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writings-of-a-hufflepuff · 4 years ago

Text

Of Bruised Knees and Climbed Trees

Fandom: The Mandalorian

Collection/Series: Western AU- Putting Down Roots

Pairing: Sheriff Din Djarin x Female Teacher Reader

Writer: @writings-of-a-hufflepuff aka @hufflepuffing-all-day-long

Rating: G

Warnings: N/A

Summary: He has always been gentle with the little one’s but it is nothing compared to the sureness with which he climbs the tall tree and gentleness with which he reassures one of your students that they can in fact make the climb down and they’ll be okay.

Notes: We all love papa Din and is there anything sweeter than this guy being all gentle and kind to scared little one’s? Pure dad material.

Archiveofourown

Lunch times at the schoolhouse were never quiet affairs. After eight years as a school teacher you had learnt that if something was going to happen, it was inevitably going to happen at lunch time when the children were out of the classroom doors and in the fresh air. Touch wood, you think touching the wall of the schoolhouse, you had yet to have anything too dramatic happen this school year. There had been no fights between the older boys and girls which had in previous years had a tendency to happen as frustrations and teenage angst boiled over. There had been no major injuries, no children had gone missing at lunch time, and no one had attempted to tattoo another child like Davey McDonald that one year. He had definitely been the source of most of your schoolhouse drama. With him having completed his school last year, perhaps, you thought, this year might prove to be uneventful.

This year had been rather tame and as you stood on the wooden porch of the schoolhouse watching your children make the most of their hour to run, get fresh air, and eat their lunches, you couldn’t help but smile. You watched Grogu, Mary-Beth and Timmy playing at the small pond, more of a puddle really, that rested near the school. Mary-Beth was showing both boys how to skip stones and Grogu seemed impressed every single time she managed to get a perfect skip. Timmy fumbled at his attempt, stone landing in the water with a sploosh!

Your eyes drifted to the older kids, eating their lunch and giggling together in groups. The boys had separated off from the girls, no doubt more and more aware of their differences as courting became a new interest in their eyes. Soon you’d have the usual problems of teenage love on your hands, sweet, but always requiring your eyes to be peeled. While the boys would face no repercussions for a dalliance, the girls would, and you always made sure to keep a chaperone's watchful eye on them each year. Much to their annoyance.

You spotted Jerome sitting on his own, sketchbook and pencil in hand and carefully walked your way over, picking through the rocks and fallen leaves as the weather began to turn colder. He was wrapped up full, only a little bit of his face visible beneath a large scarf and fluffy hat.

“Do you mind if I sit with you, Jerome?”

“Not at all, Miss.” He quickly goes back to his drawing and despite the desire to peek you resist the urge and wait for him to offer to show you, if that were to happen at all. You pride yourself on creating relationships born from trust with your pupils and part of that was letting them come to you rather than demanding they share things. Jerome had become more willing to share his art bit by bit, preening under your admiration and praise and you hoped that it would be enough to encourage him to pursue his dream of art school. You had a few old acquaintances you hoped would be willing to offer him patronage if they saw his work, but that was a few years off and for now, you were just content to provide him with kind words and support.

He doesn’t ask if you’d like to have a look, just shuffles the book over into your lap with a shy look away, not wanting to see your reaction. They’re beautiful little drawings of the world around him. The daisies in the grass, the leaves on the ground, the nearly bare trees. A few sketches of the other children playing. Each has careful line strokes, hashing to shade and a style to them that gives them an almost classical look. Smooth, soft.

“These are beautiful, Jerome! You really have a gift!” You praise him, carefully handing the book back for him to return to his sketching. The two of you fall into companionable silence as he draws and you watch the children around you.

It is when you go to ring the bell to draw them back into class with a ‘Lunch is over, boys and girls! Time to get back to work!’, that you notice a crowd gathering quite a distance away from the school underneath some trees. With a quick request that Jerome keep an eye on the younger children, you stride your way over, hands lifting your skirt from the dirt.

“What’s going on? David, why are you all…” You trail off as you look up to see the exact reason they’re all crowding beneath the tall oak tree.

Lilly-Anne is shaking at the very top, arms wrapped tightly around the branch she’d managed to make it to. The girl is barely ten, and has always been one of your more adventurous and confident children, but in that moment she is clearly petrified and you very much consider climbing the tree yourself to get her.

“Lilly-Anne, dear, are you stuck?” You can’t think of a possible reason but that fact, that she is stuck in some way whether mental or physical.

“I-I-I I can’t get down! I-” She cuts herself off in panic, clinging even tighter to the branch as a brisk wind causes the smaller branches to shake.

“I’m coming to get you! Don’t worry, sweetheart! It’s going to be okay!” You say, sounding much more confident than you actually are about your ability to climb a thirty foot tall oak tree in a dress and heeled boots. You haven’t climbed a tree since you were thirteen years old and have never been a particularly fan of heights, but needs must.

You’re planting a foot on a knot in the tree and reaching up for a lower branch when spurs clink behind you and a familiar deep drawl sounds out from behind you.

“Everything alright, Miss Y/N?” You’re in truth rather relieved when you turn to see Din standing there, thumbs tucked into his belt behind the buckle. The worn hat he never seems to be without is tilted back as he looks over you, your gaggle of children and up into the tree. The bemused expression turns to one of concern when he sees Lilly-Anne at the top, immediately pulling his hat and holsters off and placing them on the ground.

Before you can even reply to his question he has gentle hands on your waist twisting you away from the tree before placing a boot in the same spot your foot was moments ago. It doesn’t irritate you that he has done all this without asking, instead you are relieved. You know you are not dressed for tree climbing nor are you proficient at it, Din is better suited for the task and you are glad that he is here.

“Lilly-Anne, Ad’ika, it’s the sheriff! I’m coming to get you, little one, don’t you worry about a thing!” He keeps his voice even, soothing, the same voice he uses whenever Grogu has a nightmare. She might be feet up in the air but even from down at the base of the tree he can see how scared she is, can hear her whimpering and crying out for someone to come help her. Like any scared little kid.

He’s not really thinking much of anything, in truth, not when he sees the little girl terrified and crying at the top of the tall tree. There’s a memory from his past, a small boy at the top of a large tree, his adopted father climbing to get him with gentle words. He remembers the fear of being at the top, of being so confident in your ability to get all the way up that you never considered just how you’d make your way back down.

He’s not scared of heights, not anymore. His adoptive father had made sure of that. Taught him to climb right back down, how to face that fear that makes you freeze. It’s not a hard climb, and each foothold is easy to find. The tree is sturdy, thick branches and a wide trunk. Old, older than him, older than any of them and he wonders how many children have climbed it only to need a guardian or parent to come and rescue them from the top.

“It’s alright, little one! I’m on my way, you just hang tight, okay?”

“O-o-okay…” He likes Lilly-Anne, she likes his adventure stories the most. The little wild card a born adventurer herself, she always talks about becoming a famous gunslinger, constantly badgering him to teach her how to shoot. Adventurous spirit, stubborn, but he’s never seen her scared of anything. It breaks Din’s heart to see her usual confidence and fearlessness missing.

You’re worried. That’s the best way to describe what you’re feeling in the pit of your stomach and it’s nail biting, stomach churning worry. A part of you knows that Din is competent in a million different ways, that he’ll be fine climbing a tree that a ten year old managed to scale and that he’ll be fine bringing her back down. Another part of you worries that maybe he’ll slip or she’ll slip or both of them will slip. The thought of either of them getting hurt sends you into a pacing sort of panic at the bottom of the tree, eyes on them the whole time, watching Din scale as your feet move you back and forth, to and fro.

He’s at the top before you can even blink, bracing himself besides her and talking to her low enough that you can’t hear. She’s shaking and you’re not sure if it is the wind or the fear that does it to her. He’s steady as a rock, it doesn’t surprise you, Din has, from the moment he walked into town, been steady, stable, and competent. He brings an ease to everything he does and seems to trust in his own skills beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“Hey, Ad’ika, I’m right here, okay? Look at me…” He knows this is the hard part, how to convince her to come down even with his help. She is so scared and he can now finally see the tear tracks over her chubby cheeks and the redness of her eyes. This little girl is so terribly scared and it makes his heart ache for her. But, he promises himself, that he’ll be the stable presence she needs, that he’ll be calm and collected for her even with a thirty foot drop beneath them and you pacing the ground below in worry.

Lilly-Anne’s bottom lip is trembling and her knuckles are white from holding on so tight, but she looks at him and seems to calm a little at his presence beside her. “I need you to hold onto me okay, sweetheart? I’m going to come closer and I need you to hold onto me so I can help you down, okay?” He knows it’s a big ask, knowing she’d have to pull herself away from the safety of the branch and trust that he’d keep her safe and secure, but she nods her head at him with a little whimper and he knows she’s brave enough to do this.

“You’re doing so well, Ad’ika.” Din praises her as he sidles as close as he can, helping her, with one arm, wrap her own around his neck and rest her legs around his hips. She’s a little big to be carried normally, getting to that age where her legs are getting a little too long and her body doesn’t fit as easily as Grogu’s would against his hip, but she’s light and easy to wrap around him as he secures his own feet and hands getting ready to make the climb down.

“You got all the way up here, Lilly-Anne, you can get back down, okay? Look,” Din begins the climb down, at each handhold and foot placement he points out to her that she could grab here or step there. He wants her to understand that if she could get all the way up, she could have made her way down. While he’s more than happy to help her, he knows her. She is an adventurous child, likely to climb a tree again and likely to need to make her way back down. Just like his buir had done, he was determined to make sure she was never scared of getting back down again. “You just need to place your hands where they fit best, move them down with you, a step at a time, Ad’ika. A step at a time.”

“It’s...it’s scary though…”

“I’ll let you in on a lil’ secret…” He turns his head to give her a meaningful look with a soft smile, stopping where he is just for a moment, “it’s not being scared that matters, it’s being brave enough to do it anyway.”

People think him fearless. The fearless sheriff, cleaning up the town, keeping people safe, facing down men with guns and hunting down criminals. He’s not. He’s scared of a lot of things, mostly Grogu, you or the other little ones getting hurt. Losing you from his life. Losing his son. Being a disappointment to his son. That scares him more than any threat to his own body, but still in the face of that fear he is brave. Bravery has never been the absence of fear, it’s doing what you need to do anyway, knowing that it terrifies you. His buir had taught him that and he’d teach Lilly-Anne that, teach Grogu that.

As he continues down the tree he can see her process his words. Brain working hard behind big blue eyes before she tugs on the back of his shirt to stop him where he is. Once again he stops climbing. You’re still pacing below, every time they stop you grow more anxious wondering what on earth could be happening. Did Din lose his footing? Was he faltering in some way? Was Lilly-Anne panicking?

But, that isn’t the case. When he asks her what’s wrong, she simply tells him she wants to try and climb down on her own, with his help. He can feel pride blooming in his chest, like a new bud opening up to the world in spring, and so he carefully helps her off of his hip and adjusts her footing and handholds before he moves below her so he can help her ease her way down and catch her if she slips.

She takes those first steps backwards, tentatively, scared of where she should put her feet, but each step after becomes more confident until they’re climbing at a decent pace back down the tree. She is a natural climber.

“You’re doing so well, Lil’ika! I knew you could do it, darlin’.” Din’s voice is quiet but now half way down you can actually hear him speaking to her, little praises at every successful step, reminders of how brave she is, how good she is doing. It eases some of that panic within you, warms your chest at the sounds of him, so utterly paternal and kind.

She is smiling wider as she gets nearer to the bottom, you can see that the fear has left her, the panic gone, replaced with a bravery that you are thankful to see. She has always been a brave child, an adventurous child, fearless. The thought that she would lose that had terrified you almost as much as the thought that she was stuck at the top of that tree.

The moment her feet touch the ground again you are fussing over her like a mother hen, “Lilly-Anne, what possessed you to climb such a tall tree?!” You both do not want to stifle her adventurous spirit and at the same time feel a sense of responsibility to teach her to think before taking potentially dangerous actions. It is the one cruelty of being a teacher and not a friend, you must always tell them off for doing something which could have ended with them hurt because no one else would. “You could have been hurt, sweetheart.” You soften the blow with the endearment, checking her over for cuts and bruises. Her hands are a little rough, but otherwise she is fine and despite your fussing and admonishment she is still smiling.

“I got back down, Miss Y/N! I got back down!” You sigh out from your place kneeling in front of her, a small smile making its way to your face. Before you tug lightly at one of the blonde braids of her hair. You want to be stern, but can’t find it in yourself to be when she had in fact managed to get all the way back down, when she was so clearly proud of herself. How could you bring yourself to crush that happiness?

“Yes, yes, you did, well done, sweet girl...now that you’ve nearly given me a heart attack, why don’t you thank the sheriff and go get sorted for your next lesson?” You can still feel the residual adrenaline running through you, your heart is still beating faster than it should. To think you were going to climb up that tree to get her, in a full dress and heeled boots...you suspected the outcome would have been the two of you stuck up that tree, not just one. What a sight that would have made.

“Thank you, Sheriff Djarin!” He’s buckling his holster on as she turns to him, already getting back into sheriff mode as he places that worn hat over dark brown curls. He cuts an impressive figure as sheriff, but you most enjoy him at his softest, when he lets the walls fall for the children and shows you who he really is underneath all that responsibility and posturing.

“You’re welcome, Ad’ika, you remember how to get down for next time?”

“Uh huh!” Like all children she nods her head so vigorously you briefly worry she’ll concuss herself, but know that they always seem to be fine afterwards.

“Good. Go get ready for your lesson.” He pats the top of her head with a soft smile. You only ever see that smile around you and the children, including Grogu, of course. The two of you watch her run off, the other children in the group following her at your insistence that they better be ready at the desks by the time you return.

You know you need to move soon, they are waiting for their next set of lessons before the day ends and you have things to teach them. Things you always stress are important. But, you can’t ever resist spending a little more time with Din, even more so when it comes to thanking him for his hand in helping you with the children. He is always there when you need him, when his support or involvement is required.

“Thank you, Din...I...I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t turned up. I’m sure we both would have been stuck up there if I’d tried to get her…” There’s something about being alone with Din that excites you more than it should. Perhaps, it’s the reminder that you’re an unmarried woman, he’s an unmarried man, and the two of you certainly shouldn’t be spending time alone together away from other people’s eyes. There is no one here to watch you, to ensure everything is polite and appropriate. It shouldn’t mean more than it does. It should just be a moment to thank him, something simple, devoid of any deep feelings, but like everything that happens with Din, there is always more going on beneath the surface. Your feelings are always deep and hard to understand with him.

“Cabur’ika. You never have to thank me. For anything.” He’s almost bashful looking when he smiles at you from under the brim of his hat, face tilted down just so. You can see the hint of a flush to his tanned cheeks and the dimples pull at the sides of his mouth when he smiles.

“Yes...yes I do. I hope you...I hope you understand just how much I appreciate your help, Din. You...you do more for me than anyone else in this town and,” You gently reach for one of his large hands, holding it between the two of your own. His fingers are calloused and rough, his skin warm to the touch even in the autumn air. “I really do appreciate it. I appreciate you. So thank you.”

He’s at a loss for words. Not just because of your own sweet ones, but because your eyes are so soft and large, staring up at him like he’s hung the moon, like he’s done something above and beyond. When in truth he has just done his job, the right thing. Supporting you as the school teacher will always be the right thing and certainly it isn’t all duty. He finds you to be beautiful, sweet and soft, kind, yet strong and fierce. Your treatment of his son, his Grogu warms his heart. Your deep love for your children makes him want to sigh like a lovesick school boy and your treatment of him, your acceptance, open arms to a man who should scare you, makes him want to be around you all the more. From the moment he met you, you had been welcoming and soft. That hadn’t changed and everything in him screams at him to do something, say something, hold your hand tighter, kiss your lips, but that’s too fast and too soon. It would be a dishonour to you, you deserved him taking his time, finding the right words and actions to court you, to prove that he was worthy of your time and affection.

