#the space photos make me negative money

[shaythempronouns]

no idea how I ended up with a job where I can give a real presentation that has this slide in it

[sirfrogsworth]

Clinging to sanity

Summary of this post...

My brain is broken. My A/C is broken. My phone is broken. My computer is broken. My support system is broken. My financial stability is broken. My family is broken.

And the big finale...

Please give Froggie a Yelp review to repair his relationship with his estranged uncles.

Seriously, I need a whole bunch of you to say nice things about me in a convoluted plan to get back the money my brother stole from my dying father.

If you don't feel like reading all of my broken stuff and just want to read about giving me a good review as a person, you can skip to the bullet point list at the end.

Alright, here we go...

I sometimes get in these states where I feel like my sanity is compromised. My mental defenses are minimal and I lose the filter on my brain that tells me "this is a good idea" or "this is a bad idea."

This causes me to say embarrassing things. I overshare with strangers. I keep myself from falling asleep because I have some amazing idea. But when I wake up in the morning I can't believe I lost all of that sleep for such a ridiculous idea. I write weird posts that no one likes. Or I post about controversial subjects like A.I. and trans people and RFK Jr. that I *know* will result in contentious feedback.

And my insane brain says, "You can handle it! Besides, you are so factually correct about this, no one will dare question your meticulous research. IT'S ALL GOOD! SEND IT, YOLO!"

I have a rule. If I am not emotionally or mentally prepared to defend my point of view on a controversial subject, I should wait until I am ready to publish.

Insane Froggie Brain ignores this rule.

After I "send it" and the negative feedback starts to flow in (even though I was assured by my brain it wouldn't), I become afraid to look at messages and replies and reblogs. And a lot of times I need that sense of community. I need to talk to my cool little community so I don't feel lonely. But Insane Froggie Brain cuts me off from that. I give myself all of this anxiety that could have been avoided by just posting another time.

And because I have no emotional defenses, that anxiety is amplified. Mean comments hurt much more. I obsess over them and my OCD causes thought feedback loops where I cannot get something out of my brain. I once couldn't sleep for a weekend because someone said I was wrong about how light reflects off the moon. They were right and I was also right but they said I was "misleading." And that just lived in my brain for days. I kept trying to think of new ways to better explain my point of view. I used up energy I didn't really have to take pictures of a baseball in a dark closet.

It was silly. It didn't matter. It was just a small disagreement. But OCD doesn't do small. OCD makes everything BIG.

What I'm trying to say is...

People need their emotional defenses.

People need their filters.

It's weird because I still have full access to my logical brain. So sane thoughts get all mixed in with the less sane ones. Sometimes I am self aware and can shut down the less sane ideas. Other times I am oblivious. And I *hate* losing control of my brain in any way. It's one of the reasons I've never touched alcohol. Which is why I get very disturbed when this happens.

I remember one time I was positive I was going to move to Florida and start a pet photography business. I had an entire business plan worked out where I trained people how to take the photos so the business could run itself if I got sick. I made an entire PowerPoint presentation to show Katrina so she would be my business partner. I was looking up rent prices for office space. I was making equipment lists for camera gear. She was going on a trip so she told me I could talk to her about it when she returned. And I am so lucky she wasn't available at the time.

Maybe if I had a normal person's energy, I could make something like that work. But once I returned to sanity, I realized it was orders of magnitude more complicated than anything I was actually capable of doing. I am still planning to do pet photography, but I have to come up with a more reasonable plan that does not involve Insane Froggie Brain.

I think it is just my ambitious mind trying to escape. Chronic illness is often heartbreaking because you have to temper all of your ambitions. And it is especially devastating when you are a very ambitious person, as I am.

I want to have all of these big ideas. But I have to filter them through reality. And when that filter is broken, I just unleash big ideas on all my friends. I once even held an official video chat meeting and we took notes and made plans. And I feel so guilty I wasted 4 people's time like that. None of those ideas happened. They had no chance of happening with my energy levels. But my friends and collaborators still did the meeting and nodded along like everything was fine. I appreciate them humoring me.

I also overshare. I overshare normally, but when I get like this I OVER SHARE. You are probably going to witness it in this very post. But I tell everyone everything about what is going on. I tell strangers. I tell a dog walking by.

"Hey doggie, my testosterone is returning and I'm struggling with having a libido again. I know most people would not complain, but it is very disruptive to my day! I have other things I want to do!"

Right now I am just not confident in anything I think or do. I wrote a post about social constructs yesterday. That literally took me all day to write. I was endlessly tweaking it and I thought it was going to be viral and helpful and win the trans debate for everyone.

It currently has 49 notes.

I'm afraid I did not fix trans rights.

Sorry about that.

And my rant about Christopher Nolan using IMAX is doing pretty well. I nerded out about film grain for like 2 paragraphs and it is getting way more notes than a philosophical perspective on constructs.

I just have no idea what people are going to like and I used to be pretty good at judging that. It's like I'm throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks but instead of a wall I'm throwing it into the void. The spaghetti just disappears into infinite darkness.

I'm clearly still recovering from the big house clean with Katrina. And I am more tired than normal. But I am also very stressed about losing the house. I'm trying to figure it out, but I may only have until the end of June before I have to make some scary decisions.

And also, my air conditioner is not working. It has a leaky evaporator. Last year, I had it recharged and that lasted the entire summer. If the leak is leaking at the same rate, I could just do that again. It would be expensive, but replacing the evaporator is so costly, I'd be better off getting a heat pump installed. I'm a good candidate, it could save me money in the long run, but I am nowhere near in a position to make that happen.

Also, my phone is falling apart.

Literally. The only thing keeping it together is the phone case.

And this laptop, which I love, was not meant to be my main computer. I bought it when my dad was sick and I needed something upstairs to manage his prescriptions and bills and appointments. It wasn't meant to be an image editing machine. And, to their credit, Apple has made a crazy powerful little computer. I admit it, I love an Apple product. It can handle way more than expected. But my photo restorations can sometimes end up with 5 gigabyte files. I can't even save them as PSDs. I have to use this weird "PSB" format. It stands for "Photoshop Big." When I fill up the RAM, my computer uses the main SSD. And when I fill that up, I think I can hear the laptop crying and saying, "I wasn't meant for this! Please use fewer layers!"

But I need to finish restoring these photos because I have delayed their completion by about 5 months (got sick before I could finish). And also because I need to pay for the A/C recharge.

You might be thinking, "Didn't you fundraise to get the big fancy powerful computer of your dreams a few years ago? Why don't you use that?"

My big fancy computer has been broken almost since I got it.

It was right before my mom got really sick and there is a major hardware problem. I worked with tech support for over a month and we could not figure out what the issue was. The computer is mostly unusable. Like, "can't even web browse" unusable.

It honestly has caused me so much depression. Like deep, deep, crying-myself-to-sleep-for-weeks depression. I still cry about it. I know it is just a thing, but I am genuinely heartbroken about it.

Why haven't I fixed it? I'm a good computer fixer, right?

Once I had to take care of my parents, I just did not have any extra energy to deal with it. After a month of back-and-forth emails from the manufacturer, I finally told them, "I'm sorry, my parents are sick. I will email you when I have the energy to revisit this."

If you know my story and how I took care of my parents all alone because I have a neglectful brother, then you can probably guess that energy never came.

I am good at tech support. I have been an expert in computers since I was a teenager. I have taken apart and built computers more times than I can count. I have never had a problem this frustrating before. It works fine for a few hours, and then it just progressively slows down to being unusable. I narrowed the issue to either the SSD, the CPU, or the motherboard. All things that are not easy to replace. (The SSD is behind the damn GPU.)

In the 30s, the Royal Air Force used to have issues with their planes that baffled them. This is where the term "gremlin" came from. No matter what they did, no matter how many parts they replaced, they could not get the "gremlin" out of the plane. These were professional mechanics who just could not fix something and it drove them nuts.

I have a computer gremlin. I've never experienced anything like it in all of my years of fixing computers. I was working with professional tech support people. I was on reddit forums. And the only thing left to do was start swapping out parts. I'd work on it maybe an hour each day with whatever energy I had and it eventually was too much. I just could not deal with it. They told me to send it back, but I could not take care of my parents without any access to a computer. So I just rebooted it every time I used it.

At that point, my parents were requiring 24/7 care and I was so overwhelmed that I said, "fuck it" and ordered this laptop. I figured I'd fix the computer when I had time or energy. But that time and energy never came. And I certainly didn't have the energy to haul a 60 pound computer upstairs, box it up, and then take it to UPS. So I just kept putting it off and putting it off.

And I let the warranty expire.

When I realized I did that, I cried myself to sleep for another few weeks. This material object has caused me legitimate emotional trauma.

Any part replacements are now on me. And there isn't really any way of knowing which part is faulty. I figured I'd buy a cheap SSD and start there.

I feel so fucking guilty because people donated money for me to have that machine. I feel like I let them all down by not getting it fixed. When I finish my recovery, I'm hoping I can sort it out. But that could be many months from now.

Recovery has been such a dark, lonely place. Trying to restore my health a millimeter at a time is a grueling marathon of misery. I have been struggling to keep Insane Froggie Brain at bay this entire time.

