#basically a character analysis of them in playlist format

[kadextra]

sniles sneetly. enjoy 👍

[cassahina]

✿ Mod Cassie Intro ✿

Hey there! I’m (mod) Cassie, I’m ace demibiromantic, an ENFJ, a ravenclaw, and my pronouns are she/they (demigirl). This is my editing and writing request side blog with wayyyy too many sources /lh

I’ll be using Aoi Asahina edits to represent me on this blog. :)

Request status: opened!

More info down below!

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~DNI~

Homophobes/biphobes/aphobes/transphobes/terfs

Pro shippers

Ableist

Racist

Anti-Semitic

supporter or are willingly involved in pedophilia/incest/abuse (if you are an abuser)

Doxxer or a stalker

identify as a yandere

sexualize lgbtq+ people ( ex. Fujoshi )

don’t respect my opinions, triggers, or blacklists

a minor under 15 unless I know you (you can still request stuff though)

apart of the Chihiro Fujisaki gender discourse. I personally use he/they pronouns for them, but I am going to do my best to only use they/them for them here publicly on the blog, just saying it now in case I slip up later on.

Involved in discourse in general

Do not acknowledge the issues with Teruteru and Haiji, especially if you are going to erase Teruteru’s sexual assault attempts.

if you are named Charley/Charolette please ask before interacting with me.

any other basic DNIs.

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Rules:

I have a right to decline any request, especially if I’m over stressed or uncomfortable with the request

Do not request stuff on my black list and ask nicely for stuff on my gray list, also do not spam requests

I don’t mind correcting edits if you don’t like something, but I prefer to just completely remake edits so feel free to request a new format instead if you prefer that.

Again, please try to avoid spamming requests. I’m fine with someone asking for different multiple requests, but resending the same request makes me anxious.

Give me credit if you end up using any of my edits please

If you are requesting a romantic matchup, please specify your sexuality (and gender if you just say gay) so I can match you with the correct gender

Also, please do not state your full name. Be mindful of the information you share, you never know who is online reading your info.

Be nice, we are all people at the end of the day.

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What I can do for you:

Icons (only squares for any type of icons)

Manga icons

Reply icons

Headers (current character max will be 3)

Wallpapers

Discord banners

Tumblr layouts

Moodboards

Stimboards

User boxes

Character/quote edits ( explained here with examples )

Character/ship scenarios

DNI boards

Playlists (characters or ships, very selective, only whitelisted characters and ships for danganronpa and the owl house sources)

Prompts

Headcanons

Character analysis

Ship analysis (platonic, family, qpp, or romantic)

Kin analysis (dr, yttd, toh only)

Kin matchups

Matchups (platonic and romantic) (A suggested format right here) CLOSED

Fanfic AU / trope matchups

I won’t do fanfic requests as I have a few fic writing blogs already, sorry x

Also for any editing requests, please specify size, color and/or theme please, if you don’t care for color or theme just mention that, and if you don’t specify the size I’ll just do my default.

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Sources:

For anything I can do:

Danganronpa (all 4 games) (This is also my favorite source :D )

Your turn to die

Saiki K.

The owl house

My hero academia (Note: finished only majority of season 3 of the anime)

Welcome to demon school Iruma

Assassination classroom

Demon slayer (Note: finished only season 1 of anime)

RWBY

She-ra

Fairy tail

Kakegurui

Jackson’s diary

Hooky

For edits only:

DDLC

Infinity train

Monster prom/camp

Kipo and the age of wonderbeasts

Carmen Sandiego

Ever after high

Rascal does not dream of bunny girl senpai

Toilet Bound Hanako Kun

Little Witch Academia

New game! (Anime)

The mage and the demon queen

The cursed princess club

Gourmet Hound

I am willing to try any animated source requested (under my comfortability), just be specific because I won’t know much about the characters. I also might do a limited number of edits since it isn’t one of my sources (like 3 icons instead of 9). Also, for any of the edits only sources I am willing to do kin matchups and normal matchups as well. Here is also information on webtoon sources.

I also now have an other sources list for extended sources! This is for sources I know and enjoy and don’t mind making edits for, but they aren’t my fave or maybe I really like them but don’t know a lot about them. You can find the list and information for that here!

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Note: As you can see, I have a lot of sources, so for white lists black lists and gray lists, I’ll be listing links to each source’s own personalized one so it is easier for everyone to manage and find

White lists:

Danganronpa || Your turn to die || The owl house || Little witch academia || Saiki K. || My hero academia || Welcome to demon school Iruma || Demon slayer || Assassination classroom || RWBY || She-ra || Fairy tail || Kakegurui || Monster prom/camp || Doki Doki Literature Club || Infinity Train || Kipo and the age of wonderbeasts || Carmen Sandiego || Jackson’s diary || Hooky || Gourmet Hound || The mage and the demon queen || The cursed princess club || Cores/themes || writing

Gray lists: (what I may or may not be comfortable doing, always ask first before requesting)

Danganronpa || Little witch academia || Saiki K. || RWBY || Fairy Tail || Writing

Black lists:

Danganronpa || Saiki K. || My Hero Academia || RWBY || She-ra || Kakegurui || Jackson’s diary || Monster prom/camp || in general

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My tags:

editing: cassierole the ultimate editor

writing: cassierole the ultimate writing prodigy

asks: request 0w0, not a request 0w0, cassidilla answers

Once again, any triggering topics will be censored and have a tw note at the top of each post!

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KINS (only my dr, toh and yttd ones):

Ibuki Mioda (highest)

Sayaka Maizono

Aoi Asahina

Tenko Chabishira

Miu Iruma

Sonia Nevermind

Mahiru Koizumi

Kaede Akamatsu

Reko Yabusame

Eda Clawthorne

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Thanks for reading, feel free to request something if my requests are open. Currently my max is 10 at a time! ( ＾◡＾)っ ♡

Can I have a promo if it’s not too much to ask? (Feel free to ignore or request to be taken off if you don’t want to): @froggykinz @pek-pek-editss @avocado-headcanons @ibuki-loves-you @komaruwu @shu-edits @twisted-lies @mod-kyoko @ultimate-yakuza-editing @fuyuhikoslt @lovingkaede @himikos-magic-shop @editingmusical @multiedits @miodas-dr-imagines @cuibic2 @radiaes @lawliiedits @skellychan and anyone else willing to, it would be much appreciated :)

[mutantsrisingrpg]

Congratulations DEAN! You’ve been accepted as JANUS with a FC change to CASEY DEIDRICK.

Dean, first let me say that when I saw an app from you in our inbox I screamed! Now, onto business. The way you created a backstory for Jackson that starts in Las Vegas and ends in Chicago kept me hanging on each and every word. I have to admit, the detail about how there’s only one form of identification with his true face and name was one of my favorite parts! I also loved how you broke name his name - it’s a little detail that went a long way in figuring out who Jackson is. We’re so excited to have you back on the dash and with our Janus! 

Welcome to Mutants Rising! Please read the checklist and submit your account within 24 hours.

NAME/ALIAS: Dean

PRONOUNS: She/her

AGE: 22

TIMEZONE & ACTIVITY LEVEL: GMT, fairly active

In Character Information:

DESIRED ROLE: Jackson Sawyer Raemers

GENDER/PRONOUNS: He/him

DETAILS & ANALYSIS: This is where you show us who the character is to you! The format of this doesn’t matter, whether it’s in bullet points or in para form, and can be as long as you’d like it to be. Feel free to get creative!

The name Jackson is a Scottish name. In Scottish the meaning of the name Jackson is: God has been gracious; has shown favour. Based on John or Jacques.

Sawyer was an English meaning, a occupational name for someone who earned his living by sawing wood, Middle English saghier, an agent derivative of sagh(en) ‘to saw’.

