#but the *real* answer is switch it up multiple times throughout the conversation to confuse your goyische friends

[cadomoisspokenfor]

Legion Rewatch Notes,

Chapter 4:

Frizzytop

I theorized in episode 2 that David could see through the 4th wall, or at least into a different universe. At the start of this episode Oliver outright breaks the 4th wall. Perhaps powerful reality benders just have that capability. If David knows, and Oliver knows, then Farouk definitely knows.

“A great philosopher once wrote, ‘In times of peace, the war like man attacks himself.’ This is the route of all our problems.”

“We are the route of all our problems. Our confusion, our anger, our fear of things we don’t understand.”

If we carry those 2 quotes throughout the rest of the show, then no doubt the tragedies that happen later on are caused by a collective misunderstanding of each other. And a collective lashing out at that misunderstanding of each other.

“Violence, in other words, is ignorance.”

The most central theme of the show is empathy vs fear. I s’pose whenever there’s a conflict in the show we’re supposed to be asking whether the characters should answer with empathy or fear. Certain characters lives have revolved heavily around fear. And that informs their decision making quite a bit. This will all come up again at multiple points throughout the show.

Syd... probably can’t break the 4th wall. So maybe it’s most logical to interpret this as her inner monologue. Very Jessica Jones esque.

The same voice lines from when Syd was searching for David in episode 1 are played. I guess there go to whenever Davids lost (whether in the world or in his mind) is to transmit Syds voice calling his name in hopes he’ll hear it and come back.

Kerry can pick locks.

The concept of “bad mutants” is well established amongst the veteran summerland crew. Ptonomy’s caution about David is probably because he feels he has a selfish vibe, and that’s a well known red flag of “bad mutants.”

It should also be noted he’s partly afraid of him because he has so much trouble understanding him. His powers, which when used affectively are essentially the ability to understand where someone’s coming from, keep getting overrided by Davids.

It’s now to the point where Ptonomy is doubting his own ability to tell what’s real and what’s not real. He was pretty confident he’d always know somehow in episode 2. Now, not so much.

Ptonomy very early on is open to the idea that David both has powers and psychological issues. “He’s unstable. You try hearing voices for 10-15 years, self medicate with hard drugs and then get dumped in a looney bin.”

Ptonomy also determines that because of his instability combined with the fact he has powers, David is a bomb waiting to go off.

I suppose if we’re trying to figure out their logic with the whole “the combination of being mentally ill and having powers makes him dangerous”, and considering that their right now going over an incident where David robbed his therapist for drug money and then bashed the doctors head in when he came back, the direct concern is that David makes bad decisions and/or selfish decisions (at least), and if he were to make a bad decision regarding his powers a lot of innocent people could get very badly hurt. Or killed. Along with the worry that the voices in his head don’t exactly give him the most angelic of advice at times, and because of his powers he’s very capable of fulfilling their wills, so to speak.

Based on Olivers speech at the beginning of the episode though, it might be safe to say the overall message is instead of acting on fear they should act on empathy and help David overcome his problems instead of vilifying him for his mental illness.

Syd suggest Davids hiding his real memories behind a fake ones and Ptonomy says she going through a lot of effort just to convince herself Davids a good guy. I never really got what he meant, but I guess what he meant is that Syd’s trying to find a justifiable reason for why David would attack Dr Poole like he did when the obvious answer is just “He’s got violent tendencies.” I always just thought she was genuinely hypothesizing, ya know, trying to solve the case. Maybe she was and Ptonomy’s just mean.

“I was looking for the man I loved. Or did I just love the idea of him? The face he showed me?” Doubt springs up early. Why can none of the characters reconcile that a person can have both good and evil in them at the same time? That’s... all people, in fact.

When Kissinger ask if Amy knew David had powers Amy says, “I think so.” Amy potentially acted on fear as well, in regards to her and Davids childhood that is.

Kerry mostly only thinks of herself in relation to Cary.

Cary misses Kerry when she’s gone. Even besides the roles they fill for each other, they generally enjoy each others company. They’re quite literally as close as 2 people can be. Each one living for the sake of the other.

Davids once again surrounded by a crowd of people all yelling in his face. After they disappear though he recovers pretty fast. I guess he’s used to it.

Clockworks Podcast pointed out that the music Davids wincing at is sax heavy Jazz, which is (abstractly) the sound The Devil With Yellow Eyes makes whenever he appears. If my theory about David seeing through the 4th wall is correct, then maybe he’s actually hearing that sound whenever TDWYE is around. Alternatively, Farouk blast that in his head everytime to mess with him.

“Sorry... I forgot about your um... I had a similar- proclivity? Malady? I forget the word- what’s the word? I’ve been here a long time.”

If the previous paragraphs are right, Oliver’s probably implying he was also affected by a mental parasite at some point. It might’ve even been what stranded him in the astral plane.

From Davids perspective he skipped over the entire second half of Chapter 3.

Oliver is essentially explaining the plot of the show to David and the audience before it’s even been unfurled.

“You have an unquiet mind, so you war with yourself, like a dog trying to chew off its own tail.”

David’s still in a very pessimistic guilt ridden place at this point in the story. That’s probably the internal war Oliver’s talking about.

... why can’t Oliver leave the astral plane again? If he did have his own mental parasite, it seems long gone by now. If he just can’t find his way back, then how does he do it in Chapter 7?

Syd calls non-mutants “normals.”

“We were the ghost in a haunted house.” ~Syd, Chapter 4

“You think ghost like living in a haunted house?” ~Syd, Chapter 12

Why does Syd keep hallucinating The Angriest Boy? Or is that just visual metaphor?

Ptonomy’s a very, “Get the job done and look classy while doing it” sorta guy.

“To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.” ~Sun Tzu, Ptonomy

Is the above quote perhaps relevant to the shows message during other conflicts throughout the series? Could it be subtly implying all the characters should always look for non-violent ways to defeat their enemies? I.e. not just a classy line from Ptonomy, but a statement of themes within the show.

The food David, Philly, and Dr Poole are having in Philly’s memories is cherry pie.

In Philly’s memory David says, “I don’t keep a lot of stuff.” And Philly comments that there’s no evidence David had a past. At least among the things David owns at that point. I know Farouk edited a lot of Davids memories, but why did David himself get rid of so much physical stuff? Syd said the reason he broke into Dr Pooles that day was to destroy their taped conversations. What’s compelling him to erase himself from existence? Is it as simple as “Farouk”? It seems like on a deeper level David doesn’t want anyone to know too much about him. Everyone’s only allowed to know what he tells them. His way of feeling in control I guess.

Philly did the classic “I can fix him” when she started dating David.

Philly implies David going off his medication and keeping bad company is what caused the downfall of their relationship. And subsequently his life, probably.

Despite everything, Philly still feels sympathetic towards David.

“Whoever altered Davids memory-“ Ptonomy very early on humors the idea that Davids being acted on by a 3rd party.

The longer Kerry is away from Cary, the more antsy she is for a fight. She’s not supposed to have to sit through all this “boring stuff.”

Ptonomy left after he got the info on Pooles location from Philly. He probably wanted to get the rest of the information from the source. Ironically, they probably woulda gotten closer to the real answer if he’d just looked a bit longer.

Sys proudly says “Yes” when “Dr Poole” ask if she’s in love with David.

It never really comes up again, but Kerry and Cary are physically linked. Maybe even psychologically. When one of them gets hurt, or even exerts their body a lot, the other can feel it, even if their own body doesn’t take on the actual damage. This is still true even if they’re miles apart.

Syds definitely portrayed as the hero at the end of this scene.

“All those years of practice-“ A part of David always knew he had powers. I wonder, did he practice a little in secret? Or is he saying he was at Summerland for years? That doesn’t really add up. But then... what does he mean by years?

Lenny encourages David to get angry so that his powers will strengthen enough for them to overpower the astral plane. Sort of... cheating his way out. David will later achieve more feats of strength through honing his emotions. Like many heroes, his level of power is intrinsically linked to his emotional state.

Very directly here, Davids violence is caused by ignorance. He doesn’t know Syd switched bodies with Walter and is trying to escape.

[rocknvaughn]

New Review of Colin's play A Number

Link here:

(some plot point spoilers, but mild)

The Bridge Theatre is having far greater success with revivals than it has with new plays, and no problem attracting talented cast and crew to star in them. Both of its immersive Shakespeare productions – Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream – have been excellent, while big productions are on the programme for later in the year including wunder-director Marianne Elliott’s version of They Shoot Horses Don’t They and Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman. First though, the Bridge joins both the National Theatre and, as of last week, the Donmar Warehouse in celebrating the work of Caryl Churchill with a short but superb performance of A Number.

It’s notable that two theatres have chosen to stage One Act pieces that, unusually in our era of three-hour-plus marathons, stand alone allowing audiences to be well on their way home by 8.30pm. Far Away at just 45-minutes practically feels over before it has even begun, while here at the Bridge, A Number is just an hour long. Perhaps surprisingly given ticket prices of up to £55, nothing else is scheduled alongside it, with both venues choosing to allow the singular work to speak for itself. It may not feel like value for money based on time spent in the auditorium, but in this case Churchill’s play is definitely small but mighty.

Yet, her work can have a marmite quality, creating quite divisive effects on audiences, so much of the time either you get it or you don’t. But A Number is one of her most straightforward pieces, a fairly simple narrative about a family discovering their eldest son has been cloaned. While the science-fiction surface is an examination of the effects of science on society, a premise Churchill uses to think about the apocalyptic nature of man’s own self-destructive impulses, A Number is really about lies. Across just five scenes, the writer explores the nature of deceit as a father (Salter) betrays his sons in several different ways as information about the true circumstances of their birth and early life is drip-fed to both men and the audience.

It is a clever and well executed premise, one designed to wrong-foot the audience at every turn, opening with an affectionate conversation between father and son taking place soon after the latter has discovered that clones exist. This first scene suggests a terrible miscarriage of justice in which an unknown other has effectively stolen cells from the boy and used them to make unauthorised replicas now living openly and blindly in the world, unaware of each other’s existence. Nothing about this early interaction is suspicious and it seems that Churchill’s intention may be to examine the faceless demands of scientific progress that harvest humanity’s innocence for nefarious purposes.

But that is only half the story and it soon becomes apparent in Polly Findlay’s thriller-like staging that nothing is quite what it seems in this household. A similar tactic occurs in Far Away with book-ended scenes set in a familiar domestic normality that hides (and lies about) the seamier activities beneath the surface, where the corruption of innocence is a major theme. The same occurs in A Number as the son referred to as B2 is forced to know more of his father’s choices as well as the existence of his duplicates which has terrible consequences.

Findlay quite effectively uses a square-shaped rotating set to explore the play’s themes with each new scene set at a 90 degree angle to the one before. In doing so, the audience sees every perspective on the single room in which the entire piece is set, and crucially, each of the four walls that provide the limitations to this domestic sphere in which Salter has maintained a bounded span of control for some years. Designed by Lizzie Clachan the room is exceptionally normal, a living room / diner filled with soft furnishings, family photos and some tiger prints on the wall, all warmed by a bar fire, and unlike previous adaptations that veered towards the clinical, this is a domesticated tragedy in progress. Churchill is interested in the casual monstrousness that lurks beneath the chintzy surface of suburbia, the banality or perhaps more appropriately the thoughtlessness of evil.

Findlay and Clachan’s rotating set does two important things, it changes the audience’s perspective as each new scene brings further revelation that build into a clearer picture of the people it concerns. So by the end of the play we have seen the room and the circumstances of family life from every angle. But it also reinforces the much discussed effect of cloning in which the created being is the same but different. Salter is asked by each of his children about comparisons with their brothers, and we see they are quite different personalities in the same form. And so it is with the rotated set, what we see in each scene is the same room from a different perspective, creating an increasingly disorientating effect as the story unfolds.

Findlay’s control of the tone is particular impressive, there is something unnerving about the scientific discussions being had in this bland and unexpected environment in the first scene, yet the affectionate relationship between the men seems genuine, encouraging us to feel concerned that their rights have somehow been violated. Over time, Findlay changes the temperature introducing darker notes that build into something far more sinister as the result of the initial revelation is felt across the play. As each new slant is revealed, the mood shifts with it, so worry turns to desperation, anger and foreboding as Churchill slowly and often unceremoniously reveals one crucial revelation in each scene. The return of the room to its original position in scene five is a reset in every sense, with what now seems so clearly a cycle of hope and destruction ominously about to begin again.

At the centre of A Number is the ambiguous figure of Salter, a man who seems racked with concern for the pain his sons newly endure and whose initial instincts are to comfort while demanding legal justice for the misuse of his son’s DNA. Yet, it is never entirely clear whether Salter is telling the truth or why he tells the specific lies he chooses, so many he can barely keep track of them; which son is the original, the fate of his wife, his knowledge of the cloning process and the exact chronology of his son’s childhood are all subject to interpretation as he continues to give deliberately evasive responses. He appears to lack any genuine remorse for his mendacity and there are also suggestions of cruelty to B1 whose night terrors he ignores, a child that Salter decides is not up to scratch by the age of four and simply replaces with an improved copy.

Yet, Salter is also sympathetic, a father desperate for a second chance to put things right – an outcome at the start of the play he appears to have achieved as he and B2 express a mutual love for one another and happy life to date. Salter’s later confrontation with his original son B1 leads to revelations of grief at the death of his wife and a loneliness that haunts the play as a father grapples with his own positive legacy, a need to create a good relationship with his son to guarantee his own future. The momentary pauses between the five scenes which leaves Salter alone in each room configuration offer a contemplative pause, a man isolated and perhaps even abandoned with little left to lose.

