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wihlybt · 3 years

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I keep seeing posts on here and YouTube about "Season 2" this, "Season 2" that. There doesnt need to be a second season to begin with, but I'll tell you the reason so many people think we absolutely need one:

What do Taiga and Ryuuji talk about?

What do these two do when they're not on camera?

For that matter, what does Taiga do when she's on her own?

We get to see so much of them being stupid teenagers together, constantly screwing up and failing together, like a bootleg Team Rocket, and it make us root for them, and want to see them be HAPPY together, but we never see them just BEING. What common ground do they hold? How do they pass time together? They both clearly share mutual interest as far as clothes and food go, but the one time they actually discuss "fashion", it's just in passing, in service of introducing Ami.

Out of the main 5 characters, Taiga is the least developed, with the other 4 having clear interests or potential paths to follow with their lives. Ryuuji enjoys cooking, cleaning, fashion, and interior design. Ami is a model and her mother was an actress. Both Kidamura and Minori both have strong interest in athletic endeavors, with Kidamura being a scholar additionally, with clear intent to follow his senpai to America. Shit, even Haruta and Noto give their two cents on what their futures may hold, working with their parents or going into publishing respectively. Taiga is the only one who never shows any active interest in anything other than sitting her pretty little ass in front of the TV and eating whatever Ryuuji puts in front of her. Believe it or not, there are two filler episodes dedicated to Kidamura and Minori's development when we get nothing on Taiga herself, those Episodes being the Photo episode and helping Minori at work, and those episodes grate on me to no end due to their dispensability and irrelevance. Even when the prospect of "the future" is brought up in the story, her response is "I'm rich, so I don't have to do anything," and every time I see that scene, I wanna grind my knuckles into her cute little skull. Throughout the entire run of the show, she never does anything of her own volition, she has to be pushed or dragged into literally anything. We aren't provided with enough information in the slightest to picture any events that would follow that adorable final headbutt to her future husbands face, and that's why people THINK they want a season 2.

Even in the Visual Novel, which is sort of an alternate reality dating sim, where Ryuuji can end up with almost anybody (including his Mother and Ms. Yuri), the ending doesn't provide us with much to go off of. In Taiga's "True" Ending, we skip ahead a few years, where Ryuuji is an up and coming interior designer, and Taiga is pregnant with his triplets, as they return to Japan from their new home in Italy to visit Granny Yasuko. Everyone's super happy and successful.

This ending SUCKS.

As much as Taiga about to pop being stuffed full of Ryu's babies fills me with immeasurable joy, it's TOO happy an ending for our stupid teenagers. The whole show is them struggling together. I don't wanna see them rich and fancy, I wanna see them be normal, working class people, making ends meet and enjoying the small things in life. There's actually, in my opinion, a far better ending where Ryu ends up with KIDAMURA, of all people, where they make a Bros.-Before-Hoes style pact, and they work together to buy out Ryuuji's apartment complex and renovate the bottom floor into a restaurant, The Dragon Diner, where Granny Yasuko can retire and live in peace while her son and his best bro thrive and grow up before her very eyes. And who do you think is their number one customer? Wouldn't you know, it's Taiga, who's miserable watching Ryuuji and Kidamura be happy without her. The final line in the ending is Taiga wistfully asking herself where she and Ryuuji went wrong, Ryuuji not hearing her under her breathe as he gets ready to go work, serving nutritious meals at reasonable prices.

I love this ending so much more than the Taiga ending, because, while they're not a couple, Taiga and Ryuuji are still TOGETHER as we knew them in the show, and Taiga isn't going anywhere, as she makes it clear in her usual stubborn way, declaring herself Ryuuji's number one customer, and telling the bros they'd be lost without her. It fills me with hope, that, even if they're not "together", the two are still inseparable, and those triplets might still be in the future for the two, just not right now.

Ideally, I'd like for these two endings to be mashed together, where, Ryuuji and TAIGA buy the place they fell in love, renovate the bottom floor into a restaurant, The Palmtop Tiger (now named after the proprietors wife), and they work as husband and wife, with the retired Granny Yasuko helping raise the babies. Forget "Interior Design" in Italy, I wanna see Ryuuji make a name for himself the way he made his wife fall for him, with his cooking and hospitality. I wanna see Taiga develop some responsibility and support her husband, rather than just be dead weight as he supports both her and Yasuko.

TL;DR: The only reason people think they want a season 2 is cuz Taiga and Ryu have 0 couples chemistry, and we have little to no information to satisfyingly picture their future together

#Toradora #season 2 #taiga Aisaka #ryuuji takasu #review #anime #anime Review #criticism

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whileyoursleeping · 3 years

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not the anon pissed over replies to their comments, just my 2 cents. If someone leaves an insightful comment about a fic and I go "Hey, I didn't think of it from that perspective or that's a really interesting take, now I think it could go to xyz place..." Yes, it's engaging another commentor on it fic outside the author (and possibly the author, their choice). But so long as it's respectful, then that's how fans meet and build relationships and community. I appapparently can't get into any 9-1-1 discord servers because I don't know the right people, but I'm new to the Fandom and don't know who those people are. and I'll never find them without engaging in the places where I can engage people. So really, so long as it's respectful, you aren't obligated to reply, but it's a way for fans to share their mutual love of something. I've made plenty of real life friends through comments.

hello nonny! i generally think it's great to be able to have constructive conversation in comments and i PERSONALLY don't mind it (i actually like it!) but i can see why some people would feel it detracts from the work itself. i agree in terms of building relationships too - i've met so many people through fic commenting etc who i'm now close friends with and i'm super grateful for that, because while i'm actually part of the discord i'm super shy and don't post unless i'm directly tagged in something. (also hit me up off anon i'll try to hook you up with a discord link). i'm also more than happy for people to shoot me PM's on here - i really don't bite and i'm happy to engage in conversation as long as it is respectful!

i'm also happy for my blog to be a place where people come and engage with each other and say "this anon said x and i'd like to add to it!". the replies on some posts actually change the direction i take with fic sometimes or they open my eyes to things i hadn't considered before and i find that super valuable. the original anon did message me off anon and was happy for the last two asks to remain up because it is interesting in terms of fandom etiquette.

also - i've had TONS of conversations through tumblr PM's recently about loads of my fics and people who are absolutely lovely and essentially let me soundboard off them or ask them questions and i really love those people <3 it helps massively with not getting stuck and feeling like i put out content people genuinely want to read

#shut up nibbles #i seriously do not bite i have the disposition of the sun from the teletubbies #i am one of the friendliest people you will encounter pls talk to me

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the-black-dragons-den · 4 years

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Hello! How're things going with you these days? Hope it's going alright

Hi! I’ve been meaning to respond to this for days but I also wanted to take this as an opportunity to just kind of, elaborate on my life because it’s been kind of crazy! I am so sorry for turning this into a novel about myself because a simple “I’m doing better, thanks!” probably would have sufficed to answer, but I also needed to get this all out!

Also you know you are one of my favorite mutuals, I adore your blog, and your presence on my tumblr feed always makes me smile! Thank you for checking in with me, that’s super sweet of you!

TLDR; My mental health is a daily struggle but I’m taking real steps to take care of myself. My financial situation has dramatically improved, I didn’t catch Coronavirus, and in general things are looking up! I’m also trying to decide what the heck to do with my life - seek a better job now or go back to school to train to get a better job.

Here’s the long version!

At the end of last year, my fiance and I both quit our jobs due to a SUPER toxic work environment. That lead to a very long and stressful battle to win my unemployment benefits from that employer (but I did win eventually!) That whole thing was really hard on my mental health, but worth it in the end. Even with that, we basically blew through all of our very meager year-long savings (that was intended to go toward my fiance’s much needed dental work) for rent and groceries, right around the 2019 holidays so that was a really hard time. We both found jobs (mine part-time and his first one temporary and his current one full-time and awesome) but we still spent the first couple months of this year going to the food bank every week and barely making rent. We’ve been in hard times like that before but having to spend ALL of our savings was gut-wrenching.

So, roughly 3 weeks after my fiance got his new awesome job, Coronavirus became a big threat in our area and he was immediately laid off. Luckily, he was guaranteed his job back, and was able to get unemployment during that time. I’m still on unemployment while I’m working this part-time job, but more on that later. Anyway, that means we both received the extra pandemic benefits with our unemployment payments.

My job now is merchandising, which means that I work for a company that’s contracted by stores in the area, and I go to those stores and do things like setting displays, compliance scanning, etc. Honestly, so few people who don’t work as merchandisers know the job even exists, but I promise that a bunch of the displays at your local stores are not put there or stocked by store employees. It’s part-time, I work independently and for the most part don’t have to interact with a ton of people (which is really helpful for my anxiety). So, all in all, not a bad job for me, especially while I try to figure out what’s next.--

---Anyway, I didn’t stop working at all during the pandemic, which was good for our finances but again, hard on my mental health. (This is kind of whiny but it was incredibly wearing that I was an essential worker, but I watched other essential workers get raises and hazard pay and an outflow of support, and because people don’t know merchandisers are a thing, no one really thought to thank or support us, or give us more money.) I actually took on several more stores during April and May to cover for coworkers. I really am grateful to have had a job but let me tell you, being out there in the pool of stress exuding from everyone’s pores every day for hours at a time really wound my brain up.

However! Despite the mental health struggle that, let’s be honest, is impossible to avoid with my pre-existing conditions and the state of the world, things are looking up! Between unemployment benefits, the stimulus, my fiance’s severance, and his return to work and subsequent promotion and raise (SO PROUD OF HIM!), we are financially more steady now than... we ever have been. We’re slowly getting his dental work taken care of, which we’ve been trying to do for nearly four years. We’re never worried about rent, we have money saved, and OH OH OH, I am now 82% paid on my debt!!! I racked up credit card debt several years ago when we were very broke (buying groceries and necessities no less) and have been paying it for 3 years now, and I’ve actually made real progress! I have a “good” credit score! That feels amazing! My fiance even accidentally dropped and shattered his phone, and we were able to order a new (still relatively inexpensive) one that night, without having to sacrifice grocery money or anything which was awesome (especialyl because he needs his phone for work).

Additionally, I recently ask my job if I could cut back on hours because I was getting so burnt out and I needed to do this for my mental health. Between my fiance and I, I’m the driver so I have to make time for errands, and because he works full time (and a decent bit of overtime), I try to handle as much of the household chores as I can. But that altogether with work and making sure we can both get to needed appointments and stuff is A LOT to handle. And because he’s making good money now, I can actually take this step back from work, cut back on my hours, and we’re not super hurting for money because of it. We’ve never had a time together when we haven’t been calculating our hours day by day, trying to get more work time at any opportunity, scraping for every cent we earned. This is so amazing and different.

So I’ve cut back on my hours for the sake of my mental health. I’ve downloaded a mood-tracking app to try to get more insight into my patterns, moods and behaviors. I’ve made time for relaxation - long hot baths are my thing. I’m almost debt-free which is a huge weight off my shoulders. I just... want to be able to get out of bed most mornings without having a mental breakdown, that’s the first goal. It’s a struggle, but it’s a goal!

I’m also trying to make time to decide what to do with my life. I completed 2 years of college but never finished. I’ve only ever worked kind of crappy entry-level jobs. I really struggle with customer interaction (super wearing on me, makes me miserable) and I’d love to find a career where that’s limited, but I’m not sure if that means I’ll need to go back to school. My parents are also pushing me to make sure I seek a career in a field that pays well and is growing, which is logical, but has already made them discourage me out of the idea of being a paralegal, which I was really interested in... I’d like to go back to school but I really need a path before I make that decision. None of my passions (make-up, music, or being a paralegal apparently) are really things I could make a financially lucrative career out of, unless I had the dedication and talent of much healthier person, mentally. I’d like to be a forensic analyst maybe, but my parents are trying to talk me out of that one too. My dad has always wanted me to be an architect but I am not adept with math and I don’t want to design boring office buildings. In the meantime, it’s really hard to find a job that I get into without a degree, that allows me that minimal interaction with people and actually pays decently well. So I’m struggling but now I have time to actually think about it and figure it out, which is awesome.

LASTLY, I promise ---- I have nothing but support in my heart for the BLM movement, and I have been horrified by the actions of local and national police forces, and deeply proud of some of my peers who have been going to protests daily, helping speak out against the horrors being committed upon the colored communities in our country. I have not had the ability to participate in any protests, but I can’t explain the deep emotional grief that I feel over the unjust deaths, the tear gas and rubber bullets, the plowing down of innocent people. Videos of brutality make me ache with despair but I share them because I’m so fearful that if the wrong people come out on top in this situation, these videos and records of what was done to the American people will be destroyed. Though I am lucky to be surrounded by peers who share my feelings, these events have definitely strained my already tenuous relationship with my very conservative parents, and feeling so alienated from them has brought up a lot of childhood pain. However, as a very sheltered white female, I understand that my grief and despair cannot compare to the grief of black, brown, and other non-white communities during this time.

In conclusion, 2020 has been a real shit year so far but I’m standing here fighting back with every fiber of my being to make life better for me and my fiance, to get on top of my mental health, and to figure out what I’m doing with my life now!

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lux-astrorum · 5 years

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(1) hello, i need some advice if that's okay? one of my closests friends has been on my mind for quite some time because of the things she says and believes in. idk if she's aware of it, but she has become very far-right. she thinks most immigrants are terrorists and that most of them are actually men (also she approves the Wall). she is deep in the conspiracy theories about *everything* and hates a lot of things before even trying to understand them.

