#and 10 years later people make clickbait videos about that

[caraianellisande]

Not to sound like an Orion Acaba apologist, because he did do some legitimately bad things, but like, why are there so many videos about his behavior on critical role?

Out of everything we know he did, plus what was alleged, being a bad DnD player while going through cancer and drug addiction is really not that big a deal. And remember, the actual cast of critical role, the people actually hurt by his behavior, his friends, they've let this go. He wasn't even kicked out, he left.

I don't understand this obsession with dissecting his shitty but mostly harmless actions during a really low period of his life.

These videos aren't even about the actual bad shit he did. He raised money for charity and then kept it instead of donating. A former partner has alleged he was abusive. This pales in comparison to being a problem player.

And even if people were discussing those actual bad things, what good would it do?

It's been a decade. The man is barely a public figure anymore. His behaviour cost him his spot in a multi million dollar enterprise.

Let this thing rest.

[luckthebard]

So this is a very niche rant that is probably only something I've noticed or been annoyed by, but:

The longer Critical Role has gone on and the more changes they've made/content they've created, there's been an increase in weird people who are desperate and determined to prove that changes or content they don't like are "an objective failure" - but often lie or deliberately misunderstand viewership statistics to do so.

There are a few big "facts" I see repeated by people to argue that CR has "gone in the wrong direction" that are just plain wrong, and I think what annoys me most is seeing so many people engage with those "facts" without bothering to double-check them or push back against the certainty with which people state them. An example of one I keep seeing now is "twitch streaming numbers are down" and it's like, yeah, sure, in comparison to when they didn't simultaneously air on YouTube. If you add up the YT and Twitch numbers these days it's about the same as mid-late C2, but people love to act like YT streaming doesn't exist to make a point that "people don't like C3". And I tbh don't care if people like or dislike C3 but why this determination to falsely quantify and validate a personal preference?

The earliest I saw this was an intense agreement on reddit that Exandria Unlimited was a "failure" for CR, "unlike Undeadwood," because viewership numbers were lower. And it was tbh baffling to not see pushback against that narrative, because it's just objectively untrue. Original EXU's VOD streaming numbers are higher than every single episode of Undeadwood, and it premiered literally years later. It also has a lower "drop-off" in viewership (comparison of how many views episode 1 vs the finale has) than Undeadwood, despite frequent claims to the contrary. And don't mistake me here, I really enjoyed Undeadwood, but it actually was a viewership misstep for CR to the degree that they didn't try anything like it again for a while after and significantly changed how they approached marketing and airing miniseries. (A big one being: don't air a long miniseries simultaneously with the main series, it's too much content for most people to invest in during a week.)

(Sidebar, but another great miniseries CR did that didn't get a lot of viewership love is the Elder Scrolls Online trilogy, so I'm going to plug it here. It has some weirdly low viewership numbers on episodes 2 and 3 and I promise you they're both well worth it.)

The other one I keep seeing is "4 Sided Dive has lower numbers than Talks" which is also just not true. Most 4 Sided Dive VODs have nearly twice as many views as Talks VODs (and I'm using the ones that aired directly on the CR channel as a metric here, not the ones re-uploaded from G&S which lost numbers in the change-over). And I'll tbh chalk that up to the fact 4SD airs much less frequently - people are more likely to think it's necessary to watch whereas with Talks if you weren't interested in the guests you might skip a week. I'm not making any claims about the quality of either show, but the use of false viewership statistics to support "one of these sucks" is so rampant and so weird.

All this to say that yesterday I saw a weird viewer-hungry YouTube clickbait video titled "Midst a FAILURE for Critical Role!!" with a truly absurd confidence on what the VOD streaming numbers for the Midst YouTube videos mean for the series mere days after the premier and snapped.

tl;dr, people just make shit up and say whatever on the internet all the time and we hopefully all understand and expect that BUT (and here's the more annoying thing) 9 times out of 10 people just engage with that WITHOUT LOOKING INTO IT THEMSELVES

[jennablackmorebooks]

@kvr0ii left these tags and they're so right about them. I think there was a lot of alarmist no nuance advice going around for writers, even in schools, back in the 2000s and early 2010s. Entire posters of "SAID IS DEAD!" in literally the classroom I'd spend hours in every day.

But it being it capital letters on a poster, or on a writing advice post on the internet, doesn't make it a catch-all forever; nothing's quite that easy. And in the effort of saving time and maybe making the kids use and learn a few more blasted adjectives, all the nuance got lost. Epithets were implemented poorly online the same way said is dead got us this lovely thing that we all know and.... have some sort of feeling about:

(for 8000 dollars CAD I will stop talking about My Immortal. I watched a video about it today, that's why it's on my mind so much)

By telling people that said and names and pronouns were too repetitive, we got a bunch of literature that doesn't use epithets for strangers or acquaintances or relevant details that make the scene extra meaningful. We got hair colours and made up nonsense words and reminders of everyone's heights twice a page and a generation of people who mostly would just rather see a name than whatever inventive but truly irrelevant — or worse, whiplash-inducing — combination of letters and words the author is going to come up with to describe the same character we've spent the last 200 pages with next. (I also think "what's a meaningful detail" got tossed to the side in favour of "what's their hair colour, that's the default epithet always" by people who weren't sure fully what they were trying to do. which is why we're so rotted with pinknette and bluenette and greenette and ravenette and all these other non-words until it became a cliché the sort of way "orbs" for eyes did.)

I think the solution to this is neither to jam in hair-obsessed epithets nor append "said" to the end of every sentence. I genuinely think the solution to this is for writers to vary their sentence types and structures so not every sentence or paragraph holds a dialogue tag, whether name-said or epithet-said, on its shoulders like pseudo-Atlases (and maybe to make the epithets used a bit... normaler, but I digress). But that's less quirky and punchy for classroom posters and internet clickbait, and doesn't ask writers to consider their story and what they mean for their narration to tell us instead of giving them the magic phrase that will make them a perfect writer instantly and forever, so it's not the option enough people propose.

And then the exact thing Kvroii said in their other tags happens, and in 10 years, there's disdain for the previous advice like a pendulum and it goes all in the other way again. And those years' writers online don't use the new sparingly either, and then 10 years later—

So one tip I’ve seen writers give is when writing dialogue tags you should never replace a character’s name with their description after they’ve been described or established. For example, don’t say “said the blonde girl” but use the blonde’s name. It’s always seen as such a big no, no and I don’t remember being given a reason why personally; it’s just seen as something that shouldn’t be done. But as a reader I never minded when authors did this. Not until other authors said I should be. So now I’m curious…

[luvdsc]

doing the bf tag with my bf.

hey, siri, does bf stand for best friend or boyfriend? (or both?)

pairing :: na jaemin x reader genre :: fluff / best friend + youtuber au word count :: 4,691 words warnings :: none playlist :: mean it (lauv & lany) ⋆ always, i’ll care (jeremy zucker) ⋆ fearless (taylor swift) ⋆ fingers crossed (coin) ⋆ cardiac arrest (bad suns) author’s note :: this fic is a tiny bit different than my usual writing because i emphasize more on dialogue than description in order to mimic a youtube video. happy birthday to this absolute darling angel! you have the biggest heart in the universe, and thank you for sharing so much of it with the world ♡ ↳ part of the not clickbait series.

Your subscribers have always wondered if you would do this type of video countless of times, and you never thought you’d ever actually record one due to the state of your love life (or lack thereof), yet here you are.

Unfortunately, the romantic department of your life still remains very much empty though. But lucky for you, so is your best friend’s. And that pretty much works out perfectly because he could stand in for your nonexistent boyfriend in order to complete the popular GF/BF tag (along with a hidden challenge that was popular by demand and personally requested by a certain friend with a flair for baking. Now if only the frantic butterflies in your stomach would settle down just enough for you to do it).

After all, BF could stand for either boyfriend or best friend, right?

It’s also no secret that yours and Jaemin’s subscribers shipped you two together either. Heck, you may be a little delusional as well because you ship yourself with your best friend, too. Blame the massive crush you’ve been secretly harboring. But two best friends sharing an apartment and frequently appearing in videos on each of your respective channels? In the eyes of your fans, that’s basically the perfect setup for a modern day love story.

It would 100% be the greatest love story since Kat and Patrick in 10 Things I Hate About You, but at this point in your life, your story is going to be marked down as a tragedy. You feel even more hopeless and dramatic than Romeo was about his unrequited love for Rosaline. Also, that dude got over her way too quickly at the sight of another pretty girl. You wish that would happen for you, too, but your heart is much too stubborn over Jaemin.

When you had asked him if he would do the video with you, Jaemin immediately agreed much to your initial surprise. The publicity would be good though, you surmise later on, and both our fan bases would grow, so of course, he would agree. It’s not like your best friend liked you back. That would be absolutely absurd.

“Are you ready?” Jaemin speaks up, breaking your train of thought, and you’re slightly startled. He plops down in the plush pink rolling chair next to you, the chair moving back a few inches. He scooches it closer to your own chair, buzzing with excitement. You smile at your best friend, pushing down the butterflies erupting in your stomach. You nod before reaching forward and pressing the record button on the camera set up in front of you. You pull up the list of questions on your phone.

“Yeah, let's do this.”

How did we meet?

“Oh, this is an easy question,” Jaemin says, flashing his award winning smile at the camera before he throws his arm around you happily, hugging you affectionately. “It was freshman year. You ran into me. Literally. We were in the same class, and it just ended. You were trying to shove your textbook into your bag and didn’t notice where you were walking until you face-planted into my back.”

The memory is still fresh in your mind, and you remember how you had already resigned yourself to your fate of becoming good friends with the floor. But Lady Luck was on your side for once, and she sent an angel in the form of Na Jaemin to save you from embarrassment on your first day of university.

“Yeah, I almost fell flat on my butt, but luckily, Nana has great reflexes and when he turned around, he grabbed my arm before I hit the ground,” you add on, still squished into his side. He beams, eyes crinkling into half moon crescents before placing a kiss on your cheek and turning back to the camera.

Your heart skips a beat, but you ignore it. Jaemin has always been affectionate, and kisses were all in good fun. You continue on, plastering a nonchalant smile on your face. “And he said, ‘Looks like you just fell for me.’ And then he insisted that we get lunch together.”

“And the rest is history!” he exclaims happily, resting his cheek on the top of your head. You smile fondly before going onto the next question.

Where was our first date?

“The dining hall immediately after you ran into me.”

“That wasn’t a date,” you interject. “We can skip this question since we aren’t dating.”

Jaemin shrugs, waiting for you to read the next question. He murmurs faintly under his breath, “It was supposed to be one.”

We’re going out to eat, where are we going?

Jaemin answers immediately, leaning back in his chair. “The little pizza place down the block! They always make three different types of unique pizza everyday, and once they sell out, they close for the day.”

“We always go on Wednesday because they make both of our favorite pizzas then.” You chime in, and he nods enthusiastically, moving closer to the front and throwing his hands up in the air for emphasis. “They have corn and potato pizza that day!”

You wrinkle your nose slightly before leaning towards the camera. “To my subscribers, for the record, I assure you that I have better taste than that, and I love the artichoke pesto pizza with ricotta.”

What food do I dislike?

“... Corn and potato pizza,” he says reluctantly with a pout. “And kiwis. The outside is furry and creeps you out, and the fruit makes your tongue itch.”

You flash a thumbs up at the camera, and your best friend grins, puffing up his chest. Chuckling quietly, you shake your head before answering the question yourself. “And this dork absolutely hates anything strawberry flavored. And he’s lactose intolerant, so dairy is his enemy.”

“I love cheese, but cheese hates me,” he says mournfully, hanging his head down low before he jumps back up and reads the following question listed on your phone’s screen aloud.

Who is my best friend?

“Me!” Jaemin shouts gleefully, throwing his hands up in the air, and you can’t help but laugh, grinning widely at your best friend, a fond expression on your face.

“You.”

Am I a morning person or a night person?

“We’re both night people,” you say, and Jaemin nods in agreement. “You won’t catch either of us waking up before noon if we can’t help it, and we each have to set up like five alarms just to wake up.”

“It works out because we can stay up together watching movies or editing our videos,” he adds in, turning to you and smiling fondly. “And I always have a partner when I want to go on a midnight snack run to the convenience store nearby.”

Do we have a song? What is it?

“Jeremy Zucker’s Always, I’ll Care.”

“That’s our song?” You’re surprised. You were going to mention one of the go-to karaoke songs the two of you liked to belt out on the top of your lungs after a movie and wine night. Jaemin makes a great Sharpay Evans when you both want to bop to the top.

“It’s the song that reminds me of you,” he says, voice growing softer as he reaches the end of the sentence. Curse your heart for melting into a puddle. His cheeks turn pink under your gaze, and he becomes uncharacteristically shy, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“Anyway, what’s the next question?”

What’s my nickname?

“Nana!” You reach out to poke his cheek, and he puffs them up before pouting at you. He reaches out and pinches your cheek.

“I call you ‘angel’ sometimes. It’s why your channel is called peachyangel.”

What's my weirdest habit?

“Jaemin eats way too much cilantro,” you state, swinging around side to side in your rolling chair.

“I do not!” he protests loudly, and you give him a blank stare. The two of you sit there in silence, not breaking eye contact until he finally relents.

“Okay, maybe I do. But you pour cereal before milk!”

“That’s not a weird habit!” You defend yourself. You are appalled at your best friend. Neither of you have ever woken up early enough for breakfast, so this has never come up before. If you would’ve known this in the past, maybe you wouldn’t be so ridiculously in love with him in the present.

“Yes, it is! Your cereal gets all soggy that way!”

“Only idiots pour their milk first!”

He clutches his heart dramatically. “Are you calling me an idiot?!”

“... So moving onto the next question—”

What do you think I’m talented at?

