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danganronpa-abandoned-hope · 1 year ago

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Danganronpa: Abandoned Hope Episode One Script

here's the script for the first episode, as promised! check under the readmore :3. Do remember that it's still a "rough draft", so there may still be some typos and unintentional grammar mistakes. please be constructive with any criticism.

Episode 1, February 13th

Mysterious voice: good morning, sir. We’re very appreciative that you’ve come to talk with us today. We understand that you likely have a very poor opinion of us, but rest assured we have no intention of harming you or your friends. W- No, won’t hurt the young lady here either. We just need your account of the events that took place. Yes we’ll be interviewing her too, so your honesty is of the utmost importance. The sources we have are flawed, some clarity is all we ask. You can provide this, can’t you?

????:: …. I… suppose ….

Mysterious voice: splendid! Could you introduce yourself before giving your account? for the record of course.

????: …. My name is Adaleus Valker. I attended the academy under the talent of “ultimate waltzer”. My talent encompassed everything from organizing events, hosting parties, and of course actually dancing. Admittedly I feel more pride in the hosting part of my talent rather than the dancing part, however the school was looking for a dancer, not a host. The talent program for my year sought to implement pairs with similar talents. I was a last minute addition; the person who originally held my talent couldn’t attend.

Adaleus, flashback: I still remember the day before it all started. February 13th. We were snowed in so classes were canceled. That was good news to me, I never liked waking up early. Although this morning I stayed in a little too long

???: *sounds of knocking* Adaleus you in there? It’s noon, wake up!

Adaleus, present: oH SHI *answers door* good morning Mrs Sasaki

Narration: Nozumi Sasaki, the well respected headmaster of this academy. Back in her day she was the ultimate linguist. She’s very good at her job, both as a translator and a headmaster, but unfortunately that means she’s overbearing as hell sometimes.

Sasaki: … Good afternoon. Adaleus I know school isn’t in session today but could you at least wake up at a decent time?

Adaleus: ah… that’s my bad

Sasaki: just try to get to bed at a decent time tonight, wouldn’t want you to be groggy tomorrow

Narration: And with that she walked off

Adaleus: geez, if I knew I’d get reprimanded like this I would’ve opted out of staying in the dorms

Narration: We were given the option if we wanted to stay in the dorms or not, most students opted out since it’s quite the trek down to the village, leaving only the ultimate class and the headmaster as the only people in the school dorms.

Eun: Hey you, you’re finally awake. I was looking for Sammie so we could get some lunch, wanna join?

Narration: that’s Eun Kocur, ultimate animal trainer. She specializes in birds and is currently keeping chickens and pigeons. We’re pretty good friends. Last month she dragged me along to a bird show her pigeons were competing in. They all won, of course. It would be weird if they didn’t.

Adaleus: yeah sure, food sounds good.

Narration: we walked over to Sammie’s shared lab, passing some fellow students along the way

Eun: oh hey Umeko what’s up?

Umeko: oh hey Eun! Not much, how about you?

Narration: Umeko Ongaku, ultimate Chorist. She used to be so quiet that it was startling to hear her speak, let alone sing. Especially since she has such a deep voice. Sometimes I’d play the accompanying track for her choir if the usual accompanist couldn’t.

Benjiro: oh? who's there?

Narration: And that’s Benjiro Sasaki, ultimate instructor. One time he mentioned how he was originally going to be a teacher, but disliked small children so much he decided to go into lecturing instead. He really dislikes being singled out due to his blindness, and well kids aren’t necessarily known for their tact. His service’s dog is named Mina. Sometimes we joke about how she’s more sociable than he is.

Eun: it’s just me and Adaleus, we’re getting lunch

Benjiro: Oh that makes sense, it’s like 12:10 right?

Adaleus: *i checked the clock on the wall* That's actually accurate. How did you do that?

Benjiro: I got a new watch

Adaleus: what? But I thought you were bli-

Umeko: it’s specifically for blind people, dumbass. The face of the watch has raised markers so that you can feel the time

Adaleus: *takes a closer look* oh that’s neat! Did you get it for him?

Umeko: yep! It was supposed to be for Christmas but it came in late. Man I’m such a bad girlf-

Eun: shhh shut up Mrs. Sasaki’s coming

Umeko: Eep!

Narration: an air of awkward silence befell us as Mrs Sasaki walked by

Mrs Sasaki: hello

Eun: hiya

Umeko: g-good afternoon

Adaleus: hello

Benjiro: hi mom

Misa: *quiet woof*

Narration: Mrs. Sasaki didn’t know that Benjiro and Umeko were dating, and quite frankly neither of them wanted her to know. She’s overbearing as is, I couldn’t imagine it would end well if she knew.

We parted ways with Ben and Umeko, only to run into someone else.

Maricella: hey hey hey Adaleus I gotta talk with you for a sec

Narration: Maricella Tai, ultimate knitter. It’s rare to see her not working on a project, and even rarer to see her without her knitting needles. Everyone here has at least one knitted item from her, currently she’s making everyone blankets. She often jokes about how her knitting needles could be used for self defense in emergencies.

Rina: you didn’t even need my help finding him

Narration: Rina Bellerose, Ultimate Ballerina. I share a talent lab with her. Sometimes we help each other practice for events but to be honest we’re pretty distant. Quite frankly I think she dislikes me quite a bit, but it’s rude to assume that of people.

Adaleus: oh hi what is it?

Maricella: ok so I started your blanket and I was using this one specific shade of blue but I ran out of it completely, is it okay if I use a different shade or would you rather it stay consistent?

Adaleus: oh yeah it’s fine if it’s different. Hey maybe that could be the pattern. One shade of a color followed by a second shade repeated?

Maricella: I. Like. Your. Thinking!! Cmon Rina let’s go!

Rina: you don’t need to run everywhere you know-

Narration: and thus the sapphic’s left as quickly as they appeared. Finally we made it to Sammies lab. I could hear the radio through the door, playing some music I didn’t recognize. Eun placed a few firm knocks on the door.

Eun: Hey Sammie! We’re gonna get lunch now

Sammie: o-ok hold on a sec!

Narration: the radio was shut off and replaced with a shuffling of sorts. Before long the long anticipated Sammie showed up.

Sammie: ok let’s go!

Narration: Sammie Usuro, ultimate tailor. He’s rather proficient at his talent, usually having a backlog of requests for outfits and fittings. Though for some reason whenever I need my clothes repaired he always gets to it right away. He broke his leg last winter break after falling off a ski lift.

Adaleus: Hey Sammie! How's your leg feeling?

Sammie: ah it’s doing fine. Doctor said that the cast could come off in as little as two months!

Eun: that’s still quite a bit of time

Sammie: Well it’s better than losing the leg due to gangrene. Let’s go get lunch.

Eun: What were you guys thinking about? Personally I could go for anything right now.

Sammie: Honestly that new restaurant down in the village sounds really good.

Adaleus: It does, but how are we gonna get there?

Eun: oh! We could take a sled down then just stay the night in town. We can come back up when school starts back up!

Sammie: Then it sounds like a plan!

Narration: we made our way to the elevator. Yes it was a snow day, and yes eating out was a Saturday thing, but dammit that barbecue place sounded really good. Unfortunately there were issues surrounding the elevator:

Simire: AUUGHRRHR OPEN UP!!!

Narration: Simire Rohim, ultimate badminton player. The winner of several awards and championships, often gone for weeks at a time to play in games. It was… very surreal to see this well respected athlete struggling with the door so much

Adaleus: What… is he doing?

Icarus: I left my pencil case in a classroom downstairs, but the door to the elevator/stairwell is locked for some reason.

Narration: Icarus Onassis, ultimate volleyball player. He used to be just as into volleyball as Simire was into badminton, but after a season he completely lost interest in sports as a whole. Now he only plays during talent festivals and tests.

Eun: Simire I doubt shaking the door is gonna make it work

Simire: well what else am I supposed to do?

Eun: maybe get Mrs. Sasaki and ask her to unlock the door?

Simire: oh *leaves to go do that*

Eun: Hey, do you think if we shake him it’ll get his brain to work?

Icarus: hey Don’t make fun of him behind his back!

Sammie: that’s rich coming from the king of shit talk himself

Eun: So would it be ok if I said it to his face?

Icarus: you-

Mrs Sasaki: What's the problem here?

Simire: the door won’t unlock and Icarus left his pencil case downstairs.

Mrs. Sasaki: Oh I Must have forgot to unlock the door, my apologies.

Narration: but when she went to unlock the door, her key didn’t work anymore

Mrs. Sasaki: That's… odd. It must be the cold weather messing with the locks. I’ll call the locksmiths and have them check out the doors as soon as possible.

Adaleus: damn, so no take out :(

Mrs. Sasaki: Were you really going out to eat in this weather? There’s 100 cm of snow outside!

Eun: well why else would we have the sled?

Mrs Sasaki: that’s for emergencies only, go make yourselves something to eat in the kitchen

Sammie: :(

Narration: burdened with an unbearable sadness, we made our sorry ways to the kitchen.

Artemisa, holding a basket of produce: hey are you three getting lunch too?

Narration: Artemisa Spicer, ultimate food chemist. She’s somehow both the most and the least organized person I know. She always has her mask on since she's always in and out of her lab or the kitchen. She was in charge of catering a party I was planning once and she did an excellent job, despite her odd schedule.

Sammie: yeah.. Mrs. Sasaki wouldn’t let us go out to eat

Artemisa: There's like 100 cm of snow out there and you can barely walk!

Eun: yeah but like that’s what the sleds for

Artemisa: no it’s not! I’m making a bunch of soup for lunch anyways, just have some of that.

Adaleus: fiiiiiine

Narration: we followed Artemisa into the dinning area. Artemisa slipped into the kitchen, leaving us with the other students waiting for lunch.

Gigantia: heyyy mantits McGee what’s up!!!

Narration: Gigantia Ader, ultimate Embalmer. I’m not very knowledgeable of her talent, I personally have seen enough dead bodies to last me a lifetime, but those in the field apparently respect her work greatly. Her personality however….

Adaleus: Gigantia we’ve talked about this…

Fatik: can’t you go a day without harassing someone?

Gigantia: hey tits aren’t inherently sexual!

Fatik: you’re pleading your case poorly

Narration: Fatik Lemaitre, ultimate taxidermist. Again, unfamiliar with the field however they don’t tend to make people as uncomfortable as Gia. They’re often rather cranky though, especially with the bad weather recently.

Juniper: Hey, stop talking about badonkers! Lunch is ready, we made soup!

Narration: Juniper Caito, ultimate orchardist. During the tragedy they cultivated hundreds of orchards, forests, and farms. They’ve probably improved the world the most out of any of us just on the basis of food production alone. Their talent lab is full of plants, I'm surprised that Artemisa gets anything done.

Fatik: oh what kind of soup is it?

Juniper: soup flavor

Gigantia: oh boy my favorite

Artemisa: there’s also fresh bread in kitchen if you want it with your soup or a sandwich or something

Adaleus: Aw fuck yeah bread!

Eun: breads not that good though

Adaleus: sounds like someone’s never had good bread

Eun: whatever

Narration: the soup flavored soup with the bread shaped bread was very good for lunch. Eun left to go do her own thing, so me and Sammie went over to the library to hang out a bit more. Since it’s basically the entertainment center, someone is always hanging out there

Lapis: oh hey guys what’s up!

Narration: Lapis Ongaku, ultimate soloist. Almost the polar opposite of sister, he’s as loud and fun loving as anyone with the title of ultimate center of attention. He has a tendency to go off and do his own thing, which gets on a lot of people’s nerves.

Sammie: oh we were just gonna hang out here! That’s ok right?

Lapis: yeah yeah of course! I wasn’t doing anything too important anyway, the internet isn’t working.

Sammie: oh that's odd, then what are you doing on the computer?

Lapis: playing chess against the computer and losing horribly.

Adaleus, thinking: looking over at the computer I witnessed the worst chess strategy I have ever seen play out. It was almost funny

Sammie: Maybe you should play something else. Oh, how about we play uno? That’s easier!

Lapis: Aw fuck yeah i’m a pro at uno! You’re gonna be sorry you ever challenged me! Then I’m gonna be sorry cause I hurt your feelings.

Narration: we played cards for a couple hours, chatting with people coming in and out of the library. Eventually we went and ate dinner, which was just leftovers. Heeding Mrs. Sasaki’s warning, I went to bed soon after. Though to be honest, had I known what was about to transpire… I don’t think I would’ve gone to sleep.

✨you can now watch from Eun’s Perspective✨

Narration: Well lunch was eventful, it was fun to see Fatik throw a bread roll at Gigantia after one too many puns. Even funnier to see her catch one with her mouth and swallow it whole like a snake. Now what to do now…

Lapis: oh hey Eun! Umeko wants to talk to you

Eun: wait why?

Lapis: idk, she said it’s a girl thing, and since I am not a girl I can’t be privy to this.

Eun: makes sense, where is she?

Lapis: she’s by her room, probably, she might’ve moved, it’s like a floor it can’t take that long to find her

Eun: fair fair, I’ll go find her

Narration: lapis was right, she was outside her room. Her nameplate is somewhat shiner than the others since they got her name wrong at first. They got a lot of people's names wrong to be honest, how hard is “Eun” to remember geez.

Umeko: oh good you’re here

Eun: Yeah, what did you need? Lapis was really cryptic.

Umeko: yeah ok so uh you know how Valentine’s Day is tomorrow? W-well I wanted to get Benjiro chocolate, but we’re snowed in, so I figured I’d ask Artemisa for help to make them! But she gets really intense when cooking so I kinda need you there for moral support!

Eun: Wait, you’re scared of Artemisa? All 165 cm of her?

Umeko: I’m related to Lapis, I know damn well it’s the short ones you need to look out for! So are you helping or not??

Eun: Well of course I am! Gotta support the gal pals even if they are sniffing cowards

Umeko: aren’t you scared of crickets

Eun: hey! they're freaky little bastards who know and resent their place in the food chain!

Umeko: yeah right, lets go

Narration: we went down to Artemisa’s lab and luckily enough she was down to help Umeko with the chocolate. I did as I promised and stayed for moral support, but unfortunately I became privy as to why Umeko had reservations about this.

Eun: hey why’d you make me put my hair in a ponytail?

Artemisa: the twin tails are unsanitary. Whenever you lean forward your hair gets into anything you’re working in, and I’d prefer it if your hair didn’t transfer germs from your lab into mine.

Eun: Firstly, domesticated pigeons are very clean animals!

Artemisa: humans are “clean” creatures and yet food safety still applies to them

Eun: But then why didn't you make Umeko change her hair? Or change your hair for that matter?

Artemisa: because her hair isn’t long enough to warrant the concerns I have about your hair. And I don’t lean over countertops with wild abandon

Umeko: Will you guys stop arguing? I’m trying to focus.

Eun: Oh sorry!

Narration: we finished the chocolates without much incident besides the great hair debate. I even got some of the candy as a reward! They made a variety of flavors, so there's gotta be something in there that Ben will like. Though considering his sour attitude, I can’t be sure that he’ll appreciate anything sweet.

#d:ah #danganronpa: abandoned hope

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thesimplyluxuriouslife · 4 years ago

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307: How to Step into your Fullest True Self — The Way of Integrity, as taught by Martha Beck

"Your life will tell you the truth." —Martha Beck, author of The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self

Divided. Compartmentalized. Unable to give what is needed, not by choice, but by pure, sincere inability due to time and energy.

Martha Beck explains in her new book, The Way of Integrity, the word integrity originates from the Latin integer meaning "in tact" and therefore cementing the definition of integrity as "to be one thing, whole and undivided".

When we are not living a life of integrity, we are not being true to ourselves, nor the world. Now you might be thinking about the general and more commonly known definition of integrity - living by your 'values' or abiding by the morals society applauds of, but that is not what Beck writes about in her book. Instead, Beck looks at the true meaning of the word and applies it to each of us individually - a life of integrity is a one when you have aligned your body, mind, heart and soul - your actions, your mental strength, your true self - you set yourself free. In the introduction she uses a phrase commonly known on this blog/podcast - you achieve a sustainable joie de vivre. "You may not believe that such a fulfilling life is possible. It is," Beck states with calm, assured confidence and goes on throughout the rest of the book, speaking from her own incredibly challenging and terrifying and finally liberating life journey, indeed what she shares is true.

"No matter how far you think you've strayed from your true path, the moment you say I'm going to trust myself, I'm going to follow my truth, the healing begins."

Beck's book crossed my path just after I had officially and publicly announced a resolve to live my own life of integrity as I had turned in my resignation papers concluding a 20-year career in teaching public education at the secondary level. I arrived at my decision after more than a few years of hemming and hawing about such a choice being necessary for me to live fully in alignment with what I knew to be true in my heart of hearts, and as I shared in my May episode of the video series A Cuppa Moments (learn more about becoming a TOP Tier subscriber and discover more intimately why I made this decision here), it wasn't about running away, it was about running toward something I loved even more.

Another way of looking at the way of integrity is much like putting together a puzzle. It can be especially hard to rationalize why we should leave something when on paper and to onlookers everything hums along beautifully, but if the puzzle doesn't allow your nature to be nurtured, as Beck describes, when you are "rushing to conform . . . often ignoring or overruling [y]our genuine feelings—even intense one, like longing or anguish—to please your culture . . . you've divided yourself. [You] aren't in integrity (one thing) but in duplicity (two things)." In other words, the puzzle isn't your puzzle to be a part of. Having the courage to step away from something that works, even if we languish while others shine is not living a life of integrity.

