#female leadership development

[kopfconsulting]

Imposter Syndrome: Overcoming Self-Doubt in Your Business Journey

Imposter syndrome is that nagging voice waiting to crush your self-esteem and confidence. But before you let out a frustrated "ugh," here's the good news: you can overcome it.

I want to preface this by saying that anyone is susceptible to Imposter Syndrome; however, I believe in writing what I know, so this post specifically addresses fellow women entrepreneurs. The takeaways are not gender-specific, just the empathy – for this reason, I encourage anyone to please continue reading and take from it what you can. Have you ever felt like a fraud in your own business? Do…

[i-love-love]

Side effect of watching three Mike Flanagan miniseries in a week a little while ago is I now have flanaverse dreams. The plot started and I went “isn’t this just a worse version of Midnight Mass?”

[indialeaders]

Emerging Women’s Leadership Program - ILSS - What is EWLP?

The Emerging Women’s Leadership Program (EWLP) is an intensive 11-week program (with 4 days of in-person boot camp in Delhi NCR) designed to support the leadership development journeys of emerging women leaders in the social sector. The Program equips leaders with the necessary knowledge, skills, and tools to advance their leadership journey, and create impact in the sector.

[adorned-by-julie]

🌟 Curious about the qualities of a successful female leader? Join us today to explore this topic further! Click the link - https://conta.cc/4a377P7 - to access our newest newsletter. Let's empower more women in leadership roles!

[akshayroy123]

5 Ways to Develop Leadership Skills in Your Team

Being in a position of authority is not the only thing that makes someone a leader. A leader needs to be able to inspire, guide and empower everyone around him or her to reach their goals, as a team. Building team members' leadership skills is crucial for the development and sustainability of organizations in the workplace of our modern-day world.

As a manager or a leader, whether you are experienced or just starting out, developing leadership skills within your team can boost overall performance, creativity, and teamwork. Let us underline the importance of targeted methods like Leadership Training For Employees and programs, along with learning different ways in which you can develop leadership skills in your team.

Develop a team of skilled and independent leaders through effective Leadership Training Programs for Employees. Join us and watch your business soar to new heights.

1. Invest in Leadership Training Courses

Organizing structured leadership training courses is one of the most effective ways to improve leadership skills within your team. Comprehensive modules including communication, decision-making, conflict resolution, and strategic thinking are offered by such courses. By enrolling your team members in credible leadership development programs, you provide them the knowledge, skills, and approaches they need to successfully handle challenging situations.

More importantly, experiential learning techniques like case studies, role-playing, and simulations are frequently included in leadership training programs, giving participants a safe environment in which they can hone their leadership abilities.

2. Implement a Leadership Training Program for Employees

Consider developing an internal leadership training program for employees that caters to the specific needs and setting of your company, in addition to external leadership training courses. An internal leadership training program for staff members can be made specific, as opposed to generic courses, to address organizational values, industry-specific issues, and leadership skills essential to the duties and responsibilities of your team.

Peer-to-peer learning opportunities, formal workshops, mentoring sessions, and on-the-job training initiatives are often included in well-designed leadership training programs for employees. By making continuous development activities a part of your organization's daily routine, you can cultivate a culture of learning and leadership development.

3. Encourage Mentorship and Coaching

Encouraging leadership skills in your team requires both coaching and mentoring. Assisting less experienced team members with experienced mentors or leaders speeds up their professional development by offering valuable advice, support, and criticism. Regular one-on-one meetings allow mentees to learn about good leadership strategies, receive helpful feedback, and acquire the wisdom of their mentors' experiences.

In a similar way, coaching interventions—whether provided by in-house coaches or outside experts—provide personalized support to people looking to improve leadership competencies or get beyond obstacles in their careers. Coaching enables team members to realize their full potential and develop into capable leaders, whether it is through improving presenting skills, handling team dynamics, or navigating career transitions.

4. Promote Diversity and Inclusion

Leadership that is effective flourishes in cultures that value inclusiveness and diversity. Acknowledge and value the unique perspectives, backgrounds, and skills that every team member offers. You can also talk about the female leadership challenges that some employees may face at work.

Even with notable advancements in the realm of gender equality, women can face several leadership challenges such as subconscious bias, gender stereotypes, and limited access to positions of authority are still quite prevalent in the workplace. Encourage gender diversity in leadership positions, offer focused assistance and growth opportunities for female staff members, and cultivate an inclusive environment where all employees are appreciated and feel encouraged to make a difference.

5. Lead by Example

You are the team's leader, and your actions set the tone for the entire team. Exhibit admirable leadership traits by your decisions, actions, and manner of speaking. Transparency, responsibility, and teamwork should be given top priority in your interactions with others, and you should lead with honesty, humility, and empathy.

Additionally, provide your team members the freedom to take on leadership roles and duties so they can demonstrate their skills and gain confidence. Assign tasks, promote autonomy, work on eliminating female leadership challenges, and offer opportunities for challenging assignments that will test and expand their abilities. Giving your team important tasks to complete builds dedication and a sense of ownership, which paves the way for future leadership success.

Let’s Wrap Up!

It takes time and effort to build leadership skills among your team; rather, it is a continuous process of development and growth. A supportive environment where leadership thrives can be created by investing in various strategies including diversity and inclusion, internal Leadership Development Training Courses, mentorship and coaching relationships, leadership training courses, and setting an example. Remember, effective leadership is not about asserting authority, but it is about empowering others to realize their full potential and achieve collective success.

