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salexectrian-heir · 6 years ago

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Loki: Chapter 8* (NSFW)

Pairing: Solavellan Rating: E* (not every chapter is E, most are rated T. Chapters containing explicit content will be marked with an asterisk* Summary: Lavellan rescued a mischievious sphynx kitten outside her work who loves her dearly. But his destructive habits start to get out of hand when he steals her attractive neighbor’s underwear… repeatedly. [Previous Chapter] [Read on AO3]

Unfortunately, her focus evaded her at the hospital. She filed four charts in incorrect places (thankfully Dorian caught them in time), spilled soup down the front of her scrub shirt at lunch, and slipped in a puddle of some sort of fluid that had been left unattended to in the hallway. It didn’t smell of urine from what she could tell, but she wasn’t about to go sniffing it. She groaned as she sat up, careful not to touch whatever the wet substance was that brought her down. Her pants though were a lost cause.

“Having a rough day, my dear?”

Her stomach dropped. As if her day couldn’t get any worse. She had been avoiding the Chief of Surgery all morning because of the file mix up, and of course this would be the moment the Chief found her.

“What gave it away,” she asked weakly, looking up to meet the impenetrable stare of Dr. De Fer. To her surprise, the Chief looked slightly amused.

“In my own experience, nothing is more detrimental to a young doctor’s career than a lack of focus.”

The tips of Anise’s ears began to burn. “I apologize Chief, I’m just...off today.”

“I know, darling. This isn’t like you. Take an hour for lunch to collect yourself and your thoughts,” Vivienne drew herself to her full height, eye her speculatively, “and perhaps a fresh set of clothes. When you return please come see me in my office, there is a matter of paramount importance we need to discuss.”

The Chief sauntered out, causing a few of the other staff members down the hall jump back to get out of her way. No one messed with the Iron Lady. The second Vivienne was out of sight, and earshot, Anise groaned and pulled herself off the floor, taking part of the mysterious liquid with her. She peeled the wet clothing from the back of her thighs and did her best not to cry. How in the world was she supposed to make it to the end of her shift in one piece and prepare herself to have The Conversation about the future of her relationship with Solas if the world repeatedly reminding her it was against her?

The sound of wheels creaking drew her attention from her wet pants to the nurse that was scurrying down the hall pushing a mop bucket towards her.

“Awh, shite. Don’t tell me you slipped innit?”

Anise cringed and nodded. “Do I even want to know what it is?”

The nurse shoved her short sandy hair back off her forehead with a rough gesture, “Jus lemonade, I dropped it coming in.” Despite her crass attitude, the woman did appear upset, “Hope you didn’t get hurt.”

“Lemonade is walk in the park.” Anise let out an amused sigh. It was just lemonade, “I’ll be alright. Thanks.”

“Wait, did you think it was piss or something?” The woman snorted, “I can’t believe your not tweakin’ out!” The nurse cackled. “Damn if I knew you weren’t one of them serious docs with a stick up their arse I woulda said something worse.” Her mouth split into a grin. It was infectious. “Maybe I should start a rumor. “The Herald of the OR slipped in ji--”

“Don’t you even dare,” Anise threatened half-heartedly, passing the nurse as she started to mop the mess.

The woman’s continued cackles echoed down the hall as Anise turned the corner. Perhaps she would make it through after all.

She did survive, to her great relief. The rest of her day after her interaction with Sera, she had learned the nurse’s name from Cole--another nurse, who knew everyone and everything about everyone and somehow still didn’t have people to sit with in the cafeteria for lunch--went smoothly. Anise made a mental note to take lunch more often to keep lone nurse company. It appeared they could both use it.

Her meeting with Vivienne was better than she could have imagined. It was not about her filing error--though it was discussed and reprimanded briefly--but about a personal matter of the Chief. Vivienne Vivienne confided in Anise that White Spire Hospital in Orlais was going to have an opening in their Chief of Surgery position, and had invited her to apply--and that she was considering it. It wouldn’t be for another year or two, depending when the current Chief decided to retire, but the application and interviewing process apparently was long and grueling. They wanted Vivienne to apply as early as possible. This news was to be kept between the two of them until Vivienne found out more information about the position and her chances of being selected. Vivienne also mentioned just before she released Anise that if she was selected, and did accept the position, she did not intend to make the transition alone. She would still be keeping her eye on Anise as the White Spire had many fellowship opportunities, including specialized trauma. Anise nearly fainted.

She had a lot to think about regarding her future. This news was something she immediately wanted to share with Solas, but stopped herself from stealing a moment in an on-call room to text him. After last night, she still couldn’t shake the feeling his “considerations” was going to translate as “I can’t date you anymore because I don’t see a future with you”, and that thought alone was enough to shut her down from sharing this exciting development in her life.

And later at the end of her shift, when she was changing out of her scrubs and into her street clothes, another idea manifested.

Maybe when he says old-fashioned, he truly means that in regards to physical intimacy.

She lightly beat her forehead against her locker. She had been truly an ass last night in the laundry room if that was case. She had just assumed he would be okay with sex and hadn’t even thought about asking him. If that was the conversation they were going to have, she would make sure to start off apologizing for misinterpreting his boundaries. But something in the way he kissed her had her doubting that line of thought. The way he claimed her was raw, passionate, and physical… the insinuations of his tongue left her mind reeling with fantasies. But then again, someone can still believe in not being sexually intimate and still be physically intimate to a certain extent. Neither of them had even brought up the idea of being exclusive, so she again had just assumed he was okay with the loose labels.

He was throwing her for a loop.

By the time she got home, she a mess all over again, mind consumed by what Solas’ considerations were going to be. Her stomach was tying itself into knots. She didn’t want to lose him, and the weight of that realization scared her too. She had several past relationships that she over invested herself in, some which hadn’t been “official” or “labeled” in, some that were healthy, others that were… less so. And one engagement that ended because of a miscarriage.

Her head dropped into her hands.

If he learned this about her, would he leave her? End it?A little voice at the back of her head chided her that he was too good to be true. She was getting ahead of herself. They had to actually decide what they even were first. She ignored the negative thoughts as best she could as she went through motions of getting ready.

Loki lurked around her ankles as she flitted around her apartment, between her bedroom and the bathroom. He held a one sided conversation, meowing and chirping at her sensing her distress. When she finally sat down on her freshly made bed, in her underwear, he jumped up into her lap and headbutted her bicep, purring loudly.

“Hi baby boy,” she cooed, earning her a few scratchy licks to her bare upper arm, “I am at a loss. I don’t know what to wear.”

An undecipherable yowl met her ears.

“I want to look nice, but not like I’m trying too hard,” she answered him, idly stroking the spot between his shoulder blades he liked so much, “I don’t even know what I’m getting into. Gods I suck at dating.”

Loki placed his paws on her chest and pushed himself up, sniffing her chin. His cold little nose bumped the underside of her jaw.

“A dress might be over doing it,” she said, eyeing the teal dress she wore on their first date from the open doors of her closet, “but jeans seem too informal. A skirt maybe…”

She scooped Loki off her lap and dumped him on her pillows. He made an adorable grunt like sound as he hit their soft surfaces. Anise pulled the only two skirts she owned from the closet and laid them out on the bed, one loosely pleated white one that came to about mid thigh and one black empire waisted pencil skirt. . She perused through her limited selection of tops that matched the styles, and finally settled on a very pale pink cropped tank that was stitched with vertical grooves to pair with the white skirt. To finish it off she grabbed the floral printed kimono shawl she had received from her sister-in-law for Wintersend and a pair of nude flats.

“Loki?”

The mewl he gave she took as meow of approval.

Anise knocked on his door promptly at six. Her nerves fluttered around her ribcage like butterflies trapped in net. Whatever he was cooking was wafting from his apartment, filling the hall with an intoxicating was intoxicating scent, making her mouth water. He answered almost immediately, eyes widening as he took in the sight of her standing before him.

“Hi,” she said meekly, reaching up to smooth a piece of hair behind her ear. She had worn it down tonight.

“Hello Anise,” he greeted, voice leveled and low, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

He took a step back and made a sweeping gesture to let her in. He had corner apartment, and was lucky to get more windows than most tennants. Curtains were half drawn to let him some of the dying light from the sunset illuminate the room. His apartment was much different than hers, much more minimalistic in its decor. A black leather couch lined one of the walls that had a coffee table in front of it, with notepads, pens, and other important looking documents spread out over its surface. A brief case laid against one of its legs. A door off to her left was slightly a jar with dim light slipping through the crevice. She could only assume it was his bedroom as there weren’t any other doors to be found. His kitchen opened up into the living room, the two places bleeding into one. A small table was neatly set for two with glasses of wine poured for each, and a fresh cut of crystal grace had been placed in a vase in the center. Tiny candles in little glass jars also adorned the table top, casting flickering shadows that danced across the table cloth and reflected off their glasses. And from the corner of his place, a record was playing. Something with an acoustic guitar and a soft, masculine voice. It was hopelessly romantic. And she hopelessly loved it. How was she supposed to bring up topics she dreaded when she was surrounded by such magic?

He pulled out her chair with a warm smile, an offer for her sit while he served. Her stomach was doing flips. No one she dated previously had treated her this way. Pulling out chairs? Cooking dinners? Usually that was her job. It was overwhelming different and yet comfortable simultaneously. She didn’t know what to make of it. To think this might be the first and last chance she ever had with him made her heart ache.

“How was your day?”

His question was so innocent, so domestic, so genuine in the way he voiced it that the fragile wall, the one she had spent all day amassing to keep him out until she had uncovered his considerations, came crumbling down. Caving against her will, she let out all her frustrations, including the embarrassing fall and the confrontation with her Chief.

“What did Dr. De Fer want to speak with you about?”

He placed a delectable plate of salmon and roasted vegetables over a fresh bed of salad before her, and her mouth stopped working as she stared down at it. After a beat she realized she was gaping and not speaking.

“Oh,” she said, quickly meeting his eyes. He was smirking. “She shared with me some great news, actually.”

“Which was?”

“The White Spire has invited her to apply as their Chief of Surgery.”

His eyes went wide. “That is quite an honor.”

“That’s an understatement,” she said with a laugh, waiting for him to take a seat with his own plate before picking up her knife and fork, “she was ecstatic of course. She wanted to know what my thoughts on the position were, and if given the opportunity, if I would follow her there essentially..”

“That is amazing, Anise.”

As she glanced over the table at him, she noticed the gleam in his eyes. He was proud of her. The butterflies steadily grew more restless in her breast as the tension between them heightened.

“It would be the chance of life time honestly,” she said, averting her eyes as she blushed, and took bite of the fish. It took all her self-control not to moan as it melted in her mouth.

“Gods, Solas this is incredible,” she praised, covering her mouth with her hand as she spoke with a mouthful as not to be rude.

His mouth pulled into a crooked smile. “Most Arlathan recipes are.”

She playfully rolled her eyes. “I should have guessed. How was your day by the way?”

He filled her in on the paperwork he had been attending to for Evacorp as they ate. He spent his time editing new clinical trial confidentiality and consent forms as a favor to a coworker. It sounded tedious and boring and too much like he was being being taken advantage of. Someone else’s paperwork was not something he should have had to do on his day off. His demeanor even shifted while he was talking about his work, even in his body language as he excused himself to flip the record. It aged him in some regard, the light in his eyes diminishing and his mouth perpetually pulled into a frown as he spoke of the board of directors and how important it was to get this project done before its deadline. She wanted to bring back some life into him, wanted to chase away that gloom that seemed to perpetually cling to him, one he brought back after every flight.

“Solas,” she said interrupting him, reaching a hand across the table to lay upon his, “you don’t seem very happy in this position. Why don’t you change jobs?”

