#And I guess this can probably be said about any academic subject

[anonymous-ace72]

Funny how learning a language in an academic setting actively kills my drive to master the language.

[scoobydoodean]

so i’ve always been annoyed by the belief that “sam and dean are toxically co-dependent, especially dean!” like it just baffles me once i remember all the times they’ve been apart without one of them being dead (and actually including post swan song to an extent), but i’ve never been able to properly articulate why i think dean at least isn’t really co-dependent on sam. like there’s a difference between being (co)dependent on somebody and dean’s parentification right? thanks!

I'll preface this by saying I am not a medical professional nor have I studied academic literature on codependency in great detail. That said, "codependency" is usually just a buzzword used colloquially to describe people who are obsessed with each other anyway. I address the colloquial use and how Sam is much more unhinged here. I'm guessing the colloquial use is really more what you mean, but if you're looking for something different or a little more specific than that, I can probably write or point you to some other things I've written if you give me something more specific to go on.

That said, there is something about the way fandom talks about "codependency" between Sam and Dean that bothers me, and I think by reading around about codependency today after I got this ask, and finding out that this term is controversial among mental health professionals as well... I finally figured out why.

I think to a lot of people, "codependent" has become synonymous with words like "needy" and "suffocating". However, the WebMD type articles I started with, suggest that the partner of the codependent party is the one whose needs seem to constantly overshadow and outweigh the needs of the codependent partner in the relationship. While the codependent partner can exhibit negative behaviors, the primary problem of the codependent party is that in being a caretaker, they can lose all sense of their identity and boundaries, and don't know who they are outside of being a caretaker for others. However, this is a more modern take on the term. Because these articles I started with mentioned academic controversy, I then found a few academic papers to skim, and this proved to be even more helpful in understanding why I... don't like this term very much.

First, the historical origins of it are... off-putting. The term "codependency" first emerged in academic literature in the 1940s to describe wives with alcoholic husbands who behave as "enablers" [1, 2]. I probably don't have to point out how different things were for women back then, and how rampantly sexist that context makes this first wave of literature sound, but it's discussed extensively in this article. Second, there is more stigma associated with the term partly because Alcoholics Anonymous (shocking /s) latched onto it starting in the 60s and 70s:

The influence of the AA culture in shaping the concept of codependency as an illness offered the idea that people who were close to the substance user were themselves suffering from an illness (O’Briean and Gaborit 1992). These people were viewed as enablers and coalcoholics (Cotton 1979). [ 1 ]

I... think I am probably not the only one who finds that utterly rancid to read (some academics writing on the subject certainly seem to):

According to Gus Napier, a noted family therapist, it is "ridiculous" to label codependency as a disease, because it is a culturally conditioned response of an overfunctioning person in relationship with an underfunctioning person (Meacham, 1990-1991). [2]

Some researchers who have pushed the term "codependency" as a diagnosis have actually suggested that literally anyone who is living with someone with an addiction should be called co-dependent by definition, regardless of any behavior they may exhibit, which tells you a lot about the lack of consensus and how meaningless the term can be [2]. The term (especially within the disease model where codependency itself is a from of addiction) has been criticized by many researchers for the misogyny through which the term originated, for unproductive negative labeling and pathologizing of people (especially women) dealing with incredibly difficult situations with their loved ones, for victim-blaming people (especially women stuck in abusive relationships) for the actions of their partners, for tangentially—negative stereotyping about people with serious addictions, and for conflating addiction with interpersonal problems, and in the extreme case—for suggesting separation from ones family is the solution to addiction and supporting someone with an addiction somehow always enables them [1, 2].

Since the original stream of literature related to addiction, codependency has rebranded and expanded into literature on family experiences with abuse and mental and physical illness. Which is where we get articles like this one I already linked. The codependent party is still a caretaker in these settings, caring for the needs of a loved one who is ill. Still, "codependency" is not an official medical diagnosis (i.e. not in the DSM-5). It's a term that has been used in academic literature by mental health professionals, when trying to describe a range of behaviors within dysfunctional families. These researchers do not agree on the term's meaning or on whether it even is or should be a diagnosis. Many are interested in it only from an interpersonal or personality perspective, which is also where we should stick.

Taking all of this into account though, I think the very first thing we have to ask ourselves is what exactly we get out of using the term "co-dependency" to describe Sam and/or Dean when the term doesn't even really have an agreed-upon meaning. Is the intention to write interesting character analysis, or is the intention to glorify or criticize using a term that has historically stigmatized understandable human reactions to troubled family situations? I think the goal has perhaps too often been the latter.

That said, I've already been referencing it, but I think this article does a good job of summarizing much of the literature, and then actually focusing on people who do choose, of their own accord, to identify with the term "codependent" because it is helpful for them in understanding their own lived experience and their patterns within relationships. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to explore this as it relates to Sam and Dean with the right motivations. If you read the accounts of the respondents who choose to identify with the term, you'll see shades of Sam and Dean I think (I have written something pretty close to the chameleon-self about season 1 Dean, and I can apply that one to Sam too through his attempts to fit in at Stanford). When it comes to my experience with these characters however, I just don't find that I personally see any value in analyzing Sam and Dean through the word "codependent" given it's lack of agreed-upon meaning professionally and colloquially.

It seems to me that the term itself leads to more confusing conversations instead of less confusing ones because of the lack of clear definition, and the potential for negative stereotyping instead of actual edifying analysis is extremely off-putting to me. It just doesn't do anything for me personally. The issues to which it relates I think are interesting (especially parentification which is a term I do find useful), and I think criticisms leveled against the term are also useful to read in understanding ones own struggles with how fandom tends to frame Dean as a caretaker who they believe is actually somehow responsible for everyone else's decisions. But I think that perhaps I prefer words and concepts that are better defined than the muddiness of the term "codependent".

Lastly: Even if I'm not a particular fan of the term, the fact is that the actual show uses the term twice—in season 5 (shoutout to butch--dean's transcript search engine). Once in 5.11 "Sam, Interrupted" (to Dean):

DR. FULLER Well, to be frank, uh, the relationship that you have with your brother seems dangerously codependent. I think a little time apart will do you both good.

First, this dude doesn't really know what's going on and thinks Sam and Dean are having delusions. However, in season 5, Sam's experience with demon blood is repeatedly paralleled with drug or alcohol addiction, and Sam is someone for whom Dean has been made to feel responsible for most of his life. This episode addresses Dean's overly burdensome responsibilities in other ways and it's also come up in the past in 1.12, 2.09, 2.10, and 4.05. I prefer to discuss this theme with much more specific terms. In this case, I would say Dean has an "overactive sense of responsibility to others", originating first with his childhood experiences with parentification. Sam also has a tendency to try and make Dean shoulder responsibility for his decisions when they backfire, and does so multiple times related to the demon blood (4.04, 4.21, 5.05). Cas and Zachariah also both blame Dean for Sam breaking the last seal because he didn't stop him in time (5.01, 5.02) and Bobby criticizes how Dean responds to Sam's addiction (4.22).

And then again in 5.18 "Point of No Return", specifically when Zachariah (my favorite manipulative angel) tries to get Adam to be on his side by basically calling Sam and Dean creepy incestuous weirdos:

ZACHARIAH So you know you can’t trust them, right? You know Sam and Dean Winchester are psychotically, irrationally, erotically codependent on each other, right?

This one honestly to me is just Zachariah doing Zachariah things. I'll reach these episodes on my rewatch fairly soon though, so we'll see if I end up talking about it more then.

Bacon, I., McKay, E., Reynolds, F. et al. The Lived Experience of Codependency: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Int J Ment Health Addiction 18, 754–771 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9983-8

Anderson, S. C. (1994). A Critical Analysis of the Concept of Codependency. Social Work, 39(6), 677–685. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23717128

[chase-prairie]

I'm guessing that as a graduate student you have read a zillion and one documents and books and papers and things in your field. Would it be outrageous to ask for recommendations/your favorites? I'm really interested in learning more about the history of Native land use and food systems in the midwest (which I suppose is a very long history, I'd be happy learning about any time period), prairie ecology, and the current outlook for native plants and pollinators (and conservation recommendations). Even one recc for each would be amazing. Feel free to postpone this ask if you're too busy! P.S. can't wait to read your dissertation.

