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ayzashl · 4 years

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Pairing: Shoto Todoroki x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Crack (i think)

Also um, im new to these so sorry for possible gramatical errors or typos (i dont double check bc I literally was bored doing this and just, decided to share it on tumblr lmao)

Disclaimer, I made this out of boredom because I was thinking about exams and stuff and was wondering about how my husbando would react about my situation, having placed on high ranks barely putting efforts towards studying lmao (Not rlly bragging im sorry if it came out as bragging :((, i jusy rlly be curious and hopefully I portrayed it like how I expected for him to react, sorry im new to writing bc I mainly draw🌚👉👈)

***

It was already sunset. The hues of yellow, orange and red envelops the dorms of U.A high school, its gradient tinting the windows of the students occupying the rooms shine bright, displaying its vibrant colors on the inside of each dorms facing the sunset.

You, who were sitting on your knees, switching positions time to time, searching for a particular pose to get comfortable while drawing on your boyfriend's kotatsu in his dorm, door leading into the balcony open, making the cold breeze of late October allow itself to enter the room.

Autumn has already arrived, and that also means midterm exams. It had just finished today. After a almost whole month of preparing for the exams, and the 3 days of taking it, the students of 1-A was relieved and relaxing in their rooms as the days of hardhips were finally over, plus its a Friday so the students were scattered on each others dorms due to the upcoming weekend.

You were taking a sip of your juicebox, almost emptying it now out of frustration for having a hard time drawing a hand. In your opinion, the struggle was equal or actually a lot harder than your midterms. Art frustrates you a lot and your boyfriend wonders why you still do it, yet never really ask you since he can also tell you're really passionate about it than your other hobbies.

He was sitting on his futon, leaning againts the wall as he stare at your back figure, watching you scribble something on your sketchpad and aggressively erasing it afterwards, making the papers crumble into the direction on where you rub it, making you groan in annoyance even more.

As he observes your actions, a thought runs up his mind, asking himself the same particular questions over and over again.

"Why?"

He asks himself. Why were you putting most of your effort into this drawing? Why were you more irritated in this than the midterm exams?

"Just..... why?"

Shoto had noticed you since the start of your so-called-library-dates, although its mostly just you accompanying him to gather resources for the upcoming exams while you just scan your notes or draw, or read a completely different book whose topic is not related to your exams.

Its always been like that everyday, he never really saw you offer a lot of your energy in terms of studying, like most of the students does, as he noticed the library being almost full as soon as October started.

He saw you scan your notes time to time, yes. But full on concentration on studies? no, never seen you. The most of what he saw were you fixate immensely on your math notebook before exams started, and that was it.

The exams ended abruptly on the second day but there was extra curricular on the Hero's Course on the third day before their final grade were posted. And yes, both of you did well. After the announcement, Shoto (and you) were shocked to find out that you were in 6th place and he placed in 5th. You both exchanged congratulations, you mostly squealing out of joy to actually achieve this particular rank.

Shoto on the other hand was, doubting?. Of course he feels happy for you, but at the back of his mind, he was a little agitated. You both got the exam results at the end of the third day and to his surprise (and also yours, but internally) your scores were high, almost having the amount of same mistakes as him, except your math which you devastatingly, almost failed (lmao), which merely affected your overall result since your scores were high anyways.

Your boyfriend wasnt the type to get irritated over these things, heck yeah he feels ecstatic over your accomplishment, signal the kiss he gave you on your forehead plus the soft look he gave you with a slight smile displayed on his face. But there was a faint thought of doubt running through the back of his head, how did you get such results when you were barely even studying? There was no way you would cheat right? He didnt want to accept it, he didnt want to doubt you, but it was the one of the highest possibilities that was mostly that likely happened, as he could think of right now.

He couldnt let go of this thought unless he confronts you about it right now, so he decided to ask you, waiting for a few moments, observing you, waiting for you to calm down a little from your work.

"Y/n...."

"Hmm?" you hum, not turning yout back at him, eyes and most of your attention fixated on the paper.

"How did you manage to get a high rank even though I barely saw you studying?" he finally asks, hoping you wont get offended by it, but this thought had been bothering him a little, and he wouldnt be satisfied until he gets his answer, as the stubborn man that he is.

"Are you doubting me?" you say in an offended tone, although you meant it sarcastically, turning your back, giving Shoto your full attention now as you crawl towards him, pencil dropping in the background as you make your way towards your boyfriend, offering him to lay down as you pat his futon. He complies so, already knowing you wanted to cuddle whenever you do that certain action.

You cuddle next to him, facing him as you give him a smile to reassure him that you werent offended by him back then. "Did you notice that in class, I always, almost bury my head on my notebook, writing on it almost 24/7 whenever lecture starts?" you ask him, as you start to fidget his hair on the sides which you and him really enjoy, making its way up to his bangs, and back and fort.

"You were.... writing?" Shoto asks, raising an eyebrow with the same stoic face who seemed not to show a lot of emotions, a little dumbfounded. "I thought you were doodling". You burst out in laughter from the small misunderstanding of your boyfriend.

"Of course I was. You see, whatever the teacher blurts about that sounds important to me, I write it down because, you know, its usually what appears in exams" you explain to him, closing your eyes time to time as if you were a philosopher, passionately explaining your beliefs, only with an added self-sense of humor. As he was on the other had was, fascinated.

I mean, who knew?

"Also just to clarify things, I do put some extra effort on, some of my studies"

"By some you mean just the science topic you reported you keep rereading everyday"

"......yes"

Shoto lighlty chuckles as he moves your head to his chest, placing an arm on your head, planting a kiss on your forehead, as a sign of affection like he always does. He feels a little guilty, assuming you were cheating but in the end, you were just and always has been the genius that you were. Heck if you actually put a lot of effort in your study, you might actually come out at the top in the class, but he's aware you have other things to focus and worry about as his eyes gaze at the table with a slightly crumpled juice box standing out.

"Were you mad?" you ask, out of curiousity. You had assumed he was maybe upset about the results because he gets a little too competitive or has the sentiment that he has to prove that he only isnt good with his powers, but in academics as well, considering his situation.

He lightly shook his head as he fully encloses you to his grasp, leg placed on your sides, locking you in as he settles his face on your hair, inhaling the sweet scent of your lavender shampoo in which he always adores.

You on the other hand, was relieved now that the matter was somehow resolved? Putting those thoughts at the back of your head, your perception of relief was shortly replaced by a wave of worry as you lightly chuckle of uneasiness.

"Shoto?" you tap his sides, body tightly secured onto his. This was the one that made worry. His hands tightly clutching you, but not too much, leg on your sides, locking you in so that you wont get away easily, to him it made him feel happy, knowing that you werent going away and draw for a while. You've had situations like these already and all you ever do is give up and shower him with affection, already knowing he was slightly, probably getting a little touch starved, craving for your attention and affection. But in your situation right now, it was, unpleasant, so to say.

Not after you just finished your juicebox.

-Disclaimer, uh, I made this from

He hums in response, head tilted a little more into your head's direction. He was sure you would have given up already, knowing that he will never let you go.

"I need to pee"

"..."

"Shoto..."

"........"

"Sho"

"All I can say is good luck getting out"

"......"

"Noooooooohohohoooo!!!" you exclaim, with a sarcastic crying in your tone. This was gonna be one hell of a struggle.

Im bad at explaining things, hope you did enjoy reading this as much as I did though :))

#shoto todoroki x reader #shoto torodoki #todoroki shoto x reader #shoto x y/n #shoto x you #todoroki x reader #todoroki imagine #one shot #bnha oneshot #bnha crack #bnha fanfic

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erikismybitch · 5 years

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Waiting In Vain: Chapter 14

Slow Burn.

Marleys phone was on Do Not Disturb while she was working . She was so tired of this App job , it was easy but rather nothing but an inconvenience. The money was good, but sitting in front of her computer couldn’t be all there was to her life. Where was her million dollar check for doing something extraordinary . Or even better , where was her savior to deliver her from the stress of work . Market didn’t want to do anything . Maybe lay outside by her pool, and have her servant fetch her a cold glass of lemonade and some weed. Only one percent of the world lived like that , so she had to work like everybody else . “Why in the hell wasnt I born rich?”

Growing bored , she picked up her phone . Marley tried not to make it a habit , because it was so destracting. Marley saw that she had four missed calls from Becky . She called her right away . Worried , because something must have happened. The time spaces were back to back . Becky answered right away .

“Girl!” She screamed as soon as the call came through .

“What happened !” Marley just knew it was bad news . That “girl” was too emphasized to be about something light weight.

“Your cousin is in some deep shit”

Marley took a breath , she thought someone had died or Pedro had done something crazy to her .

“Tiana?”

Tiana had made every Instagram blog headline. She and her NBA player boyfriend Terrell James had been involved in a scuffle . Marley read along to the link that Becky had sent her. In the article , sources said that Tiana and the player had been in a physically abusive relationship for months . Marley found humor in the word “sources”. She would bet that those so called friends she hung around were the sources . Last night , neighbors called the cops reporting a disturbance. A woman screaming. They both were arrested for domestic violence and possession of cocaine . The mugshot of Tiana almost made her drop her phone . Her lip was busted, hair was all over the place and she had a black eye . Terrell’s mug shot was there too , only he had minor bruises on his face . He looked more annoyed than anything .

“Even in the mugshot, she still managed to look pretty” Marley said over the phone.

“You can tell she’s high too, look at her eyes” Becky Commented . They were red and dismayed . And she gave a slight smile , like she was unaware of what was happening.

The two had been released on bail late last night . “I figured since Erik took you away from social media , you didn’t know” Becky stressed to her . It was true , the only active apps on Marleys phone were CNN, a few gaming apps, and tumblr . Other than that , she online shopped or watched YouTube. And she had never felt more free .

