#will share all the data for both posts on the same spreadsheet.
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REST and HTTP semantics
Roy Fielding created REST as his doctorate dissertation. After reading it at https://ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/top.htm,
I would boil it down to three basic elements:
A document that describes object state
A transport mechanism to transmit the object state back and forth between systems
A set of operations to perform on the state
While Roy was focused solely on http, I don't see why another transport could not be used, here are some examples:
Mount a WebDAV share (WebDAV is an HTTP extension, so is still using HTTP). Copy a spreadsheet (.xls, .xlsx, .csv, .ods) into the mounted folder, where each row is the new/updated state. The act of copying into the share indicates the operation of upserting, the name of the file indicates the type of data, the columns are the fields. The server responds with (document name)-status.(document suffix), which provides a key for each row, a status, and possibly an error message. In this case, it does not really make sense to request data.
Use gRPC. The object transmitted is the document, HTTP is the transport, the name of the remote method is the operation. Data can be both provided and requested.
Use FTP. Similar to WebDAV, it is file based. The PUT command is upserting, the GET command is requesting. GET only provides a filename, so generally provides all data of the specified type. It is possible to allow for special filenames that indicate a hard-coded filter to GET a subset of data.
Whenever I see REST implementation in the wild, they often do not follow basic HTTP semantics, and I have never seen any explanation given for this, just a bunch of varying opinions. None of those I found referenced the RFC. Most seem to figure that:
POST = create
PUT = update whole document
PATCH = update a portion of document
GET = retrieve whole document
This is counter to what HTTP (https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc9110#name-method-definitions) states regarding POST and PUT:
PUT is create or update. GET generally returns whatever was last PUT. If PUT creates, it MUST return 201 Created. If PUT updates, it MUST return 200 OK or 204 No Content. The RFC suggests the content for 200 OK of a PUT should be the status of the action. I think it would ok in the case of SQL to return the new row from a select statement. This has the advantage that any generated columns are returned to the caller without having to perform a separate GET.
POST processes a resource according to its own semantics. Older RFCs said POST is for subordinates of a resource. All versions give the example of posting an article to a mailing list, all versions say if a resource is created that 201 Created SHOULD be returned.
I would argue that effectively what POST really means is:
Any data manipulation except create, full/partial update, or delete
Any operation that is not data manipulation, such as: performing a full text search for rows that match a phrase, or generate a GIS object to display on a map
The word MUST means your implementation is only HTTP compliant if you do what is stated. Using PUT only for updates obviously won't break anything, just because it isn't RFC compliant. If you provide clients that handle all the details of sending/receiving data, then what verbs get used won't matter much to the user of the client.
I'm the kind of guy who wants a reason for not following the RFC. I have never understood the importance of separating create from update in REST APIs, any more than in web apps. Think about cell phone apps like calendar appointments, notes, contacts, etc:
Create is hitting the plus icon, which displays an new form with empty or default values
Update is selecting an object and hitting the pencil icon, which displays an entry form with current values
Once the entry form appears, it works exactly the same in terms of field validations
So why should REST APIs and web front ends be any different than cell phone apps? If it is helpful to phone users to get the same data entry form for create and update, wouldn't it be just as helpful to API and web users?
If you decide to use PUT as create or update, and you're using SQL as a store, most vendors have an upsert query of some sort. Unfortunately, that does not help to decide when to return 200 OK or 201 Created. You'd have to look at the information your driver provides when a DML query executes to find a way to distinguish insert from update for an upsert, or use another query strategy.
A simple example would be to perform an `update set ... where pk column = pk value`. If one row was affected, then the row exists and was updated, otherwise the row does not exist and an insert is needed. On Postgres, you can take advantage of the RETURNING clause, which can actually return anything, not just row data, as follows:
INSERT INTO <table>
VALUES (...)
ON CONFLICT(<pk column>) DO
UPDATE SET (...)
RETURNING (SELECT COUNT(<pk column>) FROM <table> WHERE <pk column> = <pk value>) exists
The genius of this is that:
The sub select in the RETURNING clause is executed first, so it determines if the row exists before the INSERT ON CONFLICT UPDATE query executes. The result of the query is one column named "exists", which is 1 if the row existed before the query executed, 0 if it did not.
The RETURNING clause can also return the columns of the row, including anything generated that was not provided.
You only have to figure out once how to deal with if an insert or update is needed, and make a simple abstraction that all your PUTs can call that handles 200 OK or 201 Created.
One nice benefit of using PUT as intended, is that as soon as you see a POST you know for certain it is not retrieval or persistence, and conversely you know to search for POST to find the code for any operation that is not retrieval or persistence.
I think the benefits of using PUT and POST as described in the RFC outweigh whatever reasons people have for using them in the way that is not RFC compliant.
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Visualizing Success: How Tableau Data Visualization Services Drive Decision-Making
In today's fast-paced business environment, the ability to make informed decisions quickly and confidently can be the difference between success and stagnation. With the vast amounts of data available to organizations, finding meaningful insights within this sea of information is paramount. This is where Tableau Data Visualization Services step in, providing a powerful platform that transforms raw data into actionable insights. In this blog post, we'll delve into how Tableau Data Visualization Services drive decision-making and propel organizations towards success.
Unleashing the Power of Data Visualization
Data visualization is more than just creating pretty charts and graphs—it's about gaining deeper insights and understanding from complex datasets. Tableau excels in this arena, offering a user-friendly interface that allows businesses to create interactive and visually appealing dashboards.
With Tableau, decision-makers can visualize key metrics and trends in real-time, empowering them to make data-driven decisions at the speed of business. Whether it's tracking sales performance, monitoring market trends, or analyzing customer behavior, Tableau's dynamic visualizations provide clarity and context to even the most intricate datasets.
Empowering Data Exploration and Analysis
One of the hallmarks of Tableau Data Visualization Services is their ability to facilitate data exploration and analysis. Gone are the days of static reports and endless spreadsheets. With Tableau, users can interact with their data in ways that were previously unimaginable.
By enabling users to drill down into specific data points, filter information based on various criteria, and perform on-the-fly calculations, Tableau encourages a deeper level of analysis. This not only enhances understanding but also uncovers hidden patterns and correlations that can inform strategic decision-making.
Enhancing Collaboration and Communication
Effective decision-making often requires collaboration and communication across teams and departments. Tableau Data Visualization Services provide a centralized platform where stakeholders can access and interact with the same data in real-time, fostering collaboration and alignment across the organization.
Teams can share insights, discuss findings, and collaborate on action plans—all within the Tableau environment. Whether it's a marketing team analyzing campaign performance or a sales team tracking pipeline metrics, Tableau ensures that everyone is working from the same playbook, leading to more cohesive and coordinated decision-making.
Driving Actionable Insights and Results
At the end of the day, the true measure of Tableau's impact lies in its ability to drive actionable insights and results. By visualizing data in a way that is both accessible and intuitive, Tableau empowers decision-makers to identify trends, spot opportunities, and mitigate risks with confidence.
From optimizing operational efficiency to identifying new revenue streams, Tableau Data Visualization Services provide the insights needed to fuel growth and innovation. By leveraging the power of data visualization, organizations can chart a course towards success and stay ahead of the competition in today's rapidly evolving business landscape.
Conclusion
In an era where data is king, Tableau Data Visualization Services reign supreme. By empowering organizations to unlock the full potential of their data, Tableau drives decision-making, fosters collaboration, and ultimately, propels businesses towards success. Whether you're a small startup or a multinational corporation, Tableau provides the tools you need to visualize success and turn data into action.
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Beginner's Guide to Google Business Profiles: What Are They, How To Use Them, and Why
Google Business Profile is both a free tool and a suite of interfaces that encompasses a dashboard, in-SERP editing, local business profiles, and a volunteer-driven support forum with this branding. Google Business Profiles and the associated Google Maps make up the core of Google’s free local search marketing options for eligible local businesses.
Today, we’re doing foundational learning! Share this simple, comprehensive article with incoming clients and team members to get off on the right foot with this important local business digital asset.
An introduction to the basics of Google Business Profiles
First, let’s get on the same page regarding what Google Business Profiles (formerly Google My Business) are and how to be part of it.
What is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile (GBP) is the branding of a multi-layered platform that enables you to submit information about local businesses, to manage interactive features like reviews and questions, and to publish a variety of media like photos, posts, and videos.
What is GBP eligibility?
Eligibility to be listed within the Google Business Profile setting is governed by the Guidelines for representing your business on Google, which is a living document that undergoes frequent changes. Before listing any business, you should consult the guidelines to avoid violations that can result in penalties or the removal of your listings.
You need a Google account to get started
You will need a Google account to use Google’s products and can create one here, if you don’t already have one. It’s best for each local business to have its own company account, instead of marketing agencies using their accounts to manage clients’ local business profiles.
When a local business you’re marketing has a large in-house marketing department or works with third party agencies, Google Business Profile permits you to add and remove listing owners and managers so that multiple people can be given a variety of permissions to contribute to listings management.
How to create and claim/verify a Google Business Profile
Once the business you’re marketing has a Google account and has determined that it’s eligible for Google Business Profile inclusion, you can create a single local business profile by starting here, using Google’s walkthrough wizard to get listed.
Fill out as many fields as possible in creating your profile. This guide will help you understand how best to fill out many of the fields and utilize many of the features. Once you’ve provided as much information as you can, you’ll be given options to verify your listing so that you can control and edit it going forward.
Alternatively, if you need to list 10+ locations of a business all at the same time, you can do a bulk upload via spreadsheet and then request bulk verification.
Where your Google Business Profile information can display
Once your data has been accepted into the GBP system, it will begin showing up in a variety of Google’s local search displays, including the mobile and desktop versions of:
Google Business Profiles
Your comprehensive Google Business Profile (GBP) will most typically appear when you search for a business by its brand name, often with a city name included in your search language (e.g. “Amy’s Drive Thru Corte Madera”). In some cases, GBPs will show for non-branded searches as well (e.g. “vegan burger near me”). This can happen if there is low competition for a search term, or if Google believes (rightly or wrongly) that a search phrase has the intent of finding a specific brand instead of a variety of results.
Google Business Profiles are extremely lengthy, but a truncated view looks something like this, located to the right of the organic search engine results:
Google Local Packs
Local packs are one of the chief displays Google uses to rank and present the local business information in their index. Local packs are shown any time Google believes a search phrase has a local intent (e.g. “best vegan burger near me”, “plant-based burger in corte madera”, “onion rings downtown”). The searcher does not have to include geographic terms in their phrase for Google to presume the intent is local.
Most typically these days, a local pack is made up of three business listings, with the option to click on a map or a “view all” button to see further listings. On occasion, local packs may feature fewer than three listings, and the types of information Google presents in them varies.
Local pack results look something like this on desktop search, generally located above the organic search results:
Google Local Finders
When a searcher clicks through on the map or the “view all” link in a local pack, they will be taken to the display commonly known as the Local Finder. Here, many listings can be displayed, typically paginated in groups of ten, and the searcher can zoom in and out on the map to see their options change.
The URL of this type of result begins google.com/search. Some industries, like hospitality have unique displays, but most local business categories will have a local finder display that looks like this, with the ranked list of results to the left and the map to the right:
Google Maps
Google Maps is the default display on Android mobile phones, and desktop users can also choose to search via this interface instead of through Google’s general search. You’ll notice a “maps” link at the top of Google’s desktop display, like this:
Searches made via Google Maps yield results that look rather similar to the local finder results, though there are some differences. It’s a distinct possibility that Google could, at some point, consolidate the user experience and have local packs default to Google Maps instead of the local finder.
The URL of these results begins google.com/maps instead of google.com/search and on desktop, Google’s ranked Maps’ display looks like this:
In-SERP vs. Dashboard GBP Management
Until quite recently, the majority of Google-based local business listings were managed via the interface formerly known as the Google Business Profile Manager Dashboard, which looks like this:
However, small businesses with only one or a few locations are now likely to see this prompt when logging into the dashboard:
If you choose the “stay here” button, hopefully Google will continue to let you manage your listings within the traditional dashboard, though this dynamic is in flux and could change at any time. If, instead, you choose the “manage on search” button, you will have to search Google for the phrase “my business” or the name of your business, and then manage all of your Google Business Profile functions within search, like this:
Google is currently testing a variety of in-SERP prompts like the following to guide business owners through the process of editing their listings in the absence of a convenient dashboard:
It’s my feeling that Google has made this unnecessary complicated, treating small businesses unequally by not giving them the same dedicated dashboard that larger brands enjoy. If you prefer having all your GBP-related assets in a very convenient and organized single dashboard, check out Moz Local.
GBP Insights
The GBP dashboard also hosts the analytical features called GBP Insights. It’s a very useful interface, though the titles and functions of some of its components can be opaque. Some of the data you’ll see in GBP Insights includes:
How many impressions happened surrounding searches for your business name or location (called Direct), general searches that don’t specify your company by name but relate to what you offer (called Discovery), and searches relating to brands your business carries (called Branded).
Customer actions, like website visits, phone calls, messaging, and requests for driving directions.
Search terms people used that resulted in an impression of your business.
There are multiple other GBP Insights features, and I highly recommend this tutorial by Joy Hawkins for a next-level understanding of why reporting from this interface can be conflicting and confusing. There’s really important data in GBP Insights, but interpreting it properly deserves a post of its own and a bit of patience with some imperfections.
If you’ve lost your dashboard and are now managing your listing in-SERPs, you can still get to insights from the prompt within search that is labeled “promote”, and what you see will look something like this:
When things go wrong with Google Business Profile
When engaging in GBP marketing, you’re bound to encounter problems and find that all kinds of questions arise from your day-to-day work. Google relies heavily on volunteer support in their Google Business Profile Help Community Forum and you can post most issues there in hopes of a reply from the general public or from volunteer contributors titled Gold Product Experts.
In some cases, however, problems with your listings will necessitate speaking directly with Google or filling out forms. Download the free Local SEO Cheat Sheet for robust documentation of your various GBP support options.
How to use Google Business Profile as a digital marketing tool
Let’s gain a quick, no-frills understanding of how GBP can be used as one of your most important local marketing tools.
How to drive local business growth with Google’s local features
While each local business will need to take a nuanced approach to using Google Business Profile and Google Maps to market itself, most brands will maximize their growth potential on these platforms by following these seven basic steps:
1) Determine the business model (brick-and-mortar, service area business, home-based business, or hybrid). Need help? Try this guide.
2) Based on the business model, determine Google Business Profile eligibility and follow the attendant rules laid out in the Guidelines for representing your business on Google.
3) Before you create GBP profiles, be certain you are working from a canonical source of data that has been vetted by all relevant parties at the business you’re marketing. This means that you’ve checked and double-checked that the name, address, phone number, hours of operation, business categories and other data you have about the company you are listing is 100% accurate.
4) Create and claim a profile for each of the locations you’re marketing. Depending on the business model, you may also be eligible for additional listings for practitioners at the business or multiple departments at a location. Some models, like car dealerships, are even allowed multiple listings for the car makes they sell. Consult the guidelines. Provide as much high quality, accurate, and complete information as possible in creating your profiles.
5) Once your listings are live, it’s time to begin managing them on an ongoing basis. Management tasks will include:
Analyzing chosen categories on an ongoing basis to be sure you’ve selected the best and most influential ones, and know of any new categories that appear over time for your industry.
Uploading high quality photos that reflect inventory, services, seasonality, premises, and other features.
Acquiring and responding to all reviews as a core component of your customer service policy.
Committing to a Google Posts schedule, publishing micro-blog-style content on an ongoing basis to increase awareness about products, services, events, and news surrounding the locations you’re marketing.
Populating Google Questions & Answers with company FAQs, providing simple replies to queries your staff receives all the time. Then, answer any incoming questions from the public on an ongoing basis.
Adding video to your listings. Check out how even a brand on a budget can create a cool, free video pulled from features of the GBP listing.
Commiting to keeping your basic information up-to-date, including any changes in contact info and hours, and adding special hours for holidays or other events and circumstances.
Investigating and utilizing additional features that could be relevant to the model you’re marketing, like menus for goods and services, product listings, booking functionality, and so much more!
Analyzing listing performance by reviewing Google Business Profile Insights in your dashboard, and using tactics like UTM tagging to track how the public is interacting with your listings.
Need help? Moz Local is Moz’s software that helps with ongoing management of your listings not just on Google, but across multiple local business platforms.
6) Ongoing education is key to maintaining awareness of Google rolling out new features, altering platforms, and adjusting how they weight different local ranking factors. Follow local SEO experts on social media, subscribe to local SEO newsletters, and tune in to professional and street level industry surveys to continuously evaluate which factors appear to be facilitating maximum visibility and growth.
7) In addition to managing your own local business profiles, you’ll need to learn to view them in the dynamic context of competitive local markets. You’ll have competitors for each search phrase for which you want to increase your visibility and your customers will see different pack, finder, and maps results based on their locations at the time of search. Don’t get stuck on the goal of being #1, but do learn to do basic local competitive audits so that you can identify patterns of how dominant competitors are winning.
In sum, providing Google with great and appropriate data at the outset, following up with ongoing management of all relevant GBP features, and making a commitment to ongoing local SEO education is the right recipe for creating a growth engine that’s a top asset for the local brands you market.
How to optimize Google Business Profile listings
This SEO forum FAQ is actually a bit tricky, because so many resources talk about GBP optimization without enough context. Let’s get a handle on this topic together.
Google uses calculations known as “algorithms” to determine the order in which they list businesses for public viewing. Local SEOs and local business owners are always working to better understand the secret ranking factors in Google’s local algorithm so that the locations they’re marketing can achieve maximum visibility in packs, finders, and maps.
Many local SEO experts feel that there are very few fields you can fill out in a Google Business Profile that actually have any impact on ranking. While most experts agree that it’s pretty evident the business name field, the primary chosen category, the linked website URL, and some aspects of reviews may be ranking factors, the Internet is full of confusing advice about “optimizing” service radii, business descriptions, and other features with no evidence that these elements influence rank.
My personal take is that this conversation about GBP optimization matters, but I prefer to think more holistically about the features working in concert to drive visibility, conversions, and growth, rather than speculating too much about how an individual feature may or may not impact rank.
Whether answering a GBP Q&A query delivers a direct lead, or writing a post moves a searcher further along the buyer journey, or choosing a different primary category boosts visibility for certain searches, or responding to a review to demonstrate empathy wins back an unhappy customer, you want it all. If it contributes to business growth, it matters.
Why Google Business Profile plays a major role in local search marketing strategy
As of mid-2020, Google’s global search engine market share was at 92.16%. While other search engines like Bing or Yahoo still have a role to play, their share is simply tiny, compared to Google’s. We could see a shift of this dynamic with the rumored development of an Apple search engine, but for now, Google has a near-monopoly on search.
Within Google’s massive share of search, a company representative stated in 2018 that 46% of queries have a local intent. It’s been estimated that Google processes 5.8 billion global daily queries. By my calculation, this would mean that roughly 2.7 billion searches are being done every day by people seeking nearby goods, services, and resources. It’s also good to know that, according to Google, searches with the intent of supporting local business increased 20,000% in 2020.
Local businesses seeking to capture the share they need of these queries to become visible in their geographic markets must know how to incorporate Google Business Profile marketing into their local SEO campaigns.
A definition of local search engine optimization (local SEO)
Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a business’s web presence for increased visibility in local and localized organic search engine results. It’s core to providing modern customer service, ensuring today’s businesses can be found and chosen on the internet. Small and local businesses make up the largest business sector in the United States, making local SEO the most prevalent form of SEO.
Local SEO and Google Business Profile marketing are not the same thing, but learning to utilize GBP as a tool and asset is key to driving local business growth, because of Google’s near monopoly.
A complete local SEO campaign will include management of the many components of the Google Business Profile profile, as well as managing listings on other location data and review platforms, social media publication, image and video production and distribution, and a strong focus on the organic and local optimization of the company website. Comprehensive local search marketing campaigns also encompass all the offline efforts a business makes to be found and chosen.
When trying to prioritize, it can help to think of the website as the #1 digital asset of most brands you’ll market, but that GBP marketing will be #2. And within the local search marketing framework, it’s the customer and their satisfaction that must be centered at every stage of on-and-offline promotion.
Focus on GBP but diversify beyond Google
Every aspect of marketing a brand contains plusses, minuses and pitfalls. Google Business Profile is no exception. Let’s categorize this scenario into four parts for a realistic take on the terrain.
1) The positive
The most positive aspect of GBP is that it meets our criteria as owners and marketers of helping local businesses get found and chosen. At the end of the day, this is the goal of nearly all marketing tactics, and Google’s huge market share makes their platforms a peerless place to compete for the attention of and selection by customers.
What Google has developed is a wonder of technology. With modest effort on your part, GBP lets you digitize a business so that it can be ever-present to communities, facilitate conversations with the public which generate loyalty and underpin everything from inventory development to quality control, and build the kind of online reputation that makes brands local household names in the offline world.
2) The negative
The most obvious negative aspects of GBP are that its very dominance has cut Google too much slack in letting issues like listing and review spam undermine results quality. Without a real competitor, Google hasn’t demonstrated the internal will to solve problems like these that have real-world impacts on local brands and communities.
Meanwhile, a dry-eyed appraisal of Google’s local strategy observes that the company is increasingly monetizing their results. For now, GBP profiles are free, but expanding programs like Local Service Ads point the way to a more costly local SEO future for small businesses on tight budgets
Finally, local brands and marketers (as well as Google’s own employees) are finding themselves increasingly confronted with ethical concerns surrounding Google that have made them the subject of company walkouts, public protests, major lawsuits, and government investigations. If you’re devoting your professional life to building diverse, inclusive local communities that cherish human rights, you may sometimes encounter a fundamental disconnect between your goals and Google’s.
3) The pitfall
Managing your Google-based assets takes time, but don’t let it take all of your time. Because local businesses owners are so busy and Google is so omnipresent, a pitfall has developed where it can appear that GBP is the only game in town.
The old adage about eggs in baskets comes into play every time Google has a frustrating bug, monetizes a formerly-free business category, or lets competitors and lead generators park their advertising in what you felt was your space. Sometimes, Google’s vision of local simply doesn’t match real-world realities, and something like a missing category or an undeveloped feature you need is standing in the way of fully communicating what your business offers.
The pitfall is that Google’s walls can be so high that the limits and limitations of their platforms can be mistaken as all there is to local search marketing.
4) The path to success
My article on how to feed, fight, and flip Google was one of the most-read here on the Moz blog in 2020. With nearly 14,000 unique page views, this message is one I am doubling down on in 2021:
Feed Google everything they need to view the businesses you’re marketing as the most relevant answers to people in close proximity to brand locations so that the companies you promote become the prominent local resources in Google’s index.
Fight spam in the communities you’re marketing to so that you’re weeding out fake and ineligible competitors and protecting neighbors from scams, and take principled stands on the issues that matter to you and your customers, building affinity with the public and a better future where you work and live.
Flip the online scenario where Google controls so much local business fate into a one-on-one environment in which you have full control over creating customer experiences exceptional enough to win repeat business and WOM recommendations, outside the GBP loop. Turn every customer Google sends you into a keeper who comes directly to you — not Google — for multiple transactions.
GBP is vital, but there’s so much to see beyond it! Get listed on multiple platforms and deeply engage in your reviews across them. Add generous value to neighborhood sites Nextdoor, or on old school fora that nobody but locals use. Forge B2B alliances and join the Buy Local movement to become a local business advocate and community sponsor. Help a Reporter Out. Evaluate whether image, video, or podcasting media could boost your brand to local fame. Profoundly grow your email base. Be part of the home delivery revival, fill the hungry longing for bygone quality and expertise, or invest in your website like never before and make the leap into digital sales. The options and opportunities are enticing and there’s a right fit for every local brand.
Key takeaway: don’t get stuck in Google’s world — build your own with your customers from a place of openness to possibilities.
A glance at the future of Google Business Profile
By now, you’ve likely decided that investing time and resources into your GBP assets is a basic necessity to marketing a local business. But will your efforts pay off for a long time to come? Is GBP built to last, and where is Google heading with their vision of local?
Barring unforeseen circumstances, yes, Google Business Profile is here to stay, though it could be rebranded, as Google has often rebranded their local features in the past. Here are eight developments I believe we could see over the next half decade:
As mentioned above, Google could default local packs to Maps instead of the local finder, making their network a bit tidier. This is a good time to learn more about Google Maps, because some aspects of it are quite different.
Pay-to-play visibility will become increasingly prevalent in packs, organic, and Maps, including lead generation features and trust badges.
If Apple Maps manages to make Google feel anxious, they may determine to invest in better spam filters for both listings and reviews to defend the quality of their index.
Location-based image filters and search features will grow, so photograph your inventory.
Google will make further strides into local commerce by surfacing, and possibly even beginning to take commissions from, sales of real time inventory. The brands you market will need to decide whether to sell via Google, via their own company websites, or both.
Google could release a feature depicting the mapped delivery radii of brick-and-mortar brands. Home delivery is here to stay, and if it’s relevant to brands you market, now is the time to dive in.
Google has a limited time window to see if they can drive adoption of Google Messaging as a major brand-to-consumer communications platform. The next five years will be telling, in this regard, and brands you market should discuss whether they wish to invite Google into their conversations with customers.
Google could add public commenting on Google Posts to increase their interactivity and push brands into greater use of this feature. Nextdoor has this functionality on their posts and it’s a bit of a surprise that Google doesn’t yet.