He contemplated her words, selecting his own carefully. “It’s….complicated.”

“Complicated like us?”

The words left her before she could censor them, and the tension that had been simmering between them spiked. She had meant it as a lighthearted joke, an easy way to segue into what needed to be brought up… but his reaction told her he did not take it that way.

He withdrew his hand from hers and stood abruptly, collecting the things at his place and hers. “It’s difficult to explain,” he said quietly, before walking back into the kitchen to scrape their plates.

She followed, taking the napkin off her lap and tossing it into the trash on her way.

“Solas,” said apologetically, tugging gently on his elbow to get his attention, “please, tell me. Let me in.”

This was it. The moment she had been worrying about all fucking day.

“Anise, getting to know you and spend time with you has been wonderful.” He set the dishes in the sink. “The way I feel about you, I have not felt in years,” his his lips twitched into a sad smile, “You are more than I deserve.” He raised his hand as if to touch her cheek, but then thought better of it and retracted at the last second.

His words flooded her heart, filling it with such pressure she feared she might burst. Her fingers curled tighter around his arm as her heart rate sped up. “But?”

“But,” he echoed, peeling away her grip. He stared down where he held her hand, lips pursed and brows knotted. The silence cut her like scalpel, incision digging too deep. And then a new thought came to her. One that morphed all her earlier fears into one.

“But you don’t want to have to choose between your job and a relationship.” Her voice sounded very small as it left her. “Getting physical in our relationship more seriously would only make it that much more difficult to end.”

He held her gaze. “My job would be an obstacle in the relationship, as much as yours would. We’ve managed to live around them but eventually… we’d want something more stable, consistent. It would be something we could face together if…. I digress.” He shook his head and released her hand, tucking his own behind his back. “That is not my reason for my hesitancy. You deserve someone closer to your own age. To share in the experiences that come with being young, not someone jaded by time... ” he trailed off.

Her mind raced. His age? Sure, he was older...but what difference did that make when she was approaching thirty herself?

“I don’t understand..?”

“Anise,” he shifted his weight, “I am twelve years older than you. I have little to offer you that hasn’t been spoiled already. I am afraid it will bother you. I don’t want to start something and progress further if you’ll regret being with--”

She pressed a finger to his lips. His eyes widened in surprise.

He thinks he’s damaged...

“Solas, ask me how I feel about your age.”

“Anise, I--”

“Ask me how I feel.”

He closed his eyes with a sigh and leaned into her touch. “How do you feel… about my age?”

“It does not bother me in the slightest,” she said reassuringly, taking a small step closer to him, “In fact, I… I find it charming.” She felt the blood rush to her face at her confession. Now reflecting on the gap...she realized she liked it… found it attractive even. She dropped her hand and her gaze. “For once, I actually feel comfortable enough to let someone take care of me, I’m so used to being the responsible one. And maybe it is because you’ve had more time to figure out what you want in a relationship that makes you better at it, or at least to me…”

Two fingers pressed against her chin, making her tilt her head up at him. What she saw in his searching eyes made her heart burst, sending a cascade of fire through her veins.

“You mean that?”

“Of course I do,” she matched his low whisper, “I’ve already made my decision. I’m in this, fully.” She leaned into him, running a hand up his chest. “I’m here, I’m ready. I’m willing. If you are…”

He cupped her face. “I am.”

They stood transfixed in that moment, their decision made and hanging in the silence between them.

“Then prove it.” Anise swallowed. “Kiss me.”

All the pent up frustration and tension she had rattling inside her melted away once his lips touched her own. It was gentle, questioning. He lingered, unwilling to break it but not pressing forward. She could tell by the way he held his body he was holding back.

“Like you mean it,” she breathed against his skin.

At that, he pulled away slightly. His grip on her chin forced her to look up into his smoldering, heavy lidded gaze. His brow arched as he stepped forward, making her step back. A whole new sensation overwhelmed her senses, a liquid kind of heat that spilled down her spine, and pooling lower still in her belly. She suddenly felt too hot, as is she were on fire but not quite ablaze. The tips of her ears burned as he continued to look at her that way. A dull ache began to throb between her thighs as his other hand glided up her hip, guiding her back further still. Her back hit the counter and she breathed in sharply. He chose that moment to advance, surging down and claiming her like he did on the night of Wintersend. His hand slipped around her thigh, hitching it around his hip to lift her up onto the edge of the counter’s surface. She took in all of him, breathed him in as she parted her lips to run her tongue along the seam of his mouth, diving in when he let her pass. Her fingers curling into the sweater she knit as he deepened their kiss.

A whimper escaped when his mouth broke their rhythm and left hers to explore, as did his hands. His breath spilled over the exposed expanse of her throat, hot and heavy leaving searing wet kisses on every inch he could find as he dragged his hands up her thighs, pushing up the fabric of her skirt. Fingertips danced over the soft skin of her legs spreading them slowly before they shifted downwards to caress her inner thigh She didn’t even try to stifle the shudder it coaxed.

Her stomach clenched, as did the rest of her body, as his fingers reached the barrier of damp lace that was her underwear.

“If this,” he traced the edge of her thong before hooking his index finger through it, “is something you want, I will give it willingly.”

“Yes. ” The word tumbled from her lips in a rush as she gripped his shoulder.

He chuckled so softly that she felt it vibrate against her more than she actually heard it.

“I do believe you owe me a pair for how many your kitten has taken from me.”

She gasped as he pulled,sliding the pair she was wearing down her legs, off her knees and let them fall past her ankles.

“I’ll collect my prize later,” he murmured against her cheek, pressing insistent kisses along her jaw, “come with me.”

She wrapped her legs around his waist and slid her arms around his neck as he picked her up. She felt the thong fall of her foot onto the kitchen floor, but she immediately let it slip from her mind as she had more, pressing, things to focus on. Such as the size of the welcomed hardness she felt against her as she clung to him.

Creators, she was going to ache tomorrow.

He led her to the bedroom, eyes locked on her. She couldn’t break his hold, it completely entranced her. How he managed to seize her so wholly with a simple stare was beyond her. And honestly she couldn’t care how easy she fell prey to him at this point. This confidence of his, this intimate side of him, was incredibly sexy and it had been oh so worth the wait.

She shed him of the wintersend gift once they reached his bed, tossing the sweater somewhere out of reach, followed by the undershirt he had donned beneath it so she could finally drink in the sight of him, bare chested before her. His gaze lost a fraction of its intensity the longer she stared, hands ghosting across the surface of his body without actually touching him. He was in good shape, no doubt about that, but he had softer lines whereas a younger man might have been more defined. She found it so much more overwhelming attractive. She wanted to trace every dip, indentation, and crease with the tip of her tongue..

It dawned her there was no reason for her not to.

Tuckin her legs beneath her to kneel, she reached for him and splayed her fingers across his torso. She leaned in, kissing each freckle she saw dotted on his skin, tongue gliding across the surface of his abdomen, tracing grooves she found that had been softened with age. His breath hitched as she reached his navel and her fingers found the button, and zipper of his slacks.

If he was allowed to tease her...

His pants hit the floor.

“Your underwear looks so much better with you filling them out,” she murmured, lips pressed lightly over the swell in his briefs and laid a chaste kiss there. His fingers twisted in her hair reflexively.

“Ani--”

Her name turned into moan as she tugged the fabric down, exposing him fully. She wasted no time dragging her tongue along the length of his cock from base to tip before taking him entirely into her mouth. It wasn’t long after she her mouth and hand had settled into a steady rhythm that his hips began to buck in tandem, and a small curse of praise fell down to her ears.

Suddenly he was pulling her off him and being shifted up the bed, shedding the rest of her clothes as they went. His mouth collided with hers as soon as she had settled back against his pillows. They felt like clouds wrapped in silk against the bare skin of her back, drowning her in the illusion that she was floating despite the pressure of his body pressed to her. She was all too aware of the weight of his cock as it laid on her inner thigh, hard and thick. A jolt of pleasure coursed through her like live current as his fingers dove between her thighs and found her clit, working her so easily up to the point the throbbing in her core was inescapable and all consuming. And when his slender fingers slipped inside her, she let him know just how pleasurable it was, unable to refrain from being silent--or still-- any longer. When her whimpers turned into pleas, he finally withdrew from her and reached to the nightstand drawer to their left and dug through it. He found what he was looking for, and heard the crinkle of a wrapper being ripped a few seconds later. She didn’t think her heart rate could have scaled any higher, but it did. After the condom was rolled on, he coaxed her open and settled between her legs, pausing to catch her gaze, the question was written all over his face. Are you sure?

Before he could even ask, she nodded and said, “Take me.”

With an effortless movement, he thrust up and in. She made a lewd sound at the sensation of being filled so fully, the ache of being stretched in ways she hadn’t in so long. He was gentle at first, the rock of his hips slow and measured as he pulled out watching her reaction. Each thrust forward carefully pressed. It was a tender thing, really, what was transpiring between them. One of his hands slid into hers and she clasped their fingers together just above her head in the sheets. The other found a home cupping her cheek. His face was so expressive, no longer held back by a rigid composure she was sure he kept up for appearances. She wanted to trace the emotion she found there with a finger tip, but that would mean relinquishing her grip on his shoulder and she wasn’t about to let go of him, not now, not ever.

The gradual, intimate pace changed when she started canting her hips into his rhythm. She still ached but it had grown into a satisfying one. An ache she realized she wanted--no, needed--more of. His thumb caressed her lower lip as he grinded into her. She met each vigorous thrust with a subtle roll of her hips, angling him deeper to hit that one spot…

She gasped when he did, ragged and high pitched as she arched into him. With one simple movement he had managed to make the muscles in her core pull taut. The sensation causing her nails to dig into the blades of his shoulders. His thrusts faltered at her exclamation.

“Don’t you dare stop,” she said in a breathless moan, freeing their entwined hands to grip his hip, to coax him further. Harder.

The pace they set after could only be described as desperate, her body writhed under his relentless devotion, coiling tighter and tighter. Each of his thrusts fell faster, rougher, deeper until it became all too much. What had started as a groan at the back of his throat erupted into a harsh cry as he came, crashing into her. The last few erratic rolls of his hips coupled with the sound of his climax and the deft fingers that suddenly caressed her clit finished her off, setting her free to ride several tidal waves of ecstasy.

They collapsed in a blissful heap, limbs entangled and chests heaving, neither making an effort to move for several minutes. She curled her fingers around the base of his neck and nuzzled her nose long his jawline, savoring the way the rapid beat of his heart pulsed in time with hers. He hummed something against her forehead, elven she thought, too dazed and thoroughly fucked to actually comprehend anything at this point. Chaste kisses were being placed along the crown her head, her temples, and eventually down the bridge of her nose.

She gazed up at him through half-lidded eyes and smiled up lazily at him. “You know,” she said quietly, “for a brief time I was a little nervous that when you mentioned being old-fashioned…” she trailed off heat crept down the back of her neck, suddenly embarrassed at her assumption.

“That I would be opposed to sex?” The question was laced with mirth that reflected in his eyes as he pulled himself up to gaze down at her. The soft laugh that escaped him turned into snort, and something in her twisted pleasantly at the sound. “I’m not that old fashioned.”

The flat look she was trying to give him was ruined by the smile that broke across her mouth. “Solas, you haven’t let me pay for any of the dates we’ve gone on, you open car doors for me, you--”

Her words were swallowed up by another kiss, and the subsequent giggle too. She could feel him smiling through the motion and it tugged at her heart in all the right ways. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he sat up, taking her with him.

“You are going to have to let me indulge you everyone once in a while,” he murmured against her mouth, “please.”

“I’ll take it into... consideration,” she teased, nipping at his lower lip.

