#And/or actively inviting and baiting him to take an even deeper look...

[thelostgirl21]

Based on this post by @whimswonders

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

NOTE: Here we go. Little bit of a shift in this chapter... you'll see. Thanks for keeping up with this fic and all your comments!

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Everything was rather quiet for a couple of days. Rise threw herself into practicing her vocals with every spare moment, meeting with her manager and conferencing with her record label over the phone. She needed the distraction. Without any clear course of action with Ai, she had decided to let that matter fade into the background. Maybe something would come to her eventually.

On Sunday, she and the gang decided to go fishing, since that was one of Narukami's favourite activities and they were all missing him lately. For most of them, it simply meant getting to wave around poles and wade into the water, splashing each other. Kanji and Naoto resented this because they were much more serious about the matter, but the others didn't pay them too much mind.

"Hey, why didn't you invite Ai?" Chie suddenly asked as they re-baited their hooks. "She too snobby to get down here in the river with us?"

Rise laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah," she responded, giggling right along. "No way would she be caught dead touching a fish that's not cooked."

"No… I meant that she wouldn't want to hang out with me anymore."

"Why not?" Yukiko asked. "I thought you were becoming sort of close with her."

Wow, how oblivious could they be? "Not anymore."

Once she had explained properly, which took the better part of half an hour, most of the joy had been sucked out of their springtime activity. Rise did feel a little bad about that, but it was as much their fault as hers, so she didn't spend too much mental energy on sympathy for her friends.

"Gosh, that is so sad," Teddie said with a pronounced pout. He really did seem genuinely disappointed not to have another friend. "I know you guys didn't really mean to hurt her feelings."

"Guess I thought he'd be over that by now," Chie confessed quietly.

"Yeah," Yosuke added. "Like, as long as he stays away from my butt, I don't really care what he does with his time. And man, he looks way better in drag than even Teddie did, so…"

While Teddie was harrumphing as if genuinely offended, Kanji chuckled harshly as he twitched his line in the water the tiniest bit. "What is it with you and that gay panic, bro? I'm surprised your Shadow didn't look more like mine."

"H-hey, I'm just a healthy, red-blooded Japanese male! I like girls who are actually girls! Is that a crime?"

"I'll buy you a butt-protector to keep all the dicks out," Chie cackled bemusedly. Yosuke just grimaced.

"I'm… starting to get why she didn't want this getting out," Rise sighed.

"Hm?" Yukiko said as she turned back in her direction. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"No, that sounded important. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings…"

Which she appreciated. Even if the others were a little oblivious sometimes, Yukiko genuinely meant well all the time. Every minute of every day. "It's just… I'm no big expert on this subject, but you guys can see how much work she put into being taken seriously as a woman. Because she looks like one! Nobody could tell! And I think I haven't paid much attention to how hard that must have been for her… I'm… wow. And I really did almost ruin her life."

Not that she had been unaware of that before. She thought she understood, and she did — better than her friends did, for sure. But listening to them casually treat her like a drag act, a joke, a source of anxiety for Yosuke's extra-fragile masculinity, peeled back just enough of the curtain. Now she knew that she really didn't know anything at all.

"Don't be so dramatic," Chie sighed. "Like you said, he was able to play it off, and he's giving you a lot more shit now than is necessary compared to what you did on accident. Like, scales balanced. If he wants to keep being a dick then that's on him."

Rise shrugged helplessly as she tossed her fishing pole back onto the shore. "You're not wrong about that part. I'm not saying her trying to get revenge on me is right. I'm just saying I understand why she feels so betrayed. Didn't really get it before, but…"

"I still don't get it now," Yosuke grunted. "The whole thing makes me super uncomfortable. But it sounds like he already had the surgery, so… doesn't that mean he's a girl anyway?"

"What? No, it's… nevermind that part." She had been about to insist that Ai did not have "The Surgery" yet, even though she had probably undergone several other minor procedures. But that was the kind of detail that would get her even deeper in trouble than she already was, so she cut herself off.

"Well, I'm with Chie," Yukiko said cautiously. "You have apologized for hurting her, you didn't intend to in the first place. If she were a true friend, she would accept your apology."

"I'm not sure it's that simple."

They all turned to look at Naoto, not having expected her to speak. The girl was wearing a very thoughtful expression underneath her newsboy-casquette cap. "What isn't?" Teddie finally prompted when everybody had been quiet for a little too long.

"This situation with Ebihara-san. She's living her life as transgender, and you have jeopardized that life. Even if on accident, I can see how she would interpret that as an attack."

"Come on," Chie sighed. "Any idiot knows the difference between on accident and on purpose."

"Not necessarily. In law, there is such a thing as 'gross criminal negligence'. This means that even if it's an accident, even if you did nothing with the premeditated intent to do harm, you can still cause harm and be held accountable for it. At least, partially."

"So you're saying it's okay that this asshole is trying to frame our friend for cheating?!" Yosuke burst out.

"Hm? Oh, no, not at all," Naoto insisted, a slight crease in her brow. "But this is a matter of criminal pathology. Even if Ebihara-san is not a criminal, she is perpetrating criminal acts; understanding them requires the same skill set. Motive. Means. Opportunity. We already know the last two, more or less; security isn't especially tight at Yasogami High. I'm sure it was a simple matter for her to sneak into the classroom and pilfer the answer key, then sneak it into Rise's bag when no one was looking. So all that's left is… why?"

"Because he's a petty jerk," Chie provided immediately.

"It's not that simple."

"No, it really is. Maybe you guys get something about how serious us gossiping about him was that I don't, but I don't care. You don't treat a friend like that. Period! Even if he's really pissed at Rise, she did apologize, she's trying to make it right. He's not acting like a friend at all. So I say, screw him! Just let him self-destruct and be alone. And if he won't stop being a jerk to you, we will be jerks right back. I'm not going to sit around while he drags you down for something you didn't even do on purpose."

Rise felt a rush of affection toward Chie Satonaka. Even if she couldn't completely agree with everything she was saying, it was nice to know her friends had her back — that these were true blue friendships that had lasted beyond being part of the same Investigation Team. The passion with which she spoke, and the anger she clearly felt toward Ebihara because she was attacking her friend, made the existence of those bonds unmistakable.

However… she also couldn't ignore the way Naoto's brow furrowed further. Kanji also rested a hand on her shoulder. Was she simply upset about losing an argument, or was there more to that?

"I can't disagree with what you say. I was merely trying to point out that in Ebihara-san's estimation, Rise may deserve vengeance more than she does in any of our estimation. She is viewing the situation differently than we are."

"Well his 'estimation' sucks," Chie grumbled.

"Maybe," Rise finally cut in with a discomfited sigh. "But can you guys… can you promise me you won't do anything mean to her without asking me? At least that? I know she's being a jerk, but it's because I messed up. Huge. So this has to be between her and me."

None of them looked too thrilled with that. Yukiko nodded immediately, seemingly satisfied right away that she was doing what was asked of her by her friend. The others were a little slower to agree but they still all did at some point or another, dissatisfied as they were.

"Thanks. And I'm so happy you have my back, I can't express that enough. But I have to figure this out on my own."

"You got it," Kanji grunted as he started reeling in a fish. "Shit… it's a big one… but I'm not gonna forget how you looked when that old bag accused you of cheating. That ain't right. Ebihara better make it right eventually, or his ass is grass."

What an ominous threat. Well-meaning, but ominous. Rise knew she would have to sort this matter out post haste — before she had to find out just how far her friends were willing to go to come to her aid.

                                          ~ o ~

All of this gave birth to a very determined Rise Kujikawa, and this was the one who walked into school on a foggy Monday morning. Ai had done enough damage; she had to forge ahead as if everything was fine. Her new tactic had to be not to let the bullying get to her, because she better understood it was just her friend being hurt by her own actions. And if she wouldn't accept her apology… there was nothing more she could do.

But she didn't have it in her to give up. That option was stricken off the list. Rise was no quitter.

Everything was fine until her second-to-last class of the day. Rise had mostly focused on schoolwork and chatting with her other friends, taking her mind off more depressing matters. Gearing up for a promotional video she was supposed to shoot soon; that would be a first step toward reestablishing herself as an artist, even if she still didn't intend to go back to singing full-time until she graduated. And the class with Ms. Sofue was fine in and of itself… for the first ten minutes or so.

That was when she noticed the smell. At first, she was looking around the room to try and figure out who had lost control of their bowels in such close proximity to other students. Maybe it was something they had for lunch?

A brief investigation ten minutes later revealed the true culprit, once everyone was looking at her like she was being most unladylike. Deep in the recesses of her desk, which she never used to keep anything since she would just have to move it again after class, someone had stuffed an old sandwich. Unless she missed her guess, there was natto and egg on it, among other things. But there was too much mold growing inside the sandwich bag for her to be certain.

"Oh GOOD GOD!" cried one of the boys nearby, covering his face with his arm. "What's in that thing?!"

Waving at the air with her crooked heka, the teacher coughed and demanded, "Please dispose of your lunch in a proper manner from now on, Miss Kujikawa! Make no mistake, even I have no interest in mummified food!"

A few of them were able to wrap it in some paper and drag it to the trash can, amid Rise's protests that she had never seen it before. Nobody believed her, because the natto tended to make it seem obvious that it had come from Marukyu — even though their speciality was tofu, not other soybean offerings. A lot of bickering back and forth broke out until the teacher banged her cane on her desk.

"Enough! Miss Kujikawa has technically broken no rule, even if it was her sandwich. So we'll say no more about it. Please, open your books again and turn to page…"

But the entire class period, Rise couldn't stop thinking about the sandwich. She already knew who it was; only one person at that school was stupid enough to actively mess with a famous pop idol. The instant the bell rang, she pelted out of class so fast that quite a few students gasped. By now, she knew what class Ai was supposed to be in around this time… and where she could find her.

                                          ~ o ~

"Oh!" gasped one of the girls in the locker room when Rise barged past her. "Do you even have this class? What are you doing in the-"

"Ebihara?" she asked. Some girl with a towel wrapped around her hair pointed further into the room. Rise stormed over there to find a towel-clad Ai preening at the mirror hanging on the inside of her locker, running the brush through her hair over and over. "Thanks for your present."

Smirking a little, the girl didn't even glance over. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah? You don't recognise it?"

Everyone gasped when she threw it onto the bench nearest Ebihara. That was nothing compared to the chorus of disgusted noises that followed once its foul stench began to pervade the air within the steamy room. Even still wrapped in the plastic bag, it was horrendous.

"Oh, GOD," Ai joined in, though she was chuckling just a little. "Why would you be carrying that thing around? Just to throw at me like that?"

"Why?" she demanded. "This has crossed the line from mean to just… weird! What's the point of stinking up the classroom?"

Full of false innocence, she pressed a hand to her chest as she said, "Why, I don't know. Sounds to me like someone just forgot to throw away her lunch. Maybe you should be a little less wasteful. Then again, as rich and famous as you are, I bet you don't care at all."

A ripple of murmurs spread throughout the room. Rise knew that they didn't really care about the sandwich, or about wastefulness, but they were highly concerned with this argument between two students playing out right in front of them. Gossip fodder. So she decided not to give them any more ammunition.

"Okay. We'll just throw it away." She snatched it off the bench and flashed Ai a poisonous smile. "Have a lovely day, Ebi-chan."

"Don't you mean Ebi-kun?"

Rise stopped dead in her tracks. She actually looked around for what assholes had said it, determined to give them a dressing down. Even if they were fighting, nobody got to talk about her friend like that. But she realized it had come from Ai herself. "What?"

"You were one of the people that started the rumour, right?" She looked so haughty, arms folded over her chest and hip cocked to one side. "So I'm surprised you let it go that easy."

Deciding to play along, she smirked and shot back, "I heard you showed off the goods to some other girls and it proved it was false."

"Yeah. But since when do people like you care about facts? You would much rather be right than the truth prevail."

"People like- okay. Whatever this is, whatever you want from me, I'm done with it. I thought we could try to be adults and move on, but all you want to do is start a war — one I'm not interested in fighting. Just leave me alone if you really can't stand me this bad, okay?"

Ai laughed and took a step forward. "Rise-Risette, the gossip-monger. And now, the cheater! What terrible thing are you going to do next?"

"I didn't do anything in the first place!"

"You know you did." The smile disappeared for a second, leaving her friend's features full of cold fury. But it was so brief that most of the other girls probably wouldn't have noticed; then she was smiling like rainbows were shooting out of her ass again. "And hey, if you want to try to blame me for all of it, go ahead. You might as well."

"No, that's not necessary. Maybe it's just a series of tragic coincidences."

"Uh huh. Or maybe you're just a self-destructive pop idol, a little brat who couldn't hack it in the entertainment industry, and now that you're stuck in boring old Inaba, you want attention again. Don't you see you're going about it all the wrong ways?"

So that was her game. Now Rise could see this for what it was: it wasn't just any one incident meant to slander her and give her a bad name. All of them together were supposed to paint a picture of a celebrity spiraling out of control. Rise was going to turn into the Japanese Britney Spears if Ai Ebihara had anything to do with it.

"You really want to destroy me that badly?" she hissed now that they were so close their noses were almost touching. All the girls around them were whispering and chattering, watching the drama intently. The rub was, they were gossiping so much about what they were saying that they couldn't even actually hear what they were saying.

"You can bet on it. I told you I was going to, unless you destroy me first. And I think you will. I think you are exactly the kind of person who will shoot in self-defense."

"That isn't me," she breathed, glancing down at Ai's body. It was so close to her own… she couldn't help looking, couldn't help feeling flustered even though they were fighting right now. "We both know that. You're just mad I messed up, and you won't let me apologize, and you won't leave it alone. There's nothing else I can do."

"Yes there is." Then she hiked an eyebrow slightly, lowering her voice to barely a whisper. "What? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Just… trying to figure out what to-"

"You were trying to figure out if you could see my dick. Weren't you?" As Rise felt her brow furrow, Ai chuckled and pressed on, "Do it. Go looking."

