#insert that article that’s like ‘we should know less about each other’ lol

[abnormalpsychology]

Sometimes this site gives me a much brighter flame of hope for the future and sometimes it makes me a whole lot worse. I think that’s worth being transparent about actually

#aandddd the shitty parts of this site are really really shitty #there’s this strange agreement on some things as if tumblr is a hive mind yet #like there is not one agreed opinion and idk #i forget there’s no real answers to anything because I’m not even trying to find answers I just want comfort #i feel like a bad person for enjoying things all the time just because of being here #despite the common claim of ‘renouncing cringe’ #shame is so deeply entrenched in nd people and society that it just seems so hard to let go of #it’s literally perfect for oppressed people to use to make fun of others like ‘we’re the good kind tho not them’. #the purity culture of this place is so insanely insidious because none of us will ever be clean enough for each other. #that’s why we’re human beings and not. products #tumblr’s isolated but it’s not nearly as free as anyone here would like to believe it is. nor superior #other ways to cope with shame besides more shame would be nice you know what I mean #personalposting on main sorry #LMAO AND ME NEITHER! #and I’m hypocritical just by sharing this much rn to cope lmaoooooo #i post everything I post with the hope that it might help someone #and of course I’m fucked too! #insert that article that’s like ‘we should know less about each other’ lol #the commodification of the human spirit etc etc #existential dread and capitalism and etc etc etc #vent #bbge.vent

[imonthinice]

The Criminal Psychology Majors, Jason Todd x Fem!Reader Part 7/?

Word Count: 3.5k

Author’s Note: Y/N - Your Name, A/N Any Name (your best friend’s name), (Name) - your ex’s name !genderneutral (Don’t use a DC character! Y/N hasn’t dated any other DC character!) :)

3.5k words, my god. And they’ve still only known each other for 4 days and we’re on part 7. I do not know how to finish this.

Lol, Enjoy!

Warnings: Swearing, Heated moments, There is French in this one, No beta bitch we die like Jason Todd

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Part 12) (Part 13) (Part 14) (Part 15) (Part 16) (Part 17) (Part 18) (Part 19) (Part 20)

Falling asleep in Jason’s arms after that escapade the two of them pulled the night before was something magical to say the least. Of course, they only got like 5 hours of sleep before they had to wake up and get out, at risk of Y/N being caught in the building, although the thrill of it excited the both of them deeply, but that’s obvious. They liked breaking the rules already.

Riding back home seemed a lot less like a journey to her this time, she just wanted to spend more time with Jason, but he had work and she didn’t want to hang out at Wayne Enterprises. She’d probably go to the library today, she didn’t know exactly what she’d do today, but she always thought that was the most exciting thing ever. “I don’t know what I’m even going to do tomorrow,” one of her friends asked when she moved to Gotham, ‘How exciting!’ she answered.

That friend said the next day she ran through the streets of Metropolis with her arms outstretched like a kid, and she did it in Y/N’s honor. “I told you!” she said, “How exciting that sometimes you never know what you’re going to do tomorrow!”.

These thoughts swirled in her head as Jason drove her back home when, like clockwork, like it was out of a movie, he said,

“I have no idea what I’m even going to do today.”

She laughed, “I always say ‘How exciting!’ when someone says that to me.”

“Really?”

“One of my friends back home, when I gave her that advice, she then spent the next day running around the city with her arms outstretched in my honor, it was apparently one of the more fun things she’s ever done, so” she paused, “I really mean it. how exciting! The possibilities are endless, are they not?”

“Well, not really, I have work to do,” he frowned.

“So own it. Make the office your bitch. Take charge, take lead.”

“Why not?” he said in agreement.

“Why the fuck not.”

-------------------------------------------

Jason walked her to her door, “Won’t you be late?” she asked,

“Dad knows where I am, I don’t think I’ll have my ass handed to me.”

“You never know,” she laughed.

He laughed too and slightly pecked her lips. He wanted more, he was hungry for more out of that kiss, but work and life gets in the way of their relationship, and he really whined when he had to break away, but she laughed at it.

“Slow your roll Tiger, one day,” she mused.

“You say that like you don’t want more.”

“This isn’t about me,” she retorted, “So, shut up, respectfully.”

He laughed and kissed the back of her hand, “You have a thing for doing that, huh?” she joked.

“I literally don’t know how to answer that, I think I’m losing my touch with flirting,” he joked back.

“Okay, okay, you need to get going now.”

“Fine! You want to get rid of me so badly, I get it,” he joked and walked back to the car and she waved him off. She hated that time he left, a lot. She knew it was healthy to take a day’s break if they’ve been on 3 back-to-back dates, but that didn’t mean she liked it.

She opened her door and walked in, thinking A/N was asleep so she wouldn’t be barraged for her hair being a mess, but, boy oh boy, was this girl waiting for her to get home.

“What happened? Why’s your hair a mess? Oh my god, did you have sex?” she asked.

“No, but we kissed, will you take that as information while I shower or do you want all the details now?”

“You can shower, you can shower. I’m not that needy.”

“Yes you are,” Y/N joked and went to go shower.

And like she always did, she opened her phone and looked at the news before answering her friends,

Millionaire’s Son, Jason Todd's Girlfriend’s Name Revealed!

She laughed, cause it wasn’t her name. She didn’t think he was seeing anyone else, and they used her picture, so she knew they just fucked it. She forwarded the article to Jason with the caption ‘ Fuckin’ idiots’ .

She then answered Artemis, who asked Did you two kiss? Dick’s up my ass about it ‘cause he knows we’re friends.

I want to take that out of context so badly. She joked with Artemis.

I knew this man had a terrible name that would come to haunt me, but did ‘ya kiss?

Yeah we did. Get Dick out of your ass, though, that’s weird, you have a boyfriend and he has a girlfriend.

Shut up, you’re not funny.

I’m pretty funny.

You are but I’m not going to admit that, girl.

And one of her old friends had texted her, it was someone who Y/N had seen off and on the past few years, they were polite, but she didn’t exactly want to speak to her ex.

Hey.

(Name)? What do you want?

Saw you in the news with the rich boy, guess we’re over?

We have been over for like 5 months, my guy. 

Bitch.

Okay!

People from her hometown were noticing her in the articles and recognizing her. Some would think this is the coolest thing that someone they loved met a nice boy, the money a bonus, some would give her the reaction her ex did, but she knew she was days, hours, maybe minutes away from her parents finding out about her love affair with Jason.  

She shuddered at the thought, she loved her parents, a lot, but something told her that maybe they wouldn’t did Jason to be like she found him. She also knew she could be overthinking it entirely and they’d like the Criminal Psych Major that she knew all-too-well.

But overthinking was fun, apparently. And she couldn’t stop thinking the worst of so much.

------------------------------------------------

When she got changed and just threw on whatever the fuck she saw, she went out to go talk to A/N.

“Hey, nerd. I’m done,” Y/N said.

“Nerd? You’re the one dating the bookworm and  you’re in criminal psychology,” she joked.

“Ha, ha. So, how are things with your lover? Have you secured him yet or are you just doing your own thing still?”

“Still just doing our own thing, don’t really have the time to date while getting my degree and working.”

“I mean, if it works for you I can’t throw judgment.”

“What about Jason? How’re things with you two?”

“You ever seen the Wayne Enterprises Ballroom before?”

“In pictures, why- Don’t tell me he took you there you lucky bitch?!”

“Then I just wont tell you,” she laughed.

“The Ballroom? Oh my god, that’s crazy, he's really pulling out all the stops to make you smile, huh?”

“I would do the same if I had more to offer, but I have barely anything since I bought that place in the dance competition across the country,” she said.

Y/N had bought a place in this competition before she met Jason, and she was heading to it on Saturday, in two days, and she actually had practiced the routine during downtime between her and Jason. She hadn’t exactly told Jason about this, and Jason had asked why she looked strained and like her muscles hurt, but that just never seemed like something you share with your casual partner, to her. She never seemed like her casual competitions were worth anything. A/N had begged to differ since Y/N had met her.

A/N said that Y/N had talent, that she could go somewhere, Y/N saw it as an extra circular that didn’t affect her much. She wasn’t the type of brag, and all her trophies were back home with her parents, anyway.

“Have you told him about your,” insert A/N’s heavy sarcasm, “’Casual’  competitions, yet?”

Idk what the hell happened with that line ya love to see it

“I’ll send him a quick text about it, I guess,” she sighed and sent just a quick, Hey, can’t have a date on Saturday-Sunday, forgot to tell you but I’m going to Cali for a quick dance competition, lol. My bad, shoulda said something.

“Why are you like this, be proud of your accomplishments, dammnit!”

“It’s a casual competition!”

“And you’re talented! I’m this close to just showing him videos of you going at it,” she said, exasperated.

“He already knows, we danced in the Ballroom.”

“Oh my lord,” she laughed, “You’re an enigma, if I had your amount of trophies I wouldn’t be hiding it.”

“Im’ not hiding it! It just kind of never came up.”

And he texted back, Oh damn, are you at least going to kill it? You better, I want to show the live broadcast to my family and brag.

She laughed, “See!”, she exclaimed, showing A/N the texts, “He doesn’t care like you do, nerd.”

A/N laughed, “Sure he doesn’t. Do you want to go to lunch, by the way? I’m bored off of my ass.”

“Sure, why the fuck not.”

“Go get dressed then, and I’ll do the same.”

“Okay okay, meet up in 10?”

“Yes ma’am.”

And off they went.

---------------------------

Y/N texted back Jason for a quick minute before getting dressed, Of course I’m going to kill it, my notes aren’t a representation of my dancing skills.

Well, I hope you win something. And text me. But mainly win something.

Of course I’ll text you, Jay. It gets boring at competitions.

You should go to a Wayne Gala then, god damn, those fuckin bastards are the most boring events this side of America.

Well maybe you’ll invite me one day.

I’ll probably have to if you show up on National TV. The press will finally know your name.

I hope I’m not on National TV then. Fuck the press.

Fuck the press indeed.

Since Y/N didn’t feel the need or want to dress up, she didn’t. Quick shirt and jeans and she was out the door. Sometimes she would dress up for lunch dates with her friends, just because she was bored as fuck and dressing up was fun, but she just didn’t want to do it today. Combat boots, jeans and a shirt were enough most days. You don’t have to be a model just because the press knows your face, she thought, you don’t.

“Who’s driving?” A/N asked.

“I can if you want. I don’t mind,” Y/N said as they walked to the beat up car they loved so much. It was nothing compared to the Porsche she had been in the night before, but it was still running, and you don’t fix something that ain’t broke.

“Maybe your boyfriend will buy you a new car,” A/N joked.

“If anything, he’d buy me a new computer, since mine is getting mailed to me and you’re going to love hearing the sounds that bitch makes,” she retorted.

“Is it bad?”

“Terrible. My sister called it a screaming electronic goat once,” she laughed, “I hate that fucking thing. But if it ain’t broke-”

“Don’t fix it, I know.”

“Exactly.”

