#to explain why we were failing and how to fo from an F to like a C-

[somecunttookmyurl]

#OP do you by chance have red hair or at least have natrual red hair at some point in your life?

nope i'm naturally blonde but with black eyebrows bc nature thought that would be hysterical

which is a travesty bc i have green eyes + the perfect skintone for it i look really good as a ginger

a fun and fucked up fact about me is that when i was in sixth form (16-18), approximately 10 years prior to being diagnosed ADHD, i drank SO MUCH store brand energy drink that 2 things happened

1) It became such an obvious and well known Thing about me that my tutors started putting "too much red bull can kill you" news articles on the walls. These were not present in rooms I didn't have classes in. It was not a college-wide initiative. That was for me, specifically. Nobody said it but we all knew.

2) Several friends suggested, in all seriousness, I contact the Guinness Book of Records to set a record for "most caffeine consumed with no physical effect" after I had 3x 1 litre bottles in about an hour and my heart rate was still exactly the same and nothing about my demeanour had changed at all. Meanwhile Ryan had 1 bottle and was physically vibrating. Because he's normal.

(I didn't do it because it would require having a medical professional present the whole time to verify and like absolutely nobody with a medical degree is going to do that in good conscience)

[honey-subs]

Hello! Uhm, could you maybe write sub!Yoongi with Bondage + edging? Thanks in advance! And by the way, I really love your works they're amazing 🥺👉🏻👈🏻💕

Party Boy - Min Yoongi

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

⤷pairing - min yoongi x reader

⤷genre - smut

⤷summary - yoongi gets jealous at a party

⤷warnings - sub!yoongi, dom!reader, bondage, jealousy, mentions of drinking, orgasm denial, praise, smut, fluff, aftercare, edging

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

yoongi looked at you from across the room with jealousy in his eyes. he watched you with fire in his eyes as you talked with beomgyu. from his angle, it looked like you were flirting with him. he downcast his eyes, not wanting to see anymore and going deep into his thoughts.

soon enough the party died down. the happy and cheery buzz of the peak of the night dies down to small talks and splitting headaches. you found yoongi sitting down on a couch, leisurely drinking water from a small cup. “ready to go yoon?” you asked, him ready to depart from the scene anyway. he just gave a small and curt nod, getting up to walk out.

his actions were peculiar to you, normally yoongi would be clingy, having an arm around you, holding your hand, something but now. it was as if he was ignoring. the entire ride back to your place was filled with silence. not an awkward silence, the tense, thick silence that had you rethinking choices.

once the both of you made it to your place, the silence in the etmostphere was just as thick, if not more. you flipped on a light, and we’re getting tired of yoongi ignoring you. by now, he would have at least started conversation, but you received nothing but a stare from the rapper as he eyed you.

“what’s your problem, yoongi?” you asked him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and irritation. “my problem is that you were blatantly flirting with beomgyu in front of my face, ignoring the fact that your boyfriend was there too.” he crossed his arms, and his cheeks were red with frustration.

“i wasn’t flirting with him!” you defended yourself against the false accusations. “you were laughing and being touchy with him, what do you call that?” he asked sassily. “uh, i don’t know, being friendly?! beomgyu is a naturally touchy person. what was i supposed to do? hurt the kids’ feelings?” you asked sarcastically. “that’s an option.” he said and tilted his head.

“yoongi. i wasn’t flirting with beomgyu.” you try one last time to explain to him before losing your cool. “i saw it with my own eyes, y/n. how the fuck are you going to tell me what i see and didn’t see?!” he exclaimed. he rolled his eyes and walked to your shared bedroom. you narrowed your eyes at him and followed him. you backed him up against a wall and put your hands on either side of his face.

“i don’t know who you think you’re talking to, min yoongi, but you’ve got the wrong attitude with me.” you told him through gritted teeth. all he did was smirk. and that snet you into a frenzy. you attached your lips to his with a fire burning passion. you move your kisses down to his neck, allowing him to move so you could get better access.

“if you think for one second that i’ll go easy on you tonight,” you paused, leaning in close. “you’ve got another thing coming.” you whispered. a chill went up his spine as he thought of all the possibilities this night would go; not opposing any of them. you pushed him onto the bed, leaving him to smile cockily as you stood up. you went to your drawer, and pulled out your special box that was reserved for . . . special moments like these.

slowly, you’d stripped yourself of your clothing, unzipping your dress slowly, making sure to tease him as you let it drop to your ankles. you watched as he got even harder under his pants at the sight of you. he had propped himself up on his elbows to get a better look at you.

you smirked at you caught his eyes, and straddled him as he sat up. your hands encased his face as you kissed him, grinding down on him. the friction from your underwear only added to the pleasure you felt as you went faster, yoongi moaning into your mouth. “c-close.” he pulled away only for a second to moan. “you gonna cum just from this? gonna cum in your pants?” you asked teasingly. you bounced lightly, moving faster as he continued to whimper.

“f-fuck.” he moaned into your mouth as he gripped your hips, and bucked his own into you. you felt him twitch in his pants and you got up completely, leaving him to whine at the loss of touch, grinding his hips up into nothing. “let’s get these off.” you sighed, getting onto your knees to unbuckle and take off his pants. you pulled them down and pulled them off from around his feet.

his cock strained against his boxers panifully. you loved how yoongi got so sensitive after just one time of being edged; it made everything so deliciously fun. your fingertips glided smoothly along his inner thighs and he shivered, head tilting back slowly.

“t-touch me, please?” he asked softly. “from the way you’ve been acting tonight, i don’t know if you deserve it.” you whisper, still teasing his thighs. “please, please, please-“ he begged. you’d already broken him with a simple edging, imagine how ruined he’ll be by the end of the night. “please touch me, mistress-“ he pleaded, and choked on a whimper when you finally decided to pull down his boxers, and throw them in the same direction as his pants.

slowly, you wrapped your fingers around his cock, and instantly, he threw his head back and moaned. “thank you, thank you, thank you,” he whispered, hips bucking up slowly into your hand. “you’re doing so good baby boy,” you praised. “but, i think you could do much better.” you whispered and sped up the pace of your hand. he moaned and his hips stuttered at the sudden action. “you getting close?” you asked, pace steadily increasing.

“y-yes, fuck-“ he whimpered. he looked so ethereal like this; mouth parted as his head was tipped back, giving you a great view of the hickies that littered his neck. a light sheen of sweat covered his body as he panted. his pale skin only got paler as he was about to reach another orgasm, moans increasing in pitch and frequency.

