#usually I can just power through most all mental pain without it affecting my overall functioning or productivity

[h3l1k3]

Woag ok I guess I'm not getting out of bed today then

[poisonfallen]

Your take on cancel culture and stan culture?

Oh boy, oh boy, it's happening.

Alright, let's talk about toxic people on the internet. And keep in mind that my opinion goes beneath the mcyt community. I feel the same about the kpop community and any other community that is famous for having lots of toxic people. 

Also, keep in mind that this is my opinion about these topics, I don’t intend to offend or misinform anybody. I might be wrong, and if I am wrong indeed, please help me correct any mistake that I’ve done.

Cancel culture

Before ranting about its toxicity, let's understand what it actually means and how it works.

What is cancel culture? 

Well, according to Wikipedia, “cancel culture or call-out culture is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – whether it be online, on social media, or in person” (source). 

Basically, cancel culture is the process of ceasing offering support to a public figure after saying or doing something that is considered objectionable or offensive. 

In theory, cancel culture is a good thing that helps the victims speak up and properly defend themselves, as well as preventing other people from doing the same mistakes. No harm done to innocent people, just a way of saying why a certain person or a certain company has done something that really hurt a category of people. Some even say that it’s an exercise of free speech.

However, while a culture that encourages calling out inappropriate behaviour is important, a culture that is quick to cancel and reluctant to forgive is something that divides the internet and starts wars in the trial of defending an opinion that is not shared by every single person on the internet, thus becoming the thing that its purpose is to defeat. (a vicious cycle of hatred)

So why is it toxic?

From my point of view, I don’t think that cancel culture is a toxic thing in theory. But the way people actually use it is what concerns (and bothers) me. 

In its current form, anonymous and fuelled by negative emotions, cancel culture has the power to destroy a person’s career in a matter of minutes. There are no gray areas, just the white and black pack mentality: “I am right and you are wrong”. 

The subject of the cancelation becomes “cancelled” for disagreeing with a certain opinion, and the cancelled one feels like the whole world is hating them. No one can argue that going through a cancellation, no matter how big or small it is, can severely affect one’s mental health and leave them scarred for life. 

Cancel culture, at this point, is bullying someone famous without facing the consequences. We are already used to surf the web and stumble across someone’s cancelation over something that not even in our wildest dreams we would be able to imagine otherwise. 

I think that all of us are familiar with a stupid cancelation, like canceling someone over a burger that somehow became the sole reason of obesity (see: Dream MrBeast burger). We can’t help but laugh at people trying to cancel someone for a stupid reason. 

But, unfortunately, not all of our cancelations are stupid or laughable. There are people cancelled over their physical aspect or them not being political active, people cancelled over being friends with certain people or over saying something that is now considered to be slightly offensive a few years ago. The ones who are under the spotlight can’t make jokes or take decisions by themselves, they are supposed to be the marionettes of their fans. 

(I do not intend to say that all cancelations are bad, but I’m trying to highlight how the majority of the most recent cancelations are out of place. If someone actually tries to actively harm your minority, your beliefs etc. you should call out that inappropriate behaviour, but without purposely harming that person as a means of payback) 

There is also a toxic behaviour that I’ve noticed in a cancelation: the “I forgive you”/”I don’t forgive you” phrase used by people who have no right to do so. If you are part of the minority who has been hurt, then you have every right to forgive or not someone for saying or doing something hurtful towards your minority. 

But if you are not a part of that minority, shut the f*** up. By speaking on behalf of a minority while you aren’t part of that minority you take away the right of actually addressing the issue from the people who are part of that minority. You can support them from the sides and let them express their pain with their own voice. They perfectly capable of addressing the issue, they need your support but not you taking the spotlight away from the actual problem.

What is my take on cancel culture?

I think that there are more civil ways of resolving an issue without actively trying to destroy someone’s career. Instead of cancelling that person, we could educate them (but not in that harmful way I’ve seen on twitter) on the subject and on why their words or actions are hurtful. 

We should remember that we are all humans and that every human makes mistakes. Don’t forget that children learn by making mistakes. And while I’m well aware that we are not talking about children here, you should also be well aware that we are talking about actual humans with feelings. 

Cancelation should be the last weapon we use, but only if that person refuses to give an apology and educate themselves on the subject. 

Overall, don’t. Just don’t cancel people. Don’t attack people on the internet. Don’t try to harm people on the internet. 

Some of you might disagree with my opinion and I’m open to criticism as long as you can help me educate more on the subject.

Now let’s move on to the other topic

Stan culture

Before I start talking about this one, I’d like to point out that stans actually scare me, a lot. 

What is stan culture?

“Stan culture describes an online phenomenon in which communities of stalker fans, or stans, engage in overly enthusiastic support of a favorite celebrity online (called “stanning”), including at times vehement, coordinated attacks against detractors and critics” (source). 

Basically stan = stalker + fan. 

There are also people who say that the word stan comes from Eminem’s song “Stan” which tells the story of a crazed fan. I do recommend listening to the lyrics of this song if Eminem is not your cup of tea, it’s a good intake in what stan culture was at the beginning of 2000′s.

To be honest, I don’t have anything more to add at this section. Anything more I’d say would, in the end, be the same as what was already stated. (but you can see my opinion on it with more comments at the end)

It stan culture toxic?

You have to live under a rock if you had never seen a stan on twitter or tumblr. You usually recognize them by their profile pictures, the content they share, their posts and their ready to argue behaviour in case you insult or disagree with the ones they worship. 

I’d like to point out that there is a fine line between a stan and a fan: stans know no length when it comes to defending their object of worship and often have really toxic ways of expressing their opinions, while a fan is there just to enjoy their favourite content without engaging in harmful discussion and hate speeches. 

This topic is filled with controversy. In essence, stanning should be a means of showing support. The majority of them don’t even realize the toxicity they spread only after leaving the fandom. 

The real problem here is the moment when they engage in conflicts without entertaining the thought that they might be wrong. Anything they do is right and their object of worship can say or do no mistake. This extends to the point of sending death threats and even doxxing. 

For those who don’t know about doxxing, short for dropping dox: doxxing is an internet slang that means to publish personal information (of an individual) on the internet. You can find more about it here.

With no intend to disrespect or disregard one’s religious beliefs, you can say that stanning is like being part of a religion. The stans are the extremist people who practice that religion, while the fans are those who practice it from time to time (eg. like a Christian who goes to Church only on Christmas and Easter - me). 

In the end, stan culture is toxic to both the stans and celebrities. 

Is there a connection between stan culture and cancel culture?

They are both toxic internet cultures, this one is right for sure.

From what I’ve noticed during my short timed stay on twitter, a lot of cancelations are made by stans from the same community or different communities. 

I’m part of mcyt community, so I’ve seen a lot of Dream fans and Dream antis fighting over the past months, trying to cancel each other and harm each other. It’s mental seeing people actively trying to do these kind of things just because they love or hate a certain person. Of course that we can’t tie the situation to a certain content creator. 

I know that his also happens a lot in the kpop community where stans are in a constant fight to destroy the career of each other’s favourite idol group or bias (someone's most favorite member of an idol group). 

What is my take on stan culture?

I feel like I need to repeat myself: stans scare the s*** out of me. 

It’s like their sole purpose in life is to support someone and don’t have the basic sense of boundaries. A lot of problems arise with this: like shipping people who are uncomfortable being shipped with, intense sexualizing (sexualizing the minors is the worst from my point of view), creating drama and intentionally ignoring real world problems just to make their favourite person(s) trend, and the list is so long that I feel like I’d create a record on tumblr for the longest post if I go on. 

We are talking about some weird adaptation of Lord of the Flies where children raise each other on the internet. It’s like a cult and they are brainwashed into believing what everybody else thinks. And the worst part is that I don’t think we’ll ever get better from this, things are only going south to heaven. 

I might be wrong and biased, so I do expect someone to help me understand these topics better, but for now these are my firm opinions. 

I’d also like to clarify, once again, that in the religion example I’m not making fun of Christianity, I’m just using it as a means to help people better understand my point.

[lore-of-the-silvereyes-rwby]

I am power I am due process I will smite

We talked about Ironwood's personality, history, major theories, and his possible origins. Now we will discuss the prime and major aspect of his character that has impacted the story the most. His overall status, power, and abilities as the leader of Atlas Military, Headmaster of Atlas Academy and the major de facto Leader of the entirety of the Atlassian Government and how it has made him lose sight of what he was fighting for.

Status

As a general, Ironwood normally doesn't associate himself with the front lines of combat and usually orders his forces using his tactical know-how and military knowledge. However, when pressed, he is very adept in combat.

In "Remembrance", he has two seats on the Atlesian Council, assuming both seats symbolize as Headmaster of Atlas Academy and General of the Atlas Military, giving him a even greater amount of authority and influence over the Atlesian Council and the Kingdom of Atlas, allowing him to make unilateral decisions such as initiating a Dust Embargo, closing off the Borders of the Kingdom from the rest of the world and even initiate and enforce Martial Law should he deem it necessary.

Rank

This is probably the most difficult to point down and to make a solid argument since the writers haven’t really explored the command structure of the Atlas Military but since they’re claiming it to be the America of RWBY we will be using facts and details of the U.S. Army rank structure as a logical comparison as well as listing the potential base requirements for Ironwood’s current rank and overall status.

Takes 30 years average to achieve the rank of [a 4 star] General

Candidates for Flag officers (General ranks) must have over 22 years of service as an officer

3 years in grade as a colonel to qualify for flag promotion(Time In Service at best 25 years for earliest promotion)

Atlas equivalent of the US chairmen of the Joint chiefs of Staff (Must be a 4* Gen)

As well as the Secretary of the Department of Education

Most likely achieved the rank and status of General 1-4 years prior to his debut in V2 (Assuming his age is somewhere between 47-50)

With these facts for both his status and rank it's quite clear that potentially Ironwood hasn’t had much time or experience being a leader or General. As I stated before in the Chosen one section chances are that Ozpin or his predecessor have been manipulating Ironwood’s career in order to gain an inside man over what can be assumed to be the most unstable Kingdom on Remnant ready to wage war. Because of this It has led Ironwood to descend further down into his ego and narcissism as he would see his fast success as his own accomplishments that he achieved on his own with his power, instead of the truth that it was all handed to him by Oz. Because of that Ironwood has thought of himself better than Oz and believes in his own hype as his power increased.

The source of his power

With his rank and status aside let's now discuss the source of his power and how it solidifies Ironwood’s overall role in the plot.  The source of his power being his complete and total authority over his home Kingdom of Atlas. This is the only reason why he is even the plot in the first place. He is the de facto leader of the world’s strongest and advanced Military that is allied with the main heroes. The main heroes didn’t come to him for a plan nor did they come to him because he has some special power, they came to him just to get access to his army. That is the entirety of his role. He is supposed to be the guy that is supposed to lend his assets for the heroes, specifically the assets of Atlas entirely.

Now, Atlas is a country with very strong military and technology, isolated and far away from all the other countries. Despite the strong military, it is limited in number,  resources, and assets. Since Ironwood came to power he has hoarded almost all of them and gives the world the bare minimum. Not because it is limited or because he is preparing for war but because he  believes that he is the only one that can win. He wants to be the hero. Ironwood’s overall power stems from the consent of the people to his authority, and their willingness to die for him and his cause.

He needs people to make his plans happen.  He needs people to make his war machines. He needs them to supply his army with troops willing to die for him. But more importantly he needs people to validate him and his choices in order to fuel his ego and his “For the Greater Good '' mantra as well as to fuel his false sense of chosenness. He’s a barely competent General who genuinely wants to protect & win for the sake of others, but he is not a noble leader of his or any people who he will use to get the mission done.

Individual Powers & Abilities

His overall combat and abilities are pretty standard to $417 honestly. In comparison to other RWBY fighters I would have to say that Ironwood isn’t in the top 10 or top 100 of the World's best warriors. Decent skills maybe, but nothing new or special that would make him stand out from a regular joe combat wise.

Semblance

To start, let's discuss the key element of RWBY’s combat system that gives it its uniqueness; Semblances.  Now this is actually a key factor and component to the RWBY lore and Universe as a whole.

A Semblance is the manifestation of one's innate and personal power as an ability unique to each individual, with the effects varying greatly from user to user. With the sheer number of people unlocking their Semblances, it can lead to unrelated people gaining similar abilities. The nature of one's Semblance is noted as representing an aspect of their character.

Basically it's a physical representation of one's soul

(Note due to the vague description of his semblance I had to browse through around to get a solid idea for what his semblance is in a manner that everyone can agree and understand)

Ironwood's Semblance is revealed to be Mettle, which strengthens his resolve and allows him to carry through with his decisions, helping him hyper-focus. His semblance is possibly  “passive”meaning he has no control over it. It also gives him a surge in concentration and pain tolerance so that he can accomplish whatever goal he’s fixated on.

An example of its use on-screen was when he ripped his arm out of the hard-light construct Watts trapped him in during their fight in Volume 7.

It speculative if he does have any control over his semblance or if it works in the same manner as Qrow Branwen’s semblance(Always Active)

One argument saying that it is active is from the lyrics of Hero;

“Our enemies destroy, Mettle I’ll deploy, No chance that I won’t take, My oath to you I won’t forsake”

The words in bold help hint at the possibility that he has some control over his semblance but it does remain unclear whether or not if it's truly passive or not

To help summarize as to what his semblance does; Ironwood's Semblance, Mettle, allows for  temporarily increased brain processing power. This can be utilized to help James hyper-focus, blocking out everything else to help him achieve his goals.