“Making people fall in love with you,” Jaemin blurts out, and your eyes widen at his answer as your grip on your phone loosens considerably.

“I—I mean, you’re just so approachable, and you’re kind to everyone. You care so much about everyone and everything. People feel comfortable around you, they always gravitate towards you, and you just— I don’t know, you make people feel loved,” he explains, unable to meet your eyes, and his cheeks darken. He fiddles around with the loose strand on his sweater sleeve.

Your heart swells ten times bigger and beats faster than ever. You wonder if Jaemin knows he has the same effect on everyone, too. You hope he does.

You wonder if he knows you’re in love with him and if he would love you back. You hope he does.

When was the first time you said “I love you”  to me?

“Uh, we can skip this one, too,” you say awkwardly, but he throws his arm around your shoulder again, hugging you tightly. “Nope, not skipping! I have the answer to this one!”

He grins toothily at the camera before pinching your cheek for a second time affectionately. “I said ‘I love you’ when you showed up at my dorm and brought me pop tarts at three in the morning after I accidentally drunk texted you, instead of Jeno. That’s when I knew you were a keeper.”

“I did that because I felt bad about throwing up on your shoes at the party we went to the weekend before that,” you mumble, face growing warm when you remember your best friend’s drunken confession a few years back. “Besides, you were drunk. It doesn’t count.”

“Okay, fine, but we say it to each other all the time. The second time I said it was when you brought me chicken nuggets, and I was hungover, but sober.” He says, spinning in his chair.

“I can see the pattern now. You say it when I bring you food,” you say, crossing your arms over your chest with a fake pout. “You love food, not me.”

“That’s not true!” he exclaims, halting mid spin and facing you. He turns your chair towards him, moving forward to clutch both of your hands in his, and stares directly into your eyes seriously. “I love you.”

You inaudibly gulp, helplessly gazing back at him as you feel your face begin to burn, your heart speeding up in your chest. Jaemin grins, leaning back and letting go of your hand. “See? I love you!”

“Y-yeah.” You swallow hard, fumbling over your words. “You love me.”

What is your favorite thing about me?

“Your laugh,” Jaemin replies honestly, reaching out and absentmindedly drawing circles on the back of your hand as he looks at you. “Hyuck told me the other day that whenever I try to do something funny or make a joke, I have a habit of turning towards you for your reaction. It makes me kinda proud that I can make you laugh.”

You know that you’re stupidly grinning like an absolute idiot at this point, but you don’t care. You even almost forget about the camera.

“Your smile,” you answer, maintaining eye contact with him. Your smile widens when you see one appear on his face, his eyes shining brightly. “You have the prettiest smile, and I’m grateful that I’m able to see it everyday or be the cause of it sometimes.”

What film always makes me cry?

“Oh, The Lion King.” Jaemin responds automatically. “We both cry our eyes out at the stampede moment and when Simba tells his dad to wake up.”

“When we saw the live action version together, we brought along a ton of tissues with us, and he used almost all of them.”

What drink do I always order?

“Jaemin is crazy and always gets a venti iced americano with no water and eight espresso shots. He used to drink it six times a day until I yelled at him about it,” you say, shaking your head at the camera before glancing over at your best friend. “It’s seriously bad for your health.”

His lips jut out into a pout as he whines, “You wouldn't let me cuddle with you until I changed it!”

“It was for your own good! Plus, that drink tasted like battery acid!” You exclaim, and he sulks quietly before begrudgingly agreeing. You pat his head in consolation, and he grabs your hand, naturally interlocking your fingers with his.

“I drink it less now and with only two and half shots.”

If I could, what candy could I eat all day long?

“Chocolate,” you blurt out immediately. “Jaemin is a chocolate fanatic. But he’ll take anything with sugar. He has such a sweet tooth. He eats brown sugar when he’s bored. Even his boba drink has 100% sugar.”

“It’s as sweet as you.” Jaemin winks at you exaggeratingly, and you roll your eyes, turning your face away slightly to hide the smile that begins to spread across your face.

“Y/N likes matcha green tea Kit Kats.” He leans closer to the camera, peering into the lens in a serious manner. “If any chocolate companies are watching this, we are both open to sponsorships.”

If I could live anywhere in the world, where would I live?

“Here,” Jaemin says confidently, beaming at you, “You’d want to live here with me. And I want to live here, too. Because this is the bestest place in the world.” He hesitates, faltering for a moment before searching your eyes. “Right?”

Who are you to say no to that?

You smile at him. “Right.”

What am I deathly afraid of?

“You’re afraid of spiders,” he announces, “You make me take care of all the spiders in the apartment.”

“Yeah, it’s the only reason I keep you around,” you say casually, and he gasps, insulted. You give him a cheeky smile. “I’m just kidding.”

He scowls at you, lips pulled into a frown. “You better be.”

What is the first thing that I do in the morning?

“Jaemin is never awake before I am,” you inform the camera, crossing your legs. “I have to wake him up first if we go anywhere.”

“Even if you don’t have to go to an event, you still wake up early to make sure I’m awake, so I won’t be late. So that’s what you do first thing in the morning: wake me up.” Jaemin nudges your leg. “You always come into my room as a blanket burrito with your comforter wrapped around you.”

“That’s because I have to face the treacherous cold to make sure you aren’t late to your events. But you still end up late anyway because you drag me down onto your bed and refuse to let me go until we lay there for twenty minutes,” you grumble, pulling up your legs onto your chair and wrapping your arms around your knees.

“Cuddling is a good way to conserve body heat and start the morning,” Jaemin states, waving his arms around to emphasize his point.

“Really? Do studies show that it’s beneficial to cuddle in the morning?”

“I don’t know.” Jaemin shrugs, making a noncommittal noise. He smiles at you, causing your stomach to do flip flops and your heart to do cartwheels. “But it makes me happy every morning, so I’d say that’s enough proof.”

Who usually wins our arguments?

“Y/N does,” Jaemin sighs heavily, leaning back against his chair in resignation. “You always win.”

“It’s true.” You nod, patting Jaemin’s arm consolingly. “It’s tough always being right, but someone has to do it.”

“You always pout, too, and I just give in because you’re too cute,” he says casually, and you freeze in your seat. Never mind the fact that he’s implying you’re wrong, Na Jaemin just called you cute.

Good thing this is caught on camera because this means you can secretly watch this multiple times in private. And also cringe over your awkward reaction, but let’s not talk about that right now because once again, Jaemin just called you cute. You! Cute! Jaemin! Your mind is honestly short circuiting, and you can’t do anything, except nod and smile like a complete fool.

What do we usually argue about?

“Adopting,” Jaemin says solemnly. Eyes widening, you wait for a moment, but he offers no explanation. You lightly shove his chair, and he rolls a few inches away. “Nana, you can't just end it like that! You have to say more than that!”

Turning towards the camera, you hurriedly explain, “He’s talking about pets. He wants to adopt five dogs and name them after Jisung, Chenle, Jeno, Renjun, and Mark. And then he wants to adopt a snake and name it after Donghyuck.”

“She said we could only get one dog and the snake.” Jaemin scowls, slumping in his seat as he stares into the camera. “I can’t believe she isn’t letting me get five dogs. I love Jisung and all non-Jisung’s equally.”

What’s my favorite clothing item?

“It’s not even yours. You always steals my white hoodie. I haven’t been able to wear it for the past month,” Jaemin complains, and you have the decency to look a little guilty.

You play with the strings of said hoodie that’s currently engulfing your body, curling into yourself as you tuck your face into the sweater like a turtle. “Your clothes smell nice.”

“But we use the same laundry detergent.” Jaemin wrinkles his eyebrows, confusion evident in his eyes. “All our clothes smell like snuggles and cotton.”

“It’s not the same,” you insist, wrinkling your nose, and he shakes his head, lips curling into a smile. He reaches over and tugs the hood of the sweater over your head playfully.

“Okay, whatever you say, angel. You look better in them than me anyway.”

Where am I on a Friday night?

“You’re here with me, eating Chinese take out and watching Criminal Minds,” you answer, and he agrees, nodding.

“We just finished watching all twelve seasons on Netflix, so if anyone has any show recommendations, please send them in!”

What is my weirdest interest?

“Once again, my clothes,” Jaemin says, and you begin to protest but he wags his finger at you. “No, no, no, you don’t get to disagree! You hoarded like six of my sweaters in your closet. I bought you the exact same sweater for your birthday, but you still take mine!”

You silently decide that it is better to accept this defeat than correct him because you actually have seven of his sweaters and a few tee shirts as well.

Who’s my favorite YouTuber?

“Me!” Jaemin’s hand shoots up in the air. “I’m your favorite YouTuber. Next question.”

Your hands start to get clammy as you look down at the final question you have been saving for last. It’s been a good fifteen minutes, and the butterflies still haven’t subsided. If anything, they seem to have multiplied and transformed into a whole rampaging zoo complete with elephants and monkeys.

“Uh, are you sure about that, Nana? ShowMeTheMonet is really good. I also really like itsmebetch a lot.” You stall for time, staring at the last question until the words are stamped in your mind. “Dream Unsolved and Worth It are amazing, too.”

Suddenly, Jaemin is right in front of you as he spins your chair around to face him, frowning and complaining, “What do you mean I’m not your favorite? You’re my favorite! What kind of best friend are you? This is a betrayal! An insult! This is worse than Jisung not calling me his favorite! How could you do this to m—”

“Okay, okay, you’re my favorite! I’m sorry! It was a joke,” you interrupt, but he turns away from you, crossing his arms over his chest.

“No, go make a video with ShowMeTheMonet instead.” He sulks, shoulders hunched over. “If you like her so much, go be best friends with her.”

“I’m sorry! I’ll buy you all the chocolate you want after this,” you plead with him, placing your phone on the table next to you. “I’ll even buy you boba everyday for a week!”

Jaemin brightens up at that immediately. “Oh, yeah! I want some milk tea after this! Okay, what’s the last question?”

You swallow hard, nervously fiddling with the hoodie strings once more and shoving all the butterflies down to the pit of your stomach. Twisting in your seat, you move your chair and spin his around until you’re both facing each other, knees touching.

“‘Where and when was our first kiss?’”

At the immediate thought of kissing you, his cheeks explode in various shades of pink, the tips of his ears catching fire. He’d be lying if he said he hasn’t thought about kissing you daily. Heck, he had to stop himself from doing so earlier when you were burying your face in his stolen hoodie. It’s so unfair that you’re always so cute and looking so… so… kissable.

“I, uh, I don’t think I can answer that,” your best friend stammers out as his eyes dart towards your lips before meeting yours.

“But you got all the other answers right.” Your voice comes out steadier than you thought it would, and you mentally pat yourself on the back. Gnawing on your bottom lip, you pause for a moment, balling your hands into fists before uncurling them and asking hesitantly, “Should I help you out?”

“Yes.” He wonders how exactly you can help him out. Oh god, did he kiss you before when he was drunk? But you would’ve told him if he did that. What if he had ki—

A soft pair of lips lands on his.

You’re kissing him. Oh my god, you’re kissing him! Jaemin wants to jump up and shout it from the rooftops. His heart leaps from his chest, and he’s wildly cheering in his mind as fireworks explode around him before he suddenly remembers that he has to kiss you back.

And so he does.

Jaemin tugs you closer until you’re pulled onto his lap, a muffled squeak of surprise coming from you, and he laughs as he presses his lips against yours more firmly, hands gripping your thighs as you straddle him. Your arms loop around his neck, and your heart ricochets in your chest as you kiss him back until your lungs are screaming for oxygen and you have to pull away.

Jaemin positively beams at you, eyes sparkling as he leans forward and nuzzles his nose against yours affectionately. He laughs breathlessly, resting his forehead against yours. “Yeah, that was really helpful. Our first kiss just happened right here a few seconds ago. And now, our second kiss is about to happen.”

Your best friend closes the distance, crashing his lips against yours once more, and you kiss him back just as fervently, smiling against his lips as he does the same. Never in either of your wildest dreams did you think this was going to happen, but you sure as heck aren’t complaining, and neither is he.

When the two of you finally break apart, you bury your face into the crook of his neck, flustered, and Jaemin laughs giddily, cheeks flushed and eyes twinkling. He hugs you tightly to his chest before nudging you to look up at him. “So did I get a 100% on the boyfriend tag?”

“Yes,” you say, sitting up straight on his lap and grabbing both of his hands in each of your own, intertwining your fingers with his. “You got twenty five out of twenty five. Congratulations on your perfect score.”

“Technically, you did do the boyfriend tag with your boyfriend then, right?” he says slyly, squeezing your fingers. “Shouldn’t I get some bonus points for helping you do the tag correctly?”

You chuckle, failing to contain your smile. “Okay, fine, you get bonus points, too. You did an A plus job, Nana.”

“I’ll take those bonus points in the form of kisses.” He puckers his lips at you, and you easily comply, wordlessly leaning forward to give him one, two, three kisses.

Jaemin grins at you, positively delighted before he attacks you with kisses, peppering soft kisses onto your cheeks, forehead, chin, the tip of your nose, and everywhere else in between until he finally kisses your lips gently.

If this was a cartoon, there would be hearts floating around his head and shooting from his eyes. He leans forward again to kiss you one more time for good measure. You smile mischievously, tilting your head to the side slightly as your hands curl around his shirt. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you want for your bonus points?”

His eyebrows furrow for a split second before his entire face lights up. Jaemin carefully cradles you, picking you up as his grip tightens under your thighs. You let out a quiet squeal, wrapping your arms around his neck, as he stands up enthusiastically.

“Cut the cameras!”

