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anonquack · 4 years ago

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| His Merch |

Alex Quackity x Reader, Oneshot!

Word Count: 4256

Warnings: None, just some curse words. Fluff :]

Summary: Being such good friends with Quackity leads to the inevitable; catching feelings. In fear of ruining your friendship with him, you kept quiet about your feelings. Although usually good at that, after a merch drop and a slip-up on stream, you prepare yourself for the worst. Queue the incoming call from Quackity himself.

Today had been a productive day, in your opinion. You'd woken up earlier than usual, ate breakfast, cleaned around your apartment, and managed to get started on editing a video you'd recently filmed.

That's why you considered yourself very deserving of sitting down and enjoying your friend's stream as you ate some snacks.

Quackity had a fun stream planned, and had hyped up a 'big announcement' on Twitter, and the whole timeline was already speculating what it could be as they awaited for Quackity to start stream.

Being his friend had some perks though, contrary to popular belief. He'd discussed with you what the big announcement was as you sat on call with him a few nights prior to the big day. It was merch, and according to your past experience with Planet Duck products, it was sure to be soft and super comfy. You were very much looking forward to getting your hands on some of his new merch.

He'd brought up sending some to you, one of the previously mentioned perks of being his friend, but you politely declined. Much to his surprise. He'd asked why and you'd simply stated that "It was fine," and perhaps it came off as a bit rude. A 'no thanks' to his merch that you hadn't even seen.

But you had plans of your own, you wanted to acquire said merch on your own, and support him financially in the process. He didn't have to know that though, so with a small 'Oh' from him as his response, you swiftly changed topic of conversation.

Now here you sat, watching the stream as Quackity explained what he'd be doing with his friend John Smith. Riding go-karts around what looked like a storage unit. You couldn't help but worry as you watched them zoom around, occasionally getting close to crashing, and eventually doing just that.

The stream itself was rather fun to watch, but you kept your debit card beside you. This was in case he decided to drop the merch announcement out of nowhere. And that was exactly what he did. Another perk of being his friend was you grew a 6th sense for these type of things. Always had a feeling for what was about to happen when it came to Quackity.

You watched as the chat freaked out, watched as the notification from Planet Duck went out, notifying everybody that the merch had been released. You quickly typed into your computer, and the internet seemed to be taking its time to redirect you to Quackity's merch site.

After some time, it finally loaded and you began to look at all the options. The merch was wonderful, Quackity had been hyping it up to you (you'd asked for no reveals, wanting to wait like everyone else) and he had been absolutely right.

Most of the designs were new, except for the iconic Planet Duck logo, and were all very cute. You had Quackity's stream playing in the background as you maneuvered your way around the site, finally deciding on which merch you'd be buying.

As you went to purchase, a red sign alerted you that there was no shipping to your location. To which you quickly raised an eyebrow, panic starting to rush through you. Maybe you should've accepted his offer.

After refreshing multiple times and watching the Twitter timeline freak out as well over the inability to ship to several locations, it finally seemed to work, and the payment finally went through. A big "Thank you for your purchase" appearing onto the screen.

You let out a sigh of relief, clicking back onto the tab where the stream was, a small smile on your face. You'd actually managed to get it on your own. It was nerve-racking, when it seemed like you wouldn't be able to get the shipping to work, when it seemed like it'd sell out before you had the chance to buy some.

Now you finally understood what it felt like, the stress of getting your hands on merch before it sold out. It'd been an exhilerating experience.

You relaxed into your seat as Quackity's laugh filled the room. He was recreating bits from Fast and Furious, and zooming all over the place. You watched with a fond smile as he drove around, throwing random Spanish profanities at John Smith here and there.

The funky heart glasses he had on did nothing to ease the warmth that was spreading through your chest at the sight of him. You were suffering due to your confusing feelings towards your close friend, but nobody knew, or at least that is what you told yourself.

You tried to focus on something else, something that wasn't solely him. The go-karts were going pretty fast, and you remembered the scene they were recreating from the movie. Whichever random thought came to mind, you'd focus on it instead, too scared to let your thoughts wander elsewhere.

When it came to and end, you were conflicted. You were glad your heart would be able to catch a break, but you also missed him almost immediately. Sickening, really.

You took some time to reflect on what you'd done so far. Cleaned, ate your meals, worked on some editing, got some Quackity merch, and enjoyed a fun stream. It was rather productive, to say the least.

But there was still some time left in the day, and you figured you'd put the energy coursing through your body to use.

Taking a seat at your desk, you turned your monitor on before opening the twitch app. An alt stream would be perfect right now. After going live and sending out a tweet letting your followers know you were live, you patiently waited for the viewers to start coming in.

Considering this was an alt stream, you figured you'd play some random game and just chat for a bit before heading to bed. As the viewers came in, you gave your greetings before opening a tab for roblox, getting on a random server to play an obby game as you talked to chat.

There was a content smile on your face as you asked chat how their day had been, how they were feeling, your little character jumping around and passing through the beginner levels on the obby game.

"I'm actually in a really good mood, chat. My day has been going so well." You began, glancing at chat here and there, smile growing at the memory of the adventures acquiring Quackity merch.

After the chat was flooded with questions asking about what had happened, you indulged. "I was watching Quackity's stream earlier today, and it was so much fun!" The smile grew before softening as you focused on the obby. "I was also able to get some of his new merch."

The chat erupted into bits of 'friends supporting friends' to 'y/n in quackity merch???' and people yelling that they had been or weren't able to get merch.

Seeing the chat made you laugh, nodding your head a bit. "No because I was so nervous I wouldn't be able to get some-" you admitted, attention now focused solely on telling the viewers about your own experience.

"I was trying to purchase, and there was a line, and then it said it wouldn't ship to my location?? I was so worried I wouldn't be able to get some. But it finally worked. I'm excited for it to get here." You finished your small rant, a content smile on your lips.

Chat consisted of people agreeing with the technical difficulties occurring at the time of the merch drop, others saying they were too broke to buy anything. It felt nice, to see something from their perspective and also have shared an experience like this.

"Big Q actually offered to send me some, but I told him no because I wanted to get it myself.. Wanted to get it fair and square." You said as you refocused on the obby in front of you, fond smile on your face as you thought about how nice he was. He was willing to send all of his friends some of his merch, free of cost.

"Also wanted to give him my support by actually purchasing it, you know?" You added, resting your chin on the palm of your hand as it leaned against your desk. You took this time to read chat, which was exploding with what you thought was a combination of Quackity's username with yours, and 'bffs ur honor!!'.

You smiled at that, hands finally moving your character around. "Really, he has been such an amazing friend, extremely welcoming, always fun to be around. And just.. life is never dull when he's around. He's always been there for me when I needed it and well‐" A pause. "I'm glad I was able to support him in some way." You hummed softly as you finished up yet another small rant about Quackity.

At the realization that you'd been talking about him for far too long, and that he was not meant to be the focus of your alt stream, you cleared your throat and began focusing on the obby game once again.

You shifted the topic of conversation to the video you'd also been editing today, and that quickly took everyone's attention away from how affectionately and fondly you'd been speaking of your dear friend. Everyone was now excited about the new video.

Seeing how easily the chat's focus changed made you ease up a bit, and you were able to enjoy the rest of your stream playing random roblox games and discussing some stuff with chat. It lasted for a bit longer before you finally decided to end stream.

Some goodbyes and after stream officially ended, you found yourself on Twitter. Everything seemed pretty peaceful on the timeline, up until the trending page came up.

Your name was trending, along with 'QUACKITY IN CHAT' and the infamous combination of usernames. A monstrosity, really.

You heard yourself audibly gulp as you clicked on the trending topic 'quackity in chat'. Much to your dismay it was true. There was screenshots that showed Quackity was watching your stream. That meant that he'd heard you talking about him in that sickening tone. That tone that was unnecessarily sweet and fond.

You didn't know who was freaking out more, the so-called shippers, the timeline, or yourself. You gently bit at the inside of your cheek, scrolling and reading all the tweets of people trying to guess how Quackity must've felt while hearing all that. Others raising an eyebrow at how long you'd gone on about Quackity and how 'perfect' he was.

You'd fucked up, that was for sure, and it wasn't even intentional or fan service of any kind. It was an alt stream, it wasn't planned in any way, shape, or form. He'd been brought up, and you'd accidentally spilled all fond thoughts you held of him.

Your cursor hovered over a specific tweet that read, 'want someone to talk about me the way y/n talks about big q'. It was sweet, and perhaps made you smile just a little bit.

As you read it over in your head, a notification popped up on your screen, the discord notification ringing in your ears as you read who the message was from. Quackity.

You messed around with your mouse for a bit before finally closing the Twitter tab, and instead opting to open the unread message.

Quackity

hey (:

You stared at it for a bit, blinking in disbelief at how normal the message came across. Perhaps he'd tuned in during the last half of the stream. Perhaps he hadn't been able to watch while you rambled about him, and perhaps he hadn't been on Twitter either. One could hope.

y/n hi (:

It showed that he was typing almost immediately after, and you tried your best to calm your nerves.

Quackity call?

You felt yourself tense at the message. Maybe he wanted to let you down kindly. 'Hey! Saw your stream, and I just wanted to ask if you could chill the fuck out. That was kind of creepy. Maybe never speak of me ever again. Do not perceive me any longer, thanks!'

Something along those lines for sure. That's what probably awaited you if you said yes to this. But what exactly were you supposed to do instead?

y/n ofc

It only took a few seconds for the call to come through. Stalling wouldn't help, so you answered by the third ring.

He greeted you, and everything seemed normal. The calls were normal between you two, but you were just on edge due to twitter trending and the stream that took place less than an hour ago.

"How are you feeling, Quackity?" You asked with a small smile, today was a big day for him, and you were sure he'd enjoy talking about how fast the merch sold.

"I'm doing great. Really happy that the fans liked the designs and just.. we sold a lot. I'm happy." He restated the last bit, the smile was obvious in his voice. You didn't have to be seeing it to know. Another perk of being so close to him. You had a clear visual image of what he probably looked like right now. Cute smile plastered onto his equally cute face.

"I'm really happy for you, Big Q. You deserve all the success that is coming your way and more." You hummed softly. Everything you were saying, you meant wholeheartedly. There was silence for a bit before he finally spoke again.

"I watched your stream."

Fuck. There it was. You should've expected it but it still hit like a ton of bricks. You felt your mouth turn dry, could barely manage to get out the word, "Yeah?"

"Mhm." Straight to the point. There was a bit of silence, you were unsure of what to say. Why had he brought it up? It was bound to happen, but what was the reason behind bringing it up? To tease you, let you know he wasn't interested, or because roblox obbies are just so much fun?

"You didn't have to buy it, you know?" He finally said, breaking the silence.

"I wanted to." You reassured, "the merch is really pretty. Worth every penny."

"I could've sent you whichever you wanted." He stated bluntly. As if it was weird of you to have gone and bought it on your own.

"Thank you, but I wanted to buy it myself. Let me? Please?" Let me show my support this way, is what you meant to say. It came out softer than intended, and you could feel your heart beating against your ribs. You really needed to watch your tone around him.

"Of course." He responded, just as softly. He'd drive you crazy one of these days. They'd have to lock you up, and you'd never see the light of day again.

"Did you have fun riding the go-karts?" You asked, a small smile on your lips as you wandered back onto the Twitter tab, a clip of his stream now on display on the timeline.

He let out a small laugh, "I did. Did you enjoy watching it?" You nodded before responding, "Of course. Was concerning watching you crash into walls though."

He hummed softly in response, possibly contemplating what to say with how long he took before he spoke again.

"Did you really mean all the things you said on stream?"

Somehow, even with your own attempts to change topic, the focus was back on your stream and the things that had been said. You wouldn't be able to dig yourself out of the hole you'd dug.

It was entirely your fault, for even allowing yourself to consider him as anything but a great friend. It was your fault for taking the late night calls, the sweet tones, and messages the wrong way. Your interpretations were all wrong and now you'd have to sit here and apologize for practically outing yourself on stream. For letting the whole world know that you had romantic feelings for a good friend of yours. You'd probably made him so uncomfortable.

You felt yourself cringe slightly at his words, already gone quiet for far too long. You had to speak up, even if it lead to a good friendship ending a few minutes from now.

"Of course I did. You're great, Alex." The use of his name was meant to assure him you meant it wholeheartedly. It made the moment feel more intimate, too. Much to your own dismay, yet again. You couldn't help it.

The possibility that your friendship with him could come to an end real soon made you act on your feelings. It left you unhinged. If it was all going to end here, maybe you'd allow yourself to act on impulse. End it with a bang.

"Thank you, really. I know I probably wasn't meant to hear all that, but it was really nice. Made me feel nice as well. And just, seeing that you didn't accept the merch from me because you wanted to support me directly.. thank you."

His voice was soft, felt like warm honey to your taste buds. You could almost hear your heart melting inside your chest, could feel it dripping down and touching your diaphragm, oozing into every single crevice in your body. You'd never understand how he had such effects on you. How he was able to make you so fond of him.

"I meant every single word. You deserve that and so much more." You reassured yet again, a small smile on your lips. You heard him let out a small chuckle, which made you laugh as well.

Moments later, he had turned his camera on, wanting to show you all the merch. You'd asked for him to put it on, since you were a 'visual learner' and had to see it on him in order to fully understand what it looked like. He had playfully rolled his eyes, but hadn't really argued against it.

So there you were, watching as he changed from hoodie to hoodie, moving out of frame to change into the shirts. You could feel your heart thumping harshly against your rib cage at the sight of him. Some looked bigger on him, some looked just right. They all looked wonderful, and super comfy. Perhaps that was simply because they were on him, and he looked so comfy.

He looked like he could give the best hugs.

"You really think so?" His voice came out a bit sheepish, and the light pink that dusted his cheeks was becoming more and more evident. Huh?

"What?" You said, a dumb look on your face as you tried connecting the dots.

"That I could give the best hugs." He stated slowly, as if he was testing how it sounded before adding, "Do you really think that?"

Had you really said that out loud? Fuck. It took acting on impulse to a whole other level. This wasn't something you two usually did, but I guess it was okay since everything might be ending soon. Ballsy moves.

"Yeah. You make the merch look so cozy." Your throat felt dry, eyes glued to his face, wanting to catch every single second of his reaction. Wanting to see each movement of his facial muscles, to find out what it could possibly entail. "Makes me wonder what your hugs feel like." You admitted.

Your eyes scanned the entirety of his face, perking up slightly at the sight of his face flushing, leaving him with the softest tint of pink to spread across his cheeks, almost matching his pretty lips. What the hell did that even mean?

"Maybe you won't have to wonder for too long. With guidelines being lifted and all." The line. Blurred at that very moment, for sure. His eyes were glued to you as well, which only made you hesitate every single movement you could think of doing at that moment.