Marley was such a sweet girl . With all the bad that Tiana had done to her , she actually felt bad for her . Knowing that if the shoe was flipped, Tiana wouldn’t bat an eyelash. So when Becky had to hang up and tend to the bar , Marley gave her a call . Her finger hovered over Tianas number for a while . She didn’t know what the outcome would be, but it was worth a shot . It rang a few times, Marley thought she would get her voicemail before Tiana finally answered .

“Hello?”

Tianas voice didn’t even sound the same , it was low and dry. Marley froze at first . It had been a long time since they had spoken . She didn’t even have a plan of what to say .

“Hey, Tiana I-“

“You really have the fucking nerve to call me?” She interrupted.

“I know what happened with you, if you need somewhere to go, you can come here until you figure things out”

Tiana let out a malicious laugh , it made Marley’s skin crawl . She was being obnoxious now , Marley regretted reaching out to her almost instantly.

“I don’t need help ... I’m not like you” that tone had now become calm, it was eerie almost . Marley rejected the “I’m not you” comment and decided that she should hang up before things got too bad . Before she allowed Tiana to take her to a bad place .

“Searching for a place to live cause your dad hated you and your mom was too broke to afford good health care”

Marley’s heart began to pulsate. She could feel it in her chest and neck . The fury made her ears hot . She couldn’t even see straight or come up with the right words to say . Marley would never say anything so hurtful to anyone . But maybe it was time to start.

“Don’t ever talk about my mother” was all she could muster up right now. Over the phone , in person the result would be so much different. She kept rocking in her seat, her anxiety was flaring out of control.

“You think you can save me like my mom and I saved you ?”

Marley stood up from her kitchen stool . She paced across her kitchen . The distain for this girl made her eyes squint , as if Tiana was standing in front of her “Is that what you think , you and your fucked up mother saved me!?”

“Yeah , we saved you... you know you always need saving!”

“Your boyfriend must have punched you too hard, cause you’re talking crazy”

Marley had struck a nerve because Tiana went off the deep end. Calling her everything but a child of god . Marley took in everything Tiana threw in her face and sent it back even harder . The two were screaming so loud that they couldn’t even hear what the other was saying. If an onlooker saw them both , they couldn’t tell who was the fool. After a few more tired curse words , Tiana said something that made the conversation take a turn for the worst .

“Why are you so worried about my man when Trey had a baby by a white girl when y’all were together”

Marley knew Tiana wasn’t lying . That scene at the grocery store remained close in her mind . Seeing Trey with that woman , walking closely like that. And the precious little curly haired baby she was holding . Marley just knew to expect the worst .

“I knew already , I don’t care about Trey” Marley played pretend.

“He said he didn’t want a baby with you” Tiana made light of something Marley told her in confidence. She knew about the entire conversation between Marley and Trey the day she thought she was pregnant. “But who would you’re fucking trash , Marley” she laughed because she knew for a fact that Marley didn’t know and she would be hurt by the information . Marley was completely over her relationship with Trey, but betrayal hurt no matter the timeline.

“I’m trash , but the news says you’re a coke-head now”

“Watch your back little cousin” she threatened.

“Erik definitely watches that for me”

Tiana let out a high pitched scream followed by the beep of her line disconnecting. Marley was glad she did because she had been holding in a cry for too long. She hadn’t cried in a long time , and Tiana stirred up a lot of unresolved emotions . Especially her feelings about being left alone in this world without the love of her parents. She leaned down onto her counter and rested her face into her crossed arms . She cried for the little girl who had lost her mother at such an impressionable age . She cried for the little girl who just wanted her dad to love and see her for who she was . And that little girl who was neglected and mistreated instead of being protected .

Soon , she stopped . Giving herself the gift of a deep ass breath . Marley felt lighter , that was the only good that came from this . She ran some cold water over a kitchen towel and pressed it into her swollen eyes . Marley hated crying , not that she felt weak... it was just exhausting. It had been a while since she cried . Since she was a teen, her therapist told her that she needed to cry . Dr.Robinson said that if she didn’t releases all that bottled up emotion, she would explode . And he would feel very sorry for anyone who triggered Marley to that point .

“Was that Marley?”

Crystal rested along her black leather couch . It was outlined with gold trim, flashy just like her. She smoked her cigarette , then ashed it in the custom made C-shaped ash tray that someone gifted her for her fiftieth birthday . That was five years ago. Her daughter Tiana sat across from her , unbothered by the smoke . She had been inhaling it since she was born .

“Yes” Tiana replied. Crystal let out a “humph” and took another hit of her ciggarette . Her outfit was almost identical to her daughters . Tight and revealing, meaning she was definitely too old for it . But that never stopped her . Even her mind was just as young and childish .

Tiana grew up with different types of men running through her house . Crystal jumped from relation ship to relationship . Her breaking point was always money related . If you didn’t have the means to support her lifestyle and her daughter, she was done . Crystal was the younger sister of Marley’s father . She was the apple of his eye until he met Jaime, Marley’s mom. He fell in love with her and he changed. He was no longer that money hungry playboy , the man that taught Crystal everything she knew about life . He was now this laid back care free guy .

“You’re gonna’ name your daughter after a weed smoking singer ?” Crystal said on the day her brother told her Jaime was expecting. She feared that after this baby, he would really neglect her . Growing up without a father, he was all she had. And he did, up until Marley started grade school . That’s when Crystal introduced him to his now wife , one of her very good friends . That was the beginning of the down fall.

“She always thought she was better than you, just like her mom thought she was better than me.”

Tiana ran her fingers through her wavy hair . Hair that was the total opposite of her mother. Crystal strategically wanted it that way. She made sure she had gotten pregnant by a man who could deliver those qualities . Light skin, loose hair , societies definition of what was beautiful. Crystal wanted Tiana to have an easy life , and it seemed to be working up until this point.

When she was little Tiana came home with her first boy crush . Marley had just moved in too. Some little boy who lived in the neighborhood, Tiana couldn’t stop raving about him so Crystal let him come over . She was way too young to start dating, but Crystal thought it was cute . The three kids played in the backyard while Crystal smoked her cigarette and watched . The little boy was intrigued with Tiana at first , until he found something in common with Marley. Crystal watched how he drifted away from Tiana and put all his attention on Marley . Crystal didn’t like that , she didn’t like to see her baby sad. That was the first time she put the bug in her daughters ear . Telling her to keep her friends away from Marley , because she would try to steal them all. Just how she had done the little boy .

Then Marley turned fourteen . Crystal had a boyfriend named Marcus . A heavy dope dealer she met from around the way . He was her favorite, because he bought her everything , paid bills and even bought her a car . His light skin was a plus. Sometimes he would show up with gifts for the two girls . Crystal noticed how Marleys gifts were always slightly better than Tianas . Then , he stopped bringing Tiana gifts all together . When Crystal brought it up to him, he cursed her out and said he only did it because she didn’t have anybody . And if she didn’t like it, he would leave and take the car too. Crystal wasn’t missing out on that money train so she shut her mouth .

One night , Marley came home late after an unpleasant visit with her father . Crystal and Marcus were on the living room couch watching T.V. It was dark, but the light from the screen reflected through his eyes. Marcus watched her like prey as she walked past them. The way a dog eyed a piece of meat . The way a man looked at a woman he wanted to fuck. Crystal thought she was being paranoid, she tried to blame it on her wine but something wasn’t right .

Later that night , something had brought her out of her sleep. She felt on her left bed side and found it empty , Marcus was supposed to be there . He wasn’t in her bedroom bathroom because the lights were off and it was silent . So she got up to see if his car was outside . It was still in the drive way .

Crystal could hear the wooden floors creak in her hall way. This was a time when Marley slept in a room next to Tiana, before Crystal moved her down to the basement . So it was normal for one of the girls to walk around .

But that wasn’t the case this time. She found Marcus , standing in front of Marley’s bedroom door . It was cracked slightly . He just stood there , watching her sleep . Grunting slightly, ever so often.

Crystal watched for a long time, not quite sure if she would stop him if he went inside . She kept thinking about how life would be if she actually lost him. So she did nothing but go back to her room and act as if she saw nothing. Thankfully nothing more happened that night . But the very next day, she moved Marley down into the basement . Away from her man. It seemed to displease him. More and more he distanced himself from Crystal . Eventually Marcus left her , and she put the underlying blame on her innocent niece.

“That’s why I put her ass in the basement . So damn jealous and ungrateful ”

“She could never be me, no matter how hard she tried” Tiana said proudly . Her mom let out a laugh and a few loud coughs . And when they seized, she laughed again.

“Shut the hell up , T!” Her mother had the ability to be hot and cold all in one sitting . One second she could be laughing with you about something, then in an instant she’d turn. Her daughter was floored and quiet. “I can’t believe you let her take your man”

Crystal knew all about the situation with Marley and Erik. Some truth, and some lies. Tiana even told her about seeing them together at the fair . How they purposely “flaunted” and “boasted” on the fact that they were together . Nevertheless, Crystal saw it as a problem . Somehow storing up her own distain towards her niece . It was as if she lived it through her daughter.

“She didn’t take him from me !” Her mom was really starting to fuel the fire . Tiana had only been there because her mother bailed her out of jail and she needed a place to go for the night.

“Then what did she do?” Crystal continued to tease and manipulate her . “She was living off of you , and fucking your man at the same time”

“I swear Marley is fucking done!” She pleaded .

“She had the nerve to call and speak to you after what she did. Since when did you let girls like her look down on you . I bet they both laugh at you all the time”

“Mom, I loved him. She took that from me!” Tianas rage made her sob uncontrollably. She was falling right into Crystals bait.

“Don’t let her get away with that. You make her ass pay”

“Mom, I want to hurt her so bad!” Tianas slammed her fist into the coffee table . It cracked slightly, but her adrenaline caused her to feel no pain “Watch when I get my fucking hands on her!”

Crystal began to calm Tiana down, in her version of a motherly way . She shushed her, and wrapped her arms around her . Hot and cold . And when she felt that Tiana had contained herself, she got to the root of another issue.

