#where they ARE on Jay and Jessica’s side but they aren’t working together

[purplecatghostposts]

Sometimes (not often and not referring to the proxy versions bc that’s its own thing), I’ll see someone call Masky and/or Hoody a killer and I sit there like. But they aren’t though. They tried to kill one (1) guy and technically Tim did later but that was purely self defense.

Their actual crimes ARE attempted murder, breaking and entering, theft(?), assault, and stalking, with maybe a few more, but 80% of the murders were caused by Alex. You can lump Tim’s kill count with Masky if you want (which brings him dubiously up to 2 if you count Hoody falling) but Hoody has a kill count of exactly zero.

They ARE very intimidating figures and highly important to the story but I definitely wouldn’t label them as killers!

[seokjinsdisciple]

Valentine - Two

A lifetime together told through 37 Valentine’s Days.

jaehyun x reader

warnings: some angst, language, fluff, SLOW UPDATES

AN: lmao i have been so close to finishing this for literally almost a month now,,,, im so sorry

word count: 1.4k

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There were so many things about Jung Jaehyun that annoyed you, that most of the time you couldn’t even remember what they were. Right now, it was the way he obnoxiously chewed with his mouth open. You sighed, glancing out of the window of the diner at the darkening sky. It was the night before Valentine’s day, and since Jaehyun would be going on a date with Mina, the two of you were celebrating tonight. At least that was the plan before Mina had walked through the diner’s door. 

So here you sat, a complete third wheel as you fiddled with Jaehyun’s birthday/Valentine gift under the table. The two of them were engrossed in conversation, and you could do nothing but watch as they laughed at one another. 

You couldn’t fault them really, they were still in the honeymoon stage of their relationship. Plus, it’s not like you didn’t like Mina. She was sweet, and really talented and pretty. You just didn’t think they were good for each other. You hadn’t ever liked any of Jae’s significant others. It wasn’t anything personal, it just always seemed like he fell too fast, and ended up heartbroken a few months later. You let out another sigh before slipping your coat on. 

“Jae, I’m gonna head out,” you spoke quickly, sliding out of the both, “I forgot I had a thing with my parents.”

You waited for a second for him to acknowledge you, but he was in his own world. You just nodded, letting out a little sarcastic chuckle. You pulled your bag up on your shoulder, saying another goodbye before walking out of the diner's doors and into the chilly February night. 

You made your way through the parking lot, walking home by yourself. A much different ending to this night than you had thought. You took one last look back, frowning at the scene you saw through the window. Jaehyun sat across from Mina now, her figure filling the side of the booth where yours was normally found. They sat with their hands intertwined, and the way he smiled at her made your heart clench. 

You made your way through the streets of your little town, trying (and failing) to get Jaehyun out of your mind. Kicking rocks as you came across them, your thoughts trailed to last year's Valentine’s day. How naive you had been to think that Jaehyun wouldn’t find someone else to love. It wasn’t until you really felt the chill on your cheeks that you realized you had been crying. 

“God, what a drama queen,” you said to yourself, wiping the wetness from your cheeks quickly. 

The truth was, you were having a rough start to high school. Jaehyun was your only friend, and those who were close to you last year swiftly abandoned you the first week of 9th grade. You couldn’t blame Jaehyun, he had three times as many friends as you did, and as much as you hated to admit it, he was doing better with you keeping a bigger distance from him at school. You knew he wasn’t distancing himself on purpose, in fact, he probably didn’t notice. Your only solace were the weekends spent with him. Doing the things you had always done before. But even those were getting harder and harder to plan, with him spending most of his freetime with Mina. 

It was foolish to have gotten this excited about celebrating tonight. And now here you were sad and disappointed that things hadn’t turned out like you imagined. You pushed open the front door of your house, slipping your shoes off and making your way to your bedroom. You carelessly threw Jaehyun’s gift on the bed. You’d have to give it to him the next time you saw him. Whenever that would be. 

You got ready for bed, avoiding looking in the mirror as much as you could. You hated watching yourself cry, it just made you feel worse. You plopped down on the bed, lightly pushing Jaehyun’s gift off of the edge with your foot. You sighed as you pulled your stuffed deer closer to your chest. Your thoughts were a swirling mess, your feelings were too. 

You thought back to last year, how you were able to tell Jaehyun everything so easily. How he would listen to you attentively and hug you until you felt better. He always made you feel better. So why was it that you were so hesitant to share your feelings with him now. You lay awake for a while, thinking about everything, the feeling of loneliness filling you as the clock hit midnight. 

You pulled out your phone, the bright light making your eyes squint, but your fingers tapped lightly on the screen anyway. “Happy birthday, dork.” Your text message read, a tear falling down your cheek as you took a deep breath. Today was supposed to be your day. Yours and Jaehyun’s. 

The buzz from your phone made you rub your bleary eyes. “You are always the first person to say it bambi <3.”

You stared at his response awhile, your heart skipping a beat every time your eyes scanned over the heart he sent at the end. “Pull yourself together.” You thought, hitting your head lightly with your hand. It was easy to fall asleep after that, the promise of good dreams featuring Jaehyun motive enough for you to actually get some rest. 

--

You stood in front of your locker, chatter filling the hall in the time that was left before first period. You were slipping your books into your locker, at least the ones that you wouldn’t need until after lunch. Your thoughts had once again trailed to Jaehyun. He was on your mind today, not like the past three days he had also been on your mind. You blew out the air in your cheeks, trying to drive his dimpled smile from your mind. Surprisingly it worked. 

The rest of the school day passed by pretty normally. Everyone was a little off of their rocker and excited at every sign of romance they could see. From Jessica getting a bouquet of flowers to Jack and Jeremy kissing in the hallway, your peers were gung-ho for any sign of love. You, however, were a little less ecstatic. It wasn’t like you were pining over anyone, especially Jaehyun, you just missed your best friend. 

You made your way through the school, weaving your way in and out of students who were hurrying to get home so that they could go to their respective valentine’s day plans. You, however, had nothing to do later. Even your parents were ditching you to go on a date. 

It wasn’t until you felt a hand in your own that you stopped zoning out and glanced at the person who had slid your hand into their own. To be fair, you knew who it was before you even looked. You smiled up at Jaehyun, wrapping your other arm around his waist in a quick hug.

“Don’t you have a date with Mina?” you asked as JAehyun walked with you in the direction of your houses. 

“Technically, yes,” he started, “but I figured I owed you one for completely brushing you off yesterday.”

“You do, you asshole,” you smiled up at him, his pout deepening at your teasing, “but that doesn’t mean I want Mina to get mad at you, or me for that matter.”

“If she gets mad at me for wanting to spend my birthday with my best friend then, we aren’t gonna last very long.”

You just shook your head as you unlocked your back door, Jaehyun hovering close to you in order to stay warm. 

“I know you don’t mean that, Jay,” you spoke quickly, leading him up to your room and starfishing on your bed.

“I do mean it,” he whispered, throwing himself next to you on the bed. He looked you in the eyes, his hand finding yours as he smiled, “you are the most important girl in my life, bambi.”

Your stomach flipped, a grin spreading across your face as butterflies exploded in your body at his words. The same feeling you had last night at his text message filled your body again. You couldn’t resist it. You couldn’t stop yourself from grinning like an idiot. 

As you lay there on your bed, Jaehyun’s hand in yours and his dimples causing your heart to pound, you realized one thing. The most annoying thing about Jung Jaehyun, and the worst thing he has ever done.

 He made you fall irreversibly in love with him.

[kevintor]

I Watch a Movie I Should Have Seen: Hocus Pocus

I miss doing these entries. Mostly I miss adding movies to my watched list. Obviously, I’ve never seen Hocus Pocus. That’s why we’re here.

What did I know about Hocus Pocus? I knew there were witches and I knew Bette Midler had fun teeth. And she certainly did!

My thoughts:

We open on Salem in the 1600s following the shadow of a flying witch. The music was straight out of the Danny Elfman playbook but I guess they couldn’t get him so they found an equivalent Ray Parker, Jr. to Elfman’s Huey Lewis. (If you don’t know)

Pink smoke comes out of the chimney of the witch house which means someone’s gender reveal party resulted in a girl! Unfortunately they had to sacrifice a different little girl to find out.

The old-timey boy we meet is wearing a shirt that can only be described as billowy. He should take off like a kite when he runs. Yet somehow when he violently tumbles down a forest hill, none of that very excessive fabric gets caught on anything. Is the fabric even there or are we imagining it?

The witches (Sanderson Sisters) use a book made of human skin and a functioning eyeball. I shall call this book “Columbo.”

It’s very nice of them to put a mill wheel next to the witch house for the boy to climb.

Okay, so Bette Midler has lightning fingers like Emperor Palpatine.

I honestly thought the witches were going to be misunderstood and everyone would win at the end but killing a little girl for her youth and turning the boy into an immortal cat really puts a big wrench in the redemption arc chances.

The townspeople stage a hanging. The witches curse the town that they will return much like Pennywise only scarier.

We fast forward to find out that the opening is a story that is told in a Salem high school class where the kids apparently range in age from 14-28.

A new-to-town California boy (Max) doesn’t buy into all the witch lore. No mention on why his first day of school is Halloween. Parents did not plan that move well.

Max is into Allison, the pretty girl in school that leads with her teeth in every conversation. Did Rami Malek pull some his Freddy Mercury from her?

Max rides his bike home from school at super speed. He is either an exceptional mountain biking improviser or he practiced it the day before to be really ready for school. Probably the latter.

On his shortcut through the cemetery, he runs into two kids, Jay and Ice. Jay seems to be all the bad parts of Bill and Ted combined and Ice seems to be 40.

Jay and Ice take Max’s sneakers because that’s what bullies in the early 90s did. It makes pedaling home slower which may be for the best. He rode his bike too quickly.

Max does not like being here in Salem anymore. We learn this as he angrily takes off his hat, backpack, and jacket.

Max comforts himself by awkwardly hugging and cooing to his pillow pretending it’s Allison. His little sister, Dani, catches the awkwardness, gets on the bed, and simulates being Allison which is normal.

The house appears to have an unlimited number of stairs to climb up to get away in frustration.

Max reluctantly takes his sister trick-or-treating. He has the appropriate level of older brother standoffishness.

Jay and Ice stop the sister asking for her candy. Max gives the candy to the bullies and she tells him he should have been a man and fought them. Again one of them is like 40.

Max makes up with her using a pouty face. Like! A! Man!

They find a rich house that they assume will make them bob for apples. This is a bad idea even in non-pandemic times. Never bob for apples at a stranger’s house. No matter how rich they are. That’s how rich people fatten you up to make you easier to hunt.

Max and Dani let themselves inside and start robbing the place of their Raisinets and O Henry bars. Rich people give out terrible candy.

Turns out the rich house belongs to Allison. They are having a party and everyone there is authentically dressed like royals. They did not get any of these costumes at Spirit Halloween.

Dani tells Allison that she can’t wear Allison’s royal dress because she doesn’t have yabbos and proceeds to tell her that Max loves her yabbos. This girl is outrageous. Or rude. It was a fine line in 1993.

Max asks Allison to take them to the Sanderson Sisters’ house. She tells him she’s going to quickly change out of a dress that must have taken her 45 minutes to get into.

The house is no different than it used to be. The spell book is still there. How have Jay and Ice not stolen anything from it?

Immortal Cat attacks Max when he wants to light the “virgin candle” that will bring back the Sanderson sisters. It’s a great sequence where he says the name of the movie (always important), then pulls a Zippo out of his pocket (which all kids who don’t smoke have), and lights the candle.

It starts things. Hair blows a lot. This is why they had Max be a surfer boy from California. For this hair effect.

This movie cares a lot about someone being a virgin. Even Dani knows what a virgin is. Are they covering this in her second grade class? Do the parents know? What does the PTA think?

The candle makes the Sisters return and they try to keep Dani. Bette Midler uses more of her Star Wars lightning fingers but Allison saves the day.

The cat can talk and the chances of me liking this movie just took a huge hit.

Max steals Columbo, the spell book.

The writers of the movie do the right thing by having the Sisters be scared of everything modern like roads and fire trucks. Nice touch.

The Sisters only have tonight, which adds the right amount of stakes, to get the spell book back. I don’t think I could make it if they had a week or so.

The Sisters raise the dead causing a very reluctant zombie (RZ) to chase after the kids. Most zombies love what they do so this is a fun choice.

Immortal Cat gets run over by a bus but lives because he’s immortal. We needed proof because the 300 years of being a cat was not enough.

Garry Marshall plays a guy dressed as the devil which they play for fun as the Sisters worship him but we can’t gloss over that fact that Fake Devil’s wife is played by his real-life sister, Penny Marshall. It’s not disturbing. They’re acting!

Children steal the Sisters’ brooms which probably won’t matter later.

They find a Halloween party that Max’s parents went to. When Max’s dad meets Allison, he kisses her hand. I am going to do the same to whoever my kid brings home one day. “It’s from Hocus Pocus. That movie’s fun. It’s not weird.”

Bette Midler gets to sing a song. That should satisfy the requirements from her contract. The song puts a spell on the partygoers forcing them to dance until they die. Somehow the kids are immune to it. Can they shut off their ears? Are they also magical?

The kids lure the Sisters into the school incinerator and burn them alive. It’s a strong play. The kids celebrate as if there is not 30 minutes left in the movie.

Immortal Cat, in a time of reflection, brings up his sister and Max says “You really miss her, huh?” He has been trapped as a cat after failing to save his sister’s life 300 years earlier. He misses her. Why not “Hey, do you ever wonder what might have happened if you saved her life?”

Without any explanation, the Sisters are fine. They run into Jay and Ice who insult them. The Sisters cage Jay and Ice and make them hang from the witch house ceiling. The bullies are crying. Maybe they aren’t so tough after all. <High Fives No One>

Allison decides to find a spell to uncat Immortal Cat. She opens Columbo causing it to glow. The glow lures Bette Midler and the Sisters to her. Allison fails to notice the glow but learns that salt can keep them safe.

The Sisters steal the book and Dani when Allison only uses the salt to protect herself. She really took care of number one here.

Now Sarah Jessica Parker gets to sing a real creepy song that summons all the children from the town. It really shows you the power of song. Again, Max and Allison must have turned off their hearing for this.

Max and Allison trick the Sisters into thinking sun is coming early by using a car headlight. It works but I don’t understand why. They had the sun 300 years ago. They know what it looks like. “Is that a person in a brown sweat suit and green hat or a tree?”

While the Sisters are scared of the car headlight, Max steals back his sneakers but doesn’t save the bullies. How does he know he won’t need the bullies to be on his side in the future? Has he not seen every other high school movie?

They drive away and Bette Midler brooms after them. We know how fast Max likes to go so it is impressive Bette Midler can keep up.

Reluctant Zombie shows up and Max pulls a knife on him. So Max has a knife and a zippo. He might be a problem.

They take the final showdown to a cemetery which is an odd choice. Why not a miniature golf course or a TCBY. Were they still around in 1993?

Max brings a bat to a magic fight. Allison still has her salt. “Bats and salt: Working together to inconvenience witches since 1881!”

Max sacrifices himself to save Dani. The sun comes up as Bette Midler is sucking the life out of Max. Just when you think it might be a better sun-impersonating headlight, Bette Midler turns into a statue and explodes. Definitely the sun.

Immortal Cat dies so he can be with his sister. Billowy shirt ghost appears to say thanks with a kiss on Dani’s cheek (so normal) before he runs off with his ghost sister for eternity.

They did it! They saved Salem! Quite a first day for Max..

The movie was fine. I hate talking animals unless they are cartoons so that didn’t help. And why did they care so much about virgins? A friend told me that “virgin” meant “pure of heart.” Well then they should have said “pure of heart.” And if I can suggest, between Max’s predilection for weapons and Allison’s selfishness with the salt, I don’t think they should stop being “pure of heart” with each other. They aren’t a good couple. Going through a traumatic thing like killing summoned witches from the Pilgrim days causes feelings that can’t last.

[reydelcastill0]

Fandom: Marble Hornets, The Blackout Club (Video Game)

Words: 1880

Rating: General Audiences 

Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Jessica Locke & Jay Merrick, Jessica Locke (Marble Hornets) & Lucids (The Blackout Club) Characters: Jessica Locke, Jay Merrick, Lucids (The Blackout Club), Masky (Marble Hornets)

Additional Tags: The Blackout Hornets AU, Hospitals, Hospitalization, Unreliable Narrator, Inaccurate Representation of Hospitals, Memory Loss, Implied Trans Male Character, Jessica Locke and Jay Merrick are Twins, No Diagnosed Illnesses, Implied Illnesses, Implied Trans Jay Merrick, Lucids as a "Doctor", Lucids as a "Nurse"

Series: Part 1 of inTheMAZE

Summary: Jessica wakes up in a hospital bed with little to no memories. A doctor catches her up to speed, but she doesn't believe Him. She thinks it's all a lie, but she doesn't know what to do about it, so she won't. Instead, she becomes close friends with a patient suffering from the same problems as her.

