#Great job everyone it was phenomenal! :D

[selemina]

The green names had a terrible time this session! :D

[sugarpasteltmnt]

Hi there! I've read a lot of ROTTMNT fics, and I mean. A LOT. But holy fuck The Neon Void is literally the most amazing thing I've ever read.

The pacing is FANTASTIC? I'm way too impatient for reveals to take so long in my own writing, the fact you've managed to make it last 20 chapters (so far)? INSANE. /POS.

The characterization is absolutely phenomenal, it genuinely feels like this is something that could have happened in canon. It FEELS like the characters in every sense, even with Leo being the way he is! Its genuinely amazing.

Not to mention the ANGST. Presumed death is my favorite trope ever, and the fact all of their grief feels so palpable? The way you described Raph's grief in one of the chapters stuck with me so much, I forget the exact wording but it was like "He couldn't be more grateful to have had Leo for a brother, or more proud of the fact he had been his big brother" I don't know something like that AND IT FELT LIKE A KNIFE TO THE CHEST. WONDERFULLY DONE.

AND THE TELEPORTATION THING- making true teleportation so difficult in such a smart way was such a great move. I LOVE that aspect so much.

I'm gonna cut this ramble off here before I further go off the rails, I just wanted to say this is my all time favorite fanfic EVER. Even long when this is over I expect myself to come back to reread it VERY often. You're doing an amazing job, and you're a really awesome writer!

Have a wonderful day! :D

SOB THANK U SO MUCH

But seriously, that means a lot ;w; I’m always worried that my pacing is too slow, or if I’m hitting the marks on the boys’ personalities. ESPECIALLY with Leo fighting between insane giggle fits and self-loathing. It's been a challenge for sure. The reassurance that it’s somewhat believable makes me incredibly happy ;w; The story beats of this fic are honestly new territory for me—so it means the WORLD to me that you took the time to let me know you like my silly story!!! Especially since this is the first fic I’ve ever published—it’s a huge relief knowing that people enjoy my brain worms LOL

Honestly the amount of positive feedback I’ve gotten just from my silly little fic has totally floored me. Everyone has been so sweet and so kind and honestly writing this fic has brought me so much joy and I’m so happy that it makes other people happy too ;w;

But like??? The fact you feel like it could be canon?? THAT IS SUCH A HIGH COMPLIMENT THANK YOU 😭😭😭 I will admit I am proud of the teleportation aspect, and while I have some other silly particle physics lessons planned I just hope it all makes sense to readers in the end ;w;

Thank you again so so so much ;w; I love big dramatic reveal fics too, so it’s been VERY painful for me to have made it this far without a reveal LMAO. Seriously, I can’t wait to get this silly guy written and moved out of my head to free up rent space for some fanfic READING again (I WILL get distracted if I let myself read other fics rn SOB) I’ll def have to check yours out too because it sounds DELICIOUS 🤤✨

[jahayla-parker]

Premiere Pride : Freddy Carter x Reader SMAU

Descr: Social media AU of Freddy’s girlfriend attending the S&B Season 2 Premiere. Fluff

Warnings: flirting, and Freddy’s gorgeousness might melt your phones, otherwise it’s all just fluff. 💜

Freddy’s Story

Y/N’s Story

Liked by freddycarter1, amitasuman_, benbarnes, and 657, 498 others

yourusername: Freddy, I’m so insanely proud of you! You more than deserve everything you are getting to experience tonight ❤️ #sabseason2premiere

Photo credit: @/benbarnes

view all 136, 842 comments

freddycarter1: truly honored to have you on my arm tonight darling 😘 thank you for always supporting me xxx

kittheyounger: wonder what could cause that smoulder 🤔 x

freddycarter1: the sight in front of me was too beautiful 🤷‍♂️

yourusername: 🥹❤️

lbardugo: thank you Freddy for being our Kazzle Dazzle 🖤

shadowandbone: he’s a star 🤩

benbarnes: you know I took this photo cause he was checking you out, right? 😂😉

yourusername: I didn’t until I saw Kit and Freddy’s comments 🥹 but he’s so pretty, I love that smile ❤️

freddycarter1: it’s all yours darling xxx

Freddy’s Story

Liked by freddycarter1, daniellegalligan_, lbardugo, and 435, 864 others

yourusername: I’ll never get enough of these two! In case you hadn’t noticed, tonight I’m tagging along with my beautiful best friend and my beautiful boyfriend while they walk the red carpet for the S&B season 2 premiere! I’m so v proud; love you both sm!😘

p.s. full disclosure, the carpet is actually black 🤫

view all 246, 963 comments

freddycarter1: another great photo taken by my beautiful girlfriend 😘

daniellegalligan_: babe, ilysm! ❤️

yourusername: I love you more D🥰

daniellegalligan_: more than Freddy? 👀

yourusername: Danniiii, let’s not do this, hmm?😂

freddycarter1: that’s a no 😏

yourusername: Freddyyy, that was not a no🙄

daniellegalligan_: so it’s a yes? 😏

yourusername: I didn’t say that either 🙄

freddycarter1: it was a yes or no question sweetheart x 🤔

daniellegalligan_: yeah, so, what’s the answer?👀❤️

yourusername: I changed my mind, I hate you both 😒

sabcrows: i think your friendship with Dani while dating Freddy really helped them form that on screen sibling-like rivalry bond their characters have 🙂

yourusername: As much as I’d like up take the credit for such an amazing thing, they’re both phenomenal at their jobs; what you’re seeing in Nina and Kaz’s dynamic is all due to raw talent from these two 🤗

shadowandbone: classy 😊

Y/N’s Story

Liked by freddycarter1, amitasuman_, netflix, and 466, 387 others

yourusername: eternally proud of everyone on that stage, you all look great and this season is unreal 🤩❤️ honored to be here to witness this!

view all 109, 263 comments

freddycarter1: no one else I’d rather have as my guest tonight 😘

daniellegalligan_: so glad you could make it xxx

kittheyounger: Season 2, let’s go! 🙌

amitasuman_: ❤️ thank you for helping me with my wardrobe snafu

yourusername: I’ve got you girl, always 🥰

Liked by yourusername, jacktwolfe, kittheyounger, and 745, 192 others

freddycarter1: cheesing the night away 🖤

view all 246, 985 comments

yourusername: that smile 😍 (also, KANEJ!)

freddycarter1: 🥹 xx

netflix: the crows and their creator ✨

lbardugo: my little family ❤️

benbarnes: looking good everyone! 🖤

Liked by yourusername, freddycarter1, benbarnes, and 954, 283 others

shadowandbone: Freddy answers some questions on the carpet of the season 2 premiere!

view all 743, 194 comments

yourusername: My brunch boy x 🧇

freddycarter1: ❤️

benbarnes: how long did it take you to actually hear his answers? I could hear you playing the clip like 8 times 😂

yourusername: I was a bit distracted..😍 can you really blame me? 🤷‍♀️

freddycarter1: 😂 you’re insane, ily xxx

kittheyounger: Freddy is the King of brunch

jacktwolfe: 🥰

Freddy Carter Navigation

Kaz Brekker Navigation

Main Masterlist Navigation (All My Works)

Taglist: @historynerd7 @alex-kazbrekkersimp @ell0ra-br3kk3r @b3kk3r-by-br3kk3r @missdreamofendless @nikfigueiredo

[themightymoose]

Dumb Dumbwaiter

10/10 title

For some reason I very vividly remember Mrs. Twombly's can stacker song

Love her attitude <3333

One thing I love about any spa day scene is a character eating a cucumber instead of putting them on your eyes

A for effort Pepper

I remember seeing a lot of episodes down the line where it's your stereotypical boys vs. girls episodes (which makes sense since it was 2012)

And I remember getting so annoyed with them

And I honestly have no idea why :/

Guess I'll have to see if they really do get annoying

I mean they are just having a girls night (slay 💅) so little me was probably over exaggerating

I think I remember this episode

Blythe trolling Minka

No thoughts; just Pepper

I mean, at least she's trying

Lmao Pepper pouting

"You hate it :("

This might just be commentary on everything Pepper does huh

Zoe calling Pepper "Pep"

I don't remember the pets calling each other nicknames so whenever it happens I have to register it

Sunil is a feminist icon confirmed

oh my god I forgot about this song

Did

Did Vinnie just call them "feminine pests"?