--------------------------------------------------

For some reason, they decided in the car to go to McDonald's, because hey, it’s not like Y/N is on a  dance diet or anything. She wasn’t, because she didn’t want to starve herself for the sake of winning a competition. That was even her thought process as she was younger and more vulnerable to her teachers, she always told them she’d never do that. Years later, she still stuck to that mindset.

They got out of the car and like fucking clockwork, the press was in her face.

“You! The girl with no name, Jason Todd’s girlfriend!”

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!” she whispered under her breath, “How do they always find me!”

“Tell us about yourself! Are you serious with Jason? How do you feel about his family? How-”

But then she had an idea,

“Quoi? Je parle pas l’Anglais? Qu’est-ce-que vous voulez?” she said, using her bilingual skills to her advantage.

“What? No I mean-”

“Pas de l’Anglais! Désolé mes amis!” and she ran off into the McDonald's with A/N.

“Did you just speak French to get them off your ass, you genius?”

“Spoke very broken French because I wasn’t thinking, but yeah, I did that.”

“I forget you’re multi-talented sometimes, you have a lot hidden under your belt and I try to treat you like a normal person but you’re far from it.”

“I appreciate you for trying, but I think with my new love affair, you aren’t going to get far with those attempts anymore, sorry,” she joked.

Jason texted her, Did you just speak French to avoid the press?

How do you know about that?

We were watching the news during a meeting and they said that you spoke French.

You got to do what you got to do to get by.

That is literally the most genius thing I’ve heard of anyone doing in so long. I think you’ve truly bamboozled them for a while and they might hop off of your back for a while.

You think so? ‘Cause I really hope that’s the case.

My siblings think it’s hilarious, and no one’s leaked that you are just joking with the press, so yeah, they might actually leave you alone.

Let’s fucking go. That is the news of the 21st century.

4 days of knowing each other and you’ve flipped off the press twice, outran them with me once, hid in the Wayne Enterprises Building with me and you’ve spoken French to bamboozle the press. That is impressive.

I feel like the press is going to hate me one day.

Probably. But they also hate most of us most days.

You should probably get back to work.

Yeah, talk to you soon.

She put her phone away and went to stand with A/N, who was waiting for their food.

“Talking to your lover?” she joked.

“When am I not doing that?”

“That’s valid.”

-----------------------------

Going on a lunch date with A/N made a little bit of the harassment just better. They both bonded over how they hated the press before her love affair with Jason, and how their opinions wouldn’t change much unless, knock on wood, one of them went missing. Y/N told her about all the cases where the press and the internet did so much to solve cases around the world, love or hate the press, they did do a lot for solving crime.

She also told A/N that Jason was related to Dr. Barry Allen and Clark Kent, two people the two of them knew well because of the news and the fact that A/N knew Y/N when she wanted to go into forensics and was reading Dr. Barry Allen’s work.

When her mother texted her.

Y/N? Is that you in the press running around with Jason Todd?

Yeah mum, why?

Are you two in a serious relationship?

No mum.

Then why are the vultures so obsessed with you, says your dad.

‘ Cause you two made a pretty girl and he’s high up in the world, I guess, I don’t know. I don’t really like the press.

I can tell. We’re not mad at you honey, but be careful. And your dad says when you two get serious he needs to take Jason fishing.

He doesn’t speak French, mum.

Dad says he’ll work on his English for you.

Well tell everyone I love them, mum.

She panicked a little bit, her parents were nice when they wanted to be, but they were strict, why wouldn’t they be. So this, while being a welcomed surprise. was still a little panicky.

“Your  parents find out?”

“Yeah, they seem chill with it though.”

“Bing in the press sucks when you’re trying to keep your love life out of your parents' eyes, huh?”

“You could say that again,” she joked.

“Being in the press sucks when you’re-”

“I didn’t mean literally!” they laughed.

--------------------------------

Back at Wayne Enterprises, Jason was betting bombarded by his colleges, friends and family about Y/N and how she was able to get around the press’ constant harassment without flaw. And also because Bruce had seen the two enter the building at around 12am the night before. So Jason was called into Bruce’s office that day.

“1, I know everyone is bombarding you, so you can hide out here, son, 2, you and Y/N didn’t have sex in your office right?”

“God no, dad. We just hid here because security is tight as fuck and unable to get past.”

“I saw you two kissing on the cams and heading into your office, Jay.”

“Okay, okay, but we didn't have sex and the intentions were there, dad!”

“Uh huh, pretty girl in your, my, car.”

“Dad, stop it,” he joked.

“Well, her little shenanigans with the press are very amusing, have you told her that?”

“I have.”

“She’s basically not afraid to tell them what we all think.”

“That’s what I said, dad.”

“Well, hold onto that one and don’t let her go.”

“Do you regret doing that with Talia?” Jason asked.

“God no, she’s insane. The son I got out of her antics is literally her spitting image, so if I need to be reminded of her I can just go talk to Damien for a couple minutes.”

“Dami’s a lot like you too, don’t act like his personality is just Talia, he acts like his dad in every aspect and you know that.”

“Lord help any woman or man that kid goes on to date, my god,” the two of them laughed. It was the small things with Bruce that made Jason happy to be a Wayne, even if he didn’t share the last name. Jason grew up on the streets and even before that, his mum and dad didn’t have a lot of money, so the amounts of money that Bruce could shower on him was a lot, but he was okay with just working for his money. And Bruce knew that.

He spent a lot of his workday in Bruce’s office, hiding from the rest of the office, and texting Will.

She knows about your kid.

Well, she’s a good kid. I’m glad you’re bragging about her, means I raised her right.

Shut up. I love that little girl and I’ve helped raise her, Will.

You’re used to my new name?

I changed your contact to Will when you changed your name, so I could remember that that’s your name now and not Roy. I’m hoping I remember it in person though. It would be awkward if I forgot my best friend’s name.

It would be funny to look back on, though.

Like how your relationship with Jade is funny now?

Never stick your dick in crazy.

I wish you would have listened to that sometimes, but then I remember Lian is amazing.

I’m a cliché of dumb choices, what can I say Jaybird.

----------------------

In Y/N’s house, she would always play loud and sad music when she had the chance, some people thought her mental state was fucked, which sometimes it was, but most of the time the sad music went harder than the happy tunes you would catch from the other side of the house.

But even if music was blasting the loudest it could ever be, somehow she would still find herself lost in her thoughts, whether it was new dance routines or a story she would scribble down in her dream journal. there was something about those little fits of artistic passion she would experience from time-to-time.

It’s hard to put into words how those moments reminded her of the simplier times before sh was thrust into stardom, but also how they reminded her of Jason, and untouched mind she longed to know further. She knew there was so much more to the boy she had gone on dates with.

She would end up ignoring her phone for most of the rest of that day, just because she wanted peace and quiet, when A/N’s lover came over and she had to turn the music up louder so she wouldn’t be disrupted by the obvious.

I just got off of work, how are you? How’s your day been? Jason had texted Y/N while she ws turning up the music.

Well, I just had to turn up my music because my roommate’s lover is over, but other than that I’ve been enjoying peace and quiet in my room, waiting for something to do.

Is texting me something to do?

Yes.

That’s sweet of you. Work was boring though so I hope you don’t expect a story.

I don’t, don’t worry. You don’t always need a story for something to do.

Well, I’m going home with my brothers and dad, and we’re probably going to play office chair racing because I’m a bad boy.

You’re a bad boy?

Was that not funny?

It was pretty funny, isn’t that dangerous though?

Yeah actually, my brother broke his leg playing it and another time my little sister broke her leg playing it.

It seems fun but like, damn, two people have gotten injured playing that game, y’know.

Well if I die it’ll be a fun story!

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd x fem!reader #jason todd x y/n #jason todd x you #jason todd fluff #red hood #red hood x reader #red hood x fem!reader #red hood x y/n #red hood x you #red hood fluff #will harper dc #lian harper dc #artemis crock #bruce wayne #batman #batfam #batfamily #batbros #dceu #dcu #dc

[1zashreena1]

The Homicide is Hot -12

18+, m/f/f, technically OCxDiego Jimenez [Power]

Summary: Princess struggles with her own morality. But all cats are gray in the dark, right? Oh, and Diego has an epiphany.

WARNINGS: Ridiculous descriptions and ‘the code is more like guidelines’ outlook on grammar. Is it OOC if the character was given essentially zero development in canon???

Literal murder guys, seriously*** Protective Diego, feels, a blow job, plus size woman+fit man, insightful and helpful Julio, f o r e s h a d o w i n g

A/N:  Princess took on a life of her own and has essentially become an OC. There are infrequent mentions of her description (specifically as plus size) and her actual name in later pieces (its Bicki). She started as self-insert so she looks like me (plus size, white, short, blue eyes, curly hair). If that is not your thing, I totally understand. And do not feel obligated to read this, I will not be offended!

I’m not a fan of “plot” so be aware that most of this series is just meandering through their relationship, angst-fluff-smut whiplash style. But with dick jokes.

Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you would like to be tagged or removed.

TAGLIST: @chelsfic​ @symbiont13​ @nicke0115​​ @bunnykjm​ @rosee-sensuelle​ @girlpornparadise​ @mandoplease​ @heresathreebee​ @xxsteph-enrixx​ @jetiikad​ @joalsglasses​ @mutantcookiesecrets​ @demoncatstone​ @squidlywiddly87​ @lockedoutofmyotherblog​ @poeedamerons​

gif by @el-cheung​

"Its hot when he's homicidal." There. You said it.

Okay but remember that time when he stabbed two dudes and carved an ear off of a third? And you were gonna like, die if you didn't blow him IMMEDIATELY??? 

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME.

Wait, wait. Maybe this is … good? That is not the correct word but you know what I mean. If I'm going to be with someone in his position then I need to be able to handle everything that entails, right? 

You glance over at TMP, the small stuffed panther is facing you on the breakfast bar. You know its ridiculous, but you feel like he's watching you. It only takes half a second, but you flip the stuffie around so he can't be a voyeur just like his namesake.

The small dry erase board in your lap reflects sunlight back up into your face. Its covered in anxious scribbles regarding last weekend, you're desperately trying to sort them into some semblance of helpfulness. It isn't going well.

I already know he is in love with me, straight out of the horse's mouth. Lol 'horse'.

Seriously. You cannot go one day without a dick joke. 

I love him. I mean, how can I claim to love someone if I don't accept all of them? He doesn't maim indiscriminately, it has a point. Is it justified? I don't know. Do I trust his judgment on it being justified? I think I do. I guess the better question is: Do I care? 

I'm already in it. He's paying half my bills, he already paid off all my debt. I've accepted so many gifts with the knowledge that they were bought with laundered drug money. Hell, every article of clothing I'm wearing right fucking now was purchased by Diego. Also, he said that those guys lost a shipment to the tune of EIGHTY THOUSAND DOLLARS, so you know, that's an accessory charge. At this point, even if I decide I have some arbitrary moral high ground, I'm definitely rolling around in a ditch, legally speaking.

You've always known that your morality was a bit off center than most people's, but being with Diego has put it into sharp relief. There are so many things that are illegal that you just don't care about. And your very visceral reaction that night was irrefutable proof.