"And in the meantime? What am I supposed to do?" Risky. Crossing lines, jumping over hurdles. This all had to be against friend rules or something. You could feel your sanity decreasing each second this call went on. But he wasn't stopping any of this either.

"I could send you a hoodie." The sentence brought you out of your Quackity-induced haze, making you quickly shake your head. What? Before you could protest or ask what the hell that was supposed to mean, he explained.

"My hoodie. Y'know. Mine. One I wear. You can give it back when we meet up, perhaps."

Your mouth went dry again, shocked at the domestic feeling it gave. He was suggesting he send one of his hoodies. It would smell like him. It was the closest thing to giving him an actual hug. It would be paradise.

"You'd really do that?" You asked, still in disbelief, but he quickly nodded his head. "Oh." You said softly, before a smile appeared on your face. "I would like that, then."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'll send it then." He hummed, smile spreading on his lips as well. Everything going on was making you feel dizzy. It felt so surreal.

You'd mentally prepared yourself for the worst, but instead were met with a flirtatious Quackity. He'd said sweet things to you before, but you never allowed yourself to take it seriously, not wanting to get your hopes up. And it never went to this extent.

It seemed he realized what just went down, a loud laugh escaping his lips. "Holy shit. You're gonna have one of my hoodies soon."

"I am." You chimed in, smile on your lips as well.

"And you'll wear it around." He added.

"I will."

"You'll look good, as always."

You could feel the heat rush to your face. What was going on? Was this real, or just a very cruel dream? Alex Quackity was fucking flirting with you.

"Are you flirting with me?" Bewildered tone, raised eyebrows. Your brain couldn't even begin to progress what was being said.

"What the fuck does it look like I've been doing?"

"Have you really?" Warmth spread across your chest at how blunt he was being. The line was gone. It'd been erased, never to be seen again. There was no shame in him. Admitting he was flirting with his whole chest.

"I have. Why are you so surprised though? I've subtly flirted with you before.. and I mean, were you not confessing your undying love to me on stream?" He raised a brow, feigned confusion on his face. He was teasing. You let out a groan, covering your face with your hands as he let out a laugh.

Surreal. He confessed to having flirted with you in the past. So you weren't delusional, nice to know. "Are you done?" You asked, face still covered by your hand in shame.

"I saw a tweet that was saying they felt like third wheels since I was in chat, and you were just going on about everything you liked about me." You kept your face covered. He was not stopping. Now he was the unhinged one.

He was visibly scrolling through the timeline at this point. "Oh, and one saying they want what we have. What do we have?"

You finally uncovered your face. "I don't know. Whatever the fuck this is, I guess?"

"Well, what is this?"

"Mm... whatever you want it to be." You finally answered, and there was a surprised look plastered on his face at that.

"Whatever I want?"

"Yeah." You paused. Would he regret this after he got out of this haze? What if it had just been flirting for fun? But he wouldn't play with your feelings like this, would he?

Alex Quackity was perfect though, and perhaps he had a sixth sense about when stuff was wrong with you, because he caught on to your hesitation.

"Hey." He called out softly. The teasing, flirtatious tone was gone, now replaced by the softer tone reserved for late night calls, or when everybody else in the vc had left and it was just you two.

You look at where his face was on your monitor, relaxing a bit simply by his tone and the soft gaze he held on you.

"I know everything sort of progressed pretty fast tonight.. but your stream really helped me realize a few things. I do like you, y/n. Not fucking around or anything." He said it in a firm tone, one that told you he wasn't messing around, but still felt oh so intimate.

Everything he was saying was exactly what you wanted and needed to hear. Reassurance that your feelings weren't unrequited. You couldn't believe your rambling on stream had lead you guys here.

"I like you, too. If that wasn't obvious already." You mumbled out, eyes averting before glancing to see his reaction. He had the biggest, cutest, grin on his face. Charming, and extremely contagious. You couldn't help but smile back.

Holy shit.

"Is this real?" You asked out loud, smile never leaving your face.

"It is. All thanks to your ranting on stream. How cool is that?"

You couldn't help but still feel rather embarrassed that he'd heard all of it, but it had brought you two here. All embarrassment was worth it. Especially if it meant it opened up a whole new world of possibilities for you two.

"Very cool." You mumbled, before a smile appeared on your lips. Today really couldn't have gone any better.

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takadanobaba · 3 years ago

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Prizoom Ticket Buying Walkthrough

Have you ever wanted to experience what a cheering screening is like regardless of location, even overseas? How about soundboard hell?

Well you’re in luck because there’s literally nothing stopping you because prizooms are a thing and they aren’t region locked at all!!! And I love them!!!!

I love them so much that I made a whole post just to make the ticket buying process even more easy!!!!

If you’re interested in attending a prizoom, please participate and show your support for kinpri!!!

So to preface, “prizooms” are online King of Prism cheering screenings using Zoom and featuring a soundboard powered by Ainotte. Tickets are sold through RakutenTicket.

My first prizoom was Jin’s! 💙 I posted an impressions post here, in case if you wanted a detailed summary of what a prizoom is like! I also posted about Rei’s prizoom and will be using screenshots from buying tickets for that during this!

You’ll need a Rakuten Ticket account before trying to make your purchase, so if you haven’t, go to this link (the Rakuten member registration page) and make an account.

(Actually forgot most of the details for making an account when typing this but I do remember it being decently easy so.... if I’m missing anything it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out ^^;)

First part is pretty straightforward, they even have an official English translation of the registration page so you don’t have to put it through google translate! Also it doesn’t matter what language you set during registration, your account will work for buying prizoom tickets even if you don’t use the Japanese page.

For the address, I just looked up “Japanese postal codes” and put in the first result that showed up and picked the prefecture it came from (Tokyo) just to be safe. Pretty sure you can just put whatever you want though. Forgot what info I used (and can’t figure out how to see my account info to check?) but pretty sure I didn’t type in legit info and it went through anyways.

For the phone number, you can use your actual full phone number, including the country code!

(I forgot if they need to verify your phone number, but I’d suggest to use your real phone number just in case)

After that, confirm your information and create your Rakuten Ticket account!

So first you would go to whatever prizoom you’re interested in’s information page (usually found promoted on the kinpri twitter account) and then click the blue link, which will take you to its Rakuten Ticket page!

Then if you scroll down a bit, you’ll see the different tickets available for purchase! The first and most expensive option is for every showing in the event, the ones below it are specific showings.

Also!!! If you want to skip a showing, you’ll have to go through the purchasing process for each single ticket you want to buy. There isn’t a cart function as far as I’m aware, so I had to pay the service fee twice. It’s kind of a pain but I guess that just gives more incentive for people who just want to do 2+ showings to just go all the way.

(Looking back on it, I regret only doing 2 out of 3 and not just buying an all-inclusive ticket for Jin’s showing since I would’ve loved it...)

I want to attend the screening of SSS part 4, so I’ll click the red button for the 3rd option!

Next screen is where you choose which room you want to participate in! The red option is the cheering room, and the blue is for the chat+soundboard only room. I’ve heard that the cheering rooms are more fun (and a closer experience to an actual cheering screening), but I started out with chat-only rooms and personally REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoyed them! Both rooms use the soundboard, so if you’re interested in cheering through that (seeing as most people using this walkthrough would proooobably not have much experience cheering or be confident enough in Japanese to turn on their mic), it’s okay to attend either room!

I’ll be going to the chat-only room again! So I’ll click that, and then click the dropdown and set it to the only other option so that I can buy one ticket.

After that, a confirmation screen pops up. The orange button on the left is to cancel/go back, and the one on the right is to confirm.

The next section asks how you would like to pay, you’ll probably want to (and most likely can only) pay with a credit/debit card, so just select the first option before scrolling down until you get a bunch of blanks to fill out like below.

Now here’s the fun part! Putting in some really obviously made up information!

The first line asks for your last name, and the line below that asks for your first name. Don’t bother trying to type in your name in English letters/romaji, the system will only allow Japanese letters. As long as it’s in Japanese, you can put any name you want!

In the section below the first 2 boxes, it asks you to rewrite your name in katakana specifically. If you have trouble with differentiating hiragana/katakana/kanji, you can always just paste something into a katakana converter or go wild with google translate till something works. Though it’d be good for you to learn at least a little bit of Japanese since it makes the whole screening experience more enjoyable.

I just set my name as 高田馬場 (Takadanobaba) ジョージ (Joji) because why not. For the second set of name boxes I put タカダノババ (Takadanobaba in katakana) ジョージ (Joji again, almost every kinpri character’s first name is already written in katakana). If you don’t want to bother with putting in different info then you can just paste that in haha.

For the address, make sure you put in a Japanese zip code! Non-japanese codes won’t work. You can select any prefecture you want, but for the example I put その他 / ”Somewhere else”. For the next few boxes you can type in literally anything you want, it doesn’t matter. It’s just an online event so the only place they send you anything is to your email! (They should just remove the whole address section since it gets tedious to fill out and isn’t used for anything haha...) Your address doesn’t need to be consistent with the info you used to make your account!

ALSO!!!! If you’re running the page through google translate or something and get stuck, make sure you revert it back to its original before filling in your information and hitting the orange button! If you don’t then it keeps switching your birth month to the default 1/January and you won’t be able to move onto the next page. Your birthday needs to match up with the info you used to make your Rakuten account with!

When you’re done, click the orange confirmation button to go to the next page!

Next page just asks if you want to use your RakutenTicket points to discount your purchase. You can only use them if you have at least 50 points.

After that, put in your payment information! You don’t need a Japanese credit/debit card and can use the information for any card you want......... as long as it’s valid for you to use! Don’t steal someone’s card info or put in fake information for this. This is a transaction with actual money involved here. ^^;

Putting in the numbers on your card is also straightforward, the most confusing part would probably just be the name. Make sure you type the cardholder name in ALL CAPS otherwise it won’t work.

Should be obvious but I only used “TAKADANOBABA JOJI” for example purposes, if you’re copying my info, don’t actually put that unless if your name is actually Takadanobaba Joji and your credit card really says that. I changed it to my legal information after taking this screenshot so my purchase would go through. Use the actual name on your card!

After you put in your payment info and it’s verified, review your purchase, scroll down, and check the box at the end if you want to go through with your order.

The box before that asks if you want to receive email notifications for when events relating to King of Prism and online events have their tickets up for sale.

When your tickets are bought, you’ll get an order code like this! (You don’t really need it, this isn’t used in your prizoom ticket)

To see your ticket information, you can either check your email or go to the RakutenTicket home page and log into your account to view your purchase history.

When you click whatever ticket you want to see information for, scroll down until you find your “入室用ID” / “Entry ID” information.

From here, you’ll see your ticket info, alongside a link to the event’s bonus zoom backgrounds right above it!

You will also get an email with your ticket information!

Your ticket info will consist of numbers separated into three sections by slashes like this! The sections in order would be:

1) The Zoom meeting ID code (882 8702 1252)

2) The password to be let into the Zoom meeting (964689)

3) What you need to set your display name to before entering (6703)

(The numbers won’t be the same, also this is from Jin’s first showing so it’s long over and this information is useless outside of providing an example.)

Only one device is allowed per ticket, so don’t try to distribute the same ticket to multiple people to get out of paying for yourself or anything like that!

(Assuming you don’t need this guide to tell you how to download Zoom or find the option to join a meeting)

Put in the first number into the first box and the third number into the second box. Then you’ll get a popup asking for a passcode, so the second number.

Then it’ll show you when the event is scheduled for in your timezone! This is helpful for if you haven’t already and want to set an alarm for when it starts but don’t want to fumble through time converters. Though it would be good to double check just in case if the popup is off.

On the day of the event and a bit earlier from the first showing, you’ll get an email with a link for the prizoom soundboard!

The soundboard is the same for all of the event’s showings and both rooms, so please only participate when appropriate so you don’t ruin the experience in showings you’re not attending if you choose to listen in on them!

I’ve annotated the buttons for accessibility 💖

The gender/voice options can be switched in the top right corner (it’s set to the female option by default). The volume can be controlled with the sliding bar (the default is 5 which is honestly wayyy too low of a number considering how loud it is)

And with that, you’re all set! Once you’ve done all of the above, all you have to do is just wait for the event to start and then experience the prizoom sparkle! 💖

Shortly after the event ends, you get an email asking for feedback like this!

Just click the link and you can also put in any information and comments you want... whether you decide to let the staff know that there’s international interest in kinpri is up to you ^^

If you find that you enjoy prizooms, or just want to help make sure that there’s an opportunity to experience cheering screenings regardless of location, it would be helpful to comment that they should keep holding them in the future! 💖

If there’s any other questions, I’d be happy to answer!

#king of prism #kinpri #prizoom #Me being a prizoom/soundboard hell shill #I'VE JUST BEEN IN A CONSTANT STATE OF I LOVE PRIZOOMS #Prism sparkle brainrot #Can you imagine how crazy I'd get at a proper irl cheering screening #Also made it because I figured that even if someone was interested in attending a prizoom #They wouldn't want to ask me for help #Either because confrontation is scary or people just hate me haha #...... it's a little weird how tumblr lets you see when people who've blocked you like your posts....#Like thanks............ ?#Makes me kinda sorta really upset ahahaaa.... only being good as a source of kinpri content but hated otherwise .....#....Oh well!!!!!!!!!!!!#As long as I spread the prism sparkle!!! :'D

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loopy777 · 4 years ago

Note

RE: WIPs game: do I even want to know what Dicebenders is is it another scam how many times are the Gaang gonna get arrested for scamming

No, this time it's me scamming people. XD The dice in question are the RPG Dungeons & Dragons kind.

For a while I was doing a screencap webcomic in the style of "DM of the Rings" and "Darths & Droids" with another creative fan named Captain Boomerang. I was the scriptwriter and selected the screenshots for each panel, and Capt-BA would assemble the comics and improve my scripts (a process that did frustrate me a little, as I felt locked out of the revision process, but I did like the results. I just felt like I wasn't holding up my end of the partnership a bit). I wrote a story bible explaining the characters and storytelling rules, planned out the adaptation of the entire AtLA premiere, and had less detailed plans for the rest of the series, but we only got 6 comics in before Capt-BA went on a trip and never returned to the internet. I did manage to re-establish contact with her long enough to get permission to continue the comic, but the problem is that I have no image-editing skills whatsoever.

If I could find comic-making software that I know would do what I want and be easy to use, I wouldn't mind dropping some money on it, but everything I've looked at is trying to do lots of things I don't need. I only want a way to import existing pictures into comic grids, and then easily add dialogue bubbles. That's it. But the stuff I've found is more about image-editing than comic assembly, and it takes me an hour to put together a dialogue bubble that looks good. So I have 3 scripts that were never produced, which along with the planning docs are what's in that WIP folder, and I don't ever see myself going beyond that.