At that, he chuckled exasperatedly and shook his head. “You would.”

#Solas #Solavellan #Solas x Lavellan #Solavellan fanfiction #dragon age fanfiction #HAVE AT IT YA FILTHY ANIMALS #THROWS THIS GARBAGE AT Y'ALL AND RUNS

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wobc-fm · 4 years ago

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SleepWalker Freshman List 2020

Written By Amari Newman Quentin Zimbalist

We are SleepWalker Entertainment. Starting off as a radio show on Oberlin College’s WOBC 91.5fm in 2018 dedicated to highlighting underground Hip-Hop and the community that surrounds it, we have expanded into the journalistic side of music, publishing various reviews, lists, and articles related to music. These have ranged from album of the year lists to interviews with different musicians who have performed at Oberlin including Suzi Analogue, VRITRA, Ethereal, NappyNappa, and SIR E.U. Right around this time last year we published our very first “Freshman List,” built off of XXL magazine’s idea of highlighting artists relatively new to the rap game who gained a lot of attention in the most recent year. Seeing how XXL’s list seemed to increasingly lose touch with the current wave of genuine Hip-Hop, SleepWalker looked to create our own list of new(ish) artists who we believe are making important impacts on the direction of the genre. The following list will highlight the breakthrough rappers, producers and visual artists of this past year, who we believe people are listening to and want to experience.

Rappers: Producers: Visual Artists:

Pop Smoke (RIP) Evil Giane Nitetive Visuals

Baby Smoove Adé Hakim Revenxnt

Hook Axl Beats DVD CITY

Baby Fifty JWords The Realest Photographer Ever

Babyxsosa Hi-C Brick Productions

Camden Malik DamnJonBoi 1Drince

BKTHERULA GAWD She Skin

Pop Smoke:

Sleepwalker wanted to write a tribute post to the late young superstar, Pop Smoke. The young Brooklyn-born prodigy emerged in the public eye in January with his hit record, FLEXIN, and followed that up with the song of the summer, Welcome to the Party. Pop Smoke’s 2019 was one of the greatest breakout years of all time within the hip-hop music industry, and it was apparent that he would remain a star for years to come. His death was a tremendous tragedy for not only those within the Hip Hop community, but millions of his fans across the world.

Rest in Peace, Pop Smoke.

Baby Smoove:

Baby Smoove, one of Detroit’s newest household names has actually been dropping music for quite some time now. The oldest song of his I could find was Supersonic, a track he dropped in 2012 under the name “Bandcrew Smoove”, he used a few different aliases before finding his current stage name. Smoove holds onto instrumentals in an incredibly natural way. Sliding in and out of rhythm, on and off of the beat, he always finds his place when the downbeat comes back around. His quiet, inflectionless delivery is a stark contrast to his lyrical content. Smoove raps about his lavish lifestyle, he enjoys splurging on the indulgences he lived without as a child. Other Detroit artists recognize Smoove’s prowess and collaborate with him when allowed. Recently he has worked with big name artists and producers from all over the city like Veeze, Icewear Vezzo, Rocaine, Michigan Meech, and Topside. Needless to say, Baby Smoove definitely earned his position in life, and on this list.

Songs to listen to: Palm Angels, Hellcat, Free Game

Hook

From Riverside, California (Inland Empire /IE) the 21 year old has been gaining steady recognition for her unorthodox flow and distinct style. Hook has been making music since she was 9 years old, travelling and performing in an R&B/Rap group with her step-sisters. As Hook got older, she shifted her focus onto her solo career, garnering a lot of attention throughout the underground with the release of her mixtape “Bully” in early 2019. Hook has made a name for herself for her deliberate flows that incorporate elaborate mid-verse pauses, laughs, gasps, and signature ad libs emanating an unparalleled energy that makes a listener's body uncontrollably convulse from pure pleasure. In the latter half of 2019 and early 2020, Hook put out a few more mixtapes alongside her debut album Crashed My Car, which displayed her steady evolution in sound and abilities to make great music. A frequent collaborator of legendary underground producer nedarb, Hook has also worked with Bootychaaain, WorkingOnDying, RCB and even comedian/rapper Zack Fox. More and more people are becoming aware of the greatness that is Hook, making the rest of 2020 even more exciting for herself and supporters.

Songs to listen to: I’m Shinnin, HEEM, Stand It

Baby Fifty

From Southeast, Washington D.C., the 19 year old’s nonchalant delivery of bars describing rampant death and destruction over any type of beat has quickly solidified himself as one of the most exciting rappers in the city. Fifty’s spaced out delivery accompanied with lyrics packed with punchlines, lingo, double entendres and signature ad libs allows each one of his sinister bars to imprint itself on any listener’s mind. There are very few rappers who can make you feel like everything they say is true, and Baby Fifty is one of them. Every song feels like he is having a calm conversation about the lethal activities he partakes in on a casual Monday. Fifty remains pretty individual in his output with his last few projects being featureless, but he has worked with frequent collaborator Hu$tle, MoneyMarr, and Cheecho. Fifty is one of the youngest and most respected artists from the DC area, and will continue to raise the bar for the remainder of the year.

Songs to listen to: sunniD, Walkout, Roll Out

Babyxsosa

The 19 year old Richmond, VA native grabbed attention from the whole underground with the release of the GAWD produced single “EVERYWHEREIGO” in the middle of 2019. She then joined the New York-based collective Surf Gang and continued to pump out amazing music, including her newest EP BABYXOBAMA. Even though her recognition is relatively recent, Babyxsosa has been releasing musical content since 2015 making waves in the Richmond area as a DJ and producer. Her musical experience is clear in her diverse selection of beats, and complex structures of harmonies and verses. Babyxsosa’s high pitched voice allows her to casually hit octaves that sound perfect in your eardrums, and her mastery of switching between rapping and singing mid-verse creates a distinct flow that only sosa can achieve. She has collaborated with fellow Surf Gang members Evil Giane, Polo Perks and Pasto Flocco, and has a notable catalogue of collaborations with fellow Richmond artist and freshman GAWD. Babyxsosa has undeniable potential, which she fulfills with every new release, making the rest of her 2020 an exciting sight to see.

Songs to listen to: UBERXL feat Polo Perks, PUSSY FREESTYLE, DOWN

Camden Malik

From New York City by way of Sacramento, California; Camden Malik has proved time and time again that he is beyond worthy of his place on this list. I was made aware of Camden when I saw him perform Live this past summer. I attended a Show Me the Body show in Ridgewood, Queens because of the opener, MIKE. During MIKE’s set, he allowed some friends of his to perform their music as well. Among these friends were big names such as Pink Siifu and King Carter, as well as Camden Malik, whom I was unaware of at the time. He performed his track “Dreams”, and it was easily the best performance of the set. Malik seemed to hit every word of the song, captivating the entire crowd as he spit circles around the mic in his gold-rimmed glasses. After the performance, I began researching him, only to find his stockpile of music on the internet, recently working with artists like ZelooperZ and Darryl 10k. He finds ways to pack all of his rhymes with meaning, while placing them into pockets of the beats that most artists would not even know existed. I truly think this guy could rap over anything and I can’t wait to see what he brings to 2020.

Songs to listen to: Lie Detector, Hear da Same Thang, World Different (ft ZelooperZ)

BKTheRula

From Atlanta, Georgia, BKTHERULA is proving to be one of the most exciting female rappers coming from the area. She started putting out music in 2017, but gained attention at the beginning of 2019 for her underground hit “Faygo.” BK continued to pump out hits throughout 2019 including her biggest hit “Tweakin Together.” BK’s punch-in delivery mixed with her high vocal octave is entrancing, and is combined with a myriad of futuristic melodies and next level 808s, making her music impossible to not bob your head to. She has enhanced her singing capabilities over the year dropping her debut project Love Santana where more than half of the songs explore her melodic capabilities that hit a sonic sweet spot, giving a soothing massage to a listener’s heart and mind. But BK can follow up any ballad with an intense barrage of strictly bars, that automatically gives you the stank face. This past year, BK has worked with Atlanta producers Digital Nas and Rxlvnd, and has been a frequent collaborator of Autumn! and fellow freshman Hook. In fact, the two artists are rumored to have a collaborative mixtape that could be released at any moment. BK already stands apart from the flood of artists who gained attention in 2019, and her willingness to explore her capabilities on more experimental releases gives her the potential to truly skyrocket to another level.

Songs to listen to: LEFT RIGHT, UH HUH, DAMN

Producers:

Evil Giane

Surf Gang CEO evilgiane is probably at the forefront of the New York City underground right now, and moving upward at an astounding speed. Giane has been producing for a few years now, using other monikers such as YUNALOE and aloevine before adopting his current alias. Originally, Aloevine dropped mostly house music tracks, but he began releasing hip-hop beats a few years ago and has not slowed down since. Giane’s trademark sound these days consists of clean and punchy drums, and uplifting melodies, though through his leaks and posts online, it is clear that this producer’s talent extends way beyond his sound, as his drill and even experimental punk beats rival some of the greats. Recently, Evilgiane has placements with a plethora of up and coming stars; HOOK, Babyxsosa, and Pasto Flocco, as well as songs with established underground heroes like Black Kray and BootyChaaain. I’ve already called 2020 as the year of Surf Gang so it only makes sense that Giane will continue to fly as the CEO. Expect big things.

Songs produced by Evil Giane: MOH BARETTA - ALL4U IV, POLO PERKS - RICH GIRL/starpower, Hi-C - tr3nd1ng t0p1c juiced

Adé Hakim

From the Bronx, NYC, the 21 year old rapper and producer has been putting out music as far back as 2014 under the name Sixpress. Adé is a member of the [sLUms] collective, and has helped curate the next phase of New York’s sound that gained a lot of mainstream popularity this past year. Hakim incorporates a wide range of sonic layers in his production including violins, horns, cries and moans from blues songs, piano riffs, and video game effects. These are all stretched, reversed and changed in pitch, creating a brand new authentic melody. This is accompanied by snares, claps, kicks and 808s that are also adjusted, giving them a mechanized sound that allows the expansive nature of his production to fully form. Listening to an Adé Hakim beat sounds like you are strolling through a busy robotic construction site with headphones on that is playing Miles Davis at half the normal speed in one ear, and the Sonic The Hedgehog videogame score in the other. Hakim has worked with a large number of New York legends in the making including MIKE, King Carter, Medhane and Navy Blue, and has expanded his sound past the city working with NAPPYNAPPA, Pink Siifu and Earl Sweatshirt. Adé Hakim is one of the most positive artists in the game and his constant output of good will continue to come back to him for the rest of the year.

Songs produced by Adé Hakim: LIKE ME, MIKE - PLANET, Sticking to My Roots

Axl Beats

If this list was based sheerly on streaming numbers, Axlbeats would be at the top. Axl found himself in 2019 getting placements with world renowned superstars such as Travis Scott and Drake. Luckily, Here at Sleepwalker we believe in more than numbers on the screen below the song, but we wanted to acknowledge AxlBeats’ accomplishments nonetheless. The London Based Producer’s career began in 2016, where he became locally popular for flipping Chicago style drill beats into more modern, new sounds. Axl then rode the drill wave all the way to Brooklyn, producing for artists like Sheff G, Fivio Foreign, and Pop Smoke, as well as A-List Celebrities Rich the Kid, and Jay Critch. Axl ended his 2019 incredibly strong, by producing Drake's drill inspired track “War”. If you haven’t heard Axl beats by now you may need to check and see if your radio is still working, but you will definitely hear him in 2020.