I felt like I was stuck in a hole.

And like a superhero with the power of friendship and puns, Katrina pulled me out of the giant hole I was in. My house turned into a biohazard. She flew from Florida to essentially clean and organize everything. How do you even begin to thank someone for that?

But also, she shouldn't have had to do that. I have a perfectly functional brother. But he hasn't spoken to me for nearly a year now.

I have other family in town. But I missed so many family gatherings over the years, they don't really know me. None of them have called. I'd have to rebuild those relationships if I want them to be a part of my life again.

And I haven't talked about this yet because it has been too painful.

But... my support system fell apart.

My aunt had to move away to take care of her father-in-law. A year before my mom passed she took care of my grandma as her end-of-life caregiver. And people should only have to do that once. But she has to do it again, and unfortunately, we haven't been able to speak much.

We were very good at keeping in touch in real life. But she is of an older generation and has trouble maintaining relationships on a smartphone. I mean, I get it. Some people are just better at meatspace than cyberspace. That was actually one of the things I liked about our bond. Almost all of my friendships are online. Having someone who liked to visit me and talk to me in person was special.

But, for the time being, I lost that. And it feels a bit like temporarily losing another parent.

I am struggling to even start writing the words for this next part.

I had two best friends. Katrina and I are great. Our friendship is probably better than it has ever been.

But my other best friend of nearly 15 years ghosted me without explanation.

I haven't talked about it because it has been too hard. Any time I try to think about it I get upset. My eyes are filling up with tears as I type this.

I have been pretending like it isn't happening.

Which is not working great.

I've been trying to hire a therapist.

They all have months-long waiting lists.

My friend just stopped talking to me and I don't know why.

They went from driving across the country and holding my hand at my dad's funeral to just not being a part of my life.

I'm so scared I said something terrible or did something terrible. I keep going through all of my memories trying to figure out what I could have done. But we had the kind of friendship where we'd talk about that stuff. If I screw up, they would tell me. We'd work it out.

This person who was in my life nearly every week for over a decade is just not there anymore. I keep losing people and I can't make it stop. And I am really worried that I am leaning on Katrina too much. She went from being part of a multifaceted support system to my entire support system. That isn't fair to her.

She has been very understanding. And she knows I am going to rebuild a support system as soon as I am able. But I don't want to overwhelm her and lose her too.

Weaning off this medication and living with no testosterone has been so miserable and she has been the only one helping me through it.

I'm doing so well with my recovery. I think I can be off the meds in 3 months and hopefully my testosterone will be fully back in range. I'm already more productive than I have been in nearly 8 months.

But I have 1 month of financial runway left and I am not going to get well enough before then.

Everything happens all at once. Every single time. And usually terrible things happen in my life at the same time terrible things happen in Katrina's life. She had terrible mold that destroyed her health for months. Thankfully it did not turn her transphobic, but it sure fucked her health for a while. She made all of this progress getting fit and healthy and BAM, the universe says, "You are doing too well, you need a challenge!"

So, what is my plan?

I am a problem solver and I have some doozies to solve.

Right now I am going to appeal to the family patriarchs on my dad's side. On his literal deathbed, my dad asked his brothers to "take care of me" and I am going to attempt to call in that favor.

I am going to ask them to talk to my brother and hopefully mediate a solution regarding the stolen inheritance. I want them to convince my brother to do the right thing and return the money he took from my dad.

Sorry, the money he "legally inherited" due to his wife "reinterpreting my dad's wishes" in the will.

Before you ask, I have no options to fight this in court. A verbal promise is not enough to overturn a written will. And the cost of fighting would be more than the inheritance. Please don't suggest any legal advice. I've talked to good lawyers. And unless I want to sue for emotional distress, there aren't any legal options available.

The best option is to appeal to my brother personally and ask him to keep his promise to my dad.

The only reason I am in this mess is because my brother repeatedly promised to give me the money. He said he didn't want it on multiple occasions. So all of my plans involved the expectation of this money. I was going to fix up the basement apartment and seek a roommate.

But it took over a year to just get it out of probate. A year I could have used to come up with other solutions. But he waited until the last minute and made his lawyer tell me he was screwing me.

I'm sure my brother will argue my dad knew what he was signing. But I know that is impossible. Before my dad passed, we were in the hospital and I saw the will for the first time. I asked him if it reflected his wishes. And I asked him if he meant to include my brother's wife in the will.

His response was, "Are you fucking kidding me???"

Readers, does that sound like a man that knew what was in his will?

Dad was so upset that he was about to have them cut off his leg just so he could live a few more weeks and fix the will.

You have to give my dad credit, he goes pretty hardcore when it comes to protecting his family.

I couldn't let him go through an amputation to protect me from my brother's shenanigans.

But I am pretty screwed now.

That said, my uncles are pretty hardcore too. One is *very* intimidating. So I feel like my uncles talking to my brother might carry some weight.

But I have one problem...

I mean, aside from the myriad problems already described.

How about... I have one additional problem...

My uncles don't like me very much.

They think I am a basement-dwelling loser who is faking his illness and was taking advantage of his parents for two decades.

One uncle even accused me of stealing from my dad.

They are protective of their brother. They loved my dad. Which is a good thing! As long as I can convince them that their assumptions about me are invalid, I think their love for my dad will compel them to help me.

They just don't have the context. They don't know me. They live in far-off lands. And due to some unfortunate timing, one uncle saw me at one of the lowest points of my life. This was maybe 8 years ago? He didn't realize I was thrown into the deep end and very recently took on the role as full-time caregiver for two very sick people.

My awful strategy at the time was "if I don't take care of myself, I'll have more energy to take care of my parents." If you are a caregiver, this is a bad strategy. It seems obvious you have to do some self care to give care to others, but when you are just starting out, that seems impossible.

My uncle showed up unannounced and I wasn't showered, I hadn't brushed my teeth in a week, and my room had a fun layer of trash on the floor. The trash can was overflowing and I literally did not have the spare energy to change the bag.

To make matters worse, my mom's medications and constant pain had broken the filter in her brain that prevents her from saying mean things. She was on this crazy chemo-like infusion that was basically using poison to fight her psoriatic arthritis. Her aggressive, blunt remarks were not her fault. That wasn't who she was. But she could not stop herself from saying hurtful things.

The kindest woman alive was suddenly Don Rickles without the "just kidding" subtext. And my uncle didn't know this and I got into an argument with my mom.

I probably looked like a pampered brat loser who just lies in bed and plays video games all day while arguing with his saint of a mother.

I don't blame him. Without context, that's exactly what it looked like.

So I am writing my uncles a letter.

It is essentially a memoir of the caregiving I gave to my parents. I hope to publish it publicly at some point, but right now it is just a letter to them. If it were a typical hardcover book, it would be about 70 pages long.

I am telling them everything.

If nothing else, I just need them to know my dad's story. I need them to know he was well taken care of. That I did everything humanly possible to make his last year as comfortable as I could. I need them to know he was *never* alone.

Sadly, because they probably think I am an unreliable narrator, I am my own worst witness. So I am asking 3 people in my current support system to write testimony to verify everything in my memoir is accurate. I even have a doctor's note!

It is probably insane to put this much effort into convincing my uncles to like me. But I'm pretty sure Sane Froggie Brain is behind the wheel of this endeavor. Sometimes the craziest, most desperate idea is the only option left.

Basically I am using my writing skills to try and save my Froggie butt.

I don't mean to be braggadocious, but people perusing my prose persistently pontificate that I am proficient at penning pleasing passages.

People say I write good sometimes.

And I think this memoir letter thingie is the best thing I've ever written. So I am hopeful I will deflate these dubious assumptions and tug on my uncles' heartstrings.

But there is something you all can do to help me.

A friend on tumblr is helping me edit this memoir monstrosity. And she gave me her testimonial to add to my 3 witnesses.

"I have been following The Frogman for well over a decade on his website. It was years before I learned his name was Benjamin! We all just call him Froggy. He was (and still is) one of the funniest internet guys out there. He is incredibly skilled at putting together humorous GIFs and photo sets, and his comedic writing is second to none. He regularly goes viral. Along with that, he was open and vulnerable about the toll CFS takes on him. I can attest to many folks over the years telling him that he has helped them as they dealt with their own health issues. He is so knowledgeable about so much--his posts are famous for being long, detailed, and wildly informative. And most of all, entertaining. They are a joy to read. We also followed along on his heartbreaking journey with his parents. He shared so much of them with us over the years that they felt like people we knew. It was so clear, from his long absences, how much he was doing for them. Our hearts broke when he told us his parents were no longer with us. Froggy has fans, and so did his parents. Otis, too. We love and support him and will always wish him the best."

It made me cry.

But it also felt like getting a Yelp review on... my entire deal.

And it gave me an idea.

What if I had a bunch of these as optional testimony for my uncles?

I'm not going to force them to read what a bunch of internet strangers have to say. But it could be a compelling way to prove my website antics were a serious attempt to build a livelihood for myself. My uncles were successful businessmen and respect a strong work ethic and trying to make your own way.

I was too early for monetization options like Patreon, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch, but I ran a very successful comedy blog. If I had my 2013 success in the 2020s, I probably would've been able to retire and live off that for the rest of my life. I have several original GIFs that were downloaded tens of millions of times. Google said one of them was searched for over 100,000,000 times.

