#s thank you for enabling me to write ALL my agendas

[terrainofheartfelt]

Okay I’ll throw in one last one for the road: Van der Humphreys + children?

VDH + Children

“...so that’s Eric and Jonathan and Jenny and Nathaniel in the east wing, Daniel and Blair and Serena and Vanessa upstairs, and I thought we should put Scott and Natalie in the largest bedroom, since they’re bringing the baby with them.”

“Fine by me,” Rufus says, coming around to set a fresh cup of tea beside Lily’s laptop as she studies the details of their rental in Kauai. “They’re definitely coming? Traveling with a two-year-old is – a lot.” 

“They already RSVP'd,” Lily confirms, lifting her Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington mug to take a sip. “Plus, we’ll all be around, so they should be able to take at least one night off.” 

“True,” Rufus agrees, one of his hands gently kneading her shoulder. 

“So,” she twists her head back to look up at her husband as he peers down at the screen, his own Welcome Back, Kotter mug in hand, “what do you think?”

“Hmmm, I don’t know, Lil,” he muses, “you sure we’ll have enough room?”

“Oh, stop,” she chides as he laughs, dropping into the dining chair next to her and scooting closer. 

“It’ll be great,” he amends, setting a hand on her knee. 

“And this way, every couple will have their own bathroom.”

“That’s smart. Save us from a repeat of the Hot Water Incident of 2016.”

Lily laughs at the joke, but that’s why she chose such an extensive property for this family trip. During their last one in Telluride, Dan and Nate had to physically put themselves between Blair and Jenny. 

“Was that really the last time the whole family was together?” Rufus asks. 

Lily makes a dissenting noise. “Eric’s wedding,” she corrects.

“Oh, that’s right,” Rufus nods, “Nat was pregnant with Dylan.”

(Named after Bob, a fact which they both loved, though Rufus is the only one who’ll admit it). 

“Our numbers have gone up,” Lily says lightly.

“And they’ll keep on going.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Do you know something I don’t know?”

Rufus blinks, puzzled for a second. “Nope, but don’t you think?”

She laughs, tipping her head back. Rufus moves to stretch his arm across the back of her chair, and she settles into it with a sigh, her eyes still on the screen, still displaying all the details of their Hawaiian dream rental. 

“Do you think sometimes maybe we have too many children?” she jokes.

“Maybe,” Rufus props his chin on her shoulder, “but I kind of love it that way.”

She smiles, and reaches up to pat his cheek. “Me too.”

It’s a perfect afternoon in Kauai, though Nate’s not sure there’s any other kind of afternoon here. 

Lily always goes all out for these family trips, and this one is no different. The villa she rented is massive. Hilariously oversized, Jen called it on their arrival, and while that may be true, it’s nice that there’s enough space for everyone in the family to do their own thing. Plus, it means Nate won’t have to hold Jenny back from jumping her sister-in-law for hogging the bathroom, at least on this trip. 

Right now, Nate is parked on the sectional sofa in the main living area, next to a huge set of windows displaying the ocean down in the distance. He’d taken Jenny out on the water this morning, but now he needed to carve out some time with the stack of study materials he’d brought with him. 

“Yikes. You do know you’re on vacation, right?”

Nate looks up from the packet in his hands to see Serena, already twenty percent tanner than when they’d all got here three days ago. She’s wearing the look she and Jenny have both classified as Island Niles: a brightly-colored large and flowy Hawaiian shirt and denim cutoffs (Nate’s in love with a fashion designer, he notices these things now).

“Haha,” he says flatly. “I don’t have a choice. I got a physiology exam the week after we get back, so I can’t let all the information leak out of my brain.”

Serena drops down onto the other end of the couch. “Look at you,” she croons, poking his leg with her foot, “Nate Archibald, the academic.”

He looks back down at his reading, flipping Serena off as he does. 

He hears her laugh, and spots the toss of her head out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t worry, Vanessa’s just as bad, she’s been elbow deep in Final Cut pro all day. So, I came to see what everyone else is doing.”

Nate shrugs, tapping the end of his pen on his lips. “Scott and Nat left for a romantic getaway on the big island this morning, so most everyone else is taken with the baby.” He gestures with his pen to the window behind him, to the lawn and the pool where no doubt Jen, Dan, Eric, Jonathan, Rufus,

and Lily were all still entertaining Scott’s little girl, Dylan. (Named after Bob, which Nate and Jen both agreed was a really awesome name).

Serena hums, following his point to look out the window. She laughs lightly, smile breaking over her face. 

“Aren’t you glad Scott finally had a kid?” she asks, propping her head up with her arm on the back of the couch. “Really takes the pressure off.”

Nate narrows his eyes playfully. “What pressure would you be under?”

“Umm, me and Vanessa, that’s two uteruses, so: double the pressure of the rest of you!”

He laughs. “Sure, let’s go with that.”

Serena tilts her head in thought. “Is that even the plural of uterus? Or is it uteri?”

“Uteruses,” Nate confirms. 

She grins. “See? That studying is already paying off!” she pokes him with her foot again, repeatedly this time, until Nate has to swat her away with one of his textbooks.

“Fine, fine,” she relents with a giggle. “But, seriously, tell me how school’s going.”

Nate does, trading his stories from nursing school for Serena’s about her photography and writing freelancing. She’d shied away from it for a long time, not wanting to be like her mother, but eventually, with Vanessa and Blair and Eric’s prodding, she couldn’t deny it’s what she loved to do, even if she still refuses to call it photojournalism. 

There’s always the text chains and emails and errant direct messages on social media, but Nate loves these gatherings because it’s a chance for him to really catch up with his best friend. Blair’s only a couple hours away in Paris, but S and her girl were on the move so much Nate really only gets to see them at official van der Humphrey gatherings. It’s lucky he and Blair both fell for people in her family. 

Their chat is interrupted by a high-pitched shriek of laughter, and they both turn to see Dylan giggling in Jenny’s arms as she twirls them around in the shallow end of the pool. 

“She’s cute,” Serena says. 

“Yeah,” Nate didn’t realize he was smiling until after he speaks. 

“Soooooo,” Serena says suggestively, waggling her eyebrows like a cartoon villain, “does that mean you’re next?”

Nate snorts. “Nope. Not likely.”

Serena lifts an inquiring eyebrow. 

He shrugs. “We’ve talked about it, and neither of us are anywhere near ready.” He drops the packet in his hands and stretches. “Jen has plans to launch her own label by the time she’s thirty, and I just want to survive clinicals.”

Serena nods with a laugh. “Completely understandable.”

“We’ve tabled it indefinitely,” he turns in his seat, mirroring Serena’s pose, hand propped on his arm. “Or at least another ten years.” 

“Yeah. Us too,” she shrugs, looking down, hand dropping to pluck at the fringe of one of the throw pillows. “V would be great at it.”

“You would too,” he says softly. “But you don’t have to want it.” (It’s not too dissimilar from what he told Jenny, but the sentiment remains.)

Serena shoots him a grateful smile, then turns to look back out the window. “So who do you think will be next? Eric or Dan?”

Nate hums thoughtfully. “Well, Eric’s the one who gave your mom the white wedding, so he should at least give Dan the chance to win back some points.”

Serena giggles, and as if she could sense their direction of the conversation, Blair comes padding into the room, in shockingly casual dress: leggings and an oversized, faded NYU t-shirt. Nate would have expected her in one of the resort collections Jen’s been pouring over for weeks now. 

“How are you doing there, B?” Nate teases. 

Blair makes a grumbly noise in response, and sinks down onto the couch between them, putting her head in Serena’s lap and her feet in Nate’s. 

“Hungover?” Serena asks with a pitiful pout, brushing Blair’s hair back from her face.

That’s funny, Nate doesn’t remember Blair drinking at all last night. Or the night before. Or on the flight from Heathrow to LAX—and there are few things Blair Waldorf loves more than a cocktail on an international flight.

“No,” Blair insists. “I’m just exhausted. Must be jetlag.” 

“We’ve been here for a few days now, B,” Serena says gently.

“Well, it’s delayed jetlag,” Blair snipes. 

“Does that exist?” Nate asks. 

Blair scoffs, rolling onto her side, kicking Nate in the process. “I need a nap.”

“I thought naps were for the weak,” Serena teases.

“Yeah, isn’t that what you’ve said at every other van der Humphrey family vacation?” 

Blair kicks at him again, but Nate knows he’s right. His best friend has never been one for sleeping in the middle of the day, unless she was pulling a Camille, or when she was…

“B,” he says firmly. 

She turns to look him in the eye, and he meets it. He’s been Jenny’s partner too long to be cowed by a withering stare, and known Blair too long to fall apart from hers. 

“What,” she asks flatly, challenging. 

“B,” he repeats, matching her tone, arching an eyebrow.

Her eyes widen, caught, and then he knows. 

“Okay,” Serena waves a hand, interrupting their staring contest. “One of you needs to start talking.” 

“Blair’s not hungover,” he says gleefully, “because she hasn’t had a drink all week.”

Blair pushes herself into sitting up. “Nathaniel Archibald –”

“Because,” he drops his voice to a stage-whisper, “she’s pregnant.”

Serena’s squeal nearly breaks the glass behind them. “Really?” 

“I – how –” Blair sputters at him. “How did you know?”

“I am a medical professional now, remember?” he picks up the course packet he was reading earlier and waves it in her face. 

“You’re a student,” she snarks back, swatting a hand at the book, “you aren’t a professional anything yet, Archibald, don’t be so braggy.”

“Oh, I’m gonna brag a little.”

Serena bounces in her seat, clapping her hands together. “Oh, this is amazing! Congratulations!” She playfully shoves Blair’s shoulder. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” 

“I can’t believe Dan hasn’t told everyone on the island,” Nate jokes.

Blair shushes them both. “That’s because I haven’t told Dan yet,” she whispers forcefully. “So you two better keep this secret, because if he hears it from one of your girlfriends first, I swear to god, I will end you all.”

Nate meets Serena’s eye over Blair’s head, the both of them grinning wide. 

“We’re going to hug you now,” he announces, serious. 

Blair’s long-suffering sigh is muffled by the two of them wrapping their arms around each other, squeezing Blair in the middle. After a breath, her hands slip out to settle over their arms. 

“Whoa,” Nate hears another feminine voice come from the stairs’ general direction, “did I miss something?”

Serena pulls out of the hug first, then Nate, who turns to see Vanessa entering the room, straps of a swimsuit top peeking out from beneath her sundress. 