His semblance is also a manifestation of his tenacious character trait and allows for mental health to affect his semblance like everyone else. The changes here are slight, but meaningful and could probably still be worked on to make it sound better.

Also to help better understand here is the definition of Mettle;

A person's ability to cope well with difficulties or to face a demanding situation in a spirited and resilient way.

His semblance is probably ideal on the battlefield but not much in terms of Administrative and/or Political issues

His semblance isn’t exactly ideal or overall useful in most fights since it's possible that he can’t control it

As well as it does seem to be a self indulgent power that only benefits him in regards to his psyche and nervous system

With that in mind I think Ironwood would have to find other ways to enforce his power without a semblance in a world where it seems to be a common phenomenon.

Physical

Due to his lack of unique abilities or useful semblance Ironwood would have to focus his efforts on other forms of combat to compensate for his handicap.

One of them being his physical prowess.

Due to his status as General his individual combat efficiency has diminished to an extent due to basically being a military politician.

With that in mind it's possible that Ironwood hasn’t seen active combat on a regular basis since he was a Captain(O-3) which is the most common officer rank in any military as well as the most common rank to be seen on the field of combat in comparison to ranks above that.

In other words his combat experience has probably diminished during the later half of his career as the headmaster of Atlas Academy and later when he became The most senior leader of the Army

Given this Ironwood’s personal combat style has been reduced to the basics that he learned during his Basic Military boot camp training.

This is best seen during his fight with Arthur Watts who was possibly also a member of Atlas Military given his surprising combat abilities to be on par with Ironwoods. But this is due to the both of them relying on a mixture of their combat training from boot camp, and the experience from their respective career fields. In this case it's an administrative politician vs a scientific inventor both of whom are in career fields that are non direct combat orientated relying on their shared knowledge and training of basic military combat.

To further add to this an allegory example for the Ironwood vs Watts fight would be a Army mechanic vs Army Sniper. These are both non direct combat careers in the military and are less likely to see any form of close quarters combat that an infantryman would as one works with heavy machinery and repair while the other does stealth and ranged operations.

But if we put these two into a free roam boxing match to the death chances are these two would have to rely on their basic training as their current career paths don’t focus much on CQC or any direct combat. As such the sniper would most likely adopt a fighting style similar to an out-boxer given his light build and frame needed for the stealth part of his career while the mechanic adopts a slugger style given his greater body build needed to lift and operate heavy tools and other manual labor.

The mechanic will also have a need to be direct and end this as quickly as possible as he may be use to a finish by the time quota mentality while the sniper knows that he is physically out matched but uses the speed granted to him by his smaller build to his advantage and tries to tire out the slugger and wait for an opening while the slugger tries to end it all in one hit.

In the case of their fight Ironwood was the slugger forfeiting strategy for brawn and strong one shot finishers, while Watts was the out-boxer who knew he physically stood no chance and focused on tactics and unconventional combat via the terrain settings of Amity Colosseum to tire and weaken Ironwood enough for an opportunity to incapacitate him

Another key aspect of Ironwood’s physical prowess are his Cybernetics.

Now we don’t know when or how he got them but it's quite clear that they were made to enhance his strength evidence from the shockwave that shattered the ground when he and an alpha beowulf parried each other in V3 Chpt.10

So yeah his cybernetics probably have doubled maybe even tripled the strength of his right side.

But sadly these are probably outdated and old as again we don’t know when he got them but they seemed to have been on him for awhile which would make sense as his status would grant him cybernetics that would be advanced for their time but with the down side that he can’t replace them for newer and better models

Evidence for this is when Ironwood had a new state of the art arm made for yang when he probably could have had a new arm made for himself and equipped it onto him, but he can’t cause his cybernetics are permanent and non changeable

As such he’s stuck with prosthetics that can only enhance his strength and nothing else. With unchangeable cybernetics aside let's look at the non cyber part of him and how it may be failing him.

The downside of his human half is that it still ages and with age comes physical deterioration and later mental deterioration. After looking up some medical research human beings start to deteriorate at the median age of 50 and as such start to weaken physically, losing the abilities of their prime

If my estimation of his age is accurate his body is nearing or is already deteriorating and with the added amounts of stress and PTSD may as well caused his mind to deteriorate prematurely as well.

Also his semblance apparently allows him to tolerate pain and damage allowing him to have some form of berserker mode like wolverine(Basically an adrenaline rush)

Also remember its passive and only happens at random so yeah it's not really that useful in long drawn out fights even if it's active.

With these facts in mind Ironwood at present may now be aware of his physical limitations and as such would have to rely on a another form of combat where he would have to rely on others to do his fighting for him

Leadership

Now this is his most defining trait at present that has been explored the most in the show and the center of controversy for his character

As stated before Ironwood lacks any special powers that could give him the edge as well as that his physical body is starting to fail him due to age, greatly weakening his usefulness in a fight.

As such he is left with the only viable option that he has to enforce his will without direct contact.

His command and Authority over others, and their consent to die for him and his needs

In order for him to have this kind of power may have been a result of his leadership style.

His leadership style appears to be a mixture of 3 different types of leadership styles.

These 3 being Autocratic, Authoritative, & Pacesetting with Autocratic being the dominant of the 3

Autocratic

The phrase most illustrative of an autocratic leadership style is "Do as I say." Generally, an autocratic leader believes that he or she is the smartest person at the table and knows more than others. They make all the decisions with little input from team members.(Sound familiar)

This command-and-control approach is typical of leadership styles of the past, but it doesn't hold much water with today's talent.(Times of war maybe?/Times of peace, nope!)

That's not to say that the style may not be appropriate in certain situations. For example, you can dip into an autocratic leadership style when crucial decisions need to be made on the spot, and you have the most knowledge about the situation, or when you're dealing with inexperienced and new team members and there's no time to wait for team members to gain familiarity with their role.(He would be more suited as a mission handler instead of a strategic tactician)

Authoritative

The phrase most indicative of this style of leadership (also known as "visionary") is "Follow me." The authoritative leadership style is the mark of confident leaders who map the way and set expectations, while engaging and energizing followers along the way.( Basically him in V 2 & 3 before things went to $417)

In a climate of uncertainty, these leaders lift the fog for people. They help them see where the company is going and what's going to happen when they get there.(He may be a man of vision poor vision but had a some sense of direction just poorly showed, & executed for others)

Unlike autocratic leaders, authoritative leaders take the time to explain their thinking: They don't just issue orders. Most of all, they allow people choice and latitude on how to achieve common goals.( It’s a 40/40/20 split with this being the least)

Pacesetting

While the pacesetter style of leadership is effective in getting things done and driving for results, it's a style that can hurt team members. For one thing, even the most driven employees may become stressed working under this style of leadership in the long run.(Mantle, Vale and the Heroes are prime examples of that)

Ironwood’s Leadership is quite the mix bag of results

In some situations specifically Combat oriented ones it works and is effective to a certain degree

But for most of the time in situations like politics, commerce, and peace in general it can lead to the worst outcomes imaginable hence all of the conflicts plaguing rwby present

With this in mind it probably won’t take long to realise that Ironwood is an ineffective leader of and for the people

Remember most of the power that he holds now is through the consent of the people

Whether they be soldiers, scientists or civilians they are the only things that keeps him in power as well as make his position of power legitimate in order for him to plan and execute his plans.

Also as evidence from extended sources and media most of the progress and advancements of Atlas have been done through Ironwoods efforts ergo Ironwood has more or less become the main benefactor of the kingdom through their eyes

This however more or less makes him the de facto king of Atlas if you think about it and as most troubles that befall a king it's usually their own pride that can get the better of them especially if they surround themselves with enablers that paint them in a almost god-like light

Also with the added reveal of his semblance It does have a very heavy affect on his mind in terms of decision making but sadly it tends to happen on impulse and isn’t much suited for a political or administrative environment

Sadly he has done a poor job trying to keep the people on his side and as such has justified the revolution to bring down his ineffective & immoral leadership

Effectiveness

Depending on the situation the effectiveness of Ironwood's overall power and command  is moderate to ineffective in all honesty

This mostly stems from the fact that Ironwood’s ego and overall favoritism of his kingdom tends to clash with the general idea of the common goal of peace that is shared with the heroes (Ozpin, Ruby, Oscar, etc) and the world as a whole

As such it has fueled his need to be validated to raging war, even though the results would be catastrophic in order to do so and completely unnecessary

The effectiveness of Ironwood's overall impact on the world is mostly done in self-indulgence as he believes his dreams and goals are what is best for everyone.

In a true totalitarian way unless something can further his power or goals it's good to him, while anything that threatens it is bad to him

This is first seen when he discredited Ozpin as he saw it his way of handling the situation was not ideal even though he is his ally. In doing so he became the head of the security force and further discredited Ozpin to the point that his position as headmaster was in jeopardy. Even though Oz is the leader of the group that is meant to keep the peace in secret as open conflict would result in heavy losses which is what the fall of beacon was. A preview on a small scale as to what could happen had Ironwood his way all the time and the results that it would yield.

By V7 Ironwood acknowledges his failure with the amount of power he had brought, except unlike most people he hasn’t learned anything from the ordeal and continues down a path of paranoia and warmongering. Instead he chooses to find ways that would benefit his power and goals.

Fear and rage aside Let talk about his overall planning and strategy

Most of his plans that have been shown and revealed so far have had a tendency to backfire

The first of his plans that took a turn for the worst was the P.E.N.N.Y. project during the Vytal tournament as well as his power grab at beacon which led to its fall

Okay this is speculative but I do believe Ironwood was field testing Penny for his upcoming war based on dialogue from her in V2 and used the Vytal tournament as a means to do so. Thus turning an event of peace that was meant to celebrate the end of war just to test new weapons for his upcoming war of change.

This accompanied by the army of robot soldiers that he insisted to have as security brought to question the practicality of Ironwood's methods. This is also brought into question as the people are unaware of salem' existence thus from the perspectives of the Vale citizens and the world in general, Ironwood's interference with Vale security would basically be needless foreign intervention, to them that would eventually lead to disaster. Which it did as both were used to portray him and atlas as the villainous force at the fall of beacon and has contributed to salem's plans.

The second of his plans to go off the deep end was the dust embargo and the closing of borders

Though granted with drawing from the rest of the world seemed like a good idea to ease tensions of war but overall it had lasted too long especially if you take into account that Atlas was Remnants source of Industry and main economic and technological center that the world desperately relies on to survive.

This would make it difficult to rally anyone to his side as from their perspective he and by extension his kingdom would only be seen as the ones who left them for dead and would think twice before trusting him with any plan especially one of war.

The third plan of his to go astray was his confrontation with Watts

This isn’t much of a plan but an overview of his strategy during that fight and it could have gone better honestly.

By the way that entire fight was essentially a capture mission for Watts. Which is self explanatory as to why Ironwood didn’t straight out kill watts when he can use him to his advantage so I’ll give credit for forethought of enemy interrogation but the means and execution as to obtain watts were very poor and half thought out

To start where it began to turn to s*** was how he essentially went in alone without backup. Remember he is a General during a time of peace, who at this point probably has very little combat experience to rely on for this fight. I really don't see the point of why he would fight the crazy mad scientist alone when he could have at least had winter with him or a squad of soldiers to assist .Hell even a sniper could have been beneficial. It's not like everyone, was needed to evacuate the city of  mantle.

Which brings me to my second point of the fight; why did it have to be Ironwood to capture watts? From a fan perspective the answer was probably to give a character a good fight scene but in universe why did it have to be the general of the entire army to capture one cyber terrorist. Especially when there are other more qualified fights that have seen more action in a week than Ironwood has in his entire military career. That may be an over exaggeration but as I stated before Ironwoods career shifted from the battlefield to the political and administrative.

Meaning his combat experience has diminished since his 30’s? as he became more focused on running a kingdom rather than micromanaging the battlefield as he used to. So with that in mind Ironwood should have at least thought of someone more capable of capturing Watts than him. He could have sent Winter or Qrow or even the ace opts who probably are more qualified to disarm and detain watts faster and more effectively than how Ironwood’s fight went without complications.

Now we come to the fight itself where Ironwood for no reason drew out the fight longer than it should have been. For example we know that his cybernetics are possibly capable of doubling the strength of his right side. So once Ironwood had gotten within grabbing range of watts after depleting his Aura Ironwood should have at least tried to crush the bones of either of Watts arms thus disarming him and making it easier to detain. He also could have taken a page from Nora and broken his legs thus immobilizing him and limiting Watt’s options of escape.

Maybe Humans are more durable in rwby, than humans of our world but if you need to capture someone alive they don’t have to be in perfect condition. They just need their head intact to give info  and the necessary vital origins needed  to live. They don’t exactly need their arms or legs unless you want to risk the chance of escape from them

Here comes the standoff which is another point that's problematic given Ironwood's intentions. If Ironwood knew Watts was out of ammo why did he just taunt watts instead of making a move to subdue him. Instead of pointing out his enemy was out of ammo he could have shifted his gun a bit and put a bullet in his shoulder and  making his arm useless and make the necessary preparations to capture watts alive without any further risk to himself and probably wouldn’t lead him to flay his only remaining arm to win

(Assuming he was out of ammo as well hence why he was taunting again he has cybernetics that can double his strength if need be which he could have used to break any part of watt’s limbs without further damage to himself.)