Besides, someone else already managed to complete something like this, and while I'm not a fan, I don't need to be. At this point, Dicebenders is dead. I'm glad I tried it, and it's a shame it didn't work out, but I'm happy with the other projects I've done instead.

I am squatting on an empty Tumblr for it, though.

Anyway, to share something new, here's the first section of the Story Bible I wrote to make sure Capt-BA and I were on the same page in terms of characterization. The rest of the bible details the plotlines for full series.

AVATAR: THE LAST DICEBENDER

BIBLE

Premise- A small group of players attempt to run a fantasy martial arts RPG that winds up essentially becoming the Avatar saga, or something very close. The main point of the series is comedy, based mostly on ridiculous links between Avatar and RPG's. Sometimes the humor will be in the vast difference between what happens in the comic, and what happens in the cartoon with the same screenshots. Other times, the funny will come from the unexpected ways they converge.

SPIRITUAL PREDECESSORS

DM of the Rings- The original, and my personal favorite. It's a good showcase of how to run a single quest together, while using narrative jumps to skip to the good bits.

Darths & Droids- A similar project, this stands out from its predecessor in two main ways. The players and GM are more friendly with each other, and are more or less having fun with each other. There is also a running, coherent storyline in both the game and in the lives of the players.

Benders & Brawlers- This is actually an existing attempt to do Darths & Droids with Avatar. This is helpful as an example of what we DON'T want to do, retell the Avatar story in a completely straightforward manner, with RPG players behind the characters.

CHARACTERS

None of the characters will be given real names. The players shall always be referred to by their character names, although this can be done in a teasing, ironic manner. When the characters are speaking, their dialogue bubble must always be attached to an image of the character.

The Gamemaster- The GM is a female in her early teens. She is a geek, and a bit of a social outcast for it. Nevertheless, she's trying to make that work for her, although she's not quite mature enough to make it happen yet. She has just discovered RPG's, and in her enthusiasm has gone all out in starting her own campaign. The only problem is that she doesn't know how to recruit players, so she ropes her best friend and little brother into playing with her. This is the GM's first campaign, so she'll a little in over her head. She knows the mechanics of play, and what she's supposed to be doing as GM, but doesn't have the fine skill in crafting an engaging RPG experience. Still, she wants to do her best, is willing to learn, and has a positive attitude about the whole thing. The GM has a strong crush on the Sokka player, but the only way she can express it is by having all the female NPC's flirt with the Sokka character.

Katara- Female in early teens, and the GM's best friend. Katara's player was friends with the GM from when they were both in grammar school, so while they have grown up into wildly different personality types, they are fully loyal to each other. Katara is popular, and outgoing, and doesn't care or know about geek stuff at all. She's only playing the game because the GM begged her to. At first, Katara is clueless about RPG's, and frequently questions or ridicules the mechanics of the game. She never quite gets into the idea of role-playing, but quickly takes to the idea of meta-gaming. She'll have her character act like a righteous do-gooder, because completing missions and fighting bad guys earns XP. She hoards items that will boost her stats. She'll advocate abandoning a mission/plot if it doesn't pay out enough rewards. Katara's player also can tend towards trying to Mary Sue her character, but this is inconsistent and usually shot down by everyone else.

Aang- Male in junior high, and the GM's little brother. He plays simply because his sister has cajoled him into it, and there are hints that he's getting some kind of reward or payment for it. He abuses his position by forcing the GM to give him what he wants in the game, even if it breaks the rules- access to the restricted Airbender class, the ability to bend all four elements, overloaded stats, an Avatar State that protects him from dying, a magic super flying cow ride, etc. However, it's important to note that Aang's player isn't a jerk. He's just immature, and like all kids, just always goes for what he wants via the easiest path, and doesn't realize that he may be causing trouble or hurting feelings. He's enthusiastic about trying out this RPG thing, but he has trouble coming up with any action beyond attacking or retreating. He's also hyper aware that the GM and Katara are girls. He is too old for cootie concerns, but thinks that girls are fundamentally different creatures with their own incomprehensible concerns. Having a big sister, he doesn't find this a big deal, just part of life. Aang's player is too young to be a geek. He likes cartoons and sports and fantasy and school-dramas. He also tends to follow whatever his sister likes.

Sokka- Male in late teens. This guy is your quintessential RPG player. He has is own top-quality dice, he's played campaigns and systems of all kinds, and knows the tropes of the hobby cold. He's a huge geek for all things geeky, but roleplay is easily his favorite. He's a social outcast, but he's made friends among his fellow geeks, and thinks life is just fine. Sokka's player joins when he meets the GM at the comic/games shop they both frequent. The GM was buying some sourcebooks and material to support the fantasy martial arts game she's running, and Sokka noticed, asked about it, liked what he heard, and got permission to join the game. What Sokka doesn't realize, because he is a geek and neither has experience with it or realizes it's even possible, is that the GM is sweet on him. This manifests in the character Sokka's canon luck with the ladies, only kicked up a notch. *Every single* female NPC flirts with him, whether it's appropriate or not. Sometimes player Sokka notices and tries to roleplay it, and sometimes he's just plain confused. Sokka has a few quirks. His best set of dice are his Lucky Red Dice, which always roll high when he needs it, but have been tested and proven to be fair dice. He also mandates that every character he plays use a boomerang; he was turned into a geek by the first video game he ever played, a Legend of Zelda title, and his favorite weapon from those games are the boomerang. Each of his characters has a unique, named boomerang.

Zuko- The GM's favorite NPC. She created him to be a compelling, dramatic character, with a complicated back story, moral struggles, badass loner personality, angst about his existence, a darkly noble quality, and a cool scar. The GM intended Katara to get to know Zuko, for her to try to woo him away from the side of evil, and perhaps to even have a romance with him. The PC's, however, couldn't care less about him. To them, he's just another mini-boss, and the fact that most of his character development is happening "off screen" means they don't realize that he's recruitable. A frequent gag is Zuko delivering a stirring monologue while no one pays attention.

Iroh- Background NPC. The GM tries to use him to give (ignored) hints to the players.

Toph- (tentative) A male munchkin gamer who picked a long list of weaknesses in order to get superbending. Toph's player is a friend of Sokka's player, brought in after an "incident" with his old group, and causes some initial resentment in the group when tries to show the n00bs how its done. Cowing Toph's player is a major victory for the GM.

Momo- NPC, but maybe make him a talking sidekick who gives the players hints when the GM is really exasperated?

Azula- the GM's best favorite villain. Azula is the GM unleashed, letting her take out frustrations on the players in both combat and harsh taunting. Eventually the GM comes to like the character so much, she retcons mental health issues into the character's backstory, and has her pet NPC, Zuko, spare her.

#dicbender #avatarpg

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agencystudio-official · 4 years ago

Text

Agency Studio {Karthik Ramani} Reviews | Scam Or Does It Really Works?

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1 note · View note

fistsoflightning · 5 years ago

Photo

rue the day

we will regret this day. let us hope we live long enough to do so.

notes: shadowbringers lvl 79 quest spoilers ‘extinguishing the last light’ just in case, slight drk spoilers!

new writing post format because i likey screenshots! it also makes it easier to put my writing tag on my tags page lol

words: 2647

Under the relentless and horrific pain the Light brings, Zaya falls, their own aether warping and twisting the soft night above them into a harsh, eternal day. The Light brought together is stronger than they alone—an outcome long predicted, but Zaya is nothing if not hope—according to one Tataru Taru—so Zaya pushes forth in against the unbearable light.

That hope has done nothing but kill us slowly; what use is it in face of despair?

A flash of crystalline blue light and the relief from the screeching Light by way of wailing wind forces Zaya to get to their knees, eyes barely lifting off the ground to see the Exarch, a stalwart figure in deep red and black against the backdrop of eternal light. His stance is relaxed; resigned, almost, but not to the inevitability that the final Lightwarden will be them. With how he walks soft upon marble to soothe their horns, it cannot be the death of the final Warrior that he expects.

He waves his staff towards them—a staff charm hangs on one of the boxy holes near the top, red rubies and fire twisting with his blue aether—and it is as if the air clears. Light channels like the Lifestream between the two of them as Zaya pulls their head up higher and higher, watching the translucent blue crystal of the Exarch’s arm flake off and become an impure white midair.

“At journey’s end,” he speaks in a lilt Zaya has not remembered in a long, long time. “An opportunistic thief makes off with the hero’s prize. A paltry way to end a chapter, I concede.”

The winds rise higher into the barrier of aether the Exarch has made, the patterns on the barrier climbing into the skies as Alisaie begins to slam her fists against it, begging the Exarch to stop, to think for a damned second about what he’s doing before it’s too late.

“Yet your tale will continue, and my role in it will be scarcely remembered.” He continues with his final words despite Alisaie’s protests, signing the last line on his death sentence as light swirls and swirls around in his eyes, his arm, his chest. Zaya starts to lift their hand up to the trail of Light, pulling the strength needed to draw aether into themselves again when—

“Worry not.” The Exarch tilts his staff a little lower, and again the flow of Light tips back to him, and Zaya is forced to watch as the black of his skirts and hood are tainted with white ink patterns. “Whatever should become of me, I will be happy and free, safe in the knowledge that I have played my part.”

How could you say that?! A voice screams from the abyss worlds away, pounding against a wall of light. What about those that you left? The ones still waiting for you?

Zaya lets Light drip down their face as the flame grows fierce in their chest. What else is there to say? To do? Their strength is all but gone, and without enough focus, they cannot try to play martyr for another. Just like the last time you had to be saved.

The Exarch, smiling and wistfully happy under his hood, pushes more magic through his staff. The eternal winds pick up around them faster than before, and the Exarch, too caught up in his final moments, fails to account for the wind and his identity. Fading red hair and whitened tips fly free from their confines, the Exarch’s eyes closing in a moment of surprise, and the final piece it takes is—

His ears. There’s a scar on the left one, from when Zaya “accidentally” shot their bow at him while racing for the crystalline dust required to open the Tower; he’d never had A’dewah heal it despite the chance of it ruining his ear, for it was a “reminder of a good friend”.

All suspicions proved, Zaya takes the greatest leap of faith.

“G…” Light bubbles in their throat, hissing as they force a strained voice to sing an unfamiliar tune. “G...raha?”

G’raha’s eyes shoot open, both irises now crimson like the false moon that once circled the tower, and tears start to well up as he finally gets the ramifications of his actions while hidden away. Instead of pulling his staff back, however, he pushes forward , calling greater winds as Thancred, Y’shtola, and Urianger gasp at the sight of a fellow Archon they knew a long time ago. His ears twitch at the sound of their pained gasps, but he does not look back.

“Thank you for fighting for this world. For believing.” G’raha lets unstained tears fall from crimson eyes like moonlight as the light begins to wrap around his head in thick, transparent feathers. His words are practiced—it is easy to tell by how he does not forget or stutter, but it cannot be said that he is emotionless when he pauses. “Fare you well, my friend—my inspiration. ”

And Zaya is so overwhelmed by the weight of his lie, the weight of his heart poured out in less than twenty words, the sheer misfortune of them meeting again wholly and truly now , at the brink of his death, that they look down—just for a moment, but they do.

Never look away.

A gunshot rings out as quickly as G’raha can expand the barrier between the two of them and the Scions, and the Light comes rushing back towards Zaya, leaving G’raha the way he was before this whole ‘absorbing the Light’ mess. He falls forward, coming close enough for Zaya to reach out and brush his ear as blood seeps through his robes, metal staff and charm meeting ground in an ugly clang. The sound of something breaking brings back horrible memories, filled with a different kind of light and wound and sound as a metal shield meets smooth stone, aether swirling about just like the Light does now.

G’RAHA! The flame bursts a crack into that invisible wall of light deep inside and blinding them with a rage long forgotten and retrieved. The fire is so overwhelming, so unfamiliar now that when they look up again from G’raha’s bleeding body, Zaya meets eye to eye with Emet-Selch, holding a Garlean gun pointed at the scales between their eyes.

“To think he went through all this trouble for the sake of a single hero. It’s almost admirable in its absurdity; reminds me of a fool from long ago…” Emet-Selch steps closer, around and over G’raha’s weak body. “My, my. Have you heard a single thing I’ve said just now?”

Zaya can barely hear him over the din of Light that’s returned with the loss of sobbing winds, but they somehow muster the energy to shake their head. He clicks his tongue. “No matter; you will forget anyhow when your grand scheme falls flat. Look at you; already on the verge of turning, eater .”

Emet-Selch laughs bitterly as Zaya pieces together the bloodstained pieces of the puzzle to find that the damned Ascian in front of them went back on his word; a liar in every right. Some “Angel of Truth” he was.

“I wonder; should I end your misery now to have one of your precious friends here end the land? They’d be plenty strong, especially with the shock of aether your death would provide.” Zaya follows the Ascian with their eyes as he slowly makes his way to kneel in front of them. Under his robe, a glimmer catches their eye; a… Crystal of Light? It gleams honey gold with the aether of the earth around them, despite how twisted its become.

Syhrwyda’s crystal? She’d never give it up, unless…

Emet-Selch catches Zaya’s gaze while looking at the Scions; they’re shellshocked with every right to be so. “Oh, seen these before, have you?”

He pulls back his short fuzzy coat to reveal seven necklaces with seven crystals of Light hanging from them, motionless without wind. “I had to, you know. They’d attacked me even before I could plead my case! You’ve been the first so far to listen, to care enough to try.”

Emet-Selch kneels, eyes and mouth tilting in a taunting sort of way, layered with the calculating look in his eyes.. “I understand you have a ‘Shadowhunter’ friend back home. ‘Tis only fair for me to take due payment for the lives of my brethren.”

Due payment? DUE PAYMENT?! The flames burn up everything and anything that Zaya has left of their restraints, letting both Light in and Darkness out as they rise to their feet, light aether swirling around them into feathers as Zaya loses sight, loses touch, loses focus.

Emet-Selch rambles about truth and despair and the Rejoining in a blurry mess as Zaya tries and fails to stop the turning, lurching ever closer to the Ascian, who is so convinced that they were down for the count that he turns his back. Lightning—all purple and indigo rather than cobalt blue—leaps to shock the Ascian, and he jumps. A surprising action, but Zaya drinks in his surprise and speechlessness all the same.

The speechlessness doesn’t last all that long, but it’s the look of his face that counts. Emet-Selch composes himself, and Zaya is so very tempted to leap forward and punch him hard, not accounting for how much energy it would take or risk it would incur; this liar is one worthy of punishment with a double-edged sword.

Make him regret this. Something… not entirely of the abyss speaks to them, angry and defiant in every right. It twists words in the wrong way; it can’t be Fray, but Zaya is not of the right mind, and certainly cannot care at this moment.

The bastard smirks when he looks at Zaya, looking deep at their soul and emotions as if there was no such thing as privacy , thank you very much.

