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phantom-fleetways · 9 months ago

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I loved your neo chaos sonic au

If it's okay to ask could you tell us more about it👀👀

Oh! Of course!

Frankly I haven't done much world building for it, since I have other AUs who are utter attention whores and life just LOVES to make me unable to draw for some stupid reason or another. But I do have some simple concepts I would love to share! If you feel like you can bare my aimless rambling, feel free to read the rest under the cut.

First off, setting. Generally speaking, Neo Chaos Sonic's timeline takes place after the events of Season 2's finale and the early portion of season 3's episode one.

But instead of Building Alpha Grim Sonic after a lot of dilly dallying on Nine's part, he decides to fight fire with fire. (And maybe he's a little scared of being alone, although he would never admit it.)

So he rebuilds Chaos Sonic instead. And to insure that he'll be able to beat Sonic, Nine decided to give him untethered access to the Paradox Prism.

This of course leads to Chaos Sonic deeming his normal build being to... Easy to deal with. And he is allowed a modicum of freewill by Nine. So who is he if he does not ascend to godhood to ensure the plan's execution? It's gonna be a temporary upgrade. And Nine did give him full access to the Paradox Prism.

Leading to this beautiful outcome!

It's a MAJOR upgrade. And it comes with a hip skirt! And who is she to go against a hip skirt?

After choosing a new form of befitting of his newly born Goddess status, NCS decides to make the Grim their perfect little paradise. Their powers are simple, as she is all powerful but not all knowing or anything.

NCS can change their appearance however she sees fit. Although due to his vanity, he mostly stays hedgehog robot shaped. And generally before war is brought to her doorstep, she just stands about as tall as NMS would. So they definitely Tower over Sonic and Nine easily. They also can pool liquid metal off of them and when the liquid metal touches the ground, they become Grim Sonic Troopers. All of which seem to reflect different small aspects of her personality. Also she has glitter beams and shit. He's a magical girl, they gotta have their glitter attacks.

After a while of their new arrangement, NCS stops referring to Nine as either "Best bud" or "Sir". And starts calling him Martyr or Prophet. Treating Nine as a prized possession and less like a friend or even someone they wish to protect and keep happy.

Nine isn't initially concerned about this though. Since he's certain that they are still loyal to him. Which is true, he is. But ultimately that loyalty does not outweigh her natural selfishness.

I believe that inevitably, there will come to pass a point where Neo Chaos Sonic decides to "sacrifice" Nine to herself. If only to make Sonic run a fool's errand. If you know ANYTHING about the ending of KH3 and the whole "Save the 7" segment with Riku? Like that. (For those who don't know, imagine Nine floating above an altar of some sort with his body partially transparent blue.)

I don't really know if Sonic and Co from prime would succeed, since I really just designed Neo Chaos Sonic for the sake of designing him. But I would say that in order to take down Neo, Sonic would need to brace the abyss™️ to find Shadow's missing Chaos Emerald. Since I'm a wedger a bet that Shadow would be logically able to use Chaos Control in the prism that Neo Chaos is using to power themselves. Buuut in order to do that, Shadow would have to get close enough.

There is the possiblity that allowing Sonic to shatter himself would fix everything too. But ultimately I have no clue cuz I just haven't thought far yet.

Overall, the AU is very shallow at the moment. And seeing as I have other far more complex AUs I'm working on, it might be this way for a while. So, I'm sorry about that! But I did enjoy rambling a bit, albeit a bit aimlessly.

I just really love this design and I really love how pretty they came out! Neo Chaos Sonic is a treat of a concept to me, since I adore Neo Metal Sonic. Favorite flavor of Mets to be honest. And I figured a Neo form for Chaos Sonic would do them good!

#!!!#Storytime #Phantoms #neo chaos sonic #chaos sonic #i really do love this concept #i just wish i could really think of a good plot for it #i got nothing unfortunately #all my resources have been put into the AU that's connected to my page banner #but i do hope i get to revisit this concept some day!#i really do love it!!#thank you for asking me about it!#anon ask

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radramblog · 4 years ago

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What happened to Dirk in Homestuck^2?

Why am I doing this to myself.

I memed a little yesterday when I was posting that article around social medias about Homestuck jokes, because once again we are in lockdown and I am therefore Stuck at Home. Canned laughter goes here. But there’s a topic related to the comic- or more specifically, its aborted sequel, Homestuck^2, that I’m interested in delving into a little bit. I’m going to avoid talking about spoilers as much as possible, but considering said comic takes place not only after the events of the massive sprawl that is Homestuck but also the more linear but still messy Epilogues, some amount of sus shit is inevitable.

Anyway. Much maligned is what the Epilogues and 2 did to everyone’s favourite decapitation target, Dirk Strider, and I have a theory as to why it happened this way.

To begin with, let’s summarise what and who Dirk is through the course of the comics. Fair warning from me, though, it’s been a while since I read through this.

Dirk Strider is a teenager who grew up in a post-apocalyptic future Earth, completely devoid of physical contact with other people and only really ever gets to talk to 3 other people, only one of whom is in anything remotely resembling a relatable situation. He struggles with self-identity, having created numerous robots including an artificial intelligence based on his own brain, aka Lil’ Hal. He’s somewhat of a control freak, and a bit of a cold aloof asshole, but means well, and is pretty gay. NBD. The kinda guy to set up a plan meticulously and thoroughly, not informing any of the moving parts even if said parts are his friends, and often involving some form of self-sacrifice.

Throughout the comic he further reckons with self-identity problems and his own self-loathing including entering a relationship with Jake which doesn’t go well and he eventually breaks off since he knows his overbearing and manipulative behaviour is Not Cool and Pretty Toxic but doesn’t know how to shut it off. Eventually he reaches the God Tier as a Prince of Heart, gaining the power to literally annihilate souls, which he never actually uses since he gets yeeted into deep (Paradox) space and then everything goes to shit. Except none of that happens because of the Retcon (aside from the God Tier bit) and we don’t actually see how that shit progressed in the canon timeline. I think. Dirk’s arc, as it were, doesn’t really come full circle- while he does assist in Dave’s character…growth? he really isn’t the focus of that conversation. This immediately precedes the action climax and there isn’t literally any dialogue after that so that’s what we’re left with.

I like Dirk in Homestuck a lot. It’s hard not to, considering the flashes heavily featuring him (Unite/Synchronise and Prince of Heart: Rise Up) are genuinely excellent, along with many of his music themes being absolute bangers. He gets to interact with Caliborn a lot, with a pretty great banter, there, and the whole splintered personality thing is a really interesting hook for a character. I think he’s my favourite of the Alpha kids, a controversial pick considering I know everyone loves Roxy so much. I think, I’m not as in tune with the fandom as that statement implies I am.

And then the Epilogues/Homestuck 2 came.

Now I read the Meat half of the epilogues first, but that’s more interesting, so we’ll tackle Candy first (this is going to get real confusing for those who haven’t read this comic, huh).

In Candy, Dirk almost immediately kills himself, citing the irrelevance of the timeline as cause, an act considered by whatever mechanism governs God Tier deaths to be Just because he hates himself (and also bc of things we’ll get into), so it actually sticks. This isn’t super relevant for the discussion, but that’s just kinda so unbelievably fucked up? Entirely? I’d imagine if you read Candy first you might get entirely turned off by this, which I’m sure a lot of people did.

