.

Although hair care expenditure accounts for only 13% of the population.

The French bet: these American hair styles will go to the world like rap and loose pants.

L\'oréal is run by 54 people, one reason is the feeling of the beauty of racial diversityyear-

Lindsay Owen, Old Welsh

The biggest and fastest is Jones.

A growing cosmetics company in the world.

Think about it: at 1980, when defending rival Clairol dominates the U. S. S.

The market share of 61% is relatively small --

A well-known French company has decided to compete with the United States. S.

Giant on his lawn.

Twenty years later, L\'Oreal American company had a 49% share of $1. 3 billion U. S.

Color of hair, display. C.

With the steady decline of Clairol to 40%, Nielsen.

With the squeeze in profits, the parents of kailerrol, Bristol-

Miles shiguibao, just $2.

Hair care products with sales revenue of 4 billion.

This is not the only company in L\'Oreal that has been hit hard.

Lulu was bleeding heavily on the rope.

Shiseido sales in Japan declined last year.

Estee Lauder is still the third largest brand in L\'Oreal. Shares at mass-

Market leaders at Unilever and Procter & Gamble have gone bankrupt.

\"We just love the industry more than our competitors-\" Owen said --\"

Well known O. Jones. J.

And took over Clairol in person 20 years ago.

\"I really don\'t think they understand what the problem is.

His comments are arrogant but make sense.

Over the past 15 years, L\'Oreal\'s sales have grown at a rate of 12% per year, with an estimated $11 billion in sales of $2000;

Net profit, compounded at a rate of 15%, will exceed $0. 8 billion.

L\'Oreal has a pair. digit top-

Production line growth for a hot tech company with bottom

Comfortable line for a wellrun bank. Says Jean-

Claude Lareche, marketing professor at Insead, Europe\'s top business school: \"What sets L\'Oreal apart is its consistency over time.

L\'Oreal is not completely undiscovered.

Its shares have risen from the split.

Over the past decade, the company has adjusted $8 to $76 to align its main shareholder, Liliane Bettencourt.

See the pyramid behind the perfume).

The stock has a P/E ratio of 2000 times that IBES predicted, almost three times that of the entire cosmetics industry, and the company is entering the \"most appreciated\" list.

L\'Oreal is the fourth of Insead\'s World\'s Best Companies to stand out from the top 50 in the Financial Times and on Young & rub Nikon\'s list of future popular European brands.

L\'Oreal\'s acquisition of Maybelline, Volkswagen-

The market brand of cosmetics reveals the best state of the French company in its international market.

Pay Wasserstein Perella & Co at 1996 L\'Oreal.

Cash and assumed debt amounted to $0. 66 billion, a modest sum.

It sells nine times as many tablets as Memphis, Tennessee.

There is also a huge factory in Little Rock, the Ark.

A few months later, L\'Oreal\'s creative team shocked the United States. S.

By restarting the old of Maybelline-

Cool pink and red nail polish in Miami, yellow and green nail polish.

Followed by a range of innovative products with competitive prices: Wondercurl, a mascara and brush that will curl and thicken eyelashes considerably when applied;

Fast completion, fast completion

American women are short of time with dry nail polish;

Moisturizing whip, moisturizing lipstick.

All patents and exclusive Maybelline.

Sales jumped to $1 from $0. 35 billion in 1996.

This year 1 billion

Maybelline is now the number one cosmetics in the United States, with a market share of 19% and is probably the most popular.

Sell brands worldwide.

See how the French Open up the Japanese market with this typical American brand.

L\'Oreal regained control of Japan\'s vulnerable groups in July 1999run Maybelline.

The Frenchman quickly adjusted the Wondercurl mascara formula to fit the short lashes in Asia.

\"We are lucky,\" said Patrick Rabin, head of consumer goods . \".

\"The correct etiquette in Japan is that Japanese girls should bow to men and never lift their eyes.

But the new generation wants to look straight at you and when you do, you will reveal your eyes and eyelashes.

But because Japanese lashes are short and straight, the only way you can see them is to curl.

\"Wondercurl went public in November 1999, with a market share of 18% in three months, making it Japan\'s number one mascara.

News shows Japanese girls queuing up for mascara screaming.

L\'Oreal later launched a series of blush and nail polish, including Asia --

No specific mascara running during the rainy season.

A year after L\'Or éal took over Maybelline in Japan, sales rose from 5 million to 12 million.

