#if you see this post get 0 notes and then I delete it tomorrow no you didn’t

[bleachedjuice]

'Red is the Color of Our Lives (And Red is the Color of Our Blood)' pt2

Utterly disappointed in Tumblr. Deleted not just one, not just two, but 36 drafts. Meaning, just like this part, I will have to rewrite every singly idea and part that was in those drafts. Anyhow- BIG PLANS, I WILL BE POSTING THE LAST PART/S OF THIS FIC TOMORROW TO END THE YEAR ON A GOOD NOTE MWHAHAHAHAHHA 👹 enjoy

The last thing you saw before you had practically been thrown out of the helicopter was the whites of a familiar green pair of eyes wide with fear and utter horrored shock as his hands just grazed your own. Within the mere moments of snapping back into reality, you were absolutely gobsmacked on how close you guys were to the ground and more so how fast a metal side roof had broken your fall. Slamming onto your left with a loud ramming sound, you cried out loud as the slickened roof as the rain had caused you to utterly have no grip no matter how hard you tried to grasp the roof...and then you felt yourself fall onto you back into the mud with a squealching wet noise and a groan. Your head hurt, utterly rang against your head..and you could just feel something warm trickle down. Rolling onto your right side, you let out a grunt as your vision swam, dizzy for a few mere moments.. and then, the ringing had faded as well as the vision swimming now gone.. you had looked around for your gun only to see it a few feet away, it clearly being thrown from your grip as the helicopter had spun after a direct hit, causing you, who was closest to one of the helicopters open side of its belly, to utterly get thrown out without a second thought to process what to grab for before it was to late. And now here you were, scrambling into the mud as you grabbed your gun and let out a small hiss as your ribs pulsed like a heartbeat... the rain is too thick. Like smog utterly covering the senses you had, all you saw was the night and rain pelting down.. all you smelt was the water and sickening smell of flame... fire... Turning all you could feel was the rain feeling like razors on your goosebumped skin... and the blood running down your head.. and all you could smell was the utter flames of the chopper that you were just in..that had just crashed... This was just supposed to be a quick in and out mission. A blow and go.. but now, you weren't even sure the explosives that had been brought and where on the chopper even made it..or if anyone even made it out. You felt dazed before you heard sounds.. no..foot steps..fast and heavy and an wave unrecognizable voices yelling...shit.. Practically groaning as you ran for cover behind an alleyway of the Ghost town that the cartel had decided to set up as a home base for the time being... inhaling sharply, you inhaled and exhaled shakily. The grip on your gum was so harsh that you were sure that your knuckles cracked from the pressure of the grip. And before you knew it... the adrenaline rush of the moment had sent you into an utter frenzy of going into autopilot. And the next thing you knew was that you were now watching from above in a flat roofed building. Searching for any signs of anyone getting out...

Soap...Alejndaro..Price..Ghost...König. You felt like throwing up,utterly to just hurl your guts up and just lay there and crumble as your head swooned and felt like it had its own heartbeat.. and you heard no shouts from the helicopter explosion/crash below. Nothing. Utterly nothing. Other than the forgein language, you were too busy fumbling with your comms to notice. Desperately, you called out into the void of the main comm link. "This is Bravo 0-9. Sitting high and dry, couple yards up from Helo crash and Target. How Copy?." Silence..utter gut-wrenching silence..as you swallowed thickly and spoke again into the comm link. Your voice wavering slightly. Hesitant. Hesitant on the fact to face that they may not have made it out alive. "I repeat, this is Bravo 0-9, sitting High and Dry, couple yards up from Helo-crash and Tagret, How Copy." Nothing. And then you reached around... and felt a dangling wire..the comm had snapped either when you fell or where scrambling in the mud...fuck.. hissing a breath through your lungs, you went to stand before an utter sound filled your ears, and the sight of grayed and roaring smoke filled your senses, and the flames of the now exploded target building that now USED to hold everything of their main fire power or incomes. Whether it be from the hard street drugs or the utter street illegal military class weapons they held. It was all flames now. And now, all of their fire power gone. All of their income. Gone. And practically of their men. Gone. All up in flames. Fitting. Ironic. And then, with a heaved face, you crawled through the smoke and landed on a side roof and slid down, your gun now strapped to your back as you focused on the fire power on the streets ahead that utterly broke out. And with the returning fire, it made you realize that perhaps all or maybe some of your guys survived.. perhaps HE survived. Just as you went to grab your gun from your back, you heard a noise behind you only for you to turn and be bumrushed into the ground by a large heaping figure..your gun digging into your back and your head bouncing off the concert jungles muddy ground..and your senses rang and slowed as your tried to swing hack and get this guy off of you but the mere weight of this guy pressed on your side made your ribs hurt to the point no breathe would even enter your lungs and there you where, gasping for air in-between gun fire and then a knife in your hand...and suddenly without even thinking you slammed it into his side repeatedly like a crazed animal before he fell over gasping and convulsing. And blood not only was on your face..it was on your hand..Letting in a loud gasp, you rolled onto your stomach and practically dragged your now,weakening Vinson and body out of the gun fire.. only for a large figure to come into your vision. Oh, please, not again... and then, with one last fighting, will you tried to push the guy off as blood filled your vision, but your hands gave way to his uninjured strength... and then invetween in and out vision blackouts. You caught a glimpse of those Green eyes staring down at you..and before you knew it, within a few in and out knoddings off from the evident blood loss from your head wound or just the mere bodily exhaus you where being carried by Him. König. As a few glances could catch Soaps figure utterly hauling ass ahead to the best of his limping capabilities, letting him. And then. A helicopter came into view. And the next thing you knew was the cold hard ground of the helicopters' stomach and a pair of arms pulling you onto it.. before the last sight you saw was those utterly damned green eyes...and the blood soaking your hand.. before all you saw was red...utterly suffocating red.. before black snapped you into nothingness

#konig cod #konig imagine #konig x male reader #konig mw2 #konig x y/n #mw2 x reader #cod mw2 #cod x reader

[ratabethchase]

I posted 19,126 times in 2022

That's 4,359 more posts than 2021!

51 posts created (0%)

19,075 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@existentialvoidofexistence

@jelly-pies

@ironghostie

@wouldthehill

@an-odd-idea

I tagged 461 of my posts in 2022

#ask - 10 posts

#asks - 9 posts

#slay - 3 posts

#<3 - 3 posts

#percy jackson - 3 posts

#!!! - 2 posts

#i dont want him to think its not in a bro way and i dont even know how much physical contact we have even had but. like. yearning dude. - 2 posts

#nice - 2 posts

#the 1 by taylor swift - 2 posts

#i have three windows open at all times - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#friendly reminder that space junk in orbit that is more than 10 cm in width (i think) can do incredible domino effect-like damage. and this

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

TAYLOR SWIFT WROTE MASTERMIND ABOUT ANNABETH CHASE

9 notes - Posted October 22, 2022

#4

JUST READ UR BIO WHEN WAS UR BIRTHDAY???????

OMG SLAY!! MY BIRTHDAY IS 6TH OF SEPTEMBER AND SINCE IM AUSTRALIAN THAT MEANS ITS 6/9 😎😎😎😎😎😎

9 notes - Posted October 20, 2022

#3

neurotypical friends do not understand

26 notes - Posted May 1, 2022

#2

woah woah woah! i might delete this a bit later cause i think im gonna work on it some more tomorrow but. still reeling over that fact i made this.

[ID: two similar glass cups of tea next to each other. the one on the left is a reference photograph for a painting on the left. the reference has a big leaf in the cup and a simple background whereas the left does not have either. the painting has two hearts above it, one brownish-pink and the other green.]

26 notes - Posted June 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

ten songs i love by different artists

omg thank you @existentialvoidofexistence for tagging me!! i was very close to reblogging your post just to be an asshole but you're lucky <3

Stand Tall from Julie and the Phantoms

I could listen to this song a million times and i would literally never stop going absolutely bonkers at it. I love it so so much dude i need to rewatch jatp

2. Hate Myself by dodie

just. such a good song. i struggled to pick a dodie song because i love all of them so much but this was the first to come to mind

3. Bad Reputation by Joan Jett

This is such a headbanger and i have been listening to it recently bc my band might do a cover of it which will be fun. i dont know if i can sing like joan jett though

4. That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings

i have no idea how i even found out about this song but it goes so hard .

5. Madison by Orla Gartland

madison is my proof to my irls that i listened to orla gartland before heartstopper because when i was writing my english creative piece i had it stuck in my head so i named the two characters madison and orla.

6. Waiting in the Wings from Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure

legit have not even seen this show. i just watched this animatic on youtube and i have been hooked on it ever since. it just makes me Feel Things.

7. Real Gone by Sheryl Crow

the song from cars. my brother has watched cars so much out loud that i have grown to love this song. my teacher also saw me listening to it once and got excited that i also liked sheryl crow

8. My Tennessee Mountain Home by Dolly Parton

omg showing off that broad music taste. country music gets so much slander and for what. i love this song so much.

9. 1985 by Bo Burnham

slaps.

10. Bright Lights Bigger City/Magic from Pitch Perfect

i am obsessed with pitch perfect. it is so misogynistic and so feminist at the same time.

honestly though. these are just the most recent songs ive listened to lol!

no pressure tags for some mutuals and some people i see in my notes quite often:

@yaznomarbles @woweejoeyrichter @wands-n-lillies @ironghostie @guyhusbands @franken-pigeon @hillerska-official @fluencca @an-odd-idea @wouldthehill @whyare-youlooking

@insanitysmiles @comradebacterium @auaddict @bluedragonbaby @coffeeflavoredtears525600 @cowboy-lesbian @darkarfs @murkat @brorphine @repetitive-tautology

jeez that was a lot more tags than i thought i would do but. yeah. do it or dont do it

34 notes - Posted June 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[beelsbaby]

yummy love | Beelzebub

Chapter Fifteen: I love you!

Summary: Everyone knows that Beel simps for you the most, even you, but you think Beel deserves better. Can Beelzebub break down your walls?

Note: I was supposed to post this a few minutes ago but as I was copying it I accidentally deleted it and I almost had a panic attack but I got it back and I’m okay 😊 I am so sad that the next chapter of yummy love is the last one, thank you all for the love you’ve shown me and the fic, I love you all 💘 ALSO! I’m posting a Megumi fic tomorrow, it’s super fluffy ahhh can’t wait for you guys to read it!!

Previous | Next

“You look amazing, Y/n!” Asmo squeals as you look at yourself in the mirror. Asmo really did go all out. You look incredible, even if it was just casual wear.

“Thank you, Asmo. You really outdid yourself!”

Asmo smiled at you, “What time will he pick up?” He asked. You glanced at your D.D.D, 6:50.

“Like 10 minutes... Asmo, I’m super nervous!” You sigh as you flop onto your bed. What if Beel changed his mind? What if you embarrassed yourself or something?

“Y/n, get up! I just styled your hair!” Asmo huffs at you, “And there’s no reason to be nervous! Beel is going to love the way you look. I mean, you could wear a potato sack and Beel would still love you! But it’s not about your look... isn’t it?”

You shake your head. “What if he realizes that he could do better than me? What if he gets bored of me?” You sigh.