“Tarell keeps calling me looking for you” Crystal was talking about Tianas boyfriend. Her daughter broke free from her arms and shook her head . Tarell was the last person she wanted to talk about .

“They’re playing the Warriors and he said he’d be flying home tomorrow” she continued.

“I can’t believe they let him play, after what he did to me last night” she pointed to her black eye. Crystal kissed her teeth and rolled her eyes.

“You need to call him” she was absolutely stern with her statement.

“Mommy he hit me” Tiana said in a voice that reminded Crystal of when she was a little girl . But she saw a grown woman, who was about to lose out on a good thing.

“Tarell is a millionaire , and if you stop with the damn drugs, you probably could get knocked up!”

“Look at my face!” Tiana couldn’t even cover these scars and bruises with makeup , like the ones before.

“That man can buy you a new face. And if he does it again make him buy you another one” Tiana pulled out her cellphone and dialed Tarells number with a shaky hand. “You better hurry up before Marley steals him too”

Crystal laughed , then walked to her kitchen to make herself a nice stiff drink.

(Sorry for typos)

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prorevenge · 6 years

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Wanting to date me just to get a PhD? Game on!

Need to get this off my chest for quite awhile so I hope my story could finally bury this load off me.

This happened back in grad school when I was doing my graduate studies in medicine. Halfway through my candidature, I met a guy (lets call him R) doing his final year of PhD in agriculture science. Now, first of all I have to say is I have no idea what he does, (apparently it involved growing plants and some sort) but being my first actual relationship, I listened endlessly to his talks about his work and all.

The first few months of dating was pretty alright (nothing out of the ordinary) but I did notice he wasnt trying to be intimate or even define if we are going to pursue something more than just dates. At first I figured he needed time and plus I was inexperienced since it is my first proper relationship so I kept my peace with it. Then shit started to go wild. He would randomly text and ask me to skip my afternoons (I usually schedule long experiments on weekdays, most of which started early in the morning and drag all the way till evening; so I cant bail out) knowing that Im busy with experiments. He would then put up a fuss and say things like "im not being serious with him" or "do you even liked/love me" when i tried to reason with him. Being the idiot that I am, I would usually comply and had to sneak out of the lab (my supervisor is pretty strict with students leaving their work unattended). R's idea of dragging me out in the afternoon was to help him write his journal papers since he always mentioned his English isnt good and he cant understand what his supervisor wants. R initially requested me to help him re-read what he wrote and edit his mistakes, but over time I realised he wanted me to write his papers. Being the idiot head-over-heels with R, I did it all for him, whilst jeopardizing my own research.

Over the months, R became more demanding (from helping him water his plants over different time period; well into midnight to helping him write full journals). He would not reply to any of my texts except when he needed my help. I felt really one-sided at this point but i swallowed my pride as I didn't want to loose him. Now, I had no idea what his study is on, since I am from a medical background, but I stayed up late nights reading on agriculture chemistry and biology (its been years since I even read a page about plants, much less knowing them in detail) and trying to figure out how to improve R's experiments. In the course of all of this, R developed a hobby for collecting antiques and trading them, which requires him to travel abroad. I do find his disappearance pretty dodgy, since that his candidature is about to end but he seems more focused on his hobby. However, R expects me to do his work (writing his papers etc.) whilst he is away. He didnt even bother telling me he's leaving, and instead telling me when he was already in another country. At this point, I have no idea if we were dating, seeing that most dates were me doing his work while he sits on a sofa telling me what to write over a hurried dinner/lunch with him promising to discuss the nature of our relationship right after dinner (which never happens). I was behind on my own work (my supervisor noticed my slow progress and actually had to talk to me if I was working outside of postgraduate). I finally snapped out of R's bullshit when he demanded I help him with his thesis whilst commenting that "my research isnt as important as his since he is gonna submit his thesis in a few months whereas I have a few more years to go". Im not going to sit around and be his academic slave under the pretense that he will be my boyfriend (which is never going to happen), so I agreed to help him with his thesis with a special surprise for him!

Now I had saved all of R's journal papers (original edits and ready for submission) and including his thesis. Over the months, I understood what his supervisor wanted in his papers (his supervisor thinks all of the writing done is R's work anyway; and also commented that his style of writing "improved" over the course of a few months) as well as his thesis. I secretly replaced all of his citations (in each journal papers and thesis) with random citations unrelated to his work by using Endnote and deleted the endnote folders scripted to all of his papers and thesis (so he'll have a field of a time editing everything if he actually knew this). I even included a few pages of obituaries I could find in the internet into his thesis and jumbled his results (papers and thesis) with random photos I could find online. When I was happy with it, he submitted it to the examiners and his supervisors even without reading through them! (what a f**ktard). When he told me he submitted, I broke up with him that very night, with his response "I never liked you anyway but you're the help i needed to pass this thesis" and "you were never my priority but you made me your priority so thats your fault". I was pretty hurt by his words, but the best is yet to come.

Fast forward to a few months, I've made peace with my work (caught up with producing good amount of data and running experiments on time) when I heard a couple of friends from the same lab as R. Apparently, the examiners was shock with his quality of thesis and demanded an explanation from R's supervisor as to explain if this was a joke. His papers got rejected as the results and citation wasnt even related to his work and request an inquiry on both R and his supervisor. R was also dealt with a horrible 1 year long extension to his candidature to rectify his mistakes but because I've deleted all the endnote folders, he has to search each source, one sentence at a time, for all of his work! Last I heard, he got dragged into an ethical debate with the Dean seeing that his supervisor did notice a "sudden" change of work quality over the time when we were "dating". I think he wouldnt dare to say anything about me as there was no mention of him getting help, as mentioning my existence would immediately expose his laziness over most of his work.

p/s. throughout our dating phase till the breakup, we did not indulge in anything that would consider us dating (no kissing, going out on proper dates, talks etc.) hence looking back, i think i should have dump his sorry ass sooner, but oh well, better to wreck his PhD than letting him go scot-free!

(source) (story by felixsureshkevin)

#prorevenge #by felixsureshkevin #pro revenge #revenge stories #pro revenge stories #pro #revenge #revenge story #last10

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statetalks · 3 years

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Who Were The Republicans That Voted For Obamacare

Actual Events That Occurred As A Result Of The Affordable Care Act 2011 To 2014

youtube

January, 2011: In 2011, insurance companies had to ensure the value for premium payments. If insurance companies did not spend at least 80% to 85% of premiums on care the difference is sent to customers in a refund.

January 2011: A Florida judge rules that elements of the Affordable Care Act are unconstitutional.

November 14, 2011: The US Supreme Court agrees to hear arguments in the Obamacare case brought by 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business. It argues that elements of the Affordable Care Act are unconstitutional.

January, 2014: Health Affairs published its most recent analysis of Medical Loss Ratio performance by major insurers.

March, 2014: The New York Times reports that the U.S. Census Bureau, the authoritative source of health insurance data changed its annual survey so thoroughly that it became difficult to measure the effects of President Obamas health care law.

How Different Groups Of Republicans Voted

Many hard-line conservatives, including Freedom Caucus members and recipients of campaign contributions from the caucus’s political action committee, expressed opposition to the bill in its original form, but voted yes on Thursday after several changes to the legislation. Much of the Republican opposition to the bill came from members whose districts voted for Hillary Clinton.

Affordable Health Care For America Act

Jump to navigationJump to searchPatient Protection and Affordable Care ActAmerican Health Care Act

This article is part of a serieson

The Affordable Health Care for America Act was a that was crafted by the United States House of Representatives of the 111th United States Congress on October 29, 2009. The bill was sponsored by Representative Charles Rangel. At the encouragement of the Obama administration, the 111th Congress devoted much of its time to enacting reform of the United States’ health care system. Known as the “House bill, HR 3962 was the House of Representatives’ chief legislative proposal during the health reform debate.

On December 24, 2009, the Senate passed an alternative health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act . In 2010, the House abandoned its reform bill in favor of amending the Senate bill ” rel=”nofollow”>reconciliation process) in the form of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

Senators Who Had Voted Against Obamacare Repeal Are Now Wavering

Matt Fuller

WASHINGTON Theres nothing like a deadline to get things moving on Capitol Hill, and with a Sept. 30 expiration date for the bill that want to use for an Affordable Care Act repeal, Senate Republicans who once seemed resolutely opposed to even the most modest Obamacare repeal suddenly sounded less resolute Monday.

The proposal authored by Sens. Lindsey Graham , Bill Cassidy and other Republican colleagues would still likely result in millions losing coverage. The bill would still cut Medicaid, albeit over a longer timeline, and states could still choose to undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions. But the measure, attached to a reconciliation bill that allows a simple majority vote, would give states more flexibility in deciding those cuts and coverage decisions.

That flexibility has inspired Sen. Rand Paul to come out strongly against the legislation, castigating the bill as a rebranding of Obamacare. Conservatives should say no, Paul Monday.

The proposal, however, is seemingly less repellent to Sen. Lisa Murkowski , one of the three Senate Republicans who voted against the skinny repeal in July, along with Susan Collins and John McCain . Murkowski told HuffPost on Monday that shes undecided on Graham-Cassidy, as the measure is known, and that she and her staff were still looking to see how Alaska would make out under the bill.

Whether we repeal and replace Obamacare comes down to a few key senators, Meadows said.

Employer Mandate And Part

Health insurance mandate

The employer mandate applies to employers of more than fifty where health insurance is provided only to the full-time workers. Critics claimed it created a perverse incentive to hire part-timers instead. However, between March 2010 and 2014, the number of part-time jobs declined by 230,000 while the number of full-time jobs increased by two million. In the public sector full-time jobs turned into part-time jobs much more than in the private sector. A 2016 study found only limited evidence that ACA had increased part-time employment.

