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kawaiichibiart · 8 months ago

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can i get ur hcs for mizuki's transistion and their struggles w/ it... im also nb and i love their story and i rly wanna see ur pov on it <33 :3 hamster face BLEEHH!!!

Yeah, I can go into my HCs for Mizuki's transition and the struggles they faced. (also let it be known as a Global player, I don't know everything about Mizuki or what has already been confirmed about their gender and/or relationship with her parents, nor can I really speak about being trans and how coming out or trying to suppress your gender identity can affect you, remember this is all my HC ^_^)

A tldr for anyone who doesn't want to read everything: Mizuki's transfemme nonbinary. When she was younger, she didn't see the things she liked as signs she was a girl, and was even encouraged to enjoy them. However, due to issues she faced in school, they began to suppress that side of them, and even tried to convince themselves that they were a boy. It was only after she ranted to Rui, her only friend in middle school, that he asked her about being trans. She did a lot of research and came out to her family, who signed her up to Kamiyama Highschool as a female student. Mizuki still struggles with her gender identity, mostly when people ask about it and push her for an answer. She eventually finds new friends and meets people, who like her, don't identify with their birth gender. And as time passed and she meets more people, she finally finds herself in a place where, maybe, just maybe, they can come out. And they do, not to everyone (though eventually they do find out, minus Rui who already knew, but we aren't counting him), but to one person: her girlfriend.

Starting off, I HC Mizuki as mtf/transfemme nonbinary. She mainly uses she/they pronouns and will later on experiment with more and use multiple, but she/they is your best bet if you've just met.

They always had a passion for cute things, if asked as kid, she'd say pastel pink was her favorite color. They loved watching their mom and sister dress up and make themselves look pretty. And she wanted to experience that. She even had them style her hair to be like theirs, and used Yuuki's clips and bracelets. It was fun and neither minded when she joined in. Their dad would even smile whenever she showed off the way her mom painted her nails or the jewelry Yuuki let them borrow.

She didn't think she was doing anything wrong until kids in their school began talking about it and avoiding them. Whispers about how she was a weirdo for liking girly things. What was she? A girl? "You can't be a girl, you're a boy, dummy!" And these kids eventually began to talk to their parents, and their parents sent in complaints. And before long, Mizuki had to stop coming to school with the things that made her happy.

But that did nothing. Kids still avoided her. The few who tried to play with them or talk with them, were pulled away, because they couldn't risk catching any weirdo germs from Mizuki. They wanted friends, right? Hanging out with her wouldn't make them friends.

And yes, there were some kids who didn't care. Who still spoke and hung out with them. But every year, they left. She'd see them the following year and they didn't talk to her. And it hurt. It hurt so much.

At one point, they began to wake up and try to reaffirm that they were, in fact, a boy. That one day, they'll wake up and be happy as their parents son and sister's brother. That she'll stop liking cute things and pastels and makeup and start liking things like working out, playing sports, darker and/or neutral colors. That she's just holding onto a phase. She stops borrowing her sister's jewelry. She stops asking her mom to make her look as pretty as she looks.

But she can't stop thinking about how uncomfortable she is. How she hates being called a boy. How being called "young man" makes her feel sick. They want nothing more than to wear the female uniform. That she could enjoy what she enjoyed without being judged for it.

Was it so wrong for her to like what she liked? To feel the way she did?

It's why meeting and befriending Rui was so important to them. Why their one year apart finalized the decision they were going to take.

Rui was the first person to connect with Mizuki in a way that others didn't. He was an outcast, much like she was. People thought he was weird and that his shows would bring more harm than good. And, okay, she can see why they'd be concerned, but surely Rui would listen to their concerns and be willing to make changed to ensure they were safe, right?

She could talk to Rui, he didn't judge her. He didn't tell her to stop whining, to stop crying. He listened day after day, until he asked the question:

Have you ever considered that you're trans?

No. No, she hadn't. Didn't everyone feel that way? Like they didn't belong in their bodies or that what they liked affected their gender? Pastels and makeup and clothing design are all, well, girly things, right?

Again, no. Rui loves makeup. He loves dressing up. He keeps his hair longer than most other boys because he likes how pretty he looks. But he never felt like a girl. He always felt like a boy. He just didn't like to be put into a mold. Gender non-conforming, as he puts it.

Could she be that? She could, but he can't really see her using that label. Not because of it's meaning, but because of what she's doing. Suppressing her real identity but trying to be the boy she never was. And, should she ever decide to embrace who she is, she likely won't want to use it and prefer being referred to as a feminine. He could be wrong, and he tells them that labels aren't necessary. That they can try them on, change them, and try them on again. But ultimately, it was her choice.

And she made her choice. She listened to her friend, who was off to highschool. She read and researched everything she could about being transgender. She listened to podcast, watched videos about transitioning.

If she cried as she struggled to come out to her parents, and later on her sister, well, no one had to know.

While it was too late to change things at her current school, she was immediately signed up as a girl in Kamiyama. When their uniform arrived, she tried it on immediately and felt their smile before they saw it. She was just, so happy.

That last remaining year was hard. She began to grow out her hair, she ignored the comments she got about it. She began to slowly incorporate the things she liked in her wardrobe again. She started designing again. And when she was gifted her first mannequin and sewing machine, she began to make her own clothes. Add things to her current clothing.

And then, her first year of highschool began. She felt nervous but overall, it was nice. She thinks maybe she can make friends with a girl named An. It'd be nice to have a friend outside of Nightcord, well, if they were even friends (she hopes they were friends). It was a pleasant surprise to see Rui was attending Kamikou. She thought he went to a different one (she's not sure if him being expelled is true or just a rumor).

But, some things didn't change. She still got comments about her appearance. About why they chose to wear what they wear. About why they didn't look like the other girls did. One person even motioned to their chest when they asked, which made her uncomfortable and desperate to leave. People pried and tried to get them to answer. And it became too much.

So, they began to cut class, some days they never even went to school. Her parents were concerned but they knew that things wouldn't be easy. That what Mizuki was going through would be difficult and face several hurdles, even after she fully transitioned. They would still get comments and they would get to her. So they laid off her skipping school. So long as she didn't fall behind, if she needed a day off, she could have a day off. If she needed either of them with her, they'll call off work. They just wanted her to be okay. To be happy. If it came down to it, they would pull her out of Kamiyama Highschool and enroll her into an online class.

Mizuki does, eventually, go back to Kamikou and is treated to the sight of one An Shiraishi digging into the students who had invaded her privacy, even while she was away. She watched and listened as her classmate tore into the boys and girls until a teacher stepped in. She blinked back her tears and thanked An out loud, laughing a bit when the other girl jumped and turned around to face her ("It was nothing!! I hate people like them, nosy and in everyone's business.").

An began to spend more time with her after that. Rui also spoke to her once he found the time, asking if she was alright, how she's been since he last saw her.

While her parents were the first she came out to, Rui was the first person to know. He just knew and it was very evident by the changes in her appearance. He's happy for her.

He admitted not knowing what to do when she was being questioned the way she was. He was still considered a weirdo, but at least he wasn't alone in that anymore. A boy in his year had asked him to join his theater troupe and he had accepted ("I think you should meet Nene and Tsukasa-kun, actually. They understand your situation and would be willing to listen! Tsukasa-kun can even introduce you to Aoyagi-kun, who would also be willing to talk.").

She did, eventually, meet the three.

First, was Nene. Rui's neighbor and childhood friend. A shy girl but nice once you got to know her. While Mizuki wasn't sure how to begin, Nene let her know she didn't have to say anything yet. Coming out was hard. Rui had been vague when talking about their problems. He only mentioned that she was a bit like her. And she could only guess it had to be something queer. And she wasn't going to make them say anything until they were ready. Something Mizuki was grateful for. And she told Nene that she didn't have to say anything, but Nene insisted. She wouldn't have offered to tell her if she wasn't actually ready to say anything.

