#because tyler marsh has been great | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kerwritesthings · 4 years ago

Text

Homecoming

Summary: It hurts to crash and fall, but helps when you have someone to help pick you back up

Word Count: little over 2.2k

Warning: fluff with a slight touch of oh sad, cursing and a little illusion to naughty

Author Notes: So hey, muse is back, feeling it and she’s a cranking. I had general thoughts on this since end of Final and return to play, bullets I had vomited, maybe a paragraph but it never went anywhere. After I got J’s challenge done, it kind of just poured out in regards to those two kids. This is part of what’s now officially the Orange Blossom verse since I’m fully attached to Tyler and Clementine.

Guess I need to get a hockey masterlist together now? Cause yeah, more words coming here for them (possibly a NSWF back half to this? maybe?) and on a few other hockey boys. Also, maybe even getting some Shawn words out too? #museisfeelingit

We’re taking off. I finally get to say see you and the boys later and really mean it.

You knew straightaway when the buzzer sounded the other night this was going to be hard, harder than last year for sure. When you talked after, it shattered you hearing him that way. You couldn’t be there and that hurt. You also knew there was more than he was letting on or even telling you, but you weren’t pushing him then; it wasn’t worth it. There’d be a time and place for that.

We’ll be waiting xo

You try to get as much set and ready, at least for the next 48 hours, so you can just both be. Fridge and pantry are full, everything is clean top to bottom inside and out. As you run through the checklist in your head, you feel a heavy head plunk down on your knee with a whine.

“I know buddy, I miss him too. He’s coming home to us right now though. Only a couple more hours,” you scratch behind the golden lab’s ear. “Let me feed you and your crazy brothers so you’re not completely batshit when your Dad gets home.”

As soon as you say Dad, they lose their minds it seems. A raucous feeding and a subsequently needed clean up after of both the kitchen and you, time is closer than you thought. You’re refiling the Brita when you hear the locks clicking open and the telltale plunk of bags hitting the floor. Then he’s there in the doorway between the hall and the kitchen. You just look at him for a moment and truly exhale for the first time since he called after the game, he’s finally home.

“Hi,” you smile, stepping closer to him.

“There’s my babygirl,” Tyler sighs deeply, pulling you into his chest and wrapping his arms tightly around you. “Fuck, I missed you, so damn much Emmy.”

You hold him just as close, nodding into his chest trying not to cry. He drops his head into the crook of your neck and breathes in and out slowly. Your arms wind around his waist as you feel his eyelashes flutter against your skin.

“It’s too quiet…” he starts.

“They’re outside. They were going crazy in the house; I think they could tell from my energy you were coming back,” you explain. “That or it was just another Wednesday.”

He bites a chuckle back, his lips dusting against your neck.

“May need your help with them,” he murmurs against your skin.

“How bad?” you ask, hands sliding up to his face, pulling him away to look straight at you.

He’s tired, it’s all over his face. He just shrugs.

“Tyler…” you start.

“Bad,” he mumbles out, eyes slipping shut as your fingers start looping in his hair sticking out from his hat. “Doc wants me in for scans and testing tomorrow afternoon. I’m gonna need you to drive me please, J dropped me off because I couldn’t.”

That’s why you didn’t hear the rumbling of an engine or the garage door.

“Where?” you tread lightly.

“Better to ask me where not, Em. You know the knees were acting up before we went into lockdown, but they were better than before when we went back for phase two,” he replies. “Then the hip started at the end of camp here probably from the other shit. I thought we had it under control before we left and the knees were feeling less shitty. I played the one game in round robin. Wasn’t great, but it wasn’t crazy pain and I’ve played through worse. They backed me out for precautions, you know that. Thought the rest and therapy on it would do it.”

“But then?” you probe carefully, knowing he wasn’t letting on how much the bumps and bruises of playoffs were really affecting him when he would call.

“All kind of went to hell from there though and it just unraveled,” he sighs deeply. “Definitely the right hip. Left is tweaked from compensating. Wrist was nagging too. Everything fucking hurt but, I just. I couldn’t let them down, I couldn’t. It’s playoffs. Not when we were pushing and we were that damn close. So fucking close.”

Tyler sniffs and drops his head to your shoulder.

“You have the biggest heart baby; you’d never let them down. They know that. But you need to take care of yourself and not break yourself to the point of disrepair, Tyler. Not good for them or for you, especially if you want to keep on playing,” you say. “Tabling this for now though. Let’s go see the boys, then I think you need some food, a soak and some sleep.”

“You’re forgetting something,” he whispers into your shirt, his hands holding firm at your hips.

“Hmm?” you question.

“You, I most definitely need you, Emmy,” he picks his head up and smirks before leaning into kiss you.

It starts sweet, light even then he presses into it. Tongue swiping and teeth nibbling, it’s warming up quickly. His hands flex tighter, drawing you even closer into him. You can already feel him half hard against you.

“Ty,” you break away, breathless. “Not if…”

“Nope, non-negotiable. We’ll figure out a way. It’s been almost two fucking months,” he utters against your lips before pressing into another kiss, this one quick. “I hear them losing their shit out there. Come on.”

He snags your hand, tangling your fingers together and tugging you towards the French doors to the patio. You can tell immediately in his gait, he’s in a good deal of discomfort. Knowing him, he’s refused anything heavy pain killer wise while he was playing, other than the extra strength Advil he’s only been comfortable taking. Maybe some cortisone if the inflammation wasn’t subsiding and even that would be a push to get him to agree to.

“Don’t even think about getting down on the grass you, I saw the limping,” you chide, pushing him down onto the lounge chair. “They can all attack you from here.”

He pouts, but you just flick his ear, then yank the hat off his head.

“Boys, look who I found for you,” you call out.

Three large dog heads whip around at once and make a break for you two. You back out of the way, giving the labs more than enough room to get up and around the chair. Once the initial may lay of wagging tails, jumping excitement and licking backs down, Gerry ends up on the lounge wedging himself on and between Tyler’s legs as he thinks he’s still tiny, with Cash and Marshall on either side their heads in his lap.

“Who’s the best boys? Did you miss me? I missed you. Were you good for Mom while I was gone?” he asks them, petting them each as they bask in having him back. “You better have taken good care of her. We had an agreement.”

“As good as being in the house with three boys without their dad could be,” you laugh from behind the chair, hands on Tyler’s shoulders. “They were good to cuddle with, especially on game nights.”

“Not as good as me though,” he tips his head back with a cheeky grin.

“Debatable Tyler,” you tease, bopping his nose.

“Hey,” he pouts, lip jutting out.

“You can remind me later,” you murmur, dropping a kiss to his forehead. “You spend some time with the motley crew out here. Don’t you think about running or leaving that chair, really. I’ll get some stuff pulled together in the kitchen. Any requests? I stockpiled on some of your favorites.”

“Did you make your chicken bake?” his eyes light up as he thinks about what to ask for.

“Of course I did, you asked me about that a few times when you were griping about food options,” you grin. “I’ll get that and salad ready. Boys, you need to take it easy with Dad, he’s more broken than he’s willing to admit.”

You head back into the house and into the kitchen. As you’re turning from the oven to start on the salad, you hear the thump of paws first before feeling a plop of a head on your feet.

“Marsh baby, why aren’t you outside with your Daddy?” your eyebrows knit as you look down at the dog.

The dog just huffs and sighs with big eyes looking up at you.

“He’s back now with us buddy,” you wipe your hands on a towel before bending down to pet him. “He’s missed you just as much as you missed him. You’re his first baby. Go love on him some more.”

Marshall just whines again, nudging you to try to make you cuddle with him on the kitchen floor.

“Let me finish this up, then we can all snuggle on the couch ok?” you bargain, heading to the sink to wash your hands before finishing the salad.

He didn’t leave your side as you went on your way to get the meal together, sticking closer than he did when Tyler first left. The bake would be in for a bit longer, so you slide the salad into the fridge just as everyone filters back into the house.

“Your oldest son has abandonment issues,” you call out. “Tyler, you best not. Get your ass on the couch, I’ll pull him over. There’s no rolling on the floor.”

“He’s always been the most sensitive, worse in his old age,” he jokes, sliding an arm around your waist to lean into you.

“He’s not that old, be nice,” you poke at his side. “Marshall just loves you that much. That needs like 20-25 more minutes in the oven. Salad’s done, so it’ll be easy once this is warmed through. Come on; couch, pups and maybe I’ll even let you get handsy.”

Tyler turns you, palms sliding up your hips around to your back to pull you into him. You go easily and willingly.

“Thank you, Emmy,” he says softly, nosing at your temple. “I’m so lucky I get to come home to not only these three but to you too. Means a lot. I love how much you care about those three nutzos in there as much as how much you love me. And I know it’s not easy at times, but I hope you know that without question, I love you. I love you more every damn day and I want to keep showing you that.”

You didn’t expect that. It’s never been a question on your feelings for each other, but it always hits you when Tyler gets into his feelings like that. You don’t even respond with words; you just pop up onto your toes to kiss him.

“Love you too Ty,” you murmur, a breath away from his lips.

As soon as you both settle into the couch, letting him get comfortable first as you saw the grimace when he initially sat down, the dogs fall into place too. Even if it’s only for a short break, it’s nice to feel like things are settling back into a sense of normalcy. You close your eyes and exhale, probably for the first time since they came off the ice after game six.

“Bath after dishes?” you start as you shuffle plates off the table. “No fighting me, you need it. You’re wincing at every other movement. I picked up some eucalyptus soak with Epsom salt, so you won’t smell like my lavender or jasmine.”

“You joining me?” he wiggles his eyebrows, grin as wicked as ever after taking a sip from his glass.

“We’re not fucking in the tub Tyler,” you chide him as you load the dishwasher. “Busted hips do not make for good times with water sports even with as big as that soaker is.”

“Wrecking all my fun,” he sighs with the grin still evident. “But I guess you’re right. If I promise to kind of behave, will you join me?”

You can’t help but scoff a laugh.

“Kind of behave? Shit’s sake. Only you, Tyler,” you swing back around to the table, dusting a kiss to his temple. “Let me go get stuff ready and the water all set in there.”

“Someone needs to make sure I wash behind my ears amongst other places,” he gets cheeky, snagging you to pull you down onto his lap. “No one better than you for that, baby.”

He nips at your ear before nuzzling his face into your neck before tightening his arms around your waist. You’ve missed this, missed him.

“You can distract me all you want, but I’m still not fucking you in that tub,” you laugh, your hands tracing loops and swirls against the black ink over his forearm before trailing down his hands.

“Was at least worth a shot, but I’ll take you wet, naked and full of bubbles in the water with me,” he sighs, biting at your jaw before pushing you off his lap. He takes a swat at your ass as you’re walking away.

“I’ll add bubbles, just for you, since you asked so nicely,” you call out over your shoulder, sticking your tongue out at him.

“Put that away unless you plan on using that, preferably on me,” he shouts back in the midst of laughing.

#tyler seguin #tyler seguin fic #tyler seguin imagine #tyler seguin writing #tyler seguin fluff #nhl fic #nhl fluff #hockey fic #hockey imagine

76 notes · View notes

its-all-ineffable · 4 years ago

Text

Multifemale appreciation fic - THE END!

I have officially finished my multifemale appreciation fanfiction!!

This has been one wild ride, from having so many people suggest awesome characters, to stressing over chapter titles, to worrying the day before I was supposed to post a chapter because I hadn’t finished it...It’s been an experience.

Thank you to all the people who helped me make this possible and all the people who’ve supported me as I’ve been writing. You’ve been a huge help, and I love you all so much. Thank you to all the people who’ve liked and reblogged and read my posts about this for the past few months. You are all stars and I would’ve crashed and burned without you.

