#theme: freshmen react | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

atmilliways · 2 years ago

Text

Wrong On The Money (9-10)

parts 9 & 10 of ?? | 898 words | Teen+

Blackmail fic on Ao3 | on tumblr

Summary:

He will admit that he’s not at his best today. Probably shouldn’t have tried, except Robin was starting to shoot him concerned looks when he ignored a total babe (her words, not his) entering the store. He’s trying, but. Well.

“Steve,” Robin sighs after the third girl he’s struck out with all day. “Steve, Steve, Steve. That was. . . . I’m not going to sugarcoat it, that was ‘change your name and move to another state’ levels of bad. And I say that as a witness to your nautical-themed volume control issues over the summer. Am I going to have to bring back the board?”

“No,” Steve grumbles. He slumps against the counter, leaning on his elbows and dropping his head into his hands.

And, okay, he will admit that he’s not at his best today. Probably shouldn’t have tried, except Robin was starting to shoot him concerned looks when he ignored a total babe (her words, not his) entering the store. He’s trying, but. Well.

Robin comes around from putting back returns and settles a hand on his shoulder, shaking it a bit when he doesn’t immediately react. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine. I’m just—”

He’s hungry. He isn’t used to being hungry, and it’s frustrating that it’s so hard to be normal like this. The phrase ‘take it like a champ’ has been trampled into his very soul over the years, but this is what’s going to take him down: poor planning and an inadequate food budget for the month.

“—Discouraged.”

“Aw.” Robin chucks him under the chin, goofy and from the side. “Hang in there, slugger. We’ll find you your person.”

Steve smiles a little at that. He has yet to fill her in on the newest development in his whole TBD thing, but she’s still leaving space for it. It’s nice.

The only reason he hasn’t told her yet is because of the whole . . . Eddie Munson part of it. That Eddie on that night in particular night had sparked Steve’s first conscious, self-aware thought that, actually, maybe another dude could do it for him . . . but at the same time, blackmailing and extorting him for coming out of a gay club. Robin would bemoan him if he told her that second part. She would lament, and other theater nerd sort of words that he’s picked up from her over the past half a year.

And that’s not even touching the part where Eddie had been dressed to go into that same club himself. (He wonders if Eddie dancing with him would have been like dancing with those other guys. The way they’d pressed up close, put their hands on him, transient with the beat of the music—)

It’s all very complicated and inextricable. He couldn’t even try to explain any part of it without the rest, short of lying (which he won’t do, not to his soulmate), in a way that she won’t despair over. So he keeps it to himself for now, something to let Robin in on well after he’s finished paying Eddie off.

10.

“Look, Henderson,” Eddie says tiredly at the end of the session. “Let me be perfectly clear about this.” He leans his elbows on his haphazard pile of notebooks and folded DM screen, presses his palms together, and heaves a sigh, eyes falling closed. “If you do not stop talking about Steve Harrington, I’m going to start bleeding from my goddamn ears. Think the elevators opening at the end of The Shining, alright?”

Mike perks up from across the table. “Why would—”

“If you don’t know,” Eddie interrupts, his eyes snapping open, “then watch the damn movie, Wheeler. It’s rated R, but I’m sure your patron saint can rent it for you on his own account. Please also remember to never cross the street before looking and to always, always run with scissors.”

The club’s three freshmen exchange looks that Eddie doesn’t bother to try and read. He’s tired of hearing praises sung about the guy he’s weaseling hush money from.

Jeff drops into the chair next to him though, despite being all packed up and ready to go. “You okay, man?” He drops his voice and adds, “How’s Wayne doing?”

Eddie tries to shake it off even though he knows it won’t do anything; the queasy guilt feeling sticks to him like a burr. “Better. He’s. . . . Yeah, he’s getting better.”

And that’s true, so he can’t even mentally tack on but what at cost to the end of the statement.

When he turns back, Dustin is standing right next to the other side of his chair. “Jesus H.—Wear a bell! Christ.”

“So your uncle’s going to be okay?” Dustin asks, eyes wide and damp.

For a moment, Eddie hesitates. He’s not a pessimist and he doesn’t believe in much outside of the Munson doctrine, but he almost doesn’t want to say. Doesn’t want to jinx it. But there’s also the idea of putting what you want to see happen out there into the universe, so here goes.

“Yeah, of course he is.” Eddie manages a lopsided grin, and halfway through saying it the grin even starts to feel real. “A few more weeks left and he’s going to be fine.”

What the hell is it with this kid, winding him up with all the Harrington talk but then emoting so earnestly over Wayne when he’s never even met the man? Mike and Lucas exchange glances again behind their friend’s back, so they seem to know whatever backstory is behind this. . . . Eddie will figure it out someday, resolution noted in triplicate and filed accordingly in his very crowded mental library.

#steddie blackmail fic #steddie #steddie fic #stranger things fic #slow burn #steve harrington #eddie munson #dustin henderson #jeff (stranger things)

92 notes · View notes

haryuwu · 2 years ago

Text

🪞 Twisted Wonderland | Le Mirage

Note: This fic may contain inaccurate descriptions of the fictional characters from Twisted Wonderland so I suggest not to react violently if you notice them. This is also a fan fic specifically for my character Lulu (Louise)! Imagine it as one of the events in-game, it's fun that way. Please excuse my grammar as well, I'm not so confident with my writing...I hope you guys enjoy reading though!

Ever since the incidents of each of the houses within Night Raven College has been dealt with, no students with loose lips were issued. All staff and students were also told not to tell a single soul outside the school’s premises about those incidents. If Styx were to come and get those who were corrupted by the extremity of blotting, they must not recklessly provoke any of them nor get themselves harmed—is what the Headmage had announced months ago. No more over-blotting occurrences followed since then. And so, a new semester has begun.

Grim and the Prefect of the Ramshackle dorm were given a new task from Headmage Crowley to participate in the preparation for the upcoming Ball of the Evening within the Night Raven College. This was the first time the students have heard about such an event but they had no choice but to do as the headmage says.

The housewardens were called into a meeting, the prefect of Ramshackle dorm included, to discuss the event's preparation. The school's cafeteria was decided to be the place for the ball as there will be only selective guests allowed to set foot in there. On the other hand, each of the houses has to decorate their popular areas for the guests to visit.

However, the headmage has forgotten to fill them in who will be attending the ball. Due to the headmage's busy schedule, he leaves before they could ask an important question.

The students in the Heartslabyul dorm decided to decorate the tea garden as most of the students of Night Raven College find the Unbirthday Party an interesting theme to be celebrated. However, they revised a few of the decorations as it is inappropriate to celebrate the Unbirthday Tea Party too early and the housewarden might scold them for not following a certain rule. But no one has denied the fact that a tea party would be an acceptable plan as the event will be held exactly on the 5th day of the month.

"I'm still confused, why do we have a ball though? Isn't this an all-boys school?" Ace Trapolla, one of the freshmen of the school that was recently punished for not following rule number 469. He painted all roses red when in fact the guests attending will be considered new friends of the school.

Ace complained with an exhausted sigh as he sat sluggishly on a chair from all the work when Cater Diamond, their senior, took his place on repainting. Ace, for that matter, still couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness after hearing some of the guests will be from the Royal Sword Academy.

"I heard there will be guests attending other than the Royal Sword Academy representatives—Ah, I messed up the ribbon…" Deuce Spade, another freshman, on the other hand has been helping yet still making little progress. He was one of the unfortunate ones to be punished because of Ace's mistake earlier.

"What I heard is that there will be ladies attending as well~" Cater, who has been repainting the red roses to white joined in their gossiping. "It would be nice to see beautiful ladies to take selfies with, don't you think so, Trey?" With a playful smirk, Cater caught Trey quietly approaching them from afar with his hands occupied with a tray of sweets.

"W-Why are you dragging me into this? Don’t assume things about which guests will be coming,” Trey Clover, who just arrived at their conversation, excused himself to join them while holding cups of tea, juice, and biscuits in a tray.

“Whoever they are, I'll do my best to keep them entertained in Heartslabyul during their visit so it won't trouble our housewarden.” Everyone working at the tea table, cleaned up a space for the tray he’ll be placing down. Their eyes cannot resist the sight of sweets and other snacks. “Anyways, please help yourselves. You guys have been working all day."

"Awesome! I'm starving," Grim began stuffing his mouth with other delicacies that Trey had baked for them as soon as he grabbed them from the tray.

"Hey! Stop robbing our food! You weren't even helping us to do all this work!" Ace immediately pulled the tray away from Grim before he could grab another for a bite.

Grim gulped down a tart before speaking, "Well I'm helping out Prefect to whatever task that was given to them. That still makes me a helper, right?" He said while eyeing the prefect who could only sigh in response.

"You must be more exhausted than everyone else here. Why don't you take a break with us?" The Prefect questioned Trey in worry. They knew he had been following Riddle's orders and preventing anyone from fighting one another. As a response, he painfully chuckled about the fact he's been overworking the whole day.

"As much as I want to take that offer, I couldn't sit with you guys even just for a moment. Though…I still appreciate the thought," with lips curved up wryly, he refused to rest as they were already behind from all the decorating work. Thanks to a certain someone messing up the colors.

Suddenly, a familiar individual caught the students' attention as all of their slouching backs miraculously straightened up. When Trey had caught onto what was happening, he greeted, "Ah, Housewarden! Do you need something?" It is the housewarden of the Heartslabyul dorm. His complexion already tells everyone that he’s greatly bothered by their chattering during work.

"Yes, I do really need something. Your presence and assistance, vice housewarden Trey," Riddle Rosehearts, the housewarden of Heartslabyul dorm, is close to breaking his temperament. They can see his veins slowly appearing at his temples with eyes twitching due to the sight of slackers roaming the dorm. "Although I'm not the type of person to punish you for something that has been troubling you the whole day. It is also my mistake, I apologize."

"T-That's very kind of you. Thank you,” Trey was dumbfounded by Riddle’s apology, yet it lifted the burden feeling from his shoulders. He was able to smile warmly afterwards.

"Ah, speaking of guests, the headmage hasn't clarified who will be attending. Only a few of the Royal Sword Academy representatives and their headmage are guaranteed to attend."

"So stop dilly dallying and do your job properly!" Riddle shot them a glare who was obviously neglecting their duties. He sat down on the chair that Ace immediately offered to avoid getting on his nerves again and asked Trey in a whisper to prepare him tea.

"But it is indeed strange that he hasn't told us housewardens about who exactly will be attending. The ball may be the one of the main events, but aren't we supposed to bring a muse with us?" Trey inquired as he poured tea into Riddle's cup. While taking a sip to his cup, the headmage suddenly appeared behind them.

"The event is to commemorate the birth of a new Saintess, of course!" Exclaimed the headmage who startled most of his students.

"GAH! Please stop doing that…!" Ace screamed when the headmage appeared behind him. Everyone will never get used to this.

"A new Saintess?" Said the Prefect who was tasked to check each of the houses of the school.

"Yes! It has been 4 decades since the last birth of a Saintess. I received an important message from the Mirage family about this news and they chose Night Raven College to hold a ball for her." Explained the headmage who's currently ecstatic about this news. The Mirage family must be well-off in riches.

Cater ran back to their spot as soon as he heard what they had been discussing. "Wow! then this will be the first time we'll meet a Saintess."

"That's right! The Mirage family has been one of the greatest mages who possess powerful magic. They all remained pure and free from blotting. However, when the last Saintess passed on, their abilities also died along with her breath."

"Even the generations that followed the Saintess' footsteps couldn't revive the lost magic. So they gave up trying until a miracle happened. The current daughter of the Mirage family was able to use this ability."

"Was this ability normally passed onto the heir of the Mirages, headmage?" Deuce, who has been silently fiddling on the ribbon, finally asked him about this certain ability. However, headmage Crowley shook his head with a shrug as it seems to be unknown to him as well.

"Inheriting an ability is a rare case but perhaps the Mirage folks are an exception. However, that ability has never been revealed to anyone for decades. The Mirage family has always been secretive when it comes to their family history," checking on the headmage's expression, he doesn't appear to be lying about how limited his knowledge is when it comes to the Mirage family.

"But what I do know is that if word came out, people will start to assume all questions will be answered by the beholder of this ability. To avoid getting too much attention from the people, the information about the Saintess' ability must stay confidential." Sighing, the headmage was asked another question.

"It must be tough to keep their ability a secret," said the Prefect who used to ask about their friends' signature spells out of curiosity.

"Ah, speaking of the new Saintess, she just turned 18 recently. Despite the young lady being just around your age, please refrain yourselves from being too casual whenever you chat with her,"

"We were especially selected to hold the Ball of the Evening for her. This is part of their tradition."

"But Headmage, that doesn't answer why we have to attend the ball as well. What are we going to do there exactly? We're not going to just dance there, are we?" With Ace's question to the headmage, everyone couldn't stay silent. "I mean we have a suit ready from Sam, but who are we gonna dance with?"

"Yeah, but dancing with the ladies would be very nerve wracking. I don't even dance well enough."

"That's really a shame, Trey. You're missing out! Don't worry, I'll teach you some of the moves that are trending these days. It'll be fun to join us in the Pop Club to train. #GotDMoves #FootLoose!" Cater nudged Trey's arm to encourage him to dance with them.