(2) when i told her i liked kpop for example, i told her not to mock me and she laughed and said she has to. just a stupid example but i guess you can see my point. she reads about events and politics online and i think it really influenced her badly. i think she's a very good person actually, i know she'd do anything for me. but i'm very sensitive and when you both disagree on a LOT of topics, you start drifting away from this person. Idk how to talk to her, esp when she thinks she knows better

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Hi there anon!🥰 I'm happy to give my 2 cents anytime, just know that I'm not telling you what to do definitely bc obviously no one knows your situation & your relationship with this friend as well as you do. Anyways -

First of all, I'm really sorry that you're going through this. You obviously care a lot about this person, which makes it more complicated when they start doing or saying things that hurt you. I know it can be really hard when you start to have disagreements with people on issues like that, especially when they're not willing to be open-minded, rational, & critical of their own views as well as the sources that are feeding those views. On the one hand, a person's political views don't always say a lot about who they are as a person, and you mentioned that. Having grown up in a conservative home/family & conservative Christian schools myself, I now know a lot of people I grew up around who I don't necessarily agree with anymore on a number of socio-political issues. And since I evaluate my stances for myself on an issue-by-issue basis, I don't usually agree on everything with my liberal friends, either. But for many of them on both sides, I can say that their hearts are in the right place & that most of them have genuinely convincing reasons for their opinions, and most of them are willing to hear out somebody who doesn't see things the same way as they do.

That said, a person's political views, and the way that they express them, CAN say a lot about that person in some situations. It's going to be up to you to try to figure out what, if anything, your friend's views say about her, but there are some things you told me that I find concerning. You make it sound like she'll believe pretty much anything without putting a lot of critical thought into it herself, and once she believes it she isn't willing to listen to & consider somebody else's opinion. Not only is she not willing to consider somebody else's opinion, but she's not willing to imagine herself in somebody else's shoes, which I think is so critical to many social issues but particularly immigration. It's pretty clear that she can't empathize or sympathize with them at all from what you told me, she has a really twisted picture of who immigrants are that's been distorted by the media she consumes. It may or may not be fully her fault, but she clearly lacks any kind of compassion for others, which is worrisome.

And I think that what you told me about the relationship between the two of you is another instance of exactly that. I don't think the kpop thing is a stupid example at all. If she was a genuinely compassionate & empathetic person who cares about others & is open-minded, then her response to you liking K-pop would have been "hey, I don't get it, but it makes you happy & isn't harmful so I'm glad you're enjoying it!" and maybe go the extra mile and send you a kpop meme if she sees one (even if she doesn't get it) or ask you some questions about it, just to show she cares about you & your interests. At the VERY least, if she teased you about it & you asked her not to, then the appropriate response from a friend is something along the lines of "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, that was actually really insensitive of me and I should've known better. Please forgive me?" and then not do it again. I mean, I'll be frank, I can perfectly see why the presence of K-pop stans on the internet, particularly twitter, and the way kpop and K-pop fandom is portrayed in the media could have given her the impression that it's immature & silly. But that doesn't give her an excuse to laugh it off when you were hurt & try to justify making fun of you for it.

So my opinion based only on what you told me is that as it stands, the relationship is unhealthy & she's not going to be a person still worth being close to unless something changes. You can decide to try to talk to her, and say "hey, I love you so much, you're one of my closest friends, but some of your behaviors & attitudes lately have become really hurtful to me and I'm worried that you're being hurt in the process by the media you consume & the websites you spend your time on and get your ideas from. I know you're a great person and you'd do anything for me, and I'm so thankful that you're my friend, but I'm worried about the changes I've seen in you and I'm worried about what could happen to our relationship if things keep going this way."

But ultimately, if she's not willing to listen & understand where you're coming from, then it might be time to let yourselves grow a little more distant. I'm so sorry if that's what ends up happening, because losing a close friendship like that is really painful, but you need to take care of your own emotional & social health in the long run, and that involves surrounding yourself with caring, kind, compassionate, sympathetic, open-minded people who are fun to be around, make you feel good when you spend time with them, & bring light and joy to the world around them. You don't have to share every interest or every political view with your friends, but you need to be able to be completely comfortable around them either way. At its core, genuine friendship is a type of love, so if you have a "friendship" that isn't based on mutual love & respect then it's probably time for change.

Again, I am so so sorry that you're going through this right now. I'm sorry for your friend too, her hurtful beliefs and behaviors are probably at least somewhat a product of the people she's around & the things she sees online, so I hope she's able to get some better influences in her life & learns to be more compassionate bc she'll probably be happier that way too, and then she won't lose your friendship, either. I hope that whatever happens, everything works out & that the people in your life will be people who are kind & loving & supportive of you and your interests. Please remember I'm not a professional counselor so take everything I said with a grain of salt, but I'm here to listen anytime you need. Take care & happy holidays 😘💕

#hope everything works out...❤️

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sebastiianstan · 6 years

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Tumblr content school: why you don’t always get notes and how to (potentially) get a bit more

So in recent weeks, I’ve seen quite a few posts floating around that centre around the same subject: content creators, mainly gifmakers, not gaining followers as quickly as they would like to and/or not getting as many notes on their original content as they would like to. Most recently I’ve seen people share their like-to-reblog ratio, with a call to users to also reblog content instead of just liking it, which would result in more exposure and recognition for the creator.

Now, while all of those feelings are perfectly valid and you’re obviously allowed to post whatever you like on your blog, the conversation around this is quite unnuanced and, at times, a bit uninformed. I’m not claiming to be some kind of expert, but having been a content creator (gifmaker) on this platform for quite a few years, with my own small share of popular gifsets floating around and having built both my own blog an two fansites/group blogs to at least moderate success, I do think I have a certain degree of insight re: getting notes, so I thought I’d put in my two cents. Please note that I’m not making this post to be condescending in any way, or even to tell you what to do/how to create content, but I thought I’d help as much as I can, based on my own experience.

Below the cut are 1. reasons why I think gifsets don’t always get the number of notes you wanted/expected them to, and 2. tips on creating and posting content in a way that will potentially get you more notes.

Why you might not be getting (a lot) of notes

So let’s start with some general trends re: gifsets not getting as many notes as you’d like/expect, and not as many as they would have maybe a few years ago.

1. Tumblr is past its peak

Based on experience, I’d say fandom Tumblr reached its peak in 2015-2016, and was riding that out in 2017. I’ve mainly been a Marvel blog in recent years, so I can’t speak for other fandoms, but Tumblr was... wild in the lead-up to and aftermath of Captain America: Civil War (2016). Wonder Woman (2017) was a similar situation on the DC side of things.

New Marvel releases (like Ant-Man & The Wasp, Avengers: Infinity War and probably most notably, Black Panther) still get a lot of traction and fandom definitely isn’t dead on Tumblr, but I feel like 2015-2016 were definitely peak years. I only recently returned from a year-long hiatus; I stopped being active in late 2017 and even then my dashboard wasn’t quite as active as it was a year before that. Upon returning here about a month ago, most of my mutuals from back in the day had also become inactive and a lot of gifmakers I used to follow were not creating content anymore.

So it boils down to this: I think it’s very likely that the amount of active users within your fandom has diminished significantly as compared to two years ago. A set that may have gotten 10k notes within a few days in 2016 might now only get half of that.

2. The URL thing

This is a sad truth, but it does seem that having a semi-canon or canon url does at least help with getting a larger amount of notes on your content. I have no tips on getting a canon url (I got very, very lucky with this one), but this is a simple observation I have from over the years. Url trading/selling has basically become a genuine business due to this - canon urls are in high demand.

More importantly, what I can say is that it’s smart not to change your url too often. Becoming a popular content creator on this platform is basically the same as building a brand - and a brand has an easily recognized name. Once you have a url you are happy with, try to stick to it for a while. When you change your url, links break on reblogs of your old gifsets, by the way.

3. The like-to-reblog ratio has always been unbalanced

For as long as I can remember, posts have gotten more likes than reblogs. If your ratio is 2-to-1 or 3-to-1, trust me, you are doing perfectly well for yourself! Again, as with my first point, this might have gotten a bit more extreme since 2016, but it’s not a new thing.

4. Popular users support each other

Obviously there’s nothing wrong with this (in fact, I love that we all support each other), but yes, in general big/popular blogs are friends with each other and tend to reblog each other’s content, which can be discouraging for smaller or aspiring content creators on the platform.

However, please be aware that these big blogs built up the following they have by posting content for years and it just takes time. Also, know that most users on here actually really enjoy being tagged in your posts - so if you gif a movie or tv show you know a popular user (that you follow) likes, tag them in it and if it’s high quality content (I’ll touch on this later), they’ll probably reblog it.

Tips on getting more notes

Alright, on to part two: my personal tips on getting more notes. These are strictly based on my own experience, and as a repeat of my disclaimer earlier: I am genuinely trying to share my knowledge; none of this is with the intent of being a condescending know-it-all.

1. Don’t look like you’re complaining

No matter what the intent behind your post about your lack of notes and/or followers is, it’s very likely you’re going to come off entitled or ungrateful. I’ve personally unfollowed multiple users who post consistently about reaching their next thousand, who make angry/frustrated posts when their followers don’t increase as quickly as they’d like to, when they lose followers, etc. I understand that the hustle is frustrating, but posts like these are really quite annoying for your followers; you’re complaining about followers you don’t have to followers you do have, who are then more likely to unfollow you because it looks like you’re complaining. Your mutuals might understand why you’re posting this, but others probably don’t.

When it comes to posts about like-to-reblog ratios, which I’ve seen a fair few of recently, please consider a couple of things.

When you ask people to reblog your post instead of liking it, you are essentially telling them what to put on their own blogs.

A lot of users on here have carefully curated content; while some users simply blog about everything they like, others stick to a certain set of subjects/movies/tv shows. If they see a post they like that doesn’t fall into those categories, they’ll give it a like to keep track of it and show their appreciation, but won’t put it on their blogs. You can’t tell people to reblog something they don’t want to.

You’re essentially asking people that you do not really personally care about to do something for you. Most of the likes you get on your post are likely from people that you do not follow yourself. I’m not saying that you hate your followers or don’t care for them, but you can’t really ask anything of a user that you don’t even follow yourself.

Look at it this way: Tumblr is basically a mini society, with its own market in the form of content creation. The ones who have a few thousand followers, and who get a few hundred or a few thousand notes on their posts are already the lucky ones. If you’re a user who gets hundreds/thousands of notes on their posts (even if it’s not as many as you like or deserve), you should keep in mind that the vast majority of users on here are small blogs that don’t have the traction that you have. If you post a screenshot of the like-to-reblog ratio on a post that has 2k notes, they’re going to think, “what on earth are you complaining about?”

Posts like these can really only backfire. I don’t think it’s likely that a lot of users will suddenly start reblogging instead of liking because of them. I know those posts are getting traction, because your mutuals and fellow content creators understand your frustration (believe me, I do too!), so they reblog/like/comment on it, but you’re essentially in an echo chamber of content creators. Anyone outside of that circle will not understand it and might unfollow you because of it.

2. Quality

Another disclaimer: I’m not implying that the people who have made posts about notes/followers don’t make HQ gifs. This is simply the “tips on getting notes” section of this particular post, so that’s what I’m doing. Veteran gifmakers can skip this section because I won’t be presenting anything new here.

Here’s the thing: high quality gifsets get notes. I know that what constitutes a HQ gif is subjective, but there is a consensus on this amongst big blogs, so I will summarize it below.

Make gifs from high-quality video sources. If 1080p is available, use that. Don’t gif from videos below 720p. Also, the larger the t*rr*nt file, the higher the quality. If a 1080p t*rr*nt from a movie is under 2GB in size, it’s probably not decent enough to gif from.

Use the new dimensions. Tumblr changed from 500px to 540px over 3 years ago now I believe, and all the big blogs use these dimensions. I rarely see sets like this anymore, but some users do still hold on to the old dimensions. Obviously, you should do what you like, but know that you’ll get more notes if you make the switch.

Do not skip frames. If you use screencaps, extract 25 frames per second. If you are an ‘Import video frames to layers’ kinda gal, like me, import all frames.

Sharpen your gifs! It makes an insane difference. My faq section links to a sharpening action.

Your frame delay should be 0.05. If you have a low amount of frames, you can get away with 0.06, but do not make your gif any slower than that. It will look unsmooth.

Go for natural coloring, where you simply brighten up the gif and enhance the colors (beware of whitewashing tho). I know that using PSD’s from resource blogs is tempting, but it’s very likely they will not work for the particular scene you’re giffing. It’s best if you learn to color yourself and adapt your coloring for every set. Also, it’s up to you what you think is pretty, but extremely vibrant and extremely pale coloring isn’t very popular anymore. Natural is the way to go. (This is with the exception of those gorgeous color edits people have been making recently. Y’all are queens & that shit is hard to make yo!)

If your gif is larger than the 3mb limit, NEVER sacrifice colors in the ‘Save for web’ window. Always delete frames to lower the size of your gif.

Just saying, but Photoshop CS5 has been known to make the best gifs.

For beginners out there, please don’t be discouraged. I’ve been making gifs for years, and they were absolute shit in the beginning. It just takes time to learn, but if you stick to it, you’ll get there.