Songs produced by Axl Beats: Drake -War, Fivio Foreign - Wetty, Travis Scott feat Pop Smoke - GATTI

JWords

From Union City, New Jersey, JWords is rapidly making waves across the Hip-Hop and Electronic community. Releasing music as far back as 2015, JWords produces intricately structured soundscapes that incorporate digital synths with complex progressions, and old soul samples. The jazzy layout of her bass patterns, and mystical sounds that accompany them, reminds one of a chandelier of chimes flowing in a slight breeze. JWords can also switch it up, creating fast paced and unique sound structures that sound like futuristic versions of Salsa and Bachata, which she notes are heavy influences on her musical output. Her preference of hardware in music creation gives it a more genuine feel, and contributes to her next-level live performances. Listening to JWords feels like traveling through the ocean in an underwater spacecraft at 1000 mph, but the speed isn’t overwhelming, it's actually very soothing. Now a member of the NeverNormal Collective, JWords has been garnering attention throughout the past year. She’s worked with MIKE, Suzi Analogue, King Carter, and Nappy Nina, while also performing with other contemporary greats at live shows throughout New York City. She released her debut EP Sin Senal earlier this year and recently led an Ableton-sponsored beat making workshop. The momentum is only building for JWords, and 2020 seems like it will be her breakout year.

Songs produced by JWords: Stay Away, Shine <3, Numb feat MIKE

Hi-C

A member of the infamous Reptilian Club Boyz (RCB), Hi-C has been making waves in the underground as far back as 2013. Adopting various monikers like HighCee and C Boogie, the Richmond-based artist has always stood apart for his futuristic and majestic melodies, reminiscent of the soundtrack to a final boss battle in Ninja Gaiden, that are combined with hard-hitting 808s and kick patterns. This sound is leveled up by an insane assortment of sound effects that range from soundbites from Super Smash Brothers, SoulCaliber, Dragon Ball Z, Nascar races, thunderstorms, gun shots, applause and evil laughs. This past year, Hi-C’s talents seem to have been collectively noticed by the underground, landing him features and placements with fellow RCB members Diamnodsonmydick and Cartier’GOD, along with Surf Gang, Hook, Marcy Mane,and NolanBeRollin. Everything is lining up for Hi-C and RCB to reach massive heights in their musical content and impact on the general rap culture this year.

Songs produced by Hi-C: No Emotionzzz, DOMD feat Hook - BRATZ, DOMD feat SickBoyRari - King Lamagra

DamJonBoi

The Detroit Hip-hop scene saw a flourishing 2019. Reaping many of the benefits of this newfound popularity was the incredibly versatile and talented DamJonBoi. 2019 gave Jon placements on underground smash hits with talent like Teejayx6, Sada Baby, Kasher Quon, FMB DZ, Drego Baby, and Lil Beno. On top of all of his 2019 placements, he had a strong end of 2018 producing Drego & Beno’s “Recipe 2”, which has amassed over 5 million views on Youtube and a plethora more streams. Aside from producing, DamJonBoi has been laying down vocals of his own. His smooth voice and classic Detroit style inflection work amazingly in his songs, many of which showcase his lavish rockstar lifestyle. Needless to say, JonBoi is up now for 2020.

Songs produced by DamJonBoi - Super saiyan, Brainstorm Feat. Babyface Ray, Teejayx6 - Dark Web

GAWD

The 20 year old Richmond, Virginia native is one of the most hardworking artists in the game. Holding the largest discography of released songs on our list, GAWD has nearly 1,200 tracks just on his SoundCloud. With a vast amount of monikers including 65 Cent, Black John Stockton, DJ Lil Stank, and Lil Coochie Burp, GAWD has consistently been dropping great music since 2014. His production consists of Pharrel-like synths and chord progressions matched with signature distorted 808s that often fall in a simple 4/4 pattern. His addition of piano runs, harps, and video game effects to this formula elevates his sound to another level. Every GAWD beat is pleasing to the ear and always has a bounce, no matter how different they are from each other. Even though he has been on the scene for years, GAWD has gained a lot of attention this past year as his collaborations with fellow Richmond artist Babyxsosa have grown in popularity. On top of collaborations with Karmah and RCB, GAWD did a DJ session with Noble Spell in New York for Corpus Radio this past summer. It seems like he is finally getting the necessary recognition for years of hard work, and it's exciting to see what the rest of 2020 holds for him.

Songs produced by GAWD: 65 Cent - CHANGE TALK, Babyxsosa - EVERYWHERIGO, RCB - #bloodthisrsty #711

Visual Artists:

Nitetive Visuals

The 20 year old videographer based out of France has stood apart from the surge of artists producing intricate edits for the current output of music videos. Nitetive has been releasing video content since 2017, often consisting of minute long edits of rappers like A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti and Lil Uzi Vert being put in alternate dimensions, video games or outer space. In 2019, Nitetive began to focus on producing full fledged music videos. Although he has shot and directed a good amount of videos, Nitetive has gained a reputation for his ability to edit footage. Collaborating with other visual artists including MarkoVisuals and fellow freshman Brick Productions, Nitetive has gotten to edit some of the most mind bending music videos of 2019 and 2020. Nitetive’s visuals consist of a fast paced barrage of glitches, rainbow styled effects, shattering glass and datamosh transitions, and 3D animations that place the viewer in an alternate reality. With footage that is often reversed, layered on top of one another, and switched between crystal clear and VHS quality, Nitetive’s videos are truly mind bending. The quick flashing of logos and important lyrics throughout his videos make the viewer feel like they’re watching a sped up hypnotization reel that’s subconsciously tricking them into becoming cool. In the past 6 months, he has worked with the likes of Pi’erre Bourne, SickBoyRari (Black Kray), Bladee, Cyrax and K$upreme. Nitetive seems to get better with every release, making 2020 exciting for what else he has in store.

Videos edited by Nitetive: SickBoyRari (Black Kray) feat Bladee - Blue, Pi’erre Bourne - Try Again, Cyrax - Breeze

Revenxnt

If 2019 gives any indication as to how someone’s 2020 will go, then we should all keep our eyes peeled for Revenxnt this year. This Newark, NJ based visionary had a high point in 2019 of producing a Pusha T video for Vogue. Besides being a video artist, Rev also produces music (with placements like Sha Hef, Grimm Doza, and DA$H), is a prolific painter, and even dabbles in clothing design. A typical Revenxnt video consists of interesting colors, often double exposure shots and ambiguous angles, lots of adjusting focuses, and quick transitions. All these elements come together to create glitchy looking masterpieces that will undoubtedly stand the test of time. Recently he has made some masterful instant classic visuals with the likes of Medhane, Mavi, and Moh Baretta. Rev has an amazing internet presence, always tweeting his mind and uplifting his followers. A staple post of his will be a photo wad of money with the caption “IF YOU READING THIS YOU’RE GETTING MONEY TODAY” One thing that is for sure about is he will never stop hustling and never move backwards. I have no questions about 2020 being as big a year for Revenxnt as ever.

Videos directed by Revenxnt: Medhane - Allegedly, Moh Baretta - Phew, Mavi - Sense

DVD CITY

Based out of Detroit, Michigan, the collective of visual artists have been putting out content since 2015. Originating as VHS Country, the group has stayed true to its roots putting out visual mixes that incorporate off-coloring VHS-like effects. Various clips are layered on top of one another and fast forwarded, reversed or flipped sideways with frequent freeze frame trails filling the screen. These clips include viral youtube videos, infomercials, orchestra concerts, anime, hockey fights, animals, Mandelbrot sets, Tekken, WWE clips, and Kung Fu movies. Those watching a DVD CITY exclusive may believe their youtube webpage has gone haywire with effects that make the viewer feel as if they are watching 20 VHS films at once that are being fast forwarded and rewinded at the same time, but at different speeds. In the past year, the collective has produced music videos and snippets for Akai Solo, Pink Siifu, GAWD, MIKE and JWords. They also did the visuals for Never Normal Records’ most recent annual 4/20 live stream. The collective is pushing audio/visual boundaries to a new length with their consistent output and in-tune video references that are bound to entrance any viewer.

Videos directed by DVD CITY: DVD CITY 24//5GHOTSPOT, Black Sand - 2K4ev, DVD CITY 22//JWORDS

Brick Productions:

The Richmond-based videographer has been releasing content since 2017, and immediately started gaining notoriety throughout the underground for his diverse capabilities in making any type of music video. Brick’s ability to incorporate close zooms, still frames, and 3D animations into footage that can be of the highest or lowest of qualities is practically unrivaled. This is enhanced by transitions that take advantage of intentionally shaky camera footage that is often at a high frame rate, making some of the cleanest videography out there. These quick and clever transitions engage the viewer, but at a pace that is perfect, giving them a moment to fully enjoy the beauty of each shot before it is followed by another. That being said, Brick can also flood the screen with a flurry of effects including colored trails following body movements, crows flying in the background, Dragon Ball Z characters quickly appearing, snow falling, and flames engulfing the screen. This past year, Brick Production’s diverse visual output has landed him collaborations with SickBoyRari (Black Kray), Hunned Mill, A$AP ANT, Trippie Redd, Cyrax and Bootychaaain. He has also worked with Utmost, a Richmond-based skating company, in their recent collaborations with DC Shoes and Round Two. Brick Production is steadily evolving, learning how to merge creative and off the wall editing with smooth and straightforward shots that find happy balances with every new release. The rest of 2020 is his for the taking.

Videos directed by Brick Productions: Black Kray - PERIODT, Sunny2point0 feat Trippie Redd - Man Down, BOOTYCHAAAIN - MESSROUND

Realest Photographer Ever

Being the most secretive artist on our entire list, it’s hard to pinpoint when exactly the Realest Photographer Ever started dishing out creative content. The artist made their debut under this name with frequent collaborator Zelooperz for his video “Bootleg” in mid 2019. Their use of footage that looks like it's been shot off an iphone, shows a minimalist yet effective approach to making videos. Clips of people doing regular activities, such as chilling on a couch, hanging out by a river, or walking through a city, is manipulated and arranged in a way that creates a brand new reality that is incredibly engaging. An entire screen can be full of different scenes from different places at different times, allowing one to find something new every time they watch a video. The Realest’s perfectly timed transitions, reverse playbacks and freeze frame layers eliminates any need for fancy visual effects. Their straight forward visual production has landed them collaborations with Earl Sweatshirt, Zelooperz and Caleb Stone this past year. Since the Realest has no accessible social media, other than a Youtube page with 3 videos on it, it is hard to tell what they have in store for the future, but whatever it is, it will be great.

Videos directed by The Realest: Earl Sweatshirt - EAST, ZelooperZ - Going on a Date, Zelooperz feat Earl Sweatshirt

1Drince

One of the members of the ClockWork Productions collective, 1Drince has been delivering top tier videography to DMV based artists since 2018. The Washington D.C. native has gained a lot of attention the past year for his frequent collaborations with fellow freshman Baby Fifty, directing 10+ videos for the rapper over the past 9 months. His use of menacing shots and close zooms will send chills up your spine. Drince’s smooth transitions and high quality footage perfectly captures the chaotic and deadly energy of the people he shoots often flashing drugs, money and weapons of all shapes and sizes at the camera. He is able to perfectly capture the feel of every song he does a video for, thoroughly enhancing it. Every time one hears a song, they automatically think of the Drince video that accompanies it. In addition to Baby Fifty, he’s worked with MoneyMarr, Baby 9eno, Q Da Fool, Big Flock, YungManny, and RXPeso this past year. Drince and the ClockWork Productions team continue to solidify themselves as the go to videographers for DMV artists, making it exciting to see what they have in store for the rest of the year.