Asmo takes a deep breath, “That would never happen! Because it’s simply not true. Y/n, you’re great— amazing even. You have changed all of us. You made us feel like a family again. You did that. You don’t even know the power you possess. Beel would never stop loving you. I mean that dummy’s head over heels for you and he’s never loved anyone but us. If he loves you, it’s because he knows how beautiful and special you are. Y/n! No stop crying! You’re going to get all puffy!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” You giggle while gently wiping off your tears. “How do I look?” You ask.

“Perfect. Beel won’t know what hit him!” Asmo smiles, “Now come here.”

Asmo pulls you into a gentle hug. Ever since you came down to the Ddevildom, the brothers have made you feel nothing short of special. You might of changed their lives but little did they know... they changed yours too.

Your thoughts were interrupted when you hear a loud knock at your door, the loud noise causing you to jump away from Asmo.

“Lover boy is here. You ready?” Asmo asks you.

“Absolutely not... I feel a little nauseous.” You pout. Asmo laughs, “You’ll be fine! Now go to your bathroom.”

“Wait why do I have to go to the bathroom?!” You whisper-yelled at Asmo as he shoved you into your bathroom.

“It’s for the suspense, duh!” He whisper-yelled back at you, “I’ll get the door!”

He shut the bathroom door and went to open your bedroom door.

“Oh, Y/n, I thought you had changed your mind about— Asmo?” Beel looks down confusingly at his older brother. Why was Asmo in your room right your date?

“Oh relax, little brother! I was just helping Y/n prepare for your date. No need to get all jealous! Come on out, Y/n!” Asmo giggled.

Beel scoffed, “I’m not jeal... ous” Beel trails off as he sees you come out the bathroom. He always knew you were beautiful, but damn.

“Hi Beel.” You smiled up at him. He felt his knees go weak with the cute little bashful smile you gave him.

“Y/n... you look beautiful. Very beautiful.”

You feel your cheeks heat up. Geez, Beel could tell you a simple math equation and you’d still blush. You really have it bad.

“You look very good, Beel!” You yelled, “I’m sorry! I mean you look very nice, too.”

Beel laughs when he sees your frazzled face, “Thank you, sweetheart. Are you ready to go?” He asks while extending his hand. You feel like you can’t speak so you just nod and eagerly take his hand in yours.

As you both begin to leave your room, you turn back to Asmo and wave at him with your other hand.

“Bye, sweetheart. Have fun!” Asmo teases as he slowly closes your door. You roll your eyes and flip him off. A bad habit you’ve picked up from Mammon. You hear him fake gasp as you and Beel walk down the stairs.

“Sooo, where are we going?” You ask Beel as you guys walk out the House.

“You’ll see. Are you scared of motorcycles?” Beel asks you.

“Motorcycles? No, not really... why?”

Beel leads you to gate, where you see a dark blue and orange motorcycle parked.

“Well, I don’t have the best wings for flying, so Lucifer gave me this when he first came here. I guess he also knew I really liked seeing humans ride on bikes like this so he saw it as a win win... you don’t mind?”

You shake your head, “I don’t. Just be careful, yeah?”

“Of course, I have precious cargo.” He laughs as he passes you a helmet. You put it on with a small smirk, Asmo would kill you if he saw you right now. He’d say you ruined his hard work.

Beel gets on the bike and starts it. You stare at him for a second. You didn’t think he could get more attractive but he just proved you completely wrong.

“Well? You coming?” He smirks at you. You nod, and climb up behind him. You wrap you arms around his waist.

“Hold on tight!” He shouts as he revs the bike and kicks up the kickstand.

“Beel!” You yelp as you squeeze his waist tighter. You hear him chuckle.

He drives for a few minutes before he turns into a small park. The park was surprisingly full.

When Beel steps off the bike, he gently grabs your waist, picks you up, then sets you down in front of him.

“Beel! I could have gotten down.” You yelp.

“I know, I just wanted an excuse to touch you.” He grins at you, his hands still on your waist.

You take off your helmet and you fix your hair, “You know, I kind of like this cocky side of you.” You giggle.

Beel smiles, “Really? Good, because I didn’t think it was working.”

“Have you been trying to act all confident for me?” You asked.

“More like.. I’m trying to be more confident. For you.”

You smile, “Beelzebub. I like you just the way you are. I do like your confident side, but if it’s too much, be you. I like you, anyway.”

Beel blushes and pulls you to his chest by your waist.

“Thank you, Y/n. But just knowing that you love me makes me the cockiest demon in the Devildom.” He smirks.

You scoff, “Hey hey, I never said anything about love!”

“But you do!” Beel’s laugh was always so contagious, you had no choice but to laugh along with him.

He pulls away from you and lead you into the park. You see some demons sitting on the ground chatting, others playing sports, and the younger ones playing at the playground.

“Beel?” You ask him as you both take a seat on the ground.

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

“Not that I’m complaining but what are we doing here?” You ask.

He points to the dark sky, “You’ll see in a moment.”

You look up at the sky and for a moment you notice nothing. If you seconds later the dark sky is illuminated by exploding flashes of different colors. It’s such a beautiful sight, you can’t help but smile and turn back to Beel.

“Beel! It’s so pretty! But why?”

Beel laughs at how loud you have to speak. “It’s a Devildom holiday today!” He yells back. You turn back to the sky watching the beautiful fireworks display. Beel, however, continues to stare at you. You might’ve thought the sky was a pretty sight, but he thought you were the best looking thing he’s ever seen.

“You’re beautiful.” He mutters to you.

“What?” You yell at him, not hearing him well enough.

“You’re beautiful! And I love you!” He yells back.

You smile up at him, I love you too!”

Beel’s eyes widen for a second. You said you loved him. You actually said you loved him. You didn’t say you thought you did, like the last time. He feels his heart swell with pure joy. He gently grasps you face with his hand, slowly pulling you in, slowly enough to give you a chance to back out if you didn’t want this. But you didn’t back out. Instead, you flutter your eyes closed and slowly lean in until both your lips touched. His kiss was full of love and passion. It felt like forever kissing Beel. But it was a forever you’d happily be stuck in. You let out a small whine when he reluctantly pulls away.

“Y/n... be mine... please? I want to do that forever.” Beel sighs happily.

“Of course, Beel. But you realize I’ve always been yours, right?” You giggle.

Beel smiles and pulls you onto his lap.

“And I’ve always been yours.” He says before pulling you down, kissing you passionately. You’ve never felt like you belonged anywhere, but in this moment you knew you were meant to be here with Beel.

“I...love... you!” He mumbles in between kisses.

You giggled, “I love you too!”

“Say it again.” He laughs.

“I said I love you!” You laugh as he hugs you tightly.

You lean your head on his chest and hug him back. You both never wanted to let go.

Suddenly, you hear a low growl coming from Beel’s stomach. You slowly pull away, giggling at the sound.

“I’m sorry, Y/n. I thought I ate enough to last until we got back.” He sighs.

“Aw Beel! Let’s go back so you can eat.” You tell him, standing up.

“No, I feel like I’m ruining our date.” He pouts.

“We can continue it at the House! I’ll even cook for you~”

He quickly stand ups up, “I love you!” He smiles brightly. You smile back, “I love you too. Now let’s go back, your stomach growls are starting to get peoples attention!”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Asmo is such a bestie 🥰

Beel on a bike ??? We stan 😳

I want a Beel 🥺

Taglist (Closed):

@imnotyourramonaflowersbruh

@pumpkinpatchkid

@kpop-and-otome

@moremilkforkags

@witch-o-memes

@aspenflower17

@0-miles-away

@mangobangi

@bakudekuwa

@fluffimemes

@minniboe

@clawsbox

@justa-booknerd

#obey me beelzebub #obey me asmodeus #obey me belphegor #obey me leviathan #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me satan #obey me x reader #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me solomon #obey me simeon #obey me luke #obey me mc #obey me beel x reader #obey me headcanons #obey me otome #obey me imagine #obey me imagines #obey me fanfic #obey me fic #obey me smau #obey me #obey me x mc #obey me shall we date #obey me fluff #anime imagines #anime #otome boys

[aescapisms]

dear lucas (4)

pairing: luke hemmings x ofc

word count: 3.2k

summary: When Luke receives a letter from a person who broke his heart 2 years ago, he realises that he never really fell out of love from this girl, and will do anything to bring her back.

a/n: my tag list is open! just message me :)

Ashton found Luke sleeping on the couch holding Chloe’s letter close to his heart, gripping it as if he was holding Chloe and if he didn’t hold on tight, she would somehow be taken away from him.

It pained Ashton to see him like this and it broke his heart knowing that he was a part of the reason why he’s suffering. All of this because of a promise; Ashton hated himself for that because he can’t break a promise he made and Chloe used that to her advantage, but after years of keeping it, he understood why he did it.

Calum saw him looking at Luke and so he told Ashton that he wanted to talk.

So they went outside and did just that.

“Is she okay?” Calum asked, hinting the worry for his ‘sister’

“Yeah. She is.” Ashton sighed and added “For now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.”

“Well, does she know how Luke is holding up? He’s a mess. The guy from 2 years ago is showing up.”

“DO you really think that Chloe isn’t suffering herself?” Ashton got defensive of her, because he knew.

���How would you know?”

“I just do okay? And I can tell you that if you can see Luke suffering like that, Chloe is suffering even more.”

“Then why don’t they just get back together? They clearly love each other. Why does she have to make it so complicated?” Calum asked Ashton.  “Why did she break up with Luke? There, just answer that last question.”

“If you want to know why ask Luke.”

“Ask Luke what?” Michael interrupted.

“Why Chloe and Luke broke up.”

“Oh. Well stop it. He’s looking for you guys. I think there’s something wrong with him.”

It wasn’t something though.

Everything is wrong with Luke.

“I want to find her.” Luke stated before they could ask what’s wrong.

“No.” Ashton stated.

“Why not? She wants to be found!” Luke yelled at Ashton.

“You read her letter right? Because I am sure as hell that she would tell you not to find her.” Ashton stated confidently.

“Well then you clearly don’t know her that well because Chloe always---always wants to be found and I will find her.”

“Luke—“

“Why does it seem that you don’t want me to find her? What is it that you’re so fucking afraid of for me to see?” Luke lashed out because he’s had enough. Usually it was Ashton who will tell him to do things, especially involving Chloe, but for the last few years Ashton became a totally different person.

Luke thought that he was a different person, little did he know that Ashton became one.

Ashton was clearly fuming too because he just screamed the words “Because you won’t like what you will fucking see!”

And they all became silent.

Till Ashton’s phone rang and the caller ID read Chloe.

He answered it immediately in hopes that he would calm down when he hears that she’s fine.

“Chloe?” the three boys turned to look at him but they knew by the look on Ashton’s face that it wasn’t Chloe.

“It’s Amy. I’m worried Ash.”

“Is that her??” Luke asked, Ashton shook his head.

“Why?” Ashton asked Amy.

Amy told Ashton her worries, and Ashton assured her that it will be all right; She would be all right.

The call ended after that.

“I need to find her.” Luke confessed.

“We all do, but Luke, we’ve got shows and—“

“Fuck the shows Calum. She would—“

“Want you to do the show Luke.”  Michael spoke up after a long time. “The only time I’ve seen her so happy besides being with you was when she’s watching us perform live.”

“but she…”

“She will watch the concert” Ashton said the words so quietly as if it was a secret he was afraid to share. “She always does.”

“She does?” Calum asked, Ashton nodded.

“How do you know?”