Become part of our team comprised of experienced industry professional and discover top-notch Corporate Leadership Development Programs to drive your business growth and achieve success.

[aadvantcoaching]

Advant Coaching specializes in career advancement coaching for female tech executives. Their tailored programs empower women in the technology industry to reach their full potential, providing guidance on leadership skills, communication, and personal development. With a focus on breaking through barriers and achieving career goals, Advant Coaching supports women on their journey to success in the tech sector, helping them thrive in leadership positions.

[technologyequality]

Mastering the Hustle: A Peek into Alex Thoric's Revolutionary Marketing Bootcamp

Mastering the Hustle A Peek into Alex Thoric’s Revolutionary Marketing Bootcamp Hello folks! Lori Brooks here, bringing you yet another exciting slice of the digital marketing world. Today, we’re talking about the transformative power of well-executed marketing strategies for service-based businesses. And who better to discuss this with than a man who has been stirring the pot in the digital…

[newageinspiration]

Power of One: How a Girl can change the world.

[astrosky33]

Friendship in Astrology

The 11th house rules over friends so your 11th house planets can give insight on the type of friendships you experience

✧. ┊Sun in the 11th house: You likely have had good friendships that have brought you lots of happiness in life. Your friends are likely very generous, creative, and help you develop a lot in life and/or as a person. Since the Sun rules over leadership you’re prone to being the “leader” in your friend groups. People with this placement are also more likely have to friends that are celebrities. It’s possible you weirdly attract a lot of friends similar to your father. At worst it could indicate having egotistical friends, friends that are attention-seeking and choose attention over you, or friends that are overly prideful

✧. ┊Moon in the 11th house: You have friends that are very caring of you and your feelings. You likely have more friends that are girls or feminine than friends that are guys or masculine. It’s possible you weirdly attract a lot of friends similar to your mother. Your friends can pick up on your emotions really quickly and know when you’re feeling down. You could have a few childhood friends that you’ve kept your whole life. At worst your friends will constantly hold you back by keeping you in your comfort zone, be overly sensitive, and/or complain a lot about their feelings without listening to yours

✧. ┊Mercury in the 11th house: You may meet lots of friends on social media and/or keep close friends that you met when you were young all the way into adulthood. You likely attract friends that are good at communicating with you. You become friends with people quicker when they share similar interests with you or have similar perceptions about life that you do. You may not really like having friends that are different than you, only ones similar to you. At worst you could attract friends that gossip a lot about you, are constantly forgetting about you, try and change you for the worse, and/or copy everything you do

✧. ┊Venus in the 11th house: You are likely to have a lot of friendships that turn into something more (a friends to lovers type vibe). You attract friends that are very charming, cheerful, feminine, sympathetic, and/or friends that share similar values to you. You likely have mostly female friendships and not so many male ones. Since Venus rules over attraction you also likely attract lots of friends in general. People want to be friends with you all the time, sometimes without knowing why. You may have a lot of friends that are very pretty. At worst you may attract friends that are overly possessive, stubborn, indecisive, and/or they may choose love over their friends

✧. ┊Mars in the 11th house: This is a challenging placement when it comes to friendship since Mars is a malefic planet. You may experience lots of conflict in your friendships that can commonly be caused by your friends viewing you as competition/trying to be competitive with you or go through friends quickly since Mars represents conflict, competition, and speed. Your friends at worst could pick lust over you and have sexual relations with someone you’re romantically involved with or have bad anger issues. On a lighter note it can indicate often being the leader of your friend groups, having a lot of male friends or friends with masculine energy, making lots of friends through sports you play, having friends with benefits, and/or having friends who bring out the more ambitious and determined side of you

✧. ┊Jupiter in the 11th house: You attract friends that are optimistic, successful, wealthy, wise/knowledgeable, honest, devoted, and/or popular. Since Jupiter rules over abundance as well you naturally attract a lot of friends in general with this placement. Not always but often people I see with this placement were really popular in school and were friends with everyone. You may go on lots of adventures or travel a lot with your friends. You attract friends that help you grow a lot as a person and in life in general. At worst you could attract friends that are overly blunt, have a hard time accepting their wrongs, and/or are really impatient

✧. ┊Saturn in the 11th house: This placement is a bit challenging when it comes to friendships since Saturn rules over challenges/struggles. Although you may have minimal friends since Saturn rules over restriction/lack, the friends you do make you will keep for a long time since Saturn also rules over old age/longevity. It’s possible you weirdly attract a lot of friends similar to your father. You also attract friends that are responsible, hard-working, consistent, and/or self-disciplined. At worst you may struggle with forming friendships because this placement can cause people to be weirdly intimated by you, you may attract friends that show a lack of care for your emotions, and/or friends that hold harsh grudges against you

✧. ┊Uranus in the 11th house: You attract very intellectual, friendly, unique, free-spirited, and/or independent people into your circle. You may have a lot of friends that are lgbtq+. You likely have lots of internet friends or friends that you originally met online before meeting in person. A lot of people, maybe even before knowing you, will have a friend-crush on you (a huge desire to befriend you). At worst you may attract friends that are rebellious, chaotic, and/or lots of ups and downs with friendships in general

