#i gave up on participating this week like 4 separate times but i figured posting a half-finished idea was better than not posting at all! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

klanceficatalogue · 4 years

Text

Klance Fic Starter Pack

So back in June of 2018 I made a Klance Fic Starter Pack post but since it’s been a long while since then I decided it’s finally time for an update. So here we have it! - Karri

so why don’t we fall by aknightley (1/1 | 8,218 | Explicit)

Five times Lance used a pet name for Keith, and one time Keith used one for Lance.

Keith has no basis for having a relationship with someone, so he's trying to follow Lance's lead.

//nsfw

The Marks We Make by wittyy_name (12/12 | 255,302 | Mature)

Lance McClain constantly dreams of the day he'll finally meet his mysterious soulmate. They don't say much, if anything at all, but they leave him with gorgeous paintings temporarily tattooing his skin. It's not exactly the situation he hoped for, but when he feels the connection between them, he can't bring himself to resent them. As much as he wishes his soulmate would just talk to him, he's resigned himself to being patient. In the meantime, he has a loving family and good friends to help him get by.

Keith Kogane dreads the day he'll finally meet his obnoxious soulmate. He's just an art student who's struggling to find his place in the world. There's so much he hasn't been able to control in his life, and the thought of having a soulmate, just another thing in his life which he also has no control over yet can't do anything about, is a little terrifying. So he ignores the words that occasionally appear on his skin. He has other things to focus on: like being a new student at a big university where his childhood friend and step-brother go.

//nsfw

(shallura, hunk/shay)

Nightmares by Trashness (1/1 | 14,864 | Teen And Up)

Lance's nightmares are getting out of control. It's effecting his and the team's performance, but he's at a loss for how to fix this.

Apparently sleeping next to a warm body helps.

call me, beep me (10/10 | 85,591 | General)

(00:31) Do you think she gave me the wrong number on purpose? (00:31) Or was it a genuine mistake? (00:32) Like maybe she writes funny and I misread it? (00:32) Some of the numbers do look a little dodgy... (00:33) Cause, you know, her threes could very easily be poorly formed eights? And maybe she writes her sevens like her ones? (00:45) What (00:46) The (00:46) Fuck??? (00:47) Oh good, you are awake!

where lance messages the wrong number and things kind of snowball from there

(shallura)

Shut Up and Dance With Me by wittyy_name (15/15 | 249,827 | Mature)

Lance and his friends have been regulars at the Altea Dance Studio for years. Not just for classes, but to hang out, practice, and spend time with good people who love dancing. Every year, they audition to be one of the few representing Altea at the regional dance competition. Lance always auditions solo, but this year he misses out on auditions and blows his chance to participate. And so does his self-proclaimed rival, Keith.

Luckily, Shiro comes up with a brilliant plan: convince Lance and Keith to audition as a duo.

With a little convincing, and a lot of effort, these two might just be able to pull it off and go to regionals... or they might crash and burn.

//nsfw

(shallura)

Hearts Don’t Break Around Here by klancekorner (13/13 | 135,555 | Mature)

Lance and Keith have been best friends since first grade. Lance’s brain is always on overdrive and Keith’s blunt, realistic ass can never keep up. They both come to realize that sometimes you can learn a lot about loving yourself by loving someone else.

//anxiety //insecurities //nsfw

i bet you look good on the dancefloor by xShieru (7/7 | 43,295 | Teen And Up)

"So like in 'Step Up'?" Allura shrugs. "Now that you put it like that - yes. I guess it's just like in 'Step Up'." The smile that she sends Shiro's way - followed by a shy wave, eugh - is sickening to say the least, and Lance still doesn't believe in dance camps.

Lance McClain's dancing career begins and ends with Keith.

Keith just wants to find out what Lance's deal is.

(shallura)

you never stood a chance by kagshina (1/1 | 12,221 | Teen And Up)

lance to hunk ♡ >i’m gonna fukin die hunk oh mygod i sent >keith a work out selfie that i wan supposed to fcukin send to you and you know what it said >”BET YOU WANNA LICK THESE NIPS” >HUNK I WILL NEVE BE ABLE TO FCE HIM AGAIN I WANT TO DI E

(Or, Keith is beautiful, Lance has a crush, and there's lots of shirtless selfies)

nothing’s quite as sweet by dimpleforyourthoughts (1/1 | 50,369 | Teen And Up)

Keith is a barista who hates his job. Lance works at the cat shelter across the street.

Sweet Quiznak by CheckeredCloth (4/4 | 6,819 | Teen And Up)

"You're really into him," Hunk mutters, and wow, Lance's face is on fire. Hunk is killing him.

"Look, read into how you like, Freud, just make sure that if I die Keith knows I totally would've mowed his ass like grass. That way, I can laugh hysterically at his emotionally-constipated expression from the afterlife."

Or: Lance is badly injured and has a few skeletons in his closet. Or maybe just the one.

//blood //injury

What a Healing Pod Can’t Repair by Remember_Me (12/12 | 55,777 | Teen And Up)

The compromised wormhole was ripping apart at the seams, sending everyone spiraling away in completely different directions. Lance could feel himself being pulled and bent in ways he was definitely not supposed to be. -- Stitching the team back together after everyone is separated is difficult, and for one Paladin rescue wouldn't be coming for a very long time.

//violence //blood

Bonding Time by magisterpavus (1/1 | 16,416 | Explicit)

“Shiro, I fucked up,” Keith blurted, wringing his hands.

Shiro paused mid-punch, shooting him a quizzical look. “What? What happened?”

“I think,” Keith whispered, “I think I accidentally roofied Lance. With my dick.”

//nsfw

Homesick at Space Camp by K0bot (15/15 | 74,280 | Teen And Up)

Lance realizes he's been an asshole to Keith, and on a diplomatic mission to a key planet for the Voltron alliance he... overcompensates.

//blood //injuries //panic attacks

we’ll make it, you and me by ghostcribs (1/1 | 6,421 | Teen And Up)

"Keith, if we make it out of this alive, I'm going to kiss you."

//injury

time out of mind by aknightley (2/2 | 27,849 | Teen And Up)

Keith and Lance wake up married. In the future.

He lays there a moment, processing the faint throbbing in his head, a strange bitter taste like lemons in his mouth. When he opens his eyes, the room spins wildly into a kaleidoscope of colors, so he closes them again, breathing in and out until he feels less like he might throw up. He suddenly registers a warm weight over his waist, and lifts his head to see a brown arm thrown over him. It looks startlingly familiar, but different, bigger than he remembers, more toned.

Keith turns all the way around and comes face to face with Lance sleepily blinking his own eyes open.

A Fish And A Bird by Methoxyethane (1/1 | 13,141 | Teen And Up)

Lance has a boyfriend. Lance does not realize he has a boyfriend. Keith, understandably, does not react well.

On Thin Ice by anonimina (11/11 | 205,795 | Mature)

This multi-chapter fic chronicles the lives of a hockey player named Keith who gets enlisted into figure skating lessons by his brother, Shiro, to "work on his footwork". There he meets a pompous - yet talented - figure skater named Lance and gets swept away by both the sport and the skater.

Or: the not-so-simple story of two people trying to navigate the complexities of living in an ever changing world and face the traumas they've buried far away from the sunlight.

//anxiety

(shallura, hunk/shay)

bench press me by eggboi (1/1 | 1,683 | Teen And Up)

“The hell are you doing?” Keith grumbles out, body mid-push up. There’s a snicker behind him, too close to his ears, though Keith can’t really understand what would be so amusing about this. Then again, he’s not really sure why Lance is lying on him while he’s doing push ups either. Other than to be, of course, annoying.

“Nothing.” Lance finally says. Keith hears the grin in his voice, which only proves to irritate him a little more. ‘Nothing’ his ass. “Continue with what you’re doing, Mr. ‘I’m-Too-Good-For-Socialization’.”

(Lance, as always, tries to annoy Keith by making his exercise harder. It doesn’t work. At all.)

My Youth Is Yours by MilkTeaMiku (10/10 | 29,980 | General)

An unforseen blast in the middle of a battle de-ages Lance into a child for a week.

Keith does not understand babies.

#klance #voltron #vld #klance fic #klance fics #voltron fic #voltron fics #vld fic #vld fics #klance starter pack #klance fic starter pack

497 notes · View notes

historyofshipping · 4 years

Text

My massive Bellarke is epic and here’s proof from s5-7 rant.

Ok guys I cannot stress enough that I am drunk, this is long, it has strong language, and it’s a trip. I am putting it almost all under a cut because it is 20 f*ing pages on word.

For reference: this was on a discord chat and I am removing all names and a few other things but there will be absolutely no editing. Anything in straight text is me, anything in italics is someone else (there’s several different someone elses so people are separated by line breaks). On my page I think it appears as everything grey is someone else, everything black is me. I’m going to put the beginning on here and rest under the cut. If you’re still going through with this, I suggest some popcorn.

Guys... I'm trying to stay optimistic but I'm really worried that jroth is gonna make bellarke canon in a really disappointing way. Like for me infidelity is a huge no in ships and I hate that becho has gone on so long that there doesn't seem to be a lot of room left in the canon timeline for a becho breakup/end that doesn't ruin the start of Bellarke for me

WAIT I GOT YOU I CAN CALM YOU I THINK BUT FIRST I NEED TO EAT MY BREADSTICKS

Every moment Echo is on the screen I want to claw my eyes out because she's so boring please jroth let it fucking end, but the feminist in me doesn't want her to die or be disrespected just because she's a callous asshole who doesn't deserve him yknow

Eat your breadsticks babe I've been living with my dread for 2 seasons I can hang on a little longer I just wish the entire becho relationship had never happened it's a blight and it's gone on so long adenfkidsngksdgnksdgn

Kate will say it better than I will, but don't lose hope! Becho hasn't really been together on screen for very long. It's only been like a few weeks to a month since the beginning of S5. They've stretched it out over two seasons, but in canon not much time has passed. And most of that time had Bellamy either sacrificing almost 300 lives to save Clarke, poisoning his sister to save Clarke, or fucking off into the wilderness with Josephine to save Clarke. They've just straight up not had enough time for Bellamy to be like, "Hey Echo, I know I said things wouldn't change but that was before my wife was actually alive, so bye." Though to wishing Becho had just never happened. We got one good angst scene with Clarke seeing them kiss. But otherwise, I could have very much done without their whole relationship.

they gave me 2 dozen breadsticks. i ordered 6

You've been blessed by the breadstick goddess.

oh sorry i was misinformed. i only have 22. apparently one bag only had 4 OK SO BELLARKE BITCHES AM I GOING TO ANNOYINGLY DO THIS IN CAPS SO BUCKLE TF UP

I mean, I love the idea that they only got together in the sixth year on the ring when Bellamy totally lost hope but is that canon? I thought we had a 3 year range

ALL RIGHT

We ignore canon in this channel. lol They've been together for 3 months.

SO LET'S START AT THE BEGINNING OF BECHO ok caps off. i even annoyed myself

I'm so here for this.

https://tenor.com/view/murder-she-wrote-angela-lansbury-jessica-eats-popcorn-interested-gif-4594942

Damn, I was ready for caps.

OK WE'RE BACK TO CAPS

https://giphy.com/gifs/popcorn-go-on-keep-going-Zd1BUb0qs6nwjeMUBu

OK SO WE HAVE BECHO'S FIRST SCENE TOGETHER ANYONE REMEMBER WHAT BELLAMY SAID? ANYONE? THIS REQUIRES AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

"Hey work with me so I can break everyone out of this mountain"? or something?

OH DAMN I MEANT WHEN THEY WERE CANONICALLY TOGETHER XP

"I'm a goddamn delight who's trying to save your life you ungrateful walnut so maybe don't spit in my face" is what I would have written

LMFAO OJN THE RING WHAT'S THE FIRST THING WE HEAR FROM THEM? THE FIRST IMPORTANT THING? ANYONE?

Unfortunately that scene was physically repulsive for me so I don't remember much except for "nothing will change on the ground and my sister totally didn't mean to murder you"

AHA! THERE YA GO NOTHING WILL CHANGE ON TEH GROUND BECAUSE WHAT IS HE EXPECTING ON THE GROUND? NOTHING TO CHANGE BECAUSE THE ONLY THING THAT COULD CHANGE IS -----

>"I'm a goddamn delight who's trying to save your life you ungrateful walnut so maybe don't spit in my face" is what I would have written I SPIT OUT MY DRINK I CANNOT

ANYONE? YUP

I'm behind. lol

CLARKE

AND THEN WE GOT TO THE GROUND, WHAT HAPPENED?

BEING ALIVE

His sister having more taste in his romantic partners than him?

WHAT WAS THE LITERAL ONE THING THAT COULD HAPPEN THAT WOULD CHANGE BELLAMY'S MIND DING DING DING CLARKE IS ALIVE

10 points to

AND WHAT DOES OUR BABY BOY DO?

SACRIFICE 300 PEEPS FOR HIS WIFE

Clarke with a gun AND a kid AND a rover AND bedtime storytelling practice like what more could he want that's all the things he loves

A LITTLE AHEAD BUT BANG

BABY BOY FOLLOWS CLARKS DAUGHTER FIRST, LEAVING ECHO IN THE LITERAL DUST (that's what he does before sacrificing lives)

WE WENT FROM "I WILL NOT TOUCH THESE PEOPLE BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO DO BETTER." TO "I WILL SLAUGHTER 283 PEOPLE WITHOUT RAISING AN EYEBROW" BECAUSE RANDOM CHILD SHOWS UP AND SAYS "CLARKE'S IN TROUBLE" RANDOM CHILD WHO HAS JUST KILLED A BUNCH OF HARDENED CRIMINALS

He had the dad mug tho, he had to help her

HE SAW HIMSELF IN HER HE KNEW

HIS SOUL KNEW

SO WE'RE THERE NOW BUT THEN BANG, WE'RE ON THE GROUND AND OH FUCK I FORGOT I HAD A GIRLFRIEND BUT BELLAMY IS LOYAL SO HE SURE AF ISN'T DOING ANYTHING UNTIL HE'S DONE WITH ECHO BUT

He's had 2 seasons!!!!!

CLARKE BASICALLY ACTS LIKE SHE DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THE SEPARATION THOU SHALT NOT POKE HOLES IN MY SHIT UNTIL I AM DONE

>He's had 2 seasons!!!!! But only like a few weeks in time.

BECAUSE THESE TWO FUCK HEADS CANNOT HAVE A CONVERSATION

Forgive me!

SO WE HAVE A GRAND TOTAL OF FEWER THAN 3 WEEKS THAT THEY'RE ON THE GROUND AND THEN IN THAT TIME WE HAD.... one sec pPLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO REVIEW THE TIMELINE https://historyofbellarke.tumblr.com/post/620425806742749184/season-5-7x03-so-far-timeline FOR SEASON 5 ALL RIGHT SO WE HAVE THEM TOGETHER FOR LESS THAN A WEEK BEFORE BELLAMY'S LIKE (FROM CLARKE'S PERSPECTIVE) "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOUR KID, I HAVE TO SAVE MY FAMILY" SO THEN WE HAVE THEM SPEND THE NEXT 10 DAYS APART BECAUSE SHE LEFT HIM AFTER SLAPPING HIM AND SHE THOUGHT HE DIED BECAUSE THEY ARE FUCKING MORONS WHO CAN'T HAVE A CONVERSATION (YOU WILL NOTICE A RECURRING THEME) AND THEN, ECHO HAS LEARNED THAT NOT ONLY HAS CLARKE CARED ABOUT BELLAMY ALL THIS TIME BUT THAT SHE'S ONCE AGAIN READY TO PUT THE FATE OF HUAMNITIY ON THE LINE TO SAVE HIM "GO SAVE HIM. EVEN TAKE MURDER!DAUGHTER WITH YOU" BUT BELLAMY STILL DOESN'T KNOW THIS SO ANYWAY WE HAVE ANGST!BELLAMY GET PARENT TRAPPED BY MURDER!DAUGHTER are y'all still with me? AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED IMMEDIATELY AFTER MURDER!DAUGHTER'S INTERVENTION?

BELLARKE FORGIVENESS ™

YAS NOT ONLY THAT BUT SOFT!BELLARKE RETURNS WITH A VENGEANCE [side note: you can pry this theory from my cold dead hands but there was 100% a canon bellarke scene between forgiveness and 125 year wake up just in case they ended at season 5.]

[I need them to publish that scene when this is all over]

ALL RIGHT SO FUCKING MARPER - WHO SPENT A TOTAL OF LIKE 4 MONTHS WITH CLARKE BUT 6 YEARS WITH THEIR FAMILY- DECIDED TO WAKE UP BELLARKE TO TALK TO AND GIVE GUARDIANSHIP TO AND WHY DID THEY DO THAT?

THEY BEEN KNEW

I'LL ACCEPT IT

OK SO WE GET THIS PROMISING FUTURE TOGETHER ON THIS NEW PLANET RIGHT?

WRONG MURDER POLLEN

OK BUT TECHNICALLY BECHO IS STILL TOGETHER. NO PROBLEM - WE NEED TO FIGURE OUR SHIT OUT AND THEN WE'LL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO HAVE PEACE AND GET TOGETHER OK SO I'M JUST GOING TO START SAYING "CHORUS" WHEN I MEAN "BECAUSE THESE TWO DUMBASSES CAN'T TALK TO EACH OTHER" IS CHORUS THE RIGHT WORD? OR IS IT REFRAIN? WHATEVER ONE REPEATS - THAT ONE ALL RIGHT SO WE HAVE THEM GOING INTO THE VILLAGE AND EVERY TIME THERE IS DANGER, BELLAMY GOES IMMEDIATELY TO CLARKE WHEN IT'S PEACEFUL, OPE IT'S BACK TO ECHO

(like the husband he is)

I HAVE A WHOLE META ABOUT THAT IF YOU WANT IT BUT SO THEN THE FIRST TIME - LITERALLY THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE MARPER VIDEO - THAT THEY'RE ALONE, IT'S BECAUSE BELLAMY HAS SOUGHT HER OUT AND WHY DID BELLAMY SEEK HER OUT? Y'ALL I'M ONLY AT 6X01. I HAVE SO MUCH AMMUNITION BUT SOMEONE IS WELCOME TO SCREEN SHOT THIS SO THAT THE NEXT TIEM WE HAVE DOUBTS, I DON'T HAVE TO TYPE IT ALL OUT SO WHY DID BELLAMY SEEK HER OUT?

>Y'ALL I'M ONLY AT 6X01. I HAVE SO MUCH AMMUNITION @kate (historyofbellarke) "Give a position show me where the ammunition is" from My Shot just popped into my head lololol

WHY DID BELLAMY LEAVE HIS CANONICAL GIRLFRIEND TO GO SEEK OUT CLARKE?

BECAUSE HE LOVES HER AND ALSO BECAUSE THERE WAS DANGER

OK BUT WHY SPECIFICALLY NOOO WHEN CLARKE WAS IN THE SCHOOL

AND THE LAST TIME SHE WASN'T IN HIS SIGHT SHE ALMOST DIED

OK THAT TOO

Okay I'm lost at this point then.

LOL

Phone a friend.

Bc she sucks and Clarke's the best?

I'LL LET ---- CHIME IN LMFAO I LOVE YOU GUYS KNOW IT'S TO TELL HER THAT HE KNOWS ABOUT THE CALLS

OH THAT SCENE

HE KNOWS THAT SHE CALLED HIM EVERY DAY FOR 2,199 DAYS HE SOUGHT HER OUT, BY HERSELF, TO TELL HER THIS

YES YES

BUT BECAUSE CHORUS

WE'RE BACK THESE FUCK HEADS CAN'T HAVE A CONVERSATION

SHE GOT NERVOUS AND DUCKED OUT BECAUSE IT'S BEEN LESS THAN 3 WEEKS SINCE HE CAME BACK AND SHE'S OVERWHELMED BECAUSE HOLY FUCK WHAT A 3 WEEK PERIOD THAT WAS (REFER BACK TO TIMELINE AS NEEDED) ALL RIGHTY SO THEN AFTER THAT THEY FIND OUT ABOUT THE RED SUN WHICH BY THE WAY IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS BECAUSE HE CALLS OVER ECHO JUST TO PROMPTLY IGNORE HER COMPLETELY [AND BECAUSE IT'S ME, I HAVE A GIFSET FOR THAT] SORRY I GOT DISTRACTED

NO WE'RE HERE FOR THE GIFSET

I'M LOOKING OK IT'S PART OF THIS SO YOU GET A 2 FOR 1 https://historyofbellarke.tumblr.com/post/184827185143/bellarke-danger-vs-becho-safety OK NOW I FORGOT WERE I LEFT OFF OH YEAH IGNORING ECHO ALL RIGHT SO THEN WE HAVE EVERYTHING GO TO SHIT AND OF COURSE, BELLARKE LOCK THEMSELVES TOGETHER AND WE HAVE THE ANGST THE ANGST BUT THEY HAVE EACH OTHER'S KEYS

WHICH IS A MARRIED MOVE IF I EVER HEARD ONE

BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE KEY TO MY HEART, WHEREVER YOU ARE, I'LL KEEP YOU

That's a very comprehensive gifset

IF YOU DON'T KNOW THAT SONG THEN I FEEL OLD SO YOU HAVE THEM UNLOCKING EACH OTHER BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY ARE

I might drift in and out of conversation, partner wants attention but I wanna finish reading this asdfgh

AND HE'S LIKE "NAH ECHO, WIFEY AND I GOT THIS. WE GOTTA TAKE CARE OF OUR KIDS." TELL THEM TO WAIT THEIR TURN SO THEY'RE GOING LITERALLY PSYCHOTIC BUT THAT'S COOL. I TRUST THE OTHER ONE ENOUGH TO NOT KILL ME BUT OH WAIT - WHAT IS BELLAMY'S PSYCHOSIS ?