Meat is where the, well, meat of post-canon Dirk is. You see, a concept very quickly introduced in the tail end of the original comic is the Ultimate Self, an idea where you somehow encompass every different timeline iteration or alternate version of yourself. This was pretty clearly tacked on to make it so characters whose arcs all happened in the retcon timeline could have their not getting an actual arc explained away, but it didn’t land then and it sure doesn’t land for me now. Anyway, in Meat, Dirk becomes his ultimate self, making him near-omniscient and able to control the fabric of the story himself- for much of this story, he is the narrator. And he uses this power to fuck with all his friends really distressingly without their knowledge (or consent), including breaking up a marriage, in order to further his own goals which largely appear to be just keep the story going so to not fade out of relevance. It’s a plot that makes no sense with his previous characterisation, but I guess now that he’s the Ultimate Self he’s a different person? But I liked old Dirk, and I don’t like New Dirk. He’s a villain now, but he made a much better anti-hero.

But this would be fine if he (or the epilogues, or Homestuck^2) were written well. But they aren’t. Dirk’s dialogue is long, painfully drawn out, with tangents that tend to amount to pure wank, misused literary references and pointless metaphors that go on and on, filling the screen with a bright orange screed that hurts to look at as much as it does to comprehend. It’s not fun. And we’ve seen Dirk communicate before, obviously, the story of Homestuck is built around chatlogs, but it wasn’t like this. He was sarcastic, dryly witty, blunt at times. Even when he was literally talking to a different version of himself it didn’t get that masturbatory.

I was so confused about what the hell happened to Dirk, because I had no idea what the hell someone writing this character was thinking when they turned him into this. And then, the 21st page of Homestuck^2 dropped.

And it all came together.

What Ultimate Dirk and Terezi are referring to is Pony Pals: Detective Pony, a children’s book about some girls who hang out with ponies and solve a mystery. It’s a real book, buy it for your 5-year-old.

Except they’re not referring to that, they’re referring to the Homestuck Canon version of Detective Pony- a birthday gift from Dirk to Jane, heavily edited and to be much more obscene and eventually developing into it’s own story, stated to be “tough, emotionally draining, but cathartic in all the worst ways possible”.

Except the quote “Remember Longcat, Jane?” and references to philosophy, dead languages, and ancient earth culture aren’t referring to the three pages of the Dirk-edited Detective Pony we see in the actual comic itself. That quote doesn’t appear there.

That image is from Detective Pony, by Sonnetstuck- the 40,000 word fanfiction from 2014 that serves as a completed version of Jane’s copy of the book. An expansion of what we see in canon. And it’s a tough, emotionally draining read, but cathartic in all the worst ways possible.

It’s a very good fanfiction.

In the later bits of Detective Pony, we can start to see the origins of what would become Ultimate Dirk’s signature style of writing. Long blocks of rambling text, orange dripping down the page, references to philosophy and history and language that go on and on. And it probably does look familiar to those who read the Epilogues and ^2.

But there are a couple of key differences here. First of all, it’s just better written? The way these rambles circle back on themselves is so excellent, the absolute absurdity of this being written on top of a pony book for little girls, the humour (beyond some of the more immature stuff), it’s just a really well-written piece of fiction. Hell, you don’t even need to be familiar with the character of Dirk to enjoy it. It’s a harrowing piece, but it’s also self-aware- because it’s not supposed to be tough, draining, cathartic etc. just for Jane- it’s clearly that for Dirk himself.

The second part is, of course, that this is a fanfiction. It’s not canon, it’s not official, this is by someone who really likes Dirk for people who really like Dirk. It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, so if you bounce off it (and I’m sure a lot did), then you don’t have to keep reading it, it’s fine, thanks for playing. As much as Homestuck^2 tried to doll itself up as “dubiously canon” it’s still the official continuation of the story, and that means if it’s as difficult to get into as Detective Pony, that’s going to be a problem for a lot of people.

The other part of it is that Detective Pony’s exploration of Dirk’s character is, well, in character. When the man himself steps in as a character in his own book, the explorations of what he is as an author, who he is as a person, make perfect sense for what we see of him at the start of the comic. He is that manipulative, blunt person, and he is aware of his faults. He’s the kind of person to hide a lamentation on his own failings inside an impenetrable maze of a story layered on top of a book about fucking ponies. Ultimate Dirk does not act like Dirk, outside of the “manipulator” angle, something that Dirk was aware of and trying to improve in the comic. But I guess people don’t have arcs, right?

It’s so interesting to see the seeds of Homestuck^2 laden within Detective Pony- because the meta angle that and the epilogues take is also represented in said fanfiction. While the nature of canon is a facet of the work, the idea of authors and narrators fighting for control of a story, different ideas in mind for the characters, one being more personally connected to them than the other, it’s all there. When I wrote about Fallout 4 in the past, I mentioned being worried that Bethesda took the wrong lessons from Skyrim- seeing something successful and trying to recapture that lightning in a bottle. I think Homestuck^2 is an extreme example of this- the writers of the comic saw Sonnetstuck’s masterwork and thought, yeah that’s great, we can do that. But they just can’t. And with the comic crashed and burning, the probably won’t ever get a chance to. Dirk is forever stuck as this amalgamation of himself that looks nothing like any individual version of him ever did.

At least we will still have Detective Pony, and many other excellent fanworks, for actually good Dirk content. I admittedly haven’t looked into much fanfic written during/post-epilogues, and I’m kind of afraid of what I’ll see- I can only hope the fanbase didn’t take the same wrong lessons as the official team did.

#ramble #honestly more of an essay #homestuck #homestuck 2 #dirk strider #ultimate dirk #just ignore me accidentally posting this to the wrong account and having to reup it

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withthekeyisking-writer · 5 years ago

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What’s a Batman story you wish someone else would write for you instead of writing yourself??

Gotta tell you, I got super excited when I got this ask, because there are so many things!! That I would love to see happen!! That I’ll never get around to writing!! So uh, strap in because this is gonna be a big ol’ list :) I’m gonna organize these so that it starts with gen ideas and then switches to darker ones (otherwise, really in no particular order). Also, because it’s me, many of these are Dick-centric.

1. First up is a Batfam Hogwarts AU, but with the specifications that Dick is a Slytherin, Jason is a Ravenclaw, Tim is a Slytherin, and Damian is a Hufflepuff. Skalidra actually made an amazing post about this that I agree with so fucking much, and I want a fic that does this justice.

2. Batbros are actually blood bros. I know there are a couple of these already out there, but not the way I picture it in my head, so here you go: Bruce knows about Dick while the kid is growing up, visits the circus any time it’s in town, takes Dick out for ice cream & shit like that, but Dick thinks this is just some family friend his parents like him hanging out with. It’s not until Mary and John fall that Dick learns the truth about his parents. For Tim – Janet never really wanted a kid, so when she and Bruce sleep together (up to you to figure out why) and got pregnant, she was like “okay brucie as soon as this pops out you can keep it” which, once Tim was born, Bruce did. Jason can go so many ways, so up to you!

