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binniesoob · 2 years ago

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A Summary of Tomorrow X Together's storyline

While waiting for the new album, The Name Chapter: Temptation, to come out, I decided to write a summary of TXT's storyline, focusing on the main themes, motifs and references of the music videos to get a general picture of it!

Feel free to share your insights and/or theories, or to point it out if you see any inaccuracies!

Edit: I'm in the process of correcting a few things and properly add The Chaos Chapter and Minisode 2 to the picture!

— DISCLAIMER

Just a warning that I'm going to leave behind some additional details and references for this, because:

there are way too many and I still don't know all of them (yet) lol;

as I said, this is made to be a summary focusing on the main motifs;

I still need to fully catch up with the webnovel on Wattpad that has lots of more info;

I don't want to overwhelm you, especially if this is your first approach to the storyline!

— PLAYLISTS

I created playlists on both Youtube and Spotify with the songs in the order I'm going to talk about today:

YouTube playlist here

contains music videos in the storyline order to watch while reading!

Spotify playlist here

includes some b-sides, but in this summary I'm only going to focus on those with a music video and the title tracks, so feel free to skip if they are not mentioned!

In this post, I'm going to add only those specifically needed to be watched to follow and understand my analysis. All the others are in the YouTube playlist anyway :)

Okay, now we are ready to start!

— WHAT'S THEIR STORY ABOUT?

TXT's story is about growth: they talk about the transition from adolescence to adulthood and all those changes that characterise it, the fear and refusal to grow up, the desire to stay young forever.

They tackle the theme both explicitly, through music videos and lyrics set in our time, and through symbolism using a fantasy plot with magical elements.

Actually, we could say that their storyline is a story inside a story : the fairytale, in which they find refuge from the real world in a magical one, Magic Island, is the story of the board game (in the Dungeon's & Dragon's style) or the videogame they are playing in the real world to "escape reality". This is why both the fairytale concept and the game concept are crucial to understand the storyline!

— IS THERE A MULTIVERSE?

My answer is yes, there is. As we're going to see, there are various ways in which their story develops and can be developed.

Additionally, last year Hybe announced the release of a Webtoon and a Wattpad webnovel to further elaborate TXT's storyline, both called "The Star Seekers". These two differ from each other and from the storyline narrated through the music videos: they talk about their alter egos called Star One, idols in a version of the real world where magic also exists. However, as I said earlier, we won't go into the details of it and we will stick to the basic storyline related to the music!

— THE STORYLINE

Now let's see how their story unfolds through the albums Chapters, their songs and related music videos. We, of course, start our journey with...

THE DREAM CHAPTER: STAR

– NAP OF A STAR

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🎶 Memories of childhood dancing in the sky / Even if it's fading away now 🎶

This song and its music video tell us about the origins and also the final goal of the group. When TXT were still children they met for the first time, played together and made a promise to each other and with a Star: "even if we were to part, we will find each other".

They actually separate and consequently the light of the Star goes out. Why is that? Well, how many points does a classic star have? ⭐ Five, right? And how many members does TXT have? Five! Each one of them is a part of the Star, and without them united there is no Star: the Star symbolizes their friendship. ✨ The power of friendship ✨ is the key to their whole story. This also explains why in choreos often TXT form stars by uniting their bodies.

from: 1) TDC:MAGIC concept trailer, 2) MMA 2019 performance intro, 3) MMA 2022 performance intro.

Years go by and TXT enter adolescence, symbolically represented by the development of physical peculiarities: Yeonjun has horns, Soobin long ears, Taehyun an eye with a star, Beomgyu thorns on his shoulders and Hueningkai wings.

Yeonjun, scared by the horns, runs away into the woods, thinking he has become a monster. Here, for the first time, he meets the blue and green eyed Cat that will haunt us for the rest of our days (😔), he gets wounded in the throat and runs away terrified. The Cat here symbolises all the scary and dangerous aspects of the world we come in contact with once we leave our childhood.

Refusing his new condition (and therefore change and growth), Yeonjun snaps one of his horns. He is then rescued by HueningKai and the rest of the group, and now that they're together again the Star turns on once again! This is what should happen at the end of aaaall the journey, but the road is long and rough...

– CROWN

🎶 Are you my savior who found me alone? / Who you, you? / Are your wings created from the same pain as mine? 🎶

The lyrics tells us what we saw in Nap of a Star: entering adolescence, symbolized by the sprouting of horns, not knowing who you are and wanting to run away. But TXT are not alone in their pain and confusion: when they meet, upon discovering that each of them has something peculiar and is facing the same struggles, they are reassured and no longer feel alone. And so, the horns form a "crown": they are no longer something monstrous to be ashamed of, but a symbol, almost of pride, of what one is facing.

🎶 This moment of my name being called 🎶

This is the first time TXT mentions “names”, a main motif of the storyline we are going to further elaborate.

The symbolism of the colors, mirrors, windows and props in the music video announce events of the storyline we're going to elaborate later as well.

– CAT & DOG

🎶 Oh my God, what the heck is this feeling? / I become a puppy when I see you 🎶

Believe it or not, even this one has relevance to the storyline! 😆

TXT's are dealing with their first crush, they want to be with them always, they are clingy like a puppy looking for affection. It ties to 0x1=Lovesong, Lo$er=Lo♡er and Good Boy Gone Bad, but also to Puma! As we will see, the "dog" represents their "good side", while the "puma" their "bad side".

obligatory FEEL LIKE CINDERELLA NAEGABYONJE LET'S PLAY FOREVER I JUST WANNA BE YO' DOG WOOF WOOF WOOF

Now let's move on to...

THE DREAM CHAPTER: MAGIC

– ANGEL OR DEVIL

🎶 Tell me, what should I choose / Either angel and devil / This struggle in my head 🎶

As it can be read in Cat&Dog lyrics, that are also referenced in this song in the third verse during Yeonjun’s rap, TXT usually act naughty (devil), but with their crush they behave like angels. In this song they talk about struggling with convincing themselves to confess to them.

🎶 "It's gotta be you", "You're the one love" (...) / Again the angel says, "firstly slow down / What if you lose all, forever?" 🎶

TXT's good side (the angel) starts to doubt their friendship and to think that maybe their love for their crush actually is salvation.

🎶 Spinning round and round again, the worries of Moebius 🎶

Reference is also made to the Moebius strip. What is that? Common strips, seen as surfaces like any other, always have two faces. If we walk on one face, we cannot find ourselves on the other, right? In the Möbius strip, on the other hand, you can! This is because it is obtained by joining the two ends of a strip after having given it half a twist.

The Moebius strip has been used in relation to time travel theories, as a possible way to have a loop, specifically an infinite number of possible attempts to change the course of events.

Whether the Moebius time loop is a single universe, or that each "side" is a parallel universe, is something debatable.

So, what does this have to do with TXT? As we will see, someone in the group has the ability to have premonitions about the future and this leads him/the group to try to change the course of events, especially by rewinding time.

In terms of the game they are playing:

rewinding time = playing again;

parallel universe = different modes of action to try change the results.

This song connects to the fantasy storyline not only though lyrics, but also with the drawings in the music video:

the Cat

TXT are divided into two sides: Yeonjun and Taehyun have devilish attributes, Soobin and Beomgyu have angelic attributes. This could symbolise which side of them, good or bad, has more power over the other.

HueningKai, on the contrary, is standing in the middle of the group and has both horns and angel wings, that can be either angel wings, as we see in Nap of a Star (his good side), or demon wings, as we will see in Eternally (his bad side).

– MAGIC ISLAND

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🎶 Remember our star song / We were stars in it / The melody that was shining with dreams / Don't forget, forever 🎶

When TXT met again as teenagers but they don't remember the promise (it’s a song, quick, act surprised!) they made as children, nor that they already met.

🎶 Our clumsy promises / A small island from which secrets began 🎶

In the music video we see that Soobin starts having strange dreams/nightmares about the five of them, but he can't seem to open up to the group about it. This is where they start keeping secrets from each other.

In the meantime, they have discovered a magical portal, in this case the train (that references Harry Potter), which leads to a magical world, where they can escape from reality: Magic Island (reminiscent of "Neverland" by Peter Pan), where they spend their time playing.

IMPORTANT DETAILS in the video:

(min 6:40) Soobin's cell phone shows 5:54 pm, one minute after 5:53 pm aka blue hour, the moment when the space that separates the real world from the magical one it's thinner and allows you to travel between them! So, when TXT travel between Magic Island and reality, there’s always going to be 5:53 and the sunset involved.

Soobin hears strange noises: if we connect his peculiar feature, long elf ears, with the dreams, it symbolizes his prophetic being!

Yeonjun hears it too though, and this time it can be noticed that it resembles the sound of a bell. Who often wears bells around their necks? Cats. Moreover, in the story of Peter Pan, the fairy who always accompanies him is called Tinkerbell and it is her magic dust that tempts children, because it can allow them to fly. We could then overlap the elements: Peter Pan = Cat, Tinkerbell = Temptations.

Why are only the two of them aware of this disturbance? We said that Soobin perceives it thanks to his prescient nature, Yeonjun because he is the most tempted of all and he is the one who will make a deal with the Cat.

Yeonjun injures his finger while lighting the bonfire and we need to keep that in mind for the next song!

TXT then have the great idea of making fireworks, in a forest, starting a fire: it can be seen as a metaphor for the destruction that their dark sides can bring, and for the troubles that adolescence leads us to make.

At this point the Cat finally shows up and, in the form of a train, runs over the group. The Cat is a shape-shifter 👀 and he's the one that brought TXT to Magic Island, like Peter Pan did with the Lost Boys.

Each of them is struck by excruciating pain in the parts of the body where their peculiar features are, and in the end, they lay on the ground, dead... in terms of (video)game they lost the current match.

At the end of the video we see a dragon, which symbolizes the biggest obstacle they will have to face. In the (video)game version it's basically the final boss.

Going back to the lyrics for a second…

🎶 A familiar and unfamiliar river (…) / Remember our star song (…) / Don't forget that night / You can't forget this place (…) / Remember us here? (…) / That cat with the different eyes (Mm-mm) / I'm tired of those eyes 🎶

TXT reset the game (or die at Magic Island and then come back to it again) trying to win against the Cat and everytime they do it they forget what happened last time they played: everytime they play as if it was tge first time. With the concept of R, AR, and VR of Minisode 1 this was further confirmed.

This also ties in with their ultimate goal, which is to remember their promise, the star’s song.

– RUN AWAY

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🎶 The train is departing / Bibbidi bobbidi our magic island / When we go through this tunnel / When we open our eyes / Our dreams become reality 🎶

TXT want to escape from real life because it's too boring, painful and scary ...the amount of details in this video is scary... we'll only talk about the essential ones:

HueningKai draws two lines on the ground with chalks, one yellow and one blue, which intertwine and surround the school, with TXT inside of it. I won't tell you what that means yet because we'll come back to it later, but keep it in mind 👀

Soobin instead draws a door on the blackboard: a reference to the portals that lead them to Magic Island. We will soon find out why he is the one who draws it. When he puts on the 3D glasses, the door takes shape and opens, and a pentagram appears, a magical symbol consisting of a five-pointed star generally inscribed in a circle and used as a ritual tool.

Remember that Yeonjun injured his finger on Magic Island? His finger is injured at the beginning of Run Away! After TXT died at Magic Island, they went back to the real world, not remembering of having been there, as we explained earlier. If we talk in video game terms it makes more sense: their character lost the game and Yeojun’s got injuried so he has less HP (life points) than before. As for D&D, whenever a character dies or mess up or gets a low roll when rolling the dice, they can go back in time and start again, and this is exactly what they do in Run Away.

Besides, Yeonjun is the one that lights the bonfire in Magic Island, and in this video he is the one who sets things on fire. What does it symbolize? That he's the one who plays with fire, who takes risks and gets into trouble, even if his intentions are good.

Beomgyu puts a plaster on Yeonjun: he is the healer of the group in terms of powers. He’s also the one who brings the fire extinguisher to put out the burning book, but the flames do not go out: Beomgyu can't fix Yeonjun's or others troubles, no matter how hard he tries. The thorns on his shoulders therefore also represent him taking on the problems of others.

Taehyun instead reads a book titled "how to put out the fire": he is the rational one, the observer, the investigator, and we know that his characteristic is the eye.

At the end of the video, they go back to Magic Island during the sunset. This time the magical passage is a door at the bottom of the pool instead of the train.

Again, Yeonjun is the cause of another door (symbolizing coming of age) catching fire, while he leaves behind a teddy bear (symbolizing childhood) which Taehyun picks up.

The "rewinding time" motif returns in the lyrics:

🎶 When this night is nearly ending / Rewind the clock, rewind now / The forbidden games and this magic hour

As we said, TXT move to Magic Island during the sunset, but when night falls they are forced to return to the real world. And so, they roll back the clock (or restart the game) to return, something they shouldn't do ("forbidden games") since this way they are stuck in a loop of childhood, but they should grow up.

– RUN AWAY JAPANESE VER.

The video introduces us to the concept that the fantasy aspect of the story doesn't happen in real life: Magic Island is actually the location of the game they play after school to escape their reality. I still haven't deepened this one, so this is all i'm gonna say about it!

– THE DOOM'S NIGHT

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This is where The Dooms Night animation comes in, summarizing their story in all its versions.

Details we are interested in:

connects to Webtoon/webnovel for the idols using magic;

there is an 18-sided dice which symbolizes the parallel universes, and it’s magical: it can open portals and show visions of the future to Soobin, the one who finds it;

Kai is approached by an evil shadow in a moment of "weakness": it's a temptation that is trying to bring out the bad side of him.

Yeonjun makes a deal with the Cat: what is it about? Relating to the Webtoon/Wattpad, having more power to protect and save his friends from enemies, but it comes at a price...

we see TXT playing as children, each of them has a role in the game:

Yeonjun = paladin/knight

Soobin = elf archer/ranger

Beomgyu = druid/mentalist

Taehyun = sorcerer/adventurer

HueningKai = mystic/bard

there's the dragon, and it turns out that the weapon to defeat him is "the song of a star" aka the promise they made as children.

Next we have...

THE DREAM CHAPTER: ETERNITY

– CAN'T YOU SEE ME

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🎶 Can’t you see me? / Like on that magical day, say “Believe me” / (…) My friends don't understand me, no 🎶

Remember when with Run Away we talked about Soobin not being able to open up to the members about his dreams? Well, this makes him feel isolated, distance is created between the group as time goes by because everyone feels there are secrets between them. In the video we see exactly that.

Details we are interested in:

"who's a liar? " sings Soobin, and in the choreography he crosses his fingers behind his back: he is the liar, because he doesn't open up completely with the others and therefore omits knowledge that concerns them all.

the lyrics refer to the promise they made as children, e.g. "like on that magical day, say believe me"

Beomgyu with the red light = his dark side. Beomgyu is another member of the group who feels left out, we'll go into that later with another song. Also, him being a druid, which is related to nature, explains his duality: he can be the kindest and most caring person in the world (healing nature), but at the same time he can become violent (cruel nature): we see him smothering Taehyun with a blanket. Why him? The two often clash in the storyline, as we will again see, because they see things and act in opposite ways. It could also be because Taehyun discovered a secret of Beomgyu and the latter feels threatened.

Yeonjun whose hands are covered in tomato sauce, which stands for blood: Yeonjun tries to protect the group and, although his intentions are good, he gets into big trouble putting them all in danger. When fire appears in the video it is particular linked to Yeonjun (the oven, the house on fire), reconnecting to what we said earlier with Run Away. Yeonjun says "save me": he begs to save him from it all.

In the bridge Soobin sings "bad bad, hoping this is just a painful dream". In the concept trailer of this album there is Drama playing in the background, and the only line sung is "I dreamed this drama": Soobin's dreams are coming true, being premonitions.

In the final pose of the choreo, if you look closely, it seems that they are removing masks from their faces: each of them is wearing a mask because they are not sincere with the others, their dark side takes over.

– ETERNALLY

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🎶 please stop this recurring nightmare everynight / tell me the meaning of this sad dream / my heart deep in this memory maze, save me 🎶

There is a LOT to say here. The video (which is 19 minutes, after all) is divided into sections and we're going to follow them.

1) Night of the Last day

First of all we see TXT with their monstrous features in a dark version, they are in a stadium destroyed by the dragon (as seen in The Doom's Night we talked about earlier). Soobin looks around and has a book in his hand, takes it to Yeonjun but sees him wounded and gets scared, waking up: this is one of Soobin's visions of the future, the Doom’s Day in which they will have to face their worst enemy.

This song is also connected to the Webtoon/Wattpad because we see TXT as idols in the video. Now, when the alarm goes off in the rehearsal room, not just Soobin, but everyone has visions. Important details:

the clock goes back from 10 to 9 with the second’s hand;

Soobin sees writing on the glass that says "Remember my name".

2) Song of a Star

Soobin finds himself in an amusement park and finds the magic dice on the ground. Then, a little boy arrives: it's HueningKai as a child, Soobin recognizes him by the way he wears his shoes. This upsets him, due to the fact that he doesn't remember the past and doesn't fully understand those dreams that are exhausting him.

A ghost girl comes to console him. As we said before, TXT think that their crush is salvation, that's why they identify the "girl" with the Star. But she's also a representation of MOAs who stand by TXT’s side and support them.

3) Promises

Yeonjun finds himself in the destroyed stadium and sees himself dead as well as the eyes of the Cat. He sees the consequences of his actions.

At the end of his section it reads: "I thought it was salvation, then": Yeonjun is going to think that the pact is the way to save himself and the others, when instead is going to bring them more harm.

3) Room n.17

Beomgyu is in the midst of infinite mirrors, a reference to the parallel universes, but also to the reflection of himself and therefore to its doppelganger, its dark side which we talked about earlier. The mirrors then turn into a door, number 17, and he peeks inside seeing a future version of himself trying to protect a book from an unidentified person who wants to get it. Suddenly the rage becomes such that thorns sprout on his back. The present Beomgyu takes out his phone to film, while the other Beomgyu appears to have attacked and knocked out the enemy, before turning right at the camera.

5) Moratorium* of Rest

(*a period of time during which a particular activity is stopped)

Taehyun ends in a flower meadow in the dark. In the distance he spots a familiar figure: it's Yeonjun. He calls him but he doesn't answer: realizing that there is something strange he approaches him. Yeonjun is unconscious, wounded in the throat and covered by brambles and flowers: it's a similar scene to the one we saw in The Doom's Night animation, only that here Yeonjun is dead, confirmed by the flowers that change into a skull.

At the end of his section it reads: "We will find a way" (to save Yeonjun and all of them too)

5) Girl of Eternity

HueningKai looks at the door Soobin disappeared from earlier, yelling his name. When he crosses the threshold, he finds himself in a corridor similar to the one Soobin went through: it is reminiscent of the effect that distorts surroundings into lines when traveling very fast, usually at the speed of light, through space-time. This makes me think that this is set in a more distant future.

Then stairs appear with a door at the top: once opened, he finds himself in the sky, and in front of him there's another door suspended in the air, from which the rest of the group comes out. Kai tries to walk in the void to reach them and his feet find a surface that undulates like water.

I still haven't fully understood the meaning of Kai's vision, also because it seems connected with the new chapter, The Name Chapter.

7) Beginning of the End

Finally, TXT are all back in the rehearsal room, the clock starts ticking forward again, and Soobin re-emerges through the door of the room. Everyone seems to not remember their visions (like it always happens with the memories when they leave Magic Island) and goes back to what they were doing before. Soobin, on the contrary, looks at the dice in his hand and at the mirror. Beomgyu films him. The song restarts during its dark verse: on the other side of the mirror is the dark side of TXT.

– PUMA

🎶 West side, east side / Didn't know where to, where to go / West side, east side / It doesn't matter anymore 🎶

It is about a real event: a puma was shot dead by the police after escaping from its enclosure at Daejeon Zoo in September 2018. In addition to taking part in the protest for the incident, "the perspective of the puma finally gaining freedom only to meeting its tragic ending depicts the harsh reality that the TXT members have experienced since they debuted in March 2019, where they were faced with heavy scrutiny from people online as Big Hit Entertainment's latest boy group after BTS." (c. Genius lyrics) This can be found in particular in Yeonjun's rap.

🎶 Still too young to stand alone / This world is a jungle full of warriors / The sight is aiming at your throat / A thousand eyes are accessing the internet / Be careful, your enemies spread in an instant / How long does it take to reach your dream? / Only gunshots spread with that question all the time / So that I can continue to breathe, again run up 🎶

For the storyline it is relevant because it is linked to what we said before with Angel or Devil: the crossroad at which TXT find themselves, having to decide whether to stay on the "good" path or move to the "bad" one. With Puma they seem to chose the second one: they are rebelling and escaping in search of freedom, however dangerous it may be. In fact, they end up making the deal with the Cat, that promises more power and freedom when he actually has them under its control.

– DRAMA JAPANESE VER.

Many theorize that it is set in a parallel universe, in any case it is linked to what is told and seen in CYSM. In the video Beomgyu joins the group but is usually not included in the activities and left behind. He abruptly realizes it when he falls off his bike and the others don't go to help him as he would like/dream.

I put Drama at the end and not before because it connects perfectly to the next song, where we see Beomgyu being the target of others' jokes and feeling left out...

MINISODE1: BLUE HOUR

– BLUE HOUR

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🎶 In that sky / The orange-glowing magic / Before it comes to an end / Freeze this moment / I wanna stay here / In the gap between the two worlds / I wanna be trapped in magic / Clue to stop the sun 🎶

TXT are at Magic Island sitting in a tree that refers to that of the Lost Boys of Peter Pan. The song revolves around 5:53, when the sun sets in October in Korea, the blue hour in which, as we said, you can cross the border between the magical world and the real one. TXT would like to always stay at Magic Island, not by continuing rewinding the time (or replaying the game) but stopping it (stay inside the game forever), but they can't do that.

🎶 The glow of the sunset on my time machine / I know it that the end will come / The sun is down, down / Before you disappear into the night / I take you into my eyes 🎶

Once the night falls, Magic Island shuts down, and we know that means they have to go back to the real world. Beomgyu, who sings "I know that the end will come", seems to be the only one who is fully aware of it, an important detail for the future.

🎶 At the hour between dog and wolf 🎶

Is a very interesting line: this expression is taken from a French saying “L'heure entre chien et loup” and refers to the moments after sunset when the sky darkens and vision becomes unclear, making it difficult to distinguish between dogs and wolves, friends and foe (c. Genius lyrics annotations). We said that TXT are doubting their friendship after all.

But this also connects to the fight between their "good" and "bad" sides: we said that the docile and obedient "dog" is the "good side", while the wild and dangerous "puma", and in this case the "wolf", represents the "bad side".

In the beginning, Soobin sings:

🎶 I really hate the awkwardness, I just laugh / Baby, I know we were special 🎶

Refers to the tensions that now characterize the dynamics of the group. They look back with nostalgia to the days when this was not the case.

🎶 That look in your eyes, like an emptied gift box 🎶

This instead refers to the real name of one of the members 👀 we'll talk about it later.

