#I do encourage people to look up psychological practices from the time period though

[adorascake]

omg, thank y’all SO much for 3k!! that’s actually insane, and i couldn’t be more grateful (still have no idea why people follow me but i am NOT complaining). anyway, as thanks, i wrote a short little fic that’s just over 2k words. y’all know how in high school there’s always that one attractive history teacher who flirts with the entire English department? um. yeah. that’s...that’s it. high school teacher au🥴 if you like it, let me know if y’all would want a longer fic with this au, bc i kinda have some backstory and a little bit of a plot if i were to post to ao3 lmao. this is also slightly me projecting bc i will probably end up as an English teacher who is just trying to pay her bills while pursuing a career in writing😩✌🏼

**slight content warning, it gets a little spicy but only for a couple paragraphs and its nothing too bad imo lmao

-

Catra couldn’t wait to get home.

Some days just seemed to stretch on and on, feeling like a week instead of just twenty four hours, and today was one of those days.

Melog, her beloved cat, had woken her up screaming their head off for reasons Catra couldn’t place at five in the morning, she had spilled her Starbucks on her favorite sweater when she was headed into the school after slipping in a puddle, her shitty data and the shitty school WiFi were deciding to not work, so she couldn’t entertain herself with Twitter in between class periods, the obnoxious football players in her first period were more obnoxious than usual, and it was only second period. Thankfully, her third period was blessed with the first lunch block, and there was only about ten minutes left of class.

Her students were working on group projects over gothic short stories they had been studying all week while she graded essays from their test a month ago over Pride and Prejudice (listen, she was a busy woman, and she had about eighty students spread throughout her three classes—essays were a nightmare to grade). So far, she was pleasantly surprised at how good the essays were overall, at least in comparison to their last essay test. She made a mental note to talk to the head of the department about removing Catcher in the Rye from the required readings, or at least getting permission to not have to teach it because it just plain sucked. In all her years of teaching (all three of them), she had yet to meet a student who actually enjoyed that horrible book, and she didn’t know why it was even required.

“Hey, Ms. Horde?”

Catra looked up from her students’ essays at the table closest to her desk. The group of girls who sat there had grown rather fond of talking to their teacher instead of doing their actual work, and Catra had fallen victim from time to time, so she proceeded with caution. “Yes?”

The speaker, Abby, shared a smile with her friends, who all looked like they were on the brink of laughter or dying of embarrassment. She turned back to Catra. “I was hoping you could answer a question for me.” Catra raised her eyebrows, signaling her to continue. “See, Mina and Aarthi keep saying that you’re dating Ms. Grayskull, but Izzy and I don’t believe it.”

Not this again.

Her students and Adora’s students (which often overlapped) had been convinced for the longest time that they were seeing one another, never mind that it was weird for their students to be talking about that and moreso, invading their privacy by asking questions.

Catra narrowed her eyes at the four of them. “Even though it’s none of your business, it’s not true.”

“But she’s always coming down here to talk to you,” Aarthi spoke up, leaning forward. “And I’ve seen you come out of her room before.”

“Because we’re friends.” Catra had to snort. “People are allowed to be friends, aren’t they?”

“Well, yeah, but she definitely has a crush on you,” Mina insisted, eyes shining.

The bell was about to ring. Catra turned back to her desk and began organizing her area, if only to hide the way her cheeks pinkened at that. “Then that’s a shame, because there is no way I would date another teacher.”

“Why?”

“Because we don’t get paid enough and I plan on marrying rich, duh.” At least her bad sense of humor was still intact despite her crappy day. It even got her a few chuckles, and not just from the girls, but from some of the other tables where people were listening in. High schoolers were ridiculous; Catra wasn’t paid enough for this.

The bell trilled, quite literally saving Catra from more invasive questions about her love life and a certain blonde headed history teacher, and her second period filed out slowly. She waved at them and smiled at those who made eye contact, waiting until everyone was gone until she stood up.

Speaking of blonde history teachers, she had plans to eat her lunch with one that so happened to share the same lunch block as her. After a horrible start to her day, she could really use some encouragement from her favorite idiot.

Straightening her midi skirt and pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, Catra left her classroom with her packed lunch in hand, locking the door behind her.

Adora’s room was less than a minute up the stairs, in the same corner of the school as Catra’s room but upstairs and down one more hallway.

Catra said hi to a few teachers as she passed students headed to lunch and made a joking face at Glimmer, one of her and Adora’s friends and a psychology teacher. Glimmer wiggled her eyebrows in response, probably knowing exactly where Catra was headed. If there weren’t students in the halls, or cameras for that matter, she would’ve flipped off the pink-haired woman, but since there were, she just rolled her eyes and smiled. She was sure Glimmer was slightly jealous of her and Adora having classrooms so close; her boyfriend, their friend Bow, the head of the orchestra department, was on the opposite side of the school.

When Catra reached Adora’s room, there was a student in there asking Adora question after question, something that definitely wasn’t about history or politics. Not surprising, seeing as Adora loved to get off topic in her lectures. Honestly, how she managed to teach her kids anything was a mystery to Catra, considering how much they talked about the best restaurants in the town and why Chick Fil A was the worst fast food place to ever exist and god knows what else.

Adora glanced over at the doorway, eyes widening ever so slightly at the sight of Catra, who smirked at her. She cleared her throat and returned her attention to the student.

“Hey, I don’t mind talking about this,” she interrupted them mid-sentence, silencing them, “but can we pick it up tomorrow? If you have an actual question about the unit, I can answer it now, but if not, I really have some stuff I need to get done.”

The student looked over their shoulder at Catra, understanding washing over their features. “Of course. Thank you, Ms. Grayskull, and uh,” they paused as they began backing up and turning toward the door, “enjoy your lunch.”

Catra ignored the look they gave her and moved to sit on the edge of Adora’s desk. “Oh my god, you will not believe what this kid said to me this morning—”

The second she heard the door fall shut behind the student, she lunged forward, grabbing Adora by the front of her shirt and pulling her forward, meeting her in a harsh kiss.

Adora made a surprised noise in her throat, but didn’t hesitate to grip Catra’s waist and kiss her back with enthusiasm.

Oh, Catra needed this. She had practically been salivating just thinking about it all morning, and now the wait was over.

She ran a hand down Adora’s arm, goosebumps raising on her skin from feeling the hard muscle there. Catra had a dangerous thought, conjured up and discarded twice as fast because there was no way they could get away with it. But then again…

Adora protested when Catra broke the kiss, but immediately groaned when Catra yanked on her dumb ponytail, pulling her head back with it to give Catra the room she needed to absolutely destroy her neck. In places that her shirt could easily conceal, of course. Catra couldn’t imagine the kind of conversation that they would have with Angella, their boss, and also Glimmer’s mother, if a student remarked on the bruises on Adora’s neck.

“Catra, shit—” Adora gasped as Catra nipped at her collarbone, shirt having been unbuttoned just a little. “Babe, the door—it’s not locked.”

Of course it wasn’t.