3. Transgender Dick!! Yes, these are already out there. Yes, I want so many more! Give me the struggle of coming to the realization while amongst Gotham’s high society. Give me extra supportive Bruce or a Bruce that just can’t wrap his head around the concept and absolutely fails to be in any way a good parent of a trans kid. Or take the extra step and give me a non-binary Dick!!! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one of those, and as an enby individual, I really would love to.

4. Jason as a teacher. Do whatever the fuck you want with that, but I want to see Jason teaching literature. Still in the superhero world, no alternate world where Batman isn’t a thing. I want a Jason who’s been Robin and died and come back and been Red Hood and is a teacher.

5. I had a dream about Dick being a clone, and then an idea popped up behind it: In the Young Justice cartoon world, the Light makes another clone of Superman. But this time, the human DNA they used to stabilize the Kryptonian part isn’t Lex Luthor’s DNA, but Batman’s! That Superman-Batman clone is Dick. While Conner gets rescued by the YJ team, Dick (or whatever title CADMUS gave him, like how Conner was just called “The Superboy”) isn’t found, and is trained to fight against the team of young heroes as the Light’s weapon. Dick gets captured eventually and Bruce&Clark find out about their clone baby. Throw in some Superbat if you feel like it, or just Two Bros And A Baby. Either way, I would kill for this.

6. Ok you know how at one point or another Damian, Jason, and Cass were all members of the League of Assassins? Well, what if there was overlap? I want the three of them working for the League and knowing each other. I don’t know if this even works out at all but I just think this would be kinda cool, especially if it includes Bruce finding out about Damian or about Jason being alive and gaining a daughter along the way.

7. While we’re on the subject of League of Assassins, all four of the boys work for the League!! Do with this what you will, I merely present the concept to you.

8. Secret Agents. Just…just give me them as spies. Pls.

9. Dead Robins Club that ACTUALLY INCLUDES DICK BECAUSE Y’KNOW HE DIED. It’s a pet peeve of mine, when people write these kind of fics and include Tim and Steph (neither of which actually died) but not Dick, even though he did die for at least a couple minutes. Please stop ignoring Dick’s trauma guys, I beg of you. There’s one amazing fic between Jason, Damian, and Dick, and I want so many more of stuff like that.

10. Greeks/Roman Gods AU where Dick is the God of Death and king of the Underworld instead of the springtime god. There’s a really great jaydick fic out there that has this, but it’s abandoned, and I rally really want more of a Dick like this.

11. AU in which Bruce is the youngest member of the Justice League, and is still the badass leader he is in canon. No one in the League knows the truth, but it’s not like Bruce ever said I’m in my 20s or older, he just. Never mentioned he just graduated high school and is working on his accelerated bachelor’s degree.

12. A fic that addresses the fact that Dick has, in canon, been buried alive. I might one day write this, but I have a lot of projects that I do know I’m going to write, so this is wayyyyyyyyyyyy down the line, long enough that I’d be very happy to see someone write it instead. Bonus points if it’s a fic about Dick and Jason, and the fact that Dick killed Joker also comes up.

13. Tamaranean!Dick. And I actually have a whole word/plot for something like this that I’m never gonna write so if you wanna do this hmu I have THOUGHTS

Ok boys and girls and enbys we’re about to hit the dark shit so turn back if you don’t want to have to read it. You’ve been warned.

14. Ancient Rome AU in which Bruce is a senator and owns his robins as slaves (gladiator-wise and otherwise) who try to earn their freedom but Bruce likes using them too much (both for himself and in gaining control over others, like sending one of them to seduce somebody to gain leverage or steal something or what have you) and so he keeps changing what will gain them their freedom.

15. Auction fic where Dick is drugged and kidnapped and auctioned off to a bunch of villains. Yes, fics like this exist. Yes, I would like Many More.

16. Brusladick where Bruce has some Bad Thoughts about Dick but can’t bring himself to act on them, but he wouldn’t mind letting someone else do it, and who better than Slade Wilson, who absolutely wants to fuck Dick. So Bruce sets up a camera in the room and gets off to all the hard shit being done to Dick, but Slade breaks their agreement a little and tells Dick that Bruce is watching.

17. In an ABO universe, Dick is an omega. The world is pretty modern overall, of course there will always be some level of sexism but it’s not a large issue. But there’s this far-right terroristic-type group that thinks omegas are just good for ding as they’re told and being bred and have made it their mission to “fix” omegas who think they deserve equal rights, and they get ahold of Dick, sending a video to Bruce saying they’re return Dick when he’s better. For some reason Bruce and Co can’t find Dick for a long time, and by the time they do Dick’s severely traumatized and been conditioned into obedience and submission towards alphas.

18. In the Young Justice cartoon world, while Kaldur is undercover in season 2, an interaction with Deathstroke reveals something horrible about Nightwing’s past, and Kaldur has to act like hearing these graphic, awful things about his friend. After it’s all over, he goes to Dick and mentions Deathstroke saying something and Dick kind of shuts down and says like “How many people heard what he said?” There is a twitter thread between me and a friend on this very subject if you need inspiration ;)

19. Something based on this amazing art

20. Bruce is hella abusive. Dick lets himself be Bruce’s outlet so he won’t hurt the others. This, of course, comes to light. Yes, shit like this exists. But I pose you a question – is there ever too many? And has it been done by you yet?

21. Brainwashing. Just, give me brainwashing. Turned against your family, used and mocked by your enemy, kneeling “willingly” at your enemy’s feet. Bonus points for all kinds of abuse.

Well, that’s my list!! Go off and do great things for me! Thanks for the ask!!

#anon ask #ask #writing #batman #fanfic question

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solrosan · 7 years ago

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PRINCE GARY – ONE YEAR IN

In very personal interview, Prince Gary of Sweden talks about his marriage to Crown Princess Tilde and his first year as part of the Swedish Royal Family, and opens up about how tailoring made him into the man he is today.

It’s drizzling as the car stops at the gates of Haga Castle outside Stockholm. The gates open automatically – registration plate recognition, my drive tells me. I still have to be checked off on a list before we continue the short distance from the gate to the castle.

The castle is small, as far as castles go, 43 rooms laid out over 1550 square meters. It’s also fairly new, again as far as castles go, built in the early 19th century. It was originally built as a summer residence, but has off and on been used as a permanent home for princes and princesses of Sweden. Currently, it’s the home of Crown Princess Tilde and her husband Prince Gary, who I’m here to meet.

Walking up the stairs to the front door, I’m nervous. I’ve never been in a castle as anything other than a tourist before. I’ve never met any royals before. I’m not even sure where I stand on the concept of monarchies in today’s society.

It’s Prince Gary who opens the door, which throws me off right way. I’ve watched Downton Abbey, and that’s what I was expecting. Sort of. I tell Prince Gary the same. He laughs and says that as far has he knows, there are no dead Turks in the bedroom. I’m glad to hear.

He asks me to remove my shoes. The Crown Princess is in Gothenburg this week, but she’ll still have his head if she finds out he let someone walk in with rain on their shoes. Luckily, I was prepared for this and picked out a new pair of socks this morning. Prince Gary smiles when he talks about his wife, this time and throughout our entire meeting.