Thank you especially to:

@simplyclockwork for recommending Rogue from X-Men, Max Mayfield & Joyce Byers from Stranger Things and Alice Cullen from Twilight

@umbrellaacadnetflix for recommending Vanya Hargreeves from TUA, Beverly Marsh from IT and Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad/Birds Of Prey

@lifeinanotherdimension for recommending Isabelle Lightwood from Shadowhunters/Mortal Instruments

@sparklespirit for recommending Anathema Device, Madame Tracy, War & God from Good Omens

@esperata for recommending Fish Mooney from Gotham, Tia Delma from Pirates Of The Caribbean, Eowyn from LOTR and Christine Chapel from Star Trek TOS

@blubobbi for recommending Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter

@coffeekaspbrak for recommending Beverly Marsh from IT and Ellie Sattler from Jurassic Park

@meow-moewenherz for recommending Nymphodora Tonks from Harry Potter, Fish Mooney from Gotham, Isabelle Lightwood from Shadowhunters/Mortal Instruments and Toshiko Sato from Torchwood

@castiel-saved-me-from-myself for recommending Molly Hooper from Sherlock, Barbara Keane & Lee Thompkins from Gotham, Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad/Birds Of Prey, Morgana Pendragon from Merlin, Meg & Rowena MacLeod from SPN, Alyssa Foley from TEOTFW, Amy Pond & River Song & Rose Tyler & Donna Noble & Bill Potts from Doctor Who, Vanya Hargreeves from TUA, Robin Buckley from Stranger Things, Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter, Carol Danvers & Natasha Romanoff & Hope Van Dyne & Nebula from the MCU and Anathema Device from Good Omens

@morganlkae for recommending Bedelia Du Maurier from Hannibal

@miraworos for recommending Pepper from Good Omens, Erica Sinclair from Stranger Things and Marisa Coulter from HDM

@mishandjen-tellmehow for recommending Madame Tracy from Good Omens, Queenie Goldstein from Fantastic Beasts, Eileen Leahy from SPN, Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family, Donna Noble from Doctor Who, Eleven from Stranger Things, Eowyn from LOTR, Caroline Forbes from TVD and Rogue from X-Men

@holisticfansstuff for recommending Rowena MacLeod from SPN, Donna Noble from Doctor Who, Lucille Sharpe from Crimson Peak, Elizabeth Swann from Pirates Of The Caribbean, Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad/Birds Of Prey and Gwen from Merlin

@claire-drinks-lovely-lemonade for recommending Roxy Morton from Kingsmen, Gwen from Merlin and Abby Maitland from Primeval

@ramblingsofachristiannerd for recommending Bridget Pike from Gotham

@doyourtaxes for recommending Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter

@tiredpent-upwriter for recommending Patricia Uris from IT

@zasteroid for recommending Toshiko Sato from Torchwood and Sarah-Jane Smith from Doctor Who

@the-bentley for recommending Lyra Belacqua from HDM and Galadriel from LOTR

@the-songs-we-knew for recommending the 13th Doctor & Yasmin Khan from Doctor Who, Anathema Device & Pepper from Good Omens, Beverly Marsh from IT, Max Mayfield from Stranger Things and Allison & Vanya Hargreeves from TUA

@panickedconstantly for recommending Bill Potts from Doctor Who

And @sherlockeddetective for recommending Mary Morstan from Sherlock, Alice Cullen from Twilight, Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice & Zombies and Jessica Jones from The Defenders

Thank you to ALL OF THE PEOPLE ABOVE for recommending all those amazing characters - it was genuinely hard to choose which of these ladies to write about! Thank to all the people who gave me quotes/song lyrics for chapter titles as well, you were also a MASSIVE HELP!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STICKING WITH ME, ALL OF YOU GUYS! I hope that if you read any of it, even just the chapters for the characters you recommended, you enjoyed it. You’ve all been a great support to me and I’m so grateful to all of you.

Thank you, and bless you all.

Love @its-all-ineffable. xxxx

(P.S Here’s the link to the full fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24791062?view_full_work=true )

#multifemale appreciation #multifemale appreciation fic #it's done!#Thank you to everyone who helped #Thank you for recommending characters #Thank you for suggesting song lyrics/quotes for chapter titles #Thank you for supporting me #Thank you for reading it #I love all of you!#SO MUCH!

24 notes · View notes

iamtheblondestblonde · 5 years ago

Text

Slides and Serendipity

Part 7 (4.2k)

Masterlist

Warnings: Broken heart for Bennguin shippers, (slightly, I’m talking veeeery slightly implied sexual content like it’s nothing explicit?) and also language

My hangover thankfully wasn’t as bad as I’d anticipated, probably because I stayed clear of wine this time. I even woke up earlier than I’d anticipated but that was only due to Yogi jumping on my bed. How I’d managed to carry him up the stairs without falling while also half asleep would forever remain a mystery unsolved.

I checked my phone to go look at the pictures from last night but then I saw a text from Tyler, asking if I was ready for breakfast yet. In my sleep deprived state I’d completely forgotten about his invitation from last night. I told him I’d be over in a few and then hopped under the shower, something I’d skipped last night because I’d been afraid that I’d fall asleep while standing up.

Whenever I went out I usually only drank until I had a good buzz going but last night I guess I hadn’t stopped early enough so the alcohol had practically knocked me out as soon as I was outside.

After changing the bed sheets to get rid of the smell of clubbing I finally made my way over, Yogi excitedly bouncing ahead. Tyler’s dogs were howling as soon as I rung his doorbell which of course made Yogi even more excited. I was a bit anxious to see if he would tried to bring up my not so subtle move from last night. While having him strip me down to my underwear had sounded like a great idea last night, I had probably taken it a bit too far in hindsight.

“Hey, no skates today?”, Tyler greeted me and I reached up to hug him while Yogi was running around him, effectively tying him up. He was wearing a hoodie with grey shorts that made it really hard to look anywhere else and I was really tempted to make fun of the way he’d pulled up his socks too high.

“Nope and I already regret it, he has way too much energy right now.” I tried my best to untangle the leash from Tyler’s legs but now his labs were there too demanding attention and it was just one big chaotic mess. Four dogs was a bit much at times like this but I eventually managed to get everything back under control, Tyler hadn’t made an attempt to help me at all and had instead only laughed at my struggle. Yogi and Gerry disappeared together into the backyard and Cash hopped up on the couch while Marshall stayed by my side.

“Are you hoping I’ll make you some breakfast Marsh?”

“He’s not the only one you know.” Tyler’s pout was cute, an adjective that I never thought would fit a guy like him. He was probably the only guy in the world that managed to look adorable and sexy at the same time and it was really distracting.

“What if I only came over so you could make me grilled cheese tho?”

“Then I’ll gladly oblige your wish, ma’am.”

I threw Yogi’s collar at him for calling me ma’am but of course he caught it before it hit his face like it was supposed to. Stupid fast reflexes.

“One more ma’am and I’ll never make food for you again”, I threatened with my finger pointed at him and I could see that it cost him his last bit of self-control to not respond with a ‘yes ma’am’. The salute he gave me in turn wasn’t any better.

“I was actually planning on making something else but I need to check if you have all the stuff for it first because your grocery shopping is anything but top notch.”

He complained to Marshall about me only ever insulting him but Marshall followed me to the step as I walked into the kitchen, not caring about the little crisis his dad was having at all.

For being a pro athlete his fridge and pantry were terribly stocked and it reminded me of the time I spent in the college dorms. The amount of beer in his fridge was equivalent to a frat house and the only thing missing to complete the college student life were the instant ramen cups.

“You should be glad that the nutritionists an trainers don’t visit your house”, I scolded him. He had some fresh produce around but not nearly as much as I’d liked. As I kept pulling out stuff the pile on his kitchen island kept growing after I finally decided on omelette with some avocado toast. The avocadoes were at the tipping point of being too ripe and I didn’t want them to go to waste.

“Well I’m sorry that my kitchen doesn’t look like a Whole Foods ad the way yours does. As soon as the season starts up again I’ll either be gone or eat the majority of my meals at the rink like most of the guys so I don’t see why I should stock up.”

He did have a point but to me a homecooked meal beat everything, even if cooking for just one person was always a bit of a hassle that always resulted in leftovers. Since my move I had been living on my own for the very first time ever and I had to admit that I missed cooking for other people as well.

“Well I’m teaching you how to make the perfect omelette today anyway. You really need to learn to take better care of you and your body.” I made him help me chop stuff to put in the omelette and instantly felt reminded of all the times I’d tried to teach Lisa to cook. She’d been hopeless as well but as soon as we moved off campus during our sophomore year I’d took her under my wing, making a decent cook out of her by the time we moved to Denver. I was convinced I could do the same with Tyler.

He knew how to handle a knife at least and while he mixed everything together I took care of the avocadoes and tomatoes. I tested what he remembered from my spice lesson, letting him make suggestions as to what could go well with our food and he did better than expected, only messing up once.

“No no no you need to turn down the heat or you’ll burn it before the eggs are done”, I said and quickly reached around him so I could reach the stove and save our breakfast. He looked so determined with the spatula in his hand, I knew that he really wanted to do well and was trying his best.

He had put on a snapback a while ago so his hair wouldn’t fall in his face and I already missed his messy bedhead. Without produce his hair looked so soft and all over the place and I really wanted to run my hands through it as much as I could. He really was a walking temptation and every time we spent time together I could feel my resolve weaken.

After everything was done I tried to tell Tyler that the presentation of the food was important as well but he took a bite out of his toast before I was even done putting the tomatoes on it. Sighing I grabbed my plate and walked outside so we could enjoy our breakfast in the sun. I still managed to sneak a picture of our plates before Tyler proceeded to eat his food at a speed that shouldn’t be possible.

I was nervous to meet this Jason guy because I really really hoped that our dynamic would work out. I had looked up some more people that I could meet over the next few days but I really wanted to trust Mia’s judgement.

I even had the cleaning lady come over yesterday so every surface in my house was shining and I’d done some last-minute decorating in the office. My degrees were now on the wall, the online Master of Software Engineering not as pretty as the undergrad degree in computer science from MIT but I still didn’t regret taking online classes instead of real ones. My success during college had given me lots of opportunities that I would forever be grateful for, one of them being the job offer to Denver straight out of college. The experience I had gathered over the last three years working was better than anything I could be taught in stuffy classrooms.

Mia arrived a bit before Jason and this way she’d be there to introduce us properly. It was good to have some one-on-one time with her while we waited, something we’d never really had. Since we didn’t study together Lisa and I would usually only see her when going out or meeting up in groups but it was nice to actually have normal conversations with her.

I didn’t want to create a stiff office atmosphere which is why I was now dressed in jeans and a nice top. Mia was wearing a summer dress and Jason had put on a button up but still managed to look casual. Yogi was sniffing him curiously before plopping down on his bed in the living room again, deciding that this was beneath his attention.

We shook hands and I led them to the office while starting some casual conversation. My desk was already set up and Mia had already told me her hardware preferences so there was some stuff waiting for her which she inspected while I talked to Jason. The conference table really came in handy at this part.

He was funny and gave off a pretty chill vibe but I still had to see some references because unlike with Mia I had no idea if he was any good at what he did.

He was good, better than expected and a while later I was sold on him. He seemed happy with what I was willing to pay and character wise he was a perfect fit for the team. I told them both about the requests I had already lined up and they both seemed super excited to start.

“So you think you can start next Monday?”, I asked after I’d finally satisfied my curiosity and his face lit up as if he thought I wouldn’t offer him the job.

The three of us moved towards the kitchen to get something to drink because all of this talking had made us thirsty. Mia was just telling me that she’d come over tomorrow with Elias after picking him up from daycare when I heard my front door open.

“Hey sorry I kept texting you but you didn’t respond and it’s already half past two so I thought I’d check up on you.” It took a few seconds before Tyler’s words registered with me. I hadn’t even realized that it had gotten this late and that I was supposed to meet up with him half an hour ago to go roller skating with him and Yogi. He walked into the living room and then did a double take when he saw all of us lingering by the kitchen island.

“Oh shit you have company.. I’m sorry but uh hey everyone I’m Tyler”, he introduced himself and waved at Mia and Jason with one hand, a pair of skates in the other. Only now did Yogi wake up from his nap and as soon as he realized what was happening he ran over to Tyler who was now crouching down so he could pet him.

“Holy shit you’re Tyler Seguin! This day just keeps getting better and better”, Jason exclaimed, almost spitting out the sip of water he’d just taken.

“Tyler who?”, Mia asked then and I had to laugh. She had never been interested in watching sports and it was nice to see that nothing had changed in that department at least.

Tyler was still awkwardly standing in the living room and I walked over to give him a hug before turning around to explain to Mia that he was a hockey player for the Dallas Stars and also my friend. At least she’d heard of the team name before. I introduced Mia and Jason as my new team to Tyler and Jason shook his hand excitedly before congratulating him on his amazing last season.

“I know you’ll do even better this year”, Jason said and I was pretty sure that I was the only one that had caught Tyler wincing at the statement. He’d told me how much the expectations of the fans and the rest of the team really weighed on him even if people only meant well.

After Mia and Jason had left Tyler tried to apologize for interrupting again but I wouldn’t let him. It was my fault that I’d forgotten to check my messages for well over three hours so really it was my turn to apologize.

I ate a quick snack before grabbing my roller skates and Yogi and then we were out the door. Even if Yogi was still too small to pull Tyler, he’d told me that he still wanted him to come with us when we had talked about going skating.

We skated around the neighborhood, Yogi’s leash loose in my hand while we made some casual conversation.

It turned out that pulling Tyler was harder than it looked, not because of his weight but because grabbing his hand didn’t leave much space between us to gain the momentum or speed that was needed.

“Your arms are so short. The next time we do this I’m putting a leash on you as well”, Tyler joked and I tried to hit him but of course he simply swerved until he was out of my reach. He was surprisingly graceful for a guy his size.

Sometimes he’d take Yogi’s leash to try and outrun him on the skates but despite his impressive speed he was no match for my husky mix. After I’d taken way too many videos and they managed to tire each other out we made our way back to my house.