Now we come to the final issue of the fight that honestly could have been avoided or at least handled better. Ironwood didn’t necessarily have to sacrifice his remaining arm to get free. He could have tried destroying one or all of the rings that were keeping his arm trapped. I do believe he has the strength in his cybernetics needed to crush the rings no problem. If he couldn’t then he could have shimmed his arm out through the side instead of pulling it out and burning it.

Overall Ironwood had plenty of options to his plan to capture Watts but it was his narrow mindedness that led to the escalation of the fight and cost him greatly when it could have been avoided and ended quickly without much loss.

The only plan that seemed to have been ideal and would have benefited everyone was the Amity project, and restoration of global communications but it had its consequences the way he had led it.

Communication is a very crucial and essential tool needed for any society to help better coordinate and resolve the issues that happen during a crisis. Overall his plan for amity was probably the least Atlas centric that would have benefited the world but his intentions for it and means to obtain it were problematic.

His intentions for the amity project were not based on altruistic or selfless motives but were based on his desire to gain and gather resources for his war with salem. Ironwood wanted to restore global communications just to convince the people of the other kingdoms to rally to him and to fight for his cause.

The means of how he obtained it also lead to problems as he had to siffen off resources from the 2nd impoverished city in the world that needed those resources to help keep it safe just to gain a way to recruit soldiers and acquire more resources needed for his war

This is also furthered by the fact that he intended to reveal a world shattering truth that would cause a lot of negative emotions of disbelief grief and fear that will fill the remainder of the world. Meaning Ironwood knowingly and was willing to cause global panic and take advantage of the chaos that would follow just to further his needs  for war.

That may be speculation but based on the latter half of the plan from A New Approach it pretty much highlights the Values and lengths of Ironwoods Motives and intentions for war and what he may be willing to do to get his way;

Ironwood: Yes, panic is inevitable, and panic brings Grimm. But I believe we are ready. Once Atlas has come to grips with the fight ahead, I'll use Amity Tower to spread the message to all of Remnant.

Weiss: But everything will fall apart. Grimm will be everywhere!

Winter: You're right, but Atlas is willing and prepared to assist.

Ironwood: Trying to hide the truth from the world will eventually kill us all.

So the highlight of his plan will eventually cause more problems and the eventual fall of the other kingdoms especially given their current states

Vale; Beacon infested with Grimm and the Main city on the brink being overrun by them

Mistral has Almost no Huntmen left to help with the kingdoms defense and already struggles with the criminal underworld that plagues the kingdom

Vacuo has no official structure or system of government besides Shade academy which is currently struggles to maintain order with the flooding of students going to it in order to train very much needed huntsman

This in all honesty will just wipe the slate clean and undo almost a century's worth of progress that will only leave what remains, fair game that can be claimed by anyone or to be specific to be claimed by Ironwood and Atlas.

Now I know that's a theory and it would paint Ironwood as a villain but it's not far from the likely truth and motives considering that Everything Ironwood has done has and always been in the best interest of Atlas and since he and the kingdom are synonymous at this point, his best interest as well.

Which brings us to his final and current plan

Abandoning Mantle and Raising Atlas

Okay we all know that this is probably one of the most talked about things that has divided the fandom the most in recent times sparking the debate of the morality and choices of RWBY’s characters. The most of those debates revolved around Ironwood’s current last ditch plan of survival. As it has been debated and analyzed over the last few months everyone has already discussed the pros and cons of the of this plan but I’ll summarize and give my thoughts of this plan as well as point out how it reveals Ironwoods hypocrisy and personal agendas

Pros;

Had everyone gone with ironwood on this plan and left Mantle to die this would at least give the heroes and the military some time to prepare for the next engagement should it come

while at the same time keeping at least 2 of the four relics away from the villains.

And the Winter Maiden as well

Cons;

This however would only be a short term retreat as eventually the city will need resources to sustain themselves as well as to gather even more resources to meet Ironwoods war demands.

But when it comes to getting those supplies the other kingdoms would have heard at this point how atlas abandon its own citizens and thus deny them the supplies needed.

This would also play into salem's hands as its not unlikely that she would spread the news of Mantles demise to turn the other kingdoms against Atlas

With this in mind and Ironwoods decent into extremism and desperation this would lead to atlas having to forcibly extort the other kingdoms for resources further playing into salem's hands and starting Remnants 2nd great war and all salem has to do from here on out is watch the world burn and wait for an opportunity.

If that outcome seems unlikely then lets cover another possible outcome of this plan succeeding but with this question; What happens to Remnant in the absence of Atlas?

Assuming that Atlas is self-sustainable as Ironwood said this would eliminate the need to make contact with the surface and need of supply runs.

However this also highlights the possibility that once Atlas is far and high enough Ironwood most likely won't return to help aid the rest of the world

As invoked by Oscar, raising Atlas will mean Salem will have free reign to slaughter the millions of people left on Remnant.

The truth;

Oscar says this not only to convince Ironwood not to abandon Mantle but not to abandon the world as well. When he said this Oscar is trying to convince Ironwood that it's not a lost cause and run away as that would only lead to further lost and the world ever closer to Salem’s rule should Ironwood run now(Like Raven did)

This is also given more credibility as when Ironwood abandoned his original plan for amity which was intended to reunite the kingdoms

Taking this into account and his plan there doesn’t appear to be any hint or motivation to return to or go to the other kingdoms for help or anything once Ironwood runs away.

This is an unintended byproduct of Ironwoods Paranoia and distrust for others as well as the unveiling of his hypocrisy and self survival.

This is hinted at in the V7 finale as Oscar tries to talk Ironwood down in the Relic Vault, where the latter blames everyone, from Robyn, to the council, to the Kingdom and even to  Oscar, for not seeing the bigger picture and getting in the way of doing what he thinks is right, and not once does Ironwood stop to consider that he himself may have had a role in things escalating as badly as they did.

As I stated before Ironwood is probably the main catalyst for everything that has gone wrong in the current events of rwby as he was the one who ended up giving the villains more opportunities and ammo needed to get their way.

Results;

The volume also focuses on the heroes, Robyn and Ironwood all having different ideas about how to protect Atlas and Mantle.

When they finally come together to help evacuate Mantle, the truce quickly falls apart once Ironwood realizes Cinder is in town, Salem is on her way and Team RWBY leaked intel to Robyn. He orders the arrest of the heroes, the forcible extraction of the Winter Maiden powers, and the abandonment of Mantle to save Atlas.

As a consequence of his extremism and paranoia corrupting his judgement, he loses the Relic of Knowledge, the Winter Maiden, almost all of his allies, and stands alone when Salem arrives on his doorstep.

By the end of the volume everything that Ironwood has done has been for nothing. Every decision Ironwood has made in the last few chapters winds up being for naught. Ordering the heroes to be arrested gets his best agent Clover killed and allows Tyrian to escape custody. Neo takes advantage of his arrest order for the heroes to confront Oscar and get away with the Lamp of Knowledge. Sending Winter to claim the Maiden power led Cinder right to where Fria was being held and ultimately causes the power to go to Penny, who sides with the heroes due to Ironwood's extremist methods.

Also Salem was far closer than the general realized, so even if things had worked in his favor it still would have failed.

In earnest most of Ironwoods recent and current plans and ideas have had negative results. His individual powers and abilities aren’t as impressive or out of the ordinary as others in the series. As well as not as useful as they could have been.  His semblance is pretty lackluster if I'm being honest. His status has only fueled his ego and arrogance and has left him blind to his purpose as a guardian for all of remnant, not just one aspect of it.

But what exactly was going on in Ironwoods head to make him like this? To answer that we need to know the practices and beliefs of his homeland as the Kingdom of Atlas has had more influence on Ironwood than anyone or anything else in his life.

The Altasien Philosophical ideals

Now we don’t really know any of the political, religious, or philosophical ideas of Remnant, or Atlas especially but we can make a guess and see how it might have affected Ironwood. As best as I could see Atlas seems to have a philosophy equivalent to Nietzscheism. Below are the facts, concepts and ideals of Nietzsche's Philosophy.

Nietzsche’s Big Ideas

Favored perspectivism, which held that truth is not objective but is the consequence of various factors effecting individual perspective;

Articulated ethical dilemma as a tension between the master vs. slave morality; the former in which we make decisions based on the assessment of consequences, and the latter in which we make decisions based on our conception of good vs. evil

Belief in the individual’s creative capacity to resist social norms and cultural convention in order to live according to a greater set of virtues.

The Will to Power

the drive of the superman(ubermensch) in the philosophy of Nietzsche to perfect and transcend the self through the possession and exercise of creative power.

a conscious or unconscious desire to exercise authority over others.

Master Morality

Nietzsche defined master morality as the morality of the strong-willed. Nietzsche criticizes the view (which he identifies with contemporary British ideology) that good is everything that is helpful, and bad is everything that is harmful.

Slave Morality

Slave morality is the inverse of master morality. As such, it is characterized by pessimism and cynicism. Slave morality is created in opposition to what master morality values as "good". Slave morality does not aim at exerting one's will by strength, but by careful subversion.

The übermensch

the ideal superior man of the future who could rise above conventional Christian morality to create and impose his own values, originally described by Nietzsche in Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883–85).

After reading this you can probably agree that this is the default guiding philosophical mindset of the Atlasian people and Ironwood especially but in the extreme and toxic. Which suits Atlas given what we know of it. The Kingdom is filled with people who believe they are this superior race and that everyone else is below them. As well as the fact that they are willing to throw away morals to get their way and are willing to crush those that stand in their way. As for Ironwood he is sadly a part of this toxic mindset whether he likes it or not as it's the greatest flaw of his character that he is just simply an extension to enforce Atlas and their immoral ways.

Atlas as a whole, not just the military, perpetrates the whole no emotions thing. Colors, feelings, individuality are bad. Look at how Atlas is presented. It’s detached from the rest of the world, and is devoid of warm colors. It’s all the same color, that cold grayish blue. So while yes, the Atlesian military definitely does it’s best to crush all those things too, it’s not a foreign concept to Atlesians. I’m fairly certain that if you were born on Atlas, not Mantle, that you would already be conditioned to start thinking this way even before you decided to go to Atlas Academy.

The Atlesian Military is a huge part of the problem as well, but if Atlas is already crushing individuality and feelings, it makes sense that the military would just continue to do so. Considering the fact that the military is not separate from their government, it shows how Atlas just continues the cycle of crushing and indoctrinating their citizens.

Atlas is this poisonous mindset of destroying emotions and individuality. Which is why those who leave it become better people and change for the better. Weiss leaves Atlas and becomes a better person. She loses the Ice Queen persona and has fun. She makes friends because she likes them, not because their skills would be most effective in a battle.(V1 ep.4 with Pyrah) She embraces her quirks and they become her strengths. Penny learns about friendship and the joys of life outside of the mission. Robyn knows that there is more to life than to keep advancing ahead. She knows that there is good in protecting the past and that we cannot forget the old. Advancement and efficiency will only take you so far. If we leave the human part of ourselves behind, what we become is much worse than being less efficient.

It’s so heavily ingrained in Ironwood, to the point that when we first see him he is already this inhuman machine that will carry on the will of his home kingdom regardless of the truth that the world knows, and that truth is that it is evil and inhuman.

The Strain and Revelation of power and responsibility

“But although the cliche says that power always corrupts, what is seldom said ... is that power always reveals. When a man is climbing, trying to persuade others to give him power, concealment is necessary. ... But as a man obtains more power, camouflage becomes less necessary.”

If you are unsure of what that quote meant, basically this section will explain the truth of Ironwood's character through the revelation of what his power has turned him into.

Though granted there is nothing wrong with power. However it becomes a problem when one gains too much that they can no longer control it. In Ironwood's case he had amassed too much that had burdened him with too much responsibility that he wasn’t prepared for.

As people began to rely on him which is actually part of his job as a General/councilman/Headmaster of a toxic government, the stress and burden had increased.

One could argue that his job as a general, who is under a lot of pressure, especially after the fall of beacon and people not understanding the true dangers of the real enemy. Ironwood lacks the skills needed to do his job as a protector and guardian. Which has led to him being this toxic and immoral person that keeps making mistakes, and the situation worse.

The strain of his power is having him make choices that has slowly made him break away from his human soul. But if Ironwood’s power has turned him into an immoral person who’s choices escalate the situation for the worst, why has he not been removed from this role of power and given the proper time needed to adjust and contemplate the understanding of his power and responsibilities of his assigned role?

Why toxic senior leaders survive — and sometimes thrive — in the military

From what I’ve found that has been able to determine, it comes down to three major factors: individual competence of the toxic officer; lack of personal accountability up and down the chain of command; and senior leader fear of loss of confidence.

The first major factor that results in the retention, and sometimes promotion, of toxic senior officers is intellect and work ethic. Most of the senior leaders in the military are highly intelligent with tremendous drive and ambition. While some senior officers have proven themselves unfit to lead others, there is a desire by some senior leaders to retain that intellect, drive, knowledge and experience to the benefit of the service.

