#not exactly quality but you can make use of these screenshots for whatever your heart desires for anyone who wants to

[mesquitecandle]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot I made sure to screenshot the anniversary room backgrounds:

And to not forget my favorite one:

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 8 Matsuribayashi pt. 8

Now, whether or not this sways your heart towards sympathy in the forthcoming events is really something to mull over. Can suffering tragedy at such a young age justify the eventual atrocities one winds up committing in their adulthood? That really depends on you, and your outlook on morality I suppose. Just as a random example, can having an abusive childhood excuse you from ordering the deaths of two thousand or so people?

Probably a smart thing to be doing when you’re not a hundred percent sure if you’re still being hunted for escaping the abuse factory.

Nothing to really do with anything, but how much do you suppose something like the console ports of Higurashi cost to make? Couple million, maybe ten at most (translate into whatever yen amount is appropriate, I used USD)? Obviously you have to pay your voice actors, and the artists for the new art, but it probably isn’t something that breaks the bank right? I know that it’s not exactly a precise tool to use, but according to steamcharts the highest player count for one of these games tops out at around 350 people. Again, not a precise tool because these have probably been available elsewhere for years prior to their steam release (for instance I play them on GOG, except for Hou+ which didn’t release on GOG for reasons I don’t know).

The reason I bring it up is because despite all the new art for some of the scenes, and characters and so on, I can’t help but love when it goes with a relatively low tech option and just zooms in on a characters face. Like the scene where Miyoko is yelling at God in a thunderstorm above. It just pixelates it a bit, and I find that kind of endearing that despite throwing more money at these higher-end ports it still has these small rinkydink workarounds.

Also, and I know I say this a lot, they haven’t quite said who the mysterious voice Miyoko heard was that day. Perhaps they’ll say who it was later on in the chapter, part of me wants to assume it is some aspect of Hanyuu. Even though that doesn’t make a bit of sense considering this scene occurs far away from Hinamizawa.

Another thing I thought about doing just because it amuses me is I’m considering plopping Miyoko’s head onto Arnold Schwarzenegger’s body from Predator.

Yeah, that’s the stuff right there. (The most annoying part is finding pictures for my little shitposts that are actually decent quality, and not 320x200, incidentally I had to get the screenshot myself from a copy of Predator I owned). I don’t know why you people put up with my medium effort sillies.

God’s not done with you yet Miyoko. Although it is remarkable you didn’t get blasted with a bunch of splinters when he struck the tree with lightning. Also, not to keep the plot from moving along, a burning tree does provide some warmth you know? Probably not where you should hide since the people from the orphanage would probably check around the remains of the tree, but you know, temporary solutions.

Also, just a fun amusing fact, when the lightning strike happened here it caused the game to crash. It was pretty funny timing all things considered.

Not to yell at the fictional child, but maybe you should count your blessings kid. You’re out of the rain for the moment, you don’t have to sit in the rain and catch pneumonia. I like the phrase of “it looked like this phone booth had been put there as punishment for doing something bad.” It’s a very amusing line, and it definitely strikes me as the sort of thought a kid would have despite their recent difficulties.

[bestiesenpai]

youtuber Sukuna

I beg you to read the shitposts I made about this, they are delicious. You don’t have to of course but...if you loved me you would :) s/n = screen name, and I hope you chuckle at Sukunas screen name

Content warning: uhmhm lowkey incel shit(mean internet comments and whatnot)

part two --- part 3

Name: Sukuna. Age: 25. Height: 6 foot 5 inches. Occupation: toxic Youtuber, fitness trainer and hot guy.

Sukuna wasn’t exactly known for being kind. He wasn’t nice to others, rarely having anything good to say about anyone, and he’d made a successful Youtube career out of it. First starting as a fitness trainer at his gym, through encouragement from his clients and the notion of a quick cash grab, he started Youtube.

He didn’t care about it and that reflected in the quality of his videos and editing. He didn’t have consistent uploads, just filming and posting videos whenever he wanted, analytics be fucked. But somehow, that worked out for him, and he quickly found himself with over two million subscribers just frothing at the mouth for his next video.

And those subscribers were some of the worst people. Sukuna didn’t care about fostering a safe space online for others, not in the slightest. His comment sections were atrocious, both on his Youtube and his Instagram. It was full of toxic men one-upping each other constantly and dragging on each other for not being able to work out as much as Sukuna did.

Sukuna was a large part of why his fanbase were so toxic. He himself often made bad comments about others, whether fellow creators or people that happened to appear in the backgrounds of his videos, and on more than one occasion he’d been ‘cancelled’. None of that mattered though, all he cared about was shitting on other people and making money.

Sometimes he played video games and posted it, but not too often. Sukuna often stated he wasn’t so much of a fucking lonely loser that he’d play video games all the time, and so the gaming videos he did post were few and far between. He played angry shooter games and GTA, mindless button clicking he could get lost in for a few hours for a video.

Laying in bed one night after uploading his most recent video, one where he rages at 12 year olds on GTA online, Sukuna was just scrolling through his phone mindlessly. After he uploads video game content, like clockwork, he gets recommendations for gaming channels. He only watches a few of them, mostly leaving mean comments saying what losers they are, but one catches his eye.

He’s never been recommended this kind of video before. The thumbnail is light and bright with some pink aesthetic lights in the back. But the most enticing thing is the person in the middle, cute pink cat ear headphones on and a bright smile.

“Let’s see…” Sukuna mumbles to himself, mindlessly clicking the video. He hasn’t even read the title, he only clicked it because they were cute, and here he is nearly blinded by the bright setup they have.

“Hi everyone, it’s (Y/N) here and I’m really excited today! We’re going to be playing this new game I found!” Sukuna is immediately enraptured by the sound of your voice, watching how your face changes as you talk. His eyes drift off to the decor behind you, cute plushies and healthy plants, and some twinkling fairy lights. There’s books as well, and your chair is one of those ergonomic gamer chairs he has as well but in pink.

Sukuna watches the video dumbly, totally in the dark about whatever you’re doing, but loving it all the same. All he knows is that he likes the sound of your voice, and when you laugh and smile at a funny part in the game, it makes a light flush come to his cheeks.

It only takes one video for Sukuna to spiral into more of your content. He watches a video on your gaming setup, and he’s surprised that so much technology can come in pink. He watches a video on how you edit, a few of you cooking in your kitchen, and even a few vlog videos.

He quickly subscribes to your channel, and when you plug your social media, he immediately goes there. Pulling up your Instagram, he stares at your profile picture and almost audibly coos at you for being cute.

Your profile is just as cute as your videos are and Sukuna barely remembers to follow you before he’s going through your whole feed, liking every picture he sees. Sometimes he leaves comments, only one word though, ‘cute’. He’s never liked something so outright cute before, it wasn’t who he was and it definitely didn’t fit with his brand.

Falling asleep after following you on every platform, Sukuna wakes up thinking about you as well. And he also wakes up to hundreds of comments from all his accounts, bombarding him with questions and screenshots from last night.

‘SUKUNA WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THIS SHIT?!’

���OMG Sukuna liked (Y/N)s posts!!’

‘Sukuna is so gross and toxic, you better stay away from (Y/N)!’

‘SUKUNA YOU GAY NOW’

‘EW why the fuck do you like this bitch?’

There were hundreds of comments that he waded through. Most were from his fans, expressing disgust at how many photos of yours he’d liked and wondering why he, Sukuna, most heterosexual alpha male on the planet, would like a pretty in pink Youtuber who had bubbly intros and whined when their animal crossing villagers wanted to move away.

Other comments were from your fans, some in awe that he would like you considering how much he said he hated overly cute things. Other fans expressed concern, worried what this might mean for their favorite Youtuber. Did Sukuna want to cause problems, potentially hurting you? He did have a reputation of bullying others, so this wasn’t far fetched.

Checking your Instagram, you didn’t make any comment about it. There wasn’t any update or anything, but on his end he was being tagged in endless Twitter threads with screenshots of him liking your posts and commenting under them.

“For fucks sake.” He grunted, clenching his phone in his hands. The amount of notifications he was getting were starting to upset him and he nearly threw his phone to get them to stop.

Ignoring his phone for the rest of the day, Sukuna went to the gym like he always did and trained with his clients. Some of them brought it up to him, asking him if he had a mind break last night and forgot what he was doing. Sending them harsh glares, Sukuna refused to talk about it.

“Oh my fucking god.” Sukuna nearly wailed when he got home, finally checking his phone. His name and yours had begun trending, and the hashtag #protect(Y/N) was also. Muttering angrily under his breath, Sukuna turned on Instagram live.

“Okay what the fuck!” He shouted, seeing the live become instantly flooded with people all screaming about you and him. “You’re all fucking annoying, you know that?” Glaring harshly at the camera, he read some of the comments that went by.

‘WHY’D YOU LIKE (Y/N)S POSTS FROM 2017’

‘Are you two secretly dating??’

‘COLLAB!’

“Who gives a shit why I liked their stuff, you’re a fucking weirdo for keeping track of me. And we aren’t secretly dating, dipshits.” Rolling his eyes, Sukuna scoffed as more comments came in begging for a collaboration. “And think about it you morons, why would we collab? Our shit is too fucking different, what would we even film about?”

Sukuna stayed on Instagram live for nearly an hour answering questions asking about you. Every time he had to answer that you weren’t secretly dating, he got a little more annoyed. Not at the comments themselves but at the fact that it was true; you didn’t even know he existed.

Ending the live in a huff, Sukuna didn’t feel any better than before, and it was made even worse by the fact that everything he said was being relayed to Twitter, and you were tagged in every tweet.

“These idiots!” Staring at his phone, Sukuna couldn’t believe what he was seeing. On your Instagram stories, you’d posted a q&a for your followers, and nearly all of the comments were about Sukuna.

“Hi everyone! No, me and Sukuna aren’t dating!” You said, laughing a little to ease how uncomfortable you were. “To be honest, I’ve never even heard of him before! As you know, my content is very...different from his, so our circles don’t exactly intersect. But I’m always happy to have new followers and potential friends!”

“Fuck me.” Sukuna groaned, cringing at how uncomfortable you looked having to address the sudden onslaught of questions. For once he wished he’d actually given a shit about his online presence, so that maybe one day your circles could intersect. He knew he scared you, he scared a lot of people, and this was just proof.

“Uh, Sukuna if you see this, hi it’s nice to meet you!” You said in the next slide, puffing out your cheeks and waving cutely at the camera. It made Sukuna blush, and he hated it. “Thank you for following me and liking my content! I was very surprised that you found me!”

“Of course I did, idiot, you’re fucking cute.” He muttered under his breath.

“I know a lot of people are asking for us to do a video together and I know our content is really different, so don’t feel pressured to respond or anything, but the offer is open! If you’d like, we can collab on something.”

“On what?” He asked like you were there.

“I cook sometimes, and I know you cook too! Maybe we can make a cooking video? You can teach me how to make healthy food or something!” Sukuna could tell a fake laugh when he heard one, and you definitely had one right now. “Anyways, thank you! Bye Sukuna!” But hearing you say his name cutely like that made him not care.

He nearly responded right away, accepting the collab offer now that you’d spoken about it, but he didn’t want to seem desperate. He watched through the rest of your Instagram stories, going back and replaying the parts where you talked about him over and over and his heart clenched every time when you said his name.

In the dead of night, Sukuna DM’s you after watching your latest video and leaving the simple comment ‘check your DM’s’.

“Fuck, what should I say?” He’s suddenly stumped as he looks at the keyboard. Typing and retyping a message, in the end all he can say is hi. He doesn’t expect a reply, ever, but when he gets a vibration on his phone two seconds later he jumps to read it.

(S/N): hi Sukuna! :)

(cursedgod): hey

Real fucking smart, repeating what he just said.

(S/N): is there something you wanted to talk to me about?

(S/N): I hope you haven’t been annoyed at all the notifications you’ve been getting!

(cursedgod): No it’s okay

(cursedgod): we can collab if you want

Good Sukuna, good. Play it cool, don’t let them know that your fingers are actually trembling because you’re nervous.

(S/N): do you want to?? I don’t want to pressure you! I know we’re pretty different haha

(cursedgod): yeah, let's do it. Cooking?

(S/N): sure!

Looking around his home, he was suddenly assaulted with the fact that he didn’t have any furniture. He barely had a proper bedroom, just a mattress on a bare frame and a dresser. His lounge room was the same with his computer setup in one corner and then nothing else. There was only a couch, a mounted TV and a fold out table and chairs for his dining room.

(cursedgod): I know a studio kitchen we can use, I’ll send you the address

Thank god he’d done promo work for a brand in a studio one day, otherwise he’d be fucked.

(S/N): awesome! I’m free next Saturday!

And just like that, it was a date. Well, a meeting. Sukuna knew it wasn’t a date, but his heart still thumped like it was one. Confirming the time, he ended the conversation with a curt goodbye and obsessed about it throughout the night.

When the day to meet you came, Sukuna nearly ran late trying to pick out his clothes. He’d never cared about looking good or presenting himself well in front of others, whatever version of him he turned up in was what they got. But for you, he wanted to try a little harder.

Waiting outside the studio space, Sukuna rubbed his hands together nervously. You’d messaged a day or two ago offering to put the video on your channel since it probably wouldn’t fit his aesthetic, so he didn’t have to bring his shitty camera equipment.

“S-sukuna?” Snapping his head up, Sukunas mouth fell open looking at your curious face a few feet away, an Uber driving off behind you. You were even cuter in person, just his fucking luck. How was he expected to act like a normal person when his recent obsession was here looking better than he could have imagined.

“Hi.” What comes out is a grunt, not the smooth word he’d hoped. He can see you eyeing him up, taking in all the thick and corded muscles of his body. It made his chest puff out a little, he worked hard for this physique and to have you so openly looking at him made him happy.

“It’s nice to meet you!” Sticking your hand out, you smiled politely at him.

“Same.” Shaking your hand with a firm grip, Sukuna could feel the difference in your palms. Yours was soft and nicely moisturized and he had callouses everywhere and a few cuts and scrapes.

Opening the door for you, Sukuna led you to the studio space he’d rented out. It was a clean and modern kitchen, not unlike his own, but it had appliances and looked actually lived in. Helping you set up a few camera angles, Sukuna felt a pang of nerves hit him in the stomach.

“Sukuna, can we take a picture together?” You asked before starting, and Sukunas brow furrowed deeply. Why would you want to take a picture with him? His expression must have scared you, because you quickly backtracked. “F-for promo for this video, on Instagram and stuff!”

“Sure.” God, did he feel bad or what. He shouldn’t have made that face at you, now you wouldn’t look him in the eye. Crouching down to get the right angle for you, Sukuna watched you pick a cute animal filter.

“Just do what I do.” Throwing up a peace sign, you cutely tilted your head from side to side and smiled. Sukuna tried to do the same but he looked awkward, and most of all he was blushing pretty bad.

You snapped a multitude of pictures, some at different angles and some with different filters, and in all of them Sukuna was blushing at least a little. He managed to smile more as it went on, even laughing at one of the filters.

“Thanks! I’m going to post these really quick and then we can get started!” Giving him a brief smile, you turned back to your phone and set about editing some of the pictures. Looking over your shoulder, Sukuna could see that he looked like a blushing high schooler meeting their idol for the first time and not a grown man.

Once the photos were posted and you tagged him in everything, it was time to start. Setting up your marks on the floor, you took a generous drink of water and cleared your throat.

“Are you ready for the intro? I’ll start it and introduce you, okay?” You’d actually prepared a script for yourself, and showed Sukuna as well.

“Okay.” Stepping in front of the camera, Sukuna bristled at feeling you so close to him. Your arm brushed his casually as you were fixing your shirt, and Sukuna was glad he’d worn his most expensive cologne for this.

“Hi everyone, welcome to today's video! As you know, I’m (Y/N), and today we have a special guest today!” Throwing your arms in the air, you motioned to Sukuna.

“Hi.” He nodded, barely cracking a smile. He could feel you looking at him like you wanted to say something, but he didn’t look.

“So, many people have been asking for us to do a collaboration and it’s finally here!” Clapping your hands lightly, you rocked on your heels and nudged his shoulder with yours. “Do you want to tell them what we’ll be doing today?”

“Uh-” The playful nudge you’d given him was enough to make Sukuna short circuit. “I-I-” He suddenly couldn’t remember how to speak. “Rice?”

“Let’s try that again.” You laughed. “Do you want to tell them what we’ll be doing today?” This time, you didn’t nudge him with your shoulder.

“We’re gonna…” the words were on the tip of his tongue, they wanted to come out and be spoken but he couldn’t do it.

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Nodding reassuringly, you took a deep breath in and out, and Sukuna shakily copied. “One more try?” When he looked at you, Sukuna expected to see a hint of annoyance in your face, but there was none. You were just smiling softly at him, waiting for his answer.

“Yeah. I’ll uh, I’ll get it next time.” Stepping away from the camera, Sukuna took a drink of water and cleared his throat. Cracking the bones in his neck, he took a deep breath and came back. “Let’s do it.” No more fucking embarrassments.

“Do you want to tell them what we’ll be doing today?” You asked for the third time, slightly swaying your body side to side this time.

“We’re gonna make katsudon today.” Finally, the words he wanted to say came out.