3. Concept over quantity

Allow me to draw a comparison with YouTubers here - I think we all prefer YouTubers who post one well fleshed out video a week (for example, Safiya Nygaard) over YouTubers who post an okay video every day.

I think a lot of users think the way to get notes and followers is to post a gifset every day. This probably does work to an extent, but I personally think it’s better to come up with original concepts that you post every few days.

When you watch a movie, you can make five gifsets out of scenes from that movie, or you can come up with a concept. For example, parallels between scenes, parallels with other movies, the best lines of a certain character, etc. This takes more work, but sets like these are highly appreciated because they’re original, and they tend to get more notes.

This doesn’t apply to new releases, as you are probably among the first to gif a particular scene, but if you’re giffing a scene from a movie that’s been out for a while, you’re very likely not the first to do it. People will see it, realize they’ve already reblogged something very similar, and keep scrolling. But if you come up with a new idea, that’s what’ll get you more traction.

To give you a personal example; I recently rewatched all of the cap films. Now, I could have giffed popular scenes like “I could do this all day” or “I’m with you ‘til the end of the line”, but that’s been done before... a lot. Instead, I came up with this, and got 6.5k notes. I haven’t posted that many new sets on my blog recently, but posting content like that has gained me some followers and new mutuals.

4. Timing

All this requires is keeping an eye on your dashboard and taking note of when most of the people you follow are online. I sometimes see European content creators posting their sets smack dab in the middle of the day. Lemme tell y’all something: the Americans are sleeping.

I’m in timezone GMT+1. My dash wakes up around 5pm. I never post before 6pm - I’ll post anywhere between then and midnight, so feel free to convert that to your own timezone. The scheduling feature on posts comes in handy if you’ll be asleep or at school/work around that time.

If you post when Tumblr isn’t active, your set will drown in all of the other content, so be smart about timing.

5. Strategic tagging

It seems that a lot of users still don’t know this: only the first five tags on your post show up in tags on Tumblr. Anything past the first five will only be useful for your own tagging/archiving system, but will not show up in any tracked tags.

So first point: always use the most prominent edit tag for the fandom you’re posting in. Examples are #marveledit, #hpedit, #filmedit. These are frequently used, and often tracked by big blogs.

Second point: figure out who the big fansites/group blogs are, and if they track a tag, tag them. Make sure you follow them, obviously. If your post is funny, you might wanna tag bob-belcher (#bbelcher) as well - this blog is popular across fandoms and posts content from all over!

Third: tag users who you think will like your post. Don’t be thirsty with this. Again, only do this if you follow them. Tagging 2-3 users is ok, but don’t be out there tagging 8 to 10 blogs on your post. Not only is that a little pointless (because only the first five tags will show up), it also makes you look thirsty. Users might not appreciate this, and ultimately might not reblog your post because of that. Also, try not to tag the same users on every single one of your posts.

6. Popular content

If your fandom is niche, so is your content. That’s perfectly fine; don’t feel pressured to post about anything that isn’t your passion.

But if your goal really is to get more notes and followers, create content from fandoms that are big on the platform. Examples are Marvel, Harry Potter, Star Wars, film blogs, etc.

7. Join a fansite/group blog

Every big fandom on Tumblr has one or multiple fansites/group blogs. I recommend you figure out who they are for your fandom, and apply to one that’s accepting new members. You’ll likely get in if your gifs are HQ.

I know this sounds a bit counterintuitive, as you’ll be posting content on another blog that will be getting the notes and followers from it, but it actually is a good way to gain more exposure. These blogs have large amounts of followers, and they usually allow you to reblog your own content to them, as long as you’re active. I think it’s a great way to get your content out there.

Alright, time to wrap up this post. I’m not personally calling out anyone who has made posts about followers, notes, like-to-reblog ratios, etc. I’ve seen at least 15 of those posts in recent weeks so I’m just reacting to a trend I’m seeing, by presenting a potential solution to a problem people seem to be having.

My last tip is this: if notes and followers on Tumblr are making you feel down or frustrated, maybe it’s time for a little hiatus or a step back. In the end, you are not getting paid for this and your popularity on the platform has no bearing on your real life. This is supposed to be a fun outlet for your passions and interests, not a source of frustration and anger. Don’t take it too seriously! You’re doing amazing sweetie.

#resources #i guess?#idk what to tag this as #usermichelle

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theonceoverthinker · 5 years

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The Things We Do Today Will Be Tomorrow’s News (Knight Rook Secret Santa)

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Summary: Newsies AU: Detective Killian Rogers gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to help the charming Newsie Tilly Hatterson strike against their mutual enemy, Victoria Belfrey. What begins is a friendship between two lonely souls that reveals to them each a second chance for family in their lives.

Happy Holidays to my dear giftee, @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713! Getting to know you this month was a real treat. I enjoyed experimenting with AU’s again and putting together this fun little newspaper for you! Newsies is a spectacular musical that I know you love and it was a blast getting to work with the stage production in such a unique way. Creating a Knight Rook storyline based around the Newsies framework was so perfect and gave me a cool chance to tackle characters that I normally don’t use like Henry and Belfrey. It was such a fun project to put together because I’ve never tried something like this before!

...I guess you could say...I’m doing something no one’s even tried and yes, I’m terrified, but watch what happens! XD

One thing you oughta know about me giftee: I love puns and musical puns are the best kind of puns!

Also, serious shoutout to @hollyethecurious for her emergency beta work on this “pape” of mine! Seriously, Hollye-dew, I love you!!

Just in case you can’t read the articles, I’ll place them under the cut!

Article 1:

Newsies Strike Home: A Win for Our City’s Children

Mills, Henry - After two weeks, the Newsies' city-wide strike has finally come to an end. On Monday, December 10, the newspaper salespeople -- or Newsies, as they prefer to call themselves -- began protesting after it was announced that they would need to put an extra ten cents of their money towards the copies of The Belfrey Bombshell to be sold. Yesterday, property developer and editor-in-chief of The Belfrey Bombshell, Victoria Belfrey, met with the leader of the strike, seventeen-year-old Tilly Hatterson, as well as Detective Killian Rogers after the city wide Children's Crusade, wherein the three reached an agreement over the charges the Newsies were to incur regarding the price of the papers. While the Newsies will still pay the extra price to obtain the papers, Ms. Belfrey will now pay back the Newsies for the extra unsold copies. As Tilly claims, "No Newsie will break their back carryin' around papes they can't sell; but if they can take an extra few and have no risk, they might sell those, too." Tilly expects the circulation of The Belfrey Bombshell to increase as a result of the new policy.

As many of the Newsies are children, this issue has called into question the rights and treatment of children in the labor force. Thousands of children work in New York City daily, and this is the first unionized movement ever to be enacted on such a large scale.

When reached for comment, Ms. Belfrey had this to say: "It's a compromise we can all live with."

Article 2:

Strike Leader Gets Adopted

Mills, Henry - The good news for Newsies' strike leader, Tilly Hatterson, appears to keep on coming! Shortly after the resolution of the Newsies' strike in Victoria Belfrey's office, Detective Killian Rogers offered Tilly the chance to become a permanent part of his family, an offer Tilly responded to with a tearful hug and acceptance.

Detective Killian Rogers offered the following comment: "Tilly and I have worked closely together throughout the strike in order to keep all those involved, both directly and indirectly, safe and informed. Throughout that time, Tilly has brought a light back into my life that I haven't had in years. She's become like family, and I want to take the next step and make it official."

Tilly had this to say: "Well, he plays a good game of chess, so I'll keep him around." Killian responded to the comment by ruffling her hair.

The two of them were last spotted en route to get some marmalade sandwiches at the Tiana's Tastes Deli.

The adoption is expected to be finalized in the new year, but for now, just as we wish for all of our readers of The Mills' Mission, it seems like this pair are suited to have a Merry Christmas together!

Article 3:

Killian Rogers: The Detective Turned Father (Still Working on This)

Mills, Henry - How does a seasoned detective find himself becoming friends, and eventually a father, to a Newsie in the span of just two weeks?

As someone who was personally there, allow me to tell you the story.

Killian Rogers, born in 1866, is no stranger to loss. After his mother’s death, his father abandoned him and his brother, Liam. The two siblings clung to each other and despite hardships, grew into respectable citizens together. While Killian became a police officer, Liam got into contracting. However, tragedy struck while Liam was on the job. A weak support beam collapsed, and Liam was crushed to death.

Though stricken with grief, Killian could tell something was amiss. While examining his brother’s body, he saw chips of faulty wood. A bit more research led Killian to information implicating Victoria Belfrey with its purchase.

From there, Killian launched his own private investigation into Belfrey’s enterprises. While a struggle, one incident in particular costing the detective his left hand, Killian stayed determined to expose Victoria Belfrey’s injustices.

Enter Tilly Hatterson, a young orphan and Newsie with a taste for marmalade and a heart as big as Belfrey’s tallest skyscraper. When she and her fellow Newsies were overcharged for the papers that sustained their poverty-stricken lifestyles, Tilly started a movement to fight back on behalf of not only the Newsies, but all exploited working children.

Then, noticing their common enemy, yours truly decided to introduce these two individuals. And just like a bat cracking against a baseball, they hit it off.

As they worked together, sharing marmalade sandwiches and games of chess in between protests and talks of strategies, they began to trust each other with stories of their pasts and fears for the future. Additionally, Rogers gave Tilly refuge in his apartment when the stress of the strike and the harsh winter proved to be too much for her, supplied Tilly with a steady supply of her favorite sandwiches, and provided an element of safety for her movement. And in return, Tilly gave Rogers her light. She charmed him with her dedication to her cause and her observations on life. Tilly’s a quirky girl, but if you understand her, there’s no one who can put a brighter smile on your face.

So is it any wonder that Rogers found a second chance of a family with her? Is it any wonder that despite not being able to get justice for Belfrey’s sins just yet, he was still able to allow Tilly into his heart and make her his daughter?

While I can’t say I saw it coming, I think it’s fair to say that now that Rogers and Tilly have each other, this oftentimes lonely world that we live in just got a bit less so.

#krss #knight rook #killian jones #alice jones #ouat #knight rook ff #knight rook au #newsies au #alice #wish hook #anti-belfrey #allons-y-to-hogwarts-713

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microkumo · 6 years

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You know I’ve seen a lot of people try to frame Shiro and Keith’s relationship in a bad light. I think it’s about time I put my two cents into this. Season 7 Spoilers included

If you’re just going to ignore everything written here then don’t bother commenting, that goes for people who have the reading comprehension of a walnut as well. If you want to talk about my stance on anything here feel free to DM me I’m happy to discuss this with you regardless of what you ship.

I spend a lot of time reading both sides of the arguments shippers and antis make. I think that’s the best way to really understand the point of view each side is coming from. After all, you can’t argue against something you don’t understand.

I started off on the fence, not really caring too much about ships themselves, but focusing more on the what-ifs and the mystery behind character relationships. Some of these things leaned towards Klance and some of them leaned towards Sheith. Both are valid and had interesting hints at connections yet to unfold. However, the discourse started with not knowing the ages of the characters. Shiro was given a tentative “25″ nothing really cemented and the others were late teens which can mean anything between 17-19. I decided that until we had confirmed ages, I wouldn’t consider Shiro to be in a romantic relationship with any of the paladins but things have changed since then.

Moving on to the series and the misinformation people are spreading.

1) Unless you are ignoring Shiro’s relationship with Adam and shipping pre-Kerberos Shiro and Keith in a sexual manner, Sheith is not pedophilia.

I’ve seen a lot of this kind of argument against their relationship and it honestly does such a disservice to Shiro’s character. I’m sure there’s some people out there who are into that kind of thing, but to tack it onto the whole fandom and character is over generalizing and pretty awful.

Sure, people can think Keith could have had a crush on Shiro, but its clear that Shiro’s intentions were not there. He was in a committed relationship with someone else that he knew for a long time but that further cements the fact that Shiro was not viewing Keith sexually pre-Kerberos and therefor had zero pedophilic intentions.

2) Cherry-picking scenes where Keith hasn’t hit his growth spurt to frame Shiro as someone significantly older and then further imply that people are shipping them sexually at this age is a huge fallacy people use.

In the Garrison flashbacks from S7, Keith is around fifteen. I base that on the fact that he’s one year older than Lance and Hunk, and yet you have to be at least 14 to be a part of the Garrison. This is backed up by Pidge’s backstory.

However, though Keith is older than some of the other kids, he’s extremely small. Almost half a foot shorter than the other boys in his class. He’s grown up in an orphanage and like it or not, that kind of thing does affect children. Even as an adult and twenty-one years old, Keith is still much shorter than both of his parents. He’s much shorter than Krolia, and his dad was even taller than her. He’s incredibly small, but he’s always been small, and comparing him to someone that has finished all of his growth spurts is unfair and again implying that Shiro (22) saw him sexually at this time which is not true.

3) Highlighting his age gap with Shiro as bad when Keith’s age gap is not that severe.

Keith was (18) at the start of the show with a 7 year difference between him and Shiro (25).

Keith aged faster than the rest of the paladins due to his time in the Quantum Abyss.

After all the events and adding that bit, that puts Keith at (21) and Shiro at (26) which is not a huge age gap at all when you’re both mature adults.

4) Shiro does not have a boyfriend/fiance waiting for him back on Earth.