Not needing Clarke anymore...?

YUP WHICH MEAN S

He needed her and knew it at some point

YUP ALSO I FOUND THAT GIFSET THAT I IDD TO THAT SONG https://historyofbellarke.tumblr.com/post/184725894498/this-song-popped-into-my-head-and-i-had-to OK SO SKIPPING AHEAD, HIS BIGGEST SECRET IS THAT HE DOES STILL NEED HER OK EVEN I'M STARTED TO GET BORED SO I'LL GIVE BULLET POINTS FROM HERE ON OUT SO WE HAVE HIM NEEDING HER HIM CALLING HER THE LEADER EVEN THOUGH SHE HASN'T BEEN FOR LIKE 6 YEARS AND WE HAVE HIM PINING OVER HER AT THE DANCE FLOOR AND PICKING A FIGHT WITH ECHO OH YEAH AND WE SEE ALL THE BECHO CRACKS HERE

This has been a v good rundown, I won't lie.

LOL

ONWARD I'M BACK ON TRACK

WE HAVE JUXTAPOSED: ECHO NOT KNOWING WHAT TO SAY WITH REGARDS TO OBUT CLARKE KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY EVEN AFTER 6 YEARS

BECAUSE WIFEY

https://historyofbellarke.tumblr.com/post/618426948212965376/historyofbellarke-4-times-someone-knew-the-right

Really you'd think the spy would know what someone wants to hear smh

NAH BECAUSE SHE HAS NO EMOTIONAL EMPATHY. WE'LL GET TO THAT EVENTUALLY

She's also kinda a shit spy. Like when has she ever done actual spying.

Y'ALL I HAVE A GIF FOR EVERYTHING. I'M THE LIZ WARREN OF BELLARKE GIFS GIFSETS AT LEAST

You don't need empathy to fake it, Madison's right she's just such a bad spy :joy:

I'VE GOT NOTHING ON ---- FOR JUST GIFS LOLi

I say this as someone who was 10/10 a spy in a past life at least according to my recurring dreams about it1

OK SO THEN WE ALSO HAVE BELLAMY SIDING WITH CLARKE AT EVERY TURN, OVER ECHO'S EXPLICIT OBJECTIONS AND WE HAVE HER NOTICINGGGGGG WE'RE HERE FOR THIS CONTENT

https://historyofbellarke.tumblr.com/post/185265380768/6x04-bec-scene-follow-up-with-6x05 JUST ONE EXAMPLE

HATE TO SEE IT

SO WE HAVE BELLAMY CLEARLY SHOWING THAT HE'S HER LEADER - WHETHER HE MEANS TO BE OR NOT - WHICH COMES IN IN 7X01

Total aside but now I want a modern au where Bellamy doesn't know how to break up with Echo so he tries to ghost her while everyone around him is pulling their hair out

OH SHIT ONE SECOND I HAVE TO DO DUOLINGO SO I DON'T LOSE MY STREAK BRB

>Total aside but now I want a modern au where Bellamy doesn't know how to break up with Echo so he tries to ghost her while everyone around him is pulling their hair out ---- I love this, actually. WE SHALL HOLD YOUR SPOT

No one in this goddamn canon knows how to have an actual breakup conversation they only know how to die

CORRECT CHORUS

BECAUSE THESE TWO DUMBASSES CAN'T TALK TO EACH OTHER

Ironically Raven and Finn are the only ones who have had a half-normal breakup.

Will be back, partner is dramatically exclaiming that I don't love him anymore bc I won't go give him a goddamn hug bc the meta's too good

BOOM OK I'M BACK

SIDE NOTE BEFORE WE'RE BACK

GO ON

What language are you learning on Duolingo?

relearning spanish and then german german for work, spanish because i used to be fluent and i'm so bad now xp

This entire convo is a chaotic mess

We are a chaotic mess.

WELCOME TO THE HELLMOUTH, ----

Our ship is a chaotic mess.

It all tracks, honestly.

WE WOULD'VE ALL BEEN SO MUCH BETTER OFF IF JASPER HAD DESTROYED THE CHIP OOK SO MOVING ON NOW I FORGOT WHERE I LEFT OFF OH YEAH LEADER PERF SO OH YEAH I FORGOT TO ADD - 6 & 7 ARE ONE SINGULAR SEASON SO

This convo should totally be convered into a Masterclass session at the end. YES

WE'VE GOT A RUNNING THREAD OF ECHO BEING A FOLLOWER OF BELLAMY AND HER KNOWING IT

6/7 ARE ONE SEASON WE'RE HERE WE'RE LIVING

BUT BACK TO S6 SO WE HAVE BELLAMY BEING THE FIRST TO REALIZE THAT CLARKE WANS'T CLARKE AND WE HAVE THIS BEAUTIFUL MOMENT

I’m here and all of this is glorious

OH YEAH THERE'S ALSO THIS BUT I DIGRESS https://historyofbellarke.tumblr.com/post/618548726524510208/historyofbellarke-5x09-6x04-6x05 THE FIRST ONE HERE - https://historyofbellarke.tumblr.com/post/616075629201408000/just-some-clips-ofabout-bellamy-where-either HE'S WILLING TO RISK EVERYTHING EBCAUSE CLARKE MIGHT BE AT RISK EVEN THOUGH THEY LITERALLY HAVE NO WHERE ELSE TO GO OH YEAH FUCKING MURPHY - I'LL GET BACK TO HIM ALL RIGHT SO THEN WE HAVE BELLAMY FIGURING IT OUT AND THE HORROR BLOOMING IN HIS SOUL AND THEN WE HAVE HIM LITERALLY WITH A ROOM DESTROYED EVERN THOUGH HE IS CHAINED UP LIKE SERIOUSLY HOW DID HE MANAGE THAT AND THEN TRY TO KILL RUSSELL THE SECOND HE COULD BECAUSE HE HURT CLARKE EVEN THOUGH, AGAIN, THAT'S THE ONLY WAY HE AND HIS PEOPLE COULD SURIVVE BUT WITHOUT CLARKE, HE'S NOT ALIVE. HE ONLY SURVIVES AND HOW DO WE KNOW THIS? BECAUSE HE FUCKING SAYS IT (implicitly)

I just came into this. I have nothing to add I just want to say I’m living for it

:heart:

Agreed, this conversation is giving meaning to my insomnia :joy:

https://historyofbellarke.tumblr.com/post/618973621000585216/just-a-reminder-that-bellamy-canonically-only

WHOLE F*ING THING ON SURVIVING VS LIVING AND THEN ONCE HE DECIDES THEY'RE GOING TO LIVE (AND LET RUSSELL LIVE) BECAUSE IT'S WHAT CLARKE WOULD'VE WANTED, HE SAYS "WE SURVIVE" LOOKING LIKE THE SADDEST FUCKING PUPPY IN EXISTENCE AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE FACT THAT WE HAD A WHOLE DAMN EPISODE OF A 13 EPISODE SEASON DEVOTED TO BELLAMY SUFFERING BECAUSE HIS WIFE DIED AGAIN 3 WEEKS AFTER SHE WAS RESURRECTED SUBTLE, JASON. SUBTLE. OK NOW BACK TO MY BELOVED COCKROACH MURPHY AND BELLAMY ARE ARGUABLY THE TWO CLOSEST NON-ROMANTIC (:upside_down:) PEOPLE ON THE SHIP THE RING RIGHT? OK WE'RE GOING WITH IT ANYWAY

Hmmm yes(I agreee) but also Clarke and Murphy have that understanding that transcends words?

THEY ARE THE CLOSEST ROMANCE WITHSTANDING ON THE SHIP

AND MURPHY, MY BELOVED MURPHY, HAS BEEN THERE FROM "I'LL CHOP HER HAND OFF" TO "OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK CLARKE IS UNCONSCIOUS AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO" TO "YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE HERE SAVING SOMEONE THEY CARE ABOUT"

BECAUSE BELLAMY DOES NOT EVEN KNOW ECHO'S ACTUAL NAME AND THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT CLOSE

LOL SO MURPHY AFTER 6 YEARS IS TRYING TO GET BELLAMY TO DO SOMETHING HE WANTS (WE'RE BACK IN SEASON 5 NOW, SORRY) AND HOW DOES HE DO THAT?

AND INVOLKES MOM'S NAME

BLESSED BE "WELL IF CLARKE WAS HERE" BELLAMY ESPLODES OK SO NOW WE HAVE MURPHY AGAIN WHO KNOWSSSS AND WHAT DOES HE SAY TO JOSIE? ABOUT BELLAMY

If Clarke is dead Bellamy will kill us all HE KNOWS

BAM ALSO, REFER BACK TO PREVIOUS GIFSET, SAME MURPHY "OH YEAH I'LL TRY TO HELP ECHO TOO" BECAUSE MURPHY KNOWSSSS OOK THAT'S ALL FOR MURPHY NOW SO WE HAVE BELLAMY "WE'RE GOING TO SURVIVE BECAUSE I CAN'T LIVE WITHJOUT CLARKE BUT I'M GOING TO ONCE AGAIN HONOR HER FUCKING MEMORY" UNTILLLLLL WHAT HAPPENS

lol @ Murphy having to remind Bell his gf exists hahahah UNTIL HIS SOUL REALIZES CLARKE IS ALIVE

BUT HOW DOES HE REALIZE THAT

BECAUSE YOU CAN'T CONVINCE ME HE KNEW IT WAS MORSE CODE BECAUSE OF EARTH SKILLS NO

HE KNEW IT WAS MORSE CODE BECAUSE HIS SOUL FUCKING KNEW HIS WIFE WAS ALIVE

Yesss

PLATONIC SOULMATE MY ASS JASON

Morse code is life

[okay rant over, continue Kate]

MILLER'S FACE WAS LIKE "YOU FUCKING WHAT MAN?"

(side note- i am getting alive in morse code on my wrist when covid clears) OK SO WE'RE BACK SO WE HAVE JOSIE TAPPING HER FINGERS

Oh I love that I have friend who has that tattoo

YES TAP TAP MILLER GOING WTF BELL GOING ALL GIDDY PUPPY WITH A BONE

WHICH MEANS BELLAMY HAD TO HAVE GONE BACK TO HIS FAMILY AND SAY "OK WE'RE GOING TO RESCUE MY DEAD WIFE. SHE'S ALIVE. IKNOW BECAUSE JOSIE WAS TAPPING HER FINGERS." AND THE FAMILY HAD TO GO "YEAH OK THAT MAKES SENSE."

AND NO ONE QUESTIONED IT BECAUSE THEY BEEN KNEW

Yessss

SO WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO? LIKE IT WAS EVEN A QUESTION. THEY'RE RESCUING CLARKE AND BY THEY'RE I MEAN HE BECAUSE HE DOES NOT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THEM AT THE MOMENT SO HE'S LIKE "READY OR NOT, I'M RESCUING MY WIFE. BYEEEEE" AND JORDAN'S LIKE "WHAT ABOUT PRIYA?" AND EVERYONE'S LIKE ".... SORRY BRO. CLARKE. YOU WANTED HEART BELLAMY. YOU GOT HIM." SO HE GOES, LEAVING HIS FAMILY BEHIND WITH A BUNCH OF PSYCHOPATHIC MURDERERS WHO KNOW THAT BELLAMY IS GOING TO KILL THEIR DAUGHTER BUT HE'S JUST LIKE... BYE AND HE KNOWS, AND WE KNOW THAT HE KNOWS, BECAUSE JOSIE TAUNTS HIM ABOUT IT THE WHOLE TIME BECAUSE JOSIE IS THE AUDIENCE BASICALLY

JOSIE IS US BUT SLIGHTLY MORE PSYCHOTIC

ALL RIGHT SO SKIPPING AHEAD, SKIPPING AHEAD, YOU HAVE JOSIE'S WHOLE RUN DOWN OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP

TOGETHER

AND HIS VERY LONG PAUSE FOLLOWED BY "I WON'T LET YOU DIE"

EXHAUSTING

INSTEAD OF I FUCKING LOVE YOU BECAUSE CHORUS SO WE GET CLARKE BACK THROUGH SHEER FORCE OF BELLAMY'S WILL

>AND HIS VERY LONG PAUSE FOLLOWED BY "I WON'T LET YOU DIE" @kate (historyofbellarke) "I LOVE YOU, BITCH. I AIN'T EVER GONNA STOP LOVING YOU, BITCH."

"I'LL SHAVE THE BEARD" SO WE HAVE CLARKE WHO GAVE UP LIVING BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT BELLAMY GAVE UP (REMEMBER, JOSIE SHOWING HER THE MEMORY OF BELLAMY SAYING WE'LL TAKE THE DEAL) AND THEN CLARKE COMING BACK TO LIFE BECAUSE BELLAMY WOULDN'T GIVE UP AND THEN WE HAVE OCTAVIA, MY BROTHER POISONED ME FOR HIS WIFE AND I STILL RAISED MY NIECE ON STORIES OF EPIC BELLARKE, BLAKE IN THE BACKGROUND BEING ALL OF US

>SO WE HAVE CLARKE WHO GAVE UP LIVING BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT BELLAMY GAVE UP (REMEMBER, JOSIE SHOWING HER THE MEMORY OF BELLAMY SAYING WE'LL TAKE THE DEAL) @kate (historyofbellarke) OMG I HAVE A SPEC ABOUT THIS I HAVE A SPEC ABOUT THIS BUT IMMA WAIT TIL WE'RE DONE TO POP INTO SPEC TO TALK IT OUT OKAY CONTINUE

i'm going to keep going, but have i done a pretty good job of convincing anyone who was wavering? because remember this is all canon. i have done absolutely no spec-ing at all.

I'm very hype rn. Ngl.

lol

Could flip a tire for Bellarke rn kind of hype

OK SO NOW CLARKE IS ALIVE BUT OH FUCK, THE REST OF THE FAMILY IS IN TROUBLE WE LITERALLY HAD MURPHY, MY BLESSED MURPHY, SHOW UP TO GO "YO. YOUR GIRLFRIEND." AND BELLAMY GO https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/591463308117278720/716493560610029708/tumblr_pv4mkld49N1xsmktho1_500.gif SO OF COURSE, IT'S NOT TIME TO TALK BECAUSE CHORUS

DUMBASSES NO TALKIE

SO WE GET EVERYONE FIXED. A BUNCH OF UNNECESSARY PLOT SHIT HAPPENS. AND THEN BELLAMY LITERALLY PUSHES HIS GIRLFRIEND OUT OF THE WAY TO GO AND DO A DRAMATIC SUNSET REUNION WITH HIS WIFE AND THEN PLOT SHIT PLOT SHIT PLOT SHIT WE'RE IN S7 AM I MISSING S6 STUFF? PROBABLY BUT Y'ALL IT'S LITERALLY BEEN 4 WEEKS IN CANON AT THIS POINT AND I MISSED A LOT OF SHIT. SO Y'KNOW. OUR BABIES ARE TIRED N AND NOW WE'RE ALL GOOD RIGHT? JUST GONNA GO HAVE A QUICK MEETING WITH GABRIEL AND THEN GO BACK TO MY WIFE SO WE CAN TALK OVER SOME TEA THEN BAM, O GETS STABBED AND THEN WE HAVE . 4 EPISODES THAT HAPPEN OVER 2 DAYS BEFORE CLARKE'S LIKE "WELP. I'M THROWING MYSELF HEAD FIRST INTO A WORM HOLE TO GO GET MY HUSBAND AND HIS STUPID GIRLFRIEND." AND YOU HAVE EVERYONE ELSE GOING "I'M SORRY, DID YOU THINK ANYTHING ELSE WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?" AND FOLLOWING AND THE S6/7 WRITERS MOSTLY JUST CHOSE TO IGNORE THAT S4/5 WRITERS GAVE CLARKE A DAUGHTER BECAUSE, WELL, I DON'T BLAME THEM EVEN THOUGH I LOVE MADI SHE'S AN UNNECESSARY COMPLICATION SO HAND WAVING SHE'S FINE SO NOW WE'RE UP TO PRESENT

Fully convinced Madi was there to ensure Clarke didn't go fully insane on Earth and provide motive for that bitch slap scene from S5.

brb spilled beer

Oh, and to parent trip Bell/Clarke.

>brb spilled beer @kate (historyofbellarke) makes sense after the tea you're spilling on this channel

Someone really oughta document this convo for a later date. lol We will need to reference it before end of the season, bet. lol

blesss i do not deserve my partner he told me to go sit down and is cleaning it also i went to finish the last of the unspilled stuff and promptly spilled it down my chest so ALL RIGHT WHERE WERE WE OH YEAH AND BELLAMY FORGAVE HER BECAUSE MADI WAS LIKE "YO YOU'RE A PARENT TOO AND REMMEBER SHE STOOD BY YOU WHEN YOU PUT OCTAVIA ABOVE LITERALLY EVERYTHING" AND BELLAMY WAS LIKE "OH... SHIT." AND THEN SHE WAS LIKE "SHE CALLE DYOU EVERY DAY YOU DUMBFUCK" AND YOU HAVE THE PATENTED "OMG, DOES CLARKE HAVE FEELINGS FO RME TOO???" JAW DROP BUT NOW BACK TO PRESENT

(Now if someone will just fucking tell her that he did the equivalent grant gestureTM of the radio calls except w/ poison)

i didn't even include the fact that he fucking poisoned O, that diyoza referred to her as his girlfriend, etc etc etc OH AND AS TO WHY HBECHO ISN'T GOING TO BE A HTING ANYMORE BESIDES EVERYTHING I'VE SAID

FINN COLLINS THAT'S WHY

BASUCALLY YES

FINN COLLINS EXCEPT AT LEAST CLARKE KNEW HIS REAL NAME

THEY DID A LITERAL EXACT PARALLEL BETWEEN BELLAMY AND ECHO SPFEIHOi4ur YES LIKE IT'S LIKE THE WRITERS FOUND BESTOFBECHO AND WENT "FUCK, ARE WE NOT BEING OBVIOUS ENOUGH? TIME TO CALL IN ZACH MCGOWAN" ( THEY FUCKING GOT ZACH ON A PLANE FROM LA TO VANCOUVER TO JUST SAY "YOU DON'T LOVE HIM" LIKE I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALIZE HOW INVOLVED OF A PROCESS IT IS TO GET AN ACTOR THERE - ESPECIALLY IN CANADA WHERE YOU HAVE TO BALANCE NON-CANADIAN WITH CANADIAN ACTORS OR YOU CAN'T SHOOT IN CANADA SO THIS AMERICAN HAD TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT FOR THE WHOLE SEASON FOR A 2 MINUTE APPERANCE BUT THE WRITERS WERE LIKE "YO HUGE NEON SIGN RIGHT HERE" AND THEN SHE CONTINUED ALL SEASON IN THAT VEIN UNTIL 7X05 WHEN SHE BROKEEEEE OVER HIS "DEATH"

BECAUSE HER SOUL DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS ALIVE LIKE BELL DID CLARKE

AND DID THE EXACT SAME FUCKING THING BELLAMY DID WHEN HE FOUND OUT CLARKE WAS ALIVE

And also as mentioned, she's a shit spy.

BECAUSE THE WRITERS ARE LIKE "CAN WE MAKE IT MORE OBVIOUS? I'M NOT SURE HOW!" so now we're at present day and here's a bit of crack spec-ing

THANKS FOR THIS LONG ASS META !!

YOU ARE WELCOME once again if i put that amount of effort into my dissertation, i'd be a phd with a published book or 3

This was a joy to read An utter joy This reaffirmed all my beliefs and got rid of all doubts I had

https://tenor.com/view/about-to-ugly-cry-ugly-cry-emotional-sensitive-crying-gif-8033343 i aim to please so now we have that O/B scene so we as the audience know something is off. bellamy was dragged sobbing and unconscious by his captors to suddenly being awake, fine, and killing a bunch of trained soldiers and holding someone hostage with his left hand. so then you have O, noticing something isn't quite right, casually bringing up clarke's name clarke. fucking. griffin. who bellamy had JUST brought back from the dead after learning she was alive and he's just... calm? about O possibly doing something with these psychos that's related to clarke? HE JUST POISONED HIS SISTER LIKE A WEEK AGO TO SAVE CLARKE'S LIFE i cannot stress this enough. bellamy fucking blake would not just go "huh?" when O, his sister that he's barely tolerating, goes "i'll tell you, you psychotic cultists, everything about my sister-in-law" and that's it. that's where i'm at s6 was about bellamy literally pulling clarke back from death s7 will be about clarke literally crossing time and space to get back to bellamy THIS IS AN EPIC FUCKING LOVE STORY AND ANYONE WHO THINKS OTHERWISE IS WRONG AND NOW I'M GOING TO TAKEA . SHOWER BECAUSE I SPILLED BEER ON MYSELF BUT I WILL BE BACK also i didn't think iw as drunk but then i reread that and started crying so it's definitely shower time

#bellarke #bellarke meta #the 100 #anti bech #anti ech #blarke wine club #long post

156 notes · View notes

iraniq · 4 years

Text

Get Well #Soon

planned part one: https://iraniq.tumblr.com/post/167766473412/united

unplanned part two: https://iraniq.tumblr.com/post/182277422122/avalanche

definetly haven’t even thought abut it part tree: https://iraniq.tumblr.com/post/185298597332/just-kids-stuff

cought me by surprise part four: * read below *

It has been all over the news:

BATMAN GOT HIT

BAT TOOK ONE FOR THE TEAM

WILL THE BAT FLY AGAIN

IS BATMAN ALIVE?