For all companies trying to sell brands abroad, here\'s a lesson.

\"The exit is over,\" said Jill Vail, L\'Oreal luxury director . \".

\"You have to be local and strong like the best locals, but with the support of an international image and strategy.

\"So, while Maybelline\'s cosmetics are in the lab with recipe adjustments based on local skin types and weather around the world, its main face to the world remains African --

American model Tomiko

Tomiko conveyed a fashionable New York City fashionyear-

Young people from Shanghai to Berlin want to be one of them.

\"The attitude of Americans has something modern,\" Rabain said . \".

\"It\'s urban, relaxed and stylish.

The world is racially diverse and it is recognized that all races are represented in the United States. S.

Everyone has a chance, and for young people in other parts of the world, this is the real sign of modern times.

\"So L\'Oreal responded quickly

A changing world: build more than a dozen big Mac based on local cultural beauty but can attract different segments of the global market.

From the United States: The understated elegance of Kiehl\'s, the trendy New York pharmacy, the trendy re-launch of Helena Rubinstein, Ralph Lauren\'s perfume, to the masses --

Beautiful lotus market and lovely dark.

From Europe: the refined France of Lancome, the noble Italy of Armani perfume, the mass influence of L\'Oreal and the carnier laboratory.

Coming: Asian acquisitions (

Rumors of Shu umela, Japan

This will bring Eastern elegance to L\'Oreal\'s arsenal. It works.

The best-selling brand in Asia may be the trendy Maybelline, but in Eastern Europe, it was marinated by the Party as the 19 th.

L\'Oreal\'s French brand is still doing its best in beauty.

At the same time, African immigrants in Europe will be tempted by the Dark and Lovely United States.

No other cosmetics company in the world can choose their own weapons in this way.

The French company is good at bringing new innovations to the market. A decade ago O. J.

His team sold or merged the different businesses of L\'Oreal, focusing on more than a dozen brands such as hair care, skin care, makeup and perfume.

Distinguish L\'Oreal from competitorsJ.

Consciously rejected Charles Lipson\'s famous \"dream in the bottle\" philosophy and added 1,000 scientists to his R & D staff, currently 2,300.

L\'Oreal\'s R & D budget is 3.

1% of sales may be double that of other cosmetics companies (

See \"scientific hair gel \").

Larreche of Insead said that L\'Oreal is different because of the way the lab works --in-

Gloves for marketing.

For example, L\'Oreal introduced fruit shampoo in 1996, when marketers decided they wanted a \"natural juice\" shampoo for young European Greens.

Scientists in the laboratory turned their eyes on request, but found an excuse to put sugar in shampoo at the molecular level (

The growth of hair has a weak connection with fructose).

Presto: a marketing story based on science.

L\'Oreal has a 28% share of the European shampoo market, while P & G and Unilever have fallen to 19% and 12% respectively.

L\'Oreal\'s coming to support such product innovation and 12th

The largest media budget in the world.

External charges for the past decade \"-

L\'Oreal hides the slogan of its advertising and promotional expenses --

Sales jumped from 37% to 47%.

According to the Advertising Age, L\'Oreal\'s global advertising spending has risen to $1.

25 billion in 1998, almost comparable to cocaCola.

L\'Oreal has found a marketing model and is still looking for a new model --

That\'s why it\'s a leader in the cosmetics industry for interactive websites.

But that\'s why L\'Or éal recently paid about $0. 15 billion (3.

Kiehl\'s sales are five times.

The curious company, which has a history of 149, relies solely on word, and revenues have climbed to $40 million. of-mouth.

L\'Oreal is actually a pyramid of small profit centers, and there are only ten profit centers --

Often very youngemployees.

Audit and budget meetings are ongoing, not focusing on milk spilled in the past, but looking for the main indicators for the coming yearend.

Which neglected products have signs of life, but lack of capital?

Which do not meet expectations and need to be trimmed?

Such a structure makes the development of this big company very fast.

A few months ago, a German competitor shocked L\'Oreal by announcing that it would launch a trendy new hair gel in France. On Sept.

8 Rabain meets with colleagues in a crowded meeting room and agrees to roll out spoiler Hairspray when they are young --

Brand of Fructis.

If the formula is given now, the factory manager immediately agreed to provide 500,000 units to France within one month, but the lab refused. The hair-

The spray formula requires a month\'s safety test first.