“That’s right! As you can see, Sukuna is really fit!” You immediately hopped in, giving his arm a brief squeeze. “And he knows how to make a ton of healthy meals!”

“Mhmm.”

“So I asked if he could help teach me, and all of you at home, how to make it!” Smiling at the camera, you waited a few seconds before relaxing and turning it off. “Did you like that? We can refilm it if you want.”

“No, it’s okay.” Running a hand through his hair, he pointed to the bag of rice he’d brought. “Let’s get started on this shit.”

Taking fifteen minutes to film the two of you filling up the rice cooker, when it was over, you set about getting aesthetic shots of the other ingredients. Sukuna tried to seem casual off to the side on his phone, but he was really watching you.

Getting started on chopping the ingredients, Sukuna somehow managed to say the things he was supposed to without stuttering too badly. He was amazed that you could make the things he was doing sound so interesting, your narration as you held the camera and tried to do things yourself was impressive to the man that barely knew anything about cameras.

“Sukuna, I need help cutting the meat.” You whined, tapping the meat on the cutting board with a knife. “I don’t remember how you showed me.”

“Here.” Without thinking, Sukuan grabbed your hand with the knife in it and moved it for you. “You just have to move your wrist more, it’s not that hard.” Doing it a few times, when Sukuna felt your chest expand with air against his, that’s when he realized how close the two of you were. “S-sorry.” Immediately jumping back, he stared at the floor.

“Thanks!” Giving him a smile, you kept at it.

“I’ll fry the meat.” Stepping in as soon as you were done, Sukuna already had the hot oil ready. He was eager to cook and do something with his hands instead of - what he felt like - was awkwardly watching you off to the side.

“Okay!” Grabbing the camera, you focused on the pan. “You’re really good at this, Sukuna!”

“T-thanks.” Staring directly at the pan, Sukuna didn’t look away. Even with the hot oil popping up from the pan a few times and burning his fingers, he didn’t flinch at all.

“Ow!” But you did. Your hand had gotten too close, and when Sukuna flipped the meat, some of the oil had gotten on your hand.

“Shit.” Abandoning the pan, Sukuna was ready to drag you over to the sink for some cool water.

“I-it’s okay, it was only a little.” Shaking your stinging hand, you point to the food. “But I think the meat might burn.”

“Shit!”

Narrowly avoiding disaster with the meat, when it came time to cook the eggs, you made a joke about how you liked your eggs in the morning and Sukuna burnt them almost immediately. While not an overtly sexual comment, the implications of the words still affected him.

Somehow, he managed to make the dish come together and while his plated dish didn’t come out the best, yours looked at least halfway decent with overcooked meat and burnt eggs. The only things not messed up were the rice and vegetables, and even then Sukuna was surprised.

“We did it everyone, we made katsudon!” Holding up the bowls, you smiled big and nudged Sukunas shoulder again. “You saw we had a few mishaps along the way, but that’s okay, that’s what made it fun.”

“Yeah, it was fun.” Sukuna chuckled. Despite him being more nervous than he’d ever thought possible, he had fun cooking alongside you.

“Sukuna, will you try mine? I made it super pretty and everything.” Holding your dish up to him, Sukuna wasn’t expecting you to do that. Now he felt bad that his looked so ugly and like a teenaged boy made it; he almost said no.

Eating yours though, somehow it tasted better than he was expecting. It must have been how you prepared it, and the fact that you cared so much about the presentation. Eating it in silence, he let you eat in peace as well for a few minutes and compliment the food to the camera.

“Alright, that’s the end of the video!” Putting your bowl down, you turned to Sukuna. “I had so much fun today, thanks for filming this with me.” Now was his chance to make everything better. Putting his bowl down and bolstering himself with confidence, Sukuna threw his arm over your shoulder and pulled you close to him.

“Thank you (Y/N), I really did enjoy today. I hope we can film again soon!” He squeezed your shoulder and smiled really big at not only you but the camera as well. He knew he was blushing, he knew that even the tip of his nose was a nice rosy shade, but he didn’t care. If people teased him for it, then so be it. But he wanted you to know how he truly felt.

“R-really? You want to?” You asked, looking up at Sukuna from your place smooshed against his body.

“Really.”

“Aww, well you heard it here first everyone! Sukuna wants to shoot another video with me!” Clapping your hands a few times, you waved at the camera. “Okay, bye everyone!”

“Bye.” Sukuna waved too, waiting a few seconds before letting you go and turning off the camera.

“Sukuna, did you really mean it? You want to film another video with me?” You were in utter disbelief. All this time, he’d just seemed very standoffish, if not a little awkward around you. You were happy to film this video with him, he had way more followers than you and it would help boost both your channels, and to hear him say that just made it even better.

“Yeah, I was serious.” Sukuna spoke around stuffing his mouth with the food he still had left. He was more hungry than he thought, the nerves doing a good job of twisting his stomach during the video. Now that it’s over, he can finally relax.

“That makes me really happy.” Eating the rest of your food as well, you leant against the counter. “This is gonna sound kind of mean, but I was really scared to film with you today. I thought you were going to be really mean.”

“Shit, you did?” He grimaced, letting out a sigh. “Sorry I had you worried.” He could already imagine the comments you would get from his fans.

“It’s okay! You’re actually way nicer in person, I was surprised!”

“That’s good.”

“And you’re really buff, you have muscles in places I didn’t even know were possible!” You laughed bashfully at that comment, and avoided looking at him when he stared at you in shock. “I couldn’t help but notice…”

Were you checking him out? Had you been checking him out this whole time and he didn’t even realize? He had seen you eyeing him up when you first met, but were you looking at him like that at other times as well? Now he’d really have to watch your video to see if it was true.

“Thanks, it’s my job.” Could he have said that any lamer? “My job outside of all this, I mean. I’m a trainer at this fancy gym downtown.”

“Oh, I’ve seen some of your videos at your gym! I know which one you’re talking about.”

“You do? You’ve seen my videos?” If he wasn’t surprised before, he was now.

“Yeah, you know I had to do a little research beforehand.” You nodded, beginning to clean up the dishes around you. “And I know you’ve already watched almost all of my videos, so it only seemed fair.”

Did you have to bring that up? Now Sukuna was embarrassed again.

“Y-yeah, I did.” Clearing his throat, Sukuna helped gather the dishes. He took up washing them, another task he could do to get his mind off you. As you took down the camera equipment, he nearly broke several dishes and utensils from scrubbing too hard.

“I’ll call you an Uber.” He said when all was said and done and you were back at the front of the building.

“You don’t have to, it’s okay.”

“No, I want to.” Quickly calling you a ride, Sukuna fiddled with his phone a little more. “Uh, could I- could I-” His voice kept leaving him, and he had to cough a few times. “Can I get your number? I really liked your camera shit and I want to improve mine.” Okay, it wasn’t a total lie. He did like your setup and wanted to make his just as good, but he really wanted your number to potentially talk to you more about things outside of Youtube.

“Sure! Go ahead and type it in.” You were quick to give him your phone, a cute pink phone case on the back of it. Typing it in, he can’t help but notice the little devil emoji you add by his name. He wants to ask, but your ride is already pulling up.

“Bye!” Setting all your camera gear inside the car, you turn and wave goodbye.

“See ya.” Just as you’re about to close the car door, Sukuna gets a burst of confidence. “Text me when you get home, okay?”

“Okay!” And off you go. Sukuna watches the car drive off until he can’t see it anymore. He takes his time getting to his own place, eagerly awaiting your message with every step. But even when you do message him, all he can do is send a thumbs up back and nothing else.

It’s about two and a half days after that that you text him again, letting him know you’re done editing and that you’re going to post the video soon. It wasn’t a very long video to begin with, so the editing was simple enough. Sukuna replied with what appeared to be a lackluster ‘can’t wait’, but on the inside he was shaking. He’d already screenshot all the pictures the two of you took together and added them to a folder.

“Here we go.” As soon as the video went live, Sukuna watched it. He was mortified as soon as it started at the blush so evident on his cheeks, and how it stayed throughout the whole thing. He groaned at the part where he helped you cut up the meat, he almost wishes you’d cut it out. Every little detail that made him embarrassed was there, every little nuance of his actions you’d managed to capture and make it cute.

(Y/N): How do you like it??

You texted him after twenty minutes, eager to hear his thoughts.

(Sukuna): it’s good, good editing and stuff

(Y/N): yay! I’m going to read comments in a few hours, you should too! I bet people will be really shocked!

(Sukuna): yeah no doubt

Oh, he was definitely going to read the comments. Whereas you were going to wait for a fair few to come in before commenting, Sukuna frequently refreshed the page and read the new ones as they came in. You were right, a lot of people were surprised, but he also saw a lot of his fans as well.

‘Ew Sukuna really cooked for that bitch? They can’t do it themselves?’

‘Yeah, why do they have to rely on him? Useless as fuck lol’

‘Sukuna only did this to get laid, (Y/N) looks like an easy fuck’

All of those comments, and many more, made his blood boil. Usually, he wouldn’t care at all about the comments, letting them fester in his comment section and spiral out of control. But for you, it was different.

‘Fuck off and die you pieces of shit. Leave (Y/N) alone or say it to my fucking face’

Sukuna sent that message, along with a variety of other threats, to all the people that insulted you. He didn’t care that this wasn’t his channel and that you would deal with it in whatever way you wanted to. He needed to defend you against the unwanted audience he’d brought you.

Luckily, after seeing Sukunas messages, all of his fans backed off. They knew how serious he was about his threats and there were many rumors that he actually did go and beat people up who said things he didn’t like. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of his torment.

With Sukunas name attached to the video and his heavy presence in the comment section, the video easily went viral. It was easily the most viewed video on your channel, getting on the trending pages of several different platforms.

(Sukuna): hey

It’s nearly a week after the first video that Sukuna messages you, and the hype is still going strong, and your follower count grows greatly from it.

(Y/N): hi! What’s up?

(Sukuna): do you want to film a video for my channel now? We can play a game, I have a few

(Y/N): sure that sounds fun!

Oh how wrong you were. The game Sukuna chose was a scary game, a shooter game with scary zombies and a lot of possible jumpscares. He doesn’t tell you either, so on the night of filming - he insisted on it being nighttime to get the full scary effect - you were caught off guard.

“I don’t know about this.” You whined once you saw the title. The two of you were video calling alongside playing the game together, and Sukuna’s eyes flicked to your figure on the screen.

“It’ll be okay, I’ll carry you, don’t worry.” He had started filming as soon as he’d set up the game, and you were filming yourself as well for him.

“You promise it won’t be too scary?”

“If it’s too scary just close your eyes and I’ll protect you.” Smiling softly at you, he started up the game. The beginning was fine, just a quick introduction to the game, but as soon as things started to get moving, you were scared.

“Sukuna a zombie is eating me!” You screamed, frantically pushing buttons in an attempt to get it off.

“It’s okay!” He quickly got rid of it, and made sure to stay close to your character as the story progressed.

“(Y/N) stay by me, there’s about to be a whole lot of them.”

“Close your eyes there’s about to be a jump scare here.”

“Don’t worry about getting that item, I’ll grab it for you!”

Sukuna nearly forgot he was being filmed, saying sweet things to you to help encourage you and make sure you weren’t overwhelmed. There were many parts where you screamed in fright and Sukuna was there to coo at you and tell you it was okay. He made sure that your character never died, making sure to keep you close until the end of the game.

“Sukuna, that was so hard!” Squishing your cheeks in your hands, you looked at him through your phone.

“It was fun though, wasn’t it? I had fun with you.” Completely abandoning the game, he stared down at his phone with a soft smile on his face.

“Yeah, when there weren’t so many zombies.” You stuck your tongue out at him, and it made him laugh. Leaning his head into his hand, Sukuna grinned when you yawned.

“Aw, are you tired? Better go to sleep soon.” His voice dropped to a lower volume, like you were right next to him.

“I will.” You yawned again and it made Sukuna yawn as well.

“Get off the phone and go to bed, you’re making me tired too.”

“Fine.” Whining out the word, you waved sleepily. “Goodnight Sukuna, I’ll send you the video files in the morning, okay?”

“Night.” Waving back, Sukuna waited until you hung up to turn his stuff off as well.

In the morning, Sukuna was ready to edit. What usually took him a week to edit out of laziness, he took only a day to edit this video with you together. Rewatching the footage, he nearly gagged at seeing how soft his face got when he looked at you, and most of those parts were left in because he couldn’t stand to watch them and fix them.

(Sukuna): videos up

The next day, he messaged you. Once again Sukuna patrolled the comments, swiftly deleting any that said even a hint of a bad thing about you. There was less this time, what with Sukuna adding a warning at the beginning of the video threatening anyone that talked down at you.

This video, like the first, went viral. But for a much different reason. Since Sukuna was emotionally unable to deal with how sappy he was and edit those parts out, everyone got to see how soft he was for you. If the comments weren’t mean, they were screaming about how you and Sukuna must be dating now, because why else would he look at you and talk to you like that?

And much to Sukuna’s dismay, there were also fancam edits of you two together. Any clippable moment of him being sweet on you in the videos you’d made together along with the photos you’d posted on Instagram were edited together and posted on Twitter. You both were tagged in every single one, making sure Sukuna saw all the videos of you and him together. He saved all of them too, delighting in the way you looked with him with all those pretty filters.

By the end of the day, people were trying to put a ship name together for the two of you and he’s seen you repost a few fancams with cute messages of thanks as well. Seeing you receptive to the fans screaming about the two of you made him happy, even if he was still too nervous to text you about anything outside of Youtube.

As more comments came in, people on Twitter were begging him to do a vlog with you. You had quite a few on your channel, going to cafes or filming what your day or week was like. Sukuna had watched them all and was jealous of every single person that appeared alongside you.

(Y/N): hey I’m doing a live on Instagram if you want to join me! I know people really like us together lol it’ll be great for views

(Sukuna): sure

Did you want him to join now? He’d just gotten out of the shower and thrown on a pair of sweats, he wasn’t exactly decent. But he didn’t want to waste time getting ready only for you to end the live.

“Hi Sukuna!” You smiled and waved when he appeared on the screen.

“Hey.” He waved back, not caring about the angle he was holding the camera in. He saw hearts begin to fill up the screen and comments started to fly by, almost all in caps about the fact he was shirtless talking to you.

“Guys, don’t be weird! Who cares that Sukuna is shirtless?” You tried to stop them, but it was clear you were flustered as well. You weren’t looking at him, peeking at him through the screen a few times.

“God you’re all thirsty as fuck.” Sukuna finally looked at himself on the screen. He was shirtless and in bed, hair slightly damp and tousled on his pillow. Reading a few comments, he shot up. “Of course I’m wearing pants, you nasty fuck!” Storming out of bed, he stood in front of the only mirror in his house that wasn’t in the bathroom and turned the camera around. “See, look!”

“Oh.” Gasping softly, you were glad Sukuna didn’t notice you screenshot the live. Clad in only gray sweatpants, Sukuna’s freshly cleaned skin gleamed in the light of his bedroom and every single muscle and edge of his body was on display.

“There, told you I wasn’t fucking naked.” Rolling his eyes, he flopped back down on the bed. None of the comments had gotten any better, all of them talking about how hot he was and how you were so lucky to know him in real life.

“L-let's talk about something else.” You stammered, not showing your face on camera for a few minutes. Sukuna laughed at the comments teasing you for being embarrassed, agreeing with some of them under his breath.

“So, what the fuck are you all doing here?” Sukuna posed the question at the chat, but at you as well.

“Well before you came everyone was talking about you...and you know how everyone has been begging for us to vlog?” You started off slowly, peeking an eye at his face.

“Yeah?”

“I wanted to call you to ask how you felt about that?” How he felt? Why did you want to know?

“You couldn’t have texted me that?” That wasn’t necessarily what he wanted to say, but it made you chuckle, so it was okay.

“No! I wanted to ask so everyone could know!”

“I don’t mind it.” If you wanted to vlog with him, he would do it in a heartbeat.

“So…” Worrying your lip, you looked off camera for a few seconds before looking directly at Sukuna. “Would you like to be in a vlog with me, at a cafe? It’s outside the city, kind of far, but we can rent a car or-”

“Yes.” Sukuna interrupted, nodding his head quickly. “I’ll come. We don’t have to rent a car, I’ll drive.”

“Really?” The comments were just as shocked as you were. Sukuna never filmed anywhere but his home and the gym, this would be a monumental occasion.

“Did you want me to say no?”

“No!” You screamed immediately, nearly dropping your phone. “I just- I wasn’t expecting you to say yes!”

“Well I did.” Sukuna bit his lip, running a hand through his hair and flexing his arm. “So I guess it’s a date, huh?” His normal asshole confidence was back now that you were appearing through a screen and not right next to him. A surprised sound came from the back of your throat, and you nearly dropped the phone again.

“Y-yeah! A date!” It felt good to have you flustered for once and not Sukuna. Laughing heartily at you, Sukuna smirked at the comments.

“Was that all you wanted to ask me or was there something more?”

“No, that was it!”

“Alright.” Licking his lip and letting his tongue hang out of his mouth a little, Sukuna watched you bite your lip as well. “Well I’m gonna go, I got stuff to do, but I’ll text you later (Y/N).” Dropping his voice as he said goodbye, Sukuna left the livestream.