-----------------------------

Last weekend

Diego does not like the cold. The heat in the SUV is turned way up, you already closed the vents on your side of the backseat. You're on your phone, pretending to ignore the massive hand sneaking under the hem of your dress while your legs are flopped over his lap.

Diego rumbles at you, the phone comes down just enough for you to peek over the top at him.

"Yes? Is there something you would like, my Murder Panther?" Your smirk is damn near audible as you question him. 

His eyes trail down to your lap then back up before he answers in a growl, "There is something I would love." The rockiness of his voice never fails to make you quiver just a tiny bit.

Just as those long fingers brush your thong his phone chirps. Repeatedly. And then starts ringing.

Diego snatches the cell out of his jacket pocket and hisses at the screen. Not good, you think. He answers it with a tirade of Spanish, shoots you an incomprehensible look, then retreats from you. Nooooo.

Being the only one in the car who doesn't speak Spanish is its own variety of delightful hell. Bastian and Julio are exchanging meaningful looks in the front while you just have to wait. Diego has gone quiet, which is utterly terrifying.

He disconnects the call, then passes the phone to Julio, who shows it to Bastian, who then changes course.

Diego reluctantly pulls your dress back down as you drop your feet to the floor. He raises a thick arm and tucks you into his side underneath it before kissing the top of your head apologetically.

"We have to run an errand."

-----------------------

The warehouse looks like it came straight out of a Law and Order episode. Its abandoned yet eerily lit from the inside, there is a suspicious assortment of motley vehicles parked outside, and two tattoo covered dudes toting semiautomatics appear as you pull up. 

"Please tell me those belong to you." You mutter quietly. Your immediate concern is Diego's safety.

Diego gives you the shark smile. "The men or the guns, Princess?" 

In the dark, at this incredibly sketchy location, and with the threat of violence thick in the air, he is actually a little bit scary.

You swallow the apprehension and glare at him with a raised chin. "Yes." You snap, crossing your arms in a stubborn huff. Holding his gaze right now is kind of intimidating but you manage it.

"Si, everything here is mine." His voice is hard as steel but the hand that comes up to grip your chin is gentle. It takes a second for you to realize that he is including you in that group. And that you like it.

You take in his features, those eyes are black in the darkness, but the silver in his beard glints in the partial moonlight. The defined jawline, his long straight nose, those perfectly framed velvet lips, thick brows and even thicker hair. So fucking gorgeous. Cupping his bristly cheeks, you whisper one requirement, "Just make sure to come back to me, baby."

Diego leans his forehead down on yours briefly, then kisses your nose. "Wait here for Diego, my Princess." His voice is dark and dripping with emotion. Julio opens the car door from outside and Diego steps out, adjusting his jacket and tucking the abalone-inlaid gun into his pants. He doesn't look back as they walk away.

Bastian steps out and closes the driver's door to smoke. The only door left open is the rear passenger next to where you sit. You're too preoccupied to stay focused on your cell. You look up to see that Bastian is on his phone, Probably his boyfriend checking on him. You can certainly understand that.

Faint voices float out of the open warehouse garage door, but everything is in Spanish. You slide down to the pavement and pace slowly. Its been almost twenty minutes, should you try to check on him? Each lap of pacing takes you ever closer to the empty doorway, purely by happenstance of course, until finally, finally, you can see people inside. 

There are three men kneeling on the floor, surrounded by at least two dozen others armed to the teeth. There are more guns than you have ever seen in your life, all being handled casually. Diego paces slowly in front of them, rattling off some rambling array of options, judging from his tone. Whatever he just said must have been unfavorable because two of the kneeling men start crying and begging. I should not be here.

Diego digs both hands deep into his pants pockets, as though searching for a lost item, only to pull out the larger of the switchblades that you know he always carries. Ambling forward, he snatches the man furthest from you by the hair and yanks his head back. The angle looks excruciating, but what happens next is infinitely worse. The blade glints under the overhead lighting as Diego slides it smoothly across the man's throat, triggering a cascade of red.

Diego just slit his throat.

Diego just killed that man.

Diego just committed murder.

You're frozen. Think. Think. If you move now someone will hear your shoes, you stuff a hand into your mouth just in case you make any noise. Your plum dress and black booties should blend into the night, thank fuck the dress is longer so there's less gleaming pale leg to reflect the moonlight.

I should go I should go back to the car I should go home. Your thoughts are racing but you can't look away as Diego skirts the rapidly expanding pool of blood and approaches the next man. He leans down to listen to the doomed man's pleas, one huge hand on his shoulder in mock comfort. Almost faster than your eyes can follow, Diego stabs him three times in the chest. The man coughs, then chokes on blood. Diego nudges him backwards to the floor with an expression of mild disgust before he can cough blood onto those exceedingly expensive shoes. The noise of his death is a quiet gurgle.

You can't feel your legs. Your stomach plummets and your heart rate leaps. This is Diego. This is my man. This is who he is and what he does. And this is what happens if you wrong him.

Just like I'm doing right now?

Sudden understanding makes your palms sweat and your jaw shake. Breathe. I trust him. You know, all the way down to the bottom of your soul, that he would never do anything like this to you. 

I'm different.

I'm special. 

I'm important. 

I have power.

The thrill of getting away with something courses up your spine. 

All of these men are his to command, available at his beck and call, and his to dispatch as he sees fit.

And you? Diego belongs to you. This powerful man chooses to kneel at your feet and pleasure you with his mouth, he dotes on you with gifts and gourmet dining, he waits for your text responses with baited breath. You want nothing more than to belong to him.

Movement snaps you out of your own head; Diego is approaching the last man, all confident stalk and predatory grin. A different feeling settles low and deep in your abdomen. Murder Panther. MY Murder Panther. 

Diego strokes over the man, no, this one is younger, the young man's hair. He is definitely an adult, but hasn't been for very long. Diego is whispering in his ear, the guy nods frantically and tilts his head toward you. You watch in morbid fascination as Diego carves off his ear. 

Diego wipes the blade off on the man's shirt, then pats him on the head as he walks off casually. He gestures to the group as he puts the knife away and they close ranks to help the lone surviving man to his feet and carry him off. 

Before you can jolt your body into retreating Diego turns to head your way. He glances up… and sees you.

His face, Oh no. Shock, horror, dismay, annoyance, and finally, determined resolution all cross his features in under three seconds. He uses his broad body to block you from his men's view and marches you back to the SUV. "Get in." He snarls, but he doesn't push you.

You slide all the way across the backseat to crash against the opposite side and Diego follows, slamming the door behind him and locking it. He scrubs a hand down his face and turns to you, expression grim.

You can't imagine what you look like, Probably a scared little bunny. But what you feel like? Oh, that is a different story. Damn near everything about what you just witnessed was so fucking hot. The actual homicides were kind of 'meh' (What is wrong with me???), but his power and ability and danger? Those you are definitely into.

He looks simultaneously defeated and defiant. "Well?" He barks with an expectant gesture. "This is me. This is what I do. You call me Murder Panther, but its different to see, isn't it, Princess?" The way he spits out his pet name for you hurts. He's lashing out in fear. He thinks I'm gonna run.

You keep your eyes locked with his as you reach out to his leg. He flinches at the contact but stays stiff. Your voice is smoky and dark, "I need you. Right fucking now. Give me your dick."

For the first time since you've met, Diego is speechless. His jaw hangs open while he watches you sink to your knees in front of him. Seemingly paralyzed, he just blinks as you rip his pants open and yank the material down over his hips. The instant you achieve clearance for his cock your mouth is on him. Your moan must vibrate the entire vehicle its so loud.

"Princess!" He finally gasps. "You. What. Fuuuck, what is. Oh, hell yes." His hips jerk and you dig your nails into his lower abdomen. He is fully erect in seconds, a little confusion isn't enough to cockblock Diego. Big hands flit through your peripheral vision erratically before settling on your head. The angle is finally correct and you slide him all the way down your throat, he practically howls with it. "Ahh, h-haaa. Jesus fuck, that feels so good. Shit, shit. Princesss." 

The way he calls for you, writhing with it, is almost too much. You moan back but don't stop bobbing your head on his length. Firm suction intermixed with sporadic long licks of your broad tongue have him leaking steadily in no time. Your left hand cups his balls, squeezing gently just to feel him tense up. He's salty, but not bitter. You want it. You need him.

Your right hand snakes down to hike up the dress. Once it’s over your wide hips you spread your knees so you can sink down onto his shoe. He doesn't notice at first, not until your hips start rocking in time with your suction. 

He grabs a fistful of hair to get your attention. "Are. Fucking christ woman, are you riding my foot?!" His eyes are huge, mouth open to pant.

You nod tightly, "Mm hmm." The moan vibrates all along his cock, causing his hips to rise off the seat.

"Ohh, oh fuck. You're so wet. I can hear it." He groans as though in agony. The thrusts begin to pick up pace and you grind down onto him. Your mouth can open just wide enough to accommodate the majority of his girth, you already know your neck is going to kill you tomorrow. Worth it. The skin of his cock is silky slick with both of you, he glides across your tongue easily but it requires pressure to fit him down your throat. Its like consuming fire, you're burning up from the inside out and its painfully perfect. 

In the darkness of the unlit SUV you can't see anything, you can only hear Diego moan and pant while your nose is buried in the soft hair on his lower belly. The intensity of being engulfed in his scent drives you to distraction, you grind down hard on his foot and you're so, so close. His hips lift off the seat to push deeper and you ride his motions, swallowing around the head of his cock. One enormous hand sinks deep into your curls, he pulls gently just because he knows you like it. His purr is deep, "My perfect little Princess."

That's all it takes. You drop your entire weight onto his foot to shudder and whine as an orgasm rips through you. Hips jerking in time with each spasm deep inside, you ride out all the waves without ever breaking rhythm on his dick.

Diego is frozen in shock as he realizes what just happened. He pulls you off, much to your whining disappointment, to stare down at you in awe. He stutters a little, "Good. Girl."

The instant he releases ringlets you dive down onto him with renewed vigor. The emphatic praise only spurs you on even stronger. Everything is wet; his dick, your mouth, his pants, your chin, the seat, your dress, his shoe. Everything. The sounds, the way he tastes, you're desperate to have him. 

"You want this? You want Diego?" His voice is so rough, so harsh. You nod tightly and moan for him, high pitched and hoarse. "Princess, so damn good, take it. Take all of me. Fuck, you look goddamn amazing on my cock." His hands stroke endlessly over your hair, his hips are jerking harshly and you know he is close. "Shit. Shit shit shit. Come," he is gasping, panting, "Come again for Diego, mi amor." His body stiffens, his legs shake, the grip in your hair tightens, and his head drops backwards to the seat as he pours down your throat in scorching jets. 

Diego collapses, boneless and breathless, but you don't release him. Your right hand shoots down between your legs to work your clit furiously while you continue suckling softly. 

"Yesss," he sighs upon noticing your actions. His voice drops low, overflowing with sinful threat, "You come for Diego. Pretty little Princess, all mine. Follow orders, come on your Murder Panther."

It breaks you. Your whole body seizes up as you wail for him, clenching down on nothing in painful ecstasy. Finally relinquishing his cock, you flop face down into his lap with an exhausted groan. Diego melts back into the seat and you both just lay there, panting.