“Hey so you know I’m leaving for camp Thursday afternoon but I’m having an end of summer party on Wednesday over at my place and you should come too”, he said as we were skating up my driveway. I could tell that he was really excited, both for camp and the party.

“Of course I’ll come. Do you want me to bring anything?”

“No you don’t need anything I’ve got it covered. Most of the guys from the team are going to be there and some close friends so you’ll have the girls to keep you company as well.”

Tyler wasn’t lying when he said that his place would be packed. The weather wasn’t too spectacular today so nobody was in the pool, making the house and backyard seeming even more crowded. He’d told me to bring Yogi as well, seeing as there wouldn’t be any super loud music tonight and as soon as I had him off the leash he was walking around the room, basking in the attention.

The girls spotted me before I could even look for Tyler and pushed a drink at me before we caught each other up on the last few days. They were really interested in what had happened with Tyler after he had picked me up from the club and it took me several tries until I had finally convinced them that there wasn’t really any tea to spill. I was introduced to even more wives and girlfriends and I was happy to get to know everyone, having always been a social butterfly.

I finally spotted him across the living room and excused myself to go say hello.

“No bikini today?”

“No it’s too cold to go swimming today.”

“That’s too bad because I really like what happened last time in the pool.”

Before I could even respond to his flirty remark I was being dragged away from him and towards the beer pong table that was set up on the outdoor patio. I was glad I’d brought a sweater with me this time. The dogs were chasing each other around the pool but even they didn’t feel like going into the water today.

“I need a rematch to make up for last time”, Roope said after finally letting go of me, settling on the other side of the table with Rads.

“Two on one? That hardly seems fair”, I pouted and tried to get Dobby to join my team as he was closest but he just laughed at me and refused, sitting back on a chair to watch instead.

“Let me help her drink at least”, Tyler insisted from behind me and I hadn’t even noticed that he stood so close to me until he spoke up

“No need to play hero Segs, you know the girl can drink”, Rads said and gave Tyler a stern look until he backed off with his hands raised in surrender. I had to smile at the compliment, a Russian being impressed by your drinking skills was serious business. I sighed as I realized that there was no getting out of this and cracked my knuckles to get ready. I needed to make this a quick win because I noticed that they’d filled my cups a bit more than usual and I really didn’t want to drink this much beer before dinner.

We had gathered quite the crowd over the course of the game that was now witness to me absolutely destroying the two of them. They had only managed to hit two cups of mine while I was on my second try to make the last shot so I would win after some double scores. The girls were cheering on me while their boyfriends were supporting their teammates. With each point that I’d made the chirping had increased and now neither of us three could make a move without there being screaming from all sides. I only knew a few words in Russian and had no clue about Finnish but even I could tell that whatever was coming out of my opponents’ mouths was anything but pretty.

“You got this Liv, show ‘em how it’s done!”, Katie yelled and I blew her a kiss.

“You better miss”, Jamie said, which earned him a light punch to his shoulder from his girlfriend. I closed my eyes for a second to concentrate and then made my shot.

Groans and high pitched screams rose as the ball tipped into the cup, making me the winner. I was hugged from multiple people at once and Tyler lifted me to spin me around. He was the only one from the team that had been on my side.

“How are you so good at this?”, Roope asked, his accent stronger because of the frustration. Tyler was smirking down at me, probably thinking of the time he’d asked me the same question.

“I take in the wind and the distance to calculate the perfect throwing angle.”

“Really?”, Rads now asked, his eyes big.

“No, you guys just suck.”

Tyler had asked some people to man the grill and we didn’t have to wait long until the delicious smell of steaks was wafting around the property, which I was thankful for because I had been looking forward to this part all day. I grabbed some food and sat with the girls, resuming our discussion on which potato form was the best. Wedges, obviously.

After dinner some people left and everyone else proceeded to get even more drunk. I could tell that this was the last time that the guys would be able to really relax because they had all kinds of stupid ideas. At some point Tyler had taken off his shirt and while I certainly wasn’t complaining about the view I still had to laugh at him taking whatever chance he got to strip. Perhaps a trade to the Golden Knights would allow him to flourish in this side business. Jamie was the most fun to watch because with every drink he got less and less shy until Tyler and him were running around the house laughing their asses off and jumping on each other.

“Bennguin is real, get used to it”, Katie commented with a sigh and her exasperated expression had me laughing so hard that I had to put my drink down so I wouldn’t spill it all over the couch we were currently on. I could only imagine the amount of shit she’d had to put up with because of these two acting like children.

“I want to play a gameeee”, Tyler whined and I already knew that nothing good come out of the look he was giving his friends. With all the alcohol going around everyone had loosened up and it didn’t take long until I was dragged into a round of ‘never have I ever’ on the floor of Tyler’s living room.

“You guys didn’t go to college and it really shows”, Katie commented and I had to agree with her. We’d made it our personal mission tonight to make as much fun of Tyler and Jamie as possible. I’d played the stupid game so many times, usually at frat parties so they could expose the virgins but I also couldn’t wait to see what I could learn about these big dumb idiots.

The first few questions were timid and I could tell that everyone was still trying to figure out how far everyone was willing to go to expose their secrets, especially with some of the partners present, but every new statement pushed further.

“Never have I ever had a threesome.”

I didn’t even pay attention to who had said it, going around the circle having long been abandoned in favor of someone randomly throwing in questions.

Even though I had been absolutely plastered that night, I still remembered this particular event, one of the very few one night stands that I’d ever had. We’d started day drinking even before breakfast on a boat off the shore of Ibiza and while I wasn’t even into girls, lots of shots and pitchers filled with sangria had led to me tangled in the bed sheets with some hot guy that I didn’t even remember the name of and Lisa. The guy didn’t really know what to do with the both of us at the same time, so we had to get creative and I’d vowed to myself that I would stick to guys after, scarred for life.

As I raised my cup to my lips I noticed that Tyler was about to do the same so I raised my cup towards him in a toast. I only hoped his experience had been better than mine.

“You two are perfect for each other”, Rads said with an eyeroll but I only laughed.

“You had a threesome and this is the first I’m hearing of this?”, Katie yelled from beside me and I turned just in time to see Jamie lowering his cup across the room after having taken a sip.

“Holy shit! Was it with Tyler?”, I asked, knowing full well what was said about them on Tumblr because of Mara. The way both of them visibly recoiled at my words should have been preserved for eternity. Sadly that didn’t happen.

“No! What the fuck Liv?” Tyler’s disturbed exclamation had me leaning on Katie, who was now also shaking with laughter, the news of her boyfriend’s sexual adventures momentarily forgotten.

“Do you hear the sound of millions of Bennguin hearts breaking?”, she asked in between shaky breaths and now we were lying back on the floor, tears threatening to run down my cheeks from laughing so hard.

“I just want to make it clear that I only took a sip because I was thirsty. I wasn’t paying attention and besides you know I would’ve told you babe”, Jamie spoke up after Katie and I had finally calmed down again. The alcohol had made everything ten times funnier than it probably actually was but Katie and I were still clutched together and she only waved at Jamie in dismissal. I would’ve had to reevaluate my people reading skills if he actually had taken part in a threesome because there was no way I could’ve seen that coming.

Our loud cackling must have woken up the dogs from their nap because now Yogi was trying to snuggle up against me while Gerry curiously looked around, probably trying to figure out why there were so many people stretched out on the floor. As soon as Yogi had made himself comfortable with his head on my lap Gerry came over as well, lying down on my legs. There was close to a hundred pounds of dog on top of me but I couldn’t be happier, gently petting them while completely forgetting that we were playing a game at the moment.

Alcohol mixed with cuddly puppies, the greatest thing since long before sliced bread.

Tyler insisted on taking a picture of the three of us all snuggled up and then proceeded to beg until I finally let him post it to his story. Me giving in didn’t come as a surprise, I was this close to doing almost anything he wanted me to after all. I wouldn’t let him tag me though, desperately trying to hold on to the last shred of anonymity , and dignity, that I still had left.

Part Eight here

#Slides and Serendipity #tyler seguin imagine #Tyler Seguin #nhl writing #nhl imagine #nhl players #nhl #Dallas #dallas stars #tyler seguin fanfiction #fanfiction

35 notes · View notes

allyklapak · 5 years ago

Text

An Overview of the Mess at Hand

Fact: the severe state the earth is struggling to survive results from years of mankind’s relentless abuse. Fact: there are still many who turn a blind eye to these harsh realities because of economic, religious, and cultural personal interests. There exists a basis of understanding about the current state of the environment and the detrimental role man has played in its demise. Proper discourse on sustainability, from which solutions may arise, begins with developing a wholistic view of the environment. The environment is comprised of all the elements, both living and nonliving, with which we engage. This engagement creates the connections that environmental science targets for study. [^1] Through analysis of human activity, the extend of the damage done by our hand may be collected and categorized. Identifying destructive behavior and tracing it back to the responsible countries, companies, labor fields or common activities, assigns accountability. I do not believe that pointing fingers would excuse the lesser offenders from doing their part to fight climate change, but it should rather prompt the guiltiest parties into action to protect the planet and their reputations. Scientific principles of sustainability underscore how humans so strongly depend on the environment for survival.[^2] Solar energy is an invaluable and inexhaustible resource that organisms need either directly to photosynthesize or indirectly further down the food chain for energy to function. Maintenance of ecosystems is essential to promote biodiversity. Studies have shown a recent decrease in diversity as species are losing defining characteristics due to increased travel between once remote locations.[^3] A lack of biodiversity suggests a decline in productivity within an ecosystem as species’ specific jobs are left vacant by those that disappear. For example, if creatures that control certain disease carrying insects no longer exist, then these diseases may spread to the ill-equipped human population resulting in wasted time and funds to find a cure. Additionally, chemical cycling is an essential principle because it circulated the waste products of some species to become resources for others.[^3] For example, oxygen is expelled from plants but is vital to humans. Natural resources have been taken for granted through human carelessness and potential obliviousness to the different classes of resources. As aforementioned, solar energy is inexhaustible because it will be supplied by the sun until the star dies. Renewable resources have the potential to be limitless, as they can be naturally replenished, but they rely on mankind to not exceed the sustainable yield, which defines the rate at which resources can be consumed without depleting the entire supply. Conversely, nonrenewable resources, like fossil fuels, have a limited store that cannot be easily replenished. [^4] Acknowledging these differences should give humans the opportunity to see why certain resources are being conserved more urgently than others. Particular areas should be aware of their biocapacity to avoid perpetuating a heavy per capita footprint. A per capita footprint concludes the average footprint of a person from a certain place.[^5] If a nation uses resources at a rate faster than they are naturally replenished, its footprint exceeds the biocapacity and the location falls into an ecological deficit. [^5] The rate at which modern society wastes supplies demands 1.5 earths of resources.[^6] The United States especially squanders resources at an appalling rate. It accounts for 30% of the global environmental footprint, yet is only home to 4.3% of the world’s population.[^7] Similarly, China maintains an unsustainable footprint deficit due to grave degrees of pollution and the enormous population that expends an equally immense grain supply.[^6] The many variations of diagrams mapping ecological footprints portray the fact that well-developed nations in the west, east, and across Europe seem to be most averse to the environment. These maps portray collective data from various models projecting typical resource use. The IPAT model takes into account the population’s size, their affluence, and their use of technology.[^6] The Global Footprint Network’s calculator surveys diet, home energy usage, and transportation habits.[^8] I discovered that if my life habits were universal, humanity would need well over two earths to make up for the loss. After this shocking revelation I began to question the validity of the quiz. I use reusable coffee cups, I recycle, I thrift shop, how could my habits potentially be so problematic? The answer lies in aspects I had never considered to be in my power to change. The epiphany was reached that these minor switches were nearly futile compared to the bigger picture changes such as home power, which rests in the hands of the university. We must press bigger corporations in the fossil fuel industry to convert to cleaner energy. The win-win principle may be applied as working on infrastructure to produce cleaner energy creates new jobs in the interest of the environment. Conflicting world views cloud ethics and hinder unification under the goal for climate progress. Climate issues are class issues because affluent people exacerbate environmental problems through extravagance while the poverty stricken cannot afford to focus on these external concerns.[^10] Human-centered world views recognize the necessity of the world for humans and call for planetary management or stewardship.[^11] Scientists who composed the 1992 warning to humanity cautioned, “A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated.”[^12] Life-centered perspectives feel compelled to protect the threatened species while the earth centered point of view highlights the dependence of human longevity on earth.[^11] I feel that these are almost indistinguishable. They all assent to the inherent obligation humans have to protect the earth and its inhabitants whether that be for their own sake or the sake of other organisms and future generations. Environmental science is based on these connections between man and nature, and some climate deniers cannot make these necessary connections. One of the most striking comparisons made in the text equates the fatality rate of mass starvation, a climate change repercussion, to over 90 full planes crashing each day.[^13] When quantifying the losses in familiar terms, I believe self-preserving individuals would be receptive to sustainability. Ethically we must care for the environment in order to address gender and class inequality and to care for the earth for posterity.[^14] In the 1900s, the movement started by Perkins Marsh to stop the misuse of resources split into two view: preservationists were led by John Muir to keep resources off limits, and conservationists under Teddy Roosevelt managed resources.[^15] Over the years, activists brought issues of pollution and abuse to light and in 1979, the First World Climate Conference took place to discuss the crisis. [^14] In 1992 experts in the field issue a warning to humanity to emphasize the perilous state of the earth.[^12] Scientists broke down this complicated issue into comprehensive and pedestrian terms to iterate their point to the public. In recent years studies including the 2001-2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment have emerged to link climate change to personal well being and the survival of humanity as a whole.3 Inaction makes the mess before us more dire every day. The earth will survive, it has for billions of years, but humanity might not. Discussion Question: The dialogue used to discuss climate change often pleads with the public to save our dying planet. However, Miller argues the planet will prevail, but humanity will not. Would the public be more receptive to the pleas of the the climate activists if the language used was more person centered and therefore more personal?