The pairing of Roger Allam and Colin Morgan is a savvy one, two dedicated and respected theatre actors who have found a valuable chemistry well ahead of this week’s press night. Allam easily connects with the many conflicting layers within Salter’s character, he is at once a man trying to find a good outcome from past mistakes and someone who lies with astonishing ease. Under pressure, Allam’s Salter runs on, saying almost anything to dilute the confrontation and his culpability for the existence of multiple children, Allam ever treading that fine line between selfishness and parental love by mixing half-truths and outright lies with genuine emotion and bewilderment.

The audience never quite knows if Salter is a good man led astray by grief and a good sales pitch decades before, selling the soul of his child to answer some deep call of fatherhood, or a mercenary man using a disarming scattiness, a failure to remember exact details to malevolently excuse himself from blame while perhaps willfully bringing about a wider destruction to rid himself of the problem. Allam is careful to offer both interpretations within his performance, that keeps the audience guessing about his real motives.

As his antagonist throughout, Colin Morgan offers an equally layered presentation of character, rising to the challenge of playing three different versions of the same man. In each of the five scenes, Morgan alternates between personas, changing accents from two variations of London to play B1 and B2 as each man separately confronts Salter. And it is a play that wastes no time, with Churchill introducing the characters post-revelation requiring the actors to begin mid-argument, already at a pitch of exasperation and confusion.

Each man is given distinction by Morgan with B2 the nervy innocent, trying to accept the new-found truth about his cloned-selves and, at first, trusting his father’s explanation with a credulousness that is increasingly naive. The confounded approach hardens in Morgan’s creation of B1 who introduces an important note of latent violence, of the possibility of physical harm as he intimidates the father who betrayed him. Each of the characters is given two scenes so Morgan finds consistency in his characterisation, switching between them relatively quickly as the responses of both men to their father creates further tension once the brothers become aware of each other’s existence. The subtle hints of the Cain and Abel struggle in Churchill’s work and man’s desire to be somehow individually unique are brilliantly elucidate by Morgan in a varied and gripping performance.

A Number packs a lot of themes, meaning and ideas into just an hour of stage time in a production that asks big questions about scientific progress, human regeneration, parenting and legacy. Churchill is concerned here with the mysteries lurking beneath a sheen of civilisation and how quickly things unravel once the veneer is shattered to reveal further deceits. With performances by two very fine stage actors, Findlay’s production asks us to look beyond the simple dichotomy of nature or nature because the advent of medical interventions into the reproductive process, designer babies and genetic modification leaves us wondering whether human individuality exists at all, and how do we control who we become?

[my-arlington-academia]

Ellie happy birthday fanfic!! 🎉🎁📚📖

Well, by now you know the drill! Scholar is back to being a he in this one, I'm constantly switching it up! On a side note, since we're in June but still quarantined, the teachers are sending us a lot of work to finish up the year so I have less time than usual to write this! 😖 (I mean I guess I could just put it off and write it after but I can’t be late my whole life now can I?) Hopefully it won't be bad though! Please tell me what you think, I'm okay with anything at this point tbh. You guys can just leave me with a key smash and I'll be super happy 😂

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

Ellie looked at the exam schedule, and like every single year she got annoyed with just a glance.

“Being born in June sucks...”

She muttered quietly enough so the teacher wouldn’t hear but loud enough so her friends seated next to her could. Tyler gently tapped her shoulder, clearly he wanted to cheer her up but it is unfortunate that every year her birthday coincides with the exam period. He tried to bring her morale up nonetheless.

“Don’t sweat it, we’ll throw down a party once the exams are over! We’ll invite everyone, this way we’ll all have something to look forward to! That’s even bette-”

“Mr. Williams, if you’re any louder than this then I’m afraid I won’t be able to go through every single piece of advice I have to give you before the end of this period.”

As much as Tyler wanted to go on and ignore the teacher’s warning, like he usually does, his reasoning got the better of him and rightfully so. It would be extremely stupid to get an unpleasant note in his school file just before the exams. Though the “pieces of advice” weren’t any more useful than usual. It was all the same generic tips teachers give knowing fully well that many students won’t follow them and study just the day before the exam by pulling “almost-allnighters” with maybe a 2 hours long nap if they’re lucky.

After the lecture, when coming out of the classroom, Tegan and Tyler were thinking that Ellie would soon forget about that whole birthday thing and go back to being her usual happy-go-lucky self. But she kept on hanging her head low and sulking. It was so uncharacteristic of her that even the people who don’t know Ellie on a personal level started getting worried. Despite her short legs, Ellie has always been the type of person to hurry herself over to wherever her next destination is. So looking at the usually cheerful Ellie dragging her feet on the ground was a sad sight indeed. She sighed for at least the 10th time since the morning lecture.

“Maybe when my dads adopted me I should’ve just asked them to move my birthday to the beginning of July or something... what do you guys think?”

Tegan awkwardly extended his hand towards Ellie and rubbed her back.

“Well um... that wouldn’t really fix the problem now, would it? You’ll still know the date of your real birthday even if you change it. There really isn’t any meaning in doing that... I think. And I’m not even sure if that’s legally possible.”

As Tyler and Tegan were once again desperately trying to console Ellie, Scholar made his way towards them from afar.

“Ellie! You’ll celebrate your birthday after the exams, right? That’s awesome! It’ll be a breather for everyone and I’m already thinking of some presents I can giv- Uh. I guess I shouldn’t tell you what I’m thinking of or else it’ll ruin the surprise.”

In a matter of seconds, Ellie’s mood did a complete 180 and she was happily conversing with Scholar. TnT looked dumbfounded, all it took for Scholar to cheer Ellie up was to flash a smile and ramble about random stuff while they had to give up on some of their snacks for her and she was still being gloomy. Tyler carefully nudged Tegan and whispered.

“You see what I see?”

“You mean how Ellie turned back into a ray of sunshine the moment Scholar showed up? Yeah, nothing new here...”

After a few minutes that seemed to last way too long to Tyler and Tegan, Scholar hurried himself over to his room, saying that he “absolutely needs to study” or else he’ll be kicked out of the school if he doesn’t make it in the silver tier. Ellie turned back to face TnT only to discover their betrayed faces.

“Uhhh? Is something wrong you guys?”

Tegan stayed quiet, not really caring at this point to be honest, and Tyler pulled off the most offended attitude he could.

“Oh no nothing. We’re totally not salty that Scholar is sooooooo awesome that he can lift all of your worries away by just gracing you with his all mighty presence.”

Throughout this whole thing, Tyler kept on dramatically rolling his eyes. Ellie was internally laughing at how bitter he sounded but also she was a bit embarrassed at how obvious her feelings towards Scholar are.

“Oooo-kay Tyler! No need to throw so much shade haha. You know that I love you guys much more than anyone else.”

“Psh. Yeah right, I can garantee you that this is not what you’ll say in a couple of months when you’ll be jumping in Scholar’s arms on a daily basis and kiss him under the moonlight.”

Ellie is usually hard to tease, she’s the one doing most of the teasing after all. However, when it comes to Scholar even the smallest thought can make her go from a 0 to a hundred real quick. Ellie punched Tyler in the shoulder, a punch that was surprisingly really powerful for such a little fist.

“It’s not like that! I’m not sure about anything...yet.”

Seeing how unsure Ellie was, Tyler stopped the teasing and looked at Tegan. It was the first time any of them had a crush on someone. Despite all of the joking, they know that they have an unbreakable bond and they’ll stick with eachother no matter what happens. Only problem is... none of them have any experience with dating, or hell, even just flirting. Tegan looked hilariously confused.

“Okay so uh. Do we just like... help you have alone time with him, or what? It would be so much easier if this was a visual novel with multiple-choice answers, in that case I could’ve helped you no problem.”

Tegan shot a shy glance towards Tyler, he shrugged in return.

“Hey don’t look at me like that! All I know is a bunch of cringy pick-up lines that can only be used as jokes.”

Suddenly Ellie broke into a genuine laugh under the confused gazes of her friends. They were trying so hard to help that it was actually really adorable.

“The two of you are such dorks! You don’t need to take this so seriously, I’ll do whatever needs to be done on my own. And if I do need help with something, I promise I’ll hit you guys up!”

That’s right. There was no reason to be hasty. No matter what will happen, it all seems so far away. Especially when there’s the exams just before it. Ellie was stirred up for a couple of months now, and she honestly wasn’t really counting on doing anything in particular. If something is meant to happen, it’ll happen. That’s what she thought and she was sure of it more than anything else.

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

Et voilà! I’m not sure how well this turned out since I did this in one go but I just hope it’s not too sucky! Also this is the first time I directly wrote this on my laptop and wow... the emojis are so fcking ugly on PC tumblr 😂 I can’t believe they looked at them and were like “yeah, perfect for our hellsite”. Tumblr really needs a revamp or something. Also, just to be sure, the exam period in America is in June right? If not then I effed up with this whole thing lol. Uuhhhh I’m pretty sure there’s something else that I wanted to say but it’s 2am and I don’t remember... Welp! In any case thank you so much for reading! ♥

[captain-mcdavid]

smut: yes | no

word count: 4.8k

warnings: smut, unprotected sex, swearing (note: other parts can be found in my masterlist, linked in bio)

“Do you think it’s been long enough?”

Lindsay groans and pauses the movie, turning on her hip to look at you. The question is out of context, but her less than pleased expression lets you know she’s aware of what you’re asking. “It’s been thirty eight days!” You exclaim, defending yourself against her harsh stare.

She sighs like a disappointed mother, “I don’t know... I guess thirty eight days is probably long enough,” She pauses, furrowing her eyebrows at the way you noticeably tense. “But I’m worried about you.”

You’ve heard that one before.

Sliding into the booth, you give a fake smile to all your friends hollering at you. Lindsay is quick to lean into you, wiggling her brows while she squeals excitedly.

“How did it go?”

���I- uh... Not good.” You manage, slumping back. “I don’t think at least.”

Her face falls immediately, like she’s almost as scared as you. “What happened?”

“He kinda like, kicked me out...” Your words are coming out slow, like you’re still trying to comprehend what just happened.

Her mouth drops open and she looks around the table to check if anyone else is listening. No one seems to be paying attention, so she leans in closer while she says, “And? What happened? Why would he kick you out?”

“Well, his friends kind of heard us...” You start, hoping the realization will kick in so you don’t have to elaborate, but she just stares blankly back at you. “Having sex. His friends heard us having sex.” You blurt the words out plainly, and she gasps. You close your eyes and pinch the bridge of your nose, giving her time to get over the initial shock.

“At first I thought maybe he just didn’t want to introduce me to them, but I’m not so sure that’s actually what upset him,” The more you think about it, the less likely you are to believe that was the root of it. “I think that my comment about other girls really threw him off.”

“Oh,” Lindsay stops to think, and you watch her face, hoping an expression will help you figure out what she’s thinking.

“That’s not good.” She finally says, shaking her head.

You widen your eyes, “Really? Cause what if I went too far? What if after this he doesn’t call or text?”

She nods and studies your face for a minute, narrowing her eyes. “I think you need to do the ‘fall off the face of the earth’ thing now.”

Her words kind of surprise you. If you were remembering correctly, that step in the plan was supposed to come much later. “What? Why?” Your voice comes out significantly quieter, and you hate that you actually sound kind of sad.

“Because it sounds like you need a break. I’m worried about you.” Her hand slides across your arm, making the whole situation seem a lot more serious than it really is. “You’re not supposed to catch feelings for him, and it kinda looks like you are.”

Your first instinct is to deny it, but it sounds so fake coming out of your mouth. At one point you did have real feelings for him, and after the last few weeks you’re starting to think that they didn’t go away as much as you thought they did.

“I kind of feel like he might like me too, though.” The words are murmured while you look at your lap, feeling like an idiot before she can even tell you you are.

“Honey,” She starts, and her tone is already condescending. “This is what he does. He makes you think that he likes you, but Y/N, you know he’s only keeping you around for sex right?”

You meet Lindsay’s gaze with sad eyes and she shakes her head.

“You’re the one that’s supposed to be fucking with him. He’s already played his games with you before. You can’t let him blindside you again.”

You nod blindly, not sure if you’re actually taking in what she’s saying. At this point you kind of just don’t wanna hear it.

“I’m worried about you,” She repeats. “I think you need to take a break, sort out your feelings, and give yourself time to get your head back in it.”

“Okay.” It’s not an agreement, it’s more of an acknowledgement, but Lindsay squeezes your hand despite it, slipping out the other side of the booth so that she can saunter up to the bar.

Four shots later you’re starting to forget about Josh, starting to loosen up enough to dance without being embarrassed, but one phone call is enough to sober you up completely.

His name flashing across the screen erases every shot, and suddenly you’re bad in a bad mood, confused and a little frustrated.

Slipping away from your friends you check to make sure Lindsay isn’t following, hiding around the corner where it’s significantly quieter.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” Josh breathes out the greeting, sounding relieved when you actually answer. “How are you?”

The truth is not the answer you give him. “Good, yeah- I’m good. What’s uh, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” He says quickly, the line going silent after. You listen for a minute, wondering what the hell is going on before he speaks again. “I’m sorry about uh, about earlier.”

You’re about to play it off, act like you didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary but he interrupts. “I was just nervous about you meeting the guys, they can be a lot.”