‘I still have to pinch myself sometimes,’ he says in regards to how he’s ended up where he is. ‘I still expect to wake up in London every morning.’

Prince Gary offers me coffee – ‘Or tea. I have pretended to teach these Vikings how to make proper tea. Not that I ever knew how to.’ – and we make a detour to a small kitchenette on the ground floor. It was installed by the Crown Princess Tilde’s aunt, Princess Catarina, who was the last permanent resident at Haga Castle, Prince Gary tells me. Apparently, Princess Catarina liked to make her own snacks and found the way to the kitchen too long. Prince Gary is full of anecdotes like that.

‘I’ve been studying,’ he says, laughing, when I point out how much random information he has about the family he’s married into.

When we have our coffee – and cinnamon buns Prince Gary swears he hasn’t made himself – we move to a study for the interview. The room has huge windows, bookshelves at the back wall, a small writing desk that seems old enough to have come with the castle. There is a cream sofa, stylish coffee tables, and comfortable armchairs. There is a fireplace and a huge chandelier. It’s a perfect mix of old and new. I feel out of place and at home at the same time. It’s a very odd feeling, but I’m suddenly happy that I was told to take off my wet shoes – the rug is a wedding gift from Queen Elizabeth II to the Swedish King and Queen. (Again, one of Prince Gary’s many titbits of information that he just shares of the top of his head.)

This is a bit of a fairy tale story: peasant girl marrying the handsome prince, and I know that at the time of your wedding there was a lot of focus on your background and so on… Now, a year later, how do you think your image has change?

I think people in general have come to terms with me here. I’m pretty sure I’m not the ‘end of the Swedish monarchy’ or whatever it was one historian called me when the engagement was announced. The Swedish media, luckily, isn’t the British media – no offense – and they’ve been keeping a polite distance. It’s helped, I suppose, that I haven’t messed up publicly yet. I’ve learned how to wave.

How very Queen Elizabeth of you.

I’ve been practicing in front of the mirror.

Really?

Really. I watched The Crown – you know, the Netflix show – because I thought I could get some pointers on how to do this from Prince Philip. Then I called up Claire Foy, to see if she had any tips on how to learn these things as an adult. I realise both these things sound ridiculous now that I say it out loud.

Prince Gary goes into a long explanation about all the different things he had to learn before marrying into the Swedish royal family. General history, the royal linage, prime ministers through the years, politics, food culture. Altogether, he estimates that he has enough to get a bachelor’s degree in Swedish history and social studies. He seems to have taken it all to heart. I get the feeling that he takes pride in learning and knowing this. Unlike what a lot of the media would like to have you believe, Prince Gary isn’t unintelligent.

Before you married, you worked as a tailor. Is that something you miss? Is it something you still do?

I was an apprentice, not an actual tailor. I never completed my training. This sort of… came in the way of that. Sometimes I feel sad about it, tailoring is what saved me. More or less. I owe the tailors at Kingman my life. They gave me so much, and I can’t ever truly repay them for seeing something in the little shit I was back then, and think ‘that’s a young man with potential.’ I don’t even have words for it. I don’t miss the actual tailoring that much, though I’m planning on finishing the apprenticeship if it’s at all possible, but I miss my friends. It is different to go from see someone every day to speak to them perhaps once a week. That goes for all my friends, just not the tailors at Kingsman.

How is it, then, being a fulltime prince?

Fulltime prince? Yes, I suppose I am. I don’t go around cutting ribbons every day, or anything, but there are so many things underneath it all that no one really sees.

So not just parties on luxury boats?

Who would have thought?

Instead you spend your time go to an outreach program for young men. Tell me about that.

That is a big part of it, yes. Or I’m hoping that it will take up a big part of my time, eventually. It’s on a very small scale so far, and I’ve been very conflicted about it for a long time. Not the project itself, but the concept of it all. It feels like an outdated cliché, royals picking a cause to become the champion for and devote all their time to. Or so it felt before when I heard, for example, Prince William, talk about mental health issues. ‘What does he know about mental health?’ the cynical street kid in me thought. Still thinks, sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I believe he’s genuine about it. I’m sure he’s committed. It’s just… hard to reach the other side sometimes, especially when you come from the most privilege class of them all. It’s easy for it to feel fake or cheap.

It’s also really hard to accept that outreached hand. Even more so if someone is reaching down to you. Pride, it’s a stupid thing sometimes. I grew up poor, with an alcoholic, abusive stepfather. I had a criminal record. It was pure luck and desperation that made me take the hand someone reached out to me.

So I’m trying to be that hand now, and I’m trying to find other people to be that hand. I do my best. I have no idea how to succeed. There is a huge social-economic segregation in Sweden, especially in the suburbs to the larger cities, just like in the UK.

You have also a held lecture about new forms of masculinity.

Lectures. Plural. I have no idea how any of that happened. I was approached by a gender studies professor at Lund University and now I think I have been to every Swedish university with a gender studies course. In October I’m going to Oslo to do it again. It’s fun. I had never set my foot at a university before.

And what do you talk about?

How it is to be the husband of one of Sweden’s most visible and well-liked women. She’s never going to be my wife, I’m always going to be her husband. You said yourself in the beginning of this interview that I’m the peasant girl marrying up, after all. I’m totally fine with that. On top of that, I’m a tailor and a former gymnast. Nothing about me screams alpha male. If I can show that that’s okay, then I’ve come a long way. Young men need other types of role models. Not that I claim to be anyone’s role model, but at least I’m putting an alternative out there.

So, how is it to be the husband of one of Sweden’s most visible and well-liked women?

I think the marriage itself is pretty standard. None of my friends believe me when I say we fight about socks on the floor and unchanged toilet paper rolls as well. Then my wife has a weird job that she’s had since she was born, and the only way for her to get a promotion is for her father to die. At first, I was afraid, every day, that he would die and throw us into this whole other crazy life – my life has become crazy enough, lately – but that’s no way to live. Tilde has taught me a lot when it comes to this, she’s been living with it her entire life, after all. When it happens, it happens, and hopefully I can be there and support her through that transition, just as she’s supported me through mine.

We talked about earlier about being a fulltime prince, and that’s it really. Supporting my wife in her role as Crown princess, and later Queen, is my most important job, both as a husband and as a prince. The other projects, the talks, everything else, even though it’s important too and I really enjoy it, being there for Tilde so that she can do her job is my first priority.

You said Crown princess Tilde helped you find your place when you came here, any big cultural shocks?

I’m still finding my place to be honest, but I think I’m getting there. The biggest cultural shock of my life, though, was joining Kingsman. They made sure that I knew they saw my value and thanks to that I saw my own value. It turned my entire world upside down, or rather turned it right again. Every person should know their value and that they are valued. Compared to that, getting to be a part of the life of the woman I love is easy.

And I mean, Sweden and the UK are practically the same place. There are little things, like the shoes and what way to look when you cross the street. Oh, and that they drive with the lights on all the time. But no one talks to strangers and they know how to queue. It’s perfect.

Is the Swedish coming along as nicely?