Nate shares a glance with Serena, still bubbly with excitement, and Blair, who’s eyes may as well be flashing WARNING and DANGER. 

“We – uh…plead the fifth?”

Serena bobs her head in a nod, and Blair slumps back into the couch. 

“Okay…” Vanessa drags out the word. “Well, I was just gonna walk down to the beach, so…” she trails off, and shoots a meaningful look over her shoulder at Serena before slipping outside through the sliding glass doors. 

Serena blinks, then smiles wide. “Bye!” she chirps to her best friends before dashing out the door behind her girlfriend. 

Nate turns back to Blair. 

“Not a word,” she points a finger at him threateningly. 

Nate solemnly draws a cross over his heart, just how they used to make promises to each other when they were kids. He holds his arms open after, and she obliges, throwing her own around his neck in a hug. 

“Congrats, B,” he says sincerely, without an ounce of jealousy or regret. They now both had everything they ever wanted. 

“Thank you,” she says back, equally genuine.

[teacupfulofstarshine]

you're the pink in my cheeks (i'm a little bit soft)

summary: "and i know we'll never grow old together / cause you'll never grow old to me / you're the pink in my cheeks / and i love that it means i'm a little bit soft / you're the pink in my cheeks / and i love that it means i'm a little bit soft"

- "monster," marceline (adventure time)

(OR: 5.4k of soft domestic lesbian!analogical, featuring lesbian!moceit, trans male!remus, trans female!roman, and Gay Shenanigans)

a/n: huge thank you to dandie for beta'ing this fic!

i just wanted to write wlw is that so wrong of me? no. no it is not.

CW: alcohol mentions, a few sex jokes, swearing, one implied instance of potential sexual activity (although it doesn't go any farther than making out; if you want to skip that part, skip the section that starts with "Did you get the right kind of popcorn?")

word count: ~5.4k

read it on ao3!!

“I think I may be going insane,” Logan says, squinting at her laptop screen. Virginia, hanging upside-down in the armchair, looks up from her phone and blinks.

“And why is that?”

“Because I am starting to agree with Rosie’s anti-Florida agenda.”

“I didn’t realize that there was an anti-Florida agenda.”

“Rosie has one, and I have always thought it facetious. However, if this laboratory does not start sending me my requested samples and information in a timely manner, I will be forced to concede that Rosie may have . . . a point.”

“You, agreeing with a lit major? I never thought I’d see the day,” Virginia teases. Logan initially resists the urge to stick her tongue out or flip Virginia off, because that would be childish, but then she remembers that Virginia does not care about her childishness, so she sticks her tongue out. Virginia snorts with laughter, and Logan feels warm, fizzy pop-rocks bursting in her chest.

Her phone buzzes next to her, and she picks it up. There’s a new message blinking for her attention on the screen.

[from: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

a, b, or c

[to: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

. . . What?

[from: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

*rolls eyes*

[from: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

i need you to make a selection, logan. a, b, or c.

[to: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

I am confused. What am I selecting between?

[from: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy

[to: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

Yes. I would like to know. That is why I asked you.

[to: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

Also, I am not a meteorologist. Or a boy.

[from: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

it’s a meme, i’m sure v will be happy to show you the og. but first: make a choice

[to: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

Option B, I suppose?

[from: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

vodka it is!

[to: snesbian (snake lesbian)]

Wait, what?

Her phone buzzes again, another text thread lighting up, and Logan abandons the now-fruitless conversation with Jan to see that her wife has texted.

[from: soda poppy]

y is jan fillin a thermos with vodka and sayin u gave her the go ahead? >:(

[to: soda poppy]

I am unsure. She texted me asking me to make a choice between “a, b, and c” with no context given. When I eventually selected “b,” she excitedly mentioned vodka and logged off.

[from: soda poppy]

her an remy r going 2 a pta meeting tonight an i guess they’re goin drunk

[to: soda poppy]

Is that a . . . normal occurrence?

[from: soda poppy]

sadly yeah

[to: soda poppy]

Wait, is she even allowed to attend PTA meetings? You two don’t have any children?

[from: soda poppy]

she’s on the school board so she has the right 2 attend. idk if she’s supposed to or not but its never stopped her b4

“Everythin’ good over there?” Virginia asks.

“I believe I may have just enabled Jan to attend a PTA meeting drunk.” Virginia snorts, swiping at her phone.

“Good for her, honestly. The only reason she and Poppy live in that neighborhood is so that Jan can flaunt her wife in front of all the capital-s Straight people, because she’s a petty fuckin’ bitch.”

“That is a strange word choice for your best friend.”

“I hate Jan, she’s a bitch,” Virginia says, smirking fondly at her phone. Logan knows her girlfriend well enough to know that this statement is disingenuous, so she stands up, stretching her arms above her head, and leans down to drop a kiss onto Virginia’s forehead.

*~*~*~*~*

Logan blinks awake slowly, feeling for the position of her limbs. She’s on her left side, left arm tucked up under her pillow to cradle her head, wrapped in the thick comforter of their bed. Her right arm is slung across Virginia’s body, and her girlfriend is pressed up against her, head tucked right under Logan’s chin and face nestled into her neck and chest. Virginia breathes, slow and deep and even, and Logan hums, huffing out a soft exhale.

She carefully wiggles out of bed, tucking the comforter around Virginia’s curled-up form. Virginia grumbles when the cool morning air slips against her skin, because she is a foolish woman who insists upon sleeping in short shorts and a spaghetti-strap tank top no matter the current weather patterns. Logan wraps her up, making sure that she’s shifted into the middle of the warm divot of body heat, and Virginia settles in, asleep again in a heartbeat.

Logan turns to the corner chair, where her early-morning outfit is already laid out: athletic leggings, a sports bra, a moisture-wicking quarter zip jacket. She changes quietly, lights off, and tugs on a pair of ankle socks before slinking into the bathroom. Once the door is shut, she flicks on the soft lights over the vanity and carefully undoes her sleep braid. Normally, Virginia does Logan’s hair, because Logan is not good at dealing with her wavy, tangled, curly mess, but she won’t wake up her girlfriend for that. She can, at bare minimum, pull her hair up into a high ponytail for running purposes.

They live in a small town only a short walk (and even shorter bike ride) from the beach, full of little two-story brightly-colored beach cottages. Logan steps off her front porch, pulls out her phone, and quickly shoots a text.

[to: ginny <3]

I am headed to the beach for my weekly run. I will likely return before you wake up, but in case I do not: I will be back before 9 AM.

[to: ginny <3]

I love you <3

Logan kicks up the kickstand on her bike, runs her fingers over the glossy dark-blue paint flecked with white and silver and gold to mimic stars, and swings one leg over the bike seat. She carefully pedals out into the narrow road and heads for the beach. The cool early-morning air whips past her face, and she chances a glance up at the dark-blue-turning-light-blue-grey sky and smiles.

She’s always been an early-morning morning person, anyway.

*~*~*~*~*

Logan’s sneakers dig into the hard-packed wet sand along the water’s edge as she runs. Seagulls scatter in front of her, and the podcast Virginia recommended hums in her ear. The sun creeps up, up, up onto the horizon, coloring the blue-grey into streaks of brilliant pink and orange and gold, light reflecting off the water in resplendent diamond sparkles.

Logan runs half a mile down the beach, turns around, runs back to where she started and then runs half a mile in the other direction before turning around and running back to her starting point. By the time she’s bent over, hands on her knees, huffing out breath while her legs burn pleasantly, the sun has emerged fully from the ocean, and Logan is beginning to wish she had worn a visor.

She takes a moment to appreciate the sensory experiences of being on a nearly-abandoned beach: the scent of salt water, the sound of waves crashing against sand, the errant cries of gulls squabbling over fish. Their little beach is not nearly pristine enough for a tourist attraction, and too far north along the Atlantic coast to be warm year-round. Still, Logan loves it, and cannot imagine living anywhere else.

She hunts along the water’s edge as she walks, briefly, a cool-down before the bike ride home. She finds a few things worth photographing, a few crabs to shoo back into the ocean, and a few things worth gathering: an intact clam shell whose smooth curve runs unbroken from the heel of her palm to the tip of her index finger when she lays it flat in her hand, a light gray rock worn smooth by the waves that turns dark-gray-almost-black when wet, a small spiral shell that she thinks may have broken off of the top of a snail shell. Logan wraps all three things carefully in a small handkerchief from the little bag she keeps in her bike basket, pulling out her phone to note the time (8:37 AM) and the message notification flashing at her.

[from: ginny<3]

dunno why you insist on being a morning person. stop by the dunkin on your way back and get us breakfast?

[to: ginny<3]

You had Dunkin for breakfast three times this week. You should consume something healthy.

[from: ginny <3]

>:( >:( >:( >:(

[from: ginny <3]

counterpoint: you bringing me dunkin is better than me not eating breakfast at all. which is the alternative because i do not want to get up and prepare anything

[to: ginny <3]

Your womanly wiles will not work on me in regards to Dunkin breakfast.

[from: ginny <3]

bitch (affectionate)

[to: ginny <3]

Would you like me to make you breakfast on my return, beloved?

[from: ginny <3]

. . .

[from: ginny <3]

will you make me an omelette? with all the cheesy goo an shit?

[to: ginny <3]

I will make you an omelette with some degree of “cheese goo.”

Logan slides her phone into her pocket, huffing out a laugh at her girlfriend’s behavior, and hops onto her bike again.

*~*~*~*~*

“Your omelettes are always so much better than mine,” Virginia says, moaning as she sinks her teeth into an enormous bite of egg and cheese. Logan, calmly dicing bell peppers to mix into her own omelette, smiles.

“All food tastes better when it is prepared by someone who is not you.”

“You’ve clearly never had anything the twins have cooked.” Virginia takes another bite, pops a multivitamin into her mouth, and chases it down with a gulp of milk. “Besides, it tastes better because you made it.”

“I am not the most accomplished chef in the world, certainly, but I am glad you enjoy my cooking.”

Virginia laughs softly. “Lo, I like your food because it’s prepared by someone who loves me. I can taste the love in everything you make for me.”

Logan turns back to her peppers to hide her blush. “Love is not a measurable ingredient when cooking.” Virginia laughs again, louder this time; when Logan sets the knife down, she hears Virginia’s chair scrape out behind her as she stands, feels her arms wrap around her waist, feels the cool skin of her face press into her neck.