“i’m gonna cum-“ he managed to string together a small sentence, hips bucking rapidly and sporadically. you waited a moment until you felt his cock twitch in your hand to pull away, watching with lidded eyes as a few tears dripped from his own glossy eyes. he always got like this; teary and whiny as he got farther into subspace, trusting you completely with his orgasms. it was such a sight to see.

“please.” he sounded so submissively desperate for release, it sounded beautiful falling from his lips. “okay,” you got up from your knees and straddled him again. “if you can make me cum, i’ll let you cum.” he nodded his head, putting his hands on your hips. you reached for you box that was forgotten on the bed, pulling out two pairs of handcuffs.

you cuffed both his wrists to the head board, securing them tightly. “you’re not allowed to touch me while you do it.” you smirked at him. he laid back, hands suspended onto the headboard as you crawled up his form to his lips. he tilted his head up to try and at least get a taste of you, always failing to reach you. slowly, you lowered yourself onto his mouth.

immediately, he lapped at your roles, taking your clit into his mouth and sucking not he sensitive bud with fevor. “oh f-fuck,” you weren’t expecting him to be so good at this. he moved from your clit to your entrance, swirling his tongue around and entering you, curling his tongue to press on a sensitive spot into you. you moved your hips back and forth, creating friction and force on his tongue. without any warning to him, you came into his mouth and he eagerly lapped at all fo your cum.

you pulled away from him as his tongue continued to please you as you boarderd on overstimulation. “good boy,” you told him, moving to straddle his waist again. his cock was pretty, all hard and red just for you. you rubbed the lips of your pussy onto his length, and watched him groan in desperation.

finally, you lined him up with your entrance an sunk down onto him, both of you releasing guttural groans. placing both hands on his chest, you set a pace, a rushed and hurried one to bring the both of you closer to an orgasm. he bucked his hips up as much as he could, as much as the angle would let him.

his sensitivity tripled as you continued to bounc on him; the force from the two edged orgasms coming onto him like a ton of bricks. he was too close, too fast; but, so were you. you could feel him spasm under you as was about to cum. his head tipped back and his lips opened in a silent scream, his hips jerked rapidly, and he tensed up. his cum spilled into you, filling you up beautifully. you came barely a second later, soaking his length with your own cum.

he was panting heavily, the force of his orgasm tiring him out. you gained enough strength to lift off of him, hurrying to unclock the cuffs and clean him up. you left for only a moment to run some warm bath water, making sure it was hot enough before going to get yoongi.

yoongi, being as light as he is, was easy to carry, and so you did. you carried him to the bath tub and placed him in. you got in behind him, placing a small kiss on his shoulder.

the bath was quick and simple, barely any words exchanged between you two as you cleaned him up, and helped him get dry and dressed before helping him to the bed. he laid in your arms as you ran your hands through his hair.

“yoonie?” you asked, he hummed in response. “why were you acting like that at the party earlier?” you felt him tense up under your arms. he relaxed slightly before speaking, “i saw you flirting with beomgyu and i got a little jealous and insecure. i’m sorry.” he apologized. “yoongi, don’t be sorry! i wasn’t flirting with him though, we just had a light conversation, nothing more nothing less. besides, you’re my one and only, and i love you.” you kissed his forehead lovingly.

“i love you too. next time, i’ll talk it out with you, and try to explain but i’m not good with expressing my feelings that well...” he let his sentence trail off. “and that’s okay, yoonie. just try to let me know - in whatever way you can - when you’re feeling like that so i can help, okay?”

“okay.”

ANON, THIS MESSAGE IS IN NO WAY BECAUSE OF YOU!!!! when requesting can you guys please add some kind of plot? it’s kinda hard to come up with one by myself. thank you!

[fullmetalscullyy]

Hey Emma. I hope you're having a great day! From your prompt list of ANGST, write me up one of these prompts. “Get the hell out.” You're super awesome! -Stacy

ok.

so i know this is SUPER late. i have no excuses… just wasn’t in the mood for a while… however…

this is sitting at 20k words (not in this ask, i had to break it up into a full blown chapter story kjfkdgn) and i probably (finally) only have about 1k-2k words left to write. it spiralled waaay out of control (in the best way i hope D:)

it’s been a long time coming but it’s f i n a l l y nearly done.

aaaaand thank you stacy!!! you’re so great ilysm

sorry for the angst but u did ask uwu so here’s about 20k words of it :)

enjoy!

rated: t | words: 1978

read on ao3 and ffnet

His Protector - Chapter 1

“You did this?”

His Highness’ voice was low. She’d gone against his wishes, but it was for his own good. He couldn’t see that now, maybe he never would, but it would mean he’d be safe. That was all that mattered right now to his First Knight.

“I did, Your Highness.” Her tone was unapologetic, and rightly so, she thought.

“I explicitly told you not to carry out this request.” His tone was dangerous now.

King Mustang was angry, and Knight Hawkeye could understand that. She knew he’d be offended that she went behind his back, knew he’d feel betrayed, but she still did it.

“I told you I could handle it.”

The Knight didn’t doubt it, but she wouldn’t let him walk to his death. She couldn’t.

Her King was stubborn but had always heeded her warnings. This time, he hadn’t, and it was concerning. Riza Hawkeye had done some digging and discovered just how dangerous this venture may become. She had a bad feeling in general about the whole operation, and her gut had never failed her before. Only this time, her King had dismissed her concerns. He was dead set on following through with it. It both baffled and irritated her, as the head of his security.

If he wouldn’t listen to her as she tried to protect him, she’d have to step in to make sure that happened. She was protecting him from himself.

“I understand that, Your Highness, however given the evidence, I made an executive decision to call the meeting off.”

“What evidence?” he exploded, standing from his throne. “There’s no evidence to indicate this situation would threaten my life.”

“Your Highness, I’ve had a very bad feeling about this from day one,” Riza explained herself.

“I don’t work on bad feelings,” he interrupted.

Riza felt her irritation spike. “Yes, Your Highness, however, it’s saved my life, and yours, more often than I can count –”

“You disobeyed my orders and went against my wishes based on a “gut feeling”.” His expression was hard, his eyes unforgiving. This wasn’t how she anticipated this conversation going. It was derailing very quickly, but she was just doing her job. “That’s something I cannot have, and will not tolerate, in my court. Is that understood?”

“Of course, Your Highness.” She had to swallow past the lump in her throat to get the words out, but Riza managed.

“You no longer hold the status as my First Knight.”

That felt like a knife in her heart, but Riza had expected it. Harsh, but she knew the consequences of her actions and would accept them wholeheartedly, because it was for the King’s own safety.