He’s lying through his teeth, but you’re not about to call him on it.

“It’s okay, Josh.” You assure him, “Really. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I just feel bad, I kinda shoved you out the door, I didn’t want you to think I was mad or anything.”

“I didn’t think anything of it.” You lie, and the other end is silent for a minute.

It’s like both of you know that the other is lying, but you’re listening anyway.

“You should come over here tonight.” He whispers the words like he knows what your answer will be and you shut your eyes tight, wanting so badly to see him.

But if there’s anything that you got from this conversation, it’s that Lindsay is right. You’re catching feelings. You’re straying from the plan and verging on becoming the played instead of the player.

“I shouldn’t-,“

“You can actually meet the guys if you want. And I saved the fuzzy peaches for you, and a spot in my bed so that you don’t have to Uber home.”

Everything he’s saying sounds right, and you’re so close to grabbing your coat and leaving, but you can’t. You have to remind yourself over and over again that he’s probably said this to a ton of other girls before you actually have the strength to talk again. “I can’t, Josh. I’m sorry, there’s just another party that I said I’d go to.”

“Aw okay,” He whispers, “That’s cool. I’ll see you soon, I guess?”

“Yeah. See you soon.”

That had to have been the hardest part. Cause just like most of that phone call, that was definitely not the truth.

Josh had texted you multiple times in the week following your call, starting off with a simple, “Hey are you free tonight?” And then a, “I miss you, come over?” When there was no reply to the first. After no response again, he tried one last time, another text that said “Are you ignoring me?”

After that there was nothing. And now there’s been a solid three weeks of no contact, that has tested you to no end.

You could admit to yourself that you were having some feelings for Josh, but you would never tell Lindsay. She continued to remind you throughout the hard times that Josh was most likely rolling around in bed with someone else, not even thinking about you, which helped you last much longer than you thought you would. But still, you didn’t believe her. And now you’re just anxious, really wanting to see him again.

“I’m fine Linds,” You say, “I just feel like if I wait too long he might lose interest completely.”

She shrugs and sighs, “I don’t know. Go ahead.”

You lurch forward to grab your phone off the table and she groans. “You know what you need to do though right?”

You lean back slowly, unlocking your phone and looking for Josh’s contact as you respond, “Uh yeah. Go, get laid, get gone?” You question, giving her a reassuring look as you click on his number, standing from the couch while you press your phone to your ear.

The first ring sounds and Lindsay yells behind you, “Be careful!”

You wave her off, closing your bedroom door behind you as your heart beats fast in your chest.

At the last possible second Josh picks up, and you perk up, smiling when you hear his voice.

“You’re alive.” He says, there’s humour there but also an underlying sense of anger that you’re not expecting.

“Of course,” You play it off with a laugh, pacing anxiously around your room. “I’ve just been really busy with work and stuff. But I was wondering if you’re free tonight?”

He had no game, you checked previously to make sure, so you’re really hoping he’s going to say yes.

“Uh, yeah I guess. Why?” He sounds off, and it makes your brows crease.

You respond with a light laugh, “Josh...” You’re kind of hoping he’ll laugh too, and make this less awkward, but he doesn’t, so you say, “I think you know what for...”

Nothing. Again.

“Netflix and chill?” You ask, feeling like a total idiot.

Finally he responds, sounding less than pleased. “Yeah sure. You can come over.”

You’re about to change your mind just from the tone of his voice, but instead you just nod, “Okay. I’ll be over in a half hour.”

“Okay. See ya.”

“Bye.” You hang up the phone quietly, biting the inside of your cheek for a minute while you think about what’s about to happen.

You spend a few minutes touching up your makeup, and hair, and you even go to the extent of switching your underwear, and outfit. You know Lindsay would have a comment about that so you yell out a goodbye before hurrying out the door.

You’re anxious the whole way over, unable to stop worrying about your conversation earlier. He sounded angry.

When you get to his building, he buzzes you in and you find yourself shaking off your jitters the whole walk up to his place.

You have to count to three six times before you can actually convince yourself to knock.

You can hear his heavy footsteps on the other end of the door, and you give a cheesy smile when the barrier opens.

You don’t know why you’re expecting him to have changed, but you’re still a little surprised when he looks the exact same.

“Hi,” You breathe nervously.

“Hey,” Once again his tone is cold, and you actually wonder if he’s even gonna let you in. With a sigh he turns his body to the side for you to step past.

Maybe coming over here wasn’t the best idea...

“Where have you been?” He asks, and this time there’s no humour, only animosity that you’re not used to hearing in his voice. You don’t even want to turn around to see his face while he says it.

You can feel him coming up behind you, but you still don’t turn around. “I’ve just been busy.” You say quietly.

“I was kinda worried...” He keeps talking but you don’t hear anything else after your eyes zero in on the jacket on the chair in the corner. It’s very obviously not a guys jacket. And it’s not yours.

Your stomach drops. Lindsay was right. Of course she was right. You don’t know why you feel so betrayed, you shouldn’t. This is exactly what you were hoping wouldn’t happen, but exactly what Lindsay knew would.

You were stupid to think that he might actually have feelings for you, that you’d be the exception. There’s a surge of anger that racks through your body, and you look up to the ceiling to clear the tears clouding your eyes, then you turn around fast to do the only thing that makes sense to you at the moment.

He’s still talking when you press your lips to his, throwing your arms around his neck to pull him down to you.

His response is to kiss you back, dragging your hips into his own before he pulls away. “What’s gotten into you?”

He barely even has time to get the words out before you’re kissing him again.

He’s mumbling something against your lips, pushing at your hips to try and get you to talk to him, but you’re uninterested, you’re as focused on the plan as you were on night one.

Player. Not the played.

You pull away to grab the hem of your shirt and tug it over your head, while Josh says something about slowing down. At this point you’re really glad you decided not to wear a bra, because nothing distracts a man more than boobs.

He stops mid sentence, eyes widening when they fall to your breasts. “Well fuck, okay.” He whispers, and then he’s pulling you in almost as fast as he shut the door on you a month ago.

He has you pulled into him so tightly that you’re leant back, clinging onto his biceps to keep from falling backwards.

He whispers something that you can’t make out against your lips before tugging the zipper on your jean skirt down, discarding the clothing. His next move is to push you towards the chair, where he not so subtly knocks the jacket off the back. It’s shocking, and the fact that he thinks he’s being stealthy is kind of pathetic, but you try to ignore it as best as you can, remembering what you’re here to do.

His lips move down to your jaw and neck, where he kisses the skin sweetly. And especially now, it’s not the sensation you’re desiring, and when he whispers against your neck again you know you have to do something.

It’s three words that would be endearing if they were true, and if there wasn’t another girls jacket on the chair.

“I missed you,” He says, but it’s a lie. That’s why you run your fingers through his hair while he boosts you onto the counter, gripping onto the curls before tugging hard pull his face away from you. You can’t do soft tonight. He can’t let him trick you into thinking there’s more than there is for a third time. This needs to be hard and fast, with no feelings.

“Take off your shirt.” You demand, refusing to make eye contact with him.

Surprisingly, he doesn’t argue, pulling at the neckline of his shirt until it’s over his head and on the floor.

You hop off the counter and toe over to him, pushing him back until he’s against the wall. You give him a devilish look, before dropping to your knees, dragging your nails down his chest as you go.

The noise he lets out is a mix between pain and pleasure, but you’re satisfied with the raised skin you’re leaving behind.

His pants come off almost as fast as his shirt, and he looks at you with dark eyes while you’re on your knees for him. You shoot him a wink while you dig your nails into the skin on his hipbone, and his hand juts out, grabbing your wrist to pull it away.

“Fuck,” He grunts, teeth clenching when he looks at you. You reach up again with a wary hand to tug at the waistband on his boxers, and he laughs sarcastically.

“Yeah you want it, don’t you?”

You nod with a cocky smirk, biting your lip while you lean forward.

“Mm,” He hums, pushing his boxers down his legs. “You’re such a little slut.”

“Then treat me like one.”

That’s where something flips in him, you can see it in his eyes. There won’t be anymore sweet stuff.

“Open up,” He rasps.

You do as told, looking up at him and batting your eyelashes. He chuckles, his voice gruff while he slaps his cock against your tongue. “Take it all baby, one go.” He says, a hand winding into your hair while you hollow your mouth around him. He slowly moves forward, pushing himself further in, and eventually down your throat. You choke, throat closing around him while tears sting the edge of your eyes. You’re only like thirty seconds in but you’re already crying, that’s gotta be a new record. Josh grunts and then pulls out, his dick falls from your lips with a pop and you suck in a deep breath, chest heaving.

He grabs your chin roughly and you open on command, taking him in all the way again. Your throat is already sore, but you let him use you anyway, holding still while he fucks your face.

“Fuck.” He grunts, wrapping your hair around his hand. You hold onto his thick thighs for balance, feeling a little light headed from your lack of oxygen. “God you’re so pretty.”

The noises being made are obscene, you can hear his dick in your mouth just as much as you can feel it.

You look up through your lashes, and Josh’s eyes are on you, his jaw clenched hard while he rolls his hips against your face again. You choke around his cock again and he moans, a string of curse words following. “Y/N,” The way he says your name is a mix between a question and a moan but it makes your pussy clench, and you hum around him, the vibrations making him shake above you. His hand loosens in your hair, and then he’s pulling out of your mouth, flicking his head at you as an indication to stand up. When you get to your feet, Josh’s eyes flicker behind you, a devilish grin crossing his face.

He steps forward into you more than around you, opening the door that’s behind you. It’s not his bedroom, and you look up at him, furrowing your brows.

“Get in.” He says sternly, and you actually are a little embarrassed at the pang of excitement that you feel when he tells you what to do.

“Wha-“ You start, but Josh is pushing your hips backward.

“Get in.” He says again, so you take steps backwards with him guiding you. At this point you feel like you should be nervous, but you’re totally comfortable, it’s strange how you can trust him so much physically when you literally don’t trust him in any other way.

You look around pointlessly in the dark, hearing nothing but a low rumble. Josh flicks on the light and shuts the door behind him, and you stare blankly at the washer and dryer.

“You did laundry... Wow, you’re so grown up!” You say sarcastically, “Can we go to your bedroom now?”

Josh rolls his eyes, tugging your underwear down in one go, before grabbing your hips to push you against the dryer, “Smart ass.” He grunts, adjusting your body until you feel it.

You’re angled against the edge of the dryer, and when he moves you the corner presses against your clit, the rumble vibrating against the nerves.

You gasp arching your back against Josh while he chuckles in your ear, hands wandering up to your breasts while you moan. “Yeah that shut you up pretty quick hey?”

You feel like pinching him or slapping his chest or doing something to voice your annoyance at his comment, but there’s another hard vibration against your clit that makes you train of thought go right off the rails.

“O-oh my god,” You whisper, reaching a hand up to curl around to the base of Josh’s neck. He leans down at your touch to press his lips to your shoulder. The rumble against your clit is so distracting that you barely even feel his teeth sinking into your skin.

In an effort to get more you push yourself closer to the dryer, and Josh scoffs. “You like that?” You nod while he presses a large hand to your back, flattening you to the surface of the dryer. It’s hot against your chest, your skin tingling when Josh’s fingers graze down your spine, palming hard at your ass before slipping in between your folds. A long finger pushes in slowly and you hum in appreciation. It slips out again, and then he’s pushing two in, your eyes clenching shut at the stretch.

“Josh,” His name leaves your mouth hushed and you know he’s smirking.

“What do you want, baby?” His fingers scissor inside you and you jerk up, but he’s there to pin you back down.

He slips another finger in and you can barely talk, the vibrations on your clit and his fingers grazing your g spot knocking the words right out of you.

His big body leans over top of you and once again he’s biting into your shoulder, kissing down your spine after he’s left a bruise. “What do you want?” You can feel the movement of his lips against your skin and it’s driving you crazy, but you can’t find your voice enough to tell him how badly you just want him inside of you.

His fingers rub against your g spot again and all of the sudden your vocals are working again, but it’s nothing coherent. A string of moans and whines until you manage his name again, “Josh,” It’s exasperated, and whispy but he hears, humming out a response.

“Tell me, what do you want?” His words are harsher this time, his fingers working faster, front flattening against your back to push you closer to the rumbling dryer.

It’s overwhelming, his fingers are relentless and the vibrating is continuous, making it nearly impossible for you to say anything except his name. “Josh!” You whine again, your walls contracting against him as you feel your orgasm starting to approach.

Josh notices, and his body lifts slightly. “Don’t you dare cum,” He grunts, fingers slowing inside you. “Not yet.”

The edge to his voice is enough to make you push up on your elbows on the dryer, lessening the vibration considerably.

You breath in deep, chest heaving while your mind clears, his fingers are still buried inside you but unmoving, and it has your high disintegrating.

You swallow and arch your back, the words slipping out shamelessly, “Josh please fuck me,”

The words are barely out of your mouth before he’s chuckling and flipping you over like a rag doll. “There we go,” He gloats as he brings his lips roughly to yours. He boosts you onto the dryer, pulling you to the edge until your hips are just about hanging off.

He kisses his way down your body, getting lower and lower until he’s nestled in between your open thighs. With a pleasurable hum he bites into the flesh and you flinch, jerking up onto your elbows.

“Ouch!” You reach down to pull at his hair and he smirks up at you, kissing gently over the spot he just bit. “What is it with you and biting me?”