“Love you.”

*~*~*~*~*

“Stressful day at work?” Logan asks, hearing the door slam.

Virginia kicks off her flats, sending them flying into the wall with a clatter. Logan sets down her crochet project and moves toward the entrance of their house, where Virginia is shrugging off her rainjacket to reveal a mint-green Peter Pan-collared blouse and dark gray dress pants. “The stressiest.”

Logan takes the jacket and shakes it out on the tiled entranceway before hanging it on the hook. “I am sorry, beloved.”

“Lots of assessments, lots of parents who don’t understand why I’m assessing their kid, lots of parents insisting that there’s nothing wrong with their kid, or that there’s no way their kid could possibly have the deficits that I’m seeing. Like, I wouldn’t make this shit up, you know? Literally, let me help your child. You came to me, remember? I’m not in the habit of imposing myself onto people.”

“That sounds very stressful,” Logan says. She tries to picture a life where she spends all her time interacting with people she doesn’t know on a regular basis instead of her little corner of the university biochemistry lab where she only has to interact with three or four known people and her immediate supervisor, mostly by email. It sends icy fingers skittering down her spine.

“It is, I hate it. I mean, Kitty’s my supervisor until I get my C’s, so if I have problems I can consult with her, but like . . . why are people the way that they are.”

Logan stretches up and presses a gentle kiss to Virginia’s cheek. “I love you, Ginny.”

Virginia exhales and folds herself around Logan, draping her body over her girlfriend and going limp and boneless. “I don’t wanna be a real person for the rest of the night.”

“That can be arranged.”

“But it’s my night to make dinner.”

“I do not mind switching and having you make dinner tomorrow,” Logan says. “This is an acceptable deviation from the routine.” Virginia pushes her face into Logan’s neck, and Logan nuzzles the side of her head, and she sighs like the entire world has lifted off her chest.

*~*~*~*~*

(This is how it starts:

Logan, taking a class on British literature in her sophomore year because she needs to meet her core requirements. Logan, meeting Rosie, disagreeing with her on almost every single point she raises in class, hating when they’re paired up for their midterm project but earning the best grade in the class overall. Logan, seeing a text from Rosie about how her housemate needs people to participate in a research study for extra credit. Logan, making the long trek down to the health sciences building and seeing Virginia for the first time, thinking that she’s pretty and not knowing that she’ll be thinking that for the rest of her life.)

*~*~*~*~*

“Hello, gorgeous,” Virginia hums.

“Are you talking to me or to the mint plant?” Logan says, aggressively stabbing her pointer finger against the Delete key. It clacks loudly, and she mutters an insult under her breath. “I am going to set myself on fire. I swear to god, I am.”

“Obviously the mint plant,” Virginia says, turning and dropping a kiss on Logan’s head. “You okay, honey?” Logan grumbles more and shoves the laptop away from her with a disgruntled noise. Virginia moves the laptop away and leans over to kiss her forehead.

“I am trying to politely word an email whose essence boils down to, ‘If you do not send me my fucking samples in a timely manner, I am going to be forced to commit an Atrocity the likes of which this earth has never seen’,” Logan says.

Virginia laughs so hard that she sits down on the tiled kitchen floor, wiping tears from her eyes. “You are so funny,” she wheezes. Logan feels her irritation fade a little under the brightness of her girlfriend’s joy. “Let me see the email, I’m good at professional bullshitting.”

*~*~*~*~*

“Braid my hair!” Rosie says, throwing herself down onto the couch. Logan lifts her laptop up just in time to keep Rosie’s head from slamming into the keyboard.

“Ginny is your best bet for braids, Rosie. I have limited experience.”

“It doesn’t have to be fancy, It just has to be off my neck.”

Logan saves her document and sets her laptop on the coffee table, poking at Rosie’s ribs until she slides onto the floor and settles cross-legged between Logan’s thighs. “A comb and some hair-ties would be appreciated.”

“REMUS!” Rosie shouts.

“WHAT?”

“BRING ME A BRUSH AND SOME HAIR BANDS!”

“GET YOUR OWN!”

“I’m going to kill that man,” Rosie mutters, rolling to her feet. There are suspicious muffled thumping noises from the other room for a few minutes before Rosie emerges, victorious, hair somehow even messier than it was in the first place.

“You are the single loudest person I have ever met,” Logan sighs, taking the comb and the hair ties and beginning to drag it through Rosie’s curls. Rosie winces, just a little, at the pull of the comb, and Logan tries to be more gentle.

“Thank you!”

“I did not say that was a compliment.

“Hey!”

*~*~*~*~*

Logan tugs her sweatshirt sleeves down from where she’d rolled them up previously, shivering a little. Part of her wishes that she had worn leggings instead of capris as she drags the folding chair a little closer to the bonfire, toes dragging through the still-sun-warmed sand. The speaker set up on the food table blasts some sort of current pop music, and Rosie and Poppy dance around each other, chanting the lyrics at each other. They are both very loud and very off-key and, Logan suspects, fairly drunk as well. Remus is in the ocean (definitely buzzed, potentially naked) and Jan is standing at the edge of the ocean, watching to make sure he stays alive.

“Hey,” someone says, low and rumbling in her ear. Logan does not flinch (just barely) and turns to see Virginia, holding a plastic cup with a poorly-drawn sketch of the state of Virginia on it. Her hair is starting to come loose from its messy bun, and her sweater sleeves keep sliding down over her wrists and nearly dunking into her drink, and her breath smells sweet and alcoholic. When she lifts her hand to Logan’s cheek, her fingers are cool, and Logan shivers.

“How’s my girl?” Virginia asks.

“Cold,” Logan answers honestly. Virginia laughs, tipping her head back and exposing the long strip of her neck. Logan wants to lick it.

“You’re adorable,” Virginia says, leaning in and pressing her mouth against Logan’s ear. Her breath is warm and slightly damp. “So pretty, my Logan, and so smart. I bet you know exactly what chemical compounds are making the flames turn that color, hmmm?”

Logan can feel her face burning hotter than the bonfire, but Virginia just sits languidly in her lap, feet propped up on the armrest. Her toes are painted pale purple, and the glitter sparkles in the firelight.

“How many drinks have you had?” Logan asks.

“Enough to feel all tingly,” Virginia says, swirling whatever’s in her cup. “How many have you had?”

“None,” Logan answers honestly. Virginia leans her head against Logan’s shoulder, and her wispy frizz tickled Logan’s nose. She sneezes, and Virginia giggles in the high-pitched, superficial way she only giggles when she gets really, really drunk.

“You sound so cute when you sneeze.”

“I do not.”

“Of course you do,” and now Virginia is looking at her, eyes glowing warm in the firelight. “You sound cute when you do anything. You’re cute when you exist. You’re cute no matter what. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone.”

Logan hates the taste of alcohol, but she leans in and kisses Virginia anyway.

*~*~*~*~*

“Lo.”

“Hmmm?”

“Pick a color.”

“What?”

“I’m painting my toes again. Pick a color for me.”

Logan flops over onto her stomach, staring at the neat row of creme polishes sitting on their ottoman. Virginia’s bare feet are propped up in front of them, spread apart awkwardly with neon lemon gel toe spreaders, and she studies the nail polish like she’s trying to determine which vial isn’t poisoned.

“I like that one,” she says finally, pointing to a pale pink polish the color of the flowers Virginia brought her on their first date. Virginia hums, picking the bottle up and tilting it critically in the light.

“Not the one I would have picked, but I said you could pick, so I guess we’re doing it.”

Virginia tosses some bottles of toppers (or “tacos” as she calls them, slang from one of the YouTubers she likes) onto the bed while she paints her toes, and Logan sifts through them to settle on a blue-yellow iridescent one.

“I do not know how you can get behind wearing something called a Unicorn Skin,” Logan says. Virginia just shrugs and plucks the bottle from her hand. Their fingers overlap - Logan’s warm from where they’ve been tucked under her body, Virginia’s cool from where they’ve been gripping the glass bottle. Impulsively, Logan lifts Virginia’s fingers and kisses the tips.

“You’re going to smear the polish,” Virginia mutters, even though she painted her fingers earlier today and they’ve been dry for a while. She doesn’t bother to yank her fingers away, either, so Logan kisses them again.

*~*~*~*~*

“Logan!”

Logan is fully aware that the only thing keeping Poppy from crashing into her like a floral-sundress-covered cannonball is the casserole dish in her hands. She counts her blessings and steps aside to let Poppy in.

“Where’s Jan?”

“Getting something from the car! It’s my turn to drive us home, so she brought something to drink.”

Jan primly kicks the passenger side door shut with her heeled ankle boots, a bottle of wine grasped by the neck in each hand.

“I hope you do not intend to drink both of those in their entirety tonight,” Logan says. Jan rolls her eyes and offers one of the bottles to her.

“This one is a gift for you and Ginia. The other one is for me.”

“None for Poppy?”

“Poppy is the designated driver, so she will not be drinking. And I know she already told you that.” Logan rolls her eyes, and Jan flips her off. “Are you going to invite me in or not?”

“What are you, a vampire?” Virginia shouts from the kitchen.

“Only one of us dresses like the undead, darling, and it isn’t me,” Jan calls back, stepping into the house. “Are the twins here yet?”

“They cannot attend. Remus has orchestra practice and Rosie is teaching a dance class. You already knew both of these facts, because you are in the group text.”

“I am not.”

“You responded to a message in the group thread fifteen minutes ago.”

“That was the NSA agent assigned to monitor me.”

“You are a liar.”

“What else is new?”