At the end of the music video we see that autumn has come to Magic Island: the end of their youth is approaching and they can't help it.

– BLUE HOUR JAPANESE VER.

Very similar to the Korean one and I haven't delved into it yet, so let's move on for now.

– WE LOST THE SUMMER

🎶 Cause we lost the summer / When we lost each other / Return my seasons / Oh, it's all gone 🎶

It's not only a song perfectly depicting teenagers and young adults (but adults as well) feelings during the COVID19 Pandemic, it also references their storyline.

We saw that with Blue Hour autumn arrived, and We Lost The Summer brings winter... it's time to explain the seasons motif!

In literature and art, often the seasons have been used as a metaphor for the stages of life:

spring/summer = youth, adolescence

autumn/winter = growth, ageing, adulthood

So, Blue Hour announces that their time on Magic Island, and therefore as children, is coming to an end, and that they will have to face the transition to winter, to adulthood. They're losing the "summer" of their life, and that means losing their escape, Magic Island, as well, because it's not enough anymore for them to escape reality, as we will deepen with The Chaos Chapter and The Name Chapter.

The lyrics focus on the seasons motif for growing up and on the loss of Magic Island:

We also see s blue butterfly, related to Beomgyu but also Taehyun: in Native American cultures it symbolize the transition from summer to winter.

🎶 We lost the sunset, now don't know what to do / Our time has lost the weather / I'm standing still in winter / Eternal winter / I want to see you again, our bright summer / Long gone we lost the summer 🎶

The loss of Magic Island in real life context can be interpreted as TXT not being able to play the game because everywhere is closed due to lockdown, included the arcade where we saw them play in Run Away Japanese version!

Another detail: mirrors are also included, which, especially in the final scene where Yeonjun looks through it in the dark, refers to their dark sides. These are triggered by the loss of Magic Island, the place where they usually can escape together to avoid being crushed by reality, but now can't reach for two reasons: first, adulthood is approaching, second, the lockdown forces TXT to separate and only see eachother through a screen.

THE CHAOS CHAPTER: FREEZE

The title of this album references two things:

The arrival of winter and therefore their adulthood

The "fight, flight or freeze" instinctive response of our bodies and minds to danger and stressful situations. According to the title, TXT's response to their reality is going to be "freeze" aka the inability to move or act against it, but it's going to be "flight" as well, as we see in...

— 0X1=LOVESONG

TXT are now stuck in reality dealing with the problems that characterise the transition from adolescence to adulthood, but that doesn't mean they have abandoned the magical fantasies that give them comfort.

The main character of this music video is Yeonjun. We see him alone at home, playing videogames to distract himself while his parents are fighting. He then decides to escape by stealing his parents car keys and go for a ride. We see him with the members, but at the end of the music video it is actually revealed that he was alone the whole time: Yeonjun was imaging being with his friends, who turn reality into a fantasy when they escape together. This doesn't mean that the others are gone or dead, they're simply not together, missing eachother and going through the same kind of despair, depression, loneliness, as we can interpret from the clips where they're all separated but together with the others in the distance.

We also see Yeonjun alone in his room watching his fish inside the aquarium, and, later on, one ends up in his room: Yeonjun is imagining of being inside the aquarium. That's the same thing that happens with TXT seeing fish over them while in the pool, and with Kai seeing it on the sky: the aquarium represents the comforting fantasy they run away to. They can't go to Magic Island, so they imagine it.

Yeonjun gets so lost in his fantasy that, when Taehyun falls into the pool and then removes his cast, Yeonjun snaps out of it and doesn't see the fish anymore: he's now imaging his friends being there with him as he wishes. Fantasy and reality are mixing together.

He then starts dancing, and this is a reference to a movie called "Days of Being Wild", where music and dancing is used as a way of expressing the isolation, solitude, lack of direction and belonging, experienced by the characters. That's why Yeonjun walks into complete darkness: he's falling into the black hole of emptiness inside himself, the hole that is referenced in the quote in the beginning of the music video.

Unlike the video, which focuses on friendship bringing relief and happiness, the lyrics tells us about the crush we mentioned at the beginning:

🎶 In this world of zero / I know you're my one and only / In this endless darkness like / Oh my god, so holy / From the tip of my fingers / Everything runs far away / My life before you was a mess / Couldn't win one round of this chess 🎶

TXT believe that their salvation is given by the love they feel for this person. They are used to being "losers" in this life, but they feel like "winners" with them.

🎶 Now I can't stop thinking 'bout you / When I'm sinking alone / Angel who one day appeared to me / Take me away to your hometown / I know it's real, I can feel it 🎶

The pre-chorus references their friendship as well, though: in the music video we see that Yeonjun is "sinking alone" while thinking about his friends, and the "angel" is the same referenced in Crown and in Nap of A Star: it's TXT, and especially Hueningkai, that saved him when he was in his lowest point, sharing his burden. The "take me away to your hometown" could also be interpreted as asking the others to escape together at Magic Island, that feels like a home to them.

🎶 I'm full of problems, love sick / No way to go / I was fine to die / I'm a loser in this game / The only (one) rule of this world / Save me / Take my hand / Please use me like a drug (I know I love you) 🎶

The chorus is foreshadowing for The Name Chapter: Temptation, TXT are willing to be used and consumed by this love in order not to suffer anymore. "Save me" recalls Can't You see Me.

THE CHAOS CHAPTER: FIGHT OR ESCAPE

– LO$ER=LO♡ER

is a prequel-sequel of 0x1=Lovesong! Especially because in the music video we see how Taehyun got hurt and his "LOSER/LO♡ER" signature on the cast was made.

( work in progress )

Frost's music video then came out, anticipating and connecting to the new chapter of the story, The Name Chapter! It's part of The Chaos Chapter, but I think storyline-wise its music video comes after, because the events it contains depend on discoveries that are going to be made during The Name Chapter. Let's talk about Minisode 2 before talking about it then!

MINISODE2: THURSDAY'S CHILD

– GOOD BOY GONE BAD

– GOOD BOY GONE VAD JAPANESE VERSION

THE NAME CHAPTER

– CONCEPT TRAILER

youtube

First of all, it's important to specify that it doesn't only concern the album that will be released now, Temptation, but also the following ones that will be part of this chapter (two more mini-albums are expected, like for The Dream Chapter).

We've already mentioned Peter Pan a couple of times before: their story, with the fear of growing up, taking refuge in a magical world that you don't want to leave (Neverland), the temptations to stay there are all clear references to it.

This new chapter is heavily inspired by fairytales, not only Peter Pan, but others as well, such as Alice in Wonderland and Land of Oz.

Let's analyze what happens in the video, going over things we've already seen and adding more...

1) we are at sunset = blue hour = the moment in which one can pass between reality and the magical world;

2) eyes of two different colors = Cat, the creepy smile references Alice's cat. Cat by the window: who is at the window calling the Lost Boys? Peter Pan, who tempted them to go to Neverland, like the Cat tempted TXT to go to Magic Island.

3) blue/purple tunnel/portal: open passage to Magic Island, we saw it in The Dooms Night and we will see it again shortly;

4) we hear a whistle: it is the "call of the devil" (in the past, whistling was associated with the devil), the one who tempts TXT, therefore always the Cat;

5) we hear a reading of the original dark version of Peter Pan and see Yeonjun=Wendy manipulated and tempted by the Cat=Peter Pan;

6) Yeonjun/Wendy brings the rest of TXT (Wendy's siblings), and the Cat/Peter Pan "teaches" them to fly: instead of Tinkerbell's pixie dust, he uses a red potion, connected to the Webtoon/Webnovel. TXT now fly to Magic Island/Neverland;

7) while the narrator says that "Forever will never end (at Neverland/Magic Island)", Beomgyu looks at us and he's the only one who does it, like in Blue Hour: he's the only one of the group aware that sooner or later they will have to leave the magical world.

8) Remember we talked about mirrors and bad alter egos? We see TXT with their doppelgangers, which have the black feathers and masks we had symbolically seen in CYSM, on opposite sides of the mirrors (=the hangers).

Let's analyze the choreography:

The good/white TXTs move and the bad/black TXTs copy them, but then the blacks grab them by the arm and take their place. The good/white TXTs then enter the same side as the bad/black TXTs and HueningKai guides them to put the mirrors one after the other in line: what we saw with Beomgyu in Eternally. Now, if you think about it, even when you go to a place (it is frequent in elevators) where two mirrors are positioned opposite to each other, they create a potentially infinite corridor whose end you cannot see. Remember the chalk lines Kai drew around the school in Run Away? HueningKai locks himself and TXT inside a labyrinth.

Here they fight, first their own dark sides and they win: this should mean that their dark sides are now totally part of them, and therefore TXT can switch from one side of the mirror to the other freely, without being tempted or deceived by anyone: they are the ones who choose it. TXT have embraced their inner Peter Pan, rather than totally rejecting it.

But then, they fight among themselves and the order in which they do it is important:

Yeonjun and Kai, being the most tempted, unite;

Kai fights himself, his fully good side specifically;

After that, Kai collides with Soobin and prevails, (temptations prevail over knowledge);

Followed by Beomgyu, who instead manages to prevail over Kai (awareness of having to leave Neverland prevails over the desire to stay);

Kai is replaced by Taehyun, the one who saw the darkest premonition. The two fight until Beomgyu prevails (the awareness prevails over the fear of leaving), or, perhaps, Taehyun surrenders;

Finally, Beomgyu passes to the other side of the mirror to find only his reflection on the opposite side, which does not react to a possible attack: he hasn't to fight with himself because he always accepted the reality of things.

(I used colors to try making this less confusing, hope it helped 🥲)

Based on this fight, I already connected the names of the versions (Daydream, Nightmare, Farewell, Lullaby) of the album TNC: Temptation with each member, here. I recommend you to read it but only AFTER this summary, because we still need to talk about their "true names".

NOW, the fight scene it's a vision of the future that is not Soobin's, but Beomgyu's, who then opens his eyes.

TXT are now in a flying house, their refuge at Magic Island (which refers to the Lost Boys tree, but also to Dorothy's house from the Wizard of Oz). The house begins to collapse: Magic Island is no longer safe, they destroyed it too many times while rewinding time/replaying the game: they can't postpone growing up anymore.

It is also a metaphor for the tensions within the group, the things left unsaid, the secrets, the isolation, which have led to deep rifts in the friendship between the boys.

Soobin urges the group to leave and everyone follows. Last one is Kai who jumps… ready to enter the labyrinth.

– NEW LOGO VIDEO

Another important detail for what will happen in Temptation has been included in the new logo video! Translation of what Yeonjun says, both in reverse and played normally:

1) “You run after the shadow uselessly”: refers to the shadow that Peter Pan keeps losing. In the beginning of the concept trailer Yeonjun=Wendy is the only one without a shadow: he is losing it like Peter because of the temptations. Talking about it is his bad side, driven by temptations.

2) “It's sweet, but I should find my name": Yeonjun’s good side says that temptation is sweet, but he knows he has to resist and find a way to do it. Why does he talk about "finding the name"?

Having knowledge of one's true name gives you power over them, and knowing your own true name enhances your power and gives you more control over yourself, making it harder to fall into temptation.

Often, in order to get out of a labyrinth, to pass over an obstacle or solve a quest, you have to guess something, a secret word, usually by solving a riddle...

– FROST

youtube

🎶 Drawn by the name, I stand in chaos /My fate is what? What's the right answer, really / In an unfamiliar name / There's fate or something else / Meanings that I don't understand 🎶

(I can't add the full lyrics here lol, but I truly recommend you fully read them because they are very exhaustive!)

It's strongly related to the Webtoon/Wattpad storyline, and it's very important to The Name Chapter because it relates to the theme of "true names".

In the video, the spring nature of Magic Island (which we see in the photos of Temptation, Daydream version) freezes: winter arrives, and so their adulthood.

In the video we see TXT escaping from the portal while it's snowing, but then we go back to the past, when they go to Magic Island before it freezes...

Soobin finds a purple/blue glass sphere: it has the same colors as the portal, and what did we say creates/opens portals? The dice.

Taehyun's eye shines purple/blue: his special feature.

Kai finds a playground-style game (a reference to childhood) and sees blue butterflies.

Yeonjun finds a dog, and we'll come back to this shortly.

Beomgyu turns towards us spectators, again, and a gust of wind carries away the flowers. On Magic Island there are dry leaves on the ground, it's Autumn

Then, all together they find a fortune teller's tent, who gives them cards that make them have visions that symbolize their "true names". In the Webtoon/Wattpad novel they are given the riddles to interpret to find out what they are:

Soobin = "the one who is believed by no one"

Yeonjun = "the one who shall not eat dogs"

Beomgyu = "what was in the deepest part of the box"

Taehyun = "the one hanging upside down from an old tree with deep roots"

Hueningkai = "the one who builds the labyrinth"

In the visions of the video we see:

Yeonjun is in the desert surrounded by dog footprints and has to fight against a huge sand snake to survive (the snake of Adam and Eve = the temptations = the Cat);

Taehyun hanging from the tree and then falling down;

Kai with mirrors. The mathematical formulas reference designing the construction of the labyrinth. He is tempted by his doppelganger, enters the mirror and chases it. In the end he, that has now both sides of himself united, breaks the mirror and exits.

Soobin is in a place on fire, sees a rideable horse for children and through the glass sphere/dice he sees a child riding it: the visions of their childhood being in danger.

Beomgyu and the looped box: after all the things that come out, what remains is only him... did you understood what it could be? 👀 (we'll explain it in a second)

TXT wake up and winter has arrived on Magic Island: they escape and with the portal they return to the real world. But Taehyun takes away one item from Magic Island: the fortune teller's BOOK. What Soobin has and Beomgyu protects in Eternally!

We find it again in the Webtoon and in the webnovel: it is a very ancient and powerful spell book that Taehyun studies and uses. It can also be seen in his hand in The Doom's Night when TXT play with each other as children.

— TXT's TRUE NAMES

Their real names, and therefore the solution of the riddles, were actually revealed in their early days, in their individual debut trailers via morse code: they have been under everyone's noses since the start...

Soobin = Tomorrow (based on a Greek myth: Cassandra had the power of foresight, so she had visions of the future, but she wasn't believed by anyone)

Hueningkai = Secret (refers to the Greek myth of the Minotaur, a "monster" that resembles TXT due to its peculiar characteristics, because it was a boy born with a bull's head. He was the son of King Minos, who had a labyrinth built to hide him, also hiding the secret of escape it)

Beomgyu = Hope (the box is that of Pandora, who after opening it unleashes all the evils in the world, and the thing that is at the bottom of it and will come out after everything else is hope. And we have seen that Beomgyu is the last one left after the fights to escape the labyrinth: he is the group last hope.)

Yeonjun = Promise (the riddle is a saying that stands for humans who behave like animals and are willing to use even cruel means to get what they want: what Yeonjun shouldn't do)

Taehyun = Clue (referring to Odin, the Nordic god who hung himself upside down on Yggdrasil, the sacred tree that held up the cosmos, to obtain the "clue", the runes, which would give him all the wisdom and ability to be able to develop writing)

– 0X1=LOVESONG Japanese ver

youtube

I think it sees TXT falling down to reality from Magic Island, after they abondoned it once and for all. While they are performing they all have blood in their uniforms: they're all rather dead or injuried at the end of the game. Beomgyu is the only one in an hospital: he's the only survivor, the only player with still some HPs left, after all, we saw that he won over the others in The Name Chapter Concept trailer. Taehyun, on the contrary, has angel wings and in the end he disappeared, leaving his uniform behind surrounded by feathers on the ground: he fully died during the game, perhaps sacrificing himself. A bit more about this, here.

Now they are back to the real world, forever.

And we have, for now, reached the end of our journey! Now we just have to wait and see what The Name Chapter will bring us in detail (and see if my headcanons and theories are right lol).

Thank you so much for reading!!

READ NEXT -> The Name Chapter: Temptation Analysis

Masterlist

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cayofdreams · 4 years ago

Text

Down with the Monocracy

(Bratty!Fem!Reader x Bakugou)

Summary: Reader has had a FWB relationship with Bakugou for the past 4 months due to her monstrous sex drive. This relationship however, comes to a brisk end when reader seems to get a boyfriend. Frustrated at your now weird behavior towards him, he decides to get to the bottom of it...in his own way.

Words: 7.5k

Rating: 🌊 Explicit, Smut

Warnings: cursing, bratty/stuck-up reader, implied cheating, heavy orgasm denial, fingering, dirty talking, spanking, degrading, slight breeding

Notes: Hello! This is the first fanfiction I’ve wrote in close to ten years. Its much longer than I intended for a first fanfic but I was desperate to get this out of my brain. I’ll probably chill out and do drabbles for a bit lol. Feel free to give me feedback as I’ve become more-so used to writing research and analysis papers, I wouldn’t be surprised if my fanfic writing is a bit wonky. Anyways, enjoy :-).

*H/N – Hero Name

Harsh pants filled Bakugou’s dorm as the both of you tried to stay quiet. Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero were in the next room playing video games. You could occasionally hear them shouting at one another, a signal that one of them had lost or died in the game. Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Yaoyorozu were in the commons watching some sort of K-drama. You’d hear one of them let out surprised gasp or a giggle in reaction to whatever romantic scene transpired on the screen.

But these outside noises would leave your mind just as quickly as they’d come in due to the pleasure that was currently surging through your body. You were seated in Bakugou’s lap, faced towards his desk, grinding away at his cock trying to chase that pleasure to the maximum. Your hands clutching at the notebooks and flailed papers on his desk. A reminder that once again you guys could not study together for 10 minutes without needing to exhaust the filling sexual tension. Bakugou’s hands were grabbing at your hips, his grasp getting tighter as he got closer and closer to his climax.

“Oi…hurry up and cum..I have somewhere I need to-“ You couldn’t finish your sentence as Bakugou suddenly thrusted upward into you. Immediately you clasped your hands against your mouth to stifle your moans. He smirked at your weak attempt of rushing him.

“Surely…you’re not rushing me.” He lifted you up by your hips so that only the tip of his cock was inside you, before slamming you back down. “When your insatiable pussy is the one who started this.”

You didn’t know if he was talking about your lewd relationship in general, or just today’s scandalous activities. You assumed the latter. Waiting until you could stifle you moan enough to make a sentence, you responded. “…wasn’t me. You kept-“. He slammed into you again. You paused as you held back a groan that so desperately wanted to escape from your throat before continuing. “Kept…feeling up my t-thighs.” You flattened your palms tighter against your mouth as Bakugou increased his pace.

“Hah? So a little graze against your thighs…” He began as he traced his fingernails up and down your thighs. “Gets you like this?” A chuckle escaping him as he watched you struggle to keep your voice down as his cock continued to roughly glide in and out of your trembling walls. You didn’t respond. If you opened your mouth now, there’s no doubt that your classmates would hear the voice that represented the erotic things Bakugou was doing to you in his dorm.

“If your highness wishes me to cum, you better fucking start putting in better work than what you’re doing right now.” Bakugou slapped your thigh as if he were slapping a horse to get them to go faster. You winced as you gripped at the edge of Bakugou’s desk to better stabilize yourself. As soon as you started riding him at a more fierce pace his hands slip up to cup your breasts under your bra. He pinched at your nipples, making you let out a lewd noise that had you worrying if your neighboring classmates heard it.

Bakugou noticed you shoot a glance toward his door, listening to see if you’d been found out, and sucked at his teeth. “You worried about those dumbasses hearing you?” He got up, still inside you, and pressed his hand on your back so that you’d be face down on the desk and ass up in the air. Jutting his hip toward yours, you grunted behind gritted teeth as he leaned over so his lips traced just over your ear. “Hearing what I’m doing to your pussy?” His fingers massaging into your scalp before gripping tightly into your hair. “Fuck those extras. Let them hear.” Moving the hand that was on your back toward yours that were still tightly pressed against your mouth. He pried them away from your face, bringing your arm back so that he could use it as a reign when he began to fuck you. He straightened back up to steady himself firmly on the ground.

“Wait- Baku-! Hnngh!” Bakugou started to rhythmically jam the entirety of his cock inside you. Laughing at you as you struggled to not add on to the lewd noises your sopping mess was making.

“Fuck! L/N!” A hard slap came down on your ass cheek. The pleasurable pain causing your slippery walls to quiver against Bakugou’s cock. Your free hand roaming around the surface of the desk, now crumbling up homework papers under your fingers. “You like this? You like almost being found out by those shitty extras? Fucking pervert. Why don’t you just scream like you want to? I know you’re about to fucking cum.”

Your lips curling in under your teeth, grunts becoming louder and louder as your orgasm approached. The growls of the man behind you adding on to your auditory pleasures, drowning out the yells and cheers of your neighboring classmates. But it was getting harder and harder to hold your voice back, and Bakugou seemed to not give any care as his thrusts got deeper and more forceful.

“Fucking scream, L/N. I want to hear it. Imagine those dumbasses’ faces when you walk out there. Knowing what lewd shit you were doing with me.” He let go of your arm and reached around to wildly circle your clit. “And you portray yourself as some kind of princess. Fucking bullshit.”

You couldn’t hold back anymore. Even as your hand quickly went back to cover your mouth, it wouldn’t be able to hold back the suppressed groan you’d soon let out. “I said fucking-“ Before he could let out his demand the loud exclaims from the adjacent room poured into Bakugou’s. Another loss. Or win. Who gives a shit? All you knew is that those yells allowed you the opportunity to loudly moan Bakugou’s name to your heart’s desire as you finally reached your orgasm.

Bakugou would’ve called you out on cheating if the quivers of your orgasming walls wasn’t forcing him into his own intense wave of pleasure. “Oh shit…L/N…gonna cum. Fuck-“. He let out a couple more rough thrusts before spilling his seed inside the condom. You felt his cock pulsating, a weirdly pleasurable feeling as you were winding down from your own orgasm. Bakugou slipped out of you and slumped back in the chair and you soon followed, falling back into his lap.

Seeing that you were exhausted, he lifted up your leg so that he could reach down and slip off the used condom. Tying it in a single knot at the end and tossing it into the trash nearby. He let his hands softly feel up your thighs and squish your stomach, comforting you as you regained your breaths.

“You imbecile. We could’ve been found out, for real.” You said, pinching his thigh, too tired to hit him.

“Shut up. It doesn’t fucking matter.”

“It WILL matter if there’s ever a headline of us. ‘Upcoming pro-heroes, Ground Zero and H/N CAUGHT fornicating in the dormitories.’ You waved your hands in the air, mimicking a hysterical news reporter.

He chuckled into your back. “You fucking wish you could be in an obscene headline with me”. You sucked your teeth at him.

“Whatever.”

“Are you still going somewhere”

“Are you sane? Like I can move right after that.” You turned to look at him. “Make me some ramen. And don’t add a deadly amount of spice to it, either.” You got up and grabbed some tissues and started to wipe away the seeping wetness off your crotch and thighs.

“Like I’m making you shit! Make it yourself!” Bakugou got up and repositioned his shorts around his waist. Before he could grumble anymore, you placed a kiss on his cheek causing him to turn a deep shade of pink.