"Thanks…But I don't think it's that type of dance you're expecting it to be for the ball."

"I suppose it'll focus on ballroom dancing rather than just random twists and turns, Cater," Riddle stated in a disappointed tone.

"I was only joking! I know what a ballroom dance is…!"

"Hahaha Seeing Grim dance like that would be fun to watch. Would the Prefect crouch to reach for his arms or would he be lifted instead?" Ace teasingly asked the two while pulling up a mean grin.

"Hey! I don't plan on dancing like that! I'm not even allowed to attend the ball," Grim stomped his feet on the table and almost hit Ace's hand with a spoon after getting insulted.

"Then you'll be staying in the Ramshackle dorm? Wouldn't that make you lonely without our Prefect?" Deuce inquired while eyeing Ace. Ace gave him a shrug as a response.

"We'll let him stay with us while the Prefect attends the ball with headmage," Trey smiled as he answered with assurance.

"But I wouldn't tolerate any trouble while you're around here. I've only accepted this because this is under the headmage's orders," Crossing his arms, Riddle warned Grim with brows always furrowing. "You two as well." He then included Deuce and Ace, complaining once again in sync.

"What? Why us, too!?"

Headmage Crowley, however, had to clear his throat to get their attention back to him. It seems it is another important matter to add in their knowledge. This event is a very important matter for the Mirage family.

"Sorry to ruin your parade, but the Ball of the Evening next weekend…won't be including the dance." With that said, everyone stopped chatting and arguing as silence took over the tea garden. And so, all of the students near their table sang in harmony…

"...Eh?"

To Be Continued ➵ Next Chapter

19 notes · View notes

writingforatwistedworld · 3 years ago

Note

Yahoo the inbox is open! May I ask for a Savanaclaw members reacting to finding out the player already has an so. Like the ones you did for the Octavinelle dorm. Thank you. �� also ahhh I just really love your stuff here!! It amazing!!

You ask and you shall receive. Also thanks for the compliment! It means a lot to me! :D

Self-aware au

I do not take any responsibility for you reading this no matter which age group you are from!

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, violence, blood, beheading, obsession, possessiveness, murder, death

Leona Kingscholar/Ruggie Bucchi/Jack Howl-Player already has a significant other

I bet with you that Ruggie sharpens his nails. Why that is important? You will see...

So, Leona was just on the home screen, enjoying the sight of you, expecting to see your face once more...

And then there is them

Sitting just across the room, asking who “the heck is that weird looking character on the screen?”

Insult him, and you get a warning. Insult the Overseers hobbies and preferences and you will end up headless

You see where I was going with that sharpened nail thingy?

But knowing that you have a partner burns really bad

Leona is aware that he is everything else but that prince on the white horse

Heck, the horse would rather run away from him than let him ride on it

But he had hope

After all, the Overseer sees everyone equally and when you put him on the home screen on that day he thought that maybe he had caught your fancy somehow

And now he is watching how some stranger is embracing you, being way too close to you

They can be happy that you are in the room

He just wants to be somewhat decent for you

Otherwise he would have just ripped them to shreds, worlds apart or not

One word: laughing

No joke, when... they were seen by him for the first time he couldn't help but to laugh

He is just in complete denial

You see, Ruggie had always looked up to you

The kind, otherworldly being who made sure that even the despised hyenas had a chance

He even thought that you two could get along, you being free of prejudices about the lower class and all of that

When he saw them being closed to you than a normal friend would usually be he finally snaps out of denial

You two are in a relationship... oh Overseer, you are too cruel!

He really thought that what you two had was special after you placed him on the home screen

And all of the sayings, with you being equal and all of that, seemed true as well!

And then he finds out that he had no chance anyways

He just wants to use his special magic on them, make them fall down some stairs

Ruggie wants to see them bleed, cry, beg for forgiveness even if they don't know for what

He had to live such a difficult life and knew nothing else

He even looked after his family unlike so many young people in the slums who only cared about themselves

So please indulge him just for once, even if that means finding your special one in an accident which left them bloody and in a coma

Oh goodness! This is a harsh one...

From the second he spots them for the first time besides you he is agressive

It's almost like Jack threatens your significant other for just existing

Now, luckily he can't act upon the instinct to go for their jugular

You two are still separated by worlds after all

So what does he do? Huh? Let his anger out in a healthy, non-dangerous way?

Good job but no, he is extremely aggressive and dangerous during spell drive training

He has already send three freshmen into the nurse's office

Leona even had to take him off the team with how dangerous he has become

So now that this way of getting rid of anger is gone what is he supposed to do? Stand still and do nothing??!

Oh no no no. He would rather die

So suddenly the usually calm and collected student is gone, replaced with an aggressive copy of himself

All I'm saying is, is that there are more than enough students in Savannaclaw searching for trouble and who is he to deny them that?

Everyone knows that you recently visited when they see a new face in the nurses office

Jack had never been so alone, avoided by everyone

But then again, who cares if they are not you? And if someone dares to come close enough then they surely offer themselves as a punching bag, right?

339 notes · View notes

miseriathome · 5 years ago

Text

This is an EXTREMELY uncharitable and rude take by me, but like. Fucking Christ.

This is a fucking transitioning ask blog and you really have that much damn anxiety about being friends with people that you feel the need to wonder if it’s inappropriate despite being a 5+ year long dynamic? Like oh my god do people really feel that much terror at being friends with young people? This is fucking ridiculous, please for the love of god can people just go and experience the very real and mundane world that’s out there??? Have you people really just never been to summer camp or done after school programs or tutored or babysat or been nice to your friends’ little siblings or had an entry-level job or been a part of any kind of community group or just fucking anything??????? I quite legitimately feel concern for all these people who end up convinced that it might somehow be unnatural to ever wind up in the same place as somebody more than three years outside of their age range???????? One of the most positive relationships of my life was with an adult over 20 while I was 13. When I was super duper young, all the kids at my church were friends with one another (oh look, racial/immigrant factors!!! It was a Chinese church!!!!!!!), which included kids younger than me and older than my sister (who is 4.5 years older than me), and we were friends, and being friends with other second generation immigrants from similar non-normative family backgrounds is good for feeling human, actually. I spent like eight years going to a summer camp and by my final year, I had a whole following of younger children who were up to eight years younger than me, and we were friends. As a high school senior, I was friends with some freshmen because we were in the same clubs and being friends with people you spend a lot of time with is fucking normal. I started doing drum corps when I was 17 and have marched alongside and been peers with hundreds of people from ages 13 to 60+... and seen them naked in he fucking showers, ya fucking dipshits, sports exist. My first job out of college had me being equal peers with 16-year-olds, and I even brought a high schooler with me to an even two hours away because we were both interested in it and they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to go. Literally what kinds of fucking bubbles are other people living in that it’s so impossible to conceptualize how an adult might be friends with a teenager? Legit why is your base assumption that adults aren’t aware of the influence they have and the boundaries they need to set?

Legit when I was a really young teenager, my dad took me to this public city-wide Bike to Work breakfast thing, and I ended up talking to this middle aged amateur photographer. I really liked his art, so we ended up adding each other on facebook so I could see all his albums and stuff, because this was kind of before the time when people had pages. Occasionally, we interacted, because facebook be like that. Once, we were talking about music and he linked this musical humor thing which contained an adult-themed reference in it. I replied by pointing this out and basically being like “hey, I’m X aged” but also commenting on the things I liked about it. As a result, the conversation went back to being about non-adult common ground and it wasn’t even awkward, it was clearly just a matter of him, the adult, forgetting that bit was in there. It wasn’t even awkward. And a few years later I reached out to commission him to do photoshoots for me and my friend for our senior photos because hey, I know a chill amateur photographer who is interested in being commissioned, let’s get cool non-studio portraits and support individual art. And that happened and there was nothing inappropriate that happened because wow, it turns out that the average adult isn’t fucking weird about people younger than them existing???

It just sets off my rage meter so fucking hard when people who are barely adults have like existential freak outs about being innate child molesters or some bullshit. Like no, just fucking think about the complex human being you were at that age and react appropriately. I had depression and read manga-containing-sexy-tiddy-nipples in fourth grade, so I’m not going to infantilize a fourth grader, but I’m also not going to be like “here’s drugs and porn.” I recognize that my teenager friends who just entered college this year are very mature people who can handle things like drugs and sex (note: I’m not having sex with them, I’m just saying that they talk quite a lot of their own accord about it and I can’t really do anything about that except not engage if I don’t want to), but I also know that they’re not the most politically developed, so I don’t expect them to engage with my long thought processes with regards to social theory or public policy.

How actually fucked up is our sense of the world if people legitimately think there’s zero fucking pretense for people of different ages to even occupy the same room as each other? I’m well aware that this scrupulosity is bred into people by really shitty and devious others, but also it pisses me the fuck off that others don’t have the wealth of lived experience that I do with regards to just experiencing other people in the fucking world, like how fucking sheltered are you? Engage with your community for god’s sake, live a life that doesn’t involve socially approved upwards progression into adult careers and activities, do something with actual youth instead of living in fear of them and avoiding them like a death sentence. It’s not going to fucking wreck your life to be a person at another person.

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #personal #purity culture #pls no rebagel #vent

14 notes · View notes

bab-ybird · 6 years ago

Text

Drunk On You

I’m not drunk, just really tipsy

....you’re drunk, you mean

•

Pairing: Best Friend!Jaehyun x OC

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: mentions of alcohol, contains slightly mature themes

In which Jaehyun needs a night of intoxication to realize his feelings and to act upon them.

•

“Jaemi, are you ready?”

The voice of my best friend echoes throughout our shared apartment. I take one last look at myself in the mirror, making sure I have everything I need on me, and rush out the door of my room.

“Yes, Jae, yes, I’m comi-“ Looking up, the sight of my best friend stops me in my tracks. He’s dressed in a smart casual outfit, just jeans, leather shoes, and a black, button-down, dress shirt. On any other guy, the outfit would be bland, mediocre even. Basic.

On Jaehyun, the outfit was capable of conquering a New York Fashion Week runway.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.” I blink, gathering myself and following him out the door. As we exit the apartment building, he tinkers with his phone, calling a cab to take us to a club in Hongdae, where our friend and fellow senior, Mingyu, would be celebrating his 23rd birthday. We wait patiently on the sidewalk, and when the cab comes to pick us up, Jaehyun opens the door for me, gesturing for me to get in. I do, greeting the driver as I settle down in my seat. Leaning against the car door, I tilt my head to look at my best friend.

Meet Jung Jaehyun- or Jung Yoonoh, when I was being serious with him. My full-time best friend and high-key closet crush for the past four years of our friendship.

We met in college, both freshmen at the time, both thrilled with the independence and freedom that came with dorm life. The one class we had in common was Contemporary Literature, and during the second week of class, I remember him asking to occupy the seat beside me. I’d nodded nonchalantly, not giving much thought to him- that was, until the professor called on him and he opened his mouth to read aloud the poem we were currently studying. His voice was beautiful, but what drew me in was the way he recited the poem with such emotion and precision, as if he had read it a hundred times prior to that moment.

When he sat back down, I’d immediately tapped his shoulder. What started out as me asking about poetry reading techniques, turned into study dates, and eventually, full-blown hangouts at each other’s dorm room. He became the person on the other end of my many late night conversations, and the one receiving my daily ‘good morning’s. He was always there for me, and I for him.

Soon enough, I was crushing on the gentleman.

The more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment I started falling in love with him. It happened slowly, gradually. I remember suddenly feeling my heart soaring whenever his chivalrous side came out- which, admittedly, was all the time. Little things like holding the door open for me, asking if I had already eaten, and helping me carry my things when I was overloaded with baggage made my heartbeat race a hundred miles per hour.

Of course, my conservative self refused to accept that she would be so stupid as to have feelings for someone that thought of her as a best friend, a sister, even. I’d denied my feelings all throughout the year.

Then he’d started crushing on someone in his Political Science class. He’d come to me, all excited and flustered, his mouth blabbing about the girl that sat beside him and how they were partners for a project, which meant that they would be seeing each other much more often. My chest immediately felt heavy, and my fingers gripped my notebooks tight. I was jealous.

But being a supportive best friend, I plastered a smile unto my face and listened to him talk about her. Even if I was hurting, it was still endearing to see his eyes light up whenever he talked about something that made him happy.

I’d tried my best to move on, tried to accept that he’d never love me the way I wanted him to. I watch him now, typing away on his phone, grinning at whatever the other person is saying, and avert my gaze to the window when my chest swells at the sight of his smile. No matter how hard I tried, my feelings would always just be there.

“We’re here.” The driver announced, and we exit the car after paying the fare. I enter the club with him right behind me, and immediately, I’m enveloped in a bear hug.

“You made it!” A familiar voice cheers into my ear.

I grin as the person pulls away, coming face to face with a very well-dressed Bambam. “Good to see you, Bam.”

“Come on, Mingyu reserved a private room for us.”

Given Mingyu’s wide range of social circles, I’m surprised to find only a handful of people occupying the room. They seem to be his close friends, as I recognize them from whenever they hung out together around campus.

“Hey, Jaemi! Jaehyun!” Mingyu calls from his spot in between who I believe to be Jeonghan and Yugyeom. “Glad you could make it. Help yourselves!” With a wave of his arm, he gestures to the bar stationed at the left side of the room. I take the invitation, ordering a drink for myself after greeting him and sitting on an empty spot on the couch. Jaehyun sits beside me, followed by one of his friends, Seokmin.