“I can’t help it,” He says devilishly, “You’re so fucking sexy, I just wanna eat you up.” With that his tongue is licking firmly up your core and your hand is tightening in his hair. He sucks harshly on your clit and you cry out, before the sensation goes just as fast as it came.

You watch curiously as he stands up straight, spreading your legs further open and then he spits on your pussy. You gasp and he just grins, spreading the wetness around before stepping up to rub his cock through your folds.

“Josh please,” Now that you’re mentally able, you’re not afraid to bed for it, because it makes him perform better, even though it inflates his ego that much more. “I need you,” You whisper.

“Yeah?” His voice sounds cocky and you kinda wanna roll your eyes but you just wiggle against him instead. “You need me? How bad babygirl?”

The pet name has you swooning despite your annoyance at him, and you hate that one word has such an effect on you. “So bad, Josh.”

He pushes in slightly, the head of his cock just inside you. You want to move down, or wrap your leg around him, anything to pull him closer but that’ll only piss him off. He’s made it very clear he’s calling the shots.

“You’re my little slut, hey?”

You nod and his fingers dig into the skin on your hips. “Words.” He scolds.

You moan out a yes when he pushes in a little further, desperate to egg him on. He stays still for a minute, his fingers wandering all over your body that’s laid out for him. His hands are rough and they feel nice, but they’re not what you’re craving, so you all but scream out for him, holding his palms still on your skin. “Josh please! I need you inside me!”

He laughs, which is pretty infuriating, but he finally listens, pushing into fully until he’s bottomed out inside you. You take the opportunity to wrap your legs around him, holding him to you while you adjust to the stretch. He lets it happen for longer than you expect him to, but then he’s breaking your hold so easy it’s pathetic, grabbing the backs of your knees for momentum to fuck into you. His hips are rolling hard, and he’s pulling you onto him every time he thrusts, his head grazing your g spot every time. He grunts, reaching a hand up to palm your breast while rails into you. “Fuck you feel so good,” His other hand slides down, thumb flicking once at your clit and you jerk. “My little slut, mine. You look so good taking my cock.”

One of the words is stressed and if it weren’t for him slamming into your cervix as he said it, you probably would have frozen on the spot. Mine.

Another roll of his hips that connects with your g spot has the thought fleeting and your high building almost as fast as it did last time, and you arch your back, pushing yourself further onto his cock. “I’m so close Josh, don’t stop,” You beg.

His thumb finds its way back to your clit, and you cry out his name, gripping at his other wrist while he continues to rail into you.

Your orgasm hits you like a train when he flicks at your clit again, your walls pulsing around his cock.

He groans, pulling out to jerk himself off onto your thigh. You watch the way his eyes clench shut, the veins in his neck and chest bulging in the best way. You feel the warmth of his load spreading on your skin and you think to yourself, if he wasn’t so hot, and so damn good at getting you off you would have been out a long time ago.

Now there’s no more distractions, which means you’re able to think clearly about all that’s happened tonight, but you don’t exactly wanna do it here... So before the thoughts can come rushing in you hop off the dryer, only to be pushed back against it seconds later.

Josh’s lips are landing gently on yours, and your head is spinning from the contrast of his rough hands on your hips and the timidness of the kiss.

“We should talk.”

“I’m gonna head out.”

You say it at the same time, and then you’re both looking at each other like deer in headlights.

“Where are you going?” He mumbles, muting your response with his lips.

You accept another peck before pulling away from him, “Home, I gotta be up early.”

Josh tenses in front of you, and you can almost see his mood change. He nods slowly, stepping back to open the door. He picks up his boxers off the floor, stooping down to grab yours as well. He tosses them gently at you, and you study him for a little while longer, wondering if he’s about to slam the door in your face again.

You dress in silence, quite awkwardly, sneaking glances at him every once in a while.

He puts the sweats he was wearing back on, and then walks you to the door.

“Bye,” You say quietly, and he just nods.

With a sigh you turn and open the door, but then Josh is grabbing your wrist, shutting the door in front of you instead of behind you this time.

You turn to face him, but he can’t even look you in the eye, toying with the bracelet on your wrist as he holds your hand. He runs his finger up your forearm and you shiver. “Am I gonna hear from you soon?”

You know he’s asking because of how long it’s been since you last talked, and your heart jumps into a faster rhythm like it does anytime he says something cute.

With a deep breath you look to the chair in the corner where the jacket would be, before nodding, and standing on your toes to kiss him on the corner of the mouth. “Yeah. I’ll see you soon.”

[aleenya]

first date / / hinanami prompt 01

@hinanami-week

First date prompt! <3 I love these babies from my childhood skghj. This is a bit of a long rambling mess but I hope someone finds enjoyment in it!

There was a reason Chiaki failed at dating sims. Beyond the obvious fact of how she was a girl of very little romantic experience, there was also the dilemma of just how frustratingly confusing people could be. Yes, even the weird 2D ones. Whilst the fast pace of arcade fighting games or the tricky logic riddles of puzzle games had her barely breaking out in a sweat, there was something profoundly next-level about taking someone's future - their happily ever after, so to speak - into her own hands and bringing about the optimal result. It was a responsibility she couldn't be trusted with. Kind of like how she couldn't be responsible for her own breakfast in the morning. Or for a healthy sleeping schedule. Oops. So, it was rather ironic that she'd somehow ended up with a boyfriend, even with her notoriously bad track record at breaking hearts and peeping on girls in the bathroom. (Hey, anime always did it, how was she supposed to know that was an automatic hit to the relationship flag she was trying to trigger?) With how constantly she failed at first dates in video games, the dreaded real-life first date of her own seemed like a loss just waiting to happen. Which was why, the week before it was due to occur, she'd holed herself up in her room with nothing but her trusty DS and PSP, five dating sims of various length and quality, and a copy of Animal Crossing - for when she inevitably needed a break, of course. The plan was this: she'd pour hours, hours, into clocking all five dating sims at nothing less than a 100% completion rate. No guides because that was cheating, and it wasn't like there was some walkthrough for her own date that she could keep checking throughout, though that would be ideal. Even if slightly under-handed. Oh well. She was snuggled up in the thick fluff of her weighted blanket; a bag of crumpled chips and five soda cans perched precariously on a pillow; she was ready for anything the next grueling week might throw at her. With the determination that only a true Ultimate Gamer could possess, Chiaki puffed out her cheeks in defiance of fate and set about her quest. Day one was easy enough. She'd managed to get around six hours into her first play-through with minimal errors. It was only once she'd chosen a girl to "seduce" (these games really were weird) that problems started to arise. Multiple choice questions of the proper conversational avenue to travel down never failed to muddle up her brain. Three choices were hard enough - how was she going to cope on her own date when there would be an endless array to choose from? The very thought sent anxiety swirling into the pit of her stomach. Maybe this was a good time to take that Animal Crossing break. The Animal Crossing break lasted two days. Day four was when Chiaki got serious again - and also when a pesky knock on the door interrupted her intense train of thought. "Come in," she called without taking her eyes off the screen. Yellow light pooled in from the hallway and cut through the stale darkness of her room. If Chiaki had been a vampire like the one she was trying to chat up in her visual novel then maybe she would've hissed and retreated further into her blanket cove. Which she did. Maybe she really was a vampire. That would explain the anemia. "Ugh. It reeks." A familiarly squeaky voice shattered the comfortable silence Chiaki had worked so hard on establishing. Saionji strode in pinching the bridge of her nose with Sonia and Akane at her tail. "Congrats, you've officially become a basement dweller." Chiaki peeked out from her cave of blankets, drawn like a moth to flame by the wafting scent of fresh food. "Oh. Hey guys. Long time no see." "We brought food," Sonia said with a lift of her arm to reveal the picnic basket dangling there. "We figured you might appreciate something of more ... sustenance." Akane then switched on the light, which summoned stars to glitter and dance within Chiaki's vision. All three girls let out audible gasps. "Chips? Seriously?" Akane again. Chiaki had burrowed deeper into her blanket fort in order to grant her throbbing eyes some small amount of reprieve. "Chiaki, you seriously can't have been living on cola and a bag of potato chips for the past four days!" Suddenly, the blanket was whipped out from over her head. Hiyoko plucked the console out of her hands before a very sleep-deprived Chiaki had a chance to react. "My Vampire Girlfriend? Okay, I was joking before, but you really have become a virgin basement dweller." Chiaki pointedly decided to ignore the mischievous young girl and directed her attention onto the basket that Sonia placed in front of her. Opening it up, she was greeted by a bento box ripe with fresh sushi, fluffy rice and spring rolls. "Courtesy of Hanamura," said Akane, "but don't worry, I can guarantee it's not spiked this time." Saionji huffed and dropped the DS. Chiaki was tired, but not tired enough to fail at catching her baby mid-air. "What's that look for?" "Don't act like you don't know!" They were a pleasant, albeit distracting, surprise. And so, for the rest of the day, Chiaki found herself unwillingly placed on a side quest. Sonia, Akane and Hiyoko had taken it upon themselves to clean her room up, with the latter grumbling and complaining but ultimately putting in the most work out of everyone. Sonia ended up at Chiaki's side, badgering her with questions about what game she was playing and, when Chiaki answered, why. "A practice run," said Chiaki simply, barely reacting as an empty cola can bounced off her head. "Sorry," Akane called sheepishly, "that was meant for the rubbish bin." "A practice run ...? Oh!" Sonia's face lit up. "Don't tell me! Do you have a date?" "Maybe. Tomorrow." Saying it out loud, the passage of time sunk into Chiaki with a force she hadn't expected. In a rare show of defeat, she allowed the DS to slip from her hands and topple to the floor. "But it's no use. I haven't learned anything. What am I even supposed to do?" Sonia picked up her DS, glanced at the screen, then dropped it in a striking flash of surprise. "I'm guessing not that," she said. Hiyoko peeked over her shoulder. "Aw man, even pixelated you can tell it's small." "Give me that!" Akane snatched up the console and showed the screen to Chiaki. "Seriously, this is like the worst guide you could have for this. It's not gonna teach you anything because it's not real." "That's not true," Chiaki quietly countered, "just because games aren't real doesn't mean they can't teach stuff." "Maybe, yeah, but not this type of game. You want advice? Then here's the best I can offer. Just be yourself!" "Myself?" Chiaki tilted her head. "But ... what if he doesn't like myself?" "Oh for the love of - he wouldn't be going on a date with you if he didn't, numbnuts!" Hiyoko gently thumped her fist down on Chiaki's unruly mop of hair. "That's true," Sonia said, "besides, who wouldn't like you for who you are? We certainly do!" When the trio had finally left with good luck wishes and pleas that she at least eat half the bento tonight, Chiaki found herself alone in a spotless room with a less-than spotless mind. They'd given her a lot to think about, more than the dating sim had in three days in fact. Just be myself. She didn't sleep that night. Chiaki kept powering through her dating sim, the four others still lying in a dejected heap at her side. Even if she wasn't taking strict lessons from it anymore, the idea of giving up and never completing it felt like a cardinal sin. She'd come this far; what was another twenty hours of gameplay in the grand scheme of things? On the dawn of the fifth day, there was another knock on her door. When they didn't come in upon her calling out that it was alright to, Chiaki was forced to untangle herself from her nest and answer it. Even though it was to be expected, the very image of Hajime standing in her doorway sent a jolt to her heart. "Ah, sorry." He threw up his hands in an apology, perhaps thinking he'd woken her up from a nap. Chiaki wasn't one to lose her cool. This definitely stood true now, but still, she couldn't help flushing slightly. She'd been so engrossed in her game that she'd nearly forgotten all about what she'd spent all week preparing for in the first place. "You don't have to apologize," she murmured, turning her back on him and retreating into the familiar darkness, "come in. You're very welcome." Hajime seemed a tad nervous as he slowly slipped his way inside. "What's wrong? Have you never been in a girl's room before?" It was supposed to be a joke, but it provoked a flustered reaction from Hajime and a stream of fumbled failed sentences. "Kidding." Chiaki flopped back into her blanket nest and patted at the crumpled spot at her side. Glancing side to side, Hajime made his way to where she'd made herself comfortable and collapsed in turn. "I've been worried about you," he began as he pulled at the cuff of his shirt. "You haven't replied to any of my texts. You've been eating, right?" "Sorry." He'd sent texts? Chiaki hadn't looked at her phone since the start of the week. "I've been really busy practicing." "Practicing? For what?" "For today." She showed Hajime her screen. He recoiled. "Oh ... I didn't realize you were into those kinds of games, Chiaki." "I'm not," she replied, shoulders slumping and a sigh floating off her lips, "can you keep a secret, Hajime?" With how serious she said it, Hajime's expression turned grave. "Sure, I guess?" Chiaki threw him the most serious look she could muster, complete with her cheeks puffed out in a pout and eyebrows furrowed tightly into creases. Her hands unconsciously squeezed at the console she still held. "Dating sims are my kryptonite." "Oh ... Dating sims are your - wait, what?" "I'm really bad at them," Chiaki said. She was unable to keep a tinge of sadness from her voice. "Not that I usually mind. But ever since last week, when you said you wanted us to go out somewhere, I thought that I should be prepared. It's no use though. I guess, on the bright side, I did make it to the H scene." She flashed her screen again, to which Hajime, with a sheepish smile, pushed it back down. "How about we don't take advice from porn games, yeah? They're not exactly the real deal." "Huh. Akane said the same thing." "She did?" "She said I should just be myself. But I don't know if myself is all that much fun to be around." "Why wouldn't it be?" Hajime scooted closer. "If I wanted a 2D girl, I'd just play ..." He picked up one of her strewn dating sims at random and pulled a face at the title, "Sexy Magic Witch School - seriously, Chiaki, where do you get these?" "I have my sources." "I'm not sure if I want to know what those are ..." Chiaki had to admit, with how natural their conversation was flowing, she could get used to this. She hadn't even hit her pause button yet. Unable to keep the smile from her face, Chiaki turned back to her DS and asked, "so what would you like to do?" "As in?" "You know. Dating. That kind of stuff. We're supposed to go out, yeah?" "We're not supposed to do anything," Hajime replied. "Really, I'm ... as good at these types of things as you are. But we don't have to go anywhere if you don't want, or do anything that you don't want. That's not what dates are about." "They aren't?" Why did everything have to be so complicated? Her dating sims had explicitly said otherwise, yet Hajime was saying they didn't have to do anything. Before she could formulate a proper response, Hajime changed the topic unexpectedly and asked, "have you slept?" Oh. Sleep. "I've had one or two naps," she mused, thinking back on her five days of intensive training. She'd been so caught up and involved in what she was playing that she'd barely allowed herself the luxury of sleep. She was definitely starting to feel it now. Chiaki rubbed at her sore eyes and swallowed a yawn. Hajime's flustered expression gave way to amusement. He sighed, but Chiaki didn't miss the smile on his lips. "Seriously, what am I going to do with you?" "Hopefully not this." She flashed her DS screen again and Hajime spluttered in embarrassment. "I like you, Hajime, but you haven't triggered that relationship flag yet." "You know that's not what I meant!" She laughed. Hajime climbed to his feet and extended his hand; she took it, stumbling upwards on wobbly knees and feeling the ache in her legs that could only accumulate from five days of non-stop sitting with only the occasional bathroom break. "But is it really okay?" she asked as he guided her to the bed and tossed her blanket back over her body. "I know you were really looking forward to this all week." "Who's to say this isn't our first date now?" said Hajime. "Ah, but, if you'd rather I go ..." She grasped his hand and tugged him down onto the bed. Hajime let out a less than manly squeal and fell down on top of her, which Chiaki recalled was a very common trope in My Vampire Girlfriend that signaled she was on the right romantic route. So she'd done something right after all! This was definitely a romance flag trigger. Chiaki could almost see the achievement popping up on Steam. "Path unlocked," Chiaki said cryptically, with a teasing smile. Hajime scrambled off, face red, and Chiaki twisted around onto her side. "You can sleep next to me, if you'd like," she said. "I can't think of a better way to have a date." Though visibly embarrassed and tense, he did lie down to face her. Chiaki grabbed his hand and intertwined her fingers with his own. "Jeez," he said, "why am I not surprised that napping is your idea of a perfect first date?" "It's not yours?" she quizzed, voice thick with the encroaching haze of unconsciousness. "I'm not opposed," he hummed. "Good." Pause. Save progress. And take a screenshot - just for good measure. At least, that's what Chiaki would have done if this were a dating sim event with a cute CG. But it wasn't. And that was for the best. Chiaki had decided that in this case, nothing could beat the real thing.

