#its learning for the sake of learning instead of memorizing things for a test

[dreamsy990]

on the first day of school one time one of my teachers was asking the class to share all their opinions as like a get to know each other thing and one was 'is cheating okay' and apparently my opinion on this. did not align with almost anyone else (that couldve just been because they didnt want to admit it in class) so i am asking the people. to be clear when i say grade school i mean from grades 1-12. This is NOT about anything past that.

[kimberly-spirits13]

Batfam reacting to Tims bf being a magic user something similar to a wizard/witch with having to use spells from a spell book or memorizing it and sometimes have to use physical items to cast them

I truly want this cause i want a reaction from Damian when he walks into a room and see’s tims bf floating legs crossed his eyes glowing to the color of his power and the pages of the book turning on its own

I’m going to do a shorter one since I’m traveling rn

Dick would think everything is pretty cool

He’s into the magic stuff with all of his friends and the fact that he grew up in the circus

Magic is probably kind of comforting to him in a way

He is curious about the book though

I have some theories that only magic users will be able to read the book so he looks at it like 🥸🤔

He’s got no idea

Like he wants to learn about it but there’s so much to learn

Jason thinks it’s a bit creepy and first

Duke is probably the same way

I feel like Duke would be slightly religious so he’d be over there internally like 😰✝️✝️✝️

Poor Duke needed a while to get used to it 

Jason kind of he just like yea whatever in person

But internally he’s like- I swear if this is Constantine magic I’m abandoning this family

He and Duke are taking Alfred and Cass and RUNNING

Alfred is fine with it as long as you don’t break anything

Like please keep the house tidy- that’s all he asks

Luke and Bruce are the ones who want to run tests at any point

Can you do this? What about this? How does this work?

Bruce is more cautious about it though cause he’s distrusting of magic

Steph is the meme of SHAPES AND COLORSSS

she’s just mesmerized with no shame

Looks like a kid in a candy store or at Disney

She doesn’t even try to play it cool she’s just like 😧 the entire time

Cass is really chill

She likes to study her stuff when you’re working because you just don’t make too much of a ruckus about things

She thinks it’s pretty neat too since she likes to learn about everything

Damian is slightly polarized and indignant about it

If he walks in a room and you’re mid air doing some kind of magic he’s booking it

*in Arabic* “for grandfather’s sake I can’t get a moment of peace in this household”

Backs away slowly from the room

He won’t ask questions but will instead just assume things based off of what he’s seen

More of a hypothesis kind of guy

Just don’t touch his pets and you’ll be fine

[romanticchemacademic]

Dear future health professionals and stem professors,

We need a revolution of thought. Only through a renaissance of pure and genuine passion towards medicine and other sciences will we have competent doctors, nurses, other healthcare workers, and teachers. We live in a world where people pursue noble professions for the sake of social and economic advancement. However, we lack individuals who love the process of learning and their career.

I recollect quite a marvelous excerpt written by one of the world’s greatest scientific minds, Albert Einstein. In his book, The World As I see It he writes:

ACADEMIC CHAIRS ARE MANY, but wise and noble teachers are few; lecture rooms are numerous and large, but the number of young people who genuinely thirst for truth and justice is small. Nature scatters her common wares with a lavish hand, but the choice sort she produces but seldom.

We all know that, so why complain? Was it not ever thus and will it not ever thus remain? Certainly, and one must take what nature gives as one finds it. But there is also such a thing as a spirit of the times, an attitude of mind characteristic of a particular generation, which is passed on from individual to individual and gives a society its particular tone. Each of us has to do his little bit towards transforming this spirit of the times.

Compare the spirit which animated the youth in our universities a hundred years ago with that prevailing today. They had faith in the amelioration of human society, respect for every honest opinion, the tolerance for which our classics had lived and fought. 

  I believe that one of the faults lies within education institutions. Educators rely on testing, textbooks, and detached memorized lectures. Lectures lack passion and another essential factor: the real practice. The theory is important but the practice is necessary to understand the theory. But without passion, nobody will learn to love the material being taught. Ibn Sina is known for being one of the greatest physicians and teachers of Islamic medicine. I am not completely sure whether what I am about to mention is true. But I read that when he lectured theory to the medical students at the Madrassa (University) he would show them how it worked. Besides medical history and theory. He also taught physics, astronomy, philosophy, and mathematics. However, he is also famed for being an excellent teacher duly because he would take his students to test out the theories and practice what they have been taught. If they were learning medical theory, they were taken to the hospital to observe patients and their cases. If they were learning astronomy, they would all gather in the evening to look up at the heavens to look at the constellations. Lastly, his passion for his vocation was the final touch. Educators without the drive cannot teach. Learning is about understanding oneself, others, and the world. Learning evolves our minds and our spirits by making us get in harmony with the universe. I believe this ties in with Aristotle’s famous saying, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Though my interpretation may be a wee bit off, I translate it as thus; we can gather all textbook knowledge as possible but if we do not put into practice the knowledge learned, what is the point? I yearn and I pine to experience all that I have learned. I want to see why the theory makes sense in reality. I want to conduct experiments. So much potential is being wasted. Biology is the study of life. However, when I took the course, it was so cold to a point that it did not even feel like I was studying the human body but something alien instead. There is also such a rush to memorize material within a couple of weeks because of exams that the material ceases to be interesting and becomes more of an arduous chore instead. Our sense of time-shifted completely after the industrial revolution. Perhaps this is a reason why we feel the need to rush through everything and not take our time to study profoundly. 

We need another Scientific Revolution, curious minds thirsting for the acquisition of knowledge and unanswered questions. However, I believe that the leading force behind this is a necessity. I would like to mention an example to illustrate what I mean from a novel I read a while ago called, The Physician by Noah Gordon. A boy from Medieval Europe lost his mother from an unknown disease leaving him orphaned. He then grew up with the necessity to learn what the disease was and how to prevent other similar deaths, so that others do not suffer what he has suffered. He then worked with Barbers (people who performed medical procedures in Medieval Europe). But the medical knowledge these professionals had was not enough to answer his question. Thus, he traveled to Persia where there was a quite renowned and exclusive medical school. He did not have the economic means or previous schooling to attend but he impressed the headmaster with his passion and knowledge. Thus, the headmaster admitted him into the Madrassa. The European boy then invested all his time doing research, dissections and treating patients until he finally found out what ailment caused his mother’s death, side sickness (appendicitis). He figured out a way to treat this illness, removal of the appendix. From his initial necessity which was the driving force for him to pursue a medical career, he became a famous physician and felt that all his suffering and odyssey were worthwhile. The sense of necessity leads to the feeling of passion. It was his love for his mother that made him follow such a journey full of obstacles. I am beginning to apply that to my own life. I want to figure out my necessity which will be the driving force to power through university and medical school without ever feeling burnt out. I want to feel fulfilled. I believe this is what all pre-medical students and teachers should think about. What is your necessity? We are going to be dealing with human life, someone’s mother, father, friend, sister, uncle, lover, husband, or child...It is not something to be taken lightly. I know so many doctors lacking empathy because they went into the medical field with just the intention of being acknowledged as “Doctors” and getting rich. But I feel that even the most apathetic healthcare workers can become great empathetic professionals the moment they realize that something was triggered deep inside them, perhaps a loved one having an unknown disease. This would lead the apathetic doctor to do mass amounts of research to try to find a cure. This feeling becomes a necessity. A necessity to not lose the loved one. A necessity to save lives. Thus, finding passion, purpose, and becoming a better person. Though each person is different, we all share a selfish feeling. Most of the time we do not truly care about other peoples’ suffering until it happens to us. Once we are affected by something, we drive all our time and attention to find a solution or a way to deal with a problem. We become consumed and completely obsessed by it. I regard this as passion. I do not think passion subsides, it lingers on inside us. It is a fire that never burns out. I remember my high school teacher writing in my yearbook:

Remember a few things, BE PATIENT. You are eager and you will accomplish so much. But take your time, you are always rushing. Life is a journey, it is not about the destination. Be picky. You love everything with enthusiasm but enthusiasm can burn out. Find a fire inside yourself that burns for a long time.

-V

We cannot rush our personal legend. I believe it comes to us. It is Maktub (it’s written). But we also have to do something. Imagine you are on a stranded island but you have a machete, a fishing rod, coconuts, a cave for shelter, wood for a fire, an ocean full of fish. Everything required for survival is there, but you simply have to cut open the coconut with the machete, go fishing for food, fire to cook, and warmth. The fish isn’t going to swim right into your hands and the fire will not light itself. We must use our resources and do our bit. The Universe has a lot going on, we must help out a bit.

If you ever think about quitting, try to remember what made you start your odyssey in the first place. I do not know what my necessity is yet but that is okay. I believe it will come to me eventually. So for now, I simply love to romanticize academia. I like to imagine the: earthy tones of the universities archways, cobblestone paths, laboratories with clean Erlenmeyer flasks, beakers, pristine white lab coats, bunsen burner flames changing colors as different salts are added, Bromothymol Blue pen stains, elegant calculations inside a worn leather-bound notebook, formulas scrawled over the blackboard, forgotten cold Irish breakfast tea on the desk, academics discussing theories, applause from a successful experiment, gray rainy days spent inside the lab, Whitman, Hemingway, et Sir Arthur Conon Doyle being read during break, intellectual conversations with professors, chemistry reports being written, molecular models built, volumes of ancient words, fire slowly burning in the stone fireplace, trying to understand, looking at the constellations on a clear night in the astronomy tower, reciting poetry, Tchaikovsky playing whilst completing a long lab report on Lê Chatelier’s theory of Equilibrium, curious minds, sleepless evenings in the library, beautiful anatomical illustrations...Just imagining these things motivate and inspire me to continue my path. Though it may seem superficial, it awakens something inside me. I yearn and I pine to become a Chemistry Romantic. 

I want to conclude this letter by saying that pupils and educators keep ideals alive and can change them accordingly as well. We have the power to become excellent professionals or simply exist and do nothing for the human race. But if you plan on becoming a physician or educator, you must find the trigger which brings your passion to life, your necessity. Once you find that, you are guaranteed greatness and fulfillment. However, do not rush. Perfection takes time. A couple of obstacles should not hinder you from persevering. Many will tell you to give up but do not. That is the Universe testing you. Do your best until you master the topic. Once you know better, you are then able to do better. 

Regards,

Confessions from a Chemistry Academic

[bigwhispersbluebird]

Kiss me behind closed doors

How long can you keep a relationship hidden? What happens when the truth comes out and burns everything in its wake? Even the love that once felt enough. 

Relationship: Namjoon!idol x Reader!idol

Canon compliant, angst, hints of smut

Author’s note: Another two-shot. Angst cause I am a bitter soul nowadays

The moonlight peeked through the curtains of the window, striking his naked back directly as he slept soundly on the side of my bed he had claimed as his own. I watched the white light illuminate the dips and curves of his back as if kissing him just like I had when he had showed up at my backdoor like it was routine. 

And perhaps it was. Sneaking to each other’s places in the quiet of the night, stolen glances in a room full of people and text messages sent and deleted over and over again. 

As I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his sleeping form, I tried to memorize his face. The dragon eyes that seemed so innocent like this, the high rising cheekbones melting into deep dimples on the corner of his lips which highlighted the sharp jawline that arched into a prominent Adam’s apple. I curled into myself, wrapping my arms around my knees that were pushed into my body and inhaled his musky and woodsy scent that I was covered in, my eyes still not leaving him. 

When I first met Kim Namjoon, we both were stripped bare of the fame, money and eyes of people that urged us to be perfect. We were both on separate vacations and happened to run into each other at a club. Recognizing him, I had bowed to him slightly from afar and that was it. But the next day when I walked into a small local bookstore located at the edge of an alleyway, familiar eyes, now hidden behind thick black rimmed glasses, were staring at mine. Small conversation about books and we thought that it would be the last time these chance meetings would occur. But it was like the universe had conspired against us, throwing us together in the same places at the same time and it was a test of restraint and patience; what we both lacked as the pull between us got stronger everyday as we learned more and more about each other. 

The day before I had to return back home, a knock on my door had startled me because I knew who it was before I had even looked through the peephole. I often go back to that day. What would have happened if I had not opened the door? What if I had not let him utter all the things I had ached to hear? What if I had not let him pull me to him and close the door behind us? What if I had not let him stay the night? Or on all the nights that followed?

Maybe then I would not be sitting here on my own bed, afraid to fall asleep because that would mean losing time that was already running out. 

In Seoul, Kim Namjoon was RM, the leader of BTS, and I had no right to have him as a lover in my bed every night knowing well that the moment everyone found out that he was dating a controversial solo artist, everything would crash, burn and crumble into ashes at our feet. 

“We should stop”, I would say between fervent kisses getting deeper every time and he would kiss me more deeply, digging his long fingers in my hips agreeing, “We should”, but neither of us would stop, we could not. 

I don’t know how long I just sat in the same position on the bed but when a notification on his phone illuminated the screen and showed the time, I was brought out of my thoughts. The sun would be out soon and it was wise for him to leave before that. That was the norm after all. 

But as I inched closer to him, his hand reaching out in his sleep for mine, the bitter and sad part in me ached to stop being wise and smart. I wanted to let him sleep through the night and the morning. I wanted to wake him up with a good breakfast made out of the tons of groceries that I would shop for every month, only to toss them out the next. I wanted him to sit with me as we did everything and nothing at all. 