Saying that really ignores the single scene of them interacting together which was a break-up scene. I’m not saying that the two have zero chance of reconciling their relationship, but to say that there’s no way Shiro would date Keith as an adult because he had an old flame back on Earth is... transparent.

The two ended their relationship on a bad note over two years ago during a crucial moment in Shiro’s life. He knew Kerberos was probably his last chance to make his mark on the world- he’s battled with his illness and now he’s aware that he has very little time left to achieve the things he’s wanted in life. For him, this was an opportunity he didn’t want to sacrifice, and he didn’t in the end.

Adam’s reaction was reasonable- he was tired of Shiro running himself into the ground over living the safer alternative where they could have been together longer. It was implied that they had this conversation often and Shiro did not want to hear it. He offered an ultimatum, and when Shiro didn’t give into it, he left. Officially breaking off the relationship when Shiro didn’t stop him.

I’m not saying their relationship was the worst- but there was definitely some areas that they didn’t agree on which ultimately led to them breaking up. Even if Shiro returns to Earth, he’s in a much different state than he was when they were together. It would take a huge discussion and even then I don’t think it would work between them because they have different priorities in life that result in conflict in their relationship.

5) Shiro being Keith’s support in life is not “grooming” or even supporting it.

Again, this goes back to people trying to make Shiro’s relationship with Keith sexual even if it was never meant to be in pre-kerberos while also horribly abusing terminology again.

Sexual Grooming is what it sounds like. It’s about teaching a child through various techniques that it’s normal to have a sexual relationship with an adult. Pedophiles will often use being a ‘friendly helper’ to the child as a way to do this but to frame Shiro in this light is a huge disservice to his character.

Shiro does not see Keith in any sexual way pre-kerberos. Keith relies on him as someone who he trusts, but in no way is it ever implied that there were sexual intentions behind Shiro’s presence in his life.

Unless Shiro was making passes at Keith or teaching him questionable things under the guise of being his mentor, this is just not accurate and a horrible way to paint the relationship of a child that has already gone through boy’s homes (which have a high rate for sexual abuse as it is).

6) People need to stop equating Keith’s fourteen year old self with his current twenty-one year old self when bringing up the power imbalance.

A lot of time has passed for Keith. He’s matured a lot, he’s grown passed needing Shiro as his support in his life, a lot of his insecurities in general are behind him especially with his mother in his life.

Yes, Shiro was higher ranking and older than Keith at the Garrison, however Shiro never abused his power to force Keith to do anything. His presence was always supportive and never demanding or threatening.

In the current timeline of the show, saying this especially does not make sense. Keith and Shiro have a mutual trust and respect for each other and never do they ever have a relationship that’s painted as a leader and a lowly subordinate that has no power in any situation. Keith and Shiro have traded leadership positions multiple times and arguably stand on equal grounds compared to each other.

7) Keith and Shiro are not related. Not by blood or by law. It’s not incest and Shiro never adopted Keith into his family.

The staff of Voltron have shot down the two of them being related multiple times but even from outside of that we have a lot to consider.

Shiro was only (21) when he met Keith. That’s not very old, like it or not, and adoption is a very long and difficult process. Now we don’t know how adoption works in the Voltron universe but if its anything like ours, an unmarried and terminally ill man is not going to be able to adopt a child when he himself is young and unrelated to the child.

What Shiro did do is give Keith an opportunity to attend the Galaxy Garrison under his recommendation. This isn’t the same as adoption. He merely got Keith a chance to attend a school he normally wouldn’t have been able to given that he was an orphan and a problem child.

It’s a military school with dorms. Keith definitely wasn’t staying with Shiro, he would have had his own room to share with someone of similar ranking.

8) “Keith only thinks of Shiro as an older brother” ignores his personality and history.

I’m not against Keith only viewing Shiro in a platonic light. However, I think it’s rather naive to think that because you view someone in a certain light that they’re not subject to changing or evolving. I see a lot of people use this to stagnate the relationship they have and to ignore his character.

Keith is a very passionate person. However, he’s a person that hasn’t had many opportunities to love or to be loved. He has grown up not knowing why his mother left him and that not only made him fear getting close to people, but also getting rejected. His biggest fear is Shiro walking out of his life. as expressed in the Blade of Marmora episode.

For someone that’s never loved before, to know that you could be rejected if you voice your true feelings is extremely terrifying. Tack on the fact that you know the person you love might still have feelings for someone else and there is definitely going to be some safety nets involved when expressing your feelings.

This is common for people to do in general but especially so for LGBT+ individuals. There’s a lot of confusion, a lot of hesitation, a lot of trying to convince yourself that this isn’t what you think it is especially when its your first time falling in love with someone who’s romantically unavailable. We hide it behind things like “You’re my best friend of course I love you” or sometimes even “You’re like a brother to me”. Keith has every reason to add these safety nets when he’s worried about damaging his relationship with Shiro. After all, why potentially push away Shiro and make him uncomfortable, when he can play it safe and continue to have him in his life?

9) Shiro’s and Keith’s relationship is far from abusive.

They have one of the longest lasting and uplifting relationships in the series. Shiro provides stability and companionship to Keith, and Keith provides reassurance and companionship.

They support each other in ways that other people cannot and have not provided to them and are stronger because of it.

Shiro was held on a pedestal of expectations where he’s not usually able to be treated like the average person. He feels he has to hide his weaknesses, but with Keith he doesn’t have to. We’ve seen multiple times that they’re able to rely on each other and to open up about insecurities.

They are loyal to each other and unwilling to leave the other behind no matter the cost, because they’re incredibly important to each other. However, despite this, they’re still protective over other people and not overly reliant on just each other.

They have a good relationship built on years of trust and support.

10) “I had a bad experience and so this ship is terrible” is extremely biased and not helping your argument.

Shiro and Keith ≠ Your relationship/Experiences

It’s fine to not like the ship for that, but to spread misinformation because you tie it to your own experience is... not a good way to go about it. To say “I met a person who shipped Sheith and they were awful so now everyone who ships it is awful” is overgeneralizing a huge margin for the one or two bad people, especially when the fandom has a problem with people purposefully posing as “Bad Shippers” for the sake of making the fandom look bad.

Again, it’s fine to not ship something out of personal experience. But to force your trauma onto a healthy relationship and to spread negativity around something that isn’t even present in the show is unhealthy and prevents you from moving on.

In short, there’s been a lot of biases thrown around and a lot of just completely incorrect statements for the sake of tearing down the ship.

I hope that by reading this people will learn that it’s not what people are framing it to be when it’s actually such a sweet story if it does go down a romantic path.

#antis #Sheith #voltron #I'm not trying to start any fights #I'm just tired of seeing people spread incorrect information when we should be celebrating instead #I don't want people asking about Shiro and then having to see all the stuff people are making up #please don't do that to him he's a good character and if Keith is his love story then stop dirtying his name please

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logan-after-dark · 6 years

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Law of Attraction

Or abundance or whatever it is :P Going to talk on that today since it’s been on my mind.

A few weeks ago now, I signed up for this free webinar that was advertised on one of the ASMR YouTube videos I use to fall asleep. The only reason I signed up for the webinar was because it was free, and because I’ve been in a rough spot financially for a long time now and figured I had very little to lose. An hour out of a Wednesday afternoon seemed like an okay trade for something that I could maybe potentially use.

My attitude towards folks who promote or advocate for this idea of an abundant universe and the law of attraction and things like that has been rather negative in the past. Oftentimes they strike me as snake oil salesmen - folks who sell books titled ‘how to get rich quick’ and things like that where the answer is ‘write and publish a book titled “how to get rich quick” and wait for gullible saps to buy it’. My ex had a few of those books on topics like how to become a millionaire through real estate and the like, and his mother was a realtor so, he had no shortage of support there. But, like I said, in the process of pursuing those kinds of get-rich-quick schemes, you’re really just lining someone else’s pockets while obtaining information that may not even be useful to yourself in your specific situation. So I viewed folks pushing this idea of the law of attraction in a similar way - just very sketchy, negative, snake oil peddlers that really just wanted to sell me on more such talks and line their own pockets while mine became increasingly more barren.

Well, let me tell you how the webinar actually went down.

It was on a website called Mindvalley.com, with Harv Eker and Vishen Lakhiani. I decided that, it seemed to have a sort of spiritual/psychological bent to it from the ad seemingly, so that if it had advice that would help me build up my self-esteem or something like that, just overall improve my mental state by a fair margin through this talk, then it would 100% be worth my time. And like I said before, I had very little to lose spending an hour watching a free webinar on abundance.

At the end of it, they did offer some courses - extremely pricey ones that had been ‘discounted’ like 95%, but 5% was still something like three hundred dollars. I had little doubt in my mind that those might help someone else watching, but I was not interested and I wanted to come away from this having invested only my time anyways. And I didn’t, and still don’t, have a spare $300 lying around.

But I felt amazing by the time the webinar wrapped up.

Literally amazing. Spiritually empowered, ready to take on anything, incredibly emboldened and like nothing could stop me, nothing could hold me back anymore. It was an exhilarating feeling that rocked me to my core. I went into it having spent nothing and came out of it feeling like I’d just won the lottery, in spite of my bank account still showing negative digits. Nothing could crush me at that point - the reality of my situation hadn’t left me, but I felt markedly different about it.

I had to get on Discord and tell Mike about it right away. Mike, though he’s my best friend for life and I love him dearly, instantly had some negativity of his own to share re: the american political system and how the rich get richer while the poor get worse all the time - And that’s real life, unfortunately, and I’m not going to dismiss that. But that’s entirely the wrong attitude to have.

Here are some key concepts/key ideas that I took away from the webinar and would like to share with you folks:

1. Your attitude towards money is all wrong.

I’m being totally serious, and I think that this is something that a lot of people struggle with throughout their lives. If you aren’t born with it then you feel like you’re constantly scraping by. Your parents are always talking about debt and how they’re always scraping by too - I know mine were. I could write a book about all the wrong things my parents did just relating to money. Maybe someday I actually will :)

Your relationship with money is a major factor in how much you receive or what you have to do to get it. If you believe you can only make a lot of money by working hard, then that’s what you’ll have to do. If you feel like you’re always drowning in debt, then you will always be drowning in it. If you believe deep down that you’re unworthy of a lot of money, then you’ll never have a lot of money. You subconsciously reject money if you believe deep down that you’re not worth it. This can manifest in refusing a job promotion because you don’t think you’ve earned it, not applying for a job in the first place because you don’t meet the qualifications, or deciding against some action related to business (current or one you haven’t started yet) because it’s a lot of time investment, will keep you away from your family, a lot of money invested, etc. etc. etc. These really are excuses, because there are always affordable business loans, way to maintain work/life balance and family time, or accepting that promotion because it may just be a stepping stone towards something even better. You can’t know where it’ll take you until you try.

We make excuses to refuse money all the time, even if we don’t realize it. What about flipping the script for once and reasoning out with ourselves why we deserve money instead?

2. Jealousy and envy will do nothing but hold you back.

This is a tough one, but it ties into point one that attitudes about money are all wrong. If you hold it inside yourself that people who have a lot of money don’t deserve it, and spite and scorn them for having it, then you will never have it for yourself.

Harv said something that I thought was rather beautiful - “If you see someone with a big beautiful house, bless that house.” How wonderful that that family should have such a nice place to live, no? How wonderful that they have new, safe cars to drive for them and their children. No sarcasm involved. If you think positively about it for them, then this allows you to open yourself up to having those beautiful things as well.

3. Money is not evil.

Think about it. We talk (and Mike talked) about how guys like Jeff Bezos have enough money hoarded away when they could instead just snap their fingers and solve global poverty just like that.

If a construction worker decided one day to brain his coworker with a hammer, would you blame the hammer? No. Money is like the hammer - nothing but a tool to be used by the person wielding it. Money cannot make conscious decisions for itself, is not sentient, and is in fact entirely neutral as to whose hands it comes into.

It is completely possible to be rich and be a good person. One of my favourite random sayings that I carry with me when I’m looking for my next course of action is “Be the example”. Get your well-deserved money and then demonstrate it. Help you, because you probably need it, and then help those in need. You can absolutely be a good person with money because the two are not mutually exclusive, but of course don’t set yourself on fire to keep others’ warm. You can’t pull people up and out of their troubles if you’re still standing on unstable ground. Believe me, I’ve tried XD

4. Unfortunately, you don’t just magically get this money. You still have to do something for it.

In the webinar they talked about finding your life’s purpose and then living your purpose - something I still struggle with in spite of my elevated feelings immediately following said webinar. I am still not quite sure what my purpose is - I have a feeling, and I think it’s a good one (trying to build understanding between people and groups of people for everyone’s health and happiness), but I have other struggles that still block me.

The examples they gave related to business primarily. Harv was trying to start up businesses that didn’t work and were geared towards one thing, and Vishen was just struggling with his existing business. I think the important takeaway from their individual talks about it though is this: Work your passion. Find out what your passion is, get good at it, and then live and work your passion. They say that if you love your work then you’ll never work a day in your life, right? This idea is basically that in practice.

5. There is no such thing as having too much money.

Least of all when it comes to yourself :P

I used to do this thing where I’d play the lottery (yes I still play every week, shut up) and I would think to myself “I only need a million dollars to live comfortably the rest of my life. Anything beyond that is too much.” That was because I couldn’t appreciate the scope of having more than a cool mil. There is a factor of scale that just boggles my mind. A million dollars is already a lot of money, an almost unfathomable amount. The only frame of reference is that my house is probably worth about a quarter-mil right now. I could buy four of my house with one million dollars.