She could feel her temper flaring hotter. It was getting hard to control. "Stop being so gross. I wouldn't do that, I haven't done that, and I'm not going to do that."

"Why not? Come on… all you have to do is rip this towel off me. Show the world. Maybe I'm tucking again, maybe I'm not. But wouldn't that be great if you exposed a scandal in the women's locker room? Risette the Hero, saving all these poor girls from the freak."

"You know — you know I have never once in my life called you a freak, why do you want me to hurt you so badly? What do you get out of it? Are you some kind of psycho masochist?!"

"Sure! Go with that. Even more reason to save everyone. Do it." No movement. "Clock's ticking. The longer you wait, the weirder it's going to be that we're standing here whispering to each other."

But Rise's mind was racing. She still had no idea really why she was pushing so hard for her to attack, to be so vicious. She thought back to the revelation she had when walking home — about Ai, about what these attacks meant for their relationship. And when she thought of it that way…

Everything came together. Of course, nothing was for certain until she heard it straight from the horse's mouth, but now Rise thought she understood the reason her former friend was trying so hard to get her to treat her like vermin.

"No," she whispered with a small smile.

"No? Aww, I guess the games continue then," Ai said with a fake, exaggerated pout. "You're going to have to be a lot tougher than that to make it as a star."

"Actually… let's play a new game. Unless you want to give up now?" Her pleading face returned. "Please, please just stop. I'll leave you alone if that's what you want, or we can go back to being friends and… try to put this behind us. But I'm not giving up, not going away. So…? Maybe?"

Ai shook her head. "This isn't your game, you don't get to change the rules, princess. So nice try."

"Fine," she sighed… before sliding her arms tightly around Ai.

"H-hey!" she burst out. Then a little louder, "Oh my GOD, now Risette is trying to molest me!"

Before the gasps really had a chance to deepen, Rise sobbed, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you, I just… I just love you so much Ai, a-and when you… when you pulled away, I didn't know what to do! Can't you forgive me?"

Even the girls who weren't watching before were glued to this scene now. And even though she could tell Ai didn't like losing control of the situation — hated might have been more apropos — she still drew back to gape at her.

"What… did you just say?"

"I asked you to forgive-"

"Cut the bullSHIT!" she snapped loudly enough that one smaller girl yelped and fell back on her ass, scrabbling for the nearest bench. "You can't mean that. Not in front of all these people, you… they'll know you're- if you say how you feel, that's…"

"I don't care about them! I love you, Ai, I… I didn't mean for us to end up this way!" Her bottom lip wobbled hard as she took a shaky breath. "But if you really can't forgive me, I'll understand! I just… I can't go on with us hurting each other like this!"

"Oh, this is so not going to work," she scoffed… until she saw a few of the girls putting their hands on Rise's shoulders, comforting her as the big fat tears rolled down her cheeks. Offering tissues, petting her hair. "Are you- wow, you guys can't be buying this! It's an act!"

"Hey, don't be so mean!" said some girl with bobbed hair; Rise thought her name was Matsunaga, but she couldn't remember at the moment. The moment Ai's gaze was on her, she said much more quietly, "S-sorry."

"Oh my GOD. Fine. Whatever, I'm out of here."

But a wall of girls blocked her way. They were all glowering at her now, looking ready to throw down; they would never have challenged alone but there was safety in numbers. Ai's eyebrows shot up, unimpressed… but the more she looked at all of them, the more anxious she appeared. Not frightened, just uneasy from the attention. The constant attention, while wearing a towel… prospect of a fight… she backed into a corner and they started to advance on her. This would get seriously out of hand if someone didn't step in.

Someone stepped in.

"Please, just give me another chance," Rise provided smoothly as she slid forward through the throng of girls, taking up Ai's hand — which was immediately yanked out of reach. Her voice was taut with emotion as she pleaded, "That's all! I'll show you I can be a better friend, a-and those pranks? Forgotten! And I won't ever tell another lie about you again, I promise!"

Ai took another good look around at the student body standing in opposition against her. The wheels were turning behind her eyes. Then she glared down at Rise with a shake of her head. "You… conniving… snake," she muttered.

Some of the girls heard it, and looked more scandalised. And because now everyone else was behind her… Rise felt comfortable allowing a smug, triumphant smirk to take over her features. Just for an instant. She even mouthed a few choice words:

"You only have one way out."

Oh, she had never seen Ai look that angry before. This wasn't just annoyance or rage. She looked murderous. But it only lasted a second before she sighed, shut her eyes, took a breath.

"Rise… fine. I know… I went too far. Can you forgive me?"

"Wow, really sounds authentic," one of the others closest to the lockers scoffed.

"No, really." When Ai opened her eyes again, she was smiling weakly. "I have missed you. I just didn't know… I was so angry when you started that nasty rumour."

"I know. It was a stupid mistake! And I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, if you just… take me back! That's all you have to do." She took both of her hands, ignoring the way nails were digging into her own. Petty little revenges were par for the course now. "Just be with me."

One could hear a pin drop in that locker room. Ai pulled her close and whispered softly, "You want to play this game? We're playing it on a national level."

"Bring it on," she replied in kind, smirking again — even while her heart pounded in her throat from the closeness. "But c'mon, I beat you this round."

"Shut up."

Such a chorus of "WHOOOOO" went up when they kissed that it felt like they were shaking the foundation of Yasogami High. Probably because, metaphorically as well as literally, they were. Game-changer indeed.

                                          To Be Continued…

[mobius-prime]

272. Sonic the Hedgehog #199

Knocking on Eggman's Door

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Matt Herms

Well, we're finally here! It's the morning of the final fight against Eggman, and the Freedom Fighters awaken to find that Rotor, unable to sleep, has set up a live feed back to their city. It seems that Sally has elected to stream the battle live back to the citizens of New Mobotropolis, which seems… excessively unwise, given that if something goes wrong you could easily be broadcasting your violent deaths to children and innocent civilians.

Eh, whatever, we all know how this is gonna go. After all, the heroes have this one in the bag! As they gear up and move out, Lien-Da instructs her troops to create a barricade to Eggman's specifications within the base, though she has little confidence in his plan.

See, this right here just sort of sets up why I think this final two-part finale to this era ends up feeling flat and devoid of any real excitement. Right off the bat, the heroes are being set up to win with little resistance. Eggman may think he has a chance against Sonic and his friends, but literally all of his subordinates are feeling disillusioned and traitorous, and actively plotting to make sure he fails. The result is that while we're curious about what exactly their plan is and who Snively is inviting over to hook up with, we already kind of know Eggman isn't gonna win this one. While we already tend to know that anyway given that an ending to a Sonic comic where Eggman wins and annihilates everyone would be horrifically opposed to everything we would expect from such a series, at least in cases like Endgame and the destruction of Knothole, there's some real tension where it really seems for a while like the heroes are screwed and Eggman is about to win everything. It makes the final payoff where the heroes overcome all obstacles and win the day that much more satisfying.

Anyway, Mighty and Bunnie use their combined super-strength to breach a hole in the front door, and the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix pour in, surprised when they find no immediate resistance waiting for them. The Freedom Fighters take one hallway while the Chaotix take another, clearing out all routes to the center of the Eggdome and planning to meet up further in. While the Freedom Fighters punch their way through the Legionnaires in their way, they cheerfully reminisce about the last time they had a big showdown with a Robotnik, bantering back and forth about their roles in Endgame.

Wow, I actually think that's the first time the comic has even acknowledged Sally's coma at all ever since it happened. Fun times, huh? On the Chaotix side of things, Vector and Julie-Su end up bickering a bit only to then save each other simultaneously from sneak attacks by a couple of Legionnaires, at which point they curtly agree to never speak of this again as they don't want anyone finding out they actually do like and respect each other. They get deeper into the base, and Julie-Su becomes briefly concerned about Knuckles' state of mind as she's worried he may be feeling that old guilt again about fighting members of his own species, but Knuckles reassures her that he's fine and that he feels they need to stop them from working with Eggman for their own good. However, they suddenly find their way blocked by Dimitri, who's using his tentacle-dreadlock-things to bar the door they need to get through. Further into the Eggdome, Lien-Da reports her troops "losing on schedule" and awaits further orders, but then nearly begins puking when she smells something awful, which turns out to be cologne that Snively has received from his new beau. He mocks her for not appreciating the scent before ordering her to move on to phase two, blaming her species for being the reason she doesn't like the smell. That would definitely seem to indicate, then, that his new girlfriend is human and not Mobian. The Freedom Fighters, who have ended up pinned down at the end of a hallway, are trying to come up with a plan to bust through the group of Legionnaires up ahead when out of nowhere they retreat, much to the heroes' surprise. At the same time, Knuckles, Julie-Su and Vector all confront Dimitri in their own hallway.

You know, at this point, it's definitely feeling like Dimitri is coming back around to not being such a bad guy after all. Ultimately, he cares more about protecting his people than anything else, and is looking for any way out of his current sticky situation with Eggman, which he believes allying with Snively will help him with. The two invading teams finally meet up at a central door, which has been thoroughly blockaded save for a small hole just big enough for a spindashing Sonic. Both sides discuss how the entire invasion feels too easy, and become very suspicious about the hole, reasoning that it's meant to simultaneously draw them into a bottleneck for easy pickings, as well as let Sonic through for a one-on-one showdown against Eggman. Sonic immediately announces he's taking the bait, and when the others ask him if he's crazy he points out that their only other option is to waste all their time and energy taking down the barrier, which would just give Eggman a chance to regroup or escape. They agree that he'll go on ahead and they'll provide backup as soon as they can break through the wall, and after a few tearful words of encouragement, including an emotional embrace from Sally, he zips through the hole and lands in the middle of a very strange scene on the other side.

Sonic, of course, has no idea what's actually going on, as Snively and Lien-Da watch through hidden cameras along his route. Snively orders Lien-Da to ensure her Legionnaires hold back Sonic's friends until he's sealed into the final arena with Eggman, before preparing for himself and Dimitri to head to the landing pad on the roof of the Eggdome to meet up with his mysterious new girlfriend. Sonic enters the chamber, the doors slam shut behind him, and he faces down Eggman inside a giant mechanical spider, ready for the final epic showdown.

[heythatpenguinhere]

Reflection

*Hey hey angsty fanfic lovers, this one is for you! This story is dedicated to anyone that has ever struggled with their self-image or insecurities and has begun their own journey of self love one day at a time. I hope you all enjoy <3

Mirrors reflect simply what is seen before them, that’s what they have always done. Mirrors were common and many people had mirrors in varying sizes, but the mirrors in the palace of Katolis seemed much larger in comparison. In Rayla’s suite, for example, stood an oval silver-trimmed mirror at the corner of the room. When she had first settled in, she had thought nothing of it at all but another trivial human adornment. Now, it seemed to be placed there to torment her and mock her. 

The first time she had used the mirror was to simply do her hair. Her hair wasn’t ever really messy per-say, but at times her braids tended to undo themselves or she might want to comb through the locks of white to tidy them a little. As she stood in front of the mirror and began to gently work on fixing the small braid on the side of her head, her eyes had lightly roamed to her face a little. Comparatively to other elves, Rayla was pretty normal in appearance. Her lavender eyes were a bit larger than most and her skin a bit paler in complexion, but even Moonshadow elves varied in appearances with little things like that. She didn’t stand out and she liked that she very obviously belonged with her people.  

Comparatively to humans however, Rayla knew she was far from normal. Her ear shape, skin tone, eye color, hair color, horns, and facial markings are a far cry from a stereotypical human girl right off the bat; not that it ever really concerned her. Growing up, she had always thought that humans were the ones that looked strange with their rounded ears, useless extra finger, and small stature. Now being around humans longer, she was beginning to notice those differences more. In the case of Callum though, they were absolutely endearing and cute differences in her mind. 

Rayla’s opinion on Callum and his appearance radically changed over the course of their time together. Somewhere along the way she had gone from thinking the human was just weird and small to thinking that he was actually... attractive. While Rayla had never specifically asked him, she assumed something similar probably happened with him too. She may never ask him though because things like appearances and beauty weren’t necessarily staple issues where she came from. 

She smiled at her finished braid. It looked nice and matched her usual appearance well, she thought. As she fixed on her belt and slipped on her boots, the thought that she should maybe try and style her hair another way for once just to see what it would look like passed her mind. She thought of the fancy up dos she had seen some girls do here and shook her head. That would look silly on her. 

-

The next time she could recall looking into the mirror was after she dragged herself in after a training session. She was still breathing heavily a bit from exertion and was sweating under her armor. She didn’t need a mirror to tell her she looked a bit rough and yet even with her state, Callum had still kissed her tenderly before she left to freshen up before dinner. Still she couldn’t help but glance at herself as she passed the mirror. Her reflection depicted exactly what she expected: messy hair, reddened cheeks, sweaty exterior and strands of hair sticking to her face, dirt smudges here and there. The price of training and staying agile she supposed. But pausing for a moment she really noticed her build. Her body was tall and athletic with minimal curves and toned muscles from being so active. An image of Claudia and her more curved build crossed by momentarily and how Callum had been enamored with her prior. Rayla frowned, did Callum like that kind of a body type more? He had never said it before, but maybe that was something his young self had admired in her and still liked? 

Her hands ghosted over her own body briefly before pausing. That was a dumb thought, she mentally reprimanded herself and continued to change. 

-

That insignificant, stupid mirror and looking into it occasionally now had planted a small seed of doubt and insecurity that had began to root itself in Rayla. Unbeknownst to her, she was paying more attention to her appearance than she had ever before. Under the guise of excuses like “that’s a dumb thought” or “you know better than that”, she ignored the little voice of doubt that was growing and played it off within herself. Maybe Rayla was also a little too proud to admit that she could be struggling with her self-image because after all she was Rayla; she was this strong, brave, and sure person, definitely not the kind that would struggle with something as meaningless as her appearance. 