But I could not be selfish with him. 

And so, I softly tried to shake him up awake, “Joon, it is almost morning”.

Groggily, he replied, “What is the time?”.

“It is almost 5″.

At that, he immediately opened his eyes and jolted himself awake- getting up and searching for his clothes. Like routine, I got up from my place and helped him, handing him his shirt as he slipped on his pants. I watched him get ready, mask in place and a dark baseball cap lowered on his head, covering most of his face. Through the entire commotion, he had not spared me a single glance. If he had, he would know that with each article of clothing that he draped on himself, I felt like he was ripping it off me till I was completely unsheltered and cold.

When he was finally dressed, he slipped on his coat and made his way to the backdoor and I tiptoed behind him, opening the door before he could to check if anyone was outside. The area of my house was secluded and not many celebrities lived there either hence, we both barely went to Namjoon’s place. Like always, no one was around and I nodded at Namjoon. 

That is when he finally noticed, me and all the giveaways of a disturbed night in my eyes. He knew what was the cause of this and I saw him try to form words that would offer me some comfort. The great Namjoon, who would write meaningful lyrics on a spur and give speeches on massive platforms seemed so vulnerable, standing at my backdoor trying to wonder if words could be of any help and a part of me ached for him. 

I reached forwards, clinging to his massive body, my neck wounding around his neck, inhaling him. “I know”, I whispered in his ear and felt his arms tighten around me. The embrace did not last long and he kissed me one last time before he ran towards the street where he knew his driver would be waiting for him. 

Once he disappeared from my sight, I closed the door and slipped to the floor. The house suddenly felt vacant, even I felt vacant without his arms to touch me and his fingers to graze mine. 

I knew he was going through the same turmoil. When we both had gotten together, we knew it was not going to be easy but we both were prepared to adapt to however the circumstances would be. But after five years of hiding and sneaking, horrible rumors and no sight of any change in our situation in the near future had made us question how long could we keep this up for. I was exhausted and so was he. We would have pulled back a long time ago had not we been crippled by our feelings for each other. 

While the distance would torture us, it was during our breaks and vacations where everything would fall back into place and we would be reminded why we chose this. But I wonder now if those days of peace are worth breaking a piece of me every time he leaves.

*****

“Namjoon, is everything okay?”

Yoongi and Jin had watched for quite some time that Namjoon was disturbed. As the leader, he would barely show any signs of pain or weakness but it was quite evident that he was not in the right state of mind. Not to mention, his songs were now melancholic and painful, as if saying what he could not utter himself. 

“Of course”, Namjoon said a little too quickly and Jin quickly interrupted, “Don’t even try. We won’t believe you. So why don’t you just tell us”.

Namjoon lowered his head, finally letting the weight on his shoulders crush him and his hands  came to cover his face. 

“Is it Y/N?”, Jin asked hesitantly and Namjoon could not help but let out a sarcastic laugh. “I wish it was. I really wish it was her who was screaming and fighting with me about our situation. I wish she would stop opening whenever I knock on that damn door. Instead she lets me watch as she gets hurt everyday”, he was now screaming but he did not care. “You know how many times I met her in the last six months?”, not awaiting an answer, he continued, “Not once unless it was to stand at her backdoor at midnight so I could kiss her and sleep with her because I am scared that without these asshole-ish reminders of us, she will up and leave.” 

The room stayed silent when he stopped speaking, the only sounds audible were of his heavy breathing as he tried to compose himself. 

“She deserves better than a late night rendezvous. This is the woman I have loved for years for fuck’s sake!”.

“Namjoon, you people are not in an easy situation”, Jin tried speaking, “these few hours are all you both can afford and we know that it is difficult but this woman is enduring all this for you, for this relationship that you both have. How about this? As soon as we are done with the promotional activities, take her somewhere”. 

“And after that, hyung? Back to this?”, the question rendered Jin speechless. 

The room was quiet again. 

“Announce it”.

Yoongi was the one to break the silence. 

“What?”, Namjoon asked, genuinely confused. 

Yoongi sat straighter, leaning a bit more towards the younger one who sat across him. 

“Announce your relationship with Y/N. Whatever happens, we will handle it. I know that the general public does not like her a lot but most of our fans will be fine with it. About the rest, we will manage it. How long will the anger stay?”, Yoongi was talking as if it was the easiest thing in the world and the person in question stared at him like had lost his mind. 

“It is not that easy...”, Namjoon spoke up but was interrupted by the oldest. “Yoongi is right. Five years and on your way to the sixth. You people have endured enough and I know that you both deserve a fair chance at happiness. You know that so many people have dumped us because of the life we live but she has stood by you through it. It is high time that we all do this for her. And for you.”

“But...”

“No buts. I know that you cannot imagine losing her so it is not like we are making a casual relationship public. Just trust us. We will handle everything.”

Namjoon knew in his head that all this was easier said than done but as his older members kept talking, he could not help but accept that this was the right thing to do. You deserved more than just being fucked by your boyfriend in the late hours of the night and then left all alone. You did not deserve to have BTS pass you by in public because you were controversial when behind closed doors, you would share homemade meals and inside jokes. 

It was not going to be easy, but he would do it. For you. For him. But little did he know, that his well kept secret would soon be revealed to the world, but not in the way he could have ever anticipated. Not in a way that would forever end what you both had. 

[zordonmlw7]

Plaguetober Day 1 - Magic✨

“I’m never going to pass.” 

Aerithea was staring blankly into her conjuration textbook. The mechanical clocks that all the wizards used over digital because it was ~aesthetic~ said it was 11:15 PM. Less than 10 hours until the exam.  And she still didn’t know any of the material.

She conjured herself some scotch.

She may not be able to understand the metaphysical properties that allowed her to rewrite the laws of thermodynamics and convert mana into physical matter but she definitely DID know how to drink her problems away. And drink she did! In one go.

She stepped out of her dorm room to find the halls strangely empty.  Midterms, she supposed.  Stepping out of the building, Aerithea was greeted by the full moon.  Great, that means the werefolk are transforming.  The werefolk fraternities tended to throw wild parties during full moons that made parking anywhere in a 2 mile radius impossible. Today, however, the streets seemed eerily empty.  She supposed even frat guys worry about midterms.  

She sat on the steps and stared up at the vast and starry night sky. Aerithea had always been a natural conjurer. Her parents said the first spell she ever cast was one that conjured snow because she had wanted to build a snowman during the summer.  All she wound up with was a puddle and wet clothes that her parents had to change her out of, but still. Her junior year of high school, she even made the school conjuration team and helped them reach second at the State competition, the highest her school had ever placed.  

So when it came time to apply for colleges, it made sense to apply as a conjuration major.  She just never expected it to be so boring.  It was magic, for the gods’ sakes! She can’t even remember the last time she actually conjured something for class.  It was all theory.  How mana gets converted into matter and energy. WHATEVER! She just wanted to shoot fireballs and magically make stuff so she didn’t have to buy it herself.  Why did she need to learn about the metaphysical properties of the universe?

A shiver suddenly ran up Aerithea’s spine. She searched her pockets for magic dispeling pepper spray but realized she left it in her room. A voice rang in her head. “I sense you are troubled. Perhaps you are in need of… assistance?”

Aerithea quickly caught on to what was happening.  “Okay, just show yourself,” she said.

A misty figure appeared before her.  Shrouded in black, and too ephemeral to have a precise form, the only details she could make out were glowing yellow eyes and a black-lipped grin revealing pearly white fangs. “Greetings,” the figure said.

“You want to make a pact with me, don’t you?” Aerithea asked while rolling her eyes.

The figure did not respond and just awkwardly maintained its attempt at a menacing face.

“...Well, yes,” it finally said. “I can grant you the power you need to pass your conjuration test,” it stated with a bit more confidence.  

“Yeah, I…” As Aerithea spoke, she conjured an ice sculpture of a cherub with the figure’s same expression. “...got the conjuration part down.”

The figure continued to grin awkwardly. “...Oh.”

“What kind of divination did you even use to find me?” Aerithea asked.

“Well, I figured there would be plenty of students who would need help with their midterms so I used a tracking spell that was attuned to stress levels and thoughts of the word ‘test’. And then when I found you, I just did a surface level mind scan to see what words you had associated with ‘test’ and I found ‘conjuration’ so I figured…” the figure said.

“That sounds like something we had to do for Professor Dowty’s introductory divination course.” Aerithea said.

“That’s who I’m taking!” the figure responded.

“Yeah! She’s nice.  Watch out for her midterms though, they sneak up on you.” Aerithea said.

“Wait what?” The figure’s face went from a bad attempt at menacing to concerned. “But she said we covered everything that would be on the test during her review session.”

“Yeah, she always says that, but then the actual exam has a bunch of questions from the textbook that she never brings up during lecture.”

“What??? Why would she do that?”

Aerithea gave an apathetic shrug. “I remember her saying something about how it's explained in the syllabus that you’re ‘supposed’ to use divination to learn the questions ahead of time and study for them accordingly.”

“What? She can’t do that! Why would she put something in the syllabus and not mention it during class.  Especially with something like that! We haven’t even learned future telling yet!”

“You’re gonna have to ask her yourself. The one time I went to her office hours she pretty much spent the whole time ranting about how divination is about “knowing what you don’t know” or something.  All it did was make me glad I’m not a divination major, heh.”

“...Well shoot, I have her midterm tomorrow.”

“Well at least I won’t be the only one failing a midterm tomorrow!”

“Wait, why are you even stressed if you can make that?” The figure vaguely pointed to the ice sculpture that was already beginning to have its features melt away.

“Because… okay, could you stop being all… misty? It’s weird talking to someone like that.”

“Oh… right.” The mist dissipated, revealing the figure Aerithea had been talking to this entire time was a dark skinned fiend with black horns and a tail with an arrowhead shaped end.  

Aerithea responded, “Thanks.  Okay, anyways, it’s not that I can’t conjure, its that its a conjuration theory class so its all explaining how conjuration works.  The lectures are pointless to go to since the professor is basically just reading out of the textbook and drawing the diagrams straight from the textbook on the chalkboard. Then I don’t understand what the textbook is even saying half the time.  And when I ask the professor about it, he just repeats the same thing over and over again without actually explaining any of it.  It’s like we’re just supposed to memorize the book and write our answers word-for-word to get any credit for it.  I hate it.” 

“Yeah… that really sounds like it sucks. Makes me glad I’m majoring in patronage! We barely have to do any theory. We do have to take a bunch of practical classes, but they’re kinda fun sometimes, you know?”

“Yes!!! If I had known that majoring in conjuring would mean reading about conjuring all the time instead of actually doing it, I’d have majored in something else. It’s so frustrating.”

“Yeah, it sure sounds like it.”

The two just stood there, milling over their words.  It became uncomfortably silent.  Their conversation was clearly over, and the fiend was still there just awkwardly staring at the ground.

“... Anyways…” Aerithea finally broke the silence.  “I should probably go back to studying for the test so I can hopefully at least still do well enough to pass the class. Good luck with your midterm too!”

“Thanks!” the fiend responded.

Though she had expected the fiend to finally leave, it kept standing there, making Aerithea uncomfortable.  Deciding that ultimately, her studying was more important than awkwardly letting the fiend know where she lived, Aerithea broke and started heading back inside.

“Okay bye!” Aerithea said as she waved.

“Bye!” The fiend turned around and took a few steps before standing still again.  Aerithea had had enough and just walked in. 

Aerithea returned to her dorm to see her roommate, Lucille, had already gone to sleep.  Lucky bastard.  Figuring she shouldn’t ruin her sleep, especially since Lucille was a dreamwalker and would lecture Aerithea about it once she tried to sleep if she did, Aerithea picked up her books and went to study in the dorm common area. 

It was going to be a long night. 

[imaginetonyandbucky]

The Buy In

Chapter 7: Just One Night

by @dracusfyre

Bucky waited nervously for Tony to show up, forcing himself not to pace but unable to stop tapping his fingers against his knee as he sat on the couch and ignored the show he’d put on the television. In the past few hours he’d come to terms with the difficult realization that he was going to have to go to his handlers and recuse himself from this assignment. Having already made the decision to protect Tony from the raid, he couldn’t trust himself to not tamper with the investigation further, which would violate everything he believed in. Removing himself would set the investigation back for months, maybe even longer – which he couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about – but he couldn’t go through the motions for a mission he didn’t believe in. That was the whole reason he’d gotten out of the Army all those years ago. He knew he’d probably get busted down to traffic cop for his trouble, but it was the right thing to do.

All of which meant that Bucky had given himself permission to not be on duty during this dinner – he wasn’t going to try to glean more information about Tony’s operations or ask any probing questions so he couldn't make the conflict of interest any worse. Instead, Bucky could be nervous about the real matter at hand, which was that he was about to go on a date with a guy that Bucky liked way more than he should.

Not that it could go anywhere, Bucky told himself. He was still a cop, and Tony was still a crime lord, and he’d been lying to the man for months now. In any event, once he recused himself from the case, he would have to disappear from Stark’s life and reach completely; if he was being honest with himself, the smartest thing to do for his career would be to start looking for a new position outside of New York City right now, but he shied away from that thought for reasons he didn't want to think about too deeply.