[rosellakingston-blog]

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[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 81: Same Old World

”I’ve got nowhere to go.”

It’s impossible to overstate how important Mirror Gem was in redirecting the entire series from the daily adventures of a magical kid to a long-term story about (among many other things) how sins of the past loom over the present. But I’ve certainly tried! I’ve gone on about the episode’s impact at length in multiple reviews, but it bears repeating again here, because Same Old World is where Lapis Lazuli finally starts to shift from Important Character to regular fixture.

For someone that leaves such a lasting impression, we don’t see much of Lapis until Season 3. After she flies away healed in Ocean Gem, we catch a glimpse of her in The Message, where she once again has a huge impact for her small amount of time on screen. This frantic, confused version of Lapis is what we’ll get in The Return and Jailbreak and Chille Tid, but we see her get angrier with each appearance as she’s forced to face trial after trial. Her suffering was supposed to be over, but it keeps happening, and by the time she’s finally free again it makes sense that her first instinct is to get the hell off this planet.

But the saddest thing about Lapis isn’t her horrible luck, even if her ordeals are arguably more intense than any other character’s. It’s that she’s had to face these ordeals alone. The Crystal Gems and the Off-Colors are ragtag teams of outcasts, but they still have each other. Homeworlders like the Diamonds and their underlings, even the wandering Jasper, fit in just fine with an established society. Peridot makes a relatively smooth transition from the latter to the former. But Lapis’s comfort zone only exists in a past that will never come back. Steven may be the only Gem with parents, but the tragedy of Lapis Lazuli is that she’s an orphan. Only in Spinel do we meet another Gem cursed with such abandonment.

Why does Lapis attach herself so strongly to Steven, to the point where she’s willing to risk everything to protect him from Homeworld? For the same reason she eventually latches onto Jasper despite knowing that it’s toxic: because she has nobody else. And that isolation, rather than the specific injustices she has faced, is the trauma she’s actually forced to overcome starting in Season 3, beginning with Peridot in our next episode. But for now, Same Old World does a brilliant job establishing who this character is (a lost, lonely soul) and what she needs (a home and a family) so that she can make a change. And it does this not by showing her wallowing, but rather, for the first time since Ocean Gem, by showing her happy.

It says everything about Lapis that she sincerely enjoys hanging out with Steven. Despite her antisocial tendencies, she doesn’t hate people, she just doesn’t trust them (and for good reason). By freeing her in Mirror Gem and healing her in Ocean Gem, and by bonding with her in both episodes through open-hearted conversation, Steven earned her friendship. And an arc where Lapis finds the strength to open up to others benefits from our knowledge that she’s already capable of doing so, so that’s what Same Old World does. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and knowing this makes it even harder to watch when she stumbles, but all the more rewarding when she starts to come out of her shell around more people.

Lapis’s newfound exuberance is best conveyed by Aivi and Surasshu, who modify her theme (still my favorite) from its typically haunting or mystical tone to a breezy, adventurous anthem. Lapis began as a source of wonder for the audience, so it’s great to see her actually feel that wonder herself as she learns more about the planet that held her prisoner for so long. 

Steven’s narration gets funnier and funnier as they travel from the woods to Empire City to Jersey; even a show this sweet can’t help but make fun of New Jersey. While Empire City is a clear blend of New York and Paris, with a little Vegas thrown in judging by the town motto, and this universe has locations like Delmarva and Keystone and Aqua Mexico, I love that Jersey is just...Jersey.

Further signs that this is a setup episode are found in the Empire City segment, and not just because we go back there in Mr. Greg. We’ve already seen Peridot living it up in the barn, and soon enough she and Lapis will be roommates in the way Steven foreshadows here. But more importantly, he’s using the language of television, which Lapis might not understand now, but very soon will. 

Of course, an episode where Lapis is chipper throughout would be disingenuous, and boy does Same Old World deliver on the inevitable gut punch. We get one last moment of whimsy as the two head over the ocean, but the gleeful variant of her theme fades away as they encounter the Galaxy Warp.

Considering the way Pearl left Steven hanging in Rose’s Scabbard, there was a very real chance Lapis would drop him here as she has a minor panic attack, and the suspense allows us to feel all the weight of Lapis’s problems rushing back after a day of fun. It might not sound like a big deal, but this episode needs us to switch from happy and peaceful to antsy and pensive within seconds to keep the pacing solid, and it’s amazing that it does so without giving us even a hint of whiplash.

The return of Lapis’s hollow eyes is a nice touch, and leads us into a flashback that efficiently and stylishly shows us the depths of our hero’s misfortune. She wasn’t a Homeworld zealot but a noncombatant, and her cracking was a complete accident caused by a nameless, unidentifiable Gem. There’s no twist or big moment, simply a series of events outside of her control that built upon each other to ruin her life. This isn’t to say we don’t get lore—the Gem who poofed Lapis is our first glimpse at a bismuth, perhaps the Bismuth, and we see the Diamonds’ corruption attack with a quick taste of their theme—but the message here is that Lapis’s fate served no great purpose, and wasn’t even an intentional punishment. Sometimes life just kicks the shit out of you for no reason.

Lapis is clearly used to it at this point, shrugging off how horrible her life has been before she tries to leave at the beginning of the episode and rejecting Steven’s sweet offer to take a minute at the end of it. This isn’t to say she isn’t upset, but there’s a sense of acceptance that her life will continue to be miserable no matter what, which is why it’s so important that Steven doesn’t just tell her that she’s welcome on Earth, but that Earth is a place that allows change. He tells somebody who had no control for ages, then went on a power trip as soon as she had the opportunity to dominate somebody else, that she finally has the opportunity to make a healthy choice. And she takes it. 

Peridot obviously becomes a bigger factor in our next episode, but she’s established quite well in the first act so that her “surprise” appearance at the end feels earned; why would she have gone away in the day or so that Steven and Lapis went exploring? Lapis’s petulant reaction to sharing her new home with Peridot gives us one last bit of foreshadowing for her arc: her adjustment to Earth transforms her into an angsty teen.

I can imagine this characterization disappointed some people; certain fans are bound to insert their own concepts into a character as mysterious as Lapis, which of course makes any divergence from this headcanon a disappointment. But the idea that Lapis’s Daria Phase comes out of nowhere is baffling to me. Really, what better way to portray someone whose life feels like one crisis after another inflicted by forces beyond their control than as a teenager?

Lapis Lazuli rarely displays overt happiness after Same Old World, and will quickly develop a sardonic sense of humor that genuine playfulness occasionally escapes from. But it nonetheless sets the stage for her potential before Barn Mates wisely reminds us that her journey towards trusting others won’t be a walk in the park.

(And then we get a walk in the ballpark. Season 3 picks up quick once it gets rolling.)

Future Vision!

I already mentioned Empire City, Bismuth, and the Diamond Corruption, but it’s also quietly sweet to rewatch this episode after we learn Lapis actually held onto Steven’s leaf in Beta.

I hinted at it a little, but there are definitely echoes of Lapis’s story in Spinel’s, with the major difference being Lapis’s series of misfortunes versus Spinel’s single act of betrayal. Both endured thousands of years of solitude, both attack others on instinct as a result, and both are moved by Steven preaching the power of change.

If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have inconsistencies…

It’s weird that there’s never any follow-up on Lapis’s poofing, considering she starts hanging out with Bismuth after Change Your Mind. Even if it was a different bismuth, that’s still worth a joke or something.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Such a great Lapis episode. If it had a song it might be even higher up, but it still holds its own through great characterization, great music, and awesome setup for her new arc.

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Winter Forecast

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

No Thanks!

     5. Horror Club      4. Fusion Cuisine      3. House Guest      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

[ezilyamuzed]

There’s no place like home - part 5

Summary: The reader has had a unique gift all her life. While considering it a curse, she discovers the identity of her real father after her mothers passing. Journeying towards her new life, she finds herself thrown within the Winchester’s world. Is it her destiny?

Setting: End of season 13. This takes place between  13.17 and 13.18.

Warnings: Language. Implied sex. A little smut. Flashback. POV may switch after certain sections. 

A/N: It was a journey to get here, but soon we will see more of what Kansas will bring to the reader.  Remember all comments and feedback are welcomed! If you want a tag in future posts regarding this series or other writings please send an ask! As always thank you for reading! Enjoy!

Series Masterlist

“Well, I think that constitutes as fun,” Dean laughed as the two of you landed on the bed in complete exhaustion. The sweat pouring from your faces leaving them a darker shade of red. It took you both a minute to capture your breath, leaving your shallow breathing the only sounds within the room as the two of you stared distantly to the ceiling.

The room was faintly lit as the tall lamp in the corner laid on the floor with a button-downed flannel draping along the shade. The generic landscape painting hung tilted on its nail. The little kitchenette table sitting a bit lopsided from the weight pushing down on it the last hour of bodies pressing against it. Every movement in your muscles causing you to wince in pain while still feeling complete satisfaction throughout your body. Noting all the destruction in the room, you smiled as you pulled up the thin sheet to cover you, allowing yourself to stretch underneath. 

“I think I might get charged for more than just a door,” you laughed.

Dean propped himself up onto his elbows next to you with a satisfied grin. “Put the 20 bucks you owe me towards the damage.”

“The $20 you cheated for?” you scoffed with a sly smile growing on your face. You looked over at his face, his wet hair sticking up in all over, his eyes shined with pure happiness, his light shining a little brighter in blissful peace.  

“I would like to think we both won tonight here Doc,” he said while gingerly placing a kiss upon your shoulder. 

Nothing about the situation seemed right in the pit of your stomach. You definitely were not supposed to kiss him and you for sure were not supposed to sleep with him. It’s just…happened. Too quick for your mind to argue with your body until you found yourself collapsing to the bed with him after all of your energy had pulsated through you multiple times. You tried telling yourself that this was just another one-night stand that meant nothing to you, but laying here with Dean just felt so…natural. Usually, by now, you would have kicked “Mr. Whatever-their-name-was” out to the curb shortly after your quick romp, but you justified your comfort with Dean lingering around longer because you knew after tonight you would be on your way to your new life. Far away from any Winchesters. You could enjoy this a little while longer. 

You turned to your stomach to wrap your arms around the pillow clenching it around your face. You gave a little-muffled groan as you felt the sharp pain in your lower back from that damn painting on the wall. Never had you detested a portrait of the oceanside so much. Dean caressed it carefully, noting the muscles in your body relaxing as he continued on. 

“What ya got there Doc?” Dean asked softly. You looked up to him in confusion as he nodded to the tattoo along your side next to your breast. 

