#insert question marks....if others struggle with this...can you share your experiences with me? as long as theyre not super scary because

[senxitive]

Does anyone want to explain to me why I can't feel anything

[kenkamishiro]

20210218 Jack Jeanne Creator Interview with Famitsu - Interview #1 with Ishida Sui

The Jack Jeanne staff (Ishida Sui, Towada Shin, Kosemura Akira, Seishiro) were interviewed by Famitsu, a Japanese gaming magazine for Jack Jeanne’s release. Someone was kind enough to let me read it, so I’ll be translating the 4 interviews. The interview with Ishida I’ll do a full TL, and the other three I may do more of a summary since I’ve been busy lately.

Ishida Sui

Creator / Character Designer / Script Supervisor

Mangaka. From Fukuoka Prefecture. Creator of “Tokyo Ghoul” and “Tokyo Ghoul:re.” 2021 marks his 10th anniversary in the art industry.

Characters that were created based on the idea of “personifying plays”

Please share with us how you honestly felt when you received the commission request for this work.

That it seemed kind of questionable but interesting nonetheless. “If others can do it, I can too,” I thought.

How did fans react after Jack Jeanne was announced?

I still get letters from the readers of Tokyo Ghoul to this day, but some of them would bring up Jack Jeanne, or mention that they like a character and are interested in them even before the game’s release, so it makes me happy seeing that reception.

Please share with us your thoughts about being in charge of the character design.

It was a good learning experience because it was something I’d never done while working on my manga, trying to finalize the 6-member cast of the protagonist and the main characters, and then completely focusing on them as an elite squad. I tend to make too many characters, so...

When coming up with a character, how do you develop their image?

Previously, I decided it based on the character’s name and face. But with Jack Jeanne, it was a trial-and-error process. At first, I envisioned each character as a personification of a play - for example, Fumi was modelled off of “Salome”, Yonaga off of “Shintokumaru”, Shirota from one of Yamamoto Shūgorō’s works... I dropped the idea after that...and that’s how they were developed. They were created in a peculiar way this time.

Which character did you have the easiest time drawing, and on the flipside, which character did you find yourself struggling to draw?

Kai was the very first character I created, followed by Fumi. Those two I was able to draw relatively quickly. I wouldn’t really call this a struggle, but Suzu, the one with the red hair, wasn’t part of the main cast of six at first. Ootori, the blond character with the prickly personality, was actually part of the main cast at first, but since I wanted a simple-minded character, Suzu ended up being promoted.

I’m sure you consider every character your favourite, but if you had to pick only one character, who would it be?

Probably the main character Kisa. She embodies everything I think of in a shoujo manga protagonist, and I’m very fond of her. But I really do love all the characters. They each have their own appeal, so I can’t settle on just one.

Was there anything you had to constantly keep in mind when designing the characters for Jack Jeanne?

Broccoli specially requested that I give every character a strong colour palette. It’s because if I’m left to my vices, I end up using only subdued tones...I also constantly kept in my mind that I was making them look good-looking as boys.

You were also responsible for the event illustrations in the game. Could you give more details about them, and any difficulties that you faced?

For the event illustrations, I had to be aware of what scene would best match the script. Towada-san also specified where the illustrations should be inserted, but if there was a better scene before or after it, I gave priority to it instead. The hardest part...was drawing them all by myself. There ended up being more than 160 illustrations.

I heard it was you who requested Touyama Maki to design the chibi characters. Please share with us the appeal of the chibi characters drawn by Touyama-san, as well as your thoughts when you saw the chibi characters in the game.

Touyama-san’s appeal...is that their art is great! The deformed characters are perfectly balanced and outstandingly stable. I’m also a fan of their art and I like their life-proportion-size characters. It’s really cute seeing them move their tiny limbs around on the game screen.

Despite his humble abilities as an amateur lyricist, he oversaw every song with a burning passion that was second to none.

You supervised the game and the script, but what was the most memorable part of working on this game for you?

For starters, I vividly recall talking with Towada-san all the time. It was common for us to spend 10 hours a day talking to one another, several times a week.

How did production handled between the two of you for the script proceed?

I come up with the general outline. I’d talk about the overall flow and the key developments during the meetings, and Towada-san would take that and organize it, adding descriptions and colour to the details. It would have been impossible to create Jack Jeanne without her.

You wrote the lyrics to all the songs, including the opening song “Jack & Jeanne Of Quartz.” Please share with us how you came to be in charge of the lyrics.

Originally, there were several candidates, and there was even one person that I thought, “This person might be the one.” But I realized that it would take an enormous amount of time to share the understanding of my work to them, so I decided to give it a try, thinking that even an amateur would be the best for the job as long as they were passionate.

How did you come up with the lyrics?

I’m embarrassed to say this since I’m a complete amateur, but I tried my best to associate it with the feelings and information related to the subject, and whether it sounded good when sung...at any rate, I did my absolute best.

Are there any verses in the lyrics that you’d like people to pay special attention to, or any phrases that you really liked?

Avu-chan from Ziyoou-vachi (a 4-member rock band) is a friend of mine, but when I met up with her, I had her look at the lyrics, and the part she liked I also ended up liking. It’s the phrase “charcoal night grey” in the opening song. I also like the last two lines of the ending song because they represent the entirety of the game.

What was the most memorable interaction you had with the composer Kosemura-san?

He was professional in that every time, he exceed my expectations in what I wanted conveyed. We also spent about a week together (?) during the recording boot camp for the demo songs, and the time I spent sitting next to him and listening to the same songs was surreal. I couldn’t believe the person sitting next to me wrote the songs that I listened to as a student.

I want readers to like Kisa. A cover illustration filled with strong emotions.

On October 9, 2020 on Twitter, you tweeted, “Makin’ games is hard.” What was it you found difficult?

I was given a lot of decision-making authority as a producer, but since I’m a company outsider, I had a hard time making decisions without seeing the actual situation or making choices in areas where I had no insight. It was a tweet vexed from my inability to understand due to lack of experience. I wish I had more power...

What do you want people to pay attention to when they play the demo version?

I’d like people to pay attention to the fact that the art and script were created by very few people (almost two people), much like an indie game. Something like, “Ishida really drew all these characters!” or “Towada-san really wrote all the script!”...there is more to come in the full version.

You drew the cover illustration for this issue of the magazine, but I’d like to hear more details regarding this.

I drew it while reflecting on how lucky I was, like, “I’m really drawing for the magazine I’ve read since I was a kid...!?” I drew both male and female forms for Kisa, in the hopes that people would come to love the main character.

Please leave a message to your fans and readers who are eagerly awaiting the release of this game.

I made it so that players of all ages and genders can enjoy the game. There is a lot more in store besides just the illustrations. I hope you will play it!

[inosuketingz]

the sheets are stained with blood [p.2]

( gif source rafikecoyote )

PART ONE [ PART TWO ] PART THREE PART FOUR Victor Zsasz x fem!Reader Warning: swearing, mentions of sex, violence, blood, spoilers for Birds of Prey Word Count: 1980 A/N: I promise I am not dead I just disappeared. I do plan on extended this fic to like far off places so if you want me to tag you in upcoming parts, feel free to ask!

 Victor’s knife digs deeper into your neck and you groan. His face isn’t an inch away from yours, his breath able to tickle your nose. 

 “I’ve got a special place on my back for you, Night Hex,” Zsasz insists. You roll your eyes. People only started to call Night Hex after your first few encounters with Wonder Woman. It just so happened that they all occurred during the night, and now you’re stuck with that shit hole of a super villain name. 

 You grab onto his arm and he instinctively tries to jerk it away, but your grip is tight as you chant “Mutanter et nos, mutanter et nos, mutanter et nos.” One of the first spells you ever learned- it allows you to swap positions with whoever is in your grasp.

 In the blink of an eye, you are standing where Zsasz stood, holding his knife into his neck. For a second a look of shock and confusion crosses his face until that shit-eating grin returns. 

“Spooky,” he mocks you.

 “I hate to rain on your parade, Mr. Zsasz, but I’m not in the mood to be another one of your slaughter animals.” You pull back, making sure to keep the weapon on you. “Maybe next time, though.”

  He doesn’t move from the wall and you watch him watch you, waiting for him to say something. You two share a moment of silence, VIctor staring you down with hooded eyes.

 You aren’t sure if you should get nervous right now. You could easily overpower him with one one of the plethora of spells you know. But, it’s not like you’re immortal or anything. All it takes is for him to grab the nearest sharp object to gut you- and you’re a goner. 

 “Why the hell are you here?” You question and quickly add “And how the hell did you get into my apartment?” 

 Again, he doesn’t say anything. Instead, you watch him reach into the back pockets of his dress pants and you immediately slam his knife into his shoulder before he can pull anything out. A small, but joyful smile forms on your lips as you stare down at him. Your strength is in your witchcraft, not weapons. When your instinct led you to shove the knife into Zsasz’s skin, you were only about 50% sure you were strong enough to actually hurt him. 

 He looks  up at you as he pulls the object out of him. “You didn’t even let me answer, bitch.” And then he tries to lunge at you. Again- you are a witch. Not a weapons-master nor a body builder. From what you’ve heard about Zsasz, his strength is impressive for a normal human. One punch from him could knock you out. 

 Since you started practicing your witchcraft after turning 18, you found out there were a lot of pros and cons that came with it. Pros are; with the right spell, potion, ritual, or object- you are capable of doing practically anything. Cons are; these things take time. So in cases where a psycho is attacking you with a knife, and you don’t have time to say a three-line spell, you have to act from the top of your head. Usually not the best idea.

 And, in this scenario, as Zsasz’s hand’s only a little a couple of inches away from your face, your brain tells you to raise your leg and slam your foot on his groin as hard as you can. The chunky platform heels you’re wearing help with the effort. 

 Victor stumbles back, dropping the knife to cup his crotch in pain. You lurch for the weapon the second it slips out of his hand and shove Zsasz to the ground, straddling chest as his back hits the floor to keep him from moving. 

 Maybe dealing with Wonder Woman these past few years has its perks.

 Holding the knife up in warning, you repeat yourself “What do you want, Victor?”

 Again, he smiles. “So, you really don’t remember me, huh?” He, again, changed the subject. 

 “What?” You lowered your arm in confusion. “The fuck are you talking about?” A man like VIctor Zsasz is not one you could forget. But, he doesn’t let it go.

 “I mean, sure, it was a couple of years ago, but c’mon. I wasn’t that bad, was I?” He’s amused as he speaks. He knows the more ambiguity he says, the deeper he gets under your skin.

 You watch him chuckle and narrow your eyes in thought. Admittedly, your history is a long and fanatical one. Maybe you did come across Zsasz one time or another.

It's when he continues his monologue that the bulb in your brain finally lights up. “What was the name they gave you? Cosima or some shit?” 

 You struggle to come up with a reply. Cosima? In the least cliche way; you haven’t heard that name in years. Victor laughs at the shocked look on your face. “You do remember!” He feigns appreciation.

 Your parents never took too great of a liking to you. As they raised you and your twin sister, with the knowledge that only offspring becomes a witch, it was clear that they wanted that witch to be the latter, Talia. You couldn’t blame them, of course. You were a little shit, constantly hanging with the wrong crowds and causing chaos around the city. And then, you inherited the powers. They were angry about it. A month later Talia went missing. They became angrier.

 Their favoritism never really bothered you, and you and your sister were actually quite close. You didn’t take your sister’s disappearance well. What started as you stealing a few things from the corner store as a kid turned into sex, drugs, high theft, and more. 

 So, they kicked you out. For the first few months, you couch hopped from friend’s house to friend’s house. At this time, you had almost no experience with magic, so scamming your way through life using witchcraft wasn’t an option. Then, one of your friends proposed a job offer. She worked as a dancer at a gentlemen's club where there happened to be an opening. 

 Workers also got free housing, so you took the friend on her offer. You never imagined that you’d work as a stripper, but at that point- you were desperate for anything. 

 Rich men from all over the world came to the club, one of them being the rich Gotham entrepreneur Vikram Zsasz. He was well into his 40’s and brought with him a couple of employees for his company- as well as his 25 year old son, Victor Zsasz. 

 It was so hard to draw a connection to the Victor who lays cackling on your hardwood floor to the fresh-faced young man who visited that day. He was a completely different person, you wouldn’t have ever remembered it was him had he not mentioned it. 

 The younger Zsasz moved with energy and pride, like some arrogant frat boy. He was attractive, as he still is, with clear skin that lacked the tally marks that plague him now. When your boss escorted you and a few other girls to host the group of men, he was chugging a glass of scotch like juice, his platinum blonde hair styled in a messy side part. 

 You remember his attention always being on you as you sat with the party. You never thought much of it since there was always men and women lusting over you while you danced. His eyes watched you with adoration, unlike the disturbing leers he gives you now.

 You would have declined his offer when he asked you to spend the night with him had he been anyone else. But, he was hot and you were horny so you accepted.

 He was equally as cocky in bed as he was at the gentlemen’s club. He kept telling you to “lay back and let him do all the work”, something you didn’t have a problem with since it wasn’t like you planned on doing shit anyway. He attacked your pussy like he hadn’t eaten in days. The feeling of his tongue swirling against your clit and his fingers deep inside of you had you pulling at his hair. 

 When he inserted himself inside of you, you remember that he was rough. He took you from behind first and held you by your neck as he continuously ordered you to call him “Daddy” and praise his work on you. 

 For about two hours, all that filled the hotel room were your moans, his groans and the sound of your skin slapping against each other. 

 Your face warms and you feel yourself growing wet from the thought. You don’t even notice when he placed his hands on your thighs. 

 “Guess I wasn’t so bad after all, witch.” His voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you’re reminded that the Victor you’re straddling isn’t the boy from your memories. 

 He’s an insane serial killer whose body count of corpses ascends over the Wayne Tower . A devil who lurks the streets of Gotham. One ready to take the lives of any that come too close to him, including you.

 You push yourself off of him. “Don’t call me that, dickhead.” 

 “What else should I call you? My little slut?” He sits up on his elbows and smiles when you roll your eyes. “Or maybe a fucking cocksucker? That’s what you are anyway-”

 “If you’re not here to kill me, stop wasting my time,” you cut him off. He’s trying to get into your head, with his twisted teasing and reminders. You’re not in the mood for any of it. 

  He glances at the stab wound on his shoulder. It wasn’t too deep, but his printed Versace dress shirt is stained with blood. “What, you’re not gonna help with Daddy’s wounds?” He taunts you.

~ ~ ~

 Zsasz moans in comfort as he slips into the bath. His arm was stiff since you actually did wrap his gash on his shoulder. You made sure you tied it too tight, so much so that it almost cut the circulation off his arms. But that didn’t matter. It’s the fact that you did it which he cares so much about it.

 He picks his phone from the pockets of his pants which he tossed on the bathroom floor while getting undressed. He opens the photo app and taps on an untitled folder. In it are images of you, ranging from low quality helicopter shots of your encounters with Wonder Woman to pictures he snapped of you from your apartment window without you knowing.

 When he saw you that day at the club, he was immediately fascinated with your looks. When he returned to Gotham, you were all that took up his mind. He was obsessed, but he lost you. You were hours away, in the dangerous parts of Boston without anyone to watch over you. 

 His parents died a few months after his encounter with you. After that, his depression led him to the gambling addiction where he lost it all to Oswald Cobblepot. He was ready to end it all when he met Roman. By then, he almost forgot about you until your face showed up on nationwide news one day as everyone dubbed you Wonder Woman’s new foe.

 He zooms in on a photo he had taken of you in the shower. Your breasts were nearly in full view, if it wasn’t for the stupid fucking plant you had in there that blocked much of the window. Zsasz smiles.

 He’s lost everything. He lost his parents in the car accident. He lost his fortune in the Gotham casino. He lost Roman to that bitch, Harley Quinn. He’s lost everything. Everything except you.

[fictioninmyblood]

Protector of Her Heart

Chapter Six

Note: I apologize for how long it has been since I’ve updated this fic (If anybody is even reading this). I hope you like it. Constructive criticism welcome :)

Summary: Elinora is an empath’s version of Professor X, only a lot more powerful. She is an enhanced human with the ability to read the world’s emotions. Nick Fury has welcomed her into the fold, but with a fear of herself she has been quite reserved. A forced bonding night with the newly discovered Wakandan royalty brings her out of the shadows of fear and into the light of lust.