Well, I refuse to impose limits on myself like that anymore.

Bring on the 60 million dollar grand prize! This is my attitude now. There is still a part of me that sort of recoils at the idea of that money, but then I internally try to push that back with a follow-up thought of ‘just think about the number of people I could help with that money’. If Jeff Bezos won’t single-handedly solve poverty world-wide, then maybe I can. Give me that cool 60 mil, I am open to it and down to receive any sort of excess the universe wants to throw at me. I’ll make use of every single cent :D

6. I saw immediate results after embracing this way thinking.

This is absolutely true, and I have witnesses who can attest to that :)

After watching this seminar, within a few days of doing so, I had a room listed for rent online on a local classifieds website. My inbox exploded. I can’t even fathom how many responses I got, but it was easily upwards of fifty different people replying to my ad. Not only did I get the room rented, I got a second room I didn’t even list rented as well.

I also received some amazing and generous donations to my main blog’s Kofi from some amazingly generous friends of mine from here on Tumblr. I didn’t even ask, they just showed up and I was so thankful I cried.

A good long-time friend of mine was also generous enough to offer me a loan of $1000 USD in order to cover my bills and some other upcoming expenses. Initially I refused the loan, but after taking a second look at my finances, I decided to accept it and hope to pay it back in full by Christmas.

Now, I’m not sure how I feel about the idea of an abundant universe - I went into this as a skeptic and I came out still a bit skeptical - but there are definitely attitudes within me that can change so I can provide myself with more opportunities to find abundance in my own life. I went into this thing looking to boost up my esteem and got that in spades.

It all exemplifies something I already believed going into this, to be entirely fair; What you believe becomes reality. I have a few beliefs about my character that have helped to shape me as a spiritual person that initially may not have been true. I am confident, strong, and powerful. All of those things are absolutely true about me today. Put another way, you could say that manifesting abundance is very similar to the idea ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ XD

If I can find out whether they’re still running the webinar (I feel like it was definitely pre-recorded, but I doubt there’s a video just laying around), I’ll share it with you folks on here <3

Thanks for coming to my TED talk XD

#law of attraction #manifesting abundance #spirituality #money is not evil

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whereyoursparkresides · 7 years

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Breakdown’s “Dinobot-like” Redemption Arc Theory + Analysis

Ok so I may be way late into this party, but upon coming across this theory thread on TFW2005 forum the other day, I have to join and put in my two cents. In the joint discussion between Autobot Burnout, Soundwaverulls and Lord Tron, it seems that TFP was meant to have an epic redemption character arc of the same weight and calibre as Beast War’s Dinobot...and the character in question was supposed to be Breakdown!

(Warning, very long post!)

Although I haven’t been able to find the original official ‘announcement’ (as I was unfortunately not aware of this when TFP first came out) as of yet, I am 110% on board with this, with every fibre of my being. It means Breakdown was never meant to be a half-assed useless mech with no development. In fact, Breakdown’s character was destined for something greater and epic before it was cut abruptly by poor financial planning...and nowhere is that more clearly obvious than in in the episode Operation: Breakdown.

Below are a few examples of instances in which I feel the foundation for Breakdown’s ultimate redemption arc were clearly set up. This episode is stuffed with too many thematic similarities, foreshadowing and allegories to Beast Wars for it to be considered it a homage or only coincidental. Let’s begin!

#1 - Breakdown says so.

Let’s begin with the most obvious - at the episode’s end, Breakdown clearly states the conflict he’ll have to resolve one day: to choose between Bots and Cons. Broadly speaking, weighing between allegiances is a constant theme within the entirety of Dinobot’s arc, from his desertion of the Predacons in the very first episode of Beast Wars, to his grave reconsideration in Code of Hero. You cannot think of Dinobot and not think of his Shakespearean torment with loyalty and allegiance, good and evil.

#2 - Partner Parallels - with Bulkhead and Knockout

With the most obvious similarity out of the way, let’s talk about some of the more subtle hints within TFP. The first is how the relationship between Breakdown and some of the other characters is set up. For starters, if you’re going to write a redemption arc for a baddie-turning-good, you gotta have someone who has reason to doubt him.

Enter Bulkhead, who establishes from the very first scene he shares with Breakdown, that they have history, and it isn’t pretty. He has no reason to trust Breakdown, and in fact, has a rivalry that is so deeply seeded that he almost seems to thoroughly abhor the Con. Hate him even. Maybe even as much as this guy hates Dinobot:

For those who aren’t familiar with BW, Rattrap is the closest character the Maximals’ have to a Wrecker (his love of bombs and respect for certain levels of authority are mildly evocative of Wheeljack), and he does not like Dinobot. Although these two don’t have a history, their mutual loathing for each other is a defining characteristic of their relationship, as TFP clearly set up for Breakdown and Bulkhead. Rattrap’s and Dinobot’s mutual prejudices hardly ever seem to let up despite them being constantly forcibly paired as a team - this actually becomes a bit of a running joke within the series - until the last episodes concluding Dinobot’s fatal end, when you realize that Rattrap has indeed developed a change of heart.

Above: Both Autobots, despite their stated loathing, return to save the ‘Con.

While we’re on the topic of teams and partners, let’s also discuss Breakdown’s relationship with this guy:

This is where things diverge a little, as Breakdown doesn’t join the Bots as early as Dinobot did, and thus doesn’t get to develop a “partnership” dynamic with Bulkhead as Rattrap and Dinobot share. However, I am of the mind that Knockout is mean to evoke the positive side of their teamwork relationship. If Bulkhead is meant to echo Rattrap’s violent distaste for Dinobot, then Knockout is meant to allude to the incredibly deep friendship Rattrap ultimately develops with his rival.

(Above: both “teams” about to stick it to the enemy. Can we also talk about how there’s also totally a Big/Smol correlation going on here?)

Since Breakdown doesn’t get as much screentime as Dinobot does, I am also of the mind that this relationship with Knockout is to be a hint of the core goodness within him. Unlike other ‘Cons, Breakdown is friendly and capable of working with others - an attribute that Dinobot finds grossly repulsive, and reluctantly learns to do. While Dinobot’s arc sets him up as a Con learning good, Breakdown’s seems to imply that has good within him all along - and that he just needs a little something to help him realize it.

(Above: Breakdown chatting with a fellow Con; meanwhile Dinobot is despising having to work with another member of the team, especially Rattrap)

If we continue on with the theory that Knockout is meant to echo Rattrap’s deep friendship with Dinobot, then it isn’t far-fetched to assume that Knockout would continue with Rattrap’s arc of grief after Dinbot’s death. Although Rattrap doesn’t actually ever officially get an episode to voice his grief in Beast Wars, there is an unproduced episode script that was intended to explore Rattrap’s grief, called Dark Glass. Although Dark Glass never made it onscreen due to its mature content, it achieved fan notoriety. As a writer for TFP, a series which seemed green-lit to explore such dark themes, a Dark Glass episode would have been an excellent opportunity to make a powerful mark in the overall Prime story, while paying homage to old fans of previous continuities. This would explain why there is so much set-up in earlier scenes with KOBD as a tight pair (they weren’t just partners, but at the least very close friends): the writers were building up for a deeply emotional aftershock in the wake of Breakdown’s (possible) death in redemption. And since Breakdown got such a swift and unexpected death, all that foundation crumbled in Knockout’s continuation of character...perhaps resurfacing briefly in parts of The Human Factor or Thirst.

(Above: Rattrap mourning over Dinobot’s imminent death. WHY COULD WE NOT HAVE GOTTEN A SCENE LIKE THIS WITH KNOCKOUT?!?!)

#3 - Even Optimus Prime Agrees.

Whenever a theme like this comes up, one of the characters must always say it. Breakdown states it at the end of the episode, but Optimus and Bulkhead also totally lay it out for us out in the open:

Optimus: Sometimes, we must rise above ourselves for the greater good.

Bulkhead: Aww, what’s that supposed to mean? Breakdown’s gonna be grateful and go all soft and join the cause?

Optimus: While it is unlikely that any Decepticon will choose the path of good, even they posses the potential for change.

Bulkhead: Ugh! I knew where this was headed.

Optimus: By greater good, I meant humankind.

I could go on an on about this particular exchange, but I will surmise the most important points here:

Optimus Prime, like Optimus Primal, is the first and only one to believe the Con has potential for change.

He also clearly states the overall theme of Breakdown (and by association, Bulkhead’s) arc - change for the greater good, an independant, moral good that is of greater significance than alliances or allegiances

If we’re going read into every line - guess who also put their ideals aside for the greater good, and saved humankind? Yep.

Although Dinobot’s overarching theme is about being caught between good and bad, his ultimate redemption in Code of Hero is achieved by literally putting aside both allegiances and doing what he believes is right (“no choice at all”) and defending the proto-humans, literally saving humankind.

#4 - The Easter Egg TV also agrees.

It isn’t a surprise that TFP would be filled with little Easter Eggs or references to its predecessors. Ratchet mentions fuzors and frequently the kids’ TV commercials and shows reference aspects of Beast Wars (like the “Beast Machines” Monster Truck competition). Guess what’s Bulkhead watching during Operation: Breakdown?

HEYYY GUESS WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE VERY FIRST EPISODE OF BEAST WARS

(And if you need more proof, they actually do fight, and this is the same episode where Dinobot switches from Pred to Maximal)

#5 - The animation lines up (nearly). Literally.

Remember how Breakdown saves Bulkhead from MECH in a split-second decision? Well, in the pilot of Beast Wars, Megatron aims a missile at Optimus that will doom them all. And guess who comes in and saves the day, without hesitation?

Line it up with the same animation when Breakdown saves Bulk:

If you line it up, both scenes share the same composition. The only difference is that Dinobot comes in from the left, while Breakdown flies in from the right. Don’t you tell me none of this was intentional.

Conclusion

And there you have it. My analysis of Operation: Breakdown to support the theory that Breakdown was never intended to be a useless mech, or a one-dimensional supporting character. It is clear there were great plans in store for this mech with a heart as big as his tires, and it an absolute travesty that we never got to see it come to pass. Breakdown’s abrupt death not only did his character a grave disservice, but also to the story of Transformers Prime - for a show whose theme ultimately revolves around the complexities of moral good, Breakdown’s redemption arc would have been utterly perfect. Powerful, genuine and devastating, it would have left its mark and shadow in the hearts of this generation and more to come - a truly potent tale worthy of Silicon Valhalla, a permanent addition to the collection of best-written Transformers narratives.

#meta #breakdown tfp #knockout tfp #dinobot bw #rattrap bw #bulkhead tfp #breakdown's redemption arc #transformers prime #beast wars #theory #analysis #operation breakdown #character analysis #long post

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idiotsofbadging · 7 years

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Anonymous, Blog Owner, And Other

Hi hi hi….so Im basically here to give my 2 cents on a lot of things, and I’m praying the blog owner posts this because its not against you or anyone at all!!! I want to respect this blog and I want to trust that this blog will lead me in the correct direction through my journey in the badge community, but I feel as though this blog has not been doing what it said it would do and that is sniffing out real bad guys in the community, I feel that this blog could be handled much better along the lines of what the owner posts and does not post, I agree post about heavy referenced badge art and things that are traced if you cannot get in touch with the person through message on Imvu or Tumblr.

ANONYMOUS:

I feel that you all need to resolve whatever problems you have with the people you submit on this blog with that person in private, you all are so fast to take off and come to this blog and submit someone youre angry with, or hate, or submit someone your friend had a problem with, but you all need to stop that childish baloney because its not ok to be doing, from what I read that Fidelius girl fixed the problem with Hop hours before it got posted to this blog, so I see 1 of 2 things that happened, Hop failed to tell her minions that Fidelius agreed to revamping the badge, or her minion felt the need to start more crap than was originally needed and posted to the blog anyways…I read this blog often and I follow a lot of people in the badging community so I see a lot and keep quiet like a small tiny mouse, but Im finally ready to speak, Hop says she doesn’t want or like drama but her friends are the first people to write pulses or post others to the blog, Realms says shes sick of being attacked and slandered but she continues to speak her mind anyways, and write pulses, everyone needs to shush and resolve their issues with each other, stop making this blog your shield to get away with being a nasty human being to someone else all because you can post anonymous, I would love to see this blog refuse anonymous posting. This blog just posted that Pokemon badge that Fidelius pixeled trying to say that it is traced but it is not traced, traced means it would line up so perfectly that not one line or pixel, or crevice would be out of place, to add the cherry on top a while back if I do recall you all said that Habits was fine pixeling that Mario scenery because it was straight from the game itself, but the Pokemon Fidelius pixeled was also straight from the movie-show-game whatever it may be. I feel people are upset that Fidelius tried to stick up for herself and are now trying to find irrelevant things to attack her for, I also feel Realms tried to stick up for her friend and now she is also being attacked for doing so, but if it was the other way around anonymous’s Im sure you would stick up for your friends too would you not?