Videos directed by 1Drince: Baby Fifty- One On One, MoneyMarr - Cable Box, YungManny & Big Flock - TPA

She Skin

From Salem, Virginia, She Skin is the most versatile visual artist on our list. He started his visual output as far back as 2012, releasing creative and distinct skate videos. He soon transitioned into making music videos during the 2014/2015 SoundCloud Golden Era, providing music videos, visualizations, cover art, production and audio mixes for Divine Council and other Richmond-based artists. On top of videos, She Skin also established his own line of merchandiseincluding acrylic pieces, figurines and t-shirts.

Clearly, She Skin’s extensive catalogue sets him apart from the typical definition of a freshman, but he is on this list because it seems like he is finally gaining the recognition and praise that has been years past due. In addition, he seems to have found a signature look for his videos. His high frame rates and frequent zoom-ins are meshed with intentionally shaky camera work that cuts the artists in and out of frame at perfect moments. This is accompanied by sped up, slowed down, and chopped footage that creates a feeling in his videos that is unsettlingly soothing. She Skin has recently done videos for SickBoyRari (Black Kray) and hernbean5150, while releasing a series of minute long snippets from other Richmond artists including FHN Mook, Karmah, and Hunned Mill. He has also collaborated with Utmost throughout the years, providing pictures for the company’s most recent collaborations with Round Two and DC Shoes alongside fellow freshman Brick Productions. Even though She Skin has been a present and respected force in the underground for years, it seems like 2020 is shaping up to be the year his capabilities become known across the country and world.

Videos directed by She Skin: Herbean5150 - Felons, SickBoyRari (Black Kray) - Feel My Pain, FHN Mook - Undaground Sluggroad

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lustedneverloved-blog · 4 years ago

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Suicide

My brain is somehow dying. I can tell. As every year goes on I see growth and change in myself. But the one constant since as long as I can remember is I die by suicide. It’s never been a doubt in my fucking mind. And I’m kind of in this weird place in life, alive during the strangest point in human history if you ask me. You have pedofiles in office, a world wide pandemic, the worst economic crisis we’ve had in a while, homelessness reaching higher numbers than ever, KKK straight chillin in public...I just..............it got me thinking right? Like how has the suicide rate changed since the pandemic? I’m curious because me personally.....it’s making sense. But the sickest part of me knows that if it was time I wouldn’t be writing this. I wouldn’t allow anyone to stop me. I’d just do it and leave people left with a million questions. As if it wasn’t in front of them for years. As if I haven’t been cutting my own leg to feel something for years. As if I don’t talk about it all the time. I just genuinely am not enjoying life currently. And I hate domesticated life so god damn much. Every single house I look at is ugly and worn down. And every apartment makes me feel like I’m in a fucking prison cell or episode of black mirror they’re so fake and bleh. I wish with every fiber of my being that I had just stayed on the road. I should’ve. I came back for Hannah’s wedding and I loved it. But I should’ve only come home for that and spent my saving and kept going. But instead I was responsible. And Becky kept telling me that maybe the universe was sending me home now for a reason and to trust the flow of things. And then for a few days on the way back to Indiana I saw 222 so many god damn times. And I started tweakin about it right. Then I had several strange and unexplainable encounters when I got back to Indiana. Things that just literally couldn’t possibly happen were happening. It was odd. But my brain is poop and people suck and I miss my van. Finally held my cat. Everything’s better with him. He’s my entire heart outside of my body. Maybe it I keep typing and keep my hands busy I won’t do I what I want to do. Maybe if someone was as equally fucked and awake and could just keep me sane long enough for me to find sleep. But my brain is pulsing and on fire. My ears feel like they’re bleeding. And I’m so dizzy. I’ve caught myself counting calories again. I got sick and puked and lost some weight. And it brought me to my goal weight. My goal weight I’ve had and not changed since I was 12. I’m officially underweight and no one can seem to stop pointing it out. I just keep saying “I’m just got from all the hiking” or “I got sick I’m putting it back on”. But in reality I’ve had one meal today and it was so hard to eat it. I miss having an appetite. I miss loving food. I wish i wasn’t so god damn fucked up. Hopefully i can bite the bullet.....haaaaaa! Literally.

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airoasis · 5 years ago

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I got 99 problems... palsy is just one | Maysoon Zayid

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/i-got-99-problems-palsy-is-just-one-maysoon-zayid-3/

I got 99 problems... palsy is just one | Maysoon Zayid

Hiya, TEDWomen, what’s up. (Cheering) no longer just right ample. Hello, TEDWomen, what’s up? (Loud cheering) My title is Maysoon Zayid, and i’m not drunk, but the health care provider who delivered me used to be. He reduce my mother six exceptional times in six distinct directions, suffocating bad little me in the method. For this reason, i’ve cerebral palsy, which means I shake at all times. Seem. It is laborious. I am like Shakira, Shakira meets Muhammad Ali. (Laughter) CP is just not genetic. It is no longer a start defect. You can’t trap it. No one put a curse on my mother’s uterus, and that i didn’t get it considering the fact that my mum and dad are first cousins, which they are. (Laughter) It only occurs from accidents, like what occurred to me on my delivery day. Now, I need to warn you, i am no longer inspirational. (Laughter) and that i don’t want someone on this room to believe bad for me, considering the fact that at some point for your life, you may have dreamt of being disabled. Come on a experience with me. It’s Christmas Eve, you are at the mall, you’re using round in circles looking for parking, and what do you see? Sixteen empty handicapped areas. (Laughter) And you’re like, "God, are not able to I just be a bit disabled?" (Laughter) additionally, I’ve acquired to tell you, I’ve bought ninety nine issues, and palsy is only one.(Laughter) If there was an Oppression Olympics, i might win the gold medal. I’m Palestinian, Muslim, i’m feminine, i’m disabled, and that i reside in New Jersey. (Laughter) (Applause) in the event you don’t consider better about your self, probably you will have to. (Laughter) Cliffside Park, New Jersey is my place of birth. I’ve always loved the fact that my hood and my agony share the same initials. I also love the truth that if I desired to walk from my apartment to NY city, I would. Plenty of folks with CP don’t walk, however my father and mother failed to consider in "cannot." My father’s mantra was once, "you can do it, yes which you can can." (Laughter) So, if my three older sisters have been mopping, I used to be mopping.If my three older sisters went to public university, my mum and dad would sue the college process and assurance that I went too, and if we didn’t all get A’s, all of us received my mom’s slipper. (Laughter) My father taught me walk once I used to be five years old through placing my heels on his toes and just running. Yet another tactic that he used is he would dangle a dollar invoice in front of me and have me chase it.(Laughter) My interior stripper used to be very robust. (Laughter) Yeah. No, via the first day of kindergarten, I used to be strolling like a champ who had been punched one too oftentimes. (Laughter) developing up, there have been most effective six Arabs in my city, they usually have been all my loved ones. (Laughter) Now there are 20 Arabs in town, and they’re still all my loved ones.(Laughter) i do not think anybody even seen we weren’t Italian. (Laughter) (Applause) This was earlier than 9-11 and before politicians thought it was once appropriate to make use of "I hate Muslims" as a crusade slogan. The people that I grew up with had no challenge with my religion. They did, nevertheless, look very concerned that i’d starve to demise for the duration of Ramadan. I would give an explanation for to them that i have adequate fats to live off of for three entire months, so fasting from dawn to sunset is a section of cake. (Laughter) i’ve tap-danced on Broadway. Yeah, on Broadway. It can be loopy. (Applause) My mother and father couldn’t afford bodily healing, so that they sent me to dancing tuition. I learned tips on how to dance in heels, which means that i can walk in heels.And i am from Jersey, and we’re really worried with being elegant, so if my associates wore heels, so did I. And when my associates went and spent their summer season vacations on the Jersey Shore, i didn’t. I spent my summers in a conflict zone, when you consider that my mothers and fathers were afraid that if we failed to go back to Palestine each single summer time, we’d develop as much as be Madonna. (Laughter) summer holidays customarily consisted of my father trying to heal me, so I drank deer’s milk, I had scorching cups on my again, I was once dunked in the dead Sea, and i bear in mind the water burning my eyes and thinking, "it’s working! It is working!" (Laughter) however one miracle treatment we did find was once yoga. I ought to inform you, it’s very boring, but before I did yoga, I was a stand-up comedian who can’t rise up. And now i will stand on my head. My mum and dad reinforced this notion that I would do some thing, that no dream used to be unimaginable, and my dream was to be on the sunlight hours soap opera "normal sanatorium." (Laughter) I went to institution during affirmative action and got a sweet scholarship to ASU, Arizona State school, since I match each single quota.(Laughter) I was like the pet lemur of the theater department. Every body adored me. I did all of the much less-than-clever kids’ homework, I obtained A’s in all of my courses, A’s in all of their lessons. (Laughter) at any time when I did a scene from "The Glass Menagerie," my professors would weep. However I on no account got forged. Eventually, my senior 12 months, ASU decided to do a exhibit known as "They Dance real gradual in Jackson." it can be a play about a girl with CP. I was once a girl with CP. So I shouting from the rooftops, "i am sooner or later going to get a component! I have cerebral palsy! Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, i’m free at last!" I did not get the section. (Laughter) Sherry Brown obtained the section. I went racing to the top of the theater division crying hysterically, like someone shot my cat, to ask her why, and she stated it was on the grounds that they didn’t believe I might do the stunts. I said, "Excuse me, if I cannot do the stunts, neither can the personality." (Laughter) (Applause) This was once a part that I used to be actually born to play they gave it to a non-palsy actress.College was once imitating life. Hollywood has a sordid historical past of casting ready-bodied actors to play disabled onscreen. Upon graduating, I moved again home, and my first acting gig was once as yet another on a daylight soap opera. My dream was once coming genuine. And that i knew that i might be promoted from "Diner Diner" to "Wacky satisfactory friend" in no time. (Laughter) however as a substitute, I remained a glorified piece of furnishings that you simply would only recognize from the again of my head, and it grew to become clear to me that casting administrators did not hire fluffy, ethnic, disabled actors. They simply hired excellent persons. However there have been exceptions to the rule of thumb. I grew up looking at Whoopi Goldberg, Roseanne Barr, Ellen, and all of these women had one thing in original: they were comedians.So I grew to be a comedian. (Laughter) (Applause) My first gig was once using noted comics from NY city to indicates in New Jersey, and i’ll in no way disregard the face of the first comic I ever drove when he realized that he used to be speeding down the brand new Jersey Turnpike with a chick with CP using him. (Laughter) I’ve performed in clubs in all places the united states, and i have also carried out in Arabic in the center East, uncensored and uncovered. (Laughter) Some humans say i am the first stand-up comic within the Arab world. I under no circumstances like to assert first, but I do recognize that they under no circumstances heard that nasty little rumor that ladies don’t seem to be humorous, and so they find us hysterical.(Laughter) In 2003, my brother from a different mothers and fathers Dean Obeidallah and that i began the brand new York Arab-American Comedy festival, now in its tenth year. Our purpose used to be to change the bad photo of Arab-american citizens in media, at the same time additionally reminding casting directors that South Asian and Arab will not be synonymous. (Laughter) Mainstreaming Arabs used to be much, so much less complicated than conquering the venture towards the stigma against disability. My gigantic wreck got here in 2010. I was once invited to be a visitor on the cable information exhibit "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." I walked in looking like I was going to the promenade, and so they shuffle me into a studio and seat me on a spinning, rolling chair. (Laughter) So I appeared on the stage manager and i am like, "Excuse me, can i have another chair?" and she checked out me and he or she went, "five, four, three, two …" And we were reside, correct? So I needed to grip onto the anchor’s desk so that i wouldn’t roll off the display during the segment, and when the interview was over, I used to be livid.I had finally gotten my threat and that i blew it, and that i knew i would by no means get invited again. But no longer only did Mr. Olbermann invite me again, he made me a full-time contributor, and he taped down my chair. (Laughter) (Applause) One enjoyable truth I discovered even as on the air with Keith Olbermann was once that humans on the web are scumbags. (Laughter) people say youngsters are merciless, however I was never made fun of as a youngster or an adult. Abruptly, my disability on the world extensive net is fair game. I might seem at clips online and notice comments like, "Yo, why’s she tweakin’?" "Yo, is she retarded?" And my favorite, "poor Gumby-mouth terrorist. What does she suffer from? We must fairly pray for her." One commenter even recommended that I add my incapacity to my credits: screenwriter, comedian, palsy.Incapacity is as visual as race. If a wheelchair consumer are not able to play Beyonc, then Beyonc cannot play a wheelchair user. The disabled are the biggest Yeah, clap for that, man. Come on. (Applause) individuals with disabilities are the most important minority on this planet, and we’re probably the most underrepresented in amusement. The doctors said that i wouldn’t walk, however i’m here in entrance of you. Nevertheless, if I grew up with social media, i don’t feel i would be. I am hoping that together, we are able to create extra optimistic snap shots of incapacity within the media and in day-to-day life. Might be if there have been more constructive pics, it would foster much less hate on the net. Or possibly not. Maybe it still takes a village to instruct our kids good. My crooked ride has taken me to some very striking places. I got to walk the crimson carpet flanked through cleaning soap diva Susan Lucci and the long-lasting Loreen Arbus. I received to behave in a movie with Adam Sandler and work with my idol, the mighty Dave Matthews. I toured the world as a headliner on Arabs long gone Wild.I was once a delegate representing the satisfactory state of new Jersey on the 2008 DNC. And i established Maysoon’s youngsters, a charity that hopes to give Palestinian refugee kids a sliver of the hazard my mother and father gave me. However the one second that stands out essentially the most was once after I received — earlier than this moment — (Laughter) (Applause) but the one second that stands out the most was once I acquired to participate in for the man who floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee, has Parkinson’s and shakes just like me, Muhammad Ali. (Applause) (Applause ends) It was once the one time that my father ever noticed me participate in live, and that i devote this speak to his memory.(Arabic) Allah yerhamak yaba. (English) My identify is Maysoon Zayid, and if i will can, you could can. (Cheering) (Applause) .