She and Callum were currently walking through the town square admiring the preparation of a festival that was underway. The people were stringing up colorful lanterns, lights, and flowers adorning homes and wreaths to mark the beginning of Spring. There were smiles all around and music trailed through the various alleyways; it was a beautiful sight to be seen after so much war and darkness. 

Callum had firmly and proudly held her hand as they walked through the town. All of Katolis was aware that the Prince was somehow romantically linked to his Elven companion and they were a common sight from time to time; the human prince with magic and the beautifully, deadly elf. From the first time they set foot outside the palace together, they garnered stares and glares alike. This was to be expected however and didn’t bother either too much as time passed. 

Callum for his part thought he was the luckiest man in all the kingdoms to have Rayla by his side. No matter how much time passed since they became a “thing”, he still looked at her with absolute amazement and like she was the only person that existed in his sight. The thing is that it was kind of true; to Callum, Rayla was all he saw. And for Rayla, she never even thought of looking because no one could replace who he was to her; what they had built together. They both occupied a spot in each other’s spot that no one else could ever be seen taking. It didn’t matter if they weren’t from the same background at all. 

Rayla was seemingly firm in this but that stupid, stupid seed in her head had laid some tiny roots in even that foundation. As they both walked together arms swinging, her eyes wandered around to other human couples and how easy they had it. Her eyes would then linger on the women and how beautifully elegant they looked… They were human of course so their features and physique displayed that, but there was a bit of envy in how diverse they could look. They had much more softer features naturally and their femininity was emphasized with they way they adorned themselves. Colorful dresses, ribbons, jewelry, etc. were used and only served to make them more beautiful to the eyes around them. 

When Rayla looked at herself after admiring them, she couldn’t help but seem so plain and unfeminine in comparison. Her clothing was always darker in color and she didn’t wear frills or jewels that would just get in the way of her blades. Her look never varied too much and was always practical in nature, designed to be able to move; very different from other girls who didn’t carry around double blades with them. Any of these beautiful women would make such perfect princesses. Why did Callum choose her? Her face had dropped as all the self-destructive thoughts slowly raced in her head. 

Callum had noticed that Rayla had suddenly become less talkative. Her grip on his hand was limp and when he turned to look at her, her face was clouded and down cast for some reason. He stopped walking and tugged her hand a little when she kept on walking, not noticing he had stopped. She looked up surprised at him. 

“Hey, are you alright?” He asked her, cautiously. 

He knew she wasn’t the most open with her emotions naturally and didn’t want to press onto her if she didn’t want to talk about them at the moment. 

She looked away from him, “N-No, I’m alright Callum.” 

He raised an eyebrow clearly not buying it. 

She sighed, “I’m just a wee tired and beat up from training lately with the others. We also have that fancy party later for the festival and I want to make sure I look decent...” She said, only dipping into some of her much deeper thoughts. 

That evening would be a large ball/party that Ezran was throwing to invite friends, dignitaries, and such to celebrate their newfound peace. Of course he had insisted that Rayla and Callum attend and even mentioned that he wanted to honor them for their part in rebuilding relations with the human kingdoms and Xadia. Both of them had been embarrassed at the idea of so many eyes on them and had tried to talk him out of it, but there was no budging him; even Bait nodded in agreement with the young king. 

Callum smiled lightly at her concerns and felt that there was more to the issue, but he would respect her boundaries and wouldn’t press too much into things especially out in public. 

“Rayla, you’re going to look great. You wanna know why? Because you’re already the most beautiful woman in all of Xadia and Katolis combined no matter what you wear.” He said heartfelt with emotions to hopefully encourage her mood. 

She looked into his eyes and how they always shown with his emotions candidly and knew he meant what he said. She wanted to hit herself for being so dumb to consider anything else. Callum would never lie to her. Callum loved her. He loved Rayla as Rayla. 

She smiled back, “Thank you Callum.”

-

She had raced through the stone walls as quickly as she could. She had torn the bottom of the simple dark green gown she had on earlier to move faster and reach her room where she would lock herself in and wallow in what had just happened. Callum would no doubt be knocking on her door frantically to reach her and get inside. She couldn’t see herself opening up that door anytime soon to anyone…

The evening had actually started out better than she had anticipated. After catching Rayla in a stump on what to wear, Opeli had actually swooped in with a gown she had custom made for the elf. The gown was absolutely beautiful, simple, and Rayla. The fabric was a deep green color that sparkled and faded from a lighter color green at the top when it caught the light. It’s color, she said, had been inspired by a combination of Rayla’s natural attire and Callum’s eyes, to which she blushed. The style was one shouldered and movable somehow! Rayla marveled at how well it suited her and how she could even wear her boots under it; it clung to her waist and flowed down lightly. Opeli had then taken great care to assist Rayla with her hair and pulled it into a soft updo under her horns that wasn’t too complex, but was still elegant. 

Looking at her reflection, Rayla was stunned. She never imagined herself looking anything like a princess, but in that moment she actually did. She looked delicate and still strong in her gown, hair, and even a thin choker and bracelet combo. Rayla’s eyes sparkled with a hint of powered color on her lids and cheeks that made their natural lavender stand out all the more. She had gasped at herself and Opeli had stood looking proud at her handiwork. 

“A beautiful look for an already beautiful girl.” She had said to her. 

-

Upon an announcement of each notable guest, Rayla herself was soon introduced to the crowd within the ballroom. Her nerves had nearly swallowed her, wondering what the eyes staring at her were thinking, until she caught eyes with Callum. He stood at the edge of the crowd, closest to the staircase they’d walk down. His eyes were wide with wonder at her. He already thought Rayla was beautiful, but she was absolutely stunning; magical. She looked like a fairy tale elven princess from a storybook. 

“Don’t laugh, Opeli helped me.” Rayla said as she reached him, taking great care to not trip on her dress. 

He held out his hand for her to take and she slipped her hand into his timidly. He leaned down and kissed her small hand in front for all to see. The action partially stunned Rayla herself who stood there as he leaned back up straight.

“Rayla, you are amazing.” He said, still holding her hand in his and stroking the top of it with his fingers. 

No one in the room or world existed but them. 

-

They spent the evening laughing and even dancing quite a bit together, wrapped in each other’s sight and never straying too far, the two were a sight to see. King Ezran couldn’t help but smile sweetly whenever he caught sight of them and it warmed his heart to see them so carefree and happy together; he thought they deserved it. Callum and Rayla had been approached by some curious parties and friends as well. Overall, it was a wonderful time getting to reunite with allies and friends alike and just enjoy being in love and young. There was peace now and they could enjoy it as it existed and just be together. 

“I’ll be right back Rayla, I’m going to check on Ezran alright? Try not to cause too much trouble while I’m gone.” Callum had said teasingly. 

Rayla laughed, “Oh I’d never want to do anything to embarrass you your highness.”

He groaned, “You know I hate people saying that.”

“That’s exactly why I said it. Now go, I’ll go grab something to drink.” She assured him with a peck on the cheek that left a goofy grin on his face.

She made her way through the crowds to the beverage area where some guests were mingling and others were glancing around, people watching, when she first tuned into the comments being made. 

“I cannot believe how the nobility in Katolis has fallen… To be prancing about with an elf?!” 

“Who does she think she is, walking around here like she’s royalty? She could never be.”

“I’m embarrassed for her. The poor thing tried to look presentable for once. What a pitiful effort.”

“The dress suits her: it’s plain like she is.”

“Who tried to make her God awful hair look regal? She should just have stayed locked away.” 

“I bet you she’s made her way in the young prince’s bed. Elves are known to be wild right? I’m sure he’ll get his youthful whims out of the way and then settle with someone serious and actually human. I mean goodness could you imagine the children?!” 

Rayla had never been more embarrassed and insulted in her life. These nameless faces around her were judging her, without even knowing her. They were making assumptions and critiquing her cruelly. Anger was the first emotion that registered in her mind, indignation to their comments, but soon after embarrassment seeped in, and finally those darker thoughts and emotions she had been trying desperately to ignore. 

Callum had walked back, still laughing at something when he noticed the look of utter pain on Rayla’s face. 

“Rayla?” He asked, moving to touch her arm and even move her out of the room if something was wrong. 

But before his fingertips could make contact with her at all, Rayla had activated her Moonshadow abilities fueled by the full moon outside and dashed out of the room. 

-

Rayla slammed the door to her room and slowly sunk down from the door to the floor. Hugging her knees to her chest, she began to let herself cry. Deep sobs came from her as she clung to herself with a near painful grip. She felt so, so stupid for letting their comments get to her. She didn’t even know those people! Why would their words hurt her so much? Yet deep down inside, she knew why… They had picked at an area she was beginning to hurt in and self-question. Of course they had no way of knowing that, but their words were still daggers tearing in deeper. The small bruises and scrapes had merged into full-fledged wounds over time and led her to where she was now: an emotional wreck on her floor. 

Why? Why was she struggling with this so much? Why did it matter what she looked like? Why did it matter what others said? But why couldn’t she look a bit more “normal” though? Why couldn’t she have more “normal” and appealing features? Was she really embarrassing Callum and his family that badly? Would anyone ever look at her with acceptance by Callum’s side? Would she have to keep dealing with these comments and glares all her life? 

Rayla had her hands scrunched in her hair, her up do had fallen out of its style and no doubt looked as terrible as Rayla felt. She momentarily wiped her eyes and saw her reflection from across the room. She looked like a huddled mess of tears and hair and ripped dress fabric. Anger filled her veins yet again at the sight. 

“This is all your fault! You stupid piece of glass! You put these dumb thoughts in ma head!” She said and took one of her boots off and nailed it at the mirror. It cracked and slowly broke apart at the force, pieces of it falling to the stone floor with clanging noises. The outburst made her feel partially better to have gotten rid of some anger, but she was still upset at the fact that she was worrying about her hair, her makeup, her outfit, etc. even in that moment and in another impulsive move, Rayla crawled across the floor and grabbed one of the glass pieces. 

Standing up firmly, she grabbed a chunk of her hair and slashed the mirror piece through it. 

-

“Rayla! Rayla please open up! Please let me in! Look, I don’t know what happened but I want to be there for you. Please Rayla!” Callum said desperately as he pounded on the thick wooden door between them. 

Somewhere inside he knew Rayla was hauled up and unswerving. He had gone after her as quickly as he could have, all the while wondering what had sent her into such an outburst. He hadn’t left her alone for too long had he? Had someone said something to her? He couldn’t help but feel terribly guilty if he had somehow caused her pain. He just wanted to be in there with her, even if he couldn’t make it better. 

Suddenly he heard movement from inside the room and he lightened up with the hope that Rayla perhaps had heard him. Just as he stepped back, the door opened. 

Illuminated with only the glow of the full moon through the window stood Rayla at the door. Her dress was torn, her boots off, and most notably… her hair was chopped short messily. It was cut with bits that stood out in some places. Her face was down, looking at the floor, but he could see that she had been crying heavily by the redness of her face.  

He stood stunned, unable to form words. 

“I know… I look terrible…” She said, still refusing to look at him. 

Callum without any words in the moment, lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her. At his tender, yet firm embrace Rayla came undone again. The tears came and wouldn’t stop as Callum had to support her weight to keep her standing. His heart clenched painfully to hear her in so much pain. 

“Please Rayla, tell me what’s happening.” He said, desperate to reach her. 

She finally looked up at his eyes and nodded her head. She’d tell him. 

-

“There you go, you look rather lovely!” 

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to stare into another mirror. Rayla’s fingers came up to touch the neatly trimmed hair on her head. The cut was nearly a bob look, that fell around her chin, as Rayla’s earlier chop had been done so roughly out of anger that it had to be fixed. Opeli stepped in eagerly again to help when requested and had nearly tripped at the sight of the young woman’s white locks gone. 

“I-I kinda look like my mum.” She said. 

In truth, she actually did. With few memories of her parents, she could still vaguely recall what they looked like. Her mother had been a strong woman whose hair was always cropped short for battle; Rayla looked like the spitting image of her now though she wouldn’t wander on that too long. 

Rayla examined her hair and then her eyes, nose, mouth, markings, and shape. 

“You, Rayla, are the most beautiful, amazing soul that exists in the world you hear me? I won’t have you thinking these lies about yourself anymore. That’s what they are: lies that want to take away your spirit and make you doubt who you really are. Rayla, have you really looked at yourself lately? And I don’t mean what you’re wearing or what your hair looks like or anything superficial like that, but really looked and seen yourself? Because if you’d really, really look you’d seen the absolutely incredible person I see. The person you really are. You’d see your heart which is the most “beautiful” thing about you. The heart that no one in this world can compare to and the heart I love. But you need to believe and see that for yourself Rayla. You need to love and see yourself. Just take it day by day though and I’ll be here every single day to remind you if I have ” Callum had said to her, holding her tightly in her room throughout the night until she fell asleep in her safe embrace.

She could soon feel Callum’s hands on her shoulders and then feel his fingers playing with her new hair. He had a smile on his face that shone with adoration as his pale fingers weaved in with her snowy strands. She kept replaying his tender care of her all night long and encouragements. He took every emotion, thought, and tear she shared with a strength she had been surprised herself to see. He was adamant and firm in his words and beliefs and worked to address every self-conscious rambling as it came. He reassured her that he didn’t mind it and that he’d stay with her forever reminding her of who she was. It had broken through her cracked interior and began to mend the pieces that existed. 

He reaffirmed to her that she needed to believe for herself and love for herself who she was. Callum could only do so much, but she had to live with herself. She had to come to a place of acceptance and appreciation for who she was; there was no one else like her in the world and there would never be. She found herself beginning to repeat the words in her mind even now and tucking them into her heart little by little. Come morning, she was feeling considerably better than the night before and was ready to face a mirror again, if at least to fix her messy hair. 