Raemers based on Ramer, The oldest form of the name is “Reinmar” or “Reginmar,” which literally meant “famous councillor.” Always prominent in social affairs.

He’s a walking contradiction, his mind never 100% made on a singular motive and distraction easily pulled him from one thing to the next. Jackson’s chaos is a subtle one, orchestrated solely for his own enjoyment until there’s reason to repel against something or someone. Opinionated in a way in which his argument could be swerved from one side the the other only because he wanted to play devil’s advocate and test other people’s beliefs because it gives him comfort to see witness the grey spots in other’s morals.

A lot of what he does was born from his own insecurities, the voice in the back of his head telling him that we were more worthless than the dirt on the bottom of his shoes. So he hides his true self carefully, uses masks of humour and then hides behind other peoples identities. Carefully packaging away his own demons with false confidence that couldn’t be questioned.

BIO:

Fraud and robberies became second nature, easier than breathing yet essential to keep his head from sinking below the water. It was ironic, how swift his own actions turned from survival to pure indulgence. Disordered violence increasingly becomes addictive due to the way it supplied him with a steady rush of endorphins. The taste of rebellion even more rewarding when it was fuelled by the very mutation that he’d been discriminated for his entire life. He’d unlocked his true potential, a criminal with the ability to morph fluidly from one appearance to the next.

He supposes it was a form of obsession, in contrast to his former self, an upbringing spent repressing his powers to appease his terrified parents who feared the opinion of the neighbourhood than what may become of their son by neglecting a key part of his identity. Living life as an outlaw, adorning himself in tourist t-shirts and tacky dollar store sunglasses was a vast improvement. A lifestyle that saw him existing out of the trunk of his car, mustard stains from a drive-thru burger discolouring the map which lay open on his passenger seat, red ink circling his next destination. He couldn’t picture himself living an average life, didn’t want to be another cog in a well oiled cooperate machine where he’d become just another number sat at a desk until he’d worked up enough hours to pay off a mortgage.

Jackson’s luck fell short, naturally, the second his car pulled into sin city. Las Vegas with the luminosity of neon lights and slot machines was the single worst decision he could have made. Worse than disowning his family, worse than his impulsive decision making when getting tattoos and maybe even worse than the time he’d shifted into the body of a girl scout in some desperate attempt of getting a dozen boxes of thin mints free of charge. But like a moth to a flame, it was the adrenaline that led him to do it. Shifting from one casino owner to the next, he’d committed fraud multiple times each night and donate the remainder of the money after he’d loaded up on hawaiian shirts and sugary snacks, to organisations working against mutant laws and discrimination. Like a modern day Robin Hood, only driving a rusted up old Chevrolet in dire need of a new paint job.

It’s a mixture of arrogance and a blimp in his concentration that causes it to all unravel. Facading as a beer bellied Elvis impersonator in one of the chapels, he’d spent the evening pick pocketing gambling money from unsuspecting intoxicated couples who’d been making poor life decisions. It was easy work which naturally meant he’d become sloppy, the sort of stupidity that lands him an evening in police custody and unable to show any identification on himself other than a driving license that matches his true appearance. Jackson Sawyer Raemers, born November 22nd in the state of Arizona, an individual with an outstanding warrant for his arrest and a suspected mutant. There’s no court trial, no mention of imprisonment or bail. Instead he’s transported overnight to a medical research facility, sedated and left to answer for his crimes in what he would deem to be the pits of hell.

He’s carefully monitored, pumped with medication and used as a lab rat for illnesses to watch how his mutation may help him to recover- if at all. Cut open and stitched together again, regular interviews for insights on his ability and encouraged with rewards to see how far he could push his powers under supervision. Of course those rewards never met anything more exciting than a pudding cup with lunch or a ten minute stoll in the security monitored outdoor area. The three years he’s trapped there he learns a few things about himself and his mutation; no matter how many times they tried they couldn’t replicate it in a tube, even with the ability of cell reconstruction this hadn’t granted him immunity from the common cold and pudding cups definitely weren’t worth the amount effort he’d been putting in for them.

It was entirely by chance that a group of enraged mutants in the facility had grouped together to form a riot. The building caught up in an intentional blaze that triggered cell doors to swing open and allow their occupants to vacate. With such a perfect diversion in place, Jackson takes his opportunity to escape by shifting into the appearance of one of the women who had been treating him. Able to use her fingerprints to unlock the exit, the first thing he does is hot wires the Mercedes in the parking lot and takes off back on the road. They say old habits die hard, much could be said the same for Jackson. How easily he fell back into his old games of identity theft as if three years worth of reflection had taught him nothing.

He returns to what he does best, only now it was personal, the lust of rebellion replaced with spite for those who had been disceting him like a science project. Jackson spends his time examining the faces that appear in the media voice against mutant rights and the research entrepreneurs that treated as nothing more than a paycheck. It’s how he finds himself in Chicago, rumoured a place that was almost a santuary for mutants where he’d be able to meet like minded individuals. And of course, it’s how he finds The Jem Family. He’s still not entirely sure why Damien had taken a liking towards him, his only redeemable factor being that he was reckless enough to not question any given orders in which other members may shudder at. It was an overwhelming sense of finally belonging to something, that he’d mattered outside of his own world and could really make a difference.  

EXPANDED CONNECTIONS:

Luca Medoza: He finds them entertaining, his own laid back rebellion in contrast to something much bolder. Subtle versus out right in your face. He’d spend a lot of time with Luca, telling her what had happened in the latest true crime series he’d been watching and not minding too much when the only thing she picks up on was that he’d spent 10 hours straight binge watching on Netflix again.

Neve Kaplan: She’s the first person in a long time that he doesn’t hide any aspect of himself from. He let her see every aspect of his personality, the gritty details and forbidden secrets he hadn’t dared to share with anyone else. For a while she’d been his home, the missing part of the puzzle that could take the bitterness away and ease his own reckless behaviours, until she’s gone. It still stings when he see’s her, but it’s also a pleasant reminder that at least what he’d felt had been real.

Cain Douglas: He gets pleasure out of his visits and will show up even if the damage is nothing spectacular. He’s absolutely rolled up with a paper cut before and made it out as if he’d lost a limb over texts on his way there. Jackson gets most his kicks from aggravating the hell out of people and with Cain it was almost too easy. Although when he is genuinely hurt it does become a little more difficult of Cain to take him seriously with all the jokes he plays. Sometimes he’ll fake an injury just to get some advice, doctors and therapists are basically the same thing, right?

EXTRA: This section is completely optional. You can add anything here such as: more para samples, headcanons, mock blogs, edits, playlists, etc. Please note that because it is optional, putting everything or nothing in this section will not be a determining factor in your application. This is just for fun!

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/dean_ie/janus/

Tag: https://stereotypicalcancerwrites.tumblr.com/tagged/ch:%20jackson%20raemers

-Jackson is obsessed with snacking, or any opportunity to stuff his face with food really. He’ll take it personal if you go out for a meal and he doesn’t get an invite.

-He can’t function without a morning coffee. 3 shots served black with one spoonful of sugar. He’ll have another at noon because he’s a night owl and eternally paying the price.

-He has a fear of blood, it makes him feel dizzy and he’s absolutely the worst person to have around if you were in a serious injury. He’d pass out before you would.

-Jackson can sing The Element Song by Tom Lehrer perfectly from memory.

-He has a habit of seeing the world from a very cynical perspective and is always anticipating the worst to happen in any given situation. It allows him to feel less surprised or out of control when things do turn sour.

-Jackson has a doberman named Bella, as in Bella Swan- he was trying to be funny

-He doesn’t trust easily and as a result he’s pretty distant. He’s always got a guard up and is very reluctant to let people into his life as most people that have seen the real him have resulted in negative connotation.