Warning: language/smut, 18+

intle yam entle - my beautiful flower

Omncinci - little one

sithandwa sam - my love

Previous Chapter

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

M’Baku may have looked calm, but internally he was burning with not only his desire, but hers as well. Nora may have seen his move to the bathroom as torture but he was saving them both from bursting into flames from the fire currently pulsing in his veins. He’d felt lust and desire before, but never to this extent.

It was Nora. Whatever sexual cravings she had were breaking out of her self imposed jail, and it was mixing with his own. He felt otherworldly with how it was affecting him, like Hanuman himself had come down and taken the reins of his libido. He had to get control over himself or he was going to scare her.

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

After a long cold shower he sauntered back out in nothing but a pair of black silk pajama bottoms that hung low enough to reignite whatever emotions Nora had momentarily pushed back down. M’Baku was suddenly thankful for T'Challa's recommendation for sleepwear as it worked in his favor, semi hiding his arousal and igniting hers.

Getting back into position at the apex of her thighs he sighed into her, his breath ensuring that she was in a state of awareness. “Are you ready to stop trying to control the situation and give yourself over?”

Fed up with his teasing, she let out a growl, “Would you just shut up M’Baku?! I need to cum so stop dicking around unless you intend to do so inside of me!” Nora barked back in frustration. “Just fucking uncuff me and make me cum!”

M’Baku let out a deep belly laugh. “That does not answer my question, but I rather like your answer,” M’Baku said with amusement lacing his voice. Checking the tightness of the cuffs,“I think I rather like having you in the cuffs, it ensures that the running issue you seem to have, won’t be a problem. However, you get distracted too easily so I am adding the blindfold and the only thing keeping me from gagging those beautiful lips is the fact that this is our first time together and I want to hear you scream. But make no mistake, that little outburst of yours will cost you.” He got off the bed to get a piece of leather from his traditional cloths, coming back to wrap it around her eyes gently, a misleading action to throw her off.

And that it did.

Nora was not prepared for the immediate onslaught to her pussy. In a swift motion he had her legs on his shoulders, ass molded to his hands to push her further into his face, and ate her like a starved man. He licked from her weeping hole to her pulsing clit in a figure eight motion. Everytime he worked his way back up to her clit, he flattened his tongue so that he could ease just the tip in, creating an indescribable sensation that seemed to take her by surprise each time despite his steady pace. She didn’t know how long he had been patiently repeating those simple motions, but he did not stop until she was cumming, his dedication to her pleasure setting her off. After that it was easy for him to pull one right after the other, prolonging each orgasm long enough to create a new, more powerful one each time. By the time he engulfed her clit and lapped up her nectar at the same time, she was unable to stop her screeches of pleasure.

He had broken her dam.

When she finished her third orgasm brought on by only his mouth he switched things up by focusing his tongue on her clit in a fast paced flicking motion. Inserting his forefinger and middle finger, he heightened the experience by contradicting his tongue with a slow come hither motion. Pulling away, he replaced his tongue with his thumb and held her writhing body down with his left forearm.

“Look at you opening up for me, intle yam entle. And your juices, mmmm, I could feast on you for an eternity and never yearn for another drink or morsel. Do you have one more in you? For me?”

Nora was so far gone into the web of pleasure that he had created that all she could do was hum in response.

“That is not an answer love, I need words.”

After another nonsensical moan he realized that she needed to be grounded in the moment again so he slid off the blindfold, uncuffed her hands, rubbing her wrists to increase the circulation, and grabbed her jaw.

Pulling her closer with his other hand on the small of her back, he gazed directly into those beautiful chestnut eyes, whispering, “look at me omncinci,” so low he thought she didn’t hear him until her glazed expression became a little more focused.

“I need you to cum just one more time for me and then I promise you can go to sleep. Do you think you can handle that sithandwa sam?

Not trusting her voice, Nora hummed her assent, nodding when a low growl started to spread from M’Baku’s chest to her own.

Accepting that he was going to get nothing more from her, M’Baku went back to work on dripping flower. His mouth found its way back to her clit like a magnet and his fingers found a new sensitive spot when he curled his fingers deeper.

Nora was in a cloud of bliss she had never experienced before. She briefly took note that she could feel no emotion other than ecstasy before M’Baku added a third finger, pulling her back into the cocoon of pleasure he had created just for her. It took what seemed like no time for her orgasm to build, but it’s intensity felt off to her.

She felt full. Really full.

Suddenly feeling the urge to pee, she started beating at M’Baku’s shoulders in an attempt to get him to slow down or stop. Unfortunately he barely registered her weakened blows and before she could verbally warn him that he was about to be drenched, her orgasm tore through her like a hurricane. In succession, her eyes rolled to the back of  her head, she dug her nails into M’Baku’s shoulders, and her body violently spasmed.

M’Baku was slightly caught by surprise when Nora squirted all over his beard and chest, but quickly latched his entire mouth around her pussy, drinking down the last of her juices. He growled into her pussy in an attempt to calm the insistent need to claim and mark Nora.

Rubbing soothing circles on her thighs until she came down from her high, M’Baku was able to study Nora. From their short time together, he had come to the conclusion that she was never this relaxed, so he took this time to admire this gem of a moment. When he saw that she was starting to come back to Earth, he started a bath for them, adding soothing bath salts and essential oils that he brought from home.

By the time Nora fully came down from her high she felt like jello. Before she could muster up the strength to move towards the bathroom, M’Baku had scooped her into his arms carrying her to the bathroom. Sitting her on the countertop, he stripped her out of his shirt, catching his first glance at her full naked form.

M’Baku couldn’t help but be enraptured by Nora’s glistening form. She looked like a goddess to him, her post-coital hair sticking to her glistening skin that smelled of sweat and sex, curves begging to be explored. Stuck in a state of awe, he couldn’t help but caress her smooth skin for a minute or two, taking in her expressions and body movements when he would touch a certain spot. If she didn’t look like she was about to pass out, he would’ve given in to his need to devour her again.

Nora was grateful for the exhaustion that had taken over, it helped her not dwell on how adoringly M’Baku was looking at her. It was like he was searching for the pieces of her soul that were buried deep down, the pieces that she shared with no one. It made her horny and anxious at the same time, which was not the best of feelings. Thankfully he provided the perfect distraction when he started stripping in front of her, keeping eye contact with that same invasive look.

By the time M’Baku was done disrobing, Nora was just as enchanted with M’Baku as he was with her.

--------

After their bath, which consisted of M’Baku carefully washing her and praising her, he dried and lotioned them both, opting to stay naked with her as long as possible.

Nora had been struggling to stay awake since M’Baku had started taking care of her so it was no surprise that she had fallen asleep when he put her in the reading chair while he changed the sheets. She startled awake when he lifted her back into his arms.

Yawning, she said, “You sure have an affinity for picking up extremely heavy things, don’t be mad when your arms hurt tomorrow.”

M’Baku grunted at her, not liking that she was trying to make fun of herself. After he got them settled under the covers facing each other, he said, “You are as light as your beautiful soul little one. You will never be too heavy for me.”

She shook her head and geared herself up to correct him when he pulled her flush against him to devour her mouth, consuming all of her protest.

When M’Baku felt her melt into him fully, he pulled his face away to look her in the eyes. “You are mine, and everything that is mine is blessed by Hanuman himself, including you. No more talking about yourself negatively.”

He pecked her lips with finality, signaling the end of the conversation. “Sleep on top of me?,” he asked as he moved her right thigh over his hips, maneuvering her into the desired position.

“I guess so,” Nora whispered before laying her head on his shoulder. His natural earthy tones mixed with whatever he used to moisturize calmed her into the most peaceful sleep she’d ever had.

M’Baku watched her body relax into slumber for a few minutes before he drifted as well.

Chapter Seven

[maljean89]

I turned 30 and got my tubes tied

Just shy of a week ago I had my very first surgery — I got my tubes tied. Although, “getting your tubes tied” is sort of an out-of-date term these days come to find. Nowadays, removing your entire fallopian tubes is the standard for a couple of reasons: removing them completely (as opposed to tying, clamping or cauterizing) can prevent the occurrence of an ectopic pregnancy and can reduce the risk for Ovarian Cancer. Dude, I have so much cancer in my family, if I can reduce my risk for one kind, I’m down. 

I’m really glad I’ve never had surgery before because going into it blindly was probably the best thing for me. I had no idea what to expect and if I had I think I would have been even more of an anxious mess than I already was. I am the queaziest, most fainty human being on the planet, so the entire experience of having the 3 attempts to put my IV in was a little hellish. But being put under felt pretty cool and before I knew it, I was waking up and it was all over. It took a solid 3 days of doing nothing but laying on my back and hobbling to the toilet before I started to feel like a human again. And let me tell you — having a boyfriend with an amazing sense of humor kind of sucks when laughing causes you pain. But he took the best care of me and 6 days later I’ve got a way less bloated and swollen tummy (looked like I was pregnant for a couple days) and my insides feel like normal again. I’ve got these 3 sweet battle wound scars — two on either side of my lower abdomen and one in my belly button — and I can officially say that I’m sterile as a cotton ball. 

I’m pretty excited that I now have a response when people inevitably ask “So when are you and Jonah going to have a baby?” I’m going to enjoy it a little too much to be able to say, “Never actually. I had my tubes tied.” Telling people you don’t want kids makes them incredibly uncomfortable for some reason. I’ve never really understood it, but one of two things usually happen. One: they get real awkward and change the subject, never to be visited again. Or two: the barrage of questions begins. Some people are genuinely interested. Some people feel the same way and I get high fives. Some people do the whole, “well, you’ve got plenty of time to change your mind” routine. 

The thing that probably kills me the most though is when people ask why. 

“Why don’t you want to have kids? If you don’t mind my asking,” they’ll say.

You got a few hours? People ask this question like its a simple answer. Dude, if its a simple answer, I highly recommend that you don’t get sterilized because one simple answer isn’t sufficient. I have scores of reasons! And the reasons why I don’t only stand to inform the actions I would take if I oddly changed my mind someday. 

I thought I’d share some of my many reasons with you all. Some are emotional, some are physical, some are financial — they’re all over the place. If you don’t care — thats cool. If you think I’m stupid — you’re entitled to your opinion. But I do think it would broaden your vision a bit to read why someone might not want to reproduce. If you’re one of the people judging me, I encourage you to take a moment to learn about someone different than yourself.

1. Physically, I legit can’t handle it. I know every woman is probably terrified of actually giving birth, but I literally could not handle it. I have to lay down to get a flu shot, and stay laying down for a solid 10 minutes or I’ll pass out. Getting my blood drawn makes me faint every time. And just discussing the process of inserting a NuvaRing with my gyno made me lightheaded and have to lay down. Getting my lady exam every year makes me so nervous I often present with high blood pressure because my nerves get the better of me so badly. Don’t think I could handle 9 months of discomfort, thinking about whats happening to my insides, and then the inevitable pain of actual birth. And even if I somehow could handle it — I don’t want to put myself through that. No thanks, I’ll pass.

2. Financially, I don’t want the burden. People may think thats a cold reason to not want kids, but I’m just being honest. I’m a fucking millennial for god’s sake — I’ll be drowning in student loan debt until the day I die, paying off only the interest on my income based repayment plan each month. I’m just now at 30 years old feeling stable with my own income for the first time ever. And to be 100% honest with you, I want to spend my money on me and my partner, not a small person who doesn’t even understand what money is and how hard I have to work for it. If you can look past that — high five to you, but I can admit that I’m not that big of a person.

3. I don’t want the strain on my body. I’m not special in that I’ve struggled with my body image my whole life. And sure — you can argue all you want that having kids is more rewarding than having a hot bod. And I’m sure thats true for some people. But vainly, I just don’t want to ruin my body like that. I’ve got enough stretch marks on my inner thighs and love handles from when I was heavier. I shall opt for keeping my bladder and vagina and breasts in tact for as long as I can. #SorryNotSorry

4. It’s not what I want my day to day life to be about. I enjoy being around kids of a certain age for a very short amount of time, and somehow that window gets smaller and smaller as they get older. I don’t have enough time for myself, I can’t even imagine having every moment be about feeding and changing and crying and being sick and everything else. Worrying about myself and the people I love is all I have the energy and time for folks. Its wonderful that some people are happy having every day be about play dates and going to the park and doing whatever Mommy-and-Me crap you mothers out there do — but thats just not who I am. I enjoy traveling and seeing the world, experiencing art and theater and music, trying really hard and failing at making alone time for myself, falling in love with Jonah more and more every day, searching for a woman to fall in love with at the same time, and a million other things I could spend hours writing about. In everything I want for my life, there just isn’t a kid running around in that mix.

5. I’ve got some weird Mom-related reasons swirling around in my noggin, too. My relationship with my mother was very special to me. I was an only child raised by a single mom and that, my friends, creates bonds unlike any other. In the three years since she’s died, I’ve realized how sacred my time with her was. I even had a window of time where I thought I was going to cancel getting my tubes tied because I had this morbid realization that by having a baby, and possibly a little girl, I could have a piece of my mom back again. Thats not a healthy way to think. I talked my feelings out with my loved ones and ended up back at my decision to have the procedure. Somehow, the mother-daughter relationship that I had with her is the only one I want to have in my life. 

6. Other areas in my life deserve my love and attention more than a child. First and foremost — my love life is too important to me. Jonah is my world. And aside from the fact that on our first date he told me he didn’t want to have any more kids (he has a daughter from a previous relationship), our life doesn’t have room for an infant. Our life together — my career, my company, other creative and business ventures I have brewing in my head, Jonah’s music,  our love life being polyamorous — all of these things deserve my love and attention more than having a baby. And guess what? As mentioned above, I already get to have a daughter in a sense! I get to have this super cool friendship/stepmom/parent-type thing with a wonderful little girl that came from the man of my dreams. I can’t wait to see her blossom into a young woman and see what she’ll achieve in life. ALSO, I have an amazing nephew who is about the same age and even though I don’t get to see him every day the way his mom saw me every day, I love the bond I have with him and getting to see him grow into such a sweet and upstanding young man. All of this and more deserve my love and attention more than creating another human.

7. I don’t think its necessary to populate the world with more people. If I lose anyone big time with any of these reasons, I think this one might be it. We as human beings are literally ruining this planet. There are too many people in existence as it is. We’re polluting the ocean at an alarming rate, global warming is all our fucking fault, and every year more and more animals hit that endangered species list or worse, become extinct. Don’t get me started on animal rights! More people just create more garbage, more waste, more problems. I’m sure you love your big family and think you’re not part of the problem, but guess what — we all are. I don’t want to add to it. I can help not add to it by the following...

8. I would choose adoption over reproducing any fucking day. When I had my initial doctors appointment to schedule my tubal ligation, my doctor obviously asked me why I wanted the procedure done. I rambled off a few of these reasons I’ve just shared with you and closed with this: “If for some crazy reason I want nothing more than to have a child 10 years from now, I would want to adopt anyway.” And that was the end of that conversation. There are so many children that need foster homes or to be adopted. In Minnesota alone, an article from this past January from Kare 11 states that “this year alone some 17,000 children will need temporary, out-of-home placements.” I saw an adorable little boy at the grocery store the other day running in front of his parents. For one second I thought, there are I don’t even know how many little boys just like him that need homes across the globe. The thought broke my heart. If I wake up 5 years from now and want nothing more than to be a mom, I want to change someone’s life and give them the loving home they otherwise might not ever have.

9. I’ve never had a strong will to be a mother. Sure, when you’re in grade school you might trade future baby names with your girlfriends at recess. For me it was Hayden for a boy and Aslynn for a girl. But as a teenager and adult, that daydream disappeared. I’ve never longed to be a mother, or to have any sort of a conventional life for that matter. It’s always seemed really boring and expected and normal. One of the very very few positive things that came out of my relationship with my ex-husband was the day he helped me realize that I just assumed I’d have kids someday because thats what society had drilled into me. The moment I stood back and really honestly asked myself, “Do I want kids?” I had my answer. No. And I’ve never looked back.