✧. ┊Neptune in the 11th house: You attract friends that are very kind, compassionate, creative, glamorous, selfless, spiritual, and/or that are good at keeping secrets. You may have a lot of similar dreams/wishes as your friends. With this placement if you are a manifestor it’s important to surround yourself with people who don’t make you doubt your dreams or it could ruin your spirit and in turn ruin your manifestations. At worst you could attract friends who lie and deceive you, mirror everything you do/act addicted to you, and/or you may attract people who act like your friends when they’re secretly your enemy

✧. ┊Pluto in the 11th house: You attract friends that transform you and your life a lot, are powerful people, are infatuated with you, and help you evolve as a person. Pluto in the 11th house indicates having very loyal friends who’d do anything for you. This placement can also indicate having friends with benefits similar to Mars in the 11th house. At worst you may attract friends who manipulate you, are unhealthily obsessed with you, use black magic on you, try to destroy your life, and/or that pass away too soon. This placement, I’ve noticed a lot of the time in my readings, can also indicate having a stalker/stalkers at some point in your life

Note: If you don’t have 11th house planets just check the ruling planet of your 11th house sign -> ex: 11h leo - sun

𝗣𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚

𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 - 𝗦𝗨𝗕 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗬 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗢𝗡 - 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗦

© 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝

[indialeaders]

The Emerging Women’s Leadership Program (EWLP) is an intensive 7-week program designed to support the leadership development journeys of emerging women leaders in the social sector. The Program equips leaders with the necessary knowledge, skills, and tools to advance their leadership journey, and create impact in the sector.

[sideprince]

Eileen Prince

I'm relentlessly curious about how a witch from Slytherin, a house that values cunning and ambition on paper, and bloodlines/nobility in its culture, ended up living in a muggle slum.

Unfortunately for me, she's a barely mentioned character written by an author who consistently fails to portray female characters with depth or dimension. The women in Harry Potter are portrayed as either maternal or villains, or, in Ginny Weasley's case, as redeemed by their masculine traits (because Rowling's Thatcher era feminism dictates that equality for women = emulating patriarchal ideas of manhood). About as much as you can expect from an author who's as unable to acknowledge the personhood of trans women as she is to write women as actual people. This leaves a lot of room for interpreting or delving into what Eileen Prince's life may have looked like, and how that would have affected her son's development.

There are three direct mentions of Eileen in the text :

“The picture showed a skinny girl of around fifteen. She was not pretty; she looked simultaneously cross and sullen, with heavy brows and a long, pallid face. Underneath the photograph was the caption: Eileen Prince, Captain of the Hogwarts Gobstones Team.”

HBP Ch. 25

“I was going through the rest of the old Prophets and there was a tiny announcement about Eileen Prince marrying a man called Tobias Snape, and then later an announcement saying that she’d given birth to a" “ — murderer,” spat Harry.

HBP ch. 30

“Harry looked around: he was on platform nine and three-quarters, and Snape stood beside him, slightly hunched, next to a thin, sallow-faced, sour-looking woman who greatly resembled him.”

DH Ch. 33

(Shoutout to Harry James Potter, who didn't recognize Eileen's fifth year photo despite her resemblance to Snape, the teacher whose classroom he got his used Potions book from. Shoutout also to Harry James Potter who didn't connect the dots between the Prince's handwriting and Snape's, a teacher who regularly wrote instructions on the board. "I needed to make the plot work, ok?" - JK Rowling, probably.)

Other relevant excerpts:

“Snape staggered - his wand flew upwards, away from Harry - and suddenly Harry’s mind was teeming with memories that were not his: a hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner ”

OoTP Ch. 26

“Harry delved into his trunk and pulled out his copy of Advanced Potion-Making before getting into bed. There he turned its pages, searching, until he finally found, at the front of the book, the date that it had been published. It was nearly fifty years old.”

HBP Ch. 16

Supplemental material re: Gobstones from JK Rowling:

"...it remains a minority sport within the wizarding world, and does not enjoy a very ‘cool’ reputation, something its devotees tend to resent. Gobstones is most popular among very young wizards and witches, but they generally ‘grow out’ of the game, becoming more interested in Quidditch as they grow older.  ... Gobstones enjoys limited popularity at Hogwarts, ranking low among recreational activities, way behind Quidditch and even Wizarding Chess." [There's an additional sentence on the Harry Potter wiki's Gobstones page: "...it is also known as 'the thinking wizard's Quidditch.'"]

A few conclusions can be drawn from what little information we're given about Eileen:

She's described as "cross and sullen" around the age of 15, and as "sallow-faced, sour-looking" when she's older.

She's captain of the Gobstones club around her fifth year, so she likely marched to the beat of her own drum - given that Gobstones isn't particularly popular - and owns it proudly enough to take, or even seek out, a leadership role.

The sport is described as "the thinking wizard's Quidditch" which would imply Eileen was more interested in intellectual challenges and was clever (and can be paralleled with a young Severus' comment about "if you'd rather be brawny than brainy" to James Potter when they first meet on the Hogwarts Express).

Her marriage and the birth of her son are both announced in the paper, which might mean the family she came from was of some importance or note, or perhaps something else... but we'll get to that.

If we assume that Severus' secondhand copy of Advanced Potion Making was originally Eileen's (reasonable, though there is no textual evidence) then its publication date is likely around the time she was a sixth year, given that this particular text was specific to students beginning to prep for N.E.W.T. exams. Harry begins his sixth year in 1996 when the book is "nearly fifty years old," so we can assume Eileen was 16 years old sometime not long after 1946. Severus was born in 1960, which would mean Eileen was in her mid-late 20s at the time.