Vinnie it's not too late take my hand and you can unlearn this toxic masculinity

Which I don't know how you learned it in the first place since you're a fucking gecko but whatever

I like Sunil way more than I thought I would

Also I never really took Russell as the guy to really care about the whole girls vs. boys thing

I kinda thought only Vinnie, Zoe, and Penny would care about that

Blythe does not count

Impeccable harmonies though

Flashbacks

Damn I hope none of you have claustrophobia

Pepper and Zoe tag-teaming Blythe

Pepper once again being my favorite

I honestly love Pepper trying to calm down Minka

Well I guess Minka has claustrophobia then

I love the self awareness of some these jokes

Damn that's a knot worse than my Christmas tree lights 💀

Pepper wtf is with that smugass expression

Great job Blythe

Pepper's va is doing a phenomenal job btw

I love the transition from the girls freaking out convinced they're about to die

To the boys flinging Russell to the roof because they're bored

Oh yeah cartoon logic :D

The girls are fightinggggg

Guys you might die of course Pepper is in a bad mood

Okay die is an over exaggeration

But still

LAWDCHUKNCRC PEPPER

She is literally the funniest character

"If we just stay here till the bitter end - they'll never know." So did you just think your owners would forget about you and move on?

...

WRITE THAT DOWN WRITE THAT DOWN

Russell shut the fuck up

He sure is Skinny Vinnie

A Vinnie that is skinny

What the fuck are you three doing

Can't you four each lift a corner and get out of the cage

well that was easy

Why are the boys so incompetent this episode

This is not right

Nevermind Russell saved his reputation

Pepper can literally make a seat out of her tail

"Animals have no sense of time- THE POINT IS-"

I was not expecting Pepper to be this dramatic

But I welcome it

HELP WHY IS THIS PLOT SO FUNNY

I can see where little me's complaints were coming from now

Tell them girl

I may not like Penny as much as the others but they had it coming

Welcome back to part two of Russell shut the fuck up

Poor Mrs. Twombly

And then everyone clapped

Wait this interaction is actually really cute

I love Zoe and Pepper's friendship

Once again Jasper being missing

[whumperofworlds]

🫡 and 😨 for Alder and Hawthorn and/or Theo and Malik please!!!

Thanks Gala :D

🫡- Are they a good leader?

Alder smiled slightly. "Hawy is definitely a good leader to me. I know that if something has happened to me, my team will be in good hands with him."

Hawthorn grinned. "Alder is the best out of all of us, and his leadership skills are phenomenal. He is definitely a great leader, and I know that he'll keep us all safe."

Theo nodded with a small smile. "Mally would be a good leader! Hmm... maybe if something happens to me, he could take over as the leader. It's just that... I don't know how to bring that up to him..."

Malik chuckled. "He's the best leader I have ever known. I've worked a few jobs, and out of all of them, my Teacup is the best. Firm but fair, protective of his team... I wish we had more people like him."

😨- What's their greatest fear?

Alder sighed. "My Hawy is so afraid of losing me... I cannot blame him, though."

Hawthorn's eyes averted. "Alder's afraid of failing his goal: his team being in shambles and Brennus taking over forever. In fact, I think that's everyone's fear, mine included..."

Theo shook his head. "Mally is so afraid of getting shot. I noticed it; whenever a gun is fired, he froze like a deer. I'm slowly helping him to try to face his fears though."

Malik closed his eyes and frowned. "Teacup is afraid of spiders, to be honest. He explained to me how he woke up and got bitten by a black widow when he was a child. I can't really blame him..."

[safety-writes-noms]

I’m bored and you’re my favorite person to bother also what is invincible about because I’ve never watched it is it like superheroes? Talk about it I am intrigued I’ll take headcanons or plot or whatever I just want attention

dw pookie you’re not a bother!! I love receiving asks :3 and invincible is basically the superman trope if Superman decided to stomp on kittens (and his son) for fun /j. If you have Amazon prime I recommend you totally watch it!! (it’s a bit gory tho ngl). The comics are pretty good but so far, I like how the show had adapted things more, and the voice acting is phenomenal. Steven Yeun did a great job portraying mark’s emotions. Also mark loves comics and he’s a nerd so. Automatic fav. He goes through a ton of shit tho. Like a trainload (get it? Train? S1 finale reference :3) but I adore the fact that mentally he stays invincible throughout the show despite all the fucking stuff he’s gone through. Not his body though that gets broken all the time so his branding is only like… half correct :p.

I’m not gonna mention any major spoilers just in case you do watch it but the show is fun, there’s a Spider-Man and invincible crossover comic that I’ve read seven times, and I think mark has a preference for less sweet tasting prey.

also. One pet peeve I have is that everyone’s eye color kept changing in the comics (BUT THEYRE GOOD THE COMICS ARE SO GOOD DONT LET MY GRIPING TURN YOU AWAY FROM IT) but that’s it :D

[fallloverfic]

Solo Leveling Episode 9 Thoughts

This episode was excellent! Spoilery thoughts for the anime, novel, and manhwa below, and CW: blood, injury, murder:

I still really like that they expanded Kim Sangshik's role in the manhwa, and added even more expansion in the anime. It's not really present here, mostly in last episode with showing his family, but his having a full name and background (e.g., he's just Hunter Kim in the novel), making that longer speech before he runs in the double dungeon, planning to apologize here before being fatally injured by Kang Taesik, and talking to Sung Jinwoo before dying, are all additions the manhwa made. There's a lot of really great world-building elements that the manhwa added, and the anime also adds. It makes the cast feel more alive, and like Sung Jinwoo is part of this complex world, and it makes his attitude a lot more understandable. In the webnovel, he just finds Kim Sangshik and Kang Jeongho dead after killing Kang Taesik (Vol 1, Chapter 9, English Ize Press release).

The other Hunter finally has a full name: Kang Jeongho! Woo! Sure, we only learn it when he dies, but well... It's good he has the name (Thank you anime :D He didn't even get a last name in either the webnovel or manhwa!). If I recall correctly, he's actually more into the whole "apologize to Sung Jinwoo" thing in the manhwa (also not a thing that was in the webnovel). So I'm not sure why the change here, but well. At least anime Kang Jeongho is into apologizing, still. Just not as fervently, perhaps.

Sung Jinwoo's distress at Kim Sangshik dying is really good.

He's struggling so hard. His pain is really visceral. Taito Ban did a phenomenal job with the lines. And Kim Sangshik recognizes it and apologizes, repeatedly. It's really good.

It's also interesting the anime changed it so that not just the one criminal but all three criminals were involved in assaulting the daughter. It makes Kang Taesik's actions less... I'm not saying less reprehensible, really (making yourself judge, jury, and executioner, is well, its own discussion), but less sadistic/random(?), because the two other criminals he kills aren't just random. It made me briefly think they'd absolve him entirely lol But no. He still kills everyone he can, and would have killed more, in part to hide his skill, and in part because he just likes murder. He's well portrayed here, in a nicely complex way, all the art is very good, and the music is great.

Another big change from the novel to the manhwa (and kept in the anime) is Song Chiyul fighting Kang Taesik. I read the manhwa first, and one issue I had with this bit was, "Why is Jinwoo just standing there? I get he wants to hide his abilities, but as Chiyul points out, a C-rank cannot beat a B-rank. Is he just spectating for funsies?"

And well... it's probably odd partly because Sung Jinwoo doesn't do that in the webnovel. He just fights the guy. In the novel, Song Chiyul, Lee Joohee, and Sung Jinwoo hear a scream, and then come across an injured Kang Taesik, who pretends to be injured and then attempts to kill Lee Joohee when she goes to help him. (It's quite cute in the anime when Kang Taeshik is like, "I planned to kill the healer first", because in the webnovel, he does try that first lol This anime is some lovely fanfiction). Sung Jinwoo steps in and stops him, and then Song Chiyul drags Lee Joohee away. Song Chiyul and Lee Joohee then watch Sung Jinwoo and Kang Taesik fight (Webnovel Vol 1, Chapter 8-9, English Ize Press release). There's also a lot more banter, with Sung Jinwoo and Kang Taesik testing each other, and Sung Jinwoo showing more about what he knows. It's unfortunate that a bit of Sung Jinwoo's intelligence really gets cut in the anime again.

It's introduced very late in the web novel (volume 7 of the English release) that Song Chiyul practices swords arts and trains Cha Haein, and it makes perfect sense that the manhwa not only introduced it earlier, but also had Song Chiyul fight here. It's good character expansion.

Pointing out the differences isn't necessarily a criticism, though. All of this is well done in the manhwa and particularly the anime. The fight is really good. The back and forth is excellent. Song Chiyul and Lee Joohee are fun to watch. Song Chiyul wants to do his best to look after the younger Hunters. It's a really good fight with a disabled, older warrior, and we get to see his strategic mind at work, blending mage abilities with physical combat and surprise attacks. It's awesome (I really loved the surprise attack in the manhwa, and it's so fun to see it animated here).

I think it's funny that they replicated Kang Taesik's coattail floating behind him for some reason lol In the manhwa I took that as Dubu's visual exaggeration, often blending in clothes and such to match the visual tone of the scene/the scary aura/whatever. But here it's just... naw, his coat floats that way lol It's stiff as a board when he's just standing in place, not really doing anything.