She's a demigirl. For years, being a girl felt right and wrong. A part of her was girl. But that's it. Just a part. A small part as well. Another part of her felt like a boy at times, but the biggest part felt neutral. Like she didn't even have a gender. She tried different labels in the past (nonbinary, gender fluid, gender queer, trans, etc.). But demigirl felt right and like it aligned with how she identified. If and/or when Mizuki felt ready, she was ready to listen. And Mizuki does open up, not about her gender, but about her interest in girls, something Nene is also able to talk about.

She meets Tsukasa and Toya together. It's an... interesting dynamic, to say the least. They don't know who to talk to first, how to even approach the subject, when Toya speaks up ("Kamishiro Senpai said you wanted to speak with us. He didn't say why or what about, but would it help if I knew already?").

He knew already? Turns out Nene is his classmate. Unlike Nene, who was a bit more open about her gender, Toya was a bit more reserved. Not enough that he wouldn't tell her, but enough that he wouldn't get into details. He was also demigendered. It's one thing he and Nene bond over. He's a demiboy to be specific. Feels only partially like a boy, mainly neutral. Mizuki is one of the few to know (if she heard Tsukasa grumble about...Har...Haru...Hari....Haribo??? what did gummy candy have to with anything?). She promised not to tell anyone.

She then turned to Tsukasa and asked if he minded telling her about his own identity and the labels he used. And he surprised her the most when he admitted to not using any. He didn't see the need to use them. If someone wanted to be with him, they had to accept who he was. His sister is like him in that regard. Neither of them care about labels, just about how people treat them. To them, clothes are clothes. Anyone can wear makeup. His sister, Saki, enjoyed being called handsome and young man, but she didn't label herself as anything that would indicate she was a boy, because she wanted to be known as Saki first and foremost. He loved dresses and gowns and owned several crowns and tiaras, but he wasn't identifying himself as anything other than his name and as a "WORLD FUTURE STAR!!"

Next to Rui and An, Tsukasa is the one Mizuki turns to the most. Rui has known for years, even before she acknowledge it. He was the safest person to talk to. While An didn't know, she was proving to be a good friend, listening as she ranted about whatever annoyed her and offering comfort whenever their classmates words stung. But Tsukasa was different in the fact he didn't care. It wasn't a big deal to him. She liked girls? Cool, his sister is dating her childhood friend, who is also a girl, and he's happy for the two. He admits to being somewhat interested in Rui (Oooooohhh~ "DON'T SAY ANYTHING TO HIM!") Sometimes Mizuki asked him about how he got to where he was. She didn't say outloud, but she wondered if he also went through something like she did. And in a way, he did. But where she has struggled to accept herself and tried to force herself into a mold she couldn't fit, he just, didn't have anyone. His sister as in the hospital and his parents spent most of their time either working or with her. He didn't have anyone to talk about it with. He was loud and obnoxious, surely she's heard the rumors going around ("Yeah, when are you and Rui blowing up the school again, I wanna ditch that day, thanks!")? He didn't really have friends until now, and the very, very, few he did, he didn't really see. Toya knows because he's his brother ("SINCE WHEN?!"), but beyond that? No one found out until very recently. And he's not ashamed about, and she shouldn't either. Like everyone else, he'll wait for her. And she honestly didn't think she would ever tell anyone other than Rui, and maybe An, sooner rather than later, but Tsukasa might be up there...("It's the older brother thing. He feels safe and comfortable," Toya would later tell her. Huh, she never saw it like that, but yeah, it did kinda feel like when her sister was home, like she was safe and cared for.)

And later on, months later after helping Mafuyu, both in terms that of saving them and helping them accept their own gender identity, she sits in her room and thinks about everything.

An, who jumped in to defend her whenever she could.

Nene and Toya, who were almost two sides of the same coin and opened up to her first without wanting or making her do the same.

Akito, who got into a fight because he heard people talking badly about them.

Tsukasa, who listened and offered his own experiences, somehow being the one she can relate to the most, despite how different they were in terms of experiences.

Kanade, who liked her for her and didn't ask her things.

Mafuyu, who became the first person Mizuki gave the advice once given to her. The first person she was able to help in terms of gender identity.

Rui, the person who was first to help her. To help her realize what she had been forcing away, hiding from sight. The person who she still thanked for being her first real friend.

Ena. Ena, whom she loves and began loving more when she said she would wait for them. No matter how long she took, no matter how much time passed by. She would wait. She would wait for Mizuki and be ready. She wasn't going to push her. She didn't care if it took months or years. She would wait for her.

After months of knowing her friends, finding things out about them, seeing them come out and be accepted, after finally, FINALLY, feeling safe enough to open up, that they decide it was time.

She was ready. They could do this. She could tell them. They've shown her they cared. They would never share anything she didn't feel comfortable with, what they did share was kept vague and open. They didn't mention her name unless they were talking to someone who already had an idea (aka someone in the friend group).

She sent the message before she could back down.

It was finally time to talk with Ena.

Some bullet notes:

I want Mizuki's parents to be accepting of who they are. I want them to see their daughter struggling and be okay with them skipping school. To see their child needs help and are willing to give them that help.

I think that, had they not forced themself into a mold, she wouldn't have gotten dysphoria. At least not bad dysphoria. But because she pushed herself into being a boy, it got worse and worse.

The sad thing about Mizuki's classmates when she was a kid, was that a good chunk of them also wanted to wear pretty things to school, but when their parents found out Mizuki was a "boy" they sent in complaints. They felt like she was "tainting" their kids. And they forbade their children from speaking with her. It didn't matter if she was a child, it was "unnatural for a young boy to mese around with things for little girls. Best have him learn not to use that stuff or else he'll become...one of them." And what's even worse is that many of them got into their kids heads, ultimately leaving Mizuki friendless until they met Rui in middle school and later on Nightcord, and An in highschool.

I honestly feel that Tsukasa would be the one Mizuki relates to the most in terms of their gender identities. Not because they're the same, but because they genuinely understand each other. Neither of them had friends until they met Rui and their respective group members. Both were seen as annoying and as someone you didn't want to be around. The first people they came out to were their families. Mizuki had a bit more time helping her family adjust and learn, while Tsukasa's family was still learning. And, as Toya mentioned, and later on Kanade (which she still doesn't get how that happened, it doesn't help that Kanade insists the Tenmas found her wandering in the park and decided to keep her, but whatever, she knows it was probably something else), it was the big brother thing. He feels safe, and that's enough to make Mizuki feel comfortable confiding in him.

Rui knowing Mizuki was trans before they knew is a nod to my headcanon of Mizuki knowing they liked Tsukasa before he knew (and Tsukasa confirming he liked Rui didn't exactly help, because she couldn't just tell him, she tried once, pointing out how close they were and Rui kept saying Tsukasa had to have meant it as friends, MEIKO save her...)

Mizuki does come out as transfemme nonbinary. Her parents do well to help her adjust when they do. It takes a while before they and her sister can remember her pronouns and name. But they make effort and will start over if they accidentally refer to her by their birth name or by masculine pronouns and/or terms.

Mizuki crying while she comes out is something that comes out of a combination of fear and feeling like a disappointment. They're afraid that not only will her parents reject her, but that they will hate them for taking their son away. Same goes for her sister. She thought she'd hate them for taking away her little brother. It wasn't just ugly crying, she was trembling and having a near panic attack while she tried to come out. She was apologizing over and over, even after being reassured that they still loved them. That being Mizuki and not her old name was okay. They didn't hate her. That they were so proud of her telling them, and how they would have waited for her to be ready, if she had needed more time.