10. Most importantly, my body was made for more than reproduction. I know we don’t live in medieval times — this isn’t Game of Thrones no matter how much I wish it was. We live in an age of being a career mom and female empowerment up the wazoo. But theres still this thing floating around out there in the world that its expected of me to reproduce. Ridiculous abortion laws like the one that just passed in Georgia that makes it illegal to get an abortion after 6 weeks makes me feel like we’re only glimpsing the tip of the iceberg of whats coming down the pipes. The only person who can control what I do with my body is me goddamn it. My female body can do just as much (AND MORE) than any male body can. Maybe its just me being stubborn or thinking I’m more important than I am, but I firmly believe my body can do a million more important things shit out children. I truly believe we are heading to a Handmaid’s Tale existence, and I won’t be a part of it. I refuse.

I didn’t write this blog to make you feel like shit if you are a mother, and enjoy being a mother. Everyone is different. I respect that. But we all have different perspectives. And I truly believe that there are a lot of moms out there that didn’t think long and hard enough about this life-changing decision, and now they’re stuck with it for life. At the end of the day — you’re going to do you, and I’m going to do me. But maybe you have a little insight into what goes on in a head like mine, and why motherhood doesn’t have to be your future if you don’t want it to be.

I’ll be honest with you — I sort of have this weird feeling that for once I have total control over my own body. Pregnancy has been this fear stamped on my love life since I took that dive at 14 and I finally feel free from it. I don’t know, maybe I’m blowing it out of proportion. I could be feeling that way because I just bought my first house and have this cool, new perspective on taking control of my life. But somehow, I’ve never felt more in control in 👏🏻 my 👏🏻 life 👏🏻

Watch out world. The only one in control of my life and my body is me. 

[neurotribe]

“I don’t see colour” or The Complicated Dishonest Politics of Identity

I didn’t blog last week because this post took me a lot longer to write than I thought. So please accept this post as last weeks and this weeks reflection. It’s quite long so grab a coffee or tea, and settle in for a bit of a read.

I was on my way home from a conference I was speaking at some years ago. It was a Melbourne December so for my northern hemisphere friends, that means one of the hottest months of the year.

In the warmer months, I tend to keep my hair quite short. This time, my hair was clippered to the point of almost being bald. I had a serious case of the five o’clock shadows and in addition, I tend to tan quite significantly during the summer months, a benefit of my Maltese genes.

So there I was, stopped at a set of traffic lights at a busy intersection in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. It was hot, the window was open, my elbow sticking out the side of the car probably listening to a 24 hour news station, nerd I know.

It took a few seconds for me to hear the yelling over the sound of the radio. I looked out the window and I could see the source of the yelling. It was two, twenty something white Caucasian males. The seemed to be yelling and it appeared to be aggressive. I turned the sound down and listened.

“Go back to where you came from you f***ing Arab!” they yelled. I looked in the opposite direction trying to find the target of their vitriol. I was the only car in this part of the intersection waiting for the lights to change. I looked back at them and once again in the opposite direction, thinking now that their target was someone walking on the other side of the road. I scanned the footpath and it too was empty as far as the eye could see. As I looked back at the young men still screaming, it suddenly dawned on me, they were yelling at me.

It was half way through December 2005, a time when Australia was experiencing a thing we now call the Cronulla Race Riots.

Putting on my best Aussie bogan accent, I yelled out “I am mate, back to Diamo! Cheers!” “Diamo” being the truncated version of Diamond Creek, a very white settler suburb close to where I live which ironically has experienced a shift in demographics since that time.

I didn’t really think about the incident until after the conference. I had some time to reflect and as I did so, in particular in the light of national events surrounding the riots, I realised the effect that this and many other incidents prior to and since that one continue to have on my sense of identity.

You may have missed something significant last week. A question was asked on the ABC’s Q&A program (you can see the question here, skip to the 32 minute and 15 second mark). The white, middle class Australian man who must be at least in his 60′s asks, “After working and paying taxes for about 50 years myself, I believe that no person living in Australia today should be entitled to any special benefit or recognition, which is based not simply on need or achievement, but on race or how long their ancestors were here. What do the panel think of that?”

The host threw to Sami Shar. Lucky bloke. I thought he responded well given no notice and the incendiary nature of the question. “It is easy to dismiss the value of race when it is not something that has been a defining aspect of your life, when it’s not something that has been used to vilify, deprive and destroy community ... when you’ve never had that kind of vilification ... it’s easy to say it’s a fair go, everybody is born equal, and “I don’t see race”.

In the US, yet another Trump inspired political firestorm is unfolding, this time as a result of a tweet telling four congresswomen of colour they should go back to where they came from.

I am not sure if you have heard of the term “identity politics”. The phrase, these days is often used in a pejorative sense however that was not originally the case. Back in the 1970′s was articulated as a framework that helped “those feeling oppressed by and actively suffering under systemic social inequities to articulate their suffering and felt oppression in terms of their own experience by processes of consciousness-raising and collective action.” The intent of identity politics was a mechanism that was "seen as ways to gain empowerment or avenues through which to work towards a more equal society.”

If you could for a minute, put aside your thoughts and feelings regarding the phrase for a minute.

Think with me for a minute.

If there were a mechanism that could help us see the systemic ways in which we could clearly see that for example black women experienced a significant and disproportionate level of violence over and against that experienced by other demographics, surely we can agree that this mechanism is a good thing? If this lens helped us to see dynamics at play that we were unable to see prior to the introduction of such lenses, again surely that would be a good thing? If this lens enabled us to begin imagining solutions that empowered this demographic, and helped us collectively move towards a more equal society, again surely we would consider this to be a good thing?

Now remember, prior to the previous paragraph, I said that in order to see the goodness of such a mechanism we would need to park our bias concerning the mechanism and the name of this mechanism, namely identity politics. So if you can’t quite see the goodness that I am referring to in the above paragraph, perhaps skip back up the article and try again?

Regardless of how you are feeling at this stage of the post, this was exactly the intent of the origins of identity politics. Namely:

A framework that helped us see something that we could not see before and,

Once seen, solutions could be conceived of that would move us towards a more equal society.

Arguably, identity politics as a mechanism is responsible for some of the most significant social transformations during the last four decades including but not limited to the ongoing struggle for women’s rights (in all spheres), the civil rights of minority groups and the civil rights of those who do not conform to gender or sexual “social norms”.

Fast forward four decades and we have all sorts of people using the phrase identity politics negatively, almost as a profanity. The arguments against identity politics are many including but not limited to:

It is a concept that emerges from Marxism, Socialism (insert whatever “ism” will gain the most negative of reactions in the audience that the critic seeks to persuade),

It is destructive,

It is negative,

It divides people rather than bringing people together.

The use of the phrase “identity politics” and the associated negative attributions are one of the quickest ways of shutting down debate around who holds power and more importantly alternative visions to the status quo that may emerge after honest reflection.

And it is the lack of honesty in these criticisms that angers me most.

Those who seek to criticise identity politics as a divisive tool are employing the very same mechanism they seek to discredit in their attempts to discredit it! In their attempts to discredit identity politics, critics use a specific form of identity politics referred to as “white grievance” or “white identity” politics, a form of identity politics!  

Professor Ashely Jardina, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Duke University noted that Trump’s “go back” tweet was a strategic and well thought through strategy designed to speak directly to the anxieties of two groups of people:

"The first subset are white voters who are racially resentful, who have hostility to voters of colour, they don't believe they play by the rules," she says. "Telling women of colour in Congress to go back to the countries they come from is going to resonate with racially prejudiced voters."

It will also play well, she says, with a different subset: voters who are worried about the changing demographics of America but don't harbour the same hostility towards racial minorities."For these voters, the idea elected officials don't uniformly look like them is symbolic of the loss of political power that white Americans have enjoyed for a long time."

So critics of identity politics,

using the very same framework,

on the basis of an identity “white anxiety” or “white grievance”,

on the basis of the fears of real or perceived loss of power,

and therefore as a consequence of using identity politics to clearly articulate the fears experienced by this demographic,

attempt to shut down debate arising as a result of identity politics.

Dishonest. Brilliant. But yeah, dishonest.

It seems to me that when one group becomes aware to their lack of power, and when that group seeks to find it’s power, and when a society needs to adjust and specifically when those who are accustomed to having a monopoly upon power find themselves in a position of needing to share their power with others, well quite frankly it gets ugly.

Case in point the national debate surrounding Australia’s treatment of Adam Goodes as a result of the release of the documentary The Final Quarter.

So where to from here? I have four thoughts (and an optional fifth):

1) The dishonesty needs to be exposed When those who attack the use of identity politics use the exact same tactic, well firstly, to be totally honest, I congratulate them. Well played. However the fact that they are using the same strategy to reinforce the status quo, that dishonesty needs to be exposed.

2) Be compassionate when dealing with people who are afraid (including yourself) There is something exhilarating about discovering and beginning to use ones power. Conversely there is something quite terrifying to discover that you are about to lose power, especially if the power you are about to lose was something that you didn’t realise you had and the imminent loss comes as a surprise. I have written about this before. The full post appears here. This quote which I used from that post speaks to this phenomenon well:

“To the privileged, equality can feel like a loss. Over time I have come to the idea that independence requires equality and, therefore, a sense of loss for many.” - Jesse Alan Downs

3) Holding power as opposed to holding power to account I am a geek, I have noted that several times. So to make this point, I reach to sci fi, in particular The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. In describing the marketing department of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, the writer reflects they are simply "a bunch of mindless jerks who'll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes".

Revolutions are dangerous things. How many times do we need to go through he cycle of replacing one set of ruthless dictators with another? How do we move towards a more equal society if the process requires creating a new minority without power?

This is the trickiest of issues. Why? Because in order for minorities to take their place in a society and be involved in wielding power,  those with a monopoly on power need to have the wisdom and courage to recognise this and relinquish their monopoly. That takes a profound kind of leadership. Which brings me to my final thought.

4) Encouraging and getting behind honest, compassionate and wounded leaders of the status quo I jumped into my car and therefore came part way into an interview. I thought I recognised the voice of the person being interviewed but couldn’t quite place it. I listened to this political leader discussing identity politics. They noted the when identity politics are used in ways to identify those who suffer and help us imagine alternative futures, identity politics is a good thing. However when identity politics are used to divide groups of people and deny us the ability to imagine creative solutions, it was a bad thing.

I listened to this interview for about twenty minutes and only at the end, discovering that the person being interviewed was Barnaby Joyce. That’s right, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia who lost his seat because he was a dual citizen of Australia and New Zealand, only to win the seat back and then lose his position as Deputy Prime Minister because his affair with his former staffer and expected child became public news. (And so on and so on and so on).

It struck me as I listened to Joyce describe the ways in which identity politics helps us see groups who suffer that we are unable to any other way, and then to creatively imagine solutions, I was listening to a man who had experienced not just one, but several national humiliations. (I couldn’t find that interview, if someone can, by all means let me know and I will post a link to this article. However, I was able to find this article that you might find interesting.)

Another powerful white male who has given me pause to reflect upon the judgementalism I carry in my own heart is Eddie McGuire. There were many moments in the Adam Goodes doco that moved me. One of them however came from an unexpected place. There is a very short scene, where McGuire, after making several racial gaffes has had a moment to reflect publicly on the effect of his casual racism on Adam Goodes. Suddenly Eddie struggles to find words and chokes up with tears that he tries to hold back. He stands emotionally in the place of “the other”. He realises that he has hurt another human being in a way that will most likely leave a mark for the rest of his life. Yes Goodes may heal, however whenever Eddie interacts with Goodes, he will be mindful of the scar on Goodes’ soul, a scar that he inflicted. So as I have reflected on this doco, the world we find ourselves in, and as I have despaired at the apparent lack of a way forward in this tribalised world, I wonder if part of the way forward is to look harder for and then encouraging the honest, compassionate, wounded leaders of the status quo, or at the very least, looking for opportunities for their formation?

5) Optional fifth thought I have a fifth thought, exclusively for my sisters and brothers of the Christian faith. I have spoken at length with many a sister and brother in Christ about this stuff. One of the most demoralising things is the idea that issues of race are not “core gospel concerns”. In many of those discussions, Paul’s statement from Galatians is cited: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” as thought this somehow confirms the fact that this collection of my thoughts in this post is at best peripheral and at worst irrelevant to the practice of the Christian faith. However, after reflecting on Paul’s words and more importantly the context, I realise that they cannot be used to dismiss the issue. Paul in Galatians is taking on the fact that everyone seems to have succumbed to the negative dimensions of identity politics, in the way that Barnaby Joyce warned about in his interview. When you work your way through Galatians, everything up until this statement, it is clear, Paul is not commanding people to cease and desist. He is not telling people to cease playing the worst kind of identity politics game. He is in fact offering us a vision of what could be, a vision of a community where many tribes, tongues and cultures come together, as equals under the lordship of the only person we can trust to hold power, therefore relieving us of all of our fears.

[cisco-fics-4-all]

Battle Scars

Ok, so here is a request from an anon: “God bless you. Could I request some angsty/fluffy mess where the reader always tries to hide her self-harm scars and one day Cisco sees them and reader gets v defensive and then Cisco just like loves her and holds her and is the sweetest thing ever? Thank you again, you're the best omg.” Now, I have never done self-harm, and I can’t say that I’ve ever entirely understood why people did it, other than the general knowledge of it being a coping mechanism that works for some people, and not for others. So I’m posting this fic, hoping (fingers crossed and all) that I’m not going to offend anyone by the representation of a reader insert character, who has experience with self-harm. That being said, I hope you all enjoy this fic.

“Happy Birthday!” Cisco cried as he dropped a scotch taped cardboard box on your desk.

You took a moment to stare at the box, before looking up at him with a quizzical look. “My birthday isn’t for another four months Cisco,” you reminded him, squinting slightly, “what is this?”

Cisco shrugged and nodded, pulling up a chair to sit across the desk from you. “Yeah, I know it’s not your birthday babe, but your birthday is closer than Christmas, so I figured it fit better,” he nodded to the box, “this is a thing I made for you. You already kinda know what the thing is, but I wanted to surprise you with the fact that it’s finished already, so just open the box already will ya? The suspense is killing me.”

You smirked at him, shaking your head at how cute he was when he rambled awkwardly. “I kinda know what it is,” you repeated as you tugged at the tape that held the box flaps closed, “but it’s a surprise that it’s finished already,” you folded the box flaps out of the way to reveal what looked like a lump of leather material. You gave a little happy gasp when you realized what it was, “My suit?!” you pulled the material out and held it up against your body, grinning at the design and cut of it.

“Surprise!” Cisco exclaimed happily, thrilled with your excited reaction, “I overestimated how long it was gonna take to complete, mostly because I thought adding the system to monitor your vitals would make the suit too bulky in the front, but I figured out a way to do it without – oof!” His sentence was cut short when you rushed to hug him, squeezing the air out of his lungs with your gratitude.

“Thank you, thank you, thank yoooooou!” You squealed as you hugged him, “it’s so awesome, I love it, I love you, gaaaah!” Words failed you as your excitement overflowed within you. Your arms released their death grip on Cisco, only to scoop your suit up once more so that you could hug it close.

Cisco smiled softly watching you, proud of himself for making you so happy. “I love you too,” he told you quietly, waiting for you to finally stop bouncing up and down to ask, “do you mind trying it on for me, so I know I got the measurments right?”

His question stopped you dead in your tracks, your excitement fizzling like a hot pan in cool water. “Try it on?” you repeated hesitantly, “What you mean...right now?” you asked, looking around the empty workspace nervously.

Cisco nodded,”Well yeah, that way I can note any corrections that need to be made, and get them done real quick for ya,” he glanced towards the door before adding, “I’ll keep a look out so nobody walks in on you.”

You nodded slowly, looking down at the suit in your hands as though it were some sort of torture device. “O-ok,” you agreed softly, “ but you have to promise not to look!”

Cisco made an X over his heart and nodded in agreement. “I promise I won’t babe, superhero’s  honor.” He turned around then, heading to the doorway to keep a look out like he’d promised, and despite knowing Cisco was one of the most honest people you’d ever met, it still took you a few minutes to actually begin changing.

You and Cisco had been dating for a few months now, ever since Team Flash recruited you after you intervened in a bank robbery. You two had hit it off practically the moment you met, and with Cisco laying on the sweet talk like a pro, you almost had no choice but to fall for him. He was the sweetest guy you’d ever been with, and definitely not the least attractive, but even after several months of dating, you had yet to take the final plunge…that is to say, the two of you hadn’t had sex. In fact, Cisco hadn’t even seen you naked, any time he spent the night at your place, or he spent the night at yours, you were always carefully clothed in long pajama pants, and a t-shirt, and nothing less. He’d mentioned it once or twice before, joking that he wasn’t going to jump you so you didn’t have to always dress like a nun, but he didn’t press the matter. He respected your boundaries, even if he didn’t know why they were there.