"When you pursue a career that pulls you away from your true self, your talent and enthusiasm will quit on you like a bored intern."

The question we each need to ask ourselves is "Does the culture nurture your nature?" Pause for a second before answering because I would have answered yes a couple of years ago, but upon reflection, with more truths revealed, and after reading her book, my answer whilst trying to teach and write, is most certainly no.

How do you know if you are out of your integrity?

1."Your life goes pear-shaped"

Beck reveals how our inability to communicate civilly, snapping at people we love, letting ourselves be distracted regularly by rabbit holes on the internet, and on the health side - your "immune system and muscles becomes weaken . . . emotionally feeling grumpy, sad or numb." Focus and clarity — difficult to maintained, sickness is more frequent and energy is depleted. All of these 'symptons' are red flags your life is out of integrity.

Let's end this point on some good news: "Integrity is the cure to unhappiness. Period."

2. Living a life governed by the 'should's and 'supposed to' expectations

Living simply luxuriously, at its core is built upon questioning society, putting into practice critical thinking skills and thereby thinking well. When we think well, removing our biases and acknowledging the short-sightedness as well as true motivations of the culture we live in, we can think clearly and free ourselves from the pressures and guilt placed upon us to live a certain way. Even if 'your way' seems simple compared to significant societal differences such as announcing you are an atheist in a family full of devout believers of any one religious institutional faith, acknowledging your truth regarding your gender even if your family or friends cannot understand your truth, or standing up for a political issue which forces your family to confront their own long-held unconscious biases. Your way of integrity needs to be honored to set yourself free.

Beck writes in detail about her own breaking free from the 'should's when she speaks about her stepping away from Mormonism (receiving death threats for doing so), sharing with the world and her husband that she is gay, and choosing to keep her child who she knew to have Downs Syndrome (even though at the time, people she respected urged her to not to). In great emotional, yet step-by-step detail, she shares how she made it to the other side and because each decision was her truth, she set herself free. She stopped living the life she was 'supposed to' and stepped courageously into a life of integrity.

3. Emotional Struggles

"Whenever you lose your integrity, you'll feel your own unique brew of bad moods, depending on your personality . . . anxiety and depression [or] . . . free-floating hostility, itching to punch everyone in your office, familiy, zip code [or] . . . full-on panic attacks, especially during special occasions."

For me, leaving teaching felt culturally 'wrong'. What I mean by that is, teaching and being a teacher is held in high regard, as, in my bias, yet as much as it is to not be biased mind, it should be. So leaving a profession which society holds in esteem felt to already be making the 'wrong' decision. However, as Beck calls them, my 'wild beasts' of bad moods would arise in the weirdest of times. I knew something was not in alignment, but nearly all of my acquaintances, friends and even my mother, were or are teachers. So how do you have a conversation with them about leaving a profession they are already in and most sincerely love and have found their calling? In my case, you keep teaching.

4. Bad habits — can't break them

The bad habits could be an onslaught of a variety of behaviors ranging from less harmful to incredibly life destructive, but anything which does not constructively add to your life and the quality of your days is a bad habit. Whether financial expenditures, drinking or eating habits, relationship failure after failure because you refuse to have the ability to either see or change what needs to be addressed, such habits stay with us becase "when [you're] feeling fundamentally lost, afflicted by purposelessness, foul moods, and bad jobs, anything that stimulates the brain's pleasure centers can become an addiction."

I can thankfully say, I had a positive outlet for my lack of finding purpose in teaching: blogging which turned into podcasting, which turned into cooking, which became my pleasure and purpose and I am incredibly grateful I honored my curiosity to explore what this 'blogging thing' was all about way back in 2009. I don't think we all have to have horrible habits so much so it becomes painfully obvious to outsiders we are not on the right life path for true integrity, but what I appreciate about Beck's book is bringing to our attention habits which if we are being honest with ourselves, aren't helpful to living a life we sincerely love living, but we keep engaging in said habit because we need the pleasure, we need something to 'feel' good because so much doesn't and we don't know or don't have the courage yet to step off the path that isn't ours to walk upon.

How to return or begin to live a life of integrity?

1.Stop lying

"Here's the rub: if you stop lying, you'll eventually, inevitably violate the rules of a culture that matters to you."

Stop lying when responding casually to the question, "How are you doing?" Be comfortable with expressing your exuberance about the day or exhaustion. The passive, default way of living is not living and it's not the way of integrity. How we connect with others, truly connect, is to be honest. I find that our culture is more comfortable with complaining even though America strives to be happy at all times. It is as though we must not be 'too happy' lest someone either question what makes us happy or want our happiness, when the truth is, there is not a limited supply. However, most Americans are too exhausted to want to figure out their own unique way to happiness. Again, this is a push-back on culture, not the people living within the culture. Admittedly, yes, a culture is made up by people, but when we recognize we are complicit in any culture which doesn't wish for its people to find peace and contentment, we must question it. That is an exercise in critical thinking. And how we do that is by finding our own way of integrity and living it.

2. Knuckle down for the first step of changing your life - it will be hard

Be prepared, the first step, the first shift you make will be the most difficult and will feel impossible on your way to fully being your true self. But the good news is, it is 'steepest at the start'.

And in even better news, because you are stepping into your integrity, let that energy be your fuel. Just as it did for Dante (Beck's entire book parallels the journey of Dante through the levels of Hell in Dante's Inferno, Part I of The Divine Comedy) who because he wanted to be set free "so damn much" used that "intense wanting" to "propel him forward over terrain he doesn't believe he can cover."

3. Acknowledging and walking away from 'bad or disordered' love

"'Bad' or 'disordered' love emerges when people are well-meaning but mistaken—for example, when we feel loyal to people and ideas that don't match our inner truth."

So many of Beck's anecdotes are specific and clearly teach what she is introducing to readers. On this point she shares, "You might stop laughing at your coworker's crude jokes. You may come out as gay or trans. You may start posting things on social media that shock your loved ones. You may turn into some version of Rosa Parks, refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person." In sharing these examples, she reveals how quickly our lives will change when we step away from 'bad' love. And it happens quickly because while you've known for quite some time your truth, you haven't shared it with those who you've let keep 'loving' you in a way that serves their needs, but neglects yours.

4. Be prepared to contemplate returning to old ways (even if they weren't true to you)

Prior to deciding to leave teaching, I chose to regularly see my counselor, and I am grateful I did. On this point, she reminded me, after always checking in with me about how I was feeling about my decision (once I had decided I would write my resignation letter) that there will be mourning for the 'old misery'. In other words, the life you know and are leaving, you will at times - whether in your dreams or in different states where you are emotionally weak or exhausted (these times especially were when my doubts would arise) - seriously doubt the decision you are about to make. What is happening is natural, and it does subside in time as I can share now after having felt those moments of mourning for the known misery. "Studies in psychoneuroimmunology show that if we plunge too quickly into any major change, even a good one, our bodies and minds can't absorb the shock. We must give our psycholoigcal and physiological systems time to adjust."

How we give ourselves this time is where the phrase "mourning the known misery" comes from. And it is knowing that such a temporary state exists that we are able to better navigate through this time and into a life in which we are fully embracing our true nature. A few words from Beck on this subject,

"If you start honoring your true nature and find yourself missing your old culture, don't panic. Be kind to yourself. Allow yourself time and space to grieve. Confide in loved ones. If they don't understand, find a coach or therapist. But don't think that missing your old life means you should go back to it."

5. A life transformed for the better

"Whatever you do to heal the world, it will replace [bad health, habits, moods, etc. - what Beck refers to as 'dark wood of error symptoms'] with purpose, happiness, vitality, love, abundance, and fascination that specifically match your true nature."

Perhaps this all sounds too good to be true, but simply the fact that you are thinking that is the hope you have unconsciously, that you hope it can be true. That it can be possible.

Benefits of finding your way to integrity and living it daily

1. A life full of "meaning, enchantment and fascination"

The world needs what you uniquely can give to it. When we each find the courage to honor our nature especially when the culture doesn't nurture it, we step forward toward a life full of meaning and we as well become uplifted and enthralled with the awesome life we have the good fortune to live.

Beck points out that thankfully, 'nature doesn't give up without a fight', so if you are doubting that it is too late, that you've waited too long, no it's not and no you haven't. The mere fact that you are still contemplating, wishing, hoping, wondering is nature's strength of hanging on until you finally take action to courageously find your way of integrity.

2. Breath-taking moments are experienced beyond what the culture tells you is possible

"Obviously, no one will have taught you how to navigate such wonders. No worries. You'll learn fast. You were born for it."

If happiness, and based on having read this book, I think more deeply it fits the definition of contentment, if contentment is something you could buy in the store and be promised a life of awe, wonder, peace, would you buy it? What if I told you it was free? I have a feeling some would question it must be too good to be true, but that is our conditioning when it comes to believing in how possible living well is. We have been conditioned to believe happiness can only be pursued, not attained, AND that only so many people are capable of attaining it so we must hurry up and chase it down, ignoring the present and constantly live in the future. But that is errant thinking.

The ability to attain contentment for free is possible because it exists within us each already. Our true nature, our true selves, has always been with us. We now just need to let it speak. In other words, let ourselves speak honestly, truthfully, and the world begins to change for the better. Not only for each one of us who courageously takes this step, but for all of us, as we begin to see who each of us actually is, how diverse and awesome we actually are and how to think well without unconscious manipulation.

3. A stronger you both physically and emotionally

As you begin to step off the wrong path and onto your way of integrity, there will be push-back, but wonderfully, you will be more capable than you might have ever imagined because, "Even if the people around [you] raise merry hell, [you] find yourself coping—more than that, thriving—more easily than [you'd] imagined."

4. A more peaceful you

The truth about feeling drained, emotionally exhausted is not necessarily the environment's fault, but rather that we shouldn't be in that environment. We are needed some place else. Find that and find your peace.

5. A life of inner harmony

True contentment, as shared on TSLL many times previously, is capable of being experienced even during the most difficult of moments and heartbreaking days and events. Why? When you've found and know what inner harmony is, an alignment of your true self - body, mind, heart and soul - you tend to what you have control over and acknowledge what you don't. You are living a life of truth in your actions, words and thoughts, and you are strengthened knowing how to navigate forward well, modeling and, when applicable, and you are capable, nurturing those around you forward as well with kindness and compassion.

6. Find your people who 'get' you

"If you don't walk your true path, you don't find your true people."

Ah, while I have met so many amazing people during my years as a teacher whether the staff and colleagues I have been incredibly fortunate and privileged to work alongside, the many, many parents who's love and tireless efforts to raise children in a world that is ever-changing, and especially the awesome students who through their natural strengths and honed skills, learning from struggles and finding truths along the way, my connection has been professional as I kept, for the most part, my writing life compartmentalized from my teaching life.

Once I finally began talking about what I love about blogging, which was only this spring (except to one, maybe two people over the years), a burden on my shoulders was lifted and I felt free. Some don't understand what I am stepping fully into and our relationships, even though respectfully colleagial, have lessened, but to others, we've had even more honest conversations than we have ever had. And this is just the beginning.

"We simply can't chart a course to happiness by linking up with others who are as lost as we are. The path to true love—true anything—is the way of integrity."

In order to fully and deeply connect with others we must be our true selves - no holding back, no editing, no 'hoping they like us'. When we are our true selves, it doesn't matter if everyone gets us so long as we let ourselves be set free, and that is what draws others of similar understanding and those who can see our honest and raw expression and who appreciate such strength will be drawn to, and those are the people you want to connect with. Those are the people with whom healthy, loving relationships spring from.

7. Balance

Yes, balance is possible (although our culture would have us believe otherwise, believing it is a skill to master, being constantly thrown from side to side, stressor to next stressor - don't buy into this myth!). In The Divine Comedy, Virgil writes something that 'stuns Dante. All these 'sins' are actually based in love. Sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust are simply unbalanced relationships with rest, abundance, nourishment and sex. We can err by either compulsively indulging or rigidly repressing our natural relationship with these things. This lack of balance doesn't come when we allow union with our true nature, but when we split ourselves away from it. It's misguided thinking, not natural behavior, that causes us to stray from our innocence."

Our innocence is our true selves. Our true self is found and experienced when we step into the way of integrity. Bravely doing so, courageously striding, becoming ever more stronger and exhilarated with each step.

8. Fulfill your long-term heart's desires

For this last point in today's post/episode, I'll leave you with Beck's words as she reflects on her own life journey and teaches us one of the grandest benefits of finding your own way of integrity, embracing your true self:

"As this internal shift occurred, life seemed to deliver more and more of the things I'd longed for during my life. I began to imagine that the universe works like this: whenever we humans long for something, the Powers That Be immediately send it. But everything we've ordered is always delivered to our real home address: peace. This is why we struggle for things in a state of desperation, they don't come to us—nothing works when it's misaligned. But when we return to a state of peace, the things we've 'ordered' can finally reach us."

— Martha Beck, The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self (2021)

The way of integrity is a path through and with life that makes you excited simply to envision it for a moment. You may breathe a sigh of relief and a smile creeps upon your face spontaneously each time you dare to think what you imagine could be your real life. I have been so incredibly excited to share today's episode with you because while my last day of teaching doesn't occur for another two weeks, the announcement has been made, the reality has been put into place, and a peace not-yet-known-until-now is already being felt (yes, moments of mourning the known misery creep up, but they are fewer and fewer, and now I know immediately where they stem from and how to navigate respectfully through these feelings).

Living simply luxuriously doesn't just happen and it indeed takes time. When we learn the skills necessary for living a life of true contentment, we can then begin to build what will be unique to each of us. The foundation of a fulfilling, joy-filled life, is to realign yourself with your true self. To conclude with more sagacity from Martha Beck on making our way to integrity, "Not because this path is virtuous, but because it aligns you with reality, with truth. Your life will work for the same reason a well-built plane will fly. Not a reward for good behavior. Just physics." Logical and simultaneously honoring the full humanity of each and every one of us.

SHOP Martha Beck's book The Way of Integrity | Amazon | Bookshop.org

PETIT PLAISIR

~Lupin, on Netflix

~Learn more about this episode's Petit Plaisir on this specially dedicated post.

PART ONE, Trailer (season 1)

https://youtu.be/Y3tVDKuORi8

PART ONE, Trailer (season 1)

https://youtu.be/53cCYOIOEQc

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #307

~Subscribe to The Simple Sophisticate: iTunes | Stitcher | iHeartRadio | YouTube | Spotify

Tune in to the latest episode of The Simple Sophisticate podcast

#tsllpodcast thesimplesophisticate

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cateringisalie · 4 years ago

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FFVII Halloween Day 4

Written for the prompt ‘Japanese Ghosts’

Kiriko suppressed a groan at the latest report from Nibelheim. Another issue with one of the houses. She sifted it from the bundle received and put it into the specific tray for issues. Two years on and the cover-up of the town’s burning still had teething troubles. Some resulted from the absurd pace the replica had been constructed. Hojo had not cared desperately on how sound any of the structures were and expended far more time on the survivors and ensuring Sephiroth had not damaged the lab during his breakdown. The damage to the reactor was well documented and the critical Jenova sample mutilated, but the majority of it remained viable and had long since been transported to Midgar. Hojo came back too; whatever he had planned for those rounded up in the aftermath remained ongoing. There were separate reports for the techs still stationed up there, but they were Hojo’s eyes only. Leaving all the other complaints to flood to Kirko. She flipped through the rest of the reports. A request for more training for those assigned guide roles; far too many accidents for the now extremely rare trade caravans. More than one stooge had lead groups into dragon nests or along crumbling paths and were never heard from again. A sensible request – and one based on previous requests likely to go nowhere. The look of the town was enough it seemed. Making it function as a real settlement was secondary to simply not letting the world know what Sephiroth did. To this end, the shop was stocked with dummy containers, specific food parcels sent to each stooge to tend to themselves. Saved time; why bother playing at running an inn, running a shop, being a guide? So few people went near the place. The President was more receptive to faults and structural issues. Faulting plumbing, bad wiring, crumbling mortar, leaky roofs. Maintenance crews were frequently sent up to shore up the place, the town not sitting comfortably on its hasty foundations, these forced into the scorched ground from before. There had been some saving graces; not all the town was consumed by fire and this aided verisimilitude in the recreations. They had partial photographs from numerous amateurs and the in-tact foundations allowed for a decent replica of the layout. The Shinra mansion escaped the fire courtesy of its encircling wall. The reactor had been far too distant. And a few houses remained including the inn. The inn never gave anyone problems, but one house – on the far side of the town square – did. Strange this one survived, when the Mayor’s house next door was only so much ash. But much of what transpired two years ago was unclear. Kiriko at least had access to know Sephiroth was the cause and the town was a cover. What drove Sephiroth to extremes other than it involving the old lab in the Shinra mansion was above her pay grade. The house in question was scorched and damaged but otherwise left intact. Suitable enough for a single denizen – though in truth most houses were pushed to have single occupants. There was some fraternization going on as some of the reports delighted in spying on their neighbours and demanded disciplinaries for their work life behaviour. Such a strange sentiment. Not something affecting the house on the edge of the square. The one closest to the Shinra mansion. The house had an unusual turn-over of occupants; with a few exceptions, the first stooges assigned to the town were still there. The general store and one of the outlying houses needed a reassignment but everyone else stayed in place. The house on the edge had gone through ten occupants over the last two years and stood vacant for long periods. Too long for comfort. The ten occupants- Kiriko shook her head. Coincidence all of them had subsequently died. Further conspiracy those who checked on the house after not seeing the occupant for days were also dead. A conspiracy of this scale would see many people seeing patterns everywhere. Besides; focusing on those deaths disrupted the pattern. Two had died inside the house it was true. The rest perished either elsewhere in Nibelheim or further afield. A strange coincidence but nothing more. Not as if Kiriko had not taken the deaths seriously; each new occupant scoured the house looking for mould, for carbon monoxide leaks, Mako poisoning. All such attempts brought up no common factors. There was a mystery here somewhere, some mundane reason. Reports of strange figures in the house at odd hours or woken and gasping for breath pointed back again to the poison gas. Someone was missing something or overlooked a cause. And- She heaved a sigh and looked at the report. From the neighbour. Hadn’t seen the householder in a week, did not want to go inside. Could someone check? Perhaps the only way she would get to the bottom of this mystery is if she went in person.