Word Count: 1194

Miller Jr, G. Tyler. Living in the environment: an introduction to environmental science. No. Ed. 19. Cengage Learning, 2017.

Miller, 5

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis. Island Press, Washington, DC. 10

Miller, 6

Miller, 13

Miller, 14

Miller, 16

“How Many Planets Does It Take to Sustain Your Lifestyle?” Ecological Footprint Calculator. Accessed January 26, 2020. https://www.footprintcalculator.org/result1.

Global Footprint Network National Footprint Accounts, 2019 Edition Downloaded Jan 26, 2020 from http://data.footprintnetwork.org.

Miller 16,17

Miller, 20

“1992 World Scientists' Warning to Humanity.” Union of Concerned Scientists. Accessed January 26, 2020. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/1992-world-scientists-warning-humanity.

Miller, 18

William J Ripple, Christopher Wolf, Thomas M Newsome, Phoebe Barnard, William R Moomaw, World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency, BioScience, Volume 70, Issue 1, January 2020, Pages 8–12, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz088

Miller, 21

1 note · View note

fanforthefics · 6 years ago

Note

tyler/jamie childhood best friends au

Jamie eyes the building skeptically. It’s not, he guesses, actually particularly intimidating–it’s just a Boston apartment building–but it is…well, it has a doorman. Jamie was lucky his last apartment had doors.

But he’d known, sort of, what to expect, coming up to visit Tyler, and Tyler’s at the end of it, he tells himself. Tyler makes everything slot back into place.

So he shoulders his old duffel bag of shit that he’d brought, and goes up to the doorman to give his name.

The lobby is–again, it’s not like, super sparkly or anything, but it’s nice. Sleek and modern. Jamie feels ratty and conspicuous here, waiting as the doorman rings up to Tyler’s apartment; he hunches his shoulders but the basic fact is Jamie’s always been too big to be inconspicuous.

“You can go up,” The doorman tells him, with actually a pretty nice smile. “Elevators are to your right.”

“Thank you,” Jamie mutters to him, and goes to the elevator. It’s got mirrors in it, reflecting up and around and back and him staring at himself a thousand times, which no one needs to see.

He goes up to the fifteenth floor, gets out. He’s halfway down the hallway when a door swings open, and there’s a yell. “Jamie, fuck! Jamie!” Tyler shouts, and then Jamie’s opening his arms on instinct and Tyler’s barreling into them, the same warm solid weight as always, and Jamie ducks his head into Tyler’s temple and breathes as everything slots into place, like it has since they were ten and playing street hockey until everyone else went home.

“You’re here, fuck,” Tyler mutters into Jamie’s neck. His aftershave is different–it’s spicier now than it was before. “God, I’ve missed you.”

And that’s Tyler, always so quick to say shit like that, the shit that gets stuck in Jamie’s throat. “You too,” Jamie says. It’s been–fuck, it’s been years, because Tyler’s schedule never quite overlaps with school breaks, and they’ve both been so busy. They text all the time, of course, and they try to Facetime at least once a month, but–it’s not the same.

Then there’s barking, and another body comes out of the room. Jamie lets go of Tyler to kneel down to meet him, ducking his head as Marshall starts licking at his face. “Hi, yes, hi boy,” Jamie tells him, petting his head and laughing. “Yes, you’re a good boy.”

“Okay, Marsh, share some of Uncle Jamie’s love,” Tyler tells his dog, but when Jamie looks up at him, he’s grinning down at them, like he’s never seen anything better.

“Okay, come on.” Tyler bounces back. He’s put on muscle since Jamie’s seen him last; he’s always been ripped but now he’s sculpted too. Because what Jamie’s sanity really needed was for Tyler to be even more gorgeous.

But Jamie’s had a long time to ignore that, when Tyler beams at him and tugs at his arm like an eager dog. “Come on, let’s get inside.”

“Yeah,” Jamie agrees, and as always, lets Tyler pull him along, into his orbit. It’s always been like that, since they were kids–Tyler was the exciting one, who made things happen, who drew people in, who was going to be the big NHL star. And Jamie was–well, Tyler was loyal and held onto people, Jamie guesses. So even when they stopped living down the street from each other, even when they should have outgrown each other, Tyler held on. And Jamie’s spent years trying not to remind him that maybe he shouldn’t.

“Here we go.” Tyler leads Jamie into the apartment, gestures around. “It’s–I mean, I can give you the grand tour, but it’s pretty open concept. Uh, kitchen, dining room, living room.” He wave to each part of the sweeping main room as he names it. “Then, here, down this hall is the bedrooms.” He points out his, the guest bathroom–of course he has a guest bathroom–and then the spare bedroom, where Jamie will be staying. Jamie drops his bag there, on the center of the queen bed, before Tyler’s ushering him back out into the main room.

“So?” he asks, and he has that look he gets sometimes, like he’s so anxious for approval. Jamie worries about that look, more than sometimes–worries what would happen if he started looking for the approval of the wrong people. Tyler likes to be liked, and that’s dangerous.

But for now, he’s looking at Jamie. “What do you think?”

Jamie looks around. It’s all big and high ceiling-ed and sleek, and it’s very much the product of NHL money, but it’s also–Tyler’s shit is everywhere and there are empty beer cans and gatorade bottles on the counter and unwashed dishes in the sink and Marshall sprawled out on the couch. Those are the important things, he reminds himself.

“It’s great,” Jamie tells Tyler, with his most sincere smile. “Really, Segs. Great.”

“Well I needed something to do with my signing bonus,” Tyler grins again. “Want anything? Water? Beer? I figured we could chill for a while or we could go sightseeing, then there’s a party tonight we can go to, and I’ve got a game tomorrow that I got you tickets for, and Blacker’s having a thing after that, and if you need something to do Brownie can show you around, and–”

“You don’t have to amuse me, Tyler,” Jamie laughs, and shoves at his shoulder to shut him up. “You know me, I’m fine with just like, a video game setup and some wifi.”

“I want you to enjoy yourself,” Tyler insists, but he gives Jamie the wifi password anyway. It’s a very Tyler thing–he tolerates, but has never really understood, that Jamie doesn’t need to always be moving to be entertained. Tyler always needs people, action. And that doesn’t seem to be a problem here.

“Want to play Call of Duty?” Jamie suggests, and Tyler smirks.

“Yeah, you can remember how much I always kick your ass.”

“Fuck you,” Jamie retorts, and Tyler shoos Marshall off the couch so that they can sit on it. Tyler’s TV and game set up is fucking massive, but that’s settling, in a way. This is something Jamie’d always known Tyler would spend money on the second he got it.

Tyler wins the first game, because maybe he always has been better, but then Jamie starts winning the next one so easily that he looks over at Tyler to make sure he’s still there.

He is, but he’s also looking at Jamie, not the screen. “What?” Jamie demands, suddenly on edge again. He’s too big, too awkward, too–

“I’m just glad you’re here,” Tyler says, ducking his head a little so he doesn’t meet Jamie’s eyes.

“Yeah,” Jamie agrees, and nudges Tyler’s knee with his. “Me too.”

///

They spend the rest of the afternoon playing video games, and Tyler bullies Jamie into taking a picture with Marshall in exchange for just hanging out and not going sightseeing or anything, and it’s fun. It’s like they’re back home, back before Tyler became Tyler Seguin, #2 draft pick of the Boston Bruins, and Jamie didn’t change at all. They order dinner from an Italian place Tyler likes so he can sort of keep to his meal plan and Jamie can eat what he wants too, even if Tyler refuses to let Jamie pay him back for his half–”Bro, I ate most of it anyway, and you’re the one who travelled, come on”–and then Tyler herds Jamie into his room to get ready to go to the party.

Jamie, knowing Tyler, did actually pack clothes for a party, even if his clothes for a party are just dark jeans and a black button down that Jenny says look good on him. He messes with his hair a little, but really there’s just not much to be done with that, so he finishes before Tyler does, then wanders back out into the living room to mess around on Twitter and play with Marshall.

“Here’s my two favorite guys,” Tyler says, finally coming back in. Jamie glances up–and swallows. Tyler always looks good, but this is a different sort of good. The sort of good that comes from money and comfort in that world, that easy confidence in himself Tyler’s always had that Jamie’s leached off of for more than ten years.

Jamie straightens, goes to run a hand through his hair before he remembers all the shit in it. “Hey, ready?”

“Hm?” Tyler blinks. He’d definitely been staring at Jamie. “Yeah, let’s go, the guys’ll meet us there.”

“Do I look okay?” Jamie asks. Tyler’s still stealing looks at him, and Tyler’s a dick sometimes but he wouldn’t let Jamie leave the house not looking right.

“Um. Yeah. Definitely. You look hot.” Tyler leans down to kiss Marshall’s head, then ruffles his fur. “Be back soon,” he tells his dog.

“Good to know you still spoil him rotten,” Jamie says, as Tyler closes the door behind them. Tyler raises an eyebrow at Jamie.

“So you didn’t give him any treats?” he asks, and Jamie shakes his head, trying and failing to look innocent.

“Nope.”

“You’re a shitty liar, Benny.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?” Jamie asks, giving the lie up as lost. “I have to make sure he remembers his uncle Jamie.”

“You could come visit more,” Tyler suggests, as they leave the elevator to get into the cab that’ll apparently take them to the party. “Then he’d definitely remember you.”

“I don’t have the time or the money, Segs, you know–”

“I have the money, though,” Tyler cuts in, looking mulish. They’ve had this argument before. “It’s stupid to not see you for a year when I could–”

“When you could what, pay me just to sit around and hang out with you?” Jamie asks, and Tyler gives Jamie the irritated look he gets when Jamie says things he doesn’t want to hear. “It’ll be easier now I’m not in school, Ty. I’ll be able to take vacation when I want.”

“Maybe when I have bye weeks,” Tyler muses, looking out the window. “You can come with me to Cabo! It’s the best.”

Jamie will not make enough money to go to Cabo with Tyler and his new guys, who either have enough money or mooch enough money off of Tyler to just do things like that. To live that life. But it’s not worth starting the argument now, so Jamie just hums and nods, and then Tyler starts talking about the Red Sox, and Jamie has to give him shit for that.

They get to the party–at some club that looks exclusive but Jamie couldn’t pick out of a lineup that someone must have rented out–and indeed, Tyler’s guys are waiting there, a pack of bros of the type that Tyler collects around him.

“Seggy!” they greet him, with various back slaps and bro hugs and fist bumps, and Tyler gets a hand on Jamie’s wrist and holds him steady.

“This is Jamie,” Tyler announces to the group, “He in college so he has proof he’s smarter than all of you combined, and he’s my best friend so he’s awesome.”

“I thought I was your best friend,” someone objects, and Tyler grins at him as Jamie bristles.

“You’re my boy, Brownie,” Tyler tells the guy, “But Jamie’s Jamie, sorry.” It helps. To hear Tyler say that, like a fact. “Okay, Benny. This is–” He goes around, and the guys all do the nod or handshake or whatever, but the names honestly go in and out of Jamie’s ears. He won’t be here long enough for them to matter, and he doesn’t expect them to talk to him much either.

The only one he does register is Brownie, the guy who has said he was Tyler’s best friend. Jamie’s heard about him before, knows he’s one of Tyler’s closest friends, and from what Jamie’s heard he’s a good guy. That doesn’t mean it feels any better to see him joke with Tyler, to see how easy they are together, how well Brownie fits both into this space and with Tyler.

But honestly, Jamie’s had a lot of practice being awkward and holding up a wall at parties Tyler dragged him to, because that was most of high school, so he does well enough. He gets a beer and drinks it and chats with a girl who comes up to him about baseball, even though it’s not like he’s going to take her home, and then when Tyler comes over and throws himself onto his back and orders him to come get more tequila with him, he does. He takes the tequila shot, watches as Tyler’s adam’s apple bobs, as his lips get slick with the alcohol, and lets Tyler drag him over to the pool tables, where they run the old gag of Jamie acting like an idiot and Tyler acting drunk to fleece everyone out of their money, which has worked since they were barely old enough to see over the tables.