“You’re no longer a part of my court. Get the hell out.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Riza bowed as was etiquette, then removed the seal from the front of her armour. It was King Mustang’s personal seal and showed the title she held as his First Knight. She’d been his closest advisor, his confidant, and his protector. He felt betrayed by her actions, Riza knew this. She could see it in his eyes. It had hurt like hell to go against him, but she was simply doing her job.

Riza approached and placed the seal on the table at the bottom of the dais leading up to his throne. She patted it once, unable to help herself as she bid farewell to her old friend. It hurt. This seal had been a part of her for years and just like that, it was gone. It was him who’d taken it from her. It hurt like hell.

Turning, Riza left the throne room, her movements controlled. There was no argument because she knew he wouldn’t listen. It frustrated her completely. Irritated her, even. How could he be so blind and stubborn? He may have felt betrayed by her actions, but the feeling was mutual. She’d advised him for so long and suddenly, he brushed her aside? Dismissed her warning and concerns? That was a betrayal in itself.

However, she’d done her part to ensure his safety. Riza had done all she could – even went behind his back and against his wishes. There wasn’t much else she could do. The knight just hoped it was enough.

As she turned, her mask cracked, and she let out a shaky breath. It was silent, so he wouldn’t hear her, and her movements never faltered as she walked away from the man she loved. Tears crept up to her eyes and threatened to fall, but she held them at bay.

All her life she’d dedicated herself to King Roy Mustang and his family. They’d taken her in after her father passed away. Berthold had been Roy’s father’s advisor, and Riza had been accepted into the family with open arms. The last thing she’d wanted to do was betray him like this, but Riza felt she had no choice. She was doing the right thing, she believed. She’d prevented him from attending a meeting which would threaten his life. Roy had told her he was going regardless of warnings from the rest of the court, because he was determined to make things right and to create a peace treaty with the neighbouring kingdom.

The letter she’d given him tonight had been forged – by a friend of hers – to explain the meeting had been called off. The “sender” – a mutual friend and messenger between the two kingdoms – advised the King not to travel because of safety concerns brought forth by the First Knight. It named her because it was the only way the King would believe it was true.

Riza exited the castle and walked across the courtyard. Her horse was waiting for her, held in place by the stable hand for her arrival. Expressing her thanks, she mounted the horse and set out through the castle town. The roads were quiet. It was almost midnight, so not many people would be milling about, but the streets were almost eerie as she rode away from the only life she’d ever known.

Her future now was completely uncertain. However, she did have one last thing to do as the King’s First Knight. She had a plan and it was time to set it in motion.

After exiting the town gates Riza entered the forest and rode to a clearing. It was well used by her throughout the years as it was off the beaten path and far enough from the road that no one could eavesdrop.

“Knight Hawkeye?” a voice called out, unsure.

Riza dismounted her horse and approached the sound. A young man exited the cover of the trees and stepped into the moonlight.

“It’s just Hawkeye from now on, Alphonse,” Riza stated gently.

“Ah. Right. So, it’s done?”

Riza nodded, ignoring the pain in her chest. The wind from the ride had dried her tears. There would be time for that once this was all over and the King’s safety was secured. Until then, she would need to be level-headed and focussed. Even though she was no longer his First Knight, she still had a duty to her King, and a personal vow to protect him at all costs, no matter what her status was.

“It’s done. Step one is complete.”

“… Now it’s time for step two,” Alphonse finished for her.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Riza nodded.

“Right.”

She would attend the meeting in the King’s stead and try to bring about peace to the regions.

The threat on King Mustang’s life was very real, so there was no way Riza would let him go ahead with it. However, peace was still important. Riza believed that. So, she would go first to beat him there, and if they threatened her life… Well, she was better dying than the King. The kingdom needed him. He was a good and just King. Everyone loved him and it was the most successful ruling the kingdom had had in centuries. Riza wouldn’t jeopardize that.

Plus, then the King would have his damn evidence if she ended up dead. Hopefully that would penetrate his thick skull.

“When do we leave?” Alphonse asked.

“I leave tonight. You go home to your brother.”

His eyes flashed with indignation. “I’m not leaving you to do this alone,” he argued.

“Alphonse –” Riza knew there would be an argument, but she was too drained to start it with him.

“No,” he shook his head. “I’ve come too far to drop it now. This plan was my suggestion, and it’s the reason you’ve lost your place in the King’s Court.” The reminder was harsh, and there was another stabbing pain in her heart. “The least I can do is see it through.”

“Al –”

“No, Riza.” His tone was firm and unyielding.

Riza looked into his eyes and saw a fire in them. His determination and loyalty to her may end up being the death of him and that’s why she was so hesitant to bring him along. However, there would be no stopping Alphonse, Riza knew that much.

“I have so many more magic abilities and I’ll be able to get you out of there if things get too dicey. I can help.”

“You’re a teenager –”

“Who has, on more than one occasion, proved my skill and my loyalty to you,” he reminded her. Then, his expression turned hurt. “You still don’t think I can do it?”

Riza stared at him for another moment, then gave in. She’d lost her fight.

“No,” she replied. She approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, softening her knees so she was eye level with him. He’d sprouted a few inches over the past few months and was almost catching up with her. “I don’t doubt your loyalty or abilities,” she reassured him. “It’s never been about that.”

“Then why won’t you let me help?” he pleaded.

“Because if anything was to happen to you, and you were hurt, or worse, you died, that’s something I wouldn’t be able to live with.” Her gaze was steady as she willed him to understand, her tone resolute. She gripped his shoulder tighter. “I would never forgive myself,” she whispered. “And I can’t bear the thought of it.”

They’d both worked closely over the last year. He was an advisor for the outskirts of the kingdom for her, and that was where he lived with his brother and his family. Alphonse was a bright and skilled mage, who’d learned the art from his father. He must have had a hell of a teacher, because at the age of nineteen, he was more skilled than most mages she’d been able to work with throughout her career.

It was also Alphonse who’d helped her come up with ideas to postpone the meeting, or avoid the King attending it completely, if they could. King Mustang was an immovable object though and would not heed her warnings. Alphonse lived near the neighbouring kingdom and had seen first-hand the affect the ruler had on their people. A kingdom where innocent traders and townspeople were left for dead on the road was not somewhere Riza wanted her King to go.

Too bad Roy is too stubborn to realise it.

Alphonse gripped the wrist of the hand on his shoulder tightly, his determination returning. “I won’t allow that to happen. I can get us out of there if things go south. I’ve got so many healing and protection spells because my father was paranoid about me and my brother getting hurt by the soldiers from the neighbouring kingdom. I’m well prepared.” His eyes flashed with the same fire that hadn’t wavered over the last few months. “I can make this happen, Riza.”