========================================================================================================================== Nibelheim was different in person. Not a surprise given the difference between seeing adverts for Costa del Sol and enjoying a beach holiday there. But Nibelheim existed in an atmosphere wholly unrepresented by any of the photographs. Nothing in either the historic reference images research dug up or the surveillance photographs of the current iteration conveyed the restless tension of the town. Her back itched as if a thousand eyes peered at her constantly. The sun seemed dim in the sky. And there was something almost on the edge of hearing; an almost whispering, sing-song voice whose words made no sense. Nerves. Must be nerves. The kind of antiquated thinking leading to speculation of some supernatural reasons for the deaths in the house. The house in question was across the square – too new like the rest of the town. Weathered but not via the environment. Another factor seeming good in her office back in Midgar, but lacking in person. Perhaps an idea to rethink the design principles. Maybe simply tearing down the house would help too. One house missing would not be such a huge issue to work around; accidents still happened. Buildings still burnt without the spark of a renegade SOLDIER. Kiriko didn’t bother with the other houses or the stooges. No one on the streets which would be a warning sign to visitors. They would need to be told. A cold blast of wind left her shivering. She wanted to be in and out of this place as fast as she could. Go back somewhere more civilised. The lock on the door had been forced when the last body was found and no effort had yet been made to repair the lock. Another job for later. Inside was dusty, spartan but perfectly serviceable. One large room filling the interior, the remainder sectioned off into sleeping area, living area, kitchen. Cold in here too. A small Mako furnace in one corner the only possible source of heat; it still functioned fortunately, the device warming rapidly. Likely the room would only be warm once she was done. Travel bag on one of the beds along with her coat. Her Dictaphone would do for notes; again, wanting this out the way quick. “House is in good repair. Ceiling intact, no evidence of leaking.” Minor point; unless something noxious was stored in the attic space, a leaking roof was not about to cause so many problems. Kiriko crossed to the kitchen and ran the tap. Sample jar under both the hot and cold faucets. “Samples from water source for later testing.” She bent down closer to the water. “Water is clear.” She shook the samples. “No evidence of visible contaminants in the water.” So much for the easy possibilities. She worked on. Pulling the contents out of cupboards, cleaning out beneath the sink. Dust dunes, nominal spots of mould. Nothing strange. She tested the food; all of it the same mass-distributed food packs the others got. What else? Nothing but wood beams and dust beneath the floorboards. Toxicity sweeps of the air revealed nothing. She pulled out stuffing from the mattresses and pillows, took samples but found nothing of note. What was she missing? The attic was the last remaining place. Getting up into it was a tricky option. No ladder and no light; she stacked a chair on the table and heaved up into the dark. Troubling visions, ghost stories, scary films she happily watched late at night in her apartment and thought nothing of came back unbidden. Kiriko shivered and clicked on her torch. Nothing. Well. Not nothing. Water-damaged boxes of photo-albums. Children’s toys. Decorations from New Year’s. No leaks in the roof. No barrel of toxic chemicals. But strangely the sense of a voyeur close at hand. Kirko swung her flashlight left to no avail. No one watching. No doll rendered creepy by distance and changed attitudes with a gaze fixated on her. Nothing but the strange itch along her spine. Nothing to explain the deaths. Nothing to explain the atmosphere. Seemingly futile but worth checking; she took a few samples of the carboard boxes, the decorations – who knew what they were made of. Perhaps the interior of the roof- Something crashed in the room below and she jumped, torchlight swinging randomly in the dark. No further noises followed. Kirko took a moment to compose and steady her breathing. The chair. Clearly the chair. As she expected; the chair had topped somehow and now lay on the floor beside the table. A breeze or she had not aligned it right at the time. But for whatever reason it had fallen. Unless someone had come in and knocked it down to spite her. The development made it more difficult to descend, but given how the town lived, no one was about to come aid her. Nothing for it but to use the edge of the hatch to lower back to the table and drop the remaining distance. Simple. The table collapsed as she landed on it, the shocking speed of its destruction knocking the wind out of her and sprawling her onto her back on the carpet. Kiriko groaned. The day was not going well. And somehow it was dark outside. Nearby the Mako furnace was blasting out heat. She could stay here for the evening and be out tomorrow. No sense bothering the inn and either playing along with the ruses or admitting who she was. At least it was warm. A quiet evening; she took one of the beds, eating her rations for dinner while reading her book. But the house felt off still. Nicely warm – possibly too warm. But the open hatch above where the table once stood kept catching her gaze. She had to tear her attention away from it more than once. A glance out the window revealed the lights in the other houses darkening as the night drew on. Best to sleep and be away first thing. Get the samples tested. The bed was comfortable, the Mako furnace switched off but still emitting heat. So dark here; quite the contrast to the bright lights of the Upper Plate back home. How did people sleep so easily here with the wind whistling so often? Sleep evaded Kiriko at first; she tossed and turned. Some strange nervousness induced her to peer through the darkness to the open hatch. Vaguely visible in the gloom. She shut her eyes and willed sleep. Kiriko blinked awake from dreams of fire. It was boiling under the covers. She threw them back, the removal doing little for her comfort. Had she not turned the Mako furnace off? No visible lights on the device, but she padded over, her shirt glued to her back with sweat. Cold and inert; like it had been off for hours. Where was this heat coming from? It would be cold outside, but- She hauled the door open. Darkness out there. No stars. No streetlights. Not one solitary other source of light in the town. Nor were the distant outlines of the other buildings visible. Nothing but the sensation of observation. Of a witness to her. And the whispering. No relief from the heat, no merciful cold air. Stupid but- Something shifted in the gloom out there, some shambling motion. Kiriko panicked and slammed the door shut. Stupid. No lock. She grabbed at the destroyed table, leaning the wood against the door and backed away. Nothing. The door was closed and blocked. Still too hot. Fridge and freezer. There was some frozen food she could make use of. She approached the fridge and a voice spoke. “Ceiling intact, no evidence of leaking.” She jumped, panicked and calmed. Relief. Her Dictaphone. Those were her words from earlier. But why was it replaying her recording. Kiriko gave up on the fridge and crossed back to her bed. The Dictaphone lay out in the open – not in her bag where she left it. It played onto itself, her notes slurring a little like the batteries were giving out. She picked it up- A rasping, gurgling scream burst from the speakers. Kiriko flung the device away, heart pounding. The Dictaphone hit the opposite wall and carried on playing. All her glib remarks and dispassionate comments sounding in the darkness. Too loud. She rushed to the device, braced for a new shock. None came and she clicked the device off into merciful silence. Too quiet. Oppressively quiet. Her pulse roared in her ears, her breathing in panicked bursts. And nothing else. No wind whipping around the house. No bird calls or monster howls. Nothing. A noise from above; of something sliding across wood. Kiriko’s mouth went dry. The Dictaphone clicked on again, her words slurring and mangled, blotting out the noise from above. She fumbled with the battery compartment, tearing the mako cells out to no avail. Her notes continued to play. She dropped the machine to the ground and stamped on it. Splintered metal and plastic dug into the sole of her foot but did silence the thing. The slide on the wood was louder. Closer. Impossible to tear her eyes from the hatch. Fingers, too pale, the skin strangely mottled and damaged grasped the hatch. Kiriko’s heart lurched and she dropped to the floor, scuttling back, unable to look away. Something person shaped leant down from the hatch, a river of hair cascading down with it. It moved gracefully, expanding out. A figure in white, face hidden the hair. It was white or blond and with a flicker shifted to black. The room was consumed around her, the figure now closer and Kiriko with nowhere left to go. She pressed back harder against the stone wall to no avail as the figure crawled on mangled limbs. This had to be a dream or a nightmare or- The figure’s hand clutched at her ankle and drew her to it and-

#ffviihalloween #final fantasy vii #ffvii #final fantasy #final fantasy 7 #my ffvii fanfic

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apenitentialprayer · 5 years ago

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For give me if this comes off as ignorant, but why is it wrong for a priest to criticize the Pope in public/a homily? Is it okay to disagree with him in public as long as it's done tactfully, or is any kind of disagreement inappropriate?

It doesn’t come off as ignorant at all. Allow me to elaborate in a format that isn’t just meant to be amusing. :P Well, first, I should say that I’m coming from a very old fashioned way of looking at authority figures, and that should be put out there immediately; I don’t like “x is a buffoon,” “x is an embarrassment to his position compared to those who came before them,” “how could anyone take x seriously,” etc. If what you’re saying cannot be turned into a constructive criticism, I don’t think you should be sharing it. Especially if this person has been invested with some sort of position over and responsibility towards you. So let’s move beyond my personal distaste; I think you put it well when you used the word “tactful.” What prompted the silly meme post was a priest calling Pope Francis’s reaction to the Hagia Sophia situation an “embarrassment,” a statement he made right after saying that Christendom’s reaction in general was “pathetic” (we can connect the dots there). I feel like there is a culture, especially among conservative / “traditionalist” Catholics, that encourages the second-guessing of every action the Pope makes. It’s one thing to think the Pope might not have made the best decision on an issue. It’s another thing to relentlessly attack a Pope’s style of leadership, to constantly question if he is even competent to be the Pope, to consistently suggest that maybe someone else would be doing a better job in the position right now. And that’s especially true when you’re someone in a position of power within the church, flippantly and flagrantly doing these things in front of a congregation whose spiritual health you are in charge of. Priests are supposed to be models we can follow. I think such criticism may be coming out of a place of good intentions, but... it’s time to reel that in, buddy. You’re going to talk about the holy father like that, and then turn around and get mad when your parishioners don’t take the Church hierarchy seriously?

#asks #Catholicism #pope

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twilight-seer · 4 years ago

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Gaining Trust

How do you gain the trust of other people, especially the ones with serious trust issues? This article shall highlights the answers for this question.

Building trust in a friendship, relationship, or therapy and counseling clients can sometimes be difficult, annoying, and seems like a never ending work. You know that you are trying your best to be friendly, compassionate, and understanding, but why does it doesn’t seem to work?

In this article, would be using some external sources and information to facilitate the brainstorming and synthesis of the answers into a well-organized steps and methods needed to build trust.

To be able to build trust, one must learn the skills of active listening, but what is active listening?

According to Wikipedia, active listening is:

Active listening is a technique that is used in counseling, training, and solving disputes or conflicts. It requires the listener to fully concentrate, understand, respond and then remember what is being said.

Active listening involves listening with all senses. As well as giving full attention to the speaker, it is important that the ‘active listener’ is also ‘seen’ to be listening - otherwise the speaker may conclude that what they are talking about is uninteresting to the listener.

Interest can be conveyed to the speaker by using both verbal and non-verbal messages such as maintaining eye contact, nodding your head and smiling, agreeing by saying ‘Yes’ or simply ‘Mmm hmm’ to encourage them to continue. By providing this ‘feedback’ the person speaking will usually feel more at ease and therefore communicate more easily, openly and honestly.

It will take me lots of time to compile all the other ambiguous and repetitive steps in active listening, I will just create my own version.

Active listening is listening to understand, not to respond.

Understanding requires a degree of empathy, comprehension, and memory retention.

Questioning, Reflection, and Thoughtful Responses are the ones that signifies and serves as evidence for active listening.

Be aware of the other person’s intentions and see if they really want to talk, vent their feelings, of if they want to know more about you before doing active listening.

Active listening is only one of the steps for gaining the trust of other people, it is a simple and effective step, but without the other methods, it won’t be able to gain the trust of others alone.

Trust is such a fragile thing. As fragile as a woman’s heart, and a person’s ego.

A person whose trust is already broken won’t be able to heal as quickly nor as completely.

Your job is not to make their trust issues go away, but to put them aside for a while so you can have a good conversation without the same “I don’t do that, I don’t trust this and that” kind of thinking. You can do them with the following methods:

Active listening - Listening intently and patiently to the other person.

Neutral Compassion - Understanding their negative and weird point of view but not confirming it neither insisting your point of view. Similar to how a mature dad talks with his old mature son.

Tactfulness - Proper wording, structure, and language when communicating to the person to prevent as much misunderstandings as possible by addressing technicalities, making intentions clear, and solving future misunderstandings.

Openness - Becoming open-minded and not easily shocked by anything, as if you are an old sage who have understood and seen all that is there to be seen in the world, that you know the feelings that lie deep inside the person’s words and actions.

Sincerity - Speaking in a gentle, calm, and relaxed manner made to make your intentions perfectly clear and good without the need to directly say it to the other person. Shows your desire to understand, help, or support the person you are talking with, usually combined with Empathy.

Enthusiasm - A more energetic form of Sincerity, it is being cheerful, optimistic, and a fun person to spread positive energy, infect others with happiness, and become a living proof that the world isn’t all dark.

Vulnerability - Showing and expressing your emotions, weaknesses, and suffering to other people, not for them to laugh at it, but for them to appreciate and acknowledge how strong and courageous you are to become a “human” in this world where they loathe their own species. It helps the person to understand in a more subtle yet clearer way, that it’s okay and perfectly fine to trust other people.

Good grief, that’s a lot of skills. I won’t be able to get them all in a single session or a ten session of experiments and operations. Many of them are against my own character so it will take a long time for me to get accustomed to it. Well we got an entire lifetime to learn it so let’s do this.

I think we are still missing the most important thing in building trust… I wonder what that is.

Is that love? professionalism? No it’s not that.

It’s time.

Time is the most important and essential thing in building trust and physical buildings or constructions. It accounts up to 35% of the chart of trust, being the highest out of all the contributing factors in building trust. But wait, what’s this “chart of trust”?

The chart of trust is:

35% - Time

20% - Active Listening

13% - Tactfulness and Openness (Comprehension and Linguistic ability)

12% - Neutral Compassion (Gentleness)

10% - Sincerity

5% - Vulnerability

5% - Enthusiasm

To explain and give the rationale for this chart, it would be wise to give an example, a situation or- Understand how difficult it takes to build the trust for those with extreme trust issues.

In a case study I’ve recently read before, there’s this woman who went in therapy and spent many weeks and sessions with the therapists saying how she cannot express herself or answer the question because of her own trust issues.

So instead of asking questions or directing the therapy, she let the patient express herself. Sometimes, they would spend many hours doing nothing in the office, and won’t start the session until the patient finally got bored and start to speak for herself.

(Note: This isn’t a good idea when you’re not a therapist or neither did the patient willingly come to you to help her face the issues and problems. Doing nothing for a long time might make the person come to the conclusion that you are uninterested and a waste of time, so it is suggested that instead of doing nothing, they would do gentle and light activities that subtly remind the person of their own problems until they get comfortable enough to express themselves such as listening to music, story telling, or playing light games.)

Then the time came where she finally got comfortable enough to express herself, she got angry, expressed sadness, and despaired about the events that was crippling her mind for many years.

But what did the therapist do? No, he didn’t immediately controlled the direction of the session, neither did he just passively observed the woman, instead he complimented her ability to express herself and that he is interested on it by using first person pronouns and self-expression words.

Oh geez this is getting boring but you get the point. I’ll skip to the main content.

These people with the highest trust issues are one of the most broken humans in the planet. Always trying to gather themselves and fix it, but no matter what they do the sand falls outside their hands, unable to take any shape without a container. Technically, they are already “broken” in a sense, but in order to continue living, all humans must believe that they are alive and whole, thus creating the holographic illusion of a glass shattered with cracks on the inside and outside, being hold together by lots of duct tape and glue. This illusionary and projected sense of self is what they believe they are, so instead of acting like a broken corpse, they strive to act like an extremely fragile and technically dead versions of themselves to continue living.

So it is of utmost importance to handle them with care, to treat them in the gentlest way possible, and allow them to take all their time in the world. This may seem easy while reading this article, but this is one of the most difficult thing that some humans have to do, which is many levels of difficulty than a triple 280 degree air screwdriver backflip combo.

It takes lots of time and patience so if you haven’t experienced waiting for at least a year or two for something trivial but important to you, then it would be almost impossible. Patience is a legendary skill, being the only active skill that doesn’t have any cooldown and whose effects transcends time and space. You will need lots and lots of time, commitment, and perseverance to acquire that skill, so yeah, that’s the point it won’t be easy.