“You shouldn’t rebel. It just takes away from energy that’s better spent making that ramen.”

“Honestly, just shut up!” He turned away towards the door but you could still see the pink on the back of his ears.

You chuckled at the slam of the door, your smile widening as you heard him fumbling around in the kitchen.

But the time Bakugou returned with two hot bowls of ramen, you were knocked out asleep.

“…Fucking stuck-up vixen”

-------------------------------------------------

You sat in the karaoke room with Mina, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Jirou, making you the 5th wheel. But only temporarily, as your friends had supposedly invited a cute guy from a rival hero school to be your date for the evening. You loved being courted by attractive guys, you were a queen after all, so naturally you didn’t turn down the blind date. Though you must admit, since starting your friends-or rather, rivals-with-benefits relationship with Bakugou, you didn’t go out with guys much. You didn’t really see much of a need since your sexual appetite was being satisfied. Bonus points in that since it was no-strings-attached you didn’t have to frolic in romance, leaving you time and energy to concentrate on your hero studies.

“Are you excited, Y/N!? He texted me saying he’s on his way!” Mina was definitely more excited than you were, but you were waiting in anticipation none-the-less. Apparently Kaminari knew the guy, which worried you a bit since Kaminari was a dunce when it came to most things. But after Mina and Jirou reassured you the guy was definitely your type, you became more okay with date.

“Yeah, I suppose. Tardiness deducts points, though.” You playfully declared as the door to the karaoke room slowly opened.

“Aww…don’t be so strict with me, L/N. I’ll cry before I even properly meet you.” You heard a young man say as he entered the room. As soon as you looked at his face, you felt heat rise to your own. He was nothing less than exquisite. You’d never seen hair so soft-looking and flowy, skin so smooth and obviously baby-soft. A piercing pair of eyes that you were scared, or maybe hoped, could see straight through your clothing, into your soul.

“It’s okay if you cry. I like seeing cute boys cry.” You smiled with an obviously feigned innocence as you picked up your drink and sipped from it. He smiled seductively as he sat down right next to you, not leaving any space between your bodies.

“Seijirou!” Kaminari exclaimed, reaching over to fist pump your date. “Glad you could make it, dude!”

“Kaminari, long time no see. We need to have another jam session before we graduate.” The boy named Seijirou cooly stated, returning the fist bump. “Of course with L/N now joining us in the studio” He returned his gaze toward you. “I’m sure her alluring beauty and energy will inspire me with some great melodies”.

God, his coy smile could lead you straight into hell. How hadn’t you met him yet? You almost wanted to curse Kaminari for not introducing this stunningly attractive man to you before.

“Kyaa!! What a natural romantic!!” Mina shouted slapping her hand excitedly on Kirishima’s thigh. “Right, Eiji?!”

“Haha, yeah, babe.” Kirishima replied, taking Mina’s hand in his own to keep her from bruising his thigh.

Jirou reached over to grab the tablet that connected to the karaoke room’s TV screen. “Okay, guys lets get down to jamming.”

“Yeah!” Kaminari wrapped his arm around Jirou, pulling her into his chest as she picked the first song.

“I sure hope your voice is to the same standards as your face, Seiji.” You seductively challenged, looking him right in the eyes.

“I hope so too, I need to earn those points back.” Seijirou replied, his finger tracing slowly on your hand. You chuckled, holding his hand in yours now.

Jackpot, baby

-------------------------------------------------

After a long and tiring session of belching out everything from cute idol songs, to screaming death metal, it was time to head back home. Everyone was laughing and joking with each other as you all walked back. Everyone was also hand-in-hand with their respective partners, including you and Seijirou’s. In fact your hands had never left each other’s grasps since they first joined at the beginning of the karaoke session. You and Seijirou walked a few steps behind everyone, wanting to mimic any kind of privacy in order to soak in each other’s presence. Kirishima looked behind and noticed this, squeezing Mina’s hand to alert her as well. She grinned ear to ear at the lovely display of romance unfolding.

“Hey, F/N! Are you going home or….will you be continuing your date in private?” Mina winked at you, not at all trying to be discreet about her intentions.

“Oh. I guess I didn’t even think about it”. A total lie. You’d been strategizing how you’d cleverly get into bed with Seijirou since you first heard his pretty voice sing. You wanted to know how he’d moan. How he’d make you moan. If he’d be better than Bakugou.

Woah, how did he cross your mind? You hadn’t even thought about him all night until the potential for good sex crossed your path. But thoughts of him dissipated with the sultry voice of Seijirou.

“I surely don’t mind the extra company. I’ve been dying to share my tea recipe with a worthy guest.” He squeezed your hand. “It’s a special recipe. Made especially for when my throat is sore from an awesome jam session..or when…” He looked directly at you. “When anyone’s throat is sore from using it…extensively.”

Your panties were drenched at this point. Not that they weren’t a bit damp the entire evening. You needed this mysteriously seductive man’s cock inside you. Now.

“Sounds like some delectable tea.” You bit your lip. Seijirou chuckled at you.

“Shame I didn’t bring my car, I’d hate to make you walk all the way back to my place”.

He has a car, too?!

You could throw your panties at him this very moment.

“I don’t mind walking with you, Seijirou.” You smiled up at him, squeezing his hand back.

Catching the mood, the group separated from the two of you, but not without the cheers of Mina encouraging you.

Of course, the two of you didn’t make it to his place. It’d take too long. You needed each other now. So you opted for the love hotel that was only a couple blocks away. As soon as you and Seijirou stepped into the erotically designed room, you jumped on him. He caught you, and you wrapped your leg around his waist. You drowned in each other’s kisses, wanting desperately to become one with each other. You for one, could not wait to see how Seijirou could maneuver his away around your body like he did with your mind.

-------------------------------------------------

Tapping your pen away on the notebook in front of you, you struggled to digest the information in the textbook. Not even knowing what to highlight anymore, words became more jumbled and muddled as you tried to continue reading. You couldn’t concentrate at all.

Sighing in annoyance, you got up from the common room’s table and went to make something hot to drink in the kitchen. Everyone was most likely asleep by now, but since you couldn’t seem to do so you decided to force yourself into exhaustion with some late-night studying. But unfortunately, despite feeling wide awake, it didn’t seem to help you focus any better in regards to studying. You were never a “studier” anyways.

As you waited for the hot water to boil, you scrolled through phone trying to find an entertaining distraction, settling for the digital magazine of your favorite fashion designer. You didn’t even notice Bakugou stroll into the kitchen

“Oi.”

So startled you almost dropped your phone, you turned around to see the owner of that voice.

“Fucking, hell, Bakugou. You scared the shit out of me.” Clutching at your chest, you tried to ease down the erratic beating of your heart. He always found a way to get an expletive out of you. Bakugou slightly pushed you against the counter to get a better view of your backside.

“Nah, you’re good” Smirking, he went to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water as you rolled your eyes at him. “What are you even doing up anyways? Taking some dumbass selfies?”

“Well, if you’re so interested in the affairs of L/N F/N, I’ll have you know that I was actually studying, like the non-dumbass that I am”.

“Sounds like something a dumbass would say.” Taking a swig from the water bottle, Bakugou took a glance at your side profile, also noticing how revealing your pajamas were. Your pajama shorts were barely covering your plump ass, and the flesh of your thighs slightly spilled over the tightness of your thigh high socks. What the hell were you doing walking around the common area like that? Surely you were waiting for him.

He took a last sip of his water and pinched at your upper thigh.

“Gyah! Bakugou, what the hell?” Your annoyed face being 110% worth the cute noise he was able to force out of you.

“Why are you studying out here? You know you could’ve asked me for help.”. His fingertips still lingering over your thigh, faintly tracing over your skin. You sucked your teeth and lightly pushed his hand away.

“No, I couldn’t’ have.” Your phone buzzed at seemingly the right time; before temptation would get the best of you. You smiled at the recent text message you received, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Bakugou.

Raising an eyebrow, he watched you with suspicion before he made another attempt. This time, he made a squeeze at the squish of your waist. “Oh yeah? And why is that?” You grabbed at his wrist in protest but it only made him dig his fingertips deeper into your flesh. “I know you have needs, Y/N. You haven’t met up with me in the past few days, either.”

The fluster showing on your face didn’t help your denying, but you still tried to step away from him; a fail. He completely closed the distance between you and leaned down toward your ear.

“…Baku-“

“It must be so hard to contain it right now. Those slutty impulses of yours.” He grinned at the way you bit your lip trying to fight off the urges his voice was erupting in you. He knew his effect on you. “So how about you just accept the favor I’m so greatly offering to you and drop those soaked panties and bend over the counter so I can ram this cock into you like-

“I’m seeing someone!” You exclaimed, possible a bit too loud. Bakugou glanced at you as if trying to see if you were really telling the truth or not. You met his gaze with a stern expression. “I’m seeing someone.”

Slowly Bakugou let go of his grasp on you and stepped back. “You fuckin’ serious?”

Slowly nodding your head yes, you straightened back up to continue fixing your drink.

“What fucking psychopath would want to date you? Are you sure he’s real?”.

“I know this may come as a shock to you.” A sly grin appeared on your face. “That I could humble myself enough to share my precious time and energy with someone-“

“Oh, just shut up, already.” Bakugou sat his water bottle down on the counter, looking at it as if thinking deeply about something. There was a momentary silence before you broke it.

“Are you mad?”

Bakugou scoffed at you. “And just what exactly is there for me to be mad about?”

“Well this commences the end of our relationship. You’re no longer a concubine. Perhaps you’re wondering what more to life there is? Oh, maybe depressed is the word I was looking for.” You put your hand to your chin, feigning concern.

“As much as I’d love to shut you up right now with a cock down your throat, I’m quite happy this is over.” He moved to put his water bottle in the refrigerator. “I can finally put my stamina towards training instead of wasting it on that monstrous sex drive you have.”

“And with that, the counsel dismisses you.” You smugly took a sip from your drink.

“Oh, shut up. I’m going back to bed before I commit regicide.” Bakugou put his water bottle back in the fridge and walked past you towards the hallway. “Good luck on your ‘studying’, your highness”.

When Bakugou was long out of your sight, you heaved out a long sigh.

“…Fuck.”

-------------------------------------------------

A couple weeks had went by and honestly Bakugou was beyond frustrated. He didn’t really think you had it in you to avoid his presence for so long. You usually couldn’t go 2 days without coming at him with some kind of ‘You agreed to be my concubine…so fucking perform!’ bullshit. With his pride, he’d pummel someone like you into the dirt. But immediately after saying something like that you’d palm against his growing hardness before lowering your head to his crotch. And you’d adorn the most lustful gaze. A gaze that told him that he was the only one who could satisfy you.

‘You’re supposed to be pleasing me, but I guess queens have duties too…’

Honestly you were such a fucking brat. Acting all high and mighty and then becoming a filthy wench only moments after having a cock shoved up you. But he lived for it. The challenge of getting you to finally submit to him during sex would drive him crazy. That blissful face of pleasure. Those lips that would call out for him to go faster.

Maybe he’d be willing to let you go if you weren’t being so goddamn strange around him now. Not only were you being more distant around him, whenever he so much as brushed up against you your face rose with obvious arousal. Your lips would slightly part as if you’re about to let out a moan- but then you’d scold him for being so close to you.

‘Can’t you back up? I can barely hear my own thoughts with your vulgar presence around me’

That sort of thing would happen multiple times and especially during training sessions with him. Whenever you were opponents and Bakugou had successfully won and had you pinned to the ground, you looked as if you were on the verge of orgasming. And then as soon as Aizawa blew the whistle to end the round, you’d quickly run away with an annoyed look.

One time he had approached you, asking what the fuck your deal was, but you quickly dismissed him.

‘Maybe I’m just so pleased with my boyfriend that I literally can’t go a minute without thinking of him. I can’t help that you’ve never made a girl feel that way.’

Bullshit.

Were you teasing him? Did you even have a boyfriend? If you did, why did you have a face that seemed as if you hadn’t been fucked properly in years? If this boyfriend of yours was so bad at sex, wouldn’t you have dumped him? Before the start of this rivals-with-benefits agreement you’d told him of the time you kicked a guy out in the middle of fucking because he had “no idea how to fuck his royals”.

He’d really think your boyfriend was fake if it wasn’t for the fact that one time while sitting beside you, he saw you receive a message from someone with a heart by the name. And then you’d smile to yourself before pocketing your phone.

Fuck. Maybe this guy really was that good.

No.

Impossible.

No one could please you the way he did. He knew it. It was an irrefutable fact. He’d get down to the bottom of this. He’d make you realize who you really belonged to.

Bakugou grumbled at the unfinished homework on his desk. He couldn’t concentrate due to your stupid antics. He pulled out his phone to send you a text.

“What are you doing?”

Five minutes had gone by and he was already starting to regret his act of impulsivity. You usually took a while to respond but for some reason this time it was really irking him. He got lost in senses of regret before he heard his phone vibrate.

“Getting ready for my date.”

He scoffed at your reply.

“Oh, with that fake boyfriend of yours, huh?”

A couple minutes went by before Bakugou received another reply. This time it was an image. Opening it, It was a selfie of you in what he assumed was your date outfit. You always dressed exquisitely outside your school uniform and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t appreciate your sense of style. But right now, that appreciation was manifesting into lust.

Fuck, you didn’t have that big of breasts but why were they looking so plump, now? The dress you were wearing teased your collarbones and Bakugou might as well had been drooling at this point. Not replying after a couple minutes, stunned by your posh appearance, his phone vibrated again.

“I don’t get dressed up like this for any commoner. Now why are you disturbing me?”

He wanted to reply with a “Fuck you. Nothing, dumbass”, but he held back.

“I want my fucking manga back.”

A silly demand, he knew. But it was the only thing he could think of to get you back within his grips. Hopefully you weren’t too suspicious as it had been a few weeks since you borrowed his manga to read.

“Ugh…I suppose I can take time out of my meaningful getting-ready time to drop off your little comic. I’ll be there in 20.”

A smirk shaped the lips of Bakugou’s before he brisked his way to the shower in preparation for his plans.

-------------------------------------------------

Bakugou had finished putting on his clothes and was now tidying up his room in waiting for a knock at the door. But you were always so rude so instead he was alerted by the sudden swinging open of his door. Before he could yell at you he became entranced by your appearance.

The dress you were wearing hugged you in all the right places and came to a seductive stop slightly below the round of your ass. The plush of your thighs were teased as the start of the top of your opaque socks once again molded erotically around your flesh. It seemed you also had a bit of makeup on as your e/c popped out beautifully from your dark eyeliner.

But you were also entranced by his appearance. You could tell he just took a shower because the smell of his soap traced provocatively under your nose. He wasn’t even wearing anything special, a black long-sleeve top that perfectly fitted his biceps, and a pair of black shorts. But fuck, it was driving you crazy right now.

“Your comic.” You coldly tried to hand it to him, trying to not appear as aroused as you felt.

“Can’t you fucking put it back on the shelf. That’s where you got it from, isn’t it?”

You clicked your tongue at him. “Troublesome.” As you walked past Bakugou to get to the little bookcase above his desk, he watched you. The stride of your hips as you walked had him licking his lips behind you. As you put the manga back on the shelf, he walked up to you so there was no distance between the two of you. Before you could protest his proximity he interrupted you.

“Put it in the right order.”

“What?” You looked back at him confused and irritated. Why was he getting so close to you? Why did his voice sound so intoxicating?

“I have my manga in order. If you pay attention, you’ll see there’s a number on the cover. I believe they teach little princesses how to count, don’t they?” Bakugou once again took notice of your look of arousal spreading across your face. You sucked at your teeth as you hurriedly turned your face away from him. Even after you put the manga in his preferred place, he hadn’t moved away from you. You were starting to get antsy.

“What are you trying to-“

“Where are you going?” His red eyes were fixed on your face, more specifically your lips.

“I told you, a date.” Your fingernails scratched slightly against the wood of his desk. You were overwhelmed with frustration. With desire. But you couldn’t give in.

“Yeah, but where?”

“A restaurant.” Still avoiding his intense glare, it was becoming clear to you that Bakugou had plans as well. And that those plans would involve you.

“Oh. Must be fancy. Considering you look pretty good right now.”

“Hah! I don’t need you to tell me something so obvious. Only someone with my caliber of beauty could make a cheap dress like this look so go- Mmmph!” Suddenly Bakugou had his lips smashed against yours. Damned be your libido, your tongue wasn’t denying him. Your desires were beginning to take over you as you swapped saliva with your rival.

After a few moments, your hands pressed harshly against his chest to get him off you. A chain of saliva still linked the two of you. He licked away the connection with a smirk before pulling you back close to him. He turned you around slightly so that your back was pressed against his chest. One of his hands holding you in place by squeezing at your waist, the other rubbing against your inner thigh.

“The hell do you think you’re doing?!”

“I don’t fucking get it.” His slipped under your dress to rub against your now dampened panties. His palm rubbing slowly against your wetness. “You say that your boyfriend is good at fucking you, yet here you are drenched from a measly kiss from me.”

A moan escaped you as your hands gripped tightly against his wrists trying to pry away from him. You wanted to give in so bad, but you had something to prove. You couldn’t disappoint your ego right now.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you haven’t been fucked at all since you ended things with me, your highness.” You whined at his sarcastic nickname of you before your pride came back.

“You’re wrong. I’d say that I hadn’t started getting properly fucked since ending it with you.”

“When was the last time you guys fucked, then?”

“Last night! He pleasures me every night! More than you to say the least!”. You were losing your dominance quickly, assuming you had any right now. The slow stroking of Bakugou’s palm against your covered folds had you letting out whimpers.

“Oh? Is that so? How about this? If you don’t beg for me to make you cum within the next-“ Bakugou paused. “When’s your date?”. You bit your lips between your teeth ignoring him. Not pleased with your silence he dug his fingertips into your waist. You shut your eyes and let out a loud hum in your masochistic pleasure. “I asked you a fucking question. When is your date, L/N?”

“Seven! Fuck, its at seven!”. He loosened his grasp as he checked the clock on the desk.

6:28 P.M.

“Oh that’s not that far away, but I like a challenge.” His voice rumbled against your ear. “Then if I don’t have you begging to cum within the next 20 minutes, I, Bakugou Katsuki, will get down on my hands and knees and kiss your feet.”

He was being completely unfair. 20 minutes? That’s a long fucking time to hold back an orgasm, especially when it’s this guy trying to get you to reach one. But the thought of him kissing your feet flared your insatiable ego. You’ve lasted without cumming before, and you’d do it again to see Bakugou be put in the place he so rightfully deserved.

“So what do you say, your highness?”

“-my whore.” Your breaths settled as Bakugou looked puzzlingly at you. “Say you’re nothing but a whore for the royal L/N F/N while you kiss my feet and I’ll agree.”

“Tch. Fi-“

“And! I’m going to record it.” You were testing the waters now. But if Bakugou could handle any of the game he was talking right now, he’d surely agree.

“Fine. Then we start right now.”

You nodded in a rare display of compliance. Slowly, Bakugou began to rub his fingers against the crotch of your panties. He was going achingly slow, but you weren’t going to complain. The slower he took, the more time would be ate up. Was this his plan? To just go achingly slow for 20 minutes hoping you’d ask for him to speed up?

Imbecile.

You tried to focus on other things while Bakugou slowly rubbed away against your now wet panties. Looking away towards the desk, you thought about math equations. Complicated math equations. Math equations that could help solve the mysteries of our galaxy. Bakugou noticed your attempts of distraction and grinned, placing a soft kiss on are the area that your shoulder met your neck.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” The coarseness of his voice vibrating against your neck, taking you out of your mathematical universe.

“Your face after I upload that video on the internet…” You gasped at Bakugou’s sudden increase in pressure against your clothed vulva. He was still going pretty slow but you could feel the pressure cause your clit to swell. “And how…everyone is going to see how pathetic you really are.”

“Tch. You sure are good at acting sadistic. Too bad I’m the only one who knows what a fucking pig you really are. I’ll be making you admit that in just a few minutes.”

Before you could retort, Bakugou’s fingers started making increasingly faster grinds against your underwear. It was starting to become a challenge for you to not give in to the pleasures.

But then it suddenly clicked. He only said you didn’t have to beg, not that you couldn’t cum. Smirking you let your pleasure take over you, now softly moaning into the air. Waves of an encroaching orgasm began to fill your stomach and when you were about to finally go over the edge, Bakugou retreated his now slick hand away from you.

You quietly whined at the lack of pressure before steadying your breaths again. You stayed silent, adamant about not begging to the man behind you to finish the job.

“Oh…you’re pretty tough, huh? Lets see, it’s-“ Bakugou took another glance at the clock. “6:33. You only have 14 more minutes to go, princess. I believe it’s only fair that we kick it up just a bit.”

You smugly chuckled at his challenge. “I was wondering when you were going to make this diffi- Hnngg!”. Bakugou had moved the hand around your waist to tightly grasp the locks of your hair, turning your head to face him. Taking a moment to look directly at your grimaced face he smothered his lips onto yours, ravaging your mouth once again with his tongue. The fingers at your drenched panties increasing to a much faster pace.

You moaned loudly inside his mouth as you felt immense pressure build up inside you once again. You tried to wiggle your hips away from him but he placed his leg between yours, locking you into place. Struggling to breathe, you gripped his bicep in preparation for the orgasm once again approaching you.

Bakugou released your mouth as he once again removed his hand from between your hips. You now whined louder in protest.

“You got something to say?” He asked as he nibbled against your ear. You shook your head profusely. “I guess you really do like challenges, eh? Probably more than me.”

Bakugou lifted up one of your thighs so you’d place your foot on the edge of the desk. You hadn’t yet came down from your first failed orgasm before he sunk his hand into in your underwear and viciously circled around your clit.

You were moaning uncontrollably now, not caring if classmates outside Bakugou’s room could hear you. Chuckling, Bakugou bit down on your neck before licking away at the bite marks.

“Fuck! Bakugou! I-I’m gonna-“ You whined loudly at the repeated lack of friction between your thighs.

“You’re gonna what now? I don’t fucking think so. You haven’t let out a single beg. You know the rules.”

Your eyes watered as you unconsciously rubbed your thighs together trying to get yourself off. Failing, you had no choice but to let your body come down from its high.

As soon as your panting softened, they picked back up again when you felt Bakugou slowly stick two fingers up your sopping pussy. His fingers curving just right to lightly massage against the sensitive sponge inside you while moving them up and down in a quick motion.

“Hahh… Bakugou…”You groaned in pleasure. Too lost in trying to chase an orgasm, you hadn’t cared when Bakugou used his other hand to rip open your pretty dress. He roughly massaged at your breasts while burying his head in your neck.

“No bra? No fucking way you weren’t prepared for me to fuck you today.”

Your constant moans prevented you from replying. Bakugou pinched at your sensitive nipples while sucking harshly at your neck, leaving a bruise.

“You wanna cum, princess?”