I’ve been learning Swedish since 2014, so I’d like to think I manage okay. I’ve gone my whole life without speaking the Queen’s English, so hopefully I’ll get by even if I never master the Queen’s Swedish.

#Eggsy #Eggsy Unwin #Tilwin #Kingsman #kingsman the golden circle #Kingsman spoilers #fanfiction #kingsman fanfiction #enjoy this #I feel silly and crazy #Pretty please don't leave me here alone #i did a thing #goddamnit #prince gary

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let-me-be-your-home · 8 years ago

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Rant for SPN S12 Episode 14 “The Raid”

I could rant and rant away about this episode and it wouldn’t be enough. I actually really liked it quite a bit until things just started down-sliding erratically. Season 12 has been painful and embarrassing and Andrew Dabb has been so disappointing that I barely anyway have expectations. But when they just go against the base of the show, or what they’ve themselves established, it hurts. I wouldn’t want to be ENTIRELY negative and overlook the actually good bits of the episode, so will post what I liked about the episode before what I absolutely didn’t.

What I really liked about the episode

1. The scene in the beginning between Mary, Sam and Dean was brilliantly written and so well enacted. I could literally clap through it while holding onto my tears when Mary said “You aren’t a child.” Dean replying “I never was” ...It hits you right in your guts when Dean (a man who never really got to be a boy) who took on parenting from he was 4, who sacrificed everything he wished for to keep a family together...siding and protecting an absentee father till the man was alive, FINALLY says his feelings out loud. He’s never mentioned it much, maybe once in the passing but never like how he did today.And you realize he’s had enough.

John gave up so much to avenge Mary’s death, their lives were entirely changed. It was her death that began it all...and she comes back only to distance from them, then lie and then just refuse to be a mother to them at all. Why should Dean even understand this? Why can’t the man for once just want someone else to do the understanding? I feel bad for both the brothers here. For Dean to once again adjust with a failed parent and for Sam to yet again not have a parent at all. It hits you once again just why Dean and Sam are all that each other have.

What I really liked about this scene/situation was the way Sam and Dean have exchanged roles here. Initially Dean was the one wanting to reconcile, keep the family together just wanting everyone to peacefully co-exist. But he’s been through that. Listening and following a parent blindly that got him no where...so this time he’s given up. This time he’s decided to call out on the unfairness of the situation. And I loved every bit of it. And here my heart goes out to Sam who has never really gotten to form a bond with either parent. So I get why he would want to try and understand Mary here, if only to just keep the family intact. Because he’s faced the flip side. Of feeling guilty of being distanced from a parent after it’s too late.

2. I liked that the BMOL were showed unprepared, not glorified. They have the tech, the fancy equipment but they’re not hunters, they’re just some stylish group of people with a lot of information and no experience. And so I liked how they showed Sam manage the whole situation (showcasing just how brilliantly experienced he and Dean are) Even the differences very specifically highlighted between Dean and Ketch were impressive. One man is hell bent on killing and the other being a hunter has more understanding of what to do.

3. I am glad that Sam although wanting to help his mom did not forgive her completely. He agreed with Dean initially, and then even when he went to meet her, wasn’t completely buying her justifications. I hope he voices his hurt too. Because he barely does that and I am dying for him to take a stand here.

4. The boys (Jensen and Jared) were once again par excellence in this episode with their performance.

And that ends just about anything I liked about this episode.

What I hate and keep hating on

1. Mary is a “Winchester” so lying and hiding for the “Greater good” is in her blood. Something that as a fan of both the boys I’ve excused every season. So for me to pick on her about lying to the boys would be me being a hypocrite. But my problem with Mary from Day 1 is that her character has been written so shoddily that I can’t describe who she really is at all? Is she a mother who was a hunter and didn’t want her children to have the life she had? Is she a mother who doesn’t know how to be one anymore and is a hunter now to escape that? Is she doing everything really to save her kids future? And is that even possible?

The problem with Season 12 and especially how Mary is written is that there’s no emotional depth anywhere, except an episode or scene here or there. And Mary has been written so badly that for the first time on the show I am waiting a character death. Simply because she was one character because of whom this journey began and by playing with her essence they’re destroying the very base of the show.

She was rude, outright cold, and horrible to her kids. I am not expecting her to be a regular mom who puts her full grown kids to sleep, bakes them cookies and packs them lunch. But I and even her boys do expect her to be by their side, not lie to them, spend time knowing each other better and just be a mom? If they can give her the space she needs. Can she not give them the love that’s so long overdue for them? She’s been dead for over 3 decades and if its hard for her then it’s hard for them too. No one teaches you how to be a parent. You learn one when you become one. But a child has to be taught everything, which is something the Winchester boys were devoid of. She��s being so selfish here that it hurts to see a Winchester back on the show. And duethe lack of emotional bonding I absolutely do not feel anything about her even though I want to.

I HATED HOW Dean apologized to her. Because he wasn’t wrong and he and Sam had every damn right to feel abandoned. But I guess it’s not in Dean to stay mad with his family for long, not when they could be in danger.

2. I hate how the show that set base for the concept of humanity and not killing everything and everyone is now questioning it themselves this whole season. Killing and eradicating everyone that comes their way because they THINK its a monster? (Read: Alex, Benny etc) When was that what SPN was all about?

3. They got the Alpha vamp back for 5 minutes? That was underwhelming. There was so much to show this episode on a more personal level that this episode could be based on any hunt. The whole climax was very easy and underwhelming.

4. And lastly what I hope is me reading it wrong and desperately wanting to be otherwise. Sam is going to work with the BMOL and hide it from Dean? How old is this getting. The brothers lying and hiding from each other? I understand you need a complication in the story. But the same old repeated how many times? That is just simply lazy writing because the writers do not want to waste time thinking of something new. I get his intention YES. Maybe it was the promise of wiping the monsters away that pushed him...because he thinks they have a chance at normal? Or maybe seeing the Colt made him realize these men can be dangerous because they have so much without even understanding and wants to protect mom? Or it’s just a plan to be a part of them to stop them from doing something wrong....Whatever it might be....hiding something from his brother AGAIN is just getting tiresome.

P.S - NO ONE watches this show for watching anything normal. There are other dramas for that. So Supernatural needs to stop touching this factor every new season. They know and we know, SPN and hunting go hand in hand.

This season has been so underwhelming that I am not even looking forward to the next episodes anymore. Hoping the team pulls up the socks for the rest of season and show that’s left.

#Supernatural #jensen ackles #jared padalecki #J2 #sam winchester #dean winchester #mary winchester #SPN #Episode 12X14 #The Raid

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ettadunham · 8 years ago

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I just accidentally found the first part of the Dollhouse review I started writing after finishing my rewatch, and while I never finished the whole thing, I thought I might as well post it here now.

WARNING: THIS WHOLE THING DEALS WITH THE RAPE THEME OF THE SHOW, BUT ALSO POINTING OUT DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON IT, SO I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT RECOMMEND READING IT IF THAT’S AN ISSUE.

Rape, sex work and relinquishing free will in the Dollhouse

Let’s get the heavy stuff out of the way first. This show has been called a giant rape metaphor by many… and they’re not wrong. There are some great lines in the unaired pilot that explicitly tie it to the type of rape that justifies itself based on previously given consent.