“Ahh, the irony. What Vauthry achieved through bliss and ignorance, you will achieve through despair and anger.” Sparks fly towards him, but they all fade before possibly reaching his hands. Zaya’s sight grows shaky. “But I have overstayed my welcome. I shall look forward to seeing you bring the world to its knees.”

Zaya faintly hears an ‘again’ under the simmering problems raging in them, but he tuts as they strain to focus again, teetering back and forth on the line of no return. Emet-Selch snaps G’raha out of existence—surely he did the same to Syhrwyda, Tehra’ir, Lumelle, everyone else before them—and floats himself high above Zaya’s angry reach. Only for now; just a few seconds more and Zaya will have wings , like they’ve always wanted to be free and wild and glorious —

“I pity you, I do.” Emet-Selch’s bitterness and regret cuts through the thickest of Light induced thinking, voice like seeping poison on Zaya’s tired mind. “Your friends are now your foes; if you do not kill them, they will kill you.”

And in that, Zaya picks up on the faintest ‘I’ve been through this, too’ lined with lightning and rain.

“In the dark depths of the Tempest, I have an abode. Seek me out when it becomes too much to bear.” The edges of the Ascian begin to fade into teleportation magicks as Zaya’s body sways, aether expended and flame turning to embers. “There, you may complete your descent into madness with some dignity, far from prying eyes.”

“Till then, I bid you farewell… eater.”

As Emet-Selch dissipates, the anger that’s been fueling their control goes too, and they fall onto the floor, writhing as Light fully takes hold in lack of a balance; the embers are barely there, even when Zaya sees Thancred and Y’shtola and Ryne through light-stained vision, even when Alisaie’s bruised hands lift them up, even when Ryne starts to tear up at the light hardening over skin.

Don’t you dare give in, not when this is… not when we are so close.

And from the depths of the pit of ashen embers, something small and fading rises up to rush through and claim more aether from Zaya to form, gleaming a purple-pink as it forms right over Thancred’s shoulder.

We aren’t finished yet, are we? We aren’t going to accept defeat this time, are we? Fray murmurs as they quickly kneel besides Ryne, channeling a spell meant to seal and freeze aether. Their helmet is already fading, and Thancred stares onwards as the blue and black scales are revealed from underneath the helm.

You have those you can yet save. Those we have already lost. Remember, for all of us, the times we’ve had, the stories unfinished. Fray’s whisperings chase them back into safety, into a deep dark that has always been there, and Zaya, sick and tired of fighting, lets go for what could be the final time, etching the faces of their family as their final memory.

Zaya wakes in a fit, a full moon later. The room; empty, save for the sleeping figure of Thancred by the window where the Crystarium plants have well and truly died from the repeated change in light. The pain and weight of the Light still pounds behind their eyes, waiting to be freed from the confines of Fray and Ryne’s ministrations to end Norvrandt once and for all.

Nhaama’s tits, they’re surprised they’re even alive and mortal anymore.

They should go back to bed, before Thancred wakes up and sees them up and around. He’d alarm the rest of the Scions to their state, and they’d all come rushing back to the most dangerous place to be; near the Lightwarden, near the civilization that holds their last hopes in Lyna, Ryne, the Crystalline Mean, and the Crystal—

Just as quickly as Zaya had laid back down, they shoot back up, remembering the gunshot, the blood, the roar of Light and the older parts of their soul as Emet-Selch…

Zaya lets their feet guide them to the door, looking back only once to make sure the door clicking shut does not disturb Thancred, as it has many times before. Their blue robe, stained an inky white, rests over his back—after Zaya is sure it will not do any damage to Thancred’s aether too, and instead they wear a large cloak as they slink towards the aetheryte plaza unnoticed. They would much rather sleep forever under the light of the Crystarium, wait for a cure to the Lightwarden affliction, but...

They have something left to do.

Thancred wakes up two minutes too late. A robe is draped over his back (still somewhat warm), and the door is left ajar, letting voices from further down carry into the spacious inn room.

“Was that…?” A young lady asks in whispers.

“That was the one who came here on a stretcher!” A child whisper-yells back.

Thancred, despite the aches in his bones and the stiffness of his muscles, shoots up from his seat, takes the tattered robe in hand, and runs out the door. The Light above is blinding now, with how long Zaya has slept, and if they were to leave without Ryne’s help, it could most certainly mean death!

“Hells open, heavens weep… Zaya?!” Thancred begins to call as he rushes through the Pendants, past the clerk with worried eyes and past Bragi into the aetheryte plaza just as a flash of teleportation magic goes off. “Zaya!”

He can’t follow them—he never could keep up, much less now —and by the time he calls for help… where will they be? In a grave? In the Empty, seeking death? Already a Lightwarden? Gods, how many times has he lost them now; Ifrit, the Praetorium, the banquet, to Doma, to another world …

He cannot—will not let this be another bygone.

By the time the other Scions return to the Crystarium under Lyna’s call, the Light above is burning their mistake into their skin.

#ffxiv #ffxiv shadowbringers #zaya qestir #crystal exarch #emet-selch #fray myste #ryne waters #ryne #g'raha tia #my new shb glam for screenshots is so far my favorite glam :)#zaya i feel has wanted to squash emet selch from the beginning but held back to see if he was telling the truth #slightly inspired by surficage's new 'the blackest night' comic!#no scion hot potato with the light though; i can't do that to my fwiends ;-;#under crystalline dreams #(carmela; guess what g'raha related piece is next? hint: you've seen a little of it already ;) )#my writing #tales from the blue

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mysticsparklewings · 5 years ago

Photo

Sweet Ohuhu Snail

This artwork is now available as a free Coloring Page!

____

Finally, some hints of new supplies I was mentioning a while ago have manifested into a piece of art. :D

This is sort of a follow-up to my Ohuhu Brush Marker Review, as back in October, Ohuhu released a 72 set of the brush markers, and naturally, I was very curious to see the 24 new colors for myself. (And I have a bit of a story about how this set arrived to me that I'll get into momentarily.)

Spoiler alert that my thoughts on the markers themselves as a product haven't changed; they're still really nice alcohol markers for the roughly $1 per marker price tag. I'd still love to see yet more colors and additional consumer features like open-stock markers, refills, replacement nibs, etc. But overall, as I said last time and I will continue to say, I really wish these had been around a few years ago when I was first getting into alcohol markers, despite the few shortcomings they have. Aside from color selection (which I'll address further later), they're an excellent beginner alcohol marker set if you want brush tips.

But before I get into the specifics of this set and the foreseeable future (as Ohuhu just recently announced another brush tip set on the horizon), I shall tell you the (long-ish) story of how I ended up with the 72 set in the first place:

Back in November, Ohuhu put a post up in their "Top Fan Group" on Facebook, which I joined on a whim after being recognized as a Top Fan a few times by that point. This post said the following:

Hi Ohuhu Friends, Ohuhu.com is going to open the SHOP function to several products soon, so you can buy the products directly on www.ohuhu.com then. Before the shopping cart is officially public to the customers, we need 3-5 volunteers to help us test this SHOP function. 🗒️What we need are some inputs regarding How is your experience with our website, and Is the purchase process smooth? What problems have you encountered while shopping on the website etc？(We will have the conversation by DM.) 🚨The tester should be based within the continental USA. As a thank you, we will give you a free set of markers, just let us know which pack do you want via DM.📷 Thank you! Put your hands up if you would like to help us with this in the comment zone! (We will randomly choose 3-5 person within a week.)

[For context, previously you could only purchase Ohuhu's products through Amazon.com] Me, being both the frugally minded and skeptical person that I am, saw the post and immediately latched on to the "free set of markers" mentioned. (My instinct said it was probably a choice from a pre-selected list of some kind.) I was curious and figured, based on what was said, that 1. I might not even get chosen, 2. Even if I did, surely they would explain the process to me and I could then gracefully bow out if it didn't sound right to me. And so I cautiously commented as instructed. Within a few days, I was contacted by a representative and I found out through communication with them that the way this would work is that us volunteers would place orders through the website for any product, let them know of any issues or feedback we had during the process, and then once the order was placed we would provide the representative with our order number and be refunded. Likewise, if all did indeed go according to plan, this sounded like a great way to get my hands on the new 72 brush marker set, which previously I had figured I wouldn't get for a while as my 48 set has been serving me very well since August with no issues. (And it kinda didn't make sense to me to turn around and order a new set that would give me 48 duplicate colors so quickly.) I've seen a LOT of horror stories about shopping online, I watch too many "drama community" videos on Youtube that often talk about sketchy websites and scams, and so throughout this entire process I was nervous, saving "receipts" (screenshots and the like to the uninformed) where I could, and generally expecting something, anything to go horribly wrong at any second. Despite Ohuhu being a fairly reputable company at this point and having only ever heard good things about their customer service. Still, Ohuhu has made enough of a name for themselves that I hoped they'd know better than to intentionally scam their customers. If word got out to the many YouTubers covering their products, they'd have a PR nightmare on their hands. (And I also had to remind myself that the art community as a whole is not the Youtube Makeup Community; generally speaking, the art community isn't as...well, dramatic. At least not when it comes to art supply companies and scamming costumers. I'm not saying it never happens, I'm just saying I don't think it happens nearly as often as when shiz goes down in the YMC.) Naturally, this means I had some questions I wanted to be crystal clear about before making any purchases of any kind. Namely, I specifically asked to make sure I was reading correctly that once the order was placed and I gave my order number that I would be receiving a refund, and if said refund would be just for the purchase price of the product ($69.99 in this case) or if it would include the shipping cost (about $5-$6 dollars) as well. The answers to which were yes and the refund would be for the total cost including shipping. I also wanted to know approximately how long it would take for the refund to go through. The answer was within 5 days. So everything up to this point seemed to check out. I was still skeptical (this is what the internet has done to me) but I was 80% sure it would be okay, and the payment would be through PayPal, so if something went wrong I could file a claim over there and provide my evidence and hopefully at least get the money back if nothing else. I'll also note that I did notice 1-2 minor bugs on the website while in the checkout process, which I informed the representative of as I was supposed to, but I honestly wouldn't have noticed them if I hadn't been trying my best to really test the website and live up to my "job" in this situation. If I had just gone through the checkout process as I normally would have with no hesitation, I wouldn't have seen the bugs at all. I was genuinely surprised by how smooth and polished the website experience was; I was expecting much buggy/glitchier, considering that they were asking for test volunteers. And the two bugs I did notice were pretty minor things that really don't break or ruin the shopping experience. So I went through with the purchase, gave the representative my order number, and hoped for the best. I immediately received an order confirmation email that told me I'd be able to track the shipment within 1-3 business days. The order was placed late on a Thursday night, so I figured I wouldn't be hearing anything else until Monday at the very earliest. (As here in the States, Saturday and Sunday usually don't count as "business days") Much to my surprise though, that Sunday the representative I'd previously spoken with reached out to me asking if I'd been able to check out the tracking feature yet. So I explained that I'd gotten the confirmation email but no tracking email yet, and that I also didn't see a way to enter my order number on the website to track the order if I (as I had) checked out as a guest. (It did appear if I had made an account that the order number would've been saved to my account and I could've potentially tracked it that way.) But again, I hadn't expected anything until Monday, so I wasn't too concerned anyway. Sure enough, the next morning I had my tracking email and everything seemed to be in order; it even baffled me by saying the shipment was expected to arrive the very next day. I thought I was surely reading something wrong or maybe it needed a little while to re-calculate or something, but I kept an eye on and it didn't change its mind. And low and behold, it was a little later in the day, but the markers were indeed delivered that Tuesday! I eagerly got them open and gave them a good once-over just to make sure everything seemed right at first glance, as I knew to swatch them all out and get a more in-depth look was going to take at least a few hours. But I was quite relieved; we'd made it this far with no hiccups, now I just needed the refund to come through and we'd be right as rain. Miraculously, two days later the representative reached out to me yet again to tell me that the refund had been sent. And wouldn't you know it; the official PayPal email was sitting in my inbox waiting to tell me so! So in the end, things turned out pretty great. Ohuhu got their website tested, and I got my markers without a hitch. It did seem a little weird to me, the whole premise, but I assume they budgeted for this in the same way a company might do giveaways or budget for advertising, maybe even like some companies do for PR packages to influencers. And, realistically, it does kind of make sense that the best way to test your online shop (and by extension, in this case, the refund process) would be to have actual customers do it. Either way, it worked out well for me, so I can't really complain.

Once the markers arrived to me, I was very happy to see that Ohuhu is now including a colorless blender in their sets, in addition to the 48 or 72 colors. A colorless blender is one of the things that I said last time would've been nice to have (though not a necessity as you could easily go out and purchase say a Copic, Prismacolor, or another brand of Colorless Blender to compensate) and personally I love that it's 48 + the CB or 72 + CB, instead of counting the colorless blender as one of the colors you get, which is what I've most commonly seen other brands do. It's a small detail, but for some reason, I can't seem to get over it.

One of the things I was most curious about in swatching though was that, I assume as a response to me and many others that mentioned we wanted them, in the marketing for the 72 set Ohuhu seemed to really be trying to push that there were more pastel colors.

After actually having and swatching the markers for myself, I'd say about 7-8 of the colors are what I'd call true pastels. There are some beautiful new colors (R13 Clematis, in particular, might be my favorite Ohuhu color now and I LOVE the Green Grays they added) but there weren't as many pastels as I was hoping for, and personally I was hoping for some more pale pinks/peaches that would work well for lighter skin tones. Maybe some yellows since I felt we were kind of lacking those too.

And originally, I was a little...disappointed isn't totally accurate, but it's the best word I have.

However! I'm inclined to be a little more forgiving as just last week, Ohuhu announced they'd be releasing a 24-color skin tone set, which (although I'm withholding major judgment until I have the markers in-hand just like last time) is looking to hopefully be some of the pale pinks and light skin tone colors, maybe even a few yellows, that I was hoping for. We'll have to wait to see the colors in person, but using their digital swatches as a [very] rough guideline, the new colors look like they could be pretty promising.

The only thing I'm a little disappointed about at this point is that 5 of the skin tone colors will be duplicates, but at the same time, after seeing which colors are duplicates, it kind of makes sense just in case someone wants to buy the skin tones and doesn't have the 48 or 72 set, which I'm sure does happen. Just like I'm sure people buy, for example, the skin tone sets from Copic or Winsor and Newton to supplement other sets.

Still, though, this continues to support the idea to me that Ohuhu is really trying to listen to what fans of the brand are asking for; People asked for brush nibs and took a little while but we got them, we asked for pastel colors and they at least tried to address that, and now we've asked for skin tones and it looks like they're going to address that, too.

Naturally, after all of the above, I had to make some art to give the markers a go beyond swatching and to talk about all of this with you, my lovely Sparklers.