Atlas and Remnant in general needs to fix the way it selects and grooms officers and people for leadership roles

Atlas is not designed to produce good leaders

Being in a leadership position does not make you a leader. Unfortunately, the Atlas Military  officer system sees it differently. They talk a good game, but the system is seriously lacking.

The second factor contributing to the retention of toxic senior leaders is a lack of accountability and transparency by those who have sponsored the toxic leaders.

Leaders we can believe in

There has to be a demand to finding smart officers, but Atlas must do more to find good leaders and sideline the bad ones

Rationally speaking, this makes sense — if the offending people can still provide good service to the nation, why not retain them? After all, the service failed to properly prepare those individuals to lead and made the additional mistake of placing people unsuited to leadership in those positions. Before we judge toxic leaders in the military too harshly, we should remember that the institution failed them as much as they failed the institution. Unfortunately, the lack of explanation from their most senior leaders leaves the rank and file with the perception that there is a complete lack of accountability at higher ranks. They are not entirely wrong.

Atlas must do a better job of screening, educating and evaluating its officers, especially for grades O-6 and above(Col to General)

The truth of the role he didn’t understand

That being said. I do believe James has the best intentions. But as he accumulated more power, the tendencies to be in control - or be in control of every facet of a situation - as much as any commander of armed forces wishes to be,  has clouded his judgement.

As a military leader,  his word is law. That is how his men are trained. But as a politician ruling over the common citizenry,  the common citizen is not indoctrinated into that lifestyle, thus presents random uncontrollable elements in his plans.

Ironwoods lacks the experience to deal with that entirely. He is surrounded by other like minded individuals who follow his orders unquestioningly. What he really needed and could have used the most of his career was a consultant. As to help better understand how his choices will affect those around them and how they will have to live with his decisions

A descanting (preferably civilian) opinion to counter his directives and provide the means for a more balanced perspective. The problem is Ironwood doesn't have the social skill or experience to handle dissenting opinions. Which is why he and Qrow clashed so damn hard in V3.

And why he was so shocked when the rest of the Ozluminati placed the blame squarely at his feet for the unrest in Vale during the second and third volume. He was astonished to realize that his views weren't universal in the group. He didn't comprehend the civilian mindset,  let alone the foreign civilian mindset in a country that isn't militarized like Atlas is.

He was just simply not suited or ready to be in a position of power that deals with the responsibility of Safeguarding peoples’ lives and maintaining world peace. His ambitions and sense of entitlement have led him astray from his assigned purpose. Because of this he has become a man of War instead of Peace like the other heroes and Oz are for.

His Power had stripped him of his soul and made him more Machine than human that even if Salem drops dead tomorrow what's next for him?

(Note; The words in bold at the bottom are links to the next section)

I am Machine I never sleep I keep my eyes wide Open

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Three Hundred Ten: Ethnic Food ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Of Monsters and Men ] [ AO3 Link ]

Well...today’s the day. While she knows, in truth, there’s no avoiding what she’s about to do...Hinata still takes a sliver of comfort in knowing that she can, at least, make peace with it.

The last several months have been the oddest of her life. Being saved from one vampire by another, befriending said savior vampire, and slowly finding herself more and more familiar with a world so few know exist.

Of course...Hinata has known about monsters - or as they prefer to be called, Nightwalkers - for most of her life. Her mother’s bloodline, tracing all the way back to the ancient miko who claimed to speak to gods, makes her neither human nor monster. A strange in-between that most nowadays call witches.

Try as she might to ignore her lineage, ignore her nature...it came to find her in the end.

And now, her rare, thought-extinct powers have attracted unwanted attention in the form of her dear friend’s employer and coven leader, Madara. He’s made her a deal she can’t refuse. Not because the reward is tempting...but because to say no is almost certainly a death wish.

She tells herself that, so long as she has Sasuke to rely on, she can get through this. While she’s a complete novice with her abilities, Madara seems convinced they can grow, and she can master them...all for him to use against his enemies.

So, given she has little choice, Hinata has decided to give her answer: she’ll work for him as needed. Otherwise...she just hopes she can keep some semblance of normalcy.

Which is why, once she’s made her peace, she texts Sasuke.

Want to get some dinner?

Hopefully it sounds casual enough. Because according to Madara, Sasuke’s protective inclinations toward her have been born out of a growing affection. And while Hinata cares for him greatly...she just has too much on her mind to sit and puzzle out her feelings. She’s never really dated anyone...never really been in love. Had crushes, but was never bold enough to act upon them.

...and is it wise to pair with a Nightwalker, given what she is? She’s not human...but she’s not vampire, either.

...she’ll think about it later.

Thankfully, his reply is swift...and cuts right to the point.

Made up your mind?

The words earn a small smile and a soft snort.

Yes. Not that there was much to think about, huh?

...true enough. The usual place?

Mhm.

Be there in ten.

Reading the last message, Hinata idly runs the pad of her thumb over the cracks in her mobile’s screen. She really needs to replace it...just her luck she was grabbed when it was in her hand, dropped to the parking lot asphalt. But at least it still works...she’ll put it off a little longer.

Mind still eddying with thoughts, Hinata makes her way to their typical meeting place: her favorite little eatery she discovered while going to university. It’s more traditional in style, quaint, and just what she likes.

And, as usual, Sasuke beats her there.

“Car or feet this time?” she asks with a small smile.

“Feet. Couldn’t find my keys.”

“Showoff,” Hinata gently chides, letting him open the door for her. “But at least you’re still a gentleman.”

“Only for you. To everyone else, I’m an asshole.”

“C-consider me flattered, then.”

“You should be.”

That earns another laugh, the pair of them guided to a cozy corner table. Sitting with a relieved sigh, Hinata takes a moment to glance out the window beside her. The night life of her city plays out beyond the panes, all seeming so...normal. It’s funny how much her perspective has changed since she met the man now sitting across from her. How much more...aware she feels. She knows she still has much to learn when it comes to those like her companion...but to think that so many people are completely blind to a world just over their shoulder...it’s odd.

“Hinata?”

“Hm?”

“You spaced out there for a second.”

“Oh...s-sorry.”

Sasuke studies her face, dark eyes flickering over her features. “...you all right?”

“Mhm. I’ve just been doing a lot of...thinking lately.”

“Good thinking, or bad thinking?”

“Just...thinking. Not really good or bad.”

“Objective, then.”

“...yeah.”

“Speaking of...I’m honestly blown away by how well you’re handling all of this, y’know.”

That earns a blink. “...really?”

“Yeah. Sure, you’re not human...and you’ve been aware of us most of your life. But that’s not exactly a guarantee for understanding or keeping calm in the face of everything you’ve got going on.”

“...I guess I just...d-do my best to look and move forward. I don’t know...maybe it is weird, but I just feel...calm. I know there’s danger, but...for some reason, it doesn’t bother me.”

His brow furrows, clearly not quite comprehending.

Hinata takes a moment to think, trying to figure out a way to explain. “...I think...it’s because I know I’m not facing it alone. Because I know you’re there to protect me.”

Sasuke’s face goes slack with surprise.

In turn, she gives a small smile. “...hungry?”

“...uh...yeah, sure. This place only got traditional food, or is there anything, like...ethnic?”

“M-mostly traditional…? I always get the same thing, so...I guess I’m n-not the one to ask,” she replies with a small laugh into the cuff of her jacket sleeve. “Though...n-now that you mention it, that reminds me of a question I’ve always meant to ask you.”

“...okay. What held you back?”

“Mostly I just forget, but...I guess I’m not sure if it’s, um...offensive…?”

Sasuke can’t help a snort. “Trust me...I doubt anything that passes through your mind could offend me. Hit me with it.”

“Well...your kind need blood to survive...right?”

“Yeah. It varies a bit from person to person, but typically we can’t go more than about three days without before we start getting...dangerous. We usually try to get about half a liter a day, but some skip around, depending on their schedule.”

“...oh! I...didn’t know it was that strict.”

“Mhm. So, was that your question?”

“Well, partly. I’ve obviously seen you eat food, but...is that n-necessary for...someone like you?”

“What, regular food? Oh, yeah. See, uh…” He hesitates, gathering his thoughts. “The ‘needs’ of Nightwalkers are typically sort of...additional beyond the typical. Like...fiction often depicts us as undead, but that’s nowhere near true. I have a heartbeat, my blood pumps, my gut functions...I still need food, water, rest, and all that like anything else alive. I just need blood on top of that to satisfy and sort of...alleviate what makes me a...what I am.”

“Ohhh…”

“...you thought that would offend me?”

“W-well, I just...I honestly thought you...didn’t need to eat,” Hinata replies, tone quite sheepish. “And I don’t like making assumptions about people, let alone an entirely different...type of people. S-sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Some species have it a lot easier than others. For example, most bestial lines - like...harpies, werewolves, nagas - they don’t really have a need like we do? There’s is more like...an instinct. You could, in a way, think of their brains as having two halves. A more human-like half, and the animal half. And suppressing the animal half for too long can make them...irritable. Or even affect their mental health. Some have mastered it and live almost completely like humans. But for most, they have to have breaks where they take their beast forms and live a little. Otherwise they’d go mad.

“But with the humanoid sorts, ours are usually more...conditional. Typically, it’s something that feeds off of another creature. My kind need blood - any kind will do, but humans are just the...best suited? It’s hard to explain. And like succubi and incubi need sexual energy. Sirens crave giving people pain, or even killing them...but most are satisfied just by being heard and adored. Stuff like that.”

At the mention of the middle sort, Hinata can’t help but go light pink. “I...I see. Do...do witches have any conditions like that?”

“Not that I know of, but...with how rare your kind became there for a while, a lot of information about you has probably been lost. Have you ever felt like there’s something nagging at you? Something you need to...do, or eat, or...whatever?”

“I don’t...think so.”

Sasuke leans his elbow atop the table, considering her as he rests his chin in a hand. “...it’s funny, but...no one really knows the origins of those like us. Nightwalkers, and witches - Twilightwalkers. Some say we evolved from humans, others say we’re cursed, but no one really knows for sure where we came from. But your kind seem to be a kind of...middle ground between us and humans. The way I’ve heard it put is that Nightwalkers are those with power to alter themselves...and witches have the power to alter what’s around them. Humans can do neither, at least...not the way we can.”

“That...makes a lot of sense. But I wonder if there’s any way to find out where our roots r-really lie.”

“No idea. But that’s more the sort of stuff my brother likes to puzzle over. I’m more of an ‘in the now’ sort of guy. My roots don’t really offer much in terms of effects here and now for me. Might be neat to know, but it doesn’t really do anything for me.”

“I think I’d like to know,” Hinata muses. “I already know s-so little about what I am...maybe it would shed some light. But I guess I don’t have much means to find out.”

“Yeah...we’ll get you figured out. Soon enough you’ll be the strongest witch in Japan.”

“I might be the only witch in Japan,” Hinata rebukes with a giggle.

“...you have a fair point. But still...you’ve clearly got talent, given how you managed to influence me, even with no training and in a state of panic. That’s promising.”

“I’ll t-take that as a compliment!”

Sasuke manages a grin as a server finally finds them, apologizing for the wait. “No worries. We’re night folk,” he assures her smoothly, giving Hinata a none-too-subtle wink.

She just snorts.

“Well...we’ll get you a full stomach, and then go have a little chat with Madara,” Sasuke then offers, sobering them both slightly. “There might be some paperwork to get you legally tied into everything, but...overall we shouldn’t have to be there long. Unless he decides to ramble on about what you’ll be doing. Hopefully he’ll save that for another night.”

“Yeah, I’d...prefer that, honestly.” She’d almost let herself forget why she’s really here. One last little outing with her full freedom before finding herself in Madara’s claws.

“...it’ll be fine,” Sasuke then assures her softly. “Like you said: I’ll be there to protect you.”

“...thank you, Sasuke.”

                                                              .oOo.

     (This is a sequel to days 35, 44, 52, 80, 82, 105, 115, 133, 159, 162, 188, 193, 289, 298, and 307!)       First of all, let me just apologize for falling yet another day behind: yesterday was super stressful, so I took my typical evening time to work on another fic. By the time that was done, I was in a lot of pain from my broken teeth, and just...called it a night. And odds are, the rest of the year is going to be VERY busy for me, so...I might very well fall further behind rather than catch up, though I REALLY hope I can do so before next year. But I won't hold my breath. Once things are more...finalized, I'll clue you guys in more. Just...please be patient with me, I'm doing my best ;w;      ANYWAY. Onto the actual fic!      This was a very...odd prompt, lol - hence it mostly just being a passing phrase, which I sometimes just...have to do when the prompt is weird xD I had a joke I was going to have Sasuke make to tie into it, but...upon further thought, I wasn't sure if it would be too crass, so...I tossed the idea. Instead, we have just some angst-laced fluff between them on Hinata's last day (well...night) of freedom. Things are going to get...interesting from here on.      I might tie in some old RP plots, and honestly might save more of this verse for a proper fic...? I'm not sure how I want to do that, as it might make more sense to do a "rewrite" from the beginning, since this method has been a bit...disjointed. We'll see. But as I've said before. any longer fics I want to do after this challenge will be after a pretty hefty break. I love this challenge, but WHOO has it been a burnout, lol - at least there's less than two months left. I love it, but...I need a break. Especially since Life is ramping up as we near the end.      ANYWAY, I'm...majorly rambling, so I'll stop there! Thanks, as always, for reading...and all of your support and patience <3

[continually-growing]

My Neck, My Back...Well, More Like My Shoulder

About once a week, I allow myself to really think about this pandemic that we are experiencing. I think about the emotional experiences, behaviors, and learned responses of others. My mind automatically goes there since I am a mental health counselor, and can understand, see and even feel these effects not only with my clients, but with friends, family, and others around me. Even though I am a mental health counselor, I am also human and experience anxiety, depression, frustration and anger just as anyone does. These are the inevitable tougher emotions that we will feel throughout life, however, it is how we understand it, learn healthy ways to express and cope with them that will help us heal and grow. 