That particular boundary was there, because despite trusting Cisco more than anyone you’d ever met, you still couldn’t bring yourself to share with him your biggest secret: your scars. They makred up and down your thighs like little red stripes, some cross hatching with others, some clustered so close together they almost formed one great splotch of scarred skin. They were a defect, the marks you’d given yourself when your skin would crawl with your insecurities, and the only way to let them out seemed to lie in the razor or box cutter you had on hand. You hated them, and yet you’d put them there, and you couldn’t bring yourself to have that conversation with Cisco, the man who seemed to love you despite your flaws...he didn’t need the burden of your scars on his mind, he didn’t need your darkness to dull his sunshine.

Your hands shook as you shed your pants, dropping them to the floor as fast as you could, before clumsily sticking your feet into the pants of your suit. You told yourself to breathe, just get the pants up over your legs, and then he couldn’t see them, even if he did have to turn around for some reason, just one leg at a time and - “Ahhh!” You were shaking so hard, struggling to get your foot out the leg of one side of the suit’s trousers, the hand you reached out to brace yourself on your desk missed, sending you toppling to the floor painfully.

“Babe?!” Cisco called from the doorway, his hurried footsteps approaching you making you panic even more.

“No!” You cried, unable to think of something better, “Don’t! Don’t look! Cisco stop!” it was too late at that point, he was already there, a hand reached down to touch your shoulders, worried that you were hurt.

“Babe I’m not gonna go crazy just because you’re not wearing pant-” he stopped short as you tried to scramble away from him, the pants around your ankles making it a struggle.

“I told you not to look!” You were crying now, wiggling away from him, while simultaneously trying to fold your body in half to cover your legs. “I didn’t want you to see! Stop looking at me!”

Cisco didn’t seem to be listening, his eyes were fixed on you, his brows knit in compassionate confusion as he tried to decide how to calm you down. “Babe...they’re just scars,” he tried, but even he knew they weren’t ‘just scars’, and he immediately winced as the words came out.

“They’re not!” you snapped at him, kicking the suit’s pants from your ankles and hugging your knees to your chest, “they’re not just scars Cisco, they’re hideous and horrible, and I didn’t want you to see them!” you wanted to be sick, you wanted to run away but you needed pants for that, you felt trapped and exposed, but Cisco wouldn’t stop staring!

“Babe,” he tried again, his voice slow and soft and calm, “I know they’re not...look just forget I said that, ok?” he took a deep breath and continued. “Babe, I know what they are, like...I know what they’re from, why they’re there,” he looked down at his hands for a moment, words failing him now as his frown deepened. He started moving then, without another word, he unbuttoned his own pants, pulling them down and kicking them off along with his shoes. You watched him in frightened confusion, wondering why on earth this situation called for you both to be pantsless, but when he lifted the left leg of his boxers, you realized exactly what he was doing.

“Are...are those…?” You nodded to the thin lines on his leg, so high up they were nearly on his hip.

Cisco nodded. “They’re not as extensive as yours, but still,” he traced them with his finger for a moment, then resettled the leg of his boxers and shrugged, “I started cutting in college, I was just so stressed...everything felt so pointless y’know? I mean I was doing well in my classes and everything, but nobody but me seemed to care. My parents didn’t even know what I was majoring in,” he let out a quiet bitter little laugh, “when I got recruited to work here, I finally felt like I was worth something, so I stopped, and then I made all these friends, and things started looking up, and I just… I decided I was better off without it,” he crouched down then, sitting cross legged on the floor a few feet from you. “I did start up again after things got...well when we found out Dr. Wells wasn’t really Dr. Wells, I got two in before I realized I still had so much going for me. Thawne was a dick, but I still had Caitlin, and Barry, and then Ronnie came back, and I just,” he shook his head, “I’m rambling now, I know, but the point is -”

You didn’t get to hear what his point was, you didn’t need to. You got up on your knees, shuffling closer to him as fast as you could, before nearly knocking him to the ground with another hug. This one wasn’t as giddy, but it was still firm, and full of even more gratitude than the first one had been, because you felt as though he’d reached inside you, and taken some awful dark mass from your soul. He hugged you back, his hand reaching up to stroke your hair gently, while the other rubbed up and down your back.

“I love you Cisco,” you mumbled against his hair, “I love you so much, I don’t even know how to tell you, but I do.” You squeezed him a little tighter, and he squeezed you right back, humming happily in your ear.

“I’m sorry I found out like this,” he apologized sincerely, “but I’m glad we know each other’s secrets now, because guess what babe,” he pulled back so that he could see your face when he answered his own question with, “I love you too.” You laughed, a happy laugh, and leaned in to kiss him. The kiss was soft at first, but deepened slightly as he leaned into you, his hand wrapping around the back of your head tenderly to bring you closer. Suddenly he pulled away, a look of embarrassment and frustration on his face as he did so. “Woo, ok no more of that now,” he said quickly, biting his lips together for a moment, before listing several names under his breath, two of which you recognised as Joe, and his brother Dante.

You frowned at him, completely confused for a moment or two, before you looked down and clapped a hand over your mouth. “Oh my god Cisco!” You cried, giggling like a school girl at the half hard erection tenting his boxers, “It was just a kiss!”

“It was just a kiss,” he mimicked you, “yeah, but we’re both not wearing pants, and we just had an emotional moment, and you’re hot anyway, so stop laughing!” he begged, laughing slightly himself, “it’s a natural thing ok? It’s nothing to giggle about!”

You couldn’t stop giggling however, you were too flattered, and a little bit embarassed for him. “Do you still want me to try the suit on?” you asked, trying to move force your focus elsewhere.

Cisco nodded, looking up a the ceiling. “The suit, a pair of sweat pants, anything really, just cover up so I can stop staring at your cute underwear.”

You giggled some more, easily slipping the suit’s pants on now that you weren’t shaking like a leaf in a storm. Cisco stayed on the floor for a moment, staring up at the ceiling, listing even more names, among which you caught Hartley Rathaway, and Henry Allen, before he was finally calmed down enough to put his pants back on. He stood smiling sheepishly at you as he zipped his fly.

You regarded him fondly for a moment, your eyes finding their way back to the patch of skin, now hidden by his jeans and boxers, lined with scars like yours, a sigh falling from your lips. “Did you ever...” you began, biting your lip a little nervously before you asked, “did you ever, um, show them to anyone else?”

Cisco shook his head. “No actually, I haven’t,” he replied, “no one has ever really, uh...wanted to see what’s under my clothes?” he shrugged as you giggled again, “so yeah, you’re the only one who’s seen my battle scars.”

“Battle scars?” you repeated with a frown, “what do you mean?”

He smiled at you, pointing to your legs. “Well that’s what they are, aren’t they? Whatever made you do that, and me do this...it wasn’t something nice.” he touched a finger to his temple, his smile still in place. “Mental illness is just that, it’s an illness, and what do you do with an illness? You fight it. Some illnesses you fight with antibiotics, some you fight with chicken soup and some rest, and some,” he tapped the finger on his temple for emphasis, “you’re not sure how to fight, because they’re tricky, they’re inside your brain, so they gum up the gears and make things confused. So we fight them with what we think works, and sometimes it leaves us with scars, but that doesn’t make us any less, it just means we’re fighters.”

You nodded, feeling fresh tears welling up in your eyes at his words. “Battle scars,” you repeated, prodding your legs through the fabric of your trousers, “I like the sound of that.”

[veratro-blog]

Really  LONG  CHARACTER  SURVEY.     RULES.  repost, don’t reblog !!     TAGGED.  no one in particular.    TAGGING. @oceanxcbeauty @wingsofhubris @seafled @saecris @canisbitch && anyone else that wants to do it.

BASICS.

FULL  NAME : Night Hellebore NICKNAME :  Nuit AGE :  18 BIRTHDAY :  November 20 ETHNIC  GROUP : Mistralian NATIONALITY :   Mistralian LANGUAGE / S* : Remnant’s equivalent of English. He knows the basics of French and a few Latin words.  SEXUAL  ORIENTATION :  homosexual ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION :   biromantic RELATIONSHIP  STATUS :   taken by Ebene Darwitch nearer the end of his first year at Beacon, and single by the end and onward. SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS :   lower class HOMETOWN / AREA :   Mistral CURRENT  HOME :   Beacon PROFESSION : hunter in training

PHYSICAL.

HAIR : black messy nest of long hair with a blue tinted fringe. EYES :  dull grey NOSE : regular. FACE : smooth and averagely sized, not much definition on the cheekbones. LIPS :  pale regular. COMPLEXION : fair skinned. BLEMISHES : none. SCARS : light scars on knee and a small burn mark on his left hand thumb. TATTOOS :  right arm shoulder and chest with an abstract image of a panther running through a field of stars, which are a specific constellation that Night finds pretty. HEIGHT : 6′  WEIGHT : 140 lbs BUILD : Slight, with some lean muscle. NOTABLE FEATURES : A panther tail, dark black fur. ALLERGIES : bullshit USUAL  HAIR  STYLE :  insanely messy and all over the place, typical bed head look but styled to look that way. Long fringe and slightly shorter sides. USUAL  FACE  LOOK : content. Doesn’t have resting bitch face. USUAL CLOTHING : sleeveless hoodie cut diagonally across and separated into black and white, with the hood being black. Black slim fit jeans and similarly coloured combat boots don his lower half. As for accessories, he wears a thin chain around his neck that connects to a vial filled with lavender petals, and when not wearing his weapon he wears several bracelets. On his jeans, a chain stretches across and around his right side and carries vials of dust usually.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR / S : Nyx’s nightmares. The effects of Nyx’s Nightmares has been known to cause shell shock in the most damaged people’s minds, Night worries that if one day Nyx needs to use Night as part of his semblance, the fear he would experience would be incomparable to anything he’d ever experienced before. Also, the middle of the ocean, open spaces. ASPIRATION / S :  to find someone who he can share his life with in comfort, without the pain of the real world. To be with his brother forever and to have a lot of close friends. He wishes to be talented and respected alike, and wants to better himself as a hunter in order to achieve the respect he feels he deserves. POSITIVE  TRAITS :  academically intelligent, optimistic, patient, loving, tolerant, good listener, modest. NEGATIVE  TRAITS :  quick to judge, lazy, defeatist, doesn’t stand up for himself, poor memory. MBTI :   ENFP-T (campaigner) ZODIAC :   scorpio TEMPEREMENT :  phlegmatic SOUL  TYPE / S :  hunter, caregiver, thinker ANIMALS :  swan VICE  HABIT / S : stress smoking, fidgeting, incapability to sit still, clicking fingers randomly..

FAITH : atheist. GHOSTS ? :   yes. AFTERLIFE ? :   no. REINCARNATION ? :  maybe. ALIENS ? :  definitely yes. POLITICAL  ALIGNMENT :  he hates politics. ECONOMIC  PREFERENCE : he does fine as is with minimum wage job considering he’s a faunus and all. SOCIOPOLITICAL  POSITION : n/a EDUCATION  LEVEL : Hunter in training.

FAMILY.

FATHER :   Jaime Erebus MOTHER :   Lavender Hellebore SIBLINGS :   Nyx Hellebore EXTENDED  FAMILY :   Paternal grandparents and large extended family in Vale, maternal cousin in Mistral. NAME  MEANING / S :  Night, the colour of the sky, and Hellebore, a flower representing scandal and calumny.. HISTORICAL  CONNECTION ? : Bagheera the panther from the Jungle Book.

FAVORITES.

BOOK :  he never liked reading as a kid, he struggled to maintain focus. The only book he’s ever really read is the book of the language of flowers. MOVIE : superhero films are the one for him. And anything to do with space too. 5  SONGS : Jet Black Heart, RUN, Missing You, A Sky Full Of Stars, Work For It.

DEITY :  he wishes. HOLIDAY :  Remnants equivalent of Christmas/Easter/New Year. MONTH :   November SEASON :   Autumn PLACE :   Mistral, where his mother is buried beneath a great willow tree. WEATHER :   clear skies and no breeze. SOUND :  bird song. SCENT / S :  lavender. TASTE / S :   profiteroles. FEEL / S : Ebene’s jumper. ANIMAL / S :   felines.  NUMBER :   3. COLORS :  midnight blue.

EXTRA.

TALENTS :   fighting, leadership, balance, flexibility, agility, moderate artistic capability, guitar, piano, singing, emphasising with others, comforting others BAD  AT :  directions, taking heavy hits, inspiring others, arguing, stopping himself from thirsting over hot dudes, commitment, forgetting where he puts things. TURN  ONS : everything. TURN  OFFS : intimidatingly huge people.  HOBBIES :   flower arranging, performing musically, running. TROPES :  panther stereotypes, lonesome likes to climb trees and lazy.  AESTHETIC  TAGS :  midnight blue, smoke, night, black, dark,  QUOTES : (1) “ Now, now. I know how you feel. But you must remember, Mowgli. Greater love hath no one than he who lays down his life for his friend.” - Bagheera (2) “ This is the law of the jungle it's old and it's true as the sky And the wolf that should keep it may prosper but the wolf who will break it must die. For the strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack.” - Bagheera & others 

FC INFO.

MAIN  FC / S : Jong Won Jin ALT  FC / S :  Sadao Maou OLDER  FC / S : N/A YOUNGER  FC / S :   N/A VOICE  CLAIM / S : Lu Han GENDERBENT  FC / S :  N/A

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 :   if  you  could  write  your  character  your  way  in  their  own movie ,   what  would  it  be  called ,  what  style  would  it  be filmed  in ,  and  what  would  it  be  about ? A1 :  A movie similar in style to Final Fantasy XV: Kingsglaive mixed with Harry Potter, with things happening fairly fast and being rather beautiful and showing off all the magic of this world before it turns dark and transforms from light hearted to desperate and fast as the movie or movie series continues.

Q2 :   what  would  their  soundtrack / score  sound  like ? A2 :  I love the soundtrack for Doctor Who, so maybe something along those lines for the first half of Night’s story, which then transitions into something much darker and heavier as the going gets tougher.

Q3 :   why  did  you  start  writing  this  character ? A3 :  It was actually in like year 10, when I was about 14 me and my friend started watching RWBY and we made up ourselves a bunch of teams and it was just for fun as we created weapons and stuff and used our elements that we discovered on an online test and were really proud of as semblances for these characters. We then morphed a bunch of our other friends into characters and soon we had 3 teams of 4. And at the time we were just sorta throwing ideas around about RWBY and stuff until one day I decide to write a story about these characters and my friend was kinda pressuring me into putting us into story form and at first I was like, yeah it’ll be cool, but I soon realised I wanted something more serious than that, and rewrote every single character and only maintained some of the major traits. I didn’t want to feel like I was writing a story about them so I changed their names their personalities and their backgrounds and carried on. Then it came to tumblr roleplaying and I decided that in order to develop Night, the oc I based off of myself at first, I needed to make him as different to me as possible. And tumblr is really helping me do that, now I don’t feel trapped in this mindset where I feel like I’m writing in some vain perspective about myself, and Night has become an entity separate to me but still close to me, and I feel a lot more freedom to change him into something greater.

Q4 :   what  first  attracted  you  to  this  character ? A4 :  I’m just incredibly proud of him. The backstory I’ve created for him has taken me almost a year to formulate, and I’m still not quite 100% certain on the details, but I think for what it is currently it deserves some credit.

Q5 :   describe  the  biggest  thing  you  dislike  about  your  muse. A5 :   I think the biggest thing I disliked originally was how self insert Night felt. Now though, after I’ve changed him up a whole lot, that isn’t an issue, so I suppose the biggest thing now is how uninspiring he is. Like I don’t really write him as much of a leader despite being one, but maybe that’s just him being lazy. I’m not really sure.

Q6 :   what  do  you  have  in  common  with  your  muse ? A6 :   Now? Not much apart from some elements of the backstory. I chose to do that because I think it’d be easier to write a character going through similar things to what I’ve gone through. Other than that, probably our patience and tolerance. 

Q7 :  how  does  your  muse  feel  about  you ? A7 :  “awkward, and terrible at breaking habits.”

Q8 :   what  characters  does  your  muse  have  interesting  interactions  with ? A8 :   Nyx, his brother, as they have a strange sibling relationship. Timber Wolfe, his closest friend and wisest person Night knows, but she’s got the mind of a 27 year old. 