So I ended up drawing this cute little snail inspired by a picture I saw over on Pinterest.

I don't know if he thinks he's going to eat that berry or if he's just smelling it, or maybe he thinks it's just pretty (I used the aforementioned R13 in the shading for the berries), but it makes me happy to look at all the same.

Originally I had planned to try and only use the new colors to really show them off, and I did use a fair amount of them, but I felt just a little too limited so I did open up to the full 72 set. But I did use all only my new markers and not the markers from the 48 set I already had, so...

Maybe it's still fair?

I also tried some texturing on the...mushroom? branch? rock? he's sitting on, and while I don't think it looks the best close-up, from further away I think it worked out pretty well.

Similarly to the crab I drew for the 48 marker set though, I wanted a more interesting background than just plain white. After some consideration, I decided my best option would be to mix my green and yellow PanPastels. So I did.

Unfortunately, I exposed a couple of very noticeable fingerprints doing that and I ended up getting pastel dust all over the drawing so my black lines got greyed out a bit.

I fixed the fingerprints by adding some intentional ones for the sake of balance and in the name of visual texture, and I fixed the lines by going back over most of them and a little post-editing after I scanned the drawing in.

Other than that, my observations about the Ohuhu markers remain the same as last time. They blend and layer really nicely (especially, as I've observed recently is the case with most alcohol markers, with thicker paper) and the colors they do provide are really vibrant and fun.

I do still hope the new skin tone colors live up, that yet even more colors are coming, and I'll repeat that I'd still love to seem them add consumer comforts of being able to buy individual markers, refill inks, and replacement nibs. But all of that may come in time, and even so, I think they're very recommendable for alcohol markers.

I'm also really happy with how my little snail turned out just as an art piece; this whole thing is just really really cute to me.

Now I just have to wait with bated breath for the USA launch (they've already launched in Canada) of those skin tone markers and hope they're not too expensive so I can get them right away :P

____

Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings

____

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tonkiregister · 2 years ago

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TopTracker gives you full control over what you keep track of and how often, with options including simple time tracking, screenshots, or webcam shots. TopTal TopTracker is the best tool for starting freelancers. Track your time per client and per project. The TopTracker web app features a simple, uncluttered design with all key information visible at a glance. TopTracker is a cloud-based time tracking and invoicing platform with payment processing. It is useful for freelancers, start up teams, and businesses. How_much_hours Shows how much work hours are registered according to given parameters. Punch is a web-based time tracker that provides practical insights and helps you improve your productivity as well as your billing. Totra how_much_hours -from= Īctivities Output activities in -format. can change, and every TopTracker user is invited to post thoughts, wishes and participate in development. Built by Toptal, it is a light-weight tool also offering desktop. Last chance to sign up for our 12 Week Product Design course. Your resource to discover and connect with designers worldwide. Notice: Application is still in planning stage. TopTracker enables individuals, especially freelancers, to track time at absolutely no cost. Discover 3 Toptracker designs on Dribbble. plus, if i go back in, its like i never even tried to hide it. BUT after 2 sessions, im realizing when i want to 'hide' bad shots from my average when analyzing my session, i can toggle each shot to do so, but it never removes it from the total. Totra how_much_hours -workers="Andrzej Bargański" -from=Monday -l -p mypassword I like the concept and this app connects great to the ranges system.

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For a few days, I loaded up TopTracker, installed the Mac version, downloaded all of my tasks, and started using the app. The ability to sync your tasks and expenses between your Mac and iPhone via TopTracker made me want to download and try out the product myself. With the help of Capterra, learn about TopTracker, its features, pricing information, popular comparisons to other Time Tracking products and more. It is just that it is not something I am looking at really as a primary source of income. There are no strings attached and no catches. Yes, all of the functionality available with TopTracker is free. I don't really like spending money on software tools to help me manage my business, and since I already spend a lot of money on my iPhone and iMac, it was just necessary for me to find an application that I could use to quickly and easily integrate with these devices. TopTracker lets users track time using hotkeys, send invoices to clients, request payment for tracked work and receive payments through integration with Payoneer. The software lets users track time from any device, and offers desktop apps for Windows, MacOS and Debian. You can also set up alerts to remind you when you need to be working on something, so you always know exactly what you have to do. TopTracker is a cloud-based time tracking solution that allows freelancers and teams to track time, send invoices, and receive payments. One of the cool things about this software is that it integrates with the Google Maps application so I can see where I am exactly on any given day. The nice thing about TopTracker for me is that it integrates with my iPhone to display and track my schedule, expenses, tasks, and goals. If you are looking for a Mac based task management solution, you should definitely take a look at TopTracker. TopTracker had been one of my favorite tracking software tools for a while now.

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gfriendlighting460 · 3 years ago

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Happens Dating Site

So, the time has come to put an end to the era of your dating account with your (preferred) dating site. Hopefully you found the one you were looking for, or maybe you simply got bored with the site, or alternatively you were fed up with constantly trying to grab someone else’s attention. Either way, you are looking for a way to finish your online dating session and avoid that you’ll be charged after your cancelation. The process is a bit more complicated than simply pushing a big large exit button, but only a little bit. All you need to know is that there are two steps required to completely shut down your account. First you need to cancel your subscription to make sure you’re no longer being charged, and then cancel your account altogether.

Here are 5 tips to help you spot scammers on dating sites and help protect you from being taken advantage of. And yes, I took the screenshots from actual conversations on dating sites such as Zoosk, POF, Coffeemeetsbagle, and MeetMe to name a few. Keep an eye open for bad grammar. Misspelled words are going to happen especially if you're on. Facebook Dating makes it easier to find love through what you like — helping you start meaningful relationships through things you have in common, like interests, events and groups. It takes the work out of creating a dating profile and gives you a more authentic look at who someone is. Today, we’re launching Facebook Dating in the US.

Cancelling Your Paid Subscription vs Cancelling Your Account

One often mistakes these two, but there is a significant difference between them. To put it simply, when you cancel your subscription, you stop paying for the premium membership, and your account is transformed back to its free (but restricted) version. In this case you are typically still able to access your data, browse your existing contacts, but the perks acquired with the premium accounts are gone. This can be considered as a break from paying the monthly fee. If your dates are going along nicely, but unsure whether or not exterminate the account, this is the comfortable middle ground.

Canceling your account altogether, on the other hand, means that you completely delete your profile, and disable any progress you made so far. We only recommend this step when you are fully determined to end your history with the dating site. In most cases there is no turning back from cancelling your membership, while a canceled subscription can be reactivated anytime, while the basic (free) account time remains yours for time’s being. Even if you are happy with your current partner, it’s good to have a return path to the online dating environment you’ve become familiar with.

Let’s See it in Action!

In case you are rolling with the subscription cancellation, your job is pretty straightforward. First, head to your dating site and log in. Select the account settings (or their equivalent) and choose the subscription or payments menu. Here you’ll find the corresponding options, and among them there will be one related to the renewal of payments. When subscribing, most dating sites turn on automatic renewals, meaning that when a payment period ends, it charges you immediately for a new one. If you wish to delete your account, make sure to cancel in time, as dating sites rarely return unused months of service.

And one more thing: it’s possible to unsubscribe from your mobile dating app as well. The steps are quite similar, here’s an example of cancelling your Zoosk subscription on iPhone.

Cancelling Your Paid Zoosk Dating Subscription on iOS

Apple and Google make sure that the users of their mobile operating systems enjoy a smooth and seamless experience with using and purchasing apps and subscriptions. For this reason they make handling your app subscriptions, including those of dating apps, fairly straightforward and transparent. As a matter of fact, the system is more clear and transparent than when you have a direct subscription through the dating website itself. The example below for the cancelation of a paid Zoosk subscription on an iPhone demonstrates how this works for subscriptions to dating sites and apps through iOS:

In your iPhone’s Settings app, go to the iTunes & App Store settings.

Tap your Apple ID at the top of the screen, and then choose View Apple ID, after which you’ll have to enter your password or Touch ID to view and edit your settings.

On the Account page, you’ll see the title Subscriptions. Press the Manage button to be taken to a page that shows all your current and past subscriptions. Here it will for instance show under “Your Subscription” your canceled Zoosk subscription with your options to resubscribe underneath it. If it mentions “Expired” with a date next to it, you can rest assured that your subscription was canceled and your credit card won’t be charged again.

Step by Step Account Cancellation

Deleting your account permanently isn’t much different from suspending the subscription. You just need to look for the kill switch in a different menu. Let’s demonstrate it through three examples for three of the most popular dating websites:

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Zoosk

Open your browser, and log in to your Zoosk account

Go to the Account Settings, then head to Account Status and hit Edit.

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eHarmony

Go to the “Close Account” page, hit the “Close” button, then verify it.

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Access your Match.com profile, and visit the “My account settings” page.

At the bottom you’ll see a link: “To delete your account and permanently remove your profile from the site, click here”. Click this link.

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By/Oct. 12, 2017 2:03 pm EDT/Updated: Oct. 12, 2017 2:03 pm EDT

Whether you love it or hate it, online dating is here to stay. It seems like most people use apps like Tinder and Bumble or sites like OKCupid and Match.com to find the next person they're going to date. But sometimes, online dating gets overwhelming. It can become a full time job. And there are no hard and fast rules for how to do it right. I went to the experts to find out their suggestions for what you should and shouldn't do when you're online dating.

Do stay safe

One of the most important things you can do when online dating is protect yourself. Unlike meeting a potential partner through a mutual friend, you don't know much about the people you meet online. Dr. Jaime Kulaga, life coach and PhD. told me, 'While dating online can produce long lasting relationships and happiness, sadly, the internet can be a place where people scam others and invade privacy.'

Be especially careful when meeting someone for the first time. Dr. Kulaga added, 'When you go out on a first date, make sure that friends or family know where you are going and never go to someone's house alone. Make sure that your first date is somewhere in public (movies, dinner, theme park, etc). Safety first!'

Do use photos that show the real you

While it might be tempting to use glamour shots of you that were taken ten years ago, don't do it. You want your photos to be an accurate representation of you so that when people meet you in real life, they get what they expect. Therapist Katie Krimer, MS, LMSW told me, 'If you are on dating sites, the first impression is everything! Unfortunately, these sites encourage people to judge based on physicality, more than the content of character — that's the nature of the online/app dating game.'

Krimer added, 'To maximize your success in meeting the right person, have photographs that are reflective of who you are and what you look like. The first photo is your first impression — try and remember that when you're coming up with your collection. Don't put up photos that are offensive or deceiving or that don't demonstrate who it is you really are.'

Dallas Christian Singles. 8,542 Single Christians Dallas, USA. Fred Pascarelli. Organized by Fred. Here's a look at some Christian Singles groups near Seattle. Photo: The Calgary Astronomy Meetup Group. Groups your friends have joined. Christian singles groups kansas city. Christian Singles Groups Offer More Social Opportunities! Find new friends in church singles groups all across the country through our growing directory of church singles websites. Make new contacts with people that share your faith and just happen to be single like you. See the map here and select your state. Volunteers who would like to start a singles group with a Christian singles website in their city are needed. This site is designed to bring Christian singles together, meet their social needs and then direct people to a local church for further support. If you have a Christian singles group or singles ministry that you would like to share, click on Add Group. If you want to meet local singles, make new friends.

Do go beyond photos when matching and liking

Even though photos are very important, don't discard a potential match just because of their appearance. David Bennett, certified counselor, relationship expert and co-author of seven self-help books, told me, 'Studies show most people base online dating primarily on the photos. While this isn't bad, it's the main reason so many people complain that sorting through the duds online is too much work, because just because someone looks good doesn't mean they are dating or relationship material.'

When choosing a partner, looks are only one part of the equation. Bennett suggested, 'Give personality more weight, and swipe left on guys and gals you know wouldn't be good for you, even if they're hot. You'll get higher quality matches.'

Do be self-aware in the process of dating

It's easy to get caught up worrying what your dates want and care about and to neglect your own wants and needs. One of the best things you can do in this process is to be self-aware. Krimer told me, 'Check in with yourself before you get out into the dating world or whilst dating.'

Krimer suggested that you ask yourself the following questions: 'What is it that might be affecting/might affect your dating experience? Do you like/love yourself? Do you know what you want and need? Are you ready to be in a serious relationship? Do you trust your judgment? What is your attachment style? What fundamental values do you want to align with your potential mate? Are you emotionally ready? Are you a good communicator?'

Relationships are complex, and it's important to recognize them as such. Krimer told me, 'Acknowledge all of the important factors that make a relationship healthy and work — are you confident in your ability to contribute to a relationship in these ways? If you experience difficulty in any of these areas, consider the fact that they may affect the outcome of your dating experiences. For example, people who have trouble loving themselves will often choose partners who will confirm their beliefs about themselves.'

Do keep it fun

While relationships are serious business, make sure that you enjoy yourself. Krimer told me in our interview, 'It's really easy to get caught up in the stresses of meeting someone — let alone meeting the right someone.'

Instead of letting yourself get stressed out, she suggested, 'Make a conscious choice to think of ways to find enjoyment in meeting new people and putting yourself out there — focus on the process instead of the outcome. If you put too much pressure on the expectation of meeting someone, you're much more likely to feel disappointed or discouraged if it's not what you expect it to be.'

Do keep your bigger goals in mind

I've seen many friends let their longterm goals go out the window when they meet someone they really like, but who may not be a great long term match. Krimer suggested that you keep your goals front and center. She said, 'Do know your goals for what you're looking for — what are your intimacy and relationship needs? Are the people you're meeting matching those needs? Are you getting into relationships with people with conflicting relationship goals (i.e. you want a long term relationship, but your current partner just sees it as a casual fling)? Being honest with yourself and others about what it is you want in a relationship can help prevent unnecessary stress or uncertainty later on.'

Choose to spend your time on online platforms where you are more likely to meet other people with similar goals. Dr. Kulaga told me, 'There are online dating sites for everyone's desires. Whether you are looking for a long-lasting relationship or just want to 'play the field' for a while, online dating has you covered. However, you want to keep your bigger goals in mind when entering some of these dating sites.'

She added, 'If your desire is to find someone looking for a long term relationship, you wouldn't want to sign up for a dating site that is known for short term flings. You are doing yourself a disservice when you waste time and energy on dealing with things that don't directly impact your bigger goal.'

Do use a variety of apps

Speaking of choosing apps carefully when online dating, it's a good idea not to limit yourself to just one. Bennett told me, 'Different apps have different strengths and weaknesses. It may take some time to find which app is right for you. Some apps cater more toward a younger demographic, while others skew older. Some focus more on relationships, while others seem geared toward flings and dating around.'

While most of the apps and sites have particular reputations, don't let that keep you from trying them out. Bennett added, 'Your own experience of these apps may defy the typical experience. Try a variety of apps for a few months and then go from there.'