Now you may start think why these kind of annoying humans who have done little contribution to society should be given that much attention, time, and special treatment. But the answer is rather simple. Ask yourself, do you think you have contributed many things to the world? Have you really earned your right to exist and live? And do you deserve to be happier than millions of people? No you don’t, and neither do they. If you get treated by an enlightened therapist to unlock your potential and find yourself within just a year, then you would be 1000x better than you currently are. The same thing can happen for them, except they would need it more than you for hundreds of reasons. Stay put and use your critical mind to discover your weaknesses instead of criticizing others.

So where are we? Oh that’s right, we’re discussing about how to gain the trust of the most cynical and vigilant humans on the planet.

I placed the sincerity below the chart because some humans doesn’t want anymore self-pity and empathy from others, they are already blaming and feeling bad about themselves a thousand times per day, and they don’t want you or anyone else to increase that number. They want to solve their problem, make themselves whole again, express their feelings, and be understood by other people. They do not need any of your annoying sympathy that doesn’t really help or comfort them in any way. One must be gentle, neutral, and tactful instead of absorbing all their negative energy just for the sake of empathy.

Vulnerability is low on the list since making yourself worse than other’s doesn’t really help nor teach them anything. If tell your parents that Bob got worse grades than you on the test where you got a D, would your parents be happy or satisfied about it? No they won’t, so these attempts to self-deprecate just so others can feel better about themselves are quite inefficient, negative, and primitive. They won’t always perceive it as you expected, so you better off using the other techniques and skills on the chart unless you’re not a therapist and you are talking to your friend, then it can be a good way to establish socio-emotional connections and add more depth to your friendship.

Enthusiasm is great and cool, but most of the time, instead of being helpful to other people who have trust issues, it makes them more suspicious and guarded to you especially if you act like the church guy always knocking on the door to give flyers and pamphlets that almost no one reads or like the salesman trying to sell an overpriced item by projecting and combining their enthusiasm and positivity with it. However, it is a great thing when it comes to friendships and relationships and for people who only have a moderate degree of skepticism and not those extreme ones.

So overall, the most important things here to build trust is Time, Active Listening, Tactfulness, and Neutral Compassion. One cannot learn it by just practicing it in the head or imagining scenarios, like they say, practice makes progress, and learning from mistakes makes perfect.

Humans… are such fragile creatures. Emotionally vulnerable and socially exposed, you wonder how these fragile creatures manage to reach the top of the food chain. Is the duct tape really that strong? Maybe they found a way to cover their weakness? Well it’s not that surprising. They are built and made to break and grow, so their parts are always replaced often, where they eventually become not an unbreakable diamond, but a beautiful glass, filled with water, wine, and the cheers of the lively crowd.

“Remember this feeling my child, this feeling of childlike trust where you wander around the world, trusting everything that you see to be good and nice, without any worries of rejection or regret.”

“Trust no one, and betray the world around you. Don’t trust yourself, and betray your own self.”

#philosophy #trust #empathy #listening #psychology #connect #life #article #humanity

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typometrics · 6 years ago

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Socionics Type Portraits & Appearance (Beta)

Quadra 2: LSI, EIE, IEI, SLE

Realization of project, introduction and assimilation of results, fixation of idea as system of knowledge.

Decisive (Se, Ni) - World Rejecting

Merry (Fe, Ti) - Clarity Seeking

Aristocratic

LSI (ISTj, Ti-Se)

LSI-Ti Subtype - Kevin Bacon & Milla Jovovich (Instructor)

Self-assured, calm, restrained, correct and impenetrable. At times he may seem arrogant. Sufficiently kind, imperturbable, and unemotional. Very polite and attentive to details in conversation, likes to specify and clarify everything, but sometimes becomes too focused on details that are nonessential to others. Unhurried, perhaps even slow. Likes receiving exhaustively comprehensive and thorough information to his inquiries. Dislikes ambiguity. Internally, he is quite collected. Never loses his spirit and sense of perseverance. Tries to encourage those who are in need of support. Has a direct, motionless gaze that seems to look right through and not at his conversation partner. His movements are measured but constrained; there is a tendency to shuffle his feet against the floor when walking. When he turns, he does so with his entire body such that it sometimes seems like his neck is fixed to his shoulders; doesn't like to turn his head.

The most rational logical type of all. Very constructive. Strives towards organizational hierarchy, can excessively organize everyone else around him. Meticulous with his work and brings everything to its completion. Does not miss any details. Poorly tolerates chaos and confusion. Shows little dynamicity, is somewhat monotonous in his life. Outwardly seems strict, unfazed, composed and restrained. In work situations, he is official even with those who are close to him and even manifests barrack style of behavior. Conservative in clothing, his clothes are often strict, in dark tones, and resemble a uniform.

LSI-Se Subtypes - Hugh Laurie & Emily Blunt (Controller)

Appears more restless in behavior and internally emotional than the logical subtype. May seem somewhat restrained yet also obstinate and stubborn in his views, willing to enter conflicts when his opinions are not honored. Self-controlled and impersonal in his demeanor. Dislikes objections and lengthy explanations. Often watches the actions of others in order to try to assist them or to point out their mistakes. Sometimes in indignation, he makes reprimanding remarks, other times he simply completes the task himself or tries to help another person do it better. Flaring up, he can become unduly sharp and absolutist in his statements. Occasionally he tries to amend the situation and smiles with kindness and charm. He walks at a rapid pace, placing his feet as if he is "stamping" the ground. Makes an impression of a well-coordinated and active person. Dresses conservatively, but aims for an aesthetically pleasant, even stylish, appearance. In conversation, he attempts to get closer to his partner but doesn't make direct contact. Not inclined to overly sensitive, affectionate, and permissive treatment.

Gusty and impulsive. Doesn't always follow the same order and organization that he requires of others, meanwhile criticizing those who disrupt this order. Seems courteous and communicable at a distance, but in closer quarters can prove to be intolerant. If provoked, can respond by aggression. Strives towards leadership, but is best at managing smaller associations. Outwardly appears strong. Male representatives often have facial hair and prefer a freestyle in their clothing.

EIE (ENFj, Fe-Ni)

EIE-Fe Subtype - Dustin Hoffman, Gene Wilder & Katherine Heigl (Educator)

Internally very emotional, but usually modest and restrained in expression of his feelings. Unobtrusive in conversation tries to behave according to the rules of good tone and manners. Vulnerable and easily takes offense. In his heart and soul he often experiences dramatic emotions, but around strangers hides and tries to control them. It is difficult for him to truly relax, inside he is tense and high-strung, vulnerable and quite self-loving. Has a lot of insecurities, from which he usually suffers but tries not to show this. Outwardly can be proud and unapproachable. Usually secretive and careful exercises foresight and thinks things over in advance. Somewhat unsure in himself, but has patience and perseverance, and knows how to attain his goals. Very demanding in requiring others to observe ethical norms of behavior, and often cannot hold himself back from making remarks or giving advice when he sees that someone, from his point of view, is not behaving correctly. Characterized by swings of mood. Can be coldly haughty, stubborn, and demanding, then soft, heartfelt, considerate, and even vulnerable and defenseless. Holds himself with dignity. His movements are precise but smooth, sometimes demonstrative. Dresses modestly and with taste, but if he wishes can look very effective.

Very emotionally excitable, can be sharp. Shows high intensity of emotions. Decisive and artistic. Easily given to ecstasy, high effect, exaltation. Aristocratic in his manners. Frequently a good speaker, or a political leader with patriotic inclinations. Internally dramatic and spontaneous likes to demonstrate his opinion. Outwardly he can shock people around him by extremes in how he dresses: may looks like a homeless person with soiled sleeves, or, to the contrary, dress very brightly, vividly, or aristocratically extravagantly.

EIE-Ni Subtype - Gillian Jacobs & Jessica Biel (Artist)

Makes an impression of a serious, active, sociable person. An original, unpredictable, creative personality. Sociable, inquisitive and communicable. Quite emotional, vulnerable, and impressionable. Internally tense, experiences frequent doubts and oscillations, due to which can be unpredictable in his actions. At times can be hot-tempered and sharp in his statements. Very artistic, emotionally uninhibited, easily and freely expresses how he feels. Well perceptive of the moods of others and skillfully directs them. Knows how to speak with emotion and inspiration, sometimes even pathos. Very ironic and critical, can be stinging and arrogant. When in good spirits he can become the center of attention of any group. Sufficiently practical, but doesn't have enough self-assurance and confidence. At times he dresses somewhat unusually and extravagantly, other times simply and modestly. His movements and gusty, impulsive, but not unconstrained, and seem somewhat inhibited.

Predisposed to reflect, to experience internal doubts and oscillations. Thinks figuratively, has an inclination towards philosophy. Not very critical towards external appearances, undemanding in food. Reserved, vulnerable, can seem internally broken. Speaks his opinions unobtrusively. Responsible and punctual. He is a good teacher, mentor, educator, who can interest his listeners. Outwardly seems calm. Consistent in presenting his material.

IEI (INFp, Ni-Fe)

IEI-Ni Subtype - Fiona Apple (Idealist)

Appears as a calm, tactful, languid and diffident individual. He seems torn from reality, inert and poorly adapted to life. However, such impressions are erroneous, for he possesses a fine intuition, which aids his in establishing useful connections and obtaining support from influential people. Externally he seems serene, but in his heart he is sentimentally predisposed, has bouts of moodiness and melancholy, and regrets his mistakes and misfortunes for a long time. His mimicry is somewhat monotonous, often shows an expression of light amazement or full interest in his conversation partner. His gaze is dreamy and pensive, slightly strained, with a bit of luster, often expressing melancholy, attentiveness, or sardonic irony. His speech is measured, smooth, and intimately heart-felt. On his face there is almost constantly a polite half-smile that easily predisposes towards trust. Gestures are modest, timid, undemonstrative. Gait is unhurried and smooth.

Usually looks calm, dreamy, and contemplative. His facial expression is typically interrogative. Line of behavior is frequently passive. Romantic spirit, lives in the world of illusions and tries to avoid the negative. Optimistic. As a rule, avoids conflict situations and supports compromise. Constrained in the way he dresses. Elegant and refined. Can fulfill functions of staff assistant in presence of a "strong hand", take up work in psychology and psychotherapy.

IEI-Fe Subtype - Jared Leto, Jake Gyllenhaal & Kate Beckinsale (Diplomat)

Soft, charming and emotional person. Usually looks inspired and optimistic. Possess a fine sense of humor. May talk of his problems and failures with a smile. Ironic, crafty, unpredictable and inconsistent in behavior and conversation. Creates original contrasts, can unexpectedly jab at someone and then just as quickly embrace and kiss his conversation partner. Artistic and charming; unconstrained in conversation, occasionally even with shades of familiarity and impudence. Knows how to bridge the distance. Considerate, tactful, and caring; at times he is simply charming, so great is his talent at positively predisposing others to himself and being liked. Talented at persuasion: states requests in such a manner that it is difficult to refuse them. His movements are refined; his gait is graceful, hasty. Speech is full of emotion, rich with shades, sometimes melodious.

Entices, flatters, is charming and communicable. If he sees negative emotions in his environment, he will try to arrange things such that people will calm down. Mobilizes well in dangerous situations. Loves to be in the center of attention and to dramatize what is happening. Possesses a sense of humor. Easily manipulates with intonation and voice. Can work successfully as a journalist. He finds it easy to entice a person to start talking. Outwardly may appear extravagant, frequently adopts a bohemian, bright look.

SLE (ESTp, Se-Ti)

SLE-Se Subtype - Gregory Peck & Rachel Weisz (Coordinator)

Seems clever, impulsive, seemingly concealing within him a latent threat, far from being easygoing and appeasable. In reality, he can be sharp, sufficiently aggressive, and persistent. Can hold a grudge and be sufficiently resourceful to make the life of his ill-wishers become intolerable. Has a contrasting and unpredictable character. With those whom he loves can be kind, tender, even sentimental. Possesses a sense of humor, that easily molds into sarcasm and caustic irony. Talkative, charming, witty, critical and sharp. Likes epithets and slang expressions. His movements are springy and fast. Gait is somewhat waddling, with knees slightly bent, which yields a stealthy feline semblance. Has a characteristic evaluating gaze with slight squint. Usually looks after his health, periodically takes up physical sports, exercise of gymnastics. Dresses expensively and with taste. Most often he makes a bright impression of a self-assured and prospering person.

Sharp, demonstrative, attacking style of behavior. Can be expressive and expansive to the point of being aggressive. Feels at home in emergency and crisis situations, abruptly joins into conflicts, can apply pressure in order to create order. If he finds himself unoccupied by anything, can even provoke a conflict, so that later he can take initiative into his own hands. Emotional and sociable, with his attention won't pass by a single person of the opposite sex. Women of this type also take initiative in getting to know potential partners. Usually muscular, active and mobile, somewhat thin. Has a well-developed taste, a gourmand. In fashion drawn to exquisiteness and prestige.

SLE-Ti Subtype - Leonardo Decaprio & Kate Winslet (Organizer)

Leaves an impression of calm strength and self-assurance. Rational and consistent in his affairs. Hardworking and enduring. Usually, he is cold-blooded, restrained, collected and unfazed, but in moments of irritation does not conceal his anger, which shows in his look and in sudden categorical gestures. When he is calm, he is polite and courteous, tough keeps his conversation partners at a distance. His humor is blunt and can be somewhat crude. Sometimes he has a fast-moving, distrustful look that looks from under his eyebrows. Appearance is usually serious, somewhat guarded and alert. Gait and gestures are harmonious, flowing, and precise. Dresses somewhat monotonously, and strictly, although at times surprisingly brightly and extravagantly. Values quality in clothing, occasionally putting together sets from only a few items. In most cases has a tendency to not stand out. This applies both to how he behaves and how he dresses. Seems cold and inaccessible, even though he tries to be appropriate, even-tempered and well-wishing towards others. Holds himself with dignity.

Prefers to remain in the shadow, not showing his aspirations, but constantly holds his hand on the pulse of all that is happening around him. Outwardly appears balanced and phlegmatic. Before acting, checks all the variations of possible consequences, and only then enters into the game. Distrustful, careful, skeptic, conservative and realistic. Due to his low sociability makes an impression of being introverted. Once he has identified a target, acts slowly, by the method of 'slowly compressing ring’.

(source)

#socionics #typing others #typometrics #portraits

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gallifeathers · 6 years ago

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Ideas for Winged!Doctor Whump/other fic ideas (13th Doctor with canary-like wings)

Thrown off a building by an explosion and being too stunned to fly away and therefore landing rather painfully

Flight feathers clipped (it takes so long to go into moult and regrow them)

Feathers pulled out (ouch), a handful each time she refuses to speak

Blood feathers cut (some feathers have blood vessels and nerves and would be very painful to cut)

Using her wings to shield her Fam and her wings getting the brunt of the damage (I'm thinking fire - burnt and smoldering feathers as well as severe burns to the flesh underneath)

Simply spraining a wing and needing a massage

Dislocation of a wing at the shoulder joint (like a dislocated arm)

Broken wings at the "forearm" or "upper arm" - leaving the wing twisted at an odd angle, dragging the ground, and she cries out at the slightest motion that jars the broken wing and grinds the broken bones together

Being held in a cage that is too cramped for her to spread her wings out properly and she gets really sore and exhausted

When she finally passes out in safety, wrapping herself inside her wings instead of a blanket

Cuddling with someone (not saying Yasmin but it's totally her) and the cuddler falls asleep on her wing and that wing gets numb and tingly

Making bird sounds when she's in pain (from small chirps to hawk-like whistles and shrieks)

Clutching at the shoulder of a compromised wing

Putting her coat on over her wings to try and hide an injury but she's moving too stiffly and carefully

Getting hugged and stifling a cry of pain when the hugger accidentally squashes the hurt wing

Flying in what she thought was a safe area but getting shot in the wing by an unexpected sniper and falling out of the sky (again lmao)

Getting a net thrown over her and no matter how hard she thrashes and flails she can't get out of it's filmy entanglement

Getting kidnapped by aliens who are just trying to conserve the critically endangered species of Time Lord but she's pissed because she's trapped

Getting mistaken for an angel and just going with it ... Until the angel-slayers come to town

Suddenly being blinded for a while and being unable to fly (so much claustrophobia)

Someone trying to cut her wings off (how far do they get? Does she lose her wings? How big is her identity crisis when that happens?)

"How the FUCK am I supposed to wear human clothes when they aren't designed for people who have WINGS"

Slashing holes in shirts to accommodate the wingalings

Standing against a light source and being a dark silhouette with the light shining through her feathers, turning them glowing and golden

The incredible sensitivity of those feathers - each one has nerves that go directly to her brain - and how incredibly intimate it is to have someone casually touch her wings, much less sit and groom her feathers on purpose

Preening unconciously when she gets nervous, upset, stressed, or lies

That one patch of feathers that she just cannot reach to preen without assistance

A super special feather preening tool (a cheap comb from that market down the street)

Wrapping a wing around one of the Fam as a hug

Getting her wings chained down and she can't fly away

Bird body language - flaring her wings as a threat display, puffing up her feathers when she's cold or upset, being able to stabilize her head like a chicken does

Yaz discovering this head stabilization - holding the Doctor by the shoulders and moving her about while the Doctor's head stays in place (the Doctor can barely keep from laughing)

"Doctor, you eat like a bird" *gestures with wings* ya think?