But all of that was for future Bucky to worry about. For now, he was about to go out to dinner with a man who had been a runner up in People Magazine’s Sexiest Man of the Year contest multiple years in a row and who still made it onto the list of New York’s most eligible bachelors despite his “alleged” criminal ties. A man who liked chocolate chip cookies and fed bits of chicken to stray cats when he thought no one was looking.

Bucky blew out a breath and realized that he hadn’t brushed his teeth, so he got up and was headed for the bathroom when the buzz of his phone against the coffee table made him jump.

Here! The message came from an unknown number, but it had to be Tony. Bucky quickly swished some mouthwash and grabbed his wallet as he stepped into his shoes.

As soon as he got into the car he realized he had been so busy having a third-of-life crisis that he hadn’t even thought about where to go for dinner. “Hey,” he managed, feeling all of the excruciating awkwardness of a first date. Tony was dressed a lot like he had been earlier, with a suit coat over a plain shirt, but tonight it was black on black with a gleam of silver at Tony’s wrist. Bucky did his best not to stare but judging from the way the corner of Tony’s mouth was curling up, he probably failed.

“Hey, yourself, Blue Eyes,” Tony said. He gave Bucky an appreciative glance, lingering on his freshly shaven face, before he pulled away from the curb, which went a long way towards making Bucky feel less awkward. “You like Italian?”

“What’s not to like?” Bucky said philosophically.

“Good man,” Tony said. “My mother was Italian, so when I say this place has the best Italian food in the city, I know what I’m talking about." The drive went by quickly despite city traffic; Bucky asked about his mother’s family and in return got a ton of entertaining stories about Tony’s summers on his mother’s estate, including getting locked outside naked when a girl’s parents came home unexpectedly early. Soon enough they drove past a restaurant with people waiting outside, and Tony pulled around into the alley behind the restaurant that had at least four NO PARKING signs posted with a varying number of exclamation points and underlining. When Tony saw Bucky looking at one, he shrugged. “I don’t count,” he said, which Bucky could believe. They went in the back door of the restaurant and were immediately greeted by a smiling waiter, who escorted them to a private room where a table was set for two. The table was dwarfed by the space; this was clearly a room meant for a wedding or birthday party, but Tony must have reserved it just for them. The waiter took their drink orders (“Your usual, Mr. Stark?”) and as he left pulled a heavy curtain across the entrance to the room and the noise of the rest from the restaurant was muted. The lighting in the room was dim, the table was small, and the intimate feeling was exacerbated by the candle on the table.

Bucky started to say something about it, then realized he probably shouldn’t call attention to how romantic everything looked for the sake of his own sanity. He grabbed his menu and studied it, aware that Tony, having probably already memorized the menu, was studying him from across the table. “Are you going to judge me based on what I order?” he asked, meeting Tony’s eyes from over the top of the menu.

“Yes.”

“So it’s a test.” Bucky narrowed his eyes at Tony, as if trying to read his thoughts. After a moment, he folded his menu. “What do you recommend?”

Tony’s smile was blinding. “The eggplant rollatini with the tartufo for dessert.”

“Sounds delicious.” The waiter came back for their orders, bringing with him a bottle of wine that was so old its label was brittle and peeling away from the glass. He poured Tony a small amount, who tasted it and gave his approval, and then poured them both glasses. Bucky promised himself he would stop at the one glass – getting drunk tonight would be so stupid – but after he tasted the wine his conviction wavered. Whatever type of wine this was, even Bucky could taste that it was the Ferrari of booze. How often was he going to be wined and dined like this, after all? A bottle had what, like two glasses of wine apiece? He would be fine.

“So,” Tony said after the waiter left, crossing his arms and resting his elbows on the table. His eyes glinted with amusement. “Let’s talk about your five-year plan.”

Trying to smother a smile, Bucky crossed his arms as well. “Let’s talk about where you think your organization is going to be in five years, and I can tell you how I think I’ll fit into that plan.”

“Uh-huh,” Tony said skeptically. Then he sat up straight, cleared his throat and became what Bucky could only call Corporate Tony, face serious and tone strictly professional. “Well, I think this organization is best described as embarking on a period of rapid expansion while simultaneously consolidating the gains that we’ve made in the past few years. In many of our key industries we are working on horizontal and vertical integration in order to capitalize on economies of scale. Proceeds are invested back into the capital base and workforce, with the remainder being banked against future shortfalls. At the most recent shareholder meeting, members voted to waive the first quarter’s dividends in order to acquire assets for novel business ventures, putting us in a strong position for next year despite moderate economic headwinds.”

As Tony spoke, Bucky’s eyebrows climbed higher and higher. “Impressive,” he said. “You came up with that on the fly?”

“Well, I’ve been spinning bullshit to board members since I was old enough to vote, so I’ve had a lot of practice,” Tony said dryly, taking a sip of wine.

“Do you really have shareholders?”

“Yep. So many shareholders, for so many different businesses.”

“Is that-” Bucky was about to ask if the shareholder thing was related to the mysterious buy-in, but he reminded himself that he wasn’t working tonight. “Never mind. Well, the truth is, I don’t know where I’ll be in five years. The past few months have made me rethink a lot of things, and I’m trying to figure out my next step.”

“Oh?” Tony leaned forward again, gaze intent. “Want to talk about it?”

Bucky had self-preservation enough to know that talking about his crisis of conscience with the reason for that crisis was a bad idea. “Not just yet,” Bucky said. “I think…I think I need to figure out what I want, first.”

“Yeah, that’s usually a good first step.” Tony opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but he closed it and took a sip of wine. “What would you like to talk about instead?”

The conversation paused as the server brought out an appetizer (“Courtesy of the Chef, he’s trying a new recipe”), the service amazingly fast given the crowd that Bucky knew was on the other side of the curtain. Guess that was one of the perks of dining with the Tony Stark.

“Do you still have time to invent?” Bucky asked when they were alone again, scooping some of the appetizer onto his plate. Looked like calamari. “Like robots and stuff?”

Bucky could tell that he’d caught Tony by surprise with the question. “Someone’s been looking me up on the internet,” Tony accused with a smile, pointing his fork at Bucky.

If Bucky was a lesser man, he would have blushed – googling Tony Stark on his phone before going to sleep had become a guilty habit, from the early articles about him when his parents were alive to his college exploits to the frequent scandals of his twenties. Between all those, however, were periodic articles in scholarly journals attributed to “T.E. Stark” and more substantial think pieces in popular science magazines. “I like knowing who I’m working for,” Bucky said defensively, feeling the back of his neck get hot.

“Uh-huh. I do still tinker in my spare time, what I have of it,” Tony said. “Right now I’m working mostly in artificial intelligence. I have one, his name is JARVIS, that I’ve been tinkering with since college. I think machine learning algorithms are fascinating.”

“I read up about some AI initiatives when I was in the Army,” Bucky said. “For targeting and whatnot.” He had read even more about it once he became a cop, and he wasn’t at all enthused with the projects he’d heard about. “What do you do with it? Him,” he corrected.

“JARVIS helps me with work,” Tony said vaguely, fidgeting with his silverware before spearing a piece of calamari. “I got into AI when Stark Industries got awarded a cybersecurity contract. I kind of ran with it after we fulfilled the contract and JARVIS was the result."

Bucky almost dropped his fork when he got hit with a startling suspicion. Helps me with work. Was Tony’s mysterious accountant, that no one had ever seen or spoken to, that was able to hide his money from every regulatory body in the US government, an AI? The implications were staggering, not just for the case but for the tech industry as a whole. Bucky covered for his stunned silence by eating, washing down the food he was barely tasting with expensive wine. The irony was not lost on him that he just had the biggest scoop of the operation so far, hours after he’d decided that he was quitting the case.

“So how about you? What do you do in your free time?” Tony asked, topping off their glasses.

Bucky stared at him across the table, brain blanking. It took so long for his brain to shift gears from thinking about JARVIS to trying to think of what he did in his spare time that Tony started to give him a funny look. “Uh, nothing special,” Bucky said after a minute. Googling his boss certainly wasn’t a hobby, after all. “After spending so much time in military cafeterias, I’ve been trying to get better at cooking. I work out, it’s a good release. Read. Visit museums when I can. One of my friends is trying to get me into indy games, but we can't play often.”

“That sounds nice. Gotta maintain that work-life balance, right?” Tony said. “Smart.” There was a soft chime and Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket. Bucky tensed; he’d forgotten about the raid until he saw Tony’s phone, having turned off his own ringer so that his notifications wouldn’t drive him crazy. He watched Tony’s face warily, wondering if the chime was related to the raid. Surely there would be a phone call, though? From his lawyer, or his security at the garage? But whatever the notification was, Tony just scanned it briefly and put his phone back in his pocket. “Sorry,” he apologized. “The boss is always on the job.”

“It’s fine,” Bucky said, smiling faintly, but the rhythm of the evening had been thrown off; thankfully their food came out and Tony got them back on track by asking about Bucky’s time in the Army, which got him on a roll of telling funny stories about the stupid things he’d seen as a sergeant. Turns out Rhodes, Tony’s right hand man, had been in the Air Force and Tony threatened to get him on the phone to defend himself against Bucky’s digs against the “chair force.” Before he knew it, dessert had come and gone, the bottle of wine was empty and their glasses had been replaced with tiny cups of espresso.  The sound on the other side of the curtain to the rest of the restaurant had died down considerably, and the check had been dropped off so subtly that Bucky hadn’t even noticed it until Tony picked it up and put a healthy stack of bills in it.

“Want to go for a walk?” Bucky said impulsively, not quite ready for the date that shouldn’t be a date to end.

“Can’t,” Tony said regretfully. “No long walks for me anymore, not in the city at least.”

“Right.” Given the number of enemies Tony had, it was risky enough for him to be out without more protection than just Bucky without parading himself up and down sidewalks. “Guess its time to go home, then.”

“I could take you home, yes.” Tony said slowly, lining up the silverware in what Bucky realized was a show of nerves. After a moment he pushed them aside and met Bucky’s eyes across the table. “Or…”

Bucky’s heart leapt. “Or?”

“Or we could do something that we shouldn’t.”

Bucky’s breath caught in his lungs. There was a hopeful and hungry look in Tony’s eyes that made Bucky flush hot and then cold. It would be such a mad, bad idea to go to bed with Tony Stark; if he got caught, he’d go down in NYPD as the casebook example for how to fuck up an undercover assignment. On the other hand, tomorrow he would be requesting reassignment and would never see Tony again, so there would be just this one night. He could have that, right? Just one night for himself, this one selfish thing he could have before he left for good?

“Okay,” Bucky said. His heart was racing and he suspected if he didn’t have his hands wrapped around his empty espresso cup they would be shaking. “Tony, would you like to have another drink with me at my place?”

“I’d love to,” Tony said with a smile.

[chrysalispen]

upon pale dawns, prologue II: ardent for some desperate glory

AO3 Link HERE

=====

Castrum Abania, 9th Sun, Third Umbral Moon, Year 5 of the Seventh Umbral Era

The room was cold and its silence sterile, broken only by the sounds of a dry ticking from the digital wall chronometer and the soft and regular sighs of a sleeping man.

Silence in itself was hardly anything to be remarked upon, let alone a surprise. The research and development floors were always kept clear of unnecessary chatter in favor of the sound and rhythm of industry, small gears turning amidst the well-oiled machine of imperial conquest. Standard procedure, that. Especially when the work that took place away from prying eyes was exacting and often hazardous.

But for several hours, the relative darkness and the ambient cycling of the console's processor had been interspersed only with the low rumble of the central air unit and the rhythmic rattle of footsteps without the corridors, and Nero tol Scaeva had been awake for most of the past thirty hours. He had finally fallen asleep waiting for one of his processes to run and lay half-sprawled over the metal surface of the table: limbs immobile and lashes fluttering against his cheekbones as he drowsed at the empty work station he’d appropriated upon his arrival in the lower levels.

When the chiming began, it went unheeded at first. The timer had been set in this instance to ring without cessation, however, and after a few minutes had lapsed the sound began to send him drifting wide from his dreaming state by ilms. The transition from sleeping to wakefulness felt reluctant: heavy and sluggish, a pearl diver kicking against deep currents, breaking the surface tension of consciousness through brute force.

He blinked slowly, once, then twice, attempting to reorient himself.

The noise was also aggravating an incipient headache. Nero righted his posture with a tired grumble and smacked the damned thing until blessed silence reigned once more, before reaching for the mug he had left on a borrowed coaster (long since gone cold. His own fault, he owned). Sipping at its contents with a distasteful grimace - whoever had brewed the coffee, they had added too much water and the result was something weak and listless and far too bitter - he turned his attention towards the old Allagan testing module and its compiling readout.

It appeared to be reaching the end of its cycle. So he thought, until the activity scrolling across the screen flickered in place and pulsed once, twice, an arrythmia within the steady heartbeat of the machine. Nero swore under his breath when on its heels, a brief error message superimposed itself over the readout in black-bordered white. One he’d seen with far too many of these devices recently.

[Unable to read file. The current application will be terminated.]

An annoyed sigh escaped in a hiss between his teeth.

Brow wrinkled in thought, he stared at the screen for a few beats. This was but one of many datalog volumes his team had salvaged at the original site. The initial discovery had excited him - it had excited everyone, in fact, including the legatus - as it well should have done, but getting the godsdamned things to yield the fruit he sought was quickly proving to be an exercise in tedium.