After a couple hours of conversation, dancing, and drinks, my brain is hazy. My eyesight is slightly blurry, and there’s a thrum in my veins.

I return to the room after dancing with another friend of Mingyu’s, stumbling over my feet just the slightest bit. Trying to make my way to the couch, I bump into a hard body, feeling the person’s hands come up to hold me by my elbows, stabilizing me. I look up and recognize the brown eyes that stare back into mine, getting a giddy feeling in my chest.

“Jaehyun...” I mumble, a smile growing on my face.

“Are you drunk?” He slurs.

I laugh absentmindedly. “No, I’m not, I’m just really tipsy...”

“So you’re drunk.” He states hazily. Then he giggles uncharacteristically. “Me too.”

“Let’s sit, Jaemi.” He says. His footsteps are wobbly too, as we make our way to the couch. At the last second, he trips over nothing, and crashes down onto the couch, dragging me with him. We both burst out in a fit of giggles, laughing at nothing in particular. I shift to the side, sitting beside him with one leg draped over his. Our sides are touching, and he lays a hand on my knee, tracing random shapes on my bare skin. My head drops onto his shoulder. We remain in that position for a while, my heartbeat racing because of the alcohol and our incredibly close proximity. There are random exchanges of nonsense between us, things that only intoxicated minds can come up with. Probably not thinking clearly, I find myself cuddling into his side, burying my face in the crook of his neck. His touch is warm and comforting, and it calms me down a bit.

A sudden burst of bravery from the alcohol running through my veins gives me the courage to press a kiss to the base of his throat.

Jaehyun reacts instantly, looking down at me with curiosity pooling in his eyes. For a short moment, I stare back at him, admiring the way the dim lights fall onto his face, darkly illuminating his features. I close my eyes and grin goofily at him. “You’re beautiful, you know, Yoonoh-yah?”

And it happens too fast for my brain to process, but suddenly our lips are locked in a heated kiss. My eyes fly open in shock, only to close again because of the blissful feeling the physical contact brings. Even in my intoxicated state, years of pent-up emotions manage to come cascading down onto me, and my heart hurts that we’re only doing this because we’re drunk, and he probably still doesn’t see me in that light.

But I push the thought away. To hell with the negatives.

Jaehyun wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me on top of him so that my knees are planted on either side of his hips, the dark fabric of my dress riding further up my thighs. I straddle him, hands holding onto the back of the couch to support me. He holds onto my waist, his touch sending shivers down my spine. The feeling of his hands has me moaning into the kiss- it’s ecstasy to me.

I don’t know how much time we spend making out, but eventually, bottles of water are being passed to me by my friend, Jihoon, who is only sober because of his allergy to alcohol. Always the designated caretaker, he helps me ingest at least two bottles of water, and the copious amount of liquid intake for the night has me stumbling into the bathroom to relieve myself of it all.

I thank Jihoon for taking care of me before I leave, as he helped me sober up enough to make it back to my apartment. Making a mental note to thank Mingyu the next day, I manage to call a cab to bring Jaehyun and I home.

He’s sobered up a bit as well, though not as much as I have, and it takes me a minimal amount of effort to get him into bed. I clean up as much as I can, and just as I’m about to close my bedroom door, I hear Jaehyun call out for me from his room. In an oversized shirt and sleeping shorts, I walk over to his room and see him motioning for me to come closer. Plopping down on the edge of the bed, I rub at my face sleepily.

“What is it, Jaehyun? I’m tired, I want to sleep.”

No response. I look up, and he’s staring at me. Then he holds his hand out to me, as if asking me to take it. I do, and he pulls me to him. Crawling on the bed to come sit on my heels beside his form, I don’t expect for him to suddenly pull me even closer and press a kiss to my lips. He means for it to be quick, I can tell because he pulls away almost instantly, but I follow his movement to keep our lips together. We kiss until we both run out of breath, then he lifts his blanket and offers me the space beside him.

“Stay.” He whispers, eyes swimming with an emotion I can’t distinguish in my partially intoxicated state, face gentle and inviting.

My heart soars for the nth time that night.

I stay.

~~~

Morning comes quickly- too quickly for my liking, and I know when I wake up, that I have to leave my best friend’s warm embrace soon.

But I stay still, pretending to be asleep, because no matter how much it scares me that this would ruin the amazing friendship we had, it was also an extremely rare occurrence. For the first time in my life, I allow my heart to choose, just to enjoy the moment. I turn to snuggle into Jaehyun’s clothed chest more, wrapping my arms around his waist.

“Psst. Jaemi.” My best friend’s chest rumbles as he speaks, moments later. I hum in response, feeling his toned body flex beneath the fabric of his shirt under my fingers as he shifts under the sheets.

“Hm?”

“I’m hungry, and my head hurts. Let’s get brunch.”

“Sure.”

~~~

The smell of waffles, bacon, and other breakfast foods invade my senses. Jaehyun and I are currently sitting at our favorite breakfast place, munching away at our shared plates.

Jaehyun’s phone dings from under the table, and he pauses eating to check it. I’m about to fork some roasted potatoes into my mouth when I see him freeze and his eyes widen by a fraction.

“What is it?” I ask automatically.

He looks me in the eye and shows me his phone screen. Displayed there is a photo of us last night, me holding myself up on top of him with his hands on my waist as we engaged in a passionate lip lock.

I bite my lip, my breath hitching.

“I think we need to talk about that.” Jaehyun mumbles, withdrawing his phone and setting it facedown on the table. I nod, but don’t bother initiating the discussion- I didn’t know how he read it and I didn’t want to assume anything.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that...” he breaks out into this basic monologue that all guys give when they think nothing of all the intimacy that happened the previous night. He’s looking everywhere else except at me, and his voice is an entirely different Jaehyun. Tiny and insecure.

“Okay.” I bite my lip, not realizing that disappointment was evidently displayed on my face. I let out a shaky breath, willing myself to calm down- but even after all this time, it still breaks my heart that he thinks of me as nothing more than his best friend.

“It was extremely wrong of me to take advantage of you like that, especially since you were drunk...”

With the second burst of courage within 24 hours, I cut him off. “You can’t take advantage of the willing, Jaehyun.”

Avoiding eye contact, I pick up my utensils to resume eating my meal, when Jaehyun reaches out, lightly touching my fingers. My eyes flick up to meet his, and I can tell he’s been reading my features and body language, analyzing my behavior.

As expected from a Psychology major.

“Wait, do you-“

I narrow my eyes, frowning a bit. “What?” It comes out rather sharp, defensive.

“Do you..like me?”

The word ‘yes’ is stuck in my throat, yearning to break free. But I use all my self control to prevent myself from speaking.

“Because, if you do, then that’s an entirely different situation...” he mumbles, unsure. He looks defeated, unknowing of what to do and of how to act, so I give in.

“I’ve always liked you, Jaehyun.” My voice is soft, fragile.

My hand drops the fork it’s holding because it’s suddenly enveloped by his.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” He pries gently.

His eyes are gentle, inviting. They’re home for me, and in that moment, I want to tell him everything. What leaves my mouth is a filtered answer.

“I convinced myself that you never really looked at me as anything more than your best friend. I was happy being your best friend, even if it hurt.” My eyes fall to my plate as I speak, fingers nervously fidgeting with the lacy table cloth.

His thumb rubs the back of my hand, before letting go and picking up his own utensils. I look up to see a small smile on his face.

“Are you busy tonight?”

My mouth opens to answer him no, but he cuts me off. “Nevermind. Don’t answer that. You are busy tonight, because I’m taking you out.” He forks a piece of waffle into his mouth, flashing me a goofy grin.