One new notification: peachyangel uploaded a new video!

nana ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚ commented:

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH ANGEL 🥺💗💞💖💗🤩💝💕💜🤧💖💘😭💘🌼💐🥺💖🥺🥺🥺

peachyangel replied: ily too baby 🥺🤧💖💖

insert goofy’s chuckle commented:

is this allowed?? there are minors here 😫 jisung look away

peachyangel replied: get your mind out of the gutter, ya nasty 🙄 we turned off the cam because he wanted to go get milk tea

jisung pwark replied: I’m 18!!!!! Stop treating me like a child!!! 

ghosts are real so suck it hyuck replied: @ jisung pwark stop making me cut the crusts off of your sandwiches then

big head king replied: @ ghosts are real so suck it hyuck how come you don’t cut the crusts off of my sandwiches 😭😭

ghosts are real so suck it hyuck replied: @ big head king because you are a grown adult and jeno already does it for you

jenojam commented:

congrats jaemin!! :)

Starbucks Official commented:

we would love to sponsor you, Mr. Na!

FIGHTING HAEYADWAE commented:

OH YOU ARE NANA!!1!1!!! 🤯🤯

ShowMeTheMonet commented:

um hello i would love to do the gf tag with you! i accept!!! it would be an honor 🤩

peachyangel replied: omg yes!!!! 🥺🥺 let’s do it soon 💖

insert goofy’s chuckle replied: @ nana ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚ did… did we just lose our gfs 🤧

mork lee rawr xD commented:

hahaha nice guys ! this was really cute haha

ty track commented:

the babies are all growing up too fast ):

jeno is my favorite commented:

.... i feel so single @.@

DonutKillMyVibe commented:

let it be known that I was the friend who challenged @ peachyangel to do the challenge and hence, I am the reason these two are together 👀👀

ghosts are real so suck it hyuck commented:

someone should make an updated version of that jaemin complaining video compilation with this

big head king commented:

ayyy you all are the GOAT 🐐🐐🐐

jenojam commented:

so are we just gonna let it slide when he called everyone except jisung “non jisungs” ?

jisung pwark replied: 😎😎

insert goofy’s chuckle commented:

is no one gonna comment on how he called me a snake?????

ghosts are real so suck it hyuck replied: @ insert goofy’s chuckle is no one gonna comment on how much of a clown hyuck is???

insert goofy’s chuckle replied: @ ghosts are real so suck it hyuck wtf? where did this even come from

ghosts are real so suck it hyuck replied: @ insert goofy’s chuckle sorry I thought we were stating the obvious here

big head king replied: LOLOLOL

apado gwenchana god commented:

nice 😎👍🏻

[vynegar]

vyn RRG card story, part three

should i start putting the illustration screenshots at the top of the post, as clickbait? i like presenting them as they appear in the story, but hmm... gotta draw people in.... (yes there’s an illustration in this part and yes vyn looks beautiful and enticing and yes there is another illustration later in the story too)

same disclaimer and notes from part one.

youtube link to Hikari Sherry Gaming‘s video of the card story

links to other parts: one two

do not repost

[PART THREE]

(19:10) Spring Greenhouse

Vyn took me to the center of the greenhouse – next to a set of chairs and table for resting.

On the table there was a basin of water with a small hardwood cutting soaking in it. The tray next to the basin held adhesive tape, thin razor blades, and similar tools.

MC: These are…?

Vyn: This is a hardwood cutting from a grape vine in the winter. It needs to soak in water for twelve hours before being grafted in order to replenish moisture.

Vyn checked his watch as he spoke.

Vyn: Right now, it’s been just about twelve hours.

MC: Huh?

Vyn: During my previous phone call with Raphael, I had him help prepare all the materials for us.

MC: (So that means… From the start, Dr. Richter wanted to come plant a grape vine?)

I felt my ears grow hot, and didn’t dare think more deeply about it.

MC: Then Dr. Richter, what are we going to do?

Vyn: First pick a rootstock plant, then graft this wood cutting onto it.

Vyn quickly chose a young grape plant for the rootstock of the graft. He kept only a branch that was half-lignified, and eliminated all the other branch tips.

Then he disinfected the blades and scraped a 2-cm notch on the lower end of the hardwood cutting.

Next, he split open the center of the rootstock, inserted the lower end of the cutting into the gash in the rootstock, and used plastic tape to tightly bind and secure them.

MC: Is that all that’s needed?

Vyn: Yes. After this, it just needs to be carefully maintained.

MC: Then how long is it until this wound matures, and a grape seedling can normally grow?

Vyn: Two to three weeks.

Vyn: If you’re worried, we can set up a camera here so we can watch it every day.

MC: I’m not that worried. I trust your technique, I’m sure the grape vine will grow very well.

The tips of Vyn’s mouth curved upward in a joyful smile.

Vyn: I’m also extremely certain.

Vyn: It’s almost dinnertime, let’s go back.

(20:43) Restaurant

When Vyn and I returned, dinner had also just been prepared.

Raphael looked between Vyn and me several times and smiled.

Raphael: Vilhelm, I don’t want to be a nuisance that interrupts people’s dates. Would it be better if you helped me test the wine tonight?

Vyn: Alright.

MC: Test wine?

Vyn: Barosk’s wine appraisal meeting is in half a month. Raphael wanted me to try the new wine from his winery before it happens.

Raphael: After all, Vilhelm’s tongue is much pickier than the vast majority of wine tasters.

Raphael: Then let’s begin.

Raphael clapped his hands as he spoke. The doors to the restaurant opened at the sound, and a male servant entered, pushing a serving table of wine.

There were a total of five bottles of wine on the table, the body of the wine bottles wrapped in burlap sacks to block the wine label.

Vyn: That was quite unnecessary. I would never allow external factors to interfere.

Raphael: But I wouldn’t be able to help but make the mental connection, that your score would be somehow influenced by the winery information.

Raphael: So please bear with it and go with the usual method.

Raphael: And also, isn’t it better to let Miss MC take this opportunity to experience joys of a blind taste test?

MC: (Blind taste test?)

MC: (Is it like those games in the movies, where they can determine the wine’s source location, year, and winery brand just from one glance and one sip?)

MC: (Does Dr. Richter have this level of mastery of wines?)

As I was thinking, Vyn had already turned his head towards me to ask my opinion.

Vyn: What do you think? Do you want to try blind taste testing?

MC: Alright, it seems pretty interesting.

The servant lit the candles on the serving table, then used a wine key to unseal each bottle one by one, pulling out the cork. Next, he slowly poured the wine into the decanter.

After the wine had been allowed to breathe, he picked up the first decanter and poured the wine into the wineglasses in front of Vyn and me.

Vyn picked up the glass and gently swirled it, then slightly lowered his head and inhaled the scent of the wine.

Vyn: The red color is very pale, and there’s a mild fragrance of plum, mixed with a bit of the scent of violet and truffle.

Vyn: It must be made with a mix of Grenache and a small amount of Silas.*

Vyn lifted the glass and took a sip, then several seconds later, spit out the wine into the spit bucket.

Vyn: The alcohol content isn’t low, and it has a complex aftertaste.

Vyn: It’s a 1983 blend from White Eagle Winery in southern Barosk.*

I clumsily tried to imitate Vyn, first smelling the scent of the wine, then drinking a small sip.

MC: (It’s pretty good… I can’t taste anything else.)

At that, the servant took off the burlap sack wrapped around the first wine bottle and showed us the label.

Raphael applauded in approval.

Raphael: Completely correct.

MC: That’s amazing, Dr. Richter! Have you specifically learned winetasting?

Raphael glanced at me with considerable interest, then turned to look towards Vyn.

Vyn smiled as he nodded.

Vyn: Winetasting is a way to socialize. When I had just come of age, I specialized in learning winetasting for a while, then gradually I became more and more interested in it.

Vyn: In my free time, I also interact and discuss with wine critics at wine parties.

MC: I see.

After that, Vyn tried the second and third wines in succession, and as before, was completely correct.

In a flash, it was time for the fourth bottle of wine.

After Vyn smelled the wine, he took a sip, and this time he swallowed instead of spitting the wine out into the bucket.

Vyn: This must be a new wine from your winery, isn’t it? Made with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.*

Vyn: The taste is decent. If you let it age for a bit longer, it would be even better.

Vyn: I can give this wine a 98.

Raphael: 98? You know, two wine critics have already given this wine full marks.

Vyn: Didn’t you invite me because you wanted to hear a harsher opinion?

Raphael: Well yes, but I was more hoping to get your first perfect score with this wine.

MC: First perfect score?

Raphael: Miss MC, you probably didn’t know that Vilhelm is one of the harshest wine critics that I’ve ever met in the world.

Raphael: Whether it’s wine sold at the highest auction price, or wine widely praised by wine critics, there’s never been one that’s gotten a perfect score from him.

Vyn: There’s a saying in the world of wine tasting that I agree with – “The difference between wines with high scores and wines with a perfect score of 100 lies in the “impulse” of the moment.”

Vyn: “Like art, music, and beauty, there must be a burst of emotion.”

Vyn: I just feel like those wines are all lacking in a bit of flavor.

Raphael: I think it might not be the wine that’s lacking in that bit of flavor.

As we chatted, the servant had already taken the last decanter and poured its wine into the wineglasses in front of Vyn and me.

I lifted my glass and lightly took a sip.

The wine was rich and smooth, and the harmonious scent lingered in my mouth long after I swallowed the wine.

I turned my head, wanting to hear how Vyn would judge this wine.

Vyn picked up the glass, but after slightly scenting it, a faint crease appeared between his brows.

Vyn: …

MC: (Dr. Richter?)

He didn’t taste the wine like he did previously, instead putting the glass back down on the table.

Vyn: This wine is still disappointing.

Raphael: Is that so… I thought that after aging for so long, its flavor would have changed.

Vyn: Only wines of good quality will improve with age. Ordinary wines left for too long will only turn to vinegar.**

From his words and implications, he seemed to firmly believe that this wine was unpresentable.

MC: (So this wine is that bad… I really don’t have a talent for winetasting.)

Vyn turned to look at me.

Vyn: It’s getting late, I’ll send you back to your room to rest.

Vyn: Early to bed and early to rise; tomorrow we’re still making wine together.

[END PART THREE]

[PART FOUR]

*Grenache, Silas, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot are real wines; White Eagle (白鹰) Winery is from Barosk so presumably fictional

** do u see why i had to translate this card ._.

[autisticmight]

how does someone who knows little-to-nothing about it get into sanders sides? i saw thomas' vines, and i've been sort of tangentially aware that the facets of his personality that he portrayed in the vines have since become characters, but there's a whole bunch of new ones??? what the fuck is a janus???? HELP. tldr where do i find The Lore? plz obi wan ur my only hope

it’s very simple!!! you hyperfixate on thomas sanders’s content in, like, 2016? and then he uploads a video called ‘my true identity’, which is a bit weird, but you love those vine characters. then he uploads more, and it becomes a trend. apparently people in the comments are shipping the prince guy and anxiety. you rewatch the new year’s video an embarrassing amount of times with your dog

i had a whole paragraph here about why i like the series, and why i dropped it and then picked it up again, but it was just a block of lowercase text and i guess it’s kind of hard to read

anyway, here’s the playlist of every episode, but i’m going to put a summary of the series and individual episodes under the readmore, while also ranking them, because i am Special Interesting and i like being useful. and i guess i’m gonna write using. like. actual grammar. if the readmore doesn’t work, then. have fun reading my infodump

here we go

Sanders Sides: A Summary

Fictional Version Of Thomas Sanders (known as Character!Thomas, and will be simply referred to as ‘Thomas’ henceforth) has ‘Sides’, which are parts of his personality that have been exaggerated and personified. It’s a nice little series set in some kind of semi-urban fantasy world, but mostly in Thomas’s living room. It mostly uses the idea of ‘Sides’ to represent the inner schemata of an individual. In simpler terms, you know when you’re conflicted, and you end up arguing with yourself? Yeah, it’s that.

Also, don’t read the comments, unless you want to disregard the care I’ve taken to not put spoilers in the Season 1 Summaries.

Season 1

I’d like to split this into parts, because there are a lot of things in earlier episodes that conflict with later characterisation. However, it’s also fun to watch them, and then rewatch them after some of the longer episodes, and feel your heart shatter!

This half of Season 1 was made solely by Thomas. It tends to be a bit more scattered, and can be watched out of chronological order, or completely skipped. Yes, I’m telling you that you can skip literally all of this section, if you want to. However, these are also the easiest videos to watch, and offer a taste of Silly Sanders Sides Hijinks without the emotional commitment.

My True Identity (6 min) - Thomas delves into the three aspects of his personality; his Logic (Teacher Guy), his Creativity (the Prince, also called Princey), and his Morality (Dad Guy who is Not Thomas’s Dad). At this point, the characters are far more similar to their Vine counterparts, and the characterisation clashes with later episodes. (3/5 - A nice way to see if you’ll enjoy the humour of this series)

Way Too Adult (5 min) - Thomas is asked by his family to help cook Thanksgiving dinner. Dad Guy pops up and discusses with Thomas how he can better learn to take care of himself. Features a talking stove, which is part of the reason why I classify this series as urban fantasy, and the start of a running joke. (2/5 - A fun, albeit rare, look into Dad Guy being responsible. I actually prefer this to My True Identity, but ranks lower due to conflicting with later S1 characterisation.)

Taking On Anxiety with Lilly Singh (6 min) - Thomas hopes and dreams to get rid of his Anxiety, who is a sassy, snide guy, sitting on the staircase. Princey, as the embodiment of Thomas’s hopes and dreams, is... Usurped by an imaginary version of Lilly Singh, who helps teach Thomas how to cope with feeling anxious. (3/5 - Introduces some secret tools that will help us later. The tools are Thomas being able to travel to various places in his head, and also Anxiety.)