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batterymonster2021 · 5 years ago

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I got 99 problems... palsy is just one | Maysoon Zayid

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/i-got-99-problems-palsy-is-just-one-maysoon-zayid-3/

I got 99 problems... palsy is just one | Maysoon Zayid

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strivesy · 7 years ago

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Mathivating Kids to Get Excited About Math

Kim Thomas on episode 286 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Get Mathivated with Kim Thomas. She literally speaks math and has exciting things to do each day of the week for her students. (She also has quite an interesting way to handle difficult behavior including profanity.)

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Mathivating Kids to Get Excited About Math

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e286 Date: April 9, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking with Kim Thomas @padamspam , 2016 Illinois Teacher of the Year. She’s been teaching for 25 years, and currently, she’s in Peoria County Alternative School for kids who have been expelled, teaching at the middle school level.

Kim’s book is Mathivate

So, Kim, you love math. What’s your philosophy behind helping kids get excited about math?

Kim: Well, I “math-ivate” them, and I try to be the best fraction of their day.

You know, math class… A lot of kids walk in my room with negative parabolas on their face, and I’m like, “No! Give me a sixtieth of a minute, and I will rotate that to a positive parabola.”

So by mathivating them, and making the class fun X fun + fun.

Like, you bring that fun and passion into the classroom, and kids are just gonna be like, “What did she say?”

And I’m like, “HEY! It’s time to get Mathlicious!”

They’re like, “What is that?”

If I would just say math, most of them would want to rotate 180 degrees and run.

So I came up with this Mathlicious way to do mathivate them, that really puts a positive parabola on everyone’s face.

I do… “Live + Laugh + Love = Learn” in my classroom.

Change the days of the week

So we LIVE it up every day. They know that they’re going to do something fun every day when they come in the room, so I name the days of the week. Now I change these names according to my kids and their interests.

Monday

So Monday is Math-oggle Monday and You Matter Monday. So we talk about things over the weekend and how much I missed them, and then we do a Math-oggle game I created. It’s like Boggle but it’s numbers, and so you have to pick adjacent numbers or diagonal ones that equal a certain number. And I let the kids pick the target numbers. So they have a lot of fun doing that. And it always works. It’s so Mathazing. No matter what number, no matter what is in that Math-oggle board, it works!

Tuesday

Now, TNGO Tuesday. I changed it this year to Tweakin’ TNGO Tuesday, because the kids have work called “tweaking” — not Twerking, I don’t Twerk on a Tuesday —

Vicki: (laughs)

Kim: But so, like, if you think today is Wednesday, “Mrs. Thomas, it’s Wednesday! You’re tweaking! It’s Monday!”

So I call it Tweakin’ Tuesday, and they just love it because, throughout the week, they’ll be like, “Mrs. Thomas, it’s not Tuesday, and you’re tweaking.”

So we all make mistakes as teachers, and I love it when the kids figure the mistake out, and they’ll be like, “Mrs. Thomas, you were tweaking.” So we call it Tweaking TNGO Tuesday.|

I use tangrams for the kids to create a picture. And they LOVE it. To just observe them problem-solving and listening to their Mathlicious dialog… it just gives me mathbumps to watch them go, “Hey, if we just put this piece here ,” and all of the problem-solving. But they love trying to figure out this puzzle. How excited they get when they figure it out. And then you can have kids create their own. Just putting the pieces together and you know, take a picture of it, and then the kids draw the outline, but then have them draw the solution. They love X love to pass out their own Tweaking TNGO puzzle on Tuesday.

Wednesday

Wednesday is Wuzzle Wednesday. So we do math puzzles. Kids are getting so good at these that they like to create their own. So we keep continuing to look up “fun puzzles to do” that really help us with our thinking skills, and also can be like a riddle or a joke.They love stuff like that as well. That’s Wuzzle Wednesday.

Thursday

And then there’s Thirsty Thursday! And what are we thirsty for? Math! Best subject ever! (laughs)

Well, they’re all my favorite days. But Thirsty Thursday I created an activity called Equation-anza. So they come up to the board and they roll a dice. Now usually it’s a 10-sided dice. They love it. And they have to guess, so if they’re in groups, they get to guess what number they think their group is going to roll.

And it really helps with kids getting along. I teach at an alternative school where kids have been expelled, so we’re really working on not only Mathlicious and math, but also skills on getting along and what you’re going to need in the real world to get along with each other. And deciding who gets to pick which number what day.

So they pick a number. And if they get it right, you know, we have a gotcha box or a treat, and THEN…

We love this. We use the date as the target number every Thirsty Thursday. And then my kids — after we get the square of 25 numbers (so five numbers from the dice) — they have to use those.

On the first line they have to use two of them, if they can, to get the date, if it’s possible.

Then the next line, three. And then four, and then all five. They add, subtract, multiply or divide.

It is SO math-abulous! It works for every date! My kids have not come up with a date that has never worked!

Vicki: Wow.

Kim: So, you know, just telling them. I get all these mathbumps, and I tell them, “I didn’t know what you were going to roll!” And “We didn’t know what the date was going to be!” And it works every single day.

Vicki: Awesome.

Kim: So, that’s Thirsty Thursday.

Friday

Now, on Friday we have two things we do.

For Math-head Friday, we wear numbers like the headbands game, and they have to ask each other questions to see who gets it right first.

And THEN… We came up with Fri-Dab Friday! (laughs)

Vicki: (laughs)

Kim: It’s like… when you “dab”… You “dab” after something good.

Vicki: Yeah.

Kim: So I saw a lot of dabbing in my classroom, and I love to dab, and I dropped the smartboard marker, like the microphone? (laughs)

Vicki: Yeah.

Kim: They have to create a 2 X 2 line poem, we started with, on a math concept. And then we rap it out. I have kids who just LOVE to beat on the desk.

And so instead of telling them, “No, stop that.”

NO! I go ahead and let them beat on that desk. I just teach to the rhythm. And most of them get sick of listening to me trying to rap, so they stop. (laughs)

Vicki: (laughs) How funny.

Kim: I just love it. So I call it even, “Rap It Up” at the end of the class.

And we try to freestyle what we learned, and then somebody does the beat on the desk.

So every day coming up — I figured out that naming my days has really helped my kids be excited.

Now there’s so many other things we do with the Mathlicious projects that I have that I’m just so excited about. I finally got a book done of everything I’ve been doing for the past 10 x 2 + 5 years

There’s a book with all of these ideas in it!

Vicki: Wow.

Kim: … to share with others. That’s like a dream come true for me. But just taking interests of kids. My days do change. Like dabbing wasn’t around, how many years ago. So now it is, so I try to take their interests and turn it into my math class, so you know, they will be interested in what we’re doing.

Vicki: Now, we will put a link to the math book, and what you’re doing, because there’s a lot to dig into here.

Now, we’re almost finished with the show, but Kim, tell us a story about a kid. You know, you work with kids who struggle, and a lot of times teachers when they’re in schools like yours — where the kids struggle, the teachers struggle. But it’s like you’re thriving and surviving and so excited.

Tell us a story about what this excited approach to math can do with kids.

Kim: It is! And it’s just like every day they know… in fact, every hour. You know, kids have to start fresh. You have to give them that fresh start. I believe in these spirit of four chances. To me, it’s 70 x 7. And once I got my Teacher of the Year title, I knew it was like God saying, “Get that book done!”

A story about just one student

So the story. I had a girl come in, and she sat in the back of the room, and she put her head down. And I was like, “Oh no, we don’t put heads down in our room.”

So I never tell kids what NOT to do. I just go talk to them about why we shouldn’t. So I went back and said, “Hey, let’s talk about why shouldn’t we put our head down during class, and so we kind of talked about it, and she put her head up. And she yelled, “I hate math!”

And you know, I had my hands over my ears, ‘“Ahhhh!”

So I had her come up you know, off to the side, and I put my hands on her shoulders, and I said, “You know how moms love you, but they have to correct you, right? Well, I’m your math mom, and I’m going to have to correct you, but I love you, even though I correct you. And I would never put you down. For anything ever. Not your past test scores or grades. Nothing. I’m here to build you up. So please don’t hate on my math class. Give me that one-sixtieth of a minute to show you how Mathlicious math is.”

And she goes, “Well, I can’t even do my times tables.”

And I said, “So what? I will help you.”

She goes, “You mean, you don’t care about…”

And I go, “No. I care about what I can help you with.”

“Well I need to count on my fingers.”

“That’s OK. So do I!”

“What?”

“I’d rather count on them and get it right, then try to think about it and get it wrong.”

She’s just looking at me.

And I go, “Honey, you don’t know what you can do, until you really give me that chance to help you. Because I’m here to help you.”

And she just looked at me like, “OK…” And she sat down, and she started working on her Math Muscles. That’s another thing we do in the beginning in the room. Math Muscles. And all of a sudden, as the weeks went by, she would be the one going, “Nobody blurt it out! Let me see if I can figure it out.”

So came our next testing, and it tests for growth, and she gained 11 x 2 points.

Vicki: Wow!

Kim: She was elated!

And was she at grade level yet? No, she wasn’t at grade level yet, but that’s OK.

She grew.

To me, the Mathlicious thing, and the Math-azing thing is, she’s not afraid of math class anymore.

She came up to me, and she goes, “You know, Mrs. Thomas, on my cab ride home the other day, the cab driver said, ‘What’s your favorite class?’ I said, ‘Math. Can you believe it? I never thought I’d say that. I’ve always hated math class!’”

And she goes, “Well, I just want to thank you for not giving up on me.”

And I said, “Well, how can you thank me?”