Tyler knows better than to try to get Jamie on the dance floor; he leaves him after pool at a table with Brownie and some of the other guys as he goes off to dance with a pretty blonde girl in a short skirt and pink lip gloss.

Jamie takes a sip of his beer. Brownie’s eying him.

“What?” Jamie asks, his back going up again. He knows he gets defensive, in spaces like this. He just can’t help it.

“I’ve just heard a lot about you,” Brownie says, with the sort of calm that comes from being pretty drunk. “You’re not what I expected.”

“Um. Sorry?” Jamie tries, because he doesn’t know what to say to that. “I mean, Tyler and I have been friends a long time?”

“I know,” Brownie tells him, then gets up. He stumbles a little, but he makes it to the dance floor, where he somehow joins Tyler and the girl he’s dancing with in a way that seems smooth and easy. Jamie takes another swig of his beer.

///

They make it back to Tyler’s late, with Tyler drunk enough that he’s hanging off of Jamie and Jamie drunk enough that he’s not quite steady enough to hang off of Tyler. It’s another move that’s comfortable–Jamie’s usually the DD, and he doesn’t mind. Drinking at parties often just makes him feel more awkward.

So Jamie digs the keys out of Tyler’s pockets, opens the door, pets Marshall when he comes to greet them, and then goes to pour Tyler into bed.

Tyler’s bedroom looks like it has everywhere he’s lived since Jamie knew him–messy and full of sports shit. There are pictures on the wall–one of him and his family, one of the Bruins with the Cup. One of him and Jamie, all of fourteen and decked out in hockey gear, with their arms slung around each other and grinning up at the camera.

Jamie sighs, and looks back to the bed, where Tyler’s lying, then turns to leave.

“Jamie?” Tyler asks, low.

Jamie freezes. “Yeah?”

Tyler props himself up. He’s staring at Jamie, eyes wide. “I just wanted to make sure you were really here. That I didn’t dream you.”

Jamie grins. “Really here, bro.”

“Good.” Tyler burps, and then drops back onto the blankets. “Did you have fun tonight?” he asks. Maybe more demands.

“Yeah,” Jamie says, because he did, for some of it, and it’s clearly what Tyler needs to hear.

“Really? I want you to have fun.” A yawn. “Want you to like it.”

“I like you,” Jamie assures him. “Now get some sleep, and drink water.”

“Yes sir,” Tyler raises a hand in what he probably means to be a salute, and Jamie goes back to his room, where he can face plant onto the big bed and sleep it off.

///

Somehow–Jamie’s guessing practice–Tyler’s gone by the time Jamie wakes up the next morning, and there’s a note on the table telling him that Marshall’s walked and that he’ll be home after morning skate but if Jamie wants to go out he can meet him somewhere, and there’s a key in the junk drawer. Being Tyler, of course he doesn’t mention breakfast or anything like that, but Jamie knows Tyler and so knows where to find the coffee and stuff to make himself toast.

Then he surfs the TV until he finds a shitty action movie he doesn’t really have to pay attention to, and stretches out on the couch. He should be doing homework, but it’s been a long senior year already and he’s dreading job searching, and honestly Jamie feels like he’d be happy just here for a week, lying on a couch surrounded by Tyler-things, with the knowledge that Tyler will be home later. Jamie’s lived near or at home most of his life, but somehow, just knowing Tyler’s nearby makes this more comfortable than his childhood bed.

He dozes all morning, and then is woken up by something crashing. Jamie looks up to see Tyler in the kitchen, juggling bags.

“You okay?” he asks, rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah–sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“I’ve slept enough,” Jamie tells him, and gets up to wander over to the kitchen. “Anyway, I’d rather hang out with you.” That gets him a huge grin, one of the ones that takes over Tyler’s whole face and lights up Jamie from the inside out. He wonders if any of Tyler’s new friends can make Tyler smile like that.

They have lunch, then Tyler has to take his pre-game nap so Jamie writes an email home and attaches a picture of Jamie, Tyler, and Marshall, because his mom will like that.

Then they go to the game, and Tyler has to go down to the locker room but he gets Jamie settled in a box first–with the rest of the families, he says, as he waves goodbye to Jamie. It’s–Jamie’s been to Tyler’s games before. He played hockey, before he decided that juniors wasn’t the path for him. And he’s been to NHL games before.

But it’s not like being in the box. It’s full of WAGs and some kids and suits, and Jamie feels out of place in his jeans and Chara jersey–a joke, because Jamie had told Tyler once years ago that he’s not wearing his jersey until he gets a Gordie Howe, which they both know isn’t going to happen. Jamie would wear a Seguin jersey if Tyler asked–there isn’t much he wouldn’t do, if Tyler asked–but now it’s easier, just to wear the captain jersey. He gets fewer questions, this way, from all these fancy people who give him sidelong looks like they aren’t sure why he’s here. One–a nice older woman–asks who he’s here for, and he tells her he’s Tyler’s friend, which gets an eyebrow raise and, in a tone of surprise, an exclamation that he looks like a nice young man. Jamie doesn’t really know what to say to that, and so the conversation fizzles, and Jamie goes back to watching the game.

It’s a good game. They’re the defending Stanley Cup champions and it shows, and Tyler’s on fire, just lighting everything up. It makes Jamie want to yell and scream and make sure everyone in the booth is watching, that they all know just how brilliant Tyler is, just how fucking good.

But it doesn’t seem like he has to. All around the stands, people are cheering, and when Tyler scores he lifts his stick and the crowd cheers, and Jamie can see Tyler’s face on the jumbotron, his huge grin and how he’s feeding off of the crowd. He shines so bright here, and Jamie’s so proud of him, but–Jamie looks down at his scuffed shoes. He’s not nearly that bright.

Tyler had given him express instructions afterwards to come down to the locker room, so Jamie does, loitering by the door and getting some questioning looks while he mumbles something about being friends with Seguin, until Tyler bounces out in just a towel around his waist and tugs at his wrist.

“Great game!” Jamie tells him, ruffling his hair, and Tyler bats at his hands but he’s still beaming.

“All for you baby,” he says with a wink, and Jamie rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, put some pants on,” Jamie retorts, and Tyler laughs again and holds the door open so they can go into the locker room. Tyler’s clearly still keyed up; instead of actually getting dressed he tows Jamie around and introduces him to everyone, and Jamie barely has time to realize he’s meeting people whose hockey he idolized before Tyler’s pulling him over–”Z! Have you met Jamie? He’s your biggest fan,” and “Jamie, this is Marchy, he’s the worst and don’t listen to anything he says.” Jamie doesn’t know what he says in return, but it definitely isn’t anything that’s going to impress anyone.

The guys are all nice, of course, even if they also just played a hockey game and so don’t really want to meet Tyler’s random friend. But Chara smiles and nods and makes a few words of small talk, and Marchand makes a joke but trading notes on keeping Tyler in line, and Bergeron shakes his hand, looking dignified and serious and Jamie manages not to freak out but is definitely bright red.

“It’s good to meet you, Jamie,” he says, calm but with a smile in his eyes. “Tyler talks about you all the time.”

“All of it good, I promise,” Tyler adds. “I haven’t said anything about the thing with the goat.“

“Tyler!” Jamie hisses, going even redder. He rubs at the back of his neck. “Sorry,” he tells Patrice fucking Bergeron, “I swear he wasn’t really raised in a barn.”

“We’re used to him,” Bergeron says, laughing a little. “What are you boys up to while you’re here?”

“We’re going out tonight, then sightseeing tomorrow. I want to show Jamie all the sights,” Tyler pipes in, wrapping his arm around Jamie’s shoulders. He still hasn’t put pants on, or a shirt, and it’s a lot of skin pressed up close to Jamie. He’s not used to it, anymore. And fucking Bergeron’s right there.

“Well, have fun.” Bergeron says, with that dignified smile. Jamie swallows. “Hopefully I’ll see you again before I leave, Jamie.”

Jamie mumbles something, then turns into Tyler as Bergeron walks away. “You can’t just spring him on me, Segs!” he hisses, leaning down so that only Tyler can hear him.

Tyler gives him an impish smile back. “What, me?”

“I had the hugest fucking crush on him and now he thinks I’m an idiot–”

“I think that’s the wrong tense, Benny, and you didn’t come off like an idiot. Just maybe a little star struck.”

“Because I am!” Jamie glances around, then drops his voice to a whisper. “You hang out with them all the time, but I’m not used to meeting NHL stars!”

“You get used to it,” Tyler tells him, tilting his head up. His lips are swollen from his mouthguard, and he’s still lit up from the game. “Okay, I’m going to get changed, then we’re going out.”

///

Once more, Jamie’s not sure where they are. It’s quieter than last night, at least–less of a club and more of a bar, but the kind of place with a rope and a minimum in the quadruple digits. Some of the guys from last night are there, and most of them give him a friendly nod–or, in Brownie’s case, a wary nod, and Jamie isn’t sure what he did to piss him off but he’s not apologizing for nothing–but there are new people, too, crowding around their table with Tyler at the center of it, the sun everyone orbits. Jamie gets it. Jamie’s been orbiting him too, for over a decade.

But–they’re all talking, about people they know and parties they’ve been too and shit they’ve done, and it’s going fast and back and forth and Tyler’s in the thick of it, and there’s Jamie. Tyler keeps Jamie next to him with a hand firm on his thigh, and he looks over every so often with an eager smile, checking in–Jamie always smiles back, because he can’t not–but there’s nothing else for Jamie to contribute, here. This isn’t his life. This is as far from his life as it’s possible to be. His life is libraries and homework and a job at the end of it, something steady and boring and nothing that will give him this sort of lifestyle. Jamie doesn’t even want this sort of lifestyle.

So he drinks the shots that are put in front of him and he smiles when Tyler smiles at him and he knows he’s drawing inward, getting into his head, but he can’t help it. He just wants–he wants to be fourteen again and chasing each other around a rink, sleeping over and whispering secrets in the dark, back when everything was simple and it didn’t matter so much that Tyler was bright and Jamie was dull.

He really tries not to ruin the night, but Tyler knows him as well as he knows Tyler, and so he must see that Jamie’s flagging because he bows them out early–barely 1 am–and gets them in an uber home. Jamie’s not drunk, but he’s not not drunk either; enough not not drunk to slide a little too close to Tyler in the cab, so their shoulders are pressed together. When it’s just him and Tyler, it’s easier. Tyler’s hand rests on his thigh again, a warm heavy weight that Jamie knows better than to think too hard about.

They get to Tyler’s building, and then they’re up the elevator and greeting Marshall in Tyler’s big, high-ceilinged, gorgeously unattainable apartment, and Tyler follows Jamie into the spare room, takes a seat on the bed.

“Everything okay?” he asks, tentative but not unsure. “You’re doing the internal thing.”

“It’s fine.” Jamie can’t tell Tyler this.

“It’s not fine,” Tyler insists. “You’re sad, and I hate that, and just–look, it’s just me. You can tell me everything.”

Jamie looks down at him–at Tyler on his bed, with that bright smile and gorgeous everything and the NHL success clear from his shoes to his apartment. Maybe Jamie is drunker than he thought, because instead of more denial, what comes out is, “What am I even doing here?”

Tyler’s smile falters. “What?”

“Why am I here?” Jamie gestures around the room. “I’m not–this. This isn’t me. I don’t know how to be this.”

“What’s this?”

“All of it! Your brilliant shiny new life here!” Jamie waves again. “With your clubs and shiny new friends and I’m just–boring. I don’t fit. Maybe it’s time to let it die.”

“Fuck that!” Tyler on his feet now, and he looks really worried. “Did someone say something to you like that? Tell me who and I’ll–”

“No one needed to say anything.” Jamie sighs. He’s just tired. Tired of wanting, tired of knowing he can’t have. Tired of the slow, bleeding heartbreak that is loving Tyler Seguin. “What room is there for me in your new life, Ty? I’m just some college kid. I’m not celebrity material.”

“There isn’t room for you in my life,” Tyler says, and Jamie’s breath catches. Okay then. At least he said it. At least Jamie knows.

“Fine, I can–” he turns, gropes blindly for the doorknob. “I’ll–”

“No, shit, I didn’t mean that.” Tyler’s always been faster than Jamie; he’s up and between Jamie and the door before he can get a hand on it. “I mean that you aren’t–I don’t make room for you in my life, Jamie. You’re what it’s built on.”

Jamie blinks. “What?”

“Fuck, I mean–all of this?” Tyler waves his hand, like Jamie had earlier. “It’s fun, but–you being proud of me is the point.”

“The point of what?”

“Everything!” Tyler yells. “Just–fucking everything. Making you proud. Making you happy. It’s all I’ve ever–” he cuts himself off.