Although Ultima’s original hardware was in surprisingly reasonable working order, several of the tomestones they had found in the same space had not proven to be nearly as resistant to the vagaries of time. Thus far, only a handful had relinquished their secrets without issue or delay. Not entirely unexpected, given their age and the conditions in which they’d been found, but unfortunate all the same.

The tribunus laticlavius of the XIVth Imperial Legion was not a patient man by nature, given to rather more direct methods of approach, but as a man of thirty-four winters with a good fifteen of them spent in the legions, he had very much learned the value of that particular skill. It was one he had developed through years of trial and error and the innate understanding of those traits his chosen craft required.

Magitek was not ineffable. It was parts and pieces that fit together neatly like a puzzle in the absence of human error. To guide and to create with these tools required a methodical mind and observant eye, as well as a certain degree of acceptance that on occasion one simply could not rush the desired results.

This was one such occasion. The end result, of course, would be worth the means. Or so one might fondly hope.  

Nero leaned forward and compressed the small button until the module had powered down and all that was left was the rumbling rattle of the castrum's central air unit (always running this time of year). A gentle tug freed the small tomestone from its moorings and he held it aloft to study the detailing, periwinkle-blue eyes squinting and straining against the red-tinged light from the fluorescents.

The small grooves caught the ambient lighting from the walls with each idle spin between his fingers. They seemed to mock him with each little shimmer: ancient secrets so painfully close to discovery that they lay mere ilms from his grasp. Secrets which promised a long and tedious process if he wished to claim them.

...Well. He’d do it, of course he would. Aught he deemed necessary - good, bad, or ugly - in order to see Project Ultima to completion. Even were it not his primary directive, he had always had every intention of plundering their contents at his leisure for the challenge of it and the knowledge to be had. This was but the least method at his disposal. There were some few other options he might employ, which might serve to successfully extract the data into some readable format that he could put to use.

While the old datalogs were fascinating, he wasn't spending his time reading them for a history lesson. No, what he sought was preliminary information, something upon which to safely extrapolate. Ideally he'd end up with a dossier of sorts which he could use to catalogue the Weapon’s original abilities, and enough code to piece together an operating system more or less analogous to that of Allag, albeit one powered by ceruleum instead of aether. If he could simply-

A much lower-pitched sound than his armor’s onboard timer - not an alarum but a harsh, flat buzz - cut through the quiet of the lab. Nero’s first inclination was to ignore it in favor of his study, but a second followed quickly on its heels, and a third. 

That, unfortunately, meant someone was expecting him to answer.

With a barely suppressed yawn he toggled the small red switch next to the wall’s built-in communications device. “Scaeva. Engineering," he said, keeping his tone clipped and curt- the voice of a man who would brook no disturbances. "State your business.”

The response he received was a very audible swallow followed with a hoarsely uttered, “Lord Scaeva?”

“Speaking."

"My lord?"

Nero sighed. "Speaking. As in 'with whom do I have the pleasure.' Name and rank."

“Oh. Terribly sorry, my lord. I, erm, Quintus pyr Blasio. Lord, uh. Tribunus. Sir.”

Seven hells. Not a name Nero recalled, though he rarely had reason to trouble himself over memorizing the personnel that manned every garrison between Ala Mhigo and the Velodyna fringes. Some poor bastard who was likely the first man flagged down for runner duty by his direct report, no doubt. Some poor bastard who was also either too dazzled or too shit-scared of speaking to the legion's top brass to string three coherent words together. Just what he needed.  

“...Go on,” he prompted when the man said nothing further.

“Lord Sc-”

“I daresay we’ve both established our identities at this juncture," impatience and lingering drowsiness rendered his response a sardonic drawl, for all its erstwhile civility. "The message, if you please.”

“Message, my lord?”

“Yes. The message. That is why you’ve called to interrupt my current litany of scheduled tasks, or so I assume?”

“Ah... y-yes. Yes, my lord.” The speaker at the other end of the connection paused, and on its heels came the sound of a clearing throat. “Ah, Lord van Baelsar asked that I, er, that is, he requests your presence to discuss-”

“He wants me to attend a meeting,” Nero cut in. “When and where?”

“Half four, my lord. Ah- in Sector VI. The administrative complex south of the new hangar.”

Half four- it was five minutes past now. With the identification checks and elevators taken into account, that gave him about ten minutes' leeway. The timing would be somewhat tight to work in, perhaps, but it was perfectly feasible.

The man’s nervous, ragged breathing crackled across the link; the only other sound was the flat drumming of Nero’s fingertips upon the metal surface as he mentally rearranged the next hour he’d dedicated to other tasks. It was an inconvenience to be certain. He was going to have to run the process once more after some adjustments were made, and clearly, it would need closer supervision. Meaning the sleep he knew he needed was not going to be an option.

But this summons still amounted to an order, and hardly one he could disregard or countermand. Heavily classified weapon project or no.

“Understood," he said at last. "Inform the legatus that I will be along presently."

"I will, Lord tol Scaeva. I-"

"In future, do make some bare attempt at brevity when delivering messages, tessarius- for your own sake.”

Another gulp. “Of course, my lord. I’ll pass alo--”

Before the hapless soldier could waste more of his time stammering out another response, the tribunus laticlavius flipped the switch and cut the connection. The line went dead with a static click.

Nero was a practical man, one rarely wont to let trivial annoyances linger. As he set the artifact aside to reach for the fountain pen at his elbow and drew a small leather-bound planner from the desk drawer, a habit he’d kept since his Academy days, he could already feel his focus shifting, moving onwards.

He rolled the pen thoughtfully betwixt index and middle fingers, eyes flickering away from the planner to linger briefly upon the blank console screen. No doubt there was also more useful information to be ascertained from the old Meteor Project dossier; he’d request another copy of the relevant files through the proper channels once the meeting concluded.

In the meantime, it seemed a progress report was likely to be expected upon his timely - and fully conscious - arrival. Strict self-imposed schedule notwithstanding, it wouldn’t do for him to be the only one empty-handed.

He flipped the notebook open to a fresh and empty page, tilted the ink nub, and began to write.

[mercy-thompson-fanfiction]

Game Night

This one might also be a repeat.  I’m not entirely sure, but it’s written back in like 2018 about Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (a popular game in my family).

____

“It has a sort of…it’s like a symmetrical K?”  Ben tried desperately.  This was a new game for all of them, introduced by Adam and Mercy’s youngest who liked stirring up trouble.  “A symmetrical K.  It’s like a butterfly. Porsche, are you even looking?”

“I’m looking!” She exclaimed mostly calmly, “What even is a symmetrical K?”  She stopped and stared at him.  “A zh? Really?” 

“Oh that’s no fair, they’re cheating.”  Roy muttered.  “You can’t share like that, she’s looking at the bomb!”

“I’m not showing her the bomb, I’m showing her the damn hieroglyph!”  Ben snapped at her younger brother, the reason for this nonsense.  The pack had decided to try the violent suggestion of playing Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes and it was easily the worst suggestion ever.  

Next to the time he had suggested Slender Man. 

“That’s a zh,”  Porsche sighed.  “Hold on, I was looking for a butterfly.”

Ben tapped his fingers impatiently.  This had started off considerably worse.  Originally it was a million people yelling at one “bomb diffuser” what to do.  They had decided instead to play for best time.

“Ok, there’s also a six.  It’s not quite a six, it’s a squiggly six.”  Her mate continued.  She looked up and frowned at him.  “What’s wrong now?”

“Those don’t go in the same column.” 

“What do you mean—“

“Oh!  The b!”  She quickly listed off the order to tap the symbols in.  Roy watched, irritated.

“You let them partner.”  His mother reminded with a laugh.  

“I forgot they do that!”  He whined.  “Stop cheating!”

“It’s not my fault Ben only knows one alphabet.”  She shrugged, flipping back to the page full of wire information.  Ben raised an eyebrow at her over the screen before continuing dutifully defusing the bomb in front of him.  

“Not everyone here learned Russian for the sake of it, Porsche.”  He muttered as he went and she laughed.  “Fuck, what kind of letters even are those?”

“Three minutes and forty-nine seconds left on the clock.  Who’s next?”  Porsche held up the manual she had her her hand.  She made direct eye contact with her brother and he grimaced.  “You want to discount that round?  You and I can team up.  I’m sure Warren and Ben can manage a decent score.”

Her brother snatched the manual from her hand and shooed her over to the other side where she could look at the computer screen.  He settled himself into a seated position and gestured for her to begin.  

“I think I should be the one with the manual.”  She admitted, hesitant to start.  “I’m not so good at the actual game part ever.”

“You’re a doctor, this should be easy.”  Roy snorted.  Mercy looked like she wanted to cut in and say something, but let them go ahead anyways.  Another game had started with Honey and Zack a few feet away.  

Porsche didn’t bother correcting him, that her research was far better than her practical.  She simply hit start and waited for the bomb to start doing its thing.  

“Um…ok.  There’s a labyrinth.”

“A what?”  Roy snapped at her and she shrugged.  “What the hell is that?”

“Like the minotaurs.  A labyrinth.  There’s a movie?”  She didn’t have any idea what else to say.  “Like corn?”

“A maze?”  

“I really think I need the manual for this—“  She tried to get up but he waved her back down.  

The night went on like that, not just for Roy and Porsche.  People were screaming (as in actually screaming, just screams of panic) and there was more than a little laughter,  Some frustration from Roy when he realized it didn’t matter who his sister was paired with because she can still cheat.  

“She studied medicine, all she did was memorize books.”  Adam laughed at the look on his son’s face when he realized that Ben diffusing the bomb with Warren turned into Ben diffusing the bomb with Warren and Porsche.  

“So have you learned your lesson?”  Porsche asked as they were headed out.  Roy stuck his tongue out at her childishly.  

“Not to ever invite you to game night when we test out a new game?”  He asked,  “Yeah, I learned that.  You two cheat.”

[s-mething-mbti]

Hiya! I just discovered your blog and was wondering if you could help try to type me (sorry this is pretty long)

1. I’m currently pretty torn between the intuitive introverts. I was able to narrow it down to INTJ, INFJ or INTP. I’m about 97.2% sure I use Ni. The only thing that’s giving me a bit of doubt is I find myself occasionally learning for the sake of learning which I’ve found is a traditionally Ne trait. Despite this I’m still pretty sure I use Ni as when I go down a rabbit hole and start learning for the sake of learning its always about a topic that interests me or is entertaining. I won’t waste my time learning about something I find mundane or drab. I resonate a lot with Ni’s “aha” moments where the correct answer simply pops into my head or a vision suddenly seems clear or a plot holes solution suddenly seems painstakingly obvious. I also resonate with starting out with a broader range of information/ possibilities and narrowing it down to one or two things. Another intuitive thing I highly relate to is living in the future. If almost never living in the present, and a constantly fixate on the future. I have a distinct, clear, and well thought out plan for the next 20 years (give or take).

Where I run into a bit of trouble is when I try to figure out which judging functions I predominantly use. It honestly feels like I use them all (though I know you’re only supposed to be able to use two well). For example I plan out everything, and set deadlines for myself. My desk often seems really messy to others especially when I’m doing art. This isn’t because I don’t value cleanliness, but because it simply makes more sense to keep all my art supplies out rather than having to spend at least fifteen minutes taking them out and then putting them away only to take them right back out the next day. I set goals based off of easily measurable, external things such as time, or grades. I make daily to do lists that outline everything I’ll need to do in the day, and some stuff to focus on if I have extra time. With my to do list I also plan out the approximate time each thing should take. When coming up with a scientific theory, I take others opinions/theories and test them against each other, and current scientific laws in order to formulate the most probable theory. External opinions (in a scientific/ logical manner) mean a lot to me (I don’t really care about how people that aren’t my friends think of me). To me these things seem very Te. But then I’m always smiling and am a fairly warm person. I want my friends to be happy, and I want to help others. I despise emotionally driven conflict(though I love debates), and while I’m not afraid to disrupt it if it threatens my morals/ is promoting something blatantly wrong (factually or morally) I do really harmony. These seem like pretty Fe things to me. As for Fi, I rarely share my negative emotions, preferring to deal with them predominantly alone. While I may not talk about them much I also have EXTREMELY strong morals. If something is crossing them I’m not going to simply ignore it for the sake of harmony. While I tend to be private I do try to be as authentic as possible. My morals are derived by information I’ve collected and decisions I’ve made myself, rather than being derived by ‘the groups’ collective morals if that makes sense. To me these things appear to be very Fi. As for Ti, sometimes I enjoy learning simply for the sake of learning. The knowledge may have no practical use to me but if I find it interesting or want to learn about it I can devote hours to it. I try and come to the most logical/accurate conclusion possible, and when I’m offering advice I may offer additional advice that takes different variables into account. The truth is really important to me as well.