-He is allergic to shellfish so if someone wanted to kill him…

-He is always using humour and bad behaviour as a defense mechanism from people getting too close to see the real him.

-He had a stutter as a kid due to low self-esteem. It occasionally comes back when he’s stressed or upset. It’s one of the giveaways for his shapeshifting.

-Jackson is a reckless driver

-He’s obsessed with 1970s music

-Jackson is a hoarder, he collects a lot of pointless stuff like the top of bottle caps, funny slogan tshirts and cheap sunglasses from dollar stores

-He hates having to dress up formally, he feels like it draws attention to him and not in a funny showing off sort of way

-He has numerous tattoos and none of them were what you’d consider ‘good’, they’re shitty or only there to illustrate some pun or memory of a drunken evening. He’s upset some of the scars from the research facility have beheaded a hulahooping stick men on his leg.

ANYTHING ELSE: Did you have any questions or any changes you wanted to discuss with us beforehand?

FC change to Casey Deidrick

[ask-shakespearehigh]

Q&A post with the Mods!!!!

This is going to be a long one oh boy

How strict is the delineation of creative control vis-a-vis characters/plays between the mods? (@pedanticlecturer)

We generally have the plays split up along lines of “what we know”— we have a list at the very beginning of the blog. Sometimes we’ll draw the others’ characters (mostly me drawing some of Star’s…) but even then the final say on characterization is up to the “main” mod for that play — mod aster

what aster said -- mod star

What is your favorite play? What is your favorite character in terms of how they were written in the source material? (@pedanticlecturer)

I think my favorite play overall is Macbeth, just because I like the vibes (and the fact that I too could kill Macbeth), the fact that you don’t say it’s name in theatres, and the fact that it’s a play I did a full read through and analysis of in class. Favorite character? Puck from Midsummer. — mod aster

uhhhh,, hmm. ive always had a soft spot for midsummer since i saw it with aster esp bc of how fun the costumes were. of the comedies it has the largest potential to be the most visually pleasing bc of the concept of fairies,,,and im gay and dramatic so i love that. id die if i got to costume design for midsummer,,,or be in it,,,yeah. fav character. hmm. probably mercutio?? i recently saw a version of romeo and juliet where mercutio was played by a woman and oh my god it was amazing!!! not to mention mercutio’s portrayal in baz luhrmann's INCREDIBLE version of r n j!!! (I based my mercutio design on him) he just spends the entire time making dick jokes. love that. -- mod star

How do you answer asks so fast? I mean it's great but I'm impressed 😂 (Anon)

Personally, it’s a mix of: notifications on, quick drawing speed, and using the blog to avoid my class work — mod aster

aster is fast and (as you can see from all of my answers) im lazey -- mod star

Are there any elements/characters of the plays you're covering that you would have liked to work into this blog's plot, but couldn't due to the constraints of the setting or the synthetic nature of the blog? (@pedanticlecturer)

I wanted to make everyone gay but unfortunately due to plot constraints we have to have some hets but that wont stop me from making it lgbt as possible. -- mod star

I did want to make The Tempest more of a central play, but it just didn’t translate well. Similarly, other supernatural elements like the witches in Macbeth. This isn’t so much a constraint mentioned, but my own time/energy means that I want to show the Macbeth backstory, in a specific format, but I can’t right now— mod aster

Is there a hierarchy of import when it comes to each play's individualized impact on shakespeare high's general arc? If so, what plays are crucial to the foundation of the story? Which ones did you do mostly for shits and giggles? (@pedanticlecturer)

This is phrased like an ACT question and i might not answer it right so sorry in advance but: mod aster and i only selected a few plays for each of us to do given we dont know all of shakespeare’s works, but we tend to put more emphasis on the the more well known. But it also comes down to 1. How much we have plotted out for each play and 2. What the followers ask about most. Our two most popular are hamlet and macbeth bc people are familiar w those but around march caesar always becomes relevant again. I didnt even have designs for some of the characters until someone asked about them. -- mod star

I would say the same as star— it generally comes down to what people ask about. I will say that the overall plot is sort of separated into “has happened” and “is happening”. Like, the human potion of Midsummer, Julius Caesar, and Macbeth are all in the “aftermath” portion, while Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet, among others, are happening. We’re trying to incorporate as much as we can, and I don’t think any of them were really put in without some thought.— mod aster

What personal significance does shakespeare hold in ur guys' lives? (@pedanticlecturer)

I go to a theater school rn and so ive dealt w shakespeare (although not all of them) it also helps that i was in loves labours lost last year as moth and that i read hamlet and r n j. Theres also a theater in my state that always does One Big Shakespeare per season and they always do them super well!!! My love for shakespeare probably started w seeing midsummer at that theater w mod aster!!! So. Theater kid rights!! -- mod star

To be honest, I got back into Shakespeare Because of the blog. I’ve been friends with some people that got really Pretentious about Shakespeare, and it kinda put me off of it. I did have a book of abridged plays (the plays’ plots written out in prose, basically) that I read as a kid, which is what got me into not only the plots of a lot of the plays, but also the idea of having them illustrated. And, same as star, the theater in state does the One Big Shakespeare— and they tend to do some really cool things with the costumes, setting them in diff time periods. I haven’t been able to see any lately since I’ve moved, but they still slap. — mod aster

🥰😘💙🥰🥰💜💟🥰I 😍💗💚😍😍LOVE🖤🖤 YALL ♥️♥️🧡💛💚💝❣️💕💘💖💗💓💞💝❤️💛💜 okay now i have a question i swear— how long have the two of you been doing art??? and what were your first shakespeare plays??? (@hellaghosts)

Uhh i started drawing when i was like idk 12 and i have the giant boxes of sketchbooks to prove it!!! I moved to digital art at abt 14-15 but mostly stayed traditional until this yr when i got a Neat New Tablet so some of my sketchbooks are sitting abandoned rip. My first shakespeare was either romeo and juliet or midsummer nights dream and i love both of them v much!!! I have a very old piece of art that i did for r n j for my freshman class assignment on it and it hasnt aged well alsdjfjafd circa 2016 i think??? -- mod star

Oh man. I started drawing when I was about 10, but it was Bad. I don’t think I got much into drawing again until I was about 14? Sometime around the end of middle school/beginning of high school. I would say I started getting into drawing as more than doodling/coloring edits sometime around 2015-16? I would draw on my iPad with my finger, then I got a tablet for my computer, and now I pretty much stick to my iPad with an Apple Pencil. My first Shakespeare play was….. uh…… probably Midsummer???? I have No idea. We would go to plays when I was little, so I honestly don’t remember if I saw others before. It may have been Romeo and Juliet— I had that book where it was the original and the “modernized” with the little dog that explained things— which, if you know it makes sense, but if you don’t is probably a bonkers answer. — mod aster

Do you think this blog has like? An overarching thesis (be it b/c intentionally or simply b/c ur own take on the world has bled thru to the point where u believe it’s central to the piece at this point)? (@pedanticlecturer)

Not gonna lie, I had to read that like three times AND dm you to figure out what you were asking from us and all I have is “be gay, respect women, write your own happy endings”. — mod aster

This blog started with an ides of march shitpost and you think we have enough brain energy to write a whole thesis? I projected feelings of found family onto my half of the blog but idk if that counts. Be gay do crime 420 69 -- mod star

What’s the nature/rough dynamic of ur relationship? How do y’all know each other? (@pedanticlecturer)

Met mod aster when i was like 4 and even tho we didnt live close we became like, best friends although the Best part didnt start until we were like 13-ish and eventually we talked like non stop (about anime and homestuck. Yknow. 13 year old kid things) and we didnt see each other a lot bc of Distance and now its even worse bc aster is in colleg.,e but we consider each other siblings regardless of family bc we’re adopted into our own respective families so that bled over into our friendship and it would feel weird calling him anything other than my brother now. We’ve seen each other at our best and worst and if you really want a good insight on what we’re like as siblings watch griffin and justin mcelroy’s overview video of catlateral damage wherein i am griffin and he is the long suffering justin. -- mod star