↑ this is mainly the reason why Mizuki didn't come out when Nene, Toya and Tsukasa did. While she wanted to someday, she didn't want to experience that again. To feel like she was ready just to burst into tears and struggle to breath as she told them. It was one of the first things her parents made them promise. That if they thought they were ready but not actually, they would wait until they were in a place where they mentally and emotionally could handle it. Yes, her self identity is important, but it's not worth her health if coming out causes her to feel so, well, afraid.

All of Mizuki's friends will jump in to defend them. Both in class and out. It's what made the decision to come out to them so easy in the end.

Mizuki did consider coming out to everyone at once, but decided last minute there was one person she wanted to tell in person. Only one person. And that was Ena. And yes, she did cry when she did. Yes, it was ugly and the feeling of possibly being rejected, losing the love of their life, hurt. But like her parents, like Yuuki, Ena reassured her. Reminded them that she loves them. That she would always, always, wait for her. She loves her. She loves them. She loves them, she loves them, she loves her.

#project sekai #project sekai colorful stage #hatsune miku colorful stage #proseka #prosekai #colorful stage #mizuki akiyama #akiyama mizuki #project sekai headcanons #transgender #transfem #nonbinary #i feel like i should add a trigger warning #but im not sure what #so...#also ''one of them'' is a dig at mizuki being either trans and/or gay

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hollowwhisperings · 2 years ago

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"Speaker For The Dead": Bran Stark as a Reference to Ender Wiggin.

I read the first two Ender books when FAR too young to handle their themes of, y'know, the intimacy of xenocide when you're a child soldier. Scary stuff for a kid of age with the protagonist.

So colour me Unsurprised upon relearning that the language the aliens of SFTD's aliens to speak with humans... is named "Stark".

Because of course GRRM would find joy in a conveniently horrifying-by-implication Pun.

The Premise of "Speaker For The Dead" (the sequel to "Ender's Game", a Differently Horrifying inspiration for some of my childhood nightmares) is this: human colonists and the local alien species had been more-or-less at peace until a human is Suddenly & Inexplicably Murdered by the aliens who considered him a Friend.

Due to [the Plot of Ender's Game], Humans are wary of Jumping To Conclusions as to this seemingly Senseless Violence and Ender Wiggin (of Ender's Game) stops at the planet to Speak at some Funerals. To properly Speak for the Deceased, Ender investigates the Murders and because of [the plot of Ender's Game] feels certain that there has been a Fatal Translation Error.

Spoilers for SFTD & comparisons to Bran's POV Arc under cut.

He's Right.

The Piqueninos (the aliens) are still learning to communicate with the humans they're sharing a planet with, using a language named "Stark". The deceased men were both held in great esteem by the Piqueninos, one of the primary reasons why [A Xenologist Expert] was sought after: why kill someone who was their Friend?

It turns out that Ritualistically Vivisecting respected males of their society is how the Piqueninons Evolve: they had spent the entire book calling Trees their "Fathers" and they had meant that literally.

The gratuitously violent murders of their human friends were efforts by the Piqueninos to honour these men by making them Fathers, using the same method of Deification on the human men as they would to their own kind.

Cue the Horrific Revelation that, no, Humans Do Not Transistion From Life Phases via being Ritualistically Killed to Become Trees: the Piqueninos efforts to "honour" their Human Friends actually Killed Them. Permanently.

Now let's reevaluate what Bran Stark's been up with the Singers in ASOIAF.

Brynden Rivers has been sending Dreams to kids with Greenseer Potential and directing them North.

Jojen & Bran, inspired by such Dreams, go Beyond The Wall to seek out this "Three-Eyed Crow" who will teach Bran how to "fly".

Bran & Company end up in a magically warded Cave populated by the mythic "Children of the Forest" (Singers) and someone they call "The Last Greenseer", a man who has a weirwood tree growing through him & introduces himself as a Man Formerly Known as Brynden.

contextual clues identify him as "Brynden Rivers": one of three Great Bastards of Aegon IV had with Lady Melissa Blackwood*, Hand & Spymaster to Kings Aerys I & Maekar I, a Disappeared Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.

the Singers confirm the religious beliefs shared with the First Men as being Literal: the trees are gods and the gods are trees. Incidentally, Jojen brings up how Revered Greenseers are by those who worship the Old Gods.

Jojen has Greensight and Bran, as someone who can both Skinchange AND Greendream, qualifies for "Greenseer" status. Except... the Singers Very Consistently call Brynden "the Last Greenseer" even with Bran Stark right there contradicting that There Can Be Only One (the Singers also mention greenseers as existing in Plural, historically, & that those of their Own Species have "died out/[faded?]").

Brynden "The Last Greenseer" takes Bran as his [apprentice]. Part of this Training is going into the Weirwood Tree [Hivemind], a network that transcends Time & Space (because Roots, i guess?) and allows Bran to see all sorts of varyingly traumatising Visions.

Bran's lessons require his sitting on a Weirwood Throne beside Brynden who is, incidentally, a body horror Weirwood Tree-Human hybrid now.

BTW, Bran's "training diet" features an Ominously Described "Paste" fed to him by the Singers. It's made from Weirwood Seeds, apparently.

(hey isn't everyone stuck in this spooky underground cave because leaving it means getting eaten by zombies? whete are they getting these Weirwood Seeds from- oh. Hi there, Brynden the Tree-Man Abomination)

wait, if Bran's a Greenseet now then how come the Singers still call Brynden the "Last" Greenseer? is this, perhaps, an instance of, say... interspecies life phase transitions being Poorly Translated to humans due to Trees Being Gods and Trees Transcending Time & Death?

has Jojen, perhaps, Made An Assumption about "when" that Title of "Greenseer" is gained? He had said that Greenseers were Deified as Weirwood Trees, implying they were entombed upon death...

...but what if Dying is part of the deification process?

(well, for a given value of "dying"... *looks at Brynden The Tree-Abomination Rivers*)

...the Cave Singers are totally going to ritualistically vivisect Bran and make him their new Tree God, aren't they.

(and, from the looks of Brynden, some decades into HIS initiation... this process will Not Be Quick nor "Pretty")

Brynden is probably complicit in the Singers' Scheme to Make Bran A Tree, if only due to Brynden being the "Weirwood" Bran's Paste Training Diet is made from.

Brynden might also want Out from the whole "Unnaturally Alive & Conscious This Whole Time" thing because WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO BE ALIVE AS YOU ARE TURNED INTO A TREE.

let us Not Recall the descriptions of: Brynden's current appearance, the many non-peaceful expressions carved as Faces for Heart Trees, the states of humans "honoured" by the Piqueninos in SFTD, any descriptions of what Becoming A Tree involves...

...and any investigation into what, exactly, a Weirwood's "seeds" may be. I stop at "Horus in Set's Salad" and THAT WAS ENOUGH.

MOVING RIGHT ALONG, when Not Being A Tree Hivemind, Brynden & thus Bran seem to fulfil a role not dissimilar to that of "Speakers For The Dead": they examine historic events as Outside parties. Brynden instructs Bran on evaluating his Visions objectively, without reverance nor judgement. At least, I think he did. Again: preservation of own sanity > exact visuak descriptions of events in ASOIAF.

Interestingly, being an effective Speaker for the Dead requires much of the same skillset as a Competent Kingmaker (or, at least, a King UnMaker).

To Conclude, the Similarities*** between Bran's interactions with the Cave Singers and those of Human Friends & Piqueninos in "Speaker For The Dead" are Multiple &, knowing GRRM, probably Deliberate. Let's just hope Meera and Jojen have gone AWOL because Meera is Plotting Arson, not because they're of Interest to the Cave Singers' reproductive purposes too. Both series do enjoy subjecting female characters to Grim Maternity &/or Horrific Relationship Revelations.