Catra groaned in frustration and pulled back, glaring at Adora because she was mad at her for being right and having common sense, and stalked to the door to lock it and, just for good measure, let down the little curtain hanging over the tiny window frame. The faculty knew about them, most, anyway, but there were still some classes taking place, and Catra didn’t want a poor student to glance into the Teacher of the Year’s history classroom to see her being absolutely wrecked by the nerdy five foot nothing English teacher downstairs. Yeah, that would be traumatizing.

When she turned back to her girlfriend, who was leaning against the front of her desk and smiling softly at her, she scowled. “What?”

“Rough day?” Adora quirked her eyebrows up, smile widening.

Catra wasn’t sure if she hated or loved how well Adora knew her. Probably a mixture of both, depending on the day.

With a sigh, Catra slowly made her way back to Adora and melted into her open arms, burying her face in the hideous pattern of her button down. Adora always seemed to find the ugliest clothes, and she wore them just to piss off Catra. And because her students liked them for whatever reason, and Adora thrived on attention.

“Horrible,” Catra murmured, voice muffled by her shirt. “Can we do something tonight?”

“Anything you want.” Adora was rubbing soothing circles into Catra’s back, a kiss was pressed to the top of her head. Just like that, Catra felt about half of her day’s tension vanish.

She hummed against Adora. “Can we eat lunch here today, too?” Remembering her packed meal, she pulled back a little and glanced over Adora’s shoulder at where it had fallen to the ground in her attempt to get her lips on Adora.

Adora nodded, and it was settled.

They usually ate together everyday, sometimes in one of their rooms or in their cars after a quick fast food run or with their friends in the teacher’s lounge, but Catra loved it most when it was just the two of them, alone for a good forty minutes in the middle of their work days.

Catra had never planned on being a teacher, and she was only still one now because she needed a job while she pursued a career in writing. She had only been at this school for a few years, after Entrapta, her roommate and physics teacher, mentioned that there was an opening for a new English teacher.

When she first started working here, she and Adora couldn’t stand one another for a solid month. The amount of times Catra had to shut her door because Adora’s voice could be heard all the way from upstairs lecturing away, the way Adora was friends with literally everyone who worked in the building, the fact that half of the English department wanted to get in her pants (even Mrs. Stein, the forty something year old who was married and had three kids), and worst of all, Adora had just read SparkNotes instead of the actual book nine out of ten times when she was in school. She was cocky, and arrogant, and loud, and ridiculously fit, and really, really fucking hot.

But then Catra learned that she had grown up in the foster system as well, and suddenly all of those things were irrelevant because there was someone else who understood what it was like.

They started talking more, becoming fast friends who interrupted one another’s classes to do random shit and make the students laugh and hung out during their breaks, and as of last spring, started dating.

“I thought we were going to eat?” Adora watched Catra plop down in her lap instead of in the chair she pulled out so they could sit beside one another.

Catra simply wrapped her arms around her neck. “We have, what? Thirty minutes left? That’s ten minutes for mandatory stress-relieving making out and fifteen for eating.”

“And what about the remaining five?”

Smartass. “Cleaning up trash, fixing ourselves, just a safety net.”

“And how will we know when to transition from one thing to another?”

Okay now she was just trying to get on Catra’s nerves. Catra could threaten to leave, but time was ticking, and she really wasn’t in the mood for joking around. “A timer. Duh.”

So they set a timer, and Catra was more than happy to kiss her stress away.

Sure, she hadn’t planned on being a high school teacher, but she supposed teaching the next generation had its perks.

Perks that were five foot nine, lifted weights for fun, and made the worst jokes in the entire world.

[shannonbussberg]

Shannon Marie Bussberg is a psychopath who caused me great harm in many ways. I'm writing this as an explanation to warn off any who come in contact with her. I'm not trying to exact vengeance on her. The only thing I want from her is the money that she stole from me. A sincere and deep apology, of course, would be nice, but she would never do that. The first part of the writing below largely comprises something that I sent to Shannon recently, and the rest is addressed to you, the reader. Please keep an open mind.

***

(Note: I sent an earlier version of this writing to Shannon, hoping that she would make restitution. She said that she wouldn't, and that she came here to live with me to help me with my depression. Complete BS. Shouldered no blame at all.

Shannon,

As you know, you stole, through forgeries, all the money I had, and you put me in deep shit, not to mention throwing me into tons of debt from all the credit cards you took out in my name. I was in trouble with the IRS over the documents you forged, my credit was nonexistent, and I was psychologically destroyed. You put me in a space that I would never trust anyone ever again. You know all that you did to me, and you never tried anything to make it right.

Although you cost me so, so much pain and suffering, I’m willing to let most of that go financially. But I want recompense for the money you stole and the inflation on that money. Also the damage caused to my teeth when I was unable to afford repairs because of your thefts. Steve might lend you the money--he helped you out financially when you got in trouble for taking money from credit cards under my sister's name. So maybe he'll do that for you now.

(You know, you used to tell me that you're going to Hell. I of course assumed that you were exaggerating. Now I wonder what all other things you're done. An aside: you used to tell me that you would never pay back your student loans, and that as a result you'd have to go to school periodically for the rest of your life to avoid paying the loans back. That did bother me, because it basically meant that you'd be stealing from other students in the future. More recently I saw that you'd somehow got a master's degree. That seemed strange, since you're not a good student--having me do as much as your school and work stuff for you as possible when you were here. So I assumed that you got the degree from online courses, as part of your loan payback avoidance plan. Sure enough I see that your school has optional online coursework.)

If you don’t try to make things right, here’s what I will do. First off, I’ll tell the truth to your whole family. (It was so horrible to have to listen to your mother try to “explain” to me that you were living with me in order to try to “help” me--a lie you told your parents in order to cover the long period while you were not working, while living on the stolen money. Apparently you told her that you were my caretaker of some sort. I'm definitely going to set her straight on that.) My story will be a complete one, and you know that I don't lie. Plus I have *tons* of documents to back me up—everything from police and post office documents, to the forensic document examination report, to copies of the actual documents that you forged. (Plus I became something of a document examiner myself, so that people could see with their own eyes that you’re a forger. For example, doing your school years, you changed the way you form a particular letter--for example, in the forged signature for my last name--in a way that is nearly completely unique in this day and age. And the documents you created have all the hallmarks that document examiners know about forgeries.)

But I will use the internet as well. Social media of all kinds, of course. Forums, relevant sites. Anyplace I can find, with, as before, documents that back me up. People need to know who they’re dealing with in their lives.