WHO WILL BE THE NEW BATMAN

It was last week or so. He stood between the blast and some people. Got hit bad. The police got him in his car, commissioner Gordon’s orders. No one saw him after.

No one had heard of anything at all, and frankly the King was getting impatient. Even his pretty wife didn’t managed to cheer him, and after his irritated attitude got the best of her, considering a teenager, 4 kids and a baby, he got a slap and was kicked out.

Next morning he sneaked in the cave. Had to take the SUV, since the Lamborghini wasn’t gonna make it. And was already taken by his sexy bitch feisty wify … anyway.

He got in. The computer screamed “intruder”, J got his code in and the whole whaling stopped. Alfred appeared, visibly annoyed.

- Alfie… man… bats is being rough at you.

- No …

- No? I look better with 6 kids. – the Clown laughed.

- Well, maybe because you don’t care for anybody and don’t know how it feels … - Alfred debated for a second and decided not to continue.

- Well… I am here to cheer him up, the kids made some “get well soon” cards.

- I bet!

- I love sarcasm, but it hurts when you say it with this British accent … yeah I know – he waved his hand while walking towards the lazaretta – that’s how English was supposed to sound, before we all ruined it … don’t waste your breath.

He saw the glass room. Knocked and opened the door.

- Honey … I am home. – he laughed – Oh wait, I forgot I live alone! … ah, classis Selena. Anyway. Came to see how dead are you. I have been feeling the need to come in the black spandex, no leather … no that’s how my wife appears … damn… she is so hot – he scratched his nose – maybe that’s why we have 6 kids, although Brandon is your fault, you were supposed to come earlier … anyway. The kids made you some cards. I will read them to you.

He got a small pink backpack from under his purple coat.

- It’s Ava’s, but don’t tell her. Twins are hitting 3, and you know how dramatic toddlers are … - he rolled his eyes – Just … just don’t have kids, ok!

He got a bunch of papers and cards.

- Ok here we go. Niq is 1st. She made a music one. It’s pop up card with sound. She played “in the hall of the mountain king” from sleeping slow, to breaking fingers fast. She is getting better at this, one day might really hit famous and rich, but you must come to all her shows.

He opened the card and put it on the night stand next to him. While beating the boss level on his phone game. When over, he closed the cared and left it there.

- Next is Em. She made a comic book one with all the activities you can do with a broken leg. I was surprised they are so much. Look, here she drew your wheel chair on a skateboard ramp, she figured, since you are so good at flying and shit, you’d be able to skate as well. Look! – he held the 7 pages comic book, slowly opening every page to the Dark Knight, who was in fact in coma. – We have cooking, piano, dress up. It was my idea, I knew you’d look good in drag. I do! El was impressed when she 1st saw me. Neeext! – he left the little comic book next to the pop up card.

He got a big The Flintstones vibe ham looking like card. Obviously it was from Brandon, the one named after him.

- That one took me by surprise. I won’t lie. When you open it … - he laughed, masking it as coughing – there is a ham … a pack of his favorite ham. … ok I must confess, the kid is not ok, he is nuts like me but he has his mom’s crazy obsession with food… hell, she eats like the end of the world, but she is still hot as it … - Joker laughed. – You have to make your game or you’ll die alone. Alfred is already tired of changing your diapers, find yourself a woman, feisty must be, otherwise you’d get bored and shoot her … no wait, that’s me. – he laughed again.

He got silent and thought about it for a while.

- She thinks she is hot now … but damn, if she gets 5-7 kg more, I’d shag her anytime … but I don’t tell her that, because then I listen about my fat fetish … but … - the machine beeped. – Yeah .. you don’t want to listen to this. Neither does she, but curvy is hot, you two are just blind, and plain stupid. Neeext. – the ham got it’s spot next to the other 2.

- The twins … they had a fight who to make the card. El said they will both participate in it … then they cried, and when she said they’d make 2 separate … then they cried again … if … kid’s can skip the toddler phase, I’d have that much more … oh! Pray for Daniel … The twins! Rose made one as a rose, obviously, she wrote “no” with big letters in green, blue and brown… I guess that’s the new trendy now. It’s philosophical approach, that’s what El said, like studying that in university made her an expert, or something; “no” as no to death or some crap like that, they suck at cards. Ava made a simple one with a lipstick kiss and burned the edges … and the table cloth as well … I have an odd feeling she’ll end up as arsonist… another one of El’s dreams I ruined with my dick making babies … but hey, I am good at that. And we have a future cannibal and arsonist, I think we go good for now!

He laughed … for like 15 min. Then put the other 2 cards on the night stand. Rearranging them so all can be easily visible.

- Ok, bats, we are at the final round. Daniel is too young to write, so El gave me one of his socks. A little batman socks, you have one of hers too, with the laughing fish. They all get the crazy sock obsession form her.

He coughed.

- I have a royal gift too. The 1st time we met, you were kind of learning how to be Bats, I threw Gordon in the river and you shot me with his gun. – he made a loud thud noise – that’s the bullet. Unfortunately you can’t use it again. But I think it’s a sexy scar. I seduced El with it once … or twice … Ugh, who counts that anymore …

He got up and positioned the cards on him, with the socks and the bullet, took a pic, took a selfie. Then positioned them on the night stand. Gave Al the fruit pie El made for him and some recipe thing these 2 were exchanging and left.

Several days later when Clark, Diana and Barry went there, they got rather uncomfortably happy with the gifts.

At the end of the month The Clown Prince of Crime got a picture message. Bruce with fake bat ears, that were from Barry, taking a selfie with the “get well soon” gifts. El insisted printing it and framing it in the library where Joker’s trophies were. From war treasures to stuff like that. Bruce too, put them in his office, where, the sonogram pic were, including “we are saving the world” selfie of theirs with the Joker was. Bruce in a way treasured his friendship with the Laughing man. Although they have been rivals, no one wanted to really kill the other.

_____________________

@diyunho @rhina988 @nikkitasevoli @sougie @lovermrjokerr @marsmad @elliegrace139 @lylabell2013 @pandaliciouz @gemma60 @darthjokerisyourfather @brightlightsfanfiction @thatoriginalhipstaninja @batsnspiderz @lg1130

#joker #mr j #the joker #the joker imagine #joker imagine #jared leto joker #jared leto joker imagine

21 notes · View notes

jawnjendes · 5 years

Text

i’m good at keeping my distance | shawn mendes

chapter 3/?, university au, shawn x goth oc

AN: its a filler. its also an insight to shawn’s thoughts on this situation. let me know if you want something specific to happen in this fic and ill consider it. let me know if you wanna be added/removed from the taglist

masterlist | playlist coming soon

About 4 months ago.

Shawn made a point to wake up before Ann every morning since her surgery. When she was still in the hospital, he wanted to make sure that he was the first thing she saw when she woke up, that she knew he wasn’t going to leave her side. As much as she tried to hide it, Ann was a little more than disgruntled about the whole situation. Shawn had to be there for her and really step it up.

Now, post-hospital and post-surgery, Shawn found himself waking up earlier than he had to. Some of that reasoning had to do with some rather annoying nightmares that haunted his sleep every night, but he wanted to be awake now anyway. Seven thirty seemed like a good time to start the day. Shawn would go to the gym on days like these, but he wouldn’t dare leave Ann by herself with fresh cuts on her body. She couldn’t even sit up on her own.

During the time Shawn had by himself, he really didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t attempt to prepare a nice breakfast because Ann’s current diet was very strict and limited. It really pained him to see her so upset about eating the same rice, soup, or pasta everyday. It sucked to see her lack in other nutrients. She was supposed to be getting better, but she was just dropping weight like flies. Anyway, her mother prepared enough white rice to last them a lifetime during her visit the other week, so it’s not like they were going hungry here.

He couldn’t play guitar or sing either during this alone time. He couldn’t disturb Ann’s much needed rest. Not to mention, the makeshift recording studio in the spare room was full to the brim with her boxes. Shawn wanted to unpack them for her. In fact, he stood in front of that doorway every morning, looking at all of the cardboard boxes and trying not to look through all of them. He glumly remembered Ann reminding him that this arrangement was only temporary. Only 3 months of living together, and then she would move back to campus. Apparently, that was the only option.

He really didn’t understand her sometimes, but he loved her anyway.

The sound of Ann’s phone alarm went off at ten thirty every day, and each day, Shawn went back into the room to see her. He usually stood by the doorway and waited for the loud Little Mix song to cut off before going in, but it was on five seconds longer than normal. Ann was always quick to shut off her alarm, no matter how deeply she was sleeping.

Five measly little seconds was enough to make Shawn practically burst through the door, his heart and mind going from zero to a hundred. He saw Ann lying on the bed, just like she had fallen asleep last night. His eyes quickly scanned her body, looking for any sign of… well, whatever he saw in his dreams last night. But there was no blood, no hint of pain on Ann’s thin face. Definitely no screaming. She lied on her back, arms at her side, her head turned and staring out the window.

Her phone was still blaring the alarm song, so Shawn went over and grabbed it off the nightstand. He dismissed the sound and peered down at his girlfriend. She made no noise or movement. She didn’t acknowledge Shawn or the sudden silence in the room.

“Morning,” he greeted, reaching for her hand.

Upon feeling their skin touch, Ann moved her hand to her belly. She remained staring out the window.

Confused, Shawn walked around to the other side of the bed to look at her face. Ann simply turned her head to the opposite side of the room. What the hell?

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Shawn gently asked, crawling onto the empty space on the bed. He moved strands of hair behind her ear, only for her to tense her shoulder.

A certain strain pulled at his heartstrings as it finally dawned on him. Ann usually played video games when she was feeling this way, but she couldn’t get up and do that. On top of that, she was physically stoic from her surgery, and she couldn’t stay like that. She spent enough time lying in bed the last two weeks, and she would hardly participate in doing the minor muscle exercises as instructed by the nurse.

“Let’s go for a walk, eh?” Shawn suggested, hopping off the mattress and moving to Ann’s side of the bed. “Come on, we need to get you up and moving.”

He gave Ann a few seconds to reach for her hands herself, but she remained still. With a heavy sigh, Shawn bent down to wrap his arms around her waist, not liking this anymore than she did. A couple of days ago, Ann complained that she felt like a helpless child when she had to get out of bed or stand up from the couch. Of course, Shawn hated every moment his Ann wasn’t happy, but there was no choice here. He barely got one arm under her waist, but then he felt a pressure on his stomach. “Oh…”

Ann didn’t hit him, she only placed her fist between herself and the guy who only wanted to help her. Shawn easily could have moved her arm away and forcibly sat her up, but the message was clear. Ann did not want to be bothered today.

“You need to get up,” Shawn tried again in a weak voice, still hovering over her. He moved her hair from her neck and cupped her face. “Please…”

Her empty brown eyes flickered with something at the touch. It was almost like she was actually awake now. Maybe she remembered how comforting it was to be held like this. She finally met Shawn’s gaze, slowly bringing her hand up to close around his wrist.

Shawn let out a small sigh of relief, only to be disappointed again. Ann pushed his hand away and resumed staring out the window. The shattering of his heart could almost be heard in the tense room. He was at a loss here.

“Fine,” he said coldly, turning on his heel. “It’s your health, not mine.”

Present day.

“So did you end up getting her out of bed?” asked Callie as she wrote on her clipboard.

“Yes,” Shawn replied, staring down at the tiny coffee table between him and the shrink. “I called my mom, because I didn’t know what else to do. Ann listened to her with no hesitation.”

“It’s hard isn’t it?” Callie said. “It’s very hard trying to help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. It just feels like they’re against you.”

Shawn nodded. He liked this woman, he liked therapy. He looked into her wise, green eyes and knew he could spill everything out no matter how messy it was. “I thought I would be able to do more for her after she was out of the hospital, but it just felt like I was never doing enough. I mean, she came around, and not everyday was like that one. It just really hurt when she got moody and quiet.”

Callie pushed a strand of blonde hair out of her face as she jotted down more notes. “Of course it hurts, she’s your girlfriend. It’s never easy seeing the one you love be in so much pain. And it’s just as hard for you, because you witnessed her going into shock.”

There wasn’t anything like the fear that struck Shawn’s chest on that day. He didn’t even have the words to describe the sight of his Annalise slipping out of reality. It was a real life nightmare, and it was a nightmare that still haunted his sleep. At least in the real world, she was still alive.

He tells the shrink just as much.

“Yes, she is alive and well now,” Callie told him. “That being said, as traumatic as it was for you see her go through all of this, it’s important to remember that it’s just as traumatic for her as well. I’m not diagnosing her with anything - I haven’t seen her in ages - but her silence and moodiness could allude to things she may still be processing.”

That wasn’t hard to figure out. Shawn knew Ann was dark and twisty sometimes, but she had been doing well with letting go of certain things prior to her hospital stay. After that, it was like something had changed in her. Something changed in Shawn too, but it was more obvious since he was yelling in his sleep. He brought that up to Callie.

“Maybe two or three times a week, I sleep normally. I still have alarms set for when the terrors come, and I usually wake up before anything can happen. But for the most part, I still have bad dreams.”

“Well, it’s an improvement. You made a lot of progress in the last three months. Very fast progress, if you ask me. You’re doing well, Shawn.” Callie smiled, emphasizing the laugh lines on the corners of her eyes.

It was true because Shawn wasn’t as anxious to fall asleep anymore. If he was, he popped a melatonin to take the edge off. He knew how to combat his nightmares, both in sleep and through talk therapy. Really, the only thing bothering him now was the separation thing.

He really didn’t understand Ann’s thought process sometimes.

There wasn’t any time to get into it this session, though. Shawn thanked Callie like he did every week and left her office. There was always a heavy weight pressing on his chest when he finished therapy, but that’s what came with practically stealing your girlfriend’s therapist. It’s also what came with processing the not-so-pleasant feelings. Besides, it was helping Shawn crank out a new song.

The unwritten chords of this song were stuck in his head as he drove back to his place. It was kind of annoying that Shawn couldn’t pull this song up on his phone and blast it through the speakers. He would be able to soon enough, though.

Shawn got back to his place with the intention of picking up his guitar and playing to his heart’s content, but upon entering his room, he got a little distracted. His eyes trailed down to a piece of black lace on the floor. The pile was too large to be underwear, but it still made Shawn blush. He stepped over and picked up the material, unfolding it. Ann would surely miss her long lace cardigan, she’d have to come back for it.

She hadn’t spoken to him since the check in, and that was quite the low blow. Just remembering how it all went down burned out the yearning and caused him to drop the cardigan and kick it under the bed. Ann really had the nerve to preach about not leaving after sex, and look what she had done. She was so goddamn afraid that Shawn was just using her for the entirety of their relationship, and even explicitly accused him of doing so a few times. Then, she turned around and left him in the dust. She did the one thing she was afraid of happening to herself. Worst of all, she did it to someone who actually gives a fuck about her.

Shawn certainly understood why she never wanted him to go. It fucking sucks waking up alone after you thought everything was okay. It fucking sucks being played like that.

He took a deep breath and went to pick up the cardigan again. He could still smell Ann on the fabric, and it made him miss her. Lying down on the bed, he put the lace over his face and stayed like that for a moment. Then, he sat up again and pulled his phone out of his pocket, typing out an impulsive text and already knowing how it was going to go.

“Can I see you again?”

God, it felt like he was texting a former one night stand. This was his fucking girlfriend, how did it get so messy and complicated? Shawn scrolled backwards in their conversation, shaking his head at all the most recent texts he sent that she ignored. He went further back, pausing at a conversation from July 15.

Shawn couldn’t remember what brain fart caused him to send, “Would u still love me if i gave myself those super thin and angry goth eyebrows??”

“No.” Ann was always short with her texts.

“Would you still love me if a became a goth too?”

“No.”

Shawn sent her a sad face.

“Lol ily you idiot. you’re cute sometimes.”

“Im cute all the time!! I’m babey remember?”

“I never should have called you babey. look at you. you’re too powerful now.”

He scrolled a little further to July 28. Shawn sent a picture of purple pansies he had been arranging for work. “These also come in black, did you know? 😊”

Ann replied with one word: “Cute.” The next text was sent an hour later. “I’m off early n getting food. What you wanna eat bb”

Shawn simply sent back, “😏”

The next set of texts were on August 8. Ann had sent a selfie that still made Shawn’s heart race. It was a selfie, and she had made her low cut blouse the center of attention. “Missing you birthday boy🖤"

He had sent back a mirror selfie in just his briefs. Shawn would have cringed at the self from just over a month ago, but it’s what got Ann to leave work early. He almost smiled, remembering just how lucky he got that day. In the same moment, Shawn recalled how unlucky they both were the very next day, and the heavy feeling in his chest came back.

He always tried to be his best for Ann, because she deserved nothing but the absolute best. But he’s lied to her before, he’s hurt her, he took her therapist away from her, and then he wasn’t there for her. He was surprised that Ann only wanted a break instead of a breakup. There was still a part of him deep down that was terrified she was going to call it quits altogether. It could be any day now, and as much as Shawn tried to prepare himself for that, he really didn’t know what he would do if it got to that point. He’s only just realized he was past the “I love you” and delving into the “I’m so in love you” part of things. Maybe Ann didn’t feel the same way...

Suddenly, his phone dinged, and an arrow pointed down, indicating a new message. His heart pounding, Shawn rapidly scrolled back down and breathed out, a tiny smile creeping up the corners of his mouth.

“Check in is every 2 weeks babe😘”

Honestly, he was just glad he wasn’t left on read again. He was even more glad that the check in had a whole other meaning now too.

Annalise had never been so conflicted in her life. In the past, she only ever felt shame over constantly having meaningless sex with people she knew were not good for her. But Shawn was good. He was kind and radiant and also her fucking boyfriend. Somehow, Annalise managed to keep her own boyfriend strung along during their separation.

It wasn’t one of their rules, but hooking up wasn’t supposed to happen. This was a separation. Not a break up, not a break. Separation. Technically, they weren’t supposed to text as much as they were, but Shawn had refused to participate if he couldn’t contact her at all, so they made it a rule: Don’t be a stranger. She allowed him to text her, but she did not allow herself to give a proper reply.

Another rule was No dates. That was for obvious reasons. The same goes for No seeing other people.

The Check in every 2 weeks rule was… disastrous. But also so, so good. If she wasn’t so busy, Annalise would have been at Shawn’s place more often.

Thankfully, she could keep herself busy with work, even though her hours were cut due to the semester starting. School was more demanding, given that she had to repeat Biology class and get more of her credits through electives like Abnormal Psych and Adolescent Psych. She didn’t see Shawn at the science building anymore, maybe he had a schedule change - but she did see his newest tiny friend. This tiny friend joined a club, and Annalise found out when she entered one of the rooms in the communications building on a Wednesday evening.

Her stomach dropped down to her butt as she saw Alessia sitting between Jared and Patrick, already deep in a conversation with them, the other Frats listening to whatever she had to say. She probably got the idea to join the club after she talked with Patrick that one time, and Annalise didn’t really know how to feel about that. Didn’t this girl have every single class with Shawn? What if he just waltzed in and made himself part of the club too?

Bratty as it seems, this was Annalise’s thing. Gaming was her time away from the world, despite playing with other people most of the time.

Annalise kept herself composed as she joined the group, taking the seat next to Patrick like always, nodding her head as a greeting. She noticed Alessia look at her, but nothing was said. Annalise was the last one to join, so the meeting began.

“Okay, welcome everyone,” Josh greeted, fixing the collar on his white polo shirt. “As you can see, we have a new member. Alex, right?”

“Alessia,” she corrected.

Josh hummed. “My apologies. So what games do you play?”

“Uh… I just started Sonic Forces,” she replied, offering a smile.

Paul chuckled. “Anything else? Fortnite? Zelda? Apex?”

Here we go. The Nice Guys were doing it again. Annalise rolled her eyes. And they wondered why more girls wouldn’t join the club.

“Well, I’m still new to the video game world,” Alessia said, “I haven’t really played much of anything. I have played a Zelda game, though.”

“Fair enough,” Josh said, though he seemed a bit patronizing. “Was it Breath of the Wild? That’s what everyone plays, while there’s so many other Zelda games out there.”

“Uh… yeah. I started that on the PC.”