Q9 :   what  gives  you  inspiration  to  write  your  muse ? A9 :   every oc blog I see on tumblr. 

Q10 :   how  long  did  this  take  you  to  complete ? A10 :   two days lmao.

[talkagency]

TOP TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT BLOG POST

Every great website needs a great blog. That’s just the way it is. But blogs can be tough work, especially if you don’t often write yourself.

Don’t stress. You’re not in school anymore. You won’t get graded by haughty teachers but by everyday people like you and me.

To write a winning blog, you don’t need much. You don’t need to put on a show or try to come up with fancy words and complex syntax structure. You don’t need to sound clever. You just need to be you. That’s what people relate to the most.

Today we want to show you the art of writing awesome blogs that cover all those readability and SEO check boxes. Once you know how, you will change the way you blog forever.

A Great Start for Your Blog

  You’ve heard this before, but let us repeat it one more time: Headlines are crucial! A headline can make or break a good post. A good headline intrigues and captivates readers. If a headline is interesting enough, then the Internet God will reward it with many, many clicks.

Some writers prefer coming up with a headline and sticking to it throughout, shaping the whole article around it. Others try to capture the essence of the post by writing the headline last. There’s not really one technique that works best.

The same is true for introductions. If you find yourself struggling with introductions, consider jumping straight to the point and returning to finish the introductory parts later. Jump straight into the action and write all the important bits first. You won’t forget anything and once you’re done, you’ll have a clear idea of what your introduction should look like.

Headlines are to readers what cereal and sweet boxes are to children. Of course, content is important too, but you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. The packaging should be interesting and enticing.

Keep it short and simple. You can experiment by forming the headline into a question. Find something that will make your headline stand out. Your introduction shouldn’t just be a list. Let your imagination run wild. Offer your readers a taste of what’s to come. They’ll have to see what it’s all about. They’ll want to know.  

Stay Focused… It’s Important

  Storytelling time! English studies, first year. Kate had just finished reading Jane Eyre and had to write a 3,000-word review of the most overrated novel ever. She’d half-read it… and found it extremely boring.  It was so slow and lengthy and seemed to go nowhere.

With unrelenting will and a desire to make it to second year, she managed to hand in her incomprehensibly boring review in the nick of time, only to find out that it was 2,700 words over the word limit.

Yep, she’d read the instructions wrong; several times. She swore it was 3,000 words, but there it was now: 300; clear as day. It made for a good laugh, but needless to say, she wasn’t very happy… especially as she loathed Jane Eyre with a passion. And what could have been an awesome review was instead slow, lengthy and seemed to go nowhere…

Moral of the story: stay focused. Never forget why you’re writing and don’t write excessively long posts just to meet an imaginary word count. Write because you know something and want to share it with the world.  To promote your brand or product. Create an outline and stick to it.

Start by figuring out how long your post should be: 500 words, 1000 words, 3000 words? Unfortunately, when it comes to blog writing, there’s no magic number. Search engines seem to favour articles around the 1000 word mark, but a longer in-depth post or guide that’s informative and authoritative could really catapult you to the top… so long as it’s relevant and well received.

Honest and Informative

The actual body of your post should include information that your reader finds valuable and interesting. No matter how good your headline is, if your content is boring or misleading, readers will press that back button and never look back.

Stick to what you do know and avoid writing about things you’re not too familiar with. Get your facts straight and don’t forget to give credit to your sources. Every post should feel like a new adventure.

It’s not always easy knowing what your audience wants to read, especially if you’re just starting out. But a good grasp of your target audience will make writing just so much easier: knowing what kind of information they’re after, knowing what they’d like to read.

What can you do? If you have a blog, then we assume you’re on social media too. You could simply ask. You can, for example, insert polls directly into your Facebook posts. Think of several topics that you’re working on and have people vote on the one they like best—Democracy at its finest!

Identify your demographic by taking advantage of Google analytics. Analytics can help you better understand who your readers are by giving you more information about their age, gender and location. You can also find out what devices your readers mostly view your content on, which could help with formatting. Read more about Google Analytics here!

Appearances Matter

A killer headline will grab the reader’s attention. An equally good picture will ensure countless clicks. It’s all about making a good first impression.

80% of marketers use visual assets in their social media marketing, while tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images.

Vision is our most valued sense. We’re great at memorising images; text, not so much. If you hear a piece of information, you’ll only remember about 10% of it three days later. If you add a picture to go along with it, you’ll remember about 65% of it.

    Same goes for text. The truth is that text is highly inefficient. Even after years of reading and writing processes, text fails to stimulate the brain the same way vision does. By combining image and text, our brains create strong links between a given text and image. We’re more likely to recall text that had a picture attached to it. We actually recall the picture first, and the text follows.

If you can, you should also add images in the main body of the post. Use a free online image source, such as Pixabay. Images separate chunks of text, making your content more readable, meaning that there’s a higher chance that your readers will actually get to the end.

Keywords Don’t Come Easy

If your goal is to rank high, you’ll need to make sure you nail them keywords. Your title should include the main keyword and so should your introduction and conclusion.

This is not to say that you should stuff your blog post with irrelevant keywords. Now, that’s a recipe for disaster. Aim for a keyword density of about 2% and weave some long-tail keywords into your content too. Long-tail keywords are just larger keywords that can help you rank with less competitive, more specific searches.

Don’t forget meta descriptions. If you don’t specify one, Google will automatically generate one for you by picking something out of the main text (usually a few sentences from your introduction).

Meta descriptions are important because they are the first piece of information a reader sees after reading a headline. They aren’t there just for show. A good meta description brings traffic. A bad one doesn’t.

Proofread

    Mistakes happen. Okay, we get it. We’re all human after all. This is why we’ve focused mainly on advice that will improve the quality of your content

However, too many typos or grammar/syntax mistakes can ruin an otherwise flawless post. The best thing about typos is that they are so easily fixable. It literally takes five minutes to go through a post before hitting that submit button—so do it.

It’s always good if you can get someone else to proofread your work for you. It may be hard to catch some typos, even after going through your text several times. Try reading everything aloud. If something doesn’t sound right, it should probably go.

Don’t spend too much time looking for mistakes or trying to come up with the perfect sentence. Most readers will ignore an honest typo (or two or three), provided that they’re satisfied with your content. Focus on what’s important. Be honest. Be you.

For more writing tips, make sure you check out this post too!

Article first published here: TOP TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT BLOG POST

[yungtal333]

Hello dolls.

And, welcome back to Roseconnexa!

Before we start reading this post…

We should center ourselves for the one time:

Breath in slowly and deeply,

Now exhale slowly using your mouth.

Okay, now that that’s over.. we can get right into this post. Okur!

Happy Wednesday. 

I know you love hump day just as much as I do. 

It’s the middle of the week.. which means the work week is almost ovaaa!

WOOT WOOT. 

And, I love Wednesdays because I get to promote and recognize our #INSPOBAE of the week!

This week I’m bringing you a vlogger.

She started her channel to embrace her journey of self-love and self-care. 

I have known her since my freshman year in college.

I don’t know why we clinged to each other but, I just always loved her sweet soul.

And, she’s pretty funny too. 

She’s one of those friends that has no drama and we always had a good time together.

She has really inspired me which is why I knew I had to feature this goddess on Roseconnexa.

So without further ado..

I present to you all my interview with this week’s #INSPOBAE:

Semone Allen aka @birthmarkbliss

Hey Semone,

Thank you so much for joining me today on Roseconnexa.

Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

I’m Semone, a 26-year-old wine drinker with the home girl vibe. I was born with a Nevus of Ota birthmark across the right side of my face and I want to bring more awareness to it, and other types, as I continue to embrace it. 

What do you want your legacy to be? Or what is your life’s mission statement?

I want to show people how being themselves can open them to endless possibilities. For so long we as a society have been shaped to fit a mold and I just want to show people that they can truly exist beyond societies standards. When you truly walk in your purpose the blessings multiply and who’s not ready for that?!

What inspired you to start Birthmark Bliss?

This page is basically a gift to my younger self. I was so insecure growing up because of the constant stares and rude questions. Some people would walk up to me and say, “So did you get punched in the face or what?” Those questions hurt me, not only because of the sharp delivery but because the answer never seemed to satisfy them. Telling them I was born like this still didn’t register with them, they needed some wild ass story to confirm their imagination.The fact that on January 14, 1993 a Queen was born with an extra patch of melanin didn’t cut it for them. I began to hide behind make up to erase the questions. 

 A year ago I just said screw it, they’ll either love it or hate it and I don’t care either way. I made my page and the out-poor of support from family and friends was amazing. Most importantly I started to find people within my community. This whole time I thought I was alone in the world but I was receiving DMs from people in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and all across the US who I call my birthmark twins. We just love and uplift one another and that’s been my motivation to keep the page going.

How did you become so comfortable in your skin?

Being comfortable in my skin is a continuous journey. There’s a lot of de-programming going, but my number one thing is to not compare myself to others. I recognize that I have one body so I need to cherish it and that all starts with the mind. I talk to myself with love and that flows into other areas of my life. 

What advice would you give to others who struggle with accepting their birthmark(s)?

If you have a birthmark, I want you to know that you are dope as hell. God had his hand in making you so don’t ever shrink yourself from experiencing your full potential.

What motivates you from day-to-day?

I finally felt it in my spirit that I’m operating in my purpose and that’s what makes me so happy to wake up in the morning. This page and these relationships that I’m developing have the capacity to take me farther than I’ve ever imagined. I don’t feel alone in the world anymore, so giving that feeling to someone else is my motivation. 

How do you manage keeping a balanced lifestyle?

I’m learning to leave things where they are. I leave work at work. I don’t let someone’s behavior rub off on me like a contagion of negativity. Living in the moment is key.

Who would you say is your biggest inspiration? And, why?

My sisters’ are my biggest inspiration. I’m the middle of 3 girls and both of my sisters are so unapologetic about who they are and it’s so inspiring. I’m coming out of my shell because they’ve shown me that it’s ok to do and say what’s on your mind.

What is your #1 beauty secret?

I use raw aloe on my body and I honestly don’t feel like myself without it. An aloe leaf costs less than $3 but has so many functions and has been keeping this baby face poppin!

What is the best advice that you ever received?

*Inserts clap emojis* Get rid of the timeline you have made for yourself!!! This doesn’t mean to just drop everything and go with the flow because I’m an avid believer in having direction. It’s the OBSESSION that had my anxiety at an all time high and contributed to bad decisions just to meet a fabricated deadline. Life happens and opportunity may not present itself when you want it, but it will come and you’ll know when it’s right.

Wow Semone, you are so beautiful and so brave. 

I can def. relate to your feelings towards your beauty mark. I have extra boob meat in my under arms. Growing up; I was so insecure about it. I would never wear tank tops because I was so ashamed. No one ever made fun of me but that’s because no one really knew. I always always hid it. But, today I don’t care! I’m so comfortable with them now. My under arm boob meat occasionally makes an appearance in my pictures. I play with them in front of my fiance from time to time too! I never did that ever. I love them and embarce them as a unqiue part of me. 

You said it best “being comfortable in my skin is a continuous journey.” Our bodies (espeically as women) continously change. We have to be patient with ourselves. Change what we can and accept what we can not change. Only compare yourself to the old verison of you. Like Semone said, we only have one body. You can hate yourself and suffer. Or you can love your being; including your flaws and learn to be happy. Happiness is not a desitnation- I remind you; rather happiness is a jounrey. You have to continously work towards it because as we all know life experiences will test your happiness. And, it all starts in your mind. You can let your mind run you or you can run your mind. 

Walking in your purpose is a great motivator for sure. When you understand and surrender to your purspoe; you become a different creature. It so beautiful how you opened up about your struggles. And, on top of that you made a page dedicated to it! I am so happy that you have found your purpose and passion for helping others in your own way. All while you helping yourself in the process. 

Semone, you really added so much to my life and my blog by doing this interview. Your transparency is so appreciated. I love that I have a platform to promote young ladies such as yourself. You are paving a path for so many!

We thank you!!!

  You can follow Semone on IG @semone14 and @birthmarkbliss <—–Just CLICK the links to follow her. 

Her youtube channel is BirthmarBliss <—– Just CLICK that link. Subcribe to her channel and watch some of her videos. You will LOVE. 

She is the cutest and I already told y’all that she’s funny! So, don’t miss her vlogs. 

We would like to thank all our readers for showing up and supporting us today.

We appreciate you guys so much!

If you like this post; then click here to check out Roseconnexa’s last #INSPOBAE. You don’t want to miss her! Go read and get even more inspired. 

Do you know someone who deserves to be recognized for being a bad ass lady? Well, why are you waiting? Send me her name asap!!!! You can comment down below or send me a personal message; here or on my instagram. I’m always looking for new #INSPOBAES. 

Special thanks to this week’s #INSPOBAE, Semone. This was a great interview and I thank you for being apart of Roseconnexa. You are inspiring and we are tuned in, to your journey. Continue to walk in your purspose. 

As always dolls,

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Until next time….

Stay Happy, Grateful and Aware. xoxo

With love,

Troi. 

#INSPOBAE Birthmark Beauty and Youtuber Semone Allen Hello dolls. And, welcome back to Roseconnexa! Before we start reading this post... We should center ourselves for the one time:

[therkelsen43godwin-blog]

yeast face mask Fundamentals Explained

You should use this moisturizing mask various times per week should you’d like. It’s extremely gentle on this pores and skin. Blackheads tend to be brought on by oily pores and skin, using rich and weighty cosmetics in your face, or failure to cleanse your face and pores and skin correctly. I feel the admin of this Web page is genuinely Doing the job difficult for his Site, as in this article each things is high quality based info. Warning: Do a patch take a look at very first to check for any allergic reaction to gelatin. Also, never leave the mask for much too long to the pores and skin as it is going to harden up and will be challenging to peel off. We could use conversion tracking pixels from marketing networks for instance Google AdWords, Bing Adverts, and Facebook as a way to determine when an ad has productively resulted in the specified motion, including signing up with the HubPages Service or publishing an posting over the HubPages Services. You can utilize honey as a home cure to brighten the skin complexion in the subsequent ways: Mixing juice of 1 tomato using a teaspoon of honey helps reduce tan marks, brighten pores and skin complexion and eliminate spots & blemishes. Twice per week, therapeutic massage the mix around the face for 5 minutes and go away it to relaxation for one more 15 minutes in advance of rinsing it off with faucet drinking water for wanted results. Add 1 tsp honey to among the lemon halves. Mix the primary 4 components within a bowl, and include three tablespoons hot, strong inexperienced tea to the combination. Stir consistently for a couple of minutes, including tea as needed till you’ve developed a thick paste. Cinnamon can often be annoying if your skin is admittedly sensitive, so you might like to do a patch test to the back again of your hand first. I also obtain if you are taking brown sugar and mix it with jojoba oil that it helps make an excellent facial scrub and its A lot milder on the skin specifically for mature skin tones. All over again fantastic article! Mainly because https://zephyrlyric11.kinja.com/ is so impressive, I might propose only working with this honey mask as soon as each week at most. You need to use one of many other, gentler honey masks on other days when you’d like. Dark chocolate can performs wonders when it comes to perking up our moods and giving us a boost of antioxidants, when consumed. If used topically, Additionally you get the key benefits of its anti-ageing Houses, which enable the manufacture of collagen. Puree the papaya inside a foods processor or blender right until just mashed evenly, and after that Mix in another substances by hand. homemade facial around your face, staying away from your eyes, and Allow it sit for ten-15 minutes. Wipe or rinse your face cleanse, and smile at your self during the mirror. will not offer professional medical tips, diagnosis, or treatment. Any data revealed on this Web site or by this manufacturer just isn't intended as an alternative for health care tips, and you shouldn't choose any action before consulting that has a healthcare Experienced. Preserve for twenty minutes and rinse off. Coupled with Mild exfoliation, it provides you with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory benefit and honey as generally will moisturize your skin.