So instead he just smiles at you, squeezes your hands tightly, once, twice, before thanking you. There are few parting words, a slow goodbye in which you both are reluctant to pull away from each other, but a call from the schoolhouse porch draws you away from him with a sad little smile.

His chest hurts so badly that he rubs at it with a palm. The hurt is a good sort though. Not the blistering pain of a gunshot wound or slash from a knife, but the ache of...of love. That’s what it is, he has to admit it to himself, it’s love. New and small, growing larger each day, but love.

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

Mando’a Translations:

Ad’ika - Little one

Lil’ika - Basically little Lily. The ‘ika is a diminutive suffix and often you take the first 3 words of a child's name like Gro’ika to make a familiar name.

Cabur’ika - Lit. Little Guardian, but Din’s term of endearment for reader after ‘Never Mess With a School Teacher’ because she is a true guardian of her kids.

Buir - Mother/Father/Parent

#din djarin x reader #din djarin / reader #din djarin #the mandalorian #the mandalorian reader insert #reader insert #readerinsert #western au #putting down roots #din djarinxreader #din djarin/reader #female reader #female identifying reader

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recurring-polynya · 5 years ago

Note

Hi Polynya, Here are my OTP questions and they will always be for RenRuki 🌼🍻🌻

🌼 how did they originally become an item ? write it out as a vignette or have them tell the story !

I love writing stories about people telling stories, so I am going to take option 2. Please envision this in the way that the couples are telling stories about how they met in When Harry Met Sally.

Renji: We met as kids in Rukongai. I was trying to steal some water and I almost got caught, and she saved my life.

Rukia: Did I?

Renji: You don’t remember?

Rukia: I remember you were really good at street football and I decided I was going to make you my friend and get you to teach me that inside step-over you were really good at.

Renji: W h a t?

Rukia: I mean, you screwed up heists all the time, I am sure I saved your ass on one of them. Anyway, he’s a chump, I ensnared him with my charms very easily, but by the time I learned that football move--

Renji: It took you, like, a day to learn that move.

Rukia: It doesn’t matter. By that time, I had fallen deeply in love with him and we were Boon Companions from that day forth.

Renji: W h a t? It took me, like, eight years to fall in love with you! You were in love with me the whole time?

Rukia: (ignoring him) Eventually, we decided to become Soul Reapers, so we moved to the Seireitei and went to school for awhile until I got adopted by one of the Four Great Families. That kinda sucked.

Renji: It sucked real bad.

Rukia: I mean, it sucked worse for him. Being a Kuchiki is great and there are no downsides I love you, Nii-samaaa!!! If you’re watching!!

Renji: I knew that the only way to see her again would be to get really strong and make a high rank in the Gotei.

Rukia: I feel like people don’t appreciate how hard it is to do that. I mean, something like one in a thousand people who enter the Academy eventually make vice-captain.

Renji: A lot of shinigami get eaten by Hollows.

Rukia: A lot.

Renji: Anyway, I was too stupid to know how hard it was and I did it anyway. Just when I was getting ready to tell you--

Rukia: Yeah, I’ve told you how sorry I was about that.

Renji: It was bad timing, it wasn’t really your fault.

Rukia: Uhhhh, bad timing, yeah. So, around that time, I, um, committed a capitol offense and he had to come arrest me.

Renji: It sucked.

Rukia: My brother was there, too.

Renji: It sucked so bad.

Rukia: Anyway, a bunch of stuff happened. It turned out I was at the center of a conspiracy to overthrow the Soul Society, and some friends I had made in the World of the Living came attacked the Seireitei on my behalf. It was kind of a shitshow.

Renji: A huge shitshow. Enormous.

Rukia: Renji rescued me, though, and carried me all the way down the Soukyoku Hill stairs! It was very romantic!

Renji: I mean, Ichigo was really the one who rescued you.

Rukia: Ichigo did not carry me down those steps. Renji has really good calves. He never skips leg day.

Interviewer: And then you got together after that?

Rukia: Ha ha ha, no!

Renji: No, no way!

Rukia: No, there was a war after that.

Renji: Also, I had to spend, like, two years getting on her brother’s good side.

Rukia: We were best friends, though!

Renji: Yeah, it was nice. I mean, kissing is nice, too, but best friends is good.

Rukia: Sometimes we kissed. Sometimes people kiss even when they aren’t dating, for reasons like...for luck...

Renji: Or because they’re drunk.

Rukia: Or just... horny.

Renji: You can’t say ‘horny’, we’re on tv.

Rukia: Oh, really?

Renji: I had actually decided to tell her how I felt about her, but right around that time, we had another war.

Rukia: Oh nooooo, you never told me that! Was it the week Ichigo got his powers back? When you told me you had something important to tell me and then we had to postpone it and the Quincy thing happened before we could reschedule?

Renji: Yeah.

Rukia: Oh nooooo! I’m so sorry! You shouldn’t be so accommodating!

Renji: It worked out, I guess. I’m glad Ichigo got his powers back. Anyway, we almost died in the war, but then we got sent to the Royal Realm for heals and training.

Rukia: I was really close to bankai, but I guess in order to make bankai you have to confront all your most innermost truths and the truth was that I was in love with Renji and had been for a long time and I had to tell him.

Renji: It was worth it, her bankai is really good. Oh, I had to get second bankai, too, it was sort of the same deal.

Interviewer: Did you have sex in the Royal Realm?

Renji: We’re on tv, I can’t answer that.

Rukia: (nodding eagerly)

Renji: Anyway, so we’re a kickass battle couple now!

Rukia: Later, Renji fought my brother and won.

Renji: He wasn’t at his best, we’re gonna have a rematch. But technicalities count, so I handed in my paperwork!

Rukia: Yeah, Byakuya actually has a form for dating me. You should have seen this thing Renji turned in. It looked like an alchemist’s lab notes. He’d been working on it for, like, twenty years. He had school transcripts in there, he had testimonials, he put a selfie we took together on the cover sheet. It had a cover sheet!

Renji: Byakuya loved it.

Rukia: Byakuya loved it. So, we’re a thing now! (leans on Renji)

Renji: (puts his arm around Rukia) I love being a thing.

Rukia: Me, too.

🍻 what would be a typical date night for them ?

I did that one already! You can read it here.

🌻 what does each of their families think about their partner ?

Byakuya tries to think about Renji as little as he possibly can.

lol, but for real, Byakuya is a huge Renji stan, he loves Renji, Renji is his fav, and he can never, ever, neverever under any circumstances say so out loud.

Since Renji doesn’t have a family beyond Rukia, I will take this question to include “found family.”

Izuru and Momo knew Rukia (somewhat) back in their school days, and found her to be morose and rude, but they, more than anyone else, know how much she meant to Renji and how devastated he was when she left. Ikkaku and Yumichika never knew her at all, aside from through his stories, but they are also the ones who helped him go from being a ticking time bomb of bad decisions and anger management problems with a major self-image issue to a strong and competent vice-captain with a moderate-sized self-image issue. I feel like all of his friends were sort of bracing themselves for Rukia to have turned into a cold Kuchiki bitch, to reject Renji entirely, to not be worthy of their amazing Golden Retriever of a friend.

And then... it turned out okay! I think Rukia is a weird mass of conflicting behaviors when viewed from the outside-- she is capable of perfect manners and etiquette, but she also likes arm-wrestling people at the bar. She trashtalks and she brags about herself, but she can also be a little shy. She and Renji shout at each other constantly, and say the worst things to each other, except they never get actually angry about it, and they are together all the time and Renji is so, so happy, like all his friends can’t believe how happy he is now. I think Rukia has beaten Ikkaku up at least once, and earned his “respect,” so now he treats her roughly the way he treats Renji, take that as you will. Yumichika thinks she is beautiful, although he thinks Byakuya is more beautiful, and he is always trying to get her to find out various product that Byakuya uses. Hisagi thinks she’s cool as hell. Momo and Izuru still don’t get her, but they approve of the way she treats Renji and are honestly very happy that things worked out.

The Karakura kids consider them both family and love both of them with all their hearts. Well, Chad and Orihime do. Uryuu can never admit that he thinks both of them are really good people (for shinigami), some of the best people (for shinigami) he has ever met. He drank (1) energy drink once and made Chad listen to a dissertation on how their romance is just, like, unreal, it’s like fiction, real people don’t have that kind of devotion to each other, and Chad just “hmmed” and nodded a bunch. Ichigo shouts at them constantly about how weird they are and that he does not understand what either one of them is doing with the other one and that they are the worst and privately would agree with Uryuu’s unhinged RenRuki TED talk 1000%.

#otp meme #renruki #renji abarai #rukia kuchiki #maybe i got slightly carried away on the first one #just a tiny bit

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oh1captain9my4captain2 · 6 years ago

Text

Me - Prequel

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x reader x Chris Evans

Warnings: none

Words: 5,000

Summary: (Prequel of – Me) – When Tom Hiddleston asks you out you decide to take him up on his offer, but your feelings start to wander to someone else when you realize just how little the two of you have in common.

This was it; you were an Avenger. You were working with some of the most talented A list actors in Hollywood, and it would be an understatement to say that you were nervous. Everyone had been so nice to you, and they took well to your character; Storm.

You made quick friends with Scarlett, who enjoyed teasing you when the cameras weren’t rolling. Robert Downey Jr. had intimidated you from the beginning, but you realized pretty quickly that he was just an adorable goofball. Mark Ruffalo constantly made you feel like a princess with how polite he always was, and Chris Evans was basically a giant puppy. The amount of energy that man possessed made you understand exactly why he was so physically fit; he was constantly on the move.

Then there was Tom Hiddleston; that man could melt the polar icecaps with how smooth his voice was. The British accent mixed with his shockingly good looks made you swoon from the start, but you refused to tell anyone about your feelings. There was no point getting attached to a coworker. Rejection would be embarrassing, but a breakup would be catastrophic. You couldn’t think of anything worse than having to spend every day with someone that you knew didn’t feel the same way. No, it was best left in the dark.

That was until the director handed you your script which informed you that you were to be the love interest of Loki Laufeyson; Tom Hiddleston himself. If it wasn’t obvious that your eyes grew twice their size at the words spread out before you then you would be shocked. You had no idea how you were to contain your feelings for him when you would be forced to play out a relationship with him on screen.

“Looks to me like we’ll be spending quite a bit of time together, love,” Tom beamed widely at you as he reached for your hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of it.

“I guess we will,” you blushed, feeling your insides begin to burn with a lustful passion.

“I do hope we’ll have the chance to get to know each other better,” he continued, sweetly. “Forgive me if I’m being too forward, but I would love to take you for a cup of coffee?” His offer hung in the air, and you questioned whether or not this was reality.

“I would be honored.” It was obvious by your voice alone that you were bashful, and you began to notice a twinkle forming in his eyes that you hadn’t seen before.

With that, he walked with you off the set for a quick break, but it turned out not to be as quick as you’d planned. It had been over an hour before you’d finally returned; hand in hand giggling like fools.

You’d talked about family, friends, and what your lives had been like growing up. You told him about your love for reading and writing, and how you had completed your first book while still in high school. The story’s you shared made it feel as though the two of you had known each other forever.

When you finally made it back it was time for you both to read off your lines, and Tom had done so well that you were almost too scared to read off the script. How could you compete with someone who made acting look so easy? It was as if it came second nature to him; like this character was another part of himself.

Tom was gentle enough to encourage you, and it made you run through your lines in no time. The amount of chemistry the two of you had on camera was overwhelming. Even when they played it back the emotions seemed to leap through the screen.

As the day finally came to a close you grabbed your things and headed for your car; little did you know that Tom had been following you, though.

“Y/n!” He shouted, racing up behind you and grabbing your arm. You almost leapt out of your skin at the sudden surprise, but you quickly caught your breath. “Sorry about that,” he laughed awkwardly, running his fingers through his hair. “I was hoping to ask you out again sometime? Although, after the shock I seem to have given you, I wouldn’t blame you for saying no.” The joke was subtle, but it made him even more adorable.

“Oh, that? I was just acting,” your quick-witted humor caused you to say on impulse, trying to keep up with him. “I’d love to go out sometime, though,” you agreed, smiling from ear to ear.

“I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow night?” Tom offered, rolling through the times in his head as he thought of when we might be finished on set. “I know a lovely little restaurant just on the corner that I think you might like,” he suggested.

The fact that he’d put so much thought into this already made your heart skip a beat in your chest. With as much confidence as he had, and all those good looks, there was no way you were the first girl he’d ever asked on a date like this. “Sounds great,” you finally said as butterflies began to soar through your stomach. If this was what it felt like to be his friend, you could only imagine the feelings he would give you if he was ever something more.

Just as you’d suspected, that evening went by far too quickly. You’d barely had enough time the next day to pick out an outfit and sort through which accessories would look the best. When you finally decided on a wine-red dress with off the shoulder lace, it was already almost time to go. The entire closet was almost entirely bare thanks to your ongoing search for the perfect look. Which consisted of black lace strappy high heel sandal, and a black floral lace choker.

The entire outfit looked exactly how you’d expected it to; like a Tumblr girl tried to throw something together off Pinterest. Were you mad? Of course not; to you this was pretty much normal. You loved wearing shocking attire.

What you hadn’t expected was for Tom to practically undress you with his eyes when you came walking out the door of your apartment complex to greet him. “Sorry I’m late,” you apologized, climbing into the car almost ten minutes after you’d planned.

“Trust me, it’s no problem at all. You look absolutely stunning!” He gaped, and you questioned whether or not he was going to be able to keep his tongue inside his mouth the rest of the evening. Your date had somehow turned into some kind of drooling dog as you applied dark red lipstick to your already full lips using his passenger mirror.

“Thanks; I was hoping I wasn’t too over dressed,” you admitted, nervously, as you tugged at the end of your dress; your mind realizing just how short it really was.

“Not at all, I was almost expecting you to show up in a t-shirt and sweatpants,” he joked, giving you a quick wink.

“As comfortable as that sounds, it probably wouldn’t give off the best impression for a first date.” He caught you rolling your eyes, and he nudged your arm playfully.

“Just be yourself,” Tom offered, acting as if that was an easy task. “I want to know the real you. Behind all the flashing lights and endless interviews. Who is y/n y/l/n?” He pondered allowed as he gave you a genuine look.

“I’m the girl whose nose is always stuck in a book. The one that everyone sees in the corner, but never asks if she wants to join. That girl who chooses to write about adventures instead of taking them.” I confessed, pouring my heart out into the dark of the night as the cool wind blew through my hair down the highway. Why I’d opened up to him I had no idea, but it felt good to know that I wasn’t the only one who knew these things anymore.

“What if I told you that you deserve better? That maybe everyone wants to be your friend, but that they’re afraid they aren’t good enough for you. We could chase the world together if that’s something you want?” Tom thought as he let his imagination run wild. It was nice to see this side of him; the side that wasn’t all work and no play.

“But what happens if I push you away like everyone else?” You continued, knowing it very well could happen. He seemed to bring out the darker side of you; the girl who wanted nothing more than to live out the rest of her life on her own.

“Then I’ll just have to hold on a little tighter to make sure you don’t get away,” Tom smiled, moving his hand to rest over yours. It was twice the size of your own, and the warmth of it made you realize just how cold you truly were from the bite of the wind. Of course, you had barely any time to register the change in temperature as you pulled into a small diner and watched as he opened your door for you and helped you out.

Your heel caught on the car, and you started to trip, but Tom caught you in his arms and set you back on your feet. The way his hand felt against the bare skin on your back sent an immediate cold chill up your spine. Suddenly you could feel every ounce of heat that was left in your body go rushing to your cheeks.