*~*~*~*~*

groupchat name: be gay do crime

soda poppy: hey every1! DONUT 4get to make ur bakesale goodies and drop them off at r house by 7 am on fri!

lo tide: Please use normal words. I am begging you.

snesbian (snake lesbian): then beg.

lo tide: I do not recall asking for your opinion.

snesbian (snake lesbian): and yet i give it to you anyway. am i not generous

virgin: if you don’t stop making fun of my gf i swear to god

virgin: also remus if you don’t stop changing my name i’m gonna end you

virgin has changed their name to gin(ny) and tonic!

gin(ny) and tonic: much better anyway

violets are blue rosie is me: i believe you meant anygay

gin(ny) and tonic: i said what i fucking said

ace attorney irl: you changed your name :(

gin(ny) and tonic: every day the Lord regrets giving all of us mod powers in this chat

snesbian (snake lesbian): i have no such regrets

lo tide: Can we circle back to the bake sale, please?

soda poppy: Whatchu wanna kno???

lo tide: I assume it is school related?

soda poppy: yep!

soda poppy: fundraising 4 this year’s art club field trip! since im the faculty advisor im in charge of approving and setting up 4 the fundraisers

lo tide: I see. And why, exactly, is it our responsibility to make things for this fundraiser? Should it not be the students’ responsibility?

soda poppy: they r makin stuff 4 it but also i gotta make sure some of the stuff will b edible yknow

lo tide: I see.

gin(ny) and tonic: listen i know that jan is like. a professional pastry chef an shit. but i’m not making anything fancy like a cheesecake or smthn

gin(ny) and tonic: i’m making like. fuckin brownies

snesbian (snake lesbian): smh don’t you care about the Children at all?

gin(ny) and tonic: no. they’re not my kids

ace attorney irl: i will make cookies

soda poppy: u cannot make them inappropriate shapes

ace attorney irl: :(

violets are blue rosie is me: do not worry, i will make sure they are an appropriate shape

violets are blue rosie is me: i’ll make cupcakes!

lo tide: I believe I have a recipe for lemon squares that I can make. Will lemon squares be sufficient?

soda poppy: yeah! just keep ur stuff free of common allergens like tree nuts

gin(ny) and tonic: so my plan to just yeet you a bag of reese’s peanut butter cups and call it a contribution is out then

*~*~*~*~*

Virginia throws a box of brownie mix into the cart and dusts her hands off. “There. Done.”

Logan raises an eyebrow.

“Don’t give me that look, we have the rest of the ingredients at home. We have tap water, we have oil, we have eggs, we don’t need anything else. What do we need for your lemon thingies?”

“Lemons, presumably.”

“You’re a comedian,” Logan deadpans. Virginia flips her off, and then leans in to kiss her cheek. “I do need lemons, though. Lemons, more eggs . . . I have a list in my phone.”

“What phone?” Virginia says, dangling Logan’s galaxy-patterned case above her head. “I think you’re too short for this, Lo.”

“Give me my phone,” Logan says, rolling her eyes. Virginia wiggles it above her head, laughing.

“Maybe you should give me something in return.”

“Like what?”

Virginia grins. “Like a kiss, perhaps?”

Logan rolls her eyes again, but she leans in and kisses Virginia gently, swiping her phone back when Virginia lowers her hand to cup her face. “Thank you for paying the toll, sweetheart.”

“You are ridiculous,” Logan says. It doesn’t stop her from gently kissing Virginia’s cheek before pushing the cart down the aisle again.

*~*~*~*~*

groupchat name: be gay do crime

lo tide: What time did you want us to drop off the baked goods, Poppy?

soda poppy: if ur gonna b in the area, u can just drop them off at my house!

ace attorney irl: i made some of the shapes inappropriate but those ones r 4 u and jan

soda poppy: what did u make 4 the bake sale?

ace attorney irl: . . .

soda poppy: what did u make 4 the children, remus.

ace attorney irl: nothin’ too crazy! jan had some normal summer shapes - suns, flip flops, etc. etc. used those

soda poppy: :D thx remus!

ace attorney irl: made some fishies too! but the octopi are just for u an jan.

ace attorney irl: i . . . may have painted dicks on them

soda poppy: well at least u warned me right

*~*~*~*~*

“Did you get the right kind of popcorn?” Logan asks.

“If by ‘the right kind’ you mean ‘your favorite kind,’ then yes, I did,” Virginia says, coming into the living room with a large yellow bowl full of fluffy popcorn. “What are we watching tonight? It’s your turn to pick, isn’t it?”

“Gay fish,” Logan says.

Virginia sets the popcorn on the coffee table and blinks at her. “That is . . . quite the description of Finding Nemo, sweetheart.”

“Not Finding Nemo, Ginny. Luca. It’s new, and it’s not explicitly gay, but there is a very obvious queer reading. I thought we could watch it together.”

“Anything with you sounds wonderful.”

“Sap,” Logan mutters. She leans in to kiss Virginia’s cheek, but Virginia turns at the last moment and presses their lips together.

“Are you sure you want to watch a movie?” she says. “We could just make out instead, if you want.” She pushes gently on Logan’s stomach, guiding her to lay on her back on the couch. Virginia lays on top of her, gently sliding a hand to rest warm and heavy on her stomach. She leans forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Logan’s neck, and then her jaw, and then rubbing their noses together.

“Tonight is movie night,” Logan says. Virginia presses their mouths together, and Logan hums, gently pressing up into the kiss. “We should be watching a movie.”

“Are you sure?” Virginia says. “I think we should pursue this avenue a little further.”

Logan squirms a little. “I - I would not - um - no, thank you.”

Virginia’s eyes, which were hazing over with something, clear as she blinks. “Okay, sweetheart.” She leans back, sits up, pulls Logan into a sitting position. “Are you alright?”

“I’m okay,” she says. “I just - I am not in the mood for that tonight. If that is okay.”

“Of course it’s okay,” Virginia says. She holds out a hand, and Logan takes it. Virginia kisses the back of it before settling herself on the couch. “I am so proud of you for expressing a boundary and telling me you were uncomfortable. I know that expressing boundaries is something that we’re both working on, and you did a wonderful job. Tell me what you want, Lo. Please?”

“I would like a kiss,” Logan says. “Just one. And then I would like to cuddle, and - and I would like us to watch Luca together. Is that acceptable?”

Virgil nods. “Of course, love. Come here, hmmm?” Logan settles next to her, and Virginia gently cups her cheek and presses their mouths together. “I love you, Logan. So much. Of course we can watch Luca now.”

Virginia lays an arm along the top of the couch, allowing Logan to cuddle up against her and rest her head on her chest. “I love you,” Logan says softly.

“I love you too, sweetpea.”

*~*~*~*~*

Logan rolls over, yawning, and feels a small weight displace itself from her thighs. She blinks awake slowly, lifting her head and pushing her curtain of curls aside to reveal a black cat mewing at her grumpily before settling into a sushi roll beside her.

“Did I wake you? I am sorry, Galileo . . .”

Galileo settles against her, purring softly, while the ash-grey cat at the foot of the bed pads slowly up to curl on Virginia’s back. “That’s your favorite spot, isn’t it, Andromeda?” The cat emits a soft “mrrrp” before settling back down to sleep. Logan yawns, smiles, and gently strokes her hears. “What should we do, girls? Shall we stay awake and be productive members of society?”

Neither cat responds, and Logan looks at Virginia. She’s haloed in the morning light, eyes tightly shut, mouth hanging open, drool leaking into a puddle on the pillow. She snores a little - one, two, three snorts before settling back into a deep sleep.

“No,” Logan decides, “we shall not.” She lays back down, gently nudging Galileo a few inches over so that she can snuggle up to Virginia. Galileo stretches out, pressing a paw directly into Logan’s cheek. Logan shoves her, and she resettles onto Logan’s feet with an indignant noise.

“You can sleep by my face when you do not kick my face,” Logan mutters, curling into her love.

*~*~*~*~*

groupchat name: be gay do crime

soda poppy: r u all comin 2 the bake sale 2morrow?!

lo tide: I was under the impression that we were only providing the baked goods. Is it not for the students at the school?

soda poppy: we got waaaayyyy more stuff than we thought so we r havin a 2nd bakesale 2morrow 4 parents an stuff!

soda poppy: we r gonna need sum help with setup though . . .

lo tide: Poppy, please do not even -

soda poppy: 🥺🥺🥺 p l e a s e

lo tide: Poppy.

snesbian (snake lesbian): logan

lo tide: If I agree to stop and pick up coffee for everyone, will that motivate you all to turn out?

violets are blue rosie is me: i’m always a slut for free coffee

lo tide: I’m sorry, where did I say that this would be free?

violets are blue rosie is me: D:<

ace attorney irl: eh i’m down for it. where you swingin’ by?

soda poppy: there’s a panera p close 2 where the bake sale is!!! it’s gonna b at the morning girl’s basketball game

lo tide: Does anyone have any issues with Panera coffee?

violets are blue rosie is me: nah. large iced coffee, add three ounces of half and half, two pumps of sugar syrup, two pumps of vanilla, and caramel drizzle.

ace attorney irl: complicated bitch much?

violets are blue rosie is me: why must the cain instinct betray me like this

ace attorney irl: the cain instinct started when we stole each other’s genders in the womb

violets are blue rosie is me: this is true this is true but you’re still a bitch

ace attorney irl: large hazelnut coffee, two sugars, please

snesbian (snake lesbian): large dark roast, black

soda poppy: medium decaf coffee, two ounces of almond milk, and two pumps of sugar syrup!

gin(ny) and tonic: large caramel latte

lo tide: You . . . are going to ride in the car with me to pick up the coffee, we can order our own coffees. I do not need your order, love.

lo tide: But I appreciate the information <3 <3

*~*~*~*~*

“We come bearing gifts,” Virginia announces loudly. “And by gifts, I mean we bought a baker’s dozen of cinnamon crunch bagels for everybody.”

“Well, there are twelve cinnamon crunch bagels and one plain bagel, bagged separately, for me,” Logan corrects, expertly balancing two coffee trays with a bagel container. “Also, we made more brownies.”

Poppy looks up from where she’s instructing two high-schoolers on how to hang a sign properly and grins, waving brightly. Jan is leaning on the table, hand on her head, sipping at a water bottle.

“Vodka or whiskey?” Logan asks dryly, handing over Jan’s black coffee. Jan blinks at her, flips her off, and drains a long swig from her cup.

“Water. Partied a little too hard with Remy last night, and now I’m hungover as shit.”

“We suspected as much, which is why we brought you an extra coffee.”

“Lifesaver,” Jan says, knocking back another long drag of coffee before taking a sip of her water bottle. (Logan suspects the bottle is actually Poppy’s, due to the sun-shiney stickers plastered all over it.) “You and Poppy both. But if you tell anyone that, I’ll gut you like a fish."

“No, you won’t,” Logan says, turning to hand Rosie and Remus their respective drinks. “You never do.”

Jan flips her off, but Virginia comes up behind her and leans her forehead against her shoulder. Logan turns, kissing her forehead, and smiles.

Life is good today, she thinks. Life is good.

(screen names!

virgin -> gin(ny) and tonic; ginny <3 = virginia (virgil)

lo tide = logan

snesbian (snake lesbian) = jan (janus)

soda poppy = poppy (patton)

ace attorney irl = remus

violets are blue rosie is me = rosie (roman) (thanks to @rosesisupposes for letting me borrow your screen name for this!)