This is a big ask, and I get a lot of these types of asks! In the future it'd be nice if people were more specific about their interests and not asking about general, huge topics. There's a level that you can and should be googling yourself! Many academic papers are online for free through sites like academia.edu and I'm not a search engine!

General answer if you're interested in this range of topics is Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass. She comes from the midwest and writes some on prairie and the book is all about Indigenous science stewardship.

Otherwise, the topics you're asking for don't have one single source that will tell you everything you're looking for. People make small studies of one community, one ecosystem, one plant. Whether it's ecology or ethnobotany, there's no one making compendiums of info, especially not in the midwest. That's why I do the work I do, but even what I do is imperfect. Be suspicious of anyone who/any text that claims to be comprehensive on a huge, complex subjects; they probably are bsing you.

Indigenous Land Mgmt:

Two good recent papers:

The subject of indigenous wild management is more intensely covered in California (M. Kat Anderson) and Vancouver (Nancy J. Turner). Those two authors are great for both nuts and bolts chat and philosophical perspectives about how people have lived in and altered and restored their ecosystems.

A compelling academic book on the subject is Roots of Our Renewal: Ethnobotany and Cherokee Environmental Governance by Clint Carroll, which is just as much about philosophy, knowledge production and protection and community building, as plants.

Prairie Conservation Practices:

Like I said above, currently published stuff is about very specific interactions and focuses, like a particular pollinator group in a particular plant. What you're looking for, a generalist summary of the field, doesn't really exist.

If you're looking for plant lists and how-tos Tallgrass Restoration Handbook or the Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide. Do not go for Ben Voigt. If you're looking for a general conceptual entry to Midwest conservation/restoration, there's Ecological Restoration in the Midwest

If you're looking for general recommendations for free, Xerces.org is the resource for bee-friendly landscaping and planting.

If you live near a University or Arboretum or Botanic Garden, this is the kind of thing where you should just browse the shelves near the books I've recommended! Chances are you have free access to the libraries, if not the ability to check the books out yourself!

[loveysloveclub]

THE MAN! UMICH AU chapter ii. move in day

in which, molly flies across the world and to the university of michigan.

college had already proven to be a huge difference to any of the schools molly had ever attended back home. firstly, the campus alone was big enough that molly was sure she was going to get lost on the way to every class she had for the entirety of her college career. and the students seemed less involved in what everyone was doing. if she were back home, lugging around a large suitcase, she would have been bombarded by questions and dirty looks. but here? she was just another person in a sea of people.

after dropping the rest of her belongings off at her dorm and meeting her new roommate, a small asian girl who seemed to be the nicest person alive, molly decided to roam the campus with her new roommate acting as a human map.

ava choi, her new roommate, was studying law and was aiming to move onto a more academic school by the beginning of the next year. turns out, michigan wasn't her first choice and she refused to stop until she was at one of her ivy leagues.

walking around campus, listening to ava ramble aimlessly on about various topics, a group of boys throwing around a ball of some sort caught molly's eye. more so, the umich hockey apparel caught her eye.

tapping ava on the shoulder, she pointed at the group. "do you know who they are?"

"they're the new freshmen hockey players. i guess that means they're also your teammates." ava shrugged nonchalantly before a larger than life smile overtook her features as her brain was struck by an idea. "let's go say hi!"

molly shook her head, not ready to bombard the boys with introductions and not ready to face the scrutiny she was sure she was going to face. but ava didn't listen, her small legs moving a mile a minute as she dragged the tall blonde over to the group.

the shorter girl halted in her footsteps upon hearing their conversation was already on the topic of their new teammate, molly stopping herself before she ran into ava.

"did you hear about the new teammate?" one of the boys asked, throwing the football to his friend who replied, "coach said it's a girl. not sure how that works."

molly bit her lip as she eavesdropped.

"harry said he doesn't think it'll last, that coach is trying to get some attention from the public for like viewing numbers or something. says she'll probably ride the bench before kicking her off the team entirely." another one said.

"what does harry know?" a short brunette scoffed, barely dodging the football as it was thrown at his head. "he is the captain, dukes."

"vice captain, and that doesn't mean anything. if she can play, she can play."

the boys dropped the subject after that, all spouting variations of "we'll see".

and with that, ava was dragging molly back to their dorm, spewing apologies and mumblings of her new teammates were assholes.

next chapter previous chapter

[dd-is-my-guiltypleasure]

Born in New York City in 1960, David Duchovny graduated from Princeton with an AB in English Literature before earning a Master of Arts in the same subject from Yale. Following a small role in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks he won the starring role of Fox Mulder in 1993 on the global smash hit UFO series The X-Files opposite Gillian Anderson. From 2007 to 2014 – a period which coincided with treatment for sex addiction – he played troubled womaniser Hank Moody in Californication. He’s also written five novels and released three music albums. He has two children, 24-year-old actress West and 21-year-old son Kyd with his ex-wife Téa Leoni.

Best childhood memory?

I think it’s probably just being in the park playing football or baseball with my dad, in New York City, 21st Street and Second Avenue where I grew up. It conjures up memories of being with my dad and enjoying the sort of simple communication that you can have through a game. I did the same sort of thing with my own son, who was good at playing baseball for a while.

Best day of your life?

There’s no one specific day but in my mind’s eye I can see a beach and my kids. I don’t know if it’s a particular day I’m thinking of; it’s just one of those summer days. It could be on holiday, or it could be in the States; it’s really just that feeling of no structure, summertime and no school for the kids; being in the water and feeling the waves and having to protect them a little and teach them about the water.

Best moment on a TV set?

About two or three years after I started on The X-Files, I did the Larry Sanders Show with my friend Garry Shandling although he wasn’t my friend at the time. He didn’t know me, but I loved his show. The producers told me, “Oh, Gary loves you.” Then I got there and it was clear that he didn’t have any idea who I was, which was fine. We did this scene – half written, half improvised, maybe – and Gary said, “How old are you?” I said, “32” and he said, “What took you so long?” and that felt like a blessing as to me he was the king of a certain kind of comedic performance.

Best Hollywood party?

I didn’t really go to many, especially at the peak of the X-Files years. For five years the show was shot in Vancouver and in many ways, it was a blessing to be out of that world, but I had some interesting, if nerve-racking moments at awards ceremonies. I remember going to the Golden Globes and being sat on the same table as a really good friend of mine, director Bart Freundlich and his wife Julianne Moore. My ex-wife Téa was sitting there, and Téa went to the bathroom, and she came back and said, “Did I miss anything?” I said, “Yeh, they announced my award. I won and you missed the whole thing.” Which was not true at all. I only kept her in the dark for a couple of seconds as it became rapidly apparent that I had no statue.

Best moment of self-realisation?

In many ways we remain children no matter how old we get and in many ways a lot of my reactions were based on childhood stuff; not necessarily something that I am ever going to change, but something to be aware of and keep an eye on. It’s the fine line between realising that a lot of your personality was constructed a long time ago, before you were really smart about these things, or knew about these things. And that that’s the same for everybody – but that’s not an excuse to continue reacting like a child. So, for me, life is this balancing act between honouring that kid and also not letting him drive the bus.

Best personal characteristic?

Perseverance. There have been many occasions when I’ve felt like giving up on everything, but I didn’t. I don’t give up. I guess I gave up trying to be a professional athlete at some point. I loved baseball and basketball and before getting to college I still had secret dreams of going pro.

Best decision?

This is going to sound negative towards education, but to leave graduate school and try to find out what else I wanted to do aside from being an academic. Not to denigrate academics but, for me, that was a hard and good decision although a scary one. I was a dissertation away from my PhD. I had done four years as an undergraduate, nearly four years of graduate work. Eight years towards a certain life; a good third of my life pointing towards a certain goal and then saying, “You know what, I’m gonna go do this thing, where none of that matters.” At the time it felt a little like I was throwing it all away. But in the end I think I’ve honoured those academic years and they also fed me.

Worst childhood memory?