“Yes! Yes, please!! Please let me cum! Fuck!” You gave in to his challenge, but it’d be worth it. You knew this was going to be the most intense orgasm of your life. So what if you sacrificed a bit of your ego?.

Just when you thought you were about to enter heaven, the fingers that were inside you slipped out.

“Hnngh- Nooo!! Please, Bakugou. I’m begging, I’m begging!” The tears that were settled at your eyes, trailed down. Your thighs trembled as you once again tried squeezing them together to satisfy you.

Bakugou smirked silently. Instead answering you by dragging you to the bed and pushing you down. He ripped off the rest of your dress before he spread your thighs apart to take a good look at the mess he created between your hips. The way not only your voice, but your pussy was begging for him made him want to give you everything you wanted.

But, no. You needed to learn a lesson. You’d remember what happens when you fuck with him- or don’t fuck with him, rather.

His gazing taking too long, you called out for him again. “Please, Bakugou. I want to cum. I wanna cum so baaad…”. You placed your hands on his that were digging into the flesh below your knees, trying to get him to take pity on you.

“I heard you the first time. How do you want to cum? With my fingers, my tongue, or my-“

“Your cock! Please, I want your cock!” Your hands now gripping tightly onto his. “I’ve never wanted something so bad before, Bakugou, pleeease…”

“You’re begging for my cock, huh”. He pulled down his shorts so his cock could spring free.

You nodded with no hesitation. Deciding not to tease you for now, he sunk inside you in one swift thrust, thanks to your abundant juices.

“Hnngh, yes! I’m gonna cum so hard! Gonna cum all over your cock. Oh baby… Gonna cum so hard for youuu…” Your moans turned into gutteral groans as he plunged deep inside you with every thrust. He made sure the tip of his cock was stroking right at your g-spot.

As he picked up the pace, you swear you could sense your pupils dilating as an orgasm approached. You could see the pearly gates of heaven and then-

Bakugou slipped his cock out of you. Leaving you a whining mess.

“Whyyy?! ? Y-You said I could cum. You said if I begged I could cummm…”. You were sobbing at this point. “What do you want? I’ll do anything, Katsuki…”

His cock twitched at the first time of hearing you say his name. “Say you’re a whore.”

You looked up at him as you hesitated. He coerced you with the teasing of his cock against your entrance. Sniffling, you did what you know your pussy would want you do to.

“I’m a whore.” Your eyes shut trying to hold on to the last bit of dignity you had.

“And? Fucking look at me when you speak.”

The intensity of looking into his vermillion eyes made you want to cower away. But you did as demanded. “I’m a filthy whore for Bakugou Katsuki.”

“And only me?” He dipped the tip of his cock into you and you forgot what even the meaning of dignity was.

“Yeess!! Only you! Only Katsuki! I swear it! I swear it on everything, I swear…”

“Your boyfriend?”

“I-I…” You trailed off and Bakugou started to slip back out again.

“You know I could do this forever. I made sure to jack off a few times in the shower. Let’s find out how long I leave you in this state.”

“Nooo! I don’t have a boyfriend! Fuck! Damn you!”

“Ahh…so he was fake?”

“He wasn’t fake…He was real. But h-he broke up with me after a week or so. He said he couldn’t keep up with my sex drive. Told me I was a-a nympho… So I yelled at him about y-“ You paused, hesitating to keep going. Bakugou just stared at you, not afraid of leaving you like this if you didn’t finish. “About you…”

“Me?” He leaned down to kiss your forehead, praising you for telling him all this. “And just what did your highness say about me?”

“I said if a rugged commoner like you could satisfy me, then he should be able to, too. So he called me a slut and left.”. You turned your head away, too embarrassed by the sharing of your breakup. “How dare he speak to me like that…”. Bakugou took hold of your chin to face him as he leaned down and kissed you on the lips. He wiped away your tears with his thumb and continued to stroke your cheek.

“You’re not a slut, F/N.”

You chucked. “I’m a whore but not a slut?”.

“I didn’t say you were. You did.” He slipped back inside you, making you moan once more. “Besides, you’re only like this with me, right? I doubt he was making you feel the way I do, anyways. Not with how pathetic he sounds.”

“Yeah…no one can make me feel this good.” Your mouth gaped open as Bakugou began steady thrusts inside you. Your ribbed walls clenched around him begging for more. “Lets cum together, okay?” You placed each of your hands on his cheeks. “I wanna cum with you.”

Entranced by your sudden displays of sweetness, he plunged his cock deeper and faster into you. You slipped your hands into his hair and tugged as you felt your high approach. Your moans sounded more high-pitch and angelic as Bakugou leaned down to kiss your neck. He could better hear your beautiful sounds in this position and it was pushing him closer to his own climax.

His thrusts became more erratic at his impending orgasm. “F-fuck, F/N. I’m gonna cum- I’m gonna cum so deep in your pussy.” He layed multiple kisses along your neck. “I might just give you a little prince.”

“Oh fuck! Katsukiii…Katsukiiii…” You tugged his hair tighter. Your long-awaited orgasm finally washed over you. It seemed like it could never end as your walls twitched violently against Bakugou’s cock, making him lose himself even more.

“Me too, F/N- me too. Fuck!” Bakugou pumped his milky seed deep inside you and you could probably cum again just from the hot feeling of it. When it seemed his cock was drained, he allowed himself to collapse on top of you.

You slipped your hands under his shirt, caressing your fingers along his back as you regained your breathing. “You didn’t cum exactly when I did. I’m deducting points.”

He chucked beneath into your neck. “Fuck your point system. I’m rebelling against your shitty monocracy.” You gasped, feigning offense. He kissed you on the lips before turning his body to lay beside you.

“We should..uhh…probably go get a pill, right?”

You sent a confused look at him. “Bakugou, I’m on birth control.”

He shot up from the bed with shock. “Hah?! So why had we been using a condom?” He frustratingly gripped at his hair. “I could’ve been fucking you raw this whole time?!”

“Well I figured you used them because you didn’t trust me.”

“What?” He looked at you before turning his face away trying to hide his blush. “Of course I’d trust my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?! This hasn’t been discussed with the counsel!”

Bakugou leaned over you, his forearms resting on either side of your head. “I believe I said I was rebelling against your shitty monocracy, F/N.” He pressed another kiss on your lips. “Who else is gonna put up with your stuck-up attitude and inhuman sex drive?” He layed back down beside you and pulled you into him, kissing the back of your shoulder.

You twisted your body to face him, looking directly into his eyes. “So you fell in love with the enemy?”

“Yeah, your highness. I fucking did. Gonna execute me?”

You shook your head and kissed his nose before burying into his chest. The up and down motions of his chest relaxing you, beckoning you to sleep.

“I did too.” You whispered softly, Bakugou had heard you though. Holding you tighter against his chest, the exhaustion and your comfort drifted him to sleep.

#bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #bakugou katsuki #bakugou katuski x reader #bakugou smut #mha smut #bnha smut #mha x reader #bnha x reader #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #katsuki x reader #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfiction #my first fanfic #idk how periods work when quoting stuff #cayofdreams #cayfanfic

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mitigatedchaos · 4 years ago

Text

Review: SAC_2045

(~3,700 words, 15 minutes)

This post will contain some minor spoilers for SAC_2045.

Summary: You may have thought SAC_2045 was a poor entry in the Ghost in the Shell franchise - actually, it's just intended for younger audiences.

Previously: Standalone Complex 202045:1-4 (superseded)

-☆☆☆-

And what did you think of the remaining episodes of GitS:SAC_2045?

[ @irradiate-space ]

Standalone Complex

There's a certain indescribable feeling associated with Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex as a work, an artistic touch related to the director associated with it, independent of other considerations. SAC_2045 has it, which isn't too surprising since Kenji Kamiyama is back.

SAC_2045 is Standalone Complex. For a brief moment, while watching it, I inhabited my pre-2016 personality and outlook. I can't tell you how much that means to me. Since the arrival of streaming I've tended to bingewatch series, but on the first run-through I decided not to bingewatch this one.

If you approach this show as season 4 of Standalone Complex (Solid State Society being season 3), it's underwhelming. Now, viewing it again, it's become obvious that a conventional season 4 of Standalone Complex was never the intent of SAC_2045 to begin with.

For those of you who have delayed until now, the English dub has been uploaded - it released without one due to the pandemic. They bring back a number of the voice actors from the excellent Standalone Complex dub, though having already watched it with subtitles, I didn't feel the need to confirm the dub's quality.

Sustainable War

To properly describe a new theory of war is the same thing as to invent it. While the idea of war as a for-profit industry has been kicked around for some time, it's generally assumed that this is a kind of parasitic relationship on the part of the war-making industry.

As time goes on, warfare becomes more abstract (partly because warfare happens where it can happen), much like society itself is becoming more abstract as information moves more quickly and humanity gains access to more energy.[1] In SAC_2045, "Sustainable War" is part of the context of the world and its current issues, but we aren't really told how it works - if it's similar to contemporary information warfare and a blurring of the lines between state and non-state actors, it's bound to be quite confusing.

I believe my earlier assessment of "Sustainable War" is correct. The key feature of sustainable war, the reason they say it's safe if you leave it to the experts, is likely that it involves AIs constantly forecasting against each other and moving units around with few direct confrontations. The goal would be to lock in a victory without having to fire a shot, except for small skirmishes that don't escalate to major incidents (due to the AI forecasting).

The presence of armed separatist movements even in Japan may also indicate that the ruling institutional bodies are engaged in a kind of Post-International Politics,[2] which treats all international relations as fundamentally existing between subnational entities - however, I believe that later information suggests this wasn't their original intent.

What makes it "sustainable"? Since if done correctly, very little is actually physically destroyed, the cost is less than conventional warfare, and thus the war can continue indefinitely. Why does it threaten humanity with destruction? Because there's an awful lot of military hardware waiting for someone to actually pull the trigger.

Season 1: Ep. 2

So what is the intent of the series' creators? I think they may be telling us through this dialogue between Togusa and Section Chief Daisuke Aramaki in episode 2.

Aramaki: Seems time has toughened you up. Togusa: Is that supposed to be a compliment? Aramaki: It is if you want it to be. Togusa: Then thanks for the kind words. “I made the right decision by choosing this line of work over my marriage.” That’s what you’re saying? Aramaki: Perhaps. [...] Togusa: They're bringing back Section 9? [...] Aramaki: But my takeaway from the proposal is this: The PM's reason for the urgent reforming of Section 9 takes priority over his personal motives. I believe his true objective is meeting the Americans' demands for the dispatch of special resources. Togusa: So it's as the Liberals feared? An American-born Prime Minister would be no more than an American puppet? Aramaki: I've yet to meet him in person, so I can't really say. But this is an opportunity to have the Major and the rest of you undertake a major operation for me once more. Togusa: What sort of op? Aramaki: Over the past few years, I have searched for an answer on how to deal with a society in turmoil. I'd like you people to lay the groundwork that will help the next generation find that answer. Togusa: I don't know what a man in my position can contribute, but I'll humbly offer whatever assistance I can.

Those of us who cried, Kamiyama, tell us the future once more! based on Standalone Complex's prophetic analysis of a memetic crime wave were bound to be disappointed. SAC_2045 is less rooted in the near future than in the now - cyberbullying, endless war amidst historic prosperity, employment suppressed by automation, savings eaten up by the complex machinations of finance, and a breakdown of national borders? That's today.

Those of us who hoped for a Ghost in the Shell: Unicorn, a psychically overpowering work that synthesizes the full body of Ghost in the Shell into a single coherent form to elevate us to a higher level of understanding, should have tempered our expectations. To reach each new philosophical level is more difficult than the last - to achieve that with Ghost in the Shell of all things would have required a multidisciplinary genius near the limits of current understanding.

Kenji Kamiyama is just an anime director. And anyhow, Gundam Unicorn was a book before it was an animated series. And who among us even knew we'd have to write a book before 2015? Ghost in the Shell was well-understood enough, so I instead wrote 25,000 words worth of hypothetical country and became a blogger, like the infamous Scott Alexander.[3]

If we approach SAC_2045 from the lens that it's a humbler work designed for younger audiences, however, some of the creative decisions make more sense.

Purin

Just how old is Purin, the MIT grad who joins the team later on? If I had to guess, that's '23歳' on that profile she provides, and Ishikawa notes that she 'skipped a few grades' on her way to a PhD. But she acts like someone a lot younger. She's enthusiastic and we're assured she's intelligent, but seems to be lacking social training. For example, she makes the mistake of assembling an era-accurate music player for Batou combined with a playlist after consulting the Tachikomas to find out what he listens to. There are two ways to take this.

The first is that she's intended as a relateable character for someone who would make this class of mistake. It's the sort of mistake I might have made at age 13-14, meaning that the show would probably be aimed at someone that age or lower. Overly enthusiastic, doesn't understand romantic relationships, impulsive, poor reading of boundaries / poor modelling of others outside of certain domains, impulsive in a way that causes social screw-ups? Yeah that could certainly apply to an ADHD kid of about that age.

And all of a sudden the tone of the first five episodes with the gun-fighting, the literal Agent Smith, the decision to place the focus in America, and even the mystery of the series being much simpler than Standalone Complex 2nd Gig's plot regarding Asian refugees in Japan make a lot more sense. This is Ghost in the Shell for kids!

Wow, I didn't think that could be done!

...is what I should say, except that around the time I acquired the ability to futurist shitpost, and I used that ability to predict that it would.

Purin II

The second reading is that the youth of the future are fucked up. She probably has some tricked out modifications, both cybernetic and genetic. Now usually you would tell someone to try to become a well-rounded human being. But...

The global economy has crashed. Batou mistakes her for a robot - creatures that look like pretty young women are a dime a dozen. In the dating market, she would be competing with full sensory immersion VR pornography on the one hand, and at the upper end of society where cybernetics are more widely available, likely women with a similar appearance but decades more experience and professional standing.

Note that in the original Standalone Complex, the team take down an 80-year-old Russian spy with the full prosthetic body of a 20-year-old. Full cyborgs aren't common then, nor are they in SAC_2045 (though cyberbrains are ubiquitous), but if the economy recovers that may change, and the sector she's trying to get in to (full-time salaried government rather than marginal private employment it would seem) is going to be very tough to enter either way.

So Purin may have to be over-optimized even to just appear on the screen. In fact, she says,

"Just so I could work at Section 9, I moved most of my sentimental memories to external storage."

Youch! It's no wonder she's socially maladjusted. Just how much of her social learning (in particular key events necessary to rebuild logical inferences on the boundaries of behavior on the fly) has she locked away?

Purin III

But you know who Purin looks like? Notorious internet personality, Gamer Girl Bath Water seller, and IRL video game character Belle Delphine.[4]

Or rather, it's the other way around - 2D animation compresses real detail into suggestive abstraction, letting your mind fill in the rest. Going from those impossible 2D shapes to 3 dimensions creates strange results, like training your machine learning algorithm on the salient features of a cat's face, applying it to human shape, and putting pink hair on the result. Belle Delphine adopts that otherworldly kind of appearance as part of her act.

Technically, this a stylistic choice. Within the framework of SAC_2045, this is what "a 23-year-old female" looks like.

Purin is in fact so non-threatening that her big red coat obscures her figure. I'm gonna go with younger audience. Now if only I could remember what pronoun she uses.[5/☆]

Motoko

With a full prosthetic body, outward signs of human-like aging are almost an artistic expression, much like in a world with cheap tissue engineering, visible scars are a choice.

When she was first introduced in the original Ghost in the Shell manga, we don't know how old Motoko Kusanagi is. It was once said that her name is analogous to "Jane Excalibur," which in English would be an obvious alias. In the first movie (from 1995), she's cool, almost cold and robotic.

In the original Standalone Complex, Motoko has a more mature personality than in the manga, but she has a clearly adult look by the standards of anime. Seriously, check out this fantastic character design (combat suit), although admittedly the better-known "leather jacket and bathing suit" design is more ridiculous, fashion-wise.[6] (Fortunately, she gets pants in her much more stylish second season outfit.)

ARISE starts off with a young Motoko Kusanagi in a chaotic post-war period before the Section 9 we know was assembled. This shows in her character design, but it really shows in her personality. This was actually why I had joked about an even earlier Ghost in the Shell.

There is a sense in which the 2017 live-action movie's Motoko is even younger. Scarlett Johansson is a killer cyborg with amnesia. She doesn't even have one day of formal combat training.

Motoko 2045

Ilya Kuvshinov designed SAC_2045's Motoko Kusanagi.

Yes, that Ilya Kuvshinov. You could be forgiven for thinking this is a teenager that hardboiled assassins Saitou and Ishikawa in the background have been hired to bodyguard.

Despite this, Atsuko Tanaka has resumed her role as Motoko's voice actress. Standalone Complex's Motoko looked 25 and felt mid-30s. SAC_2045's Motoko looks 16 and has the voice and attitude of 40.

This may make more sense than you might think.

Through Whose Eyes?

Throughout much of Ghost in the Shell as a franchise, Togusa, the only non-cyborg on the team, who is pulled from a police department instead of a military background, tends to be character used to help the people of our time relate to the future. He's the guy that doesn't know the things we also don't know, so in explaining concepts to Togusa they're explained to the audience.

In SAC_2045, most of the team are off doing cool cyborg things in America. Aramaki (whose in-world function is to create the bureaucratic environment within which Section 9 operates) tasks Togusa with finding them. The original Standalone Complex first aired in 2003. It's been 17 years since it was created - a similar situation to finding someone that reached adulthood who was born after 9/11. And during this time, Togusa's life has changed - the family man is now separated from his wife. And the world has changed - Togusa is now working for a private security firm. Togusa's role in the first five episodes isn't to guide the new viewers.

His purpose is to guide or stand-in for the old viewers.

The New Viewers

"Do you still hold a grudge against the Major and the others for leaving you behind?"

For the original viewers, SAC_2045 is your world, too. Togusa is there. Togusa is you.

The new viewers are Purin. Enthusiastic and smart but awkward and not confident in their skills. How could they measure up to these much more talented and experienced characters? (Also consider who is going to watch any sort of Ghost in the Shell - it's probably going to be a moderately bright and introverted kid, who is the kind of person that may be more comfortable socializing with people outside of their age band.)

But Motoko is visually separated from the rest of Section 9. Batou, Saitou, Ishikawa, Boma... they all have a much more adult look in keeping with their appearance in previous versions of Ghost in the Shell. What gives?

Batou is sort of a cool adult male figure - this is actually a pretty natural use of the character and his sense of humor as previously established in other Ghost in the Shell properties. We especially see this come through in 「PIE IN THE SKY - First Bank Robbery」 episode, with the old folks and the 21st century bank robbery.

Motoko's difference in appearance is because she's acting as a bridge between the two. The new viewer (as represented by Purin) is supposed to grow into being like Motoko as they gain confidence and experience. (The characters aren't each limited to a single role, of course.)

But SAC_2045 is still a work that's shared between two groups, similar to how the excellent Into the Spiderverse features both the teenage Miles Morales and an older Peter Parker that has lost his way, with the loss of the vibrant young adult Peter Parker being what starts the plot going.

The Last Quarter

With this framework, the rest of the work should express its nature as targeted at a younger audience itself. Watch the last few episodes through this lens and you'll see how much sense it makes. One takes place at a school. Even the bizarre 3D style that resembles recent video games makes more sense. If we take Togusa's earlier conversation with Aramaki as a discussion of SAC_2045 itself, later on there's even a sort of acknowledgement that Ghost in the Shell is a difficult work for someone of a young age.

So with that context in mind, does it work?

Standalone Complex

If I remember correctly, years ago, when I was perhaps 15 or 16, I was watching a tiny CRT television some time after midnight, and I saw the thirteenth episode of the original Standalone Complex - NOT EQUAL. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. I was immediately taken by it. And, from what I remember, I immediately understood it.

It was as though it were made just for me.[7]

To me, Ghost in the Shell is like a textbook. I thought that as a creator who has reached a place where I am able to be involved in that kind of work, I'm in a position where I have to convey its contents to a younger audience. Well, I knew it would be a lot of work, but I figured it would be my way of giving back to Ghost in the Shell. I thought that I needed to accept the baton and offer Ghost in the Shell to a young audience, to the same degree that Ghost in the Shell raised me to be who I am.

- Tow Ubukata, in a 2015 interview, regarding ARISE

For many people, Ghost in the Shell is a profound influence. I felt that it lifted me to a new level of understanding.

SAC_2045

But what about SAC_2045?

I can't view Ghost in the Shell with new eyes. When I first saw it, I wasn't the kind of person that casually memes futuristic ethical dilemmas as a means of practicing politics.

Compared to the anime I watched back when I was 13, would I have watched SAC_2045? Yes. Is it more philosophically and politically sophisticated? Yes. Would I have found it memorable? I think so.

Would a 13-year these days watch it? That's difficult to assess. I bet someone who does data science for Netflix could tell us, if they wanted. I'm sure Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki are considering the same thing.

2017

How does it stack up compared to the rest of the franchise?

For most enthusiasts it's going to be one of the weaker entries, though it certainly does a better job explaining itself than ARISE.

Compare it to 2017's live action movie, however, and I think we'll find it isn't the weakest. The reason is that the writers of Ghost in the Shell (2017) decided to tell a story about bodily consent in which becoming a cyborg is a form of trauma. On some level this may have been a reasonable decision, but they didn't commit to the concept sufficiently fully to execute it well enough to carry the movie - and simultaneously, they dumbed down parts of the regular Ghost in the Shell material for American audiences. As a result the movie flopped both financially and artistically - except for the visuals.

In fact, I wrote a sequence of posts (1, 2, 3, 4) on how to rewrite the live action movie as an actual Ghost in the Shell property. I feel no need to do so for SAC_2045 - and I can't even think of what changes would need to be made.

I look forward to the second season.

-☆☆☆-

[1] It's short, but that's a concept in this post. "Advanced by Left-Wing theorists, Ninth Generation warfare sees all acts as existing on a spectrum of political violence. Most acts of ninth generation warfare consist of extreme pranks."

[2] If we accept the idea of "Fifth-Generation Warfare" as motivated by a desire to prevent the enemy from using their conventional military assets, then a corresponding theory of international politics would involve preventing enemy factions within foreign governments from taking control of those governments' institutions - effectively treating all countries as in continuous level of conflict analogous to a soft civil war.

[3] There is a kind of technique to this, but in my case I substituted ADHD for raw IQ and conscientiousness, which is part of why my posts are so much shorter than, for instance, Moldbug's. In any case, technically, Scott's blog posts on the matter amount to roughly a mere 11,600 words, and the book of the black forest amounts to approximately 26,000 words (which I'm told is entertaining reading), but I'm sure if we go looking we can find an additional 15,000 words worth of worldbuilding from a man known for writing 16,000 word blog posts.

[4] Would it be more of a legal liability to sell regular water with GGBW branding, or actual GGBW that could prove to be a potential health hazard?