OTHER:

I think this blog should stick to posting stuff that is relevant, no more posting anything hateful, spiteful, or vengeful towards other users, and if an anon submits a badge and has anything not nice written in I think the blog owner should remove it from the post as to keep things as mutual as possible. On another note I am not a fan of Realms I think she tends to speak too much and put her 2 cents in on things she should just hush about, but I do want to be fair to everyone, I think Realms only defends herself, others, and friends when she posts on this blog, I do sometimes feel she is a huge target and people will post thing about her just to be nasty towards her anonymously, but I’ve somewhat grown a bit of respect for her because she does not always submit people to this blog, and she seems to be one of the only people that doesn’t post anonymously am I wrong???????? Anyways this blog I feel in my soul has some cleaning up to do, the anonymous posters have some deep thinking to do, put themselves in the other persons shoes that they are submitting about and figure out how they’d feel if tables were reversed, it should not matter who was blacklisted, or who is inboxing this person or that person, lets turn this blog around together and start finding real bad guys that refuse to change stolen or actual traced images.

END STATEMENTS:

SO with that all being said, I want to add that no one is innocent, if you all are sick and tired of the badgeing community drama and you want it to get better it starts with us as human beings, it starts with inboxing those we have problems with and trying to simply resolve the problems even if it means being civil with each other but not friends, at the end of the day were all in the badging community to do the same things!!! make badges, donate to badges, pixel badges, buy badges, and support people and friends, so lets get back to doing that and stop the drama, and stop the pulsing, stop sticking our noses into everyones business but our own, and that goes for every single person including myself!! I KNOW WE CAN DO IT IF WE WORK TOGETHER!!!!

We agree with all that you’ve said, Anon. You’re right, if people have such a huge issue with someone they should follow this recommendation and fix it with that person, or ignore that person altogether. This includes not talking about them and not submitting terrible things about them. Sure, some people have said and done some awful things, but that doesn’t mean that they should be treated like they have no feelings. People tend to lose their sense of humanity when they can hide behind anonymous.

In truth, we were bombarded by anonymous submissions and asks to start posting everything people send us. Apparently, filtering posts is what is making this blog biased. So, we’ve done just that and obviously people are hurt. This is why we filter posts. People tend to forget that users generally lose their sense of humanity when they can hide behind anonymous.

Now, we’re certainly not going to turn off anonymous, but as you said, we will continue to filter posts and state things in a more mild sense if people get nasty about certain things. When it’s not abused, the anon feature allows people to share theft they’ve noticed without being excommunicated by the badge community themselves.

Regarding the Fidelius pixel of the Pokemon character, similar to the Mario one that was posted a while ago, we didn’t know that that’s what the reference was. When anons submit those kinds of things to us, we automatically assume it was stolen/heavily referenced from another artist.

We’ll be cleaning posts now!

#submission #idiotsofbadging

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sjphotosphere · 7 years

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(My Favorite Mutual Fund) I confess that I play favorites. Back in 2005 when I finally started figuring out what the heck I was doing with my four figure investment portfolio, the first mutual fund I ever purchased without the “assistance” of a commissioned salesman masquerading as an advisor was the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (TSM). It is still my favorite mutual fund and I suspect I will own it until the day I die. In fact, at 25% of my current retirement asset allocation, TSM is my largest investment holding and may always remain so. It also makes up nearly 100% of my HSA allocation and plays a large role in my children’s Roth IRAs (Target Retirement 2060) and UGMAs (TSM and Total International Stock Market Index Fund.) I have owned it via three different brokerages and have owned all three “retail” share classes (Investor in my Vanguard Individual 401(k), Admiral in Vanguard Roth IRAs, and the ETF in my Schwab 401(k) and HSA Bank/TD Ameritrade HSA.) We spend a lot of time on this website talking about “alternative” investments, real estate, factors and all kinds of fancy stuff. Today, let’s go back to basics and talk about 8 reasons why TSM is such an awesome mutual fund. # 1 Awesome Long Term Performance I don’t select mutual funds based on past performance. There is a very good reason why all mutual fund prospectuses must tell you that past performance is no indicator of future performance. But the process I use to select mutual funds leads to excellent long-term performance, the only kind I actually care about. So what is the track record of TSM? Let’s take a look (all data in this post taken on the date it was written- 1/26/2017.) Let’s start with a quick look at Vanguard’s list of mutual funds. We see that it has already made nearly 3% in 2017, but that column is almost irrelevant. Let’s move a little more to the right. We see that it made 12.66% in 2016, 14.62% (per year) from 2012 to 2016, and 7.23% from 2006 to 2016 (which included the greatest bear market in our generation.) In fact, the admiral share class started in 2000, near the beginning of the tech stock bust. So even including most of TWO of the worst bear markets the US has ever seen, it still made 5.85%. The investor share class was begun in 1992, 25 years ago. Its annualized return is 9.34%. If you can’t retire on returns of 9.34% per year, you have a savings problem, not an investing problem. But even so, absolute performance isn’t everything. It is also important to consider relative performance. I mean, there are other mutual funds out there. So let’s see how TSM did against its peers. Morningstar is the world’s preeminent authority on comparing mutual funds. Here’s what they have to say: Morningstar considers TSM to be a “large blend” fund, which is reasonable if you plot out its holdings. Take a look at the columns, particularly the line at the bottom, “rank in category.” Over the last year, its rank is 20. That means it beat 80% of mutual funds in its category. Same for the last 3 years. But as you move out further, to the 10 and 15 year mark, you see its rank is 12, meaning it beat nearly 9 out of 10 mutual funds. Not bad considering its “know nothing” strategy. # 2 It Isn’t Going Anywhere At this point, a few of you are thinking, “I don’t want to invest in TSM if 1 out of 10 funds are beating it over pretty long periods of time. I want to invest in one of the funds that beat TSM.” Aside from the folly of taking a gamble on something you only have a 10% chance of doing (although admittedly there are ways to increase that percentage somewhat such as only choosing low-cost actively managed funds), the real issue is that those “rank in category” numbers don’t include all the funds that closed over those long time periods. That is not an insignificant number of mutual funds and it introduces “survivor bias” into the data. Morningstar had this to say about survivor bias specifically when discussing TSM: After adjusting for survivorship bias, the relative performance of existing funds looks better. For instance, Vanguard Total Stock Market Index‘s VTSMX 9.5% annualized return placed it in the top 19% of all large-blend funds before correcting for survivorship bias. After this correction, its ranking jumped to the top 9th percentile of the category. That’s not bad for a fund that offers passive exposure to the market. Likewise, the ETF SPDR S&P 500‘s SPY 9.4% return originally placed it in the top 24% of all large-blend mutual funds, but correcting for survivorship bias would place it in the top 11th percentile. Low-cost, broad market-cap-weighted index funds, like Vanguard Total Stock Market Index and SPY, have a better chance of surviving than their actively managed counterparts. Over the 20-year period, only 34% of active large-blend share classes survived, while 55% of index fund share classes survived. Consequently, their relative performance is better than many investors realize. It’s weird to think that 45% of index funds disappeared, but I guess that’s what happens when you open an “index fund,” charge 0.9% a year for it, and hope there are enough idiots out there who will invest in it. # 3 It Is Super-Tax Efficient But wait, there’s more. Many investors are investing in taxable accounts, where tax-efficiency matters. TSM, by virtue of its strategy (which can be found in the prospectus): is inherently extremely tax-efficient. So you should not be surprised that when you adjust the data for taxes, that TSM looks even better than its peers. (By the way, this data, also from Morningstar, does not adjust for survivorship bias either.) As you can see, at the 10 and 15 year mark, TSM is beating 93-94% of its peers, almost 19 out of 20. Now, imagine adjusting that for survivorship bias and running the numbers out to 30-60 years, your likely investing career length. Still want to take a bet on choosing a fund that will beat it? I wouldn’t. One of the reasons TSM is so tax-efficient is it can use its unique ETF share class structure to flush appreciated shares (with their associated capital gains) out of the fund. But the main reason is simply it’s low, low turnover. Since it just buys all the stocks, those stocks never leave the index so there isn’t any rapid-fire buying and selling like you see in an actively managed fund (and to a lesser extent, in an index fund that only covers a small portion of the market.) # 4 No Tracking Error Investing isn’t all about logic. It is also about behavior and discipline. One of the hardest things for investors to do is to stick with their portfolio through thick and thin. That is especially hard when their portfolio deviates significantly from that of their peers and the overall US market which is reported on a daily basis in numerous sources- print, TV, and online. That deviation is called tracking error. Guess what? TSM essentially doesn’t have any tracking error. Tracking error is MEASURED from TSM. That helps the investor to stay the course. # 5 Super-Diversified Diversification protects you from what you don’t know. If you were omniscient, you would simply pick the stock that is going to go up the most and leverage up as much as you possibly could. But you’re not, so you don’t. Instead, the smart move is to diversify. Is TSM a diversified fund? Do skiers love powder? Check this out from the most recent semiannual report: See that “number of stocks” line? 3,650. That’s a lot of companies. What’s going to happen to your investment if a couple of them go out of business this year? You’re not even going to notice (unless the two that go bankrupt are Apple and Google.) Why only own some of the stocks when you can own all the stocks? Lots of people, including Warren Buffett, like the 500 index fund. Sure, I guess 500 stocks is pretty diversified. But it seems downright silly when compared to 3,650 stocks. # 6 Economies of Scale The mutual fund industry has been built, in a sense, on witchcraft. – John C. Bogle TSM is huge. How huge? $498.5 Billion. By comparison, that’s larger than the GDP of 40 of the states in this country. Larger than Sweden’s GDP. Larger than Chile and Finland combined. If liquidated, it could run the entire US military for a year. When you have half a trillion dollars you can benefit from some sweet economies of scale. You get great prices on your trades. People come to you (and pay you) when they want to borrow shares. You can get expense ratios down into the single digits. Admiral shares and ETF shares are 5 basis points and Investor shares are 16 basis points. What does that mean? That means for every $1000 you have invested in the fund, the fund spends 50 cents on its expenses. It is essentially free. You can own the equivalent of every publicly traded company in the most economically successful country in the world for free and buy and sell it online in 10 seconds, for free. Now, there are some “me too” funds out there. Schwab has a TSM fund (3 basis points for the ETF). So does Fidelity (4.5 basis points) and iShares (3 basis points.) Is it worth it to go to these other funds to save 1-2 basis points? I don’t think so, but all of these funds are excellent investments. # 7 No Manager Risk One of my favorite aspects of TSM is that it is an index fund. That means low costs and excellent long-term returns, but it also means that I can “set it and forget it.” I don’t even know who is in charge of managing it. It’s basically all done by a computer, and that computer isn’t going to retire, get dumb, or get unlucky. I don’t have to watch it, check on it, benchmark it, or anything. I certainly don’t have to worry about whether the manager has “lost his touch” or become senile. Why run risk that you don’t have to? # 8 Widely Acknowledged to Be Smart Gold Level Scholarship Sponsor Every investment authority who is worth listening to acknowledges that a low-cost, broadly diversified index fund like TSM is a great way to invest. Warren Buffett: “Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following this path are sure to beat the net results (after fees and expenses) delivered by the great majority of investment professionals.” Allan Roth: “The S&P 500 fund is a great way for investors to harness the return that capitalism has to give. In fact, I think it’s better than 99.9 percent of mutual funds out there. A total stock market fund is just slightly superior.” Jack Bogle: “The index fund is a sensible, serviceable method for obtaining the market’s rate of return with absolutely no effort and minimal expense. Index funds eliminate the risks of individual stocks, market sectors and manager selection, leaving only stock market risk.” Platinum Level Scholarship Sponsor Jonathan Clements: “Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny should take a few pointers from the mutual-fund industry. All three are trying to pull off elaborate hoaxes. But while Santa and the bunny suffer the derision of eight-year olds everywhere, actively managed stock funds still have an ardent following among otherwise clear-thinking adults. This continued loyalty amazes me. Reams of statistics prove that most of the fund industry’s stock pickers fail to beat the market.” Jeremy Siegel: “There is a crucially important difference about playing the game of investing compared to virtually any other activity. Most of us have no chance of being as good as the average in any pursuit where others practice and hone skills for many, many hours. But we can be as good as the average investor in the stock market with no practice at all.” William Bernstein: “An index fund dooms you to mediocrity? Absolutely not: It virtually guarantees you superior performance.” Taylor Larimore (whose favorite fund is also TSM): “Index investing is an investment strategy that Walter Mitty would love. It takes very little investment knowledge, no skill, practically no time or effort-and outperforms about 80 percent of all investors. It allows you to spend your time working, playing, or doing anything else while your nest egg compounds on autopilot. It’s about as difficult as breathing and about as time consuming as going to a fast-food restaurant once a year.” I think you can now see why the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund is my favorite mutual fund and my largest individual holding. What do you think? Do you own TSM? Why or why not? What part has it played in building your wealth? Comment below! !function()function e()var e=document.createElement("script"),n=document.getElementById("myFinance-widget-script"),a=t+"static/widget/myFinance.js";e.type="text/javascript",e.async=!0,e.src=a,n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);var c="myFinance-widget-css";if(!document.getElementById(c))var d=document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0],i=document.createElement("link");i.id=c,i.rel="stylesheet",i.type="text/css",i.href=t+"static/widget/myFinance.css",i.media="all",d.appendChild(i)var t="http://ift.tt/2oFUowK";document.attachEvent?document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",function()"complete"===document.readyState&&e()):document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",e,!1)(); http://ift.tt/2qH1K3j

#IFTTT #FacebookPages

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tenscupcake · 7 years

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i’ve finally compiled my thoughts on the various asks i received and private conversations i had in response to my question the other night, if anyone is interested.

i’d like to clarify, for those wondering, i’m not speaking to people who lack the time or energy to read a certain fic they’re interested in at a given moment in time, but rather to those who have made a decision to avoid reading any wips, even from authors they like about ships they love, and always wait until a fic is finished before reading.

from the few anonymous asks, and various discussions i had with folks last night/today, it seems like these are the most common reasons:

1) they can’t remember what happened in the last chapter (especially if the author updates less frequently), and don’t want to have to go back and refresh their memory each time.