Jessica sat up with a groan. Her head was pounding and her mind sounded so loud it was almost unbearable. Her mind almost sounded like it was singing to her, but Jessica wouldn’t describe the sounds as a song. It was close, except it was barely recognizable. Jessica decides to identify it as static that so happens to vary in pitch. Regardless, she didn’t like the noise. It was almost as if it was trying to drown out her thoughts. It made her headache worse.

It couldn’t fully take over her mind, though. She managed to tune it out at some point and focus on her own thoughts— on things that weren’t the static. She could focus on the slightly scratchy bedsheet beneath her, the white curtains that surrounded her bed, and the weird smell that reminded her of a hospital room, and oh— 

That’s ‘cause she is in a hospital room. This realization makes her panic. ‘Focus, why are you here?’ she thought. She moved to dangle her legs off the side of the bed (ignoring the way her feet slightly brush against some shoes that weren’t hers, but might be for her) and closed her eyes to take some time to think: What is it that she can remember?

‘My name is Jessica— um— Jessica… Jessica,’ she couldn’t remember her last name. ‘What was it again?’ She spent moments angrily trying to figure it out. Soon, she settles on Locke, as incorrect as it sounds. Her name is Jessica Locke.

Next, she tried to deduce what time it was, but nothing could help her figure that out. The lights from the room were on, but she saw no windows. She figured that would be a waste of her time (if she could even tell how much time passes).

She decides to try and figure out why she is here. That was almost more difficult to figure out than the time. She couldn’t remember why she may be in a hospital, in fact, she couldn’t remember much about herself. Her memory was spotty. She knew her age, name (she felt like she didn’t really know her name), and little personality things— the things that made her her. She also knew what her house looked like, but not who she lived with or how to get there. She knew she went to school, but not who her teachers are or if she has friends. She knew she knew people, but who these people were? That was beyond her. 

She can’t remember anyone, except for Amy. Amy Walters, her best friend… She feels sad thinking about her, but she doesn’t know why. Amy is okay. The last thing she did with Amy— the last thing she remembers— was hanging out with Amy. If she remembers right, they were playing video games together and idly chatting about their friends (whoever their friends were). That was it. That was the only instance in her life she had the most memories about, yet she couldn’t even know the whole truth of it.

“I’ve lost my memories…” she said out loud (the first thing she has said since she woke up), “I’ve lost them…” Once she said the words out loud, she cringed. It was too loud and broke the silence, paving way for unease. Why is she here? She doesn’t get the time to fester in her thoughts because seconds later, a Man in a doctor’s outfit (He must be her doctor, then) walked in, wheeling in a chair so He could sit on it.

“It’s good to see you’re awake. How are you feeling?” He asks. Jessica tries to focus on the Man’s face, but her vision begins to blur. She panics a bit, but she doesn’t tell Him anything about it.

“I’m fine,” she mutters, quick to respond as if she were reading off some script. She tries to look at His face again, but she can’t. She continues to try— to try and ground herself in the reality of the situation— but there comes a point where trying to look makes the static song in her head louder. It hurts.

“Do you know why you are here, Jessica?” He asks. She shakes her head. She finds comfort in the fact that her name actually is Jessica, but she is uncomfortable. “Well, that is expected.”— His tone sounds like a threat— “You see, you’re sick. You have a terrible cough, constant and painful migraines, hallucinations, and, unfortunately, violent episodes.” Jessica doesn’t believe him.

“But I don’t… Remember anything?” She says so, but it’s some sort of question. She is positive she has never had some “violent episode” in her whole life. 

“That might be the medicine we gave you.” She can’t see His face, but she could decipher a frown simply by his tone of voice.

“Oh… Okay.” She doubts meds can cause people to lose their memories like this, and if by chance such medication exists, she feels that maybe the medical industry should work on fixing that. “How long will I be here?”

“Until you get better.” He sounds annoyed.

“Of course.” There is no point in talking anymore. She wants Him to leave. She wants to leave. She feels out of place, like she’s bad at playing pretend. Like nothing is real and she just has a role to fill. She is a patient; she is sure that’s a fucking lie.

But she’ll play along. She doesn’t know her lines or what her stage directions are, but she’ll figure it out. She has to, or she’ll never know when she needs to exit the stage— the hospital.

Luckily, it becomes easy to fulfill her role after being provided a nurse. She talks to her nurse more than she talks to her doctor, but the conversations aren’t worth much to her. Jessica is glad that she gets to talk to the patient from the next room over. Apparently they share the same doctor and He saw it fit to introduce the two.

“Jessica, this is Jayme,” He says, “Jayme, this is Jessica.” He is very blunt about the introduction and then has their nurses whisk them away. It isn’t until lunchtime that she learns the other patient goes by Jay and not Jayme.

“Why is that?” Jessica asks. 

Jay thinks about his answer for a moment before he tells her. “I don’t know why the doctor calls me Jayme. My name is Jay Merrick.”

“Funny, that sounds familiar,” Jessica responds. It does, and a bit too familiar. Then again, if this whole “sick” business is real (she doubts it) and she accounts for the fact that she has memory problems, perhaps Jay is a patient she knew. She finds it unlikely. Jay would have remembered her, but he has never met her before.

He stumbles on his words for a moment. “I— It’s just… Um, it’s a pretty common name, so,” he says. She watched as he grew anxious and decided not to press on the issue. 

She forces out a chuckle. “Oh, duh,” she laughs. She wouldn’t know how common the name actually is and she thinks maybe Jay doesn’t either. He laughs, too, and then their nurses come and separate them again.

They do that a lot. She doesn’t know what they look like. Only that Jessica’s nurse is a Girl and that Jay’s nurse is a Guy, but she can’t see their faces (like how she can’t see her doctor’s). But she can see Jay’s face. Jay is the only person she can hold eye contact with and she finds that odd. She wonders if he feels the same, but it’s difficult to attempt to question him. He’s here for the same reason as her. She suspects that’s why the hospital staff limit their time together. 

Some few weeks pass and Jessica forms a strong bond with Jay. They are always together when they are allowed to be. Sometimes, they sneak into each other's rooms and cuddle together. The feeling reminds her of sneaking into her younger sister’s— She doesn’t have a sister…— her younger brother’s (‘Is that right?’ she thinks) bed or when he would sneak into hers because being separated wasn’t something they dealt with so well.

Luckily, her nurse seems to turn a blind eye whenever She catches Jessica sneaking to Jay’s room and she assumes that Jay’s nurse does the same when he sneaks to her room. She’s glad, but their doctor seems to dislike it very much.

He continuously grows frustrated with Jessica and Jay. “You aren’t making any progress to recovery and if this keeps up, Jessica, we’ll have to change our methods,” He says and it’s clear he is becoming impatient with her. That doesn’t matter to Jessica. She dreads the idea of different methods and resolves to confront Jay once and for all about their situation. 

One night, Jay sneaks to Jessica’s room and slips into bed with her. He has a question, but he does not ask it. So she asks him one instead: “Don’t you think it’s a little weird that besides you, me, and our doctor and nurses, that we’re the only ones here? Like, I know they don’t let us go everywhere, but it feels like maybe that’s because this is all that there is…”

“I… It is weird—”

“And also don’t you think our situation sounds like a lie? Our doctor dodges most of our questions and instead tells us we’re violent and sick… Jay, they haven’t diagnosed us with anything. We’re just sick.” Jessica is whispering and it makes the faults and quivers in her voice more prominent. Jay, nonetheless, seems to understand her point of view.

“It’s really weird… I was actually going to talk to you about this. I think we need to run away…” He says the last sentence even quieter than his normal whisper voice, paranoid as if the nurses are waiting to hear him say that.

“I think so, too…”

They proceed to formulate a plan. Jay is the one making it, but Jessica is helping him bring his thoughts together. Jay wants to escape the following night. They’ll sneak some protein and snack bars to their rooms and hide them under the pillows. They’ll ask for a water bottle some time before bed (Jessica will ask before “going to sleep” and Jay will ask a few hours earlier). When they have to sleep, Jay will go get Jessica. The two will have their snack bars and water bottle in their pillowcase. From there, they’ll hope they make it far (fully escaping sounds unrealistic, so they would rather be pleasantly surprised than disappointed). 

They’ll escape. But then things go wrong right at the end. Instead of Jay coming, some boy a bit older than her goes to her room. He wears a white with black painted lips and while he doesn’t seem threatening, he charges at her and pokes her with a needle.

Before she faints, she realizes it’s a tranquilizer dart. She’s seen them before. Funny, the familiarity of it makes her slightly happy. Her last thought, however, is hoping Jay makes it out safely (and maybe in a better way than she did).

Jessica Locke— or as her name actually is— Jessica Merrick blacks out.

[survivormetaverse]

Episode 8 - "If you waited a round longer I probably would've saved you." ~Jodi

that move was 99% strategy, 200% vengeance. 

https://youtu.be/yx1Jmbn43Yk this has to be the worst thing to happen to me since i chipped my tooth a few weeks ago

https://youtu.be/4MvB2gvwYiw

Okay merge update. Omg and so it begins. I actually think we have it sorted well enough for now, but the paranoia has set in a bit and everyone was all over. Jodi put me in another alliance with Jay who is also from subrosa and then turns out he didn't even know I was ☠️. And the brayden added me to a three with anastasia. And then we made a six with the core of myself Jodi and brayden and then anastasia jared and Colin. It's a mix and we all had questions able true loyalties, like if there's a kyoshi alliance, if there are OG tribe alliances, if there are swap tribe alliances, but for this first vote it is still really about people who haven't connected so it was down to ginny and Babs. I wanted Babs to go because one they didn't even accept my chat request until after I won immunity and two they almost won lol. So there was a LOT of chats and messages while I was in the airport lol but I had sort of stepped back bc I was busy. At this point I am trying to do less in the game and I know it's going to cause me not to make it as far, but oh well. It seems to have settled down a bit before tribal as we settled on ginny. Makes me worries bc if there is an og SEES they can get numbers now or if they are picking off new fools but we keep talking about the other side but it doesn't seem like they are really organized together? It's hard to tell. All this to say that in the middle of it colin was like Jodi is a lot haha but I couldn't say anything about the like 10 alliances I'm in. Also everyone keeps talking about advantages and I am not saying anything but it's funny that brayden who is supposed to be closesly aligned with me hasn't said anything about the fake idol I gifted him that he thinks is real so 👀 there's that sir. But I still am vibing and just waiting until they vote me out. I mean I just won the first individual immunity challenge and at the same time I won the Hunt merge idol, plus I have a steal a vote, on top of giving the fake idol. 😆 And I'll probably get voted out with it all bc people aren't asking directly about my hunt scores but I did say "not great" in some. Anyway it's a fun crew but I now don't have the time to put into this anymore so I'm going to try to make tribal but we will see. Okay bye.

~

So we settled on ginny for the merge boot which I was consistently like y'all she isn't a threat she is not going to win any challenges or hunts. They only thing she does is make alliances, she doesn't even talk to people. Babs I haven't spoken with and turns out they won the puzzle hunt (which I was so close with!) And it was blocking TWO votes! It was very interesting because we only had brayden throwing a vote on Babs and everyone else voted ginny I think. But Babs blocked ginny and Elle's votes, meaning they think they were against Babs. But Babs said something about insider info and I think she was referring to the ginny - elle - anastasia link. Which is scary like where did they get that info huh. 👀 Like who is leaking info 👀 I mean I know ginny mentioned having elle when she made and alliance with anastasia and myself. And I can't remember who I told that but it's either dennis (most likely) or jodi or brayden. But I was also stirring stuff up during the merge chaos which was hilarious so rumors were flying! Then after tribal which I didn't realize was so long oops I should have just not been there live but I didn't want to miss the first merge tribal. But anyway Jodi and brayden are freaking out. Turns out jodi was talking to dennis who was freaking out then jodi called brayden and I and went on about how she thinks he is the leak and also paranoid and was telling jodi she was in danger for some reason. And like don't tell Amy. And here's my confusion like I thought I was tight with dennis but maybe he thought I was closer with Ginny even though he knew how I was ready to vote them out back on oh phantom. And why would he even pretend like Jodi is I'm danger? So either he's not with me at all or jodi is playing me hard. Also one of the voting confessionals said that was for voting out jennifer it's vengeance which had me like 👀 ☠️. Because was that anastasia? But she voted out jennifer. Or was it an og SEES and they are all after us? Basically I'm just hoping an og SEES goes home this time and our alliance holds strong. Here's hoping I don't go home with an idol in my pocket! Basically I would love if Babs went next because they are good at comps and still don't talk to me. Elle still hasn't talked to me either but then again most people have been quiet with me besides brayden Jodi and jay. Which is fine it fits my schedule nicely and I'm not trying to win. I am excited to figure out how to cause chaos with my advantages and I'm excited to see how these twists turn out. I guess things I'm watching out for is jodi is connected with everyone but I think I'm her number one still? And then everyone is talking more than me. But we will see how it goes! I'm excited for a challenge that doesn't take much time / focus (even though I do have a little more time now) . Okay that's the update. They are playing cah together on our day off right now but I'm exhausted and in a car driving back from a trip. Hope they have fun and aren't making new alliances lol 😆 oh well if they are. Oh also one more funny thing jodi keeps saying colin is a super high profile player and he won't do anything too wild (which I know he will lol I was there when he mutinied with like no warning) and then she said she was like "Amy didn't play before I even went to her player page to check" like girl you must not have checked too hard lol 🤣 like my two Stings games are on there I checked too ☠️ glad I haven't been straight up lying to people but I'm definitely not giving information for free. If she figures it out I'm just going to say oh I thought you knew lol bc I played with Cody and Sarah and that's how I was on subrosa. But anyway I think it's all hilarious how my game is going. But I trust jodi bc she tells me things she doesn't even tell brayden like she went for 15+ hours and still didn't win the endurance but she told brayden 5 hours. Anyway that's all I got. I need to try to reconnect with people tomorrow. 

Ginny's gone 💔 Babs used a vote blocker on me though and I had actually voted for Ginny, not Babs (though good enough guess since I reluctantly voted for Ginny), but now I'm worried. She hasn't been active today, at least with me and I'm a little concernedddd. I was actually kind of hoping we could be good allies in this game since at the beginning I feel like we clicked a bit but then I put fostering that allyship on the back burner and it bit me in the butt 😖, unfortunate. Jackbox games with the tribe was fun! I've been talking with Jodie a bit more, but it seems more to me like she just wants me to not perceive her as a threat moreso than she actually sees an ally in me. We will see I suppose.

https://youtu.be/kT_3OY9Ai-A

Big round, could be hands up tribal, could be not. Regardless, I think being prepared is good. Right now, my top priority is flushing advantages since 1) I don’t know where they are and 2) they’re deadly in the late game with less people left. I suspected Dennis having the Phantom idol, and Elle/babs having the SEES idol, but Elle has a risk of having 2 idols - they very well could’ve won the merge hunt. Ideally I wanted to flush out Elle’s here, even if they don’t go home. The tricky thing is Colin and Anastasia always wanted to protect Elle, and Brayden seeks approval from Anastasia, so I wanted to keep them happy. I privately started to bring up flushing idols to both of them, and who they think has them. They both said Elle for SEES. I hopped onto call with HIMYM to talk, and Anastasia OPENLY suggested voting out Elle to flush their idol. Colin was shocked but Anastasia being the most weary of voting Elle, we were set. I knew Amy would be down because she mentioned before. The plan is HIMYM vote Elle and leave the rest out to vote Babs (Jay is ok being on the wrong side of the vote) but since Dennis wants to vote out Elle too, here’s my ACTUAL ideal plan: - HIMYM on Elle - Dennis on Elle - Jay or Josh on Babs And key part to this; - Babs on Dennis. If my instincts were correct, this either means we lose Elle and their idol(s), Babs and their potential idol, and if they both play, then DENNIS goes WITH his idol. Regardless of 0 or 3 being played, an ideal scenario is playing out. It probably won’t be very complicated but there is a potential for 3 idols to be flushed or someone we wanted to go to go. If this turns to a Null vote btw, I think I’ll push for everyone to just vote Josh here as Anastasia is sketched by him and I’ll just cut my losses at this point. If this happened I’d have flushed 3 idols anyways so it’s hardly a loss. But how brilliant to have Jared’s be the only idol left in the game. Also, I’ve worked overtime diverting attention away from Jared’s idol. Everybody on this tribe now thinks Jessica had it and walked out with it in her pocket, as that’s the story I’ve created. People like Josh and Dennis are still VERY skeptical (as they should), but at least I’ve made a big enough effort to consistently plant that idea in peoples’ heads that they’re starting to believe it and roll with it. Jared telling me about his idol was the key thing in making me trust him 100% in this game, and make me prioritize him and Jay 100%. Colin has told me about his Safety without Power, and that’s why he’s just slightly behind those two. Amy and Colin are great shields. I’m aware Jared is currently playing the best game, but I still have full confidence that I am planting the seeds and driving the votes of this game. The merge boot solidified that I knew what was going on in the tribe. Dennis has become a growing issue because he makes everyone paranoid but I think he’s still with me for the time being so ideally others go first. He tells me everything (he calls it tea, but it’s really just stale leaf water because I’ve either literally created the plan or his info is wrong) but he will vote with me for the time being. But I’m also sick of him telling me who not to talk to because turns out, my instincts were correct all along and I’m gonna talk to who I wanna talk to. Easy to gather votes against him when that time comes. At this point, nobody will turn on me without me hearing from somewhere. I firmly believe my connections are strong enough that there will be a weak link who will tell me or Jared & Jay. I’ll tread carefully but I’m very happy with my game thus far and I hope you all are enjoying watching it. 