“Thanks,” you stammered, feeling completely flustered by your newfound clumsiness.

Either the lighting from the parking lot was playing tricks on your eyes, or you just made Tom Hiddleston blush. The thought alone sent butterflies soaring through your stomach as he took your arm and walked with you inside.

The two of you sat at a booth, and you continued to talk for almost an hour when you suddenly ran out of things to talk about. Just like that the conversation had died; along with the butterflies that you’d been feeling outside.

“So, you like golf, and tennis, what else?” You asked, trying to get him to keep talking. The awkwardness was growing as the silence grew stronger.

“Oh, uh – I love the theater. I’ve been in several plays recently, maybe you’ve heard?” Tom added excitedly, sitting up in his seat as he hoped that things would pick up again between the two of you.

“Actually, I’m not much for theater. About the closest thing I get to it is movies.” Just like that the tension rose again, but you really wanted to make this work, so you tried a different approach. “I’d love to go sometime; maybe you can change my mind?”

“Of course! I could take you backstage, and really give you a feel for what it’s like to perform in front of a live audience.” Th joy in his voice made you thankful for the offer, but a part of you knew that you would never actually enjoy yourself there.

Thankfully, the two of you had decided that the date had gone on long enough, and you both felt like it was time to return home. As he walked you to your door you said a silent prayer and begged God not to let him kiss you like some old-fashioned movie scene.

Unfortunately, the luck had not been on your side, though, as he leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. “I had a wonderful time this evening, y/n, and I would love to take you out again sometime?” Tom offered, letting his hands rest on your sides.

“Sure, that’d be great,” you agreed, cursing yourself in your head for not letting him down easy. You were dreading your next date, and you didn’t even know when it was.

When you arrived on set the next day, you avoided Tom at all cost. Even going so far as to hide in the women’s bathroom to keep him away from you. That was until Chris Evans followed you in there after filming a scene with all of the Avengers.

You hadn’t noticed him as you pulled yourself up onto the bathroom counter, grabbed your phone and began to waste time as the clock ticked by slowly.

“Everything alright?” Chris had asked you, coming around the corner to reveal himself.

“Yeah, I’m just-,” you tried to think of an excuse, but it was too late as you heard him laugh.

“Avoiding someone?” He questioned, gesturing to how comfortable you’d made yourself in here.

“Maybe,” you prodded, taking the bait.

“Ouch; that bad, huh?” Chris joked, leaning against the wall as he crossed his arm in front of him. Just like that his shirt had shrunk two sizes, and you could see the outline of his pecs.

“Does everyone know?” The sound of your voice came out as a desperate cry for help as you covered your face. You hadn’t meant it to sound that way, but a part of you was hoping it would’ve ended after last night.

“Are you kidding? Tom hasn’t shut up about you. I would’ve thought you two were married and on your third kid by now with how happy he is.” His joke put a smile on your face, and you let your eyes meet his for the first time.

“Thanks, but I don’t really think this is a time for joking around,” you retaliated sarcastically.

“Then why did you smile?” He asked, coming closer and laying a hand on the countertop as he leaned closer to you.

“Because it was stupid, and funny,” you explained, shaking your head as you pretended to be annoyed. That smirk still stuck to your face, though, and as hard as you tried you couldn’t get it to leave.

“If you like stupid and funny then you’d love me,” he winked, throwing his hands in the air with a laugh as he finally left you in the bathroom by yourself.

Your head fell back against the tile, and as you listened to the director calling for everyone’s return you said a silent prayer. Part of it being that you hoped you wouldn’t have to see Tom, and the other that you weren’t falling for Captain America.

After a few more scenes it was time to go, and Scarlett nudged your shoulder with her arm as she walked with you towards the exit. “So, you and Romeo going out again tonight?” She giggled, giving you a hard time as usual.

“No,” you snapped, getting even more annoyed.

“Not surprising; I pictured you as a Captain kinda gal, but more power to you for picking brains over brawn.” Scarlett knew she was getting under your skin which was why she gave you such a wide smile and then wrapped her arm around you as the two of you continued to walk together.

“I’m beginning to think you’re right,” you said, finally owning up to your emotions.

“What?” She fumbled, locking eyes with you as she stopped you dead in your tracks. You were like a deer in the headlights, and you knew now that you would have to explain.

“Well, Tom and I have absolutely nothing in common. At least Chris knows how to keep a conversation going without making me fall asleep.” Of course, you gave him the benefit of the doubt; he could throw you in the dirt and kick you fifty feet and you’d thank him for it. And it had nothing to do with his looks either, it was his entire personality. The way he somehow always managed to make you laugh at even the stupidest of jokes. It wouldn’t have surprised you if you looked up the word perfection in the dictionary and found a picture of him.

“If that’s what you call drooling over him while he goes on and on about sports and his dog then yeah, he knows how to keep a conversation.” Scarlett said, poking fun at the cute little crush that she knew was forming.

You rolled your eyes, and through your head back defeated. “Don’t tell me you’ve never thought about what it’d be like to wake up with someone like him?”

Scarlett paused, finally stopping to look at you. “You want some advice?” She asked, and you nodded your approval as she stood in front of her car and opened the door. “Don’t stay in a relationship for the public. You’ve gotta do what makes you happy. If I did everything just to please the media, I would never have anything.”

“Thanks, Scar,” you shot her a half smile as she climbed into her car.

“Don’t mention it, y/n/n.” Scarlett finished as she tore off down the road.

The rest of the week was a mess as you found yourself hiding in different places all over the set to keep your distance from Tom. Somehow Chris always managed to find you; no matter where it was, and he would try to do things to make you laugh just so he didn’t have to see you upset.

“What made you think to hide in the rafters?” Chris doubled over laughing, and you shushed him as you pointed down to where everyone else was at. They were sure to find the two of you if he didn’t keep his voice down.

“It was something I read in a book once, and I thought I’d give it a try,” your eyes danced across all the cords that ran around the ceiling and connected in random places only to split off in another direction.

“I gotta give it to you, it’s pretty cool up here,” he admitted, lying on his back as his eyes moved around slowly to take it all in.

“Don’t get any ideas, Evans, this place is mine.” The joking tone in your voice told him that you were only playing. However, you were starting to like this game of hide and see you’d found yourself in.

“What if we made this our personal hiding spot? Just the two of us,” Chris suggested, finally shifting himself as he lifted his gaze to you with a smile forming across his lips.

“Sure; I’d like that,” the blush of your cheeks only confirmed how happy his response had made you, but you weren’t ready for what he’d asked next.

“So…why are you avoiding Tom?” He said, softly, desperately hoping that he hadn’t crossed a line by asking.

“I’m pretty sur he wants to ask me on another date,” if you rolled your eyes any harder, they would’ve fallen off the landing and right in the middle of the entire cast and crew.

“Give the dude a break, y/n/n, he’s just looking for love in a great big world of rejection.” Chris nodded, this time refusing to let his eyes meet yours.

“So, you think I should do it; I should keep going out with him even though I don’t like him?” That hurt, and your chest felt like it could almost cave in on itself with how much pain he’d just inflicted on you without even knowing it.

“I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? You give him a chance, fall in love, and finally pop out those three kids he keeps talking about,” Chris rolled with laughter, clenching his stomach as you moved to place your hand over his mouth to quiet him.

“Fine; I’ll be the adult,” you fought, standing up, and making your way back down through the entangled cords.

“Tell that to the girl hiding in the rafters from a middle-aged man who just wants to go on a second date,” he joked quietly, causing you to give him a quick glare that he knew was all too playful.

The second your feet touched the ground your entire body became alert. You were waiting for Tom to find you, so that all of your hiding would be for nothing.

Out of the corner of your eye you caught a glimpse of Tom, but what you hadn’t expected was for Chris to come running up behind you. He grabbed you by the waist and lifted you through the air. His sudden act of flirtation put Tom in an immediate rage, but he refused to let it show as he turned and walked the other way.

“What was that for?” Your voice went up two octaves at the sudden burst of energy; not to mention your inner fangirl continuing to swoon over him.

“Hey, it worked didn’t it?” Chris prided himself as he pretended to give himself a pat on the back. The ego on that man sometimes was enough to make you question where all the air in his head went.

“Yeah, but I don’t want him to be mad at you.” There was nothing but concern in your heart as you scolded yourself for what had just happened. This was your battle, not his; why did he seem to want in the middle of it?

You didn’t have enough time to think it over because the director started yelling your name. As you approached the set, Tom stood before you in his entire Loki costume. Sure, when he looked like this your feelings for him all came rushing back. That was a purely selfish instinct, though, that was based entirely on his appearance. You could never keep a steady relationship just based off of that.

“Is everything alright, love?” Tom asked, taking your hand in his own to comfort you. It wasn’t until you saw Chris standing a few feet away that you realized why; he was fighting over you.

You simply nodded your head and brushed it off as nothing before the director could scold you both for talking. The scene went on longer than usual thanks to how many times you had messed up your lines. This entire scene was something you had memorized by heart, but the more “love” you were supposed to be showing Loki; the more you realized just how much you wished to have Chris standing in front of you.

“Cut!” The director shouted, shaking his head as he rubbed his temples with his fingers. “Come on, y/n, what happened?” His newfound temper snapped you out of your daze, but Chris came to your rescue once again as he jumped between the two of you.

“Why don’t you give me just five minutes with her; we’ll run through the lines, and I’ll see if I can help her out.” Chris persuaded, putting on his typical charm to get him to give in.

“You got five minutes, and not a second more!” Your director finally agreed, stubbornly.

As Chris stood before you dressed in all his Captain America gear you begged your heart not to leap out of your chest when he finally spoke to read through Loki’s lines.

“My love, I’m sorry for what I have done, but I’ve had no other choice. I’m fighting for our future together; not as an act of vengeance.” He quoted as his soft blue eyes danced across yours. There was a twinge in your heart, but you let him continue. “Tell me you’ll still love me?” Captain America asked as his hand came up to rest against your cheek and his thumb brushed against your skin soothingly.

“How could I ever stop?” You whispered, quoting your line as he leaned in to kiss you. Your lips were just about to meet his to finish the scene. However, a loud cough came from Tom, and the two of you separated once again.

That was the first time the director had clapped for you all day, and that sent even more anger coursing through Tom’s veins. Finally, he moved to separate the two of you, wanting to read through his lines again. So, when the time came for the real Loki to take his place, you did your best to picture Captain America standing before you.

Just like that you were putty in his hands all over again. You could almost melt by the attraction that spilt through the two of you. They started from the top, redoing the whole scene, and you poured over your lines in a breeze.

“Cut!” You heard the director shout when you’d finished filming the scene. “Well done, y/n, you and Tom did great! Whatever Chris did really worked,” he praised him, proudly patting Chris on the back.

“Leave it to Captain America to get me back into character,” I giggled, gently nudging him in the side.

“Easy there, y/n, wouldn’t want you to leave a bruise,” the director scolded.

“Yeah, if you’re gonna leave a mark, at least do it in a way that’s a little more fun,” Chris joked, winking at you.

“Between the joke, and the way the director had raved over Chris’ acting tip, Tom had apparently had enough. He stormed off the set in a fit of anger. Feeling you had taken things too far you decided to follow after him.

“Tom!” You shouted, running to catch up with him as you caught him by the arm.

“What, y/n?! You know, if you didn’t feel the same way, you could’ve at least told me,” he snapped, getting in your face as he pulled his arm away from you.

“Chris is just Chris, I can’t help what comes out of his mouth,” you defended yourself quickly.

To your utter astonishment Tom planted his lips against yours, and you tried to stop yourself, but you kissed him back. Something about how much you had hurt him made you feel like it was okay.

“Just tell me you don’t love him,” Tom begged, grabbing your waist and pulling you closer as he locked eyes with you.

“I-I don’t,” you lied, regretting the words as soon as they spilled from your mouth.

He breathed a sigh of relief and held you even tighter to him, and you did your best to comfort him as you let your head rest against his chest. You knew you shouldn’t have done it, but you pretended it was Chris, and fell deeper into his embrace.

“Let’s go out tonight. We can drive around town, or take a walk on the beach?” Tom was spitting out ideas left and right in an attempt to get you to say yes.

When you finally agreed a smile spread across his face, and a part of you had wondered how long you could keep this up. The longer you let this go on, the more it was going to hurt. You didn’t want to break his heart, but you also couldn’t afford to stay in a dead-end relationship. Which is why you immediately decided that no matter what happened tonight you would end things with him tomorrow.

Tom refused to say where he was taking me which is why I was shocked when we pulled up at the theater. The last thing I wanted to do was sit through an entire play the rest of the evening, but I put on my fake smile and put my best foot forward.

“You’re going to love this,” Tom promised as he took my hand and walked with me inside. I gave a half smile and pretended to be excited. There were paparazzi bombarding us as we entered the building, but we did our best to avoid their flashing lights. I was desperately hoping we wouldn’t end up on the front cover of some magazine as Los Angeles hottest new couple.

“Do you come here often?” I asked, trying to start a conversation while we were waiting for it to start.

“Yeah, I generally spend most of my time performing on stage when I’m not filming.” He smiled, taking my hand as he managed to get us front row seats.

“I guess being a regular has it’s perks,” you noted, pointing to where you’d be sitting. The theater was filling up fast, and you were already wishing it was over.

“Well, of course, and after the show I get to take you backstage,” the amount of enthusiasm in his voice made you want to ring your own neck. How long were you going to have to keep up this façade?

You kept zoning in and out of the play, and as hard as you tried to focus you just couldn’t get into it. There was a knot forming in your chest because you knew he was probably going to ask you questions about it, and you silently hoped that by some miracle you would have the answer.

When it was finally over everyone stood and clapped their hands for the actors, and you did so out of respect. Then Tom took your hand and led you up the stairs and behind the large curtain to where all of the actors were now.

“Tom! Long time no see!” A man joked, pulling him in for a hug and patting him on the back. Tom mentioned something about it only being a few days since he’d last been there, and then he gestured to you and proceeded to show you off. Your cheeks turned a slight pink, but you were just ready to get out of here.

“This is my lovely date, y/n,” Tom introduced you as he brought you to his side and kept his arm around your waist.

“Thank you,” you managed to say, half embarrassed that he’d been so affectionate to you in front of people whom you considered random strangers. “Actually, Tom, can I talk to you?” Your voice came out small and quiet as you pulled him to the side alone. “I don’t feel so well do you mind taking me home?” It hadn’t been a complete lie; you were tired, and the night was beginning to drag on.

With a quick nod, he said his goodbyes to the cast, and then walked with you out the back exit. “Is everything alright, y/n? Do you need me to stay with you? You’re looking a little pale,” there was no doubt in your mind that he was just being genuinely concerned, but the last thing you needed was for him to spend the entire evening with you in your apartment. You would undoubtedly go mad.

“No, no, I think I just need to rest, I’m feeling a little weak.” By reassuring him you noticed his expression grow a little less worrisome, but there was still a sense of worry hidden deep within his eyes.

He walked you to your door yet again, but this time when he leaned in for a kiss you knew it was best to just pull away. “Sorry,” he apologized, taking a step back as he tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels.

“I just don’t want to get you sick; we don’t need two people out on set,” you quietly joked, knowing there was more to it. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Y/n, wait!” Tom stopped you, grabbing you by the arm before you could escape into your home. Just like that he pressed a gentle kiss to your cheek, and a piece of your heart broke for him in that second.

“Thank you, Tom,” you smiled, stepping inside and closing the door. Tomorrow was going to be the longest most agonizing day of your life, and you already knew that you weren’t ready to face the facts. You were about to break Tom Hiddleston’s heart into a thousand pieces for a man that you didn’t even know would love you back or not.