Decision: plants will glue while testing the formula in the laboratory.

If the test fails, they will destroy the lot.

If they pass, they will launch.

L\'Oreal executives call it \"going to the casino \". \" On Nov.

There are 3 Portuguese gum in the French store.

A week before the German game.

\"It\'s too late if you wait until consumer research tells you everything,\" O said . \". J.

\"The battle has taken place and someone has occupied [the prize]

It disappeared.

\"L\'Oreal can also focus on costs for all marketing and research.

In 1996, the company found that the recently acquired Maybelline used 20 cents to make mascara in its huge small stone factory;

L\'Oreal needs 46 cents to produce the same product at a European factory.

L\'Oreal quickly reorganized its European production using Arkansas knowledgehow.

L\'Oreal\'s purchasing costs have fallen by 1/3 over the past decade to 19% of sales, compared with 27% and 25% for competitors and Weena in Europe\'s fitobeerdorf.

There is no predictable Paris mansion at L\'Oreal headquarters;

This is a modern hospital.

Like an office in the suburbs of Clichy.

L\'Oreal was born in 1907, when Eugène schüeller, an outstanding French chemist, created one of the first stable synthetic hair dyes.

1930 of Schuler also invented the sun.

Tan oil and the first batch-

Market shampoo without flaky soap.

But Shule has a side too.

According to historian Michael Barr

Schuler supported a fascist organization eventually known as La Cagoule. The Cowl)

Named after the red hood worn by members to hide their identity, its leaders often meet at L\'Oreal Royal Street headquarters in their 1930 s.

In 1937, dozens of political assassinations were carried out in La Cagoule.

When the Germans entered Paris, the Shule\'s murderous La Cagoule faction evolved into a \"social progressive faction\" and began to work with Gestapo and party guards.

On a notorious night in October 1, 1941, members of the group blew up seven Paris synagogues.

Schuler funded the resistance at the end of the war and managed to barely pass L\'Oreal without a criminal record until his death in 1957.

His daughter, Lillian betancu, became the company\'s main shareholder, and the new chief executive, Francois Dahl, launched a product like Ellnet hair spray that removed L\'Oreal from tampon

However, at the end of his career, Dahl experienced a painful fall --

Go out with his film director, Jean fledeman.

The former hero of the French resistance movement, then the citizens of Israel, revealed Schule\'s past in the early 1990 s, and dug up an amazing revelation after another: former Jack-

War criminals who served five years in ten years

He held a leadership position in La Cagoule and was sentenced to one year in prison and MSR is the chairman of L\'Oreal American companyS.

Until his death in 1991.

Fred deman also discovered the fact that Senator Andrey Betancourt, the husband of Lillian, wrote several profanity and-

Flash articles from Nazi propaganda agencies during the war.

Not all revelations have to do with the past.

L\'Oreal asked the Arab boycott to avoid being blacklisted and caught for its Helena Rubinstein.

Anti-charges

L\'Oreal was shocked by Jewish, fascist cleansing and catering to Arab racism.

New York Mayor Koch has called for a boycott of L\'Oreal; the U. S.

The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Justice began investigations.

During this period, Owen

Jones, a Welsh from outside Liverpool, is studying.

Born into a middle classclass Latin-

The mother was a teacher and the father was an engineer. before going to Insead, France, he received a scholarship education in Oxford.

It is there that this young man who likes racing cars and language gifts first heard of L\'Oreal, where you can see women getting paid for taking off their clothes in the sunbathing advertisement.

After he became famous in L\'Oreal, Italy and the United States. S.

, Bettencourts-

The person who controls L\'Oreal through the holding companyappointed O. J.

He served as chief executive in 1988.

The storm is coming.

A young foreigner who runs a French idol?

\"Choosing a president is not bound by convention,\" the media --

Shy lililian betancu in e-mail.

What matters is vision, talent and courage. Mr. Owen-

Jones has these qualities.

In the next seven yearsJ.

Cleaned up Fredman-

Add to L\'Oreal\'s past.

He solved the problem of violating American law. S.

Significant investment has been made in Israel.

At 1994 Senator betdanggu, 75, resigned from the L\'Oreal board of directors and gave his seat to his Jewish son --in-law, Jean-

Pierre Meyers lost his parents in Auschwitz.

In 1997, the United States Orthodox Jewish Union awarded L\'Oreal the International Leadership Award.