Star is basically my long distance sibling and functionally the only cousin I recognize bc like their parents are basically an aunt and uncle and like our dads look enough alike that we’ve both accidentally gotten the wrong dad for a hug or similar so like. Anyways yeah Star is the Griffin to my Justin, complete with our absent middle brother who we love dearly— mod aster

Dubiously relevant q but what kind of music do y’all listen to when u do art (if that is indeed a habit either of u partake in) (@pedanticlecturer)

It can depend on the piece? I was working on some (unrelated) oc prints that were song-focused, and for those I just listened to said song on loop. Sometimes I have playlists. Sometimes I’ll just be in a Mood and throw a song on loop. But a lot of time for the blog, I’ll listen to The Adventure Zone for the billionth time, because I have Too Much Attention. I’ve also, on request from Star, linked the most recent “loop song”.— mod aster

I tend to obsess over the same like 3 songs every few weeks so those get listened to on repeat but it also depends on the tone of what im drawing or who im drawing i might genre switch bc of that. If im drawing ophelia i stick to lana del rey and if im drawing hamlet its the neighborhood, horatio is sufjan stevens etc. i have categorized,. Most of the characters i draw into different songs/genres/energies of music but not like i ever follow that. Sometimes i just pull up a really long nonsense video and forget to draw. Essentially: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ -- mod star

How’d y’all come up with ur pseudonyms? (@pedanticlecturer)

I love space so much and my main blog is starryeydsailor space gay rights!! Im also tiny and full of energy and bright so basically i;m star -- mod star

Uhhhh i was like “hey i want to do uhhhhhh flower?” And then I google searched flower names until I found one I liked —- mod aster

How did you end up deciding the rough timeline of events in canon? (@pedanticlecturer)

It’s mostly determined by like. How we choose per story? If that makes sense. Like, we just take story by story, and decide “is it happening, has it happened, and when?” And then we fit them together in relation to each other just by dint of. All existing at once. Like, I knew I wanted Macbeth to be in aftermath, because like, even though there’s no murder, the way I’ve translated it to the AU is still kinda heavy, and it’s something that I don’t know that I could do properly if it were happening right now. Also, it’s more interesting IMO to have them at different times. Tl;dr we wing it per story and slot them together— mod aster (mod star agrees I just can word better, in theory)

If you could tell the story of shakespeare high in a different format than an ask blog, would you? Obviously y'all are making very good use of the format, but would you want to write this as a animated series or like? a comic book? or is the form inseparable from the story? (@pedanticlecturer)

I kinda wanted to do a webcomic or maybe to plot develop through like, animatics but the element of surprise comes from the asks we get and really makes us think so the blog is a good start. We didnt think we’d get this far -- mod star

Pretty much what Star said— there are certain elements where it’d be neat to do as a comic or as an animatic. Like, the fantasy dream is like, an anthology webcomic of each story, where you can like, see other characters in the background and stuff. But to be honest, we develop a lot by what we’re asked— there was a post about developing worldbuilding by being asked questions and then pretending you’ve thought about the answer, and it’s not far off. Personally, it’s hard to just lay out a story, because I have a whole WORLD and what’s relevant? What are people interested in? It’s by getting questions that I can then focus in on an area to develop. And yeah, we Super didn’t think we’d get this far lmao — mod aster

Any headcanons about your characters that you don't think will ever come up on the blog through asks or plot posts? (@pedanticlecturer)

I could make a whole separate post for this!!!!! Mostly its voice headcanons (and by mostly i mean like 1 or 2) or relationship hcs!!!! -- mod star

Honestly same. I don’t think I have voice headcanons for mine, though I bet I could find some. I’ve got a bunch of miscellaneous headcanons that just kinda float around, but like they’re scattered, too numerous for this post, and also not always things I’m sure are canon yet.— mod aster

[velcro-rave]

half shitpost. half serious. all playlist.

I decided to unceremoniously break the one rule I set for myself every single time a new season of this show is released, which is TO NOT POST SPOILERS EVER, because I figured this was too fun not to share. So, instead of outright filling your dash with my critical & ridiculous thoughts, I’ve composed them into musical format via a YouTube mixtape. It’s 27 songs long and will take about an hour and a half of your life.

Keep in mind that this playlist is FILLED WITH SPOILERS. Even though it’s mostly a joke-y song-inspired summary of the events in S6, please do not listen to the playlist until you’ve watched the entire season. It will make 0 sense, as opposed to the minuscule fraction of sense it would’ve made if you had finished watching. Plus, you’ll be mad that you ruined it for yourself. It’s honestly an interesting collection of episodes!

However, if you are indeed ready, listen to it here!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgZlbfm6-3v1V5C74fT9uwDZmWroOczHR

(bonus link if the first doesn’t work)

I recommend going in blind and letting it play through without reading the descriptions below until you get to the song, but if you’d rather know EXACTLY what was going through my mind when I slapped everything onto the tracklist beforehand, go wild.

MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS

I just wanted the thumbnail tbh, but this is a good intro track for the mess you’re about to experience.

E P I S O D E   1  -  OMEGA SHIELD

MULAN - I'LL MAKE A MAN OUT OF YOU

Hunk training w/ Dayak. This one was probably the most visceral song. It was stuck in my head the absolute second he held up those weights.

BONNIE TYLER - TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART

Shielding the labor planet from the solar sequences (eclipses are tangentially related, right?) and also a very dramatic way of backing Lance getting saved by Allura.

E P I S O D E   2  -  RAZOR’S EDGE

TAME IMPALA - CONFIDE IN ME (KYLIE MINOGUE COVER)

Allura slooowly trusting Lotor more and more & them being awfully flirty. In a serious sense, this is about him convincing her to let down her guard and let him in on what he wants to have.

CELINE DION - ALL BY MYSELF

Lance getting third wheeled hardcore by Allura & Lotor :( poor dude can’t catch a break.

THE WEEKND - STARBOY (ft. DAFT PUNK)

Keith coming to terms w/ Krolia. I also needed a generally serious jam so this was a good fit to fill the space.

Have you seen that one Lance fanzine by the same name though? Holy shit. The art is incredible.

QUEEN - DON'T STOP ME NOW

Keith & Krolia again, this time ft. them living together for 2 yrs on top of a giant space whale with a bootleg Blink Dog for a pet.

WOODKID - THE GREAT ESCAPE

Krolia & Tex (Keith's dad, still nameless smh) and how they were total badasses together. This is a mix between shitpost and serious because I couldn’t think of anything country/southern-related that fit the bill for their “let’s run off and hide and be together” scenario except for this song. Stuck with the horse metaphor, I guess. :P

THE KILLERS - READ MY MIND

Focus on Krolia & Tex's relationship again, her leaving him for the good of the planet and such. The lyrics are really good here, mainly

The teenage queen, the loaded gun The drop dead dream, the Chosen One A southern drawl, the world unseen

E P I S O D E   3  -  MONSTERS & MANA

SKYRIM 8-BIT THEME

for Monsters & Mana aka BEST EPISODE. I can’t believe how nerdy they went. And how accurately nerdy they went. d20s..... playing the same classes after dying.... losing 8 hours in what feels like 8 minutes... Tomb of Horrors... they got it all.

SKRILLEX - REPTILE

CORANIC DRAGON BOSS FIGHT! ‘Cause it’s a giant, fire-breathing reptile.

NITRO FUN & HYPER POTIONS - CHECKPOINT

basically just outro-ing Monsters & Mana. I gotta say, I thought this was the best downtime episode in a while. Maybe not as fun as Space Mall, but really close.

