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kadavernagh · 2 years

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Prime Mime Crime Time || Regan & Marina

TIMING: Current (after A Bone to Pick) PARTIES: @kadavernagh @oceansrevenge SETTING: A Quiet Place SUMMARY: Irate about how her meeting with Kaden went, Regan stalks off seeking revenge. She has a new best fae buddy to get some help from.

How dare Kaden attempt to give away her skulls, her femurs, her metacarpals and even ossicles? She had reclaimed them with Emilio’s help, but seeing his desperation to be rid of her precious gifts made Regan fume with deathly fury – it was more emotion she’d granted herself in a year, and the coyote’s pushing only fomented it further. And part of her recognized that it was more than that. There was more than anger. More of her old self that she needed to scrape away if she were going to carry out her duties. So she would do what any respectable fae would: she’d get back at him, get him out so distressed he’d be out of the picture for good. And she knew him well, knew what he would hate the most. Still, Regan wasn’t practiced in this kind of scheme, and knew she needed to call in an expert. One who she rather liked, even from only meeting her online.

Outside of A Quiet Place, she could feel the coyote’s unease against her skin like a cold breeze. Sometimes it needed reminders that she still served it with her whole being, and that this was to both of their benefit. Maybe they could scare him into giving up the bones without a face to face interaction, where Regan, even now, knew she might crumble and sway.

She felt Marina’s presence before she saw her, of course. Confirmation that she was truthful about what she was, though Regan had little doubt of that due to her mannerisms and knowledge. What hadn’t come through online was how… stunning she was. Even in the dimly lit street, her hair seemed to glisten like a curling wave, and she held herself with such confidence and poise. It was befitting to what she was, what they both were. Regan was reminded that she ought to be more proud. “Marina,” she said, lifting her head with some bashful excitement, “I don’t even need to ask. You’re even more impressive than – I mean, you make an impression because – what I mean to say is –” The coyote huffed with impatience. “You’re, uh, very pretty.” Another huff. “Right, um, to business. He hates mimes. Fears them, actually. It’s a long story. I thought we could have one of the employees here make an appearance outside of his apartment. It might remind him who has claim to the bones he’s keeping from me.” The skull was not content with that, preferring to have the mime chew on Kaden’s scalp a little in addition to making an appearance. Maybe they could reach a compromise.

“Have you been here before? I’ve heard a thing or two about it. Mostly through gestures.”

Things had been coming along remarkably well since she’d left her cave by the ocean shore. Marina had found plenty of fae to befriend, an ancient sea monster, and freed a good number of octopodes from that despicable aquarium. It was all rather unexpected and she had no intention of complaining. What had come as an even bigger surprise was that she was meeting a banshee tonight. In all her years, she’d only hear secondhand accounts of them. Her mother had known a banshee in her younger years and her mother’s voice always held a great deal of respect when she spoke of her old friend.

It left Marina eager to meet Regan. Death was a beautiful mistress and banshees played an important role in keeping the balance of the world. They were a direct link to the Fates and were not to be messed with. Their screams could pierce through even the thickest of skin and the thought alone brought a wicked grin to her face.

There was a vague smell of pastries on the dimly lit street. While sweets were hardly an important part of her diet, she did enjoy them from time to time. As she neared the establishment, she could feel the pleasant hum in her chest and see the silhouette of who she presumed to be the banshee she was meeting. Something about the way her figure was dark and illuminated from the streetlight behind her was something out of a poem. Lady Death was nothing if not exquisite.

Regan seemed to be slightly stumbling over her words a bit. It was strange until Marina remembered that she was new to her nature, that it had never been properly appreciated. She wore a fond smile as she shook her head. “It’s good to meet you, Regan,” she greeted, “This is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a banshee though my mother always spoke highly of them.” Her eyes wandered over the banshee without shying away. Just as she suspected, those who served death were stunning. There was something in the angles of her face and intensity in her eyes that suited her role in the world well. “You’re beautiful yourself, Regan,” she assured, “There is no need to be nervous.”

The fact this ex lover of Regan’s feared mimes was rather strange. If she remembered correctly, they were silent performers though she supposed those who couldn’t stand the sound of their own thoughts didn’t do well in silence. Anyone foolish enough to lose a banshee like Regan likely had troublesome thoughts. She quirked a brow and looked inside the establishment. “He fears mimes,” she questioned with an air of disdain, “That seems foolish. They are still performers, yes?”

“To answer your question, I have not been here, but I’m sure we could find someone inside who would be willing to make a deal for the right price,” Marina offered with a devious smile before she opened the door and held it open, “After you.”

Marina’s voice pulled Regan in like a gentle current. Surely, Regan thought, Marina could have swept away anyone with her words, and if her mere words could have this effect, then her promises must have been a threatening riptide. Regan never wanted to be on the wrong end of them, not that she intended to displease her new friend. But the word beautiful did have her lost at sea for more than a couple of seconds. It was a compliment Kaden had paid her, but he couldn’t truly appreciate everything that she was. Marina could. It meant more. It did. Right? But she thought of the backless turtlenecks, the way they’d held hands outside even as Regan feared touching him, the – no. The coyote shook the thought away like it had fleas in its coat. She was not to reminisce.

Regan shifted her weight between her feet, still unsure what to say in response. Her fingers tugged at the string of her necklace, part of her yearning to yank it off and for the two of them to really see each other. But now was not the time, and she didn’t even need the skull to remind her of that. “That’s incredibly kind of you to say, I – my mentor once told me that she despised the fact we look so human. That we can blend in with them. She theorized there was some purpose to it, that it was necessary for us to serve. I used to like it. Now I suppose I’m in agreement with her.” Regan shook her head, “It sounds as though you don’t have that problem. Maybe another time?” Another memory dislodged herself. The way she’d screamed as Lydia dropped her glamour. The coyote shook again. “He – yes, he fears them. Not unreasonably. The mimes here are different. I don’t know how, but they are.” Or perhaps they were like this everywhere, come to think of it. She had little experience with mimes before White Crest. “They can be dangerous. Keep your wits about you. I know we always do.”

No sound drifted out of the bar as Marina held the door open. Regan hadn’t spent a lot of time in bars and clubs (other than attending the occasional crime scene) but she knew that was a mime special. She cautiously tread inside, taking in the black and white decor and the smell of fresh bread that was nowhere to be seen. One of the employees, clad in stripes, bowed to the two of them as they entered in a manner that quite pleased her. She smiled at Marina, a knowing glance that communicated their superiority. “You’re more experienced than I am. Who do you think might be good for the task? I’m sure we can forge an agreement even without spoken words, right? Would that still count?” She scanned the bar, finding a particularly muscular mime serving a drink that was somehow striped. He looked a little bit like the mime that stabbed Kaden at The Artesian. She… no, she couldn’t do that. Instead, she turned away, eyeing a tall and lanky mime who was pretending to be trapped inside of a box, entertaining patrons. “He looks like he wants to be somewhere else. What do you think?”

When she was younger, Marina used to wonder the same thing that Regan’s mentor had. She had always felt her most beautiful in the ocean as her true self. This glamor she wore was aesthetically pleasing, but she was so much more than this small frame. While she carried herself with pride, this illusion could never show her true power. Neither could Regan’s. It still served a purpose, the option to blend in and it allowed her to walk on land with nearly the same grace she had while swimming through the sea. “Your mentor was right, our ability to glamor serves a purpose. Our kind all have a role they’re meant to play. We are much more beautiful in our true forms, though my glamor does make walking on land much easier. Tentacles are much better suited for the water.”

The way silence filled the place, Marina could possibly understand why her ex feared them. She liked the quiet as much as the next nymph, but this was all encompassing. There was something about it that thrilled her all the same. “Then this will be a lovely gift for him,” she whispered with a sly grin forming on her face. It was both a creative and devious idea that Regan had come up with and Marina loved it. As with most things, it turned out her mother was right about banshees. Beautiful fae that served the Fates. With such an important purpose, it was no wonder Regan possessed an intensity that was nothing short of regal. The fact a banshee was now in a place blanketed in mime silence also tickled her.

All of the staff seemed to be mimes and there were even some performing as well. Marina had to wonder how they managed to take orders without sound, but the mechanics of their establishment were hardly important. She leaned in toward Regan and quietly explained, “We can establish a deal without them speaking. A bit more difficult to cement, but it won’t be a problem.” She scanned over the crowd with Regan and fell on the mime that she was pointing out. This mime certainly didn’t seem quite as enthusiastic as the others and would likely enjoy the chance to get out. She patted Regan’s shoulder and gave the banshee an approving smile. “Good eye.”

Marina motioned her head toward the mime that was enclosing himself in an invisible box. There was a flirtatious smirk on her face as she pretended to quietly knock on the mime’s box. Given the very silent atmosphere, she assumed it would be better for them to communicate outside where at least she and Regan could speak a bit more freely, well as freely as they spoke. The mime feigned a surprised face and she offered it a silent laugh. She pointed between herself and the mime and mouthed the words, “I have an offer for you.” She nodded her head toward the back door to see if it would follow.

For a moment, all Regan could think of as she looked at Marina, who held herself with such grace, was “tentacles”. She had said it twice now. Was she serious when she said that? Regan supposed time would tell, but that didn’t help her untangle that strange thought – or the mental image of Marina’s head on an octopus body. No. Absurd. Even with her more recent acceptance of her own impressive heritage, there were still some things that stretched the limit of belief. Hardly important now. “A deal without speaking?” Regan asked, carefully stepping over a black-and-white cookie that somehow ended up on the floor. “Are you experienced in such a thing? You probably are. I value your knowledge.” Her fingertips tingled and a flush ran through her body as Marina tapped her shoulder, but she tried not to let it show. That was their connection as fae, surely, and nothing else. Deirdre didn’t make her stomach flip, though.

The tall mime was busy at work, pretending to painfully bump his head on the top of the invisible cute. Regan’s practiced eye thought it looked like real pain, the kind she’d seen all too much of. He was a skilled actor. Or… mime, she supposed. She stood by and watched Marina work. She really was an expert. The mime nodded in understanding at her, and followed as Regan led the way back outside. What would happen if his superiors caught him slacking off on his mimely duties? He could probably take a few minutes, right?

She exhaled a sigh as they made it out. Even hearing an animal shuffle around in nearby garbage was refreshing after the eerie silence of the bar. “Can I have your– what is your name?” Regan asked the mime, as his dark eyes peered into hers from underneath a thick layer of mime makeup. There was a time and place for stealing a name, and this probably wasn’t it. They had a better use for him. But Regan waited. And waited some more. And the man didn’t answer. “Your name?” She asked again, looking to Marina in confusion before looking back at the mime. He pointed toward the restaurant and then shook his head. “You’re not allowed to use names here?” He nodded confirmation. “Maybe it doesn’t matter. Do you know of a man named Kaden Langley?” At that the mime grew excited and did a little jump. He hopped over to the entrance and picked up a piece of paper from the ground. Presumably one of many copies. On it was a picture of Kaden. There was nothing else on the sheet. Not a single typed or written word. But all the mimes knew what it meant.

Teaching had never been the role that Marina played in her community. Based on size alone, her position in her family and community had been chosen for her. She was the protector. Knowledge and teaching had always been more of Delphina’s role. Her sister had a knack for making complex concepts simple to understand. That didn’t make Marina any less eager to show Regan a few tricks. Striking a deal without words wasn’t that difficult a concept. Communicating with someone who didn’t speak could be a bit more difficult, but a deal was a deal all the same. A handshake or motion of agreement was enough to pull into a promise if one simply focused. She was unsure of how many spoken deals or promises Regan had collected. The more familiar she was with that feeling of pulling the strings of words and intentions into a bind, the easier it would be for her to pick up this skill. “It’s been a while since I’ve sealed a deal without words, but I’ve done it a number of times in the past. It’s all about getting that agreement to be communicated, a handshake typically does the trick, and binding that agreement. The more used to binding people with words you are, the easier it is to achieve.”

She couldn’t help but smile at Regan’s instinct to ask the mime if she could have its name. It had never really been her thing unless she happened to find someone particularly annoying. That didn’t make it any less entertaining though it seemed the mime was unable to give its name. Marina couldn’t help but wonder if it had some sort of bind preventing as much. There was a delightful energy to this place that while unfamiliar felt right. “Interesting,” she commented as she looked the mime over.

When the mime nodded excitedly at the name of Regan’s ex and brought over a photo they had up. Marina looked at the photo and was surprised to see she recognized the man. She’d taken him for drinks for his birthday though it was really more to deplete Antonio’s credit card funds than anything else, but she hadn’t minded his company. He had clearly done something to upset Regan and she was inclined to side with the banshee. “You know him then,” she said with a wicked grin. She brought a hand tenderly to the mime’s cheek and asked, “How do you feel about toying with the man then? I was hoping to strike a deal. It seems like fae aren’t the only peoples this man has harmed,”

The mime seemed eager and nodded along as she spoke. This was promising. “It doesn’t seem like you need much encouragement to bother the man. Say Regan, what were you hoping for our dear mime friend to deliver?”