***

To the reader: Shannon Marie Bussberg and I live in different states, and met online through a kinky match site. For a long while, we communicated with email and text. Then she told me that she was entering summer school at a prestigious university near me. This was a total lie, as I later learned from them when I was contacting them for writing samples for the document examiner. She ended up living at my place while she pretended to go to school. Then she stayed here with me after school supposedly ended for the term, and lived here for years, meanwhile stealing everything I had (except for a half ownership in the family house). She worked for a little while, but soon stopped, preferring to bleed me while she destroyed me. I loved her, which was a huge misjudgment on my part. In my defense, she hid her lies very well; she is a very good psychopath, and I never noticed any lies while she was here. After she used up all of my money and more, she stole from my sister, who was not in love and less gullible and vulnerable than I. That put the police on her tail, and Shannon, seeing a bleak future ahead for herself if she stayed, went back to Indiana. She, no doubt hoping that everything would blow over and she'd be able to return to continue parasitizing me further, perhaps taking the house (she had wanted to marry me, and I suspect that was the house was her objective for that). I truly thought she was innocent, for way too long. But since she was now back in Indiana and no longer had access to my mail (though she wanted me to send my mail to her, for her to "sort"), a letter from the IRS, telling me about taxes that I knew I didn't owe, was shocking. I still thought that, somehow, she was innocent, but before long I realized the truth. Looking back, I know that she only came to live with me for two reasons: my trusting vulnerability and her unusual sexual proclivities. She never loved me. The bottom line, for readers that encounter her, is that Shannon is a psychopath, is a very convincing liar, and neither looks nor acts like a psychopath. You should skip first impressions, and observe her for a while. I'm particularly concerned for her son, and the effect her behavior has on him.

On to my tidbits directed to Shannon.

⦁ 00, which was our code for a particular form of sex practice. I'm certain that's the main reason that you came to this city. The practice was disgusting and dangerous for me. And you should know that I’ve suffered permanent serious physical damage because of it. Maybe I should describe it in detail, but I'd truly like to avoid sharing it in public if at all possible, even though it gives a great insight into your evil. I'll probably wait for a little while to see whether you're going to make things right, and if you don't, give a more full account. There’s so much related info to tell people, such as the time you tried to drown me in the bathtub. Keep in mind, Shannon, that the story makes you look far worse than me.

⦁ You told the police—TWICE—that I sexually abused you. The irony, of course, is that our roles were exactly reversed. It’s interesting that, when I told the detective that I wanted to press charges against you, he predicted, matter-of-factly, that you would make that claim against me. At the time I didn’t believe him, but he was right. By his statement I guess that many women lie a lot about such things when claims are made against them.

⦁ When you stole the car (yes, OF COURSE I have documents about that as well—and I talked to the prosecutor later), you left a lot of my CDs in there. Then, when I got furious with law enforcement and the judicial system for picking on my poor, innocent (sarcasm), girlfriend, I persuaded you to go to your home state with me so that I could try to straighten things out for you. I don’t know why you agreed to go there, because of course you wouldn’t let me talk to the prosecutor and thereby learn the truth. More important these days is that you wouldn’t “permit” me to go to the police to pick up the CDs from the car, obviously because you were afraid of hearing the truth from them. The result is that I not only didn’t get the CDs, but I didn’t even remember all of the artists and titles, so that I couldn’t replace them. Of course, that's just one of many messes you left behind for me to try to straighten up, such as the reader you stole from the library, the tons of library fines over books you stole, all the services you secretly attached to my landline, and the bill that you ran up on the cell phone that was under my name but that you were the one that used.

⦁ When you decided to screw me over, you knew that any letters and such sent to my address increased your chance of being discovered. So you went to a nearby town's post office, and opened a post office box there. You even added my dead mother's name to the box. I still have the forged federal application in your handwriting.

⦁ One of the writings you left behind was a letter to my money fund, telling them to make you the beneficiary if I die. You sucked up my money so fast and thoroughly that you never had an opportunity to actually send it in, but of course I still have it, with your handwriting. But the take-home message is that you were hoping for my death. Or maybe planning it? If you had played it straightforwardly, you could have just asked me to write it myself.  Back in those innocent days, I would have done it for you eagerly.

⦁ When you knew that time was running out between you and the police because you also stole from my sister, you prepared, behind my back, for your departure. You hid all kinds of your stuff in the attic behind the costumes you and I had gathered. That’s how I got so many writing samples for the document examiner to use. Previously I had written to your former employers for any scraps. Treasure trove, afterward.

⦁ When you left, we stayed in contact for a while, before I knew the full truth of what you had done. You asked me to mail your sewing machine to you, while you encouraged me to drink a lot of vodka so I’d finish the task. And you even had me send you money for food. You used me like a parasite does, knowing full well that I was going to have to go through total financial hell in the near future. What kind of human being does that to someone else? A psychopath.

⦁ I noticed that you were looking for a car right after you left. Which is really, really wrong, because I had no car at this point and you left me with no money for a car of my own. Which makes me wonder: there was a lot of money that we could have used to buy a car before, but instead you insisted on continually getting rental cars (supposedly paid for by your father, but really paid out of the money you stole from me). Why did you do that? Buying a car outright would have made my money last longer, so this makes no sense, even for a psychopath. Is it because it would be more obvious that I alone was paying for the car for the both of us?

⦁ I emailed with your former roommate or friend (was her name Elizabeth?—I can’t exactly remember, although I can dig it up if necessary). She said that you were the most deceptive person she’d ever met. I will give you that—you certainly don’t have the *appearance* of a psychopath, shy and quiet acting and all.

⦁ Afterward, in an email to Stacy, you said that my sister and I were totally screwed up. But neither one of us hurt anyone, while you stole from both of us and destroyed one of us.,

⦁ I remember when we were first started off with emailing back and forth, I was online, both day and night. Later I asked whether it seemed strange that I was always available, and asked what you’d thought about that. You said that you’d assumed I was a genius child, keeping school hours. I was shocked, because we were conducting some seriously kinky conversation. Didn’t you worry about damaging the kid psychologically? Nope, you said.

⦁ An aside: In college, you ran away without telling anyone, leaving people thinking, for a long time, that you were dead. (Documentation is available in newspaper copies online.) When you told me about it later, you showed me a picture of your father during the time your parents spent searching for you. He was exhausted and depressed. But instead of that making you feel bad about what you had caused, you were proud that you had evaded detection. At the time, I assumed that I was reading your emotions wrong. But I now know better.

⦁ I just remembered: Once you and I happened to be driving behind a strip mall after hours. A cop car started following us. You were cool. You suggested to me that I should get out and pretend to be examining the tire tread for a stuck rock. That worked fine, and the cop moved on. I told you that I had been nervous. You told me that you hadn't been, because you always assume that you are smarter than the police. That seemed incredibly arrogant to me. True, you might be smarter than some individual cops. But you don't have their training and experience, the capability to call other police on the radio for backup, and weaponry. Every once in a while you'd let such incredible arrogance show through.

⦁ I remembered this as well. Once you joked, about a woman whose child had been killed, that it was no big deal since she can always make another. After you left here, I read a lot of books about psychopaths, to try to figure you out. The author of one of the books told the exact same joke, as an example of how psychopaths have a lack of empathy. I always wondered whether you told the joke because you had read in the same book, while you were reading to try to understand your own self.