But we do get to see his waist dagger holsters, so that's cool. It's just kind of funny to see it like that in different shots lol

It's interesting that Sung Jinwoo talks about losing his emotions...? Like he does get a lot more distant over the course of the story, but it's never outright addressed in this way, and I wonder if they are going to talk about it at some point. Probably down the line when Ashborne pops up or something. I don't even recall him being this thoughtful about his feelings in the manhwa, but it's a nice plot, regardless.

And they remade that image (which is used as the cover for volume 3 of the webnovel).

It looks really nice in the anime style! Very spooky and pretty.

Another big anime change is that after the fight, in the webnovel and I believe also the manhwa, Sung Jinwoo goes to find the rapist, who is still alive, and tosses him into the boss room for the goblins to rip him to pieces (Webnovel Vol 1, Chapter 9). That is completely gone in the anime (Kang Taesik killed him already). They are very much trying to make Sung Jinwoo's actions more sympathetic, and I think it works pretty well. I like him being more of a sympathetic character rather than the kind of... whatever he is on occasion in both the novel and manhwa. He's definitely a guy with ethics who generally wants to preserve life (I mean the manhwa climax wouldn't make sense otherwise), but how he deals with the last living prisoner was a bit out there for me. So I personally like the change for the anime. He's clearly struggling with his abilities, the situation he's forced into, and what that means for him as a person, particularly with his own trauma that he doesn't fully deal with. In a way this is a lot sadder, and I enjoy it.

I also still really love Woo Jinchul's expanded role in the manhwa, which they kept here. Woo Jinchul is more of a sidelined character who doesn't really show up much for a good chunk of the webnovel. The manhwa kind of let him eat up the roles of a couple minor characters, to better develop him, introduce him earlier, and simplify the plot to a degree, as well as better solidify his relationship to Sung Jinwoo and the other characters, and overall it works really well. I was genuinely confused to go to the webnovel and discover he's pretty absent for so much of the story.

Also there's a lot of lovely flirty vibes with the way Woo Jinchul and Sung Jinwoo study each other, which soothes my Woo Jinchul/Sung Jinwoo heart XD I wanted to write them first when I read the manhwa, and I'd still like to. I just love the way Woo Jinchul instantly stares at Sung Jinwoo before he even really knows it's him. He's so shocked, it's wonderful. Hot man focus lol Also Sung Jinwoo is really cute when he's chatting with the others.

What Woo Jinchul sees :3 No wonder he's obsessed.

And we're set up for the big scene with Lee Joohee and Sung Jinwoo. It'll be interesting to see how the anime handles it!

All in all, a wonderful episode with some gorgeous animation and interesting character development and story tweaks. Looking forward to episode 10!

More episode thoughts:

S01E05

S01E06

S01E07

S01E08

S01E09 (you are here)

S01E10

S01E11

S01E12

[ilikethequiet]

Ally Talks Percy Jackson

So let's have an actual talk about Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I've read both the original PJO series and the Heroes of Olympus and was once blocked on Twitter by Rick Riordan for saying that I liked the movies. (I liked the movies, it was because of the movies that I started reading the books)

So finally, finally they've made a Disney Plus series and the fandom reception while mostly positive is kind of weird? Now I'll admit, I'm not the core demographic (I turned 41 this year) but let's talk about some things I've seen online) Under a cut for those who don't care/don't want to be spoiled.

The casting is phenomenal, everyone works so well off each other. The kids, Sally (I love Sally, she was great) Mr D., the show felt really nice. (Hoping someone gifs that scene of Percy and his mum in the rain) also random shoutout to the camper who was in the wheelchair at the archery range!

Of course they weren't going to include everything even in an eight hour episode tv show it would be hard to include everything. I trust Rick kept what he felt was important.

I've seen some criticisms and boy, they're wild ones. Saying that the kids' acting was off and that the PJO movies were better. While I liked the movies, they weren't good adaptations.

I saw someone say ohh it looks cheap! That's the Disney effect! I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. The things we've seen looked good, everyone just wants to hate on Disney these days it's almost like they think Netflix would do a better job when they know, THEY KNOW Netflix would cancel it so fast if it didn't perform well. Also, who do you think publishes the PJO books? It's Disney, it always has been.

Alright I have found something else I've seen people complain about, and that is Sally's relationship with Gabe and how he seems to be less uh...well if you've read the books you would know he was abusive to them, hence why the thing that happens to him, happens to him. People seem surprised it wasn't included in its entirety. I don't know, did you really think they would? I didn't think they would, this is Disney.

ANYWAY, I'm very excited for the rest of the episodes! Never really been a fan of a show where I've read all the source material beforehand. This will be fun.

[digitalizetoday]

Proven Ways To Improve Google Ad Rankings 🚀

This blog will cover ways businesses can improve their ad rank and visibility on the search engine result page. If your business needs help to get results from PPC campaigns, you can rely on the best PPC marketing company in Delhi digitalizetoday. We have helped many businesses achieve phenomenal results with the help of our experienced team and years of experience running Google ads. 

What is Google Ad Rank? 

Google Ad rank is a position given to an ad in the paid results. With the help of paid ads, businesses can find a spot on the Google search engine's first page either above or below the organic results. Paid campaigns allow businesses to become visible and acquire maximum traffic from Google search results. They also deliver quicker results than organic marketing, which is also referred to as SEO. 

Several advertisers and ppc companies that participate in the Google ads auction, and everyone wants to rank for the first spot where they can get maximum visibility and a high volume of traffic. However, to retain the first spot, you must have a good bid and a high-quality score. The quality score is an important metric that Google provides based on factors such as ad quality, user search intent, competitiveness, ad extensions used, bid amount, etc. It's not certain that you will always secure the first spot in Google SERP. Your position can always drop from the first spot to either the second or third position depending on how much your competitor is bidding on a certain keyword and how much their quality score is in comparison to yours. Now that we know what ad rank is let's look at ways to improve it.

1. Improve Ad relevance 

Ad relevance is one of the major factors to consider when improving ad rank. You must ensure that your ads are relevant to the user's search. To do this, you must validate your ad copy and ensure that the keywords you are targeting are added to the title and description of the ad copy. Responsive search ads are one of the ways to improve ad relevance, where you can test different ads based on the user's search query. Make sure you also choose the option to optimize for best-performing ads, as this allows Google to show users the best-performing ads to achieve maximum results or hiring a Google ads expert to get the job done for you can also do the trick. 

2. Use Ads Extensions

Ads extensions are also another great way to boost your ad rank. Using ad extensions in your ad copies can drastically improve your CTR, thus improving your ad rank. Ads extensions allow you to add more text to your ads which makes them more informative and attractive to the user's eye. There are numerous extensions you can choose from, such as:

· Callout 

· Call

· Structure snippet

· Price 

· Location 

· Promotion 

It's important to choose the extensions depending on your business type. For example, if you have an ecommerce store, you can choose Price or promotion extension. Make sure to choose the most appropriate extensions relevant to your business.

3. Optimize Landing Pages

Landing pages must always be relevant to what the user is searching for. Google prefers users to get what they are looking for in the first place rather than jumping from one website to another. Let's look at some key points that you can use to optimize your landing pages.

a) Add targeted keywords: By adding the targeted keyword to the landing pages you can make it more relevant to the user’s queries. Make sure the keywords are sprinkled throughout the landing page. 

b) Page load time: Your page load timeshould be less than 5secs or more. If you have a landing page that loads slowly, the user might bounce back and look for another website. 

c) Page should also be mobile-friendly: Make sure your page loads properly on mobile devices. You can check this using a mobile page-friendly testing tool to get more insights about your page's appearance on mobile devices. 

d) Add more calls to action: By adding more CTA and signup forms to the landing pages encourages the user to take action on your website. The best way can be to add signup forms and CTA together at the end of each section of your landing pages. 

e) Add video testimonials: By adding video testimonials of clients you have served can persuade users who visit your landing page and can help convert them into your prospects. Testimonials are a great way to showcase your achievements and successes.

f) Have a Good Bid in Place: Your ad rank also depends majorly on your bids. Even if you have a good quality score and your bids on a certain keyword could be higher, you lose that top spot you were aiming for. It's crucial to raise your bids on the keywords driving you the maximum conversion. Both quality score and bids are what contribute to a better ad rank. 

In conclusion 

There are several factors that Google considers while providing ad rank. We have already discussed about some of the most important ones above. The better your ad rank, the more visibility, and traffic you will acquire for your website. Ensure you work on the points discussed above, and you should be ready to go. If you have a business and want to improve your ad rank you can get in touch with digitalizetoday. We are a renowned PPC company in Delhi who has helped many businesses improve their ad ranks to achieve the best possible results from their ppc campaigns. If you are looking for the Ultimate PPC Guide 2023: Everything You Need To Know here you can get more info about how ppc marketing works.

[earthly-ali3n]

doing a little thing about each of the d20 main cast because i love them

Zac - i adore him, he has this incredible ability to effect the mood of everyone at the table and everyone watching with just a few words. it takes him max three words to have the whole table and audience in a laughing fit or in tears. it’s amazing and it does it with every character he’s played.