~

Dennis stop talking shit about me to Jared before I vote you out

We are voting Elle out tonight. And Brayden really wants Dennis gone. And I really don't want Elle gone but it's something that needs to happen if I want to win. But Elle will soon know that she is getting votes. So she will play the idol and there will be 2 votes on Dennis and Dennis might be going. I'm really tired so I have not thought that hard about this plan. I just hope everyone doesnt hate me.

https://youtu.be/Z4E3q31u0u4 elle pls answer my texts

I'm intentionally on the outs so I can get information in the future. We have this setup so people feel comfortable with Jodi and Jared, and if anyone wants to flip, they'll need Jay Ashdown to do it, and when they tell me about it, I get to tell Jodi and Jared and we make a move on it. I feel like tn is hands-up tribal tbh, so we're preparing for that.

Soooo I was first infected at the challenge /And/ unfortunately the tribal is uh, no advantages! Which includes my idol, sooooo eh, hands kinda tied. Interesting! If this is the end Upsetting bc i was never really chaotic which was my goal 🙃 should've let the FOOLS win shape memory in the end, huh. But also if it's end I'm kinda of fine with it 😂 I've been super busy during this ORG and tbh haven't been nearly as active as I usually am and that's on me, and I've proven I'm good at challenges so a non-social challenge threat? I'm not surprised it looks like this is the end oof :/. Don't cry for me, Argentina💃🏽✨ instead Apply To Survivor: Ingary!!! it's Howl's Moving Castle (book and movie) themed and it's gonna be so good especially if I have time to work on it again bc I'm voted out lmao 😂 so please apply ty ❤️ https://forms.gle/RAVnLE48B8cSjXdm7

https://youtu.be/MZXluiFLtqQ im so popular in this worlld

YALL. ginny vote went just as planned. purr. Told y'all it'd be just as easy as telling everyone what to do. everyone in this game is ultimately just a sheep that needs guidance. anyway moving on bc that doesn't affect much. So I'm getting really close with Dennis. I like him a lot, he's very interesting to talk to. I think he's the person I've genuinely had the most fun calling with. I love talking to Jodi but I just connect with Dennis on a deeper level I feel like. Plus I'm still reeling from the brief messiness of last round and y'all I'm boutta give myself whiplash with how much I keep flipping between duos. I wanted to try and duo with Dennis bc of our connection. but then Jodi and I talked and she explained all the messy stuff Dennis does in the game; spreading lies, throwing people under the bus, ratting people out, telling people they're being targeted. and i was like shit I'd be messy as fuck too if I was in Jodi's position and someone kept telling me things like that. So then I felt closer to Jodi. UNTIL THE IMMUNITY CHALLENGE WHEN SHE INFECTED ME sis. literally I would have WON if she hadn't done that. but we supposed to be final 2s? and she just snatching immunity from me and giving it to BRAYDEN? no ma'am. so my bitter ass likes Dennis again. but THEN BRAYDEN HAD TO PICK THE TWIST. and Brayden, Anastasia, and Jodi all wanna vote Dennis out while he can't save himself with advantages. I understand its smart. I understand that Dennis is a wildcard in this game rn. But i like him!! he's fun to talk to!! and I need a backup f2 in case Jodi doesn't work out. Jodi is getting close with Anastasia and Brayden, and I feel like the best thing to do maybe would be to weave myself closer to them as well. I need to get in more with the last two though. I'm playing this game SO emotionally and I need to manipulate that to where I'm also playing smart. so I'm gonna try and talk to Brayden and Anastasia more so I can feel okay with voting Dennis if that is what it comes to. ugh. i hate this round already.

I was feeling down in the dumps about this game because I felt like all of my relationships weren't strong enough but it's better now. Basically I called Jay we talked about how we both like Brayden and Elle and I had already talked to Brayden about Jay and Brayden wanted to be in alliance. So I asked Elle what she thought about an alliance between Jay Brayden and I and she said that she was about to propose an alliance to me tomarrow morning!! WOW IT ALL IS PERFECT. I really hope this alliance works out for the rest of the game because Elle, Jay, and Brayden are really the only ones I trust. I know I'm in an alliance with Jodi and Amy and Colin and Jared and Brayden, BUTTT I am super wary about all of those people. Jodi is trustworthy but she is kind of running that alliance and I am not about to just follow her. And Jared is pretty inactive but honestly i do trust him we just arent super super close. And Amy is perfect but she is super close with Jodi and I need to talk more game with her if I want to know where her head is at. I finally talked game with Colin 1 on 1 and he is super genuine and he is struggling with voting out Dennis because they comnected which I totally sympathize. I like Colin and he says he is straight up and truthful but I feel like he is too smart and he knows what he is doing. I feel like he would blindside me easily. Anyways bye

Dennis, you chose the wrong round to throw out my name. Actually you shouldn't have talked to Jared if you wanted me out. If you waited a round longer I probably would've saved you. 

thank GOD for alliances there's probably like 2 players that have me sussed the fuck out

Jesus there's so much. First, I'm hearing that this plan is for Dennis to leave but I do not want that to happen. He might have advantages but hes alone and hes a vote for me. Dennis has also revealed that I may not be as close with Jodi as I thought I was. According to Dennis, Colin told him that apparently I'm high up on Jodi's hit list and she's just stringing me along. Dennis told me that Jodi is in a million and one alliances and that shes the one calling all the shots and it all makes sense. I'm not sure if I can save Dennis tonight as he's trying to push the vote onto Jodi but my antennae are definitely up and I'm keeping a much closer eye on my so-called al-lie. 

well dis is probs my last confessional. jared is a puppy dog, jay is dumb. elle isnt thinking that far ahead and dat makes me sad bc i know elle is smart. im not giving anybody the satisfaction of flushing my idols so im probs giving them to colin. ive opened my eyes to a lot and its probably too late. hate jodi fei, very strange behavior which explains a lot. but shes good at this game clearly and needs to go. she has been gaslighting me and thats not cute. i dont see her going to the end and i will throw her under the bus publicly tonight. fuck these people :) ive had a fun time in this org so thank u for having me be a part of it. cant wait to say i told ya so to everyone that follows. denbagel: out

https://youtu.be/lHGgEXKrSNI

So Brayden told me that Colin mentioned my name to vote and I was like wtf. And when I heard this my blood sugar was low and I was tired so I told Elle and Jay immediately and then got super stressed. But now Im thinking I could use this to turn our alliance against him. I told Jared and he thought it was wild too so maybe I'll tell people and spread suspision and make people want Colin out.

We seriously were expecting a hands up and it didn't happen. This is gonna be short bc I have shit going down irl. So Jodi has been talking with everyone and relaying info to me and brayden and a bit himym and more me. But it's a lot and it's worrisome that she's so connected. I've actually talked with both colin and brayden about it being a lot lol. So for infection I figured everyone was voting Babs but it was 6 on elle. And then like right after brayden won jodi was talking with Dennis and was like he needs to go! And she has been suggesting it for a couple rounds. I know jodi and Colin are close and it is scaring me. Basically everyone thinks elle has two idols and Dennis has something big but I think Jodi has the endurance since she went 15 hours. Anyway everyone was like immediately sure dennis. Which has me worried bc goodbye another of phantom I guess. Like why. But here we are. And now dennis is scrambling and Colin know about fang gang (dennis me and jodi) and Colin said both jodi and dennis told him and basically I know I've been playing messy but oops caught but people are still okay with me lol I think I'm okay for now since I was like yeah I didn't really talk in there. Anyway I think I'm okay for this round. I really want to pull brayden and Colin away from jodi lol but I knew her doing the most would catch up with her and it has. Our bigger concern right now is whoever is leaking from himym. Jodi said Josh told dennis but me and brayden think it was colin tbh. Also dennis is naming alliances with me and random. People that I'm not aligned with but some that I am and omfg it just got MESSY and it's hilarious and fun and I do not expect to make f6 anymore lol