A New Year of Lying to Myself... In Song!! (7 min) - The first video wherein you realise that this is A Thing. Thomas welcomes in the new year, hoping that 2017 will be better than 2016. Logic shows up to help him figure out some New Year’s Resolutions, accompanied by Dad Guy and Princey. Anxiety joins in to point out that Thomas has rarely, if ever, kept to his resolutions before. Through the first musical number of the series, the Core Sides and Thomas figure out simple, achievable resolutions that Thomas can use to improve his wellbeing. (4/5 - Unintentional foreshadowing in the form of a bop.)

The Dark Side of Disney (6 min) - Princey, not for the last time, enthuses about the wonders of Disney. However, Anxiety also appears, insisting that Disney is not as wholesome as it first appears. They argue and bond, despite the fact that Thomas still hasn’t redacted his statement regarding his hopes and dreams to get rid of his Anxiety. (2/5 - I have strong feelings on the meaning of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’, both of which are shrugged off in favour of the tryhard-edgy ‘blegh stockholm syndrome’ and ‘blegh change yourself to get your man’. Still, it’s a fan-favourite for a reason, and the endcard always makes me smile.)

I’m in a Disney Show!! (6 min) - Princey enthuses about the wonders of Disney, because Thomas is in a Disney show. He talks about what happened, while the Sides (mostly Logic) suggest clickbait titles in order to entice people to watch the video. (2/5 - L*gan P*ul is mentioned, as he was also in the episode.)

The Mind vs. The Heart (6 min) - Thomas finds himself split between following his mind, Logic, or his heart, Morality. Features onesies, and looks further into the characters of Logic and Dad Guy. (3/5 - Pretty calm and peaceful, to be honest. It’s nice.)

Then we move onto the second part of Season 1. This is when Thomas’s friend, Joan, began to offer their input into scriptwriting and directing. They’re most of the reason why Sanders Sides is an actual series, instead of being silly skit characters in short vlogs. From here on in, episodes become more complex, and work on an actual timeline.

Alone on Valentines Day (9 min) - Thomas is rather upset that he will be, as the title says, alone on Valentine’s Day. The Sides try to help him figure out how to get a date with an imaginary version of his friend Valerie, but each of them has a weirder way of going about it than the last. (4/5 - Far more cohesive than previous videos, but Thomas still wasn’t fully out as gay, so his hypothetical date is a woman. Yes, I took points off because of that. Yes, I’m about to erase the 3/5 to make it 4/5 because Valerie is a delight.)

Losing My Motivation (9 min) - When Thomas finds himself procrastinating, Logic takes it upon himself to find out which side is causing it. In order to get into a deductive mindset, Logic dresses up as Sherlock, while Dad Guy joins in as Watson. Once the case is solved, an important piece of information is revealed: the Sides have names. (Logic’s name is revealed) (3/5 - It’s just a fun little video, and I can’t keep giving every video from here on in 4/5, or that’ll ruin the whole thingy.)

Sanders Sides Q&A (9 min) - Exactly what it sounds like. There’s not much else to say. (2/5 - I love it, but it’s not really necessary to understand the whole series. It’s just extra characterisation.)

Am I Original? (12 min) - Thomas finds himself in a creative rut, trying to think of a completely original idea. Princey requests full creative control - “full-on Daydream Mode” - in order to rapidly consider and enact many different concepts, all while trying to make something that has never been seen before. (Princey’s name is revealed) (4/5 - Important characterisation for Princey. I originally rated it lower due to Thomas’s inability to rap, but upon rewatching, i found that the ending dialogue between Princey and Thomas was worth two points, rather than the single one I gave it previously.)

My Negative Thinking (13 min) - When Thomas messes up in an audition, his ego - Princey - is out of commission and being cared for by Dad Guy. Therefore, the only Sides available to aid him in this situation are Logic and Anxiety, neither of whom can help Thomas in the way he wants to. Anxiety is worsening Thomas’s mental state, so Logan proposes a debate in order to combat those cognitive distortions. (4/5 - A fan-favourite episode which offers a lot of insight into Logic and Anxiety as characters. It is useful as a tool for identifying cognitive distortions in real life, which may help with the individual’s mental health. Even though it introduces another running joke, it’s educational and fun, and it develops their relationship in a positive manner, I just don’t particularly enjoy it.)

Growing Up (15 min) - It’s Thomas’s birthday! He’s in his late twenties, and he’s still a kid at heart. He hasn’t done his laundry, he's silly and immature, and he feels like he isn’t at the point that he needs to be in his life. Therefore, all the Sides, except for Dad Guy, who ironically embodies Thomas’s inner child, work on trying to make him more mature. (Morality’s name is revealed) (3/5 - Features the concept of Voltron Shirt. I love this episode, but there is a noticeable change in audio quality at the end which affects how enjoyable it is.)

Making Some Changes (15 min) - Back in Thomas’s living room, and in opposition to his view from the last episode, Anxiety is worried about how life changes in unpredictable ways, and especially about losing contact with Thomas’s friends. Therefore, in order to keep Thomas’s friends permanently by his side, Princey gets them all to shapeshift. (3/5 - It might be skippable, but it’s just really, really fun.)

Becoming A Cartoon (10 min) - Adding to the whole urban fantasy thing, it turns out that animators can literally, physically turn people into cartoons. Thomas wants to be a cartoon. Princey catches Anxiety in his arms and says “everybody loves the villain,” and I think that’s all you need to know. (1/5 - Co-stars B*tch H*rtman, known for Fairly Odd Parents, Danny Phantom, and Being A Bigot, who did the character designs for the Sides, if not the actual animation. And the designs are kind of. Eh. Just watch some fanmade animatics.)

Accepting Anxiety (23 min) - Part 1: Excepting Anxiety (10 min), and Part 2: Can Anxiety Be Good? (14 min) - HOO. If the musical number or the animation didn’t clue you in, this video confirms that Sanders Sides is A Thing. Remember how Thomas hoped and dreamt to get rid of his Anxiety? Remember how he never redacted that statement, or even expressed a bit of remorse? Well, here, his wishes come true, and he doesn’t feel bad about it at all! That’s because he has absolutely no shame, caution, or fear of death. Yeah, he’s a mess. Therefore, the Sides make him take them on a magical quest to Anxiety’s Room, in order to un-mess-ify Thomas. (Anxiety’s name is revealed) (5/5 - The team really went above and beyond with this one. Like. Hoo. That’s it. Just. Hoo. Hoo. I’m an owl.)

And that’s Season 1!!! I’m going to add Season 2 in a reblog, because this has taken roughly three hours and it’s been really difficult to not spoil their names!!! which i did anyway because their names are all easier to type from muscle memory!!!

[momo-de-avis]

this entire fascist thing is pissing me off so much because like... people my age? they don't care. they don't *know*. We weren't taught how the government works, we weren't even told how many political parties there are (in the parliament rn) and where they stand. Most of us don't read the news (or watch/ listen to it) and when we do, we have no idea who to trust because everyone seems to have hidden interests nowadays and it feels like sooner or later our news source will be exposed too. (1/2)

How do I tell ppl my age, the future of this country, that this is happening here; that it isn't just in other countries? How can I convince them that TVI hosting this dick actually matters bc it's the same as opening ur front door & telling fascists to sit down & spread their message to ur family & friends, without seeming like i'm exaggerating? when it was w trump we told ourselves "how dumb they were! so many red flags! we'll never let this happen & this is happening & no one cares

The issue starts, I think, with not giving enough credit to young people.

I have had this debate far too often and every single time I’m hit with the ‘BUT THEY DO TEACH POLITICS IN SCHOOL, IT’S CALLED HISTORY’

like, no, fuck off, that’s not politics. That’s history. You’re taught how we came to be, the history of our country and a very nuanced idea of how fascism was around and how it fell and how the 1976 constitution came to be. But we lack an actual FUCKING subject taught in every school about citizenship. 

I had a debate about this on twitter and the first people to complain that ‘kids don’t know shit these days’ also jumped on me tell me ‘LOL yeah like anyone’s gonna care about that’ well, not with that attitude. I mean, fuck you, if your entire attitude towards young people and teenagers in general is just gonna be ‘they don’t care, so why bother’ then suck on your fucking thumb.

I blame the older generation for everything, I’m sorry.

There’s also another issue, which is how biased our news outlets are.

Almost all of the popular newspapers and TV stations are owned by the same like, three different companies. You’re either giving money to Belmiro or Sonae or whoever the fuck it is, I’m sorry, I keep confusing Belmiro with Jerónimo Martins. There’s also the issue of clickbaiting and the collapse of traditional news outlets, they wail, in the face of facebook, but instead of improving that, they allowed themselves to get grilled by the two dudes on Truques da Imprensa Portuguesa (remember what Público did to them? How they raised this whole campaign to defame them, revealing their identity and spreading lies about them? And how it actually made them more popular?). Don’t forget Público has been firing some of the best journalists of the past 10 years as well, so we’re left with Ana Leal and her sensationalist bullshit news stories, with that Fox News montage.

I mean, it’s hard out there for a teen to make it into a responsible citizen and we’re the ones to blame---yes, I’m conflating myself with the older generation now, hello thirties.

It’s important that we don’t let history get erased. It’s important that we keep the memory alive of those who suffered in the past. And it’s very important that we communicate with each other. Cut this generational bullshit, stop shitting on teenagers because you think you were so much better when you were their age, oh my God, Carla, you weren’t. You were a piece of shit like the rest of us.

I tell people this: whenever there is a controversial topic being discussed, go back to the source. Take the example of Article 13. Some bimbo youtuber made a video freaking out about it, and I think it was TVI who did a piece saying that Article 13 actually was only there so content creators could be paid! Which is not only a lie, it was a deliberate omission of the real issue. And after this, they asked teens: so, do you think it’s that bad? And they said, oh no in that case no!

I mean, a lot of people I know tell me: kids these days only care about instagram and shit. And I have an analogy I love using: if you had a kid and gave him pizza every fucking day of his life, and he became obese at 6 years old and had cavities at 7, would you blame him or would you blame yourself? Is a kid at fault for being given and fed the shit YOU chose to give him without liberties?

Take a look at my fucking nephew! He’s 6, he has an xbox, a nintendo switch, a PS3, a hoverboard, a ferrari watch and has had 3 tablets. More times than I can count, he’s logged on to youtube and posted videos OF HIMSELF saying ‘hey welcome to my room!’ and his parents scold him---a little slap here and there, btu NOTHING else changes. He is left unsurpivised on youtube at. all. times. Those weird ass videos youtube is trying to censor, catered for kids but filled with violence? He’s watched them all. Do you think his parents did anything about it?

But this christmas, when he threw a tantrum because I WANT TO PLAY ON THE SWITCH!!!!!!!! do you think either his mother or his brother blamed themselveS? NOPE it was the kid’s fault!

Like, you don’t raise a fucking monster and then play victim. You had all the resources available and chose this.

So, people ym age and older: be fucking understanding of teens. If they ask you a question, fucking answer it however stupid it might sound to your ears. Help. Guide them. Don’t be a dick. Don’t act all high and might and say ‘I CANT EBLIEVE YOU DONT’ KNOW THAT!!!’ because mayhe they really don’t, but the more you act like a fucking dick, the less questions he’s gonna ask, and that’s a conscious vote you just lost.

So yeah, this was all our doing.

[krimto-basi-hahm]

how I became friends with brandon rogers: not clickbait

i’ve been making some more brandon friends on here, and I realized that a lot of y’all don’t know my story. I would love to tell it here! for those of you that don’t know him or care, feel free to scroll past lol

(and this whole story updated to the end of 2018 is available here)

2015/2016

I actually found his channel through his first youtubers react episode in december of 2015, but I clicked away because his videos looked stupid to me, lol. after watching the teens react to try me bench, I clicked on a video for the first time (grandpa hates valentimes) in late june of 2016. I grew obsessed QUICKLY. like, I was a full-blown stan in the matter of a few days. I made my fan account on july 7, 2016. unfortunately, the account was taken down by instagram this year. anyway, I also started a youtube channel and made a video for him for his 28th birthday. he saw it and commented:

“Thank you for making this! I was a theater kid too for many, many years!!! I’m glad you’ve been able to find inspiration, never give up on your dreams!! I worked many shirt jobs for 10 years before any success, and would’ve done so for the rest of my life until I did!”

a few months later, I got some friends together and made another video for his 2 million subscriber milestone. he also saw this one and commented:

“Wow, I can’t believe I have such amazing fans who would’ve taken the time to make this for me!! Thank you SO much!!! I’m so happy to hear that people are finding friends through my videos, that’s amazing!!!! ❤️❤️❤️thanks for making this, to all of you!! Much love from the bottom of my heart!!! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!”

the rest of 2016 was pretty boring, so we’ll skip to 2017!!

2017

for those of you that don’t know, playlist live is a 3-day youtube convention in orlando, florida. I begged my mom to go every year since 2014, and she finally let me go this year. this also was the first year brandon attended!! I decided to make him a jar filled with reasons why his fans loved him, and I gave it to him at the event. I met him for the very first time on may 6, 2017 in the lobby at playlist.

our meet-and-great was scheduled for may 7, so we also met then.

the next day coming home, I just assumed he would forget about me and move on. I was wrong! I received this dm from him over facebook messenger:

I was SHOOK!! I felt so happy that I was able to help him that much when he was going through a hard time. anyway, the next thing I did was make the 3 million subscriber special video and 29th birthday video. he only saw the first one and commented:

“Wow, how have I not seen this yet?!? Thank you so much to each of you for making this video for me!!! This really touched me ☺️ thank you!!!!!!!”

in august, he finally accepted my friend request on facebook!! this was insanely cool because he obviously has a much smaller audience there, and I was able to get his attention easier and work towards really becoming his friend. with our facebook friendship, brandon was able to start to get into my personal life, which was really cool. he commented the nicest well-wishes when I came out of surgery and even wished me a happy birthday!! this year was also when I started working on my next present for him: the book of brandon. this book incorporated fan art, letters, and more. I was able to give it to him at playlist live 2018, so you’ll see me mention this later. onto 2018!!

