#And then Z was there trying to help and then he ordered an uber

[carrotpiss]

Wall of text time wall of text time (hello tumblr I use u like a diary time) just gotta get some words down innit

[xoluvx]

dancing with a stranger; t.h

Usually Tom would jump at the idea of having a night off for just him and his boys. A night to unwind after a long day week of work. But tonight, was not one of those nights. He couldn’t bare the thought of having to get ready. Having to get in an Uber to a club he didn’t really want to be with all the lights and noisy bodies.

“It’s a small place,” Haz assured watching Tom reach for the baseball cap resting on the bed. He knew Tom wasn’t into it, but he needed it. “We don’t have to go-” Haz started saying wishing he could comfort his friend somehow.

“I’m ready,” Tom said placing the cap on his head. His brown hair peeking at the nape of his neck. His black t-shirt made him slightly less copious. The last thing he wanted was to be noticed.

“The car should be here soon,” Haz smiled hoping this was a turn for his friend. He rushed out of the room ordering everyone to be ready as they awaited the car.

- -

“I really don’t want to go out, Z.” You whined as your tall friend pulled you out of the bathroom in something she’d chosen for you to wear.

She turned your body so you were looking at yourself in your full length mirror. Your head tilted to the side as you flatted the fabric along your torso. It wasn’t something totally uncomfortable, but it didn’t make you want to go any more than you already did. Which was not at all.

“I don’t want to tell you what to do, but-” Zendaya’s eye were big and soft. Speckles of gold seemed to flash back at you on the mirror. “You need this,” she whispered letting go of your arms to cross hers.

Sighing you turned to face her. “What shoes?” you asked smiling slightly. If only for her sake.

- -

“This isn’t too bad, is it?” Haz called over the loud music standing with Tom is a slightly more private part of the club. It was a lot smaller than anything he’d seen in LA and he wasn’t too sure he liked that. He was easier to spot in a place like this he felt.

But the beer in his hand was helping. It was helping drown the crowd, the colors were less obnoxious, the crowd less bothersome.

He felt like a downer. He was probably the only one here who didn’t want to be here. But he wasn’t going to ruin the night for his friends.

“Let’s go out there,” another friend called out motioning with his head towards the crowd. Not wanting to be the odd one out, Tom nodded his head feigning enthusiasm as his body propelled towards the dance floor.

His movements were awkward, beer still in hand but empty.

He was in a repetitive trance swaying back and forth he didn’t notice the gentle tap on his shoulder. Haz motioned with his head to the small figure tapping on his shoulder. It was a shy girl who was blushing profusely. She was giggly and fidgety. A group of girls behind her cheering her on.

“Do you want to dance?” Her voice was soft and drowned out by the music but he could make out the words clearly. He began shaking his head and lifting his head respectfully rejecting her.

Embarrassed she began turning around, her smile fading as she gave her friends a small shrug.

“What the hell are you doing?” Another one of his friend asked dumbfounded.

Tom furrowed his brow in confusion. “I don’t feel like dancing,” Tom retaliated.

“You’re not going to get over her if you keep rejecting every girl that tries to talk to you,” another one said pushing his shoulder slightly as to let him know he’d messed up. Tom licked his lips lifting his arms defensively.

“What they mean, is there’s no harm in trying.” Haz encouraged placing an arm on Tom’s shoulder protectively turning to look at the girl who was now dancing with her group of friends.

He was right. He might’ve not been a hundred percent sure, but he was right. He handed the empty bottle to Haz turning towards the group of girls and hesitantly approaching the one who’d asked him to dance.

- -

“Just let loose, you’re so tense!” Zendaya exclaimed physically grabbing your shoulders and shaking your body. “We didn’t come out for you to sulk,” she added turning towards the crowd. Thankfully nobody had recognized either of you, but equally great she’d reserved a smaller table for the two of you so you didn’t have to deal with unwanted interactions.  

"Thank you,” Zendaya beamed as a man who worked at the club approached the two of you with a small bottle of alcohol, juice, and two glasses. Zendaya quickly worked to prepare you a drink handing you the glass.

You took a sip of the concoction instantly regretting. It was strong and not very pleasant. But that first sip somehow infiltrated your bloodstream and made your surroundings a ting more bearable.

A drink down and you’d spotted a guy lingering close to your table. He’d tried making contact with you. Zendaya noticed it first giving you a slight nudge that you ignored.

“I think he wants to talk to you,” she finally stated the obvious taking a sip from her own glass. She gave him a friendly smile nudging you again before turning to look at you.

“I don’t want to talk to him,” you said dryly taking a longer swig from the glass than previously.  

You need this. Her words from early echoed through your mind filling your body that like the alcohol that was already making you make questionable decisions. You placed the glass down on the table getting to your feet.

“Do you want to dance?” You asked the guy reaching him almost whispering in his ear so he could hear you over the loud music. The blonde guy nodded his head extending his hand which you took with hesitation.

Your bodies moved in sync facing each other. Hands still intertwined. They were cold and almost sweaty. Rough to the touch, but you didn’t completely mind. He was smiling brightly as the two of you bounced to the beat of the song. Maybe it was the alcohol that had blurred your thoughts or blocked your inability to think straight. Or maybe it was the fact that you did need this and you were finally realizing it, but your arms wrapped around his neck innocently.

Your fingers reached towards his scalp, but his hair was too short and it help weird under your fingertips. Prickly and nothing like his. It didn’t compare to the way your fingers could get lost in his curls. You pulled your fingers back, palms resting on his shoulders as you smiled awkwardly realizing this was too weird.

- -

Tom’s beer was half empty as he stood with his friends watching the crowd dancing. He’d long been done dancing with the girl and okay, he didn’t have a horrible time.

But he quickly felt the blood rush up to his face when she spotted you. You dancing with someone who wasn’t him. He cleared his throat trying to peel his eyes away from you, not wanting his friends to know. Too afraid to ruin the night.

But Haz had noticed you too. He glanced at Tom hoping he hadn’t seen. But from the expression on Tom’s face it was clear he’d already spotted you.

- -

You stepped back from the guy slightly, making a comment about getting back to your friend to which he respectfully nodded in response.

“What’s wrong?” Zendaya asked as you approached her not taking a seat. “Looks like you were having fun,” she added with a hint of confusion.

“I think I want to go home,” you croaked feeling that pesky knot forming in your throat. The familiar pain spreading from your heart to every part of your body replacing the alcohol with shards of glass.

Noticing how your eyes were becoming glossy and your chest heaving trying to control the tears. She didn’t want to ask. She didn’t want to make it more painful, but she knew. Maybe she’d pushed you too hard.

You couldn’t stop thinking about Tom. Dancing with someone else just brought all your repressed feelings and memories you’d locked away back. And it was all too painful for you to process in a club.

Your body shivered as you stood outside with Zendaya waiting for the car that’d take you both back to your place. You felt nauseous, but it was probably a mixture of guilt, pain, and hunger.  

Zendaya huddled near you checking her phone keeping track of the vehicle that was suppose to pick the two of you. You found comfort in the proximity of her body, that is until her body jolted and a grunt rang in your ears.

“He cancelled,” she whined stomping her foot. Her fingers worked quickly on the phone screen, her body moving away from yours depriving you of warmth.

You were captivated by how quickly her fingers were moving that you didn’t notice a crowd of people moving near you. Laughter filled the air and though you were annoyed at first, any little thing seemed like an inconvenience right now that you wanted to go home, you heard his laugh.

Certain you were going crazy, you looked over your shoulder hoping to see a couple of strangers. Instead you were faced with his friends and his back was towards you. You could see his curls peeking from under the baseball cap. His neck glistening under the moonlight.

Zendaya was asking you something, but when you didn’t answer she turned to you. “Hey-” she started saying trying to get your attention. When she noticed you weren’t even looking in her direction, she glanced at what you were looking at and instantly knew what was happening.

She turned your body so you were facing the street once again.

But it was too late. Haz was already leading the pack towards the two of you.

Zendaya put on a big courteous smile greeting the group of friends. Tom lingered awkward giving her a small hug watching you over her shoulder as you said hi to everyone else.

When you were done with introductions, the conversation Zendaya was having with them sounded like a buzz. Your eyes had found Tom’s. Eyes that you’d missed. Eyes that were mixed with regret and longing.

Your eyes danced like strangers with endless possibilities for the future. All other thoughts and feelings drained out of your system replaced with nostalgia.

If only you’d stayed home, you wouldn’t have to deal with this.

“You girls wants to grab food with us?” Haz asked snapping you out of your trance. Snapping you out of the weird dance your eyes was doing with Tom.

“Sure,” Zendaya said glancing at your reassuringly.

Why not? You didn’t want to be alone tonight, you thought as you shooting Tom a quick glance biting your lip.

He didn’t either.

[ryttu3k]

I want to have them all on Tumblr, so. Here are my reaction posts, in order, for Resolution of the Daleks and season 12, part 1!

Resolution of the Daleks

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Resolution! Spoilers, obviously!

Okay, negative first, just to get it out of the way. Doctor Who, I really appreciate that you consistently have queer minor characters and queer couples. Just super casual and all, as it should be. Now can you please stop killing off half of said couples? Angstrom's wife, Frankie, now this young guy? It's really not cool.

Don't think the voiceover worked. I feel the prologue would have worked better with just visuals.

Again, Yaz didn't have much to do. The Doctor got a ton of action, Ryan and Graham both had significant interactions with Aaron, Yaz was... just kind of there. I'm hoping that when the show comes back in a year, now that Ryan has largely dealt with his issues, Yaz will get more attention?

UNIT was killed by Brexit?! Fuckin' rude!

Okay, on to the positive!

The Dalek was, frankly, fucking scary. Despite knowing that the Doctor would beat it, obviously, it caused huge swathes of damage and racked up a... rather high body count. Like it felt like a proper threat. Also, its ability to stop the TARDIS tracking it and stuff. Lin's terror felt extremely genuine and it was just nice and horrific overall, like - if it wasn't for the Doctor, it would feel like a genuine threat to the entire Earth.

(Also, it shut down the wifi. On New Years Day. What a monster!)

Oh man that Dalek laughter. Creepy as fuck. The Doctor dragging it in via hologram to dare it to laugh in her face? Fucking iconic.

"I've learned to think like a Dalek." Oof.

Doctor vs Dalek. Not just the physical aspect, but the mental part - the Doctor recognising the seriousness of it, but also having that element of cockiness ("Oh, mate") because, frankly, she's dealt with bigger threats. She's right when she points out that the biggest problem will be if regular humans try to engage it!

Elements of Dark!Doctor when she asks the team - almost desperately - if she gave it enough chances, if she was nice enough. Because the Doctor can get fucking scary around Daleks and she knows it. She's nice. She's friendly. But she's also the Doctor, and the Doctor has done some really damn questionable things to stop the Daleks, and she knows that. Fantastically done and I still desperately want some proper Dark!Doctor.

Really liked the parallels between the Doctor using scrap to make her sonic screwdriver, vs the Dalek using scrap to make its armour. The Doctor makes a tool, the Dalek makes items of war. Of course, well, the Doctor is probably more dangerous just with a swiss army sonic than a Dalek blaster...

I love how the whole, "Dads are complicated... so I've heard" bit could refer to either the loom thing or the Doctor having actual parents or the Doctor being a shitty dad themself XD

Graham was so excited to show off the TARDIS! Like he's just going, "How cool is this?!"

There were some legitimately funny moments! Graham's chair, "I suppose... we'll have to have a... conversation?", "Junkyard chic"... UNIT was killed by Brexit like that's so awful but. But in a kind of funny way.

Okay, now the unsure. Ryan, Graham, and Aaron. Ryan and Graham have sorted out their issues - but Aaron is still such a big overshadowing part of it that it's a bit of a shock when he comes back in. As someone with a similarly shit biological father, I was completely empathising with Ryan in the coffee shop conversation. And I do understand why they wanted reconciliation, so they showed Aaron as acknowledging his bullshit and Ryan ultimately choosing to forgive and save him.

But it's just... not that easy. It's not all going to be perfect just because they stopped a Dalek together. Aaron's neglect hurt Ryan really badly, and it just felt... too easy? Like it helped that Aaron was genuinely contrite, and that he had that good stepfather talk with Graham, but just... yeah, not sure how I feel about it, honestly.

The Doctor's first words to him being, "You weren't at Grace's funeral. Ryan waited for you, you let him down" were so, so good. Like the Doctor is just going "fuck you I'm his father now". Like tbh I think she was 100% prepared to yeet him off the TARDIS and be done with it. Like damn don't emotionally hurt one of her crew.

Some wonderfully savage lines, though. The Doctor's, "You're almost making up for your parenting deficit!"; Aaron and Ryan's, "Is that how you talk to your dad?" "I don't know, he's not been around"; Graham's fucking smirk when Ryan pointedly calls him 'Gramps'.

I did see a suggestion that would have made it much better - instead of the Dalek capturing Aaron, it captures Ryan. First, it ups the threat in the mind of the Doctor and Team TARDIS - this isn't some dickhead, this is one of them. And instead, it's Aaron who reaches out to Ryan, Aaron who risks his life, Aaron who has to come through for Ryan, instead of the other way around. Also would have tied in beautifully with, "Family isn't about DNA, or a name. It's about what you do, and you haven't done enough."

Also, 'srs tech skillz'. With a Z. Doctor why.

In conclusion, I am going to fight Nigel Farage for killing UNIT.

-

Spyfall part 1

Current response to Doctor Who: making a near-literal SDKFJHGSDASDKFH sound, grabbing a cushion, nearly throWING THE CUSHION.

More intelligent commentary when my brain comes back online.

-

Okay. Am calm. Am good! We're good.

MAJOR SPOILERS for Doctor Who: Spyfall, part 1!

So yeah I actually literally screamed (kind of... scream-laugh-holy-shit-yes). Like, even before Dhawan finished speaking the, "Or should I say spy... Master?" line because of the way he had said 'spymaster' in full in the line before and there's nothing that grabs my brain like that one word in that one context. It wasn't quite as mindblowing as the Utopia reveal, since, let's face it, it's only been a season since we last saw that magnificant arsehole, but still.

(Actually, since I didn't watch Twelve's run, the last time I saw them was exactly a decade ago in The End of Time, broadcast New Years Day 2010. And I still fucking cry over, "Get out of the way." So. That may have been why I literally screamed lmao)

I mean. It's the Master. I can't not. They're my favourite jerk. This is probably slightly concerning.

Anyway. Comments!

The good

Episode was just flat-out exciting. It reminded me both of the Three and Ten eras, a bit? Fun gadgets, fancy suits, and what ends up being a giant game! Did start wondering when they were talking about spies and codes and stuff. It's basically a puzzle that's been set up for the Doctor to solve. Plus, the way she was pretty much enlisted into it! Thirteen and Dhawan!Master might end up having a more Pertwee-Delgado-esque dynamic, maybe? I would be down for that!

(My introductory episode to the Master was The Mind of Evil. Let's just put it that way XD)

"I'm her best enemy." <3

I mean, in retrospect, isolated house full of high-tech stuff and a wall full of books about the Doctor... oh honey. Long, looong game of playing Spies and Conspiracies just for, apparently, the sheer funsies of it. Oh, honey. They're such a disaster and I love them.

The reveal scene, Jodie's acting. The way she just... freezes and hunches in on herself. She's been hiding her past more than other Doctors have in the past, and suddenly, here is her past!! Right here!! Laughing and joking and right there in front of her! And she's just like, "Ohhh shit, I was not ready to have this conversation again..."

Yasmin and Ryan's dynamic. I do like that they split up the usual combos of Thirteen-Yasmin and Graham-Ryan for once, because I do like seeing the way they play off each other! It makes them feel more cohesive as a group. I liked Ryan trying to comfort Yasmin after her experience.

Post-reveal, I'm now wondering if the weird zappy forest thing is the Master's TARDIS? Something to do with changing and processing DNA into something else? Something based around neurons, with the electric travelling system? Am also wondering what happened to Yasmin while in there, since she seemed to be processed in some way, and I'm wondering if she had part of her DNA rewritten as well - or maybe if she's been replaced entirely, like she's currently piloting an alien version of her own body while her actual self is still in there. They did already do that with Flesh!Amy, though.

Once this arc is over, I think Thirteen is definitely going to have to sit down and tell the Fam who the hell she actually is. Graham is having some serious questions, and the Master was definitely egging that on, pre-reveal.