Heart soaring, I mirror it with a smile of my own.

~~~

Dates with Jaehyun were not so different from our usual hangouts. We did what we normally did as best friends, except with a lot more handholding and physical affection. I remember lining up for milk tea and Jaehyun wrapping an arm around my shoulders when the female barista had started flirting with him.

Swoon.

It’s 8pm and we’re walking along Han River after seeing a movie and playing at the arcade, milk teas in one hand and our free hands enclasped in between us. The sounds of the city are distant across the water, and what occupies my senses are the smells and sounds of the calm river.

We find a ledge to sit on, our feet dangling from the height of it. There’s a good amount of space in between us, and we sip the last bits of our drinks in silence.

It’s only later on that we speak again.

“Remember in our freshman year, when you went to this party with that guy from the debate team?” Jaehyun brings up randomly. I flip my hair over my shoulder to look at him, finding that he was already watching me with his warm, brown eyes.

“Yeah?”

He smiles bitterly. “Do you remember what an asshole he was?”

I fall silent at the unpleasant memory. I’d forgotten about that bit.

“I remember finding you sitting in the corner, staring down at your hands with the saddest look on your face. No matter how hard you tried to smile and convince everyone that you were okay, I knew you weren’t. I’d never wanted to hurt anyone as much as I did that day.” His voice is laced with the tone of aged anger, one that told me he had moved on, but still regretted everything that happened. “It’s times like that that make me wish I’d taken you myself.”

“Why didn’t you?” I ask, voice soft.

The corner of his lips tug up in a sad smirk. “Don’t know, don’t remember. Maybe I was with some other guys from the fraternity that was hosting, but I regret it. I should’ve stayed with you the entire night and never let him near you.”

I rub the back of his hand with my thumb. “Forget about it. It’s the past.”

He nods. “I know. I just wanted to get it out.”

I smile. “You’re sweet, you know.”

Jaehyun flashes me a grin that makes my stomach do cartwheels. I return it.

“Why did you do it?”

“Do what?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Kiss me.” I say plainly.

“Is it not obvious?”

I roll my eyes. “It would’ve been if you weren’t drunk.”

He nods. “Fair point.”

Silence falls again.

“So, why?” I press.

“Because I like you.”

I should’ve expected it, but I’m caught off guard with his nonchalant confession. “Really?”

“No.” He reaches up to tuck my hair behind my ear. “I love you.”

My eyes search his to find that he means every word.

“I’ve always loved you, as a sister, as a best friend. It was only recently that I realized I loved you in a different way. As a woman.” He tells me, eyes never leaving mine. My chest is bursting with emotion. “I just never did anything because you never seemed to feel the same way.”

I grimace. “That’s partially my fault.”

He tilts his head questioningly. “How?”

“You’re my best friend, you know that my way of dealing with feelings is hiding them. It’s a self-preservation technique that I developed- maybe also the reason why I never dated.” I shrug.

Jaehyun shakes his head. “I think that you never dated because you never found a guy who would make the effort to understand how you work, who would wait for you to open up and be comfortable. You never found anyone who was willing to climb the walls you built around yourself, who was willing to give you the time of day.” I bite my lip and shift my eyes to the ground.

I feel his finger on my chin, tilting my head up so I could look at him properly.

“Or maybe you just never realized that you’ve been best friends with that guy for a while now, and that he’s madly in love with you.” He tells me truthfully, and I feel the emotion with how he says his words. Ever the great speaker- the very reason I decided to talk to him in the first place.

Despite the overwhelming amount of emotion I feel in my chest, I manage to crack a small smile. “Just a while?”

He chuckles, his eyes growing smaller. “Yeah, just a few four years of our lives.”

His gaze falls on my lips, and he swallows visibly. “Can I-“

Jaehyun never gets to finish his sentence because I close my eyes and kiss him before I lose the courage to. He kisses me back immediately, fingers leaving my chin and moving to the side of my neck, holding me in place. My chest swells, even though the physical contact is kept to a minimum. I find myself smiling into the kiss, and when I run out of air, I pull away. My eyes find Jaehyun’s instantly, and there’s a twinkle in them because he’s so happy.

His lips break out into the biggest smile I’d ever seen him wear, and he leans in again to plant a kiss on my forehead. Jaehyun doesn’t pull away and leans his forehead onto mine instead. My chest feels hot and I have a giddy smile plastered on my face.

“Found you.”

#nct #kpop #seventeen #friends to lovers #best friend!jaehyun #mingyu #bambam #jihoon #fluff #college #nct 127 #neo culture technology #got7 #jaehyun #jung jaehyun #jung yoonoh #best friends to lovers #best friends #friends

28 notes · View notes

auraunbound · 6 years ago

Note

☭ - Maybe some interesting team exhibition matches?

VYLT v.s. OLIV

Battle Theme: Persona 3: Portable OST - Wiping All Out

Violet

Battle intro: “Remember loves, it’s all for fun! That means no crying!”

Victory: “This couldn’t have ended any other way!”

Defeat: “You’re all lucky I let you win!”

Assist: “Écartez vous, all eyes on me now!”

Taunt: “You underclassmen aren’t ready for the big leagues.”

Reacting to Taunt: “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Flee: “It’s a tactical withdraw! Nothing more!”

Reaction to Flee: “What’s the matter? I thought Atlesians were supposed to stand and fight!”

Tie: “You’re all pretty good, I guess.”

Perfect Victory: “Ah, perfect. Just like moi~.”

Semblance Activation: “Try not to fall for me~!”

Finishing Move: “Struck through the heart!”

Yarrow

Battle intro: “No more useless talking. Time to fight.”

Victory: “Don’t take it too hard. We’ve all been there.”

Defeat: “I need to be stronger than this.”

Assist: “Got it.”

Taunt: “Do you four ever shut up?”

Reacting to Taunt: “Tch, whatever.”

Flee: “Consider this the mercy rule.”

Reaction to Flee: “Hmph. Can’t even finish what they started.”

Tie: “Not bad. Looks like we both have work to do.”

Perfect Victory: “Is this what you signed up for?”

Semblance Activation: “Let’s turn up the heat a bit!”

Finishing Move: “You’re finished!”

Lily

Battle intro: “Let’s ‘ave a clean match, a’right?”

Victory: “Not th’worst, but train ‘arder next time.”

Defeat: “Damn, ya’ really got us there. Nice job.”

Assist: “Comin’ in hot!”

Taunt: “Can’t ‘it what ya’ can’t catch, kiddos!”

Reacting to Taunt: “See if yer sayin’ that when this’s done!”

Flee: “Damn that ‘urts. We’ll give ya’ this one.”

Reaction to Flee: “What?! I was jus’ warmin’ up!”

Tie: “Ya’ did pretty good fer a bunch’a freshmen.”

Perfect Victory: “I didn’t break a bone, did I?”

Semblance Activation: “Don’t blink!”

Finishing Move: “‘ere comes th’knockout!”

Taupe

Battle intro: “Shall we dance?”

Victory: “Don’t beat yourselves up. This was the obvious outcome.”

Defeat: “How?!?!”

Assist: “Let’s see those feet move!”

Taunt: “Are you sure you can outrun a bullet?”

Reacting to Taunt: “Words are cheap. Let your skill speak for you.”

Flee: “A good Huntsman always knows when a fight is not worth his time.”

Reaction to Flee: “Haha! I knew they couldn’t keep up!”

Tie: “This would have been different if I’d cared to try.”

Perfect Victory: “It was over before it begun.”

Semblance Activation: “I see you!”

Finishing Move: “Coup de grâce!”

#teamoliv #[i didn't know who to put together so i just did the teams as a whole]#{Duty Calls; (Answered)}#{The Blooming Empress; (Violet Pasque)}#{The Burning Vengeance; (Yarrow Penke)}#{The Boxing Kangaroo; (Lily White)}#{The Crackshot Bounty Hunter; (Taupe Columbine)}

1 note · View note

graylinesspam · 6 years ago

Text

Workplace stories

I work at a kinda theme park campsite place that's 90 percent cabins but we also have pools, a waterpark, and an activities park. It's in a vacation town too so Schlitterbahn is right down the road and there are more tubeing places than gas stations. The point is we get really busy during the summer. The last 2 years I worked in the little snack shack we had there which was basically 2 fryers, a grill top and a rusty pizza oven.

The first year I worked we had a manager who always worked the register and partially because it kept a bunch of freshmen and sophomores from having to deal with the mildly drunk public and partly because she's never cooked a batch of onion rings in her life that didn't burn. She was really cool. Never getting impatient with us and always dealing with the douches that worked in upper management. Not to mention she had a 'don't get me caught and I don't care about you on your phone' policy.

On slow days our manager and her best friend who was basically co-manager would push the chairs out of the way and grab a ball from the claw machine in the arcade so we could all play a game of don't let the ball touch the ground.

Just imagine two grown adults and three teen girls in a kitchen the size of a closed in porch volleyball serving a frog face ball back and forth.

More than once it landed in a fryer basket or on the grill top where it would pop.

I had a coworker who was vegan except for ice cream. She had a cone of the blue bell from the freezer every day. One time while cooking a batch of fries she dropped an entire scoop of chocolate ice cream in in the oil.

For those of you who don't know when you put any liquid much less frozen ice cream in boiling oil it reacts by popping very loudly and spewing oil across the front of the fryer.

I've never seen people scatter so fast in my life.

On Saturdays, we get our food order in from Sisco and bluebell. our manager had just moved positions leaving five teenagers to run all the food by ourselves. But it's ok because our general manager decided that instead of hiring a new manager she'd order our food and make our schedules because of course thats all a manager has to do. That's their whole job.

Can you hear the sarcasm?

Well the person working shift lead on Thursdays has to make a list of everything we need to order so it can be sent to our GM.

One Thursday the only guy on shift, an irresponsible and easily overwhelmed freshman had been put on lead because his sister worked there for a year before him and he knew more or less how the whole place worked. I'll give the kid credit he did his job and kept drama to a minimum. But he didn't know how to deal with management. So when our crazy GM came in for the grocery list he admited he forgot to check the ice cream freezer but had texted the rest if us who had done it the night before and got a list from us.

Our GM took that to mean he didn't know how much ice cream we needed and noticed we had a "no more vanilla" sign up on the window and because management always knows how to run every section of the park despite never working in that department decides that just to be safe she'll order an extra 2 tubs of vanilla.

What she didn't realize is we have a finite amount of freezer space and definitely wouldn't be able to fit any more ice cream in our freezers.

When the delivery came we scrambled throwing 2 full five-gallon tubs on the back of a golf cart and rushing across the Park to activities to see if we could squeeze them in the deep freeze.

We couldn't

So we ran them down to the ranger station to see if we could hide them in the freezer behind the drinks in their freezer

Again no success.

After a full thirty minutes of panic and a growing puddle of white cream in the back of our golf cart we were approached by one of the maintenance guys. Who very quietly told us that there was a freezer in the maintenance shed we could stash them in as long as we

1 didn't tell anyone it was there. They weren't supposed to have one.

2 let them fill up their ice chests every morning from our ice machine

And 3 they gave them free ice cream cones. They never specified how many or for how long

I of course agreed.

There was a policy that anyone who worked at the park could come get food from us at discount but had to wait until the customer orders were done. So don't bother between 12 and 3 because the orders don't pause.

The only exception was a kid from activities. A real tuff country boy who always wore a camo cap and boots despite taking shifts in the pool area. He drove a big jacked up 4x4 and spoke in a deep drawl. He was also diabetic. Which was basically his super power

When he came in we fed him first. No questions asked.

He also may have used low blood sugar as an excuse to get everything from scrap fries to cups of ice cream.

He drank his coke half diet.

He also used his powers for good though, when we got particularly behind and someone complained to the ranger station a manager would come to gripe at us and on several occasions he told them he was feeling dizzy and needed us to make him food which was why we were behind.

Also, there was some weird conspiracy about the mascots on property. Our park was yogi bear themed so we had people dressed as either Yogi, Booboo, or Cindy bear. But none of the staff was allowed to say the bears were costumes.

When we wanted to know when or who was going to be the bear that day we had to ask "who is waking up Yogi today?" or "when is Booboo's nap over?"

You would get actually punished if management heard you say the bears weren't real.

It was a really weird place to work

#workplace stories #managers #kitchen #food service #also bears?

1 note · View note

what-the-fuck-is-anime · 7 years ago

Text

My Hero Academia Season 1 Summary

My Hero Academia is an action show that offers yet another answer to, “What if superpowers were real?”

It highlights a story of a young boy struggling to be perceived as equal in a society where not being able to do magic is a disability and being a hero is a job. A boy that was given up on by society and his mother, and his story of overcoming it by making an unlikely friend -- his hero.

The protagonist is delightfully upbeat and sincere, which gives a lot more weight to how hard he works to achieve his goals. A refreshing break from anime’s obsession with nihilism.

My Hero Academia excels in emotional moments and action. The animation is fluid, the sound design is excellent, the shots are all very powerful. The emotions are strong, the facial expressions are vivid, and the body horror is unfortunately really accurate. It has all the details down to a T.

But it falls flat at the basics. Characters, designs, clashing themes, and weak writing. My Hero Academia bites off way more than it can chew as an anime focused on a class of students. As a group, none of the characters seem convincing. Their interactions are bland and almost drone-like in how similarly they react to each other. The author clearly struggled to write large groups, while one on one interactions were excellent. Despite that, since almost nobody received screentime other than the protagonist, there is very little to go on as far as who the characters are. We are given the shell of personalities of two dimensional characters that have no opportunity to grow.

The character designs are largely bland, uncreative, and repetitive. Characters look like parodies of other characters within the same show, and the uninspiring designs often substituted creativity with an unfortunate serving of horny.

One of the biggest themes in My Hero Academia is how adults help children. How adults care about kids, and how they have to work together. How adults are supposed to be reliable role models and protect kids. But at the same time, time and time again there are very blatant messages that distract from the point. Izuku’s mom being a source of sadness and trauma instead of support, teachers allowing dangerous kids in school, adults discriminating against 20% of the population, and the unfortunate amount of horniness in a show about high school freshmen. Ranging from extremely inappropriate designs to having unnecessary scenes of voyeurism or nudity, the author continuously tries to wink wink nudge nudge at the viewer that this is definitely what they want to see. Which leads to the question of why he wanted to appeal to a younger demographic in the first place. It could have very easily been a show about university students.

For an anime with such a huge focus on how adults should be trusted, it sure does make a great argument for why adults should not be trusted. The author very clearly had some sort of kink going on and felt the need to intertwine them in his work.