⦁ After the police went to Indianapolis to interrogate you, they told me that you'd agreed to pay me back everything you stole. But you never sent me anything at all. I aim to change that. Please don't make the mistake that if you just ignore this email, I will simply drop it all.

[comradekatara]

What’s the gaang in college like

this is SUCH a good question. thank you!!! i’m going to answer this in terms of what i think they’d be like if they did go to college, even though i’m quite sure not all of them would or should. this is almost 3k words btw because i have a disease :) thanks :)

aang: aang loves school, but he forgets to go? it’s just that he’s always either a) volunteering at the children’s hospital; b) helping a friend with a flat tire; c) taking his dog appa on long runs; d) giving heartfelt advice to a total stranger who looked sad; e) getting stopped on the street by an environmental canvasser when he doesn’t have his wallet on him and then devoting the rest of his afternoon to helping that canvasser get more donations and signatures from people who DO have their wallets, which is, frankly, a little overwhelming for the canvasser; f) happily embarking on an impromptu coffee date with a total stranger because she has multiple peace sign stickers on her backpack; g) defrosting tofu; h) reading exactly two pages of a book sokka recommended to him before getting bored and simply texting sokka for the highlights; i) painting, for fun; j) subbing in for the school mascot at some suspiciously aggressive sporting event, which aang normally wouldn’t advocate for, except someone asked him to do it as a favor and how could he say no; k) trying to start a vegetable co-op on campus and protesting heartily when his proposal is rejected due to lack of space; l) writing polite but firm letters to textbook publishers asking them to extract their biases from the next edition; m) generously attending parties as a “designated pedestrian escort,” since he neither drinks nor drives; n) making jewelry; o) making friends at the farmers’ market; or p) re-shaving his head. so how is he possibly supposed to make time to go to class??? he tries to do some of his assigned readings, and he always has strong opinions on them. but he doesn’t always make it to class and he’s very sorry about that. he still passes every class though. who’s gonna flunk a kid who missed his final exam because he was helping deliver a baby in the parking lot? 

katara: katara is bad at college. she hates her major (because, as sokka wails to everyone who will listen, she chose the wrong major!). she hates her classes and she hates her professors and she hates studying. she hates the library and thinks anyone who goes there for any reason is “pretending to work” despite very compelling evidence to the contrary. she hates that campus buildings are named after dead slave-owners and colonizers, and she consistently gets arrested for trying to vandalize their nameplates. she is always able to find things to occupy her on campus–for instance, underpaid dining hall workers to advocate for, or a new college republicans group to protest, or an updated round of enrollment stats reminding her that higher education remains racist, classist and colonialist and upholds existing biases in society. she is constantly threatening to drop out and start an organization encouraging young activists not to go to college. however, she also finds her ongoing tangles with the dean too invigorating to ever stop: because of her anger and intensity and many unscheduled appearances at his office and sometimes even his houes, the dean is scared of her. katara is having a very traditional college experience in her own way, discovering new causes and coming into her own as an activist. she is just not, unfortunately, passing english 101. 

mai: for mai, the main difference between high school and college is that in college she finds things to care about, and oh does it feel good. a frustrating experience registering for classes winds up being a happy accident when she begrudgingly signs up for a class examining perspective in literature. the class is electrifying. she gets really into creative writing after that, and writes a batch of her own short stories; in all of them, she uses perspective to give interiority to unlikely narrators. when she’s not writing, she spends a lot of time at art museums and foreign film screenings. while strangers might still think she’s aloof, people she’s shared classes with know better. she is passionate, engaged and argumentative. she is the frustratingly cultured friend in the friend group who will matter-of-factly correct someone else’s references without looking up from her phone, when no one even realized she was listening. and the other thing that’s different as compared to high school is that she doesn’t just hang around azula anymore. she has all these pockets of friends who share her interests, art friends and writing friends and film friends and friends from her computer science classes (yeah, she’s a computer science major because she’s just practical; it’s a thing). the gaang isn’t even at the top of her list of the people she’s closest to; in fact, when she leaves for study abroad, she forgets to let them know beforehand. but she does send back half-melted chocolates. 

azula: hot on the heels of being the fastest runner and toughest boxer at her high school gym, azula gets to college and finds herself… no longer the best. the first five months of her freshman year go like this: she is running at the gym one day when she notices another young woman who is noticeably faster than she is and barely breaking a sweat. azula becomes obsessed with her, and starts showing up at the gym at the same time every day just so she can see her again, always claiming the elliptical directly behind this modern marvel just so she can watch her in action. one day, azula catches a glimpse of the woman’s student ID when she swipes in at the front door, and then goes home and creates a facebook account for the very first time just to find her profile and learn more about her. the girl quickly becomes aware she’s being watched (it’s not hard–all she has to do is look at the mirrored wall in order to catch azula creepily staring at her and mouthing aggressive self-motivation. she asks azula what her problem is. azula’s like, “excuse me? how dare you?????” before she finds she has nothing else to say. she storms off back to her dorm and screams at the top of her lungs for a little while. the next day, she goes back to the gym and works out even harder. but she promptly passes out. she has to take a week off to recover. by the time she can go back to the gym, she is too embarrassed to follow this woman around anymore. however, this same pattern repeats itself periodically whenever azula comes into contact with anyone even a little bit better than her. eventually, the stress of competing with every talented person in sight (whether in the realm of athletics, academics, or the board game club that really, really wants to kick her out) starts to take its toll, and azula proceeds to live in the walls for a little while while she thinks things through. while she’s in the walls, she misses her psychology midterm and has to repeat the class.

sokka: sokka loves college. college is almost exactly what sokka wanted it to be, although if he were to name one complaint, it would be that there aren’t enough places to hook up outside. he makes do, though. sokka is one of those brilliantly charming kids who befriend almost everyone, except the douchebags. he gets invited to every house party and every sorority formal and every rich-kid ski trip he couldn’t possibly afford and every late-night philosophical debate in a dorm common room. (he can’t even count the number of times he’s been getting ready for bed at 2am and his phone has buzzed with a text from some acquaintance he took a class with a year ago, asking for him to swing by their apartment and weigh in on a dispute. believe it or not, he usually goes.) sokka takes classes in as many departments as he possibly can: there’s some comp sci and some comp lit, some performance studies and some gender studies, some radio/tv/film, some environmental engineering, a fair amount of electrical engineering, no shortage of poli sci, and intro language courses in as many languages as possible. his adviser is like, “are you even human????” and sokka’s like “wym? i’m on scholarship.” in the end, there isn’t a major that sums up sokka’s focus of study, so he creates one; the unifying thread between all his courses is that he’s studying the future. like, of the world. they let him put the name of his made-up major on his degree, and although it’s in poor taste to frame your undergraduate diploma, he does it anyway, because he likes explaining to people that yes, he made his major up, and yes it was exactly as bullshit as it sounds. he’s very proud.