“All right,” she relented. There was no pleased look in Alphonse’s eyes, just determination.

“Let’s get to work.”

[calliecat93]

what's going on on ml?

Okay, so... Season 3 was a colossal disaster. Now I quit the series a while ago, but they recently aired the season finale... even though there were till S3 episodes that didn’t air... yeah... but we’ll focus on the finale. So... they essentially did what I was afraid that they were going to do: break up the Love Square and create unnecessary shipping drama. Luka and Kagami exist to be mere ship bait and the finale ended with Mari getting with Luka and Adrien... maybe getting with Kagami. It isn’t 100% clear and there’s no English subtitles/dub for me to be for sure. But... you know this in and of itself is annoying because of stupid shipping drama that NO ONE asked for. The show had an interesting enough dynamic, we did NOT need this and it just wastes Luka (who is essentially Flash Sentry form Equestria Girls, a blnd,unnecessary nice guy with a guitar) and Kagami (whose more interesting, but is still being used in a way that is just unfair to her character) because they’re just bait, not actual characters.

But no, that’ not the biggest problem. You see... the showrunners have told fans OVER and OVER that Marinette and Adrien are endgame. They will be together by the end. In other words... they either lied to their audience or they spoiled it for their audience. Which makes this whole thing even MORE unnecessary and insulting. They’re wasting characters. They’re wasting stories. They’re wasting the dynamic they already had. They ruined it y saying that because at least with the drama, we’d have some suspense. But no, we all know that these new relationships will be utterly pointless, or f they stick to it, it means that the writers either lied or if they changed their minds, mislead their audience by jumping the gun. It’s why most shows don’t EVER say anything, instead telling you to just watch the show and experience it yourselves. ML failed to do that. it’s unprofessional, doesn’t account for any changes, and ruins the experience for everyone. So yeah, I’m pissed off at this for a number of reasons.

There are other issues. Like they again proved to me that Chloe’s ‘redemption’ was an utter waste of everyone’s time. But since I haven’t watched S3 since I don’t even remember when, I won’t comment on any of that. But this, to me, wa the most anger-inducing. it sounds like what, formw hat I’ve been told, Star vs. the Forces of Evil did, add unnecessary shipping drama instead of focusing on the story and mythos. I haven’t watched STar, but a friend of mine who did explained it to me, and... if this is how it felt, then I feel so bad for those fans. I’m upset because I loved ML, but it has become a shitshow and I’m just incredibly disappointed in the content, and the lack fo professionalism from its staff. I hope that S4 does better because the fans deserve better. Only time will tell.

[dancingarchitect]