It could also be my favorite because I have 60 D&D characters...  :/

E P I S O D E   4  -  THE COLONY

AC/DC - BACK IN BLACK

Keith returns not only in his dark black Blade of Marmora suit but also to reinstate his role as the Black Paladin for the time being. Kuron’s nearly confirmed as a danger at this point!

THE BEACH BOYS - WOULDN’T IT BE NICE

Romelle telling the tale of their supposed “messiah” being Lotor and all the abuse the missing Alteans went through. I wanted to get a song that accurately captured my emotions of “what the fuck” but nothing I had could match the tone. So why not go for the opposite?

FALL OUT BOY - HEAVEN'S GATE

def Allura & Lotor, mostly Allura thinking that he's finally the one. “Boost” in the lyrics probably refers to Lotor subtly trying to get out of the immoral shit he did in his past that she doesn’t know about yet.

HOE DON'T DO IT, OH MY GOD

they  f u c k i n g  kissed are you KIDDING ME, FOR REAL????

THE GUESS WHO - UNDUN

Everyone telling Allura that Lotor, her bf for all of 2 seconds, is actually a manipulative bastard who not only murdered but isolated and horrifically tortured thousands of her kind. You know, the kind that she believed was entirely EXTINCT except for her and Coran? Oops!

I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME - MODERN DAY CAIN

Lotor betraying the team but AT LAST revealing exactly where he stands. He’s been so ambiguously untrustworthy for so long that it feels nice to get some closure.

Allura yeets him across the castle ship and it’s a work of art.

E P I S O D E   5  -  THE BLACK PALADINS

SKILLET - FALLING INSIDE THE BLACK

Keith + Kuron/Shiro fight, alluding to the episode title and both of them literally “inside” of the Black Lion later on. Almost as edgy as their blades.

WOODKID - I LOVE YOU

Keith & Shiro, Keith doing his “I know you’re in there” plea. BROGANES FOREVERRRRR.

god that scene made me cry.

E P I S O D E   6  -  ALL GOOD THINGS

TCHAIKOVSKY - 1812 OVERTURE

Coran & Pidge pulling off the craziest technical stunts and saving the day. I figured I needed at least one purely instrumental song on here.

CRAZY FROG - AXEL F

Keith goes nyoom, aka he asks Shiro’s spirit to help him get back to the Paladins. But nyooming feels right, just like the narm.

E P I S O D E   7  -  DEFENDER OF ALL UNIVERSES

BLOC PARTY - HELICOPTER

Fighting Lotor and his knockoff Voltron. The lyrics in this one reference him ultimately becoming the father whom he despised so deeply. Sweet, sweet psychological revenge.

GLORIA GAYNOR - I WILL SURVIVE

Acxa, Zethrid, and Ezor getting tired of Lotor's shit and betraying him again. It’s a pretty snazzy battle anthem.

P.O.D. - BOOM

The Castle of Lions is destroyed (BOOM!) & Lotor is maybe dead. Action-y song for AWESOME animation.

EVANESCENCE - BRING ME TO LIFE

Allura reviving the hell out of Shiro. He’s back! Probably! And with white hair!

STEVE AOKI (ft. FALL OUT BOY) - BACK TO EARTH

We're going home.

That’s it! Thanks for listening. Feel free to send me a message telling me what you liked about the playlist; I had a lot of fun working on it for the day. Eventually I’ll post some 100% serious mixes... including lots more actual lyric analysis. Next time you’ll see spoilers from me will be July 15th, 2018!

[purple-spring]

How long did it take you to become this well of a writer? Do you have any tips or suggestions? I want to make my writing more exciting and vibrant like yours is. I feel like it's not as good as yours and I want it to be the best it can be.

Hey there, @fangirlthatreads​! I’ve been sitting on this ask for a while and I do apologise for that, but I was so incredibly touched that you came to me with this kind of question that I wanted to answer it as best as I could, and create a sort of masterpost for writing in the process. I’m devoting my whole day to answering this, so hopefully it’s worth the wait :)

So, to answer your first question, I guess I’ve always enjoyed and have been fairly competent in writing. I wrote all throughout school, but never really got the opportunity to continue that in college, so I got a bit rusty. I only really started again recently (Sprousehart and Bughead were too tempting to resist), which has just been the most joyful, creativity-unleashing thing. I started simply by writing the beginning for “Tomorrow” because I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, and I had a very vocal cheerleader (hi, @jandjsalmon​) encouraging me to write the whole thing. I haven’t looked back since then. 

As for tips and suggestions, I thought about this for a long time and came up with the following, which I’ve tried to divide into three sections after the cut - READ, LISTEN, WRITE. 

Anyway, without any further ado, I give you –

paperlesscrown’s personal guide to writing 

—-READ—-

I mean, your account name kind of gives it away, but I’m sure you read a lot! But my #1 tip for writers is to read voraciously. I often think of it as fuel for the tank: you can’t put out what you don’t put in. When I run into writers’ block, it’s the first thing I do - I purchase a book for my Kindle and bunker down and read.

Three kinds of reading that I do:

Fanfic - This is a no-brainer. It’s important to expose yourself to the different interpretations of the canon and the characters you are writing about. I must admit that I’m not always the most up-to-date fanfic reader, but I am always hitting up @blueandgoldoffice​ and my dear friend @theatreofexpression​ for suggestions and recommendations. 

Literature - This is important, too. As amazing as fanfic writers are, there is a whole other universe out there of incredibly written original fiction (and poetry!). Anything I can get my hands on, I get onto it. It’s why I bought myself a Kindle - I carry it around with me everywhere to make sure that I am constantly feeding my brain with exciting plots and engaging characters and beautifully turned phrases. 

I often try to read specifically, too. What do I mean by this? So, for example, when I was writing “Apparitions”, which included huge chunks of dialogue between Cole and Lili, I chose to read One Day by David Nicholls, which I knew had a lot of earthy, realistic dialogue between a couple in love. When I was writing my first smutty fic (“In here, too”), I made sure to read The Boss by Abigail Barnette, which is an INCREDIBLE Dom/Sub series (which honestly every Dom!Jug writer should read) with amazingly written sex scenes.

I also make sure I read different formats - not just chapter books, but also longform articles, poetry, etc. I read a lot of short stories because I write exclusively in one-shots, so reading them allows me to see how writers develop plot within a limited word count. 

Writers’ resources - This is something I’ve started doing recently, and it’s made such a huge difference. There is a whole world of writers’ resources out there. I recently bought the Emotion Thesaurus, which is described as “a writers’ guide to character expression.” It. Is. Amazing. It catalogues an emotion and the different ways a character could express them (that way I’m able to avoid cliches or vary the way that the emotion is expressed). It’s formatted like this:

It’s quite cheap on Amazon and such a worthwhile purchase. You should also check out websites such as Reference for Writers, which has SO MANY amazing resources for writers, plus links to similar websites. 

Meta - Read analysis on your characters, whether it’s a recap from website like Vulture and AV Club or (with Riverdale specifically) meta posts from places like @riverdalemeta, which compiles all the incredible theorising from around the fandom. It helps you think about your characters more clearly. A good story always comes from a good grasp of character, and sometimes meta posts make a world of difference in understanding a character. 

—-LISTEN—-

Listen to…

1. A beta. I cannot emphasise this enough. Betas make all the difference between a good piece of writing and a great one. My forever beta, @jandjsalmon, has saved from terrible writing decisions and has also steered me towards incredible ones. @theatreofexpression is a constant source of ideas, headcanons and discussions about the show. The thing about betas is that they are essentially your first audience and an important first filter for your work. They are able to pick up on inconsistencies, disruptions to flow, awkward phrasing, spelling and grammar errors, etc. I often think about them as the midwives for our stories. I may be the one giving birth to it, but it’s the beta who guides me with how to breathe, stand, position myself, etc. and essentially get the baby out into the world (sorry for the weird metaphor, lol). Always, always try and work with one.  