Her marriage was dysfunctional at best, abusive at worst. As per a Pottermore post that is still up on WizardingWorld.com: "...the desperately lonely and unhappy childhood [Severus] had with a harsh father who didn’t hold back when it came to the whip." Based on this, we can assume Tobias was abusive, and given Eileen's cowering as he shouted at her, she presumably feared him.

From these bits of information emerges the image of a woman who either had a surly personality, or at the very least was guarded, though perhaps just formal. There isn't really any difference in how her face is set when she's in an everyday setting like King's Cross, or when she's having her picture taken for the Gobstones Club. It's possible she was a stern, unsmiling person, but it's also possible - given that her wedding and child were announced in the paper - that she came from a family of some standing and was raised to conduct herself with hallmarks of British class, such as dignity and unaffectedness. After all, there are several wizarding families - such as the Potters - who are wealthy purebloods with social standing but are not part of the Sacred 28. Additionally, the Gobstones Club portrait would have been taken around the mid-1940s, when portraits were formal and their subjects did not often smile, and given that we see only a snippet of Eileen, we don't have enough information that she was unhappy or sour. It's also important to remember that we see her portrait and Snape's memory of her through Harry's perspective and, like his perception of Snape himself, this may convey Harry's biases.

We also know from the text that Snape had a house in a deserted part of Cokeworth, a fictional Midlands town that presumably had a collapsed milling industry, at the end of a street called Spinner's End. There's a great thread that goes into details about the kind of 2 up 2 down house it would have been, and we can assume that this is Snape's family home given that we know he and Lily grew up in Cokeworth. For all intents and purposes, the conclusion we can draw from this being the Snape family's home in the 60s is that they were working class and cripplingly poor. Most estates like this had been cleared by the 60s, and no longer exist today.

This begs the question: how did a witch from a possibly well-off family end up in an abusive marriage in an irrelevant slum?

Buckle up kids, we're leaving the world of textual references and veering into deep meta territory now. I won't label any of this as head canon because I'm not set on these interpretations, and am just drawing conclusions from the text, but some of it may be a bit loose even for meta.

If Eileen was 16 years old not long after 1946, then she would have finished school in the late 40s, possibly even 1950. While some people (including past me) posit the theory that Tobias may have been injured in WWII and his injuries debilitated him, forcing him to go on the dole and affecting his mental health, I'm increasingly skeptical of this theory. It would make more sense if Eileen had known him before he was drafted/enlisted and had committed to a relationship with him, which would then have changed when he came back from the war and was altered. If we assume Eileen's age based on the idea that it was her own copy of Advanced Potion Making Severus used, then she would still have been at school during WWII (which makes an interesting parallel with Severus' own experience of spending the bulk of the first wizarding war against Voldemort as a student at school).

I do think, however, that there's merit in the theory that Tobias suffered some kind of altering injury and that he wasn't necessarily abusive before Eileen committed herself to him. It makes little sense for a Slytherin graduate who was confident and self-posessed enough to be the face of an unpopular club to be drawn to a partner so abusive his shouts caused her to cower and who whipped his child freely. If, however, he was a charming, happy man when they met who suffered a life-altering injury, the trauma of which left him a shell of his former self, then someone like Eileen might stick around for the sake of the parts of his old self she can still see in him.

It's interesting that she didn't seem to use her magic to protect herself or her son, or even to dress her son in clothing that fit, but we know from the text that depression can cause a wizard's powers to wane:

“...it is also possible that her unrequited love and the attendant despair sapped her of her powers; that can happen”

HBP Ch. 13 (Dumbledore talking about Merope Gaunt)

The fact that the Snapes retained the house in Spinner's End seems to indicate that they continued to live there even when the local industry dried up and the slum was cleared as workers were moved to other parts of the country where they were needed (presumably what happened given *gestures at British history*). The most likely explanation for this would be that Tobias wasn't able to work, and perhaps did suffer an injury, only it was at work, and not during the war. This would mean the family lived on the dole (ie. welfare) and also that he would have spent a lot more time at home. It would also explain his anger and frustration that led to abusive behavior (which isn't to say that disabled people are abusive by any means, but it would have been emasculating for a man who considered himself the breadwinner in the 60s, and chronic pain coupled with limited abilities would give anyone a short fuse).

Moreover, this living situation seems to indicate that there is no additional support coming from anywhere. Where is Eileen's family? Why were they not helping? There's no indication in the text that there is any connection with them at all. We can infer from Snape's memories that, as a child, he learned what he knew about the magical world from his mother. This implies that she talked to him about it a fair amount, and his conviction that he and Lily were going to Hogwarts well before they got their letters also implies that Eileen expected him to go there and was set on her son having a magical education, despite how little she seemed to use her own powers.

Severus knows a lot about the wizarding world as a child, including that prisoners are sent to Azkaban and that it's guarded by Dementors, Hogwarts' house structure and what to expect when he and Lily get there, and about the Statute of Secrecy and the laws around it. When Lily asks him if it makes a difference being Muggleborn, Severus hesitates before replying no, presumably because he's aware of pureblood bias being a part of wizarding culture.