Several businesses and the state of Virginia added a 29-hour-a-week cap for their part-time employees, to reflect the 30-hour-or-more definition for full-time worker. As of 2013, few companies had shifted their workforce towards more part-time hours . Trends in working hours and the recovery from the Great Recession correlate with the shift from part-time to full-time work. Other confounding impacts include that health insurance helps attract and retain employees, increases productivity and reduces absenteeism; and lowers corresponding training and administration costs from a smaller, more stable workforce. Relatively few firms employ over 50 employees and more than 90% of them already offered insurance.

Is The Supreme Court Likely To Save Obamacare

The Supreme Court is likely to leave in place the bulk of Obamacare, including key protections for pre-existing health conditions.

Conservative justices John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh appeared in two hours of arguments to be unwilling to strike down the entire law a long-held Republican goal.

The courts three liberal justices are almost certain to vote to uphold the law in its entirety and presumably would form a majority by joining a decision that cut away only the mandate, which now has no financial penalty attached to it.

Leading a group of Democratic-controlled states, California and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives are urging the court to leave the law in place.

A decision is expected by late spring.

Laws Ripped From ‘the Handmaid’s Tale’

Then there are the political headaches that would be triggered by the overturning of Roe: the likely countermobilization of liberals and alienation of many moderates suddenly witnessing the painful realities of abortion bans, and stronger pushes in Republican ranks for a total national abortion ban and other extreme measures.

The Republicans incendiary antiabortion rhetoric could come back to haunt. If abortion constitutes the murdering of babies, as antiabortion language insists, and theres no longer a Roe v. Wade getting in the way, arent the Republicans obliged to ban it in every instance and every place, whether through the courts or the political process?

Will Biden get in the ring?: Patients shouldn’t have to fight this hard for an abortion

Expect emboldened right-wing politicians to push more legislation that sounds like its been ripped from the scripts of The Handmaids Tale.” Abortion bans that make no exceptions for victims of rape or incest a hallmark of the Mississippi law heading to the high court this fall. Bills like one that advanced recently in Pennsylvania that focuses not just on abortions but miscarriages, too categorizing miscarriages as deaths and requiring health care facilities to file death certificates and get burial permits. As if the would-be mother werent already suffering enough, now this extra burden, served up with a sinister insinuation about her miscarriage.

Rep Tom Reed Of New York

Reed, a leader of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, broke with his party on a handful of votes relating to the government shutdown at the start of the year. He told Roll Call after Wednesdays vote that he was concerned about his partys position on health care heading into 2020.

Hopefully, maybe, this puts a marker down with our leadership and with the Republican Party in the House and Senate, as well as across the country, that we owe it to the American people to show in black and white how were going to fix health care, he said.

The DCCC is not targeting Reed, who won re-election by 8 points in 2018.

Trump carried Reeds district, which stretches along the border with Pennsylvania, by 15 points. Reeds 2018 opponent, cybersecurity expert Tracy Mitrano, is running again. Inside Elections rates the race Solid Republican.

Trump: We’ll Soon See If Republicans Will ‘step Up To The Plate’ On Health Care

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I’m not going to vote for something that’s a scaled down version, that’s a political punt,” Graham said earlier Tuesday. The South Carolina Republican will vote for the motion to proceed but added that a final product to fix the health care system should go through “regular order.”

Collins said the proposal wasnt described at the weekly Senate GOP policy lunch.

And so apparently that is an amendment that the leader would offer at the end, she said. I have no idea whats going into that.

And Republicans are considering making further changes to the repeal-and-replace plan. Administration officials and senators are discussing adding as much as $100 billion more to earlier drafts to help low-income people with premiums, Republicans said.

Before Tuesday’s vote, McConnell urged senators to take the first step to provide relief on this failed left-wing experiment.

Id like to reiterate what the president said yesterday. Any senator who votes against starting debate, he said, is telling America that you are fine with the Obamacare nightmare Thats a position that even Democrats have found hard to defend, McConnell said.

The fate of the vote was uncertain as recently as Tuesday morning. Paul, Heller and moderate Sen. Shelley Moore Capito waited until the final hours before the vote to announce they would support opening debate on the bill.

Heller said his support for whatever emerges later is not assured.

Rep Pete Stauber Of Minnesota

The freshman flipped a longtime Democratic seat in northeast Minnesota that Trump had carried by 16 points in 2016. Its a largely white, working-class district, where Trumps populist appeal resonated. The former Duluth police officer ran a campaign ad last year about his son Issac, who has Down syndrome, and he talked about the importance of insurance companies covering pre-existing conditions. Democrats are not targeting this seat in 2020. Inside Elections rates the race Likely Republican.

Changes Required By The Affordable Care Act In 2014

October 1, 2013: Health insurance exchanges scheduled to open for 2014 enrollment begin writing policies that go into effect January 1, 2014.

January 2014: People buying insurance on their own get subsidies to help them pay their monthly insurance premiums. Premiums are allocated on a sliding scale, as determined by income. Any individual earning over 400% of the poverty level does not qualify for subsidies.

January 2014: When health insurance exchanges are operational, small business tax credits are up to 50% of premiums.

January 2014: Insurance companies are required to provide health insurance to any adult aged 19 to 64 who applies for coverage.

January 2014: To prevent people from waiting until they get sick to buy health insurance, the ACA requires all Americans to buy health insurance or pay a fine. The fine starts at $95 for an individual in 2014 and goes up each year until 2016, when the fine is $695 or 2.5% of a persons annual income, whichever is greater.

January 2014: Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans , established in 2010 are scheduled to expire on January 1, 2014 once all major ACA reforms go into effect.

What Did Trump Say About Obamacare

President Trump has been actively trying to repeal the healthcare law since he campaigned for the 2016 presidential election.

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to revoke Obamacare because it’s been an “unlawful failure.”

A brief filed in June asked the court to strike down the Affordable Care Act, arguing it became invalid after axed parts of it.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “President Trump and the Republicans campaign to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty.

“If President Trump gets his way, 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will lose the ACAs lifesaving protections and 23 million Americans will lose their health coverage entirely.

“There is no legal justification and no moral excuse for the Trump Administrations disastrous efforts to take away Americans health care.”

Republicans also argue that some people are better off without Obamacare due to the fact that it does not cover those who need it most.

According to the provisions, people who earn just slightly too much to qualify for federal premium subsidies, particularly early retirees and people in their 50s and early 60s who are self-employed are not covered.

Trump endorsed a replacement to Obamacare in 2017 but fell short of passing the Republican-controlled Congress.

“The 2020 election will be pretty simple: if you want more sick people without healthcare coughing on you, vote Trump.”

Scotus Votes To Uphold Obamacare Based On A Technicality No Decision On Constitutional Issues

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Republican bid that had been backed by former President Donald Trumps administration to invalidate the Obamacare healthcare law, ruling that Texas and other challengers had no legal standing to file their lawsuit.

The 7-2 ruling authored by liberal Justice Stephen Breyer did not decide broader legal questions raised in the case about whether a key provision in the law, which is formally called the Affordable Care Act, was unconstitutional and, if so, whether the rest of the statute should be struck down.

The provision, called the individual mandate, originally required Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a financial penalty.

It marked the third time the court has preserved Obamacare since its 2010 enactment.

Breyer wrote that none of the challengers, including Texas and 17 other states and individual plaintiffs, could trace a legal injury to the individual mandate.

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Joe Bidens administration in February urged the Supreme Court to uphold Obamacare, reversing the position taken by the government under Trump, who left office in January.

After Texas and other states sued, a coalition of 20 states including Democratic-governed California and New York and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives intervened in the case to try to preserve Obamacare after Trump refused to defend the law.

A Final Vote Isn’t The Whole Story It’s Like Researching Your Ancestry And Going No Further Back Than Your Mother And Father

The day after she was one of three Republican senators to vote against her party’s proposal to repeal chunks of the Affordable Care Act, Susan Collins of Maine posted a press release that said: “Democrats made a big mistake when they passed the ACA without a single Republican vote. I don’t want to see Republicans make the same mistake.”

It was a nice nod in the direction of bipartisanship. But it also perpetuates a deceptive narrative, repeated often by Republicans, that they were completely excluded from the process that resulted in Obamacare. While it is true that no Republican voted for the final bill, it is blatantly untrue that it contains no GOP DNA. In fact, to make such an assertion is like researching your ancestry and going no further back than your mother and father.

Not only were Republican senators deeply involved in the process up until its conclusion, but it’s a cinch that the ACA might have become law months earlier if the Democrats, hoping for a bipartisan bill, hadn’t spent enormous time and effort wooing GOP senators only to find themselves gulled by false promises of cooperation. And unlike Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s semi-secret proceedings that involved only a handful of trusted colleagues, Obamacare, until the very end of the process, was open to public scrutiny.

More:Spare America a do-over on health care. Seize the bipartisan moment.

POLICING THE USA: A look at race, justice, media

Requirements For Health Plans And Insurers

See also: Health insurance policy cancellations since Obamacare

Coverage

The Affordable Care Act prohibited individual market insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. This policy is known as guaranteed issue. Guaranteed issue regulations had already existed for insurers selling employer-sponsored health plans, and the ACA extended this rule to the individual market as well.

The law also required insurers to allow young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans until age 26. Insurers were also required to allow people in the individual market to renew their health plans each year unless they did not pay their premiums.

Benefits

The ACA required individual and small group health plans that were offered both on and off the exchanges to cover services that fall into 10 broad benefits categories, called essential health benefits:

Ambulatory patient services

Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices

Prescription drugs

Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment

Laboratory services

Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management

Pediatric services, including oral and vision care

Premiums

The ACA placed restrictions on the way individual and small group insurers set a plan��s The amount a consumer is required to pay for a health insurance plan. Premiums are usually paid monthly, quarterly or annually.:

Nancy Pelosi

Medical loss ratio

Stabilization programs

The House Has Voted 54 Times In Four Years On Obamacare Heres The Full List

Sunday marks the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, however you prefer to describe it.