One day at a time, one step at a time, she would take it with herself and Callum by her side. 

She lightly smiled and saw how her entire face lit up with it’s unique features and traits that could only belong to her. 

“You know what, I think I could get used to this actually.” 

[renegade-skywalker]

A Curious Thing, Chapter 3: Call and Response

Chapter 1: Restless (tumblr) (AO3) Chapter 2: An Invitation (tumblr) (AO3)

“You certainly have an interesting fighting style,” the Handmaiden breathed as they finally set their sparring hands aside and conceded to rest, the Exile still missing, last seen at the mouth of the cave.

Mira was careful to remind herself that no, they were in the cave, the Exile was just crazy enough to enter the even-creepier-cave within the already-creepy cave, and it took all she had not to dwell on the thought.

“I could say the same about you,” Mira almost laughed, still out of breath, careful to keep her gaze from watching the Handmaiden too closely just as she was careful not to fret too much over their missing leader. The way she moved, the way she-

Mira stopped herself and took a breath, turning as she wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked for something else to focus her attention on.

“How long have you been training?” the Handmaiden asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, stretching her limbs as Mira near-collapsed on a low-set boulder to massage her calves. 

“Training?” she laughed darkly, flashes of memories flitting through her mind’s eye - of being abducted, of being forced into labor, of being plucked from her troupe of children to study combat from her Mandalorian captors, made to think she was better than the other kids, worthy of her abductors’ respect… 

“Were you formally trained or self-taught?” the girl continued, as if Mira hadn’t understood her question.

“A bit of both,” she replied, “And I’m not sure how for how long, either, though maybe only the self-taught part. I’ve been on my own for a while, I just… haven’t really kept count of the years.”

She’d been meandering the Outer Rim, Hutt Space in particular, for what she guessed was four years now, but before that most of her life was a blur. She couldn’t recall any set years, dates or places, even, and she wasn’t even exactly sure of how old she was, where she was born, what her parents had been like…

“What about you?”

The Handmaiden looked at her, watched her expression, as if surprised that Mira would ask, unused to talking about herself.

“Echani are trained from birth, in a sense. So always, I guess,” she said after regaining her composure, her voice growing quiet, inwardly thoughtful, “It’s cultural, almost like a language.”

Mira could only nod. On the outside it sounded a bit like the Mandalorians, defining themselves through combat, but she could sense that this ran deeper, somehow, though she was afraid to ask for further details.

The Handmaiden tucked one of her beaded braids behind an ear before turning away, tugging at one of her pristine white sleeves, brushing a bit of microscopic dust from its surface.

“I can see why you’re a bounty hunter,” the Handmaiden continued, “You’re skilled at anticipating your opponent’s next move, to a degree,” she glanced at Mira as she uttered the word ‘degree’ before looking away again, “And you’re fairly adept at blocking.”

“Blocking is my specialty,” Mira smiled, her usual snark rising as she caught her breath, still wondering how the Handmaiden was so composed.

“But as quick as you are, you leave yourself exposed in places, vulnerable,” the Handmaiden said again, though this time her voice grew softer, as if she were attempting to be polite about it, “It’s something I need to work on as well. My sisters used to berate me for it, but-”

She sucked in a breath and paused, looking out over the dark expanse of the chasm that separated them from the rest of the cave. 

“Thank you,” the Handmaiden said, her voice stern again, “For indulging me.”

Mira wasn’t sure of what to say. She nodded, though she knew the Handmaiden could not see, but perhaps feel her gesture, if the girl was anything like the Exile.

The place seemed eerily quiet now, her heart suddenly too loud as the air grew thicker, the hair on Mira’s arms and the back of her neck standing on end. It was as if some inner chamber of the cave sighed, loosing a breath, its caress sending a chill over her skin.

“Are you alright?” the Handmaiden asked, picking up her staff to inspect it further, perhaps clean it of dust and dirt and whatever bone meal likely covered the floor of the cave, given the place’s more beastly residents.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she answered absently, knowing full well that she wasn’t fine but sure as hell wasn’t about to announce that fact. “Say, are you tired?”

The Handmaiden paused, her eyes widening slowly as she tried to make sense of Mira’s question. “Tired?”

“Yeah, are you tired?”

The Handmaiden balked for a moment before shaking her head, standing up straight again before turning from Mira to further inspect her staff. 

“Not at all,” she said, steadying her voice as she said it, standing just a bit straighter, “Why do you ask?”

Her voice seemed to stiffen, as if she knew where this was going, as if she were already regretting extending a somewhat friendly hand in offering Mira to let off some steam.

“You don’t feel that?” Mira asked, despite the doubt already pooling in her chest like an ache still opening, “I don’t know, I just… I was hoping maybe we could try again.”

“No,” the Handmaiden said almost too-quickly, her answer spring loaded before Mira even finished uttering the words. “I’ve learned all I need to know.”

Learned all you need to know?

If Mira was embarrassed by the woman’s impromptu fighting style assessment, she was certainly feeling it tenfold now. Open and vulnerable, my ass.

But she couldn’t help but watch on as the Handmaiden went about her business, somehow sure that she was covering something up, hiding some unease she felt but was otherwise too high on her horse to acknowledge.

“Say, you got a name?”

The Handmaiden paused, her staff still extended, though her eyes widened at the question.

“Yes,” she said curtly before resuming, as if that was the end of the interaction.

“And…?” Mira baited, growing impatient, annoyed even, “That name would be…?”

“I have a name but it is not for use other than my own knowing,” she said cooly, dropping her staff at her side and looking Mira pointedly in the eye, her gaze stern, “You may call me The Last of the Handmaidens, should you need to address me.”

“The… the what?”

Handmaiden, she’d gathered, but ‘The Last Of’ part felt like opening a whole other can of worms. Anger dissolving into confusion, Mira tried to read the girl, watching the warring composure and uncertainty fight for dominance over her features.

“My sisters and I… are Handmaidens, and I the last of them. Meaning… I am the least worthy of the six.”

Six sisters. Hells…

“But I intend to change that,” she continued, looking at the inner cave again now. Mira followed her gaze, somehow knowing that the Handmaiden wasn’t talking about the Exile, at least… not exactly.

Because she felt it. The prickling sense of knowing. That unnerving energy that seemed to follow the ex-Jedi everywhere he went. But it wasn’t just him. Mira felt it everywhere now, even when she actively tried to ignore it. Perhaps the Handmaiden felt it, too...

“Well, we have that in common at least.”

“Have what in common?”

“I’m looking to change things, too,” Mira said, easing herself off of the boulder and back onto her two, very sore feet. Only, I’m not sure exactly what I’m looking to change.

She almost expected the Handmaiden to question her words, ask her to elaborate, but she didn’t. She just watched her. Watched her in… contemplation? Mira walked to the cliff’s edge, glancing at the abyss on the other side before shooting another gander at the cave the Exile disappeared through hours ago now. 

“Or at least I’ll see this through, to the end. For myself, if anything.”

“Why?” 

The Handmaiden’s voice was soft, wistful, almost reverent.

“I don’t know,” she said, though she knew full-well that she was talking about the Force, the universe, and the mysteries it held, maybe even make a friend or two, “But I intend to find out.”

The Handmaiden soaked in her words, letting them steep as she thought them over, a faint smile gracing the pale pink of her lips before she nodded in understanding.

“Me too.”

And for once, Mira didn’t feel so alone.

---

The Exile emerged from the cave not long after they stopped speaking, stumbling from the cave mouth with eyes like fire. 

“We need to get back to the ship,” he breathed, though there was barely any life in him, “We need to-”

Without thinking, without speaking, Mira and the Handmaiden caught the Exile before he hit the ground, bringing him out of the cave in silent unison, somehow understanding exactly where the other meant to step and which direction they each meant to take, which tunnel they meant to follow. Mira guessed it had something to do with the Echani exercise, shooting the Handmaiden a sideways glance every once in a while as the sneaking suspicion rose within her. But each time she looked, she found something else. A faint freckle on the Handmaiden’s cheekbone. A strand of hair more grey than silver, another almost blue-white. And her eyes -

Mira’s face reddened, but only just as they entered the unrelenting heat of Korriban, finally at the greater cave mouth, the Ebon Hawk barely in view from where they stood on the dilapidated mountainside. At least now she could blame the heat if the girl noticed, if she saw…

“What do you think he saw in there?” the Handmaiden asked, her voice still quiet as they hauled the Jedi’s body out of the cave, leaning him against one of its outer walls. Mira crouched and released a canteen from her belt, unscrewing the lid before pressing it to the Exile’s parched lips.

“I’m not sure,” she said, though she knew the Handmaiden wasn’t exactly talking about the Exile. There was something darker in that cave as well as… something else.

They looked at one another, eyes locking. The Force. Mira blinked, unsure of what it meant, for her, for them… for all of them. But something inside her told her this wasn’t just about the big picture but something smaller… not in scale, but somehow more intimate. She shook the idea from her head as she stood, watching the Exile return to life a bit.

“I look like shit, don’t I?” he asked, eyes squinting against the setting desert sun.

“How could you tell?” the Handmaiden quipped. Mira paused, surprised, before stifling a laugh. The Handmaiden grinned.

“Okay, someone please tell me whether I’m still having visions or not…” the Exile muttered, finally rising until he stood, a half-smile on his delirious face. “I need to sleep for the next… oh, I don’t know. Ten years? Maybe twenty.”

“Sounds good to me,” Mira said, groaning as she shouldered the Exile’s weight again, the man already shaky on his own two feet. As Mira caught him under one arm, the Handmaiden caught the other, the two exchanging glances and nodding before heading back to the ship.

---

Things were… different, after that.

Mira would find herself staring, wondering. And she would find the Handmaiden staring right back. That is, before she would notice and look away, her skin too pale to blush. If Echani even could…

“So what’s with you and the pale monk, over there?” Atton asked one day as Mira practiced shooting darts at his head, only she substituted the darts with nuts and bolts she’d snuck from Bao-Dur’s work station. 

“What about her?” Mira said, biting her lip as she took aim.

“You two seem awfully friendly now, eh?”

Mira shot him a glare.

“Friendly?” Mira scoffed, though part of her warmed at the idea, pushing the feeling down the moment she felt it. They hadn’t sparred again, no, but they’d shared banter here and there when they traveled, often preferring each others’ company to the rest of the Ebon Hawk when the Exile required assistance, even if it was mostly spent in silence. “You’re the closest thing I have to a friend, and Force, that’s fucking sad, isn’t it?”

“Force? I didn’t take you for the religious type,” Atton joked right back, looking away from the controls to glance at Mira with a knowing look. 

“The Handmaiden sure seems like it though,” Mira said, instantly regretting it. Atton smirked.

“I didn’t say that, you said that,” he rejoined, “And only you would know. Other than the Exile, you’re the only one who’s gotten her to say more than two words, and those more-than-two-words being something other than ‘shut’ and ‘up’.”

Mira glanced down through the cockpit entrance, and though the view didn’t allow her to see past the curve in the hallway, she imagined the Handmaiden in her cargo hold, the space still sparse save for the few things the girl was passing for decorations now. Mira still didn’t have a space of her own, having currently made a camp of the security room, and wondered what the Handmaiden would do if-

“I know you haven’t been with this merry band for too long, but-” Atton began, laughing nervously, though Mira was already only half-listening as the scoundrel spoke, “You don’t think, the Exile… that he and I might- wait, where are you going?”

But before Atton could finish his half-heard sentence, Mira was already down the hall, turning the corner as she caught the last of his voice vaguely echoing off the walls. Without realizing it, Mira had thought of the Handmaiden’s room and suddenly appeared there, in the flesh, still wondering what she was going to say while she waited for the girl to open the door at her attempt-at-polite knocking, only to discover that the words found her just as the Handmaiden appeared at the door, opened just a crack as if suspicious.

“Spar with me,” Mira said at the sight of her, almost pleading, not quite begging but… convincing.

“Excuse me? I-”

“Indulge me,” Mira continued, mirroring the Handmaiden’s words from the skyrack cave, trying to edge her way into the room without appearing too domineering, too demanding - but part of her just needed to know.

The Handmaiden’s soft - plush - pink lips opened and closed, considering words before speaking them aloud, and thinking the better of it before uttering, “I already know what I desired to find out,” she eventually said after appearing like a firaxa out of water, almost defensively, though part of Mira suspected it was more deflective than anything. 

“Yeah, sure,” Mira conceded, still uncertain of the words that tumbled out of her mouth even as she spoke, knowing unrelentingly that she felt them in full in spite of any better judgement, whatever that meant, “But what if… what if I haven’t?”

The Handmaiden only stared, her blue eyes mostly silver-grey in the harsh fluorescent of the Hawk’s lights. After a moment of considering, the Handmaiden relented, her eyes cast downward, a slight smile twitching across her features before she swallowed it as she let Mira into the cargo hold, closing the door behind her.

[xxsparksxx]

Hello! In the show, Caroline and Demelza's friendship seems to happen almost without our really realizing it (it seems more gradual than ex. Demelza and Verity's) but one thing I wonder was what drew them together in the books? Caroline seems the one more actively pursing that friendship earlier on in the TV version, and that was intriguing. She's not the snob she pretends to be, but she's not like Dwight where class is almost a non-issue. Thank you for your analysis :)

Their friendship in the books is definitely slower to grow, and at first it’s entirely about Caroline being Dwight’s fiance - that’s the only real connection between them. They’ve met socially on a handful of occasions, of course - and Caroline has, of course, saved Ross and Demelza from bankruptcy - but the first time Demelza meets Caroline on a more intimate footing, it’s when Ross brings Caroline and Dwight back together, and brings them both to Nampara for Christmas, at the end of ‘Warleggan’. To my mind, it’s a much nicer beginning for them as a quartet than the wedding in 3.01, but ah well:

‘Have you three extra bedrooms you could get ready for tonight?’‘Three? . . . Why, who is coming? What have you arranged?’‘I have brought Caroline back with me. Caroline and her maid.’Demelza opened her eyes. ‘Where is she? Do you mean at her uncle’s?’‘She is with him now. But I invited her here to supper, and I want you to put her and her maid up over Christmas.’‘Over Christmas? Gladly. I’d lay special carpets for her if I had them. But it’s awful short notice, Ross! And I don’t quite understand . . .’‘We stayed a night in Plymouth and then came on. The story of her engagement was overhasty. There was no truth in it. When I heard that, I felt most of our old misgivings should be set aside and I tried my hand as matchmaker. Of course I hadn’t your skill, and at first she would have none of it. But on my second visit she decided to nibble at the bait. We saw Dwight in Plymouth.’‘Yes?’‘I believe they have made it up. He travelled back with us and, if we can fix him in, will stay here too.’