Don't be lazy when using online platforms

It can be tedious to fully fill out your profile when you're on a dating site, but buckle down and do it anyway. You'll save a lot of time you would have spent going out with the wrong people. Dr. Kulaga told me, 'If you are dating online and have an opportunity to fill out a profile or inventory about who you are, and what you like/dislike, do it!' She explained that this is the best way to find someone who is a good fit for your wants, desires, and personality. You are representing yourself in your profile, and that's the first impression potential matches are going to see. She said: 'Invest the time and effort into attracting the right person.'

When you reach out to a potential match, take the time to write something thoughtful. Bennett told me in our interview, 'Don't use a boring or standard opening message. Online dating is very competitive, and some people have anywhere from hundreds to even thousands of likes, matches, and messages to sort through. A hey or WYD isn't going to cause you to stand out.'

Don't take it personally if someone isn't interested

When I was online dating, the first date usually led to disappointment, and it was hard not to get discouraged and feel down about myself. But in most cases, it's not worth it to take rejection personally. Dr. Kulaga told me, 'If someone doesn't respond to a request you sent them or someone doesn't follow up after a first date, move on.'

Not only does it feel bad to internalize every rejection, it can also keep you from meeting someone you click with. Dr. Kulaga continued, 'If you sulk, ruminate and dwell on the fact that someone didn't come through on a follow up, this will hold you back from meeting the real Mr. or Ms. Right.' She explained that ruminating can lower your confidence, preventing you from putting yourself back out there and meeting someone who is an even better match.

Celebrate your mismatches instead of getting upset about them. In Dr. Kulaga's words, 'Be happy the person didn't come through and you didn't waste any more of your precious time. Move on.' Instead of dwelling on rejections, spend your time remembering what's great about you. Krimer told me, 'Going into the dating world knowing that you have a lot to offer can really buffer some of the potential effects of dates not working out and can help you not to personalize dating experiences that may be perceived as rejection.'

Don't keep dating someone if they're not a good fit

It can be tempting to keep talking to someone, even if a little voice at the back of your mind is telling you they're not right for you. Dr. Kulaga told me it's better to move on when that happens. She said, 'If you are emailing someone back and forth and recognize this person is not a good fit for you, or you go on a date that just wasn't your cup of tea, let the person know. Be upfront and don't lead people on. Not only does this waste their time, it is wasting yours.'

On the same note, it's important that you be honest about what you're looking for so that you don't end up dating someone who is wrong for you. Krimer told me, 'Be upfront about what you're looking for when meeting people. In this day and age, the word clingy gets thrown around a lot — someone who is secure and emotionally mature will be open to hearing about your readiness for a relationship, and you should feel safe in expressing at least a general sense of what you want from a dating experience.'

https://gfriendlighting460.tumblr.com/post/657825314304589824/best-dating-websites-for-19-year-olds. When you trust your intuition and you're clear about what you're looking for, you'll spend more time dating people who are a better fit for you, raising your chances of finding someone you can see yourself with long-term.

Don't jump to the finish line

While you want to be honest about what you're looking for in a partner, don't let your desire to get married and have kids get in the way when you first start dating someone. Dr. Kulaga told me, 'If your ultimate goal is to get married and you go on a first and second date with someone dreamy, don't blurt out the marriage countdown! You will scare this perfect match away!'

Instead, she suggested, 'Enjoy the journey and take your time in a relationship. You might be dying to show off an engagement ring on social media, or you might feel like you are last on your list of friends to marry, but don't jump to that finish line just yet. Enjoy the process, get to know the person and create memories before you drag them into your pre-written agenda.'

Don't play games

You're probably well-aware of the spoken and unspoken dating 'rules,' but when it comes to finding a potential partner, it's better to just drop the game-playing. Krimer told me, 'If you went on a date and had a terrific time, don't buy into the game-playing and rules. Let that person know soon after your first date that you really enjoyed your time!'

You may think this will make you seem too eager, but it will actually help you see if they're a good match more quickly. Krimer continued, 'They'll either reciprocate if they felt the same way, or you will know by their response or behaviour if they aren't interested in pursuing anything further. There's no need to wait days before you text or call — if you like someone, let them know it!'

Don't let them get away with poor communication

I can't count the number of times my friends have complained that the men they meet online don't call or text them enough. It seems like poor communication has become standard in online dating. But it doesn't have to be. If they want to communicate with you, they will. And if they don't, cut them loose.

Krimer told me, 'Don't buy the I'm really busy with work excuse to justify lack of communication — I've had patients who are in relationships with doctors who work 17 hour days and still manage to text their partners in breaks between OR time. We're all busy people — but we know that we make time when we want to make time.'

Is Dateyou A Real Dating Site

When someone you're dating doesn't respond to your texts, it hurts. But don't just brush it off. Krimer told me, 'Don't fall into the he's/she's just a bad texter trap to continuously excuse poor communication. Even if texting isn't someone's main mode of communicating, if they are ready and interested in pursuing a relationship, it will be reflected in their behaviour. They will absolutely find a way to check in, keep you in the loop, and make themselves available to talk.'

Don't rush the dating process

Unfortunately, the dating process can take awhile. Even getting on that first date can feel difficult. Bennett told me, 'Don't expect to get a date right away. Statistics show that around one third of online dating users never go on a date. The number was as high as seventy percent without a date in one study focused on Tinder. These apps aren't magic, and going from matching and messaging to an actual date is pretty much just as hard online as it is in the offline world.'

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Instead of getting anxious to 'meet the one' already, Krimer suggested, 'Engage in the dating experience with a different mindset. Don't look at it as a success or failure, but rather as an adventure you're taking on.' She added, 'Remind yourself of your great qualities and that dating can feel exhausting and it can take a lot of time to meet someone with whom you feel really connected.'

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

Link

Unemployment Scammer Spills Secrets: Illinois Easy Target Because 'They Don’t Verify Anything' By Dorothy Tucker CHICAGO (CBS) — You’ve heard a lot about fraud in the state’s unemployment system, but you’ve never heard this: A scammer spills his secrets — how he steals your taxpayer dollars, leaving those desperately needing benefits stuck in limbo. CBS 2 Investigator Dorothy Tucker went inside the scheme and uncovers why Illinois is a favorite target. Cynthia Sawaneh couldn’t believe what CBS 2 showed her on her computer. The information she was looking at usually lurks in the shadows, meant for criminals who are aiming to make millions, targeting taxpayers like Sawaneh. “This is really scary. Oh my God,” she said after reading the words on the screen. “They got my money.” The CBS 2 Investigators showed Sawaneh a 19-page guide. It’s a how-to on filing fraudulent unemployment claims. “It’s like any other step-by-step tutorial,” said Crane Hassold, who is the Senior Director of Threat Research at Agari, a business email security firm. “It walks you through exactly what questions to answer.” Before Agari, Hassold worked in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, investigating national security threats and serial criminals, like those scamming unemployment systems across the country, including here in Illinois. “They’ve adapted their tactics,” he said. His job at Agari is to cultivate a network of sources, willing to sell their scamming secrets. “We’ve been able to build those sources over the past year or so,” he said. As a result of the connections made, Hassold knows their tactics and the tutorial well. “It’s a lot of screenshots and very brief descriptions of how you should fill out the information,” he said. The tutorial for Illinois describes which section to leave blank, when to click next and where to answer “no.” It also describes how to fill out the phone number — just find the area code and the rest can be “rubbish”. “What’s really surprising is how open a lot of these cybercriminals are to share how they do what they do,” said Hassold. The scammers are also telling Hassold and his team how they get their hands on the money. “Once a claim has actually been filed and everything’s processing, it provides the user with an opportunity to change that direct deposit method,” said Hassold. Translation: it makes it easy for the thief to steer stolen funds to an accessible account. We’re not telling you where or how to find the tutorials, but we will say it took us less than 24 hours to get an offer to buy one. All it took was a series of text messages with someone with a tutorial to sell and pictures to prove it. The asking price? $50 in bitcoin or cash. “It’s completely disgusting that this exists,” said Ofer Eckstein who is a partner at Personnel Planners, a third-party vendor helping clients process unemployment claims. Describing the amount of fraud right now, he said, “It’s terrible.” His clients feel the pain. Personnel Planners has 1,200 across the state representing school districts, healthcare facilities and restaurants. His clients employ about 200,000 people. “Over 50% of the claims that we receive in our office are fraudulent claims,” Eckstein said. Before the pandemic he said it was “Less than 1%.” The bogus claims Eckstein sees are just a fraction of the fraud. The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported, between March 2020 and January 2021, it had stopped close to one million fraudulent claims. Cynthia Sawaneh’s case is one of them. After her work hours cut back from 40 hours a week to just 16 hours, she applied for unemployment benefits in late October. She received one deposit, $397, before getting a letter from IDES saying, “…that my identity had been compromised. Therefore, my unemployment was ceased,” said Sawaneh. Like so many identity theft victims, she knows scammers have her personal information, “My employer, my address, my name, my date of birth,” she said. But Sawaneh has one big outstanding question. “I would really like to know how they got my information,” she asked. Here’s how. Scammers bought it, probably off the dark web. It’s the same place criminals shop for drugs, guns, fake passports and social security numbers. Paul Petefish, with Chicago’s Evolve Security, showed CBS 2 how easy it is to find those things. “Right here we have list of markets,” he said. A five-minute search turned up nearly 500 vendors. “This is somebody’s driver’s license,” said Petefish. Precious personal information for sale collected from massive data breaches in the past. Among those: The 2013 hack of three billion Yahoo accounts that exposed names, email addresses, phone numbers, birthdates, passwords as well as security questions and answers. The 2018 hack of 500 million Marriott accounts revealing customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, birthdates and gender. Hackers also got some payment card numbers and expiration dates according to the Federal Trade Commission. The 2017 hack of Equifax where the personal identifiable information of 147 million people got stolen, including their names, social security numbers, birthdates, addresses and in some cases, their driver’s license numbers. What’s the cost to buy that information now, all these years later? “This one’s $40. This one’s $8,” said Petefish. Who is buying this information and then using it to steal identities, file fake claims and slow down benefits for the jobless or underemployed who are struggling, like Sawaneh? Her unemployment benefits suddenly stopped and her identity appeared to have been compromised. She now visits food banks frequently to feed her family. “It’s things I find myself doing that I’ve never had to do before,” she said. Another first: “All my bills are behind,” said Sawaneh. Even her mortgage. “There are times that bills come in and you don’t bother to look at them because it just depresses you,” she said. She had just bought her very first home and now worries about losing it. “I never would have dreamed that I would have to go through this,” said Sawaneh. Scammers could not care less about her struggle to keep food on the table, make a dent in the growing pile of bills or keep her dream home. Many of them reside far away from the South Side of Chicago where Sawaneh lives. They live in the dark recesses of Russia, Europe, and West Africa. “A lot of the scammers are young, They’re quite highly educated,” said Crane Hassold whose sources are in Nigeria. “It’s a job. This is how they make their living,” he said. So, he pays them $150 in cryptocurrency, untraceable money, to talk. “They want to brag about the crimes that they’re committing,” said Hassold. What one scammer told him about our unemployment system will make you cringe. The scammer said: “They don’t verify anything. What they just check is, is the name and the social security number the same? Is the date of birth on the Social Security number correct? That’s the only thing we have to get right on our part. Once they have gotten those kinds of information, it is over?” And get this, scammers consider IDES an easier target than most. Why? “Primarily because of some of the restrictions that are not in place in Illinois may be in place in other states,” Hassold explained. He means better security measures like in Oklahoma, where a new identity verification tool was put in place in November. It’s a Digital ID program from IDEMIA. Oklahomans who file unemployment claims are now required to upload their driver’s license and take a selfie. The new tool uses facial recognition technology to make sure the faces match. “And this picture was taken recently and wasn’t pulled off the website or something like that,” said Shelley Zumwalt, the Executive Director at the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC). In just the first month using the new identity tool called VerifyOK, OESC saw fraud cases drop by 40%, verified and paid 100,000 legit claimants and saved taxpayers $20 million. “It helped quite a bit,” said Zumwalt. How long will it help? “This is a very difficult group of people to stay one step ahead of,” said Michele Evermore with the National Employment Law Project. She works with states to improve their unemployment systems and make them more secure. “After they figured out how to shut them out one way, the fraudsters figured out another way to get in,” she said. “Wherever there is an opportunity to make money, a lot of these scammers really jump on and try to make as much money as they can,” said Hassold. Making money at the expense of faceless victims like Sawaneh. “We don’t know them. We don’t know who they are. We don’t familiarize with them. It’s just an hustle to us over here,” said the scammer Hassold paid for his insight. What’s a hustle to the overseas scammer is harmful to people here in Illinois, like Sawaneh, waiting on benefits, trying to make ends meet and worrying about the future. “It’s been stressful to me. Many nights of no sleep. Waking up early, walking back and forth around the house. It’s a terrifying situation to live in,” she said. The question is what is IDES doing to stop scammers? We asked. The agency didn’t exactly answer that question. However, last week the agency did release a statement announcing new requirements. Now, all pandemic unemployment claimants will have to upload a paycheck stub, W-2 or some other proof of employment. Will this prevent fraud? We’ll have to wait to see. Also From CBS Chicago: Source link Orbem News #Dont #Easy #Illinois #Scammer #secrets #Spills #Target #Unemployment #verify

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legit-scam-review · 6 years ago

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The post RefreshEn – Discover How To Create Unlimited Passive Income Streams With FREE Traffic appeared first on Review: Legit or Scam?.

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quinncenteno-blog · 7 years ago

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Are actually EBooks Much better Compared to Physical Publications?

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ulyssessklein · 7 years ago

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“I’m well on my way to paying off my house with streaming revenue”

How one instrumental guitarist is earning significant money from his streams on Spotify and Pandora.

The music career of Lance Allen is a true DIY success story. He doesn’t tour. He doesn’t rely on merch sales to pay the mortgage. He isn’t a household name. And yet he’s earning a full-time living in music by balancing guitar lessons with streaming revenue. That money he’s generating from Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube is a pretty sizable portion of his overall earnings too. It’s enough to “buy a new guitar every month,” but instead he’s using it to pay off his house.

How’s streaming working so well for him? I asked.

An interview with Lance Allen, the Guitarlancer

CR: Your main focus is clear from the calls-to-action at the very top of your website homepage: drive action on Spotify and Pandora. Why those platforms? Why not… touring? iTunes? YouTube? CD sales?

LA: Spotify and Pandora Radio have the largest audience, and that’s the reason why they’re my main focus. Plus it has been a source of income for me.