While Democrats are struggling with whether to embrace the law or push for changes, Republicans are reminding voters that since they took control of the House in 2011, they’ve voted 54 times to undo, revamp or tweak the law. Here’s a full list of those votes, as provided by GOP aides. Dates with an asterisk denote a bill that also passed the Senate and was signed by President Obama:

Votes during the 112th Congress, from 2011-2012:

1.Jan. 19, 2011: The “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act” would have repealed all of the Affordable Care Act. It passed 245 to 189 with three Democrats voting for it, but was never considered by the Senate.

2.Feb. 19, 2011: The House’s version of the fiscal 2011 continuing appropriations bill included several amendments that would have “severely limited” implementation of the law. It passed 221 to 202 with no Democratic votes and was never considered in the Senate.

The next few votes were on amendments added to the appropriations bill:

3.The Rehberg Amendment #575: Prohibited funding for any employee, officer, contractor or grantee of any agencies funded under appropriations for the departments of Health and Human Services and Labor to implement provisions of the law.

4.The King Amendment #267: Ensured that no money included in the appropriations bill would be used to implement the law.

Democrats Sought To Put Gop Colleagues On Record With Symbolic Vote

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Bridget BowmanSimone Pathé

Democratic congressional campaigns have already made health care an early focus of their 2020 messaging, and House Democrats bolstered that effort Wednesday with a symbolic vote that sought to once again put Republicans on record on the issue.

Eight Republicans sided with Democrats on the nonbinding resolution, which the House adopted, 240-186. The measure condemned the Trump administrations support for invalidating the 2010 health care law in its entirety. The Department of Justice, in a new filing last week, backed a Texas judges decision to strike down the law.

Three Republicans New Yorks Tom Reed and John Katko and Pennsylvanias Brian Fitzpatrick had voted in January to authorize the House general counsel to intervene in the lawsuit to defend the health care law. All three also voted for the resolution Wednesday.

One Democrat 15-term Minnesota Rep. Collin C. Peterson bucked his party and voted against the resolution. Hes one of the last Democrats remaining in the House who opposed the 2010 health care law and is likely the last Democrat who can hold his heavily agricultural 7th District seat.

Democrats were otherwise united in supporting the resolution, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched positive Facebook ads touting their vulnerable members votes to protect families with pre-existing conditions.

Also watch: What if we switch to a single-payer health care system?

How Many Republicans Voted For Obamacare

The Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, received no Republican votes in either the Senate or the House of Representatives when it was passed in 2009. In the Senate, the bill was passed with a total of 60 votes, or 58 Democratic Party votes and 2 Independent Party votes. The House passed the legislation with 219 Democratic votes.

The Affordable Care Act received 39 votes against it in the Senate, all from Republicans. One senator abstained from voting. In the House, the ACA received 212 votes against it, with 34 coming from the Democratic Party and 178 from the Republican Party. There were enough votes for the ACA in the Senate to prevent an attempt to filibuster the bill, while the House vote required a simple majority.

The ACA originated in the Senate, though both the House and Senate were working on versions of a health care bill at the same time. Democrats in the House of Representatives were initially unhappy with the ACA, as they had expected some ability to negotiate additional changes before its passage. Since Republicans in the Senate were threatening to filibuster any bill they did not fully support, and Democrats no longer had enough seats to override the filibuster, no changes could be made. Since any changes to the legislation by the House would require it to be re-evaluated in the Senate, the original version was passed in 2009 on condition that it would be amended by a subsequent bill.

Changes Required By The Affordable Care Act After 180 Days

September 23, 2010 :

Seniors are entitled to a $250 rebate to close the Medicare Part D coverage gap.

A government website is created to allow people to search for information about health insurance companies, available plans, and other essential facts.

Insurers are not permitted to exclude pre-existing conditions from coverage for children.

October 19, 2010: eHealth publishes its first in a series of resources to help uninsured children navigate differences in individual states.

History Lesson: How The Democrats Pushed Obamacare Through The Senate

Twenty-five days of consecutive session on a bill that was partisan in the sense that Republicans were angry with it, but we still had the courage of our convictions to have a debate on the floor. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer , remarks on the Senate floor, June 19, 2017

To highlight the secrecy of the GOP health-care deliberations, many Senate Democrats have pointed out that the debate over the Affordable Care Act was the second-longest consecutive session in Senate history. Schumer even sought a parliamentary inquiry on the claim, and it was confirmed by the presiding officer, Sen. Joni Ernst

The Secretary of the Senates office notes that H.R. 3590 was considered on each of 25 consecutive days of session, and the Senate Library estimates approximately 169 hours in total consideration, she said.

The longest session, Feb. 12-March 9, 1917, concerned whether to arm merchant ships during World War I, shortly before the United States entered the conflict. That lasted 26 days.

But this statistic obscures a reality: The key work on creating the Senate version of the ACA was done in secret. Lets take a trip down memory lane.

Republicans Plan Healthcare Vote; Obama And Tv Host Denounce Bill

6 Min Read

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans announced plans to vote next week on their latest bid to scuttle Obamacare even as a popular comedian who has become part of the U.S. healthcare debate denounced the bill and former President Barack Obama on Wednesday warned of real human suffering.

President Donald Trump, who has expressed frustration at the Senates failure thus far to pass legislation dismantling Obamas signature legislative achievement, said 47 or 48 Republicans back the bill, which needs 50 votes for passage in the 100-seat Senate, which his Republican Party controls 52-48.

We think this has a very good chance, Trump, who made replacing Obamacare a top 2016 campaign promise, told reporters during an appearance with Egypts president in New York.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul opposes the bill. At least five other Republicans are undecided on it: Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, John McCain of Arizona and Jerry Moran of Kansas.

Republican Senator John Thune on Fox News said: Were a handful of votes short of having the 50 that we need.

As they worked to gather enough votes to win, after prior legislation failed in July, congressional Republicans and the White House were on the defensive after Jimmy Kimmel used his late-night TV show to blast the proposal and call Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, one of its two sponsors, a liar.

Related Coverage

Factbox: Trump on Twitter – Graham-Cassidy bill, Luther Strange, North Korea

source https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-were-the-republicans-that-voted-for-obamacare/

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habaritess · 6 years

Text

The Last Jedi Rant

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The more I think on Star Wars the Last Jedi, the madder I become.

Lets talk about my boy Finn and why the movie did him wrong. Now I had a higher than usual expectations for Finn’s character. Those expectations were for Star Wars to respect and develop him like they would any other main character and avoid the Bait and Switch that is typical for black characters. Usually, I have low expectations for them due to the abundance of horribly written, one dimensional black characters that tend to exist in movies and shows alike.

Now I loved the Force Awakens. Just loved it. That was in part due to the partnership between Rey and Finn. They had an interesting dynamic going on, great chemistry which, despite some story problems, made the movie enjoyable for me. Finn wasn’t a one note character. He had flaws and grew, something pretty rare for black characters in fiction. Rey and Finn were the main characters of the Force Awakens, abit with Rey being the character the story revolves around, and Finn being the second most focused on character. It still wasnt a Harry Potter dynamic where one character took most of the screen time while the side main characters had limited amount of scenes usually with the main character. Their scenes were pretty equal in length with both Rey and Finn having screen time without one another and together, making them both THE main characters. Kylo got his limited screen time as a villain, like usual.The Force Awakens set up Finn and Rey as the main characters that the story would focus on.

That is what SHOULD have happen… if there was actually any real planning on where the story was to lead to. When I read the unfortunate truth that Star Wars the Force Awakens was written with no real plans on how the story or characters will evolve and that it will up to the directors on where they wanted to take it, my heart sank. It sank because I knew, I KNEW that spells bad for Finn, the main black character of the story. I knew Finn, as a character, was nowhere near as popular as Kylo or Poe individually. Poe, who barely had any screen time in the Force Awakens, was very popular due to his looks. I didn’t even remember him the first time I watched the movie, only to find fans going crazy for his character on the internet. And fans weren’t going on and on about Finn and Rey, not in terms of their friendship or potential relationship, but instead for Rey and Kylo.The only thing Finn was popular in terms of the fandom was in his pairing with Poe. This was obvious to anyone in the fandom. This truth obviously influence the direction the director decided on to go, in order to please the fans.

So what happened? The result: the Last Jedi focused on an unrealistic romance between Kylo and Rey, making Kylo the main character alongside Rey, and sidelining Finn to a minor character alongside Poe, who gained a lot in screen time(surprise, surprise). The result is Finn and Rey relationship was completely abandoned with them not saying ONE word to each other in this movie. The result, Finn was definitely not going to get Rey, so his main point in the movie was be about him forming a quick and uninspiring bond with a new character Rose so that he can be happy with her and not be salty about Rey being with someone else. This resulted in all the characters being so out of character in order to fit the events in this movie. Rey falling for and developing a crush for Reylo which would lead her to seek to change him MAKES NO SENSE whatsoever! Come on, why would she do that after she witnessed him killing his father, the famous Han Solo, for NO REASON at all? She isn’t part of the audience who can detach themselves enough from the movie to view an F-up characters like Kylo as sympathetic as long as they are cute. No, she is a part of his world, and seeing something like that would give a major signal for any person that this deranged person should be avoided at all cost because if he can kill his father for no reason at all, than nothing would stop him from killing them too. Her actions made no sense at all. It reads as someone changing the character completely to suit their fanfiction.

This movie made the villain the main character alongside Rey. That is wrong on so many levels.Your taking the black main character of the Force Awakens and making him a minor character to suit the fans who prefer seeing Rey with a white killer than be with the black character. Your taking Finn who cares so deeply for Rey for several well developed reasons, and sloppy pairing him up with Rose whose attractions to Finn was too horribly developed to make sense. Your telling me Rose would overlook Finn cowardness so quickly( dont get me started on THAT), especially after her sister sacrificed her life for the cause? Finn was planning on leaving them all to die, and she forgave him quickly enough to fall in love with him! The side quest to develop their relationship was so dull, not only because of the lack of chemistry between the two, but also due to Finn and Rose being side characters. The movie wasnt able to give their relationship time to naturally developed, unlike in the Force Awakens where Rey and Finn was the main focus and their relationship got the most attention.