2. The characters you are writing about. A handy tip - whenever I am writing, I put the show on in the background (as long as it’s not distracting), or interviews with the actors (if I’m writing RPF). It helps me to get a good grasp on their voice. With Bughead, I’m not much of an AU author - I prefer writing and expanding on canon scenes, so it’s important for me to try and get the voice, tone and phrasing of each character right (as well as the overall tone and atmosphere of the scene).

3. Music. Music can activate some really strong emotions and neurological reactions in us that help us to write well. Some people like writing to playlists (I made one for “What she wanted”), while others like listening to instrumental music. Both are fine, although sometimes I can find lyrics quite distracting. In terms of instrumental music, I listen to a lot of Philip Glass (classical and heavy) and Explosions in the Sky (indie and atmospheric) when I write. 

—-WRITE—-

I guess there’s nothing left to do but to write! 

Start small. I write a lot of drabbles, as you may have noticed, and those are just small writing exercises for me to keep the words flowing. Not everything you write will contribute to an amazing story, but it’s important to keep putting ideas to paper. 

Engage in writing prompts. These don’t have to be Bughead-specific. There are plenty of writing prompts on the net - Pinterest is a great place to find some good ones!

Do writing sprints. I actually learned about this idea from the incredible @tory-b​, who does this with other writers on the wonderful Bughead Family Discord. It’s basically stretches of 30 minutes to an hour where you do nothing but write. It doesn’t have to be perfect - it just needs to be written down. It’s a way for you to knuckle down and focus and not have any sort of pressure in terms of getting everything perfect. While my job and life often prevent me from engaging in these, they’re an awesome idea for any budding writer.

Practical tip: Google Docs is your friend. This is a tip just for logistics, but I write on Google Docs rather than Microsoft Word because it’s a lot more portable and I work on multiple devices throughout the day. I have Google Docs installed on my phone and I access it via my web browser off my laptop. This just means I can work on a story when I’m travelling, when I’m at home, even when I’m standing in line at a grocery store. I’m often hit by inspiration quite randomly, so this works really well for me. It’s also the best tool for betas - they are able to edit and make comments in a way that’s easy for them and doesn’t involve multiple file-sending.

…

Anyway. I truly apologise for that insane essay, but I hope this can help you (and anyone else). If you have any other questions, please feel free to send them to me! I hope we can read more of your work soon! xx

[srber123-blog]

YouTube SEO: How are videos optimized for search?

YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google, which is why the importance of search engine optimization for YouTube videos is also increasing.

YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google

With more than a billion users, almost one-third of all Internet users, YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world after Google.  The total duration of the videos played daily is about one billion hours. Accordingly, many searches are made on the video platform. The greater the challenge that your video will be found by the users. But if you want to be found, you should optimize your videos and the YouTube channel - so use YouTube SEO.

How does YouTube SEO work?

SEO for YouTube videos works much like traditional search engine optimization: there are certain algorithms and parameters that determine the visibility of the videos. Unlike Google, however, these ranking factors largely relate to the videos and the platform itself. Google is fairly blank on the factors. Nevertheless, some assumptions can be made about ranking factors.

The most important ranking factors for YouTube SEO

In general, they fall into three categories: video, channel, and engagement factors. For the video factors, the title, description, keywords, transcription, content, quality, thumbnails, and file name are all important.  The video frequency and channel maintenance play a major role in the channel. In addition, engagement factors include aspects such as views, watch time, likes, shares, and playlists. We introduce you to the most important ranking factors and give you tips for optimization.

Video Optimization

Content and quality Any optimization will not help you if people are aware of your videos and click them, but they will not find what they expect or poor video quality. The first seconds are crucial here. Be sure to pay attention to these two aspects before you continue to optimize your channel and videos. Title The video title is the most important ranking factor and helps both the search engine and the users to understand the content of your video. 

Our tip: An ideal title consists of 60-70 characters, so as not to be cut off. Put the main keyword as far as possible at the beginning. Your brand should end up, if at all.Describe the video content as accurately as possible.Raise the user's curiosity, but only generate expectations that your video fulfills. Animate users to click, but avoid a Clickbait title.Use a unique title for each video, name the title at the end of a video series.Our rule of thumb for the title:  ) Description In the video description, you can provide the users and the algorithm with up to 5,000 characters of additional information about the video content. 

Our tip: The description should be at least 200 characters long. Summarize the content of your video precisely, if necessary, use a table of contents with jump labels to the appropriate place in the video."Above the fold" only has room for 100-120 characters. Make this area as appealing as possible and place the most important keywords there. Shops, in particular, should always have a link "above the fold". Incidentally, this section will also appear in Google search results.Use the space and be sure to include your long-tail keywords here. Also, questions that are answered in the video, should appear in the description.If necessary, link other videos of your channel, your social media accounts, etc.Add a call-to-action that allows users to, For example, you may want to like or comment on the video, subscribe to your channel, or ask questions. Keywords Keyword tags on YouTube help the algorithm understand the content of your video and play a big part in video rating. They are not displayed publicly but can be read in the source code.  Our tip: Select about 15 tags per video.Be sure to use the main and relevant additional keywords.Use plural variants and synonyms for important keywords.When choosing, make sure to use a mix of generic and specific terms, brand tags can also be included.Create standard tags that are relevant to your channel, such as B. your fire. These channel keywords should be mentioned in every video in your channel, as they help make YouTube appear among the other recommended videos on your channel as well. Transcription(subtitles) Subtitles are important not only for the deaf but also for search engines to better evaluate the content of your video. Our tip: YouTube can automatically create subtitles. However, as speech recognition is not yet fully developed and flawed, you should write the transcript manually or at least revise it manually.Name the main keyword in the video so that it also appears in the transcription. Thumbnail The thumbnail is the preview image in the video search results and the first visual impression that YouTube users have of your video. Therefore, it significantly affects the clickthrough rate of your videos.

Our tip: Customize the thumbnail in Creator Studio on YouTube.Use a picture in high-resolution format: 16: 9, 540x360 pixels.Use an appealing image that arouses curiosity but not false user expectations.Use eye-catching bright colors, emojis, borders or close-up faces to gain attention.Add the core message of the video or your claim.Create an individual thumbnail for each of your videos. Filename The filename of your video also helps the algorithm to better organize the content. Our tip: Formulate the file name of your video file as precisely as possible.Make sure you have the most important keyword in it.Separate words with a hyphen.

Channel optimization

In addition to optimizing each video, be sure to showcase your entire YouTube channel as well as possible. The user should be able to quickly find the relevant information for him there. Video frequency YouTube likes being up-to-date, and users will come more often as well when they realize that they are providing new content on a regular basis. Our tip: Publish new content as often as possible - provided the video quality remains high. Channel Design When users visit your YouTube channel, they should find a professionally designed channel. Our tip: Make sure your channel name is accurate.Use a header graphic that matches the contents of the channel; if necessary, communicate fixed airtime here.Link your social media profiles in the Social Bar.Add a precise channel description and your imprint.Use a channel trailer to give users an idea of ​​what the channel is about.Create meaningful playlists where users find related videos. Use relevant keywords for the playlist titles. If necessary, add third-party content to your playlist, which will allow you to direct users to your channel. Engagement User signals are an important indicator of whether a video is relevant or not, and therefore very important for a good YouTube ranking.  Important are the number of subscribers and video views. In addition, the watch time, which provides information about what percentage of the video is actually viewed by the users.  In addition, YouTube rates it positively, if users stay after the watching of a video even longer on the channel and in general on the platform. Another ranking factor is the relationship between likes and dislikes and the number of comments.  Other user signals are shares and the number of embeddings of the video on other websites. The commitment can only be indirectly influenced by you as a channel operator. Our tip:  Publish new videos regularly.Invite viewers to share, like, or comment on your video at the end of your video and description.Involve your community actively, be sure to engage your viewers. B. Questions in the comments. And answer the questions of your community.Include cards in the video that point to other videos.Create multi-video playlists on a topic area to maximize watch time.Use the possibility of credits and integrate there further videos, playlists or also external web pages.Repeat successful formats.