https://youtu.be/CioFI2QZeSE

~~~

Edgic:

Power Rankings:

Jodi: Jodi might as well be ruling this tribe with an iron fist. Everyone is buying what she is selling. They are all hypnotized by her mist. This round has been extremely good for Jodi as she has been getting everything that she wants and all the information people have FOR FREE. Nothing is given in exchange. It feels as if everyone is just propping up Jodi to win at this point as if she were Boston Rob on redemption island.

Jay: One of Jodi’s cronies. He’s been more active this round, and has been a huge part in Jodi’s top ranking because he’s one of those people that instantly rats to her about everything he hears. He is definitely hiding behind her too. Everyone will be looking at Jodi, but not at him. Though one has to wonder when he will distinguish himself from Jodi.

Brayden: The main person who wanted Dennis gone this whole round. He’s been trying to get Dennis out for the whole game, and his plan is finally coming to fruition. Will it actually benefit him? Hard to say. However, his immunity win and his choosing of the twist greatly worked to make his dreams a reality.

Colin: Colin is one of those players that doesn’t take the lead. He more so follows and does passive pushing for his targets. This has worked out greatly because Dennis is leaving while giving Colin two idols. Colin’s social game and ability to work with those he’s not already aligned with has worked well in his favor.  

Anastasia: Brayden’s #1. She’s sort of in the middle of things. Doesn’t have much say, but is not on the bottom either.

Jared: One of Jodi’s cronies but hasn’t been around much for the strategy talks this round. Just rats on everything to Jodi. Similar to Jay, but has less influence in this round. Seems to just be going with the flow. Directly in the middle of things.

Amy: Similar to Anastasia in that doesn’t have much say on who goes. Though she doesn’t have a solid #1 looking out for her either which puts her near the bottom. If she links up with Colin, they could be powerful.

Josh: Dangerously close to being targeted next. He’s been able to keep his head down, but he lacks awareness of what is actually going on. However, with Dennis’ last pitch he seems to know that Jodi is someone to watch out for. Hopefully his game starts blossoming.

Babs: Doesn’t have any idea what is going on nor whose an actual threat to take out. Doesn’t have any relationships outside of Colin and Jodi.

Elle: Going to be next targeted and has no idea that her new allies wanted to get her out before immunity. Is too trusting. Needs to link up with people in the bottom to take out those near the top.

Dennis: In the bottom for choosing to try and go after Jodi. Jodi found out and has worked overtime to make him into a social pariah so that no one wants to talk to nor play with him. Has been iced out by his tribe and is being blamed for things that Jodi has done. Will be a bitter juror based on how these people are treating him.

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Entertainment (Halloween) Covershoot

Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Reader (no pairing)

Word Count: 1,475

Warnings: major fluff, EW covershoot, this is adorable and fluffy, mentioned of Sam Winchester and Jessica Moore

Request by @joseyrw: Hey can I request a fluffy/funny j2m x fem!reader based off the ew photo op? Like the reader is an actress on spn or something and they're all bffs. Please and thanks:)

Author’s Note: I’m so sorry for this being out weeks late. Hate on me if you want. I just hope you like it. If you want to be a Queen, let me know and I’ll add you to the lists! 

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Tags at the bottom

“I am so excited for this cover shoot. This might be our best one yet. Halloween is my favorite time of the year.” You said to your PA, smiling at her while you sipped your coffee.

“I know! Jared and Jensen are always there and Misha is on his way.” Maria said, following you onto the set you would be using.

“Of course, Misha is always late.” You said with a giggle, taking out your phone to shoot Misha a playful text.

Way to go, Misha, always late.

Hey, Victoria needed me to do some things for her. Don’t be mean.

You’re so whipped. Just get your ass here. Everyone is waiting.

You giggled at the conversation, knowing that Misha was only messing around with you. You saw Jared and Jensen talking in their chairs, their makeup professionals doing what they do best.

“Hey short stack! You made it! Where’s Misha?” Jensen said once he saw you.

“Stuck in traffic, apparently.” You sat down at your makeup table, one of the girls rushing over to you and doing what she thought looked good on you. Since you didn’t need a lot, you were done within 5 minutes. Only then did Misha walk in the doors.

“Finally!” You teased him, throwing away your already cold coffee.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here aren’t I? What are we doing first, do you know?” Misha asked, wasting no time in getting his makeup done.

“I don’t have a clue.” You said. You barely got the words out before, who you assumed was the director, came walking onto set, a clipboard in his hand.

“Okay! Glad to know you’re all here and safe. Now, I do have clothes that the four of you need to get into and then we can begin with the group shots before we move onto the individual shots. Got it? Good, be on set in 5!” He swiftly turned around and left to his directing chair, reading over his notes.

“Wow, I wonder what outfit we’re going to get. The wardrobe people came over and handed a maroon suit to Jensen, a very nice tux to Jared, a flowery-ish printed jacket to Misha and a lace/spider-y web dress to you.

You thanked the woman who brought you the clothes and you quickly got changed. You learned to get dressed quick since working on Supernatural, you needed to change into a lot of clothes in a very short amount of time. The three men seemed to learn the same thing since they were done within a few minutes.

“Wow, Jensen, I think maroon might be your color.” You teased, giggling when he looked at himself in the mirror, fixing his hair. You saw Jared come out next and your smiled widened, seeing how fancy Jared was.

“Damn, Jared, back at it again with the sharp look.”

“Thanks, Y/N. But, hey, look at you. If I weren’t your best friend or co-worker, I would totally be hitting on you right now.” Jared said with a wink.

“I think you did all of that with Gen, right? No sense in wasting that energy on me.” You said with a smile, looking at yourself in the mirror. The dress was a deep purple and you have got to say, you looked damn good with it on. You might have to ask to keep this when you were done. Sometimes, they would let you keep some of the clothing you wore for the show.

“Yeah, good point.” Jared said with a shrug. Misha came out last, making sure his jacket was on correctly.

“Alright, now, I know all three of you look good, but come on, you’re making me look bad.” You joked, walking away from the mirror and to the set that was designed to be a graveyard.

“Stop that, you look amazing, sweetheart.” Jensen said, putting his arm around your shoulder.

“Don’t go all Dean on me, Jay. It won’t work on me.” You said with a smile.

“That’s not what Y/C/N says.” Your character has been in an on-and-off relationship with Dean, recently being back on the ‘on’ side of things.

“Okay, but that's my character. This is real life, dude.” You lightly laughed, pushing him off so the director could tell you guys what to do.

“Alright, guys, looking good! Now, here are the props you are going to use for this portion of the shoot. I’ll put some music on and you do you, and have fun.” The director said with a smile, nodding to some me off to the side. You watched as they brought you skeletons to work with.

You giggled and grabbed yours, feeling that they were made of a light metal with a foam overcoat, so that they could bend and shaped how you pleased. You looked at Jensen and saw him dancing with the skeleton.

“I found your girlfriend, Jay.” You teased. Jared laughed at this and high-fived you, earning a playful glare coming from Jensen. Some Halloween music started playing and smoke started to appear on the set, the smoke coming from those artificial smoke machines they used for concerts.

You and the three men started messing around with the skeletons, pictures being taken constantly, trying to capture you guys in the best way.

“Alright, I like what you’re doing there, Jensen and Jared, stay seating on that headstone. We’ll position the skeletons how we want them,” the director said, looking at Misha and his skeleton.

“You should give it a piggy back ride.” You joked, seeing the director smile at this.

“That’s actually not bad. Misha, do that.” Misha laughed and put the skeleton on his back, one of the crew guys helped him position it just right.

“Jared, is Sam having a nice conversation with Jessica?” You joked, seeing his face snap over to you.

“Oh, savage!” Jensen said, laughing.

“Yeah, I guess he is.” Jared said, taking one of the skeleton’s legs and hoisting it up over one of his to rest it there.

“Alright, Y/N, why don’t you [pick up the skeleton and carry it bridal style.” The director said, sitting back in his seat.

“Yeah, I can be like the lifeguards on Baywatch, pretending to save a person.” You said, bending the skeleton in the way you wanted it and picked it up, carrying it like you would a bride.

“Okay, guys, now this is going to be a ground picture so just hold still for me.” The director waited a few seconds before the camera crew started taking multiple pictures of you four at different angles. You had a ton of fun with this scene but soon, it was time for the next one.

“Oh my God! Look how cute they are!!” You gushed, picking up one of the black kittens they had brought over on set.

“Misha! They have your eyes!” You said, holding the kitten to your face, showing off her bright blue eyes. You were waiting on the director so you thought of a fun idea to do while you four waited. You walked over to Jared who held two kittens in his hands.

“Hey, let’s put them all over Jensen.” You said with a giggle. Jared nodded and he walked with you to Jensen who was fixing his hair yet again. You laughed and stood behind Jensen while Jared stood in front.

“What is going on, guys?” Jensen asked. Before you could respond, Jared put two kittens on Jensen’s shoulders and you put one on top of his head. They all meowed, afraid of dropping but you wouldn’t let that happen at all.

“Awww, look at Jensen all covered in kittens.” You stood next to him and Jared took the other side, smiling as he watched the kittens try and stay on Jensen. It wasn’t too hard since his shoulders were very wide and the kittens were very small.

“Make sure they don’t fall.” Jensen said, feeling the cat on top of his head start to slip a little. He chuckled when the kitten put on of her paws on his face to keep herself on there. You reached up and took her off Jensen’s head, giving her to Jensen to hold.

“Great! Stay like that! Misha, come in and get next to Y/N.” The director said once he came into the room and saw the kittens all over Jensen. Misha took his place next to you and the camera crew snapped a few pictures. Some of them were serious but others were playful and smiles.

The rest of the day was spent having fun with one another, taking different pictures with different props and teasing one another with the props that came from the show. You loved your job and you loved the crew you worked with. They were family and you didn’t want it any other way.

The Queens:

@maddieburcham1 @ginamsmith  @mogaruke @whit85-blog @inlovewithbja @spn67-sister @kdfrqqg @jarpadandjensenaremyheroes @roxyspearing @supercalifragilistic26 @mishamigose @cobrakai1967  @essie1876 @wishedworld @crispychrissy @laqueus-ludovicus @nostalgic-uncertainty @jerk-bitch-and-an-angel @potterhead1265 @starswirlblitz @untitled39887 @ta-n-ja @deans-fallen-angel-boy @scarletluvscas @notnaturalanahi @tahbehonest @stay-in--place @dreaminofdean @posiemax @donnaintx @mikey1822 @alexandriajanae4 @li-ssu @just-another-winchester @obsessivecompulsivespn @emoryhemsworth @newtospnfandom @mizzezm @goldenolaf25 @jessikared97

@thing-you-do-with-that-thing

[norxhwrites]

I’ M  L O O K I N G for long term partners! People who are interested in: multiple threads, ooc/IM chats, memes, multiple characters/pairings, tagging each other in ship inspo, playing a variety of characters/plots/relationships! I want angst, and drama and love, I want to be able to say “hey, this isn’t working, you wanna try something new?” without fearing that the other person will take it personally. I want to enjoy roleplaying and writing and interacting with others. If any (or all) of this interests you in any way, please like this/send me an IM/or tag me in a random starter! Roleplaying is supposed to be fun and I seriously want that to be the case! I’m not looking for commitment, I’m looking for someone to have fun with, someone who loves writing as much as I do! I’m a very laid back, accepting person and I’m always looking for friend and roleplay partners!

In conclusion, below the cut you will find my roleplay masterlist. It contains three lists of: Wanted Opposites, Wanted Fcs, and Wanted Plots. If any of these fcs or plots interest you either: Message me, heart this, or write a starter and I’ll reply to it!  Also, please  take a look at these links for inspiration, information and more!: | plots | open starters | rules | | Fandoms |

So, I know that face claims aren’t everything, and that looks don’t make a character, but these are some faces I’d like to play opposite of. These are some of my favorite faces, and I’d just really like to play against them. (bold are those I really want to play against!)

*are ones who I’d like to play against within a fandom (message me for the fandom!)

Jon Bernthal

Jason Momoa

Charlie Weber

Ben Barnes

DJ Cotrona

Charlie Hunnam*

Jessica Sula

Skeet Ulrich*

Troian Bellisario

Shay Mitchell

Monica Raymund

Jon Seda

Chloe Bennet

Shemar Moore

Jesse Lee Soffer

Alicia Vikander

Priyanka Chopra

Crystal Reed

Jeffrey Dean Morgan*

Willa Holland

Arden Cho

Ricky Whittle

Dacre Montgomery*

Margot Robbie

Theo James

Katheryn Winnick

Faces I’d like to play/test out! I love creating new characters, and these faces are some of the ones I’d like to try when creating a new character. (They will become test characters, and if I like them, I’ll add them to my muse page!)

Ana De Armas

Shelley Hennig

Caity Lotz

Monica Raymund

Gabriella Wilde

Shailene Woodley

Naomi Scott

Lindsey Morgan

Leah Pipes

Chyler Leigh

Rachelle Lefevre

Tina Desai

Emily Browning

Alicia Vikander

Diane Guerrero

Hayley Kiyoko

Maisie Richardson Sellers

Sophia Bush

Meaghan Rath

Gina Rodriguez

Vanessa Morgan

Ginny Gardner

Emilia Clarke

Jessica Chastain

Brianna Hildebrand

Danielle Campbell

Taylor Kinney

Jai Courtney

Hayden Christensen

Aaron Taylor Johnson

Tom Hiddleston

amadeus serafini

Mike Vogel

Taron Egerton

Shiloh Fernandez

Charles Melton

Ewan Mcgregor

Ben Barnes

Richard Madden

Tom Maden

Max Riemelt

Jesse Williams

Charlie Weber

Boyd Holbrook

Nick Gehlfuss

William Moseley

Aaron Tveit

Manish Dayal

Now, these are some storylines I’ve written and would love to try out! (though some of them I’ve lost muse for!) Some of these are based off of tv shows, movies, books, etc.

Behaving Badly -

[ Muse A ] never stood a chance. Even though they grew up in a decent household, they were always drawn to things they shouldn’t have been, and people who they should have stayed away from. Bad choice after bad choice led [ Muse A ] into a spiral of uncontrollable destruction. They seemed to destroy everything they touched, including their relationship with their family, their ability to have a career, or find love. Until [ Muse B ] came into the picture. Attracted to danger as much as [ Muse A ], [ Muse B ] was equally as screwed up, and just as good at being bad. After months, or even years on the road, stealing and cheating their way through the country, [ Muse A ] realizes that perhaps [ Muse B ] was better at being bad then they were, so much in that they they’ve begin to wonder exactly what they’ve gotten themselves into. [ Muse A ] misses their family, and wonders if they’re able to go back and start over. [ Muse B ]’s only family is their partner in crime, and they’ll do anything to make sure they stay together. Can this modern day Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde and Clyde/Bonnie and Bonnie) give up their wicked ways? or will they continue their bad behavior?

Come Back Home -

[ Muse A ] is married to a member of the Military. They’re a loyal spouse who’s done everything they can to support [ Muse B ], though things have changed. They aren’t the love struck teenagers they were when they got married right out of high school. They’re different, [ Muse A ] is lonely, and [ Muse B ] finds it difficult to talk about the things they’ve seen and done. They’ve done everything they can to make things work and things don’t look like they’re every going to change. But when [ Muse B ] is medically discharged from the their Unit, [ Muse A ] looks at it like a second chance for them to get things right. [ Muse B ] is still haunted by their past, and [ Muse A ] is still unsure of how to help, but maybe their lives can get better?

Wrong Side of the Tracks -

In a town were deep prejudice divides their residents, [ Muse A ] is the perfect child of the towns Sheriff/Mayor etc. They’ve always been the type to make their parents proud and do exactly what they’re told. [ Muse B ] is bad news, or at least everyone says so. Accused of a horrific crimes and basically driven out of town, [ Muse B ] has returned after a few years, and the rumor mill begins again. When [ Muse B ] meets [ Muse A ], they click instantly. [ Muse A ] is curious, and wants to know if the rumors are true, and [ Muse B ] sees [ Muse A ] as a pure light among all of the terrible people that live in their town. But when a student from the nearby college goes missing, all fingers point to [ Muse B ]. [ Muse A ] knows that [ Muse B ] couldn’t have done anything wrong, and wants to prove their innocence. [ Muse B ] refuses to allow [ Muse A ] to get involved, and begins to push them away. [ Muse A ] begins to do their best to find out what really happened, but instead finds a web of lies that tie into the towns Authorities, and a cover up of the crime [ Muse B ] was accused of years ago.

The End -

[ Muse A ] has given them a chance. Over and over again they’ve tried to see past all of the lying and cheating, but [ Muse B ] just doesn’t seem to want to change. They don’t seem to see the wrong in their actions, and no matter how hard [ Muse A ] tries to work things out, there’s only so much a single person can do. So this is it, the end. [ Muse A ] is ready to walk out the door and never look back. Unfortunately, [ Muse B ] finally believes it, and can’t bare the thought. So, [ Muse A ] has given one more chance. One. [ Muse B ] must prove to them that they’ve changed and that everything is going to be better, or [ Muse A ] is gone.

California Dreaming -

[ Muse A ] is living the California Dream. Surfing all afternoon, partying all night, sleeping all morning and repeat, nothing can make this dream any better. Until they meet [ Muse B ]. [ Muse B ] fits perfectly into [ Muse A ]’s laid back, carefree lifestyle and the two fall for each other very quickly. As the two get to know each other, [ Muse A ] realizes they don’t know  [ Muse B ] as much as they thought. [ Muse B ] is involved in some very shady, very illegal things, that don’t exactly fit into [ Muse A ]’s lifestyle. Dragged into a world of drugs, violence, and sex, [ Muse A ]’s life is turned upside down when they get caught up in an investigation into [ Muse B ] and the people they work with. They California Dream turns into a nightmare, and the only way out is to leave that world behind, but can they without getting dragged back in by their feelings for [ Muse B ]?

Defiance | 1940s Setting |-

[Muse A] is a Jewish person living in early 1940s Belarus. German Nazis have ordered the execution of all Jewish people living in the ghettos. [Muse A] witnesses the murder of their family before they flee to the Naliboki Forest, a large rural landscape covering a large portion of Belarus. That is where [Muse A] meets [Muse B], another Jewish escapee fleeing from the Nazi soldiers. The two set up camp along with multiple other Jewish men, women and children fleeing Nazi controlled areas. They begin stealing from local farms, hunting, and moving their camp in order to stay alive. As winter approaches, the group must learn to survive sickness, starvation, and perhaps even betrayal as the Nazi soldiers begin to close in on the camp’s location. Getting caught is not an option, it means death for the entire group.

A Summer Affair  -

[ Muse A ] and [ Muse B ] are from two different worlds, yet they found themselves vacationing at the same place for a couple of weeks during the summer. After weeks of hot, passionate romance the two say goodbye in order to get back to their normal, boring lives and normal, boring jobs. [ Muse A ] is a recent college graduate who’s in need of a job. [ Muse B ] is the CEO of a huge company and is in need of an assistant. Not knowing [ Muse B ] runs the company, [ Muse A ] applies for the job. [ Muse B ] is now [ Muse A ]’s boss, not to mention they have a life that [ Muse A ] wasn’t told about during their summer fling. Now, [ Muse A ] must do all they can to keep the job they desperately need, while juggling feelings for their boss, keeping the secret of their summer affair from their coworkers, and deciding if they want to rekindle the spark between them and [Muse B].