[5/☆] There's some future strand lurking beneath the surface here that I can't quite put into words; a culturally divergent moe meltdown where an appearance this ridiculous becomes normalized among some sub-population. To quote the Funko Pop Hatred post,

There are questions about the anatomy of anime people and their internal organs, and particularly about what sort of impact-dampening alien meta-material their softer bits are made out of, but at least homo sapiens gokuensis looks like it’s a branch off a similar starting hominid! Whatever transhuman engineering company was responsible for manufacturing the creatures in the typical harem anime has some weird ideas about human beings, but we’re clearly in their ancient lineage somewhere.

Under Late Safetyism, everyone is a declawed catgirl.

Anyhow, I don't want to alarm you, but I can't guarantee that this won't be the future somewhere. Both Purin and Belle Delphine resemble Xiaoice, "The AI Girlfriend Seducing China's Lonely Men." (2020)

[6] Motoko's ridiculous outfits are a major flex on the non-cyborgs, who aren't indifferent to ambient temperature and whose natural bodies may have unflattering features. Similarly wild fashions can exist in places like Second Life, a 3D digital platform with mostly user-uploaded content. Presumably they're also a flex on every Japanese salaryman who still has to dress like a normal guy.

[7] "It's as though it were made just for me" is also how I feel about the original game Mirror's Edge. Its follow-up, Catalyst, is also a personal favorite of mine.

#miti does media #longpost #flagpost #ghost in the shell #sac_2045 #standalone complex #review

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emblemxeno · 5 years ago

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Xander Support Science Rebuttal/Review + How Mediocre Localization Could Change A Character (1/2)

A couple of days ago I said I would do this because I haven’t watched the videos in question in a long time, and I wanted to see if I would hold the same opinions that I do now. In short, yeah, I do. (Part 2 of this Post)

The videos in question by Ghast (going by Faerghast now) can be found here: Part 1 Part 2

You’ve all most likely seen my posts and short analyses about Fates’ writing, it’s localization, and Xander as a whole. I wanted to make this rebuttal/review, not just as a way to get my differing opinion out there, but to also provide context on how translation and localization can alter a character’s interpretation with even the slightest change, and a brief summary on how Xander was supposed to be written from the get go.

TL;DR (Though I highly recommend reading the whole thing to really understand the point I am trying to make with this series of posts):

Xander’s character was altered in the localization due to a number of changes made that either replace/remove the original context of his writing, or add things that weren’t even present in the first place. The reason why I’m doing a rebuttal against these videos in the first place is because the greater community cite these videos as the correct interpretation of Xander, with there being no acknowledgement of localization being a factor of why Xander seems so inconsistent and poorly written. Further worsening the issue is Ghast’s own reading of Xander’s character, by roping him into a few select traits, and ignoring others.

Before moving on with the meat of the review, I’d like to link some things that would be useful to read/watch when they’ll be referenced in these posts:

- Analysis of the relationship between Garon and the Nohrian siblings (aka the abusive royal household)

- Xander’s Japanese supports with Camilla and Corrin. Here is a link to the localized Fates supports in order to spot differences.

-English patched playthroughs of the JP version of the game done by Linkmstr (Pre-decision Birthright Conquest Revelation) as well as a link to said patch done by a team on Serenes.

-A link to the chapters of Fates, each one has a link to the script of said chapter.

(I’ll also be using quotes from Ghast in the videos, usually marked by time stamps)

Xander Summary

Xander is an intimidating figure who is seen as a stoic and unemotional Crown Prince. In actuality, he’s merely an introverted dude riddled with trauma, and is unable to express his emotions in a “normal” way. The person who’s feared by tons of people in Hoshido is the same guy who gets anxiety during public speaking (dealing with this by imagining his audience as bunnies or carrots depending on the version) and who’s greatest fear as a child was his own father (as revealed in the Boo Camp DLC).

He’s also heavily suicidal, a result of each time having to kill his enemies weighing heavily on his heart and his psyche.

While he seems to be relatively put together, all of these aforementioned factors influence his character, and the dichotomy of appealing to his duty as Crown Prince and appealing to his emotions. Moreover, it has lead him into a deep seated denial of his father’s evil actions, trying to justify or excuse the things Garon had done, a fairly common symptom of an abused child. Not only that, but it has lead him to believe that betraying Garon is synonymous with betraying his family and all of Nohr, something he finds inexcusable and outrageous, and only breaks out of this way of thinking once he witnesses Garon become truly monstrous.

And while trying to do what’s best for his people and his family are major parts of his character, they are not the only ones, and as we see in the game, they lead to him doing things that some would see as OOC, but actually are pretty reasonable if you dig deep into what makes Xander, well, Xander.

The Beginning

Unfortunately, a lot of this is lost in localization, which preferred to make him less introverted and more... observational and witty? He’s more confrontational in the localization, but only sometimes when the story needs him to be, making him look inconsistent and badly written. He tends to preach a lot more, but ends up contradicting himself through his words and actions. Almost all of these are issues added by the localized script, and either were completely different or just plain absent in the original JP script.

And the reason why this rebuttal exists, is because the videos blame the game’s writing instead of this very faulty translation, made even worse by the fact that Ghast’s channel is popular because of story/character analyses, so not mentioning how translation can affect story telling is the first glaring issue with the support science.

The first video starts with the main issue, how Fates has character’s written well in supports, but not in the main campaign. That’s the main thing with this, so I’ll save an overview for it later.

Mistranslated Support Lines

-At 2:25, Ghast talks about Support Xander, starting off with the Camilla-Xander support. The line in question that’s referenced is how Xander deliberately cultivated the image of him being stoic and seemingly uncaring. However, this isn’t true, Xander didn’t cultivate the image in the original JP support, he just ended up realizing that was how people saw him and thought it would be too much of a hassle to change it. This fits in line with how he acts later in the story, as an introverted character, he’s ultimately non-confrontational unless pushed to the limit.

-At 7:55, the Corrin support is brought up. This is the support that is the key reason why Xander is seen as two different characters between story and supports. The line where Xander said he’s now strong enough to stand up against Garon whenever he felt like it wasn’t present at all in the original JP support. Hence, continuing on with the idea that Xander is not as confrontational as he seems, and preferred to swing his sword to let out his emotions instead.

-Ghast then goes on to discuss why there’s this discrepancy between Xander in supports and story, where Xander supposedly acts out of character by fighting Corrin in chapter 2 on Garon’s orders (at 14:31):

“For this segment of the video, bear in mind what has been established about Support Xander so far. The feats that Support xander has disclosed from his past, particularly his courageousness to engage Garon in yelling fights and pre-established love for Corrin is entirely contradicted from the offset of the game...Given their (Xander and Garon’s) relationship before the game even starts, the game provides absolutely no reason why Xander would behave in such a sheepish way to his father. Where is the bravery he was talking about before? Wht did Xander hope to accomplish by striking at Corrin? Did he want to disable her? Did he intentionally want to harm her for Garon’s sake?”

Except that’s not true. Applying what we know with Xander being non confrontational, scared to death of his father, being all too familiar with family dying around him, etc, and this scene really isn’t too out of character. But it seems so because of the lines added in the English script.

Adherence To Select Traits

-At 16:10-18:20, he goes on to claim that Xander’s reaction to Corrin choosing to fight for Hoshido is uncharacteristic and ‘stupid’ because of the former’s pre-established observational skills, doubts of Garon, and tendency to stand against his father when he disagrees with him (all of which are more exaggerated/added in the English script).

Besides the fact that Xander wasn’t written to be someone who regularly stands up to his father in the first place, the insistence that Xander remains strictly observational and pragmatic in these scenarios is the first big issue I have with these videos.

Ghast picks certain traits and latches them onto Xander without considering others that might influence the his actions; it’s true that Xander’s awareness of Corrin’s situation might have let him come to terms with the Hoshido family wanting them back, and yes they were kidnapped, BUT they were also raised as if actual siblings for over a decade, and feelings/attachment towards one's family is hard to let go of. Wanting Xander to be more accepting of Corrin’s choice of going back to Hoshido and, to him, abandon their family and everything they’ve had, just to have him continue to have his hidden awareness/familial observation be more forward completely betrays the fact that they’re still family, and Xander as a person should be allowed to have feelings and still love his sibling.

The point that’s apparently tried to be made is for consistency’s sake, but what good is this supposed consistency when it doesn’t make sense for a family member to just accept their sibling siding with their enemy. Ghast goes on to say that he’d rather Xander say ‘I’m sorry for keeping secrets from you and I’ll follow up on those claims about Garon, but please come back’, and that’s basically what he says, but instead of trying to understand why Xander would react the way he would he instead reduces Xander’s reaction to a childish ‘Get Bent, Traitor’.

Xander’s dedication to his family and his country aren’t mutually exclusive, at least to him. So when Corrin decides to break ties with Nohr, Xander sees it as them throwing away their family, friends, and every good memory they’ve had. Aside from the fact that Xander’s vehement defense of Garon is a result of having an abusive/destructive childhood, the shock of and surge of emotion from Corrin choosing to, from Xander’s perspective, betray everything they’ve had together is in my opinion, a perfectly fine reason for why Xander acts like he does. Ghast says this type of read of the situation is stupid, which isn’t a valid criticism and he doesn’t even go into why he believes so, and says it’s uncharacteristic, even though it really isn’t but the localization and his own insistence on having Xander adhere to a select few traits makes it seem that way.

Misplaced Criticism

-At 18:01 ”It’s alright for Xander to continue to try and persuade Corrin to rejoin Nohr, but he ought to be able to understand Corrin’s wavering loyalty. It’s hypocritical for Xander to flagrantly and ignorantly criticize Corrin for their decision and distance himself the most despite being made out to be the closest to them”

Why? Again this ignores Xander’s own character having thoughts and feelings of his own, but also wouldn’t it make sense for the one to be closest to Corrin to be the most affected by it, and ergo the have the most negative reaction?

-Talks about the Xander line at chapter 12 at 18:28, “Xander doesn’t make connections around the circumstances regarding Corrin’s betrayal after 5 chapters” He says this makes Xander out to be someone who has no observational skills, but in regards to what? Making connections to the reasons behind Corrin’s betrayal, leading him to question and go against his father? Well, that reasoning hinges on the fact that Xander is the person who would stand up to his father in situations like these in the first place, but he isn’t. Any lines indicating such are a result of the localization adding them in.

The criticism of Xander’s observation skills doesn’t make sense. In the context of the situation, where Xander is engaging a loved family member after they betrayed the Kingdom (which to Xander is synonymous with betraying the family), why are his observational skills being brought up? The reason why he’s engaging could just be summarized as “he’s angry and hurt that Corrin would fight their family”. A completely justified reaction to what Xander has been experiencing. But instead this is ignored in favor of criticizing Xander for not having the awareness of why Corrin betrayed Nohr, and the awareness of Garon being evil. Ghast says “Story Xander is unable to catch on that his dad is going bonkers” Simply put, it’s most likely that Xander IS aware, but keeps it locked deep down due to deep seeded denial. In chapter 27, (taken from English patch of JP version) he says as much:

Garon: Just what do you know about me...?

Xander: I should be saying that to you... Just what do you know about Father…?! ...All this time, I acted like I didn’t notice. No matter what the order, I obeyed. And that, in the end, you would return to your normal self. That’s what I believed. But, now, Father is… already…

Said denial had run so far, that it took Xander seeing Garon as a literal grotesque monster for him to finally break free.

Xander’s Way of Thinking

-At 20:05, “While it’s true that Garon is family and Corrin is seemingly betraying that family, Xander’s supports suggest that he would at least consider Corrin’s motivations before putting a sword through her'' 1) it’s not seemingly, Corrin is pretty much betraying her family by choosing one nation over the other, made worse by the fact that Nohr is synonymous with family to Xander, making this worse 2) it’s completely possible that Xander does understand Corrin’s motivations by this point, but is simply too angry and hurt by his sibling’s betrayal to care or acknowledge. ��It makes it seem like Story Xander has no critical thinking skills or has lost every ounce of empathy he has that’s established in his supports” or that this is just his reaction to these events, as I previously said? It’s not Xander lacking critical thought that’s the driving point here, he believes that Corrin going against Nohr, means that they’re going against him, their family, all of the innocent people in Nohr, everything they’ve had together.

This includes Garon, because as a result of his upbringing, he justifies any shitty action Garon does because he’s clinging to any good thing his father has done, and desperately denies that he could be evil, because ‘how could the person that raised and cared for me be as bad as my brother/sister, who threw everything our family had together in our face, says he is. I love my sibling dearly, but asking to betray my father is asking to betray my family, my country, and my people, I can’t do that’; that’s essentially Xander’s way of thinking. Extreme, yes, but people don’t always do what’s considered the right thing just because it’s the right thing. There’s a whole slew of factors I’ve already explained as to why Xander would be hard pressed to betray Garon.

---

Anyway, this is what I have for today. There will be 2 (maybe 3?) more posts in regards to the rest of my notes. I hope you enjoyed the start of this, please leave any replies and asks and reblogs on any things you liked about this and anything you think I could improve on!

#fire emblem #fire emblem fates #fire emblem if #fire emblem 14 #fe14 #xander fire emblem #marx fire emblem #fire emblem opinions

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cindylouwho-2 · 5 years ago

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RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, May 2 2020

Welcome to my latest summary of recent ecommerce news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & Etsy! This covers articles I came across since the late April report, although some may be older than that. I will do my best to keep posting these at least once every 10 days if not sooner.

Have any topics you would like to see me cover in more detail? Drop me a line here on Tumblr, or email me through my website. I’m also on Twitter and YouTube if you prefer social.

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES

If you sell on Etsy, this is your reminder that the Offsite Ads program kicks in on May 4, and people who make under $10K a year on Etsy can opt out if they want to avoid the additional fees. I have a summary here.

Issues with mail delivery during the pandemic continue. Canada Post has suspended on time delivery guarantees and warns of December level volume. USPS is not shipping to 113 countries, including many APO addresses.

I am still interested in posting articles and lists of resources for small businesses and artists during the pandemic, so please pass on any good resources you know about. HubSpot did a page for Australia, and one for the United States. See my previous edition for a longer list.

ETSY NEWS

Mask sales have created a huge boom for Etsy, but also some busts. “Suddenly millions of people were logging on to Etsy, searching for masks nine times every second, the company calculated.The site was not ready for the rush….There are now 50,000 sellers on Etsy who have each sold at least one mask; 10,000 have sold at least 100. Etsy staff spent time calling the most popular sellers to weed out scams, but also to ensure well-meaning sellers were not over-promising.” There have been many threads from sellers whose shops were de-indexed due to both bots and to Etsy wanting to limit their sales until they catch up on open orders, creating a lot of complaints at a time when their customer service response is hugely delayed.

Some sellers report receiving listing credits for masks, although several who received money did not sell masks, and many others who did sell masks got nothing.

Another Seller Handbook post on what people are looking for while they are under lockdown (TL;DR: home decor, activities, bath & beauty) , as well as suggestions for how you can pivot your shop. They include the top search terms for each area; some examples: washable paper towel, garden, birthday gift, printable wall art, puzzle, board game, puzzle adult. “As shoppers transform their living spaces for multifunctional uses like working, exercising, and homeschooling, they’re looking for cozy comfort as well as fresh, on-season style updates that offer mood-boosting appeal….113% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for “home office...127% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for “indoor garden...“Face mask” was the top searched term for the last five weeks (as of April 23, 2020)” Finally, “In recent Etsy buyer research, one third of shoppers who anticipated purchasing on Etsy in the next three months reported planning to buy gifts.” [Although the article doesn’t mention this, I strongly recommend emphasizing somewhere in your shop that you can send the order directly to the gift recipient, if you sell giftable items but sales are down right now. I am getting a lot more requests for gift notes than usual, and more people are paying for tracking so they know when the gift arrives.]

A study says that 30% of Etsy sellers do not save for emergencies, and 74% want Etsy to help them when emergencies arise.

Two new features for users of Etsy’s USPS labels: free pick up requests, and easy customer return labels.

Etsy launched an exclusive collection with Joseph Altuzarra.

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES

Moz just came out with an excellent guide to keyword research that you all should at least bookmark to come back to later, even if you don’t do keyword research now. The introduction contains a good definition of long tail with a graph; “Only about 20% of the keywords people search for will be popular "head" terms. The majority of keyword phrases will be less-frequent, long-tail keywords.” There’s even a downloadable 2-page cheat sheet on the basics at the end.

There may have been a Google search update around April 16, but I am mostly posting this article for the graphs showing search volatility in the past 1-2 months; those changes in the second half of March into early April seem to be mostly user-driven due to the pandemic, rather than algorithm changes.

Backlinks are not all created equal, and time is sometimes one of the factors in weighting them. [text and video]

This analysis of near 12 million Google search results turned up some interesting correlations with ranking. Not surprisingly, sites in first place have many more backlinks on average than the other sites on the same page. It was a bit surprising to learn that page loading speed didn’t correlate with ranking at all (that may change once everyone goes to mobile first indexing in the fall), nor did using the keyword in your title tag. “Pages in Google’s top 10 results contain 65% to 85% of the keywords that they’re ranking for in their title tag. However, we found very little (if any) correlation between keyword-optimized title tags and higher rankings on the first page.”

Google may delay its move to complete mobile-first indexing by September, depending on how sites are managing due to the recent disruptions.

Some businesses are moving the money they spent on advertising over to SEO, because there is a longer-term payoff vs. a short term impact from someone seeing an ad on a given day. Good SEO can get you ranking on many search engines for years, if you are lucky.

(CONTENT) MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails)

Not surprisingly, the top times for social media traffic have changed during the pandemic; here’s an updated list.

Thinking of starting a YouTube channel? Here’s a beginner’s manual including screenshots on how to set it up, as well as tips on YouTube SEO & other marketing tactics.

Don’t know what to put in your email newsletters? HubSpot picked 17 examples they think are awesome.

Facebook rapidly revamped & expanded its video chat option to compete with Zoom & Houseparty, called Messenger Rooms. Note that “Room calls are not end-to-end encrypted, but Facebook says it does not view or listen to calls.” The are also working on the ability to charge people to watch live streams.

Twitter had a good first quarter but the stock still fell because it does not look like they are recovering from the pandemic effects very quickly.

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS)

As mentioned in my last edition, Google Shopping is now offering free listings on its US platform, and rolled out a bit early for some even though the start date was given as April 27. Your Etsy listings will not be shown in the free ads if you opt out of Etsy’s Offsite Ads program, and you are not allowed to add marketplace listings to GS yourself, but this may be something you are interested in for your website, if you sell to the US. Some tips on setting up Merchant accounts correctly for this here and here, and optimizing your listings here. If your standalone is on Shopify, they have instructions here.

As ad prices are dropping for some items on some platforms, it has become easier for small businesses to start campaigns, especially experienced online sellers who can now take advantage of the ecommerce boom. [I agree with this for the right types of items or service, but I don’t think it is going to work for everything.]

New to online advertising, and don’t know where to start? HubSpot has a good introductory overview here, with details on the main options available.

Google is offering ad credits to small & medium sized businesses as pandemic relief, starting in late May. Note that you need to have been running ads last year with Google to be eligible. .

Google Ad users will soon need to submit proof of identity & location, starting with US users. The move is to help prevent scammers and increase transparency. Early response to the announcement is mixed.

Facebook is no longer forcing advertisers to use its Campaign Budget Optimization, meaning businesses will continue to be able to set different budgets across all of their campaigns.

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING

If you have an ecommerce site built with Wordpress, here’s how to track your email newsletter clicks through Google Analytics.

And for your ecommerce site, the best alerts to set up in GA.

Bing Webmaster Tools has a great feature that tracks traffic to connected accounts other than your website or blog - but Twitter has been removed from this list.

There are far more Instagram analytics apps than I thought.

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS

Many ecommerce platforms/website providers are being pressured to reduce the fake COVID-19 disinfectants on their sites, including eBay, Facebook, Shopify & Alibaba.

There is a new app that lets buyers shop with multiple businesses who run their sites through Shopify, called Shop. Among other things, it will feature businesses local to the user: “A recent survey of global consumers by Ernst & Young found that 34% of respondents are willing to pay more for local products amid the pandemic.”

Shopify’s stock is flying high right now, and it has become the second-most valuable company in Canada, in part due to the surge of sign ups after the start of the pandemic.

Since page loading speed is important to buyer conversions as well as SEO, if you have a Shopify site, you will want to read about which themes are the fastest & slowest to load. A few are ridiculously slow, & you will want to consider your goals if you are thinking of using them.

Jeff Bezos has moved back to managing Amazon operations due to the pandemic. “Bezos was also personally involved in Amazon’s decision to suspend third-party vendors from shipping non-essential items to Amazon’s warehouses, helping ease the load on workers so that they could more efficiently ship goods like baby products, groceries, pet supplies and personal care products. He also signed off on Amazon’s move to halt tactics it normally uses “to encourage customers to put more items in their shopping carts”.

Meanwhile, Amazon VP states that Amazon has done a lot for sellers during the pandemic, including suspending “repayment of all Amazon Lending loans for sellers in the United States and the United Kingdom until April 30.” I guess that is why their profit fell to only $2.5 billion in the first quarter of 2020 despite their gross sales being up 29% due to the pandemic buying.

Amazon’s pilot program for verifying new sellers by video calls is continuing; contrary to previous reports, they say they are not using facial-recognition technology, but they are checking photo ID against the video call.

eBay has extended its suspension of most seller performance standard rules until June 19 for sellers in the UK. They are also extending their free listing offers, and after banning mask sales are now apparently envying Etsy’s sales and are encouraging sellers to make fabric masks.They are also planning a way to confirm sales that involve local pickups [podcast & transcript].

eBay had lower 1st quarter results than they & others had predicted, so the stock went down. Here is the call transcript for those interested.

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE

The pandemic sales trends have switched from hoarding essentials to food & home comfort items. “As spring eased toward summer, cooking at home also began to include gardening. "We see continued growth in gardening," said Ventry. ... Growing herbs, he said, played well with the home cooking trend, too. "We saw similar trends from 2008 to 2010, during the recession."

Ecommerce sales are way up, perhaps 50% up in the US right now, and some of these people will continue their increased online shopping, so it is a good time to launch many types of new campaigns. (warnings - some “not safe for work” language)

HubSpot has been producing a weekly pandemic report on its customers core business stats, such as website traffic & sales rates. They speculate that we might be seeing a bit of an overall recovery as of last week.

MISCELLANEOUS

There are still more good work-from-home articles coming out that can also be relevant for those of us who have been doing this for a while now. Using a schedule to be more productive is a common topic. As is managing to be productive with kids around.

#SEO #search engine marketing #EtsyNews #statistics #Ecommerce #smallbiz #Onlinemarketing

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syncogon · 7 years ago

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[QZGS Prequel TL] Ch 8: Inheritance

(info post and links for the translations of the QZGS prequel, 巅峰荣耀 Top Glory)

summary: Thanks to a contribution of rare materials from a mysterious benefactor, a silver weapon for Troubling Rain has been completed. The time has come for the Sword and Curse to lead Blue Rain to glory.

(This is only a short chapter, and I’d already mostly translated it in my Summer Days of Blue Rain, but for completeness I figured I should clean it up and post it here. Normal disclaimers apply. Read/comment/enjoy!)