Perhaps that's the reason Eileen's family doesn't seem to be in the picture. My own theory is that Eileen hadn't planned to commit herself to Tobias long-term, and Severus was an accidental outcome of an innocent tryst in which a young Eileen, an educated witch from a well to do pureblood family, was having fun slumming it with a working class muggle and ended up pregnant. While we don't know the wizarding world's attitude around pregnancy and abortion, we do know it's a conservative and classist society that parallels muggle British culture fairly closely, and that the late 50s/early 60s were a time when an out of wedlock baby would have been considered a disgrace.

Add to that the anti-muggle bias of a pureblood family and it sounds like Eileen was disowned her for her mistake (and don't @ me, but even though I know that not all Slytherins are purebloods, it does seem to be a persistent cultural value of the house reaching back to Salazar Slytherin himself, so Eileen's being sorted into it can reasonably be taken as an indication of her blood status). Perhaps the marriage and birth announcements in the Daily Prophet were put in by Eileen herself, if she was a woman from a family where this was customary. It may have been her way of letting her family know of the events, or even of asserting herself and even deliberately defying them, announcing to the whole wizarding world that a Prince married and had a child with a muggle. It makes sense that the girl who wasn't just in the Gobstones club, but became captain, would also say to herself, why shouldn't I have my marriage announced in the paper like everyone else in the family?

It's worth noting that mid-late 20s is pretty young to have a baby in the wizarding world, where the life expectancy and child bearing years are much longer than they are for a muggle. According to the Harry Potter wiki:

"Wizard life expectancy in Britain reached an average 137¾ years in the mid-1990s, according to the Ministry of Divine Health ... Wizards in general have a much longer life expectancy than Muggles, usually living two or three times as long as their non magical counterparts, some living even longer than that depending on circumstances. In addition, seeing as James Potter's parents had him "late in life,” witches likely have significantly longer childbearing years than Muggle women."

Although we see several characters in Severus' generation getting married and having kids not long after leaving school, there's a mention in the text that a lot of people were doing this during Voldemort's reign, as the fear he inspired made people more eager to get a move on with life since they thought they might die any day (I think Mrs. Weasley says this but I can't find the quote, @ me if you do). It's clear this wasn't the norm in the wizarding world. Eileen was a Slytherin, a house that values cunning, ambition, and strong wizarding heritage. Something must have gone very wrong in Eileen's life for her to end up having a child so young and living in a muggle slum.

And so it's possible Eileen Prince found herself pregnant and alone, having been disowned by her family to save face in light of her disgrace, and dependent on the only person she was still close to, the father of her child. It's the kind of storyline that Rowling would write, and it would parallel fairly closely the story of Voldemort's mother, thus adding another to the long list of similarities between Voldemort and Snape.

Lorrie Kim makes an interesting point when she talks about how Snape has a strong reaction to other people having a love life or romantic experiences (the context being Rowling's intention of his love for Lily being romantic and unrequited), but doesn't react particularly strongly to mothers sacrificing themselves for their children, whereas Voldemort does. Her insight, and I think it's a reasonable one, is that Severus accepts the idea of mothers making sacrifices for their children, whether it's Lily giving her life for Harry or Narcissa risking all she did to ask for his help in protecting Draco, because his own mother protected him from his father as much as she could.

There's a lot of room for interpretation on what Eileen's relationship with her son looked like, and what it says about her own state. She may have prioritized not angering Tobias to protect Severus, who as a child might have perceived her actions as a form of rejection. At the same time, she seems to have prepared him thoroughly for life in the magical world, perhaps in the hope that he would find his place in it and escape home. Perhaps she missed it and told him so much about it so she could live through her own memories.

The only time we see her argue with Tobias, in Severus' memory, she's cowering as he shouts. We know from JK Rowling that Tobias used corporal punishment liberally, which implies Eileen didn't stop him despite her magical abilities. We also see in the text, however, that while at school Severus stood up for himself against bullies and fought back, and that he was an exceptionally clever and powerful wizard. As an adult he was brave enough to face Dumbledore when he betrayed Voldemort, and later fought against Voldemort right under his nose (or lack thereof). So it stands to reason that at some point Severus began to stand up against Tobias too.

How much of that was Eileen's influence, or the result of Severus seeing her acceptance of her fate and rejecting it for himself, is hard to say. As for what happened to Tobias and Eileen that their house was Severus' by the mid-90s and they were nowhere in sight, I don't think there's enough information in the text to infer.

[kassil]

So let's follow through on what Square-Enix has given us about the Hrothgar, shall we? Whether or not the development team has thought about the implications or not:

Male Hrothgar are far more common than female Hrothgar.

Female Hrothgar are said to have a natural disposition for leadership.

So from this, we can infer a few things. (fair warning: some queer shitposting past the cut.)

First, if females are "relatively few in number" then in order for the population to not dwindle they need a high birthrate. If the hrothgals don't spend all their time pregnant, that implies that hrothgar have litters. Congrats, Hrothgar players! You have a bunch of siblings!

Second, the gender mismatch strongly suggests polyamory in the form of one woman with a harem of husbands/consorts is going to be a common situation; siblings from the same litter might well have different fathers, which can happen with cats.

Third, the gender mismatch combined with the Disposition for Leadership also strongly implies that child-rearing duties fall to the men in the family, so Hrothgar lads are gonna be the proud papas toting a kid or two around when the litter gets born, probably the ones that they're going to be directly responsible for seeing to adulthood with the family. Hrothgals probably raise their daughters directly, as a matrilineal process.