2. Reading. I absolutely ADORE reading(specifically fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian books or research/scientific articles about topics that interest me). For reference there was a period of time when I had some free time and I was reading 2 or 3 books a day? Read maybe 50 books in the span of 20 days? But yeah I absolutely love reading. Just he way the book sucks you in and deposits you and a completely new world full of wonder and disaster and ugh it’s just magnificent. And don’t even get me started on impeccable character development and eeee. The way rereading a book feels like you’re reconnecting with an old best friend or going back to your childhood home and *sobs*. I also LOVE trying to predict plot twists and character deaths. Most of the time I can predict things correctly and idk it’s really fun to just try and figure out what’s going to happen before the big reveal. And the rush of satisfaction you get when you’ve guessed something right- it also helps me brace for character deaths (sorta. For example I knew *the* death in the final empire [by Brandon Sanderson] was coming since nearly the very beginning [I had my suspicions since the moment vin was introduced] but I still sobbed when the character died. [a tad off topic but what caused me to cry wasn’t the death itself but another characters reaction to it. This is often the case I find. A death of a character I love leaves me feeling empty but what typically gets me to cry is the others reactions- for thus reason funerals usually make me cry. I should also add that I only cry when I’m alone. I’ve cried around people (that aren’t my parents) a grand total of 1 time.]

Uh and daydreaming. I’m almost always daydreaming. Ie. if my brain was a search engine or whatever one tab would be reality and I would consecutively have at lest 20 other tabs open. Some of then playing videos (daydreams) others supplying music(if I’m not actively listening to real music my brain cycles through songs I have memorized. Occasionally does this with book scenes too if I’m bored [yes, I memorize some of my favourite scenes, word for word, so I can play them like a movie in my head when I, bored) others containing random info (just me thinking random stuff) etc.

3. I guess how to solve some problems? Wether it’s a math or science problem, or an argument between friends, figuring out how to solve things has always been something I’m decently good at. Math and science just. Make sense. And then with issues between people I’m good at looking at different perspectives (even ones that I don’t agree with) and playing out different scenarios/ possible outcomes of different approaches. This lets me come up with a solution that will successfully solve the problem with the least amount of negative ramifications involved

4. Hmm maybe being present? I honestly feel like life is passing me by and I’m just immobilized on the sidelines. Im so far into the future that I kinda forget to actually *live* every once in a while.

5. Honesty? Truth? Morals? These topics are all really interesting as they can be kinda subjective. The line between honesty and cruelty is so small. What is truth? Cause while yes, we have some set truths (such as the earth is orbiting the sun) so many ‘truths’ are simply subjective and completely depend on ones perspective. And morals my goodness. The stormlight archive is a really fun series that plays around with things like what is justice? And honour? I won’t get into it now but it brings up so many really interesting questions regarding morals.

6. Perspective . I think perspective is such a fascinating thing. Just. Different opinions. Seeing the world through completely different lenses. Interpreting the same thing in utterly different ways. When toying around with an idea I find it really fun to try and imagine opposing perspectives. While I can find different perspectives really interesting, they can also well... get on my nerves to say the least. Sometimes someone perspective is just? So blatantly wrong? And has absolutely no factual evidence backing it up? And part of me wants to just just scream and it would be so much easier if everyone just. Assessed the facts in front of them instead of making wild accusations or whatever without anything to support them. But yeah overall I think perspectives are really cool and they’re part of what helps to make the world diverse and life so much less interesting without different perspectives.

The future. I’ve found a bunch of my friends find thinking about the future stressful but if I’m being honest I find solace in thinking about the future. Having things planned out and knowing what I intend to do/ where I want to go takes off so much stress. I lowkey live in the future and I honestly cannot wait till it comes, and I achieve my goals. While I might be a bit scared the future excites me so much more than it’ll ever scare me.

7. Maybe add some more stuff about the judging functions and feelings and thinking etc . I absolutely adore science and math. I literally do math for fun. I’m currently aiming to get my PhD in astrophysics.

Not sure if this is relevant at all but my biggest (harmless) pet peeves are my grandmother’s door stopper (it always gets stuck in the door and then u can’t get it out and the door won’t close properly- I have an unhealthy amount of hatred for that thing AHAHJSEJKSMDJDJDJJ) and when people say some variant of “you did good”. Like nO NO YOU DID NOT DO gOoD. YOU DID W E L L (Anyways theres my little mini rant).

I’m my friend groups therapist (sorta). While I’m really not good with words and recycle the same three responses I always let everyone know that I’m here for them and they can talk to me without judgement etc. While I really don’t know what to say or do I try my best because I care about my friends and want to help them. I love them and so I want them to be able to be happy. Im always smiling (though this is more so because people don’t ask me how I’m doing when I look happy than because I’m genuinely happy. Most of the time I’m he farthest thing from that). I’m a pretty warm person who’s always happy to help, however I’m very introverted. I haven’t had a single conversation with the majority of people in my class (I’ve had a convo with maybe 5. Talk to 2 regularly. There are 26 people in my class). I never express negative emotions (with the exception of stress- I panic intensely in the 5 minutes immediately before taking a test as this helps me to completely turn off my nerves while I’m writing the exam. I may also make a joke or two about my negative emotions with close friends). I should also add that when making decisions I value logic more and think thinks through thoroughly, examining the pros and cons etc. While I take feelings and emotions into consideration when making decisions they’re more like an additional variable to consider rather than the main driving force that determines my decision. If I’m feeling really emotional and I need to make a decision I will postpone deciding until I feel more levelheaded. I’m really not impulsive in the slightest.

Thank you so much!!

INTJ

Living in the future rather than the present and your comfort in that sapce, your ability for and enjoyment of making predictions, your ability to really understand and try on different perspectives you don’t necessarily agree with, your focus on “ramifications” (aka future implications) while problem solving - this all points to high Ni.

You also show a Te preference - goals based on external metrics, to-do lists for daily tasks, logic based on the outer world (external opinion). When you said “While I take feelings and emotions into consideration when making decisions they’re more like an additional variable to consider rather than the main driving force that determines my decision” - that is a clear cut definition of Te over Fe preference.

Your tertiary Fi shows through here as well - willing to disrupt harmony if it upsets your morals, your morals being personally derived, needing to understand your emotions while alone. And lastly, your statement about “forgetting to live” from being in the future is pretty textbook inferior Se. 

[beautifulterriblequeen]

I was on Instagram and I show someone call Claudia 'a dumb version of Azula' and it really annoyed me because while Claudia is one of my favourite characters,I really didnt like Azula. But its not just that. Their personalities are very different. The only thing that they have in 'common' is that they both chose to stay with their fathers while their brothers didnt. But they did that for different reasons. So since you're an expert at understanding characters, what is the conection between them?

Let’s go with “has way too much fun” instead of “an expert at,” yeah? But sure! Let’s see what we’ve got, anon.

Teenage girls, black hair, sassy, one brother, able to wield rare and very powerful magic, toxic dad, sent on a mission by their dad to clean up a mess involving the main characters who are kids, falling further and further under dad’s influence over time. So far so good, yeah?

I'd say that choice to cut off one family member in favor of another is a big clue to their connection. Claudia and Azula both have abusive fathers. They're both the Chosen One, the obedient child who has their loyalty tested again and again, like a frog in a pot, and slowly moves their goalposts further and further in a radical direction without them really noticing.

In both cases, these girls grew up with toxicity, so this wasn’t a quick thing. It took years to change them, and it happened during their formative years specifically. Those years are when kids are trying to learn what “normal” is. And “normal” is always just “whatever I’ve got.” Sometimes, what you think is normal isn’t even close, and it’s definitely not healthy.

The real question isn’t about the frog, though. It’s not even about the pot. It’s about whose hand is turning up the heat. Both of these girls were handpicked over their sibling to be favored.

Why them, when their brothers are older? Zuko and Soren are both autistic-coded characters, and one way or another, they were not cutthroat enough for their toxic fathers’ purposes.

Azula and Claudia reacted in very different ways to their brothers, though. Azula belittled and teased Zuko at almost every opportunity. Kids pick up stuff like that from people around them. From parents, too. But Zuko’s mom loved him very much. And who’s going to badmouth the son of the Fire Lord? Who did Azula get that attitude from? Ozai was a vain and cruel man, and “weakness” was anything that wouldn’t get him what he wanted at the exact speed he wanted it. If his son couldn’t adapt as swiftly as he wanted him to, and if throwing him under the bus earned him his daughter’s undying devotion, then that’s two problems fixed.

Claudia, on the other hand, loves and adores her brother. But I think their whole family knows that Soren needs a little extra protecting, and not in a sword-and-shield kind of way. Her mom asked her to stay with Soren after Soren picked Viren during the divorce. And Claudia is very protective of him, doing exactly what her mom charged her with. She restores his health and his ability to walk, at great cost to herself, because she feels it’s her duty as the more worldly-wise sibling. She also does end up believing Soren about Viren asking him to kill the princes. She’s very accusatory when she brings it up to Viren, and he has to scramble and take Aaravos’s advice to cover up the truth.

And in doing so, he throws Soren under the bus. Oh Claudia, you know how your brother gets. It’s not his fault. He’s just... that way. But you and I, we know how things really are, don’t we? You and I, we’re the same.

And just like that, Claudia is back on Team Viren.

We didn’t get S4 of ATLA, which was supposed to contain Azula’s redemption arc. If we had, I wonder if it would’ve included some flashbacks to her childhood, showing how different it was from Zuko’s, and some of her interactions when she was alone with her father. I bet they’d be pretty telling.

Now that we have the full saga coming, I’m excited to see what Claudia’s full character arc will contain. It’s pretty clear she’s still on the downward swing right now, just like Azula was. But I’m hoping that, in the end, she’ll get to swing back up and have someone there to catch her hand and pull her to safety.

My money’s on Soren. Because they’ve always had each other, no matter what, and he’s going to want that back, for both their sakes. Especially if Viren keeps making terrible choices and dies again.

As for the “dumb” part of the comment you saw, I can’t imagine that you get to be this skilled of a mage, memorizing tons of anatomical details and spells and harvesting techniques, if you’re dumb. Claudia’s very dedicated to her craft, and she’s scary good at it.

Maybe, as an alternate explanation, she enjoys simpler humor because that’s the kind of uncomplicated amusement her brother can actually follow and enjoy--since he canonically does not get sarcasm and puns--and she just wants to make him laugh.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale’s Top 8 Gym Leaders

Rules:

1. One per Region. For the sake of Alola, I will be picking between a Trial Captain or a Kahuna (I can pick a Kahuna as long as they are not an Elite 4 member)

2. If the gym leader was a champion or an Elite 4 member at any point, they don't count. So Iris, Wallace and Blue are not eligible for the list, as well as Koga.

3. This is my Personal opinion, and I have a bias.

4. I will be ranking the Gym Leaders based on their Game appearances only. Anime and Manga do not count.

______________________________________________________________________

8. Kiawe (Alola)

The second trial captain on Akala island.

Honestly, while I love the change of pace with Trial captains instead of Gym leaders... it did feel like a huge piece was missing when playing through Sun and Moon. Kiawe provided a hilarious trial as well as what I found to be the most amusing Trial challenge. 

He also just has the second coolest design.

(If not for my self imposed rules I would have picked Olivia but she is sadly an elite 4 member so I will pick one of her trial captains instead)

7. Clemont (Kalos)

The electric Gym leader in the biggest city in Kalos. Lumiose City.

His gym has the most interesting gimmick, with a quiz show that made nostalgic for another genius Gym leader, but what set him apart and put him on this list was his dynamic with his little sister bonnie. The two are a delight when playing off each other and Clemont is actually a decent fight in the game, unless you have been spamming mega evolutions. 

He also has a unique design with the backpack, and he is one of the few on this list hurt by the fact I am not putting anime appearances on here, since he is my third favorite companion for Ash.

6. Volkner (Sinnoh)

The final step before the elite four.

Volkner is the Electric Gym leader of Sunyshore.

He is said to be strong enough to challenge the elite four. His personal Rival, Flint is a member of the Elite four.

At the time the trainer arrives, he has been on a winning streak where no one has been able to best him for a while and he found it super boring, when you talk to him he says that if he wins one more battle, he will go an challenge the Elite four.

His fight is also quite a tough bout regardless of which version you pick, his team is fast and has a lot of super effective moves, so if you think a few earthquakes will be enough to take him down, you best be packing some durable Pokemon.

He also just looks like a serious rival in an anime so its all the more fun to crush him. 

5. Elesa (Unova)

I have a crush on Elesa, Fight me.

Yes I know another Electric type Gym leader, but damn it they are the more interesting ones.

This model/ Gym leader of Nimbasa is a hella badass strong woman that will call out injustice anywhere she sees it.

She helps Bianca escape her a**hole father, Her first Gym is a roller coaster, then a Walk way!

She also Loves Puns! (Yes I am a simple man okay. Don't @ me)

She even goes through multiple costumes which is always a plus. Out of the rather mediocre line up of gym leaders in Unova, Elesa is a shocking change of pace. 

4. Raihan (Galar)

The dragon gym leader of Galar, and the undisputed Strongest Gym Leader in the region.

The guy exudes a swagger that gives off that he is hot s*** and he knows it.

He is considered by Leon himself to be his rival.

Even his trainer card says that if he wanted to he could easily be a champion of another region but stays in Galar so to one day best Leon.

Having battled his team, I can say that this isn't a BS statement. He uses weather teams.

The guy knows how to change up the weather and capitalize on a situation. His gym challenge is the hardest out off all of them because he knows how to use his Pokemon well.

He is an amazing final challenge before going to face off against the league challenge and the best battle before fighting Leon.