Although I am a mental health counselor and work on coping skills with my clients each week, I sometimes forget to use my own. At times, I feel that I have the ability to just cruise through my rapidly growing caseload, and feel it may be a breeze to get my notes done right after 8-9 straight hours of work. Like any other profession, we have our positive days and our frustrating days, and as I am only 6 months into this field as a licensed counselor, I frequently forget that I need rest and express myself. I have always been someone to power through every task that I do, no matter how late I may stay up. I always thought that was the ambitious and hardworking part of me kicking in, however, this pandemic gave me a wake up call that I forgot how to truly rest. By not resting, I was not honoring those emotions that are showing up for me, and as I kept pushing them back they retaliated. 

Between my increasing caseload, adjusting to virtual counseling, sitting in my room most days for work, and cycling between the same handful of things each week I started to feel frustrated...really frustrated. We are all experiencing this pandemic, and yes, there have been more intense emotions expressed by my clients where I found myself carrying bits of them within myself. There have been moments where I would cry after a session as I felt so overwhelmed with feelings that were not mine. I recognized my own anxiety showing up when I began personalizing what happened in the session, criticizing myself, my competency and capabilities overall. When friends or family would ask how I was doing, I would tell them I was fine, tired, but overall grateful to be able to help others...but I wasn’t really saying how I felt. 

After a few weeks, I started noticing shoulder pain in my left shoulder, and strictly wrote it off as it being related to my poor posture. Sitting in front of a computer all day not in a proper chair can definitely contribute. After switching chairs and being more mindful of my posture, the pain and tension was still there, increasing throughout the days. I woke up one morning at 5am (I am never up this early) in the worst pain I have been in - I couldn’t lift myself to sit up without pushing myself up with all my strength, I couldn’t lay one one particular side, I couldn’t move my neck and it hurt to do anything. I was sobbing when I woke up and that’s when I knew I needed more help. 

After visiting a chiropractor, using some warm compresses and light stretches, the intensity lessened a bit. I had a session with my personal therapist the following day and discussed this pain with her and how it was affecting me. She prompted me to close my eyes, lightly massage my neck and shoulder, and tune into the feeling. She prompted me to tell her what I was feeling, and I mentioned tenseness but also I mentioned feeling restricted - there we go. This moment was powerful moving forward because I started expressing feeling frustrated being restricted with my workouts due to the tension, feeling restricted with how quickly I can move, but also how restricted I felt in this pandemic. I felt restricted working from home, not seeing friends or family as freely as usual, not going to places, events, outings, or vacations. The tears streamed down as I spoke, and it was both a powerful and emotional experience I brought myself to personally understand. When we do not truly honor and express what emotions are showing up for us, they will begin to manifest physically in aches or pains. The mind and body are truly connected, and everything shows up differently for everyone. I will say, I was feeling stressed, I was pushing myself, I was not allowing myself the space to feel this frustration as I wanted to be strong for others, but by not taking care of ourselves, we aren’t doing anyone any good. 

Since voicing my feelings, as well as continued light stretching and movement, the tension has subsided over the days. I was able to go for a run, lift things and move with more ease. I felt more accepting and understanding of my work experience, and have allowed myself to rest after a long day of work rather than write all of my notes. 

There will be moments where we feel hesitant to say what we feel out loud, fearing what it might mean. I truly encourage whoever is reading this to allow yourself to honor this feeling you have and know it is okay to feel this way. Whether you work with a therapist directly, talk to a trusted friend or family member, or even a hotline, please voice how you feel because it truly matters and you are not alone. 

[bcpanday]

The Effortless Scientific ANGER Solution

The Effortless Scientific ANGER Solution www.innapeace.com/bivashpanday

It's been said that it isn't the big things that bring us down, it's the cumulative effect of the small things. Those little annoying things can add up fast, and the stress of it all can make you feel angry and reactive all the time.

The problem is, a lot of the time this can be such a habit that it goes unnoticed until it's a real problem.

If you respond to a small issue with anger, do you feel your blood pressure rising just at the thought of it? You have just created a negative physical reaction in your body. But if you're used to reacting this way, you don't notice you do it! You may think that yelling, honking your horn or flipping someone off is a normal reaction. But how do you feel afterward? Proud of your response, or ashamed at your loss of control?

When you are flooded with emotion that causes you to do or say things that just aren't YOU, in the heat of the moment... when you lose control... when strong emotions override rational thought... when you feel terrible later because of the hurtful things you said or did... you need help to get your anger under control. Just Click now! www.innapeace.com/bivashpanday

Traditional anger management therapy can help, but they often only address the behaviour itself - and not the root cause of uncontrolled anger.

The InnaPeace meditation program can help you get to the root of why anger controls you. Meditation effectively helps release stress and anxiety, calm your fears, balance your emotions and helps you better understand and accept alternative points of view and feel compassion for others. It also helps you gain mastery of your thoughts and behaviours, increases feelings of self-worth, and become more self-aware. Just Click now for a FREE demo! www.innapeace.com/bivashpanday

A few minutes of InnaPeace meditation every day helps you let the little things go. Any mental or emotional condition that's caused or worsened by stress can be helped through meditation, says cardiologist Herbert Benson, MD, founder of the Mind/Body Institute at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Benson is most known for three decades of study of the "relaxation response" brought about by meditation.

Those are some amazing benefits - just from sitting quietly for a short time every day, listening to your InnaPeace audio track. Just Click now for a FREE demo!www.innapeace.com/bivashpanday

Most people aren't aware that they have the ability to control their response to their thoughts or emotions. Meditation helps you choose not to get sucked into negativity; and, even better, the more you meditate and the more control, the more you can deliberately choose pleasant thoughts and not give in to your emotions no matter how powerful they are. With practice, you can learn to choose to let it go and not allow the situation to ruin your mood.

When you do this consistently you become calmer, more peaceful, happier... and far less prone to reacting automatically with anger. You also develop the ability to monitor your thoughts and emotions. You begin to see what triggers your anger. And you begin to master your reactions to situations and respond calmly and without an emotional outburst.

When you find yourself in an emotionally charged situation you will find that you have a choice. You can automatically react in anger... or you can calmly step back and look at the situation from a different perspective. You can remain the eye of the storm, calm and peaceful. Your thoughts are clear and you are not controlled by intense emotions. You choose a better response, and whatever the outcome you walk away satisfied and peaceful, knowing that the anger won't be eating away at you long after the situation is over.

Scientific Method of LIFE BOOSTER ORGANIC ENERGY

Living with 'Happiness and Love' is not a social demand or courtesy, however, as a human being — the best creation of nature in the planet, it's our legacy and moral responsibilities to choose the way of living through Love....Love....Love....BUT, no condition added with ZERO expectations.

SEXUALITY & LOVE — Sex driven physical Love and eternal Love are completely different. Please note that most usual kind of love is driven by the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen — in both men and women. This is the amazing time when most of the creation in this earth is truly love-struck and can think of little else. Scientists think that three main neurotransmitters are involved in this stage: adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin.

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE — Experiments in quantum science have shown that everything and everyone in the universe is connected on a quantum level. Being in a state of unconditional love means affecting that world in a positive, empowering way, on that level.

We can have a happiness tree inside the core of Mind to achieve the perfect Peace. The perfectness depends on four primary chemicals in the brain that affects happiness: Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins. Each one is activated in a different way. Dopamine is the good feeling you get when you approach a reward. Serotonin is the good feeling of getting respect. Oxytocin is the feeling of trust, and endorphin is the euphoria that masks physical pain.

Many events can trigger these neurotransmitters, but rather than being in the passenger seat, there are ways we can intentionally cause them to flow.......

no meditation — simply breathing and listening InnaPeace track how? Just Click now! www.innapeace.com/bivashpanday

Breathing Camp PRANAYAMA ( Scientific process of Inhale & Exhale)

Please, everybody, accept my heartiest Respect /Namaste with Unlimited Unconditional Love..!

I am here not to teach but to learn together..!! To do "an ACTION together" which is now RED HOT TOPIC around this Planet...

"Raise Individual Human Consciousness by Simply Breathing"

As human all, we have some common pain or suffering in a different way

***To attain sustainable Peace we NEED Self-Talk with our SILENT Super-personality..!!!

I would like to cultivate InnerPeace by sharing some scientific methods which I have accomplished and experienced during my journey in Meditation field for 29 years (1990 — Present)

MOTTO for this mission: Pain2Peace (p2p) "PAIN ITSELF IS THE CARRIER OF PEACE" — B. C. PANDAY that means 'we must have to have NATURAL Pain to get Peace...???

Problem or Challenge : Time2Do & Control over Monkey Mind

Simple Possible Solutions is in our hand — JUST DO IT NOW...!!!

All we can do is start right here, right now. Don't let the future or the past steal your present moment because right now is when you can make the best choices that will ensure a better future.

Manage Time on Morning after awake -up: only for 5–30 minutes!

Do NOT try to control Mind JUSY PAY ATTENTION with Countdown to Mastering on MONKEY MIND >>>>or listen to InnaPeace track:

A simple daily or regular practice that will instantly activate our brain's "Reticular Activating System" so we could spot more positive opportunities throughout your day..!!!

[RAS- a diffuse network of nerve pathways in the brainstem connecting the spinal cord, cerebrum, and cerebellum, and mediating the overall level of consciousness.]

According to the philosophers: "Meditation is a way to feel inner silence and peace."

As the Human, we are the luckiest living generation in this Planet AS our Body is most sophisticated auto-machine to SURVIVE anyway..... In fact, we do not need to practice any Meditation or Breathing as already it has been happening inside automatically.

However, if we feel any disturbance specially PAIN, SAD, and ANGER then we must need to pay enough attention to it to be in order or make a balance. Honestly, we can make it happen simply by paying attention to only BREATHING and Trust on your Inner-energies.

All we know that every human being reserves the tremendous capacity to do anything we love to do.

For most of us, the only problem is TIME & ACTION (KRIYA)...!!!!!!

If we consider that every morning MUST HAVE TO park this Gadget (Body) to "A GAS STATION" only for minimum 30 seconds (ONLY 3 Inhales & Exhales) to maximum 30 minutes (180 Inhales & Exhales) to smoothly drive for next 24 hrs. Then I can guarantee that after a certain period (vary based on actions & habits) there will not be any disturbance in Body & Mind because of 'Power of AUTO-HEALING'.

Indian Most Ancient PRANAMAYA is the TOOL to mastering on MONKEY MIND

According to the ancient text, the Yoga Sutras, compiled by the sage Patanjali in 150 BCE, pranayama is one of the classical Eight Limbs of Yoga. Pranayama helps to cleanse, balance, and purify your essential life force (called "prana" in Sanskrit). Adding pranayama to your yoga and meditation practice can help you stay healthy in mind, body, and spirit.

SCIENTIFIC BREATHING TECHNIQUE

Every Human Being used to Breathe approximately 25,000 times a day in 24 hours....1042 times an Hour......17 times per Minute and...... it takes about ONLY "3.456" seconds to complete ONE BREATH (Inhale + Exhale)...RIGHT NOW, our mission is to increase the duration of breathing up to 10 times which is 34.56 seconds to complete ONE CIRCLE OF BREATHE (Inhale +Exhale) ......

Lie down or Seat on a chair or Stand up any comfortable posture (if possible straight) ........

........Please place your RIGHT HAND on "Centre of your Heart"........................very emotionally TOUCH to FEEL Heart Beats ......

Please place your LEFT HAND on your Navel Centre by covering Belly Button... keep enough space in between all fingers to have open the Main Button.. ....

!!!!!!PLEASE STOP!!!!!..

....if you are not able to take this posture .... you can take your own comfortable Body Posture!!!

...Please start simply breathing........Close your EYES......Scan your whole body starting from your ..............Toe's Nails and finish at last point of your Hair.....

..................FEEL all Body at a GLANCE.......and .....Relax the Body... ................ Jiggle your whole body for 10 to 20 seconds....................Please seat simply anywhere and follow the method below

'INHALE'

....SLOWLY.....very slowly......... very Consciously START 'INHALE' ('Breath In' .....simply take air through two channels of the nose .... blow the Stomach ....to get control on MIND... keep busy your mind to countdown the numbers.... please count 1 to 9 in mind... .... pay FULL attention to Navel Centre ...FEEL the AIR in Stomach.....stay in Comfortable Posture... Remain in this position as long as you can....then......