How much do I love that even in a tux, the Doctor still has the culottes and boots? A lot, that is how much. Also, how much do I love the Doctor in a suit and on a motorbike? A lot, that is how much.

"I've had an upgrade." <3

Thirteen playing Snap. It's okay, Thirteen, you still win my heart <3

"Worst! Uber! Ever!!"

"Kisses!" Yes, we know ;) They've been texting! Someone write me a WhatsApp chat fic with plenty of subtext and double meaning, I require it. Also, memes. You know it's true. The Master isn't a Time Lord, they're a Meme Lord.

"Everything you think you know is a lie." Season hook? :o

The hmm

Main concern is how they're handling the Master's characterisation? Last we saw, they were so ready to jump the Doctor ship. Now it's back to games. Kind of wondering if that means the Master is just at the point of being resigned that they and the Doctor just don't work and so is going back to games because at least it makes them happy, but I'm happy to wait until next week to see how things play out!

Did see a suggestion that this is the Master from one of the alternate universes (or at least that seems to be the general consensus on why there were multiple maps), so not actually necessarily the same version as Missy. Alternatively, this could actually be a pre-Missy version! Maybe between Simm!Master and Missy, since we never actually see that regeneration?

Actually, if this is the one immediately before Missy and this two-parter ends with the Master regenerating and we actually do get Thirteen and Missy together on screen I may cry.

(Like I'm aro-ace and agender but I'm still so gay for both of them. There is no word other for this emotion other than 'I'm gay'.)

I kind of wish someone had double-checked the name of the company because VOR running the world is. Is. "Right now, VOR is more powerful than most nations." Just. *pinches bridge of nose* Like okay you know how we say 'oh yeah just google it' 'yeah I googled it' are they really gonna say 'yeah I just VO

'I'm going to V

I can't say it. I can't.

Apparently the Australia scenes were filmed in South Africa. Kind of assumed it wasn't really Australia as soon as I saw actually greenery in the background h e h.

Highkey wish I could have seen Missy and Thirteen together. Dhawan!Master is very fun so far but. Missy and Thirteen. See comment above about the Master's characterisation!

...ABC are you really going to keep to Thursday night broadcasts even after the UK switches their Sunday nights / our Monday mornings? Well that's a good way to guarantee I'll be watching them online first! I was happy to wait twelve hours or so so I could watch it with Mum, but like hell I'm going to wait three and a half days!

In conclusion, am dead, send help, is it Monday morning yet?

-

Spyfall part 2

Thoughts on Doctor Who: Spyfall, part 2!

GALLIFREY LOOOOORE.

Oh man I'm hyped. We got a teeny teaser to the Timeless Child way back last decade but now we may actually get to see what the fuck is going on. And hell, if nothing else, at least the discovery is being teased to be so devastating it did undo Missy's characterisation. If this incarnation of the Master is after her, at least. Still not necessarily anything to suggest that. The Master will likely be recurring over this season, so we'll find out more, at least!

God, the Master is so fucked up. Like. He's seen something apparently so massively traumatic that he had to destroy his own planet and legitimately does look broken by it? Unless he was acting, but I did not get that impression from the message at the end. And the only way he can think of to get the Doctor's attention is to start his old tricks? Not sure if it's better or worse for him to be pre-Missy tbh.

It's just... such an interesting dynamic. Also I really want to read into the whole... scene where the Master asks the Doctor to kneel and call him 'Master' in front of everyone - then, when she does (defiantly! Stubbornly!), he... kneels to be at the same level as her. Like, "I'm going to play these BDSM-esque power games with you but when it comes down to it, I still consider us equal."

Anyway the Master is def a service top.

This comment from Tumblr user upslapmeal:

"'why would it stop? I mean how else would I get your attention’ what did I say about the Master being like a cat knocking things off shelves"

I mean. Yeah.

"Contact." Old school.

The Companions! They get a capital C because they were rad as hell. I love them all deciding that what they do next is: carry on to save the world. Like they're all heroic af without the Doctor and it's so good.

"Don't make me do a soft-shoe shuffle!"

And questioning at the end, oooh man. There are some Implications there, yeah. They've found out some surface information, yes, but no real hint at the deeper trauma. And given what this coming season is hinting at, I strongly suspect we will indeed be getting that deeper trauma and maybe even Dark!Doctor. Gallifrey does tend to bring it out of them...

The whole on-the-run thing seemed to definitely be a callback to Sound of Drums. Uh, what's that going to do long-term? Send out a worldwide message saying, "Sorry, our bad, they're fine"? I mean, last time that happened... okay, Jack was already with Torchwood and so is used to Not Really Existing, but Martha definitely couldn't go back to fuckin' medical school. She ended up at UNIT and then went independent. They did not return to their normal lives.

Barton: needs a goddamn punch. He killed his mother what the fuck. On the plus side, at least he seems to have thoroughly destroyed his career? Be interesting to see if he reappears later, you don't go from the most powerful person on the planet to massive pariah overnight without Repercussions.

On to our guest characters! I hate to brag but I guessed who Ada was as soon as I heard her first name and saw her outfit. I mean the computers theme was already there, who else would she be? :D And I admittedly didn't know who Noor Inayat Khan was except in passing, but still. Little upset about the erased memories (Donna ;_; ), but I can see why the Doctor did it and like... this way, I'm glad they were able to avoid the implications of, "Ada only developed computing because she had already seen the future." Like people said that with Rosa Parks even though the Doctor said explicitly to only ensure there were enough seats filled and the act itself was all Rosa, so they may have wanted to play it safe.

I... really want to comment on how Ada definitely was crushing on the Doctor (and really, who wouldn't?), but she was a real person so I shall avoid those implications. (But really though!)

Doctor how many times have you been in someone's liver. This is some Magic School Bus Inside The Human Body bullshit and I love it.

Doctor's recording: "First of all, you're not gonna die! Second of all, don't talk back to the screens, obviously I'm a recording and I can't hear ya. Third, don't panic. Especially you, Graham."

Graham, panicking: "I'M NOT PANICKING!"

Doctor's recording: "Yes, you were! And I did just say, don't talk back to the screens!"

Graham: "????!?!!"

I want an entire series of the Master having a really infuriating seventy-seven years on Earth. Please.

Comments on continuity issues regarding that, "It's worse than Jodrell Bank!" "Did I ever apologise for that?" "No." "Good." exchange XD;; Like people are going, "Continuity error!! It was the Pharos Project, not Jodrell Bank!!" and like. Pharos was a project. Jodrell Bank is an observatory. You can do projects at observatories. Also, you can refer to projects by location, too. Am I referring to the Canberra Deep Space Communication Project or Tidbinbilla Station? Both! They refer to the same thing! In the Whoniverse, they likely did the Pharos Project at Jodrell Bank, and just had some lighthearted bantz about that time where the Master killed the Doctor, no biggie.

So, onwards to... an apparently unrelated episode for next week! Also, the Kassavin? Still there. Like. The Master only gave suggestions. They still have all those agents everywhere! They're still ready to act! And yeah, now they have the Master in their hands, so... I wonder if they'll make the Timeless Child a long, ongoing arc, and have the much more immediate threat of the Kassavin as the season finale?

-

Orphan 55

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Orphan 55!

...whew.

First thought: anvilicious, but some anvils need to be dropped, because, uh, have you seen the world lately.

It feels like quite a brittle episode? Even beyond the immediate tension of 'there are large angry creatures trying to kill everyone', there's just this sense of... like, tension. There's the tension between Benni and Vilma, which at first is kind of a sweet tension then becomes a life-threatening and sad tension. There's the tension between Roger Parslow Silas and his dad, with Silas not being taken seriously (although I do think him running out while they're in life-threatening danger is a bit much). The obvious and major tension between Bella and Kane that drives the whole episode, yes.

And there's also the tension amongst Team TARDIS! The episode starts with the Doctor still in Some Kinda Way about last week, and I felt a bit of tension between Yaz and Ryan? She seemed rather unimpressed by Bella, at any rate. I do like how organic the relationship between Ryan and Graham feels, at least. "It ain't the aliens that are gonna kill me, it’s worrying about you!"

Set and costume building, I felt, was kind of... eh? I liked how Tranquility itself looked, but the tunnels looked Very Generic, and some of the looks I felt didn't really work. Silas and his dad's green hair just looked very obviously fake, and I saw a description of Hyph3n-with-a-three looking like a cross between a Jellicle Cat and John Candy in Spaceballs (which... yeah, honestly). And I'm not sure about the Dregs, although I did initially have the thought that whatever the original inhabitants of the planet were, they must have been humanoid was amusingly accurate...

"I just pulled this out of a friend of mine! >:("

"Oh! ...We do not make any judgments on our guests and fully support any way you choose to enjoy yourself here at Tranquility Spa! ^_^;;"

"... ... ...It wasn't recreational! o.O"

God you could feel Hyph3n-with-a-three's embarrassment...

"If I had crayons and half a can of Spam, I could build you from scratch!" Excuse me I am at least Tofurky.

Also a logical issue on the whole journey to find Benni, because frankly, it just wasn't... sensible. Okay, bring a kid. Father of the year right there. Okay, bring an old woman. Granted, she could have insisted because it was her man-friend they were looking for, but surely she would have known she would slow them down? Her 'heroic sacrifice' felt very wasted, because dammit, she could have survived if she had stayed in the Dome where it was at least a bit safer!

"At least three eighths of a plan, right here! ...Two eights. I'll be honest, all I've got is the letter 'P'..."

So the Doctor is almost at the point of passing out from oxygen loss but hang on, let her first indulge her curiosity...

The sheer existence of orphan planets is very depressing. The sheer fact that there's at least fifty-five is very depressing.

There's an interesting comment about how straight after discussion of the reveal, the first shot of the preview is the Statue of Liberty. Very Planet of the Apes! (No apes next time, just Tesla vs Edison!) Also feeling a strong connection to Midnight (stunning resort on dangerous planet with a very personal enemy), and I saw a comment about Thirteen unintentionally The-End-Of-The-World-ing the Fam (and making a connection between 'very angry trees' and the Forests of Cheem). Bit of Ravolox. Bit of... fuck what was it... Curse of Fenric.

Although, we know that the Earth will eventually be consumed by the sun, and it was done in a way that was like... it was its time. This was not its time, was a colossal fuck-up on a planetary scale (and the Doctor continues to be 'eat the rich'), but it's also only one potential future. Which is good, because that got dark. Even more than The End of the World, even more than Utopia, even more than fuckin' Frontios, because this is the near-future. The shots we saw of the destruction were modern day! That was the Dome of the Rock you saw getting bombed!

"Be smarter than what made you." PAGING THE GOVERNMENT...

Going to put it on a solid... maybe 7/10? Some really good elements in there, but also some clunkers, and unfortunately not a patch on the same writer's It Takes You Away, which was one of the strongest of the last season.

-

Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror!

Opinion before episode: man, Tesla's cool. Opinion after episode: man, Tesla is fuckin' cool! :D That was a well-done personality-based historical, absolutely - I think it's my second-favourite personality-based historical only to Rosa (there are other pseudo-historical based ones set in the past that I love, but they're not personality-based; the Human Nature duology is a good example).

But yeah, Tesla just came across as a really, really cool character. Genius and he knew it, yes, and the real Tesla did have some questionable views (sexism, mostly), but otherwise the archetypal Idealistic Genius who wants to change the world for the better. Contrast with Edison, who was... a businessman. With, like, a really punchable face. Still pretty intelligent, but... very, very punchable. I've read about the Tesla-Edison feud before and always sided with Tesla, and let's face it, so did the writer XD

Good mix of character combinations - with a lot of characters, it's easy for someone to get sidelined, but this managed to handle Thirteen and the Fam, and Tesla, Dorothy, and Edison, pretty well. There were some neat combinations, like Ryan and Dorothy bonding over the sense of adventure, and Graham and Edison's confrontation; I also really loved the whole conversation between Thirteen and Tesla on the joy of just... creating. There's actually a very nice overlap between arts and sciences.

Antagonists - not bad? I feel a lot of people were expecting the Racnoss, and there was such a similarity that I would have liked at least a throwaway line about how the Skithra were related or something. Ooh man she definitely brought out Dark!Doctor, though. Teleporting the queen back to the ship, specifically so she can be fried? I mean, she might have survived it. Might. And just that fantastic little change of expression when the queen asks the Doctor if she's ever seen a dead planet before! Whittaker pulled that one off.

There's a very interesting compare and contrast between the Skithra and Edison, I found. Thirteen has her speech about how once the Skithra are gone, they won't be remembered. Caput. Forgotten. They left nothing behind. Compare and contrast to Edison, who was openly accused of using other people's work, but who's able to learn from his mistakes, end on an even(ish) setting with Tesla, and who does get remembered. Which kind of stings, honestly, if you look at Tesla's actual history.

Like. Apparently that, "The man just didn't understand the American sense of humour," line was an actual historical line, according to Tesla's own records. The absolute main reason for the difference in fame and recognition is that Tesla was a genius who didn't know how to market. Edison was a marketer who could invent a bit. So in conclusion Edison is a dick and Tesla needs more respect, the end.

Favourite lines and scenes:

Tesla: "Is - is this your own design?" Thirteen: "I made it! Mainly out of spoons! :D" Tesla: "You're an inventor! :D" Thirteen: "I have my moments." Tesla: "I knew it! So you... so, you can understand how it feels, you know, when you have an idea, and - and to make it real. I don't think there's any greater thrill!" Thirteen: "I couldn't agree more." Tesla: "You... you spoke of aliens. People here laugh at the very idea." Thirteen: "But not you." Tesla: "Well, apparently I'm not like other people. It can be difficult, you know, to feel no one else sees the world the way you do. It's like you're, uh..." Thirteen: "...out of place."

Graham: "Yeah, still. I bet you'd jump at the chance to have him back working for you, wouldn't ya?" Edison: "Yeah?" Graham: "Yeah!" Edison: "How d'you figure that?" Graham: "'Cause I had a supervisor like you at my old depot. And men like you don't pay a bloke that much attention unless you think there's a payout comin'."

Thirteen: "I wouldn't go killing me and Yaz. 'Cause Yaz... can tell you what this is." Yaz: "It's a camera!" Thirteen: "Bingo!" *FLASH!*

Edison: "I couldn't figure it out either." Tesla: "The internal dimensions transcend the external." Thirteen: *GRIN* Edison: ._.

Thirteen: "You do realise, it's killing Edison that they want you and not him? ;D"

Graham: "Don't worry. This ain't our first rodeo!" Ryan: "We've never been to a rodeo." Graham: "...you're not helping, Ryan..."

Thirteen: "And what are you queen of, exactly? A stolen ship and second-hand guns? A queen of shreds and patches. You're not a ruler, you're a parasite." Queen: "And what are you? So clever, stealing onto my ship, taking what I claim as mine. But where has it got you? No weapons. No armour. No escape. Just the desperate hope you might change my mind." Thirteen: "No, we are way past that. I gave you your chance." Queen: "A chance to be like you?" Thirteen: "A chance to evolve. But you were too stupid to take it. When you die, there'll be nothing left behind - just a trail of blood and other people's brilliance. No one will even know you existed."

(Side note: I love that this speech was actually in front of the companions. They're starting to see that things are Not Okay.)

Thirteen: "Don't give up." Yaz: "Whatever anyone says." Tesla: "Well, let them talk. The present is theirs. I work for the future... and the future is mine."

Favourite incorrect lines:

Thirteen and Tesla, firing at the ship: "VIBE CHECK!"

-

Fugitive of the Judoon

I'M GONNA... NEED A HOT MOMENT TO PROCESS THAT...

-

WELL I. UH. OKAY.

lmao I'm serious I don't even know where to begin.

Uh, some very disorganised comments on Doctor Who - Fugitive of the Judoon!

I squealed when I heard Jack's voice then saw him in the flesh. I gasped audibly when 'Ruth' broke the glass. I yelped when we saw the buried TARDIS. I MAY HAVE SCREAMED A LITTLE WHEN 'RUTH' INTRODUCED HERSELF.

(Also can we talk about her outfit. That was on point.)

I'm getting a very... very early vibe? She didn't know what the sonic screwdriver was, and that was introduced with Troughton. Since we saw the Hartnell-Troughton regeneration, she must be pre-Hartnell? Maybe a Doctor whose memories were rewritten to the point that they thought the Hartnell incarnation was the earliest? Not to mention that was a pretty old-school-looking TARDIS!