Something about Marina’s instructions about promise binding dazed Regan. Some itching, scathing familiarity that made her push down the bodily urge to void her stomach. Lydia. The name drifted through her mind, but the coyote quelled the feeling that came along with it. For a moment. Lydia was dead, and before that fae had died, Regan had demonstrated her own potential. Her thoughts threatened to unfurl. Lydia. Her father, murdered. All to activate her abilities and bestow the gift her lineage always intended she have. That was a good thing. Had Lydia been right? Had– enough. “Enough.” Regan repeated after the coyote aloud, without realizing it. She needed to focus.

She sidled up to Marina and watched the mime again, who seemed all too accommodating. Did they even need to bind him?

“Did you ask something?” She looked to Marina. It was hard not to get lost in her sparkling eyes. Regan swallowed her nerves and took the piece of paper in her hands, staring down at the appropriately grayscale photo of Kaden. His hair was long when it was taken. Decomposing rabbits chased the remaining thoughts of Lydia away. Her head felt so heavy, these days. She stroked paper-Kaden’s hair with her thumb for a moment, before looking up at the mime. “I don’t want him hurt.” She said firmly, ignoring the coyote’s huff of frustration. “I want you to follow him. Let him see only glimpses of you. Leave your cookies and your… whatever else it is you do.” Regan pursed her lips. It didn’t feel like enough. “Am I overlooking something?” She asked Marina.

There was a certain thrill that came with creating a bind without words. It was an acquired skill that came with time and practice, both of which Marina possessed. Somehow, knowing the man she was sending the mime to taunt only made it all the more thrilling. She had a fun enough time with Kaden, but he had upset a banshee, a beautiful one who was eager to learn at that. Even the mime seemed to be bouncing on the balls of its feet with excitement. This man must have done something to harm these performers if they were so keen on making his life hell. The only one who didn’t seem eager was Regan. She tilted her head as the banshee asked if she was being spoken to. “Yes,” she answered slowly, “I wanted to see what you would like the mime to do to your ex beau.”

It came as a bit of surprise that she didn’t want her ex to be harmed, but Marina supposed she could understand. There were likely still lingering feelings there. Parting ways with someone who you were romantically involved with was never easy. She nodded along easily as Regan spoke before her attention returned to the mime.

“Is that something you can do,” Marina asked their new silent friend, “Follow Kaden Langley and let him see you every so often. Send some of your cookies and other tasteful treats. Perhaps send him some striped items?” The mime nodded and then used his hands to emphasize his grin widening. He made a little motion with his arms and legs that she interpreted to mean he could follow. Since the mime seemed agreeable, she pressed on, “Do you promise to follow Kaden Langley, taunt him, and send him your mime baked goods and memorabilia all while making sure you do not physically harm the man until he seems good and stressed?”

She could feel the strings of the bind forming as the mime in question made another affirmative nod in response to her question. To seal the deal, she reached out a hand for him to shake. He looked at her with a question in his eyes, but offered his hand anyway. She shook it and said, “So it will be. I do hope you have a fun time messing with this man. And here, for your trouble.” She pulled out a couple of twenty dollar bills from her pocket and offered it to the performer who clapped with glee.

When she turned to Regan, her lips were curled up in a mischievous grin. “Did we achieve what you had in mind?”

Regan’s lungs pounded as Marina wove her words around the agreeable mime. One scream and she could stop this. She knew Kaden’s hatred of mimes wasn’t because black and white stripes were unfashionable. He had almost been killed by one. There was trauma there, even if he refused to acknowledge it as such. And this – at least they hadn’t enlisted service from the one that resembled the mime who stabbed him. That was better, right? He wouldn’t mind this mime. As much. But also didn’t she want him to mind it? The skull knew it was only right.

Instead of a scream, or even a word against what they were doing, Regan was lulled into the same placid contentment as the mime. It was easy to justify. Kaden had tried to claim ownership over what was rightfully hers. He didn’t appreciate it. He didn’t deserve it. He could never understand. He dared think he was worth her time. All of it rang hollow, but that didn’t matter, for she was something hollow.

Marina, however, was not. She was full of wolfish glee. She knew what she was and where she stood and where everyone else stood. She didn’t need a dead coyote – however glorious – to remind her every five seconds. A streak of jealousy ran through Regan, but it was quickly replaced by admiration. “I appreciate your help, Marina. This will do nicely, I think. He and mimes have a… special relationship, as you can probably see.” Regan gestured to the weather-battered poster, her heart sinking slightly at the photo of a sad Kaden looking up at her from it. A tick. Parasite. Dirt. The skull said. Deirdre had on more than one occasion compared humans to dogs. Even Kaden. Though she said she liked dogs more. “They can’t be allowed to think they’re better than us.” She turned to Marina, unable to smile, but full of gratitude of some kind nonetheless. It mixed in her stomach in a way that almost hurt.

The mime gave a quick salute and scurried off, twenty dollars richer and full of noble purpose. And Regan was finding it hard to move past the feeling she’d just fired a trigger. “I’m not used to this,” she breathed aloud, taking in the croissant-like scent of the alley, “but I will be, someday. And I will do the same for you, Marina.”

#wickedswriting

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tastydregs · 10 months

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Google Is Already Testing a Medical AI Chatbot in Hospitals

Google has been quietly testing a medical AI chatbot in hospitals for months.

Since April, scientists have been testing the bot dubbed Med-PaLM 2 at the research hospital Mayo Clinic, among other hospitals, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The bot is a medicine-specific iteration of Google's PaLM 2, a powerful large language model that was first unveiled at the company's I/O keynote in May. (PaLM 2 also powers Google's ChatGPT competitor, Bard.)

Med-PaLM 2 is trained specifically on medical-licensing exams and designed to provide users with medical advice. It's also meant to organize healthcare data and summarize documents.

The news comes just months after Microsoft announced its own version of a similar, medicine-oriented chatbot called BioGPT.

Although, if BioGPT is anything to go by, having healthcare professionals use a product like this isn't without risk. When Futurism tested Microsoft's model back in March, we found that the chatbot, like others, had a serious problem with fabricating information, drumming up fake scientific citations, spouting outlandish claims about ghosts in hospitals, and even rehashing vaccine misinformation.

To that end, per the WSJ, doctors working with Med-PaLM 2 have found that the bot's outputs "included more inaccurate or irrelevant content in its responses than those of their peers." A not-yet-peer-reviewed paper by Google DeepMind engineers shared in May also found that while the machine actually performed on par with or better than human doctors in several metrics, including knowledge recall and reading comprehension, errors in the AI's responses were rampant.

In other words, Google has yet to prove that its model is reliable at one of the main things it's designed to do: offer accurate medical advice at scale.

And that, of course, is tremendously important. A fabrication in a Bard-written school essay might get a student a bad grade. Confidently written, yet error-laden medical advice, on the other hand, could have dire health consequences.

As for who could make use of such a chatbot, Google could be aiming its tool at the developing world. An internal Google email to employees from April reviewed by the WSJ explained that Med-PaLM 2 could "be of tremendous value in countries that have more limited access to doctors."

Still, even higher-ups at Google Research admit that the tech isn't quite where it needs to be — at least not for their own family's sake.

"I don't feel that this kind of technology is yet at a place where I would want it in my family's healthcare journey," Greg Corrado, a senior research director at Google who worked on the product, told the WSJ.

Despite these glaring shortcomings, Corrado still believes in the tech's potential, telling the newspaper that Med-PaLM 2 "takes the places in healthcare where AI can be beneficial and expands them by tenfold."

According to the WSJ, Google declined to say when Med-PaLM 2 might be made more widely available. Considering that it seems to be deeply flawed, that's probably a good thing.

More on medical AIs: Microsoft Released an AI That Answers Medical Questions, but It’s Wildly Inaccurate

The post Google Is Already Testing a Medical AI Chatbot in Hospitals appeared first on Futurism.

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foyil420-blog · 1 year

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The Biggest Misconception in Online Marketing

Hello GmaKelly here to spread the word or the Misconception of the word. There are a lot of Misconceptions in Online Marketing. More than enough that's for sure. However, there still are good, reliable, and trustworthy companies who offer Online Programs. Misconceptions in Online Marketing Online Marketing is Only for Big Business Start-Ups and Small Business can use Online Marketing to expand their Brand. It's available to everyone Worldwide. And it's a very effective way to make an impression on their Target Audience. Online Markeing is Not Cost-Effective People think that Online Marketing is expensive because of the Hardware/Software you might have to purchase. I'm running my Website and this Blog from HP Laptop sitting in my bed. How simple is that? All it cost was the Laptop (which I allready had) and the cost of the Domain ($15). Sounds pretty Cost-Effective to Me. Online Marketing is Limited to Blogging So Very Not True! Etsy, Amazon, Walmart, etc, none of them Blog but still have a massive Online Presence. In fact, it can go as far as videos, social media posts, infographics, ebooks, podcasts, email newsletters, case studies, how-to’guides, and more. Online Marketing Is All Technical I will admit there is a learning curve. However, its not as bad you think. There are some programs available that walk you trhough the processes. The more you expose yourself to the technicalities and details of digital marketing for your business, the more you will be able to learn. The better you will be able to serve your Target Audience, SEO Doesn't Work SEO Does Work, it just takes time, patience and content. A lot of valuable and reliable information before Google see's your site as a place of knowledge and trust. Good Digital Marketing Delivers Quick Results No, No, No. Good Digital Marketing WILL EVENTUALLY Deliver Results. Everything worth having is worth working for. Online Marketing is not an overnight success. Usually 6-12 mos for monetary results. Businesses Can Thrive without Online Marketing You can not "Thrive" without Online Marketing. You can stay the same or maybe fall into the pit of businesses that will eventuallly be outdone by those who promote Online. The Internet is here to stay people, Use It. Building a Website is All it Takes to be Successful Online You have to Promote your Site through various platforms if you don't promote no one will see it, therefore, no success, no views.. Social Media like, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc are the best places to promote your business too. Find Groups on the Platforms, Join and Post to the Groups where you can. Online Marketing is Difficult to Measure Not Reallly, Google Analytics among other programs, makes measureing your success easy as a click of a mouse. It gives you the Number People That Saw your Site, Where they Are, How they Accessed, What did they do while they were on your site. All this and more. The Best Moves to be Successful in Online Marketing SEO Stratagies Learn and Implement the best SEO Strategies. There are a lot of free resources Online to help you learn how to use SEO, You want to be sure to Include your Keywords or Keyword phrases in the Title and 1st Paragraph of your document, Use Meta Tags, Titles and Descriptions. Create and Implement Business Accounts You need a Profiles everywhere your Target Audience visits. Complete a Google Profile and Claim Your Website. (Claiming your Profile is letting Google know that you are the owner of the site. You also want to create Profiles on all the Social Media Platforms. Business Accounts where available, gives your business credibility, and creates trust with your Audience. Use Branded Email Signatures You and your employees should add your site address as a component of your Email Signature, when communicating with customers or potential customers. Breeds confidence that this person is part of the company and has knowledge. Final Thoughts All of this is doable for every small business owner. As I said before, there is a learning curve and it may take a while to see the results. If time is an issue or even just nerves, complete your Google Business Profile and Create a Facebook Account, Thats a good start and will produce some results. Post your items with creative descriptions and Headlines. All of this will make a difference in your traffic, however, you still have to entice them to click on thru. So keep your posts, light, friendly, open and most of all valuable and reliable. Your Audience will remember and repeat a bad experience before a good one. Leave me a Comment or Question below about your Online Marketing experiences. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for sharing your time with me. GmaKelly BONUS: Just for reading this far, click here for a Special Bonus just for Small Business. Read the full article

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financialsecrets · 1 year

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The Biggest Misconception in Online Marketing

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dynamicstaffingg · 1 year

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'HR must dare to ask itself the key question: where am I from?'

Leadership is no longer top-down, hierarchical and powerful. Leaders must coach and facilitate employees. Because employees increasingly add value to the chain in ecosystems. HR, still undervalued by management, has to act as an orchestrator in that game.

Dynamic Staffing Services is a leading Overseas Recruitment Company with an extensive experience in providing manpower solutions to many well-known organizations across the Globe

Leadership is no longer top-down, hierarchical and powerful.

“HR must dare to ask itself the key question: where am I from?” says Van Chopra. “From mastery, from e-learning, from the occasional course? The payroll? If so, then these are tasks that can all be outsourced because they have too little added value and can be done more efficiently by external parties. As HR you can make yourself relevant by looking at the organization from a helicopter view. If this is the strategy, do the structures, systems and people fit the goal we want to achieve?”

As HR you can make yourself relevant by looking at the organization from a helicopter view

“That is more of a change management role in which you will supervise processes. For example, by establishing that there is too little knowledge, diversity, competencies or different psychological profiles to achieve the goal. Organizations increasingly consist of ecosystems that enable change. HR must act as a connector in those ecosystems. Do we have everything on board to achieve our goal? This requires HR to make itself bigger than is currently the case. Also towards management that often sees HR as the final piece in the budget.”

No generic approach

Van Chopra gives examples. “If you see that a team has a high level of power, that has an impediment. Agenda items remain agenda items because nobody wants to give in. Then as HR you can introduce to the team that this is the mechanism and that it must change. By also being lenient for once. Or maybe by moving employees in the team to other teams. Or recruit new employees with a different profile. On the other hand, if a team pays too much attention to being together, there will be little result. So you have to get more result-oriented employees there.”