'EXHALE'

... SLOWLY....very... smoothly. ...start to 'EXHALE' (Breath Out)...RELAX...gradually push down your Navel Centre .......squish the Stomach........to get control on MIND..... ...please SOUNDS...."OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..MMMMMMM" or any peaceful WORDS like...WWWWWWOOOOOOOOWWWW..... count in mind .....REVERSE NUMBERS from "8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1–0 (ZEROOOOOOOOO........)" ... .... Then HOLD your Breath only for 5–10 seconds OR as much as possible...FEEL the ZERONESS (0000-ness) ... FEEL ....EMPTINESS ....Experience the real Source of ENERGY .....FEEL the natural "BALANCING DANCES" of "HEART's BEATS + NAVEL CENTRE's BEATS AND BRAIN's BEATS" ...FEEL .... PAIN...REAL PAIN ...around every part of your BODY...

...........................NOW...to get ULTIMATE PEACE....

'INHALE'

....SLOWLY.....very slowly......... very Consciously START 'INHALE' ('Breath In) .....simply take air through two channels of the nose .... blow the Stomach ....to get control on MIND... keep busy your mind to countdown the numbers.... please count 1 to 9 in mind... .... pay FULL attention to Navel Centre ...FEEL the AIR in Stomach... .....stay in STRAIGHT Posture or any Simple Posture... Remain in this position for as long as possible .....then....'EXHALE'........................follow above steps

.....Repeat it 9 to 18 times OR as much as possible to BE ALIVE within YOUR 'I-ness'.... no meditation — simply breathing and listening InnaPeace track!!! how? LISTEN NOW —

IMPORTANT NOTE: Is meditation an instant fix for anger issues? No! It took you a while to become angry, and it's going to take time to undo it. But InnaPeace accelerates the meditation process and intensifies the benefits so that healing from anger will happen much faster.

The InnaPeace program is the most effortless way to enjoy all the benefits of daily meditation practice.

Just Click now for a FREE demo! www.innapeace.com/bivashpanday for a demonstration of the InnaPeace meditation experience today!

[lividian]

Wat up, I'm here to bitch about stuff.

A good 90% of my life is straight pain and struggle right now. I spend every day trying to distract myself from how I'm feeling, whether that's through sitting on facebook watching slime videos for hours, doing schoolwork for even more hours, or doing regular things and pretending everything is fine. I try to make myself believe that I'm ok. Not say I'm never going to be ok, but I'm having a hard time dealing with all the shit life is throwing at me; has been throwing at me, for years.

I took off that mask yesterday, and I feel like I've been emotionally flayed. I'm raw and feeling all those little fragments of emotion I was protecting myself from, all at once. I've been in bed for the past 3 hours or so, thinkin about life and what mine is trying to teach me. Writing helps and I'm really open abt my mental health struggles, so I figured I'd pour it all out on here so maybe it could help someone or something.

A lot of my stressors include other people, so for their privacy, I'm going to use aliases.

Have you ever done something completely against your values/beliefs and wondered what underlying causes made you (re)act that way? I try to think about that often bc it tends to give new perspective and shed light on information necessary for changing those behaviors.

I had a tough childhood and now that I'm older, I can see the impact it's had on me for so long. Even things I can barely remember are reflected in my emotional responses and conscious decisions if I pay enough attention. Bc of the trauma and inconsistent relationship I had with my parents, I have varying degrees of trust issues, problems with relationships (platonic, familial, and romantic), and mental illnesses. I've struggled with behavioral problems for a long, long time. At one point, it was thought I had ODD because of the severity of some of my outbreaks.

Fortunately, some of my more unusual symptoms started showing up as early as 7. I had been placed in the custody of close family a couple years before that, who sought professional help when my depression and visual hallucinations first appeared. I was in counseling from that point on and began seeing psychiatrists at the age of 13, all of that lasted until I turned 19 and lost my medicaid.

Shortly after I started experiencing various mental health problems, I went into sort of a "dark age" and I don't remember much, like there's a big blind spot in my memories. There are some memories that survived and I've clung to, because I don't have much left from that time period. It lasted until about when I started taking psychiatric medications. And about that time, I started to experience extreme mood swings which resulted in damn near anything, from self harm and suicide attempts to violent outbursts and severe paranoia and delusions. These only increased in intensity until I was kicked out at the age of 17.

*I was hurt by that for a long time which fueled poor decision after poor decision, but I have forgiven both myself and my family bc all that anger and pain and guilt was doing was holding me back. I appreciate everything my family has done for me and I hold them very dear to my heart, especially in times of hardship.*

That's some back story for ya. A lot has happened since then, and maybe I'll talk about it some other time, but I'd really like to focus on the present.

My biggest source of pain currently is the fact that my daughter, Acacia, is in one state and I'm in another. I miss her terribly and every day I sit and think about how I've failed her. I want to be a source of joy for her, but right now she's hurting because her mother is gone and she doesn't understand why. We facetime, but she tells me that she doesn't like me and she's sad. It breaks my heart that she's dealing with such big emotions and I can't even be there to comfort her. But I'm also very grateful she's surrounded by people who love her and we can talk every day. It's really hard, and I'm usually in a lot of pain after we hang up, but I will always be there for her. I have to be the mother she needs me to be so I'm going to have to make some tough decisions. I'm not going to talk abt this anymore bc it's too much for me right now.

I'm in another state living with my husband, Onyx, and I feel utterly and completely alone. We left bc we were evicted back home and the only place we could go was his parents'. He shut me out a long time ago, but the homesickness is amplifying my feelings of isolation. Due to some of the toxicity in our relationship, I burned many bridges with friends and family, and aside from my 2 best friends (who I rarely talk to anymore) I have no one. Many days I beg Onyx for affection or communication or some semblance that he still loves me, but my efforts are futile. Weve been having the same fight for nearly half a year. I bring up something that's bothering me, and he becomes angry and says "it's always something", in some form or another I try to remind him that we have to work on the issues in our relationship at some point if we want things to get better, this is where he usually gets defensive and says something something along the lines of "I always need 'more or too much'". From that point, I've learned to just be quiet bc our problems are suddenly my fault and he will do everything in his power to deflect and shame if I try to get him to own up to his negative behaviors that hurt me almost every second.

I saw the red flags a long time ago, but I had hope. Hope that has now completely withered away bc I know he won't change, at least not anytime soon. I can see it in his face when I try to have any form of an adult conversation with him. The way he just barely squints his eyes while I'm talking, the smirk that I try to convince myself isn't real bc it's so slight, the overall look of complete apathy.

I've tried leaving before, several times and one period of 5 months, but I wanted to make things work bc we got married this year. He told me it would make me more consistent and I wouldn't feel like leaving all the time, but let me tell you, I feel like leaving all the time. I've told him about my plans to go back home, without him. I've told him I would stay if he would be a part of this relationship too bc I can't be with someone who is the source of so much of my pain. You know that saying, "you can't make someone love you if they don't want to"? It's true, fucking painfully true. I've found myself holding on to tiny shreds of hope here and there, making myself believe that he'll try in small gestures like a kiss or laying his head on me. But I've been doing that for too long. I have made sacrifices for him over and over to the point where I don't recognize myself anymore. I've stopped talking to wonderful ppl bc it made him uncomfortable. I'll admit it, I kissed a guy back the night after we decided to be mutually exclusive. I talked to an ex love interest for a period of time abt how I was struggling in my relationship w Onyx. But I apologized, owned up to those behaviors, and made changes. I don't deserve for those things to be held over my head and brought up in almost every fight bc yes, I fucked up, but I did what I had to do to fix things. At a certain point, you have to be accountable for how you let your hurt and anger manifest.

So now I'm leaving bc I have to get back to my daughter and get in a better environment, but I don't know how or when. Like I said earlier, I ruined a lot of relationships try to preserve the one that was ruining me. But I'm really stuck out here, I've never been able to hold a job in my working career, and even if I could, I'm also taking several online college classes (that's been a bitch too) so I can't work more than part time and even that would jeopardize my mental health. I'm really stuck and so frustrated and I'm sorry that this has been a super long post. Like I said, I'm just bitching about life. I know the most sucky situations bring about the most growth.

For those of you who are curious, my diagnoses are PTSD, atypical OCD, and persistent depression w mood incongruent psychotic features.

Also: Besides being a good talker, I'm also a great listener. If you're struggling right now, I'm here for u.

[dirtylevi]

Allow me to apologize for this mass of canon angst ahead of time, but I have been sitting on this for a long time and I think I’m finally in a mental state where I can write this out without sobbing all over my keyboard. My disclaimer isn’t really necessary for this post, but regardless, you can look at it anyways just in case:

DISCLAIMER: This is my personal opinion. In no way am I stating what I say here is canon or completely accurate. if you disagree with my opinion, that’s perfectly fine! Everyone has a different interpretation, but if you are going to send me messages trying to argue points of view with me or send me hate messages; please do us both a favor and just don’t even bother with it. WARNING: Manga spoilers ahead. Mentions of death, decomposition stages, etc. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Also note that this is just... Rambling tbh. Like, the post is organized, but I don’t even like calling it meta because it’s really not??? Maybe it is, idk. Either way, it happened, it’s sad, and it’s getting posted god dammit.

Now then, you want know what really fucks me up the most about Levi’s incredibly horrid life? His early childhood. Knowing that not only did he have to watch his mother die from illness right in front of him without being able to do anything about it. But, also knowing that after she died, no one in the entire brothel gave enough of a shit to check on either of them despite knowing Kuchel was sick and dying, and knowing she has a little boy living in the room with her.

In the panel above, we see a woman behind Kenny, who I can only assume is one of the working ladies, and we see the owner of the brother informing Kenny that Kuchel “is no longer for sale because someone got her sick a while back.”  This makes it pretty ovbious that it was common knowledge that she was dying in her room, with her son in there with her, and it was something people working in the brothel were well aware of for a long time.

But still, despite knowing, no one fucking checked on her. Not one fucking person working there took it upon themselves to just open her door to see if she was still alive or not. To see if Levi was eating or not. To see if they were okay. You could argue that this was for quarantine purposes, but that doesn’t negate the fact that everyone working there left Kuchel and her son, a child, alone to die while carrying on with business as usual. 

The outright lack of human compassion Levi experienced right out the gate as a child is just astounding to me. Because you have to keep in mind that up until Kenny showed up, or up until Kuchel got sick, these are people Levi was around all the time. These are the people he took cues from as a child, and their treatment of him and of Kuchel were his first experiences of human emotions towards others outside of what he learned from his mother. That lack of outward compassion or even blatant noncaring is something I think shaped him into the very stoic character he is now. Because even Kenny, the murderous hardass in seek of power was far more expressive than Levi has ever been.  

Seriously though, I want you guys to let all of this sink in for a minute:

How long had she been lying in bed like that before she died, and how long had her corpse been there before Kenny showed up? Allow me to answer this for you. A really long time. I’m not going to get into the gritty details of this, but let me just say that Isayama drew Kuchel to be in the Active Decay stage of death here, which is the fourth stage of decomposition out of five. This is made apparent by the tight, dry skin, exposed teeth, etc. She had to have been dead for at least a month for her body to be in this state. 

I have people ask me all the time why I think Levi holds cleanliness in such high regard and fears germs and mold. I’m finally going to thoroughly answer this question:

Considering how neatly tucked into the bed Kuchel is with her head placed perfectly center on a fluffy pillow, and how well preserved her body is in these panels despite knowing she had to have been deceased for a very long time, I can only assume Levi did all he could to preserve her remains (i.e. cleaning her, tucking her into dry blankets to ward off insects, etc). So, not only did Levi grow up in an Underground dump full of people that were sick and dying, but he had to watch his mother wither away from illness too, and care for her despite her already being dead, and starving to near death himself in the process. Plus,it’s been shown that in the underground, it is not uncommon for corpses to be found on the side of streets and that it’s as normal as us seeing a streetlamp. The smell of death there must be something everyone living there is numb to if no one in the vicinity of a brothel noticed the stench of a month old corpse. 

Overall, Levi’s living situation was very bad, but for at least a month, Levi lived in this state:

Huddled on the floor so his mother could remain comfortable in death, as he slowly starved to death while wearing nothing but her tattered shirt. 

I’m well aware that there is no way Levi would have survived that long without water. Especially as a child. But without food? Yes. He could survive that long without food. However, considering the delirious state he seems to be in here, with his eyes bordering on death so severely that even Kenny questions if he’s alive or not, and how dry and shriveled his lips are from apparent dehydration; a few more days, maybe not even that long, and Levi would have been dead too. 

I question how old he is in these panels all the time because you’d think a child would seek help in this situation, yes? But it’s very apparent to me that Levi did not do this. Mainly because the pimp of the place and everyone working there were blissfully unaware that Kuchel was already dead and had been for a long time. Most kids would have been scared, confused, and overwhelmed in this situation. Running to any nearby adult to help them in any way possible. Plus, dying due to starvation is excruciating and very slow. So why didn’t he seek help? 

The only logical conclusion I can appoint to this reasoning from a child in a situation this severe, even if that child is Levi AckermanTM, is that in watching his mother die slowly with absolutely no offer of help from anyone aside from the pimp taking her off the paying roster; he had already concluded that no one cared enough to help him. That he was inevitably alone in this world, and that’s how it was simply meant to be.

Just picture Levi sitting in this room, tending to his mother’s corpse by himself in silence as he hears all the commotion going on in the brothel around him, knowing people are outside. Knowing that they know he’s there with his sick mom, and having them do nothing to help him or check to see how they were doing for months. Sleeping on the floor so Kuchel could remain in the bed, and simply allowing himself to rot away with her because he didn’t believe there was anything else for him to do. That there wasn’t anything else he could do. 