Alternatively, maybe between Troughton and Pertwee? Either option has some inconsistency - if she's post Troughton, she should have known what the sonic was, although it admittedly did look very different. Plus, her TARDIS is already its police box shape, which was implied to have set in the junkyard. Also, we never actually do see the regeneration between Two and Three, and it could explain why Gallifrey was after her - she escaped after her trial after The War Games!

Definitely early, though.

Alternatively alternatively, Thirteen actually does say 'time is swirling around me'. Maybe an alternate timeline. Something to tie back to the Timeless Child?

"I've lived for thousands of years, so long I've lost count. I've had so many faces. How long have you known me? You don't know me. Not even a little bit."

That wasn't just aimed at the companions. I feel that was aimed at the Doctor themself.

(Related: the response from the fam was flat-out beautiful. Doesn't matter who she was or who she'll be. They know her now, and they love her.)

Just. Wow. Wow.

Really cool note from Twitter - disguised name was Ruth Clayton. Ruth = 'friend, companion'. Clayton = 'of the Earth'. She literally named herself 'friend of the Earth'.

"You're probably a bit confused right now."

I mean. Yeah. Confused and intrigued and what.

"Don't do points! I do points! Points are my thing!"

Jack. Jack. Smooching Graham, hitting on all the companions, getting into Shenanigans! The Lone Cyberman - I wonder if that's a totally different crisis that isn't even related to the current Gallifrey-Timeless Child one? The more important part is Jack's presence - the presence of another time traveller with a... unique relationship with the universe. The actual warning could be a red herring, but Jack showing up anywhere in the first place is a sign that something is happening with time?

Orphan 55 had a timeline that may or may not have been the 'real' one. Being only a potential future kind of doesn't work with what we know of established DW continuity, so I'm liking the 'alternate timeline' theory, maybe?

Ryan: "I liked him. Kind of cheesy."

Yaz: "But good cheesy."

Thirteen, smiling: "That's Jack."

Graham just standing there going, "He kissed me tho? ...Wasn't bad, actually."

"Is she safe?" Jack, honestly, is she ever safe?

"When she needs me... I'll be there." Oh yeah, he's so coming back later this season.

Also, Judoon, chameleon arch, the Master, Jack - getting big season 29 vibes here and that's a big thumbs up for me because that's my favourite season. We just need Martha to make an appearance now!

...hehe honestly, between Jodie's entire existence, and now, in the span of five episodes, introducing Dhawan!Master, Gat, and now Jo Martin as the first black female Doctor, and reintroducing Jack, one of the most overtly and openly queer characters on the series, the 'Doctor Who is too PC!' bunch are going to be so mad XD

"A platoon of Judoon... near the moon." / "Look at you, your platoon of Judoon near the... that lagoon..."

Man. The close-up in the very first shot of the watch. Nice tie-in.

"The Doctor never uses weapons!" "I know! Shut up! >.>"

Where do the Kasaavin come into play? Is this something they've done by integrating themselves throughout time and space? Maybe they're fraying the fabric?

My mind is blown. I can't wait for the rest of this season :D

-

[Part 2 - Praxeus to The Timeless Children]

[onestowatch]

WizTheMc Talks Growing Up in Germany, Signing to 10K Projects/Homemade Projects, and His New Single “Lied” [Q&A]

Raised in Germany, based in Toronto WizTheMc has a new vision for rap. He started gaining attention with singles “Do What I Want” and “On My Mind,” which showcased his youthful attitude and his ability to hop on instrumentals you wouldn’t typically hear rappers perform over. WizTheMc signed to 10K Projects/Homemade Projects earlier this year and his label debut “For A Minute” established him as a unique and versatile emcee. His follow up single “Lied” is equally as charismatic, catchy, and summery.

We got the chance to connect with WizTheMc via email and learn more about his creative process, signing to 10K Projects, and how his experience overseas influenced his music.

Ones To Watch: What do you hope fans take away when they listen to “Lied”?

I want them to know that it is ok to feel like you haven’t been honest to yourself because you wanted to create space for someone and set them free. “Lied” is in no way a bitter song, rather me being honest with myself that I actually wasn’t sure about my decisions in a scenario of letting go.

One of my favorite parts of your music is your ability to hop on a variety of different instrumentals. What’s your process for picking beats and working with producers?

Honestly I don’t take beat packs and only work with a handful of producers. Before I met Hugo, who helped me discover my sound in the summer of 2019 in Berlin, Germany, I produced most of my catalogue including one of my recent summer vibes For A Minute. My process now is a lot different to when I first started producing myself. Now I work with the Toronto legend Jeff Hazin (producer, writer) who’s an absolute musical genius. He pulls the craziest and best parts out of me. After working with him for almost a year now I still always look forward to every session I have with him. There’s no process, he just got the juice and we vibe.

How did growing up in Germany affect your creative journey?

Well, I often times say it didn’t affect me in any real way because I was always making music in my room, in my own world. It never felt like I was in any specific place, so that never really mattered to me. Though one thing I can say for sure, growing up in a small town (Lüneburg) made me dislike the mentality that came with it. So every time I had a chance to do something outside of what everyone else was doing, it didn’t matter if it was photography, film or making music, I got completely obsessed with it, because it gave me the feeling of creating a new me, a new life no one would have say over.

What drew you to Toronto when you first started to pursue music?

It was a cheap flight that initially got me there but it was the culture, the music and arts scene that kept me here. I had amazing opportunities all around me and I seized every single one of them. From postering the streets with my face to promote my music, to playing gigs at every possible open mic and event that would let me perform.

What was it like signing a record deal with 10K Projects/Homemade Projects during quarantine?

Wild but oddly calm. It was never a dream of mine. To be heard yes, but to sign was not in my near future plans. Zach, Tony, Molly, Elliot and the whole Homemade/10K team changed my mind with that. We were talking to other labels around the time that Homemade came into the picture. I was quite overwhelmed by meeting all these industry people who heard of me and were interested in signing me. But this team made me feel like they saw what I was after and really valued the level I had worked myself up to. So rather than thinking, oh here’s a label trying to swoop me up, it felt like we were talking like business partners with mutual respect for one another. In the weeks prior to me actually signing, protests about the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless other black & indigenous people started in the US. Being from South Africa, I know the struggles my father and my family went through in the times of apartheid and the repercussions that still exist to this day. Seeing a first world country like the United States go through similar motions in 2020 made me sick.

To show unity and love in these times Jacob (my good friend and manager) and I decided to share a donation of $10000 to the Nia Centre for the Arts and Foodshare Toronto. Two Toronto based organizations doing the real grassroots work in the city. We wanted to do something together with our new partners to really recognize as a group what it meant to be able to think about music in a time like that. 10k had already started a fund for social justice projects, so the whole team jumped on and joined together to contribute. All of us giving to our local communities that helped build us up, Toronto, Philly and LA.

I was always privileged enough to have food in the fridge and to pursue what my dreams were and are but me and Jacob are well aware that not everyone has had an equal chance to do so. This is just the first step of us collectively cultivating love and support in our immediate communities.

How has your creative process changed since signing a label deal?

Nothing has changed, my Uber Eats orders just got more bougie.

In an earlier interview you stated, “I want to change how people think about what a rapper can be.” What does that mean to you and how do you think you’re accomplishing that?

Rap is raw. It always has been. In the beginning it was real, all you could show and express had to be real otherwise you never touched the mic again. Now Rap and Hip hop are the number 1 favorite for people from around the world to listen to and indulge in. A big part of that audience isn’t so connected to the lyrics anymore, and in some cases fortunately doesn’t have to be. I feel like the world is and has been ready for rappers to make songs with Taylor Swift (Kendrick did that), songs with Linkin Park (Jay Z did that) etc. And I’m more than anything inspired by rappers and musicians who are willing to make music that is beyond the borders of what they started out making. That’s real evolution and thats what I’m after. You tell me if I’m accomplishing that.

What’s next for WizTheMc?

Lots of super cool videos, lots of studio time with people I love and lots of finding out who I want to be and how I want to show up in the world.

What are some of your dream collaborations?

Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Kayne West, J. Cole

Who are your Ones to Watch?

I love Dominic Fike’s new album and otherwise I’m too lost in my own music right now to pay attention to other people's work. But that will change and I can’t wait for that. Though for everyone from North America, check out MAJAN and Cro, two amazing german artists I admire with vibes out of this world.

Listen to “Lied” by WizTheMc below:

[vernonfielding]

Life Writes Its Own Stories

Chapter 16! The end! (Sort of!) (And on AO3!)

AN: This is the official end of this fic, but I’ll be posting an epilogue in a few days, so. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Thank you again to my amazing beta @fezzle, who gave me such excellent guidance on this fic and who has become such a dear friend along the way. Love you, Z.

And THANK YOU so much to everyone who read this story and liked it and reblogged it (and commented on AO3). It’s been so much fun sharing it.

Jake’s butt was getting numb. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sitting on the damp plastic steps of the Fort Greene play structure, but it was long enough that he’d mostly stopped shivering and he couldn’t feel his toes and his fingers were stiff and achy. He’d forgotten to grab a scarf so his chin and lips and cheeks were frozen with cold too and even if Amy showed up after all, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to form words to tell her – well, he didn’t know what, just yet.

She’d been the first thought on his mind when he’d woken up in the hospital that morning, clear-headed from a solid 12 hours of sleep but cranky with pain and desperate to go home and shower, put on clothes that weren’t blood-stained, and talk to Amy – definitely not in that order. But when he tried to call Amy her cell phone went straight to voicemail, and he realized he didn’t even know if she had a landline.

He’d spent the morning talking to doctors and cops. The doctors told him he had mostly soft-tissue damage from the stabbing and he’d be just fine as long as he took it easy for a few weeks. Still, the wound had been deep, and he’d apparently lost about 20% of his blood supply, which was horrifying and not something Jake ever wanted to think about again. So it took longer than he expected to talk his way into being discharged. And even after the doctors had gotten on board, he’d had to clear his release with the commissioner’s office too, because apparently the brass thought he might need a security detail at home.

He finally got back to his place mid-morning, and by then he’d been told that Amy was at the Eight-Two for her interview. He figured if he skipped the shower – it was going to be a pain in the ass anyway with his arm bandaged up – he could get an Uber there and meet Amy when she was done, maybe get lunch together.

But instead he’d been called down to the commissioner’s office for a meeting, and he hadn’t made it to the Eight-Two until long after lunch time. He’d been fighting a vicious caffeine-withdrawal headache by then and he’d actually snarled at Rosa when she’d reminded him that he should call Amy sometime.

His interview, of course, had taken hours. They told him that Pembroke was going to make a full recovery, along with Mr. Tall, and Jake was relieved mostly for Amy’s sake, because shooting someone was a lot to deal with. The third man, who’d helped kidnap Jake and Amy and who really had been out hunting for Rosa when all hell broke loose, had been arrested around noon. The detectives on the case thought they were the only three involved but were still investigating. Pembroke’s frat buddy looked to be an unwitting accomplice.

Jake had called the Bulletin during breaks in his interview, but somehow never managed to get Amy at her desk. By the time he’d been cut loose, and it had been dark outside and Rosa had given him a deeply sympathetic look and asked if he wanted to get dinner, he was frantic to find Amy. So he told Rosa he had plans, and he left a message for Amy with the first person who answered the phone in the Bulletin newsroom.

After everything they’d been through over the past 24 hours – hell, the previous two or three days – not being able to check in with her felt like a physical pain. He knew that Amy was okay, but he needed to see her and hear her voice. Even if she was only going to tell him that she couldn’t trust him after all, and maybe it wasn’t going to work out.

And now he was probably going to die of hypothermia at this park, waiting for her to never arrive. He thought about whether some little kids would find his body frozen to their plastic play castle first thing in the morning. That’d be either crazy traumatic or super dope. For them – for Jake it would just be pathetic. The Bulletin would probably run a really tacky headline over his obituary.

Jake squeezed his fingers into a fist to try to warm them and stomped his feet. He supposed it was possible she just hadn’t gotten the message. The kid who’d answered the phone had sounded about 12 and maybe didn’t even know how to read and write, though that seemed unlikely for someone who worked at a newspaper. Jake wondered, if Amy didn’t show up, what his next move would be. Maybe she needed space. Maybe she was scarred by all that had happened and avoiding him because he was part of it. Maybe she was just ghosting him. That didn’t seem like something Amy would do, but he wouldn’t exactly blame her, not after everything he’d put her through.

And with that morose thought, he propped his forehead in his hand and settled in to stare at his feet and contemplate a life of brutal loneliness and self-recrimination, until he either froze solid or gave up and went home to watch Nailed It! and eat cheese out of a tube.

“Jake!”

He snapped to attention so fast that he wrenched his shoulder, but he ignored the pain and stood on legs that felt creaky with cold and peered out into the dark playground. He couldn’t see anything at first, and was just starting to think he’d imagined her calling his name, when he caught a flash of movement at the edge of the trees, and then she was sprinting toward him, hair flying loose behind her. She stumbled when she hit the sand, tripped forward several steps, and grabbed for the rail at the bottom of Jake’s stairs.

She stopped there, face turned up to his. Even in the dark he could see that her cheeks were flushed pink, and her eyes were black and fathomless.

“You’re here,” she said, panting. “I was afraid you would have given up by now.”

“I would have stayed all night.”

Amy smiled, shy and beguiling, and tucked her hair behind her ears. She climbed up a step and he climbed down, and they paused there, a step apart, eyes locked on one another but neither making the next move. Jake reached out with his left hand to take one flyaway strand of her hair between his fingers, tugging lightly on it before letting go.

“I tried reaching you all day,” Amy said. “I couldn’t find you, and I was afraid-” She stopped, glanced away.

“Of what?”

“I don’t know. I was just afraid.” Amy narrowed her eyes at him suddenly. “Just to be clear: You didn’t call me out here to dump me because your job is too dangerous and you’re afraid of me getting hurt again. Right? Because that would be so cliche and wrong.”

Jake couldn’t help the bark of incredulous laughter. “Uh, no – if anything I might try to talk you into becoming a cop because you’re so badass.”

Amy laughed too, and for a moment everything felt good. Then Amy’s face slowly went serious and he recognized the troubled furrow of her brow.

“Are you okay?” she said, and her eyes wandered over his body, making his skin tingle even in the cold. “I mean, you’re out of the hospital, so I guess you must be.”

“I’m fine.” He nodded toward his right arm, which was tucked in a sling under his coat, the sleeve hanging empty at his side. “The doctors said your first aid bandaging probably saved the arm.”

“What? Really?”

Jake chuckled and scratched at his chin. “Not really. But they did say that you probably saved me a transfusion, so that’s something.” It was his turn now, and he searched her face before saying, “What about you? Are you all right?”

“Yeah. It’s a little weird, actually – I’m totally fine,” Amy said. “You’d think that almost dying would have a few more side effects.”

Jake felt his heart stutter at the mention of her near-death and swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly dry. “You’d think.”

Amy must have heard the catch in his voice, because she lifted her head to meet his eyes and said, “Jake, I really am okay.”

He nodded, unable for a moment to find his voice. He sat on the stairs and blinked away the image of her too-pale face, of her eyes fluttering closed, and tried not think about the could-have-beens. Amy sat beside him and pressed her shoulder to his, clasping her hands between her thighs. He reveled in that for a moment, just having her here with him, and safe.

Jake took a deep breath. “So, I know that after our big, dumb, terrible fight, which was totally my fault by the way, and then the kidnapping and all the shooting and the mortal terror and you actually dying for a minute…I probably owe you some big romantic gesture. But I’ve kind of been in meetings all day and there was so much paperwork and not to be a baby or anything but my arm hurts, like, a lot. And I just kind of never got around to the whole gesture thing. I got as far as we should meet at the park and then-”

He trailed off and raised his arms as best he could in defeat.

He could feel her eyes on the side of his face, and when he turned to look at her she was biting her lip, and her eyes were shining.

“Jake, I don’t need a big romantic gesture,” she said. “Although for the record? This is pretty romantic.”

Jake smiled at her, feeling vulnerable and a little embarrassed but also ridiculously happy. He reached for her hands, and they were warm as they wrapped around his fingers. He leaned into her and kissed her, gentle and hesitant. Her lips were cold and a little chapped, and she tasted faintly of cherry chaptstick. He could feel her mouth curl into a smile and he started to back away, happy for just this, when she grabbed at the lapel of his jacket and pulled him back into her. She crushed her mouth to his, lips parting, tongue darting out to taste, and now she wasn’t cold at all, she was warm and soft and inviting. Her hand moved to cup the back of his neck, and his hand slid under her jacket to the small of her back, and he tilted his head just slightly and opened his mouth to hers, and they kissed until his whole body felt flushed.