The plot barely moves an inch and very little of the cast have the opportunity to be anything other than background characters. In all 13 episodes, very little actually happened. Very little progress was made, very few characters had opportunities to grow, and the entire season felt more like a sloppy appetizer than a meal. Even though there was very little overall varied content or progress, the moments were powerful and emotional as intended and remained entertaining throughout.

My Hero Academia was never meant to end at season 1, as evidenced by the fact that not much actually happens. Season 1 is a prologue to a larger commitment which hopefully expands on characters and stories that have a lot of potential. And introduction to something much greater. It sets up a colorful and personal world of magic and heroes that is waiting to be explored further.

Put it all together and you end up with an entertaining and action-packed superhero story about a boy who just wants to do his best. And if inspirational stories are your jam, this seems like a pretty alright spread.

Plus Ultra! If you enjoyed my liveblog, consider reading a tip!

#mha #bnha #liveblog #wtfia #reflection

80 notes · View notes

aaknopf · 7 years ago

Text

In his new memoir, An Odyssey: A Father, A Son, and an Epic, the writer and classicist Mendelsohn (who is also a noted translator of the great Greek poet C. P. Cavafy) describes what happened when his aging mathematician father, Jay, decides to join a class he teaches at Bard College on Homer's great poem. He recalls the childhood years of timidly approaching his father's desk with a math problem he couldn't understand, and later, when he was an awkward teen, his father's sigh of regret that he, Daniel, would never really grasp the beauty of calculus. Now it is the son's turn to take on the role of instructor, both in the classroom (where a suddenly very shrunken-seeming Jay is surrounded by freshmen students), and then on a Mediterranean voyage together. As they retrace Odysseus's path, the two learn much about each other they never knew, and Homer's poem receives fresh readings throughout Mendelsohn's many-layered journey home. In the passage below, Prof. Mendelsohn and his class are just beginning to look at Odysseus's voice in the telling of his own adventures.

from An Odyssey

Then, toward the end of Book 8, the hero asks the bard Demodocus to sing about the end of the Trojan War—specifically, about the Trojan Horse. As Demodocus sings his song, Odysseus is overcome by memories of the real-life event and bursts into furious tears, which Homer describes in striking terms: they are, he says, like the tears of a woman who flings herself on the body of her husband, a warrior fallen in battle defending his city. (When you read theIliad, you encounter women who do just this: but they are Trojan women, mourning husbands who died fighting Greeks—Greeks like Odysseus.) Alarmed by his guest's distress, the Phaeacian king gently asks the stranger to reveal why this particular story has affected him so strongly; perhaps, he wonders, he had a kinsman who fell at Troy?

It is in response to the king's kindness that Odysseus at last reveals his identity:

But first I'll tell you my name, now, so that you too will know it; and if I escape the fatal day we'll be bound in friendship, though my home lies far away. Odysseus I am, Laertes' son: known to all mankind for my way with tricks, my renown reaches even to heaven.

At the beginning of class on the first Friday in March, when we began to discuss the Apologoi, I emphasized that the famous adventures of Odysseus are, in fact, narrated by their own hero. Why, I asked as the students settled down around the table, weren't these episodes related by the narrator of the poem? What is the poet accomplishing by having the protagonist of the tales narrate them?

My father raised his hand.

Am I the only one who thinks that his bragging here is strange?

I'd noticed, as the weeks passed, that my father had begun to preface his comments in class this way: Am I the only one who thinks . . . ? At first I'd thought it was a sign of insecurity; but then I'd started noticing how, when he said that, a couple of students would nod, as if emboldened by the phrase. Blond Tom, for instance; Jack, quite often.

Tom nodded just then, in fact, and said, Yeah, it's weird that he kind of goes from zero to sixty here—ten minutes ago he was nobody, he hadn't told them who he was the whole time he was there, and suddenly he's, like, "This is my name, oh and by the way, I'm so incredibly famous that even the gods know who I am."

A few of the kids laughed.

Agreed, I said. It's weird. What do you think that's about?

My father said, I don't like it. Why does he have to brag about how tricky he is? If the stories show that he's so brilliant and clever, then he should just tell them and let the stories prove it.

As he spoke, a very clear mental picture of him in the mid-1960s sprang to my mind. I would have been six or seven or eight years old at the time, back when some of my maternal grandfather's siblings were still alive and would descend on my parents' house when Grandpa came to visit us. Invariably the climax of these gatherings would find us all crammed around my mother's dining room table as my grandfather told one of his stories, the common theme of which was his ability to bend the rules, to cheat a little here and there, in order to succeed or, occasionally, to survive: the one about how, when he was eighteen, he'd sneaked onto the boat that took him to America by crying Fire, fire and rushing up the gangplank in the resulting confusion; about how, when he was a teenager, during World War I, he and his family had had to hide for a week in the forest outside their town because the town center was being shelled, and while they were camping in the woods he'd shot and killed a deer, which they had then eaten, although they all knew that the meat of an animal killed in this way was not kosher. But then, as he would say as he reached the climax of this story, you bend the rules and God forgives. We assumed, naturally, that there was a strong element of embellishment in these tales, that my grandfather had taken something that had really happened, a clerical error on the part of some immigration officer, some sporadic shelling and, perhaps, a few hours in the dense woods outside of his little town, which his active imagination had populated with all manner of wildlife, and had given those simple and banal events an iridescent sheen of drama and excitement. But the stories were so good that nobody wanted to question them, nobody wanted to dig too deep to find out just how much invention there was . . . Nobody except my father. I remember the expression of skeptical impatience he wore as he sat way off on the side somewhere, his chair pulled away from the table, his face shut like a door, stony and impassive, as if to react in any way to my grandfather's stories, to show pleasure or delight, would be a defeat, a failure.

Now, as we talked about how Odysseus begins the story of his amazing adventures, my father was saying, Why does he have to brag about how clever he was? And as he spoke those disdainful words, I knew he wasn't thinking only of Odysseus.

More on this book and author:

Learn more about An Odyssey by Daniel Mendelsohn.

Browse other books by Daniel Mendelsohn.

Peruse other poems, audio recordings, and broadsides in the Knopf poem-a-day series.

#poetry #national poetry month #an odyssey #daniel mendelsohn #poetry month 2018

11 notes · View notes

eleventoes · 8 years ago

Text

duets at dusk | oneshot

pairing: jungkook x reader

word count: 3k

themes & genres: shy!jungkook, band!bangtan, college au, fluff, jungkook is a lil bean

extras: [ x ] [ x ]

prequel: [x]

synopsis:

Before you could even react, long and slender fingers had gently closed around your wrist, lightly tugging you to a less crowded part of the street.

Dumbfounded, your eyes flicked up to meet a pair of curious ones, and you could only stare up at the dark-haired stranger in incredulity.

When the opportunity to sing a duet with a certain doe-eyed stranger arises, you just couldn’t bring yourself to refuse.

Alternatively, a shy bean has been crushing on you for a while.

***

It wasn’t uncharacteristic of you to occasionally steer away from the hectic college life and take to the streets, letting your feet take you wherever your heart desired. The thrill that often comes with exploring unfamiliar alleyways and the little nooks and crannies hidden in every town was as addictive as any other drug, and you could walk on forever, eager to constantly remind yourself of how big the world was out there. Eager for any kind of escape from pretty much all of your responsibilities, walking around random and foreign areas soon became somewhat a part of your routine; one that you could hardly live without. You suppose you may have a teeny little bit of wanderlust, but then again it doesn’t really matter, because it makes you feel all light and happy.

Your favorite haunt of the week was Hongdae—a beautiful district that’s widely known for its youthful ambience and underground culture. It was hardly an unusual sight to see aspiring musicians busking on the streets and there was an overflowing abundance of flyers promoting various music festivals decorating the walls. You’ve always been intrigued by the area, you’ve just never actually gotten around to getting to know it better.

And so perhaps it was a fortunate stroke of serendipity that you’ve decided to cross into the neighborhood when you did, strolling along as the sun hung low in the half-lit amber sky, walking your way right into fate’s hands (of course, not that you were complaining).

With an earphone bud in and the other dangling off your shoulder, you had shoved your hands into the pockets of your thin cotton hoodie, humming softly under your breath as you made your way further downtown. You weaved your way gracefully through the throngs of people, and the size of the crowd does not come as a surprise to you. After all, it was nearly dusk, and was that time of the day where everyone were getting off from school or work. While you weren’t typically the type to enjoy having your oxygen supply heavily restricted by the masses of people around you, this was different; you didn’t feel lonely despite actually being alone, and you loved the bustling atmosphere that made you feel more alive than ever.

***

“I don’t think she’ll make it on time, her teacher’s pretty adamant on dragging her ass to supplementary lessons.”

“Goddamnit I knew we should have gotten Namjoon-hyung to tutor her.”

Snippets of a conversation flit past your ear, but you pay it no attention because there were countless others going on around you, choosing instead to continue humming breathily, music in your ear still playing at full blast.

“What should we do? You can’t sing a duet alone, we need a vocalist.“

“It’s simple, hyung. We get one.”

“Huh? Wait what? Oh you don’t mean–”

“This really wasn’t the way I planned to introduce myself but here goes nothing.”

Before you could even react, long and slender fingers had gently closed around your wrist, lightly tugging you to a less crowded part of the street.

Dumbfounded, your eyes flicked up to meet a pair of curious ones, and you could only stare up at the dark-haired stranger in incredulity.

He stares back, and a ridiculously out-of-place staring contest commences, during which you come to the conclusion that the stranger was (a lot more than) good-looking.

With slightly ruffled ebony hair falling across his forehead and large doe eyes to boot, he was a sight for sore eyes; and honestly, calling him good-looking was a major understatement.

Said staring contest only comes to a halt after you snap out of your stupor and looked down at the hand still enclosed around your wrist, brows furrowed. Following your line of sight, the (attractive) stranger immediately loosens his grip, hand going slack beside him as he suddenly finds his left shoe incredibly captivating and wouldn’t stop studying the ground. Taken aback by his shift in demeanor, you peer up at him, noting how he hard he’s trying to maintain that ice cool façade, though the tinge of red creeping up his neck and ears ultimately betrayed his otherwise convincing front.

He took a deep breath.

“My friends and I have a gig at that cafe over there in like 10 minutes and we prepared a duet and everything but our vocalist couldn’t make it–”

You were in awe at the speed at which the words tumbled out from his mouth, and you briefly wonder if he was any good at rapping. Cutting him off with a soft tinkling of your laughter, you smiled up at him with a minute tilt of your head, and he almost melts right there and then.

“I could sing the duet with you, if you don’t mind.”

Relief broke out across his features and he beamed back, eyes crinkled and lips stretched into a smile that strangely reminded you of a bunny.

“Are you serious? That’d be amazing.”

Upon a nod of affirmation from you, he grinned even wider than before (if that was possible), before shyly gesturing for you to follow him as he jogged back to his friends, who were leaning against the brick walls and awaiting his return.

***

“Hey Y/N, thanks so much for offering to help, we worked hard to get this gig so we really do appreciate it.”

The voice came from a certain tall and broad-shouldered brunette, whom you swear looked exactly like a prince who just stepped right out from some fairytale. You belatedly realize that he was the one and only Kim Seokjin, or more commonly known as the Car Door Guy (he was just getting out of his car when some of the freshmen thought he looked absolutely swoon-worthy and proceeded to upload his photo onto the campus forums, which soon went viral on the Internet), a senior whom just recently graduated from the very university you were attending—the Seoul Institute of the Arts.

Then you gasp (silently, of course), because holy shit Kim Seokjin knows my name?

“Well duh I know your name because this guy never stops—”

(You guess you weren’t as silent as you thought.)

“Omigod hyuuuuuuuuuuung—” A look of mortification crossed over the attractive stranger’s face, and his eyes darted wildly between you and Kim Seokjin, glinting with slight uncertainty.

“Shush boy, I know what I’m doing, who’s the oldest here—”

“Wow I bet it sure is peachy being as old as you are—”

“Well of course it is—”

As the two boys continue bickering over who knows what, the last boy lethargically pushed himself off of the wall he was comfortably leaning against and shrugged.

“They’re always like this, it’s pretty stupid but just leave them, it’s good entertainment every once in a while. I’m Yoongi by the way, I’m on the keyboard. We have one more doofus in our band, but Taehyung’s always late so let’s just head in first,” The boy in question, Yoongi, drawled over his shoulder as he started to make his way into the cafe, steps sluggish as if he just woke up from a nap. You think you’ve seen him somewhere before, but since you couldn’t really put your finger on it, you simply followed him with a shrug of your own, peering sporadically behind you as you did so. Much to your amusement, the two boys had gathered up their instruments and were trailing behind you, still squabbling.

***

The overpowering aroma of coffee hit you square in the face the moment the doors opened, and you paused to drink in your surroundings.

Strings of fairy lights and tiny trinkets adorned the spacious area, and you snorted at the witty puns framed up on the walls. The mahogany panels lining the floor and the floor-length windows, accompanied by the obvious lack of decorative furniture pointed to a cross between a vintage and a minimalistic theme, and frankly with how aesthetically pleasing the place was, you could see why it was so popular. Light chatter resounded within the four walls, and a quick glance at how majority of the seats were already occupied told you how frequented this place was.

“I’m not late this time!” A flurry of motions almost gave you whiplash and the center of it all seems to be the boy with light ketchup-colored hair who had just barged into the cafe. With bronze skin that almost shone under the lights and a cute boxy smile, he was the physical embodiment of sunshine itself, and his presence alone was enough to light up the place. You squinted at him, because oddly enough, the boy seemed familiar to you too.

Sunshine boy paused next to you and shot you a smile, “You must be Y/N, I’m Taehyung, let’s have a good time on stage yeah?”

You could barely respond back with a smile of your own before he was off again, this time heading towards the rest of his bandmates who were busy setting up the small stage, playfully whining about how it wasn’t his fault he got lost and ended up at a random field full of the prettiest flowers he has ever seen (where at least 20 mins of photo-taking was in accordance).

Shaking your head and biting back a grin, you treaded after him, joining the four guys in discussing the songs you would be performing with them. Fortunately they didn’t pose much difficulty as they were the typical duets you were used to singing and arranging for your college assignments, and you exhaled, slowly letting out a breath you weren’t aware you had been holding.