An Unbiased View of diy face mask

Soon after I rinsed, my face felt smoother than a silk pillow and was, in actual fact, so luminous that my spouse questioned if I had been testing a fresh face cream. A completely new face product—ideal, that’s it.” August two, 2014 at eight:19 pm Hello there! I\'m attempting the redness-reducing mask for rosacea - I\'ve only utilized a small little bit on my face when compared to what the recipe created, can I hold it in the fridge for a few days to use yet again or do I must come up with a new combination when? I've my fingers crossed it works! Thanks! No HTML is authorized in opinions, but URLs will probably be hyperlinked. Opinions will not be for marketing your posts or other internet sites. There are several crucial nutrients in Strawberry that make it a very important foodstuff for pores and skin, both when eaten and utilized topically. For illustration, strawberry has superior levels of salicylic acid, which is broadly readily available in chemical sort with the remedy of acne. Additionally, cinnamon supplies a microdermabrasion impact on the skin by sloughing off micro organism and useless pores and skin cells. Blogger Stephanie Sterjovski is sharing a selfmade face mask that could leave the skin sensation clean, clean, and moisturized. Lemons are crammed with AHA’s and BHA’s which take away useless skin cells and support very clear up blackheads, acne, and discoloration, although honey is usually a purely natural antioxidant and antibacterial. This really is used to establish distinct browsers or equipment when the obtain the service, and is particularly useful for safety reasons. I’ve been working with an historical Asian masks for a couple of days now and my pores and skin feels excellent! The recipe for a massive bowl is: one spoon of pure termeric powder (yellow-brownish spice), two spoons of pure honey, two spoons of all pure yogurt ( any will do), 2 spoons of brown rice powder, 50 % of the lemon, and you can increase one egg white but the egg white isn’t in the initial recipe. A bit cinnamon oil can be utilized with the coconut oil, but I would only use a fall or two in a little jar of coconut oil–a lot more than which can burn the skin. Much like coffee, cocoa much too is a superb supply of antioxidants. Yogurt is really a normal source of alpha hydroxy acid, a pure exfoliation compound that helps in breaking down the dead skin cells. To make the face mask, you will need four tablespoons of ground coffee beans, 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder and six to eight tablespoons of unflavored yogurt. Info: The citric acid in lemon juice is a wonderful cleanser, and so is milk. Yogurt can be a good cleanser, in addition to a great softener. This is very important because employing lemon juice by yourself can make your skin experience stretched and dried. Recommendations: Works very best when clean. Let the combination stand for about 10 minutes in advance of implementing it to the acne-affected areas. Do not forget that summer time when exposed to large temperatures the yeast speedily eliminate their beneficial Homes. Warning: Ensure if you are allergic to any from the ingredients within the mask by applying it on a small patch in your wrist and afterwards await several hours. If rashes look or when you display other signs or symptoms of allergy, never use this mask on your face.

coffee face mask No Further a Mystery

Also, these peels may be soaked in boiling h2o for every day as well as the resultant liquid can be employed as a skin toner. You may as well use it being a hair rinse to add shine on your hair and eradicate dandruff.   Blogger Stephanie Sterjovski is sharing a selfmade face mask which will leave your skin experience contemporary, clean up, and moisturized. Lemons are full of AHA’s and BHA’s which remove lifeless pores and skin cells and support very clear up blackheads, acne, and discoloration, although honey can be a purely natural antioxidant and antibacterial. Applying orange peels to produce face masks may possibly just sound a little ludicrous but it surely’s the most effective ways to ensure glowing, more youthful hunting pores and skin. Here’s how you may make them from the consolation of your own home. Get it done yourself: Which has a potato masher, mash the sugar as well as açai powder or slush With all the berries, then little by little insert the olive oil; Merge coarsely using a whisk. Massage to the face. Go away on for about 5 minutes, then rinse with heat h2o. This company enables you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you could make funds from adverts with your posts. No info is shared Unless of course you engage using this type of aspect. (Privateness Coverage) The feel reminded me of papier-mâché; it had been awesome, chunky, and gritty and dried into a delicate shell. Following rinsing, I'd a skinny film on my skin that appeared to iron out my wrinkles a tiny bit—temporarily, in any case. And Once i woke up the next early morning, my pores and skin was definitely additional hydrated.” Make an egg white face mask. Egg whites can tighten pores, giving you A brief face elevate, as lemon has vitamin C that will take out blackheads together with other blemishes. Conquer just one egg white with a fork till It truly is frothy. Another excellent study! This is A further terrific suggestion for honey: it works great on pink eye and staph bacterial infections! I'd pink eye a handful of periods, about four decades back when my oldest son was in daycare. None of the prescribed eye drops seemed to be helping, but black tea and honey did the trick! Also, I had a staph infection and once again, the antibiotics were not accomplishing Considerably to distinct it up. If you're able to not buy a 'Stay' yeast, in Intense cases, appear up and dry. They're going to also be a terrific effect, just not as Plainly marked as in fresh new yeast. To complete your registration you should enter the verification code you acquired on your own mobile. In the event you have not received the verification code, remember to SMS REWARDME to 9223347100 Thank you for his post. My teenage son has struggled with acne and we are trying a variety of different things at this moment. Now, Allow the skin soak up all this goodness for 15-half-hour (dependant upon how sensitive the skin is). Wash absent with warm drinking water, finishing with 1 splash of cold water to close your pores. Pat gently using a towel to dry. Let the skin breathe for the rest of the day, or comply with up with your favorite moisturizer/serum. It's a bit drying, but usual moisturizer procedure Later on would do the job (however I normally hold out a tiny bit soon after masks, don't need to use just about anything while pores are open. Take 1 tbsp of orange peel powder and a couple of tbsp of yogurt. Mix perfectly. Use on face and wash off immediately after 20 minutes to acquire apparent, fresh new, and toned up limited searching pores and skin. That is An immediate rejuvenating face pack which you'll be able to use prior to a celebration or any major occasion.

Facts About yeast face mask Revealed

All the knowledge & content material offered on the positioning is meant to be for informational reasons only, and not a substitute for Skilled or professional medical guidance. You should normally speak with your health care provider prior to deciding to comply with just about anything that you choose to Continue reading this Web site. Despite the fact that the yeast facial masks are really practical with the pores and skin, have this facility and contraindications: When you have weakened pores and skin, there are actually scratches, cuts, you do laser resurfacing, then right until it is completely healed, It isn't essential to come up with a mask with yeast; Employing vinegar being a skin toner dates back to the time of Helen of Troy, and it’s equally as productive now. Once you clean your face, mix 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar with 2 cups h2o as being a ending rinse to cleanse and tighten the skin. Now spread the paste Similarly and gently utilizing your fingertips over the thoroughly clean neck and face; keep the eye region clear. थायरॉइड से पीड़ित महिलाओं के लिए क्यों है बेस्ट दवा है ”अश्वगंधा ”? For those who have any concern or remark, be sure to go away them under, I will reply you once I'm able to. Also you'll be able to share your encounter if you know another strawberry face mask recipes to us. Mash all of the elements with each other, but don't puree within a blender: you desire this for being spreadable, not a liquid. Implement evenly throughout your face and let sit 8-ten minutes. Wipe off using a heat, damp facecloth and then rinse with cool drinking water. Pat dry. Now, massage utilizing your damp fingertips for 2 minutes and after that leave to dry for approximately 15 minutes. many thanks very much, i`d tried using it when for my spouse and she adore it, I'm creating some far more for her once again. Go away the combination on the face for a minimum of five minutes prior to rinsing it off. You can even attempt these straightforward Do-it-yourself face masks that may help unclog your pores. Want to turn each day right into a excellent pores and skin day? Want to know how one can continue to keep the skin young, contemporary, and glowing 24/seven? Every individual desires to feel and look their ideal all of the time. Our assurance is immediately proportionate to just how we come to feel about ourselves. Deriving the ideal outside of yourself is however a endeavor that may be tremendously assisted with the usage of clever goods. As an added reward, vinegar even allows equilibrium your skin’s sensitive pH. Here’s the way to put it to very good use. Orange peel face mask is an incredibly productive in concentrating on issues including blackheads, acne, clogged pores, dull skin and oiliness. Having said that, before you make an orange peel face pack, it’s crucial that you 1st learn the way to produce orange peel powder. Usually there are some elements which you almost can’t go Completely wrong with in DIY skincare. And honey is definitely at the very best in the listing. This kitchen area pantry staple has been used in food items and medicine Considering that the Stone Age. Listed here’s why the skin enjoys it, also.

honey face mask Secrets

Be sure to Assemble your hair away out of your face prior to making use of this mask. Placed on a headband or plastic shower cap to prevent the combination from happening your hair. Any wellness query questioned on This page is going to be noticeable to your individuals who search This page. For this reason, the user assumes the responsibility never to divulge any Individually identifiable information from the dilemma. Use of This website is topic to our Phrases & Problems. Browse our privacy coverage If you are Doubtful whether or not you need to make yeast mask to the face, it is possible to often check with a dermatologist and cosmetologist. That may identify your skin style, problems and therapies. To maintain pimples away, use orange peel mask. Additionally, it cleans your pores of the Grime and oil and stop blackhead also. If the time elapses, gently and extensively rinse your face and pat it dry having a towel. Your face should have a beautiful glow and come to feel silky and comfortable! Mash these strawberries and subsequent incorporate the honey and product. Combine this until you've got a easy moreover uniform material. So, Should you be gathering the kelp your self, prevent extremely polluted spots. If you're buying it, Be certain that it truly is collected and produced in a spot with as very low a amount of pollution as is possible. B natural vitamins refresh and tone the pores and skin, boost blood circulation in cells, normalize metabolic procedures; (the scientific identify for the widespread type of acne) is an almost common dilemma, with approximately Anyone on the planet suffering from some variety (delicate or serious), quicker or later on in their life. In the bowl, place the strawberries, squash them and then incorporate some yeast. You are able to incorporate a little oat bran to thicken this mixture And eventually set just one spoon of honey. Ideas: Use this mixture 3 to 4 periods a week (even a day by day software is okay), but you should definitely prepare it clean anytime, as it is very straightforward to organize and handiest at that point. Yogurt In this particular mask aids in brightening up your skin while banana nourishes it and makes it clean and delicate. If you knowledge any type of burning feeling or discomfort when making use of the yeast face masks, then take away it straight away and clean the pores and skin with cold water. Comply with up which has a comforting moisturizer like aloe vera gel. If the situation nevertheless persists look for help out of your dermatologist right away. Thanks for his post. My teenage son has struggled with acne and we are attempting a variety of different things today.

[lucyariablog]

16 More Quotes to Inspire Your Content Marketing

In 2017, I shared a compilation of 23 inspirational quotes, from Rachael Ray to Ann Handley to Andy Weir and many people in between. Each of those quotes continues to inspire me and impact the way I think about content marketing

Today, to kick off the new year, the CMI editorial team asked me to share some more quotes.

I’ve been a quote junkie since I was a kid. Some of the quotes I’ve included this year I picked up recently. Others came from the dog-eared journal I started in 1993, which includes gems like this one:

Embarrassing? Absolutely. But …

My hope is that you pick up some inspiration from these quotes or think about familiar ideas in a new way.

Maintain your energy

Much of the work we need to do as marketers – and, more importantly, as makers – requires us to think and create. And, quite frankly, there is only so much time we can meaningfully write, develop, or create day in, day out.

Michael Simmons captures the idea perfectly in his article aptly titled An Ambitious Person’s Brutally Honest Take On Work-Life Balance:

“In the world of long-distance running, the idea of someone starting off a race by sprinting as fast as they can until they collapse from exhaustion is obviously stupid. Yet, when it comes to our careers, many of us follow this mentality.

Expert marathoners, on the other hand, purposely run slower than their full potential so they can run longer and actually win the race.  

We need to redefine hard work from how many hours we work in a week (the equivalent of our sprinting speed) to how consistently hard we work over a long period of time.”

And, speaking of marathons, we often hear how content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint, and many articles reference 18 to 24 months as the time frame to build a brand with content marketing. But in the last few years, things have gotten more difficult, and, as  Mark W. Schaefer observes, the journey requires more time:

What I determined was that it took, on average, between two and three years for a personal brand to really ignite. Two and half years. Wow. That’s 30 months of patience.

On average, it takes 2-3 years for a personal brand to ignite, says @markwschaefer. #quotes Click To Tweet

Maintaining focus is tough, especially when the work required will take months, if not years. But, this insight from Entrepreneur Editor in Chief Jason Feifer plays in mind to help me stay on track:

I don’t want to work nonstop – that only ends in burnout – but I want to make sure I’m using my time as wisely as possible. So I started measuring time in terms of outcome. I’d ask myself, ‘What do I get for this hour spent? What can I show for it later?’  … There may never be time for everything, but there is always time for plenty. It’s just a question of priorities.

There may never be time for everything, but there is always time for plenty, says @heyfeifer. #quotes Click To Tweet

While maintaining that focus is an ongoing journey (ahem, struggle), the best thing to get me back on track is unadulterated, pure quiet. I emphasized this idea in my previous quote post, and it’s why I was so mesmerized by this quote from Zen master Ryutan:

You are like this cup; you are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can’t put anything in. Before I can teach you, you’ll have to empty your cup.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:

7 Productivity Killers for Marketers and How to Fix Them

How to Brainstorm and Prioritize Your Best Content Ideas

Do, don’t (over)think

Like many marketers, I love coming up with ideas and starting projects, but I can burn out as the project slogs on. But these next quotes remind me that the actual doing (not the thinking about doing) are most important.

You’d be hard pressed to come up with an idea so bad that it couldn’t succeed with the right execution. And it would be even harder to imagine a great idea that couldn’t fail if the execution were left to morons. Ideas are worthless. Execution is everything. – Scott Adams, Dilbert creator

Ideas are worthless. Execution is everything. @Dilbert_Daily #quotes Click To Tweet

You are not a leader because you have better insight – you are a leader because you make decisions. – David C. Baker, The Business of Expertise

Embrace constraints

Too often we bemoan lack of time or lack of budget or lack of (insert your gripe here). But sometimes, it’s these very constraints that help us focus.

Here’s a fact: Creativity comes easier within constraints …  Constraints make the haiku one of the world’s most moving poetic forms. They give us boundaries that direct our focus and allow us to be more creative. This is, coincidentally, why tiny startup companies frequently come up with breakthrough ideas. They start with so few resources that they’re forced to come up with simplifying solutions. – Shane Snow, Smartcuts

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: The 3 Behaviors Driving the Most Creative Content Marketers

Connect with the (right) people

Another thing that keeps me energized is working with people who challenge me – and whom I enjoy. I have been proactively reaching out to marketers and business owners this year, and while not every conversation has an action, I always learn something new. (And, thus far, everyone has agreed to talk.)

Working with people who challenge me energizes me and my work, says @MicheleLinn. Click To Tweet

Allen Gannett expresses this idea clearly in this quote from his book The Creative Curve (I recommend it):

The point is, don’t wait for someone to take you under their wing; initiate the process yourself. If you meet someone who is successful in a field you want to learn about, approach them. Be curious. Be relentless!

Don’t wait for someone to take you under their wing; initiate the process yourself, says @Allen. #quotes Click To Tweet

My business partner, Clare McDermott, and I often talk about the value of “creative abrasion.” I always look to work with people who ask questions, poke holes in my thinking, or otherwise give me a new perspective. While too much friction isn’t a good thing, embrace what Allen calls the conflicting collaborator:

For this reason, I call the ideal person to work with a conflicting collaborator. Basically, you don’t want to collaborate with someone who is so easy to get along with that they don’t push you. The goal is to find a person who will help you discover and overcome your flaws. 

Here’s another reminder why it’s critical to embrace other perspectives:

Our senses are limited therefore our view of the world is limited. This is not a problem unless we start believing that what we perceive is all there is to be perceived. – Peter McWilliams, self-help author

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: The Secret to Hitting the Creative Sweet Spot

Embrace your own path

One of the drums beating loudly this year is eschewing best practices and forging our own paths (and the more varied perspectives you have, the better).

As such, I can’t help but be reminded of this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. (Did anyone else go through a transcendentalist phase in high school? Just me? My quote book is littered with ideas from Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.):

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail, says #RalphWaldoEmerson via @MicheleLinn. #quotes Click To Tweet

Taking your own path also means having a point of view, which Meera Kothand summarizes in her book, Your First 100. (Meera is a new-to-me content marketer I stumbled upon this year. I’ve really enjoyed her action-oriented emails and books):

Value doesn’t come from feeding your audience with free tips that everyone else is already saying. You provide value when you’re able to inspire a commitment to change. You add to the content literature in your niche when you have a distinctive point of view. This is also how you build content authority.