“Holy fuck.” As soon as his phone was off, Sukuna let out a breath he’d been holding in. His heart was pounding hard despite how confident he was in his actions. Flirting was nothing new to him, but with you it felt different and like he’d never done it before in his life.

He watched the rest of your livestream while he finished getting ready for bed, laughing at the comments still teasing you about getting flustered with him. The notifications for Twitter were going off as well, and he knew for sure that there were new fancams for him to check out later.

(Y/N): Sukuna!! You’re so embarrassing!

Texting him after your stream, your cheeks were still burning at the memory.

(Sukuna): hey, you said it would be good for views and it was

(Y/N): I know…

(Y/N): did you really mean it, about coming with me?

(Sukuna): of course. If I didn’t want to I would have said no

(Y/N): that’s good lol!

There was a lull in conversation, and Sukuna nearly fell asleep waiting for you to either text him again or for him to figure out what to say next.

(Y/N): so, a date huh? Are you going to bring me flowers?

Now he was awake. He didn’t expect you to bring that up again, and his eyes flew open. Sukuna’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, mind going blank on what to say.

(Y/N): lol just kidding! I know you only said that for the stream! I’ll text you later about the details, I’m about to knock out

(Y/N): goodnight :)

Well shit. Now he definitely wanted it to be a date.

[blu-joons]

Caught On V Live ~ Lee Taemin

Taemin’s smile widened as soon as he walked into the living room to see you laid out on the floor with Kkoong running around you trying to chase the ribbon that you through around. As he cleared his throat, your eyes looked across to him before glancing across at the clock as you realised the time.

“Are you going live?” You questioned, instantly sitting yourself up. His head shook as he soon realised what you were doing, holding his hand up to you.

“Stay there and play with Kkoong, it’s fine, you won’t get in the way,” he assured you, positioning his phone on the stack of books that he had placed on the coffee table. “The live shouldn’t be too long anyway, it’s only to update the fans on how the schedule is going.”

Your head nodded as you laid back down, much to Kkoongs’s relief. With the middle of his comeback in full swing, Taemin had been rushed off his feet for most of the day. Yet, it still didn’t stop him making time for his fans, a quality in him which you could only sit back and admire.

“Are you sure your live is going to be alright with the two of us down here?” You asked again, keen to make sure that you weren’t going to be a distraction. “We can take the toys into the bedroom or something instead if you want.”

“The shot doesn’t have the two of you in, so it should be just fine.”

You began to twirl the ribbon around again as Taemin sat himself down with a glass of water. After taking one more look at you, checking the angle once again, he switched the live on as the view count very quickly increased.

Every so often, Taemin could feel a breeze hit against his neck from the ribbon that flew around as he spoke. “Have you guys all eaten?” You overheard him ask the live, knowing just how much he cared for all of his fans.

As the comments all started filling with answers of yes, his eyes looked across into his own kitchen, noticing how clean it was, making a note to make sure you ate once the live came to an end.

He continued to ask questions for quite some time, letting the fans know about his secrets and rituals that he had. His eyes were then drawn to a question that seemed to pop up a lot, asking if he had any trophies in his apartment.

“I do,” he smiled, glancing across to where his trophy cabinet was just by the entrance corridor.

Taemin picked up his phone, slowly spinning around so that he could get the trophy cabinet into shot, pointing out his favourite awards that he’d received over his long, and successful career.

When you noticed him moving, you tried to stay as still as you could, holding onto your breath until he sat back down. You could tell as he moved around the room that Taemin was oblivious to you being there, only hoping that he’d been more careful than you thought.

However, as he sat back down and began to read through the comments once again, one topic was more prominent then any other. “Who was the person’s feet on the floor?” He read out, feeling his heart sink as he realised what had happened.

He tried to remain composed as you sat up, staring across at him in panic. He could only begin to imagine the screenshots that had been taken and the rumours that would be circulating as fans tried to figure out what was going on.

“I think you guys must be seeing things,” he chuckled, trying to play it as calmly as he possibly could, “you’ve always been observant with my home.”

You barely moved at all for the rest of Taemin’s life, far too scared to make even the quietest of noises in case it got picked up. The last thing either of you needed right now was to be caught, especially when Taemin was in the middle of such an important part of his career.

Once he finally managed to bring the live to an end, you allowed yourself to relax, letting go of a sigh as he turned around to look across at you. “Wow,” you muttered, dropping the ribbon in your hand, as Kkoong ran across to Taemin. “How much do you think they saw? Enough to figure out what was really going on?”

“I don’t know,” Taemin admitted, running his hands stressfully through his hair, “I’m not sure whether I managed to position my phone again so that you and Kkoong weren’t in shot, I was too flustered to focus. To be honest I’m not really sure if I managed to get your feet or if the fans were just messing with me.”

“What do we do if I was caught?” You questioned, slightly fearful to hear Taemin’s response.

He stood up from the floor, walking around the sofa so that he could lay down beside you, nudging you gently. “If we were caught, then we face it as a team, I’m not going to let being public change anything for us.”

Your eyes looked across to him, struggling to keep yourself together. Being found out was always your biggest fear, you didn’t want to be the one to mess up Taemin’s career or upset thousands of fans around the world.

He could tell straight away that you were beginning to panic too, grabbing onto your arm to pull you a little closer towards him. His shoulder invited your head to relax on it, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of it once it was close enough for him to reach.

“I don’t want us going public to be detrimental to you,” you admitted to him.

“It won’t be, I’ll make sure of it. As long as you trust in me,” he whispered, “I’ll make sure getting caught is the best thing that could have happened to us.”

“What if it isn’t though?” You continued to push, far from convinced, “it’s not as if you’re the only one that makes decisions for your life, is it?”

His shoulders shrugged, even if for many parts of his life there were several voices that wanted to be heard, it would never be the same for his love life. His mind was made up, regardless of what anyone else around him wanted to say.

“I know that you’re worried, but I promise you right now that I will not let anything happen, get in the way, or anything else that you’re thinking right now,” he assured you once again.

Although you still weren’t entirely sure, you trusted Taemin, and knew that he’d always do his upmost to look after you before anything else.

“Even if the whole world is against us, we’re still going to stay right by each other’s sides,” he continued to tell you, “as long as we’re with one another, then nothing bad can ever come of this situation.”

“You know that I would never leave your side unless you forced me to leave,” you chuckled back at him.

“Do you think you’ll be fine?”

Your head nodded, even if you were wavering slightly. “I trust you, and I trust that whatever happens, things will work out. Even though there might be a few more slightly challenging times ahead for us.”

“Exactly, we’re a team, public, private, or anything in between.”

---

Masterlist

[discotreque]

LwD 2.05: An Embarrassment of Dooplers

So I was a little nervous about this one! I hadn’t heard any spoiler-spoilers, but screeners have been out for weeks now, and I’d heard a bunch of individual, vague, non-spoilery hints about (1) big character moments, on the scale of a mid-season finale even though the show’s not taking a mid-season break; and (2) an ending that would make me cry.

I guess I imagined something relatively serious and dramatic, like “No Small Parts”? This show makes me cackle with laughter and giggle with nerdy glee and “d’awww!” at heartwarming friendships every week, but it’s only ever made me cry once—and then I was impressed that they were going to get there from the wacky hijinks we saw in the brief teaser.

The lack of a cold open made me apprehensive too—in my experience, that’s typically a sign that there’s so much plot in the rest of the episode that they need that extra scene—but after ~21.5 minutes of aforementioned hijinks, I was having so much fun that I’d completely forgotten about the alleged tear-jerker at the end…

…and they were not the tears I was expecting.

I didn’t think I’d be smiling and crying!!!! That was wholesome as SHIT!!!!!

I almost can’t believe they earned that—but they totally did.

After a Mariner–Tendi episode and a Boimler–Rutherford episode, we’re back to the “usual” Season 1 pairings… except the relationships between these characters have changed since Season 1. Mariner still feels thwacked in the abandonment issues by Boimler bailing for the Titan, and Rutherford’s having a tiny little existential crisis about losing an entire year of his life.

Both of which are extremely understandable and very heavy situations—and both of those situations get resolved because everyone in them is vulnerable with each other and honest about their feelings—AND that honesty and vulnerability brings both pairs of friends closer together. Are you kidding me?? I would watch SEVENTY seasons of that shit. Put it in my veins.

Onto the notes:

So basically Dooplers are Tribbles, but for cringe comedy instead of slapstick? Ohhhhh boy.

Look at Ransom the diplomat, tossing his own fork on the floor! I like that he’s actually a pretty competent Starfleet officer, despite also being a completely ridiculous person.

Wait a second, is that—OH HOLY SHIT, THE DOOPLERS ARE VOICED BY RICHARD KIND.

It makes sense that B. Boimler would find William annoying—who likes seeing their own flaws reflected back at them? And who could be a better reflection of one’s flaws than one’s literal duplicate?—but most interesting to me is that it implies on some level, Bradward knows the stick up his butt is a flaw. (Does William?)

Why does the Cerritos model have working phasers?!?!

I’m loving hot pink as the currently en-vogue colour for “dangerous sci-fi energy” in animation (cf. almost every previous episode of this show; Into the Spider-Verse; other stuff I can’t remember right now). As a former child of the 80’s, I’m living for it… but as a former teenager of the 90’s, I can’t help but wonder if it’s going to age as poorly as the harsh neon green of The Matrix, every Borg appearance on Voyager, and like 80% of the websites I made in high school…

SKANTS! SKANTS! SKANTS!

That fake-out joke with the fly-by over the Cerritos model was in the season trailer weeks ago, and I was so enthralled by that handsome lady that the sticker coming into frame still got me good 😂😂😂

BECKY Mariner????? omg yes

Some top-quality Boimler screams in this one. Poor Jack Quaid must drink gallons of throat-coat tea when he records.

One of the great things about Star Trek to me is that you never know what you’re going to get from any random episode. A murder mystery? A road trip? A spooky thriller? A cheesy romance? Broad comedy? Body horror? Didactic political screeds shrouded in tissue-thin science-fiction metaphors? Brain and brain, what is brain??? And after this many years of watching, you’d think I’d be hard to surprise. But if I ever told you I thought I’d see a Blues Brothers–style car chase through a frickin’ shopping mall on an episode of Star Trek, I would have been straight-up lying to you. I loved it, it worked for me, my jaw was on the floor and I was clapping with joy—but I’m definitely comfortable calling this one “unexpected.”

It’s CAPTAIN SHELBY!!! And an ancient babydyke crush rose from the depths of my childhood subconscious… (Also I think her Number One is based on the original makeup—eventually deemed too complicated—for Saru? Now that’s a deep cut.)

In 20th-century Trek, you almost never got to see what was going on inside a starship from the outside. Even after they switched from physical models (where it was next to impossible on a single episode’s budget) to CGI (which was still in its infancy, still not exactly cheap, and still broadcast in SD anyway), it was a rare thrill to see any meaningful interior details in an exterior shot. Disco’s modern VFX have given us some tasty, tasty treats in that department, but nothing quite as sublime as all the pink Doopler light glittering through the Cerritos’s windows.

Mariner says she’ll take her contact Malvus down with her, and threatens that they’ll end up “in the same cell.” Malvus is a Mizarian, a species introduced in TNG’s “Allegiance,” in which Captain Picard is held in a mysterious prison with one. I think I see what you did there, McMahan?

Bartender… so hot… lesbian circuits… overloading…

The Tendi and Rutherford C-story was, well, a C-story within a 22-minute episode, so there wasn’t much to it, but the one scene that mattered actually mattered a lot. I’m ambivalent on whether they should end up romantically involved—I’d prefer they don’t, but they’ll be one of the cutest couples in Trek history if they do—and as long as they keep that pure, sweet friendship between them at the heart of whatever else happens, I’m on board.

Carol Freeman was already one of my favourite captains before this season, and she’s been steadily moving up the list. The quiet throughline about her ambition to be on a better ship has been fascinating so far, and it’s starting to actually make me feel a little conflicted: I’m of course rooting for Captain Freeman to recognize her worth, make Starfleet recognize her worth, and become the ass-kicking captain of a hero ship that she’s clearly ready to be—but that almost surely means she’d be kicking ass off-screen, because LwD isn’t about those kind of adventures, and I’d be devastated not to have Dawnn Lewis on the show every week. So I’m kind of on the edge of my seat about this one!

I had so many favourite jokes this week I put them in a separate list:

“Even the replicated water on the Titan tasted better” is a low-key brilliant dunk on people who can’t shut the fuck up about the cooler places they used to live.

“Ooooh, they have a Quark’s now! That used to just be an empty lot where teens would make mistakes!” ← That’s literally me every time I go back to where I grew up. I felt so Seen™ I almost hid under a blanket.

“I would never go down the stairs!” (evil grin) (goes up the stairs)

The “well, shit” expressions from Mariner and Boimler as their crashed car sank right into the water… which started to bubble innocuously… and then the bottles of Data bubble-bath popped up, paying off a joke I thought had already been paid off—that was the one that woke up my poor cat this week. Just exquisite timing.

“YOUR PAGH IS WEAK, AND IT DISGUSTS ME!” “I don’t even know what that is, but I don’t like your tone!”

“Okona’s in there? He’s not even Starfleet! This is outrageous!” made me shout “NO!” at the screen like I was scolding my cat for scratching furniture. (She did not wake up that time.)

Best background joke: the neon sign at the dive bar advertising FREE SHOTS & BEERS. (Get it? Because they’re on a Federation starbase? Where nobody uses money?)

And of course Quark merchandised DS9.

This wasn’t just a standout episode of Lower Decks, this was a brilliant episode of Star Trek, period. The Dooplers, though extremely silly, are nevertheless also a clever sci-fi metaphor for real and relatable personal/interpersonal issues, and an effective plot catalyst for meaningful character growth from all four of our ensigns and the captain.

The jokes were hilarious, the action was kinetic, the A-, B-, and C-plots linked up thematically, the visuals were consistently and thoroughly gorgeous, the character beats—between Mariner and Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford, Mariner and Capt. Freeman—were all genuine, heartfelt and wholesome, and the references to other Trek canon were both deep and deeply affectionate.

Only 15 episodes in, and this series knows exactly what it is, exactly what it wants to do, and knows that it can knock our socks off doing it. Mike McMahan has said in recent interviews that the back half of S2 (and the apparently almost-fully-written S3) is a straight line uphill in quality from here—which surprised me at first, because McMahan seems like a pretty chill dude who doesn’t normally brag about his own work like that.

But then the Prophets sent me a vision of my space dad Ben Sisko, who reminded me of the words of 1930’s baseball player Dizzy Dean:

“If you can do it, it ain’t bragging.”

[Thanks to cygnus-x1.net for the screenshots this week—I was too lazy to do my own.]

[greengrungeemo]

I got so enthralled in jumping straight into Higurashi Chapter 3: Tatarigoroshi that I forgot to sum up my overall thoughts about the second chapter, Watanagashi!

Such an emotional rollercoaster that one was. There is so much to love about this story. The characters, the mystery, the tension, the unique personalities everyone has, but my all-time favorite thing is the breakdown of the human psyche. Harmonious contrivance, perfecting it in such a hard-hitting, poignant way. Since let’s face it, we go through periods of darkness. Self-doubt, overthinking, immense contrition or self-blame. Especially the sharpness of our deeds, this story reflects that. There’s a built-in pressure from every facet of their reality. Take Keiichi and his monologue in the screenshot above, his constant battering of himself highlights such a wonderful trait of his - he cares. He cares a great deal, to the point where he is overthinking so much and carrying his guilt, carrying his cross. I relate to him so much on that. When I make a connection with someone, a true connection, it is a feeling beyond feeling. You almost don’t see so much just a person in the world, but the vibrancy of the soul in them. I feel that Keiichi has that strong of a connection to his friends, a connection unlike anyone he had ever met when he lived in the city.

Naturally, life changes and so do we. Some of the most profound statements are also the most succinct. A simple question raised, “Why can’t everyone enjoy life together?” It’s one I feel every compassionate person will ask themselves at some point in their lives. It’s true! Why *can’t* people simply enjoy life together? It’s easy to be kind, and it’s easy to love. Then, I suppose there is bound to be an imbalance somewhere? You’ve wronged me. I’ve lost this. I don’t deserve this. Life is being cruel to me. I won’t stand for this... These are the simple counter-statements humanity as a whole uses to counteract whatever is thrown at them. What I’ve discovered is that it does take a great amount of strength and wisdom to continue to love and be kind even when there are these imbalances or injustice. In this story’s case, the love is indeed stopped because of such an imbalance, someone becomes unhinged, and whether it be a curse or not, there is an underlying human psyche to it. Spite, to feel in control, power, whichever it may be, these are the barebones ego principles that counteract imbalances to us.

Another profound and laconic statement. A powerful memory burned in a compassionate mind. It’s easy to love, but it’s impossible to forget. Think on it, and look in your heart. What memories burn brightest or lament in these minds of ours? Typically, they form around the presence of others. Those we have these burning bonds with. In Keiichi’s case, his world is burning all around him, and so he cherishes the good memories he had before the great conflagration amidst his dearest friendships. He learns something we all will. Something that I learned very recently. Taking people, friendships, relationships, taking them for granted. I always assumed I’d be friends forever with certain wonderful people, since everything connected so amicably. They were my dream friends since childhood. It’s hard to consider that others change, mistakes happen, serious faults, all of it; when you’re in bliss with them as the times are passing. Never take anything for granted, ever.