You Mind as Well Go to Hell -

If you don’t go to church, then you mind as well go to hell. That is the policy in the [ Muse A’s ] House. Of course, you tell a teenager one thing and they do the opposite. [ Muse A ] is the Pastor’s pride and joy, of course they wouldn’t be if they knew the kind of stuff their child did in their free time. Finally [ Muse A ] decide to get out. They climb into a van and head west to California. Except it isn’t at all what they expected. Getting to Cali was hard enough, but making it in Cali could break this sweet kid from the south. Did they just enter the world of their dreams, or did they go from singing in the church choir, to the Hell they were taught to be terrified of? Then comes [ Muse B ]. Street smart, headstrong, wise beyond their years, [ Muse B ] knows their way around California’s underground. With [ Muse B ] as their guide, [ Muse A ] begins to navigate through the streets of California, hoping to find the life they dreamed of back home in Alabama.

Something’s gotta Give -

Growing up, they only had themselves. Living in a world fueled by violence, family doesn’t always mean safety. For the [ Muse A ], family wasn’t something they believed in, being foster children half their lives, and the child of terrible parents the other half. They believed in evil people, hard times, and the fact that someone’s always got an angle when it comes to lending a helping hand. No one is inherently good. Finally, [ Muse A] has turned 18, making them free from the foster care system. Criminal record half a mile long, [ Muse A ] must find a way to make it in the big world. Enters [ Muse B ]. Successful, hardworking, seemingly perfect. [ Muse A ] and [ Muse B ] meet by chance, this chance encounter turns into more as the two begin to see each other. What happens when [ muse B ] finds out about [ Muse A’s ] past? Will it ruin the best thing that has happened to [ Muse A ] in a long time? Or will they finally be able to move past the dark things that have followed them their entire life?

Wicked Attraction | 1920-1940s Setting | -

[Muse A] was always considered to be perfect. They graduated at the top of their class, have a great job, but they’ve always felt like something was missing. [Muse B] was always the same way, though beneath the prefect was a secret. A wicked secret. [Muse B] is part of an underground world of drugs and violence. What happens when [Muse A] and [Muse B] meet and [Muse B]introduces [Muse A] to an underground world of sex, drugs, and violence? Is this what [Muse A]’s always been missing? Can they escape this Wicked Attraction?

Welcome Home -

[Muse A] seemed like the perfect child, good grades, good family, good friends. Everything about except when it came to their feelings for [Muse B]. [Muse B] was too old and too damaged to be involved with someone like [Muse A], but it didn’t stop them from falling for each other. [Muse A] left their infectious little town, leaving all of the bad (including Muse B), behind them. Years later, they return, only to find that [Muse B] never got out. Will their old flame rekindle? Or will [Muse A] realize that[Muse B] is all wrong for them?

On The Road Again -

[ Muse A ] has always been a drifter, never staying in one place, feeling as though the only place they belonged was on the road. [ Muse B ] has always been the conservative type, the type to go to school, get a boring job. One day, [ Muse A ] was passing through the town that [ Muse B ] lived in. They meet, and [ Muse A ] begins to think they may have found a place where they might actually be able to call home. The two begin a relationship based on all the lies [ Muse A ] had to tell in order to keep their past a secret. But [ Muse A ]’s past begins to catch up with them, will they be able to face it, or will they have to run away again?

How You Remind Me -

[ Muse A ] and [ Muse B ] had been dating off and on for years. Breakups, make ups, harsh words, drug/alcohol fueled nights, and flying fists. Unhealthy is the only way to describe their relationship. Loving each other was the easiest and hardest thing they had ever done. Finally unable to take it anymore, [ Muse A ] left in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. With their lover gone, [ Muse B ] fell into an even deeper hole of drugs and violence. Years later, [ Muse A ] has cleaned up their life, gotten a good job, and made a difference in the lives of others. [ Muse B ] is still stuck in a life of one night stands, but they’ve gotten themselves clean from drugs and alcohol. The two meet unexpectedly, and see how different each other have become. This chance encounter turns into another, than another, but [ Muse A ] is unsure of whether or not they want to get themselves caught back up in that world. For [ Muse B ], seeing [ Muse A ] reminds them of all the terrible things they had done in their past. Being reminded of all they had done, [ Muse B ] decides to they need to show [ Muse A ] they’ve changed for good.  

Teacher, Teacher. -

[Muse A] is a college Professor. All of their students love them, both because they’re physically attractive and a very good professor , who has little trouble with connecting with students. [Muse B] is a student college that [Muse A] a teaches at. They’ve always been an average/above average student, but for some personal reason, they’ve been having a lot of trouble in the class that [Muse A] teaches. So, in a last effort to get their grade up before the end of the term, [Muse B] has been staying after class to get extra help. The only problem is, they’ve slowly found themselves having feelings for each other beyond the normal professor/student relationship.

Almost Stepparent -

For as long as [Muse A] could remember, it had been only them and their single parent. Their parent had dated and brought home every type of person imaginable, but this one was different. This one was [Muse B]. [Muse B] is everything [Muse A] is looking for in a partner, not to mention at least a decade younger than their parent. What happens when [Muse A] finally realizes they have feelings for [Muse B], their parent’s partner. [Muse B] has feelings for [Muse A], feelings well beyond what is appropriate to feel towards the child of your partner. What happens when the two are left alone for a week while [Muse A’s] parent is out taking care of a sick family member?

Now these are plots that I DIDN’T write but would still like to try! (All gender roles are changeable!) Italics are preferred!

i want a plot where a guy goes on a roadtrip just wandering around the state trying to find meaning of life with his big ass doggo and one day he comes to diner where this shy young woman works and like her boss is always yelling at her and she has an asshole boyfriend and her father’s an alcoholic,  and this guy he is the first man who ever treated her nicely and he just asks her completely out of the blue if she doesn’t want to leave with him and she’s like “why not?” so she takes all of her things and leaves with him. Pleaseee!

i really, really want a plot where muse a is a naive, sweet, romantic, whimsical little thing with a whole lot of optimism and sunshine in their veins and muse b is the complete opposite; a total player who has someone new in their bed every weekend and hates responsibilities and just spends a lot of their time fucking around. somehow these two have been friends for a while, despite their differing personalities, and one day muse a ends up having to move out of their apartment due to a fire or an infestation or something and muse b is the one who offers to put them up for the time being. it’s all well and good except muse a has terrible nightmares constantly and one night muse b is sick and tired of it (and deep down a little concerned) so gets into bed with muse a until they stop crying and shaking and fall asleep in muse b’s arms instead. cue awkward muses sleeping in the same bed every night and it actually helping muse a a lot with the nightmares, and lots of cuddling and feelings ensue. muse b, being the player they are, are terrified of the idea of liking someone but muse a is pretty much already head over heels and ANGST !!

ok but someone give me that cute bartender storyline though? like this guy tends bar at a restaurant or a pub or something and always sees this cute girl hanging out there, but she’s always either with friends or with some guy so he never really gets the time to talk to her BUT ONE DAY she walks into the place alone and orders so many drinks until she’s so bloody drunk, screaming about how her boyfriend cheated on her, that the bartender had to bring her home himself. she wakes up with a horrible hangover, stumbles out the room to find the bartender cooking breakfast and rolling his eyes, laughing. “first of all, you’re an idiot. second, we didn’t have sex if that’s what you’re wondering. third, breakfast will be ready soon. sit.” and fluff commences HELP PLZ

muse a is a new single father, a teenager at that living in an apartment complex with his newborn. it’s one of those apartment complexes in new york city, where everyone kind of keeps to themselves. muse b lives on his floor and has heard this newborn baby crying at ungodly hours, distracting her from her cramming for midterms. she had complained to the landlord about it and one night, she hears the baby crying again. stepping outside in a fit of rage, muse b is about to yell at whoever is the parent to this bastard child until she spots muse a, pacing the hallway with the child in his arms, his hair disheveled and his eyes giving away the sleep he’s been lacking. she feels sympathy instantly; she had no idea muse a lived on her floor, much less was he the father of this child. so, at 3 in the morning, muse b offers to help muse a get the baby back to sleep. and muse b becomes some sort of baby whisperer to muse a, and he continues to go to her for help and they start to dig each other and this is just so cute please

someone give me a plot where muse a was arrested in high school due to drug dealing and was sentenced to ten years — except he’s let out a couple of years early due to good behavior. with no car, his feet take him to the one place he never thought he’d set foot again in a lifetime. his ex-high school sweetheart, muse b. except, when the door opens, it’s not her. it’s a seven year old little girl with her mom’s hair and her dad’s eyes.

a plot where muse a just needs to get away from everything so she packs up everything into her small shitty car that barley runs and just drives. she loses count of the boarders she crossed until she lands right into the middle of a small town where the population is like 2 thousand and her car breaks down. so she goes into a diner that she sees is open and she asks about a mechanic so the lady in the diner calls up her friend who happens to be muse b, the local mechanic. so muse bcomes over and tells her that he wont be able to check her car out until morning bc its like 10 pm now so muse a is going to check into a motel or smth but muse b offers to put her up for the night and bc shes broke she says yeah and basically they end up banging with the intention that after tomorrow they are never gonna see each other again - wrong. muse b goes down to his shop and looks at the engine and a really important parts gone in it and its going to take a couple weeks for it to come in and basically muse a has to stay in this shitty small town for the next couple of weeks AND THEY FALL FOR EACH OTHER AND WE CAN FIGURE THE REST OUT!

ok but a plot based on (not) the one by bebe rexha though. like muse a is a serial lover and has a different lover each week but then muse b happens. andthey end up in the same bed more often than usual. but muse a knows it’s not a good idea because they fear they’ll end up moving on and breaking muse b’s heart, which is when they realize they care for them. so even if they want to stop it there, they can’t because they are themself, unconsciously, falling for muse b.

Note: If I don’t continue to reply to you after the first couple of replies it normally means: 1) I’ve lost muse. which I tend to do quickly if I’m not interested. 2) I don’t think we’re compatible writers and I don’t ant to hurt your feelings by telling you so. 3) My notifications are acting up and I haven’t seen that you replied (which I normally catch on to pretty quickly.). Don’t take any of this personally, I just tend to be super picky sometimes. Feel free to message me if you’d like to know why I’ve stopped reply/would like to remind me that we have a thread!

[eelgibbortech-blog]

Why Understanding Pain Is the Key to Customer-Centric Marketing

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When you’re upset, those closest to you can see it in your eyes, your posture, perhaps even your appearance. They’ll ask those two magic words—“What’s wrong?”—and then you’ll launch into a play-by-play dialogue of work drama about how Doug was rude to you, where Divya was sitting in relation to you at the conference table, and why you’re never going back to that office again (until tomorrow).

These are fundamentally human qualities: We like to be heard. We want to be understood. We seek a release from our pain.

There’s a lesson here for marketers. For a brand to truly provide a helpful solution, customers must have a pain point for you to address. With that pain point comes actual pain—whether frustration, anxiety, stress, confusion, embarrassment, or any other negative emotions.

Your goal, as a customer-obsessed marketer, should be not only to fix the pain point but to provide an antidote for the pain itself. As Spotify CMO Seth Farbman says in Josh Steimle’s excellent book Chief Marketing Officers at Work, “What we’re seeing when you release people from even small bits of anxiety or potential for regret or remorse is this explosion of this sense of freedom, and that freedom leads to a sense of empowerment, joy, and curiosity.”

In my last column, I made the case that the three stages of being an empathic marketer are not so different from those of being an empathic friend: Ask what’s wrong, show that you understand, and then suggest solutions.

In this column, I’m going to go explore how to use those questions in a way that helps both you and your customers. We often fail to even ask “What’s wrong?” because we think we know the answer already, which can get in the way of empathy. But luckily, as Harvard Medical School psychiatrist Dr. Helen Riess has found, empathy can be a learned behavior, and some of the following steps may help you train your brain to communicate better.

Go one-on-one

If you’re reading articles like this, you’ve probably done some research to better understand your customer. Maybe you reviewed existing buyer personas and journey maps, or created your own from scratch. Good on you in either case; these are foundational parts of your strategy.

But I also believe that these aggregations of human behavior can take away from our empathy. In one study, psychology researchers at Israel’s Ben Gurion University gave participants photos of eight children, only with names and ages, and asked how much money they’d give to save these kids’ lives. Participants were then shown just one child, told that kid’s unique personal story, and asked the same questions. On average, people gave twice as much to the individual child as they did to the eight kids grouped together.

Maybe marketers would benefit by paying more attention to the individual challenges of customers in order to trigger our emotions. As those psychologists discovered, an “identified victim”—their words for the one child—gives us more cause to open our hearts and our wallets.

Given the Ben Gurion study, you might want to systematize one-on-one interviews of prospects and customers. You could hire a journalist (hey, I know plenty!) to record an interview and ask below-the-surface questions about their buying process. Play it back for all the key people on your team to hear. That way you keep everybody focused on the customer’s need.

Put emotion on your map

At Monster, we’ve recently created new customer journey maps on both the B2B and B2C sides of the house.

On one side, the agency we worked with cleverly used emojis to identify the feelings customers felt at each stage. On the other, Caleb Brown, a journey mapping consultant who is also a professional cartoonist and a terrific moderator, helped us define the journey in terms of what he called “emotional valence.” He drew out a kind of musical staff and asked us to come up with words ranging from the most positive emotion our consumer might experience to the most negative. This exercise forced us to view the buyer’s experience through a lens of empathy.

Is emotion a part of your customer journey maps? If not, consider adding it. Take special care in defining the emotion, though: Instead of just writing sad, think about whether the customer is distressed or dejected or disappointed. Be specific. Go back to customer interviews to find the words people used.

Once you’ve named the pain, also map the opposite emotion (e.g. from “embarrassed” to “confident”) since that should be your north star.

So, if you’re that company Thinx that was barraging the NYC subway with advertising for period-proof underwear, your customer is embarrassed about leaks, and you know you want them to feel secure to do everyday activities (like whatever this woman is doing in the image above). Regardless of how you feel about the product, the messaging is not only memorable but emotionally on point as well.

Seek out complaints

Humans suffer from the unfortunate condition known as confirmation bias, when we seek out information that supports existing beliefs. Meanwhile, we also avoid information that challenges those beliefs, since as Jay Baer notes in an article on Adweek, our “bodies produce more cortisol [a.k.a. the stress hormone] anytime we encounter fear, rejection, or criticism.”

According to a 2017 survey by Clutch, only 10 percent of companies say “understanding customer sentiment” is a primary objective of their social listening strategies, yet this is a very useful way to get actionable insights. Instead of getting caught in an echo chamber of our biased perceptions, we have to force ourselves to have regular exposure to negative feedback.

You can learn a lot about your customers based on what they say to their friends over social media.

One low-cost way to do this: Send your social media team on a mission to gather complaints related to your products and major keywords. Focus groups are great and all, but participants may be eager to make moderators happy. The internet frees people of social convention, for better or worse. (See: Godwin’s Law.) You can learn a lot about your customers based on what they say to their friends over social media.

Poll throughout the process

If you want to know how someone feels, there’s no better way than to ask. Whenever we greet friends, the first thing we do is ask how they’re doing. But when it comes to our customers, we typically only ask how they feel at two points in the buying cycle:

In our initial research stage, when the question is conditional (e.g. “Would you buy this product?)

Following a purchase, with the question framed in past tense (e.g. “How was this experience?”)

But a buyer’s journey is not just two points. (It’s called a journey for a reason.) So another way to listen to your customers is by soliciting feedback during the middle of the process.

Setting up a one-question survey on the product page is an easy way to address this. It could reveal buyer motivations, challenges, and other insights. For example, you could ask: “Help us serve you better: Did you understand the benefits of X after reading this page?” You could also pair the poll with a discount for the next purchase.

If you’re worried that the survey would disrupt the flow of purchase, take a look at a study conducted by marketing professors Utpal Dholakia of Rice and Vicki Morowitz of NYU Stern. Using a pool 2,000 customers from a financial services company, the researchers gave half of the participants a brief customer satisfaction poll. The other half acted as the control group. A year later, the researchers reported that “the customers we surveyed were more than three times as likely to have opened new accounts, were less than half as likely to have defected, and were more profitable than the customers who hadn’t been surveyed.”

Steer into the pain

In some fields, empathic listening is a required skill. Props to reader Jessica Schimm for pointing me to a beautiful piece on Medium by a woman named Lily Benson, who recounts her experiences volunteering for a suicide prevention hotline—work that requires an immense amount of emotional generosity.

What I especially loved about this piece was her explanation of something she learned in training called “steering into the pain”:

I already knew, though didn’t (and don’t) always faithfully practice, the basics of how to listen well: being present, validating, asking questions, and sometimes the hardest part, not trying to fix things. Steering into the pain goes a step farther — when someone is telling you about something that hurts, not only do you stay there with them, and not minimize it or change the subject or talk around it or try to compare it to something or find a way to make it better, you stay there with them, and you go in deeper. You ask questions. Like: what’s the hardest part? What do you miss about him?