Winged Time Lord flirting involves intricate dances involving flaring the wings and warbling carefully constructed tunes meant to charm and seduce ... She however just throws open her wings and shrieks because she has No Tact

Fighting with a Villain-of-the-week and they almost get away - until she stretches out a wing and clotheslines them as they run

#gallifeathers #doctor who #doctor who au #winged au #winged doctor #winged universe #wing fandom #wing whump #whump #whump prompts #whump ideas #whump tropes #thirteen #thirteenth doctor #thirteen x yasmin #thirteen x yaz #13th doctor

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ekedolphin · 4 years ago

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Sample RP for the World Wrestling Alliance

San Francisco, CA December 9, 2009 8:34 a.m. PDT

“Once there was a way to get back homeward… Once there was a way to get back home… Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry… And I will sing a lullaby…”

Listening to the remastered Abbey Road album by The Beatles on his iPod as he jogs down a sidewalk in the middle of San Francisco, California, John Grant—who, in the ring, called himself “The Lion”, as in a hungry young lion eager to prove his supremacy to the pack—lightly sings the words along with Paul McCartney about midway through the fifteen-minute-long medley that ends the last album The Beatles ever put together. John unfortunately inherited his mother’s sense of pitch, and so he’s slightly off-key, but he’s focused enough on his jogging that he doesn’t notice. Besides, in this part of town (and in this kind of cold) there aren’t really a lot of people out to care.

Wearing a light, black jacket with the letters “DV” in flaming blue letters on the back of it, along with black jogging pants, mittens, and Converse running shoes, John is protected, somewhat, from the near-40-degree weather. He could see his breath in front of him, but it didn’t bother him—he’s learned that battling the elements, whether they were the sub-zero temperatures of his father’s native Juneau, Alaska, or the ninety- and hundred-degree days of the California summers—is the best way to truly tell how someone will hold up against real physical pressure.

Not to mention that singing while jogging was a good way to practice breath control.

In this instance, John wasn’t just jogging for his health; he was jogging to the Inferno Wrestling Academy, the place where his uncle had spent six months from April to October torturing him and fifteen other kids in an effort to churn out the wrestling superstars of tomorrow. At least, it had started out as fifteen other kids. John remembered speaking with one of the Academy’s most notable graduates, Antonio Mason, who had gone on to a quite successful career in Japan and Mexico, and having Tony tell him that the Academy was one of the hardest physical regimens he’d ever been through. Antonio had been a three-time All-State linebacker in high school, so John had known what he’d been getting into when he applied…

…or, at least, he thought he had.

Any illusion that the five-time World Champion was going to take it easy on John just because he was his son was shattered in the first five minutes the younger Grant had spent on the mat. Steve had forgotten more wrestling moves than most people will ever know, and damn if he hadn’t applied more than a handful of them on John.

As usual, the Academy had a high washout rate for 2009: Steve Grant demanded nothing but excellence and the deepest commitment from his students, and many people weren’t prepared for that. But in the end, three students prevailed and graduated from the Academy: Barry Andrews, a guy who’d started out hating John’s guts (and nicknamed him “Spoon Boy” after the silver spoon John allegedly was born with in his mouth) but had ultimately come to respect him; Violet Waters, the first female graduate in the Academy’s four-year history; and John.

It’s Violet who greets John by raising up on her toes and shyly kissing his lips when she sees him just outside the Academy’s door. True to her name, Violet was wearing purple; purple, yellow and white were all she seemed to wear, in fact, from the Lakers warm-up jacket to her purple sweatpants and white tennis shoes (with purple highlights). The 5’7”, bespectacled, cream-colored African-American looks much more like a chemistry major at the University of San Francisco than a future professional wrestler. But she was, in fact, both. The shy kiss she greeted John with was an acknowledgement that they were still in the early stages of a romantic relationship. They’d actually met at the university, ironically; John had just finished some homework at the library and was killing time with a Sudoku puzzle book when Violet saw him and commented that she loved Sudoku. Their friendship had started quite easily after that.

Though she’d been friends with John for a month or two before they separately came to the Inferno Wrestling Academy, Violet had been stunned to learn that John was the son of “Blue Inferno” Steve Grant, whom Violet had grown up watching and admiring. John, in turn, had been amazed that the admittedly-nerdy Violet had any interest whatsover in professional wrestling.

Going through the fire together tends to leave the survivors much closer, and that was certainly true with John and Violet, who’d started dating two weeks before graduating the Academy. They’d agreed to let things progress at their own pace, and thus they were still a little shy, a little tentative around each other. Violet had had no serious boyfriends in high school; just a couple of disastrous first dates, but she liked John and wanted to make sure this relationship went right.

“You’re up early this morning,” John comments as he gave his girlfriend a light hug, and upon breaking the hug he slips a hand into his jacket to turn off his iPod and then removes the earphones.

“Yeah well, Harry told me you’d be showing up to view your first promo video in its completed form.” For her part, Violet had already completed a promo video and sent it to ten wrestling federations across the country, but had yet to hear back from any of them. If she was disheartened by it, she’d never shown it around John; besides, the chemistry degree she was working towards would ensure her a job in any number of fields when all was said and done. At the moment she was holding down employment with a start-up paint company.

“If nothing else, that 25-minute classic I had with Antonio on Halloween night should be more than enough to impress the scouts,” John says, feeling a burst of confidence as he remembered the night that he and Antonio Mason had put on a masterpiece of high-flying, brawling and technical wrestling at Shane’s Pub in Alameda. The shows that his father put on weren’t designed to replicate the big-time feel of the major pro wrestling federations of yore, but more the cult feel of the old ECW and small-time bingo-hall operations. But he stressed more than anything the ability to wrestle and the ability to entertain; he would have nothing to do with “garbage wrestling”.

“Hell, the highlights alone would convince me,” Violet says with a smile. “The Flying Space Tiger Drop that missed and wiped out the referee and the guy at the concession stand… the reversal of the Death Valley Driver that ended in a Tiger Suplex… and you got so much elevation on the Superfly Splash at the end I thought you’d never come down.”

John kisses Violet again, and says, “I’m glad to see my girlfriend, anyway, isn’t lacking in confidence. What about the actual interview? What’d you think of that?”

Violet, perhaps sensing that John wanted an honest critique of his interviewing skills, takes a moment or two to think before replying. “It reminded me a lot of your father in the latter days of his career,” she decides. “If you had butterflies up there, it certainly didn’t show. You displayed a level of confidence in your abilities that’s remarkable for someone who’s only had a handful of actual professional matches.” Violet takes a slight stutter-breath here, and John already knows her well enough to know that the constructive criticism was about to come.

“You may have shown a little bit too much bravado, in fact,” she adds. “You put a lot of pressure on yourself to succeed in the business—and, really, in everything you do. Almost like you’re afraid that if you don’t work hard every moment of every day, someone’s going to come and snatch everything away from you.”

John purses his lips, nodding slowly. Violet’s honesty was one of the things he’d come to admire about her, and that honesty was always couched in tact. “You might be right about that: I do put a lot of pressure on myself. I do want, very much, to succeed in the wrestling business.”

“Because of your father?” Violet asks, her tone making it pretty obvious that she already knows the answer.

Again, John nods. “And Uncle Brian. And even Uncle Adam. The three of them combined won just about every championship in every division—heavyweight, light-heavyweight, tag-team—that they set their minds to getting.” Indeed, it was the style of John’s uncle, “The Tiger” Brian Grant—far moreso than his father’s—that John had emulated in developing his own wrestling abilities. A lot of that had to do with the phyiscal differences between Steve and John: John was 6’3”, 227 pounds—tall by normal standards but about average among his wrestling peers. Steve, on the other hand, was 6’9”, 295 pounds in his wrestling days (though he was about 305 pounds in retirement). Steve Grant had been able to do insanely high-flying moves that were nearly unprecedented for a man of his size, and it was because of his martial-arts training and tremendous flexibility and conditioning.

John had no martial-arts training to speak of, and he also lacked Steve’s sheer power and size. Therefore, he had to rely on his technical mastery, speed, and high-flying ability.

“My father and Uncle Adam were so driven and determined to reach the absolute heights of the business,” John continues. “Even though they were best friends most of their careers, and later family, it didn’t matter to them if they were fighting alongside one another or against each other.”

“‘In this business, you can make friends or you can make money,’” Violet quotes, repeating the words that Chief Jay Strongbow once said to Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

“Right,” John says, nodding in agreement. He’d always wondered, though, whether Uncle Brian agreed with that philosophy. Based on his more modest list of career accomplishments compared to Steve, he doubted it was so.

“Well, let’s get in there,” Violet says, “and see the video that Harry and the gang have put together for you.”

Smiling, John takes Violet’s hand and walks into the Inferno Wrestling Academy with her, his calm demeanor belying the anxiety he felt at this moment. This video could either kick-start a career for him, or, in twenty years’ time, lie covered with dust at the bottom of a moving box somewhere.

~*~*~

A few minutes later…

Having removed his jacket to reveal a Sgt. Pepper album cover T-shirt underneath it, John sits with Violet in the darkened film room of the Academy, watching the video that he’d put together. Highlights of his match with Antonio Mason at Shane’s Pub start the video off, showing, of course, the offensive and defensive moves that were in John’s favor. In real life, the match had been far more back-and-forth than one might assume by watching the highlight video. But highlight videos weren’t meant to emulate real life; they were meant to spotlight one individual in particular.

John knows that the complete video of the match will also be sent to the wrestling promotions that he’s applying for, and so he doesn’t feel bad that the highlight video shows Tony (whom he had tremendous respect for) getting his ass kicked. And anyone who really knew wrestling would know that Tony’s ability to take those bumps was just as impressive as John’s ability to perform the moves in the first place.

So John watched, seeing these highlights for the first time. He’d consulted Harry Jaffee, the video editor—as well as Steve and Brian Grant—as to what moves he would like to have spotlighted, but he hadn’t yet had the opportunity to see himself wrestle on video. They’d certainly spared no expense, either: The video was a dual-layer DVD/Blu-Ray combo, presented in 1080p, and displayed on a large flat-screen television. The film footage had been shot in anamorphic widescreen format. “Blue Inferno” Steve Grant was a multi-millionaire several times over, and he wasn’t afraid to use that money to provide the best for his students.

John watched as he springboard-vaulted off the top rope, and was caught by Antonio. Tony had prepared to hit a fallaway slam, but John had grabbed the back of his knee and pulled him down to his back. There was another highlight of the Death Valley Driver reversal into a Running Tiger Bomb; the Flying Space Tiger Drop that took out the referee and the concession stand guy, sending popcorn and soda flying everywhere (but missing Antonio completely); the STF, figure-four leglock and Sharpshooter he’d applied at various points during the match; and, finally, a high-elevating Superfly Splash that ended John’s first professional match with a win. John lets out a whistle as he realizes for the first time how close he’d coming to slamming his head against the ceiling.

Then came the promo part of the video, during which announcer Alex Yost interviewed John following his match, while “Hells Bells” by AC/DC played lightly in the background to compliment it. John knew that this last bit showed some technical mastery from Harry and the gang: When the interview had been taking place, “Hells Bells” was blaring from the sound system. John had had to strain to be able to hear Alex’s questions over the din.

Alex Yost was dressed nattily in a brown sports coat, blue-and-silver tie and pants, and was about fifty years old. His neat appearance contrasted considerably with John, who looked like he’d just come through hell—but at least he’d come out triumphant.

“Thanks Quinn, and I’m standing here now with the winner of tonight’s epic main event, ‘The Lion’ John Grant.” Turning to angle towards John now, Alex continues to speak. “John, you were born and raised in this business. You’re the son of the great, former world heavyweight champion ‘Blue Inferno’ Steve Grant, and a graduate of the Inferno Wrestling Academy in San Francisco. What does it feel like to win your first professional match?”

When John spoke, his breath was still quite elevated from the hard work he’d put in, but he wasn’t out of breath. “Well, Quinn, it’s the culmination of months of hard work training to become one of the bright young stars of the business. The Inferno Wrestling Academy churns out only the most capable, most determined individuals, with the strongest, most disciplined minds. As you can probably tell by the way Tony and I brought down the house tonight, I didn’t breeze through the Academy just because my father was teaching me.”

“And I know you’re not satisfied with simply one great match,” Alex replied, stating the obvious. But then, it was supposed to be a leading question.

“Absolutely not; the Grant family of wrestlers has always been a family that strives to be the unqualified best at what we do.” John spoke with a steady intensity, and while he’d organized his thoughts in advance of the interview, he was, generally speaking, improvising what he was saying. “At the peak of his career, there was no wrestler, in any federation, whom my father couldn’t beat. I know I’ve only had one match, but I’m hungry for more. I want to prove myself against the greatest competition in the world, and establish my name as a champion just like my father, my uncle, and my uncle-in-law. Hell—I want to one day surpass all of them.

“So to every professional wrestling promoter in the world—if you’re looking for someone who will push himself every day to put on the highest-caliber, most entertaining matches, someone who’ll come in early and stay late, and do whatever it takes to make himself—and the company—successful, you’re looking at him. And for every one of the guys in the back, you’d better start worrying about protecting your spots, because this hungry young Lion is coming, and he’s not playing with kid gloves.”

Both Johns—the one on-screen talking to Alex, and the one in real-life sitting next to Violet—chuckle softly at his use of a mixed metaphor there.

With that, the screen fades to black, and “Hells Bells” by AC/DC continues to play, a little louder than before, before it, too, fades. Then the lights come up in the film room.

“Looks good, Harry,” John says to the very talented, albeit a little skittish, technical manager before the latter could utter a word.

“I agree,” Violet opines, giving John’s hand a light squeeze. “I know you’re gonna be sending it to, like, fifteen different places, but where do you hope to end up?”

“Well, the World Wrestling Alliance is gonna be starting up again in mid-January,” John tells her. “They’re gonna start off slowly, kind of having more of an independent feel to it, so it’ll be ripe for opportunities for a young wrestler to prove himself and move up the ranks.”

“Looks like you’ve already got this all mapped out,” Violet tells him, and a sheepish grin and shrug from John confirms that without words. “Well, wherever you end up, I know you’ll put on a show, and make your family—and me—proud.”

John blushes lightly, and gives Violet a soft kiss on the lips.

#johngrant #rp #oc rp #e-wrestling

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nyerus · 8 years ago

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Victor Nikiforov Appreciation Post!!!

I just want to take a moment and talk about how much I love Victor Nikiforov and how he’s just such a refreshing character. I know everyone and their dog has done a post like this already but I’ve been crying over this lovable goof for months and this had been sitting in my drafts for too long now anyway and also I’m avoiding my textbooks AND THIS SORTA TURNED INTO A CHARACTER ANALYSIS I’M SORRY.

So as far back as the PV, there were assumptions flying around that Victor would end up being an antagonist of some sort. That either he was using Yuuri for his own gain, or was just straight up evil. Laughable now, of course, but the reason those rumors were prevalent was because we see it so often. How easy was it to think that Victor was “helping” Yuuri only to further his own goals in the end? We’ve seen this common mentor-betrays-student trope before and it’s no wonder that early on fans were afraid of this even as the show progressed. And honestly? This would have made for some great drama—for Victor to turn out to not be such a nice guy and for him to eventually become someone Yuuri had to defeat in competition. However the show did not go down that route at all. It turns out that yeah, Victor is actually just a really nice guy who cares a great deal about Yuuri and the people around him. He doesn’t show up in Hasetsu with any evil ulterior motives—he just wants to get to know Yuuri and help him take his skating to the next level, and maybe find inspiration (and love) along the way.

Also how could a man with a heart-shaped smile be evil???

(Continued under the cut.)

We know for a fact that pre-series Victor was a lonely soul who couldn’t find the same joy in skating as he once did. Though he loved skating, it was now suffocating him and he knew he was close to the end of his career.

Diagnosis: depression, probably

But instead of wallowing in it, Victor goes out there and skates his heart out anyway (335.76 points overall at the GPF holy shit goddamn that’s him at his emotional lowest????). Maybe he was hoping someone would hear his plea through his skating. Then he dances with a cute boy at the banquet and has a great time and his life is changed forever—only for said cute boy to vanish into the night. Victor was probably super upset after this, but again, instead of wallowing he goes out there and skates his heart out to nab gold at Worlds. Maybe this time he was hoping Yuuri would watch him. One (1) viral video later and he decides “well time to drop everything in favor of love” and fly off to Japan. Victor took a MASSIVE risk by doing this. Who in their right mind would drop an insanely successful career just because some drunk dude asked “be my coach” months prior and made no contact since? As a fandom we seem to like to code Victor as being this ditzy, spontaneous person—and he is, to a degree. But Victor’s very smart. He’s not an idiot by any means. He would have known what dropping everything and going to Japan would mean but he did it anyway because he decided that the risk was worth it. That takes an insane amount of courage and I think that’s super understated. (And I’ve seen the theories that state that Victor had actually been planning it for a while and Yuuri’s video was just the final push, but even so the point still stands.)