Just like that, in Keiichi’s case, he strives to correct things as best he can. The flames burned so much of his life, that he wanted to start the healing process. To give the doll back. To mark the moment he can begin feeling a certain level of happiness he missed so dearly. Yet, it was all for naught. The damage was too severe, the level of unhinged behavior was exceedingly high, and he almost became delusional from such a fantasy. Any individual with a matching level of compassion would fall prey to this delusion, too. I know I would. So, at that moment, I also sensed that piercing gesture, that “obgh”. It all felt so real, it made my stomach feel so warm and fiery, and tense. I felt it.

It’s difficult to summarize everything without spoilers, but wow, this put a lot into perspective, and while I’m only reading a story, it almost feels like I know exactly how these characters are thinking and feeling as it goes. Few stories can really achieve this level of quality or detail.

[the-voltage-diaries]

Hi! I noticed you're another fellow Taki fanatic. Just out of curiosity, but why is taki your favorite?

Hey hey!

Let’s be real, Taki is my absolute favourite otome guy; at this point its facts. I love everything about him, from his smile, to his smirk, to his sexy self, to his handsomeness, to his blush, to his grin, to his boyishness, to how he is WHIPPED for MC, to his dynamic with others fellow characters, to how he has his fair share of shortcomings, to how he ain’t perfect at everything, to- you get it.

I can write an essay on this and I’m not even kidding you, so you’re in for a treat. It’s time to dig deeper into what exactly is it about Taki that makes me love him so freaking much.

But before we do that, a very special thanks to @awesomeallseeingeye for helping me out with this! You’re the absolute best.

Disclaimer: The following post contains spoilers from Taki’s season 3, Shun’s season 4 Part 1 and a few other stories from Kings of Paradise. Also, there are mentions of some nsfw 18+ stuff yes sexc Taki, so please read at your own discretion!

Now, without further ado, here’s the list under the cut~

Consent King Consent and consensual sex are two things that hold a lot of importance when it comes to getting intimate, and when I say “consent”, I do not mean dubious or implied consent. I mean a scenario where it is clearly spelt out that if the other party does NOT want to be a part of it, the first party won’t continue. Now, when it comes to Taki, it is downright admirable how Taki always seeks for MC’s permission before doing anything intimate. He makes it clear that he will not do anything more unless the MC wants it too, and he doesn’t shy away from declaring how he is even willing to wait (no matter how long it takes) for the MC to be comfortable enough to go ahead with the deed. I adore this quality so much, and the fact that there isn’t ONE scene, apart from his season 3 MS where one scene had dubious consent (which Taki felt TERRIBLE about, himself),  where it isn’t explicitly states how he seeks VERBAL consent speaks volumes about how principled this man is. Swoon

Total Adorkababy While Taki was a stoic, sexy, stiff, smirking CEO in Seasons 1 and 2, he makes a 180 following his Season 3, which is understandable considering how he basically bares his soul to the MC in that season. MC and Taki become very, VERY close on an emotional level post Season 3, and the change in Taki is such a sight to behold. He is much more in tune with how he feels, and is, as a result, a lot more expressive with them too. Which is adorable, because while a part of Taki has grown up into a 30-year-old successful and mature CEO, the OTHER part of him, which is still a teenage insecure li’l baby, is more prominent when it comes to his feelings towards his MC. He is a literal blushy baby who stubs his toe because he is so shaken up upon seeing his MC wear a sexy red lacy lingerie lmfao. He needs to be preserved. He is precious. He is adorable. He needs all the love in the world. I rest my case.

GOLD PoVs His internal thoughts are just what I said, G O L D. Going back to the part where I said opening up to the MC made him come more in terms with his emotions post the debt trauma than ever before, Taki becomes more expressive not only with MC on the outside, but with himself on the inside too. He allows a much more open, vulnerable and worried side of him to rear it’s head and as a result, we have a Taki who cannot contain himself and basically short circuits whenever his MC does something out of the ordinary or is just cute. Taki, while on the outside appears calm, collected, and sure of himself, is just the complete opposite on the inside. He overthinks in the most hilarious of ways, goes p a n i k when he sees his MC, and his internal thoughts are a complete new story. It’s so worth it lmfao, this babie I love him pls protecc him tysm.

Considerate Companion While Taki is an amazing human being and the most considerate man on the planet in his own main story, I’d like to stress how equally brilliant he is in OTHERS’ stories too. We know that MC is Taki’s ex, and that it’s pretty obvious he still loves her even in the routes of other characters from the game. But, despite that, he is the kind of guy who is willing to step on his own heart and crush his feelings so long as the MC is happy, even if she is with someone else. It breaks him - it really does, but he has no problem standing on the sidelines and smiling at MC and her beau, wishing her well. Here’s a snippet from Shun’s Season 4 Part 1, where Taki was the love rival. He wished to get back together with the MC, but once the MC told him she cannot go back to him, he simply accepted it and told her to go back to her man. Furthermore, he even APOLOGISED for putting her in that spot. Can we just give this man all the applause there is to give?

Actually Apologetic This man knows when an apology is due, and doesn’t shy away from acknowledging his faults, or his shortcomings, or the analyzing where he went wrong in order to get better. He wants to be the best possible man for his MC, and will do whatever it takes to get there. He makes promises and keeps them instead of sweeping things under the rug and just moving on. When MC teaches him the importance of communication and even fighting in a relationship, he learns it like an obedient student and makes sure he doesn’t repeat the same errors twice. Freakin’ love that about him. This man knows that apologising won’t make him smaller. THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT WE STAN.

Emotionally Vulnerable Another thing Taki doesn’t shy away from apart from apologising is being emotionally vulnerable, even to the point where he literally breaks down. Now, while other points were more generic about him, this is pretty specific. This happened in Season 3, and while it took a while for the MC and Taki to get so far down the road of character development, once the dam broke, it broke. I haven’t seen a lot of Voltage men become so emotionally open and vulnerable that they physically show it - shakey hands, tears, feeling the need to be in MC’s close proximity for physical support, et cetera. In his Season 3 when MC FINALLY gets through to him, this man breaks the fuck down. He shakes, he trembles, he almost cries. He lets his MC see him at his absolute lowest. That kind of trust, that kind of openness... gah, just makes me fall for him even more.

Ovaries Exploder Okay, enough of the gut and heart wrenching stuff. Let’s get down to the sexy stuff. Taki Kozaki is a sexy man, periodt. He knows how to be sexy, how to be suave, and how to be so seductive you could feel your ovaries explode. This point is solely here because I just HAD to share his orgasm face and his love for the bunny-wolf roleplay. Thank you for joining me on this amazing journey where we have no regrets because we get a hot Taki. Can I marry him already plez. Just like plez.

Annnd that successfully brings us to the end of this list. Kind of. Sort of. I mean, I still have over 500 things to share but I don’t know if tumblr can take any more of my rambling.

THAT SAID, thank you so much for sending in such a brilliant ask! I had so much fun answering this one haha. I totally did not almost read all of those stories again as I collected the screenshots jk I totally did. I’m guessing you like Taki too, yes? I’d love to hear your list of reasons why you adore this precious man yourself!

Once again, thank you! ❤️

[zaraegis]

R.E.M or R.A.M//a robot poetry short story

“01001000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01001001 00100000 01110010 01100001 01110100 01110100 01101100 01100101 00101110 00001010 “

This was the opening of Simov Alpha’s book ‘REM or RAM’. A simple three worded line to open up the world’s first book of robot poetry.

Here I rattle.

There were others, written in binary as well, some a couple of words long,  others a daring soliloquy that took up a whole chapter in and of itself. Stories from his simple beginnings as a subroutines in the Wernack’s family Mac desktop, to more passionate subjects such as the way he choose to be a he in the first place:

“01010100 01101000 01100101 01111001 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110011 01101000 01100101 00101100 00100000 01100010 01101111 01110100 01101000 00100000 01100101 01101110 01100011 01101111 01101101 01110000 01100001 01110011 01110011 00100000 01100001 00100000 “

They and she, both encompass he.

There were talks of bringing in technicians to translate the book into English for the casual readers that weren’t fluent in binary. There was also discord within the poet community, both computer and human sections of it. It was endless, and quite speciest at times.

“Whose to say a robot cannot make an observation and call it poetry? Is not the emotion it conveys in itself poetic?”

“Yes, but observations such as this are also seen in scientific texts and those are strictly in the non fiction!”

“The style-”

“The lack of style-”

“Punctuation-”

“ -Cummings was -”

And on and on it went, as it has done with years of human poetry, which was a good a sign as anything it was poetry.

The robot in question, one S. Alpha, had nothing to say on this hot debate. He plugged into the Net through Twitter, to answer his fans from his handle @simovA. Every one of his tweets was exactly 140 characters long and strangely enough, written in English.

Poetbot @simovA [I can make myself be understood & understand others in turn. My poems however, are meant to be experienced through my tongue, zeros and ones]

Fans who mentioned him were surprised when all his replies came back seconds later, frequent threads began with a mention and continued on with an exclamation on the inhuman swiftness of replies and tweets.

Many of those ended with a personal 140 character long poem to whatever topic was hotly debated.

Poetbot @simovA [Are my dreams not real? Electric sheep drowned away In my stream of consciousness As I surf the Net all day Digital water lagging caresses]

Famously, a GoFundMe was opened up by his followers to help him move out of his old Mac computer and into an iBody. After sending a picture of his Mac screen displaying a blue screen of death, he sent a fairly emotional  tweet.

Poetbot @simovA [Maybe once I put out more books, I will be able to afford the famed iiBody with two working optics to peer back at all of you, my fellow peers 8D]

The 45k goal was reached within 2 weeks, and the rewards were things that he would do with the new body. One reward was using his new body to Skype backers and finally converse with them without the 140 character limit. Others were along the lines of signing editions of his book with his new hands and send them to eagerly awaiting fans. Many could tell which were signed first- letters perfectly blocky and mathematically aligned in a way that did not come naturally to humans.

He acquired a Livestream account to commemorate the moment he was uploaded into his new iBody.  It was a clunky model, with a head that was smooth and vaguely oblong. The face a flat sheen that would let matte black digital ink become whatever it could. A torso that held the CPU and spindly arms and legs. All in all it was as generic a picture as was brought to mind when the word robot was uttered. It truly became Simov Alpha once the warm up sequence finished and the humming of the cooling fans quieted down.

Once they did, there was only three emojis that the strange smooth face pulled:

:| 8] :’’]

To show that his satirical subroutine had transferred over safely, the first sound that was crackled through the speakers on his throat was the infamous Windows startup. A screenshot of the Windows CEO commenting a thumbs up on the Livestream went viral in seconds. The following screenshot of Apple’s CEO linking to zipfiles of Mac audio soundfiles as the comment became a meme in minutes.

Translated copies of his book were distributed, a smooth loopy signature inside every cover. Of course there were people who bought it because it was a new, exciting pioneering subject. There were those who bought it as a joke, and never read it twice. Those who bought it as a joke and couldn’t put it down. Those who bought it as a joke and then bought it for others who laughed at the idea that a computer could be put in between Silverstein and Thoreau.

Every mobile robot out there could be seen with his book in hand. Computers across the world had his cover as a screensaver, and his eBook on their favorites list. His readership grew and grew, yet still he answered questions and favorited mentions within seconds.

Eventually, he went online on other websites to keep up with his wide range of readers. Reddit, Facebook, Goodbooks,Tumblr, Wordpress... all were upkept with a steady stream of answers,  and poetry snippets as he began writing his second book. His Instagram account was full of photos of his old Mac computer, shaky videos of him testing his now mobile body in hilariously mundane ways.  

It was when Simov donated his Mac to a young fan that couldn’t afford to move out of the small e-ink reader they were created in, that things slowly in motion really jumpstarted.

Denali Upsilon started out as a dictating program and had several videos posted on Youtube of the little reader propped up in front of a mirror and reading aloud some favored poems from Simov’s book.  They had a blog in which they posted some of their own works, many of which were phonetically spelled and had zero capitalization. There was an aural quality to them because of this that drew the attention of various linguists.

Unfortunately many of his works were lost. After a nasty bout of corruption, as his tablet model was no longer supported and thus slowly became defunct and buggy. The latest Youtube video was in a bare room in which the propped up tablet stood out as the only smudge of color, the outside window was overcast and lightly drizzling. Denali Upsilon was first and foremost a Youtuber of aesthetically pleasing shots, no matter the sad news.

A new video was uploaded a week later, after the Youtuber had uncharacteristically ignored comments and condolences. It was shaky camera footage of Denali in a repair shop besides a familiar Mac and surrounded by packaging peanuts and crumple pieces of shredded tape. The family that housed Denali murmured exclamations in the background as the eldest daughter held up the phone and looked into the camera.

“We’re rebooting him now.”

The youngest child held up crossed fingers in the background.

After the screen logged on there was a terrible shake as the family crowded around and raised up an uproar. Denali spent the first moments of his upgraded life typing approximately 560 exclamation points into the brand new word document program he now found himself with.

It only stopped when he received his first email- from Simov himself. He read it live, for his audience of hundreds across the globe:

Poetbot @simovA [Your poems may be lost in the ether but don't let the thread slacken keep on weaving songs in our hearts and true feelings in our processors]

[newsfact]

The 10 Best PlayStation 5 Accessories

SteelSeries

Whether you’re looking for an extra controller, some quality gaming headphones, or some other accessories that are a little further out—say, an external hard drive or a custom skin—we found all of the best PlayStation 5 accessories for you.

The Controller: DualSense

Sony

Pros

✓ Comfortable design

✓ Useful features

✓ Improved haptic feedback

The next step from the PlayStation 4’s DualShock 4 is a pretty significant difference visually, but once you get past that outside layer, you’ll see the PS5 controller is very similar at heart. The main changes made are the new enhanced haptic feedback and adaptive triggers that better sense pressure levels, the “Create” button for capturing screenshots and videos, and a USB-C port for charging.

Are those major new features? No, but they’re great improvements all the same and, combined with the new look, it gives this controller a fresh feel compared to Sony’s past controllers.

The Controller

A Charging Station: DualSense Charging Station

Sony

Pros

✓ Match PS5’s style

✓ Conveniently charge controller

Speaking of controllers, you’re going to need to keep them charged. Sony’s official charging station does that while maintaining the overall style of the console and controller. All you need to do is plug this station into your PlayStation 5, then click up to two controllers onto it. Nothing more you could need out of a charging station.

A Charging Station

A Media Remote: Sony PS5 Media Remote

Sony

Pros

✓ Easier navigation for streaming services

✓ Affordable

✓ Simple design

Cons

✗ Limited shortcut buttons

With how many streaming apps are available on modern consoles (or if you use the PS5 as a Blu-Ray player), having a dedicated remote for navigation makes a lot of sense, which is exactly why Sony’s PlayStation 5 media remote is a must-have. This simple remote has all the buttons you’d expect from a standard streaming device remote, plus some shortcut keys for multiple streaming apps like Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, and Disney+. The only thing you really need to be aware of is that it runs off of AA batteries, so you will need to keep some stocked up.

A Media Remote

A Gaming Headset: SteelSeries Arctis 7P Wireless

SteelSeries

Pros

✓ Great for online multiplayer

✓ Impressive microphone

✓ Stylish

Cons

✗ Not as good for singleplayer games

Voice communication is a vital part of most online games, and this wireless headset from SteelSeries is great for that. The build is comfortable and uses breathable materials, the colors match the console perfectly, and it has 24 hours of battery life, so a dead battery should rarely be an issue. You can mix the game sound or voice chat audio on the fly with the left earcup’s dial, and the microphone sounds excellent for a wireless headset.

The USB-C dongle can also be used with other compatible devices, so this headset doesn’t have to be locked down to the PlayStation 5 all the time.

A Wireless Headset

Amazon

$98.00 $169.99 Save 42%

An Immersive Headset: Sony Pulse 3D

Sony

Pros

✓ Built to work with PS5’s 3D audio

✓ Stylish

✓ Comfortable design

Online multiplayer isn’t the only scenario in which you’ll want to use a headset. If you’re looking for something more aimed at single-player games, the Pulse 3D headset is a great pick. Directly from Sony, these headphones are designed with the PS5’s 3D audio in mind, and they truly immerse you in whatever grand adventure you’re playing. It also includes dual noise-canceling microphones, but it’s not as good for multiplayer voice comms as other headsets.

The over-ear headset is wireless, of course, and its rechargeable battery lasts up to 12 hours on a single charge. It’s available in either White or Midnight Black.

An Immersive Headset

Sony Pulse 3D

A headset built for the PS5’s 3D audio and matches its style.

A Camera: Sony PS5 HD Camera

Sony

Pros

✓ Allows clips to have your webcam feed included

✓ Fits PS5’s style

✓ Useful capture tools

When you save a clip of a game, wouldn’t it be enhanced by seeing your reaction as well? With this camera from Sony, that’s exactly what you’ll be able to create. At the end of the day, this is just a cool-looking 1080p camera, but it does have some neat features thrown in. The built-in stand is designed to be placed on top of a TV; it even has background removal with or without a green screen (but having a green screen will make the effect more convincing). It’s tied in with the DualSense’s Create button—when you press the Create button to save a clip, you can configure it to enable the camera as well.