suki: does suki like college? sure, she likes it fine. she drives for saferide and organizes with campus feminists. she organizes self-defense trainings and also advocates for revising the mandatory new-student training in consent that all students have to take so that it’s oriented towards deterring would-be assailants, rather than putting all the onus on would-be victims. on a lighter note, she also participates in the campus drag show every year, and a number of formerly-straight-identified attendees gush to a reporter for the student paper that they are now questioning their sexuality thanks to “kyoshi’s” performance. also, suki does roller derby, and you would not believe the dyke drama surrounding her and her various exes from the team. it is not to be believed. but as for classes, suki could pretty much take or leave them. she likes art and math. she tries to show up sometimes. often she does not, because she is busy getting high in her truck or having sex outside. sokka doesn’t understand how she doesn’t care about her mediocre grades. suki doesn’t bother trying to explain it.

zuko: naturally, zuko is a literature major. he takes every single shakespeare course the school offers. then he takes a class on milton, a class on dante, a class on female poets of the twenty-first century, and a handful of gender studies classes too; all of these classes change his life. after his first gender studies class, he cuts off his ponytail, determined to unravel the patriarchy in one snip. so it goes without saying that, emboldened by his distance from his father, zuko takes it upon himself to Seize The Day in a way he couldn’t in high school. sure, it’s cliche, but the siren song of that fountain in the quad is impossibly to ignore; he simply must go read poetry under its shadow. he forces himself to go to parties most weekends, always irrationally hoping that this time he might like parties and have a good time, but it takes him until his senior year to realize that he will never like parties. until then, he spends a lot of time mostly hugging the wall for safety and avoiding the eyes of the couples who are making out on the couches. when guys try to flirt with him, he spills his drink on purpose so he has an excuse to flee the scene, and the guys can always tell. he auditions for theater productions and is summarily rejected from almost every acting role; the one role he gets, he butchers, and he can even see on sokka’s face when sokka brings him flowers after the show that sokka knows the flowers were too much. when acting roles don’t pan out, he tries working on a show’s crew, but ultimately it’s not until mai gently suggests he try reviewing the theater productions on campus that he finds his niche. sure, few students read the student newspaper for its theater criticism, but zuko’s reviews are good. they get a prominent place of honor above the fold, and a number of drama professors are willing to admit amongst themselves that they wait for zuko’s reviews before shelling out for tickets. although he does write under a pen name so his father won’t find them. that’s just common sense.

toph: toph is smarter than most of her teachers and knows it, which means she derails class after class with smart questions, counterarguments, and passionate rebuttals. her older friends help her identify classes to take with professors who are welcoming of that sort of thing and willing to have a spirited back-and-forth. that’s how she ends up taking some higher-level philosophy classes as a freshman. (by the way, big mistake, but she gets what she came for.) her class schedule is an eclectic mix of electives cobbled together with little thought for how she’s eventually going to graduate; in the end, it takes her an extra year, and she’s totally fine with that. she has lots of friends and supporters and she also has a lot of enemies; the head of the psychology department memorably calls her a rude little troll girl. she studies abroad more than once, and though she has no reason to work an on-campus job, she has a volunteer gig mentoring high school students. sometimes her fourteen-year-old disciples will follow her around, wide-eyed, from social gathering to social gathering, and they’ll get to fully immerse themselves in toph’s particular college experience. it’s a lot of sniping and also a lot of smoking weed in other people’s apartments. also, she plays football in the park with suki every saturday rain or shine, and though there have been some close calls, neurologically speaking, she has thankfully avoided any concussions. (suki, unfortunately, cannot say the same, and toph is very sorry.)

ty lee: everyone has taken at least one class where ty lee came in late and sat in the back, but no one is clear on her major. what makes matters more confusing is that when people ask her what she’s studying, she’ll say just one of her three majors, which leads people to believe that she is lying. ty lee is studying physics, communications and theology, and while her class attendance is far from spotless, she can always get the notes from one of her admirers. apparently she studies hard, because she’s an honor student in all three departments. outside of class, ty lee is a sorority girl, natch. she freely invites her greek-life-avoidant friends to her fundraisers and formals because she doesn’t understand what they have against the super-fun greek system of which she is proud to be a part! also, she’s not shy about cheerfully reminding her friends that if she doesn’t have enough friends show up, she’ll be fined, with the unspoken reminder that she really can’t afford that shit. this generally motivates people to come through for her. it is anyone’s guess how ty lee manages her active sorority participation, her insane class schedule, athletics (volleyball) and her work-study job (calling alumni for donations–she’s disturbingly good at it, by the way). more than one amazed admirer has posed the theory that she might be a witch. when she hears that, ty lee just giggles and smiles. 

[chaoticlamphoagietaco]

2020?

Well what can I say, it seems like it’s ending with a bang, but there’s still two months left.

Biden is president, and trump has yet to retaliate, I wonder what that’s going to look like.

My boyfriend and I are having sexual issues, or rather I’m seeing issues in our sexual habits.

It feels one-sided, I please him (he cums), he pleases me and I don’t cum. It’s frustrating because I’ve seen him go on hikes, talk to people for hours, if you can be active in this way, why is it difficult to just suck my dick for like 30? I understand if you lock jaw, but over the course of our relationship, sex has been me being patient and him getting off. It’s hard to maintain sexual interest, and maybe that’s why my mind goes in these fantasies. I’m almost at the point where if we have anal, I know where gonna end up jerking off... maybe I’m asking for too much, or maybe I’m just tired of being patient.... I wanna see if he will be open to swinging, or wearing a long dildo for a couple of days to resolve the issue, but I’m not sure how he will respond, or when this conversation will happen. I’m hoping that Sunday will be the day but I’m not sure.

I miss my mother, I feel her trying to reach me but I struggle to connect to her spirit. There’s so much unsaid, that it’s hard to equate the relationship to only a spiritual level. I... don’t know what I would say. Am I angry for the suppression. Of my dance enthusiasm? Am I upset because I never told her I was gay? Am I upset because she’ll never see the fruition of my dreams?

Ri

Speakings of, I don’t know my dreams,p anymore.... or rather they feel like they are transforming. I wanted to be a research analyst after falling out of love with psychotherapy and sociology, but I realized what that actually meant. Research analyst is a broad term, that can encompass a business, health centers/organizations, government, and nonprofit. And essentially these are all the sectors you. And work for other than a school which I do not want to do. Through my conversation. With NASA I found more about becoming a data analyst, and while the salary was enticing I realized that was a computer science that didn’t incorporate sociology or psychology like I had hoped. When I stumbled upon market/marketing research analyst I was hooked. I knew that finance and accounting wasn’t my passion, but marketing itself wasn’t either. Marketing has been largely traditional, and digital marketing is basically a new field. I think this is why I made the decision to transfer my major so hastily, it encompasses everything I was searching for with program evaluation, I can conduct research based on consumer intelligence which incorporatess social psychology, and have the promising effects of impact. Or in other words, my research will be used and considered valuable to the company I’m working for or working with. In program evaluation, sociology and psychology, the effect that your research has is truly perceptional and has a large ambiguity around its impact. You can go 4-10 years without achieving a goal you intended, which is expected and encouraged in some situations. On top of all this, withi program Evaluation and psychology there’s an expectation around the support you give in the exchange. Not only am I conducting research for MBH, but we (the school) are helping the business attract African America. Participants to their establishment, which can be done in so many different ways, it would take. A considerable amount of money, resources, and process and attention needs to be there if you want to achieve an impact. How can this be achieved when the business in itself is not liable for its own pretentiousness? Or it’s own self-processing that I can’t change? Thankfully, with marketing I get the best of both worlds. I can incorporate my social psychology background, while also attending to my creative side in branding, and even furthermore conducting meaningful research that is almost guaranteed to have an impact (since if I don’t, I’m not doing my job well haha) and will be used as vital data for profitability will not only motivate me to take the job, my peers, and the business seriously, but will also compensate me tremendously well, I mean it’s very lie,oh that in 2-3 years time I could be making a 6 figure salary. With this in mind, I feel Clarity around my occupational pursuits, but as for my dreams... that’s another story...