Josh and Paul shared a look, like they were both amused by something. The rest of the guys were silent.

“So how far did you get in the game? Got the Paraglider?” Paul asked her.

“Did you get off the plateau?” Josh added. “Do you even know the Legend of Zelda timeline and where that game lies?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. Annalise had enough of this.

“Leave her alone,” she snapped, leaning forward in her seat to properly look at the two boys. “Don’t act like you weren’t novices at one point! You’re not superior for not liking the mainstream games everyone else does. All you guys play is Fortnite, which uh, everyone plays! Oh, and both Sonic Forces and Breath of the Wild were fucking awesome games! Stop trying to make her feel bad for being in the club!”

It was silent. The Frats had nothing to say on the topic. Patrick merely slouched in his seat, but he lightly nodded at everyone Annalise had said. Alessia gave her a weak smile and a nod of gratitude. No, Annalise wasn’t exactly a fan of hers, but she lived to defend other women in situations like these.

Josh, now flushed with red, changed the subject to the Bart adventure that was yet to come. He also brought up the Fortnite idea again, to which most of the group denied. At this point, it was done out of spite.

Annalise was the first one out the door as soon as the meeting ended. She had her phone in hand, clearing three new messages she had received from Shawn as she walked down the steps, through the lobby, and out onto the walkway. She didn’t see someone follow her, so she jumped when a hand landed on her upper arm.

“Oh, shit!” she cursed, thrashing her arm away from the touch. She turned around to find the culprit, clutching her book bag to her body.

It was only Alessia, who had a frantic, apologetic look on her face. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”

Annalise took in a slow breath, composing herself. “You’re good, it’s all good. Um, what’s up?”

“Can I walk with you?” she asked, playing with the straps on her backpack.

“Sure.”

The two girls strolled down the walkway in the dark. Annalise was weary for reasons not having to do with being alone and vulnerable outside after dark. Would it be weird to casually bust out her pocket knife and hide it in her sleeve?

“So, thanks for what you said back there,” Alessia began. “I didn’t know there was a pop quiz for new club members.”

“Josh and Paul are assholes sometimes,” Annalise replied meekly. “They did the same thing to me when I joined, and nobody stood up for me.”

“Well, I appreciate it. Especially because I know you don’t like me.”

Annalise scrunched her brow. She shouldn’t have been surprised at that statement because it wasn’t the first time she had heard something like that. Her naturally neutral face and dark appearance seemed to ward off others, and she wasn’t one for constantly smiling unless she was working. She was by no means a ray of sunshine upon first impressions, or even after that. Besides, she had only spoken to this girl once in her life.

But she’s spoken to Shawn, and who knows what he said about his not-girlfriend.

“What makes you think I don’t like you?” she asked, slowing her steps.

Alessia hesitated. “Uh… ‘cause I’m always around your mans?”

“Is that a question, or are you telling me?”

“Uh, no, I just thought-”

“He has a lot of friends, of course he does. Have you met him? He’s kind and wonderful, of course people like him! Anyway, none of his friends are exactly threatening, you included. I just don’t know you, my dear.”

Alessia nodded, her face flushing. “Oh, right. ‘Cause I’m new and all.” She chuckled nervously. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you getting the wrong idea. Shawn and I are singing and writing together, I wasn’t sure if that was a problem for you.”

What kind of girl does she think Annalise is? What kind of jealous, insecure girlfriend did Shawn make her out to be? Why would Alessia bring up Shawn if not to dangle him in his not-girlfriend’s face? Why would she plant such a seed in her head like that?

Annalise finally stopped in her tracks and turned to the much shorter girl. She practically towered over her thanks to her platform sneakers. Alessia’s eyes were wide, visibly nervous.

“Listen, I typically don’t have any reason to believe my boyfriend would try anything he’s not supposed to. I trust him, or whatever. You, on the other hand… It’s like I said, I don’t know you. All I ask is that you do not give me any reason to be suspicious.”

Alessia gulped and nodded. “That’s, that’s what I was trying-”

Annalise held up a finger to stop her. “No, no. People who are doing suspicious things are the ones who say they’re not doing any suspicious things.”

“I, I was telling you the truth! I would never-”

“Well, I don’t know you! So you could be telling the truth, but you could also be lying to throw me off. Anyway, if I find out something suspicious is going on…” Annalise paused. Why? She was being just a little dramatic. “I’m killing Shawn because he’s the one in a relationship.”

The two pairs of eyes remained in a staredown until Alessia took a step back and looked at her feet. The corner of Annalise’s mouth twitched, feeling triumph for a fleeting moment. The silence was just long enough to make her realize just how fucking crazy she went.

“Don’t look so scared,” she said, keeping up the intimidating facade. “You won’t be the one dying. Besides, I’m joking anyway. I don’t think there’s anything suspicious happening. You seem like an okay person.”

Annalise just knew that this girl was going to run and tell Shawn about this little conversation. Maybe that would show him that she was still into this… as if Annalise didn’t fuck him a few days ago.

_______

taglist: @normalcyisoverrated-beyou @ilsolee @mendesromano @1-800-khalid-mendussy @kitykatnumber @strangerliaa @iloveshawnieboi @poppyshawn @shawnsunflower @shawnvvmendes @shawmndes @calyumthomas @havethetimeeofyourlifee @yourdeflightfullyleft @wronglanemendes

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes blurb #shawn mendes smut #shawn x goth gf #yall im so fucking tired #yall are seein this at noon california time #but its nearly 2am as i type this and a bitch is sleepy #anyway thank u for readin #next chapter will b filthy tee hee

52 notes · View notes

sethrine-writes · 5 years

Text

Come What May - Ch. 4

Pairing: Captain America/Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Words: 2102

Warnings: Fluff

Summary: There’s quite a few coincidences that happen throughout anyone’s lifetime. It just so happens that you’re experiencing far too many in a short span of time to be considered mere coincidence - and others are also beginning to take notice. Just how many times can Captain America actually save you before things take a turn for the worst.

A/N: Hello all! Back at it again! Ya’ll seem to really be liking the story, so far. Thank you guys so much for reading, commenting, liking, and reblogging! Here’s to many more chapters ahead!

------

Chapter 4 - Shirts ‘n’ Skins

There was a place about ten miles deeper into the city you enjoyed going to with your brother when you had the time and money to spare. It was a large building and looked a bit rundown, with rust spots covering it in splotches, the building itself rightly named ‘Warehouse 36’ back when it was just for storage. You only ever knew the place as Shirts ‘n Skins.

The large warehouse was basically now a shop filled to the brim with all sorts of shirts, graphic T’s, novelty items, gifts, fragrances, and a full section of the large expanse of space was sectioned off and dedicated to the military.

Andrew had shown you around nearly three years ago after a mutual friend introduced him to the place, and you fell in love with the sheer size and variety of clothes and gift items they had available. Not to mention, it became so much easier to shop for Andrew’s military-appropriate attire, as they catered to all branches and ranks within and even donated some of the proceeds to each branch.

Another feature you had taken advantage of a few times in the past was their T-shirt print service. Once, you had given them a drawn-out image of some team thing you were participating in for your company, with a list of names of those on your team. Two days later, you had a box of bright orange shirts with the image and your team’s name embossed on the front in a bright, squiggly blue font, with the last names of each member on the back.

The place was absolutely amazing. That day, though, you were on a mission to find your brother a new set of boots. He’d had the same pair for years, and though they were still in pretty decent condition, you remember him saying something a few weeks back about possibly finding a new pair, as the soles were starting to thin. He’d been so busy recently that you doubted he’d even had the chance to leave his post at the tower, let alone step out for a new pair of boots.

With that thought in mind, you entered through one of the four doors centering the building, determined to find just what he needed. That determination faltered just slightly when you noticed that things had…changed a bit on the inside.

You passed several aisles with a mild sort of confusion, looking up to the large banners that named each area and finding that some things had been moved to different places. There even looked like there were quite a few new things added to the stock.

Thankfully, the military area was still in the same corner, the large building made within the warehouse a familiar and welcoming sight. You stepped up to the window located on the right, smiling at the familiar, older face working there.

“Luke, hey!”

“Oh, heya, (Y/n)! It’s been awhile! Where’s ya brother? He around?”

“Nope, not this time,” you answered, “he’s been real busy these past few months.”

“No kiddin’? Bummer, he’s a good man, good company.”

“Yeah. I figured while he was busy, I’d do some of his shopping for him. You need my I.D.?”

“Nah, think we all know ya by now. Come on in, kid.”

Luke reached off to the side and pressed a series of number-laden buttons, the large door to your left giving a small buzzing sound, signaling it was now unlocked from the outside.

“Thanks, Luke!”

You entered the building, not at all surprised by the scatter of men and women, most dressed in some form of basics, scanning through the items down several long aisles. The building itself was like a completely separate store, with access granted only to those in the Force or a select few with proper identification, of which you were lucky enough to have.

Politely greeting those you passed, you made your way to the very back where the wall was covered with different sizes, makes, and colors of boots, your eyes scanning for the darker shade that Andrew seemed to prefer. You knew the color and size you needed, but the make…which one was it, now?

“Well, I’ll be damned, if it isn’t (Y/n)!”

Startled, you turned at the exclamation, a surprised smile instantly lighting your features at the familiar dark blond hair and green gaze eyeing you with utter delight.

“Damien?! Wow, it’s so great to see you!”

The tall man chuckled as he moved forward and wrapped his muscular arms around you in a firm hug, your arms winding their way around his neck to return the embrace. When he pulled away, it was with a wide grin.

“It’s been way too long, sweetheart. What made you decide to grace us with your lovely presence today?”

“Andrew said something about needing new boots a while back, so I thought I’d get them for him, since he’s been so busy. I just…ah, forgot the make he usually gets.”

“I got you,” he said, reaching up somewhat above you for the brand you had been eyeing, but weren’t completely sure was right. “He still a twelve and a half?”

“Yeah. If they have them in the darker color, that would be great.”

He shifted a bit to the left, carefully pulling out a box and handing it to you. You opened it, inspecting the pristine boots within to find they were exactly what you were looking for.

“Thank you, these would’ve been hell to reach on my own.”

“Anything for my favorite girl.”

You smiled at the familiar endearment, elbowing Damien almost playfully.

“Your favorite, hm? How many other girls you got around here?”

“Oh, you know, I got a full harem, just…hordes and hordes of women throwing themselves at me, begging me for that number one spot in my heart.”

He gave a dramatic thump against his chest over his heart, giving you a playful look.

“Yeah, okay,” you said with a laugh, Damien following suit. His gaze then turned soft, almost tender with emotion as he continued to look down at you.

“I’ve missed you, (Y/N). It’s been way too long.”

“It really has,” you agreed, though you gave him a quizzical look. “What are you doing here, anyways? Andrew said you’d been deployed overseas.”

“I was, but our mission was cut short,” he answered. “A handful of us were sent back, so now I’m just helping out my uncle until they need me again. Oh, he bought this place, by the way.”

“Oh, he finally bought it? I thought things were looking a little different around here. Honestly, I didn’t expect Mr. Yahmen to finally cave and take the offer.”

“Well, he did, after a bit more…persuasion. It was a clean transition in taking over the business, and my uncle isn’t changing much, just expanding the products. He’s even upping the proceeds going to the military from the original thirty percent to sixty.”

“That’s amazing! You guys more than deserve every cent you can get.”

“Here recently, everyone would beg to differ. Too much shit happening that we haven’t been prepared for, and the majority of the population likes to blame us for it.”

He seemed a bit put-out as he spoke, enough that you caught the shift in his demeanor. You gave a gentle smile as you shifted the box in your grasp to one arm, reaching your hand out and placing it against his bicep.

“Guess I’m not everyone, then. People like you, my brother, you guys do so much for us, for this country. It’s not an easy job, and not everything is…ideal. But I have faith in you to do the right thing.”

Damien reached over and placed his hand over yours, giving it a gentle squeeze. There was that look in his eyes again, so tender and sweet, and for a moment it made you feel a bit flustered.

“Damien…?”

“If…if you’re not busy later, did you maybe wanna-?”

“(Y/n)? Wow, it’s great to see ya!”

At the gruff call of your name, both you and Damien pulled back from each other and turned to find Dusty, Damien’s uncle, and Captain America himself, dressed in jeans and a tight-fitting shirt and looking every bit surprised and amused to see you there. You couldn’t hide your own amusement at seeing him, shaking your head at the absurdity of your run-ins.

At least you didn’t have a gun pointed at you, this time around.

Dusty looked between you and the blond man, a somewhat knowing smile adorning his features.

“Oh, do you know each other, my dear?”

“You could say that,” you mused, smiling up at the man you’d forever know as your blue-eyed savior. “Well, Captain, I’d say it’s a surprise to see you, but at this point, I’m beginning to wonder if you’re actually following me around.”

“It’s…Steve, please,” he started with a sweet lilt to his lips, moving a bit closer at your welcoming smile. “And, for the record, I didn’t know this place existed until a friend of mine sent me here.”

“If you say so,” you teased lightly, watching as Steve’s eyes shifted over to Damien a moment before finding your gaze again.

“Oh, excuse me! Damien, you know the good Captain, yeah? Steve, this is-“

“Sergeant Damien Briggs, at your service, Captain,” Damien cut in, standing straight at his full height and giving Steve a salute, of which the blue-eyed man returned.

“Always glad to meet those heroes who are in the service. How long you been in?”

“Seven years, Sir. And still love every minute of it.”

“Good to hear,” he said with a small smile, turning to look at you once more. Damien did the same, both pairs of green and blue eyes expectantly waiting for you to say something. You stood there for a moment before realizing that the silence was actually becoming awkward.

“Oh! Uh, thank you, again, Damien, for helping me with the boots.”

“Sure thing, don’t mention it,” he answered with a grin, though it didn’t feel as genuine as the ones he had given you before. “I should get back to work. Don’t be a stranger, sweetheart.”

He then turned to Steve, giving the super soldier a nod of his head.

“Captain,” was all he said in farewell before moving passed him to his uncle, who looked mildly amused at the scene that had played out before him. They walked away together, leaving you and Steve to your own devices.

“So,” you began teasingly, “come here for a new uniform? Tired of that red, white, and blue body suit they have you wear?”

“No, actually, I came here on business. Classified, I’m afraid.”

“Mm, official Avengers business, then? Don’t worry, I’m not prying.”

“I’m not worried,” he said sincerely, following up with, “the suit is, ah, actually not too bad. If you, uh, wanted to know.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” you said with a smile.

There was a long stretch of silence between you where you both just stared at each other, words on the tip of your tongues, but brains unable to articulate how to form them. You both finally broke the silence, rambling at the same time.

“Did you maybe wanna-“

“So I was thinking that we could-“

Steve gave a short chuckle as you huffed in amusement, finding the moment awkwardly sweet.

“Sorry, you go ahead,” he said, ever the gentleman.

“Well, I was…I was wondering if you’d like to grab a coffee. With me. As friends, of course. Or, uh, acquaintances getting to know each other better? If, you know, you’re not still on business time, or whatever, or maybe we could do it some other time? Or not at all, I mean-“

“Yeah,” he answered as you rambled, his smile brightening as he gave a breathy laugh. “Yeah, that sounds good. Honestly, I was about to ask you the same. Figured three unintentional meetings has to be some sort of sign, right?”

You beamed at the blond man standing tall before you, finding that your sudden burst of confidence and playfulness was now quickly turning into awkwardness.

“Alright, then I should get…yeah, pay for this then, ah…yeah.”

“Yeah,” Steve repeated with that same sweet smile, turning to the side and holding out his hand in a gesture to lead you forward.

“After you, ma’am.”

“Oh please,” you stated, moving past him as he followed behind you, “if I’m calling you Steve, now, the least you can do is call me (Y/n).”

“Sure thing, (Y/n).”

Oh, you liked your name coming from that man’s mouth.

------

Tag List: @just4muggles, @achishisha, @pinnedandneedled, @deaniebean

#marvel #marvel cinematic universe #mcu #steve rogers x reader #captain america x reader #steve rogers #captain america #marvel mcu #Come What May

17 notes · View notes

ja9doeswhole30 · 5 years

Text

Food Freedom: The Good

Hello friends.

I swear, I’ve been trying to write a post updating my progress the last few weeks and it just didn’t happen. The start of Passover kept me very busy, and I have a draft about the holiday’s dietary restrictions and the nature of Seder meals. I finished the Reintroduction phase right before Passover started, and I enjoy telling stories in linear fashion, so this seemed logical at the time, but now that it’s been a while it might be better to discuss things differently.

So, this post will be about all the Whole30 victories that I’ve experienced/maintained in the last few weeks. Then I’ll post separately about the fails/things that need the most work.

3 meals + 1 snack, at home. The biggest impact Whole30 has had on my diet is to emphasize large, filling, plant-based meals. I’ve always made it a point to cook lots of veggies and lean meats at home, but I was an avowed grazer. I’d have a small (usually processed-carb-based) breakfast, which meant I was ready for snack mid-morning, followed by a small lunch, and another (possibly two) snacks in the afternoon before dinner.

Now, most days, I’ve gotten pretty good at planning out meals and (limited) snacks so that I eat in a structured fashion. Once I started trying it, I found that I can usually sit down for a nice breakfast around 8 AM, which is late enough that I haven’t eaten in at least 12 hours, but early enough that I’m not starving. Sometimes if I’m able I try to push it to 9 AM to extend the overnight fasting period, but that doesn’t always work. Either way, though, having a good, filling breakfast will keep me going until lunch around 12:30-1PM. I allow for a snack in the afternoon but try to push that ‘til at least 4 PM. Then we have dinner at about 6:30 and finish by 7:00.

Less indiscriminate eating. Another big reason I started Whole30 in the first place was that I would constantly pick at my kids’ snacks, or other nonsense we happen to have around the house. Hence, always gave myself credit for being a healthy eater, but whatever good I was doing eating plant-based & whole foods for meals was offset by my random unscheduled snacks. With certain foods off-limits during the Whole30, I broke my habit of helping myself to a few Cheddar Bunnies or chips whenever I wanted. Food Freedom Forever discusses the concept of deviating from an eating plan if you really consider the treat worth it, and can properly savor the experience. I haven’t been perfect with this practice (more on that next post), but it’s a good guideline. I’m definitely in the mindset of closing the vault unless there’s a truly worthwhile deposit to be made. Yesterday, for instance, I was tired and considered ordering sushi for lunch, but decided that reheating things at home was perfectly feasible and I didn’t want sushi that badly so as to indulge.

I broke up with Dunkin’ Donuts. While I don’t drink an enormous amount of coffee, I have at various phases of life been a regular at chain coffee establishments. Although raised in a Dunkin’ household, my most sustained love affair was with Starbucks, which provided daily fuel for my second summer of law school, studying for the bar exam, and my first job. The Starbucks around the corner from my Brooklyn apartment became a necessary destination when I was home with my first baby. Thereafter we moved to a house in the suburbs, with the nearest Starbucks and DD each a mile away, serving as motivation for a nice walk when the weather was right and nothing else was going on. Following the birth of baby #2, coffee became both critically necessary and harder to obtain out of the house. The DD in the next town over has a drive-thru, which I patronized occasionally but otherwise made coffee at home - always iced, with whole milk and a teaspoon of Sugar in the Raw.

Gradually, though, my kids were spending more time in preschool, I went back to work part-time, and I also became aware that DD’s rewards program is much more generous than Starbucks’. For a long time it seemed like there was always a promotional deal, be it a $1.99 medium latte or double-points when you order on the app or whatever. Going back to this past fall, I’d gotten sucked pretty deeply into a downward spiral of vice. First came an increase in the number of visits per week (from one to three... or more). Then I got into the habit of adding ridiculously sugary flavored syrups to my order, which I justified by asking for only one pump of the stuff, as opposed to the three or four the usual recipe would call for. Finally, I would use an especially stressful or exhaustion-ridden day as an excuse to get a large instead of my usual medium.

Coffee every day having become a necessity, I began keeping a supply of small-batch homemade cold brew for my non-DD days. Thankfully I’d perfected my cold-brewing method prior to Whole30, because I knew that during the 30 days I wouldn’t be able to go to Dunkin’. In theory I could have sussed out the brand of almond milk they offer, to assess compliance, and possibly keep the habit alive. But I knew, deep down, that it would be especially worthwhile to cut my outside-coffee habit off at the knees.

It was hard. Having my homemade cold brew with almond-coconut milk (no sugar) became a nice part of my daily routine, but during the Whole30, when I was limiting so many foods, it hit particularly hard to drive past a Dunkin’ and know that I wouldn’t - couldn’t - go in. It was truly the biggest form of deprivation for me; I didn’t miss the “treat” itself so much as participation in the ritual. As with the rest of Whole30, though, it felt like a great achievement once I realigned my habits.

Case in point: On April 15th (federal tax deadline here in the U.S.) DD had an offer for a $1 medium coffee, so I made an exception, purchasing a black iced coffee on the way to work and adding my almond-coconut milk once I got to the office. It was... not good? I guess I’d gotten used to the bold flavor of my cold brew, and the way I make it at home. And while I was excited to participate in the commercial-coffee rat race yet again, the unsatisfying result was the exception that proved the rule. It’s cheaper and healthier to make coffee at home, so that’s what I do now. (I even grind my own beans, which feels really rustic and industrious.)