My blog was silly, but I took it seriously and I had sponsors and merch and an Otis plush.

They think what I did was like when you are at the family Christmas gathering and you ask your weird cousin what he's been up to and he says, "I run a blog about corgis from my parents' basement."

How do I relate the impact I had? They don't know what "Know Your Meme" is. They don't know what being on the front page of Reddit means. They don't know the amazing community I built. They don't know that I created one of the largest and most generous online support systems one could possibly have. I'm still alive and trying to make a life for myself because all of you continue to love and support me.

I was successful and I worked hard despite my disability.

I just had bad timing with the financial aspect of that success.

So, if you want to leave a Yelp review of The Frogman for my uncles, I'd appreciate it.

I came up with a list of things I need to prove to them. I'm just going to copy/paste the entire thing here. I'll strikethrough the ones you all probably can't speak to.

I am not a basement dwelling loser.

My website was more than a silly hobby.

I did not mooch off my parents for 20+ years.

I did not steal from my parents.

I am not the crazed, awkward mess [my uncle] witnessed.

I am disabled.

I cannot get a job.

I am a good person.

I am a likable person.

I was a good son.

I took good care of my parents.

My parents would not have been better off in a nursing home.

My parents would not have been better off moving closer to my brother.

My brother and his wife neglected and emotionally abused Mom & Dad.

My brother and his wife changed the will to benefit them against my mom & dad’s wishes.

My brother promised repeatedly the will was a mistake and I would receive the full amount.

I did not take care of my parents to “retain the house” or get money.

So, if you want to attempt to convince two elderly conservative Catholic men that my cat memes were lit, I would appreciate the help.

If you’ve been part of this community, and you’ve ever felt like I made you laugh, cry, or feel understood, a short 'review' of me as a person could mean the world.

Just remember your audience is...

Uncle #1: A stoic, but brilliant 80 year old who writes text messages like they are business emails. Complete with "Dear Ben" and "Regards, Your Uncle". He is still very sharp-minded and lucid. He thinks success is a high paying job, a house, and a family (my brother). He does not like weakness and consistently thought I should "be an adult and get a job." He is very loyal and respected my dad very much.

Uncle #2: A 60-something retired grandpa who thinks his constant dad jokes are genuinely funny. He is empathetic, but secretly judgmental. He will act like your best friend even if he doesn't care for you. He is an amazing grandpa. Very involved with his kids and their kids. He keeps every video of them getting a goal in sportsball on his phone. He will help you if you think you deserve to be helped. He is very close with Uncle #1.

So... kinda running the gamut there.

You can reblog this post or leave a reply or send a private message or email me at frogman54@gmail.com

I will be anonymizing your names for obvious reasons.

I fear my uncles might not understand why Tumblr user "PokemonAssBlaster69" is saying nice things about me.

Explaining "The Frogman" is hard enough.

Anyway, thank you in advance.

[atleastpleasetelephone]

Smut where reader is sitting on Elvis lap and he fingers her while whispering how pretty she is in her ear 😏

A/N: Thanks for this request, anon! Very much up my street, I love a lap. I think this maybe ended up a bit more emotional than you might've intended but we'll see. I have incorporated this into kinktober.

Kinktober Day 12 - Role Reversal

Pairing: BDE x Reader

Word count: 1.7K

TWs: Crying, negative self-image stuff, self-destructive behaviour, fingering.

Kinktober masterlist

“Hey baby, Jerry got those photos we had done back from the photographer, if you want to see them?”

You groan. Photos of yourself are the last thing you want to see, but Elvis had been insistent about getting them done. It was a horrible day of bright lights and melting make-up, and worst of all someone telling you to smile all the time. You can’t smile for the camera. You just end up looking fake and ugly. 

“Not really,” you call back, from the other room. 

“Not really?” Elvis stomps into the room with a fist full of photographs. “These cost me a lot of money, you know.”

“It’s hardly anything in comparison to those caddies you bought the guys,” you snap back, leaning back in your armchair with a thud and pulling the book you’re reading up to your nose. 

Elvis frowns, put out by your mood. You’re usually so cheerful. 

“Look,” he demands, throwing the photos onto the open pages of your book. 

You slam the book shut without doing anything of the sort, dumping it on the table beside you and standing up. 

“I don’t want to look at photos of my stupid ugly face!” You declare, storming out of the room and into your little dressing room, slamming the door behind you. 

Elvis stands there, completely stunned. Ugly? He thinks you’re beautiful. He wanted you to see how nice the photos of you were. He thinks he looks kind of chubby, but you do such a good job of building him up and loving on his body that he doesn’t really mind. He’d actually thought about framing one or two of the photos, and wanted you to help him choose. Your reaction has completely blindsided him, and he suddenly realises that maybe you don’t like the way you look, and he’s never noticed before because you spend so much time on him instead. He walks through the room and over to your dressing room.

“Baby?” He calls, softly, through the door. 

You sit on the floor on the other side of the door, sniffing. You’d just had a good cry and you were hoping you could rearrange your face before he came looking for you. 

“I’ll be out in a minute!”

“I don’t… I…” he starts, unsure.

“Leave me alone!” You don’t mean to yell. It just comes out like that. 

Sometimes you wonder what Elvis is doing with you at all. It’s probably his lack of confidence that came with the weight gain. Eventually you’ll build him up enough and he’ll realise and leave. 

Elvis walks away, a little shaken. He’s never heard you raise your voice like that and he doesn’t like it. He makes his way down to the TV room and tries to watch three channels at once, succeeding in watching none of them. Instead he just sits there and thinks about you and realises he can’t remember the last time he told you how pretty you are. You spend so much time showering him with affection he’s forgotten that you need it too. 

It must be an hour or so later when you finally pad down the stairs in your slippers and a long summer dress. You follow the sound of the TVs and find him sitting there, staring into space. 

“Hey.”

He turns his head and smiles. “Hey yourself. C’mere.”

You sit down next to him on the sofa. He shakes his head. “No, c’mere.” Grabbing you and plonking you on his lap. 

You look down. “Sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have snapped.”

One of his big hands cups your cheek. “That’s okay honey. I probably deserved it.”

You shake your head. “No, no. You didn’t.” Looking up, you stroke his cheek now. “Should’ve wanted to look at photos of my gorgeous man,” you coo. “You can show me now if you want? You’re so handsome.”

Elvis beams, about to agree, and then he realises it’s happening again. You’re distracting from yourself by talking about him. 

“We can look at them later. Right now I want my baby to feel good.”

“I feel fine now, Elvis.” Pretending again.

His hand moves from your face to your calf, and he runs it up your leg, dragging your skirt with it, uncovering pale smooth skin. 

You grumble a little, but his practised fingers know exactly where they’re going, and it’s not long before they’re rubbing you through your panties and you’re sighing softly. He pulls you closer to him as he moves your underwear so that he can carefully slide a finger inside you. You moan. He’s so good at this. Kissing your temple, he starts to slowly work his finger in and out of you. 

“Mmmm. My pretty little girl,” he murmurs into your ear. 

You shut your eyes tightly. Why is he saying this? You’re not pretty. Opening your eyes again, you do your best to distract him.

“My sexy handsome man,” you begin, which usually makes him blush. This time though, he puts a finger against your lips. 

“Shhh. This is your time, baby.”

You frown, uncomprehending. He turns his attentions back to your pussy, slowly sliding another finger in alongside the first as he kisses your cheek, then nibbles on your earlobe. When he feels you relax again he hums sensually into your ear. 

“So pretty, baby. You’re so beautiful. My beautiful baby.”

The words make you so uncomfortable he feels you tense up again, and you make a little noise in your throat like you’re struggling not to start talking. His fingers keep pumping, and he slowly starts to rub your clit.

“My pretty girl.”

“Elvis…”

“Shhh. Prettiest girl coming undone right here on my lap. Relax, baby.”

It’s like there’s a war going on inside you. You don’t usually think about yourself, even when he’s touching you you’re usually thinking about him and what he likes. Whatever position he wants, whatever time of day, however will make him feel the best about himself. And you shower him with praise all the time. This turning of the tables has you uncomfortable and confused. You want it to stop, but at the same time you don’t. This big part of you really wants him to take care of you too. But it’s dangerous. It’s so much safer to sacrifice yourself at his altar rather than let him really see you. What if he doesn’t like what he sees? What if he leaves?

Elvis stops the love-talk in your ear to kiss you properly now. He knows you’re somewhere else, in your head, far away from him, and he wants you back. The kiss overwhelms you, he overwhelms you, his fingers pumping in and out as his thumb works your clit. You start to whine softly into his mouth and he pulls back to look at you. Your eyes screw shut and you bury your head in his chest as a thousand emotions come rising up to the surface, pleasure, fear, guilt, self-hatred, love… 

“Cum for me, pretty girl,” Elvis coos, somehow pushing you over the edge into orgasm. 

Tears spill down your face as ecstasy wracks your body. Your pussy grips his fingers and you start to sob into his shirt, helplessly. 

“Baby, baby, baby. What’s wrong?” He starts to pepper your hair with kisses. 