“I am proud of you,” Jamie tells him, because it’s true, always. “I’ve always been proud of you, shit, Tyler. You know that.” He must have, but Jamie can actually see how it hits Tyler, how his eyes widen. “But that doesn’t–I don’t get why you want me here. I’m not fun or exciting or anything else.”

Tyler swallows. “Do you promise not to hate me?”

“I think that ship sailed when you pinned breaking your mom’s lamp on me.”

“She always liked you better, you got off lighter.” Tyler’s looking at Jamie, and there’s a reckless light in his eyes. “Want to know why I want you here? Why I always want you here?”

“You don’t have to–” Jamie starts, but then Tyler’s closed the distance between them and their lips are touching. They’re kissing. Tyler’s kissing him, and it–Jamie hasn’t had a lot of experience with kissing, but he’s never had a kiss like this before, one that aches.

Tyler stumbles back. It can’t have been more than a few seconds, but Jamie’s world has turned upside down. Jamie knows what Tyler’s mouth tastes like, now.

“God, Jamie.” Tyler’s staring, and one hand comes up to touch his lips. Jamie can’t look away. He’s frozen. He never thought–it doesn’t compute. “I’ve been in love with you since I knew what it meant to be in love. Longer, probably. I think I figured out what love was because it was what I felt about you.”

“Tyler,” Jamie breathes. Tyler shakes his head.

“And I know you’ve got your own life, and you don’t–” he gulps. “You don’t feel the same way, that I’m just an irresponsible kid, and that’s fine, but I’m still going to–you’re my fucking true north, or whatever, Jamie. And I’m not going to stop trying to make you happy however you need me too. Even if it’s just paying for dinner. Or giving you time with my dog. Or–”

It’s gone on too long, and Jamie recognizes when Tyler’s starting to spiral, and Jamie might not be able to get his shit together for him, but he can pull it together for Tyler.

“Tyler,” He interrupts, and Tyler stops talking and bites his lip as he looks up at Jamie, as open a book as always. Jamie should probably say more, give a speech like Tyler did, but Jamie’s always been shitty with words and it would probably come out wrong anyway. “Just–shit,” he says, and then pulls Tyler in to kiss him again.

Tyler kisses back, eager and with that same ache, until they’re both breathless, and then he pulls away, a bare inch. “Really?” he breathes.

Jamie nods. He doesn’t fit into Tyler’s life, and he doesn’t know if that’s going to change, or how. But he knows Tyler. Knows them. They’ve figured out worse. “Really,” he says, and pulls Tyler close.

#stars fic #my fic #hand-wavey ages and timeline #you know for two idiot bros I somehow always write them SUPER melodramatic #but i've been wanting to write this sort of famous/not famous trope for a while so thank you for prompting it!#Anonymous #stars tumblr fic

78 notes · View notes

blackkudos · 6 years ago

Text

Phylicia Rashad

Phylicia Rashad or Rashād /ˈfɪliːʃəˈrɑːʃəd/ (born June 19, 1948) is an American actress, singer and stage director. She is known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–92), which earned her Emmy Award nominations in 1985 and 1986. She was dubbed "The Mother" of the African-American community at the 2010 NAACP Image Awards.

In 2004, Rashad became the first black actress to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, which she won for her role in the revival of A Raisin in the Sun. Her other Broadway credits include Into the Woods (1988), Jelly's Last Jam (1993), Gem of the Ocean (2004), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008). She won a NAACP Image Award when she reprised her A Raisin in the Sun role in the 2008 television adaptation. She has also appeared in the films For Colored Girls (2010), Good Deeds (2012), and Creed (2015).

Early life

Rashad was born Phylicia Ayers-Allen in Houston, Texas. Her mother, Vivian Ayers, is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated artist, poet, playwright, scholar, and publisher. Phylicia's father, Andrew Arthur Allen, (d. 1984), was an orthodontist. Rashad's siblings are jazz-musician brother Tex (Andrew Arthur Allen, Jr., born 1945), sister Debbie Allen (born 1950), an actress, choreographer, and director, and brother Hugh Allen (a real estate banker in North Carolina). While Rashad was growing up, her family moved to Mexico, and as a result, Rashad speaks Spanish fluently.

Rashad studied at Howard University, graduating magna cum laude in 1970 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She was initiated into the Alpha Chapter during her tenure at Howard University.

Theatre

Rashad first became known for her stage work with a string of Broadway credits, including Deena Jones in Dreamgirls (she was Sheryl Lee Ralph's understudy until leaving the show in 1982 after being passed over as Ralph's full-time replacement) and playing a Munchkin in The Wiz for three and a half years. In 1978, she released the album Josephine Superstar, a disco Concept album telling the life story of Josephine Baker. The album was mainly written and produced by Jacques Morali and Rashad's second husband Victor Willis, original lead singer and lyricist of the Village People. She met Willis while they were both cast in The Wiz.

Other Broadway credits include August: Osage County, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Gem of the Ocean, Raisin in the Sun (2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play/Drama Desk Award), Blue, Jelly's Last Jam, Into the Woods, and Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death. Off-Broadway credits include Lincoln Center’s productions of Cymbeline and Bernarda Alba; Helen, The Story and Everybody's Ruby at the Public Theater; The Negro Ensemble Company productions of Puppet Play, Zooman and the Sign, Sons and Fathers of Sons, In an Upstate Motel, Weep Not For Me, and The Great Mac Daddy; Lincoln Center's production of Ed Bullins' The Duplex; and The Sirens at the Manhattan Theatre Club. In regional theatre, she performed as Euripides' Medea and in Blues for an Alabama Sky at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Other regional theatres at which she has performed are the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and the Huntington Theatre in Boston.

Rashad was the first black actress of any nationality to win the Best Actress (Play) Tony Award, which she won for her 2004 performance as Lena Younger in a revival of the play A Raisin in the Sun by playwright Lorraine Hansberry. She was nominated for the same award the following year, for Gem of the Ocean. Several Black women have won in the Best Actress (Musical) category, including the late Virginia Capers, who won in 1973 for her portrayal of Lena in the musical adaptation of Hansberry's play, entitled Raisin. Rashad also won the 2004 Drama Desk award for Best Actress in a Play for A Raisin in the Sun by tying (split award) with Viola Davis for the play Intimate Apparel.

In 2007, Rashad made her directorial debut with the Seattle Repertory Theatre's production of August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. More recently, in early 2014 Rashad directed a revival of Fences, also by Wilson, at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ, which ran to generally positive reviews, and continued an ongoing focus on Wilson's work, including a well-received production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom that she directed at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in late 2016.

In 2008, Rashad starred on Broadway as Big Mama in an all African-American production of Tennessee Williams's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof directed by her sister Debbie Allen. She appeared alongside stage veterans James Earl Jones (Big Daddy) and Anika Noni Rose (Maggie), as well as film actor Terence Howard, who made his Broadway debut as Brick. In 2009, she appeared as Violet Weston, the drug-addicted matriarch of Tracy Lett's award-winning play August: Osage County at the Music Box Theatre.

From March 17 to May 1, 2016, Rashad played the lead role of Shelah in Tarell Alvin McCraney's play Head of Passes at The Public Theater. Her performance was positively reviewed.

Film and television

Rashad received a career boost when she joined the cast of the ABC soap opera One Life to Live to play publicist Courtney Wright in 1983. She is best known for the role of attorney Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. The show, which ran from 1984 to 1992, starred Bill Cosby as obstetrician Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable, and focused on their life with their five children. In 1985, Rashad co-hosted the NBC telecast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Pat Sajak and Bert Convy.

When Cosby returned to TV comedy in 1996 with CBS's Cosby, he called on Rashad to play Ruth Lucas, his character's wife. The pilot episode had been shot with Telma Hopkins, but Cosby then fired the executive producer and replaced Hopkins with Rashad. The sitcom ran from 1996 to 2000. That year, Cosby asked Rashad to work on his animated television series Little Bill, in which the actress voiced Bill's mother, Brenda, until the show's end in 2004. She also played a role in the pre-show of the Dinosaur ride at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park as Dr. Helen Marsh, the head of the Dino Institute.

Rashad played "Kill Moves" wealthy mother on Everybody Hates Chris on December 9, 2007. In 2007 she appeared as Winnie Guster in the Psych episode Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy. She returned to the role in 2008, in the episode Christmas Joy.

In February 2008, Rashad portrayed Lena Younger in the television film adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Kenny Leon. Starring core members of the cast of the 2004 Broadway revival at the Royale Theatre of Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 play, including Audra McDonald as Ruth Younger, and Sean Combs as Walter Lee Younger. The television film adaption debuted at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast by ABC on February 25, 2008. According to Nielsen Media Research, the program was watched by 12.7 million viewers and ranked #9 in the ratings for the week ending March 2, 2008.

In November 2010, Rashad featured as Gilda in the ensemble cast in the Tyler Perry film For Colored Girls, based on the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. Rashad explained in an interview with Vibe Movies & TV in 2010, that "I saw the original Broadway play. I thought it was amazing how such a story that wasn’t pretty was poetry. Usually poetry is about lofty things and this was the poetry of speech and the movement of everyday people. I found a little bit of it off-putting to tell you the truth, because it was so angry when I saw it. And I think Tyler Perry has added an element here that wasn't in the original stage production, and that is the necessity for taking responsibility for one's own self otherwise you are just living to die. That is where he wrote the line [in the film], "You gotta take some responsibility in this. Otherwise you are just living to die".

In 2012, she starred in another Tyler Perry movie Good Deeds. Also in 2012, Rashad played Clairee Belcher in the remake of Steel Magnolias (the role originated by Olympia Dukakis). This version has an all African American A-list cast, including Queen Latifah as M'Lynn, Jill Scott as Truvy, Condola Rashād as Shelby, Adepero Oduye as Annelle, and Alfre Woodard as Ouiser.

In 2016, Rashad was cast as a recurring guest star in the role of Diana DuBois in the third season of the Lee Daniels-produced Empire television series on Fox.

In 2017, Rashad portrayed Bishop Yvette A. Flunder, pastor of The City of Refuge Church in San Francisco, CA, as past of the Dustin Lance Black mini-series When We Rise. Her appearance in show highlighted the compassion of the church, the commitment of its leadership and the loving home the church provides to minister in the tough, primarily African-American community in San Francisco.

Personal life

Rashad's first marriage, in 1972, was to dentist William Lancelot Bowles, Jr. They had one son, William Lancelot Bowles III, who was born the following year. The marriage ended in 1975. Rashad then married Victor Willis (original lead singer of the Village People, whom she met during the run of The Wiz) in 1978. Their divorce was finalized in 1982.

She married former NFL wide receiver and sportscaster Ahmad Rashād on December 14, 1985. It was a third marriage for both of them and she took his last name. They were married after he proposed to her during a pregame show for a nationally televised Thanksgiving Day football game between the New York Jets and the Detroit Lions on November 28, 1985. Their daughter, Condola Phyleia Rashād, was born on December 11, 1986 in New York. The couple divorced in early 2001.

Awards and honors

2003: Honored as Woman of the Year by the Harvard Black Men's Forum

2005: received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) degree from Brown University

2011: received an honorary doctorate degree from Spelman College for her work in the Arts

2011: named the first Denzel Washington Chair professor in Theatre at Fordham University, supported by a $2 million gift from the actor

Wikipedia

#Phylicia Rashad #06-19

11 notes · View notes

sidneycrosbyisawitch · 7 years ago

Note

The first time Jamie and yoga Tyler have sex Jamie goes to push Tyler's legs towards his chest and they just go so easily and and Jamie realises how flexible Tyler is and has to take a minute

okay now i’ve started thinking about backstory for this and it will put me in the grave.

tyler moves to vancouver after he graduates from university of toronto. he’s interning at a sports marketing firm, and just. fucking hates it. he tries to keep his chin up, gives his mom happy updates when she calls every week. but the truth is he feels like he’s slowly unraveling in this new city, and his hips hurt all the time from old hockey injuries. everything’s new, and he works such long hours and making friends isn’t as easy as it was in school.

he adopts a dog and that makes things a little better. marshall likes to cuddle a lot, and tyler doesn’t know how he survived without him.

he’s at an after work party, and it’s fine, it’s fun, the drinks are free, and he likes his co-workers just fine. but there’s definitely a part of him that wants to be back in his apartment with marshall instead.his hip twinges and he rubs at it absently.

his team leader’s wife notices and asks him about it. tyler tells her all about the hockey injuries, and she nods, tells him about rehabbing from playing college soccer.