And she goes, “Stay in school and stay parallel to boys.”

Thank you! Because … popular… can get you into trouble.

Vicki: (laughs)

Kim: I keep it 10 squared, keep it 100 with my middle school kids.

But it was so cute. And you know, she wasn’t afraid. And that’s… you know, I could have taken her as being… You know, I always try to take their habits… Some of them come in my room and say curse words, so we turn it into math cursing. And we turn it into… you know, instead of telling kids to stop, I try to rotate it into something good.

This can help kids with cursing?

Vicki: How would you help them with cursing?

Kim: Oh my gosh, this is my favorite. So I did an article on… I call it “Math Cursing.” It’s from Curio Learning, “Teach Like a Rebel.”

Read Cursing for Mathlicious Math Teachers

And so, my kids… When they come in and I hear a curse word, I’m like, “OK, let’s talk about why we don’t cuss.” And so then I tell them how, “Well, I don’t use those words because the Bible says no filthy things should come from your mouth. So you guys, I know there’s somebody in your family that you cannot cuss in front of. So give me their names. So they all go around and they give me the name, and I say, “Put me on the list.”

I go, “We can math curse in here, because most people want to curse when they walk into a math class, anyway. So whatever they want to say, they have to replace it with a math word that starts with that letter.

Vicki: (laughs)

Kim: So, “Sit your fraction axis in the seat!” or “What the…? This shape is driving me nuts!”

Or one kid said, “Mrs. Thomas, what’s the “h” word?”

And I’m like, “height.”

And he’s like, “What the height are we gonna do today?”

Vicki: (laughs)

Kim: Seriously. When they start talking to each other, I just love it. They’re looking on the wall, they’re trying to think of other words, and eventually, the cursing just really dies down.

But every once in a while, my kids just have to let it out, and they can choose a math word instead.

But I take that habit, and instead of saying, “Don’t, don’t, don’t…” Let’s face it, my kids have been told that so many times before they come to me. So a true blessing in my life is to be able to say, “Yes,” so these students can feel that, what it feels like to be told, “Yes.” You know, to be included in things instead of excluded.

And I tell them, “This thing of being expelled is not an ending. It is a new beginning in your life. What are you going to do with it?”

Vicki: Oh, I love that.

Well, Kim, you’re somebody that I know that all of our remarkable teachers are going to want to learn more about. This is one of those that you definitely want to check the Shownotes to see what all Kim is doing.

Kim, I’m just proud of you and your attitude.

What a remarkable job you’re doing with these kids.

Here’s the thing. When you love children, they will just… they will more than go the extra mile. They’ll actually learn, which is what we want.

So, thank you, Kim. And I’m Math-ivated!

Kim: (laughs) Yay!

Well, thank you times thank you.

This has been a pleasure plus an honor to be on your show and meet you, and to speak to all those Math-abulous educators out there, those 3D superheros going the length, width, and height for our kids.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford [email protected]

Bio as submitted

Kim is the 1000 x 2 + 4^2 Illinois Teacher of the Year. She is an inductee into the Illinois State University College of Education Hall Of Fame. Kim is currently in her 10 x 2 + 5 year teaching in Peoria, Illinois. She teaches middle school students mathlicious math at the Peoria County Alternative School for kids who have been expelled. Kim is the author of Mathivate, the mathlicious method that puts a positive parabola on everyone’s face!!!

Blog: https://kimthomasilstoy.com/

Twitter: @kimthomasilstoy

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post Mathivating Kids to Get Excited About Math appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

Mathivating Kids to Get Excited About Math published first on https://medium.com/@seminarsacademy

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athena29stone · 7 years ago

Text

Mathivating Kids to Get Excited About Math

Kim Thomas on episode 286 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Mathivating Kids to Get Excited About Math

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e286 Date: April 9, 2018

Kim’s book is Mathivate

So, Kim, you love math. What’s your philosophy behind helping kids get excited about math?

Kim: Well, I “math-ivate” them, and I try to be the best fraction of their day.

You know, math class… A lot of kids walk in my room with negative parabolas on their face, and I’m like, “No! Give me a sixtieth of a minute, and I will rotate that to a positive parabola.”

So by mathivating them, and making the class fun X fun + fun.

Like, you bring that fun and passion into the classroom, and kids are just gonna be like, “What did she say?”

And I’m like, “HEY! It’s time to get Mathlicious!”

They’re like, “What is that?”

If I would just say math, most of them would want to rotate 180 degrees and run.

So I came up with this Mathlicious way to do mathivate them, that really puts a positive parabola on everyone’s face.

I do… “Live + Laugh + Love = Learn” in my classroom.

Change the days of the week

Monday

Tuesday

Now, TNGO Tuesday. I changed it this year to Tweakin’ TNGO Tuesday, because the kids have work called “tweaking” — not Twerking, I don’t Twerk on a Tuesday —

Vicki: (laughs)

Kim: But so, like, if you think today is Wednesday, “Mrs. Thomas, it’s Wednesday! You’re tweaking! It’s Monday!”

So I call it Tweakin’ Tuesday, and they just love it because, throughout the week, they’ll be like, “Mrs. Thomas, it’s not Tuesday, and you’re tweaking.”

So we all make mistakes as teachers, and I love it when the kids figure the mistake out, and they’ll be like, “Mrs. Thomas, you were tweaking.” So we call it Tweaking TNGO Tuesday.|

Wednesday

Thursday

And then there’s Thirsty Thursday! And what are we thirsty for? Math! Best subject ever! (laughs)

So they pick a number. And if they get it right, you know, we have a gotcha box or a treat, and THEN…

We love this. We use the date as the target number every Thirsty Thursday. And then my kids — after we get the square of 25 numbers (so five numbers from the dice) — they have to use those.

On the first line they have to use two of them, if they can, to get the date, if it’s possible.

Then the next line, three. And then four, and then all five. They add, subtract, multiply or divide.

It is SO math-abulous! It works for every date! My kids have not come up with a date that has never worked!

Vicki: Wow.

Vicki: Awesome.

Kim: So, that’s Thirsty Thursday.

Friday

Now, on Friday we have two things we do.

For Math-head Friday, we wear numbers like the headbands game, and they have to ask each other questions to see who gets it right first.

And THEN… We came up with Fri-Dab Friday! (laughs)

Vicki: (laughs)

Kim: It’s like… when you “dab”… You “dab” after something good.

Vicki: Yeah.

Kim: So I saw a lot of dabbing in my classroom, and I love to dab, and I dropped the smartboard marker, like the microphone? (laughs)

Vicki: Yeah.

Kim: They have to create a 2 X 2 line poem, we started with, on a math concept. And then we rap it out. I have kids who just LOVE to beat on the desk.

And so instead of telling them, “No, stop that.”

NO! I go ahead and let them beat on that desk. I just teach to the rhythm. And most of them get sick of listening to me trying to rap, so they stop. (laughs)

Vicki: (laughs) How funny.

Kim: I just love it. So I call it even, “Rap It Up” at the end of the class.

And we try to freestyle what we learned, and then somebody does the beat on the desk.

So every day coming up — I figured out that naming my days has really helped my kids be excited.

There’s a book with all of these ideas in it!

Vicki: Wow.

Vicki: Now, we will put a link to the math book, and what you’re doing, because there’s a lot to dig into here.

Tell us a story about what this excited approach to math can do with kids.

A story about just one student

So the story. I had a girl come in, and she sat in the back of the room, and she put her head down. And I was like, “Oh no, we don’t put heads down in our room.”

And you know, I had my hands over my ears, ‘“Ahhhh!”

And she goes, “Well, I can’t even do my times tables.”

And I said, “So what? I will help you.”

She goes, “You mean, you don’t care about…”

And I go, “No. I care about what I can help you with.”

“Well I need to count on my fingers.”

“That’s OK. So do I!”

“What?”

“I’d rather count on them and get it right, then try to think about it and get it wrong.”

She’s just looking at me.

And I go, “Honey, you don’t know what you can do, until you really give me that chance to help you. Because I’m here to help you.”

So came our next testing, and it tests for growth, and she gained 11 x 2 points.

Vicki: Wow!

Kim: She was elated!

And was she at grade level yet? No, she wasn’t at grade level yet, but that’s OK.

She grew.

To me, the Mathlicious thing, and the Math-azing thing is, she’s not afraid of math class anymore.

And she goes, “Well, I just want to thank you for not giving up on me.”

And I said, “Well, how can you thank me?”

And she goes, “Stay in school and stay parallel to boys.”

Thank you! Because … popular… can get you into trouble.

Vicki: (laughs)

Kim: I keep it 10 squared, keep it 100 with my middle school kids.

This can help kids with cursing?

Vicki: How would you help them with cursing?

Kim: Oh my gosh, this is my favorite. So I did an article on… I call it “Math Cursing.” It’s from Curio Learning, “Teach Like a Rebel.”

Read Cursing for Mathlicious Math Teachers

Vicki: (laughs)

Kim: So, “Sit your fraction axis in the seat!” or “What the…? This shape is driving me nuts!”

Or one kid said, “Mrs. Thomas, what’s the “h” word?”

And I’m like, “height.”

And he’s like, “What the height are we gonna do today?”

Vicki: (laughs)

Kim: Seriously. When they start talking to each other, I just love it. They’re looking on the wall, they’re trying to think of other words, and eventually, the cursing just really dies down.

But every once in a while, my kids just have to let it out, and they can choose a math word instead.

And I tell them, “This thing of being expelled is not an ending. It is a new beginning in your life. What are you going to do with it?”

Vicki: Oh, I love that.

Kim, I’m just proud of you and your attitude.

What a remarkable job you’re doing with these kids.

Here’s the thing. When you love children, they will just… they will more than go the extra mile. They’ll actually learn, which is what we want.

So, thank you, Kim. And I’m Math-ivated!

Kim: (laughs) Yay!

Well, thank you times thank you.

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford [email protected]

Bio as submitted

Blog: https://kimthomasilstoy.com/

Twitter: @kimthomasilstoy

The post Mathivating Kids to Get Excited About Math appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/e286/

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domitxnate · 7 years ago

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Exit Interview - 11.24 Silate

Exit Interview for Trial Claim

@subsilask

Will answered the door and walked to the other side of the table. "Sit, boys," he said, sitting himself and going through some paper and notes. "Alright, so your trial is over and you're hear because you're hoping to make it legal, yes?" he asked, looking up at the two boys. "So, let's start with how you felt it went. Silas?"

Si: Everything was happening so fast, Silas looked up a bit dazed. “I-uh, Yes. Yes, Sir we do. I think it went really well, Sir. It was...not so different than our everyday lives, but more constant, more consistent, and it felt very...stable. I haven’t had a lot of stability in my life and this past month felt like...like I could breathe” he shook his head, embarrassed he’d been too honest and corny. “It was just very nice to be able there all the time and have things consistent, Sir. Thank you for the opportunity.”

Will raised his brow a little. "Breathe, Mr. Karofsky," he said simply as he listened to the boy. "And this consistency, what does it look like on average? What are you expecting out of your claim?"

Si: “Sorry Sir,” he said, taking a deep breath and letting it out. It did help. “Well, it’s just very simple stuff, but, knowing that he’s there to enforce rules and punish swiftly, and being able to be there for him, take care of the room. That kind of thing. I guess, I expect more of the same? We have a thing that works for us...it’s, close to TPE, has aspects of it, though it’s not always that intense. I expect...to be held to a standard by Nate, and that he will allow me to take care of him. And well, eventually, he will claim someone else as well...so I expect that. I’m not sure I know how to answer that question, Sir.”