[elfynevans]

2020′s been bloody hard, we all know that. but i’m so happy i made the decision to create this blog back in july. i’ve found my love for making things again and met so many nice and funny people who i appreciate so much. so this is just a post to say thank you to all those on here that made my year a little bit more bearable 💙 

@mhakkinen thank you for being the first person i talked to on this blog and letting me use your gif as my sidebar which feels a long time ago now

@oscar-piastri thank you for being my first follower on this blog and being so kind and messaging when i get depressed in the tags lmao

@redbulllracing @georgerussellls and everyone else over at @dailyf1 thank you for the amazing content you create and the inspo you give me

@3303andmore @verstappened @bwoahtastic and all other fic writers out there, thank you for the amazing fic you write and inspiring me to write fic again (that i will hopefully post in 2021 we’ll see lmao)

@formulabarbi thank you for your beautiful photosets that grace my dashboard (and the amazing secret santa gifs)

@podiumocon @estebanoconz and @dansteban thank you for the daily esteban propaganda you all post

@f-uno and @j-button thank you for being so talented and creating such perfect edits and gifs that inspire me

@mickstart thank you for being some fellow welsh representation on here and for putting up with drunk me in your askbox that one time lmao

@goalkepa thank you for being so nice and reminding me of my football obsession

@calumsthood thank you for the dan content i crave and the 5sos content that reminds me of my obsession with them

@wancestroll thank you for the asks you send me while i’m drunk and enabling me ahaha

@leqclerc thank you for always feeding my sebchal needs with your amazing gifs and edits

@mclarenp3 thank you for being so kind and inspiring me to start my teams gifsets which has become my favourite thing to do

@racinglesbian thank you for propagating the lesbian george and lesbian lando agenda

@antoniofelixdacosta13 thank you for helping increase my love for formula e

finally, thank you to every single follower of mine, it means so much and i appreciate you all ✨

[ollyarchive]

Olly Alexander on harnessing the power of sexual fantasy in pop

The Years & Years frontman talks about owning his queer sexuality in the mainstream and writing a twisted disco album about ‘holy wood’

Owen Myers

9 March 2018

“It’s like my Rihanna Loud era,” declares Olly Alexander, before breaking into a laugh. The Years & Yearsfrontman is referring to his cropped curly hair, which is freshly coloured to the hue of a nice Merlot. It’s a cold February evening, and he’s puffing on a roll-up while huddled in the fire exit doorway of a Camden venue. His new dye job has to be kept under wraps, he explains, until its official unveiling in the band’s new video. “It’s so stupid,” Olly says with an eye roll. He then flashes me a grin, suggesting that this moment of starry subterfuge is not entirely unwelcome.

Olly Alexander really likes being a pop star. He says that it’s full of “fairytale” moments, like when his Years & Years earnings enabled him to buy his mum a house, or when he and his ex-boyfriend, Neil Milan (formerly of Clean Bandit), became embraced as British pop’s new golden couple. After winning the BBC Sound poll in 2015, Years & Years’ earworm synth pop was everywhere. They had an inescapable number one single, “King”, and their album Communion was the fastest selling debut that year from a signed British band. Olly says that there are downsides to the tabloid headlines and Twitter trolls that come along with being “a public gay man” – a phrase that he puts in self-deprecating air quotes. But right now, those pressures feel far away, as he prepares to change into a bright pink boiler suit and play to a boozed-up Saturday night crowd, at an Annie Mac-curated showcase. Or, as he put it on Twitter earlier today: bring his “gay agenda” to The Roundhouse.

Years & Years’ great new single, “Sanctify”, contrasts lurking vocals with an ecstatic synth-fuelled chorus, and is as unapologetic as any of Olly’s pithy social media posts. He was newly single when he wrote the song, and reading Andrew Holleran’s 1978 chronologue of gay desire, Dancer From the Dance, had got him thinking about a couple of hookups he’d had with straight-identifying men. “It would always be under darkness,” he says. “It had this added layer of eroticism because it was somewhat forbidden. But (being with me) was a window where they could be themselves, and I felt responsible not to fuck them up.” Those conflicting feelings come through in evocative lyrics about obscuring masks and sinful confessions, with a climax that’s about as on-the-nose as chart pop gets. “I sanctify my sins when I pray,” says Olly, quoting the chorus’s payoff. “What do you do what you pray? You get on your knees. So is it a sexual baptism?” He laughs. “I was just like, ‘There’s a lot to work with here.’”

Years & Years are a three-piece, but the other two members, Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen, tend to hunker down behind synths and let Olly take centre stage. His soul-searching lyrics give the band’s maximalist pop its heart, with a singing voice that pierces through a constellation of synths. Their videos bring acts which are often shrouded in darkness into the light, showing the singer cruising in a dank car park, or at a pansexual orgy. The new “Sanctify” visual riffs on dom/sub culture, with an elaborate sci-fi plot that is a device for Olly to perform “Slave 4 U”-inspired dance moves to an audience of androids. When he was commissioned to write a song for the Bridget Jones franchise, he made it about bottoming. “I have sex, I enjoy sex,” he says flatly. He’s sitting in his cosy dressing room the Roundhouse, which rumbles with bass as Disclosure and Mabel soundcheck next door. “In the past, I think gay men (in pop) have often shied away from being overtly sexual, or being commanding of their sexuality. But I believe that our sexual fantasies are a big drive for us all. Exploring that side of yourself is super empowering.”

In the past year or so, many well-known LGBTQ artists have begun to bring queerness into their music in sex-positive ways. Pop’s boy-next-door Troye Sivan strapped on Tom Of Finland leathers for a back alley moment with well-fluffed trade, Janelle Monáe caressed women’s bare thighs, Fever Ray returned with a concept album about queer kink. For better or worse, Sam Smith is now calling himself a “dick monster”on primetime telly. “Sometimes seeing a man express themselves in an overtly sexual way, especially a gay man, makes certain conservative people feel a bit uncomfortable,” Olly says. “I always wanna keep people a little uncomfortable.”

“I believe that our sexual fantasies are a big drive for us all. Exploring that side of yourself is super empowering” – Olly Alexander

Years & Years are far from the first mainstream British pop act to proudly put gay sexuality at the centre of their music – that’s a lineage that runs from Will Young to George Michael, Pet Shop Boys to Bronski Beat, and beyond. But Olly’s performances are a reminder that mainstream pop can be open to explicit queerness (at least, when it’s embodied in a handsome white cis man). Olly has faith that you don’t have to be “generic to be palatable,” and that “straight guys can hear a song that I’ve written about being fucked by another guy, but still relate.” LGBTQ+ people like me grew up seeing straight culture pretty much everywhere; seeing more of our community thrive is crucial.

Growing up in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, Olly was a flamboyant kid. That got him bullied at school, called a “batty boy” before he was even aware that he was gay, and meant that he retreated into drama lessons. While acting, he felt it was okay – a good thing, even – to be expressive. He always nurtured a passion for music, too; he taught himself how to play Joni Mitchell songs on piano, and obsessed over “Dirrty”-era Christina Aguilera. An early performance at a year six assembly blended intimate songwriting and outré entertainment: Olly played piano and sang lyrics about lost love, while two of his friends did a dance routine.

In his late teens and early 20s, Olly cropped up in whimsical micro-budget indie films like 2011’s The Dish And The Spoon, alongside Greta Gerwig, as well as Gaspar Noé’s Enter The Void, and Skins. But his early experiences at school stayed with him. “Your first encounter with your sexuality is often from people bullying you and calling you the thing that you just pray to god that you won’t be – but deep down suspect you might be,” Olly says. “Well, no wonder we have an incredibly conflicting relationship with our bodies and our sexualities, because we’ve had to experience all of that.”

Reflecting on these difficult early years in his dressing room, Olly speaks openly about his own decade-long experience with depression, and the inadequate NHS provisions for those who are struggling with mental health. LGBTQ+ folks disproportionately struggle with depression and substance abuse, he recognises, and there’s only one UK organisation, London Friend, that caters directly to the specific needs of the queer community. “I’ve been there,” says Olly. “They’re amazing, but they are over-subscribed, with a tiny office, old chairs, and not a lot of money. When you’re seeing that people aren’t getting the help they should be, there’s an issue there.” That’s something he knows from first-hand experience. Last year, Olly fronted a BBC documentary, Growing Up Gay, about young LGBTQ+ people struggling with their mental health. His openness around the subject made him a kind of ambassador for those struggles, and he’s trying to work out how to deal with the “almost daily” DMs he gets from people at their lowest moments. “I feel very privileged that someone is wanting to share that with me, but it’s frightening,” he says. “We’re all in fucking pain, and I don’t know if we’re communicating with each other that well.”

“What do we expect a male pop star to do? As a society, how do we want them to behave or present themselves?” – Olly Alexander

Years & Years’ second album, out later this year, mixes gliding pop melodies with churning bass and twisted disco. The new songs feel more varied and exploratory than Communion, thanks in part to new collaborators like current pop’s minimalist masterminds Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter, as well as Greg Kurstin, who co-wrote “Shine”, Years & Years’ best song to date. The album’s centred around a motif of Palo Santo, a healing incense-like wood that you burn and waft around a room. (Olly dramatises this with hand motions as if he’s conducting an invisible orchestra.) Perhaps Palo Santo, with its power to expel evil spirits, could be a metaphor for the songwriting process? Maybe, Olly says. “But (when writing the album) I was angry about loads of things, particularly men. Palo Santo literally means ‘holy wood’ and I was like, ‘This is fucking perfect.’ Like, thinking that your dick is holy? I’ve known guys like that.”

Years & Years’ renewed vision also extends to creating a futuristic universe for their new music to exist in. That’s an idea that Olly’s idols – “Bowie, Prince, and Gaga” – have embraced, and “Sanctify” is the first part of an interconnected series of “weird, wonderful” videos. It marks the next step for a band aiming to join British pop’s pantheon, at a time when Olly, too, has been reflecting on his place in music. “What do we expect a male pop star to do?” he questions. “As a society, how do we want them to behave or present themselves? If I was asking myself, it would be like, ‘Well actually, I’ve always loved this kind of popstar. Maybe I should just be the pop star I want to see in the world.”