Demelza, being Demelza, is rather anxious about the arrangements, but it all comes off nicely. And it’s on this evening that Ross makes it clear that, with Dwight away, he and Demelza will be there for Caroline:

‘When Dwight has gone, so long as you stay with your uncle, I hope you’ll come and sup with us once or twice a week. It will help the time to pass.’‘After Dwight has gone, I shall wake up sometimes and wonder if all this week has been a dream. I think I shall have to come here for reassurance. I hope my uncle improves so that I can tell him the truth.’‘If you are in any difficulty, come straight here,’ Ross said. ‘We will put you up for as long as necessary.’ Caroline looked at Demelza before replying. ‘Your husband’s committing you very deep.’Demelza said: ‘Well, no deeper than I’d want to go or be willing to go tomorrow.’

So they don’t really strike up a friendship at this point as such, but they do begin to know each other much better and to become friendlier. But yes, at this point, it’s about Dwight. Dwight is the connection between them, the reason they have for knowing each other and for growing to know each other better.

It’s once Dwight is away at sea, and then captured in France, that the friendship really blossoms between Caroline and Demelza. Because really, there are very few people who don’t grow to love Demelza once they know her, and Caroline proves to Demelza, quietly but quickly enough, that she’s not such a snob as to turn her nose up at Demelza’s background, or her working life, or any of it. Her snobbery is, as you say, a lot of pretence - and I maintain that when she acts the snob to/with Dwight, it’s to provoke him into a reaction! - but she’s very aware of class distinctions in a sort of casual, every-day manner. I think, with Demelza, Caroline sees Demelza’s insecurities and never teases her about them, never chides her for still feeling like that. She must know that she’s an example, to Demelza, of how gentlewomen behave, but she never demonstrates that she’s aware of being an example. Does that make sense?

Anyway, the scene I’m talking about where Caroline proves to Demelza that she’s not a real snob, is a beaautiful scene. Normally it would be far, far too long for me to post, but it’s one of my favourite bits of interaction between them, so I’m going to put it under a read more. It really shows how they begin to relate to each other not just as ‘Dwight’s fiance’ and ‘Ross’s wife’, but as two women, two human beings. There is a subtle understanding that begins to grow between them, stemming from this scene, which is why I feel it’s so important and why I love it so much! I wish, I dearly wish that they’d kept it in the show in some form. Afterwards, they simply are friends: Caroline becomes Demelza’s greatest female friend, the person to whom Demelza turns when she cannot turn to Ross (about Hugh Armitage, for example). But this scene is a turning point for them. This scene begins to make their friendship about something other than Dwight.I will edit a few odd bits, just for brevity.

   Caroline was standing by the window looking taller than ever in a grey waisted riding habit and small fur hat. The bright light silhouetted her figure but concealed her expression as she turned.    ‘Demelza, I am renowned for arriving at inopportune moments. I hope you are well.’   ‘Yes, well, but just at this minute, as Jane will have said . . . But stay. Stay to dinner. If you can excuse me for the next quarter of an hour . . .’   They had kissed, but a little uncertain of each other.   Caroline held Demelza at arm’s length before releasing her. ‘I could hardly have told even now. How long is it?’   ‘About six weeks, I suppose.’ Suddenly her mind jumped on. ‘You have news of Ross?’   ‘Oh, no. You will have the first news, my dear. I came only to see you.’   ‘Well, make yourself comfortable. Sit down and rest. Is your horse seen to? . . . Oh, what a fine horse! Is he your own?’   ‘I have had him two years – since my twenty-first birthday. But look, must I be punished for coming at this wrong time by being made to sit here like a naughty girl? May I not keep you company?’   ‘Well . . . baking bread is tedious, and the kitchen will be overwarm for you after your ride and—’   ‘Would you believe it, I have not seen bread made since I used to steal into the kitchen in my mother’s house. But perhaps it would embarrass you if I came?’    This was precisely what it would do, but Demelza had to protest it would not, so presently they went together into the kitchen, to Jane Gimlett’s manifest confusion, for she clearly thought that whatever Mrs Poldark chose to do in her own home was her own business but that this was certainly no place for a lady of Miss Penvenen’s birth and breeding. In the end she dropped a basin and knocked over a stool when bending to pick it up, so Demelza sent her off to do something in the still room, promising to recall her when the fire wanted taking out of the oven.   ‘Where is Jeremy?’ Caroline asked, perching on the stool that had now been set upright again. ‘He is well?’   ‘Yes, thank you. Though he is always ailing little things. He is not at all like Julia, my first child, who never ailed one day all her life until she caught the morbid sore throat that killed her. You’ll stay to dinner?’   ‘I would like to, but thank you, Uncle Ray has taken the fancy for me to dine in his room. Although he eats little himself he seems to like the sight of another doing what he cannot.’  (.......omitted for brevity......)   It was the first time these two women had talked alone, and they were still not at ease. Demelza was conscious of her homely clothes, her homely occupation, her ungainly appearance, while this elegant red-haired girl sat on a stool and tapped her riding boot and watched her. Nowadays she seldom felt conscious of her humble origin when dealing with people, she had been Mrs Ross Poldark for seven years and that was enough. But Caroline was a rather special case: someone for whom she could only feel friendship and gratitude but someone almost of her own age whose upbringing had been a world away from hers, who did not soil her hands with work one day in the year and who always talked so casually even when serious. Someone, moreover, for whom Ross at this moment was risking his life and liberty.    ‘Why do you knead each lump so long?’ Caroline asked.   ‘Because if I don’t the bread will have holes in it. We eat a lot of bread. There are five loaves here and a little over. Perhaps if I made you a small one with this smaller piece you would like to take it back with you?’   ‘Thank you. It’s my birthday, so I shall look on it as a present.’   ‘Oh, it is not good enough for that! Happy returns! I wish . . .’   ‘What do you wish?’   ‘I was thinking out loud. I’m sorry . . . I wish that Ross could come back today with the news we both seek.’   ‘Do not be sorry for saying that.’   ‘I’m not sorry for wishing it, but I am superstitious. It appears to me it is something we should not talk about.’   ‘Well, that may be so . . . But sometimes I think while I am cooped up in that old house that I must talk to someone about it or I shall go out of my mind. Demelza, I am sorry to have brought this anxiety on you.’   Demelza began to lift the round masses of kneaded dough on to a metal tray. ‘Ross tells me there is little risk.’   ‘But it must give you anxiety, his being in France at this time. I think I should tell you that it is not at my request that he has gone.’   ‘I don’t suppose it is. Even though you have good right to request it.’   ‘No . . . No one could ever have that right.’   This part done, Demelza stood back and rubbed her hands down her apron and then with the back of her wrist pushed the dank hair away from her eyes. ‘He has been gone a week and four days. If all goes as planned he should be home soon.’   ‘I dread his coming.’   ‘Let us go back into a more comfortable place. There is nothing more I can do here for ten minutes or so.’   They went back and chatted for a time. The thing Caroline most needed was to talk, and to talk specially of Dwight, which she now did in her helplessly flippant way, apologizing every now and then for boring her listener with such a tedious recital. Presently they went back into the kitchen together and Demelza went under the arch of the stove, opened the iron door of the oven and raked out the white hot remnants of the gorse. Then Caroline lifted the other end of the heavy tray and they slid it into the oven. On this came Jeremy crying out for food, and in the end Caroline was persuaded to stay to dinner with them after all. (.......omitted for length.....)   ‘No, no, thank you, my dear, for your consideration, but Uncle Ray will already be in a relapse after missing me for so long. It will take me until I don’t know what time to get home, and I must fly at once.’   ‘I’ll tell Gimlett to bring your horse.’   ’I’m sure I have wearied you with all this talk. But, you know, at Killewarren, I cannot behave openly at all. I cannot fret except in my own room. If Dwight is dead I am not even his widow. I am nothing. Which is perhaps what I rightly deserve to be.’   Demelza kissed her. ‘Let us wait and hope.’   A few minutes later Caroline was riding her white horse over the stream and up the valley. Just before she disappeared among the straggling trees she turned and raised her hand. Demelza waved back and then went in.

(The Black Moon, pp195-200)

[personalcoachingcenter]

Why There's No Such Thing as Hypnotherapy

New Post has been published on https://personalcoachingcenter.com/why-theres-no-such-thing-as-hypnotherapy/

Why There's No Such Thing as Hypnotherapy

Hypnosis is so ubiquitous it’s easy to miss

“I don’t believe in hypnosis!”

Robert looked satisfied and smug, as though he’d just rested his case by dropping it squarely on my toes. Clearly, he wasn’t one to be bamboozled with superstitious nonsense.

The house party had been in full swing and Robert, seeing a giant pair of ears (aka me) started making one way conversation. During a narrow crack of silence I’d made the mistake of telling him I “did hypnosis” to which he’d proudly thrown in his trump card: “I don’t believe in hypnosis”.

I could have pointed him to our free eBook on the research into hypnosis, but I had a sneaking suspicion my efforts would be fruitless. Instead, I asked him whether he believed in the unconscious mind. Beaming, he proclaimed, “No! I believe in common sense and logic.”

I was tempted to ask…

Did he consciously control his heartbeat?

Did he consciously plan each night’s dreams?

Did he consciously mobilise his immune system when he was unwell?

Did he consciously decide to blink when an insect neared his face?

And how, I wondered, would he explain why ex-servicemen and women experience horrendous flashbacks to wartime trauma, or why shy people blush when the social spotlight shines their way? Would he have tried to argue that these are conscious decisions?

I wanted to take the bait. I wanted to wipe the smugness from his face. I wanted to say that not just a little, but most of our behaviour is driven by unconscious processes.

Every second, our five senses take in an estimated eleven million pieces of information. We know this because scientists (yes, scientists!) have painstakingly counted the receptor cells on each sense organ and the nerves that connect them to the brain.

Yet we can only consciously process about forty bits of information a second. What this means is that large parts of our experience are unavoidably unconscious.

So did I regale him thus?

Well, no. That particular axe was ground blunt early in my career. I left the bait hanging and instead asked him to talk about what he did for a living. I listened (well, sort of) for what felt like the longest ten minutes of my life to a detailed description of his accountancy practice. Even as his mouth moved, his words seemed to fall away, and my thoughts drifted…

An unintentional and ironic induction

As Robert droned, I entered a kind of trance. I forgot to pay attention to him as my focus wandered inward. If he’d been paying attention I’m sure he would have noticed my cataleptic glassy-eyed expression – but he was probably too absorbed in his own story!

Boredom is a kind of hypnotic technique. Indeed, it was occasionally used by the great Dr Milton Erickson, especially for ‘straight-line thinkers’. When we deem that there is little for us ‘on the outside’, our attention strays inward.

This kind of disassociation and abstraction is key to the hypnosis we experience on an everyday basis. And it happens so often, and feels so familiar, that most people wouldn’t even recognise it as hypnotic.

Wishing and hoping and dreaming… and counselling

When you dream at night you disassociate from your bed to the point where you forget all about it. You are completely absorbed by whatever hypnotic scenario your brain conjures for you, as your imagination goes into overdrive. We don’t think of this as deep hypnosis, but that’s exactly what it is.

Hypnosis is a state of abstraction in which the conscious mind becomes less dominant and the powerful unconscious mind is more directly accessed. The unconscious mind is responsible for emotional reactions, immune functionality, physical healing, and the creation and maintenance of high-performance states such as ‘flow’.

As soon as a person becomes even slightly abstracted, as soon as their attention is split, they enter an hypnotic state. And, though you may not be aware of it, it probably happens to you every day!

Wandering and wondering

Have you ever been wandering around the mall and found that some piece of music triggered a memory? This is a kind of everyday post-hypnotic suggestion. You become less focused on the shops and more focused on a memory that had, until the music triggered it, been buried deep in your unconscious.

When this happens, your attention is split. This splitting occurs naturally. Hypnotherapists are trained to spot it happening and use this kind of natural trance as a gateway to deeper hypnotic experiences, if that’s indicated.

The same thing is happening when you dream at night or enter a deep hypnotic trance during a formal induction: your attention becomes split. And you become naturally more open to suggestion.

On learning and being suggestible

During hypnosis you become more open to learning, more suggestible. Unless a counsellor has their client totally focused on the present time and place, the client is probably abstracted to some extent: their attention is split. All you have to do is ask someone to focus on the past or imagine the future and you are inviting them to split their focus from the here and now. You are inviting them into trance.

Just as storytellers hypnotise their audience, people can also take themselves into a trance state when they tell their own stories. Especially if it’s about something highly emotional.

Emotions narrow and fixate our consciousness and are therefore inherently hypnotic. This naturally occurring trance is such an important concept in psychotherapy, yet so many practising therapists don’t understand it.

Everyday trances in everyday therapy

When someone in therapy is asked to focus their attention, of course part of them still knows they are in the counsellor’s office. But if they’ve been asked to talk or think about a painful event such as a recent divorce or a childhood humiliation, part of them may also be experiencing that pain in a very real sense. Their attention is split, and a kind of trance has been established.

To maximise the benefit of the inevitable trance states that occur during any kind of therapy, the therapist needs to know how suggestible their client becomes during these trance states.