This movie should not have degraded Finn’s main character status. They should not have given his spot to Kylo, the villain. They should not have focused on unrealistic and undeveloped romances. They should instead have focus on developing the characters and existing dynamics. Finn was a stormtrooper for goodness sake! They could have explored so much of that past and how it relates to current events. They could have explored other sides of him, like I don’t know, the effects of the conditioning he grew up in. Explore the personal struggles within Finn rather than Kylo. Show more than a one dimensional side of him. Have Rey be trained and see her be attracted to the dark side, and possibly losing herself to it rather than have her focus on saving a killer man. Maybe have them explore both of their origins and within that search, have Finn discover why he should fight for the rebels, rather than avoid the conflict, since even at the end of the Force Awakens, he only came back to save Rey. Have the movie explore how a Rey-Finn-Poe dynamic would work. Introduce Rose in a way where it is not so obvious that her purpose was to become the love interest of Finn. If there is romance, keep it implied, like in the Force Awakens, and wait for the third movie to really deal with it. Explore Kylo conflicted feelings over killing his father, but NOT in the way where it takes up most of the movie! There was so much that could have been done. But no, instead of keeping continuity, they go towards the direction of keeping the shippers happy and in doing so, losing the characters completely and destroying any real chance of satisfying character development. The last movie will focus on tying all the loose ends so any good exploration of Finn’s character will most likely not happen. That is a slap in the face to John Boyega who was so excited to see where his character would go, Finn fans, and all the black fans who had such high hopes for this character.

#john boyega #star wars the last jedi #finn #rey #reylo #star wars #star wars spoilers #finnrey #kylo ren #star wars rant #black characters #finrey

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i-amusemyself · 7 years

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All 100 Questions.

Bloody hell okay thank you!!! 😄😄😄

1. Is a kiss considered cheating?Yeah, Id say so.

2. Have you ever faked orgasm?Aint never had anyone to fake it with 😂 Ngl tho its the sort of thing id do (which is terrible i know)

3. If you could have one super power, what would it be?Mind reading.

4. Do you think youre gonna be rich in 7-8-9 years?I’d be worried if I didnt have more money than I have now, but idk.

5. Tell us some funny drunk story?Oh jeez erm, I don’t really have any 😂 My friends occasionally remind me of the time at the school christmas ball one of the business teachers turned up and I quickly ran away while aggressively whispering “oh no he knows im a lesbian, aimee told him”.

6. Why are you no longer together with your ex?We work better as friends, its less stressful.

7. If you had to choose one way to die what would it be?See I’m really torn with this question. Part of me thinks itd be nice just to go in my sleep, with a heart attack or something. Its quick and painless you know.But equally I wonder if it would be better to maybe, like, have something where I knew I was gonna die. Because then I’d have time to try and do everything on my bucket list and say goodbye to everyone. Also maybe at that point I’d welcome death lmao.

8. What are your current goals?Idk? Im waiting on A level results which I really hope I’ve done well in.I hope to make lots of new friends at uni and learn how to look after myself quickly I guess. I dont know.

9. Do you like someone?I like a lot of people 😆

10. Who was the last person to disappoint you?Im really not sure??? There arent many people I expect anything from and even then my standards are pretty low. So like, I dont really get disappointed by people, only occasionally by situations.

11. Do you like your body?I could hate it a lot more, but I wouldnt say I’m happy with my body or general appearance. I struggle a lot with my features and my weight and the scars I have (which is ridiculous but thats what mental illness is)

12. Can you keep a diet?I mean if I wasnt on the diet im on rn (with lots of restrictions) id probs be in hospital 😂

13. If the whole world was listening to you right now, what would you say?Honestly id pass out under the pressure of it 😂 idk, id tell them all to take a chill pill but no one would listen.

14. Do you work?Nah, i had 3 jobs at once last yeah but now I’ve ended up with none.

15. If you could choose only one food to eat for the rest of your life what would it be?Either garlic bread or chocolate I cant decide!

16. Would you get a tattoo?I’m v much planning on getting one in the near future so yh!!

17. Something you dont mind spending all your money on?Plane tickets.

18. Can you drive?Yeah! I havent driven since I passed my test, but hopefully I havent forgotten how to that quickly!

19. When was the last time someone told you youre beautiful?…I cant remember. Thats depressing (not that I blame them).

20. What was the last thing you cried for?Argh I have no idea why I was crying, my brain just wasnt doing its job so everything made me stressed and sad.

21. Do you keep a journal?I keep a blog for diary posts but besides that nah

22. Is life fun?If you allow it to be, yeah

23. Is farting in front of people irrelevant?Tf is that supposed to mean? I guess if you know the person well it is.

24. Whats your dream car?I dont know about Dream Car, id have to research it loads to decide what my absolute fave it. Although rn I’d really love a ‘67 VW beetle bc theyre small and cheap on insurance 😂

25. Are grades in school important?My own grades are super important to me, (to the point its probably unhealthy) but in terms of how the people around me do, it doesnt really matter to me. I mean, I want everyone to do well, but I dont judge people based on it.

26. Describe your crush.She’s funny and all around awesome and interesting and good at deep convos and beautiful and way out of my league.

27. What was the last book/movie that really impressed you?The last one I read called The Bell Jar. It was unlike anything I’ve ever read and made me think about a lot of things. Also I related a lot with the main character.

28. What was your last lie?Eh, probably “im fine”.

29. Dumbest lie you ever told?Idk?? I only keep track of the good lies 😉

30. Is crying in front of people embarrasing?It shouldnt be but yeah, I try my best not to.

31. Something you did and are proud of?Umm, idk im p proud of playing basketball and representing my region/training with england. But i quit that so 👏 dicks out for my regrettable decisions 👏

32. Whats your favourite cocktail?Never had one

33. Something you are good at?Annoying people and being clingy 😂 also maths ig

34. Do you like small kids?It depends on the child, the day of the week, the lunar cycle, my menstrual cycle, how hungry I am…Yh legit sometimes I hate them sometimes I love them.

35. How are you feeling right now?Great omg I just got my best friend to watch mamma mia and now shes high on life next to me.

36. What would you name your daughter/son?🤐 there are a couple of names for girls I like and like 2 boys names? But i dont wanna say bc theyre embarrasing.

37. What do you need to be happy?Good company, good food and possibly music.

38. Is there someone you want to punch in the face right now?Theres always at least 3 people I would love to punch 😂

39. What was the last gift you recieved?My best friend got me a necklace and I almost cried its so beautiful

40. What was the last gift you gave?The gift of my company @only-slightly-dangerous 😉😉😉

41. What was the last concert you went to?I went to to see Amber Run in february

42. Favourite place to shop at?Um, as in shop? A place called blue banana probs (england’s hot topic smh)

43. Who inspires you?Kaitlyn Alexander bc they helped me to understand who I am and how I feel and to be loud and proud about it.And Luke Cutforth bc he’s so open about his mental health and struggles with self harm but hes so happy now.

44. How old were you when you first got drunk?18 lmao

45. How old were you when you first got high?It aint happened yet (and i dont really want it to)

46. How old were you when you first had sex?It aint happened yet smh

47. When was your first kiss?As far as im concerned never

48. Something you want to do until the end this year?What….does this mean….? Idk???

49. Is there something in the past you wish you hadnt done?It’s more stuff I wish I had done tbh. I suppose I said things I shouldnt have or got too involved in drama, but you kinda need all that secondary school shit to learn from it

50. Post a selfie.Lmao nah fam

51. Who are you most comfortable around?My best friend by a mile. Privacy who?

52. Name one thing that terrifies you.Abandonment without explanation.

53. What kind of books do you read?Anything non fiction about medicine/being a doctor/disease/psycopaths.Besides that whatever has been recommended.

54. What would you tell your 12 y/o self?1. Youre gay2. You and I both know you arent joking about being “a dude trapped in a girls body” stop laughing it off and confront it.3. Stand up for yourself.4. Chill out.5. Laugh a lot more omg

55. What is your favourite flower?It’s between petunias and roses

56. Any bad habits you have?Not answering peoples messages unless theyre Certain Person A or Certain Person B.

57. What kind of people are you attracted to?Ones that are out of my league and could kick my ass apparently. Also ones that are kind, listen and think a lot I guess

58. What was the last thing you cried for?Already answered

59. Is there something you dont eat? A food that truly disgusts you?I dont eat loads of stuff bc my guts hate me 😂 but besides all that I’m actually the worlds least picky eater. The only thing I dont like is raw tomato. Thats it.

60. Are you in love?I wish

61. Something you find romantic?All the clichés ngl 😂 just anything that says “i love you” or “i was thinking about you” really

62. How long was your longest relationship?Like 4 months? Barely long term.

63. What are 3 things that irritate you about the same sex?Oh jeez i hate these theyre so stereotype-y1. Bitching2. Not supporting each other3. ….?

64. What are 3 things that irritate you about the opposite sex?1. Not supporting each other2. Massive egos3. Yelling

65. What are you saving money for?Uni so I dont starve to death!

66. How would you describe your bad side?Hmm, idk, it depends what someone did to get on my bad side. I’d say stubborn, bitter and angry tho usually.

67. Are you actually a good person? Why?I could be wrong but I think so long as someone has morally good intentions they are usually a good person, whether they always succeed or not. So yeah, I like to think I am.

68. What are you living for?My friends and the hope I have for my future.

69. Have you ever done anything illegal?Piracy? Thats it.

70. Do you like your money?….did I type this question wrong or??

71. Have you ever made someone feel bad about themselves intentionally?Okay, the honest answer? Yeah. When I was a lot younger and less mature and someone said something that hurt me, I tried to retaliate with equally hurtful comments. I like to think I wouldnt do that now.