Translated by: Syncogon

“They won, they won again!”

“Who won?”

“Tiny Herb, of course it’s Tiny Herb!”

On the television, on the computer, in the Glory game, game forums, Weibo, QQ groups…

Anywhere where people gathered, anywhere where there were Glory players, the news of Tiny Herb’s victory spread like an exploding stove.

Glory Professional Alliance Season 3, in the final round of the regular season, the highly eye-catching Tiny Herb didn’t disappoint. Even when they had already secured their spot in the playoffs, they still played seriously to earn the last victory in the regular season, entering the playoffs at third place.

Tiny Herb wasn’t new to the playoffs, but this Tiny Herb, in their eyes, was an entirely new Tiny Herb.

And in reality, they had only switched one person.

Tiny Herb’s captain, the controller of core character Vaccaria, was now changed to a new person. And this new player’s name, along with his title, had echoed through the entirety of Glory from early on.

The Magician, Wang Jiexi.

This was a title that belonged to him, entirely unrelated to the character he controlled. His brilliant, incredible play was like magic. Let alone the ordinary gamers who wished to imitate it, even among the pros there was no one who could fathom the mystery. The experience of the seniors unraveled in front of this never-before-seen playstyle, and one expert after another fell to Wang Jiexi’s Vaccaria.

He was a rookie. In the beginning, they called him a challenger.

But now, at the end of the season, the challenger had quietly become the conqueror.

True, Wang Jiexi didn’t win every single battle. But only the Arena had ever had that kind of win record, and there was no way to surpass Ye Qiu there.*

In the Glory professional circle, people saw too many pro players rendered helpless in front of Wang Jiexi.

In the Glory in-game circle, the Witch accounts that sprung up trying to emulate his style were abandoned soon enough. They had no way of replicating Wang Jiexi’s Magician playstyle, and this kind of Witch naturally had no way of displaying the radiance they had hoped to see.

And now, the unique Magician was about to begin a new journey.

“Season 3 Playoffs, the Magician Arrives!” Huang Shaotian read aloud the headline of Esports Weekly. They were the greatest authority of esports media in the country; putting Wang Jiexi as the star of the final report of the regular season was proof of the anticipation toward this player. But after Huang Shaotian saw this title, he only spared a casual glance at the contents of the article before studying the player’s photograph in the article, and he revealed an unusual expression of melancholy.

“That guy, he’s already gotten to that level.” Huang Shaotian tossed the newspaper back onto the table. He tucked his arms behind his head, tilted back, and grumbled at the ceiling.

To the side, Yu Wenzhou was carefully studying a Glory battle and occasionally making notes in his notebook on the table. After hearing Huang Shaotian’s mutter, he paused the match and turned his head, his eyes sweeping across the large headline on the front page of the newspaper.

“The Magician. An accurate name.” This was his reaction after looking at the article.

“You…” Huang Shaotian was somewhat disappointed by Yu Wenzhou’s lackluster response, and he straightened in his chair. “Got any good analysis on him?”

“He-”

“Shaotian!”

Just when Yu Wenzhou opened his mouth, another young new Blue Rain trainee crashed into the training room, loudly hollering Huang Shaotian’s name.

“R&D just completed a silver weapon for Troubling Rain! Captain wants you to go look!” As soon as the youth caught his breath, he was already yelling these next words.

“What?” Haung Shaotian’s eyes instantly widened, and he leapt from his chair.

“Let’s go let’s go!” he yelled, already forgetting about the question he’d asked Yu Wenzhou as he flew out of the room.

Yu Wenzhou, who had just gotten out a “he,” could only smile and shake his head. He turned back to the computer, and was just about to unpause his video when the trainee that had called Huang Shaotian spoke again.

“Wenzhou, aren’t you going too? They’re saying that they only managed to complete this silver weapon because a mysterious player sent a whole lot of rare materials to Blue Brook Guild!” the youth said.

Hearing that, Yu Wenzhou froze. “A mysterious player?”

“Yeah,” the trainee confirmed.

Yu Wenzhou’s gaze drifted across the training room, landing upon that one computer that hadn’t been touched in almost a year.

After their former captain had made that simple announcement of “I’m leaving,” the seat he had used was left empty, his computer left idle. The Blue Rain members reached a tacit agreement that no one would touch his spot, as though hoping that one day, as suddenly as he had left, that man would return and take his place once more.

“But… you haven’t really left, have you,” Yu Wenzhou mused to himself, his mood like Huang Shaotian’s earlier, somewhat melancholy.

“Wenzhou, are you coming or not?” The other boy’s impatient voice cut into his thoughts.

“I’m coming,” Yu Wenzhou answered, gathering his notebook and pen and quickly walking toward the door. The trainee was holding the door open as he waited, and Yu Wenzhou noticed that the fingers of his right hand were moving restlessly on the doorknob, as though controlling a mouse or tapping a keyboard.

“Your hand speed’s pretty high,” Yu Wenzhou smiled, seeing that restless hand.

“I’d rather discuss that topic with Shaotian…” the boy said.

Yu Wenzhou chuckled; he was well known within Blue Rain for his inescapably slow hand speed, no matter how hard he trained. Of course, by now, no one would think to mock him for it. Despite this handicap, he still won many matches in their circle with this kind of APM. He demonstrated remarkable talent that was more than enough to make up for his weakness.

As for this trainee, he wasn’t really insulting Yu Wenzhou with that comment; he was simply the mischievous type. Captain Fang Shijing had mentioned that he liked this trainee’s style, and Yu Wenzhou suspected that this was a major reason for his recruiting this youth from the Challenger League into the Blue Rain training camp.

However, even just considering raw skill and potential, there was nothing to criticize about Captain Fang Shijing’s choice.

“If we only consider right hand APM, his hand speed is even higher than Shaotian’s.” This was one of Fang Shijing’s important evaluations of him, and indeed it was the case.

Yu Wenzhou didn’t otherwise respond to the trainee’s teasing. “Let’s go, Fang Rui,” he said to him as he walked out the door.

Blue Rain, R&D department.

For any professional team, the technical department was the most heavily guarded secret area. Information on how the team’s silver equipment was developed, or the specifics of their stats, could not under any circumstances be allowed to leak to the public.

After Wei Chen pulled the prodigy Huang Shaotian into Blue Rain’s training camp, Blue Rain’s technical team gained a new top priority – developing the silver equipment for Huang Shaotian’s Blade Master, Troubling Rain.

And today, they completed the most important piece of this most important work.

The weapon!

A self-made weapon belonging to Troubling Rain alone, a silver weapon, was finally created.

This wasn’t something that an ordinary Glory player could have made by just throwing together rare materials in the editor. Most silver weapons made by ordinary players weren’t any different from normal weapons, aside from the silver-colored name. But this was a true silver weapon, one that elevated its user’s stats far beyond what any normal weapon could hope to accomplish.

When Yu Wenzhou and Fang Rui entered, they found the room completely silent. Everyone was crowded around one computer, and most didn’t even bother to look up at the sound of their entrance. Those that did only glanced over before quickly turning back.

With effort, the two of them maneuvered through the crowd to a vantage point from which they could see the screen.

The screen displayed this precious weapon – a light saber, slowly rotating. The blade looked like a crystal raindrop, elongated and sharpened; it glowed with threads of pale blue light and wisps of icy mist.

The silence in the room lasted for an indeterminable amount of time before it was finally broken by Huang Shaotian, who, despite his talkative mouth, had only one word to say.

“Amazing.”

Standing right beside him, Captain Fang Shijing said to him, “Try it out.”

Huang Shaotian nodded sharply. In a flurry of movement, he equipped the weapon on his character and entered a match in the Arena.

When the battle began, no one paid attention to his poor opponent or his class; they only saw the flashes of blue light from the sword in Troubling Rain’s hand. They watched it dance, jump, kill. Blood droplets scattered across the ground as his opponent fell.

“This is fantastic!” This time, Huang Shaotian said three words, and he jumped up onto his chair. “With him, next season I’ll give them a show! What Battle God, King of Fighting, Blood and Blossoms, Magician… Just you all wait!”

“Alright!” No one moved to stop Huang Shaotian’s excited movement. All of the Blue Rain members, staff and players alike, had been awaiting this day for a long time.

This season, Wei Chen had retired, Fang Shijing had stepped up, Blue Rain hadn’t even made it to the playoffs. To outsiders, it seemed as though this team’s days of being a powerhouse were over, that they were now fading from the spotlight.

But no one at Blue Rain believed this.

Even if their record this season was poor, even if they were forgotten this summer. No matter what, they had faith that Blue Rain would have an era that belonged to them. And this era, with the birth of this silver weapon, was about to begin.

“It’s up to you, Shaotian!” one of the technical workers said, and others immediately voiced their agreement.

“Do you even need to say that? Of course!” said Huang Shaotian. But just that one battle wasn’t enough for him to fully try out this new weapon. He quickly sat back in his chair and entered a new battle, this time chattering away at the tech workers sitting near him as he experimented with his new capabilities.

By this time, Captain Fang Shijing had quietly made his way through the crowd to stand by Yu Wenzhou.

“Are you ready?” he asked, abruptly.

Yu Wenzhou turned to look at him. But Fang Shijing was staring out the window, gazing at that brilliant blue sky beyond.

“Yes,” answered Yu Wenzhou.

“Then it’s time to entrust this to you.” As he spoke, Fang Shijing’s gaze shifted down to his hand, and the account card it held. Without fanfare, this card was passed to its new owner.

“From today on, you are the captain of Team Blue Rain, user of the Warlock Swoksaar.”

*the original text said “诚然王杰希也不是百战百胜，但是竞技场上，从来没有这样的胜率，强如叶秋，也不可能。” which I read as something like “True, Wang Jiexi didn’t win every single battle. But the Arena had never seen this kind of win record before, and there was no way to surpass Ye Qiu.” But no matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t figure out how that sentence was true / made sense.

#quan zhi gao shou #qzgs #the king's avatar #tka #全职高手 #translation #mine #qzgs prequel #it's been a while and this isn't super new content so apologies #main novel takes priority #but there are only 3 chapters left! tbt when i said there was no way i'd do the whole thing lmao

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bonnergrady7-blog · 6 years ago

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The Easter Gym Rabbit Exercise.

Greater than 200 females went into the inner sanctum of Mumbai's historical Haji Ali Dargah mosque on Tuesday after trustees at the site lifted a restriction on women site visitors. The last time I wound up viewing a Martial Art motion picture from Thailand I suffered through the abysmal rubbish of Ong Bak 3. Now while Power youngsters is extra watchable than Ong Bak 3, it's absolutely nothing from just what you would certainly anticipate from the normal Thailand Fighting style motion picture. Each of us has a greater or higher power watching over us. As I mentioned previously, there are numerous summaries for this entity we the better power. It wants to turn out the innovation onshore as well as at sea, building systems with the capacity to produce hundreds of megawatts" of power within the years. Movie critic Consensus: Power struggles with excessive plotting as well as using overly acquainted by-the-numbers tale elements. Many of the gyms require their participants to adhere to the guidelines to be able to enter as well as use the facilities. No, in spite of popular concepts and also the normal urban legends, Pfeffer contends that the path to power is considerably different compared to the preferred ideas we were elevated to think. If you see that you are getting squeezed in order to pay for your health club Sydney subscription then you are bound to pull out after a couple of days. It is just a partial payment to realise that the mystery likewise suggests that political hopefuls such as Donald Trump - angry, manipulative harasses - are less most likely to acquire power to start with. When the power enters a solar power inverter, you can obtain 120 volt of rotating current (Air Conditioning), the exact same electrical energy required to power most residences. Depending upon the company, you may likewise have the alternative of choosing between an electrical (AC) and a battery powered (DC) stairway lift. Meanwhile, on the surface of the Moon, Lord Zedd as well as his spouse Rita Repulsa saw the Power Rangers. The majority of them think that the only method to accomplish those is by burning cash at the fitness center and exercising on all gym equipment. Exercises such as chain bench presses, where you loop a heavy chain over either end of the barbell when bench pressing, or banded deadlifts, performed by linking a band over bench, basing on completions and deadlifting can boost power. There are local authority as well as office gyms which are often more affordable as well as have easier charging structures. The power clean is a three-part power lift that includes a dive, decrease and also catch with a crammed weights. The PS20 becomes part of a EUR1.2 bn series of solar power plants based upon CSP technologies consisting of tower plants and trough-style enthusiasts - where water is come on tubes directly before parabolic mirrors that accumulate sunshine - and also a few PV panels prepared by Abengoa. It needs to be kept in mind that one-rep maximums could be computed using submaximal loads, based upon weight raised and also the number of repeatings executed. Also, when the youngsters were more youthful they couldn't constantly have buddies over after college due to the fact that I needed to be offered to own Aly to the health club.. At studiosante.de of their situation the Clean Power Plan's oppositions have actually paintinged a massive fiction: A picture of a steady, healthy and balanced coal-based power industry happily supplying everybody with affordable electricity, till the big negative EPA came as well as interfered with every little thing, compeling the sector into turbulent change, and ruining the American power economy. Like sprints, there are few workouts much better for lower/full-body power compared to jumping. It was crucial that health clubs inquired from local disabled people on how to enhance accessibility, he added. Additionally in the bundle are ten different laptop power tips, making the most of the possibilities that will fit your computer. If you are already speaking with somebody, as well as you get in the lift with each other, it is just about appropriate to continue chatting. And that didn't even take into account all the times a person close to the Rangers had been put in danger. It takes 5-6 years to construct a nuclear power plant, yet identifying the future of power generation, Vivint developed a virtual/future power plant in 2 years. Exactly how this man had been captured after a long pursuit, after the moor, how he had actually stood unrepentant as well as strong prior to the man that had power of life and death over him, how he chose not to take the oath of commitment to the king, just how he had been fired dead before his cottage, as well as just how his spouse had been viewer of her husband's fatality. If you're considering signing up with a fitness center - or possibly you just joined one - you're on the right track! I will think that no one analysis this is impressive enough to strike up a discussion with a stranger in a lift (such people are no question too busy - drawing the avoid kittycats, sending news release about the number of shopping days left until Xmas - to check out useful write-ups on modern rules). Which is a far better concept for your children' health and wellness - Remaining at residence as well as enjoying TV while chewing their favored snacks, or playing around a sporting activities health club playing evade ball as well as having a get on the playground. The Anderton Boat Lift is just one of just two working canal boat raises in the nation, the other being the 15-year old Falkirk Wheel in main Scotland. On the heels of last season's new lift and also 997-acre surface growth, British Columbia's Red Hill goes to it once again in 2014/15. Various other no-frills chains you could attempt consist of Fitspace, Pure Health club and Klick Fitness, which is had by Health and fitness First. Gold's Fitness center offers different physical fitness classes that are shown by certified instructors. Professor Utonium discovers that the girls have exceptional powers and super-human strength, as well as he wishes they'll be able to improve life in the crime-infected City of Townsville. After that before you return it see to it to have it in the same problem that you received it in. The rental of lift tools can be a cash saver however not if you return it late or in a broken condition. Un nouveau centre qui à la power plate vient d'ouvrir sur bourgoin jallieu: SUNLIGHT PRESQU'ILE. You might be certain you remained in a Greek city if you saw a theatre, a seminar, a political debate-- and a health club. Cardio devices (especially ones with those foam-rubber seats), weights and devices are crawling with germs and also microorganisms," claims Brown. Something that'll sure obtain parents mad is that these children are actually hit as well as shot at in this motion picture, while it makes the film a lot more exciting parents on the other hand will not be appreciating it. Power Children is not a poor look for a Martial Art flick from Thailand, while the Mauy Thai does not look as impressive as it in did in the original Ong Bak and it's virtually the exact same thing here. Lift it enables you to do some other tasks in the video game, such as playing the guitar with Rosario or Larry.

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dipulb3 · 4 years ago

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MLB TV review: Stellar baseball streaming hampered by blackout restrictions

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/mlb-tv-review-stellar-baseball-streaming-hampered-by-blackout-restrictions/

MLB TV review: Stellar baseball streaming hampered by blackout restrictions

For out-of-market baseball fans, MLB.TV is the only game in town to follow your favorite team night in and night out. As a Cincinnati Reds fan living in New England, I’d be able to watch only a handful of Reds games during the season — on the rare occasion when my small-market team makes an appearance on national television — were it not for MLB.TV. With the service, I’m able to watch nearly every one of the Reds’ 162 games from April to October, along with other out-of-market games every day of baseball’s regular season.

Wide device support

Easy access to in-game stats

Choose your own audio feed.

Smooth streaming

Don’t Like

Blackout restrictions can be frustrating.

Inconsistent experience across devices.

At $130 for the year, MLB.TV is too pricey for casual fans but certainly worth it for serious baseball geeks who live outside their team’s home market. And that’s the catch. For fans of the local team — say a Red Sox fan living in New England, a Dodgers fan in LA — subscribing to MLB.TV makes little sense. That’s because your local team’s games are blacked out on MLB.TV, which means you’d be better served with cable or a live TV streaming service, like AT&T TV, Fubo or YouTube TV, that includes the regional sports network (RSN) that carries the games.

Read more: MLB baseball streaming 2021: Watch your team’s games this season, no cable required

Not only are your local team’s games unavailable on MLB.TV, but nationally televised games also fall prey to blackout restrictions. Games on ESPN, Fox, FS1, MLB Network and TBS are blacked out on MLB.TV, which can be terribly disappointing when you attempt to tune into a game and are greeted with the blackout notice. It’s even worse for fans of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs and other big-market teams that are on national TV seemingly every week and, thus, constantly blacked out on MLB.TV. Even if you think you are sold on the service, be sure to peep your team’s national broadcast schedule before subscribing so you don’t find yourself singing the blackout restriction blues before the ivy turns green at Wrigley.

If you’re an out-of-market baseball fan willing to put up with the blackout restrictions, however, you’ll find plenty to like about MLB.TV. The live game streams are steady and smooth with few dropouts in my experience. They feature informative, easy-to-access stat overlays that enhance the viewing experience. From iPhones and tablets to PCs and TVs, there’s broad hardware support so you can tune into games no matter where you are. And you can listen to radio broadcasts with MLB.TV, which I’d say would be useless for every sport other than baseball.

Check out the MLB.TV app on iPad, phones and TV streamers

See all photos

In short, MLB.TV makes it possible and enjoyable to follow your favorite baseball team when you live far away from it. Being able to watch games live almost every day of the six-month season and hear your team’s announcers, the home crowd and even local ads connects you to your team. And after a year of chaos, pandemic and lockdowns, a summer of baseball could be just what the doctor ordered.

MLB.TV subscription options and extras

There are three ways to subscribe to MLB.TV:

Pay $130 to be able to watch out-of-market games live or on-demand. You can watch replays of your local team’s games, but there’s a 90-minute delay from the final out before the archived stream is available. Archived games are available sooner for out-of-market teams.

Pay $110 to be able to watch a single, out-of-market team live or on-demand. If you’re only interested in watching your favorite team play, then this plan can save you a few bucks. You sacrifice, however, the ability to switch over to a potential no-hitter in progress elsewhere or any other exciting matchup or moment that does not involve your team. I spend 95% of the time watching Reds games, but I still pay the extra $20 for the full package because FOMO is a real thing.

Pay $25 per month to be able to watch out-of-market games live or on-demand. This is a good option if you have doubts about your team contending this year and can see your attention waning along with your team’s chances by midseason.

You can pay by the month or for the full season.

Sarah Tew/CNET

With MLB.TV, you can also listen to home and away radio broadcasts. And baseball is one of the few sports, if not the only, that’s enjoyable to listen to on the radio. And some rare good news for the in-market fan: MLB.TV’s radio broadcasts aren’t subject to the blackout rule, so you can listen to your local team’s games live.

MLB.TV also includes a ton of video content, including classic games, baseball documentaries and old This Week in Baseball episodes. This year, a new show called Big Inning made its debut for MLB.TV subscribers. Starting at 9:30 p.m. ET each weekday night, Big Inning will offer live look-ins across all the games in action as well as highlights as they happen. It’ll feel similar to the NFL’s RedZone channel that jumps around the league’s game on Sunday afternoons.

MLB.TV is also adding pre- and post-game coverage this year, which is a welcome addition. After a big Reds win, I’m pumped up and ready to hear interviews and analysis, but my MLB.TV feed gets abruptly cut off before the on-field celebrations are complete. It’ll be a slow rollout with one or two clubs offering pre- and post-game coverage to start the season before being added to more than half the clubs by midseason, according to MLB. As with the games themselves, the pre- and post-game coverage will be available only to out-of-market viewers.

Two types of blackouts

MLB.TV lets you watch every game of the regular season that’s outside of your local TV market and also not on national TV. As a resident of New England, for example, I cannot watch Boston Red Sox games live on MLB.TV. Since the team I follow is a small market team that has not had much success in recent years, it is not picked for national broadcasts with any great frequency. As a result, I rarely encounter a Reds game blacked out on MLB.TV. I’d imagine the blackout restriction is much more frustrating to fans of successful, big-market teams, since their teams are shown regularly on ESPN and other national broadcasts.

These blackout restrictions mean an MLB TV subscriber is either an out-of-market fan like me who can’t watch his or her favorite team in-market, or a hardcore baseball fan who wants to watch even more baseball than what they can get from their local and national TV broadcasts. Were I not a subscriber to MLB.TV, I would need to subsist all summer long on box scores, highlights and the rare Reds national broadcast to follow my team.

Watch (and listen) on just about any device

No matter how big a fan I am or how much I enjoy streaming games on MLB.TV, I have neither the time nor the inclination to watch nine innings of baseball every night. My favorite part about MLB.TV is its wide device support that lets me catch parts of a game while I go about my day and evening.

I watch a few innings on the iPad in the kitchen while making dinner and a few more innings after dinner on my laptop when my son is playing on my iPad. And perhaps the last few outs on the big screen via my Apple TV. And when I can’t watch, I listen to the Reds’ radio call on my phone when I take the dog out for her evening stroll or during weekend yard work, which just so happens to coincide with Sunday day games.

MLB.TV offers broad hardware support.

Sarah Tew/CNET

MLB.TV is part of the free MLB app, which is available on a slew of devices, from phones and tablets to computers and game consoles to streaming boxes and smart TVs. Here’s the full list:

Mac and Windows PCs

iOS and Android phones and tablets

Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Chromecast streaming devices

PS4, PS5 and Xbox One game consoles

Samsung smart TVs

Xfinity Flex

You can get more details, including system requirements and specifics on supported models, on this MLB.com support page.

I tested MLB.TV on the devices I usually use to watch games: iPhone, iPad, MacBook Pro and Apple TV. I also checked out MLB.TV on my Roku TV and a Windows PC.

Stat overlays and radio feeds

My preferred device for watching MLB.TV is the iPad. All devices give you access to stat overlays, but the iPad’s implementation is best. Swipe from the left edge and you can see a pitch-by-pitch summary of the game. Swipe from the right edge for the box score. A two-finger tap brings up both info panels along with scores of all the games along the top edge and a game-status panel along the bottom edge.