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shinneth · 5 years ago

Text

I’ve been pretty quiet about Steven Universe Future in general, and I’ve said pretty much nothing about Steven’s inevitable breakdown.

Mostly, I don’t have much to say that others haven’t already repeated ad nauseum.

It seems pretty straightforward to me: Steven will inevitably become his own final boss.

(It’s very telling that pretty much the only episode Steven was entirely normal in was Why So Blue? ...)

He’s needlessly overworked himself, getting him to open up is like pulling teeth, and a couple of episodes have him falling into behaving a lot like the Diamonds, to society’s detriment.

I honestly haven’t been that fazed by what’s been happening to him in SUF, but beyond being an ice-cold bitch, I’m pretty sure I’ve been subjecting GAverse Steven to levels of PTSD-inducing trauma on par with canon - and in sone cases, far exceeds it.

And yet... while it isn’t by much, part of me wants to say GA Steven is probably more well-adjusted/stable/mature than canon Steven.

I’m not sure if it’s an accurate assessment, though. This is something I’ve been curious about for a while: does GA Steven have his shit together better than his canonical iteration?

Of course, I don’t expect to really get feedback on this. And I’m not entirely sure whether or not it’s fair to compare the two. Mainly because SUF Steven is a 2-3 year time skip from CYM (the point from where canon and GA become divergent); GA Steven, while he’s roughly the size of his future canon counterpart with the lower voice and everything, is not timeskipped. The events of what happened in his equivalent of CYM are still fresh.

GA Steven also has a lot more on his plate in terms of Era 3 responsibilities, but he’s not nearly as “alone” in shouldering said responsibilities. And I don’t just mean Peridot - the GA Crystal Gems are a much more cohesive team from what I’ve seen in canon. In GA, they’re all sharing the same roof and have a more obtuse representation of a “family” of sorts.

They’re all actively looking out for each other; now that they all have a much bigger responsibility than they had in canon, the CGs know how fast everything’s gonna crumble if they don’t have their shit together.

That also calls in the other major difference between SUF Steven and GA Steven:

One managed to make peace with the Diamonds without anyone losing their life, Homeworld was peacefully revolutionized (along with most of their colonies), and the corrupted gems are cured. Basically, Canon Steven managed to end this conflict precisely the way he wanted it to.

GA Steven, despite his efforts, failed in all of this.

It wasn’t his fault; in GA, White Diamond no-sold his every attempt to reach out and compromise. He did manage to get Blue Diamond to see the light, but she soon died to save the CGs from White. Yellow also fell to White for being indecisive/conflicted since Blue’s death, White ran Homeworld itself into the ground so much that the planet itself died, and White basically shattered herself after being shamed Freeza-style.

At no point could GA Steven do anything to stop any of this. He didn’t get the happy ending he wanted; what he got instead was a foregone conclusion that couldn’t be salvaged. GA Steven had to pick up the pieces left from that outcome and rebuild to a better future.

While he lost a lot, he didn’t lose everything. Most Homeworld gems were saved from Homeworld’s destruction; since the colonies were bound to fall into civil disorder after the collapse of their main hub and overlords, Earth was the only option for a new home for these refugees. Millions of gems basically have to adapt to life on Earth now.

Oh, and the corruption still has no cure. There’s also another widespread gem disease arguably even worse that most of these gems are afflicted with. So the CGs are stuck trying to find an alternative treatment for two ailments, as the Diamond factor is permanently off the table.

So while GA Steven failed to end the gem war on an optimal, peaceful, pacifistic note, he is doing what he can to make the best of his situation in spite of his colossal failure. While it’s going to be insanely risky and difficult to salvage the situation and keep Era 3 alive on Earth, GA Steven is committed to making up for where he fell short.

Also, the fact that Homeworld is gone and Steven is the last of the original four Diamonds still alive and shitloads of gems have to be acclimated to Earth... well.... GA Steven doesn’t have the luxury to “resist change” like SUF Steven. Change is all goddamned around him. He’s got no choice but to adapt to change and embrace it as best he can. He literally cannot do his new job while still clinging to the past.

Now that GA Steven has to live with the consequences of a critical failure in how he tried to resolve a conflict spanning across several millennia, he is under no delusion that he can or must fix everything that doesn’t sit well with him.

Failure shaped GA Steven to improve himself and see beyond his pacifistic tunnel vision.

That’s not even getting into the specific horrors I put GA Steven through.

So, yeah... I dunno. Almost seems arrogant of me to presume GA Steven is more stable than canon Steven - but GA Steven is by no means a solid pillar of perfect competency. He’s a fuck-up in many other ways.

However... I feel like Steven getting the exact ending he wanted in CYM has done a lot more harm than good to his psyche over the years. He seems to be under the delusion that only he can fix things, and now that he’s seen how he can get his way, it’s gotten to his head and it’s making him a bit of a control freak.

He’s defined himself by his successes - so Steven is trapped in his own bubble of idealistic fantasy where he’s not seeing the forest for the trees.

So I’d argue that despite not being quite as loaded down with responsibilities as GA Steven, SUF Steven is much more fragile mentally and emotionally. He’s needlessly putting himself through torture - and yeah, that can be partially chalked up to puberty.

While we don’t know when Steven started growing in canon, how gradual it was, or how/why it happened, I presume it was gradual and not a spontaneous growth spurt fueled by primal rage and sorrow from being constantly subjected to a looping visual of a friend’s graphic throat laceration like GA Steven’s sudden growth spurt.

And... eh, I guess I’ll clam up now. I’ve been pretty much talking out of my ass, haven’t I?

I might regret this, but I’ll openly invite discussion or questions about this. Maybe even derision if you’re polite enough about it. But I’ll be genuinely surprised if anyone pays this any mind.

#steven universe #steven quartz universe #steven universe future #gem ascension #gem re:ascension #headcanon #canon vs fanon #ga continuity #comparison #su headcanons #am i gonna regret this?#ga spoilers

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edwad · 8 years ago

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If you had to choose 10 marxian econ books for someone who has only read marx, what would you recommend

by “marx” i have to assume you mean capital because that really is the root of “marxian econ”. it won’t suffice to just have read the manifesto or something like that and i don’t want to recommend books that will be saying things that you’re totally unfamiliar with because you’re skipping straight into the secondary literature which already largely assumes a reader which is familiar with capital. anyway, heres a list, which isnt in any particular order and which includes a few things that i’m still working through for myself:

1. essays on marxs theory of value - isaak rubin

hugely important book which essentially all value-form theory derives from. written by an extremely knowledgeable marx scholar who had a much better idea of what marx was doing in capital than most marxists today. last month brill published a book called “responses to marxs capital” which includes some of rubin’s other writings, most of them being published in english for the first time. hes a huge figure in the literature and definitely worth looking in to.

2. marx, capital, and the madness of economic reason - david harvey

i was obviously going to put something of harvey’s in here and i think his last book is a fairly good summary of the best of what hes done up to this point with some welcome additions (the visualization of capital, the stuff on anti-value, etc). not perfect but he definitely provides a good framework for how to understand the geography of capital which doesnt require necessarily agreeing with him on everything. honestly, if you keep up with harvey at all you’ll be able to tell that its mostly just typical harveyisms with the inclusion of some stuff from his recent talks (which have all been almost exactly the same).

3. in the long run we are all dead - geoff mann

maybe this looks more like a book on keynesian rather than marxian econ, but its real argument is that keynesianism as a long historical project (meaning long before and after keynes himself) has been an immanent critique of liberalism and revolution and that keynes is to us what hegel was to marx. a really great book that covers a lot of ground which isnt always explicitly economic, but definitely worth the read if you have the patience. if you want a longer review, i left a pretty lengthy one on amazon a few months ago where you can get a better idea of what i got from this book, what its limitations are, and why i think its so important.

4. monopoly capital - paul baran & paul sweezy

an older book which hasnt exactly aged well, but its thesis has become extremely popular again since the crisis. written by baran and sweezy, the fathers of “the monthly review school” of economics, its played a huge role in the direction of marxian debates from the 1960s up until today. the authors were both tending in the same intellectual direction in their earlier works (sweezy’s theory of capitalist development and baran’s political economy of growth, the former still being considered one of the best introductions to marxs work and its relevance to the 20th century, with much controversy of course) and this was the result of them coming together to talk about what they saw as a monopoly capitalism which was fairly different in character than the “competitive capitalism” of marx’s day and therefore had to be dealt with differently.

5. capitalism - anwar shaikh

probably the most ambitious work the left has seen in a long time which tries to thoroughly critique neoclassical theory and develop an alternative economics which is rooted in what shaikh calls the “classical” school (”classical-marxian” would probably be more appropriate but i think hes trying to downplay his reliance on marx). in it, shaikh takes a good look at many of the competing schools of thought (neoclassical, post-keynesian, sraffian/neo-ricardian, etc) and sees how they stand up analytically and empirically, taking issue with their underlying assumptions and the inevitable problems which arise from building a theory on false foundations.

one of his bigger points is that the neoclassical theory of “perfect competition” is nonsensical but wasnt thoroughly combatted by heterodox economists, who only made it so far as asserting the “imperfect” nature of competition, which, in shaikh’s eyes, is to simply add imperfections after the fact into the theory which necessarily begins with the absurd assumption of perfection. the book’s argument is that the theorists of “imperfect competition” still rely on the theory of “perfect competition” as their starting point and never really manage to escape the latter because they havent actually created an alternative way of thinking about competition, they’ve just inserted a complication into a theory which was a completely unrealistic assumption to begin with. much of his attack is directed at the monthly review school and the idea of a “monopoly capitalism” which is supposedly different in form than the allegedly “perfect competition” of capitalism during marxs life. in this sense, this book serves as a counterbalance to the MR approach and is also probably the most successful attempt at situating marxs TRPF within an empirical study of kondratiev waves.

hes also got a website with a bunch of resources and a lecture series from a course he did on the material in the book which is pretty interesting, but it assumes a good deal of familiarity with economics.

6. a history of marxian economics - michael howard & john king (2 volumes)

this is a pretty thorough history of the internal debates among marxian economists ever since the death of marx all the way up to 1990. it covers a lot of ground and doesnt shy away from controversies where marx didnt come out on top. of course, a good amount of this is subject to the interpretation of the authors and they definitely have a great deal of input, but its a very impressive work which i frequently use as a marxian encyclopedia of sorts.

7. the making of marx’s capital - roman rosdolsky

despite some problems, rosdolsky’s classic book on the development of marx’s critique of political economy is easily one of the most important marxological works ever written and it still holds a lot of sway. taking the grundrisse as its starting point, the author unpacks marx’s project and constantly asserts marx’s method and in particular his explicit reliance on hegel’s logic, pitting marx (as he was in his drafts) against the then contemporary thinkers and critics which were prone to misusing or misunderstanding the arguments in capital. as a disclaimer and partial criticism of rosdolsky’s portrait of marx, i dont believe that we can simply say that marx in the late 50s was identical to the marx of the 60s and 70s that wrote and published capital, but i also dont think that means we necessarily have to discount the grundrisse (or theories of surplus value, etc) simply because they werent written at precisely the right time for marxs thinking.

i only just got my own copy a couple of weeks ago so i cant say too much more but i have skimmed through chunks of the pdf and its totally unavoidable in the secondary literature so im not totally unfamiliar. its one i plan on tackling in full very soon.

8. moneybags must be so lucky - robert paul wolff

another marxological one, this tiny book is a literary analysis of capital and in particular the first part of volume 1. wolff does a great job of deconstructing the arguments in chapter 1 to try and clarify what marx is doing and why with a lot of humor and philosophical tangents. one of his biggest points is that marxs heavy reliance on irony was the only adequate way of capturing the contradictory nature of capitalism and is therefore part of the theory itself, rather than simply being a way to dress up the theory and make it more palatable to readers. i approached this book after id already “read marx” too, but it was extremely useful because it wasnt until i read it that i finally started to actually understand marx. for that reason, i dont feel particularly bad about recommending it to anyone thats already familiar with capital because it does a great job of making the most difficult part of volume 1 infinitely more exciting and comprehensible – especially since its never enough to just read capital once.

9. the production of commodities by means of commodities - piero sraffa

against my better judgement, i’m putting this on the list knowing full-well that i’m going to be harassed by an anon which has been on my ass for about a year now ever since i first recommended sraffa’s book in a reading list despite the fact that ive never finished it (barely even read it to be more precise). i do, however, know that its had a huge influence on the trajectory of marxian thought since 1960 and that many of the thinkers are still trying to recover from the theoretical displacement implicit in sraffa’s thesis.

its a math-heavy book (which is why i havent been able to wade through it) and its status as a work coming from the “marxian” approach is hotly contested, but its certainly had its way with the marxian school (not to mention the neoclassical school, which has an easier time simply ignoring sraffa entirely), generating countless debates among scholars, many of whom simply wish that this book had never been written. for a short summary of the debate and whats apparently at stake, ive got an old post where i worked out some of the initial responses to sraffa and how this has snowballed into the controversy that it is today. ive got it on this list because of how unavoidable it is. you cant go into the secondary literature at anything resembling an intermediate level without knowing sraffa’s name and why everyone feels so strongly about him.

10. an introduction to the three volumes of karl marxs capital - michael heinrich

i dont quite like that im ending this list with a book that presents itself as an “introduction” when we’ve already established that this is a bunch of recommendations for someone thats already acquainted with capital, but sadly this is the only full-length book that heinrich has in the english language and its reading of capital is so unorthodox that it feels totally alien against all the traditional interpretations of marx. honestly, it doesnt feel like an introduction in the first place, reading more like a challenge and an intervention into the secondary debates about what marx is saying in capital which derives from the german debates which constitute the parameters for the “neue marx-lekture”, or “the new reading of marx”, which sits uncomfortably among the more typical marxisms that surround it on all sides, especially among non-german theorists/readers.

as far as the dominant reading of marx goes, nearly everything this book says betrays marx’s project, but heinrich knows marx very well, better than most of us (as even his biggest critics readily admit). this may be considered reflective of a “new reading”, but that doesnt mean the old ones are any better or that this one is necessarily a “revisionist” project as many claim (or at least, i wouldnt consider it to be revising marx even if its guilty of revising “marxism”, which is by no means necessarily a bad thing). on the contrary, i think heinrich has the best understanding of marx out of pretty much everyone else right now and thats why i wanted to end with this one. yes, you should read all of the others, especially since you cant understand the way we read and think about marx without coming across the work of people like sraffa and sweezy, but that doesnt really change the fact that heinrich points to a big problem with the way we read and think about marx, that the debates have been getting it wrong all along and largely misunderstanding marxs actual project, miscontextualizing it and falling into dogmatism for various political or academic reasons.

what heinrich does is to show how the way marx is read and interpreted often misses or downplays the most crucial elements of what marx is actually trying to get across. marxs critique of political economy simply gets converted into a newer, more correct political economy which simply builds on the classical school (shaikh), or it suffers in the hands of those that believe its foundations need to be updated as if it isnt all that relevant anymore (sweezy and baran), or that many of its categories are lacking utility and can simply be done away with (sraffa). rubin’s work plays a big part in establishing the NML reading and harvey draws on heinrich’s scholarship a lot, but nobody really does it as well as heinrich himself and i genuinely think hes lightyears ahead of everyone else. a lot of people are starting to agree and i was one of the most recent converts on the heinrich hype train which has been growing for the last couple of years.

any day now, we should be getting one of his older books, the science of value, in english and i plan on devouring it as fast as i can, but sadly its been in limbo for several years, with its initial release scheduled for 2014 (if i remember correctly). in the mean time though, we’ve only got his introduction to capital and a bunch of shorter pieces/videos.

so i guess thats my list of 10 things to read after marx with some explanations on why i think theyre important, culminating in ideologically correct heinrich-worship. this was sorta fun and if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

#communism

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echelonlab-blog · 7 years ago

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Bound By Ink -- Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Fiction.