72. Ever sent nudes?Lol no

73. Have you ever cheated on someone?Hell no

74. Favourite candy?All candy hates me 😂

75. Is there a blog you visit everyday or almost every day? Tag them.Yeah @oneshappyplace knows I regularly spam her with notes in search or Quality Memes (im so sorry)

76. Do you play any computer games? Whats ur fave?Nah, as if I have time 😂

77. Favourite TV series?Argh I canny choose? I love the IT Crowd, I love supernatural, I love Sherlock, I love in the flesh…

78. Are you religious? Does God exist?I’m not religious and personally I don’t believe there’s a god or higher power but I could be wrong.

79. What was the last book you read? Did it impress you and why?The Bell Jar. See 27.

80. What do you think about vegetarians and veganism?I respect it I guess? At one point I was p much a vegetarian until I had to restrict my diet sooo. Tho I could never be one now, let alone a vegan.

81. How long have you been on tumblr?Too long 😂😂😂 Like 3 or 4 years?

82. Do you like chinese food?Love it!

83. McDonalds or Subway?(Never been to subway so) McDonalds.

84. Vodka or Whisky?(Never had whisky so) Vodka.

85. Alcohol or Drugs?(Never had drugs so) Alcohol.

86. Ever been out of your country?I’m currently in the USA so yeah 😂

87. Meaning behind your blog name?It’s p self explanatory and also v true

88. What are you scared of?Abandonment, deep water, knives, toys with battery packs.

89. Last time you were insulted?Ugh, probs like when I met up with a load of school friends for our leaver’s ball.

90. Most traumatic experience?I’d rather not answer that lmao (plus itd take a long time to type)

91. Perfect date idea?Chilling and listening to each other’s favourite songs while coexisting and eating fast food 😂 that or ikea ngl

92. Favourite app on your phone?Tumblr. Even though I hate it, it also keeps me sane.

93. What colour are the walls in your room?White and blue.

94. Do you watch youtube? Who is your favourite youtuber?I love so many youtubers omg. Lukeisnotsexy, mileschronicles, realisticallysaying and filthy frank are faves

95. Share your favourite quote.Pick your fights.

96. What is the meaning of life?To live life to the fullest so youre happy and have minimal regrets. Also to be kind and helpful so even if you dont change the world you might help someone else to.

97. Do you like horror movies?I think….? But I’m not good at watching them alone 😂

98. Have you ever made your mum cry? What happened?Eh…again, would rather not answer (we got some nice supressed memories here)

99. Do you feel lucky or special in any way?I’m still totally in awe of how lucky I am to have met my best friend from 3000 miles away. Like, the probability of it was so so slim and yet here we are.

100. Can you keep a secret?I think so yh! It’s something that I consider super important.

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mrlongkgraves · 5 years

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SPG47 research brings hope to families

Robbie and Molly [PHOTOS COURTESY OF KASEY EDWARDS]

“Mama Kasey — I spy!” I smile. Robbie wants to play “I spy with my little eye.” She’s actually quite good and relishes the enthusiasm she gets when she’s right. In fact, recently, we were with someone who was unfamiliar with the routine. After Robbie answered correctly, she waited. Though complimented, it wasn’t enough. Robbie gently took this woman’s hand, looked her in the eye and said, “clap.”

Every day with Robbie introduces new revelations of her effervescent personality. She is boisterous and bubbly, bossy but sweet. At 5 years old, she’s exceeded what I expected her to attain even as an adult, given her ultra-rare neurodegenerative diagnosis of SPG47 two and a half years ago.

We are concerned about her mobility. Every growth spurt causes balance issues and muscle tightening. We’ve thought she lost her ability to walk more than once, yet she perseveres and regains her (precarious) equilibrium. We never know if “today” will be the day she’ll never walk independently again.

Robbie and her friend Molly are the driving motivation behind Cure SPG47, the non-profit we parents founded to initiate and fund research towards stopping or slowing the progression of this disease. Molly, too, makes progress daily, especially with speech and cognition. She is forming longer sentences, asking simple questions and commenting on her observations; a true joy for her family to see. She struggles with her walking; there are good days and not so good days. Yet she is most determined; nothing gets in her way of accomplishing what she wants to do.

Like our girls, Cure SPG47’s research is also flourishing. Unwavering determination and initiative from our human neuron research program’s principal investigator, Dr. Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari , significant support from the Translational Neuroscience Center (TNC), and their partnership with the Manton Center for Rare Disease Research has lead to an international registry and natural history study for AP-4 associated hereditary spastic paraplegia. This study has shown that when any of the AP-4 subunit genes are defective, the clinical phenotype is essentially the same. This connects SPG47 (AP4B1) with three other SPGs: 50 (AP4M1), 51 (AP4E1) & 52 (AP4S1).

Potentially, drug-screening research at Boston Children’s may help identify a treatment, which benefits all four of these diseases. Since the registry and study began last June, 42 cases of SPG47 have been registered, with a total of 110 cases including all four disorders. Most case findings are the result of hundreds of personal emails from Dr. Ebrahimi-Fakhari, our biggest champion. This has connected clinicians and investigators from around the world with the Boston Children’s team. And, due to an overlapping of phenotypes with cerebral palsy, we are expanding the search for AP-4 cases that may be identified through genetic testing of patients with a presumed diagnosis of cerebral palsy.

Dr. Ebrahimi-Fahkari has been invited to present these findings at the American Academy of Neurology conference in May. We have been told that this opportunity could put SPG47 and the related AP-4 disorders on the map very quickly, at a level we could not have anticipated.

In December, the TNC hosted a Cure SPG47 research conference with experts from around the country and overseas. Early on a comment a struck me: “While we’ve learned a lot, there is still much we don’t know.” I fought back tears as the gravity of our intentions and the reality of my scientific ignorance collided. What are we doing? But this feeling was fleeting. I witnessed renowned specialists and brilliant minds carefully and passionately advise, debate and eventually agree on pertinent issues geared towards attaining the utmost safety and efficacy of the therapies that may be identified to treat our children. By the end, I swelled with hope and pride. To choose this path as a parent is terrifying, but to travel it with these experienced and compassionate specialists is exhilarating. And they have mapped our course.

Molly and Robbie with their parents at Disney World

To start, we strive to propagate the news of our research and natural history study to all relevant outlets; we must find the cases we suspect exist. We plan to share reagents (antibodies, mouse models, fibroblast and iPSC lines) to researchers and labs interested in collaboration; there is so much more we can learn. We will begin working with the FDA towards a human clinical trial; our gene therapy research, led by Dr. Mimoun Azzouz at the University of Sheffield, is beginning to show promise. Our action items are ambitious, but so are we.

And myself? I need to hug my daughter, play a game of “I spy,” clap and count my blessings.

Learn more about the Boston Children’s Department of Neurology.

The post SPG47 research brings hope to families appeared first on Thriving Blog.

from Thriving Blog https://on.bchil.org/2IjqADS

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we-johnnygonzalez-blog · 5 years

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5 Real Examples of Advanced Content Promotion Strategies

Posted by bsmarketer

Content promotion isn’t tweeting or upvoting. Those tiny, one-off tactics are fine for beginners. They might make a dent, but they definitely won’t move the needle. Companies that want to grow big and grow fast need to grow differently.

Here’s how Kissmetrics, Sourcify, Sales Hacker, Kinsta, and BuildFire have used advanced content promotion tips like newsjacking and paid social to elevate their brands above the competition.

1. Use content to fuel social media distribution (and not the other way around)

Prior to selling the brand and blog to Neil Patel, Kissmetrics had no dedicated social media manager at the height of their success. The Kissmetrics blog received nearly 85% of its traffic from organic search. The second biggest traffic-driver was the newsletter.

Social media did drive traffic to their posts. However, former blog editor Zach Buylgo’s research showed that these traffic segments often had the lowest engagement (like time on site) and the least conversions (like trial or demo opt-ins) — so they didn’t prioritize it. The bulk of Zach’s day was instead focused on editing posts, making changes himself, adding comments and suggestions for the author to fix, and checking for regurgitated content. Stellar, long-form content was priority number one. And two. And three.

So Zach wasn’t just looking for technically-correct content. He was optimizing for uniqueness: the exact same area where most cheap content falls short. That’s an issue because many times, a simple SERP analysis would reveal that one submission:

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...Looked exactly like the number-one result from Content Marketing Institute:

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Today’s plagiarism tools can catch the obvious stuff, but these derivatives often slip through the cracks. Recurring paid writers contributed the bulk of the TOFU content, which would free Zach up to focus more on MOFU use cases and case studies to help visitors understand how to get the most out of their product set (from the in-house person who knows it best).

They produced marketing guides and weekly webinars to transform initial attention into new leads:

They also created free marketing tools to give prospects an interactive way to continue engaging with their brand:

In other words, they focused on doing the things that matter most — the 20% that would generate the biggest bang for their buck. They won’t ignore social networks completely, though. They still had hundreds of thousands of followers across each network. Instead, their intern would take the frontlines. That person would watch out for anything critical, like a customer question, which will then be passed off to the Customer Success Manager that will get back to them within a few hours.

New blog posts would get the obligatory push to Twitter and LinkedIn. (Facebook is used primarily for their weekly webinar updates.) Zach used Pablo from Buffer to design and create featured images for the blog posts.

Then he’d use an Open Graph Protocol WordPress plugin to automatically add all appropriate tags for each network. That way, all he had to do was add the file and basic post meta data. The plugin would then customize how it shows up on each network afterward. Instead of using Buffer to promote new posts, though, Zach likes MeetEdgar.

Why? Doesn’t that seem like an extra step at first glance? Like Buffer, MeetEdgar allows you to select when you’d like to schedule content. You can just load up the queue with content, and the tool will manage the rest. The difference is that Buffer constantly requires new content — you need to keep topping it off, whereas MeetEdgar will automatically recycle the old stuff you’ve previously added. This saved a blog like Kissmetrics, with thousands of content pieces, TONS of time.