Diego raps on the door window but stays slumped down and loose-limbed. 

Bastian unlocks the SUV, then pops the driver's door to stick his head inside. "Yeah, boss?" The blonde studiously avoids looking lower than Diego's face. You can hear Julio chuckling behind Bastian.

"Fuck the club. Take us home." Diego decrees lazily. You sputter joyful laughter directly into his pants.

You ride home curled up in his lap, snuggled into that salt and pepper beard you love so much while Diego feathers kisses all over your face, the knife cradled in your hands.

------------------------

Diego stumbles down the stairs the next morning, yawning hugely, only to find Julio in the kitchen, unashamedly raiding the fridge. Bastard, Diego chuckles.

"Manito! We need to talk." Julio gets right to the matter. "Before Gordita gets up." He adds pointedly.

Uhh, what. "Fine. Talk. Also, are you eating carrots at 10:12am??" That is disgusting.

Diego plops down onto a barstool and stares dejectedly at the espresso machine until Julio rolls his eyes and turns it on for him.

"Look, you need a check, eh?" Julio sighs but stands firm while Diego side eyes him suspiciously. When no objection comes, Julio forges on, "She saw you murder two people and cut an ear off a third last night, right? And her response was to blow you in the car? Fucking ride your foot to come, what, twice?"

Diego smiles dreamily, "Yeah. It was a good night." So. Much. Licking.

Julio passes him the steaming mug, "If you don't put a ring on it, pendejo..." 

Diego nearly drops the mug as his closest confidante walks off into the living room.

Shit, Julio is right.

#damnit diego #murder panther #rough me up then dick me down #24 fucking 7 hours in this house #zash writes #some whiplash #feels and dick #dick and feels

[guccifloralsuits]

You should also explain to anon what larries are and why you need to stay away from them... i feel like it should be part of the crash course for new harries because (speaking from own experience) new fans often easily believe their bullshit and their views of harry and his relationships become warped bc of it

 Prospective New Fan Crash Course: Larry Stylinson

Introduction: 

Larry Stylinson is a ship name given to 1D band mates Harry Styles & Louis Tomlinson, after some fans became convinced they were in a forcibly closeted relationship due to Modest Management. The two denied being together and repeatedly asked fans to stop, and invasive fan-shipping is attributed to the decimation of H & L’s friendship. By the end of 1D, they could barely stand next to each other or talk in public without rabid fans (& sometimes tabloids) dissecting every millisecond of their interactions. It was incredibly uncalled for, Invasive, downright creepy, and some people still believe in the conspiracy, today.

A Short Timeline:

One Direction was formed to compete on British X Factor. Harry & Louis were fast friends. They pretty much immediately clicked — and you can see this really clearly when the band started recording video diaries, and in early interviews with 1D.

For the first few years of one direction, it was really clear that they were best friends. They did a lot of interviews together - they even lived together for a short amount of time. A lot of people shipped the Bromance, but increasingly some fans became obsessed with the idea that the two were secretly in a relationship - despite repeated denials, them saying they were uncomfortable with fan behavior, and asking fans to stop, constantly.

Band members, family, and they themselves often remarked about how uncomfortable they felt with the shippers who wouldn’t let up.

Band members on Larry Shippers:

Liam:

“It’s like, when you know the ins and outs of what is going on with people and it’s just annoying when it’s so stupid,” the 22-year-old said. “It becomes like a conspiracy or like a cult, the people who watch them and think that every move they make is a gesture toward them being together, and I know it’s just not true and it makes me mad.”  (XXX)

“I get tagged in drawings of Louis and Harry being together. I remember one time I was sitting next to my dad and I see this picture of me on top of Niall [Horan], which was quite intimidating. It’s just really weird to have people drawing these sexually explicit pictures of us in strange situations.”

Zayn:

“There’s no secret relationships going on with any of the band members,“

“It’s not funny, and it still continues to be quite hard for them,” he said. “They won’t naturally go put their arm around each other because they’re conscious of this thing that’s going on, which is not even true. They won’t do that natural behavior.” (FADER)

Niall: 

Tends to be the quitest (aside from Harry but harry never comments on anything, ever). Shaded a bunch of larries a few weeks ago on twitter tho if I recall correctly lol

Larries would (and still try to) micro-analyze every single interaction, no matter how small. And the media would sometimes hop onto the bandwagon, going out of their way to make both H & L uncomfortable questing if Larry is real.

After constantly dealing with this,  a lot of public interaction stopped. But as Larry shippers had less to work with, they became increasingly obsessive about keeping up their fantasy. Some highlights:

Repeatedly dismissing Eleanor Calder, Louis’s long-term girlfriend as a ‘beard’ often going so far as to harass her social media, her family, & rip her apart for every minuscule action or reaction.

Calling Louis’s son not actually his, and believing that management forced Louis to pretend to have a son to save face & keep his relationship with Harry a secret. (Deadass. They think Louis’s son isn’t real & is still being used as a cover).

Don’t get me started on how horrible some of the fan-fiction is, it’s so so invasive.

still think the two are together in a hidden relationship, despite not publicly being in the same location for around 3 years. 

Today some larries still exist, but we don’t welcome them into these parts.

In 2017, Louis straight up said that Larry shippers kinda completely ruined their friendship.

Louis on Larry:

“It kind of happened naturally for me and Harry because a certain amount of the fans drew up this conspiracy,” Louis said about the Larry Stylinson conspiracy theories. “When it first came around I was with Eleanor, and it actually felt a little bit disrespectful to Eleanor, who is my girlfriend now. I’m so protective over things like that, about the people I love.”

“It created this atmosphere between the two of us where everyone was looking into everything we did,” Louis said candidly. “It took away the vibe you get off anyone. It made everything, I think on both fences, a little bit more unapproachable.”

recently & notably, TV series “Euphoria” had a fanon imagined sex scene between the two on the show, which neither band member constented to and Louis made a statement expressing his offense at.  This is just…one example among many for fans and media taking things way too far. I can pull up the reciepts for more but….god it makes me tired & angry. There are so many messed up & invasive questions, fan actions, and media articles. 

Implications:

Larry changed the way RPF fandom works, being to first shift from “this is a fantasy about two real people I wish were together” and beginning to project a fans own reality onto the two. Effectively, they treat Harry & Louis like dolls in a game which they get to make the rules for. It’s fucked up, and we don’t support them. moral of the story: don’t insert fan made fantasy into the lives of real people. 

this has been a tea-party hosted by yours truly. F Larry shippers, full stop.

For Further Reading 

#asks #HS info #this is about to lose me a lot of L**** followers and ya know what? good #anti larry #harry styles #this turned in to a full on essay w an intro thesis evidence and conclusion ghjdkeldjtryuioiuytryuioiuytryuio #L slur

[casscutting]

Cass’s Cover Do Over: Round One

Welcome to Cass's Cover Do Over, the new monthly series where I take books who’s covers I feel could better represent the story and give them a fitting makeover. Originally I wanted to call this series Extreme Makeover: Book Cover Edition, HOWEVER, Disney owns the trademark rights to “Extreme Makeover” and I REALLY don’t want to get sued by Disney.  

Now before I get into the meat of today’s post I want to give a disclaimer. I am in no way shape or form mocking or making fun of any cover designers and or authors who put their own time into making the original covers. If the authors do happen to see these posts and like what I have done I will give them the high quality images free of charge. This series is to help authors both established and aspiring better understand the do's and don’ts of Cover Design from the perspective of an aspiring author and established graphic designer.

Let’s start at the beginning WHY should you hire a designer to design your cover? Whether we admit it or not the first thing that draws your eye to a book, be it online or in a store, is the cover. I, like many others, have bought or borrowed a book because I liked the cover. I also, like many others, have kept a book because of the cover to spite the contents of the book.

The book cover is your first line of attack when trying to obtain a new reader. If the cover is eye-catching it brings that person one step closer to picking up your book. A cover should envoke the overall feeling or theme of your book and a designer will (SHOULD) be able to do that.

I see so many authors, I’m speaking about the Indie Authors though there are some questionable covers that have come from the traditional world, however, traditional authors have a minuscule amount of design input if any at all. Indie Authors are the sole decision makers when it comes to their books.

An author has put in months if not years to writing this book then if they go about things the RIGHT way they put in hundreds if not thousands of dollars (insert applicable currency here lol) into editing and formatting. Then comes time to hit the publish button and send your book baby out into the world but wait you need a book cover.

I’ve seen authors talk about this on their blogs or their youtube channels they’ve put little to no thought into the book’s cover with their first book or first few books. I’ve seen people say they just grabbed a Royalty Free Stock Photo or used Kindle Drect’s or LuLu’s cover editor to make their covers. Or even worse I’ve seen authors say they just googled pictures and find one they like and slap it up there vualá they’re done.

I am going to say this loud DON’T USE PICTURES FROM GOOGLE AS YOUR BOOK COVERS!

A: those pictures could be too small making your book cover blurry and bad. Most importantly B: You don’t know the legal ownership of that photo. Best case scenario you, by some miraculous chance, get a Royalty Free Stock Photo but most likely you will choose someone else's design or photograph and that person will be entitled to sue your ass off.

When I was still in school for graphic design we were given articles to read, wish I still had them, where authors were sued because they used someone else’s photo. Not only did that author need to pay out a percentage of back earnings the rightful owner of that photo was entitled to a percentage of that author’s royalties for the lifetime of that book or until such time as the author changed the cover image.

So I reiterate DON’T USE A RANDOM GOOGLE PICTURE.

Now on to the Cover Do Over’s

I want to note that I have NOT read these books the designs I came up with are based on a few criteria. 1: Title, 2: synopsis, 3: Genre and Age Groupe, and if I needed more to go off of 4: Reviews

White Rabbit by John Stanley

Synopsis:

All his life Gabriel has struggled with childhood memories. Or better said; the absence of them. Now a young man and married to the beautiful Alaina, the memories begin to surface in wild and terrifying nightmares. Tormented by the dark images of a faceless man, he discovers an inner strength found only in the delicate fibers that connect what is real and what is not.

A thousand miles away Professor O'Bannon, Homicide Detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, is hunting a sadistic and cunning killer who preys on the city's most innocent. He too, tormented by a faceless man who displays his victims with devastating affect. Soon fate intervenes, and worlds of the Professor and Gabriel collide in a jarring, mind-bending thrill ride that will change both their lives forever.

I believe I saw where the author/designer was going with this cover but I feel it came across more cartoonish which made it feel less thriller to me.

So I created a stylized rabbit head on a dark cracked textured background with a deliberate light source and jittered text to envoke the ominous and unsettling feeling that John Stanley alluded too with their synopsis.