What I’m not seeing on the near horizon is a real commitment to better one-on-one support for the local business owners whose data makes up Google’s vast and profitable local index. While the company has substantially increased the amount of automated communications it sends GBP listing owners, Google’s vision of local as an open-source, DIY free-for-all appears to continue to be where they’re at with this evolving venture.
Your job, then, is to be vigilant about both the best and worst aspects of the fascinating Google Business Profile platform, taking as much control as you can of how customers experience your brand in Google’s territory. This is no easy task, but with ongoing education, supporting tools, and a primary focus on serving the customer, your investment in Google Business Profile marketing can yield exceptional rewards!
Ready to continue your local SEO education? Read: The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.
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Beginner's Guide to Google Business Profiles: What Are They, How To Use Them, and Why
Google Business Profile is both a free tool and a suite of interfaces that encompasses a dashboard, in-SERP editing, local business profiles, and a volunteer-driven support forum with this branding. Google Business Profiles and the associated Google Maps make up the core of Google’s free local search marketing options for eligible local businesses.
Today, we’re doing foundational learning! Share this simple, comprehensive article with incoming clients and team members to get off on the right foot with this important local business digital asset.
An introduction to the basics of Google Business Profiles
First, let’s get on the same page regarding what Google Business Profiles (formerly Google My Business) are and how to be part of it.
What is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile (GBP) is the branding of a multi-layered platform that enables you to submit information about local businesses, to manage interactive features like reviews and questions, and to publish a variety of media like photos, posts, and videos.
What is GBP eligibility?
Eligibility to be listed within the Google Business Profile setting is governed by the Guidelines for representing your business on Google, which is a living document that undergoes frequent changes. Before listing any business, you should consult the guidelines to avoid violations that can result in penalties or the removal of your listings.
You need a Google account to get started
You will need a Google account to use Google’s products and can create one here, if you don’t already have one. It’s best for each local business to have its own company account, instead of marketing agencies using their accounts to manage clients’ local business profiles.
When a local business you’re marketing has a large in-house marketing department or works with third party agencies, Google Business Profile permits you to add and remove listing owners and managers so that multiple people can be given a variety of permissions to contribute to listings management.
How to create and claim/verify a Google Business Profile
Once the business you’re marketing has a Google account and has determined that it’s eligible for Google Business Profile inclusion, you can create a single local business profile by starting here, using Google’s walkthrough wizard to get listed.
Fill out as many fields as possible in creating your profile. This guide will help you understand how best to fill out many of the fields and utilize many of the features. Once you’ve provided as much information as you can, you’ll be given options to verify your listing so that you can control and edit it going forward.
Alternatively, if you need to list 10+ locations of a business all at the same time, you can do a bulk upload via spreadsheet and then request bulk verification.
Where your Google Business Profile information can display
Once your data has been accepted into the GBP system, it will begin showing up in a variety of Google’s local search displays, including the mobile and desktop versions of:
Google Business Profiles
Your comprehensive Google Business Profile (GBP) will most typically appear when you search for a business by its brand name, often with a city name included in your search language (e.g. “Amy’s Drive Thru Corte Madera”). In some cases, GBPs will show for non-branded searches as well (e.g. “vegan burger near me”). This can happen if there is low competition for a search term, or if Google believes (rightly or wrongly) that a search phrase has the intent of finding a specific brand instead of a variety of results.
Google Business Profiles are extremely lengthy, but a truncated view looks something like this, located to the right of the organic search engine results:
Google Local Packs
Local packs are one of the chief displays Google uses to rank and present the local business information in their index. Local packs are shown any time Google believes a search phrase has a local intent (e.g. “best vegan burger near me”, “plant-based burger in corte madera”, “onion rings downtown”). The searcher does not have to include geographic terms in their phrase for Google to presume the intent is local.
Most typically these days, a local pack is made up of three business listings, with the option to click on a map or a “view all” button to see further listings. On occasion, local packs may feature fewer than three listings, and the types of information Google presents in them varies.
Local pack results look something like this on desktop search, generally located above the organic search results:
Google Local Finders
When a searcher clicks through on the map or the “view all” link in a local pack, they will be taken to the display commonly known as the Local Finder. Here, many listings can be displayed, typically paginated in groups of ten, and the searcher can zoom in and out on the map to see their options change.
The URL of this type of result begins google.com/search. Some industries, like hospitality have unique displays, but most local business categories will have a local finder display that looks like this, with the ranked list of results to the left and the map to the right:
Google Maps
Google Maps is the default display on Android mobile phones, and desktop users can also choose to search via this interface instead of through Google’s general search. You’ll notice a “maps” link at the top of Google’s desktop display, like this:
Searches made via Google Maps yield results that look rather similar to the local finder results, though there are some differences. It’s a distinct possibility that Google could, at some point, consolidate the user experience and have local packs default to Google Maps instead of the local finder.
The URL of these results begins google.com/maps instead of google.com/search and on desktop, Google’s ranked Maps’ display looks like this:
In-SERP vs. Dashboard GBP Management
Until quite recently, the majority of Google-based local business listings were managed via the interface formerly known as the Google Business Profile Manager Dashboard, which looks like this:
However, small businesses with only one or a few locations are now likely to see this prompt when logging into the dashboard:
If you choose the “stay here” button, hopefully Google will continue to let you manage your listings within the traditional dashboard, though this dynamic is in flux and could change at any time. If, instead, you choose the “manage on search” button, you will have to search Google for the phrase “my business��� or the name of your business, and then manage all of your Google Business Profile functions within search, like this:
Google is currently testing a variety of in-SERP prompts like the following to guide business owners through the process of editing their listings in the absence of a convenient dashboard:
It’s my feeling that Google has made this unnecessary complicated, treating small businesses unequally by not giving them the same dedicated dashboard that larger brands enjoy. If you prefer having all your GBP-related assets in a very convenient and organized single dashboard, check out Moz Local.
GBP Insights
The GBP dashboard also hosts the analytical features called GBP Insights. It’s a very useful interface, though the titles and functions of some of its components can be opaque. Some of the data you’ll see in GBP Insights includes:
How many impressions happened surrounding searches for your business name or location (called Direct), general searches that don’t specify your company by name but relate to what you offer (called Discovery), and searches relating to brands your business carries (called Branded).
Customer actions, like website visits, phone calls, messaging, and requests for driving directions.
Search terms people used that resulted in an impression of your business.
There are multiple other GBP Insights features, and I highly recommend this tutorial by Joy Hawkins for a next-level understanding of why reporting from this interface can be conflicting and confusing. There’s really important data in GBP Insights, but interpreting it properly deserves a post of its own and a bit of patience with some imperfections.
If you’ve lost your dashboard and are now managing your listing in-SERPs, you can still get to insights from the prompt within search that is labeled “promote”, and what you see will look something like this:
When things go wrong with Google Business Profile
When engaging in GBP marketing, you’re bound to encounter problems and find that all kinds of questions arise from your day-to-day work. Google relies heavily on volunteer support in their Google Business Profile Help Community Forum and you can post most issues there in hopes of a reply from the general public or from volunteer contributors titled Gold Product Experts.
In some cases, however, problems with your listings will necessitate speaking directly with Google or filling out forms. Download the free Local SEO Cheat Sheet for robust documentation of your various GBP support options.
How to use Google Business Profile as a digital marketing tool
Let’s gain a quick, no-frills understanding of how GBP can be used as one of your most important local marketing tools.
How to drive local business growth with Google’s local features
While each local business will need to take a nuanced approach to using Google Business Profile and Google Maps to market itself, most brands will maximize their growth potential on these platforms by following these seven basic steps:
1) Determine the business model (brick-and-mortar, service area business, home-based business, or hybrid). Need help? Try this guide.
2) Based on the business model, determine Google Business Profile eligibility and follow the attendant rules laid out in the Guidelines for representing your business on Google.
3) Before you create GBP profiles, be certain you are working from a canonical source of data that has been vetted by all relevant parties at the business you’re marketing. This means that you’ve checked and double-checked that the name, address, phone number, hours of operation, business categories and other data you have about the company you are listing is 100% accurate.
4) Create and claim a profile for each of the locations you’re marketing. Depending on the business model, you may also be eligible for additional listings for practitioners at the business or multiple departments at a location. Some models, like car dealerships, are even allowed multiple listings for the car makes they sell. Consult the guidelines. Provide as much high quality, accurate, and complete information as possible in creating your profiles.
5) Once your listings are live, it’s time to begin managing them on an ongoing basis. Management tasks will include:
Analyzing chosen categories on an ongoing basis to be sure you’ve selected the best and most influential ones, and know of any new categories that appear over time for your industry.
Uploading high quality photos that reflect inventory, services, seasonality, premises, and other features.
Acquiring and responding to all reviews as a core component of your customer service policy.
Committing to a Google Posts schedule, publishing micro-blog-style content on an ongoing basis to increase awareness about products, services, events, and news surrounding the locations you’re marketing.
Populating Google Questions & Answers with company FAQs, providing simple replies to queries your staff receives all the time. Then, answer any incoming questions from the public on an ongoing basis.
Adding video to your listings. Check out how even a brand on a budget can create a cool, free video pulled from features of the GBP listing.
Commiting to keeping your basic information up-to-date, including any changes in contact info and hours, and adding special hours for holidays or other events and circumstances.
Investigating and utilizing additional features that could be relevant to the model you’re marketing, like menus for goods and services, product listings, booking functionality, and so much more!
Analyzing listing performance by reviewing Google Business Profile Insights in your dashboard, and using tactics like UTM tagging to track how the public is interacting with your listings.
Need help? Moz Local is Moz’s software that helps with ongoing management of your listings not just on Google, but across multiple local business platforms.
6) Ongoing education is key to maintaining awareness of Google rolling out new features, altering platforms, and adjusting how they weight different local ranking factors. Follow local SEO experts on social media, subscribe to local SEO newsletters, and tune in to professional and street level industry surveys to continuously evaluate which factors appear to be facilitating maximum visibility and growth.
7) In addition to managing your own local business profiles, you’ll need to learn to view them in the dynamic context of competitive local markets. You’ll have competitors for each search phrase for which you want to increase your visibility and your customers will see different pack, finder, and maps results based on their locations at the time of search. Don’t get stuck on the goal of being #1, but do learn to do basic local competitive audits so that you can identify patterns of how dominant competitors are winning.
In sum, providing Google with great and appropriate data at the outset, following up with ongoing management of all relevant GBP features, and making a commitment to ongoing local SEO education is the right recipe for creating a growth engine that’s a top asset for the local brands you market.
How to optimize Google Business Profile listings
This SEO forum FAQ is actually a bit tricky, because so many resources talk about GBP optimization without enough context. Let’s get a handle on this topic together.
Google uses calculations known as “algorithms” to determine the order in which they list businesses for public viewing. Local SEOs and local business owners are always working to better understand the secret ranking factors in Google’s local algorithm so that the locations they’re marketing can achieve maximum visibility in packs, finders, and maps.
Many local SEO experts feel that there are very few fields you can fill out in a Google Business Profile that actually have any impact on ranking. While most experts agree that it’s pretty evident the business name field, the primary chosen category, the linked website URL, and some aspects of reviews may be ranking factors, the Internet is full of confusing advice about “optimizing” service radii, business descriptions, and other features with no evidence that these elements influence rank.
My personal take is that this conversation about GBP optimization matters, but I prefer to think more holistically about the features working in concert to drive visibility, conversions, and growth, rather than speculating too much about how an individual feature may or may not impact rank.
Whether answering a GBP Q&A query delivers a direct lead, or writing a post moves a searcher further along the buyer journey, or choosing a different primary category boosts visibility for certain searches, or responding to a review to demonstrate empathy wins back an unhappy customer, you want it all. If it contributes to business growth, it matters.
Why Google Business Profile plays a major role in local search marketing strategy
As of mid-2020, Google’s global search engine market share was at 92.16%. While other search engines like Bing or Yahoo still have a role to play, their share is simply tiny, compared to Google’s. We could see a shift of this dynamic with the rumored development of an Apple search engine, but for now, Google has a near-monopoly on search.
Within Google’s massive share of search, a company representative stated in 2018 that 46% of queries have a local intent. It’s been estimated that Google processes 5.8 billion global daily queries. By my calculation, this would mean that roughly 2.7 billion searches are being done every day by people seeking nearby goods, services, and resources. It’s also good to know that, according to Google, searches with the intent of supporting local business increased 20,000% in 2020.
Local businesses seeking to capture the share they need of these queries to become visible in their geographic markets must know how to incorporate Google Business Profile marketing into their local SEO campaigns.
A definition of local search engine optimization (local SEO)
Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a business’s web presence for increased visibility in local and localized organic search engine results. It’s core to providing modern customer service, ensuring today’s businesses can be found and chosen on the internet. Small and local businesses make up the largest business sector in the United States, making local SEO the most prevalent form of SEO.
Local SEO and Google Business Profile marketing are not the same thing, but learning to utilize GBP as a tool and asset is key to driving local business growth, because of Google’s near monopoly.
A complete local SEO campaign will include management of the many components of the Google Business Profile profile, as well as managing listings on other location data and review platforms, social media publication, image and video production and distribution, and a strong focus on the organic and local optimization of the company website. Comprehensive local search marketing campaigns also encompass all the offline efforts a business makes to be found and chosen.
When trying to prioritize, it can help to think of the website as the #1 digital asset of most brands you’ll market, but that GBP marketing will be #2. And within the local search marketing framework, it’s the customer and their satisfaction that must be centered at every stage of on-and-offline promotion.
Focus on GBP but diversify beyond Google
Every aspect of marketing a brand contains plusses, minuses and pitfalls. Google Business Profile is no exception. Let’s categorize this scenario into four parts for a realistic take on the terrain.
1) The positive
The most positive aspect of GBP is that it meets our criteria as owners and marketers of helping local businesses get found and chosen. At the end of the day, this is the goal of nearly all marketing tactics, and Google’s huge market share makes their platforms a peerless place to compete for the attention of and selection by customers.
What Google has developed is a wonder of technology. With modest effort on your part, GBP lets you digitize a business so that it can be ever-present to communities, facilitate conversations with the public which generate loyalty and underpin everything from inventory development to quality control, and build the kind of online reputation that makes brands local household names in the offline world.
2) The negative
The most obvious negative aspects of GBP are that its very dominance has cut Google too much slack in letting issues like listing and review spam undermine results quality. Without a real competitor, Google hasn’t demonstrated the internal will to solve problems like these that have real-world impacts on local brands and communities.
Meanwhile, a dry-eyed appraisal of Google’s local strategy observes that the company is increasingly monetizing their results. For now, GBP profiles are free, but expanding programs like Local Service Ads point the way to a more costly local SEO future for small businesses on tight budgets
Finally, local brands and marketers (as well as Google’s own employees) are finding themselves increasingly confronted with ethical concerns surrounding Google that have made them the subject of company walkouts, public protests, major lawsuits, and government investigations. If you’re devoting your professional life to building diverse, inclusive local communities that cherish human rights, you may sometimes encounter a fundamental disconnect between your goals and Google’s.
3) The pitfall
Managing your Google-based assets takes time, but don’t let it take all of your time. Because local businesses owners are so busy and Google is so omnipresent, a pitfall has developed where it can appear that GBP is the only game in town.
The old adage about eggs in baskets comes into play every time Google has a frustrating bug, monetizes a formerly-free business category, or lets competitors and lead generators park their advertising in what you felt was your space. Sometimes, Google’s vision of local simply doesn’t match real-world realities, and something like a missing category or an undeveloped feature you need is standing in the way of fully communicating what your business offers.
The pitfall is that Google’s walls can be so high that the limits and limitations of their platforms can be mistaken as all there is to local search marketing.
4) The path to success
My article on how to feed, fight, and flip Google was one of the most-read here on the Moz blog in 2020. With nearly 14,000 unique page views, this message is one I am doubling down on in 2021:
Feed Google everything they need to view the businesses you’re marketing as the most relevant answers to people in close proximity to brand locations so that the companies you promote become the prominent local resources in Google’s index.
Fight spam in the communities you’re marketing to so that you’re weeding out fake and ineligible competitors and protecting neighbors from scams, and take principled stands on the issues that matter to you and your customers, building affinity with the public and a better future where you work and live.
Flip the online scenario where Google controls so much local business fate into a one-on-one environment in which you have full control over creating customer experiences exceptional enough to win repeat business and WOM recommendations, outside the GBP loop. Turn every customer Google sends you into a keeper who comes directly to you — not Google — for multiple transactions.
GBP is vital, but there’s so much to see beyond it! Get listed on multiple platforms and deeply engage in your reviews across them. Add generous value to neighborhood sites Nextdoor, or on old school fora that nobody but locals use. Forge B2B alliances and join the Buy Local movement to become a local business advocate and community sponsor. Help a Reporter Out. Evaluate whether image, video, or podcasting media could boost your brand to local fame. Profoundly grow your email base. Be part of the home delivery revival, fill the hungry longing for bygone quality and expertise, or invest in your website like never before and make the leap into digital sales. The options and opportunities are enticing and there’s a right fit for every local brand.
Key takeaway: don’t get stuck in Google’s world — build your own with your customers from a place of openness to possibilities.
A glance at the future of Google Business Profile
By now, you’ve likely decided that investing time and resources into your GBP assets is a basic necessity to marketing a local business. But will your efforts pay off for a long time to come? Is GBP built to last, and where is Google heading with their vision of local?
Barring unforeseen circumstances, yes, Google Business Profile is here to stay, though it could be rebranded, as Google has often rebranded their local features in the past. Here are eight developments I believe we could see over the next half decade:
As mentioned above, Google could default local packs to Maps instead of the local finder, making their network a bit tidier. This is a good time to learn more about Google Maps, because some aspects of it are quite different.
Pay-to-play visibility will become increasingly prevalent in packs, organic, and Maps, including lead generation features and trust badges.
If Apple Maps manages to make Google feel anxious, they may determine to invest in better spam filters for both listings and reviews to defend the quality of their index.
Location-based image filters and search features will grow, so photograph your inventory.
Google will make further strides into local commerce by surfacing, and possibly even beginning to take commissions from, sales of real time inventory. The brands you market will need to decide whether to sell via Google, via their own company websites, or both.
Google could release a feature depicting the mapped delivery radii of brick-and-mortar brands. Home delivery is here to stay, and if it’s relevant to brands you market, now is the time to dive in.
Google has a limited time window to see if they can drive adoption of Google Messaging as a major brand-to-consumer communications platform. The next five years will be telling, in this regard, and brands you market should discuss whether they wish to invite Google into their conversations with customers.
Google could add public commenting on Google Posts to increase their interactivity and push brands into greater use of this feature. Nextdoor has this functionality on their posts and it’s a bit of a surprise that Google doesn’t yet.
What I’m not seeing on the near horizon is a real commitment to better one-on-one support for the local business owners whose data makes up Google’s vast and profitable local index. While the company has substantially increased the amount of automated communications it sends GBP listing owners, Google’s vision of local as an open-source, DIY free-for-all appears to continue to be where they’re at with this evolving venture.
Your job, then, is to be vigilant about both the best and worst aspects of the fascinating Google Business Profile platform, taking as much control as you can of how customers experience your brand in Google’s territory. This is no easy task, but with ongoing education, supporting tools, and a primary focus on serving the customer, your investment in Google Business Profile marketing can yield exceptional rewards!
Ready to continue your local SEO education? Read: The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide.
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We should talk about f/f
So, the fact that f/f shipping is so much less popular than basically any other type of shipping probably isn’t coming as news to anyone, but the AO3 ship stats for 2021 just came out and I went into an autistic whirlwind plugging them into spreadsheets and making graphs, so I thought I’d share what I found.
Like I said, you all probably know that f/f shipping is way less popular than m/m and m/f shipping, but you might have assumed that it’s share of fandom is growing slowly or is at least stagnant. The fact is that it’s declining. And it has been for several years now.
Here’s what the Top 100 ships of 2016 looked like. This isn’t an overall number, it’s just fics that were posted in 2016. 62% of fics were M/M, 19% were M/F, and 7% were F/F.
Here’s the same chart for 2021. 61% were M/M, 12% were M/F, and 3% were F/F. The 2021 Top 100 list has fewer than half the number of F/F ships the 2016 list had. Although Gen is up to 22% from 5% in 2016, so I guess that’s good news if you like Gen.
The total number of fics written for the F/F ships in the year’s Top 100 in 2021 is less than it was in 2016 and 2017, and is generally on the decline. Out of M/M, M/F, and F/F, F/F is the only category that’s been trending downward, albeit slowly.
To be clear, the number of M/F ships represented in the year’s Top 100 has declined but the number of fics has not. What this means is that the M/F ships that are on the list are highly ranked.
By contrast, both the number of M/M ships and the number of M/M fics is trending upward while both the number of F/F ships and the number of F/F fics are trending downward. In 2016, M/M fics made up 75% of the Top 100 list while F/F ships made up 7%. In 2021, M/M ships made up 83% of the Top 100 while F/F ships made up 3%
So when we look at new fics coming onto the website, M/M is easily the most popular, followed this year by Gen. That’s quite the spike, and a quick look at the data tells me it’s attributable to video blogging RPF. We’ll see if that holds next year. Then is M/F, and then F/F just barely edging out Other by one pairing. Other is a catch-all category for OT3s, reader fics, and ships involving a character with a customizable gender (i.e. video game PCs).
Finally, to even things out a little bit since the Top 100 of the year list includes so many more M/M pairings than F/F pairings, let’s look at the number of fics represented by the top 50 ships in each category.
As you’d expect, both are increasing because new fics are being uploaded every day. But you can see the rate at which the number of M/M fics is increasing far exceeds the rate at which the number of F/F fics is increasing. More than 165,000 fics were written for M/M ships in the top 50 this year compared to 30,500 for F/F ships in the top 50. I didn’t include M/F fics here because a list of the top 50 M/F fics on AO3 isn’t available.
You can also see here that the number of fics written for the top 50 F/F pairings still hasn’t reached the number of fics that had been written for the top 50 M/M pairings in 2013.
Since the Top 100 of the Year lists began in 2016, a total of 15 F/F ships have been featured, peaking at 8 at once in 2017 and steadily declining to 3 by 2021. A total of 7 have broken the top 50, peaking at 4 at once in 2017. The highest ranked F/F ship on a yearly list was Clexa, which peaked at #6 in 2016, followed by SuperCorp, which peaked at #13 in 2017.
Here is a chart that I think puts into pretty sharp relief how sparse the F/F presence on the yearly list has gotten. Some of these are a real throwback to what was trendy at the time.
To date, at total of 8 F/F ships have graced AO3′s Top 100 ships of all time list, never more than 4 at once. Swan Queen was the first F/F ship to break the top 50 in 2015, peaked at #27 in 2016 and 2017, and is probably enjoying its last year in the top 50 in 2021. It is the only F/F ship to have been in the Top 100 list every year since 2013. Only 3 F/F ships have ever managed to crack the top 50, and no F/F ship has ever made it higher than #27. In 2021, Catradora became the first new F/F ship to reach the Top 100 since 2017.
The 8 F/F ships that have featured in the Top 100 are:
Quinn Fabray/Rachel Berry (Glee) - 2013
Brittany Pierce/Santana Lopez (Glee) - 2013-2015
Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam (Homestuck) - 2013-2016
Emma Swan/Regina Mills (OUAT) - 2013-2021
Laura Hollis/Carmilla Karnstein (Carmilla) - 2015-2017
Clark Griffin/Lexa (The 100) - 2016-2021
Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor (Supergirl) - 2017-2021
Adora/Catra (SPOP) - 2021
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Intersect, Part 2 | KNJ
Intersect, Part 2
Definition: To meet and cross at a point; To share a common area
✫✫✫Intersect Masterlist✫✫✫
Pairing: KNJ x fem!reader; MYG x fem reader
Rating: M (🔞)
Genre: Office!AU; enemies to lovers; fluff; angst; smut
Word count: 3.5K+ words
Warnings: office banter; excessive cussing; office romance; angst; fluff; pining; unrequited love; smut (forthcoming); alcohol consumption; explicit sexual language; cheesy pickup lines
Summary: You hate him, he hates you. You were both fine staying in your own lanes--until you're forced to work together on a make-or-break project for your company.
A/N: Bit of a slow burn for this chapter but things will kick up in the next couple of parts!
❤️, comment, reblog, or send me feedback! 📩. I love hearing from readers (whether you liked it or not so much).
My taglist is open as well so just reply to this post or DM me and I'll add you.
“Oh okay…so all we need to do is reconcile our team’s initial budget but use your framework to scale it up. We should be able to stay competitive then,” Jimin summarizes.
“Totally,” Hobi affirms. “That’s the usual template that we go with. Jin actually came up with that framework from that huge Health and Human Services contract that we bid on a couple years ago. We’ve followed the same approach since when it came to our larger bids. We have yet to be edged out by the competition.”
“That’s just the vote of confidence that we needed,” Jimin remarks as he scrolls through the spreadsheet some more. “It keeps overhead costs low but at the same time, doesn’t seem like it burdens the client too much when billing time comes.”
“That’s the idea–100% billable to the client but they don’t get saddled with the administrative fees,” Hobi adds.
Your teams did not hesitate to jump right in to address the matter at hand during your first collaborative meeting. Everyone is buzzing with ideas with you and Namjoon occasionally jumping in–avoiding addressing each other directly as you both sat on opposite ends of the table. There was enough conversation between your colleagues that it didn’t seem to be…necessary.