My dance past is struggle to bring up, even typing....,

I was so close, yet everything was taking from me, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.

With this, I keep falling in and out of love with dance, I watch a video and I feel inspired to dance again. I’m feeling more drawn to Alonzo Lines ballet, Nunes, and of course my all time favorite Batsheva. But watching hip hop videos make me cry, it reminds me of what I use to be, what I could have become, and how many friends I’ve lost along the way. Dance is brutual, forcing vulnerability and deep connection within a short period of time, I’m not sure how I to come back to it but I’m getting more inspired to. My roommate doesn’t make me feel comfortable eno to explore my creative side, but when me and bf live together, I hope I can feel more comfortable and start recording myself more often, the encouragement he brings is so ephemeral, I’m lucky to have him. But I know that at the least, if I came back to dance, I outdone be more interested in dance film, and being inside of that industry rather than concert dance, sinner the world is kind of moving into a digital world, definitely open to site specific work, given the right amount of viewers and support of course,

For my other dreams that are transforming, I know want to become marketing manager, and possibly a yoga teacher. I’ve gone back and forth with a yogic certificate, but I didn’t feel that I had enough practice, knowledge, or the right people to start with a subject like that. But fuck, I mean soooo many white people do it haha. I’m feeling more motivation for this certificate since I realized that I can make friends this way. I can find like minded people who practice, engage in processing, and are willing to go into platonic physical interactions, since I’m also realizing this is crucial for me in any platonic relationship. If this program started progressing, this could become a business that provides an income, I met awesome people, and I can a lot of ppl along the way. Downsides are of course if the business collapses, but I would gain knowledge in Hinduism which I’ve been wanting but unsure how to engage in.

What’s serendipitous though, is that the the timing of marketing could not be better, a program has a date right after my classes end, I can attend their classes, then continue my spring courses, and work a full time job and on my way to 6 figures. There’s so many resources and side that this transition feels right and meaningful, I’m feeling good about this change, I just hope I won’t want to change again 5 years from now.

Hinduism and Buddhism.... my practices and faith have been wavering, after Naropa, my experience with Buddhism is a bit tainted, maybe I need to go to retreat again and release any energy surrounding my mother, but other factors play a part. The prentiousness, the fake smiles, that school had a lot of problems, but none more so than racism pure and simple. This is why I love Virginia, racism over there is overt and blatant, I know who the racist is and I know where not to go. Here in boulder, everybody will smile at you, and you don’t know who is truly being racist, you have to really read behind the lines and analyze to understand the truth of what somebody is saying, I mean the school burned down on its own so I think my wishes are being granted... I don’t know where this leaves me with Buddhism, Charlotta was amazing, and I want to attend her classes, but something always holds me back and I don’t know what. In regards to Hinduism, my yoga sequence has pretty much been the only stabilizing thing in my life. Through all the obstacles and trauma, maintains these practices have really kept me balanced through whatever comes my way, although I have been slacking I some ways, I’ve also been progressing in chakras, balancing, and following a routine. Maybe in this way, Buddhism is something for me to contemplate, maybe Hinduism is what I want to talk about...there it is, Buddhism is my process and Hinduism is my faith. Shiva will always be my everything, in not sure why on that mountain, or even if I made a connection, but that trip to Japan truly changed me, and I want to follow a Shiva path that is right for me, I just wish I had someone to help guide me, but that might make things harder.

[arrghigiveup]

Speech made by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong today to announce the new restrictions for Singapore. We’re finally going under lock down like the rest of the world.

Transcript:

My fellow Singaporeans Good afternoon

I last spoke to you on COVID-19 three weeks ago.

Since then, the number of new cases daily has begun to rise. We used to see fewer than 10 new cases a day. But in the last two weeks, despite our best efforts, we have routinely had more than 50 new cases daily.

Initially, many of the new cases were imported from overseas, mostly returning Singaporeans. Then last week, we began to have more local cases. Furthermore, despite our good contact tracing, for nearly half of these cases, we do not know where or from whom the person caught the virus. This suggests that there are more people out there who are infected, but who have not been identified. And they may be passing the virus unknowingly to others.

In the last few days, we have also discovered several clusters at foreign worker dormitories, and one at a nursing home. These are very worrying, because large numbers of people live together in dormitories and nursing homes. A single case can quickly lead to a large cluster. Furthermore, nursing home patients are mostly old and frail, and very vulnerable to the virus.

As the situation developed over the past weeks, we have tightened our safe-distancing measures progressively. Singaporeans have responded well, calmly and responsibly, and made adjustments in their daily lives. By working together, we have kept the outbreak under control.

But looking at the trend, I am worried that unless we take further steps, things will gradually get worse, or another big cluster may push things over the edge. I discussed this with the Multi-Ministry Task Force (MTF). We have decided that instead of tightening incrementally over the next few weeks, we should make a decisive move now to pre-empt escalating infections. We will therefore impose significantly stricter measures. This is like a circuit breaker. It will help reduce the risk of a big outbreak occurring. And it should also help to gradually bring our numbers down. This in turn will allow us to relax some of the measures. This circuit breaker will apply for one month, in the first instance. The Task Force is holding a Press Conference immediately after I finish speaking to you to explain the details. But let me give you the key points.

Continuation under the cut

First, we will close most workplaces, except for essential services and key economic sectors. Food establishments, markets and supermarkets, clinics, hospitals, utilities, transport and key banking services will remain open. These are essential services. We also should not disrupt economic sectors that are strategic, or form part of a global supply chain. People working in these industries can continue to go to work, with safe-distancing measures in place. But most other work premises must close. If the person can work from home, he should do so — telecommute. But others will not be able to, including foreign workers on construction sites and in shipyards. These workers live in dormitories, and we will make arrangements to look after them. The closure of work places will take effect from next Tuesday. This will ensure that most of our workforce stay at home and limit their physical interaction to as few people as possible.

Second, we will also move to full home-based learning in our schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs). We started with one day of home-based learning this week. This has gone smoothly, with some teething issues being resolved. The Ministry of Education (MOE) will work with the schools to implement full home-based learning starting next Wednesday. All preschool and student care centres will also be closed, but will provide limited services for children of parents who have to continue working and are unable to make alternative care arrangements.