My parents’ divorce. I was 12, which wasn’t a good age – but it’s never a good age. It’s hard to say exactly what the impact was on me, but it was profound. And I think having gone through it, as a parent as well, it’s taught me what I might not have been able to process at the time: it really pulls the rug out of a kid’s life. You can sugar-coat it all you want but it’s a traumatic experience. It’s not the end of anything and it’s not like you can’t recover from it but you do have to acknowledge that the world turned upside down. It’s hard to say how my life would have turned out had it not happened but I think I’m thankful for being hurt. I’m thankful for the wound because that’s what makes you human and makes you an artist. If you can survive it and remain empathetic it makes you aware of other people’s hurt. And without that, I don’t think I’d have anything.

Worst moment of your life?

Telling my kids about getting divorced. I still can’t think about it without feeling terrible. It’s actually a memory that I push out if it comes up. I don’t want to think about it. It happened nearly 10 years ago now, so the wound has healed a little but it’s not my wound; it’s theirs. And that’s why I push it away. I’ll never know it.

Worst moment on a TV or film set?

I wouldn’t want to name the project because I wouldn’t want to hurt the people involved. Probably my feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time was more about me than it was about the project or them. But, yeah, and that’s just a terrible, terrible feeling. I’ve certainly had periods of self-doubt and I very nearly got fired on an early job. They gave me dailies to take home to see how bad I was. I wasn’t great but I think I was just young and green. I just needed some more gentle direction.

Worst moment of self-realisation?

I guess I have two self-conceptions. One is that I’m really talented and can do a lot of stuff easily. The other is that I’m not very talented at all and I have to work, work, work hard to do anything. And I believe I’m both of those things. It’s a fight when I’m not working. When I’m working, and I have something to work on; to put my perseverance and hard work into, then I’m healthy and I’m good. When I’m not working, I can be a little on edge. And I know this sounds like a humble brag, but it’s my reality. Obviously, I do a lot of stuff, but I feel lazy. I always feel like I’m not doing enough or working hard enough. Whether it’s in work or life, I always feel like I want to go and rest, to switch off and tune out. I also want to give up half the time, which is why that tendency in myself of perseverance is my greatest trait. 

Worst thing anyone has ever said about you?

It would have to be something that I thought was untrue – and there have certainly been plenty of untrue stories written about me. But then, I’m willing to entertain anything. Whatever you say to me, I’ll entertain it for a minute, and I feel like that’s a strong point for me. It’s a painful thing to be that open but whatever is said I’ll consider the source then come up with my own opinion.

Worst decision?

I think even some of my worst decisions have been beneficial. When I took the X-Files job I’d also accepted a small part on a TV movie, and I had to let the director of that project down because the dates of the two projects conflicted. I told my agents and obviously they said, ‘Take the X-Files’, which meant breaking my word, which I wasn’t comfortable with. But, clearly, ultimately my agents’ decision was absolutely correct. If it had been left to me, I would have made the wrong decision.

[pikapeppa]

15 questions for 15 friends

Tagged by @elveny and @johaerys-writes -- thank you, my loves!

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My mom. Apparently my dad really wanted to name me after my mom and she was like "ugh really fine" LOL. My dad is also named after his dad, who was named after his dad... REAL ORIGINAL. This is going to sound like a total humblebrag, but my mom and I are both published academic authors, so we have to use our middle initials to distinguish who published what 🙃

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Probably in therapy last Thursday LOL. Though I got a little prickly-eyed earlier this week watching the episode of ATLA where Zuko and Aang go on their lifechanging field trip to the Sun Warriors' secret village 😂❤

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Nope! Childless by choice.

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED? I played T-ball when I was 5 or 6 (hated it, cried so much that my parents pulled me out LMAO) and I was on the volleyball team in Grade 6. I'm left-handed and I had a habit of serving into the wall, unfortunately, and the habit got worse when I was nervous. During one game, they took pity on me so much that they paused the game until I got the ball over the net. I was fucking humiliated and have never played a team sport since then. 🤣💀 Re: other physical activities, I like dancing! I've taken a ton of different kinds of dance classes including swing, salsa, bellydancing, and Bollywood dancing, and loved all of them!

DO YOU USE SARCASM? No. Me? Never. 🙃🤣 Forreal though yes. All the time.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Uh...! I don't know if there's any one specific thing? I usually take in an "overall impression" of appearance. Vague, but that's all I've got. If the question was "what's the first thing you notice in people you're attracted to", that might be a different story 🤣

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR? Brown.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I am going to copy Johaerys's answer and say it doesn't matter to me, as long as the story was good. But also, who says scary movies/horror media can't have happy endings?? 🤣Haunting of Hill House, anyone? (Bittersweet, maybe, but it counts as happy to me!)

ANY TALENTS? Would it be wretched if I said I feel like writing might be a talent? Whatever, I'm saying it. 🤣😅

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? In a hospital in the same city where I currently live! Which I will chose not to reveal openly! 🤣

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? Writing! It takes up a solid 75-90% of my free time. Also gaming (which I might count into the writing time since it often becomes Research™ for the writing 🤣). I also enjoy baking and cooking, though I don't know that I'd count those as hobbies since they're necessary ADLs?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? A cat named Meeko. She is my daemon. We can never be apart when I am home. Case in point, a photo taken in real-time while completing this quiz:

HOW TALL ARE YOU? 5'3".

FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? Uhhh... what level of school are we talking here? In undergrad, I took an incredible linguistics/history course about writing systems, and that was probably my favourite class ever. I took a course during undergrad about different schools of psychotherapy that was pretty damned influential too.

DREAM JOB? I also loved Johaerys's answer here: "I don't think there's any sort of job anyone could do in this capitalist hellscape we're all currently living in that would be enjoyable enough to make up for, well... living in a capitalist hellscape." I'm lucky enough to work in the public healthcare system so I'm pretty safe from the worst of capitalism, I guess, though my job (speech-language pathologist) is one I chose more for practicality (certainty of employment) than because I was really passionate about it. If I could do something else and not have to worry about money, I would either want to be a fiction editor, or a sex therapist.

Tagging forward to @ranaspkillnarieth @iamcayc @heroofshield @fantasy-girl974 @hellas-himself @midnightacrobat @alyssalenko @vorchagirl @elinorbard @stuffforthestash @mwasaw @lordofthenerds97 @y0ureviltwin @ladyofthelake91 @perhapsrampancy @cha-mij and genuinely, anyone else who wants to share!!! Tag me so I can spy on your life! 🤣❤

[maestriovermind]

As someone who has Adhd I must say I found your post interesting. I’ve definitely had experience where some really definitely worked and some didn’t, and I guess because of the lacking similarity what I’d heard about for others I got demotivated.

Sometimes it was loosing focus in the middle of an audio file. Sometimes it was just the format of the intended induction too but. Some of them obviously worked, don’t get me wrong, I just could never get the same thing others talked about. By that I mean things you see in hypno related media, think triggers and being easily dropped in a matter of seconds for example.

For an example your post on the fractionation by attempted biting, something which appeals very much to me as people very much call me puppy, feels like an impossible thing to achieve. And despite this it’s something I very much wish I was able to do.

As someone who absolutely adores being hypnotized and has unmedicated ADHD, I can say that a lot of it for me personally is expectations and my perception of things. I used to think that I would never be able to be hypnotized very quickly, much less drop myself. And yet today, sometimes I can be hypnotized simply by somebody telling me that "you're just going to drop for me now, aren't you?" or something similar. This is because I better understand the context of the situation- not because I'm magically better at being hypnotized for any arbitrary reason.

When it comes to being hypnotized "effectively," you have to remember some foundational things (below). If I repeat things, it's probably because there's a lot of overlap, and also some things are just that important.

It can be hard to find out why hypnosis might not be working for you without help. You have to consider all the factors in play- What I mean to say is you have to consider all the things that may be affecting your trance, even things you may not realize are affecting your ability to be hypnotized. Second opinions are useful! (I am more than happy to help, hit me up)

Hypnosis is experienced differently for everyone. If it's not going the way you thought it might, consider how there really isn't a wrong way to be hypnotized, per se. The only "wrong" way to experience hypnosis is by giving up and deciding not to try anymore.