How to find relevant topics and keywords

When choosing topics, it's important to ask yourself which topics interest your audience. To find out, you can, for. For example, social media or comments in your videos. Also, inquiries, which your support team receives, can help you here. To find out which topics are currently running particularly well on YouTube, you can also look at the YouTube trends. For keyword research, as with conventional search engine optimization, it is advisable to brainstorm first. Other helpful keyword tools are: Google SuggestYouTube SuggestGoogle Keyword PlannerGoogle TrendsKWFinderAnswer the Public In addition, it is always worth a look at the competitors. What content do your competitors have and which evergreen content works well for them? If you've found a keyword, be sure to check which other videos are related to that keyword.  Which formats are used and how long are these videos? Which other keywords are used? Competitive analysis tools are Socialblade and VeeScore.

How can achievements be measured on YouTube?

In Creator Studio YouTube also the YouTube Analytics tool is. There you can z. For example, retrieve data about average playback time, number of views, ratings, and comments. Also information about the demographics of users, device types, etc. are provided there. There are also many external tools, such as - B. TubeBuddy or vidIQ. You can also use YouTube Rank Checker to rank a video for a keyword on YouTube Search. From all this information concrete recommendations for action can be derived. If video embeddings work particularly well, you could, for example, place them more prominently on your own homepage. Low engagement may indicate missing calls for interaction. Conclusion Search engine optimization for YouTube is not that complicated if some basics are considered. With these basics, a new channel within a niche topic can quickly establish itself.  The biggest driver in YouTube SEO remains the viewers and engagement factors. That's why content that inspires is enormously important.  Therefore, ask yourself at regular intervals self-critical: Would I as a representative of my target audience watch this video? Would I subscribe to the channel? If you can honestly answer both questions, your channel is on a very good path. Read the full article

[erraticprojectjunkie]

2016 Book of the Year: Right Side Opening Bracket

This weekend, I was actually planning on participating in the 24 in 48 Read-a-Thon. But...I was lazy with my schoolwork this week and fell a bit behind, plus I have a pile of projects that really need to get finished/started/worked on around here. Baby is only about 2 months away and things are still a bit chaotic and unprepared. Okay...a lot chaotic. So...I bailed. Besides, I said that my next post was the right side of the bracket, so at least I'm keeping to my word on that. As a reminder, this is what the starting bracket for this year's Book of the Year looks like. I went through the basics of the left side last time, so now we're moving on to the other half of the challengers. Ready? Here we go... The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Genre: Young Adult FictionRating: 3 stars I had been wanting to read this one since it caused a stir in my local community. I snagged it as a used book and, while still worth the read, it's one that I'm glad I got at a discounted price. (I'm a book snob, so I always like a deal.) To put it bluntly, I really didn't see the reasoning behind the controversy. I've read much more shocking books. This one seemed pretty tame, all things considered. It's on the younger end of the young adult fiction spectrum; I would say geared toward middle schoolers. For my thinking, it's appropriate for that age set and provides a good set of moral lessons for an age group where learning to treat others with equality and fairness is paramount. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling (adaptation by John Tiffany and Jack Thorne) Genre: Play / Young Adult Fiction / FantasyRating: 3 stars (3 1/2 outside of Goodreads) For those living under a rock, this is the script for a play based on J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. I bought this very shortly after its release and read it within a couple of days. I wrote a fairly lengthy review on it on Goodreads, but the basic gist of my feelings for this were that it was good, but not as good as the core Harry Potter series. I didn't mind the play format, but I didn't like that it was so obvious in the writing that J.K. Rowling was not the sole writer. Her writing is magical and wonderful and this just wasn't it. I had attachments to the characters based on the earlier books and this story didn't seem to keep true to them as much as I had hoped. It's more like fan fiction than a true Potter work, but in the end...it was worth the read.  Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson Genre: Young Adult FictionRating: 4 stars Since You've Been Gone had been sitting on my bookshelf for a very long time. I think I was afraid to read it because of how much I loved Amy & Roger's Epic Detour. I didn't want to be disappointed when I expected so much of Morgan Matson's writing. But...when it came time to grab books to take on a plane, this one went in the bag because I figured it would be a good and fast read. I was right. And it was worth it. It had playlists just like Amy & Roger and I just wanted to hug Morgan Matson for that. It's such a fun and cute thing to do. But...because I'm getting apparently stingy with my 5-star ratings, the overly perfect ending just didn't sit right with me. I don't know why. Why can't I just be happy for these characters?!?! Maybe I'm just getting old and cynical. Either way, I still gave it a nice solid 4. Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris Genre: Memoir / HumorRating: 3 stars I had been anticipating the release of this book for quite a while and managed to get it for review, which totally had me stoked. And yet, for some reason, I then let it sit on the shelf untouched for a few months. Eventually, I buckled down and read it. I was pretty entertained by Harris's cheeky humor and his way of just infusing his happy-go-lucky personality into everything, but I was surprisingly disappointed by the Choose Your Own Adventure approach. I must just be too much of a traditional reader at this point because I couldn't play along with the game...I had to read the book start to finish in order to make sure I didn't miss anything, but didn't have to read the same thing more than once. I know...I'm such a party pooper. The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa by Yukichi Fukuzawa Genre: Historical AutobiographyRating: 2 stars This was required reading for my Asian history class. While it did provide a lot of good historical context that gave me a first-hand view of the events we studied for the course, it was incredibly slow to get started and he seemed to be a bit cocky with his writing. The book is filled with piles of footnotes that probably take up more space in the book than Fukuzawa's actual memories. Ultimately, this just wasn't my thing. Arcadia by Tom Stoppard Genre: PlayRating: 4 stars I read this play as part of my Literary Analysis course. I wasn't originally thrilled about reading a play, but I will admit that I enjoyed a little bit of cover lust. This play has an interesting plot structure with the entire plot taking place in a single location, but with two different plot lines 100 years apart. It's incredibly smart and fun. I actually expect that this one will be up for a reread. That's how much I enjoyed it. Binge by Tyler Oakley Genre: Memoir / HumorRating: 4 stars Binge was my first read of 2016 and was a gift from the boyfriend after hearing me talk about how much I enjoyed Tyler Oakley. For those who don't know him, Oakley is a popular YouTuber and he's incredibly sweet and funny. He's a character with a love for life and he has no problem with being 100% genuine, no matter the circumstances. His memoir was a lovely collection of funny stories and I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. The Only Pirate at the Party by Lindsey Stirling (with Brooke S. Passey) Genre: Memoir / HumorRating: 4 stars I've liked Lindsey Stirling since the moment I first saw one of her YouTube videos. She's a smart and sweet girl with a huge bucket of talent. When I saw that this book existed, I just felt a need to read it. I'm not huge on autobiographies (though my 2016 reads would certainly make everyone think otherwise), but I had some odd need to know more about her. Her memoir (an odd thing to call the book of a 30-year-old) was as cute as she is and read incredibly easy. She is an honest and down-to-earth person, but still manages to keep some of her personal life respectfully private during the narrative. The Only Pirate at the Party was worth the read and the money. And there you have it! Sixteen competitors all wanting to win the title of my 2016 Book of the Year. Have your predictions for the final four? Or maybe you already think you've picked out my number one read... We'll have to see. Half of the contenders get the ax in the next post. Are you ready for some heartbreak? Oh...and for the record...yes...I already know the winner. This post originally appeared on Erratic Project Junkie and is copyrighted by Elle. Find EPJ on Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

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YouTube SEO: How are videos optimized for search?

YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google, which is why the importance of search engine optimization for YouTube videos is also increasing.

YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google

With more than a billion users, almost one-third of all Internet users, YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world after Google.  The total duration of the videos played daily is about one billion hours. Accordingly, many searches are made on the video platform. The greater the challenge that your video will be found by the users. But if you want to be found, you should optimize your videos and the YouTube channel - so use YouTube SEO.

How does YouTube SEO work?

SEO for YouTube videos works much like traditional search engine optimization: there are certain algorithms and parameters that determine the visibility of the videos. Unlike Google, however, these ranking factors largely relate to the videos and the platform itself. Google is fairly blank on the factors. Nevertheless, some assumptions can be made about ranking factors.

The most important ranking factors for YouTube SEO

In general, they fall into three categories: video, channel, and engagement factors. For the video factors, the title, description, keywords, transcription, content, quality, thumbnails, and file name are all important.  The video frequency and channel maintenance play a major role in the channel. In addition, engagement factors include aspects such as views, watch time, likes, shares, and playlists. We introduce you to the most important ranking factors and give you tips for optimization.

Video Optimization

Content and quality Any optimization will not help you if people are aware of your videos and click them, but they will not find what they expect or poor video quality. The first seconds are crucial here. Be sure to pay attention to these two aspects before you continue to optimize your channel and videos. Title The video title is the most important ranking factor and helps both the search engine and the users to understand the content of your video. 

Our tip: An ideal title consists of 60-70 characters, so as not to be cut off. Put the main keyword as far as possible at the beginning. Your brand should end up, if at all.Describe the video content as accurately as possible.Raise the user's curiosity, but only generate expectations that your video fulfills. Animate users to click, but avoid a Clickbait title.Use a unique title for each video, name the title at the end of a video series.Our rule of thumb for the title:  ) Description In the video description, you can provide the users and the algorithm with up to 5,000 characters of additional information about the video content. 

Our tip: The description should be at least 200 characters long. Summarize the content of your video precisely, if necessary, use a table of contents with jump labels to the appropriate place in the video."Above the fold" only has room for 100-120 characters. Make this area as appealing as possible and place the most important keywords there. Shops, in particular, should always have a link "above the fold". Incidentally, this section will also appear in Google search results.Use the space and be sure to include your long-tail keywords here. Also, questions that are answered in the video, should appear in the description.If necessary, link other videos of your channel, your social media accounts, etc.Add a call-to-action that allows users to, For example, you may want to like or comment on the video, subscribe to your channel, or ask questions. Keywords Keyword tags on YouTube help the algorithm understand the content of your video and play a big part in video rating. They are not displayed publicly but can be read in the source code.  Our tip: Select about 15 tags per video.Be sure to use the main and relevant additional keywords.Use plural variants and synonyms for important keywords.When choosing, make sure to use a mix of generic and specific terms, brand tags can also be included.Create standard tags that are relevant to your channel, such as B. your fire. These channel keywords should be mentioned in every video in your channel, as they help make YouTube appear among the other recommended videos on your channel as well. Transcription(subtitles) Subtitles are important not only for the deaf but also for search engines to better evaluate the content of your video. Our tip: YouTube can automatically create subtitles. However, as speech recognition is not yet fully developed and flawed, you should write the transcript manually or at least revise it manually.Name the main keyword in the video so that it also appears in the transcription. Thumbnail The thumbnail is the preview image in the video search results and the first visual impression that YouTube users have of your video. Therefore, it significantly affects the clickthrough rate of your videos.

Our tip: Customize the thumbnail in Creator Studio on YouTube.Use a picture in high-resolution format: 16: 9, 540x360 pixels.Use an appealing image that arouses curiosity but not false user expectations.Use eye-catching bright colors, emojis, borders or close-up faces to gain attention.Add the core message of the video or your claim.Create an individual thumbnail for each of your videos. Filename The filename of your video also helps the algorithm to better organize the content. Our tip: Formulate the file name of your video file as precisely as possible.Make sure you have the most important keyword in it.Separate words with a hyphen.

Channel optimization

In addition to optimizing each video, be sure to showcase your entire YouTube channel as well as possible. The user should be able to quickly find the relevant information for him there. Video frequency YouTube likes being up-to-date, and users will come more often as well when they realize that they are providing new content on a regular basis. Our tip: Publish new content as often as possible - provided the video quality remains high. Channel Design When users visit your YouTube channel, they should find a professionally designed channel. Our tip: Make sure your channel name is accurate.Use a header graphic that matches the contents of the channel; if necessary, communicate fixed airtime here.Link your social media profiles in the Social Bar.Add a precise channel description and your imprint.Use a channel trailer to give users an idea of ​​what the channel is about.Create meaningful playlists where users find related videos. Use relevant keywords for the playlist titles. If necessary, add third-party content to your playlist, which will allow you to direct users to your channel. Engagement User signals are an important indicator of whether a video is relevant or not, and therefore very important for a good YouTube ranking.  Important are the number of subscribers and video views. In addition, the watch time, which provides information about what percentage of the video is actually viewed by the users.  In addition, YouTube rates it positively, if users stay after the watching of a video even longer on the channel and in general on the platform. Another ranking factor is the relationship between likes and dislikes and the number of comments.  Other user signals are shares and the number of embeddings of the video on other websites. The commitment can only be indirectly influenced by you as a channel operator. Our tip:  Publish new videos regularly.Invite viewers to share, like, or comment on your video at the end of your video and description.Involve your community actively, be sure to engage your viewers. B. Questions in the comments. And answer the questions of your community.Include cards in the video that point to other videos.Create multi-video playlists on a topic area to maximize watch time.Use the possibility of credits and integrate there further videos, playlists or also external web pages.Repeat successful formats.

How to find relevant topics and keywords

When choosing topics, it's important to ask yourself which topics interest your audience. To find out, you can, for. For example, social media or comments in your videos. Also, inquiries, which your support team receives, can help you here. To find out which topics are currently running particularly well on YouTube, you can also look at the YouTube trends. For keyword research, as with conventional search engine optimization, it is advisable to brainstorm first. Other helpful keyword tools are: Google SuggestYouTube SuggestGoogle Keyword PlannerGoogle TrendsKWFinderAnswer the Public In addition, it is always worth a look at the competitors. What content do your competitors have and which evergreen content works well for them? If you've found a keyword, be sure to check which other videos are related to that keyword.  Which formats are used and how long are these videos? Which other keywords are used? Competitive analysis tools are Socialblade and VeeScore.

How can achievements be measured on YouTube?

In Creator Studio YouTube also the YouTube Analytics tool is. There you can z. For example, retrieve data about average playback time, number of views, ratings, and comments. Also information about the demographics of users, device types, etc. are provided there. There are also many external tools, such as - B. TubeBuddy or vidIQ. You can also use YouTube Rank Checker to rank a video for a keyword on YouTube Search. From all this information concrete recommendations for action can be derived. If video embeddings work particularly well, you could, for example, place them more prominently on your own homepage. Low engagement may indicate missing calls for interaction. Conclusion Search engine optimization for YouTube is not that complicated if some basics are considered. With these basics, a new channel within a niche topic can quickly establish itself.  The biggest driver in YouTube SEO remains the viewers and engagement factors. That's why content that inspires is enormously important.  Therefore, ask yourself at regular intervals self-critical: Would I as a representative of my target audience watch this video? Would I subscribe to the channel? If you can honestly answer both questions, your channel is on a very good path. Read the full article