Ally - they put so much emotion into every character they play, while also keeping it light hearted and fun? i don’t get how they do it. they just do SUCH a good job of handling heavy subjects, and giving their characters real flaws, interests, and goals. Megan being into fermenting?? that shit was so funny

Siobhan - she does something with her acting that i just can’t pinpoint that makes every character she plays feel so real. i don’t know if she plans it out or what but the way she invests herself into each characters gets me every time. her performance as Adaine is just so raw to me. she is equally the most put together and organized in the group while also being so tragically angry all the time and i just know that every teenage girl with perfectionist parents connected with her.

Emily - it is so fun to watch her play d&d. she is a phenomenal player and the way she is ALWAYS in character adds so much to the show. You can feel how deeply she cares about all the PCs AND the NPCs. hearing the cast talk about how after the shows she be up worrying about gilear, or how she’s going to bring her husband back to life; it’s just so fun to watch her because she cares so much.

Murph - THE RANGE that this man has. he almost exclusively plays comedic relief, but does it drastically different every time. The differences between Riz, Kugrash, Sir Theo, Cody, and Barry are astronomical, but all of them are great comedic relief while also being well thought out, gets me every time. he never disappoints

Lou - lou is one of the most warm and welcoming people i’ve ever seen, the way you can feel it yourself though a screen is insane. he has the ability to bring together everyone at the table, whether it is to console him after being nearly killed, or being the party’s DD (designated dad). he’s always so confused at the more impulsive people in the party but supportive anyways! he’s just so kind and you can tell that he’s the heart of the party.

Brennen - he’s my favourite dm by far. he makes everyone feel so welcome, and heard, and seen. I love how much power he gives to the PCs, letting them decide how their spells are cast, what cool moves they pull before a killing blow, and letting them get into the most insane shenanigans. but also he’s a sick bastard who likes to kill dogs

[dmsden]

A D&D Round-Up

Hullo, Gentle Readers. Lots of fun and interesting stuff coming for D&D. I’m excited for a lot of the news, so I thought it would be fun to just do a round-up of new products, forthcoming news, and other tidbits.

Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep

As of my writing this, the latest D&D adventure came out just a few days ago. Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep is an adventure set in Exandria, the world of Critical Role. I haven’t had time to peruse it thoroughly yet, but there are two things that have really jumped out at me.

First, there is a group of rival adventurers in the game. I think this is a really interesting and unique situation; I know I’ve done it in my home campaigns, but I don’t recall if a published adventure for any edition of the game has created a specific set of rival adventurers for the PCs. I won’t spoil anything about them, other to say that they’re on the cover (seen above).

Second, as the left side of the cover suggests, a chunk of this adventure is set underwater. The Netherdeep is a dark oceanic abyss where bad things are happening, and your group of adventurers are getting involved with it. Again, I can’t think of an adventure off the top of my head that specifically contains an extended underwater portion. Definitely curious to read more about that.

The Legend of Vox Machina

Let’s keep the Exandria train going. I’m sure most folks involved with D&D are already aware of this, but, just in case...

A couple of years ago, the folks behind Critical Role did a Kickstarter to raise money for an animated special based on their first campaign. It was a runaway success, leading them to instead plan an entire 12-episode animated series. To make it more amazing, Amazon Prime picked it up, and a second season was ordered before the first season had even aired.

Well, it was a lot of waiting, but the entire first season is now streaming on Amazon Prime. In my personal opinion, it’s fantastic. Not only did they do a phenomenal job of translating the episodes to the screen, but it’s well-written, funny, and genuinely exciting. If you’re a Critical Role fan, you’re going to love seeing beloved NPCs and classic moments up on screen (I squealed at the triceratops rampage). If you’re a D&D fan, but you’ve never watched or listened to Critical Role, I suspect you’ll enjoy this. It was so much fun watching spells we’ve played in our game for years manifesting, or recognizing class features, and the like. If you don’t play D&D...I’m not sure why you’re reading my blog...but I think you’ll enjoy it anyway. It’s a funny, action-packed story with a lot of great characters. If you actively dislike Critical Role, I don’t know that this will change your mind, but maybe take a look and see.

Venture and Dungeon

This isn’t technically D&D news, but, if you’re like me, you love other games, too. This is actually two games in one book. Venture, by Riley Rethal, is a D&D type game of adventure, monsters, journeys, dungeons, and all the rest. You travel around, meet interesting characters, go on quests, and everything you would expect from a D&D adventure. Dungeon, by Jay Dragon, is a bit more meta. In it, you play both a group of adventurers and the high school kids playing those adventures. In the tabletop world, your characters have literal spells and abilities, and they fight monsters and so on. In the real world, your abilities are more metaphorical, and you deal with the challenges and problems that high school kids have to deal with.

Both of these games are made with the Belonging Outside Belonging/No Dice, No Masters systems. I discovered these for myself back in 2020 through Jay Dragon’s game Sleepaway, which I obsessed over, and then their game Wanderhome, which I’m still obsessing over. All of these games feature no dice and no GM. They are cooperative storytelling where everyone works together to create and play NPCs and settings. I enjoy cooperative storytelling a lot. Even back at the beginning of my current D&D game, 11 years ago, I would ask the players to describe things about their environment rather than filling in all the blanks myself. These games embrace that to the fullest possible extent, giving you lists and tables to spark your imagination, much like 5e does so well. I am excited to fully read through and perhaps play both!

The Dungeons & Dragons Tarot Deck

I’m actually sort of shocked this isn’t something that already exists, but it’s coming in May. All I really know about it is the official blurb for it. “ This officially licensed tarot deck pays homage to the lore of Dungeons & Dragons by pairing characters and encounters with the Major and Minor Arcana of tarot. The characters of the Major Arcana align to the Rider-Waite Tarot while the suits of the Minor Arcana are mapped to abilities within the game of D&D. Beautifully illustrated with exclusive art, the deck also includes a booklet that introduces players to tarot, explains the meanings of the cards, and includes prompts to add dynamic twists to your gameplay, making this the ultimate collectible for dungeon masters, players, and fans of RPGs.”

Hopefully I’ll know more later.

Chris Pine on the D&D Movie

We don’t know much about the D&D movie due to release in March of 2023. Mostly, we know that it’s set in the Forgotten Realms, and it has a pretty interesting cast, including Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith, and Hugh Grant.

Recently Chris Pine had an interview with Collider, and they asked a bit about the tone of the film. I’d heard it described before as “Guardians of the Galaxy set in the Forgotten Realms”, and Pine’s comments seem to bear that out.

“Oh man. Well, what I will say is we had a hell of a fun time making it...There was a lot of laughs. The way that I’ve been describing it, it’s like Game of Thrones mixed with a little Princess Bride, just a smidge of Holy Grail. It’s somewhere in that ballpark. It’s a lot of fun, it’s got a lot of thrills, it’s poppy, it’s eighties heartfelt, there’s a bit of Goonies in there. My character, he’s the ultimate party planner. I think it’s going to be really good. I mean, who f***ing knows, but I think we got a good shot and John and John are killer guys. They know comedy and they know heart and we had a great cast and we had a good time making it. And that’s all you can ask for.”

If the cast had a good time making it, that feels good to me. Sometimes people complain about what an awful time they had making a movie, and that sometimes translates to a slog on the screen. I have hopes and fears, as I’ve previously written about, but this description makes me chuckle. I guess we’ll find out next year!

Heroes of Krynn

WotC teased a possible Dragonlance return with an Unearthed Arcana article. This article, Heroes of Krynn, can be found at https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/heroes-krynn In it, you’ll find 5e rules for Kender, Lunar Sorcerers, Mages of High Sorcery, and Knights of Solamnia. While there hasn’t been any official announcement about a Dragonlance 5e book, WotC has historically used the Unearthed Arcana articles to playtest material for books that could be coming out very shortly. When they released their Heroes of the Feywild article, it was followed pretty closely with the announcement of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, an adventure set in the Feywild, which included two of those races. This same article included the Owlfolk, which came shortly thereafter as part of the Strixhaven book (I don’t follow Magic the Gathering, or I might’ve predicted we’d see that book based on the Owlfolk) and Hobgoblins of the Feywild, which I am led to believe are in Monsters of the Multiverse.

And that’s it for now.

That’s a lot! I’ll try to do these round-ups when a lot of news hits at once. Until next time, keep your friends close, and your healing potions closer.

[uc-beepboop]

I’ve been trying to put this into words. A bit of a blarg of word vomit to tell y’all about my love for this podcast and most importantly why ok?

1. It’s difficult to get me into things:

But once I’m hooked, I’m hooked. Hello yes, and now with the benefit of me working a job, I am part of its patreon base for more content gobble gobble. Yep that marketing for the short episodes had me essentially sold. Hayley and Gus really thought of a podcast up my niche: I’m a busy person and unfortunately usually don’t have the time/attention for something that has long episode lengths.