“The influence of the leader is great in this regard. He should be a facilitator rather than a hierarchical leader. Which leader fits this team? All this means that there is not one generic approach to HR, but that it can have enormous relevance here. For example, organizations know that they need to become more sustainable and more digital. Which path should you take then? I therefore see a major role for HR in shaping those change processes. Claim your place. Or even better: make your place in the organization relevant.”

Leadership is a craft

Chopra notes that leadership is a craft. “I sometimes quote Lou Reed: 'growing up in public with your pants down'. That's what leadership is. I asked a chairman of a supervisory board what he looked for when he wanted to hire a CEO. 'Someone must have had a really good time and learned from it,' was the answer. And that is it. As a leader, you must have made mistakes and then learned from them. So that you do it differently next time or find that you are not suitable for the craft. The annoying thing is: in India we tend to only look at successes. But you don't learn much from that."

'In India we tend to look only at successes. But you learn little from that.'

“Fall to the ground, shake the dust off the clothes, go ahead and reflect. You learn a lot more from that. When reflecting, questions arise such as: Which context suits me? How am I put together? Did I fall flat because of narcissism? Am I looking for conflict too much? Am I too empathetic? By asking those kinds of questions, as Lou Reed puts it with the pants down in front of the audience, you grow as a person and as a leader.”

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Are the preconditions there?

Two years of the corona crisis has changed the management style, Van Chopra notes. “You see that many people can work perfectly well at home, but that productivity only increases if they have a good home workplace. That is about furniture, chairs and appliances. The higher educated, the sooner the work lends itself to working from home. In addition, research from Stanford University shows that online meetings do not benefit creativity. Great for finishing positions and points, but not for a brainstorming session. Leaders should be aware of this. Which meeting do you do at the office and which is a digital meeting?”

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elentiyawhitethorn · 3 years

Text

When Passion Rules the Game | Part Four

CW: NSFW, language

Part Three//Part Five//Masterlist//2976 words

“Shut up,” Aelin hissed, elbowing Elide. “Aedion can’t know about this.”

She had told Elide and Dorian everything about her last encounter with Rowan (save for what had happened after), and they both refused to stop bringing it up. Aelin swore to herself that she would never gossip with them again, but she knew she would cave eventually.

Elide was currently standing next to Aelin at the work party they were attending, pointing out Rowan and telling her how hot he looked, just to rile her up. As if Aelin didn’t already know.

And Aedion, her cousin, was making his way over to the pair of them. Unaware of Aelin’s inner turmoil, he marched up to them and said, “How’s everything coming along?”

“Great,” Aelin said with a smile. “I already got Chaol Westfall to donate to the organization.” They were hosting a fundraising event for their newest branch, a charity revolving around children with limited education opportunities. They had only been here for fifteen minutes, and Chaol, who Aelin suspected only agreed because he had a crush on her, had donated quite a sum after she sweet-talked him into it.

Aedion grinned. “I knew every time you convinced Dad to get you another ice cream or a new pair of shoes, you were made for bigger things.”

Aelin laughed. “You’re horrible.”

He grinned. “What about you, Elide? Good day?”

Elide rasied an eyebrow. “If successfully corralling Aelin around the room counts as a good day, then I’d say so.”

“I’m not that hard to manage,” Aelin protested with a scoff.

Elide snorted. “Whatever you want to tell yourself.”

Before she could respond, someone cleared their throat in a microphone, tapping it experimentally. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I please have your attention.”

It was Lysandra Ennar, another friend of Aelin’s who often worked publicity events such as these. While everyone else turned and focused on the speaker, Aelin started making her way across the room.

“Thank you all for attending tonight. May I welcome your main speaker tonight, the CEO of Terrasen Corp., Miss Aelin Galathynius!”

Aelin reached the podium with perfect timing, stepping up and taking the mic from Lys with a smile. Then she turned to her audience.

The speech went well. Very well, in fact. Aelin loved many parts of her job, but this was her favorite. Making a difference.

And Aelin excelled at talking to crowds. She made eye contact with different people in the audience, kept her features light and apt, but solemn at the right times, and most importantly, she spoke from her heart. Every rich donor in the room had teared up by the time she was through with them, Aelin noticed proudly.

Upon the completion of her speech, she wandered the room and spoke further to individual people. With Rowan.

That was the other thing. Rowan’s job here was the coordinations director of this new project. Which meant not only was he required to be with her tonight, but they had been working together closely all week.

It had been one week and one day since the incident, as Aelin was starting to call it. Things had been tense, but each had done a good job of sticking to their work and getting things done. Now, on a Saturday, they were launching this new project to the public. Aelin was excited, and no amount of interaction with Rowan could diminish that.

Once Aelin finished up wrangling a healthy sum out of Meave Cadreson, much to everyone’s shock and Aelin’s eternal joy, she stepped out covertly, heading away from the main room and down the hall. Standing so close to Rowan and watching him walk around in a fucking tuxedo was getting to be too much for her. Aelin had done plenty tonight, and no one would notice if she slipped away for a few minutes. She walked toward the elevator, deciding that she could straighten up a few things in her office just to take her mind off him.

Just before the doors could shut, a hand appeared between them and pulled enough to have them automatically opening again. Rowan.

He stepped in the elevator, and Aelin watched in silence as the doors slid shut behind him. Glancing over to the control panel, Aelin realized it was a long way up.

“You left your own event.”

Aelin smiled, pretending the way he crossed his arms and the elevator started ascending didn’t turn her on. “I’ve done enough. I just thought I should catch up on some work.”

Rowan nodded. He didn’t explain why he’d caught up with her. And that was the end of the conversation.

Aelin’s office was on the sixtieth floor. It was a long and arduous journey (read: Aelin is impatient), and she even brought paperwork to sit on the elevator’s floor and do some days. Her employees found it amusing.

But today, there was no paperwork. There was just Aelin and Rowan.

They were staring at each other, staring becasue there was no where else to look. And an indecipherable expression began to cross Rowan’s face.

“You look stunning tonight, Miss Galathynius.”

He was right, in fact. In the long red dress she had on, she knew how she looked, especially to the male prospective donors. Aelin smiled a bit tightly, trying not to be as excited by this comment as she was inclined to be. “You look quite handsome yourself, Mr. Whitethorn.”

Oh, how Dorian would laugh if he could see them now. He didn’t work in the office building, so Elide had discreetly snapped a photo on her phone to show him. Dorian had laughed endlessly, claiming that even though he was straight, he would do anything “that beauty” asked of him. In other words, they both sucked.

Floor eleven arrived. The silence lengthened. Aelin felt the need to say something. “You did well tonight with the people. We made the right decision in hiring you.”

Rowan smiled. “Thank you.”

Floor twenty-four.

Aelin averted her eyes, feeling awkward as fuck. In the faint reflection of the metal walls, she could make out him still watching her. His gaze dipped lower and Aelin cleared her throat, turning back to him. His eyes immediately snapped back to her own.

“Why are here, if you don’t mind me asking? More work to catch up on?” Aelin kept her tone even, but her hands were shaking with anticipation. She clenched them into fists and hid them in the skirt of her dress.

Rowan smirked. Fuck, fuck, fuck, this man was not allowed to smirk at her. It did unspeakable things to Aelin.

“I just thought I would accompany you. This is your big day, after all. I didn’t think you should be alone.”

Aelin nodded faintly. “I see.” Her voice was slightly out-of-breath.

They reached floor thirty. Halfway there.

“Do you ever think about it?” Aelin asked, not letting herself review that question in her head before it popped out.

Rowan knew exactly what she was talking about. “Of course I think about it. Every fucking day. You have no idea how much torture it is to see you in those gods-damn pantsuits. Or now.” His gaze shamelessly dropped to the dip in her dress. While this dress wasn’t nearly as revealing as what Aelin had been wearing when she met Rowan, it still didn’t leave too much to the imagination.

Maybe they had both had too much champagne.

“I think I have some idea,” Aelin replied.

Rowan looked back at her. And took a step forward. Aelin licked her lips.

The elevator dinged. How had the last half of the ride passed that quickly? Shaking herself out of her reverie, Aelin stepped out, grateful. There was a camera in the elevator.

“Come with me,” she said, but it was more of a request than an order. Allowing Rowan to decide if he wanted to go through with this.

He nodded, and Aelin nonchalantly walked down the hall a short ways, heading for the door to her office on the right. As soon as they were both inside and the door was locked, Rowan was upon her.

Aelin gasped against his lips as he pushed her against the door, pinning her wrists. She kissed him back passionately. Only two weeks of denying herself since their initial meeting, and Aelin was pent-up, desperate to feel him again.

Rowan broke the kiss, pressing his body even harder against hers. “You look so fucking perfect in that dress.” His voice was a gravelly heaven, a sound that Aelin had been dreaming of.

She moaned quietly. “Rowan,” she gasped.

Rowan started kissing her neck, sucking and nipping at the skin.

“Oh, gods, Rowan you can’t…” Her voice was barely audible, a pleasured whisper.

“What is it, baby?” he mumbled.

Aelin almost forgot what her protest had been, then remembered and said, “You’ll leave marks. There’s no fucking way I’m walking out of here in a dress and a scarf.”

Rowan hummed, debating this, then stepped back. “Get on your knees.”

It was all Aelin could do to hold back a groan at the words. She knelt, as instructed.

“Good girl,” Rowan murmured.

Aelin pressed her thighs together in a pathetic attempt at quenching her desire, and reached for his pants. She had been wondering what it was like to taste this man for far too long. Her sanity probably wouldn’t have survived if Aelin never got to.

She pulled out his cock, giving it an experimental pump. Rowan groaned, the sound like a drug. Spurred on, Aelin twisted her wrist, delighting in the sensation of having Rowan’s cock harden in her hand.

She leaned forward and placed her lips on him. Small kisses to his cock had Rowan growling ferally. “Aelin.”

His tone was not one to ignore. Knowing there would be consequences if Aelin didn’t do as was expected of her, she leaned forward and took him in her mouth.

The groan that tore from Rowan’s mouth as she bobbed her head forward had her heart speeding up. Or stopping altogether; she couldn’t say. Aelin made an O with her lips and took him deeper, relaxing her mouth around him.

Rowan reached down and grabbed several strands of Aelin’s hair, tugging them lightly as he got a hold on her. She groaned softly, both from the sensation and from the knowledge that she was entirely at his mercy.

Rowan praised her as she moved, not yet controlling her completely. Aelin took him deeper and deeper with each bob, sucking the delicate appendage a bit too much, secretly pleased with the hiss the movement drew from his throat.

“You want me to fuck your throat, sweetheart? I will if you don’t behave.”

Both of them knew that Aelin was not opposed to that idea.

In response, she sucked harder, flattening her tongue and letting her teeth scrape against his cock.

Rowan tightened his grip on her hair and thrust into her mouth. Aelin moaned around his cock, and the vibrations had him cursing. He started moving harder, setting a brutal, punishing pace.

Aelin felt his tip hit the back of her throat, and she slid a hand down to the hem of her dress. Before she could get her hand where she needed it, Rowan said, “Did I fucking say you could touch yourself?”

The only light came from the cracks in the window shades, pulled closed, and she didn’t realize he would be able to see her. Aelin could only whine in reply. He didn’t stop fucking her mouth.

“Maybe I’ll let you come tonight if you’re good. But you have to listen to me.” Rowan’s voice held amusement, clearly taking pleasure in her struggle. Aelin reluctanly pulled her hand out of her dress.

He whispered some more dirty praises to her, as well as a few threats, and Aelin couldn’t help but feel relieved the only other people in the building were sixty floors below them.

Rowan thrust into her mouth with one last groan, then paused. He pulled her off his cock, ignoring Aelin’s pleas to keep going, and yanked her to her feet.

“I’m going to come inside of you, you little slut. Do you understand me?”

Aelin nodded desperately. “Please.”

“Bend over.” Rowan nodded to the desk.

Aelin pushed some papers aside, then bent over, gripping the edge of the desk in anticipation.

Rowan pulled her dress up, then slid her panties down. Aelin lifted each ankle in turn after he dropped them, leaving her sex bare and exposed to the chilly air. They always ran the air conditioning too much in this building.

Rowan, apparently done toying with her, gripped her hips. He lined himself up with her entrance, and Aelin gasped as she felt his cock part her folds. “Please,” she whispered, for extra measure.

Rowan chuckled, then slid in. All the way.

Aelin buried her head in the desk, gripping the end tighter. He buried himself inside of Aelin with one thrust, groaning breathlessly. She didn’t make a sound, just held on for dear life.

Way too soon, Rowan started moving. He leisurely slid into Aelin, then back out. The pause between thrusts started lessening as he picked up speed.

“Look at you,” Rowan muttered. “You and your tight little pussy.”

Aelin’s toes curled painfully in the high heels that she was having trouble standing in. Rowan’s fingers started to dig into her hips tighter, and Aelin felt exhilarated by the knowledge that he was marking her, that there would be evidence of this the next day and she couldn’t just dismiss it as a dream.

Rowan slammed into Aelin, his balls slapping her clit, and she cried out. He didn’t let up, moving harder and deeper with every thrust. The sweet pain of his fingers digging into her hips was enough to have Aelin groaning as she came.

Rowan cursed as she tightened around his cock. He moved impossibly harder, using Aelin to chase the same pleasure.