The Culling by Anthony Hulse

Synopsis:

A series of child abductions are linked to Jules Devlin’s touring circus. A team of CID detectives are deployed and attempt to unravel the mystery. The performers, including a clown, a lion-tamer, a fire-eater, a dwarf, and conjoined twins harbour a terrifying secret. Jimmy Crawford, an ex-CID detective turned private investigator is hired by the parents of a teenage girl, who believe her disappearance is linked to the circus. Crawford is aided in his task by a child psychologist and a priest. Through a handicapped boy, they discover that the circus is not what it seems. DS Jenny Stiles, believing Devlin is the head of a paedophile ring, soon discovers something more sinister. Could the evil carnival be responsible for the burning of churches and their priests? The Culling is a supernatural thriller set in Whitby and Dartmoor. From Edinburgh, Cleveland and Lourdes in France, strange and unexplainable episodes occur, which leads Jenny to believe that Devlin is indeed evil.

In my eyes they only thing that tells me this book is a Mystery/Thriller is the foggy road and no I did not use a low-quality image here every image of this book I’ve found has the same low-quality image. From Google to Amazon to Goodreads it’s the same.

Aside from the SLIGHT reference to the Mystery/Thriller, I would have no idea what this book was about without reading the synopsis and there is nothing about this cover that made me as a reader want to learn more about it.

So after reading the synopsis, I saw the Mystery/Thriller aspect of this story revolves around a creepy traveling circus and missing children but like I said I didn’t get that from the original cover. So I created the circus tent and found several royalty-free stock images that would work as a background when stitched together.

I chose to go with a more circus-themed font that I created for this project to tie in the title and author name to the theme because the juxtaposition between the creepy circus background and any flat color for the typeface would have thrown off the whole feeling.

Now I have almost 20 variants of each design and the ones I’ve chosen I feel best to represent the themes as stated in the synopsis. And so you know for when you’re choosing a cover designer they, after the consultation, will go and design, depending on the designer, 3-5 or 3-7 different designs with a handful of variants for each design. I personally offer in the 3-5 design range. What I mean by variant is the designer will move around the typeface or other elements of the design and or give you different typefaces as options as well to give you more to choose from.

Also of note and again every designer is different, but every designer will offer a set amount of Revisions where they will change something you, the client, have changed your mind on. This is usually anywhere from 1 - 5 revisions before charging extra with most I’ve seen offering 3, I personally offer 5. There are also Fixes if there is something the designer fucked up they SHOULD redo it and it SHOULDN’T count towards any of the revisions. During the consultation, a designer worth their weight will take extensive and detailed notes on what you want in order to prevent having to make to many fixes or to prevent a shady client from getting more revisions than they deserve.

How do you get your designs? Throughout the process, the designer is sending you a lower quality watermarked image so they can show you the design and get your feedback. Once the designs are done and payments are paid IN FULL the designer will send you the full HD images and they are yours to do with as you see fit, unless otherwise stated.

Now let's talk about price, again here is where every designer differs but I have seen designers offer flat rate payments and usually, that is paid upfront before the designer starts working. There is a second version of a flat rate payment where there is one flat rate but you pay 50% upfront and the other 50% when the designs are signed off on which is the payment method I use. There are hourly billed payments, where you as the client are to pay for a set number of hours upfront and the rest of the payment is to be paid in full before you’re given the final product. 

I’ve wanted to do this for a while now and I am glad I finally did it. One of my goals this year is to start designing book covers and I thought this would be a fun way to get my name out there.

Question of the day: Do you sometimes buy a book just because you liked the cover?

#bookworm #book cover #book cover design #cover design #cover redesign #book cover redesign #Book cover critique #judging books by their covers #cover art #book art #cover art design #art #artist #graphic design #graphic designer

[jujuismental]

Grief

I’m here to talk about grief. Because I have a lot to say about it.

I was just about to start university/college in august of 2013 when I heard over the phone that my Dad had died. My dad was in another country. It was a hit and run. I never got to say goodbye and I couldn’t go to the funeral. Me and my mom were together at the time and we were in so much pain. I woke up the next morning wishing it was some sort of nightmare but it wasn’t.

My mom was heartbroken to grow old alone, I was in pain imagining the rest of my life without my Dad. Our entire family was falling apart, especially my brothers who had to take care of the funeral and hit and run court case. It truly felt like the pain was never going to go away. Every morning, every night, every birthday, every anniversary.

I still struggle today to talk about my Dad to others. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that people immediately want to cheer me up. They try to stop me from feeling sad. They say things like “Cheer up, don’t be sad, i’m sorry I brought it up”. They want me to let it go.. but I don’t want to let it go. I don’t want to forget my Dad right now or ever. When I do remember him, I want to be sad. I want to feel it all, and I want someone to listen to my thoughts until I can’t feel the pain anymore. I want to tell funny and sad stories about my dad - I don’t want to just shut it all out. I don’t think a lot of people get that.

In my culture, when someone dies, these estranged family members come to your house out of nowhere and start praying and telling you that he or she is in heaven and you should pray for them. Then they blast the Quran and follow protocols. I didn’t really know how to respond.. I hadn’t even had time to process that my Dad wasn’t there anymore and yet these people already shipped him in a box to heaven. I couldn’t stand to be around them during that time. They kept repeating the same things over and over, like it was a religious script. *Sigh* more to say about Religion in another post. Stay tuned lol.

Over the years I started to feel less pain. When I did, I still cried a lot, but only on some days. Same with my mother as well. My parents had a pretty rough marriage towards the end - she feels awful about it. There’s a lot of things she would do differently if she knew. I looked back at all the stupid selfish things I did. Well now I am trying to be so much better to my mom. I spend a lot of time with her and I am very attached to her. My dad and I had a really special connection, our morning drives to school and our talks about technology. With my mom it’s a bit different, but my relationship with my mom has definitely deepened over the past few years.

Surprisingly in retrospect, I went through with university just fine, in fact I was an honours student for all 4 years yah :p okay sorry for trying to brag here in sad momentz. I hope my papa is proud!

*insert 6 years later*

...And then death returned once again to my family. Like I knew it would. My aunt died through brain cancer after 2 years of fighting. And I can’t tell you what hurts more. Losing someone suddenly without warning or watching someone slowly die in front of you and having the time to say goodbye. Cancer is horrible. Maybe I will write another article about this. RIP aunty. You reminded me that in the end, in your last moments, the people you love are the most important to you. You and dad are such sweet souls. RIP.

While all of this is deeply tragic and sad stuff.. the only good thing I can do is to pay it forward. I really try hard to be there for someone who is grieving. Hey stranger reading this.. if you want to talk just message me.

So here are the lessons I have learned.. hoping they might help you..

~ You probably won’t believe me when I say this but you will feel better. It’s a process that takes time, years even (it’s been 7 years for me and I am finally okay). The pain comes and goes over the years, and don’t get me wrong it will still be there, but it will be tolerable. This I can promise you.

~ Accepting it is hard. I used to always pretend he was on a trip somewhere and he’d be back someday. In fact when I dream of him this the dream I have the most, like he would show up at the door and wouldn’t be dead and I would be so happy. Of course that’s not the best approach. The next thing I did was create a blog where I would write him letters and still include him in my life. I would update him about everything and hope that he’s reading it somewhere. Just to still have him in my life. I still cannot fathom how one soul is alive with a twinkle in their eyes and just dies in the dirt. Religion helps a lot of people deal with that stuff. I consider it sometimes, but I don’t know where I belong. Sometimes I tell myself, this is life. What can we do, we are born to die.

~ Writing helps a ton. Doing things for them or on behalf of them, helps too. Live with them, write them letters. Update them about your life through a private blog. That’s what I do! It’s working so far..

~ During tough days like birthdays or anniversaries, it’s truly best to spend it with those who share your grief, like your family. My family (brothers & mom) are much more closer now. We know how important it is for us to be together..and to fill the gap that Dad left behind. My older brothers did a great job of paying for us while I was in school and buying us a house. They are great.

~ When talking to someone who is grieving, let them share stories about their loved one, don’t encourage them surpress it. Just listen... I am sure they have something they want to say. If not, then that’s also okay. A hug goes a long way.

~ It’s hard to grow up at the same time as your parents, you want to live your life and pursue your dreams and that might be far away from them. The tragedy of life is you lose so much time trying to make a living. (I guess this might be a fluff quote..) What I am trying to say is - spend more time with your parents..

~ They say an average person lives 80+ and that’s what every kid grows up thinking, and so we plan our entire future around that, thinking that everyone in our life is going to reach that age. What I now live with is the thought that death can come at any age, to you or to someone you love. The realization left me awfully scared. You can take care of yourself and in the end die because of someone else’s mistakes. The guy who hit my father? Who was he? Just a stranger. Who knew someone so insignificant would tear my family apart. And yes, people die everyday, we hear it on the news - it’s sad but not sad enough, we wake up the next morning fine. It only hits home when it hits home. Then it’s never the same and you empathize with anyone who hurts and grieves over someone. I was planning so many things in my future and thinking of ways to give back to my parents after years, when I am older and have a job. I was thinking a minimum five years down the road to show my appreciation. I was too late. Years too late. Don’t plan too far down the road, think shorter term and love now, treat the people you love better now.

~ Spend time with your loved ones now.

I promise you it gets better, but before it does, please write, express, cry and be there for each other x

This one’s for you Dad..missing you around all the time..

#grief #death #parents #griefjourney

[angietheinsanecatreviews]

SarasBeautyCorner VS NerdECrafter

TL;DR I side with SaltECrafter and Sara’s argument falls flat because of several different factors.

Read more if you’d like to know how I came to my verdict. Also, I’m sorry that I can’t ever not make a massive wall of text when I review things lol.

*edit* 

Hey Hi :D

I made a video about this on my youtube Channel Check it out if you’d like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQbg8KpQbOk&t The SaltE Debacle

I feel very compelled to write this after watching Sara’s video as a response to Jackie’s videos. At the moment I’m actually in the midst of writing a paper on moral justice and legal justice. Why I think they should co-exist within each other. 

However, I have to take a break from this paper to make a rather long-winded lengthy comment/review of this video. I don’t want to dismiss either persons’ feelings as they are justified in this case. I merely want to point out where they might be mistaken and give an overall review of how I think both sides might not be handling it in the best manner. 

I will be dissecting both Sara’s responses to Jackie’s videos and like-wise Jackie’s responses to Sara’s allegations/Jackie’s allegations towards Sara etc. 

I’m going to try to do this in an unbiased matter as I always want to see both sides of someone’s story before I make the final verdict.

Not to act like I’m the Youtube courtroom or something (That’s just silly). 

(Source links will be placed where appropriate) 

First, let’s go into a quick synopsis of what has happened for anyone just taking this in at first glance. 

Jackie (AKA NerdECrafter or in this case SaltECrafter) took it upon her self to make a review solely based on satire and the fact that as a teacher she calls bull on this fooling any sane, university trained educator.  She was reacting to SaraBeautyCorner’s video on 3 back to school DIYs. She took clips from Sara’s video and inserted it into her video criticizing these “hacks”. 

Sara than holds Jackie’s video because she believes that it is in violation of copyright/fair use. Also holding onto the monetized earnings of said video. 

Jackie “retaliates” by posting a video claiming that Sara is holding her video hostage because she believes it infringes on her content and therefore is in violation of copyright/fair use. Jackie states it’s not in violation because it’s commentary based on Sara’s DIY video and that Sara is claiming she COMPLETELY Uploaded her entire video to her channel. She claims that Sara is being “unfair”.