2. Characters: I love media with a huge cast of characters

And for this type of podcast it’s literally built into its structure. A big pitfall other media has with a large cast is that some characters will obviously be more fleshed out than others. Sure, that happens on the pod, even Gus and Hayley mentioned something about determining “main characters” in each arc for a talkback ep, but there’s usually no one that quite undeservingly is not fleshed out due to writers choice. Constraints are 1) the short timespan the podcast has to fit and 2) the fact that this is a live ttrpg and stuff happens on the spot. Anyways back to my point. I love a large cast of characters because I love seeing things from different points of view and we see the world of UC through so many perspectives it’s just brilliant. And having each guest lead the reigns of their character as they play leads to this very natural expansion of what society is like in various corners of this imaginary universe.

Also yes I’m a fanfic writer I love when there are lots of existing characters to stuff my bizarre imaginary stories with.

3. Unabashedly diverse

Props to inviting guests with a variety of backgrounds. It’s easy to say this, but let me just break it down to everyone the lengths that unprepared casters has traversed in this way.

The default, you could say stereotypical, person who plays ttrpgs like D&D is this nerdy white boy that plays with his nerdy friends in the basement.

There have been pushed for narratives that default from that: Dimension 20 being the one that pops out into my mind. But oftentimes without an established company with connections to employees that already have different backgrounds, it’s difficult to find a group of people with a diversity to perspectives. Naturally, like sticks to like. It’s just the way things are.

But Gus and Hayley have made a structure that allows for rotating guests AND has made an effort to reach out to get different voices on their lovely pod. Great move.

I hoped for this from the very beginning when Gus made that comment of there being so few female DMs, I just hoped there would be more fem/enbie voices in the mix (ofc Hayley goes by all pronouns now, but still they are a female presenting DM and that’s still rare!). And what I got was a cast that spand from across the US, occasionally peaking into other countries, people of different ethnicities, people in the LGBT community, new D&D players, other players that have been playing D&D since they were like 5, people of varying professions, playing with people that are in a home game together and some that were total strangers on the internet!

Thank you for that, it means a lot to me personally as a viewer. And keep going: I wish y’all the best of luck on that quest.

4. The opposite of the Mercer effect: the weirdly homegame-esque effect?

This podcast has imperfections, and that is what makes it stand out. Gus and Hayley have been unabashedly transparent, especially compared to other podcasts, about their thought processes, failures but also successes, and every other element that happens over the course of a game. For example, gus has taken a break for this upcoming arc, probably because of the exhausting toll the phenomenal past arcs he’s DM-ed. I’ll say it: d&d is really intimidating to someone that is new. And that element that the hosts mentioned like EPISODE 0 ARC 1 still holds true.

Like look: most D&D podcasts that I’ve heard of have big names stamped onto them. The people in the campaigns are professionals in the entertainment industry, many having their D&D content be something that’s built into their jobs. Many a time, they reside in a similar location and can be in person together for recording sessions.

What do we have from UC? A graphic designer part time musician and an elementary school teacher who was getting her masters while teaching and running a d&d podcast as a DM. And from the VC of arc 10 episode 1, I got confirmation that the DM Amelia works a 9-5 job outside of their amazing work in ttrpgs. Overall? This is pretty insane for most people to pull.

I don’t expect the cream of the crop twists and turns from these folks at all! With all that in their plate, no way. But I’m some ways what we get instead is these two people who are just really honest and transparent from who they are and they talk about their day and it’s like this little insight into what their lives are like. It kinda reminds me of what my home game was like before it got disbanded: it was just a time to meet up with friends and have fun through the medium of D&D.

One day I’ll make this a nice little essay that’s easier to read and not word vomit and had actually been proofread lol. But for now, props to Gus and Hayley, guests, and more. Cheers to what you have created and keep up the good work. Love to see what your creativity cooks up next.

[another-rational-deception]

Class 1-A as “Be More Chill” Cast Members

Hey y’all :,) I know it’s been a while im sorry. let me give little rundown of everything fast: first of all i marched in the 2022 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, i got a job, im auditioning to be a section captian for this upcoming marching season, im playing/learning 5 instruments at once, my parents threatened to k!ll my cats, a few traumatic things happened to me in California, been trying to keep my grades up… i think that’s most of it. So, a lot has happened since august🥲 ill try to post every now and then, im so sorry LMFAO

ANYWAY im making these headcanons bc im bored, and im playing in the pit band for the school musical which happens to be Be More Chill and thought this would be interesting :) this is which parts they would all get if they all auditions, or just parts I think fit them well

D*rk content blogs, do not interact with me at all.

Main Cast

Sero gets lead role of Jeremy Heere. Ultimately he was the one who was able to nail the nerdy, awkward vibe Jeremy has the most while also having the voice to do those big parts (Ex. Ending “survive” chord from “More Than Survive”). He’s also really good at getting really excited during “Two Player Game”. Ojiro would have gotten Jeremy but he couldn’t get over Jeremy’s opening line or all of the scenes with Brooke, he couldn’t do it. He felt very wrong and uncomfy thinking abt it😭

Iida is the squip. I was going to say Momo, but the squip is supposed to look like Keanu Reeves and i don’t quite think Momo is giving Keanu💀 Iida’s normal personality just fits the Squip’s “matter of fact” snarky quips. He’s good at staying serious, it’s almost scary how good at the Squip he is.

Koda would have been an AMAZING Michael Mell if he would have tried out for the part. He has the voice of an angel and he just would have been great at Michael’s part specifically. Unfortunately he didn’t audition for any role and Kaminari got the role of Michael, and he does phenomenal. The class thinks he’s having an actual panic attack when he performs “Michael In The Bathroom” and they freak out

Funny enough, Bakugou Rich Goranski. The class was surprised to find out that Bakugou was going to audition, and even more surprised when he got Rich. No one thought he would suck up his own pride enough to be able to play a geek like Rich but he did it and he actually did pretty good

Speaking of Rich, Kirishima would make a great Jake. He would be great at Jake’s singing parts, and could absolutely pull off Jake’s general attitude, the rich douche that sucks at pretending to be humble.

Uraraka gets Christine. It was really close between her and Hagakure, but ultimately Hagakure was given the role of Brooke, she was able to hit those really high notes easier and Brooke’s role made Uraraka short circuit thinking about it.

Momo gets Chloe and Mina gets Jenna. Jenna fits Mina perfectly, Mina would be a lier if she claimed she didn’t LOVE gossip. Also she thinks Jenna’s “woah” during “Smartphone Hour (Rich set a Fire)” is the funniest thing and she jumped at the chance to do it. Momo was kind of pushed to audition in the first place and wound up getting Chloe. She was surprised, but she was committed to the role and did incredible.

Sato is Jeremy’s dad and Shoji is Mr. Reyes. I really can’t explain Sato, but Shōji just likes that all he really has to do is eat a hot pocket every now and then. He’s content.

Everyone else plays the students of Middleborough High and mall shoppers. Aoyama and Mineta are disappointed they didn’t get lead roles, but honestly everyone else is just happy to be there.

[krokodile]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hi7iCxtUvBXv_BmigiUp2-5Qdcj84Unq/view?usp=sharing

Broadway, 3/3/22, the first half of All You Wanna Do is likely fucked up because my phone suddenly became possessed (no idea why the display would not STAY OFF) and not wanting to be a dick I shoved it into my bag until it chilled out.  The rest of it should sound ok though.

Adrianna Hicks, Andrea Macasaet, Keirsten Nicole Hodges, Brittney Mack, Samantha Pauly, Anna Uzele.

Not much I can say about Six that hasn’t been said a hundred times before.  Don’t get me wrong, I can discuss literally any aspect of the show for ages; the fact that there’s so much implied depth where we’re left to fill in the gaps means nearly everything has room for interpretation and discourse and I love it.  And, I mean, just at surface level, it’s a fucking good show.  I don’t know how the lighting techs do their jobs without breaking down crying.  The costumes are...god so great, but man I wish they’d let them wear flats.  The heels look great but dancing in those cannot be good for anyone’s spines.  Still think Parr got shafted with a song that’s half filler (and not...good filler?  Like, yeah, the show doesn’t NEED Haus of Holbein for any reason other than the show can’t be THAT SHORT, but it’s so damn much fun, and sometimes that’s the only reason you need.  But goddamn, I Don’t Need Your Love just DRAGS for me.  It’s not BAD, but it feels like it could be two-thirds as long as it is without losing anything.)  

Had mostly the principal cast, which...not complaining, I adore them all, but again, I feel like anything that could be said about them has already been said.  Not that it’ll stop me trying.