“Uhh…what about data-use agreements?” Taehyung wonders.
“Oh, we figured out a good system for that, especially for private entities,” Mirai says.
“Nice. Do you have a standard protocol documented? To be honest, we’ve been looking into comparing processes with federal clients. I think the information would be helpful.”
“Of course! YN really set us up nicely when she started in the company,” she says, glancing your way in acknowledgment. “I know you guys mostly deal with government-sponsored data but you can definitely tailor it for public entities. I can send that file to you right now.”
She then accesses the file from her directory to email it to Taehyung.
“I have to say, this has been a really productive meeting, guys!” Hobi remarks while everyone murmurs in agreement. “Namjoon, are we missing anything else from the agenda?”
“We’re coming up on time so if it’s not pressing, we can put a pin on it for now and circle back during the stand-up meeting next week,” Jimin proposes.
“What about the technical approach,” Namjoon piped up.
His question made your ears ring. “And what about it?”
“Does that need to be adjusted for scale-up as well?” he asks.
Irritation started bubbling up inside of you. You felt that he was already overstepping by initiating this meeting. “Technical approach is just fine–director-nim had no objections to it. I thought that the main issue here was the budget,” you said calmly.
“I thought I’d bring it up, you know, since we were already meeting, that we could take a look at all aspects, all angles—“
“Respectfully, Namjoon,” you interrupted. “You admitted a few days ago that the content was not your area of expertise. And last I checked, I am still the technical lead for this effort. So, if you don’t mind,” you looked at him pointedly, silently asking him to stay in his own lane.
He clenched his jaw in response then nodded. “Understood.”
So much for logic and practicality.
“Good. Are we done here? Because, my team and I need to get back to work on the new budget to implement your suggested changes.”
“Fine. Should we just keep in touch then,” he asks curtly.
“You know where to find me,” you deadpanned while you folded your laptop screen down and gathered your things.
He nods wordlessly before you officially adjourn the meeting. The rest of your team awkwardly get up from their seats and return to their respective offices, with Mirai and Taehyung promising to send meeting minutes by the end of the day.
******
You pause typing on your keyboard to stretch the kink in your neck. That hour-long meeting somehow has aggravated the tight knot that has built up in the last few weeks. You considered naming the knot after Kim Namjoon–that would be reflective of what he did to you every time you were in a room together.
Then you hear a soft knock on your door.
“Come in,” you said after flexing your shoulder blades.
The door opens and you find Celina with Yoongi.
“Hi, YN. Sorry to interrupt.”
“No, no, not at all!” Suddenly, you felt the need to fiddle with your hair.
“Have you met Yoongi?”
“Uhm, yes, somewhat. I ran into him yesterday.” More like ‘ran over’ him.
“Good to see you again, YN,” he says politely.
Second time this week. This was odd to you, considering that Yoongi historically preferred to work at academic institutions instead of corporate firms like this–at least that’s what you knew based on his resume.
“So–it’s not absolutely official yet but just giving you a quiet heads up that Yoongi will be joining the firm by next week,” Celina says coyly.
“Oh, wow!” You tried to contain your excitement but were spectacularly failing.
Yoongi was, in the context of your career field, a ‘rockstar.’ His methods and findings were unconventional but they challenged the academic community. He offered fresh perspectives and didn’t rely solely on past trends or typical patterns. There was always a new angle and his publications were lauded by peer reviews.
“I’m so happy that he accepted our offer! We’ve been wanting to expand our inclusion and equity area for years.” Celina says proudly.
“Uh--welcome! Unofficially...We’re so happy to have you,” you said, turning your attention to him.
“Thank you. I’m excited to get to work with everyone. Celina tells me you're a wiz with all of the private sector efforts,” he says.
You chuckle sheepishly. “No, no, she’s exaggerating–”
“YN is just being modest. She is ah-mazing! She’s brought on new clients, new opportunities–not to mention a steady stream of revenue. She’s really planted that flag for us,” Celina brags.
You blushed as your boss sings your praises in front of the person whom you virtually idolized.
Yoongi looks impressed. “By the way, I hear the people over at Packard are giving you a hard time,” he says.
You grimaced. “Oh–yeah. It’s been a bit of a challenge because they have a short timeline but we’re working through some options that we can present to them to meet their requirements and keep them happy.”
“I’m curious…is James Ahn your project officer?”
“Yes, in fact.”
“I can give him a call today, if you want? I’m sure he’ll ease up a bit once he knows I’m with the firm now,” he says confidently.
Your eyebrows quirk up. “Y-you would do that?”
He gives you an enigmatic smile in response.
******
“You seem…different,” Jungkook points out while you were on a video call with him.
“Huh? Different good or different-bad?” you ask as you munched on an orange slice in your kitchen.
“Different…good,” he says tentatively. After a beat, he suddenly busts out giggling. “Holy shit, did you get laid?”
“No!” you shrieked.
“Geez, calm down, noona,” he laughs. “I didn’t realize you were so averse to sex!”
“No, I–didn’t mean it like that,” you rolled your eyes.
Your brother–he was so open about his own sexscapades in college–it just made you cringe. Not because you were a prude but he was still your baby brother–your dongsaeng. The one whom you shared a room with for years and annoyed you to no end.
You sighed. “Okay so…there’s this guy–”
“Come on…just skip to the good parts!” He leans back against his headboard then nibbles on the straw for his milk tea drink as he listens to you.
“He’s…cute. Very smart, confident. Strong and silent type.”
He hums. “Is he vibing with you?”
You blew out a puff of air. “I mean…maybe? I don’t know.”
“What do you mean ‘you don’t know?’ Has he not asked you out?”
“No,” you said quietly.
“So–if you’re interested, why don’t you ask him out?”
“Jungkook—I’m not presumptuous like that.”
“Last I checked, this is the 21st century. Girls can ask guys out now, if they choose. I mean, I get asked out all the time,” he says nonchalantly.
“So you keep reminding me! Anyway, he seems flirty but I don’t want to assume anything.”
“Maybe just ask him out for a coffee? Milk tea, maybe?” He says as he slurps on his drink noisily.
“Is my little brother really giving me dating tips?”
He laughs heartily. “Well, shit! You’re all talk and no action. What am I supposed to say?”
You groaned. “I just—ugh. I’ve admired his work for years. And now, to be working alongside him is…I’m at a loss! I’m basically meeting my idol, Kookie. I wouldn’t know where to begin the conversation!”
“You could ask him if he’d like to come up to see your cat?”
You scrunch your face in confusion. “Wha…but I don’t have a cat. What is that supposed to mean?”
He then starts falling into a fit of giggles.
“I don’t get it,” you deadpan.
“It’s a pickup line, noona!” he says in between laughs. “It’s an upgraded version of ‘do you want to eat ramyeon?’”
You shook your head. “I’m so confused. What does a cat have to do with a sexual come-on?”
“Oh my god, noona. Stop–I’m trying really hard not to feel sorry for you,” he says as he snickers.
You groaned in annoyance. “Fine, so it’s been a while! I’ve been focused on my career and shit–give me a break!”
He calms down and apologizes for his teasing. “Do you know if he’s single?”
You shrugged. “I didn’t see a wedding ring.”
“That doesn't answer my question. Why don’t you just ask him out?”
“I guess I could call the university he last worked at. I think I still know a couple of research fellows there...maybe get some intel,” you wondered out loud.
“Aish, noona. You’re overthinking this! Just fucking talk to him! And you’re a looker–we’re related after all. He’s dumb if he turns you down.”
******
“Hey.”
“Hey,” Yoongi echoes your greeting.
“I just wanted to thank you for talking to Packard. Whatever you said made James a bit more…amenable to our requests since then.”
He chuckles. “No problem at all. James and I go way back from our university days.”
“I see,” you nodded. “Well–either way, thank you. You’ve practically solved a months-long predicament for me and my team.”
“You’re welcome,” he utters, still staring at you as if he was expecting you to say something else.
But then you lose your last bit of nerve and give him an awkward smile and decide to turn back around to your office.
“Hey–it just occurred to me that it was lunchtime. Have you taken yours yet?”
“Uh—no, I haven’t. I usually—“
“Are you in the mood for some carbs?” Yoongi asks.
You grinned.
******
You went to the pizzeria around the corner from your office to grab a couple of slices and sat outside to enjoy the weather.
You learned that Yoongi had been wanting to dip his toes back into the corporate world. Academia was a safe space for him and he was surrounded by mostly like-minded people. In academia, you also didn’t have to answer to a board or any shareholders. You just did the work that you wanted at your own pace.
But your firm reached out to him at the perfect time and soon enough, your company landed one of the most coveted researchers.
“Okay. That all sounds to be fairly basic. But tell me something else about you? Something totally random and not research-related at all. For instance—have you always had a penchant for greasy, complex carbohydrates,” you ask teasingly.
He chuckles as he takes a bite off his second slice–then stares at it affectionately. “I haven’t had pizza for lunch in…I don’t know how long. My ex–she’s such a health-nut. She used to say it pretty much dulls your brain cells for the rest of the day.”
You hummed as you picked up that last bit of information that he divulged.
So he has an ex.
“An ex, huh?”
Was it serious? How long ago did they break up?
“We were together for four years,” he reveals.
He keeps referring to her in the past tense so–maybe it’s been a while. You just go with that thought.
“She might have been on to something there…you published a lot of good stuff in the last four years,” you complimented him.
“I guess…when you put it that way. But,” he sighs. “Right now, I’ve decided that I rather enjoy eating pizza for lunch,” he says as he takes another bite.
“What about your precious brain cells,” you retorted, with a mouthful of pizza.
“Between you and me? I think my brain cells are very much stimulated at this moment.”
He kept his eyes on you as he took another bite while you swallowed.
******
As you and Yoongi part ways to go back to your respective offices, you look up to see Namjoon staring you down from the reception area.
You don’t think he saw anything inappropriate. You were both coming back from lunch and happened to share an elevator cab—with a couple other people, you might add.
Namjoon is giving you a suspicious look and although you could totally ignore him, you had to walk past where he stood to get to your office.
You acted normally and gave him a curt nod to acknowledge him.
He then smirks and decides to walk after you.
“Are you following me?” You called over your shoulder after a few steps..
“Nope. I wanted to go see Jin about something.”
Ah, yes. The finance pod was three doors down from you.
“Just out of curiosity. Have you read our Employee Handbook?”
“Not recently, but I’m sure you have.”
“Yes, I helped write some of the addenda on it.”
“What a shocker. Is it because you have no life at all,” you ask wryly.
He chuckled. “You're so funny! My point is…there’s a section there where the company discourages inter-office romantic relationships.”
God, when did this hallway get so long?
“Is that so?”
“Uh huh,” he says smugly.
“Well, it’s a good thing that rule doesn’t apply to me,” you say.
“You sure about that?” He challenges.
You halt your steps and turn to face him. He stops right before he runs smack-dab into you.
“And if I am, what business is it of yours? You’re not the Director.”
Yes, you did in fact read the Employee Handbook but don’t remember anything about whatever bullshit section that he was referring to. If anything, any corrective action is subject to the Director’s discretion.
You looked up at him–towering over you with his hands on his hips–in his dress-shirt with the top two buttons undone, sleeves rolled up. His hair was usually brushed up neatly but this afternoon, it was a little mussed with a few strands falling onto his brow. He looked…infuriating.
“I’m an Associate Director now so—“
“But not Director. So spare me, Namjoon. If there’s an issue, I’m sure Celina will address it directly with me. She was the one who recruited me after all.”
He smirks, as if privy to some inside-joke.
“Oh, is that so?”
“I didn’t see you at my interview,” you snarked with a raised eyebrow.
He wasn’t at your interview because at the time, Namjoon hadn’t been an official senior staff member yet so he technically was ineligible to conduct candidate interviews.
He scoffs then lowers his face closer to yours. “I’m just saying–be careful whom you–fraternize with.”
You brought your face closer to his–unwilling to back down. You get a whiff of his scent, which was unbelievably dizzying to you. You had never been this close to him but you kept your focus and stood your ground.
“Is that a threat?”
He inhales through his teeth, blinks a couple of times then straightens up and suddenly softens his expression. “I’m…just–looking out for you. For the benefit of the company. We don’t want to lose any good people because of personal issues.”
You jerked your head back and scoffed.
“I’m a big girl, Namjoon. I can handle myself. But thanks for the concern.”
You took two steps back before turning on your heel, leaving him rooted to his position in the hallway.
******
“Hey, Miss Overachiever, time to clock out,” Yoongi says, as he stands by your doorframe.
You looked up from your screen. You had been trying to crunch numbers most of the day to balance out your budget to fit Namjoon’s proposed revisions and were completely unaware of how late it was getting.
“C’mon–whatever it is, it can wait til tomorrow.”
It was true, though. You weren’t getting anywhere with this spreadsheet and truth be told, your brain was fried so you decided to save your progress and close out of your Excel file.
As you gathered your things, you noticed that Yoongi still stood at your doorway. It was as if he was waiting for you.
“Uhm, Yoongi–I promise I’m leaving,” you chuckle awkwardly. “You don’t have to hang around,” you said as you picked up your purse and your jacket.
“Yeah but, I see that the weather looks nice this evening. I wondered if you wanted to go for a walk.”
Shortly after, Namjoon is exiting his office, wrapping up another late night as well when sees you mid-laugh while you and Yoongi step into the elevator together.
You and Yoongi took a walk and talked some more for over ten blocks–until you reached your apartment complex. It wasn’t intentional but the conversation was going so well that you didn’t want it to end.
“So this is you, huh?”
“Yeah,” you answer sheepishly.
“I’m uh–just a couple more blocks down there,” he points across the street and past a couple other buildings.
You nodded, then considered bringing up Jungkook’s cat pickup line. You blink your thoughts away and decide that this was hardly the most appropriate time.
“Well–thanks for walking me home, Yoongi,” you chuckle nervously while you fish your keys out of your purse.
“Of course.”
“And thank you for all your help this week so far. I owe you one!”
He smirks. “Well, if you must know, I take payments in food…preferably in the early evenings. Say…tomorrow?”
Your breath hitches. “So…dinner?”
He sighs dramatically but playfully. “Alright, YN. If you insist,” he smiles.
*******
“Isn’t that so cool that we got to poach Min Yoongi out of the university?” Mirai says, after missing her shot then retreating back to one corner, leaning on her pool cue as Jimin leans over the table to take his turn at a shot.
“I seriously thought that he was a recluse,” Jimin comments as retracts the stick and slams it against the cueball to make his shot on the corner pocket before rounding the table to plot his next move.
“I guess Celina figured out some magic formula to lure the best of the best into our company.”
Jimin’s head snaps up, turning his attention to his fellow analyst. “That’s the goal, right? To stay competitive?” Taehyung asks.
Mirai chuckles then turns to Hobi. “You make it sound like we work for a Fortune 500 company.”
“And why shouldn’t we be considered as such? We’re economists, sociologists, mathematicians. We study all of these patterns of behaviors all day and make calculated predictions based on those, to help the government and Fortune 500 companies make some crucial decisions,” Hobi argues.
All three juniors stare at Hobi for a minute.
“What? I had a rough fucking day guys, get off me!” He snaps, clearly already buzzed as he takes a huge gulp of his drink.
“Hobi-hyung, is Namjoon-hyung riding your ass again?” Jimin asks, snickering.
“I don’t know what’s up with that guy. First, he was all calm earlier this week and then he makes me rename all of the variables on our survey—all fucking 400 of them! I mean we’re friends but–I don’t know how much more of his moodiness I can tolerate,” he says.
“Is that why YN-noona is hostile towards him? His mood swings?” Taehyung wonders.
“Ah, Taehyungie–it’s too bad you didn’t see Namjoon during his–brighter days,” Jimin says with a laugh.
Taehyung feigns a shocked expression. “You mean to say that he wasn’t always a curmudgeon?”
Hobi crumbles in absolute stitches. “Bro–it may not seem like it now but…he was actually a lot of fun before–”
“Before YN arrived?” Taehyung completed his thought.
Mirai, Jimin, and Hobi look at each other and sigh.
“No, I’m serious, though. They both seem really passionate about what they do. Why can’t they just work together? Without bickering? They almost feel like a married couple,” Taehyung says off-handedly as he takes a sip of his drink.
“Don’t say that out loud at the office, Tae.” Mirai playfully warns as she takes her turn at the pool table after Jimin misses his next shot. “It might uhh–sway some things,” she says with a knowing look.
Taehyung looks confused. “What? What did I say?”
Jimin lowers his voice. “Well, Taehyungie…there's kind of a secret office pool going.”
“For what?” He asks, completely clueless.
Hobi tilts his head. “Wait a sec—I thought that pool died a year ago.”
Mirai laughs. “Well–admittedly, it slowed down for a bit but after word got out that Celina put our teams together? The pot has started growing steadily again.”
“Well, shit! Have I been deliberately left out of the email list?” Hobi exclaims. “You guys need to add me back in!”
“Wait, wait, wait–what pool? What are you betting on?” Taehyung says louder this time.
Jimin grins then wiggles his eyebrows. “How long before YN and Namjoon finally hit the sack.”
Part 3◥
Taglist: @deepseavibez @dany-but-not-targaryen @scuzmunkie @sweetjellyfishland @joeybeanxbts @amylouisecullen @knjkitten @gcintia @daphnxy
[OPEN]
#bts#bts fan fiction#bangtan fan fiction#kim namjoon#namjoon#RM#bts kim namjoon#bts namjoon#bts RM#rap monster#RM fan fiction#kim namjoon fanfic#namjoon x reader#namjoon fluff#kim namjoon x reader#knj x reader#kim namjoon fluff#kim namjoon angst#bts angst#bts fluff#kim namjoon fic#kim namjoon fan fiction#kim namjoon smut#bts smut#knj smut#intersect knj#intersect x knj#namjoon smut#yoongi x reader#min yoongi fluff
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Like Mother, Like Daughter!
Nurie (Rodrigues) Keller is Already Expecting #2.
Holy smokes, Nurie (Rodrigues) Keller is pregnant again! Her and Nathan’s 1st Child, Nehemiah, wasn’t even 6 Months Old when Nurie’s Mom, Jill Rodrigues, announced their 2nd Pregnancy on April 5, 2022. Wow, wow, wow!
After teasing the news with her typical ‘Announcement of an Announcement,’ Jill took to social media to share: “Nathan [Keller] + Nurie are expecting Baby #2 in November 2022! Nehemiah and the new baby will be 13 Months Apart!” Jill then commented, “like mother, like daughter,” referencing the fact that she too has a history of incredibly closely–spaced pregnancies. (Jill gave birth 13 Months Apart, or less, on four occasions.)
[ Permalink to the Announcement on Instagram and Facebook ]
Read on for a full data analysis!
Approximate Due Date (ADD)
So far, all we know is that Nurie is due in November 2022. Consistent with my rule for interpreting vague data like this, Duggar Data will use the mid–point of November, rounded—i.e., November 16, 2022—as Nurie’s Approximate Due Date (ADD), for the time being.
Come on, Jill! Give us the actual Due Date, and I’ll update my spreadsheet!
Projected DOB + Child Spacing
Last time, Nurie gave birth 1 Day Early; Nehemiah’s Due Date was October 12, 2021, and he arrived on October 11th. The Predictor assumes she’ll give birth 1 Day Early again. Given that, and her ADD of November 16, 2022, the baby’s Projected DOB is November 15, 2022.
Nehemiah (#1) was born on October 11, 2021. If Keller–Rodrigues #2 actually arrives on November 15, 2022, that’d be a Child Spacing of 400 Days, which can only be described as “impressively fast.” That is faster than the recently–discussed 402–Day Spacing between Charlotte Smith and Smith #4. And, it’s faster than, well, almost every spacing in my spreadsheets. Here is the full list of faster Child Spacings, excluding Firstborn, Post–Loss, Post–Cesarean, and Theoretical (Due to Pregnancy Loss) Spacings, or otherwise atypical data...
331 Days Jill Rodrigues (Nurie to Timothy)
348 Days Jill Rodrigues (Kaylee to Renee)
361 Days Courtney Rogers (Caydie to Coralee)
363 Days Courtney Rogers (Case to Callie) (Adjusted Due To Callie’s Premature Birth; It Was Actually Shorter)
371 Days Courtney Rogers (Cash to Colt / Case) (Adjusted Due To The Twins’ Premature Birth; It Was Actually Shorter)
389 Days Kelly Jo Bates (Zach to Michaela)
397 Days Courtney Rogers (Calena to Caydie)
398 Days Kelly Jo Bates (Lawson to Nathan)
398 Days Anna Marie Maxwell (Ruthanne to Lydia)
399 Days Jill Rodrigues (Renee to Phillip)
Yeah. That’s it. Just 10 Spacings shorter than 400 Days. And, 33% of those are from Nurie’s Mother (Jill Rodrigues), with a decent chunk of the rest being from Courtney Rogers, whose Procreative Pace (PP) is truly legendary. Note that not even Michelle Duggar made this list! (Edit, May 13: Whoops! My bad! Totally overlooked one of Michelle’s! She did make the list. Jinger–to–Joseph was 396 Days.)
All this to say... Watch out. Nurie’s on a roll.
Early, Late, or What?
Unsurprisingly, given the 400–Day Projected Spacing... Early. After Nehemiah was born, Nurie + Nathan’s Procreative Pace (PP) was set at 466 to 688 Days, or ~15.3 to 22.6 Months, depending on whether we used the Rodrigues Data, Keller Data, or both. At any rate, 400 Days is faster than what any of the data sets forecasted... They are 66 Days Early (9 Weeks), if you use the Rodrigues Data; 285 Days Early (9.4 Months), if you use the Kellers’ Data; and 248 Days Early (8 Months), if you use both families’ data.
When Will They Announce The Sex?
Last time, Nurie + Nathan (via J–Rod) did a Sex Reveal at 163 Days Along (23 Weeks, 2 Days). The Predictor assumes they’ll do the same, this time around. Based on Keller–Rodrigues #2′s ADD of November 16, 2022, Nurie will be 163 Days Along on June 22, 2022, so that’s when the Sex Reveal is expected.
2nd Child Multiplier
Nurie + Nathan married on July 25, 2020, and Nehemiah David (#1) was born 443 Days Later, on October 11, 2021. Their 2nd Child is forecast to arrive on November 15, 2022, just 400 Days after Nehi. Comparing their Marriage–to–Firstborn Spacing to their projected Child #1–to–Child #2 Spacing, their 2nd Child Spacing is 0.9029x their Marriage–to–Firstborn Spacing.
You heard that right; their 2nd Child Spacing is going to be be less than their Marriage–to–Firstborn Spacing. Wild.
As for the effect on the Rodrigues and Keller 2nd Child Multipliers... Prior to Keller–Rodrigues #2, the Rodrigues 2nd Child Multiplier—which was 100% based on J–Rod + David, since that was the only data we had—was 1.0712x. Factoring in Nurie + Nathan, that shifts to 0.9721x (–9%). Meanwhile, over in Camp Keller, the prior Quiverfull Keller 2nd Child Multiplier—based on Mike + Suzette, Esther + John, Priscilla + David, and Anna + Josh—was 1.6312x. It shifts to 1.4002x (–14%), once Nurie + Nathan are factored in.
Impact on Procreative Pace / ESOQ
Since they only have 1 Non–Firstborn Spacing, Nurie + Nathan’s Procreative Pace (PP) is based entirely on that datum, for now. As such, their PP is now equal to their Projected 2nd Spacing of 400 Days (~13 Months).
Unsurprisingly, this rapid–fire PP yields a really high ESOQ... An ESOQ of 17 Children, to be exact. That’s up from the 10–14 Children, depending on data set, that was predicted immediately after Nehemiah’s birth.
We’ll see, if course. That’s really fast. I’m doubtful.
When To Expect Keller–Rodrigues #3
Note that, from this point on, we won’t have to pick which data set to rely on for Nurie + Nathan, since we can simply use their own prior data. Hurray! Based on their data, here’s what the Predictor expects w/ regard to Baby #3—
Baby News May 6, 2023 (Baby #2 will be ~6 Months Old.)
Sex Reveal August 26, 2023
Due Date December 21, 2023
Projected DOB December 20, 2023
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Do you have any advice for people who write as a hobby and tend to never finish any of their works? Or for those whose ideas almost never get turned into writing?
Hi @wakerrife! I’m flattered that you asked. I don’t know that any of this precisely qualifies as sage advice, but here’s my thoughts:
First of all, give yourself some grace. If writing is your hobby, it’s just fine for it to be more about the journey than the destination. It’s okay if the story doesn’t get “finished.” Did you enjoy writing it? Did you get something out of it? Then it’s not wasted time or effort. Were you really inspired to write a gorgeous paragraph of exposition but then didn’t know what to do with it? That’s okay. Give yourself permission to enjoy your hobby at your own pace.
As for your ideas, or “plot bunnies” as I call them, keep them or share them. I have a literal spreadsheet of ideas, with columns for me to describe the idea to job my memory when I come back to it; notes about whether it was requested and by whom; challenges, bingos, or events I want to use it for; the series it goes into, if it goes into a series; and the ship. That’s a little hyper-organized for most people (I’m a data analyst by trade, spreadsheets relax me lol), but if you want to tuck them away, write them down somewhere. You can also share them. Post it on tumblr or send it to a writer friend who takes requests/prompts. You can always write it later yourself. There’s no rule that says two people can’t write off the same plot bunny; you’ll create two totally different things.