She goes on to talk about how this conversation becomes a release. People no longer felt alone with their suffering. As Benson writes, “Pain is this isolating thing, something that feels like it separates you. But it’s also one of the things that you share with every other human on earth. It can be an opening for intimacy, and for connecting with the shared humanity of the people around you.”

While I want to point out there’s a clear distinction between something as serious as saving a life and something as trivial as selling a product, I do think Benson is offering a universal lesson here about empathy and listening. You want to make people feel like they aren’t alone, and drive your inquiry directly (but gently) into their pain. I’d bet that Jeffrey Slater, Chief Listening Officer at The Marketing Sage, would agree with this idea—he has written that a core attribute of the empathic marketer is to “ask penetrating and respectful questions that dig deeply into the psyche of their audience.”

You want to make people feel like they aren’t alone.

Scientific research supports Benson and Slater. The leadership consultancy Zenger/Folkman studied 3,492 people in a management training program, pulling out the top 5 percent of people perceived to be the most effective listeners to find out what they were doing differently. These top listeners weren’t just nodding along silently; they were asking questions that “promote discovery and insight.”

If you have a sales process with a lot of touchpoints, look for opportunities to guide your customers deeper into self-inquiry. I bet you’ll find they want to talk and will welcome the empathetic ear. If they don’t, they might not have enough pain to require a solution—and you may want to think about getting a different job. (Ahem, Monster.)

Here’s the best news: Even if you don’t have the bandwidth to implement these takeaways at the moment, simply reading this piece may have made you more empathetic. According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, just believing that empathy is a learnable skill often leads to more positive feelings for those who hold conflicting views from us, people who are suffering, and people who are different.

Margaret Magnarelli is the senior director of marketing and managing editor for content at Monster. This is the second column in her series on empathic marketing. You can read the first one here. Part three will be published on The Content Strategist next Friday.

Image by iStockphoto

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[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1167

Monday, June 19, 2017

 Time. Constantly moving forward no matter what. There comes a point in one's life when you notice the passage of time. For me it started with people I know getting married. Then it was seeing them having children of their own. It seemed like all of a sudden I was attending funerals. I started retailing comic books in 1980 feeling like the luckiest nerd in the world and I'm still doing it part time thanks to Heather at Comet Comics and my partner Chris at Jee-Riz Comics & Appraisals. I believe it helps to keep me young. I think I'll have my ashes bagged and boarded with my lucky headband after I've shuffled off this mortal coil.

 Action Comics #981 - Dan Jurgens (writer) Jack Herbert (art) Hi-Fi (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). The Superman Revenge Squad recruits their latest member and this megalomaniac will pose the biggest threat to the Man of Steel in a while. Not a good time for Superman to suffer from an unexpected handicap. He's going to need a little help from his friends now and Dan gives us hints as to who they are throughout this issue.

 Weapon X #4 - Greg Pak (writer) Greg Land (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Well the gang's all here plus the Totally Awesome Hulk. The surprise reveal of the villain just made me go meh.

 Jimmy's Bastards #1 - Garth Ennis (writer) Russ Braun (art) John Kalisz (colours) Rob Steen (letters). The title of this new book made me wonder what it was about because it seemed to be a James Bond 007 parody with the patented over the top Garth Ennis sex and violence that we came to know and love in The Boys. Turns out that Jimmy, the MI6 super spy, has sired enough illegitimate children that they have gathered together for a big family reunion. Boy, do these kids have daddy issues.

 Defenders #1 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) David Marquez (art) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I suppose that this is the comic book version of the upcoming Netflix TV show because it reads like a first episode where all the major characters are introduced. Well, the heroes at least. I don't know if the villains in here will show up on the show. I have yet to watch the second season of Daredevil, Luke Cage or Iron Fist but I am familiar with them and Jessica Jones so there's no need for me to binge the TV shows to get into what's going on in this comic book. A bad guy attacks the four friends and has a secret weapon which seems to give him a huge advantage. Who needs the Fantastic Four when you've got these guys?

 Dark Days: The Forge #1 - Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV (writers) Jim Lee, Andy Kubert & John Romita Jr. (pencils) Scott Williams, Klaus Janson & Danny Miki (inks) Alex Sinclair with Jeremiah Skipper (colours) Steve Wands (letters). This is the start of DC's big crossover event for 2017. It all revolves around a mysterious metal of alien origin from near the dawn of time. Carter Hall/Hawkman starts things off but most of this is in the hands of Batman. The most interesting aspect of this mystery is the appearance of a villain who we haven't seen on the racks in a while. I'm more interested in another character that hasn't been around who will add some levity do these grim proceedings. He's the main reason that I'll be checking out this new crisis.

 Briggs Land: Lone Wolves #1 - Brian Wood (writer) Mack Chater (art) Lee Loughridge (colours) Nate Piekos (letters). The family of antigovernment secessionists is back on the racks and they are in a whole new mess of trouble. Two lost hikers are found trespassing and the bad guys decide to do something stupid. I find the politics in this series very interesting.

 Kingpin #5 - Matthew Rosenberg (writer) Ben Torres (art) Jordan Boyd (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). If you thought you were going to get more insight into the life of Wilson Fisk by reading this mini you will be disappointed. This focused more on the reporter Sarah Dewey whose life isn't even as interesting as Ben Urich's.

 Wonder Woman #14 - Greg Rucka (writer) Bilquis Evely (art) Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colours) Jodi Wynne (letters). This epilogue to "Godwatch" wraps up Doctor Cale's futile attempt to rescue her daughter and seals the fate of the Cheetah. I've grown annoyed with the alternating past and present storylines with each issue hitting the racks so unless the next present story is really good I will bench this book.

 American Gods #4 - Neil Gaiman (writer) P. Craig Russell (script & layouts) Scott Hampton (art) Rick Parker (letters). I read the novel recently and it's interesting to see how the art is being interpreted. There is a side story about pixies in the book that Colleen Doran does the writing and art for in this issue. If you like Colleen's work here please give "A Distant Soil" a look see.

 All-New Wolverine #21 - Tom Taylor (writer) Leonard Kirk (pencils) Cory Hamscher & Terry Pallot (inks) Michael Garland (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The end of "Immune" could be the end of Laura. I think Tom handled Deadpool's appearance well. I would read Deadpool if Tom wrote it.

 Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps #22 - Robert Venditti (writer) Ethan Van Sciver (art) Jason Wright (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). Part 1 of "Fracture" starts off showing us a planet that's a big bank in a comic book about an intergalactic police force. You just know it's going to get robbed. The space pirates are just a way of introducing the mystery that will tear the Lanterns apart if I read the title of this story right. Ethan's art is the reason that I keep reading this book. I do consider benching it when another artist is drawing it.

 Betty & Veronica #3 - Adam Hughes (story & art) Jose Villarrubia (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). There's a really great twist that ends this story about a feud between B&V. Now I wish Adam would do a Josie and the Pussycats story.

 Uncanny Avengers #24 - Jim Zub (writer) Kim Jacinto (art) Tamra Bonvillain (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). I debated whether I was going to continue reading this title after artist Pepe Larraz finished his run but decided to give new writer Jim a shot because I like this team. He did a good job of showing these heroes in action for this Secret Empire tie-in and Kim's art is quite nice. I think I'll stick around for a bit.

 Detective Comics #958 - James Tynion IV (writer) Alvaro Martinez (pencils) Raul Fernandez (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Sal Cipriano (letters). Part 1 of "Intelligence" starts a new story centered around team member Azrael. James piqued my curiosity by hinting at a mysterious female guest star and when I got to the last page reveal I was very pleased. Alvaro may not be as eye pleasing as Adam Hughes but he did a good job drawing her. I am going to read the rest of this story just to see her in action. The scene with Cassandra reciting Shakespeare was cute.

 Ms. Marvel #19 - G. Willow Wilson (writer) Marco Failla (art) Ian Herring (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The 4-part "Mecca" starts here. The subject matter is apropos of the current immigration climate in the USA right now. I like to think that comic book fandom is well informed and open minded so I hope that Willow's views are generally supported and there aren't too many negative reactions to this story.

 Star Wars #32 - Jason Aaron (writer) Salvador Larroca (art) Edgar Delgado (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Uh-oh, some of the good guys change sides in part 4 of "Screaming Citadel". This should have been a Doctor Aphra book because she plays a big part in the adventure.

 Hulk #7 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) George Duarte (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). New artist George Duarte does an excellent job. I am still enjoying watching Jennifer work through her trauma. She Hulks out but only to blow off some steam. The surprise visit from a friend was nice. If the last page is any indication, there is going to be plenty of smashing next issue.

[norxhwrites]

Below the cut you will find my roleplay masterlist. It contains three lists of: Wanted Opposites, Wanted Fcs, and Wanted Plots. If any of these fcs or plots interest you either: Message me, heart this, or write a starter and I’ll reply to it!

Below the cut you will find my roleplay masterlist. It contains three lists of: Wanted Opposites, Wanted Fcs, and Wanted Plots. If any of these fcs or plots interest you either: Message me, heart this, or write a starter and I’ll reply to it!

So, I know that face claims aren’t everything, and that looks don’t make a character, but these are some faces I’d like to play opposite of.

Jon Bernthal

Jason Momoa

Charlie Weber

Ben Barnes

DJ Cotrona

Charlie Hunnam

Jessica Sula

Skeet Ulrich

Troian Bellisario

Shay Mitchell

Monica Raymund

Jon Seda

Chloe Bennet

Michael Ealy

Jesse Williams

Shemar Moore

Jesse Lee Soffer

Alicia Vikander

Priyanka Chopra

Crystal Reed

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Willa Holland

Arden Cho

Ricky Whittle

Dacre Montgomery

Margot Robbie

Theo James

Katheryn Winnick

Faces I’d like to play/test out! (They will become test characters, and if I like them, I’ll add them to my muse page!)

Female

Ana De Armas

Shelley Hennig

Caity Lotz

Monica Raymund

Charlotte Spencer

Alexandra Park

Gabriella Wilde

Shailene Woodley

Naomi Scott

Lindsey Morgan

Leah Pipes

Chyler Leigh

Leighton Meester

Rachelle Lefevre

Torrey Devitto

Tina Desai

Emily Browning

Jamie Clayton

Alicia Vikander

Adria Arjona

Emily Kinney

Diane Guerrero

Hayley Kiyoko

Maisie Richardson Sellers

Sophia Bush

Meaghan Rath

Gina Rodriguez

Vanessa Morgan

Ginny Gardner

Emilia Clarke

Jessica Chastain

Brianna Hildebrand

Danielle Campbell

Male;

Taylor Kinney

Jai Courtney

Hayden Christensen

Jack Falahee

Henry Cavill

Aaron Taylor Johnson

Tom Hiddleston

amadeus serafini

Mike Vogel

Taron Egerton

Shiloh Fernandez

Charles Melton

Ewan Mcgregor

Ben Barnes

Richard Madden

Tom Maden

Max Riemelt

Jesse Williams

Charlie Weber

Boyd Holbrook

Nick Gehlfuss

William Moseley

Aaron Tveit

Manish Dayal

Now, these are some storylines I’ve written and would love to try out! (though some of them I’ve lost muse for!) Some of these are based off of tv shows, movies, books, etc.

Behaving Badly -

[ Muse A ] never stood a chance. Even though they grew up in a decent household, they were always drawn to things they shouldn’t have been, and people who they should have stayed away from. Bad choice after bad choice led [ Muse A ] into a spiral of uncontrollable destruction. They seemed to destroy everything they touched, including their relationship with their family, their ability to have a career, or find love. Until [ Muse B ] came into the picture. Attracted to danger as much as [ Muse A ], [ Muse B ] was equally as screwed up, and just as good at being bad. After months, or even years on the road, stealing and cheating their way through the country, [ Muse A ] realizes that perhaps [ Muse B ] was better at being bad then they were, so much in that they they’ve begin to wonder exactly what they’ve gotten themselves into. [ Muse A ] misses their family, and wonders if they’re able to go back and start over. [ Muse B ]’s only family is their partner in crime, and they’ll do anything to make sure they stay together. Can this modern day Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde and Clyde/Bonnie and Bonnie) give up their wicked ways? or will they continue their bad behavior?

 Come Back Home -

[ Muse A ] is married to a member of the Military. They’re a loyal spouse who’s done everything they can to support [ Muse B ], though things have changed. They aren’t the love struck teenagers they were when they got married right out of high school. They’re different, [ Muse A ] is lonely, and [ Muse B ] finds it difficult to talk about the things they’ve seen and done. They’ve done everything they can to make things work and things don’t look like they’re every going to change. But when [ Muse B ] is medically discharged from the their Unit, [ Muse A ] looks at it like a second chance for them to get things right. [ Muse B ] is still haunted by their past, and [ Muse A ] is still unsure of how to help, but maybe their lives can get better?

 Wrong Side of the Tracks -

In a town were deep prejudice divides their residents, [ Muse A ] is the perfect child of the towns Sheriff/Mayor etc. They’ve always been the type to make their parents proud and do exactly what they’re told. [ Muse B ] is bad news, or at least everyone says so. Accused of a horrific crimes and basically driven out of town, [ Muse B ] has returned after a few years, and the rumor mill begins again. When [ Muse B ] meets [ Muse A ], they click instantly. [ Muse A ] is curious, and wants to know if the rumors are true, and [ Muse B ] sees [ Muse A ] as a pure light among all of the terrible people that live in their town. But when a student from the nearby college goes missing, all fingers point to [ Muse B ]. [ Muse A ] knows that [ Muse B ] couldn’t have done anything wrong, and wants to prove their innocence. [ Muse B ] refuses to allow [ Muse A ] to get involved, and begins to push them away. [ Muse A ] begins to do their best to find out what really happened, but instead finds a web of lies that tie into the towns Authorities, and a cover up of the crime [ Muse B ] was accused of years ago.

 The End -

[ Muse A ] has given them a chance. Over and over again they’ve tried to see past all of the lying and cheating, but [ Muse B ] just doesn’t seem to want to change. They don’t seem to see the wrong in their actions, and no matter how hard [ Muse A ] tries to work things out, there’s only so much a single person can do. So this is it, the end. [ Muse A ] is ready to walk out the door and never look back. Unfortunately, [ Muse B ] finally believes it, and can’t bare the thought. So, [ Muse A ] has given one more chance. One. [ Muse B ] must prove to them that they’ve changed and that everything is going to be better, or [ Muse A ] is gone.

 California Dreaming -

[ Muse A ] is living the California Dream. Surfing all afternoon, partying all night, sleeping all morning and repeat, nothing can make this dream any better. Until they meet [ Muse B ]. [ Muse B ] fits perfectly into [ Muse A ]’s laid back, carefree lifestyle and the two fall for each other very quickly. As the two get to know each other, [ Muse A ] realizes they don’t know  [ Muse B ] as much as they thought. [ Muse B ] is involved in some very shady, very illegal things, that don’t exactly fit into [ Muse A ]’s lifestyle. Dragged into a world of drugs, violence, and sex, [ Muse A ]’s life is turned upside down when they get caught up in an investigation into [ Muse B ] and the people they work with. They California Dream turns into a nightmare, and the only way out is to leave that world behind, but can they without getting dragged back in by their feelings for [ Muse B ]?

 Defiance | 1940s Setting |-

[Muse A] is a Jewish person living in early 1940s Belarus. German Nazis have ordered the execution of all Jewish people living in the ghettos. [Muse A] witnesses the murder of their family before they flee to the Naliboki Forest, a large rural landscape covering a large portion of Belarus. That is where [Muse A] meets [Muse B], another Jewish escapee fleeing from the Nazi soldiers. The two set up camp along with multiple other Jewish men, women and children fleeing Nazi controlled areas. They begin stealing from local farms, hunting, and moving their camp in order to stay alive. As winter approaches, the group must learn to survive sickness, starvation, and perhaps even betrayal as the Nazi soldiers begin to close in on the camp’s location. Getting caught is not an option, it means death for the entire group.

 A Summer Affair  -

[ Muse A ] and [ Muse B ] are from two different worlds, yet they found themselves vacationing at the same place for a couple of weeks during the summer. After weeks of hot, passionate romance the two say goodbye in order to get back to their normal, boring lives and normal, boring jobs. [ Muse A ] is a recent college graduate who’s in need of a job. [ Muse B ] is the CEO of a huge company and is in need of an assistant. Not knowing [ Muse B ] runs the company, [ Muse A ] applies for the job. [ Muse B ] is now [ Muse A ]’s boss, not to mention they have a life that [ Muse A ] wasn’t told about during their summer fling. Now, [ Muse A ] must do all they can to keep the job they desperately need, while juggling feelings for their boss, keeping the secret of their summer affair from their coworkers, and deciding if they want to rekindle the spark between them and [Muse B].

You Mind as Well Go to Hell -

If you don’t go to church, then you mind as well go to hell. That is the policy in the [ Muse A’s ] House. Of course, you tell a teenager one thing and they do the opposite. [ Muse A ] is the Pastor’s pride and joy, of course they wouldn’t be if they knew the kind of stuff their child did in their free time. Finally [ Muse A ] decide to get out. They climb into a van and head west to California. Except it isn’t at all what they expected. Getting to Cali was hard enough, but making it in Cali could break this sweet kid from the south. Did they just enter the world of their dreams, or did they go from singing in the church choir, to the Hell they were taught to be terrified of? Then comes [ Muse B ]. Street smart, headstrong, wise beyond their years, [ Muse B ] knows their way around California’s underground. With [ Muse B ] as their guide, [ Muse A ] begins to navigate through the streets of California, hoping to find the life they dreamed of back home in Alabama.

Something’s gotta Give -

Growing up, they only had themselves. Living in a world fueled by violence, family doesn’t always mean safety. For the [ Muse A ], family wasn’t something they believed in, being foster children half their lives, and the child of terrible parents the other half. They believed in evil people, hard times, and the fact that someone’s always got an angle when it comes to lending a helping hand. No one is inherently good. Finally, [ Muse A] has turned 18, making them free from the foster care system. Criminal record half a mile long, [ Muse A ] must find a way to make it in the big world. Enters [ Muse B ]. Successful, hardworking, seemingly perfect. [ Muse A ] and [ Muse B ] meet by chance, this chance encounter turns into more as the two begin to see each other. What happens when [ muse B ] finds out about [ Muse A’s ] past? Will it ruin the best thing that has happened to [ Muse A ] in a long time? Or will they finally be able to move past the dark things that have followed them their entire life?

Wicked Attraction | 1920-1940s Setting | -