Adrianna Hicks just IS Catherine of Aragon.  Every so often there’s a pairing of actor and role that is just so utterly freaking PERFECT, and they caught lightning in a bottle here.  There are other people who are excellent in the role, but I can’t imagine feeling like it BELONGS to anyone else quite like this.  Hoping I get to catch her a few more times (I assume she’ll be leaving for Some Like it Hot, if not before then).  She’s also the one who gets genuine laughs out of me at times despite, you know, my knowing when every damn joke in the show is coming.

Andrea Macasaet had the audience in the palm of her hand from her first “beheaded.”  And I get why.  She is just so fucking funny; her line deliveries are just flawless, her comedic timing impeccable.  I love her take on the character; the killer queen vibe works so well for me.  She’s a conniving little bitch and oh god I LOVE HER SO MUCH.  I do kinda wish she had a song that shows off her voice more, because she’s SUCH a phenomenal singer, but...I also can’t really imagine her playing anyone else.

Keirsten Nicole Hodges was a total unknown to me when I walked in there.  I’m not sure I’d ever even heard her sing before.  I assumed she’d be great because literally everyone in this cast is great, but what I was not expecting was an actually interesting Jane Seymour???  Look, I love the typical take on Jane.  I love the soft-eyed, gentle-mannered Jane who sees strength in herself where others don’t.  I adore her.  But...can we all agree there have been a lot of those?  Keirsten is...not that.  And I love it.  The initial vibe I got from her was beauty pageant queen - oh she will kill you with sweetness, but it’s calculated.  Not FAKE, per se, but she’s invested in winning this thing as much as anyone and she knows this is her best angle.  She went into Heart of Stone not giving much away, and that concerned me a bit, but...yeah she knows what she’s doing and I shouldn’t have doubted that.  You actually get to see and feel the song become less about where she is and what she’s doing as it becomes more and more emotional and heartfelt, until she’s crying so hard I have no idea how the fuck she’s still singing.  The journey made the payoff so much more rewarding - and also I feel like just in general it makes Jane’s outburst later in the show a lot more in-character.  She’s the first Jane I’ve come across who really displays a drive to win.  (And yeah I know the whole show is meta and none of it’s ‘real’ but I’m still a fan of this.)  And her singing is just...gorgeous.  SUCH range, such power.  

Brittney Mack was the crowd favorite of the night; everything she did got a HUGE response, and understandably so.  I have NO IDEA where her energy comes from but she’s just such a joy to watch at all times.  I’m might-as-well-be-married to someone who once said, with only a mild hint of irony, “Anne of Cleves can GET IT,” and...okay I think I have to concur.  I’m always hoping for swing-heavy shows whenever I see anything, but if I only ever saw Britt as Cleves, I’d be delighted.

Samantha Pauly...first of all, I’m gonna get this out of the way, but I worry about her.  I wish she’d take some time off.  Seems like she’s always got a new injury, or a flareup of an old one, and this show is BRUTAL.  That said...beyond thrilled I got to see her, because if I haaaaaad to pick a favorite of the main six, it’d be her.  I love absolutely everything about her.  She’s an absolute star.  Such presence, such versatility, she does EVERYTHING flawlessly.  It’s a little ridiculous honestly.  I’ve noticed she no longer snaps on the KHoward ‘mask’ as soon as her song is over and remains visibly troubled for a bit longer.  Works either way, just something I noticed, idk.  She’s also the most present of the bunch; she reacts to EVERYTHING.  I’ve noticed she and Britt tend to share a lot of looks and whispers, and I wonder if that’s just the blocking, they just especially vibe, or they’re nodding to the fact that their characters were likely friendly in their past lives.  I assume the first, but it’s interesting to think about anyway.

Anna Uzele was the person I was most hoping to see,; she was the one person besides Abby Mueller I was familiar with before Six, and I was so excited when I saw she was part of the cast.  Her voice is just SO gorgeous.  I always feel like I Don’t Need Your Love doesn’t show her off as much as her voice deserves, but I love her Parr with all my heart.  She’s so heartfelt and plays her just the tiniest bit awkward, and I just...damn I’m gonna miss her.

Going back on Monday...yeah, went home and immediately got tickets to go again in a few days.  I was that impressed.  Best new show I’ve seen in a few years (not counting the last two, obviously).  Literally everything about it works.  And I love that it’s just so damn much FUN.  Nice to be reminded that media doesn’t need to be Deeply Serious to be genuinely great.  I forget sometimes.

[life-rewritten]

Gifts of BL! Aka Christmas Goodies For BL Fans Who Want Important Discussions About   Representation.

Oh wow, we're closer to Christmas. Where has the time gone?. So here's a gift for you all—another list of great BLS that will make you have a great time. If you find it fun rewatching and feeling all the emotions from these love stories, then I hope you enjoy these. Today I bring you guys a list of recommendations for our sometimes serious, sometimes heartfelt, sometimes innovative educators in BL that are very much needed.

Ah, The educators, the teachers, the serious topics, the displays, the emotional moments. Some of these shows decided to surprise me when I came in expecting something odd and not realistic; only for them to break my heart but also humble me and teach me and others some of the crucial conversations we need to have about LGBTQ+ representation in BL. We have couples discussing about their sexuality accepting they are gay or bi(Yes not just in love with only one person but they actually embrace their sexuality), we have essential coming out scenes and looks into the mindsets of people who struggle with coming out and being in the closet, we have supportive families that have to learn and show our characters warmth because of their own experiences, and we have metaphorical outlooks of what it feels to have to please society with the result of losing ourselves. These are the great BLs, they break our hearts, but they make it hopeful to see people who go through their issues and come out in love, strong and protected and supported. Their journey is worth it, so if you want to find some shows that give you these feelings, then join me and let's look at these great representations in the BL genre. 

BL has a bad rep. How could it not when the reason BLs were created was for straight girls who fangirled about two boys kissing. Not that I even hate fujoshi's, you're allowed to be whatever you want, like whatever you want as long as you don't cross the line and make people uncomfortable with outrageous demands or actions (like the fujoshi's in some BL shows). But BLS has become something more, though some people refuse to take them still seriously and doubt their authenticity, some people refuse to accept some shows as BL, they instead just call it a queer film or tv. But why? BL has become a place for people to run away into a fantasy of stories where there's drama, romance, comedy, mystery, passion and more. BL can be anything, and in 2020 BL showed it could be anything, it could be serious and well produced and not filled with its past problematic enquiries, it could be funny and still tug at the heartstrings, it could be deep and painful and full of lessons but still have a happy, hopeful ending, it could be any genre it wanted, from supernatural, action, thriller and more. BLs improved and also became a source for the representation of LGBTQ+. And I think that's beautiful. It might have a taken a while for people to learn, for own voices to find a way to write new shows, for risks to be made. But 2020 saw the influx of BLS that weren't just fan service but actually art or just good stories with a great message. Here are some of them. 

Thai 

Dark Blue Kiss

It's weird to say that Dark Blue Kiss is an excellent representation for the qualities needed in this list. But what can I say apart from the overbearing, jealous plotline and some irrational over reactiveness with some of our characters. Dark Blue Kiss and Kiss me again has always been a show that has been worth it. Dark Blue Kiss is one of the first Thai BLs, where we saw a supportive parent, and that's Pete's father. He's incredible; he's everything that's healthy, understanding and helpful. He makes jokes with Pete about his relationship but also supports and gives him advice. He's protective and sweet when it comes to Kao and Pete, and they are themselves when they're with him even daring to speak about things like intercourse etc. It's incredible; he was a breath of fresh air for parents we usually encountered in this genre. He had discussions with his son, and in doing so, we saw his son also have more conversations and discussions with his partner about what their sexuality was, why they should come out as a couple, why they were scared to do so, what was holding them back etc. Pete's dad isn't the only supportive parent with advice and warmth, we later also add Kao's mum to the list, she's always known about Pete and Kao and was waiting patiently for Kao to come on his own and tell her. It's incredible. Dark Blue Kiss brought out conversations that didn't seem meaningless, there was an actual exploration of the fears some people have with coming out, and it was brilliant and wonderful to see on screen. Honestly are we shocked? It's Backaof as the director; all his shows should be on this list, every single show of his explores these topics with care and heart. And it's incredible.

Why it's a gift

Deep conversations and moments where you see two people learn and wonder about their sexuality and how the world may react to it. Supportive parents that are understanding, helpful and sweet. A relationship that's incredible despite its flaw, shown wonderfully and thoughtfully. Even the hurtful moments like when Kao gets outed and also has to struggle with claims of being a predator is done well and leads to Kao finally accepting his fears and coming out to the people he loves. By the end of it, all Pete and Kao are back together, happy, finally healthy and mature. Dark blue kiss also explores these two ambitions, their dreams, their ideas for the future and more. And it also has a great friendship group worth stanning. Pete and Kao aren't the only couple in this show worth praising and noticing you also have Mork who goes through his own acceptance of his sexuality once he falls for Sun, they're also great and also have their own plot revolving around dreams, jobs and character and angst. A great side couple in BL.  It's amazing. 