“Even if they did sign up, they didn’t know what they were signing up for.”

The Actives can’t say no at any point during their 5 years of contract. Many of their engagements are sexual in nature, but it’s easy to draw the same conclusions with the ones that are not as well.

For the most time, the show seems to be more or less self-aware of this. There are two major storylines with Sierra/Priya that include explicit rape, and while the characters make a distinction, the show does point out how one is really just a self-justification away from the other.

“You put her under some fat, old emir, it makes it better because she thinks she's in love for all of a day? We're in the business of using people.”

This quote by Sierra’s rapist however brings up another metaphor – that the Actives are basically sex workers.

This is something that is also stated repeatedly during the show, but in this particular context, it actually explains why a distinction is needed between what Hearn did and Dollhouse activity. Hearn justifies his own actions based on what Sierra has to do on a daily basis, just as many other rapists who choose their victims among sex workers. So here, it is important that DeWitt and co. make that distinction as well, despite their on involvement in the Dollhouse’s morally questionable business.

“You understand less about this business than you think.”

The sex worker analogy really peaks when Echo gains awareness, and before sending her out to a romantic engagement, this conversation plays out between her and Topher:

“Um, so we're going to send you to a Mr. Frank Pierce. I mean, if that's okay with you?” “I do work here.”

Echo’s answer basically acknowledges this metaphor (I call it metaphor because, yes, not all engagements are about sex and romance as many would point out, but it is an analogy that works overall as well), but Topher’s question highlights the difference as well. A sex worker ideally has control over what happens to them on a day-to-day basis. They can say no, they can quit, it really is just another job to them. Ideally. Unfortunately in the real world many sex workers are forced into this position, but even then, they have awareness, they have free will.

Topher is confused in this scene, because the Actives don’t normally have that. More often than not, they’re not even thought of as people because of this. “Toys”, “shells”, these are both descriptions used for them, even the term “doll state” is incredibly telling. They’re “not real”, and there are no consequences to what they do to them, since they won’t remember anyway. During the 5 years the Actives spend in the Dollhouse’s employment, they essentially give up their right to be people going by Dollhouse morality.

Okay, let’s back this up a bit before moving forward, because this line has another, rather ableist implication that I want to acknowledge. The Actives are essentially stuck in a childlike state, much like adults who have some form of mental development disabilities, and while it should be noted that the Actives in their doll states are actually being taken care of while they’re in the house, this kind of perception is still rather disturbing.

Of course, one must also point out that in most cases, the people who signed up to the Dollhouse are of able mind, but then you have someone like Priya, who was basically snatched out of a mental facility and was integrated into the program based on the pretext that Topher would ~cure~ her of her mental issues. That spectacularly backfired, but the fact in itself that somehow Priya’s condition seemed to morally justify the decision to employ her without her being able to give proper consent in the first place, is rather disconcerting.

I think that was one of the many things that the show could’ve dealt with more, because while the revelation that Priya was locked up and drugged in the facility to mimic a condition that would land her in the Dollhouse did expose how easily the shaky morality of the House can be abused, I can’t help but feel like there could’ve been more acknowledgement of why recruiting someone with a real condition like hers was inherently troubling. But then again, pretty much every pillar of morality that the Dollhouse stands on is questionable, and ends up being a mirage of justification by the end.

Going back to my previous thought, it is essential to talk about how the Actives supposedly do in fact sign a contract when entering. They knowingly give up their own will and rights, aware of what all that could mean and entail. This is the only thing that even gives ground to any type of moral debate, albeit shaky, as Echo’s (not particularly well-delivered) line in 1x12 points out:

“I have 38 brains. Not one of them thinks you can sign a contract to be a slave.”

Now of course, everyone has different reasons to comply. Surely, there are ones who only really do it for the money. There’s even a passerby in 1x06 who says that she’d do it to escape her upcoming responsibilities. There are the ones like Tony and Madeline who also use the technology to erase trauma. They are the ones that Dollhouse employees feel good about, because they have actually ‘helped’ them, in a way that they couldn’t have gotten in any other place.

But then you have cases like Caroline and Mehcad Brooks’ character in 1x07, the ones who are being pressured into signing their contract. Because how moral it is to essentially choose between death and employment? Priya’s case is an example of complete abuse of the system, and among other things points out the issue with the Actives not being able to have a say or take a stance once they signed up, and of course you have someone like Alpha, who got his prison sentence shortened in exchange.

Nevertheless, it’s Alpha who ends up representing another interesting aspect of this process. That there’s a responsibility in giving up ones free will.

The show avoids direct victim blaming most of the time, whenever the employees mention that the Actives chose to sign up, it’s done in an obvious attempt at self-justification. No one ever says that they deserve what’s done to them, most outsiders either see them as victims or sex workers. Or slaves. Ballard literally calls it “consensual slavery”, which is another interesting description and analogy that I probably could’ve tried exploring more. Oh, well.

So it’s important that it’s Alpha who introduces this concept, because he is essentially a victim as well. He gained self-awareness, and with it the memory of everything he was forced to do, everyone who he was forced to be, and he blames his original for putting him through it. You see, his original wouldn’t have to remember. He wouldn’t have to deal with the consequences of these actions. He would be blissfully ignorant of everything that Alpha is experiencing at that moment.

I feel like this concept deserves a few thoughts before finishing this chapter. One of the reasons why the people signing up feel comfortable doing so is because they won’t remember. There are no perceived consequences to their actions during that time. Even Priya, after killing Nolan asks Topher to erase that day from her mind. So she won’t have to remember. To deal with the consequences. It really is the least that the Dollhouse could do for her, but it once again reinforces this theme.

Ignorance is bliss.

We, in our own lives, relinquish countless freedoms on a daily basis. Some for others sakes. Some for our own. And there are some that we are not even aware that we are giving up – or more importantly, we don’t want to know about it. It’s better not to think about it, right?

Well, in this case, that ignorance helps bringing on the apocalypse.

When we do find out of course all the things that we didn’t necessarily want to know, we still have a choice. Madeline for instance chooses to confront the fact that the Dollhouse made her kill someone. Unfortunately, she ends up being used for an agenda, brought back into another Dollhouse, and dies as an imprint. (#madeline deserved better) Meanwhile Senator Perrin chooses ignorance in the face of killing his own wife. Echo hauntingly tells him that while he wasn’t initially responsible for her death, this way he will be. He still chooses to give up his own self, and ends up playing a significant part in that apocalypse. On paper, he’s better off. In reality, Senator Perrin has absolutely no freedom of his own.

Overall, the show definitely should’ve acknowledged the rape analogy more and more directly at that. Even if I do believe that there are other themes worth talking about in the context, it’s essential to point out that at the end of the day, what the Actives have been put through WAS in fact rape. Inserting moral ambiguity and distinctions without having that been properly established remains the biggest stain on the show.

#dollhouse talk #tw: rape #that's probably the tag people use right #oh well #listen these are just a whole mess of thoughts that this show made me think about a few months ago #i'm not even sure i agree with all this rn

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jessette20 · 6 years ago

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APS Insights-1

It’s that time of year, where a global community of agency partners, experts and transformative industry pros join Sprout Social in one inspiring space. We get to the heart of the buzzwords, get to know one another, and ultimately, walk away with the knowledge to help our organizations thrive.