“Come on Y/N, we’re up.”

***

Sure, you were hella nervous at the start, and you supposed it showed on your face, because Seokjin was sending you reassuring looks while taking his guitar on a couple of experimental test-runs, and you assumed that the corners of Yoongi’s lips subtly lifting up was meant to be encouragement. The Hot Stranger (it was at this point that you’ve made the terrible realization that you still didn’t have an inkling of his name, and could only resort to branding him as The Hot Stranger in your head) gave you a gentle pat on your shoulder as he picked up his bass guitar, but not before he adjusted your microphone stand to match your height. The simple gesture made your insides do a double flip (one of which was because you were about to sing in front of a relatively large audience) and you shot him what you hoped was a hesitant smile and not a grimace.

Taehyung’s steady drum beat was the cue, and the mingling of the different musical instruments produced a harmony that could only be described as mellifluous; one that you were honored to be in the midst of.

As you clutched the microphone with utmost care, you started off the first song; a slow ballad full of longing (you recognized it to be IU’s Ending Scene), voice hardly above a whisper yet still low and sweet.

You were once again reminded of why you had gone against all odds and worked your butt off in order to enroll into the Seoul Institute of Fine Arts as an Applied Music major despite your parents’ initial objections—you loved everything about music. You loved how singing strips you of everything else and leaves you with nothing but raw emotion, you loved how the beat of the music pulses through your veins and ignites a sudden urge for you to dance along, and you loved how every note that leaves your lungs has your heart feeling all warm and fuzzy.

You loved how much fun you were having, especially with The Hot Stranger’s (you really had to find out his name) amazing voice, which was nothing short of euphonious. His breathy intonation was a mere introduction to his honeyed vocals (sung with his very much developed middle register, you noted for your own reference) and he climbed the high notes with the ease of a professional who has done this countless times. His voice was, to put it simply, a gift from the heavens.

Undoubtedly, everyone else in the audience shared the same sentiment, conversations halting and meals being put on hold to gaze in wonder at the owner of the dulcet voice (you were no exception), all eyes captivated by the performance (and also his charm, that boy sure has great stage presence). The polyphony created with the merger of your two voices was, for lack of a better word, pure bliss. He was blinding, all twinkly eyed, and you had to will yourself not to look away (it really wasn’t easy). And so, you held his gaze and he held yours, and in that moment, nothing else mattered and the world was yours, as well as his.

There it was again, you felt the unfamiliar butterflies and the quickening heart rate, a feeling you were unused to before meeting the stranger in question by happenstance earlier today. Regrettably (or maybe not), you couldn’t dwell on your newly surfaced feelings any longer as the ballad draws to a close, and the next number; a playful and lively piece, begins.

***

“Holy shit Y/N, dang girl, you can sing,” The words left Taehyung before you’d even gotten off the stage, and you turned to meet his widened eyes, full of awe and shadowed with the tiniest bit of curiosity.

Trying your best not to openly show signs of being flustered at the unexpected compliment, you chuckled bashfully and murmured a sincere thanks. You couldn’t help it, you had lived your entire life having everyone around you tell you that the pursuit of music was a dead end street instead of actually commenting on your voice.

“Uh–” The Hot Stranger had, somehow or another, ducked his way into your line of sight, and was fidgeting uncomfortably, looking as if he has a million things he wanted to say.

“Y/N you did really well, consider yourself a superstar, because you’ve just earned yourself a fan.” Seokjin cut in as the whole lot of you slowly moved out to the alley behind the cafe, eyes holding on to a hint of playfulness, yet you found it absolutely hilarious at how much he sounds exactly like a proud father. “Uh–” The stranger was still trying to get a word in, and you would have reached out to him if not for Seokjin’s and Taehyung’s tall frames enveloping your tiny stature.

“Yeah Seokjin-hyung’s right, I officially approve.” Yoongi comes up from behind, wry smile lingering on his face before a knowing look took over and he dragged Seokjin and Taehyung (who reluctantly complied) both away by the arm.

Now you were more than vaguely confused. Brows knitted together, you called weakly after them, “Approve of what?”

It goes unanswered and alas, the stranger stood before you, alone. You giggled softly to yourself when you notice he wasn’t even trying to put up that cool guy image anymore, unguarded eyes meeting your own.

“You probably didn’t notice, but I’m kinda in your Harmony and Counterpoint class, um, I’m the guy who always hoards snacks at the back of the class?”

You stifle a laugh, “I was always wondering why the room always smells like food, not that I have anything against that.”

He seems to relax a little bit at that, tension slowly leaving his shoulders, a lazy grin slowly materializing on his handsome features.

“I’ve heard your singing once before, at the freshmen introductory festival? I didn’t know it was even possible but I instantly fell in love with your voice—” His huge eyes grew larger than they already were when his own words finally sunk in and he stopped himself mid-sentence.

You weren’t any better yourself, heat quickly crawling up your neck and you were sure you could pretty much blend in with the red brick walls behind you.

He took one look at how red you were and couldn’t stop his face from exploding with the combination of both embarrassment and joy, and it took him all he had to continue speaking.

“And I really had fun with you on stage, so would you maybe like to go out sometime? We could sing together again the way we did today.” He ended with a hopeful lilt of his voice, eyes big and anxious.

You tilted your head again, the cutest smile gracing your lips as you locked eyes with him, and he almost dies from how irresistibly adorable you were being.

“I didn’t quite get your name.”

He blinked once. Twice. Three times now.

“Oh fuck, I never did introduce myself did I? Goddamnit I had one job.”

It was clearly meant to be a whisper, yet you could hear it clear as day, and you had to stop yourself from doubling over in laughter.

By this time, the sun was halfway through its descent, the clear skies turning the prettiest shades of orange and red, hues mixing together to make for a tumblr-worthy sight. The remainders of sunlight highlighted the tip of the stranger’s nose and his chiseled jaw, his strong shoulders further accentuated by the shadows present in the gradually dimming back alley of the cafe, and he looked so enchanting to the point where it should be illegal. A flash of that bunny smile and you knew you were a goner.

“Apologies for the late introduction, I’m Jeon Jungkook, and I’ve been crushing on you for a while now. Would you like to go on a date with me?”

Your heart was palpitating so fast it felt like you were going to have difficulties breathing, but that glimmer in his eye was all you needed.

“I’m Y/N, and yes, I would love to go on a date with you.”

a/n:

semi-inspired by the liar and his lover! it was originally meant to just be a drabble but somehow i couldn’t stop, and this is coming from someone who usually has difficulty reaching word counts beyond 1.5k. i don’t plan for this to have a sequel (lemme know if you wanna see one!) but do keep a lookout for some extras that i’ll be posting soon (hint: a prequel and some angst;)

#kreativewritersnet #bts fanfction #bts fanfic #bts scenarios #bts jungkook #jungkook #jungkook scenarios #jungkook college au #college!jungkook #college!au #college!bangtan #shy!jungkook #band!au #jungkook fanfic #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook is shy af #tagging is hard

578 notes · View notes

cameoamalthea · 7 years ago

Note

there is ABSOLUTELY a “wrong way to process trauma” and that is by retraumatizing yourself “to cope” and being a pedophile :/

Hi there Anon,

This will be a long response and part of it is under a read more. My theme is not very reader friendly (sorry - need to fix that) so I suggest reading on your dash if you have the extension for that or copy/pasting into a document. Sorry again.

I assume you’re referencing this post. I’m not sure what drama has gone in the thread from that post, because no one reblogged any commentary meant for me from me, but based on your ask I’m assuming some folks misunderstood me. Allow me to clarify.

The point of the post is to respond to @shipwhateveryouwant ‘s post about lack of empathy by pointing out that empathy is hard, especially if you’re dealing with triggers.

I was talking to her.

The “There’s no wrong way to react trauma” refers to getting upset other things that trigger you and coming to the conclusion ‘this is gross’ ‘this is triggering’ ‘this is wrong’

It’s OK to feel that way.

It’s OK to feel anyway that you feel, because your emotions are 100% valid.

However, as my post recommended, it’s important to fact check.

A bit of background, in case you just came here because of that post and aren’t stalking my blog. I’m a survivor of abuse, including CSA, and that left me with scars, both physical and mental. I’m in group therapy DBT, individual therapy which includes EMDR, couple’s therapy (sometimes when two people who have PTSD are in a relationship it can be hard, since we both have to cope with the effect of our partner’s abuse on the other), and I did a year of physical therapy (pelvic floor).

I blog about my recovery, and things I learn because A) Being open about being in therapy (while making me a bit vulnerable) says ‘therapy is nothing to be ashamed of’ and neither is being a survivor, I’m not pretending it never happened AND B) So people who might not have heard about these treatment options of think nothing can help, can see what worked for someone else and know what happened (literally, it took me years to find a treatment plan that worked, and I really thought I was permanently damaged mentally and physically, so it was a big deal when I found out there were things that could help me).

So in my post I used an example of one my big triggers, drugs and the drug trade (I really really have major issues here). However, when I got out of emotion mind and checked the facts, I realized fans of breaking bad weren’t hurting anyone and weren’t trying to hurt me.

I was trying to explain to OP why empathy is such hard work, especially when you’re caught up in you’re emotions. When you’re angry, or hurt or scared.

I’m not angry that people enjoy a TV show that I don’t like…

I’m angry (tw discussion of addiction, child abuse, csa)

that I was born with drugs in my system. I’m angry that my mother continued to use on and off while raising me. I’m angry she fell into heavy drug use and endangered my life. I’m angry I was raped as a kid. I’m angry my own mother threatened to sell me to self traffickers and tried to get me be sexually active at like 13/14 with boys my age she’d leave alone with me (whether I wanted them there or not) because she thought it would make me more willing to turn tricks for her because she needed money (she was supposed to sell drugs for the cartel, but she felt you had to sell drugs Mary Kay style using herself as the free demo, she owed them a lot of money).

I’m angry that I lost my mother, that the person I love disappeared inside the addiction and she became a really awful person when was high. She wasn’t great when she was mostly sober, she always had untreated mental illness and she was always abusive/inappropriate verging on incest, but she’s still my mother and she was all I had and I loved her. I was a child, you love your mommy, and I’m angry that I didn’t have a mother I didn’t have to be afraid of and I 100% blame the drug use because addiction is a fucked up thing.

So I got angry when I saw artists I liked posting Breaking Bad fanart AUs and candy meth picks, because it felt like they were treating something very not funny (drugs and drug addiction, along with the pain I’ve had as a result) as a joke.

However, how I felt doesn’t dictate facts.

I had to step back, check the facts, and realize people liking Breaking Bad weren’t trying to hurt me (or actually hurting me. What other people watch on TV doesn’t effect me).

They weren’t trying to make fun of my experiences or make light of a serious issue. I also knew from my academic research on the topic of whether media influences norm that it really doesn’t… (I did a pre-law minor focused on social justice, and Freshmen Year I set out to prove porn hurt women and caused rape, and quickly found that evidence didn’t support my thesis, video games don’t cause violence, porn doesn’t cause sexual violence – and no I don’t still have the paper, unless I manage to find it on an old hard drive and most of my sources are outdated by now, I’d have to re-research – but I’m actually not here to argue the point).

So I believed, based on evidence and my own research, that media is worthy of critique but doesn’t influence behavior directly. This is my own belief, and I don’t want to argue it. But despite that, despite the fact I didn’t think fiction causes crime, I HATED BREAKING BAD. I felt like it was romanticizing Drugs and making people not take something serious seriously…

Because I wasn’t thinking about it rationally.

I was thinking about it based on my emotions. How I felt.

In DBT we learn that to think of your mind like a Venn Diagram. Rational Mind is one circle, Emotional Mind is in the other circle, and in between is Wise Mind.

Wise Mind is acknowledging your emotions/how something makes you feel but also being able to bring in rational mind, to fact check, which means asking does how I feel fit the facts and remembering that feeling something doesn’t make it true.

If you’re just in rational mind, you can be cold and ignore other people’s feelings, which can make them feel invalidated and make you less effective in dealing with your own feelings (don’t ignore them) and others.

If you’re just in emotional mind, you’re not thinking clearly. You might break down and cry or lash out and hurt someone. You can’t really address the thing that’s upsetting you because you’re not in a place where you can even think clearly about it without getting upset.

If pure rational mind is behind the wheel you’re not a good driver, if pure emotion mind is behind the wheel you’re not ok to drive.

It’s not easy to find wise mind. Mindfulness is the most practiced skill in DBT (it’s a year long class and six months of it just repeating Mindfulness and the other six months are bringing in those skills to apply to other issues…Wise Mind is from the unit on Emotional Regulation…I’ve been in DBT for nearly four years, repeating the class, honing the skills – it’s not easy).

But we should try, for ourselves and others.

I hope OP takes from my post some understanding of where you’re coming from anon and that it’s really hard to be empathetic when something makes you angry, let alone when you’re triggered.

That it’s important to validate.

Rational Mind says ‘people are taking fiction way to seriously. It’s just a TV show, there’s no reason to be upset’

Wise Mind is realizing that feelings aren’t rational and they really are hurting. Even if they don’t lay out their feelings clearly like I did with ‘why Breaking Bad upsets me’ it’s enough to see that someone is upset. If someone is upset, it’s serious to them, validate that.

“I’m sorry that you were hurt. I understand that this reminds you of your trauma. I will tag anything you need. No one should pressure you to deal with triggers you aren’t ready to deal with and I want to make it possible for you avoid things. You seem really upset right now, though, so I don’t think we should fight about anything. We’re not in a place where we can. be calm and get anything out of it. You seem really caught up in a lot of negative emotions. Why don’t you take a break. Go get some ice cream or color or get your mind off things for bit? If you don’t think you’ll ever be ‘not upset’, then I’ll go ahead and block you since my content is bothering you. Have a nice day.”

I hope that you anon, if you bother to read all the way here, takes away from this post that it’s ok to be angry, but realize that feelings aren’t fact and being upset doesn’t justify hurting others.

And attacking people based on what they read or what TV shows they like is hurting others.