He could have made out with her on the playground stairs for hours, but eventually he broke off to kiss the corner of her mouth and her nose and her chin, and her skin was freezing and he realized she was shaking all over, and that he was too. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to fold her into his chest, rubbing his hand up and down her back to warm her.

“Why is it always so cold in this park?” Amy muttered into his shirt.

He laughed again and said, “Let’s get out of here,” and they got up together, both fumbling a little on freezing legs.

They walked toward his place without talking about it, his arm still tucked around her shoulders. His stomach grumbled loud enough that she could hear it, and they agreed to grab takeout from a Thai place on the way.

“So,” Amy said, as they shivered waiting for the light to turn green on Myrtle, “I sort of lost my job today.”

“What?” Jake said, loud and outraged enough to startle a woman walking behind them with a cat on a leash. The woman glared and the cat hissed.

“Oh no, sorry, it’s not that bad – Holt just took me off the police beat,” Amy said. She smiled shyly at him. “Actually, it’s not bad at all. Terry said they want me to be their main investigative reporter now. It’s kind of a promotion.”

Jake beamed at her and kissed her. “That’s amazing.”

“It is,” she agreed, and they went to cross the street. “You know, I feel a little bad that I’m getting all the attention for this whole thing with the Vulture. My google alert is going crazy.”

“You have a google alert on your own name?”

“Everyone should,” Amy said. “It’s like knowing your credit score.”

“Um-”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Amy said, “Anyway, the point is, I’m getting all the credit, and it’s like no one even knows your name.”

“Good,” Jake said. At Amy’s frown he added, “You know I never liked that kind of attention. And I like undercover work. If my name and face get out there too much I can’t really do my job, you know? Anyway, I’m actually getting plenty of credit. In fact, the commissioner says she’s giving me a Medal of Valor.”

“Wow, Jake. That’s huge,” Amy said, and he grinned.

“Yeah, and there’ll be a whole ceremony for it, with a party and everything.” He gave her a side glance, then quickly looked ahead again. “I mean, nothing fancy, but, you know, hors d'oeuvres, maybe some music.”

He could feel Amy studying him. “Passed or buffet hors d'oeuvres?”

“Which is fancier?”

“Passed.”

“Then definitely buffet.”

“Live band or DJ?”

“For sure DJ.”

“Yeah, that sounds not fancy at all,” Amy said with a heavy sigh.

“So like, if I wanted to bring a date to this thing, you probably wouldn’t want to go.”

“I mean, will it be held somewhere really special? Like the New York Public Library?”

“Nope.” Jake bit his lip to keep from smiling.

They arrived at the Thai restaurant and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. A man walking behind them cursed under his breath and veered around them, and a jogger side-stepped into the gutter and gave them the finger, and they held their ground and faced each other, and Jake was sure his dopey grin matched hers perfectly. He took her hand and pressed her palm to his chest.

“Amy Santiago, will you go to a super not-fancy, low-rent commendation ceremony with me?”

Amy glanced up into the night sky, as though deep in thought. “Will you be in uniform?”

He nodded, and she smiled slyly at him.

“Jake Peralta, I will go to your commendation ceremony,” she said, and went up on her toes to kiss him.

+++

Amy took the plastic bags of Thai takeout from Jake and looped them over her left arm, so they could walk the rest of the way holding hands. Jake raised an eyebrow and smirked a little but he didn’t say anything or go all macho and try to take the bags back, and that was just one of so many reasons he was a good man, she decided.

They didn’t talk much, because it was cold and they were both tired. And even if a day or two ago Amy had thought there was a lot for them to work through, now?

Now, she thought, ‘I trust this man.’ And she thought, ‘I might love this man.’

That thought – it should have surprised her, and she turned it around in her head and looked at it from a few different angles and found that it didn’t. Jake had trusted her for months now, she realized. From the day they met. He’d trusted her before she’d even trusted herself, and he’d believed in her and had her back in more ways than she ever could have asked for or expected. She should tell him this, and maybe she would, later. But words were overrated, she thought. (The irony was not lost on her.)

Amy let it soak in a bit, this love thing. She could feel it settle warm in her belly and in her chest, and in the smile she knew was lighting up her face. She squeezed Jake’s hand and nestled into his side, and he pressed a sweet kiss to the top of her head. She felt it to the tips of her fingers and her toes and when she shivered, it wasn’t from the cold. It was from knowing that this man – this ridiculous, imperfect, improbable man – was taking her home.

EPILOGUE

[petersboyfriendsonofthor]

Body Positivity

Here’s a blurb-turned-fic for @keepingupwiththeparkers sleepover! I think I missed it, but here it is anyway. Hope you like it!

Tom Holland x Male Reader; Chubby!Reader

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: angst, moderate self-hate, language, slight smut at the end

Shape of You

You and Tom were on your way to a restaurant to meet up with the main cast of Far From Home to celebrate wrapping on location. Traffic was getting pretty heavy, and the Uber driver swore under his breath. Tom turned to you and pulled out his phone.

“I’ll call Zendaya and tell her we’re running late,” he said.

“See if she’ll order for us,” you said. “I don’t wanna make them wait on their lunch. We’ll probably get there by the time it’s ready anyway.”

Tom nodded and relayed the information when Zendaya picked up. He turned the receiver away from his mouth and looked over to you.

“What would you like?”

You thought a moment before saying: “a bacon cheeseburger with fries. I’m starving!”

Tom smiled and told Z what you wanted. He was not too hungry and ordered a salad for himself. You had been eating healthy and hitting the gym for a few months with Tom, and were proud of the progress you made. You were nowhere near his fitness level just yet, but you were far from where you came. Tom was proudest of all, constantly telling you that he loves your body just how it is but that he also supported your weight loss. Not that you needed it, but you wanted it. He had originally questioned your motive when you told him you were going to exercise with him.

“Babe you look amazing just the way you are,” he had told you, rubbing your arm.

“I know,” you had said, “but I’m doing this for me. I want to lose some weight and look better for me. Well, and for you, but mostly for me.”

He had leaned in to kiss you. “And I’ll support you all the way.”

You were snapped back to the present when Tom nudged your shoulder. “We’re here, finally.”

You both exited the car, thanked the driver, and walked into the restaurant, hand in hand. You were greeted with smiles all around from your friends. You gave Tom a quick kiss before sitting down next to him at the long table. After a heated conversation about which one of you would win in a battle royale/Hunger Games scenario, the food arrived. When the greasy bacon burger and plate of fries was placed in front of you, you became acutely aware of the fact that everyone else had ordered a salad.

You became incredibly self-conscious in a matter of seconds. The feeling lasted throughout lunch. You wiped the salt off your fingers as Harrison stabbed at a crouton. Zendaya dabbed juice from a cherry tomato off of her lips as you dabbed at the burger grease on yours. Anytime one of the others eyed your plate, you avoided their eyes. You receded further and further from the conversation until Tom placed his hand on your thigh.

“What’s wrong, love?” he asked, his voice low. “You’ve been acting...distant all afternoon.”

“Nothing,” you sighed. “I’m fine.”

“You’ve barely touched your fries.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You said you were starving in the car…”

“Well,” you said, hoping to end the conversation here, “I’ve lost my appetite.”

Tom opened his mouth to say something when he finally put the pieces together. Wordlessly, he dragged your plate of fries closer to his salad and started eating from it. He picked one up and waved it in the air, making jet engine noises.

“Here comes the airplane! Nyooooooom!” He pushed the french fry past your lips and you couldn’t help but smile as you bit it in half. Tom took the other half for himself and licked his fingers. You rested your head on his shoulder, still chewing, and wordlessly thanked him for helping you feel better. Once your burger was finished, you felt a bit of reflux and swallowed a burp. You felt some hiccups coming on, meaning that you ate too fast. Naturally, you were the only one with a hiccup, which brought back the self-consciousness. Tom paid the bill for the both of you. His salad was seven dollars, and your burger with fries was eleven. More guilt. That is chump change to most people, but today, to you, it made a huge difference.

You threw on a fake smile and said your goodbyes, making your way to the Uber Tom had called. The ride home was silent, and your reflux gave way to a stomach ache.

Penance for eating that slop, you thought. Sure it was tasty and exactly what you wanted, and sure it was the only burger you’ve had in the last six weeks, but everyone else ate salad. Why couldn’t your fat ass have ordered salad too? You never really liked it, but that’s what healthy people ate. That’s what Zendaya ate, and Tony, and Tom, and Jacob, and Haz, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

God! This was only your third time meeting Jake, and your first time eating food in front of him. Now he’s gonna think you eat like that all the time, as exemplified by your small double chin and a belly that sticks out.

Well, your belly didn’t really stick out that much…

But it’s still there.

Tom says--

Who cares what Tom says? Tom’s Tom. He’s your boyfriend. He has to say that. What about everyone else at that table? What about the people online that constantly shame you? What are they going to say about this?

What if some fan took a picture of you all at the table and posted it? Now they see you’re the only fatass with a burger while everyone else ate a salad. God. Why are you like this? Why are you so FUCKING fat?!

“Y/N,” Tom said, his hand on your shoulder.

You looked up at him, quickly wiping away your furrowed brow and scowl. “Hmm?”

“We’re home.”

Once inside, you headed straight for the bathroom. You locked the door, turned on the exhaust fan and faucet to drown out any potential crying, and faced yourself in the mirror. You sighed and slowly removed your shirt.

Your eyes drifted to the bits of acne that dotted your shoulders and upper chest. There was a large pimple between your pecs. From there, your eyes found the isolated strands of hair around your nipples. God did that look stupid. Tom probably hates that. He’s probably embarrassed to be seen around you when your shirt is off. Lord knows you would be. You made a mental note to shave that off immediately.

You then looked to the trail of hair that spilled out of your belly button and traversed the hill that was your lower abdomen and disappeared down your jeans. You angrily grabbed at the fat on your belly, which just peeked over the edge of your jeans, enough for you to label yourself a muffin top. You jiggled the fat, disappointed and ashamed.

Why would Tom subject himself to seeing this every night? Why would he suck your dick if his head has to feel the squish of your belly every time he goes down? Why would he like the feeling of his fingers sinking into your sides when he held your hips? Why would he want to see the rolls that form from sitting as you ride him? Why would he want to feel your belly on his back when you were the big spoon? Why would he want to look at your droopy ass when he takes you from behind? Why would he want to even be seen with you in public? Why would he want your body? Why would he want you?

You hardly noticed the tears rolling down your cheeks. They soon turned to quiet sobs. You sat on the edge of the tub in defeat, staring at the blurred image of your distended stomach through welled up tears. There was a knock at the door.

“Y/N, open up, love,” Tom called, softly. “I know what you’re doing in there.”

Why would he care? You don’t need his pity. His lies.

Tom tried the door only to find it locked. “Darling, please open up.” He waited for a few beats before trying again.

“Baby, please, you’re starting to scare me a little,” his voice sounded concerned enough. He jiggled the knob harder. “C’mon love.”

You begrudgingly rose from your seat and unlocked the door. Immediately it was opened to show a concerned Tom biting his lip. When he saw you his heart sank. He was right about what you had been doing. There were still marks on your belly from where you grabbed it with force. You sniffled as he took you into his arms.

He squeezed you tight, and you were well aware of the fact that his fingers sunk into the flesh of your bare back ever so slightly, while your fingers were met with muscle. He kissed your neck before pulling back to kiss away your tears. He cradled your face in his hands and ran his thumb across your lips. He gently pulled on your bottom lip, revealing the small bits of skin that were missing from how hard you bite it when you’re stressed. He held you for a few minutes, letting you release your pent up emotion. Once you had pulled yourself together, he gently turned you around to face yourself in the mirror.

Your face was red and wet from crying, cheeks and eyes puffy. Tom pressed himself behind you and brought his hands all over your body. He took your hands in his so that you would feel what he was feeling. He passed over the marks you left in your belly fat. He passed the love handles you hated under your obliques. He passed your pecs, with their hairy nipples and layer of fat on the end. He passed your shoulders, over the acne but skipping the pimple. He knew the ones on your chest hurt when touched. He got them too. He pressed a firm and loving kiss to your shoulder, in a spot that happened to have acne scarring. He moved his kisses to your neck and you sighed.

“Baby,” you croaked. “Be honest, do you love my body?”

Tom locked eyes with you in the mirror and rubbed your stomach softly.

“Yes, love,” he said, pressing a kiss to your earlobe. “I love your body.”

“Why?”

It was a simple question but it broke his heart. There was nothing he hated worse than when you felt down about your body, especially when you started hating yourself for it.

“Because it’s you. I love you, Y/N.”

You couldn’t control the outpour of emotion as your boyfriend placed tender kisses to your neck and cheek.

“I love you for the real you, baby,” he continued. “I love you for what’s inside. I love you for what’s in here-” he touched his finger to your forehead “-and in here.” He placed his hand over your heart. You couldn’t stop crying over everything that was happening. You hated that you hated your body. You usually weren’t like this. You felt guilty that you made him worry. You also felt so much love from and for Tom that you couldn’t quite process everything else that was going on.

You spun around and captured his lips in a desperate kiss. “I’m sorry,” you whispered over and over onto his lips, and all he whispered back was “I love you.”

Tom broke the kiss to work his lips down your body, kissing over the marks you made on your belly. You rolled your head back and sighed. He stood back up and led you to the bedroom. You both shed your clothes and he took a step back to admire you in your nakedness. He bit his lip and eyed your body hungrily.

“All for me…” he muttered to himself before taking your hand and leading you to the bed. He grabbed a condom, rolled it on, and lubed up. He had you straddle him and you sank down on him slowly. You rode him, his moans inspiring confidence, and his wandering hands instilled more pride in your body.

Who cares what other people think about you? You have nothing to be ashamed of, and nothing to hate. You loved yourself, deep down. On days like this, sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement from Tom.

Tom couldn’t keep his legs still as you rode him to his high, looking him in the eyes as you did. He took you in his hand and worked you over to yours. It didn’t take long, as his dick hit your prostate on almost every bounce. You came on his abs and collapsed onto him. Panting, you both gazed lovingly in each other's eyes. He pulled you in for a hot, messy kiss. He sat up quickly, taking you with him. You giggled as he scooped you up and took you back to the bathroom to run a shower. You spent the rest of the evening in his arms, naked to the waist. He rested his head on your chest and traced circles onto your belly, whispering words of love and encouragement for you and your beautiful body.

[crsinclair]

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with today?

Cat wakes me up at fuck-o’clock this morning by puking on my bed - fantastic, great, gotta get up and wash that, find a new blanket and catch more z’s.  Z’s would not come because APPARENTLY someone decided to piss off a lover across the street before the sun could come up.  My alarm goes off, yay, and whoop de whoop I gotta get ready for the day.

Welp, since I currently don’t have a car I gotta order a Lyft (like Uber, but usually better navigation since their GPS works through Google), and I order at the same time I always do, so that I can give myself a ten minute window to get to work on time in case of traffic.  The lady shows up.

But she’s at the wrong apartment complex.

And then when she’s finally at mine and I hop in, she takes a wrong turn.  Immediately.  I correct her, thinking well, at least it wasn’t like she took the ramp to the wrong freeway, and WHOOP DE FREAKING WHOOP, guess what she does next??  TOOK THE RAMP ONTO THE WRONG FREAKING FREEWAY.

And so I tell her, AGAIN, that she’s going the wrong way, to please listen to her GPS, and she says, “Okay!” and proceeds to ignore the GPS and continue to go in circles.  For fifteen.  Goddamn.  Minutes.

By the time I finally get to work, I am ten minutes late.  I am pissed.  And then I’m checking my work email as I’m booting up the rest of my systems for the day and lo and behold, I have two messages waiting for me in my inbox - neither of them good.

One I have to take to my boss and give him bad news, the other leaves me scrambling around trying to get contact information so I can find out more about the project the email is telling me about and no one will give it to me.  They just keep asking me if I’ve already tried looking at this phone number and that email and YES, DAMNIT, I ALREADY HAVE, OTHERWISE I WOULDN’T BE ASKING FOR HELP.