And when he gets to Japan, expecting a love connection with Yuuri, he’s quickly faced with that fact that Yuuri does not want that. Victor is very clear in his romantic advances—he makes this apparent early on. But once he sees that Yuuri is uncomfortable with this he stops being so forward. Victor was clearly hurt by this at least to some degree (the man goes to sleep cuddling his doggo when he gets rejected…), but he doesn’t blame Yuuri for it. He doesn’t take out his frustration on Yuuri or anyone else—he just accepts it. In so many shows/movies/books the guy is relentless about pursuing his love interest even if they’re uncomfortable with it (and eventually the LI gives in, blah blah blah). That or he just pins his LI down like we see in so many other shows. But Victor does none of these things. He does the normal, rational human thing: he lets it go. He stops being so forward because he sees that it’s clearly making Yuuri uncomfortable. Honestly I shouldn’t have to praise the writers for writing Victor this way—this should be standard everywhere—but here we are. For once we got a character that’s mature about his romantic advances being rebuffed. And he doesn’t sulk around, either.

(A shout-out here for Victor immediately supporting Yuuri’s “Katsudon is my Eros” spiel from that moment in episode 3. Like after the initial moment of shock, his knee-jerk reaction was support, not indignation or anything else. Victor knew that Yuuri was a sensitive person and was glad that he came up with something unique and quintessentially him, rather than saying anything that could potentially dishearten him before the big Onsen on Ice showdown. Did Victor break down afterwards and cry into his bowl? Probably. But not in front of Yuuri.)

Also I think if Yuuri gave off a strong “I-don’t-have-any-romantic-feelings-for-you” vibe for real, Victor would have totally backed off. He would have been crushed inside, but he was dedicated to being Yuuri’s coach already and he wouldn’t flake on that just because he was heartbroken. But Yuuri actually didn’t give off any such vibes—instead he sort of makes it clear that there was something between them, even if Yuuri himself was hesitant to call it romantic.

That’s the “hon I’m getting mixed signals from you” look.

Yet instead of returning to his old tactics, Victor realizes that he needs to be a lot more subtle in how he shows Yuuri affection. He takes the time to learn what Yuuri is and isn’t okay with, and he never makes Yuuri uncomfortable from this point on. And on that subject, he gets to know Yuuri as a person. This is highlighted especially in episode 4. When Yuuri pushes him away because of his own anxiety, Victor tries his hardest to re-connect. And when all his attempts don’t work, instead of getting angry at Yuuri and demanding an explanation like many people would, he takes Yuuri to a place where he can feel safe and comfortable (the beach). He opens up a little bit about himself first, allowing Yuuri to do the same afterwards. Victor clearly does not know what it’s like to have anxiety in the way Yuuri does, but he’s aware of that and sincerely tries his best to make sure he’s someone Yuuri can always confide in. It’s this genuine sincerity that makes all the difference, too.

And a moment here to cry over the fact that the beach scene was probably as pivotal for Victor as it was for Yuuri. It was probably one of the few times someone asked him to be himself instead of putting on a face. He was so ready to play whatever role Yuuri needed him to be (be it platonic or romantic), and that’s actually really sad if you think about it. That’s probably how Victor interacted with most of the people in his life. And even though Victor had feelings for Yuuri, he was willing to stow them in favor of being what Yuuri needed. But on that beach, Yuuri told him he didn’t want anything but Victor, as himself, not as anyone else—and to Victor that was probably something very important.

He probably has no idea what being himself means though.

Now I mentioned that Victor never coddles Yuuri and I think that’s a really important thing. Even though he’s clearly head-over-heels for the guy, when Victor is in coach mode he’s fairly professional. Sure he’s touchy-feely, but that physical contact is something that soothes Yuuri and gives him strength. Yet as quick as Victor is to give praise where it’s due, he’s just as quick to give constructive criticism. Sometimes he’s not always the most tactful when it comes to this, but it’s still really significant because, again, this is exactly what Yuuri needs. This is the type of support Yuuri craves and it’s why their student-coach relationship works so well. And while there’s definitely blurred lines in regards to aforementioned relationship, Victor does keep his emotions from affecting his coaching to a degree. The best example of this is in the beginning of episode 12, where Victor is very clearly still distraught because of Yuuri’s “let’s end this” thing, but he’s still as supportive of Yuuri as he can be despite the fact that he probably felt like he’d been shot in the heart several times. And when he sees that Yuuri is in need of support before the free skate, Victor tries his best to give him some comforting words until Yuuri tells him to knock it off and just be himself. (While we’re on the subject, I just want to point out that Victor never pressures Yuuri into making a decision about his future, despite how upset he was when Yuuri dropped the bombshell on him. Though maybe some clear communication could have prevented the whole thing—but I digress. That’s another post.)

Now of course I’m going to talk about That Garage Scene from episode 7, too. I know we were all going “what were you thinking?!” when Victor pulled the “if you miss the podium I’ll take responsibility and resign as your coach” shocker. But this was a super important scene, nonetheless, and made me actually really like Victor as a person. Because when Victor messes up here, he realizes it. He understands that he screwed up and inadvertently hurt Yuuri and immediately apologizes for it without trying to explain himself—because he knows it doesn’t matter why; what matters is that he hurt Yuuri by saying it in the first place. He has no idea how to comfort someone because he’s never been in an emotionally deep relationship before, but when Yuuri tells him what he needs out of him, Victor listens and immediately modifies his behavior so that never does something like that again. This is how an apology should be and is more than I can say for a lot of people, to be honest.

Switching gears now, I also want to talk about how even though Victor was in a foreign country, he never once complained. Everyone uses chopsticks to eat here? Great—chopsticks it is! Has to sleep on a futon for a few days until his stuff is set up? No problem! All the locals speak a completely different language than him? Konnichiwa, Mr. Fisherman! As someone who moved to a different country for school myself, I can say that adjusting to a culture is by no means easy. And for me, it was moving back to a country I was originally born in and whose culture I was at least surrounded by even back home—yet it was still a case of massive culture shock that took me months to adjust to. Sure Victor’s been around the world for competitions and things, but visiting various places for a few days at a time for a sporting event is vastly different than moving to a place and actually living there. Like… interacting with people who may or may not understand you, adjusting to the food and the climate, and learning the customs and language…? That’s a type of hard many people will never understand. It’s not easy for anyone and it probably wasn’t easy for Victor either—yet he embraced it with zeal and never complained. I don’t even know where to begin with that.

Too adorable I can’t—

Going off of that, Victor’s just a really nice guy. Like a genuinely good person. He’s incredibly talented, wealthy, and famous yet he never talks down to anyone. He never badmouthed any of his competitors (though no one in the show really does) and is courteous to everyone around him. He’s sincere in his affections and isn’t afraid to show it. It’s a little funny, actually, how on one hand he can come off as an eccentric genius who’s a bit lost, and yet on the other hand he just seems to have his shit together incredibly well. I.e. he can be a bit childish at times but when it counts he’s #AdultGoals.

But yeah, Victor is by no means perfect though. He has a number of flaws but all of them make him feel more real as a character. No one is perfect—we slip up and say things we don’t mean and do things we ultimately regret. And like… Victor is forgetful and doesn’t always know how to navigate a one-on-one social situation and is evidently not a paragon of clear communication sometimes. But when he does fuck up, he tries his best to fix things and never throws around blame. It’s just really nice to see a male character who is genuinely funny, kind, and sensitive (and beautiful) and not subject to those creepy, toxic masculine stereotypes we often see in media.

(Since we don’t know anything about Victor’s past I didn’t mention it. But if it turns out he has a tragic backstory I will cry myself to sleep because it would mean he’s a sweetheart despite that—and those are the characters I like the most.)

#yoi #yuri on ice #yuri!!! on ice #victor nikiforov #viktor nikiforov #this post is like 4 months too late i'm sorry #but think of it as a reminder that victor is a good character and i love him #why did i even write this #oh that's right i like to avoid my real-life responsibilities #YOI is my coping mechanism i swear #nyerus.txt #meta

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fatherofwands · 6 years ago

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Card 1, Situation: Today’s energy is Heart centred and focused on an urge or need for freedom. Wisdom and Beauty are highlighted qualities and you may seek one through the other and vice versa. Connection and connectivity, interconnectedness, will become most apparent now. You’ll likely learn much through experiences based on those concepts today. Authority figures such as teachers, tutors, lawyers, priests, doctors and counsellors may have an important impact on you now or play a key role in today’s unfolding. An auspicious day to seek out sage advice and it may come to you from an unexpected source, potentially from someone with a strong connection to Mother Earth and nature. Seeking yourself and seeking yourself through what you have will likely hold the Key to or unlock certain pivotal answers you’ve been looking for. Intuition, deep inner knowing and the realm of Spirit is coming to the fore now. Bridges are easily built today. Card 2, Don’t do: Don’t dwell or imprison yourself in your mind today as body, soul and Spirit are highlighted. Don’t doubt your abilities, your place in this world nor where you’re at on your Journey. Don’t despair over lack of sleep nor fail to feel your way through and understand any recent nightmares you’ve experienced as they may be trying to tell you something more than meets the eye. Don’t isolate yourself or allow fear of loss to prevent you from taking action. Card 3, Do: Actively look to and plan for the long term benefits and gain of work and effort put in today. Seek to cooperate through diplomacy and tact so that a more efficient solution may be produced. Work with your body in order to translate your Divine creativity into this manifest world and potential objects. Develop your skills, talents and abilities, craftsmanship is highlighted as a good undertaking. Communicate, be open to both giving and receiving advice, constructive criticism may abound. Set up a plan and a goal, craft a Vision. Whatever you engage in today, ensure you do it well, pay attention. Instructions, blueprints and manuals are important now. ⬇️ (at Karlskrona, Sweden) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt1UpPBnbjy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1j6u3qhlaw17n

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brianwilly · 8 years ago

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So apparently I wanna talk about Secret Empire

[Shows up a month late with Pete’s Coffee]

There’ve already been a lot of well-written thinkpieces and entries about this comic, about Nick Spencer, about it all. But I wanted to maybe throw my two-cents into the pile because, to this day, I think most people are still a little confused about where the outrage is coming from, what exactly is making people uncomfortable, and why it all just keeps snowballing on itself.

And honestly I don’t blame those people; this whole situation is kinda hard to parse. You think it’d be easy to understand why “They turned Captain America into a Nazi” makes people upset, but the thing about Secret Empire is that it honestly does a good pretty job of covering its own ass, of not doing anything overtly offensive, of leaving in all the loopholes and technicalities and escape clauses to its own premise. “It’s going to be undone in the end.” “He’s not actually a Nazi, he’s just brainwashed (even though the story goes on and on for pages about how he’s actually not brainwashed and is in fact a Nazi).” “We’re treating Nazis as bad guys, not glorifying them.” “And they’re not really Nazis, they’re Hydra, it’s totally different.” “We’re tackling topical issues! Aren’t we brave! And daring!”

And that’s the kind of stuff I wanna try to cut through here, but it’s gonna require...well...yet another thinkpiece. Sorry about that.

So I think that Tumblr has covered much of this pretty well, but something to be aware of is that, for a while now, genre media has had A) really iffy mindsets about Jewish issues and B) a sort of casual flirtation with "cool Nazis" as some edgy cool thing to hype and market. It’s not glorifying Nazis exactly, but it’s using that kind of imagery and ideology as tools to sell your books and movies and TV. And when I say "genre media" has been doing these things, I actually am specifically referring to Marvel comics and studios for a notable chunk of these instances.

When you combine those instances with the state of the world where Nazism has been regaining traction with the 'chans and redditors and within the White House itself, with Holocaust denialism and Jewish defamation being a regular fixture of the news cycle...it's no wonder that members of the Jewish community and blogosphere has been feeling disenfranchised by a lot of the old entities and structures that had seemed like they should be able to count on as a matter of course. That includes the government, that includes our fellow citizens, and it also includes the media.

(sidebar, I am not Jewish, I just enjoy their comics!)

That's what readers mean when they say this feels like the worst sort of climate for a story that reveals and is marketed on the premise that Captain America was secretly a Nazi all along. It's not that people don't want the current political climate to be examined and lampshaded in media, it's that this specific method of examination comes across scarily comparable to all the antisemitic media and rhetoric that's been released throughout the years which has led us to this current political climate in the first place. It's the media-slash-rhetoric where Jewish (and other) characters have their origins retconned and whitewashed into homogeneity, where pontificating supervillains are just misunderstood revolutionaries who might have a point or something, where fascist police-states are shock value tropes to engender hype and interest amongst audiences.

Spencer's argument is that this story, which depicts a universe where the fascists win, is intended to incite discourse and criticism against such a universe. Hydra are still clearly the bad guys of the story, we're obviously intended to want to see them lose, of course they're going to lose by the end. But the way that the story has been constructed up to this point exhibits a lot of the same signatures of various antisemitic story beats we've had throughout the years. Captain America being retconned from a stalwart defender of Jewish people into being a Nazi agent, for instance, evokes Wanda and Pietro Maximoff being changed from prominent Jewish-Romani superheroes into whitewashed Hydra recruits on the big screen...and there was certainly no secret message or hidden allegory behind the Maximoffs' change; all it was was offensive and tone-deaf and that was it.

For another instance, Nazi Steve delivering issues-long sermons about how the heroes of this world have gotten complacent and misguided and that the world needs someone willing to make the tough choices, to do what it takes to protect it, is reminiscent of Tony Stark and Carol Danvers making fascism-apologia for months on end throughout the two Civil War event comics, like, hey maybe these guys playing the hardball roles have a point right? Hey aren't we so hardcore and edgy for tackling the hardcore and edgy topics? CHOOSE YOUR SIDE!...and in the end this fascism-apologia is just played completely straight, no hidden critique, no last-minute swerve, just Marvel turning its heroes into borderline supervillains and that was the end of the story. But hey, this story here and now will be totally different from that! Becuuuz...for some reason.

To be direct about his: This isn’t our first rodeo, Marvel Comics. Let’s not pretend that Marvel...and DC, let’s be fair...haven't in fact made a lot of legitimately terrible in-canon offensive character assassinations of iconic characters and that it's not that unreasonable to be afraid of it happening again at any given point. Let’s not pretend that Marvel hasn’t done a lot of those things for the specific reason of angering readers and then feeding off of that anger and attention.

At the very least, there's been this weird romanticizing of Hydra Cap from Spencer in what I've read of these books so far; it doesn’t exactly refute the premise that Steve being Hydra is bad, but Steve is still the protagonist of these books no matter how brainwashed he is, so these issues seem to have come across less like "Our heroes have to prevail against this nefarious schemer and his nefarious schemes!" and more like "Watch in wonder as this shadowy agent prevails against all the clueless establishment and does badass things throughout his mission!" It falls into the "cool Nazi" trend where it's like, of course we're consciously aware that he's the bad guy here, but isn't he so edgy and hardcore and badass anyway? I haven't read as many issues of Hydra Cap as Spencer would probably like so, I dunno, let me know if I'm way off here.

So, to summarize...well, not summarize exactly, but to organize these points, lets’ do a list. Everyone likes lists, right?

1) Showing the "bad guys" losing in, like, probably the very last issue of this year long storyline (which also included the main Captain America book which led up to the actual event) doesn't suddenly omit all those issues where the "bad guys" were shown being edgy and hardcore and badass and smart and powerful and pulling one over on all those dense clueless liberal "good guys," except in this case the bad guys are people who directly abetted in the Holocaust and not the guys who stole forty cakes.

2) This is during a time in the world where antisemitic rhetoric is seeing a startling resurgence -- or maybe just coming back into the light again after hiding away for a bit -- and Holocaust denialism, vandalism of public Jewish spaces, and outright physical violence being more and more common occurrences.

3) Readers in general have been consistently burned by Marvel's consistently tone-deaf depictions of moral or social narratives throughout their events (Civil War: police states are great!) (Civil War II: police states are great!) (IvX: Cyclops is goddamn HITLER for some reason). Jewish readers, in particular, have good reason to not to trust Marvel to be respectful and tactful of their issues. Any such complaints or concerns have been responded to with derision or misunderstanding on Spencer's part, which only makes everyone angrier and more wary.

4) Indeed, Marvel and Spencer's go-to insistence that Hydra are totally not Nazis at all and you're just being nitpicky if you say they're Nazis just further makes them come across as tone-deaf and bullish on the matter, on top of (probably unknowingly, if I’m feeling generous) mirroring the talking points of actual real life Nazis, who've been trying to rebrand themselves as something different for years in order to come across more fluffy and palatable to mainstream sensibilities.

5) I mean there's also the fact that Hydra is -- as currently depicted in this very event by the very writer who keeps saying they're not Nazis on Twitter -- a completely fascistic political regime that stifles free thought and rewrites history through fear, violence, and propaganda and oh hey did someone mention concentration camps? ‘Cuz there are concentration camps in this book. Hydra is functionally indistinguishable from Nazis in this actual book. This is not a book about Captain America being brainwashed by Saturnians to plant death lasers on the moon, this is a book about Captain America being a Nazi and doing things associated with Nazis in absolutely every respect. But sure let’s get comic shop owners to dress up like them and stuff

6) "I don’t care if this gets undone next year, next month, next week. I know it’s clickbait disguised as storytelling. I am not angry because omg how dare you ruin Steve Rogers forever. I am angry because how dare you use eleven million deaths as clickbait." Copypasted directly, because how can you get clearer than that.