Calling anyone a pedophile is hurtful. (that’s a very serious accusation Anon, and not one your should use lightly. Don’t go crying wolf about child predators, it makes people less likely to take real accusations seriously - like if someone calls someone else a pedophile does that mean they’re a sexual predator and a child molester or does that mean they like a TV show I don’t like or read stories that I find upsetting). Again, your feelings are valid Anon, but someone liking a TV show you don’t like doesn’t make them a danger to anyone. Hurting real children makes them a danger to children. We shouldn’t water down terms. We need to take threats to people seriously.

Calling CSA survivors pedophiles, comparing survivors to their abusers or implying they are to blame for their abuse past or future is hurtful.

I like Game of Thrones. I think Jon and Danny are a good match, both as people and politically. I don’t see anything wrong with the relationship, she’s biologically his aunt but they have no relationship.

I like Ouran High School Host Club, and my favorite characters are the twins. Sometimes you can like a messed up story because it’s messed up. It’s just a story.

I ship Catwoman and Batman, and think they’re cute together in Gotham. I like that backstory. I also think Mike and Eleven are cute together.

I like reading and writing fanfic about teenage video game characters that I’ve liked since I was a teenager. I relate to a video game character and take something positive from his story and his relationship with his best friend even though the relationship in game is unhealthy.

This isn’t ‘re-traumatizing’ myself and it’s not ‘being a pedophile’.

I have a degree in creative writing and I look at books as works of art and craft, not moral guides. I look at characters as tools, not people.

That’s not ‘being a pedophile’ that’s being someone with an English Degree (I miss just being able to identify as an English major, saying I have a degree sounds so pretentious to me). That’s being a writer.

I admit that I like relationships between predator and prey, between people and monsters. That’s not ‘re-traumatizing myself’ either.

Abuse, in my experience, has been when someone you love, someone you’re supposed to be able to trust and feel safe with instead hurts you and makes you unsafe. It’s a betrayal of trust. It makes you question if you’re lovable or worthy of love because someone who was supposed to care for you hurt you.

I like stories about monsters. You’re not supposed to be able to trust a monster. The monster makes you feel afraid. It’s going to hurt you. It’s nature is to hurt you. I like stories where instead of killing you the monster falls in love with you and changes, becomes loving and trustworthy and keeps you safe. It’s a fantasy of being so special, or mattering so much, of being so love able that that you can tame dragons.

It’s about the inverse of abuse. A power fantasy. Exploring fear and helplessness within a safe controlled fantasy.

That’s not ‘re-traumatizing’ myself. I promise, I’m fine anon. I’m not hurting myself and I have a support network. Thank you for your concern, though, but please remember you’re not responsible for anyone else.

It’s scary, but you don’t control the world or others. If you’re afraid someone is doing something that hurts them, sometimes you have to accept you can’t change that. (And that’s hard, I know, my mother is a drug addict). Sometimes you have to distance yourself. If people are doing things that upset you, block them and that content, take a step back.

#Anonymous

2 notes · View notes

kateofthecanals · 8 years ago

Text

For The (Not)Watch: Episode 7.4

The Reason HBO Can’t Afford Direwolves Anymore

So this week wasn’t quite AS boring as last week, but that’s not saying much. I almost had an emotion or two. ALMOST...

We open on something other than Dragonstone for a change -- in the Reach(?) and on the Westerosi Wells Fargo Wagon, which Jaime is once-overing, while Bronn hangs out in the background demanding Jaime give him Highgarden, but Biggie Lannister is like “nah, mo’ money, mo’ problems!” Bronn’s not buying that line, though, and feels he should be on the list of debts the Lannisters pay off. He also makes some snarky remarks about Cersei which are actually 100% accurate but of course Jaime, like GoT watchers, is blissfully blind to the truth. Jaime then sends Bronn with the Tarlys to go shake-down local farmers for their sweet, sweet grains.

Then we head over to King’s Landing, where Tycho is hella impressed that Pinhead Cersei will be able to pay off her debts in one lump sum but is kinda bummed to be losing out on that tasty monthly APR. Cersei hints that Qyburn is in negotiations with the Golden Company to join her cause and Tycho vouches for them... but reminds Cersei that the Iron Bank ain’t doing shit until Jaime makes that big deposit.

Next we hit up Winterfell, AND WHO THE HELL LEFT THE KIDS ALONE WITH LITTLEFINGER?? Somehow that snake slithered his way into Bran’s chambers and is attempting some kinda cringeworthy heart-to-heart... Seriously I half-expected him to tell Bran “I’M YOUR DADDY NOW.” Instead he decides to give Bran a gift -- the Valyrian steel dagger that was used to try to murder him in Season 1. Bran’s like... “Thanks?” (But really, isn’t this kinda payback for last week when he threw Sandra’s wedding night back in her face?) LF starts monologuing about Catelyn, and Bran asks if LF knows who the dagger belonged to (I’m guessing just to test LF, because obviously Miss Cleo is gonna know exactly who it belonged to... right??), and of course LF is like “No idea!” Then he randomly mentions the word “chaos” and Bran’s creep-dar goes off, and he interrupts him by saying “CHAOS IS A LADDAH.” Yes, folks, Bran threw LF’s dumbest catchphrase back in his face and it was played off like a genuinely weighty moment and not something that required a laugh track in the background. LF has barely time to react before Meera comes in. LF leaves, and Meera makes the sad announcement that she has to leave to be with her family, and Bran’s just like “Cool, bye then.” And Meera’s like... “bitch that all you have to say to me????” And Bran’s just like “uhhhh thank you for your service?” Meera then be thinking hmmm maybe this is just like a teen comedy and he’ll come wheelin’ after me at the airport at the last minute to profess his love for me? But nah, Bran’s straight-up fixing to ghost her ass, smh. She’s like “my brother, your wolf, and Hodor all died for you, Bran!!” But he’s like

And because D&D would rather leave significant character development off-screen, they have Meera assure us that Bran “died in that cave.” Cool, thanks, good to know!

Meera leaves, and then Bran hears the familiar strings of the Stark Theme, and he knows that Arya is near! Yes, Arya has finally found her way back to Winterfell. She strolls up to the front gates and is immediately given a hard time by the guards in a blatant repeat of the same scene from Season 1 (not the first or last time we will be seeing rip-offs from the first couple of seasons just in this episode alone). One of the guards even tries to PUNCH her (???) before agreeing to left her in but telling her wait while they decide what to tell Sansa. And since WF is being guarded by 2 of the 3 Stooges, Arya is able to just wander off without them noticing.

The guards then enter what appears to be the Bat Cave where Sandra is hiding out and has pretty much no visible reaction to hearing that Arya is in the house. Which is funny because Arya implied to the guards that Sandra would have their asses if she found out they’d turned her sister away. Instead, she just kinda looks bored and is like, “whatever, I know where she is...”

We then go down to the crypts for one of the most-anticipated reunions in ASOIAF-dom!!! Buuuut this is GoT, so it’s all very awkward and forced. Like, seriously, Arya, you’re not fooling anyone...

Sandra runs up to hug her, but just like with Small Wonder Bran, Arya-Bot 1000 barely registers an emotion or even bothers to hug her back. WTF, people???

They briefly have a moment in front of Ned’s statue, which was kinda nice. I mean, they didn’t even call him stupid or anything!! The lowest of low-hanging fruit, but I’ll take it at this point... Then Arya says it doesn’t look enough like Ned and that it should have been carved by someone who knew his face, but Sandra says that everyone who knew his face is dead. Ummmm? Sandra, Arya, Bran, Jon, Cersei, Varys, Sandor, Jaime, Littlefinger, Beric, Thoros... that’s almost a dozen people right there who are still alive that knew what Ned looked like (though I can’t vouch for their stone-carving skills...). Then, as usual, the moment is completely trampled on when the two sisters bond over how they both wished they had killed Joffrey themselves HAHAHAHAHA so sweet. Then Arya tells Sandra about her List, and Sandra’s just like

They make vague allusions to all the things they’ve been through since their separation. They then venture the godswood to say howdy to Bran, who is a party-pooper as usual, calling out Arya on her plan to go to KL to kill Cersei. Sandra asks Arya who else is on her list... SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO BRING UP SANDOR BUT NOOOOOPE CAN’T HAVE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT THE HOUND WITH OR IN FRONT OF SANDRA EVEN IF IT’S ARYA DOING THE DISCUSSIN’ so she’s just like “eh most of them are already dead.” Then out of nowhere Bran’s just like “check out this new toy Littlefinger gave me” and Sandra’s like “WHY IS LITTLEFINGER GIVING YOU WEAPONS” Bran’s like “doesn’t matter, don’t want it anyway” and gives it to Arya.

The three Starks then make their way back into the the yard, where Brienne and Pod see them, and Pod says, “Good job, m’lady!” and she responds pretty much the same way I did -- “I didn’t do shit.”

Then we hit up Dragonstone, where the Jonerys train is being happily conducted by Missandei and Davos. Both give their respective masters a forced series of “nudge-nudge-wink-wink” moments with regards to the other, so as to to remind the viewers that THIS IS TOTALLY A THING, YOU GUYS. Dany and Missy are taking a stroll, and when they see Jon, they exchange a look like two freshmen girls who have just been acknowledged by the varsity QB on the quad. It’s quite pitiful.

Anyway, Jon takes Dany into one of the dragonglass caves to show her something. Sadly, he keeps his pants on and instead ducks into a tunnel which opens up into another cave with a bunch of primitive drawings on the walls. Indiana Snow then schools Dany on how they were drawn by the Children of the Forest and depict their encounters with both the First Men and the white walkers.

P.S. the CoF totally phoned it in on the FM but got all HR Giger when it came to the WWs.

And even though Jon could have drawn those pictures himself and made up literally everything he said for all Dany knew, she considers this definitive proof of his claims and immediately agrees to help him... if he bends the knee. There’s a lot of whisper-talking and long-held gazes, which I think was supposed to be “sexual tension”.

They exit the cave with their chaperones, where they find Tyrion and Varys waiting for them, looking rather glum. Tyrion drops the bad news that although they took Casterly Rock, the Lannister forces took Highgarden and all the spoils. Tyrion tries to rally, but Dany reams him out for fucking up and suggests he did it on purpose cuz he’s really still loyal to the Lannisters (OH DUHHHHH). She then declares “enough with the clever plans” and decides instead to stick to more stupid ones I guess. To that end, she asks Jon what she should do.

Your QUEEN, ladies and gents. Has no idea what she’s doing and constantly has to ask the (much smarter) men around her to tell her what to do. But the mere fact that she is “in charge” is I guess enough for most people to declare this “feminist”. Sure, okay.

Anyway, Jon tells her that if she uses her dragons to annihilate everyone, she’s just “more of the same” and isn’t giving her followers anything better to hope for. Which is a fair enough assessment but we all know it’s being used to highlight Jon’s “dumb” honor and compassion because DRAGONS SO EPICCCCCC!!!

Back at Winterfell, Brienne is again cleaning Pod’s clock (remember when this kid killed a Kingsguard in the middle of the Battle of the Blackwater? D&D don’t either I guess), but then Arya rolls up on her with Needle and says she wants to throw down with the person who beat the Hound. Brienne’s like “haha cute” but then Arya pulls out all the water-dancing nonsense and completely flummoxes Brienne.

So, for those doing the math:

Brienne beat The Hound; Arya beat Brienne; ergo, ARYA CAN BEAT THE HOUND.

I really wanted to enjoy this scene, but I couldn’t forget that the last time we saw Arya actually spar with anyone was in Season 1 with Syrio. Now all of a sudden she’s the most formidable warrior in the Seven Kingdoms.

Any-freaking-way, Sandra appears on her perch again (with LF not far behind, of course), and at first she seems pretty impressed with Arya’s skillz, but when it’s over, she just, like, storms off in a huff? Why??

She leaves LF to have a weird stare-down with Arya.

Back on Dragonstone, it’s now Davos’s turn to tease Jon about Dany, implying that Jon was staring at her rack apparently?? Jon’s like “ain’t nobody got time for that” but luckily they run into Missandei where Davos can continue on that train of thought. They then have a conversation about how bastard names work on Westeros (in Season 7?????) and Missandei declares that marriage isn’t a thing in Naath, and Dirty Ol’ Man Davos is like HAHAHAHA not where I come from either, wanna go grab a drink later?? Jon and Davos then start questioning why Missandei is so loyal to Dany, and Missandei begins to talk about Dany like Squeaky Fromme talking about Charles Manson.

^^ waiting for this dialogue to pop out of Dany’s mouth at some point this season...

Davos is basically like SORRY I ASKED. Just then, they’re interrupted by a dingy being pulled up on shore (somehow they didn’t notice this until the were RIGHT on the beach) containing Theon and the straggler Ironborn. Theon sees Jon and is like like “hey sup” and Jon’s all YOUSONOFABITCH!!! but stops just short of roughing him up because of what he did for Sandra. He then tells him that Euron has his sister and he needs Dany’s help to get her back, but Jon says she’s not home right now...

Where could she beeeeeee?? Welp, we hop back over the the Lannister wagon train, which, again, Jaime and Bronn are just sitting and watching. Apparently they are much closer the the Crownlands (or in the Crownlands?) than they had been at the beginning of the episode... They then decide to have some not-so-subtle small talk with Dickon Tarly, whom Jaime again calls Rickon, about how he fought pretty decently at Highharden but how he has yet to be really tested. THEN GUESS WHAT HAPPENS, GUYS??? The show is interrupted by a screening of Dances with Wolves--no, wait, that’s just the Dothraki streaming over the hill to fuck shit up... along with Dany riding Drogon.

COMMENCE BATTLE #371 TO DISTRACT THE VIEWERS FROM THE SHITTY WRITING!!!

Yes, it’s all very exciting and well-executed, if you ignore:

The Dothraki would have had to circumvent KL somehow to get there.

They couldn’t have gone by ship because Euron destroyed Dany’s fleet.

Horse-Surfing™

The scene was 90% about Bronn?? For some reason??

Dany, who not 10 minutes ago was complaining about not being able to feed her army, proceeds to destroy all the gold and grain the Lannisters were hauling.

Gratuitous horse violence because “edgy” I guess

WHY/HOW IS TYRION THERE?

So the big climax comes when Bronn gets promoted from Bronn of the Blackwater to Bronn of the Big-Ass Crossbow. Yes, in yet another ham-fisted callback to an early season, Bronn figures out how to use the giant ballista and fires an arrow straight into Drogon’s shoulder, forcing Dany to land. While she’s down, Tyrion is standing off to the side and spots Jaime on the battlefield and is mumbling for him to get the fuck out of there. But this is Jaime Fookin’ Lannister, he doesn’t run away from anything, especially his toxic co-dependent relationship with his twin sister!! So he grabs a spear and begins to charge toward Dany like he at the Hand’s Tourney (except we never actually saw him joust at the Hand’s Tourney, so once again, emotional impact of this moment is M.I.A.). Just as he’s about to strike, Drogon turns and is about to make him dragon kibble when he is rescued at the last second by, presumably, Bronn, and is swept away beneath an extremely deep puddle that just happened to be nearby. The End.

I know there are a lot of show-critics today who are super hyped about this battle (which is apparently a “reference” to the Field of Fire, ugh), but guys... sorry, no. I am way past the point where a showy battle scene is going to make up for all the nonsense that came before it. They’ve tried this trick already -- it was called “Hardhome”. It didn’t work on me then, and it won’t work on me now. I would have rather seen a more meaningful reunion between the Stark sisters than another expensive spectacle. If this is why the direwolves have disappeared, then sorry, I don’t consider it a fair trade-off.