2) they’re afraid the work will be abandoned at some point.

3) they’re worried about unwelcome content surprises, or unsure of the plot direction, and want to confirm these things will not appear in the fic before reading.

4) they lose interest over time.

in fact, these four points encompass nearly all the responses i got.

i’ll try to keep this as short as i can, and i really hope none of it comes off the wrong way.

as someone who has an abandoned wip, sometimes falls behind on my updating schedule, and has a few anxieties about certain tropes/story arcs myself, i can understand at least three of these four points very well. they’re valid. and i appreciate everyone’s honesty in messaging me.

it’s absolutely not my intention to make anyone feel guilty here. what follows is simply my perspective on the results of this miniature survey, for anyone that’s interested in an author’s two cents on the matter. since the readers got to weigh in, i think it’s fair to give myself a chance to respond.

undeniably, #4 hurt the most. one of my (and i think others’) biggest fears is that people tend to just slowly stop caring if you take too long, and it was harsh to see that suspicion confirmed. there isn’t much i can say in response to that one.

for the first two, i would gently encourage trying to weigh such fears against the importance of feedback for the writer. there shouldn’t be any harm in at least considering it, depending on the story and the author, could there? even as a reader, before i started writing my own fic, it has never seemed fair to me to punish writers who can’t update quickly, or who lose inspiration for one particular story for whatever reason, by avoiding their works in progress. it seems to imply that only stories that are finished, and/or that update quickly, deserve readership. but unfinished stories take just as much time and effort as finished ones while they are active, and slower authors pour just as much dedication and love into their works as quicker authors. most of the time, in either case, it’s just that life has gotten in the way.

tv shows often take long breaks between series, half a year to even more than a year in some cases. it’s possible to forget what happened last season over time, but i’ve never seen this actually deter viewers. i’ve yet to see anyone stave off a show entirely until it’s over for good, rather than go back and remind themselves what happened so they can watch right now. is this only a thing in fanfic, then? i’ll admit, it’s preferable to binge watch the entirety of a tv show on netflix, if the option is available, but if one of your favorite shows is actively airing (like when broadchurch or chibnall’s doctor who premieres, for example), it’s exciting to watch the episodes in real time, isn’t it? and discuss it with other real-time viewers, share in the experience?

similarly, when a show you love gets canceled, it’s sad. but one or two seasons of an amazing show is better than none, right? or do people regret ever watching firefly or pushing daisies, and vow to themselves to never watch a show in progress again, no matter how much it appeals to them? it’s hard not to draw these parallels. a few chapters of an amazing fic are still worth reading, even if the story never sees completion. because it isn’t the author’s fault, in the same way it isn’t the television writers’ or actors’ fault. it probably got canceled because of either lack of funds or low viewership. similarly, fics may get ‘canceled’ because of lack of inspirational ‘funds’, or, yes, low viewership. it’s sad, and we wish there were more episodes or chapters we could enjoy, but in both cases, they were great while they lasted. idk, at least in my view.

if a potential trigger or future plot twist is a concern (i do have several of these i watch out for, personally), if it’s feasible, one can always ask the author about it. worst they can say is a) they have decided not to give any spoilers, b) they haven’t finished planning the end so they don’t know yet, or c) yes it will include the trigger/trope in question. even so, it means a lot when someone goes out on a limb and asks, rather than just silently avoiding the fic. it demonstrates support for the author and encourages mutual respect.

but try to remember. regardless of the reason you’re waiting, fanfic authors don’t know that you’re there. they can’t sell thousands of copies of their fics in bookstores, or have their novels turned into films. they don’t get long book reviews in the new york times when they’re finished. the only way they can quantify interest in a fic is through comments, reblogs, etc. and sometimes, in circumstances where real time feedback is scarce, it can seem like no one, or next to no one, cares about their fic.

i’m not even talking about myself, here. many of my writing friends and acquaintances have confessed feeling this way about their wips at one time or another. it’s unfortunately a very common issue in fanfic. right now i’m lucky that my current wip has a sizable loyal following - i’m incredibly grateful for each of my real time readers and would be sad to lose any. i know them all by name tbh. but when i was publishing my first multichap back in the day (cs), feedback was so paltry i often considered taking it down altogether. every update was a hit to my self-esteem, rather than a boost. so i definitely know how it feels to be on the receiving end of this silence, though i may not be there at this moment.

i guess what i’m trying to say is - if any of you are open to a change of heart - i would just urge you to at least consider approaching fics on a case-by-case basis. especially if it’s a story you see is getting minimal attention, or if it’s written by a mutual of yours who supports /you/ in your endeavors. and if you do end up waiting for one reason or another (which is fine!), maybe just let the author know that they’re awesome and that you’re excited for the story. it’s the least you can do, and chances are the author will get a little boost of confidence that there are more readers on the horizon.

#please don't reblog #went back and forth w myself about posting this at all #but figured i owed it to myself #after thinking it through this much #this is merely my personal perspective #but i do think it's fair for authors to get to engage with readers in this way #and explain how they're feeling too #at the end of the day it's always up to the individual what to read or not to read and when #just something to think about #writing stuff #fanfic

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realtalk-princeton · 7 years

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I'm sort of worrying about making friends at princeton mainly because I am so shy. Like I've missed so many chances of talking to new people in my classes... like sometimes when people try to talk to me I just ignore them since I don't feel confident talking to them. (Plus I don't speak up in precepts)What should I do about? Just roll with it? I basically have no one :(

Response from Sulpicia:

I’m shy too, and a lot of people here tend to be on the more introverted side, so don’t feel alone! The good news is that there are lots of opportunities to make friends: you’re only halfway through this semester’s classes, you have a whole new set of classes next semester, and of course you can always join clubs/do random stuff on campus.

The bad news is that, if you want to make friends, you have to go out of your comfort zone and actually talk to people. If people are asking how you are or making small talk with you, they want to get to know you- I also sometimes feel awkward talking with people I don’t know well, but the important thing is to be friendly. If you share classes with someone or you do a club with them, ask them for a meal! Asking questions about them helps, because it means that you can mostly listen and don’t have to talk. If you’re ignoring people, they might feel like you don’t want to be their friend, so it’s important to speak up.

You can also try joining a club- even if you’re not close with any particular person, that’s a whole group of people who you can go to social events with or even just wave at on campus, which makes me feel less isolated. For what it’s worth, I would also try to speak up more in precept, since that might help you with your confidence. If you say something silly (as long as it’s not, like, monumentally dumb), nobody will remember, and I find that participating in class really helps me understand material.

I know that it seems like so much time has passed you by, but we’re only a quarter of the way into the school year, and there’s a lot of stuff that’ll happen between now and summer. In fact, I didn’t even really get close to a lot of my friends until November/December last year, and even this year, a lot of people who were more acquaintances last year have turned into better friends!

Response from Roonil Wazlib:

Just wanted to add my two cents onto Sulpicia’s great reply bc I am also a massive introvert! I totally get what you’re feeling - honestly, by the end of my freshman year, I could only really count like 2 close friends that I had. I also tend to not reach out to people because I hate small talk (something I need to work on), and sometimes I have moods where I just shut down completely and don’t want to be around people at all. If you’re like me, I always prefer to get to know people “organically” if that makes sense? Like we’re naturally getting to know each other as opposed to constantly going out of our way to try and become friends. If someone reaches out to me first then that’s totally great but I’m too introverted to be the initiator a lot of the time lol.

What really changed for me sophomore year was joining a new group that I absolutely love (and love the people in), and that kind of triggered the social change. But it isn’t easy to find the group that you click with, so some other things I’d suggest are a) going to office hours (if you’re STEM/in pset classes). This sounds really stupid but I actually met so many people by religiously going to ECO/ORF/COS office hours last year - I didn’t go with the intention of meeting people (I was just struggling af), but I just met so many other people and bonded with them over the struggle of the class. I really think mutual struggle creates a natural bond between people, and you can meet people that you can pset with in the future and hopefully develop friendships from there. It’s completely natural to just approach a random person at office hours and say “hey, have you looked at problem x yet?” and then continue a conversation about their name/major, friend them on FB, and ask them if they want to work together in the future. b) If you’re in your room all the time/work in your room a lot, stop doing that and work somewhere more public (if it doesn’t get int he way of you studying). Whenever I worked in my room alone, I just felt so lonely and trapped. I like working in Frist bc so many people are there, and sometimes if I’m at a table and an acquaintance needs somewhere to sit they’ll ask me if they can join - loneliness problem solved! Even if I’m not working with someone (or I’m at a library), there are still people surrounding me even if I don’t know them, so I feel a lot less alone. A lot of people become friends just by studying together a lot, so if you can find people to study with that leads to friendship. c) Don’t worry that because you don’t have friends now, it’ll affect the rest of your Princeton experience or something. A lot of my friends who graduated last year told me that their close friends changed every year, so it’s not like you’re “missing out” on this period where everyone is making friends and that how it will be for 4 years.

sorry this ended up being so long lol idk if it will be helpful but tldr i feel ur pain but you will be okay!!

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nooneofimportance20 · 3 years

Text

Chapter 2

Patches POV cuz I thought it would be fun!

When it switches back to Dream's Pov, I will let you know.

-Mak

______________________________________________________________

I slowly open my eyes as I feel a soft quaking, and I walk over to the window that looks out onto the flat area in front of a big moving door. I see a gray monster crawling onto the flat area and I shrink away slightly.

My owner gets out of the monster's stomach along with his friend and someone I don't know. They begin to walk over to the door. I can hear muffled talking and the jingling of keys.

When the door opens, I am happy to see my owner but wary of the newcomer beside him. I quickly rub against my owner and the friend before casting a quick glance at the other one and slinking away to my bedroom.

______________________________________________________________

End of Patches Pov. Start Of Dreams Pov.

When I open the door, I can feel Patches brush up against me, but before I can lean down to pet her, she disappears.

"So, what do you think of my humble abode?" I ask.

"It's not very humble," George jokes, "My house is tiny compared to this!"

"He even has a pool. It's unfair the amount of money he makes on Youtube," Sapnap laughs.

"We can't all be as good as I am!" I say in an "I'm better than you" tone while walking through the gray door into the entryway that leads off to a spiral staircase.

"Is anyone hungry?" I question.

"Starving. The plane food was horrible so, I haven't eaten anything in ten hours." George replied with a slightly sad look on his face.

"I could eat," Sapnap commented.

"Okay, follow me," I say, gesturing for them to walk to the left of the stairs and into the kitchen. The kitchen had white cupboards with gold handles and a huge black marble island with wooden barstools.

"Wow, Dream what a nice kitchen you have here, now quit showing off," Sapnap rolls his eyes jokingly.

"I actually quite like the kitchen, Sapnap!" George pipes in.

"Thanks, George," I say, giving him a warm smile.

"You're welcome, Dream," He replies, returning the smile.

"Oh my god, quit flirting and get me my food!"

"First of all, I wasn't. Secondly, if you keep acting like this, you won't be getting food." I pause, feeling my face begin to warm up, " And thirdly, I am way too good looking for George," I joke.

"Remind me to not stand up for him next time, Sapnap," George says, forming a mutual alliance between the two.

"Do you guys want me to order food or, do you want me to make something?"

"Order pizza. Not Little Caesars, though. It's too greasy."

"Dominos!" George shouts with a light hop that makes me smile.

"Okay," I reply. I pull out my phone and dial the number for dominos, after the employee answers the phone I order two peperoni pizzas and one sausage with pepperoni. I hang up the phone and tell the others the food is on the way.

"Do you guys want me to show you to you're room while we wait?"

"I want the same room I had last time!" Sapnap yells running out of the kitchen, past the stairs, and down the hallway. George and I walk together towards Sapnap.

"You and George are going to Share this room. I have an air mattress one of you can use, you two can share the bed, or you can take turns sleeping on the couch."

"George you are sleeping on the couch, this is my room," Sapnap says with a serious look on his face.

"What? No I'm not! I was on a plane for ten hours and I am not about to sleep on the couch," He whips around towards me, "Dream tell him I am not sleeping on the couch! Tell him!" George looks absolutely terrifying when he looks at me. Sleep and anger do not mix well. I decide to do the only thing that would save me.

"Sapnap, George is not sleeping on the couch."

"SIMP! JUST LET HIIM SLEEP IN YOUR ROOM!"

"I honestly don't care where or who I sleep with as long as I have an actual bed," George replies, looking at me.

"Fine. Sapnap, you can have this room. George, you can stay in my room. I'll take the couch."

"You are not going to sleep on the couch because of me Dream. We can just share the room."

"George, it's fine."

"No, it's not," Sapnap comments.

"Shut up, Sapnap," I mutter.

"it's not a discussion, Dream. This is your house, and you are not going to sleep on the couch," George says sternly, staring me straight in the eyes. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room.

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and I turned away, thankful for the disruption even though I knew I wasn't getting out of the situation completely.

I open the door and see a Domino's delivery girl standing there with the three boxes of pizza in hand.