There have been times when I’ve wondered if Black Thought should be in the running for #goat emcee. This video is one of those times. My friend and colleague, drummer Morgan Childs, actually transcribed these amazing rhymes: Uh I’m sorry for your loss it’s somebody dead in a car and it’s probably one of yours The writin’ all across the window and the walls Whether it was true or false We shouldn’t have got involved Remember We walked past the teacher take the chalk and laugh We wrote punishments “I will not talk in class” Now it’s pistols punishing people for talking fast And all these innocent bystanders is haulin’ ass I hate to say “I told y’all” but I told y’all Things fall apart when the center to weak to hold y’all I’m just collecting what you owe to my owe jar You ‘bout to get swooped down on and stoled on Fools swear they wise, wise men know they foolish but we was headed for the web even before computers I never thought you’d give me a reason to do this Cain and Abel Jesus and Judas Caesar and Brutus I see intruders avert yer eyes I told you keep out of the hood Circumcise How could you sleep, I thought you always was the first to rise Eyo you heard the line Errybody plays the fool Well I be that exception to the rule The principal that hand deliver lessons to the school I was makin’ major moves My dollar déjà vu My mission when my ambition was brandishin’ the tool to be an icon wearin’ slippers made of python Get mine quicker ‘cause I’m slick as a pipeline Transportin’ the oil tribulation and toil hit the operation but I’m back in the soil Got my crown tilted, my gown quilted silk with cashmere burn the room down in a minute, built it last year Newsflash, I dodged the bullet that killed the cashier My homie told me to come with him to the masthead Them brothers said don’t go from written bars filled with rage to prime time television and your gilded cage Then forget there’s people in the world still enslaved I bar white at my wrist, and let it fill the page Gunfire and flare Sirens glare I’m in an iron chair with people who care don’t get the lion’s share When I don’t give a fuck then I ain’t fair I’m on a higher table people getting’ money like the finest hair Catch the herald I’m fresh chopped and beveled rap on a doctorate level so F Scott Fitzgerald Maybe I’m the new Rakim Maybe I’m Fab Pharoah Undergarments are armor be my intimate apparel Pre-Kardashian Kanye My rhyme play immaculate Same cadence as D.O.C. pre-accident Maybe my acumen is on par with Gucci rappin’ and gimme the proper respect motherfucker we back again For a couple things we lost in a fire the drive and desire to perform on a higher plateau I make that show lost in a mire Wondering how we got so far from inspired Look, when photos were sepia toned and record players were something you would keep in your home Yo the traveller the meanin’ Tariq he was known For the exemplary performance, uniquely his own I made the 21 pound for some a newfound religion When money’s put down there’s only one sound to make OGs and young lions equally proud to listen To seek what amalgam-ism an algorithm comin’ from where only kings and crowns permitted to darkness Where archaeologists found my image in parchment rolled into a scroll holdin’ a message for you It said the only thing fo sho is taxes death and trouble The anomaly, sworn solemnly high snobbery Freakinomics and war policy dichotomy That’s Heaven and Hades Tigris and Euphrates His highness, the apple of the iris to you ladies As babies we went from simolac to infomill to the internet and fentanyl when our consent was still against the will I got that detox for y’all The microphone doctor black Deepak Chopra I’m a griot that make you want to peacock your arm every heavy dignitary payin’ me top regards boy I’m three octaves far from the bi noc ulars so the smart money feelin’ get the heat out the car yo I’m K dot Lamar meets Tupac Shakur Got profiled by a few cops too hot to charge, listen somebody said a price tag was on a rapper’s head so we gonna see a nice bag when a rapper dead the mast black the flag green black and red they probably wave a white flag out the prasma shed (?) no doubt Yo the Game went they own route I can’t explain what these lame kids is talmbout Or how they fit they whole foot into their own mouth I put a couple bodies in a brown bag then I’m en route I’m sneaker shoppin’ with my stuntas size 8 prior to they release, cuz why wait? Look, in my state I got electrified gates for these blasé gods hatin’ at a high rate ‘cause I dodged fate then got great to fly straight if we ain’t family or friends then we don’t vibrate and I’m that Gun in yah face none of y’all safe If I catch you at the right time in the wrong place Slippin’ Sipping on somethin’ with a strong taste Like whiskey or bootleg bourbon with a corn base (Malavine?) take resemble a vehicular threat The mic I spray resemblin’ a sickle of death It ain’t strenuous to come from a continuous breath I set fire to the venue Imma spin you in step Rinse repeat You checkin’ for the sound of the beats I’m the hound I’m a creep I get down Imma eat Imma keep sumpin’ and lay a naysayer to sleep playin’ wit heat nobody and nothin’ fucking with ‘Riq yo these weaklings is claiming they cutting up in the streets Nigga peace You ain’t workin’ with nuttin’ but the police, listen you ain’t feelin’ to be nothin’ but the deceased, listen you in the tournament with a permanent crease I strike fear in the hearts of rap figures who mind bears the stigmas of time no black privilege From Boom Bap niggas To trap niggas you in the trap wit us When the lines is as vivid as the walls on that grab all the graph by the law to rap I reside between the seconds on the chronograph How much more CB4 can we afford? It’s like a sharia law On My Cherie Amour How much hypocrisy can people possibly adore? But ain’t nobody workin’ on a cure? My young boy Y’all just regular I’m an apex predator Brim stay fresh feathered up etcetera nevertheless I got a message of love One day a messenger yo my pen is Henry Kissinger Buzz Bissinger, look My caporegime Mr Noradeen and my oldest son Amin Saleem outta New Orleans Took a golf cart to the baccarat From the Waldorf What was on the walls? That depend on what you call art Imma say 300 k ain’t even in the ballpark I charge more just for awkward small talk So yes Who’s fuckin’ with it if it’s not the best? I get the lobby painted fresh upon my request It’s Kafkaesque His holiness stop the press that cobalt blue Reminiscing on my caress Lord, we got Padma Lakshmi for you Let her massage the back with black seed oil The foundation is firm, the flags need soil Me, I need royalty because I bleed royal Go through the veins to the brain fabulous and strange My journalistic range is a catalyst for change They got anybody to listen pissin’ flames and ‘cause the Hall of Fame got so many missin’ names I’ll acknowledge the original peoples not Oliver Y’all will the get the next challenger for Excalibur Um… more police for my core beliefs They tried to capture me and brand me on the cheek with a fleur de lis that side of my heart’ll be more discrete I’m international, my passport pages like War and Peace I’ve always played my part From the start Back in Philly where the triggers is mandatory to spark With the slightest inflammatory remark I have you in a livin’ a category apart, listen A grain of salt’ll tip the scales It never fails Walk on eggshells sleep on a bed of nails Criminal records like record sales Makin’ heads or tails we like Henrietta (L)acks Up in the cells My mother was a working class very loving woman who struggled, every dinner could have been her last supper (summer?) I come home chasin’ good for nothin’ half cousins and then walk in the crib to the smell of crack cookin’ she was introduced to that substance abuse or some of the strongest drugs that the gov’ment produced look, I even got excused by the principal My story is out of the dub dub interview I seen some ice cold summers, hot winters too I never thought I’d win Grammy awards with the Roots I never thought I would be getting’ long in the tooth My OGs told me “boy, you better go and live your truth” I am a walking affirmation That imagination and focus and patience gets you closer to your aspiration and just cuz they give you shit don’t mean you have to take it My words capture greatness sworn affidavits Yours truly the celestial being You stay seein’ pulling up in a fresh European High steppin out of it dressed to a T And not another got more soul, unless you Korean (!!!!) I’ve been Havin’ visions of Nat Turner holdin’ his master’s head like Yoric and Horatio in Hamlet Smackin’ it like a tennis racquet underhanded Send a message to the gram the eagle has landed Dressed in a military jacket made of canvass I am no guerilla/gorilla I just make ‘em go bananas I stand and wear black and green bandanas cocked hammers hairs on my chin is outstandings Can’t manage the weight of the world is just how I ball it Look, I’ve fallen from the sky to see my calling I’m not crawling I’m a free man like Morgan Seein’ manhood in the hood’s a damn good bargain If every black man don’t tap dance and every girl that got a fat booty don’t lap dance well I guess it’s something wrong, huh Niggas completely uninformed I don’t burn bridges, yo, I keep the haters round to fall I ain’t one of y’all peers I’m the sum of all fears Somebody stronger than me, who that? I mar ears like Obama I wish he had another four years Y’all some jolly good Hollywood squares I’m like “ahem” approach the author witcha offering I smoke rappers writin’ like my only offspring Being his excellency is to be exhausting You in the residency, you’re the one they call King Dolla Ali Baba the talented Mr Trotter Inside of my right palm the marker to stick My the big papa wig chopper Enter the Jaffe Jocker mawfucker I’m stronger than the coffee out in Kaffa All y’all make his vagina hot remind me of my kinda pop I step into the booth I’m a bull inside a china shop Mollywhopper washin’ of a cotton pickin body drop Every time we rock, yo they actin’ like it’s Mardi Gras Til the party stop ‘sgirl was like she there for rory gel (the fuck?) So we saw you pumpin’ that Earth Wind and Fire body ya Cool the Prada Dakar la Merino hard body up You seen another rapper cleaner, mami prolly not How it feel to be the best that did it I’ll admit it I’m visiting from planet bring these niggas down for minutes And y’all know I’m exquisite Wicked as Wilson Pickett The sickness I exhibit I’m too legit to quit it I don’t fake it til I make it, I take it to the limit and break it Never tentative when I’m bad I represent it A feeling just like chases Been a million places Conversation is how beautiful my face is People hated on how sophisticated my taste is Then I pulled up on these motherfuckers in a spaceship Panther mind I’m made of elements you can’t combine I’m at a level of intelligence you can’t define Einstein, Shakespeare, Voltaire, Tesla Recording artist slash psychology professor I preach for the east Never fold under pressure The beast from the east and I glide like Clyde Drexler Eyo my new name is Eighty Five Exes cause I’m the rap game certified specialist When I was reckless I was worried ‘bout the guest list I’m helpin’ rappers everywhere fulfill a death wish Yo Flex, I’m glad we made contact My nigga also know, this shit for combat Brain matta contain too much data I tell a story like fingerprints and blood splatter

[made-in-the-hallway]

Playful Fate

Word count: 2.222

Requsted: Yes

Warnings: None

Five hours. You were waiting for five hours for your code to be delivered that you were growing desperate. Your best friend called you some time ago, notifying you that she had received her code for Harry’s tickets and you could hear her relief along with her overall excitement. She asked you if you had received yours yet but your negative answer had her knotting her eyebrows and telling you not to worry.