29 notes · View notes

coachingreviewsite · 6 years ago

Text

What You Must Know In Order To Become A Leader

New Post has been published on https://personalcoachingcenter.com/what-you-must-know-in-order-to-become-a-leader/

What You Must Know In Order To Become A Leader

Have you ever seen someone and thought to yourself how they became such an effective leader? Perhaps you are curious as to what it takes to have great leadership skills? Maybe you arrived here because you want to develop your own leadership abilities. No matter why, if you desire to read about effective tips about leadership then continue to the following post.

Honesty is vitally important to a leader. Leaders must be trustworthy. Always remain trustworthy and honest. A person will have more respect for you if they feel like they can rely on and trust you.

If you are rolling out a new business process, train your employees effectively. That new business process might look all shiny on paper, but if your subordinates receive insufficient, or worse, no training, it will inevitably cost you money down the road. There are ways to make training relatively painless, so do your research.

Tenacity is key to becoming a great leader. When you have things that go wrong, your team will look to see how you react. As a leader, you should know how to handle any problem that comes your way. Your persistence as a leader will help inspire your team to keep moving.

Can Introverts Make Great Leaders?

peterstark.com

"My response. “Unequivocally, yes!” Introverts and extroverts can both make great leaders, but for introverts, leading others requires more effort towards adapting their natural style. When you look up introvert at Wisegeek.org, you find out that an introvert is a person who is reserved, quiet and solitary. In a recent poll of executives who are […] The post Can Introverts Make Great Leaders? appeared first on Peter Barron Stark Companies." https://peterstark.com/can-introverts-make-great-leaders/

Don't just fly by the seat of your pants. Instead, pick up a book and read. Don't just read books about business leadership, either. You may find useful bits of knowledge that can be applied to your role as business leader in many different types of books, even those that tell fictional stories!

Know your competition just as well as you know your own company. Business isn't just about what's happening between the walls in your space. You need to make decisions based off competitive movement. If you can't make decisions because you don't know the competition, then expect your employees to see it as a weakness in leadership.

To be an effective leader you have to know your own strengths and weaknesses. Delegate responsibilities in areas that you are weak in to the members of your team that excel in them. You'll give your team members a chance to shine, while ensuring that the job is carried out effectively.

Even if you're not a tremendous speaker, that doesn't mean you can't be a good leader. Communicating effectively can overcome lack of oratory skills. Let all your team members know what is expected of them and how they contribute to the organization. Communicate success stories and be precise when providing critical remarks.

The Highest Highs and The Lowest Lows

www.younglifeleaders.org

"How do you tell the story of an entire year of ministry in a Young Life area? This year our weekend camping was record-breaking, we saw new ministries opened, older ministries revamped, and some ministries struggled while leader teams stayed faithful. Main Stream kids. Middle School kids. Teen Moms. Students with special needs. All had specific Young Life ministry this year! On paper, it was another wonderful year. But the story on paper is not the whole story.

While the highest highs were incredibly high the lowest lows were things we’ve never experienced before — and I pray we will never experience again.Two school shootings in one year.In October at Butler High School, where we have had YL for almost 8 years, a freshmen boy brought a gun to school to confront an older boy about a conflict that had spilled over from the weekend. It is said that he never meant to use it… however, in a crowded hallway before first period he did use it, shooting and killing the older boy. A community was shattered, lives were changed, there was a vigil.

Young Life leaders were there to pray and weep alongside kids.Then, on the last day of classes at UNC Charlotte this year an angry student walked into the Kennedy Building, to a full classroom and opened fire with a pistol killing two and wounding four others. A community was shattered, lives were changed, there was another vigil.

Young Life staff and leaders were there to pray and weep alongside kids.For the second time in a year we found ourselves saying the same thing that everyone says after one of these school shootings: “I can’t believe it happened here. I don’t point to these tragic bookends to solicit pity or sorrow but rather to share how the events reframed our mission and how we talk about it. My frequent temptation when communicating with friends and donors is to overstate Young Life’s impact in our community by pointing to secondary things.

Usually, we show you pictures of crowds of kids as though that was the end goal. We tell stories of important conversations where kids discover that they too “were made for this” — a relationship with their creator and savior as though that is what we spend all of our time doing. Crowds are cool and we hope for meaningful conversations. But the truth is that our calling, is not to bring a crowd to us but to go to the crowd and to faithfully wade through a hundred trivial, surface level encounters to see the moment where a student encounters the one whom their soul was made for.

The truth is that our main impact is simply in trying to be there on the best days, the worst days, and the every-days. We want to be there at football games cheering in the student section. To be there at pre-prom pictures. To be there at the before-school breakfast bible study. To be there in the parking lot after school. To be there so much that we are a part of the scenery. To be there for the after-school coffee shop meet-up with a kid who texts a leader and says “I’m in a dark place, I need someone to talk to”.

In the midst of trying to be there we also give the invitation to come here — to clubs, to Campaigners, to fall weekends, to summer camp trips. We commit to be there with kids in their world in hopes that they might hear the good news.And for eternity, they would be there.With us.With Him.Thank you all for going to be there with kids." http://www.younglifeleaders.org/2019/07/the-highest-highs-and-lowest-lows.html

Don't fear failing. Failing is something that many great leaders have done, and it has only spurred them on to greater victories. If you fear failure, you may be afraid to act boldly, which is the only way for a leader to act. If you fail at something, use it to help you change directions.

A great leadership tactic is to periodically meet with individuals concerning their personal work goals. Try meeting privately, going over goals they may have, as well as your goals for them as part of the team, or workforce. Then, find out if there is any way you can help them to meet these goals. Lastly, be sure to follow through.

You have to recognize your weaknesses and strengths. Becoming overconfident and dwelling on your abilities will make it easier to fail spectacularly. Make sure to pay attention to how you can be stronger in certain areas and figure out where you're weak too.

Dress the part. There's a perception to leadership. If you look the role, people will respond to your leadership much more positively and openly. If you dress poorly, it'll be a tougher road to climb instilling leadership. It's possible still, but make it easier on yourself and be the best dressed person in the office.

What Drives Engagement? Is it Ethics?

leadingincontext.com

"By Linda Fisher Thornton – While there is not yet one common definition of employee engagement, according to Mandrake, "common themes found in most definitions include a commitment to and belief in the organization and its values and a willingness and ability to contribute ‘discretionary effort’ to help the organization succeed" (Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Engagement: Making the Connection, Mandrake).

What really drives engagement? To what degree does ethics play a part? In this post I'll explore 5 ways that an organization's ethics impacts employee engagement. " https://leadingincontext.com/2019/07/10/what-drives-engagement-is-it-ethics/

Get to know the truly talented performers underneath you. Great employees are hard to come by, and harder to keep. Learn what their personal ambitions are in life. The more you are able to synergize their dreams with your business' goals, the longer you can retain them and their productivity.

Don't become obsessive with winning. Statistics are easy to get lost in today, all thanks to technology. A lot of managers do things like this so they can make team goals, and they can start measuring progress. If you take a step back and instead focus on creating a culture of success where you work, the wins will take care of themselves.

Delegate responsibilities whenever possible. Showing trust in your employees gives them confidence in their own abilities. It will also inspire confidence in your ability to lead. Micromanaging your employees is exhausting for your and demotivating to your employees. Offer support and help them deal with any problems that may come up.

Leadership can cause excess stress and anxiety, due to its added pressures and responsibilities. A good way to minimize your stress is to prioritize your tasks and responsibilities. Write them down in order of importance, and even rate them. Then, tackle the high-priority work first, working down the list. Try to avoid spending too much time on less-important tasks so you have time to invest in more important work.

As you can see, leadership is something that needs to be developed the right way in order to effective. The article here presented you with the necessary skills to help you understand the process of becoming a leader. Anyone can lead, including you if you're willing to do so. Use the tips here to get a leg up on becoming that true leader.

youtube

#great leader #how to be a good leader #how to be a good team leader #how to be a great leader #how to be a leader #how to be a leader in a group #how to be a leader in life #how to become a good leader #how to become a great leader #how to become a leader #how to lead #inspiring habits how to be a leader #leader #leadership #qualities of a leader

0 notes

personalcoachingcenter · 6 years ago

Text

What You Must Know In Order To Become A Leader

New Post has been published on https://personalcoachingcenter.com/what-you-must-know-in-order-to-become-a-leader/

What You Must Know In Order To Become A Leader

Honesty is vitally important to a leader. Leaders must be trustworthy. Always remain trustworthy and honest. A person will have more respect for you if they feel like they can rely on and trust you.

Can Introverts Make Great Leaders?

peterstark.com

The Highest Highs and The Lowest Lows

www.younglifeleaders.org

What Drives Engagement? Is it Ethics?

leadingincontext.com

youtube

0 notes

sulietsexual · 8 years ago

Note

Buffy + a favorite episode of yours nobody has asked you about yet!

So, I was going togo with Becoming and get in some Bangel-y goodness, but decided instead to gowith the often-overlooked Season 4 opener, The Freshman.

Shortopinion: Leaving high school can be tough.

Longopinion: BtVS is not fantastic when it comes toseason openers but IMO this is one of the stronger ones, which is why I find itsurprising that it’s not more of a fan favourite. If nothing else, it is a veryrealistic portrayal of how rough the transition from high school to college canbe.

My heart really breaks for Buffy in this episode, as shestruggles to get her footing in her new surroundings. That first shot of her,with the camera zooming in over a huge crowd of students to focus on her, lostand vulnerable amongst the crowds really emphasizes how big a pond Buffy is nowswimming in, and beautifully underlines her feelings of helplessness whichcontinue throughout the episode. She looks so utterly lost and confused,perplexed by the activity around her and trying to keep up with the myriad ofpeople trying to push flyers and agendas on her (the “Have you found Jesus”“You know I really meant to but I got busy” exchange is particularly amusing).

Buffy’s helplessness is only further compounded when she seeshow easily Willow and Oz seem to be fitting into college life. Willow’sexcitement over all the “spurty knowledge” juxtaposes Buffy’sless-than-enthusiastic approach nicely, and shows the stark difference betweenthe two when it comes to their attitudes towards study. While not asenthusiastic as his girlfriend, Oz too seems to be able to transition intocollege with ease, partially due to his laid-back nature and partly due to thefact that he already knows people on campus. Buffy’s scenes with Willow at thebeginning of the episode are quite sad, as she struggles to connect with Willowand her enthusiasm and instead sees her friend pulling away from her.

As we are all want to do, when Buffy starts to feel uneasyand unsettled she attempts to return to those places and people who feel mostfamiliar to her, Giles and her mother’s house. Her horrified reaction to Giles’‘social life’ is pretty amusing, and underlines their parent/child dynamic, asshe reacts in pretty much the same way a teen would to catching their parents havingsex. At the same time it is, as with many of the scene in this episode, quitesad and once again serves to show that Buffy is being forced to move into a newworld which she is not ready for and where Giles doesn’t quite fit in (thisdisconnect between Buffy and Giles is a running theme in Season 4 and helps toset up Buffy’s arc in Season 5 of reconnecting with Giles and delving into herSlayer-ness).

Buffy feels further rejected when she returns home and findsthat her mother is using her room as a temporary storage space. While Joyceobviously is not trying to push her daughter out (believing that Buffy would beso excited about college she wouldn’t be home for a while), Buffy sees this asa clear rejection, as well as feeling like she now does not have a home toreturn to. As she wanders aimlessly through the house we have that quiet andunderstated phone call from Angel in L.A., which I particularly love because,coupled with Buffy imagining seeing Angel at the Bronze, it shows how hard atime both Buffy and Angel are havingin trying to move on from one another.

At her most vulnerable and defeated, Buffy ends up at TheBronze, once again trying to return somewhere familiar. This time she actuallyreceives what she needs in the form of amazing Xander Harris, who pops up withhis uncanny ability to be exactly wherehe’s needed and gives Buffy one of the most beautiful (and hilarious) speeches,telling her exactly what she needs to hear. Xander telling Buffy that she’s hishero is particularly sweet, especially since we know it’s so true. I know partsof the BtVS fandom honestly believe that Xander Harris is the Devil incarnatebut moments like these illustrate why I love him so much.

Sunday and her vampires are pretty entertaining, and theirhabit of snatching freshmen who are struggling with their new surroundings isactually quite clever. I do wish that they had ended up making Sunday a Slayerwho was turned (the original concept for her character) as I’ve always wonderedwhat a Slayer-powered vampire would be like, but she still ends up being aworthy opponent who helps to push Buffy into reasserting who she is and whatshe can do (very similarly to the demons down in the Hell dimension in Anne).As I’m writing this I’m starting to realise how many BtVS season openers focuson Buffy having lost her way and trying to find it again (When She Was Bad,Anne and even Buffy vs Dracula to some extent all focus on this angle).

Overall, The Freshman is a great episode, one which iswoefully under appreciated. It showcases the rough transition from high schoolto college wonderfully, exploring thedisconnect between friends which happens, the yearning to return to thefamiliar and the way one has to find their footing and adjust to newsurroundings. Buffy struggles for most of the episode but comes out on top inthe end although, as evidenced over the season, college is quite a bumpytransition for her to make and it takes her awhile to become fully comfortablewith her new surroundings and role as a college student. All up, a great seasonopener to what will become a somewhat lacklustre season.

#answered #buffy-angel-and-co #buffy the vampire slayer #btvs meta #meta

13 notes · View notes