“A hunter that can’t read Latin?” you laughed as he pursed up his lips and gave a shrug while leaning up on one arm to face you. “Primum non nocere. First, do no harm.”

“That’s kind of hypocritical for a hunter isn’t it Doc? I mean I’d seen the kind of harm you can do the other night. Not exactly handing out the olive branches now are ya?” 

“That was actually a pretty rare occasion for me,” you said while staring into his confused eyes as he traced circles around you mid back with his index finger. 

You pushed yourself up to your elbows to have your face almost reach the same height as his. “There are always other ways Dean.”

“What do you mean, other ways?” he said while squinting his eyes at you and tilting his head towards your face as you laid yourself back down. 

“They aren’t all monsters…” you replied softly as you could feel the tiredness pushing your eyes closed. You could feel him moving closer to you to carefully listening to what you were going to say next, but that conversation you didn’t want to dive into. Not with him. Not with the man notoriously known for shooting first and asking questions later. Instead, you slowly opened your eyes again while giving him a little smile. “I’m a sticky mess now.”

Dean laughed as he shifted himself onto his back. “Yeah, me too Doc. Who knew you were so…athletic?” 

You could hear the devilish smile forming on his face as he had said it. “Yeah well, 13 years of dance and gymnastics helps.”

“I would say it does. I can barely feel my knees right now after trying to keep up with you,” he said while stretching out himself along the bed, his long arms and legs pushing you gently towards the edge making you wince in pain. 

“Jeez stretch, watch out there. I think you bruised my hips.”

He looked over towards your lower back with a little cocky smile. “There might be a mark tomorrow, but probably not noticeable, not like the ones I can feel already feel on my back.” He twisted over to his side so that you could see your handiwork, over a dozen long red scratch lines from your nails. 

“You will heal,” you said with a little giggle. 

“Sam probably will think we were attacked or something.”

“You are not telling him about this,” you replied sternly while lifting yourself up to give him a hard stare.

“I won’t, but come on Doc. Do you really think that he didn’t have this planned out already? You might not know him very much, or Jody and Donna for the matter, but they were up to something.”

You rolled your eyes while letting your chin fall into the pillow again. He was probably right. They were acting strangely, and their lights were a little…off when they were sending you on your way with Dean. What was going to happen now? It was more than just the two of you that probably knew what was going to happen, even before you let it. Before you fell into it before you fell into him…fell with him…for him.

His voice broke you out of your thoughts. “What are we going to do now?”

You took a deep breath in and sighed. You didn’t know what to tell him. To be honest, you didn’t quite know what to say to yourself anymore as you laid there wanting for the answer to become clear. You felt the regret creeping up inside again of being in this position, laying next to a man that you were going to throw to the curb the first chance you could. But this was different, you didn’t want him to go, you had been justifying him staying longer because you thought that you would never see him again. But now? If they had really pushed this to happen in the first place, they would probably try and do it again. At least Sam would. You had heard the stories of him being the empathetic one who felt so guilty about his brother taking care of him all of his life that he had promised to do anything he could to make his older brother happy. Happy. Dean and you happy. You actually liked the sound of it when the thought reached your mind, but it could never work. Not with the lives, you both led. The sadness creeping up into your eyes led you to turn your face from him while whispering, “sleep now. We’ll talk in the morning.” 

He followed your command and laid down next to you with his arm pushed up behind his head, watching you as your breathing slowed down into a deep sleep.

The alarm clock on your phone blared through your ears as the fog of last night overcame you. Your head and body felt like you just did 12 rounds with a demon. The memory of Dean came into your mind which had you quickly turning to the other side of the bed. He was gone. The only thing laying in his place was a note written on the hotel stationary along with $20. 

Hey Doc,     I did cheat last night, you won fair and square. Use it for the damages. Call me if you’re ever in trouble or just whatever.  See ya around. -    Dean 785-555-8251

__________________________________________________

As he watched her fall asleep slowly, Dean couldn’t allow himself to try. He didn’t want to miss…this. What was this? Why was he so pulled to her? Her singing along to the radio, her quick banter back at his remarks, the way it felt so comfortable with just sitting in silence with her, her adventurous antics on the way back, they had only made the pull to her stronger. To meet her lips with hers, to know her more. 

It had become a chase as she resisted him, but he was not going to back down. He couldn’t back down. When she stood at the locked door, he knew that was his last chance, and he took it with every bit of courage he had left. He didn’t know how she was going to react. He honestly thought she was going to punch him as he set her down. When she returned his kiss, he knew that the animal inside of him could not be contained. He had to have her. If only for tonight. Their bodies moved in sync as they feel into the room, hitting every surface hard while not breaking away from each other. With every twist and turn his hunger was met by hers as their bodies became one until his he felt the pure blissful pleasure of his release. 

Everything in him felt sore as he laid next to her, but it only brought him happiness. The satisfaction rushing through his body left him in exhaustion, but not enough to sleep. He didn’t want to sleep. He never wanted to let go. Watching her as they talked, her hair in a tangled mess only made her look more beautiful in the dim light. She was perfect in every way. Her legs, her back, her face, those eyes, that smile…those damn lips that were swollen to perfection. Just perfect. 

He couldn’t help but to wonder what would happen next. She had said that she didn’t do relationships which he could understand. They aren’t easy in this life, but not impossible. His thoughts wandered to the possibility. Her working as a professor and him coming home to her after a long hunt. Just them. The normal life. Well, what normal would look like for hunters. He felt the ache in his chest as he remembered what was at home in the bunker, back to his reality. It was no place for her. She couldn’t be a part of it. She had so much good in her that he couldn’t bring all the bad to her door. She didn’t deserve it. He could tell that she didn’t know what to say either as she laid in silence until she finally told him they would talk in the morning. He couldn’t take the chance of her rejecting him. It would be easier if he just walked out now, before anything could be said. If anything he could always have the memory of this moment with her, where the rest of the world melted away.

After leaving her a note, he looked back one last time before walking out of the door. “Goodbye Y/N.”

When starting up the Impala, the radio sparked back to life. The same station on as the night before. Dean went to change the station but paused as he listened to the lyrics*, and allowed them to play as he drove away. 

The way your hair swings over your eyes The motor in my head turns Wanting you for such a long time In my mind, a heart, a lesson to learn Do do do do do do do do You'll never know I'm after you Do do do do do do do do You'll never know And you smell like How angels oughta smell And you look like You're ready to go So hold my hand I'll take you everywhere Anywhere You wanna go

He arrived at the hotel to rushed Sam that already had his bags packed on the bed. He gave his brother a sorrowful look as he told him that they needed to get back. Dean nodded as he rubbed the scruff on his face. 

“Dean, I’m sorry man. You will see her again. I’m sure of it. After all of this is done, you will find a way to find her.”

Dean gave a quick laugh as he pulled out his phone. He held it up for his brother to see the screen.

“Oh I know I will Sammy. I’m tracking her phone.”

_________________________________________________________

After cleaning up the hotel the best that you could, you packed your bags before making your way down the stairs to the lobby. A young blonde girl, probably late teens or early 20’s watched you as you looked around for Jody while leaning up against a couch arm.

“You must be the doc,” she said catching your attention. 

“You must be the ride,” you said with a smile. 

“Yeah, I’m Claire.”

She had on worn jeans, a button down shirt that was overlaid with a denim jacket. Her outfit screamed hunter, but the tiny black and blue spot around her right cheekbone was what made you certain of it. 

The two of you walked out to a 90’s style station wagon that had definitely seen better days. She grabbed your bags and tossed them in the backseat. The weight of them not phasing her. The two of you got in quietly. She turned over the ignition and started to pull out of the parking lot.

“So you hunt and you’re a doctor huh?”

“Yeah. I mean, I’ve been pretty much hunting all my life. Well since I was able to get away from my parents. How about you?”

She looked into the rearview mirror as she spoke again. “Parents both left when I was little. My dad got mixed up in some angel crap, and my mom just couldn’t let it go. I’ve been hunting pretty much ever since.”

“Sorry to hear that,” you whispered. The poor girl. Angels were assholes. They had consistently been taking family members away from each other, you couldn’t imagine it happening to you. Never seeing your parents again. Never seeing your mom.

“It’s alright,” she replied while giving you a quick smile. “My dad, well the angel in my dad’s body, he has kind of become family to me. Almost like I still have him. Don’t get me wrong, I hated him for a long time, but he tries. He sees how it is not easy for me.”

You nodded to show you understood, even though the idea perplexed you. How this young girl had formed a relationship with the angel that took her dad from her was an enigma. He must be different than the others you had met. Maybe someday you would meet him and your questions would be answered.

“So, how did you like the boys last night,” she said as she turned the car around the corner.

The question made you choke as you instantly thought of the time with Dean that went well on to the morning. “The boys?” you stuttered.

“Yeah. Sam. Dean. The boys. Sam is like the calm one most of the time. Dean can be a little bit of a hot-headed dork. They are like big brothers though. They have watched out for me a lot over the years, and they are still badass, even if they are turning into old men.” She looked over at you for your reaction. You just gave her a slight nod. “Sorry about the old comment.”

“It’s okay,” you replied. “So you hunt by yourself, with them or the other girls?”

“I will sometimes do my own thing. Jody hates it. She is always worried that the next time I won’t come home from. We kind of actually started a group. A family. Like sisters. There’s a couple of us now to have each other’s backs.”

“Sounds nice,” you said as you saw the garage coming into your view. There she was. Your baby. Your glowing smile was noticed by Claire as she pulled into the lot.

“Is that your car?” You happily nodded yes in reply. “Well, no wonder they think you are perfect for Dean.”

Your eyes widened at her comment. They had talked about it with her? How many people were now involved? She just gave you a smile and a wink while putting the car in park next to yours.

“Well doc, I guess I’ll be seeing ya at some point.”

“Yeah…maybe. Take care of yourself kid.”

After retrieving your keys from the mechanic, you happily sat down in your baby’s driver seat. You were home again. Nothing could have felt better. Your thoughts thinking about Claire and the ride over. A young girl with so much tragedy, desperate to hunt with a worried mother figure watching over her. You smiled remembering another girl you had met years before that was the same way. Stubborn to prove herself amongst the men while battling against her mother’s wishes. Jo. Jo Harvelle.

_______________________________________________________

The road trip hadn’t taken you long as you approached the Roadhouse tucked back in the middle of nowhere. You had just been a couple hours away when you gave up in frustration over your case. There was only one person you trusted to help you, and the last you knew he would be here.

You approached the bar slowly noting the translucent lights that did a horrible job at illuminating the place. It was dark, dusty, and reeked of booze. Your kind of place. An older woman with long flowing wavy brown hair was wipping off the counter while a young blonde girl was busy drying glasses. She looked up at you with a straight face, almost skeptical about who you were as you approached.

“What can I do for ya, honey?”

“I’m looking for a friend of mine…” you started to reply, but the familiar voice behind you made you turn and smile.

“The doc is in the house!” Ash yelled while giving you a beaming smile.

“Not a doctor yet Ash,” your smile growing larger in reply. He gave you a tight hug which you returned. 

“I see you are all business in the front.”

“And a party in the back,” he replied while running his hand through the back of his hair. “So what do I owe this unexpected but welcomed visit?”

You looked back towards the two women staring at your interaction. “I have something you might be able to help me with,” you quietly replied.

“Ooo, what are we hunting today?” he said excitedly. His abruptness made you turn to him with your eyes in fear that he just said it out loud. “Oh don’t worry about them, Y/N, Ellen, and Jo are in the business too.” He held out his arms and smiled. “Welcome to Hunter’s hideaway, where the whiskey is warm, and your shit is left at the door.”

“Thanks for the publicity,” said the older women. “I’m Ellen. Ellen Harvelle. I own this place. This is my daughter Jo,” she said while nodding her head to the younger girl.

“Nice to meet ya’ll. I’m Y/N.”

“So how do you know Ash here?” Jo asked inquisitively.

“He kind of showed up when we were kids and never left,” you laughed.

“Funny, he did that here too,” Ellen replied while pursing her lips and crossing her arms.

“I think it was…like the 6th grade or something when we met in school. I was always kind of an odd duck, and well Ash being Ash, we kind of became friends until we both left to go to college,” you said while remembering the good old days. You were interested in monsters, and Ash was one of the only people who believed you. You quickly became a team. He was the research tech guy, and you were the muscles. 

“So you hunt by yourself huh?” Jo asked with her eyes widening. You could see her mother eyes giving her a hard glare. 

“Um, yeah. When I am on breaks and stuff from school. My future comes first.” You gave her the same lie you told your mother, after realizing that there was tension between them when hunting was mentioned. You had seen it before between your own mom and you. By now you knew how to ease her mind, at least for a little while. 

“I’ve been hunting before,” she replied with a confident nod. 

“You were almost killed until Sam and Dean saved your ass,” Ellen harped. 

“Sam and Dean?” you asked curiously.

“Yeah, they are brothers that come around sometime. Dean is Jo’s boyfriend,” Ash said with a devilish smirk on his face.

“Oh, I see,” you said with a little laugh.

“Shut up Ash. He is not,” Jo said with daggers in her eyes.

“Those boys are nothing but trouble,” Ellen replied with anger in her voice. She looked over at you with seriousness in her eyes. “You stay away from them if you ever come across them. They are dangerous boys that don’t think about a damn thing they are doing until it is too late.”

“Yes ma’am” you replied. Sam and Dean. Two boys, you never wanted to meet.