AND THEN.  I get a phone call from one of our associates asking for assistance on a couple things.  She’s an old lady who works over 800 miles away from the main offices and has no clue how to work computers.  At all.  So a lot of the people here at the offices kind of cringe when her name comes up.  I bravely ask her what it is that she needs help with, and one of them I can do something about, it’s just an email that she needed forwarding to her.  But the OTHER is a rather complicated question that actually needed immediate attention and could only be looked at by our accounts payable department.

Well, our AP manager was in a meeting so I took a message and told the Poor Lady on the phone that I would have someone call her back ASAP.  When I take the message to my AP manager, however, she rolls her eyes as soon as I get the Poor Lady’s name out and says I should have just taken care of it myself and gives me a lecture about said Poor Lady.  She takes the hand-written message I wrote down, but otherwise says that she’ll get to it whenever and shoos me out the door, interrupting me any time I tried to say anything to her.

Immediately following that, I bumped into my CEO, and I tried to tell him that hey, maybe this thing that Poor Lady was trying to call about might’ve been important, but I literally only got her name out before he literally waved me away and said - and I quote - “Whatever she’s got to say isn’t as important as what I’m dealing with right now.”

Like, really?  Really??  I’m so mad and angry and upset that I want to walk out of this job right now.

Oh, and turns out that what she was calling about was enough to get the CEO involved and upset and ahahaHA, the Poor Lady is out of the office for the rest of the day.  Good luck fixing this up; shoulda just listened to me the first time!

[the-healing-power-of-cats]

v. New Mexico and L.A.

When I got to Albuquerque, I had to get to the airport. I had booked a shuttle bus from the airport to Santa Fe because I had not known about the train. First, I took a public transit bus and then I walked for ten minutes. I thought I could walk to the airport, but the sidewalk stopped. I asked a man working at a Park n’ Ride if I could take their shuttle bus to the airport because I had thought I could walk to the airport, but I could not. The Park n’ Ride man looked at me and said, alright I’ll get one of the boys to drive you.  

*

I arrived at the spiritual-community house at dusk and the colours of the setting sun in the sky really moved me. u. had cooked dinner and we all ate together. v. said I looked like a happy person and that most people were not happy. I was very surprised when he said that because he did not know that I had been having anxiety attacks the last few nights. I wondered if you could be a very anxious person and a happy person at the same time.

After dinner, w. asked if I wanted to participate in their song and dance meditation. I said sure. They asked if I had a song I would like to share with the community. I told them that I did not sing very often and so unfortunately, I could not teach them any songs. We went to the meditation room and I tried singing along. Then, we held hands and danced in a circle.

v. told me that he had not chosen the spirit but that the spirit had chosen him. He gave me a sleeping bag and I slept on a mat in the meditation room. The light of the full moon flooded the room.

The next night, w. put up a tree in the meditation room. It was not a Christmas tree but simply a big branch from a regular tree that he had found behind the house. He told me that we would be performing a winter ritual together. Everyone would contribute with either a dance, a song, a craft or story. He told me that he wished to sing Oh Tannenbaum in German and would like me to help him.

We sang Oh Tannenbaum many times. We sang it together and then w. wanted to sing the harmonies. He had a problem pronouncing Blätter, so we started again every time we got to the end of the first verse. w. got very annoyed with himself because he felt like he was saying it wrong every time.

Then we danced around the tree. We danced together and then we all did solos. I felt very free as I span in circles and rolled around on the floor. After I finished my improvised dance, w. exclaimed, beautiful! This made me feel validated. As we were dancing w. shouted that now would be a good time to take our clothes off. I did not feel psychologically ready for that experience so luckily for me, the nudity idea lost its momentum and was succinctly dropped. Instead, we lay down with our heads together, we put our hands in the air and invented a cooperative dance with our hands and later with our feet.

On the last day, u. was outside doing nude yoga and when I walked into the meditation room, w. was doing hula hoop. Although he was not nude, I was just as startled. When he saw me, he told me about the many health benefits of hula hooping.

Before leaving, I told everybody that I had really enjoyed singing and that I would join an anarchic choir when I got back home. They made fun of me because I had said that I did not sing when I had arrived two days ago, but they also said that I had a good singing voice.

*

x. wanted to get a sign that said Tipping is not required but appreciated for her car because she was an Uber driver. I told her she should get a sign that said Tipping is sexy instead because we all want to be sexy. I thought it was effective because it was manipulative. x. liked the idea. She told me that she had already ordered a webcam that she would install in her car to make her feel safer. She had also ordered throw up bags for New Year’s Eve.

x. loved her job because she got to meet all sorts of people like movie stars and new born babies. Although she was not a certified counselor or psychologist, people would tell her their problems and she liked to give them advice. I also liked giving people advice.

On Christmas day, x. and I went to the movies with her Meetup group. It was a Meetup group for older women living in the Santa Fe area. We were going to see a period comedy drama and we were looking forward to all the sex and debauchery. We were looking forward to watching not only the sex between women and men but also the sex between women and women. The Meetup group sat together in the fourth row because they had booked the tickets together. I had booked my ticket much later, so I sat by myself in the last seat of the last row. I sat next to a woman who thought there must be a technical problem because the movie was very dark.

After the movie, the Meetup group was extremely disappointed because the trailer had made it seem like a laugh, but it had not been a laugh. One of the women said that she would have been very angry if the character in the movie had really killed the rabbit with her shoe because that would not have been funny at all. I thought the movie was fine. We concluded that that was probably only because I had not seen the trailer and was not expecting to laugh. Then, we went to have dinner at a Chinese restaurant called Ying-Yang.

I asked x. if she had a tea towel, so I could dry her dishes. She said that she used to have a tea towel but then she never used it, so she got rid of it. Now, she just lets the dishes dry naturally.

x. also said that she was not a household person and added, you’re German you could clean my kitchen. I said, I will clean your kitchen, x. Once, I had cleaned her kitchen I was worried that she would not notice it was clean because she could not see without her glasses on.

But later that day, she exclaimed, you cleaned my stove! with her arms up in the air.

x. said baby shampoo smelled like artificial babies and that Procter and Gamble had invented the artificial baby smell.

*

y. picked me up at the train station with a sign that said my name. I wanted to cry when I saw her because the sign was so beautiful. At her house, she showed me the guestroom I would be staying in and the guest bathroom. Then she asked if I was hungry. We ate lentil soup with crackers and after dinner we discussed Georgia O’Keeffe and politics.

She told me about a Danish man she had hosted once who thought he could walk to her house across the golf course. The Danish man did not know that there was a metal fence around the golf course. So, y. told him you can’t walk to my house. Where are you? I will come pick you up. When we drove by the golf course, y. said that’s where the Danish man wanted to walk across.

I told y. that in Europe we have McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks and KFC. She said, Oh my.

The next day, y. drove me to the Amtrak station in Albuquerque where I was going to take the train to LA. The train was two hours late, so I started crying because I thought two hours was a long time and did not have the nerves anymore. All the passengers were wearing sweat pants and hoodies and holding their pillows because it was a night train and they were all ready to sleep. This made me even more depressed because seeing so many people in pyjamas waiting at an Amtrak station during a snow storm was depressing. They were showing a movie on TV. The movie was very violent and there were gunshots and banging and crashing and punching and smashing and the volume was up very high. The sound effects were making me anxious and I really wished they would turn it off. I asked a woman to watch my bag so I could go to the toilet and think positive thoughts.

When we finally got on the train, I spent the whole train ride worrying the train would derail. I wondered how we would derail and when. I never worry about trains derailing in Switzerland so, this was a new worry for me.

I asked the man working in the Amtrak Café Car if the hot chocolate was any good and if he recommended it. He pointed at the Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix packet and I said, I’ll take it.

It took 16 hours to get to LA but once we arrived the sun was shining, and the weather was warm.

*

I heard that Uber drivers sometimes kidnap people. So, every time I ordered an Uber I contemplated that possibility. I did not think my driver, z. would kidnap me because the cover of his seats had Winnie-the-Pooh on them. Not the trademark Winnie-the-Pooh but maybe a Chinese version of Winnie-the-Pooh. He also had a Hello Kitty steering wheel. He told me that he had bought a round trip flight to China from California and that it had only cost him 400 dollars. This made me think about how cheap it can be to fly so far nowadays.

*

At LAX, I tried checking in for my flight at one of the check-in machines. It told me that the name on my ticket did not match the name on my passport. The name on my ticket was Laura Palomahammes and the name on my passport was Laura Paloma Hammes. The machine told me to go to one of the agents, who told me not to bother going to “Assistance” because they could not change my name. I could only change my name by contacting the other airline.

I started crying because I could not believe this was happening to me. I would never stick both my last names together and I was trying so hard to do everything right. I had not even lost anything or gotten anything stolen. I had not even been mugged at gunpoint. I went to stand in the “Assistance” line anyway because I wanted to be assisted by the Alaska Air Assistance lady.

Through my tears I told the Assistance lady that I was flying to Frankfurt but that the name on my ticket did not match the name on my passport. First, she asked where Frankfurt was and I said, Germany. Then, she called someone who told her that it was fine and that their system had stuck my names together. So, she checked me in and then she said, Laura, right now I have you sitting in the middle seat. Would like an aisle or a window seat?

And I said, wi-wi-window, please.

*

When people ask, how was your trip?

I answer, I’ve seen some stuff.

*

I bought very short glittery shorts in Nashville. Silver and gold sequins spell Nashville on the backside. Whenever I wear them the sequins fall off and there are sequins on all the floors of my apartment now.

[driftwork]

appendix one - Late night in Shinkogu

We are in a cafe in Shinkogu , drinking bad tea and eating a bowl of ramen noodles, we were delaying heading back to the hotel. We were in Tokyo carrying out an audit job for london dirt.  We’ve met up with Paul whose birthday is tomorrow is making us wonder what the meaning was underlying what (ever) he was saying, he spoke surreally of what was making him happy. His latest ideology. A possible trip to Shanghai, a new systems job in New York. Behind him I watched a fly crawl down the wall it was hunting for the crumbs of food left by earlier customers. Food. A japanese blues band was playing, and singing in japanese 'you upsets me baby...' they were in love with her hair, her body, hit by falling trees, and a lovely bass line. We switch to drinking cappuccino with an [an an] extra shot. I restrain my desire to move. It’s difficult. The coffee arriving really helps.   We are talk about the repetitive nature of v-accelerationism and he speaks admiringly of british cyberneticians in chile, I tell him I prefer the Marxist ones - J.D. Bernal and the like to the cybernetic-liberals he's speaking of, she mentions waddington or is it eddington "Science! it is an attitude to the world a way of living. Tolerant, friendly and humane" and the cybernetic psychoanalysts who she occasionally uses in her practice.  We don't speak of science as occupying one of the poles of sovereignty, the stake of the spectacle drilled though the heart of Cartesian science, that broke (that) decades ago.  The liberal dreamers working in journalism and the humanities imagining the scientific world accelerates and evolves. We tell him about the audit job without telling him about the secrets we were carrying. The fly reaches a crumb of rice or something on the seat beside him.  Paul says we sound like members of a 4th International Trotskyist party.  She accuses him of maoist-accelerationism. It is raining outside and the refracted light arches across the wall, an arc of sprayed photons. The japanese band sings in a chorus "i been down hearted baby" initially in american and afterwards in japanese. Curiously waddington or eddington writing in 1941 believed in "the application of conscious control to the economic functioning of society," that scientific rationality should be sovereign,  now as Paul demonstrates by his existence that the aberration of allowing the unconscious desires of the spectacle to reigns supreme, this looks quite as sane as the photons cascading through the raindrops on the window striking the wall bouncing through my imperfect eyes, the distortion of the damaged retina causing the lines to warp in multiple directions. [...] Its here whilst we are laughing and eyeing the dessert menu on the wall above the counter that the western woman comes in, accompanied by a tall japanese man. She has a leather postal bag slung across her body. It contents sound metallic as she puts it on the chair next to her. They sit down facing one another across the table at the far end of the long communal table we are sitting at. A waiter miraculously appears, we had assumed it was counter service. The waiter bows carefully to them. They order some drinks and ohagi in multiple flavours. She looks at us and asks in an english accent and asks where we are from, Z points at paul, me and herself <US, eng;land and exile of poland> The lighting dims in the cafe pools of light now light the tables from golden retro multifilament lights hanging on black cables from the now dark ceiling. The man she is with gestures his thanks to the waiter who bows again. <ah yes, I am an exile from england to, I can never go back.> she smiles warmly at the man <we are stuck with one another.> The man says in halting english <as if you would leave even if you could...> He reaches out and takes a chocolate ohagi to eat. On the back of his hand a fragment of a tattoo can be seen.  <true, there are the children to think of...> A heavy gust of wind and rain strikes the windows. The waitress who is standing looking out the door and asks <should i take some tea to your driver ?> <That would be kind, Two teas and some of these> she said. <How long have you been living here>  Three years ago. She explained. I changed my name to Yotsume-Toji after a corporate war situation in which we were both involved in,  at the end  there were two equally  impossible options offered to a japanese yakuza woman which ended it. She could choose either either either exile or sacrifice,  because she chose exile, I, who was her <equivalent he interjected> substitute, bore the costs of the event, to sacrifice herself. She went with a man to live in London, whilst I stayed with a very different man Kenji (gesturing and bowing to him, he smiles warmly) in tokyo. I think I'm happier. Because I could never explain to the man I used to be with who and what I was, whereas now I can be honest and different [...] We talked about them for a few minutes, unable to decide what any of what she had said meant.  Meaning was a difficult problem in those days. The cafe was reconfiguring into its early morning mode the lights glow a rich yellow gold, the tables and chairs become gently inviting for the weary passersby. It will stay open until 2am or later whenever the last paying customer leaves.

The future at this time was still a draft form but it might mean something once the wreckage finally washes up on the shore. We three appeared in front of one another, cups and saucers, a glass bowl with pebbles from a beach, over the road a dark warehouse, in the continuation of an alliance that struggles against the emptiness that the city offered. Here we sat trying to fill the emptiness that threatened us. (hey sing in japanese "Ït's stormy monday, but tuesdays just as bad you know..." ) Trying to imagine a network of algorithms and intrigue that always exists when we come together and from which there is no escape. Can we pretend that we are friends ? Even as we three  will part company in a short time, heading off to our hotels and rooms,  taking letters from Martin which we will decode  along with the pictures that accompany them. When we get home autumn will begin and everyday life will start up again. Our investigations will intensify our longings for something different, we will voice our desires for a differently constructed reality,  putting some new life into the grey everydayness. The way that every potential situation creates a response that changes our desires, actions and representations clashing with emotions becoming entangled with the constructions.  What got left behind in that cafe in Shinkogu as we passed through along the line of flight of our lives...  These are the words for a person left behind after his death, somewhere near sydney he met a violent end. I remain a slightly sad orphan who remains weighed down by regrets and sadness. I try and give meaning and sense to something that is senseless,  musing on our last meeting before he met bullets travelling the other way. Nonetheless  I will remain here for a little while longer, slightly cold because the heating has switched itself off, sitting on a danish chair in an office on the first floor looking out at the greenness of an early spring. Whilst she is movin g around the house doing something, water flows into a sink, the feint noise of a household machine. The weather blowing in from the north(=)east.   The words are typed and  appear on the pages of a text... At around one am we leave wandering down the almost empty street, the sounds of early morning or late night Tokyo following us as we walked away. We paused at the street corner, paul who died, was waiting for his uber, which whisked him away to the Homeopathic Club where he was staying and we would walk the 100 metres to the hotel and sleep. I have often wondered if he died because of that conversation. When the car arrived he was wondering aloud about the japanese yakuza woman. The next day or the day afterwards we boarded an airbus back to europe. Vanishing without leaving a single trace of our trajectories across Tokyo, we were travelling on stolen credit cards, and unreal passports, our actual identities only on the air tickets...

[awasthiparas1998-blog]

The bright cab

 Vol-01 chapter 1

 The uber

The car was in the traffic as usual. It was 3:30pm in the clock and was regular Monday morning, I was in the uber heading the way towards home from airport. My uber driver looks very much tired I just can’t stop my curiosity to ask him that why is he so tired??  “sir, I was driving for 18 hours that’s why I am tired “he said with a smile “I can take another one there it would be no problem “I said to him try to reduce his burden. “no sir it is not a big deal I can drive, moreover it my way to home” said and smiled again. By this time the car start moving out of the traffic. I rested my head against the window and gaze the cable of the bridge and the clouds.