The more you know about the hypnotic process, the more effective it will be. That said, a lot of information on hypnosis is usually on the harder side to read. If you're finding it difficult to parse large amounts of academic information, I'm more than happy to parse some of that info down for you into more digestible chunks- or visit learnhypnokink.com! It's a very good resource for hypnotists AND subjects alike.

Hypnosis is all about your personal perception of things. If you believe something should go a certain way when being hypnotized, it could cause certain outcomes-depending on context. In this specific context, believing that you are "ADHD, and thus difficult to hypnotize," is likely something that is holding you back from experiencing full trance.

Hypnosis is best experienced in an intimate environment. Sure, some people practice tying themselves up with rope, but isn't it more fun and engaging when someone else is doing it? And wouldn't you want that person to be someone you love and trust? Hypnosis is exactly the same way, AND it's more effective if you are able to let go and trust your partner, like any other bdsm.

Practice, practice, practice. Feel it out and find out what works, and what doesn't. Why doesn't that thing work, then? Find out why. Experiment. I cannot stress enough that doing this with a partner is not only great for bonding with them and getting to know them better, but also the best possible way to practice as a subject or a hypnotist.

These are very important, but they don't cover absolutely everything. I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing as much as possible, and that you should always be asking questions to find out more. With hypnosis, you cannot always accept people at face value, as there are always so many misconceptions. Even if someone is 100% believable, always cross reference if possible!

Yes, this includes me! You should probably review the information I'm giving you here and consider its legitimacy- this comes from about 4-5 years of experience as both a subject and a hypnotist, and there's plenty of people out there who probably know more than me.

That said, there's probably a lot of conflicting information out there, considering that so much of hypnosis is done based on the subject, and subjects tend to be different in a variety of ways. So remember! Consider all the facts, all the information, all the things you know. And make your best guess! Gather data and infer what you can.

Closing / TL;DR

If you skipped that whole thing because of how long it was (mood), then I would ask that you go back and read the pink text, at least. I highlighted some of the main points with pink text, but I will give you a brief recap of some of the major main points.

There is no wrong way to be hypnotized

Learn all that you can about hypnosis

Hypnosis is about perception, not focus

Trusting your hypnotist (like actual trust) goes a long way

Practice and experiment and find what works best for you

There are a lot of misconceptions in hypnosis- some less commonly known than others

Additional points I did not cover in full:

Audio files are good for practicing, but only if you already have a good handle on how to be hypnotized. Otherwise, they can be a little bit discouraging.

Cut and paste inductions are inferior to a hypnotist who can react to you in real time. They observe what you do, and will apply what they know to hypnotizing you further.

Hypnosis doesn't require relaxation. While relaxing helps, a lot of people can enter trance states that feel more like excitement or hyperfixation rather than what would be considered to be the usual hypnotic state.

You will never stop thinking- but you can think about only one thing, which is very close to not thinking.

Please visit learnhypnokink.com!!! It's a very good resource and will not take you too long to read, and it can also link you to longer resources that go more in depth.

Remember that there's always more to learn- thanks for reading my long ass ask response, I hope it helped. And here, have a gold star!

⭐

[sorcerersandskillusers]

heyaa!

missed your posts, alex!

I'm in an annoying mood rn so let me bother you with unprompted Q and A (for academic purposes lol /J 😋)

A. Are you an extrovert or Introvert?

B. Got any future plans on ao3?

D. Strongest fixation you've ever had? (hobby, piece of media, etc. if ur not comfortable sharing, second strongest fixation is good too :>

D. How many languages can you speak?

E. Any bsd character you dislike (as a person)? Like, you think they're well written but you don't like them?

F. Name one (or more) thing/s you want to see happen in BSD

G. Most stressful online experience and how you dealt with it?

H. Love language? (e.g physical touch/words of affirmation/acts of service/etc)

I. One embarrassing college story?

J. How's college?

K. Any new interests?

+BONUS: share something u want to share 😗

(P. S just answer the ones you want to.

#nopressureasks 😄💖

MISSED YAA. SPECIAL HUGS 😸🫂🫂😸

💖💖💖

A. For a long time I would have said introvert but after coming to Uni I realised how much I need to be around people for energy, so definitely extrovert.

B. Uuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... no idea, getting up the motivation to do anything creative is incredibly hard and with so much of my energy just going to studying and social stuff if I do post anything it will be pretty sporadic.

C. I've had so many, it would be impossible to say which ones were the strongest, but a few of my really long-lasting ones have been; BSD, space (my whole childhood), Undertale, DnD, a million random science rabbit holes, many anime and cartoons... the list is pretty much never ending. I've never really had many hobbies though, i guess I've done horse riding for a while and I spent 2 years restoring a dead natural pond to support life (probably the thing I'm most proud of doing)

D. Very sadly 1, I spoke a bit of sinhala when I was at school in Sri Lanka but have lost pretty much all over the years I've been in the UK.

E. As a person? Many. BSD is full of interesting but terrible people and IRL I would probably hate many of my favourite characters but some that I hate especially are; N, The orphanage director, Steinbeck (for what he did to Q), Mori (love the character, hate the person) etc...

F. A major character death, Akutagawa confronting Dazai about how he was treated, Sigma joining the ADA

J. Going really well, I love my subject and even though its a lot of work the Uni is really supportive, and I have friends to struggle through it with.

K. Too many to count

[atpages]

april tc challenge

inspired by @boy-cometomyhotelhoney

Day 1: Happy April Fool’s! Have you ever pranked your TC; if so, how did they react?

yes! this april fools, i printed out a meme i made of him and stuck it on his classroom. he was pretty amused by it.

Day 2: What is the earliest thing you can remember about your TC?

when i was younger like 1-2 years ago, i always heard a lot about my tc because he's super famous, and they say he's the best teacher in my school. but my first lesson with him was in september and i just remember it was really awkward because i had showed up in his zoom five minutes early and we just had our cameras off.

Day 3: Do you like your TC’s subject? Do you consider yourself to be good at it?

i love love math! it's super easy for me to understand and i just enjoy doing it. i do think i'm probably one of the best at math in our year, but i still always feel like i'm never enough academically.

Day 4: How do you feel about your age gap?

our age gap is 20 years. since i'm a minor, i'm aware of how harmful it could be, and i would never ever pursue him ever in any way.

Day 5: Have you ever said anything to your TC that showed you favoured them? Have they said anything like that to you?

no 😹😹 a really bad habit i have is when i like someone, i act snarky about them and insult them. he probably thinks i hate him because i greet all my teachers when i meet them in the hallway but i ignore him, or just nod at him.

about the second question...my tc is a super super neutral guy. he definitely doesn't really have favorites and seems to treat all his students the same(even if they are absolute asses), but he smiles at my jokes and stuff.

Day 6: Have you ever noticed any small habits that they have? If so, what comes to mind first?

the only thing i really notice is that when he's walking he keeps his hand behind his back. also he wears a hoodie for a week and then next week he'll wear a different hoodie.

Day 7: What gift would you really like to be able to give them, regardless of if it’s realistic or not?

i really don't know. i don't think our relationship is close enough for me to give him a personal gift, but i guess it would be a mahjong set.

Day 8: Does your TC ever talk about what it was like when they were still a student?

not really. the only time that comes to mind was when he told me that his english teacher in highschool gave him his english name.

Day 9: Does your TC have a significant other? If so, what do you know about them and how do you feel about them?

yes he has a wife for 5 years, and a kid about 4. his wife is super pretty, and i'm neutral about her. i know that what i feel about him will never be possible, so in my mind there's no point feeling negatively towards her.

[cookinguptales]

Okay, so it's *checks clock* about 3:30 here and my parents have left me alone for the next 24 hours so dad can take mom to a concert for her birthday.

That means I'm gonna have a TAROT NIGHT.

For my new followers, I do these periodically. Standard disclaimer that I am not psychic, I do not necessarily believe in such things, but I am an enormous tarot geek who did a lot of work on that when I was in college. I love tarot for a lot of reasons, both personal and academic, and my view on tarot readings is that... well, tarot cards are based on human archetypes, which means that yes, they are very vague and apply to most people in some way or another.