Daily exercise. During Whole30, I think I exercised 27 days. Initially it was motivation to earn my extra post-workout meal, but even prior to that my daily elliptical session + strength workout had become a seemingly necessary part of my routine. Since Whole30 ended, I’ve been able to maintain the habit. Some days, I need to work to squeeze it in, setting up kids with breakfast before I race down to the basement to bang out a quick 20 minutes. Other mornings my kids play downstairs and I need to pause my workout to help them figure out a toy or set up another activity. In the past, their presence might have stopped me from even attempting the workout (”Why bother if I’m just going to get interrupted?”), but I find that if I just force myself to get started, I’m compelled follow through even on the most hectic of mornings. Other times, I’ve been able to skip the morning elliptical in favor of an outside walk later in the day, which has been a (literal) breath of fresh spring air.

That’s it for now, I think! Stay tuned for the next entry which will detail all the stuff I’m still doing wrong. D:

#whole30 #food freedom #Food Freedom Forever #healthy eating #healthy food

3 notes · View notes

wumingfoundation · 6 years

Text

On #QAnon: The full text of our Buzzfeed Interview

Ryan Broderick of Buzzfeed just published an article on this #QAnon conspiracy bullshit titled It's Looking Extremely Likely That QAnon Is A Leftist Prank On Trump Supporters. The piece features quotes from an interview we gave via email. Here’s the full email exchange.

Can you tell me a bit about when and how your book Q was written?

We started writing Q in the last months of 1995, when we were part of the Luther Blissett Project, a network of activists, artists and cultural agitators who all shared the name «Luther Blissett». Luther Blissett was and still is a British public figure, a former footballer, a philanthropist. The LBP spread many mythical tales about why we chose to borrow his name, but the truth is that nobody knows.

Initially, Blissett the footballer was bemused, but then he decided to play along with us and even publicly endorsed the project. Last year, during an interview on the Italian TV, he stated that having his name adopted for the LBP was «a honour». The purpose of signing all our statements, political actions and works of art with the same moniker was to build the reputation of one open character, a sort of collective "bandit", like Ned Ludd, or Captain Swing. It was live action role playing. The LBP was huge: hundreds of people in Italy alone, dozens more in other countries. In the UK, one of the theorists and propagandists of the LBP was the novelist Stewart Home.

The LBP lasted from 1994 to 1999. The best English-language account of those five years is in Marco Deseriis' book Improper Names: Collective Pseudonyms from the Luddites to Anonymous. One of our main activities consisted of playing extremely elaborate pranks on the mainstream media. Some of them were big stunts which made us quite famous in Italy. The most complex one was played by dozens of people in the backwoods around Viterbo, a town near Rome. It lasted a year, involving Satanism, black masses, Christian anti-satanist vigilantes and so on. It was all made up: there were neither Satanists nor vigilantes, only fake pictures, strategically spread rumours and crazy communiqués, but the local and national media bought everything with no fact-checking at all, politicians jumped on the bandwagon of mass paranoia, we even managed to get footage of a (rather clumsy) satanic ritual broadcast in the national TV news, then we claimed responsibility for the whole thing and produced a huge mass of evidence. The Luther Blissett Project was also responsible for a huge grassroots counter-inquiry on cases of false child abuse allegations. We deconstructed the paedophilia scare that swiped Europe in the second half of the 1990s, and wrote a book about it. A magistrate whom we targeted in the book filed a lawsuit, as a consequence the book was impounded and disappeared from bookshops, but not from the web.

This is the context in which we wrote Q. We finished it in June 1998. It came out in March 1999 and was our final contribution to the LBP.

I've been reading up about it, and it's largely believed that it's underneath the book's narrative it works as handbook for European leftists? Is that a fair assessment? I've read that many believe the book's plot is an allegory for 70s and 80s European activists?

Although it keeps triggering many possible allegorical interpretations, we meant it as a disguised, oblique autobiography of the LBP. We often described it as Blissett's «playbook», an «operations manual» for cultural disruption.

The four authors I'm speaking to now are Roberto Bui, Giovanni Cattabriga, Federico Guglielmi and Luca Di Meo correct? The four authors of Q?

You are speaking with three of the four authors of Q, and you're speaking with a band of writers called Wu Ming, which means «Anonymous» in Chinese. In December 1999 the Luther Blissett Project committed a symbolic suicide - we called it The Seppuku - and in January 2000 we launched another project, the Wu Ming Foundation, centred around our writing and our blog, Giap. The WMF is now an even bigger network than the LBP was, and includes many collectives, projects and laboratories. Luca aka Wu Ming 3 is not a member of the band anymore, although he still collaborates with us on specific side projects. Each member of the band has a nom de plume composed of the band's name and a numeral, following the alphabetical order of our surnames, thus you're speaking to Roberto Bui aka Wu Ming 1, Giovanni Cattabriga aka Wu Ming 2 and Federico Guglielmi aka Wu Ming 4.

Can you tell me a bit about your background before the Luther Blissett project?

Before the LBP we were part of a national scene that was – and still is – called simply «il movimento», a galaxy of occupied social centres, squats, independent radio stations, small record labels, alternative bookshops, student collectives, radical trade unions, etc. In the Italian radical tradition, at least after the Sixties, there was never any clearcut separation between the counterculture and more political milieux. Most of us came from left-wing family backgrounds, had roots in the working class. Punk rock opened our minds during our teenage years, then in the late 1980s and early 1990s Cyberpunk opened them even more, and inspired new practices.

When did you start noticing similarities between Q and QAnon? I know you've tweeted a bit about this, but I'd love to get as many details as I can. I feel like the details around QAnon are so sketchy that it's important to lock in as much as I can here.

We read a lot about the US alt-right, books such as Elizabeth Sandifer's Neoreaction a Basilisk or Angela Nagle's – flawed but still useful – Kill All Normies, and yet we didn't see the QAnon thing coming. We didn't know it was growing on 4chan and some specific subReddits. About six weeks ago, on June 12th, our old pal Florian Cramer – a fellow veteran of the LBP who now teaches at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam – sent us a short email. Here's the text:

«It seems as if somebody took Luther Blissett's playbook and turned it into an Alt-Right conspiracy lore. Maybe Wu Ming should write a new article: "How Luther Blissett brought down Roseanne Barr"!»,

After those sentences there was a link to a piece by Justin Caffier on Vice. We read it, and briefly commented on Twitter, then in the following weeks more and more people got in touch with us, many of them Europeans living in the US. They all wanted to draw our attention on the QAnon phenomenon. To anyone who had read our novel, the similarities were obvious, to the extent that all these people were puzzled seeing that no US pundit or scholar was citing the book.

Have there been key moments for you that made you feel like QAnon is an homage to Q? What has lined up the best?

Coincidences are hard to ignore: dispatches signed Q allegedly coming from some dark meanders of top state power, exactly like in our book. This Q is frequently described as a Blissett-like collective character, «an entity of about ten people that have high security clearance», and at the same time – like we did for the LBP – weird "origin myths" are put into circulation, like the one about John Kennedy Jr. faking his own death in 1999 – the year Q was first published, by the way! – and becoming Q. QAnon's psy-op reminds very much of our old «playbook», and the metaconspiracy seems to draw from the LBP's set of references, as it involves the Church, satanic rituals, paedophilia...

We can't say for sure that it's an homage, but one thing is almost certain: our book has something to do with it. It may have started as some sort of, er, "fan fiction" inspired by our novel, and then quickly became something else.

There will be a lot of skepticism I think that an American political movement like QAnon could have been influenced by an Italian novel, how do you think it may have happened?

It's an Italian novel in the sense that it was originally written in Italian by Italian authors, but in the past (nearly) 20 years it has become a global novel. It was translated into fifteen languages – including Korean, Japanese, Russian, Turkish – and published in about thirty countries. It was successful all across Europe and in the English speaking world with the exception of the US, where it got bad reviews, sold poorly and circulated almost exclusively in activist circles.

Q was published in Italian a few months before the so-called "Battle of Seattle", and published in several other languages in the 2000-2001 period. It became a sort of night-table book for that generation of activists, the one that would be savagely beaten up by an army of cops during the G8 summit in Genoa, July 2001. In 2008 we wrote a short essay, almost a memoir, on our participation to those struggles and Q's influence in those years, titled Spectres of Müntzer at Sunrise. A copy of Q's Spanish edition even ended up in the hands of subcomandante Marcos. It isn't at all unrealistic to imagine that it may have inspired the people who started QAnon.

Have you seen anything in the QAnon posts that leads you to suspect any activist group in particular is behind it?

No, we haven't.

You think QAnon is a prank? Without some kind of reveal it's obviously hard to see it as that. If you think it was revealed that QAnon was actually some kind of anarchist prank, would it even matter? Would its believers abandon it or would they just see it as a smear campaign?

Let us take for granted, for a while, that QAnon started as a prank in order to trigger right-wing weirdos and have a laugh at them. There's no doubt it has long become something very different. At a certain level it still sounds like a prank, but who's pulling it on whom? Was the QAnon narrative hijacked and reappropriated by right-wing "counter-pranksters"? Counter-pranksters who operated with the usual alt-right "post-ironic" cynicism, and made the narrative more and more absurd in order to astonish media pundits while spreading reactionary content in a captivating way?

Again: are the original pranksters still involved? Is there some detectable conflict of narratives within the QAnon universe? Why are some alt-right types taking the distance from the whole thing and showing contempt for what they describe as «a larp for boomers»?

A larp it is, for sure. To be more precise, it's a fascist Alternate Reality Game. Plausibly the most active players – ie the main influencers – don't believe in all the conspiracies and metaconspiracies, but many people are so gullible that they'll gulp down any piece of crap – or lump of menstrual blood, for that matter. Moreover, there's danger of gun violence related to the larp, the precedent of Pizzagate is eloquent enough. What if QAnon inspires a wave of hate crimes?

Therefore, to us the important question is: triggering nazis like that, what is it good for? That camp is divided between those who would believe anything and those who would be "ironic" on anything and exploit anything in order to advance their reactionary, racist agenda. Can you really troll or ridicule people like those?

It's hard to foresee what would happen if QAnon were exposed as an anarchist/leftist prank on the right. If its perpetrators claimed responsibility for it and showed some evidence (for example, unmistakeable references to our book and the LBP), would the explanation itself become yet another part of the narrative, or would it generate a new narrative encompassing and defusing the previous one? In plain words: which narrative would prevail? «QAnon sucking anything into its vortex» or «Luther Blissett's ultimate prank»?

In any case, we'd never have started anything like that ourselves. Way too dangerous.

#QAnon #Luther Blissett #Q #novel #Wu Ming

50 notes · View notes

thebluemartini · 6 years

Text

A Monolith Between Them - Part II {Nessian}

A/N: Thank you SO much for all the likes and comments!! My heart is warmed :)

TITLE: A Monolith Between Them

PREVIOUS PARTS: Part I

FIC LENGTH: 4 Parts

FIC SYNOPSIS: Post-ACOFAS. After living in the Illyrian Mountains for six months, Nesta decides she wants to perform the Blood Rite. Cassian isn’t too pleased.

*This fic is also posted on AO3 and FF.

TAGGING: @my-fan-side @aelinashgalathynius @acotar-feels @city-of-fae @eclectichollow @strangeenemy @mindnumbmikey @saltierthanbottomofapretzelbag @fucking-winchester-trash @themoonunderstoodmynightmares @archeron-queen @jadeajibola @endlessworld246 @wolffrising @writevswrong

Part II - Weakness

Day One of the Blood Rite:

The day started out simple enough. Right as the sun had begun to rise, Devlon flew Nesta to a neighboring mountain of Ramiel to begin her journey. All of the participants had been dropped off at various points on the mountains surrounding the enormous monolith. If anyone wanted to form a team, they would have the challenge of finding each other. And if anyone wanted to strike down an enemy, they would have to determine if the challenge of tracking them down was worth it. For you only successfully performed the Blood Rite and became a true Illyrian Warrior if you completed the task of reaching the top of Ramiel within a week. If you didn’t...you were left to perish.

It was all a bit uneventful at first. When Devlon had dropped her off, he immediately flew off without a word, leaving Nesta to stare up at the daunting peak of Ramiel.

From what she could see, its slopes were filled with numerous boulders and other jagged rock formations. A layer of snow covered the entire mountain, with some areas more heavily blanketed with it than others.

On the mountain where she currently stood, she was at its midpoint. She would first need to descend this one to get to the base of Ramiel.

The cold, bitter wind swirled past her, sending strands of her hair flying around her. Not wanting to waste a moment, she had immediately surged forward to begin her descent. Despite the blast of cold air hitting in her face, she could still feel the imprint of Cassian’s warm hand pressed against her cheek.

He had come to say goodbye…

With all of her nerves about the impending Blood Rite earlier that morning, she felt touched and comforted by his presence despite his desire for her not to do this. And that comfort in this stressful, overwhelming time overrode the anger she had felt towards him.

And his words…

“Come back to me.”

A chill went through her...and it didn’t seem to be because of the weather.

Could he have possibly implied -

But no, she couldn’t afford to dwell on his words right now and what they may have meant. She needed to stay focused and remain alert of her surroundings. Plus, whenever it came to trying to figure out Cassian’s feelings, she always ended up feeling like a complete fool.

Pushing Cassian out of her mind, she aimed her attention on the terrain in front of her and continued hiking down.

She wasn’t sure precisely how much time had passed, but it certainly wasn’t long before she thought of Cassian again.

She had discovered a stream amidst the trees and kneeled down to scoop up water to drink. The action reminded her of a scene from a romance novel she had read. In the story, a runaway princess had stopped to collect some water from a stream in a forest. A scoundrel had found her and was willing to help her escape to another town away from her royal duties for a price. But of course, love blossomed between them as they traversed the woods together and shared some steamy encounters.

Cassian gave her that book.

When she first arrived in the Illyrian Mountains, she had been unwilling to leave her room for weeks and refused to talk to anyone. Despite her fury at her situation and at Cassian, the persistent bastard still tried to help her. Knowing she was bored cooping herself up in that room, he would leave a romance novel for her outside her bedroom door each day.

For the first two days, she refused to take the books, not wanting to admit she was miserably bored. But on the third day, she gave in and grabbed all three books that were waiting for her. She read them all within the following days, and each day she eagerly awaited the next book Cassian would bring her.

Somehow, he had picked ones that were of her favorite genre - historical romances. All of them were engrossing and helped her forget that she was stuck in the Illyrian Mountains.

But of course she never told him how much she enjoyed them. She never said anything about the books. And yet, somehow he already knew…

“Nesta,” Cassian called out in greeting outside the closed door to her bedroom.

“What?” Nesta replied, annoyed. She had just reached a dramatic part of the novel Cassian gave her yesterday. She only had a few more pages left to read.

“Did you enjoy, uh, ‘Seducing the Scoundrel’ last week?” Cassian asked her. “If so, I’ve got the sequel here: ‘Ravishing the Rogue.’”

“Just set it outside the door as usual,” Nesta instructed, acting like she was disinterested. However, internally, she was rejoicing that Cassian bought her the next installment of that series.

“Why don’t you open up the door and get it from me right now?” he asked in a way that told her he had a stupid, silly grin upon his face as he said it.

“Just leave it there. I’m not dressed yet.”

“I don’t mind,” Cassian said flirtatiously, causing Nesta to let out a grunt of annoyance.

“Just leave it there,” Nesta sternly said.

“No.”

“Stop being a buffoon. Just leave it there.”

“I think you need to get out of your room. It’s been over a week. So come get it.”

“No.”

“Then you’re not getting the sequel.”

Nesta let out a huff. “Fine. Then...I don’t want it.”

“Well, if you change your mind, I’ll leave it in the living room.”

“Fine.”

She heard him retreat from outside her door, then a few minutes later heard the sounds of the main cabin door shutting closed. Nesta finished reading the last few pages of her current book before putting it down on the nightstand beside her bed.

Now she didn’t have a book to spend the day reading. And one she desperately wanted to read was just sitting in the living room…

Getting up, she removed her nightgown and dressed for the day. Lately, she’d been spending all her days in a nightgown, but if Cassian was going to make her leave her room, she had to look somewhat presentable if she ran into any of the other females living in the cabin.

All she had to do was just walk down the hallway and into the main room to retrieve the book. It would be quick. She likely wouldn’t have to face anyone. Just run out and come back in.

Slowly, she made her way to her door, which creaked as she turned the knob, and pulled it open. Making her way down the hallway, she entered the living room and searched for where Cassian could have possibly left the book. Walking further into the room, she found the novel resting on one of the arms of the couches.

After she picked it up, she turned around and headed straight back to her room.

But that plan was thwarted by the presence of an Illyrian general. At the entrance to her bedroom stood Cassian, who was leaning back against the closed door with a smirk upon his face.

“I knew you’d be dying to read the sequel,” he commented.

Nesta frowned as she hugged the book to her chest. “Let me back in my room,” she ordered.

“Well, unfortunately, it’s locked. So I think it’s time we go for a walk.”

Nesta scowled. “How is it locked? I didn’t lock it! I didn’t even close the door.”

“Well someone must’ve flown in through your window to lock it and closed it behind him.”

Nesta glared at him. “You dolt!”

“Let’s go. I’ll let you back in once you walk through the camp with me. It won’t take longer than ten minutes.”

Nesta sighed out of annoyance. “Fine,” she relented. “But don’t you dare talk to me,” she demanded as she walked down the hallway toward the main door. Cassian silently followed behind her with a satisfied grin on his face.

Day Two of Being Without Nesta:

Is she still alive?

Is she safe?

Is she alright?

Has she been attacked?

Has she been able to find food and shelter?

Overcome with worry over Nesta’s well-being, Cassian couldn’t fall asleep. He hadn’t been able to sleep since Nesta began the Blood Rite. Every minute of the past two days, he’d been living in constant wonder of what Nesta was doing and if she was still alive.

Surely, if she was no longer alive, he would feel...something? Being apart from her was already a source of torment, one that was extremely hard to bear.

Saying goodbye to her the day before was painful. The thought of possibly never seeing her again was a stab to his heart. Being separated from her and knowing she could die was suffocating. It felt like a vital part of him was missing, and his soul was constantly calling to hers.

He couldn’t help but wonder if this was how she felt at the thought of leaving him to die on the battlefield against Hybern. He had pleaded for her to go, but she couldn’t.

With a sigh over his restlessness, he left his bedroom to sit on the sofa in his living room. The action didn’t help him to stop thinking of Nesta though because everything had begun to remind him of her. As he stared into the flames within his fireplace, he thought of her fiery spirit that could leave you feeling scorched or warmed. The painting that hung above his fireplace was one depicting the Sidra River flowing through Velaris, which has now become a constant reminder of the place where he discarded his Winter Solstice present for her.

And this couch...

It had been a long day. Cassian had spent most of the day with Rhys visiting various camps, trying to quell their discontent. He was ready to crash upon his bed as soon as he got home.

Instead, he had come home to an unfamiliar sight that delayed his plans of going to sleep instantly.

Upon walking into his living room, he found Nesta sleeping on his couch while the flames within the fireplace had been dying down.

Heading to the fireplace, he added more logs to the fire before turning back to face Nesta. The breaths she was taking were short and shallow. Her face kept turning back and forth. Grabbing a blanket from a wooden chest across the room, Cassian laid it over her body.

“Nesta,” Cassian said softly as he sat on the edge of the couch beside her body and gently shook her shoulder.

Nesta abruptly opened her eyes. First, they appeared terrified at being awoken unexpectedly, but they evolved into a look of relief when she saw him beside her.

“Where have you been?” she asked sleepily as she sat up.

“I was out with Rhys today, talking to camp leaders,” he explained.

“Oh.”

“Why are you here?”

“I...I had a nightmare. It’s stupid. I should go.” Nesta moved to get off the couch, but Cassian halted her and didn’t budge from his seat.

“No, tell me. What happened?”

“Nothing. It was just a dream about the war, and I just had to come here and…” Nesta stopped.

“And what?” Cassian gently asked.

“And see that...you were still alive.”

That was the first time she had just decided to waltz into his home without even bothering to wait for him to answer the door or for him to even be home. It occurred a month or so ago...and what she had said had finally given him hope that she at least cared about him.

In that moment, he didn’t tease her about it, nor try to get her to admit anything more. The walls around her had come down and he didn’t want to see them close up again so soon.

He’d do anything to see those walls brought down once more. But who knew if there would ever be a chance he could witness such a thing happen again...

Day Three of the Blood Rite:

Nesta had an eerie, unsettling feeling that she was being watched.

She first sensed it yesterday while the sun was beginning its descent. She thought she heard some footsteps crunch through the snow while she was pulling a pine cone off a pine tree she had come across.

Leaving her feeling uneasy, Nesta decided not to sleep last night. Instead, she felt it best to continue trekking down the mountain in the dark until she figured out if someone was following her or not.

She felt so weak. Her feet and legs were aching terribly. She plopped down on the ground beside a boulder, allowing her legs to lay upon the ground stretched out, while she leaned back with the palms of her hands laid against the ground to support her.

Her belly let out a loud grumble. She was terribly famished. The few pine nuts she found yesterday hardly satiated her hunger.