Note: O. J.

Double production

In this whirlpool, L\'Oreal achieved the growth of the number of digits.

A \"passionate person\", \"arrogant person\", a \"product madman\" with \"laser eyes\" is how employees and outsiders describe him.

He got the cold euro.

The grace of old James Bond, but his conversation is full of salty Americanism such as \"Go get your ball \".

\"The French tend to say a lot,\" said Jill Vail, the luxury goods manager . \". \"What O. J.

These are facts.

Don\'t tell me a long story.

Nice to hear but no time.

Tell me the facts and tell me what to do to correct the problem.

\"Alexis Reille, a former employee who now runs his own perfume business, recalls how he ran the perfume business. J.

I used to pick a perfume without mercy.

He showed the gift.

\"The case is reducing the overall profitability of the perfume,\" Reille said . \".

\"We ignored it.

I had to reconsider the whole thing.

\"A striking glimpse of this complex business leader is a video recorded at a sales conference in 1997, but young employees are still endlessly passing on internally.

Morning and O. J.

I found myself choking on the podium.

\"L\'Oreal is a love story for me,\" he said . \"

\"For me, L\'Oreal is an important part of my life\'s direction.

\"This is a difficult company . \"J.

Sorry to say today, \"but also very sentimental.

\"The problem now is O. J.

How to maintain the development momentum of L\'Oreal. Years ago O. J.

See a picture of John F.

When Kennedy was young, he directed a small torpedo ship during World War II.

\"He\'s not 3,022 on the aircraft carrier,\" said O. J.

\"He was the captain of a small boat when he was very young.

You have to ask, is that part of why he became president of the United States? S.

What I want to do is invent a lot of torpedo ships so that I have a few future presidents.

\"One of L\'Oreal\'s emerging leaders is Katen Patel, 34. year-

The old creative journey behind Maybelline.

Patel, an Indian, grew up in Kenya with an M. B. A. from Cornell.

\"You don\'t have to be a snob in Paris to taste or understand what is beautiful,\" O said . \". J.

No, you must have an international vision and a genius in marketing.