2018

the beginning of the year started off quite strong, with my debate teacher giving us the assignment to write a speech about our hero. I did not hesitate to write a LONG speech about brandon and post it here. he saw it and commented:

“Thank you for this, it touched my heart and I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t seen this video until now!! Feeling the love!!”

a few months later, playlist live 2018 rolled around!! before our meetup on april 28, 2018, I jokingly said to my mom, “what if he was just like, ‘oh hey sophie!’?” sure enough, that is EXACTLY what he said as soon as he saw me! the full video of this meetup can be found here, but I’ll summarize if you’re too lazy to watch it. he immediately thanked me for my speech, obsessed over the book I made for him, and basically talked to me like we were good friends. it was MAGICAL.

I didn’t think I would be seeing brandon again in 2018. well, I was wrong. his tour came around, and he announced a performance in tampa, florida on july 15. I was ECSTATIC. unfortunately, I was out of good sentimental ideas for gifts. I made him a wall calendar full of bad pictures of him, as well as a friendship necklace and a letter. at the show, he was looking for audience participation to come up onstage and act out a “fake date.” when he saw me, he said, “omg, this is one of my biggest fans! miss sophie, I recognize you! please come up here.” I was able to watch his entire show from the stage, and even drank from a glass he took a huge sip out of. at the meet-and-greet, we talked just like good friends once again and he gushed about my gifts and videos. he even bragged about me to my parents!

with august rolling around, I made another video for his 30th birthday. of course, he saw and commented. I think this one was his favorite!

“Awww thank you all SO MUCH for making this!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I'm incredibly blessed to have friends like each of you. Love you all to the moon and back, thank you for making my birthday that much sweeter! :D And thank you Sophie for taking the time to compile this! Take care!!! EDIT: I just made it to the end of the video. fork. I am feelin more touched than a child in prison. I look at many of you and see a younger me, especially you Sophie. I've always felt like an outcast for most of my life; never thought I'd find so many like-minded people. Thank you all so much for taking the time to do this!!!“

a month later, when I was sick in bed, I got the greatest news. brandon was coming to florida AGAIN! this time on november 25 in ft. lauderdale. I couldn’t believe he would schedule two tour stops in florida! this was also his very last stop, so it was a very special show. still out of big gift ideas, I made him a basket filled with lots of small gifts. at every tour stop, he would do a q&a for 10-15 minutes. as soon as he saw me in the audience while starting the q&a, he said “oh my gosh. this is sophie everyone...” I wish I could remember everything he said, but he mentioned how much I’ve done for him as a fan. even though he wasn’t planning on bringing anyone up onstage, he asked me to come onstage with him and help him with the q&a. brandon gave me the power of picking who he would come to in the audience, as well as asking me to answer some of his questions and really including me through the whole process. he even told me he would love to have me in a video!!! pure magic. I have clips of video from this show, so dm me if you would like to see them!!

the last thing that happened in this year was him wishing me a happy birthday again. onto 2019!!

2019

the main thing I’ll be talking about in 2019 is playlist live because that’s the main interesting event of this year so far. a few days before the event, rachel williams (his manager) gave me her phone number to coordinate with them to hang out there!! I made him a big gift bag because I was STILL out of ideas for bigger gifts. on march 2, we had our meetup. he asked the meetup attendant if he could have some extra time with me because I’m “one of his biggest fans”. he then proceeds to tell me...

“I got something for you!”

WHAT? he gives me the gift, and I give him his. we talk briefly before the attendant ushers me along. the two other people there were jon cozart and mac kahey, who both said to me “oh YOU’RE sophie! brandon was telling us all about you!” WHAT? it was a lot to process.

I open the gift and see that he has given me THE shirt BOOK from stuff & sam, THE HEART from blame the hero, a stuff & sam shirt, and a card!!! WHAT? again, a lot to process.

unfortunately, I never got to hang out with brandon and rachel because I got really sick the next day. however, they were both so understanding and carved out a few minutes to see me before I left!!

overall, this year, we have become a lot more comfortable with each other both in person and online, really talking just like friends. I am so incredibly grateful for him and everything he has done over the years.

omg thank you for reading all of this!! dm me to talk or gush about brandon or be friends whatever man love y’all!!

[motogpfanpage]

ROUND 14: ARAGON

Last round in Europe before the huge month of flyaways, Aragon marks a turning point in the season as Marc Marquez gets closer to clinching another World Title.

1) Captain Marquez

On thursday Marc Marquez stated he still had the title in mind, even though his lead is already huge, and would be willing to lose 5 or 10 points to his opponents.

On saturday he went even further into this state of mind saying a top 5 would be his goal after failing to take pole position against fellow spaniard and future teammate Jorge Lorenzo.

Once sunday came, and after a good night sleep, gone was the careful Marquez and back was the crazy beast: “ I got up this morning I say okay, I want to take a risk today ”. And many risks he took indeed running wide and taking Lorenzo with him at turn 1, fighting on and on with Dovizioso, giving back every attack, switching places multiple times in one lap and finally pushing for the win in the final laps to escape the Desmo’s power in the straights.

Marquez believe the reason behind his race win at Aragon was a tire gamble he decided to take. Supposed to race the hard once again, the spaniard went against all odds and favored the soft as he believed he would be his only chance against the Ducatis: “ In the warm-up I didn't feel well but I pushed, I crashed and then I start to think why I crash. Then we speak together with Santi [Hernandez, crew chief], with my technician and I say to him 'I want the soft rear'. Then started a big meeting, discussions inside the team, with HRC because I did not try that soft tyre in the afternoon in hot temperature but I say I believe on this one, I can manage. Another thing is, was the only chance to fight against Dovi because with the hard I felt good but for my riding style was not working in a good way, especially on the entry. ”

Aragon GP win helped Marc increasing his lead advantage and even though he cannot win the title next time out in Thailand, his first match point will come right after at Motegi.

2) Two side of the same coin

The Aragon GP may have been won by Marquez and Suzuki may have got a podium but the image of the weekend certainly was Jorge Lorenzo’s monstruous highside at the first corner right after the start of the race.

An horrific incident leaving the spaniard with a dislocated a toe and fractured second metatarsal on his right foot. After being checked by the clinica on Sunday, and again in Barcelona on Monday, Lorenzo’s participation to the Thai GP is all but certain. Forced in resting his leg and foot for at least the 10 coming days, the spaniard will be checked again by the medicals later this week to see how the situation is evolving and if he could be fit enough to take part to the next grand prix in Thailand. 

Lorenzo’s foot might be hurting but so is his tongue. On sunday night the spaniard put some of the blame for his crash on future teammate Marc Marquez’ lines and block pass at turn 1: “From the outside, [it looked like] I entered too fast, I lean too much and I entered too wide in the dirty part, that's why I crashed. From what I lived, what I experienced, I entered in the normal line, entered the corner as I did in the seven last years here in Aragon, but I watched Marc go into the inside, very aggressive, not making the corner because you saw where he finished, in the green [paint on the outside]. And when he saw that I was there, he tried not to let me pass into the corner, and I didn't have any options [but] to go to the dirty part. Because we were very wide and already the other riders were coming, if I didn't want to lose five or six positions, I had to open the throttle.“In Misano [last time out] the crash was completely my fault, this time Marc destroyed my race, destroyed my foot, destroyed also the big possibility that I have to win and probably also [the] Thailand race.”

Lorenzo’s words were greeted with many criticizes, most people thinking it could only be his ego speaking and blaming Marquez for a mistake he did on his own. Body language though doesn’t lie and watching MotoGP dot Com’s video clip of JL’s post race debrief only shows someone who genuinely believe what he is saying. 

Is Marquez to blame ? Is Lorenzo to blame ? Is it 50/50 ? Everybody will have their own opinion on the matters but reporters can put their clickbait headline about the “Dream Team Already Fighting” to rest as both Lorenzo and Marquez went on to show what Gentlemen are made of.

On Monday night, the oldest spaniard made a twitter thread explaining his view of the incident with a more calm and resting head. He then added: “This is my version, But I want to inform you that this afternoon I received a call from Marquez checking on me, which honors him.”  

Something to which Marc Marquez replied: “Get well soon! We will see each other in Thailand”.

They might not always agree and they will definitely have moment of fight next year at Honda, but when you have respect for one another, it makes everything else easier. Even the reconciliation of two great champions. 

3) Best of the rest

Failing to stop Marquez from winning his home GP, Dovizioso was pretty happy with the result anyway once in the parc fermé on Sunday. The Ducati, clearly shaping into the best bike on the grid, is so good that even Marc Marquez’ riding skills needs helps from a few tricks and gambles to win: “In Misano it was very important, but here even more because this confirms our improvement, and this improvement is the reality but is even better for the future. This is the way I want to look at the weekend, Because we come here with a lot of confidence from the [other] competitors, they thought we could win easy the race. But it's never like this, and I'm so happy how much we improved from last year – this is the point. Unfortunately we couldn't win, we try until the last lap, but we have to study and analyse the reality, and the reality is we did a good step – a huge step.”

With Jorge Lorenzo and Crutchlow out of the race and Yamaha struggling at the back, Iannone, Rins and Pedrosa decided to give everybody a quick reminder of just what they capable of.

Showing a fairly good pace all weekend, Andrea Iannone was the revelation of Sunday’s race. The maniac, more used to playing bowling with other riders when fighting with them was the cleanest we’ve seen of him in a long time. Sharp but never on the edge, the italian gave his everything and never let a mistake made by the leader being unnoticed. After sandwiching Marc Marquez with Dovizioso though, Iannone realized he could keep up with the Honda and Ducati and settled for 3rd: “It was a really great race for us and in many cases, a real battle because first of all, I fight a lot with my tyres, especially with the rear because it is really important to manage for all the race. During the practice we worked in a good direction with the used tyres and in the race I tried to not push a lot and push the bike on the side, and I think this is a really good strategy. At the end, the last five or six laps I started to recover the gap a little bit. The Honda and Ducati are more faster than us on the straight and I think this is the negative point for the race of today, but it was a good race.”

Behind him his teammate, Alex Rins, was struggling to keep his older teammate’s pace but not for lack of trying. In the end he was 4th and very happy to bring home a good result: “I’m really happy, I think we passed these expectations that we made yesterday. Mostly during all the race I was riding very comfortable with the first group. But then when there were twelve laps to go I started to feel something strange on the front. Since the beginning I believed in Suzuki, I was saying we had a competitive bike, no? In some races we’ve been a little bit at the back, for the setting or I don’t know what. But for sure our bike is very competitive and very good. Sure, we need to improve a little bit in the top speed and the small things, but I’m very happy with my bike.”

A little further back, Pedrosa almost looked like his older self riding with perfect line in a way only him can. Getting the benefits of a few new pieces given to him from Honda after asking for them since Jerez, the spaniard had what seemed to be his best shot at a podium since the start of the season. A 5th place isn’t was he was hoping for but soon enough will came Sepang and we know just how strong the little samurai can be there: “I think today in the race everything was quite well, we were able to start with the front group and i was able to do some passing, but unfortunately the hard rear had no grip. I was unable to carry the corner speed and the acceleration out of the turns with the hard, and that make me lose a bit of the gap per lap that I was unable to stay in the [lead] group.“I think with a little better grip in the rear I was able today to be in the podium or fight for the victory.”

4) Debacle and Disaster

If you thought the Austrian GP was a disaster for Yamaha then the Aragon GP was purgatory. At a track where former Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo used to make it onto the podium, the Rossi and Vinales duo barely made it into the top 10 after both qualifying way too far on the grid for a factory team.

If Marquez changed his mind from Saturday to Sunday, the same happened to Vinales. Not on the pace, in Q1 and struggling to get into Q2, the spaniard was penalized with a 3 places on the grid penalty for cruising on the racing line while Bradley Smith was on a hot lap. On saturday night he tweeted “we’re still motivated”.

On sunday and after a disastrous race result, there was no motovation left for box 25. Still not getting any better at race start the spaniard struggled to get closer to the top 10: “We have lost all our objectives, we don't know what to aim for. The feeling on the bike is very bad. Now we have the Asian tour and I just hope to get it over with fast. Zero motivation, zero expectations. For me it is the worst race I've done in Yamaha, and the worst time on the bike, when the feeling was worst on the bike. I can't tell really the precise problem because every area was working bad, was not even one area that was okay. I was comparing myself with non-factory bikes and they were even better than me.”

Side 46 of the box wasn’t partying either. For the first time in i don’t know how many year (if it even ever happened before) we got ourselves a VR46 waiting for a tow during Q1 saying there was no way he could have had the pace for Q2 alone.

Failing to find one, the doctor qualified at a very anonymous 17th place on the grid. Only his sunday racer skills would help him get into the top 10 and beyond.

It is now 23 races since Yamaha last one a race and even though anything can happen during the flyaways one could think everybody should prepare themselves for a year without any yamaha win: “I started very much behind, but I could keep a constant pace for the race and I can take some points, I can make the top 10, that yesterday I wasn’t sure [I could do]. It’s like this, this is our potential now. We hope to improve.”

Both sides of the box are hoping to see the light at the end of a very dark tunel, if only heads in japan would start doing something to solve a problem Rossi believe will not go away even with the 2019 engines: “I hope it’s important for Yamaha to react.“Maybe some top guys see the number, and somebody asks: ‘Why?’ ”

5) Honorable mentions

Aleix Espargaro’s 6th place in the race with the Aprilia felt nothing less than a win!

Danilo Petrucci in 7th continues to be a disappointment. 