Arson is my Ideal Plotline for Meera, Grand Elk Larceny as a distant second. All those "Last Hero" parallels Bran Stark has going on should be Recognised (by Meera) and AVOIDED (by Meera) WITH FIRE. I'm lowkey convinced Brynden would actually prefer being burned alive to "indefinitely trapped in rotting human flesh as he slowly becomes a Tree (potentially for the purposes of interspecies repropogation)".

Footnotes

*Lady Melissa Blackwoof was likely an aunt or sister of Lady Melantha Blackwood of Winterfell, Bran's great-great grandmother: there is almost certainly at least one other Blackwood in Bran's family tree, likely as one of his 4 unnamed great-grandmothers through Grandpa Hoster Tully & Grandma Minisa Whent.

It's also possible that all the Movement at the end of Brynden's reign as Hand (the Lords going to KL for the Great Council that made Betha** Blackwood Queen of Westeros & Grand Escort from KL to The Wall to send off Maester Aemon & Ser Brynden) was how Lord Beron Stark's Heir, Edwyle, ended up married to a Riverlander like Melantha Blackwood.

**Queen Betha & Lady Melantha were almost certaingly "cousins" of some sort to Brynden through his mother, Melissa Blackwood. The exact degree of relation is unknown but It's There.

The degrees of relation from "Lady Melissa, Paramour of Aegon IV" to "Lady Melantha of Winterfell" connect Brynden (through his Blackwood mother) to EVERY living Stark, courtesy of their one unanimously agreed shared Grandpa (Lord Rickard Stark, of "murdered by Aerys II & Part 3 of 4 Extremely Valid Reasons for Ned's Rebellion").

Lady Catelyn's being a Riverlander, specifically a Tully & a Whent of Harrenhal, make it likely that Brynden's related to HER too.

Jon, of course, has Black Betha as all 4 of his paternal great-great grandmothers AND Lady Melantha as one of his maternal ones (the others being Marna Locke, Arya Flint, & Lorra Royce): Jon's somehow being "5/8ths Blackwood" is how I got distracted by the blood ties of Brynden & Bran in the first place!

#valyrianscrolls #asoiaf theories #brynden rivers #the last greenseer #bran stark theories #cw body horror #cw cannibalism #speaker for the dead #greenseers #arsonist meera #piqueninos #ender wiggin #house blackwood #i kept getting distracted by how contemporary to brynden all these blackwood grandmums are #i would like 1 family tree for catelyn please #i forget whether house blackwood is legit plot relevant or just fans getting progressively more excited by river witches #it all comes back to the riverlands #jojen is fine actually #weirwood paste

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angrysheeproject · 11 months ago

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The windows start up works wonderfully as a transistion between lighthearted phase 1 to the more serious phase 2

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XP/98 remix

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kendrixtermina · 2 years ago

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(the plank temperature) it figures by extension, from the shortest possible wavelength, the most massive possible beam to the smallest possible place: If you were to localize any further, black holes, droplets of nothingness, bubbling up around where the limit was exceeded, rapidly cooling, self-censoring mechanisms a phase transistion the boiling point of reality how amazing is it then that the formulae describe both possible and impossible things blackness nucleates, no man’s land of yet indeterminate mathematics and indistinct mess of possible predecessor states whitespace on the maps it boiled in reverse. It condensed - the world, when it was born. One day it might crystallize, when all motion ceases but the very last vibrating in place

#poetry #feelings #baby tries to art

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boyfriendyke · 4 years ago

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look i know i KNOW that oh hellos is literally the softest band i listen to but somehow it makes me go just as feral as if it were mcr or something

#LIKE THE TRANSISTION BETWEEN PALE WHITE HORSE AND WHERE IS YOUR RIDER MAKES ME LOSE MY FUCKING MIND ALKDJSKJG #anyways pour one out for the punk kids that also like soft indie folk #do i contradict myself? well then i contradict myself #(i am vast i contain multitudes)#akldjfkjg anyways excuse me while i hyperfixate on oh hellos once again #funny how im having an oh hellos phase and a mother mother phase at the same time #the oh hellos #jc.txt

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arcadequeerz · 5 years ago

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#||Dnt Reb/og plz||#Cade.vnt #NOT TO be sad on main for like the millionth time #but /h/#im so tired of living here im so tired of existing here i want to be anywhre but here.#im so tired f being called my dead name im so tieed of being called -||||||- im so tired!!!!!!!!!!!!!#i've tried asking: call me cade.. n they just laughat me n say thats a dumb name so d:]...#like they love being like 'oh we accept you oh we support you!!!' n its just. ha yeah you really Do Huh.#ie mentioned it before but i've iterslly been told 'when you pass more we'll use your ~prefered~ pronouns #n i just. its not prefered pronuns d:)#n wow thank you. i literslly cant pass right now n i dont hav money to even think boout transistioning or anything so #ok #im so fiucking tired lads why cant they just fucking repsect me #no one really cares or supports me or accepts methey all act like it isn't a thing or ignore it #and im pretty sure they all just still think its a phase #n that i'll 'grow out of it'#im so tired of thm calling me she/her im so tired of being called daugter or sister im tired of it n it makes me wanna cry #i hate my body! i hage my face i hate everything

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seamingleecomplex · 5 years ago

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So uh... I have a prescription of Testosterone

Like an actual percription that I’m going to pick up today.

I’m kinda nervous, like this is something I’ve wanted for years and years but now that I have it I’m just kinda scared. I haven’t told my family yet. The only people that know is Lane, her parents and our friend that drove me to Planned Parenthood for my appointment. I didn’t think it would be so easy for me to get it, like I had a meeting with the doctor and like she was just like “yup from everything your saying and all this we can get you started”. I really really didn’t know it would be that easy. I was expecting something like what happened before where I would have to go to a therapist and even with me knowing everything and saying I want to go on T and the therapist being okay with that it would still be at least a half or a full year process of therapy before even the idea of finding a doctor that could write a prescription would come up.

I’m excited and like coming out of there was like a whole weight off of me. But I’m like still freaking out. I still have to come out again at some point. The reason I’m writing here is because tumblr is still the only place where none of my family is following me and I just want to talk about it. When I came out...or rather when I was outed the first time when I wanted to take T and transition it was kind of a mess like my mom would not stop crying and after my first therapy appointment we had one together so my therapist could explain things to my mom and have a chance to help when questions were asked. My mom really didn’t like it, she didn’t like the idea of having to see me differently than she already had been. After a bit I just gave up like just started saying I was fluid and that I could be Trans to my friends and online and be Cis when it came to my family or to work and things like that.

I’ve been Trans in private and Cis in public for so long and like now that transistioning is like a real thing for me I’m scared to like be visibly trans in public. Especially now.....especially with everything happening now...

I just...I’m scared. But I feel like if I don’t do it now I’m going to keep backing out and I won’t be able to like be properly out and properly me and I won’t be able to keep pushing down my disphoria and my identity forever. I couldn’t even make this appointment myself, I’ve spent a year getting close to finalizing an appointment then backing out. I made Lane set this up for me. I’m still having anxiety over this over if I’m doing what’s right, if it’s a phase or an act like my parents made me feel when I was younger. And it’s just on loop in my head but at the same time like this is an almost 10 year act if that’s true. That’s a long phase and at some point it’s not a phase it’s just who I am.

I still identify as non-binary/fluid and as I’m transitioning I don’t think I’ll fully identify as just a male because that’s just not how I feel. I still like feminine things (not that liking feminine or masculine things make you male or female) I still like occasionally presenting female but like even when I do or a majority of the time when I’m just being I wish I was in a more male default body as I’m being these things, as I’m presenting female or male or non binary.

I have a lot going through my head right now and it feels like so natural to get here after so long but it’s still a lot. I just wanted to say it and kinda make note of at least this step somewhere where I don’t have to worry about who’s seeing it and if this spreads around to other people before I have a chance to say it myself.