You can’t answer. You can’t stop crying. 

He manages to rescue his fingers, wiping them off quickly on his pants before pulling you somehow even closer to him, wrapping his reassuring arms around you and cuddling you. He keeps going with the kisses until he feels you start to calm down. He’s feeling kind of worried. Sure, women had shed the odd tear in bed with him before, but none of them had ever sobbed like this. He starts to wonder if he’s forgotten how to give you an orgasm and somehow done a secret opposite thing. 

Eventually you move your head and look at him, face red and tear-stained. You rub your face with your hands and groan.

“Now I’m really ugly. Ugh.”

Elvis sighs and shakes his head, his hand rubbing up and down your back. “I don’t know where this is coming from, honey. You’re the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“Now, honey. Why would I have picked you out in the first place if I didn’t think you were pretty? Why would you be living here with me in Graceland? Hm?”

“I don’t know. Probably you have other girls.”

“Only one I want by my side all the time. Only one I want living with me, in my bed. You know the other girls are just company for me whilst I’m on tour.”

You sigh. The other girls don’t actually bother you. What really bothers you is that he’s somehow getting around the special barrier you put up. He’s somehow noticed that you usually do all the looking after. 

“I know.”

“Okay. Well then can you let me love on you, sometimes? Can you let me tell you how beautiful I think you are, just like you have to me for the past three years?”

You grumble and shuffle about awkwardly. He really has figured out what’s been going on. 

“I want to, El. But it’s hard.”

“What’s hard about it, baby?” His hand gently pushes your hair out of your face.

You try hard to breathe normally and keep your voice steady, but it still wobbles.

“W-what if I let my guard d-down and you trample all…all over me?”

He presses a gentle kiss to your lips. “I promise I won’t.” 

When he sees that doesn’t seem to be holding any water with you, he holds his little finger up solemnly. “Pinkie swear.”

You can’t help smiling, despite your fears. He’s so silly. Holding your little finger up too, you let him join them together. 

“There. You can hold me to that.”

You put your head back down on his chest and he kisses the top of it, lovingly. “Okay. I’ll try,” you whisper into his chest and he smiles. 

“That’s all I can ask for.”

***

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet; 

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. 

***

Taglist:

Please let me know if you want to be added or removed:

@vintagepresley @arg-xoxo @from-memphis-with-love @msamarican @blursedblegh @returntopresley @another-identityofmine @eapep @everythingelvispresley @i-r-i-n-a-a @sissylittlefeather @arrolyn1114 @jhoneybees @cattcb @polksaladava @lookingforrainbows @jkdaddy01 @ccab @epthedream69 @lustnhim @elvisslut @pomtherine @that-hotdog @ladelinee @angschrof @fairybloodsucker @deltafalax @makethemorning @elviswhore69

[e-vay]

Hi! If you have the time, could tell me a little about Love and Deep Space? I originally played a ton of Dress Up! Time Princess, as obsessed, and even occasionally threw a little money at it, but ditched it once the UI became too cluttered, they added a ton of things that used up massive resources, and almost all events were P2W. I keep eying LaDS but am worried it might have the same issue? Also, does it have a lot of customization/personalization options? That'd be a big selling point for me.

Oh my gosh, where do I even start! Listen I'm not a saleswoman but I'll do my best to explain. I'll put it below the cut so that people who aren't interested don't have to read. Oh and also (not that you are, but I just want to make this clear for everyone) Love and Deepspace is NOT a game for children. So don't download it for your kids lol

I haven't played any other game like LADS before so I don't know what to compare it to. It is just this very rare game that happens to check every single box of all my niches! It's a romance, it's a sci-fi/fantasy, it's got action and fighting as well as really cute mini games, its got steamy audio stories that'll make ya go WOOF, the writing is superb and the animations are STUNNING!!!! I am not kidding when I tell you the story is so well written; it makes me cry, it makes me laugh, it makes me sweat 🥵 (in a good way haha), the writers really know what they’re doing! Here are just some samples of the different things you can do in the game:

RPG Battles - Multiple fighting styles, including your choice between guns, sword, wand/staff and claymore.

Main Story - This includes written stories, animated cutscenes, character interactions and battles.

Special Events - Variations of the above ^ But limited to a small window of time so you can only participate and get rare items during that window

Lottery ("Wishes") - This is how you obtain 'memories' which you use for battling. Think of them like Pokemon cards. Some of them are extra special and will unlock dates/stories/animations for you to enjoy.

"Date Minigames" - These are cutesy things to do with your love interest like playing cards or claw machine. You can even choose whether you play the claw machine or your date does (hint: some of the guys are good at some of the machines, while others are not)

Photobooth - You can take cutesy snapshots with stock poses or you use the studio mode and make a lot of adjustments to capture the scene you want. They also have an AR mode where YOU can take a photo with him, haha!

Interact with your love interest(s) - The stronger your affinity with him, the more you can do together. This ranges from cute, animated interactions to having "conversations" with him. He'll also text and call you. You can romance all of the love interests if you want and it doesn't negatively impact your affinity with the others.

Audio stories - These are steamy vignettes starring you and your love interest. This one is for all the “Booktok girlies”!!! 🥵 Listen with headphones! 🙈

Anecdotes and other Side stories - The lore in this game is ENDLESS! If you enjoy reading, there are plenty of written stories within the game. If you don't like it, you can just skip through it to gain your reward and move on.

Dress up (limited) - As you play you'll earn different outfits, but there are also outfits you can buy. You can use real currency or in-game currency, it just depends on the outfit. You can't completely create your own ensemble but you can pair different outfits with different accessories to use in the photobooth. You can also decide what your love interest(s) wear or have him decide what he wants to wear.

LADS is free to play and doesn't have any ads. However, if you're prone to FOMO, you'll have better luck receiving items during their special events if you do make purchases. But again, you absolutely do not have to spend any money on it to play.

There is a little bit of a learning curve when it comes to the navigation of the game because there is so much to do within it, but you get the hang of it really fast. I feel like the UI is actually quite clean and organized. I’ve put a screenshot below:

The most confusing thing is the story mode; it kind of jumps around out of order because characters were added after the game's story had already started. But I personally didn't find that a dealbreaker and you can go back into the story and replay it in order any time.

The amount of storage the game will take up on your phone/tablet is a lot, but that's because the game is GORGEOUS. All the characters are fully rendered in 3D and the animations will blow your mind. I can't tell you how many times I'm playing it and I can't believe it's a mobile game. I play on "medium" resolution so my phone doesn't explode on me, but even then the quality is so good.

Customization is where the game unfortunately falls short. Though you do get to customize your protagonist, there are limitations. You can change her face, makeup, hair and voice, but during in-game fighting, dialog and cutscenes, MC will always default to a woman with long dark hair. Some players have found ways to glitch the game so that your customizations like hair style and color will appear in the “kindled” animations (you’ll know what that means when you play it), but it's not a long-term solution. We're all crossing our fingers that they'll update the game one day so the animations reflect our choices better!

There are other customizations in-game that are fun. You have a banner that you can change the appearance of and change your title. As you build a stronger connection with each of the guys, you can have them call you by unique nicknames and they'll refer to you as that moving forward (though you can change it every day). There are also elements of the game that involve you sending and receiving text messages, phone calls, and social media posts and you can customize how those look to an extent as well.

As far as the unique experience you have as a protagonist, when it comes to dialog/action choices there are only so many options you can choose from. The writers have an overall plan for MC so sometimes she'll say things that I would never want her to say, but I didn't write her so 🤷‍♀️ We still get more control than some games offer so I can't complain!

Personally, I do wish it was a little more inclusive than some other games out there. Right now you can only play as a woman and you can only romance the male characters. But that's what other games are for, I guess.

I don't know if this game will be your cup of tea and I know for a fact it's not for everyone, but DANG if this game wasn't made for me in every way! If you do end up playing it, I hope you enjoy it! And you can add me! My hunter’s number is: 82001322820

[somecluelessidiot]

For the next few weeks, I have exams. My fics will not be regularly updated, and I'll be mostly using Tumblr to complain about having to study. Once I've taken every exam, I'll return to my regular blog and my usual fic-writing schedule.

Hiii! I'm Ashlyn (Ash for short)!

Pronouns: she/they (it's complicated)

Things I like: music, history, books, nature (except bugs. Bugs creep me out), writing, art, philosophy.

My fandoms (I only do Marauders content atm tho): Harry Potter/Marauders (fuck jkr), PJO, Star Wars, Marvel (kinda), Grishaverse, EPIC the Musical

My hobbies:

🎶 Playing music (I play the violin, piano and guitar, and I also sing sometimes)

✏️ Drawing (VERY rarely lol)

🎼 Writing songs (they're not very good yet)

💻 Writing books/fanfics (none are finished tho)

🥋 Karate (I threw a fully grown man, pretty proud of myself)

📸 Taking photos (my mum's helping me while she does her photography degree)

🎧 Listening to music (Paramore, David Bowie and Queen atm)

I'm bisexual, genderqueer, and probably a bit messed up in the head.

I'm a minor! Please don't send me asks searching for donations, as you won't receive anything and I just end up feeling bad that I can't help.