You weren’t worried. You were just disappointed. When Harry had announced his tour dates and countries you and your friend wanted nothing more than for him to come and perform in your country. And when you two saw that your country was included, you started jumping up and down playing his album. It was a dream coming true. So your friend suggested if you wanted to get tickets, you should be quick to apply for a code.

The thing was that your friend had already her code whereas you were still on edge. Suddenly, you started thinking that you hadn’t made it and that you wouldn’t be seeing Harry in front of you, singing your favourite songs. Or else, why would it take so long? Could the system be stuck? Was your application invalid? So many thoughts, but your inbox was still empty.

“Maybe it is not meant for me to experience this”, you said to yourself and started blinking away a few tears. It was a shame really because the tickets were affordable for once and the concert would take place in your own country. It was a bargain. Yet, you wouldn’t be any part of this from what it seemed.

And you were proven correct. One week had passed and your code was nowhere to be seen. You had cried, as silly as it may sound, but that was how you felt. Y/F/N was devastated herself when you told her that you still didn’t have the code and she too knew that all the encouraging words in the world wouldn’t change anything. You still wished for her to have an awesome time and she promised to be back with as many videos and photos as she could gather.

Days were the same for you after that incident. School, your part time job and visits to Y/F/N’s. When you were waiting for your tickets you had marked down the concert’s date but when you had realized you wouldn’t be participating, you had given your calendar to your friend. In conjunction with this, your busy schedule nowadays didn’t allow to you to think about anything else. So when you were passing outside the local stadium you were a bit taken aback seeing all those people cleaning the place and arranging the stage.

“What have I missed?”, you said to yourself and decided to call Y/F/N and ask her what on earth was going on.

“Y/N, I can’t believe you could forget. In two days….Harry will perform there”, she said pausing a bit and realization hit you. Right. The concert you wouldn’t be attending was in two days. You didn’t cry. But the taste your friends’ words left afterwards was…Bitter.

“Oh”, was all you could muster up but you gained your senses almost immediately. Your friend was going to be there and you didn’t want to make her feel sympathetic or sad just because you were feeling this way. This was what she was dreaming about too.

“Well, make sure you have the time of your life!”, you tried to sound enthusiastic but you were positive you sounded nothing like that.

“Y/N, I appreciate your trying but it is not necessary with me. I know you. And you knowing me, you should know that if I was in your shoes, I would be ten times worse”, even her statement couldn’t make you feel better.

“Still. Just because I am bitter about it, that doesn’t mean you have to lose your excitement. Even though it is impossible. Anyways. I am running late for work. Catch up later yeah?”, you said not intending to sound so harsh but failing miserably.

Putting your earphones on, you headed to the shop you were working to; a small patisserie shop which was well known for its profiteroles. Your small journey was accompanied by Harry’s melodic voice singing Sign of the Times. You were trying to hold back a few stray tears but the tune of the song did not help at all. You really tried to understand why life didn’t want you to meet your idol, but everything happens for a reason right? That’s what you told yourself anyway. Entering the shop, the smell of freshly baked cupcakes put your thoughts at bay and maybe, that was the first time you appreciated this shop.

“Always early darling”, Leslie, the owner of the shop, a sixty year old lady, greeted you.

“Well, you know me Leslie. I want to be punctual”, you said and half smiled. Leslie insisted on you calling her by her first name, because any other name made her feel way older. You didn’t have any problem with this, because when addressing her like this, you felt like she was a friend of yours. And in reality, she was. When your shift would be over, she would turn the sign that read “OPEN” around, and she would prepare a cup of hot tea and some cupcakes for you to chat upon. She made you feel better about anything. You had even told her how unlucky you were and you hadn’t gotten tickets for Harry. Surprisingly enough, she had experienced the exact same thing when she was a teenager. When you had found out, your eyes bulged out of their pockets. You could picture Leslie with youngster clothes, waiting to be in a stadium to sing at the top of her lungs and dance around to her idol’s music. But life always has other plans. She encouraged you that it is not the end of the world and that you would get the chance to see him in person one way or another. Your heart and mind seemed to understand her point, so when you entered the shop, her words would come in mind and you would be calmer.

But today, fate seemed like it enjoyed seeing you feeling blue. After some hours of serving customers and writing down orders, the local radio station decided to praise Harry by playing his two songs. The one after the other.

“Why me?”, you cried out and you gulped down a glass of water to calm your nerves.

“Are yeh closed?”, a male voice spoke behind you. Just on cue, Two Ghosts started blasting through the small speakers the shop owned and you tried your best not to lose it.

“No sir, we are open. Tell m-“, you stopped mid-sentence and blinked harshly.

“Seems like your station likes meh songs”, Harry smirked, standing in front of you in all his glory.

“Well-, yeah-, wow”, you said at last, looking between the speakers and Harry. It was a funny sight if you came to think about it. A few days earlier, you were crying your eyes out that you wouldn’t watch Harry enjoying himself onstage but now here he was ready to order. In your shop.

“Oh your order. Pardon me. You were saying?”, you returned to your professional self and waited for his order.

“Well, I would like two of your best cupcakes and a cup of tea”, he smiled and waited patiently.

“Okay. Take away or table?”, you answered and he looked up at you.

“Table please. Oh and one more thin’”, Harry paused and you waited for his next words.

“Yes?”, you said jotting down his order.

“I think your country is very beautiful. Glad it will host meh gig”, he said and smiled without comprehending what he had just said. When he saw your facial expression clouding, he felt confused.

“Did I say something I wasn’t supposed to?”, he asked all worried and it was your turn to explain.

“No, no. But something messed up and I am afraid I will miss your concert unfortunately”.

“Is that so?” he smirked and you nodded.

“Anyway, you are not here to hear about my personal misfortunes. Your order will be right up”, you said and proceeded to your work.

“I will be more than happy to help yeh actually. Could yeh come to meh table fo’ a minute?”, he suggested.

“I am afraid I will be unable to”, you said gesturing to your apron.

“I will be waitin’ then”, Harry said and walked to an empty table. Who would have told you that Harry Styles would come to the shop which helped you pay your rent and on top of that, wait for your shift to be over. You were fangirling like there was no tomorrow. And while you were heating up the kettle, you realized something; you weren’t so irritated that you wouldn’t be at the concert anymore. Yes, a small part of you still wanted to hear the duck noises in Woman live but as your eyes would dart to Harry, you came to the point that just talking with him was what you really desired. And maybe in some hours this would be real.