  It was such a tiring business trip, but personally saying the Bengaluru was amazing place to travel. Although I didn’t get enough of time to travel but it the hasty travel experience was astonishing.  The people out there was so helpful. I was lost in the verse of the Bengaluru’s beauty. Suddenly the cab hit the hole on the road and my head was banged. Now, I was out of the dream and I was near my home.

 The cab turned the final right and my home was there. I pay the cab and headed towards with the heavy suitcase.  I entered the lift and press four. Everything was seeming perfect but then I saw that my house door is opened. “what the hell is that “I said to myself shockingly I went inside, everything was fucked up I even don’t know how to react.  Everything was messed up. But my eyes was suspicious about one thing ‘the table’ because it was clear everything was just in place, but there was a card on the table scribbled “ Z , ahh finally you are home “.

  I call the security guard and scold him what is this ??, he was also stunned as I was, so I called the police. When I was dialling something fall from above, I was in the consciousness, after few seconds I woke up it was alarm clock that hit me. I found my self in the bed wearing my night-suit, I checked the time it was 9:00am. How this is possible I was inside my flat and now I am in once again in bengaluru’s hotel. Ohh shit! Now I am getting late for my 10’o clock flight I just wrapped my stuff and run towards airport.  “How can be it would be so much real” thinking this while travelling. I reached once again in the Indra Gandhi airport I booked a uber and the same car was there the bright cab which I saw in my dream. I get inside with curiosity hoping for the same driver but there was a different driver. I surpass my dream and get inside the cab. By the time I reached home I forget everything about the dream. It was all in chronological order entering the building, pressing four on the lift and unlocking the door. I kept everything as usual, finished my supper and went for sleep. I was too much tired that I skipped my dinner. By now I forget everything about that dream. Next morning, I was leaving for my office but there was something unfamiliar in the table. There was a card “Z, ahh you finally you are at home “was scribbled same as the dream. I was in the total confusion and the same question was hitting me hard “how a dream can be so much real”. Leaving me with numerous questions.

…………….to be continued.

[kismetpetresort]

Leaders call for regional approach to Charlotte transit — but funding, political hurdles remain – Charlotte Business Journal

In order for transit to have long-term success in Charlotte, local leaders need to take a regional approach in supporting such projects.

That was one of the key takeaways from the Regional Transit Summit held at UNC Charlotte on Thursday, in which transit leaders, elected officials and consultants discussed what the future of transit could look like for the region. The summit was held in partnership with the Centralina Council of Governments and the Metropolian Transit Commission.

Mass transit and economic development are more closely correlated than ever before, said John Martin, president and CEO of the Southeastern Institute of Research, a consultancy based in Richmond, Va. Martin said shifts in how generations think, behave and perceive the world are playing directly into where they live and work.

It’s been said time and again that millennials are moving to the Charlotte region in droves, accounting for a large chunk of the area’s explosive population growth — some 60 people a day are moving to Mecklenburg County.

But to stay relevant and remain competitive economically, Martin said it will be imperative for regions to continue to attract younger workers. Generational changes in birth rates, for instance, are going to have significant implications on attracting and retaining talent in the future.

"By 2030, (nationally) we’ll grow by 9% but the working population will only grow by 5%," Martin said.

If cities aren’t attractive to millennials or Gen Z, the generation following millennials, those regions will lose out economically in the long run.

National trends emerge

So what do those workers want? In addition to the things like safety, a variety of employment options and affordable housing, younger people are generally seeking vibrant activity centers and a "livable, walkable" community with a commute time of 15 minutes or less.

"They put a very high premium on transportation when thinking about where to live," he added.

As a result, cities proactive about building out their transit systems now versus later will ultimately be more attractive and economically competitive in the long run, Martin said. Companies today are moving to or expanding within urban environments that have access to transit systems — he referenced Marriott (NASDAQ: MAR), which will move its headquarters to downtown Bethesda, Md., from an office park. The hotelier cited talent attraction and retention, Metro accessibility and a lack of amenities in its current space as major reasons for the move.

And the most talked-about economic development project in recent memory — Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) second headquarters, with its 50,000 jobs and billions in investment — has a transit component, too. Among criteria laid out in its request for proposals last fall, mass transit was listed as a top priority for the e-commerce giant.

But despite all the positive news surrounding transit — including real estate and economic development and contributions to upward mobility — it continues to have a "bad rep," Martin said.

For one thing, it’s expensive. And recent statistics show transit ridership dropping nationally, including in Charlotte, which prompts questions about whether such an investment will actually pay off in the long term.

Martin said that decline in ridership can be attributed to a number of factors — low gas prices, growing popularity of ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, aging populations that don’t use transit as much as they once did, gentrification.

But, he continued, quality of service is one of the biggest factors that negatively affects transit on a national scale.

"System conditions and liability are falling off," he said. "Consumers don’t get excited about poor service. This is what’s happening around the country — when you have great transit, it gets great results."

Seattle, where Amazon keeps its headquarters, is one of the few cities in the U.S. currently seeing growth in transit. In the past two years, transit ridership has gone up 12% in Seattle, according to Martin. He said the city is doing specific things to contribute to its success — making room for buses on city streets, directing development intentionally into urban villages and activity centers, lining up employer support for transit, going "beyond borders" for partnerships, continually improving the system, and actively planning for the future.

In order for Charlotte’s transit system to succeed, Martin said local leadership needs to be proactive about developing a regional master plan. He added that leveraging the business community is also important, referencing a discounted transit pass proposed for government workers in Charlotte’s budget this year.

"Get some other companies to do the same thing — build a business coalition and make it a priority," Martin said. "Build a sense of urgency. ‘We’re hot today but are we going to be hot tomorrow?’"

Regional challenges abound

Leaders from counties adjacent to Mecklenburg said that they’re all facing a similar problem — contending with clogged roads and overwhelmed infrastructure as a result of massive growth.

"There’s tremendous amount of congestion and mobility issues because of the lack of options," said Stephen Allen, York County planning services manager.

According to data from the N.C. Department of Transportation, the number of trips coming into or within Mecklenburg County daily breaks down this way:

38,083 from Gastonia;32,616 from north Mecklenburg; 67,185 from northeast Mecklenburg; 27,204 from east Mecklenburg; 35,506 from south Mecklenburg; 52,192 from southwest Mecklenburg; 281,823 from Charlotte; 48,225 from Kannapolis and Concord; 25,729 from Salisbury, 26,246 from Iredell County; and28,834 from south Iredell.

Allen said about 40,000 people commute northward from York County to Charlotte daily and that the county is having a hard time keeping up with growth. York County has a Pennies for Progress program, a capital projects sales and use tax that helps pay for infrastructure projects, primarily road improvements. Allen said while the program has helped fund many projects, the county is lagging behind because of the pace of development.

Earl Mathers, Gaston County manager, echoed those sentiments, indicating the southeast quadrant of Gaston in particular is experiencing a lot of growth and there’s "virtual gridlock" getting in and out of the county during heavy commute times.

"Without additional transit options, we’re going to be facing a really serious problem," Mathers said.

Jonathan Marshall, Cabarrus County deputy manager, said a bus line from the county to the Lynx Blue Line has proven to be a popular option with residents. Elsewhere in Cabarrus, the county’s multiple connection points — key among them Interstate 85, but also major roads like NC-73, NC-49 and US-29 — are frequently congested.

The great divide

But while each of the county leaders expressed similar sentiments — that more transit options, including rapid-bus transit, would be welcome to help ease congestion — funding such projects and garnering county-wide support is difficult.

York, Gaston and Cabarrus all have nodes of high-population growth but are still rural in character in other places.

Mathers said Gaston County has a "cultural divide" — the southeastern portion is more affluent and attracts a lot of millennials, many of whom commute to Charlotte regularly. But the rest of the county is more rural and, as a result, has a different set of priorities.

"While I believe the southeastern quadrant of Gaston County would probably be supportive and receptive (of transit), even with additional taxation, I’m not at all sure that would be the case for the rest of the county," Mathers said.

Many Gaston County residents are in favor of building another road connection to Mecklenburg via a new bridge crossing the Catawba River. In the wake of River District, a significant master-planned development by Lincoln Harris and Crescent Communities in western Mecklenburg County, lobbying for that bridge has picked up again.

Marshall said there is desire in Cabarrus County for expansion of the current bus service to the Blue Line and, eventually, possibly extending the light-rail line up the US-29 corridor. He said that while that type of extension would be for the long term, the county and towns could do small steps in the interim, like land planning.

Allen said South Carolina’s York County isn’t dense enough to support light rail at this time but agreed that planning should take place in the short term.

"We have to make land-use and structural changes in how we zone and develop, then we can talk about light rail and getting a successful program," he continued.

There are other critical factors at play — namely political support for transit and how to pay for such projects. Mathers said there’s varying degrees of support among the delegates representing Gaston County for any type of infrastructure project, including the additional bridge over the Catawba and improvements to the existing Wilkinson Boulevard bridge.

"We all need to be pulling in the same direction," he said.

Marshall said private-sector involvement will be critical in any scenario. Much public money is already accounted for, he continued, noting between 45% and 50% of Cabarrus County’s budget goes toward schools.

"Resources are so limited unless we get more from the state and federal (levels) — we’ll try to be optimistic about that," he said, to laughter in the audience.

Funding for transit has dropped significantly at both the state and national levels. Federal funding paid for half of the Blue Line and its extension, while state money paid for 25%. The North Carolina legislature currently has a 10% funding cap for transit projects.

In York County, there are also few avenues for public transit investment at the state and county level, Allen said. As a result, local government has to get creative with paying for any sort of public project, including transportation.

The consensus among the county leaders who spoke Thursday was that improving transportation, both in the short term and in the future, is critical to support the region’s growing economy. But without more funding buckets and private involvement, it will be difficult to make a meaningful investment in a regional transit system.

"We’re beginning to undertake a long-range, public-transit master plan — a good portion of that is understanding how the transit system works, how it can be better, where it’s going in the future," Marshall said. "We do have that urban-rural divide. You’re going to run into congestion (everywhere) so there’s some appreciation for transit throughout the county, but it gets to the funding mechanism.

"The system in Cabarrus County doesn’t maximize itself if we don’t connect to the larger system," he continued. "I think that’s the trickier part to fund."

Source Article

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[minnievirizarry]

#NoTwoDays: A Day in the Life of Sergio Perez of Johnny Rockets

In the fourth installment of our new series, #NoTwoDays, we examine the day of fellow marketer Sergio Perez, Senior Digital Marketing Manager for international restaurant franchise Johnny Rockets.

Whether he’s meeting with franchise partners, building out a national digital strategy or solving the world’s burger problems, this is a (edited for clarity) day-in-the-life look through the lens of Johnny Rockets’ Senior Digital Marketing Manager.

MORNING:

5:30 a.m.: Rise and grind. I open my eyes and take a moment to recognize how lucky I am to have the opportunity to chase the dream and happiness, as hard as it gets. I find that starting the day with gratitude is great mental preparation to execute and engage in today’s busy world.

5:35 a.m.: The first case of #FOMO kicks in. Living on the west coast and working for a global restaurant chain that operates 400 restaurants in 32 countries, you realize that life and events have happened by the time you’re up.

As I scroll through my notifications, among the many thoughts that cross my mind are: Did I miss an important world event? Did sales improve over the previous week? What are people saying about Johnny Rockets? Was there another “covfefe” moment?

6:06 a.m.: I scroll through notifications on Sprout Social’s mobile app to get a first glimpse at what’s happening in the burger world. It comes in handy, as I’m responsible for overseeing over 200 local restaurant Facebook Pages, and all the global brand handles.

Making time to check in on people makes a difference.

Sergio Perez Sr. Digital Marketing Manager, Johnny Rockets @Sergeprz

6:30 a.m.: Breakfast time. Cup of coffee + one sunny side up egg + crispy thick-cut bacon + warm and buttery toast + glass of water + [insert any news channel in the background].

7:07 a.m.: Today is going be a hot one at the office: Busy between meetings, solving the world’s burger problems, pretending to be a burger on the social space and creating content for September. I decide to go with the casual side of business casual, opting to wear jeans, a button down, sneakers and a blazer.

7:45 a.m.: Time to head to the office. I have a 12-minute commute to the Burger HQ, aka The Johnny Rockets Group Restaurant Support Center.

7:58 a.m.: My first order of business is to spread positive vibes to our team. I walk by everyone’s office or cubicle and say good morning and check how they’re doing. Although only a brief gesture, making time to check in on people makes a difference.

It shows people you genuinely care about them and that you’re interested in their well-being. We’re a unified front, with a unified voice. That’s why at Johnny Rockets we live by the mantra of #OneTeamOneDream. We’re all in this together.

8:10 a.m.: Before I dive in, I select a solid playlist on Spotify to get in the zone. A mix of Drake, Luke Bryan, J Balvin, Jay-Z and Calvin Harris is in order.

8:15 a.m.: This is when I get into character and pretend to be a burger online. I start by tracking the global conversation happening around Johnny Rockets. I use Sprout Social’s Smart Inbox to identify conversations that I can engage with. At the same time, I look for any guest related issues that we need to address and resolve.

Guests often times come to social media platforms to comment on their experiences with our food and service. As a guest-driven brand, we’re committed to responding to these issues, and most importantly committed to solving these and earning their trust back. At Johnny Rockets, every guest matters, and we want to ensure every single one of them has a memorable burger experience.

9:00 a.m.: Meeting with the field marketing team to review local digital plans for franchise partners. The goal is to support the national digital strategy with tailored local plans that focus on driving incremental transactions. I won’t give you the secret recipe, but we focus on delivering the right message at the right time through the right platform.

In the restaurant industry, it’s imperative that you create craveable moments that add value, spark emotion and inspire action.

9:30 a.m.: Meeting with the agency to walk through the upcoming grand opening plans. On the digital side, we focus on inspiring burger fans to take action through brand, culture and food offerings.

We do everything from paid social ads, like campaigns, Snapchat filters and email campaigns to build relationships around the communities in which we serve. This year we are on track to open more than 50 restaurants worldwide.

10:00 a.m.: Another meeting with the team to review content concepts for the month of September. We look at upcoming food-related holidays, system-wide promos, new menu items, brand partnerships, new restaurant openings and sales-driving menu items, among other topics.

These sessions are particularly helpful because it ensures that our content aligns with our brand voice, our brand, our business objectives and storytelling pillars.

11:15 a.m.: Almost six hours into the day, it’s time for a pick me up. Two shots of espresso and a splash of half and half, a quick glance at my personal phone to avoid #FOMO, and off we go.

11:25 a.m.: An unexpected call from a company trying to pitch their services. Just like any relationship, I think it’s important to be honest and transparent in these conversations.

If you’re not interested in [insert any product or service], make sure you answer and share why—it’s the right thing to do. Everyone wants to be heard.

11:45 a.m.: Last call before lunch. A franchise partner wants a local piece of content published on their Facebook page. As part of our process, I review the content to ensure it meets brand guidelines. I log on to Sprout Social to schedule it for a later day and time. As you can imagine, with over 200 domestic restaurants, I get requests like this all the time.

AFTERNOON:

12:15 p.m.: Our rockstar in-house graphic designer and I are heading to our flagship Johnny Rockets restaurant, in Orange, CA, to shoot some content for September.

12:22 p.m.: We are stuck in traffic in the deathly hallows, aka the I-5. Those who have been to California know how soul crushing, and at times stressful, this highway can be. Rule of thumb, breathe in and breathe out.

1:04 p.m.: We arrive at the restaurant, pick a table and order lunch. My go-to meal is the Smoke House Burger, paired with a Chocolate Banana Shake. Seriously, this is what dreams are made of. While we grub, we talk through the shot list and we coordinate with the kitchen to bring out food in that order.

1:52 p.m.: Post-lunch, we set up in the far end of the restaurant to shoot. We pick this place to ensure minimal disturbance of service and operations.

2:00–5:30 p.m.: Armed with an iPhone 7+, some food styling skills and a desire to capture beautiful burger imagery, we make our way through the shot list. In order to tell the right story, it’s important to find the right composition, the right angle, the right lighting and the right time to take a photo. But truth be told, sometimes you just have to let food and every ingredient do the work.

In the restaurant industry, it’s imperative that you create craveable moments that add value, spark emotion, inspire action and/or drive people into restaurants. It’s just as important to put yourself in people’s shoes as they are making food decisions. What burger moments will get mouths watering as they travel through their daily hunger journey?