I do Marauders content, but I do not support JK Rowling in any way, shape, or form. I am boycotting her and the new series to make sure I don't give any more money to her than I did before knowing about her views.

TERFs, transphobes, homophobes, biphobes, aphobes etc DNI! I do not need negativity here, thank you very much. This is a safe space :)

I am, as my username suggests, a bit of an idiot sometimes (I have literally no common sense lmao), so if I misinterpret anything you say, I'm sorry! I'm just being dumb. Feel free to correct me.

My blogs:

@somecluelessidiot - my main (incorrect quotes, headcanons, rambles etc.)

@ashed-potatoes - for my Marauders socmed AU (this will also be very rarely updated during my exams)

@somecluelessidiot-fics - my fic updates (currently inactive)

Introducing myself as:

MBTI

Hogwarts house

PJO Cabin

Soldier, poet, king

Main fandom

A community I made:

[80486]

just unfollowed more than half of the blogs i was following. if i'm still following you it's either because we are a mutual, or your account is a curious memory (hi @hipsterrunoff).

i don't know why i check this account anymore, i guess for the aforementioned memory. this is one of the online accounts i've had the longest, and it means something to me in a weird way because of that (and not to mention all of the autobiographical blogging baggage the current username carries with it from the late 2010s, iykyk).

i do think that, related to that last thought, i misused and misunderstood tumblr for the last decade. it was an easy place to post photos and longform traumadump (sorry, journal, or err, write autofiction). near 15 years ago i liked the photographers that posted here before instagram stole that (and eviscerated the medium in the process). but we all know tumblr of the 2010s wasn't an art space, it was a fandom space (i will leave it at that). i should have been building my own thing. i should have been making photo zines, writing a massive tome (100,000 word .txt file), hosting my own website, etc. i posted about this sentiment at the time extensively, but nothing ever stuck because the network effects of being here (the friendships i have here) were (and are!) too valuable to let go.

so i don't know what to make of all of this. this blog still exists. i still look at it from time to time. i wish i could curate a killer following. i know none of this will happen. i am resentful about automattic buying tumblr - they have actively done nothing to make it better (it needed to be more are.na or vienna hypertext than whatever they have tried to do). verizon/oath/yahoo should have killed it. obviously this site brings in no money and the userbase actively hates the staff. parting thought: this site existing is a net negative for culture.

[aonoexpat]

20-08-2023 (2/2)

----- Continuation of part 1 -----

The sunrise the next morning was a beautiful sight, but Elrond had never been as frozen as he was that night! I was glad the doors weren't frozen shut and I could still get out to take some nice pictures:

I'd been keeping a close eye on the status of the roads around these parts, and was overjoyed that the road to Aoraki, which had previously been closed due to heavy snow, had been reopened. At 3724 meters, Aoraki is the tallest mountain in Aotearoa, and a wildly impressive sight to see:

We drove up as close as we could get along the Hooker Valley Road, and then geared up for a hike up to Hooker Lake. Sunscreen and sunglasses were essentials, for the entire trail was covered in a thick layer of snow. The bushes all around the track looked like soft little snowy hills, and I'm proud to announce I only slipped and fell down a set of steps once. My travel buddy joked that she wished she had recorded all the noises I made every time my feet slipped and I almost fell, which happened countless times during the ~4 hours it took us to get there and back. Especially the three ice-covered swing bridges across the Hooker river were dizzyingly treacherous terrain. Though we both felt sore from walking in the snow, the end goal was 1000% worth it! I bet this track is a lot of fun during summer as well, but this felt like the epitome of "walking in a winter wonderland" ❄️🎶

We had a lot of fun throwing snow balls and pushing our faces into the soft snow when we needed to cool down from the walking. By the time we got back to the parking lot we were both exhausted, but very pleased with the day we'd had ❤️

During the drive back we called ahead to a holiday park in Twizel to make sure they'd have space for two cars, because we were both craving a hot shower and a proper meal. The camp kitchen wasn't worth much, but we managed to cook up a feast for ourselves and cozied up to the fireplace with a movie for what would be our last night together, at least for now. In the morning we both went our separate ways, because our plans and wishes had started to diverge. I really enjoyed caravan-ing up with somebody else, it's nice to know you have somebody to talk to before you go to bed, somebody to have a cup of tea with in the morning, and somebody to share the beautiful sights with. Who knows, we might catch up again at a later date! We did briefly run into each other shortly after parting ways at the Omarama clay cliffs, which are a really cool sight (again, a short drive brings you to a dramatically different landscape):

For now I'm back on my own, and while I was planning to head to Oamaru and view the blue penguins, that's going to have to wait for a bit. I decided to take a leap and try my luck at finding a temporary job in the Tāhuna area. It's a bustling region right now due to the ski season, there are loads of tourists here (who drive so slowly omg who have I become that this bothers me) so I'm hopeful I might find a place to work. I'd like to earn back some of the money I've been spending on fuel, and the thought of being in a more populated area for a while, having fun with colleagues, playing music... sounds quite nice to me right now. Who knows though, I might not find anything and decide to just move on after a couple of days after all. Time will tell. In the meantime I'm trying to get some rest, it's been a rather intense week with a lot of driving and I'm content to just sit still for a moment and collect my thoughts. I've been feeling a bit better, getting my sense of adventure back, but I'm not quite as chipper as I'd like to be yet. I do believe I'll get there again though :) I spent some time today looking at photos from my trip to Australia eight years ago, and they reminded me that everything is temporary, and I'll likely look back on all of this with a huge smile in eight years' time too. Negative thoughts can seem overwhelming, and they may make me feel like I'm not making the most of my time here, but even just writing these posts today has made me realise I've been having a lot of fun lately, and I will likely continue to do so ����

[syncopein3d]

I've experimented with Fooocus and figuring out what it would take to train it ethically (i.e. with my own 3d models and images). The answer was "a huge amount of work I can't spare from my regular job right now," but I will continue to try. I'm going to go into some details on making a LoRa below from what I can figure out so far.

When you read the instructions on CivitAI for how to make your own LoRa, it's very obvious what causes the problems AI has (not wanting to draw men, not wanting to draw scenes with just men and not women, assuming everyone is white and all women have big boobs, being bad at hands touching anything).

The instructions suggest you google what you want to train, use a program to scrape images, then use another program to automatically tag the images.

If all of the white girls were tagged as white, they wouldn't be the default. If all of the big tits were tagged big tits, they wouldn't be the default. If the backdrops were accurately tagged as bedroom, bathroom, pool, etc., the images wouldn't default to the same handful of settings. Automatic tagging is very inadequate to produce flexible results.

If your LoRa contains a blank white image tagged white background, white void, white, white space, it can screen that backdrop from your source images. If you don't, and all your models are against a white background, that white background is now associated with all of the keywords of all of your images. They are now poisoned.

There's been a looooot of this kind of poison that's gone into AI training up to this point. To fix the hands problem Midjourney still often has would require someone to set up training using a very large number (hundreds to thousands) of photos of hands of every color and size from every angle in many, many poses, all carefully labeled, and some interacting. If a hand is holding a soda can, that same can also needs to be in its own image so it can be tagged separately, and then the blank backdrop the soda can is on also needs to be separated and tagged.

Don't even get me started on how hard it is to get anime models not to make loli, shota and cub even with tons of negative keywords. It very much looks to me like people did not want to get caught making this content, so they did not tag it, and now it is part of the default for both sexes and every furry species.

It's not that it was ever impossible to ethically train AI. It's that people didn't want to spend the time or money to do it.

This poll is asking about voluntary use of generative AI. For the purposes of this poll, do not count instances where you were required to use generative AI (e.g. for a school assignment, job required it, etc).

We ask your questions anonymously so you don’t have to! Submissions are open on the 1st and 15th of the month.

[daydreamveronica]

Phase: Waning Crescent (Ritual) workshop fun update

Hint on the moon image on the wall is this image (gif) I made at that time in several images of the moon very difficult to capture because of the weather.

Gif Ritual of banishment and protection to do during this phase; I put a photography (taken by me) of the moon on the right geometry (19%) on my wall, so closely the same as that of this night 11%) but, this moon in photography is not a good memory because I was in an apocalyptic time (see in my flickr and make the link with my blogs) so it is perfect to use it; it is necessary to add a jewel or something in the #pentagram and then wear it; this spell repels the wrong information, people and vibrations, consequences of bad intentions and direct, re-send to ill-intentioned people. It’s very pretty (I did the thing on my bed because my room is full of luggage) Unfortunately the moon has not yet risen and, since the last photograph it is almost impossible to see.

I started image 1 at midnight and, the little white candles went out one by one between Images 2 to 5am and 5.45 am it’s crazy (there are 5 candles) the black candle still shines at almost 7 am (the process is complete when You write the details in a book named « the book of the shadows » + I will also write in paper version In the mag)

Update (image 3 when I woke up) The ritual was carried out on the flyers sent by the astronomical society, for the next workshop.

You will see my name + infos looking for events in Paris for all consecutive years since the beginning except in 2019 I am referenced in Belgium because I was by the beach (where I come from) If the place changes, and all the updates, so the details of the workshop will be indicated in my web spaces and here on tumbr

I placed the salt pentagram in an envelope. I will place it in the book of shadows.