[Muse A] was always considered to be perfect. They graduated at the top of their class, have a great job, but they’ve always felt like something was missing. [Muse B] was always the same way, though beneath the prefect was a secret. A wicked secret. [Muse B] is part of an underground world of drugs and violence. What happens when [Muse A] and [Muse B] meet and [Muse B]introduces [Muse A] to an underground world of sex, drugs, and violence? Is this what [Muse A]’s always been missing? Can they escape this Wicked Attraction?

Welcome Home -

[Muse A] seemed like the perfect child, good grades, good family, good friends. Everything about except when it came to their feelings for [Muse B]. [Muse B] was too old and too damaged to be involved with someone like [Muse A], but it didn’t stop them from falling for each other. [Muse A] left their infectious little town, leaving all of the bad (including Muse B), behind them. Years later, they return, only to find that [Muse B] never got out. Will their old flame rekindle? Or will [Muse A] realize that[Muse B] is all wrong for them?

On The Road Again -

[ Muse A ] has always been a drifter, never staying in one place, feeling as though the only place they belonged was on the road. [ Muse B ] has always been the conservative type, the type to go to school, get a boring job. One day, [ Muse A ] was passing through the town that [ Muse B ] lived in. They meet, and [ Muse A ] begins to think they may have found a place where they might actually be able to call home. The two begin a relationship based on all the lies [ Muse A ] had to tell in order to keep their past a secret. But [ Muse A ]’s past begins to catch up with them, will they be able to face it, or will they have to run away again?

How You Remind Me -

[ Muse A ] and [ Muse B ] had been dating off and on for years. Breakups, make ups, harsh words, drug/alcohol fueled nights, and flying fists. Unhealthy is the only way to describe their relationship. Loving each other was the easiest and hardest thing they had ever done. Finally unable to take it anymore, [ Muse A ] left in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. With their lover gone, [ Muse B ] fell into an even deeper hole of drugs and violence. Years later, [ Muse A ] has cleaned up their life, gotten a good job, and made a difference in the lives of others. [ Muse B ] is still stuck in a life of one night stands, but they’ve gotten themselves clean from drugs and alcohol. The two meet unexpectedly, and see how different each other have become. This chance encounter turns into another, than another, but [ Muse A ] is unsure of whether or not they want to get themselves caught back up in that world. For [ Muse B ], seeing [ Muse A ] reminds them of all the terrible things they had done in their past. Being reminded of all they had done, [ Muse B ] decides to they need to show [ Muse A ] they’ve changed for good.  

Teacher, Teacher. -

[Muse A] is a college Professor. All of their students love them, both because they’re physically attractive and a very good professor , who has little trouble with connecting with students. [Muse B] is a student college that [Muse A] a teaches at. They’ve always been an average/above average student, but for some personal reason, they’ve been having a lot of trouble in the class that [Muse A] teaches. So, in a last effort to get their grade up before the end of the term, [Muse B] has been staying after class to get extra help. The only problem is, they’ve slowly found themselves having feelings for each other beyond the normal professor/student relationship.

Almost Stepparent -

For as long as [Muse A] could remember, it had been only them and their single parent. Their parent had dated and brought home every type of person imaginable, but this one was different. This one was [Muse B]. [Muse B] is everything [Muse A] is looking for in a partner, not to mention at least a decade younger than their parent. What happens when [Muse A] finally realizes they have feelings for [Muse B], their parent’s partner. [Muse B] has feelings for [Muse A], feelings well beyond what is appropriate to feel towards the child of your partner. What happens when the two are left alone for a week while [Muse A’s] parent is out taking care of a sick family member?

Now these are plots that I DIDN’T write but would still like to try! (All gender roles are changeable!)

i want a plot where a guy goes on a roadtrip just wandering around the state trying to find meaning of life with his big ass doggo and one day he comes to diner where this shy young woman works and like her boss is always yelling at her and she has abusive boyfriend and her father used to be abusive as well and this guy he is the first man who ever treated her nicely and he just asks her completely out of the blue if she doesn’t want to leave with him and she’s like “why not?” so she takes all of her things and leaves with him. Pleaseee!

i really, really want a plot where muse a is a naive, sweet, romantic, whimsical little thing with a whole lot of optimism and sunshine in their veins and muse b is the complete opposite; a total player who has someone new in their bed every weekend and hates responsibilities and just spends a lot of their time fucking around. somehow these two have been friends for a while, despite their differing personalities, and one day muse a ends up having to move out of their apartment due to a fire or an infestation or something and muse b is the one who offers to put them up for the time being. it’s all well and good except muse a has terrible nightmares constantly and one night muse b is sick and tired of it (and deep down a little concerned) so gets into bed with muse a until they stop crying and shaking and fall asleep in muse b’s arms instead. cue awkward muses sleeping in the same bed every night and it actually helping muse a a lot with the nightmares, and lots of cuddling and feelings ensue. muse b, being the player they are, are terrified of the idea of liking someone but muse a is pretty much already head over heels and ANGST !!

ok but someone give me that cute bartender storyline though? like this guy tends bar at a restaurant or a pub or something and always sees this cute girl hanging out there, but she’s always either with friends or with some guy so he never really gets the time to talk to her BUT ONE DAY she walks into the place alone and orders so many drinks until she’s so bloody drunk, screaming about how her boyfriend cheated on her, that the bartender had to bring her home himself. she wakes up with a horrible hangover, stumbles out the room to find the bartender cooking breakfast and rolling his eyes, laughing. “first of all, you’re an idiot. second, we didn’t have sex if that’s what you’re wondering. third, breakfast will be ready soon. sit.” and fluff commences HELP PLZ

muse a is a new single father, a teenager at that living in an apartment complex with his newborn. it’s one of those apartment complexes in new york city, where everyone kind of keeps to themselves. muse b lives on his floor and has heard this newborn baby crying at ungodly hours, distracting her from her cramming for midterms. she had complained to the landlord about it and one night, she hears the baby crying again. stepping outside in a fit of rage, muse b is about to yell at whoever is the parent to this bastard child until she spots muse a, pacing the hallway with the child in his arms, his hair disheveled and his eyes giving away the sleep he’s been lacking. she feels sympathy instantly; she had no idea muse a lived on her floor, much less was he the father of this child. so, at 3 in the morning, muse b offers to help muse a get the baby back to sleep. and muse b becomes some sort of baby whisperer to muse a, and he continues to go to her for help and they start to dig each other and this is just so cute please

someone give me a plot where muse a was arrested in high school due to drug dealing and was sentenced to ten years — except he’s let out a couple of years early due to good behavior. with no car, his feet take him to the one place he never thought he’d set foot again in a lifetime. his ex-high school sweetheart, muse b. except, when the door opens, it’s not her. it’s a seven year old little girl with her mom’s hair and her dad’s eyes.

a plot where muse a just needs to get away from everything so she packs up everything into her small shitty car that barley runs and just drives. she loses count of the boarders she crossed until she lands right into the middle of a small town where the population is like 2 thousand and her car breaks down. so she goes into a diner that she sees is open and she asks about a mechanic so the lady in the diner calls up her friend who happens to be muse b, the local mechanic. so muse bcomes over and tells her that he wont be able to check her car out until morning bc its like 10 pm now so muse a is going to check into a motel or smth but muse b offers to put her up for the night and bc shes broke she says yeah and basically they end up banging with the intention that after tomorrow they are never gonna see each other again - wrong. muse b goes down to his shop and looks at the engine and a really important parts gone in it and its going to take a couple weeks for it to come in and basically muse a has to stay in this shitty small town for the next couple of weeks AND THEY FALL FOR EACH OTHER AND WE CAN FIGURE THE REST OUT!

ok but a plot based on (not) the one by bebe rexha though. like muse a is a serial lover and has a different lover each week but then muse b happens. andthey end up in the same bed more often than usual. but muse a knows it’s not a good idea because they fear they’ll end up moving on and breaking muse b’s heart, which is when they realize they care for them. so even if they want to stop it there, they can’t because they are themself, unconsciously, falling for muse b.

[norxhwrites]

I’ M  L O O K I N G for long term partners! People who are interested in: multiple threads, ooc/IM chats, memes, multiple characters/pairings, tagging each other in ship inspo, playing a variety of characters/plots/relationships! I want angst, and drama and love, I want to be able to say “hey, this isn’t working, you wanna try something new?” without fearing that the other person will take it personally. I want to enjoy roleplaying and writing and interacting with others. If any (or all) of this interests you in any way, please like this/send me an IM/or tag me in a random starter! Roleplaying is supposed to be fun and I seriously want that to be the case! I’m not looking for commitment, I’m looking for someone to have fun with, someone who loves writing as much as I do! I’m a very laid back, accepting person and I’m always looking for friend and roleplay partners!

In conclusion, below the cut you will find my roleplay masterlist. It contains three lists of: Wanted Opposites, Wanted Fcs, and Wanted Plots. If any of these fcs or plots interest you either: Message me, heart this, or write a starter and I’ll reply to it!  Also, please  take a look at these links for inspiration, information and more!: wanted opposites | plots | open starters | rules | | Fandoms |

So, I know that face claims aren’t everything, and that looks don’t make a character, but these are some faces I’d like to play opposite of. These are some of my favorite faces, and I’d just really like to play against them. (bold are those I really want to play against!)

Jon Bernthal

Jason Momoa

Charlie Weber

Ben Barnes

DJ Cotrona

Charlie Hunnam

Jessica Sula

Skeet Ulrich

Troian Bellisario

Shay Mitchell

Monica Raymund

Jon Seda

Chloe Bennet

Shemar Moore

Jesse Lee Soffer

Alicia Vikander

Priyanka Chopra

Crystal Reed

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Willa Holland

Arden Cho

Ricky Whittle

Dacre Montgomery

Margot Robbie

Theo James

Katheryn Winnick

Faces I’d like to play/test out! I love creating new characters, and these faces are some of the ones I’d like to try when creating a new character. (They will become test characters, and if I like them, I’ll add them to my muse page!)

Ana De Armas

Shelley Hennig

Caity Lotz

Monica Raymund

Gabriella Wilde

Shailene Woodley

Naomi Scott

Lindsey Morgan

Leah Pipes

Chyler Leigh

Rachelle Lefevre

Tina Desai

Emily Browning

Alicia Vikander

Diane Guerrero

Hayley Kiyoko

Maisie Richardson Sellers

Sophia Bush

Meaghan Rath

Gina Rodriguez

Vanessa Morgan

Ginny Gardner

Emilia Clarke

Jessica Chastain

Brianna Hildebrand

Danielle Campbell

Taylor Kinney

Jai Courtney

Hayden Christensen

Aaron Taylor Johnson

Tom Hiddleston

amadeus serafini

Mike Vogel

Taron Egerton

Shiloh Fernandez

Charles Melton

Ewan Mcgregor

Ben Barnes

Richard Madden

Tom Maden

Max Riemelt

Jesse Williams

Charlie Weber

Boyd Holbrook

Nick Gehlfuss

William Moseley

Aaron Tveit

Manish Dayal

Now, these are some storylines I’ve written and would love to try out! (though some of them I’ve lost muse for!) Some of these are based off of tv shows, movies, books, etc.

Behaving Badly -

[ Muse A ] never stood a chance. Even though they grew up in a decent household, they were always drawn to things they shouldn’t have been, and people who they should have stayed away from. Bad choice after bad choice led [ Muse A ] into a spiral of uncontrollable destruction. They seemed to destroy everything they touched, including their relationship with their family, their ability to have a career, or find love. Until [ Muse B ] came into the picture. Attracted to danger as much as [ Muse A ], [ Muse B ] was equally as screwed up, and just as good at being bad. After months, or even years on the road, stealing and cheating their way through the country, [ Muse A ] realizes that perhaps [ Muse B ] was better at being bad then they were, so much in that they they’ve begin to wonder exactly what they’ve gotten themselves into. [ Muse A ] misses their family, and wonders if they’re able to go back and start over. [ Muse B ]’s only family is their partner in crime, and they’ll do anything to make sure they stay together. Can this modern day Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde and Clyde/Bonnie and Bonnie) give up their wicked ways? or will they continue their bad behavior?

Come Back Home -

[ Muse A ] is married to a member of the Military. They’re a loyal spouse who’s done everything they can to support [ Muse B ], though things have changed. They aren’t the love struck teenagers they were when they got married right out of high school. They’re different, [ Muse A ] is lonely, and [ Muse B ] finds it difficult to talk about the things they’ve seen and done. They’ve done everything they can to make things work and things don’t look like they’re every going to change. But when [ Muse B ] is medically discharged from the their Unit, [ Muse A ] looks at it like a second chance for them to get things right. [ Muse B ] is still haunted by their past, and [ Muse A ] is still unsure of how to help, but maybe their lives can get better?

Wrong Side of the Tracks -

In a town were deep prejudice divides their residents, [ Muse A ] is the perfect child of the towns Sheriff/Mayor etc. They’ve always been the type to make their parents proud and do exactly what they’re told. [ Muse B ] is bad news, or at least everyone says so. Accused of a horrific crimes and basically driven out of town, [ Muse B ] has returned after a few years, and the rumor mill begins again. When [ Muse B ] meets [ Muse A ], they click instantly. [ Muse A ] is curious, and wants to know if the rumors are true, and [ Muse B ] sees [ Muse A ] as a pure light among all of the terrible people that live in their town. But when a student from the nearby college goes missing, all fingers point to [ Muse B ]. [ Muse A ] knows that [ Muse B ] couldn’t have done anything wrong, and wants to prove their innocence. [ Muse B ] refuses to allow [ Muse A ] to get involved, and begins to push them away. [ Muse A ] begins to do their best to find out what really happened, but instead finds a web of lies that tie into the towns Authorities, and a cover up of the crime [ Muse B ] was accused of years ago.

The End -

[ Muse A ] has given them a chance. Over and over again they’ve tried to see past all of the lying and cheating, but [ Muse B ] just doesn’t seem to want to change. They don’t seem to see the wrong in their actions, and no matter how hard [ Muse A ] tries to work things out, there’s only so much a single person can do. So this is it, the end. [ Muse A ] is ready to walk out the door and never look back. Unfortunately, [ Muse B ] finally believes it, and can’t bare the thought. So, [ Muse A ] has given one more chance. One. [ Muse B ] must prove to them that they’ve changed and that everything is going to be better, or [ Muse A ] is gone.

California Dreaming -

[ Muse A ] is living the California Dream. Surfing all afternoon, partying all night, sleeping all morning and repeat, nothing can make this dream any better. Until they meet [ Muse B ]. [ Muse B ] fits perfectly into [ Muse A ]’s laid back, carefree lifestyle and the two fall for each other very quickly. As the two get to know each other, [ Muse A ] realizes they don’t know  [ Muse B ] as much as they thought. [ Muse B ] is involved in some very shady, very illegal things, that don’t exactly fit into [ Muse A ]’s lifestyle. Dragged into a world of drugs, violence, and sex, [ Muse A ]’s life is turned upside down when they get caught up in an investigation into [ Muse B ] and the people they work with. They California Dream turns into a nightmare, and the only way out is to leave that world behind, but can they without getting dragged back in by their feelings for [ Muse B ]?

Defiance | 1940s Setting |-

[Muse A] is a Jewish person living in early 1940s Belarus. German Nazis have ordered the execution of all Jewish people living in the ghettos. [Muse A] witnesses the murder of their family before they flee to the Naliboki Forest, a large rural landscape covering a large portion of Belarus. That is where [Muse A] meets [Muse B], another Jewish escapee fleeing from the Nazi soldiers. The two set up camp along with multiple other Jewish men, women and children fleeing Nazi controlled areas. They begin stealing from local farms, hunting, and moving their camp in order to stay alive. As winter approaches, the group must learn to survive sickness, starvation, and perhaps even betrayal as the Nazi soldiers begin to close in on the camp’s location. Getting caught is not an option, it means death for the entire group.

A Summer Affair  -

[ Muse A ] and [ Muse B ] are from two different worlds, yet they found themselves vacationing at the same place for a couple of weeks during the summer. After weeks of hot, passionate romance the two say goodbye in order to get back to their normal, boring lives and normal, boring jobs. [ Muse A ] is a recent college graduate who’s in need of a job. [ Muse B ] is the CEO of a huge company and is in need of an assistant. Not knowing [ Muse B ] runs the company, [ Muse A ] applies for the job. [ Muse B ] is now [ Muse A ]’s boss, not to mention they have a life that [ Muse A ] wasn’t told about during their summer fling. Now, [ Muse A ] must do all they can to keep the job they desperately need, while juggling feelings for their boss, keeping the secret of their summer affair from their coworkers, and deciding if they want to rekindle the spark between them and [Muse B].

You Mind as Well Go to Hell -

If you don’t go to church, then you mind as well go to hell. That is the policy in the [ Muse A’s ] House. Of course, you tell a teenager one thing and they do the opposite. [ Muse A ] is the Pastor’s pride and joy, of course they wouldn’t be if they knew the kind of stuff their child did in their free time. Finally [ Muse A ] decide to get out. They climb into a van and head west to California. Except it isn’t at all what they expected. Getting to Cali was hard enough, but making it in Cali could break this sweet kid from the south. Did they just enter the world of their dreams, or did they go from singing in the church choir, to the Hell they were taught to be terrified of? Then comes [ Muse B ]. Street smart, headstrong, wise beyond their years, [ Muse B ] knows their way around California’s underground. With [ Muse B ] as their guide, [ Muse A ] begins to navigate through the streets of California, hoping to find the life they dreamed of back home in Alabama.

Something’s gotta Give -

Growing up, they only had themselves. Living in a world fueled by violence, family doesn’t always mean safety. For the [ Muse A ], family wasn’t something they believed in, being foster children half their lives, and the child of terrible parents the other half. They believed in evil people, hard times, and the fact that someone’s always got an angle when it comes to lending a helping hand. No one is inherently good. Finally, [ Muse A] has turned 18, making them free from the foster care system. Criminal record half a mile long, [ Muse A ] must find a way to make it in the big world. Enters [ Muse B ]. Successful, hardworking, seemingly perfect. [ Muse A ] and [ Muse B ] meet by chance, this chance encounter turns into more as the two begin to see each other. What happens when [ muse B ] finds out about [ Muse A’s ] past? Will it ruin the best thing that has happened to [ Muse A ] in a long time? Or will they finally be able to move past the dark things that have followed them their entire life?

Wicked Attraction | 1920-1940s Setting | -