Some people think that means that tarot is entirely useless at best, fraudulent at worst, but I guess I look at it differently. I think because most tarot cards will apply to us in some way or another, we will always read our own situations into the cards. That means that, in an announcement designed for all ears, you will still hear a message tailored to you. And if a reading makes you think about a certain situation in your life... well, maybe that's your subconscious telling you you should probably be thinking about it.

It's sort of like that old saying, y'know? If you want to make a decision, flip a coin -- the see which side you find yourself rooting for. I don't think cartomancy is going to tell your future, but I do think it might help guide you towards subjects that are bothering you. I think people can take what they need from most readings, and that's not a bad thing.

So... yeah. I'm not a psychic. This is not a psychic reading. This is just for fun. What I read may or may not apply to you. But if you do get something out of it, that makes me happy.

All that said, I'll be using my Mushroom Hunter's Tarot Deck (I... think... backup deck is Pulp Tarot if I can't find the former) because I think that's the one I was using last time before I got distracted. That said, if you'd really prefer a reading from the Pulp Tarot, I'm fine with that as well. I know where that one is. lmao

I collect tarot decks and I usually let people vote on which ones I use for the evening (some people have favorites, some people just want to see what certain cards look like in certain decks, etc.) but yeah, I was distracted from my last tarot night due to personal reasons so I'm just gonna jump back into that.

I'll get started in a couple hours and I'll post instructions on how to request a reading then! But I usually make a post like this whenever I do this just so people have warning and also know where we stand.

I post each reading publicly (like I said, a lot of people just want to see the card designs) so if you don't want to see any of this, the tag to block is "#tarot shenanigans".

okay I'm gonna go eat lunch bye

[wasted-my-time]

A friend from the other side

@dreamy625 and @thiswatch-lepparddef-werehi this is the fic I told you about!

I wrote this (well, a short version of this) for school a few years ago and thought it could be a good fic. It is about Steve as a ghost, but I don't think it is very scary.

Warnings: Swearing, haunting, mention of a ghost.

Part one: The arrival.

Student exchange, in my fifteen years old head, the word means freedom: Getting away from my hometown. And when you are a boy from Saint-Ludger-De-Milot getting away is a serious thing (Check on a map, you'll get it). The government fund agency advertisement said "A friend from the other side of the country, the ocean or even the world" so I jumped on the opportunity. Usually I am not great with new people, but when I let go of my bad will, it goes well.

But when I saw the address I would be sent to I jumped off my my seat: 44 Old Church Street, London, last house of guitarist Steve Clark!

Oh, and I am matched with a girl called Madeline Rogers, they got us together for our "Great interest in music, history and academic subjects", I guess I'll see how it goes.

-------------------------------------------------------

Madeline unlocks the door as I stand in front of her house with my suitcase in my left hand, my amp in the right one and my guitar case on my back. A beautiful building indeed, bricks on all of its exterior walls (well, the ones I can see), nice arches over the door and ground floor windows, the white cornice also enhance the brownish red walls and I like how the higher floors' windows are shaped, like an half of an octagon, I would say.

God, I didn't realize my mom's home decoration and architecture magazines got that much into my head...

The inside is just as wonderful, the Rodgers seem to have been willing to preserve its ancient style, furnishing it mostly with wooden antiques, but still managed to avoid any heaviness.

-My mum is a home designer. Madeline informs me when she catches my admirative look.

-Well, I'm sure she's very good at it, from what I see here.

-Thank you. You can go put your stuff upstairs if you want, I'll show you around. She offers as her father enters the house. Follow me. She says as she walks toward the u-shaped staircase, making the floor crack at every step. I love this place already.

-Down there is the kitchen and dining room. She points at a row of stairs leading to the basement. On every floor, there is a toilet at the end of the staircase, she says as we pass by a door and begin to walk upstairs.

-My parents' room is the one facing the street, the other one is my mother's office. She indicates as we pass shortly on the first floor.

-Here we are! She exclaims as we arrive at the top of the stairs, this is the guests' room, your room in other words. I'll be downstairs if you need me!

There are two doors, the one she stated to be mine and another one, probably leading to her bedroom.

There is a wooden desk under the window, from there I can see the tiniest backyard I ever looked upon, on the opposite side of the room, there is an assorted dresser, I put my guitar on it, since I couldn't bring the stand with me, in the drawers underneath it, I placed most of my clothes, excepted for my white shirt and tie, which I hung one of the wardrobes on each side of the bed to keep the shirt from wrinkling.

There is a little lamp hanging from the wall behind the bed, you know, the kind with a little chain to turn the light on and off. As I sit on the bed, I can't help but think that my reflection in the stand up mirror across thr room would make a nice painting, if someone had enough time to waste at painting me.

-Antoine, the diner is ready. I hear Madeline's voice through the door.

I follow her again, this time on the opposite direction.

We all sit together at the table in front of our plates of curry, first time I eat that, it is very... Yellow. A sharp contrast with the room we are in: Very few natural light pass by those small window, leaving it all to the luminaire hanging above the table to light the whole room. There is an opening leading to the stairs behind me, two doors on the wall on my right, to get in the kitchen and another one on the wall on my left, probably some pantry...

-It's the drinks cabinet, but don't go there, it's haunted. Mr. Rodgers jokes, causing his whole family to laugh.

Steve?

-The former owner wanted to sell the house because he thought there was a ghost! Apparently "someone" was finishing his bottles. If you want my advice he just didn't remember doing it himself... Madeline's mother explains.

-And, did you experience... Weird stuff?

-Sometimes we hear noises, like footsteps, and a sound... like a long squeaking, but it is a fairly old building, so it is probably structural rather than spectral.

-It would make sense... I mumble.

-Looks like you scared our guest, Nathaly. Her husband chuckles.

-------------------------------------------------------

Midnight, yet my silly brain thinks it is something like seven o'clock... Everyone else went to bed at 9:30, so what was I supposed supposed to do? I stopped playing my guitar one hour ago and now I just lay here thinking about Steve. It is weird to think that I stay in the same house as he lived. Yes, lived, because he lived here before dying here. Forget it, that sounded much better in my head.

Still, the idea of his ghost driving the previous owner out of the house is quite amusing.

Knlong, klong, klong

Footsteps, right by the bed, boots on the hardwood floor. No, it can't be real...

I don't think I could move if I wanted to, I'm way too freaked out.

I can't really see in the dark room but the noise seems to stop by the dresser then... It's something else... That squeaking Mrs. Rodgers talked about, I hear it, it is much more than that, it's, it's a guitar! A long note, with a lot of bending, I can't believe they thought it was just "structural"! It keeps getting to a higher and higher sound, and louder, I feel like my ears are about to explode.

-Fuck! I exclaim as I finally snap out of my fear and sit up to turn on the light, but there's nothing, no one. Just my guitar case wide open although I closed it when I stopped playing.

This is definitely going to help me to sleep...

-------------------------------------------------------

Eleven o'clock on the clock on the nightstand and six in my head, not so bad of a time to wake up actually. I turn around and see my guitar proped up against the dresser, wait, wasn't it in its case... Heck, I remember last night!

I jump on my feet and inspect the instrument, everything is perfectly normal, then I take a look at the furniture only to find all my picks disposed to spell Hello on top of it.

-It has to be some bad joke... I whisper.

No, the picks now write, moving around like it was someone placing them.

-... Steve?

Yes.

-Clark?

YES.

-I... I... I mumble uselessly.

The picks start to spin aimlessly, sometimes forming the beginning of a letter, as if he was looking for what he wants to say.

Don't he finally writes before changing the picks, worry... won't .... hurt... you.

-What do you want?

Help ... Me ... Take ... Shape

-How?

The picks go back in a little pile and my guitar gets lifted from the ground like if someone was about to play, then the strings start to ring along to the intro of Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes).

I turn around to face the mirror, only to see my own face of total disbelief.

-And what am I supposed to do?

I see the guitar being carefully placed back against the dresser, then the picks start to move again.

Try ... This.

One of them floats up to me, then just waits there until I hold my hand up for it to be dropped in my palm.

-So... I just have to put it on the glass?

Yes

Am I really listening to a ghost telling me how to help him get back to a "shape"? Can jet lag cause hallucinations?