Third, we will tighten restrictions on movements and gatherings of people. It boils down to three things. First, stay at home, as much as possible. Second, avoid socialising with others beyond your own household. Gatherings should be confined to your household. Avoid visiting even your extended families who are not staying with you, especially if they are elderly or vulnerable. Third, go out only to do essential things. For work, if you are in essential services or key economic sectors. To buy food at markets, or to take out from restaurants and hawker centres. Or to exercise in the neighbourhood park, keeping a safe distance from others. 

The spirit of these measures is to get all of us to minimise physical contact. If we do not go out, if we avoid contact with others, then the virus will not be able to spread. It is as simple as that.I know this is very hard to do. As a practical matter, in places like hawker centres and wet markets, it is difficult to practise safe-distancing, especially on the weekends when it is crowded. It will help if we all adjust our habits. For example, do our marketing on weekdays instead of weekends to avoid the crowd. We will also deploy more Safe-Distancing Ambassadors to encourage people not to crowd together, so please cooperate with them.

Safe-distancing is also hard for a psychological and emotional reason: it goes very much against our human instincts. It is in our nature to want to socialise, to be close to those we are talking to, to take comfort in the warmth and company of friends and family. I fully understand this. But I hope you will also understand why we all have to take social distancing extremely seriously in this period. This is the only effective way to slow the transmission of the virus, so that we gradually bring our numbers down. It is also the best way to keep our families safe, and particularly to protect our seniors from getting ill. So please bear with the painful adjustments that we have to make. Each and every one of us can, and must do our part, to keep everyone in Singapore safe from COVID-19.

Let me now say a few words in Malay and Mandarin.

[repetition of the above in Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin. Full transcript available Here]

I decided to speak to you directly today to explain why we need to make this major move now, but also to reassure you that things will be alright. Essential services will continue running so that all of us can cope in this new situation, as we batten down to fight this virus. We have enough food supplies to last us through this period and beyond. You can still shop at the supermarket or wet market. And you need not rush to stock up for weeks at a time. You can still buy food from your favourite hawker centres or coffee shop, though you will have to take out and eat at home with your own family, rather than hang out and eat outside with your friends.

I know these measures will impact our workers and businesses severely. This is already a very difficult time for them. We will help them come through this. On Monday in Parliament, DPM Heng Swee Keat will announce additional support for households and businesses, over and above what was provided in the two earlier Budgets. We will also legislate to require landlords to pass on property tax rebates fully to their tenants. We will also pass new temporary legislation to let businesses and individuals defer certain contractual obligations for a period, such as paying rent, repaying loans, or completing work.

Besides implementing this circuit breaker, we also are rethinking our advice on face masks.

Up to now, the Government has advised the general public that you only need to wear a mask if you are not feeling well, and this is to protect others from your germs. This was based on scientific advice and guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO). We also did not have community spread in Singapore then, so it was very unlikely for you to run into anyone with COVID-19 on the street, much less be infected by them. Nevertheless, the Government gave each household four surgical masks, to use in case you got sick, and to give people peace of mind.

Now, the situation is changing. We now think there are some cases out there in the community going undetected, though probably still not that many. We also now have evidence that an infected person can show no symptoms, and yet still pass on the virus to others. This is why the WHO is reviewing the issue of face masks, and so is the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Therefore, we will no longer discourage people from wearing masks. Wearing a mask may help to protect others, in case you have the virus but do not know it. This is so that you keep your droplets to yourself — when you sneeze or speak or cough. It can also protect yourself a little better, especially if you are elderly, or vulnerable because of pre-existing health conditions.

We still want to conserve surgical masks for the people who really need them – healthcare workers in clinics and hospitals. For everyone else, in a community setting, alternatives like reusable masks will give some added protection. So from this Sunday, the Government will distribute reusable masks to all households. Meanwhile, many community groups have been making and distributing reusable masks for the elderly and vulnerable. I applaud these efforts. They show our community spirit and mutual care.

But remember, mask or no mask, you still need to wash your hands, and keep a safe distance away from other people.

The next few weeks will be pivotal. Even after these stepped-up measures, the number of cases will quite likely still go up in the next few days. They can be cases who have already been infected earlier, except they have not yet shown symptoms, or not yet gone to see their doctor. But if we keep our efforts up, within a few weeks we should be able to bring the numbers under control, bring the numbers down, and get into a more sustainable position.

We will keep on doing our utmost to protect every Singaporean from COVID-19. Many people have been working tirelessly for the past two months  — our nurses and doctors, our contact tracers and healthcare staff. We thank them all for their efforts and sacrifices. Now we are all enlisted to join them on the frontline.  

It will be a long fight. But if any country can see this through, it is Singapore. We have the resources. We have the determination. We are united. By helping one another through this, we will prevail, and emerge stronger.

Thank you.

[reinanichols]

Reina Nichols

the basics ––––

NICKNAME: Rei-Rei (to her dismay; thanks, Hero)

AGE: 18

BIRTHDAY: 10th Sun of the 3rd Astral Moon

RACE: Midlander Hyur/Garlean Halfbreed

GENDER: Female

SEXUALITY: Bisexual

MARITAL STATUS: In a relationship with Viridian Kaimana

SERVER: Hyperion

physical appearance ––––

HAIR: Light brown with green highlights, frequently kept in twin braids or rolled in a messy bun. Sometimes she’ll cut it all off, and grow it back at a whim with the help of the Aesthetician.

EYES: Amber

HEIGHT: 5'5"

BUILD: Small-framed; she has some muscle from hefting heavy books and equipment, but it's hidden under a few curves from being sedentary.

DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Has a beauty mark right under her left eye

COMMON ACCESSORIES: She is almost always wearing glasses; when she can, she wears anything with extra pockets, hidden or otherwise.

personal ––––

PROFESSION: Alchemist by education, self-taught Garlean translator. Black Mage in between.

HOBBIES: Reina likes sifting through tomestones and any technical literature, wanting to have an understanding on anything she comes into contact. She blames this on her upbringing.

LANGUAGES: Eorzean, Garlean

RESIDENCE: Reina owns a house in the Goblet to maintain her citizenship and rank in Ul'dah, but rarely spends time there, spending more time at the Rising Stones or Hero's bakery.

BIRTHPLACE: Ul’dah

PATRON DEITY: Thaliak (to her mother’s chagrin)

FEARS: Losing her self-of-self; mortal fear of Zenos yae Galvus in his entirety.

relationships ––––

SPOUSE: In a relationship with Viridian Kaimana

CHILDREN: None

PARENTS: Mathildis rem Asina (Mother, deceased), Harold Nichols (Father)

SIBLINGS: Hero Hikara (Surrogate brother, against her will)

OTHER RELATIVES: Aulus mal Asina (Maternal uncle, deceased), others unknown

PETS: None

traits ––––

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between /  Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard-working / In Between / Lazy

Cultured / In Between / Uncultured

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

additional information ––––

PERSONALITY: When not at the mercy of her emotions, Reina is shy and skittish. Spending a lot of time around people tires her out, but she fears being alone, so is willing to tough it out.