“She promised us right? I thought it was a joke but, there are times that I’ve seen her in the V.I.P section.”

“Then let’s use that to our advantage!” Michael spoke up, “Let’s you know hand out pictures of her or post a picture of her on Twitter asking people to look at her in our shows, or practically anywhere.” The other three fell silent contemplating the idea that Michael handed “Come on. We were born with these technologies, let’s not waste it.”

And so they did. A picture of Chloe circulated the internet, others trying to find her and others trying to find information about her.

It trended on Twitter with the hashtag ‘FindingChloe’.

Michael, Luke, Ashton and Calum spent hours on the internet looking at what people tweeted or if there are pictures of her, anything that would give them hope.

The other half of the fandom that is gathering information about Chloe Lyle ended up with only her Name, and Birthday. She didn’t have Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr. They did find an Instagram account but it was private with 0 following, and 124 posts and 1 follower.

What they didn’t know was that, Chloe deleted herself in the internet 2 years ago when she started dating Luke.

Because she knew their potential and she was afraid of being exposed in the internet.

“HOW’S IT GOING MANILA!!”  Calum asked the whole arena shouted.

“Okay. Calum you asked that for like 5 times now.” Michael remarked and everyone else laughed.

“So, this next song is a very special song that our dear friend Luke will give the introduction to.”

The whole arena chanted Luke’s name and so he smiled. Maybe not like the way he used to, but it was a start.

“This next song, is a very special song. It’s about a special girl—-“ The crowd went wild. Everyone was expecting to hear a name but all they got was “—girl named Amnesia.”

All of them laughed, even Ashton.

“I drove by all the places we used to hang out getting wasted.”

Everyone sang along to the words but they can hear a certain sadness in Luke’s voice. It didn’t escape their cunning eyes the way Luke scanned the crowd looking for a certain someone.

Luke scanned the crowd.

And standing there, looking at him is Chloe Lyle, the most important girl in his life.

Before the encore, Chloe made her way out.

She always leaves before the last song because she doesn’t want to hear them say good bye. There’s been too many goodbyes in her life, she doesn’t think that she can handle any more of it.

On her way out, she noticed a lot of people waiting outside, the unlucky ones who didn’t get a chance to buy a ticket.

Another thing that she noticed was that, a girl kept on staring at her. Trying to recognize the face that she was wearing. Chloe stopped looking at the girl and decided to go home. She was travelling and she needed to go to the next country.

She didn’t know about how half of the fans of 5 Seconds of Summer was looking for her. She didn’t know that, but in a little while later her sister, Amy would.

Twitter Update

   #FindingChloe 781k people are talking about this

“Luke!” Michael shouted, “Someone posted a picture of her!” the three lads came dashing to the couch where Michael was sitting.

“Where?” Luke asked the grabbed Michael’s phone.

“ LOL5SOS @5sosplswtf

   “OMFG I SAW HER SHE’S SO BEAUTIFUL. #FindingChloe”

 LOL5SOS @5sosplswtf

   “#FindingChloe Just outside the Arena, wearing skinny jeans a white shirt and a leather jacket. #IFoundHer pic/QitfLj”

“8:41 PM? That’s before the encore”  Calum deduced, “She—She left before the encore. Ashton what are you doing?”

“Amy is bombarding my phone with texts. I think she found out.”

“I’m gonna go outside see if she’s still there.”

“She’s not there anymore.” Michael told him after checking his phone for the 4th time.

“Someone tweeted.”

      “Shine @youremyshiningstar

           “Thank you @5SOS it was an amazing show! heading back to L.A now. pic.t/QitjYr”

“This girl took a selfie and Chloe was sitting right beside her on a plane bound for L.A.” Michael told him after seeing a couple hundred of retweets as regards to the picture.

“Why is she heading back to L.A?” Michael asked.

“Manila is the last one for our Asian tour after that we’ll be on a break right?”  Calum said remembering the details.

“I’m going back to L.A tonight.” Luke announced.

“Luke, don’t be an idiot stay here and we’ll figure this out okay? Just, go get some rest and we’ll head to L.A tomorrow at 10 A.M.” Ashton told him, Luke was about to protest but the way Ashton said those words made him stop.

He looked at Michael and Calum, the exhaustion from the show can be seen from their faces even though they’re smiling.

“I’m sorry.” Luke apologized “It’s just that…I really want to see her you know. I  have so many questions and I really need some answers.” Luke sighed “When it comes to her I just—I don’t know, its like everything fades away and seeing her is all I could ever think about.” The boys looked at him in awe, “So I’m sorry.”

For the first time since this happened, Ashton laughed. “All of us in here knows how much you love her, don’t you think that we wouldn’t do anything for you guys? I was hesitant at first because it was something that I promised to Chloe, and you guys know how much I hate breaking promises, so I guess I would like to apologize for that too.” Ashton took his jacket and slung it on his shoulders, “But I’m also going to apologize in advance if I won’t give any information that I know about her, not this time.”  He then went out of the room and sent a message to the person in question—Chloe.

Then

“Chloe!” Luke shouted.

“What do you want this time? I’m trying to study for fuck’s sake.”

“Oh?” Luke asked taking a seat beside her, “What subject?”

“Chemistry, we’ll have our midterms the day after tomorrow and this is the first time that I opened my notes.” Chloe told him with a hint of annoyance that is directed to herself. “Do you need any help?” Luke asked her, knowing that she’s probably pissed at herself for opening her notes in a crucial time such as this.

“No, I’m fine. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?”

He looked at herand smiled “Let’s just talk about it after your exams, I don’t want it to mess up with your brain.”

“YA! What did you mean mess up with my brain??” Chloe shouted and swatted his head with the notes she’s been reviewing for the past hour. “I’m telling you this now, so listen carefully.” She said calming her nerves, then looked at him and smiled mischievously “If you’re planning to break-up with me, let it go. I’m not gonna let that happen, I love you too damn much.”

IT wasn’t Luke’s inention to break-up with her, nor has it ever crossed his mind. “Well, what if we get into a really big fight?” He asked. She took the ballpen and twirled it around her fingers, “Then we’ll talk it out. If there’s a problem we’re going to fix it.And if I push you away, because I tend to do that—-” He took her hand and interlaced their fingers which made her smile. “And if you…” he started and made her face him “…if you push me away, I’ll grab your hands and pull you closer because there will be no ‘pushing you away’ in this relationship. We’re in this together.”

Chloe’s face felt hot and suddenly turned red. “We won’t be together for the summer if I fail an exam so go and scoot because I have to study and I really want to spend my summer with you. We’ll be together for the whole summer.”

Luke laughed and stood up. “I’ll go now, call me when you need a ride home.”

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting? You can’t drive, besides I’ll be fine. Bye.” Luke pouted but kissed her forehead, he didn’t want to go but Chloe needed to study. “I love you. See you later.”  He then left her without telling her about the band’s decision to move to London.

“But…what if Chloe breaks up with me? What if she can’t handle the long distance…what if…” Luke expressed his thoughts to guys during a band practice.

“Luke, she already told you that you guys are not going to break up. Do you really think that she’s going to break up with you? Just because you want to pursue your dreams?” Ashton told him while he was taping up his drums.

“What if all those times that we’ll spend together she’s going to find someone better then break up with me?”

Michael laughed as if he heard the funniest joke ever made.

“Dude, there are so many times that she already met someone better. But what did she do? She didn’t even bat an eye, she’s in love with you, give her some credit.”

“Luke, before imagining those stuffs, you must first tell Chloe about this okay?” Calum told him.

“Tell me about what?” Chloe asked when she appeared in the front door.

“Chloe..” Luke started off.

“You’re not seriously thinking of breaking up with me are you? Because that speech earlier would’ve been so awkward.” Chloe told him as she took a seat at the couch where Michael was. “No, that’s not it, it’s something serious.”

“Holy shit. You’re not dying aren’t you?”

Luke face-palmed, since she has to know the truth he decided to just break it out. “Chloe, the band’s moving to London.”

‘Oh’ was the only thing that came out of Chloe’s mouth. Then she became completely silent. The others began to worry. They’re really close to Chloe and treat her like a part of the family but if she’s really against this they wouldn’t know what to do.

“When are you guys leaving?” She asked after an eerie silence.

“Next Sunday.” Ashton told her.

“Okay. I’m going to go home right now…” Chloe muttered.

“Chloe.”

“I have to go. I’ll call you.” Chloe smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Ashton held Luke back because he had every intention of following her, and knowing Chloe, she wouldn’t like that.

Chloe didn’t call the next day so Luke did, however Amy was the one to pick up the call and not the one he intended to.

“Luke? What did you do this time?”

“What? She’s crying. Oh god.”

“What? No she’s not—“

“What do you mean?”

“She didn’t go home till late last night. She came from the library—“

“She didn’t she was with me last night”

“Then how would you explain all the books that she carried last night?”

“What do you mean?”

“She put all of her electronics in my room and told me to not disturb her because she’ll be studying. Did you guys have one of your bets again?”

“What no! She’s studying? She didn’t say anything?”

“Yeah. She’ll only come out of the room to eat and that would be exactly 20 minutes everyday. We see her for roughly an hour per day. I don’t think she sleeps. So tell me what happened?”

“N-Nothing..I’m going to hang up now.”

“What did she say?” Ashton asked.

“It was Amy. And she said that Chloe locked herself up in her room because she was studying…”

“Really? Maybe she’s lying? Maybe she’s crying.” Michael told him not making the situation any better so Calum threw a pair of boxers at him and said “Shut up.”

Luke tried to go to her house on Monday to wish her good luck for her exams but she wasn’t there. They said that she left early for school because her exam starts at 7 A.M. Which was odd because her exams should start around noon.

“Give her some space man.” Michael said as they entered the cafe where it all started. It was already 4 in the afternoon and Chloe still hasn’t contacted them.

“Oh. Luke! What are you doing here?” Jane asked. “Shouldn’t you be at the school? Chloe would need some serious cheering.”

“What do you mean?” Ashton asked clearly confused.

“She’s taking all of her exams today right? That’s why she told me that she wouldn’t attend work for this week.”

“The whole week? Wait…She took the tests today? All of it?” Calum asked surprised “That must’ve been 7 subjects”

“It was 9 subjects.” Jane corrected him.

“Why would she do that? She’s going to fail!”

“No. She’s not.” Joey told him, “She’s a really bright student you know. You didn’t know that she’s the top of her class?”

“Yeah. I know that but to take on 9 subjects for a day? That’s suicide! Her parents would surely—“

“You still don’t know about her photographic memory?” Jane asked him.

Joey laughed and said “She has photographic memory, well a bit. And on top of that she’s a really intelligent kid.”

“Why isn’t she the top 1 in her grade then?”

“That’s because she doesn’t even bother to study. She’s busy working for Amy, since she went here 6 months ago because she doesn’t want to live with their parents anymore. CHloe’s the one supporting Amy’s education and the one teaching her, on top of that she has to remain in the top 5 of the class becasue she applied for the scholarship.” Jane explained like it was a known fact.

“You’re her boyfriend right? Then why is it that you have no idea about these stuffs about her?” Joey asked.

“She—“

“Aish. You know how she is. She wouldn’t bother him with stuffs like that especially now.” Jane said smacking his brother.

She was going through these kinds of hardships and he was too pre-occupied to see it. They were in a relationship and he was only focused on his dreams when in fact he should’ve been focused on both of their dreams.