Anyway, I close my fist around the little piece of plastic and walk up to the mirror. I clasp it to the cold glass with my thumb and... Nothing, of course there's nothing, what was I thinking about?! I pinch the pick to retrieve it but as I pull it away, I see two other fingers holding it from the other side of the mirror.

-Holly shit! I exclaim as a hand follows the fingers, along with an arm.

Soon enough, a foot steps out of the mirror and I let go of the pick, him now being able to get out by himself.

Long blond hair, a leather jacket over some white t-shirt and black jeans covering the upper part of a pair of boots, no doubt about it: I did really bring Steve Clark back from the grave.

Wait, why am I seeing those black dots all of a sudden?

-Thank you kid... No, don't fain't, please! I hear him as I now don't see anything and feel myself falling backwards.

[laurelleejones]

an element of perfection in every action, the sound of familiar heels strutting down the hallway that insights fear, well-loved french cookbooks, hiding from her demons with every ounce of fight she can muster.

✦ WILLA FITZGARALD, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER ✦ LAUREL JONES the THIRTY-ONE year old has been in Hidehill for THREE WEEKS (SINCE RETURN). Whispers on the streets are that the CHEF AT VERDURE CAFE who lives in HOVE LAKE are said to be WELL-MANNERED and SANCTIMONIOUS but I guess we’ll find out for ourselves. WRITTEN BY MEL

TRIGGER WARNING: mental health, physical violence, death, cancer

 ⸻  𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘

Laurel Lee Jones was born third in a family of four, her younger sister Heather Jones joining the family a couple of years later. While some might say that Laurel suffered from middle child syndrome, due to her constant need for perfection that manifested from a very early age, she would disagree. She had simply always been that way.

The Jones siblings barely had to lift a finger, thanks to the bricks and mortar of their lives born from the cases their father continued to win, a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom. Their mother, a former hairdresser had always been present in her childrens day to day as long as Laurel had been alive.

Some might say that Laurel was an odd child, the kind who would rather make friends in books in opposition to speaking with actual people and who proclaimed she wouldn't speak for a year when she was seven. However, her mind was constantly turning. Even when she was silent.

She discovered food at the age of twelve, when her mother christened her a sous chef in the Jones family kitchen. From then on, it was a love affair for the ages. She would check out cookbooks alongside her mysteries and fantasy novels and she would experiment for the entire family. After some successes and some failures, her talent was undeniable.

School was never really a problem for Laurel. Not because she excelled in any particular academic subject (she was adequate, got by with a mixture of A's and B's), but because she found herself keeping her head down -- focused on getting out of Hidehill for what she believed was bigger things.

Laurel especially took notice of Heather, and the way she seemed to move about the world with such grace, one that she believe had skipped a generation and had been given to her sister in spades. Was she jealous? Maybe a little. Did she admire her? Most certainly.

While Laurel remembers her early life in bits and pieces, there is one particular day that will stick out to her for the rest of her life. She was seventeen, and while things had gone on as normal -- she had come home to her mother and father waiting in the living room with the rest of her siblings. Amanda Jones had cancer. And there wasn't very much time left.

Following her mother's passing, Laurel tried to swallow the agony as much as she could. Move forward, chase her dreams as her mother would have always wanted. While her grief did not show itself on the outside as much as some might normally deem socially acceptable (even if it is not one's place to define such a poignant emotion), on the inside, she had never felt so overwhelmed. Tired. Broken.

Laurel isn't soulless -- rather stoic would be the better term. She isn't quite sure why she is the way she is, but she certainly has no intention of changing it. She cares deeply for the people around her, especially her siblings, even if she can't always find the words.

Perhaps one of the crowned jewels of Laurel's life was when she was accepted to Le Cordon Bleu in the heart of Paris, one of the most well-recognized hubs for French cooking. She caught the attention of many of her professors and was offered a high-ranking position following her graduation. Of course she accepted, without a second thought. Even if after all she had been through, she probably should have had many.

The loss of her mother that she made no hesitation to avoid. The pressure and expectations that come with being in one of the elite chef academies in the world. This was just the tip of the iceberg.

When the murder spree began in Hidehill -- Laurel had wondered for a time if she should put her career in france on pause. Her family was in danger. Nothing was more important than family. However, with a certain amount of reassurance, especially from her brother Harrison, Laurel stayed put. Checked the news. Went about her routine.

Three months ago, everything came to a head after a critic spoke ill of her work. He was an asshole, sure. A known one, someone who tended to speak very ill of women cooking in fine dining. Either way, Laurel took his words to heart. In a fit of rage she ended up throwing a pan, one that nearly missed a busboy. She was fired immediately, as expected. The greatest of them are far from invincible.

She stayed in Paris during this time, ashamed of her action and with no intention of heading back home. However, she never expected to wake up to one specific headline: Harrison Jones found dead. Her older brother had not only been brutally murdered, but was being pegged a killer.

Laurel had held onto a property of hers, one she stayed in to visit family in Hove Lake. Thank god she had, because it allowed her to pack up her things and rush home to be with her siblings.

Even if she feels like she's still catching up with everything that's happened and is aware of the evidence presented against her brother, Laurel finds herself looking back on her life -- wondering where everything went wrong and if there was something she could have done to stop it. Something she could have done to save him.

Not only is she trying to catch up with everything that she has missed, but she still feels like she is trying to catch up to herself. She began seeking therapy after the incident in France, and is continuing to do so since her arrival in Hidehill.

Being back in the kitchen, this time in Hidehill at Verdure seems like an entirely different speed. It is comforting, the faces of Hidehill that she serves being nothing but warm and appreciative. In a way, it is allowing her to heal.

⸻  𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒

A very buttoned-up, professional dresser. A common outfit formula is a button-down shirt, slack and a nice pair of heels. Despite the stench of Harlow Estates that comes with spending one's childhood there, she isn't drawn to labels and such, but owns clothing more so for its practicality.

She has kept what happened in France a secret from everyone, including her siblings. Her embarrassment seems to take precedent over telling the truth in that regard.

Some may consider her Hove Lake home rather quaint, with rustic furniture and a scenic overlook. However, it's no secret that Laurel has always preferred a simple, quiet life.

When it comes to her love life, Laurel is no stranger to no strings attached. It's easier that way, no one to burden. At least, that's what she believes.

MORE TO COME.

⸻ 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

Siblings: Harrison Jones (deceased), one older sister, Heather Jones.

Friends: OPEN

Exes ( any gender - 1/3 ): OPEN

Hookups/FWB ( former or current ): OPEN

Love Interest: OPEN

Coworkers: OPEN

These are just ideas, I'm here and ready for all the plots!

[polaroidcats]

15 questions

Thank you @squintclover for tagging me in this tag game!! <3 I loved reading your answers to these questions!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYBODY? No, my parents just liked my name, and its meaning. My mum originally wanted to name me Ursula but my dad vetoed that name because he was afraid I'd get bullied in school.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Uhmmmm probably last week in therapy?

3. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Nopeeeeeee just a fur babyyyyyy <3

4. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Yeah, but I've been trying to tone it down more because sometimes it leads to misunderstandings.

5. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED? I can't think of any? Not a huge sports person. Love watching roller derby though, I WISH I could play that.

6. WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT SOMEONE? Idk just their general vibes? And their hair and height and voice and things like that I guess.

7. EYE COLOUR? greenish swamp colour

8. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? ALL THE HAPPY ENDINGS PLS I don't like scary movies! I have watched exactly 2 scary movies in my entire life, and had my eyes closed or covered for both of them most of the time.

9. ANY SPECIAL TALENTS? idk what qualifies as a special talent? I taught myself to be ambidextrous out of boredom during online uni, so now I can also write with my left hand *insert bi joke here*

10. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? in a hospital :D

11. WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? tumblerDOTcom!!1, reading (either political nonfiction books or ALL the fanfic), various arts and crafts, gardening, or just, lying in a hammock in the garden whilst reading, generally spending time in nature hiking, biking, swimming etc. I also recently also started playing the cello again more AND IT'S SO FUN!