This was a VERY hard spot to pick, since I also adore Opal and Nessa (If I allowed Anime appearances, Nessa would be here instead of him because Nessa is amazing and deserves all the love )

But when it comes to strength, no one can top the strongest gym leader of Galar.

3. Jasmine (Johto)

The Steel Type Gym Leader of Olivine city.

The term Don't judge a book by its cover is the best example to  describe her.

Jasmine is a kind hearted soul that was nursing a Pokemon back to health at her first introduction.

She asks you to get the medicine and won't battle until the Pokemon in the light house is 100% 

And its a good thing she does, because if you tried fighting her first, I doubt you would win. Her Steelix is a MASSIVE tank and you will need a strong water type if you want to stand a chance against it. She is also cute and she was my childhood self’s first Pokemon crush.

I still find her the most fun gym leader to meet. While not a difficulty spike like Whitney or an unfair cheat Like Clair.

Jasmine is a tough yet fair gym leader.

2. Norman

The petalburg city gym leader, and most importantly. He is your in game Dad.

He is the fifth Gym leader in the game and you cant battle him until you have four gym badges. He is also arguably the toughest gym leader in the game at this point since his two Slakings could one shot most Pokemon unless you grinded like hell.

The emotional weight of the battle is what really brings it home. It is a clash, a father vs child moment in which you have to show your dad that you have surpassed him, that you are ready to be the best. That you are a true trainer.

He really does test everything you've learned up to this point, and thats what makes him so memorable.

1. Giovanni

The leader of team Rocket, and the Viridian city Gym Leader.

The two sided man that tried to conquer the region.

Ground Giovanni.

By Games alone he is the most competent Villain, considering he created team Rainbow Rocket, which consisted of ALL the criminal organizations and their respective leaders who had succeeded in their respective universes.

Giovanni also stands as the final gym leader of your journey, your time in Kanto you always seemed to barely stop him, but he still is powerful and you always got the feeling he wasn't trying.

But then, when you get to the 8th gym, fighting the toughest gym trainers do you see, the boss of team Rocket, glaring at you.

The real final battle with him begins.

And that victory, which is your key to the indigo league, the defeat of his criminal empire, and your conclusive win.

Thats what makes Giovanni so powerful.

He was your real final test.

(Plus if we counted the manga, geez he is like 100x more epic. Seriously, if you have not read the Pokemon manga, READ IT. Its like Stand battles with Pokemon. Anything goes. It is nuts!)

[handeleugene]

It was a real privilege to not only attend but have the incredibly high honor to speak at Blend Fest this past year. Such a humbling experience and one of the highlights of my career. Since giving my speech so many people have reached out to me asking for advice & tips on public speaking. I’m no expert by any means but I wanted to peel back the layers & share an in-depth overview of the process that went into putting my speech together.

When the Blend team reached out in February asking me to speak, I of course, said YES! And then promptly proceeded to get to work. I wanted to get started right away because I felt a strong obligation to rise to the occasion & deliver a great product that was worthy of the amazing conference that is Blend. It was incredibly exciting yet incredibly nerve-racking putting this speech together. Symptoms of impostor syndrome were present throughout this whole process but the one thing I took comfort in, was knowing that this wasn’t my first Rodeo. I’d been teaching since 2014 & I’d done 4 talks in the last two years, all leading up to this grand moment. Even though I had 8 months to prepare for this speech I wanted to get started right away because I knew a deadline 8 months away would be easy to procrastinate on. I also knew from the beginning that I wanted to memorize my speech so the earlier I could get it done the more time I could have to practice, revise, & refine my speech. The very first thing I did in preparation for my talk was to start being more observant of the world around me. It just so happened that I was attending Motion Plus Design LA only a week after learning I would be speaking at Blend. So I used this conference to do field research & take notes. I took notes on what captured the audience, what didn’t, what was well received & what wasn’t. The big take away I got from all the talks was that vulnerability really resonated with the audience & made the speaker relatable. Any personal experiences you can draw from to help emphasize the point your making really landed well with the audience. And not taking yourself so seriously was something I noticed worked well on stage as well. Once I got started drafting up ideas & concepts for my speech I decided NOT to start completely from scratch. Instead, build upon past topics I’d given that I knew resonated with audience members & leaving behind the topics that didn’t. That meant taking some of the most successful parts from my F5 Speech as well as my talks at Otis College & Hyper Island. Now a strong part of me wanted to just stop there, take the “Don’t Mess with Success” approach knowing that I already had a solid foundation. But one thing I’ve learned is that past success doesn’t guarantee future results. There’s always room for improvement, I really wanted to push myself on this one, do in-depth research, educate myself more on certain topics & come up with new material that I haven’t presented before. Like I mentioned earlier, I wanted to deliver a unique product that was worthy of Blend. Recycling old material with little revision would save me A LOT of time, effort, & stress but would be the lazy route. One thing about me is that I stubbornly like to do things the hard way. I recently read in Ryan Holiday’s book The Daily Stoic, that you can often find comedians doing small sets at local bars in LA & NY. Well established comedians are constantly testing out new material on local audiences to see what jokes land & what jokes bomb. By the time you see a famous comedian on stage doing their big tour & Netflix special, they are already well prepared because they’ve done a countless number of small gigs refining their material along the way. I share this story because I wanted to use this same approach in preparation for my Blend Fest Talk. I intentionally signed up to be a guest speaker at a Local LA meet up called “Creative Neighbors” in July. I wanted to force myself to have the first draft of my Blend Fest Speech ready to present at Creative Neighbors & use this small intimate environment as my testing ground for some of the material I was writing.

Speaking of comedy, we all know the quickest way to win over a crowd during a speech is to get a few laughs in. I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t want my speech to be as funny as possible. From my own personal experience, I’ve found that the most memorable talks were the ones that made me laugh the most. Knowing myself, I knew that making my speech funny would require ALOT of work. I must have listened to 2 or 3 standup comedy specials a week in the span of 9 months. Studying not only the material but the delivery & the stage presence of comedians. Some people came up to me after my speech & said that I looked like Hassan Minhaj with my hand gestures which is funny because I definitely tried to mimic his enthusiasm on stage. The more I studied comedy the more surprised I was to learn how formulaic jokes can be. Lots of jokes follow a format that is recycled but just repurposed to align with each individual’s experience. The Call Back Technique probably being the most popular example of this. I tried to use some of these formulas I was learning to write my own jokes based off of my own personal experiences. I even learned that the truth alone isn’t always funny, sharing an exaggerated version of the truth for the sake of storytelling is commonplace in comedy & was definitely a technique I used in my speech. Once I had the blueprint laid out for my speech it was time to rehearse. One thing I failed to do in my talks prior was leave adequate time to practice my speech & it definitely showed. This time around I wanted to have more confidence & stage presence & not rely heavily on my speaker notes like before. I knew taking this approach would require more work of course but again, I wanted to deliver a product worthy of Blend and the many heroes of mines which would be in attendance. So memorizing as much of my speech as possible felt like the right thing to do.

One thing I learned in this cyclical process of rehearsal, revise, refine, was the way that you write & the way that you talk are two completely different things. If you’re writing the script for your speech you have to write it in a way that you would talk, sounds obvious in theory but proves harder in practice. A lot of the refining of my speech was centered around making the scripted part of my talk as conversational as possible. This conversational aspect I kept tweaking all the way up until the night before my speech. It's a weird phenomenon but you don’t really know what your speech sounds like until you rehearse it out loud. The last thing I wanted to do was to sound like I was reading to the audience or giving a lecture. I had to get out from behind the podium and actually speak to the audience as much as I could.

I learned some amazing tips from David JP Phillip’s Ted Talk about Public Speaking. David educated me on the power & influence you have just with your voice & body language. For instance, changing the pace of what you are saying can increase focus, lowering the volume of your voice creates anticipation & strategically placed pauses generate undivided attention. In public speaking, it is said that body language accounts for approximately 55 percent of communication, voice tone 35 percent, and words 10 percent. This was incredibly enlightening for me and a strategy I incorporated throughout my speech. During the times of my talk that I was reading from my script, I would put certain words or phrases in ALL CAPS to indicate raising the volume of my voice to emphasize a certain point & prevent a monotone sounding dialogue. And I would put multiple periods between words........to indicate longer pauses.  I've never memorized a speech before so I looked to the internet for some creative tips to help me besides the typical brute force method. I've come across multiple articles that reiterate a common theme when it comes to memory, our brains are really good at visualization. We remember pictures of things that are meaningful way better than we remember abstract concepts. If we attach a meaningful image (or drawing) to a concept we're more likely to recall that memory later on. I used this method to help me memorize my talk by drawing symbolic images on index cards to help me remember the first 9 minutes of my speech. The goal going in was to have my whole speech memorized but I only got to 11 out of the 20 minutes down (first 9 & last 2). Even still memorizing half of my speech was a major accomplishing I'm definitely proud of, especially considering the fact that I'd never done that before. I was able to get that much memorized because I dedicated the last 3 weeks leading up to my talk to practicing around the clock.

I was very surprised at how well the talk was received at Blend. I knew I had some solid material but I would have never guessed how much of an impact my talk would have on so many people at the event. It's incredibly humbling because hearing all the positive feedback made all the hard work that went into this speech so worth it. Some people went as far as comparing my speech to a Ted Talk or a sermon on Sunday, which is some of the highest compliments I could ever receive. Leading up to it, I was incredibly afraid because throughout this entire process I was completely out of my comfort zone. I knew I was taking a big risk by stepping away from the podium & in doing so removing my safety net, but it was so rewarding being able to deliver a speech that I knew I was capable of. I’m definitely not a natural when it comes to public speaking. I’m an introvert by nature so I had to really tap into an alter ego to deliver this prepared speech. If I looked comfortable on stage its largely due to the fact that I put a substantial amount of time, effort, research, & practice into my talk. 

You can catch some highlights from my talk here on my Instagram stories. If you weren't able to attend Blend but you're still interested in seeing a recording of my talk then email me, I'll set up a private screening for you.

[eggoreviews]

12 ‘Unpopular’ Viddy Game Opinions

I’ve seen this topic floating around a lot, but didn’t think I had enough ‘unpopular but maybe not’ opinions about games to make a post. Turns out I do! So if you see this and I say something blasphemous, remember it’s just my opinion and my personal experiences with the games I list. Hope you enjoy or hey, maybe even agree with some of this!

Note: Can’t stress enough. This is just me. Also, spoilers under the cut!

12. The opening of Kingdom Hearts II isn’t as terrible as everyone says

Okay, so it’s not brilliant, but at the same time, I don’t think it’s the worst. For those not in the know, KH2′s opening is a basically a massive slog where you play as a character you don’t know or care about with seemingly no real link to the events of the previous game. The general consensus is that there’s some interesting stuff in here, but it’s buried among endless dialogue that really doesn’t mean much. And they’re right, but I really think there’s some great stuff here that people tend to gloss over. The music and the motif of Twilight Town is atmospheric, there’s some genuinely intriguing plot elements that are woven into Roxas’ story and believe it or not, the stuff that happens here is intrinsic to the rest of the game. So yeah, it drags on a little, but I don’t think KH2 would be miles better without this opening.

11. I loved Breath of the Wild’s final boss

One of the problems I see talked about with Breath of the Wild is that the boss fights are fairly mediocre, especially the very last one, Dark Beast Ganon. And I couldn’t disagree more. I think every boss in the game is wonderfully crafted, intense, challenging and great for testing you on what you’ve learned throughout the game by encouraging you to make creative use of your slate powers and the flurry rush technique. And while Mr. Pig Man at the end here is sort of easy and short, it serves as a brilliantly epic finale to damn near perfect game. While the difficulty is mostly gone after the mammoth fight with Calamity Ganon, it’s still just as intense as you frantically fire off arrows into the massive beast in front of you. Plus, the design of this thing is one of the best looking monsters in the game, so I really don’t understand the dislike for this ending.

10. I really like Crash of the Titans

Okay, so maybe childhood nostalgia has something to do with this pick, but every Crash fan I’m aware of seems to hate this game. But I don’t really know where the hate comes from! I played the PS2 version of this and I thought it was a genuinely fun 3D platformer with a variety of locations, good visuals, well-designed boss battles and even a vague story you can sort of follow! The game’s main gameplay feature is also brilliantly integrated, as using Aku Aku to possess various monsters throughout the game keeps everything interesting. One thing I will say though, that tiger dude you have to fight about halfway through is the most annoying thing I’ve ever had to endure in a game.

9. Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is BAD

I loved Life Is Strange when it first dropped, so I was beyond excited when they announced a prequel from Chloe’s perspective. But I really think they dropped the ball and they dropped it hard. But everyone else seems to adore this game! For me, this wasn’t a touch on the original. For a start, they dropped out one of the main mechanics of the first game, the time travel, which they then replaced with a much less interesting ‘Backtalk’ feature, which was then only used about twice throughout the game. Instead of interesting, developed characters reacting to genuinely dangerous or heartfelt situations, it felt to me like a bunch of one-dimensional teenagers who are edgy for the sake of being edgy. Chloe spends the majority of the game being a dick to her mother and bunking off class to spend time with Rachel, who she has literally known for like a day and their sudden relationship drops out of nowhere. Not that I didn’t enjoy the emotional moments of their relationship, it just didn’t feel like it stemmed from anywhere, unlike Max and Chloe from the first game. And the game’s attempts at villains were also rubbish compared to the first, with Damien (random scary knife guy who doesn’t really tie into the plot that much) and Eliot (who doesn’t appear for the whole game and suddenly goes full incel on Chloe when she breaks into Rachel’s house). Yeah I think you can tell I had some problems with this one.

8. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider was also a hot mess

I LOVE the Dishonored series. The first game and its DLCs are amazing, the second game was arguably even better. And then this happened. In this one, you play as Billie Lurk, a character I love, and Daud comes back, a character I also love. But both of them are incredibly badly written and it doesn’t feel like there’s any development to them or even much reason for them to do what they’re doing. This entry took the mystery surrounding the Outsider and basically did a big poo on it, giving us the revelation that he was apparently HUMAN this whole time. I think that was the nail in the coffin that made me sort of think this was a bit rubbish. While the combat and side missions were as brilliant as ever, the level designs felt less creative than other entries in the series and lacked variety or colour, all the side characters were entirely forgettable and to wrap it all up, they killed Daud offscreen. Out of nowhere, they just killed him, mentioned it offhand in a cutscene and that was that. If you like this game, fair enough, but it kind of baffles me that more people don’t see this in the game.

7. Mario Galaxy 2 is good. It’s just sort of good

Some people cite this as being one of the best 3D platformers of all time, and that’s fair enough, but I just kind of see this one as ‘good’. Sure, it has a good, satisfying control scheme for the most part, the level design is creative and the bosses and puzzles are pretty standard for a Mario title, but still enjoyable. However, sometimes, the floaty physics and weird knockback effect from jumping into walls led to quite a lot of unfair deaths, especially if I’d been punished for messing up already by losing a life, only to then immediately be punished again by falling into the void. Plus, I found Yoshi near impossible to control at some points with the motion controls. So yeah, this one is genuinely enjoyable, but I don’t think I’d personally put it with the best of all time.

6. I LOVE Dragon Quest IX TO DEATH

This is a game in a legendary franchise that consistently almost always see ranked at the very bottom of the pile in the series. But I really don’t understand how or why. Okay so your protagonist and party are basically silent and don’t have a lot of character, but I don’t see this as a reason to totally write off the game! The side characters, villains and story are all amazing and well-developed, the world is huge, colourful and interesting, the monsters are brilliantly creative and Dragon Quest’s signature lame sense of humour is gratefully carried through the whole game. The music is always brilliant and atmospheric and the bosses are just as memorable as each character you meet. What was everyone’s problem?? This is genuinely one of the best RPGs I’ve ever played and if you haven’t had a chance to pick it up, it is so, so worth it.

5. Sonic Adventure is a broken mess

So before I kick this one off, I’m not someone who hates Sonic and I’m not here to slate the whole franchise, but considering this game is often considered to be one of the best in the series, I thought it was definitely worth addressing. When I first played this, I literally couldn’t believe this was made in 1998, AFTER Mario 64 and yet it’s so broken! The physics and control scheme are totally wonky and hard to control, the unending amount of glitches make a fair amount of the stages almost unplayable, the voice acting and facial animation is cringey and oddly broken and yet, this was all on the Dreamcast. The most powerful console of the time. And I don’t think I even need to mention how boring some of the later stages get, with Big the Cat’s fishing section being the main offender. I can’t vouch for Adventure 2 as I haven’t had a chance to play yet, but I really hope it isn’t like this.

4. Dragon Age Origins is the best Dragon Age

Dragon Age has always been a popular RPG series, but I think it properly shot to fame once Inquisition dropped in 2014. And don’t get me wrong, I liked Inquisition! The world was colourful and expansive and the characters were fairly memorable, but I still think the best experience you can get is in the series’ first entry, Origins. While it’s pretty easy to see that it’s slightly dated considering it’s ten years old now, the best characters and story in the series I think is here. Each companion you recruit is varied and developed and the story wraps up brilliantly in the end with each companion and army you meet playing a different role in the final battle. Plus, I kind of can’t forgive Inquisition for making Leliana lose her sense of humour and making her kinda boring.

3. Oblivion is better than Skyrim

Okay so I’m not sure exactly how unpopular this is, but I just thought Oblivion was miles better than Skyrim ended up being. Just to clear it up, I still love Skyrim and I thought it built on the series’ combat system and variety of enemies really well and still provided an enjoyable experience. But Oblivion feels like more of an adventure you feel at home in. The story is dense and full of twists and turns. The soundtrack has some of the most atmospheric music I’ve ever heard, the world is full of bright colours, each city is vastly different and has its own lore and I found some of this to be absent from Skyrim. I’d go into more detail, but I think the simple fact is that Oblivion had so much more I liked than Skyrim.

2. I don’t think The Witcher III is all that amazing (in some regards)

This by no means says that I don’t like the game, because I do, but I think it has more flaws than people let on. Now, don’t get me wrong, a lot of the stuff people praise about this game is true, the quests are in-depth and masterfully crafted, the characters, especially Geralt, are extremely memorable. In fact, Geralt is one of my favourite game protagonists. But most of the problems I had were in terms of the gameplay. The combat, while fast-paced and satisfying, can sometimes feel a little finicky, so a lot of precision is needed. However, I felt that the world itself didn’t particularly interest me and the music is often ambient but outside of combat, isn’t anything special. Mostly though, the leveling system I found to be a bit wonky. I did absolutely everything I could in the first area of the game; all the side quests, treasure hunts, killed a whole bunch of monsters etc. And then I arrive in the second area and find I’m too underleveled to do literally anything. The majority of the quests have too high a level cap, a lot of the monsters kill me very quickly. And because the bulk of EXP farming is in the quests, I’m sort of stuck in an endless loop of constantly not being strong enough to do anything. On top of that, all my equipment keeps breaking and I’m finding that repair kits are extremely few and far between and that makes me even WEAKER. It’s something I’m gonna need to persevere with I think, but hey, this is just my experience with it.

1. Ocarina of Time, as amazing as it is, may have overstayed its welcome as best game of all time

I reckon this might be the most controversial, so it’s number 1. Let me preface this by saying I really like Ocarina and I agree that it was innovative for the RPG genre at the time. There’s a hell of a lot in this game that we have to thank for the games we have today. But considering how far the gaming industry has come since then and the sheer amount of high quality games we’ve been getting year after year, is still fair to call this the best game ever? When more recent games have taken what Ocarina started and built upon it? Games like Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, Red Dead Redemption II, God of War all gave us expansive, beautiful worlds and a story you can really get stuck into. And all the time, more and more games of this caliber are coming out. So yes, of course Ocarina of Time deserves a place in the hall of fame, it was revolutionary and still holds up really well today! I just can’t help but think there have been plenty of games since then, as flawed as some of them may be, that have improved upon the formula tenfold since Ocarina’s release.

Thanks for reading if you got this far! Just to reiterate, these are all just my opinions and my experiences with the games I mentioned, so pls don’t attack me. Got any viddy game opinions you think are sort of not popular? Drop them down below if you feel like it!

[mtraki]

Headcanon Request: 6 Headcanons for Gilgamesh

Hmmm… I don’t have many established headcanons for our Blademaster.  The game just kind of used him as a set piece or a prop.  We don’t learn a lot about him or his real impact on the world outside of being one more ancient big bad to conquer– and that it apparently shaped Cor’s history, but even that isn’t fleshed out.  As you know, my dear, I prefer building on more original materials than blank canvases.  So here are some headcanon questions I have and my thoughts on them!

1. Gilgamesh and Ardyn?

It’s never explicitly mentioned that Gilgamesh was Ardyn’s Shield.  We assume so, because he was the Shield of the Founder King and Ardyn is the Founder King– right?  I’m not entirely convinced, though.  Ardyn was erased from history.  If anyone is remembered as the “Founder King” it would be Somnus.  Ignis mentions Ardyn as the Founder King, but Ignis would also have special access to records that managed to escape destruction.  Gilgamesh is also zealously loyal to the Lucis Caelum line and its prophecy– which Ardyn is the antagonist of.

He might have been Ardyn’s Shield, before Ardyn was stripped of power and cast aside by man and god alike…  But that leads me to my next question and theory!

2. Haunting Taelpar Crag?

The wiki suggest that Gilgamesh may have been involved in the War of the Astrals because he’s there in the wound in the Star that was caused in all the fighting.  Yeah maybe.  But why is he a ghost?  Most ghosts you fight are daemons, and as far as anybody can tell, Gilgamesh is not a daemon.  He’s a powerful spirit.  Fine.  Cool.  Why?  Why doesn’t he get to ascend into ever after?  Or is that something I’ve missed concerning the afterlife in all of FFXV? (Let me know!)  I think there are three alternatives here:

- We could go traditional “unfinished business”.  His zeal for Lucis Caelum keeps him around until the King of Kings does his prophecy thing.  This is probably what was intended, but honestly, it makes me want to throw up.  I’m so sick of how wanky this story is about that family…

- I better like the punishment alternative.  Angelgard is rumored to be where Ramuh passes judgement.  If Gilgamesh was Ardyn’s Shield, and stayed loyal to Ardyn instead of Lucis Caelum and the prophecy… perhaps he was punished for it.  Now he serves his penance to prepare the Shield of the King of Kings to be a proper fit for the prophecy, like he wasn’t.  Maybe THAT’S why he’s so overzealous and blood-thirsty about it! (And maybe that’s why he spared Cor: because Cor was there to be more useful to Lucis Caelum)  Again: super wanky, but I can only do so much without deviating from canon entirely…

- Adding on to above: maybe the opposite happened.  Maybe Ardyn was betrayed by Gilgamesh.  Nothing happened to him in life, but Ramuh was sure to judge and curse him in death for his treachery.  “You are so eager to serve Lucis Caelum?  Then see your ‘good work’ through to the end.” sort of deal…  Justice is justice, after all, and betraying a King of Lucis Caelum (even a blacklisted one) probably doesn’t come cheap.

3.  Speaking of Ghosts…

He’s got an army of ghosts who serve him.  Cor says they’re the spirits of those who dared the Tempering Grounds and died.  I usually don’t like to contradict the Marshal, but… how does he know that?  Did somebody tell him?  Does he recognize some of the corpses?  For argument’s sake, let’s just assume he’s right.  Well then that means…

4. Gilgamesh is a Wizard?

Or something.  Not only is HE a ghost, but he can a) ensure everybody he kills is trapped with him as a ghost and b) they turn from trying to defeat him to absolute loyalty to him.  So either Gilgamesh himself has some powerful magic or…

5. The Proving Grounds are Cursed?

The only people with magic, canonically, are the Oracles and Lucis Caelums.  So unless we delve into a mess where the Blademaster was one of them, it’s more likely that something is magic about the area.  It’s established that elemental/magic power can be pulled out of the ground.  Perhaps that place is a locus for pooling magic, manifesting itself as a curse, so that everyone who dies there is trapped?  Maybe that’s how Gilgamesh got there too?

6.  Gilgamesh and Cor

It’s very clear that the encounter with Gilgamesh had a very profound impact on Cor’s life– not just the cool (but shameful) moniker, but apparently the encounter humbled the hot-headed youth into the pragmatic man we know in the game.  What was also very clear to me, however, was that Cor had a very profound impact on Gilgamesh– and I don’t just mean the arm and sword thing.  As Gladio works his way through the ruins, the spirits throwing jabs and threats, they mention Cor several times.  They sound like they were impressed.  Cor even makes a self-deprecating joke about it.  I don’t think the ghosts recognize him at all, but that makes sense with ghosts anyway.  Still, somebody came through here and impressed them enough for them to remember somebody did it, even though there are corpses and swords all through that chamber you fight Gilgamesh in– so Cor wasn’t the first/only person to make it that far.  But he was the most memorable.

Cor also has the means of opening the chamber.  I don’t know if that was supposed to be something significant, but it sure looked significant and ritualistic, especially if you consider that Cor may have taken that sword from the Proving Grounds after losing his.  Even if he didn’t, I think it’s clear that Gilgamesh intended for Cor to come back.

But Cor was different, now, changed by his experiences.  He had no intentions of facing Gilgamesh again, and I think he damn well knew if he followed Gladio into that chamber, it wouldn’t have been about Gladio anymore.  Gilgamesh would recognize him, even if the other ghosts didn’t, and it would be all about Cor.  This is why Cor didn’t help with any of the trials.  Not to test Gladio, not because the ritual required it, but because he wanted to make absolutely clear to everything in these caverns that this wasn’t about him this time.

And I think Gilgamesh was honestly very disappointed.  This might just be me meta-ing again, but the resolution of the fight was really awkward and lame.  The answer to Gladio’s problem was just to believe in his own strength after all.  There you go.  You win.

Lame.  Especially considering all the people who died, who likely thought the same thing “Just believe in my strength!”  Even hot-headed young Cor probably did!

So it seems to me that Gilgamesh just kind of… phoned it in.  “Yeah, I guess that other guy really isn’t coming in… What a shame… Alright, fine, you can win… Yep, yep, whatever– Oh I know!  I’ll give you this sword that used to be his and maybe he’ll come in here and face me at last! … No?  Worth a shot…”

The Immortal has many fanboys.  I headcanon that Gilgamesh might be the original. ;)

[studykaisoo]

How to survive your 5th Year in BS Accountancy (Philippines)

Some of the universities and colleges in the Philippines only have a 4-year curriculum in BS Accountancy who have review subjects in between their undergrad subjects. But I’ll talk for the majority who has a 5-year curriculum wherein they have Accounting Integration or Comprehensive Review (it depends of the school how they call it) subjects for 5th Year students.