“Dante was wrong. Because this day was from the 10th circle of hell.” Chloe appeared at the door and Luke immediately hugged her.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

She looked confused then let go of his hug. “Well, I was thinking that if I finish the exams in one day I would be able to spend my week with you.”

“You—You weren’t mad?”

She laughed “Why would I be mad? This is your dream, and I will support you.”

“But this will be a pretty big change. For me, for us.” Luke told her as they sat down.

“Look.” She said holding his hand, “Whatever change you might need I will be there with you through it all, I won’t ask you to never change because not changing would mean not growing. As an artist you must grow in order to explore stuffs needed in you music. I love you, okay? And I will never leave your side.”

Calum, Michael and Ashton sat there in stunned silence thinking about what Luke did in his past or present life to deserve a girl like Chloe.

Little did they know, Luke asks that question every single day. 

next part [the lying game]

#luke #luke hemmings #luke hemming imagines #luke hemmings fanfic #5sos #5 seconds of summer #michael clifford #ashton irwin #calum hood

[whalefairyfandom12]

Your Love's a Fucking Drag (But I Need it So Bad)

Summary: Dan likes black and leather jackets, Phil likes reading in solitude and playing video games. But they have one thing in common as new roommates at uni: They are both completely straight. Just because they like to get each other off every once in a while doesn’t make it any different.

A/N: We've been writing this fic for over a year now and it's strange to think this is the last time we'll be doing this. Thank you so much for all of your support and we hope you enjoy the final chapter <33

Masterpost

Chapter Nine

 *picks up after “true bros swallow” from chapter seven

-

don’t judge me makila

I’m 110% judging right now smh no homo just bromo

I came here to have a good time and im honestly feeling so attacked rn

Not as attacked as Dan’s cock amiright

STOP THIS IMMEDIATELy

...That's what he said and then Phil made him

My mind is literally blank rn jfc i have absolutely no comebacks whatsoever

On a scale of one to Dan’s mind during orgasm from a brojob how blank?

Like dan’s mind during orgasm and then some

Yet somehow Phil Lester’s lips aren't involved. I think he got the better deal, really. Also cuddles after

Im jealous of dan i want phil lester’s cuddles :<

I swear to god we sound so ace right now 100 to 0 real fast

*writes sex scene* “Wow i cant wait to cuddle the fuck out of phil” 100% ace

Seriously though Phil probably gives some of the best cuddles imaginable I'm jealous

My friend met him and she said he gives the best hugs out of anyone she’s ever met

You know what fuck Phan I'm stealing Phil for myself

“Hi do u have any philxreader fics” dats u

“I don't want the yang wang dang just the hugging”

Im fucking pissing myself im hilarious

I think my mom just heard that snort

Im literally laughing so hard and my dogs started barking bc of it christ i need sleep

Jesus Christ has very little to do with this conversation, trust me ;)))))))))))))

I hope he isn’t too mad that i started involving him in our crimes

We’re all going to hell anyway, what's one more crime really

Imagine if jesus went to hell with us JESUS READS TOO MUCH GAY PORN

“So what was your punishment?”

“I liked sucking cocks too”

“Same. Only bros?”

“True bros swallowed. Dat was me.”

Jeezy wheezy (sry i cant type wow) thats amazing and i had something to say but i dont REMEMBER

They say losing your memory this early means you're definitely screwed and damned to hell

I mean we already knew i was going to hell so whats the difference

I've spent my evening reading gay porn stars AU instead of studying that ship has sailed

Porn star aus are the best thing ever no ragerts

“Ragerts”-Rachel, 2016

The sin has clouded your thoughts

Im gonna get that tattooed on me “no ragerts”

You can say not only were you extremely drunk when you got it you were also drunk when you thought it up. A win win

“How did you get that tattoo??” “Well im always drunk man”

“Drunk on gay smut and memes”

I read too much about bros swallowing loads

You need to fire your autocorrect and get a better one

Im on my computer so looks like i just have to fire my brain

Our wordcount has upped significantly can we just keep this here. “Now presenting a short intermission from your writers”

Oh my god when we upload the last chapter (whenever the fuck that will be jesus christ what are we doing with this story) we should post this

Imagine the day when our inboxes will no longer be filled with messages of “WHEN THE FUCK IS THE NEXT CHAPTER OF YLAFD GOING TO BE UP??????”

That’s the day that the earth will truly implode

See the real question is who’s going to store all these screenshots on their camera roll? Forfeit those sick GBs

I can screenshot them on my computer hahaha

Way to ruin the moment Rachel wooooooow :(((((((( That was so low not even Dan could recover (get it because he’s a bottom? I'm so tired smh)

Sorry bro (*insert lenny face here bc im too lazy to do that*) i hope dans proud of me

He knows it's just about bros doing bro things I'm sure he’d fully endorse our fics. (And let’s be honest, I'll bet you one hundred dollars this hasn't happened to him at least once)

Oh him and phil have d e f i n i t el I GIVE UP fucked

Which will come out first? Dan Howell or Sherlock’s next season? YO MAMA’S SO FAT BY THE TIME SHE TURNS AROUND DAN HOWELL CAME OUT!!!!!1!

JESUS CHriST “How many licks does it take for dan howell to come out?” “The world may never know”

Oh he’ll be coming all right *insert lenny face*

HE’LL BE COMING AROUND THE MOUNTAIN WHEN HE COMES

╚═( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)═╝╚═(███)═╝╚═(███)═╝.╚═(███)═╝..╚═(███)═╝…╚═(███)═╝…╚═(███)═╝..╚═(███)═╝.╚═(███)═╝╚═(███)═╝.╚═(███)═╝..╚═(███)═╝…╚═(███)═╝…╚═(███)═╝…..╚(███)╝……╚(██)╝………(█)……….*

WHAT THE FUCK MAKILA NO the human centipede lol

ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ POOP

Ur enjoying urself aren’t u

FIGHT ME (ง ͠° ͟ل͜ ͡°)ง (what? I don't have an entire wall of lenny’s saved to my notes for this very purpose that would be ridiculous haha ha ha ha…)

Usually when i use a lenny face i go back and copy it from one of my friend’s text messages so ALL THE JUDGEMENT HERE UR FIRED

AT LEAST LENNY STILL LOVES ME 
( ͡°╭͜ʖ╮͡° )ᕤ holy shit we broke 14k yay us #rakilaftwrioolymipcs2k16

(ʘ‿ʘ✿) we literally broke 14k because we wrote an entire essay about how much of a meme we are (why is this a different color text wtf)

All better. The perfectionist in me is satisfied.

Im proud of you makkypoo

BU-BUT SENPAIIIIIIII REALLY????? JU-JUST ME???????

JUST U MACKLEMORE (i think im so funny)

Macklemore I'm dying (right and Phil’s dating Dan. Oh wait)

I think your nickname is no longer makila but instead macklemore

Once we release these screenshots it will be THANKS RACHEL UR FIRED NOW

BUT ): A KOUHAI CANT HIRE THEIR SENPAIIIIIIII (also i hope you start getting messages about macklemore now)

WOW I FEEL SO LOVED :,(((((((((( a single man tear

A man tear… like uh i dont have a fucking comeback im So TIRED LIKE UR MUMS MAN TEAR

THE NERVE!!!!!!!!!1!1! WELL YOUR MUM’S MAN TEAR IS SO UNMANLY NOT EVEN DAN WOULD THINK IT WAS ATTRACTIVE SO THERE BITE ME

Cuz we all know dan thinks every man tear is attractive rip to dan’s heart (and his sexuality)

“Here lies Dan’s heterosexuality and heteronormativity. It will be sorely--screw it no it won't.”

Dan’s heterosexuality&heteronormativity,,, June 10, 1991 - Today (what is today) August 20, 2016

“We gather to celebrate with smut and Lenny human centipedes.” I need sleep so badly right now smh I'm dead tomorrow

GO TO SLEEP (honestly i do too i have to wake up early to move back to uni rip)

I will if you do. A bro pact. (A broct? Pacbro?)

Just… stop right there LOL lets form a broct(?) and just brosleep it out

I hope Phil brohugs you bro

Thanks bro i hope phil brocuddles u my dude, my bro

Aw you mean it bro? U r always there for me, man, I luv u u r like a brother to me, bro

Bro… oh my god bro, that’s the broest thing anyones ever said to me… i love u bro.. Like bromantically

Not as much as I platonically 110% heterosexually love u bro. Just bromo tho no homo

That’s the new phrase of this fic “just bromo, no homo”

*deletes summary and changes it to that* seriously why aren't we sleeping GO TO BED RAKILA

OKAY IM GONNA ACTUALLY SLEEP NOW CUZ WE NEED IT

NIGHT BRO DON’T LET THE FIREFLIES BITE MAN

NIGHT TO U TOO BROKILA DONT LET TO BRO BUGS BITE

#your love's a fucking drag (but I need it so bad) #ylafdbinisb #fanfiction #phan #phanfiction #phan au #this is it guys #the end #:'))

[burnoutbilly]

do all the asks since ur making me do them too smh

1. Post a picture of u? - Let's not2. Would you date an 18-year-old at the age you are now? - That's i l l e g a l3. Do you prefer to be friends with girls or boys? - I'm fine either way4. Would you ever smile at a stranger? - Always!5. Can you commit to one person? - You bet I can :06. How do you look right now? - Tired7. What exactly are you wearing right now? - My boxers dude8. How often do you listen to music? - Every day9. Do you wear jeans or sweats more? - Jeans? I haven't worn sweats in forever10. Do you think your life will change dramatically before 2015? - W e l l  y o u  s e e11. Are you a social or an antisocial person? - I'm pretty social12. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say? - Be sad because I love her13. Are you good at hiding your feelings? - I've been told that I'm not >:014. Can you drive a stick shift? - Not yet15. Do you care if people talk badly about you? - Yeah but I try not to show it16. Are you going out of town soon? - We were gonna go to Mexico but I don't thibk that's gonna happen anytime soon,,,17. When was the last time you cried? - A couple months ago probably18. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to? - I don't think so :V19. If you could change your eye color, would you? - I've always loved green eyes so m a y b e20. Name something you have to do tomorrow? - Finish my gotdamn Englisg project21. Name something you dislike about the day you’re having. - It was boring22. Have you ever liked one of your best friends of the opposite sex? - Well I mean y e a h my gf is my best friend23. Are you nice to everyone? - I try to be24. What are you sitting on right now? - A bed25. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat? - Well damn yeah26. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have? - Probably27. Who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed last night? - You 👀28. Do you get a lot of colds? - I used to get sick a lot so kinda29. Have your pants ever fallen down in public? - My shorts fell down in a flea market when I was like 730. Does anyone hate you? - B E E F31. Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to? - It's you so yeah32. Do you like watching scary movies? - Oh boy you b e t33. Are you a jealous person? - Sometimes yeah but I can't help it,,34. If you had to delete one year of your life completely, which would it be? - I'll go with 7th grade35. Did you have a dream last night? - Yeah it was spooke36. Is there anyone you can tell EVERYTHING to? - It's y o u37. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years? - *Shrug Emoji* who knows38. Do you think someone has feelings for you? - I mean I would hope you do39. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? - I hope you are 👀👀40. Did you have a good day yesterday? - I think so yeah41. Think back 2 months ago; were you in a relationship? - Yep42. Is your life anything like it was two years ago? - Not at all, nope43. If the person you wish to be with were with you, what would you be doing right now? - Cuddling probably 👀44. What’s the best part about school? - Seeing you and my friends45. Do you have any pictures on your Facebook? - Don't have one46. Do you ever pass notes to your friends in school? - I shout at them from across the class so no47. Do you replay things that have happened in your head? - Hooboy all the time48. Were you single over the last summer? - Yeah49. What are you supposed to be doing right now? - Sleepin50. Don’t tell me lies, is the last person you texted attractive? - YOU'RE DAMN R I G H T SHE IS (It's you)

[wittesworldtravelblog]

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Blogging…who would have thought it was this difficult to get started?  I thought about doing a blog for years.  Why not?  I love to write, share stories, travel, eat great food!  The perfect recipe for a great blog, right!?!  Well I am here to tell you, it isn’t all writing, eating, traveling, and raking in the money!  