“you should try yoga,” she suggests, and gives him the name of the yoga studio she goes to.

tyler thanks her and forgets about it for awhile.

until one weekend when he feels like he’s aged 75 years overnight and sits on the couch with marshall all day, heating pad across his lap.at that point he’s willing to try anything. he orders a yoga mat off prime and looks up their class hours.

and then, he falls in love with it.

first of all, his hips start to feel miraculously better. that enough sells him on it.

but it’s been so long since he’s used his body. with hockey, he used to be able to push himself to his limits and then keep going. with yoga, he learns, he can do the same thing. his body is still his, still has that same strength, and maybe he felt a little lost in a world where he couldn’t *use* it.

he starts going to two classes a day. he works on his handstands at home while marshall yips and paws at him. it’s actually a great way to practice balance, with marshall pushing him off center and making him giggle.it’s not a lie anymore when he tells his mom that’s he’s doing good. work’s still boring, but at least tyler has something outside of it now.

so tyler’s getting really good at this yoga thing. enter jamie.

who goes running on the same route tyler uses to walk marshall. he’s getting up a lot earlier now to practice his flow, and maybe that’s why he’s never noticed the guy. but he’s really broad in the chest and always stops to pet marshall. “okay, marsh, let him get back to his run,” tyler says, pulling gently at marshall’s leash. “no, it’s okay!” the guy protests quickly, running his big hands all over marshall’s wiggly, happy body. “i love dogs, it’s not a problem.”he has these big kind eyes and his hair is kind of sweaty and flopping onto his forehead.“he’s going to follow you home if you keep doing that,” tyler jokes.the guy shrugs, smiling gently. “i’d be okay with that.”tyler feels out of breath the whole walk home

it keeps going like this for *weeks*. tyler doesn’t even know the guys name, but he’s soft spoken and makes stupid jokes and marshall actively looks for him when they’re on their walks now.and then the guy shows up at tyler’s evening yoga class.

“hey,” tyler says, surprised, when he notices the guy unrolling his mat in front of him. the guy lights up with a smile. “hey!” he says with genuine excitement. “sorry, i don’t know your name! marshall’s dad, right?”tyler laughs and holds out his hand. “yeah, tyler’s my actual name.”“jamie,” the guy, jamie, says, and then grimaces. “please don’t judge me. my sister got me a class here for christmas because she thinks i work too much. i’ve never done yoga before.”tyler giggles, and promises. but.fuck, jamie is bad at yoga.

when they’re rolling up their mats, jamie is drenched in sweat and tyler is full on laughing at him now. he managed to hold it together during class okay, watching jamie fall out of his lunges and curse quietly under his breath trying and failing to hold tree pose.but now that class is over, tyler lets it all out.

“i asked you not to judge me,” jamie says, sheepish and still redfaced from exertion.“i’m sorry, dude. i didn’t expect it to be *that* bad.”“yeah, well.” jamie wipes his face. “you’re incredible, so i guess you’re allowed to judge.”tyler heart flips a little at the praise. like it always did when one of his teammates slammed into him to celebrate a good goal. “i’m alright,” he shrugs, and crosses his arms because it makes his biceps look really good. and, okay, he knows he’s better than alright. but there’s always room for improvement. “i haven’t been doing it very long.”jamie looks surprised. “really? fuck, now i’m really embarrassed. you’re amazing, seriously.”tyler shrugs again, blush spreading over his cheekbones. “thanks. that’s cool to hear, man.”

so jamie asks for tyler’s number and asks him out to dinner and they fall really hard, really fast.

jamie works at a startup he helped get off the ground after he graduated from school. jamie and tyler are dating and it hasn’t even been a year, but they’re in deep.and then jamie’s startup gets bought out. and they’re promoting him to CTO. and they need him to relocate to dallas.so jamie makes tyler dinner and drops all this information on him and tyler’s kind of in shock and kind of steeling himself to get dumped.

then jamie gets down one one knee and proposes.

“will you marry me? i can’t imagine making this new life without you.”

tyler cries a little, and punches jamie in the shoulder. “you fuck, i thought you were about to dump me.”jamie’s crying a little bit now, too, laughing wetly. “so is that a yes?”“yes,” tyler says. “that’s a big fucking yes.”

and jamie slides the ring on tyler’s finger, kisses his forehead. his eyelids. the end of his nose. and tyler just clings to his arms.he gets to have all this. all of jamie, for the rest of his life.

so tyler quits his job, which is great because tyler hated it anyways, and they pack up and move to dallas.jamie buys a huge fucking house with big windows that let in the early morning texas sun. tyler starts looking for a job, but he’s not really feeling… anything.

jamie tells him to take his time, no rush.tyler adopts another dog. he finds a yoga studio he likes but it’s not great. but that’s okay, he’s getting more into his home practice anyways.

starting the instagram is mostly out of boredom. jamie works a lot, and tyler wants a way to track his progress. when he starts getting followers and views, it’s a bit of a surprise.but tyler loves a challenge. on weekends, jamie acts as cameraman so tyler can take pics in cool backgrounds and nature. tyler jokes that jamie’s his instagram husband.

and it’s jamie who says, “i think you should stop looking for a job. you’re really good at this. i think you should make a go of it.”because tyler always hated working in that corporate atmosphere. he honestly can’t think of a job he’d be as happy with as he is coming up with new insta content. and he gets to hang out with marshall and cash all day. and his practice is growing in leaps and bounds.so tyler adopts another dog, and commits to it, 100%.

AND THEN TYLER LIVES THE DREAM LIFE AND GETS ENDORSED BY ADIDAS AND THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER IN TEXAS, THE END

#GOD I WROTE ALL OF THIS IN MESSAGES AND I'M IN LOVE WITH IT #so in love with free spirit tyler who just wants to be in love with his husband #and stay at home with his dogs and push his body as far as he can #and get some cool attention online and build his brand around himself #and jamie is just endlessly supportive and loves tyler to the moon #me @ me hoe don't do it don't give tyler your dream life #me back @ me :)#thank youuuuu to nargy for being my audience <33333 #asks #regarklipop #snippets

34 notes · View notes

flippingphysics · 7 years ago

Text

Lovely Comments

Thought I would take a moment to share some of the lovely comments Flipping Physics has received over the past couple of weeks. 2018.05.08: "Your videos helped guide me through the course, and were one of the most valuable study resources I had. Thanks to you, im bringing mass to the party this afternoon." Corey Prior 2018.05.07: "I’d like to thank you personally. Throughout the entire year in my AP Physics 1 class you’ve taught me things I never understood. And after watching your videos I feel confident. Thank you once again! Hopefully the test goes well tomorrow 😬" Gabriel N. 2018.05.07: "You don't know how much you have helped me. I would not have survived class without your videos. I get new concepts every time I rewatch a video. I heavily recommended you to my current physics teacher. Thanks for everything!" Nathan Clay 2018.05.07: "Thank you very much. Your videos have helped tremendously, especially the specific reviews on topics. Your teaching style is clean, unique, and easy to follow. My teacher and I praise your videos. I urge you to continue your work, (if you enjoy it), and keep in mind that while there may not be 1,000s of comments with students preaching how you have made a difference in their education, YOU HAVE. Not every person puts their experience into words. For me, it was excellent. +1." Will Hongach 2018.05.07: "This world needs more people like you. Life saver. Truly amazed by your work." JUAN OLIVAN LUMBRERAS 2018.05.05: "Thank you again for your amazing, entertaining, and extremely educating videos." Isaac Schluesche 2018.05.03: "I find it funny that you have under 30k subs and when my brother found me watching your videos, he said you were a savior to him. The odds of both of us finding you without telling each other are pretty low 😂. Also, with your style of video, I don’t understand how you don’t have a bigger audience. You seem like a Tyler Dewitt or PatrickJMT caliber guy!" Ben Fils 2018.05.02: "It's a great thing sir!! You have my support!! I'm so good at fundamentals of physics just because of you!!" Tharun R Prakash 2018.04.30: "Thanks a lot for your unbelievable time and effort in making these videos. My physics teacher told us that our apparent weight is what other people think our weight is and not your actual weight and he also thinks that weight is the same as mass of course I knew he was wrong So I always watch your videos to get the real concept. I live in Iraq unfortunately our education system is corrupted it's all based on memorizing wrong information like trained monkeys thanks to your channel I'm able to understand physics in an amusing way .You are alive saver thank you again." Nasir Khalid - YouTube Comment 2018.04.29: "you do an amazing job of explaining everything and are great on camera. I learn so much from your videos and just wanna say thank you so much for doing what you do. Keep up the amazing work, I'll be sure to watch as many videos of yours as I can!" Matthew Wright - YouTube Comment 2018.04.27: "Hey man you are the only online physics professor that I cannot watch at 2.0 speed and understand. you are quick and engaging at regular speed and it's awesome. Props to you. I love the videos haha" Ghost 2018.04.24: "Hello. Ive been out of school since 2012. I never studied physics in school. I always enjoyed maths and thought I would enjoy physics so in September bought the leaving cert physics book (the leaving cert is the series of exams done at the end of school in Ireland on the subjects you've chosen in order to apply for colleges) to have a structure to my study. You sir have been my teacher. Billy, Bobby and Bo my classmates. Your videos my classroom. I want to say the biggest and most sincere thank you. Your videos are well produced informative and I presume take time put together. They allow me see and make sense of what the textbook is trying to say. You are my first port of call when searching on YouTube. Thank you for teaching me I enjoy learning with you 😊" Aaron Marsh

1 note · View note

lcohen35 · 5 years ago

Link

Figure 1. Infographic: Environmental history.

Assignment 3 Final Draft: What can we learn from Environmental History?

Big History was created by David Christian based on evolutionary biology. It focuses on the history of changes in the universe from the Big Bang to the present day and seeks to discover repeating patterns since the Big Bang.

Big history is studied by social scholars due to the large amount of specific attention to human caused change. In contrast, cosmic evolution, the scientific study of universal change, is a quantitative subject conducted by natural scientists. Humans are only a small part of this history due to the linear nature of evolution.

Figure 2. Big History vs. Conventional History (Wikipedia, n.d.)

Anthropocene dates significant human impact on earth’s geology and ecosystems, such as climate change. Possible markers of human impact include microplastics, heavy metals, or the radioactive nuclei left by tests from thermonuclear weapons. From our impact, humans should be considered an invasive species, due to our degradation and destruction of species’ habitat. In terms of biodiversity, some scientists suggest we have entered Earth’s sixth major extinction due to acceleration of species loss by humans. Additionally, anthropogenic climate change is changing migration patterns in other species, leading them to resettle in habitats that they are not native to. The human population and expansion of human activity has resulted in many species of animals that are normally active during the day becoming nocturnal to avoid contact with humans. Today there are more humans alive than at any previous point in history, which is terrifying because we continue to grow.

Societal Collapse? Are we there?

Social collapse can be influenced by environmental change, climate change, hostile neighbors, trade partners, and society’s response to these challenges. There are twelve environmental problems facing humankind today, the first eight of which have historically contributed to the collapse of society. These include:

Deforestation and habitat destruction

Soil problems (erosion, salinization, and soil fertility loss)

Water management problems

Overhunting

Overfishing

Effects of introduced species on native species

Overpopulation

Increased per-capita impact of people

Anthropogenic climate change

Buildup of toxins in the environment

Energy shortages

Full human use of the earth’s photosynthetic capacity

“A society's steep decline may begin only a decade or two after the society reaches its peak numbers, wealth, and power. ... The reason is simple: maximum population, wealth, resource consumption, and waste production mean maximum environmental impact, approaching the limit where impact outstrips resources” (Diamond 2011, 509). In order to avoid collapse, we must have courage to implement long-term planning and reconsider our societal core values. However, we are already experiencing many of the symptoms of societal collapse.

United States Environmental History

The environmental history of the United States is divided into four eras: the tribal era, the frontier era, the early conservation era, and the era we are currently in.

In the Tribal Era (13,000 years before Europeans settled in the 1600s), native peoples lived sustainable, low impact lives. In the Frontier Era (1607-1890), Europeans began their settlement in North America, which they believed to hold inexhaustible resources. Early colonists developed a Frontier Environmental worldview: wilderness should be conquered and managed for human use. The government accelerated settlement and resource use by privatizing public lands, which not only resulted in the displacement of Native Americans, but also devoted half of public land to industry in just 40 years. The government declared the frontier officially closed in 1890.

In the Early Conservation Era (1832-1870), which coincided with the end of the Frontier Era, some became alarmed at the scope of resource depletion and degradation in the United States. These people strongly suggested that part of the unspoiled wilderness on public lands should be protected as a legacy to future generations, but they were not taken seriously. Two major figures in this movement were Henry David Thoreau and George Perkins Marsh. From 1870 to the present day, the United States has experienced an increased role of the federal government and private citizens in resource conservation, public health, and environmental protection.