Yt blocked my vid twice so I will publish it next.

Believe it or not: two things happened at specific times, during the process and it was really positive and great in same time (I have evidence) My intentions on the necklaces were two intentions on two areas and one of the two revealed two significant events during the process but in fact the set of intentions revealed a set of positive things. I will write this.

About my work; all my wiki sheets have been destroyed by a person who attacks my work to obtain benefits in her country; and as you see that in my GIPHY Channel, she attacks my research and evolution timelines to blur my statements about acts committed in order to take advantage of it. The files have all been saved and, will be reinstalled on my website. In the meantime, I have to re-grant all the links, again. (The first attack on my work was in January 2021) it took a long time to repair; I couldn’t redo everything; I lost some really valuable stuff on which I applied myself for several months; in + I was attacked during the quantum physics exams and I missed my evaluation results (not my mastery of learning) It’s pitiful to be ugly, without talent and,without money and bad to the top of that;

Monday 26 (from midnight) To conclude, because I did not see it immediately, what do you see, about the rest of the black candle? I recovered this on the salt of the candlestick and I put it for the photo without realising what it looks like; this is particularly strange and very significant.In any case, it has a negative and then positive meaning. Unfortunately I threw it away since I hadn’t noticed (I will try to re found)

so there it is (update) It’s 1.45am and, the finished black candle shines with inlaid salt but a visible part in the photo is missing and, the meaning is no longer the same (visual) but I guess it’s one of the strange and not obvious things that happen during the process. I’m happy to keep it.

[pcrtisuyog]

Local SEO Tactics for Small Businesses: A Practical Guide

In today’s fast-moving digital landscape, small businesses are increasingly relying on online visibility to connect with local customers. Whether you run a cosy café, a boutique, or a local service-based company, mastering local SEO (search engine optimisation) is key to attracting the right audience in your neighbourhood.

Many small business owners already understand the importance of digital marketing, but the true power lies in tailoring those strategies locally. That’s where local SEO becomes an essential part of your overall online game plan.

And for those looking to truly upskill in this area, taking a professional digital marketing course by TechnoBridge can make a world of difference, offering hands-on knowledge in building local strategies that work.

Let’s explore how small businesses can make the most of local SEO with practical, people-friendly tactics.

Why Local SEO Matters

Before diving into the tactics, it’s important to understand why local SEO is such a game-changer:

Local intent dominates searches— More than 45% of Google searches are looking for local information.

"Near me" searches are growing rapidly— Phrases like "restaurants near me" or "plumber in Pune" are now common.

Mobile users prefer local results—people on the go want quick, nearby solutions, and Google delivers that with local listings.

So if your business isn't showing up in local search results, you're leaving money on the table.

Effective Local SEO Tactics for Small Businesses

Here are the most impactful local SEO techniques you can implement right away:

 1. Claim and Optimize Your Google Business Profile (GBP)

Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is your golden ticket to local search visibility.

Ensure all details (name, address, phone number, and business hours) are accurate and consistent.

Add engaging photos of your business.

Encourage happy customers to leave positive reviews.

Post updates, offers, and events regularly.

 2. Use Local Keywords Strategically

Think like a local. What would your customers search for?

Use location-based keywords like "digital marketing services in Pune" or "best bakery in Baner."

Sprinkle these keywords naturally across your website’s titles, meta descriptions, headings, and content.

 3. Create Locally Relevant Content

People love content that resonates with their area.

Write blog posts about local events, customer stories, or neighbourhood collaborations.

Highlight how your products or services solve local problems.

 4. Get Listed on Local Directories

Ensure your business is listed on trusted directories:

JustDial

Sulekha

IndiaMART

Yellow Pages

Bing Places

Yelp (if applicable)

Consistency is key—your name, address, and phone number (NAP) must be identical across all platforms.

 5. Encourage Online Reviews

Positive reviews build trust and boost your local SEO rankings.

Politely request satisfied customers to leave reviews.

Always respond to reviews—positive or negative—to show that you value feedback.

 6. Optimize for Mobile Users

A vast majority of local searches happen on mobile.

Ensure your website is responsive and loads fast.

Make your contact info clickable.

Use click-to-call buttons to make communication seamless.

 7. Leverage Social Media for Local Reach

Being active on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn can help you connect with your local audience.

Post regularly with geo-tags.

Run local promotions or contests.

Engage with local influencers or customers.

Combining Local SEO with Broader Digital Marketing Goals

While local SEO is vital, it’s just one part of the puzzle. Integrating it with broader digital marketing strategies such as email campaigns, PPC ads, and content marketing will amplify your overall online presence.

If you’re new to this space or want structured guidance, consider enrolling in a comprehensive digital marketing course by TechnoBridge. It not only covers the foundations but also dives deep into practical tools and platforms that small businesses use every day—especially for local campaigns.

Benefits of Strong Local SEO

To sum it up, here’s what you gain by focusing on local SEO:

Increased local traffic to your website

Higher footfall to your physical location

Better online reputation through reviews

Stronger community engagement

Cost-effective marketing for long-term success

Final Thoughts

Local SEO isn’t about competing with big brands globally—it's about showing up when your neighbourhood is looking for what you offer. It helps level the playing field and gives small businesses the spotlight they deserve.

By implementing these local SEO tactics and strengthening your overall digital marketing knowledge, especially through a certified digital marketing course by TechnoBridge, you're setting up your business for sustainable growth and visibility.

Remember, people want to buy from businesses they trust—and showing up locally is the first step in building that relationship.

[seoblogging3]

How to Build a Profitable Practice Without Spending a Lot of Money

Starting or scaling a healthcare practice doesn't have to come with a six-figure price tag. In fact, with the right strategies, it's entirely possible to build a profitable practice without overspending. Whether you're a physician, podiatrist, dentist, or other healthcare provider, smart budgeting and high-impact marketing can help you attract patients and grow sustainably.

In this article, we'll cover practical, cost-effective steps to grow your practice while keeping expenses low — without compromising on quality care.

1. Start Lean, Then Grow Strategically

One of the biggest mistakes new practitioners make is overspending too soon — renting large office spaces, buying top-of-the-line equipment, or hiring too many staff before generating consistent revenue.

Instead, consider:

Subleasing office space or sharing with another provider

Buying refurbished or gently used equipment

Outsourcing administrative tasks like billing and marketing before hiring in-house

By keeping your fixed costs low, you preserve more capital to invest in patient care and strategic growth.

2. Focus on Niche Services to Stand Out

You don’t need to serve everyone to be successful. In fact, niching down is one of the most effective ways to build a loyal patient base and generate referrals.

Ask yourself:

What do I do better or differently than others?

Are there underserved patient groups in my area?

What specific treatments are in high demand?

By positioning yourself as a specialist in a niche service (e.g., diabetic foot care, minimally invasive bunion surgery, pediatric podiatry), you can command higher value without competing solely on price.

3. Leverage Low-Cost Digital Marketing

You don’t need a big advertising budget to attract patients online. Here are some high-ROI digital strategies:

Optimize Your Website for SEO

Ensure your website is:

Mobile-friendly

Fast-loading

Filled with relevant keywords like "foot pain treatment near me" or "affordable podiatry services"

Also, create helpful content like blog posts and FAQs — Google loves useful, relevant information.

Claim & Optimize Your Google Business Profile

This is one of the most powerful (and free) tools you have. Make sure your profile has:

Accurate business hours and contact info

High-quality photos

Positive patient reviews

Regular posts or updates

Be Active on Social Media

Platforms like Instagram or Facebook can build trust and humanize your brand. Post:

Behind-the-scenes content

Patient success stories (with permission)

Educational tips or short videos

4. Encourage and Leverage Patient Reviews

Online reviews are digital word-of-mouth. They increase your visibility on platforms like Google, Yelp, and Healthgrades.

Ask satisfied patients to leave reviews

Make it easy — send a follow-up email or provide a QR code in your office

Respond professionally to all reviews, both positive and negative

Pro tip: Reviews improve local SEO, helping you rank higher in search results.

5. Build Strong Referral Relationships

Referrals don’t always require expensive lunches or marketing materials. Instead:

Reach out personally to local providers, PTs, or specialists

Offer to co-manage care or provide fast consults

Send thoughtful thank-you notes for referrals

A few solid referral relationships can drive consistent growth without any marketing budget.

6. Use Technology to Save Time and Money

Today’s software tools can automate many time-consuming tasks:

Online scheduling (reduces missed calls and improves patient experience)

Electronic health records (EHRs) with built-in billing tools

Telehealth platforms for follow-ups and low-complexity visits

Many of these tools offer affordable monthly plans, and they pay for themselves quickly through increased efficiency.

7. Track Your Numbers and Adjust

Profitability isn’t just about income — it’s about margins. Track key metrics regularly:

Cost per patient

Patient retention rate

No-show rate

Referral sources

Use this data to make smart, budget-conscious decisions about what’s working and what’s not.

Final Thoughts: Profitability Doesn’t Mean Overspending

You don’t need the fanciest office, biggest staff, or largest ad budget to build a thriving practice. By staying focused, delivering excellent patient care, and using smart, low-cost marketing strategies, you can create a profitable and sustainable practice — one that grows with your values, not just your expenses.