Will nodded along and listened, jotting down a few notes as Silas continued. Will's eyes rose from his paper, "Nate?" he asked calmly, "If you're serious about this, you could get into the habit of talking about him as if you belong to him." Will looked over his notes, making sure he understood what Silas was saying. "So you have a bit of a TPE relationship, and it's good that you both seem to be on the same page there. Did you receive any punishments or rewards throughout the passed month?"

Silas: Silas turned towards Nate, assuming Will was saying the Dom's name to address him, but he quickly realized his mistake. "Oh I- Um, I- Yes, Sir. Sorry, Master," he said, to Will, then Nate. He felt his cheeks blush. How could he have made such a silly mistake in front of the headmaster? Silas nodded along, "Yes Sir...most of the rewards were sexual I'd say....punishments...well we do maintenance punishments every week, and those are usually a spanking of some kind. I don't think I earned any official punishments this month, though he corrects me sometimes with just words or threats or denying me. sir."

Will nodded as Silas corrected himself. "Maintenance punishments? That's interesting and not something a lot of younger people consider. And what are the purpose of your maintanence punishments?" he asked.

Silas: "When we heard about in class, we both thought it would be a good idea, Sir. I'm sure there is a lot more to it, but for me, it helps me remember my place. If my ass is sore, every time I sit or move, I think of Nat- Master and how I should behave and his rules and all of what it means to be his. And it makes me feel like he cares about me- that he cares enough to do it, to make sure I know my place and make sure I have a reminder of the rules and that I'm his."

Will nodded again. "Sounds like it's done it's job then," Will commented. "And how do you feel about His rules? Are there any that are hard for you to follow?"

Silas: Silas swallowed and glanced at Nate who gave him a reassuring nod. "I feel-...they're good? I like them a lot actually, Sir. They make me feel...safe I guess that's the word." He smiled and chuckled a little, " The one about referring to him not by his name is a little rough as know. I always call him Sir or Master, but I don't always when I'm speaking about him and not to him. It's a bad habit I'm sure that N-Master will help me break. Sometimes the not using the toilet without permission is hard, but that's been a rule with us for a long time and I'm getting better at it. I think they're all hard in different situations, but generally, I'm glad they're there and happy with them Sir. And I look forward to us adding more rules as we grow."

Will "And you feel these are struggles that you've worked on in the last month? Sounds like something you'll continue to work on as well, though that's to be expected," He agreed. "How do you feel things go outside of the school. When there are other DOminants watching you and judging you. Do you stay in your role even outside these walls?"

Silas: "Yes Sir, I've been trying to think about how my actions reflect on Master and how what I say reflects on him as well. I'm not always great at it, but I've been trying very hard to think before I speak and whatnot this past month. " He cocked his head, thinking over the question. "Do you mean in town, Sir? I think I keep my role in town, Sir and on the trips we've gone on. I actually think about how I represent Master more when I'm outside the school I think. I'm not always perfect at it, and I just this weekend got very out of line with Switch and I couldn't help it, but I apologized and accepted the punishment from Master for handling the situation inappropriately. Master helps me stay focused. I would be a mess without him guiding me."

Will "It's always good to know both your strengths and weaknesses," will agreed. "In town for now, since you can't really go anywhere else. But just more in the real world that you've expereinece so far," he clarified. He nodded as Silas spoke, "Sounds like you've got a decent grasp of this. Now, you've mentioned a second claim in the future. How is this something you're going to handle?"

Silas: "Yes Sir. In New Orleans we scened and continued our normal D/s relationship and rules throughout the weekend." He flashed Nate a smile, remembering their night on the balcony. "Yes Sir. Um, well I don't think it's something to handle, Sir. It's what my Dom wants and I want it too. I think it will be nice to have someone around to help with things, and confide in, talk to, scene with all of that. I'm sure it will be a major adjustment, and ultimately the decision is Master's but I trust him to choose someone who is right for both of us and who will fit in. We have a very open relationship, one where we both scene and have sex with other people without problems or jealousy, so I think that will help with adjusting to having another sub involved, though, for now, I think we both want to focus on us and figuring out our claim before Master finds his second claim."

Will listened as Silas told his story, making very valid points and nodding along, finding himself impressed with how Silas was looking at the situation. "Jealousy is the quickest way to destroy something," Will agreed, "And I would suggest that best. To not rush into a second claim too quickly before things settle down." Will put his pen down and looked over at Sue, "I think that answers my questions. Miss Sylvester?"

Sue: Sue cleared her throat. “Mmhmm So Mr. Lynn, bagged yourself a sub, hm? What’s your plan then? What is this claim supposed to look like? The sub and you traveling the world together, frolicking in every pool in the world?”

Nate cleared his throat as the focus went to him and took a deep breath. "Seems so, Headmistress." He took a deep breath, this was way more nerve wrecking than he thought it was going to be. "Well, the basic plan is that if this claim is approved, we're gonna spend a lot of time focused on that. On our life together, makin' sure rules can be followed and enforced, tweakin' anythin' that'll need it. Eventually, I hope to find a second claim, then focusin' on bringin' that together. But if you're meanin' once we're graduated, yeah, I do hope to make the Olympic swim team which would require some travel for all of us. But between that, my plan is to go to college, major in teaching with a history minor and teach history at the high school level. And, hopefully some day colligately. I fully support if Silas wants to further his education and I would encourage him to get a degree in business cos his dream is to open a small business like a book store or a cafe. I would support that."

Sue: Sue watched Silas, not Nate as the Dom spoke, wanting to see if Silas heard anything new or surprising- though the only reaction she saw was when the Dom spoke of the subs dream and that seemed more like embarrassment. “You think you’re makijg the Olympic team? Well, we all got to dream I suppose. I once dreamt I was Giraffe with acne.” She shuffled some papers and looked up, staring down Nate. “Your subs got quite the mouth on him, don’t you correct that?”

Nate "I think i have a good chance, yea," he said confidently, "But if I don't, I got a solid plan B," he said, trying not to chuckle at the giraffe comment. "Of course I do. It used to be way worse, Headmistress," Nate reminded her, "And he now counts on me to correct him, to remind him of certain things. And ya might not see it, cos a lot of it happens privately. But since we've been workin' on it, he's been able to come back from those situations and avoid gettin' in over his head."

Sue: Sue pulled her glasses off to get a better look at these two boys. Other than the subs mouthy outbursts, they hadn't caused too much trouble. She eyed Silas, who nodded in agreement to Nate's words. "I see...and how do you correct him?" If she was being honest, when it came to approving or not approving claims, she generally went with her gut just used the interviews to torture the students. "What will do you do if Silas falls in love with someone else?"

Nate took a minute to put his words together as he looked over at Silas, then back at Sue. "Well, there is some sway depending on the infraction. Usually for disrespect it's some sort of physical discipline - spanks, rice kneelin' or clothespins. Followed by a talk about behavior and an apology to the person he had disrespected. Sometimes if the infraction turns from disrespect into an arguement, there's an element of cooling off either in a corner or in a room where he can think about his actions for a bit as well." He really didn't know how to answer that question. He wanted to say it wouldn't happen, but he didn't see that going over very well. "I dunno that I can answer that right now, Headmistress. Not to say I haven't thought about it, but it's not a high concern at the moment. I would imagine, in that event, there would be a long discussion and if it was somethin' he truly wanted in his life, we'd figure out how to make it work within our claim."

Sue: "So you have no plan in place in the case of love? I see..." She really couldn't care less, but she liked watching the students squirm. "And what if you fall in love?"

Nate shrugged, "I'll be honest, it's not somethin' I worry about. Neither Silas or I are big on the romantic kinda love. But i'm committed to him completely, Headmistress. I'm devoted to his health, safety and wellbein'. Love ain't gonna change that. And if I do...well, we've discussed if that would happen and Silas came first. My devotion to my submissive will always come first, above all else."

Sue: “So you say...” She did have more faith in a non romantic claim, but she doubted anyone who said they had no intention of falling in love. “So what Silas’biffest strength and weakness? And what are yours as a pair? “

Nate took a deep breath as he thought "I think the easiest way to explain that is to put them together. Cos both of our best strengths and weaknesses are similar and kind of answer the biggest of both for us as a pair. Silas has a laundry list of strengths but the biggest bein' his loylaty - to me, to his family, to his mark. All those things are important enough to him to fight for and I admire that. I'd like to believe I'm just as loyal to him and what we've built together. Our biggest weakness however, I think that's our inability to open up. I think the communication is good, but we struggle with talkin' about the things that are really hard. We get to it eventually, but gettin' there is sometimes a little bumpy."

Sue: “Communication is very important to a successful claim. It’s the foundation of every thing that is D/s, a little worrisome that that’s the thing the two of you struggle most with, hm?” She shook her head and made some dramatic notes. “Will, anything else for these two morons?”

Nate "Headmistress...it's not communication as a whole we struggle with. Most of the time he knows what I need before I do and vise versa. We're good at knowin' things we need to know. We're just still workin' on the emotional part of lettin' things in," he explained in a last ditch effort.

Will looked over his notes, "Well, I don't know that I have any other questions. I think we've gotten all the information we need, boys."

Sue: “Mmhmm this won’t take long boys. Step out side and let us confir,” she said, ushering the two out. When they were out, she put her foot up on will’s desk, stretching her hamstring. “Let’s get this over with yeah? I say we just toss them both to the auction house, yeah?”

Will rolled his eyes, "That can't be your answer for everything, Sue. Didn't we go through this last year?" Will looked as his notes again, humming a Journey tune to himself as he looked it over. "I mean, there are some concerns," he said sing-songing, "but I feel like it's mostly nitpicking stuff."

Sue: “Why? Why though? Why can’t it? We’d never have to worry about our percentages if we just deny them all.” She continued stretching, “yeah like that subs got a mouth and they can’t communicate?” She sighed and figured she should be serious for a moment if she ever wanted to get out of here and to the gym. “But they’ve been together for a longtime and they aren’t in loooove and all google eyed. He seems genuinely devoted to Mr. Lynn, for better or worse and Lynn seems to be the Dom of choice for half the subs here. So, there’s that. Let ‘em have it and we can always revoke it later.”

Will looked at her blankly, "If we never approved any that makes our precentage zero, Sue," he reminded her. "Well, I do see your concern there. But it sounds like their struggle with communication thing is romantically, which is not something we normally concern ourselves with," he said. "I do worry abotu Silas' mouth in high stress situations however. Though, I don't know that Nate couldn't handle it." Will nodded along with Sue's points as well. "I would agree with approving it, yes."

Sue: “Alright. Well then let’s get this over with, I can feel myself getting older and fatter just sitting here.” She opened the door and ushered the two boys back in. “We’ve made our decision. If you choose to pursue a legal claim, at this point...with in the next thrity days...we- headmaster scheuester and myself, Sue Sylvester, Cheerios head coach, most winningest coach in the great state of Ohio and Fitness magazine’s July 2009 cover girl...we have decided that- should you offer this submissive a collar...we would approve the request.” A small smile crossed her lips as she drug things out just to torture them, though a part of her shriveled heart did enjoy watching their faces light up when she said she’d approve it.

Silas: Silas knelt beside Nate outside the door. After a few moments of silence he looked up and whisper, “don’t drown, Master.” when the door opened he felt his heart drop. He followed his Master in and knelt beside him. his emotions were all over the place as Sue seemed to drone on and on and not get to the point. But when she finally did he sighed in relief. “Thank you... thank you both,” he said, a huge smile turning his lips.

Nate smiled back and ran his fingers through his hair. "Don't drown, Prince," he smiled back and they entered the room. Nate had no idea what that woman was going on about, but heard what he wanted to hear and smiled, standing to shake hands, which was met by will, and dismissed by Sue. "Thank you both for your time and your decision."

#para #p silas #exit interview #[the prince who kneels before you]#about silas

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