#personal #trans stuff

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syngigeim · 4 years ago

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FUCK IT. Finally going to detail out my high school AU for my OCS

(Because world is terrifying and I need distraction)

It’s American High School based instead of Japanese though. I have my frame of reference and I’m sticking to it.

Syngigeim: Senior. A-grade. NERD extreme. Part time job at a breakfast joint to save up for college, works as chef. Volunteers at a library. She lives slightly out of town on a farm that her dad runs by himself. Favorite subject: History.

Mariko: Senior. Charismatic semi-popular kid. No one seems to understand why he’s best friends with nerd extreme Syngigeim. Rough home life. Is definitely going to siphon off a lot of money from his family’s accounts and go on a fantastical summer road trip. (And never come back). Goal is to convince Syngigeim to come with. Favorite subject: English.

Elly: Sophmore. Basketball specialist but also does track and field. Was a lot more bosterious but ever since the accident, has become a lot more withdrawn and quiet. Favorite subject: Phys Ed.

Aubinaux: Senior. Tried to go for the football team, but was told he was too small and too scrawny. Now has an infamous reputation for getting into fights...and winning. Family situation is...complicated. Just underlying issues and too many fights he desperately avoids. Favorite subject:

Q’hara: Junior. Secret nerd supreme, he’s just hiding it because he has to make it seem like he doesn’t care about school. Family expects a lot of things from him but he just wants to chill and hang with his friends. How is he friends with Aubinaux again?

Arashi: Junior. Can and will fight aboslutely everyone. More boisterious vibes than Aubinaux but still mostly avoided for, you know. But unlike Aubinaux, who has no interest in girls, Arashi’s interest makes her an utter idiot towards them.

Eleone: Sophmore. Desperately attempted to break into popularlty her freshman year and got burned hard. Is now figuring out herself on the fringes of the social graces. And yes, that means goth phase. (Also massive gay crush on Kaen)

Kaen: Junior. Trans-femme goth witch supreme. On the outs with a lot of the school because of it but pssth. Who cares right?

Cecetu: Junior. Was bullied for so long in elementary through middle school that she stopped caring. Decent student though, into Science and Shop class and definitely considering Engineering in college.

Dreaming Sheep: Junior. Pre-transistion. Was on the volleyball but quit to “focus on her studies and prep for college.” Not entirely a lie but not entirely the truth.

Percy: Freshman. Middle school (and the death of his brother in the accident) have done numbers to this kid. Outwardly, he has the facade of being a put-together student. How long will it last?

#dreaming sheep's is a reversal of canon dynamics #in which he transitioned first and mentored kaen #also the accident came as I was writing up this whole character thing

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realtransfacts · 5 years ago

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Hello! I'm looking to get some resources(and advice but mostly resources) for talking with my transphobic mother, and making her non-transphobic. My mom doesn't believe in transitioning(she thinks you should learn to live with it, "just like how someone with a large nose should learn to live with it instead of getting a small nose"), she doesn't think you're born trans (she thinks it's caused by an outside source that could have been avoided), (1/3)

she doesn’t believe in nonbinary genders(she has the common “special snowflakes” mindset about it), she doesn’t believe trans people are the gender they transistioned to(“no matter how much surgery you get or how many hormones you take, you will always be a man/woman”), she thinks that a woman(or any other gender, but I’ll be using woman for this example) who is attracted to cis men and trans men isn’t straight, (2/3)

and she doesn’t believe in mental illness(labels and the kinds of treatments currently provided, just because she had a bad experience with it). She had a phase of believeing she was a boy when she was a teen, and often uses that as an arguement against it as well. Right now, I’m mostly looking for Transmed/dysphoria specific stuff, just to ease her into things, instead of throwing her into nondysphoric transness, as I doubt she’d react positively right now. (3/3)

I’m sorry your mom is that way. She sounds like a total asshat.

If possible, try seeing if there is a local lgbt+ center or group or similar that offers a place, time and space for relatives (parents etc) of trans children to talk. Oftentimes those are a good way for people to start learning to accepting their children, if they aren’t already.

Otherwise Gender Spectrum (link) has some good resources that might be worth having a look through, in case there is something from there you’d want to share with your mom.

But in general, you can’t teach someone who doesn’t want to learn. They have to have an at least somewhat open mind in order to be able to accept that they’ve been wrong about some things. And no amount of resources and support for them is going to help them change if they are completely convinced that their opinions are perfect as they are. I’d still recommend trying, of course, because sometimes people do have a more open mind than you’d have thought. But you can’t get through to everyone.

So please know that even if your mom refuses to change, you’re still loved for who you are by so many other people. Your real family are those who are there to support you, help you and love you. Regardless if those people are blood relatives to you or not.

& if any of my followers have some other advice or suggestions, please feel free to reblog and add to this post.

#Anonymous

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beelzbat · 6 years ago

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I'm less angry about this than i was this morning, but I still wanna say this! Instead of not making fun of trans guys who are still in their "space prince uwu" phase just because they "haven't grown out of it yet", how about folks just not make fun of trans guys at all? There's no one way to be trans and it's actually more "cringey" to be making fun of trans people no matter what part of their transistion their in. If they wanna be space princes forever or dye their hair multiple colors or wear skirts who's anyone to say they can't?

#this isnt about anyone btw #i know most of yall are really great #i just remember i used to follow someone a long time ago who said something lie this #also #feel free to make fun of any guy if theyre being an asshole #sorry about the salt #bat.txt

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tilthedayidice · 6 years ago

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For tarot, A and I have been talking about him moving in with me and I was wondering if the cards have anything to say about it.

Four of Rods Reversed

Inner Harmony, Transistion, and Confluct. Things may be a little bumpy in the beginning, but this is a great phase for you. Happiness, contentment like dis and personal growth.

#ask #tarot

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hedwigisalive · 6 years ago

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I’ve been volunteering at Hospice as a transistion companion- which is a trained volunteer who accompanies those who are dying, as they “transistion” into their next phase. About 40% of the people who come into this hospice, die there. I saw two people wheeled out today. Spending time at Hospice is the scariest and must humbling experience I’ve ever had.

I’m doing it for multiple reasons, some practical, but the biggest reason is, I have just had this nagging feeling that I must. So I listened.

Today I learned:

1. We are so lucky to be alive and (even if only relatively) well.

2. Some people who really want to help others just can’t. Their ego is too large, or their pain is too new. This one lady in my class was so angry about the death of her father, she now wants to avoid deaths like that for other people by advocating at the death bed. That’s not what volunteers do. She was so angry at death she wanted to out smart it by finding “wins” for other dying people. She was in a lot of pain.

People are fascinating.

#personal #1111 #its so sad when people die alone #i need some CBD now ahaha

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kendrixtermina · 4 years ago

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I think what OP means here is that he can’t imagine trans ppl in a medieval setting, which much, but not all fantasy does have.

But the middle ages weren’t just Europe. There were, for example, some kingdoms in medieval africa where it was totally accepted for ppl to transistion socially, (or even some where they didn’t treat kids as gendered until they reach the age where ‘mental’ gender first manifests - about 3 or 4, when a cis girl might have her pink princess phase. ), similar things in the USA, both of which survived long enough for western explorers and conquerrors to document it. There was a Sultan in spain who had a harem of men, and his official “wife” went around in men’s clothes being called a male name. (clever loophole to get around the “royal heir” requirement and still boink only men, i guess)

and i mean in Europe it was just less accepted or incorporated into social institutions, but there was at least one French king who had a sibling who was either a crossdresser or a trans woman. (It’s hard to tell without being able to ask them, but, I’d assume the person was trans if they wanted to be called the different name 24/7 instead of just while dressing up)

It becomes much easier to imagine things once you’ve seen examples for it.