Zarco cannot do better than 14th which comes as no surprise when even the factory riders struggles to be in the top 10.

Pol Espargaro’s was forced out of the race weekend due to a crash when he was just coming back from a severe injury. 

It was nice having Jordi Torres back in the paddock. The famously #kneedown rider made a respectable job out of a great opportunity replacing Tito. 

[thenightmaregrrl]

Bruh

So.... Butch Hartman. I grew up with his shows Tuff Puppy and Fairly Odd Parents. When my mom showed me a video of him drawing the main cast of Danny Phantom 10 years later, I got excited, an opportunity to get closer to the guy who helped me shape who I became. Then I saw the clickbaiting and pandering and dropped him like a sack of potatoes. I don’t want that, i’d rather watch Vine compilations and laugh at them than seeing him draw Jake Paul in the Fairly Odd Parents style. Then when I learned about Oaxis. Oh boy did that get me riled up, as did his ‘joke’ about Mary Kate Bergman, his shitting on people with depression or are introverted, his actions back when Danny Phantom was on and his homophobic stances on the fandom and all his gatekeeping that still affects that fandom to this day. He plans on making Oaxis have Christian values, now as I am a Catholic, to me those are don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat on your wife, don’t commit a sin, God loves you and will forgive you for your trespasses etc. If it’s like “Join my religion or else your soul will burn in the depths of Hell!” then fuck that, we already got enough shit on our plates. (Hello Pedo Priests.) He was also vague and withheld info on Oaxis to get more funding for it, which is very Un-Christ like dear brother Butch. I have a feeling the latter is what Butchy here plans to do, call it a gut reaction. Whatever. He says his shows have Jesus in them, then where the Hell was He when Cosmo got pregnant? Ugh, it’s nighttime where I am and I’m sick of it. Sick of people like Butch use religion to further their agenda and make them look good. That’s not a Christian, a Christian is someone who helps you, prays for you, and if you want them to chip in and give you advice. They’ll do it. If you have any bad experiences with Christianity or religion in any way, then I apologize if this seems tone deaf. For guy who ‘created my childhood’ he certainly ruined it. 

[leechbeech]

11 question tag

i was tagged by @sunbeamstarship (thank you)

rules:

answer the 11 questions you’ve been asked

nominate 11 other bloggers

let them know you’ve nominated them

questions:

1. what’s the best gift you’ve ever gotten?

a polaroid camera! i got it for christmas two years ago and i did NOT appreciate it enough at the time but now it’s one of my favorite things. i think it’s because i like capturing moments in a real, tangible way. sometimes digital photo isn’t enough. (the prints also make really cute gifts!)

2. what “weird” food combinations do you really enjoy?

hm okay i don’t think i have any particularly unconventional food combos but i like eating mint leaves with honey on them? which i guess is kinda weird if you think about it for either a really short or really long amount of time.

3. What’s the oldest thing you own?

the oldest thing i can think of is my mom’s jacket from like the 90s. it’s my FAVORITE thing omg i wear it so often.

4. do you prefer tabletop games or video games?

definitely tabletop— i don’t have the patience or attention span to finish a video game, i always get bored halfway through

5. what media do you quote the most often?

tha good good cryptic, dumb shit you see on tumblr

6. what trivia do you know that is very interesting but also very useless?

a bear served in the polish military in world war ii, his name was wojtek and he’s one of the only valid poles on this earth, myself included (google it, it’s amazing) 🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱

7. how would your favorite movie be titled if it were a clickbait video?

STORYTIME: I ALMOST GOT KILLED AT A REAL LIFE MURDER MYSTERY PARTY??? (SHOCKING)

(clue the movie is so bad and i love it so much)

8. what could you spend hours talking about?

my FRIENDS oh my god i love my friends so much like wow my heART

9. what do you wish you had more time for?

myself

10. what kind of music are you into?

late 90s to like 2015 pop, musical theater, i dabble in some indie shit

11. what shows/movies do you recommend?

shows: psych, the good place, jane the virgin

movies: west side story, mean girls, clue

new questions

1. what’s one really specific weird thing you remember from your childhood?

2. where do you want to live later in life?

3. what is your favorite pair of shoes?

4. when was the last time you were outside late at night?

5. what’s the first sentence on page 53 of the book nearest to you?

6. what was the last competition you won?

7. what’s the last song you listened to?

8. what were you doing 24 hours ago?

9. how many birds are in a quarter-mike radius to you?

10. how have you changed for the better in the last year?

11. what’s a new hobby or interest you’ve discovered recently?

tags:

i’m not going to tag people because i’m lazy and terrible but if you see this go ahead and answer the questions! consider yourself tagged!

[kayluh1915]

My Final Post on Anthony*

*until he gets his shit together

So, as you all may or may not remember, I made A POST after Anthony’s atrocious April Fools day video claiming that I was DONE with Anthony... and I was... but not fully. While I did unsub from his channel (which was long overdue) I still followed him on Instagram and Twitter and actually left my tweet notifications on for him. I also answered SEVERAL other questions about Anthony through my inbox. However, this post is the last time I am mentioning Anthony on this blog as an independent creator.*

This post is nothing more than one big ass critique of Anthony and his content. This is my last shot at trying to reach out to Anthony to make some changes because after this, I’m done.* I WANT him and his channel to succeed so bad that seeing him fail like this and knowing that it’s his fault makes me sick. This post will show you why me and so many others are SO angry and will show you that Anthony knows what he’s doing, but for some reason continues to ignore us while he quietly loses subs and followers by the THOUSANDS monthly in the background. I CARE about Anthony and WANT him to succeed. That’s why I’m making this post. To try and help him (if he’ll listen) and show people that he is MUCH MORE than the content he’s putting out. However, if he doesn’t care, then I can’t care anymore. LAST SHOT!

Feel free to send this link to him through Twitter if you have the balls (cause I sure as hell don’t)! I WANT him to see it.

Buckle up, kiddo’s! It’s a long one!

Anthony’s content changes at the drop of a hat. I’ve honestly seen more consistency out of a fucking camelaian. You CANNOT be inconsistent on YouTube if you hope to succeed. Sure, changing things up once in a while isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but changing every few months just pander to some people is channel suicide. It may get you a couple of extra views at first, but you will lose the audience you already had because you are no longer who they subbed to in the first place.

When he first left S*osh, I think his plan to build an audience was to ride over most of the subs he had from S*osh while also collabing with a few well known solo creators to gain attention from people who didn’t watch S*osh. Not a bad plan to start off with, however he most likely did not gain as many S*osh subs as he thought he was going to, so he panicked and started using the dirtiest tricks in the book to get seen such as clickbait and LOADS of collabs as seen below which was the wrong response. The correct response was just to continue with what YOU wanted to make while also finding a balance with videos WE wanted to see and eventually the subs would have followed because they liked who YOU were... but he did not do this.

After the collab phase (which lasted about three months), I believe he tried to move on with videos he wanted to make which was the videos where he portrays a socially inept character. This within itself IS NOT the issue, it’s HOW he went about it. When creating a character persona separate from yourself, it’s important to let the audience know when you’re the character and when you’re you. You don’t have to come flat out and be like: “Yo, I’m Anthony today guys!” you can easily do this by giving your character a name or by SEPARATING how YOU act and how your CHARACTER acts. It’s just enough context clues for your audience to figure it out. Anthony fails at this. When your audience doesn’t see the character line, they get confused and wonder why the hell you’re acting so foolish. Most don’t get it. It makes the line even more blurry when you market a channel and social media as YOU and instead just use it as another outlet for your character or for promotion of said character. Newcomers have no line to see and it makes it almost impossible for the average viewer to get what you’re doing. You just look like an idiot to them... which most won’t subscribe to.

This is why, I believe, his videos without another popular creator or subject in the title barely breaks 100k which is MUCH lower than he probably anticipated which, again, caused him to panic and go back to clickbait. His titles ARE NOT creative and is using basic psychology to draw people in weather he realises it or not. Using titles like “I’M SORRY!”, “COUPLE GETS THEIR TEST RESULTS!” and “THE REAL REASON WHY I LEFT S*OSH!” makes you wonder. Why is he sorry? What did he do? What test? What test did they take? What’s the real reason? Our brains naturally want to complete things, so the average viewer will click on it because they HAVE TO KNOW by the nature of their brain. In my personal opinion, it is a DISGUSTING tatic of trying to get an audience. If you rely on clickbait, it shows me that you’re either:

A) Uneducated with the YouTube algorithm and don’t know a better way...

Except Anthony DOES know a better way and is well educated about the algorithm. How do I know? Well, in THIS episode of Game Theory, MatPat mentions that he worked with Smosh (AKA: Ian and Anthony) to help them with their audience. He’s also mentioned working with them several other times in other meta theories that he has done. So Anthony:

B) Understands how to properly build an audience and is WELL educated with the algorithm, but instead uses the knowledge to manipulate people into subbing instead of showing them that he is deserving of their sub.

While collabling and clickbait CAN help reach out to more people who would otherwise not see your channel, COMPLETELY relying on it is just PURE LAZINESS. I can understand using those tactics like once a month or further apart, but every other video!? If you want to succeed, you have to maintain a BALANCE between what people want to see and what you want to make. Just flat out relying on the algorithm to build your audience for you isn’t going to get you very far.

As gross as these tricks are, it didn’t boost him too much. He’s gaining in views, but his sub count is unsteady. The appropriate response to this is to continue doing what you were doing but start making subtle changes to help draw a character line and to subtly help the average viewer get your humor by dumbing it down a bit. I personally don’t think his humour is funny. The timing is TOO LONG and there’s no base for his joke which leave many seeking out Google to get the punchline. Dumbing down the humor and finding a balance between your normal humor will help bring in more average viewers. Also finding a balance between manipulative tactics and YOUR OWN content would also be a WONDERFUL response. This will in turn eventually grow your subcount to where you don’t even have to manipulate people into watching your content or subbing to you. My channel is practically dead and even I know that you can’t pull the BS that’s he’s pulling and make money off of it to pay for your fancy house that Gerard Way used to own.

To this very day, his sub count is EXTREMELY unsteady. According to his SOCIAL BLADE, while he is gaining a little subs, he’s losing a lot too. He’ll go for about a week or two gaining anywhere from 50 to 300 new subs a day to losing 100-400 a day for a solid 4-7 days.

It’s not a steady a count that you see with most successful channels. For example, many consider S*osh to be dead now, but their Social Blade tells a TOTALLY different story.

While not that impressive, at least it’s STEADY. They gain an average of 1,500 a day with only one bad day within a two week time span. THEY’RE GROWING... not fast, but still growing.

Between April 29th to May 8th, Anthony gained 1,484 subs, but between May 9th to May 14th, he LOST 1,913 which means that even on his good days, he ends up losing them later on during his bad weeks which isn’t great if you’re hoping to build an audience. He’s not growing... wonder why, guys?

THIS is why we’re angry at Anthony. We KNOW he’s better than riding off of the algorithm. He is a genuinely funny guy when TRIES to be, but all this pandering bull shit is pushing people away from him. He thinks it’s getting more views and subs, but it’s not. In fact, his Twitter and Instagram is FAR worse than his channel.

His TWITTER only had ONE good day in a two week time frame.

His INSTAGRAM is worse, losing an average of 600 a day and 19,000 within a month.

Weather you agree with me or not, numbers don’t lie and it’s CLEAR that he is doing something wrong to be losing so many followers and subs. Also, that “SUPER HILARIOUS” 4/20 JOKE he made the other day on Twitter with who he’s following, yeah he did that on purpose just to make a weed “joke.” It’s equivalent to your 10-year-old brother who just found a YouTube playlist full of MLG meme comps.

Don’t believe me? CHECK IT.

The dates even line up.

He keeps using these minuliptive techniques and won’t even TRY to make regular content and his numbers are suffering for it. For someone who’s obsessed with them, he sure doesn’t seem to want to build them.

Also, this isn’t about me being upset with his content. As long as he’s happy, I don’t care what he makes AS LONG as it lives up to his potential. IT DOESN’T. It doesn’t even come CLOSE to what he’s capable of. He could EASILY be one of the top YouTube channels if he gave a damn and TIRED. He’s not trying, HE’S MANIPULATING and it’s ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE for someone who once shone brighter than the sun not just to me, but everyone else. This new channel and “Anthony’s” behavior his A MESS and a disaster waiting to happen. You may have your mindless subs who buy your poorly made merchandise fooled, but you don’t have me fooled. If you have ANY hope of wanting to pay for your fancy house, bills, or anything you want, YOU BETTER start making some changes because you ARE GOING TO FALL eventually. You can’t keep running from who you are. Eventually, you will grow tired of trying to be someone you’re not and when you do, the people you tried so hard to please will be gone. You’ve already lost me who’s been nothing but loyal to you and Ian for over four years... who’s next?

I’m FUCKING COMPLETELY DONE!!!!!!!*

[coinprojects]

New Post has been published on https://coinprojects.net/an-ethereum-blockchain-upgrade-crypto-regulatory-battles-and-bitcoin-price-discussion-hodlers-digest-aug-1-7/

An Ethereum blockchain upgrade, crypto regulatory battles, and Bitcoin price discussion: Hodler’s Digest, Aug. 1-7

Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

  Square to acquire Australian fintech Afterpay in $29B deal

Jack Dorsey’s digital payments firm Square entered into a $29 billion stock deal to purchase Australian buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Afterpay this week. 

Just like the name Afterpay implies, Square will essentially be buying the firm now and paying later, with the transaction set for the first quarter of 2022 and to be paid out entirely in Square common stock.

Bitcoin (BTC) proponent Anthony Pompliano was pleased with the news, noting on his web series The Best Business Show that Square is one of the only stocks he owns, as he forecasted that the firm’s valuation will explode following the acquisition.