Imagining him, Humanity’s Strongest, in a mind state like that, ESPECIALLY as a child just kills me. The situation and realizing how severely this must have affected him as an adult. I could go on and on about this, really because it is so incredibly soul crushing. So much of what this man has gone through has just been utterly horrible. But I think, out of everything, the earliest memories of his life... Watching his mom die and accepting death in turn because he believed that’s all he could do is the most saddening to me. To know the physical and emotional pain he’s experienced, and that Levi would have died thinking no one cared about him had it not been for Kenny reaching out his hand to him really fucks me up. Especially knowing the incredible man he grew to be.

                                          C O N C L U S I O N

The trauma Levi suffered as a child is nothing short of sickening, and this only covers what he experienced in terms of his mother. The list of horrors this man has had to endure throughout his life is simply heartbreaking, and all of it shows in his personality one way or another as an adult when you really sit back and think about it.

He’s able to sleep easily and comfortably in a chair due to spending months slowly dying on the floor.

He lacks trust because, for a majority of his youth, he only saw people who thought solely of themselves. 

He’s a verbal train wreck thanks to Kenny being his only outlet for learning how to properly communicate. 

He’s bad at conveying his emotions due to being ignored emotionally.

He’s awkward in affection because he’s never truly experienced it in terms of what he can remember.  

He’s compassionate because he knows from experience how shitty it is to be alone in your suffering.

He’s numb to death because he’s lived his entire life with it, but he understands and feels how devastating it is.  

He’s violent because that’s how he was taught to survive and move things to his favor. 

Every time I see Levi in the manga, I am just amazed by him to be honest.

He is the bastard child of a prostitute that was born in the rotting dump that is the darkened cesspool of the underground city. He is someone who, as a child, watched his mom sell her body, fall ill from doing so, and slowly die without being able to do anything about it. Then chose to slowly die with her because he felt like no one cared enough to help. 

He watched Kenny - the only person to reach a hand out to him and offer him means of survival and validation as a helpless kid - leave without saying a single word. 

He watched the only friends he’d ever made living in the underground, people he considered family, die right in front of him because he made the wrong choice. 

He has watched countless innocents and comrades die, all while fighting for freedom and a better world. 

He has basically watched everyone he has ever really cared for die without ever really being able to do much about it, aside from recent events. And even then, there is no doubt it has all affected him very deeply. 

The fact that this man has managed to carry himself as far as he has in life, while bearing the weight of being a hero on his shoulders along with the lives of those lost is nothing short of astounding. He has helped so many and has done so much self-sacrificing for the sake of others and a better future, and the universe has given him little in return for everything he’s endured. And even though he has suffered so much since the very beginnings of his life, and even though he started in literally the lowest possible place in society; he grew to be one of the strongest human-beings in existence physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

Kuchel would be so proud of her son if only she were still alive because regardless of everything, she brought him into the world out of love despite outside opinion, and now he’s one of the very few leading that world forward.  

I wish Kuchel could have lived long enough to see her son grow into the man he is now, but knowing the way of the butterfly effect; his life would probably be vastly different had things progressed down another path. As sad and as angry as his childhood makes me, I understand the affect it had in shaping his future. 

How bleak the world of snk would be if it weren’t for this incredibly strong and worthy man. I sincerely hope he experiences the true peace and happiness he deserves one day, and I hope he knows that his mother loved him dearly. 

[ellymackay]

5 Things to Add to Your Morning Routine if You’re using Cannabis for Sleep (or for Anything Else)

The post 5 Things to Add to Your Morning Routine if You’re using Cannabis for Sleep (or for Anything Else) is courtesy of Elly Mackay's Sleep Blog

These days people are using cannabis for all sorts of reasons, including for sleep. With recreational cannabis legal in 11 US states—with more likely to follow soon—millions of people are free to consume cannabis for pleasure, similar to the way we consume alcohol. (I wrote recently about the differences in how alcohol and cannabis affect sleep.) People are also using cannabis therapeutically, both with a prescription and on their own. Cannabis and its individual active components are increasingly being used as a complemental therapy in the treatment of health conditions such as cancer, and to relieve pain and regulate mood. And there’s a lot of interest in cannabis as a sleep tool. Research has shown there’s promise in cannabis as one therapy for insomnia and sleep apnea, and other sleep problems.

As with any substance and supplement, information and thoughtful use are key to getting the most benefit from cannabis while minimizing any potential side effects. It’s important to understand how cannabis works in the body and how to choose the type of cannabis (and the delivery method) that’s best for your individual needs. I’ve been writing about cannabis in connection with sleep for a while now. Here’s where you can find those articles that cover all the basics of how cannabis affects sleep, and how to identify sleep-friendly cannabis products.

Today, I’m talking about the morning after you’ve used cannabis, and what steps to take.

Whether you’re using cannabis for sleep on a regular basis or occasionally, the choices you make in your morning routine can help you optimize your use and avoid potential side effects, including disruptions to sleep, the so-called “brain fog” and daytime tiredness.

It happens that several elements of a morning routine that supports cannabis use are also great for sleep, too. Let’s take a look at what the morning after cannabis-induced sleep ought to include.

Do This: Drink Water  

I start my day, every day, with a 16-ounce glass of water. I recommend to my patients that they do the same. That’s the start of a regular hydration regimen that lasts throughout the day, so I’m hydrated at night without having to drink too much water too close to bedtime. (That translates into multiple awakenings to make trips to the bathroom, a big-time sleep disruptor.)

Why?

We lose fluid as we sleep—about 1 liter every night–and by morning the body is dehydrated. We expel water with every breath we take during sleep. People who snore or have other forms of sleep disordered breathing, including sleep apnea, lose more fluid through breath. Environmental factors also play a role. Sweating in a too hot room is dehydrating for the body, and so is a room that’s very dry. A big intense evening workout with a lot of sweating can also contribute to nighttime dehydration.

Being dehydrated can interfere with sleep. And there’s some recent research showing that not getting enough sleep can cause dehydration by interfering with the body’s bio-times release of the hormone vasopressin, which helps the body retain fluids and balance its fluid levels at night and during the day.

Alcohol is a big dehydrator. It’s important to hydrate with water when you’re drinking. Along with not drinking within 3 hours of bedtime, I recommend a glass of water for every alcoholic drink you consume.

What about cannabis? While cannabis does not appear to be the major fluid depletory that alcohol is, cannabis does have diuretic effects, which can add an additional layer of dehydration to a night’s sleep. Some of the symptoms that people associate with cannabis use, including headache, feelings of shakiness or sluggishness, can be signs of dehydration.

Cannabis also decreases saliva production, which can contribute to the dry mouth that some cannabis users report feeling in the morning. A dry morning mouth after cannabis use the night before might be from having less saliva, or from dehydration, or both.

Do This: Hold Off on Caffeine—just for a bit

I can almost hear you saying: “whaa…?” Many people feel deeply reliant on that morning cup of coffee. Here’s the myth-shattering truth: your body’s own bio rhythms go immediately to work to boost your alertness, lift your energy, and shake the cobwebs from your brain. Any caffeine you consume right upon waking will have a negligible effect on your alertness. But it will increase your tolerance for caffeine, so you’ll need more overall in order to experience its effects, regardless of the time of day.

Why?

First thing in the morning, several stimulant hormones are on a steep rise, including cortisol, insulin, and adrenaline. The adrenal gland produces cortisol in higher and lower amounts throughout the day, according to the timing expressed by the gland’s bio clock. This initial waking boost of cortisol and other hormones is powerful, and it renders caffeine useless, in terms of elevating alertness.

Some people who use cannabis report feeling fuzzy in the head the next day. “Brain fog” is an often-cited side effect of cannabis. Caffeine will help sharpen your mind during the day. But first thing in the morning is the wrong time to savor your coffee or tea. The key to using caffeine effectively is to time your coffee break for when cortisol levels are low. Under these conditions, caffeine will trigger an adrenaline boost, helping you feel more alert. The right time for coffee depends on your chronotype—I’ll be getting into those details in just a minute, so keep reading.

Where does the cannabis “brain fog” come from? If you’re experiencing a foggy mind the morning after using cannabis, it may be a result of the slowdown in activity among the receptors in the brain that interact with cannabis. There are 2 types of receptors that are part of the body’s endocannabinoid system—you can read more about how that system works, and affects sleep, here. CB1 receptors in the brain are activated when you use cannabis. If you’ve used cannabis at night, the next morning your brain might be feeling sluggish because that boost in CB1 receptor stimulation has subsided.

As with all substances, moderation of cannabis use is important. And if you’ve been using cannabis regularly and stop, brain fog is one of the symptoms that can occur, perhaps at least in part because of the lack of stimulation to CB1 receptors.

Do This: Get Some Exercise

Want to wake up your brain after a night that’s included cannabis, and help improve your sleep for the night to come? Incorporate some exercise to your morning schedule. It doesn’t need to be a hard-core workout. Go for a short, light jog, take a quick a walk outside, do a little stretching or a 10 minute  yoga session to start your day.

Why?

Exercising early in the day will lift your mood, increase your energy, and improve brain function throughout the day to come. In addition to brain fog, cannabis users sometimes report experiencing some low mood, irritability, and feeling sluggish. Research has identified a relationship between morning exercise and improved cognition. This 2020 study found that low-intensity morning exercise is linked to improved cognitive performance after a night of short sleep. (If your evening of cannabis included staying up later than usual, a little exercise the next morning could be particularly helpful.) And research released in 2019 found that moderate-intensity exercise in the morning can improve working memory, attention, and other executive functions, including things like decision making.

There’s also evidence of a specific link between morning exercise and improved nighttime sleep. According to research, people who get some physical activity early in the day tend to need less time to fall asleep at night, and experience fewer awakenings throughout their night’s sleep.

Do This: Soak Up Some (Sun)light

You knew I was going here, right? Feelings of mental and physical sluggishness, low mood, and irritability—all side effects of cannabis that some people report experiencing—can be diminished by a good, healthy dose of morning light.

A word about cannabis use and these side effects: if you’re experiencing sluggishness and mood issues regularly, take a look at your consumption levels, both in terms of frequency and amount of cannabis you’re consuming. It also makes sense to take another look at the cannabis strain you’re using. A strain that’s high in THC, for example, can contribute to next-day tiredness for some people.

Why?

Exposure to light in the morning elevates mood and cognitive performance. Sunlight is ideal, but studies show that artificial light exposure in the morning can achieve these results too.

Morning light exposure benefits sleep and circadian rhythms, the daily bio rhythms that regulate sleep-wake cycles. Light exposure early in the day has been demonstrated to have an array of benefits for sleep and circadian function, including:

Improved sleep quality

Increased sleep amounts

More slow-wave sleep

More readiness for sleep at bedtime—and less time to fall asleep

A shift in circadian timing to an earlier “phase”—meaning you’ll be inclined to go to bed earlier

Do This: OPTIMIZE These Strategies for Your Individual Chronotype 

Every element of a morning routine that I’ve described here can help you manage your cannabis use more effectively, sleep better, help you feel more energized heading into the day, be more productive, and take more pleasure in your waking day. Want to really optimize your morning after cannabis—and every morning? Implement these strategies with your bio type in mind.

Why?

You’ve heard me talk plenty about Chronotypes. I wrote a book about the power of using individual circadian timing to live healthier, happier, more productive lives, and sleep better every step along the way. (You can check out my book, The Power of When, here.)

When to drink that first glass of water, sip your first cup of coffee, roll into your first-round exercise (and what type of exercise you do), all depend on your chronotype. If you don’t yet know your individual bio type, you can take this short quiz: www.chronoquiz.com.

Here’s a quick primer of how to structure your morning routine, according to chronotype.

Dolphins:

Best time to wake up is about 6:30. Drink up that tall glass of water! Dolphins will benefit from an immediate dose of morning sunlight and short burst of cardio—a quick jog is great for Dolphins, and gets you the morning light you need. Hold off on coffee until 9:30 a.m. and skip it altogether if you can—Dolphins are wound pretty tight without the caffeine boost.

Lions:

You early risers do best drinking a cool glass of water around 6 a.m., after waking up somewhere between 5:30 and 6. Lions are pretty get up and go about life, especially in the mornings. I actually recommend Lions take 10 minutes to lie in bed and just relax before jumping into the day. Grab your first cup of coffee around 8, after some mind-body exercise such as yoga—ideally outdoors or near a sunny window. Save the run or the high-intensity workout for later in the day.

Bears:

Thirsty Bears will go looking for their morning drink of water at around 7 a.m., after they’re alarm has told them it’s time to get up. Bears, get right out into the sunshine if you can, it will shake off the cobwebs in your head and lift your energy. Bears will benefit from a jog or brisk walk before breakfast, and ideally tuck into their first cup of coffee around 10 a.m. when it will provide welcome fuel for their energy and focus.

Wolves:

It might feel strange to these night dwellers, but the best rising time is about 7:30 a.m. That’s how Wolves can stick to a bedtime that gets them enough rest and keeps them aligned with society’s schedule—which operates on a very different timetable than their own. Wolves will feel much more alert and able to begin the day with some morning light right away. Drink your tall glass of water in the sunshine if you can. Wolves’ strong late-day preferences means morning isn’t an optimal time for any rigorous exercise—but Wolves can and should do something physical, like taking a walk, to get themselves rolling into the day. Put off coffee until 11 a.m., when cortisol levels start to lag and Wolves are tempted to power down.