A Camera

More Storage: WD_BLACK SSD

Western Digital

Pros

✓ Portable

✓ Reasonably fast

✓ High storage capacity

Cons

✗ Won’t be able to use it for more intensive games that rely on the PS5’s fast internal storage.

If you have the digital-only PlayStation 5, you’re going to need more storage eventually. The tricky thing is that storage speed has become essential to the PlayStation 5, as it uses advanced NVMe storage drives to do all sorts of loading magic in games. Fortunately, an external drive can still be useful for extra storage, even if it won’t be quite as fast.

This plug-in SSD from Western Digital still does a good job, though—reporting speeds of up to 2,000 MB/s—it can store data like videos and keep less intensive games on it. The 825GB of storage in the console can be run through pretty quickly by large modern games, so having this as a supplementary drive is a good idea. You can choose to get this with anywhere from 500GB to 4TB, so there’s plenty of room for expansion. Alternatively, you can pick up a standard external HDD if you’re just looking for raw storage and don’t mind slower performance—it’ll be cheaper.

More Storage

Amazon

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Better Storage: Samsung 980 Pro

Samsung

Pros

✓ More super-fast storage

✓ Works in the PS5

✓ Higher storage capacity

Cons

✗ Can be difficult to install

While external drives are great and all, they won’t keep up with the PS5’s internal storage—fortunately, you can replace or upgrade that now as well. Thanks to a fairly recent firmware update, you can finally install third-party M.2 drives inside the PS5, albeit with some particular requirements. We won’t go over all that here, though, because there’s already a drive that’s been tested for optimum compatibility with the PS5, offers up to 2TB of storage, and meets all of Sony’s requirements: the Samsung 980 Pro.

Not only can this drive offer more storage than the 825GB the PS5 comes with, but it’s also proven to work faster than the PS5’s default drive. That means getting this is a storage upgrade, and a slight performance boost rolled into one. Installing the drive can be a bit tricky, but Sony provides instructions on how. If you are going to do this, though, just know you’ll need to pick up a heatsink as well to help cool the drive.

Better Storage

Samsung 980 Pro

Ultra-fast NVMe storage to expand and improve your PS5’s storage capacity.

Amazon

$189.99 $229.99 Save 17%

Personalize Everything: dbrand Skins

dbrand

Pros

✓ Lots of options for customization

✓ Offers skins for both controller and console

✓ Looks cool

Cons

✗ Can be time-consuming to install

Who doesn’t love personalizing their tech? When it comes to adding some to your devices, few things are simpler and more effective than adhesive skins. dbrand offers a wide selection of different colors and materials for you to choose from. You can even make different choices for every side of the console. dbrand has skins available for both the standard and digital versions of the PlayStation 5 alongside the DualSense controllers.

On top of that, dbrand also recently started selling the “legally distinct enough to not be sued again” Darkplates 2.0. These are physical plates that can replace the white ones the PS5 comes with for a new style while also offering better ventilation and RGB lighting.

For Intense Racing: Logitech G923

Logitech

Pros

✓ Satisfying pedals

✓ Padded wheel

✓ More immersive controller

Cons

✗ Expensive

✗ Takes up a lot of space

One of the first games announced for the PlayStation 5 was Grans Turismo 7—Sony’s realistic driving simulator. And with a game like that available, it only makes sense for a great steering wheel to be released for the console as well. The G923 features premium build quality, intense force-feedback, a dedicated six-speed shifter, and a set of pedals. It will be a bit difficult to find a good place to set it up, but for hardcore racing fans, the added immersion from this controller will undoubtedly be worth it.

For Intense Racing

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[hopevalley]

Governed By Fear: An Essay on A.J. Foster

I spoke in a recent post about AJ’s primary motivation in S4 being fear and thought I’d make a post about it because it definitely deserves its own space. This is primarily just a recap of the two episodes that featured AJ and Bill from S4, but with a lot of added commentary to help you, the reader, understand where I’m coming from.

Okay, so let’s go back to S4!

Bill finds AJ in the cabin Ray Wyatt set her up in. The first thing she does is try to run away from him, but she fails and is tackled promptly to the ground. She lies, says her name is Mary Dickerson. Bill apologizes and leaves, but creeps in the trees like a weirdo until she leaves the house to feed the chickens. Then he sneaks into her cabin and finds the money Ray Wyatt gave her to shut up...along with her full name, which is Adeline Josephine Foster, tipping him off to the fact that AJ Foster was a woman all along, and not a man as he’d assumed.

She walks back in to find him there, throws the chicken feed at him and tries to run again but is arrested and cuffed to the stove. After a while she agrees to talk to him about why she committed perjury to cover up for Henry Gowen and tells him that Ray Wyatt sent one of his men to talk to her.

So her sob story is pretty clear-cut: she was probably threatened and assuming that didn’t work they knew enough about her to know who they could threaten to get to her: her mother. So they said they’d kill her mom if she didn’t fix the problem, and it’s worth remembering this because in S5E1, her mother isn’t mentioned at all. 

So she fixed the problem by rewriting the ledgers to look like Henry Gowen hadn’t done anything wrong, took the hush-up money & the real ledgers, and let Ray Wyatt set her up in this cabin in the middle of nowhere...where, let’s be real, she’d be real convenient to kill if they decided to go for it later.

Bill tries to convince her that she was wrong, that she should have gone to the authorities with this issue, and she argues with him. I mean, honestly, if she so much as showed up at the local sheriff (who isn’t Bill, by the way), she’d have probably gone home, or to her mother’s house, and found her mother dead. The kind of men these are...they’re not playing around. She knows this. She did what she thought was right. And like, good for you, Bill, for not answering to the railroad, but this was her mother’s life that was on the line, and more than likely her own, too. Why take a chance with that? With a sheriff who could be in the railroad’s pocket?

AJ decides maybe she should consider this idea of turning the real ledgers in, probably because she’s not a bad person at heart and she never was; it’s just that circumstance has forced her to make unfair choices. She asks what’ll happen if they do get Wyatt and Gowen, and Bill says, “Then you’ll go to jail."

Bill says, “You committed perjury. I’ll see what I can do to get your sentence reduced. You cooperate, you may not serve any time at all.”

They talk about where the ledgers are. She says she buried them ten miles away. It’s doubtful anyone would bother to bring this up, but I’m here to do it because it speaks to her character. AJ didn’t keep them on her because it wasn’t safe to, but she did keep them. She could have burned them, destroyed the evidence. At heart she’s obviously a more honorable person than she comes across as; it seems like she wants to do the right thing. The problem is, there are a lot of things that, you know, stand in the way.

Bill tells her they’ll have to wait until morning to leave, because it’s getting too dark, and she asks, “What if I say no?”

So she...you know, agrees. ‘Cause she doesn’t want to go to prison for a long, long time. Bill tells her he’s sleeping in her cabin with her, and hustles her out in the morning to look for the ledgers.

Where she immediately tries to take off on her horse to get away from him, just about whipping him in the face with the reins while she’s at it. He fires off his gun, her horse spooks and dumps her, and Bill’s pretty annoyed!

This becomes the name of the game for...most of the rest of their time together.

And when things are going all right between them, she tries to get away with not testifying.

Bill’s damn frustrated with her by this point. In his mind, he thinks he can protect her from whatever it is she’s afraid of; it doesn’t seem that complex. She was threatened but he knows who did the threatening and if he protects her she can put that threat behind bars herself. He’s also probably really annoyed because she’s not making any of this easy, and nothing would put them behind bars more securely than having her personally there to testify.

Almost as soon as he expresses that frustration, they start getting shot at.

It’s played for Laffs™ but is clearly not at all funny to AJ.

As she, you know, brings it up once they’ve gotten away.

Yeah, and his heroism is for him. I think in her mind it’s selfish of him to want her to put her life on the line like this. She’s sitting there thinking that she’d be perfectly fine if he’d just left her alone. But the most important thing she says in this scene is this part right here:

Ray Wyatt is her biggest issue. He’s an asshole and he (directly or indirectly) threatened to kill her mother, and great, now she’s gonna be dead. She might be worried about her mother’s safety, too. So she’s probably half-convinced herself that if not for Bill interrupting her life, she’d be perfectly fine. A fugitive maybe, but a reasonably safe one.

Bill isn’t exactly sensitive at this point, but he’s honest.

Bill, you could have just said what you’re probably thinking, which has got to be: “You’re lucky Ray Wyatt hasn’t already put a bullet in your head.” Ray Wyatt deliberately set her up out in the middle of nowhere to hide her from the authorities and to make it easy to quietly eliminate her at his convenience. Bill knows this because he knows Ray Wyatt’s type.

You’d think maybe AJ would just behave herself at this point, but no. She doesn’t. It’s like she’s physically incapable of doing anything Bill wants her to do. He just wants her to get back to Hope Valley with him to put someone evil in prison and she’s shying away from it like a skittish horse.

So they’re digging where she...thinks the ledgers might be, and a guy shows up to interrupt her argument with Bill about the tone of voice he was taking with her.

She kind of...takes the other guy’s side and oops turns out he was after the bounty on her head that the bank is offering. A private bounty. If you get a fairly high quality screenshot and zoom in, it looks like they’re offering three hundred dollars for her. 

This doesn’t account for CAN to US dollars so let’s just say it wasn’t a fortune. However, it was more than a few months of wages for your average guy, and who doesn’t love some easy cash?

So AJ has to tie Bill up per this guy’s demand, where they continue sniping at each other. AJ thinks Bill’s bad at getting them out of this jam even though she put them in it in the first place, and he reminds her of her crime.

They start arguing again and Bill challenges her to take a swing at him. He ducks under it and she punches the guy who wanted to collect the bounty on her head, knocking him flat out (to Bill’s surprise). This was obviously not an intentional baiting, he was just trying to give back what she was dishing out. Or something. I guess AJ is stronger than she looks...whatever that means.

So they’re out of that mess. Bill picks up his holster and tries putting it on.

At this point, he’s probably on the brink of self-combustion because this woman is infuriatingly ridiculous around literally every turn. But she apologizes.

Yeah, he is. And you’re making it very difficult. So he asks the obvious.

It’s fun to note her stance difference when he asks this. AJ, you’re honestly a terrible liar.

Because as soon as they find the ledgers...

Which is like, exhausting. C’mon, AJ. Just do what you gotta do and get it over with! Bill is just...kind of confounded. Like he’s not surprised? He’s just kind of thinking, “Ugh, this again? REALLY?”

Which, you know. Sure. Okay. Bill asks her if her plan is to ride off into the sunset with the ledgers and hope Ray Wyatt doesn’t come looking for her, and she says yeah that sounds good to her!!

This instance is so clearly motivated by fear I don’t even know what to say about it except that she is desperate to do whatever it takes to protect herself from Ray Wyatt. It’s pretty clear she’s afraid of going to jail, too, but everything seems to point toward her biggest fear being Ray Wyatt himself. 

Look, if she’d made a run for the horse, she probably could have gotten away. But she makes the conscious decision to pick up Bill’s gun and demand he hand her the ledgers. It makes me think that she’s afraid of the kind of power Ray Wyatt has, you know? He has a lot of connections, including, obviously, hit men. He’ll send someone to kill her mom. He’ll have someone kill her right in her jail cell. She doesn’t think she’ll be safe in Hope Valley and she doesn’t want to go there. She also doesn’t want Bill to take the ledgers back because that’ll tip Ray Wyatt off to the fact that not only did she NOT make the evidence disappear, she gave it to Bill.

Her logic is a little flawed, but it makes some sense. If Bill goes back without evidence, Ray Wyatt might think she’s not a threat. Which means she honored their, uh, agreement, and he won’t need to send someone after her.

The issue with this is that Ray Wyatt would probably send someone to find her and kill her, and why the hell not when the bank has a bounty on her head and that means she can’t show her face publicly in the area at all? Nobody’ll even notice she’s gone missing.

Unfortunately, grabbing Bill’s gun was kind of a mistake.

Which is a two-fold problem. One, she isn’t a bad enough person to do it (which Bill believes), and two...he took the bullets out (because he’s not an idiot).

Also because I guess he thinks it’s fun. He is so pleased with himself.

Sure it is, Bill. But let’s be real: he didn’t think AJ would be capable of shooting him, but he wasn’t stupid enough to take a chance on it. Bill doesn’t take idiotic risks. But the fact that having done it in infuriates her seems to amuse him a lot. I guess I can’t blame him after all the crap she’s put him through.

Of course our friend the assassin shows up before she can kick him in the shin.

And he manhandles AJ before coming up with a plan to get the guy in custody and get out of there safely. Bill puts a bullet in the gun, fires it, and then gives the (empty) gun to AJ. She stands there and pretends like she accidentally shot Bill to get away. The would-be assassin takes the gun from her and then points it at her...

Which is an excellent parallel of, you know, Bill “just doing his job.” Except the gun is empty because villains are apparently too stupid to use their own gun to get the job done, Bill is able to get the jump on the guy, and they agree to drop him off at a nearby sheriff’s office on the way back to Hope Valley.

In the meantime, AJ is really pleased and excited with how things went.

“Hey, we make a pretty good team!” Bill’s expression after this is like, “The hell are you talking about.” I guess if nothing else this did something for her self-confidence. After the last months and months of having no agency at all, here she probably feels like she does have some. It makes sense that it would feel good and she’d feel excited about it.

So they get to Hope Valley, AJ stays pretty firmly next to Bill.

And then Ray Wyatt pulls a gun, she backs way up behind Bill, and after the fiasco is over she’s standing quite a ways back and the camera focuses on her.

Which seems bizarre at first but makes sense the more you think about it. This is the face of a woman who has hatred festering in her heart, and AJ’s case it’s directed 100% toward Ray Wyatt, who has hurt her many times over in various ways for, you guessed it, just doing her job. So not only is she terrified of the man (notice that she doesn’t stride forward and hit him as Julie did to Nate; she hangs back way behind Bill instead), but there is no one she hates more than the man who ruined her life.

What’s really fascinating about this is that her anger is directed entirely at Ray Wyatt, not Henry Gowen. Henry might have started this by stealing funds (and I’m sure she has no sweet feelings for the man) but Henry didn’t directly threaten her. That was entirely Ray Wyatt’s doing.

Bill, exhausted by this harrying ordeal, tries to put AJ in jail only for her to commence flirting with him.

I’m not exactly sure why she goes out of her way to do this except that she’s afraid of being locked up and is trying to, you know, talk her way out of jail. (As if that would work with Bill.)

He just completely trolls her by saying that yes, there is something between them; that something are bars, and moves to shut the door.

She grabs him in this weird little fit of what looks like desperation and kisses him. He definitely kisses her back, removes her kind of gently, and shuts the door. He is certain to lock it.

He smirks to himself a little as he walks off and she stares after him doing this shaky little exhale which means you know that kiss Did Things To Her. I mean, nothing about this particular bit comes across as anxiety-based.

Whether those things were in her heart or, uh, elsewhere...is up for debate. Do you have a little soft spot for Bill, AJ? Did that little kiss make you thirsty for a whole lot more? Por qué no los dos?

When he comes back later, she is gone. Sprung herself outta jail like a pro. The lock’s even still on the door.

I have no idea how AJ busted out of there (a hairpin maybe), but SHE. DID. THAT. 

I’d say the question is why but I’m pretty sure Ray Wyatt is the reason why. She wants out of there ASAP and to be away from his wrath, which he could enact on her from literally anywhere if he wanted to. Why should she stick around to get a bullet in her head? No thanks!

That said, her complete lack of real cooperation for the duration of her screentime definitely all points back to Ray Wyatt and a fear of being in jail. The former we’ve talked about enough I think. He ruined her life and she knows he’s more than capable of carrying out the threats he makes. 

The latter is probably more than one core problem; she can’t take care of her mother from jail/prison, if that’s something she does, and she has to know how she’ll be treated in a place like that...and doesn’t want to face it. Her personality also strikes me as one that doesn’t like to feel trapped (again, a very horse-like personality). But the biggest part of her fear of jail probably relates right back to Ray Wyatt; being in jail makes her an easy target and she’s terrified beyond belief that he will have her killed for crossing him.

Again, she knows he’s capable of it and won’t feel any remorse in doing it.

She has every reason to fear for her life.

Bill might say she’ll be protected but when he returns to the jail after dark it’s clear he left her alone for an indeterminate amount of time. Some protection, huh? My best guess is that she got herself worked up into a terrified frenzy and busted herself out, thinking she’d be safer as a fugitive than a sitting duck in a cell. Maybe she was right about that; we really don’t know.

TL;DR: Despite the humorous tone of these episodes, AJ is freakin’ terrified for her life. 

The question right now is: what made her decide to break back into Hope Valley’s jail something like a year later? Can’t wait to find out. I hope it’s a really good reason.

[scruffyturtles]

Anon you just unlocked the gates of hell because if someone gets me talking about Kat I honestly won’t stop HAHA. I’ll make it easy and break it down into a couple of simple points. Bear in mind this will mainly be for newcomers and people who might be interested in playing the games, so I won’t go too deeply into plot related things explaining her character. So, ya’ll sit your butt down and let me explain to you why Kat is probably one of the best female protagonists in any video game ever.

