Once again, Tumblr manages to succeed via just being honest with their users.
I made a post back around April fool's about the crabs being so popular because the joke was that every other website tries to trick you into clicking things so they can make money from your clicks and what if instead a website just asked "please click this revenue generating crab. It is there to generate revenue. In return you will have clicked on a crab. Nothing more." And the answer to that question was "people will frantically click on that crab. They don't hate the idea of the website getting money, they hate the idea of being profited on against their will".
So Tumblr implemented actual revenue crabs. "For this much money you can fill your or someone else's dash with virtual crabs. This will have the effect of there being crabs on their screen."
And people will buy those crabs. Because yes you're spending money on something stupid and useless but it's being sold to you as "hey you want something stupid and useless?", which is a nice change of pace from every other site trying to make itself out to be something more than what it is.
Twitter is floundering with the checkmark system because it's being sold as "confirm that you are someone important and who you say you are is true", which it isn't at all right now because anyone can buy one. You're buying a useless checkmark that only says that YOU think you're important. Or, more often than not right now, you are intending to trick other people into thinking you're someone you're not.
Meanwhile, Tumblr just said "Consider this double check mark. It does nothing. You will be marking yourself as someone who paid money for a meaningless checkmark and sometimes it will randomly turn into a bunch of crabs, making the site harder to use". And the userbase is like "Well sure, that sounds delightful."
The point is, despite what all the marketing and advertising people have tried to say, painting trash gold and trying to pass it off as something better is almost never as effective as just saying "hey you want this trash?"
Why yes, in fact, I do.
Once you become a certain age, it is your responsibility to unlearn behaviors that hinder your growth as a person.
Hate hate hate how when I get angry there is a physical reaction but it's not glowing eyes or growing claws or something it's crying. This feels unfair.
THE SANDMAN Interview | Neil Gaiman, Tom Sturridge and Cast Talk Netflix Series AKA Tom Sturridge ready to fight everyone for The Sandman bless him.
Slytherins appreciation drawing đ
older lotr illustrations sometimes depict Ă©owyn wearing ridiculously small armour. apart from the problem general sexualisation of the only female character (who really does anything), thereâs another hilarious thought:
Ă©owyn pretended to be dernhelm, a man. to fit in, she must have worn menâs armor. so the armor in the illustrations is normal for rohirrim.
#dramione ficlet #draco x hermione #draco malfoy #hermione granger
As her charity event draws to a close, Hermione is tired, but pleased.Â
The crowd is larger than sheâd dared to hope for, and heavily engaged, friends and admirers cheering and whistling with each new announcement. The night has gone smoothly, no hitches or scandals. And with one bachelor left, the rest should be easy.
She smiles to herself from where she stands just off-stage as the inevitable crowd favorite is announced.
âLadies and gentlemen, please welcome our final lot for tonight...Draco Malfoy!â
He walks onstage with faltering steps, handsome as ever but lacking his usual cock-sure attitude. The man is nervous.
She feels a flash of something. Is itâŠpity?
Theyâd come up with a strategy for tonight, and itâd gone almost exactly according to plan.
Almost.
Ginny had won Blaise easily, avoiding any need to share her boyfriend.Â
Theo had (dramatically) over-bid on Harry, happy to publicly embarrass his husband for a good cause. Plus, he knew the large sum would be good publicity for his firm.
But then Pansy, meant to protect Draco from misguided witches with delusions of betrothal contracts, had gottenâŠdistracted.
Viktor Krum offering to participate had been a boon for Hermioneâs Charity Bachelor Auction. The addition of such a high-profile celebrity brought in significant interest and advanced press coverage, and Hermione had known Viktor would be a good sport about the whole thing. It had been an easy decision with no foreseeable downside.
Until a glassy-eyed Pansy Parkinson had used all the galleons sheâd brought to bid on Malfoy to secure a date with the international Quidditch star, leaving the tall, sought-after blonde on stage looking vulnerable and unsure.Â
Hermione offers him an encouraging smile.Â
He grimaces in return.
Itâll be fine, though. Right?
It has to be.
Her event canât be the thing that forces him back into marriage dates after years of successful avoidance. Narcissa would be over the moon, of course. But Hermione would feel terrible.
She breathes a sigh of relief when Padma, a mutual friend with a known preference for witches, bids. A platonic date would solve all of their problems.
Her relief is short-lived.
The crowd parts to reveal a determined-looking Astoria Greengrass raising a paddle in response.
Malfoyâs panicked eyes find Hermioneâs.
Please, he mouths. Desperate.
Her heart aches for him.
Heâs a good friend, has been since eighth year.
Heâs also a great backup date for functions, far more attentive than any of her exes. He has impeccable manners, grabbing her drinks and anticipating her needs before she has a chance to ask for anything. And heâs particularly great at subverting awkward conversations.
Heâs gone to dozens of stuffy affairs, and heâs never asked for anything in return.Â
Until now.
Ron, whoâd volunteered to MC when Lav refused to let him participate as a bachelor, calls for final bids.
Hermione sighs.
Itâs not smart. Instead of the cause, this will be the story in tomorrowâs Prophet.Â
But heâs begging her with those sad, puppy-dog eyes.
Resigned, she steps onto the stage and raises her paddle.
A hush falls over the auditorium, a sudden blanket of near-silence.Â
Through the quiet, someone in the crowd actually gasps. Which is ridiculous; their friendship has been well-documented. Hermione suppresses the urge to roll her eyes.
Astoria keeps bidding, and so does Hermione. In minutes theyâve promised more than the event had previously earned twice over.
Hermione is going to murder Pansy.
When they hit a landmark sum, Astoria finally backs off, and Hermione is pronounced the winner to a tittering crowd.
She walks on stage, giving Malfoy a perfunctory embrace.
âYouâre paying me back,â she whispers.
He returns it, gripping tightly, wrapping her in a warm embrace. A warm, friendly embrace. âEvery knut,â he agrees, his voice a low growl. Not gratitude, but something else.
A shiver travels up her spine. Which is silly, of course. This is Draco Malfoy. Her friend.
âWe donât have to go on the date,â she says as theyâre engulfed by the din of the applauding crowd. âI know the organizer, sheâll let it slide.â See? Itâs funny. One big joke, nothing more.
âGranger.â It sounds like a warning, but he wonât let her pull back. âIâm taking you on the best date of your life.â
He kisses her then, swallowing her confusion, and itâs even better than she remembers.
Before they were friends, thereâd been that one kiss that one night that neither of them had talked about after.
The one she thinks of sometimes after a bad day, or a bad date, or a particularly long dry spell.
Blood pounds in her ears as the crowd responds enthusiastically to the new development. Hermione looks around wildlyâat Ron, in the announcerâs stand. Out at the crowd. Anywhere but Dracoâs intense eyes, trained on her.
From the back of the room, Pansy gives her the kind of encouraging glare only she is capable of.
In fact, all of their friends are watching them, rather expectantly.
She finally meets his gaze, and finds him grinning. âI donât understand.â
âParksâs been hot for Krum for ages. She begged me to let her out of our deal,â he says, with a carefully practiced shrug. âSeemed like a good time to try something Iâve wanted for ages, too.â
â...And you just left it up to chance?â she asks, suspiciously.
âOf course not,â he scoffs, leading her from the spotlight as though sheâd already agreed to the date. âWho do you think talked Astoria into bidding?â
A Malfoy always gets what he wants.
I'll tell you all how the story ends, where the good guys die and the bad guys win It ain't about all the friends you made, but the graffiti they write on your grave
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