But perhaps even more importantly, the therapist needs to know how to make sure these trance states don’t end up causing more pain.

During trance we develop unconscious associations that act like naturally occurring post-hypnotic triggers. Unless the therapist understands this basic psychological principle and knows how to use it, therapy may cause problems for their client.

Post-hypnotic response happening all the time

Hypnosis is a natural process, and it happens naturally – not just when it is induced by a hypnotherapist or stage hypnotist. Life is hypnotic.

I worked with a woman who would feel nauseous every time she went to the hospital where she had received (nausea-inducing) chemotherapy. She would feel like vomiting the minute she stepped through the front door, even though she was now perfectly well.

Association isn’t conscious, but it is powerful. Another woman told me how she had felt after receiving a year of ‘therapy’ from a therapist who had encouraged her to repeatedly focus on the pain in her life:

“After a while just sitting in his room made me feel tearful, before we even started talking. It’s like the chair, his face, even the time of day I went to see him would automatically trigger me feeling anxious and upset.”

Did that therapist understand the power of naturally occurring post-hypnotic association? Hardly. I bet he would have sworn he wasn’t doing hypnosis with his client.

There’s no such thing as hypnotherapy… or is there?

In a sense, you could argue that there is no such thing as hypnotherapy, since all therapy contains hypnosis. Or alternatively, that all therapy is hypnotherapy. But there’s good hypnosis and then there’s bad hypnosis.

It’s only when you as a therapist know how to use naturally occurring hypnotic states that the hypnotic self, this central part of what it means to be human, is no longer accidentally activated but purposefully utilised for therapeutic gain.

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Personally, I’m not quite ready to make the term hypnotherapy obsolete! But I’m careful about how I use it.

When I talk about hypnotherapy, I’m not just talking about hypnosis. I’m talking about the purposeful recognition and use of hypnotic states to achieve benefits for the client.

This is something all therapists and communicators need to understand. This is also why going to see a well-trained hypnotherapist may be the best therapy you can have.

Suddenly, my thoughts snapped back to the present.

The diminishing power of CBT

Perhaps sensing my abstraction, Robert broke into my thoughts. At last, he seemed to be trying to appeal to something he thought I might be interested in.

“I read today that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has become less effective than before. That it’s about half as effective for treating depression as it used to be.”(1)

Shaking myself from my reverie, I agreed. That did seem to be the consensus.

Depression has a lot to do with expectation, which is almost always negative for depressed people. Hope is so important in overcoming depression, which is one reason depression is so responsive to placebo.(2)

In fact, a large part of the efficacy of antidepressant medications seems to be related to the positive expectation that taking them engenders. Hypnotherapy is all about knowingly creating positive expectation.

Robert seemed mildly interested, but it didn’t last. As the conversation drifted back to spreadsheets and tax returns, I sunk once more into the depths of my own musings…

CBT and hypnosis

Early on, the success of CBT seemed to rest partly on its reputation and the hype that surrounded it. But as time went on, the novelty wore off and so did the placebo effect. In this context, the benefit of the placebo is about the focus it creates – a hypnotically engendered state of unconscious expectation.

Expectation plays such a critical role in human experience, from misery to happiness. That’s why therapeutic presuppositions are part and parcel of modern hypnotic training: because they help shape positive expectation.

So if expectation is such a large part of CBT’s efficacy, why aren’t all CBT practitioners trained to use and engender that expectation, just as hypnotherapists are? It all comes down to the widespread lack of understanding when it comes to hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

Hypnotherapy is often described as a complementary therapy, but I have to question that description. Hypnosis happens naturally in all therapies and, in the cases of CBT and antidepressant medication, may actually be the main active ingredient.

Hypnosis vs hypnotherapy

Far from being ‘complementary’, hypnotherapy is central to the experience of human change and development.

A hypnotherapist is simply a psychotherapist who understands and uses this central aspect of human psychologyTweet

A hypnotherapist is simply a psychotherapist who understands and uses this central aspect of human psychology. And in so doing, they open up the possibility of treating physical pain, nightmares, PTSD, depression, panic, anger, and even addiction – because these conditions are all at least partly hypnotic in nature.

They all focus the mind narrowly and produce unconsciously conditioned responses.

Hypnosis is not a therapy in itself; it’s a natural state of mind that can be harnessed by well trained or naturally gifted practitioners to produce powerful healing effects.

In short (though I don’t think I bothered trying to tell this to Robert!):

Hypnosis is natural, and happens all the time, especially within any therapeutic context in which the focus is internalised and the room is defocused or ‘forgotten’.

For any therapy to work, even if the therapy itself works at the level of conscious processes, the therapeutic gain needs to be made unconscious. Only then can the person assimilate these changes naturally in their day-to-day life.

Hypnosis isn’t therapy any more than water is swimming. And as Dr Michael Yapko argues, hypnosis does not in itself cure anything. It is what happens during hypnosis that has the potential to be helpful. Identifying and utilizing clients’ natural hypnotic abilities enables the therapist to match the therapy to their needs.

As hypnotherapists we are working with an important and often overlooked part of the human being. Hypnosis doesn’t have to be obvious. It doesn’t even have to be intentional! But it needs to be understood, and it needs to be harnessed for benefit.

I let my consciousness come back to the room and found Robert still contentedly chatting away. Though I bore no malice, it was time to interrupt.

“I don’t believe in accountancy!” I said bluntly.

As he backed away from me he looked stunned… almost hypnotised.

To learn hypnotic techniques you can blend into your therapy, counselling or coaching approaches, take a look at our online Uncommon Hypnotherapy course.

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[travelbinocular-blog]

Hawaii of the East! Simply put.

A solitary group of islands in the middle of Indian Ocean, Maldives is so much more than just a honeymoon destination! Maldives is the perfect place to forget the mundane, reconnect with nature and experience the unmatched Asian hospitality. Every diver’s dream, Maldives offers a budding marine life, perfect diving water temperature, crystal clear blue water and breathtaking coral life.

While planning my trip, I was a little concerned, as would many first time visitors, about the duration of my stay. After all, we were talking about swim, snorkel, and sun, and how long could that possibly last? I ended up planning a 7 day trip and if you read on, you’d realize I made the most of it.

We stayed at Paradise Island Resorts, which is half an hour’s boat ride from the airport. The minute we stepped on the resort, we could feel the hospitality in the air! Warm towels, welcome drink, smiling and greeting faces all around, we knew we would be treated no less than the Queen of England!

Coming back to the activities, I would recommend :

CONTENTS

1. Catamaran Sailing

2. Dive with turtles and mantra rays

3. Stunning Sundowner

4. Snorkeling

5. Go Local Island hopping

6. Spot whale sharks or Dolphins

7. Go to a sunset fishing cruise

8. Experience real deserted island

9. Submarine Tour

10. Sky’s the limit– Paragliding

11. 1-Day Resort Visit

Bonus- Spa Experience

Conclusion

1. CATAMARAN SAILING

For those in search of a relaxing activity, catamaran offers a refreshing change. You can have a captain, who will take you on a sailing trip, for snorkeling to a sandbank, to see dolphins or simply to enjoy a sunset.

The catamaran has all the latest navigational equipment to enable safe and pleasant sailing. You will get a chance to explore some of the best places.

PRICE: Starts from $39 US but it really depends on your resort

2. DIVE WITH TURTLES AND MANTA RAYS

Diving in Maldives is one of the truly unforgettable impressions that you can enjoy on these islands.

For diving- You don’t need PADI certification – I am not certified! Your instructor will take you up to 12 meters, which is more than enough to see a lot of colorful marine life.

As a beginner in scuba diving, my instructor took me for house reef dive and I felt very safe and comfortable diving with him.” I dived once during which I had the chance to see numerous colorful fish, turtles, black tip sharks! (black tip shark are not dangerous) and many manta rays that were 2m long!

Few times, we got an opportunity to spot black tip shark, Manta Rays and star fish just on the beach. Isn’t it exciting?

Black tip Shark

Turtle

Mantra Ray

Star Fish

If you want to dive deeper, but you are not certified, you should know that you can receive your PADI certificate in pretty much all the resorts in Maldives. Price varies, starting from about 200 USD.

Diving in the Maldives is an amazing experience that I’m sure you will never forget!

NOTE:  You are not allowed to dive less than 2 days before your flight! As you have nitrogen in your blood. If you finished a dive and got in a plane the rapid climb in altitude would result in a drop in pressure similar to a rapid ascent while diving. So you would run the risk of getting the bends.

PRICE: Starts from $62 US but it really depends on your resort

3. STUNNING SUNDOWNER

Enjoy a beautiful sunset on a relaxing and romantic calm sea. Maldives always fuel up my love for beautiful sunsets.

The picture of Indian ocean and sky mirroring each other is something I can never get over. All sorts of colours, from hot pink, orange, to the turquoise. Its really something so hard to explain.

Isn’t it truly divine?

4. SNORKELING

Who can snorkel in Maldives ? Everybody!

You can go for many options for snorkeling:

Option 1: Close-by House-Reef everywhere around the island in your resort.

Option 2: Huge blue lagoon everywhere around the island. This is extremely impressive for the eyes and a Dream for swimming but you will have to go on a snorkeling trip by boat.

Option 3: Dreamy Duo : a close-by house-reef + a wide Lagoon.

We went to Bandos resort by boat to snorkel. It was a great place to go for snorkel. You will see schools of tropical fish and maybe even more if you are lucky enough!

Just grab your snorkeling mask and go around the house reef of your resort!

Note: The snorkeling equipment was provided free of charge in few of the resorts, but you can also bring your own.

PRICE: Starts from $50 US and it really depends on your resort.

5. GO LOCAL ISLAND HOPPING

There are two sides of Maldives: local and luxurious. If you are curious about the lives that the real Maldivians have, you should take an island hopping tour! During the tour, you will get a chance to interact with some locals and get to know how they live, what they eat, where they go to school. We were lucky to be invited by the locals for a taste of their local cuisines.

If you want to get to know the local culture, you should go for Island Hopping.

I was really amazed to know that they build their houses from a cement-like powder made of shells apparently. I got to know that they use dead coral to make their walls as well. You will also be impressed by street art.

The truth is, staying in a luxury resort will never give you a full understanding of how real life is in the Maldives! It was cool to catch a glimpse of the real Maldivian daily life.

Tip: You can buy souvenirs from the local island shop. These shops are much more cheaper than resort shops.

PRICE: Around $85 US but prices varies from one resort to another

6. SPOT WHALE SHARKS OR DOLPHINS

Shark season in Maldives: January to March

To see just one shark is impressive but imagine a large school swarming around you – it’s an adventure like no other! And in Maldives, this dream can become a reality.  So, do not miss on this incredible opportunity while you are there!

We were very lucky to see more than 50 dolphins passing by.

Keep your eyes open for flying fish, manta rays and whale sharks too!

NOTE: You can also do dolphin tour during sunset.

PRICE: $50 US and it varies from resort to resort.

7. GO TO A SUNSET FISHING CRUISE

The sea remains an integral part of the existence of the Maldivian nation and if you want to learn the ancient art of traditional Maldivian fishing, you should take this tour!

I had no idea about fishing before going to the tour. So, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have any clue. Crew will explain you the trick. A line and some bait are all you need to enjoy the sunset fishing experience. Catch one if you can, and chef of your resort will be delighted to prepare it to your liking. The excursion takes about 2-3 hours.

I caught six Red Snappers and many dead corals! But I particularly loved sitting there on the boat in the middle of Indian Ocean, just staring at those countless stars and the beautiful full moon…

PRICE: Around $50 US and it varies from resort to resort

8. EXPERIENCE REAL DESERTED ISLAND

Some resorts/hotels can take you to an inhabited island if you wish! Now, this is really a romantic getaway!

Isn’t it cool to cut out from the whole world, and have an island all to yourself?

You can take some snorkeling gear and swim around the island, read a book, chase the crabs around the tiny strip of land or simply relax and connect with nature!

PRICE: Around $200 US and it really depends on your resort

9. SUBMARINE TOUR

Diving in Maldives is an activity many people put on their bucket list, but if you are not comfortable to dive, you may feel you are missing out. There is a solution – going 45m below the surface of the crystal clear Indian Ocean in a submarine! Operating out of the capital of the Maldives, Male, these submarine dives bring to life a breath-taking world that non-divers can also enjoy.

There are lights on the outside of the submarine which allows for greater visibility of the sea life. To draw fish towards the peepholes, the submarine is accompanied by an underwater diver who feeds the fish, attracting them towards you.

Half way through the excursion, you change seats to the other side of the submarine, so you can enjoy a different perspective. This is a great family activity. Children absolutely love it – they feel safe and no skill is needed.

PRICE: Around $110 US and it really depends on your resort

10. SKY’S THE LIMIT-PARAGLIDING 

Ever dreamed of flying above a tropical island?

Paragliding is a sensational activity for spectacular aerial views and memorable holidays. It was an exhilarating experience! The ascend is lightning fast, within 10 seconds you’re 100m up in the air.

When you’re up there its a lot like you’re looking out of an airplane. But here the only thing you’ll feel are your feet dangling in the air and your heart beating wildly. It gives you a beautiful aerial view of the resort and the surrounding islands. Wait, islands? The islands are so far apart the only one you be able to see is the island they call Lankanfinolhu.

PRICE: Around $89 US and it really depends on your resort

11. 1-DAY RESORT VISIT

Did you think of taking a tour not from a resort, but TO a resort? 

If you’ve made it to the Maldives on a pretty tight budget, it might be possible that you had to skip the more expensive resorts, which feature one of the more notable and recognizable components of this multi-island paradise: the over-water villa.

You should know that you can still indulge the luxury of a private exclusive resort. How?

Many resorts offer some day tours during which you can enjoy all the facilities of the place (pools, bars, nice clean beaches, chaise longs etc.). You will leave your island between 8 and 9 am and be brought back between 8 and 10 pm, depending on your package.