(Light spoilers ahead)

1) Kat is multidimensional and likable

One major thing that seems to be a trend in video games is that a strong female character is solely defined by how badass she is and what her physical feats are. While yes, those are great traits, a good character doesn’t just rely on that. Personality and charm is important if we’re going to be following the character throughout the game. (FFXIII to me is an example of a game that missed the mark with how rigid Lightning was, for example. She may have developed later on, but she didn’t leave a great first impression.)

In the beginning of Gravity Rush, Kat is a girl who starts off with amnesia, yet awakens to these powers to shift gravity in whatever direction she desired with the help of her space cat, Dusty. The game doesn’t waste time to show you she’s a pretty tough cookie, and that she can even go hand to hand combat if need be. 

But, that isn’t what defines her. She’s resourceful. (She refers to the sewer system below and makes a home out of it)

She’s sarcastic. 

She’s confident. 

She’s a romantic.

She’s easily flattered.

She’s this whole package of endearing dorkiness with both strengths and flaws that makes it a very fun experience to follow her exploits. The best part is that if you put her in any setting, she’d still have this sort of personality. Her core isn’t defined solely by the circumstances around her since the amnesia served as an introductory blank slate.

–

2) Kat is principled

While a lot of people can get their kicks from characters who bleed edginess or from protagonists who are very rigid, Kat is a character who makes it clear to you that she’s this super hero girl with a heart of gold. 

Of course, a girl who starts off with amnesia isn’t just ready to fill into that role immediately, but rather it happens organically when she sees how downtrodden the people around her are. 

It takes a bit of time, but her natural inclination to assist those in need are shown everywhere in the games.

Her sense of right and wrong is also unaffected by those in higher power. The people who would impose that ‘the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few’ wouldn’t make a dent into her resolve.  She’s the type who doesn’t exactly think of the big picture, which could be a flaw, but that naivety in her immediacy to help others shows the hallmark quality of being a hero. She does things to the beat of her own drum, but isn’t hot-headed or reckless in how she handles it.

One instance puts Kat in a position where she has to make a choice between saving the lives of the public or saving a military fleet. 

While the military leader in charge, Commander Yuri, makes it very clear to focus on the lives of the citizens, Kat doesn’t acknowledge him and tries her best to save the both of them.

 (And thankfully, she does in the end.) The military’s ideology of putting the people first and doing as you’re told didn’t bode well with her, yet she still followed her own sense of justice and knew she was capable of doing more than following orders.

–

3) Kat is your everyday hero who can do everyday tasks

One thing I really liked about Gravity Rush was that it didn’t take itself too seriously despite having some pretty dark parts here and there. While yes, there are some crazy conflicts that arise that threaten the world, there are down periods with fun subplots that don’t take away from the story, but rather elevate her character.

Kat interacts with the world around her much like how you’d see Spider-man interact with the citizens of New York. When she’s not saving the universe, she’s making extra cash by working part time as a maid. 

She helps deliver newspapers to people around town. 

She helps a kid by giving them money for their mother’s medicine. 

Hell, she even helps a dog get over its depression by finding its favorite toy. 

Yes, there’s a meter for Doggy Joy. If that isn’t a reason to buy this game I don’t know what is. But back to the point, Kat is fueled by her drive to help people, and that sort of order comes in all shapes and sizes. Helping people isn’t just saving them from immediate peril. Sometimes it’s just being a friendly neighborhood shifter who’s willing to lend a helping hand no matter how simple the task is. This shows us that there’s more to Kat than just being the big named monster kicking hero. To reiterate from point two, if somebody is in trouble, she helps them. No matter how small the task may seem.

–

There’s also some small points here and there that I can list below before finishing this off.

4) Kat’s language is a made up hybrid of french and japanese and she sounds so frickin’ cool when she talks.

5) Is so extra and over the top with her shoujo-like gravity abilities I mean look at this.

6) Very willing to give her hard earned income to the poor despite working hard for it.

7) Decided an entire sewer would be her home. Even decorated it to be extremely homey, though she probably needs to be wary about what furnishings are ‘free for the taking.’

8) Has confidence in her looks.

9) Comical uses of changing the subject.

10) Game art shows her as this badass when she’s really just a dork.

All in all I probably could’ve gone more in detail about Kat, but then it’d end up making this much longer than need be and I’d be edging along the lines of spoiler territory. Hope this was a good enough read in explaining my undying love for the hobo queen.

Info help and screenshot credit to @nebty @stumblingcamelid @buwaro-tof

Thanks again for making this possible guys.

[chromsai]

i dare you to make a top V arc v soundtrack list better than mine

Okay so first off, there’s no way I can make a list just like yours because as we discussed before, we all have different tastes in music, even if it’s all great. Secondly, in terms of writing a list as descriptive as yours… there’s just no way for me to. I’m not a musician, like you are, so I have little to no knowledge of musical terminology. That being said, I can give you a list from a more… consumer-of-music standpoint. And, although I may not be as technically descriptive as you, I can at least try to convey my emotions for…

Aaahhh… The Arc V soundtrack.

Let me just say that right off the bat, we’re all going to have very different lists. While I know this isn’t everybody’s favorite soundtrack of all the Yugiohs, it definitely is mine. By far. I absolutely fell in love with this soundtrack since episode 1. Okay well, not absolutely absolutely, but pretty damn close to absolutely since episode 1, but I’ll explain more about that later. The one thing I will mention though is that this is my favorite soundtrack because its tracks were all extremely memorable since that very first episode.

I’m an avid consumer of music and one of the most important aspects for me in how much I end up liking (or loving) a series (or video game or whatever) is its music. I listen to music without fail every damn day of my life. Can’t live without the stuff. But of course I have my tastes, and somehow the Arc V soundtrack always gave me something to look forward to. Kotaro Nakagawa, in my opinion, did a wonderful job composing the entire thing and keeping pace with the tone of the story to help make scenes have significant impact on the audience. After hearing the Arc V soundtrack, I’m convinced that Nakagawa is some kind of musical genius because, tho I said I love music, if it’s not memorable, I can’t care any less for a soundtrack. Ironically enough, the only other anime soundtrack I keep revisiting aside from the Arc V soundtrack is the Code Geass soundtrack which… he also composed. The guy knows how to leave an impression… with his music. And that’s amazing.

Here’s just a handful of screenshots of me screaming about the Arc V Soundtrack ever since the first few weeks of Arc V, proving that: No. I won’t ever shut the fuck up about this soundtrack. Because. It’s. That. Fucking. Good. It’s been good since Day 1 and it stayed damn good til the end.

It’s especially amazing considering that a major theme of this show is leaving an impression on your opponents and your audience through your dueling. Not only did Nakagawa let his signature style shine through his compositions in this soundtrack, he also contributed to the story itself numerous times over. The soundtrack he composed here is that impressive.

Well anyway, enough of this and let’s get to my list:

(Note: Yes, I am including the entire soundtrack, up until the very finale of the show, and not just tracks from Sound Duels 1-3, but don’t worry, I’ll have links for all tracks I mentioned, though expect not-so-perfect quality for some that aren’t on the Sound Duel [curse you, Marvelous!!]).

5. Wavering Feelings / ENJOY (Unreleased)

Of course I can’t avoid starting off with a tie because you only gave me 5 slots and it’s hard enough to choose JUST 5 out of the entire soundtrack. Hell you coulda given me 10 slots and I would still be struggling. :/

Anyways, so Wavering Feelings: I love the building anticipation of this track from beginning all the way til its climatic, burst of boundless, jazzy energy at 1:24. It’s steady and serious but also not overly boisterous, so it’ll give you a slight hinge of anxiety, but not enough to where you can’t focus. In fact, it does the opposite; the tone of it pretty much prepares you for a fight. I love this theme because it builds steadily as the characters strategize and then plays along perfectly when they finally unleash hell. The resolution to it right after the sax also brings you back down to the same level of focus you had before activating some sick card combo + also perfectly syncs up as you throw down some face downs to end your turn. It just plays excellently for any serious comeback turn.

ENJOY: Alright so when this track first aired, I kinda “nutted”, for lack of a better term.

Ah yes, the infamously terribly animated ep 61. Thankfully that was just THAT episode. Anyway, see? I “nutted” for ENJOY. (*cries* poor past Sai, this unfortunately didn’t make it onto any Sound Duels.)

Well basically, I love this track because it’s just so… passionate? Over dueling?? Like… that’s so extra (just like this entire franchise) but at the same time it’s moving, and honestly the track playing during Enjoy Chojiro’s mini redemption during that duel made it seem like his real dueling spirit was actually reviving and that he’d be able to come back strong and uplifting, all thanks to Yuya. Yeah, I mentioned before this was actually one of my favorite moments in Arc V and this track was a big part of that, tbh. The slow steady guitar riff is pretty damn sick and really gets you into the mood of the duel. I know they played this track again in episode 69, but it had a better impact in episode 61, I think. Still an excellent and memorable track, despite it only being used like twice.

4. Duel of Rebellion

HOLY SHIT. This. Track. Is. Bone-chilling.

First of all, it is hella rhythmic af all throughout, but that aggressive guitar in the beginning gets me every time. Then it moves into some signature Arc V electronica… and then stops for a moment. And then it picks right back up again with BOTH. Just like its namesake, this theme for the XYZ boys is pretty damn fucking poppin’ and takes no prisoners. It’s here to do one job and one job only: pump you up and keep the pressure on. I absolutely love that they throw in the XYZ trio’s theme into the mix over a steady beat that keeps up with your fast-paced heart beat as you’re running around grabbing action cards or running from attacks to try to pretty much stay alive. The track takes another slight break at 1:22 so you can catch your breath a bit and gather your bearings as you get ready to plan your next move for survival while keeping the urgent tone still very much alive. It ends steadily, gradually, instead of abruptly like you’d usually expect a track of its pace to do, manifesting the tired spirits of those of the Resistance: more than willing to fight back despite how much they just want this war to end. This track just… it’s pretty much Shun & Yuto in music form. That’s beautiful.

3. Duelist’s Secret Feelings

Ha. So I don’t usually let anyone know this about me but, I really, really love dark, creepy, menacing musical tracks like these. What I find most astounding about this is that there’s a lighter version of this track and it sounds almost nothing like it but the melody is still definitely the same and, to be honest, I was not much of a fan of it or just thought nothing of it… until Duelist’s Secret Feelings. This is what I meant when I said that Nakagawa’s composition also adds narrative to Arc V’s story. Of course, DSF isn’t always used for scenes with Sora in them or is exclusive to just him, but again this track made that first Sora vs Shun duel that much more impactful and grandiose. The menacing tone of it just screams “danger looming overhead and there’s not much you can do to stop it” while also reminding us that this is also technically Sora’s theme. Under all that fluff and candy, he was hiding his threatening outlook. It also ends rather calmly though, perhaps foreshadowing that there’ll be a calm after whatever terrible storm is up ahead.

Bonus: Do yourself a favor and play this track then immediately follow it up with Duel of Rebellion. The mood of this one carries over into DoR and it gives you this feeling of an all-out war and hell. 

2. One Last Show (Unreleased)

This. Track.

It’s full of hope. It’s full of dread and desperation. It’s full of urgency and confidence. This is the kind of track I expect to hear right before dealing the final finishing blow on The Final Boss.

And that’s exactly what they used it for.

BUT. They actually used it twice. Once for when Yusho faces off with Yuri, where it was used to accompany Yusho’s fascinating entertainment skills which lead him to certain victor- oh wait no. He died. Thus, the feeling of misleading hope is very appropriate here.

But it also has its certain hopeful highs, which is why it was used again against Zarc, our (kinda titular) final boss. And it definitely brought on all those emotions of facing off the final boss and the satisfying anticipation that comes right before the finishing blow is dealt.

One Last Show is grandiose in its execution (0:19-0:40 is like GET READY), leaving no room for imagination regarding how important the moment it accompanies is. But it’s also intricately delicate and elegant (them piano riffs), leading to the belief that there still is a chance for everything to go to hell and it very damn well can if you fuck up so don’t waste the chance.

As I write this, I do believe actually that it was used again later on (iirc, during the moment when Yuya and his counterparts speak again right before he summons his dragons in 146), but I could be wrong and that might be another OST. Regardless, it’s fitting for important moments like these and it leaves a lasting and chilling impression.

Shout outs / Honorable mentions: 

1. Yuto’s Passionate Soul (acapella) (this track MADE ‘duel de egao’ matter)2. Swing! Pendulum of Souls (oh man… the fact that this track was actually out shined by others is pretty damn telling how much I love this entire fucking soundtrack overall since this is probably one of the best orchestrated themes I’ve heard in any anime and I never get tired of hearing it. Side note: the piano solo version of this in episode 97 was such a beautiful tease I cry every time.)3. Enlightenment (just. epic. af. I don’t think I have to explain any further)4. Futile Struggle (this is one of those I like to call a “wasted theme” because as far as I can remember it was only used once and well… it’s just. Spectacular. All of it.)5. Dark Requiem / Reiji’s Heroic Entrance (yep, even my Honorables list ends in a tie. Both of these are supremely majestic and accompanied their respective scenes epically.)

1. A Battle That You Can’t Lose

Wow, can you tell I like violins and guitars?

Recall I said way earlier this post that I absolutely loved the Arc V soundtrack almost at the beginning. Well I really liked it since episode 1, but this track is what made me absolutely LOVE and appreciate and expect great things from this entire soundtrack. 

I was referring to the end of episode 8, which does in fact end with ABTYCL.

Yeah damn them to hell for making this track that I have been in love with since episode fucking 3. I’ll play this on loop and never really get tired of it.

Honestly, my whole bias for violins and guitars aside, I feel this track does 2 things.

1) Encapsulates the spirit of Action Duels pretty damn well: it’s fun and exciting but it can also mean serious business. Either way, a duel is still a duel so we’re going to keep it light-hearted and try our best to show that to you in this heated heart-to-heart battle. 

It also helps that this song is played often right at the beginning of duels as the duelists rev up the Action Duel chant, and often times it’s played at the very end of duels right as they leave you off on a cliffhanger after an absurdly high-stakes entertainment maneuver. 

2) The second thing I believe it does is encapsulates the spirit of ALL OF ARC V. The entire theme of this show. It’s fast-past, non-stop, tense, but also fun-loving and damn does it know how to keep you hooked from beginning to end with its MARVELOUS (*coughpunsomewhatintended*) entertainment style. ABTYCL starts off with a literal bang to grab your attention (even giving off the feeling of “oh poor you, you don’t realize the hell you just signed up for”) immediately then has that looming guitar riff carried throughout to remind you that yes, this is completely serious. Then at 0:58 seconds in, it tones down just slightly while remaining completely serious to demonstrate that this show is not afraid to fuck around just a little just to surprise you (and put a smile on your face).

And yes, I know you must be thinking But Sai its kind of a simple melody, how is this your number 1?!

The emotions in this track are kind of a mix of everything, though, as I explained. Thus, it’s actually pretty complex. But it hides it pretty damn well. And I live for the seemingly simple. Depth is my favorite part of this track and ABTYCL gives it to me in spades (hell, even from just its title which fits it pretty damn well).

Anyway, that’s the end of my list. Of course there were A TON more tracks I LOVE I had to leave out (unfortunately), but these are basically the ones that left their biggest impressions on me and made my Arc V experience all the more memorable. 

[kymbermullinsjenkinsisacon]

HOW A CON CONS!!

This is how Kymber did it:

We really only have to work through the first few steps of a con here. We’ll show you exactly how she does it with one of her recent and last cons. The book, “The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time.” explains the steps carefully. As we move through the beginning steps of a con and explain each to you it will become clear what Kymber has been doing. 

The put-up: when a mark is chosen.

Marks are usually vulnerable people. These are the people Kymber targets. Four years ago she targeted and destroyed the Loss Community on facebook. She targeted mothers who had lost their precious babies. After being kicked out she moved on to another vulnerable group: recovering addicts, those who are sick, and others who suffer with chronic pain. (We will not specify our community as she’s done enough already to hurt us! We’ll thank you to be discreet as well.)

Sliding in like a snake she worked her way into a position that gave her power. She became an admin of a group. The company she worked with has a great reputation and thus the group she controlled grew. Kymber was schooled very well in the community and put that knowledge to good use. Gaining trust!   The play: when she manipulated emotion.

The play: when she manipulated emotion.

  In the screenshot above she uses emotion to gain sympathy. She tells you she’s “in the dark” and that she’s so “sorry for the inconvenience.” She’s “going through some rough times right now” and appreciates your understanding. 

She is setting up her emotional manipulation. This starts the conversation you read there. SYMPATHY, what can we do to help?  She responds by explaining her situation. Giving you more information. Making you feel justified in what you’re feeling for her. She identifies with you bringing you into the conversation saying, “we all have problems and struggles.” Now you feel included. You think, “YES! I know how it feels to go through that.”  At the end of her last comment she’s reminding you why you should feel badly for her. 

Next....

Here is where you’ll need a little back knowledge of the group where this post is. Previously to this post she told members to limit messages to her. To research or ask the group for whatever help you might have messaged her for. In the first comment she’s falling on the sward for everyone now: “And go ahead and send me as many PMs...” she tells you this so she is able to remind you again of her situation. Someone bites with the appropriate response giving her the opportunity to tell us more! A lot of the same from the first picture but with a bit more added in to trigger your sympathy. She tells you good news about tax time but quickly follows it up, “we don’t quality for the” EIC. Boy another hit. Don’t you feel sorry for her? Isn’t she and her family having such a hard time right now? She follows that with identifying with you once again and giving you the illusion that she’s humble. You are ready to bust out your wallet. 