Stat overlays work well on the roomy iPad screen.

Matt Elliott/CNET

You get similar overlays on a phone, but there’s only two and the box score panel that slides up from the bottom edge blocks most of the screen. On an iPad, you can call up all four panels and can still see most of the game going on in the middle of the screen. On a PC, there’s only a single stat panel that you can toggle on and off on the right edge of the player.

MLB.TV lets you watch the home or away video feed so you can listen to your team’s announcers. And should you prefer your team’s radio announcers to the TV announcers, you can change the audio feed so you can listen to the radio call while still watching the video stream.

The ability to choose my audio feed is one of my favorite features.

Matt Elliott/CNET

Watching MLB.TV on an Apple TV has a benefit not offered on my other devices, including Roku. On the Apple TV, when you tune into a game in progress, you are given three options: Catch Up, Start from Beginning and Watch Live. The last two are self-explanatory, and the first is the option I usually select. It gives you 90 seconds of highlights from the action you missed before taking you to the live feed. On Roku, you can only join live or start from the beginning.

The Apple TV app has a cool catch-up feature.

Sarah Tew/CNET

As much as I like watching on the iPad, there’s no option to start watching a game other than to join it live. Why can’t every device offer the three options as Apple TV when I go to tune into a game that’s already in progress?

On all my devices and using both wired and wireless network connections, games streamed smoothly. They occasionally get choppy when on Wi-Fi, but such instances lasted only a few seconds or a minute at most before returning to HD clarity. A few seasons ago, I would avoid watching on my Apple TV because the video quality looked poor when displayed on my HDTV, but now streaming games on MLB.TV on my TV look no different than watching a game on ESPN on my TV via YouTube TV.

Ad-free highlights, repetitive ads during games

When I miss a game, I can watch the Game Recap highlight package on MLB.TV the next morning or a slightly longer Condensed Game. Each shows plays from the game without additional commentary; you hear the call from either the home or away announcer. There is also a collection of individual highlights you can fire up to see the big hits and outstanding defensive plays.

When watching highlights, as a subscriber you do not need to sit through ads. The highlights play immediately, letting you jump from one to another without the fear of an ad inserting itself in the middle of your review of the previous night’s game. Individual highlights are also available during a live game on about an inning-or-so delay.

You will see ads during the usual commercial breaks between innings and during pitching changes of live games, and they will get repetitive. We are not even a week into the season and I can safely say I’ve seen the ad for Duluth Trading Co. underwear enough times to last all summer. On the other hand, I never grow tired of hearing ad reads for Skyline Chili during Reds games even though each mention of Cincinnati’s unusual take on chili makes me wish I were back in the Queen City.

Beware big-market blackouts

For diehard baseball fans who don’t live near their favorite team, an MLB.TV subscription is the only way to follow your team day in and day out over the course of the long, 162-game, six-month season. I don’t take advantage of any of the extra video content and still think my subscription is money well spent just for the ability to tune into nearly every game live on TV or the radio and hear the Reds announcers no matter if my team is playing at home or on the road. My only word of caution is for out-of-market fans of big-market teams.

You access MLB.TV via the free MLB app, but be sure to check out how the blackout restrictions affect the team you follow before subscribing.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Baseball’s inequity between big- and small-market teams makes it difficult to be a fan of a small-market club like the Cincinnati Reds because my team loses its young stars as they enter their prime and misses out on free agents to big-market teams that can hand out huge contract after huge contract. An MLB.TV subscription might be the only thing in baseball where it’s an advantage to be a small-market fan.

To fans of the Yankees, Dodgers and other big-spending, big-market teams, I would say enjoy your team’s abundance of pitching, your deep lineup, your regular postseason appearances but be sure to check its national TV broadcast schedule before subscribing to MLB.TV. There’s not another option for out-of-market baseball fans that delivers the sheer volume of baseball of MLB.TV, but a Yankees fan who lives far from the Bronx, for example, might be able to satisfy their fandom with a pay TV service that includes ESPN, Fox, FS1, MLB Network and TBS instead — the channels that regularly show your team’s games that are blacked out on MLB.TV.

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cophoenixseo · 5 years ago

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Grow your business website traffic in Scottsdale

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It’s a fact that even if you rank higher than your rival if they have more stars revealing excellent evaluations, this can make all the distinction in your conversions. For lots of service based companies, reviews are vital.Search engine optimization increases website traffic as the greater you rank, the more visitors you will have to your site and the more chance to drive awareness of your company. Though traffic from organic search is free, establishing presence requires time and effort, as Google has slowed down ranking results considerably over the last couple of years. The advantage of SEO is that unlike PPC, when you stop investing, there is a slow decay to the rankings. This does not indicate that you should not continue buying keeping your rankings, however it indicates that you don’t need to invest the same amount.As a result of the points above, organic search engine traffic by method of seo can supply an improved ROI over standard forms of paid media including PPC. While search engine optimization is at first not inexpensive or simple, it remains in the long term a lot more affordable than most other marketing strategies and delivers stronger brand awareness and traffic to your company site. Unlike paid search marketing or PPC, complimentary traffic from Google does moist up the moment you stop paying.This implies that SEO will generate more clicks from an organic search listing than from a highly placed paid ad. Keyword-level experimentation is required to make sure that you are not paying for clicks that you might get for totally free, however to maximize outcomes and that is certified leads, some organisations discover that presence in both paid and organic listings are required.Due to the fact that of the always altering and dynamic nature of the web, lots of company owner and marketing executives find that working with a specialist digital marketing and SEO expert is the very best way for them to ensure the best outcomes. Organic traffic can require time, and the proficiency had to beat those above you in the SERPs is considerable. Which is why, if you are just starting, and the keywords you are targeting are currently “owned” by high authority websites, you may have to reconsider your method.A qualified SEO expert must have the ability to help your team in establishing content properties to online search engine ranking domination. A top rated seo business will prove their worth by assisting you build safe, sustainable links so you can attain the website rankings that will propel your company to the next level.Click here to receive a FREE SEO analysis and see how search engine optimization can impact your business.See what local SEO in Scottsdale Arizona can do for your business website. Watch this video:

Grow your business website traffic in Sun City

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revwinchester · 8 years ago

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BattleXoom

Summary: The Reader and Charlie spend a night playing their favorite online video game.

Pairing: Charlie x Reader

Word Count: 1464

Rating: Teen and Up

Warnings: a little bit of cursing, allusions to sex/sexual activities

A/N: This is for week 6 of the SPN Hiatus Writing Challenge hosted by @thing-you-do-with-that-thing! There are 2 prompts in here, a line of dialogue, which is bolded, and a gif, which is inserted when it becomes relevant. Thanks for hosting the challenge this summer, Kari! Also, I made up the video game in this fic and any similarity to a real game/games is completely coincidental. I’m more of a single player, first person shooter with a solid story line kind of gamer myself (Fallout 4 is my jam right now).

BattleXoom -

“Hush woman and let me choose!” you playfully shouted at Charlie as you scrolled through the available characters on your screen, reminding yourself of the pros and cons to each one. It had been so long since you’d played anyone but Torrex and you were determined to branch out this time. It’s not like the two of you were playing for tournament points or anything, you were logged into your “just for fun” accounts so that you could mess around in game without fear of ruining your stats or reputation.

“If you really loved me there wouldn’t be a choice,” Charlie replied and you could practically hear her pout through the headphones you were wearing. She had already selected Raven, her usual character, and was waiting rather impatiently for you to make your character selection. “You’re already making me play on the laggy server because you’re stuck on hotel wifi. At least let me destroy some bitches tonight!”

You sighed into the microphone. “Fine,” you acquiesced, scrolling back to select your usual character, “but remember, the last time we played as Raven and Torrex on these accounts, someone recognized our style from Twitch or a tournament or something and called us out.”

You and Charlie were one of the highest ranking partnerships worldwide in BattleXoom, a video game that you both loved. After realizing how well you worked together in game, the two of you started competing in tournaments and eventually worked your way into bigger and bigger competitions, most recently coming in second at an invitation only tournament hosted by the game’s publisher at a major video gaming convention.

You had first met Charlie in an online forum for people looking for a partner to game with and, after playing a few rounds together, you realized that you lived two towns away and had decided to meet for coffee. You had been a little hesitant at first, you used an androgynous username because girl gamers aren’t all that accepted in the gaming world and neither of you had spoken to the other over anything but typed messages at that point. However, you had found instant chemistry on the game and hoped that, whoever this CharlieCodex dude was, he wouldn’t throw that away because you were a woman. You were pleasantly surprised to learn that Charlie was also a woman, that her name was short for Charlene, and that your chemistry carried over into real life.

The one thing you loved more than the game was Charlie and you knew she felt the same way about you. Sure, the game was was the thing that had brought you together - as well as bringing you a modicum of internet fame - but you were certain that the two of you would last well beyond BattleXoom’s height of popularity.

Normally, you and Charlie would spend a Monday night side by side in your home office, engaging in battle together before retiring to your bedroom and engaging in a different kind of activity together but your job had sent you out of town for the week and you weren’t due to return home until late on Thursday. So, instead of settling into on your comfy chair at home with your custom setup, your multi-screen display, and your girlfriend, you were sitting in a wooden chair, hunched over a tiny desk, and playing on your laptop with shitty graphics, all while using the hotel’s internet to connect to the only BattleXoom server that would support the casual gamer that you appeared to be this evening.

As soon as you and Charlie both selected characters you were transported into the game where you would have to battle against other teams of two for control of the map. The graphics didn’t move as smoothly as you were used to but you soon got the hang of things, systematically taking out your opponents as you and Charlie worked your way towards the center of the map over the next 30 minutes or so.

It was your signature style, one that Charlie had come up with, and, although many had tried, no one had really been able to replicate the way the two of you played the game with the same amount of success you had found. It worked for the two of you, though, and that was all that mattered as you took out one of the two remaining teams on the map. The last team was all the way across the island and you and Charlie directed your characters through the jungle towards them.

“I’ve only got the one screen tonight, Char. I’m gonna need you to tell me what you’ve got on these guys,” you requested.

BattleXoom worked in such a way that one half of the screen could display stats about the game and the players, giving you some info about your opponents’ statistics as the game progressed. You and Charlie had gotten pretty good at reading into those statistics and being able to extrapolate play style and experience level from the information the game provided. Without your dual monitors that you had at home, though, you had decided to disable that feature so you could have a better view of the game itself, trusting Charlie to tell you everything you needed to know throughout the melee.

Charlie filled you in on what to expect when you met the other pair that remained on the map. They seemed like a pretty good team, considering which server you were playing on and you were looking forward to the fight. You were lost in listening to her analysis and not paying as close of attention to the screen in front of you as you should have been and you ended up paying the price for that.

“Shit,” you heard Charlie say just as your health meter took a major hit.

Realizing that the other team had set a trap that you then walked right into, you both sprang into action, defending yourselves and lashing out with attacks whenever you were able. Eventually, you regained the upper hand, your experience with the game becoming exceedingly useful and increasingly evident.

“Should we do it?” you asked Charlie.

She knew what you meant immediately. “It” was a move that even some of the top teams in the world had trouble executing. Each character pairing in the game had their own signature “double down” move, as the game called it, and the level of difficulty varied depending on the pair you picked. Torrex and Raven had the most difficult double down to get right but the payoff was huge and you and Charlie had mastered it, though you seldom used it in free-play situations like this. However, after the trap the other team had laid, you were willing to make an exception here.

“Hells yeah!” Charlie exclaimed as she set herself up, counting on you to get into position as well. “On three!”

You both counted together, it was imperative that you both hit the right buttons at exactly the right time or the move wouldn’t work.

“One… Two… Three!”

Your fingers mashed the buttons in quick succession and you hoped that Charlie and you would be in sync even when separated by hundreds of miles. You were and you smiled as you watched the screen. Your character, Torrex, lifted Charlie’s into the air, holding onto her shoulder and her waist as he swung her in a wide circle. Raven kicked out and knocked your opponents onto their backs, killing one of them and seriously damaging the other.

Once Raven was back on the ground, it only took two or three more basic attacks to win the game.

After your victory was announced, you were transported back to a menu screen. “You want to play again?” Charlie asked you through your headset.

“I’m sorry, Char, I’ve gotta get up early tomorrow morning so I should probably call it a night,” you apologized. “I’ll make it up to you when I get home, though. Promise.”

You and Charlie said your good nights and signed off of the server and you shutdown your computer, putting it away before you got ready for bed. As you were brushing your teeth, your phone rang. You looked at the name on the screen and quickly spit out the toothpaste and rinsed your mouth quickly.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?” you greeted Charlie through the phone.

“Nothing,” she responded simply.

Charlie wasn’t usually one to call just for idle chit-chat. That was what texting was for, you had heard her tell someone once. “You know I love you and I love to hear your voice but why are you calling, then?” you asked.

“Victory phone sex. Duh,” Charlie replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

ALL THE TAGS! (forevers): @deathtonormalcy56 @supernaturalyobsessed @roxy-davenport @sumara62 @ginamsmith @gallifreyansass

Charlie Tags from @mrswhozeewhatsis: @mrswhozeewhatsis @vintagevalentinexx @thinkwritexpress-official @itsemmyb @beriala @crzcorgi @ellen-reincarnated1967 @deerlululucy @growleytria @thegleegeneration @SinceriouslyAmellPadalecki @sis-tafics @meganwinchester1999 @kittenofdoomage @prettyxwickedxthings @lilyoflothlorien @myfand0msandm0re @olitzisbae @iridianuniverse @shortandlongstories @ackleslaugh @roxy-davenport @chrisatplay @faith-in-dean @kreborn17 @for-the-love-of-dean @zanthiasplace @gadreelsforbiddenfruit @curliesallovertheplace @not-so-natural-spn @skybinx-blog @feelmyroarrrr @beachy2014 @deansleather @jotink78 @lucifer-in-leather @notnaturalanahi @howmanytuesdaysdidyouhave @babypieandwhiskey @mysaintsasinner @klaineaholic @supernaturalismalife

Pond Charlie Tags: @manawhaat @notnaturalanahi @bkwrm523 @roxy-davenport @jelly-beans-and-gstrings @deansleather @whywhydoyouwantmetosaymyname @mrswhozeewhatsis @wi-deangirl77 @deantbh @deanwinchesterforpromqueen @chaos-and-the-calm67 @memariana91 @teamfreewill-imagine @your-average-distracted-waffle @deals-with-demons @faith-in-dean @winchestersmolder

#spn hiatus writing challenge 2017 #hwc - week 6 #supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfic #Charlie Bradbury x Reader #Charlie Bradbury #reader insert #fluff #girl gamers #fics by Rev

48 notes · View notes

raystart · 4 years ago

Text

Technology, Innovation and Modern War – Class 9 – Autonomy – Maynard Holliday

We just held our ninth session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter, Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy.

Today’s topic was Autonomy and Modern War.

Catch up with the class by reading our summaries of the previous eight classes here.

Some of the readings for this class session included Directive 3000.09: Autonomy in Weapons Systems, U.S. Policy on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, International Discussions Concerning Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2), A New Joint Doctrine for an Era of Multi-Domain Operations, Six Ways the U.S. Isn’t Ready for Wars of the Future.

Autonomy and The Department of Defense Our last two class sessions focused on AI and the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (the JAIC,) the DoD’s organization chartered to insert AI across the entire Department of Defense. In this class session Maynard Holliday of RAND describes the potential of autonomy in the DoD.

Maynard was the Senior Technical Advisor to the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistic during the previous Administration. There he provided the Secretary technical and programmatic analysis and advice on R&D, acquisition, and sustainment. He led analyses of commercial Independent Research and Development (IRAD) programs and helped establish the Department’s Defense Innovation Unit. And relevant to today’s class, he was the senior government advisor to the Defense Science Board’s 2015 Summer Study on Autonomy.

Today’s class session was helpful in differentiating between AI, robotics, autonomy and remotely operated systems. (Today, while drones are unmanned systems, they are not autonomous. They are remotely piloted/operated.)

I’ve extracted and paraphrased a few of Maynard’s key insights from his work on the Defense Science Board Autonomy study, and I urge you to read the entire transcript here and watch the video.

Autonomy Defined There are a lot of definitions of autonomy. However, the best definition came from the Defense Science Board. They said, to be autonomous a system must have the capability to independently compose and select among different courses of action to accomplish goals based on its knowledge and understanding of the world, itself, and the situation. They offered that there were two types of Autonomy:

Autonomy at Rest – systems that operate virtually, in software, and include planning and expert advisory systems. For example, in Cyber, where you have to react at machine speed

Autonomy in Motion – systems that have a presence in the physical world. These include robotics and autonomous vehicles, missiles and other kinetic effects

A few definitions:

AI are computer systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence – sense, plan, adapt, and act, including the ability to automate vision, speech, decision-making, swarming, etc. – Provides the intelligence for Autonomy.

Robotics provides kinetic movement with sensors, actuators, etc., for Autonomy in Motion.

Intelligent systems combine both Autonomy at Rest and Motion with the application of AI to a particular problem or domain.

Why Does DoD Need Autonomy? Autonomy on the Battlefield Over the last decade, the DoD has adopted robotics and unmanned vehicle systems, but almost all are “dumb” – pre-programmed or remotely operated – rather than autonomous. Autonomous weapons and weapons platforms—aircraft, missiles, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), unmanned ground systems (UGS) and unmanned underwater systems (UUS) are the obvious applications.

Below is an illustration of a concept of operations of a battle space. You can think of this as the Taiwan Straits, or near the Korean Peninsula.

On the left you have a joint force; a carrier battle group, AWACS aircraft, satellite communications. On the right, aggressor forces in the orange bubbles are employing cyber threats, dynamic threats, denied GPS and comms (things we already see in the battlespace today.)

Another example: Adversaries have developed sophisticated anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities. In some of these environments human reaction time may be insufficient for survival.

Autonomy can increase the speed and accuracy of decision-making. Using Autonomy at Rest (cyber, electronic warfare,) as well as Autonomy in Motion, (drones, kinetic effects,) you can move faster than your adversaries can respond.

Autonomy Creates New Tactics in the Physical and Cyber Domains The combatant commanders asked the Science Board to assess how autonomy could improve their operations. The diagram below illustrates where autonomy is most valuable. For example, in row one, on the left, you don’t need autonomy when required decision speed is low. But as the required decision speed, complexity, volume of data and danger increases, the value of autonomy goes up. In the right column you see examples of where autonomy provides value.

The Defense Science Board studied several example scenarios.

Some of these recommendations were invested in immediately. One was the DARPA OFFSET (Offensive Swarm Enabled Tactics) program run by Tim Chung. He holds the record for holding a hundred swarms. And he took his expertise to DARPA to run a swarm challenge. Another DARPA investment was the Cyber Grand Challenge, to seed-fund systems able to search big data for indicators of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) proliferation.

Can You Trust an Autonomous System? A question that gets asked by commanders and non-combatants alike is, “Can you trust an autonomous system? The autonomy study specifically identified the issue of trust as core to the department’s success in broader adoption of autonomy. Trust is established through the design and testing of an autonomous system and is essential to its effective operation. If troops in the field can’t trust that a system will operate as intended, they will not employ it. Operators must know that if a variation in operations occurs or the system fails in any way, it will respond appropriately or can be placed under human control.

DOD order 3000.09 says that a human has to be at the end of the kill chain for any autonomous system now.

Postscript – Autonomy on the Move A lot has happened since the 2015 Defense Science Board autonomy study. In 2018 the DoD stood up a dedicated group – the JAIC – the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, (which we talked about in the last two classes here and here) to insert AI across the DoD.

After the wave of inflated expectations, deploying completely autonomous systems to handle complex unbounded problems are much harder to build than originally thought. (A proxy for this enthusiasm versus reality can be seen in the hype versus delivery of fully autonomous cars.)

That said, all U.S. military services are working to incorporate AI into semiautonomous and autonomous vehicles into what the Defense Science Board called Autonomy in Motion. This means adding autonomy to fighters, drones, ground vehicles, and ships. The goal is to use AI to sense the environment, recognize obstacles, fuse sensor data, plan navigation, and communicate with other vehicles. All the services have built prototype systems in their R&D organizations though none have been deployed operationally.

A few examples; The Air Force Research Lab has its Loyal Wingman and Skyborg programs. DARPA built swarm drones and ground systems in its OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) program.

The Navy is building Large and Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels based on development work done by the Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO). It’s called Ghost Fleet, and its Large Unmanned Surface Vessels development effort is called Overlord.

DARPA completed testing of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel prototype, or “Sea Hunter,” in early 2018. The Navy is testing Unmanned Ships in the NOMARS (No Manning Required Ship) Program.

Future conflicts will require decisions to be made within minutes, or seconds compared with the current multiday process to analyze the operating environment and issue commands – in some cases autonomously. An example of Autonomy at Rest is tying all the sensors from all the military services together into a single network, which will be the JACD2 (Joint All-Domain Command and Control). (The Air Force version is called ABMS (Advanced Battle Management System).

The history of warfare has shown that as new technologies become available as weapons, they are first used like their predecessors. But ultimately the winners on the battlefield are the ones who develop new doctrine and new concepts of operations. The question is, which nation will be first to develop the Autonomous winning concepts of operation? Our challenge will be to rapidly test these in war games, simulations, and in experiments. Then take that feedback and learnings to iterate and refine the systems and concepts.

Finally, in the back of everyone’s mind is that while DOD order 3000.09 prescribes what machines will be allowed to do on their own, what happens when we encounter adversaries who employ autonomous weapons that don’t have our rules of engagement?

Read the entire transcript of Maynard Holliday’s talk here and watch the video below.

youtube

If you can’t see the video click here

Lessons Learned

Autonomy at Rest – systems that operate virtually, in software, and include planning and expert advisory systems

For example, Cyber, battle networks, anywhere you must react at machine speed

Autonomy in Motion – systems that have a presence in the physical world

Includes robotics and autonomous vehicles, missiles, drones

AI provides the intelligence for autonomy

Sense, plan, adapt, and act

Robotics provides the kinetic movement for autonomy

Sensors, actuators, UAV, USVs, etc.

Deploying completely autonomous systems to handle complex unbounded problems are much harder than originally thought

All U.S. military services are working to incorporate AI into semiautonomous and autonomous vehicles and networks

Ultimately the winner on the battlefield will be those who develop new doctrines and new concepts of operations

We’re seeing this emerge on battlefields today

#startups #text #startup #advice #busieness #howto #news #tech

0 notes

michaelandy101-blog · 5 years ago

Text

MozCon Virtual 2020: Top Takeaways from Day One

New Post has been published on http://tiptopreview.com/mozcon-virtual-2020-top-takeaways-from-day-one-2/

MozCon Virtual 2020: Top Takeaways from Day One

Today marked day one of the first-ever MozCon Virtual! Even though we weren’t together in person, it was so exciting to get the best people in the industry together again.

So much of the day was different from what we expected six months ago, but the one thing we can always count on from our speakers is a MASSIVE amount of value. We’re talking insights, game plans, cheat codes — you name it, we’ve got it — and this year was no different.