“Why Blog?”

Why blog? I heard that if you write a quality blog, you could go places and do things that you would never have done without the blog.  You can travel to new and exciting places…for free!  You can eat at nice restaurants, and not pay a dime.  You can make money by writing short articles about things you love!  I love to write, dine at restaurants, travel to new places!  I thought, this is the perfect job for me.  I set out to make it happen!  I searched for, “How to Start a Blog”, and proceeded to read and learn.  I have learned so much since that day!

“Truth is…”

Truth is, the only places I have been so far is my couch, my dining room table, and some local restaurants.  I have had one semi-sponsored post (a discounted meal and a free drink, which I appreciate more than words can express).  I can’t even get my family and friends to subscribe to my blog!  Without the subscribers no one is going to look and me and say, “Hey, look…people like her so we should ask her to do a blog on us…never going to happen!  No one ever told me how hard it would be to get people to subscribe to a blog!  I just thought my writing, passions, and love for what I was doing would make it happen. 

“Want more truth? Probably not…”

Want more truth?  Probably not, but you are getting them anyway!  A blog costs money!  You have to pay for a host site (if you want to monetize your blog), training (I have no idea what I am doing), materials to plan your blog, set up an office, an e-mail service, your theme, your logo, pictures (yes, you have to buy pictures if you don’t have your own), money spent on places to get blogging material, and on and on and on!  I know with any business there is an investment, I just didn’t realize a blog would cost this much just to get it up and running!  I just can’t see the end of the tunnel and I am frustrated.  On a positive note, I am sending out my first round of letters, begging for sponsored post tomorrow!  This is the worst part!

“Begging does not become me!”

Blogging is difficult if you are not an extrovert.  I am definitely and introvert.  Sure to my family and friends I may seem like an outgoing person.  Truth is I have a difficult time with asking for anything! I hate being the center of attention.  I hate that I will have to ask businesses for free services for my blog.  Begging does not become me.  It is hard!  In order to get started with sponsored posts (getting paid to write a post for a product or service), seems easy enough… Ugh!  I just am not that type of person.  I am not wired that way.  I was taught nothing is free in life.  I guess I have to learn I am providing a service for free services/products, not just begging.  I mean, writing a quality blog post isn’t easy!

“Defeat is my middle name!”

Why do I feel defeated? I follow this blogging site, for new bloggers, these new bloggers are constantly posting, “#celebrate – Just launched my blog and I already have a thousand subscribers.  Oh yeah, and a famous magazine wants me to write a blog for them.  Oh yeah, and Disneyland wants me!”.  Okay, a bit exaggerated, but when you read these success stories, it reminds you of where you are…two months after launching and twenty-three subscribers!  I am still in the begging other bloggers, family, and friends to subscribe to my blog. Me, “Can you comment on my social media or share a post/tweet…anything!”.  Again, it goes back to that introverted thing.  Defeat is my middle name, I always feel defeated because I have a hard time putting myself out there in the first place.  This reminds me…have you subscribed to my blog yet?  LOL…no seriously, have you?  I doubt it.  Like I said, at this time I have a whopping twenty-three subscribers…after two months of begging…ugh!

“Constant fear of failure.”

At times, I think about deleting this blog and starting a new one, I can’t afford two blogs and this one is just not working.  After all I have learned in the last month, I may have done some things wrong (okay, most things wrong). I have a constant fear of failure.  This makes me want to go back to the beginning and start over.   Then I think of all the time, energy, money I have already put into this blog, I think about it and realize…no! Just pour more of what I learn into what you have already done!  You can do this!  You got this!  

“…believe it is a business and not just a hobby!”

My Office! My dog is always at my feet wanting me to pet him and play.

Another thing about blogging as a business is getting friends and family to actually believe it is a business and not just a hobby.  The bloggers that I am learning how to blog from (awkward sentence, but too tired to care) are making over a million dollars a year!  I know, they have done this for sixteen years.  I know I have a lot to go to get even $500 a month.  I know I have so much to learn and accomplish.  I know that it will take a while for the pay checks to roll in.  I do truly believe it will happen (even with my frustration, I know it will happen!).  As a business owner, the house may not get clean and I may not get dinner on the table every night.  

“…I have discovered that this will take a huge amount of time…”

Where does the time go?  I spend hours and hours a day working on my blog!  Some people make a lot of money because they have created these amazing classes on how to start a blog and charge bloggers a lot of money to take these classes.  Where do they get the time to create the curriculum?  I am a retired teacher!  I love writing curriculum, it was my forte!  It is 9:45 am and I am still in my pajamas, drinking coffee and blogging.  I haven’t cleaned the house all week, only cooked dinner two nights, and I am neglecting bills, dogs, grandchildren, husband, children, chickens, and life in general.  I am lucky I can work from home, but working from home makes it seem like you aren’t doing anything (to others!  I know I am working).  I am serious about making this a business and I have discovered that this will take a huge amount of time, each day to succeed!

“I love what I am doing!”

I love what I am doing!  I know they say if you want success, you need to enjoy what you are doing, and I do love blogging.  I hope that shows through my posts.  I love writing and I want this to succeed so I can continue to write.  I want people to come to my blog, sit back, relax and enjoy a good story.  I don’t want to scare people away with my advertising.  I know there are fears out there that there will be spam, or too many ads.  In truth, I need the ads to help me stay afloat, but unless you want to click on them, they are just there.  I will only e-mail when I have something important to say!  This is a business, I want it to succeed!  I would never do anything to send away my customers. 

“…the importance of interacting with bloggers…”

Finally, I don’t think people actually realize the importance of interacting with bloggers and what sponsors look for when they are looking to possibly sponsor you as a blogger.  Liking a blogger on social media is great, but sponsors look at the blog site.  Interacting with posts by commenting is huge!  Sponsors don’t necessarily look at how many people have as subscribed, but they definitely look at how many visits, how long you stay, how many clicks you make, which posts you read, how many comments, the quality of the comments.  They look to see if you are buying into the posts and you are being called to action. I spend about 50% of my time on other people’s blogs and social media interacting with their post.  In return, I hope that some of them will come back and reciprocate on my sites.  If you went somewhere from  a blog, or you want to go after a post that helps!  Let the blogger know!  Yes, sponsors also look at social media…are people interacting with the posts?  Sharing, commenting, liking.  It is a game bloggers have to play to get the business sponsors.  I guess it is like any business though, you have to play the game to succeed!

“On a positive note…”

PS – On a positive note, as I was putting the finishing touches on this post, Bluehost (the company that is hosting my site) sent me an e-mail and stated, “I visited wittesworld.com and I’m super impressed! I see a lot of potential on your site…”.   I will take each small success as an achievement.  I will then move on to make more successes.  I am so excited!!! Get your favorite drink and join me on my journey (my favorite drink is coffee in the morning and wine at night, with an occasional Grey Goose Martini with Blue Cheese Olives!).  Witte’s World Blog

My Favorite drinks, coffee and wine!

Lots and lots of wine!

And an occasional Martini with Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives!

Look for my next blog – How to Start a Blog!

Join me at Witte’s World Blog

Here are some affiliate links if you are thinking of starting your own blog.  Yes, it is frustrating, but also rewarding.  This is where I started and I am glad I started here:

It’s A Lovely Life – How to Start a Blog

Starting a Blog is FRUSTRATING! Join Me in My Quest of Becoming a Blogger! This post may contain affiliate links, please read my Disclosure Page for more information. Blogging...who would have thought it was this difficult to get started?  

#blog writing #blogging #blogging as a business #food #frustration #lifestyle #love my blog #love my life #starting a blog #travel #work from home

[thecyclingscouse]

London to Paris

So, seven sleeps until departure for me and my red (naturally!) bike. I have been persuaded to complete a blog (whatever that is) on Tumblr (which apparently is an App and not a glass), so this is my first paragraph. The fact I am rubbish with technology, probably means that I will end up accidentally deleting this post before it is actually posted. In fact, riding my red (naturally!) bike from London to Paris will probably prove somewhat easier than me figuring out how to post things into a glass that isn’t actually a glass! Anyway, let’s see how this goes and I will reconvene when there are only six sleeps until departure. Au revoir (I am multilingual you know) for now.

Six more sleeps for me and the red bike. We spent 26 miles together at 5.10am this morning. It was cold. It was wet. It was miserable. I was cold. I was wet. I was miserable. Then I remembered something that made me snap out of that miserable mind set. I remembered that this time last year I could barely walk up the stairs without being physically exhausted and having to lie down to recover. Why was that I can hear you ask?! The reason for it is the reason why me and the red bike are embarking upon our quest to cycle 480 kilometres together. You see I was diagnosed with cancer in my tonsil and lymph nodes in December 2015. I spent the bulk of 2016 having radiotherapy, having chemotherapy, having 11 teeth removed, being fed through a tube, being unable to eat and drink properly, losing the ability to talk for a while and losing all my dignity and self esteem. It was without doubt the toughest challenge I have ever faced. I came through it though, and now I want to give something back to help thank the amazing people who treated me with such kindness and care. Who helped me recover and who help countless other people through much worse than I encountered. I am attempting to raise £10,000 for Macmillan in order to make some form of contribution to aid the magnificent and selfless care this brilliant organisation offers every single day. So, dragging my arse out of bed at 5.00am to then plonk it on the red bikes’ ridiculously uncomfortable saddle, is actually an absolute joy. To cycle through the early morning mist in the peaceful countryside whilst dawn breaks, is something that reminds me how fortunate and privileged I am to be alive. Now that you are aware of my motivation, I can now concentrate future posts on being charming and witty!! It’s now time to sign off and sleep. I have a hot date with the red bike at 5.15am….