Fourth, this implies that the overwhelming majority of direct monogamous pairings among Hrothgar will be completely homosexual, and could suggest that many Hrothgar are bisexual! Good for them, really, they deserve the intimacy.

Last, I would like to call SE out for being absolute cowards in setting up all these implications and only giving Hrothgals the human-standard pair of boobs, and am choosing to believe this indicates that when given the right pheromonal signals that Hrothgar men will lactate for their kittens. How else are they gonna feed that hungry litter?

(Edit: No wonder Hrothgar players have tended to be wholesome in a weird way, right?)

[lua-magic]

Intresting Astrology facts.

Cancer ancendent, their seventh lord is Saturn and their seventh house is Capricorn, hence they face lot of dissatisfaction in their married life and has to work for their partners alot .

Gemini ancendent always look for their better half or wants company to complete them, as Gemini is ruled by Mercury and Mercury being kid, always wants to be with someone.

Taurus ancendent are great foddie as moon is exalted.

Any planet that gets combusted has special purpose in this life time, as you have done lot of mistakes regarding that planet in previous life so in this life that planet is combusted.

Mercury combust- You have to learn to be confident and develop leadership qualities in your life time

Venus combust- You have to learn to balance your finances, work and love life and become grounded in relationship.

Mars combusted- You have to show courage and help people unconditionally and also be humble about your strengths.

Jupiter Combusted - You need to be humble about your knowledge and show respect to elders and gurus in your life also give knowledge unconditionally.

Saturn combusted - Saturn -Sun conjunction becomes problematic only one you have poor relationship with your father, otherwise this combination is good for someone who wants to go for government job and can reach great heights, but again be humble, otherwise Saturn will trouble you

You have to respect, father, government, and higher authority.

For natives ruled by nakshatra of ketu, ie Ashvini, Magha and Mula(ketu), their lucky planet is Mercury, so if they really maintain good circle of friends and keep developing their skills, and do something for kids always they will really prosper in life.

Moon is another planet which is good for their well-being, if the align themselves with moon cycle and carry Moon related objects like Moon water, or even stay near flowing water they can keep themselves physically and mentally balanced..

Native ruled by nakshatra of Rahu Ardra, Swati and satbhisha (Rahu) their lucky planet is Mars, always have cordial relationship with your brother, be courageous, involve yourself in some kind of sports or excercise. You will notice great changes in you

Lucky objects to Carry with you are green colour cloth or objects with you .

For natives of moon nakshatra ie Rohini, Hasta and sravanam nakshatra, Sun is the lucky planet, so if they become disciplined in life and start taking sun bath daily they will notice great change in their life, another planet is Jupiter, whose constant blessings will keep them physically and mentally fit.

You can carry with you, yellow topaz especially to work place, it will get you good results.

For the natives of sun nakshatra, kritika, uttarphalguni, uttarshada Venus is lucky planet, so start taking care of you daily and spend some time and money on self care and self love, pray to female goddess and respect females, you will notice great change in your life in a positive way, lucky object that you can carry with you for your mental and physical well-being are idol of elephant or picture of elephant.

For natives of Baharani, poorvaphalguni and poorvashada ruled by Venus , their lucky planet is Ketu, so if you want to prosper in life you have to be spiritual and detached and learn more about Spirituality and occult.

Lucky objects that you can carry is any red colour cloth or gemstone with you.

Natives ruled by Saturn nakshatra Pushya Anuradha, Uttara Bhadrapada, their lucky planet is Jupiter, so atleast have one teacher or guru in your life, if you want to progress and lucky stones that you can carry with you for your mental and physical well being are any photo of female goddess or white crystals.

Native ruled by Mercury nakshatra Ashlesha, Jyeshtha, Revati their lucky planet is Saturn, so serve or do charity, especially do something for old age people, and lucky object that you can carry is Photo of Sun, or "Surya Yantra"

For the Mars ruled nakshatra Mrigashira, Chitra, and Dhanishtha Moon is the lucky planet, so respect your mother or mother like figures in your life and pray to moon goddess and allign with moon cycle to manifest. Lucky objects that you can carry is black cloth or stones to help you in your professional and personal life..

Jupiter's ruled nakshatras Punarvasu, Vishakha, and Poorvabhadrapada "Rahu" is the lucky planet, and rahu represents ancestors, so praying to your ancestors and seek their blessings would be really help you.

Lucky objects that you can carry with you are any triangular objects with you to help you grow personally and professionally..

I am mentioning here moon nakshatra that nakshatra in which your moon is present

[ahoyimlosingmymind]

i think Sophie's personality took a nose-dive when Shannon over 'girl-bossed' the entire narrative surrounding all the girls in the books.

does this make sense??

I loved Sophie books 1-5. She had a fierceness and heroicness and a willingness to do what she believed was right from the get-go. But then somewhere along the line her already existing personality traits were shoehorned into this cringe label and over-saturated by characters like Ro who are always like "Girl power! and glitter!"