Last year’s Agency Partner Day was such a success that we decided 2018 needed to see more—more speakers, more partners, more food, more drinks, more space.

Amazing setting for the #sproutpartnersummit! @sproutsocial we like your style. 👌👌👌 pic.twitter.com/dUPlaXKLzk

— Project1421 (@project1421) October 17, 2018

Partners traveled from far and wide for this one.

All the way from Perú 🇵🇪 for the #SproutPartnerSummit 🙂 @TCCPeru #Chicago pic.twitter.com/GAybJ1w6Sl

— Lucho Cornejo (@LuchoCornejo) October 16, 2018

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#sproutpartnersummit Here we come! Looking forward to meeting everyone! @sproutsocial

A post shared by Spokeology (@spokeology) on Oct 15, 2018 at 10:54am PDT

In case you missed it, or if you just want to relive all the goodness, we’ve compiled all the biggest takeaways from our 2018 Agency Partner Summit.

Day 1: It’s a human to human world

Our industry has never been just a B2B world or a B2C world, it’s always been a human-to-human world. No community understands that more than agencies.

This event embodied that concept. The big themes throughout the day were connection, trust and evolution. We heard it from our speakers, we saw the words lit up against the backdrop of the Art Institute, but most importantly, we felt it in the camaraderie of coming together to share in the talent, intelligence and humanity behind the work we accomplish everyday.

The big idea amongst so many of the speakers was connection—it may be a buzzword, but what does it really mean to agency professionals?

The biggest takeaway from the #SproutPartnerSummit can be summed up in one word: connection. What are you doing to make meaningful connections on #socialmedia? pic.twitter.com/P7ewzLx9XS

— Elizabeth Michael (@LizzyMichael) October 18, 2018

Diana Helander, Head of Marketing, Twitter Data & Enterprise Solutions, broke it down with a simple example for us: Serena Williams—yes, the tennis record-breaker—created a moment with Twitter that exemplified why connection in the social landscape is so important.

Williams missed her daughter’s first steps. And the first place she turned to lament was Twitter. A true moment of connection everyone can relate to—moms, dads, sons, daughters reached out to the tennis champ to share their encouragement, not because she’s Serena Williams, but because she’s a mom.

Tennis story? I am here for this @dihelander…AND OMG IT IS SERENA GO HOME DIANA YOU HAVE WON #SproutPartnerSummit pic.twitter.com/Hehohw9iIX

— Jonathan Jacobs (@JonEJacobs) October 16, 2018

A worldwide moment of human connection. That’s the power of social.

For agencies to put that concept into action, Helander advises to start with the people themselves. People on social aren’t passive passengers, they’re active, driving the conversations that shape culture.

The value of a social audience lies in their influence, their receptivity, and the results they drive for brands. The conversations are already happening out there. The insights you can glean are what connect your business to them.

Thinking about the power of networks

In her presentation on navigating the complex landscape of social, LinkedIn’s Ty Heath, Global Lead of Marketing Development, built off some of Helander’s points, noting that trust plays the most important role in what we do.

The most successful individuals build networks. B2B success is marked by how strong and authentically connected your employee network is.

Heath drove home one salient point—If you want to go far, build a team. Broaden your horizon and connect beyond the c-suite.

@tyrona of @LinkedIn on why you should invest in audiences 😉📈 #linkedin #b2bmarketing #sproutpartnersummit #socialmedia #digitalmarketing pic.twitter.com/3OmIE63RyB

— Hannes Kirchbaumer (@hkirchbaumer) October 16, 2018

How did Warren Buffet get so fantastically rich? Undervalued assets. Marketers aren’t exactly investing in assets, but rather in audiences. Are there undervalued audiences? Yes. They’re individual contributors—55% of current tech buyers are individual contributors.

Ignored audiences influence buying decision. It’s those ICs that will be making the buying decisions of tomorrow. And all this time you haven’t been talking to the customers of tomorrow.

Flywheel > funnel

The good old marketing funnel. Have you ever thought it needed an update? Our speakers did.

Both Sprout’s Director of Customer Success, Claire Schlafly, and HubSpot’s Global Marketing Director, Angie O’Dowd, had strong opinions about how today the funnel we know and live by more accurately resembles a wheel, with customers at the center.

#Marketers, it’s time to move from the funnel to the flywheel. via @angieodowd from @HubSpot #SproutPartnerSummit pic.twitter.com/yURn5LrTsu

— Brooke B. Sellas (@BrookeSellas) October 16, 2018

Customers and clients today have all the power. They’re at the center of your strategy. The flywheel reminds you that your customers aren’t just an output, they’re a part of the engine.

Other speakers and panelists echoed this thought throughout the day, reinforcing the importance behind “customer-centric” marketing.

“It’s no longer a funnel, it’s a 360 degree circle” 👏👏👏

Preach, agency owner panel, preach #SproutPartnerSummit pic.twitter.com/EYcAtRMLPJ

— Luke Reynebeau (@LukeReynebeau) October 16, 2018

O’Dowd identifies as a full-funnel marketer, but didn’t want us to forget that the funnel isn’t the whole picture. That seam between marketing and sales is where opportunity lives. It’s the handoff there that is the most important place to focus, yet so undervalued.

Did you know 69% of buyers expect an Amazon-like experience? And 70% of customers say connected processes—like seamless handoffs or contextualized engagement during early interactions—are important to winning their business.

No pressure to every other company in e-commerce. #SproutPartnerSummit pic.twitter.com/uXh1cGl5nz

— Helen Todd (@helenstravels) October 16, 2018

O’Dowd is intimately familiar with the untapped value between marketing and sales. The marketing director admits that five years ago she, as a marketing manager, didn’t know her sales team very well and didn’t realize how important it was to work side by side with them. This is illustrated with a photo of her and a sales rep she didn’t know at the time in the same frame, completely unconnected.

“That sales rep turned out to be my fiance,” O’Dowd said. “But I didn’t meet him until I was leaving my company.”

Congratulations on your engagement @angieodowd 🎉🎉🎉 #SproutPartnerSummit pic.twitter.com/tFJGKbq4Z7

— Sarah Dorrance (@SarahDSkis) October 16, 2018

“If I had been better aligned with my sales team I could be married by now!”

Getting real with agency and brand leaders

In the midst of such great speakers, we featured two panels where brand experts had a moment to pull back the curtain on agency culture, partnership and how to avoid surprising your clients.

Quote of the day “don’t be Kanye West” …. don’t come out of left field and surprise your clients!! @MilahJones #SproutPartnerSummit pic.twitter.com/nfwHHIOBBK

— angieodowd (@angieodowd) October 16, 2018

To kick the panels off, Sprout’s own Kelly Marberry moderated our agency owner panel, featuring Marie Hale, Co-Founder and CEO of @revenue, Elissa Nauful, Founder and CEO of Ballywho Social, and Beth Newton, Partner and Chief Content Officer at alpha | BRAVO.