It’s even in myth & religion (arguably the ultimate origin of fantasy)

I know the Sumerians had like a nonbinary version of Eve and the apple - nonbinary angels helped a godess break into the underworld, and as a result some other deity cursed all the people like that who are “neither male or female” to have difficult lives.

On a more positive note, in one of the old Hindu epics, prince Rama the avatar of vishnu told the people of his hometown to go home after they’d held a vigil in protest of his exile. But since he said “every man and woman go home”, he found upon his return that all the people who were neither male nor female were still waiting for him in the field. So, he was touched by their devotion & blessed them to have a special place in ceremonies.

Also, talmudic literature (like, jewish religious texts) had six categories - more or less cis man, cis woman, trans man, trans woman, neither and both.

Yea. None of this is newfangled & if you look for it you can find it all over myth & history.

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smartdigitalwork-blog · 7 years ago

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Content Marketing

Content marketing is about information.

In other words, it’s the marketing of a business or brand through the sharing of educational, entertaining, or insightful information that will ultimately help readers improve their lives.

This may be in the form of a change in personal behavior or, as most marketers hope, it could be in the form of a purchase decision.

It’s not about forcing a sales pitch at people, but helping them move towards the best course of action (that just may be buying from you).

Content marketing is also defined as a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

I’d say that accurately sums it up, but perhaps a more accurate description is provided by Content Marketing Institute:

“Content marketing’s purpose is to attract and retain customers by consistently creating and curating relevant and valuable content with the intention of changing or enhancing consumer behavior. It is an ongoing process that is best integrated into your overall marketing strategy, and it focuses on owning media, not renting it.”

In 2016, few businesses doubt the power of content marketing, but sadly, only a few companies are executing it with the skill and expertise truly needed to make an impact.

This guide will show you how to successfully promote your brand, attract more qualified leads, and nurture customer relationships through content marketing.

If you’ve read any of our content, you’ve probably heard us throw around the term “inbound marketing.” Content and inbound are often used interchangeably, but for the sake of minimizing confusion I will explain the difference. This article is part of the “Content Marketing & Blogging” Hub in the IMPACT Anthology. This hub will help introduce you to the basics of blogging for business and best practices for producing amazing content.

Inbound Marketing vs Content Marketing

The difference between inbound marketing and content marketing depends on who you ask. In fact, a HubSpot survey found that most marketers agree that content marketing is a subset of inbound marketing.

More specifically, however, content marketing refers to the act of sharing knowledge, advice, or entertainment in a consumable format that may include:

Blog articles

Videos

Podcasts

Social media marketing

Emails

Webinars

Infographics

Cartoons

Quizzes

Generators/Calculators

Assessments

Apps

Inbound marketing, however, is more focused on using tactics like content marketing to generate and nurture leads towards a sale. Inbound includes all aspects of digital marketing and sales.

Another distinction between content marketing and inbound marketing is how they target their marketing. Content marketing focuses on a broad “target audience” and inbound focuses on specific “buyer personas.”

Blogging is the Foundation of Content Marketing

Blog articles pioneered content marketing. Blogs have become commonplace in the business world, as well as society in general. It allows for people to access high-quality information for free.

When informative content is shared through a business blog, you inevitably come across as an industry expert, which will not only keep visitors returning to your blog, but can also turn these readers into potential buyers.

When you freely share content, it allows for your business to build trust with its readers. After all, you’re providing them with industry tips and information — for free. eBooks, Videos, and Email

Blogs are just a gateway for other mediums of content marketing. While blogs articles are often on the shorter side, quickly but thoroughly addressing industry topics, these other forms of content marketing act as a more detailed vehicle to share information and convert customers.

eBooks, for example, allow for an extensive amount of information to be shared regarding some aspect of your business. These usually focus on the most frequently asked about part of a business, and go to great lengths to explain and point readers in the right direction — to you!

Videos are oftentimes a nice change of pace and are more engaging to your buyer personas. Have fun with it, as the great ones have a tendency to go viral, which can bring all kinds of traffic and attention to your brand.

Most of what is done through the advent of content marketing is done in hope that businesses can obtain the reader’s contact information. Whether the readers are subscribing to your newsletter, or simply filling out forms to access eBooks or other helpful tools, they are granting you future contact with them by giving you their personal email address.

Having email subscribers allows your brand to share more content, nurture leads, and eventually close those leads into sales through various email campaigns. Why Content Marketing?

After asking “What is content marketing?” the next question should be “why?”

Josh Steimle answers this question in a Forbes post about content marketing.

“First you need to understand the four steps of the typical buying cycle:

Awareness.

Research.

Consideration.

Buy.

Traditional advertising and marketing is great when it comes to the second two steps, but after that it tends to trail off. Content marketing taps into the first two stages of the buying process by raising awareness of solutions and educating consumers about a product they may have never considered before….

The return on investment for content marketing can be phenomenal….It provides additional content for social media marketing and contributes to SEO efforts by generating natural inbound links and building up good content on your website that gets found in search engines.

In fact, for many companies the bulk of their SEO efforts should be focused on content marketing.”

The Benefits of Content Marketing on SEO

There are many tasks you can do to improve SEO, but as John explains, nothing comes close to the impact of content marketing on your website’s SEO power.

And it makes perfect sense. Content, simply put, is just information.

Google aims to match the highest quality, most relevant information with the search queries of their users — but if you’re not creating content sharing this information, you have no chance of ranking and getting found for it.

Explains the connection between content marketing and SEO best:

“SEO demands content. Content marketing is content.

There is no such thing as SEO without content. You need words, articles, substance, keywords, verbiage.

I wince whenever I have to say it, because it’s so cliche, but it’s true: Content is king.”

When you rank in search engines, you rank for specific keywords in your written content. More content equals more keywords, meaning you have more opportunities to rank in Google.

This is why keyword research is essential for successful content marketing.

The other major factor in SEO is getting backlinks. When other websites link to your site, Google views you as a respected authority and bumps it up in the rankings.

What’s the easiest way to get backlinks? You guessed it — Produce great content that educates and entertains and that people want to link to and share.

Lastly, Google favors websites and resources that are updated consistently. So, when you publish content regularly, your website will likely rank significantly higher.

On the other hand, if you stop producing content, Google will assume your website is out-of-date and stale, so it’ll drop your drank to avoid sending people to mediocre content.

This article is part of the “Content Marketing & Blogging” Hub in the IMPACT Anthology. This hub will help introduce you to the basics of blogging for business and best practices for producing amazing content.

Content Marketing Improves Customer Service

If you think creating content is solely for attracting prospects, you’re gravely mistaken. A good content marketing strategy also includes resources for your existing customers such as:

Tutorials — These help them get the most of your product/service by showing them how. FAQs — Frequently asked questions are great content topics because you can spend the time to answer the question thoroughly, then when a customer asks you have a great resource to send them. Plus, FAQs can also generate a lot of organic traffic. Community Updates — Sharing testimonials or simply giving a shout out to your customers/clients helps build a sense of community, while also promoting your brand in an authentic way at the same time.

Content Marketing in Public Relations

The internet has shattered barriers that once prevented businesses from reaching their target customers.

In the past, getting featured on TV was difficult or expensive — now you can upload a video to YouTube or Facebook and reach millions of people for free.

The same thing goes for making an announcement. You don’t need a publicist to communicate with your customers and fans.

Blog posts have replaced press releases. Facebook Live has replaced the traditional press conference. Everything you need for PR is right at your finger tips, and it’s mostly free! Content Marketing is an Industry Standard

If all of the other benefits of content marketing don’t convince you of why your business should use it, you might consider the fact that content marketing is essential to building a brand in 2017 and beyond.

We’re past the point where doing content marketing gives your business a big advantage over the competition and transistioning to a phase where not doing content marketing puts your business at a tremendous disadvantage.