When I was an incoming 5th year student, I tried searching about things on how I should prepare for this, but honestly there aren’t a lot of people talking about how hardly or deadly should I say this phase is. So now, I’ll write what I’ve learned throughout this school year.

Few things you need to know:

- It’s really difficult.

- A lot of students tend to fail A LOT or ALL OF THE SUBJECTS (It actually depends on your school, if they adjust your grades or if they have removals or whatnots) Some school are just really strict tho.

-You’ll probably want to give up at a certain point, but you can’t. Because you just have to keep on pushing to reach your dream.

TIPS:

1. Assess your level of “Accounting Knowledge”

- If you are a consistent honor student and if you are confident that you know majority of the topics from FAR, AFAR, MAS, LAW, TAX and AUD, well I could say go for the gold! With this, you’ll have an edge because you will only “re-view” the topics. Of course, you’ll still need a consistent study schedule everyday and make sure you learn the topics you are having difficulties with.

- If you are an average student, think very carefully. You have options, take all the subjects and be dedicated. No distractions or anything, just study. But, I tell you, dedication and discipline is actually not enough because time is a constraint. If you have a short-term memory and you’ll study “first-view”, you wouldn’t have enough time until the semester is over. I suggest, take fewer subjects than usual. Even if you underload 1 subject will make a difference. You’ll get delayed but it’s better than (if worse comes to worst), at least you passed some subjects instead of not passing at all. Actually it depends on your school and your curriculum. So it’s up to you how you’ll make a strategy on how to survive.

- If you are really lazy and survived Accountancy with mere cheating or probably you’re the luckiest person when it comes to shot-gun exams, think again why you are here. Pursuing BSA until the very end is no joke; so if you’re not serious about this and you want to graduate, it’s not yet late to change your attitude and be a better student. Your techniques won’t work in the 5th year (unless your school sucks, who hates cheaters but ignores them when actually caught by others, well done) But in my own opinion, if you really want to be a CPA, you should practice the Code of Ethics even as a student. Always remember that being an Accountant is a righteous job. So start changing your tactics and stick to the rules. Take note “Success without integrity is a failure”. “If you failed but you learned, it’s not completely a failure”

2. Know your reviewers

- If your school lets you know or pick who will be your professor/reviewer for your 5th year, then it’s better. If not, try asking previous 5th yr students/graduates about how their review works or how their reviewers teach them.  In this way, you can make a strategy to survive this school year. So that you can either stay away from “not-so-good” reviewers or if not, at least you’ll know how to deal with them.

3. Ask review materials from graduates or look for them by yourself (optional)

- This is optional because # 4 is more important. But if you’re not that confident enough that you know the concept, you’ll need this while studying the concept to test your brain. Also, let’s face it; if you have the same set of reviewers as last year’s, the tendency is that they’ll probably use the same materials for you, or same exam. But don’t be so chill about it, the tendency is that they’ll change some of it.

4. Learning the concept is the key

- I learned this the hard way. I thought that answering reviewers in repetition will help me but the truth is, if you know the concept of a certain topic, you’ll never get wrong even if the questions are changed. Also, if you weren’t prepared for a topic that showed up in your exam, at least you can answer it.

5. Develop your analytical skills.

- One of common misconceptions about Accountancy is that “it’s all about counting money, doing math and other calculations”. But in reality, your calculator can do the calculations but you need to analyze thoroughly. Chances are if you are wrong in analyzing a certain item, the others will follow. Even in exams while answering multiple choice problems (ex. Which is correct? Which is wrong? All of the following are…..except?). you need to exercise the power of elimination. You can do that by reading and analyzing it well.

6. Test yourself

- The best way to assess the things you studied for is the “test yourself”. You probably have handouts from your reviewers and most likely they already have answers. Instead of memorizing the answers, cover them and answer them as if you are taking the exam. To be able to do this, you must follow # 7.

7. Do not procrastinate. (You can study hard but remember, study smart)

- While you are taking your summer vacation right now, find time to study. You can choose to enroll in a review center or study on your own. But I suggest that since there are time constraints when classes actually start, make your own notes so that you’ll just re-read them by the time the semester starts.

- When the semester starts, immediately study starting the first week of classes even if the professors/reviewers are not coming yet. Set your own task and study schedule.

- Assess yourself what study scheme will be good for you. I suggest that you thoroughly study topics that you do not know and just skim over topics you already know. For an example. you are having a hard time with Leases in Auditing, so study its concept and test yourself. If you already master Employee Benefits, then don’t give it too much attention. 

- Try to know what are the topics they usually give in exams. Pay attention on what is the coverage, focus on it but do not neglect other topics. There are chances that they might be in the exam as well.

- Study Smart > Study Hard. 

8. Find a support system and surround yourself with positive people. (and motivate your friends who are feeling down)

- Choose your friends wisely. If they are toxic, help them but if they refuse you have no choice but to leave. This isn’t a selfish move, but if you think about it, if your toxic friend really treats you as a “real friend” he or she will accept criticism. Remember, as a 5th year student you don’t have that much time for drama. Surround yourself with people with positivity or at least people who are willing to be motivated.

- Not everyday will have a ray of sunshine. But when those days happen, always motivate one another.

- Talk about your problems, do not let them bottle up. But at the end of your conversation, promise to leave it all behind.

- You can try what I did to my friends; I wrote short letters for them everyday that contains motivational quotes or just pure motivation from me. Your friends will appreciate little things like this.

(example:

Dear _____,

Success is not final

Failure is not fatal

It’s the courage to continue that counts.)

9. Know your examiner and their teaching & exam techniques

- You need to assess how you will learn through your reviewer’s lecture. If you heard that a certain reviewer is “not-so-good” then you need to exert extra effort for that subject. You also need to know about their teaching techniques. Know what they “usually put” in exams or where do they get the questions or what type of questions do they usually put. Learn about them because they will be really helpful.

10. Do not believe completely what others say

- Don’t rely when people say “the topics included in the exam are…”. Confirm it with your reviewers or whoever makes your exam. And of course, since 5th year is composed of review classes always be prepared even if a topic wasn’t discussed yet. You should know what to believe and what not to. 

11. Take down notes and record lectures (if you still have time to listen to them)

- Listen to me, they are very important. It helps you remember your lessons more and it is less time consuming since you won’t need to fully read the topic through book again.

12. Drink multivitamins, eat healthy foods, get enough sleep.

- Do not deprive your physical and mental health during this phase. FOR FREAKING SAKE, listen. Don’t take too much coffee and get enough sleep. You’ll be more efficient. Your health is more important than you would imagine.

- I take Conzace for my daily dose of zinc, vitamins A, C and E. I also take Stresstabs, but not everyday since it has side effects if you drink it all the time. (ex. You take Stresstabs everyday, feeling so calm then suddenly one day, you forgot about it. What happened to me is that I felt like I am extremely anxious the whole day.) I also take MX3  and drink Bear Brand sterilized milk with gingko biloba for extra energy and better memory. 

13. Do not neglect your family and friends.

- Please always make time for them no matter how busy you are. Spending time with them will relieve you from all your stress. Love them always!!! Because they will support you until the end.

14. Focus on what you do not know.

- Since the review happens within a short span of time, focus on the things you are having a hard time with. For an example, you still don’t know how to solve the problems for Bonds Payable, learn the concept first then solve for it.

15. When studying, input information into your long-term memory.

- If you have a short attention span like me, repitition works to put the infotmation in your long-term memory.

16. Study SMART, not study hard. 17. Always believe in yourself 18. Pray and strengthen your faith. 19. Meditate 20. DO NOT CHEAT. 21. Learn to ignore or take things positively about what people say about you 22. Do not compare yourself to others. 23. Do not mind other people (ex. That classmate who continuously cheats yet gets a higher grade than you.) 24. Trust your capabilities 25. Do your best in everything you do.

PS. I’m not yet graduating as I have a lot of subjects left. But all of these are my observations and what I’ve learned from my mistakes during this school year. I hope that everyone will reach their dream to become a CPA. Never lose hope, BE A CPA. 

Also, this post is a work-in-progress. I decided to publish this because I have issues with my mouse, I can’t draft it. 

[misssharpe]

Teaching Philosophy

In this post, I am going to discuss three of my main philosophical views regarding education, which are congruent and mutually supporting. I will be using quotes from a quiz I took in my TED 451 class, and then elaborating further with my own ideas and plans for my future students, while also introducing concrete philosophical standpoints such as Social Reconstructivism and Progressivism.

1. “Schools should prepare students for analyzing and solving the social problems they’ll face beyond the classroom.”  

Let’s face it- our world is in complete chaos these days. I don’t think we have seen a racial-based divide quite this intense since the Civil War. We’re also in the middle of a pandemic, and natural disasters are happening left and right. Needless to say, things are really scary and uncertain. It is because of issues such as this that I believe students need emphasis placed on how to handle all of this. Our students are at a critical point in their lives, and only basing instruction on ABCs and 123s is doing a disservice to them. In my classroom, I will have open panels/class discussions as often as I can to aid my students in processing their thoughts and emotions. Some might say there isn’t enough class time for that, or it’s not in the curriculum- and they may be right- but I feel that this is important enough to make time for. It could take the form of a writing assignment also, but I feel that a major issue in our society is that we aren’t practiced in having informed discussions/debates- that remain civil- with those that oppose our views. I think teaching students how to do that will create a better future for everyone. I don’t expect it to always go perfectly smoothly, but I believe it is part of the process. 

2. “Education is not primarily about workers and the world economic competition; learning should be appreciated for its own sake, and students should enjoy reading, learning, and discussing intriguing ideas.” 

I will immediately respond here with my firm belief that education is not a gateway to “getting a job.” A great majority of folks really sell that idea to young people, and I strongly disagree with it. We can look at the current status of many college graduates and recognize that a bachelor’s degree has not promised or landed them a job immediately. Also, I’ve heard of many older individuals that have held a job for 10+ years without a degree, and are now being made to earn a degree to keep their job, so that everything looks good on paper. There is no personal enrichment there, which I have a problem with. Employers also look for experience, which is another conversation entirely. How exactly are we expected to have experience when no one will hire us because we don’t have experience?

The main issue I have with education being geared towards jobs and economic competition is that it is designed to be so cookie-cutter. Think of standardized testing and scripted lesson plans. Who truly benefits from that, in the classroom? It is certainly not the students, because they are not robots who learn the same way. The scripted-ness of it all takes out all the enrichment, intrigue, and wonder. Education shouldn’t be A, B, C, or D... it should be Who, What, Why, When, and How. The philosophical idea of Social Reconstructivism transforms teachers from “being ‘people who teach’ to being ‘facilitators of learning’” (Lynch). This concept is designed to push students away from answering A, B, C, or D, as I said, and moves them into answering not only in much more depth, but then takes it a step further and asks them why they answered in that way. The point of it all is to ensure that the students actually have a good grasp on what their learning, as opposed to the current standard method of teaching which involves students momentarily memorizing content material and then regurgitating it back onto the paper when taking a test, all to forget the information as soon as they’re done. I want to implement the practices of social reconstructivism so that I know I have effectively done my job. One idea I have is to eliminate multiple choice testing in my classroom, which allows the students to guess and doesn’t force them to form their own thoughts. Again, I don’t expect this to always be smooth sailing. I know that doing this will only make it harder on myself when I have to sit down and read through a hundred short answer tests, but I think it is worth it in the grand scheme of things, because I want my students to actually retain knowledge. 

3. “The purpose of school is to help students understand themselves, appreciate their distinctive talents and insights, and find their own unique place in the world.” 

I love this idea. In fact, if I were made to choose just one philosophical standpoint, this is the hill I would die on. I don’t even feel compelled to sit here and type a formal argument, because it’s that good, and completely speaks for itself. The idea of Progressivism “believes that education comes from the experience of the child. As such, children are the focus of a progressive classroom” (Boyd). This idea centers around the students being the focus of the classroom, as I believe they should be, instead of the teacher. In other words, the students have a say in what they learn, as opposed to the teacher only teaching the students what he/she wants them to learn. For example, in my future Creative Writing classes, if none of my students want to spend two full days going over Personal Journaling because they already do enough of it on their own, we can talk about it and move into the next topic, such as Short Fiction. This is a very basic example, however the general idea behind it is that the students have some control over what they are learning and spending more or less time with. I think that this idea has to be used with caution and with confidence, because I recognize that this gives students an opportunity to pick and choose, which can become a problem pretty quickly. 

In conclusion, I believe these ideas come together quite nicely. Above all, I want my students to care about themselves, each other, and their education. I believe the first step in this is showing them that I care about them and their education, and these philosophical ideas are my game plan. 

Works Cited 

Boyd, Natalie. “Progressivism: Overview and Practical Teaching Examples.” Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/progressivism-overview-practical-teaching-examples.html#:~:text=Progressivism is an educational movement,focusing on the whole child.

Lynch, Matthew. “Social Reconstructivism in Education.” The Edvocate , 19 Nov. 2016.

What Is Your Philosophy of Education?, highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072877723/student_view0/chapter9/what_do_you_think_.html.