Special mention:

My Dear loser: Another Backoaf directing, no words this is incredible, I think everyone knows how great this is despite the BL coupe being a side couple, that may have an ending that feels unfinished. You can watch both this and My sky for a full experience. This deals with everything so well and also has a great support system from friends. Chimon is such an amazing actor in this.

As always I leave a gift: 

LINK HERE FOR MY DEAR LOSER IN/SUN CUT

DARK BLUE KISS EDIT FOR PETE KAO THEIR STORY

I told Sunset about You

I mention this show on every list; it's like not even a surprise anymore to see it. There's a reason why this show is incredible why people prefer to see it as a queer film instead of BL. Why people think calling it a BL is an insult (which I think why? A BL should be allowed to be seen as a good form of representation). This show has it all. Honestly, a great production company behind it, acting that's phenomenal, and a story that will blow your minds each time you watch it and try to piece it together. What's even more respectful about ITSAY is that it's a coming of age done well, it showcases feelings of the youth and how feelings are seen as a storm that can't be stopped. 

Especially when you are struggling to understand your sexuality, we have two characters, Teh who learns as he grows that he has uncontrollable, addictive and crazy feelings for his best friend, they're drawn to each other, but Teh can't understand what he feels, he doesn't know what this means. He struggles to comprehend it as well with his struggles with ego, pride and selfishness because of his young age. Then we have his best friend Oh Aew he knows what he is, he also is torn apart by feelings when Teh reenters into his life, he also struggles through losing his self, individuality and his confidence because of his feelings for Teh. It's brutal, but one thing stands for sure, these two are meant to be together, these two love each other. Why is this so great? Because the directing and production of this show is serious, every single scene counts, every single action has a meaning, but also this show has incredible moments that show you the struggles of internalized homophobia. 

It's something that's always mentioned in BLS as a struggle. Still, this show used scenes to show it, like for example, OH wearing his mother bra because he wished he was born a girl to be with Teh. Still, then he breaks down in self-loathing only to later stand up and embrace who he is, and Teh who finally comes out to his brother in a heart-wrenching scene; another supportive and healthy relationship who understands him and tells him it's okay to be who he is, to be with Oh, to be brave and take a leap to what he wants. His brother's conversation is everything someone who struggles with the same issues wants to hear; it's a healing effect, a hopeful and painful realization that some people don't have someone like Oh and Teh's family who help them and let them accept who they are. 

It's a journey of discovering the truth about how so many people have to go through this fear because of what society put in our heads, it's a wake-up call, but the fact that ITSAY has a happy ending despite all the realistic representation and angst is a hopeful meaning for everyone who saw themselves in Oh and Teh. It's incredible. 

Why it's a gift:

It's unbelievable; it's not told to you but shown to you the amount of struggle some people can have when they're coming of age and realizing their sexuality. It's a beautiful representation of what it's like to fall in love: the angst, pain, healing but also sabotage, and the growth. It's produced with so much effort and hard-work and research on what would be an excellent story for LGTBQ to see. One of the best made BLs; this is not us being dramatic. 

.A Gift for You

GREAT OST PLAYLIST OF ITSAY

An Edit For Teh/OH 

He's coming to me

Another Backoaf, directing masterpiece. This show is incredible. Like words can't explain how good this show is. Words can't describe what a gift this show still is. How much a BL like this was needed. First, this show is already unique; it deals with supernatural world-building, with ghosts and mysteries of death/murder, it deals with also coming of age, and falling in love and accepting your sexuality. It has two confirmed gay characters who we see explore and finally reveal who they are, they've both known and as they fall in love, they have to go through the angst of what it means that they love each other. 

It's incredible, not just because of the fact that Thun's ability to see ghosts and his need to hide that also mirrors his need to hide his sexuality, the way he breaks down later after realizing that people won't let him just be him or the way people made him feel bad for being who he is. The way that Mes also went through the same thing before he died, and the person who connected them was Thun's mom. She's incredible, and I still believe the coming-out scene of Thun to his mum is one of the best as incredible as his confession on the rooftop to Mes as he breaks down in the rain because he's afraid he's been left. 

The amount of repressed feelings these two hides is insane, and when they later confront it,  it's like OMG really they knew about their feelings all along? It's incredible, with a show that already has an incredibly well thought out plot about ghosts and supernatural, but it also has two characters that are fleshed out, who both have discussions with everyone around them about what they are and the way they have a happy ending after all the angst and tears. It's worth it thousand times over and over again. This show is just great. And no one else can do it like Backaof he just has the most excellent formulas: supportive family members, supportive friend unit, serious conversations about sexuality and feelings, important relationships and no censorship, unique plotlines and risks. He's incredible. No words.

Why this is a gift?

The actors are also one of Thailand BLs veterans. Both of them are incredible and nuanced in their scenes; they make you cry, scream, sigh, and swoon. They make you learn, and it's fantastic, they're amazing people. They're worth it both Ohm Pawat and Singto, their performances are incredible. Every character in this show is fleshed out and necessary, the plot makes sense and isn't written haphazardly, and the directing is phenomenal. Watch it. 

A gift for You

He’s coming to me the whole show

PINOY

Gaya Sa Pelikula 

This time we have the Philippines if Thai isn't your cup of tea I guess. This show is just, so great? It was made with the intention for representation, a love story to the LGBTQ community, actors devoted to researching and learning about the topics presented in the show. This show is outstanding, no words, it's not preachy, but it's still educative. Not one episode goes back when you don't see the effort and brilliance of this show; each message of each episode is so important and needed. The story isn't afraid to explore topics which haven't been shown correctly in this genre, and it's so good they did. 

We have two characters, one a gay out guy (Vlad) who is very bitter about everyone and how they treated him, he's dying to be loved for who he is, and he's desperate to find a safe space where he can be himself loud and proud, he falls in love with another (Karl) who is more in the closet, with secrets that you discover later about his circumstance he's not sure of who he is and as the show progresses he and us get educated about everything. He learns to accept that he is gay. 

This show is about self-acceptance, love and healing. By falling in love; our characters are forced to question everything about who they are, what they've gone through and how that shaped them, and we realize that both perspectives is right in their own way. The show is for people who feel like the guy who's out, who wants to be proud and tell the world he's in love but also it's for people like his partner who feel guilty for struggling and having anxiety about accepting who they are, but this show doesn't force him out, it doesn't force them to be together, it just becomes a realistic story full of hope about the future of these two. It's a healing show; it makes you question your self, it makes you go through your own journey of how you feel you're perceived in the world, it takes you on a trip of your own self-learning, exploration and discovery. And it ends making you feel grateful for the experience of it all.

Why it's a gift:

 I think the best thing about this show is the other extra gifts it brings. It's music playlist, it's like your own gift bundle of new artists to explore and listen to every song is beautiful and needed, with different messages and feelings, you will find one music you love in this playlist, and you'll end up spending hours weeping about them. But it's beautiful, it's euphoric, and the show is worth it. The show has amazing actors and a great team of people behind the scenes. The writer is brilliant, poetic and serious; he knows how to make a plot. He knows how to teach you without you feeling patronized, he knows how to humble you if you didn't know anything before. He's just great. 

A gift for You

GSP OST PLAYLIST- THE BEST

Gameboys 

I haven't mentioned this show on here before, which is sad because it really should be praised. It's an outstanding show that showed up during a time where the world was on pause. Gameboys provided a gift for everyone who looked for something during the lockdown in the pandemic. The fact it revolves around events in the pandemic, it uses it as a great plot device and has important moments that touch your heart and make you reflect on the situation without being too heavy. 

Gameboys is incredible; it also has a unique storyline, a Gameboy and his fanboy who falls in love with him and is confident he can win over his heart. Except, our Gameboy Cairo has to go through some self-exploration first, some self-healing and acceptance, some coming to terms with guilt and self-hatred he feels for things that happened to his past. This show makes you cry, so bring the tissues, I mean every show on this list probably does, but this show has so many moments, we have supportive parents, but even in a more heartbreaking way, we have warnings of what happens when people selfishly out people, the consequences of that, how much anxiety and fear you can have as you deal with internalized homophobia and being in the closet, how it affects family members, and what it means to finally accept who you are and stand up for who you are. It's brilliant, painful, but it also makes you grin from so many heartfelt moments we needed during a dark time. The actors are also amazing, and they make you feel everything they feel so naturally, they're also three dimensional and have exciting character arcs. There's a great support system as well in this show, with the best friend, who makes you smile whenever you see her. This show is worth it. 

Why is it a gift? 

I feel like without knowing it Gameboys was an actual gift for everyone who was struggling during the pandemic, it showed the reality of what was going on, but it also showed healing and hope and happiness derived from being in quarantine and lockdown. It showed that even in lockdown nothing had to stop, we could still fall in love, grow and learn about our selves if we wanted to. It also had a great love story to follow that was both funny, romantic and heartfelt. The directing was genius also, and it touched many people. It was outstanding. 