I suspect you have all been wondering how my hot date went this morning?! Well, as with all dates, there was a heady mixture of anticipation, intrigue, mystery, attraction (hopefully), interaction, excitement, satisfaction and fulfilment (hopefully!!). Let’s look at these individually. The anticipation gave me a sporadic and fitful sleep, mainly due to the fact that is unseasonably cold and I didn’t fancy getting up for my date at 5.00am. The red bike seemed pretty non plussed by this and appeared to have slept just fine. I was intrigued to find out if I could manage to get my bike shoes into the cleats (for those of you not familiar with cleats, try www.cleatsareannoying.com) first time. There are many ‘date’ connotations here, but that would be too tacky a road to go down. This is something I have not yet accomplished first time and this morning was no exception. The red bike was not impressed with this attempt. I tried to be mysterious and surprise both me and the red bike with a new route. After getting to the first roundabout I forgot about this plan, carried straight on and then couldn’t be bothered to go back. Hence we did the usual route. The red bike seemed happy to go in whatever direction I steered it. The attraction element centred around the fact that assorted insects and bugs seem to be attracted to my mouth (it has been said on occasion that I do in fact have an attractive mouth). However, assorted insects and bugs flying into my mouth is not particularly pleasant. The red bike squashed the assorted bugs and insects under its sexy wheels. The interaction between me and the red bike was a mixture of joy and despair. One moment we combined perfectly in joint satisfaction and the next we were erratic and fumbling through the gears (pause for comic effect). There was plenty of excitement! These early morning rides are like an episode of Spring Watch. I saw rabbits, a deer, a fox, stoats, an owl and a variety of cattle. For a city boy this is like being on an African Safari, and as such was mildly exciting. The red bike took a passing interest in two dead hedgehogs and a squashed rabbit. Like every good date, there had to be satisfaction. I was very satisfied that we completed the 28 miles without being forced off the road by passing motorists, being beeped at by passing motorists, being verbally abused by passing motorists or having objects of litter thrown at us by passing motorists. All of which we have experienced on other dates. Finally there was the fulfilment part of the date. Did we get what we both wanted? Well, I took the red bike back home and as I climbed off I could have sworn I heard a groan of pleasure from her, or perhaps that was just my aching and aging body relieved that the date was over! The red bike seemed ready for more. Maybe a few years ago I may have been able to oblige. So, was it a successful date? The fact we are doing it all again tomorrow would suggest it was. Practice makes perfect and I want to get better. The red bike has seen it all before and I get the impression that she was relieved it was over. Five more sleeps…. #macmillancancersupport #JFT96 At 6.00am this morning, whilst me and the red bike were meandering through the country lanes of such famous places as Marholm, Ufford and Barnack, I was thinking of the magnitude of what lies ahead. I am actually doing a sponsored bike ride from London to Paris!! That’s Paris in France! I have been to Paris on many occasions, but my mode of travel has never included a red bike, or any bike for that matter. I do recall trying to get to Paris without spending any money for a dare. I bunked on a train from Liverpool to London, hitchhiked to Dover and bunked on a ferry to Calais, before arriving in Ostend because I bunked on the wrong boat! I was then casting my memory back to other sponsored activities I have done over the years. One that immediately sprung to mind was a ‘sponsored silence’ when I was at school. What the hell was that all about? I remember knocking on my neighbours’ doors with a tatty piece of A4 paper and asking them to sponsor me to sit quietly for an hour and give me 20p. Most of them told me to get lost and by the time I had pestered a variety of relatives I think I probably raised about £2.10 (one stingy relative only gave me 10p) to give to Doctor Barnardos. Is Doctor Barnardos still actually in existence?? Should Doctor Barnardo be 'on the list’? Well life has moved on and we now have 'Just Giving’ and questions about tax and gift aid and do I want to share it on Facebook or Twitter blah blah blah….. I guess it’s progress and instead of raising £2.10, I am aiming for an ambitious £10,000!! I was riding along feeling quite pleased with myself about that, until I remembered that Jimmy Saville raised millions!! Whatever became of Jim?? I recall sitting in the radiotherapy waiting area at Adenbrookes Hospital, quietly observing some of my fellow patients. One particular elderly gentleman had a Macmillan nurse accompanying him for his treatment. He was clearly terribly ill and to compound his misfortune he was also blind. I remember thinking two things. Firstly, that life can be massively cruel. How much misfortune can one poor man be faced with? Secondly, as I listened and watched the interaction between nurse and patient, I was quite overwhelmed at the care and compassion displayed by the nurse, alongside the reliance and gratitude from her patient. It made me consider my own relatively minor predicament in a whole different light. That is one of many moments I will be thinking of during the hard miles that lie ahead. How can I not do this…. four more sleeps. So that's the end of the training!! With three days until departure, me and the red bike completed 48 miles and that's it until Wednesday. Since falling for the irresistible charms of the red bike back in late February, we have battled the elements, the terrain, the rude motorists and my confusion over how to choose the correct gear (I still shift up or down at the wrong time). The clever App (see how I embrace technology!) I have which 'Maps My Ride' (I like something that is named after precisely what it does - take note Tumblr!!) tells me that me and the red bike (should that in fact be the red bike and I?) have now completed a grand total of 2,067 miles together!!! Apparently that is pretty much the distance from Liverpool to Istanbul (2,118.3 miles to save you Googling it!!). For those football fans amongst you, the connection between those two cities is legendary. I spent two brilliant days and probably one of the best nights of my life in that amazing city in May 2005. Whilst I was ill, I spent many dark hours reliving the 25th May 2005 and recalling how miserable and utterly dejected I felt at half time when we were losing 3 0 to AC. Milan. The rest as they say, is history. Visualising Steven Gerrard holding the European Cup high into the Istanbul night, gave me such positivity and determination through the dark and uncertain times of 2016. So now it's time to rest my tired legs. The red bike is going for the equivalent of a spa day on Tuesday, in order to be fully prepared for what lies ahead. I am jealous, because after being introduced to the wonders and delights of spa days by a special person several years ago, I have to say that they are quite magnificent! I continually get mocked by mates who consider such pastimes as girly!! How wrong they are! I fully intend to treat myself to one upon my return from Paris. I spent about an hour watching 'Le Tour' today. Something I never thought likely. I watched transfixed, as lycra clad super humans whizzed along the streets of Germany and Belgium at breathtaking speed in the pouring rain. It did puzzle me though, as I can't quite understand how it can be the 'Tour de France' and go through Germany and Belgium. Misrepresentation of contract me thinks. Emotional distress. Where there's blame there's a claim. Is this another PPI?? Anyway, I digress. Three sleeps to go. Training finished. It's now time to eat copious amounts of pasta and jelly babies!! It's amazing what you can do if you try. I have cycled to Istanbul (kind of!!). The venue of one of the most emotional nights of my life. Just over 12 years ago, if someone had told me I would be diagnosed with cancer and cycle over 2,000 miles in four months, I'm not sure which of those things I would believe the least. You never know what's coming your way.... #macmillancancersupport #YNWA

#macmillan cancer support

[nathandgibsca]

3 Strategic Ways to Get Links to Your Website

“Link building” is something I’ve never done in my 19 years of publishing online. In other words, I’ve never spent any time whatsoever emailing strangers and trying to convince them to link to my content.

I have, however, been on the receiving end of many link-building requests. And they’ve never worked on me.

Now, I know there are smart people who work on behalf of clients to get links through these outreach initiatives. Strangely, I’ve never received a link request from a smart person.

It’s usually just dopey people using bad email scripts and automation that some clown sold them on. They don’t even bother to modify the language, so you see the same lame emails over and over.

Outside of receiving compensation for a link (which I would never accept and is just a bad idea in general these days), I don’t see why any online publisher would agree to these requests. What’s in it for us?

So, if you’re looking to get links to your site for all the benefits that come with it (including enhanced search rankings), maybe you should try a different approach.

Let’s look at three that might work for you.

1. Guest posting

Not a new approach, certainly. But guest writing for relevant and respected publications remains one of the best ways to gain exposure to an audience that builds your own. And of course you’ll want, at minimum, a bio link back to your site in exchange for your content contribution.

Now, you may remember that Google at one point spoke out against guest posting for SEO. Yes, spammy sites submitting spam to other spammy sites in exchange for links is not smart — but that’s not what we’re talking about.

I���m also not necessarily talking about content farms like Forbes and Business Insider, although if that’s where your desired audience is, go for it. You’ll likely have better luck, however, with beloved niche publications that cater to the people you’re after.

What you’re looking for is a place that you can contribute on a regular basis, rather than a one-shot. Not only will the audience begin to get familiar with you after repeat appearances, the publisher will value and trust you, which can lead to coveted in-content links to relevant resources on your site rather than just the bio link.

What if a publisher doesn’t allow links back to your site? Move on. It’s not just about SEO — if a reader is interested in seeing more of your work, they should be able to simply click a link to do so. That’s how the web works.

If you’re limited to a bio link, see if you can point to something more valuable than your home page. A free guide or course that gets people onto your email list is the primary goal ahead of SEO.

2. Podcast interviews

The explosion of podcasting, especially the interview format, is a potential boon for exposure and links. In short, podcasters need a constant supply of guests, and you should position yourself as a viable option.

The links appear in the show notes, and this can be a great way to get citations to your home page, your valuable opt-in content, and your most valuable articles. But you have to find a way to get on the show in the first place.

This may be more doable than you think, because as I said, podcasters need a constant supply of fresh guests. And take it from me — we’re looking for new and interesting people outside of the typical echo chamber that exists in every niche.

For example, recently Joanna Wiebe of Copy Hackers introduced me to Talia Wolf, someone I was unfamiliar with. I trust and respect Joanna, so I checked out Talia. Next thing you know, I’m interviewing Talia (her episode of Unemployable comes out tomorrow) and I ended up linking to three of her articles as well as a page that contains her free conversion optimization resources.

The key, of course, is to do great work that reflects you know what you’re talking about. Then do your research:

Find relevant podcasts.

Take the time to understand the show, its audience, and its host.

Send a friendly note explaining why you would be a solid interview.

Don’t be shy; it’s just a (well-written) email, and podcasters want you to convince them to be their next guest. Or get someone who knows both your work and the host to recommend you. There are even podcast interview booking agencies cropping up that will do the outreach for you.

3. Tribal content

In the early days of Copyblogger, it was all about creating hugely valuable tutorial content that naturally attracted links. It’s harder these days, because most people tend to share that type of content on social channels rather than blog about it like back in the day.

You can still make it happen, though, with the right content and the right relationships with other publishers in your niche. It hinges on leveraging the powerful influence principle of unity, or our tribal affiliations with like-minded people.

Tribal content is all about resonating strongly with people who believe the way you do on a particular issue.

Rather than just “you’re one of us,” it’s more effective when it’s “you’re different like we’re different.”

For example, one of our prime tribal themes involves the dangers of digital sharecropping, or publishing content exclusively on digital land that you don’t own and control. We didn’t coin the term (Nicholas Carr did), but often when the topic comes up, there will be a mention of Copyblogger.

It works the other way, too. Whenever I see a solid piece of content that warns against digital sharecropping, I share it on social. And there’s a good chance I’ll link to it as outside support the next time we talk about the topic. You know, like this and this.

If there is an important worldview within your niche or industry that other online publishers share, it’s likely important that they make the case to their audiences. With tribal content, you’re providing an important message that supports part of their editorial strategy as well as your own.

That’s how the truly powerful links to your site happen. So start making a list of unifying concepts that you share with others in your arena, and make sure your relationships with those publishers are solid before you unleash your epic tribal content.

Wait … I was wrong

Now that I think about it, one link-building email almost worked on me. It was one of those cookie-cutter templates asking me to swap out a link in the web archive of my personal development newsletter Further.

When you curate content as I do with Further, linking to other people’s stuff is what it’s all about. So I took a look at the suggested resource, and it was surprisingly good.

I wrote back to say I wasn’t going to replace the old link, but I would include her resource in the next issue. Unfortunately, this person didn’t respond over the next several days.