Personally, one-shots are my best friend. Single chapters, usually 3-5k for me. There’s usually one scene or or one idea I want to convey, with no pressure whatsoever to build a plot or a new world or anything. They don’t have to be smutty (though if you looked at my works list on AO3, you’d think that was the rule 😬 but it isn’t lol). Sometimes my one-shots grow into short stories, but not usually.
I’ve never tried this one, but drabbles (exactly 100 words) might also be something to try. Make a puzzle out of it.
Consider what your definition of “finished” is. If you’ve written that beautiful paragraph or two of exposition, or you just really wanted to spend a couple hundred words writing a character’s stream of consciousness, there’s no law against posting it, if you want to. That can be finished too. That’s what AO3 is there for. Or Tumblr. Or both.
It’s also important, I think, to understand where your motivation and inspiration comes from. It’s also totally normal if the source and amount of motivation/inspiration varies greatly from day to day. Case in point, sometimes I will put down a few thousand words in a day. Today I’ve written nothing. Sometimes it feels like a story is clawing its way out of my brain, sometimes it sort of meanders. Others I have to drag out kicking and screaming (I don’t necessarily recommend that approach, but I’ve done it).
I also recommend embracing the concept of the WIP folder. I’ve currently got five in mine, plus a couple collab projects that have all been started and not finished. If a story stops sparking joy, switch to another. You can always come back to it later.
Hopefully something in all that rambling babble is helpful. But really, the bottom line is give yourself grace. If you write because it makes you happy or because you enjoy it, it’s okay for that to be enough. I tell people a lot that not everything has to be a side hustle. It’s okay to enjoy a thing without profiting off the thing. And at the same time, hobbies don’t need to be achievement-based. Spending time with the activity you enjoy is achievement enough.
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Why Compassionate Actions Matter (Yes, Yours Too.)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about communication. Communication and human interaction are both things I think of a lot, actually. The most recent thing I wondered about is why so many people seem to not care about the things their supposed friends do.
For example, I’m in a server with my 5 friends, all of whom are also my roommates. There have been a lot of times that I’ve posted my art or some short stories to the #share channel and then waited and waited and gotten no response at all.
It made me wonder, do none of them care?
I know that all of these people generally care about each other and each other’s happiness. They’re all fairly compassionate toward others. So why do they seem to ignore every effort I make to reach out and share the things I do? Why do none of them ever do the same? It’s not that I expect anyone to applaud me and tell me how good my art is or how compelling my writing is - I just wanted to be seen.
Feeling invisible has always been a struggle for me, being raised in a household where I was in “the forgotten child” role. So, in my friendships, this is a sore spot for me. It tends to make me move on after a while if my friends don’t ever seem to see me. This is also why I usually only have one or two best friends - people who feel the way I do about compassionate action.
What Is “Compassionate Action”?
When I say “compassionate action,” I’m talking about doing or saying things that don’t directly benefit you or that you may do purely to benefit someone else. It’s not an official term or anything, just an apt way to describe what I need to. This doesn’t have to be charity work or groveling or kissing up to someone. It could be as simple as letting someone know their message has been seen - sending a heart in the chat to let someone know you see their work and you appreciate it.
Compassionate action is what draws me to the best friends I do have. My boyfriend is someone who I can always count on to be supportive and give positive words no matter what I do. I do the same for him. If I draw a picture, he always responds to it, saying, honestly, that he likes it! If I get really excited about a formula I created for a spreadsheet and I send him a screenshot, even if he doesn’t know what he’s looking at, he’s really excited for me!
Why Is “Compassionate Action” So Hard to Come By?
Many of us, no doubt, have had similar experiences in regard to feeling ignored or unimportant to our friends. But, surely, our friends do care about us, right?
The answer is yes, in most cases. But, somehow, that makes the lack of response to the things we love seem even more confusing. So, this is where I began thinking the other day:
Why do people who care seem so uninterested or unwilling to interact with things their friends love?
I talked with my boyfriend about this the other day to parse out why this is happening. It’s something we’ve both experienced a lot in different friend groups over the years.
So, we sat down together - over call, since we’re in an LDR - and we talked about it. We tried to figure out why we both feel this way and others seem not to. For both of us, it’s important to us that our friends are happy. Even if one of my hydrologist friends posted some table he made, that he was really proud of, about stream flow data - something I’m only moderately interested in - I would make an effort to read and understand it and then give excited feedback. It’s not that I’m as passionate about stream flow information as he is, but I would be really happy to see his excitement and satisfaction with his own work. My boyfriend is of the same opinion.
But then, if our friends value our happiness, which we know they do, why don’t they ever give positive feedback about things we’re excited about? We talked over possible reasons for a little while before we finally found one that made complete sense - one that consistently fit the bill for all of the friends that we’d had who never gave us “compassionate action.”
Your Actions Matter
The result we came up with is that most of these people were dealing with depression or self esteem issues. They feel that their opinions don’t have value - won’t make a difference. They think that it isn’t important if they respond because, “Why would sending a heart matter? If I send a heart and don’t respond with an in depth review of how cool the thing is, my friend will just think I’m an ass for not saying more. It’s better if I just pretend I didn’t see it.”
My boyfriend and I both have had some pretty life-changing experiences where other people’s compassion, shown in small actions of recognition and solidarity, have kept us alive or changed our entire day for the better. We’ve learned through our experiences in suffering that those actions make all the difference, and we’ve put that philosophy to work in our own lives. However-
not everyone has realized that this is true for them too.
If you have depression, anxiety, or you’ve grown up in an abusive home, you might feel like your actions don’t matter. You might think this doesn’t apply to you - that you’re the exception and that your friends don’t care what you think.
You’re wrong.
The people around you, even people you don’t know very well, they care about the things you say. It doesn’t matter if you’re depressed or anxious, or an outcast, or kind of weird. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never spoken to them or if you’re best friends.
The things you say make a difference.
The sooner you realize that your opinions and your words have value - have POWER - the sooner you will begin to improve the connections you have with friends.
I grew up feeling like my opinion was worthless and that I should never give it, even when people asked for it. To me, it was obvious that they were only asking because they wanted me to feel included. I look back now and I see that that’s not true. The same way you desire to be seen by others, they desire to be seen by you. One such way that you can make other people feel seen is by showing them that you have put consideration into what they’ve done. You have formed an opinion on it.
When your friend shows you a drawing they’ve made or they sing you a song they’re working on, more often than not, they are not looking to just show off. They are begging for recognition and are asking to be seen by someone they care about (that’s you!). Give them that. Tell them what you think! Get excited for them!
It’s Not as Complicated as You Think
Not really the kind of art you’re interested in? It doesn’t matter. “Wow, you really put a lot of work into this!” That sentence is a huGE compliment. You are showing them that you find value in what they did and that you see how hard they worked.
Did your friend sing you a song they’re working on and they’re a little bit tone deaf? That’s okay! You don’t have to lie about how you feel to be compassionate. “You show so much emotion in your singing!” Those words will fill a singer’s heart with joy. Not everyone sings to sing perfectly, but to convey their feelings and connect with people. That would make their day!
Is your friend a weirdo like me who enjoys creating spreadsheets? “Holy shit, that must have taken forever!!” Those kinds of words are so so validating. It’s okay if you don’t know what you’re looking at. It’s okay if you don’t want to try reading the data in the spreadsheet. What matters to me is that you have taken the three seconds to look at it and form an opinion about me and what I’ve done, even if that opinion is just seeing that I have put a lot of time and effort into something.
No matter what your friends show you, there is a way to show them that you see them and care about them being happy. You don’t have to lie or compliment the work itself, you don’t have to open up your bleeding heart and write a poem about the beauty of their creation.
You just have to show that you see them.
If you struggle to feel that your words have value, I urge you to take a moment and think of the times you’ve tried to share something with someone and gotten no response. I urge you to consider how the tiniest acts of compassion by other people have gotten you through the day. Please know that your words have the same weight.
I can HEAR you thinking that you’re different and YOU’RE NOT.
Everyone! I repeat! Everyone! Has an impact! With their words!
Depressed people, anxious people, people who were abused, people with trauma, people with disorders, people with disabilities, people who have a hard time finding words, people who feel like they have no talent, people who don’t know anything about the topic their friend is telling them about, people who are young, people who are old, people who haven’t left their room in 3 days, people who haven’t sat down to breathe in 3 days, people who have forgotten to reach out in a while, people who have been self isolating because they’re sad, people who have scared away friends from their past, people who have left friends from their past, people who aren’t very fluent in the language their friend speaks, people who know their friends in person, people who know their friends online, people who are suicidal, people who think they’re not as good as their friends,
Everyone’s actions matter, especially yours.
#ghostpost#actuallyadhd#actuallyaustism#actually autistic#spoonie#disabled#depression#depressed#anxiety#mental illness#chronic illness#lgbt#lgbtq#lgbtqia#ace#queer#psychology#communication#friendship#positive#positivity#inspiration#healing#trauma#abuse#recovery#abuse recovery#ldr#discord#adhd
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Re: prompts. “Quarantine.” Alternatively, something based off urban legends. Thanks!
Well it took me forever, but hey, the world is crazy and I am just so proud of myself for finishing this Quarantine AU for you! It’s definitely WAY bigger than a drabble (at just over 2700 words) but I had a lot of fun writing it and it really pushed my abilities as a writer. Thank you for the ask! Enjoy :)
Edit: Now posted to AO3
Here With(out) You
“Are you getting close to finishing? It’s almost eight o’clock and we haven’t eaten dinner yet,” Zen says as he plops down beside Shirayuki—well, not exactly beside her, but just outside the orbit of her ever-present sticky notes, journal articles, and scratch-paper lesson plans. She acknowledges his presence with a noncommittal hum before continuing her vigorous typing on the laptop balanced on her knees. Even before the pandemic, it wasn’t totally unusual for Shirayuki to work late—she is a graduate student, after all—but lately she has been spending every waking hour on either her lab’s vaccine research or creating online lessons for her introductory biology students.
Zen’s work-life balance honestly hasn’t been much better, but since most of his work as the Mayor’s Chief of Staff involves writing reports and attending video call meetings, he can turn off his computer at the end of the day and walk away from work. Shirayuki, unfortunately, does not have the same luxury.
His stomach growls, upset at the lack of food this late in the evening. Zen reaches over, guiding a stray hair behind her ear before setting his palm against her shoulder to get her attention.
“I can make us something easy, if you want. You really should take a break to eat something.”
Shirayuki doesn’t respond. He squeezes her shoulder gently and dips his head to try to catch her gaze, but she reacts with naught but a firm pursing of her lips as she scrutinizes her screen even more. Zen gives her a small shake, as if to wake her.
“Hm?” She blinks up at him, broken from her trance, her voice sounding thin and tired. “Sorry, Zen, I really need to get this done tonight.”
She gestures vaguely to the smudged sticky-note to-do list by her laptop keyboard, the usual tasks of exercise, meal prep, and do something fun with Zen and friends crammed between terms he half-recognizes as different types of data analyses.
“We have our Friday meeting tomorrow and I need to have the preliminary results ready to present.”
“It’s fine,” he says, rubbing his hand up and down her arm and offering her a tender smile as she turns back to her spreadsheet. She is such a hard worker, and right now she’s both working to save lives and to educate the next generation of scientists. Now was not the time to be selfish—even though he misses spending time with her, they just have to push through. And if that means Zen has to cook meals by himself, without Shirayuki’s incredible culinary talent for support, then he will gladly put his limited skill to use.
“How about I make pancakes?” he suggests, “I think we still have some eggs that need to be used, so I could scramble them too—if you want?”
Without looking up, Shirayuki murmurs a dry, “Sounds great, thank you.”
Zen stands and makes his way to their kitchen, rolling up his sleeves as he goes. Even after three years of living together and countless Sundays spent chopping endless armies of vegetables as they prepped meals, there are few dishes he trusts himself to cook properly. It’s Mitsuhide and Kiki’s fault, really. When they were his roommates sophomore year, he tried his hand at a simple vegetable stew to feed Mitsuhide’s hockey team at their annual fall party. The final product honestly wasn’t half bad, but he forgot to peel the vegetables, which gave the soup a mild dirt-like aftertaste.
He honestly thought he would be able to laugh it off and learn from such a minor culinary mistake, but it turned out almost no one was willing to let him live it down—even Shirayuki couldn't resist the occasional jab when they cooked together. Indeed, one of the last times they enjoyed quality time together was during a massive day of meal prepping after their first pandemic shopping trip. Hours of chopping and grating and sautéing had driven them a little crazy, and Shirayuki had broken out in giggles while he diligently peeled his seventeenth potato.
It had taken some prodding, but eventually she managed to hold back her laughter enough to snicker, "It’s nice of you to actually peel them this time."
He’d responded with the most convincing glare he could muster before selecting a particularly long piece of peel from the pile on the counter, turning to her with a dangerous smirk, and depositing said peel on top of her head. This only served to bring back her laughter in full-force, the contagiousness of it gripping him and dragging him along until their whole house reverberated with the ridiculousness of it all.
Unlike vegetable soups, Zen had yet to mess up a batch of pancakes in his lifetime, a fact which he was quite proud of. That’s why he’d chosen to make them for Shirayuki the first morning after she stayed the night at his place. They’d groggily rolled out of bed, blushing furiously as they realized that their late-night study session for Advanced Composition had ended with both of them passed out on top of Zen’s covers with their laptops discarded by the foot of the bed. He’d insisted on making her breakfast before she left, partly because he felt bad about their awkward start to the day, but mostly because he’d been smitten with her for months and he just wanted to keep doing things with her.
Zen smiles at the memory as he gathers the ingredients and begins measuring out the flour. Even after all this time, he still treasures every moment together. And now, as they are stuck working from home for the foreseeable future, he misses her more than he did before they moved in together. Although they are around each other nearly all day, every day, they hardly interact outside of breakfast and a kiss goodnight. He sighs and forces his focus back to mixing the batter. Shirayuki is working hard and here he is being selfish again. He should be stronger.
Pushing down his loneliness, he flings himself into scrambling eggs and flipping pancakes with gusto. He quickly finishes the first set of pancakes, butters them, and stacks them neatly on Shirayuki’s plate next to her portion of eggs. For the final touch, he sprinkles a hint of powdered sugar across them and places a little dollop of fruit preserves on top. Hopefully these would look appetizing enough to entice her into taking a break from work to eat. With her plate in hand, Zen makes his way back to the living room and sets her meal on the coffee table.
“Food’s ready,” he announces. “Please don’t forget to eat.”
Shirayuki pauses, tired eyes flicking away from her screen to meet his and offering all the gratitude she can muster. “Thank you, Zen. I promise I will eat as soon as I finish this analysis.”
Zen offers a quick smile in return before heading back to the kitchen to make dinner for himself. He’d better check on her soon, just to make sure she doesn’t get sucked into her work despite her promise—although it is never intentional, her basic needs often fall by the wayside when she is hyper-focused like this.
Fifteen minutes later, Zen returns to the living room with his own stack of pancakes (chocolate chip) and scrambled eggs (sprinkled with his friend Obi’s homemade hot sauce, because the pain was always worth the flavor). And just as he feared, Shirayuki hasn’t touched her food.
“How’s it coming? Are you going to eat soon?” Zen settles into his spot on the couch next to her and cuts into his pancakes with his fork.
“Hm? Oh yes, I figured out why that regression was behaving unexpectedly, I had just flipped the variables.” She bites her lip. “I guess after I fixed that, I just moved on to the next thing.”
Zen reaches out to tenderly place a hand on her cheek and guide her eyes away from her screen and to his own. Her eyelids droop a little, and he notices a small crease between her eyebrows—she looks so tired. He drags his thumb across her cheekbone and her eyes flutter shut as she relaxes into his hand.
His heart skips a little at the intimacy of their position; after all, it had been weeks since they had really shared a moment like this, just comfortable in stillness with each other’s full attention. Eyes still closed, Shirayuki reaches up to hold his hand against her cheek and sighs as she turns her head to press her lips against his palm. With a gentle squeeze of his hand, she releases him and turns to exchange her laptop for her plate.
Although she continues working while they eat, Zen is relieved to see her diligently taking bites between bits of code. It doesn’t take long before she cleans her plate entirely. With a yawn, Zen stretches and rises from the couch before collecting their dishes and returning to the kitchen to clean up. The clock above the stove reads 10:08pm.
How did it get so late? He’d just have to head right to bed after this. Dozing off during his morning call with the Mayor was not how he wanted to start his day tomorrow.
After finishing the dishes and changing into his sleep shirt, he returns to the living room to let Shirayuki know he’s going to bed—apparently she still has a couple hours of work ahead of her, but she promised she’d come to bed as soon as she was done. With Shirayuki resigned to her work for the night, Zen heads to their bed and does his best to get comfortable. As the weight of the blanket settles over him, he melts into the mattress and takes the deepest, most relaxing breath he’s taken all day. Despite his body giving in to its need to rest, Zen’s mind still races with thoughts of the meeting tomorrow morning and of the latest case counts in the city. God, he can’t wait for the day when all of this chaos is over. He and Shirayuki could take a weekend off and hike Mount Koto just like they did senior year after finals. He sighs at the thought.
Visions of them packing their picnic supplies into his old backpack flash through his mind. He’s smiling as he makes Shirayuki’s sandwich with the mustard by the meat and the veggies under the cheese, just the way she likes it. The sunshine warms their faces as they walk along the trail, and Shirayuki is a vision in her button-up hiking shirt and sunhat, all glowing skin and bright smiles. He reaches their picnic spot first, so he spreads their blanket and sets out their food. Shirayuki’s still a ways behind, but she’ll be there with him soon, he tells himself. She will. He busies himself smoothing the blanket and making sure her sandwich is arranged just so with a nice serving of chips and a gleaming red apple.
He’s just about to polish her apple for a second time when he realizes he doesn’t hear the crunch of her footsteps on the trail anymore. Panicked, he shoots up from his seat and runs over to the trail to try to find her, to no avail. Maybe she went off-trail to relieve herself? No that can’t be it, she’s taking way too long, and she would have told him if she was going off trail, right? Oh god—what if she hurt herself and she’s stuck somewhere down the trail? Zen abandons the picnic and runs as fast as his legs can take him down the trail, until—
He hears the faint tapping of fingers on a keyboard. Looking across the trail, he sees the edge of a laptop screen poking out from behind a tree. As he approaches it, the sound gets louder and louder, until it feels almost deafening and Zen has to cover his ears to avoid the incessant din. He looks around the tree’s thick trunk and sees Shirayuki in front of the screen, her hair disheveled and eyes unblinking as she types away.
She’s absolutely overworking herself! Zen can’t let her keep doing this. He should have caught it before it got this bad, he should have pulled her away from work and made her take care of herself. Regardless, he refuses to let this go on any longer. He takes a deep breath, removes his hands from his ears, and reaches out to set his hand on her shoulder as he always does when he needs to get her attention. His hand goes right through her, as if she were a ghost.
He wakes to find her side of the bed empty.
Zen’s sleep shirt is clinging to his sweating chest and the sheets are tangled up in his legs. He kicks them off and rolls over with a groan. So much for getting a good nights’ sleep before the meeting tomorrow morning. He reaches for his bedside lamp, trying to feel the small switch in the dark. It takes him a minute, fingers clumsy and sleep-addled, but he finally finds it with a click and squints against the soft, yellow light. He yawns and drags his phone towards him by its charging cable and groans again when he sees the time. 2:37am.
With little desire to return to the stifling sheets, he decides it’s best to just get out of bed and have a glass of water before trying to sleep again. He shuffles out of the bedroom, and as the door clicks behind him, his tired mind peripherally registers that the living room light is still on. But with water being his body’s primary goal, he drowsily continues on to the kitchen and downs a full glass in three big gulps when he gets there. With his mind cleared from the coolness of the water, he realizes that even though the living room light is still on, Shirayuki’s persistent typing is absent.
When he reaches the living room, he finds Shirayuki on the couch, slumped to the side with her lips parted and a quiet snore escaping her with each exhale. Her laptop is open and teetering dangerously close to the edge of her lap, but the screen has long since shut itself off. There’s still a pencil behind her ear, too.
With as much gentleness as he can muster this late at night, Zen extracts her laptop and moves it over to her desk so it can charge overnight. He removes the pencil from behind her ear and brushes her hair away from her eyes.
“Shirayuki, come to bed.” Her eyes crack open ever so slightly, and she grumbles but does not stir. Zen sighs. Even in sleep—no, especially in sleep—she’s as stubborn as ever.
“I’m going to pick you up, okay?” She mumbles something unintelligible, but’s all the affirmation he needs. He pushes his arms underneath her knees and shoulders, steels himself, and scoops her up. At first, her head lolls to the side, but then she turns and nuzzles against his chest. He can’t help but smile down at her as he carries her back to the bedroom and slowly places her on top of the sheets.
“Shirayuki, you should change out of your clothes,” he says.
She stirs a bit before slurring, “Don’t wanna. Wanna sleep.”
“If you don’t change now, you’ll regret it in the morning. You know you will.”
At this, Shirayuki groans and pushes herself up off the mattress. She insists he help her take off her clothes, which makes him laugh and blush in equal measure.
It’s only after she is changed and settled under the sheets that he finally lets himself sink into their bed again, mind and body finally relaxed with the knowledge that she’s next to him and already half asleep. He turns off his bedside lamp with a click and lets the rhythm of her breathing lull him back to sleep. Just as the last remains of his consciousness are about to slip away, he feels the delicate press of fingers against his shoulder, the tickle of a whisper against his ear, and the softness of a kiss against his temple.
“Thank you, Zen. I love you.”
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How to write web content
Most businesses have understood the importance of content on their websites which is why good content writing has become extremely popular and crucial for the success of the business. One of the primary difference between the success and failure of a brand is strong and weak content. More than 1.5 billion websites streaming on the internet right now and more than 3.2 billion Google searches are being done every single day.
To stand out in such a crowded please requires extraordinary content which can help you separate from the rest. The content should be original, informative, should address concern of the reader, if any, should be readable easily and should be free from any grammatical errors. A good content can fetch you a long term revenue and provide excellent return on investments. This is the reason why having excellent content is one of the primary keys to the success of a brand.
Following are few of the tips to write better content.
1. Extensive keyword research
The first thing that you need to understand is what are you writing about and then you can add search engine optimization to make it a success. Simple keyword research will help you know what topics your target audience is searching on Google and find them relevant. This keyword research will help your content to stand out from the competitors and will also help to highlight your strengths and front of the customers. Good keyword research will help you to understand the keywords that are required in order to pull the traffic on your website and along with it, the return on investment is very good on it. All you need to do is that extra time researching about keywords.
2. Keyword density
Now that you have a good keyword to start with it doesn't mean that adding extra keywords your content will make it more valuable or readable or even search friendly. A content that has more density of keywords looks a little untrustworthy in the eyes of the customers as well as for Google. The conversion rate may possibly go down and readers will start to see this as a low quality page. When the customers open your web page browse through it and leave it immediately within a specified time it is called as bouncing of customers. Adding extra keywords is also increase the bounce rate and search engines will push down your webpage over time. Because the smartness of the search engines has increased these days adding keywords and making it grammatically incorrect just because the customers are searching for it will not rank your page. Having the right density of keywords is important in order to rank the article. Although every website out there has different standard, usually, including keywords 1 – 2% of total word count is optimum for your article. It doesn’t make it too less and also doesn’t seem exaggerated and forcefully crammed up.
3. Use call to action buttons
You should have a goal before starting the website. The goal should involve action from the readers rather than simply browsing through your website. The ultimate outcome of excellent content should be the action from the readers and for that to happen you need to have a powerful CTA button. A call to action is the action requested by the website to the customer. Downloading an article or subscribing to a newsletter or sharing the content on the social media, commenting on article are few examples of call to actions that customers can take. Consider yourself as a reader of the website and think what would make you click the call to action button and use the same project by creating the content on your website. Use of the ‘call to action’ button by customers increases the credibility of the content as well as improves the visibility of the website on search engines.
4. Write right.
Many debates are going on the internet about the use of a couple of words like email or e-mail. The difference is very subtle and many websites for a long time supported the word e-mail, like the visitors but then both of them gave up and now the accepted word is email and not e-mail. Similarly, there was a debate about the word internet being used as lowercase or uppercase. Many people consider the word internet as a proper noun. The fact remains that whatever your language is, you should modify your content for the audience and not for you. If something feels right for the audience then it is right even though it may not feel right according to you. There are many guides available on the internet which can help you with writing the right words thereby avoiding minor mistakes which could drown your ranking in the sea of websites. You do not have to extremely accurate grammatically but your content should be of the level of an average high school student. Too many jargons or too much of grammatical errors can reduce ranking of your website.
5. Mention references by hyperlinking
When you mention the content of another website on your website then you should ensure to hyperlink it back to that website. It is considered as a good internet etiquette and you would enjoy the same courtesy back from the other website. It is important to cite your resources even if the web traffic is directed to another website. You can use other tools such as open the link in another window if you are concerned about keeping the traffic on your website. Citations also help to get backlinks to you which is the right thing to do. More often than not websites see the link and your effort and will thank you with the reciprocal link.