[alllinesarebeautiful]

Day 460 art meditation, New “Resistance Sticky Art”  Wall Mural art, & ego-space vs heart-space theme … April  13 & 16 & 18, 2025 

April 18, I'm finally posting today and I finally made some new wall mural art out of my “Resistance, Sticky Art”.

April 16.  The way Katy Perry is talking about love is such a great example of the ego space SIMULATING our heart , heart space. Ego spaces need big ass things like space shuttles in order to feel love, big publicity stunts In the name of commerce, attention, spending tons of money, and doing all of it while most people are struggling and suffering and not caring. THAT is all ego. So it's really a really good illustration… Everything is always teaching us something. What is coming out of the Eco space and what is coming out of the heart space and how do we develop a true heart?

The other thing I just realized... the way you can tell Katy’s words of “love” are coming out of ego-space versus heart-space that egos are happy when they get something they want. So ego loves drama, like "sure, I'll go on the shuttle and then I'll say some really cool things when I'm done,". But a Heart space happens and opens when we are struggling and not getting what we want and still being able to be content and grateful and filled with love.

April 13.  The waves of pain in my broken arm come steadily and the pain is so impressive. It just makes me wonder what is this pain trying to tell me something?  Is it trying to talk to me ? is the physical pain through this arm trying to say how painful it is to be separated from my true self, which is ‘all lines are beautiful’… Is this the final birthing contraction???  That would be wild…

I am dictating into my phone on April 13 today and I may not have the energy to actually post everything until several days from now but that’s OK!

The other night I had this pain-free energy surge and I started to work on my store and putting some of this “resistance sticky art” into my store so I now have one T-shirt and one Midi dress for sale. :-) I bought the dress for myself, and I’m looking forward to the day when I can go outside and walk and be near people without worrying about the pins in my arm…. Photos are coming of that day…

The thing that I really want to observe and convey is how completely whole I feel when I am working on my all lines are beautiful projects. I might be in pain, can’t do gig work, have no idea where the money is gonna come from, have no idea how my arm is gonna heal, and yet and yet I feel this deepest joy and being content when I am able to spend some time on my art and writing and store.

Someone suggested to me recently that all dreams are not meant to become reality, and I could write into this negativity in many layers, but I did have to step back and realize that I am 100% already living the dream. 

We are so used to making money the primary value - That's how someone like Trump got to be where he is, we think that just because he has money he has value - and as much as I love money, Art and creativity and expression come first for me, because I think it's gonna help change the world. Once we all start following our hearts…. DO IT!Do the thing you love.

The difference between my heart space 10 years ago, when I might have been shattered by a statement like that, and my heart space today, a comment like that just washes right over me…. I know that I am filled with art and love. 

I just read this beautiful quote from Diane Bell, “Your success is dependent on what happens when you fail. It's dependent on how you stay on the path when it's hard. It's dependent on your ability to stay in your power when nothing is working.” @Shootfromtheheart1/DianeBell.com

I love that I was clearly able to say that I’m looking for my kindred spirits of ‘all lines are beautiful’. And that I’m so pleased that I found my tiny group of people who are already kindred spirits of all lines are beautiful.

And I didn’t say this, but I know that the most important thing is that I found my ‘all lines are beautiful’. I found me! Oh hello!

I am so grateful to be able to live in a time where creative and expressive people are able to define life on their terms. I think this is new. I I know there are people in the past who have done it in the most crazy limiting circumstances, but I genuinely believe that more and more people are doing it now.  Look at all the crowds of people who are Doing political protesting!

Much Love, Anne  ◉◎⦿◎◉

Ⓒ 2025 Anne Hunsicker | All Lines Are Beautiful. All rights reserved.

[superbdragoncollection-stuff]

The Overlook Effect. Considering how few astronauts there have been, it's hard to say if it's universal, but it's significant enough to occur in most if not all astronauts and people who go to space. William Shatner had a negative version of the experience but even he realized it emphasized the importance of caring for Earth.

Carl Sagan said, when describing a photo of Earth from Voyager 1, that, "It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

I often wonder if light pollution has negatively affected us by making us unable to see the stars and thus unable to grasp just how big space is.

I've also heard that some morons insist that the Overlook Effect gives us "too much" perspective. I don't remember her name but she was some supposed progressive who insisted that a global perspective like that somehow made you disconnected? Or something?

I think the disinterest in science is one of the saddest things I can imagine. People will complain about rockets, dismiss future technology, and insist that it's all too far away. And they seem content with that. Don't you want to see this stuff in your lifetime? Don't you want to dance in zero g, don't you remember wanting to bounce on the moon like Neil Armstrong? What happened to your sense of adventure, your childhood wonder? Was it beaten out of you by apathetic adults?

We have the capability to see the future we were promised within our lifetimes. We can save the planet, and we can do it very soon and very easily. It took us nine years, just nine years, to go from never having sent a man into space to putting twelve men on the moon, with plans for space stations and shuttles and a Mars mission well on the way. "But why don't we spend that money here on earth?" Because we already tried that. That is literally why Apollo was ended; everything was cut for a problem on earth known hereabouts as the Vietnam War. That was literally the justification. And the eyedropper of a few bucks from Apollo did NOTHING. If space was really as expensive as people whine, it would have made a difference, but it didn't. Oh gee, for the cost of one Saturn V you can buy three fighter jets. What a profound amount of money.

Imagine what we could do now that we have fifty years of space experience behind us! Imagine what we could change, imagine what diseases can be cured! Imagine what we can do with future technology! Imagine a submarine that can go into the deepest parts of the ocean. Imagine an airship that can take you across the country. Imagine a train that can get you from New York to Miami in two hours. Imagine the things we can learn from animals, the medical advancements we can make!

"hah", some so called progressives scoff, "that's the rich man's game". Since when?! Why?! NASA can roll out patents like mad. Super soakers were invented by a rocket scientist for God's sake! Back in the day, these weren't advertised for the rich men.

PAN AM RAN A MARKETING CAMPAIGN FOR THE COMMON FOLK!

This isn't a rich man's game! We can't let them take it over!

Lobsters used to be poor people food, you know.

FOR THE LOVE OF EARTH, HUMANITY, AND ALL OUR HOPES AND DREAMS, DON'T LET ROCKETS BE LOBSTERS.

The fact that we as a species haven’t dropped absolutely everything for science baffles me.

You want to go to war? When there are dinosaur bones under your feet? When there are diseases that could be cured? When trees can communicate?

I will never understand.

[onenettvchannel]

Veteran fan-parody comic creator 'JaviSuzumiya' faces potential diagnosis of Cancer? [#FIRSTonOneNETnews] (updated as final!!!)

JUAREZ, MEXICO -- Veteran fan-parody comic creator and illustrative digital artist 'JaviSuzumiya' (real name as 'Mr. Javier Benavides'), recently faced a potential health scare late last Wednesday night (December 18th, 2024 -- Central local time). He underwent an emergency medical tests due to a possible cancer diagnosis.

Initially, he was announced via a statement to an art insider: "I had to undergo emergency medical tests since there was a possibility of cancer, but fortunately today, they confirmed that it's nothing like that. By tomorrow on Thursday (December 19th), I'll be back to publish some as usual", stated JaviSuzumiya.

Many people know him as a talented and seasoned digital artist, as well as comic creator individual for over 7 years in the late mid-2015s, with its famous for his exciting fan-parody artworks inspired by the beloved American cartoon series on cable television such as Amphibia, Craig of the Creek, Glitch Techs, Gravity Falls, Hailey's on It!, Hilda: The Series, Star Butterfly vs. The Forces of Evil, The Loud House and The Owl House. He was built a strong fanbase on his creations.

Hailing from Mexico, JaviSuzumiya created a unique approach to storytelling and is highly respected by fans of art. He was now married in-real-life with his girlfriend named 'Patricia' (not her real name) in late-January this year.

As his veteran fan-parody illustrative digital artist and comic creator, JaviSuzumiya has gained nearly 70,000 followers all across social media space, except paywalled content. His work has received wide acclaim for creativity and close to originality with a good accuracy of cartoon arts. He does not have any connection or being affiliated with Netflix Animation, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon in the United States of America (U.S.A.).

However, special developments in hospitalization suggest that he is suffering from a disease, worse than what we thought. On Friday afternoon (December 27th -- Mexico local time), just in time for the anticipated New Year's Eve celebration in the North American border as JaviSuzumiya told OneNETnews, his supposed cancer illness was turned out false: "It was a probability. But fortunately [for me], it wasn't the case", he quoted. Negative cancer diagnosis might be a relief however, many health issues have arisen from this incident in the field of digital artwork. Long hours and sedentary working conditions contribute to other health issues.

To cover these expenses of his medical treatment, scheduling early consultation of appointments, and continue producing The Loud House-related content, as well with several cartoon franchises, JaviSuzumiya has opened art and comic page commissions to offer by request. Fans can support him with pledging to become a member on both paywalled platforms thru Patreon and Pixiv Fanbox starts from U$D5 (or approximately PHP300) per month, meaning the money will directly fund his hospital bill, as well as his insurance costs and fees to pay, which fans can enjoy a range of exclusive content perks in all tiers.