Sara responds that she’s not being unfair that Jackie took 30% of her content and reuploaded it without her permission and that violates the fair use/copyright claim. 

Now that we’re caught up on that; let’s pick one side to dissect. Let’s pick Sara side first. 

Sara claims Jackie took around 30 percent of her  21:02 video(upon further research this is in fact allowed) . She states in her video that she took 6 min. 30 sec. of her content that she didn’t give permission for Jackie to take to use in her react video. She takes clips from Jackie’s video about why she doesn’t believe she’s in violation of copyright/fair use. 

Sara dissects Jackie’s video in such a way that it makes Jackie seem childish and rude. Sara believes that for Jackie to respond the way she did towards her retaliation in holding on to Jackie’s content and money. Stating that she got attacked by Jackie’s fans. Such as threats, insults, and other negative comments on something her boyfriend and her worked on for weeks than she changes it to months. She states she’s not hurt about Jackie’s commentary but rather that she took SOO much of her video without asking. That she could have taken a lot less to make her point more coherent. She states that Jackie’s video is entirely illegal and asked Jackie to take it down or use fewer clips from her DIY. 

Jackie denied her request as she believes that her satire and commentary meets the fair use qualifications. 

Sara quotes the four factors of fair use 

1. Purpose and character of the use, commercial or educational non-profit

2. Nature of the copyrighted work

3. The amount used 

4. The effect of the use on the potential market

So becoming unbiased to Sara’s outcries I decided to look into her claims as to why it’s infringing on her “creative work”.

So let's get into it:

Source

First, the purpose and character of the content 

Did Jackie’s commentary and satire transform/add a new expression or meaning to Sara’s content? 

I believe that it did. Jackie continually makes comments, reacts, and applies satire to Sara’s DIY/hacks. She explains from a professional educators point of view that if any of these “hacks” were applied in the classroom to smuggle or otherwise break the rules. That they would be made a fool. That in a way the kids/students’ parents who fork out money for supplies that are often very expensive are disrespected because their children are ruining these supplies that they spent hard earned money on to assist their studies. 

That a large amount of sugar will distract the students from learning correctly.

Did Jackie add value to the original by creating new information, new aesthetics, new insights, and understandings? 

I believe that Jackie did. 

The pieces of information she provided:

That those children might not gain proper education because they’re following these hacks instead of studying. 

That parents are essentially wasting their money on school supplies because their child will only destroy them.

I’m going to interject that from my experience in customer service that children that watch youtube DIYs/crafting and Vlogging are very impressionable. They are often between 5 and 8 and that they idolize the people who make the content. My experience once was from work when a 6-year-old pretended she was vlogging and talking to her viewers as her mom said: “She’s going through a youtube phase.” The second is my niece and nephews like to emulate their favorite youtube gamers.

I don’t believe that new aesthetics were applied except maybe if we apply it to the criticism of Sara’s video then yes. I believe this might be a weak argument. 

Jackie gave new insights on how her fellow co-workers and parents might feel if they got an evaluation stating that their child is destroying their supplies to break the no food rule. 

I believe Jackie’s point of view gave new understandings as to why this might be destructive to a students education.

The first rule has been followed to a point. Of course, as the article points out this is subjective. However, I believe by using the fair use guidelines she followed the first rule.

Rich Stim gives an example that I’m going to cite from his blog which I believe both content creators are taking from:

Rich Stim states: “In a parody, for example, the parodist transforms the original by holding it up to ridicule. At the same time, a work does not become a parody simply because the author models characters after those found in a famous work. Purposes such as scholarship, research, or education may also qualify as transformative uses because the work is the subject of review or commentary.”

Jackie did ridicule it ( sometimes harsher than maybe she should have). She also didn’t take on the exact likeness of the characters only their actions with an undertone of mocking the actions of the characters. 

Second, the nature of the works:

Sara’s content is a parody of Jackie’s profession and Jackie’s video is a parody of Sara’s content. Though Sara’s video wasn’t directly pointed at Jackie nor was she bullying Jackie when she was portraying teachers as dense and aloof. 

Likewise, Jackie was not bullying Sara. She was only showcasing as to why she thought these “hacks” were pointless. 

So the nature of these two works is both informative. 

Sara the student- Teachers seem to be mean and don’t understand the pains of hunger and needing that sugar fix.

Jackie the teacher- Students should focus on their studies not their stomachs if it becomes a distraction when there are healthy alternatives.

Looking at this subjectively and wanting to point out neither of their feelings are wrong I can understand why Sara might have felt attacked however the nature of Jackie’s commentary is not as nefarious as Sara likes to point out quite a lot in her response video.

Third, the amount and substantiality of the Portion Taken

According to Rich the less of the content, you take the better that your case may be excused from a copyright strike but quite on the contrary as this subject is strictly a parody 

Rich states:  “This rule—less is more—is not necessarily true in parody cases. A parodist is permitted to borrow quite a bit, even the heart of the original work, in order to conjure up the original work. That’s because, as the Supreme Court has acknowledged, “the heart is also what most readily conjures up the [original] for parody, and it is the heart at which parody takes aim.” (Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, 510 U.S. 569 (1994).)” 

So, in this case, Sara’s argument is somewhat invalid in this rule. Jackie did, in fact, follow this guideline. Because Jackie’s video is as she states “Parody and commentary”. 

And my review of Jackie’s video is that it is satirical commentary.

Finally, the effect on the potential market. 

Did Jackie’s satirical commentary damage Sara’s potential earnings?

I’m looking at Sara’s social blade and no it did not. She has 9mil subscribers and counting. 

This argument is also invalid.

30% is such a small percentage of the video that it would barely affect any of her income if at all.

So reading Rich Stims article there’s also more information I’d like to cover in this review. He points out of course that my review will contradict itself or conflict with the rules stated above but that I have to make subjective judgments. 

My judgment in Sara using the four factors of fair use to support her complaint overruled. Because Jackie did, in fact, follow the four rules as her video is a parody if not considered constructive criticism in the form of her commentary. 

Jackie never claimed even by monetizing it that she owned Sara’s entire video content. She only used so very little of Sara’s content.

I think in order for Jackie to ever avoid this kind of backlash she should ask permission even if she thinks she shouldn’t have to. Jackie is neither above other content creators or below them. 

I also think Sara needs to step off of her high horse a little and stop acting like her content is the bee's knees of the crafting world. It’s not. Aesthetically pleasing if high saturation and dorky faces are your aesthetic. 

I definitely think Rich Stims Measuring Fair Use is excellent for using in arguments but you have to step outside your own critiques of Jackie’s work and look into your own. Sara, you are not above being criticized by other content creators and as I watched your response video I felt like you had a higher than thou attitude towards Jackie. That you thought her content was lazy and poorly executed.

Your response video was very redundant. You kept mentioning how you’re not a saint no youtuber is a saint. That you think that it’s extremely lazy that content creators take portions from other creators to make viable reviews on their videos.

You said that it's completely irrelevant to you that Jackie made commentary but that she took too much footage when she took the allotted percentage.

You continuously make contradictory arguments toward Jackie. That Jackie said you were punishing her but that you weren’t. In the beginning, you mentioned that you had three options. Hold her video to ensure that she never does that again. That is precisely what a punishment does. 

That you’re not annoyed that she made a review but that she took too much of your footage which is a complaint and in your video, you’re clearly irritated.  

You both say that 20% is allowed you’re both mistaken it’s 30%

For Jackie, if you would like my constructive criticism:

It’s dangerous out there take this

I feel Jackie was entirely within the guidelines of fair use upon the evidence received and that Sara’s response falls flat.

My verdict remains the same from my comment on Sara’s Response video. That I believe that Sara might be a little bitter from Jackie’s satirical commentary.

I feel if this would be taken to court that it would probably be dismissed if fair use is the only thing you have. If Sara thinks she can bring in the other factors

Like:

Intellectual Property and Creative Commons

IP doesn’t apply here because Sara’s video doesn’t benefit society it is in my point of view strictly for entertainment purposes.

The only thing in Sara’s video that was CC was the music

I was going to dissect Jackie’s video but as both videos are so closely intertwined I feel as though that would just be beating a dead horse.

The only advice I would give SaltECrafter is to ask and if they don’t give a butthurt response and give the green light you’re good to go. 

#tl;dr warning #Case of SaraBeautyCorner v #nerdecrafter #review #review blogs #angietheinsanecatreviews #crafts #youtube #youtubers #youtuber #saltecrafter #jackie #sarabeautycorner #sara #lengthy #very law and order-y #Sorry to talk your ear off

[likefusion]