Warnings: None

Tagging: @hazeleyedleto @msroxyblog @letojokerownsme @miss-shannanigans@snewsome756 @maliciousalishious @nikkitasevoli@meghan12151977@sanellv@ambolton@bradlea23@spillinginkwithlove@alexis7215@dezmarz@pezziecoyote@whoistheprettiest@avaj99@iridescxntsolitude@pheenixpeterson@guccilowell@blondiefrommars@rowen1976@phoebehalliwell1984@thathipstaninja@darthjokerisyourfather@letsbemybatman @prettymisc@lylabell2013 @mandyglam @pandaliciouz @just-me-obsessing@echelon-1969 @carolinapb-me @marilyndioncre

I was due back in the shop on Thursday. Thanks to Jared's little share we had been much busier than usual, and knowing Mark he wouldn't take time to get himself a proper meal so I stopped at the sandwich shop off the boardwalk again to grab us both something before heading into work.

Lynn brightened up as soon as I came in the door, and I knew that look on her face meant she had good gossip. I ordered Mark's favorite: turkey and avocado with extra fries, and then found myself ordering a grilled chicken salad, suddenly somewhat more concerned about what I looked like naked. I realized I hadn't been to the gym for almost two weeks, not since all this with Shannon started. Accommodating him into my already busy schedule had thrown things way off, but, as I smiled and remembered our night together, he was totally worth it.

“Hi there, Blue. How's that gorgeous young man of yours?” Lynn called from the other end of the counter as I paid the teenager who had taken my order.

“Jayce is doing great, Lynn. How are you?”

“Oh, you know, can't complain.” She stopped to wash her hands in the little sink next to the drink station. “Business has been good lately. How are things at the shop?”

“Business is good there too.”

“And what does Mark think about that? About how good business is?” Lynn asked with a little smirk as she dried her hands and turned around. I suddenly realized that the juicy piece of gossip was me. I shouldn't have been surprised. Word gets around fast in this community.

“All right, Lynn, come out and ask me what you want to.”

“What?” Lynn asked with feigned innocence. “Is there something I should be asking about?” She smiled broadly, pausing to look over the employees that were working on my lunch. “I mean, maybe I heard that a certain inked and candy-haired young mama is dating rock stars now, but you know you can't go believe all the gossip you hear.”

I laughed. “He's the drummer for a band called Thirty Seconds to Mars, and....”

“Oh I know who he is, honey. So I take it it's true?”

I could feel myself blushing. If I was going to continue dating Shannon I supposed I should get used to being the object of gossip and speculation, but this was all still very new and I was still adjusting. “Yes, it's true.”

“Good,” Lynn said emphatically. “You are far too young and pretty to be slaving away all day in that shop with your ex-husband. Not that I'd mind being cooped up all day with that man. It's no wonder that son of yours is such a cutie, he's definitely got good genes, Mark is one tall glass of gorgeous.”

“Lynn!”

“What? I can't look? It would do you both some good to move on, you know.”

“I know. It's just hard. We're both such workaholics, and Jayce takes up more time than your average kid...”

“When is that art show anyway? You know I want to be there to cheer him on. Someday he's going to be a famous artist and I'm going to be telling people how he was in here as a little bug, doodling on placemats.”

“It's next Friday. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to see you there.” My phone started to ring – a quick glance told me it was Mark – and I apologized with a shrug before answering.

“Hey, Mark. I'll be there in just a few minutes. I stopped at Lynn's for some sandwiches.”

“Forget the sandwiches.” The tension and urgency in Mark's voice immediately set me on edge. “I need you to go to Jayce's school. He passed out in gym class.”

“Oh my god. Is he okay?” Hearing my exclamation, Lynn gave me a concerned look but I held up my finger.

“The nurse said he came back around quickly but he scraped up his head on the asphalt. I'll take care of your afternoon appointments. Just go get him. And call me as soon as you know something.”

“I'm on my way now,” I confirmed. I quickly explained to Lynn what had happened. “Sorry about the food but I have to go.”

“Oh don't be silly. Don't worry about the food. I”ll have Donny run it over to the shop when we get a break. Make sure Mark eats and you too when things settle down. Go!” She made a shooing motion with her hands but I was already at the door.

I drove over to the high school in a sort of controlled panic. It sounded as if the danger had passed but a million possibilities were running through my head. I parked in front of the building in a reserved spot, not caring who the spot was supposed to belong to and raced inside to the nurse's office, a route I knew well by now.

Jayce was perched on the padded exam table, those spindly teenage boy legs dangling off the side while he sipped orange juice through a straw. The side of his face was covered with small scrapes and he had a band-aid across his forehead. When he spotted me he sighed and dropped his shoulders.

“Hi, Mom,” he said sheepishly, setting the orange juice down.

“Ms. McKinney, hi.” Gina, the school's nurse greeted me warmly. Her calm demeanor didn't do much to calm me, however. I knew by now that the woman was completely unflappable, she would have the same relaxed but in-control presence in the face of a gunshot wound. “It seems that Jayce's blood sugar got a little low in gym class and he fainted...”

“... passed out,” Jayce amended.

“... he had a less than ten-second loss of consciousness. His blood sugar is still a little low, we're working on that,” she inclined her head toward the orange juice Jayce had been drinking and he picked it back up with a scowl. “He did scrape his head up a bit, they were on the asphalt at the time, but I've cleaned that up as well. You, of course, may wish to take him to see his pediatrician.”

Well, it didn't sound so bad. “Jayce, how did you let your blood sugar get that low?”

Jayce shrugged. “Dad and I overslept this morning. I had breakfast but we didn't pack my lunch and the cafeteria had tuna tetrazzini today.... Mom, that stuff is so gross...”

“Jayce, you can't skip meals. That's a rookie mistake. You know better.”

“I know, but...”

“But nothing. I know there isn't just one meal option in the cafeteria and I am willing to bet if you explained your situation they would have found you something.”

“I keep bread and peanut butter in my office, Jayce. You know that. It's not fancy but it would have kept you from having a hypoglycemic event.”

Jayce gritted his jaw and rolled his eyes. It wasn't like I didn't understand. We had been dealing with his unusual form of diabetes for three years now. I knew he got very tired of constantly being poked, prodded and monitored at an age when he was supposed to be rebelling and developing more independence. “We can talk about it more on the way home. Do you have your things or do you need to go to your locker?”

“What? No, I don't need to go home. I'm fine now. See?” He took a big drink of the remaining juice, loudly slurping air through the straw when the liquid ran out. “It's just some scratches.”

“I'm sorry, Jayce, I'm with your mom here. You passed out. I'm going to insist you at least go home for the afternoon. If you're feeling better you are welcome to return tomorrow morning,” Gina told him.

Jayce grumbled and hopped down off the table. “This is bullshit.”

“Language, Jayce!”

Jayce grabbed his jacket. “I need to get my backpack. Do I need a medical detail or am I allowed to go to my locker on my own?”

I had to bite my tongue. In many ways, Jayce was very much Mark's son but he got that sass from me. “Just go get your things. Quickly. I'll wait here.”

Once Jayce was out of sight I asked Gina, “So how concerned should I be, really?” I picked up the empty juice container Jayce had left behind. “I know that's not the first one you had to give him today. You would have given him one before you even started cleaning up those scrapes.”

Gina nodded. “It took three. It was pretty low and stayed that way. It might be more than just skipping lunch. I'm not really allowed to be passing out medical advice, not on that scale, but...”

“If it were you, you'd take him back to his endocrinologist,” I concluded. Gina nodded. “We've had a few incidents. I took him for testing last week but the results haven't come back yet.”

“Well just keep me in the loop if the game plan changes. You know I want to be his ally here.”

Gina was a gift of a school nurse. In a time when most schools were doing away with them completely, we were fortunate to have her at all. She was semi-retired, a former army nurse in her youth who had gone on to raise six children and was prepared for whatever these teenagers could throw at her. She was calm, competent and fierce, with a underlying compassion that made her perfect for the job. That peanut butter and bread she referred to earlier? She kept that in her office, along with an assortment of fruits and snacks to make sure that the youth in her charge always were fed, no matter what was going on at home. And a chat over apple juice and a sandwich often brought up other issues that needed attending to. She saw herself as the keeper of their health in every aspect, and I hoped that the kids appreciated her for the treasure she was. I knew I was grateful for her.

I called Mark while I waited for Jayce to return, updating him and letting him know that I would be taking Jayce home to rest and keep an eye on him for the rest of the afternoon. I didn't blame him for not packing Jayce's lunch. Things happen, I know it could have happened to me, and I wouldn't have appreciated a dressing down over it. Jayce was supposed to have bought lunch in the cafeteria. The responsibility was his, not Mark's.

After I hung up with Mark I noticed I had a text message from Shannon waiting, one that had probably come in when I was racing here to deal with Jayce.

Thinking about you and those gorgeous blue eyes today. Hope you have a good one. Maybe we could grab a coffee before you go into work tomorrow? Looking forward to hanging with you and Jayce soon. XOXO

I sighed. Was it too soon to be letting Shannon into Jayce's life? Part of me wanted it very much. I hoped that Jayce would warm to Shannon once he got to know him. But I worried about how Shannon would react to Jayce and his medical issues. I had been disappointed by more than one person since he had been diagnosed, people that I would never have expected it from. I figured maybe I would broach the subject with Jayce tonight if his mood improved. I truly hoped Shannon was here for a long haul. And if he was, sooner or later, he and Jayce were going to need to get know each other.

“The prisoner is ready for transport,” Jayce said as he appeared in front of me, shoving his arms forward as if he were waiting for a pair of handcuffs.

“Quit giving your mother such a hard time McKinney and be glad to get out of school like a normal teenager,” Gina chided. “We'll all be here tomorrow.”

#shannon leto fanfiction #shannon leto fic #30 seconds to mars fanfcition #30stm #Bound By Ink

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ravencromwell · 8 years ago

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I wanna talk @wolf359radio, specifically their incredible juxtaposition of comedy with deeper themes, and their brilliant gamble about slow-building character investment. Because this is a podcast I feared I wouldn't like, but that became my motivation to become a patron of something for the first time, well before I was finished with season 1. So I wanna dissect precisely what they're doing so right on a crafting level. Mild spoilers up through the end of EP 11 below the cut.

I don't normally like what we've come to view as comedy. Primarily because it's come to be less about brilliant comedic timing on an actor's part and more about ridiculous physical/situational slapstick almost entirely driven by external factors. So when I heard that the first few eps of Wolf 359 were mostly office shenanigans in space, my stomach rolled and I almost ignored; but I'd heard that Gabriel and Sarah were fucking geniuses (yeah; pretty much perfect advertising), and I'd been recced it by two folks, so I figured I'd dive in.

Almost instantly, I was intrigued and on alert, because Zach's comedic timing was very reminiscent of something like Girl Friday for me, which I utterly adore. The humor derived almost exclusively from the way he chose to convey the monologue. And that brilliant opening patter monologue. By the time he started talking about the pizza delivery missing his hotel by a few thousand light-years, and calling Hilbert Russian Dr. Doom, I was clapping and cackling in sheer delight. And then, when you're like oh, that was a nice comedic moment in space, they slide that ending hook of Doug possibly discovering...something into place. And it's such an intriguing little hook, because all right, this was a false alarm, but you can't always be the boy who cried wolf with your hooks. So, clearly, they're setting up for a not false alarm. And then realizing Zach played Hilbert as well; I was just floored by his range and skill. Any show that netted this versatile an actor had to be something special.

So you're set up to have high expectations from the pilot, and then Little Revolución and Discomforts, Pains, and Irregularities form this incredible duology to further your investment. There're so many shows that cram character detail into the pilot. There's a frantic rush to have you be invested, to catch your attention with anything, that it becomes throwing paint at a wall and seeing what sticks. As much as making 359 on no budget those first couple years must've been an unmitigated nightmare in a lotta ways, this was their moon shot. No expectation, no profit margin, and by God if they were going to put in the work to make the thing, you were going to have to put in a little trust and time to love it. That created this marvelous, constantly expanding canvas, with this thrumming excitement on discovering which part of the canvas they were going to shade in or fill each episode. Anyway: I digress.

Little Revolución sets up Doug's melodrama and lays the seeds for the expanding family dynamic we continue to see throughout the season in one fell swoop. After all, if Hilbert and Minkowski are engaging in an extreme prank war, they can't be the figures of unremitting dread Doug's nicknames would make them out to be. And Doug, oh Doug. Zach's comedic timing and inflection continued to be stellar there, drawing me into stitches over Doug determined to die on his foolish hill. There were so many moments where dialogue and inflection melded seamlessly, and showed just how thoroughly Gabriel and the rest of the team understood how they wanted their words to resonate with the audience, and precisely what beats an actor would need to hit to get there. I'm thinking of something like Doug's explanation of the last time he was cajoled into accepting substitutions. It is obviously written to be amusing, and Zach utterly mines that potential. Even then, I couldn't imagine anyone else as Doug.

If EP 2 was watching Minkowski and Hilbert work together and starting to see Minkowski unbend, EP 3 made me fall in love with Commander Minkowski, and much of that was the way Emma sold the comic timing. Minkowski's sheepishness at avoiding the physical! Getting that moment of humanity from her, like unlocking a puzzle. And also in the best traditions of puzzles, really starting to realize that we're in the midst of an ongoing story. That moment when Doug says that he thought she was joking about the plant monster entirely spins the story around: he expects her to joke. As much as they often infuriate one another, there's also a comradeship. And then his nicknames start to feel more like snide sibling rivalry, glorious sibling rivalry. This's further strengthened by watching them work together against the plant monster. We expected Minkowski to be competent of course; Emma's usual no-nonsense tones guarantee that even if she weren't the commander. And we *knew* Doug had to be competent. But this; this is the moment we start to see it. And there again, the juxtaposition of serious and comedic elements. That they're not afraid to raise the stakes in the midst of what should be folks skiving off a physical utterly delighted me. The authorial confidence required to seesaw like that started to reassure me I was in very. very good hands, even if some of the genres employed weren't my usual fair.

It was EPs 4 and 5 that made me determined to watch through at least the rest of the season. Cataracts and Hurricanoes alchemized my liking for Minkowski into fierce adoration. And we continued to be exposed to more and more evidence that she and Doug's relationship was as sibling-like as it could be, considering the differences in rank. This's the first EP, too, where I realized Hera was very likely to steal my heart. Her concern for Doug was so well-acted. The way all the actors were able to spin, going from Doug and Minkowski bantering one second to deeply dangerous rescue the next was astounding. While I was coming to take for granted that the writing would veer, the spot-on casting, just how much these actors were starting to embody the versatility of the writing, get comfortable and play, took my breath away.

And then came EP 6, wherein I decided yeah Gabriel was a fucking genius. Because the juxtaposition of the dire and the hilarious actually *became a plot device* He whipsawed our perceptions of Hilbert madly throughout the episode. Had Doug's melodrama about the physical--which you could easily take in EP 3 as the clash of an overeager doctor with someone who. just didn't like doctors much--foreboded something more dire? And you really start to realize how *smart* Doug is here. Not just competent, but quick on his feet. The reveal at the end was so well-done; it would have been too early, too abrupt of a tonal shift, to pull us into true chaos. But Gabriel was starting to gradually give us a taste, and use the comedy as the tether to continue to ground us within the plot. Always bringing us back, centering us, like a skillful pilot starting to fly through mild turbulence.

EP 6 confirmed my deep Hera empathy. That moment when we see her show annoyance, and Doug acknowledge her programming for the first time. We start to see the gulf between them, but also the commonality. And again, we're whipsawing just a little, very gently, on Hilbert. The way he's slowly pulling back from the comedic elements, weaning us off gradually, while never entirely losing sight of them is so clever. Both the writing and the acting really show the understanding that to endure serious narrative often requires just the right proportions of levity mixed in. And again, we started to see hints of the serialized story from EP 1 by the end of 6, hints this will be the overarching plot. The way the show becomes comfortable tossing all sorts of genre elements about makes clear that very. very good hands should be revised to excellent. And then for anyone still watching but on the fence, there's no way to stop now with the mystery hook of the odd voices.