In conclusion, the alleged cancer diagnosis of JaviSuzumiya is a total warning sign for the digital artist kinds, reminding each one of the importance placed on health and well-being in the midst of great demands of a creative life. As the digital arts community stands by him now, supporters can show he cares by donating or making the word go round, around his work during the holiday season.

Thus, while the future of JaviSuzumiya's health remains vague, it is certain that for many years to come, he will still be inspiring fans who appreciate his work of fan parody arts and comics industry.

ART PHOTO COURTESY for REPRESENTATION: JaviSuzumiya via PR / DeviantArt PHOTO BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY: Tegna

FINAL LATE-UPDATE (as of January 9th, 2025): We have a word from JaviSuzumiya on our news team. His health complication of cancer was turned out false. He was all OK and returned to work by the 2nd week of January 2025. His legacy lives on as a veteran digital artist. We finally updated our news story and he continues creating amazing fan-made artworks for his global community of dedication.

-- OneNETnews Online Publication Team

[julialouisdreyfest]

Destiny Bond Interview

Destiny Bond is a hardcore band from Denver, Colorado. They enjoy a good craft beer, the occasional CBD gummy, wearing North Face puffy vests over collared shirts, and watching the Colorado Rockies lose. Wait, I'm thinking of my uncle Eric. Destiny Bond probably also likes those things as well. So it sort of works out.

We asked them some annoying questions and they answered them! Read below!

Q: Who is Destiny Bond? 

A: Destiny Bond is the sexy daughter of James Bond who uses seduction to accomplish her missions.

Q: Why is Destiny Bond? 

A: Because it simply must be.

How is Destiny Bond? 

A: Pretty good! You? 

Q: For the Dreyfest peeps who don’t know, where are y’all from and how’d you all meet?

A: We are Cloe, Adam, Rio, Emily and Amos. We all met through playing DIY music in the Rocky Mountain Region. 

Q: I think three of you played the very second Dreyfest, in different iterations! There are a lot of funny photos from that fest, I'll have to remember to bring them to show you. Any moments from that fest stick out in your memory?

A: I remember playing in my old band justinedrugs at that festival and having the best reaction we had had anywhere up to that point. It was awesome! I also played the first Dreyfest with my old band Weather-Control from Cody, Wyoming and with my solo project Oxen Free. -Amos

The first Dreyfest I attended was while my band stoic. was on tour with Adam’s band Caged Bird Songs. There was only room on the fest for CBS, so I just got to watch bands that time. stoic. did return to Dreyfest a few years later, we played under a basketball hoop and it was a slam dunk - Cloe

Q: Favorite city/cities to play in? I've always been a fan of Milwaukee shows myself!

A: Some of my favorites are Cleveland, Columbus, and Minneapolis. -Amos

My recent favorites are NYC, Columbus, and Springfield, IL! I may be biased but Denver is an all time favorite for me still -Cloe

Q: The band has a vitality and energy about them live and on the record - where do you source that energy (rage?) from?

A: The rage is one of the wolves that lives inside me….but honestly it is sourced from every day frustrations living as a transwoman in today’s climate, seeing the marginalized people in my community being trodden upon, and the everyday difficulties of seeing the changes I want to make personally and in the world, but struggling to find motivation for such big undertakings. I want my voice in this band to echo the part of your mind telling you to keep going, to find solutions, and to find them with and in your community in ways that bring others up with you. I want that rage to be turned into a productive and proactive force, rather than adding more negativity to already bad situations. - Cloe

Q: If Destiny Bond were a cover band for a day, who would they want to cover for a set?

A: I would like to do a two song Egg Hunt cover set  -Amos

The Distillers, covering all three albums - Cloe

Q: Hardcore seems to have been making a comeback - any other hardcore bands you’d recommend? 

A: Everyone reading should check out Candy Apple, SPINE, Punitive Damage, Yambag, Bootcamp, Mexican Coke and Skinman - Amos

What Amos said, plus G.O.O.N., Concealed Blade, Jivebomb, Violencia, and Stress Positions - Cloe

Q: If you were given a million dollars, but it had to be spent in ways to directly improve the Denver music scene, what would you spend the money on?

A: Purchase a space to run all ages shows, community events, and affordable practice spaces in perpetuity that could survive any changes that may take place in the city. 

Fuck/Marry/Kill- Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter 

Why pit three bad bitches against each other?! Okay, I guess fuck Chappell Roan, marry Charli (the supreme discography of the 3), and very regretfully kill Sabrina, like in the style of the stock image with that little kid crying holding a gun - Cloe

Fuck/Marry/Kill- the Denver omelet, Colorado Style Green Chili, Colorado style pizza

I don’t know what Colorado style pizza is so you can kill that, marry the chili, fuck the omelette - Amos

Fuck/Marry/Kill- Coors, Fat Tire, Dale's Pale Ale

Marry Coors, Fuck Fat Tire, Kill Dale’s - Amos

Q: Favorite 90s movie to cry to?

A: Dumb and Dumber - Amos

The Incredibly True Adventure of 2 Girls in Love - Cloe

Q: Favorite 90s album to mosh to?

A: Satisfaction is the Death of Desire by Hatebreed - Amos

Life. Love. Regret by Unbroken - Cloe

Q: Favorite 90s video game to lose to?

A: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater - Amos

Diddy Kong Racing - Cloe 

Q: Favorite 90s TV show to laugh at?

A: All That - Amos

The Nanny - Cloe

Q: Any gnarly tour stories or experiences with crashing at houses, house shows, car stuff? 

A: We got caught in a really scary snowstorm outside of Rock Springs during a night drive and had to stop and stay in a hotel and then the next day we blew a tire and had to change it and put on a spare in -11 degrees. We got it fixed and made it to the show though! -Amos

I’ll just add that immediately after that harrowing experience, we played a show in a garage with the garage door open in 20° weather in SLC. I played in a hoodie, hat, and gloves, but the show was incredible with kids literally hanging off the ceiling. - Cloe

Q: What are Destiny Bond’s plans for the future? Signing a lifetime contract to be the spokespeople for an up and coming VPN service based out of Singapore that I can get you on the ground floor of no later than the end of this fiscal quarter?

A: Nah, we won’t be doing all that but we are planning on playing a show in India before the end of the year at the largest cultural festival in Asia. - Amos

Whoa idk Amos, this VPN sounds pretty promising, and “Destiny Bond - Be My Virtual Private Network” has a nice ring to it. Can I access Netflix in other countries with it? - Cloe

Q: What can we expect for Sunday’s set on August 11th at Craft Local at 8:30 PM MST 2024 

A: Uncompromising high octane punk rock fury - Amos

That, and probably one of us hurting ourselves from jumping - Cloe

Catch Destiny Bond at Craft Local on Sunday, at 9 PM.

[mrthoughtbubbles]

Hi Yeet,

I’m not in a good head space right now and I feel that my mental health is deteriorating again, with the feeling that I’m being bombarded with negative,passive-aggressive, and gas lighting attacks multiple times a day since October last year, telling me that I’m bad for this and that, that I’m hiding who I truly am(according to them), that I should stop messaging you(which is the reason why I can’t message you now on IG), that I should choose someone who sees my worth, that I should choose that person over you, that I uploaded photos online, that the said person wanted to sue me, and many more…

I don’t want to be with someone with a gigantic ego, someone who thinks that my messages are referring to her, yet it starts with your name on it, that strong-arms someone with the threat of a lawsuit if I don’t comply to her demands, which is to stop watching p*rn and to choose her(It’s ironic since everybody knows that she watches it as well…) , blaming me for making her toxic, yet she has a ton of enemies already before she knew about me, hiring people to attack me every time I go online, especially the one from IG in the morning, forces me to apologize, yet I already did it 5 times with 2 written ones in this blog of mine, yet will never accept it, and other stuff that I can’t remember right now…  A good example of the way they’re attacking me on IG would be the news about the sentencing of Harry Style’s stalker that wrote 8000 letters to him in just a month and all, since I write to you every day…

I feel that my time is running out, that at some point I won’t be able to message you anymore and I can’t think of a solution for it since my mental health is deteriorating… I dread that I’ll be back to the old me that’s a full-blown paranoid schizophrenic... I’ve been talking to mama about the prospect of meeting you, but from the looks of things and from the reality that we need to pay a lot of things at the moment, I don’t know when exactly “months from now” will be… We’re not rich, we just get by month by month, and when we fall short on cash, I’m always there to give cash and there’s no time limit as to when I’ll get the money back… In fact, I don’t expect to get all of them back, to be honest…

I love you, Yeet, and I’m trying to show that by writing to you every day, but it’s unfair for you that I don’t know when I’ll be able to meet you, that I feel that I’m just wasting your time, time wherein you can find someone who’ll be there for you at any moment. Mama brought up a term that I didn’t like, which is, “people from different worlds can’t be together.” To me, if you love someone, tell that person and just keep on trying day in and day out, but even though I don’t like that term, going back to what I said at the start, it’s unfair for you, I dread that it’ll be more unfair, knowing that I’m mentally I’ll and sometimes I’m wondering if everything is just in my head… I love you, Yeet, and I want to believe that it isn’t just in my head...