Aelin thought she heard some sort of ding, but quickly dismissed the thought as Rowan came inside of her, filling her so delightfully. She sighed, intoxicated from the feel of him.

Rowan muttered a few more praises as he pulled out of her. Aelin shakily stood, still using the desk for support. Before she could say anything, a knock sounded on the door and they both froze.

“Aelin? You okay? I just wanted to check on you since you’ve been gone for so long.” It was Elide’s voice.

The handle started to turn and Aelin yelled. “Wait!” The handle stopped moving. “Um, I’m just…”

“Just what?” Elide asked, suspicious of her tone.

Aelin thought for a moment. “Doing some paperwork.”

“And I’m not allowed in to see you committing the scandalous act of paperwork? What are you actually doing?”

“I… spilled something on my dress so I’m changing into my spare work clothes.”

“Liar,” Elide called. “You’re probably mooning over Rowan again, aren’t you? Maybe you’re even—”

“Elide!” Aelin squeaked. She didn’t dare face Rowan.

“Oh, gods, is he in there?” Elide started laughing. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, you’re not,” Aelin hissed. “Go away.”

Elide’s laughter got louder. “Just letting you know, people are going to start wondering where you are. You might want to finish that up pretty quickly.” Elide was still laughing to herself as Aelin her heels clicking down the hallway.

Finally, absolutely petrified, Aelin turned back to Rowan. In the semidarkness, she could make out a smirk, but that was about it.

“You told your assistant about us.”

Aelin tried not to shiver at the word “us.” She crossed her arms. “She’s one of my best friends, okay. She won’t tell anyone.”

Rowan hummed amusedly, then—thank the gods—seemed to drop it for now. “So, Aelin. Miss Galathynius.” She barely stopped herself from frowning at that. “Will this be… happening again?”

Aelin knew better than to ask if he wanted it to. He clearly did. “It can. But just to be clear, it won’t earn you any special treatment. And if you chose to end this at any time, there will be no repercussions for you. No matter how this ends, your job will not be affected in any way.”

Rowan nodded. “I’m glad.”

“And we won’t be doing this again,” Aelin continued, waving a hand around her office. “I am a professional, and there will be no more office hookups. This stays out of our careers. And,” she added, “when we are here, I am your boss, and you will treat me with the respect I deserve. There will be no talk of this while we’re here, no glances or innuendos. And this is just sex. Nothing more.”

Aelin was a CEO, and she had to be good with words and contracts to make it to where she was now. This was a mixture of both. It was easy for her to decide how to arrange this, and Aelin wouldn’t have this backfiring on her.

Rowan nodded again, agreeing. “I understand, Miss Galathynius.”

Aelin cleared her throat. “Perhaps now that the awkwardness has abated, you can refer to me as Aelin? Most of my employees do.”

“Only if you call me Rowan.”

Aelin smiled. Then she said, “And, I know I’ve already said this, but I would like to make this clear—you are allowed to stop this at any time, no questions asked.”

An expression Aelin didn’t recognize in the darkness came over Rowan’s face. “I appreciate it a lot. Thank you.”

“We should go. We’ve been missing for too long. I should head over to the bathroom and fix my hair.”

“Of course,” Rowan agreed. “Aelin.”

She tried to pretend hearing her name on his lips didn’t melt her heart completely, but it was a losing battle. If only Aelin understood what feeling like that meant.

———

Tag List:

@aelin-bitch-queen

@autumnbabylon

@evolving-dreamer

@feysand-loml

@flora-shadowshine

@gracie-rosee

@infernoqueen19

@julemmaes

@lemonade-coolattas

@live-the-fangirl-life

@midsizewitch

@morganofthewildfire

@nehemikkele

@realbookloverproblems

@rhysandswingspan

@rowanaelinn

@sexy-dumpster-fire

@sleeping-and-books

@story-scribbler

@swankii-art-teacher

@thenerdandfandoms

@yesdreamblog

#rowaelin #tog #when passion rules the game #my writing

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aigoofanfiction · 3 years

Text

All's Fair In Love (1/?)

Han Ji-pyeong x Reader

Summary: Park Dong-cheon asks your help to deliver a bit of bad news to his boss and unwittingly sets the stage for an office romance.

Words: 1.3k

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Park Dong-cheon sighs as he stares at his screen. Displayed on his monitor is the monthly report from one of SH Ventures’ overseas investments, and, well, the numbers aren’t good. He risks a quick glance over to the desk by the window where he sees team leader (and resident slave driver) Han Ji-pyeong staring resolutely at his own screen. His lips are moving silently, which, as any employee who's lasted six months knows, is a tell-tale sign that he's concentrating especially hard and must not be disturbed.

Dong-cheon reverts his attention back to the dismal report, swallowing the lump in this throat.

Despite Mr. Han’s reputation as an angel investor, he’s not one to mince his words when it comes to those he genuinely cares about, whether they be people or investments. In fact, the only time his boss sings anything or anyone praises is when he can’t be bothered to be honest.

“Why bother to check and criticize the condition of the car if you’re not going to ride it?” Mr. Han often says during their one-on-one meetings.

Still, the knowledge that his boss trusts and cares about him enough to be honest doesn’t make the dressing-down any easier to bear. Mr. Han can be frank to the point of being cruel, and Dong-cheon has always been more tender-hearted than most.

What’s helped keep his spirits up, however, is the fact that he now has someone to share the brunt of Mr. Han’s temper with.

He grabs his phone and sends you a message.

[Do you want coffee? My treat!]

Last year, one of the start-ups at Sandbox received a lot of negative press. Although it was not entirely their fault, the company still had to deal with a tsunami of backlash from angry netizens. It was Director Yoon who suggested getting an external agency to handle the media firestorm. While three teams pitched their strategy, it was your presentation, one that clearly stemmed from a genuine desire to right a wrong, that won the bid.

His phone lights up after a few seconds.

[I don’t want cafeteria coffee.]

Dong-cheon nods to himself. It's not that the cafeteria coffee is bad, but after a while, it can get boring. He quickly types out a reply.

[Okay, let’s go to A Twosome Place.]

Dong-cheon remembers staying up late with you and the start-up's team on so many nights, carefully planning your next move and anticipating every possible scenario. On more than one occasion, Mr. Han even stayed behind to offer his own two cents as well as buy everyone coffee from the cage, claiming that no one would be able to function at 100% without caffeine.

Eventually, the company recovered from the bad press, but the incident showed Sandbox that they needed to beef up their own PR department. It took Mr. Han a record time of two days to ask Dong-cheon to hire you at all costs.

In his opinion, you’re one of the best things to happen to SH Ventures (and to his nerves). As early as that incident with the start-up, which he likes to refer to as your audition, he’s seen how well you work under pressure. Not even Mr. Han’s offhand comments about how your idea will never work brought you down, and when you officially joined the team, Mr. Han’s treatment of you didn’t escape his notice either.

Usually, Mr. Han keeps his interactions limited to Director Yoon, the board, the CEOs, and Dong-cheon himself, letting the latter handle the rest of the junior employees. But he seems to have made an exception for you, and to Dong-cheon's delight, he doesn’t seem to shy away from telling you what he thinks either.

For someone like Mr. Han, Dong-cheon thinks, it's akin to getting invited over to one's in-laws for dinner.

His phone lights up again.

[Meet you down the lobby in five.]

Dong-cheon gets up from his seat, hands just about to grab his jacket, when Mr. Han’s voice stops him. “Oh, Dong-cheon ah, where are you going?”

Dong-cheon turns his head nervously. “I’m just going to get coffee, Mr. Han,” he says.

His boss moves to stand up. “I could use one, too,” he says. “Let me go with you.”

“Ah, you can’t!” he cries out.

Judging by the way his boss’s eyes widen, he knows he’s about to be severely reprimanded, so in the interest of self-preservation, Dong-cheon tells him he’s meeting you for coffee.

“What? Why?” Mr. Han asks.

Dong-cheon stammers. “Sh-She wants my advice on something!”

“On what?” Mr. Han asks again as he advances closer.

Dong-cheon shakes his head. “It’s something personal,” he answers, slowly backing away from his boss. Before he can move further away, however, a hand pulls at his sleeve.

“Tell me,” Mr. Han demands.

Pushing his glasses up his nose, Dong-cheon forces himself to think fast. He snaps his fingers as he blurts out an answer. “She likes someone, and she wants my help getting his attention!”

Without warning, Mr. Han abruptly lets go of Dong-cheon’s sleeve. Not one to waste an opportunity, he scurries out of the office. With any luck, Mr. Han will have forgotten all about this incident when he returns.

***

Given its proximity to Sandbox, A Twosome Place is pretty popular, but in the middle of the day, there are only a handful of customers. You and Dong-cheon manage to get a seat by the window where you’re now sipping your vanilla iced latte thoughtfully.

“So you see, I need your help spinning this into something less disastrous,” Dong-cheon concludes. He’s just spent the last 10 minutes walking you through the depressing performance of one of their overseas investments.

You take his phone in your hand, scrolling through the report he’ll need to show Mr. Han later, before fixing him a look. “You know my philosophy when it comes to bad news, don’t you?”

Dong-cheon smiles weakly. “Short and straight to the point.”

“I don’t think you need my help at all,” you say, returning both the phone and the smile.

“But it always sounds better when it comes from you,” Dong-cheon says. “And frankly, Mr. Han seems to take the news less badly when you say it, too!”

You clear your throat. “That’s not true,” you say. “You two have been working together for longer.”

“And yet he’s a whole lot nicer to you,” Dong-cheon mutters. His phone lights up, alerting him to a message. “Ah, and now he wants me to bring him back some coffee. Give me a few minutes, and then we can go back.”

Dong-cheon excuses himself to order a coffee to go for his boss, while you sit back, reflecting on your experience working with Mr. Han. The truth is, you’re more than aware that you and Dong-cheon receive slightly different treatments from the man. While you like the fact that he doesn’t sugarcoat his words with you, you get the sense that he’s still holding himself back. With Dong-cheon, he seems more relaxed, and you can see that they’ve comfortably established a rapport, even if your friend doesn’t seem to realize it.

You absently swipe the beads of condensation that have formed on your cup, wondering if Mr. Han thinks you need to be coddled. Or perhaps he just doesn’t feel comfortable enough with you. Either way, you count yourself fortunate for having the opportunity to work with him.

When you first booked Sandbox as your client, you were immediately impressed by the famous Han Ji-pyeong. You had read about him in magazines before, but nothing had prepared you for his larger-than-life presence. He’s handsome, sure, but rarely do you find that paired with competency and efficiency, both of which he wielded with great mastery during the whole PR debacle.

It's no wonder you find yourself nursing a bit of a crush.

Not that you plan to tell anyone that though, not even Dong-cheon, especially not Dong-cheon. As much as you love your friend, he has a tendency to get rattled when it comes to Mr. Han, and then he’ll probably end up divulging your secret to the very object of your affections.

You chuckle at the thought. It's the type of thing that only happens in romantic comedies, but it's certainly an entertaining thought.

Part 2

#start-up fanfiction #han ji-pyeong x reader #han ji-pyeong

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cardiophileanonymous · 3 years

Text

Late Night Errands Chapter 1

Mulder x Reader

Summary: The reader is a paralegal preparing to help defend her client on trial in a week. The stress has finally convinced her to go out and get a stethoscope to help calm her down. Little does she know a certain agent was watching her out while she was out late at night, and it makes her a prime suspect in his eyes.

Y/n= your name

Y/f/n Y/l/n= your first and last name

B/f/n= your best friend’s name

...

Y/n slammed the door shut then started to punch the sides of the steering wheel. What in the world was going through her mind? Of course this store wouldn’t have any stethoscopes! Even if it was a pharmacy. People don’t have stuff like that lying around in their homes. Not normal people, anyway. What was she gonna say to the employee when they inevitably asked why she was looking for one? “Oh, I don’t need one, I just want it for my weird-ass heartbeat kink!” Yeah, that was one conversation she didn’t want to have.

She silently stared at the moon for a few brief moments. Why couldn’t she have a normal kink like everyone else? Like feet, maybe. It still would’ve been weird, but dammit, at least she’d be able to find porn of it. The best she could find easily was cardiophilia fanfiction, and even then, it was scarce.

She snuck glances around the parking lot. Nobody in sight. So hopefully, nobody would notice the blush on her face when she brought up an hour long “asmr heartbeat” video for the sake of calming herself down.

She smiled in bliss. When a heartbeat was in the background, it was like everything melted away. She groaned in frustration when she heard a text from her friend, B/f/n.

Don’t forget we’re having lunch tomorrow! I’m taking your mind off that trial if it’s the last thing I do!

She was double pissed now that the stress of last week filled her head. She was a paralegal, and one of her clients was set to go on trial less than a week from now. It was the oddest case she’d ever seen. The case of Bill Brown.

The man had killed exactly one-hundred people in the span of less than half a year. And the details he gave were chilling. They were vivid and graphic. So, he must’ve been a sociopath or something, right? Well he was super remorseful. And upon turning himself in, that’s right, turning himself in, he sobbed for three days straight. What’s strangest was he claimed he didn’t know they happened until the memories came back to him that night.

She wouldn’t have believed it either, if he didn’t point to bodies that hadn’t been found yet. He helped officers uncover at least a quarter of his victims.