7) Spencer's work with Sam Wilson Captain America, which generally turns him into a centrist apologist at best who couldn't believe that he himself was ever that much of an annoying liberal activist or something and occasionally fights literal "social justice warriors" on college campuses throwing bombs and internet slang, isn’t a particularly encouraging thing to have hanging on the back of your mind while reading this story about how Steve Rogers was actually a Nazi all along. 8) In a world where an X-Men artist is literally sneaking secret antisemitic propaganda into books that are supposed to celebrate diversity and civil activism, can you really blame people for being antsy about a comic book that is making members of Stormfront cream themselves by revealing that Steve Rogers was a secret Nazi all along?

So yeah, I dunno if I have any great point to make with any of this. I just felt like collating all the outrage and shedding a little light on how the situation comes across to me. Secret Empire isn’t exactly the sort of clear-cut idiocy where, y’know, some dense writer fridged yet another female character or replaced yet another hero of color with his white predecessor from forty years ago. Its problems are a bit more intricate, which means the blowback is a bit more intricate as well.

#Captain America #Secret Empire #Nick Spencer #Marvel Comics #Marvel #Steve Rogers #Hydra #Nazis #comics #Overthinking

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entj-werewolf · 8 years ago

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ISFJ, INFJ, ISFP, ESTJ

1. ISFJ: What's a memory that you look back on often?

I’m not sure what memories I look back on often, so I don’t quite know what one to pick. But, hmmm... I think in general, I’ll look back on lots of my days that I had been pretty physically crippled from my anxiety. It comes back to mind a lot because I’m in such a better state, that I can’t help but realize how much better I really got after that. It doesn’t always fully hit me until I’m doing something I hadn’t been able to do for 4 years, y’know? But at the same time, I missed out on a lot during those years and got very behind in some of my own pursuits/passions (like programming). I want to “catch up” somehow and make up for that lost time, but I probably can’t. I can still dream though... And keep trying.

Related to those general memories of that rough patch in my life, the bigger memories that stick out are the times I ended up in the hospital from horrifying panic attacks (which shot my heart rate too high and needed monitoring and serious calming down). Stuff like that?

2. INFJ: Is there something that people tend to misunderstand about you?

Definitely depends on the person, but there have been times I was misunderstood as being neglectful and/or not caring at all about someone - this usually coming from friends who haven’t known me for too long yet or are in defensive/skeptical states of mind. I’m not blaming them, of course, as I did do things that probably came off wrong despite not having any ill intentions. It’s just one of those strange matters of different perspectives that everyone deals with in other people at some point. I have mostly Feeling type friends who do want to feel absolutely loved, valued, etc., so I have times that I screw up in my wording and the context bursts into flames at them.

I mean, one time I made some off-handed jokes to some friends about how I wasn’t sure what caused lots of people I know (including one of these friends) to have crushes on me and so on. And I talked about how idk what crushes feel like, and joked that it’s kinda a “waste” for people to have said feelings for me and they should try to “stop” the feelings. Then, I accidentally remarked something in the midst of it (can’t fully remember what anymore now though).

I was mostly intending its harsher tone toward the people I had left from my life since they were being too creepy/manipulative with their crushes, but one of the friends with this crush thought it was directed at ‘em too. That friend didn’t really react hurt at first, but later in a private conversation brought it up and thought I was treating those feelings as a joke or something. Didn’t help that I was telling these people how I find such feelings as things that can be stopped out of sheer will (which is something I’ve done and continue to do for some other emotion things). Ughhh... Whoops.

There’s also the weird misunderstanding my different family members have toward me, buuut I won’t get into those here, really. It’s messy and would make this answer too long!

3. ISFP: How do you express yourself?

Usually my artwork, since that’s where I can draw anything I enjoy and have interest in. Sometimes, I also express myself through the clothes I wear, but that’s if I have reason for using those clothes at all. (Like when I was having fun with the Pokemon Go craze, I had a blast wearing my Pokemon clothes to go with it!)

4. ESTJ: How would you describe your work ethic?

Okay, so... Let’s see how to explain my work ethics... I will quickly disclaim too, however, that I cannot consider myself an outright expert on this who knows everything. This is just what I’ve figured out at this point in my life at 22 years old, mixed with some things I find ideal for the best kind of workplace in general. There’s also some stuff I observe in a “how to improve or use to best potential” kind of way, so I might have a few views that aren’t “fully practiced” or “tried and true.” I cannot claim either that my views on this are perfect, blahblah. This just goes on ‘cause I don’t know if to expect anything explosive or just a-okay to come from this, pfffft.

(This got really long and probably seems boring, so I have it under a read more only for those who really are curious and have time to read a near-essay on this crud. -coughs-)

People need to be respectful to each other and not be whiny about stuff (they’re allowed to have complaints, but those have to be reasonable and legitimate). Overall, constructive criticism is much more preferred over people just complaining all the time for the sake of complaining. I sortaaa see this as a general “interact with anyone” rule too, though....

Don’t underpay, and don’t overpay either. Really know how to measure monetary value in things and/or employees. But, also take advantage of “deals” in value changes. Supply and demand is cool and should be used for good reason when it comes to making product prices! Position and purpose that each person has in a job, plus the amount of quality work they actually do (not just the time spent doing it), is also important to measuring their paycheck’s worth. No favoritism, just fair observations and analyses of all of these values.

Speaking of favoritism, really avoid that too. It can screw things up, shake things out of balance, and put too many others at a disadvantage. Then, they likely are the type of people to think you’re being stupid with such actions. (This is more of a strict case to people working as employers or have this higher position, though... Doesn’t matter too much if regular employees have “favoritism” out of being friends. It just has to not distract them too much while they’re clocked in, and it’s all okay!)

Another issue with favoritism is an employer that clings too much to the work one of their employees brings to the business/job/whatever. This can be a huge hinderance on this favored employee, but also hinder the employer and their business in the long term. It’s like one of those obsessive girlfriends/boyfriends that never leave you alone and leech off your work! Avoid at all freaking costs! Teach the employer to let go if you’re one of these favored employees and you want to do something else with your life. Quitting is a free option, but you do have to balance the consequences of it. Don’t quit if you don’t have the next job to join, but also make sure your leave is on a good note so you don’t obliterate your reputation as someone people want to hire. Also, if that employer is rich with a tantrum, maybe avoid upsetting them with any dramatic quitting or anything. Idk if a person can seriously be sued just for quitting, but hey, I’ve seen people get sued for dumber reasons. It’s just a form of caution you have to learn, ‘cause there are ridiculous people out there even in professional positions, man.

(I may or may not also be this favored employee and hate it because I want to move on, the job is bad for my carpal tunnel and respitory health, and the boss doesn’t seem interested in hiring anyone else or able to find another person to take my place.... Help.)

Don’t be too pushy. This is coming from someone who’s seen as pushy sometimes (or lots of times), but there’s a time and place for everything no matter what position you have in a job. Often times, people are less likely to listen to you or value your opinions (whether reasonable or not), because instead they just see you as someone wanting everything to go your own way, and not open to anything else. Just, be wary of this. I’ve made mistakes on it (out of stress) and it probably diminished a bit of how my own parents view my ability to be an employee. It produces frustrating results - believe me. Wording is also important. If you’re careful with your wording and its timing, and how frequently you bring up the same reasonable or unreasonable criticism/complaint, then you won’t be seen as pushy quite that easily. You just increase your odds of seeming too pushy if you really are, y’know, lacking tact in your wording and constantly emphasizing stuff. It’s a bad habit of mine that I’m working on, but it’s something that all people gotta work on too in their own ways.

Clear communication is the most important thing in a job! No matter your position, status, role, whatever in a job.... This is key and can prevent so many future problems. If there’s a completely decided change in a schedule, policy, or anything else that affects the job, you need to make it clear ASAP. Don’t wait on it, don’t bounce around it, and don’t even try to be vague on this stuff to others. Make it clear, concise, and don’t screw up the information. Have it prepared as quick as possible, and then share it with others as quick as possible. It’s like the whole “rip off the bandage” thing. Slowly peeling it and delaying its removal is only going to hurt more, man. Comminucation is a bit of a problem in my current job, and it’s absolutely frustrating and exhausting. Not to complete fault of my boss, but that’s a whole other topic and again - not what I’ll get into here. Just saying, I definitely know how cruddy it can be for bad comminucation skills/tactics in a workplace (or anything involving cooperative efforts). I’m also saying this as someone who is still very socially awkward and is a bit shy, but if it’s something serious like this with vital consequences, I do try and step out of my awkwardness and hope to initiate this communication well. (I’m usually okay with responding to communication, but yeah, I try to force myself into the initiative parts for the sake of things like this.)

-DEEP BREATH- I think that’s the most I can write on this here. It’s as brief as I can keep this while also making sure the ethics are clear - in case this is actually decent advice for people. I’m not too sure myself, so who knows.

Thanks for the questions as always!

#my rambles #mbti fun #questions #my replies #work ethic #job stuff #etc.etc.#Anonymous #reply

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bonnissance · 8 years ago

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critical ranting about holby under the cut (bc I am also sick of long holby text posts bc reading is hard)

But I have Thoughts(tm) I need to air because there are many things that really really get my goat about Serena’s current story and almost all of it is due to the fact that her entire narrative arc has been constructed to give Jasmine Burrows a storyline.

To begin, I hold that this narrative arc is an example of poor storytelling. As I’ve vague discussed before, I think Elinor’s introduction+exit=the fall out of her death was very poorly constructed and executed. The pacing is wrong, the rhythm of progression is beyond clunky, and the “you fill in the blanks” between the plot points the writers are handing to the audience are too large and frequent to be of any benefit to the narrative.

They reintroduced Elinor far too briefly for anyone to actually care that the character die, because, of course, the point wasn’t that Elinor died: it was that Serena Campbell’s daughter died. Following that, they left out crucial and oh so very important scenes in Serena’s story. For instance, discussing Elinor’s condition with the Doctors and Edward, their decision to turn of the ventilator, and preparing for the funeral. Nevertheless, those plot points were left out of Serena’s narrative as a deliberate decision.

So too was the choice to leave out any depiction of Serena’s grief at home. Which in itself, I shall concede, is understandable given Holby is a medial drama situated in a work place hospital and generally only includes out of hospital scenes when large concentrations of hospital employees are there at the same time such as Albie’s and work functions, etc.

However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as the trio’s house and now Dom and Issac’s domesticity. Those scenes are included because they are essential to the story those characters are telling at the time. Zosia’s early story is inherently connected to her personal life. As is Dom and Issac’s storyline necessitates the blurring of profession and personal and how Issac’s abuse alters depending on the situation. Thus, Holby has a history of included non-work place related scenes when it furthers the story they have chosen to tell.

Yet the deliberately decided against including allowing Serena to grieve in the safety and comfort of her own home, just as the arguably essential scenes above mentioned scenes were left out of scripts. In fact, that entire section of Serena’s storyline was barely even acknowledged. Now, we all know that Russell would have knocked those scenes out of the park. So leaving them out wasn’t the writers factoring in to a lack of ability on behalf of their performer. Nor do I believe they left them out because the writers were unable to write the content. On the contrary, I think Holby’s writer’s room to be more than capable of producing that type of content and doing it rather well.

It then follows that the writers made a deliberate decision to they breezed over what ought to have been a significant point of character development in favour of inserting her straight back onto the ward. To ensure that her grief and every unhealthy coping mechanism she uses to get through the day would be on full display to her colleagues, and to the audience. The writers forced Serena back onto the ward, to the same physical location of her daughter’s death, in order to deliberately blur the lines of the character’s personal tragedy with her professional existence.

They explicated unhealthy coping techniques that directly affected Serena’s behaviour towards her colleagues, and they did it without providing her with an adequate support network.

They created an unhealthy inter-generational dynamic between Serena and Jasmine that, at times, epitomises the ‘old queers are predatory and dangerous to young women’ trope. They glazed over Serena’s panic attacks and fugue states in favour implying she’s drinking on the job. They justified the narrative shaming of Serena reaching out to the one person in the world who understood what it meant to lose their daughter: Elinor Campbell, without bothering to make it clear that problem was never Serena wanting emotional support from Edward. The problem was that she continued to try and engage with him after he made it clear he was in no way prepared to provide Serena with the care she was requesting. Once again leaving Serena without a support network as well as implying her desire for the support was unreasonable.

They continued pushing the mentor/mentee dynamic between Jasmine and Serena to unprofessional and unhealthy levels. Now, while there is certainly examples of emotionally abusive behaviour between Serena and Jasmine, I avoid using the term “abusive” to describe their entire relationship. I don’t believe the mistreatment occurring has been sustained long enough to warrant the term. (It bears mentioning that this classification is based on my own personal experiences with emotional abuse and that I have little interest in expanding on this reasoning should anyone take issue with this statement.) Instead, I would classify this situation as incidental grooming between two people who have positioned another in an unhealthy and toxic position in their live.

Granted, they both agreed to a mentor/mentee dynamic. However, Jasmine in no way deserves to be belittled and bullied in the work place, to have Serena use her as a project to help process her grief, or to become the focal point of Serena’s need to make sure what happened with Elinor never happens to anyone else. But nor does Serena deserve to become the source of Jasmine’s validation, to overcompensates for Jasmine’s already developed sense of unworthiness, or become a maternal care provider which Jasmine so clearly wants her to be. Both of them are using the other in horridly unhealthy ways and desperately need counselling to process their own emotional traumas.

But once again, the writers don’t bother to make clear the actual issues in these exchanges, nor handle the fall out of these situations with the degree of seriousness issues such as these actually require. Instead, they continue to escalate things between Serena and Jasmine, which we know cumulates into Serena telling Jasmine she wishes Jasmine were dead, because this was their intention all along.

Despite the fact that Elinor was Serena’s daughter, the point of killing off her off was not to give Serena a storyline. Elinor’s death and the resulting grief, which has irrevocably changed the character at the very core, was not about Serena at all, because this entire narrative was constructed to give Jasmine Burrows a storyline.

And that fact makes me furious.

Because Holby gave us the story of a middle aged woman discovering her same-sex attraction in a situation where her desire was mutual and returned. They gave us a story in which that character was about to embark on a healthy, fulfilling, sustainable relationship that satisfied her emotional, physical, romantic and sexual wants. They implied the character was going integrate that romantic relationship with her other filial bonds and, for the first time in possibly her whole life, have her emotional needs actually met.

Then they took that character, who in universe was finally finally about to be happy, and decided to add to the other numerous instances of suffering the writers have already put her through by killing of her daughter. Killing off her daughter in her place of work only to cut short her grieving and send her right back there to suffer in the public eye.

And they did it to give a new and barely formed character a storyline. The fact remains that Jasmine had literally millions of plausible storylines they could have gone with; so many options that would have ended with substantial character growth. She could have stopped drinking and studied harder, she could have taken up running, gotten a boyfriend or a puppy, learnt tact and become an actual decent doctor, and the character would have grown.

Christ, she could have stubbed her toe on the edge of a bed, sworn on the ward, and gotten a dressing down from her boss about appropriate workplace vocabulary that character growth would have carried the same weight as the storyline she’s now had to endure.

They writers have irrevocably written Serena into a corner, because that character will never be the same again and there is very little they can do with her now, without actually letting the audience see the some of the most important narrative points. Moreover, they have also cut off almost all of Jasmine’s further storylines, because unless they give her a surprise pregnant with Ollie’s baby and then she miscarries after deciding to keep it (which I wouldn’t put it past them tbqh) there’s not a lot the writers can do with her that will have the same intensity and significance as what they’ve already put her through.

In short, the Holby writers took a queer mentally ill abuse survivor and guttered her from the inside out for the sake of another character with barely touched potential. They treated that character with a level of disrespect and disregard I’m not sure I’ve seen since The L Word drowned Jenny Schecter in her neighbour’s pool and nobody really cared. Because they gave us Serena Campbell, implied that she (along with and everyone she represents) deserves to be happy, only to turn around and burn her beyond recognition for daring to hope. And they did it because they wanted to.

#tw: mentions of abuse #cw: emotional abuse #Elinor mentioned for ts #death mentioned for ts #this is all heavy shit kids i hope that covers it all #i have long and complicated feeling about holby city and its existence as a cultural artifact #also in the works is a rant about how the issues ive outline above do not discount the significance complexity or important of the slowburn #narrative that came before it i still hold that bernea is on of the most interesting and complex examples of queer realisation depicted in #contemporary media its existence as a piece of positive complex and important queer representation cannot be denied #it is not undermined by the story that came after it bc the relationship between the two sections of their narratives is more complicated #than a simple *good v bad* description bc that isnt even the arguement in the first place its whether it is intriguing whether or not it is #interesting and complex and give the scenic realism and real world setting whether itfeels authentic between those two characters #any i jsut spent far too long writing hthis out when i ought ot have been working on my article but this has been bugging me for weeks and i #needed to get it out so i can get on with the rest of my life so here it is and well done to anyone who actually reads it all the way to the #end there are a lot of words and reading is hard so *thumbs up*#holby city #i wrote a thing

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mikeyd1986 · 6 years ago

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MIKEY’S PERSONAL BLOG 151, April 2019

On Monday afternoon, I had my initial consultation and assessment with the Aspect Capable Employment Mentoring Program held at the Waterman Business Centre Chadstone. After navigating our way around to Carpark A inside Chadstone Shopping Centre, Mum and I arrived on Level 2 to meet Jennie Barnes, who is a Senior Employment Mentor, as well as Brad who will be my individual mentor. Jennie wore a salmon pink cardigan, denim shorts and floral print boots. She was bubbly, easy going and less intimidating than I envisioned.