Sophie had so many great traits from the start-- but lately, her character almost feels like a caricature of those traits.

and I am NOT saying there is anything wrong with empowering women and girls-- however, the writing comes off as weak when it's spoon-fed to you that THAT is how you're supposed to perceive the character. Sophie was cool and smart and empowered way before the narrative decided to become "aware" of it in a textual sense. She was cool as hell before the books ever went "NOW THAT'S A STRONG AND POWERFUL GIRL!!! SEE THAT STRONG AND POWERFUL GIRL??? SHE"S SUCH A STRONG AND POWERFUL GIRL" like??? mf?? I READ the books. I ALREADY KNOW.

She was a leader from the beginning. She was a leader because she cared enough to do something about something. Way before the Black Swan named her the moonlark, and the leader of Team Valiant.

And she continued to develop those leadership skills over the books, until at some point, the writing became too aware of her development and shoved it into your face, instead of it being a subtle arc that spoke for itself.

but also... the way Shannon seems to want to sell her development doesn't exactly match with what she's written. There are moments in the books where characters shower Sophie in compliments that come off as generally untrue...

One of the defining aspects of Sophie's personality is her insecurity and secrecy. Which are traits that can be annoying at times, but are realistic. Regardless of those traits though, she still had dimensions and was willing to stand up for what she believed in from the beginning. The thing is, her insecurity never quite went away. If you read any of the later books, she has crippling self-doubt and identity issues. But then you have characters like Ro coming in and saying things like "Ur so confident!" and it just comes off as a very strange cognitive dissonance in the narrative.

No, Sophie isn't confident in her ability to lead, regardless of what the books say in small tidbits, when the whole of the books show that she is quite insecure, but believes in her values enough to do something to protect them-- which automatically shoe horns her into a leadership role.

What was admirable about Sophie's character was not her confidence. And is not her confidence. She's admirable because she's deeply insecure and flawed and not an amazing leader, but that she still tries. Sophie is a leader because she tries, because she steps out and says "this isn't right!" not because she's actually good at it. She does not have a lot of the typical qualities that make good leaders. She's not very outspoken most of the time, she's insecure, she's more introverted-- she's just a character who is justice oriented, so she rises above those feelings. WHICH IS A BETTER NARRATIVE CHOICE THAN "No Foster, ur actually a perfect leader <3"

I boil this down to:

TWO CONTRADICTING TRAITS CAN EXIST AT THE SAME TIME.

Sophie is insecure, and lacks confidence. But she's also moral, and therefore does her best to be a leader.

She's brave. Not confident.

am I making any sense??? I feel like I have a point and it's getting lost a bit here. Maybe I'll come back and clarify things another time. rn I'm tired.

ALSO: I fear the same thing happened to Biana and Linh.

I deadass think the introduction of Ro is what began it all. She's a try-hard character for female empowerment, that comes off as very forced and shallow.

[youbutstupid]

What d’you think is the “best” trait the main bau team members have?

OH I love this question thank you so much. There’s a lot so bear with me

Hotch: his compassion for his team. He’s an extremely compassionate and empathetic leader, constantly allowing for his team to leave work if they need to and following them on their hunches, even if they seem unlikely, purely because he loves and respects each of them. Quite often Hotch is portrayed as stone faced but I’ve honestly never seen a male leading character be so openly loving to their team.

Gideon: how much he cares for the victims in his cases. Gideon is often characterised as being a bit clueless to the feelings of his team, yet he never is to the people he is trying to save because he puts his everything into it. He has always been so open and accepting in cases which was rare for a 51 year old man in 2005; he was very willing to let go of his old ways and what he used to know so that he could evolve with the changes in society in order to best help the people he was saving. We also got to see his book of the people he saved. It was amazing.

Rossi: his ability to read and help the people on the team when no one else does. I wholeheartedly believe that if Rossi was present during the Hankel case, Reid would not have gone through his addiction alone. Rossi is always the one to call out people who try to hide their problems and he puts in so much effort to help them, even using his hours outside of work to do so. We see him waking up early to help Hotch coach Jack’s football matches, him inviting Penelope over for scotch so that she can finally disconnect from technology and him hosting the cooking class, the wedding and Strauss’ funeral dinner ar his house. His character development from being weary about the team to adoring them all individually was amazing.

Reid: I love how despite him admitting that he has trouble with emotions, he is always the one doing everything he can to be an emotional support when people around him are struggling. We see him try and comfort Elle when everyone else disconnected from her, he stayed with Garcia the entire time when she was shot, he is the one to call Emily to ask if she wants to hang out when she started disconnecting due to the Doyle situation, he is the one to try and help JJ with her PTSD in season 10 and so on. He doesn’t like the idea of the people around him going through things alone despite the fact that he often tries to go through things alone and he is extremely selfless in this sense.

JJ: I am constantly inspired by how throughout the show, she is repeatedly putting in effort to try and improve herself as a person and as an agent. We never see her get cocky, even when she deserves to be like she was in the FBI from a very young age, she had one of the most challenging jobs as the press liaison and then she was able to work herself up to profiler where she was one of the most formidable people on the field. Despite how impressive she really is, the audience are never given a chance to consider it because she never boasts about it and instead spends everyday striving to be better.

Morgan: he is always willing to take on a leadership role when he has to, yet he is always willing to give it back to Hotch when he doesn’t need to take it on anymore. I’m not just referring to season 5 either, I’m talking about any time when Hotch is unable to take on his role. Morgan respects Hotch a lot and is always willing to support him by taking on the role of team leader when Hotch can’t anymore, yet he never tries to take the role permanently for himself, despite being told he could by Strauss. Despite his years of experience and his leadership skills, he is willing to give up the role because he sees it as what is best for the team and he respects Hotch too much to keep it.