"Hi! Are you Dream?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Okay. That will be twenty-nine dollars and ninety-seven cents, please," the girl says, handing me the pizza.

(Domino's, why do you have to be so expensive...Maybe I'm just broke, lol)

"Here you go," I smile, handing her the money.

"Have a good day!" she smiles back at me and turns around, walking to her car.

"You too!"

I close the door and turn around to see Sapnap and George standing in the hallway staring directly at me with a look that makes them seem murderous.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Give me the food, Dream," Sapnap replies slowly.

"No. Quit looking at me like your gonna kill me," I say, sheltering the pizza from him.

"George, you tell him."

"What? Why would George telling me to be any different?"

"Because you L O V E him," Sapnap says, dragging out the 'Love' and 'Him' parts. I can feel my face growing red.

"WHAT?"

"See? He's not denying it!"

"Yeah! Dream lOvEs meee," George adds.

"I DO NOT!" I shout. My face is definitely a dark shade of maroon right now.

"Jeez, don't get so defensive about it."

"Whatever! Just eat your damn pizza," I mumble, handing George the boxes. They are actually two years old. The second I give George the boxes, they run to the kitchen and don't even bother getting plates.

"How is half of this box already gone? You just got the pizza!"

"Idunnomaybethatgirlatehalftheboxorsomething." Sapnap manages to say.

"That's gross, Sapnap."

I pull out my phone to check the time. Only 1:15.

"What do you guys want to do today?"

George pauses to think.

"We could watch some movies?"

"What do you think, Sapnap?"

"Sure."

"George, grab the pizza. Follow me, guys."

We walk to my living room, and George sets the boxes down on the coffee table.

"What movie are we going to watch," Sapnap asks, going in for another slice of pizza.

"I dunno. Dream, you pick."

"Okay," I answer. I grab the remote to turn on the tv and flop down on the couch next to George. "I choose Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone."

"YES! I LOVE HARRY POTTER!" George says, looking at me with a big smile on his face. I laugh.

"I know, George." I see a faint pink color on George's cheeks, and I smile.

I click play on the movie and look at Sapnap. He is looking at me confused from the other couch then gives me a thumbs-up. I don't know what he meant by that. When I look at him again, he is on his phone.

We sit there on the couch for hours just watching Harry Potter movies because I know they are George's favorite. Sapnap left to go put his clothes away a while ago and still isn't back.

I feel a little bit of weight drop on my shoulder that makes me squirm.

I turn to look and see George's head resting on my shoulder. He has his eyes half-closed and looks like he's going to fall asleep any second.

"George," I whisper, nudging him with my shoulder lightly. When he doesn't move, I do it again. "George," I say his name a little louder this time.

"What," He mutters, moving his head a little.

"What happened to 'I honestly don't care where or who I sleep with as long as I have an actual bed'?"

"Give me a bed then."

"You have to get up," I say, rolling my eyes.

"Fine," He mumbles, getting off of my shoulder. "Where is your room, Dream?"

"This way," I say, sitting up from the couch and taking him by the hand. He flinches at the touch but seems to relax soon enough.

I lead him to the spiral stairs and help him walk up because I'm pretty sure he is half asleep already. We get up the stairs and I lead George to a door at the end of the hallway.

He reaches towards the handle and opens the door into my bedroom.

"Nice bed," he comments, flopping down on it and not moving.

This is my chance! I start to walk out of the room and reach for the door nob.

"Don't. Even. Think. About. It. Get over here."

"FINE!" I say, walking over to my dresser and grabbing some different clothes.

I start to take off my shirt when I notice George staring.

"What? Like what you see?" I say, laughing. Even though it's dark, I can make out a slight blush on George's face.

"Shut up and go to sleep."

"But Georgie, how am I meant to sleep knowing there is a pervert in my room?" I ask, tilting my head to the side and trying to get a reaction out of him.

"GO TO BED!"I hold up my hands and crawl into bed, facing away from George. I fall asleep, matching my breaths to his.

"Dream?" I hear a faint whisper and feel arms wrap around me.

Word count: 1,690

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readingontheedge · 5 years

Photo

A Lion's Cage

Lion Shifters Prequel

by Ella Wilde

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Clean Paranormal Romance

Shifts happen. Hearts change. Africa awaits. Life as a slave in the fight pits of Kenya is vicious and brutally short, and no one knows this better than lion shifter Lazarus Kiprop. As a prized champion, he lives with blood on his hands and guilt in his heart. He's survived longer than most, at a cost. With no end in sight, Lazarus has given up on ever seeing another sunrise. The last thing he needs is a vampire youngling taunting him with impossible promises of freedom. A newly made vampire, Willow has gaping holes in her memory and a burning desire for revenge. With less than a week before her new master arrives to claim her, she’s determined to find a way out of captivity. And if the leather-clad guy in the cell next door doesn’t believe it’s possible? That’s too bad, because she’s going, with or without him. But while Willow may be able to escape her cage, will she be able to escape her heart? “A Lion’s Cage” is the prequel to “The Lion Shifters” series. Escape to a land where everything is possible. Start your adventure today!

**FREE at all retailers!!**

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The moment an unseen hand removed the stake, my torso lurched upward as I gasped. Before I could react beyond the need to sit up, metal clanged against metal. My eyes focused on bars.

"A cage?" I yelled. "Really? That's how this is playing out? Can you at least take off the handcuffs?"

The only response was the rapidly retreating steps of the men who'd thrown me in here.

It wasn't a cage, but it wasn't much better. The cell was large enough that I could stand and move around several paces in each direction, and that was about it. A thin layer of straw covered the concrete floor. There was a bucket in one corner and a dingy blanket in the other. A harsh fluorescent tube hung from the ceiling outside my cell. The place smelled like a stable. There were several other cells up and down the corridor, most of them either empty or their occupants hidden from view by concrete dividers.

Dragging myself backward, I leaned against the concrete wall and knocked my head against the bars covering the front of the cell. Hunger still burned in my veins. To distract myself, I wondered what new and probably not very exciting adventures awaited me.

Glancing across the corridor to the closest cell, I noticed a pair of bare feet poking out from the shadows. While the soles of the feet were a dark cream, the part of the muscular legs I could see was rich brown and not from a tan. Was he like me, a Vampire? Or something else?

I'd gone to Europe to deepen my education—or something like that—but hadn't expected just how deep I'd go. In the past few days, I'd not only learned that all manner of paranormal creatures inhabited the world but that I was destined to live among them, albeit as an unwilling resident.

"Hey," I half whispered, not wanting to attract the attention of our guards. "Hey, Barefoot. What's your name?"

There was no response although one of the feet twitched and shifted a bit.

"I'm Willow." I wasn't at all discouraged by the lack of response. After all, he couldn't be doing anything important. I was doing the guy a favor by entertaining him.

"That's nice." His voice bordered on a growl as if he was in between shifting from animal to man.

A King's Pride

Lion Shifters Book 1

Emma Knight is in Kenya to bury a witch, and then she’s leaving. But hostile forces are pushing her into a role she doesn’t want. When Emma breaks a cardinal rule and rescues a lion Shifter, she finds herself at a dangerous crossroads. Does she move on, or risk her secrets and her heart to save the lion’s Pride and establish peace in Nairobi? Lion Shifter King David Kiprop is on a time-sensitive mission, one that leads him into a poacher’s snare. While he’s relieved to escape the trap, he’s not happy to owe a life-debt to the snarky, secretive female who rescued him, even if he does find Emma attractive. She’s a bewitching distraction King can’t afford. Too bad the gods have other plans. Join the Kiprop Pride and escape to a land where everything is possible. Start your adventure today! “A King’s Pride” is Book 1 in “The Lion Shifters” series. The Lion Shifters is cliffhanger-free and is meant to be read in order for the best reading experience

My cell phone rang.

“Shh,” Isaac huffed just as I answered it.

“Emma? Emma, it’s Daniel. Can you hear me?”

“Daniel,” I whispered. “We’re under attack.”

“I know. Are you hurt? Is Isaac still with you? He’s not answering his phone. Where are you?”

“Emma,” Isaac said, tugging on my shirtsleeve. “We have to go. Now. The shooting is on the other side.”

“Daniel…” I began but stopped when more screams and gunfire echoed around us.

“Let me talk with her,” King yelled in the background, his voice loud enough for me to hear.

“Forget it, goat herder. You might break my phone. Bloody hell, Zeeks. Try not to hit the pedestrians.”

“That’s a difficult task,” Ezekiel yelled, and I could imagine him trying to steer the car as his brothers fought.

“It would be easier if you weren’t driving on the sidewalk,” Daniel growled.

There was a scuffling sound and some snarling, followed by, “You’re holding it upside down, King David.”

“Emma?” It was King. “Emma, are you hurt?”

“No, although Isaac’s sense of humor might kill me. Apart from that, we’re all still breathing and in one piece.”

“Emma, stay calm. Don’t panic,” King commanded.

I almost grinned. “We are not panicking. Isaac, Tiger and I are trying to figure out how to get a group of children to safety.”

“We’re almost there. Don’t worry.”

I wasn’t quite sure whether King was talking to me, his brothers or…

“He’s talking to himself,” Daniel shouted.

King roared, almost loud enough to shatter whatever hearing I had left.

“King, I need to go. Call me when you get here.” I hung up and shoved the phone in my hip pocket.

**Only .99 cents!!**

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A Demon's Wing

Lion Shifters Book 2

Summoned to Kenya by a dying witch, Grace Elkhart can’t wait to leave. She agrees to stay only long enough to help her cousin Emma establish some law and order in Nairobi. Being a Demon, Grace has the power to do that. But settle down? Join Emma’s Pride? There are too many reasons against it, starting with Jed Kiprop, the only man to ever break her Demon heart.

As a lion Shifter, Jed knows he needs to join a Pride… eventually. Now that his eldest brother King has formed one, it should be an easy choice. Except his brother’s mate has a Demon in her family. And that’s one Paranorm Jed refuses to share space with, especially when that Demon’s name is Grace, a woman he once loved before she betrayed him.

When a family tragedy and a king’s command force Jed and Grace to work together, sparks fly despite their mutual distrust. But will they be able to overcome their pride and prejudice in time to save the Pride and each other from an ancient enemy?

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A Tiger's Eye

Lion Shifters Book 3

Fun-loving Tana “Tiger” Shah is about to lose everything, including her freedom. When her estranged mother shows up at her doorstep with an indecent proposal, Tiger must make a decision: lose her home in order to pay off her family’s debt and preserve her honor, or marry a man she doesn’t know. Although her heart says no, love doesn’t pay the bills. Tiger will do whatever it takes to protect her family, even if it means turning her back on her own dreams.

Lion Shifter Ezekiel Kiprop isn’t one to play games, especially if the safety of his Pride is at risk. When it comes to his duty to defend his king, he’s never hesitated until now. And that’s what makes Tiger so dangerous: she makes him forget all reason when she’s around. Determined to focus on an unknown challenger to his brother’s throne, Ezekiel shuts down his feelings. As fate would have it, his lion has other ideas, especially when it comes to Tiger. But will their love survive the truth Tiger has been hiding?

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A Lion's Price

Lion Shifters Book 4

Rebecca Keitany’s life has been one battle after another, until the moment she’s hired by a witch to work at a tea shop. Finally, it seems Rebecca’s future is looking bright: she’s got a stable job, and an art dealer is interested in her paintings. But that’s before she attracts the unwanted attention of the powerful Lightning Bird who has one simple request, and he won’t take no for an answer. So the last thing Rebecca needs is to be saddled with Daniel Kiprop, a handsome socialite and brilliant tech developer.

Lion Shifter Daniel is all too willing to offer his expertise to his Pride’s queen. It’s an easy assignment, and then he’ll be back to his normal business, including the endless parties that fill his evenings. All is going according to plan until the night of a vicious attack that changes everything Daniel thought about life, love and the pursuit of happiness. But can he convince Rebecca he’s a changed lion before she takes up the offer of the Lightning Bird and disappears forever?

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A Wolf's Song

Lion Shifters Book 5

It’s going to be a night to remember, and not in a good way. When election chaos combines with the storm of the century, Nairobi becomes an even more dangerous city than usual. The lion Shifters retreat to their Prideland, under strict orders from their king to stay at home.

Trouble is, Isaac Kiprop was never one to follow the rules. While the other lion Shifters settle down for a long night, Isaac has other plans: his last burglary job for the hyena gang. After that, he’ll be free, or so he tells himself. And he’s pretty sure he can get away with it, until a pretty but irritating, know-it-all wolf Shifter crashes his party and his heart.

Lara Kraft is on a mission, one that doesn’t involve Isaac and his never-ending efforts to push her buttons. Her research takes her into the territory of a dangerous criminal game, and all her carefully laid plans go awry. When Lara learns the truth about the gang’s latest assignment, she’ll do anything to stop them. But good intentions have a way of getting complicated, especially when Isaac is involved.

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About the Author

I was born and raised in Kenya. Living up to my name, I decided an office job wasn't my cup of tea. When I'm not rescuing orphaned elephants or conducting a lion census, I write about people who walk the thin line between the human world and the supernatural. Visit my world at www.ParanormalAfrica.com to receive exclusive gifts and top secret info.

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Giveaway

$25 Amazon – 1 winner, Lion Bookmark & Keychain – 5 winners!

Follow the tour HERE for exclusive content and a giveaway!

https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/lion-shifters-book-tour-and-giveaway

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