Environmental Issues of American Cities Accelerated By Human “Innovation”

Air pollution, waste, and mass transit are sectors of sustainability which have been worsened and manipulated by human innovation. Air Pollution is a natural phenomenon, however it is worsened by human’s massive existence and irresponsible societal advancement. We have to ask the question, at what cost are we willing to continue advancing society unsustainably? The cost of life is too high. Waste is also at an all time high, though by weight, we are producing a lighter load today due to the immense amount of plastic flowing through our waste stream. Additionally, recycling helps divert *some* but not much waste from landfills. Recycling is also not the most sustainable option, as it takes a large amount of energy to actually recycle products. New York City was one of the first cities to run out of landfill space. This is seen through citywide recycling initiative and composting. The main message for us to take away from a historically high waste output, is the need to lower that output with reuse and zero-waste lifestyles. However, to make this lifestyle accessible, corporations and government need to stop supporting the creation fo waste as the easier option. Mass transit has been a victim of a lack corporate support, as big oil and car companies historically have purchased streetcar systems in 83 major cities, and dismantled them to increase the sales of buses and cars.

What can be learned from Environmental history is a common theme in our class: the environment can survive without us, but we cannot survive without it. Industrialism, or “progress” as we have otherwise called it, has been achieved through the excessive extraction of plants, animals, fuels and minerals in great quantities. As society progressed, so did production, and people began to value their purchasing power and what they could do with it. Additionally, science and history can and should have a symbiotic relationship, which will benefit how we learn from history for future generations. Environmentalism needs to be more clearly defined to avoid confusion and set clear goals for every sector of society to work towards.

Question from reading: People only appeared in history 200,000 years ago. Based on the evolution of humans, why should we assume we are the end of the species line? Will we continue evolving and has that process already begun? With our unsustainable population growth, will our species adapt to increase the rate of survival?

Word Count: 1150 Words

Works Cited

ABC. “Joaquin Phoenix Accepts the Oscar for Lead Actor.” YouTube video, (0:55-3:05). Published February 9, 2020. https://youtu.be/87zXvSCmSYk

Diamond, Jared. 2011. "The World as a Polder: What Does it All Mean to Us Today?" section "One-liner objections" In Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive, 509. Penguin Books

Miller, Tyler G. 2007. Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions, 15th Edition. Canada: Cengage Learning

Stoll, Steven. n.d. “U.S. Environmentalism Since 1945” in The Bedford Series in History and Culture, 1-25. Yale University.

Wikipedia, n.d. “Anthropocene.” Last modified February 6, 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropocene

Wikipedia. n.d. “Big History.” Last modified December 20, 2019.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_History

youtube

Figure 3. Joaquin Phoenix Acceptance Speech. (0:55-3:05) (ABC 2020).

0 notes

mfmagazine · 6 years ago

Photo

Wayne Wilkins

Article by Diane Walsh

Photo by Tyler Clinton

Once a professional pianist with many-an-accolade, back in the day in London England, Wayne decides to turn his career toward the commercial side of the music industry. It draws him in -- EMI Studios hires him and the rest is history…not an exhausted list by any means but he’s worked with Mark “Spike”, one of the most well known mixing engineers in the industry, then; Timbaland, Oasis, Rodney Jerkins, Madonna and U2. Hear’Say member, Kym Marsh, on her solo gig. Then, there‘s, “T-Shirt” with Shontelle, “Energy” with Keri Hilson, “We Break the Dawn” with Michelle Williams and, by golly…“Take A Bow” with Leona Lewis.

Add to that: Wyclef Jean, Jennifer Lopez and -- more recently -- Australian pop star Kylie Minogue.

Wow! What can you say? Pretty amazing I had the chance to do all of that.

How did you enjoy your time producing for Natasha Bedingfield‘s “These Words,” “Single” and “Love Like This“, Beyonce‘s Sweet Dreams”, Cheryl Cole’s “Fight For This Love” and Jordin Sparks’ “Battlefield“?

I always feel very lucky to be doing what I do and so I enjoy every day I'm working. All the artists you mention were fun to be with. I have been fortunate enough to be around really good people which makes songwriting and producing records fun. I basically hang out with my friends.

Not only songwriting but your proven hit result production skill seems to be what has given you a name for yourself in Los Angeles and beyond. Quite a sought-after producer, you are. How does that make you feel?

As a kid all I wanted to do was play and write music, I would play the piano everyday for hours and have records on repeat constantly. So to be doing this job is a dream come true. I don't really think about being in demand ‘cause I believe that the songs create the demand so I spend my time trying to always write the best possible songs I can and to work as hard at that as possible. It is absolutely amazing to have record companies asking for you but I also have a great team of people around me keeping that stuff going. I just write and produce the songs and don't stop till it’s great.

What’s been your favorite project in past couple of years?

I am very close to Natasha Bedingfield as we both kind of got our breaks together, so she is someone who is very special to me. I have also had a lot of fun working with Cheryl Cole who is a sweetheart.

What do you anticipate will come up for you in the future artist-wise?

My main goal now is sign my own acts and build a very successful label. I'm currently looking for brilliant people right now as we speak. I will obviously still work with outside artists but I want to be spending my time building my label.

Any possibility of working with the cast of characters from Glee? If I have the right song that could be a possibility. When I'm writing I just go for stuff and don't think too much about who's going do the song, so we'll see what happens.

Do you think being classically trained and being “English” gave you a leg-up in the industry?

No, it didn't really give me a leg-up but what it does do is give me a huge pool of resources to draw from. I do definitely believe that it is a massive help to me and will enable me to work in many situations including doing film scores in the future. Having said that, the thing with being classically trained is knowing when to turn that stuff off and break all the rules when it feels right.

Tell us about your “English” approach to things? Blending different genres of music seems to be one of your signatures.

I notice even more now that with music in the UK it is a lot more diverse than in the US and there are many styles fused together. I have grown up with that so I bring that over here. For me now it is finding ways to do that stuff while still using the sounds that work on top 40 in the US. This style of producing suits me also because, to me, the most important thing is the song -- so that always comes first and I find a way to enhance the song with whichever style suits it best.

Is pop music your signature, do you think?

I have always loved music that reaches out and touches people.

Do you still perform as a classical pianist if not professionally but as a hobby?

Not anymore ‘cause you have to practice a lot. It would take me about 6 months to get my repertoire back; as well, my technique. I'd like to hope I'd still remember how to do that if I wanted to.

Tell us about the tech side of producing music, which has grown in leaps and bounds in a few short years. What’s your advice to young people hoping they will one day become famous producers?

It’s always the simplest stuff that’s the best. So I'd say to listen and study the music you want to produce and try to understand why it’s working and how it’s put together. Always find the BEST sounds to do the job. This is sometimes the hardest part. Once you have great sounds playing the parts, your productions will come together more easily. The best and most consistent producers have an understanding of where and how different sounds work in the frequency spectrum as well as, obviously, the musical side of things. Having said all that, we are all learning new stuff everyday and there are no rules.

What do you make of the odd shop-talk that goes something like this: Anyone can be a producer if he or she has the right suitable accessible technological equipment?

It’s not about the gear. You obviously need something to record to so people can hear your record. In my experience, the most interesting music happens when you have to find creative ways to get the job done ‘cause the gear isn't there. I heard the other day that The Neptunes were in a studio I was working in and they asked the assistant to get all the pots and pans from the kitchen and set them up to be played like a drum kit. The biggest pot being the Kick drum. You can imagine how amazing they made that sound. Not everyone can be a great producer ‘cause it’s an attitude and -- about getting a great vibe on tape (or computer) no matter what you have to work with. I would say though anyone can call themselves a producer…

Do you think you are good mimic? What I mean by that is, guessing at what will work…what will be a hit…what musical sounds are going to take in America at any given time.

I think we are all good mimics. That’s how we learn to talk and communicate. Music is just an extension of that, to me. I don't believe anyone can say for sure a song will be a hit. But you do know what moves you. I tend to believe if a song or piece of music moves you it will have the same effect on a few million people. That’s the only concrete thing you have to go on, really. We have a saying: "Goosebumps don't lie"

With pop culture all around you, the club scene, etc. do you ever get bored with it and want to look for something with deeper meaning?

For me I love writing honest songs and so the ideal for me would be to have one of those be a big hit. I feel there are songs that are more artistic in nature which are personal to the artist you are working with and then there are songs which are written to connect with as many people as possible. I always try to find a way of doing the commercial songs in such that they ring true to the artist I am working with, which is often, very challenging. I think now it is fair to say that, given the way singles are driving the music industry, most songwriters are trying to write the hits. To me as long the songs are great I am happy either way.

How do you respond when fans of pop artists complain that their material isn’t written by them but by someone else (i.e. someone like you) as opposed to say, Bob Dylan?

I think that is more something for artists to come to terms with. I think some artists are amazing singers like Whitney and it really doesn't matter that they haven't written every song. It can be the downfall of an artist to write every song and refuse to take an outside song. At the end of the day it’s the songs that really help launch artists and without a great song there really is nothing to launch. Lucian Grainge said it in an amazing way in a Music Week article I read back in April: "If you don't have hits, you've got nothing to worry about." Mass production with pop music starts being industries rather than original songwriters and singers. A friend of mine once said that in the "music business" unfortunately business is the bigger word.

Is Pop fundamentally vacuous in that sense?

It can be, depending on the motivation for writing the song. Just like any drug, music can make you high and sometimes you can sing songs when you intensely dislike them because of the melody and repetition of the words even when you are not thinking about it. These are songs that are designed to work this way because of the way our brains work. The reality is you can also write great pop songs that have depth to them.

What’s your view of the transgression of rap into hip-hop?

Nowadays to me rap artists are actually doing songs that are pop with sung melodies. I love that.

Where would you like to take American music in the next 5 years?

I am always as well as writing commercial songs experimenting with new styles of music so let’s see where that goes. Just recently actually I did a song with Twiz and Andre Merritt for Cheryl that is called "Everybody Everyone" it combines Dubstep with a diva soulful type song check it out, it’s very unique.

With such an increase in available original material how do we find the truly original? Does it get lost in the rehash of past popular genres?

Everything is borrowed from the past but it is still possible to be inspired and find a twist on what has gone before and I think that is what it has always been. You can choose to push the boundaries or to be lazy. It’s amazing to be able to make music and have the whole world hear it if they choose. That’s how it should be.

What makes a producer? You were self taught. Many successful producers are not musicians. What combination of skills are needed to produce the work of others - as opposed to producing one’s own work?

You don't have to be a musician to be a great producer, just to love music and have a vibe. Producing other people can mean many things from creating their direction to turning what they have in their head in to reality that depends on the type of artist. I love doing both. I think as long you are having fun making music you have a great shot at creating something brilliant. I also think being able to put together great teams of people separates great producers from the ok ones

What do you think it was about the latter part of the 20th century in England that produced so much material that has had such a lasting effect on our culture - The Beatles and beyond? Was it simply hype or true valuable content?

True valuable content!!! Back then the pop music industry was still very 'young', there weren't any laws even to protect artists, songwriters etc. I think when an industry is young like that with no expectations and fewer restrictions that everyone is so excited and free to be creative to the fullest and that’s how pioneering bands like Beatles happened. The whole world was having fun with them. There is so much nostalgia also and rightly so. They are the band we model what we do today on. In the same way as a classical musician would look up to Mozart or Beethoven. I would like to think it is possible to do this today but we'll only know how successful 50 years down the line.

0 notes

lcohen35 · 5 years ago

Text

Assignment 3 First Draft: What can we learn from environmental history?

Figure 1. Big History vs. Conventional History. (Wikipedia, n.d.)

Deforestation and habitat destruction

Soil problems (erosion, salinization, and soil fertility loss)

Water management problems

Overhunting

Overfishing

Effects of introduced species on native species

Overpopulation

Increased per-capita impact of people

Anthropogenic climate change

Buildup of toxins in the environment

Energy shortages

Full human use of the earth’s photosynthetic capacity

The environmental history of the United States is divided into four eras: the tribal era, the frontier era, the early conservation era, and the era we are currently in.

Figure 2. Environmental History of the United States Timeline

What can be learned from Environmental history is a common theme in our class: the environment can survive without us, but we cannot survive without it. Industrialism, or “progress” as we have otherwise called it, has been achieved through the excessive extraction of plants, animals, fuels and minerals in great quantities. As society progressed, so did production, and people began to value their purchasing power and what they could do with it. Environmentalism needs to be more clearly defined to avoid confusion and set clear goals for every sector of society to work towards.

Word Count: 731 Words (without figures and works cited)

Works Cited

ABC. “Joaquin Phoenix Accepts the Oscar for Lead Actor.” YouTube video, (0:55-3:05). Published February 9, 2020.

Diamond, Jared. 2011. "The World as a Polder: What Does it All Mean to Us Today?" section "One-liner objections" In Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive, 509. Penguin Books

Miller, Tyler G. 2007. Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions, 15th Edition. Canada: Cengage Learning

Stoll, Steven. n.d. “U.S. Environmentalism Since 1945” in The Bedford Series in History and Culture, 1-25. Yale University.

Wikipedia, n.d. “Anthropocene.” Last modified February 6, 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropocene

Wikipedia. n.d. “Big History.” Last modified December 20, 2019.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_History

youtube

Figure 3. Joaquin Phoenix Oscar Speech 2020. (0:55-3:05)

0 notes