What I got instead, just a day before publication, was the next automated email in her sequence, asking me if I had seen the original email that I had already replied to. Deleted that email, deleted the link to her resource in the draft issue, and included something else instead.

Which brings us to an important principle in both link building and life:

Don’t be a dope.

The post 3 Strategic Ways to Get Links to Your Website appeared first on Copyblogger.

from SEO Tips http://feeds.copyblogger.com/~/285241683/0/copyblogger~Strategic-Ways-to-Get-Links-to-Your-Website/

[repwincoml4a0a5]

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15031 for PC

Hello Windows Insiders!

Thank you very much to those of you who joined in on yesterday’s Beam webcast for our Bug Bash! It was a pleasure to hear from so many familiar names in real time. We loved talking with you all and definitely want to do so more often. We will vary the times so that we can hit various regions around the world!

Are you a Windows Developer? Today is Windows Developer Day! Check out our livestream from 9am-1pm PST, which outlines what’s new for developers in the Windows 10 Creators Update. Whether you’re building for the web or UWP, the latest consumer app or line of business tool, there’s something in it for you. Tomorrow will be our “Developer focus” day for the Bug Bash, so tune in today to learn what’s new, and get ready to bash on it!  We’ll have a new set of Developer-focused quests ready for you in the Feedback Hub tomorrow.

Today we are excited to be releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15031 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring.

What’s new in Build 15031

Do more at once with the new Compact Overlay window: Ever want to continue watching a movie while switching app to check your email? Or keep an eye on your video chat even as you’re browsing the web? We do all the time! Some tasks don’t require the user’s full attention but is perfect to leave at the corner of the screen so we’re introducing a new compact overlay mode for UWA app developers. When an app window enters compact overlay mode it’ll be shown above other windows so it won’t get blocked. The best part is that compact overlay windows work just like normal windows in all other ways so app developers can tailor the experience with what they already know. Updates to the Movies & TV app and Skype Preview app will take advantage of compact overlay windows in the near future!

Introducing Dynamic Lock: Dynamic Lock automatically locks your Windows 10 PC when you’re not around based the proximity of a Bluetooth-paired phone. If your Bluetooth-paired phone is not found near your PC, Windows turns off the screen and locks the PC after 30 seconds. To enable Dynamic Lock, make sure your phone is paired to your PC via Bluetooth and go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options and toggle Dynamic lock to “on”.

NOTE: See known issues below regarding a bug preventing PCs on this build from successfully pairing devices via Bluetooth.  

New Share icon: We’re introducing a new share icon. Apps that used the “share” font glyph in Segoe MDL2 assets should get the change automatically. You can read more about the change here.

Windows Game Bar improved full-screen support: We got a ton of feedback on Game Bar and we are continually adding more titles with this support. In this build, we’ve added support for 52 additional games in full-screen mode with Windows game bar. As always, just hit WIN + G to invoke Game Bar to capture a recording or screenshot.

Aion

Borderlands 2

Call of Duty Black Ops III

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

Civilization VI

Company of Heroes 2

Crusader Kings 2

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Dishonored 2

Elite: Dangerous

Euro Trucks 2 Simulator

Europa Universalis IV

Eve Online

F1 2016

Fallout New Vegas

Far Cry 4

Football Manager 2016

Football Manager 2017

Garry’s Mod

Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Hearts of Iron IV

Hitman – Full Experience

Killing Floor 2

Lineage 2 – The Chaotic Throne

Mafia III

Mass Effect 3

Mechwarrior Online

Metro 2033 Redux

Metro Last Light Redux

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst

Need for Speed

Path Of Exile

Planet Coaster

Planetside 2

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare: Deluxe Edition

Pro Evolution Soccer 2016

Project CARS

Roblox

Smite

Source Engine Titles/Half Life 2

Team Fortress 2

TERA

The Sims 3

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Titanfall 2

Total War: Attila

Watch_Dogs 2

World of Warplanes

XCOM 2

Tip: You can control this feature through the Windows Game bar settings. In the settings dialog, look for the “Show Game bar when I play full-screen games” checkbox. See Major Nelson’s post on Game bar for more info on how to adjust settings for best game performance.

Other changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

We fixed the issue causing Tencent apps and games to crash or work incorrectly.

We’ve updated OOBE so that if there’s no detected audio output device, for example with VMs, it now skips Cortana’s introduction.

[GAMING] We fixed the issue causing popular games may experience crashes or black screens when trying to load due to a platform issue.

[GAMING] We fixed the issue where Game Mode is enabled system wide by default, however, the ON/OFF toggle in Settings will incorrectly show it as being OFF until the user manually toggles the Setting to ON which will cause it to update and accurately display the status of Game Mode system wide.

We fixed an issue where the night light quick action was unexpectedly disabled in the last Insider flight.

We fixed an issue resulting in audio going quiet each time the Start menu is opened after a SpeechRuntime.exe crash.

Dragging apps from the all apps list to pin on Start’s tile grid will now work. We also fixed an issue on recent builds where some tiles might unexpectedly appear blank and with a name starting with “P~…” after upgrading.

We fixed an issue where Win + Shift + S wouldn’t work to capture a region of the screen if the Snipping Tool was already running. We also fixed an issue where taking a snip with the Snipping Tool would fail on 4k monitors when 60-80% was selected.

We fixed an issue resulting in “Fn”+”Pause/Break” key not working to pause the checking progress when running chkdsk.

We fixed an issue where resizing windows with a pen would be unexpectedly slow. We also fixed an issue where resizing a window across monitors with different DPIs could be unpredictable.

We fixed an issue where the Windows Ink highlight preview wouldn’t be visible in Web Notes when Microsoft Edge was using dark theme.

We’ve improved gesture recognition for 3 finger swipes on precision touchpads.

We fixed an issue where a number of files with the name GLOB(0xXXXXXX) could be unexpectedly found in the system root directory after upgrading.

We fixed an issue where you couldn’t rename disk volumes via File Explorer in recent flights.

We fixed an issue where rapidly tapping a button to bring up the new Share experience, for example in Microsoft Edge, could result in the Share UI not coming up again until the device had been rebooted.

We fixed an issue resulting the lists of thumbnails in Photos and Groove Music visibly shifting up when the app resumed.

We fixed an issue where the Themes Settings page would blink when a theme was deleted.

We’ve updated the help string on each page of Settings to be a bit more sucinct.

We fixed an issue resulting in not being able to type ę on the Polish keyboard into the Settings search box.

We fixed an issue where Cortana Background Task Host might have ended up using an unexpectedly large amount of CPU in recent flights. We also shorted the two factor authentication notification from Cortana so that it won’t be truncated.

We fixed an issue where the UI to input credentials wouldn’t have keyboard focus after initiating a remote connection to another PC.

We’ve improved reliability when handling malformed Gifs in XAML-based apps.

The icons should now be shown as expected instead of squares under Settings > Gaming.

Known issues for PC

[UPDATED] IMPORTANT: You may see “Initializing…” when attempting to download this build and the download progress indicator shown when downloading this build may seem broken under Settings > Update & security > Windows Update. It may look like you’re getting stuck at 0% or at other percentages. Ignore the indicator and be patient. The build should download fine, and the installation should kick off. See this forum post for more details.

While we fixed the primary bug causing this issue, some Windows Insiders may still hit nonstop exceptions in the Spectrum.exe service causing their PC to lose audio, disk I/O usage to become very high, and apps like Microsoft Edge to become unresponsive when doing certain actions such as opening Settings. As a workaround to get out of this state, STOP the Spectrum.exe service and delete C:ProgramDataMicrosoftSpectrumPersistedSpatialAnchors and reboot. For more details, see this forum post.

Going to Settings > Devices will crash the Settings app. You will be unable to pair a Bluetooth device. Bluetooth quick actions from Action Center also does not work.

You will not be able to launch the Connect UX via Action Center, Win + K, or Settings (it will crash upon launch). This will impact wireless projection scenarios.

[GAMING] Some popular games might minimize to the taskbar when launched. You can click on the game on the taskbar to get the game back.

[GAMING] Certain hardware configurations may cause the broadcast live review window in the Game bar to flash Green while you are Broadcasting. This does not affect the quality of your broadcast and is only visible to the Broadcaster.

Microsoft Edge F12 tools may intermittently crash, hang, and fail to accept inputs.

Microsoft Edge’s “Inspect Element” and “View Source” options don’t correctly launch to the DOM Explorer and Debugger, respectively.

Under Settings > Update & security > Windows Update you might see the text “Some Settings are managed by your organization” even though your PC isn’t being managed by an organization. This is a bug caused by an updated flight configuration setting for Insider Preview builds and does not mean your PC is being managed by anyone.

On some PCs, audio stops working sporadically with ‘device in use’ error”. We are investigating. Restarting the audio service may fix things for a bit.

The Action Center may sometimes appear blank and transparent without color. If you encounter this, try moving the taskbar to a different location on screen.

The icon for Windows Insider Program under Settings > Update & security is shown as a square.

Community Updates

Last week our team traveled to Nairobi, Kenya to launch the second #Insiders4Good fellowship in East Africa. The response to our announcement was tremendous and the Windows Insider Program was talked about in 11 sessions, interviews, press events and panels across the two days. You all are famous!

We continue to learn about the more developing parts of the world and today, we are celebrating Nigeria Day, a day to reflect upon our learnings from and investments in our time spent in Africa. We have invited the entire Windows org to come and bug bash on our 2G network using some standard quests (install Windows, join the Windows Insider Program, set up your machine, etc.) so our team can develop more empathy for what most of the world experiences quite often. We will have a full recap of our experience next week!

Happy bug bashing—and see you on the next Beam live stream on Saturday 7-9 pm PST.

Keep hustling team, Dona <3

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2loH9Ok

#DIYS

[repwinpril9y0a1]

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15031 for PC

Hello Windows Insiders!

Thank you very much to those of you who joined in on yesterday’s Beam webcast for our Bug Bash! It was a pleasure to hear from so many familiar names in real time. We loved talking with you all and definitely want to do so more often. We will vary the times so that we can hit various regions around the world!

Are you a Windows Developer? Today is Windows Developer Day! Check out our livestream from 9am-1pm PST, which outlines what’s new for developers in the Windows 10 Creators Update. Whether you’re building for the web or UWP, the latest consumer app or line of business tool, there’s something in it for you. Tomorrow will be our “Developer focus” day for the Bug Bash, so tune in today to learn what’s new, and get ready to bash on it!  We’ll have a new set of Developer-focused quests ready for you in the Feedback Hub tomorrow.

Today we are excited to be releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15031 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring.

What’s new in Build 15031

Do more at once with the new Compact Overlay window: Ever want to continue watching a movie while switching app to check your email? Or keep an eye on your video chat even as you’re browsing the web? We do all the time! Some tasks don’t require the user’s full attention but is perfect to leave at the corner of the screen so we’re introducing a new compact overlay mode for UWA app developers. When an app window enters compact overlay mode it’ll be shown above other windows so it won’t get blocked. The best part is that compact overlay windows work just like normal windows in all other ways so app developers can tailor the experience with what they already know. Updates to the Movies & TV app and Skype Preview app will take advantage of compact overlay windows in the near future!

Introducing Dynamic Lock: Dynamic Lock automatically locks your Windows 10 PC when you’re not around based the proximity of a Bluetooth-paired phone. If your Bluetooth-paired phone is not found near your PC, Windows turns off the screen and locks the PC after 30 seconds. To enable Dynamic Lock, make sure your phone is paired to your PC via Bluetooth and go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options and toggle Dynamic lock to “on”.