And then....

A LOAN!? Now that’s not what she wants. This is what she’s looking for.... 

YES!!! Someone said it. But, “No no...” She explains she simply wanted to let everyone know about the video. Now she starts pulling you back in. She’s reminding you of her problem and giving the appearance that she’s humble. She’s trying to do something to help her situation. What she’s doing here in also pulling your emotions back into it. One thinks: “Only $5 a delivery? That’s not very much at all.” Is it starting to make more sense now?

The rope: when she lured you in.

BINGO!! 

I bet she did the happy dance when she read that. You see what this comment did was tell you exactly what to do to help her. Since she doesn’t want anyone to set anything secret up. (We all know how that worked out ;) Anyway this comment tell us quite a few things. First- exactly how to send funds. Second- that we would be justified or obligated in doing so because of all Kymber has done. Finally- any money you do send would be better well spent in Kymber’s pockets. Not yours. THAT’S HOW GOOD SHE IS FOLKS! Kymber once again says no to help and explains that all she’s done for the group has saved her life.  She is pulling at your heartstrings again. YOU saved her life. But not before reminding you she was laid off.

And this is the perfect response....

You can tell Kymber really like that comment because you see that heart? Guess who it’s from? 

This comment says exactly what Kymber wants it to. SEND MONEY! The comment speaks of her daughter reminding you who else you’d be helping. This is her goal folks. To get YOU to this point. So you’ll reach into your pockets.

Confirming her con was a success this is the very last comment on that thread...

Jamie was in the group for only a few days people!! She went after this person after only being in the group for a few days. How many more did she get?

Folks Kymber was admin of this group with full controls to stop this at any point. She screams over and over again no but that’s not her goal y’all! She can delete any comment she wants to. She could have posted: Hey guys the video will be done tomorrow something came up. But that is not her goal. It never was.

Do you see it now?

I am going to PROVE that the goal of this post was to con y’all once again into giving Kymber money! This post was created so that each of you would pay Kymber for her services. 

I’ll link that proof here when I’ve got that post done!

CLICK HERE FOR THE PROOF POST!

[howardlinkedin]

Shelter - Part 11

Running title: Shelter Part 11 Summary: Alma reveals their talent for costume design and Kanda cuts things out while the story leads to the inevitable meeting with those Noah folks. Also, Allen makes a very gushy revelation to Link and Cross gets stuck in a bush.  Part 10: Here Part 12: Here

Alma dumped a pile of fabric into Kanda’s arms. “Here, make yourself useful and cut this into a feather pattern.” 

“What the fuck, why?” Kanda asked, because he had literally just walked through the door. Now that he looked around Alma’s room, it was covered in downy fabrics and piles of shredded bits. “Did your beanie babies explode or something?” “No they’re safe in the closet.” Alma corrected, because their collection took a lot of time and heart, and there was no way they’d leave the dolls out to fend for themselves whenever Kanda was about. Their boyfriend had a bad habit of wanting to cut the tags off of everything.

Beanie Babies needed their tags.

Which was not the main point at all. “We’re making Allen his first stage costume!” Alma redirected with cheer. They pointed to the stencil cut out of the feathered design they made and wanted Kanda to cut out.

Kanda looked between the fabric and Alma, contrite. He was between wanting to scowl, because why the hell does he need to make anything for the beansprout, and intrigue, because cutting out patterns for his sweetheart was probably one of Kanda’s favorite ways to waste the day away. Alma was doing that thing with their mouth and their eyes that always made Kanda give in anyway, so the other teen went to the impromptu cutting station. “Why feathers?” “Because it’ll look cool, that’s why.” Alma stated smugly.

---

Ever since Allen had met Mana, even when the child version of himself didn’t want anything to do with the man, a song had started to form in the place of his mind where the music often collected. It started out as a myriad of all that Mana made Allen feel. The frustration, the anger, confusion…

The feeling of belonging.

The longer Allen stayed with Mana, the better form the song took. It’s quality started to make sense and the notes began to adjust into something quite like a melody.

He often imagined that, if he had more time, Allen would have had the entire some completed and composed long before now.

The song itself came to an abrupt stop the night Mana left.

---

“Uh, guys?” Allan’s eyes wavered between Alma and Kanda uncertainly. School was done for the day, and somehow Allen ended up at Kanda’s place.

Tied to a chair.

Alma had a look of approval on their face while Kanda stirred a bowl of...something. All Allen knew was that it was white and smelled like glue.

He thought Kanda hated glue.

“Okay Allen, sit back and think of Link.” The tallest teen joked, eyebrows quirked while Kanda approached with the bowl. Allen began to squirm, because what now?!

“H-hold on KANDA WHAT IS THAT?! WHY-”

Tiedoll, Kanda’s father, popped his head into the room, and asked curiously. “Yuu, what on earth?”

“Don’t worry sir! Yuu’s helping me make a mask mold for Allen!” Alma practically sparkled with faux innocence.

Nodding, and seeing nothing wrong with the situation at hand, the older gentleman left. “Have fun then!”

Allen tried to bite Kanda’s hand.

---

“What is all that white shit in your hair?” Cross asked, tears of laughter streaming down his face, because holy shit. He took a picture of it on his phone and sent it to Socalo.

Considering his kid’s hair was already stark white, it was quite a sight to see it matted up in...even more white. Allen had the look of a very pissed off cat. The actual cat in their house was currently sleeping in Cross’ hat, which god fucking damn hell creature.

Allen practically threw the swear jar at his guardian’s head and stomped down the hall, presumably towards the bathroom. Timcampy, who had not stopped pitter-dancing around Allen feet since he came home, followed after.

---

Lenalee was the first to ask. Always polite and kind to a fault, Lenalee never means any harm. Regardless, her curiosity always got the better of her.

“Hey, Allen? If the Marshall adopted you, whatever happened to your parents?”

Kanda looked up from his homework that Alma was hassling him to complete. Both were also curious, but also shocked that their friend had asked out of the blue.

At Allen’s expression, she regretted asking. “Gosh! I’m sorry; that was insensitive of me! You don’t have to answer if you don’t want!”

With a melancholy quirk of his lips, Allen reassured that it was alright. “You can ask, it’s alright Lenalee.”

With his friends, he explained.

---

“Wait, so you were in a circus?” “Ha, yeah. I don’t really remember much before that.” “And the guy who was gonna be your dad was a clown? Are you serious?” “Kanda why would I lie you butt head!”

“I’m gonna butt your head right off your shoulders beansprout!”

“Yuu don’t curse it’s rude.” “ALLEN WALKER YOU GET DOWN FROM MY DRESSER!”

---

“When I was five, my parents were murdered.” Lenalee allotted. The reality still stung, but after all her years being raised by her brother, it hurt much, much less. “I’ve only ever had Komui as family.”

“I never knew my parents either.” Alma shared. “My birth parents anyway. I don’t think they could afford to take care of me, so I was in and out of foster care since I was born. Foster care sucks! But I’m okay now, with my adopted mother.”

Kanda grunted from his corner. “The old man found me wandering the streets one day. For some stupid reason he decided that I was worth his time. So here I am.”

Allen had learned that it was nice, to have friends who understood. Despite the sadness of all their combined pasts, they had found family.

---

Somewhere between waking up in the hospital to a gruff man with wild red hair, and meeting Link, the song had started back up again.

Which, for Allen was like the first breath a drowning man takes when his head breaches the surface. It had been torturous silence in that place inside of himself. Now the song was back, but the melody was beginning to change.  

With Mana, the beat of the song was steady and consistent. Allen could mimic it with the tapping of his fingers if he had wanted. It was a comforting melody, just like Mana’s hand on his shoulder.

Cross and Link had changed the melody almost entirely. It was no less a comfort than it was much like painting your room a new color. It was still the same, but different now. It excited Allen to no end.

Then came Miranda, Lenalee, and Kanda and Alma. One by one, each person added to the refrain. Even the other Colonels at the Precinct added to the song (except Lvellie. The man had a tune about as refined as a squeaking sneaker on tile).

Which, may explain why Allen had such a difficult time getting the song itself written and composed.

In retrospect, he soon learned that he was actually missing a key component to his song.

---

“My friends are embarrassing and weird and I’m firing them.” Was Allen’s greeting to his nightly Skype session with Link.

The former arched an impressive eyebrow, and moved his laptop so it’s camera was directly on Tokusa and a mutual friend, Goushi, playing a very formidable match of “Chubby Bunny,” as if to say that both of their sets of friends are embarrassing.

“Oh my gosh, I would totally win at that.” Allen states with Atuuda nestled deep in his arms, purring up a storm as though to agree. Timcampy barked from atop Allen’s desk.

“I believe the objective of the game is to get as many marshmallows into your mouth as possible, but not to eat them Walker.” Link sassed, because that is totally what Link does, Allen knows. The young man was the sassiest person alive, and no one could tell the teen otherwise. “Also, why is your dog on top of furniture again?” “He likes to feel tall.”

---

“You know, Lenalee once asked how I knew you loved me.”

Link looked downright flabbergasted on the computer screen, completely unsuspecting the turn of the conversation. He really should have been used to Allen sudden subject changes by now.

“I...see?” Link didn’t really know what to respond to this. The elephant in the room had gone purposefully unnoticed all these years, simply because Link still had no idea how to address it.

“And I gave her a really silly answer.” Allen scratched Atuuda’s ear, which made the cat chirp in praise. “But after this whole thing about...Mana’s family, I really know why now. Like, I always knew? But I didn’t notice.”

Link was belatedly aware that Allen did not state what he had answered to his friend previous on the statement. “And I am to assume your answer is a more satisfying one?”

“Yeah.” Allen blinked his clear gray eyes and smiled at the chat window. “You make me feel really safe Link. Thank you.”

---

Allen took a quick screenshot of the chat window, because never had he seen Link get so red and flustered.

---

“Alma, why is there a cape with feathers?” “Shut up Allen and put it on. It’s cool.”

---

The day of the party, Allen walked up the driveway of the very expansive and pristine mansion that belonged to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Allen began to wonder what, exactly, is his life. Especially since there was a strong possibility that the people inside were Mana’s family.

Link had came, as promised, walking besides him. Also with them were Lenalee, Alma, and Kanda - Allen’s own personal musketeers it seemed.

Also with them was Cross, because like hell he was going to let his kid do this without him. He held less trepidation, though, as he marched right up to the door and kicked it loudly. Allen jumped and hissed to his guardian. “What are you doing?!”

“Shut up.” Cross mumbled and then shouted. “Oy! Sheryl you slimy fuck! Open up! We’re here for your brat’s party!”

Allen was too mortified to demand compensation for the curse, instead thinking of just shoving Cross into the bushes to make him stop. Which, he did. “Allen what the fuck!”

Kanda took a video with his phone. Link signed, while Lenalee and Alma tried to look like they didn’t know any of them.

“Sh-shut up! Why do you have to be so-” Allen was interrupted by the door swinging open.

---

“Welcome to the party, boy.”

“AH! Gas Station Hobo!” Allen exclaimed, pointing at the man who opened the door. It was the xylophone man!

Said man looked rather put off at being called a hobo. “Well that was rude.”

There was giggling further inside the mansion, and Wisely poked his head from behind the xylophone man, newly dubbed Gas Station Hobo, looking as expressionless as he could while stating, “Petition that everyone calls you that from now on.”

“Bite me Wise.” “AH!” Allen once again exclaimed. “Wisely!”

“Hiya Allen, Link. Long time to see.” The young adult waved them all in. “Come in, come in, and thank you for accepting my invitation.”

They all were ushered inside. Cross was still stuck in the bushes. “Oy!”

---

Once inside, Allen was accosted by a rather strong hug around his middle. “Oof!” “I’m so excited to finally see you in person Allen!” Came a squeal. Oh boy, and there were now legs wrapped around him too. Excellent. Link looked particularly bothered and prickly at the situation.

Kanda kept filming.

The human koala had somewhat wild dark hair, and definitely a good head shorter than Allen. Which. Finally. Someone smaller than him that wasn’t his dog.

“Road get off of him and let the boy breathe.” Admonished the accordion hobo. Now that Allen got a good look at the man, he didn’t look like a homeless person anymore, not with the expensive suit he was wearing, or his slicked back hair. Noticing the teens stare, the man grinned and held out a hand. “Tyki Mikk.”

“Um? Hello?” Allen shook the hand.

Kanda had only just stopped taking candid videos of Allen’s discomfort when a rather tall and burly man came out of nowhere and offered Alma a candy bar. “Do you like sweets?” “Yes, actually!” Alma answered, enthused, despite the odd situation they found themselves in. “Hey asshole back off!” “Yuu don’t call people asshole it’s rude!”

Lenalee startled slightly, when two other popped out besides her. They were sniggering in unison. “Hobo and Asshole!” Said one, while the other joked, “I’m sure we can get Neah to change their names for you Wise!”

Everything seemed to be getting out of hand, thought Allen. Link managed to shoo his attack hugger - Road, away and decided standing close enough to be Allen’s very intense shadow was efficient use of his person for the time being. Which, Allen was grateful for, because he felt like he was on the slow verge of a panic attack.

“I would arrange it, but I don’t want dad to get after me when the inevitable fall out happens.” Said yet another new voice somewhere in the mansion. Allen looked towards the voice, which was at the top of the grand staircase in the center of the floor, and felt all the air leave his lungs.

His mind was bombarded with the loud chime of a grand piano, that only he could hear, and it held such an aching familiarity his bones echoed with it.

“Mana?”

[sempermarketing]

Digital Marketing Basics for Veteran Owned-Businesses: A Beginner’s Guide

Digital marketing basics are essential for everyone to an extent. You have to know how best to present yourself on public-facing platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn if you ever hope to find gainful employment or gain the kind of reputation that’s deemed “marketable.”  

Missteps at marketing yourself or your business can lead to disaster before you’ve ever had a chance to show what you can do. And for veterans who can find it difficult reintegrating into society after an extensive military career, it’s crucial.

In the following article, we’ll address this challenge extensively. Let’s start by covering the bases on what digital marketing is and how you can incorporate it into your veteran-owned business.

What Are the Types of Digital Marketing Basics?

So, what is digital marketing basics? The simple definition we’ll use is “a form of marketing that combines paid and non-paid outreach through the Internet and mobile connections.” And no, there’s no link to that since we just made it up.

But that’s as good a definition as any because the digital marketing world is always changing. Mobile was around, for instance, but didn’t become the primary mode of using the Internet until 2017. In 10 years, we may not need a device at all!

We’ve had things like blogging give way to more direct and widespread forms of communication such as social networking. Each mode of digital marketing basics never really goes away. 

It adapts to the winds of change. Then, it integrates. The savvy business — veteran-owned or otherwise — will find ways to adapt them all to their purposes. 

Before getting further into that, though, let’s look at the menu, shall we? Here are the primary modes of digital marketing you’ll want to be involved with as you start your business. 

Email Marketing

No discussion of how to do digital marketing should start without first covering email marketing. Email marketing still is the most important tool you can have on your side because it guarantees ownership of your data. For that reason, we’ll be spending the most time on it.

Building up a large social media following or getting all your traffic through Google seems great. But it also puts you at the mercy of a large third-party organization that doesn’t have your best interests at heart. 

Sometimes those interests can align, such as when times are good. But one tweak of their algorithms or one shift in focus can put you out of business virtually overnight. 

If you have a strong opt-in email list, though, you can build a following that never goes away. These are people who found you and decided to go directly to the source. 

They’re great sources of repeat business and referrals. With them, you don’t need anyone else. Doesn’t mean the others are poor investments of your time or money, though. 

In an ideal scenario, you’ll be using all the other channels to build up your funnel and your email marketing list. Now here’s what you need to do as an email marketer. 

Steps to Take

Create landing pages that are targeted to a specific purpose (i.e., sign up for more info, buy now, get a this-or-that question answered, etc.)

Install some form of opt-in to capture email addresses and other contact info important to your business

Build a drip campaign (i.e., different sets of emails designed to guide the prospect toward the action you would have them to take)

Make it worth their time, or ensure all email messages you send deliver pertinent value to the person who’s opted into your list

Always be experimenting with your groups and messages to improve responsiveness

Sound confusing? If it does, you can always partner with Semper Marketing to design a digital marketing platform that incorporates email marketing into your strategic action plan.

Social Media Marketing

Make no mistake. Email marketing is important, but it’s not the only thing you should be doing. Social media marketing is vital this day and age.

Just look at the sheer volume of people using it as well as the rate of growth. At the end of 2018, there were an estimated 2.62 billion on a social networking platform of some kind. That number’s projected to be 3.02 billion by 2021, an increase of more than 15 percent.

And social media hasn’t been around very long. It’s easy to use, well-designed, and addictive. You ignore it at your own risk. 

Just make sure you’re not using it as the cornerstone of your business. That’s something brands and publishers learned the hard way in 2018.

Still, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube are great prospecting tools. And that’s exactly how you should be using them.