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Just wrote and published this article based on a piece of advice I find myself giving over and over again. You can read the original on my blog here (no ads, no referral links, no mailing list popup, etc)Here's a piece of startup founder advice that's sure to be controversial: don't overinvest in engineering.I find myself giving this advice more and more often, especially as available capital in the NYC startup market has grown substantially over the last decade or so.I'm a CTO, an engineer, and a founder, and I love investing in engineering. So I want to be clear: I'm not saying not to invest in engineering. I'm just saying don't over-invest in engineering.Put another way: you must invest in engineering. But I've seen too many good companies and good founders fail because they've over-invested in engineering.I'm sure you can come up with dozens of counterexamples and ways this advice can fail you. As long as this article gets you really thinking critically about how much your company in your circumstances should be investing in engineering, I'm happy.If you build it, they won't come.I've seen many founders wait until their v1.0/prototype/MVP is launched before starting to hit the pavement and sell. The 1.0 launch is seen as an inflection point: "Time to start selling!". But if you weren't selling beforehand, how do you know what to build? And how do you know how to sell it?I've also seen many companies build their initial product and engineering team long before they even think of building a sales team. Just as your engineering team is using these early days to learn how to work together and develop the initial product and organizational framework, you should have some semblance of a sales team learning how to do the same.Many early stage startups will have a CTO and an engineer or two building the prototype, while the CEO is going out and selling solo. The problem here is that it takes time and effort for a sales team to build their materials and relationships, so the company will end up with a full quarter or two where the sales team just hasn't hit their stride enough in order to provide the crucial early product and sales feedback.At a four-person startup: instead of CTO + 2 engineers and a CEO solo, try CTO + 1 engineer and CEO + 1 salesperson.Your engineering team, while necessary, simply won't bring you customers, users, or revenue at any scale necessary to build a lasting company. Your product won't magically get customers because of its virtues.You don't actually need strong technical foundations.Your early technical foundations may be valuable in some regards, but not nearly as valuable as figuring out a) who your target market actually is, b) learning how to sell to them c) figuring out what pivots are necessary to the product.Your early technical foundations may even end up being not valuable at all, depending on what you learn in the early days and if you end up piviting your product.What you need is a strong sales foundation. Yes, even at an early stage. Don't wait for a v1.0 to start getting salespeople in front of customers. Learn what your customers' needs are, learn how to find them, learn how to pitch to them, learn how to close sales.The engineering team doesn't do that work: the sales and marketing team does. Odds are your early technology is going to be totally unrecognizable in a year or two anyway!Don't overengineer the technology. You most likely don't need strong technical foundations. You need strong sales and marketing foundations.You don't need to build a great, award-winning, delightful product.The best way to burn your entire budget is to try and design the best possible product. A lot of product teams believe that their product needs to deliver a "delightful experience", that it needs to outclass its competitors in every regard, and that no compromises can be made.If you can afford to build a best-in-class product, that's great. No early-stage startups can afford that, however. Your goal should be much more attainable: your product simply needs to deliver on its promises. That's it. Do not (yet) strive to "exceed expectations". Just strive to meet them.There was a massive study done on the performance of customer service teams in the book "The Effortless Experience". One of the study's conclusions is that "exceeding expectations" is a) generally unattainable for 90% of companies and b) has no actual impact on customer loyalty, the metric that matters. They found that there is no difference in loyalty between simply meeting expectations versus exceeding them.It's true that the above study applies to customer service experience and not product experience, but I'm extrapolating to product just the same.Build a product that simply delivers on its promises. No more, no less.A larger engineering team will only do more engineering.A larger product and engineering team won't necessarily build a better product -- in the eyes of your customers.They'll build a bigger product, more features, and more technology. They'll build to a higher degree of tolerance. They'll do more engineering. They might build a better product by every internal measure. Those things sound great, but are actually another trap.Similar to the "exceeding expectations" trap, a larger product and engineering team will only build a better product -- in the eyes of customers -- 10% of the time. Don't invest in those odds.Most well-staffed engineering teams want to build the software equivalent of a McLaren F1: a beautiful, finely tuned, handcrafted vehicle. Every piece custom built and machined. But if you build a McLaren, it'll cost a million dollars to produce and you'll only sell 100 of them. What you really want to build is a Toyota -- something that meets expectations and reliably delivers on its promises. Just that modest goal is incredibly difficult to achieve, so start there!Another apropos example is the Juicero juicer. The device was overengineered to the nth degree, and the company almost certainly lost hundreds of dollars on every unit sold.Because your engineering department is a cost center, you should fund it only to the level that it needs to build a product that meets expectations.Founders should not run teams in proportion to their ownership.I think another easy trap to fall into is brought on by the two-founder CEO/CTO model. When two founders split ownership equally it's tempting to feel that each founder should run roughly equivalently sized teams. The company ends up being a 50/50 split of sales/ops and product/engineering, and I've even see this happen at companies with 30+ employees.Once a company has more than a handful of employees, however, that 50/50 ratio doesn't make much sense. Sales, marketing, operations, and customer support (ie, the "non-tech" side) should begin to outgrow the technical side (product and engineering) relatively early on.Equal founders want to feel like they have an equal level of responsibility within the company, and often see the number of employees under management as a measure of that responsibility. It isn't.If you're a founder/CTO, don't forget: you're a founder first. Yes, the bulk of your focus will be on product and engineering, but don't let that be all of your focus. Figure out how you can use your skills to enable the sales, marketing, ops, and support teams. If you're a founder first, you should be doing what the company needs most, not necessarily what you like doing best. Your value and responsibilities don't come from simply managing a headcount, so don't use that as a vanity metric.Your most important job as a CTO is to figure out how to run a lean team successfully.Figuring out how to achieve your product's goals with the minimum resources necessary is your biggest responsibility, and your biggest challenge. You should be doing everything in your power to allow your company to invest as much as it possibly can in developing sales, marketing, customer relationships, and customer loyalty: the profit centers of your company.Get your company to profitability, and then revisit your organizational goals. If, after profitability, you still want growth, then keep investing in sales. If you want polish, then invest a little more in engineering. But until you've reached financial stability, keep your cost centers in check, and make sure not to overinvest in engineering.I'm well aware the advice above will be controversial to some degree. But I've seen dozens of companies fail because of misallocated team investment. I know many really great product-focused founders who have had to close shop because they didn't invest enough in profit centers, and many of them have told me point-blank that they wished they had invested more in their sales organization. Meanwhile, I know many technical founders who admit they can achieve their product and customer goals with much less. So please, take this opportunity to think critically about how you're allocating your team, and adjust accordingly!