In late 2015, I was lucky and one of my songs was chosen for the new playlist on Spotify called Acoustic Concentration. A Skype guitar student that I teach told me about this. I didn’t know what to expect really, considering most people in the industry complain about Spotify’s royalty rates. The first payment I received was somewhere in the tune of $700 and I was floored! I didn’t know how long it would last, but I held out hope. It kept going and eventually the playlist switched up songs and I remained on there. This stayed constant, but I wasn’t doing any research until earlier in 2017, when I accidentally stumbled on a short book called The Slotify Method by George Goodrich. This book and the CD Baby PDF on how to get added to playlists put a fire in my feet and I got started right away. I’ve done most of the things suggested in each of the pamphlets, and it has worked greatly.

As far as touring, I don’t need to do that. I have a successful guitar lesson business and a family at home. It’s quite nice to be at home with the family. I do the occasional gig at coffee houses, weddings, or corporate events. It’s at those type of things that I bring physical CDs. I have a box with a hole in the top and lay my CDs around the box and have a sign that says, “Pay the box, take a CD. Any amount is ok. Enjoy!” This seems to work great, because most people pay more for the CD than they would normally.

YouTube is strong for me. I started in 2006 posting videos of my arrangements on guitar. My camera got better, sound got better, and everything else fell into place. I do generate a little income from the AdSense. YouTube is very friendly with Google, so whenever I release a song I’ll make a live performance of me playing it and link to my Spotify and Pandora artist pages, as well as where you can buy tablature or sign up for lessons. Sometimes I’ll do multiple videos of the same song on various guitar brands to get more keyword juice going. Every little bit helps. You just have to keep the content going.

CR: What, if any, are the unique opportunities that Pandora and Spotify offer instrumental music?

LA: I have found that businesses all over the globe are using Spotify and Pandora to stream instrumental music in their shops and offices. Whether it’s a coffee shop, a boutique store, gift shops, or doctors offices, they use these platforms typically to play instrumental music. A lot of them use existing playlists, but some create their own. So there is a lot of opportunity for me in these areas. Still learning about them.

So, you currently have half a million monthly listeners on Spotify, but take us back to Day 1: How did you get those first 1000 listeners? The first 10,000 listeners? Can you walk me through the real foundational steps for driving interest in your music? And how much of your success was the result of engaging your existing audience vs. reaching out to playlist curators?

I can’t remember really what my earliest numbers were like as I didn’t pay much attention until I saw some income from being on Acoustic Concentration.

After reading up on how to get on playlists, here are some of the things I started doing:

Posting screenshots of my artist page to Instagram and using pre-loaded hashtags for reach. I did this daily!

Using Twitter to promote the playlist I was already on, as well as encouraging people to follow me on Spotify.

Finding playlist owners and asking them to add me to one of their playlists.

-Becoming acquainted with Spotify editorial departments on LinkedIn.

Speaking of, how DID you reach out to playlisters? What’s the method in terms of research, pitching, promoting, and so forth?

I did a search on Spotify using keywords that pertained to my genre of music (Acoustic Guitar, fingerstyle guitar, instrumental guitar, study music and so on. There are a lot!) I set about an hour each morning while I enjoyed my single origin pour-over coffee to do this. I searched out the creators of the playlist on Facebook and Twitter. I matched up photos, and requested them to be a friend, along with sending them a message telling them about my music and how it would fit nicely into their playlist. It’s very tedious work and some playlist curators don’t even get onto social media. The key is to stay persistent with it and then the ones that matter end up connecting with you and help you out.

I know from when I met you in person at the DIY Musician Conference that you have a confident way of promoting your music, without it seeming… cloying or arrogant. Is that just your natural demeanor, or did you have to work to acquire those skills of self-promotion? What part do you think that confidence plays in your career successes?

Confidence is one of my major strengths! If you have a dream or are very passionate about making a living doing something you love, you have to be willing to do what it takes to succeed. I’ve learned this through growing my guitar lesson business and meeting people. You never know who is going to be the next person to help you out. They may recommend you, buy a CD, or support your fundraisers. Or… put you on their playlist!

I’ve read a lot of books on self selling, and making friends and influencing people. One that especially got me going was The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone. After listening to that book on audio, I found myself putting in ten times the effort! There are a lot of great books out there on making yourself sellable and influential.

What have been some of the letdowns or failures you’ve experienced along the way, and how did you pick yourself back up?

The letdown is not being able to reach someone with a user generated playlist I know will help me. I’m focused on getting onto the playlist that users create because that in turn gets my name on the Spotify curators’ radar.

Something that I do to help with keeping persistent is having a goal sheet written in bold sharpie just above my computer. I try my best to keep at it, regardless of a failing outcome. I have seen results from my efforts, so I just keep with it. I find that I learn new things and techniques along the way. This hasn’t happened yet, but getting pulled from a playlist would be a disappointment. Especially a Spotify playlist, as their independent curators are ghosts and difficult to have direct contact with. However I would keep pushing, because it is my goal to succeed with my music.

Taking a look at your discography, you put out albums every few years, with two related albums in 2017, but you also started dropping a bunch of singles over the past year. What effect did putting out music more frequently have on your music’s streaming performance?

Releasing singles has been the best thing for me. It keeps listeners engaged with my artist profile. I started releasing covers too, because CD Baby makes it so easy to do. That has been a game changer! People love hearing cover songs. And because mine are all instrumental, they get put on big playlists, like Instrumental Pop Covers.

The two related albums are String Poet and String Poet Guitar Solos. One of the releases has the violins and cellos in the mix and the other is just solo guitar. I did this because of a playlister who only wanted solo guitar. It got me on the playlist, so it was worth releasing them that way.

In August 2017 one of my songs got placed on the Peaceful Guitar playlist, which is a Spotify playlist with half a million followers at the time. I’m quite confident that this happened as a result of being prolific on the platform. The pay from Spotify streams is big for me. I could easily buy a new guitar each month if I wanted, but it’s paying my house off!

In October I decided to record a song just for the Peaceful Guitar playlist. I didn’t know how it would go, but I did it anyway. I listened to the playlist and created a song that would fit. I took into consideration that most of the songs on there were nylon string and quite peaceful, so I got some new strings and went to work. I even gave it a title in the same manner as the other tracks in the playlist, “Raining Slowly.” It wasn’t a lot of work really. I sat in my living room with my laptop, GarageBand, a single AKG microphone, and a Focusrite preamp and recorded one take of an idea that I had. I took an iPhone photo of my guitar and used Font Candy to make a title on the photo. This ended up being my cover for the release. I got the song uploaded on Spotify and on day one it was placed on the Peaceful Guitar playlist!

Took me about 1.5 hours to do this tune and now it’s a part of my income. Holy Cow that was awesome. I’m doing what I can now to replicate that.

What’s the basic checklist of things you do to promote each single?

Make sure you are ready to post in every social media outlet, tagging people, messaging your friends who have created playlists (you know, the ones you met from doing the research).

Make a YouTube performance video, linking everything together. You can also make a video with the audio layed underneath your cover photo of the release. That seems to help as well. Don’t forget to put links in every video.

Besides frequent releases and pitching to playlists, what else are you doing to drive Spotify engagement?

Creating and promoting my own playlists. I’ve created a playlist that is growing quickly called Acoustic Guitar Cafe.

It’s a lot of my friends who play guitar similar to me. I just recently asked every artist on there if they would be interested in chipping in $20 for a Spotify ad to promote the playlist. I was able to get a decent budget on a Spotify ad to promote the playlist. This will hopefully help find new followers and listeners of our music. It’s also started a discussion with some of the artists where we’re sharing stats and techniques of what is working to get our music heard.

What are you doing to drive Pandora streams? Are you using AMP?

I use AMP every day or every other day. I try to post artist messages that are personal, sometimes funny. The key is to connect with people that are listening. Being that it’s instrumental, I can provide a short blurb about why I wrote the tune. Things like that generate thumbs up, which in turn brings your music up more often.

What role does data play in shaping your strategies? Do you make a habit of looking at analytics?

I look at the analytic all the time. In fact I can’t wait until 11 CST to see the artist.spotify update. That tells me if I’ve gotten on any new playlist. I also used the data when creating the Spotify ad to promote my playlist. I’m eying the AMP data as well, to see if my artist messages are working and possibly making conversions or new listeners and fans.

So what are some of your big picture goals?

I’d love to earn a complete living with streaming revenue, and in fact I’d love to say that I paid my house off with streaming bucks. I’m well on the way.

Also, I’d like to see my music in the movies or TV eventually. I know in the music business it’s all about who you know. I’m already in a library, so just hoping a music supervisor picks it up and hears it.

I didn’t quite make it, but I tried to get nominated for a Grammy this year. Although I don’t need a Grammy to succeed with this, it would be neat to get a nomination. So I will continue to submit every year I do album.

Who are your musical idols — and have your songs appeared alongside some of theirs in curated playlists?

Yes! One is Phil Keaggy, and it was a dream to have him on one of my songs, “Blue Ireland.” Tommy Emmanuel is another big influence, and I hope to one day record something with him.

What’s the next year look like for you?

Next year Pandora will have increased, as well as Spotify numbers. I will be releasing more Christmas music for the holidays as well as an album of cover songs. I may even do an original album of peaceful guitar music or possibly a Volume 2 to my String Poet album that everyone has loved. I may even look into doing an electric guitar album or something in the smooth jazz style of music. That elevator music pays too!

Download CD Baby’s free guide to getting your music on Spotify playlists.

Check out more information about Lance Allen on his website.

The post “I’m well on my way to paying off my house with streaming revenue” appeared first on DIY Musician Blog.

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whatdidisay · 7 years ago

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Naiive Girl Learns Her First Lesson in Journalism

When you’re plugging away at the task at hand, sometimes its hard to remember that things don’t occur in a vacuum. A vacuum you say?

Yeah, that’s my new favourite saying. I can’t take credit for it actually, my year twelve history teacher coined the phrase. ‘History doesn’t occur in a vacuum” he would write on the whiteboard at the beginning of each term. Little did I know that this phrase would become my mantra almost two years later.

Basically, it means nothing can be separate from outside influences and factors. The world is going on outside your bubble and different people have different intentions, perspectives and are affected by different circumstances. One thing I’ve learned from my first year of journalism is that as the story unfolds, you need to change along with it, be flexible and gain new perspectives as new facts arise to the surface. You need a thick skin and have to turn those negatives into positives. Okay, that was two things but you get my drift and this was what I had to do.

I’m going to tell you the story about how my efforts to write a good story led to my first encounter with the public. All of a sudden I was my eleven year – old self again but this time it wasn't me whining to my mum about how cruel girls are. I was being ridiculed online by someone who I knew nothing about but they sure thought they knew me and went about making me feel small and inept. My clear intentions to gain a balanced argument were distorted and I felt I had to prove the impossible to someone that wouldn’t listen. I stumbled across something bigger than I had imagined would happen and consequently, for the first of many times that will happen in my life, I was made to feel inferior for being a woman, for being young and most importantly seeking truths.

But this isn’t a rant, a clap-back or an expose; it's about not backing down, keeping my head up and going with my gut. It's about the risk and reward of putting yourself out there and trusting your instincts.

So let’s get to the beginning, where my new and surprisingly keen interest in political reporting led me to the new government scheme called ‘Cashless welfare’. Ladies and gentlemen, cue the dream sequence and get ready for an insight into how the government is attempting to slap a big old hello kitty band-aid on drinking, drug use, and welfare recipients.

Previously trialed in Ceduna and the Kimberley regions of South Australia, the cashless welfare scheme was made in an effort to control where people on Centrelink payments spend their money to combat drug, alcohol, and gambling in “problem areas”. What wasn't considered, however, was freedom of choice, punishment to those who are doing the right thing and the way the government has made a “quick fix” without directly addressing the problem. The card to be introduced in the wide bay region of Queensland in 2018, will see limited spaces in which recipients can spend their income with 80% only accessible on the card. Shoppers on welfare will not be able to shop online, go to bottle shops or make online payments.

In theory, this seemed like a great way to ensure taxpayer money is not being wasted on substance abuse. However, this would be an application to all welfare recipients, including pensioners and people in rural areas who can only access vital things online. The more people I spoke to, the more stories I heard of disempowerment, the stigma they feel they are associated with as people who receive government assistance and punitive punishment. What about creating more jobs, directly addressing addiction and finding ways to stop drug and alcohol dependency without further isolating these people from the community? It all seemed so simply not right to me but I knew I was writing a story, and that would mean I needed to hear from the other side. So I sought it out, for proper journalistic inquiry.

I can definitely say I had a romanticised image of a real underdog story in my head. I would give a voice to the voiceless, people would listen and change would happen. But this was politics and I found out the hard way that the media wasn't as squeaky clean as I was and soon I knew many people had been burnt before.

Of course, I had heard the sayings, ‘All journalists are vultures’ etc., etc. but they didn't bother me because I would shoot back with “I’ll change that, you’ll see” and this is still something I truly believe. This is all well said and done, until you come across someone who’s been burnt before, doesn’t want to change their mind and quite frankly, doesn’t really care.

Hey, I’m not going to hold it against him/her/whoever they are. History doesn't occur in a vacuum and I’ve learned (I know, shocker) that people who don’t agree with my opinion could be right. Hey, maybe there is not wrong and right, black or white.

I got in contact with, let's call them Larry, like the name of the swollen gland I had on the side of my neck a few weeks ago. This Larry defintely was more a pain in my neck though.

I got into contact with Larry, who was behind a group of people who were fans of the cashless welfare card. I figured I need a story that evenly represents both sides. It didn’t matter what side I was leaning toward it mattered that both sides were evenly represented so the public could form their own opinion.

I shot off my message and began with my little spiel. “Hello I’m Georgie a journalism student from blah blah and would like to know your opinion on blah blah”. Larry got back to me in a very well-spoken and polite manner and I was positive he would teach me something and round out my story nicely. But when I wanted to know exactly who he was, what kind of demographic typically were for the policy and if I could speak with him over the phone, Larry got nasty.

When he started to speak badly of journalists and was extremely hesitant to speak about much, I had a gut feeling and decided it was best to abandon this lead. As my uni friends would say jokingly ‘My journalism senses are tingling’ but this wasn’t in a good way. I backed off and stopped replying and I thought it ended there.

Two days later, Larry sent me another message, this time asking if he could read my article. I felt really uneasy at this point as it was not intended for publication and as someone with a social media following, I knew it would be right in his hands. He could twist my words so I decided the best thing was to block him, move forward and not worry. After all, I had politicians, welfare recipients, and some great sources. It was disappointing but he wasn’t giving me anything and I tried to respect that.

It was one day before due date and ironically I had just returned from a talk with journalist Tracy Spicer who spoke about how women are made to feel intimidated and disempowered in the media industry. Little did I know I would get my first taste of that just hours later.

I was walking into my consultation with my tutor when a message from one of my other interview subjects popped up on my phone. It was a screenshot of a post on a public page slamming me and my credibility. She wrote underneath the picture ‘Please explain’. I re-read it four times before the gravity of the situation hit me.