[Muse A] was always considered to be perfect. They graduated at the top of their class, have a great job, but they’ve always felt like something was missing. [Muse B] was always the same way, though beneath the prefect was a secret. A wicked secret. [Muse B] is part of an underground world of drugs and violence. What happens when [Muse A] and [Muse B] meet and [Muse B]introduces [Muse A] to an underground world of sex, drugs, and violence? Is this what [Muse A]’s always been missing? Can they escape this Wicked Attraction?

Welcome Home -

[Muse A] seemed like the perfect child, good grades, good family, good friends. Everything about except when it came to their feelings for [Muse B]. [Muse B] was too old and too damaged to be involved with someone like [Muse A], but it didn’t stop them from falling for each other. [Muse A] left their infectious little town, leaving all of the bad (including Muse B), behind them. Years later, they return, only to find that [Muse B] never got out. Will their old flame rekindle? Or will [Muse A] realize that[Muse B] is all wrong for them?

On The Road Again -

[ Muse A ] has always been a drifter, never staying in one place, feeling as though the only place they belonged was on the road. [ Muse B ] has always been the conservative type, the type to go to school, get a boring job. One day, [ Muse A ] was passing through the town that [ Muse B ] lived in. They meet, and [ Muse A ] begins to think they may have found a place where they might actually be able to call home. The two begin a relationship based on all the lies [ Muse A ] had to tell in order to keep their past a secret. But [ Muse A ]’s past begins to catch up with them, will they be able to face it, or will they have to run away again?

How You Remind Me -

[ Muse A ] and [ Muse B ] had been dating off and on for years. Breakups, make ups, harsh words, drug/alcohol fueled nights, and flying fists. Unhealthy is the only way to describe their relationship. Loving each other was the easiest and hardest thing they had ever done. Finally unable to take it anymore, [ Muse A ] left in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. With their lover gone, [ Muse B ] fell into an even deeper hole of drugs and violence. Years later, [ Muse A ] has cleaned up their life, gotten a good job, and made a difference in the lives of others. [ Muse B ] is still stuck in a life of one night stands, but they’ve gotten themselves clean from drugs and alcohol. The two meet unexpectedly, and see how different each other have become. This chance encounter turns into another, than another, but [ Muse A ] is unsure of whether or not they want to get themselves caught back up in that world. For [ Muse B ], seeing [ Muse A ] reminds them of all the terrible things they had done in their past. Being reminded of all they had done, [ Muse B ] decides to they need to show [ Muse A ] they’ve changed for good.  

Teacher, Teacher. -

[Muse A] is a college Professor. All of their students love them, both because they’re physically attractive and a very good professor , who has little trouble with connecting with students. [Muse B] is a student college that [Muse A] a teaches at. They’ve always been an average/above average student, but for some personal reason, they’ve been having a lot of trouble in the class that [Muse A] teaches. So, in a last effort to get their grade up before the end of the term, [Muse B] has been staying after class to get extra help. The only problem is, they’ve slowly found themselves having feelings for each other beyond the normal professor/student relationship.

Almost Stepparent -

For as long as [Muse A] could remember, it had been only them and their single parent. Their parent had dated and brought home every type of person imaginable, but this one was different. This one was [Muse B]. [Muse B] is everything [Muse A] is looking for in a partner, not to mention at least a decade younger than their parent. What happens when [Muse A] finally realizes they have feelings for [Muse B], their parent’s partner. [Muse B] has feelings for [Muse A], feelings well beyond what is appropriate to feel towards the child of your partner. What happens when the two are left alone for a week while [Muse A’s] parent is out taking care of a sick family member?

Now these are plots that I DIDN’T write but would still like to try! (All gender roles are changeable!) Italics are preferred!

i want a plot where a guy goes on a roadtrip just wandering around the state trying to find meaning of life with his big ass doggo and one day he comes to diner where this shy young woman works and like her boss is always yelling at her and she has an asshole boyfriend and her father’s an alcoholic,  and this guy he is the first man who ever treated her nicely and he just asks her completely out of the blue if she doesn’t want to leave with him and she’s like “why not?” so she takes all of her things and leaves with him. Pleaseee!

i really, really want a plot where muse a is a naive, sweet, romantic, whimsical little thing with a whole lot of optimism and sunshine in their veins and muse b is the complete opposite; a total player who has someone new in their bed every weekend and hates responsibilities and just spends a lot of their time fucking around. somehow these two have been friends for a while, despite their differing personalities, and one day muse a ends up having to move out of their apartment due to a fire or an infestation or something and muse b is the one who offers to put them up for the time being. it’s all well and good except muse a has terrible nightmares constantly and one night muse b is sick and tired of it (and deep down a little concerned) so gets into bed with muse a until they stop crying and shaking and fall asleep in muse b’s arms instead. cue awkward muses sleeping in the same bed every night and it actually helping muse a a lot with the nightmares, and lots of cuddling and feelings ensue. muse b, being the player they are, are terrified of the idea of liking someone but muse a is pretty much already head over heels and ANGST !!

ok but someone give me that cute bartender storyline though? like this guy tends bar at a restaurant or a pub or something and always sees this cute girl hanging out there, but she’s always either with friends or with some guy so he never really gets the time to talk to her BUT ONE DAY she walks into the place alone and orders so many drinks until she’s so bloody drunk, screaming about how her boyfriend cheated on her, that the bartender had to bring her home himself. she wakes up with a horrible hangover, stumbles out the room to find the bartender cooking breakfast and rolling his eyes, laughing. “first of all, you’re an idiot. second, we didn’t have sex if that’s what you’re wondering. third, breakfast will be ready soon. sit.” and fluff commences HELP PLZ

muse a is a new single father, a teenager at that living in an apartment complex with his newborn. it’s one of those apartment complexes in new york city, where everyone kind of keeps to themselves. muse b lives on his floor and has heard this newborn baby crying at ungodly hours, distracting her from her cramming for midterms. she had complained to the landlord about it and one night, she hears the baby crying again. stepping outside in a fit of rage, muse b is about to yell at whoever is the parent to this bastard child until she spots muse a, pacing the hallway with the child in his arms, his hair disheveled and his eyes giving away the sleep he’s been lacking. she feels sympathy instantly; she had no idea muse a lived on her floor, much less was he the father of this child. so, at 3 in the morning, muse b offers to help muse a get the baby back to sleep. and muse b becomes some sort of baby whisperer to muse a, and he continues to go to her for help and they start to dig each other and this is just so cute please

someone give me a plot where muse a was arrested in high school due to drug dealing and was sentenced to ten years — except he’s let out a couple of years early due to good behavior. with no car, his feet take him to the one place he never thought he’d set foot again in a lifetime. his ex-high school sweetheart, muse b. except, when the door opens, it’s not her. it’s a seven year old little girl with her mom’s hair and her dad’s eyes.

a plot where muse a just needs to get away from everything so she packs up everything into her small shitty car that barley runs and just drives. she loses count of the boarders she crossed until she lands right into the middle of a small town where the population is like 2 thousand and her car breaks down. so she goes into a diner that she sees is open and she asks about a mechanic so the lady in the diner calls up her friend who happens to be muse b, the local mechanic. so muse bcomes over and tells her that he wont be able to check her car out until morning bc its like 10 pm now so muse a is going to check into a motel or smth but muse b offers to put her up for the night and bc shes broke she says yeah and basically they end up banging with the intention that after tomorrow they are never gonna see each other again - wrong. muse b goes down to his shop and looks at the engine and a really important parts gone in it and its going to take a couple weeks for it to come in and basically muse a has to stay in this shitty small town for the next couple of weeks AND THEY FALL FOR EACH OTHER AND WE CAN FIGURE THE REST OUT!

ok but a plot based on (not) the one by bebe rexha though. like muse a is a serial lover and has a different lover each week but then muse b happens. andthey end up in the same bed more often than usual. but muse a knows it’s not a good idea because they fear they’ll end up moving on and breaking muse b’s heart, which is when they realize they care for them. so even if they want to stop it there, they can’t because they are themself, unconsciously, falling for muse b.

Note: If I don’t continue to reply to you after the first couple of replies it normally means: 1) I’ve lost muse. which I tend to do quickly if I’m not interested. 2) I don’t think we’re compatible writers and I don’t ant to hurt your feelings by telling you so. 3) My notifications are acting up and I haven’t seen that you replied (which I normally catch on to pretty quickly.). Don’t take any of this personally, I just tend to be super picky sometimes. Feel free to message me if you’d like to know why I’ve stopped reply/would like to remind me that we have a thread!

[eelgibbortech-blog]

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When you’re upset, those closest to you can see it in your eyes, your posture, perhaps even your appearance. They’ll ask those two magic words—“What’s wrong?”—and then you’ll launch into a play-by-play dialogue of work drama about how Doug was rude to you, where Divya was sitting in relation to you at the conference table, and why you’re never going back to that office again (until tomorrow).

These are fundamentally human qualities: We like to be heard. We want to be understood. We seek a release from our pain.

There’s a lesson here for marketers. For a brand to truly provide a helpful solution, customers must have a pain point for you to address. With that pain point comes actual pain—whether frustration, anxiety, stress, confusion, embarrassment, or any other negative emotions.

Your goal, as a customer-obsessed marketer, should be not only to fix the pain point but to provide an antidote for the pain itself. As Spotify CMO Seth Farbman says in Josh Steimle’s excellent book Chief Marketing Officers at Work, “What we’re seeing when you release people from even small bits of anxiety or potential for regret or remorse is this explosion of this sense of freedom, and that freedom leads to a sense of empowerment, joy, and curiosity.”

In my last column, I made the case that the three stages of being an empathic marketer are not so different from those of being an empathic friend: Ask what’s wrong, show that you understand, and then suggest solutions.

In this column, I’m going to go explore how to use those questions in a way that helps both you and your customers. We often fail to even ask “What’s wrong?” because we think we know the answer already, which can get in the way of empathy. But luckily, as Harvard Medical School psychiatrist Dr. Helen Riess has found, empathy can be a learned behavior, and some of the following steps may help you train your brain to communicate better.

Go one-on-one

If you’re reading articles like this, you’ve probably done some research to better understand your customer. Maybe you reviewed existing buyer personas and journey maps, or created your own from scratch. Good on you in either case; these are foundational parts of your strategy.

But I also believe that these aggregations of human behavior can take away from our empathy. In one study, psychology researchers at Israel’s Ben Gurion University gave participants photos of eight children, only with names and ages, and asked how much money they’d give to save these kids’ lives. Participants were then shown just one child, told that kid’s unique personal story, and asked the same questions. On average, people gave twice as much to the individual child as they did to the eight kids grouped together.

Maybe marketers would benefit by paying more attention to the individual challenges of customers in order to trigger our emotions. As those psychologists discovered, an “identified victim”—their words for the one child—gives us more cause to open our hearts and our wallets.

Given the Ben Gurion study, you might want to systematize one-on-one interviews of prospects and customers. You could hire a journalist (hey, I know plenty!) to record an interview and ask below-the-surface questions about their buying process. Play it back for all the key people on your team to hear. That way you keep everybody focused on the customer’s need.

Put emotion on your map

At Monster, we’ve recently created new customer journey maps on both the B2B and B2C sides of the house.

On one side, the agency we worked with cleverly used emojis to identify the feelings customers felt at each stage. On the other, Caleb Brown, a journey mapping consultant who is also a professional cartoonist and a terrific moderator, helped us define the journey in terms of what he called “emotional valence.” He drew out a kind of musical staff and asked us to come up with words ranging from the most positive emotion our consumer might experience to the most negative. This exercise forced us to view the buyer’s experience through a lens of empathy.

Is emotion a part of your customer journey maps? If not, consider adding it. Take special care in defining the emotion, though: Instead of just writing sad, think about whether the customer is distressed or dejected or disappointed. Be specific. Go back to customer interviews to find the words people used.

Once you’ve named the pain, also map the opposite emotion (e.g. from “embarrassed” to “confident”) since that should be your north star.

So, if you’re that company Thinx that was barraging the NYC subway with advertising for period-proof underwear, your customer is embarrassed about leaks, and you know you want them to feel secure to do everyday activities (like whatever this woman is doing in the image above). Regardless of how you feel about the product, the messaging is not only memorable but emotionally on point as well.

Seek out complaints

Humans suffer from the unfortunate condition known as confirmation bias, when we seek out information that supports existing beliefs. Meanwhile, we also avoid information that challenges those beliefs, since as Jay Baer notes in an article on Adweek, our “bodies produce more cortisol [a.k.a. the stress hormone] anytime we encounter fear, rejection, or criticism.”

According to a 2017 survey by Clutch, only 10 percent of companies say “understanding customer sentiment” is a primary objective of their social listening strategies, yet this is a very useful way to get actionable insights. Instead of getting caught in an echo chamber of our biased perceptions, we have to force ourselves to have regular exposure to negative feedback.

You can learn a lot about your customers based on what they say to their friends over social media.

One low-cost way to do this: Send your social media team on a mission to gather complaints related to your products and major keywords. Focus groups are great and all, but participants may be eager to make moderators happy. The internet frees people of social convention, for better or worse. (See: Godwin’s Law.) You can learn a lot about your customers based on what they say to their friends over social media.

Poll throughout the process

If you want to know how someone feels, there’s no better way than to ask. Whenever we greet friends, the first thing we do is ask how they’re doing. But when it comes to our customers, we typically only ask how they feel at two points in the buying cycle:

In our initial research stage, when the question is conditional (e.g. “Would you buy this product?)

Following a purchase, with the question framed in past tense (e.g. “How was this experience?”)

But a buyer’s journey is not just two points. (It’s called a journey for a reason.) So another way to listen to your customers is by soliciting feedback during the middle of the process.

Setting up a one-question survey on the product page is an easy way to address this. It could reveal buyer motivations, challenges, and other insights. For example, you could ask: “Help us serve you better: Did you understand the benefits of X after reading this page?” You could also pair the poll with a discount for the next purchase.

If you’re worried that the survey would disrupt the flow of purchase, take a look at a study conducted by marketing professors Utpal Dholakia of Rice and Vicki Morowitz of NYU Stern. Using a pool 2,000 customers from a financial services company, the researchers gave half of the participants a brief customer satisfaction poll. The other half acted as the control group. A year later, the researchers reported that “the customers we surveyed were more than three times as likely to have opened new accounts, were less than half as likely to have defected, and were more profitable than the customers who hadn’t been surveyed.”

Steer into the pain

In some fields, empathic listening is a required skill. Props to reader Jessica Schimm for pointing me to a beautiful piece on Medium by a woman named Lily Benson, who recounts her experiences volunteering for a suicide prevention hotline—work that requires an immense amount of emotional generosity.

What I especially loved about this piece was her explanation of something she learned in training called “steering into the pain”:

I already knew, though didn’t (and don’t) always faithfully practice, the basics of how to listen well: being present, validating, asking questions, and sometimes the hardest part, not trying to fix things. Steering into the pain goes a step farther — when someone is telling you about something that hurts, not only do you stay there with them, and not minimize it or change the subject or talk around it or try to compare it to something or find a way to make it better, you stay there with them, and you go in deeper. You ask questions. Like: what’s the hardest part? What do you miss about him?

She goes on to talk about how this conversation becomes a release. People no longer felt alone with their suffering. As Benson writes, “Pain is this isolating thing, something that feels like it separates you. But it’s also one of the things that you share with every other human on earth. It can be an opening for intimacy, and for connecting with the shared humanity of the people around you.”

While I want to point out there’s a clear distinction between something as serious as saving a life and something as trivial as selling a product, I do think Benson is offering a universal lesson here about empathy and listening. You want to make people feel like they aren’t alone, and drive your inquiry directly (but gently) into their pain. I’d bet that Jeffrey Slater, Chief Listening Officer at The Marketing Sage, would agree with this idea—he has written that a core attribute of the empathic marketer is to “ask penetrating and respectful questions that dig deeply into the psyche of their audience.”

You want to make people feel like they aren’t alone.

Scientific research supports Benson and Slater. The leadership consultancy Zenger/Folkman studied 3,492 people in a management training program, pulling out the top 5 percent of people perceived to be the most effective listeners to find out what they were doing differently. These top listeners weren’t just nodding along silently; they were asking questions that “promote discovery and insight.”

If you have a sales process with a lot of touchpoints, look for opportunities to guide your customers deeper into self-inquiry. I bet you’ll find they want to talk and will welcome the empathetic ear. If they don’t, they might not have enough pain to require a solution—and you may want to think about getting a different job. (Ahem, Monster.)

Here’s the best news: Even if you don’t have the bandwidth to implement these takeaways at the moment, simply reading this piece may have made you more empathetic. According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, just believing that empathy is a learnable skill often leads to more positive feelings for those who hold conflicting views from us, people who are suffering, and people who are different.

Margaret Magnarelli is the senior director of marketing and managing editor for content at Monster. This is the second column in her series on empathic marketing. You can read the first one here. Part three will be published on The Content Strategist next Friday.

Image by iStockphoto

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