EVENING:

5:45 p.m.: Clean up. Pick up. Before we leave the restaurant. We make sure we extend our deepest gratitude to the restaurant team. They’re the real MVPs. They make invaluable contributions to the brand.

6:00 p.m.: I like to end long and busy days with a bit of Southern California. I head over to Pacific City in Huntington Beach. As I make my way via Uber, I check emails to make sure I’m caught up. This time I decide to shower burger fans that share their burger moments via #JohnnyRockets with likes and comments.

It warms my heart to see pictures of families with their kids enjoying a burger, couples on a date sharing a shake, a group of friends refueling after a long day in class or those burger loyalists that share mouthwatering burger pictures with us. Moments like these remind me how special our guests and fans are.

6:17 p.m.: The group decides to live up to the SoCal lifestyle. Fish tacos, margaritas and an ocean front view.

7:00 p.m.: We take a walk down to the beach. Shoes off, sand in feet, the breeze hitting your face and the last rays of sun for the day. It’s absolutely amazing and, in my opinion, the best way to unwind after a long day at the office.

8:45 p.m.: Eleven hours later, I’m finally home.

9:00 p.m.: I start my nightly routine:

Read one chapter of a book. This month I’m reading, “The Captain Class” by Sam Walker. It’s a book about “the hidden force that creates the world’s greatest teams.” As a student of life, I feel it’s important to constantly find ways to learn, get better and feel inspired and empowered.

Catch an episode of a series on Netflix. This month I’m re-watching two great shows: House of Cards and The Office. I think everyone needs a bit of Frank Underwood and Michael Scott in their life.

11:00 p.m.: One last look at email and Sprout to make sure all things social and digital in the burger space are in check.

11:45 p.m.: Time for bed. I like to end my day just like I start my day, with some gratitude. I realize how lucky I am to have the opportunity to do what I love along with a fine group of men and women, but most importantly to have a roof over my head and a plate of food every day. Over and out.

This post #NoTwoDays: A Day in the Life of Sergio Perez of Johnny Rockets originally appeared on Sprout Social.

from SM Tips By Minnie https://sproutsocial.com/insights/no-two-days-sergio-perez/

[usainitiatives-blog]

June

Food War Amazon stunned everyone with its $13.7bn acquisition of grocer Whole Foods. The news was greeted with a flurry of analysis about 'disruption' in the space, yet arguably this is a data deal, one that helps Amazon to further understand a customer segment with a relatively high disposable income that is not particularly price conscious. A lucrative bunch, Whole Foods can provide unrivalled insight into their spending habits. These consumers are arguably more likely to utilise voice search too - make no mistake, spoken word is central to everything that Amazon does. Indeed, right on cue, the $20 Dash Wand was released this month. Available to Prime Members, it can be stored in the fridge and owners can ask it to suggest recipes or order ingredients. Soon brands will be able to buy $2.8m ad packages for Thursday night NFL games. As the service is for Prime members only, Amazon will already know the user's spending profile and purchase history. Ads could therefore be hyper-targeted with Alexa incorporated to monetise the experience: "Alexa, order Domino's." "Alexa, ask Fandango for Spiderman showings." (Having shown the trailer.) It will be interesting to see if Amazon pivots on alcohol; the NFL has. Next, a patent filed reveals Amazon's vision of drone delivery. Imagine a hive with trucks delivering goods at the bottom and parcel-laden contraptions flying around up above. It raises so many interesting questions: Will there be delivery hours (to combat noise pollution)? Will police require machines to have a 'disable' option? Will they be programmed to crash land in a secure location? Bloomberg revealed that Amazon has issued over $1bn in loans to its Marketplace merchants. Algorithms are used to identify good sellers, who repay the debt via sales made on site. Also, in an effort to reduce credit card fees the company is offering members a 2% bonus if they use their debit card to transact. A lower $5.99 monthly fee for Prime has been introduced (usually $10.99) for people who receive financial assistance from the government. It is being seen as a move against Walmart. 'Prime Wardrobe' was revealed: customers who order more than 3 items can have them delivered to their door (in a return-ready box) with 7 days to try them. The twist? Customers are only charged after they have made their returns or the time elapses. However, the biggest fervour was reserved for the news that sports behemoth Nike will start selling on Amazon - having resisted for years. It is being positioned as an attempt to control their brand and reduce counterfeiting. (Ps. Nike manufactures all NFL kits.) Tech Talk

Snapchat have copied Facebook! 'Snap Map' allows friends to share their location, then search the world to find connections and click their Bitmoji avatar to reveal snaps. Whilst you have to opt-in, the service has attracted concern as younger users might connect with people without knowing who they are, inadvertently revealing sensitive information such as their route home from school. (Other Snap UX updates can be found here.) The iPhone turned 10: here is how it changed the world. Next, Apple aired 'Planet of the Apps', a TV program that is essentially Shark Tank for app developers. Contestants present concepts to a panel of celebrity judges; those who progress are mentored by one of the stars, who help them pitch a private equity firm for investment. It is Apple's first probe into this increasingly competitive space - the show has been met with 'mixed' reviews. Time Warner meanwhile, are banking on Snapchat and 5-minute programs to engage viewers. After months of controversy Uber's CEO, Travis Kalanick, was forced to step-down by investors. The very real fact is, like other leaders before him, Kalanick's antics led to a negative perception of the brand that was gaining momentum (as consultancy cg42 reveals). A new threat looms with news of an alliance between Curb and Via to offer car-pooling for New York's yellow cabs. Facebook has hit the 2bn user mark. However, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced "What we really care about is being able to connect everyone". He will no doubt be pleased then that their drone Aquila, which aims to bring high-speed internet to all areas of the globe, had a successful second test flight. Also, they are testing image verification in India in an attempt to prevent people's pics being repurposed on fake profiles; it may be rolled-out globally. Instagram has released ways for influencers to clearly label sponsored content, rather than relying on '#s'. It comes following pressure from the FTC. Messenger's AI now speaks Spanish. Twitter has had a UX facelift. Finally, Google has moved into job search, adding filters, allowing Gmail alerts, and mapping commute distances, all to help people find the perfect role. Small But Important

In the same month that LVMH launched their '24 Sevres' eCommerce site (early opinion), Conde Nast announced they were closing their own shopping portal, Style.com, striking a partnership with online retailer FarFetch instead. Conversely, fashion content site 'Who What Wear' has announced a shopping app.

Even bigger news stateside was J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler's decision to step-down. There have been many professional obituaries written - this is one of the better ones - the fact is, he lost sight of who the customer was and what they wanted.

Transparent banks are aiming to satisfy the millennial customer. One example, Aspiration, has created 'Aspiration Impact Measurement' which rates businesses on their employee welfare and diversity. It passes this onto their customers so that they can make ethical purchases. Another area of interest is transparent pricing within manufacturing; the theory being that people would rather know what the underlying costs are, even if the mark-up is significant. (However, this article claims that ethical trading is going to become increasingly important for millennials.)

Venmo, the P2P payment app, is experimenting with a debit card that allows in-store purchase but draws funds from a user's online profile.

Airbnb are planning a top-tier service 'Lux'. Full details are yet to be released but it will likely be by-invitation only and is being seen as a challenger to high-end hotels.

Space is at a premium, so MIT have developed a $10,000 piece of furniture which reconfigures itself to hide unused items, for example, the desk is tucked under the bed at night time. Fully automated, it can even be controlled by Alexa.

Another bad month for the Jenners. First Kylie was accused of ripping-off PluggedNYC for her camo-inspired range, then both received fierce criticism for featuring legendary musician's faces on t-shirts - overlaid with their own - without asking permission to do so.  

Jay-Z dropped his 13th album '4:44' exclusively through Tidal / Sprint - but that did not stop it going platinum within a week.  

A great piece on the impact of mannequins on body consciousness.

Here are the best campaigns from Pride Month.

The European Union hit Google with an eye-watering $2.7bn fine, declaring its 'Shopping' listing uncompetitive because their results are promoted over any other provider's.

Blue Apron went public but the reception was lukewarm... Shares for the food delivery company fetched around $10 rather than the expected $15. Investors were possibly put-off by the news that new customer acquisition apparently costs around $460 per person!

The new 'it' job? Being an influencer's ghost-writer, really.

It was only a matter of time... Now Netflix have replicated the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' concept on TV! The new episode of 'Puss In Book' has over a dozen decision points. It is an experiment for now but may be developed in the future.

Universal Standard, a plus size brand, recognises that people's weight fluctuates, so they are offering a full exchange within a year of purchase, with returned items donated to charity.

Domino's Pizza celebrated Ferris Bueller's Day Off's 31st birthday by live-streaming the film on Facebook.

McDonald's has ended its relationship with the Olympics. Not lovin' it.

Jeff Bezos took to Twitter to crowd-source philanthropic ideas.

Starbucks is to hire 2,500 refugees throughout Europe and a further 7,500 worldwide. The move was part of ex-CEO Schultz's reaction to President Trump's travel ban.

New emojis! Breastfeeding and modest-wear have been included.  

George Clooney sold his 'Casamigos' tequila brand to Diageo for $1bn.

Ken, long-time partner of Barbie, is having a revamp, including different body types and a man bun. Yup.

Taco Bell is now letting people marry in its flagship Las Vegas restaurant. Who says romance is dead?

And finally! Delta, recognising that people have a penchant for exotic photos on their dating profiles, teamed-up with Tinder to paint murals of famous locations on a Brooklyn building. People can pose in front of landmarks, such as the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben, and then add them to their profile to appear well travelled and up their chances of a right-swipe!

[sueboohscorner]

#iZombie S3 Ep7 Dirt Nap Time Recap

Last week we left off with the discovery Blaine had been lying about losing his memory, so the gang was excited the cure works! But, when they returned to the lab they realized the syringes had been stolen. Ravi remembered he had given Major one! Unfortunately, Major had given it to Natalie, so we join Team Z at this moment.

The cure napping suspects so far; Blaine and Don E. Liv threatens to beat a confession out of him.

“ I can just picture him-smug,pleased with himself; King of the World!” -Liv

We join Blaine at his lounge act where he is not pleased with himself or anything else in fact. After his lackluster performance and a lukewarm response, he walks out into the alley where he is sucker punched by Liv. Liv in full on zombie mode! I haven’t seen that in awhile!

I love it so much I have a Funko Pop of it!

Liv tries to choke him until Ravi talks her down.

Blaine denies taking the doses.

New brains are courtesy of Mr. Brennen, a teacher at pre-school. Two mothers argue over the affection of one of the dorkiest men on the planet until another woman becomes a suspect of impropriety. This geek sure gets a ton of bored moms. Of course, after the outburst, he is found murdered, and Clive arrives at the scene.

When Ravi and Liv arrive, Clive expects to see a human Liv, but she doesn’t want to discuss what occurred.

The sweet teacher Jamie Brennen who once did puppet voices and played the guitar for kids is now face down in his living room with nails in his head. OUCH!

“I was thinking of ruiling it a homicide…” -Clive

While assesing the scene Clive notices the letters STD36 on the fridge. Meal Time for Liv!

Liv’s peppy teacher brain kicks in and they visit the teacher’s classroom. Jamie’s boss lets Clive know about his womanizing and all the affairs he had with the mom’s every year.

Bring in the suspects.

Back to the sad Blaine land, he is so depressed he can barely function. Poor Blaine!

“What’s it all about…Candy?” -Blaine

At Peyton’s office, she seems to be not handling the break up well either. But she channels her grief through her work.

Over at DA Baracus’ house, Major is hanging out with his Army buddy, the one who helped save his life before the took the cure. Major is of course still trying to keep his human cover, but he decides to come clean. Major makes him promise he will retain the secret, so he doesn’t lose his job.

Back at questioning, another woman is offering up an alibi and Liv is continuing to talk to people like they are five.

Peyton is still working the dominatrix case and trying to get the memory card from the man they arrested. Apparantly the memory card is uber important and no one is getting their hands on it.

Back in the victim’s classroom Clive and Liv continue to question Jamie’s girlfriends. Clive informs this woman that in order to clear her he will have to tell her husband about her affair. It’s okay though! Liv makes it better through sock puppets!

Meanwhile…Major’s army buddies search for the rumored zombie speakeasy. They find it but in order to get in you must eat a piece of brain laces with the hottest of hot sauces whichmakes Major nervous. But just in time, Don E walks by and vouches for them all. In The Scratching Post they go! Close call Major!

The boys have entered zombie mecca and are loving every minute of it.

“Hey, dead bitches! Are we having fun yet?” -Don E

The next day at the lab, Major bring the news of the bar back to the lab. They ponder where all the new zombies are coming from and where they are getting all the brains for the servings galore. Liv wants to find out when she goes down to ask Don E about the stolen doses. But they aren’t too keen on Liv going into badass land alone on her brains so Major suggests taking his buddy Justin, who just happens to be into her.

As soon as Major and Ravi begin teasing her with a silly song, Liv gets her first vision. It’s about Piper the girl whom though she was exclusive with Jamie. Liv agrees to bring Justin to the Scratching Post but before that she needs to get with Clive and Piper.

Piper says she was at Jamie’s house the night he was murdered to break it off but Liv knows different.

Back at Peyton’s office, the public defender on the Wexler-dom case informs her he hung himself in his cell, I am guessing because of whatever was on that file.

Clive and Liv are still working the pre-school case and Liv gets another vision (for which she receives a star)! Jamie was on a date with Macy where they saw a car drive away with the license plate STD36, which is what they saw on Jamie’s fridge earlier. Turns out the car belongs to a P.I.

Liv and Justin head to the zombie bar to pay a visit to Don E. But in the meantime, they flirt and drink. It seems like Liv is finally ready to move on!

The fun is finally interrupted by Mr. Oboxious. Liv questions him, but he denies it and seems genuine. Which only leaves… no one!

Back at depressing-village, Blaine enters the storeroom to see his deliveries haven’t gone out. Don E and his goons have Candy upstairs. Don E informs Blaine he is taking all his clients but offers to buy up the rest of his product. But before they leave, one of the goons has a message from Blaine’s dad.

A gunshot wound…

But before said goon finishes it off, Blaine offers him a deal he cannot refuse…

Liv and Clive pay a visit to the private eye following their victim. They get the information they need and bring in woman who said she was in an open relationship and didn’t care if they told her husband about the affair with Jamie. The woman’s husband is the nail gun murderer. Case Closed.

Back at the lab, Peyton pays a visit to Ravi concerning the dom killer. I am still #teambleyton but conflicted.

Peyton wants Liv to eat Wexler’s brains to see if there is any foul play involved and Ravi shoes her how the blue juice can speed it up.

Major and Justin discuss Liv over beers. AWKWARD! Justin thinks she just not that into him but Major shows him otherwise with a decorated note.

Justin gets a call about the zombie hater they are tracking and they run off to catch him. When they do they discover a whole arsenal perfect for zombie hunting. When they try to escape they accidently hit Justin and get an up close and personal taste of what full on zombie mode looks like-plus they caught it on video. Not good!

Episode Grade: 9.5

[swunlimitednj]

How to Create Authentic Hyperlocal Content At Scale

Posted by mahannay

The "why" and "how" of sourcing local talent from national HQ

A recent report on national-to-local marketers mentions that, with the exception of email marketing, “enterprise brands are struggling to make digital as effective as traditional tactics and media” for local branches’ ad dollars. With locally focused email newsletters, it’s generally easier to automate locally targeted sales or events. On the other hand, local content is much more essential for local SEO and social media engagement, and this is where enterprise brands have not yet fully conquered the local space.

For national brands, accumulating content that resonates with locals in each individual market is an excruciating task. Not even the best of researchers or the slyest of copywriters can match the value of a local’s knowledge base. Meanwhile, local partners may not have the time or the storytelling know-how to create quality local content.

Content without topic knowledge is generic; content without storytelling chops is ineffective. Herein lies the problem for local: How do you plan quality, shareable articles, videos, and digital media with a local focus at a national scale?

The answer: Find locals to create content about their region.

As Ronell Smith recently wrote, SMBs have the content creation advantage when it comes to local know-how, but I respectfully disagree with Ronell on his preference for local brands topping local content SERPs. Generally, I’d prefer the best local content to top my searches, and many national startups are disrupting local habits for the better (think Uber v. your local cab company). National, online brands will never be able to replace the helpful salesperson down the street, and franchises will never be the first choice for dinner with friends from out-of-town, but there is a space in the market for enterprises, especially if they’re willing to take the time to mingle with local creatives.