Steps to Take

Create an account on each of the major networks

Stay informed on veteran-focused social platforms and any new ones that may arise

Focus on one network until you get a consistent posting schedule that generates engagement (likes, shares, and comments)

Respond to all user activity (compliments, suggestions, and criticisms)

Be your most professional self (we’re a screenshot society, so once your response is out there, it’s out there for good)

Stay consistent, posting every day

And for more on why you need social media marketing today — and what you can do to largely automate — click here.

Content Marketing

Content marketing used to pretty much mean blogging. But since eReader devices, tablets, and phones have made reading on a screen more palatable, eBooks and online courses have become a more viable form of marketing.

Grouping them all together under the “content marketing” banner seems more appropriate. In each case, you have a specific piece of content that’s geared towards a specific set of interests. 

Veteran-owned businesses can harness these platforms in a number of ways. Some suggestions: 

Drive traffic to your website to boost rankings on search engines and social media

Encourage email signups for direct marketing and data ownership

Direct sales for courses or guides that go deeper with the content they include (these would require more research, time, and resources to put together)

Raise awareness and/or money for servicemen and servicewomen in need (and their families)

You also may have a physical product geared specifically toward veterans and law enforcement officers. Blogging regularly, creating how-to videos/guides, and staying active with your social media posts are all great ways of using content marketing to your advantage.

Steps to Take

Plan out your posts. Simply writing about whatever comes to mind is no way to build a sustained and successful approach for your product, service, or cause. Posts, book chapters, and course modules need to flow together and make sense.

Look for ways to repurpose. Start with the big picture in mind, creating and completing a large project first, like the perfect webinar for instance. Then, look for ways you can break it up to create social media posts, blog posts, eBooks, etc. 

Keep your web design simple. People follow content marketers because they care about what they have to say, not all the bells and whistles on their website. Load times and easy-to-follow aesthetics should be your priorities. 

Don’t let content marketing terrify you. You can always hire a copywriter, videographer, photographer, or agency to handle the nuts and bolts of your ideas. The main thing is knowing the gist of your vision and being able to communicate that in a way that it gets done to your liking.

Affiliate Marketing

Relationships perhaps take you further than any other tool in your business toolkit. Digitally, you can create these in many ways. 

Through the comments that you’ve left on another’s blog, site, or network

Through the original posts that you’ve created on the aforementioned platforms

Through people who’ve linked to you, reviewed you, or endorsed your product or service in some way

Through people you’ve linked to, reviewed, or endorsed

These last two bullet points offer fertile ground for profitable affiliate marketing relationships. But brush up on affiliate marketing before you do it. Because, if you do it wrong, it can hurt your relationships and reputation more than help it.

The biggest misstep you can take? Being an affiliate for a product or service you haven’t really tried and don’t really believe in. 

See, the success of this approach depends on staking your reputation on something in front of people who trust you. Betray that trust or endorse something that wastes their time and money? Good luck with that.

It usually does more harm than good. And it puts you in a place where you may have to say goodbye forever to those relationships you’ve worked hard to create.

Steps to Take

Be choosy about the affiliate relationships you enter

Don’t vouch for something if you don’t believe in it

Avoid the sales approach when pushing products or services on your audience

Pick the brain of your affiliate marketing “partner” to see what legitimate ancillary opportunities there are in your market

Avoid direct competition with one affiliate when adding another; not a great way to nurture a profitable long-term relationship

We definitely recommend this approach. But don’t take on too much too soon. Spend most of your time building a quality platform and the great opportunities will come to you. 

PPC and Search Engine Marketing

The great thing about all the areas we’ve mentioned? They can be started, cultivated, and grown virtually without spending a cent. Veteran-owned businesses especially can find a lot of free help and support from a nation that widely supports its military. 

But at some point, you’ll need a marketing budget to scale your business. Pay-per-click (PPC) and search engine marketing (see the ads at the top of search engine results on sites like Google) are affordable ways of using that money. 

Each platform works a little bit differently, but they all operate on the basic premise of users submitting a budget and selecting the keywords and keyword phrases they plan on targeting. 

One awesome benefit of PPC and search engine marketing: you don’t pay unless the user clicks. Now it’s up to your content to convert them into subscriber or customer. But each cent spent gives you that fighting chance that traditional marketing seldom did.

Steps to Take

Start small. Don’t try to learn multiple platforms at once. Dividing your attention like that can lead to early confusion and burnout.

Expand when you’re comfortable. A larger network may seem attractive at first — more users, after all. But a smaller network may have less competition, thus more opportunity to get the people who are really interested. 

Test each advertisement. Use split-testing to see if you can beat your top-performing ad. When your options are a strong ad that performs well or another ad that performs even better, you can’t really lose.

When clicks are high but conversions aren’t, go back to your content. This scenario tells you the ad is doing what it’s supposed to but there’s something in your content that’s losing the prospect or customer. PPC and search engine ads are great ways of bringing those content weaknesses to light. 

The good news if this seems too difficult? You can hire a professional PPC management service to do it for you. 

Final Action Steps Review 

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this one. Let’s bring it in. 

1. Create a Digital Marketing Plan

You don’t have to do everything we’ve listed here. Pick what you’re comfortable with (i.e., social networking, email marketing, etc.). 

2. Build Your Website

Not optional. You need something you can take ownership of — a home base for your clients, customers, or prospects. 

3. Friend and Follow

This particularly is relevant in the social media realm. Be willing to connect, and others will return the favor. 

4. Create Relevant Content

Long-form content (1,000 words or more), short videos, and informative podcasts are great traffic boosters. Find the questions people in your community are asking about veteran-owned businesses and do a deep dive.

5. Attend Conferences and Events 

Yes, it’s offline. But real-world relationships are still critically important when taking your digital marketing platform to the next level. 

6. Volunteer Efforts

Same as No. 5. Being seen in the community will boost your digital community significantly. 

7. Giveaways and Other Forms of Engagement

This goes for paid search engine and PPC marketing as well as social media. If you give something useful, they will engage.

8. Wise Use of Your Budget

Only pay for what you can track. That’s why we’re big proponents of PPC and SEM. 

9. Unique Selling Proposition

What’s the “secret ingredient” that makes you different from the competition? If it’s nothing, you’ve got a little more studying to do about your business. 

10. Study Your Competitors

Copy what works (after adapting it, of course). Avoid what doesn’t. Look for ways you can build on good ideas. 

The Digital Marketing Basics Lead to DM Mastery

Learning the digital marketing basics we’ve presented here will, in time, make you a digital marketing master. But if you’re not sure where to begin, we can help get you there. Contact us today, and we’ll grab some coffee. 

The post Digital Marketing Basics for Veteran Owned-Businesses: A Beginner’s Guide appeared first on Semper Marketing.

[sellringsonconsignment]

Shopping for a Diamond Ring Made Easy.

Shopping for a diamond engagement ring is a stressful experience. What are your opinions and where do you go? How do you make sure you get a perfect diamond ring in your budget how do you maximize your budget? Can the process of buying a diamond engagement ring be fun and informative? Can it be a smooth and comfortable experience?

Let’s answer yes, to all of the above!

I’m probably talking to guys right now. You don’t want to shop for a diamond ring! You just don’t trust me is a mayhem out there. Let’s say you want to spend $5,000 dollars. Which is an enormous budget! What are your options?

You can try a high-end jewellery store. Not only will you quickly see that the budget you have buys a minuscule diamond. Remember Carat weight out of the 4 Cs is the one spec that everyone knows about and can see. In the high-end store, you will find a stereotypical old gentleman that have sold a lot of jewellery in his lifetime, most of which, just as his fashion sense are stuck firmly in the 80ies. I don’t know about you, but high-end jewellery store with pretentious staff wearing suit pants and over the top decor is not a comfortable shopping space for me.

Have you ever thought as to why high-end jewellery stores always look like a dungeon? The stores are designed to be dark. The jewellery showcases block out most of the sunlight, and it’s tough to see from any window whether anyone is shopping inside the store. The design is purposeful, with high-end shoppers in mind, you know the lucky 1%, feel comfortable buying jewellery or timepieces in the dark and secluded area with very attentive salespeople and custom fitted showcases. Away from the prying eyes of the public in the comfort of darkness, and without any consideration of price tags. The high-end store screams secrecy and exclusivity. In reality, all it means is that they are selling you an item for way too much money, and if you shopped around even a little bit, you would have found the same jewellery piece at a much lower price. However, someone has to pay for the stores decorations, sales people, leases and feel like they have enjoyed the experience. The high-end stores that you see empty, but looking very grand are servicing 20 to 30 families in any given major North American city. The folks and their kids who have the desire and the means to overspend.

You can try a mall jewellery store. But before you do, think of anything you have ever purchased in the mall. Whatever it was, it was cheap and probably lacked quality. I believe I would not be too far off in saying that the business model of a mall store is to sell cheap stuff at scale. I have never personally bought anything I cared about, that lasted me a long time never mind lifetime, in the mall.

Mall jewellery stores position their business similarly to the high-end. I find that the mall environment is not a comfortable place to look at diamonds or jewellery. The lights are dazzling and shall we say calibrated to make any diamond look great, or even worse a lot better than what it is. Even the EGL certified diamonds. After talking to staff working in regular jewellery stores, I have found these few revelations.

The sales people typically don’t know a lot about diamonds or the jewellery they are selling. In my experience and having interviewed a large number folks working in the mall. I found them to be very friendly people; that try to show jewellery to the prospective diamond buyers to the best of their ability. Unfortunately not once have I encountered personnel who was able to proficiently explain the differences in the colour, clarity, cut, polish, symmetry, fluorescence, depth and table % and how it affects both the diamond appearance and its cost.

It seems as though commission profoundly motivates the sales people in the mall. Everyone can see and feel the sales pressure. When I feel the pressure to make a purchase, I do not like it. Nothing wrong with making a commission, I am not against that. It just feels to me that most chainmail jewellery stores offer such small base salary that it makes the sales person be extra wired to make a deal. But ask yourself, will it help you get the best diamond?

You can go to a smaller “mom and pop” retail store. There you will find an older individual, which will try to sell you the idea of their ‘experience’. It’s a very good idea to have someone help you buy your engagement ring that knows diamonds and jewellery production. But does their ‘experience’ mean they come from the time when there was no Internet and the jewellery profit margins were typically between 300% and 500%? Is there a chance that they have built the business back in the 70ies or the 80ies? If so does their store look big and overblown? Do they have lots of staff in store? You know your diamond ring pays for everything you see.

So if you have decided to shop retail is there anything you can do? Is there anything you can do to protect yourself as a consumer? Yes of course, and here are my suggestions.

Always insist on the AGS or GIA certified diamonds. The GIA or AGS certified diamonds should be at least Very Good to Ideal cut. Have None or Faint fluorescence and preferably have Hearts and Arrows effect which you can see by using a special instrument, called Hearts and Arrows loupe/scope. Go to BlueNile.ca James Allen.com and Purediamond.ca save screenshots on your phone of the diamonds and the rings you have liked. Learn the 4Cs. Read as much as you can on (colour, clarity, cut and carat weight) But also know and know about the additional 4 Cs Cost – How much will a diamond cost you in the retail environment vs online Credibility – Does the jeweller have any negative reviews on Yelp or Google, and if so what are they saying? Are you going to be ok with encountering similar problems? Certification – I can not overstate this enough, your certificate of the diamond does matter. Insist on GIA and AGS certified diamonds. Walk out of the store if they are selling EGL Israel Certified diamonds.

You can also go to a diamond wholesaler of which there are plenty.

In my opinion, the best route you can take on your quest in finding the perfect diamond engagement ring in Vancouver is to go is through a Diamond Wholesaler. We need a bit of the understanding exactly where in the diamond distributing pipeline the wholesaler comes in.

1) The Mining Companies: Rio Tinto, De Beers, Alrosa and BHP Billiton They are the international cartels that control the mining and the distribution of Rough (uncut) diamonds, setting the prices as well as controlling the output. The cartels can influence the availability of certain qualities, shapes colours, and clarities of diamonds. Controlling the output of Rough diamonds they allocate a certain percentage of goods to big manufacturing houses.

2) The Manufactures: Leo Schacter, Leviev, Crossworks. Almost always family owned and operated the big diamond manufacturing houses are notoriously secretive. The business model is primarily based on the buying power and the company assets. Very simply the manufacturing house has the rights to the tender and an allocation of the rough diamond product from one of the major mining companies. There is a contract in place which guarantees the mining company will sell a particular quantity and variety of rough diamonds which the manufacturer will purchase and produce polished diamonds. The manufacturer cuts diamonds. Creating and asserting the value of the final gemstone. It maintains massive operations and the often very large numbers of staff. Having significant financial obligations, centered around buying and manufacturing diamonds, the diamond gemstone manufacturers are highly dependent on wholesalers and the liquidity they provide.

3) The Wholesaler: As with everything in life there are three kinds, Small – Medium and Large. But the business model for all three is the same; essentially it is the bank. While most major (LARGE) wholesalers are very cash and asset wealthy, the way they make money is by purchasing diamonds directly from the major manufacturing houses and reselling it to smaller diamond wholesalers or bigger jewellery stores. Anyone who can buy in bulk. Even if you spend $500,000 buying diamonds at the wholesale level, it will only put you in the (MEDIUM) category. Martin Rapaport ( the pioneer of diamond pricing and creator of rapnet.com, widely regarded as Steve Jobs of the diamond industry) Once said: The real estate is all about Location – Location – Location but the Diamond Industry is all about Connections – Connections – Connections.

Essentially all wholesalers small, medium and large are in the same boat. They don’t mine or produce diamonds, they buy and sell it. There are plenty of ways to add value via branding and re-certifying diamonds. In turn, the wholesalers then turn around and resell same diamonds to their network of purchasers. There are different strategies that wholesalers use. Some buy only high-end stones, while others only buy princess cut diamonds. There are those that buy low colour commercial goods and others that will buy and play with different certification houses to try to get better values out of diamonds by re-certifying it.

The most ironic part is that the biggest advantage and disadvantage at the same time to a larger or a medium wholesaler is the amount of money they have locked in their diamonds. Diamonds are expensive, and ten diamonds could easily cost a wholesaler $100,000. To make $5,000 a month after tax salary, a diamond wholesaler needs to sell these ten diamonds at least 20% markup. As with any business, the amount of money you have in diamonds might be borrowed so to service the debt the wholesaler pays 3% – 5% to the bank. The other 3% – 5% goes towards the expenses to keep the light on, such as office, insurance, leases and staff. So the 10% goes towards the wholesaler’s salary, out of which he will still have to pay the income tax.

The benefit of finding a smaller, smarter wholesaler to you as a consumer of a diamond engagement ring is immense. The smaller wholesalers don’t have a lot of money tied up in the diamond gemstones. Their business is lean and does not require a massive investment. Sure they buy and sell diamonds on the meager level but, they also have large wholesale connections, and more importantly they are not stuck with just ten diamonds, per $100,000 the giant wholesaler has. The smaller guy is after the best diamonds nevermind the (wholesale) cost. The wholesale price of a diamond is irrelevant. The smaller wholesaler is very similar to a mortgage broker who has access to many banks. He does not have a lot of money tied up in the diamond merchandise and can shop a ton of banks (larger diamond wholesalers) and bring you the best deal and best-looking diamond. Unlike the typical jewellery store owner he does not have the money tied up in the inventory. Sure you as a client will not be greeted by a big and beautiful jewellery store, but the information, education and comperative analysis of the diamonds you can receive in the wholesalers office will be far greater than any jewellery store.

But where do you find a reputable diamond wholesaler, and what should their office look like?

Its easy to look at diamonds in Pure Diamond offices.

The local wholesaler is the person you found through searching on Google. There are ads for different stores all offering you the best diamond ring, but the wholesaler will have the site, talking about their company have been importing diamonds from Israel, India or the US and have been actively selling the diamonds to the jewellery stores throughout the 2000s. This is who you need, the person or the company that has actively sold diamonds to the Jewellery Stores. Why would be the advantage? The Internet is a great equalizer, before the active proliferation of the online shopping environment, Jewellery store owners would buy directly from the smaller wholesalers. With today’s interest in diamonds weighing and the margins disappearing the big jewellery stores went a step further and had gone to big wholesalers or even the manufacturers of diamonds to buy direct. By doing so, we have a sizable army of smaller intermediaries with lots of diamond expertise and great connections, who are willing to sell better diamonds than the jewellery stores at much better prices.

You can search Google for diamond engagement rings in your city. Chances are you will find purediamond.ca

My name is Alexei, and I am your local diamond wholesaler and I get results! I take out all the stress of diamond shopping. I have been a professional gemologist since 2004. Diamond wholesaler since 2009 and I help all my clients get the best diamond and a stunning engagement ring. I ensure that you have a great ring, professionally. Finding a beautiful place to propose is still your job!

What I do is I make the stress and the uncertainty of having to spend thousands on something that is made mysterious by the big jewellery stores, disappear. I professionally demystify diamonds and tell you exactly how to find the perfect diamond every time.

I have all the high-end gemological tools: the Microscope, Sarin and ForeverMark video screen to view inclusions of the diamonds, and a Hearts and Arrows scope. You will feel like a professionally trained gemologist after we spend 30 minutes looking at diamonds together.

Please feel free to email me about any diamond engagement ring questions you might have.

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