It gave everyone working in his defense a headache. Argue innocence and a false confession? He flat out admitted details the public didn’t know. Did they argue insanity? He seemed pretty fucking sane during interviews and psych evaluations. Self defense? Not in a million years.

What got at her was the genuine feeling he was innocent, and that someone, or something, could be out there. The idea of being out there in the city alone with it out and about gave her the creeps.

“Whatever,” she whispered, turning the audio up so she could return to her blissful ignorant state. Where everything melted away. Where she was actually pretty happy with a smile on her face. With that, she began to drive away.

…

All she could think about when she finished getting dressed was the trial. The trial, the trial, the trial. This was gonna be the biggest train wreck she would ever see in her career, and she had only become a paralegal a mere three years ago. She didn’t envy the defense attorneys she was working under.

Her thoughts were interrupted by three knocks at the door. Strange, she wasn’t expecting anyone today, except for B/f/n, and she was always late for everything.

She looked through the peephole to see two people in fancy clothing outside. She opened the door just a crack.

“H-hello…?”

“Y/f/n Y/l/n,” the man asked. Y/n nodded hesitantly. The man speaking held up the badge and the woman behind him did the same. “Agents Mulder and Skully, FBI. We have a few questions about your client. The one who’s set to go on trial next week.”

She turned her head to the side.

“I’m sorry, I think you might be mistaken. I-I’m not an attorney, I’m just a paralegal.”

“Oh, we’re not mistaken. That’s exactly why we wanted to talk to you.”

She looked inside her apartment real quick, then back at them.

“Okay… come on in. Just come in quickly so the cat doesn’t get out. She has a habit of running outside.”

She was internally grateful that her friend talked her into going out for lunch. She would’ve felt embarrassed if she had had to talk to these well dressed professionals in her pajamas. Skully knelt down, petting Y/n’s cat that had just walked up to the two.

“Um… would you like tea or anything? I’m about to make some for myself now.”

Skully lifted up one of her hands while she let the small animal nuzzle into her other one.

“That won’t be necessary. We plan to be out as soon as possible.”

“O-okay… um... I’m guessing you’re here to ask about Bill Brown?”

Mulder nodded.

“That’s correct.”

“I… don’t really understand. He’s set to go on trial less than a week from now. Why is the FBI getting involved? I thought this was settled, more or less.”

“We think he may be the wrong guy. We’re investigating a series of murders strikingly similar to the ones he supposedly committed a year and a half ago. We need to look at some of the previous evidence and cross examine it with the crimes happening now.”

She still seemed unconvinced.

“Why haven’t you gone to my firm? Or better yet, the police? I-I’m sure they have everything on file.”

Mulder shook his head.

“The lawyers won’t speak to us. And the police department doesn’t want to reopen the investigation when they’re so close to closing it. They don’t want to cause panic.”

She nodded. That actually wasn’t that hard a story to believe, considering the people she worked with on a daily basis. She just looked around the room.

“Okay… you might want to rethink my offer about the tea, then. And have a seat. Because this’ll take a long time.”

...

She presented them with a long list of documents. Some images, most legal papers. She pulled out the two things that were most of interest to her, a map of where the killings took place as well as a few images of supposed murder weapons.

“I’m not really sure what you’re looking for, so here's everything, I guess.”

Skully started flipping through the legal papers, reading passages of the man’s confession. Y/n’s cat slipped under Skully’s arms and laid on her lap as she continued to read. Mulder took a keen eye to the map.

“When did these murders take place?”

“Um, September 14th through February 10th, sir.”

“And he moved here the day these murders started, correct?”

“C-c-correct. You… didn’t already know this?”

“Oh I did. I just wanted to make sure you did. Encyclopedic knowledge of a case is the sign of a good paralegal, don’t you think?”

“Oh!” She let out an embarrassed chuckle. “Thanks…”

“Tell me, Y/n. What do you think happened?”

“Well, the evidence clearly shows he’s guilty, so… we are going to be arguing that he did these crimes due to mania and insanity.”

“No, Y/n. What do you really think?”

She looked down, and started to get finicky. She sat up straight.

“I think he’s innocent… and I have a theory about what happened. But… I don’t think anyone would believe me.”

Skully raised an eyebrow.

“Why haven’t you brought it up with any of the defense attorneys?”

She looked away, then back at the both of them.

“You won’t… tell anyone, right? I don’t wanna lose my job because everyone thinks I’m crazy.”

Mulder nodded expectantly.

“Of course not. Now, what did you find?”

She flipped through the papers.

“While they were at his house… they found a lot of these DVDs.” She was somewhat mumbling under her breath. When she pulled out the image she presented it to Mulder. “I’ve looked them up and they’re all from a lesser known hypnotist.”

Mulder read the bottom of the DVD covers.

“Hannah Martin?”

“...yes. I’ve tried to find those specific DVDs myself, on her website or Amazon or whatnot, but, uh, I can’t find them.”

“Why do you find these significant?”

“Um… Skully, was it? May I please have the written interview?”

She handed it to her. Now that her hands were free, Skully began to pet the cat sitting on her legs, who purred in appreciation. She cleared her throat and began to read.

“Bill said ‘I moved to start a new life, I tried to smile every day, I helped my neighbors, I listened to hypnosis videos every night before bed to make me a better person. I did my best to turn my life around… but I guess I was a monster this whole time. Last night, my memories came back to me in my dreams. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…’”

Mulder nodded.

“So you think that the hypnosis videos he watched before bed may have mind controlled or influenced him into committing these crimes overnight?”

Her face began to turn red and a wave of feeling stupid hit her.

“I’m sorry! I know that sounds insane!”

“No, not to me.” She was in awe. He was actually entertaining her insane supernatural idea? “How far have you looked into this Hanna Martin?”

“You have to pay at least five-hundred dollars for her to create a hundred and fifty custom sessions to send to you personally through DVDs. Um, the first alleged murder was one hundred and forty-nine days before the last alleged murder. That day he confessed would be day one hundred and fifty.”

Mulder seemed incredibly interested. He gazed down at the image he was holding.

“Thank you for bringing this information to my attention. Can you please scan this and make a copy for me? I want to see if I can track down these DVDs.”

“O-okay!”

She was a little excited that her idea was being entertained. And, aside from that, this agent was very cute! So he was cute and as conspiracy crazy as she was?! She smiled like a dope when she was no longer being watched, her back to the two. She began making the copy.

“Another question for you, Y/n.”

She gulped. Something about this man saying her name made her stomach drop.

“Y-yeah…?”

“Do you go out at night often?”

The feeling of her stomach dropping was now from fear.

“What do you mean?”

“I saw your car parked outside the local drugstore late last night, any reason for it?”

She swallowed, hard. She was going for ulterior motives, but she was relieved she had something to fall back on.

“I was getting my medication. Um, I can show you if you want proof?”

“There’s no need to. But midnight is fairly late to be running errands like that, don’t you think?”

She breathed in.

“I couldn’t sleep. So I thought I might as well do something productive.”

He nodded. She turned to look at him, but she couldn’t quite read his face. Was he insinuating what she thought he was? Or was this all in her head? If he thought she was involved, he was probably crazy. She just laid out all this evidence to prove her client innocent, and possibly even helped point to the real killer, yet he thought she might be the guilty one?

“Did you happen to purchase anything from this hypnotist?”

“No, I don’t have that kind of money… and besides, i-if I am right, I don’t know if I would want to get anything from her.”

“Mhm.”

Her dopey smile and blush was gone by the time she handed the copied image to Mulder.

“I’m not sure about the legality of this…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll deal with it.”

She was a bit angry when they left. B/f/n was a bit confused walking in.

“What happened?”

“Ugh! The stupid FBI is involved in the case now. They wanted to see some stuff.”

She tilted her head to the side and her nose crinkled in disbelief.

“The FBI?”

“I don’t know either! Just… help me pick up these papers. Actually, don’t! I need to make sure they’re all in order before court in a few days!”

She nodded as Y/n began to put everything as they were supposed to be.

“...that guy was kind of cute.”

She sighed.

“I thought that, too. But actually, he’s a dick.”

#cardiophilia #cardiophile #hearts #Mulder #Mulder x reader #x files

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nothingunrealistic · 2 years

Text

review roundup: billions 6x05 “rock of eye”

winstans won this week! but how does everyone else feel?

New York Times: ‘Billions’ Season 6, Episode 5 Recap: All in the Family

The first family struggle involves Mike Prince’s second-in-command, Scooter, and his nephew, Philip (Toney Goins). Prince woos the wunderkind away from his job teaching at a charter school to join Prince Cap, where his instantaneous success rubs many of his colleagues the wrong way.

strictly speaking, prince wooed philip from his job at another fund — teaching is his side gig, as prince said, and philip could keep that gig. (unless prince takes the taylor approach of not letting his employees have second jobs when he’s paying them enough already.)

Victor, the firm’s alpha male now that Dollar Bill is gone, has his book doubled, while Bonnie, who was aggressively trading against Victor’s positions in a sort of grudge match, gets hers cut in half and put under the supervision of Wags. She angrily quits in protest; might she join Mafee and her former lover Dollar Bill at their breakaway firm?

this would be my theory too if bonnie weren’t absent from all post-6x05 imdb cast lists currently available. and those aren’t always accurate, so it’s still possible.

That limbo lingers until Wendy, his former daughter-in-law steps in. She convinces him with brute-force reverse psychology to give up the emotional affair and move back home: She tells him to leave his wife, knowing he’ll do the exact opposite.

this is exactly how chuck got senior to lift the probation period on axe’s bank. how does senior keep falling for this?

One of the episode’s most intriguing developments involves Taylor Mason’s play for a vegan-food outfit called Terravore as part of an attempt to drive up those end-of-quarter numbers. Taylor orders Rian and Winston to stake out a position on the company so huge that the firm’s legal minds, including Sacker and the compliance officer Ari Spyros, worry it will raise red flags with the S.E.C. unless Taylor can provide documentation as to why the purchase was so big. When it becomes clear that Mase Carb’s play is to wait until the company makes it onto the S&P index, at which point they’ll sell and turn a huge profit, the concern only grows.

big win for rian and winston to both be mentioned by name here. less of a win to phrase that last sentence so passively that you’d never know it was specifically and solely sacker who figured out taylor’s intentions to get terravore on the s&p.

Kate, of all people, helps Taylor by claiming the Mase Carb founder’s six and a half years of veganism count as due diligence and by backfilling a paper trail to that effect. Everyone at the firm, including Prince and Wendy, know that something sketchy has gone down, but unless Taylor comes out and admits it, it’s nothing anyone can prove. (Rian, it should be noted, seems particularly uncomfortable with the scheme from the get-go.)

“kate of all people” teaming up with taylor on this should not be surprising given her history with chuck and her choice to work here. (and i sure am noting rian’s discomfort here.)

So Chuck invites her to take over Sacker’s old position as his right hand, and Dave accepts. This could create a very interesting dynamic in the attorney general’s office, as Chuck has never before had a lieutenant who was more a peer than a protégé.

this is a good point, assuming karl doesn’t count as a peer to chuck given his ineptitude with anything actually related to the law.

At one point, after revealing in-depth knowledge of the nature of the spat between Victor and Bonnie, Prince says, “I’m the Eye of Sauron — I see all.” Does that sound like an ethical billionaire to you?

i had the same thought. don’t go comparing yourself to sauron when you’re trying to be the good guy!

A key quote from Chuck that I think we’ll be coming back to as long as Prince sits in the big chair: When Wendy tells him the firm under Prince “isn’t Axe Cap,” Chuck says, “No, it’s worse because it pretends to be better.” That’s the crux of the season, isn’t it?

agreed, kind of. that sentiment needs to be turned back on chuck himself, who will gladly use his own wealth and power to trample billionaires and their plans even when it’s at odds with his Man Of The People schtick, as in his quashing of the free wi-fi play.

Vulture: Billions Recap: Pyramid of Success

I know I’ve praised Billions for becoming more of an ensemble drama this season, but “Rock of Eye” is a good example of the growing pains that come with this kind of decision. Now that we’re finally expanding the storylines featuring Kate Sacker, Taylor Mason, and Wendy Rhoades, and keeping Chuck Rhoades and Mike Prince (and Wags, and Scooter, etc.) busy, we end up with a bloated episode like this one. Too much plotline and character repositioning are crammed into a short period, making “Rock of Eye” an exhausting watch.

i mean, i get it, but i also enjoyed most of these plotlines, and i was getting tired of the short episodes they gave us for the first third of this season. (and wags wasn’t exactly busy this episode. i think he had less screen time / fewer lines than winston.)

Since Prince needs Sweeney’s support for the Olympics, he exerts all his energy trying to get Gail to apologize until her youthful observation solves everyone’s problems: Buffalo Bob is a sad, middle-aged man who gets butt-hurt over a Gen-Zer’s taunts. Therefore, Prince just needs to appeal to the governor’s vanity. And what better way to win over someone with thin skin than by naming the proposed Olympic Stadium after him? Don’t discount the younger generations, folks!

how is this a generational thing??

The other subplot featuring the Rhoades family is way more entertaining because it stars Senior (duh!).

CANNOT RELATE. i wouldn’t object if senior never showed up again.