NOTE: See known issues below regarding a bug preventing PCs on this build from successfully pairing devices via Bluetooth.  

New Share icon: We’re introducing a new share icon. Apps that used the “share” font glyph in Segoe MDL2 assets should get the change automatically. You can read more about the change here.

Windows Game Bar improved full-screen support: We got a ton of feedback on Game Bar and we are continually adding more titles with this support. In this build, we’ve added support for 52 additional games in full-screen mode with Windows game bar. As always, just hit WIN + G to invoke Game Bar to capture a recording or screenshot.

Aion

Borderlands 2

Call of Duty Black Ops III

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

Civilization VI

Company of Heroes 2

Crusader Kings 2

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Dishonored 2

Elite: Dangerous

Euro Trucks 2 Simulator

Europa Universalis IV

Eve Online

F1 2016

Fallout New Vegas

Far Cry 4

Football Manager 2016

Football Manager 2017

Garry’s Mod

Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Hearts of Iron IV

Hitman – Full Experience

Killing Floor 2

Lineage 2 – The Chaotic Throne

Mafia III

Mass Effect 3

Mechwarrior Online

Metro 2033 Redux

Metro Last Light Redux

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst

Need for Speed

Path Of Exile

Planet Coaster

Planetside 2

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare: Deluxe Edition

Pro Evolution Soccer 2016

Project CARS

Roblox

Smite

Source Engine Titles/Half Life 2

Team Fortress 2

TERA

The Sims 3

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Titanfall 2

Total War: Attila

Watch_Dogs 2

World of Warplanes

XCOM 2

Tip: You can control this feature through the Windows Game bar settings. In the settings dialog, look for the “Show Game bar when I play full-screen games” checkbox. See Major Nelson’s post on Game bar for more info on how to adjust settings for best game performance.

Other changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

We fixed the issue causing Tencent apps and games to crash or work incorrectly.

We’ve updated OOBE so that if there’s no detected audio output device, for example with VMs, it now skips Cortana’s introduction.

[GAMING] We fixed the issue causing popular games may experience crashes or black screens when trying to load due to a platform issue.

[GAMING] We fixed the issue where Game Mode is enabled system wide by default, however, the ON/OFF toggle in Settings will incorrectly show it as being OFF until the user manually toggles the Setting to ON which will cause it to update and accurately display the status of Game Mode system wide.

We fixed an issue where the night light quick action was unexpectedly disabled in the last Insider flight.

We fixed an issue resulting in audio going quiet each time the Start menu is opened after a SpeechRuntime.exe crash.

Dragging apps from the all apps list to pin on Start’s tile grid will now work. We also fixed an issue on recent builds where some tiles might unexpectedly appear blank and with a name starting with “P~…” after upgrading.

We fixed an issue where Win + Shift + S wouldn’t work to capture a region of the screen if the Snipping Tool was already running. We also fixed an issue where taking a snip with the Snipping Tool would fail on 4k monitors when 60-80% was selected.

We fixed an issue resulting in “Fn”+”Pause/Break” key not working to pause the checking progress when running chkdsk.

We fixed an issue where resizing windows with a pen would be unexpectedly slow. We also fixed an issue where resizing a window across monitors with different DPIs could be unpredictable.

We fixed an issue where the Windows Ink highlight preview wouldn’t be visible in Web Notes when Microsoft Edge was using dark theme.

We’ve improved gesture recognition for 3 finger swipes on precision touchpads.

We fixed an issue where a number of files with the name GLOB(0xXXXXXX) could be unexpectedly found in the system root directory after upgrading.

We fixed an issue where you couldn’t rename disk volumes via File Explorer in recent flights.

We fixed an issue where rapidly tapping a button to bring up the new Share experience, for example in Microsoft Edge, could result in the Share UI not coming up again until the device had been rebooted.

We fixed an issue resulting the lists of thumbnails in Photos and Groove Music visibly shifting up when the app resumed.

We fixed an issue where the Themes Settings page would blink when a theme was deleted.

We’ve updated the help string on each page of Settings to be a bit more sucinct.

We fixed an issue resulting in not being able to type ę on the Polish keyboard into the Settings search box.

We fixed an issue where Cortana Background Task Host might have ended up using an unexpectedly large amount of CPU in recent flights. We also shorted the two factor authentication notification from Cortana so that it won’t be truncated.

We fixed an issue where the UI to input credentials wouldn’t have keyboard focus after initiating a remote connection to another PC.

We’ve improved reliability when handling malformed Gifs in XAML-based apps.

The icons should now be shown as expected instead of squares under Settings > Gaming.

Known issues for PC

[UPDATED] IMPORTANT: You may see “Initializing…” when attempting to download this build and the download progress indicator shown when downloading this build may seem broken under Settings > Update & security > Windows Update. It may look like you’re getting stuck at 0% or at other percentages. Ignore the indicator and be patient. The build should download fine, and the installation should kick off. See this forum post for more details.

While we fixed the primary bug causing this issue, some Windows Insiders may still hit nonstop exceptions in the Spectrum.exe service causing their PC to lose audio, disk I/O usage to become very high, and apps like Microsoft Edge to become unresponsive when doing certain actions such as opening Settings. As a workaround to get out of this state, STOP the Spectrum.exe service and delete C:ProgramDataMicrosoftSpectrumPersistedSpatialAnchors and reboot. For more details, see this forum post.

Going to Settings > Devices will crash the Settings app. You will be unable to pair a Bluetooth device. Bluetooth quick actions from Action Center also does not work.

You will not be able to launch the Connect UX via Action Center, Win + K, or Settings (it will crash upon launch). This will impact wireless projection scenarios.

[GAMING] Some popular games might minimize to the taskbar when launched. You can click on the game on the taskbar to get the game back.

[GAMING] Certain hardware configurations may cause the broadcast live review window in the Game bar to flash Green while you are Broadcasting. This does not affect the quality of your broadcast and is only visible to the Broadcaster.

Microsoft Edge F12 tools may intermittently crash, hang, and fail to accept inputs.

Microsoft Edge’s “Inspect Element” and “View Source” options don’t correctly launch to the DOM Explorer and Debugger, respectively.

Under Settings > Update & security > Windows Update you might see the text “Some Settings are managed by your organization” even though your PC isn’t being managed by an organization. This is a bug caused by an updated flight configuration setting for Insider Preview builds and does not mean your PC is being managed by anyone.

On some PCs, audio stops working sporadically with ‘device in use’ error”. We are investigating. Restarting the audio service may fix things for a bit.

The Action Center may sometimes appear blank and transparent without color. If you encounter this, try moving the taskbar to a different location on screen.

The icon for Windows Insider Program under Settings > Update & security is shown as a square.

Community Updates

Last week our team traveled to Nairobi, Kenya to launch the second #Insiders4Good fellowship in East Africa. The response to our announcement was tremendous and the Windows Insider Program was talked about in 11 sessions, interviews, press events and panels across the two days. You all are famous!

We continue to learn about the more developing parts of the world and today, we are celebrating Nigeria Day, a day to reflect upon our learnings from and investments in our time spent in Africa. We have invited the entire Windows org to come and bug bash on our 2G network using some standard quests (install Windows, join the Windows Insider Program, set up your machine, etc.) so our team can develop more empathy for what most of the world experiences quite often. We will have a full recap of our experience next week!

Happy bug bashing—and see you on the next Beam live stream on Saturday 7-9 pm PST.

Keep hustling team, Dona <3

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2loH9Ok

#DIYS

[nathandgibsca]

2017 Content Excellence Challenge: The February Prompts

Leave a comment with your entry for this month’s content challenge. You’ll have the chance to win a really good book!

Hey, it’s February! And that means we have two new prompts for our 2017 Content Excellence Challenge.

This month, we’re going to send a copy of Jonah Sachs’s book Winning the Story Wars to five randomly selected commenters. (See the details below for more about who we will and will not be able to send books to.)

Remember, you have two weeks before comments on the post close, so don’t dawdle. Give the creative prompt a try and show off how it turned out.

February’s Creative Prompt: Speak to one person

This is one of my all-time favorite ways to make your writing much better, instantly.

The prompt is:

Craft your writing to speak to one, and only one, person. As you write, imagine you’re sitting down with this person over a nice beverage.

Keep in mind that this may take some courage. The political climate at the moment is so charged that even rather innocuous statements can take on a political meaning.

But fortune favors the bold. The courageous voice will always win out over wimpy, dull, “safe” content.

Why it works

When you write for a crowd, you start to pontificate. That verb comes from the word pontiff, and it means to speak to an audience as if you were the Pope delivering a speech from a balcony at the Vatican.

That works great for the Pope, but it won’t work for you.

In your content, imagine one perfect human who’s the exact right match for your business. (Re-read this post if you need better clarification on who that might be: How to Attract Your Ideal Customer with Perfectly Positioned Content.)

I like to visualize this person in great detail. Not just gender, age, or other raw demographic information, but the kinds of details a novelist notices.

What kind of drink are you sharing? A beer? A coffee? Kombucha?

Do they have freckles?

Are they tall or short?

What are they wearing?

Where are you meeting?

What color eyes do they have?

This mental exercise is just to let you imagine a real, warm, flesh-and-blood human across the table from you.

Now, with your next piece of content, write individually to that person. Choose your words, your tone, your metaphors, the stories you tell, and the points you make all with that human being as your audience of one.

If you’re going to play along in our contest this month, leave a short paragraph in the comments showing us how it looked. No more than five lines — just enough to give us a flavor of the tone and voice.

February’s Productivity Prompt: The pivotal technique

This month’s prompt for productivity is one I’ve used for many years, detailed at some length in my post on The Complete Flake’s Guide to Getting Things Done.

It comes from Robert Fritz’s Path of Least Resistance, and in a nutshell, the technique is:

Visualize where you want to go. In other words, what will the world around you look like when you’ve achieved what you want? Get extremely clear on this.

Notice where you are now. What does the world look like as it is today? Get extremely clear on this.

Without a lot of drama or self-flagellation, notice the specific differences.

The point here is not to beat yourself up about all the ways in which you don’t live up to your dreams. The point is simply to get very clear on where you are, and where you want to be.

The next step is just to figure out … what the next step is. What action, large or small, would move you in the right direction?

You can keep cycling through these steps — today, tomorrow, or quite literally for the rest of your life. Each cycle “pivots” you in a small way in the right direction. Over time, small pivots, with forward movement, add up to major changes.

Notes on the contest

A few caveats and clarifications for the free books:

We’ll choose five folks at random from those who leave a comment with a brief (five lines or fewer) example of how they used this month’s creative prompt.

You’ll need to be in the U.K., U.S., or Canada, so we can get a copy to you without a lot of delivery stress. If you’re somewhere else and there’s an easy way to get a book to you, we’ll consider it.

If we choose your comment, we’ll contact you via the email address you leave in the comment form.

We won’t share any of your info or use it for something weird, because that would be really dodgy. We’ll just send you your book.

Comments that look spammy will get deleted. The editorial team, as always, has the final word on what looks spammy. If you want more specific advice, check out my podcast episode on Leaving Much Better Comments.

Let’s hear those one-to-one voices! Drop your entry in a comment below …

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