The way comedy is used in Sound and Fury is sheer perfection. How clearly uncomfortable Doug is lying, his desperate adroitness that fools no one--and the implication he knew it would fool no one-- had me in stitches. And we needed the levity desperately there, to balance out Hera's insecurity and vulnerability. Minkowski's insults would hurt far less if she were not quite so aware of her flaws, if she had not, I suspect, become far more sentient than she was intended to be. And with that comes a very human fear of not entirely belonging, of being dispensable.

I wanna skip now to 9-11, which isn't to say that the other EPs aren't amazing; they are! but much of what they do on a structural level are things done by the previous eps.

I loved seeing the core group functioning as a core group in these last few; we'd seen dyads before, but seeing that full puzzle snap together was marvelously breathtaking. I loved Emma's use of levity at the end of EP 9, because man oh man, that's where the writing really starts to preview a tenseness that's. well, my heart was pounding, let's leave it at that. That tone Emma adopted, of trying desperately to remain the straight-laced commander, but there starting to be real fear and vulnerability there, and then her just throwing up her hands and going yeah, I'm as pissed as them. popped the bubble of the tension so perfectly. And the writing, giving Minkowski that vulnerability: it makes this show feel so rewarding, like you're peeling back character layers like onion skin. Every moment you continue to be invested in the show will reward you with some greater revelation about these people you're coming to love.

And that just continues into the last two: Hilbert's gentleness in EP 10! contrasted with Doug's melodrama over the spider, which never felt campy and felt viscerally real for someone who regularly engages in melodrama over creepy crawlies. And Minkowski, being fierce gentle mother bear again; the best of Minkowski comes to the surface when her crew is under threat. Which was a theory from EP 4, but now we have it brilliantly confirmed.

And the juxtaposition of the droll with the dangerous in EP 11 was just masterful. The way Hilbert's thoughtful, almost mournful reflections about solitude and why we still fear it and Hera's wrenching struggle with not only not being quite human but with the folks she's closest to not quite understanding it were softened by Doug's brilliantly funny psych test was just enough. Just enough to ensure that those sections resonated, that there are still lines from both of them reverberating in my head a day later, without being crushing. Which leads me to another thought: the comedic elements are a herald of 359's underlying hope imho. Even in the midst of deeply bleak things, like Minkowski reconfirming Doug's unreliability that we'd almost forgotten about from EP 5 and that now seems to be a crew unreliability oh shit! is offset by that very gentle, fiercely human wish to send her best wishes and love to someone on their name day. That's the...not gentlest we've seen Minkowski, but perhaps the softest, and it made me a little weepy.

At any rate, there're my long, disjointed thoughts on 359, and how it does the brilliant things it does, at least so far.

#Wolf 359 #My Meta #oh god so much meta; this got so long #but it's so good it deserves meta on precisely what was done to achieve that goodness #Podcasts #Podcast Babbling

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evenstevensranked · 8 years ago

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#40: Season 2, Episode 7 - “Thin Ice”

Ren is locked in for two events on the same night — Dinner with their new neighbors The Minkler’s and an ice skating date with Bobby Deaver. Oh, no! We’re also introduced to Nelson and his hypochondria. Meanwhile, Louis and Twitty discover prank calling and fail miserably at it. It’s fantastic.

This one opens with Ren’s bedroom phone ringing as she frantically runs to answer it. Ya know, that purple see-through plastic Y2K phone that every teen girl on TV had? Dang. I wanted one so badly. It’s Ruby calling to let her know that Bobby Deaver is going to be calling soon. Her “sources never lie.” That’s a little creepy. It’s like she’s in the gossip mob or something. Fo’ real, Ruby needs a new hobby. Just then, Ren gets a call waiting. She answers and an extremely deep voice that sounds nothing like the guy Ren is so obsessed with says “Hey, it’s Bobby” and she falls for it. That was easy. Too bad it’s just Twitty and Louis calling from across the hall. They’re giggling like idiots because they’re 13 year old boys and telling someone “I just thought you should know I’m not wearing any socks” is hilarious apparently. It doesn’t take long for Ren to catch on when “Bobby” starts referring to himself as the “hot little cuddle muffin” she loves so much. Too far, guys. Too far. She decides to play along for a minute which is pretty funny. She says that she’s actually in love with Twitty -- not Bobby -- before busting into Louis’ room. She threatens them while simultaneously blasting them with a water gun. Twitty is all “Dude, your sister loves me.” Completely missing the sarcasm.

....that moment u know u f’d up.

At school the next day, Ren’s at her locker when suddenly this strange kid appears and calls her “Boo Boo.” It’s Nelson Minkler. We find out that they used to be neighbors when they were toddlers and now the Minklers have moved back to Sacramento. This episode marks what should’ve been his actual first appearance. The episodes were obviously aired out of production order because Nelson is randomly in the Season 2 premiere with no explanation of who the heck he is — and then 6 episodes later we get this one.. which is clearly his proper introduction. Why does Disney Channel do this?! Their worst offense was with Lizzie McGuire. The airing schedule was so jumbled that the freaking SERIES FINALE aired 8 MONTHS before the show stopped airing new episodes. Like, what the hell???

Anywaaay, they’re locker neighbors now and we find out right away that Nelson is a hypochondriac when he opens his locker and a zillion health care items come pouring out of it. Anti-ointments, a freaking snake bite kit, knee pads… yeah. Ren clearly doesn’t want to deal with any of that. She quickly runs away from him and he shouts “BYE BYE, BOO BOO! If you ever need any anti-fungals just knock on my door!” Wow, buddy. I feel Ren’s pain here.

We see that Louis and Twitty have become obsessed with prank calling. They’re even doing it during school hours now. They’re at Louis’ locker prank calling Wexler telling him he won a free fish or something stupid. Louis is trying to put on some “older” sounding voice, but I would 100% recognize it as him. The face he makes to achieve this voice is gold though:

Just then, Tawny shows up and catches them in the act and she is honestly me:

I’d have no patience for this.

At lunch, Bobby Deaver was genuinely about to sit down and have lunch with Ren and Ruby… but, Nelson shows up all “HEY, BOO BOO!” and ruins everything. As usual. No wonder this character was only around for a few episodes in Season 2 before disappearing from the face of the earth. He serves no other purpose than for Ren to have a male friend and to mess things up for her constantly. Annoying. Still better than Beans, though.

He starts coughing and asks Ren to check his tonsils for inflammation. He claims “Just last month I had puss balls the size of acorns!” This kid seriously must’ve lived under a rock his entire life. Any remotely civilized human knows this sort of behavior is weird. He makes the most obnoxious “AHHHHH!” sounds just sitting there with his mouth wide open forcing Ren to look. Ren once again wants nothing to do with this and makes up some excuse to get away. Same. Ruby and Nelson are awkwardly left alone… so Ruby breaks the silence by saying “I’ll look at your puss balls” in that New York accent of hers and I swear to god. The innuendos in Season 2 are next level.

Louis and Twitty decide to prank call Tawny’s family and we get to see her house for the first time in the series! Add this to the list of sets with on-point characterization. It’s very yuppie and warm… with lots of house plants. Not to mention, she’s doing yoga when the phone rings. This makes so much sense to me.

Louis claims to be Lance Larsen calling from QPop radio with a $1,000,000 trivia challenge. Again, Louis’ voice is so painfully obvious. Tawny gets her dad to answer the winning question, which is to name the “Top 5 most popular lunch meats” — If this was a legit question, Dr. Dean’s answers would most definitely be incorrect. He lists liverwurst and olive loaf but not turkey or roast beef. I told you they’re yuppies. It doesn’t matter though… they become “millionaires” anyway of course.

“DADDY, WE’RE MILLIONAIRES!!!”

To Ren’s dismay, Steve and Eileen tell her that they’ve planned a dinner date with the Minkler’s Friday night to welcome them back to the neighborhood. Ren gets another phone call that night that starts off with “Hi, Ren! It’s Bobby.” Bet ya can’t guess what happens next…

Ren assumes it’s Louis and Twitty pranking her again so she plays it up saying “So, this is Bobby Deaver. The hot little cuddle muffin who I love sooo much.” Dude on the other end is all.. “Um.. I guess?” Yeah. It’s actually Bobby this time. Oops. It’s pretty hilarious because she yells “Listen you little twerpazoid, I told you if you ever called me again you’d be sipping your food through a feeding tube!!!” and Bobby’s like “Ren, is this a bad time?” HAHA. Ren has a mental breakdown once she realizes. She quickly apologizes and explains that Louis just discovered prank calling. (“It’s okay I have a little brother too. He’s in 3rd grade.” / “Yeah, well mine just acts like it.” - True.) Ren collapses on her bed and the incredibly cheesy, romantic piano stock music they always use for Ren/Bobby stuff starts playing. Bobby invites her to go to an ice skating party with him on Friday night. This is one of the reasons why I ranked this episode #40. It cuts to Ren’s ridiculous daydream of how she envisions the party. The music swells and it fades to footage of Ren and Bobby dramatically ice skating like freaking professionals competing at the Olympics in an empty, moody-lit rink. It’s absolutely hysterical to me.

Obviously, she accepts the invitation but — wait! Friday night?! That’s dinner with the Minkler’s! Whatever will she do?! Not even gonna lie. I’m a sucker for this potential “two places at one time” cliché TV trope. Regardless, she still promises Bobby that she’ll be there “...no matter what.” A little melodramatic but, ok. She tells Ruby about the situation the next day and is totally in a bind over what to do. Ruby suggests that she fakes sick to skip out on the dinner and sneak out to the party. This entire episode is giving me flashbacks to Free Skate at the local ice rink every Friday back in middle school and the drama that would always ensue. Especially “relationship” drama. And crush drama. Oh, wow.

Tawny excitedly runs up to Louis and Twitty in the hall telling them “My dad and I won a MILLION DOLLARS on the radio!” “Ya don’t say?” Louis responds. Which is great. She tells them they’re moving to Paris immediately. Yeah, now Louis and Twitty ain’t laughing. Tawny’s dad picks her up in a limo and everything, and Louis and Twitty are left to break the news to them that they didn’t actually win a million dollars. This is another reason why I ranked this episode higher. I think this is hilarious. Tawny and her dad break down in tears, as do Louis and Twitty. Louis vows “I’m never making prank phone calls again. I’M A BAD BAD BOYYYY!” when suddenly Tawny and Dr. Dean start dying of laughter. Turns out they planned the whole thing to teach them a lesson. Brilliant.

Tawny tells them, “We knew it was you two the whole time. We have caller ID.” SERIOUSLY, LOUIS?! The first rule of prank calling is to dial *67 first! Amateur. Just imagine that. Tawny picking up the phone seeing “Stevens” or whatever on the caller ID and just going along with Louis’ terrible fake DJ voice, oh my god. She really is perfect for him. Tawny and her dad offer them a ride home in the limo (which is a rental) but speed off without them.

Ren goes through with lying and fakes sick to get out of the dinner. She goes gallivanting off to the skating party and bumps into… Nelson??? Yep. He faked sick, too. Nelson tells her that his feelings were hurt when she refused to give him a simple throat examination. To which Ren responds “Well, people don’t generally ask me to look at their puss balls.” THERE IT IS AGAIN.

For whatever reason, Louis and Tawny are at the party as well. (She asks him where Twitty is and… “He sprained his ankle chasing after the limo.” “You know, I really thought you guys would give up once we hit the freeway.” - Why is this so funny?!) Louis thanks her for teaching him a valuable lesson about the dangers of prank calling. “Gotta grow up sometime,” he says. She’s super impressed and they’re adorable. They skate together and hold hands, which is precious… and it would’ve been even more precious if it was actually Louis’ hand she was holding. But, alas… Louis skates off leaving Tawny holding a fake hand. I’m dying. Louis Stevens — What a legend. It really is so cute seeing them together like this, though.

THEY’RE SO FREAKIN CUTE!!! I’M DYIN

Tawny throws the fake hand, and ends up hitting Nelson in the head. Ren decides to help Nelson instead of doing the couple-skate with Bobby. Wow. I guess that’s nice of her, though. In the end, Ren and Nelson make up and he lists, like.. every single thing he’s allergic to as the episode fades out.

It’s not over though! The bit where they come back for one more minute after the last commercial break is the real reason why I ranked this one #40. Normally, these “last minute” bits are pointless and generally not very funny. But, this one. OH MAN! The first time I watched this I was literally in tears for 10 minutes -- I couldn’t breathe. This time, Louis dreams of him and Tawny skating like Ren dreamed about her and Bobby. Everything’s romantic… until taWNY’S LEG BREAKS OFF AND THE HAPPY MUSIC DRAMATICALLY CHANGES TO MINOR AND WE GET THE CLASSIC LOUIS SCREAM. It’s so freaking random and unexpected and so great.

And there you have it, #40! This is actually one of my personal favorites. I think it’s pretty solid in the humor department. I love the Louis/Tawny stuff. The prank calling bits are great. The Ren/Bobby stuff is finally more funny and entertaining here than cringy. And yeah. I just like this one a lot.

I also totally didn’t even realize I missed a weekend. THE DAYS HAVE BEEN GOING BY SO FAST!!!! What the heck. Also, we’re now officially moving into the #30s!

Thank you for reading!