In an Aug. 3 YouTube video, Pomp went for sheer and utter clickbait with the title “SQUARE is going to be worth 1 TRILLION dollars,” and he emphasized the potential of rolling out Afterpay’s BNPL services to 70 million Cash App users and 2 million Square merchants.

  Ethereum London hard fork goes live

The London hard fork arrived almost on schedule on Aug. 5, ushering in Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559. An interesting feature of the upgrade is that it also ushered in some bullish sentiments from Ethereum (ETH) proponents and some sour grapes from Bitcoin maxis. 

Ethereum has now transitioned away from a bidding-based fee market to a fixed price-and-burn mechanism, which may see the asset become deflationary if more ETH is burned than issued in block rewards. However, this may be more likely after the switch to proof-of-stake with ETH 2.0. If the asset does become deflationary, it would reach the status of “ultrasound money,” which is a term that has also been a long-running meme in ETH communities that mocks Bitcoiners’ description of BTC as sound money due its capped supply of 21 million.

  BREAKING: White House confirms support for minor changes to crypto tax proposal

The White House officially backed a last-minute amendment to the controversial U.S. infrastructure plan that proposes expanded cryptocurrency taxation to raise an additional $28 billion in revenue. The amendment maintains stringent reporting requirements for blockchain developers and validators while exempting miners. 

However, the amendment’s vague wording and lack of clearly defined terms suggest that crypto developers and proof-of-stake validators would still be subject to expanded reporting and taxation that some have described as “unworkable.”

For some reason, members of the White House seem intent on cracking down on tax evasion in crypto without understanding the nuances of the industry. They also seem to overlook the blatant rorting of the system from multinational giants who essentially vacuum capital out of the people’s pockets while paying zero tax.

  Mike Novogratz blasts US officials for poor grasp of crypto industry

Amid the backdrop of looming crypto regulations that will most likely increase taxes and decrease profits, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz has come out swinging in response to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s remarks calling cryptocurrency “the wild west” of the U.S. financial system.

The billionaire crypto proponent’s jabs were, of course, delivered through social media, with Novogratz taking to Twitter on Aug. 3 to assert that most U.S. officials have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to crypto: 

“Crypto is the future of our financial system and our citizens deserve officials that do their homework to understand this new technology. Most of our leaders haven’t done that yet. We also need regulators and politicians who understand that new ideas need room to grow.”

  Circle and Unstoppable Domains to introduce username-based USDC payments

Circle and Unstoppable Domains are working to introduce username-based addresses as an alternative to long-winded alphanumeric crypto wallet addresses to aid the not-so-tech-savvy, a.k.a. newbies and boomers. 

According to an Aug. 4 announcement, blockchain domain name provider Unstoppable Domains and stablecoin issuer Circle are collaborating to release readable “.coin” usernames for USD Coin (USDC) transfers.

As part of the partnership, both companies will collaborate to enable support for .coin username extensions across wallets and crypto exchanges that list the number two-ranked stablecoin. 

Under this arrangement, USDC transfers will become akin to sending an email, likely mitigating the problem of transferring coins to the wrong address, losing funds forever and living with regrets over one’s lack of due diligence.

Winners and Losers

    At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at $42,651, Ether at $2,867 and XRP at $0.74. The total market cap is at $1.73 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Voyager Token (VGX) at 94.22%, THORChain (RUNE) at 50.69%, and Ravencoin (RVN) at 44.13%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Amp (AMP) at -14.97%, XinFin Network (XDC) at -4.74%, and Telcoin (TEL) at -1.66%. 

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

    Most Memorable Quotations

  “We can see Bitcoin on the balance sheets of cities, states, governments, companies, small [and] big investors.”

Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy CEO

  “We’re now moving into a world where we have these nonfungible software objects that have unique identities that can actually accept money, pay money and can participate in governance, either in decentralized autonomous organizations or potentially other kinds of governments that can govern themselves.”

Joe Lubin, ConsenSys founder and CEO

  “I’m spending five hours a day on everything from regulation to licensing and everything in between.”

Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX CEO

  “Primarily, crypto assets provide digital, scarce vehicles for speculative investment. Thus, in that sense, one can say they are highly speculative stores of value.”

Gary Gensler, chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

  “Crypto is a bit like the parable of the blind men and the elephant. People touch it from different sides. They get distracted and carried away and energized about these different topics.”

Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz general partner and co-founder

  “If you put a gun to my head, and you said, ‘I can only have one.’ I would choose gold.”

Ray Dalio, billionaire hedge fund manager

  “Just so we’re all clear here, the SEC has no authority over pure commodities or their trading venues, whether those commodities are wheat, gold, oil….or #crypto assets.”

Brian Quintenz, U.S. CFTC commissioner

  “The more people with stablecoins in the pocket, the more people who can participate in decentralized finance.”

Matthew Gould, Unstoppable Domains CEO

Prediction of the Week 

  Bitcoin chart fractal suggests BTC price will have rallied to at least $80K by September

If this latest bullish BTC prediction turns out to be true, Bitcoiners may soon be able to start driving their lambos on the moon. 

Nunya Bizniz, an independent market analyst, posted a bullish prediction on Aug. 1, as they highlighted that the recent rally of around 40% in late July included 10 consecutive days of lovely green candles, and not those horrible red ones that bears love so much. 

The analyst noted that each of BTC’s previous 10-day bull runs has ended up with at least a 100% price increase within 30 to 60 days. Therefore, if history repeats itself, Bitcoin’s price may double and surge to new all-time highs around the $80,000 mark.

FUD of the Week 

  South Korean regulator to reportedly shut down 11 crypto exchanges

Crypto regulations in South Korea may become more stringent after news circulated this week that South Korea’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission, or FSC, is reportedly planning to shut down a dozen local cryptocurrency exchanges amid accusations of fraud.  

The FSC will suspend operations of at least 11 mid-sized crypto exchanges in South Korea due to alleged illegal activities and fraudulent collective accounts, according to local media outlets.  

The publication cited anonymous industry sources claiming that the names of the exchanges were not yet disclosed, so Koreans will not know exactly what to FUD over until the names come to light. The sources argued that the mentioned crypto exchanges will be unable to get approval for operation by the FSC. 

The report also notes that the authority is planning to implement stricter regulations for smaller crypto exchanges in South Korea, meaning that anyone firm that wants to partake in illegal behavior will have to do it on a large scale.

  Monero’s former maintainer arrested in the US for allegations unrelated to cryptocurrency

Speaking of alleged illicit behavior, Riccardo Spagni, the former maintainer of the Monero (XMR) cryptocurrency, was arrested last month in Nashville, Tennessee, but not for anything related to crypto.  

Spagni is facing fraud charges tied to alleged offenses in South Africa between 2009 and 2011, during his time serving as an information technology manager at a company dubbed Cape Cookies. 

Spagni allegedly fabricated additional invoices from a supplier of Cape Cookies, which included inflated prices for goods and services, along with his bank details instead of the suppliers’. He now faces a hearing on Aug. 5 to determine whether he is held, pending trial. If convicted in South Africa, he faces 20 years in prison.

  Breaking: BSV reportedly suffers ‘massive’ 51% attack

Bitcoin SV reportedly suffered a “massive” 51% attack on Aug. 3 that resulted in up to three versions of the chain being mined simultaneously.

Speaking about the attack, Lucas Nuzzi, a network data product manager at Coin Metrics, stated on Twitter that “someone is seriously trying to destroy BSV,” and added that:

“For over 3 hours, attackers were able to take over the chain. All exchanges that received BSV deposits during that time might have been double spent.”

  Best Cointelegraph Features

BlockFi faces regulatory heat, a sign of possible crypto lending regulations?

The crypto lending giant BlockFi is facing regulatory scrutiny from a handful of states in America ahead of a proposed public listing.

Civic engagement and crypto: Miami unveils its own digital coin

MiamiCoin is not just a cryptocurrency, but rather a decentralized application that can function as a developer platform for cities.

Ready to deploy? Amazon’s Bitcoin acceptance can prime a payments future

Amazon denied reports it will accept BTC payments soon, but seemingly, it’s only a matter of time before the tech giants embrace the token economy.

Source link By Cointelegraph By Editorial Staff

#AltcoinNews #Bitcoin #BitcoinNews #BlockchainNews #CryptoNews #Monero #MoneroNetwork #WeeklyUpdate #XMR

[devontroxell]

10 Baby Boomer Marketing Strategies That Drive Leads

The type of products and services you offer should dictate which generations you market to.

For example, if you sell extreme sports products, your target audience is going to be millennials. However, if you sell something related to retirement or an offering that would appeal to older adults, you’ll definitely want to include baby boomers in your marketing plan.

There are over 76 million people who fall into this generation. It is a unique generation filled with people who want to get the most they can out of every day and some of whom refuse to retire quietly.

Understanding what baby boomers want can help you form a successful marketing strategy.

Who Are Baby Boomers?

Baby boomers include anyone who was born between 1946 and 1964. This audience age range includes people around 56 to 74 years old in 2020. They were given the name baby boomers because of the increase in births after World War II during a great economic boom.

They lived through the rise of TV, various political protests, the civil rights movement in the U.S., the women’s liberation movement, and the ever-popular Woodstock. These events, no doubt, shaped and influenced who they are.

Some boomer characteristics include the following:

Self-assuredness

Strong work ethic

Competitive

Disciplined

Resourceful

Team oriented

Mentally focused

Most of the baby boomer generation didn’t grow up with technology like later generations, which means they may have a different approach to purchasing products.

However, you may be surprised by some of their character traits, including the following:

They are more financially stable with more disposable income than other generations.

They are less influenced by peers.

They purchase more things online than millennials.

About half of baby boomers watch videos online.

Facebook is their favorite social media platform.

Essentially, baby boomers are a great generation that still has a lot of relevance in today’s marketplace. This is where the concept of generational marketing comes into play.

What Is Generational Marketing?

Generational marketing is a marketing approach that segments specific generations. In generational marketing, a company tends to adapt their marketing messages to fit the needs of their target generation.

The marketing tactics a company uses are dependent on the common traits and behaviors of the generation.

Some of the living generations today include:

Silents: Born 1927 – 1945

Baby Boomers: Born 1946 – 1964

Generation X: Born 1965 – 1981

Millennials: Born 1982 – 1996

Generation Z: Born 1997 – Present

Baby boomers are particularly unique because they have the highest value as consumers on the market today! To take advantage of this, you must know how to market to them in a way that is valuable to them and to your business.

How to Market to Baby Boomers: 10 of the Best Strategies and Examples

Here are 10 tips to help drive marketing geared toward baby boomers:

1. Avoid Slang and Abbreviations.

Even though baby boomers are a lot more hip than some might think, it is best to stay away from slang or abbreviations that might be confusing to this crowd.

They are used to texting with their grandchildren, but those texts contain proper grammar, and abbreviations often have to be explained. In your marketing efforts, make sure you are spelling things out and being clear. Abbreviations can lead to confusion for any generation.

2. Make Sure Sites Are Mobile Responsive.

Just because older people sometimes struggle with technology doesn’t mean they don’t own the latest gadgets. A little over half of people between the ages of 60 and 69 own a smartphone.

That number jumps for those in the 50 to 59 year old range, with 73 percent of those people owning a smartphone. With the majority of baby boomers owning a smartphone, it’s important that your website is mobile responsive.

Camping World does a good job of maintaining consistency between their desktop and mobile websites. At the same time, the site is responsive for smaller screens, allowing shoppers to browse or RVs easily from a smartphone.

Note how the image features an older couple with their extended family.

3. Avoid Clickbait.

Baby boomers are smart. They aren’t going to fall for clickbait articles. If you don’t come right out and tell them what the article is about, they aren’t going to bother with it.

However, if you present what you have to offer in an upfront way, then they are likely to click on it as long as the topic pertains to them.

4. Provide Helpful Information.

Baby boomers are mature. They’ve been on this earth for quite a while and they don’t have time for a bunch of nonsense. They want information that will help them live their lives to the fullest.

They want it up front and factual. If you give baby boomers the information they need, they will run with that information and feel they are equipped to make the best decision possible.

Medical Guardian offers a blog that provides information to help seniors live healthy, full lives. They cover a variety of topics, including personal finances for seniors, how to age successfully, and even tips on how to know if you need a medical alert system.

5. Determine the Best Social Media Platform.

When it comes to marketing on social media, you need to figure out where seniors congregate. Even though Instagram and Snapchat are popular, growing platforms, they are not so much so with baby boomers.

About 90 percent of them state they prefer Facebook over Instagram. The key to marketing to this generation is figuring out where they congregate and reaching out via Facebook ads.

6. Don’t Use Hashtags.

About half of baby boomers say they’ve never used a hashtag. Although a quick post with hashtags might seem like a great idea to reach people searching for that tag, it may not be effective with baby boomers and might just confuse them.

Instead, just state what you mean upfront and avoid cutesy hashtags. If you use a hashtag, keep it to a single word and don’t try to put in hashtag phrases.

Look at how AARP markets to its members and potential members on Twitter. Even though they are on the site that is the king of hashtags, they don’t use a hashtag to present this short video. Instead, they use straightforward text and facts to pull the user in.

7. Give Great Customer Service.

Baby boomers grew up in a time when there were no cell phones or automated machines that interacted with them as customers. They like one-on-one interactions as a group, and they appreciate companies that go above and beyond to show that they are an important part of the business.

If your target audience is baby boomers, look at the world through their eyes and figure out where your interactions might lack the human touch.

8. Never Use the Word “Old.”

Remove the word “old” from your vocabulary. Even though they might be over 60, they don’t feel old. Baby boomers as a generation are living older than generations before.

They want to spend every moment of that time experiencing life, traveling the world and going on adventures. Also be aware of copy that is a bit condescending about their age.