The #SproutPartnerSummit has been fantastic. Learned some new things and had a few sneaking suspicions confirmed (in a good way!) pic.twitter.com/oGkdCoxOTD

— Chad Richards (@chadrichards) October 16, 2018

“You have to be professionally in love with your clients,” Hale said, stressing the importance of seeing how you play together before producing a strategy.

“If you’re begging them to finish content month after month, simply say, ‘no, we’re not in love with you.’”

The spirit of the conversation turned to the importance of digital education, with Nauful making the chief point that the rapid and constant change in social means agencies have to be 15 steps ahead to hire for positions that didn’t exist before.

Newton touched on the idea that there comes a point where it almost feels like do or die with agencies, and that’s where a blended workforce model comes in handy— to strike a balance hiring carefully and creatively, it’s good to have freelancers.

Hale sees agencies eventually moving into full-service, doing all the implementation and being there to be accountable for the results you’re seeing.

“Once [clients] start to get it, they see the possibilities and turn to someone they trust to execute,” Newton said.

Lizz Kannenberg, Director of Brand Strategy at Sprout, uncovered similar takeaways during the brand panel, where we heard from Pooja Van Dyke, Associate Director of CreativeWorks at ESPN, Kamilah Jones, VP of Marketing at New Teacher Center, and Becky Chandler, Senior Director of eCommerce at U.S. Cellular.

From high tech to digital UX to ecommerce, the panel came together from varied backgrounds and disciplines and made it clear that brands are looking for agencies who cut clutter and are willing to partner.

The group agreed that a lot of what agencies do lies in digital education.

“You need to be a trusted source. Nine out of ten times you’re going to have folks that don’t speak the digital language,” Van Dyke said of her experience.

There’s a strong theme of partnership threaded throughout the conversation, as each panelist spoke to the idea that the client and agency relationship can feel “othered” at times, as though the client is just a problem to solve. But there’s an appetite for true partnership. The only complicated agency partnership is perhaps working with other agencies.

“The dirtiest word in agency life is ‘inter-agency team,’” Kannenberg said.

That said, the panel stressed the importance of diversity of thought. You never know what you’re going to learn from other agencies that support the brands you work with.

“A successful piece of content isn’t the most impressive part of the client agency relationship, it’s how we got there,” Van Dyke said, emphasizing process.

Chandler cites setting clear guard rails and finding how each agency’s skill set compliment each other as solutions toward success when working with other agencies.

The panel was finally asked if there’s anything on their mind they haven’t solved yet.

For Jones, one of things they’re moving toward is having a diverse organization with both promotion and development strategies. She hopes that agencies will start to think about how they’re really increasing the diversity of staff, voices and structures.

Honored to hear from these panelists at @SproutSocial #SproutPartnerSummit – Thanks for sharing your candor on how we can be better partners to our clients! #faithandtrust @Brooklynpbjs @ESPNCreativeW @MilahJones @NewTeacherCtr @ChandlerBecky @USCellular pic.twitter.com/DoeOVs1BFx

— Spokeology (@spokeology) October 16, 2018

Happy hour, happy partners

Partners kept the momentum going at Sprout HQ after day one. But not before they fit in some quintessential Chicago sights.

Took myself on a little scavenger hunt after #SproutPartnerSummit. AND got my 10K steps visiting iconic #Chicago sites! pic.twitter.com/3MeBGFD3m0

— Sincerely Jennie (@JennieSzink) October 16, 2018

And amidst the good food, good spirits and good conversation, we were all waiting for one thing: Partner Value Awards!

.@SproutSocial Happy Hour be poppin’! #SproutPartnerSummit pic.twitter.com/EKvS2ZyC1x

— Sarah Dorrance (@SarahDSkis) October 16, 2018

Sprout’s second annual agency partner summit saw a fresh batch of talented submissions for this year’s awards. From the ‘Cultivate’ award to the coveted ‘Social Campaign of the Year’ award, our winners spanned every type and size of agency, hailing from across the globe.

Cultivate: This award is for a partner that went above and beyond on behalf their clients. Winner: Firebelly

Always Be Growing: This award recognizes a partner who has taken advantage of the partner program’s resources and has seen or laid the foundation to see remarkable results. Winner: RyTech, LLC

Sprout Partner MVP: This award will go to a Partner who excelled at their advocacy efforts. Winner: 123 Internet

Social Media Campaign of the Year: This award is given to a partner who submitted one of their or their clients’ campaigns that was creative and strategic in achieving the clients’ stated objectives. Winner: Chatterkick

A big congratulations to everyone! You’re changing an industry we all love.

Day 2: Putting learnings into practice

One day wasn’t enough. On the second day of the summit, we came in inspired and refreshed, ready to put our learnings into action on behalf of our clients and our agencies. Agency practitioners and owners were ready to go all in to build better social strategies and client services.

But first, donuts.

Kicking off Day 2 of the #SproutPartnerSummit with Data + Donuts (And Coffee)… two of my favorite things! 💻 + 🍩 ☕️ #DataAndDonuts pic.twitter.com/6Q3bqFsyPN

— Jared DiVincent (@JaredDiVincent) October 17, 2018

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Day 2 of the Sprout Social Agency Partner Summit. #dataanddonuts @sproutsocial #sproutpartnersummit #baconmapledonut

A post shared by Communicators Group (@communicatorsgroup) on Oct 17, 2018 at 6:17am PDT

Rules of engagement

Willie Mullen, Sprout’s Senior Manager of Agency Sales, and Lindsay Mullen, Co-founder and CEO of Prosper Strategies—both a couple in real life and a dynamic duo in the agency world—spoke to the rules of engagement when finding a fit during client discovery.

The trick to finding the right fit is in understanding the power dynamics from the beginning and leaving yourself the room to adapt.

Lindsay made it a point to say that when it comes to budget, money shouldn’t be uncomfortable to talk about. Embrace the conversation to assess fit.

“What this really comes down to,” Lindsay said, “is that I have not been stressed about a client in a year.”

That’s how you know you’re getting the right clients through the door.

One-on-one time

Finally, the speakers and panels and fireside chats came to a close. But there was still work to be done. Sprout set aside some 1:1 time in the afternoon for partners to connect with their dedicated success and channel managers, or just generally chat with the Agency Partner Program team.

Among many things, Sprout’s second annual Agency Partner event was an opportunity to see how vastly different people, with different professional experiences, philosophies and goals along their journeys work toward the same finish line.

That’s real connection.

Had a great time at my very first #SproutPartnerSummit Excited to add these new tips and tricks to our #social toolbox. Until next time @SproutSocial! pic.twitter.com/Nu3Zj7sXHk

— Mayra Mesina (@mayramsna) October 17, 2018

Just returned from an incredible two days in Chicago for the @SproutSocial #SproutPartnerSummit to find a package waiting… Best. Swag. Ever!Thank you to all my friends at Sprout! It was an honor to speak on the panel. Learned so much in just 2 days! pic.twitter.com/fI4P6t4uv4

— Beth Newton (@a1972bmw) October 18, 2018

Interested in learning more about the Agency Partner Program? Let’s chat.

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minnievirizarry · 6 years ago

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All about connection: Sprout’s Agency Partner Summit fosters what it preaches