All markets and demographics are consuming information online and quite simply, content marketing is marketing by today’s standards.

The Worst Content Marketing Mistakes You Can Make

The effectiveness of your content marketing can make or break your business. Here are the worst content marketing mistakes you could be making:

1. Not Knowing Your Audience (Buyer Personas)

Not understanding your buyer personas is one of the biggest mistakes in regards to content marketing. By not taking the time to research and understand your audience, how can you know what topics grab their attention?

There’s a chance you have no idea.

A great way to learn more about your audience is by not only developing buyer personas, but also reader personas. Not all of your readers are going to be your buyers.

However, the topics within your blog should depend on the goals you want to achieve. For most companies, they see their blog as an opportunity to educate and nurture prospects and hopefully pushing them down the sales funnel.

Ask yourself these questions about your readers:

What is their age range?

What is their job title?

What is their financial status?

Their education level?

What are their hobbies?

What are their pain points?

To really hone in on your buyer personas, conduct a buyer persona interview.

2. Failing to Provide Quality

The primary goal of content marketing is providing your readers and leads with quality information. To keep your content fresh and maintain readership, it’s important to publish frequently and consistently.

When you don’t post blog articles for a significant amount of time, readers will stop coming to your site. Post as often as you can, while ensuring you are publishing quality content.

If you can only post once a week, it’s ok. Focus on quality over quantity. When you start putting out junk, you start losing readers, leads, and ultimately customers.

Also, with Google’s search algorithm, ever-evolving, creating quality content is the only reliable way to get found and rank.

3. Not Proofreading or Editing

For all of you grammar nuts out there, this is probably one of your biggest pet peeves.

How often do you read a blog article and the person or company doesn’t even know the difference between your and you’re?

Little mistakes like this tend to send readers running for the hills. Something you should always do before publishing your content is to proofread it and make any necessary changes. Make use of your spellcheck, Grammar.ly, and have a peer read through it as well. Better safe than sorry.

4. Failing to Reuse and Repurpose

If your company has been creating content for a while, you’ve likely published a ton of content that covers a wide variety of topics. The best part about all of that content, is that you can use it over and over again.

Ideas for reusing and repurposing content:

If you have a report, it can be broken up into several blog articles

Create a video or slide presentation out of your how-to articles

Have your audio and video materials transcribed into written format

Build on existing content by expanding certain points, introducing new ideas, etc.

Share older, popular content with new members of your audience

No one wants to reinvent the wheel by creating new content every time. A great way to promote your eBooks is by providing your readers with an excerpt in one of your blog articles. Just don’t forget to add a call to action at the bottom of the blog article telling your readers to download the full eBook.

Don’t let your hard work just fade away. Keep your content working for you instead by repurposing it.

5. Missing a Call-to-Action

When it comes to content marketing, many marketers forget to add calls-to-action (CTA) to various places across their marketing channels. There is no better way to guide people to other parts of your site than through clear, distinct CTAs.

If you don’t tell your visitors or prospects about your services or products, how are they going to know you offer them? They most likely won’t. Which is why you should add CTAs that send them to those pages or information.

Each piece of content should have a purpose and a CTA. Whether it’s to get a quote for your IT services or an opportunity to get a free checklist, it doesn’t matter.

Consider placing a CTA:

On your blog

In your email messages

On your Facebook page

On every page of your website

Within your eBooks and webinars

In presentations

Within your email signature

Need more insight into how to choose the right CTA for your next post? This article can help.

Our former content marketing Manager, Carly Stec, once shared 4 more content mistakes that may be costing your business valuable opportunities.

According to Sirius Decisions, 60-70% of B2B marketing content goes unused.

How is it that one of your blog articles can see hundreds of views, while another one just sits on the shelf collecting dust?

The truth is, there are a ton of factors that contribute to both the success and demise of the content you serve up.

Just because something you wrote seemed to really catch on, it doesn’t guarantee everything you produce from there on out will follow in its footsteps. If your content is failing to support the type of engagement necessary to advance the buying process, you’re doing it wrong.

In order to get your content creation strategy on track, we’ve outlined 4 content mistakes that could be costing your business valuable opportunities.

1. Lackluster Titles

The title of your content often serves as the first line of communication between a customer and your brand.

If you’re looking for a way to format your titles to ensure they receive the attention they deserve, consider revisiting your website’s analytics. By looking back on titles that performed well in the past, you will uncover information that can be used to form future titles.

Additionally, social analytics will help you pick out the titles that were well-received by your audience on social media platforms. A social share is valuable in terms of content distribution, as it opens up a new path for your content to reach an untapped audience.

2. No Social Sharing

While it may seem like a real @firstworldproblem, asking your readers to manually copy, paste, and share your content can often be asking for too much.

Think about the way you consume content.

Often times you find yourself reading an article, you see the value in it, you go to find the social share button so that you can spread the word to your followers.. and then it’s nowhere to be found. Talk about a let down.

You want to make it as easy as humanly possible for readers to share your content. If you fail to create a quick and easy way for them to share your content right on the page, you run the risk that they will open up a new window, log into their social media account, and get lost in their newsfeed before they post it.

Social share buttons not only improve the user experience, but they ultimately contribute to your brand’s level of exposure. All it takes is one social share to open your content up to a new reader, who may then share it with their following, who could then tweet it out to their audience, who.. well, you get the point.

3. Speaking to the Wrong Crowd

When creating content, many marketers are plagued by the idea that they have to please everyone. They recognize that compelling and consistent content creation has the ability to attract, convert, close, and delight customers — which is why they are afraid of alienating prospects.

The trouble with this approach to content creation is that you simply can’t please everyone, and do it well. Write about what you know, what you understand, and what you feel strongly about.

If you try to wear too many hats, you’ll find it is difficult to attract a loyal audience, as your content will be all over the place, rather than focused on the interests and needs of a particular group.

In order to create truly resourceful content, you must know what motivates your buyer personas. If you are well-versed in their consumer behaviors and business/personal goals, you will find it is much easier to create and deliver content that they will enjoy and share.

4. Selfishly Selling

There’s nothing worse than a party guest who only wants to talk about themselves. They’ll chew your ear for hours and wont let you get a word in, while you’re left standing there, eyes glazing over, nodding in agreement at everything they say.

Often times you walk away from the conversation with a bad taste in your mouth, as you are unable to comprehend how someone could be so egotistical. Well, the same applies to content creation.

Nobody wants to get stuck reading a blog article written by a self-serving writer, so avoid creating content that is all about you, you, you.

Instead, focus on guiding your content around the needs of your audience. Think of your blog posts as an opportunity to provide prospects with a valuable resource, not a sales pitch.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when creating new content is that it must speak to the needs of the intended audience, not yours.”

Content Marketing Best Practices

So you’re familiar with content marketing and its importance in an effective inbound marketing campaign, but are you doing them correctly? As mentioned in our intro, this is usually the area that most marketers struggle with, but thankfully, by following a few basic best practices, we can help you in your quest to get started in creating quality, relevant content.

Simply put, blogging is the fastest way to create a platform for sharing and turn your brand into a content generating machine.

Consider this statistic: businesses that blog get 55% more website visitors than those who do not. This will greatly help your standing in the search engines, which in turn will help to drive more relevant traffic to your website.

Marketing expert, Heidi Cohen, shared the following best practices in a blog post for content marketing Institute:

“1. Give your audience a behind-the-scenes glimpse of your SEO company.

…Even “boring” businesses can leverage the power of talking to employees to make a product come to life. Find those members of your team who are passionate about your product, regardless of what their roles are within your organization. It’s these internal evangelists who can really bring your brand to life.