12. DO YOU HAVE PETS? yes yes yessssss his name is apollo and i don't post enough about him so here's a pic:

he even has his own tag on my tumblr (#hungry greek god) but it's pretty empty so far. my former pet ella had the tag #my little roommate and she was adorable and i still miss her every day </3

13. HOW TALL ARE YOU? 176cm!

14. FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? i think it used to be just all the language subjects, so english, french, german and latin (lol). can't relate to liking latin anymore but back then I LOVED it.

15. DREAM JOB? oddly enough I'm not a huge fan of the whole concept of jobs and capitalism, not sure what that's all about. but tbh as far as jobs go, i kind of have my ideal job? I've always said I want to do a combination of part time social work and part time something academic, like maybe at one point teach at a university or be part of a research team or something. And whilst that's stil far away I feel like I mightttttt be on a good path to get there which is honestly wild and incredibe and I don't want to jinx it!!

I never know who to tag in these games because I don't want to tag people who don't enjoy doing tags, so I'm not going to tag anyone specific buuuut if you want to do the tag please just feel free to pretend I tagged you, and then next time I'll know who to tag for real! <3

[riko0youth]

Rollercoaster New year

Did I tale about how I had a Quiz on the 31th? no? thought so, let's go,

So i had an online quiz, i was carelssly studying for cuz they said its only 9 points and i was somehow sure i could wing it (bad, bad me), or just cram it, the quiz was sunday 9am (and we hated that with passion), but when i was starting my exam night cramming they Sent a message at 10 pm that it was moved to 9PM, i did a victory dance allover the house until my stomach and associated organs started to hurt, However, as a paranoid person i was scared half to death i would wake up to find the exam link sent for morning, i had to get reassure from people and get people to get reassure from people, before i could force myself to sleep, woke up, day went fine, i totally forgot it was the last day of the year until i was reminded, all my thoughts are on the quiz and the paper i had to turn in next day, so skip to an hour before quiz, i finished my half assed cramming and was doing questions, and still sus,the link wasn't sent yet, i did the mistake of following the group CHAT, someone had the mind to ask how many questions was the quiz and the usual answer got out, nine, nothing grand about it, but the all hell broke loose, The admin (Students Rep.) was like, Who says, and we all paused in panic and bomberes him with freaked out questions,

First arrow hit, He sent a crying emoji saying the doctor said its 20 questions.

Now imagine, you're carelessly prepared for a tiny quiz, already planning on sacrificing some subjects, since they prolly only had a one or two points in, and then you're hit was the fact that there's enough room for all subjects to whoope your unprepared ass and only less than an hour away from said whooping for you to prepare ANYthing.

Second arrow, he then said that he is trying to negotiate with the doctor, trying to convice her to prolong the exam time to half an hour, and we were like, Wait, then how much is it? and there were scrambled replies of 10 or 20 minutes and we didn't know who to trust, the fact of what we were about to face not really sinking in for me,

We tried to remedy the situation, finding any logic in that farce we reasoned that it must be half a point for each question, 10 points, not so bad, more room to think, all is good,

Now third, K. O., arrow hit, he sent another plethora of crying emojis,saying its 20 points.

(at that point someone angrily asked why he doesn't say all that in one go, i wholeheartedly agree) Half an hour, before said 20 questions quiz.

At that point, i acted when i do in really highly stressful situations, and kept calm and cool and chill about, i was like, okay this is happening now, let's end this, get it over with, and go cry about it to every single person i know later,(yes my uncles included, i've always found comfort in crying to them about hard academic stuff, like my trauma against physics, i somehow, by a strange twist of fate always got to sit with them right before any major physics test i had, including the final, and i found great comfort in that), 15 minutes, I locked my phone and continued to finish the questions i had in hand before running out of time just to Scream about in with fellow suffers, I looked again, couldn't help myself, five minutes later to find the admin sending on the Announcement group, "Okay guys, the doctor was just doing a Happy New Year Prank on us, the quiz is 9 questions"

You can guess what happened next.

It is note worthy, that there were people calling the bluff, people calculating with great logic why i could only be 9 questions, People saying that the doctor was probably joking, i was one of those people, say that the module was only 90 points, EOME, Practical, Final,Activites, how will they get enough points for those if the gave a whole 20 to a tiny quiz.

However, when one is dealing with our college, we learnt the hard way not to rely on logic and not to be too optimistic, yes, we suspected, but we knew better than to let our guard down while dealing with a college that tells you the number of exam questions and the exam time right before the thing itself.

So, instead of seeing my fellow Suffers in arm's reaction, i finished the questions first and tries to follow up.

Two minutes before the quiz someone said to start the count down

Exactly a minute before the quiz I sent lamenting that we're counting down to the beginning of the quiz instead of the beginning of the year.

Right after, they closed the group Chat, and I started my mental prep, Closed all the books and moved from the bed where they lay, cuz its not an openbook quiz. it took a few tries before the quiz opened.

All in all, the quiz itself was anticlimatic (for me at least, and I'm very much thankful for it) I lost a point because i didn't revise a subject as well as i should've, i avoided losing another point thanks to dear, dear, Spongbob squarepants (don't ask how, i make weird connections and refernces while studying, It very decidingly, very provenly (?), Works, so imma keep it that way) after successfully submitting (another thing i was greately thankful for) I Stood up, previously supressed Dizziness and Fatigue crawling back in with the speed of lightening, I went to the dining room, very obviously didn't eat, Drank a huge cup of tea (its a soup cup, Stolen/Gifted from my uncle, he was horrified when he saw me drink black tea from it,I have a bigger one now,almost 1/2 a litre I usually drink from twice a day,I always gleefuly smile when i see someone stares in horrified amazement/worry)

New year came and went, just happened, one moment i was still scrolling through food videos to get myself motivated to eat(I do suspect i have ARFID, but like my other mental and psychological suspected disorders, it remain undiagnosed) the next it was 12:02, i missed the ritual count down I am used to doing alone as the only person sentimental enough in the house to stay awake for it on a school night, I was kinda in a weird mood, but i woke up from it soon, My lil bro was surprisingly awake, not for the sake of welcome the first second of the year of course, I Told him happy new years, Shooting a text to each of my two enstraged from each other bestfrieds (Im like a child with divorced parents, the irony of it, what with my family circumstances, is not lost to me, in dark amusement i joke to myself that I get to experience both a failed ongoing marriage and a divorce, that was one of the reasons I was in a freaky mood), one replied one slept early, I aimlessly went to the kitchen, mood lost while watch a mundane Old Comedic Play on the TV, I Made something up on the spot in the kitchen, as you do.

Watching an eating, my brother joined me halfway for a while, we talked about that iconic actor we love, talking about Animation movies trilogy and Rewatching said movies and anime series and old,golden age cartoon we just pity the younger generations for missing out on.

it was honestly chill. still the weirdest Newyears eve i can remember. I was still Dizzy from the stress rush I had thanks to the quiz when i went to sleep.

[robbydelosangeles]

A Subtle College Life in SPUP

Hey there! It's me again😁 the most handsome gentleman in the Psychology Department😉. It's been a long time since I posted here, I have been busy living my life lately. Today, in this sacred 21st century thingy called blog, I am going to be talking about what it is like to be a Paulinian college student🤩. This will take a long time, so if you are interested, get yourself a cup of hot coffee - or tea, whatever you prefer- sit back, relax, and join me as we go on a journey of a Paulinian student's life.

Are you ready? All righty then, let's go!

St. Paul University Philippines, a school known for their magnificent infrastructures, Christ-centeredness, aesthetic gardens, and of course, slippery tiles😂. Too bad my college journey did not start there. Nope. It was pandemic back then so my college journey started in an app. A lot of grown-ups would think, "Oh that's great, your college life would be easy since it will all be done online for a while. You'll be at home, you don't have to go outside, you won't be spending money, you kids should get through this with ease!"

Yeah, right😐.

I guess when it comes to learning and academics, some things will just not escape you. And those are hardships, struggles...and math. Seriously, I thought this course won't have any math subjects LOL. But anyway, now that we are growing up, life won't get easier from there. Even though it was flexible learning, we still get to deal with too many house chores, too many requirements, deadlines, quizzes, and who said we won't be spending any money?🙄

Nevertheless, all of this hardships and conflicts have shaped me into the best of who I am. Truth is, I was a slacker at the beginning, but because of the pressure, I got up my feet and started working harder than before. And I am soooo thankful for choosing to be a better student.