[rennyji]

June 9th evening afternoon tweets

U know looking back, at the state party school that I transferred to, in 2010, what they taught was done poorly & the subjects were out of date. I’m sure they’ll beg to differ. While they and their involvement of a “situation” strives to keep me writing in the midst of studying-

- other schools were teaching agile software practices, cloud computing, data warehousing, or even with a simple Java programming class: how to run JUnit test cases.-

- for months I tried contacting a professor for an old assignment and notes related to handling Java programming with sql database coding, never gives me what I want. Basically always says he’s too busy-

- in the party school, while their sister state university of Binghamton was teaching Java with Eclipse, enterprise style repositories and JUnit test cases, party school was using a baby program called Dr. Java.-

- my transcript is proof of the courses you teach. The duration of the situation and the kids is proof of a distraction in my priorities. My 4.0 high school GPA is testament to my academic caliber. Me, I like using the luxury of time to learn a course until it’s mastered.-

- students would say professor ravis course was 1 of the important courses. Didn’t do so well the 1st time amidst obstacles. Wanted 2 take theCourseAgain.  Ur partySchool’s conflictResolution VP insisted I take remaining courses @ a communityCollege so that Im out of their hair.-

-can you imagine this dip sh*ts advice? From a 4.0 gpa at Iona with scholarships and free laptops to a community college. The b*stars went out of his way to convince my parents I’m crazy after he had the faculty monitor me on the harassment on the day of my life 2012 finals.-

The amountOfDamage that partySchool, those spitefulKids did, along w/the rest ofThe “situation.”U should see some of theseFacesIm thinking why the f*k are U in myLife, while these randomly angry agenda fueled gamePlayers areIrritated theyre not wanted playing god w/some1’s life.-

- to some of the randomly angry agenda fueled game players, you wanna say have some dignity and move on.

The orchestrators are trying to figure me out. Put corny high school paths of doing what you love my way and things will follow. How old am I? How do you explain ur perverted presence in my life? Something can be learned from the Indian concept of arranged marriages-

- back in India, families strive to get their kids to perfection. Find a family, a women, that’s exceptional and meets standards. We wish a similar exceptionalism for careers, futures, education, etc. I come from this culture. In my family, father sought out opportunities in the-

- alien country of America and took care of his family and his extended family back home. Uncle went off to a different part of India and worked as the closest contact to Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi with his Italian wife Sonia. My father, my uncle, did these things thru-

- hard work without distractions and American party schools constantly getting in the way. It is beyond me, why my parents aren’t defending their culture and allowing these racist Americans to walk all over us, especially me.-

- the thing that’s absolutely beyond me is, I don’t do drugs, I don’t drink, just minding my business, I’ve done nothing to no one, if there was anything to clear up-done it 100 times over. Why’s are these freaks pursuing me I.e. the orchestrators. For 8 years, I’ve put aside my-

-likes, habits, grasping with the American dictators cruelty. Now after all that, they want to prostitute my life for entertainment while not disclosing what they do. American or not, what human being stands by while the orchestrators electrocute someone? -

- what do the orchestrators tell their following? Hey everyone, on behalf of the party school, we want are Renny to party like it’s 1999…

Moving to normal tweets again…

Americans are worse than the Germans were with the Jews In Nazi Germany…everything they do is superficial and not from the heart…

#Loki airs today on Disney Plus…

You’d be surprised how many things from ages ago, or even eight years ago, can come in handy, in the present day, today…

Saw The Wedding Ringer the other day…great movie…seeking a female best friend though, not an audience…

You gotta check out the @TouchofModern app from the App Store or Google Play Store. They have the coolest things for sale…

so a thought...-

-in a very convincing manner, the orchestrators make it clear to me that they're going to, subtly put, "do away" with me, while in this, or at the end of this. Something this big, after 11+years, even if it were just legally, the "situation" does not have a happy ending-

-i don't think my own parents go through my written material...for one thing, i think there's something paraphrasing what i write to them. regarding the rest of America, I think a filtered version is being delivered to you of what happens to me or what I write. -

- for some of you, you're in a fun game. keep track of where he goes, send it to the medium/platform - i guess?! There's the children like sounds, but at least so that group will help me, there is another group doing something else. -

- both of which are illegal. The children like sounds are arrogant. They're convinced its just them. When this first started, I called the police several times about this whole "situation", from start to finish, in its peculiarity. They lied to me and didn't help me. -

- When I went to the FBI, they gave me something to perpetually write on, for the hackers. The party school wanted to get rid of me and had their Conflict Resolution help the kids who started this instead of me. -

- The secondary group of orchestrators - for distraction purposes - and the primary group of orchestrators (to make their cause relevant with past trivial issues) want me to perpetually talk about the party school, the girl, and the random kids from the beginning of all this.-

- thats done, i moved on, i left the country cuz I didn't want to be bothered. But the orchestrators - their whole band - followed me there. -

- You as a people, because instructed or otherwise, talk about the past garbage that happened at the party school, like its the most-matter-of-fact-thing. But there is something else happening: abuse. -

-In myLife, in these 11+years, firefighters willExtend a hand, but also hide "theSituation." The police exert authority&play in2 the situation. The FBI enables theSituation. The partySchool wants 2 save its ownSkin. In an American conspiracy against 1 person, I left out 1 group.-

- In just going through past job application emails, I see the part where they ask you, "if you're a veteran?" They ask did you serve your country. Some people join the military for better opportunities after their service, and some are in it for the service. But when a normal-

- person thinks of a soldier, they think of someq going off 2 the Middle East &nabbing some bad guys. But we say "Thank U for ur service." Well, guys, myAmerican citizenship is being violated. There is a massiveConspiracy against 1 American. Illegal all around with illegal tech.-

- everyone is taking facts for granted and taking the extra measure of not talking to the person involved, for 11+ years. Being an American requires the extra step of compassion and a heart in your actions. While I understand you blow things up, I am in need of your compassion.-

- I am in need of  an exemplary American, such as a soldier, "fighting for this country" (as they say), to defend my rights against a government that allows this to happen. It's been 11+ years. Why are you taking this for granted and not investigating?-

-If you were to help me, unlike the others who say through obligation, duty, what they were instructed, or mechanically: "Thank you for your service." , I would say it from the bottom of my heart. -

-Why won't even you not look into what's going and help me? Is it because of my Indian skin and do I remind you of the Middle Eastern Muslims that you're stereotyped to being against? Is it because I'm not a blonde white girl that you allow this to happen to me?-

- To fight for my citizenship's entitlement, you don't need to go to another country. Stop this illegal thing and the façade of the orchestrators from happening. -

-If its because you see me as an enemy, then do me the kindness of ending me like you do with the rest, rather than having these disgusting pigs of orchestrators keep their word of "doing away with me."

Verilux Sun Lamps - might give you an energy boost...

I think there are aromatherapy oils that you can apply on the skin for their health benefits...who knew...

June 9th morning tweets, right side up, in tumblr blog link below:

https://rennyji.tumblr.com/post/653508979370180608/june-9th-early-morning-tweets

[nest-raider]