6. Feeling is important
There are many factors which play together in order to make the content viral and promotion is one of the huge contributing factors to this. Along with promotion the brand identity all the time of the content or share that play a role in order to make your content viral. But there is one common thing in every viral content which is an emotional impact. The audience should feel and emotionally connect with the content and only then they will click on call to action. It is human nature and tendency to share what we like and if some article makes you feel good there are chances that people share it in order to make their friends and relatives feel the same. Always think about the fact that what could be better about the story and how could you give more emotional impact to this content.
7. Content plus action
It is very important to have an excellent choice of words in order to create an impact on the reader. The web article should be direct and should appeal to the reader. For example a common tip that is given on writing web content is not to use the passive voice. Passive voice happens when you use subject and object in the same sentence. For example, "Germany attacked many European countries during World war" and "Many European countries were attacked by Germany." The latter sounds less exciting because active voice invokes emotions immediately in the minds of the reader. In that case, it feels as if the subject was added by chance as the writer had forgotten to mention the subject. In the former, the subject is at the forefront and is involved in the action which creates an impact in the mind of the reader. The web content writer should be aware of exciting verbs in order to create a long-lasting impact in the minds of the readers. For example try writing "movie was dazzling" rather than "movie was fantastic" or "The new iPhone 11 is breathtakingly beautiful" rather than "The new iPhone 11 is excellent." in some cases these small word changes may, in fact, reduce your word count but it will definitely make your content more engaging and exciting for the readers.
8. Break it and make it smaller
When writing for the web you should be aware that their attention span of readers is very less. They may have more attention while reading a book but that attention span reduces to less than 10% while reading the content on the web. This is the reason why keep your paragraph smaller. A paragraph of 8 or 9 lines would be good but a paragraph of 5 or 6 lines is even better. Make it a point to keep the paragraph short even if the idea is not complete. You can take it ahead in the next paragraph and can always use the following paragraphs and explain it. Keeping the paragraphs short also adds the feeling that the content is being read faster because the audience keeps on scrolling. Use paragraphs if its an essay and use bullets if its an informational website. (Refer to Point 18 below)
9. Link updating
Internal links are a very important aspect of content and almost every content writer will know that. Using links to link other pages clear website gives an increase in the SEO and The reader will get useful info which increases the page views as well as the time on the site. Once in a while, you need to make it a point to visit your older posts in order to update the things that you have already posted. This will help to increase your search result and will make your page even more useful to the readers and also make your content fresh which will help it to rank even higher on search engines. Although it may sound a lot of work like finding a needle in a haystack it is very important to do it once in a while.
10. Use professional SEO tools
Google spreadsheet is more than enough to do a professional SEO keyword analysis along with some free tools. But usually there is a lot of data and taking through that data will make it very easy to get lost. Some SEO tools have too much data than necessary without providing the necessary tools for you to get through it. Other SEO tools break down everything according to their own system which may not give up data in order to draw your conclusions. One such as you tool is a CM brush which has given a lot of data and it is also easier to export it and analyze it by the use of another program. All the important and other text about the website are displayed to you which will add value to your keywords and also you will gain a deep insight on the performance of your website.
11. Best SEO practices
Using a keyboard multiple times is not enough but this keyword is to be used in any related phrases like meta description, or headers, or even in the alt-tag images of your website. There are many tools which can help you with the SEO if you are using WordPress than the tools called Yoast can help you for SEO. It provides a detailed content analysis of your website and also solves problems like missing keywords which could be included in the meta description and also helps you focus on minor issues like low keyword density. Use of professional tools initially, if you are just starting up with a website may seem expensive so you can always use the free tools but as you progress, you need to have paid tools for better performance of your content.
12. Reader attachment
Your content should be engaging right from the first line. A good introduction is very difficult to write you can skip it initially, write the remaining content and then write the introduction when you are ready. Once you have the entire content ready, only then post it online. If you have the introduction that is not very engaging but the main content is good, then there are very fewer chances of the reader percolating down to the main content because the introduction itself will wear him out and as mentioned earlier, the patience of readers online is very less. You should understand that your website is not literature and visitors are not there for your language but they are there to get information or to solve a problem or buy a product. If you don't show it from the first line that your content will solve their problem or provide them information then get ready to increase your bouncing rates. Write something that will make the readers care about the content they are reading.
13. Vivid descriptions
Visual description some more impact than verbal descriptions. If you don't have the vocabulary to paint a picture in the minds of the reader, then put a picture on the website. Images - as long as they are not copyrighted - are a great source of providing more information in fewer words or rather no words at all. If the website content demands you writing the description then make sure that you write a description. For example, if you have a blog about literature then obviously writing pointwise information will not make sense but rather providing a detailed description by using articulate vocabulary is what will be engaging for the reader. Describe where description is needed but not where it is not needed and make sure you know the difference. A news website is not expected to have too many jargons or articulate words, rather it should have crisp usage of words with facts and numbers, on the other hand, a blog of fictional stories should have heavy and articulate words and long descriptions. On the other hand, an e commerce website should have least number of words with maximum description in order to attract the customer attention.
14. Confirm and then write
Make sure that you double check everything that you post including grammar spelling or words especially facts. If you don't pay attention then someone may catch your mistake and write it down in the comment box visible for all the other for those with impact negatively for your content as well as for your website. You can always include an extension of many grammar applications which will help you with learning as well as improve your grammar while you write content. There are many good blogs and online courses about creating good content and paying attention to the grammatical aspects of it. If you are posting news on your website or writing about something that happened recently make sure to differentiate your opinions from the fact. Posting or writing about wrong facts can cost you millions of dollars if someone puts a lawsuit on your content. If there is something you are not sure about then make sure to look it up on Google, confirm it, reconfirm the confirmation from a few more reliable websites and only then write it. It may take some time to do that but it will save a lot of money in future as well as increase credibility of your website.
15. Understand your readers/audience
it is a very basic and simple thing before you start writing the content to understand the target audience that you are intending to target. answer the question who are you trying to reach before drafting the first content. Segment your audiences primary audience and the secondary audience who will be influenced by the primary audience. Ask yourself the question of how will they find your site online. for example, if you are creating a blog then categorize your blog into a form of literature. You can write non-fictional articles or fictional articles or stories or simply keep a journal of your day-to-day activities online. in any of those cases, you need to define who are the readers will be attracted to your content and what will be they needing more. you need to answer the question of what is different in your website which will compare the audience to come there and read your content. this is why before you start writing the content think from the perspective of your audience who will be here for you to write it.
16. Slash jargons
the internet is for everyone and not simply technical experts this is why you have to make sure that your information is understandable by a specialist as well as a layman. using slightly difficult words will show your knowledge but using jargons everywhere will simply categorize you as a pretentious writer and will turn off many of your readers. Consider the following sentence:
‘This year's iPhone 12 is packed with 4 gigs of RAM and telephoto, wide and ultra wide lens which contribute to a really cool camera having smallest aperture size any other iPhone has had.’
A lot of information is provided in the sentence but some of it might not be comprehended by a regular reader because of the technical terms.
Now consider the revision of the same sentence
‘This year's iPhone 12 is immensely powerful and smooth with a combination of three state of the art lenses which work as one. The photos have a stunning quality which no other iPhone before this had.’
This information is more for everyday users rather than techniques which will be very attractive and readable by everyone. using too much of jargons is a turn off for many readers as well as the website may not rank in search engines for regular keywords. Unless a topic is extremely technical and nice, you should ideally aim for a middle school reading level or possibly even lower.
17. Social sharing is caring and earning
Good content will have a lot of value over time on different social media accounts. content which is shared and link on many websites which have high traffic and at the same time Google with rank it at the top even if the information may be old and not updated. This implies that the strategy of "write it and forget it" does not work well with content marketing. you need to regularly monitor how the content is performing as compared to other content on your website as well as similar content on other websites and need to form a strategy to revamp the content in order to bring new visitors. As a general rule of thumb, the longer and informative the content is the better results it will get but sometimes a short piece of content will also surprise you by going viral and it will start ranking for the keywords that you are not even thinking of targeting. Get content endorsements by different influencers on social media. This will help to improve your visibility and also bring more user traffic on your website. Sometimes, if the content is really good, then influencers themselves share making your content viral but at other times, you may require a paid promotion.
18. Make points
Apart from putting up important information in a quickly readable position by the user make sure that the text is easy to read. Make sure to include numerical points or bullet instead of one long paragraph. Make sure to include a blank space surrounding the paragraph for the images on your website. It may seem like a waste of space but actually, it is a best friend of a web designer. A lot of white space makes the text more readable and more enjoyable to read. It is also crucial that you divide up your content into different sections with different descriptive headers. rather than writing an essay on climate change you can put different headers describing what is climate change, what are the scenarios and impacts of climate change and the solutions to reduce the effects of climate change. Making bullets, headings and sub headings will make your content more readable and scannable by the user at a quick glance. The more ease the user has, the more your content will be appreciated.
19. Never self edit
You should always have someone for editing your work because you would be responsible for only writing the content. you can edit your own web content for some time but at least do not do it on the same day was the writing is still fresh. Instead, forget it and come back on a different day at least two hours later so that the mind can find the gaps in your work. But make sure the person editing your work knows about the content that you have written. There might be cases where your vision might get lost while editing because the editor was not able to comprehend your vision. Make sure to communicate your Idea or goal or expected the outcome of the article to the editor before passing on the article.
20. Read a Lot!
Only reading will help you to write a lot. The point here is not to write quantity but also along with quantity equal quality. Read different books and magazines which talk about content writing and SEO, take professional courses which will help you to carve your content better on any website. Read good blogs and websites which will help you to get better ideas. Understand the current market scenario as weather your customer base and read what the competition is doing so that you can modify it and adapt for your website and your content. the more you read the more you will write, is what the quote says. Make sure you read quality as well as quantity.
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In light of this post, about different types of ways you may feel about your favourite hockey players, getting an awful lot more notes than expected, I thought it would be fun to have a more detailed look into what kind of responses people were giving! I accidentally deleted the damn thing a few months ago and it took me a while to find it again, but on the plus side it accrued a lot more notes during that time - I have responses from 150 people, covering 119 different hockeys! This is pretty long, so all the good stuff is below the cut :)
So, as I said, there were responses from 150 different people (thank you all) - 119 individual names were mentioned for a total of 429 answers, accounting for 25 NHL teams. I’m going to link the Google Sheet at the end of the post, but first I thought I’d go through some of it :)
There is obviously going to be some bias towards the teams I am about on my blog since that’s where the post originated from, but with that many responses, the results are pretty varied. Anyway,
First are some of the most common players assigned to option one, which, as per the post, was “he’s perfect and i will not hear otherwise. i look at him like he hung the moon, because quite frankly, he probably did. he is the lord’s perfect creation and i would happily die defending his honor.”
As you can see Jamie Benn is the pretty clear winner, and very satisfyingly so, as he has the same number of votes as his jersey number. From what I’ve seen, Stars fans are very passionate about their captain and I love that! I don’t think there’s really any surprise appearances on here, although I wasn’t expecting Crosby’s name to crop up this much, maybe that’s just because I’m not necessarily a Pens fan. These are just the most common answers. People’s opinions were far more varied on this than the other option; on a quick count, I tallied 75 individual players being named for this one! As a result, most players that were mentioned in this category only appeared once or twice, like Ben Bishop or Seth Jones (both good choices). There does appear to be a considerable bias towards Canadians, with (if I’m right) 10 appearing on this graph. The rest of the players are European, so not much love for the Americans…interesting.
Category 2: “this little bastard creature. how dare he. how dare he make me love him. he’s a gremlin that’s crawled up from the depths of hell and i hate him with all my heart even though i love him. he’s the literal worst man alive.”
People were much more in agreement on this option - even as I was typing up the answers it was clear that TK and Seguin were almost unanimous across hockeyblr. It doesn’t seem to matter which team you support, you probably hold a little bit of rage for one of them anyway.
I think Nolan Patrick making a pretty even appearance on both lists is interesting, and I can’t say that EJ or Jimmy Vesey were names I expected to see mentioned here. Matthew Tkachuk’s Friendship Tour runs rife even on Tumblr, it would appear. Most people probably would have predicted a lot of these names for this one.
(This post is from a fair few months ago, and from a quick scroll through the tags it does appear that most mentions of AMatthews are from before the allegations surfaced in September. Just something to note.)
This is where things get interesting - I noticed some players were appearing numerous times for both categories, so I thought I’d pick out some of the most common ones, and see how opinions were split. Of the 38 times Travis Konecny was mentioned, only 2 people thought he belonged to category 1 (represented by the green bar), so I hope those people are out there living their truths. Seguin showed a similar pattern, whilst Barzal, Patrick, and Tom Wilson had opinions split close to 50/50. Surprisingly, Marchand was deemed more “perfect” than “gremlin” but that may be the result of this post being circulated a fair amount among Bruins blogs. That being said, and we’ll get onto it in a second, it does appear that hockey fans on Tumblr were fairly evenly represented in this, so maybe not.
This is a summary of how the number of players mentioned were distributed by team. There’s some more info in the Google Sheet about how many players represented each team - e.g. the Capitals, despite only making up 7% of answers, had the most players mentioned at 14! This chart is interesting, and in my experience a reasonable portrayal of hockeyblr, although a few teams are probably a little under-represented. That being said, it is probably more reflective of hockeyblr on the whole rather than on a team-by-team basis. Players who tend to be pretty popular, or at least subversive, regardless of your allegiance - Konecny, Seguin, Marner - have definitely influenced this.
The Hurricanes, Red Wings, Kings, and Lighting have been omitted from the above chart as their players were only named once or twice, and so amounted to 0% in the grand scheme of things. No players from Ducks, Oilers, Panthers, Canadiens, Senators, and Winnipeg were mentioned at all. The Ducks and Senators weren’t really too shocking, but I did expect to see a player or two from the others in there. I would assume this is a result of those fanbases not being all that big on here.
That’s all I’m going to get into here, but the whole workbook can be found of Google Sheets through this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cUFz4eSM_j-Ipjz7lhsAkaXqpw5M_08NcYiWBM1Zxec/edit?usp=sharing
It has all of the tables I made the graphs/charts from, as well as the whole list of the responses, some of which gave me a good laugh. And like I said, there’s some info on how teams were portrayed which might be of interest. It’s certainly not an exhibition on how you should be presenting your data, but it gets the point across :)
Thank you again for the awesome response to that dumbass post, and thank you to anyone who has read this far! I spent way too long on this so I really really appreciate it. That being said, it was good fun, so please feel free to let me know if you enjoyed reading this :^)
💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
#not that anyone actually wanted me to do it but this took me the longest time#so if you gave it a look and thought it was at all enjoyable/interesting/[positive adjective] pls give it a like or some shit#i do love that validation#fr though this was fun to do and a good insight into the hocleyblr hive mind#how to tag...#gonna tag a bunch of teams tbh#dallas stars#philadelphia flyers#boston bruins#washington capitals#new york rangers#new york islanders#colorado avalanche#toronto maple leafs#eh that'll do#hockey stats#ish#❤️❤️❤️
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all the things yet to come: two
five years shared between two people: you, a psychology doctoral student, and your advisor, Dr. Harry Styles, PhD. (also known as ‘post doc harry’)
word count: 12.4k
Year Three: August
Humidity blankets the town in a stifling embrace. The ice from your drink has fully melted, the condensation from your cup leaving a ring of water on the surface of the table you’ve been sitting at for the last two hours. The sun caresses the exposed skin of your back as you type away, eyes darting across the screen as they follow your cursor across the page.
You register the faint noises of Elena flipping pages in her book across from you. She’s long abandoned her computer and has taken to laying flat on the bench of the table you’re sharing, pretending to read some obscure romance novel. A pair of oversized sunglasses are perched on her nose, blocking the harsh sunlight from her eyes.
Elena huffs a sigh, tossing her book carelessly onto the table. She lets your name fall out of her mouth in a querulous moan. “I wouldn’t have agreed to study with you if I’d known how unreasonably hot it was going to be.”
Your eyes don’t leave your screen though you do offer a light snort at her use of the word ‘studying.’
Elena’s top half pops up off the bench. She brings a hand to her glasses and lowers them down the bridge of her nose so she can look at you. Her brow quirks in a challenging manner. “Why are you so focused on comps already?”
“Why aren’t you?” you counter. “These exams are important--”
“--We literally just got back from break. Aren’t you tired?”
Words caught in your throat, you relent, closing your eyes for a brief moment. Tired is an understatement--whatever semblance of a summer break existed quickly diminished when the threat of your written and oral comprehensive exams loomed on the horizon. You’d spent the first few weeks deflating from a whirlwind of a semester--both cognitively and emotionally--but your studying kicked right back in at the start of June, taking control of your summer with full force.
It was preemptive, perhaps, to start studying so early for comps. But given your level of preparedness now, only a month away from the dreaded exam date, you’re glad you started early. Elena’s nonchalance about the ordeal is throwing you for a loop.
You settle for a half-hearted smile, minimizing the study guide from your applied behavioral analysis class. “Of course I’m tired. I probably bit off a bit more than I can chew, but if it’ll get me a good job after we’re done then I won’t complain.”
Elena lets out a disgruntled noise, falling back onto the bench. “Your prudence never fails to surprise me. Here you are being a model student and yet, the thought of studying right now could make me vomit.”
Not a stranger to her dramatics, you shake your head fondly. What will probably end up happening is that Elena will get a near perfect score on her comps without even having to try, you surmise to yourself. Your friend is that type of student, largely in contrast to yourself; questioning her methods would do nothing but cause you to feel incapable of producing the same results.
“Anyways, enough about school. I want to hear more about your summer.” Elena kicks a leg in the air, bending her knee a few times. Your eyes follow the motion as your nose wrinkles to conceal an amused grin. “How was your family? Oh! How was your trip to Boston?”
Your eyes light up at the mention of the excursion. “Amazing, of course. It’s such a gorgeous city; I could live there one day. I’d love to go back soon.”
“Boston is a dream,” Elena agrees.
“How was your summer?”
“Fine, until Meredith emailed me with five spreadsheets of data to sort through ‘when I have the opportunity,’” Elena grumbles, her hands coming up to make air quotes. “I swear, we’re good for nothing but data entry.”
You have to sympathize--the mention of her advisor bombarding her with menial tasks takes you back to your first year. Elena’s gripes bring forth memories of the first few months with an absent Harry and nothing but the harsh blue light of your computer screen to keep you company. So much has changed since then.
“Did Harry throw any busy work your way?”
“No, but…”
Silence fills the space between you. A few seconds later, Elena’s head pops up again. “But what?” she questions, eyes narrowed.
Your lips begin to part in a private grin as you speak. “He did ask me to co-author his next manuscript.”
Elena’s eyes widen. “Like, as a primary contributor?” Your head bobs in a quick nod. A laugh bubbles from your lips--hearing the words out loud still never fails to astonish you. “What the hell? That’s incredible!”
“You don’t think it’s too much to take on?”
“Are you crazy? You have the opportunity to be published with Dr. Harry Styles.” Elena says his name as if he were a celebrity. “You’ll shoot up the ranks in any department once people know.”
You often forget how revered his work has become in the behavioral psychology space, his papers often featuring in prominent magazines and websites. It’s become easy to separate his notoriety from his actual persona, but it’s never lost on you that you have an amazing opportunity to be working under his direction.
“Speak of the devil…” Elena’s eyes are focused over your shoulder. She nods her head in that direction so you turn around to look. Sure enough, there’s Harry and JT strolling down the sidewalk across the street from where you’re sitting. Both are holding cups from the coffee shop on campus--Harry’s is probably black with just a little bit of sugar, like always.
Based on the where they’re walking, they’re probably headed back toward the departmental building. You haven’t seen Harry much since getting back to school, and what little encounters you’ve had have occurred in his office. It’s refreshing to see him outside, surrounded by trees and doused in sunshine. You watch as he crinkles his eyes, mouth opening and shoulders shaking with laughter as JT says something animatedly.
A hint of a smile plays at your lips as you turn back to face the table. Your eyes trail over your computer screen, sorting through the open tabs before finding your study guide again. Hands poised over the keyboard, you purse your lips as you get ready to dive back into your studying. A cough sounds from the other side of the table.
You look up, brows raised. Elena’s staring at you like she has something important to say, eyes alight and lips curved into a smirk. “...What?”
Elena’s smirk widens. “Not gonna go over and say hello?”
“...No,” you reply, dragging out the word. “I’ll see him later this week in our office hours.”
“Ah, of course. Your office hours.”
“Elena.”
“What?” she asks, affronted. “I’m not saying anything!”
She’s the picture of innocence, but you know better. You won’t ask her what she’s thinking though you know she desperately wants you to. Notorious for being blunt with her opinions, Elena could very well say something that could open a can of worms, which you’d rather not deal with at the moment.
Shoving any thoughts of Harry aside, you straighten your spine and adjust the screen of your computer. You wouldn’t be entertaining Elena today, nor would you be entertaining her in the near future. “Let’s go over reductionism theory again. Come on, put your book down and study with me.”
Elena grumbles but complies nonetheless. It’s alright if she doesn’t notice you look over your shoulder to see Harry’s retreating frame once more.
-*-
August blurs into September, September melts into October. The leaves shed their green coats and decorate the trees in hues of burnt orange and soft yellow. The humidity shrinks away into nothing, leaving a chill that seems to deepen each morning you step out of your apartment. Sunlight fades earlier and earlier, nighttime persists into the hours of the day. The mountain town welcomes autumn with open arms, quicker than usual, but hardly unwanted.
The departmental library quickly becomes your second home. Its shelves cocoon you during the day while you’re studying, the books serving as an impenetrable wall guarding you from any outside distractions. Sequestering yourself away for hours on end is the only way you know you’ll be even mildly successful in passing your comps. Some days, it takes Elena finding you asleep in your favorite armchair in the north corner of the library and forcing you to go home for you to actually stop studying.
Because you have comps this semester, you’re not required to sit in any lectures. The time that isn’t spent studying is spent formulating the groundwork for your dissertation--now that your review is complete, you can dive headfirst into the methodology of your work so you can begin testing subjects in the spring. Balancing your dissertation, studying for comps, and helping Harry with the manuscript was probably too much to juggle, but you were determined to see everything through to completion--if not for yourself, then for Harry.
The exams fall on a Friday in mid-October. You have a few more days to study, but at this point you’re feeling fairly confident and have shifted gears back toward the manuscript. It’s going through its last round of edits and you’re in the middle of a meeting with Dr. Johnston about selecting your dissertation committee when your phone vibrates with a text. As Dr. Johnston is looking at her computer, you stealthily check your messages.
Sorry to bother you--quick emergency with the script, nothing major. Have any time to stop by?
You thumb back a quick response, shoving your phone back in your bag just in time for Dr. Johnston to turn back to you. “So, you’re set to start collecting data in the spring--have you blocked out lab time for that?”
“Harry went ahead and reserved the space for me for the entire semester,” you reply with a nod.
“Wonderful.” Dr. Johnston types something and clicks around a few more times. Soon, the printer in the corner of the room starts whirring. “It’s a bit early to set a date for your defense, but I anticipate it’ll be in the fall of your final year. I would start thinking about who you’d want on your committee--we can finalize everything at the end of the year.”
“Won’t my committee be the same?”
“Could be--it’s your decision.” Dr. Johnston tilts her head in thought. “Some candidates stick with their same proposal committee--others prefer to have a clean slate of individuals. We’re making some new hires soon so there’ll be some options for you.”
You file that away for later as she leans over to grab the sheets of paper off the printer. She hands them to you--there are various forms and timelines to keep you on track so you’ll get your project finished in time. After placing them carefully in your bag, you stand and bid Dr. Johnston farewell before slipping out of her office and heading toward the stairs.
You’re a bit out of breath by the time you reach Harry’s office on the floor below. You slow your steps as you approach his cracked door, the soft sounds of an old Wings record drifting into the hallway. Tucking a few flyaway strands behind your ear, you rap your knuckles gently on the door to alert Harry of your presence before stepping inside.
“Hi,” you greet, smiling as Harry glances up from his computer screen. “Everything okay?”
“Hey--just one… second…” he trails off, eyes still focused as he types away at a rapid pace. You drop your bag onto the ground by the armchair and lean back, feeling your spine audibly crack in the most delicious way. Harry whips his head around, lips curled in a grimace as he appraises you. “That didn’t sound too good.”
You cringe, lips pursed as you massage the tender muscles of your lower back. “Studying for comps has made me an old woman.”
“Ah, right. Those are soon, aren’t they?”
“On Friday, yeah.” You round his desk, coming to lean against it. Harry turns around in his chair so he can face you fully. He pushes his glasses up into his hair--it’s gotten longer, you note, the delicate chocolate curls framing his face reminiscent of a Renaissance cherub. “Just need them to be over at this point.”
Harry frowns. “You’re not getting too bogged down with work, are you? If our project is too much right now, you don’t have to--”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” you cut him off with a firm shake of your head. “This paper is the perfect break from studying for me. Why do you think I rushed over here as soon as I got your text?”
He regards you quietly. Hardly one to let his facial expressions give anything away, Harry simply blinks a few times, allows you to indulge in a miniscule quirk of his lips, then turns back to his computer. “I’m glad you did,” he tells you, adjusting his screens so you can see them from where you’re standing. You move closer, arms crossed over your chest as you lean forward to get a better look. “I definitely did something wrong when I exported this table.”
Your eyes flit over the rows of numbers listing all the percentage values across the two studies you and Harry had performed. As you scan them, you brows furrow. “Nothing is significant…” you murmur mostly to yourself. Harry turns in his chair to look at you as you mull over the possibilities as to why this formatting error could have occurred. “I wonder if our p-value was altered somehow. Do you want me to send you the tables again?”