This narrative also appears to be part of Wendy’s sustained storyline this season: We’ve known since the first episode that she’s been exploring a few different forms of self-improvement. Like, making-your-own ice cream therapy. Now she’s working with a Buddhist priest who is trying to teach her not to be transactional in every facet of her life.

this is what it took to remind me that wendy making ice cream was established in 6x01 rather than coming out of nowhere this episode. and only while writing this did i remember that her ice cream-making was referred to as “buddhist shit” then. continuity win?

While I appreciate Wendy waking up to the despicable choices made on an everyday basis at her workplace, it’s pathetic if she thinks she’s been playing by the rules all this time.

get her ass!

The questionable practices involve Sacker’s decision to help Taylor hide a dubious play. I really hope we’ll see more of these two teaming up because watching the most initially moral characters on Billions slowly turn ruthless and greedy is always a fun ride.

i mean, i also want to see more of them teaming up, but i wouldn’t exactly say that’s why.

So, Taylor is going all-in on a plant-based company called Terravore — even the flatware is vegan and edible! But their behavior is raising a lot of red flags about insider trading, which is how Sacker’s interest is piqued. Eventually, Sacker corners Taylor, pressing them to at least suggest they’re working with illegal information.

not quite correct. sacker’s accusing taylor of manipulating the market by boosting terravore, not of having inside information about terravore. (which they don’t. the manipulation is necessary *because* they don’t have any other proof that the stock will go up.)

But instead of turning Taylor in, Sacker has an idea of her own: Create a legal-on-paper analyst report consisting entirely of Taylor’s vegan grocery shopping receipts (six years’ worth!), spinning it as “meticulous research.” The result is Taylor avoids prosecution, and I’m assuming they’re letting Sacker get a cut of the investment profits.

why would sacker get a cut of the profits? where are you getting that from?

Sure, it’s upsetting to watch characters like Sacker and Taylor head down these darkened paths, but they really don’t have any other choice if they want to succeed at their jobs.

it’s not that upsetting, at least not yet. but they definitely have other choices. sacker chose to be here just last week!

If “Rock of Eye” is any indication, Prince is gradually turning MPC back into its cutthroat Axe Capital predecessor, just with a lot more basketball-coach-inspired wisdom nuggets. For example, Prince hires Philip Charyn (Toney Goins), a financial whiz posing as an inspiring teacher — who also happens to be Scooter’s nephew. The new kid doesn’t waste any time outdoing everyone on the floor, which doesn’t bode well for the Axe Cap/MPC lifers nervous about Prince’s upcoming capital reallocation.

what’s axe capital-esque about that? it’s very un-axe of prince to make a point of not firing anyone and to be completely fine with philip asking for a reduction in his book, despite ben’s advice to tuk to avoid exactly that request.

But it’s already too late for that because on reallocation day, Prince crowns Philip as his new golden boy while imploding the once-tight clique of Ben Kim, Tuk Lal, Bonnie Barella, and Victor Matteo.

not much of a clique when victor & bonnie regularly gave ben & tuk shit, but sure.

The well-deserving Ben Kim is given more responsibility, but brash, albeit loyal, employee Bonnie is effectively demoted, and poor Tuk is monetarily penalized for his apprehensive trading. Bonnie storms out, leading me to believe her next stop is Dollar Bill and Mafee’s High Plains Management.

two recappers predicting that bonnie will go to high plains makes me wonder if it won’t happen simply because it’s too obvious.

I believe it is Charles Rhoades, Jr. in the Billions episode “Rock of Eye,” who sums up Michael Prince Capital best: “It’s worse [than Axe Cap] because it pretends to be better.”

It takes one to know one, Chuck. It takes one to know one.

SO TRUE VULTURE.

Winston’s geektastic “Fe Man” T-shirt. Tony Stark would be proud.

major upgrade from what vulture had to say about winston last week.

Entertainment Weekly: Billions recap: Chuck and Prince shake-up their teams and look to the future

[…]

take a shot!

"Beginnings and endings" seems to be the theme of the episode from the jump. Prince hires a new employee, plucking him from his job as a teacher at a charter school, his new career just beginning. Chuck Sr. is moving in with his son after getting kicked out by his wife for flirtatious texts with another woman, a move that Chuck Jr. certainly hopes is short lived. There's Wendy, who's trying to "begin again" with a Buddhist practice to try and make herself live a "less transactional" life. And then there's the end of the quarter and the beginning of new opportunities at Mike Prince Capital, as Prince promises/threatens to change everyone's portfolio based on their performance.

don’t strain anything reaching that far, kyle.

His daughter Gail confronted Governor Sweeney at a Knicks game, chastising him for "ruining the city" by attempting to bring in the Olympics.

THAT’S NOT A QUOTE FROM THE EPISODE. WHY IS IT IN QUOTATION MARKS. the correct quote is “wrecking the Empire State,” which uses a completely different set of words *and* has a completely different meaning! i don’t think you even tried at all!

Instead, he calls a family meeting. He does everything he can to make both of his daughters nostalgic, cooking their favorite food and putting on music that would remind them of childhood.

you know it’s not illegal to name biscuits & gravy and bob seger as the specific food and music used here, right?

Also in this episode, Chuck goes toe-to-toe with a lawyer in a case about some seafood that was labeled wrong and still sold to consumers. The details of the case make no difference, because this is all really about two things.

WHY ARE YOU SO AVERSE TO DETAILS?

Like I said above, a lot of what happens in this episode isn't all that consequential in terms of the larger story.

[citation needed]

Prince does shift some portfolios around, and Bonnie storms out in protest, but otherwise he keeps the team together and working towards a common goal, and Chuck manages to find someone to hopefully fill the shoes left behind by Kate.

this recap mentions dave a few times but refuses to refer to her by name. weird choice regarding a character just announced to be a series regular!

#billions #6x05 #review roundup

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mercheswan · 3 years

Text

“You may hope...”

5 times Theo gave Stiles a flower + 1 time Stiles did

~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey daddy-o!” Stiles said happily entering his childhood house.

“Welcome home son” The Sheriff said hugging Stiles.

Stiles just came back from his training at the FBI quarters in Virginia. He he was glad to be back home, who would have thought that he would miss Beacon Hills.

“The place looks cleaner than I though it would!” Stiles teased. He expected the place to be a mess, now that the Sheriff was living alone. Noah rolled his eyes. “Look at that you even brought flowers to decorate the place” Stiles said pointing at her purple flowers on the table. The flowers were in a small pot and they looked new.

“That was actually Theo” The Sheriff claimed.

Stiles stopped and stared at his father. “Theo...?” Stiles hadn’t heard about the chimera in so long. Scott told him he stayed and that he helped sometimes when a creature attacked. The true Alpha claimed that Theo had changed, but Stiles still wasn’t sure about that. “Why would Theo bring us flowers?” Stiles questioned confused.

“He is working in a flower shop downtown. He must have taken it from there” Noah responded.

“In a flower shop?” Stiles snorted. A flower shop was probably the last place he expected for Theo to be working in.

“He hasn’t done anything illegal in sometime. He is helping Liam with the supernatural stuff. I’m giving him the benefit of doubt” Noah allegued.

Stiles would see about that.

continue reading at AO3 or under the line

Theo heard the bell of the shop ring, he separated from the desk and put on his fake customer service smile. “Hello, Can I help you?” Theo asked.

“Holy shit, my father wasn’t kidding, you actually work here. Wearing that fake smile is probably hurting your face like a bitch” Stiles responded.

Theo rolled his eyes with a little smile on the corner of his lips. It was impossible not to recognise that voice full of sarcasm. “Stiles, you’re back. It’s good to see you. I have to say that I’m honored that you’ve decided to visit me” Theo smirked.

“So flowers. That’s your next evil master plan? Are you putting poison in them or something like that?” Stiles questioned walking around the shop examinating the flowers.

Theo snorted. “You shouldn’t leave again, I don’t know how Beacon Hills survives without you, It only took you one second to uncover my master plan. Whatever am I going to do now?” Theo teased. Stiles looked at the chimera and Theo chuckled outloud. “You should probably go to Mrs Doyle’s house she is my best customer and she is helping me create an army of ferocious plant humanoids to control Beacon Hills. I can’t be a werewolf Alpha but I can be the Flower Alpha” Theo joked. Stiles bit his lower lip to control himself not to laugh. He was in an interrogation mission after all. “She brings me pie sometimes” Theo added.

“Oh, so it’s the pie privileges then” Stiles let himself smile.

Theo smiled back. “I needed the money Stiles, It’s just a job. I’ve been on my best behaviour” Theo claimed.

Stiles hummed out loud. “So, i’ve been told. It’ll still be the judge of that”

“I wouldn’t have expected anything else from you” Theo agreed.

Stiles broke the eye contact. “I should leave… I guess I’ll see you around” The FBI gent said awkwardly.

Theo stood silently looking at Stiles before asking “You don’t want to buy anything then?”

“You already gave my father flowers” Stiles said.

“They were for you, to welcome you home” Theo proclaimed. The chimera moved closer and took a flower from one of the pots before offering it to Stiles. It was multicolor tulip, If Stiles’s basic knowledge of flowers was right. Stiles lifted his eyebrown. “Peace offering? I have employee’s discount” Theo smirked.

Stiles huffed a laugh but took the flower before exiting the shop.

————

Maybe It had been Stiles all along. Maybe it was him the one who attracted the monsters. He had only been back for a couple of weeks before a new creature attacked again. And the thing had kidnapped him. Thankfully although Scott wasn’t in town as he was attending university, It seemed that Liam had everything under control. The Puppy Pack as Stiles had decided to called them were very resourcefull.

Stiles was wounded, but nothing too serious. The rescue mission had been a success, and whilst Mason was carrying Stiles out of the cave in which he had been imprisioned, Stiles could see Liam and Theo fighting the werecreatures that took him.

Stiles couldn’t help but to focus on Theo. The chimera fighted with a lot of rage, like he had been personally affronted. Maybe he considered himself part of the Pack, he wanted to be useful. Whatever it was, Stiles had to admit that he was galo that the chimera had helped. Theo had been fighting to survive all his life, and he was smart enough. probably the third smartest person in the Pack, after Lydia and Stiles himself.

The Sheriff took Stiles home. He needed to rest. When Stiles entered to his took he noticed the colones of the room. The window was open. Stiles was pretty sure that he hadn’t left it like that, he opened his eyes and his ears to a possible threat. He walked cautiously into his room. But the room was empty. Maybe he was imaginating things. Stiles closed the window and moved to the bed. He grunted in pain. But before he playing on the bed he saw the flowers spreaded on top of it.

Theo.

Theo entered in his room and left the flowers. Stiles picked them up. They were pretty, white and pink. Theo was really trying to get on his good side. Stiles smiled. He put the flowers in his desk and got into his bed, he needed to sleep.

——————

The next time Stiles returned to Beacon Hills, it was on his birthday. It was only a month after they defeated the werecreatures that kidnapped him, and thankfully, Stiles was already healed.

Scott told him to drop by his house at seven, Stiles was sure that he had organised a party for him.

“Dad, I’m leaving, I’ll text you with whatever” Stiles shouted descending the stairs.

“Wait! You have a present” Noah claimed.

“You’ve already given me my present. You didn’t have to get me anything else” Stiles said to his father.

“It’s not from me” The Sheriff said giving him a basket full of blue flowers.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. He is stealing them for sure!” Stiles said taking the flowers. They cam from Theo, obviously, there was a note attached to them that said Happy Birthday Mischief. That brought back memories. His mother used to called him that when he was little. Theo and him were friends were his mother was still alive so he probably remembered her calling him that.

“Blue it’s your favourite color, isn’t it?” Noas asked.

“He probably remembers that too from when we were in little league together. He is trying to remind me that we used to be friends” Stiles responded.

“You still don’t trust him?” The Sheriff questioned.

“Actually I do. But let’s not tell him, I want him to keep trying” Stiles winked and Sheriff laughed.

Stiles arrived to the McCall household and as he predicted, they had organised a birthday party. Stiles greeted his friends, Scott was happy that he managed to gather almost everyone. Stiles saw Theo at the end of the room placing the food and rearranging the chairs.

“Just how big it’s your employee’s discount?” Stiles teased.

“You got the flowers” Theo said smiling at him.

“Yes” Stiles thanked him.

“I got a peperonni pizza from the place you like too” Theo said pointing at the food.

“Flowers and pizza? Are you trying to seduce me?” Stiles joked.

“I read online that when someone is mad at you, you should get them flowers and give them food. You know I was raised by three crazy scientists, I don’t know how to human, don’t tell me I’ve been doing it wrong!” Theo explained faking a shocked expression.

Stiles laughed out loud.

————————

Stiles was happy to be back home, although the reason why he came back was a sad one. It was the anniversary of his mother’s death. He didn’t want to leave his father alone on this day.

They both went to the cementerio to pay respect to his mother and to leave them flowers as they had always done.

Stiles noticed that his father held a beautiful bouquet with many flowers of different colors.

“Theo?” Stiles said signaling to the bouquet.

“Yes, I though I’ll use the famous discount” Noah joked and Stiles snorted softly. “He had already made the bouquet, he as going to give it to you even if I hand’t appeared” The Sheriff claimed.

“That’s weird he had already left town when mom died” Stiles added.

“That boy likes to investigate as much as you” Noah smiled.

Stiles huffed softly. “So he chose the flowers?” Stiles questioned.