We were actually half an hour early (better than being half an hour late) and so we decided to have a quick coffee before it hit 2.30pm. Chadstone certainly has changed quite significantly since my childhood and so trying to work our way through David Jones and downstairs to the nearest cafe was certainly a logistical challenge especially with a short time limit as well.

I personally feel like Chadstone is mostly populated with people who are well off aka high income earners that can afford expensive fashion labels. Not for people like myself who are casual, modest and poor. But still here we are. Back in the Waterman building, we found a relatively quiet space to conduct the assessment process inside a lounge area outside the nearby offices.

It was basically an informal interview with questions around my personal strengths and challenges, current employment skills, work related goals, things I may need assistance with in the workplace, areas I would like to improve on. Some of the questions I got myself confused by mainly because they were so open and not specific such as the industry I’d like to work in. It’s something that’s continued to baffle me my whole life as I’ve struggled to identify an area of passion I’d want to pursue for my future career.

Creative writing seemed to be the only thing I could come up with as it’s something I regularly enjoy doing as a hobby and it’s my best form of self expression. My areas of difficulty include social skills and communication, self confidence and self esteem plus anxiety triggers in the workplace. My strengths include being friendly, polite, helpful, organised, punctual, an eye for detail, hard working and committed. My challenges include not being able to ask for help, getting easily distracted by sensory stimuli, can have trouble focusing and getting back on task, not knowing how to respond to customer’s questions.

It was a good first appointment and I did my best to answer the questions with an adequate amount of detail, honesty and careful consideration. Amazingly, we managed to knock the appointment over in an hour instead of 90-120 minutes which was specified in the email. The next stage is to figure out having regular sessions with Brad to make progress towards my work related goals and future employment. https://www.autismspectrum.org.au/content/mentoring-program

On Thursday afternoon, Mum and I drove down to Bendigo to attend the Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery. We met with my Auntie Kathy who lives in Kyabram and found a nearby side street to park in and walk down to the art gallery by foot. I wouldn’t say that I’m the biggest fan of the Royal Family but I do have an interest in British history and the medieval times. https://www.bendigoregion.com.au/bendigo-art-gallery/exhibitions/tudors-to-windsors-british-royal-portraits

This is a richly detailed and extensive collection of artwork which traces the royal British bloodline from the 16th Century until today. There are five royal dynasties in total starting with the Tudors, followed by the Stuarts, the Georgians, the Victorians and our current dynasty the Windsors. There is a lot of history and information to learn as you admire these impressive works of art which ranges from large scale portraits and scenic landscapes to replicas of the crown jewels, outfits, photographs, letters and notebooks.

Each sections of the exhibition featured a family tree featuring each marriage (usually a King, Queen or Duke) and the descending children. There seemed to be a lot of pressure placed upon Royal couples to produce offspring in order to continue to bloodline and have someone to replace the current King or Queen. There was also a lot of scandals that happened behind closed doors including multiple wives, illegitimate marriages and love affairs. The consequences for being caught out were a lot more severe and brutal compared to today.

The person I found the most interesting to learn about was our current Queen Elizabeth II. She married Prince Phillip Mountbatten, the Duke of Edenborough, in 1947 and quickly rose to the throne in 1952 following the passing of her father King George VI. She has become the longest reigning monarch in British history marking 65 years in 2017. The Queen has made several visits to Australia during her time including 1954, 1963 and 1980 in Sydney, Canberra, Alice Springs, Darwin, Perth and Adelaide. https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/queen-elizabeth

Later that night, Mum and I settled into our accommodation which was The Heritage Bendigo Motor Inn Motel. Despite our short overnight stay and being lucky to get in (the NO VACANCY sign glowing bright red), I felt really comfortable here. Our room featured a double bed, single bed, several cabinets and a bedside table, television, air conditioner and heater, a mini bar and kitchenette area, separate bathroom with shower, toilet and vanity. We decided to dine out for dinner at The Foundry Hotel & Mister Bobs Sports Bar conveniently located directly across the road from where we were staying. https://www.foundryhotelcomplex.com.au/

On Friday morning, Mum and I decided to make the most of our stay and explored parts of the Bendigo township. This place retains many of the historic features which makes it such a remarkable location. Most of the residential houses which range in style from Victorian and Boom Town to Californian Bungalow, Federation and Queen Anne are still in tact. The roads are very wide with steep hilly terrain and are surrounded by stunning oak trees. There is also a tram which runs straight through the heart of Bendigo and gives visitors a scenic tour. https://www.bendigotourism.com/about-bendigo/history

We decided to visit the Sacred Heart Cathedral (Sandhurst Diocese) which is the largest church in Australia. The scale of this building is absolutely mind-blowing as is the history of its construction. The exterior is made of granite and sandstone and is built in a decorated Gothic style of architecture. It actually reminds me a lot of Hogwarts Castle from the Harry Potter series with its tall spires, crossing tower and flanking turrets.

Inside the Cathedral there are towering columns, high rising arches, stained glass windows and paintings depicting Jesus Christ’s final moments leading up to his crucifixion. I’ve stated many times before that I’m not a man of God nor am I a religious person. However, there is something about visiting churches and cathedrals that fills me with joy and wonder. The feeling you get walking into Sacred Heart is difficult to describe but it’s breathtaking taking in how massive and detailed this building is. https://www.ohta.org.au/organs/organs/BendigoCathedral.html

After dropping into the Information Centre and the Post Office Gallery, our last stop was the Bendigo Pottery in Epsom. Again this place is full of history as well. It was established in 1858 with 10 ceramic wood fired kilns producing many wares including pots, urns, vases, mugs, plates, bowls and dishes. The kilns themselves are no longer in operation but the Pottery is has many items for sale as well as classes for people interested in making their own clay objects. There is also a interactive museum, a cafe and antiques centres with lots of collectible items. Honestly you could be browsing through this stuff for days, it’s enormous. http://www.bendigopottery.com.au/our-story/

Heading back home was an absolute nightmare with roadworks and several delays due to car accidents and peak-hour traffic after we got off the Calder Freeway. When it comes to long drives, I pretty much know what my limits are. I can only handle about 90 minutes at a time because all the signs of fatigue hit me. Sore eyes, poor concentration, drowsiness, yawning. Plus driving on freeways can get really monotonous seeing the same signs, trees, cars, line markings and roads for hours. So it's really important for me to listen to my body, pull over and have regular rest breaks.

On Friday night, I went to my HIIT Circuit small group fitness class at CinFull Fitness. Considering how exhausted I was from the drive home, I was surprised at how well I was managing to get through tonight’s session. The struggle was real though. I could tell how quickly my fatigue and breathlessness was showing especially towards the end. We warmed up by doing several rounds of walking lunges and prison squats.

Most of the exercises we were doing tonight we done in a few different circuits and with partners. First circuit involved doing TRX squat lunges and lunge pulses, plank hold with dumb bell threading, barbell thrusters and staircase squats with 20 star jumps in between. Second circuit involved TRX squat jumps, dumb bell flies, battle rope Russian twists and med ball passes.

Cinamon made the last part of the class more “fun” by getting each of us to do 50 wall balls before the others could stop doing their current exercise. This was a big opportunity for my inner critic to reek havoc on me (You’re the slowest in the group. God, why are you taking so long? Hurry up, Michael!). But you know what, the others were all encouraging and supportive despite how much I was clearly struggling to get through my wall balls. Switching to a lighter weight helped a lot and eventually I smashed through it.

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herschelbuilt-blog · 7 years ago

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Choosing Interior Contractor

As everyone seems to be conscious that the whole world is going through a tough financial recession and everywhere people are nervous about losing their jobs. Many firms are downsizing and many individuals have misplaced their jobs, where they by no means expected to. So now to have the ability to meet bills, many individuals started to look for ways that they will earn cash, and in one of many methods for them to try this would be to provide dwelling service as a contractor.

A service contractor has the duty to supply work and to oversee every kind of jobs that a home-owner may require like Portray, electrical work, room additions and common helpful man jobs. But when you assume that anybody who knows about making something perfect at dwelling is aware of about providing professional service, then you're mistaken. There is a need for liability insurance coverage, correct licensing as nicely. When you find yourself searching for a service contractor, as a house owner you need to see things with a eager eye that whomever you will hire has there license with them to give you skilled service and that additionally they carry insurance coverage which is for the safety of themselves as well as for the house owner.

An issue that's faced by lots of the dwelling homeowners after they pay their contractors are claims from sub-contractors for the funds which are often ignored by the principle contractors and never paid on time. It doesn't matter if in case you have paid your contractor on time because sub-contractors will finally come after you for the cash. This is the place you must see how reliable and arranged your service contractor is. It would be a good suggestion to additionally examine with the Better Enterprise Bureau to see if there are any complaints against the contracting firm that you're planning to hire. You may as well examine with town licensing dept as effectively.

Last but not the least factor you have to see is about your service contractor and the insurance coverage that they have for any accidents that might happen round your private home so that you wouldn't be held accountable if somebody got harm on the job. This is additionally essential so you will never have to bear the loss of any expensive property which is very pricey to you. To have an ideal service contractor in your home there's quite a lot of research needed, the extra research you will do, the less complicated everything might be.

Nearly all houses across the nation that have a yard have no less than one or two bushes on the property. Many householders' out of doors landscapes embrace the usage of a wide range of totally different bushes to brighten their yard and supply ample shade from the sun. These timber have to be care for with the intention to stay strong, wholesome and delightful. Ideally, it is best to have your trees pruned and trimmed no less than annually. Nevertheless, you probably have not maintained your bushes for a number of years, do not worry it isn't too late. If you are unsure when it's time to call knowledgeable, beneath is an inventory of 4 signs that it's time to rent a tree service contractor.

1Tree Branches Are Too Lengthy

When your tree's branches develop too lengthy that you will discover, it is time to trim the tree. A sure sign is when you've got low hanging branches that make it difficult to stroll under the tree. These low branches might be reduce off to give you full use of your tree and its shade. The branches might also develop out too far that they are scratching your own home, garage, automotive or electric wires. In cases like this, it is rather important that you have your tree trimmed again earlier than it causes extreme harm to your property. Don't wait till a storm comes and causes intensive harm to your private home or automobile, or falls over altogether.

Tree Appears to be like Flawed

In case you discover that your tree has taken on an odd form, it is time to call within the professionals to shape it up some. Your tree could begin to lean, look lopsided, or it might have many branches in one area and look relatively sparse in other areas. Knowledgeable tree providers supplier may help your tree grow healthy branches and bring again its unique shape. You must also call a professional in the event you notice that the tree is cracked or damaged. If not handled right this may be troublesome to appropriate and might truly permanently damage the tree.

Tree has Lifeless kontraktor interior jakarta Branches

In case you discover useless or damaged branches on your tree, it is crucial that you have these branches eliminated. If left untreated these branches usually tend to cause disease or an insect infestation. Illness, infection, and decay can shortly unfold to other areas of the tree, which can finally destroy the tree. Disease may also spread to other bushes in your yard if not maintained. If your complete tree is already dead, you will have to take away the tree from your yard.

No Sun Shines Though the Branches

It's true that bushes provide shade from the solar, which is great on hot summer season days. Nevertheless, there ought to nonetheless be a bit of gentle shining by means of the cover of the tree branches. When standing under the tree, it is best to have the ability to see sunlight if you search for in the direction of the sky. In the event you can not, it's best to have your tree thinned out. It will hold your tree healthy by guaranteeing that it is receiver sufficient air and sunlight to develop properly.

Following a home or office hearth, there are some vital issues to be addressed to be able to make sure that your property is returned to you in the identical, or better, state because it was the day earlier than the fire. Many building firms offer fireplace restoration providers. Nevertheless, when you perceive the scope of labor required in an effort to have your house returned to you crack free, odour free and carried out with environmental sensitivity, at the side of your insurance company, you will realise the specialist nature of the works. On this article I'll arm you with the knowledge you'll want to pick out the appropriate contractor.

Website inspection/survey: On contacting a fireplace restoration contractor, you should expect a fast and complete site inspection. The reason it needs to be prompt is that your building is, little doubt, soaked after the fireplace brigade left and drying the building on the appropriate rate for the construction could also be vital for the long term stability of the construction. As well as neutralising the soot, which is an acid, wants decisive attention. If the contractor tells you he'll meet in a number of weeks or can solely get started next month, probably these points have been neglected.

Integrated together with your insurance company: You've obtained sufficient to cope with along with the upset a hearth could cause. Aside from finding a rental property, restocking your wardrobe and deciding how you would like your own home to take care of the works amongst other issues, spending hours on the cellphone with an insurance coverage company can add to the trauma.

Make sure the contractor offering you with a hearth restoration service embrace the availability for them to deal instantly with the insurance firm. They'll perceive what is and is not allowed beneath the terms of your coverage and work with you to make sure you get the perfect final result out of your insurance investment.

Drying your constructing out: As mentioned, drying your own home out successfully and promptly after the fire brigade has left may be vital depending on the type of construction of your property and the level of damage brought on by the hearth and fireplace brigade soaking. If the principle infrastructure is basically in tact but the inside is gutted, efficient dehumidification may be vital. A specialist contractor will advise the correct process to ensure the steadiness of the building.

Neutralising the soot: There are numerous several types of fires depending on the reason for the hearth, what burns and the temperatures reached. Due to this, a specialist fire restoration service is required to rapidly establish the ensuing residue, resolve on the necessary action thereby decreasing or eliminating the threat of secondary harm. As an illustration, if after a fireplace soot is left on a UPVC window and never removed or neutralised as quickly as potential, the soot would stain and pit the frames past economical repair.

5Environmentally Accountable Service: With all that is occurring, being environmentally accountable concerning the clearance and disposal of affected items is more likely to be low in your checklist of priorities. However, selecting a contractor that takes this critically infers so much about their work ethic that ignoring this difficulty does not is smart to you or the surroundings on many levels. Preference must be given to a contractor who is ISO:9001 compliant and has Environmental Agency accreditation.

6High pressure cleansing: Once debris has been eliminated, cleaning begins. A very efficient method is excessive pressure cleansing with specialised cleansing brokers. This can be utilized on various surfaces (bricks, blocks, beams and so forth) to take away soot residue effectively. By utilizing this technique and not liquids there is no additional ingress and contamination of the supplies affected. Ask the contractor visiting you as to how they plan to take away the floor level soot.

7Removing the odour: Once the decontamination works discussed above have been undertaken, the property will need ozone therapy. Merely put, this includes machines that re-adjust the molecular construction of the air born particles removing all remaining soot residues within the air, walls and floor thus no smell lingering in the property. For clear causes, you don't need that burnt odor behind your nostrils for years to return.

8Reconstruction: Your property is now ready for reconstruction and/or ornament. This end of the chain is less specialist and your alternative of contractor is larger. Often fire restoration contractors supply a whole service including reconstruction and decoration and relying on how your insurance firm deals with these conditions, with a purpose to scale back delay within the renovation, it is often sensible to go along with the identical contractor.

Picking a professional and dependable fireplace restoration companies contractor permits you to focus on any vital personal issues within the aftermath of a fire and then continue along with your life with the least quantity of stress and interruption. Taking this first step seriously will let you rapidly see a silver lining to a dark cloud as you come back your constructing to an much more lovely home or efficient workplace house.

When building a custom home or new home people generally turn to 3 different sources in an effort to assist them complete their imaginative and prescient: an architect to design the plans and make sure the structural integrity of the constructing, a general contractor to coordinate the sub-contractors, control the funds and keep the venture transferring on time and an inside designer who chooses the colours, supplies and furniture for the house.

Because general contractors have a lot expertise constructing houses and following by way of until the final element is completed, they typically have ideas about what may work for the inside of a house. Some folks favor working with an interior designer as a result of he/she's going to know the place to find specialty objects, how supplies and furniture will work in a room and learn how to seamlessly stream one look into another from room to room so there's a cohesive theme to the home. But there are other people who have an ideal eye for design, love to pick or design their very own customized furnishings and enjoy the process of assembling a room. For these people, a normal contractor could possibly step into the position of interior designer.

Any common contractor hired should have constructing experience. So as to ensure work is being accomplished properly beneath their supervision, they have to have an thought of how that work is supposed to be finished. Basic contractors usually know find out how to construct customized furnishings or know a sub-contractor who can do it.

One contractor in Colorado helped a shopper who wanted metal walls on one wall in a living room and above the fireplace for a extra modern look. The contractor found the metallic, labored with warmth and design to get the uncooked, tough look that the house owner wished and hung the sheet metal. As a result of the contractor knew what was concerned within the installation course of, he was higher in a position to gauge what sort of steel should be used.

People who build homes know how supplies will work collectively and have often seen sufficient houses to understand find out how to design customized areas like kitchen nooks, libraries and even walk-in closets.

In the event you're the kind of person who knows the look you need to your home, it's possible you'll not want an interior designer. All you might need is a normal contractor who can information you thru the process of making certain the house is secure, can offer opinions of the types of supplies which will work the very best for the area and methods to make the house environment friendly and aesthetically pleasing.

Those that simply have a basic thought of what they need with out concrete specifics ought to hire an inside designer. Those that need an skilled information by means of the process could also be better off working instantly with the overall contractor.

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