T-Mobile seems to have realized that more and more Boomers are buying smartphones. Their recent marketing focuses on value for the 55 plus consumer, which is something this generation appreciates.

Yet, nowhere in their advertising do they say that their plans are for seniors. In fact, doing so might even limit your marketing efforts because even a campaign targeted to seniors can impact other generations.

9. Target Their Money to Spend.

Even though there are more millennials than baby boomers, 70 percent of the disposable income in the United States is in the hand of boomers. Understanding that this age group has money to spend and is willing to invest in the latest gadgets and technology will change the way you market.

Boomers have money to spend, but they want to spend it wisely, so make a case for why your product will be a good match for them and why it is the best choice out there.

10. Dedicate Information to Improving Lifestyle.

When creating your marketing campaign, hone in on how your product or service will improve the baby boomer’s lifestyle. This is the generation that saw televisions come into every home and began to use telephones for everything.

Even though they do prefer face-to-face interactions, they also will go online. Because they have disposable income, they also don’t mind spending money on a little comfort and luxury. Appeal to how you can improve their lives, and you have a better chance of selling to them.

Marketing Strategies Targeting Baby Boomers

To effectively market to any generation, you need to understand the basics of what makes that generation unique. Study the time period in which baby boomers grew up, talk to people in that age group and look at generalizations about the generation as a whole.

At the same time, however, be aware that each person is an individual. You have to find the exact mix that works to reach those who are interested in what you have to offer.

10 Baby Boomer Marketing Strategies That Drive Leads published first on https://wabusinessapi.tumblr.com/

[elibasila]

4: communication between things that are different simply because they are different

analyzing sensationalism in new video platforms, 

Background - 

When I first heard this prompt I immediately knew what I was going to do, and what I was going to talk about. Now ever since I was 9 or 10 I was watching Youtube and primarily got most of my information through the internet. Youtube however was not really the place (at least ten years ago) where I got most/or any sort of factual information as (for me and many other people) it was mainly a platform for entertainment. However, as the years went on and as the internet evolved and information adapted to these new ways of existing, new methods were used in order to get people to watch more. This would take the form of click-baiting, which is really just drawing an audience in with the promise of something while delivering another. This practice is heavily tied to concepts like sensationalism, yellow journalism, scandal mongering, advertising, etc. Things that basically try to get attention by appealing to the masses’ preference towards easily digestible media/entertainment. 

More specifically this prompt got me thinking of a certain phenomenon that’s been happening recently (I’d say about past 6 years give or take) mostly on video platforms like Youtube. You could say that this content falls into the category of ‘social experiments’, as they clickbait the audience into a video about two things that are so radically different from one another into interacting (especially if there’s high stakes/tension). Some examples of very prominent Youtube channels are Jubilee, Cut, SoulPancake all who produce content mainly relating to these concepts of sensationalism on video platforms that seek to gain more viewers for the purpose of making profit, as it’s also good to know that these channels have high production value to them. The most popular channels, especially ones that dominate concepts like these, bring in a lot of numbers and regularly push out a lot of content in order to keep their revenue steady and going, and if an opportunity arises in the form of a controversial recent event they are one of the first platforms to hop on it, in hopes of staying relevant/profitable. 

My intention is not to label these channels/videos or this type of content as inherently ‘bad’ nor am I telling anyone not to watch certain things because I said so. I would just like to analyze this type of content as a person who’s identity/experience is used as a source for profit/controversy, basically analyzing it as a minority who’s identity/experience is used as a debate topic (sometimes not all the time). While also keeping in mind of identities that I’m not a part of/experiences that don’t affect me as they are also used for these tactics just as much, if not more. 

Practice through Research - 

Can Trump Supporters And Immigrants See Eye To Eye? Rich And Poor People Seek To Understand Each Other. Cops And Ex-Felons Seek To Find Common Ground. Pro-Choice And Pro-Life Supporters Search For Common Ground. Atheists and Christians Debate Truth And Belief. Should You Watch Porn? Can Sex Workers and Pastors Find Middle Ground? Can Black Lives Matter & Law Enforcement See Eye To Eye? Traditional vs Trans: Are There More Than 2 Genders? Men and Women Seek to Understand Each Other. Can Scientists and Religious Leaders See Eye to Eye? Can Voters and Non-Voters See Eye to Eye? Millionaires vs Minimum Wage: Did You Earn Your Money? Can Socialists and Capitalists Find Middle Ground? Should We Cancel Celebrities for Their Crimes? 

In order to show the patterns of how these channels (these examples are taken from Jubilee from their popular series Middle Ground) title their videos or really how they advertise them, as you can argue that the title of a video/piece of media is technically the advertisement for it as well. As you can see why I clearly thought of these types of videos when the prompt was brought up, as the premise of these videos are quite literately; communication between things that are different simply because they’re different. Although that’s the premise behind their concept, what actually happens within the video follows a pattern similar to this: The two opposing groups of people start out civil or mildly defensive, there are two sides and one is usually the privileged while the other is usually drastically underprivileged. It usually ends civil and with plastered on smiles/hugs and ‘thank you’s’ as these videos try to keep an air of well-mannered behavior on both sides. The two groups are given prompted questions and are able to decide if they want to speak on them, first with addressing their similar views and then introduce the others that disagree. Again most of these videos/discussions/debates remain pretty civil and level-headed as they do a great job of that, but a lot of the conversation is fraught with micro-aggression and jabs at the other side, similar to passive aggressiveness, which reads like a watered-down debate/discussion. These videos are usually around 10ish min, which to me is pretty short for the topics that they discuss/debate.

Notes On Watching -

I was thinking about was how much they probably cut out of those 10-20 min long videos, as most of those topics definitely deserve a lot more time to be properly discussed/analyzed (as I’ll go into later).   

In the same vein, when they talk about these very difficult and complex subjects they almost try to minimize the actual scale/affect these issues/relationships really have, which is in part I think due to the length of these videos, and the nature of their ‘brand’

These videos definitely aren’t for the people who’re the least privileged in these ‘discussion videos’, they feel like they’re for people who either don’t know anything about the situation or for the oppressor/privileged (when watching the videos that would discuss/use the identity/experience I am associated with)

This feels really forced, and very ingenuine at times, the people definitely dont want to be there

Sometimes definitely falls into the type of interaction that goes like: well I don’t agree with you/the way you live (read:I don’t agree with your existence) but I still love and respect you! - colorblindness - faith in humanity restored - wow I wish people (read: the oppressed) could be this civil ALL the time - tone deaf -

A sense of false progress, something labelled as progressive and active in the discussion when it’s really just the same things being said just packaged differently, and way more subtly   

Somewhat Conclusions - 

I feel that this type of media content isn’t as helpful/ insightful as it’s trying to be, and for the sake of being authentic their intentionally clickbaity advertisements make their attempts at genuine connection between people arbitrary. This especially comes into conflict when they talk about real people/minorities who have suffered through historic/contemporary discrimination and tends to water down these concepts in ways that only help the privileged/oppressors be able to ‘safely’ digest them. It airs on the side of the brand of corporate political/social justice that just . 

When watching these I try to remember what their intention is behind these videos as the only hint we get is their statement in their about section: “We believe in the power of empathy for human good”. Now this is a very noble statement, and a very idealized one at best, but these videos don’t invoke a sense of empathy in me, but rather a half-assed attempt at trying to show false progress between marginalized communities and oppressors to make the privileged feel better. And watching their videos that have to specifically deal with experiences/identities that I occupy doesn’t benefit me directly, it gives me the sense that nothing has changed except people are more polite now with their hate and/ ignorance, which is still as harmful as outright hatred/violence.

I propose that maybe this isn’t the best way to approach subjects like these, at least subjects that are extremely complex and ones that deserve careful, lengthy and well thought-out execution that I feel these types of shows lack. I can feel that these shows’ primary objectives aren’t to provide information/education to people, but that they’re mainly doing this for profit and banking on trendy/controversial/cancel culture (that’s not to say that maybe the creators/employees believe they’re doing this with pure intentions). I feel that if these types of discussions were to take place that the leading voices shouldn’t be from both sides of the issue, it should lead from the groups of people who’re historically/contemporarily under-privileged and marginalized, and mindfully include the opposing side’s views in carefully researched relation to the affected. I feel strongly that conversations about complex subjects should take place, but not necessarily in a place meant for monetization where these nuances are abused and minimized for profits’ sake.

[wineanddinosaur]

10 Things You Should Know About Svedka Vodka

Even if you’re not a vodka fan, you might already know the name Svedka. This could be because of the aggressive marketing campaign the brand launched in the mid-aughts featuring a provocative human-like female robot. Or, it could be because the Swedish brand has been on the market for more than 20 years.

Although the robot was eventually dropped as a “spokesperson,” Svedka remains a top-selling vodka today. Before you buy your next bottle, read on for nine more things you should know about Svedka.

Svedka is super-Swedish.

Vodka can be Russian, Polish, French, Diddy-esque, and Texan, but Svedka is famously Swedish. Although it isn’t the only vodka from Sweden (there’s that other iconic brand, and a few more), Svedka is a combination of the words Svenska, which means Swedish, and vodka. The brand was founded in an idyllic 580-ish-year-old town called Lidköping in the southern part of the country.

Svedka is 22 years old, with centuries of tradition.

The origins of vodka may be disputed (Russia, Poland, Sweden, etc.), but regardless of where the spirit was first distilled, it’s an old invention. Sweden has been making vodka for hundreds of years, since as early as the 15th century (though Swedish distillers didn’t really get the process down until the 17th and 18th centuries, as drinking spirits became more popular).

Svedka was founded in 1998 by Guillaume Cuvelier, who later sold the business to Constellation Brands in 2007. (He then opened his own spirits company, Davos.)

Svedka is distilled from Swedish winter wheat, which is nice, but doesn’t really matter.

If you recall from all your Vodka 101 learnings, vodka is made by repeatedly distilling a base mash until all other compounds are stripped from the ethanol, leaving behind an (arguably) flavor-free liquid. That’s why you’ll hear terms like “smooth” and “clean” when vodka is being described, and almost nobody broods over a snifter of it fireside. Svedka is proudly made with Swedish winter wheat from beautiful fields like this. The simple fact is, however, after distillation, most characteristics of the original starch source — in this case, Swedish winter wheat — are gone.

Svedka is distilled five times. For vodka, that’s not a lot.

Vodka’s distillation process strips out most everything but ethanol. The basic idea is that repeated distillations can help create a purer, cleaner-tasting spirit. Svedka is distilled five times, which might seem like a lot, until you hear that Tito’s is distilled six times, L’Chaim is distilled 18 times, and the original vodka from Purity — another Swedish vodka — is distilled a whopping 34 times (Purity also has a reserve vodka that’s distilled 51 times). There are rationales on all sides as to why an amount of distillations is chosen, so there’s no “right” number, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pretend it’s all very sophisticated as you describe your Svedka and soda at the bar.

It’s made with wheat; it’s also gluten-free.

According to science (and Beyond Celiac, a patient advocacy group for people living with Celiac disease, agrees), “pure, distilled vodka, even if made with wheat, barley, or rye, is considered gluten-free.” Again, that’s because any gluten from the base grains gets distilled out. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that people with a sensitivity to gluten should start mixing Screwdrivers. Tipplers with Celiac disease report mixed reactions to vodka, plus gluten can show up in vodka in the form of flavorings and other ingredients added after distillation. So, as with any beverage, choose your vodka wisely.

The rainbow of Svedka vodka flavors is downright Willy Wonka.

Svedka loves fruit flavors. Like, a lot. Among the Skittles-defying rainbow of flavors currently available from Svedka are: Raspberry, Blue Raspberry, Strawberry Lemonade, Cucumber Lime, Mango Pineapple, Orange Cream Pop, Citron, Peach, Strawberry Colada, Cherry, Grapefruit Jalapeño, and Grape.

There is a Svedka Rosé.

Svedka continues to innovate with its blends and flavors, and recently jumped on the rosé-all-day trend by blending 5 percent rosé wine into its rosé-flavored vodka, giving the spirit a faint hint of those light berry and floral flavors we love in actual rosé. According to the press release from Constellation, Svedka Rosé “targets palate thrill-seekers and experientialists who crave new ways to enjoy their favorite spirit.” And here I thought adding wine to your vodka was just the quickest way to make “Bad Decision Juice.”

Svedka also makes hard seltzer.

Svedka also has its own mini-line of spiked seltzers, including Strawberry Elderflower and Tangerine Hibiscus flavors. Basically, no fruit is safe from Svedka — but then again, with flavored vodkas and faux-vodka-sodas, you won’t need to buy as many mixers.

You can be the Svedka Robot Girl.

Remember that weirdly sexy robot? Svedka nixed the concept in 2013, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be revived. Svedka created a Svedka Robot Girl costume for Halloween in 2011. In its heyday, the costume sold online for anywhere from $25 to $40 (meaning, yes, wearers were paying the brand to advertise it). Considering the slim-tight sex appeal of the costume, it’s perhaps no shock that it took off, with reality-show celebrities JWoww and Kim Zolciak briefly — and gloriously — stepping out as buxom humanoid booze machines.

Svedka ran a very creepy Halloween ad campaign.

Speaking of Halloween, Svedka ran a boldly creepy Halloween marketing campaign that basically reminded us that we’re all being followed and tracked — all the time. The campaign itself was pretty simple: Banner ads would “follow you” around the internet as you scrolled, ‘grammed, GrubHubbed, and what have you. Apparently you initiate the “Banner Ad Curse” by watching a “forced-view, pre-roll video,” exactly like “The Ring,” except instead of dealing with things like landlines and VHS tapes, you just share clickbait Svedka ads via social media, and apologize — or not — to people later.

The article 10 Things You Should Know About Svedka Vodka appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/svedka-vodka-flavors-guide/