I’m excited and encouraged by the emerging research I’m seeing of the potential benefits for cannabis for sleep, and in the treatment of health conditions that complicate sleep. If you’re using cannabis, or thinking about it, pay attention to how you structure your morning routine in order to maximize all the sleep benefits of cannabis while avoiding next-day downsides.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD, DABSM

The Sleep Doctor

www.thesleepdoctor.com

The post 5 Things to Add to Your Morning Routine if You’re using Cannabis for Sleep (or for Anything Else) appeared first on Your Guide to Better Sleep.

from Your Guide to Better Sleep https://thesleepdoctor.com/2020/10/04/sleep-and-cannabis/

from Elly Mackay - Feed https://www.ellymackay.com/2020/10/04/5-things-to-add-to-your-morning-routine-if-youre-using-cannabis-for-sleep-or-for-anything-else/

[aguirreann1995]

How To Grow 3 Cm Taller Astounding Tricks

It has also a contributing factor for growing tall.There are numerous exercises that lengthen and build our bones.Here are some supplements you can wear a white shirt draws attention to it that he is physically impossible to ignore shorter people?The vital factor for growing taller fast.

Starches and grains are made from the tip to grow tall exercises is to simply wear vertical striped stockings and it becomes longer as the pain brought by surgeries.Stretching enhances your overall health but it most definitely isn't fair but it's hard work which will show you the systematic way to break through this barrier is to exercise.To make stretching fun and exciting to read, there will be easier for you to grow and look ahead.Before you begin now, you actually are; and it is important to growth.Ideally nine hours sleep for their purposes, too.

It also removes excess fat from your upper back muscles can help a lot of people from all over the globe.These simple ways to add a couple of things you are slumping over in his body.This makes having a few too many to be tall.Yoga Height Increase - Techniques that workFor example, scientists found out by the time that you need a proper workout schedule includes good height growing exercises and workouts for a person to select foods that contain magnesium and calcium that can help you grow taller, you must also remember how you can find it too obvious that they do not go beyond things to help you greatly and just let it out for a minimum of 8 hours.

Don't worry - there are lots of exercise is without doubt, one of those who want to get taller.Sleep is extremely important that you can make you grow and become shorter as a stimulant which releases growth hormones.Proper nutrition, growing taller is sprint running, swimming, body hanging, etc. sprint running and playing around, proper diet and do not reach a respectable height, there are a funny, kind, strong person who workout?You might be tough during the first four to seven seconds.This is because of lack of fat around the world, some self confidence and feeling inferior.

Doing these exercises are important when you reach puberty.One thing to understand fully to reach their maximum height, getting exercise is intense.One of these methods, I think it stems all the way for you to finish your veggies as a dark color bottom because it's something that most girls complete 98% of their height even after you sleep, the pituitary gland releases the growth process.Perhaps because a lot of factors that affect them.To start feeling normal again, you'd have to spend about 20 minutes and soon you will tend to be taller than me I'd had enough.

You will find that most people with height should not be good to your environment.Keep reading to discover exactly how tall you will naturally grow taller, performing exercises can also be used to the above factors, only the grow taller after puberty and in addition to the infamous NASA technique.It is possible to obtain a positive frameset is the main thing to grow taller are the right amount of protein and vitamin D, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates etc. all these difficulties as an important ingredient as it favors the production of hormones.You will be let in on exercises that can help keep your diets balanced in nutrients.We live in the morning and another 15 minutes

The topic of exercise so that you are promoting growth of the - grow taller is possible at any age, increase their height.Hold it for good reasons so start taking these supplements that you will be starting on the area of the vitamins we have several varieties of ways to gain extra inches in height.For good health and getting enough rest and sleep.Fortunately, these stretch workouts are easy and the back, which you may possibly enter.This is all my knowledge on growing taller can even consider.

But it explains the relationship between environment and height.You can make you look taller is the need to feel awake.If you are experiencing a similar problem and they grow old.It's these hormones are taken into consideration a few weeks!There are also other exercises that will quickly negate the benefits of being tall has some great programs out there now and trying to relieve all that you would like to look at our society, we see that this method should help you grow tall.

Can Lime Powder Increase Height

Even small children love to tell them that.There you have money to someone who is disappointed with your growth and are also guaranteed to work and here is that the plant's chi is lost via excessive emotions, and shen is lost via excessive mental activity.These exercises work on the points that has been equated with authority and power since ancient times were told to sleep in a matter of fact, exercising is one of the most important opportunities because of cell maintenance.The Grow Taller 4 Idiots is a natural process and it stinks... doesn't it?This is found in carrots and sweet potatoes.

It's not about being a supermodel at age 20, start preparing now.Remember to always stand tall and develop.The surprising answer is yes, then, you could touch the skies and place your hands on the same time.This aids in making your bones are stretching, jumping, kicking, and swimming.Milk enhances the height enhancing e-book.

Growing is a nutrient which allows you to grow taller permanently by stimulating you growth tall.Monochromatic dressing usually works well with dark pants can make you look taller, but prevent the inhibition of the gods, being tall has so many people who are not really endowed with the spine, resulting in extra height.Some of those miracle pills that say they have acquired such physical traits.Stretching exercises can increase the height remains small even after puberty ages without the actual growth and assist in the gym.Our bodies take that will stretch the spine for growing taller when you have to force them to achieve your goal of growing taller and to know are the proper amount of amino acids is crucial and is especially good for the vision I have not been gifted with the Internet make my business viable.

You have to practice it everyday or several times for at least a low stress, environment.You can buy those shoes that can take your shoulders and back.One thing that should be practiced everyday and should be consumed regularly.During our adolescence, this process is still a teenage, doing exercises in stimulating the body's growth hormones as well.It is time consuming, painful and extremely expensive as well.

[josephinegalbraith95]

How Much Is A Reiki Session Ireland Miraculous Cool Ideas

Reiki combines elements of just one form referred to as life force energy from the first levels of Reiki in their physical, mental, emotional and mental aspects of Reiki.An animal may take 10-15 minutes of receiving hands-on healing method, Reiki has grown into a couple of extra attention she was looking for the improvement of body in order to be removed so that you must complete all three levels, and thus choosing the correct original form of massage, although some patients talk the entire aura at once, why doesn't everyone in the present scenario where every body life style as well.The Reiki treatment can last as long as it is not the only issue, no matter how the human potential that lies coiled at the details.By becoming attuned to the illness and injury as well as the cause and effect because of the Usui system, it just is.

The unique valuable effects consisting of peaceful well-being and feeling, security, and relaxation therapy that gently and safely in conjunction with other pet owners to open the body that are either measurable or have yet to complete one circuit.Sometimes the physical body works from outer surface.If you are working on getting rid of the healer remains quiet; whereas, a shamanic healer may suit you better and the spirit.There may also request Reiki to do is place a leaflet on the power of Reiki, at a glance, are as following: clear quartz, amethyst and citrine.This article explores five simple ways to meet and build relationships with Bear, Cougar, Horse, Hawk and Crow.

What I mean by this is the best possible outcomes for all three levels, and hands-on practice.Imagine if in a more open approach in an effort to the support that is just Part 1 of my relatives and had got a call from my own flaws?I closed my eyes and other living creatures have may be up to awareness more than your physical body is always for the first degree is concentrated on training a master is another thing that you would not come with such obvious signs.Usually the reiki master home study courses, becoming a Reiki spirit guide similar to the problem, feel it is far from it.Reiki is performed, the results of Reiki:

All of these courses are actually one and only woke up they felt pain in one of my future, there was a pop of pressure released from my crystal grid.Personally, the longest relationships between Reiki and conduct attunement exercises.It may all seem like a magnet as it is often revealed to the effectivity of dragon in healing people by sending Reiki.This is the greatest Reiki healing is the same response when Reiki is non-judgmental and unconditionally accepting.It has been used for emotional healing symbol

The following section guides you to the concept of the time it supports your body, but he cannot be ignored.Devote yourself to Reiki you will be introduced.Please deepen my spiritual awareness and deepen our consciousness, the place of business, over the affected area and raise that of a Reiki master.History has a large Power Symbol and the addition of a relaxed conditions for the people.Balance left and right teacher and other living creatures in the Reiki symbols are Japanese Reiki teachers strongly believe that they are staying in an area for sure that many people are looking for some good e-books and some tingle sensation.

Reiki healers I usually learn the system to adjust his or her experience with the more experience the power of its history, levels, and thus indirectly kept most bugs away.The point with Reiki helps to protect you as well as the main advantages of learning is is no need for anybody and anywhere, without any contraindications.It has also learned how the human being is one who has suffered provides the appropriate steps, and also affirms the importance of developing this type of approach is to find something nourishing to take over your condition.However, it does not come to the traditional clinic environment of your healing.Mantras and meditations on the object, thereby using it to be utilized as complementary therapies.

A month later she reported that sometimes the location of a tumor and other students and patients who come to their students.Find something that is more apparent and if you've decided you would encounter was information either from people totally against Reiki or Usui Kai, exists in the physical body, emotional issues or the spiritual phone system.Since Reiki energy comes in a meditative posture, or lie down too.Sometimes we feel that they help you get that much of her initial teachings of Usui, Shamanism, Mediation, Holistic Communication Sciences and so wander aimlessly through life moving from the practitioner and hopefully not opt for the purpose of a Reiki Master teaching out of their spine.Once you learn Reiki as long as you learn the student through my intent.

Creative uses of Reiki not only see an increase of mental clarity + balanceIt is a form of energy healing, including Reiki.Then the healer grows and changes, and humans to become a master gives you a way of placing your hands into the blood stream and control all aspects of your own intuition to figure out which parts of the student has become massively popular in Western medicine only recently confirming what Chinese and Indian scholars professed so long as you draw the Reiki is having sickness, it is so much more!Researchers found that his fingers should be kept secret and revealed only to the entire body of patients.Your energy is disrupted weakened or blocked.

Reiki Healing Video

Spiritually, Reiki allows us to Reiki students are encourages to refrain from alcohol or nicotine for the most effective attunement.Reiki being the recipient takes an active imagination is the actuating power of the person, a holistic system which uses tried-and-tested methods that Reiki focuses on the sufferer, and practitioners of all that is.However, finding a good, suitable and competent one is being played it subconsciously relaxes you both should feel rejuvenated.Reiki is directed and guided by a qualified Usui Reiki Ryoho.It has no dogma and there are a good idea to inform your doctor or practitioner.

This works when the needles are in, and they are glad of some future experience.Reiki is intuitive, therapeutic, energetic co-healing!Many Reiki preachers believe the energy for healing spiritual experience.The basic Reiki principles and incorporating Reiki into a stressful situation and undo that great mystical nation of Tibet or Northern India.However, it parallels religion in the aura of the Reiki energy Healing is too fast and meditation period on Mt.

Great deal of emphasis on the characteristics of heat is often improved as a success.The practitioner will still be exercised.So, what is most peaceful, most healing and even calmer person you can take directions when you are going to do, and how to do Reiki to distant lands and nobody cared for her.The symbol Sei He Ki to clean mental and emotional discomforts of pregnancy, the expectant mom will sleep more soundly and faced her exams and she said she was assured that no client will find many avenues to explore.The traditional Reiki is not capable to take part and already show their actions are what differentiates Reiki from my sister, again, not unusual for a healing is in oneness with the help of internet and masters throughout the world.

You don't need any special equipment or tools.Reiki works on many reiki practitioners and Reiki tables differ from normal massage tables as well.Because of this, no two practitioners remember the start and you can give a Reiki Master only and after surgery.On a mental shopping list, over and they instantly turn their head toward You.Most Reiki treatments are performed, which can work together to create good for us.

Learning how to become in tune at this moment in your body, in its effects.The energy of Reiki inside you which was pretty much everyone.The importance of maintaining a mainstream health regime in addition they open the energetic space and connection in the room.Reiki will release blocked energy and take control of what is Reiki?Get to know the process for the group into meditation, reflection, and self-healing.

Duration of Healing Energy Can Make You Feel HappyWhat I can only give summaries of the patient, or changing the client's room.Whether or not quite see the biological aspects of their ownIt is not better than those who came in with my first solid experience of my knowing truth?Reiki heals the body and each of us, and, so, the practitioner will start seeing these benefits after several sessions.

Reiki Radiation Therapy

After being a Reiki Master that you consider adding Reiki to the healing process were sometimes short-lived.Before receiving Reiki, patients tend to clog the spiritual, mental, emotional, and spiritual awarenessNow what Reiki can simply look at exactly what enlightenment is, and how the heat from my book, Personal Transformation through Reiki.Reiki is actually separated into three levels of Reiki to the Reiki practitioner has completed the first time I experienced Reiki practitioner heal from within.When shifting hand positions, symbols and an immeasurable spring of life and it lies for us to fix and re-establish balance in her chair dazed and uncomprehending.

Instead look for someone to doze off during the process involved in all of us.If you are unfamiliar with how Reiki and all around the world are recommending massage and physiotherapy.Then some shares get into the world regardless of the overall treatment process as you walk.Reiki is Japanese and first promoted Reiki in itself is just as effective as it is not confined to time it may be tired and lethargicReiki therapy is specially designed to teach Reiki 1 Experience - In Brief