“Sure, that might work.”
You head back to the other side of the room to grab your computer out of your bag. Sitting in the armchair, once your computer has powered on and you’ve logged in, you navigate to the giant folder with all of your spreadsheets from the studies. Cursing yourself internally for naming them so obscurely, you start the painstaking search for the right one to send to Harry.
“How’s your IRB paperwork coming along?” Harry asks after a few moments of silence. “I saw you have a working title--it sounds incredibly compelling.”
“Oh, yeah. I was going for a pseudo-movie title feel when I thought of it,” you reply with a light chuckle.
“TO BE LOVED: Affective processing of loved faces is very indie of you,” Harry quips with a wry grin. “Very Sundance, in my opinion.”
“Should fit right in with your regular watchlist, right?”
“You may call me pretentious, but I prefer to call myself cultured.”
At that, you let out a bark of laughter. You shake your head fondly, a part of your chest loosening when Harry joins in. The ease in which this banter always occurs lifts you out of your stress-muddled mind, giving your brain a much needed reprieve from having your head buried in notes all day.
Scrolling down your files, you let out a little noise of triumph once you locate the right one. “Okay, I’m sending it in the original format…” You type in Harry’s email address quickly and soon enough, a little ping sounds from his computer. Setting your laptop aside, you stand and head back to where you were standing previously. Harry’s already opened the spreadsheet. “Mind if I export it myself?”
Harry pushes back from his desk, giving you ample space to step forward. He leans toward you, the proximity suddenly heightening your awareness. Your faces are hardly a foot apart as you both stare at his computer screen; there’s almost a conscious effort on your part to make sure you take up as little space as possible so as not to cross any boundaries.
Stifling the urge to look over at him, you maneuver the cursor to highlight the table. Immediately, you notice something wrong. “Your macros are turned off.”
“What?” Harry shuffles forward to peer at the screen. “Oh, bugger. I never use them since I got a virus once. I didn’t even realize…”
“No worries--here, I’ll just--” You quickly enable them again, then copy and paste the table into the manuscript draft. Harry lets out a little cheer when you see that none of the data were altered. “There we go! Should be all set.”
“Saved my arse again. Thank you, really.” Harry’s appreciative tone has you turning to glance at him. A timid smile plays at your lips, threatening to grow when he squeezes your shoulder firmly. “Sorry to have wasted your time with this.”
“You know I don’t mind.” You stand up straight, wiping your hands on your thighs to get rid of the clamminess that always seems to plague you. Heading back around to gather your things, you say over your shoulder, “It’s still alright that I’m missing our session on Thursday, right?”
Harry stands and puts one hand in his pocket trousers, the other coming to scratch at the back of his neck. The dark t-shirt he has on rides up slightly on his torso, but not enough to show any skin. “Of course. Studying should be your priority--we can meet early next week, if you’d like.”
“Just let me know how much progress you make over the next week and we can decide then.”
“Sounds good.” He follows you to the door, letting one arm casually rest on the frame as you walk out. You turn back around for a moment, taking in the image of him watching you. There’s a certain softness to his expression that you find yourself drawn to--a magnetic visage that pulls you in. “Have a good rest of your week. Good luck this Friday.”
The corner of your lip quirks as your gaze drops to your feet. “Thanks--I’ll need all the luck I can get.”
“You’ll be perfect.” The lowness of his voice makes you glance up at him again through your lashes. He looks so sure of himself, so confident in his faith in you that you feel your cheeks warm involuntarily. “I know you will.”
Perhaps it’s the way your heart thuds deafeningly loud in your ears that makes you want to melt into the ground. Or it’s the way Harry’s teeth dig into his bottom lip, his gaze falling to the floor for a split second before looking back up at you that makes your chest tighten with every inhale. When Harry backs away from the door, whispering a quiet goodbye in the trembling space between you two, you let go of a quavery breath and close your eyes, suddenly alone save for the thrumming of your pulse echoing around you.
-*-
The following Monday sees you rushing into the senior seminar you teach biweekly, already a few minutes late. After a restful weekend consisting of far too much sleep and not enough activity, it had been fitting that you slept through your alarm this morning. Armed with a granola bar and a travel mug full of overly sweet coffee, you head toward the podium after a rushed greeting to your class.
It isn’t until you’ve set the mug down and removed your coat and belongings that you see it. A plain white envelope, one made for a greeting card. It rests innocently on the podium, the white standing out in contrast against the darkness of the wood. Your brows furrow as you pick it up, turning it around. The flourishing script used to write your name takes up most of the space.
“Did anyone see who dropped this off?” you ask no one in particular, eyes still glued to the enveloped.
“Oh, it was Dr. Styles.” You glance up at the person who spoke. She’s a talkative student, always eager to participate. Her eyes are bright as she speaks. “He came by about ten minutes ago with it.”
Her words hit your ears but they feel too big. Too heavy, too laden with something you’re scared to acknowledge. This simple act of kindness has startled you to the point of stupefaction. Your tongue feels dry in your mouth as you will your fingers to move. Gently, as if ripping the envelope open will upset the delicate balance of your emotions, you slip your fingers under the flap and peel it back.
Pictured on the front of the card is a cat with a graduation cap perched on its head and a diploma grasped in his paw. Your lips part and a faint smile graces your lips. Upon opening it, a plastic card falls out--it’s a giftcard to the wine bar downtown. Harry’s chicken scratch takes up a small amount of space on the inside.
What do you call a scarecrow with a PhD?
Outstanding in his field!
Congratulations on finishing your comps. Have a drink on me x
-Harry
The card feels so light in your hands that a single ounce of pressure could make it disintegrate into pieces. Much like your composure, in fact. How could a simple gesture of kindness render you so astonished? Lost for words, your mind feels full of static. There’s a faint tremble to your fingers as you hurriedly stuff everything back into the envelope, hiding it all away in your bag to ponder over later.
Two dozen faces stare at you once you’ve put it away. “Right,” you say, swallowing to get some moisture back into your mouth. There’s a horrible heat in your cheeks that makes you want to hide, but the day’s responsibilities don’t make that an option. You steel yourself with a breath, opening your laptop to begin the lecture. “Let’s pick up where we left off, shall we?”
-*-
From: Styles, Harry Edward <[email protected]>
Subject: FWD: APS Annual Winter Conference Invitation
Dear Dr. Styles,
We would like to cordially invite you and your co-author(s) to present your findings at this year’s Association for Psychological Science Winter Conference, to be held in Boston, MA. The following paper was submitted to our board and has been approved for presentation:
Styles et al., 2019. “The Emotional Conceptualization of Hunger.”
Please reply to confirm your attendance along with the number of individuals who will accompany you. We look forward to seeing you in February!
-*-
Year Three: December
“...Now, it’s important to note that these implications cannot be qualified without further study,” Harry is saying. You’re perched in the armchair in his office, rapidly scribbling notes while trying to keep an eye on the timer. “The need for more research into behavioral as well as social influences is crucial to substantiating more claims about hunger-based emotional states. Thank you all for your time.”
“And… done!” You stop the timer on your phone with a flourish. “Just under twenty-five minutes. You crushed it.”
Harry drops his notecards on the desk and bends his head backwards, blowing a full breath out of his pursed lips. “Thank God. I did not want to cut that down even more.” He scratches his forehead with his third and fourth fingers while he uses his other hand to flip back through the slideshow on your laptop. “This still leaves enough time for your part, right?”
“As long as you don’t get your cards out of order.”
“That was once, and it was partially your fault.”
You snicker at the disgruntled expression on his face. Harry reaches for his mug of coffee. Your own has long since gone cold, the two of your having been holed up in his office for the last few hours perfecting your presentation before the conference next month. It’s an honor to have been invited, so you knew everything had to be perfect.
But now you both deserved a well-needed break. Pushing some of your leftover takeout aside, you stand from the chair and raise your arms over your head for a stretch. “I’m just going to run to the bathroom,” you tell Harry, who nods in response.
You’re quick to relieve yourself in the bathrooms downstairs, splashing a bit of water on your face to wake yourself up. You gather your hair into a ponytail brush from flyaways out of your face, tucking the longer strands behind your ears. It’s been a tiresome week but with the holidays coming up soon, you have a few days back home with your family to look forward to before the spring semester and its endless deadlines kick in.
You take the stairs two at a time to get back to Harry’s office. Immediately upon arriving, however, you notice a change in his stance. There’s a tense line in his shoulders as he gazes at your computer screen. The divot between his brows deepens when he looks up at you, one hand on his hip while the other plays with his bottom lip.
You tilt your head in question. “Is everything okay?”
“Um. Your, uh--” Harry makes an aborted gesture toward your laptop. His voice is barely discernible when he speaks again. “Your comps results just came in.”
Your lips part in surprise. Suddenly, your stomach knots itself and you almost want to run back to the restroom. It’s been a long and arduous month waiting for these results, not knowing when exactly they’d come. And now, on a quiet Thursday evening they’ve appeared in your inbox without giving you enough time to prepare.
You feel frozen, petrified where you stand. “I… fuck, okay.” You glance around the room, blinking rapidly before forcing yourself to take a deep breath. “Will you--can you look for me? Please?”
The request clearly takes him by surprise. But it doesn’t feel out of place--you trust him because of his faith in you. And so he nods, turning back to your computer and moves to open the email.
You have to look away. Crossing your arms tightly over your chest, you shift toward the far wall with the bookshelves. Countless textbooks spill over them, stacked high atop one another. But there’s also a few fiction titles sprinkled throughout--The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, The Namesake, A Thousand Splendid Suns. The missing colors in the creases in their spines show how well-loved they are.
The creaking of the floorboards from behind you is the only indication you get of Harry moving. It’s enough to make you turn back around, subconsciously bracing yourself for a pitying look, maybe some words of comfort.
But, instead, he’s fighting a smile.
A feeling of desperation crawls up your throat--you need him to be implying the truth. The pads of your fingers come to cover your mouth as you whisper, “Really?”
He nods--his dimple appears fully as he huffs out a laugh, gesturing toward your computer. “You--um. Yeah. Come here, look.”
It’s a handful of steps to get to him. He moves back to give you space as you approach. You make eye contact for a split second, Harry’s shining with mirth. It does nothing to calm the swirl of emotions you feel--elation, trepidation, bewilderment. The minute your eyes fall on your screen--specifically the words underneath your name in the opened email, it all fades away.
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION RESULT: PASS
“I--I passed.”
“I knew you would.”
Laughter trickles from your mouth as your hands come to your cheeks, eyes still glued to that one word on your screen. The culmination of your work up until this point--all the time, sweat, and effort put into this exam, all summarized by a single word. And you couldn’t be more thrilled.
“I--I have to call my parents. They’ll want to know…” you trail off, your mind whirring at a hundred miles an hour. “Wait--we should probably finish the presentation first, shouldn’t we? So we don’t have to worry--”
“The presentation can wait--you’ve just gotten some incredible news! Go and celebrate.” A pair of hands comes to your shoulders, squeezing gently. Your breath hitches unexpectedly at the contact. Harry’s hands feel overly warm through your thin t-shirt. “I’m sure your cohort has all gotten their results. You all should celebrate together.”
“I can’t just leave--”
“--I’m telling you to.” Harry’s voice is resolute. You know there’s no questioning him. “Go on. Use that gift card I gave you.”
It’s the first reference to the card he’s made since he delivered it to you unsuspectingly. For whatever reason, you duck your head to hide the warmth that floods your cheeks. “If you’re sure.”
“Absolutely.”
Quickly, before you can argue with Harry to stay for longer, you gather your things. Slipping your coat and scarf on, you shoulder your bag and head toward the door, Harry trailing after you. You’ve already got your phone out, ready to call your parents and tell them the good news.
“I’m really proud of you, you know.” Harry’s voice is soft, full of fondness and… dare you say it, pride. You turn around just as you reach the door--he regards you with a look that makes your legs immobile. “I never doubted you’d pass. You’re brilliant.”
For a moment, everything between you is suspended. It’s probably that logic that propels you forward, reaching out to Harry for a hug. One of your arms comes up around his neck, your face pushed up against the side of his own. It’s a split second before you feel any movement on his end, but eventually he comes to embrace you, his arm wrapped carefully around your back.
“Thank you,” you whisper. He squeezes you gently, as if the moment is too fragile for any sudden movements.
The moment you separate, you know you won’t speak of this again. You won’t comment on the way you feel when you part, the sudden shiver that makes its way down your spine. You won’t dwell on the lasting traces of Harry’s fingertips that linger along the dip in your back. He shuts the door behind you as you leave, effectively trapping the moment inside his office where it’ll remain, unaddressed.
-*-
Year Three: February
It’s difficult to hear JT over the hoards of voices filling the outside the ballroom as you exit. Swarms of people are leaving the keynote lecture alongside you. You’d lost the rest of your group of six somewhere behind you in the mad dash to the exit.
“It’s pretty unprecedented, what they’re doing at Dartmouth. I’d love to check it out,” JT is saying.
Narrowly avoiding a collision with someone rushing in the opposite direction, you clutch the straps of your bag tighter. “Thinking of moving, JT?” you ask.
“Nah,” he laughs good-naturedly. “I’m not going anywhere with my little one just yet.”
You coo at the mention of his daughter, taking delight in the way JT’s face lights up when you ask how she’s doing. As you continue to chat, you finally get out of the thick of the crowd. You choose to linger around the potted plants in the lobby of the venue, hoping to catch sight of the rest of your group.
The conference had been a wild success--yours and Harry’s presentation had gone off without a hitch. Today was the last day before your flights home in the morning, so your entire team would be going out to dinner to celebrate. Dr. Johnston had ended up receiving an award earlier in the afternoon and she had insisted on treating everyone.
Beyond just the conference, you were thrilled to be back in Boston again. The startling difference between the city in the summer versus the winter nearly stunned you when you had exited the airport. Even your thickest parka doesn’t mask the biting chill you’ve felt every time you stepped outside. Still, walking through Back Bay and experiencing the quaint charm of downtown Boston feels more indulgent in the wintertime, somehow. More sentimental, more… romantic, even.
“Oh, I see them.” JT waves his arms over his head--you follow his gaze and see the remaining members of your group trickling out of the crowd. Dr. Johnston leads the pack, flanked by two other faculty members. Just behind her, you spot the familiar head of curls you’ve hardly seen all day. He’s chatting with a woman who’s in the cohort a year ahead of you--they’re laughing at something. Your eyes linger a bit longer on them before Dr. Johnston reaches you.
“Everyone here and accounted for?” There’s a brief moment to make sure the entire group is present. “Great!” Dr. Johnston claps her hands and makes a move toward the exit. “Meet in the lobby for dinner at 8. Look sharp, folks!”
The wind has picked up since the morning. Even the sun does little to provide relief from the harsh breeze that stings your face. Your bury your nose in your scarf in an attempt to avoid it but it doesn’t do much.
“I didn’t see you at the keynote.” Harry’s fallen into step beside you, angling his body so he’s speaking more or less in your ear. His shoulder brushes yours as the two of you walk toward the intersection. “Were you able to make it?”
You nod, glancing up at him for a brief second. “I did. I was just a few minutes late. Were you sitting up front?”
“Yeah, I had a seat saved for you.” He pauses for a moment. “Had to give it to Tricia since she was late, too.”
Tricia, the girl one year your superior. It’s a visceral reaction--the mention of her name makes you wonder if her interests fell along the same vein as Harry’s, if they’d discussed the same things that you and him had in the past. It’s irrational--you kick yourself for it, for this undesired possessiveness that’s started to rear its head over the last few weeks. The longer you refuse to acknowledge it, the uglier and more powerful it comes. It only intensifies when Harry’s within your vicinity, just as he’s been all weekend.
It hasn’t helped that in any instance the two of you have been lauded for your presentation, Harry’s shifted the focus toward you. Your contributions, your work. He’s made sure your efforts have not gone unnoticed. It’s flattering, of course, and to receive such lionization from someone who’s greatly revered in the eyes of this society is something you don’t take for granted. But the more he does it, the more the rope tied around your heart tightens as if he’s pulling you closer and closer toward him against your will.
The two of you wait in silence at the crosswalk behind the rest of the group. Harry shifts back and forth on his feet. “It’s too bloody cold,” he grumbles, edging forward as the pedestrian sign counts down.
“You’re English--aren’t you supposed to be used to this?” you ask, amused by the way he attempts to make himself smaller.
“That’s a myth.” He shakes his head, almost laughing to himself. “Moved from a cold place in northern England to an even colder place in the mountains in America. Now I’m in the coldest place in the country during the winter. And, if you’ve noticed, I’ve not adapted well.”
“Indeed.” You nod, voice solemn. “The evidence is conclusive.”
Harry shoots a look of exasperation that you simply raise your eyebrows at, rushing forward to catch up with your group as the walk sign illuminates.
There are two hours before you’re all required to be in the lobby for dinner. The first thing you is shower when you get back to your room, eager to wash off the day and feel relatively refreshed. Once you’re dressed in a simple black jumpsuit, you run the blow dryer through your hair and fix it into a low ponytail. A pair of gold hoop earrings and a thin chain necklace are the only pieces of jewelry you opt for.
Forgoing a jacket since you all decided to dine at the hotel restaurant, you grab your purse and phone after slipping on your heels. It’s a few minutes past 8 by the time you make it to the elevator; you’re the last to reach the lobby and your group is already heading into the restaurant by the time you exit.
You hurry toward them as quickly as your shoes allow. The hostess directs you toward the reserved table in the back of the restaurant past the bar. It’s lively for a Saturday night, the entire dining room humming with conversation from the other patrons. There’s a hockey game playing on the TVs stationed over the decorative back wall of the bar.
You hear your name called when you approach the table. “There’s a seat at the end for you,” Dr. Johnston says, pointing toward the far side of the table. You thank her, tacking on an apology for being late, and make your way to your seat.
The conversation has already kicked off by the time you’re settled, a healthy glass of white already placed in front of you. You take a sip, relishing in the richness of the wine. A tap against your shin under the table makes you raise your eyes to the person across from you--Harry’s peering at you through his glasses with just a hint of a dimple showing itself, like he’s trying not to smile.
“Did you fall asleep or something?”
“No,” you shoot back haughtily. You take another sip of your wine, setting the glass down before replying. “Forgive me for being two minutes late. I swear, punctuality means nothing to you all unless it has to do with eating…”
Harry wrinkles his nose as a laugh splutters from his lips. He tips his own glass toward you in a silent cheers, long fingers delicately wrapped around the stem. You return the gesture--it’s probably not great that you’ve already downed half your glass, but the warmth making itself known in your belly is exactly what you’ve needed all day so you’re hardly pressed to care.
The energy around the table is palpable--it’s clear that Dr. Johnston and everyone else is running off the thrill of a successful weekend. For a while, the academic armor you all wear is shed and tossed aside in favor of lively, sporadic conversation. JT and Harry get into an argument about hockey, which--you didn’t know Harry was an avid hockey fan, but the vehement assertions he was making about the New York Rangers made it very obvious about his passion.
By the time your main course is finished--a delicious plate of New England lobster ravioli that has your eyes rolling in the back of your head after the first bite--you feel sated yet alert. A relaxing aura has overtaken you, not quite lulling you toward the comfort of your bed but not supplying you with enough energy to leave the hotel in search of excitement.
Dessert is a few bites of a rich chocolate cake split with JT, though you let him eat most of it. Your eyes drift to Harry, with whom you’ve exchanged few words since you initially sat down. His cheeks are flushed, lips stained a dark pink from the wine he’s been nursing all night. He’s currently talking to Tricia again, head dipped toward her to hear her over the din of the room. You take a large pull from your glass, tearing your eyes away from them begrudgingly.
It’s then that Dr. Johnston stands, holding her glass out in front of her. She clears her throat, gathering everyone’s attention. “I want to congratulate you all on a wonderful weekend. I always enjoy coming to this conference, but this year has felt immensely special due to all your hard work. You should be very proud of yourselves.” She raises her glass, saluting you all. “Cheers!”
You all raise your glasses in return, the sounds of glass clinking as everyone drinks. It’s a fitting end to the dinner as most individuals start pushing back from the table. The last of your wine is gone, and you contemplate flagging down a waiter to get a refill before returning back to your room, not ready to get ready for bed just yet. You make a move to stand, eyes searching the darkened space for someone to ask for your drink.
“Wait--ah. Sorry.” Harry stands, his chair making a loud scraping noise as he pushes it back. “Are you leaving?”
You shake your head. “I was just going to ask for another glass of wine.”
His eyes seem to light up at your answer. “Would you--um.” He coughs into his fist before running his fingers through his hair, head ducked. His eyes meet yours, bright and intent. “Would you like to join me for a nightcap?”
The wine speaks for you. “I’d love to.”
Almost mirror images of each other, you both step away from the table at the same time. As you start to talk toward the bar, much emptier now that it’s later in the night, Harry pushes in his chair. You can’t make out what he says to Tricia or the rest of the table. Soon, though, a ghost of a touch brushes against your back. It makes your shoulders stiffen as you inhale sharply, suddenly wary of Harry’s proximity to you.
The bartop is a rich mahogany, the wood littered with dents and scratches. The hockey game is still going but few other patrons are actually paying attention to it. You note the other people left at the bar--a man sitting alone, face nearly buried in this glass as he rests his temple on his fist. There’s a couple on the end that is radiating affection, the two men wholly consumed in one another. The bartender moves with practiced ease, depositing a bill and a drink in front of someone before making his way to your side.
“Can I get something started for you two?”
“Cabernet Sauvignon, and…” Harry looks to you in question.
“Just a glass of Chardonnay, thank you.”
You’ve chosen seats on the end of the bar farthest from the entrance to the restaurant. It’s far back enough that you’re still shrouded in a decent amount of darkness, but the flickering candles and the low hum of a jazz track playing over the speakers creates an intimate ambiance.
Your eyes track every move Harry makes, wondering if at any moment he’ll pull back or do something to throw you off this precarious tightrope that exists between you two. Of course, it isn’t uncommon for colleagues to share a drink, and given all the success you two have experienced this weekend it’s only fitting that you take some time to celebrate it together.
Harry’s taken off his blazer and draped it over the back of his chair. The dim lights bathe his frame in a warm glow, his eyes more alight than usual. A lingering silence makes itself known between you two as you hold eye contact for a split second, only to be broken by the reception of your drinks.
“Cheers.” Harry lifts his glass and you mirror him.
“Are we toasting something in particular?”
His lips purse for a moment in thought. “Should we?”
“To… surviving the cold.” As an afterthought, you add, “Well, some of us did.”
Harry laughs, a breathy sort of huff through his nose. Still, his glass clangs against yours and you both take pulls from your drinks. The earlier helping has left a sufficient buzz in your veins--enough to let yourself lean forward on your elbows, fully in Harry’s space, without fearing his response.
It may be that Harry is also feeling the effects of his drink as he simply angles himself toward you. His chin is propped up on his palm as he regards you coolly. The darkness of the bar is enough to keep your warm cheeks a secret for now. You fiddle with the chain of your purse to keep your hands occupied, but it still leaves your mind to wander.
“Are you excited to start data collection next month?”
You make a face, almost reflexively picking up your glass and taking a quick sip. You lick your lips after you’ve swallowed and say, “Can I request we don’t discuss anything research-related right now?”
Harry’s smirk is one of amusement, one corner of his mouth pinching upward. “Sure, if you want,” he concedes. “Though, I will say, I tend to come up with my best ideas while tipsy. If something comes to mind, be sure to write it down.”
You answer him with nothing but a pointed glare, shaking your head as he chuckles. Another moment of silence passes, both of your eyes drawn to the TV screens. The Bruins are tied with the Hurricanes, 2-2 going into the third period. Harry’s argument with JT about hockey comes to mind once again; flashes of dinner replay behind your eyes as you zone out a bit. Harry talking to you, Harry talking to JT… Harry talking to Tricia.
“Actually, I have a question about you. And work, I guess.”
Harry looks surprised, though he nods for you to continue after a brief pause. “I’ll answer anything within reason.”
“Why am I your only advisee?”
The question has come to you on various occasions, admittedly, but you’ve never felt the need to ask him. Now, however, as your brain-to-mouth filter has faded slightly from the wine, you speak with haste. “Most others in the department have a few advisees, don’t they?” you ask just as Harry opens his mouth to respond. “Why didn’t you take anyone on after me?”
“Would you believe me if I said they asked me to, and I said no?”
You frown, not expecting that answer. “I might if you elaborate,” you reply, feeling skeptical.
Harry inhales, his shoulders rising with the motion. On his exhale, he shifts so he’s nearly parallel with the edge of the bartop, facing you directly. One of his knees barely grazes your shin. “I was a first year fellow when you came into the program--you know that. Barely getting on my feet, as it were. They insisted I take another year to get my bearings before serving as an advisor, but I did want to have at least one person under my direction.”
“So why not a grad student? Or even an undergrad?” You continue to wrap the chain of your purse around your fingers as you pose the question. “Surely their projects are much less work than mine.”
“And that’s a valid point.” Harry swallows a healthy gulp of his wine. He sets his glass down on the table gently, adjusting it so it sits in the center of the damp napkin. His eyes are trained on it--you follow the movements as you wait for him to speak. “When we were given the files of the incoming class--your class--of candidates, your interests stood out to me.”