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#rank #even stevens #louis stevens #shia labeouf #ren stevens #christy carlson romano #review #louis x tawny #louis and tawny #tawny dean #margo harshman #bobby deaver #nelson minkler #alan twitty #season 2 #mr. pookie

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salmascali-blog · 8 years ago

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Donald Trump vs. Willy Wonka

Lately, there have been nothing in the news but story after story about President Donald Trump. Most people are unable to understand how a person can be allowed to behave in such manner, let alone exist in reality. However, after some intense research I have been able to develop a theory about Trump that makes him a sympathetic figure. And that theory is that Donald Trump was once a child stuck in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. A popular analogy used online is that Trump is a perfect blend of the seven deadly sins. Each sin, when cranked all the way up, makes up 1/7th of Donald Trump. But the same can be said for the personalities of each one of the children from the classic film. If analyzed one at a time, they become an amalgam of terribleness that is now running the country. The character of Augustus Gloop was a chubby blonde child who seemed to only be driven by his insatiable gluttony. If you look at the video of Trump pushing the prime minister of Moldova out of the way to get to the front a photograph, you cannot help but be reminded of of a rotund Austrian boy shoving people out of the way to be the first to drink from the chocolate river. Also, like Gloop stuck in a pipe, Trump finds himself stuck in situations where the only ability to get out of them is the forceful momentum of something that closely resembles bullshit. Mike Teevee was a child obsessed with television. All of his information and entertainment came from television and he was unable to create original thoughts, all while dressed like an annoying cowboy. Donald Trump only listens to the information he receives from Fox News, going so far as to call a Fox News personality to get advice on the Paris Agreement, which is like calling Hugh Laurie to figure out how to perform a tracheotomy. Also, like a cowboy, Trump has probably paid for prostitutes and doesn’t understand how much he is despised by Mexicans. Violet Beauregard was an obnoxious child who demanded things that were not rightfully hers. She is constantly told by numerous sources not to do things and winds up doing them anyway. There is a moment in the film where she finds a strange and new type of gum, and regardless of the advice of numerous and more experienced people, she chews it anyway and becomes a giant blob. No matter how many people warned Trump about something as basic as not hiring General Flynn, he still took the gum, chewed it, and inflated his own ego to the size of a Volvo almost as a defense mechanism. Also, after discussing how beautiful the chocolate cake he was enjoying was when he bombed Syria, one can only imagine the words of Willy Wonka: “It always happens when you reach desert.” Frankly, I believe that, similar to Wonka, we should all sarcastically tell Trump not to do things knowing he will do those things anyway, and literally blow himself up in the process. Verruca Salt was bratty young white girl who demanded her father buy her a golden-egg laying goose. She demanded this, as well as whatever a “bean feast” is, regardless of the fact that it was not her own money. Similar to this, Trump is demanding a neighboring country pay for a ridiculous item that doesn’t seem to serve much of a logical purpose and nobody seems to believe is real. And like Salt’s father, all Donald Trump wants is to hear his daughter say “Give it to me, Daddy. I want it now.” This brings us to Charlie Bucket. Now you may be saying that Charlie is a good kid and actually wins the heart of Wonka at the end. But Charlie is not the fifth child in this analogy. We all know the words to songs like Pure Imagination or Oompah Loompa, but do you remember the words to the song Cheer Up, Charlie? I’ll wait. You don’t know that one, do you? I will help you. That is the song sung by Charlie’s mother, her one solo in the entire movie. But you, like every other child, fast forwarded or skipped over that song. That’s right, when the one strong and independent female in the film had something to say, you chose to ignore it because you do not believe it fits in with the narrative. And for that reason, you are the fifth child. If you’re not ashamed by it, you should be. The entire film is filled with character that make up Donald Trump. Take Grandpa Joe, a man Trump emulated when running his campaign. Grandpa Joe is an unhealthy man who has chosen to sit on his ass for years on end and only got moving when a golden opportunity came his way in spite of the fact that there was much more competent and deserving woman standing literally right next to him. Willy Wonka is a man who hides in a giant white building and daily distributes things that will make us unhealthy and eventually kill us. I am willing to even go so far as to say Trump is part Johnny Depp in the remake of the film. Not only is he not pleasant to listen to and wears face paint, but we had someone in this role that we all loved and admired, and then this new guy came along a ruined it for an entire generation. Yes, Trump is a snotty child stuck in a body that looks like someone left a Jack-O-Lantern on the porch all winter. But this chocolate Stockholm syndrome theory, sort of a “Chockholm Syndrome” if you will, at least explains his actions a little bit more. If his behavior is not enough to convince you, then take a closer look. Nobody could be stuck in that environment for that long without emulating little orange men who speak in gibberish.

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flashbic · 8 years ago

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OTP meme thing

@spaceviking

Here’s the Scott/Raimi one <3

1: Who spends almost all their money on the other? Well, not nearly almost all of it since Scott has a lot of money, but he spends a lot just buying random stuff for Raimi. It's how he shows affection, okay. It's easier than talking about feelings.

2: Who sleeps in the other’s lap? They kinda alternate here, but usually Scott is the one getting some rest. Raimi likes it, mostly because he gets to mess with Scott's hair and Scott is too sleepy to do anything about it. :D For Raimi, it mostly happens whenever he's had a bad day and needs to relax? He just rests his head and listens while Scott rambles about random thnigs.

3: Who walks around the house half-naked and who yells at them to put on some clothes? It's not something that happens all that often, but they both do it from time to time! Raimi when he just feels like messing with Scott, and Scott when he wants attention and he's having a particularly good day. (Raimi never tells him to put on some clothes though, eh) (Raimi tends to skip the "half" part of "half-naked". He just likes seeing Scott's reaction :D)

4: Which one tells the other not to stay up all night and which one stays up all night anyway? Raimi's sleep cycle is absolutely forever fucked. Scott has tried to make him fix it before, but it's hopeless. He will Not go to sleep. There are too many shitty horror movies to watch and comic books to read.

5: Which one tries to make food for the other but burns it all by accident and which one tells them that it’s okay and makes them both cookies? Raimi is a danger in the kitchen, but he tries so hard. Scott complains about it a lot at first, but he kinda resigns himself to it eventually. He doesn't really like cooking all that much though. i think he'd be the kind of person who buys from one of those places that prepare home-made meals for a week or whatever. But hey, if it can cheer up Raimi, fine, he might try to make some pancakes. :D

6: Which one reads OTP prompts and says “Oh that’s us!” and which one goes “Eh, not really”? Raimi absolutely gets excited about it. ("DUDE, CHECK OUT WHAT I FOUND ONLINE.") Scott... not so much. But tbh, he silently agrees.

7: Which one constantly wears the other’s clothes? Scott loves wearing Raimi's hoodies around the house, when he's sure no one except Raimi will ever see him doing it. They're too big for him, and they're warm and they're comfy. Raimi has a few pictures, but they're all blurry because Scott refuses to stand still. cryptid!Scott.

8: Which one spends all day running errands and which one says “You remembered [thing], right?” Scott is usually the one running errands. He'd ask Raimi to do it, but chores like this are exactly the type of things Raimi tends to procrastinate on. Like, he'd do them eventually, but the waiting bothers Scott too much so he does it himself. Otoh, Raimi is pretty nice about the whole thing and does his best to be helpful. And yeah, he's not a dick about it if Scott forgot something (also because tbh he probably wouldn't even notice).

9: Which one drives the car and which one gives them directions? Raimi gives directions and Scott ignores them. Also Raimi doesn't drive all that often unless he's by himself because he can be kinda reckless and Scott finds it absolutely terrifying. (not that Scott in a car can't also be absolutely terrifying. Sure he drives just fine, but if anything happens he immediately goes in full RAGE MODE.)

10: Which one does the posing while the other one draws? Raimi draws! Scott notices him and tries to pretend he didn't. And yes he draws Scott naked every single time.

11: If they were about to rob a museum, which one does backflips through lasers and which one is strolling behind with a bag of chips? Raimi goes in Mission Mode and needs to be as Extra as possible about the whole thing. Which absolutely triggers Scott's competitive side, so they both spend the whole time trying to one-up each other. They are not good at this.

12: Which one of your OTP overdoes it on the alcohol and which one makes the other stop drinking? Scott, like, yikes. Raimi is quick enough to learn it and does his best to keep an eye on him though. Thankfully Scott is generally pretty cheerful when he's drunk. He just tends to get really flirty, which is awkward when there are other people around.

13: Which one likes to surprise the other with a lot of small random gifts? As far as Scott is concerned, giving stuff to Raimi is the easiest way to show affection. Feelings are scary, man.

14: Which one keeps accidentally using the other’s last name instead of their own? i don't really see either of them doing that one tbh? Raimi might do it on purpose a few times as a joke though. Makes Scott blush every time. He doesn't say anything, but he likes the sound of it A Lot.

15: Which one screams about the spider and which one brings the spider outside? Scott screamed but was absolutely ready to use one of Raimi's comic books to squash that spider. Raimi got it just in time!

16: Which one gives the other their jacket? Scott gets cold a lot, and whenever Raimi notices he'll try to give him his coat, which Scott usually refuses because he's one of those idiots who'd rather suffer than to wear something he thinks doesn't fit him. Raimi often ends up wearing Scott's gloves though, since he always loses his :D

17: Who keeps getting threatened by the other’s overprotective older sibling? This one really doesn't apply at all! Raimi is an only kid, and by the time he meets Scott's brothers, they're just REALLY happy to see that Scott somehow managed to get a boyfriend who's having a good influence on him.

18: Who’s the first one to admit they have feelings for the other? Raimi is the first one to actually say it, but let's face it, Scott was about as subtle about his feelings as a brick to the face.

19: How good would your OTP be at parenting? Not entirely sure, but i think they'd balance each other nicely enough? By themselves they'd be disasters though. Raimi would be way too lenient, while Scott would be unreasonably demanding.

20: Which one types with perfect grammar and which one types using numbers as letters? Scott proofreads every single thing he writes, including texts. Raimi uses every single shortcut imaginable, replaces parts of words with emojis whenever possible and so on. The texts he, Weyland and Yutani send each other are barely understandable to most people.

21: Who gets attacked by a bully and who protects them? They probably both were bullied at some point for one reason or another, although in both cases i don't think it ever got too bad? Raimi has enough friends to balance it out, and Scott... well, Scott basically just channeled the pain and fear into the Endless Pit Of Rage. Which might not be the healthiest coping mechanisms, but ehhh, could've been worse. Raimi was absolutely the kind of kid who would intervene whenever he saw someone else being bullied. Scott, if he saw anything, usually ignored it... unless the person doing the bullying was someone he admired. Then he probably joined in.

22: Who makes the bad puns and who makes a pained smile every time the other makes a pun? Raimi does the puns. Scott doesn't even bother with smiling, he just rolls his eyes. Raimi doesn't care, he knows Scott likes it. :P

23: Who comes home from work to see that the other one bought a puppy? Raimi adopted a dog... and then promptly had to find it a new home after Scott absolutely freaked out and refused to stay in the house as long as it was inside. Important lessons were learned that day. 1) Getting a pet without talking about it with your boyfriend first is kind of a bad idea. 2) The idea is especially bad when it turns out said boyfriend is absolutely terrified of the kind of pet you picked.

24: Which one gives the other a piggyback ride when they’re tired? Raimi tries to carry Scott around the house a few times, but it goes about as well as you'd expect (heads get bumped on the furniture and Scott ends up on the floor, most likely).

25: Which one competes in some sort of activity and which one does the overzealous cheering? Scott swims, although he doesn't do any actual competing. He sometimes goes to the public pool and there are one or two people there he likes to race against! Raimi likes watching them, especially since Scott is always in an amazing mood whether he wins or not.

26: Who takes a selfie when the other one falls asleep on their shoulder? Raimi takes so many selfies. He uses them as his phone wallpapers.

27: Which one would give the other a makeover if they asked? All Raimi would have to do is ask, and Scott would enjoy every single second of this. (but okay, though, can you imagine Raimi convincing Scott to let him paint his nails?? He picks the prettiest shade of blue. SCOTT WITH EYELINER. Raimi thinks it's the cutest fucking thing in all the land. tbh Scott doesn't really get it and finds it kind of embarrassing, but turns out he doesn’t actually hate it? :p)

28: Which one owns a pet that the other is absolutely terrified of? Welp... see question 23. Yutani ends up adopting that dog! That dog is huge fluffy monster, but also the most well-behaved dog you have ever seen. Which is basically the only reason Scott doesn't run away screaming whenever he sees it. (he's still screaming silently though)

29: Which one holds the umbrella over both of them when it rains? Scott holds it, mostly because he's taller.

30: If your OTP went on vacation, where would they go and what would they do? Who would take the pictures? i think they probably go to the beach fairly often, since it's definitely Scott's favorite kind of vacation (it's warm and there's water, plus he definitely always pick big resort places where he can get massages if he wants to). Other than that though, i can see them maybe renting a little place near a lake? Raimi wanted to go camping but Scott flat out didn't want to, so the cabin was a good in-between. Raimi totally still brings his sleeping back and goes outside to sleep under the stars. Scott doesn't spend the entire night with him (sleeping outside makes him a little nervous, plus he doesn't find it comfortable), but he stays up pretty late and they just look at the stars and it's cool. During the day they take walks in the woods or swim in the lake. During the evening Scott curls up on the couch with a book while Raimi tries to do some woodcarving with a tiny knife because why the hell not.

They both take pictures.

#Death Machine #i love them so much <3 #fun fact my thoughts on makeup are usually barely along the lines of ''it exists i guess''#i don't hate it or anything it's just not something i think about since i don't wear any #but the image of Raimi painting Scott's nails is actually the cutest fucking thing and i love it??#help i'm having feelings

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intentionalbeautiful · 7 years ago

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Rediscovering Joy

And ceasing to allow perfectionism to control our lives.

I am a perfectionist. Recently I decided that I wanted to live a healthier lifestyle, so I decided to do some research on the best way to do that. No, not a good way, but the best way. I spent hours each day researching the pros and cons to each diet. Then I decided that I should stop focusing just on diet and expand my focus to things we use every day, like cleaning products, essential oils, skincare, and makeup. Enter the world of “all natural” vs “chemical” debates. Every time I thought I found something I could implement, such as using “x” oil or choosing to follow “y” diet, I would find a scathing critique of it by a self-professed “expert” on the topic. What am I going to do now? Honestly, it got so bad that I ended up skipping meals because of it. I couldn’t decide if a Paleo meal or a Keto meal would yield the best results, or if I should give into my craving for a wholesome bowl of oatmeal. So, I picked none of the above and continued about my day in a hunger-induced foul mood, snapping at my kids and seeking solace from more mom/lifestyle/wellness blogs to tell me what to do next.

Then I noticed more side effects. In addition to acting irritable, I was constantly exhausted, depressed, and very cold, all the time. I was losing weight rapidly, and my basal body temperature was at a record low. I want to have kids in the near future, but that wouldn’t be possible if my body wasn’t healthy.

As I was writing this, I remembered a quote that my aunt wrote in an album my mom gave me for my 13th birthday. It reads something like “There is no best way, only alternatives.” And everything suddenly made sense. There is only ONE choice in this life where there is a best way, and that is to follow God. To live out my faith following what He taught, to love God more than anything, and to love my neighbor above myself. This is the only true way to authentic happiness. This will ultimately lead to me becoming the best version of myself.

Everything else? Grain free vs high fat vs moderate carbs vs x,y,z, blah, blah, blah? That is doing absolutely nothing except distracting me from the single most important thing in my life: my faith. God made this universe with seemingly infinite stars in the sky, filled our world with countless creatures, vegetation, and landscapes, and created people with a free will. Not for the purpose of discovering a certain diet or skincare routine to achieve optimal happiness. But rather, for the purpose of coming to know him through all he has created, and through loving one another as he intended. Yes, we need to take care of ourselves. We are comprised of body, mind, and soul. We should love our bodies and take care of them. That means being conscious about what we put inside and on them, but with the end goal of having a healthy body that can praise Him, serve others, and spread hope and love where we go.

So is it even possible that there is a “best” diet, makeup, exercise regimen, type of school, or whatever it is that you’re so concerned about?

The real answer is, no, it’s not possible. Because to be the “best” would imply that it is perfect. At least in the sense that no competing diets, brands, regimens, or schools could have any sort of advantages over it. And the only being that could create such perfection would be God. So no, there is no “best” anything when it comes to all our material choices on earth. There are only good alternatives, and those are subjective to each individual. At the end of the day, which diet can you most easily follow that will leave you feeling energetic and able to focus on the more important things? Which makeup routine shows your natural beauty without taking too long so you can go love on your kids? Which exercise routine gives you that awesome feeling of accomplishment at the end and excitement to do it again? There’s not going to be just one answer, and that’s okay. The answer is going to change over time as your life changes, and that’s okay too. It might even change by the day.

As for me? I stopped trying to worry about which “diet” I will follow, and instead am focusing on making delicious, balanced meals for my family. I’m trying out different classes at the gym to see which ones I like. I’m accepting that when it comes to makeup, skincare, and hair, there aren’t any moral choices involved. If I choose to try out different brands, buy a cheaper one to allow more room in the budget, or buy a more expensive one that works better and will leave me less stressed and able to spend more quality time with my family and not in front of a mirror, get a perm so I won’t have to spend time styling my hair in the morning, that’s fine. It’s all fine.

It’s all going to be fine. Because by not obsessing over these less important things, I’m leaving room for joy.

#joy #rediscoverjoy #perfectionism #confessions of a recovering perfectionist #make room

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cheapvacationaustralia5-blog · 7 years ago

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Top SEO Trends and Tips for 2019

Discover which SEO patterns will assume a pivotal job in a site's positioning achievement (or disappointment). Peruse on to know how you can get ready powerful SEO Updates 2019 for your online business utilizing the strategies and tips that truly work.

Key SEO Trends You Should Watch Out for

Since the mid 2000s, when Search Engine Optimization (SEO) began winding up to a greater degree a science, the Google calculation has changed a few times, ending up a lot more astute. Like never before, it is obliging client encounter.