5 Important Visual Lessons From Designers for Content Marketers: I don't want to write another article explaining the importance of visual content in your content marketing. And Joe Pulizzi already included the topic in his article about the biggest content marketing trends in 2017 so we don't need to outline it anymore. But a lot of marketers still don't understand visual content. Visual content is something that you, as a marketer, should work with a designer to create. Think about it this way: You need to influence people by touching an emotion that will make a segment of readers/consumers interact with you as a brand. And because the internet is so crowded with content, you need to take a step further to attract attention. What type of content will 65% of the population be more likely to recall? Visual. 65% of the population is more likely to recall visual #content via @SSRN.Click To Tweet You can't speak proficiently about visuals for your content marketing if you don't talk with the people who create them – the designers. Call them however you want: UX/UI designer, web designer, graphic designer, creative director, visual content creator, or art director. They are the ones who consume visual content, create visual content, and think about visual content every day. And that's why in this article, I go to these visual experts to share the five lessons content marketers need to know about visual content. HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: 37+ Tips and Tools for Picture-Perfect Visual Content 1. Know less is more  “When marketers feel that every little bit of info needs to be included on a piece that's when things get very muddy and messy,” says Joseph Kalinowski, creative director at Content Marketing Institute. And I agree with him. If you think creating a lot of content will bring you the results you want, well my friend, let me tell you that you are wrong. Creating a lot of content, articles, videos, and social media posts won't get you more clicks, leads, or whatever else you want to get. When I asked designer Paul Jarvis what content marketers need to know, I assumed he would reply in three words: Keep it simple. But I was wrong (and right): Less is always more. Non-designers seem to always want to add elements, more fonts, more colors, more stuff to designs to make it ‘pop' or stand out. When design, professional design, works best when it's focused and to the point. Less is always more when it comes to #design, says @PJRVS.Click To Tweet Many content marketers want to write one more piece of an article, to insert one more image, or to record one more video. But what if they focused on the thing that is important for them and their audience? Focusing on one point brings them value. As Mihai Cora, UX/UI designer for Smartketer, says: Give enough space between the lines. This will make it more comfortable to read. And I couldn't agree more. Yes, your content needs space and time to breathe. Your content needs to let your audience consume it, think about it, and interact with it. As Jozef Matas, head of design at Teamweek, says, “Reduce clutter and make it breathe.” Takeaway: Don't go overboard with text – design to give your content the space and time to be consumed easily by your audience. Don't go overboard w/ text. Design to give #content the space & time to be consumed easily.@katairobiClick To Tweet HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Bringing Ideas to Life: A Look Behind the Creative Curtain 2. Strike a balance What's the right mix between text- and visual-based content? A 2014 Blog Pros study shows that the 100 most popular blogs on average use one image every 350 words. That means if you write a 2,000-word article you should use at least six visuals, including the featured image. Use one image for every 350 words in an article, says @blogpros. #designClick To Tweet But throwing a few visuals in a blog post doesn't mean that you are doing a good job, or as Joe Kalinowski says: Many marketers in general have a good sense of design, but there are many times when they overlook some of the basic design principles that should be adhered to when trying to create visual content. Basic design principles should be adhered to when creating visual content, says @jkkalinowski. #designClick To Tweet Only half of B2B marketers say creating visual content is a priority. What about the other half? Aren't they interested in visual content? Ian Paget, a logo designer and visual content creator, outlines the importance of visual content for a successful content marketing strategy: Adding imagery every few paragraphs makes the content feel more engaging. Images can be created in a few different ways. Create your own imagery, using photography, software such as Photoshop, or online tools such as Bannersnack. This route is more time consuming, but means that you can create exactly what you need, and have a consistent style throughout your content. Adding imagery every few paragraphs makes the content feel more engaging, says @Logo_Geek. #designClick To Tweet Takeaway: Visual content creation should be as important as text or audio content creation. HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Is Design Mostly Dead? DIY Platforms vs. Hiring a Pro 3. See the color I believe I lost a few great articles and stories because of the color of the website. I couldn't understand why the designer (or developer) behind that website used that ugly combination with red and orange, or green and yellow. Think about how many users you lose each day because of your color combinations. Joe offers this suggestion: “Think back to the days of your high school art class when you had to make the color wheel. Contrasting and complementary colors, primary, secondary and tertiary colors, the list goes on. You don't have to get crazy … Just remember that unless it's the holiday, try to steer away from placing green type on a red background (LOL). “… If you have a general idea of a color that you would like to use as a base, there is an abundance of online tools like Sessions College that can help you choose colors that will work well with your palette.” Though the psychology of color is one of the most controversial aspects in branding, you still need to understand its importance. Takeaway: Every time you launch a content marketing project, make sure your use of color stays true to your brand. Every time you launch a #contentmarketing project, make sure use of color stays true to your brand. @katairobiClick To Tweet HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Brand Guidelines to the Rescue for Clear, Consistent Stories [Example] 4. Think about typography What is the difference between a Sans Serif font and Comic Sans or Curlz? If you're a designer, I bet you have a few ideas. If you're a marketer, you may ignore that question but you shouldn't. If your type is hard to read, readers will ignore your articles. Jacob Cass of Just™ Creative explains: (T)ypography plays a huge role in communicating a message visually. Every typeface has subtle nuances that will make or break your visual communication. So learning about the basics of typography will help set you up for visual marketing success. Every typeface has subtle nuances that will make or break your visual communication, says @JustCreative.Click To Tweet You don't have to be a professional in web design and understand the role of every type font, size, and color, but you need to know the basics. Jacob recommends a great book for you: The Non-Designer's Type Book. I love the way Joe puts together the importance of typography in this analogy: Think of a newspaper's front page, big headline, medium-sized subhead, small body copy with a nice accompanying photo that works well with all of the fonts and sizes. Now, imagine how hard that newspaper page would be to read if everything was the same size, font, font weight. Adjusting size and weight of items in your visual content is a must. Takeaway: Educate yourself on the basics of typography to ensure that readers won't find your content hard to read. HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Movie Poster Creates JAWS-Dropping Visual Storytelling Lessons 5. Don't let page-load time deter visitors When your website is loading so slowly that you can watch one season of House of Cards (OK, I'm exaggerating a little bit, but you got the point), you have big problems. As Google says, the best brand is the one who is there, useful, and quick. Ian suggests one way to speed things up in design – optimize images: “Make sure when creating images for the web, images are sized and compressed correctly.” And Patricia Coroi, graphic designer at Flipsnack, says: More people are consuming content using mobile, so being optimized for mobile is very important. And the best way to check out how ready is your website for mobile is by checking it with Google's tool. Takeaway: Make sure your visuals are optimized for the online environment. HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Is Your Content Ready for the Mobile Takeover? Tips and Tools to Ensure Speed Doesn't Kill Your Site Conclusion I let Denis Matveev, product designer at PromoRepublic, have the last word because he makes the value of design to all content marketers clear: Apart from art, design is a suite of rules and laws, such as typography, composition and color. When doing design, you don't steal, but borrow the best decision. Always seek for trends and reference in order to create a working, eye-catching, wow-effect visual. Apart from art, design is a suite of rules & laws, such as typography, composition, & color. @MatsofskiClick To Tweet So here are the five important lessons from designers every content marketer should learn: Know less is more – give visitors space and time to pace their viewing. Strike a balance – see visual content creation as important as text or audio creation. See the color – stay true to your brand. Think about typography – give visitors an easy-to-read experience. Don't let page-load time deter visitors – optimize your visuals. Now, get back to your content creation and see what you need to adjust to do a better job. But before you go, which one of these lessons do you think is a general problem for the content marketing industry? Let me know in comments. Want help in balancing your content marketing mix? Whether it's visuals vs. text or something else, get advice from experts in CMI's daily newsletter. Subscribe today – it's free! Cover image by SplitShire Please note:  All tools included in our blog posts are suggested by authors, not the CMI editorial team.  No one post can provide all relevant tools in the space. Feel free to include additional tools in the comments (from your company or ones that you have used). The post 5 Important Visual Lessons From Designers for Content Marketers appeared first on Content Marketing Institute. http://bit.ly/2oOdPXq

[lucyariablog]

5 Important Visual Lessons From Designers for Content Marketers

I don’t want to write another article explaining the importance of visual content in your content marketing. And Joe Pulizzi already included the topic in his article about the biggest content marketing trends in 2017 so we don’t need to outline it anymore.

But a lot of marketers still don’t understand visual content.

Visual content is something that you, as a marketer, should work with a designer to create.

Think about it this way: You need to influence people by touching an emotion that will make a segment of readers/consumers interact with you as a brand. And because the internet is so crowded with content, you need to take a step further to attract attention.

What type of content will 65% of the population be more likely to recall? Visual.

65% of the population is more likely to recall visual #content via @SSRN. Click To Tweet

You can’t speak proficiently about visuals for your content marketing if you don’t talk with the people who create them – the designers. Call them however you want: UX/UI designer, web designer, graphic designer, creative director, visual content creator, or art director. They are the ones who consume visual content, create visual content, and think about visual content every day.

And that’s why in this article, I go to these visual experts to share the five lessons content marketers need to know about visual content.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: 37+ Tips and Tools for Picture-Perfect Visual Content

1. Know less is more 

“When marketers feel that every little bit of info needs to be included on a piece that’s when things get very muddy and messy,” says Joseph Kalinowski, creative director at Content Marketing Institute.

And I agree with him.

If you think creating a lot of content will bring you the results you want, well my friend, let me tell you that you are wrong. Creating a lot of content, articles, videos, and social media posts won’t get you more clicks, leads, or whatever else you want to get.

When I asked designer Paul Jarvis what content marketers need to know, I assumed he would reply in three words: Keep it simple. But I was wrong (and right):

Less is always more. Non-designers seem to always want to add elements, more fonts, more colors, more stuff to designs to make it ‘pop’ or stand out. When design, professional design, works best when it’s focused and to the point.

Less is always more when it comes to #design, says @PJRVS. Click To Tweet

Many content marketers want to write one more piece of an article, to insert one more image, or to record one more video. But what if they focused on the thing that is important for them and their audience? Focusing on one point brings them value.

As Mihai Cora, UX/UI designer for Smartketer, says:

Give enough space between the lines. This will make it more comfortable to read.

And I couldn’t agree more.

Yes, your content needs space and time to breathe. Your content needs to let your audience consume it, think about it, and interact with it.

As Jozef Matas, head of design at Teamweek, says, “Reduce clutter and make it breathe.”

Takeaway: Don’t go overboard with text – design to give your content the space and time to be consumed easily by your audience.

Don’t go overboard w/ text. Design to give #content the space & time to be consumed easily.@katairobi Click To Tweet

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Bringing Ideas to Life: A Look Behind the Creative Curtain

2. Strike a balance

What’s the right mix between text- and visual-based content?

A 2014 Blog Pros study shows that the 100 most popular blogs on average use one image every 350 words. That means if you write a 2,000-word article you should use at least six visuals, including the featured image.

Use one image for every 350 words in an article, says @blogpros. #design Click To Tweet

But throwing a few visuals in a blog post doesn’t mean that you are doing a good job, or as Joe Kalinowski says:

Many marketers in general have a good sense of design, but there are many times when they overlook some of the basic design principles that should be adhered to when trying to create visual content.

Basic design principles should be adhered to when creating visual content, says @jkkalinowski. #design Click To Tweet

Only half of B2B marketers say creating visual content is a priority. What about the other half? Aren’t they interested in visual content?

Ian Paget, a logo designer and visual content creator, outlines the importance of visual content for a successful content marketing strategy:

Adding imagery every few paragraphs makes the content feel more engaging. Images can be created in a few different ways. Create your own imagery, using photography, software such as Photoshop, or online tools such as Bannersnack. This route is more time consuming, but means that you can create exactly what you need, and have a consistent style throughout your content.

Adding imagery every few paragraphs makes the content feel more engaging, says @Logo_Geek. #design Click To Tweet

Takeaway: Visual content creation should be as important as text or audio content creation.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Is Design Mostly Dead? DIY Platforms vs. Hiring a Pro

3. See the color

I believe I lost a few great articles and stories because of the color of the website. I couldn’t understand why the designer (or developer) behind that website used that ugly combination with red and orange, or green and yellow.

Think about how many users you lose each day because of your color combinations. Joe offers this suggestion:

“Think back to the days of your high school art class when you had to make the color wheel. Contrasting and complementary colors, primary, secondary and tertiary colors, the list goes on. You don’t have to get crazy … Just remember that unless it’s the holiday, try to steer away from placing green type on a red background (LOL).

“… If you have a general idea of a color that you would like to use as a base, there is an abundance of online tools like Sessions College that can help you choose colors that will work well with your palette.”

Though the psychology of color is one of the most controversial aspects in branding, you still need to understand its importance.

Takeaway: Every time you launch a content marketing project, make sure your use of color stays true to your brand.

Every time you launch a #contentmarketing project, make sure use of color stays true to your brand. @katairobi Click To Tweet

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Brand Guidelines to the Rescue for Clear, Consistent Stories [Example]

4. Think about typography

What is the difference between a Sans Serif font and Comic Sans or Curlz? If you’re a designer, I bet you have a few ideas. If you’re a marketer, you may ignore that question but you shouldn’t.

If your type is hard to read, readers will ignore your articles. Jacob Cass of Just™ Creative explains:

(T)ypography plays a huge role in communicating a message visually. Every typeface has subtle nuances that will make or break your visual communication. So learning about the basics of typography will help set you up for visual marketing success.