The post supposedly was warning others about my credibility and questioned my honesty and integrity. It pulled me down peg, by peg with language such as ‘little miss’ and “supposed aspiring journalist”. My last name was there for all to see, there were threats to contact my university and more people who knew nothing about me were accusing me of feeding information that I did not have, to people I did not know! He wanted to attack me and my credibility for asking him questions? I couldn’t fathom why someone would not believe that I was trustworthy. I couldn’t pull my self away for a second and see that from his side, I could have looked just a sketchy as he did. But then I thought, emotions are running high, around this issue and with the help of my tutor as I used up tissue after tissue in her office, Larry gave me the greatest gift, a better story.

Would I really let someone whoever they are, intimidate me from behind the keyboard? Twisting my words, saying that they ‘smelled a rat’ when I was just trying to do my job? When I was willing to hear them out. No, because that's exactly what they wanted. I pulled my shoulders back, walked out of the office with a new purpose and used what I had to tell an even greater story. The gravity of the way that people were responding to this policy, how they got nasty, or even how they were willing to speak about it with such passion told me that this was an important story to tell.

“Use this” one of my tutors told me when I sat there, determined that I needed to scrap the story altogether. This was what it was all about and I am so glad that I became aware of the outside factors that will creep in and try and tell me I can’t do something because of who I am or call me names over the internet, to my face or wherever. I’m ready, bring it on year two, come at me all of my career.

“Tell him to go F*** himself,” my other tutor said.

So in less harsh language, thanks for the High Distinction Larry.

Love,

“Little Miss Honesty and Integrity”

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mylinkspagereview-blog · 7 years ago

Text

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topicprinter · 8 years ago

Link

TLDR: I bought a site on reddit for 4K, partnered with another redditor, and together we spent 2 months completely retooling the business. We followed this up with 3 months of marketing, and we’re now less than 30 days away from $100K in revenue.This is a post on how we did it.(Read time: ~15 minutes).Grab a cup of coffee and get comfy! I’ll get right to it.THE INNER WORKINGS OF A SUBSCRIPTION BOX COMPANY.So about 6 months ago, I came across this thread from a guy looking to sell a website he owned:I contacted him and found out that it was wetshaveclub.com, a wet shaving subscription box. I felt like I could make it work given the fact that dollar shave club had proven out the model. “Ok, Let’s do it!” This was the extent of my analysis on this. The site owner sent me a screenshot of his revenue, I offered about 15X his monthly profits, and we wrapped everything up that same weekend. We skipped the usual back and forth dance people go through when they’re buying websites. I sent over the money, he sent over the passwords, and that was that.I reached out to redditor u/kaster who I had been talking to on skype for some time. He had read my original series of posts, followed it to launch and grow a local business to 40k/month, sold it, and spent a few months in Costa Rica on vacation. We had never met, but I felt like he would be the perfect person to work on this with me. This is a guy that does not play around when an opportunity presents itself. Case in point: A few weeks later he was in his car for a 5-day drive from California to the east coast so we could work on this. (Kevin’s Facebook post as he was hitting the road).Ok, so here’s what we did to get moving:Step 1: Website RebrandingThe original website needed some work and we set out to change the look and feel of it. Design is critical, and even more so with a consumer product where emotion is a large component of the buying decision. Click to see of our branding efforts.Step 2: Expanding the Product line and raising pricesSo the original service only delivered soaps and at a price of $12 per month. We felt that we had to double that price to make this worthwhile. In order to do this we had to expand the product line and provide more value. Click to see how we expanded our product line.Step 3: Box RebrandingSince we were now shipping more products (and we had rebranded the site), the next effort was to find a box that worked. We called around to different box suppliers and had them send us samples. We settled on Salazar packaging. We sent them our box design and they got on it. Click to see our box rebranding efforts.Step 4: Increasing prices and adding annual optionEverything so far took us about 2 months of balls-to-the-wall work, but things were starting to shape up. We were then able to increase prices to $29 for the monthly box instead of $12. We also added an annual version at a reduced monthly rate to see if people would prepay for an entire year. And they did. Click to see our new pricing options.Step 5: MarketingSo with our conversion rates up, and our box at a higher price point we were able to unleash the hounds. You’ll see that most of what we do is completely free marketing mixed in with a few paid sources. Click to see how we drive traffic.Step 6: Ordering, Warehouse and ShippingSo with the results of our efforts, we needed space. We were shipping from our living room and while I had a small office, there was no way we could do it from there any longer. So we found an office/warehouse, moved in 10 days later and got everything set up. Click to peep the warehouse.Bonus: Our new office.So the result of all this work: We’re going to hit $100K in revenue in the next 30 days, and just passed $78K (Obligatory screenshot). We did $22K last month (Cratejoy screenshot)-They have pretty awesome analytics btw, and we’re on pace to do $35K in September. We think we can hit our first $100K month in 6-12 months and join the ranks of /u/bandholz from beardbrand.com. Dude knows his stuff and I respect how much he shares with the community. In some ways I think we’re cut from the same cloth, he’s just smarter and better looking!What Comes Next: We’re launching an accompanying ecommerce store. This way, when folks find products that they like in the box, they can order more of them. In addition, we can expand the product line a bit to include additional grooming products and other men’s accessories. Click for a sneak peak of the upcoming store.TAKEAWAYS FROM ALL OF THIS!This is hard work and we made a lot of mistakes and will continue to make more. We’re working every day on providing a better customer experience and trying to improve the product line. We went into this not knowing a thing about selling and shipping products, logistics, inventory, warehousing, or even wet shaving for that matter. But we live in the information age. Anything under the sun can be figured out if you’re resourceful enough and willing to bust your ass until you make yourself an expert in that thing. We’re not well connected, nor do we access to a gazillion dollars in VC funding. We just work. Hard. And we’re just getting started.The companies that made this happen:Cratejoy.com for our subscription box web platform. (Awesome service and Amir rocks!)Salazarpackaging.com for our box (Great to work with)Sonicprint.com for our inserts (Karen is the bomb)99designs.com for our design work (I wish I owned this company)Uline.com for our warehouse shelving and box fill (Their delivery speed is insane)Shipstation.com: (Integrates with cratejoy to handle our shipping. This gives us life!!)Endicia.com: (Integrates with Shipstation so we just print labels from our computer. The truth!)Stripe.com: Payment processor (You already know)Perfectaudience.com: Re-targeting (Works. Well! ROI positive and helps with branding too)Kabbage.com: $15,000 Line of credit (Surprisingly smooth experience)Gleam.io: Contests (Super awesome set up and easy to add virality to your contests through sharing)TeamBeachBody.com: (haha, we do insanity every morning before work! Thanks Sean T)If you’ve made it this far, props.This is where the case study ends!But if you’re interested in taking a look at the mindset that has gotten us to this point, read on.Launching something:I read almost every front-page thread on r/entrepreneur and have done so for the past 2 years, so I know a lot of folks are stuck right now with coming up with something to launch. Here’s what I would do if I wanted to start a new business today and had no idea what to do next:1) Check your bank account for something you’ve spent money on in the last 12 months. Bonus points if it’s a recurring service of some sort (Your customer lifetime value is instantly boosted, and you can thrive even with a high customer acquisition cost). Either way, you know it’s something that people already spend money on. This simple rule eliminates fantasy ideas: “If I get enough members I’ll figure out how to monetize it later.” Later never comes, so ideas like these don’t get a minute of my time. The only things I work on are things where I can make money starting on DAY ONE!2)Narrow down the list to things where a lot of people are making money in that industry. Competition is good. I know, this goes against everything you’ve learned somewhere. But the more thriving competition you find, the more money is being made, and the larger the market. Join the party, throw your hat in the ring, and be at least as smart as somebody there. Most people search for a great idea with no competition without realizing that this makes it almost impossible to start something.3) Narrow things further to something that can be delivered with a simple but well designed website that cost no more than a month’s salary. If it’s a product, you’ll then have to find someone that will let you re-sell his or her product. If it’s a service, you simply have to find someone that already provides that service. In both cases (product or service) you’re just re-selling something, and with a well-designed website, you’ll double your chances that your supplier will feel comfortable enough to let you resell their thing. Yes, good design is important for both your customers and your suppliers! Don't launch with bad design!!! MVP or not!4) When you get that “Yes” from a supplier, make sure you set things up so that you’re not in the customer’s way. Make things as easy as possible for them to do business with you. Seriously, remove all hoops. They should be able to do business with you as easily as they do business with Amazon. If you don’t need that extra field on the form, get rid of that shit. As easy as humanly possible!5) Market your thing until you pass out. If your thing is something that really speaks to a person’s identity like grooming, fashion, makeup, fitness, etc. you can kill on social media (twitter, instagram, Facebook, YouTube). If your thing is more detached from a person’s identity like say a car wash or home cleaning, your best conversions will come through search (adwords, seo, yelp).A few additional thoughts:I think that a lot of “startup best practices” work well for people that have access to funding. For the rest of us, some of the generally accepted ideas end up pushing folks further away from launching something. Consider:Validation: Validation in my opinion is for fantasy ideas. If you stay away from having to come up with an awesome idea, you won’t need validation in the first place. There are plenty of things you can do that other companies have already validated for you. And when you find that thing, stop worrying about competition. Competition IS the validation.Competition: Stop measuring this by quantity. One of the first things you’ll hear is “the market is oversaturated”! This is meaningless, yet this single phrase has stopped more potential entrepreneurs in their tracks than…well I honestly can’t think of anything that beats this. Start looking at the quality of the competition instead, and you’ll often find that the market is saturated with a LOT of bad players, and they’re making a LOT of money despite being so bad.** This is the perfect situation.Business plans: This often ends up being a way to push action further down the road. If It’s longer than one page you’re wasting your time. Download something like this, fill that bad boy out, and get to http://ift.tt/1usFNjQ: Unless the company can pay for it, it’s not happening. So this only happens AFTER the company is making money. One more excuse...GONE!Business Analysis: Demographic data, market analysis, the economic outlook... blah blah blah. More ways to kick the can down the road and to feel that you’re doing something when you’re really not. I just get to work. If a lot of people are making money doing this thing, the startup cost is low, and there is no sorcery involved, it can be done!Fear of your idea being stolen: Ideas hold little intrinsic value without execution. However, you can start to extract value when you get feedback on it, massaging it, push and poke it, and really run it through the wringer. And the only way to do this is to tell people about it. This goes against our most basic instincts because we’re fearful that our ideas might be stolen. Well the reality is, most people are sitting on the bench with a gazillion ideas of their own that they are not executing on. You just added one more to that list. Either way, if an idea cannot survive competition it’s probably not that good in the first place. In addition, what happens when you launch? You can’t run a business without telling anybody about it. You’ll often get this response, “ But I’ll lose my first-mover’s advantage?”. Well good. I would never want to be the first mover anyhow. First movers bare a tremendous cost in educating customers. Most of us don’t have the money to bare that cost. The folks that are second and onwards, can just slide in and benefit from all of that work. For example, I don’t have to explain the concept of a subscription box service sending you shaving equipment every month. Most people already know what this is, thanks to Dollar Shave Club. Bottom line: Try to get over this stuff.Find something you’re passionate about: Nah son. Find something that is viable. I’m passionate about table tennis, but I’m not looking to turn that passion into a business. When it comes to business, I’m far more passionate about providing a good product/service that has good margins, than about being able to marry that business to any hobby or other exciting pursuit I may have in my regular life. This way, I’m free to work on the best opportunity that arises without limitation. And honestly, quite often the least sexy industries are where the big money is being made. So while most of the brainpower is busy chasing sexy mobile apps and such, you can make bank by selling ugly widgets or providing basic services. It’s tough to pay bills with app downloads.A note to Engineers and consultants: Resist the urge to complicate things. For technical folks, it seems like the inclination to complicate things is overwhelming. So a problem like ��find people that need lawn service and connect them with people that provide lawn service” becomes, “well how about we use Zillow’s APi to pull a picture of the lawn, and the customer confirms it by drawing an outline of the area to be serviced and we tie that into Google maps and feed everything into a pricing algorithm”.... and on and on. Unfortunately, many of these guys do not make it. More often than not simplicity wins. Get out of the customer’s way.Start something small to get practice: You don’t get good at running marathons by reading about running marathons. And you don’t get good at business by reading about business. You get good by doing. And doing it over and over again. But just like you wouldn’t expect to win the first marathon you entered, why put so much pressure on yourself to win at the first company you start? Or worse yet, paralyze yourself with fear into never running at all because you’re afraid you won’t win? It doesn’t make sense with marathons and it doesn’t make sense with business. So while a lot of folks over-analyze every minutia about the thing, people like Kevin and me would have already downloaded a training regiment, bought a pair of shoes, and hit the bricks.What if I fail? Nothing happens! It’s literally the most mundane non-event imaginable. I spend a day or two wrapping up any loose ends, head to the movies or do something fun, and by the next day I’m already figuring out what the next thing is. My personal experience hasn’t been “Try->Win”, it has been more like “try, fail, try, fail, try, fail, try, fail win, win, win, win.” With each failure you get better, and then things just start to come easy. Don’t be afraid of failing, it’s like the best and cheapest MBA you’ll ever get.Naysayers: If you’re doing something...I mean anything, you’ll meet them. Whether it’s in real life, on the Internet, or wherever else. Sometimes it’s even your friends and family. I keep an imgur album of the best ones I come across. Sometimes for a little motivation, and sometimes just to look back and smile. For example, recently I mentioned in passing that my next big project will be a restaurant, and I already have a list of comment screenshots explaining why I won’t succeed. :-)Here’s one of my favorite ones from a few years back when I was making $4k per month, from what was a new company at the time. This was the top comment on Hacker News.That little company now pays me a 6 figure salary. What intrigued me about this comment was the fact that it was so thoughtfully written. This wasn’t a troll. This was someone that provided a seemingly well-reasoned analysis of where he thought I would be in 12 months, complete with business school type analysis: barriers to entry, competitive landscape, etc.So why is this important? Because this is exactly what many of us do to ourselves.We have a naysayer living permanently inside our heads that is constantly appraising and analyzing every business idea we entertain. And the analysis sounds just as reasoned, and well thought-out and measured as the one I posted above. Not a bad thing on its face, but the guy in our head typically skews negative. Shut that dude up! Or you’ll analyze and over think and what-if every single idea until you convince yourself it won’t work. Over time this messes with your confidence, and you end up paralyzed. Say what you want about the guy, but Kanye was right about this: Most people are held back by their perception of themselves! It’s a brutal feedback loop.At some point we have to just say “Fuck It” and get to work!Okay peeps, hope this was helpful to at least one person. Oh, and for making it this far even if you skimmed…:-)AMAEdited to add our Facebook Group where we continue this and other business discussions:And where you can download this in PDF form (along with other writings of mine).And my twitter page.

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

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