She knew what it was like to go hungry, considering how her father had been unwilling to take care of her and her sisters for so long. At least with her current situation, she knew she would be getting her next meal in five days...as long as she survived the Blood Rite.

While the mountain was still covered in snow, the skies were clear and the sun gleamed over her. Feeling its warmth upon her face, Nesta closed her eyes and took a few deep, soothing breaths.

When she found herself drifting off, she shook her head and opened her eyes as she attempted to jolt herself awake. But when she did, she found an unfamiliar dark-haired Illyrian male standing over her and holding a stick in his hands that had been sharpened to a point on one end of it..

Alarmed, Nesta scurried to get up. But with her weak legs, she wasn’t fast enough to get away from him. Instead, the Illyrian grabbed hold of her hair to yank her back to the ground. Nesta let out a yelp as she fell and made sure to turn on her back on the ground. The male immediately pinned her legs to the ground as Nesta squirmed and tried to get out of his grip. He acted quickly, aiming his stick for her chest.

Nesta managed to quickly wriggle her body so he missed her chest. Instead, his stick came crashing down into her thigh.

“AHHHHHH!” Nesta screamed in pain as the stick made contact. The Illyrian first groaned over missing the body part he intended to strike, but then grinned delightfully to himself when he heard her cry out. He crawled over Nesta’s squirming body as she tried to sit up and drag herself away from him.

He already had so much power over her…Her mind raced, thinking of what she could do to get through this…

“You shouldn’t have punched him. You should have slapped him, and then you would have won,” Cassian remarked as Nesta winced while rubbing her right hand. He was leaning against the fence surrounding the training ring where Nesta had just been defeated by an Illyrian male.

All the Illyrian bystanders and her opponent had already wandered off, but Nesta remained standing in the middle of the ring as she contemplated how she could have beat him.

“I didn’t ask for your advice,” Nesta snobbily replied while turned away from him.

Cassian just smirked as he shrugged. “Just trying to help you, sweetheart. If you won’t allow me to train with you, the least I can do is gift you with some of my wondrous wisdom from my 547 years of life.”

“Wow, you’re so archaic and yet still haven’t grown out of being an obnoxious twit. I’m amazed no one has paralyzed you yet for being so pompous.”

Cassian continued to smile. “Everyone knows if they tried, it would be a losing fight.”

Nesta rolled her eyes, still facing away from him. “You certainly have a wild imagination.”

Suddenly, she heard him approach her from behind, causing her to turn around. “Well, maybe I need someone to help tame my wild ways…” he said with a glint in his eye.

Nesta shook her head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“You’re the one who’s being ridiculous. You’re not letting the General Commander of the Night Court's army give you advice about your fighting tactic.”

Nesta sighed in defeat. “Fine. What should I have done to win?”

“You’re less likely to injure your hand with a slap rather than a punch. Next time, you need to cup your hand like so,” he said as he curved his right hand. “Then slap it against your opponent’s ear, which could rupture his eardrum and possibly knock him out. It’s even better if you are able to slap both of his ears at the same time.”

The Illyrian pushed Nesta’s shoulders to the ground and his hands made their way to her neck, attempting to squeeze her. “A female will never complete the Blood Rite,” he remarked cruelly.

But with his head right in front of her, she was given the perfect opportunity. She lifted both of her hands and slammed them against his ears,

Immediately, the Illyrian’s grip on Nesta’s neck slackened, and he appeared dizzy for a second. Nesta managed to twist her upper body away from him before he could collapse on her.

He crashed hard to the ground face down and laid motionless.

With her heart rapidly pumping within her chest, Nesta slowly sat up and took a look at the stick protruding from her thigh. Blood was gradually seeping from the wound.

She couldn’t yank out the stick or else she risked severe bleeding. Instead, she would just have to break off as much of the stick as she could.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the stick with both of her hands. One was placed against her thigh to hold the hold the stick in the wound, while the other gripped the stick.. With a cry as the wood twisted in her thigh, Nesta broke off some of the stick.

Suddenly, she heard a groan escape from the Illyrian male beside her, causing her to gasp.

She had to get out of this area as soon as possible.

She attempted to quickly stand up, but the pain pounding n her thigh made her wobbly. Her instability caused her body to come crashing back to the ground. In her haste, she forgot about the big boulder that was near her. Her head collided with the huge rock during the fall, knocking her unconscious.

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

A/N: So when I first had the idea for this fic, I only really wanted to write what would happen before the Rite and after the Rite, but not really about the Rite itself. But then I was like "Well, I at least have to write a little about the Rite..." so hopefully it's going okay so far, haha. Let me know what you think! And let me know if you want to be tagged!

#nesta archeron #cassian #nesta #a court of thorns and roses #a court of mist and fury #a court of wings and ruin #a court of frost and starlight #nessian #post-acofas #fanfiction #nesta x cassian #acofas #acotar #acomaf #acowar

70 notes · View notes

pilgrimguyanne · 3 years

Text

On 185 #conventstrong #ConventPride #sjcpos185

I belong to a long generation of SJC girls in my paternal family. Grandmother, great aunts, aunts, cousins, sister, me. In total, there are at least 17 women in my family who passed through SJC POS. Not everyone had a great experience, and that's their story to tell, not mine. But I had a wonderful time.

I was Cluny educated from the age of 4, and passed for SJC POS from St Joseph's Girls' RC. I was one of four girls from my primary school, 14 others went to sister school SJC SJ, and 3 to the other sister school, Providence. I have no idea what it was like for them, but for me, SJCPOS was a culture shock.

Other schools have rules and order marks and pink slips. They tell you how many inches below the knee the skirt should be and how many folds a sock can have. SJC POS did not have this. SJC POS had tradition. You figured out what to do, how to behave, because you saw other people doing it, or because you saw someone being told off for falling short. No one really TOLD you anything. SJCPOS' rules were very vague. They comprised statements like, propriety, without defining what was improprietous. This, for those who are interested, could range from anything as dramatic as talking during assembly, talking on the steps on the way to class after assembly, to spitting in the road, to cavorting on Pembroke Street, to, and this was the worst of all, hooting while applauding. After the first few months, I kind of figured out, and soon I settled into life as a "dirty" convent girl.

I have lots of great memories of school. I think my favourite was in Form 2, when the Phantom Scribbler wrote "blah blahbiddy blah blah I am the Phantom Scribbler" on the bench that faced the car park on the outside of Sr Paul's office and then defaced a stall in the junior school toilets. Mrs Crouch stood in assembly and said "Phantom Scribbler when I find you, I will suspend you. In fact, I will slap you, then I will suspend you." She was having trouble with that though, so eventually she cancelled class for a morning and gave everyone a bit of sandpaper and we had to sandpaper every surface of the school. Every desk, every AV room and lab table. She personally checked, and when she got to my class, my desk neighbour got into trouble because she had been building a straw hole to drink the copious amount of nesquik she consumed. I never found out who the Phantom was, so am making this note public, in the hope that she sees it and knows how happy she made me.

I have some less pleasant memories too. But nothing too dramatic. Nothing more than the average teenager. I had a lovely group of friends. They were really smart and so after a rocky start academically their work ethic rubbed off and I started really shining academically. We weren't very cool and didn't rebel or anything, so we liked looking on when other girls opened nail salons offering French manicures with liquid paper or did Geography homework in Chemistry class. We talked during Bio and French in Form 3, but somehow we were never enough of a distraction to warrant teachers separating us, so the 9 of us formed a band in the back. I'm still close friends with 3 of them, and in contact with 3, and have lost contact with 1.

I enjoyed the Co-curricular experience at SJC a lot. I loved October with lip sync and food fair, and was sad when that ended. I loved Divali, Prefects Concert and Captains Concert (why did they have 2 different concerts?). I loved anything inter-house, except inter-house Carnival. In Form 1 I lied and said my religion was against Carnival so I would not have to dress up and jump in the courtyard. I liked singing Calypso though, and entered Calypso in Form 3 and 5, which I won and got a CD voucher which I used to buy a Best of Queen CD, having being introduced to Bohemian Rhadsody via lipsync. I loved sports day, and the two years we had inter-house singing and we sang Somebody Bigger than You and I and St Joseph's house sang Somebotty bigger. Hilarious. I loved swim meet. People always accuse SJC POS of being all academic, but this wasn't true of my time there, though of course academics were important.

I tried lots of different extracurricular activities, too, but the ones I remained most committed to for my 7 years were Literary and Debate Society (what some people called Debate, but that is not the name of the club) and choir. I loved Debate because there were never any teachers there, just students debating and discussing ideas. We had so much freedom to explore. Nowadays I guess the supervising teacher would have to be present for the meetings, but from 1995-2002, we did our own thing. I loved participating in inter-class debates, and I still remember in Form 4 when I got naked debater of the match in the Modern versus Earth Sci debate. I was really dedicated to the choir. In my time in SJC, there was only one choir show I didn't perform in, the Christmas concert in Form 5, because it was the only time I had a main role in a Love Movement production (Stella in the Christmas musical about stars) and it was too much. I still find the experience of singing with other people extremely enriching and think that chroal singing might be the key to world peace.

But yes, SJC was very academic. I don't see anything wrong with this, to be honest. Every year it receives some of the most academically gifted girls in the SEA. It would actually be a sin, a waste of their talent, to not push them to try to achieve their academic potential. I don't think it was too much pressure and, while I do think more could have been done to encourage other subject areas and interests, I think that's a shortcoming of the system rather than the school. In lower 6, I made the decision to drop History after a few weeks of class and change to Spanish. It meant that I was no longer competing with my classmate for the Modern Studies open scholarship, but was now going up for Languages. This was not my motivation for changing, but it's perhaps the single most important academic decision I have ever made. Both my classmate Krista Beuzelin and I won open scholarships. Winning a scholarship shaped my life in ways I cannot explain in this post.

My wish for SJC is honesty. Maybe you have noticed that I never shared the school history video. There's a reason for that. Part of the 185 message is that the school was opened for members of all races, classes and backgrounds. If this is in some original mission statement, it must be read with 1836 eyes. In 1836, apprenticeship was still going on. Opening a secondary school for *girls* who had formerly been enslaved would have made no sense. A primary school, maybe (and this explains the fact that all SJCs have a Cluny Primary school nearby or on the same compound). Whoever all included, it was definitely not the children of the formerly enslaved. All the early photographic evidence shows that. The school was opened for the daughters of the planters and the island elite . It's something that former Provincial Superior Sister Gabrielle Mason as addressed many times. The sisters were invited by the planters. It's not the philanthropic start one might wish for. But part of celebrating your history is interrogating it and facing it. The school has a history of racism, and this is also part of the story. But if you read on, you will see that the school does expand. It does include girls from all backgrounds now. It's learning, growing and evolving. And this growth is also worth celebrating. But first you have to acknowledge it.

I learned a lot of things at SJCPOS, but most important was "to whom much is given, much is expected". SJC gave me and so many others so much. I hope we continue looking for ways to use it to the service of our God, our school, our country and our world.

0 notes

michaelandy101-blog · 4 years

Text

Diversity and Inclusion in SEO: BIPOC and LGBTQ+ SEOs Share Their Experiences

New Post has been published on http://tiptopreview.com/diversity-and-inclusion-in-seo-bipoc-and-lgbtq-seos-share-their-experiences/

Diversity and Inclusion in SEO: BIPOC and LGBTQ+ SEOs Share Their Experiences

People around the world are having important discussions about systemic racism, overt and covert bias, and how we can all do better.

Understanding the problem is the first step. To get a sense of conditions within the SEO community, we asked people to take our Diversity and Inclusion in SEO survey as part of our ongoing project to study the state of SEO.

Due to the subject matter and the way we reached out, our respondents were not a snapshot of the industry as a whole. We were very pleased to have 326 SEOs complete the survey, including a significant number of female, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ participants. These are important voices that need to be heard, but as we analyzed the data, we were careful not to generalize the industry as a whole without accounting for potential sampling bias. We addressed this by looking at groups separately — straight white cisgender men, BIPOC women, LGBTQ+ men, and so forth.

We recognize that intersectionality is common. Many of the SEOs who shared their stories with us don’t fit neatly into a single group. We addressed that by counting people in each category that applied to them, so a gay Black man’s answers would be factored into both the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC analyses.

Who participated?

Of the 326 SEOs who participated, 231 respondents (70.9%) described themselves as white. Among the rest, 32 SEOs described themselves as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish; 28 Black or African American; 18 Asian or Asian American; 11 Middle Eastern or North African; eight Indian or South Asian; four Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander; and three American Indian or Alaska Native. (Some people were counted in more than one category.)

Our respondents included 203 SEOs who identify as women (including one transgender woman), 109 who identify as men (including two transgender men), and 11 who consider themselves nonbinary, genderqueer, two-spirit, or gender nonconformist. Three people preferred not to share their gender.

With regard to sexual orientation, 72.8% described themselves as heterosexual, 25.2% as LGBTQ+, and 2% preferred not to say.

About two-thirds (218 SEOs) of the participants were from the U.S., and about one in 10 (35 SEOs) were from the United Kingdom. The rest came from 26 other countries across the globe. The average age was 34.5 with 6.9 years of experience in SEO. (Please see the methodology section at the end for more details.)

How is the SEO community doing with diversity and inclusion?

We started our study by asking SEOs how our industry compares with the rest of the business world when it comes to discrimination and bias. More than half of our participants (57.7%) had a different career or significant job experience in another field before working in SEO, so we figured they’d be in a position to know.

Overall, most people (58.7%) think SEO is about the same as other professions. But among those who disagree, more think it’s worse (26%) than better (15.2%).

Surprisingly, there was also no statistically significant difference between BIPOC and white respondents when we asked about prevalence of bias in the industry. However, when we asked how big a problem it is, things got interesting.

Both BIPOC and white SEOs felt much more positively about their own companies than the industry as a whole.

Slightly more than 40% of both BIPOC and white SEOs said discrimination is “not a serious problem at all” within their own companies. However, almost three-quarters of BIPOC SEOs (74.0%) and more than two-thirds of white SEOs (67.5%) said bias is a “moderately serious” or “extremely serious” problem in the SEO industry.

Emotions ran high in the comments for this section. Jamar Ramos, 38, the black male chief operations officer of Crunchy Links in Belmont, California wrote, “White men on SEO Twitter are the f***ing worst. They are defensive, uncouth, and destructive for the industry. So scared of losing power they will drive EVERY BIPOC from SEO if they could.”

Another Black SEO, a 29-year-old woman at a Chicago agency, commented, “As a Black woman (and queer at that), I have definitely not seen a woman like me. I always (somewhat) joked around that I’ll be the Queen of SEO, but underneath those words was because I saw not only women underrepresented in the industry, but other minority subsects of being a woman underrepresented as well, such as being a Black woman and/or a queer Black woman. Where are we?!!”

Other perspectives were represented, as well. Said another 28-year-old Black female SEO, “I’m thrilled to work in an industry where there is the freedom to find multiple agencies that are welcoming to all, and the additional freedom to strike out on my own if I ever felt I should.” Many comments in later sections backed up these sentiments, with endorsements of the SEOs’ own companies and their diversity and inclusion policies.

How bad is it? Frequency of racial or ethnic bias in SEO

Our respondents were more diverse than the SEO industry as a whole, so we expect that their experiences would be a bit different, as well. Also, our survey was based on self-reporting, which can be inconsistent. That said, overall, 48.7% of our respondents told us they never experience racial or ethnic bias. Among the others, 6.7% experience racial or ethnic bias at least once a week, 10.9% at least once a month, 9.2% every couple of months, and 24.4% said it was rare but did happen on occasion.

Knowing that 7 out of 10 of our respondents were white, we broke the data down by the SEOs’ self-reported ethnic backgrounds to get a clearer idea about the extent of racial or ethnic bias. Here’s what we found.

Asian and Asian American SEOs were the most likely to say they experience ethnic bias at least once a week, followed by Hispanic or Latino SEOs.

Most Black or African American SEOs said discrimination was a monthly or bi-monthly experience for them. Not surprisingly, white SEOs were the least likely to experience racial or ethnic bias, although about a third said they do get discriminated against based on their heritage or cultural identity.

We’d like to know more about the racial and ethnic discrimination white SEOs are facing. Unfortunately, we focused on BIPOC and LGBTQ+ issues in this survey and did not include questions about religion, so we don’t know what role that might play. We also did not address ageism or disability issues. With each study we publish, we realize how much more we have to learn. We will be sure to explore those issues in future studies.

Gender and LGBTQ+ bias in SEO

There are a lot of forms of LGBTQ+ and gender bias. We let our survey participants interpret the phrase for themselves when asking how often they experience it. Overall, 94.1% of LGBTQ+ SEOs experience bias at least some of the time, and more than a third do so at least once a month. However, 72.5% of the heterosexual SEOs also said they feel gender discrimination at least some of the time.

The impact of bias

About 4 in 10 SEOs said they experienced bias in the past year. We asked them what impact it has had on their productivity, career trajectory, and happiness. Here’s what they said:

69.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my productivity and sense of engagement.” (38.3% strongly agreed; 30.8% slightly agreed)

72.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my career advancement and earnings.” (39.3% strongly agreed; 32.8% slightly agreed)

74.6% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my happiness, confidence, or well-being.” (42.6% strongly agreed; 32.0% slightly agreed)

The cost of bias

How do discrepancies in pay, being passed over for promotion, and other forms of discrimination add up over the course of a career? There are many variables when comparing incomes. For example, pay can vary based on years of experience, size of company, and specific expertise.

We did the best we could to compare the incomes of SEOs with similar career profiles. Ultimately, we chose to focus on SEO generalists working in the United States, which gave us the largest pool of responses. We broke them down by gender, ethnicity, and age. Our sample sizes for men ranged from 8 to 22 people in each subcategory. Our sample sizes for women ranged from 13 to 35 for each subcategory.

These were small groups, so the results are far from definitive. But the consistency of a disparity merits conversation. Here’s what we found.

For male SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $75,312 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $63,500 per year (18.6% less).

In their 30s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $95,833 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $89,091 per year (7.6% less).

In their 40s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $115,937 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $90,417 per year (28.2% less).

For female SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $75,384 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $61,250 per year (23% less).

In their 30s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $86,571 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $86,094 per year (0.6% less).

In their 40s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $109,375 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $101,094 per year (7.6% less).

What does on-the-job bias look like?

“Where are you really from?” “Are you the new diversity hire?” “But you all look alike.” “You’re Asian, so you’re good at math, right?” “You don’t speak Spanish?” “Do you play basketball?” “I think what she was trying to say was…”

It can happen to anyone, but people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and women hear things like this often. A microaggression is a subtle behavior directed at a member of a marginalized group. It can be verbal or nonverbal, delivered consciously or not, and can pose a cumulative, damaging effect to the receiver.

Columbia University defines racial microaggressions as “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities” that contain “hostile, derogatory, or negative” content or subtext. The result, according to a City University of New York study, can be “anxiety and depressive symptoms over and above the effects of non-race-specific stress.”

Minority racial and ethnic groups are often targets of microaggressions, but these offenses can be directed at any marginalized group in addition to people of color, including women, people with disabilities, individuals in the LGBTQ+ community, those with mental illness, single parents, and people in lower economic classes.

Many SEOs reported experiencing a cascade of microaggressions and similar offenses. A 46-year-old white woman in the U.K. with more than 15 years of experience in the field wrote, “I don’t feel I get taken at all seriously as a female SEO — to the extent that I stopped attending events years ago. It’s a total boys club, to the point of afterparties at strip clubs. As a woman, I’ve had male SEOs expect me to do all the legwork because my time is less important, and then they try and take credit for my work. When I called them out, I was met with bullying. It’s a disgusting situation to still be in after this long in the industry.”

The most common microaggression reported during the past year, by more than 4 in 5 SEOs (81.4%) in our poll, was being interrupted or spoken over. Second on the list, however, was an actively offensive action: Nearly 6 in 10 reported having an idea taken by someone else (57.5%).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, 44.1% of respondents reported being paid less than similarly qualified employees. A 2016 Pew Research center report supported the data on this enduring travesty with regard to race and gender. Additionally, Census Bureau data from as recently as 2018 showed that women of all races still earn 82 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Among the 48.4% of respondents who report being talked down to or treated as less capable than similarly qualified employees, several made poignant comments to back up their responses.

A 26-year-old biracial woman at a small Midwestern agency said, “I am constantly having to prove my case or strategies, even when the target audience I am marketing/optimizing for looks more like me than my colleagues. I am questioned constantly and asked to prove my work, despite being the only person at the company with the knowledge and skills to produce the work.”

And one technical SEO said, “I am a white, cisgendered woman, so I have a lot of privilege, but I still have clients who feel the need to verify my recommendations with their own ‘research’ (rudimentary Google search) or by checking my advice against the opinion of white men, many of whom have less experience than I do (‘My nephew learned about SEO in college, and he says …’).”

Other common verbal microaggressions reported by survey respondents include being addressed unprofessionally (41.3%), hearing crude or offensive jokes about race and ethnicity (36.1%), or about sexual orientation or gender identity (38.5%).