(image source)

He would then use Sleeknote to build forms tailored to each blog category to transform blog readers into top-of-the-funnel leads:

But that’s about it. Zach didn’t do a ton of custom tweets. There weren’t a lot of personal replies. It’s not that they didn’t care. They just preferred to focus on what drives the most results for their particular business. They focused on building a brand that people recognize and trust. That means others would do the social sharing for them.

Respected industry vets like Avinash Kaushik, for example, would often share their blog posts. And Avinash was the perfect fit, because he already has a loyal, data-driven audience following him.

So that single tweet brings in a ton of highly-qualified traffic — traffic that turns into leads and customers, not just fans.

2. Combine original research and newsjacking to go viral

Sourcify has grown almost exclusively through content marketing. Founder Nathan Resnick speaks, attends, and hosts everything from webinars to live events and meetups. Most of their events are brand-building efforts to connect face-to-face with other entrepreneurs. But what’s put them on the map has been leveraging their own experience and platform to fuel viral stories.

Last summer, the record-breaking Mayweather vs. McGregor fight was gaining steam. McGregor was already infamous for his legendary trash-talking and shade-throwing abilities. He also liked to indulge in attention-grabbing sartorial splendor. But the suit he wore to the very first press conference somehow managed to combine the best of both personality quirks:

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This was no off-the-shelf suit. He had it custom made. Nathan recalls seeing this press conference suit fondly: “Literally, the team came in after the press conference, thinking, ‘Man, this is an epic suit.’” So they did what any other rational human being did after seeing it on TV: they tried to buy it online.

“Except, the dude was charging like $10,000 to cover it and taking six weeks to produce.” That gave Nathan an idea. “I think we can produce this way faster.”

They “used their own platform, had samples done in less than a week, and had a site up the same day.”

(image source)

“We took photos, sent them to different factories, and took guesstimates on letter sizing, colors, fonts, etc. You can often manufacture products based on images if it’s within certain product categories.” The goal all along was to use the suit as a case study. They partnered with a local marketing firm to help split the promotion, work, and costs.

“The next day we signed a contract with a few marketers based in San Francisco to split the profits 50–50 after we both covered our costs. They cover the ad spend and setup; we cover the inventory and logistics cost,” Nathan wrote in an article for The Hustle. When they were ready to go, the marketing company began running ad campaigns and pushing out stories. They went viral on BroBible quickly after launch and pulled in over $23,000 in sales within the first week.

The only problem is that they used some images of Conor in the process. And apparently, his attorney’s didn’t love the IP infringement. A cease and desist letter wasn’t far behind:

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This result wasn’t completely unexpected. Both Nathan and the marketing partner knew they were skirting a thin line. But either way, Nathan got what he wanted out of it.

3. Drive targeted, bottom-of-the-funnel leads with Quora

Quora packs another punch that often elevates it over the other social channels: higher-quality traffic. Site visitors are asking detailed questions, expecting to comb through in-depth answers to each query. In other words, they’re invested. They’re smart. And if they’re expressing interest in managed WordPress hosting, it means they’ve got dough, too.

Both Sales Hacker and Kinsta take full advantage. Today, Gaetano DiNardi is the Director of Demand Generation at Nextiva. But before that, he lead marketing at Sales Hacker before they were acquired. There, content was central to their stratospheric growth. With Quora, Gaetano would take his latest content pieces and use them to solve customer problems and address pain points in the general sales and marketing space:

By using Quora as a research tool, he would find new topics that he can create content around to drive new traffic and connect with their current audience:

He found questions that they already had content for and used it as a chance to engage users and provide value. He can drive tons of relevant traffic for free by linking back to the Sales Hacker blog:

Kinsta, a managed WordPress hosting company out of Europe, also uses uses relevant threads and Quora ads. CMO Brian Jackson jumps into conversations directly, lending his experience and expertise where appropriate. His technical background makes it easy to talk shop with others looking for a sophisticated conversation about performance (beyond the standard, PR-speak most marketers offer up):

Brian targets different WordPress-related categories, questions, or interests. Technically, the units are “display ads, but they look like text.” The ad copy is short and to the point. Usually something like, “Premium hosting plans starting at $XX/month” to fit within their length requirements.

4. Rank faster with paid (not organic) social promotion

Kinsta co-founder Tom Zsomborgi wrote about their journey in a bootstrapping blog post that went live last November. It instantly hit the top of Hacker News, resulting in their website getting a consistent 400+ concurrent visitors all day:

Within hours their post was also ranking on the first page for the term “bootstrapping,” which receives around 256,000 monthly searches.

How did that happen?

“There’s a direct correlation between social proof and increased search traffic. It’s more than people think,” said Brian. Essentially, you’re paying Facebook to increase organic rankings. You take good content, add paid syndication, and watch keyword rankings go up.

Kinsta’s big goal with content promotion is to build traffic and get as many eyeballs as possible. Then they’ll use AdRoll for display retargeting messages, targeting the people who just visited with lead gen offers to start a free trial. (“But I don’t use AdRoll for Facebook because it tags on their middleman fee.”)

Brian uses the “Click Campaigns” objective on Facebook Ads for both lead gen and content promotion. “It’s the best for getting traffic.”

Facebook's organic reach fell by 52% in 2016 alone. That means your ability to promote content to your own page fans is quickly approaching zero.

(image source)

“It’s almost not even worth posting if you’re not paying,” confirms Brian. Kinsta will promote new posts to make sure it comes across their fans’ News Feed. Anecdotally, that reach number with a paid assist might jump up around 30%.

If they don’t see it, Brian will “turn it into an ad and run it separately.” It’s “re-written a second time to target a broader audience.”

In addition to new post promotion, Brian has an evergreen campaign that’s constantly delivering the “best posts ever written” on their site. It’s “never-ending” because it gives Brian a steady-stream of new site visitors — or new potential prospects to target with lead gen ads further down the funnel. That’s why Brian asserts that today’s social managers need to understand PPC and lead gen. “A lot of people hire social media managers and just do organic promotion. But Facebook organic just sucks anyway. It’s becoming “pay to play.’”

“Organic reach is just going to get worse and worse and worse. It’s never going to get better.” Also, advertising gets you “more data for targeting,” which then enables you to create more in-depth A/B tests.

We confirmed this through a series of promoted content tests, where different ad types (custom images vs. videos) would perform better based on the campaign objectives and placements.

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That’s why “best practices” are past practices — or BS practices. You don’t know what’s going to perform best until you actually do it for yourself. And advertising accelerates that feedback loop.

5. Constantly refresh your retargeting ad creative to keep engagement high

Almost every single stat shows that remarketing is one of the most efficient ways to close more customers. The more ad remarketing impressions someone sees, the higher the conversion rate. Remarketing ads are also incredibly cheap compared to your standard AdWords search ad when trying to reach new cold traffic.

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There’s only one problem to watch out for: ad fatigue. The image creative plays a massive role in Facebook ad success. But over time (a few days to a few weeks), the performance of that ad will decline. The image becomes stale. The audience has seen it too many times. The trick is to continually cycle through similar, but different, ad examples.

Here’s how David Zheng does it for BuildFire:

His team will either (a) create the ad creative image directly inside Canva, or (b) have their designers create a background ‘template’ that they can use to manipulate quickly. That way, they can make fast adjustments on the fly, A/B testing small elements like background color to keep ads fresh and conversions as high as possible.

(image source)

All retargeting or remarketing campaigns will be sent to a tightly controlled audience. For example, let’s say you have leads who’ve downloaded an eBook and ones who’ve participated in a consultation call. You can just lump those two types into the same campaign, right? I mean, they’re both technically ‘leads.’

But that’s a mistake. Sure, they’re both leads. However, they’re at different levels of interest. Your goal with the first group is to get them on a free consultation call, while your goal with the second is to get them to sign up for a free trial. That means two campaigns, which means two audiences.

Facebook’s custom audiences makes this easy, as does LinkedIn’s new-ish Matched Audiences feature. Like with Facebook, you can pick people who’ve visited certain pages on your site, belong to specific lists in your CRM, or whose email address is on a custom .CSV file:

If both of these leads fall off after a few weeks and fail to follow up, you can go back to the beginning to re-engage them. You can use content-based ads all over again to hit back at the primary pain points behind the product or service that you sell.

This seems like a lot of detailed work — largely because it is. But it’s worth it because of scale. You can set these campaigns up, once, and then simply monitor or tweak performance as you go. That means technology is largely running each individual campaign. You don’t need as many people internally to manage each hands-on.

And best of all, it forces you to create a logical system. You’re taking people through a step-by-step process, one tiny commitment at a time, until they seamlessly move from stranger into customer.

Conclusion

Sending out a few tweets won’t make an impact at the end of the day. There’s more competition (read: noise) than ever before, while organic reach has never been lower. The trick isn’t to follow some faux influencer who talks the loudest, but rather the practitioners who are doing it day-in, day-out, with the KPIs to prove it.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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Who Were The Republicans That Voted For Obamacare

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-were-the-republicans-that-voted-for-obamacare/

Who Were The Republicans That Voted For Obamacare

Actual Events That Occurred As A Result Of The Affordable Care Act 2011 To 2014

January 2011: A Florida judge rules that elements of the Affordable Care Act are unconstitutional.

January, 2014: Health Affairs published its most recent analysis of Medical Loss Ratio performance by major insurers.

How Different Groups Of Republicans Voted

Affordable Health Care For America Act

Jump to navigationJump to searchPatient Protection and Affordable Care ActAmerican Health Care Act

This article is part of a serieson

Senators Who Had Voted Against Obamacare Repeal Are Now Wavering

Matt Fuller

That flexibility has inspired Sen. Rand Paul to come out strongly against the legislation, castigating the bill as a rebranding of Obamacare. Conservatives should say no, Paul Monday.

Whether we repeal and replace Obamacare comes down to a few key senators, Meadows said.

Employer Mandate And Part