“Yes he did, why?” Noah asked.

“They are quite colorfull, that’s all. I though he would have chosen something more white or light colored” Stiles explained.

“He told me this were the more fitting flowers. They are called Zinnia and apparently the meaning of the flower if the are various colors mixed its: In the memory of” Noah allegued.

What?

“The meaning..?” Stiles asked.

“You know, the meaning of the different flower types, like roses mean I love you and all that” The Sheriff explained.

Stiles felt as if something really important had been revealed to him. Like he had finally found the missing piece. Theo had been giving him flowers. Should he had payed attention to the meaning of them?

When Stiles came home, he did what he did best. Investigate.

—————————

Theo was almost ready to close the shop when he heard the doorbell ring. He silently groaned walking towards the door.

“Hello, we are almost ready to close, may I help yo… Stiles!” Theo said surprised.

“Can I still buy a bouquet?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah… sure, what did you wanted?” Theo questioned.

“Roses” Stiles smiled.

Theo nodded. “You’re lucky we are receiving a lot of roses as Valentine’s Day it’s close. Do you have a like a… date?” Theo inquired.

“Are you asking me If I have a date for Valentines Day?” Stiles chuckled.

“Who are the roses for?” Theo asked. Stiles noticed that Theo looked nervous.

“They are for my father” Stiles responded.

“That’s a weird choice” Theo huffed a laugh. He looked relieved now.

“Because of the meaning? Because you usually give them to someone for romantic purposes?” Stiles questioned. Stiles couldn’t feel like, cause he wasn’t a werewolf but he was absolutely sure that Theo’s heart had just skipped a beat. “I’ve been studying the language of flowers lately you know… It’s kinda fascinating” Stiles proclaimed.

“You’ve always loved a good mystery” Theo said meeting eyes with Stiles.

“Yeah, I’ve always had” Stiles said not breaking the eye contact. The human could feel electricity in the room. He had been blind how hand’t he realised it before.

Theo handed Stiles the roses. “I hope your father likes them”

“They are for Natalie” Stiles claimed. Theo looked at him with confusion. “I want my father to stop pinning so he is going to give her the flowers. Sometimes all we need is a little push” Stiles explained. Theo nodded. Stiles turned around pretending to leave but he turned again t face the chimera. “You’ve been giving me flowers, with meaning…” Stiles muttered.

“It took you long to realise” Theo teased, but Stiles could see that he was unconfortable and a little bit afraid.

“I think I should give you one too” Stiles added.

Theo closed his eyes. “The carnations are behind you”

“Not that one.” Stiles grabbed one of the roses from the bouquet. Theo looked at him with a shocked expression. “Not a rose neither, we are not there” Stiles added placing one of the roses’ leaves on the desk.

“A lea-f?” Theo questioned.

“I thought you were the expert in the language of the flowers. figure it out” Stiles smirked and left the shop.

Theo rapidly took his phone.

Rose (Leaf) - You may hope.

Theo smiled happily.

—————

HYACINTH (PURPLE): I am Sorry, Please Forgive Me

TULIP (VARIEGATED): You Have Beautiful Eyes

AZALEA: Take Care of Yourself for Me

FORGET-ME-NOT: True Love, Good Memories

ZINNIA (MIXED): Thinking (or In Memory) of an Absent loved one

CARNATION (STRIPED): No, Refusal, Sorry I Can't Be With You (The one Theo though he was getting)

ROSE (LEAF): You May Hope

#steovday #steo #stiles stilinski #theo raeken #teen wolf #teen wolf au #teen wolf fanfiction #teen wolf fic #language of flowers #sheriff stilinski #mccall pack #puppy pack #stiles x theo #steo fic #valentine’s day event

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jonthethinker · 4 years

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After a long day of truly cursed thoughts, I’ve come to the determination that the Cerberus Assembly can act as a sort of Exandrian analog of our world’s Silicon Valley, and I hate it. I hate hate hate it.

The more I think about it, the more it just sort of melds into my mind as fact. I can’t escape it. This is where I live now.

You’ve got this collection of self-proclaimed super geniuses, unbounded by modern social mores and determined to invent a new sort of ethics, with an intent on shaping history and sagely guiding the world into a better future. This is despite the fact that most of the ideas they have inevitably end up making the world worse, and the only thing “new” that they really bring into the world is a bunch of actually very old ideas coated in fresh circuitry/magic.

But let’s dig a little deeper and start getting specific.

They both have these images of fiercely independent, creative bodies desperate to remain free from government control, and sometimes even as a check on that very government. The heads of the Cerberus Assembly outright say their intent is to act as a check on the Crown, and are known to have many secrets the Crown is, to their knowledge, totally unaware of.

Tech companies, particularly in America, have this outward facing very libertarian outlook on things, saying they don’t wish to interfere in the very important process of democracy and free speech, while simultaneously feeling it is their responsibility to fact check those in power and hold them to account, with their “serious vetting” of political ads and the like on their platforms. They also lobby heavily against any and all regulation of their various products and services, preferring to let the “invisible hand” of the market provide the service of keeping them in check, much as the Cerberus Assembly prefers to handle its own problems internally.

But when you really dig into the details this is all bullshit. The Cerberus Assembly, for all intents and purposes, IS the Empire. They run the secret police, for goodness sake. The two are so interconnected, and the Assembly as an institution is so dependent on the infrastructure and manpower, and of course money (because the fancy clothes, giant towers, and expensive sets of material components don’t pay for themselves) of the Empire to accomplish its goals, it can’t serve as a real check on Imperial forces possibly “overstepping”, and it also has no material interest in doing so; the more power and control the Empire has, the more power and control the Assembly has; the less freedom the citizens have due to authoritarian “safety” measures implemented by the Crown, the safer the Assembly itself becomes to pursue it’s morally dubious work and experimentation.

The same goes with Silicon Valley and the various tech companies that fall under its ethos. They will expound continually on the necessary freedom from government control they must have to truly change the world in the ways they think are best, but the primary source of money for most of these companies are governments. They either primarily contract with governments for most of their actual profits or to use its already established infrastructure, as is the case with Amazon, or depend heavily on publicly funded research for their innovations, which is everyone from Apple to Google to Microsoft and dozens and dozens of smaller companies besides. They then even get to patent these publicly funded innovations and hold a monopolized stranglehold on their use. This is not even to mention the starter capital necessary to form many of these companies in the first place itself was provided by governments, with the rather, shall we say “morally questionable” Kingdom of Saudi Arabia being among the top contributors to such start ups.

Even when either of these groups claim to be self-made, it’s all bullshit. So many of our famous tech overlords that supposedly built themselves from nothing started at the upper reaches of society, with more than enough capital and connections to insure they were never at any real risk of failing in the first place. Most even went to the same elite institutions of learning that provide the vast majority of the political leadership of the United States, institutions they had access to due to their wealth and familial connections, not their brains. Elon Musk’s family owned an emerald mine in Zambia for God’s sake, one his family would have never owned without the British Empire being a thing.

The same can be said for the Assembly. The upper classes of the Dwendalian Empire are lousy with mages and magic users. If they don’t have a place to climb among the nobility, they work for the Assembly, and hope to climb there. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the only poorer mage recruits we know anything real about all were sucked up into the service of the Scourgers, one of the few arms of the Assembly known to regularly interact with societies lower reaches and not so positively at that, and had their familial identities obliterated in the process. Both of these groups are of the upper reaches of society and serve the upper reaches of society, and we should never think anything less.

And this brings us to the ideological framework both of these groups think with. They are both full to the brim with people who are individualists to the extreme. They all believe they are singular actors in the great tapestry of history, who got where they are by hard work and dedication, and anyone who isn’t there just didn’t do enough. The folks living in the tent city outside Zadash? lazy layabouts who simply have not applied their mind to be something greater, or perhaps their veins are just full of bad blood. Poor former factory workers in Detroit whose jobs have been moved to places where labor laws are weaker and wages are lower? If they’d only taken their education more seriously, they could be where I am! Or maybe they just never tried to be an Uber driver or delivering for Grubhub, because that’s how you really pull yourself out of poverty.

Meanwhile, most of the groups consist of people who have never once known real adversity and certainly not the hardship of poverty nor the lack of social and political power that position entails. They are blinded to the reality of most people in the world outside their rather small one, and thus have no understanding of the material hardship that most people experience during their everyday life.

You see this most clearer in the manner in which they try to solve what they see as societies great problems, with no clear thought put into the consequences of these particular solutions. In our world, this is particularly obvious. Uber is painted as an innovative means of transportation on a budget, when in reality it’s just a fleet of untrained, underpaid, non-unionized taxi drivers using their own personal vehicles at their own expense. Elon Musk is seen as this super genius when his solution to LA traffic wasn’t a more robust public transportation system or slowly reconstructing the city to be more pedestrian friendly, but instead to build a massive network of single car elevators under the city to zip cars to key hot spots faster in a manner people less anxious than me would still call risky at best. I mean most of these people think the key to ending poverty is teaching people to code or giving them STEM education, even when in a capitalist economy the only thing a sudden flooding of new coders and STEM educated folks would insure is that the jobs that require those skills will see a sudden massive drop in pay and benefits as the pool of prospective employees becomes over-saturated and individual workers no longer have any bargaining power to protect their once rare jobs. You already see this in animation and video game design, and you’ll certainly see it elsewhere.

For the Assembly, despite being praised as the brightest arcane minds of Wildmount, seem to get most of their ideas either by stealing them from others or digging them up out of the ground. But this is just the nature of empire; it’s always easier for an empire to consume than it is to create. So as little as they think of the Dynasty, they are eager to steal every little bit of knowledge they’ve discovered about Dunamis, and without the faith and moral sense the Luxon-based religion imposes, they will never be forced to put the use of this rare and dangerous magic into perspective. Imagine what harm they can cause with gravity and time magic when they don’t have that religious pressure to consider the value of life and choice. But this makes sense when their main sources of inspiration are the wizards of the Age Of Arcana; you know, the wizards whose hubris nearly destroyed the entire world and spurred an apocalyptic war that sent society into a dark age in which the gods themselves abandoned them? A+ inspiration material if you ask me.

Even the culture of these two groups in regards to how they regulate themselves is so eerily similar. Think of Delilah Briarwood. Member in good standing of the Cerberus Assembly. Also, worshipper of Vecna and talented necromancer. Only expelled from the Assembly after involvement from the Cobalt Soul, even when you know every other member of the Assembly almost certainly had loads of information on this lady.

It just makes me think of all the weird, right-wingers and Nazis who occasionally get expelled from the heights of Silicon Valley whenever some journalist exposes them, and how quickly their colleagues are to condemn them even when so many of them either knew this person was this way well before they were exposed or actively agreed with them and still do. I mean, think of how protected Bill Gates is, because of how much his philanthropist image has served to insulate and protect the gross consolidation of wealth and power in the hands of so few, even when his fortune was built on stolen ideas, military funding and research, and a hardcore software monopoly for well over a decade or two. Also, his philanthropy has done nothing to help African people build their own institutions of power independent of European and American influence, and have help distract us from the damage really caused to the entire continent by earlier colonialism and later capitalist imperialism.

This is to say as bad as our world is, I now definitely don’t want to live in Wildemount. I don’t want to live a world where Mark Zukerberg can cast Disintegrate. Not ideal. I guess I’ll just have to work that much harder to fix this one and not depend on learning Dunamancy to just put us on a different path. Bummer.

#Critical Role #Cerberus Assembly #Dwendalian Empire

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foyil420-blog · 1 year

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The Biggest Misconception in Online Marketing

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financialsecrets · 1 year

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The Biggest Misconception in Online Marketing

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vaire-gwir · 3 years

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What’s the dumbest reason u haven’t been hired?Mine’s “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend”

I thought I’d be sadder but I’m still mostly only angry, which is better. The story is, I applied for a position in the literature department of a private school. I don’t entirely understand why they need to check social media profiles, but all things considered I’m willing to let that slide. I don’t get it, cause it’s not like I’m going to let my students add me on Instagram anyway, I mean I’m dumb but not that much.

Anyway, on my Instagram there is a very old (2016/17) picture of me with my girlfriend. I never deleted from my feed, why? Who knows, I didn’t even remember it was there, we broke up years ago 🤷‍♀️ that’s not the point.

Before I left, the headmaster that interviewed me felt compelled to add: “I’m really sorry, you have great references.” And he tried extra hard to make it look like the problem was that they were looking for someone <younger>, without family ties and the possibility to travel freely. (It happens a lot in my county, especially to a woman). Now, everyone knows I’m not really 900 years old as I keep saying I am, so I doubt age and family were the real issue here. But that comment made me see red.

Yes asshole, I know I have great references, I have worked for people who were more focused on my knowledge of the subject rather than who I was kissing, thank fuck for that. But still, my good references were not enough for you. Because apparently he claimed private schools are under a lot of scrutiny and the personal image of whoever works there has to be spotless, otherwise it is a risk for their numerous sponsorships. Nothing of what employees say or do can leave room for doubts, and I quote “about what kind of education we’re providing for our students”. Sure, go with that one, why don’t you. Never heard of it before.

I was so done with job hunting, I thought they were going to hire me cause I passed all the previous screenings 😩😩 and I liked the idea of working there, it was a full year contract, almost granted renewal.