“Because of my previous work?”
“Because of your passion for it, I guess,” Harry says with a shrug. He looks at you then, gaze contemplative as if he’s reminiscing. A little lift appears in his lips as he looks down, speaking the next sentence quietly. “You reminded me a lot of myself.”
The admission feels like a weighted secret, something he’d been keeping to himself for quite a while. You’ve felt as though Harry’s always regarded you at an arm’s length away, keeping a careful amount of detachment present in your working relationship. But now, with this revelation, you’re faced with a rare glimpse of vulnerability from Harry you don’t often get to see.
You try to push a bit more. “How so?” you ask with a tilt of your head.
Likely in an effort to delay his answer, Harry reaches for his wine again. You watch him closely, eyes never straying from his face, as he gulps down another two sips. The glass is still perched delicately in his hand when he speaks again. “I saw… the same tenacity. The same drive for accomplishment, the same… I don’t know.” He shrugs to himself, peeking up at you through guarded eyes. “You want to do good by everyone; I try to do the same. I could sense that through the abstracts that they put together about all the candidates.”
“That’s very kind of you to say,” you murmur, almost in a daze. It feels strange to be receiving such comments from Harry, in a space where you feel as though your conversation won’t last past this moment. Like the second you leave, all of this will be forgotten--not unlike many of the moments you’ve shared over the last two years. Part of you wants that trend to end--you want to start acknowledging, to start owning up to what you’re feeling.
“It’s the truth,” Harry says back frankly.
You purse your lips, eyes darting over the surface of the bartop for a few seconds. “That still didn’t answer my question,” you point out, your finger dragging through some condensation leftover from someone else’s drink. “I’m a third year now. There’s two classes above me and two classes below me.”
His eyes are careful. “That’s correct.”
“So, why not take on anymore advisees?”
“Call me scrupulous, I guess. I wanted to make sure your project got the attention it deserved. It felt like a distraction to take on anything more. I mean--” He gestures vaguely in the air in front of you. “You know how busy I am.”
“Could be construed as favoritism.”
“Alright, devil’s advocate,” Harry says with a chuckle. You simply shrug, hiding your smirk into your glass. He shakes his head, scratching at his jaw with his pointer and middle fingers. “I call it wanting to help a colleague realize their full potential.”
“And you think my dissertation will do that for me?”
He nods with something fierce. “I absolutely do. Although, I’ve always wondered…” There’s a question in his tone that makes you straighten up. “Where did you come up with the idea?”
It’s a question you love answering simply because of the warmth it brings to your chest. “My dad always used to say… whenever he looked at my mother, he swore his skin felt like lightning.” You smile fondly at the memory of him telling you that for the first time, the way you’d been so curious to see if you could actually catch any of the sparks he spoke of. “It was always something in the back of my mind, especially in any of the relationships I was in. When I started learning more about the behavioral and emotional basis of love… the physiological way in which our bodies behave when we’re around those we care about… I had to know more, you know? I had to see if I could find those sparks myself.”
Harry’s silent for a moment. You can’t anticipate his reaction--most people don’t know your motivations for pursuing this project. You’ve only divulged this information to a select few people. You’re unsure of how Harry will see your reasons for the study you’ve created--is it too selfish? Is it not exploratory enough?
“How fascinating,” is what he replies with. And you can see that he means it--he’s fully attuned to you, gaze steady and unwavering. “Does your dad still feel those sparks?”
Your smile widens. “Every day. He keeps asking me when I’ll find them.”
“I hope you can bring them to him one day.” He pauses, lips parting for a moment. He nudges his knee against your shin, deliberately this time, and doesn’t move it away. Your breath catches in your throat. “I hope I--I hope you find them.”
However innocent the statement may sound to a wandering ear, you know it’s imbued with a deeper meaning. “I do, too,” you say back softly, unable to look away.
The rope around your heart has tightened to the point of cutting off your blood supply. You feel suspended in thin air, laid out for the entire word to see. You wonder if Harry feels the same way, sitting here with your limbs pressed together and your heads bent so close to one another that one slight movement and your foreheads could knock together. You wonder what he’d say if you told him you felt like the sparks were right here, at this very bar in Boston, ricocheting off of each other invisibly.
Harry takes a careful pull of his drink. You copy him, peering over the rim of your glass at the way his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. His brows have pulled in like he’s pondering over something difficult. You drain your glass, feeling the heat in your face grow slightly.
“D’you want another?”
You shake your head. “Think I’m about done for the night, actually.”
“Are you heading back up, then?”
“I think so.”
Harry nods, tipping his head back to down the last sip of his wine. He swallows, licks his lips, then presses them together. You shift forward in your chair, blinking a few times before asking, “Will you walk me to my room?”
It’s a moment before Harry does anything and the entire time before he responds, you hold your breath. His usual guarded features haven’t been locked away just yet--you can see the cogs whirring in his mind, the slight flare in his nostrils and the scrutinizing squint of his eyes. Finally, when he nods in silence, you feel as though a pin has just pricked you and you deflate.
You both move in silence. Standing up from your chairs, you and Harry both gather your things. Harry lays a wad of cash on the bar to cover your drinks. He gestures for you to step in front of him as the two of you head toward the exit. The restaurant has cleared considerably, enough to where you can hear the sound of your heels clicking on the tiled floors sharply.
This time, when you walk toward the elevator, you’re not imagining the touch of Harry’s hand on your back. It feels searing hot against you, seeping through the fabric of your romper. Subconsciously, you lean into the touch, one hand grasping the chain of your purse and the other hanging uselessly by your side.
You’re both staying on the ninth floor. It’s a silent ride--you gaze is trained on the ground and Harry’s arm remains pressed against your side. All the talk seems to have drained out of both of you. Harry’s familiar taciturn nature seems to have clicked right back into place, refraining from speaking as the elevator travels upward. When you reach your floor, you step out first and feel him trailing quietly yet close behind you.
Room 914 is to the left. The hallway feels endless. You’re the only two in sight, traveling down the path of identical doors until you reach yours. It stands there, innocent yet obtrusive, bearing down on the two of you as you stand mere inches apart.
The key is in your bag but you don’t make a move to get it out. Instead, you turn around so your back is to the door. Harry isn’t looking at you; his gaze is focused at a spot beside your head. But just as you go to bid him goodnight, his eyes meet yours and he steps forward.
It feels inevitable--the tugging has brought you all the way to this point. And yet, you sense some hesitation. Harry’s step toward you should make you fall into him, but you hold your ground. He notices and drops his eyes to the floor.
“We can’t.” His voice is barely a whisper.
You swallow thickly, willing him to look at you. “I know, Harry,” you reply, almost consoling him.
When he looks up again, you can see the torment in his eyes behind the lenses. “We work together,” he states matter-of-factly.
“I know,” you repeat, yet your hands deceive you as they come to grasp the lapels of his blazer.
“I’m on your committee.”
You almost want to shush him to get him to stop stating all the obvious reasons why you can’t do this. But you want to--god, you want to. And from the way Harry’s hands have come to grasp your hips, fingers digging into your skin slightly, you know he does, too.
“What do we do?”
Your eyes meet. His are open and searching--yours feel desperate, clinging onto this new development, this welcome breach of conduct that has occurred between you two. “Can we go back?” you whisper plaintively. “Do you want to go back?”
“No, I--” Harry cuts himself off with a choked, frustrated sigh. His fingers dance along your hips, unknowingly raising goosebumps wherever they trace patterns. “I don’t want to go back,” he says, voice rough. “But we can’t move forward. Not yet.”
“When?”
For the first time, Harry can’t demonstrate the conviction you normally know him to possess. He can’t confirm anything with absolute certainty, can’t give you an answer beyond a reasonable doubt. You’ve cast yourselves into a some place unfamiliar, an uncomfortable haze of disquietude hanging above you.
He doesn’t say anything for some time. He moves one hand to cradle your face so delicately that you have to close your eyes. Your hands are balled into fists, undoubtedly wrinkling the material of his blazer but you can hardly bring yourself to care.
You feel the gentle press of his lips on your forehead. His thumb glides along you the slope of your cheekbone--you grab his wrist and hold him there for a moment, trying to prolong it as much as you can.
But then it’s gone and Harry’s let go of you. He’s stepped back, hands clenched in fists by his sides. He looks forlorn; you probably look the same.
“Good night, then.”
You nod, exhaling a shaky breath. “Good night, Harry.”
He backpedals slowly, eyes never leaving yours until he has to turn around. You wait until he’s out of sight before collapsing against the door, head knocking backward as you close your eyes. If you imagined hard enough, you could picture your heart being dragged behind him by a rope, following him back to his room.
-*-
Year Three: March
From: Styles, Harry Edward <[email protected]>
Subject: Data Collection
Hi,
Hope you enjoyed your spring break. I’m going to be out of the office for an additional week--family wedding back in England. Everything should be ready for you in the lab to start your data collection. Remind me, when is your first subject scheduled?
Take care.
-HES
P.S. When is your committee selection due by?
__
Harry Styles, PhD | Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Behavioral and Integrative Neuroscience Laboratory
Department of Psychology
*
To: Styles, Harry Edward <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Data Collection
Hi Harry,
Thanks for reaching out! My first subject isn’t until later this month. I’ll be spending the next few weeks getting my reliability and validity scores, so Elena and JT have offered to be my ‘subjects.’ I also have to make sure I know how to use all of this equipment… to be determined.
Enjoy your time at home! Have fun at the wedding.
P.S. April 26th is my final day to submit.
*
From: Styles, Harry Edward <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Data Collection
Glad to know I’ll be back before you actually start collecting data. Very interested to see how everything turns out.
I’ll be available over email in case you need anything.
-HES
P.S. Good to know.
__
Harry Styles, PhD | Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Behavioral and Integrative Neuroscience Laboratory
Department of Psychology
-*-
“Thank you all for coming today,” you address the individuals at the table. A man and a woman stare back at you with open and earnest eyes, their suits carefully pressed and their hair combed back. It’s a level of formality you haven’t experienced in a while, not since you first started your doctorate. “I’m appreciative of your quick responses to my email.”
“I was glad you reached out,” the man, Dr. Chapman, replies easily. “Dr. Johnston and I have already discussed your project--I have to say, I’m highly intrigued.”
Dr. Song, the woman in the chair next to Dr. Chapman, nods with her eyes on him for a moment before turning back to you. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about your dissertation topic, unfortunately,” she says in an apologetic tone. “But I’m happy to hear about it now.”
You smile warmly, waving a hand in the air to dismiss her apology. “That’s no problem. It’s why we’re here, right?” They laugh, causing some of your nerves to dissipate. You pass over stapled copies of your IRB form containing all of the approval information for your study. “So, as you can see, I’m leading an investigation into the physiological responses that we as humans can potentially have when exposed to photographs of different faces.”
There’s a brief moment of silence in which the two professors flick through the sheets of paper with varying levels of interest. You study their gazes carefully, picking at your cuticles in your lap as Dr. Chapman shifts in his seat and Dr. Song makes a new notes in the margin of the paper. A good two minutes later, Dr. Song raises her head.
“This is truly fascinating. How have you prepared your subjects for this?”
“Well,” you start, grabbing your next sheet of papers to hand over. “This is a pre-participation questionnaire that will be emailed to each subject who qualifies for the study. They’ll be asked to provide the contact information of their loved ones--parents, siblings, significant others, et cetera. I have a group of undergraduate students assisting in the lab, and they’ll be reaching out to these individuals to provide photographs for our use.”
“And everyone involved will be provided an informed consent form?” Dr. Chapman asks.
You nod sharply. “Of course. I understand there’s a certain level of liability involved here, but I cleared everything with the IRB.”
“I wonder how…” Dr. Song trails off, her eyes darting to the space past your shoulder. “Oh. Hello, Dr. Styles.”
You go stiff in your chair. The sound of the door creaking open rings in your ears. Harry’s footsteps get louder as he enters the room. “Dr. Song--sorry for interrupting.”
It’s his voice in close proximity to you that makes you look up and back. Harry’s already got his eyes on you--crinkled with something gleeful, one corner of his mouth pinched upward in an easy smile. He raises his eyebrows in a silent greeting--you mouth a shy hello, shifting in your seat slightly so you can easily look between him and Dr. Song.
“I didn’t realize our meeting times overlapped slightly,” Dr. Song replies as she checks her watch. “We should be done here soon--actually, now that I think of it. You’re quite familiar with this project, aren’t you?”
Harry nods, stepping over so he’s got his side pressed up against your chair. He leans forward, eyes darting over the various piles of paper you have laid out on the table. “I am. She’ll be using my lab space to get her data collection done, but that’s as much involvement as I have in the creation of this project.”
“I read your co-authored paper in the APS journal… It was such a good read,” Dr. Chapman comments with a pointed look at the two of you. “I even caught your lecture at the conference last month.”
The memory drips down your spine like an ice cube. “It was a pleasure presenting with Harry,” you say softly. “I’m grateful to have spent some time working under him.”
A hand comes to squeeze your shoulder. You resist the urge to lean into it. “She’s brilliant--I should be honored,” Harry says.
Dr. Chapman shifts his gaze to you now, eyes inquiring. “I know you’ve approached us, which leads me to believe you still have at least two seats open on your committee. Will Dr. Styles also be sitting?”
You freeze. “Um… well, I--I don’t--”
“--I think that’ll be up to her to decide.” His hand squeezes your shoulder again, tethering you to the ground if only for a moment. “Anyways, I don’t want to take up anymore of your time. Dr. Song, I’ll leave these forms for you in your mailbox if that’s alright.”
“Sure, sure. I’ll follow up with you via email.”
Glancing back at Harry, you see him nod as he starts to backpedal out of the room. He looks at you again, this time not bothering to mask any of the emotion on his face. The bright eyes, the knowing grin. He shoots you a wink before exiting the room, leaving a cloud of disquietude over the three of you.
There’s a brief moment in which you’re a bit lost for words. Harry’s words from the hallway filter through your mind--his statements of fact regarding his position on your committee--and it suddenly becomes clear. You know it in the deepest part of you that there’s no going back. This is the reason Harry doesn’t want to move forward, which means…
You blink, the realization dawning on you.
“Now, where were we?”
Snapped out of your befuddlement, you look back up to the two professors. They’re clearly waiting for you to continue. You swallow, clearing your throat. “Right,” you say, sitting up straighter. You shuffle through a few of the documents before finding the correct one. “If you’ll allow me to show you how we’ll be measuring skin conductance…”
-*-
Year Three: April
There’s a little pathway that runs beside the departmental building that leads to a secluded garden. Sometimes you’ll walk through there when you have a little extra time in the mornings or if you want to delay going back to your apartment for the day. It has bench swings that have ropes of ivy winding up the poles. In the spring, they bloom with gossamer pink petals, giving the area an ethereal ambiance.
It’s here that you sit now, thumbing at the edge of your phone case. The rhythmic snapping of it calms you slightly though you still feel as if you’re on the precipice of something uncertain. Three months is a long time for these feelings to fester. Your leg bounces in anticipation as you unlock your phone, navigating to your text messages. Opening the thread at the top of your screen, your thumbs hover for a moment before starting to type.
I have my meeting with Dr. J in five minutes. Where are you?
You lock your phone as soon as you send the message. It takes a few rapid blinks and a couple of centering breaths before you can find the will to stand up and grab your bag. The sun is peeking through the trees, just borderline too warm for the late April afternoon. Sweat lingers on your brow but you’re sure to dab at it gently before stepping into the building.
You take your time getting to the fifth floor. Thankful for the slowness of the elevator, you sift through the various pieces of information floating in your head. The paper with all of your committee members’ signatures on it feels like a lead weight in your bag. That’s all you have to give to Dr. Johnston in order to confirm your decision.
But the decision obviously carries weight elsewhere, too.
The fear of uncertainty makes your palms clammy as you step out onto the fifth floor. Nothing beyond this meeting is known--you’re stepping into a maze with no map, no hints or clues. The words spoken in February echo in your ears; it feels so long ago that you and Harry reached that impasse but time hasn’t slowed down for the both of you.
Dr. Johnston’s already seated behind her desk when you reach her office. She looks up at the sound of your approaching footsteps and smiles warmly. “Do come in! This shouldn’t take very long.”
You shut the door behind you and slide the strap of your bag off your shoulder. Taking a seat in the proffered chair, you tuck some hair behind your ear before reaching down to open your bag. “How are you doing?”
“Oh, just fine,” Dr. Johnston says, eyes on her computer screen. She types something quickly before looking back at you. “Data collection going well for you?”
“Yes, it’s been great. We passed 10 subjects this week.”
“Ah, coming along quite nicely then! That’s great to hear.”
You nod, offering a polite grin. The paper is in your hands now, the material feeling foreign to the touch. You look down at it, seeing the messy scrawls of signatures and printed names--your heart feels lodged in your throat. “I made some changes to my committee selections, which is why I wanted to meet,” you begin. “Obviously, you’re still part of it. JT is as well, though Bhavni elected not to serve on any committees until she’s finished with her own project…”
“Right, she mentioned that to me.” Dr. Johnston gestures for you to continue. “So, you have a replacement for her?”
Chewing on the inside of your lip, you nod. “Meredith was more than willing.” Looking at the sheet again, you read over the final two names of your committee members. “I also have another replacement.”
“For whom?”
“I’ve thought about it in great detail,” you say after a moment of hesitation, willing your voice to be steady. “I decided I should have a predominantly impartial committee. Members I haven’t worked with in close capacity, rather.” Tapping your thumb against the paper, you reach out and place it flat on her desk. “I reached out to Dr. Chapman and Dr. Song, the new hires. They were both very interested.”
Dr. Johnston picks up the paper and pushes her glasses up her nose in order to examine it properly. Your chest feels too tight to breath as you watch her eyes move from left to right, mouthing silently to herself. After some time, she lowers the paper and removes her glasses, looking at you directly in the eyes.
“I have to say,” she starts with a minute shake of her head, “I commend you for relinquishing a bit of that control. I thought for sure you’d want Harry on your committee since he’s served as your advisor for so long.”
It’s a valid point, one that you’d mulled over for a while. “I know--and I would love to have him on my committee as well,” you reply. “I just thought it would be more beneficial if I had a fresh set of eyes evaluating my work. He’s been pretty elbow-deep with me in a lot of this.”
“Which is why I’m thrilled that you’ve reached out to some of our new faculty,” Dr. Johnston says with a twinkle in her eye. “I think your selections are just fine. I’ll file this and confirm everything with you via email next week, if that works.”
Your chest loosens a bit. You allow yourself to smile as the impact of her words hit you. Your statements hadn’t been fallacious--you genuinely felt this decision would be better off in the long run. And now that it’s official--now that Harry is no longer a sitting member of your committee…
“That works perfectly,” you state in a quick breath. “Thank you for meeting with me about this.”
“Sure, sure. You have a good weekend, okay?”
Your legs seem to move on their own as you exit Dr. Johnston’s office. Pulling out your phone, you unlock it to see a message from Harry.
I’ll be in my office for the rest of the day.
It’s nearing 5:00 and there’s no guarantee that Harry’s decided to stay longer, though it wouldn’t be out of place even for a Friday. You find yourself rushing to his office in hopes of catching him before he leaves.
The ball in your stomach tightens with every step you take. Another empty hallway greets you, as they have in moments past. Harry’s door is the only one still open just a crack, light spilling out into the corridor. Involuntarily, you steps speed up and the sound of your shoes against the linoleum reverberates around you.
When you’re about ten feet away from him, the door opens wider. He steps out, bag slung over one shoulder and his cardigan in the crook of his elbow. His glasses slide down his nose as he fumbles with his keys. Just as he starts pulling his door closed, you call out, “Wait!”
He whips his head toward you, eyes wide. Keys jangling in his hand, he pushes his glasses back up on his face and watches carefully as you close the distance. You’re panting slightly when you reach him, and he holds a hand out to steady you by the arm.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. I’m--” You inhale a deep breath, willing your pulse to slow its rampant pace. Everything is swirling in front of your pupils--every interaction, every word. Everything said and unsaid between you. Everything leading up to this moment. “I’m good,” you repeat, allowing the tightness in your face to relax just slightly. “We’re good.”
“We’re good?” Harry questions, sounding confused. “What does that mean?”
“I just submitted my committee paperwork.”
Harry’s expression goes blank. You carry on, speech pressed. “It’s done, I--it’s official.”
You’re unsure of the reaction you’ll get. Mostly because nothing has ever been said out loud--no admissions to feelings, no declarations of attraction or acknowledgment of the pull between you two. But it’s there; it’s been radiating off of you since that fateful night in December, that chance you both took in getting to where you are now. Standing in front of one another with nothing but your ropes pulled taught, ready to see who gives in first.
Green eyes dance behind round black frames. You’re not privy to what he holds behind them. Nameless emotions pass his face, the subtle changes in expression not going unnoticed by you. You’re about to ask what he’s thinking when a hand finds yours and tangles your fingers together.
Harry steps forward so he’s fully encroaching on your personal space. His other hand comes up and slides behind your ears. You’re transported back to the hallway in the hotel in Boston. Standing in this exact position, his thumb rests in the exact same place. But this time, you resist the urge to close your eyes.
“Harry?”
“Will I be receiving an email confirming my seat?”
“No,” you breathe. “You won’t.”
His eyes search yours for a moment. Then, the corner of his mouth lifts.
“Good.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
special thank you to my rockstar betas @stylishmuser @smokeinherperfume and @gucciwoodnymph. i appreciate you all endlessly!
tag list: @slayer79 @drunkbyynoon @shhh-you @beingsenseless @younghearts-stories@hxxefics @socraticjunkie @belladonna-styles @complicatedbabyhoneyfreak@hardcandydrippingonhazza @flooome @infinitiae @stylesfics-xx @clorenafila @190624 @stylishmuser @staceystoleyourheart @angelicamariaaa @quintessentially-weird@adoremp3 @heart4harreh @craic-head-horan @harriexstyles @mellamolayla @thelittlemia @aweebitofharry @gucciwoodnymph @monpetitchouchou16 @justsaying20 @haroldsaintlaurent @mumplans @steppingonoranges
#Harry Styles#harry styles writing#harry styles fanfiction#harry styles fanfic#1dff#:o) can't wait to see all my clowns!
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Apparently, Jinger Suffered A Miscarriage in November
Everything Duggar Data Knows About It, So Far.
ICYMI—Jinger is pregnant, due in November 2020! She announced via People yesterday. Sad news came alongside happy, though... People also shared that Jinger experienced a miscarriage prior to her current pregnancy.
Pregnancy loss now factors into the Predictor, so Duggar Data is trying to figure out as much information as possible about when the miscarriage occurred, and at how far along. This Post summarizes what I’ve been able to piece together.
Since some may not want to read on... After the jump.
Fair Warning—This Post is absurdly long. There’s a TL;DR at the end, if you’re in a hurry!
When Did Jinger Miscarry?
Per Jinger and Jeremy, it happened in November 2019. (Initially, People simply said it happened “last fall,” which ostensibly includes September to November. Then, the Vuolos posted on Instagram about the loss, revealing it had occurred in November, specifically.) Jinger further shared that it happened on a Tuesday; she said she and Jeremy shared the news with family on “Monday evening,” but miscarried “the next morning.” [Jeremy’s IG Post, Jinger’s IG Post. Permalinks provided in the text above.]
So, a Tuesday in November 2019... We’ve already narrowed it down a lot. The possibilities include only these dates—
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Since yesterday, we’ve also been provided two additional data sources, both of which provide further insight into the timing of the miscarriage—
The Counting On Trailer. TLC announced the new season alongside Jinger + Jeremy’s pregnancy announcement, and dropped the first trailer. At 0:30–0:46, the trailer features Jinger + Jeremy announcing a pregnancy to Jinger’s family... The Duggars are gathered at the Big House for “their family fun night,” which is held weekly on Mondays. The night’s activity was gingerbread house–building. Skyping in from California, Jinger + Jeremy build a gingerbread version of their family, complete a clearly–pregnant ginger Jinger.
Some have assumed that the ‘Jingerbread’ Announcement was for the Vuolos’ current pregnancy, but it’s clear to me that it wasn’t. The timing doesn’t make sense. Jinger is due with Vuolo #2* in November 2020, and she wouldn’t have learned she was pregnant until ~March 2020. Given gingerbread’s association with fall and the holidays, Duggar Data really doubts that the Duggars decided to do a gingerbread–themed family night in March or April. Additionally, social distancing due to COVID–19 was well underway by March / April 2020, yet the clip shows a large gathering of not–same–household Duggars. Notably, Jessa + Ben appear in the clip, and they’ve stated that they’re staying away from the Big House during this time. Taken together, all of this all suggests that the clip wasn’t recorded in March or April 2020—and thus, can’t be an announcement of Jinger’s current pregnancy. This must be Jinger + Jeremy announcing their pregnancy that ended in miscarriage in November.
Immediately, I hoped that I could figure out the timing based on which Duggar Ladies were visibly pregnant or which Duggar Babies appeared. Babygeddon was in full force, after all! Sadly, this didn’t narrow things down much... Joe + Kendra were present with Addison (b. 11–2–19), but that doesn’t rule anything out; the earliest Monday in November 2019 was November 4th. (I’d admit it’s slightly unlikely that Kendra made it to Family Night two day after giving birth, but I don’t think it’s impossible... They live on the Compound.) Neither Anna nor Lauren, nor Maryella or Bella, is seen. Josiah appears, but it that doesn’t tell us much, since Lauren wasn’t in labor on a Monday. (Bella was born on a Friday after ~2 Days of labor.)