_______________________________________________________

* Song: New Found Glory- Hold my hand. Click to listen. 

Keep Reading Here to Part 6

Tags:

@jaylarkson @waywardbaby

[joshuakhardy]

Prioritizing Your PPC Platform Needs

The right PPC platforms can make a huge difference for agencies or in-house teams. However, picking one can be overwhelming. You can minimize the burden and confusion by asking your team a few questions. Once you have answers, you can continue your research using the Best PPC Platforms for PPC Management.

Ask the Right Questions

There are different platforms for all of your PPC needs, including attribution, CRO, social, and reporting. Many platforms fulfill multiple needs. That being said, there are a lot of capabilities and features to sort through. How do you choose which features and capabilities matter and which don’t?

You NEED to know your teams’ pain points, which requires that you dig into your team’s current processes. Do not just observe your team – make sure to ASK them. In this phase of the decision-making process, making an assumption based on an observation would be a huge mistake.

There are two main questions you should ask your team:

Which aspects of their PPC responsibilities drain them the most, concerning morale? Why? I’d recommend giving them these multiple choice options, as open-ended questions might not help you find a PPC platform so much as identifying the team or workload issues.

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

What part of their PPC responsibilities drains them, concerning time? Why?

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

The Best Platforms for PPC Management are segmented using those categories, to make your life easier.

After gathering answers to those questions, it should be more clear which categories of PPC platforms you should start researching.

In my experience, if something is a huge drain on my time, it’s probably the source of a lot of my frustration, which affects my morale. I would prioritize the “time drains” over the “morale drains” for that reason.

The Conversation

Here’s an example of the process, if the leader of an in-house marketing team was to walk through these questions with their digital marketing team. I’ve based the answers on common responses that I’ve heard from clients and/or our Hanapin team.

Which part of your PPC role drains you, in terms of morale?

Possible Answers:

Attribution   – YES

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social   – YES

Your team answers that the two topics which are the most draining regarding morale are attribution and social.

Why?

Attribution is such a complex issue. We’ve never made a huge shift in our attribution model because we’re afraid that we won’t be able to optimize after the switch. We wouldn’t be able to compare our previous results to a new model, which could hurt performance.

Social hasn’t been around very long, relative to paid search, so we still feel like there are lots of unknowns and inefficiencies in our paid social management. That’s one of the reasons we don’t increase the budget. We think it’s working, but we can’t always prove it. We’re a mature company with many layers to our marketing team. It’s hard to add new processes because we need to prove that they’re working or going to work.

Which part of your PPC role drains you, concerning time?

Possible Answers:

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis  – YES

CRO

Reporting  – YES

Retargeting

Social

Why?

Our competitors are always changing their strategies, just like we are. We want to keep up, but it’s so time-intensive to monitor their keyword-bidding levels, social presence, and site changes. If the process were faster, it’d be easier to justify the cost of assigning that task to an employee.

Reporting is boring, unfulfilling, and detracts from the actual account work.We’re a huge company. We have various departments relying on our paid advertising team for metrics and KPI’s. We spend half of our week just pulling week-over-week or month-over-month reports, and no one on the team enjoys it.

Next Steps

Research the PPC platforms within the “draining” categories first. Prioritize the “time drains” before the “morale drains” because the time-draining topics are also morale-draining, over time.

See if there’s a product listed as a solution in all of your problem areas! That’s definitely where I’d start my in-depth research.

From there, factors like budget, platform support/help teams, contracts, etc. become part of the conversation. You’ll want to reach out to a platform representative to get more details on those capabilities.

Throughout the process, keep asking your team for real-life examples of their current processes and how new PPC technology might help. You might be surprised to find that only one part of your team is struggling with reporting, or that several people want to do more CRO testing on the site but don’t feel like they have the resources. The goal is to make sure you’re using technology to automate the boring and/or inefficient parts of the job. Relieve your team of their largest frustrations and build morale with the right PPC platforms!

Article Originally Found On PPC Hero.

The post Prioritizing Your PPC Platform Needs appeared first on Tokay SEO.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8246812 https://www.tokayseo.com/seo/prioritizing-ppc-platform-needs/

[karinaibond]

Prioritizing Your PPC Platform Needs

The right PPC platforms can make a huge difference for agencies or in-house teams. However, picking one can be overwhelming. You can minimize the burden and confusion by asking your team a few questions. Once you have answers, you can continue your research using the Best PPC Platforms for PPC Management.

Ask the Right Questions

There are different platforms for all of your PPC needs, including attribution, CRO, social, and reporting. Many platforms fulfill multiple needs. That being said, there are a lot of capabilities and features to sort through. How do you choose which features and capabilities matter and which don’t?

You NEED to know your teams’ pain points, which requires that you dig into your team’s current processes. Do not just observe your team – make sure to ASK them. In this phase of the decision-making process, making an assumption based on an observation would be a huge mistake.

There are two main questions you should ask your team:

Which aspects of their PPC responsibilities drain them the most, concerning morale? Why? I’d recommend giving them these multiple choice options, as open-ended questions might not help you find a PPC platform so much as identifying the team or workload issues.

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

What part of their PPC responsibilities drains them, concerning time? Why?

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

The Best Platforms for PPC Management are segmented using those categories, to make your life easier.

After gathering answers to those questions, it should be more clear which categories of PPC platforms you should start researching.

In my experience, if something is a huge drain on my time, it’s probably the source of a lot of my frustration, which affects my morale. I would prioritize the “time drains” over the “morale drains” for that reason.

The Conversation

Here’s an example of the process, if the leader of an in-house marketing team was to walk through these questions with their digital marketing team. I’ve based the answers on common responses that I’ve heard from clients and/or our Hanapin team.

Which part of your PPC role drains you, in terms of morale?

Possible Answers:

Attribution   – YES

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social   – YES

Your team answers that the two topics which are the most draining regarding morale are attribution and social.

Why?

Attribution is such a complex issue. We’ve never made a huge shift in our attribution model because we’re afraid that we won’t be able to optimize after the switch. We wouldn’t be able to compare our previous results to a new model, which could hurt performance.

Social hasn’t been around very long, relative to paid search, so we still feel like there are lots of unknowns and inefficiencies in our paid social management. That’s one of the reasons we don’t increase the budget. We think it’s working, but we can’t always prove it. We’re a mature company with many layers to our marketing team. It’s hard to add new processes because we need to prove that they’re working or going to work.

Which part of your PPC role drains you, concerning time?

Possible Answers:

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis  – YES

CRO

Reporting  – YES

Retargeting

Social

Why?

Our competitors are always changing their strategies, just like we are. We want to keep up, but it’s so time-intensive to monitor their keyword-bidding levels, social presence, and site changes. If the process were faster, it’d be easier to justify the cost of assigning that task to an employee.

Reporting is boring, unfulfilling, and detracts from the actual account work.We’re a huge company. We have various departments relying on our paid advertising team for metrics and KPI’s. We spend half of our week just pulling week-over-week or month-over-month reports, and no one on the team enjoys it.

Next Steps

Research the PPC platforms within the “draining” categories first. Prioritize the “time drains” before the “morale drains” because the time-draining topics are also morale-draining, over time.

See if there’s a product listed as a solution in all of your problem areas! That’s definitely where I’d start my in-depth research.

From there, factors like budget, platform support/help teams, contracts, etc. become part of the conversation. You’ll want to reach out to a platform representative to get more details on those capabilities.

Throughout the process, keep asking your team for real-life examples of their current processes and how new PPC technology might help. You might be surprised to find that only one part of your team is struggling with reporting, or that several people want to do more CRO testing on the site but don’t feel like they have the resources. The goal is to make sure you’re using technology to automate the boring and/or inefficient parts of the job. Relieve your team of their largest frustrations and build morale with the right PPC platforms!

Article Originally Found On PPC Hero.

The post Prioritizing Your PPC Platform Needs appeared first on Tokay SEO.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8246812 https://www.tokayseo.com/seo/prioritizing-ppc-platform-needs/

[lenakarley]

Prioritizing Your PPC Platform Needs

The right PPC platforms can make a huge difference for agencies or in-house teams. However, picking one can be overwhelming. You can minimize the burden and confusion by asking your team a few questions. Once you have answers, you can continue your research using the Best PPC Platforms for PPC Management.

Ask the Right Questions

There are different platforms for all of your PPC needs, including attribution, CRO, social, and reporting. Many platforms fulfill multiple needs. That being said, there are a lot of capabilities and features to sort through. How do you choose which features and capabilities matter and which don’t?

You NEED to know your teams’ pain points, which requires that you dig into your team’s current processes. Do not just observe your team – make sure to ASK them. In this phase of the decision-making process, making an assumption based on an observation would be a huge mistake.

There are two main questions you should ask your team:

Which aspects of their PPC responsibilities drain them the most, concerning morale? Why? I’d recommend giving them these multiple choice options, as open-ended questions might not help you find a PPC platform so much as identifying the team or workload issues.

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

What part of their PPC responsibilities drains them, concerning time? Why?

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

The Best Platforms for PPC Management are segmented using those categories, to make your life easier.

After gathering answers to those questions, it should be more clear which categories of PPC platforms you should start researching.

In my experience, if something is a huge drain on my time, it’s probably the source of a lot of my frustration, which affects my morale. I would prioritize the “time drains” over the “morale drains” for that reason.

The Conversation

Here’s an example of the process, if the leader of an in-house marketing team was to walk through these questions with their digital marketing team. I’ve based the answers on common responses that I’ve heard from clients and/or our Hanapin team.

Which part of your PPC role drains you, in terms of morale?

Possible Answers:

Attribution   – YES

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social   – YES

Your team answers that the two topics which are the most draining regarding morale are attribution and social.

Why?

Attribution is such a complex issue. We’ve never made a huge shift in our attribution model because we’re afraid that we won’t be able to optimize after the switch. We wouldn’t be able to compare our previous results to a new model, which could hurt performance.

Social hasn’t been around very long, relative to paid search, so we still feel like there are lots of unknowns and inefficiencies in our paid social management. That’s one of the reasons we don’t increase the budget. We think it’s working, but we can’t always prove it. We’re a mature company with many layers to our marketing team. It’s hard to add new processes because we need to prove that they’re working or going to work.

Which part of your PPC role drains you, concerning time?

Possible Answers:

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis  – YES

CRO

Reporting  – YES

Retargeting

Social

Why?

Our competitors are always changing their strategies, just like we are. We want to keep up, but it’s so time-intensive to monitor their keyword-bidding levels, social presence, and site changes. If the process were faster, it’d be easier to justify the cost of assigning that task to an employee.

Reporting is boring, unfulfilling, and detracts from the actual account work.We’re a huge company. We have various departments relying on our paid advertising team for metrics and KPI’s. We spend half of our week just pulling week-over-week or month-over-month reports, and no one on the team enjoys it.

Next Steps

Research the PPC platforms within the “draining” categories first. Prioritize the “time drains” before the “morale drains” because the time-draining topics are also morale-draining, over time.

See if there’s a product listed as a solution in all of your problem areas! That’s definitely where I’d start my in-depth research.

From there, factors like budget, platform support/help teams, contracts, etc. become part of the conversation. You’ll want to reach out to a platform representative to get more details on those capabilities.

Throughout the process, keep asking your team for real-life examples of their current processes and how new PPC technology might help. You might be surprised to find that only one part of your team is struggling with reporting, or that several people want to do more CRO testing on the site but don’t feel like they have the resources. The goal is to make sure you’re using technology to automate the boring and/or inefficient parts of the job. Relieve your team of their largest frustrations and build morale with the right PPC platforms!

Article Originally Found On PPC Hero.

The post Prioritizing Your PPC Platform Needs appeared first on Tokay SEO.

from https://www.tokayseo.com/seo/prioritizing-ppc-platform-needs/

[maxslogic25]

Prioritizing Your PPC Platform Needs

The right PPC platforms can make a huge difference for agencies or in-house teams. However, picking one can be overwhelming. You can minimize the burden and confusion by asking your team a few questions. Once you have answers, you can continue your research using the Best PPC Platforms for PPC Management.

  Ask the Right Questions

  There are different platforms for all of your PPC needs, including attribution, CRO, social, and reporting. Many platforms fulfill multiple needs. That being said, there are a lot of capabilities and features to sort through. How do you choose which features and capabilities matter and which don’t?

  You NEED to know your teams’ pain points, which requires that you dig into your team’s current processes. Do not simply observe your team – make sure to ASK them. In this phase of the decision-making process, making an assumption based on an observation would be a huge mistake.

  There are two main questions you should ask your team:

Which aspects of their PPC responsibilities drains them the most, in terms of morale? Why? I’d recommend giving them these multiple choice options, as open-ended questions might not help you find a PPC platform so much as identifying team or workload issues.

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

What part of their PPC responsibilities drains them, in terms of time? Why?

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

The Best Platforms for PPC Management are actually segmented using those categories, to make your life easier.

  After gathering answers to those questions, it should be more clear which categories of PPC platforms you should start researching.

  In my experience, if something is a huge drain on my time, it’s probably the source of a lot of my frustration, which affects my morale. I would prioritize the “time drains” over the “morale drains” for that reason.

  The Conversation

  Here’s an example of the process, if the leader of an in-house marketing team was to walk through these questions with their digital marketing team. I’ve based the answers on common responses that I’ve heard from clients and/or our Hanapin team.

Which part of your PPC role drains you, in terms of morale?

Possible Answers:

Attribution   – YES

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social   – YES

Your team answers that the two topics which are the most draining in terms of morale are attribution and social.