Maybe I’m just overreacting, I don’t know.

#personal post #rant #bisexual problems #thanks for coming to my rant I will delete it as soon as my depression comes back to visit #I’m not entirely sure it can be considered nomofobia but it sounds a lot like discrimination #is it the homophobia or the misogyny that bothers me more?#maybe i’m overreacting #it’s very likely knowing me #maybe I’m just upset #lgbtq

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rachelbethhines · 4 years

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Tangled Salt Marathon - Happiness Is

This is possibly my favorite episode of season two. Yet, it is also the point the where the series starts to fall off a cliff. Only that’s not something that you would realize upon a first watch; just in hindsight and only with some basic knowledge of the behind the scenes drama that led to this and the fall out with the fandom that followed afterwards.

Summary: Rapunzel begins to feel homesick for Corona when she finds an old letter written by her father in one of the many lanterns sent from her previous birthdays. In attempts to uplift her spirits, Rapunzel explores the island and comes across a magical idol that brings instant happiness to whomever possesses it. Rapunzel begins to hallucinate her family and friends back in Corona and soon shares the idol with the rest of the group. However, everyone starts to become obsessive over the idol, desperately wanting it for themselves. Rapunzel tricks everyone into giving her the idol, but when the Lorbs try to help Rapunzel, they fall under the idol's control and soon begin to terrorize the village.

Let’s Start with the First Elephant in the Room; Frederic

So throughout the episode Rapunzel is struggling with being homesick. Which is fair enough, that’s an understable reaction to being on the road for months by now. However, to showcase this Rapunzel keeps seeing hallucinations of her father. There are some other characters too, but her dad is the first person she sees and the only one in Corona with speaking lines. He’s the one to tempt her with the idol.

Did we just forget that Frederic is her abuser?

Look, even if you accept his apology in Secret of the Sundrop and believe he has learned his lesson, that doesn’t just erase the pain he caused her. Her thoughts about her father should be more realistically complex then this. Now add in how she makes a such a clean break from her other abuser, Gothel, but still holds him on a pedestal shows a disturbing bias on the part of the writers.

Also where’s this love for Arianna? You know the only real mother on the show? The show that’s aimed at little girls? The one parent who hasn’t flat out abused the main character yet?

Seriously, Chris, what the fuck?

This is a Missed Opportunity

So part of the reason why I like this episode is that we get insights into each of the characters and their desires. As such this is one of the few episodes where the group actual feels like a group friends. However, Cass’s vision is wasted here.

So at first glance this seems to aline with what we know of the character thus far. She loves her dad and wishes to impress him. That’s only if you take season one into account, though. Later episodes will contradict this goal. If you wanted to set up praise and validation in general as Cassandra’s motives, then here is where that should have happened.

Show her getting a medal, have cheering crowds surround her, have her be a hero, or something. You can’t claim her relationship with her parents as the driving force of behind her later actions if you don’t actually involve one of those parents as part of the resolution to her arc.

Either she lacking attention from her dad or she’s jealous of Rapunzel. You can’t have it be both because those two things don’t intersect. Rapunzel is not and never was a threat to her relationship with her father.

So Umm...I Don’t Think This Plot Point Has the Impact That the Writers Think It Does

So this hilarious, and it is intended to be funny, but it’s not for the reasons that the show gives.

The idea is that this is some shocking revelation. That Rapunzel would never do this under normal circumstances and it’s a hint that the idol is corrupting her.

Only the rest of the series doesn’t aline with that at all. This is just the real Rapunzel behaving as the she normally would but without the usual veneer of excuses.

It’s funny because it’s the show calling out Rapunzel hypocrisy for what it is plainly, not because it’s out of character.

But funny only gets you so far. The show is perfectly happy to play up Rapunzel’s awfulness for laughs, but then conventily ignore it when it comes time for the characters themselves to call her out on it so that she can grow and learn.

The show runs under the sitcom idea that comedy excuses all sins; which then backfires horribly when it tries to be serious and mature.

You can’t joke that the king threw a random person in a stockade for little reason and then expect us to still like him when he persecutes a child. Same applies here.

The sitcom set up only works when there is minimal at stake and all parties involved are equally awful in their own ways.

Then Why Not Just Go Home?

Once again, there’s nothing at stake in season two. Rapunzel has no real reason to be on this trip. Nothing is stopping her from just going home if that’s what she wants. The idol only makes her happy because it shows her want she wants, but she could actually have what she wants as soon as the next ship arrives. So what’s the issue here?

This is why you need external conflict in order to make internal conflicts work. There’s has to be something preventing the main character from achieving her goal or otherwise she just comes across as a dumbass.

And Now Here Comes the Second Elephant; Varian

I have several things to talk about here, and none of them actually concern the scene itself but the creator’s treatment of the character and the show’s fan base.

For you see, Chris did a very, very stupid thing.

He wrote the character driving the plot out of the show. The character who also happens to be the most popular person in the series. Only to then use said character’s VA and this one cameo as promotion for this whole season.

Needless to say, fans were disappointed.

However, the Tangled fandom is exceedingly polite; more so than most. The lack of Varian was met mostly with confusion, and maybe a few off handed jokes, rather than anger. When opportunity arose people naturally had questions concerning the character.

And that’s when Chris put his foot in mouth.

This Tumblr post details how Chris got kicked off the Tangled The Series Discord by bullying a bunch of Varian fans while on there.

https://starxapple.tumblr.com/post/617852117763391488/zhantiri-uuugh-fine-since-people-are-getting

I shan’t get into it fully, but for those who discovered the show after season two had aired, this caused a massive backlash from the fandom.

A good chunk of the fandom just walked away, and rightly so. The few that stuck around despite these remarks found themselves harassed by certain sections of the fandom who saw Chris’s bullying as permission to pursue the same behavior. However, most importantly, the ratings plummeted.

Season one hovered around the the 1 million mark, give or take a five point difference. The first part of season two dropped to half of that, and after this episode and the hiatus it sunk even lower, down to the mid-thirties. That’s over 20,000 people who just jumped ship over this. That’s not a normal decline.

No matter what your personal feelings are of the character of Varian or how he was handled in the show, that’s still a massive PR fassico that cost the series big time.

To add to this mountain of bullshit, there was also a massive walk out of crew members after season one had finished production. Most of them women. They even desperately threw out ‘we’re hiring’ calls to cover this. Which given that’s it’s Disney and that nepotism is usually how one gains employment in the entertainment industry, something unusual must have happened behind the scenes. Especially if most of the people who left were women.

We’ll probably never know what really happened. People don't usually talk about behind the scenes stuff like that due to contracts and the aforementioned nepotism. However, all clues point to Varian.

Something changed at the last minute concerning his story. Chris himself had confirmed as much when discussing the note and the Brotherhood. We also gotten other hints that content was edited out at the last minute. Plus the writing becomes more shoddy as the series goes along, showing how slapped dashed everything is together.

Then there’s the rumors.

I must stress to you that this is only a rumor. As pointed out earlier, most animators aren’t in a position to talk freely about what goes on behind the scenes. Do NOT harass them over it or make things awkward by asking them to clarify this. However it’s been suggested that the female crew warned Chris that removing Varian from season two and re-writing his story, along with making Cass the villain, would be a bad idea before they left and Chris didn’t listen. Much to his folly.

Chris is no longer a Disney employee and has yet to move on to any other projects. He says he left, but I more suspect that Disney just didn't renew his contract and no one has picked him up since. I take no joy in the idea that someone may have lost their job, but if true, then Chris has little to blame but himself.

So What Did Change?

We don't know anything for sure. We know from discussions about the note that there was a proposed Brotherhood plot that involved Varian that was then cut. There was also talks about a Cass and Varian team up in season three.

This was then changed to the Saporian take over, which is foreshadowed in this scene. However even that got edited down and under the flimsiest of excuses.

One of the writers, Ricky, suggested that they thought cutting back to Corona would be too confusing for the audience; which is a load of bull. I mean how poorly do you think of your audience’s comprehension skills that they wouldn’t understand a change of scene or a flashback? Yet you fully expect them to pick up on your lazy foreshadowing involving the mirror? So much so that you sent them on a quest to find it between seasons two and three.

Then there’s this gem from Chris.

Ok ignoring the fact that you so totally could have featured both Gothel and Varian, seeing as they serve two different functions in the story and mean different things to Rapunzel.... What guilt?!!!

Rapunzel doesn’t ever act guilty over anything involving her treatment of Varian.

That’s when you realize Chris isn’t talking about her feeling guilty about Varian’s predicament. He’s saying that Rapunzel feels guilty of leaving her father behind with this ‘dangerous’ criminal. Which is a big fuck you to everyone.

That’s why Frederic is the center focus of Rapunzel’s hallucinations. Why she’s more concerned for his safety over Varian’s trauma. Chris really be out here trying to use the abused 14/15 year old orphan as a scapegoat for the grown ass dictator who ruined countless lives. Because he thinks a grown woman should feel guilty for leaving her abusive father behind and pursuing her life’s dream.

Dude, I try not to assume the worst of people just cause they write fictional characters that I dislike, but Chris really makes things hard not to when he treats his self insert this way.

Oh but we’re not done yet.

When Varian Fans Complain About the Lack of Varian; We’re Complaining About the Lack of a Coherent Plot.

Certain sections of the fandom, bolstered by Chris’s BS, try to act like simply being a Varian fan is grounds for dismissal of any criticism of the show and it’s writing. As if having personal preference for something makes you automatically ‘entitled’ or some such bull. Yet doing so ignores the fundamental complaint that they are making.

We’re not whining about our favorite character not getting enough screen time. No one would have complained about his lack of presence in season two if they had properly resolved his story in season three and had Chris not been a dick to the fans. But it becomes evidently clear as the series goes along that removing Varian left a major hole in the plot. One that makes the entire story and the rest of characters suffer as well.

Think season two is boring? That’s cause they cut out their main villain at the last minute and failed to replace him with anything.

Upset that Hookfoot was brought along for zero reason? He’s the replacement character for Varian who no doubt was going to appear in season two originally.

Wish there was more on the Brotherhood and the Dark Kingdom? Their story impact was greatly reduced when Varian was written out.

Are you a Eugene fan and mad about how the Dark Prince plot went nowhere? That’s cause the original Brotherhood/Dark Kingdom plot was dropped when Varian was.

Dislike how Cassandra’s character was ruined with her villain arc? She was originally meant to be possessed but was changed last minute to be a Varian rip-off in the hopes that she would gain some of his popularity.

Wish Zhan Tiri, Demantius, and the Disciples actually went somewhere and that ZT had coherent plan? That plot were changed last minute to make Zhan Tiri a scapegoat for Cassandra now that her story was changed to replace Varian.

And of course let’s not ignore the character who suffers the most from lack of Varian.... Rapunzel.

Chris’s defense for leaving Varian out of S2 is that it’s “Rapunzel’s Story” and that Varian was only ever a plot device meant to push her along on her quest. Which means that Rapunzel no longer has anyone pushing her along on her quest!!!

All characters are plot devices. If they aren’t there to serve a story function then they need to be cut. Even Rapunzel herself serves a plot function. She’s meant to be the protagonist of a coming of age story. Which means she needs both an external conflict to face and an emotional arc where she grows as a person. Varian is the plot device that serves both of those functions but he’s now been removed and is no longer allowed to serve his original purpose.

Chris reached into the machine while it was running and pulled out one of the main gears and acted like he always meant to do that. He legit sat there and pretended that everything was running smoothly even as smoke poured out and warring alarms blared. He then tried to shove bubble gum in its place hoping no one would notice as everything fell apart around him.

Cause he’s the thing; no idea is without merit. It’s all about presentation. Removing Varian from season three still could have worked, but it required A.) replacing him with another foe and B.) making sure his arc still got a proper conclusion.

I’ll talk more about Varian’s half-arsed redemption when we get to it; but for now let's focus on the more immediate problem. No one thought to give season two an actual overarching conflict in light of Varian’s absence.

That’s a fundamental oversight that pretty much signals that season two was re-written at the last minute. You have an overarching plot in an action adventure show but no main adversary? I refuse to believe that everyone involved was too stupid to do that on purpose; but if they were rushed and lacked a crew because they walked out due to last minute story changes....yeah that’d I buy.

Because there’s more than enough options to go around; Lady Caine, The Baron and Styalan, Hector and/or Adria, Zhan Tiri’s Disciples ect. were all options. So was keeping the rocks a threat, or have Cass start her villian arc earlier; with proper motivation this time. They could have even come up with someone entirely new.

You had over four years to plan this shit out; why is it not more well put together?!

How Come Rapunzel Can Easily Admit Fault to Pascal But Not Anyone Else?

Pascal should have sat perched on Varian’s and Eugene’s shoulders giving Rapunzel ‘I’m done with this’ looks all throughout season three. It’s apparently the only thing that she responds to.

Why is the untalkative camelanion the only one allowed to call out the main character’s BS without going villain?

Conclusion

That’s all there really is to talk about in this story. The actual episode itself is good. It’s the behind the scenes crap that bubbles underneath its surface that needed to be discussed. That way when going forward with the marathon you’ll better see what I’m talking about when I explain how future episode suffered from the lack of planning and foresight.

#Varian #tangled #anti-tangled #anti-rapunzel #cassandra #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #tts #rta #king frederic

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