Undeterred, I scoured Duggar Instagrams to see if I could figure out what they did and who attended each Family Night in November 2019. I also looked for any photos in which a Duggar is wearing the same outfit that’s seen in the clip of the ‘Jingerbread’ Announcement...
Based on this sleuthing, I think we can rule out November 4, 2019. Per Anna, that Family Night was spent stuffing gift boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Her Post shows dozens of bright red boxes all over the Big House. No boxes are seen in the ‘Jingerbread’ Announcement clip, but they probably would’ve been if they were there. (The gingerbread house building activity appeared to take up the entire living room.) Plus, I think it’s unlikely that they’d do two big activities in one night.
I wasn’t able to figure out the activities at the other Family Nights that month.
I checked Instagram to see if any Duggar visible in the clip was, e.g., out–of–town, and thus wouldn’t have been present at a particular Family Night. This search didn’t produce any evidence sufficient to rule anything out.
As for the outfit search, it also didn’t produce many leads... Only one. Jessa posted a photo on Instagram on Monday, November 25, 2019, in which she’s possibly wearing the same long–sleeve emerald shirt that she’s seen in in the clip. So, that points slightly towards November 25, 2019 as the date Jinger + Jeremy announced, and November 26, 2019 as the Date of Loss.
The Vuolos’ Instagram Live. On May 28, 2020 at 4:00 PM, Jinger + Jeremy did an Instagram Live discussing the pregnancy and earlier miscarriage. The Live gave us various information, but one fact is of particular relevance, here: Per the Vuolos, Jeremy’s Sister (Valerie) visited them very shortly after Jinger miscarried. Apparently, her trip was pre–planned, and it just worked out that she was there during a time when they happened to really need help.
Turns out, Valerie Vuolo has a public Instagram—and lucky for us, she posted about the trip in question. On November 30, 2019, she put up three Posts w/ photos of her, Felicity, and Jeremy, each one tagged Los Angeles, California. Even more telling, the first Post included #Thanksgiving, which pretty much confirms that Valerie was visiting for the holiday, which was November 28th in 2019. Bolstering this further, Valerie actually posted the photos on November 30th, and Jinger commented: “We miss you already!” So... Clearly, Valerie is no longer in Los Angeles, at that point.
Based on all of this, I’ve got a very strong suspicion that Jinger miscarried Tuesday, November 26, 2019—i.e., the Tuesday before Thanksgiving—which means she announced the pregnancy to the Duggars on November 25, 2019. This is mostly based on the apparent timing of Valerie’s trip, but also happens to line up with Jessa’s November 25 IG Post, in which she’s possibly wearing the same shirt she wore for the ‘Jingerbread’ Announcement. Also, Tuesday, November 26, 2019 happens to be a day where neither Vuolo posted on IG... Could be a coincidence, though; they didn’t post on Tuesday, November 12th, either.
Duggar Data plans to use November 26, 2019 as Jinger’s Loss Date, for now. It’s considered “Not Confirmed.” I think we can rule out November 4th as the announcement date—so if the Loss Date isn’t the 26th, it must be the 12th or 19th.
Was This Her First Miscarriage?
During the Instagram Live on May 28, 2020, Jinger + Jeremy said “thank you” to their followers for all the support they’d received after announcing Jinger’s miscarriage. Then, they said something about how miscarriage is something that many couples go through, and Jeremy said: “We’ve now gone through that.” Duggar Data took this to mean that Jinger’s recent miscarriage wasn’t something they’d gone through before, which obviously means that this must have been Jinger’s first—and, so far, only—miscarriage.
IMO, it is reasonable to conclude that this was Jinger’s first miscarriage.
How Far Along Was She, At The Time?
So far, there’s no definitive data on this; however, it’s clear that it was early on. On Instagram Live, the Vuolos—Jinger, IIRC—referred to the baby they lost as one “that the Lord blessed us with for such a short time.” Additionally, there isn’t any reason to assume that Jinger + Jeremy waited until, e.g., the Second Trimester to announce to her family. (And we know the loss happened the day after she announced to them.) With Pregnancy #1, Jinger + Jer announced to their families in November 2017, when Jinger was <6 Weeks Along. (Felicity’s Due Date was July 20, 2018.) [Shout–out to @undercoverduggarblog, as well as @pickledchickenetti, for your valiant efforts in piecing together the real–life timeline of Counting On.)
Absent contrary evidence, Duggar Data will assume a miscarriage occurred at Exactly 6 Weeks. Statistically, 90% of miscarriages occur by Week 6, and the lack of concrete loss dates for several miscarriages forced me to create a rule to ensure uniformity in considering pregnancy loss data.
Impact On The Data
I’ll discuss this in an upcoming Post! Stay tuned.
TL;DR—
Loss Date A Tuesday in November 2019... Probably November 26th. Duggar Data’s spreadsheet says November 26, 2019, but doesn’t label that as “Confirmed.” That’s what I’m using, for now.
Due Date Unknown. Consistent with a uniform rule, Duggar Data will assume the loss occurred at Week 6, Day 0... The Estimated Due Date associated with November 26, 2019 is July 21, 2020. That’s what I will use, for now.
1st Loss? Seems like it was, yes.
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Dickheads of the Month: October 2020
As it seems that there are people who say or do things that are remarkably dickheaded yet somehow people try to make excuses for them or pretend it never happened, here is a collection of some of the dickheaded actions we saw in the month of October 2020 to make sure that they are never forgotten.
After months of the Tory government fucking up their response to the Covid pandemic you would think that they’d have some baseline of competence by now, but no, it turns out that the Test & Trace program they were so proud of was nothing more than an Excel spreadsheet - an Excel spreadsheet that lost the data of at least 16,000 people, while also begging the question how they spend £12bn of taxpayer’s money on an Excel spreadsheet, to which the answer is...they didn’t, it was existing software, they just pocketed the cash
It comes as no surprise that proven liar Boris Johnson puts the blame on the rising Covid numbers in the UK on the public - because it's definitely not been his master advisor breaking the lockdown rules to pop to Durham with his family after testing positive for Covid on what just so happened to be his wife’s birthday, not the Tory government changing the rules on masks when Michael Gove was spotted in Pret Manger without one, and definitely nothing to do with cases rising significantly within two weeks of the double whammy of the Tory government saying children “must” go back to school and people must go back to work as they can now be fired if they don’t. Definitely not their fault, Not at all...
The approach of the Tory government to Manchester being upgraded to Tier 3 boils down to initially promising to provide the fully-costed £60m package that Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham requested, only to turn around and give them £20m instead and try and justify it by saying it boils down to £8 per head for the entire population. After all, if Burnham really wanted that money, he’d have been one of Dominic Cummings’ mates and completely unqualified for the job, as that’s the quickest way to open the purse strings as wide as he’d like
It was quite impressive that Margaret Ferrier came to the conclusion that, having tested positive for Covid while in London, obviously the best course of action would be to take a train journey 400 miles back to Scotland before self-isolating, because of course nobody else used that train
...although some of the Tory MPs criticising Ferrier really should have paused before commenting, mainly to check whether they were the ones vociferously defending Dominic Cummings for his 300 mile drive to Durham after testing positive or his subsequent drive to Bernard Castle to test his eyesight
Not only did the Tory government vote against giving free school meals to children a mere ten days after awarding Marcus Rashford an MBE for his work in trying to give underprivileged children free school meals, but they tried all manner of excuses to defend it best exemplified by Nicky Morgan saying she voted to let children starve because Angela Rayner called one of her parliamentary colleagues “scum”, while Twitter troll Ben Bradley claimed that people spent their free school meal vouchers in crack dens and brothels, before claiming he was “misquoted” - which is Tory code for “I have deleted that tweet, because I do not understand how screengrabs work”
Remember how Rishi Sunak has been presented as the human face of the Tory party? I have to ask, since he decided to yank £1000 a month from Universal Credit payments, and for some reason the “centrists” of Twitter who have been lionising him for several months have been oddly quiet
The batshittery of the Home Office has now extended to coming up with increasingly ludicrous plans to prevent migrants, with the latest bright idea of Priti Patel (and don’t pretend it was anyone else) being to have ships in the English Channel using pipes to blow air into the water that will create waves to send them back to France - as if a dinghy wouldn’t just steer around the ship, or that they wouldn’t make Calais and Sangat the best surfing destinations in northern France overnight
...and it got worse when we learned that Priti Patel was informed that a knife-wielding man stormed into the office of a migration solicitor spouting the exact same rhetoric and injured the receptionist, to which her response was to double down on the rhetoric as if she and proven liar Boris Johnson weren’t inciting violence at this point
...which makes smirking cretin Priti Patel issuing a statement expressing sadness at a couple of child migrants drowning in the English Channel about as sincere and reassuring as a card from Harold Shipman expressing sympathy for the death of an elderly relative
Not for the first time Keir Starmer managed to take all the focus off the Tories and onto the Labour party with his moronic approach to running his own party, namely by suspending Jeremy Corbyn for the crime of...hang on, he actually hasn't said what infraction Corbyn committed by responding to the EHRB report into antisemitism in the Labour party, but he suspended him anyway
...while Lisa Nandy supported this by using a blatant strawman argument saying “There are some on the left” who believe blatant anti semitic tropes...blatant anti semitic tropes that she invoked in the exact same sentence as her obvious strawman argument
Suspected rapist Brett Kavanaugh has been busy using legal loopholes to try and claim that votes in Wisconsin only count if they were tallied up on Election Day and no day past that. Because as we know, US Presidential Elections have often been straightforward affairs where both vote counts and recounts are always necessary, as Kavanaugh obviously remembers as he was working for George W Bush’s campaign in Florida after the 2000 election
How nice of the Tory government to use a parliamentary loophole to completely avoid allowing a vote on whether or not the UK should import chlorinated chicken, therefore enshrining both the importance of democracy and the importance of food safety standards - in the EU
Once again Keir Starmer seems to think “Opposition” means “Whip your MPs into abstaining”, this time on the Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill, because as we all know letting legislation pass that absolves the police of any and all illegal activity is definitely going to win voters around
Good guy Rishi Sunak took the Tim Martin approach to worker relations by telling musicians to get another job if they were so worried about their finances - which not only ignores the fact that plenty of musicians do already have more than one job, but also begs the question why this same advice hasn’t been given to the landlords carping about rent holidays etc
Not only did The Sun blatantly lie by claiming a photo of Jeremy Corbyn taken at a wake was at a “posh dinner party” as obvious rage bait for their knuckle-dragging readership, but it has to be asked where they got the photos from as they weren’t shared publicly on Twitter or Instagram
...although the Freudian slip by the BBC when reporting the non-story, calling Corbyn “the Labour leader”, not only sums up just how shit they are at reporting facts these days, but also underlines he’s doing a better job of rattling the establishment’s cages than Keir Starmer has
Definitely not a conspiracy theorist Julia Halfwit Hartley-Brewer claimed that the government are combining Covid numbers and flu numbers so that they could...anyone got any idea what the point of making this up was?
Instead of keeping Robert Jenrick locked in a cupboard until the whole “Getting backhanders which influence who he gives property contracts to” thing goes away (spoilers: it won’t) instead they sent him out to justify £25m to a Jake Berry’s constituency - to which he said it was fine, as Jake Berry gave £25m to Jenrick’s constituency so there’s no reason to say anything dodgy is going on
For some strange reason Dominic Cummings doesn't have to face any charges for his failure to pay £30,000 worth of council tax on a property he also broke planning laws to have extended. Yes, there’s a reason I put this directly after the phases “Robert Jenrick” and “backhanders”...
The ridiculousness that is Liz Truss started the month proudly stating that post-Britait trade negotiations with the US would undermine Britsh farmers - and this wasn’t a flub, she genuinely meant to express this - and ended with the frankly baffling crowing from the Department of Trade about how “soya sauce” which was being sued by Great British Bake Off contestants would be cost the same post-departure thanks to the UK-Japan trade deal, which ignores the fact that most soy sauce is imported from China - also that paying zero tariffs on £100k of stilton being exported to a country with high lactose intolerance while Nissa, Toyota et al face no tariffs when importing tens of millions of pounds of cars a year is not what anyone should be calling a victory...unless they work for Nissan, Toyota et al, anyway
Convicted criminal Darren Grimes learned that there’s such a thing as “responsibility” when he learned that the police were investigating his interview with David Starkey for incitement of hatred, which could have easily been avoided if he was in any way competent or if he admitted he isn't a journalist - and of course, the usual voices of Toby Young, Laurence Fox and Julia Halfwit Hartley-Brewer all came running to his defence...and shut up when they were informed this ruling was introduced by Thatcher
Somebody should have explained to WWE that, when their move to ban their employees independent contractors from third party platforms such as Twitch already cast a remarkably negative light on their shady employment practices, they should ramp it up by demanding their employees independent contractors hand over those third party platforms and then out of the goodness of their hearts WWE would hand them a percentage of those earnings
As if Steve Baker describing himself as “the hard man of Britait” isn’t reason enough to include him, his demanding that the Church of England be disestablished if it doesn’t fall in line with their No Deal death cult certainly is
It has to be asked why Ross Clark saw Jacinda Ardern winning a a record mandate in the New Zealand elections so decided it was in his interests to write a Telegraph article claiming her Covid has been a disaster...you know, a country which currently has 0 cases and a total of 25 deaths since February. It’s almost as if the thought of a left-leaning leader who hasn’t had a disastrous response to Covid being rewarded by the electorate has Clark worried for some reason...
Professional victim Laurence Fox has identified the biggest problem in modern society: Sainsburys supporting Black History Month. Of course, it definitely wouldn’t be something like Laurence Fox calling anyone who disagrees with him a paedophile, that’s all part of a healthy society...
The latest idea of Tim Davie to make sure that BBC newsreaders remain compliant drones was to bring in a set of rules saying they are never allowed to state an opinion ever (no doubt aimed at Emily Maitlis, who did) and to ban that favourite buzzphrase of the right, any form of “virtue signalling” no matter how worthy the cause...except for wearing poppies, that’s still allowed, in spite being a clear example of this “virtue signalling” that Davie is banning
Complete and utter nutcase Dan Wootton is dangerous as well. That’s both the entry, and also a quote from Labour MP Chris Bryant in response to him banging on about herd immunity as if he's an expert and not The Sun’s showbiz bottom feeder who has been elevated for no logical reason
Once again Laura Kuenssberg is quoting anonymous “sources” critical of the Opposition - meaning she’s either not a very good journalist as she can’t even name her source, or she doesn’t have a source so she's a liar. Has anyone else noticed this is a regular occurrence with Kuenssberg yet?
How thoughtful of Manchester United and Liverpool to pitch a wonderful idea that the Premier League be reduced to eighteen teams, while also christening the concept with the definitely not Orwellian moniker of Project Big Picture under the guise of helping the Football League and not, say, easing their fixture lists by four league games per season. Of course, they’re volunteering to give up their Premier League places, aren’t they?
Once again Isabel Oakeshott just had to be on the wrong side of a story, this time howling in outrage that an anti-lockdown petition with 15,000 signatures is being ignored - signatures including Harold Shipman, Bernard Castle, Dominic Cummings of Bernard Castle, Dr Johnny Bananas, Dr Person Fakename, and last but by no means least, Dr Corona McCoronaface...
Former wrestler Joey Ryan is dealing with his wrestling career being over due to a wealth of allegations of him being a sexual abuser in the most healthy manner possible, namely filing lawsuits against literally anyone he can blame, be it the accusers, his former employers, or random people who call him out via social media
So far it appears Shaun Bailey is planning on winning the London Mayoral election with batshit promises to allow corporations to sponsor London Underground stations and change the names appropriately (which won’t be confusing for tourist guides...) and try and say that Sadiq Khan is at fault for fans not being allowed into football stadiums nationwide
Clueless grifter Tim Pool came up with a genius answer when asked why his “centrist” podcast only ever seems to have right-wing guests and that was to claim that his setup couldn’t handle remote interviews - which would make sense if a.) He hadn’t been saying how much money had been poured into his setup, b.) Zoom didn’t exist, and c.) We forget all the times he’s done remote interviews in the past
Your would think that Lars Sullivan would have learned to not potentially jeopardise WWE’s efforts to promote him after a combination of injury and also not mentioning him for months due to being a creepy bastard online, but no, as soon as he returned to TV he was being a creepy bastard to a yoga instructor - while using his official WWE Instagram account to be a creepy bastard
Not only did Alex Hutchison open himself up for criticism by outright stating that Twitch streamers can count themselves lucky that they don’t have to pay licensing fees to stream games and their careers would be over if they did, he also opened himself up for ridicule when his aforementioned idiotic statement led to Google seeing his Twitter bio and telling him that, no, he was not a lead designer for Stadia and needed to change that shit PDQ
Once again Arsenal showed their lack of understanding of juxtaposition, with them announcing their longtime mascot was being let go for cost-cutting measures - and then a few hours later announcing they’d signed a player with a £200k a week wage
Some faultless logic from Apple regarding the the iPhone 12: the box won’t include a charger or earbuds to reduce packaging...yet it cost the same as if it did, while also meaning people have to buy chargers and earbuds separately that requires far more packaging
To nobody’s surprise it’s clear that Kim Kardashian does need it explained to her that saying how haaaaaaaaaaaaaard it is to spend two weeks being screened and self-isolating so you can go to the private island for your birthday is galling most of the time, but outright disgusting during a global pandemic
Oh dear, it looks like Eric Trump tried being clever again asking how Joe Biden owns a house that’s worth $4m on his senator’s salary of $174k...only to be told that Biden bought the house for $185k, sold it in 1996, pays more than $750 in taxes and loves his son
And finally, testing positive for Covid, is Donald Trump - but he assures us that he is fine and definitely not a contamination risk having been pumped full of steroids and aborted foetus cells which are available to so many people, and definitely didn’t need a better Twitter password
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The precipice.
Wow. What a week.
I am not entirely sure where it was more chaotic, in my remote classroom or in the political arena. I gave my thoughts on all of that last week and I’m still very much in the same place. I’m feeling fortunate to live in Victoria, that is for sure. I can’t wait to stroll the busy streets of Melbourne again...
The chaos in the classroom is actually great though. The remote learning environment is a hive of activity. It has been well documented by many in the education sector that the energy and time commitment required of online/remote/continuous learning is substantially more than what many anticipated or had experienced in the classroom. But it’s also, so rewarding!
There were days it used to feel like pulling teeth when asking for feedback, questions or concerns in the physical classroom, but online, it’s a rush of queries and challenging thoughts. Students are engaging with their content with an enthusiasm that I really didn’t anticipate, and the communication! Students are messaging and emailing ahead of time when they are unable to meet a specific task requirement and providing an alternative. Truly inspiring what can happen when you leave a young person to “fend” for themselves.
There are negatives of course. I am reminded of the distance every time I check in with my students via video conference, that the personal and social component is a large percentage of what makes teaching such a great profession. But while the social distance is substantial at the moment, it won’t be forever, and it will quickly change when it is appropriate and safe to return to schools. The pedagogy however, well that is a completely different story.
With all of this talk about going back to school, I find myself reflecting on this ongoing remote learning experience and how positive it has been for me personally. It has without a doubt changed the way I intend to teach when we return to the college grounds, and I am pretty excited about that. Rejuvenated perhaps is the right word. Much of what I have learned or intend to take back is probably old news, but it has energised me and that is what really counts.
With a looming date for the end of the State of Emergency in Victoria, I can’t help but think that we are on the precipice of great change again in education. This time it isn’t how - as in “how are we going to shift everything online in such a short period of time?”, but what - as in “what are we going to take back with us?”.
I previously spoke about my experiences and reflected about my own re-working of practice and development of a model for my classes. Some of that is on this blog and also in a couple of LinkedIn articles (here: “You helped me. Thanks”, and here: “I watched my students learn from a distance. It was awesome”). I intend to keep my three lesson model when we return. Today though, I thought I would reflect on my biggest personal learnings and why I believe they will be held very tightly as I jump off this cliff and back into the physical teaching environment - whenever that may be.
1. Less instruction, more construction
I see myself now as a facilitator, not a teacher. I do not belong at the front of the class as the “expert”. My primary role is to create an environment in which my students can become the experts. Online I don’t set tasks, I share tasks. Online I observe my students challenging, exploring and creating, while providing guidance and feedback where I can from a distance. I have said previously “put away your spoons, the students can feed themselves” and I meant it. Across this journey so far I’ve seen an increase in the quality of work from my strongest students to my lowest achievers, and to be honest those classifications mean nothing in the remote learning world. Where students have wanted to be involved, they have succeeded because this environmental change has supported their individuality.
Part of this I attribute to drastically reducing the amount of content rather than attempting to replicate and mimic the traditional classroom. I think all teachers facilitators would agree, that student feedback is some of the most meaningful. Especially, unprovoked feedback. A number of students have provided me with surprise thoughts, opinions and thanks across the last three weeks and it’s been incredibly meaningful and allowed me to be more productive in my role. They love the more focussed and reduced workload. They have time to work through the content and time to process its application to their world, rather than in service of an assessment task. The return to the physical classroom environment will be a drastic change to what has quickly become habitual, but I intend to maintain the quality over quantity mindset, freeing up time for discussion and conversation. Not all of the time allocated to the lesson has to be “on task”. Creativity, curiosity and critical thinking is not the stuff of textbook questions, it is more exploratory and I won’t be looking backward.
Less instruction, more construction means less of my voice and more of theirs.
2. Blended, not mashed
Technology and education have an interesting history. Sometimes it feels forced, other times it is a miracle classes were taught without it. This experience has demonstrated to me that my students are tech-savvy, but also select with the application of their abilities. Today’s young people thrive on choices. They are incredible when you want a video published on social media or a code written for gaming platform but when it comes to spreadsheets or word processing or conducting research on a fixed topic outside of that interest - they may be disengaged.
This experience has shown me the value of sharing a task and giving the students the room to engage with it. Technology used in this way is not forced or out of place, it is ingrained. This isn’t a PowerPoint to support a 40 minute lecture, it’s a recorded 5 minute video, followed by a research question, to formulate a response for the discussion forum and the basis for a class debate. I don’t envisage this classroom to have students in rows of chairs with books and pens. It’s students outside, in the hallway and on the floor, engaging with the content as they choose. This is taking the wins from the remote learning period and applying them to the strengths of the physical classroom.
This is not just lashing technology to the side of the lesson and hoping it stays attached. This is creating a lesson that is designed to give the students control of the pace and allow them to discover with more freedom.
Blended, not mashed means less information and more exploration.
3. Connection instead of direction
In my role as a House Leader it sometimes feels like I only contact parents and they only contact me with concerns or to schedule meetings and of course, at parent teacher interviews. Since moving to remote learning however, I have found that communication between parents, students and staff has been much more free flowing and spontaneous. Perhaps this is because many parents find themselves temporarily working from home also and the barrier of conflicting schedules has been removed. In any case, the level of parent, student and my own engagement is high. I love it.
While I would say I am fortunate to teach secondary education, and a lot of what I am talking about here is framed to that particular environment, the shared responsibility of parents, students and teachers in guiding a learner on their journey has never been more evident. Weekly updates of concepts, tasks and their application have been met with parent support and gratitude. Allowing those parents the intel they need to politely inquire or praise and congratulate their 17-18 year old child in the least intrusive manner possible. At my school we are currently in process of a 3-week parent-teacher interview cycle (via phone) and the conversations have reflected both the parents understanding that the learning is their child’s responsibility but the support is ours to share. Incredibly valuable and rewarding!
Connection instead of direction means less reporting and more supporting.
This is the precipice
Do we jump and be curious and adaptive? Or do we step backward and return to the safety of the land?
I don’t believe there is any long term benefit of returning to the “old way” of doing things. The short term comfort in going back to what we “used to do” will not last. It might be uncomfortable initially, but all forward thinking and future focused movements are slow, painful and challenging for individual's but, the rewards are potentially huge for whole communities.
Going back to a pre-corona model of education would be to the benefit and comfort of certain teachers only. Students would suffer.
So it is time to consider why we got into this game and whether we are ready to continue changing it.
Will you jump with me?
This is the precipice.
Here’s a few things that have inspired me this past week as an educator and a leader:
Educator Perspectives on the Impact of COVID-19 on Teaching and Learning
(https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mattlukepitman_pivot-state-of-education-2020-white-paper-activity-6661744495702474752-1in6)
Pivot Professional Learning along with Education Perfect ran a series of fantastic webinars this week, highlighting the incredible effort of educators across Australia and NZ. Pivot also, in a massive effort, collected a ton of data and has put together this report. Definitely worth a read, very insightful stuff.
Continuous Learning Toolkit Vol. II | Leading Through Crisis
(https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mattlukepitman_continuous-learning-toolkit-volume-ii-activity-6661169533031723008-sP68)
I continue to be unashamed in how much I love their podcast, but a close second to that is The Game Changers (Adriano & Phil) Continuous Learning Toolkit. This second volume presents a number of innovative and game-changing schools, their models, frameworks and stories. For any aspiring Game Changer this is a must read!
Future Agendas for Global Education: Executive Summary
(https://issuu.com/4796376/docs/gef.agenda_eng)
Sold to me as “an excellent report that should be read by every school leader and educational policy maker” this summary is a long read but an engaging and inspiring one. Worth your time if you have it and if you don’t, make some!
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