Let’s get to it.

Sarah Bird — Welcome & State of the Industry

It’s always inspiring to hear from our fearless leader. Sarah hit on some of the changes that we’ve seen this year and how they’ve affected both us as people and us as an industry.

Sarah also laid out her thoughts on major SEO trends for 2020.

AAAAAND WE’RE OFF! #MozCon Virtual @Moz CEO, @SarahBird, discusses her take on the State of the Industry.

5 Timely Trends for 2020: 1. welcoming our robot overlords 2. entities 3. knowledge panel 4. localization of everything 5. new & ramping up search experiences

— James Wirth (@jameswirth) July 14, 2020

In closing, Sarah reminded us that we rise and fall collectively and that in the end, the world is our work. In difficult times we must all come together.

We’re all so happy to be able to create this virtual experience and allow for everyone to have something (somewhat) predictable to look forward to for two days.

Andy Crestodina — Thought Leadership and SEO: The 3 Key Elements and Search Ranking Strategies

Andy started off by walking us through the three key aspects of thought leadership: personal brand, taking a stand, and proving expert insights.

Then, very kindly, Andy laid out exactly what to do to fulfill each aspect.

Expert Insights

Create original research

Write books

Share novel ideas

Take a stand

Have a strong opinion

Don’t shy away from controversy

Inspire others

Build a personal brand

Have a social following

Be cited by others

Be influential

This presentation was 163 slides of actionable insights. It’s definitely one that we’ll have to watch a few times over!

#Mozcon thank goodness I can rewatch this content. @crestodina gave so much great knowledge. I’ll have to watch again and again.#winning

— Seth @ Goldstein Media (@GoldsteinMedia) July 14, 2020

Shannon McGirk — Great Expectations: The Truth About Digital PR Campaigns

Shannon came to set us straight: we aren’t showing the full picture when it comes to Digital PR, and it’s quite toxic.

She started out by showing a few of her own tweets and pointing out that she rarely, if ever, shares anything about campaigns that don’t “go viral”.

Shannon explained that we talk about Digital PR campaigns as if the majority of them are “huge wins”. The reality, however, is that most of our campaigns will be steady performers and the huge wins are actually just anomalies.

How we talk about campaigns:

How campaigns actually perform:

Aira put out a state of digital PR study and found that most campaigns only got between one and 20 links. When Shannon broke down the numbers for Aira, they were consistent: about 17 links were gained per campaign!

What do we do about this? Shannon challenged us to take as much time looking into what didn’t work as we do looking into what did work.

Using a custom made success matrix, Shannon and her team were able to spot the trends for both “successful” and “not successful” campaigns and implement plans accordingly.

Her parting strategy:

Take off the pressure of “virality” and focus on steady performers and fails.

Realize that steady performers can consistently impact weighty SEO KPIs.

Use the success matrix to review campaigns and catch trends early.

Robin Lord — Whatever You Do, Put Billboards in Seattle: Getting Brand Awareness Data from Google

Wow! Our minds are still blown from this presentation. Robin took us through some extremely valuable workflows for collecting and analyzing data.

When it comes to determining the success of your “brand,” the numbers aren’t straightforward. There are a lot of data points to take into consideration. In fact, Robin started off by asking us if we used multiple datasets, collected data on our competitors, and got granular. Needless to say, many of us knew we were in for a ride.

Need? Brand interest data.

Your new best friends? Google Trends. Census Data. Google Ads.

This analysis is blowing my mind a little bit (ok, a lot) ????#MozCon

— Meisha Bochicchio (@MarketingMeisha) July 14, 2020

Honestly, this presentation was so jam-packed with information that we had a hard time keeping up! Thankfully, at the end of his presentation, Robin laid out step-by-step instructions on how he collected, compiled, and analyzed all of this data.

Alexis Sanders — The Science of Seeking Your Customer

Determining your audience is about more than demographics and affinity data; it’s about truly understanding your audience as people.

Alexis took us through four questions we should try to answer when defining our audience:

What’s the key information?

What are they like at their core?

How do they choose products?

What’s their relationship with technology?

She even provided a list of free and paid resources that anyone can use to collect this information.

Takeaways via @alexisksanders 1. Make use of first, second and third-party information 2. Ask questions on Google Discover 3. Try Sparktoro -new tool for me! 4. Map your users’ journey againts content 6. Today is change and learning fast#MozCon #marketing pic.twitter.com/DH80dThomS

— Jackie Jiménez (@Jackiecr86) July 14, 2020

Alexis also explained that audience research is not something that happens only once (at the beginning of a campaign), but instead should inform the entire customer journey.

Her parting words encouraged us to learn fast and become in-tune with the constant change, instead of always trying to guess correctly!

Phillip Nottingham — How to Build a Global Brand Without a Global Budget

The marketing funnel is broken, we all know that. But if we aren’t focusing on getting people to work down a funnel, what are we working towards? Building our brand. Right. Well, how do we go about doing that?

Phil blew our minds with insights on how he helped Wistia change their mindset when it came to creating “brand awareness.” The first step was to stop calling it brand awareness and instead call it brand affinity.

Building an affinity to a brand means spending time with a brand. A KPI that usually gets lost in the mix of impressions, clicks, etc.

In his presentation, Phil breaks down the exact method he used with Wistia to get people to spend as much time on the site watching four videos as they did reading all 1,170 blogs.

Greg Gifford shared a great summary slide here:

Your new brand marketing strategy:@philnottingham #mozcon pic.twitter.com/kNjvhPtzTW

— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 14, 2020

Dr. Pete — Moving Targets: Keywords in Crisis

We were so thrilled to have Dr. Pete back to speak at his NINTH MozCon this year. While this year’s conference was unlike any other, his presentation was just as insightful.

Dr. Pete talked all about spotting trends. Nothing about this year could have been predicted. There was no way that hair salons could have predicted that “how to cut hair” was going to be an opportunity keyword.

However, there is still a way to capitalize on these opportunities as we spot them.

Dr. Pete showed us exactly how we can use tools that we’re familiar with, and a few that we might not be familiar with, to spot trends and turn them into opportunities including Google Trends, Pinterest, Twitter search, and even Boing Boing Store.

There were some real gems in this presentation!

In Twitter Advanced Search, restrict to your language, relevant date ranges, and set a number of minimum likes. Go lower on that last one than you think – but this way you won’t get every random tweet on the topic@dr_pete #MozCon

— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 14, 2020

Needless to say, Dr. Pete has officially gone nine straight years impressing MozCon.

Francine Rodriguez — Let It Go: How to Embrace Automation and Get Way More Done

2020 has really come out swinging. Francine voiced exactly what we were all thinking: “that’s enough!”

We have enough to worry about, do we really need to keep adding to the list?

When it comes to search engine marketing, there are a lot of moving parts and it can be excruciating to try and keep up with it all. There is a solution though: ROBOTS! (Someone call Roger!)

Google is constantly learning, so why not let them leverage their new knowledge?

Francine walked us through the different areas of PPC automation:

Bidding

Ad copy

Smart campaigns

Keyword matching

If you’re looking for a great example of letting go and embracing automation, Microsoft Ads is a good place to go. They allow you to import all of your Google Ads right into Microsoft ads so they can start running right away.

Rob Ousbey — A Novel Approach to Scraping Websites

What do we even say about this presentation? Rob is one of a kind.

If you take a look at the #MozCon feed on Twitter, you’ll notice far fewer people live-tweeting — that’s because they were busy taking notes!

Actual footage of me watching this session with @RobOusbey…

#MozCon pic.twitter.com/TwH6jgmkAK

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 14, 2020

Rob showed us how he scrapes websites (including the big G) in seconds using a few lines of code. He walked us through every piece of code needed to scrape G2, Google, and even Google’s Lighthouse tool.

He wrapped it all up by showing off exactly what he did to integrate Lighthouse data into Moz Pro’s SERP analysis.

Again, this is going to be one of those presentations that you have to rewatch multiple times. Or maybe even at half-speed!

Ross Simmonds — Designing a Content Engine: Going from Ideation to Creation to Distribution

We closed out day one with the Coolest of Cool.

Ross came in hot with some Disney references to make us think.

Disney movies — where do the storylines usually come from? Other stories!

In recent years we’ve seen Disney “revise” their previous movies to make them fit today’s world. And actually, some of the original Disney movies were “remixes” of Shakespeare’s plays.

Ross loves his four Rs (revise, remix, remove, redirect), and this year he gave us even more actionable plans.

This closing session really encouraged us to put on our “Sherlock Homeboy” hat and get curious about what others are doing, and how we can do it better.

A few places to find inspiration for innovation that Ross mentioned:

Your favorite website’s site map

Wayback machine for industry leaders’ sites

Wikipedia

There’s so much to do

For now, we’re calling it a day and getting some rest because we get to do it all again tomorrow!

If you want to access the speaker slides, you can sign in with your Moz Community credentials and download them on this page.

If you did join us today, what was your favorite session? Your biggest takeaway? We can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

Source link

#General

0 notes

isearchgoood · 5 years ago

Text

MozCon Virtual 2020: Top Takeaways from Day One

Posted by cheryldraper

Today marked day one of the first-ever MozCon Virtual! Even though we weren’t together in person, it was so exciting to get the best people in the industry together again.

Let’s get to it.

Sarah Bird — Welcome & State of the Industry

It’s always inspiring to hear from our fearless leader. Sarah hit on some of the changes that we’ve seen this year and how they’ve affected both us as people and us as an industry.

Sarah also laid out her thoughts on major SEO trends for 2020.

AAAAAND WE'RE OFF! #MozCon Virtual @Moz CEO, @SarahBird, discusses her take on the State of the Industry. 5 Timely Trends for 2020: 1. welcoming our robot overlords 2. entities 3. knowledge panel 4. localization of everything 5. new & ramping up search experiences

— James Wirth (@jameswirth) July 14, 2020

In closing, Sarah reminded us that we rise and fall collectively and that in the end, the world is our work. In difficult times we must all come together.

We’re all so happy to be able to create this virtual experience and allow for everyone to have something (somewhat) predictable to look forward to for two days.

Andy Crestodina — Thought Leadership and SEO: The 3 Key Elements and Search Ranking Strategies

Andy started off by walking us through the three key aspects of thought leadership: personal brand, taking a stand, and proving expert insights.

Then, very kindly, Andy laid out exactly what to do to fulfill each aspect.

Expert Insights

Create original research

Write books

Share novel ideas

Take a stand

Have a strong opinion

Don’t shy away from controversy

Inspire others

Build a personal brand

Have a social following

Be cited by others

Be influential

This presentation was 163 slides of actionable insights. It’s definitely one that we’ll have to watch a few times over!

#Mozcon thank goodness I can rewatch this content. @crestodina gave so much great knowledge. I'll have to watch again and again.#winning

— Seth @ Goldstein Media (@GoldsteinMedia) July 14, 2020

Shannon McGirk — Great Expectations: The Truth About Digital PR Campaigns

Shannon came to set us straight: we aren’t showing the full picture when it comes to Digital PR, and it’s quite toxic.

She started out by showing a few of her own tweets and pointing out that she rarely, if ever, shares anything about campaigns that don’t “go viral”.

How we talk about campaigns:

How campaigns actually perform:

What do we do about this? Shannon challenged us to take as much time looking into what didn’t work as we do looking into what did work.

Using a custom made success matrix, Shannon and her team were able to spot the trends for both “successful” and “not successful” campaigns and implement plans accordingly.

Her parting strategy:

Take off the pressure of “virality” and focus on steady performers and fails.

Realize that steady performers can consistently impact weighty SEO KPIs.

Use the success matrix to review campaigns and catch trends early.

Robin Lord — Whatever You Do, Put Billboards in Seattle: Getting Brand Awareness Data from Google

Wow! Our minds are still blown from this presentation. Robin took us through some extremely valuable workflows for collecting and analyzing data.

Need? Brand interest data. Your new best friends? Google Trends. Census Data. Google Ads. This analysis is blowing my mind a little bit (ok, a lot) ????#MozCon

— Meisha Bochicchio (@MarketingMeisha) July 14, 2020

Alexis Sanders — The Science of Seeking Your Customer

Determining your audience is about more than demographics and affinity data; it’s about truly understanding your audience as people.

Alexis took us through four questions we should try to answer when defining our audience:

What’s the key information?

What are they like at their core?

How do they choose products?

What’s their relationship with technology?

She even provided a list of free and paid resources that anyone can use to collect this information.

Takeaways via @alexisksanders 1. Make use of first, second and third-party information 2. Ask questions on Google Discover 3. Try Sparktoro -new tool for me! 4. Map your users' journey againts content 6. Today is change and learning fast#MozCon #marketing pic.twitter.com/DH80dThomS

— Jackie Jiménez (@Jackiecr86) July 14, 2020

Alexis also explained that audience research is not something that happens only once (at the beginning of a campaign), but instead should inform the entire customer journey.

Her parting words encouraged us to learn fast and become in-tune with the constant change, instead of always trying to guess correctly!

Phillip Nottingham — How to Build a Global Brand Without a Global Budget

Building an affinity to a brand means spending time with a brand. A KPI that usually gets lost in the mix of impressions, clicks, etc.

In his presentation, Phil breaks down the exact method he used with Wistia to get people to spend as much time on the site watching four videos as they did reading all 1,170 blogs.

Greg Gifford shared a great summary slide here:

Your new brand marketing strategy:@philnottingham #mozcon pic.twitter.com/kNjvhPtzTW

— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 14, 2020

Dr. Pete — Moving Targets: Keywords in Crisis

We were so thrilled to have Dr. Pete back to speak at his NINTH MozCon this year. While this year’s conference was unlike any other, his presentation was just as insightful.

However, there is still a way to capitalize on these opportunities as we spot them.

There were some real gems in this presentation!

In Twitter Advanced Search, restrict to your language, relevant date ranges, and set a number of minimum likes. Go lower on that last one than you think - but this way you won’t get every random tweet on the topic@dr_pete #MozCon

— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 14, 2020

Needless to say, Dr. Pete has officially gone nine straight years impressing MozCon.

Francine Rodriguez — Let It Go: How to Embrace Automation and Get Way More Done

2020 has really come out swinging. Francine voiced exactly what we were all thinking: “that’s enough!”

We have enough to worry about, do we really need to keep adding to the list?

When it comes to search engine marketing, there are a lot of moving parts and it can be excruciating to try and keep up with it all. There is a solution though: ROBOTS! (Someone call Roger!)

Google is constantly learning, so why not let them leverage their new knowledge?

Francine walked us through the different areas of PPC automation:

Bidding

Ad copy

Smart campaigns

Keyword matching

Rob Ousbey — A Novel Approach to Scraping Websites

What do we even say about this presentation? Rob is one of a kind.

If you take a look at the #MozCon feed on Twitter, you’ll notice far fewer people live-tweeting — that’s because they were busy taking notes!

Actual footage of me watching this session with @RobOusbey... #MozCon pic.twitter.com/TwH6jgmkAK

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 14, 2020

He wrapped it all up by showing off exactly what he did to integrate Lighthouse data into Moz Pro’s SERP analysis.

Again, this is going to be one of those presentations that you have to rewatch multiple times. Or maybe even at half-speed!

Ross Simmonds — Designing a Content Engine: Going from Ideation to Creation to Distribution

We closed out day one with the Coolest of Cool.

Ross came in hot with some Disney references to make us think.

Disney movies — where do the storylines usually come from? Other stories!

In recent years we’ve seen Disney “revise” their previous movies to make them fit today’s world. And actually, some of the original Disney movies were “remixes” of Shakespeare’s plays.

Ross loves his four Rs (revise, remix, remove, redirect), and this year he gave us even more actionable plans.

This closing session really encouraged us to put on our “Sherlock Homeboy” hat and get curious about what others are doing, and how we can do it better.

A few places to find inspiration for innovation that Ross mentioned:

Your favorite website’s site map

Wayback machine for industry leaders’ sites

Wikipedia

There’s so much to do

For now, we're calling it a day and getting some rest because we get to do it all again tomorrow!

If you want to access the speaker slides, you can sign in with your Moz Community credentials and download them on this page.

If you did join us today, what was your favorite session? Your biggest takeaway? We can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

via Blogger https://ift.tt/38VQd7n #blogger #bloggingtips #bloggerlife #bloggersgetsocial #ontheblog #writersofinstagram #writingprompt #instapoetry #writerscommunity #writersofig #writersblock #writerlife #writtenword #instawriters #spilledink #wordgasm #creativewriting #poetsofinstagram #blackoutpoetry #poetsofig

0 notes

fmsmartchoicear · 5 years ago

Text

MozCon Virtual 2020: Top Takeaways from Day One

Posted by cheryldraper

Today marked day one of the first-ever MozCon Virtual! Even though we weren’t together in person, it was so exciting to get the best people in the industry together again.

Let’s get to it.

Sarah Bird — Welcome & State of the Industry

It’s always inspiring to hear from our fearless leader. Sarah hit on some of the changes that we’ve seen this year and how they’ve affected both us as people and us as an industry.

Sarah also laid out her thoughts on major SEO trends for 2020.

— James Wirth (@jameswirth) July 14, 2020

In closing, Sarah reminded us that we rise and fall collectively and that in the end, the world is our work. In difficult times we must all come together.

We’re all so happy to be able to create this virtual experience and allow for everyone to have something (somewhat) predictable to look forward to for two days.

Andy Crestodina — Thought Leadership and SEO: The 3 Key Elements and Search Ranking Strategies

Andy started off by walking us through the three key aspects of thought leadership: personal brand, taking a stand, and proving expert insights.

Then, very kindly, Andy laid out exactly what to do to fulfill each aspect.

Expert Insights

Create original research

Write books

Share novel ideas

Take a stand

Have a strong opinion

Don’t shy away from controversy

Inspire others

Build a personal brand

Have a social following

Be cited by others

Be influential

This presentation was 163 slides of actionable insights. It’s definitely one that we’ll have to watch a few times over!

#Mozcon thank goodness I can rewatch this content. @crestodina gave so much great knowledge. I'll have to watch again and again.#winning

— Seth @ Goldstein Media (@GoldsteinMedia) July 14, 2020

Shannon McGirk — Great Expectations: The Truth About Digital PR Campaigns

Shannon came to set us straight: we aren’t showing the full picture when it comes to Digital PR, and it’s quite toxic.

She started out by showing a few of her own tweets and pointing out that she rarely, if ever, shares anything about campaigns that don’t “go viral”.

How we talk about campaigns:

How campaigns actually perform:

What do we do about this? Shannon challenged us to take as much time looking into what didn’t work as we do looking into what did work.

Using a custom made success matrix, Shannon and her team were able to spot the trends for both “successful” and “not successful” campaigns and implement plans accordingly.

Her parting strategy:

Take off the pressure of “virality” and focus on steady performers and fails.

Realize that steady performers can consistently impact weighty SEO KPIs.

Use the success matrix to review campaigns and catch trends early.

Robin Lord — Whatever You Do, Put Billboards in Seattle: Getting Brand Awareness Data from Google

Wow! Our minds are still blown from this presentation. Robin took us through some extremely valuable workflows for collecting and analyzing data.

Need? Brand interest data. Your new best friends? Google Trends. Census Data. Google Ads. This analysis is blowing my mind a little bit (ok, a lot) ????#MozCon

— Meisha Bochicchio (@MarketingMeisha) July 14, 2020

Alexis Sanders — The Science of Seeking Your Customer

Determining your audience is about more than demographics and affinity data; it’s about truly understanding your audience as people.

Alexis took us through four questions we should try to answer when defining our audience:

What’s the key information?

What are they like at their core?

How do they choose products?

What’s their relationship with technology?

She even provided a list of free and paid resources that anyone can use to collect this information.

— Jackie Jiménez (@Jackiecr86) July 14, 2020

Alexis also explained that audience research is not something that happens only once (at the beginning of a campaign), but instead should inform the entire customer journey.

Her parting words encouraged us to learn fast and become in-tune with the constant change, instead of always trying to guess correctly!

Phillip Nottingham — How to Build a Global Brand Without a Global Budget

Building an affinity to a brand means spending time with a brand. A KPI that usually gets lost in the mix of impressions, clicks, etc.

In his presentation, Phil breaks down the exact method he used with Wistia to get people to spend as much time on the site watching four videos as they did reading all 1,170 blogs.

Greg Gifford shared a great summary slide here:

Your new brand marketing strategy:@philnottingham #mozcon pic.twitter.com/kNjvhPtzTW

— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 14, 2020

Dr. Pete — Moving Targets: Keywords in Crisis

We were so thrilled to have Dr. Pete back to speak at his NINTH MozCon this year. While this year’s conference was unlike any other, his presentation was just as insightful.

However, there is still a way to capitalize on these opportunities as we spot them.

There were some real gems in this presentation!

— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 14, 2020

Needless to say, Dr. Pete has officially gone nine straight years impressing MozCon.

Francine Rodriguez — Let It Go: How to Embrace Automation and Get Way More Done

2020 has really come out swinging. Francine voiced exactly what we were all thinking: “that’s enough!”

We have enough to worry about, do we really need to keep adding to the list?

When it comes to search engine marketing, there are a lot of moving parts and it can be excruciating to try and keep up with it all. There is a solution though: ROBOTS! (Someone call Roger!)

Google is constantly learning, so why not let them leverage their new knowledge?

Francine walked us through the different areas of PPC automation:

Bidding

Ad copy

Smart campaigns

Keyword matching

Rob Ousbey — A Novel Approach to Scraping Websites

What do we even say about this presentation? Rob is one of a kind.

If you take a look at the #MozCon feed on Twitter, you’ll notice far fewer people live-tweeting — that’s because they were busy taking notes!

Actual footage of me watching this session with @RobOusbey... #MozCon pic.twitter.com/TwH6jgmkAK

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 14, 2020

He wrapped it all up by showing off exactly what he did to integrate Lighthouse data into Moz Pro’s SERP analysis.

Again, this is going to be one of those presentations that you have to rewatch multiple times. Or maybe even at half-speed!

Ross Simmonds — Designing a Content Engine: Going from Ideation to Creation to Distribution

We closed out day one with the Coolest of Cool.

Ross came in hot with some Disney references to make us think.

Disney movies — where do the storylines usually come from? Other stories!

In recent years we’ve seen Disney “revise” their previous movies to make them fit today’s world. And actually, some of the original Disney movies were “remixes” of Shakespeare’s plays.

Ross loves his four Rs (revise, remix, remove, redirect), and this year he gave us even more actionable plans.

This closing session really encouraged us to put on our “Sherlock Homeboy” hat and get curious about what others are doing, and how we can do it better.

A few places to find inspiration for innovation that Ross mentioned:

Your favorite website’s site map

Wayback machine for industry leaders’ sites

Wikipedia

There’s so much to do

For now, we're calling it a day and getting some rest because we get to do it all again tomorrow!

If you want to access the speaker slides, you can sign in with your Moz Community credentials and download them on this page.

If you did join us today, what was your favorite session? Your biggest takeaway? We can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

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