Ten Places That You Can Find SEO 2019

This is important to focus upon SEO professional if you want to bring more traffic in order to your site and increase the particular visitors of your content. Siteimprove SEO incorporates sixty six unique SEO checks, including tests for missing meta descriptions, punctuational mistakes, broken links, outdated documents, poor readability, and links in order to unsafe domains. But in case we're looking for a larger trend it's that SEO plus what we call real marketing” will continue to blur the particular lines between them as the particular job of the SEO turns into that of a traditional internet marketer - having to understand the particular user, the competitors, the industry and also the implementation aspect. Thanks for going to the world of Search Motor Optimization (SEO). For example, we regularly make content on the topic associated with "SEO, " but it's nevertheless very hard to rank nicely on Google for such the popular topic on this acronym alone. What can this industry shifts show about the particular future of SEO and content material marketing? Search engine search engine optimization (SEO) is on a move. Whether a person are an SEO Professional, Electronic Marketing Agency, SMB or Brand name, looking to increase your visitors or to monitor your website's evolution, this SEO software will certainly provide you with best within class digital marketing strategy evaluation and insights for your company. Their expertise is definitely incredibly valuable because there is usually plenty of science to SEO, plus it is constantly changing because search engines like Google keep on to update their algorithms. From a content viewpoint, I'd say one of the particular best ways to get SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION value out of video will be to focus your efforts upon addressing your customer's pain factors. Off-page SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION targets increasing the authority associated with your domain through the act associated with getting links from all additional websites. Regarding: Search Engine Journal's flagship meeting, SEJ Summit, is dedicated to offering SEO pros the actual require, with an agenda of initial, first-run presentations covering the newest SEO and PPC tactics through renowned experts, plus excellent social networking opportunities. SEO combines official research engine guidelines, empirical knowledge, plus theoretical knowledge from science documents or patents. This is definitely a half-day workshop at LeadsCon that will be designed for you to give attendees an end-to-end look at of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), how it works, and touchable things they can do these days to improve their SEO functionality. After the Search engines Panda algorithm appeared, SEO professionals realized just how much key word frequency and density matters. SEO means optimizing your content articles so it shows up even more often in search results. 33. With social media systems like Facebook diminishing visibility associated with companies and brands, SEO (as well as paid promotion) will be becoming critically important for generating traffic to your social stations. 2019 dates TBD. ). Why go to: One-track conference full of forward-thinking, tactical sessions in SEO, development marketing, the mobile landscape, analytics, content marketing and more. ” Don't miss the LeadsCon Meeting in Vegas, March 4-6, 2019. You've added even more relevant content to your website article and increased the on-page SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION targeted against your focus keyword(s). Before my first ISS, We had always thought I may possibly just learn everything by me personally about global online marketing subjects like International SEO just by means of doing online investigation and experimentation, but honestly nothing beats this efficiency of attending a convention like ISS where one could share your experiences and rapidly gain a treasure trove regarding learnings and best practices through other international marketers. That method, you and your SEO may ensure that your site will be designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up. Even so, a good SEO can furthermore help improve a current web site. If you would like to know what kind associated with SEO trends are going in order to develop in 2019, look simply no further than the trends that will are developing in search within both 2017 and 2018. Webmasters are usually going to remain competitive within the online business when these people stick with SEO experts. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION and social media marketing make sure that one's site has the particular best SEO Online marketing, which usually means that their company may remain competitive in the on the web market. An SEO ("search engine optimization") expert is somebody trained to improve your presence on search engines. From an SEO perspective, anyone want to have more interior links pointing to your many important content. Given that research engines have complex algorithms that will power their technology and our marketing needs are unique, wish unable to provide specific SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION advice to our customers. All of us think SEO in 2019 will discover a shift to focusing much more on user intent, problem resolving, and hyper locality in purchase to capitalize on the ongoing rise of voice search. Private demographic information would come in a great deal handier in 2019 as significantly as the ranking of key phrases is concerned. Links are one of the particular most important SEO ranking elements. However, more advanced that will readers will recognize the decrease quality of sites employing dark hat SEO at the expenditure from the reader experience, which usually will reduce the site's visitors and page rank over period. So - THERE IS SIMPLY NO BEST PRACTICE AMOUNT OF HEROES any SEO could lay down because exact best practice to GUARANTEE a title may display, in full in Search engines, at least, since the search little title, on every device. While getting as many pages listed in Google was historically the priority for an SEO, Search engines is now rating the high quality of pages in your site plus the type of pages this really is indexing. Jerrika Scott, Digital Marketing Specialist in Archway Cards Ltd, also thinks in voice being the craze of 2019 rather than 2018. Today, in spite of all the hype about regardless of whether SEO is dead, we discover that organic search is nevertheless one of the highest RETURN ON INVESTMENT digital marketing channels. Intended for successful team management and inter-client cooperation, online editors really are usually a must, especially those which usually detect and highlight critical SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION errors, non-unique, text, and key phrase stuffing. By the end of this particular module, you should be capable to define Search Engine Optimisation and explain the basics associated with SEO being a business (as properly as how SEO shapes the particular Internet itself. ) You'll furthermore be able to explain the particular differences between three main SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION job types, and be ready to choose a career that will best suits your current objectives. A highly effective research marketing campaign, will encompass each search engine optimisation (SEO) plus pay per click advertising (PPC). One of our favorite on the internet toolkits is SEMrush, which contains a variety of tools regarding SEO, content marketing, and search engine marketing techniques. An SEO Content Writer is definitely someone that writes content for the particular purpose of having it display up on search engines plus gain website visitors. Internet marketing perfect for the platform of SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION or Seo. With voice search arrives two areas of interest in order to SEO folks wishing to link with consumers: intent and framework. SocialSEO is proud to help future experts in the planet of business and marketing along with the annual SocialSEO Digital Advertising and SEO Scholarship. Finally SEO Wise links enables you to fixed nofollow attribute and open hyperlinks in new window. Therefore, cheer up and supplies up to policy for SEO- the particular organic top-ranking practice. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (search engine optimization) places your own website within the natural outcomes section of search engines. SEO is specifically important for businesses since it guarantees they're answering their audience's greatest questions on search engines, whilst driving traffic to their items and services. Intended for marketers who were brought upward in the ‘traditional SEO marketplace, ' 2018 is really the time to adapt or expire. White hat SEO includes most the SEO practices we've spoken about so far which possess a long term approach in order to site optimization and focus upon the user experience and exactly what people need. Cost effectiveness - SEO is usually one of the most cost effective marketing strategies because it focuses on users who are actively searching for your products and providers online. The reality is that you can obtain top Search engine ranking roles spending a little bit associated with money and working on the particular project yourself or paying the professional Seo services thousands associated with dollars to get your Web site on the first page. Although black hat SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION methods may boost a home page's search engine page rank within the short term, these strategies could also get the web site banned from the search motors altogether. According in order to research and advisory firm Forrester, programmatic marketing is expected in order to account for 50% of just about all advertising by 2019. Content written simply by customers gives sites legitimacy plus it earns SEO juice each from manual and automatic ranking systems. Within 2018, this trend is upon the rise and if a person invest in making your site mobile friendly you will delight in higher ratings in 2019 as well. When making a web site for Google in 2018, a person need to understand that Search engines has a long list associated with things it will mark websites down for, and that's generally old-school SEO tactics which are usually now classed as ‘webspam‘. Besides getting social plus having a good time, your own social media profiles can favorably affect your SEO efforts. Since so many people rely on voice search being the pattern in 2019, I, Nicole Bermack (this article's author), am coining the word VSO - voice lookup optimization. Wise brands and agencies are changing new SEO, social and content material marketing strategies to join their own customer conversations. Search engine marketing (SEO) is the art plus science of getting pages in order to rank higher in search motors such as Google. A person can audit your page's SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION health, compare SEO metrics regarding a number of pages, plus analyze both external and inner links on any given internet page. Content companies that will offer SEO content creation solutions are experts in creating content material that are not only enhanced for search engine rankings yet also add value for your own business in terms of brand name awareness, customer engagement and enhanced sales. Ranking aspects can be divided into on-page SEO factors (including technical SEO) and link building or off-page SEO factors. Take the 10 pillar subjects you came up with within Step one and create the web page for each one particular which outlines the topic from a high level - making use of the long-tail keywords you arrived plan for each cluster within Step 2. A pillar web page on SEO, for instance, may describe SEO in brief areas that introduce keyword research, picture optimization, SEO strategy, and various other subtopics as they are determined. On our blog many of us chronicle current trends in on-line marketing and SEO and existing interesting studies, statistics and styles. Increased site usability - Within an effort to make your own site easier to navigate regarding the search engines, SEO at the same time helps to make your internet site more navigable for users mainly because well. You are capable to host your video upon YouTube for your Ten Taboos About SEO 2019 You Should Never Share On Twitter foundational SEO greatest practices, but link and spotlight the embedded video on your own own website. Image SEO is actually a crucial part of SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION different types of websites. Max DesMarais is definitely an SEO as well as PPC Specialist for Vital, a new Digital Marketing & PPC organization that specializes in PPC administration services. But this also has an incredible roundabout benefit to your bottom collection: boosting your search engine optimisation (SEO). It may be the scenario (and I surmise this) how the introduction of a certain SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION technique initially artificially raised your own rankings for the pages within a way that Google's methods never approve of, and as soon as that is actually spread out all through your site, traffic starts in order to deteriorate or is slammed in the future algorithm update. I believed it as simple as a good example to illustrate an element of onpage SEO or ‘rank modification', that's white hat, totally Google friendly plus not, ever going to trigger you a issue with Search engines. So in the event that you want to get began which includes basic SEO, the particular first thing that I might recommend would be choosing the set of keywords for every page on your website. Away from page, SEO has contrasted along with it. Undoubtedly, off page marketing is all about link developing, but the quality links plus content. Via a direct incorporation of Google's Search Console, Siteimprove SEO helps you understand how the particular world's most popular search motor and its users see and—more importantly—find your website. On Page Ranking Factors — Moz's on page ranking elements explains the different on web page elements and their importance within SEO. Surprisingly enough, some sort of lot of SEOs out presently there do tend to underestimate typically the power of Google Trends This tool has a separate "YouTube search" feature, which hides below the "Web search" option. An SEO agency may work together with a firm to provide an added viewpoint, when it comes to knowing and developing marketing strategies with regard to different sectors and various sorts of business websites. Given the ratings and search volume, SEO may drive considerable traffic and network marketing leads for Grainger. SEO stands for research engine optimization - that significantly has stayed the same. But they keep on transforming their algorithms making it hard to rely on one specific tool for SEO optimization Plus today you could have a good appropriate rank which may not really last in the coming 6 months. This particular SEO model is called the "topic cluster, " and contemporary search engine algorithms rely upon them to connect users along with the information they're looking with regard to. Your own SEO strategy likely involves articles designed to be shared upon social media. Take this article with regard to example, if you search with regard to reverse engineer Google, ” seo secrets, ” reverse engineering seo, ” this post is on the particular first page for every associated with those search terms. Social networking and SEO need to be working together, sharing content material or utilizing engagement metrics since data for future article advertising. Simply put, SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION is marketing through an knowing of how search algorithms function combined with a knowledge associated with what human users might research for. The results furthermore underscore the value of creating new content with your SEO online marketing strategy. Once Blog9T you create new content centered on your priority keywords, a person have several advantages having an SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION marketing strategy. Both SEO and content material marketing converge in several places; these people do not work in remoteness. Free to enroll in SearchLeeds covers everything from complex SEO and analytics, to PUBLIC RELATIONS, content marketing, paid media plus more. Following technical mobile SEO greatest practices (e. g., image search engine optimization, redirects, JavaScript and CSS) is definitely a necessary barrier to access in today's digital world. Search Motor Optimization (SEO) is the technique to campaign your products on-line towards the right clientele intended for increasing ROI. There are many tools upon the web to assist along with basic keyword research (including the particular Google Keyword Planner tool and there are even more useful third party SEO tools to help you perform this). The biggest change that will we'll see in 2019 (and that's already happening) is the particular fact that keywords are getting less important. Once you've discovered your keywords, use another SEMrush tool, the SEO Content Design template, which is part of their particular Content Marketing Toolkit, to function out the best way in order to optimize your content. If a company is providing you all these services below one roof, climbing up the particular SEO ranking will not end up being an uphill task for your own business any more. Local SEO companies allows a person to position your business upon search engines like google plus other digital marketing platforms therefore you're seen by potential clients — on their terms. YouTube adds the particular nofollow” tag to their hyperlinks, so they don't really assist with SEO. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION isn't just about building lookup engine-friendly websites. The sooner you understand exactly why Google is sending you much less traffic than it did a year ago, the sooner you can clear it up and focus upon proactive SEO that starts to effect your rankings in a beneficial way. The trending SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION technique or strategy now plus in 2019 will be Research Enterprise Optimization It has already been coined by myself since 2015. Based on SEO software program company Moz's bi-yearly survey upon search engine ranking factors, the particular titles on your page are usually one of the nine nearly all important considerations a search motor makes. Having an SEO approach that effectively promotes your digital photography business, driving new traffic plus taking into consideration the demands of the site visitors although you concentrate on perfecting your current art is a really effective tool. SEO is Lookup Engine Optimization and it will be required for make a internet site view-able. And you will see the section on exactly where to use keywords for even more information on integrating these key phrases into your SEO content technique. 22. Use social media in order to boost local SEO. SEO is the acronym for Seo. Even though certain techniques of SEO content material remain the same, like not really compromising on quality; there are usually definitely techniques which have progressed from the past and a person should find out whether your own SEO articles writing services are usually very well aware of that will or not. SEO service suppliers are specialized in increasing the particular traffic to your site simply by increasing your position in the particular search engine ranking positions. Bring in international people to your internet sites with these SEO tips. The top challenges within organic SEO are link constructing (easy-to-get links no more possess much value) and keyword study (the low-hanging fruit is lengthy gone). For instance, the word ‘SEO tips' is furthermore included inside the less competing phrase ‘SEO tips 2019', which usually is searched for too. An SEO on the internet marketing strategy is a extensive plan to get more individuals to your website through lookup engines. A few search optimizers try to cheat Google by using aggressive methods that go beyond the fundamental SEO techniques. Subscribe to the particular Single Grain blog now intended for the latest content on SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, PPC, paid social, and the particular future of internet marketing. SEO can furthermore stand for search engine optimizer. Like the rest of the particular digital landscape, SEO marketing is definitely continuously evolving. Search Engine Book — Read information right after Moz's guide to solidify knowing regarding it of the basic elements of SEO. If a person do not have the period or have insufficient training upon web design or SEO, Appear for web design experts plus hire a professional SEO assistance agency to keep your web site and your good reputation usually you business may depend upon it. I ended with the website number 1, 228, 570, 060. This particular generates SEO anchor text, which usually helps you in improving your own search engine rankings. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION marketing is focused on the keyword choice that will attract a excellent deal of unique visitors in order to your website. Maybe you have speculate what will be the brand-new changes and updates that many of us can experience in SEO back links sphere in 2019? A Cisco research found that by 2019, eighty percent of all consumer Web traffic will be from Web video traffic. If you might have spent time online recently, you have probably look at the term "SEO, inches or "Search Engine Optimization. A lot of of these so-called 'tweaks' include advertising and link-gathering, and We use SEO and article advertising for that. Within 2018, your SEO success will not depend on how well a person optimize your website for Search engines. But if you're brief on money, use these diy SEO ways to improve your natural rankings. If you choose SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, you're helping Google's spiders in order to crawl and understand your content articles. The job of a good SEO is to manage the particular optimization of websites to guarantee they gain site traffic from lookup engines such as Google and Bing. One great bit of content that will ranks well within the research results is its beginner's explained SEO. SEOs plus online marketing specialists in basic who are dealing with worldwide websites or for online organizations thinking about going international may certainly benefit from attending ISS. We might like to serve you in order to save money and your power by offering affordable SEO providers to increase link popularity. Work the key phrase into the SEO page name, content header, image, image betagt text, etc. SEO equipment provide position monitoring, deep key word research, and crawling through easy to customize reports and analytics. Certainly, white hat SEO always integrated creating high quality, unique content material as a prerequisite for getting long-term quality results, this truth hasn't changed. Beyond compensated and organic, there are additional types of SEO and expertise and niches within search motor marketing. Screaming Frog SEO Index tool does it for you personally inside a few seconds, even with regard to larger websites. SEOs also used to believe that buying links was the valid method of link developing; however, Google will now punish you for buying links within an attempt to manipulate page rank. Ultimately, achievement in SEO in 2018 plus forward will depend on developing amazing content and making this as easy as possible with regard to search engines like google in order to understand exactly what that articles is all about. Answer: When you focus in SEO for voice search anyone need to create your articles around long tail keywords since people tend to use a great deal more words in voice search. SEO is the practice associated with increasing the search engine ratings of your webpages so that will they appear higher in lookup results, bringing more traffic in order to your website. In the particular previous example, Bob's home web page might have the title, "Bob's Soccer Store - Soccer Shoes and boots and Equipment. " The name is the most important component of SEO, since it shows the search engine exactly exactly what the page is all regarding. 47. When creating SEO articles, keep the social layer within your mind. In case you have time to get good search engine optimisation education, after that combine this knowledge with greatest practices and you are upon your way to become a good SEO expert. 46. Use SEO practices in order to optimize your social media articles. 4. Mobile SEO plus Local Business: - As we all mentioned before, users tend in order to search for local business upon the smartphones.