Drilling down: specific microaggression experiences by group

We asked SEOs in our survey about the types of microaggressions they’ve been exposed to in the field, and found that some types of microaggressions are more commonly experienced by certain groups. We sorted respondents into six groups based on gender, ethnicity, and LGBTQ+ orientation to see how different issues affected each demographic. In some cases, we found surprising results.

At least half of SEOs in each group registered the most common microaggression: being interrupted or spoken over. In all, 91.1% of straight, white, cisgender women and 90.7% of LGBTQ+ women report this happening to them, while a surprising 82.5% of straight, white, cisgender men share the experience. Men in the BIPOC group reported barely half as many incidences of this microaggression in their experience.

All three categories of women were most likely to report a pay gap and having their ideas stolen. Reports from straight, white, cisgender women (65.8%), LGBTQ+ women (60.5%), and BIPOC women (59.3%) were remarkably consistent, falling within just slightly more than six percentage points of one another.

Meanwhile, men in the BIPOC group were most likely to say they’d been passed over for a promotion (41.7%), followed closely by LGBTQ+ men (40%), and women (37.2%).

Bad-faith banter

Conversations on the job were fertile ground for verbal microaggressions of different types. What some might consider harmless banter may not be harmless at all. We explored jokes and other verbal interactions that SEOs reported as disrespectful and hurtful.

We defined four different categories and found that the most common complaint occurred among straight, white, and cisgender women, 68.4% of whom reported “being talked down to or treated as less capable than similarly qualified employees.”

The other two most common complaints involved hearing “offensive jokes about race or ethnicity.” A total of 58.3% of BIPOC men reported hearing such jokes, but interestingly, even more LGBTQ+ men (60%) said they’d been exposed to this kind of inappropriate humor. And 37% of BIPOC women endured the same treatment.

A disappointing wealth of examples of this egregious behavior was described in the comments.

A 32-year-old white SEO who identifies as gender nonconformist described the time a “past employer, during the interview process, told me he wanted to make it clear to his (service industry) customers he wasn’t going to send any Black people to their homes. This job was rampant with racism and misogyny. I took the job out of desperation and got out as soon as I could.”

Another SEO, a 37-year-old Black woman, wrote, “When starting out, I worked at a boutique agency where many people felt comfortable telling Black and Asian jokes to me. I was on time for a business trip meetup at 5 a.m. and one employee joked that he didn’t realize Black people could get up that early. I left as soon as I could get another job that wouldn’t ding my résumé.”

Slightly more than 53% of LGBTQ+ women and men responded that they’d heard offensive jokes about gender identity or sexual orientation, the highest in that category. Likewise, LGBTQ+ men (20%) and women (14%) were most likely to have been asked how they got hired.

Mixed messages at work

Next, we considered four categories in which employees are implicitly singled out because of their membership in a marginalized group.

On the one hand, we asked whether group members had been singled out to promote an appearance of diversity — through tokenism or by assigning them to resolve problems of bias. The dubious value that such a request (under the best of circumstances) might signify, though, is negated by their opposite and often accompanying tendencies: targeting certain people or groups with suspicion (by being monitored more closely) or with criticism for their being “too sensitive” to discriminatory language/behavior.

LGBTQ+ men were most likely to report instances of tokenism (26.7%) and being labeled “too sensitive” (33.3%) to discrimination. BIPOC women ranked next in those categories, with 22.2% and 29.6%, respectively. Similarly, one-third of BIPOC women (33.3%) reported being supervised more closely than similarly qualified employees.

The comments for this section were rife with examples, like the one from a 36-year-old Hispanic/Latino male who described “being asked to ‘woke-check’ social content to see if anything in it might trigger a backlash from the immigrant community.”

Unsurprisingly, straight, white, cisgender men and women ranked in the bottom half of those reporting in each of the four categories. But men and women in other categories reported varying results. Nearly three times as many LGBTQ+ men (26.7%) as women (9.3%) said they’d experienced tokenism. Meanwhile, BIPOC women were far more likely than men — 29.6% to 8.3% — to report being labeled “too sensitive” for calling out discriminatory behavior or language.

We specifically asked BIPOC respondents to our survey how often they’d experienced three common forms of microaggression, dividing participants into four groups:

Middle Eastern/North African

Black/African American

Hispanic/Latino

Asian/Asian-American

All four groups reported that the most common of the three microaggressions we asked about was being complimented for being articulate or “well-spoken” — indicating an implied and unfounded expectation that they wouldn’t be. Three-quarters (75%) of Middle Eastern/North African respondents and two-thirds (66.7%) of Black/African American survey participants said this had happened to them.

In addition, nearly half (47.6%) of Hispanic/Latino group members surveyed said they’d been asked where they’re “actually” from. This was at least 20 percentage points higher than for any of the other three groups. The results appear to reflect a bias against immigrants from Mexico and Central America, and a baseless distrust of their status as citizens or legal residents.

The third question explored what researchers have identified as a tendency to view members of other racial or ethnic groups as interchangeable: a bias that can lead to stereotyping and discrimination. In this instance, Black/African American participants were significantly more likely (44.4%) to indicate they’d been mistaken for someone else of their race or ethnicity.

How diverse are SEOs’ workplaces?

Representation of diverse populations is a huge issue in the microcosm of the SEO industry, as well as the macrocosm of business and society in general. We were interested in how SEOs viewed diversity in the rosters at their workplaces, both in the rank-and-file employee roster and in executive or leadership positions.

Survey respondents were nearly evenly split between working for an agency and working in-house at a company (45.9% and 42.2%, respectively), while the remainder split the difference between freelancing (5.3%) and consulting (6.6%) in the SEO field.

Overall diversity levels never exceeded 15.3% for organizations of any size, hitting that level for companies with 2-10 employees and again for businesses with 251-1,000 workers. Companies with 11-25 workers turned in a percentage of 12.1%.

Percentages were lowest at the largest corporations, with the worst showing (5%) at companies with 5,001-10,000 workers. Companies with more than 10,000 employees (6.5%) and with 1,001-5,000 workers (6.9%) did only slightly better. One-person companies were also relatively less likely to be diverse than other small or midsize businesses, at 7.5%.

To further plumb the depths of representation in various SEO employment situations, we asked survey respondents to estimate the level of diversity in their organizations, including at leadership levels. We asked the same question for racial and ethnic diversity and for gender and LGBTQ+ diversity.

BIPOC diversity

In exploring diversity levels for SEOs with regard to race and ethnicity, we found a fairly even split between those that were rated “somewhat” or “very diverse” (slightly more than 54%) and those that were “not very” or not at all diverse (roughly 46%). At the extremes, roughly 16% were very diverse, and just slightly less were not diverse at all.

But, as mentioned, leadership is less diverse: Fully half (50.4%) of companies said they had no diverse individuals in leadership roles, and just over 7% reported more than half of their leadership was diverse. In total, 82.5% of respondents said diverse individuals comprised less than 25% of their company’s leadership or less.

At major tech companies such as Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft, the bulk of racial and ethnic diversity in 2017 was represented by Asian employees, with Black and Hispanic employees making up just small slivers of the workforce.

Gender and LGBTQ+ diversity

When it comes to gender or sexual orientation, diversity results are slightly higher than those for race and ethnicity. More than 6 in 10 respondents (61.8%) answered that their companies were either very (20.9%) or somewhat (40.9%) diverse, compared with just 12% who said they were not diverse at all.

More specifically, however, the data seems to indicate less diversity.

For women, a 2018 report by the National Center for Women & Technology found that their share of the workforce at tech-related companies was 26%, far shy of the 57% for the U.S. workforce in general. Meanwhile, Black, Latina, and Native American women made up just 4% of computing jobs, even though they accounted for 16% of the overall population.

The numbers for LGBTQ+ leadership in our survey were even less encouraging: More than 4 in 10 survey participants (41.7%) said their leadership teams did not include any LGBTQ+ members, while a mere 4.4% said that more than a quarter of those team members were LGBTQ+ individuals.

An interesting finding: 37.4% of those who responded said they were not sure about the LGBTQ+ membership composition of their leadership teams. This would seem to indicate that many team members choose not to share their sexual orientation, suggesting a bigger-than-expected separation between private and professional life.

How important is diversity in SEOs’ workplaces?

In answer to the question, “Is diversity and inclusion a priority in your company,” the comments varied widely. Some respondents simply answered “No” — or if it was, they weren’t aware of it.

At the other end of the spectrum were comments along the lines of “We don’t need to try; our team is just naturally diverse and inclusive.” (As with other responses, the survey cannot address the accuracy of self-assessment.) Several other comments indicated that the company strived to hire the best person for the job, “regardless of any stereotype.”

Other responses were slightly more specific. Several said their companies had only started focusing on diversity in response to the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd’s death in police custody.

Others indicated that their companies have an established focus on gender equality, but had only recently begun to address BIPOC or LGBTQ+ issues. A 34-year-old gay white man at a large company wrote, “Diversity and inclusion is a priority for the gender pay gap, but doesn’t include or reference race or LGBT. There’s a women’s mentor program to help promote women to higher roles, and there’s a women’s network to raise visibility.”

When asked whether diversity was a priority at their company, nearly half (49.7%) of the SEOs indicated that it was — nearly three times as many as those who said it wasn’t (17.2%). One in five (20.34%) weren’t sure, and 12.8% checked “Other” and were asked to elaborate with specific responses. Roughly 19% of those questioned elected not to answer.

What steps do companies take to encourage diversity and inclusion?

The prevalence of “Yes” answers was encouraging. Many of these were followed up with detailed descriptions of initiatives and programs in place to promote diversity and inclusion at the respondents’ workplaces.

For example, a 29-year-old Black woman who described her company as “very diverse” detailed the organization’s initiatives like this: “We have a diversity and inclusion council with men and women of all different backgrounds from across the world. We have a North American task force; we publish our diversity data; we do outreach to educational institutions including HBCUs [historically black colleges and universities] to source talent; and we have anti-racism and inclusion training.”

Also, a 28-year-old woman who identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native in Austin, Texas, commented, “Our leadership has recently made great strides to take action to ensure diversity and inclusion is a topic our entire company is knowledgeable about. We are also taking actions to raise awareness about inequality in the tech industry in a landmark report about BIPOC in tech as well as finding ways to volunteer with a BIPOC kids coding organization.”

The number and breadth of diversity and inclusion initiatives our SEOs described were also encouraging. These ranged from interactive activities such as diversity training sessions and workshops to company communication efforts like informative newsletters and the publication of diversity data.

When it comes to personnel management, some businesses are further seeking to instill diversity and excise bias in their criteria for recruiting, hiring, and promoting. And, especially important in response to the on-the-job-learning aspects specific to the SEO field, participation in internships and mentoring programs is also a growing and well-supported option.

A 28-year-old Black nonbinary SEO described several initiatives at her large agency, saying, “They have a group focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. They are updating their practices around recruiting and interviewing to remove any unconscious racial biases. And, providing mandatory anti-racist training for all employees.”

For more detailed information on the measures companies are enacting to improve diversity and inclusion within their organizations, continue to the section below.

What are some solutions?

Diversity and inclusion data can look discouraging overall, but anecdotal responses told us that a breadth of measures are being taken to address disparities in representation, discriminatory practices, and inherent bias in everyday operations. Here are several of the initiatives cited by survey takers to enhance diversity and inclusion in the SEO workplace.

1. Initiatives at the corporate level

Employee participation in and consultation with advisory panels and task forces was a commonly cited effort, in addition to compiling and distributing informative resources like newsletters and reading lists. Several respondents described opt-in cultural activities designed to facilitate diversity, such as setting up Slack channels around particular affinities or topics, establishing employee book clubs, and spotlighting diversity in holiday celebrations.

One SEO generalist in the U.K., a 37-year-old white woman, described several activities of her company’s diversity organization, among them “[organizing] events around different holidays so everyone feels included. We celebrate Eid and Diwali, for example, and everyone in the company is encouraged to share and request days organized around things that are important to them. It’s a great initiative and I’ve learned so much from people openly sharing and discussing.”

2. Employee resource groups

Affinity-based employee resource groups, or ERGs, were cited as extremely valued resources for SEOs. These groups foster safe and informed forums in which different groups can gather to discuss issues, devise requests, suggest solutions, and share information.

One SEO manager, a 58-year-old white trans woman with nearly 15 years in the business, commented, “I am a five-time elected board member of the LGBTQIA ERG diversity group, Pride. We have seven ERGs here at [my company].”

Depending on the workplace and its demographics and company culture, ERGs may center on shared issues of gender, age, race and ethnicity, LGBTQ+ orientation, disability, mental health, neurodiversity, religion, parenting, military or veteran status, international communities, women in leadership, and more.

Naturally, any group is most effective and receives greater respect and resources when it’s sponsored and promoted by leaders at the executive level — whether or not the leaders share the demographics of the group.

3. Personal education and growth

Each individual has a responsibility to self-educate on topics related to bias and discrimination, diversity, equity, and inclusion surrounding the struggle of groups historically targeted for exclusion and injustice.

4. Allies in leadership

The support and advocacy of leaders at the executive level is not only the only ingredient necessary for changing company cultures overall. The vocal and steadfast support of allies from other groups is essential — and, unfortunately, often still lacking.

One SEO consultant, a 49-year-old woman who is biracial Latina and white, put it quite succinctly: “I see a lot of women in the SEO industry speaking out about the lack of diversity and inclusion, but very few men in the industry. Whenever one of these conversations gets going on Twitter, most of the men in SEO whom I follow suddenly get very quiet. The industry is only going to change when men also start taking action and speaking out about how the industry treats everyone other than men. Silence is complicity.”

5. Speaking up: see something, say something

Many people witness incidents of bias but struggle with how to respond. Especially if a company has not formalized a set of procedures for addressing such conflicts, employees are left to figure it out on their own.

As we know, there is no standardized societal guidebook for how to deal with discriminatory situations, especially in the U.S., where attitudes can be polarized and discussions difficult to initiate or sustain. Consequently, people chose a variety of responses to these situations, as evidenced by these findings:

As part of our survey, we asked participants whether they’d witnessed discrimination or bias against someone in their workplace during the past year based on race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. In all, 43.2% replied that they had, so we asked these participants to go further by telling us what they did in response.

Of that group, more than 4 in 10 (42.9%) took no action because they didn’t feel comfortable getting involved. This was true even though the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission has declared that workers “have a right to work free of discrimination” based on “race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, disability, age (age 40 or older) or genetic information.”

One reason may be fear of retaliation, which the EEOC found was the most common issue cited by federal employees in discrimination cases. The same is likely true in the private sector. Respondents may fear the outcome if their employer fails to act on their report, and/or the accused discovers the source of the complaint.

In light of this, it was encouraging to find in our survey that 41.2% of witnesses to workplace discrimination told their supervisor. (Another option, reporting the conduct to Human Resources, was not included as a choice among our survey answers).

The most common answer: 56.3% confided in a colleague. This might indicate that these respondents weren’t comfortable going to an in-house supervisor, but also that they felt distressed enough about the situation that they wanted to tell someone.

Among other responses, slightly more than one-third (33.6%) spoke out in the moment, while others addressed the situation later, either with the target of the discrimination (37.8%) or the perpetrator (21%). In the accompanying comments, several reported following up later with both the target and the perpetrator.

6. Mentoring someone from a different background

SEO is a peculiar field in that there isn’t a well-defined path into the industry. The majority of SEOs are self-taught or learn on the job, figuring things out as they go. Or they have a mentor. One in three SEOs surveyed (33.1%) said mentors were their most significant source of SEO knowledge early in their careers.

Our survey asked four questions that went to the question of diversity among mentors. The first two asked whether respondents had worked with a mentor 1) of their own gender and/or 2) of the same race/ethnicity as theirs.

The results were interesting. While only 41.9% reported working with a mentor of their own gender, more than two-thirds (69.5%) said they’d worked with one of the same race/ethnicity. This would seem to indicate more diverse interaction among genders than exists between people of different races and ethnicities.

The next two questions asked whether respondents had worked with a BIPOC mentor and a member of the LGBTQ+ community. In terms of diversity, the results of the first question were disappointing, while answers to the second were encouraging.

A total of 10.8% said they’d worked with a BIPOC member, but that was far short of the U.S. population for that category, according to the U.S. Census. Black Americans alone accounted for 13.4% of the U.S. population in 2019, according to Census Bureau estimates, with Hispanic/Latino individuals checking in at 18.5%.

By contrast, 10.4% of respondents in our survey said they’d worked with a mentor from the LGBTQ+ community. That’s nearly double the percentage of LGBTQ individuals in tech-heavy California during 2019, according to the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute, which placed the figure at 5.3%.

Methodology

These insights were the result of a month-long survey of 326 SEO professionals conducted by North Star Inbound from August 24 to September 28, 2020. We promoted the survey on Twitter, our own blog, and by email. We’re grateful to Moz and Search Engine Land for also sharing the link.

In terms of gender, the SEOs described themselves as follows:

203 identify as women

109 identify as men

1 is a trans woman

2 are trans men

11 are nonbinary, genderqueer, two-spirit, or gender nonconformist

3 preferred not to say

With regard to sexual orientation:

72.8% said they were heterosexual

11.5% said they were bisexual

4.1% said they were pansexual

3.9% said they were gay

3.3% said they were lesbian

1.1% said they were asexual

1.9% preferred not to say

The SEOs described their race or ethnicity as follows: (Participants were able to check more than one box)

233 White

30 Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish

25 Black or African American

13 Asian or Asian American

7 South Asian/Indian subcontinent

5 Middle Eastern/North African/Arabian peninsula

4 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

2 American Indian or Alaska Native

The SEOs who completed the survey came from the following countries:

218 from the U.S.

35 from the U.K.

11 from Canada

9 from Germany

8 from Taiwan

6 from Spain

2 each from Australia, Brazil, France, India, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland

1 each from Argentina, Austria, China, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Peru, Portugal, and Turkey

The survey respondents’ average number of years in SEO was 6.9. The median number of years was 5. The average age was 34.5, and the median age was 32.

Source link

#General

0 notes

lakelandseo · 4 years

Text

Diversity and Inclusion in SEO: BIPOC and LGBTQ+ SEOs Share Their Experiences

Posted by NicoleDeLeon

People around the world are having important discussions about systemic racism, overt and covert bias, and how we can all do better.

Who participated?

With regard to sexual orientation, 72.8% described themselves as heterosexual, 25.2% as LGBTQ+, and 2% preferred not to say.

How is the SEO community doing with diversity and inclusion?

Overall, most people (58.7%) think SEO is about the same as other professions. But among those who disagree, more think it’s worse (26%) than better (15.2%).

Both BIPOC and white SEOs felt much more positively about their own companies than the industry as a whole.

Another Black SEO, a 29-year-old woman at a Chicago agency, commented, “As a Black woman (and queer at that), I have definitely not seen a woman like me. I always (somewhat) joked around that I'll be the Queen of SEO, but underneath those words was because I saw not only women underrepresented in the industry, but other minority subsects of being a woman underrepresented as well, such as being a Black woman and/or a queer Black woman. Where are we?!!"

Other perspectives were represented, as well. Said another 28-year-old Black female SEO, “I'm thrilled to work in an industry where there is the freedom to find multiple agencies that are welcoming to all, and the additional freedom to strike out on my own if I ever felt I should.” Many comments in later sections backed up these sentiments, with endorsements of the SEOs’ own companies and their diversity and inclusion policies.

How bad is it? Frequency of racial or ethnic bias in SEO

Asian and Asian American SEOs were the most likely to say they experience ethnic bias at least once a week, followed by Hispanic or Latino SEOs.

Gender and LGBTQ+ bias in SEO

The impact of bias

About 4 in 10 SEOs said they experienced bias in the past year. We asked them what impact it has had on their productivity, career trajectory, and happiness. Here’s what they said:

69.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my productivity and sense of engagement.” (38.3% strongly agreed; 30.8% slightly agreed)

72.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my career advancement and earnings.” (39.3% strongly agreed; 32.8% slightly agreed)

74.6% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my happiness, confidence, or well-being.” (42.6% strongly agreed; 32.0% slightly agreed)

The cost of bias

These were small groups, so the results are far from definitive. But the consistency of a disparity merits conversation. Here’s what we found.

For male SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $75,312 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $63,500 per year (18.6% less).

In their 30s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $95,833 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $89,091 per year (7.6% less).

In their 40s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $115,937 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $90,417 per year (28.2% less).

For female SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $75,384 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $61,250 per year (23% less).

In their 30s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $86,571 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $86,094 per year (0.6% less).

In their 40s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $109,375 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $101,094 per year (7.6% less).

What does on-the-job bias look like?

Among the 48.4% of respondents who report being talked down to or treated as less capable than similarly qualified employees, several made poignant comments to back up their responses.

Drilling down: specific microaggression experiences by group

Meanwhile, men in the BIPOC group were most likely to say they’d been passed over for a promotion (41.7%), followed closely by LGBTQ+ men (40%), and women (37.2%).

Bad-faith banter

A disappointing wealth of examples of this egregious behavior was described in the comments.

Mixed messages at work

Next, we considered four categories in which employees are implicitly singled out because of their membership in a marginalized group.