Every typeface has subtle nuances that will make or break your visual communication, says @JustCreative. Click To Tweet

You don’t have to be a professional in web design and understand the role of every type font, size, and color, but you need to know the basics. Jacob recommends a great book for you: The Non-Designer’s Type Book.

I love the way Joe puts together the importance of typography in this analogy:

Think of a newspaper’s front page, big headline, medium-sized subhead, small body copy with a nice accompanying photo that works well with all of the fonts and sizes. Now, imagine how hard that newspaper page would be to read if everything was the same size, font, font weight. Adjusting size and weight of items in your visual content is a must.

Takeaway: Educate yourself on the basics of typography to ensure that readers won’t find your content hard to read.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Movie Poster Creates JAWS-Dropping Visual Storytelling Lessons

5. Don’t let page-load time deter visitors

When your website is loading so slowly that you can watch one season of House of Cards (OK, I’m exaggerating a little bit, but you got the point), you have big problems.

As Google says, the best brand is the one who is there, useful, and quick.

Ian suggests one way to speed things up in design – optimize images: “Make sure when creating images for the web, images are sized and compressed correctly.”

And Patricia Coroi, graphic designer at Flipsnack, says:

More people are consuming content using mobile, so being optimized for mobile is very important. And the best way to check out how ready is your website for mobile is by checking it with Google’s tool.

Takeaway: Make sure your visuals are optimized for the online environment.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:

Is Your Content Ready for the Mobile Takeover?

Tips and Tools to Ensure Speed Doesn’t Kill Your Site

Conclusion

I let Denis Matveev, product designer at PromoRepublic, have the last word because he makes the value of design to all content marketers clear:

Apart from art, design is a suite of rules and laws, such as typography, composition and color. When doing design, you don’t steal, but borrow the best decision. Always seek for trends and reference in order to create a working, eye-catching, wow-effect visual.

Apart from art, design is a suite of rules & laws, such as typography, composition, & color. @Matsofski Click To Tweet

So here are the five important lessons from designers every content marketer should learn:

Know less is more – give visitors space and time to pace their viewing.

Strike a balance – see visual content creation as important as text or audio creation.

See the color – stay true to your brand.

Think about typography – give visitors an easy-to-read experience.

Don’t let page-load time deter visitors – optimize your visuals.

Now, get back to your content creation and see what you need to adjust to do a better job. But before you go, which one of these lessons do you think is a general problem for the content marketing industry? Let me know in comments.

Want help in balancing your content marketing mix? Whether it’s visuals vs. text or something else, get advice from experts in CMI’s daily newsletter. Subscribe today – it’s free!

Cover image by SplitShire

Please note:  All tools included in our blog posts are suggested by authors, not the CMI editorial team.  No one post can provide all relevant tools in the space. Feel free to include additional tools in the comments (from your company or ones that you have used).

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New Post has been published on http://www.madpicks.com/sports-picks/question-got-dm/

Question I got over DM

Today in my post I invited anyone with questions to DM me.  I got a great question and figured rather than just answer it for one person I would start this page for any questions I get so I can explain them to everyone.  Keep in mind while reading these is I am by no means saying I am correct.  This is simply my take on the question. Here we go:

  Jan 11th 2017

Hey just read your latest article and picks. Really appreciate the insight. Quick question on money management: are you in the camp that says that all plays should be 1u? (No adjustment for estimated edge). Thanks!!

Ok, first off, awesome question!  This is something I have been thinking about (and wrestling with) for my whole gambling career.  I have tried both ways and here are my thoughts on the subject.  There are two chapters to this question.  1 – Bankroll, bets, and emotions.  2 – Put away the driver until you shoot under 90.

I have seriously thought about this for years and years so strap in cause this could be a long one:)

Let’s start with putting away the driver until you shoot under 90.

About 10-12 years ago I got invited to a golf day bachelor party. I have golfed from the time I was 4 years old until I turned 21 and left home so I knew my way around the course.

I show up to the golf party and it was hilarious.  We’re all sitting around having beers waiting for everyone to show up and you would have thought these guys were besties with Tiger fucking woods.  These guys were basically pro golfers (or so they thought).

These guys are comparing their long drives stories to the point I thought they were going to start rubbing each other’s cocks.   We finally make it to the first tee and out come the bad ass drives!!  (Insert the manliest man noises EVER).  There were fucking balls flying all over the fucking place.  Some dudes were hitting 250+ yards but shit was spraying left and right like it was Golden Coral on a Friday night.

I stand up there with my 5 wood and hit it straight down for about 180 yards.  These fuckers laughed at me like I was an 8 year old girl.  “Too pussy to bring out the big gun eh” (we say that “eh” thing up here in Canada).  Very long story short these dumb asses and their “big guns” all shot 100+ on the round and I came in with a very boring 87.  My game is nothing fancy.  I hit 160-180 straight down the middle. Lots of times on a par 4 I would take a nice easy layup shot, pitch on and 2 put for boggy.   By the back 9 I shit you not these guys were finally putting away their drivers. They should have probably sold their fucking drivers on Ebay but hey, it was a start.

Betting more than a standard unit on a game is like using your driver.  If you are very very very very very experienced it can be a benefit, otherwise leave that shit in your bag.  The problem with using the driver (this is a metaphor right you get that? Driver equals raising your bet…keep up man) you will always be chasing that feeling you got the one time you hit it dead strait 300 yards.  You will tell that story to your friends and rub your cock against the mattress in the morning thinking about that single drive.  What about the other 50 drives that ended in disaster?  You don’t jam your cock into the mattress in the morning thinking about those ones now do you?

The other thing I witnessed on this golf trip is when guys would have a bad hole they would take it out on their driver the next hole.  They were going to hit that fucker 500 yards which ALWAYS ended in disaster.  When you don’t flat bet (keep your bets the same) you allow for a lot of emotion to enter the situation.  The one thing I know to be certain is sports betting and emotion are like oil and water.  You have a bad day today (or a great day) what do you do?  You now look for a reason to make a play your max unit zinger.

If you think having a bet range is in your best interest here’s what you do. Take 3 months and rate your plays as you would if you had a bet range and then see how your higher confidence plays do?  Most people will find (3 month sample size) the plays they “love the most” are actually the ones that perform the worst.  Why is this?  Vegas has a way of setting lines so we love certain plays.   These fuckers know what they’re doing and most people fall for it.  One way a novice sports bettor can eliminate the “I fucking love this game, lets bet a ton” pitfall is always betting the same amount.

Now if you just read that and thought “3 months, HA HA HA , fuck this guy.  No way I’m tracking bets for 3 month, I want to get paid toFUCKINGday!!  I love that impatient as fuck, go get em attitude so here is what YOU do: You log onto your phone and computer and delete every app and site relating to sports betting because you will suck at this and lose all your money and probably others also.  If you don’t have patience you don’t have anything….at least not here.  Sorry, but it’s true so do it! Your family (and you) can thank me later.

OK – moving on.

In my opinion the only time a less experienced sports bettor could possibly have success with multi stage bet amounts is if they used a pure numbers system.  One where the bettor has ZERO input on the weight of each play.   Maybe in a situation where no emotion can come into play it might work….maybe.  My advice though is leaving the driver in the bag until you can shoot under 90 consistently.

Now there is obvious reasoning that says if you find a larger edge in a play you should bet more.  This is true but only if you are a long term winning sports bettor at 1u bets.  Now please understand that 95% of people reading this are not long term winning sports bettors.   I know we all run around on twitter and pretend like we are.  I also know we all love splashing around that max unit winner but my advice would be this.  If you can’t win long term flat betting (1u bets only) you sure as fuck aren’t going to win with multi level betting.  I am at the stage right now where I am thinking of getting into 1 and 1.5 unit bets this MLB season.  Why only 1.5?  Well that leads us to chapter two:

Bankroll, bets, and emotions.

OK, lets throw down a little honesty here.  This is something about sports betting I don’t understand.  Lets say I wanted to have a 1-5 unit bet structure how do I do that?  My “edge of my seat bet” is $100 (that’s my 1u bet).  I “feel” that bet so what would I make my “levels”?   I don’t want to bet more than $100 on a game so I guess it would be $20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 right?  I will tell you this, If my “formula” tells me to bet $20 on a game I am going to leave it off because who gives a shit?  I have better things to do than bet 1/5th of my comfortable bet.

OK, so I raise them up.  Lets make them $50, $100, $150, $200, $250.  OK, so now when I have a game I “love” I am risking $250? No fucking thank you.  You get where I’m going with this?  Now maybe this is all proportionate to my financial situation vs. my bets.  I am not poor by any means but I’m not rich either.  In regular life $100 is a nice amount of money but $250 is very nice.  I wouldn’t just go blow $250 on a whim….at least not often.

I want to “feel” every bet I make, not just the max unit zingers.  When you know all your plays are going to be 1u you can make your 1u an appropriate amount for you, knowing it’s your max bet.  A $100 unit bet is barely comfortable for me but I can make my 1u that amount knowing it’s my max.

I love these cappers on twitter who give away all these 1u plays and then hit their 10u bomb.  Are you fucking kidding me? Do you really think anyone tailed that?  Some dude out there who is laying $100 (a big bet for him) didn’t all of a sudden lay 1G because you called in a BOMB play.  Sorry, that’s not how any of this works.

It’s all showmanship people.  Any capper who has a larger scale than 1-5u is full of shit.   Even a 1-5 range is reserved for a very seasoned capper.  If you see them pulling out the old 5u bomb more than once a week (once a month even) I would say you better be careful.

We live in a world where it’s about flash and marketing and everyone loves the big unit wins.  If a capper slides a few 10u losses into the shadows and then celebrates a 10u win it can look pretty appealing.  It’s like the long drives of my buddies.  If there were girls around I am sure they would have been more impressed with the 300 yard drive that landed 3 fairways over than my pussy 180 up the middle….even thought I killed them on the round.

Now again, I’m not saying having a multi level betting system doesn’t work because it can, and there can be a benefit to it, but you better know 100% what the fuck you’re doing!! If you find a capper who can make a multi level bet system work and do it successfully long term you’re dealing with a very savvy sports bettor so stick around and cash with them!!

I’m not at that point yet I will be honest.  I have found a way I can carve out a few dollars each month and I am too apprehensive to take that leap into a 1 and maybe 2u bet system.  Kind of that “why ruin a good thing” mentality.  I will tell you this though, if I turned tout tomorrow you better know I’m rolling a 25u bomb from time to time.  Nothing sells like 25u bombs baby!!  LOL – just kidding but that’s how some people think.

If you’re new to sports betting I would highly, HIGHLY recommend you stick to a single unit bet structure.  Go 6 months and show a profit that way and then go up to 1.5u.  Give it another 6 months and move up to 2, and so on.  Look, I know that’s not what you want to hear but you have to decide what’s more important to you?  Money in your pocket or twitter followers?

If you’re thinking of tailing a sports bettor don’t even LOOK at anyone who has any bet higher than 5 units.  If they have a 10u, or 50u bet just walk the fuck away.  This is not my opinion this is fact.  I could probably do a full write up on that also but let’s leave it at that for today.

GL to you bro, thanks for the fun question

Corona:)

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