“That young man seems to be impatient.”, Leslies’s voice startled you.

“Well, he is waiting for me to be finished with work so we can chat most probably”, you said preparing the tray with his tea and cupcakes.

“But that won’t be for three more hours! Leave the tray and sit with him. I will tell Josh to take over love”, Leslie offered and you squeaked.

“But Leslie, you are paying me to serve people not chat with them”, you retorted.

“You deserve a break. Now go to him”, she said and you thanked her before going to Harry’s table.

“Here you go. Our finest cupcakes along with your tea”, you said leaving each item on the table.

“And the kindest waitress”, he continued making you smile.

“Why, thank you”, you said and he ushered you to sit with him.

“So… As fo’ meh concert yeh can’t come to… Yeh know, I might have a spare ticket that no one will use eventually”, he said while sipping his tea and you stared at him bewildered. Just with one word, your dream would come true and you would enjoy yourself with Y/F/N jamming along to his new album. But you couldn’t accept. Not only would it feel wrong, but you didn’t want to take advantage of his kindness and prosperity.

“You know, some days ago, me and my friend applied to your site in order to get a code for tickets. My friend was the lucky one and got hers whereas I didn’t. I was devastated. And now here comes your kind offer. But I am afraid I will say no”, you said and he almost choked on his cupcake.

“But yeh seem like yeh want to come. I don’t understand”, he truthfully said. He started to feel confused with you; any other fan seeing him and being offered tickets by him would scream in his face and even cry. But that is what he appreciated too; your calmness around him. Even though you were screaming internally.

“You see, it seems to me that these few minutes we are conversing together, are worthy much more than a concert. Not wanting to disrespect your talent, but I hope I got my message across the right way”, you said, hoping you didn’t make a wrong choice of words.

“Yeh are somethin’ else really. I appreciate your company and you make meh feel less anxious when around a fan. And I don’t even know your name”, he concluded chuckling.

“It’s Y/N and I am so glad I make you feel this way”, you said chuckling as well. You knew how disrespectful his fans could be sometimes and how hectic it may seem to him. So why go with the flow when someone can treat him with the kindness he deserved?

“Y/N, yeh have a special place in meh heart from now on.”, he said and you swelled at his words.

“But I am afraid I have to go now. Have to practice. See yeh later yeah?”, he said and you got up to hug him. You were a bit baffled because you would never see him again and you didn’t exactly know how you could see each other later but you decided to push those thoughts aside and cherish the fact that you were hugging your idol. Maybe when you returned home you would let all your excitement out.

But fate knew better. Since that day, and when Harry would still be in the town, he would pay a visit to the shop. Sometimes only to see you. You had exchanged numbers too, careful not to be exposed of course, and your friend was happy that things turned out even better for you. Every once in a while, your fangirl mode would be switched on and Harry would be all playful about it but you didn’t mind. You also didn’t mind that you didn’t go to that concert but who needed a concert when Harry Styles would turn up at their work almost on a daily basis or call them up to chat?

Thank you so much for this request girl! I truly hope you people enjoyed it and don’t hesitate requesting things! I am more than glad to answer to you lovelies! Happy reading!

[topicprinter]