2. Special content: Provide exclusive information that your audience won’t find elsewhere. It’s useful for getting people to visit your other content and social media locations, and you can utilize a wide range of content formats, such as checklists, videos, how-to articles, and worksheets….

3. Interviews: While many media companies use interviews as the core of their content offerings, take a page from Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart, who specifically extends his on-air interviews to be used as unique web-only content….Consider talking to key people related to the topic. For many businesses, this means your employees, as well as outside experts.

4. Q&As: Extend the value of your content by answering questions that have been posed to you by your audience, or your industry colleagues and peers…Once again, this content can be developed through the use of video, audio, and/or text…

5. Outtakes: Learn from the movie industry, which often packages its DVDs with special extra scenes. No movie promotion is complete these days without additional content that entices the audience into developing a deeper relationship with your business…

6. Content curation: The goal here is to offer related resources for your audience that underscores your insight and expertise in the field…Rather than just producing a collection of links, add commentary to existing content to help your audience better understand the issues involved…

7. Background: Don’t assume that your audience will be familiar with all the ins and outs of your chosen topic. Create content that delivers the information they need to better understand the issues you discuss in your content offerings —without talking down to them.

Sharing Through Social Media

Social media websites are among the most valuable resources a business can have. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are chock full of members of your niche audience and other potential customers waiting to be found — so be sure to share your content with them! It can even help answer many of their questions while simultaneously establishing your credibility.

You’ve spent the time to create quality blogs, so sharing these through social media sites will maximize the potential of each individual blog post and expand your reach through shares and discussion among your followers.

B2B marketers often get hung up on how to use social media, because they fear social media doesn’t work as naturally for B2B brands.

Fortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The following are 8 best practices for B2B marketers to integrate content marketing and social media, provided by Kapost:

1. Make the Case Internally

Before marketers can gain the budget and resources necessary to see results from the combined power of social media and content, the strategy needs to be marketed internally. If people don’t buy into the idea of inbound marketing and support it fully, it won’t succeed.

2. Establish Goals

Before beginning to plan content, marketers must first understand the larger initiatives planned for the quarter and year. This clarifies what messaging needs to be pushed, which content types make the most sense to support those initiatives across networks, and when those pieces of content should be completed….

3. Maximize Popular Networks

Identify where target audiences are spending their time online, and where relevant conversations are already taking place. For retail companies, maybe it’s Instagram and Pinterest. For B2B, it might be Twitter and LinkedIn. Instead of wasting time and resources on social media that won’t deliver, focus on the right channels with the biggest payoffs…

4. Use an Editorial Calendar

Between internal collaborators and external agencies, it’s key to have one place where everything from the higher-level campaigns to the specific tweets and blog posts can be organized and planned. That’s where an editorial calendar comes in handy….Without one, planning ahead will be a lot more difficult than it needs to be.

5. Share Content Around Popular Topics

Timely and popular topics tap into the buzz of already active conversations. Sharing content around these topics keeps brands relevant, and helps them establish a reputation as a go-to resource for information.

6. Don’t Forget About Content with Long-Term Relevance

Trending topics are important, but it’s also critical to focus on content that will remain relevant beyond a day or week. This kind of content can be recycled across channels and continues to provide value and engagement long after the publish date.

7. Analyze Data to Discover Which Content Works

Understanding what works and what doesn’t is key to the continued success of a social and content marketing strategy. Track and measure key metrics and KPIs that align with the goals of the team, department, and organization and adjust your actions accordingly.

8. Evolve Your Content and Social Strategy

After reviewing the data and evaluating content performance across social networks, marketers need to revisit and reevaluate the original strategy. Determine what worked and why, then replicate those elements in upcoming campaigns. If something didn’t work, learn from those pieces and avoid making the same mistakes.

Most importantly, stay in tune with updates and changes to the networks and channels where content lives.

Create Content Worth Reading

As we discussed above, potential customers have questions or problems that you should take aim at through your content. However, a good way to drive away these potential customers is by boring them to tears with poorly constructed content.

61% of consumers say they feel better about a company that delivers custom content, they are also more likely to buy from that company. (Source: Custom Content Council)

Blogs give websites 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. (Source: Kapost)

Interesting content is a top 3 reason people follow brands on social media. (Source: Content+)

We simply can’t stress the importance of quality content enough.

While I can’t sit down and write it for you, I have put a lot of thought into how to simplify the process.

Provide Benefits

Your content should have real value, which can include useful information, applicable how-to advice, or even entertainment.

There has to be something in it for the reader to capture their attention, and ultimately, their business.

“How to” articles tend to perform really well with customers.

Why? Well, people are constantly seeking out new information, and articles that are formatted to answer questions are incredibly valuable.

Not only do people respond well to them, but they help to establish your business as credible. If you can provide answers to the questions your buyer personas have, it is likely that they will return to you in the future for more information.

The more you can help people or give them something of true benefit, the more favorable they will view your brand — and the more likely they are to tell others about you!

Seek Urgency

Urgency is powerful because it gets people to take action. You want to inspire urgency with your content.

Do your best to crerate content that require’s your audience to sweat a bit. Work towards seeking out new, relevant information that is time sensitive, yet of great value.

Detailing industry trends is effective because it gives your audience the inside scoop, and it also encourages them to take action, and implement the tactics themselves.

If you know of a time-limited opportunity, share it with them as quickly as possible.

Anything that gets your readers to take action is good for you because it will most likely benefit them quicker and it will encourage them to take action on future content you produce (as well as your CTAs).

Back it Up

The fact of the matter is, people love facts.

While you may have a lot to say yourself, it doesn’t hurt to pepper in a bit of support every once and a while.

Using data to back up your point is an easy, effective way to bulk up your content, and bring your concepts full circle.

Whether it be statistics, or visual examples, utilizing additional resources within your content will ensure that people take you seriously, and it simplifies the reading process a bit.

After all, you want people to trust your brand as an authority, so backing up your claims with evidence only makes your content stronger. Feed Curiosity

Your audience is looking for information that makes their life easier, and provides solutions to their problems.

Take advantage of this.

Do your best to implement headlines that people simply cannot avoid. This means you really have to start thinking out of the box.

Not only should you aim to solve their problems, but you should also do your best to find a way to keep it interesting. It’s easy to answer a question that you are knowledgable about, but it is more effective to present the information in a new, creative format.

This is also where it helps to be honest with your opinions, as long as you let your readers know that they are your opinions.

As an expert on your industry or subject matter, people genuinely care about what you really think — not just what you’re supposed to say. Feed their curiosity and give them the truth.

Curiosity is the same reason that personal branding is so effective with content marketing. People are curious about the faces behind the brands they shop. Tap Into Emotion

While you don’t want to create all of your content around it, information that evokes emotion can be extremely effective.

Emotion acts as a major motivator when it comes to the buying process, however it is important to appeal to emotion without making people feel like they are being manipulated.

Great content plays with your emotions, while simultaneously utilizing logic to establish trust and credibility.

However, a touch of emotion will help you create content that is powerful, and it will also increase the chances that your audience will share the content in order to justify their emotional reaction with others.

Tapping into emotion doesn’t mean you’re always trying to make your readers cry or feel scared — create content for every emotion.

Jeff Bullas shared a case study on using humor in content marketing, which you can read about below:

“Because the research from Wharton showed that most people want some fun and that humor and jokes were consistently shared, using humor in content marketing is extremely effective. Large companies do it all the time, in order to keep their brand name “out there”.

They know that humor does the following things:

It grabs and holds attention

It results in an emotional response – not just positivity but a connection to you and your brand

It shows you are just “one of them” after all

You are remembered and shared. And if you use humor on all of your social media pages, you will continue to increase your number of followers.”

Below is an example of how Virgin Airlines used humor to wish their audience a Happy Thanksgiving — an employee guiding a plane on the runway with turkey drumsticks, instead of lights.

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