Elle: her protection of women. Elle was, in my opinion, ahead of her time. She previously worked in the sex crimes division and in season 1, she was the only female profiler and she did not step away from her previous role as an advocate for women in sex crimes just so she could better ‘fit in with the men’ of the BAU; she instead brought her perspective with her and implemented it in her cases. She was the only one in episode 3 to look at the woman who was assaulted and realise how uncomfortable she must have been surrounded by men. She ended her career in the BAU fighting for women and it hurts me that the BAU lost her.

Garcia: she never, ever stops being herself, even when people question her or bring her down for it. Sadly, because Garcia is the brightest person in the room, she is quite often the one who the profilers take their frustrations out on; we have seen JJ, Morgan, Hotch, Rossi and Emily all do this. Despite this, she doesn’t waver, she doesn’t stop being the brightest person in the room just because someone is simply not in the mood for her to be because she knows that she does not need to apologise for simply existing as her authentic self. In the episode The Black Queen, 9x12, her ex tells her that they both used to make fun of girls like her, and she corrects him saying that he made fun of girls like her, this was who she always wanted to be. This is so empowering to me.

Prentiss: my love, she was so unbelievably loyal to those around her and this was clear from the beginning. She was the only one to question Reid’s suffering in season 2, she literally uprooted her life and faked her death so that her team’s lives could be protected in season 6. When she found out JJ was in danger in season 9, she was so quick to jump on a plane back to help her. When the team calls for favours whilst she is in London, she always answers to help them. When Reid got arrested and imprisoned in season 12, she didn’t once believe that he committed the crime of which he was accused and even risked her entire career tampering with possible evidence so that it couldn’t be used against him. She is loyal to a fault and so many don’t acknowledge that.

Todd: we only got Todd for 9 episodes but I loved how human she was. She was the first character to make the audience realise that none of what we were looking at was normal. By season 4, the audience became very desensitised to the crimes that we were looking at and Todd broke us out of that and she also was not afraid to call out the fact that it wasn’t normal that the profilers were desensitised either. I respect how in the end she would rather admit that she couldn’t do the job anymore than lose that human side of her. I also loved how she made sure Hotch never took JJ for granted.

Seaver: we never got to see much of Seaver’s development because of the writers, but I loved her willingness to learn. Seaver hadn’t even graduated from the academy when she joined the team, she was not a profiler, she wasn’t even a qualified FBI agent. Watching her learn and grow in such a traumatising field and take it all in her stride was so incredibly interesting to watch. I also loved watching her friendship grow with the team; going to the cinema with Reid, Morgan and Garcia, gaming night with Rossi and going out for curry with Reid. 

Blake: Blake was so incredibly talented and so unbelievably smart but instead of using it as a way to get ahead of her team, she used it as a way to relate to them and bond with them. She almost became a protective figure over them and she took that role very seriously too. It was honestly amazing watching her mind work and how easily she was able to take on her role as a profiler because of it. I know I just named multiple good qualities but it is incredible to me how much her character was able to grow and be adored in just two seasons, she had no idea what dynamic she was getting into when she joined the team yet she fit in perfectly and adapted to it so quickly in order to help them and gain their trust.

Callahan: her confidence. She went into that bullpen being unapologetically herself from the beginning and she fit herself into that team without an ounce of apprehension. She made so much effort to establish herself and she was not shy about it which I adored; she had banter with Rossi, she opened up to Reid, she carpooled with JJ, she became a close friend for Garcia and she gained Morgan’s trust all within a few episodes; the last two being hard to do as a new member of the team. I love how she didn’t question where she belonged, she knew she belonged.

Simmons: to me, Simmons was just so incredibly sweet. When he first joined and I saw that he was buff and conventionally attractive, I was weary that he was just going to be another jock detective that we see in other shows, but he wasn’t. He, again, was an incredibly strong and skilled agent yet when he arrived on the team he took everyone for who they were and never once acted like he was in any way better than them because he had skills that they did not have. He was just a nice person and that may sound like a basic description but to me, it’s the best description to give a person. I felt genuinely safe with Matt’s character on the screen because it was just lovely to see a man on the screen who was just good.

Lewis: OH I love this woman. Tara brought a new element of self assurance to the screen and also humour. She, again, was very unapologetically herself and she knew her worth, as we saw when she went through her breakup, which was so refreshing to see because it is rare you see a woman know her value and not be portrayed as cocky for doing so. She is also a character that marked her place on the team and I also love how unafraid she was to come out and say that she was dating a woman, which was a risk in itself because the BAU had never had an openly LGBTQ+ profiler before. I also loved how she brought ‘your mum’ jokes to the show because watching a 50 year old woman with a doctorate make multiple ‘your mum’ jokes is all I needed from the show if I’m honest.

Alvez: I don’t want to repeat things too much but I also love Luke’s loyalty, which is something we also saw from very early on in his time in the show. Bear in mind when Reid was in prison, Luke was only on the team for a very short period of time, yet he believed wholeheartedly that Reid was innocent and even made threats for his safety. I also love how he took Garcia’s original dislike of him in his stride and honestly embraced everything about her, whether it was her distrust in him or her ‘quirkiness’ as the team would dub it, he took it all in and loved her because of it all, not in spite of it.