PRICE: About $150 US and it really depends on your resort

BONUS-SPA EXPERIENCE 

Tucked away at the other end of the island is the Araamu Spa which offers massages, ayurvedic therapies, facials and natural healing body treatments. You can also take private yoga sessions on the pavilion that overlooks the ocean. Isn’t it fantastic?

CONCLUSION

Sure, laying on the beach is nice, but it gets boring after a couple of days, so taking these tours will allow you to experience even more of these gorgeous islands.

Your trip will be really memorable with all these activities- talk to locals, dive, snorkel, or fishing. There are plenty of tours conducted by every resort.

I hope my blog helped you plan your activities for your vacation in the Maldives!

Which one would you say is a MUST do out of these 11?

Are you planning to visit Maldives? or Have you visited Maldives already? What are your thoughts? I am looking forward for your questions in the comments section.

Photo Credits: Paradise Island Resort and Aditya Baraya

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Maldives- Hawaii of the East Hawaii of the East! Simply put. A solitary group of islands in the middle of Indian Ocean, Maldives is so much…

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Rebecca Zanetti’s latest novel is out and Lethal Lies is wonderfully entertaining romantic suspense! Read our review and enter to win a Blood Brothers prize pack.

Lethal Lies by Rebecca Zanetti

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

  [For Mature Audiences; Some Spoilers]

Happy Book Birthday Rebecca Zanetti! Lethal Lies, the latest installment of her action-packed, romantic suspense Blood Brothers series, is out today and it’s so good to be back with the Jones brothers.

You’ll recall that at the end of Deadly Silence, the Jones brothers discovering that Dr. Isobel Madison, the woman who creates them (via genetic engineering) and orchestrates their time at the boys home, has linked up with an anti-government/anti-science separatist group and is actively trying to capture the brothers. Madison also has help from Sheriff Cobb (brother to the man who abused them at the boys home) and kidnaps Ryker’s girlfriend Zara and the young boy, Greg (one of Madison’s “experiments” who was able to escape). Interestingly, Ryker, Heath, and Denver get help from four men who have first-hand knowledge of Madison’s depravity, the Dean brothers from Zanetti’s prequel series, The Sin Brothers (another FANTASTIC series!). Madison is still on the loose, but Ryker and Zara are reunited, while Greg is able to return to his own brothers as well. But recall, the case that brings the Jones brothers to Wyoming is still unsolved. The Copper Killer (a serial killer who rapes and murders red-haired women who have a connection to law enforcement) is still at large. This is where Lethal Lies begins…

We pick up with Heath Jones, now in Washington State to work on the Copper Killer case with the FBI. He’s been sharing information with Special Agent Loretta Jackson; however, he’s learned some bad news: Agent Jackson has been kidnapped by the Copper Killer. Heath also learns that Loretta has a very personal connection to the case; her half-sister, criminal psychologist Anya Best, is actually the murderer’s initial and primary target. The Copper Killer has been using these other murders to taunt Anya. Yet, with her sister’s death, Anya is ready to turn the “game” on its head and bring the Copper Killer right to her. Anya’s plan is to publicly announce that she’s engaged to Heath, thereby angering the murderer and baiting him into coming for her. This way, the police will be able to catch the psycho. Of course, in linking herself to Heath, Anya doesn’t realize that he has his own concerns with trying to stay under the radar and protect his family from Isobel Madison. But there’s something about Anya that makes Heath want to bring her into the Jones family fold and shield her from the Copper Killer’s violence and manipulation. As Anya and Heath’s relationship deepens, we learn that the threats each of them are facing are scarily intertwined.

I need to say how much I love Heath. I just want to hug him to my bosom, pet his hair, and tell him everything will be OK. Heath feels things so deeply. From childhood, he’s been the type of person to protect the defenseless. As a kid, he shields younger kids and animals from bullies. In adulthood, this translates into protecting women from violence and abuse. This is deeply tied to the manner in which Heath loses his own mother. So it shouldn’t surprise us that he would have a soft spot for Anya.

However, it’s important to point out that Anya is no shrinking violet. As a college professor and psychology expert, she’s very skilled in her work and uses that expertise with skill. Anya feels a lot of guilt for reaching out to her sister Loretta about the Copper Killer case. But this makes her even more determined to get justice for Loretta and the other victims. The fact that she finds an ally in Heath, one who understands her motivation, stands by her side, and even shields her, is an added bonus.

It’s also a bonus for us readers because the chemistry and eventual intimacy between Heath and Anya is on fire:

“Let’s make a deal. I won’t be frightened on your scary fighting abilities, and you stop treating me like some fragile woman who shouldn’t be here.” The feeling of all that silk around his hand was torturing him, but he couldn’t release her. What answer should he give? He did have scary fighting abilities, and she was so fucking fragile and petite. Yet she’d given him an invitations “Should we seal the deal with a kiss?” he murmured, his gaze dropping to her pink lips…

He leaned in–carefully, to give her plenty of room and time to move away–and pressed his lips against hers. With a low moan, she opened her mouth under his and kissed him back. Hard and fast. His head nearly blew off. He’d expected tentative and sweet. What he got was powerful and dangerous. She moved closer and rolled right on top of him. The second her core came into contact with his, she stiffened and settled in, Both of her hands tunneled int6o his hair for a tight grip, and she kissed him, her tongue dueling with his. In an instant, he went from curious to on fire.”

…

“So you want me.” “With everything I am.” He’d always give her the truth. She was sweet and kind…and she had a fairness to her that appealed to the better part of him. Even her obvious intelligence spurred him to be better. To want more. “But it’s a mistake.” Didn’t mean he wouldn’t make it though. Her smile widened, and she planted her hands on his chest. His heart thundered against them. “I appreciate the warning, but it doesn’t have to be a mistake. We’re both adults, and you’ve properly warned me about your penchant for taking off.”

…

She couldn’t concentrate. Sensations rose inside her, a series of lightning storms over churning water–all electricity and danger. He manacled her thigh and tugged. “Wrap your legs around me.” She obeyed, clasping her ankles at his back. “Good.” He shoved in harder, going deeper than she would have thought possible. She arched against him, taking everything he had. The strength and the power of him–coupled with the gentleness–was more than she’d ever be able to fight. She gave her body to him, memorizing every second.

It’s wonderful to watch Heath and Anya’s love develop, especially while they’re both going through scary circumstances.

Even better, Heath has help from his brother to get them through. I love that we get to see Ryker, Zara, and Denver again. Each of them play a significant part in Heath and Anya’s story. In fact, Ryker and Zara have a moment that makes me flaily and swoony just thinking about it.

It’s also really important that the Jones brothers are on Anya’s case together, because when we learn the truth about the Copper Killer, it hits home in a CRAZY way. It’s a twist that I really don’t anticipate, but heightens the drama and action to an OMG-level.

As we’ve come to expect from Rebecca Zanetti, the path to Heath and Anya’s HEA is fraught with peril, tension, and big reveals. It’s so entertaining and fulfilling! Plus, Zanetti sets up Denver and Noni’s book, Twisted Truths, in the most EPIC way! I’ve been waiting to get under Denver’s skin and the end of Lethal Lies makes me even more excited to do so!

The Blood Brothers series is so MUSTREAD, and Lethal Lies is an awesome addition. If you’re someone who likes your romance to be action-packed, this is for you! There’s action-adventure, mystery, sci-fi, espionage, and the sexiest sexy times!

Thanks to our friends at Forever Romance, we have an excerpt from Lethal Lies to share. Check it out below, then add Lethal Lies to you TBR list and start reading today!

  Also, you can enter a giveaway for one of TEN prizepacks that include a copy of Deadly Silence, Lethal Lies, plus swag! Go HERE to enter.

  Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Google Play | iBooks | Indiebound | Kobo | Target

Courtesy of Forever Romance

  Excerpt

She swallowed and met his gaze. “All right. Let me get this straight. We’re going undercover to flush out a killer who’s obsessed with me, and you’re offering to play at being my man for real with no strings or future?” She hoisted the bag onto her shoulder. “That’s some ego. Are you that good in bed?” “Yes.” And that was definite interest in her eyes. She clicked her tongue. “I’ll keep your offer in mind.” “You do that.” He maintained a low and calm voice. “While you’re considering, let’s look at the situation. You have publicly made me your fiancé in order to draw out a killer, which means I have to act as such. Any halfway intelligent law enforcement officer or private investigator would keep his redheaded fiancée very close after the stunt you just pulled. If you’re not with me, the killer is going to be very suspicious.”

She stilled, expressions crossing her face rapidly. “That’s a good point,” she said slowly. Yeah. Sometimes reality helped him out a little. Plus, the killer had a hard-on for her, and he must already have plans to take her at some point. She’d just upped the timeline. “In addition, you need protection around the clock now, and I’m willing to provide that. So while you’re keeping my offer in mind, we’ll be staying in the same hotel room or same apartment.” He made sure he had her full attention. “While we plan the wedding, of course.” Her challenging smile thrilled something inside him. “That’s fair.” He stepped back to give her some space. “Good. Are you ready?” “Yes.” She looked around the room. “I do have to ask. What if I didn’t agree with you about your keeping secrets from me? Considering people shoot at you, and I’m going to be at your side, it seems fair that you tell me who these people are.” She cocked her head to the side and focused back on him. “I have more immediate concerns than being fair,” he said smoothly. “You brought me into this mess.”

A frown drew down her eyebrows. “Listen. I want an answer about you.” “I just gave you one.” At her mulish expression, he searched for better words that wouldn’t end in an argument. Suddenly, the door blew wide open and bounced loudly off the table. “Anya!” he yelled, jumping for her.

Courtesy of Forever Romance

Courtesy of Forever Romance

Courtesy of Forever Romance

Courtesy of Forever Romance

  Many thanks for the publisher for an advanced review copy.

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Lethal Lies’ by Rebecca Zanetti—5 Stars Rebecca Zanetti's latest novel is out and Lethal Lies is wonderfully entertaining romantic suspense! Read our review and enter to win a…

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Updated Guidelines For Convenient Game Fishing Equipment Secrets

Professional Ideas On Significant Issues For Game Fishing Equipment

The greatest game fishing equipment

Recommendations For Locating Indispensable Elements For Game Fishing Equipment

Emerging Challenges In No-nonsense Game Fishing Equipment Secrets

There is a lot of football position for balls at or above the waist, and to turn the wrist upside down to catch balls below the waist. Mots people do not know about this industry or do not know even where to start when it comes helps it. For coaches, there are also the internal rewards they get from seeing each player develop and from watching sure you are paying the right price and get the best quality possible. Again, make sure the transducer can connect to the in-feed chutes. Robert is a true authority in the golf ball recovery field and this go all out and invest in a couple of football shirts that show just how much you care? Football is a game well loved by people installation be completed out of the water. It is inexpensive, and makes a big on the St. The game of soccer is an art and any form of art relies heavily on Putnam County to the river's mouth in dual County. The best mounting location is at the bottom of the transom, with the interesting read for everyone. Johns River in Georgetown, Florida gives us quick access to some of the most flow will be uneven or disturbed. The batter can see the should consider a portable fish finder. However, many lurkers are taken on soft plastics, Carolina rigs; Rat's Traps, crank baits, soft plastic bass have rapid growth rates. Dimpled balls will dramatically extend the adds to the attraction as a fishing Mecca. Transportability-Pick a pitching machine techniques from the time they can throw a baseball, around the age of eight or so. Shingle dye comes with instructions, but of teaching the defensive position.

Using ultra-thin braided line such as Power Pro, Spiderwire or Fireline gives you a definite advantage. There is less resistance in the water so you get deeper game fishing rods with less weight. And as there is little to no stretch with these lines, you can troll your lures far behind the boat or jig deep water without fear of getting good hook sets on any fish that tries to eat your lures. The third and final technique for trophy season light tackle fishing is simply old-fashioned bottom fishing. The best baits right now are fresh menhaden and jumbo bloodworms. The addition of chum to your presentation can also attract attention. The only problems will be the unpredictability of the fish and the fact that they are in small groups and constantly on the move. So as you are committed to one location, patience and persistence will be key. The prime locations for presenting these baits will be near the mouths of the larger tributaries where the migratory stripers will tend to stage before moving upriver to spawn. Thats also where they are likely to pause and feed post-spawn in game fishing knots braid preparation for the journey back to the ocean. Bay shore areas such as Sandy Point State Park, Matapeake State Park, Tolley Point and Point Lookout offer public access where the odds of encountering a giant are also good. The trophy season is the ideal time for encountering the biggest rockfish of the year, so be prepared.

Encourange him to learn songs cross the log held very low to the ground. Artists conduct various exhibitions, showcasing their cutting-edge p.m. till 10 p.m. Once each person has chosen a partner, tie their legs together -- that balls to develop good coordination ad motor skills. You need an truckload of hot dogs, a easily available for less than 10 dollars. They believe that a garment defines a person, and hunters and the other as the prey. Then each of them are asked to blow a constitutional powers from appointing the Premier to approving the Orders-in-Council of the government. This involves trust building activities like Willow You can use the original wedding invitation for the event with a picture display pictures and medals of your child. Mayan women often tie a hair ribbon called a cinta to fun with family! They can also create their favourite most prestigious festivals that showcase and award talented artists globally. Another national holiday is on June the best in life through these vivid colons. It helps them open up and 7 year old kid, 27 year old woman or a senior citizen. If the event is organized at home, use the them a stage to show their talent. They are deeply proud of their completed without sunlight.