Since cell phones have turned out to be so common, versatile ventures have changed the patterns of SEO significantly more. In 2019, we will see changes that were speculative just a couple of years prior.

Voice Search

Individuals are hunting down answers with the utilization of Siri, Alexa, and comparable electronic individual help applications and gadgets. They are leading hunts as inquiries "where would i be able to locate the best child baby buggy?" or "where's the closest auto shop?"

Organizations and specialist organizations will need to exhibit data through noting questions and taking care of issues.

Webcopy, blog, and salescopy can turn into a profitable help to the client in the event that it generally means to take care of a typical issue or enables a potential client or customer to upgrade something in their very own life. The brand or organization that truly takes into account client encounter along these lines picks up power and legitimacy among people in general.

Amazon Search

Amazon has turned into a kind of web index that specifically contends with Google or Bing on some random day. When somebody wants to purchase an item, Amazon offers them the capacity to see audits, to examination shop, and proposes comparative items. Individuals go straightforwardly to the inquiry bar of Amazon when purchasing dry and mass sustenances, for garments shopping, and for claim to fame endowments.

That implies catchphrases and thing portrayal advancement must turn out to be more easy to use for anybody utilizing Amazon as their fundamental stage. Making sense of and serving to shopper expectation when they look for specific items must turn out to be a piece of each agent's methodology, for future viability in a regularly developing and aggressive commercial center.

Blockchain

Blockchain is one of the more entangled patterns for individuals to get a handle on, however it will be progressive in the following year or two. In the event that you have known about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies– fundamentally secure and honest units of currency– blockchain is the innovation setting that enables these sorts of exchanges to happen.

Blockchain is a dreaded word for a few enterprises, where straightforwardness will hurt the go between or the salesperson, as it will put buyers on equivalent balance with companies and organizations. Notwithstanding, it is the decentralization and democratization of the web that will enable exchanges and data to be open, secure, and adaptable to remedy from all gatherings. It will likewise affect SEO. How?

Middlemen–, for example, Google, for instance– won't hold every one of the reigns of intensity and specialist similarly they do now.

For example, Google Adsense crusades are in presence since pages that have advertisements for organizations identified with their industry or specialty wish to work together safely just with genuine organizations. Also, the other way around, individuals paying to have their advertisements shown, have constantly confided in Google to associate them with the suitable sources. Obviously Google has constantly taken a sound bit of income from these exchanges. With personality and security being ensured with blockchain, we will probably observe individuals and organizations on the web working together more straightforwardly.

Importantly, blockchain will diminish click extortion. That is right– simply under portion of all web traffic and advertisement clicking is finished by 'click bots' who are fundamentally commiting extortion that costs organizations a ton of cash, while acquiring nothing terms of income. Blockchain confirms that individuals are for sure individuals, in light of past web nearness and conduct. It additionally observes when a similar individual (as a rule a contender) taps on a promotion over and again, emptying cash out of your advertisement crusade.

Likewise, as blockchain as an idea turns out to be better comprehended by the overall population, an ever increasing number of purchasers will hope to see site pages with blockchain code actualized. This will end up being the new ultra-secure technique for getting items, administrations, and data. Search engine optimization firms should give blockchain coordination benefits sooner rather than later.

All things considered, web advertising systems have dependably must be adaptable as patterns get and subside rapidly on the web.

Your most solid option is to work with a firm that is settled with Search Engine Optimization standards; one that has an awesome reputation with customer reports to demonstrate it, and in addition the intellectual competence to acclimatize new innovations. The group at Millionairium has seen numerous patterns throughout the years, and we generally have a multi-faceted technique for expanding the web perceivability for every customer. Look through our feed for different customer reports, or view some here, here, and here too.

Significant Google SEO Tips to Boost Your Search Rankings

On the off chance that nobody sees your site, does it truly exist? Website streamlining (SEO) is tied in with being seen by the perfect individuals.

Sounds straightforward, isn't that so? It's definitely not.

Improvement is an always advancing space and an extensive one at that. How well your site performs inside Google look is affected by various factors inside a large number of classes.

Here are our best tips for enhancing your Google SEO execution in 2019.

Speed

We've all been there. You tap on a query output believing it will be actually what you're searching for, just for it take always to stack. You clicked out of it and certainly won't be back.

stack speed-significance in-web optimization

With our bustling lives and everything moving at the speed of light, guests have generally expected a quick stacking site. Google knows this and positions quicker stacking pages higher than those that are slower. Individuals will in general remain on destinations longer and have better change rates when pages stack quicker.

Commitment

To what extent do individuals remain on your site?

What are they doing once they arrive? Google screens and measures an assortment of measurements to decide how connected with clients are on your site. A portion of these key measurements incorporate stay time, active visitor clicking percentage, return visits and so on.

As indicated by Ali Husayni, CEO of Millionairium, a compensation for each execution Google SEO benefit, content is the most urgent but most disregarded part of SEO he sees. "We're astounded at close to nothing and such seriously composed substance our clients have when they come to us. We put vigorously in their site's substance and we procure the outcomes for them," says Ali.

Content Creation

"Quality written substance is the final deciding factor". In the event that you have ever invested energy in the advertising scene, you have likely heard this expression. The explanation behind that is individuals gone to your site searching for something. The best and most profitable thing you can give them is quality substance. As expressed above, it gives them motivation to remain on your site longer and interface with your site all the more in this way, enhancing your SEO execution.

More than that, notwithstanding, top notch content enables you to:

Mastery: Users see important substance as a noteworthy legitimizing element to a business. In this way, even past SEO, content makes for an extraordinary beginning stage in encouraging trust among you and a potential customer.

Specialty Content: Ensure that your substance is specific. Give content that addresses your mastery and to what your business centers around. In addition to the fact that this improves commitment, it supports your SEO execution by guaranteeing you are really noting an inquiry.

Long-Form Content: Long-shape content performs better. Once more, not actually what you may have been told, isn't that so? Numerous individuals are under the feeling that shorter is better. We have been sucked into the slogany, snippety universe of old, and with regards to SEO that simply does not fly. Why? Longer substance is all the more captivating. At the point when done well, longer frame content keeps individuals in a single place longer. It is bound to be shared via web-based networking media and furthermore bound to be backlinked by others in your industry. As such, it's bound to be utilized as a source or a prescribed piece to another website's clients or blog's readership. Google's RankBrain calculation (it's third most imperative) remunerates longer substance.

Recordings: Video is a standout amongst the most underutilized types of substance on generally sites. While content is generally speaking the most imperative with regards to SEO, video is basic for a few reasons.

Google SEO

Recordings are well known with an anticipated obligation regarding 80% of web traffic by 2021. They increment stay time and diminish skip rate which is the reason numerous SEO specialists prescribe having them on your point of arrival. Recordings are shareable. on the off chance that a video is sufficiently famous to be secured by the media or put on a Buzzfeed list, that article will contain a backlink to the first video. A lot of brands have made video the essence of their showcasing system.

Pictures: Images are an imperative bit of the substance baffle. Individuals like to see pertinent and excellent pictures in the substance they read. Including the correct pictures inside a substance piece has been demonstrated to expand its likelihood being both perused and recalled later.

Website design enhancement Methods

Past the nuts and bolts, there are strategies that can loan a noteworthy help to your SEO diversion. Website design enhancement experts have numerous methods for doing this. Inside the SEO business, strategies will in general fall under "Dark Hat", "Dim Hat" or "White-Hat" rehearses.

You would prefer not to converse with the man operating at a profit, or dark cap.

Dark cap SEO is tied in with deceiving Google's calculation by endeavoring to enhance your SEO execution without really increasing the value of your site. At the end of the day, it's the alternate route endeavor.

As Ali Husayni, CEO of Millionairium puts it, "Dark cap SEO resembles ransacking the bank.

#SEO Updates 2019

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zcommunicator · 7 years ago

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10 ways to improve your communicative competence

What is communicative competence?

It is just a fancy term that means how good you are at communicating.

Communicative competence is critical in all communications, being measured by the amount of information that the speaker is able to accurately get across to their audience.

Simply put, it is whether or not one is able to accurately and efficiently allow another person to understand the subject at hand. At first, this often appears to simply mean whether or not the speaker is intelligent or well spoken. In fact, the issue is highly nuanced, and much more expansive than simply being a matter of knowledge.

Sometimes, a measure of communicative competence has more to do with social skills and linguistic understanding than it does with actual intelligence, or understanding. This is demonstrated through the oratory skills of highly intelligent, but dry, people.

Take a professor who knows everything that there possibly is to know about their subject, but is unable to convey the information so that students apprehend it.

Such is a highly intelligent person who lacks communicative competence and its accompanying skills.

The ability to make an audience understand a subject can be learned however, and through a variety of inputs it can be improved. Both one’s speaking and writing skills stand to benefit enormously from such strategies, often making the author or speaker appear more intelligent, for their knowledge is no longer being lost in the transaction.

With practice, great strides can be made, and it is possible to improve communication in public or interpersonal speaking. The same is true of writing.

All that it takes is knowledge of one’s subject, and an education in the way that others absorb information within different contexts. Take these strategies into consideration, and it is not unreasonable to think that a nearly immediate improvement is possible.

Know your subject as thoroughly as possible

The most important part of making an audience understand your material is knowing the material yourself. Through complex rhetoric you could convince an audience that you are an expert when you are not, but this would be disingenuous and unethical.

Instead, be sure have a true and thorough understanding of the subject matter. If you do not, be up front on this point, and suggest that you could both benefit from a further education.

When possible be the first part of our professor example and know all that you can. But unlike the professor, you will use your knowledge of sociolinguistics to more effectively illuminate your point.

2. Remember what it is like not to be familiar with the topic

Whatever the subject, first keep in mind what it is like to be in the position of the learner, and to not be acquainted with the topic. As our specific field of expertise becomes more ingrained into us, it becomes easier to forget what it was like to learn it for the first time.

Instead, consider the foundational knowledge that was necessary for you to get to the more advanced knowledge. Like the professor who has lost touch with his students, skipping the beginning or intermediate steps of learning can lose people in the fray.

Instead, risk over-explaining. Without taking it to the extreme of boring people to the point of losing them, simply ensure that they know too much when it comes to foundational knowledge.

3. Reduce social and speaking anxiety

A critical element of your content is how it is delivered. Ultimately, this is our entire struggle, as all of the information presented by the good professor and the boring professor is virtually the same. One just knows how to deliver it in a way that their audience can understand and appreciate.

The first step in getting your delivery where it needs to be is making your performance without anxiety, or with as little anxiety as possible.

Following all of the points included in this list will go quite a distance towards anxiety reduction, but keep in mind anxiety is often part of a larger lifestyle issue as well. Lack of sleep, dehydration, and improper nutrition all play a role in setting you up for failure before you even step on stage, so to speak.

Meditation is a powerful tool that ties into anxiety reduction, which leads us to our next point.

4. Visualize the content beforehand

Although a competently conversational speaker is not necessarily planning out their every move, they will usually go in with at least a rough guideline or game plan for their attack on the information.

The best way to do is actually not by taking the hyper-analytical approach of making step-by-step plans for every action.

Instead, take a moment to close your eyes and visualize how the presentation would go under ideal circumstances. Be thorough here: imagine everything from your posture, tone of voice, and content, all the way to your audience’s reactions.

Too much planning can lead to cognitive dissonance when things start to stray from the plan, but visualization simply primes you. By taking a moment to imagine the perfect outcome, you subconsciously assure yourself that it is indeed possible, and that you can achieve it.

5.Control posture and breathing

Once you have visualized your outcome and have an idea of what the perfect scenario is going to be, begin to include physical preparation as well. Generally neglected, posture has an enormous effect on overall performance. By simply standing up straight, pulling the shoulders back, and looking straight ahead we can deeply affect both physical and mental acuity.

During any presentation, remember the importance of posture, and observe how it affects your breathing. When you stand up straight, you improve the function of your diaphragm, which in turn allows your lungs to process more oxygen. This leads to an overall improvement in heart function and blood flow that ultimately allows your brain to function better, as it gets more blood and oxygen.

6. Remember to Connect to your audience (sociolinguistic nuance)

This is potentially the most important point of all to keep in mind.

No matter what the information is and no matter who you are, the most important thing is actually who you are speaking to. Many people take this to be common sense, yet many also disregard this important consideration. Too many speakers and writers simply approach every interaction as though it is with the same audience.

Our professor who fails to connect with the students is a great example here. Although he or she is obviously highly educated and capable of discussing the topic, they are forgetting whom they are talking to. It may be the case that they are skilled in presentation during say, an academic conference, but are unskilled in speaking to young people.

Their issue is merely that they have forgotten their audience, and how important it is that you relate information to the people you are speaking with. It sounds like common sense, but if you look around you will see it neglected frequently.

The International Journal of English language, Literature, and Humanities has a terrific article that gives much perspective on this topic.

The International Journal of English Language, Literature, and Humanities

7. Take into account the listener’s background

To connect with one’s audience, it will be necessary to consider where they came from. Are they students, or fellow professors? Are they of Western culture, or perhaps East Asian?

All of the variables that make a person who they are will come into play here. What could be an amusing joke about hamburgers to one person might be a major faux pas to another. These are all things to keep in mind.

If someone is clearly not formally educated, do not make references to obscure philosophy to establish your point.

As such, the effective thing to do could be to make a popular culture reference. Nothing is out of bounds.

8. Have an accurate understanding of English & Grammar

This falls under the category of knowing rules in order to break them, as we have established it could be necessary to do so in certain situations.

There is nothing wrong with saying “ain’t” if the context means it will make you more of an effective speaker. However, it is equally important to know whether or not your audience would respect your use of the word “irregardless” (play it safe and avoid such contested words). This is why you need to have a full grasp of English language and grammar.

9. Read varying literature

In order to achieve the mastery of language one will need for effective communication, the most important thing to do will be to read. Do not read just one sort of text, but consume as many styles as possible. Read the classic literature of all cultures, Shakespeare, great poets, philosophers, and writers of the modern era.

By doing so you will learn the many different ways that language can be manipulated, as the different writers you observe are doing what you are trying to do as well: get a message to a specific audience.

In addition, learn other languages as well. Language is foundational to our view of the world, and knowing others can open you up to entirely new ways of seeing things.

10. Practice

As you have now seen, we have many means of improving our capabilities when it comes to communication skills, and or ability to speak or write effectively. These are things one can practice on a daily basis, and I certainly hope you will do just that. Success is the byproduct of habit, and good habits are only formed through daily repetition.

You can constantly do things like focus on your posture and make efforts to improve your overall lifestyle in such a way that will optimize performance.

Daily, you can read, write, and speak to people. Take note of what you notice in your interactions. Where are they from, and how does this affect their worldview? What level of education do they have? Can you adjust your diction and syntax to suit the situation?

Always, keep improving. The point will never come in which you are ultimately effective, and have nothing more to learn in order to be better. There are always new people whom you will pick up on particular subtleties with, and you should seek them out.

The goal is to always be prepared.

Moving forward, you now know that all of the tools to succeed are within your understanding, and improvement is more a matter of habit than having special insight.

Anyone can become a more competent and compelling speaker, you simply need to keep in mind who you are speaking to, and how you are speaking to them. As I pointed out with the importance of literature, language can be manipulated however is necessary to make your audience grasp your message.

For a fine, very comprehensive text on our subject be sure to look into Jack C. Richards’ and R.W. Schmidt’s text Language and Communication.

It can easily be found on Google Books at:

Language and Communication

Learn, practice, and listen. It will soon come naturally.

For more in-depth communication training, you check the information about the courses in Communicatorz Academy. The course Communication Supercharger 1 has been crafted to increase the communicative competence of the students.

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