[kellyp72]

Beyond the Hype: The Science behind developing healthy eating habits

Americans’ thinking about food has shifted dramatically over the past 2 decades. With major changes to the food industry (think the introduction of GMOs, the mainstreaming of organic foods, the popularity of celebrity chefs, and the growing number of documentaries about our eating habits – e.g. “Super Size Me”, and the problems with the industrial food complex), a growing number of people now think that eating healthy is important.

However, although many of us want to eat healthy, or think that we are eating healthy, the evidence says otherwise. In fact, most Americans do not get the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables and consume waaaay more sugar and saturated fats than they should.

Despite the shift in thinking about the importance of healthy eating, clinical studies show that there is still a major obesity problem in the US and the UK (and in many other parts of the world that didn’t have an obesity problem 2 decades ago). Diabetes, heart disease, and other diseases linked to poor diet and eating habits are also still on the rise.

A big part of the problem can be linked to our habit of eating more highly processed foods than unprocessed or minimally processed foods. Until the 1960s, most people associated “eating out” with going to a relative’s house to eat. Fast food was still a novelty, mostly catering to travelers. Beginning the 1970s, fast food establishments and advertisements increased exponentially, and the food industry stepped up a practice that has now become so routine we don’t even notice it anymore: constantly enticing us with ads for unhealthy, highly processed convenience foods.

A bombardment of convenience food ads is now the trend in virtually every major city in the world.

The more insidious problem, though, is this: some of the foods that are being promoted as “healthy” are now understood by most scientists, wellness advocates, and health professionals to be the causes of chronic illnesses like arthritis, heart disease, and cancer. Some examples of “healthy-not-healthy” foods are canola oil (which is genetically modified and highly processed), dairy foods (which can lead to chronic inflammation), and processed meats, including turkey and chicken (which several studies have linked to cancer).

What if you’ve been trying to eat healthier but can’t seem to break your unhealthy food habits? What if you eat pretty healthy already but want to make some small improvements to your diet? What if you know someone who has a very unhealthy diet and wants to improve his or her eating habits?

First, don’t bother beating yourself up. It’s not going to help you change your habits in the long term. And trying to shame others about their unhealthy eating habits doesn’t help either. In fact, shaming will make them more likely to engage in unhealthy eating out of the guilt you are heaping on their shoulders.

There is a science to eating healthy that can help you develop better habits or make small improvements. Here are 5 things you can do to accomplish those tasks.

Don’t deplete your self-control energy. When you have less metabolic energy during the day, you are going to have a harder time exercising self-control (this applies not only to eating, but to other types of behavior, too). How do you make sure you have a steady supply of self-control energy throughout the day? First, eat breakfast!!! Eating something in the morning, preferably a full, healthy, non-processed food meal (even if it’s just a boiled egg and piece of toast with nut butter and low-sugar jam) will not only give you the start you need without the crash that a coffee-only breakfast will produce, it will help regulate your metabolism (e.g. if you are trying to lose weight, eating regular meals every day helps). One other way you can avoid depleting your self-control energy is to sleep. Most people need at least 7 hours of sleep a night for their bodies to complete the process of self-renewal and healing that helps us function at our best. Put simply: sleep deprivation leads to poor impulse control. However, too much sleep is just as detrimental to your health as not enough.

Delay gratification. As Columbia University psychologist Walter Mischel’s “marshmallow experiment” with children in the late 1960's showed, delaying gratification, or in other words, exercising self-control, is a cognitive and emotional skill set that one can learn (though it’s easiest to learn if you begin as a child). Developing the ability to delay gratification, which is a kind of stress management technique, is not just a skill, however. It's also a major determinant of success in life (even more so than environment, upbringing, or wealth). Delaying your consumption of an unhealthy food will also “trick” the mind into not wanting it. Of course, this doesn’t happen overnight, but with practice, it becomes easier for your body to stop craving unhealthy foods.

Slow down your eating. How many times have you mindlessly rushed through a meal, only to realize soon afterwards that you ate too much? Eating too fast prevents the body from recognizing when it is full and makes the work of digestion much harder. It also causes bigger fluctuations in your glucose levels, which can lead to metabolic syndrome (a cluster of conditions leading to chronic illnesses). Aside from slowing down, you can also take a break in the middle of your meal. To develop the habit of eating more slowly, try putting down your fork or spoon after every bite, or making a conscious effort to chew each bite at least 10 times. This also helps with digestion, as chewing produces more of the saliva needed to stimulate your body’s ability to break down and absorb the food you consume.  

Allow yourself to cheat. Even the healthiest eaters cheat once in a while (they may not always realize it, though, as foods marketed to them as “healthy” may contain unhealthy levels of fat and sugar). Cheating sensibly and in moderation is ok and actually helps with motivation. Think of it as a reward for good behavior: if you manage to eat healthy for a week, you can eat a less healthy meal or snack on the weekend. The key to enabling this psychological process is to be strategic: plan when and where you’re going to eat that cheat meal, or snack, and focus on a particular cheat option. In other words, restrict your cheating to one burger, or a slice of cheesecake, or a (small) bag of chips. Don’t binge on all 3 at once, in order to enjoy the cheating without going overboard.

Make it easier for yourself to cook at home. It’s easy to rationalize eating out by saying you don’t have time to cook. I’m sorry, to say, but this is a lie you tell yourself!! First of all, virtually everyone is too busy these days, so that’s no longer a valid excuse for anything and everything you don’t feel like making time to do. And the fact is, you make time for the things that are important to you, whether that may be zoning out on your instagram feed, playing video games, or spending an hour on the phone with your bestie. Like cheating, cooking is easiest and works out best for your healthy eating agenda when you plan ahead. There are numerous ways you can make it easier for yourself to cook at home, many of which I write about in my book (click the image on the right to read a preview, borrow, or purchase it on Amazon.com). One way is to designate part of one or two days a week to prep, cook, or partially cook meals. Chop a bunch of onions, cook a pot of rice, boil a box of pasta, chop a slew of veggies, cube some chicken or turkey, peel some shrimp. Freeze in small containers, then when you come home from an exhausting day at work/in school/schlepping kids around, all you need to do is throw a few things together with some spices, sauteeing in olive or coconut oil, or make a quick soup with the aid of a pressure cooker or power cooker. Alternatively, throw some veggies and meat in a crock pot with spices and let it all cook while you’re away. Our recipe page has a few other ideas for quick meals, or you can download the meal planner when you sign up for access to our free resource library.

When it comes to developing healthy eating habits, self-control is key. But it’s also fragile. With a little strategy and planning, though, you can make a big difference in how, and what you consume. Your body will thank you for it!

What healthy eating strategies do you use? Use the comment box below to share your own tips. I’d love to hear from you!