Why?   Attribution is such a complex issue. We’ve never made a huge shift in our attribution model because we’re afraid that we won’t be able to optimize after the switch. We wouldn’t be able to compare our previous results to a new model, which could hurt performance.   Social hasn’t been around very long, relative to paid search, so we still feel like there are lots of unknowns and inefficiencies in our paid social management. That’s one of the reasons we don’t increase the budget. We think it’s working, but we can’t always prove it. We’re a mature company with many layers to our marketing team. It’s hard to add new processes because we need to prove that they’re working or going to work.   Which part of your PPC role drains you, in terms of time?

Possible Answers:

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis  – YES

CRO

Reporting  – YES

Retargeting

Social

Why?   Our competitors are always changing their strategies, just like we are. We want to keep up, but it’s so time-intensive to monitor their keyword-bidding levels, social presence, and site changes. If the process were faster, it’d be easier to justify the cost of assigning that task to an employee.   Reporting is boring, unfulfilling, and detracts from the actual account work.We’re a huge company. We have various departments relying on our paid advertising team for metrics and KPI’s. We spend half of our week just pulling week-over-week or month-over-month reports and no one on the team enjoys it.

Next Steps

  Research the PPC platforms within the “draining” categories first. Prioritize the “time drains” before the “morale drains” because the time-draining topics are also morale-draining, over time.

  See if there’s a product listed as a solution in all of your problem areas! That’s definitely where I’d start my in-depth research.

  From there, factors like budget, platform support/help teams, contracts, etc. become part of the conversation. You’ll want to reach out to a platform representative to get more details on those capabilities.

  Throughout the process, keep asking your team for real-life examples of their current processes and how new PPC technology might help. You might be surprised to find that only one part of your team is struggling with reporting, or that several people want to do more CRO testing on the site but don’t feel like they have the resources. The goal is to make sure you’re using technology to automate the boring and/or inefficient parts of the job. Relieve your team of their largest frustrations and build morale with the right PPC platforms!

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 http://www.ppchero.com/choosing-the-right-ppc-platform/

[archiebwoollard]

Prioritizing Your PPC Platform Needs

The right PPC platforms can make a huge difference for agencies or in-house teams. However, picking one can be overwhelming. You can minimize the burden and confusion by asking your team a few questions. Once you have answers, you can continue your research using the Best PPC Platforms for PPC Management.

  Ask the Right Questions

  There are different platforms for all of your PPC needs, including attribution, CRO, social, and reporting. Many platforms fulfill multiple needs. That being said, there are a lot of capabilities and features to sort through. How do you choose which features and capabilities matter and which don’t?

  You NEED to know your teams’ pain points, which requires that you dig into your team’s current processes. Do not simply observe your team – make sure to ASK them. In this phase of the decision-making process, making an assumption based on an observation would be a huge mistake.

  There are two main questions you should ask your team:

Which aspects of their PPC responsibilities drains them the most, in terms of morale? Why? I’d recommend giving them these multiple choice options, as open-ended questions might not help you find a PPC platform so much as identifying team or workload issues.

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

What part of their PPC responsibilities drains them, in terms of time? Why?

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

The Best Platforms for PPC Management are actually segmented using those categories, to make your life easier.

  After gathering answers to those questions, it should be more clear which categories of PPC platforms you should start researching.

  In my experience, if something is a huge drain on my time, it’s probably the source of a lot of my frustration, which affects my morale. I would prioritize the “time drains” over the “morale drains” for that reason.

  The Conversation

  Here’s an example of the process, if the leader of an in-house marketing team was to walk through these questions with their digital marketing team. I’ve based the answers on common responses that I’ve heard from clients and/or our Hanapin team.

Which part of your PPC role drains you, in terms of morale?

Possible Answers:

Attribution   – YES

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social   – YES

Your team answers that the two topics which are the most draining in terms of morale are attribution and social.

Why?   Attribution is such a complex issue. We’ve never made a huge shift in our attribution model because we’re afraid that we won’t be able to optimize after the switch. We wouldn’t be able to compare our previous results to a new model, which could hurt performance.   Social hasn’t been around very long, relative to paid search, so we still feel like there are lots of unknowns and inefficiencies in our paid social management. That’s one of the reasons we don’t increase the budget. We think it’s working, but we can’t always prove it. We’re a mature company with many layers to our marketing team. It’s hard to add new processes because we need to prove that they’re working or going to work.   Which part of your PPC role drains you, in terms of time?

Possible Answers:

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis  – YES

CRO

Reporting  – YES

Retargeting

Social

Why?   Our competitors are always changing their strategies, just like we are. We want to keep up, but it’s so time-intensive to monitor their keyword-bidding levels, social presence, and site changes. If the process were faster, it’d be easier to justify the cost of assigning that task to an employee.   Reporting is boring, unfulfilling, and detracts from the actual account work.We’re a huge company. We have various departments relying on our paid advertising team for metrics and KPI’s. We spend half of our week just pulling week-over-week or month-over-month reports and no one on the team enjoys it.

Next Steps

  Research the PPC platforms within the “draining” categories first. Prioritize the “time drains” before the “morale drains” because the time-draining topics are also morale-draining, over time.

  See if there’s a product listed as a solution in all of your problem areas! That’s definitely where I’d start my in-depth research.

  From there, factors like budget, platform support/help teams, contracts, etc. become part of the conversation. You’ll want to reach out to a platform representative to get more details on those capabilities.

  Throughout the process, keep asking your team for real-life examples of their current processes and how new PPC technology might help. You might be surprised to find that only one part of your team is struggling with reporting, or that several people want to do more CRO testing on the site but don’t feel like they have the resources. The goal is to make sure you’re using technology to automate the boring and/or inefficient parts of the job. Relieve your team of their largest frustrations and build morale with the right PPC platforms!

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 http://www.ppchero.com/choosing-the-right-ppc-platform/

[zacdhaenkeau]

Prioritizing Your PPC Platform Needs

The right PPC platforms can make a huge difference for agencies or in-house teams. However, picking one can be overwhelming. You can minimize the burden and confusion by asking your team a few questions. Once you have answers, you can continue your research using the Best PPC Platforms for PPC Management.

  Ask the Right Questions

  There are different platforms for all of your PPC needs, including attribution, CRO, social, and reporting. Many platforms fulfill multiple needs. That being said, there are a lot of capabilities and features to sort through. How do you choose which features and capabilities matter and which don’t?

  You NEED to know your teams’ pain points, which requires that you dig into your team’s current processes. Do not simply observe your team – make sure to ASK them. In this phase of the decision-making process, making an assumption based on an observation would be a huge mistake.

  There are two main questions you should ask your team:

Which aspects of their PPC responsibilities drains them the most, in terms of morale? Why? I’d recommend giving them these multiple choice options, as open-ended questions might not help you find a PPC platform so much as identifying team or workload issues.

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

What part of their PPC responsibilities drains them, in terms of time? Why?

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

The Best Platforms for PPC Management are actually segmented using those categories, to make your life easier.

  After gathering answers to those questions, it should be more clear which categories of PPC platforms you should start researching.

  In my experience, if something is a huge drain on my time, it’s probably the source of a lot of my frustration, which affects my morale. I would prioritize the “time drains” over the “morale drains” for that reason.

  The Conversation

  Here’s an example of the process, if the leader of an in-house marketing team was to walk through these questions with their digital marketing team. I’ve based the answers on common responses that I’ve heard from clients and/or our Hanapin team.

Which part of your PPC role drains you, in terms of morale?

Possible Answers:

Attribution   – YES

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social   – YES

Your team answers that the two topics which are the most draining in terms of morale are attribution and social.

Why?   Attribution is such a complex issue. We’ve never made a huge shift in our attribution model because we’re afraid that we won’t be able to optimize after the switch. We wouldn’t be able to compare our previous results to a new model, which could hurt performance.   Social hasn’t been around very long, relative to paid search, so we still feel like there are lots of unknowns and inefficiencies in our paid social management. That’s one of the reasons we don’t increase the budget. We think it’s working, but we can’t always prove it. We’re a mature company with many layers to our marketing team. It’s hard to add new processes because we need to prove that they’re working or going to work.   Which part of your PPC role drains you, in terms of time?

Possible Answers:

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis  – YES

CRO

Reporting  – YES

Retargeting

Social

Why?   Our competitors are always changing their strategies, just like we are. We want to keep up, but it’s so time-intensive to monitor their keyword-bidding levels, social presence, and site changes. If the process were faster, it’d be easier to justify the cost of assigning that task to an employee.   Reporting is boring, unfulfilling, and detracts from the actual account work.We’re a huge company. We have various departments relying on our paid advertising team for metrics and KPI’s. We spend half of our week just pulling week-over-week or month-over-month reports and no one on the team enjoys it.

Next Steps

  Research the PPC platforms within the “draining” categories first. Prioritize the “time drains” before the “morale drains” because the time-draining topics are also morale-draining, over time.

  See if there’s a product listed as a solution in all of your problem areas! That’s definitely where I’d start my in-depth research.

  From there, factors like budget, platform support/help teams, contracts, etc. become part of the conversation. You’ll want to reach out to a platform representative to get more details on those capabilities.

  Throughout the process, keep asking your team for real-life examples of their current processes and how new PPC technology might help. You might be surprised to find that only one part of your team is struggling with reporting, or that several people want to do more CRO testing on the site but don’t feel like they have the resources. The goal is to make sure you’re using technology to automate the boring and/or inefficient parts of the job. Relieve your team of their largest frustrations and build morale with the right PPC platforms!

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 http://www.ppchero.com/choosing-the-right-ppc-platform/

[racheltgibsau]

Prioritizing Your PPC Platform Needs

The right PPC platforms can make a huge difference for agencies or in-house teams. However, picking one can be overwhelming. You can minimize the burden and confusion by asking your team a few questions. Once you have answers, you can continue your research using the Best PPC Platforms for PPC Management.

  Ask the Right Questions

  There are different platforms for all of your PPC needs, including attribution, CRO, social, and reporting. Many platforms fulfill multiple needs. That being said, there are a lot of capabilities and features to sort through. How do you choose which features and capabilities matter and which don’t?

  You NEED to know your teams’ pain points, which requires that you dig into your team’s current processes. Do not simply observe your team – make sure to ASK them. In this phase of the decision-making process, making an assumption based on an observation would be a huge mistake.

  There are two main questions you should ask your team:

Which aspects of their PPC responsibilities drains them the most, in terms of morale? Why? I’d recommend giving them these multiple choice options, as open-ended questions might not help you find a PPC platform so much as identifying team or workload issues.

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

What part of their PPC responsibilities drains them, in terms of time? Why?

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social

The Best Platforms for PPC Management are actually segmented using those categories, to make your life easier.

  After gathering answers to those questions, it should be more clear which categories of PPC platforms you should start researching.

  In my experience, if something is a huge drain on my time, it’s probably the source of a lot of my frustration, which affects my morale. I would prioritize the “time drains” over the “morale drains” for that reason.

  The Conversation

  Here’s an example of the process, if the leader of an in-house marketing team was to walk through these questions with their digital marketing team. I’ve based the answers on common responses that I’ve heard from clients and/or our Hanapin team.

Which part of your PPC role drains you, in terms of morale?

Possible Answers:

Attribution   – YES

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis

CRO

Reporting

Retargeting

Social   – YES

Your team answers that the two topics which are the most draining in terms of morale are attribution and social.

Why?   Attribution is such a complex issue. We’ve never made a huge shift in our attribution model because we’re afraid that we won’t be able to optimize after the switch. We wouldn’t be able to compare our previous results to a new model, which could hurt performance.   Social hasn’t been around very long, relative to paid search, so we still feel like there are lots of unknowns and inefficiencies in our paid social management. That’s one of the reasons we don’t increase the budget. We think it’s working, but we can’t always prove it. We’re a mature company with many layers to our marketing team. It’s hard to add new processes because we need to prove that they’re working or going to work.   Which part of your PPC role drains you, in terms of time?

Possible Answers:

Attribution

Bid management

Brand protection

Call tracking

Competitor Analysis  – YES

CRO

Reporting  – YES

Retargeting

Social

Why?   Our competitors are always changing their strategies, just like we are. We want to keep up, but it’s so time-intensive to monitor their keyword-bidding levels, social presence, and site changes. If the process were faster, it’d be easier to justify the cost of assigning that task to an employee.   Reporting is boring, unfulfilling, and detracts from the actual account work.We’re a huge company. We have various departments relying on our paid advertising team for metrics and KPI’s. We spend half of our week just pulling week-over-week or month-over-month reports and no one on the team enjoys it.

Next Steps

  Research the PPC platforms within the “draining” categories first. Prioritize the “time drains” before the “morale drains” because the time-draining topics are also morale-draining, over time.

  See if there’s a product listed as a solution in all of your problem areas! That’s definitely where I’d start my in-depth research.

  From there, factors like budget, platform support/help teams, contracts, etc. become part of the conversation. You’ll want to reach out to a platform representative to get more details on those capabilities.

  Throughout the process, keep asking your team for real-life examples of their current processes and how new PPC technology might help. You might be surprised to find that only one part of your team is struggling with reporting, or that several people want to do more CRO testing on the site but don’t feel like they have the resources. The goal is to make sure you’re using technology to automate the boring and/or inefficient parts of the job. Relieve your team of their largest frustrations and build morale with the right PPC platforms!

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 http://www.ppchero.com/choosing-the-right-ppc-platform/