You add to the #content literature in your niche when you have a distinctive POV, says @MeeraKothand. #quotes Click To Tweet

This is not to say that we can’t learn from others, but I challenge you to take the best of what you know, apply it, and do you.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Your Brand Needs a Point of View, But Do You?

Start now, from where you are

This last set of quotes (of which there are quite a few) may be the most important and universal. Own where you are and keep moving forward.

I unfortunately don’t know who said this next gem, but I have repeated this quote numerous times since I heard it at Content Marketing World last year:

“You can’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.”

It echoes these popular Chinese proverbs:

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

“Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”

And I leave you with this quote from Jay Acunzo who is talking to all of my marketing friends who experience this sense of paralysis because we think our work can be better:

Perfect isn’t the enemy of good, nor is it the barrier to done. I just think we’re framing the idea all wrong. Aspire to perfection over time, but make sure you’re taking one step forward today.

Aspire to perfection over time, but make sure you’re taking one step forward today, says @jayacunzo. Click To Tweet

Continue to prioritize, do, and own the best possible version of yourself, while making sure you have a hearty dose of quiet, so you can recharge and keep moving forward no matter where you are.

I’d love to hear what you are thinking about as we start the year. Share your favorite quotes – or ideas – in the comments.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: The Best Content Marketing Books of 2017 to Boost Your Creativity and Productivity

Get weekday inspiration and practical advice from CMI’s newsletter. Subscribe today. 

Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

The post 16 More Quotes to Inspire Your Content Marketing appeared first on Content Marketing Institute.

from https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2019/01/quotes-inspire-marketing/

[thegloober]

Ten Things You Should Know About Having a C-Section

It’s probably not news to you that there are only two ways for a baby to make its entrance into the world – either via your vajay, or Caesarean Section/C-Section. Although a C-Section is considered major surgery and may seem daunting, it isn’t necessarily the awful experience its often made out to be, especially if you’ve got a better understanding of what it actually entails. So, rather than having you consult your Aunt Sally who delights in sharing birth stories that’ll make your toenails curl, we’ve put together a list of ten things you should know about having a C-Section to put your pregnant mind at ease.

What is a C-Section, exactly?

A C-Section is different from a vaginal birth in that the baby is surgically removed from the mother’s uterus through a (surprisingly small) incision. The incision is typically horizontal and low enough on the abdomen that it can be covered up by your bikini bottoms, although you won’t be allowed to hit the pool for at least 6 weeks following your surgery. Sometimes a C-Section occurs in the case of an emergency, and other times a mother may elect to have a C-Section.

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Why might I need to have a C-Section?

A C-Section may be planned ahead of time for a variety of reasons including the following:

The mother is carrying multiple babies.

The baby is a future acrobat and has settled in a breech or transverse position.

The mother’s placenta covers the opening of her cervix (placenta previa).

The mother has had a previous C-Section and does not want to or cannot have a vaginal birth (also referred to as VBAC).

The mother has a health concern that may make vaginal childbirth difficult or dangerous.

A C-Section may be the only option and occur as an emergency for reasons such as the following:

The baby’s heart rate is dropping or he is otherwise in distress.

The umbilical cord exits the cervix ahead of the baby.

There is failure to progress during labor.

What is the difference between emergency, elected and “gentle” C-Sections?

Mothers who have experienced C-Section in both an emergency and an elected situation will tell you that the two experiences are quite different.

In an emergency situation, everything moves quickly – you are whisked away to an operating room, where doctors, nurses and an anesthesiologist will work to remove the baby as fast as possible. You may not have the opportunity to ask questions or see what is going on. Chances are, you will have already spent time experiencing labor and be very tired, meaning you will basically be struggling to keep two eyes open at a time once the baby arrives. Depending on the condition of your baby, you may or may not be able to have skin to skin contact, nurse, or make special requests such as delayed cord clamping immediately following the birth.

In an elected C-Section, you and your doctor will be able to monitor your pregnancy and decide on a date to have the surgery performed, which means, essentially, you will get to choose your child’s birthday. It is common for this date to be around the 39 week mark so you don’t go into labor first. Know that, because you have elected to have this surgery, any emergencies that come into the hospital prior to your surgery will bump you later in the day. The pace is much slower than in an emergency situation. You’ll probably be starving from fasting the night before, and the ice chips or soup broth they offer you post op won’t do much to hit the spot.

A “Gentle C-Section” is basically a more personalized elected C-Section. This procedure costs the same as a regular C-Section and only takes about 5 minutes longer. You may be able to choose the music being played in the operating room, be able to request the lowering of the screen so you can see what’s going on, talk with the surgical team, and ask questions about the procedure. The baby will be delivered head first, followed by the body, creating a birth that’s more like a vaginal birth. Following the birth of the baby, skin to skin contact and breastfeeding are encouraged.

In all three scenarios, hospital policy will determine whether you are able to have a support person with you during the surgery.

How can I prepare for a C-Section?

Maybe the most important thing you can do to prepare yourself for a C-Section is to acknowledge the fact that you might need to have one. C-Sections account for about 30% of all births in the U.S., which means you have about a 1 in 3 chance of having one. Talk to your doctor about what this might look like for you, and ask any questions about the process you may have. Have a birth plan, but don’t get so attached to the idea of everything happening exactly as you hope, to avoid feelings of guilt, anger, or sadness if it doesn’t.

If you have elected to have a C-Section, it’s not a bad idea to make meals ahead of time and freeze them so you don’t have to cook (good news: having a C-Section gives you the absolute best excuse to get out of any and all household chores). In the hours (or even days) prior to the surgery, you may want to eat “lighter” foods to give your digestive system a break, as the surgery will slow down your intestines, and post-delivery constipation is NO JOKE. Trust me on that one.

What happens during a C-Section?

More than likely, you will be given a spinal block or epidural and will be awake during the surgery. When I had my C-Section, the nurse who put in my IV prior to the surgery promised me that it would be the most painful part of the entire process, and I actually found this to be true (good news: it hardly hurt at all!)

You will be numb from the waist down and may feel some tugging and jostling, but apart from that, you will have no feeling during the surgery and for a few hours afterward. You will have a catheter inserted as well, but it’s likely that this will be happening behind the big blue curtain that they put up just over your waist, so you can’t see a dang thing. If they are allowed in. your support person will sit by your head and be able to hold your hand during the process. If you’re like me, you may quietly request that your support person ask the surgeon to give you a tummy tuck when they’re finished, but if you are also like me, they will say no.

As long as there are no complications, you can expect to be seeing your newborn raised overhead, Simba-style in 30 to 45 minutes.

What happens during recovery from a C-Section and how long will it take?

Shortly after you come out of surgery, it’s common to feel cold and to get the shakes.

You will be given medication to help with the pain. It’s important to remember that the medications you receive can be constipating, so drink plenty of fluids to help prevent this. You will also be offered stool softeners, and it’s highly recommended that you abandon any pride at this point and accept them graciously. You might be surprised at how soon a nurse will have you up and walking. As painful as it sounds, the most difficult part of the whole thing will probably be trying to navigate your way around while attached to an IV and a catheter. Oh, and be warned: the first time you stand up, there will be blood. Probably a lot of it. This is when those sexy maternity undies come in verrrry handy.

You will either have stitches or staples closing your wound. If you have dissolvable stitches, they will disappear on their own, but if you have staples, you will have to have them removed after a few days.

Keep wearing your maternity pants or other loose fitting clothing to avoid rubbing your incision.

Coughing, sneezing and laughing may be tricky while recovering from abdominal surgery, so you may find it handy to cover your incision with a pillow if you feel the urge to do any of the above.

The recovery time for a C-Section is typically 6-8 weeks, but of course, every person is different.

What will I be unable to do while recovering from a C-Section?

A few of the things you should avoid doing for at least 6 weeks include the following:

Driving (this is probably the trickiest one to avoid)

Vacuuming (this is probably the easiest one to avoid)

Lifting anything heavier than your baby in its car seat (this includes toddlers, so in the weeks prior to your surgery, it may be a good idea to get them used to the idea of not being picked up or carried)

Swimming or baths

Strenuous exercise

 Intercourse (although you may think that things down there are intact and good to go, you are still healing from major surgery and are more prone to infection, so you’ll just have to Netflix without the chill for a while).

Can I ask for a C-Section instead of having a vaginal birth?

You sure can, but your doc probably has the final say. If you have had a previous C-Section or have health concerns, your doctor will be more likely to grant your request, as many hold the belief that C-Sections should be avoided where possible.

What are the possible side effects of a C-Section?

As with any surgery, side effects can occur. Bleeding, infection, blood clots and surgical injury are side effects that some women have experienced.

As the body heals from surgery, strands of collagen can form, creating adhesions. This can cause discomfort and make future deliveries more difficult. For this reason, women who want to have large families are recommended not to have multiple C-Sections.

Repeated C-Sections can lead to a higher risk of Placenta Previa and Placenta Accreta.

There can be a risk of uterine rupture along the line of the incision, particularly if you decide to attempt a VBAC, but your doctor will be able to help you decide if this is a safe option for you in future pregnancies.

Should I feel guilty for having a C-Section?

In a word, no. In two words, hell no. Growing a human being and bringing them into the world is no easy feat, regardless of how you do it. Your birth story is an incredible, beautiful one and, as a bonus, your baby will have the roundest head of at least 2/3 of his newborn friends.

Our next recos:

Source: https://bloghyped.com/ten-things-you-should-know-about-having-a-c-section/

[seocompanysurrey]

The beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO

Suppose you know nothing about SEO but have heard about this little gem called Yoast SEO. People told you that it is a very convenient tool to optimize your site and its pages for Google, Bing, and Yandex. It’s effortless. You want to use it. You install the Yoast SEO plugin or the Yoast SEO extension and simply follow the advice given in that plugin. Within a week, your website will be topping the charts in Google. Or not? No, to be honest. It’s not that simple.

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Our plugin helps you to optimize your website for search engines. And it does that well, but it needs your input. In this beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO, I’ll try to explain the basics of SEO that our plugin guides you in. I’ll take you through the steps that every user, who tries our plugin for the first time takes, and help you optimize your site in the process.

It’s a beginner‘s guide to Yoast SEO

Before we start, I should point out that this isn’t a beginner’s guide to every single detail of our plugin. I’d just like to show you some things I think you should use or configure. As our plugin has quite some settings, it’s good to know which features to configure first.

The Yoast SEO configuration wizard

Our Yoast SEO configuration wizard is a great place to start. You can find the configuration wizard at SEO > Dashboard:

In that configuration wizard, we will guide you through twelve steps that help you configure our plugin, specifically for your site. Even if you have a website that is already a year or so old, I encourage you to use the wizard and see if there are some things that you might have missed. Each step includes some questions; your answers will determine specific settings. In the wizard, we have also included video material to show you even more options.

Read more: ‘The Yoast SEO configuration wizard and why you should use it’ »

But there is so much more in this SEO section of Yoast SEO!?

Unquestionably, as there are many aspects to SEO. With the help of your answers in the configuration wizard and our own SEO knowledge, we can configure most of the general settings of our plugin for you. As a result of this, you can focus on your content!

SEO analysis

When you start writing a post or page, you will find our analyses. In WordPress, our so-called meta box is right below the larger text area where you write your content:

For you, as a user, this Yoast SEO box will prove very valuable. As you can see, there are a couple of tabs here.

One tab where you can insert the keyword you want to optimize the page for (focus keyword), in this case: “beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO.”

One tab that says Readability and I’ll get into that one later.

On the tab where you can insert that focus keyword, we’ll tell you if you have used that focus keyword the right way in that specific post.

What we analyze in our SEO analysis

At present, we perform these checks in our SEO analysis:

In the image above you can see the different characteristics of your text we analyze:

If you want your page to rank for a specific keyword, you should write at least 300 words about it. Otherwise, it may be considered a ‘thin content‘ page by Google, and you want to avoid that.

Add a meta description; it will invite visitors in Google to your website. Use the focus keyword and make it enticing to click.

You want to make clear right from the start what the page is about, so start adding the focus keyword from the beginning.

Add images to create a vivid experience for your users. Use the focus keyword in the ALT text so that Google can relate that image to the keyword.

To set up a proper site structure, link to at least one other related page on your site. It keeps visitors on your site and shows them more (background) information.

We want sites to link to other websites as well, as this opens up the web. Point people to the websites where you get your information. It’ll tell Google what websites relate to each other on what subjects.

A short page title allows you to add a trigger for a visitor in Google to click to your website.

If you add that focus keyword at the beginning of your title, it will have the most value. Also, it will immediately stand out when your post is shared

Repeat your focus keyword in your URL. As a result, even without context, it will be clear what clicking that link will bring you. Furthermore, Google also likes having it in there.

You optimize a page for a certain keyword – not a website. Prevent competing pages! Yoast SEO will warn you if you write more than one post about the same keyword. When this happens, use a variation, or a long tail keyword.

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What’s more: Cornerstone content and snippet preview

If your page is the main page for a topic/keyword in a group of pages you plan to write, you could mark it as cornerstone content here. Not sure if that is a subject for a beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO, by the way. It might be wise to take our basic SEO course first :)

Besides all the checks, we provide an editable snippet preview, which tells you how our plugin displays your website to Google and other search engines.

Readability analysis

Since SEO is one of those areas where content is indeed king, we also provide a convenient readability analysis for you. The thing is: not all people have the same skills to process certain texts. I laughed out loud when I found out someone thought it would be wise to use our readability analysis to analyze the readability of books like Hamlet’s First Soliloquy by William Shakespeare. Oh, the time wasted! If Hemingway would have a blog, he’d probably love our readability analysis. It would allow him to translate his offline writing to a nice readable online text. We have a post called “Yoast SEO hates my writing style” that goes into these common misconceptions.

Online vs. offline

Please understand that online and offline writing are two different stories. While we take the time to read, digest and daydream about all the great stories we read in books, we tend to scan, process and use (in any way) the things we read online. Where we follow the old man on his journey over sea, struggling with that marlin for days, feel his frustration, motivation, you probably scanned this beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO to see if there’s something here you didn’t know already.

This post isn’t a page in a book. It’s information for you to process like most online pages are. With that purpose in mind, we wrote our readability analysis.

Government rulings

Our Dutch government has ruled that the text on all government websites should be at B2: Upper intermediate level. It’s a rule that makes sure that every citizen, regardless of the level of education, can read and understand the information on these websites. We aim to help them with that. Our readability analysis works for websites in English, Spanish, Dutch, French, German, and Italian by the way.

The readability analysis itself

Let’s see what’s in our readability analysis:

  We analyze these things:

Use subheadings so that people can scan your pages faster. It helps you group topics, which makes it easier to process them.

The Flesh Reading Ease test makes sure every reader can understand your texts. If you are writing for a more educated audience, a lower score is acceptable – it’s a guideline, you decide how strict to follow it.

Transition words help to improve the ‘flow’ of your page. To put it another way, they send a signal to your visitors that something is coming up, prepare them for the next sentence. You’ll find that the recommendation of using transition words in 30% of your sentences isn’t that hard to achieve.

Long paragraphs in an online article are more difficult to understand. You’ll find yourself lost in all the words. Bite-sized chunks are easier to process.

While in a book you can stretch a sentence over half a page, shorter sentences are that much easier to read online. We use 20 words as a target length.

Passive voice results in distant writing. Active voice is much more engaging. It’s almost impossible to write a ‘natural’ text without any passive voice at all (IMHO), and we ‘allow’ 10% passive voice in our analysis.

If you want more insight into how we decided on all these target numbers, please read the article Content analysis: methodological choices explained.

The last step of this beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO is an advanced one

Of course, there is so much more you can do with Yoast SEO. In the Search Appearance menu you can determine how your site appears in search engines. And in the Search Console section, you can connect your Google Search Console account to Yoast SEO so it can find and fix errors.

Search Appearance

In Search Appearance, you’ll have access to the way we set up, for instance, your titles and metas for you. I want you to check that section for me. No need to alter anything, by the way. I just want you to know it’s there and realize what you can configure here.

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At “Content Types,” you will find the default template we use for your post titles: %%title%% %%page%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%

This simply means we will use the page/post title you use when writing posts, and add the page number if your post is divided over multiple pages. Then we add a separator, like a dash, and then the site name you have set when creating your site. The outcome for this Beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO could be: Note that this example doesn’t include a page number after the page title, as this post is just one page. This is the setup we recommend. It’s focused on the page title (“Beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO”) and has proper branding at the end (“Yoast”).