A gift for You

ALT GAMEBOYS: A SIDE STORY FOR ONE OF THE CHARACTERS

JAPANESE

Cherry Magic 

Finally, we come to this gem of a show. What else can we say about Cherry Magic? Oh I know, no one expected this Japanese BL to be so full of heart, joy, magic but also depth. This show is just ridiculously good, it's not as painful as the other shows, it's slower and more softer than the other angst in the other shows, but this show still tugs at your heartstrings and makes you laugh and cry. It deals with everything that has already been mentioned: self-acceptance, questioning of sexuality, trying to please society that you lose your self, being brave and finding your self, loving your self, etc. 

It's just so great, it's also unique a story about magic and reading minds that our main character has. As he realizes his person (Kurosawa) loves him, we watch Adachi struggle through self-hate, self-deprecation and anxiety to finally come out of his shell and become who he wants to be. This show has an incredible love interest who's just wonderful, he's the ideal man, but that doesn't mean he's one dimensional or stale. 

He's also deep, and has his own flaws and hurts, and the way he loves Adachi is just breathtaking and frankly makes you so jealous. Why is this show for representation? Because it's a slice of life of an office romance, it deals with what people go through in life, the gruels and requirements from work whilst also watching both our characters choose to be brave and come out to each other and pick each other despite their fears about what their environment thinks. 

These two are each other's healing, comfort, support system and they both have incredible personalities. This show is also quite deep, you wouldn't think so, but when you listen to the dialogues and watch some of the scenes, you'll see how deep this show can be for its characters whilst still being fluffy. It perfectly represents the fear of coming out and coming to terms of having feelings for someone you weren't expecting. Its message is more hidden, but it's still great for conversations about representation, in my opinion. 

Why it's a gift?

It was made as one; the last episode is coming on Christmas haha. This show takes some tropes of BL and chooses a healthier option, it also just fleshes out its characters incredibly, you watch how Adachi and Kurosawa changed each other's life without knowing and how their love keeps being needed by each other in many ways. It also is called Cherry Magic, because this show is magical, it makes you grin, be happy and excited from seeing one episode, it tugs at your heartstrings whilst making you blush and squeal from happiness. Its softness is something to look forward to after a hard day of whatever real life looks like to you, it has a healing effect, a warm effect and it makes you smile and forget your troubles in those few minutes. It's wonderful. 

A gift for You

Adachi and Kurosawa EDIT

I hope you enjoy these shows they’re all incredible, they’ll surely make you smile and be happy. They’re all important in their own way, if you haven’t seen any have a go and see which you love. Let me know if I’ve missed some, to be honest I chose the ones that had scenes with important discussions that make you think or scenes that bring out emotions and feelings but also make you learn and realise something. Hope you enjoy the recommendations or if you’ve watched them before hope you enjoy the reviews and commentary. Merry Christmas guys :)

Other recommendations

GIFTS OF BL FOR FANS WHO LOVE ANGST, DRAMA AND PASSION

[merry-kuroo]

Top 10 2020 Anime

Hello everyone! Its the last day of 2020, and like with every year, here is my top 10 anime list. This list covers anime that aired this year only :) Hopefully you can use this list as a recommendation for something to watch. But tbh this list is for me to remember which wonderful anime made my year a little brighter :D I apologize for any typos lol.

1.) Tower of God

AHHH! I love Tower of God so much!! So, I almost dropped it at episode 1 because I was really confused. But I stuck with it and I’m glad I did. Tower of God gave me HxH vibes, but it was still different enough where I didn’t need to compare the two. The opening and ending by Stray Kids was amazing too.

Because I loved Tower of God so much, I made a Webtoon account and ever since then I’ve been hooked on Webtoons. I’m really glad they partnered with Crunchyroll to bring us this anime!

I read the TOG Webtoon and it explained things a lot better. I highly recommend going to read it after watching the anime!

I hope there is a season 2, but I won’t get my hopes up :( I’m sure this anime was just advertisement for the comic.

So, yeah, go check out Tower of God <3

2.) Great Pretender

WIT Studio has done it again. First with Attack on Titan, then Seraph of the End. They keep bringing me my favorite animes.

I love animes that feature a found family, and cons. Great Pretender brought all of that and more. Great characters, jokes, missions, and music. The music in Great Pretender is fantastic (I mean the ending song is a Queen song!)

I still stand by my opinion that Part 1 was better. I wasn’t a huge fan of season 2 and the ending as well. I think they dropped the ball. But I still won’t let that stop me from recommending it to you! It was still fun to watch :D

I’m going to miss Team Confidence <3

3.) Weathering With You

So, I have been a fan of Makoto Shinkai’s movies for a long time (5 Centimeters Per Second will always have a special place in my heart). So, when I saw that Weathering With You was coming to the movie theater, I immediately purchased a ticket. It was such a surreal experience watching in the theaters.

This was the last movie I saw in theaters before...you know >.> I’m glad this movie was my last too. It makes it even more special.

Everyone, please go see this movie. It’s beautiful. It will make you laugh and cry. I left the theater with tears in my eyes. It was such a amazing experience. I’m patiently waiting for his next movie!

4.) Kaguya Sama: Love is War Season 2

My favorite rom-com returned with a season 2. The opening is still stuck in my head. It always will be lol.

Anyway, this season was not only hilarious, but there was development between Kaguya and Miyuki <3

Miko IIno was also a interesting character. She is so different from everyone else, so I’m excited to see how being on the student council will change her. Maybe she and Ishigami will start to get long lol.

Another thing that made this season special was Ishigami’s backstory, and how Miyuki saved him. I just really love their bromance, okay?

Please go check out Kaguya Sama: Love is War if you haven’t! It’s funny and heart warming <3

5.) Jujutsu Kaisen

I’ve been hyped for this anime for like a year! When it was announced last November, I was like AFJAIOFJAOGLJMAPOGJ

I love the manga, and the adaption is doing a fantastic job so far. I definitely ended up loving Sukuna more due to the anime adaption though lmaooo.

Not a lot to say here except, go watch Jujutsu Kaisen <3 and read the manga!

6.) Moriarty the Patriot

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this anime or not. I only started watching it because people said Sebastian Moran was Daddy! Kuroo lmaooo

But I have to say...I do like that Albert was like “Oh yes lets bring William and Albert into our home” then William was like “Haha hey Albert do you hate the upper class and nobility too? You wanna murder your brother and parents, burn down the house, and reform society?” And Albert is like “DON’T MIND IF I DO!” (The Moriarty brothers are wild af, my God.)

I liked each individual case, and it got even more intense when Sherlock and John were introduced. Super excited for season 2!

The opening and ending songs are also fantastic. Go give them a listen!

7.) Digimon Adventure 2020/Digimon Adventure Tri/Last Evolution Kizuna

Tfw you go to buy tickets Digimon Last Evolution Kizuna, but all the movie theaters shut down :(

ANYWAY

I was super hyped when Last Evolution Kizuna was announced, and then the reboot of the 1999 anime. I finished up Digimon Adventure Tri...which could’ve been better tbh. I only liked the first three movies, so at least I got some good content out of them lol.

I like the new spin on the new Digimon anime, and I’m excited to see what they’ll do next. I kinda want a reboot of 02 Digimon...and Digimon Tamers and Frontier, but that may be pushing it lmao.

Last Evolution Kizuna was absolutely phenomenal. It was the perfect 20th anniversary movie :)

8.) Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun

Another show I started at the beginning of the year! I read the manga in 2019, and I was happy to hear it was getting a anime adaption! I enjoyed this series a lot, and I really want there to be a second season. I feel like some stuff was left out. But the anime might have been created just to promote the manga.

The opening song, the different wonders of the school, and the art style quickly made this one of my favorites!

9.) Idolish7 Second Beat

Idolish7 is vastly underrated. It’s more than just pretty guys singing and dancing. Every character in the show has gone through their own hardships, and all the characters are fleshed out well.

The second season did not disappoint. It still served me with a good dose of angst, drama, and comedy.

And season 3 was announced!!! I wasn’t expecting that, so that surprise made me really happy <3.

I was really sad when Idolish7 stopped airing back in the spring, but I’m glad they were able to finish up the season this year :D

10.) Haikyuu!! To the Top

Alright, so my excitement deflated when Part 1 aired back in January. I hated the new art style and while Part 1 did have some good character development moments, I was really bored :/

The OVAs were really good though >.> I love Nekoma and Fukrodani so those were fun to watch.

Part 2 was a 100 times better. I accepted the fact that the art style wasn’t going to change and we wouldn’t have those cute breaks where the volleyball players would serve the ball and hit the water bottle. Once I got over that, I found myself enjoying part 2.

The two Nekoma episodes,the episodes focusing on the Miya Twins and Kita were my personal favorites. But overall, Karasuno vs. Inarizaki was fantastic and I enjoyed it a lot!

I need season 5 to be announced already!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!