SENSITIVITY: Reina possesses an Echo that allows her to directly be in tune with the emotions of her peers. While it helps her detect the motives of those around her, she often has little direct control over this. Given enough time, she will start to emulate those she spends a lot of time around, and has problems psychologically drowning when in crowds for long periods of time.

RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCES: In a natural state, she does not care for recreational use of mind altering substances, except perhaps for the odd glass of wine. When stressed, she may be more easily encouraged to reach for something harder.

LIKES: Her Sultana (<3), gambling, studying, traveling

DISLIKES: The Monetarists, pain and suffering, Garlean conquerors

STRENGTHS: Earnest, Caring, Studious

FLAWS: Submissive, Shy, Mercurial

possible hooks ––––

Reina's mother was a Garlean spy; she took the name Matilda, bedded an Ul'dahn paladin, and used her talents to secure a position working for the Aldenard Trading Company as a consultant, raising her daughter in high society. She maintained her cover until Reina turned fifteen, at which point she mysteriously died. Coincidentally, Reina found out about her heritage in light of her mother's death, took the written evidence fled Ul'dah in fear of being ostracized, becoming an adventurer.

Reina has stepped foot in almost every Guild at least once in her life, her Echo having given her a means to pick up the basics fairly quickly. She can do just about anything in a pinch, but is only just proficient; her talents lie in her thaumaturgy and alchemy. Though, in hindsight, she may have picked up a thing about espionage or two not quite unlike her mother....

While she experiences personality shifts often, they typically don't last, provided she has an opportunity to unwind. It -has- left her susceptible to many a odd circumstance and given some folks the wrong idea. The only exception to this is a hint of bloodlust that manifests in extreme stress, "gifted" to her by the crown prince of Garlemald.

what I’m looking for ––––

I'm stepping out of my shell on this one, having spent a lot of time sticking with close friends and I’m trying to find where my comfort zone is with new people. I won’t immediately say no to anything out of hand, and I can be flexible, but I have to at least have that discussion while I sort out where the limits are.

oocly, I am ––––

In the EST!

New to Tumblr, not new to RPing. I practically grew up on mIRC, and had some forum experience.

Am unfortunately a shift worker, and my days are inconsistent. Hopefully I’ll get a rhythm going, though.

you can contact me via ––––

Feel free to send me PMs through tumblr.

[positivepsychologyinterventions]

New Research on the Benefits of Informal Meditation Practice: Taking Meditation Off the Cushion and Into Our Lives

Finding Moments of Presence

I came across a rather unusual sight as I pulled into the parking lot of my gym the other day — something that stopped me in my tracks. I am used to seeing people scurrying to and from their cars, heading into the gym or heading back to their cars to carry on with their day. But instead, there was a man standing by the edge of the parking lot — just standing… for a long time… in stillness. He was looking out toward the trees and tall grasses and a small bog at the edge of the parking lot that I had honestly never noticed before. He was just taking in the moment, taking in the natural world beyond the concrete pavement, and despite whatever things he had to do in his day. 

It struck me how rare it is to see someone pause in the midst of the busyness of their day and savor the moment in this way.  It also surprised me that in all of my times back and forth to the gym I had never once noticed this little patch of nature.  

Consider these questions:

Do you have informal moments, as you go through your day, when you pause to be fully present to what is within you or around you?

Do you ever set aside a few minutes in your day to intentionally engage your senses fully and completely in something you are doing, such as eating a meal (without mental or other distractions pulling you away), or even something quite ordinary such as taking a shower or walking to your car?

What is it that you miss in the course of your rushing and busyness?

Informal Practice of Presence

Much has been written about the benefits of formal meditation practice, but many people are less familiar with the idea of informal practice. With informal meditation practice we look for opportunities throughout the course of our ordinary day to be fully present, mindful and awake. Rather than setting aside a formal time to practice meditating, one can make activities such as walking, taking a shower, washing dishes, or talking to others as an opportunity for full on presence.  

Neuropsychologist Rick Hanson has written extensively about the benefits of “taking in the good” by looking for positive moments in our day that we can enrich and absorb by pausing to experience these good moments as feelings in our bodies.  These can be ordinary moments that we might otherwise overlook, like sipping a cup of tea, exchanging a friendly glance with someone, or enjoying the feeling of satisfaction that comes from completing a difficult project. They can also be imagined moments such as calling up a time in our mind when we felt safe or peaceful or supported, and experiencing those feelings in this moment. As we allow ourselves to experience these positive moments as a “felt sense” throughout the course of our day, Dr. Hanson explains that this hard-wires these experiences into our brains so that we build inner resources we can later draw on.

A Study Exploring the Benefits of Informal Meditation Practice

A recent preliminary study by Dr. Barbara Fredrickson and colleagues explored the benefits of informal meditation practice on participants new to meditation, to see if informal practice improves well-being independent of formal meditation practice.  Adults new to meditation took part in a six-week group, either learning mindfulness meditation or loving-kindness meditation. They were encouraged to engage in informal meditation practices during the course of their day over a period of 9 weeks and to record the time spent doing so each day. Examples of informal meditation in the former group included paying attention to the physical feeling of breathing, paying attention in the body to a routine activity such as brushing one’s teeth, or eating a meal mindfully. Examples of informal meditation in the second group included sending kind wishes (in one’s mind) to oneself or others during the course of their day. 

What the researchers found was that the more one reported practicing informal meditation on a given day, the more that individual reported experiencing both positive emotions and feelings of social integration (feeling socially connected or “on the same page” as others) on that day. In addition, those people who spent more time engaged in informal meditation practices overall experienced higher levels of positive emotions and more feelings of social integration than people who spent less time engaged in informal practice. These findings were independent of the effects of formal meditation practice, though it should be noted that they were correlational in nature and this study could not prove causality. Importantly, previous studies have linked both positive emotions and social integration to greater mental and physical health, so there are implications in this study that informal meditation practice could be beneficial for one’s overall well-being.

Bringing Informal Practice into Your Day

While more research needs to be done on the effects of informal meditation practice, I am a big believer in its impact. After I saw that man at my gym pausing to take in the little patch of nature, it was a great reminder for me to practice what I teach. So after I left the gym, instead of rushing to my car, I made sure to walk over to that spot and take in the peace of the sun and grass and bog and wildlife that could have so easily gone unnoticed for yet another day. After those few minutes, I drove home with a more peaceful and grateful heart.

I invite you to find just a few minutes within the course of your day or evening today to absorb yourself wholeheartedly in a moment of presence. Use as many senses as possible to step out of your thinking-only mind and into your body, to fully experience whatever you are doing — whether an activity or a moment of pausing. Then notice how you show up for the next moments of your day.

from World of Psychology https://ift.tt/2XWCLO6 via IFTTT