The purpose of me showing you this is that I want you to know it’s there, so you don’t have to look for it in the future. It explains why your titles are shown this way in Google.

Keep reading: ‘Search appearance variables in Yoast SEO’ »

Google Search Console

You can find the Search Console settings a bit further down the SEO menu. Now if you have completed our configuration wizard, you most probably connected Google Search Console to our plugin already. If you haven’t done that yet, you can do it at any time using the Search Console section here.

Yoast SEO for beginners

That concludes our beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO. I trust your website is ready for Google now, so please add awesome content!

Read on: ‘Why every website needs Yoast SEO’ »

The post The beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO appeared first on Yoast.

from Yoast • SEO for everyone https://yoast.com/beginners-guide-yoast-seo/

[easy-win-games-blog]

STILL GOOD? — GRAND THEFT AUTO III

This is ‘Still Good?’, an editorial series in which I look back at both favourites games of mine and classics that I somehow missed, working out how these titles stack up today and whether or not they’re worth going back to.

tl;dr — has <insert game> aged well?

That said, let’s dig into Grand Theft Auto III.

Originally released in 2001 for the PS2 GTA 3 was hailed by critics and fans as a landmark in video game design. Its core gameplay mechanics — driving, shooting and navigating an open world — had all been seen before, but this marked the first instance of these mechanics being put together in a seamless and (for lack of a better word) good way. Mix this with elements of The Sopranos and the popular gangster movies of the time and you’ve got one spicy meat-a-ball.

Upon its release it received fantastic reviews across the board, sitting on an aggregate score of 97% (Metacritic) for the PS2 version. It was called, "a luscious, sprawling epic,” a, "technological marvel ... that captures the essence of gritty city life in amazing detail,” and "on a scale that's truly epic” (quotes lifted from Wikipedia). From here on out, aided by various other releases of the time, the gaming landscape was irreversibly shifted towards a focus on cinematic storytelling and open-world settings. It’s become difficult to not find traces of GTA 3’s DNA floating around a most modern releases.

It’s also very easy to get ahold of today. A mobile version was released for its 10th anniversary, but if you prefer something more solid it’s also available on the desktop App Store for Mac, Steam and on Xbox 360 through backwards compatibility if you can find a hard copy.

This sure is a celebrated classic, but it really hasn’t aged well.

If you’ve gone ahead and put in the work by reading my About page you’ll know I go hardcore with the GTA series. GTA 3 especially introduced me to mature video games in a way that I’ll never forget, but unlike other classics of the medium like the 2D Mario games it’s really tough to go back. I finished the game in high school on a MacBook using a trackpad, and recently bought it and Vice City on eBay for Xbox (these versions received various graphical improvements over the PS2 version) and have played maybe half of 3 so far since then.

But it’s hard, man. I love GTA but I’m honestly struggling to continue. It’s a weird case because I can look past its dated graphics and the driving is fine, but nearly everything else is just frustrating. My major gripe with playing this game now is that the controls are absolutely shitted. Locking on to enemies is vague, both in the sense that it only sometimes works with certain weapons and that the lock on rectangle is very transparent. Combat lacks any kind of possible finesse and relies upon a lot of dumb luck and blind button mashing, and moving Claude around feels like I’m controlling a marionette puppet.

And the camera…

There’s a strange feature I’ve found both in GTA 3 and Vice City on Xbox, and I’m not exactly sure if it was apparent on PC or PS2 (but I’m probably wrong). The option to rotate the camera around your player, whether you want to focus on enemies or check out the scenery, is gone. Completely. Instead, when you move the right stick, the camera jumps into a first-person perspective from which you can’t actually do anything. No walking, no combat. Its only really purpose is to change what direction you’re looking (duh), which is just slow and painful. Especially in combat because you have to stop, change the camera, and then move or perform some kind of action to go back out to third-person.

Imagine, if you will…

A mission tells you to go into Chinatown.

Easy, you get there.

But uh oh, you’ve been ambushed by gun and baseball bat-wielding Triads!

You pull out your Uzi and pump a clip into one guy at your 12 o’clock, but three more guys on your 6 you have opened fire!

You act fast, and duck into first person mode.

Five seconds later you’ve turned to face your foes, and have lost half of your health in that time. Now, to lock on.

In a daring move, you lock onto Triad #1 on your right, shoot two rounds and wait for another three seconds while you automatically reload (something that can’t be done manually).

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

You got him! Well done! You’ve also got next to no health.

Time to aim at the next pistol-packing Triad.

But uh oh again, you’ve locked onto someone with a baseball bat instead. You can’t switch your target on the fly, silly, and now you have six guys in total all around you shooting and beating you to death.

You’re dead, good luck next time.

As 2K18 gamer bro, this is frustrating as hell. And this happens constantly. A lot of combat scenarios, in my case at least, came down to me trying over and over again and succeeding only by shepherding the AI into a tight pack and using up the five molotov cocktails I’d scrounged to burn them all alive like a pack of zombies.

I was too young to be involved in the original hype of this game, but I imagine there was a big emphasis on strategy and player freedom in the marketing leading up to the game’s release. I get that, and GTA 3 sure is revolutionary on that front, but by today’s standards it just isn’t good. When the game at hand has a focus on combat and action it’s not a good thing when success comes from manipulating the infrastructure of the game itself. I don’t feel like I’m playing it the way it was meant to be played, but I don’t see any other option.

To make my point clearer, take the example of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. There are a lot of points in this game where you’re surrounded by enemies, who mostly all have guns. There’s no cover-based shooting or anything of that sort in San Andreas, but the fluidity and freedom of the movement with the ability to crouch, walk while crouched, jump and vault over obstacles, strafe, free aim and lock onto and attack enemies without having them in your immediate line of sight really make the difference. Just the ability to freely rotate the camera around CJ and switch lock-on targets make combat scenarios infinitely more strategic and playable than GTA 3.

Sure, San Andreas only exists because of 3’s legacy, but in three short years so much of the Grand Theft Auto formula was refined by intuitive but glaringly obvious improvements for San Andreas, making it now so much easier to go back to than 3. I would put San Andreas, a now 14 year old game, in front of any gamer in 2018, tell them to play it and be confident they would have fun and play with a full sense of control.

The other area where GTA 3 really lacks is in its narrative elements.

In the game you play as Claude, a mute blank slate of a man who wasn’t actually given a name until a one-off skippable phone call in San Andreas. At the beginning of the game we find Claude robbing a bank with his girlfriend, Catalina, who betrays him as they make their getaway with the line, "Sorry babe. I'm an ambitious girl, and you're just small time.”

Immediately, there’s confusion. Stylistically, it’s cool for sure. There’s shotguns and convertibles and action, but who is this lady? Why do her ambitions stop her from robbing banks with her lover (something they have been doing together for around nine years)? She must just be psycho or something, because she jumps in a sports car with some other guy, so to her it’s more beneficial to share the money with the getaway driver than with your long-term boyfriend. What’s more, Claude can’t explain any of this because he can’t talk, so these questions linger for the whole game and never get answered.

You can see here by making Claude the blank slate that he is that it’s likely the intention from Rockstar was to let the player use the mute as a vessel through which they could project themselves, personifying the game with their own personal flavour. Only, there are numerous and very definitive displays of Claude’s character throughout the game that the player might not agree with.

Character defining moments for a character who isn’t meant to have character.

For Christ’s sake, it’s implied he shoots a woman point blank at the end of the game because she talks too much.

It’s a weird half measure. It feels like Rockstar were trying to toe the line between an open world RPG packed with player personalisation and a fully scripted cinematic experience like Goodfellas. They’ve learned since, and their campaigns have been largely compelling ever since, but this feels like a big misstep.

Also, a minor issue I have; the cutscenes and cinematic moments of this game look like dog shit. The direction, cinematography and pacing of nearly every cutscene is awful. Claude will walk to someone’s door and knock, only to be answered an instant later by immediate talk as if this other character intuitively knew he was there. The shots will cut out parts of character’s faces, sometimes ending at their forehead or mouth, and as the cutscenes conclude it isn’t uncommon for Claude to start heading for the exit as the mission boss is still mid-sentence, as if he also intuitively knows the conversation is about to end. Even if the mission parameters haven’t been outlined yet. It’s almost as if the residents of Liberty City have been endowed with psychic abilities (but only in 2001 because Liberty City Stories is much more aligned with the rest of the series in this regard [maybe it’s something in the water]).

Coming from later GTA games, this just doesn’t feel like GTA.

The story overall is also just bland. It’s the most generic revenge plot you could imagine, with some out-of-nowhere betrayals such as that of Salvatore Leone — the local Mob boss.

After completing a number of tasks, both extremely dangerous and tedious, the Don congratulates you on your achievements and your loyalty to the Leone family. This feels pretty good, especially since the missions immediately preceding this moment are a hellish cluster fuck full of shoddy AI and stupid mission design. And you know what? He’s right. You have been loyal to him. You’ve done literally everything he’s told you to do and more. As this happens, he asks you to collect a car parked somewhere Downtown. So, like the good little Mafia errand boy you are, you skip down the hill to get it, only to be sent a page from Salvatore’s girlfriend of all people that the car is a trap and that you’re about to be murdered. Surely enough, the car is rigged with explosives, so your only option is to actually betray Salvatore and flee the first island with his girlfriend as you plot your (second) revenge.

It’s simply not good writing. There’s no cause and effect, no setting up of any kind. You are blank man. You work for blank Mafia man. But blank Mafia man turns on you, because he is bad Mafia man after all. You get blank revenge. It’s high school shit.

Just like Catalina. Take that blank man example, but substitute ‘black Mafia man’ with ‘blank girl’. It’s bad writing.

When it comes to games and movies it becomes hard to define what is good, especially in cases where legacy and nostalgia are involved. Super Mario Bros. 3 or World or whatever might be a better game than OG Super Mario Bros., but you might see OG Super Mario Bros. as the better game because it gave birth to what came after it. In my opinion that’s a really weird viewpoint to have, especially since gaming culture is so focussed on iteration and improvement. Some see it as sacrilege to say an old classic just doesn’t play well, but that’s the case because games as a medium inherently get better as we improve the craft and polish the development process.

With this in mind, and everything else I’ve already said, Grand Theft Auto III is not a good game in 2018. It’s not fun and it doesn’t control well. The story is bad and the moment-to-moment writing is no better. From a historical stance, I think it’s definitely worth playing, but if GTA V was your first introduction to the series and you want to explore its past GTA 3 is not the place to start.

STILL GOOD?

Not really, no

Am I completely wrong? Is my subjective opinion too subjective? Did I forget to mention how much San Andreas fleshes out both Salvatore Leone and Catalina and their character arcs in this game? Shoot (pew) me a message up top through the Ask Me Anything link OR hit me up on Twitter @easy_win_games.

Illustration left-to-right: Catalina, Maria, Asuka, Kenji, Donald Love, Toni, Luigi, 8-Ball, Salvatore Leone. Claude in the foreground.

- Editorial & illustration brewed in-house -

[blackhatseoguy]

8 simple ways to utilize a blog to improve SEO results

this tool is not for amateurs newbies don't click this

Seemingly every company has a blog these days. Unfortunately, very few organizations fully capitalize on their blog content to maximize SEO results. Here are eight simple ways a blog can improve your website’s organic visibility, traffic and results.

1. Create a compelling name for your blog

It irks me when I go to a company’s website and the name of the blog is… “Blog”! I urge marketers to be creative and more descriptive when naming the blog section of a website. Your blog name is also an optimization opportunity. Ask yourself these questions:

What is the overarching theme of the blog?

What would be a compelling description in my industry?

Can I incorporate important SEO keywords in the blog’s title or name?

Specifically, who am I trying to reach?

Coming up with a descriptive name and optimizing around a theme can lead to incremental organic traffic. For example, office supply retailer Staples has its “Staples Business Advantage blog,” which discusses topics ranging from office productivity to workplace safety. And Berghoff Brewery has its “Berghoff Beer Blog,” which covers topics from beer festivals to food pairings to seasonal beer reviews.

Remember, if you find it difficult to create a name for your blog that includes keywords you are trying to target, then try to at least include those keywords within the page title of the blog. For example, check out the page title for the RENTCafe blog:

2. Reach a specific audience with each post

I recommend that each blog post be written for a specific segment of your target audience. This allows marketers to create content that is optimized for specific customers and contains target keywords related to specific needs and solutions.

For example, if you sell marketing services, you might include a post in your blog about a hot topic in the industry (e.g., ABM marketing) that targets a particular audience you are trying to capture (e.g., B2B marketers).

3. Implement an effective URL structure

An effective URL naming convention is good for marketers and website visitors for several reasons:

It makes results reporting easy

I’ve noticed that some companies do not include “/blog/” in their URL syntax when keeping the blog on their main website domain. This can make it a little more difficult to track the overall progress of the blog within analytics. I recommend that you include /blog/ in your URL structure to improve the ease of blog results reporting.

You can ensure user-friendly URLs

When it comes to creating the URLs for each post, many marketers include every single word in the title of the post in the URL. This can lead to long, hard to read URLs. Tip: Try to make your blog URL descriptive but also short and relevant. Remember to leave out conjunctions such as “and,” “but” and “or” within your URLs. For example:

Longer, non-user-friendly URL:

http://ift.tt/2zHAE0J

Shorter, optimized URL:

http://ift.tt/2njql0T

4. Continually optimize blog content

Recycling is not just good for the environment; it’s also good for SEO!

SEO improvements do not always require new website content. Look for additional opportunities to optimize existing blog posts. Review current content and identify opportunities for additional on-page SEO. Here are some possible optimization techniques for existing blog content:

Add internal links to other relevant pages on the website.

Add optimized images (or optimize existing images).

Link one post to another related post.

Review title tags and meta descriptions to ensure targeted keywords are included.

Leveraging existing blog content can save precious time and resources.

5. Find & fill content gaps

Blogs can be a fast and easy way to create content specifically designed to fill SEO gaps.

Are there high-priority SEO phrases that you are struggling to rank for? Does your website lack content related to these words? If yes, these topics are great candidates for new blog posts.

6. Add optimized images & videos

Images help to create a positive experience and can increase visitor engagement. They also provide incremental SEO value. Remember to include images in your blog post and optimize them with descriptive alt tags (including high-priority keyword phrases where appropriate).

Lights, camera, action! Blog posts also provide a great home for video content. Review your YouTube page. Do you already have video content that could enhance a blog post? Videos keep users engaged and allow marketers to provide additional educational opportunities.

7. Mark it up

Let’s not forget about structured data markup. Structured data markup can be added to your HTML to provide information about a page, classify the page content, and in some cases improve the way your page is represented in SERPs.

I recommend that you include schema markup in your post to ensure that this content is fully optimized. Here is an example of how you can use JSON-LD structured data to mark up a blog post:

<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Insert Blog Title Here", "image": "Insert Blog Image URL Here", "editor": "Insert Editor/Author Name Here", "genre": "Theme/Blog Category Here", "wordcount": "Insert Blog Post Word Count Here", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Insert Company Name Here", "logo": "Insert Company Logo Image URL Here" }, "url": "Insert Blog Post URL Here", "datePublished": "YYYY-MM-DD", "dateCreated": "YYYY-MM-DD", "dateModified": "YYYY-MM-DD", "description": "Insert short description of blog post. Try to keep it around 150-156 characters", "articleBody": "Insert entire blog post here", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Insert Author Name" } } </script>

8. Capitalize on social media sharing

There are a lot of benefits to sharing blog posts on social media:

It keeps your social media sites current and relevant.

It helps keep your audience engaged.

Because social signals are included in the ranking algorithm, it improves SEO results.

Social links help to increase referral traffic.

I recommend that you always share the blog post on social channels. Try to share a couple sentences describing a brief summary of the post or an excerpt from the post. Remember to include keywords you are targeting within the social media posting as these social signals can help with rankings.

Summary

Make sure that you are fully realizing the potential SEO benefits of your blog. Create a compelling blog name; create optimized content for specific audiences; optimize your blog URLs; add images and videos; implement schema; and share blog content via social channels.

Remember, a blog is one of the fastest and easiest ways to implement or enhance website content and improve SEO results.

This is another great pure SEO spam tool that still works in 2017

from BHSEO GUY's Feed http://ift.tt/2zVzTFb via IFTTT