The three methods in this post have varying SEO side effects, depending on the tactics used. While local content is a boon to local rank, a “sponsored post” on a local news source won’t have the same effect on your rankings. But while SEO is a factor to consider in content creation, it’s not the only reason in town. Good ‘local’ marketing doesn’t always mean scaling standardized national content and messaging to every market; rather, this post posits that ‘scaling local’ means developing targeted resources that resonate in each market.

1. Patronize local media

PR is not the only way to work with journalists anymore. Many media publications both large and small are adding content creation services to their revenue stream. Sometimes this means sponsored content, where a piece is commissioned (and labelled as such) by a for-profit partner. In other cases, journalists are working with brands to bring their talent for story to commercials, website content, or other branded media.

According to a 2014 Pew Research report, “the largest component of the growing digital news world is the smaller news site. A large majority of them are less than a decade old, about half are nonprofits, most have staffs of five or fewer and many also rely on volunteer and citizen contributors. Their greatest area of focus is local news coverage.”

One such example at the local scale is Bit & Grain, a North Carolina-focused long-form publication, whose pieces are supported by its founders’ storytelling productions for brands and nonprofits. I spoke with the weekly publication’s three cofounders on their revenue generation experiences, 18 months post-launch.

Cofounder Ryan Stancil explained that they’re still experimenting with revenue generation models, but that content production and creation is their most successful funding tool so far.

“People need help telling their story,” Stancil said. He added that their work-for-hire is both very different and very similar to the pieces they create for Bit & Grain. It’s different in that it’s commissioned storytelling, but it’s the same level of quality they bring to their weekly pieces.

A sampling of Bit & Grain’s local fare.

Stancil brought up their recent sponsored piece on a local restaurant as an example. While clearly labelled as “sponsored content,” the piece received the same aesthetic care and storytelling craft as any article in the publication. Stancil’s cofounder, Baxter Miller, echoed a similar sentiment in their sponsored content process.

“If anyone came to us about doing a sponsored content piece, we would vet them as much as anything we put on our editorial calendar,” she said “And really the process is much the same.”

I also spoke with Shawn Krest, the managing editor of local publication Raleigh & Company, which began as a fun side project/playground for Raleigh, NC-area journalists and has evolved into a blog-like online publication. The site was acquired by Capitol Broadcasting Company in August of 2015.

While Raleigh & Company covers the same region as Bit & Grain, the publications’ similarities end there. Raleigh & Company’s subject matter is more irreverent, with pieces poking fun at Presidential candidates, and others interviewing NFL recruits who will never see game day. Plus, Raleigh & Company’s copyeditors have no qualms about the first person appearing in its columns.

“We’ve had pieces where writers really open up and talk about issues they’re dealing with,” Krest said. “Addictions, things like that. I feel like when Raleigh & Company is at its best, you see the writer sort of bleeding on the keyboard as they’re writing.”

Local journalism is going niche in a way that daily newspapers couldn’t. For brands, this is another potential win, as you’re able to zero-in on a narrow audience in your city of choice.

Like Bit & Grain, Raleigh & Company is open to sponsored posts, but Krest is not willing to lose the tenor of the publication to satisfy a sponsor, as he explained when the blog was acquired by Capitol Broadcasting Company.

“We said at that first meeting, ‘we use the F-word and we’re not going to stop,’ and they were fine with that,” he said. “The first time they wanted us to look more like the local news, it would not work."

While as different as Eastern and Western NC barbecue, Bit & Grain and Raleigh & Company have similar limitations to their branded content philosophies. This shouldn’t be a problem for companies seeking true neighborhood flavor in their local content. For brands who want a bit more control, a collaborative approach with an influencer may be a better option.

Finding local journalists

Local media is transforming. For some, this is a frightening prospect; for others, it’s a moment of opportunity. During the recent Sustain Local Journalism conference, which I attended, a few local writers and publishers gathered in Montclair, NJ to discuss the biggest issue currently haunting their industry: how to keep funds flowing. While some local news sites, such as Philadelphia’s Billy Penn, have found success through events, many at the conference agreed that revenue diversification was the only way forward. Not every local writer will want to craft a piece for a brand, but others are willing to work with the enterprise in order to support their own local efforts.

Here are a couple online lists of local media sites:

Columbia Journalism Review

Michele's List

Though both lists fall short of the total, as neither has Bit & Co. or Raleigh & Company among their publications.

2. Capture the photographer next door: Partner with local influencers

Influencer marketing is nothing new, but it is under-utilized for local campaigns. Whether they’re Insta-famous or a YouTube personality, every influencer calls somewhere home. And for local content creation, audience size is a secondary metric. The biggest offering local bloggers or vloggers provide is a local perspective and content creation experience.

My favorite rule of thumb when approaching bloggers (credit to a presentation by Molly McKinley of Adwerx): Give before you ask.

And "gifts" don’t have to be free products. They don’t even have to be physical items. Can you invite local bloggers to an upcoming company event? Do local offices receive event tickets in exchange for local sponsorships? Maybe you could allocate a budget to sponsor their existing local interests. For enterprise-size brands, links and shares of smaller bloggers can offer a big boost to their SEO and/or social media accounts. At ZipSprout, we’ve developed locally focused content by interviewing bloggers about their favorite area restaurants and day trips.

Local bloggers have both neighborhood and content creation know-how. While your competitors chase the influencers with the biggest following, consider first seeking the voice that matches your brand.

Finding local influencers

Bloggers and influencers are typically organized categorically, so I have to go back to some of the prospecting lessons I learned from my cofounder, link builder Garrett French, to find influencers based on location.

I find success using phrases a local would have on their blog, such as:

"here in philadelphia" intitle:"blog"

From which I found:

A PR & events blog

A Philly couponer

Sometimes it helps to get a bit more specific, since many bloggers don’t have the word “blog” on every page. So I tried:

"here in philadelphia" intitle:"my dog"

From which I found:

A Philly lifestyle blogger

Want a local photographer? Try:

"here in philly" inurl:"instagram.com"

Photo by @bkerollis, a Philadelphia-based blogger and choreographer, on Instagram.

Of course, you can search for #Philadelphia on Instagram, but Google conveniently sorts (somewhat) by post popularity.

3. Brand Y x City Z = Local data

It’s not just “the top 10 cities for” — find local data in context with national trends. Good narratives find the context and connection to bigger stories. What does your data from City X say about how that area stands out from the crowd?

At ZipSprout, we’ve reported on the top corporate sponsors in a particular geographic region, finding that local news and tech companies, followed by national banks, are the most widespread donors to local nonprofits and events in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. We also visualized the most frequently used words in local organization’s "about" pages. Thanks to our data, we can write a similar article, but with very different results, for cities all over the U.S.

It can take some developer time, but local data can be automated on city pages. What’s the most popular Starbucks order in Omaha, Nebraska? What’s the most frequently rented Hertz car from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport? What are the most and least popular times to ride a Lyft in NYC?

Locally focused blog posts and landing pages can be fun. Showing customers we know they’re unique says a lot about a brand’s local presence, without saying anything at all.

Conclusion: Write local, right

If you really want to have hyperlocal visibility, in the SERPs and in local publications, you need hyperlocal content, at scale.

The Woodward and Bernstein-style newsroom may soon be old fashioned, but we’re also in an age that appreciates authentic, quality storytelling, and local branches often don’t have the personnel or resources to develop local content. Neighborhood know-how can’t be fudged, so why not partner people who can tell your brand’s story with a local accent?

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!

from Blogger http://ift.tt/2iZOneP via SW Unlimited

[lawrenceseitz22]

How to Create Authentic Hyperlocal Content At Scale

Posted by mahannay

The "why" and "how" of sourcing local talent from national HQ

A recent report on national-to-local marketers mentions that, with the exception of email marketing, “enterprise brands are struggling to make digital as effective as traditional tactics and media” for local branches’ ad dollars. With locally focused email newsletters, it’s generally easier to automate locally targeted sales or events. On the other hand, local content is much more essential for local SEO and social media engagement, and this is where enterprise brands have not yet fully conquered the local space.

For national brands, accumulating content that resonates with locals in each individual market is an excruciating task. Not even the best of researchers or the slyest of copywriters can match the value of a local’s knowledge base. Meanwhile, local partners may not have the time or the storytelling know-how to create quality local content.

Content without topic knowledge is generic; content without storytelling chops is ineffective. Herein lies the problem for local: How do you plan quality, shareable articles, videos, and digital media with a local focus at a national scale?

The answer: Find locals to create content about their region.

As Ronell Smith recently wrote, SMBs have the content creation advantage when it comes to local know-how, but I respectfully disagree with Ronell on his preference for local brands topping local content SERPs. Generally, I’d prefer the best local content to top my searches, and many national startups are disrupting local habits for the better (think Uber v. your local cab company). National, online brands will never be able to replace the helpful salesperson down the street, and franchises will never be the first choice for dinner with friends from out-of-town, but there is a space in the market for enterprises, especially if they’re willing to take the time to mingle with local creatives.

The three methods in this post have varying SEO side effects, depending on the tactics used. While local content is a boon to local rank, a “sponsored post” on a local news source won’t have the same effect on your rankings. But while SEO is a factor to consider in content creation, it’s not the only reason in town. Good ‘local’ marketing doesn’t always mean scaling standardized national content and messaging to every market; rather, this post posits that ‘scaling local’ means developing targeted resources that resonate in each market.

1. Patronize local media

PR is not the only way to work with journalists anymore. Many media publications both large and small are adding content creation services to their revenue stream. Sometimes this means sponsored content, where a piece is commissioned (and labelled as such) by a for-profit partner. In other cases, journalists are working with brands to bring their talent for story to commercials, website content, or other branded media.

According to a 2014 Pew Research report, “the largest component of the growing digital news world is the smaller news site. A large majority of them are less than a decade old, about half are nonprofits, most have staffs of five or fewer and many also rely on volunteer and citizen contributors. Their greatest area of focus is local news coverage.”

One such example at the local scale is Bit & Grain, a North Carolina-focused long-form publication, whose pieces are supported by its founders’ storytelling productions for brands and nonprofits. I spoke with the weekly publication’s three cofounders on their revenue generation experiences, 18 months post-launch.

Cofounder Ryan Stancil explained that they’re still experimenting with revenue generation models, but that content production and creation is their most successful funding tool so far.

“People need help telling their story,” Stancil said. He added that their work-for-hire is both very different and very similar to the pieces they create for Bit & Grain. It’s different in that it’s commissioned storytelling, but it’s the same level of quality they bring to their weekly pieces.

A sampling of Bit & Grain’s local fare.

Stancil brought up their recent sponsored piece on a local restaurant as an example. While clearly labelled as “sponsored content,” the piece received the same aesthetic care and storytelling craft as any article in the publication. Stancil’s cofounder, Baxter Miller, echoed a similar sentiment in their sponsored content process.

“If anyone came to us about doing a sponsored content piece, we would vet them as much as anything we put on our editorial calendar,” she said “And really the process is much the same.”

I also spoke with Shawn Krest, the managing editor of local publication Raleigh & Company, which began as a fun side project/playground for Raleigh, NC-area journalists and has evolved into a blog-like online publication. The site was acquired by Capitol Broadcasting Company in August of 2015.

While Raleigh & Company covers the same region as Bit & Grain, the publications’ similarities end there. Raleigh & Company’s subject matter is more irreverent, with pieces poking fun at Presidential candidates, and others interviewing NFL recruits who will never see game day. Plus, Raleigh & Company’s copyeditors have no qualms about the first person appearing in its columns.

“We’ve had pieces where writers really open up and talk about issues they’re dealing with,” Krest said. “Addictions, things like that. I feel like when Raleigh & Company is at its best, you see the writer sort of bleeding on the keyboard as they’re writing.”

Local journalism is going niche in a way that daily newspapers couldn’t. For brands, this is another potential win, as you’re able to zero-in on a narrow audience in your city of choice.

Like Bit & Grain, Raleigh & Company is open to sponsored posts, but Krest is not willing to lose the tenor of the publication to satisfy a sponsor, as he explained when the blog was acquired by Capitol Broadcasting Company.

“We said at that first meeting, ‘we use the F-word and we’re not going to stop,’ and they were fine with that,” he said. “The first time they wanted us to look more like the local news, it would not work."

While as different as Eastern and Western NC barbecue, Bit & Grain and Raleigh & Company have similar limitations to their branded content philosophies. This shouldn’t be a problem for companies seeking true neighborhood flavor in their local content. For brands who want a bit more control, a collaborative approach with an influencer may be a better option.

Finding local journalists

Local media is transforming. For some, this is a frightening prospect; for others, it’s a moment of opportunity. During the recent Sustain Local Journalism conference, which I attended, a few local writers and publishers gathered in Montclair, NJ to discuss the biggest issue currently haunting their industry: how to keep funds flowing. While some local news sites, such as Philadelphia’s Billy Penn, have found success through events, many at the conference agreed that revenue diversification was the only way forward. Not every local writer will want to craft a piece for a brand, but others are willing to work with the enterprise in order to support their own local efforts.

Here are a couple online lists of local media sites:

Columbia Journalism Review

Michele's List

Though both lists fall short of the total, as neither has Bit & Co. or Raleigh & Company among their publications.

2. Capture the photographer next door: Partner with local influencers

Influencer marketing is nothing new, but it is under-utilized for local campaigns. Whether they’re Insta-famous or a YouTube personality, every influencer calls somewhere home. And for local content creation, audience size is a secondary metric. The biggest offering local bloggers or vloggers provide is a local perspective and content creation experience.

My favorite rule of thumb when approaching bloggers (credit to a presentation by Molly McKinley of Adwerx): Give before you ask.

And "gifts" don’t have to be free products. They don’t even have to be physical items. Can you invite local bloggers to an upcoming company event? Do local offices receive event tickets in exchange for local sponsorships? Maybe you could allocate a budget to sponsor their existing local interests. For enterprise-size brands, links and shares of smaller bloggers can offer a big boost to their SEO and/or social media accounts. At ZipSprout, we’ve developed locally focused content by interviewing bloggers about their favorite area restaurants and day trips.

Local bloggers have both neighborhood and content creation know-how. While your competitors chase the influencers with the biggest following, consider first seeking the voice that matches your brand.

Finding local influencers

Bloggers and influencers are typically organized categorically, so I have to go back to some of the prospecting lessons I learned from my cofounder, link builder Garrett French, to find influencers based on location.

I find success using phrases a local would have on their blog, such as:

"here in philadelphia" intitle:"blog"

From which I found:

A PR & events blog

A Philly couponer

Sometimes it helps to get a bit more specific, since many bloggers don’t have the word “blog” on every page. So I tried:

"here in philadelphia" intitle:"my dog"

From which I found:

A Philly lifestyle blogger

Want a local photographer? Try:

"here in philly" inurl:"instagram.com"

Photo by @bkerollis, a Philadelphia-based blogger and choreographer, on Instagram.

Of course, you can search for #Philadelphia on Instagram, but Google conveniently sorts (somewhat) by post popularity.

3. Brand Y x City Z = Local data

It’s not just “the top 10 cities for” — find local data in context with national trends. Good narratives find the context and connection to bigger stories. What does your data from City X say about how that area stands out from the crowd?

At ZipSprout, we’ve reported on the top corporate sponsors in a particular geographic region, finding that local news and tech companies, followed by national banks, are the most widespread donors to local nonprofits and events in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. We also visualized the most frequently used words in local organization’s "about" pages. Thanks to our data, we can write a similar article, but with very different results, for cities all over the U.S.

It can take some developer time, but local data can be automated on city pages. What’s the most popular Starbucks order in Omaha, Nebraska? What’s the most frequently rented Hertz car from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport? What are the most and least popular times to ride a Lyft in NYC?

Locally focused blog posts and landing pages can be fun. Showing customers we know they’re unique says a lot about a brand’s local presence, without saying anything at all.

Conclusion: Write local, right

If you really want to have hyperlocal visibility, in the SERPs and in local publications, you need hyperlocal content, at scale.

The Woodward and Bernstein-style newsroom may soon be old fashioned, but we’re also in an age that appreciates authentic, quality storytelling, and local branches often don’t have the personnel or resources to develop local content. Neighborhood know-how can’t be fudged, so why not partner people who can tell your brand’s story with a local accent?

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!

from Blogger http://ift.tt/2kmhpFL via IFTTT