We specifically asked BIPOC respondents to our survey how often they’d experienced three common forms of microaggression, dividing participants into four groups:

Middle Eastern/North African

Black/African American

Hispanic/Latino

Asian/Asian-American

How diverse are SEOs’ workplaces?

BIPOC diversity

Gender and LGBTQ+ diversity

More specifically, however, the data seems to indicate less diversity.

How important is diversity in SEOs’ workplaces?

What steps do companies take to encourage diversity and inclusion?

For more detailed information on the measures companies are enacting to improve diversity and inclusion within their organizations, continue to the section below.

What are some solutions?

1. Initiatives at the corporate level

2. Employee resource groups

3. Personal education and growth

4. Allies in leadership

5. Speaking up: see something, say something

6. Mentoring someone from a different background

Methodology

In terms of gender, the SEOs described themselves as follows:

203 identify as women

109 identify as men

1 is a trans woman

2 are trans men

11 are nonbinary, genderqueer, two-spirit, or gender nonconformist

3 preferred not to say

With regard to sexual orientation:

72.8% said they were heterosexual

11.5% said they were bisexual

4.1% said they were pansexual

3.9% said they were gay

3.3% said they were lesbian

1.1% said they were asexual

1.9% preferred not to say

The SEOs described their race or ethnicity as follows: (Participants were able to check more than one box)

233 White

30 Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish

25 Black or African American

13 Asian or Asian American

7 South Asian/Indian subcontinent

5 Middle Eastern/North African/Arabian peninsula

4 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

2 American Indian or Alaska Native

The SEOs who completed the survey came from the following countries:

218 from the U.S.

35 from the U.K.

11 from Canada

9 from Germany

8 from Taiwan

6 from Spain

2 each from Australia, Brazil, France, India, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland

1 each from Argentina, Austria, China, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Peru, Portugal, and Turkey

The survey respondents’ average number of years in SEO was 6.9. The median number of years was 5. The average age was 34.5, and the median age was 32.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

1 note · View note

epackingvietnam · 4 years

Text

Diversity and Inclusion in SEO: BIPOC and LGBTQ+ SEOs Share Their Experiences

Posted by NicoleDeLeon

People around the world are having important discussions about systemic racism, overt and covert bias, and how we can all do better.

Who participated?

With regard to sexual orientation, 72.8% described themselves as heterosexual, 25.2% as LGBTQ+, and 2% preferred not to say.

How is the SEO community doing with diversity and inclusion?

Overall, most people (58.7%) think SEO is about the same as other professions. But among those who disagree, more think it’s worse (26%) than better (15.2%).

Both BIPOC and white SEOs felt much more positively about their own companies than the industry as a whole.

Another Black SEO, a 29-year-old woman at a Chicago agency, commented, “As a Black woman (and queer at that), I have definitely not seen a woman like me. I always (somewhat) joked around that I'll be the Queen of SEO, but underneath those words was because I saw not only women underrepresented in the industry, but other minority subsects of being a woman underrepresented as well, such as being a Black woman and/or a queer Black woman. Where are we?!!"

How bad is it? Frequency of racial or ethnic bias in SEO

Asian and Asian American SEOs were the most likely to say they experience ethnic bias at least once a week, followed by Hispanic or Latino SEOs.

Gender and LGBTQ+ bias in SEO

The impact of bias

About 4 in 10 SEOs said they experienced bias in the past year. We asked them what impact it has had on their productivity, career trajectory, and happiness. Here’s what they said:

69.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my productivity and sense of engagement.” (38.3% strongly agreed; 30.8% slightly agreed)

72.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my career advancement and earnings.” (39.3% strongly agreed; 32.8% slightly agreed)

74.6% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my happiness, confidence, or well-being.” (42.6% strongly agreed; 32.0% slightly agreed)

The cost of bias

These were small groups, so the results are far from definitive. But the consistency of a disparity merits conversation. Here’s what we found.

For male SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $75,312 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $63,500 per year (18.6% less).

In their 30s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $95,833 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $89,091 per year (7.6% less).

In their 40s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $115,937 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $90,417 per year (28.2% less).

For female SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $75,384 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $61,250 per year (23% less).

In their 30s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $86,571 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $86,094 per year (0.6% less).

In their 40s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $109,375 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $101,094 per year (7.6% less).

What does on-the-job bias look like?

Among the 48.4% of respondents who report being talked down to or treated as less capable than similarly qualified employees, several made poignant comments to back up their responses.

Drilling down: specific microaggression experiences by group

Meanwhile, men in the BIPOC group were most likely to say they’d been passed over for a promotion (41.7%), followed closely by LGBTQ+ men (40%), and women (37.2%).

Bad-faith banter

A disappointing wealth of examples of this egregious behavior was described in the comments.

Mixed messages at work

Next, we considered four categories in which employees are implicitly singled out because of their membership in a marginalized group.

We specifically asked BIPOC respondents to our survey how often they’d experienced three common forms of microaggression, dividing participants into four groups:

Middle Eastern/North African

Black/African American

Hispanic/Latino

Asian/Asian-American

How diverse are SEOs’ workplaces?

BIPOC diversity

Gender and LGBTQ+ diversity

More specifically, however, the data seems to indicate less diversity.

How important is diversity in SEOs’ workplaces?

What steps do companies take to encourage diversity and inclusion?

For more detailed information on the measures companies are enacting to improve diversity and inclusion within their organizations, continue to the section below.

What are some solutions?

1. Initiatives at the corporate level

2. Employee resource groups

3. Personal education and growth

4. Allies in leadership

5. Speaking up: see something, say something

6. Mentoring someone from a different background

Methodology

In terms of gender, the SEOs described themselves as follows:

203 identify as women

109 identify as men

1 is a trans woman

2 are trans men

11 are nonbinary, genderqueer, two-spirit, or gender nonconformist

3 preferred not to say

With regard to sexual orientation:

72.8% said they were heterosexual

11.5% said they were bisexual

4.1% said they were pansexual

3.9% said they were gay

3.3% said they were lesbian

1.1% said they were asexual

1.9% preferred not to say

The SEOs described their race or ethnicity as follows: (Participants were able to check more than one box)

233 White

30 Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish

25 Black or African American

13 Asian or Asian American

7 South Asian/Indian subcontinent

5 Middle Eastern/North African/Arabian peninsula

4 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

2 American Indian or Alaska Native

The SEOs who completed the survey came from the following countries:

218 from the U.S.

35 from the U.K.

11 from Canada

9 from Germany

8 from Taiwan

6 from Spain

2 each from Australia, Brazil, France, India, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland

1 each from Argentina, Austria, China, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Peru, Portugal, and Turkey

The survey respondents’ average number of years in SEO was 6.9. The median number of years was 5. The average age was 34.5, and the median age was 32.

#túi_giấy_epacking_việt_nam #túi_giấy_epacking #in_túi_giấy_giá_rẻ #in_túi_giấy #epackingvietnam #tuigiayepacking

1 note · View note

bfxenon · 4 years

Text

Diversity and Inclusion in SEO: BIPOC and LGBTQ+ SEOs Share Their Experiences

Posted by NicoleDeLeon

People around the world are having important discussions about systemic racism, overt and covert bias, and how we can all do better.

Who participated?

With regard to sexual orientation, 72.8% described themselves as heterosexual, 25.2% as LGBTQ+, and 2% preferred not to say.

How is the SEO community doing with diversity and inclusion?

Overall, most people (58.7%) think SEO is about the same as other professions. But among those who disagree, more think it’s worse (26%) than better (15.2%).

Both BIPOC and white SEOs felt much more positively about their own companies than the industry as a whole.

Another Black SEO, a 29-year-old woman at a Chicago agency, commented, “As a Black woman (and queer at that), I have definitely not seen a woman like me. I always (somewhat) joked around that I'll be the Queen of SEO, but underneath those words was because I saw not only women underrepresented in the industry, but other minority subsects of being a woman underrepresented as well, such as being a Black woman and/or a queer Black woman. Where are we?!!"

How bad is it? Frequency of racial or ethnic bias in SEO

Asian and Asian American SEOs were the most likely to say they experience ethnic bias at least once a week, followed by Hispanic or Latino SEOs.

Gender and LGBTQ+ bias in SEO

The impact of bias

About 4 in 10 SEOs said they experienced bias in the past year. We asked them what impact it has had on their productivity, career trajectory, and happiness. Here’s what they said:

69.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my productivity and sense of engagement.” (38.3% strongly agreed; 30.8% slightly agreed)

72.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my career advancement and earnings.” (39.3% strongly agreed; 32.8% slightly agreed)

74.6% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my happiness, confidence, or well-being.” (42.6% strongly agreed; 32.0% slightly agreed)

The cost of bias

These were small groups, so the results are far from definitive. But the consistency of a disparity merits conversation. Here’s what we found.

For male SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $75,312 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $63,500 per year (18.6% less).

In their 30s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $95,833 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $89,091 per year (7.6% less).

In their 40s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $115,937 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $90,417 per year (28.2% less).

For female SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $75,384 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $61,250 per year (23% less).

In their 30s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $86,571 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $86,094 per year (0.6% less).

In their 40s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $109,375 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $101,094 per year (7.6% less).

What does on-the-job bias look like?

Among the 48.4% of respondents who report being talked down to or treated as less capable than similarly qualified employees, several made poignant comments to back up their responses.

Drilling down: specific microaggression experiences by group

Meanwhile, men in the BIPOC group were most likely to say they’d been passed over for a promotion (41.7%), followed closely by LGBTQ+ men (40%), and women (37.2%).

Bad-faith banter

A disappointing wealth of examples of this egregious behavior was described in the comments.

Mixed messages at work

Next, we considered four categories in which employees are implicitly singled out because of their membership in a marginalized group.

We specifically asked BIPOC respondents to our survey how often they’d experienced three common forms of microaggression, dividing participants into four groups:

Middle Eastern/North African

Black/African American

Hispanic/Latino

Asian/Asian-American

How diverse are SEOs’ workplaces?

BIPOC diversity

Gender and LGBTQ+ diversity

More specifically, however, the data seems to indicate less diversity.

How important is diversity in SEOs’ workplaces?

What steps do companies take to encourage diversity and inclusion?

For more detailed information on the measures companies are enacting to improve diversity and inclusion within their organizations, continue to the section below.

What are some solutions?

1. Initiatives at the corporate level

2. Employee resource groups

3. Personal education and growth

4. Allies in leadership

5. Speaking up: see something, say something

6. Mentoring someone from a different background

Methodology

In terms of gender, the SEOs described themselves as follows:

203 identify as women

109 identify as men

1 is a trans woman

2 are trans men

11 are nonbinary, genderqueer, two-spirit, or gender nonconformist

3 preferred not to say

With regard to sexual orientation:

72.8% said they were heterosexual

11.5% said they were bisexual

4.1% said they were pansexual

3.9% said they were gay

3.3% said they were lesbian

1.1% said they were asexual

1.9% preferred not to say

The SEOs described their race or ethnicity as follows: (Participants were able to check more than one box)

233 White

30 Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish

25 Black or African American

13 Asian or Asian American

7 South Asian/Indian subcontinent

5 Middle Eastern/North African/Arabian peninsula

4 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

2 American Indian or Alaska Native

The SEOs who completed the survey came from the following countries:

218 from the U.S.

35 from the U.K.

11 from Canada

9 from Germany

8 from Taiwan

6 from Spain

2 each from Australia, Brazil, France, India, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland

1 each from Argentina, Austria, China, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Peru, Portugal, and Turkey

The survey respondents’ average number of years in SEO was 6.9. The median number of years was 5. The average age was 34.5, and the median age was 32.

1 note · View note

nutrifami · 4 years

Text

Diversity and Inclusion in SEO: BIPOC and LGBTQ+ SEOs Share Their Experiences

Posted by NicoleDeLeon

People around the world are having important discussions about systemic racism, overt and covert bias, and how we can all do better.

Who participated?

With regard to sexual orientation, 72.8% described themselves as heterosexual, 25.2% as LGBTQ+, and 2% preferred not to say.

How is the SEO community doing with diversity and inclusion?

Overall, most people (58.7%) think SEO is about the same as other professions. But among those who disagree, more think it’s worse (26%) than better (15.2%).

Both BIPOC and white SEOs felt much more positively about their own companies than the industry as a whole.

Another Black SEO, a 29-year-old woman at a Chicago agency, commented, “As a Black woman (and queer at that), I have definitely not seen a woman like me. I always (somewhat) joked around that I'll be the Queen of SEO, but underneath those words was because I saw not only women underrepresented in the industry, but other minority subsects of being a woman underrepresented as well, such as being a Black woman and/or a queer Black woman. Where are we?!!"

How bad is it? Frequency of racial or ethnic bias in SEO

Asian and Asian American SEOs were the most likely to say they experience ethnic bias at least once a week, followed by Hispanic or Latino SEOs.

Gender and LGBTQ+ bias in SEO

The impact of bias

About 4 in 10 SEOs said they experienced bias in the past year. We asked them what impact it has had on their productivity, career trajectory, and happiness. Here’s what they said:

69.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my productivity and sense of engagement.” (38.3% strongly agreed; 30.8% slightly agreed)

72.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my career advancement and earnings.” (39.3% strongly agreed; 32.8% slightly agreed)

74.6% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my happiness, confidence, or well-being.” (42.6% strongly agreed; 32.0% slightly agreed)

The cost of bias

These were small groups, so the results are far from definitive. But the consistency of a disparity merits conversation. Here’s what we found.

For male SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $75,312 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $63,500 per year (18.6% less).

In their 30s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $95,833 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $89,091 per year (7.6% less).

In their 40s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $115,937 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $90,417 per year (28.2% less).

For female SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $75,384 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $61,250 per year (23% less).

In their 30s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $86,571 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $86,094 per year (0.6% less).

In their 40s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $109,375 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $101,094 per year (7.6% less).

What does on-the-job bias look like?

Among the 48.4% of respondents who report being talked down to or treated as less capable than similarly qualified employees, several made poignant comments to back up their responses.

Drilling down: specific microaggression experiences by group

Meanwhile, men in the BIPOC group were most likely to say they’d been passed over for a promotion (41.7%), followed closely by LGBTQ+ men (40%), and women (37.2%).

Bad-faith banter

A disappointing wealth of examples of this egregious behavior was described in the comments.

Mixed messages at work

Next, we considered four categories in which employees are implicitly singled out because of their membership in a marginalized group.

We specifically asked BIPOC respondents to our survey how often they’d experienced three common forms of microaggression, dividing participants into four groups:

Middle Eastern/North African

Black/African American

Hispanic/Latino

Asian/Asian-American

How diverse are SEOs’ workplaces?

BIPOC diversity

Gender and LGBTQ+ diversity

More specifically, however, the data seems to indicate less diversity.

How important is diversity in SEOs’ workplaces?

What steps do companies take to encourage diversity and inclusion?

For more detailed information on the measures companies are enacting to improve diversity and inclusion within their organizations, continue to the section below.

What are some solutions?

1. Initiatives at the corporate level

2. Employee resource groups

3. Personal education and growth

4. Allies in leadership

5. Speaking up: see something, say something

6. Mentoring someone from a different background

Methodology

In terms of gender, the SEOs described themselves as follows:

203 identify as women

109 identify as men

1 is a trans woman

2 are trans men

11 are nonbinary, genderqueer, two-spirit, or gender nonconformist

3 preferred not to say

With regard to sexual orientation:

72.8% said they were heterosexual

11.5% said they were bisexual

4.1% said they were pansexual

3.9% said they were gay

3.3% said they were lesbian

1.1% said they were asexual

1.9% preferred not to say

The SEOs described their race or ethnicity as follows: (Participants were able to check more than one box)

233 White

30 Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish

25 Black or African American

13 Asian or Asian American

7 South Asian/Indian subcontinent

5 Middle Eastern/North African/Arabian peninsula

4 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

2 American Indian or Alaska Native

The SEOs who completed the survey came from the following countries:

218 from the U.S.

35 from the U.K.

11 from Canada

9 from Germany

8 from Taiwan

6 from Spain

2 each from Australia, Brazil, France, India, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland

1 each from Argentina, Austria, China, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Peru, Portugal, and Turkey

The survey respondents’ average number of years in SEO was 6.9. The median number of years was 5. The average age was 34.5, and the median age was 32.

1 note · View note

localwebmgmt · 4 years

Text

Diversity and Inclusion in SEO: BIPOC and LGBTQ+ SEOs Share Their Experiences

Posted by NicoleDeLeon

People around the world are having important discussions about systemic racism, overt and covert bias, and how we can all do better.

Who participated?

With regard to sexual orientation, 72.8% described themselves as heterosexual, 25.2% as LGBTQ+, and 2% preferred not to say.

How is the SEO community doing with diversity and inclusion?

Overall, most people (58.7%) think SEO is about the same as other professions. But among those who disagree, more think it’s worse (26%) than better (15.2%).

Both BIPOC and white SEOs felt much more positively about their own companies than the industry as a whole.

Another Black SEO, a 29-year-old woman at a Chicago agency, commented, “As a Black woman (and queer at that), I have definitely not seen a woman like me. I always (somewhat) joked around that I'll be the Queen of SEO, but underneath those words was because I saw not only women underrepresented in the industry, but other minority subsects of being a woman underrepresented as well, such as being a Black woman and/or a queer Black woman. Where are we?!!"

How bad is it? Frequency of racial or ethnic bias in SEO

Asian and Asian American SEOs were the most likely to say they experience ethnic bias at least once a week, followed by Hispanic or Latino SEOs.

Gender and LGBTQ+ bias in SEO

The impact of bias

About 4 in 10 SEOs said they experienced bias in the past year. We asked them what impact it has had on their productivity, career trajectory, and happiness. Here’s what they said:

69.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my productivity and sense of engagement.” (38.3% strongly agreed; 30.8% slightly agreed)

72.1% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my career advancement and earnings.” (39.3% strongly agreed; 32.8% slightly agreed)

74.6% feel “Bias in the workplace has had a negative impact on my happiness, confidence, or well-being.” (42.6% strongly agreed; 32.0% slightly agreed)

The cost of bias

These were small groups, so the results are far from definitive. But the consistency of a disparity merits conversation. Here’s what we found.

For male SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $75,312 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $63,500 per year (18.6% less).

In their 30s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $95,833 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $89,091 per year (7.6% less).

In their 40s, white male SEOs reported earning an average of $115,937 per year. BIPOC male SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $90,417 per year (28.2% less).

For female SEO generalists working in the United States:

In their 20s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $75,384 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 20s reported earning an average of $61,250 per year (23% less).

In their 30s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $86,571 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 30s reported earning an average of $86,094 per year (0.6% less).

In their 40s, white women SEOs reported earning an average of $109,375 per year. BIPOC women SEOs in their 40s reported earning an average of $101,094 per year (7.6% less).

What does on-the-job bias look like?

Among the 48.4% of respondents who report being talked down to or treated as less capable than similarly qualified employees, several made poignant comments to back up their responses.

Drilling down: specific microaggression experiences by group

Meanwhile, men in the BIPOC group were most likely to say they’d been passed over for a promotion (41.7%), followed closely by LGBTQ+ men (40%), and women (37.2%).

Bad-faith banter

A disappointing wealth of examples of this egregious behavior was described in the comments.

Mixed messages at work

Next, we considered four categories in which employees are implicitly singled out because of their membership in a marginalized group.

We specifically asked BIPOC respondents to our survey how often they’d experienced three common forms of microaggression, dividing participants into four groups:

Middle Eastern/North African

Black/African American

Hispanic/Latino

Asian/Asian-American

How diverse are SEOs’ workplaces?

BIPOC diversity

Gender and LGBTQ+ diversity

More specifically, however, the data seems to indicate less diversity.

How important is diversity in SEOs’ workplaces?

What steps do companies take to encourage diversity and inclusion?

For more detailed information on the measures companies are enacting to improve diversity and inclusion within their organizations, continue to the section below.

What are some solutions?

1. Initiatives at the corporate level

2. Employee resource groups

3. Personal education and growth

4. Allies in leadership

5. Speaking up: see something, say something

6. Mentoring someone from a different background

Methodology

In terms of gender, the SEOs described themselves as follows:

203 identify as women

109 identify as men

1 is a trans woman

2 are trans men

11 are nonbinary, genderqueer, two-spirit, or gender nonconformist

3 preferred not to say

With regard to sexual orientation:

72.8% said they were heterosexual

11.5% said they were bisexual

4.1% said they were pansexual

3.9% said they were gay

3.3% said they were lesbian

1.1% said they were asexual

1.9% preferred not to say

The SEOs described their race or ethnicity as follows: (Participants were able to check more than one box)

233 White

30 Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish

25 Black or African American

13 Asian or Asian American

7 South Asian/Indian subcontinent

5 Middle Eastern/North African/Arabian peninsula

4 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

2 American Indian or Alaska Native

The SEOs who completed the survey came from the following countries:

218 from the U.S.

35 from the U.K.

11 from Canada

9 from Germany

8 from Taiwan

6 from Spain

2 each from Australia, Brazil, France, India, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland

1 each from Argentina, Austria, China, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Peru, Portugal, and Turkey

The survey respondents’ average number of years in SEO was 6.9. The median number of years was 5. The average age was 34.5, and the median age was 32.

1 note · View note