TL;DR: Back in 2018 we launched our beta. We did every possible mistake. We relaunched and so far, it is going quite smoothly. This is the story of all the f*ckups and lessons learned.---Our horrible 2018 beta launch.In 2018 we did our small, invite-only beta launch. It was the first time we ever did something like that, and of course, we walked into it blissfully inexperienced. The excitement, the stress, and stage-fright of finally pushing the product we’ve been working on to the people who signed up to our smoke tests was a fantastic rush. It ended up being one of the most enriching experiences our team ever had. We failed. Hard.Instead of folding and disappearing into the darkness, we did our post-mortem, learned and kept going. The product failed, not the idea; our approach failed, not the concept. “ What do we do when we fall? We pick ourselves up.” And that’s what we did. We came out with a stronger team. It’s more difficult to kill us now, we just refuse to die.Here’s a short story of how NOT to launch a startup:It’s March 2018 and our to-do list is almost empty. Two solid years of designing, coding, good days and bad days. We turned a few drawings into a fully functioning music web app. Music was playing through it, loops syncing… this is perfect.The interface is exactly what we need. I pushed hard for that design. I thought it was perfect. My background is in economics, I’m color-blind, and awful at drawing. Naturally, I’m the best-suited person for the job.We had thoroughly tested the idea. The first round of Smoke Tests helped us to validate the idea — before a single line of code or design meeting ever happened. The response was overwhelming: people wanted this. That was the initial spark that jump-started this madness. We lined up the core working team and plunged into work. It took time, more than we ever thought it would take. I wish I could say we are a team that goes from idea to launch in 3 days. We’re not. Most teams aren’t. We’re no exception.A month before, in February 2018, we took the app to the rehearsal studio and played with it (we’re all musicians). It worked. Did some stress tests. Worked. The browser can hold multiple high-quality audio files streaming at the same time. This works.We got an extra batch of loops from friends and users who subscribed to the smoke test, we ran a Facebook campaign to get more people for the launch. We had music, users lined up. Just a few more touches and we’d be good to go.We coded a basic admin interface, an email-based invite system and our social media was packed with content. We were getting ready to launch a rocket to the moon. And so, by early March, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel.L-Day (launch-day) was set for April 20th, 2018.We were getting anxious. I was bursting at the seams. I was very, very anxious. I was so anxious, I bought a ticket to Amsterdam (we’re a remote team, Federico, our CTO, lives in Leiden, The Netherlands) without much thought — “I’m flying over there to launch this, is going to be awesome!”. Was it my wedding anniversary around the same time I was supposed to be in Amsterdam? Yes. Was it Federico’s anniversary also around the same days I was crashing at their place? Yes. Did I think about it when I bought the ticket? Nope.During that final month we did the migration to Amazon S3, did a backend cleanup, tested the invite system, our admin system, a basic analytics Federico built and we were — almost — good to go.Spoiler alert: did I mention anything about thorough QA? No, I didn’t. Did I mention anything about UX testing for the interface? I think I didn’t. Any hints of where this is going?My ticket to Amsterdam was for April 19th, arriving on the 20th. A 90-minute flight from St. Louis, MO (where I live) to St Paul, MN; a 3 and-a-half hour layover and then 8 hours to Amsterdam. Almost 13 hours of travel time. The same day you decide to launch. This will work, of course.April 19th came. I packed, said goodbye to my wife and got on an Uber to the airport. Not before I made sure to send the first batch of “Welcome to XXX, here’s the link to log in” emails to some users. I wanted to “test” how that went, see what kind of response we’d get and iterate — on my way to the airport and flying over the Atlantic!For the following 20 hours, I behaved like a maniac. Got to the airport, checked in, went to the gate, double espresso, opened the computer and kept going. Re-read a few Paul Graham essays, my notes on 2 books on launching products and previous notes I made. Got to St. Paul, MN; another double espresso and listed all the early users, friends and family who would get the email.“Group 5 for Amsterdam Schiphol is now boarding”. Closed the computer, got on the plane, opened the small table, opened the computer and started to re-write the templates for the invite emails. “Sir, you have to close the computer and your table, we’re about to take off”… Sh*t… “We have reached 10,000 feet, it is safe now to use your electronic devices”. Opened the computer, finished the template, planned the next few days, wrote templates for all the follow-up emails, got my notes and the flow of actions for each scenario. 8-hour flight. Not a single minute of sleep. I’m on a roll.Landed in Schiphol, met Federico, got on a train, arrived at his place, said hello to his wife, fresh pot of coffee, opened the computer, sent 223 invite emails + follow-ups, ate an entire tray of lasagna together with Federico, kept going for another hour, went out for beers.System crashed. Please stand by…April 21st, 2018. Noon. Wake up. Feel I’ve been hit by a train. I need coffee and a decent breakfast.I check my emails and there’s not a lot happening. Strange… OK… we check the app analytics, a good number of sessions but not as many as users on the database. Not even half. OK, maybe it’s early. Let’s wait a few more hours. Early evening comes by, let’s apply the follow-up flow of “hey did you get our invite?” and for those who logged in, ask for feedback. Emails sent. Let’s wait.And the answers started to roll in…“None of the links have worked in the emails I’ve received… the invitation, the email login confirmation or when I downloaded a drum loop”.“I first tried on my phone and it was quite hard to navigate, there was an odd control issue that happened whenever the screen rotated. like it would get the horizontal and vertical screen controls mixed up or something. ““I was trying to access it from an android smartphone and the page was really unresponsive.. in fact I couldn’t get anything to work.”And a lot more of the like. This is not looking good.There were multiple issues that were being reported, and given the time difference between the US (where most of our initial users were) and Europe, there we were… pulling hotfixes like maniacs at 2 AM.When you logged in to our app, we used to send you to the “Profile” view, where you had to fill your personal info (name, instruments you played, your social media, etc). We realized that a lot of users were staying in that view and not doing anything, which was very strange. And then, we got an email with a video.You can watch the video here https://youtu.be/xrh7Ly_Cwk4What followed were two weeks of fantastic feedback (fantastic = you’re doing it all wrong). We fixed all (or nearly all) the bugs and let users know when they were fixed. But, there was still one problem that needed more time to fix: the interface was horrible. The same user who sent the video was kind (and awesome) enough to — instead of sending a note -, he actually sent an audio explaining why our product was not working for him.Audio here https://soundcloud.com/tomas-sawada/robinsfeedback/s-r3gVkAnd that was the case with many others. The interface wasn’t good. Users were confused.A month after the launch our engagement was almost nonexistent. It didn’t matter how much we pushed, nothing was happening.Launch: failed.We let a few days go by, but we felt strong. I don’t know why. I was brain-fried (no surprise there), but still eager to understand, learn and keep going. The team was the same. And so, we did a post mortem. An honest, as unbiased as possible, exercise to understand our next steps.Below, the main points we arrived at:What worked:We managed to generate demand and users to the application and the idea; this validates that we are on the right idea.We managed to generate feedback from users. This was vital to understand our failures.We developed an analytics system that allows us to quickly understand what’s not working.We understood very quickly that things had to change. Within a month of the launch, we were working on the redesign. This means we are being agile to understand the problems and addressing them.We reached 65% of the beta users' goal, and although the beta process is not over, we had an interface that didn’t help much. It was a good number to start.We managed to implement all the features we set out to do, with very efficient code and excellent browser load. That’s important.Users sent us music. We did not have to persuade people with money, gifts or other methods.Contacting users through email gives them the initial push to access the app. For a small launch, it is effective enough.What did not work:We did not achieve our user goal, recurrence, and engagement.Based on user feedback, the interface was not intuitive. Only 1 out of 65 users had a recurrence and solid engagement.Only 1 person used the feedback tab that we implemented.30% got trapped in the “profile” view, which led many to not return.We launched without doing QA or usability testing. The rush to launch blinded us of the obvious.The services offered were too many: Jam, Sell, Connect. We communicated everything together and tried to cover everything. It was confusing for many users.What we learned and have to change for the next versionThe interface has to be easy to understand.We have to simplify things to the fullest. From the offer to the UX, to the communication.QA Testing (cross-browser and cross-device).We have to do UX testing with users several times and fix things before launching again until we see that the application makes sense. Let’s be super critical of what we do.More personal contact with users. While we were sending emails, perhaps we lacked more direct contact, which prevented us to understand the context and use cases.Launch small and incrementally add users. Let’s never again launch to everybody at the same time, especially if we have not thoroughly tested.There’s a limit to the “launch fast and iterate”. If you frustrate your users and they hate the experience, then there’s nothing much to iterate. They’re gone.This experience could have easily killed our team. In fact, an experience like this killed the previous team that Federico and I formed a decade ago. What is most surprising to me is the fact that I repeated mistakes, especially launching like this and doing exactly the opposite of what I should have done: be calm, collected and launch in the most efficient way. A decade ago, we launched a product in some similar fashion — although it wasn’t a code-based product — and I (we) crashed and burned. I few weeks after this 2018 launch I felt like a complete idiot. It’s not a nice feeling to have. Never again.My burnout lasted for a few months, and the team rallied and pushed through like spartans. We want to keep working together. The product failed, the idea didn’t. Our approach failed, not the concept. But we had to change a lot and learn. We changed the interface, we now do thorough QAs, UX tests with users. We don’t take anything for granted.But, most importantly, we’re creating a process for launching products. We still have a lot to learn, but we’re getting closer. We’ve made tons of mistakes, and we’ll keep making them. If we’re making mistakes, we’re moving forward.This experience didn’t kill us. It made us a stronger team. In fact, as of January 2020, we are doing our second launch, incorporating 100% of the lessons we learned. So far, it is going quite smoothly. And while things took longer than expected (don’t they always?), we’re proud and happy with what we’ve learned and achieved over the past two years. We’re here. Up & running.Cherish your failures, they are amazing learning experiences!!Hope is useful for some of you before you embark on a launch spree. May the force be with you.