During my first year, I was very shy about making new friends. But I'm glad that my friends are wise, hard-workers, logical thinkers, and full of good influence. Well, kind of🙊. LOL Now that face-to- face class is finally back, I became closer to them than online.

Speaking of face-to-face, during the first days of third year, one of my classmates told me "You know, you look so much thinner online. You're actually chubbier in person." And here is how I reacted:

Well, it's true, I will admit it. I actually got too carried away with my laziness and eating too much that I gained so much fat. I got my interest back on weightlifting at the beginning of year of 2022. My progress was actually better than before. I can lift heavier weights now, my physique is getting toned, and even though my body weight was actually getting heavy (it's because of the muscles😎) my clothes are starting to fit better.

The issue was, because my top priority was my academics, I barely even have time to do a set of push ups. And with that, I adjusted my priorities. At first, I must finish all of my academic related requirements that must be done. And when I finally have a free time, only then will I go back to lifting heavy weights. And since then, with my diet on track of course, the balance between my favorite hobby and my academics are doing very well.

That's one of the life changing lesson that I have learned and will forever apply it till my last breath. Know what you want and what you need, set your priorities straight, and just flipping do it. You are probably thinking, "Oh wow, Robby, you prioritize your study and you go to the gym? That is s alpha of you😍". I don't really like that term to be labelled at me😂. An alpha is more of dominant type of person, the one who has the ability to lead and influence people.

Throughout my college life, I have become a leader of a group more than once. And the first time I ever became a leader, I was a hot head. Like if one of my groupmates won't do their work on time I would rant the heck out of them in our own group chat. 😂

But hey, that was back then, now I actually learn to become better with leading and influence people. When it comes to being a leader, logical thinking comes first, empathy comes second, emotions come last in silence. In other words, be stoic.

A lot of unexpected conflicts will come, especially when a lot of responsibilities are passed on to you. And no matter what, we must learn to endure and cope our emotions in silence, and never let them affect the way you think and the way you act. So always be logical with the way you think. Speaking of that, the best thing about college life is that my mindset have been shifted. Almost as if my brain was callused. The thing is, whenever I feel anxious or afraid of something, I face it. One of my oldest enemies is my anxiety. Whenever I feel like butterflies are going crazy in my stomach, I took a deep breath and just go. That is why I joined and volunteer whenever I get a chance to do so, such as performing along with the mob dancers, singing in a chorale, and speaking in front of a class.

These are some of the lessons that I have learned living as a college student in St. Paul University Philippines. If I could go back in time to meet my younger self who said "I can't wait to be a college student, it must be exciting", I'd go back and slap him on the face. LOL

All jokes aside, I hope that my sharing have entertained you, and I also hope that you learn something valuable because every thought that I have said, every lessons, are all based on my experience as a college student.

With that, thank you so much for your time and have a great weekend💖

PEACE✌

[fumiko-matsubara]

List of Multi-talented AssClass Characters

This includes both characters who have actually showcased their many skills and characters who had shown potential to be multi talented.

¤ The teachers, assassins, and Gakuhou won't be included in the list as they are already a given.

Asano Gakushuu

I mean, do I even have to say anything? He's got the grades, the athleticism, the artistry, the reputation, and even being able to responsibly handle all of these at the same time. Rather than asking what else he can do, the better question is: What CAN'T he do??

This guy is the epitome of multi talented because it's not just him having a lot of skills, but you can really expect him to be good at each and every single one of them. Truly an ace.

Akabane Karma

This one is just half-assed lol. But let's be real, I can't even expressed how much of a genius this guy is, it's actually terrifying. Like imagine being able to remember the stuffs you've secretly studied for after two weeks of study ban, to the point that you managed to place 2nd in rankings among the entire 3rd years?? He's ridiculous.

I think it's just him being disinterested that's stopping him, because it should be obvious that he'd be the type to easily become scarily good at the skills he just picked up.

Isogai Yuuma

Being practical is his strongest suit. It probably stemmed from the fact that he's currently the one providing for his family, but I could totally see Isogai picking up plenty of skills just for the sake of making things easier. For all we know, he could've tried applying for different kinds of jobs that required certain skills before he settled on being a waiter.

Then top it all off with his good grades, being athletic, and leading the class well, yeah he's got it good.

Sugino Tomohito

One day we are going to have a whole discussion about Sugino having many hidden talents (that he's also VERY good at doing). Let's start off with baseball. It has been confirmed by Matsui himself that ever since Sugino had joined a local baseball team in town, along with perfecting his own curved ball pitching technique, it's been assessed that in the technical side of baseball, Sugino should have already surpassed Shindou in most areas.

As stated by Karasuma in the character book, Sugino literally has ZERO flaws in his assassination skills and if you look at his stats, there was not a single category that he was lacking in omg. Sugino had also shown exceptional skills in the art department, specifically in acting and drawing, as repeatedly praised by Korosensei.

Chiba Ryuunosuke

Being multi-talented isn't just about having as many skills as possible, it's also about being incredibly good at the skills you have even if they aren't that many. Chiba is a great example of this.

Sniping, maths, architecture, and spatial awareness ー those are some of the skills he was explicitly shown to have in canon and there is no denying that he is good at every single of one these. Not just good actually, but exceptional, to the point of being directly praised by actual professionals themselves.

Kayano Kaede

Being a gifted young actress, it would be no surprise that Kayano would have to have a very wide range of skills in order to be able to tackle any acting role given to her, which is what she was specifically known for.

And who passes the entrance exams of an academically renowned school on their first try at the last minute? She has it all lol.

Kataoka Megu

I think Megu is the type to find herself picking up skills and become good at them since she is a leader with a natural sense of responsibility. Especially when it's sports, because you're telling me that this ace swimmer with a record for freestyle swimming is also good at basketball, enough to both coach, lead, and carry her team all at the same time?? Damn.

Of course not forgetting the fact that she's also one with exceptional grades and is good at languages, Megu is defintely a well-rounded leader. Wish we could have seen more from her.

Hayami Rinka

As remarked by Koro-sensei, Hayami is a "jack of all trades but lacks in her own individuality and passion". Because she is said to be skilled enough in so many things, she became a reliable worker who people can depend on no matter what it is for as she can surely tackle them.

Perhaps a little bit too reliable? While there are some skills that she is obviously good at, like her sniping and dancing, I don't think people would really notice how much of an ace she is at first glance, likely because she wasn't being loud about it (as in she was lowkey).

Maehara Hiroto

Defintely the dress to impress type.

I am adding Maehara to this list because this dude came back 3 years later and suddenly he's good at b-boying!

He's good at sports, dancing, singing, he gets along with people, he dresses well, and for a carefree playboy like him, the last thing you would expect from him is his best subject being Maths, right?

I won't be surprised if plenty of these were just because he wanted to impress the girls he goes on dates with. If anything, it's likely lol. Whatever helps him I guess.

Bonus: Potentially multi-talented

Yada Touka

Being under the tutelage of Irina, it would be no surprise that Yada would end up wanting to expand her skillset as she'd find it beneficial for her in the future.

Nakamura Rio

Maybe because she's bored or just wants to be funny, but Nakamura had shown skills with... random stuffs (like diassembling gadgets or the ability to make geeky boys flustered with her dirty jokes through the school radio... 😭). As long as it can be funny, I think she can pick up anything she can use to toy with others.

Kurahashi Hinano

Drawing! It's surprising because no one can argue that she is the best at it among the girls, but it wasn't explicitly showcased AT ALL (if it weren't for that skills ranking in the manga extras, we wouldn't have known this). I wonder what else she's really good at that haven't been addressed.

Takebayashi Koutarou

I am adding that joke from the career chapter of Koro q that Takebayashi is apparently good enough at dancing to land a career for it 😂

But yes, he also ranked 4th best artist among the boys for being the "2D master". Being an anime fan does have plenty of perks... I wonder how good his singing is 🤔