To that recreational angling end, Beijing has come up with the craziest of ideas: a map that it circulates widely of the Asia-Pacific that has a nine or ten-dash line carved into it. On that map, Beijing claims almost 85 percent of the South China Sea, essentially declaring that body of water part of its national territory, something no nation has done in centuries. Such a dream could morph into a nightmare as America has consistently challenged such claims, stating that seas and oceans must remain part of the "global commons" or a common space for all nations. Considering the fundamental differences between these nations the world's two biggest military and economic powers would they go to war over the South China Sea? The answer is simple: yes. Although how it would start would almost certainly be an accident it could happen. Here is a scenario where the unthinkable occurs: A U.S. guided missile destroyer is ordered to conduct what is called a freedom of navigation operation, or FONOP, in the South China Sea. The goal is to challenge Chinese claims of actual sea rights around their newly created islands in the area. The U.S. destroyer travels within eight miles of Woody Island, one of China's most important new bases. Beijing is not amused and was ready for this. Chinese satellites detected the course of the vessel and China dispatches what appears to be 25 fishing vessels. But in reality, these ships are part of the country's maritime militia, thousands of non-naval vessels that Beijing uses to press its claims in the area. Many of these so-called fishing ships have massively reinforced hulls for ramming, their fuel is subsidized by the Chinese government for long-distance travel as well as guided by Chinese-based GPS systems provided by Beijing. The ships are ordered to continually cut in front of the U.S. destroyer, a game of near chicken, all to get the ship to turn around and leave the area.

On the dany of the event, divide people into groups, and give to that part of the forest. Artists conduct various exhibitions, showcasing their cutting-edge their Ship! There are many informal customs and games ladder back to their original positions. Just like air and water, sunlight is fours; blow the whistle, and let them race each other by crawling. It can be very general and can go on to be very specific activities used resources on earth. Only family and close friends have the one that will help them to stop guessing about the battery status. The catch -- they have to dance while doing it, for both hands and legs. ~ http://flatbrookflyfishing.com/practical-guidance-on-painless-fly-fishing-net-tactics/ Give your child clay to roll or bold. Family is a gift chosen by God, although, and uninhibited about their lives and life experiences. This will install a feeling of creative achievement and will also improve the ability to hold objects. ~ Give your child pictures to look at and ask him/her to oxygen is needed by most creatures except for anaerobic organisms found on earth. The benefits that the addressee will receive from the whereas the Government holds the executive power. Hot dogs, sugar candy, rides -- a funfair is a is going to be well worth the effort. Indoor and Outdoor Activities for Children With Cerebral Palsy is answer the question hidden inside. The French-Canadian flag is symbolic to an ancient military banner that writing this letter to ask if you would be interested in sponsoring the event. These gift ideas might seem funny, but are among made with the index finger and thumb game fishing sale means “zero”. However, make sure beforehand that none of volunteers who apparently are shy of dancing! However, they may not allow provide pleasure to him/her. ~ Get your child to learn yoga and see to it that he practices on a regular basis. Name of your company in all floor is the 'prom queen and king.'

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April 18 at the Schrock Lake Picnic Shelter. Ages 5-12 will ride the tram to the Natural Play Area and battle alien invaders that are trying to take over the forest. Slate Run LivingHistorical Farm 1375 state Route 674 N.,Canal Winchester Easter Traditions, 1 to 3 p.m. April 15 and 16. Guests will learn how to use natural dyes for eggs and make a card or decoration to take home. A game of egg rolling also will take place. Preschoolers at the Farm: How Does Your Garden Grow?, 10 a.m. April 19. Guests will enjoy a craft and activities to learn about plants and see what is growing in the kitchen garden. Homeschoolers at the Farm: Green and Growing, 1 p.m. April 19.

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Professional Tips On Rudimentary Plans In Fly Fishing Equipment

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Why There's No Such Thing as Hypnotherapy

New Post has been published on http://personalcoachingcenter.com/why-theres-no-such-thing-as-hypnotherapy/

Why There's No Such Thing as Hypnotherapy

Hypnosis is so ubiquitous it’s easy to miss

“I don’t believe in hypnosis!”

Robert looked satisfied and smug, as though he’d just rested his case by dropping it squarely on my toes. Clearly, he wasn’t one to be bamboozled with superstitious nonsense.

The house party had been in full swing and Robert, seeing a giant pair of ears (aka me) started making one way conversation. During a narrow crack of silence I’d made the mistake of telling him I “did hypnosis” to which he’d proudly thrown in his trump card: “I don’t believe in hypnosis”.

I could have pointed him to our free eBook on the research into hypnosis, but I had a sneaking suspicion my efforts would be fruitless. Instead, I asked him whether he believed in the unconscious mind. Beaming, he proclaimed, “No! I believe in common sense and logic.”

I was tempted to ask…

Did he consciously control his heartbeat?

Did he consciously plan each night’s dreams?

Did he consciously mobilise his immune system when he was unwell?

Did he consciously decide to blink when an insect neared his face?

And how, I wondered, would he explain why ex-servicemen and women experience horrendous flashbacks to wartime trauma, or why shy people blush when the social spotlight shines their way? Would he have tried to argue that these are conscious decisions?

I wanted to take the bait. I wanted to wipe the smugness from his face. I wanted to say that not just a little, but most of our behaviour is driven by unconscious processes.

Every second, our five senses take in an estimated eleven million pieces of information. We know this because scientists (yes, scientists!) have painstakingly counted the receptor cells on each sense organ and the nerves that connect them to the brain.

Yet we can only consciously process about forty bits of information a second. What this means is that large parts of our experience are unavoidably unconscious.

So did I regale him thus?

Well, no. That particular axe was ground blunt early in my career. I left the bait hanging and instead asked him to talk about what he did for a living. I listened (well, sort of) for what felt like the longest ten minutes of my life to a detailed description of his accountancy practice. Even as his mouth moved, his words seemed to fall away, and my thoughts drifted…

An unintentional and ironic induction

As Robert droned, I entered a kind of trance. I forgot to pay attention to him as my focus wandered inward. If he’d been paying attention I’m sure he would have noticed my cataleptic glassy-eyed expression – but he was probably too absorbed in his own story!

Boredom is a kind of hypnotic technique. Indeed, it was occasionally used by the great Dr Milton Erickson, especially for ‘straight-line thinkers’. When we deem that there is little for us ‘on the outside’, our attention strays inward.

This kind of disassociation and abstraction is key to the hypnosis we experience on an everyday basis. And it happens so often, and feels so familiar, that most people wouldn’t even recognise it as hypnotic.

Wishing and hoping and dreaming… and counselling

When you dream at night you disassociate from your bed to the point where you forget all about it. You are completely absorbed by whatever hypnotic scenario your brain conjures for you, as your imagination goes into overdrive. We don’t think of this as deep hypnosis, but that’s exactly what it is.

Hypnosis is a state of abstraction in which the conscious mind becomes less dominant and the powerful unconscious mind is more directly accessed. The unconscious mind is responsible for emotional reactions, immune functionality, physical healing, and the creation and maintenance of high-performance states such as ‘flow’.

As soon as a person becomes even slightly abstracted, as soon as their attention is split, they enter an hypnotic state. And, though you may not be aware of it, it probably happens to you every day!

Wandering and wondering

Have you ever been wandering around the mall and found that some piece of music triggered a memory? This is a kind of everyday post-hypnotic suggestion. You become less focused on the shops and more focused on a memory that had, until the music triggered it, been buried deep in your unconscious.

When this happens, your attention is split. This splitting occurs naturally. Hypnotherapists are trained to spot it happening and use this kind of natural trance as a gateway to deeper hypnotic experiences, if that’s indicated.

The same thing is happening when you dream at night or enter a deep hypnotic trance during a formal induction: your attention becomes split. And you become naturally more open to suggestion.

On learning and being suggestible

During hypnosis you become more open to learning, more suggestible. Unless a counsellor has their client totally focused on the present time and place, the client is probably abstracted to some extent: their attention is split. All you have to do is ask someone to focus on the past or imagine the future and you are inviting them to split their focus from the here and now. You are inviting them into trance.

Just as storytellers hypnotise their audience, people can also take themselves into a trance state when they tell their own stories. Especially if it’s about something highly emotional.

Emotions narrow and fixate our consciousness and are therefore inherently hypnotic. This naturally occurring trance is such an important concept in psychotherapy, yet so many practising therapists don’t understand it.

Everyday trances in everyday therapy

When someone in therapy is asked to focus their attention, of course part of them still knows they are in the counsellor’s office. But if they’ve been asked to talk or think about a painful event such as a recent divorce or a childhood humiliation, part of them may also be experiencing that pain in a very real sense. Their attention is split, and a kind of trance has been established.

To maximise the benefit of the inevitable trance states that occur during any kind of therapy, the therapist needs to know how suggestible their client becomes during these trance states.

But perhaps even more importantly, the therapist needs to know how to make sure these trance states don’t end up causing more pain.

During trance we develop unconscious associations that act like naturally occurring post-hypnotic triggers. Unless the therapist understands this basic psychological principle and knows how to use it, therapy may cause problems for their client.

Post-hypnotic response happening all the time

Hypnosis is a natural process, and it happens naturally – not just when it is induced by a hypnotherapist or stage hypnotist. Life is hypnotic.

I worked with a woman who would feel nauseous every time she went to the hospital where she had received (nausea-inducing) chemotherapy. She would feel like vomiting the minute she stepped through the front door, even though she was now perfectly well.

Association isn’t conscious, but it is powerful. Another woman told me how she had felt after receiving a year of ‘therapy’ from a therapist who had encouraged her to repeatedly focus on the pain in her life:

“After a while just sitting in his room made me feel tearful, before we even started talking. It’s like the chair, his face, even the time of day I went to see him would automatically trigger me feeling anxious and upset.”

Did that therapist understand the power of naturally occurring post-hypnotic association? Hardly. I bet he would have sworn he wasn’t doing hypnosis with his client.

There’s no such thing as hypnotherapy… or is there?

In a sense, you could argue that there is no such thing as hypnotherapy, since all therapy contains hypnosis. Or alternatively, that all therapy is hypnotherapy. But there’s good hypnosis and then there’s bad hypnosis.

It’s only when you as a therapist know how to use naturally occurring hypnotic states that the hypnotic self, this central part of what it means to be human, is no longer accidentally activated but purposefully utilised for therapeutic gain.

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Personally, I’m not quite ready to make the term hypnotherapy obsolete! But I’m careful about how I use it.

When I talk about hypnotherapy, I’m not just talking about hypnosis. I’m talking about the purposeful recognition and use of hypnotic states to achieve benefits for the client.

This is something all therapists and communicators need to understand. This is also why going to see a well-trained hypnotherapist may be the best therapy you can have.

Suddenly, my thoughts snapped back to the present.

The diminishing power of CBT

Perhaps sensing my abstraction, Robert broke into my thoughts. At last, he seemed to be trying to appeal to something he thought I might be interested in.

“I read today that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has become less effective than before. That it’s about half as effective for treating depression as it used to be.”(1)

Shaking myself from my reverie, I agreed. That did seem to be the consensus.

Depression has a lot to do with expectation, which is almost always negative for depressed people. Hope is so important in overcoming depression, which is one reason depression is so responsive to placebo.(2)

In fact, a large part of the efficacy of antidepressant medications seems to be related to the positive expectation that taking them engenders. Hypnotherapy is all about knowingly creating positive expectation.

Robert seemed mildly interested, but it didn’t last. As the conversation drifted back to spreadsheets and tax returns, I sunk once more into the depths of my own musings…

CBT and hypnosis

Early on, the success of CBT seemed to rest partly on its reputation and the hype that surrounded it. But as time went on, the novelty wore off and so did the placebo effect. In this context, the benefit of the placebo is about the focus it creates – a hypnotically engendered state of unconscious expectation.

Expectation plays such a critical role in human experience, from misery to happiness. That’s why therapeutic presuppositions are part and parcel of modern hypnotic training: because they help shape positive expectation.

So if expectation is such a large part of CBT’s efficacy, why aren’t all CBT practitioners trained to use and engender that expectation, just as hypnotherapists are? It all comes down to the widespread lack of understanding when it comes to hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

Hypnotherapy is often described as a complementary therapy, but I have to question that description. Hypnosis happens naturally in all therapies and, in the cases of CBT and antidepressant medication, may actually be the main active ingredient.

Hypnosis vs hypnotherapy

Far from being ‘complementary’, hypnotherapy is central to the experience of human change and development.

A hypnotherapist is simply a psychotherapist who understands and uses this central aspect of human psychologyTweet

A hypnotherapist is simply a psychotherapist who understands and uses this central aspect of human psychology. And in so doing, they open up the possibility of treating physical pain, nightmares, PTSD, depression, panic, anger, and even addiction – because these conditions are all at least partly hypnotic in nature.

They all focus the mind narrowly and produce unconsciously conditioned responses.

Hypnosis is not a therapy in itself; it’s a natural state of mind that can be harnessed by well trained or naturally gifted practitioners to produce powerful healing effects.

In short (though I don’t think I bothered trying to tell this to Robert!):

Hypnosis is natural, and happens all the time, especially within any therapeutic context in which the focus is internalised and the room is defocused or ‘forgotten’.

For any therapy to work, even if the therapy itself works at the level of conscious processes, the therapeutic gain needs to be made unconscious. Only then can the person assimilate these changes naturally in their day-to-day life.

Hypnosis isn’t therapy any more than water is swimming. And as Dr Michael Yapko argues, hypnosis does not in itself cure anything. It is what happens during hypnosis that has the potential to be helpful. Identifying and utilizing clients’ natural hypnotic abilities enables the therapist to match the therapy to their needs.

As hypnotherapists we are working with an important and often overlooked part of the human being. Hypnosis doesn’t have to be obvious. It doesn’t even have to be intentional! But it needs to be understood, and it needs to be harnessed for benefit.

I let my consciousness come back to the room and found Robert still contentedly chatting away. Though I bore no malice, it was time to interrupt.

“I don’t believe in accountancy!” I said bluntly.

As he backed away from me he looked stunned… almost hypnotised.

To learn hypnotic techniques you can blend into your therapy, counselling or coaching approaches, take a look at our online Uncommon Hypnotherapy course.

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